Hong Kong Visit - Advice Needed

[OnMyWay]

I know we have several members who have lived in or visited Hong Kong a lot.  I'm looking for advice for an upcoming family trip; My wife and I and the 3 girls, 14, 4.5 and 2.5 at time of travel.  Last week of October.

Most likely, we will fly on Cebu Pacific as they have the best price, about p35k for all of us roundtrip, + baggage.  Another option from Clark is Cathay Dragon but they only go 3 days a week and we would have to limit our trip to 3 nights instead of 4 or 5.  They are a bit more expensive too, but include baggage.  Any opinions on the airlines?  I don't want to go to Manila.

I'm going to splurge, and if possible, book two nights at the Disneyland Explorer's Lodge.  They have a room limit of 4 persons, so I have to call to see if they will allow the 2.5 year old to stay in that room.

The other 2 or 3 nights will probably be at an Air Bnb, unless someone can suggest a hotel that will take the 5 of us in one room for a reasonable cost.  Air Bnbs out near Disney are very expensive so it will probably be in the city.

I'll probably have more questions, but any tips to get me going?  I would like to get it all booked in the next week or two.

Thanks!

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

if possible, book two nights at the Disneyland Explorer's Lodge.

I like that part.  My filipina partner found that Hong Kong Disneyland loses its charm after the first day so staying there 2 nights and getting one full day on the grounds will probably be enough.

the 14-year-old may love Ocean Park Honk Kong but there is a LOT of walking and not much (that I remember) for toddlers to get thrilled about.

Have fun with it.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I like that part.  My filipina partner found that Hong Kong Disneyland loses its charm after the first day so staying there 2 nights and getting one full day on the grounds will probably be enough.

the 14-year-old may love Ocean Park Honk Kong but there is a LOT of walking and not much (that I remember) for toddlers to get thrilled about.

Have fun with it.

Actually the 14 year old does not like coasters yet so I don't think Ocean Park would be good.

With the small kids, we thing a 2 day pass for Disney would be good if we can take it easy and go back to the hotel to rest.

After looking at prices on AirBnb and hotels, the Disney hotel is looking better.  We might end up with just a 3 night stay there.  Plenty for the kids to do.

[AlwaysRt]

When going back to visit Hong Kong I prefer to AirBnB a place in Discovery Bay. From the airport, get on one of the Discovery Bay busses and you will end up easy walking distance to your condo. Want to go to Disney or the MRT? Get on the bus right outside and go to the MRT or Disney Train. Like the idea of a ferry? Go to the DB dock, the ferry takes you to Central. Easy access anywhere, decent prices last time I checked.

[OnMyWay]

23 minutes ago, AlwaysRt said:

When going back to visit Hong Kong I prefer to AirBnB a place in Discovery Bay. From the airport, get on one of the Discovery Bay busses and you will end up easy walking distance to your condo. Want to go to Disney or the MRT? Get on the bus right outside and go to the MRT or Disney Train. Like the idea of a ferry? Go to the DB dock, the ferry takes you to Central. Easy access anywhere, decent prices last time I checked.

Thanks!  Discovery Bay was the only reasonably priced AirBnb near Disney and I was wondering how to get around there if we choose that option.

[OnMyWay]

I have just about finalized our plans.  After going back and forth about how long to stay, where to stay, high cost for everything, everywhere, and getting the 2 small kids around in the city, we decided to make it a Disney only trip this time.  When the kids are older, and can appreciate it more, we can go to the city.

So we will do Mon-Fri.  First night we will check into the Regal Airport hotel as we get in a 6:30 pm.  The we will head over to Disney for nights 2-3-4, with 2 days at Disneyland.

Nope, it ain't cheap!  Gotta go for it once in a while.  We are going the last week of October which is our 3rd wedding anniversary, and our birthdays are in September, and Halloween is the 31st.  So it will be a birthday / anniversary / Halloween trip.  The kids love Halloween here at home but I think Disney has a nice Halloween celebration for them too!

I had quite a battle with Disney hotels.  They strictly limit their rooms to 4 people of any age and we are 2 adults, 14 yo, 4 yo and 2 yo.  Due to fire regulations, they replied.  Wanted me to get two rooms which was out of the question.  In a nutshell, I said "you are a family attraction and you don't have a room for a family of 5?  You want me to spend 2000 hkd for my 2 year old to stay?"  They gave in and said they would have to get management approval and do the booking by e-mail.

[Dave Hounddriver]

7 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

First night we will check into the Regal Airport hotel as we get in a 6:30 pm.

Love that place.  Its a taste of "First World" after being in Philippines for a long time. 

7 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Nope, it ain't cheap!

Every time I go to Hong Kong it ends up costing me double what I budgeted for. 

7 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

They gave in and said they would have to get management approval and do the booking by e-mail.

It is an interesting battle.  Surely they have rooms for a family with 3 or 4 kids.  Perhaps a suite?  Anyway, I hope that works for you.  If not then I have stayed at Novotel Citygate Hong Kong which is right close to the airport, right close the MTR and often has good specials.  Its only 20 minutes from there to Disneyland on the MTR. 

[OnMyWay]

58 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

It is an interesting battle.  Surely they have rooms for a family with 3 or 4 kids.  Perhaps a suite?  Anyway, I hope that works for you.  If not then I have stayed at Novotel Citygate Hong Kong which is right close to the airport, right close the MTR and often has good specials.  Its only 20 minutes from there to Disneyland on the MTR. 

No, all three Disney hotels have a stated maximum of 4 guests per room, even in suites.  Talk about lack of foresight.  Maybe their core business is the mainland Chinese family who have a limit on kids!

I saw the Novatel pop up on Booking.com as one of the better priced yet nicer hotels.  I don't remember if they had a room that would fit us.  Our family of 5 situation is difficult for rooms.  I couldn't find anything on AirBnb either.

1 hour ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Love that place.  Its a taste of "First World" after being in Philippines for a long time.

Yes, I stayed there for a night on my visa run a few years back, and it was nice.

[earthdome]

Thanks for posting this topic OMW. This will come in handy this fall when we return to the Philippines for our baby's baptism and a planned trip to Hong Kong.

[OnMyWay]

On 7/22/2018 at 2:16 PM, Dave Hounddriver said:

I like that part.  My filipina partner found that Hong Kong Disneyland loses its charm after the first day so staying there 2 nights and getting one full day on the grounds will probably be enough.

I finalized the trip today and we will have 3 nights at Explorer's Lodge and 2 days in the park.  That gives us the flexibility to go back to the hotel and rest in the early afternoon, and they also have some activities at the hotel, including a pool.  I hope that the pool will be warm enough at the end of October.