When you think of theme parks in Hong Kong, the first thought that
comes to your mind is probably "omg, Hong Kong Disneyland!" Well who's
to blame you. That's what really excites me when I go to HK as well. But
it seems forgotten that before Disneyland came along, Ocean Park has
always been
the place to go to.
I know that many
people visit Hong Kong over the weekends, you know, the short getaway
kind of trip and that explains why they only have time to visit 1 theme
park. So I thought I'd share a bit of my experience at Disneyland and
Ocean Park and the main difference that they have to help with your
decision!
Tickets
For
starters, the main difference you'd notice is the price of the tickets.
For adults, Ocean Park costs HKD $345 (SGD $58) whereas Disneyland is
pricier at HKD $499 (SGD $84.50).
Well but I'm sure the price of the tickets are secondary since you were already planning to spend at a theme park.
So let's talk about the theme park itself.
Atmosphere
As
Ocean Park is up on a mountain, there's lots of greenery so it's a good
place to go to if you want to see the mountains of Hong Kong. It's also
split into 2 sections. The bottom half is full of animal shows and
shops whereas the top half is more for the thrilling games. Hence,
there's a cable car to help you travel to the top to scream your hearts
out while taking roller coasters. A little tip but don't bother going to
Ocean Park right when it opens unless you're very sure you can get to
the front of the cable car queue. That's cause a lot (seriously a lot)
of people rush and queue for the cable car which means you'll probably
have to queue for half an hour.
Sadly, the cable car
is the only transport up so you have no choice but to queue. The best
timing to go is around 12noon. My friends and I queued for about 15
minutes and we were comfortably seated in the cable car, with our
cameras out, ready to take awesome scenic shots.
As
for Disneyland, the buildings are definitely prettier in my opinion.
It's also understandable that it's a lot newer seeing that it has only
been around for a few years. I find that every spot at Disneyland is
also a picture perfect one because the buildings are just so pretty and
beautifully decorate, especially during Christmas when they have
Christmas lights up. That's definitely something that I didn't feel at
Ocean Park. Honestly, there was only one spot that I wanted to take
photos at and that's the Old Hong Kong road. (I'll get to that ltr)
It's really a whole different atmosphere between Ocean Park and
Disneyland. I felt more at peace at Ocean Park due to the greenery but
managed to unleash my inner kid at Disneyland.
Food
At
the bottom half of Ocean Park, there's a place called Old Hong Kong
Road. There's where you can find traditional HK goodies such as egg
waffles and dim sum. All these food are suitable for travelling around
aka takeaway food. That means that you can grab them on the go!
At
the top half of Ocean Park, the food are really the same at every
stall. They all sell popcorn, hot dog, fried squid, siew mai etc. The
kind of food that isn't filling. Not exactly a bad thing cause I doubt
you'd want to go on a roller coaster on a full stomach haha! I didn't
eat much on top because nothing seemed appealing to be honest. I much
prefer the food at Dinseyland.
Food
such as waffles and ice cream are disney themed. That means that they
come in the shape of mickey mouse which I personally thought is really
cute. However, that also means that it's pricier than Ocean Park's food
cause the latter serves quite ordinary food in my opinion. I'd much
rather pay a little higher price to buy the food from Disneyland just so
I can take a photo of it hahaha! And your trip to Disneyland isn't
complete until you buy their waffles! Remember to take a photo of it and
instagram it!
Of
course Disneyland serves proper food as well. We had our lunch at a
restaurant which is something like a Singapore food court style. There
were basically a few stalls selling different kinds of cuisines from
around Asia and you just order and bring it to your seat yourself. A
meal cost around $17. Quite pricey but you're at Disneyland. Of course
their stuff are pricey hahaha.
Rides
And to the most important part in deciding which theme park to go to. Let's talk about their rides.
The
rides at Ocean Park are definitely hell lot scarier than the ones at
Disneyland. If you're an adrenaline junkie, skip Disneyland and just go
to Ocean Park. You won't find anything that thrills you at Dinseyland
and you might just get bored of the place (like Vanessa haha). Ocean
Park caters to those who are up for a fun time and isn't afraid of scary
rides. You see the second photo under the rides section? Well I took
that twice and I felt like I jumped off a 50 stories building twice. The
second time was worse than the first actually but I'm still so proud of
myself for taking that.
There's
a roller coaster at Ocean Park that I didn't take a photo of cause I
didn't take it. It had freaking lots of drops and 2 360degree turns if
I'm not wrong. Only Heyse dared to take it but none of us were willing
to take it with her. In fact, the queue was actually quite short cause
very little people were crazy enough to take it. So you might not want
to go to Ocean Park if you're with kids or don't like taking roller
coasters.
Nevertheless,
there are carnival games available. It's a little pricey so remember to
bring along enough cash if you're planning to bring the little ones to
enjoy such games. Ocean Park is a little more like a carnival in this
aspect. There are the typical games such as hitting down the blocks (as
shown), throwing a ring into a bottle, kicking a ball into a hoop etc.
Such games aren't available at Disneyland! But honestly we didn't spend a
very long time at the carnival area cause the prizes weren't that
attractive.
The
rides at Disneyland are definitely a lot more kiddish. The scariest
ride there is probably a roller coaster called Grizzly Gulch (last
photo). But even that roller coaster has 0 front drops and only 1 back
drop. It's actually all of our favourite ride cause it's super windy due
to the fast speed. Imagining not being able to open your eyes properly
and hair flying all over the place. Hahaha so yeah, we like the ride not
cause it's scary but because it's super shiok. Hence, Disneyland is
definitely the place to bring kids to and if you're someone who loves
Disney (like me!).
So
the main and most crucial factor you have to think about is whether you
want to relive your childhood memories or if you're someone who is
super on for all the roller coasters. Take for example Jolene and
Vanessa. Jolene preferred Disneyland over Ocean Park cause she doesn't
dare to take scary roller coasters whereas Vanessa doesn't like
Disneyland at all. "Everything is so childish" as quoted from her
hahaha. Personally, I would choose Disneyland over Ocean Park because
I'm a Disney girl at heart(:
Phototaking
You
can definitely expect a lot more scenery at Ocean Park. The view is
pretty sick up at the top and you can even spot the ships on a sunny
day. My absolute favourite place to take photos at is at the Old Hong
Kong area. That's were you have the olden shops and transport. The first
few photos were taken there! Overall, Ocean Park is also generally not
as crowded as Disneyland so it's easier to take photos. Not a lot of
passerbys to photobomb.
Unlike
Ocean Park, don't expect to see much greenery at Disneyland. Well
everything at Disneyland is pretty much... Disney themed haha! A
definite must take photo place is at the castle! I mean that's after all
literally at the centre of Disneyland. Impossible to miss! Furthermore,
not only is the inside of Disneyland pretty, the outside and the train
is as well!
This
set of photos were actually taken 3 years back hahaha. Just in case you
were wondering why I went Disneyland so many times. Okay yeah so
Disneyland is really the whole package. Every spot is a photo taking
opportunity. In fact, if you're planning to go Disneyland, I'd say forgo
the taxi and take the train instead! That way, you can take the Disney
train. Oh and remember to go earlier than the opening time cause you're
probably going to spend a good 20 minutes outside taking photos.
I
definitely preferred taking photos at Disneyland over Ocean Park even
though it's 10x more crowded. Everywhere is so nicely done and I
couldn't resist but just captured as much as I could haha. Oh and Ocean
Park doesn't have as many mascots as Disneyland (I didn't see any of
both trips actually) so that's another plus point for Disneyland.
Shows
I
don't have any photos for the shows at Ocean Park cause we didn't watch
any. Basically Ocean Park has a lot of animal shows that appeal to
kids. They also have live bands performing once in awhile and we did
walk past quite a few. But we didn't stay long cause we much rather play
the rides.
As
for Disneyland, I went for quite a few shows actually. It just so
happens that the shows timing coincided with the time that we were at
that land. (lucky us!) I did enjoy myself at the shows, especially all
the dancing! And of course, there's the well known parade that happens
twice a day. If you want to see all the Disney characters, the parade is
where you should be at! And if you're not really interested in it, this
is the best time to take the rides with the longest queues (eg. Space
Mountain) cause everyone else will be watching the parade!
Extras
An
iconic game (for a lack of better name) at Disneyland is actually pin
trading. Pin trading is a super massive thing at Disneylands all around
the world. I'm actually quite surprised that most of my friends have no
idea what pin trading is so I thought I'd share about it here!
You know how every shop you enter sells pins such as these?
Well you can actually buy them and trade them.
Here's how it works.
Have
you ever noticed that all the staff at Disneyland carried a lanyard
around their neck or small black sling pouches? They all have pins
attached to them. So basically you can buy a set of pins and trade with
the staff if you like what they have. And the best part is, they can't
say no! Hahaha it sounds so mean but it's just really funny how you
could be potentially taking away their favourite pin.
Just
go up to a staff and say smth like "Hello! Can I take a look at your
pins?" and they will show them to you. We pin traded so much that one of
the staff shared an insider tip with us. On some pins, there are
actually hidden mickeys. Those pins are the ones that aren't for sale
and are staff exclusive. So remember to get those cause you can't buy
them!
It
sounds really simple but trust me, you'll get addicted to it. Jolene,
John, Corn and Heyse all ended up asking every single staff they saw
till the point where they can't remember if they have asked someone. I
actually think they might have asked the same staff twice... Haha but
anycase, remember to buy the cheapest pins (Get the pack of 3!) cause
you're going to trade them away anw.
Well
in conclusion, personally I preferred Disneyland over Ocean Park. I
went to Disneyland from the minute it opened till the time it closed
whereas I probably only spent half the day at Ocean Park. I guess it's
because I didn't spend as much time taking photos and queueing for rides
at Ocean Park. Plus I really only took each ride once cause I'm not
really an adrenaline junkie haha!
Hopefully this post helps!
"Life
is like going to a theme park, make sure you get your money's worth by
going to all the beautiful lands, and scary rides. At the end of the
day, you know you will be safe and it's all about the great memorable
experiences."
Embellished Minds