1) Visit Online Tour Agencies for cheaper tickets
Saving money starts from the tickets. Although it is hard to find big discounts for Hong Kong Disneyland, a bit of discount is better than no discount. After scouring the internet, I realised that most "discounted tickets" are in the vicinity of HKD550, or about 7% off. For example, Voyagin offers 7% off 1 day tickets (HKD 547) and you can receive your e-ticket within minutes. Don't worry about internet. Hong Kong Disneyland offers free wifi for guests so you can use their wifi to show them your e-tickets.
The best part of buying tickets online? You don't need to queue 30 minutes at the park entrance to buy tickets!
2) Buy Souvenirs at Department Stores/Disney Stores outside Disneyland
One part of the Disney magic is their wide selection of souvenirs. However, the souvenir prices in the theme parks are usually marked up about 20-30%. That is why it is so much better to buy Disney products at other retailers, say, in Tsim Sha Tsui. I even saw some locals wear their Mickey Mouse hats and princess dresses purchased outside Disneyland into the park!
Also, some tour agencies may offer official Disneyland souvenirs on the tour bus. In general, the price will be lower than if you buy inside Disneyland. For example, my family bought a set of key chains from the tour guide at about 50% cheaper than the price inside! Do check with the guide how much is the discount before buying.
[NOTE]: As far as I know, the Disney souvenir shop at Hong Kong Airport is the same price as Hong Kong Disneyland.
3) Bring a Water Bottle
Seriously. This is the easiest way to save money. While a drink in Hong Kong Disneyland is something like HKD30, there are water coolers / drinking fountains (depending on your nationality) located all around the park. Since on average you will be drinking about 2 500ml bottles of water for a full day at Disneyland, that amounts to HKD60 per person on your trip. That's more savings than the cheapest online 1 day ticket!
4) Eat lunch during afternoon tea (2pm - 5pm)
No, this is not Hong Hum or Tsim Sha Tsui. You will not get any discount for eating between 2pm and 5pm at Disneyland. However, eating at this time gives you 3 key advantages
- If you can tolerate long hours without eating, you can skip 1 overpriced meal inside Disneyland. Have breakfast at your hotel, afternoon tea at Disneyland and supper in the city!
- 2pm to 5pm is usually when ride queues are the longest
- 2pm to 5pm is usually when the restaurants are the least crowded
If you suddenly find the restaurants very crowded between 2pm and 5pm, you know this post is becoming popular :P
5) Get a Magic Access annual pass (esp for students)
Okay, this one is a bit complicated. Basically, Hong Kong Disneyland's annual pass offers some perks for people travelling with an annual pass holder. Some examples include cheaper 1 day ticket, dining and merchandise offer. The maths is quite complicated, so I shall show you 1 example:
Family of 4. 3 adult and 1 student with valid student pass
With 1 silver pass
|
Without silver pass
|
|
Adult 1 day Ticket
|
HKD 1167*
(3 tickets) |
HKD 2356
(4 tickets) |
Student Silver Pass
|
HKD 828
|
-
|
4 HKD120 Meal
|
HKD 432^
|
HKD 480
|
1 HKD100 Souvenir per person
|
HKD 360^
|
HKD 400
|
Total
|
HKD 2787
- 15% less! |
HKD 3236
|
^10% off retail and dining for silver pass holders
In general, this trick only works if 1) At least 1 person in your group is a student. 2) When there is a special discount like the HKD200 off when bring a friend offer. 3) You going on weekday so silver pass is valid. So you need to check the relevant discounts and calculated accordingly. If you think the Maths is too complicated, SKIP!
[NOTE] International student cards are accepted, but SOME Universities do not state your expiry/graduation date on the student card so Disneyland will reject it. Enrollment date is NOT counted.
6) Get a "big family" for a PhotoPass+
Okay, if photos are your thing, Disneyland offers something called a Photopass+. Basically, you get to download all the photos that you have taken in Hong Kong Disneyland for a not so cheap price of HKD389. However, if you manage to "make new friends" at the park, you can share a Photopass card so the price is shared between 2 families. However, you will have plan accordingly since there will only be 1 photopass card for both groups.
Even better if you are visit Disneyland as part of a company outing, religious group trip or school trip.
[NOTE] Try not to have too many people sharing as it is not convincing that so many of you are from the "same family/group of friends"
[WARNING] Do this naturally and make friends with strangers first before asking to share photopass+. If you cold approach strangers for this, Disney will consider your action as "using the photopass for commerical purposes" and void your photopass.
7) Find a HK Resident friend
Yes. This is also very helpful. That's because Hong Kong Disneyland offers many perks for local residents, and you may benefit from the spillover effects. However, Disneyland is very strict about verifying your HK ID so it may not be possible to directly obtain standard tickets at local prices.
Besides, there is a good chance your local friend is a Disneyland Magic Access annual pass holder. If thats the case, you will also receive the annual pass benefits stated in point 5 WITHOUT the need to buy an annual pass!
8) Scour the Disneyland Website
If all else fails, look at their website and see what you can find. Although most of the deals are for local residents, you may sometimes find a good deal on Hong Kong Disneyland websites' promotions page. In particular, the promotions for hotels are usually quite worth it.
Weblinks
As you can see, it is very hard to keep your spending manageable when visiting Hong Kong Disneyland. Many of the strategies I given you either offer very small savings, require a lot of calculation and research or require you to be a "rules lawyer". Here are some links that may help you in your quest.