Photo Diary: Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel & Hollywood Hotel Scenes

Staying at a Disneyland hotel had been a dream of mine and Shah's ever since we went on our first Disneyland trip in Paris. I remember walking towards the exit after an incredibly exciting and satisfying yet exhausting day and staring wistfully at the windows of the hotel above, wishing we could just go straight to a room, take a shower and lie down on the bed while talking about our day in the park, instead of riding a 50-minute packed train home.

We had gone to the park multiple times more (we had passeport annuel for Disneyland Paris!) but one night at any Disneyland hotel was just not something we had the budget for at the time, so it continued as a dream of mine.

That is, until our 10-year marriage anniversary last year when we decided it was time to splurge on a fully-exclusive Disneyland trip! We still had a budget in mind so it was to be at the nearest Disneyland to Malaysia in Hong Kong, but it is a Disneyland!

Hong Kong Disneyland has three hotels. After doing my research (and by "research" I mean reading lots of guests' reviews), my first choice was the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, but since I also wanted to try out another one of their hotels (my pitch to Shah: "for future reference"), we booked the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel for our second night there.

Aside from staying at a Disneyland hotel, I had to tick off one more thing from my bucket list: dine at the restaurant that includes a meet-and-greet with Disney's beloved characters! (Hi yes a total Disney nerd typing here.) It didn't even matter that the Enchanted Garden buffet had zero halal-meat options and limited vegetarian and seafood options; all that mattered to me was the experience.

A tip from my personal experience, and also other guests': manage your expectations about staying at a Disneyland hotel. They're not exactly 5-star hotels and as a Disney superfan, I did wish there were more of that Disney magic dust sprinkled all around; the hotels are pretty old and the state of their rooms does show that. Nevertheless, the rooms were clean and the service was top-notch. I did consider staying at HK Disneyland's Explorer's Lodge just because it's relatively newer but I've always been more drawn to the fairytale and Hollywood vibes of the Disney world. 

That doesn't change the fact that I'd want to stay at more Disneyland hotels around the world — perhaps I'd even get to try the Explorer's Lodge someday. Personally, though, the main Disneyland Hotel would be my top choice again at any Disneyland around the world.
Another unticked Disney-related bucket list item is to bring my niece to stay at a Disneyland hotel, and to bring her to play Princess dress-up at their Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, so I hope that'll happen sooner rather than later.

I hope you've enjoyed scrolling through these (many, many) photos! Thank you for reading ❤

Also: Check out Photo Diary: Hong Kong Disneyland Scenes