Disney Explorers Lodge Review: Is It Worth It?
Last Updated on November 28, 2025 by Kay
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Thinking about staying at the Disney Explorers Lodge at Hong Kong Disneyland and wondering whether it’s worth your time and money?
I stayed at the Disney Explorers Lodge for three nights with my child and our friends (another mom and her kid), so I thought I would share our experience. Hopefully, this in-depth look at what our stay was like will help you decide if you want to spend a night or two here or not.
Table of Contents
Our Stay at Hong Kong Disneyland’s Explorers Lodge
My friend had stayed at the Disney Explorers Lodge a few years back with her family, and she had such a great experience that she wanted to stay there again for this trip. In particular, she loved the pool and the atmosphere of the hotel, which made her feel like she was vacationing at a tropical resort. She also said the hotel was very kid-friendly, and you can meet Disney characters up close.
I had high expectations after hearing from my friend about how amazing it was. Although I was admittedly a little worried due to being used to the high standards at hotels in Japan (our stay at the Tokyo Disney Fantasy Springs Hotel was fantastic), my friend happens to be Japanese (and she’s incredibly fancy), so I trusted her judgment.
We booked our hotel stay through the official website, but I was dismayed to find out afterwards that the room was much cheaper on Booking.com and Klook! Unfortunately, I couldn’t cancel the reservation.
We arrived at the Disney Explorers Lodge straight from Hong Kong International Airport at around 3:15 PM via taxi. (Read about our experience at the airport, which also has helpful information about how to get to the hotel.)
When we got out of the taxi, we were greeted immediately by hotel staff, who quickly took our bags. I was so impressed when we walked inside — the lobby was so spacious and full of grandeur!
Below is a view of what the lobby looks like from above.
And here’s the comfy island-themed seating right by the front desk, which is much needed after traveling by plane!
As my friend said, it was very different from staying at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which looked the same as any old Disney hotel we could stay at in Japan.
Check-in for the Hong Kong Disney Explorers Lodge is at 3 PM, while check-out is at 11 AM. Despite it being shortly after check-in time started, there was absolutely no one waiting to check in to the hotel. I think it helped that we were visiting in September, which is the low season.
The staff at the front desk spoke perfect English and she was so helpful when it came to our questions. Notably, she recommended that we buy our 2-Day ticket for Hong Kong Disneyland online rather than from the hotel because it was cheaper (very different from Tokyo Disney!).
She also asked us if we needed any free rental baby/toddler amenities, like a crib or potty ring, but since our children were five and six years old, we declined.
While going up to our room, we were able to see the view of the South China Sea through the window, which was beautiful. The kids really enjoyed looking at this.
The view from our room, though, was of the hotel entrance. Not exactly as nice but it wasn’t bad, either.
It took only fifteen minutes to check in and arrive at our room, the Standard Room. This came with two double beds, which my friend and I would share with our children.
The room was spacious enough for our two massive suitcases, but I did have to do some rearranging with the desk and stool to make more space so that the suitcase could be opened.
I also liked the roomy sink area and the storage underneath where my friend and I could place our makeup and toiletries.
Additionally, the room came with a hairdryer (I found it a little weak, but my friend was okay with it), gargling cups, and towels.
The drawers at the bottom of the open closet near the entryway had slippers for adults and kids, as well as adult-sized robes.
Additionally, there was a small fridge and a purified water dispenser where we could get free, clean water for drinking and fill up our water bottles (which we brought with us). Next to it was a Nespresso coffee machine.
(The bottle of water in the picture above is ours that we purchased from the 7-Eleven at the airport.)
If we needed anything extra, such as an adaptor or extra towels, we could do so via a QR Code that was displayed in the room.
There were also cute freebies on the desk: a notepad and pencil, as well as a pen and a postcard to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the park.
We let the kids decide who got what, but we received another notepad and pencil (same design) each day of our stay. This was great because my daughter really wanted the notepad and pencil, which she let her friend have on the first day.
Guests receive coupons as well (placed inside a brown folder), which they can use to get discounts at Disney hotel stores and restaurants.
Just like the notepad, we got a new set of coupons every day after the staff tidied up the room. Make sure to take the coupons out and put them in your wallet, though, because anything remaining in the folder will be cleaned up by staff. (I think they just replace the entire folder rather than the content.)
I think my only complaint was the shower and toilet area. I’m just too used to having the toilet in a separate room, and this caused a problem when I stayed there with my friend. Her daughter suddenly had to go to the washroom while my daughter and I were taking a shower, so they had to leave the room to find a toilet.
I also didn’t like how there wasn’t much space between the toilet and the shower, which made getting out of the shower and drying off tricky, not to mention there was nowhere to put our clean clothes. This wouldn’t be much of an issue if you’re staying with family, but with friends, it made things a little awkward for us.
It’s also important to mention that there is one Mickey Explorers Lodge cup inside the drawer under the water filter and Nespresso machine. This belongs to the hotel, so don’t accidentally think it’s a freebie as we did! My friend told me that this cup was free when she stayed a few years ago, but they changed the policy, so if you want one, you have to pay for a new one at the front desk.
When it comes to the quality of sleep, everyone slept like babies. The beds were comfortable enough for us, but it also helped that we were exhausted every night, so we slept quickly and easily! I didn’t hear anything from the other rooms, either, which is a common concern I have when I stay at hotels in Japan.
What to Bring to the Hong Kong Disney Explorers Lodge
Unlike hotels in Japan, we needed to bring our own pajamas, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. The hotel doesn’t offer toiletries for free due to regulations on disposable plastic products.
If you like, you can purchase a little toiletries set from the front desk for 40 HKD. This set comes in a cute tin with Mickey on it and contains toiletries for four guests — toothbrushes (4), little toothpastes (3), children’s toothbrushes (2), children’s toothpaste (1), a comb, cotton pads, cotton swabs (8), shower caps (4), and a razor.
The room does come with body wash, conditioner, and body soap. My daughter and I used those during our stay, and our sensitive and eczema-prone skin was completely fine!
We brought bathing suits for the pool and flip-flops for the pool area. I saw some people wearing the room slippers, but we saved those for wearing after we took a shower.
As mentioned earlier, you can rent an adaptor, and we also found one in our room.
Bring water bottles to fill up since the hotel doesn’t provide them.
I also recommend bringing something for breakfast, because the food at the hotel is expensive. (At least it was for us, since our currency is Japanese yen and the exchange rate is not in our favor right now.)
Pool at Explorers Lodge
The first thing we did after we went to our room was change into our swimsuits and visit the Rain Drop Pool because there would be a greeting with a Disney character starting from around 4:40 PM.
Make sure to bring your card key because the staff will check. You don’t need to bring any towels, though, as there are plenty available for hotel guests when you enter the pool area.
There is also free water!
There was hardly anyone at the pool when we went at 4 PM, so our kids had the pool pretty much to themselves!
I really liked how there were free life jackets for kids, as well as inflatable pool rings. (Just make sure your child doesn’t take more than one ring or stack them, because the lifeguards will blow their whistle at you.)
There was also plenty of free lounge chairs around the pool, which my friend and I took turns enjoying while one of us watched the kiddos.
For the Disney character poolside greeting, we met Goofy! My friend was a little disappointed because the last time she went several years ago, there were two characters and one of them was Mickey. At the time, the kids also got to exercise with the Disney characters, but this time, we only got to take photos.
Our kids didn’t mind, though, especially since there was almost no one else there! We got to take tons of photos with Goofy, and after we left to go back to the pool, Goofy hung around for a while and seemed pretty bored.
We visited the pool again on the last day of our stay, right when it opened at 8 AM. At first, it was empty just like the first day we visited, but it started getting crowded about an hour later.
Where to Eat at the Explorers Lodge
The Disney Explorers Lodge has two main restaurants: Dragon Wind (Cantonese food) and World of Color Restaurant (cuisine from around the world). There’s also a cafeteria-style dining option called Chart Room Cafe.
We ate at all three restaurants at the Explorers Lodge, although for breakfast for two days, we had food we brought from the airport (first morning) or Hong Kong Disneyland (third morning).
Chart Room Cafe
We ate here the first night. The food was really expensive, so although they had a meal for kids called Little Explorers (featuring teriyaki chicken and rice), my daughter and I shared the braised short ribs in red wine sauce.
It tasted fine, but it was rather soupy and the rice was subpar (for us, we’re too used to Japanese rice). I didn’t like the minestrone soup it came with, and neither did my daughter. I wouldn’t get it again.
As you can see from the image below, the menu is quite limited.
World of Color Restaurant
I really, really loved this restaurant and highly recommend going here. I think this is, hands down, the best restaurant at the Disney Explorers Lodge.
We ate dinner here on the third night of our stay (after our second day at Hong Kong Disneyland).
My friend and I shared a plate of roasted chicken with gravy, which was absolutely fantastic. It was so tender and juicy, and I still dream about that gravy. It looks like they changed the menu, though, because now I cannot find that dish on the menu!
I remember there being a Mexican dish that looked good, too, but that’s also nowhere to be found. But I imagine the quality of the new dishes is as delicious as the ones I had.
Our kiddos had passed out at the restaurant (I appreciated the booth seats so they could lie down), but we still got them fries and saved them some chicken and asparagus for when they woke up.
Note that there is an additional 10% service charge for this restaurant.
This restaurant also has a Duffy afternoon tea, which is filled with desserts and savory nibbles featuring Duffy and Friends. I wish we had gone to this after we checked into the hotel because everything looks not only delicious but also super cute!
Dragon Wind
We decided to have breakfast at the Dragon Wind restaurant on the third morning of our stay. It was expensive, but my friend said there was a character greeting where three characters would show up at your table, so we thought it was worth it.
We made reservations in advance, but there were plenty of tables available, perhaps because it was low season.
The desserts are cutely Disney-themed, and the food was mostly good for a buffet. Some things, like the roti, were very dry, though.
Although the food wasn’t as cute, I preferred the dishes at Crystal Lotus (located in the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel), and I wish we had paid extra to have breakfast at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel’s Enchanted Garden. (Despite that we could have had to take a hotel resort shuttle to get there.)
The character meet and greet was disappointing as well. Before we got seated, we asked who the character was, and the staff said they didn’t know.
Well, it turned out to be Goofy. Again. And wearing the same outfit as the poolside greeting.
Unlike when my friend visited years ago, there was only one character. Goofy also did not come up to our table, and we had to line up to meet him and get a picture. That was fine but right before our turn, Goofy had an issue and had to take a break. We were told we could wait for him to come back or sit down and line up again.
Since we were with two small kids who had been looking forward to meeting him and had waited in line patiently for nothing, I was pretty irritated. We sat back down, ate a little, and then lined back up again. I think it was unfair that the staff wouldn’t let us meet Goofy without having to line up once more since we had waited in line for several minutes before he took a break.
The Enchanted Garden’s Meet and Greet also had two characters instead of one, so had we gone there, our kids could have met a different Disney character.
So, if you don’t mind shelling out a little more and traveling to the Hong Kong Disneyland hotel using a hotel shuttle, I suggest going to the Enchanted Garden Restaurant for breakfast. Skip Dragon Wind, it’s not worth it, and honestly, it was the worst part of our otherwise good trip.
Kid-Friendly Activities
The Disney Explorers Lodge is great for young kids, as they have some fun activities that our kids loved.
As mentioned earlier, there’s a large pool with swim rings and lifejackets for kids.
There are also pedal-powered go-karts outside that children can ride in Kevin Garden, which my daughter really enjoyed. (It was a little too difficult for her friend.)
The hotel also has an indoor playground called Nemo’s Recreation Reef. Kids can watch movies in here, as well as play with various toys and a boat-shaped playground. This is only open at certain times, so make sure to check ahead before you go.
You also need to take off your shoes and wear socks to enter. If you don’t have socks, the staff will give you a pair, which you can keep.
At night, there’s Storytime for about 10 minutes, which is available in three different languages. Although this is at the hotel, we couldn’t make it to any of them, unfortunately.
Hotel Souvenir Shop
Remember those coupons I talked about? Make sure you save them for the souvenir shop, and buy your Disney goodies here if they’re not available at the park. The shop, called Trading Post, is right next to the hotel entrance so it’s impossible to miss.
What I suggest doing is browsing the souvenir shop on the first day, but not purchasing anything. Then see what’s available at Hong Kong Disneyland when you go, and buy at the hotel shop whatever you can’t get at the park. That way, you can use your coupons wisely at the hotel’s souvenir shop.
Also, remember that you get a new set of coupons for the hotel souvenir shop every day of your stay.
Hotel Benefits
Unlike Tokyo Disney, there is no early entrance for guests staying at any of the Hong Kong Disney hotels. However, hotel guests do get to use a special lane to get inside, so make sure not to forget your room key and card when going to the park.
The Explorer’s Lodge is not really within walking distance of Hong Kong Disneyland either as it would take at least 25 minutes on foot. However, there are shuttle buses in front of the hotel that will take you straight to the park, and they run frequently.
Which Hong Kong Disney is Best for Kids?
There are three official Disney hotels in Hong Kong, and each has its own unique point(s) that appeal to children.
The Explorers Lodge has an outdoor pool, indoor playground, and go-karts. There is a free character meet and greet in the late afternoon at the pool, and at the (paid) buffet breakfast at Dragon Wind with only one character. Rooms are bigger here than at the Hollywood Hotel.
The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel offers free morning Tai Chi with a Disney character, free character greetings in the lobby, go-karts, mini-golf, and greetings with two characters at the Enchanted Garden buffet breakfast. The rooms here are the largest, but this hotel is the most expensive of the three.
Disney’s Hollywood Hotel is newly renovated with character and movie-themed rooms, such as Marvel. There’s a SHIELD Agent Training Campus where kids can complete missions and get a Marvel badge, outdoor Disney movies, an outdoor playground, a pool with a waterslide (kids need to be at least 32 inches tall to ride).
So, Is the Disney Explorers Lodge at Hong Kong Disneyland Worth It?
Considering how affordable the Disney Explorers Lodge is compared to other Disney hotels around the world, I thought it was absolutely worth it.
There were some downsides for us. For instance, the food is expensive and there are no affordable places to get food (like convenience stores) nearby, and compared to my friend’s stay six years ago, the quality of the character greetings has gone down.
However, our kids loved the pool, the indoor play area, and the character greetings (because at least one character is better than none, and the greeting by the pool is completely free). We also all loved the tropical atmosphere, which you can’t find at hotels in Japan.
So if you’re interested in staying here, I suggest checking and comparing availability and rates on Booking.com and Klook so you can snag the best deal for your stay.