REVIEW: Disney Explorers Lodge Hotel at Hong Kong Disneyland

Disney Explorers Lodge is Hong Kong Disneyland’s (HKDL) newest hotel. Opened on April 30, 2017, the hotel is now the largest hotel on Hong Kong Disneyland property with a total of 750 rooms. It’s the third hotel to open at the resort after both the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel opened with the resort way back in 2005.

I had the opportunity to stay in the Explorers Lodge on my most recent Hong Kong Disneyland trip after having already stayed there on a separate visit in 2023. It has quickly become my favorite Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and is probably now tied for the best Disney hotel I’ve ever stayed at (tied with the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel). I believe that this hotel is the best Hong Kong Disneyland hotel, and hopefully by the end of this review you have a better understanding of this hotel and why you should consider staying here on your next Hong Kong Disneyland trip.

I will be reviewing the hotel based on the following criteria: Design and Theming, Arrival Experience, Room and In-room Amenities, Restaurants, Shops, Pools, Grounds, Hotel Amenities, and Access to Parks. As usual, my review will try to be as objective as possible but sometimes you just can’t help having your subjectivity color your review. So just something to keep in mind.

Without further ado, let’s dive right in.

This post contains affiliate links. We receive a small commission for purchases made after clicking on these links at no extra cost to you.

Click the links to buy tickets to:

Disneyland

Walt Disney World

Tokyo Disney

Disneyland Paris

Hong Kong Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland

Like me on Facebook and follow me on Instagram / Twitter / Tiktok!

Table of Contents

Background of Our Stay

Disney Explorers Lodge has quickly become my family’s favorite hotel to stay at in Hong Kong Disneyland. We first stayed at the hotel back in June 2023. We really enjoyed our stay, so when we decided to go back to Hong Kong Disneyland for the park’s 20th anniversary, it was a no-brainer that we would be staying at the Explorers Lodge.

I know what you must be wondering: if you already experienced the hotel in 2023, why are you only doing a review now? Well for one thing, there were a lot of COVID regulations still in place in 2023, so I didn’t feel like I truly experienced the hotel. And secondly, I wasn’t able to do things like dine at the restaurants or explore the grounds on my first visit. Because of this, I decided to hold off on writing a review until I experienced more of the hotel.

On this trip we stayed for 4 nights in a Deluxe Room located on the 7th Floor of the Asia wing of the hotel. Our room was right by the elevator that’s located to the left of the check-in desks. Unlike our last room, our room did not come with an alcove this time. We also got the opportunity to walk around the grounds of the hotel, as well as dine in two of the restaurants in the hotel: Chart Room Cafe and Dragon Wind.

Design and Theming

In terms of aesthetics, Explorers Lodge is similar in design to the Animal Kingdom Lodge found in Walt Disney World. It takes inspiration from the cultures of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and South America to create the most visually striking aesthetic of any of the Hong Kong Disneyland hotels. From the moment you step inside the hotel, you instantly feel like you’ve been transported to an exotic locale.

This is especially evident in the lobby of the hotel. The lobby is probably the best lobby on property. Its high ceilings, bamboo motifs, and geometric patterns used in its design make you feel like you’ve stepped into a glamping safari experience. The lobby is also populated with a plethora of details to reinforce the exploration vibe of the hotel.

This is especially evident in the chairs and tables in the lobby, as well as the check-in area and the trunks of the various Disney characters. The tables and chairs were all built with the explorer aesthetic in mind, with some of the tables even including memorabilia from the travels undertaken by people who have stayed in the hotel. The check-in area is also very well-themed, showcasing a large map of the world with different anecdotes on it as well as two airplane propellers on either side of the area.

But my favorite aspect of the theming of the lobby is the large trunks or wardrobes of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy that grace the left side of the lobby as you walk in. Each trunk has different items belonging to these characters which they take with them on their travels. These trunks are just so detailed and you could spend half an hour just looking at them and noticing every detail. My favorite detail is that Duffy can be found in Mickey’s trunk, as well as a photo of Minnie.

The hallways leading to the rooms are also impeccably themed. The room numbers are on luggage tags while the lights have silhouettes of different Disney characters on them. My other favorite themed element are the elevators. Each is themed to a hot air balloon, complete with air pressure gauges and hidden mickeys.

Overall, I would say this is the most detailed and most lavishly themed hotel among the Hong Kong Disneyland hotels. Every element just comes together so well to create a vibe unlike any other hotel in the HKDL lineup. I’ll go into detail on the room and grounds theming in their respective sections, but this is an absolute home run for Hong Kong Disneyland theming-wise.

Arrival Experience

So we arrived at the hotel at around 2:30pm. It was a little bit before check-in so we left our bags at bell services, which is located outside the hotel to the right if you’re facing the hotel entrance. They quickly took all of our bags and gave us a receipt for us to give to the people at the front desk so they could deliver our bags straight to our room. Note that this is a free service and is complimentary to anyone staying at an onsite Hong Kong Disneyland hotel.

We then lined up for check-in. There were maybe 5 people ahead of me in line but the line moved quickly because they had 9-10 counters open. That was one really good thing about this hotel too. There were so many people at the front desk that I was called to check-in in less than a minute after lining up.

A lovely cast member then checked us in. She confirmed that we had a breakfast buffet booked for the fourth day of our stay. She also oriented us to the various things you can find at the hotel and told us about the coupons we could find in our room that we could use at the shop. She also collected a deposit from us that we could use to pay for different expenses incurred at the hotel. The best news we got, however, was that our room was ready! We quickly headed over to the room and about five minutes after we arrived, our bags were delivered to the room.

All in all, the check-in and arrival process for Disney Explorers Lodge was very smooth. This is something we noticed is similar to the other HKDL hotels. They all have pretty stress-free check-in processes. This hotel also offered express checkout, just like Hollywood Hotel. I appreciate the steps HKDL has taken to make their hotels as easy to deal with as possible.

Room and In-Room Amenities

Our room was room 7267. Our room, as mentioned, was right by the elevators. This made it very convenient for when we arrived back at the hotel after a long park day. We were a bit far from the ice machine room, which we used every day of our stay, but I would rather take a room close to the elevators than one close to the ice machine.

The room itself was spacious and well-themed. Highlights of the theming include the Mickey and Minnie masks that were on the headboards, as well as the carpet, which had a leaf print on it, and the curtains which had a pottery theme on it. I also loved the little seat near the desk that looked like a tribal drum. Every cabinet and table was made of wood which complemented the explorer aesthetic of the hotel. Also, for 4 adults sharing a room, we felt like the room was very spacious.

The room came with a postcard, pen, a little notepad and pencil for kids, slippers that were all Disney Explorers Lodge themed, as well as some papers that explained different things about the hotel. The number of free things from these hotels has dropped since I started going to Hong Kong Disneyland in 2006, but what they give you is still nice and I can’t complain about getting anything for free.

What I love most about Disney Explorers Lodge is that the bathroom is a split bathroom. The sink is outside the bathroom while the toilet and shower are inside. This made it very convenient for us when we had to get ready in the morning or get ready for bed at night as someone could be using the bathroom while another was using the sink at the same time.

The bathroom itself, however, was probably the weakest part of the room, only because it was so tight in there. The shower felt claustrophobic, similar to the Hollywood Hotel bathroom, with the whole bathroom feeling like a closet. I would rather have a larger bedroom than a larger bathroom, though, so this was fine.

Similarly to our stay at Hollywood Hotel in July, they did not provide toiletries for us. A new Hong Kong environmental law has banned hotels from giving free toiletries in rooms to reduce waste. The hotel still has toiletries available for purchase if you would like them, but they recommend bringing your own toiletries to help with minimizing waste. That being said, they still provide bath soap, shampoo, and conditioner in the shower and hand soap and lotion by the sink.

Restaurants

There are three main restaurants in the hotel: Chart Room Cafe, which is a quick service place that serves breakfast and has an all-day menu as well, and two sit down restaurants, one called Dragon Wind and another called World of Color. We didn’t get a chance to experience World of Color this trip, but we did try out Chart Room Cafe and Dragon Wind for breakfast. Room service is also offered at this hotel, which we also tried.

Chart Room Cafe opens at 7:30am and closes at 11pm. It serves to-go breakfasts and also has an all-day menu. The portion sizes are relatively small but you get a lot of variety in each meal. We tried the Hong Kong Style Breakfast and the American Breakfast and preferred the American breakfast. They also serve things like sandwiches, drinks, juices, coffee, tea, and even Mickey Ice Cream Bars and other frozen ice creams that you can find in the park.

The food at Chart Room Cafe wasn’t the most amazing food in the world, especially for the price. The price of the food at Chart Room Cafe was even more expensive than some quick service restaurants in the park. Chart Room Cafe is also the only quick service place at a Hong Kong Disneyland hotel, as Hollywood Hotel got rid of their quick service restaurant. It’s fine if you’re hungry and need a quick pick me up, but there are better options in the resort for food.

Dragon Wind, on the other hand, was a delightful experience. We got to the restaurant at 7:30am and were immediately seated. The restaurant oozes elegance and has a very good view of the grounds of the hotel. My favorite details in the restaurant were the paper dragons hanging overhead and the different paintings of plants and animals adorning the upper wall of the restaurant. It’s not particularly Disney, but it felt grand and traditional at the same time.

The food selection here was immaculate. It was probably 70% Asian dishes, which some people may not want for breakfast, but for my family it was perfect. They also had American dishes like pizza and the ever-famous Mickey waffles. I thought the food at Dragon Wind was the best food we had on our trip. Every dish was so good that everyone in my family went back for seconds.

There was also a Disney character you could meet at the breakfast buffet. For our day, it was Donald dressed in his Explorer outfit. We ended up not meeting with him in favor of eating more food because the line to meet him had grown exponentially as the breakfast wore on, but we’re not a character family anyway, so it was fine.

We also were able to try the room service of this hotel. The food we ordered was actually pretty good and was probably better than the food at Chart Room Cafe. We actually said it was probably the best room service food we’ve ever had (although that was probably also because we were so tired and hungry when we ordered room service). Either way, this is a great option for food at the hotel and I hope room service is implemented in Hollywood Hotel as well in the future.

As mentioned, we weren’t able to try the World of Color restaurant. This is mainly where the afternoon tea offered by the hotel takes place. Hopefully on subsequent visits we can experience this restaurant. On the whole, I would say that the dining options at Disney Explorers Lodge are better than the options at Hollywood Hotel. The breakfast buffet at Dragon Wind is better than Ink and Plate, and the presence of a quick service restaurant is hard to beat.

Shops

There is one shop in the hotel called the Trading Post. They sell some of the merch you can find in the park, as well as some Disney Explorers Lodge merchandise. The merchandise selection for the Explorers Lodge isn’t as broad as that of Hollywood Hotel, but it’s still good in my opinion. I particularly liked the plushie of Mickey Mouse dressed in his Explorers Lodge outfit.

With your room you get discount coupons that you can use at this store. If you have a Magic Access membership and are buying more than $100 worth in merchandise, then it’s better to use that instead. But the fact that they offer coupons is something I really liked about this hotel. The shop is also well themed, from the sign outside to the checkout counters, everything is themed to that explorer vibe.

Pools, Grounds, and Amenities

The grounds of the hotel are the most detailed, immersive, and well-designed spaces found in the HKDL hotels. Seriously, some of these areas rival the park in terms of immersiveness and beauty. Immediately at the back of the hotel is a waterfall and a lot of outstanding rock work. The pool, called the Rain Drop Pool, is also very well laid out, all sticking to the explorer theme.

But the highlight has to be the different gardens themed to Disney characters representing different parts of the world. There are fountains, lush greenery, statues, fire pits, and what feels like miles and miles of walking paths that take you to different sides of the hotel. I woke up early one morning to explore and had so much fun walking the different trails that led to different areas of the hotel.

There’s also an area where kids can pedal go karts right in the hotel! I never saw anyone actually using it, but it’s good to know that it’s an option if your kids need to burn off some steam. The back of the hotel also connects to a walkway that will take you to the other 2 hotels and park promenade, which will take you right to Hong Kong Disneyland.

You could spend an hour just walking around the grounds and discovering the hidden details the imagineers placed throughout the hotel. Like I said, these are the best grounds of any hotel on HKDL property, and in my opinion make a stay at this hotel completely worth it. I would highly recommend taking the time to explore the grounds of the hotel during your stay here.

The hotel has a wide range of amenities available to guests staying at the hotel. From ATMs and power bank rentals to babysitting services and dry cleaning, Disney Explorers Lodge offers a lot of services to make your stay easier. You can find a list of amenities available at the hotel here.

Parking

Parking for non-hotel guests costs HK$50 per hour. However, if you’re a hotel guest, parking will cost you HK$190 per vehicle per night. If you’re planning on dining at any of the hotel restaurants, the restaurants can validate your parking for 3 hours if you spend over $500 at those restaurants. The validation is valid for 3 hours. Electric Vehicle or EV charging is also available at the hotel parking.

Access to Parks

The main way to access the park from Disney Explorers Lodge is by taking the shuttle to the public transport interchange and then walking via Park Promenade to the park entrance. Buses and shuttles depart every 10-15 minutes from 7am – 1am. If you’re planning on using the shuttle outside those hours, you’ll need to contact the Bell desk to arrange transportation.

You could also walk to the nearby Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and then walk to the park via the other side of Park Promenade, but this will take a lot longer and isn’t fun to do in the heat. The gardens and water features you will encounter walking to the park, however, are really beautiful and it’s a lot more quiet on that side of Park Promenade. I always recommend leaving for the park 45 minutes to 1 hour before the park opens to make sure you beat the crowds to the park.

Also, Disney Explorers Lodge guests, together with guests of the other two hotels, have a special security area and entrance to the park. This is helpful especially in the morning so that you can get inside the park faster. It’s located to the right side of the park entrance. Take note that you’ll have to show the keyholder that the cast member gave you at check-in to access this separate queue.

Final Thoughts and Score

I thought the hotel was absolutely spectacular. The theming and design were top notch, and you could feel that it was the newest one based on how everything looks and feels. I especially loved the grounds of the hotel, as well as all the little details in the theming like the elevators and the different little design touches in the corridors.

The room was also great. I wish the bathroom were a bit bigger, but I honestly can’t complain about it too much. If you’re traveling in a bigger group, I would highly recommend this hotel as the rooms are incredibly spacious. My family was able to fit comfortably in this room, which we wouldn’t have been able to if we stayed at Hollywood Hotel.

The dining options were also great, if a little pricey. The Dragon Wind buffet breakfast is one of my favorite Disney breakfasts, and the Chart Room Cafe had decent food, with the biggest pro being the availability of Mickey Ice Cream Bars. Room service was also great at this hotel and is a great option if you’re tired and would rather eat in your room.

All in all, I really love this hotel and will probably make it my base for my future trips to the resort. I would highly recommend staying here, and hopefully this review convinced you if you’re on the fence. It is an immaculate hotel, and one you won’t regret staying in should you choose to.

9.5/10

If you enjoyed this Disney Explorers Lodge Review post, consider subscribing to my newsletter and bring the magic of Disney parks to your inbox. Whether you’re planning your first trip or you’re a Disney pro, my newsletter is your ultimate guide to creating magical memories.

🌟 What You’ll Get:

Expert tips for navigating the Disney parks.
The latest updates on new attractions, events, and dining experiences.
Exclusive tips to make your visit extra magical (and budget-friendly!).
Personalized itineraries and seasonal guides.

From Walt Disney World and Disneyland to Disney Cruise Line and the international parks, we’ll help you plan the trip of your dreams with less stress and more pixie dust

👉 Subscribe below and let the magic begin! 🏰✨