Disney has revealed the big celebration plans for Hong Kong Disneyland’s 20th Anniversary, which will get an all-new Duffy & Friends castle stage show, nighttime spectacular with drones, longest daytime parade in the park’s history, and more. Here’s everything you need to know about “The Most Magical Party of All,” a year-long celebration of HKDL’s major milestone that starts in Summer 2025.
Hosted by Disney characters dressed in all-new outfits, HKDL is throwing a party like never before! Enjoy special entertainment and offering from day to night all year at this star-studded celebration. According to Disney, glitz and glam will radiate in the sky above and throughout Hong Kong Disneyland, across every themed land, stage and corner as the Most Magical Party of All unfolds.
Disney has not yet provided an opening date or an end date for the Hong Kong Disneyland 20th Anniversary celebration, just that it’ll start in Summer 2025 and be a year-long celebration. For reference, the park originally opened in September and its 10th Anniversary was celebrated from November through August (the 15th Anniversary was during COVID).
Suffice to say, there’s no great precedent that could offer insight into dates for the Most Magical Party of All. What I can tell you is that we visited Hong Kong Disneyland during its 10th Anniversary a decade ago, and it was a really well-done event. And that was long before all of the major changes and Disney started investing serious money in its expansion. If that previous milestone anniversary and the lineup below are any indication, HKDL’s 20th should be better than WDW’s 50th.
Let’s dig into what’s new for the Hong Kong Disneyland 20th Anniversary celebration along with our thoughts along the way about each offering…
New Anniversary-only Castle Stage Show
Guests will be welcomed by Mickey & Friends, Duffy & Friends and Disney princesses in a brand-new anniversary-only castle stage show! This daytime extravaganza brings together beloved Disney friends for a high-energy, fun-filled party experience in front of the Castle of Magical Dreams.
This limited time electrifying celebration will energize guests with captivating rhythms, dance and visually spectacular theatrics. Feel the energy in an exhilarating performance that will get you ready to party like never before.
This sounds similar to the daytime stage show we saw at Hong Kong Disneyland during the Christmas season. It was excellent, with a good mix of memorable music, heartwarming scenes, and a bit of zaniness. If this stage show is anything like that–and it’s safe to assume it will be–it’ll be a winner.
All-New Largest Ever Parade at HKDL: “Friendtastic!” Parade
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is unveiling the brand-new “Friendtastic!” Parade, the largest ever in scale at HKDL. This daytime parade will take over and energize the entirety of Main Street, U.S.A.
Jumping into a party atmosphere, this long-anticipated parade will be full of spectacular theatrics, positive energy, and toe-tapping beats. Featuring 11 party floats with 11 groups of beloved Disney friends—including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and many others alongside parade dancers adorned in vivid costumes—guests can immerse themselves in the excitement, and grooving to the beats.
Hong Kong Disneyland hints at it in the press release with “long-anticipated,” but it’s been a while since the park had a daytime parade. While I’m looking forward to this rounding out the entertainment roster, what I’d personally prefer to see is a new night parade or a return of Paint the Night.
With that said, this makes sense. Park hours are not such that it really makes sense for HKDL to have both Momentous and Paint the Night. That would weight too much towards the end of the day, rather than balancing out entertainment throughout the day. On the other hand, Hong Kong Disneyland is scorching ~9 months of the year and we experienced sparse parade routes during the daytime parade in the past.
Special 20th Anniversary Edition of “Momentous”
No celebration is complete without The Most Magical Show on Earth, the “Momentous” nighttime spectacular. As the grand finale to each exhilarating day, guests will experience a special edition of this guest favorite nighttime spectacular.
This special 20th Anniversary edition of “Momentous” will elevate the magical party to new heights, offering an unforgettable climax to the day-to-night celebration. With even more Disney stories, majestic projections that extend down all of Main Street, U.S.A. and enchanting drone choreography, the enhanced “Momentous” will be even more magical.
As the night sky is filled with dazzling lights and Disney magic, “Momentous” will become a heartfelt memory for every guest to take home from the 20th Anniversary celebration, and treasure forever.
Momentous is the relatively new nighttime spectacular at Hong Kong Disneyland and it is fantastic. This is in the Happily Ever After lineage, but with messaging more in line with Luminous at EPCOT. Quality and emotion-wise, I’d put it in the same league as Happily Ever After and Wondrous Journeys at Disneyland. All three are different, but they are equally excellent to the point that it’s tough to choose a favorite. They’re head and shoulders above all other castle park nighttime spectaculars, including the new “Reach for the Stars” at Tokyo Disneyland.
Sarah ranks Momentous as #1 Disney nighttime spectacular–and she loves Happily Ever After. And all of this is before the addition of drones and projections down Main Street. So long as they don’t shoehorn new movies that don’t belong in Momentous (I’m guessing the “new stories” represented will just be via extended projections), it’s hard to see how it doesn’t rise to the unequivocal #1 nighttime spectacular.
I’m really excited for the 20th Anniversary edition of Momentous, and feel like this deserves more than just a single sentence in the press release. If/when Walt Disney World finally does something with drones at scale, I’m guessing we’ll get months of hype and countless posts on social media about all of the minutiae of its making. Which is fine–I love behind the scenes sneak peeks!
Celebration Extends to Entire HDKL Resort
The Hong Kong Disneyland 20th Anniversary celebration extends beyond entertainment experiences—even more magic and excitement await throughout the entire resort! Guests can anticipate a wide array of party elements to make Hong Kong Disneyland’s 20th Anniversary experience truly memorable.
Mickey and Friends, along with Duffy and Friends, will be dressed in exclusive 20th Anniversary outfits, making for the perfect photo opportunities. Everywhere you look, the park will be brimming with party decor, turning every corner into a beautiful photo backdrop for capturing moments of magic and joy.
All of this really should be underscored rather than treated as an afterthought. During our Christmas trip to Hong Kong Disneyland, we were impressed by how the holiday spirit was all-encompassing. Atmospheric acts were play Christmas music, characters costumed in holiday finery were everywhere, and there were a lot of decorations. It felt festive in a way that was more on par with Disneyland or Tokyo Disneyland, and above Walt Disney World.
In case you missed it, we named Hong Kong Disneyland our top travel pick of the year. See Disney’s Best Park You’re Not Visiting is Our #1 Destination for 2025. Or, you know what, don’t. On the one hand, I really want Disney’s charming little park to get the fan love it deserves, see it continue to blossom into its own, and receive significant investments and expansion.
On the other hand, we have been singing the praises of Tokyo Disneyland since 2013, before it really had any English-language coverage. Since then, word has gotten out, with seemingly every big YouTuber “discovering” TDR in the last few years. We’re not suggesting that we were actually the ones to discover Tokyo Disneyland. Obviously not, as it had been hugely popular for the prior 30 years–and even during a couple of our 2013 visits, the parks hit capacity.
What we do think is that Tokyo Disney Resort has become a victim of its own success, resting on its laurels even as first-timers still gush about the park. (Longtime Walt Disney World fans probably understand this dynamic very well!) In our view, the Tokyo parks are shadows of their 2019 and earlier selves (see also Why Disney’s #1 Park is Getting 1-Star Reviews).
Of course, that’s the overall guest experience and not the new attractions, which are fantastic. This isn’t to say that Tokyo Disney Resort is “bad” or anything even close to it–there’s a reason why both gates still rank #1 and #2 on our Best & Worst Disney Parks in the World for 2025.
What we are saying is that we want Hong Kong Disneyland to continue its upward trajectory, and keep improving until it’s in the top 3 Disney parks worldwide (which is attainable). For that effort to continue, it needs to see more success…but not too much. So I guess what I’m saying, in a roundabout way, is that you should visit HKDL. But for now, let’s keep this between us. Don’t share the ‘secret’ with your favorite YouTuber or TikToker, who will blow the place up (figuratively, not literally).
The bottom line is that we’re very excited to return to Hong Kong Disneyland later this year for the 20th Anniversary celebration. It’s the park we are looking forward to visit for personal enjoyment more than any other–at least until TDR can get its act together and resume regular operations.
We absolutely adore this charming castle park, and think it’s the perfect add-on during a trip to Asia, perhaps for the new Disney Adventure cruise ship or visits to other theme parks in the region. One thing to note is that, from a practical planning perspective, we absolutely do not recommend visiting in the summer for the celebration kick-off (see Best & Worst Times to Visit HKDL). My hope is that there’s even more coming for Halloween and Christmas, and it’ll be possible to double-dip on the 20th and those holiday festivities.
If you need more to “sell” you on Hong Kong Disneyland, there’s so much more you can’t miss at year-round–including attractions and entertainment exclusive to the park. From the unique Castle of Magical Dreams and the world’s first Frozen-themed land, World of Frozen, to the thrilling Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars and extraordinary Mystic Manor (both entries on Sarah & Tom Bricker’s Top 15 Disney Attractions Worldwide). Hong Kong Disneyland is a great place that deserves to turn into a destination park for international Disney fans.
For the rest of your planning needs, consult our Hong Kong Disneyland Trip Planning Guide. It covers everything you need to know for a visit to HKDL, including reviews, strategy, packing, and more. If you’re visiting the city as well, please consult our Hong Kong City Guide on TravelCaffeine, our non-Disney planning site.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the Hong Kong Disneyland 20th Anniversary celebration entertainment lineup? Will you be visiting for the Most Magical Party of All? If you’ve been to any of the Disney Parks in Asia, how do you think HKDL stacks up? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of this charming little castle park? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
