American visitor Megan Nyvold was left speechless upon her recent Hong Kong Disneyland trip when she encountered the theme park nearly empty. Shocked that there were few people around, she queried in social media comments whether the world was entering into an economic downturn.
“WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE IN DISNEYLAND IS THERE A RECESSION???” Nyvold posted on X, the platform previously known as Twitter. Along with the tweet, she posted several photos of an obviously empty Disneyland—such as one of her riding by herself on an attraction that typically has a considerable wait.
Her tweet quickly went viral, garnering more than 11 million views and causing broad speculation about the park’s atypically quiet atmosphere.
In a subsequent post, Nyvold disclosed that she was at “Hong Kong Disneyland. More people did turn up but not remotely like the ones in the US,” she wrote, referring to the difference between the Hong Kong and US Disney scenes.
Short Waits, Quiet Rides
In her view, the absence of visitors resulted in shorter queues. “I never waited more than 10 minutes except to have photos taken with Disney characters,” she said, adding that the characters seemed to be more in demand than the rides themselves.
Nyvold had arrived at the park at around 9:40 am and reported that it was still comparatively empty until at least 12:30 pm. “The longest part of my day was walking straight through every queue,” she wrote, suggesting the ability to move with ease throughout the park.
Even with the convenience, however, she said she found the overall experience a bit disappointing. “Also, it kind of takes away from budget Disney in terms of food and beverage options. The majority of the restaurants have the same food,” she wrote, sharing photos of pre-packaged food that can be found in the park.
Reactions on Social Media
Many users posted their comments in the comments section. Some wrote that Hong Kong Disneyland was usually less busy than its American equivalents, and others accused Nyvold of lying. She retaliated with further photographs featuring the park still empty at dusk.
Her experience spurred others to speak up. One of them wrote, “I was there in March, it was so busy. Don’t know what happened.” Another was concerned about the pricing difference and wrote, “Does it really cost 245% more for non-Americans to enter?”
Though the exact reason for low turnout is uncertain, Nyvold’s updates have sparked interest regarding the state of tourism in Hong Kong Disneyland.