Hong Kong Disneyland

Our Disney day had finally arrived! It was the first day since we had arrived that the sun had come out. It must be a sign! I also discovered that my parents had never been to the Disneyland in Hong Kong! How could that be?!?!? We caught the free shuttle bus from our hotel to Hong Kong Station where we hopped onto the MTR bound for Tung Chung. We had to change trains at Sunny Bay Station, a station which appeared to be built specifically as an interchange. The Disney details started with the trains on the Disneyland Resort line. There was no mistaking where we were going!

It doesn't take much to figure out where this train was going!

Upon arrival at the Disneyland Resort Station, Malcolm sprinted off to get the remaining tickets for the adults. We managed to manouvre the stroller past the shoving and pushing crowds, and walked towards the sign that indicated that we were very close to our destination. I couldn't suppress my excitement when I saw Mickey surfing the water coming out of the whale's blow hole! By the time we caught up to Malcolm, he was already in the line for entry into the park. There were a lot more people than I expected for a Wednesday (not that I know how crowded it was normally!) And then, my mother announced that the family of the day had already been picked, and it wasn't us! So much for telling the children to behave and "look cute"...The front gates opened to allow guests in on the dot at 10am. We filed in to await the rope drop at 1030. Walking down Main Street felt a little strange. There was still the familiar music in the background but having just been to the one at Walt Disney World, it felt "miniature". I was happy nonetheless striding toward that castle!

The vast Disneyland Resort Station

We're here! Malcolm was off getting tickets

The water feature that greeted guests in front of the entrance

Malcolm had already started lining up when we caught up

You can just see the family of the day in the corner...

Main Street

We made a bee line for Tomorrowland. We headed for Autopia whilst Malcolm went to get fast passes for the HK equivalent of Space Ranger spin (the name escapes me). As it was, we had to wait about 15 minutes to get into a car. We pre-warned the children that there would be no second rides on this particular attraction! The children didn't care. They loved the ride. I have to say that the track was great. It was so green and scenic. It was also very smooth. I have to rate it as much better than the one at WDW. We popped into the neighbouring Space Ranger Spin next. It was always going to be good fun as well for the whole family. As luck would have it, who would appear but Buzz Lightyear himself. The timing couldn't have been better, I had just finished browsing the merchandise. We were literally third to say hello to the great toy. Jonah, however, did not share my excitement and enthusiasm. He could not get far away enough from Buzz. Sigh. He was instead content with the replica.

Our first ride of the day

The lush surroundings

Lara skipping down the exit after the ride

"NOOOOO"

"I want that one Buzz"

It was off to Fantasyland for some lunch. For no particular reason other than that I wanted to walk through the castle! We stopped at Clopin's Festival of Foods for some Asian. The food was pleasantly delicious. I had wondered what the quality of food was going to be like. It was also reasonably priced. With our tummies full, there was no better time to go on the Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh. It appeared that the locals were not very familiar with the fast pass system. Admittedly the line was not super long, but the fast pass still let us on a lot quicker and there was no one else using it! Some tried to follow us in with no fast passes and were thankfully stopped by the CMs. This is when we encountered one of many "toilet" encounters. In front the line, a girl aged about 8, just dropped her pants, squatted and did a wee! The CM was yelling at the child's mother. I had never heard a CM be so stern before and rightfully so. Malcolm was in shock from disbelief for quite some time after that incident. I also saw a few ladies do their business in the toilets with the doors open and a mother catching her son's wee in a plastic bag whilst in the line of a ride. Well the Chinese are definitely not boring!

The small but pretty castle

Fantasyland, beautiful as always

Our lunch stop

The little trouble maker posing

The offerings for lunch

The children waiting patiently, well two were...

The chopsticks and chinese spoon pack along with the obligatory chilli sauce

Lunch

We decided to do the indoors attractions to avoid the heat and so went to the Golden Mickeys next. It was a variation of the show performed on the Disney Cruise Line. The music was as wonderful as ever and I still enjoyed it despite having seen it a couple of times. The best part of the show had to be Tarzan. What an amazing body he had! He came running up the aisle on our side and I was willing him to give me a high five or come close enough for me to touch those fabulous pectorals, but it was not to be. I had to be content with a jellyfish from a rendition of "Under The Sea" from The Little Mermaid.

After the show, we scooted over to the nearby Its A Small World. We thought the theatre would empty into the ride but we were surprised by a walk on into the attraction. The children had a lot of fun spotting the characters from various Disney films along the way.

Abu (excuse the bad photos)

Pocahontas

Woody and Jessie

Taking a rest under the shade of a bridge

Next on the agenda was Adventureland. Our guide was Yo Yo. She was hilarious, half the reason being that we couldn't understand her! She was so animated though and periodically screaming and shrieking out loud. I have to comment here on how pretty Hong Kong Disneyland is. The surrounding scenery is so lush and green, it really adds a special feel to the place. It was also nice to be able to wander around a one day park and enjoy yourself without a plan of attack so to speak.

Trying to cool down before getting on the jungle cruise

Our boat and our guide "Yo Yo"

We had an ice-cream break and decided to do some shopping as it was getting hot and humid. To be honest, the rest of the day was a bit of a blur as we simply wandered around rather aimlessly! It was so unlike me!!!! All I remember was aiming to be in the shops whilst the parade was on. I squeezed myself in, ok I squeezed myself and three children in, and watched the shop empty as the parade started. I was in heaven. I had serious merchandise to purchase! We walked out with multiple bags at the end of the day, including T-shirts, camera strap, nail clipper key chains, key chain, pins, music box, two Dooney & Burke bags (yes two! One was 50% off!), cookies (I loved the tins they came in), hair accessories and other bits of jewelry.

Lara watching the parade from the shop doors as her cruel mother shopped...

A cleaner suddenly started to draw on the road with his broom!

The end result

Somewhere in the day, we lost my parents to exhaustion. They decided to return back to the hotel and we stayed on. We had a mix of Chinese and Indian for dinner. The plan was to eat early so we could go and watch the Festival of The Lion King. Jonah had other ideas. He woke up and threw the biggest wobbly. Needless to say we didn't make the show. We went around the park and went on rides that we have not been on instead. Space Mountain was awesome! The beginning was truly pitch black and you COULD NOT see where you were going. Definitely the best and most funky of the lot.

The calm before the storm...

Indian

Hainanese chicken rice

The very fun Tarzan's House. The view from the top was amazing.

The very lush surroundings once again. View of the loading station of the Jungle Cruise

A most beautiful statue of Aurora and her prince. Everyone else just walked past it without stopping!

Very happy children waiting for the carousel

Who would have thought that Jonah would love the tea cups!

The castle in the evening

The rest of the day went by very quickly. We stopped for a snack before heading home. I love it how you can get Hong Kong milk tea in Disneyland! The children had pineapple fleecy. It was actually very nice! We also bought the worst doughnut I have ever had in my life. You know its bad when ALL three children refuse to eat more! We left for home exhausted but very happy. Even though it is a small park, the Disney magic is still there. It is definitely a great park to start with, and a great park with younger children. We had the most wonderful day and we can't wait to go to the original Disneyland come September!

Lara's collection of stickers

Elliot engrossed on the MTR on the way home

What he was engrossed with

Jonah determined to put the stickers on himself

Our loot!