Disney Land Hong Kong was a blast. I have always loved everything Disney and never had a chance to get to either of the destinations in the US. But Since I was going to be in Hong Kong for Halloween which is a pretty big holiday in the US and one of my favorites, I decided that I would the visit US style themed park on Halloween.
First there was getting to the park I got the Day pass for the MTR for Disney land at the customer service desk. And made sure I had my route. What is great is Disney Land has its own stop on the MTR line and they even have their own Train at the connection station. The train has Mickey Mouse windows on every car and even the hand rings are shaped like Mickey. I love it because if you are on this train you are only going to one place and everyone is so excited you can feel the energy on the train. No one is napping, that is for sure, unless they are on their way back home from a long day of fun.
Once I got off the train at the station I tell you, it took me 45 min to get to the gate, to get into the park. Not for lines or anything like that. There were just lots of cool stuff in route and I was stopping every few seconds to take pictures, and check out the displays. I really liked the Water Fountain with the Mickey Surfing the Whales Blowhole! I watched that go up and down a few times before heading towards the gate.
I love Disney’s villains. For Halloween 2010 the villain on display was Maleficent in her human and Dragon form. She is one of my favorite of all time and the Dragon was impressive and inside the park the dragon fountain was a popular spot for night shots.
Once inside the park My favorite attractions were:
In Main Street USA they have the old fashioned look of many small town historic main streets. It felt like I walked into an open air museum. There are many souvenir shops lining either side of Main Street before it opens up to the rest of the park. They had the marching band that stopped and played a few folk songs for us but the highlight was when they played Michael Jackson’s Thriller which was priceless. They even did a little dance for us too, and the crowd they drew tripled quickly. So it was a fight to get pictures but it was so worth it! Tourist from every culture stopped to share a Michael Moment it was great fun and a wonderful memory in travel.
Adventure Land and the rides around Tarzan’s Tree house are great. I took the boat ride. This river ride was great and interactive fun. They have props lining either side of the river with everything from Elephants that spray water to Rhinos chasing poachers up trees and even bathing hippos. They do save the best for last but you should see that for yourself (I can’t give away all the secrets of Disney Magic). You will not want to miss it. This river tour is guided and is in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. They have a line for each language, so make sure you are in the correct line you can participate. I also played in Tarzan’s Tree house; this is great with or without children and nice for photo taking too.
The Golden Mickey’s Award Show was very nice. Some of the most popular songs were showcased and they gave out awards to the top Disney characters. This show was in Chinese with subtitles on the monitors. The songs were in English so if you have children that don’t understand Cantonese they will still enjoy the show I would imagine. It’s still very lively and they use the entire space so you feel like you are part of the program. The lines are very long and if you want a seat you should have to go there early and be prepared to be there for a while. Have some snacks on hand for your wait and you cannot take Video of the show.
I really enjoyed Disney on Parade as well. They do this a few times a day and the route is roped off so you know where to stand. If you are lucky you can get really close the action. You should get there early if you can especially if you are going to set up a tripod because space is in high demand. The costumes were great and the actors super cute. Great as well for older kids that don’t have super short attention spans. See if they can name all the Disney characters. My favorites in the parade were the Alice in Wonderland dancing flowers and the Dancing movie reels. This is a popular event so there will be lots of people lined up. Go early to get your spot, be kind and courteous, and understanding. Remember everyone is just trying to have a good time so don’t let small stuff get in your way and ruin your experience. There will be lots of excited/cranky/tired children everywhere so if you cannot deal with that you may want to skip it or change where you are standing.
For a quick connect between attractions you can ride the Train on Hong Kong Disney Land Railroad. It’s a welcome break if you have been walking around the park all day but you want to get to the next park. Take the train and rest your legs, get out of the sun and catch your second wind. The best part is you sit facing the park so you don’t have to sit on a particular side and everyone can see the entire park during the ride.
The World of Disney crosses time and distance, the magic translates to every culture and over comes all language barriers. I did not regret one minute spent in Hong Kong Disney Land. Worth every cent spent.
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