M - I - C...
K - E - Y...
M - O - U - S - E!!
YAHOOO!!We made it to Hong Kong Disneyland!!!!!!!!!
And we got in for free too!!!
Thank you so much to our super cousin Yael Alano Pineda for the freebie!!
She's currently performing as The Storyteller at the awesome and beautiful Festival of The Lion King over at Adventure/Pirate-land.
Ladies and gents...
Here she is..
The supremely talented Yael Alano Pineda!
We're so proud of you Ya!
Ain't she grrrreat?!?!
Yael even got us some cool discounts over at the Disney Main Street Store.
Thanks again cuz!Zachy got a snazzy Mickey hat and a Mickey Light Thingy.
While Cara stashed away a colorful Cat Light-Chaser!
We then headed over to the Main Street Bakery to grab some grub-a-dub.
The bakery's got some cheap goods.The sausage dog is like HK$18
The pizza is around HK$20.
Perfect for bringing around the park.
Main Street is so amazing.
Each shop is neatly integrated into the Main Street Design Theme.
So you feel like you're in a Hollywood set, except everything's fully functional.
Every little detail is penciled in.
From the uniforms, the wallpaper and decor, the props, the fixtures.....
I kinda forgot about that since the last time I went to Disneyland was like a really long time ago.
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Anyway, we continued heading down Main Street and turned right towards....
(Yael said goodbye as she had to get ready for her afternoon show.)We then moseyed on down to the first ride of the day:
Due to the stroller situation, Zachy and Rosabel took first dibs on Space Mountain while Cara and I explored Tomorrowland.It was rainin' a bit so Cara and I chilled out by the UFO Zone - Water Park underneath the Autopia racetrack.
After a few short minutes, Zachy and Rosabel trooped out to meet us.
Rose was like:
"Gab! You have to try it!"
And I was like:
"Aight!"
Like I said earlier, it's been a real, real long time since my last Disney visit.
So I kinda forgot what Space Mountain was all about.
However, as I was heading into the ride, the memories started to flood back n.
OMG.
This ride is supposed to be SCARY.
I freaked out on this ride the last time out!
And of course, when I finally got to the space coaster -- they made me sit at the very FRONT.
ARG!!!!
So up and up and up we went into the dark, starry night...
(FYI - It's pitch black inside the ride. All you can see are simulated stars and galaxies. The ride is supposed to make you feel like you're hurtling around in space...DUH!!)
and down and very,very, very fast we went and bent!!
As I was turning pale in my seat, two things cropped up in my head:
Number 1: How the heck did Zachy get through this???
Number 2: Is my head going to be chopped off by a stray steel beam? Did they design this ride for 6'4" guys??
After a few more agonizing minutes, the ride was over.
Uuuuhhhhh..... dizzzzyyyy..........
As per Rosabel, Zachy was super excited of the ride at first.
And then, he had his head buried in Rosabel's lap the rest of the way.
I think I did the same thing with my Mom when we rode the ride together.
Like Dada, Like Son.
Now THIS Tomorrowland ride was more like it.
BUZZ LIGHTYEAR ASTRO BLASTERS!!
"Team up with Buzz Lightyear and spin your Star Cruisers 360 degrees while you fire movable, hand-held laser cannons.
Blast enemy targets and amass points, then compare your score with other Space Rangers or go for a personal best. Climb up the Space Ranger ranks as your scores soar to astronomical heights each time you play.
Save the galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg and WOW your friends and family."
Rosabel's top score was around 249,000. (Level 4)Zachy almost matched her with 220,000. (Level 4 too!)
Whilst cousin Ryan beat us all with around 400,000 pts! (Level 6!)
There were hardly any lines to the rides at HK Disney that day.
So it was a breeze to check them all out!
Zachy rode the Buzz Lightyear ride like 6 times!!
The longest we had to wait was for around 10 mins only over at the Jungle Cruise.
It also wasn't too crowded in the park.
At times, most of the areas would be half-empty and "tranquil".
Sarap to just sit in a bench and relax.
That was probably because it was the off-peak rainy season.
According to Yael, Hk Disney can get super-duper full.
In fact, it got so crowded that one time during the peak lunar season '06, parents tossed their children up and over the Disney fences!!
So please - for the love of sanity - DO NOT plan your HK Disneyland vacation during the Chinese New year months!!
Around February-ish.
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We decided to head over to Adventure - slash - Pirate land next.
Cap'n Jack Sparrow was in da house.
We weren't able to take a picture with him though as he had to go on a (rum) break.
No problem...
Coz' we gots da Photoshop!
Our next ride was the classic
JUNGLE RIVER CRUISE.
It's basically a boat that goes around a man-made lagoon to simulate a "duh!!" --> cruise on a jungle river.
Oh yea?
But does a REAL Jungle river cruise have...
Animatronic Water Squirting Elephants?
Animatronic Crocs?
Animatronic Advanced Apes?
Animatronic Chompin' Hippos?
Animatronic Rhinos chasing Animatronic human porters up a pole?
Animatronic Natives Shooting Darts at you?
(No Gab --
they ALL real in Africa you dufus)
Heck!
Everything's animatronic...
Except for this part of the ride...
It was DISASTER- HEAT-O-TRONIC!!
We could really feel the heat from them flames!!
I wish our "English-speaking?" river guide was animatronic too.
Coz he had this really irritating, whiny pitched voice.
You couldn't understand a WORD he was saying!
It was like he was doin' it on purpose.
Purposeful High-Pitched Whiny Ramblin..
HEY YA DIRTY LITTLE SCOUNDRELS!!!
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There are 2 things you MUST see and do when you are at HK Disney.
(in no order - mind ya)
First - ya gotta watch the shows --
namely, The Golden Mickeys and The Festival of the Lion King.
Second - ya absolutely, definitely have to watch
THE DISNEY PARADE at 330pm
THIS
IS
THE
DISNEY PARADE.
We never knew that we would get affected so much by watching a parade.
I mean, I had tears in my eyes after Mickey and the others crossed by.
It was so enjoyable and sentimental.And it was so vibrant and grand.
Disneyland’s the only place where you can see a magical-specatacular-spectacle like that.
Maybe it's also because we grew up with all those Disney characters.
(No Spongebob and/or Cartoon Network during our young days)
All those years watchin' em on the silver screen caused us to develop a special affinity and bond to most things Disney.
And now... seeing them in person... actually brings out an innate joy.
A childlike innocence that we haven’t felt before in a long time.
Something so pure and untouched... so clean and white… so neat and bright....
WHAT The?!?
Hehehehehehehe!!
THAT DISNEY PARADE REALLY, REALLY MADE OUR DAY!!
It was so wonderful!!!!
BTW, Here's Cindy... wasn't able to catch her on the earlier parade video coz' she was at the back of the castle.
********************
We finally caught/met up with the Supah Castillos at the entrance of the Festival of the Lion King at around 430pm.
They were just as exhausted as us and they were ready to go back to the hotel after a jaunt to Tomorrowland.
Not us though.
We still had to watch The Golden Mickeys and check out Fantasyland!!
I really loved the Royal Banquet Hall.
It had that super romantic fairytale feel.
Like check out the detail!
High-arched celings, ornate light fixtures and "carved" marble columns!
And I swear!
I felt like I was in Europe!!!
Or at Gaston's crib.
Whatta nicelooking chandlier!
The hall even had a beautiful mural of The Mulan, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast couples dancin'.
How positively morantic!
Tale as old as time............... doo dee doo dee doo doo.......
The Dumbo ride was pretty neat.
Unlike The Pooh Adventure which Zachy and Rosabel found real boring
You can actually control Dumbo by moving the joystick inside the ride upwards and downwards.
50 centavos to you- if you can spot me and Zachy.
Make that 15 centavos....
We then moved on quickly to catch "The Golden Mickeys" show at 630pm.
My friend from De La Salle Zobel High school - Noel Rayos - was actally part of the show!!
He’s the surfer dude in the vid (carrying the surfboard on the left side) and he plays Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame
(In case you didn’t notice the HUNCHBACK – he’s the dude in green!!)
I was so pissed about not catching his Quasimodo performance on my videocam.
Arg...
But someone else on You Tube was able to record the performance.
Yehey!
Here's the footage of Noel and his golden voice!
Somehow, we actually made eye contact during the show as he was carrying the surfboard through the aisle right next to us.
(I got to talk to him over Yael's cel earlier in the morning)
He kept on waving and saying hi to us at the end of the show.
And so did we.
Well, I hope he did.
Otherwise, I might have been hallucinating or somethin....
After the great Golden Mickeys, we doubled back to Fantasyland so we could ride the Mad Hatter Tea Cups!
And lo' and behold we all rode it at the same time!!!!!!!!
Zachy and Rose on one teacup.
Cara and I on another one.
Zachy loved the teacups.
He wanted to go for a 3rd time and we were like...
No Dizzyin' WAY!!!
Instead, we decided to head back to the adjacent Tomorrowland to zap some more of Emperor Zurg and his evil robots.
But before that, we tried out the Orbitron, which was now devoid of ANY lines whatsoever!
And we rode together ONE MORE G+R+Z+C TIME!!
Rose and Cara then went ahead to the Starliner Diner to order our dinner while Zachy and I trotted back to Buzz Blasters.
We rode it like 3 times over!
I had enuff of the Buzz Ride so and I just reviewed my precioussssssss camera footage as Zachy was blasting away!
We were so hungry and "happy" tired by the time we got back together at Starliner Diner.
Rose and Cara had already started eating by that time.
(It was already 730pm – we got to the park at like 11am)
HK Disney showcases fireworks as the last major attraction before the park closes at 8 pm.
So we moved our chow to one of the outdoor tables in order to watch the fireworks.
It was pretty relaxing where were were.
Chompin' down on some much-needed, tasty food and sittin down watchin some awesome fireworks.
(Albeit, the effect would have been a lil' better if we were in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.)
After the fireworks, the Disney staff subtly closes the "lands" and then they politely shoo you away towards the park exit and the Main Street shopping areas.
(But of course!)
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky
A whole new world
With new horizons to pursue
I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new woooo-rrrrr-llld!!
Disneyland was so much fun.
Many people say that it’s too small etc. etc.
It doesn’t compare to other Disneylands..... bla bla bla...
Heller! Didn't HK Disney just open only 2.75 years ago ??!
Let me tell ya this...
For 2 parents with a gregarious 5 year-old and a cutesy one.5 year-old
HK DISNEYLAND WAS AWESOMELY PERFECT!!!!
(to be continued)
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P.S.:
*The Golden Mickeys are narrated and conversed in Chinese but the songs are sung in English. (Donna worry, coz' they got flat screen tvs on the sides of the stage with English subtitles)
*Please wear good shoes. There's MUCHO walking involved. Running shoes/trainers should do the trick. :)
*Teenagers (like Ryan) would enjoy Ocean Park a little more because it has a fair number of teen/grown-up rides as compared to Disneyland.
*Holy Cow! Check out the new stuff to come in late 2007/2008!!
From Wiki and the HK Disney source:
On December 14, 2006, the Hongkong International Theme Parks announced three forthcoming attractions for 2007/2008.
1) It's A Small World
This update of the classic Disneyland ride will be located in Fantasyland and boast 30 additional characters from Disney films; previously unseen Chinese, Middle Eastern, North American and Hong Kong's scenes and a new optical effect not seen in other versions of the ride.
2) Mickey's WaterWorks
A summer water-themed parade, due to open in Hong Kong's Summer 2007.
3) Animation Academy
Where guests will learn how to draw Disney style.
It will be located on Main Street, USA.
Some other planned attractions:
* “The Haunted Mansion"
* “Raging Spirits”
* “Peter Pan’s Flight”
* "Pirates of the Caribbean"
Some other planned themed lands:
* Frontierland
* Mickey's Toontown
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