Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

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The last time we went to Hong Kong Disneyland was back in November 2010.

When I was about 3 months pregnant with Brie.

(Check out my blog posts on that HK Disneyland 2010 trip : Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE)

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We had loads of fun at the time and … never have I imagined that we actually would step into the park again this soon!

With baby Brie with us this time round!

We’re  all SO EXCITED!

(As we walked out of our plane, Anya was jumping around going, ‘Mommy!!! We’re going to HK Disneyland!! WE ARE GOING TO HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!!!!’ Haha.)

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We took LOADS of photos (and videos!) as usual.

We spent TWO days at the park and I’m SO glad I finally managed to sort them out and put together this post to share with you the new rides and our recommended ones!

(Will post another one on the hotel and … food!!)

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Warning : This blog post is PICTURE HEAVY. Get ready to experience Hong Kong Disneyland in pictures with us yeah!! =D

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[Arrived in Hong Kong International Airport!]

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The last time we were in Hong Kong, it was cold and we had to bring along our jeans, jackets, sweaters and all.

This time round, the weather was VERY warm during the day (like, around 31 deg Celsius!).

Which in a way was a good thing too, because it meant we simply packed everything into ONE luggage for our weekend stay in Hong Kong! =D

TIPS:

– Still do bring along a jacket / sweater for the kids! Because although the weather’s very warm during the day, it’s cold on the airplane AND inside the hotel!
– Make sure everyone wears comfortable shoes. We decided that everyone MUST wear socks to avoid blisters and unnecessary discomfort from all the walking around the park!

 

Getting from Hong Kong International Airport to Disney’s Hollywood Hotel was a breeze!

We took a taxi there (must take the green-coloured one!), and reached our hotel within 15 mins!

Cost us around HK$110.

TIPS:

– Charges may apply if you place your baggage in the trunk. Click HERE to read more about taxis in Hong Kong!

 

[Everything was ‘mickey-mousey’ there in Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, even the mirrors =D]

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See, that’s all we brought with us for our weekend getaway :

One large baggage + one stroller + one diaper bag + one camera bag!

TIPS:

– Brie was 15.5 months when we went for this trip, and we let her eat whatever we eat, so I didn’t ‘worry’ about her mealtimes. Do bring along snacks and waterbottles / a sippy cup though (I brought along bread rolls for Brie to munch every now and then as we did spend our ‘whole day’ in Disneyland!)

 

Free shuttle buses are available to take us from the hotel to Disneyland.

They come every 10 minutes or so, and it’s very convenient!

And, we simply placed our folded stroller in its baggage compartment.

 

HERE WE ARE!

We’re officially entering Hong Kong Disneyland!

 

 

Cute park entrance tickets!

Anya immediately went for Jessie and Vai grabbed Rex within two seconds! =D

TIPS: 

– Weekend crowds are huge. Always keep ALL kiddos close with you at all times. Both Anya and Vai were completely ‘briefed’ about such safety precautions

– Grab the Show Schedule Sheet and Guide Map at the entrance. We always referred to it when planning what to watch and which ride we’d like to check out!

 

It’s nice to see how HK Disneyland continually develops new areas and rides!

The most recent additions to the Park that we happily checked out were Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land!

(Keep on reading … will get to the photos taken at these two new areas SOON! =)

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*** MAIN STREET, U.S.A. ***

You MUST catch the Parade called Flights of Fantasy Parade!

It started at 3.30pm when we’re there.

Do check the timing again when you’re there, just in case.

 

 

When we went in November 2010, there wasn’t any Parade because they’re preparing for their Christmas shows.

This time round though, we joined in the crowd and sat on the roadside!

Love seeing the Disney characters LIVE, the colours and celebrative feel of the Parade!

 

[Toy Story!]

[Dancers from ‘Lilo and Stitch’]

[Lion King!]

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TIPS:

– It’s a good idea to familiarise the kids with the Disney characters PRIOR to coming to Disneyland, because when they ‘know’ the characters / stories, they appreciate the shows and the Parade better. They get to feel, ‘OH LOOK! I KNOW THAT ONE!’ =)

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*** TOY STORY LAND ***

We’ve watched the movies – Toy Story one, two and three, and it’s nice to be inside this new addition to the park (which btw, is Asia Exclusive!)

Everything looks wonderfully … familiar! =D

 

 

I’d recommend these two rides: Toy Soldier Parachute Drop and RC Racer!

INFO:
– Minimum height for the Parachute Drop is 81cm, while it’s 120cm for RC Racer.

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Wilson, Anya and I went for the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop!

It was really HIGH and frankly, with my legs dangling away and with no ‘chest bar’ that I could hold on to, it felt too ‘tingly’ for me! Haha. I had to look away  and basically tried to tahan the ‘being dropped’ feeling!

Personally, I prefer this RC Racer below. Really!

 

 

I sat on row number 2 (because I’m not that gutsy, haha!), and as it went VERTICAL, it felt like we’re lifted off our seats and free-falling forward!

Totally can’t imagine what the feeling is like if I were to sit on the FAR BACK!!!

I don’t mind going on it again though!

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*** GRIZZLY GULCH ***

This is like going to a cowboy town!

There’re live singing performances, places for taking photos, water-play area (yes, bring along spare clothes for the kids if you let them play at the Geyser Gulch!)

 

 

AND of course, the not-to-missed roller-coaster ride called ‘Runaway Mine Cars‘!

All four of us went for this!

(while Brie was babysat by our blogger friends and Disney staff! Thanks guys! =)

INFO: 
Minimum height for this ride : 112 cm, and this addition to the park is btw, World exclusive!
(Which means, you cannot find ‘Grizzly Gulch’ anywhere else, other than in Hong Kong!)

[On the roller-coaster ride, … please excuse our faces, haha!]

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*** ADVENTURELAND ***

Two recommended rides in AdventureLand are : The Jungle River Cruise (where you’ll hop on a big boat and go on a little adventure) and the Festival of the Lion King!

If you’re left with very limited time in Disneyland and have to choose only one ride in AdventureLand, I’d really recommend the ‘Lion King’ musical!

It’s our second time watching the show and we still LOVED it!

(Plus, it’s really nice to cool ourselves inside the theatre when it’s scorching hot outside! =)

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*** FANTASYLAND ***

Heaps of rides and shows in FantasyLand!

(Click HERE to see the different ones you can check out!)

We chose to catch these three attractions :

a) 3D Show PhilharMagic (recommended!) 

 

 b) The Golden Mickeys (Strongly recommended!)

It’s where you’ll catch A LOT of your familiar Disney characters, dancing and singing on stage to fantastic choreography and movements.

Personally, … I loved it!

 

 

c) it’s a small world (Recommended, especially if you’re with smaller kids)

It’s a very calm boat ride where you’ll see lots of vibrant colours and costumed dolls representing different countries in the world.

 

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*** TomorrowLand ***

Here we are in one of our favourite parts of Disneyland, TomorrowLand!

WOOHOO!

 

The crowd was rather big that day, and so we chose to immediately go for our favourite ride : Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (Twice! =)

TIPS: 

– If you’ve gotten yourself some FASTPASSES, you can use them here. It’s where you’ll skip the long queue and join the FAST PASS queue (a much much short one!)

 

 

 

Another recommended ride in TomorrowLand is ‘Space Mountain’, BUT it happened to be closed in preparation for an upcoming event, so … we went to catch ‘Stitch Encounter’! Our first time!

It’s an interactive show where the animated character of Stitch is on screen but it communicates LIVE with the audience!

We’re so into it that we forgot to take any photos inside =D

TIPS: 

– Stitch Encounter shows are available in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Do check the show schedules to catch the show in your preferred language!
– Duration is about 20 minutes

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OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS (if you have bigger kids)

We checked out these two attractions too during our trip and I totally recommend it, especially when you have bigger kids above 5yo.

It’s on the Main Street, U.S.A., and it’s called ‘The Art of Animation‘ and ‘Animation Academy‘.

 

 

You see, the last time we went to HK Disneyland, we totally skipped this area.

Frankly, we didn’t even notice that they’re there.

(Like most people who visit HK Disneyland, we went straight for the rides, shops and food places)

 

 

This time, we spotted these two attractions on the map, and my hubby suggested that we should check it out.

Reason:

Our kids play games and watch animated movies, but they have yet to know the amount of effort that animators and artists put into their work!

We feel they should at least know how it all started out with sketches and flip books, and how so many things have evolved over the decades. Plus, we believe that when our kids know more about the history of something, they’d learn to appreciate what they see too.

 

Next door is the Animation Academy and all four of us learned how to draw Goofy!

Another great ‘hands-on’ activity that we feel our bigger kids should be exposed to as well!

 

[My artwork! I tried to re-create Goofy without looking, and err … I couldn’t leh!]

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Anyway.

One of the main attractions that you MUST NOT miss is the Fireworks!

It’s at 7.30pm, and the Fireworks Show is just over the Sleeping Beauty Castle!

The music, the atmosphere, the ambience, the fireworks … it’s just, B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

 

 

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So, that’s Hong Kong Disneyland, through our eyes!

If you’re planning to go and and are wondering if you should go for a one-day or a two-day visit to the Park, I personally would recommend getting a two-day pass, especially if you’re traveling with little ones.

Because, as we all know, such a fun-filled day out, should really be enjoyed with your little ones in your own sweet pace!

If you’ve missed some rides on day one, go for them on day two!

If you love some particular rides, go for them again the next day!

Have fun in Hong Kong Disneyland!!!

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PS: Will do another post on … Hong Kong Disneyland’s FOOD!! Soon!