onemorenightwithyou Posted June 30, 2006 Posted June 30, 2006 So I admit, I'd been lurking around this site for a while, and I finally decided to sign up for the forums after looking at all the amazing Photo Trip Reports on this site. And now I've finally decided to do one! A little background on how I ended up visiting Hong Kong Disneyland. My parents decided to have a family reunion (I was born in Hong Kong, moved to Canada when I was three) after my winter exams ended (in April) They planned a two week trip (the real reason why we decided to go to Hong Kong is because my grandfather is unwell and my dad worried that I might never be able to see him again). As luck would have it, I didn't get to go to either Disneyland or Ocean Park. My parents packed the schedule so I could see person x, y, and z, people who I'd never met or whom I'd seen only when I was a toddler. However, amazingly for me, my uncle heard that I didn't have a summer job, so he offered me one to work for him as a Student Research Assistant at the University of Hong Kong. The pay sucks, but who cares, I'm in Hong Kong, with a free room, boarding, and internet! I'm in paradise. My dad's cousin offered to take me to Disneyland, and who was I to refuse? I'd heard all the horror stories about the park, from the people spitting and pissing and how the park was small, but I decided to see it for myself. On the Friday, I got up, and I turned on my television to see a yellow rainfall warning, which basically means downpours. I grabbed my umbrella and hoped it wouldn't rain. After using my Octopus card (yes the same Octopus card as Robb used), I made my way towards the Disneyland Resort. However, it started pouring, and I mean pouring. I found my relatives, who were all huddled in a gondola waiting for me at the Disneyland Resort Stop. I was even surprised that there were other people there. I had only seen it rain that heavily in Guyana, and that was in the middle of a jungle. My dad's cousin bought the tickets (they had 2 for 1 admission for HK residents), and we entered the park. The park was almost empty, but then again, it was really pouring. This is when I thought of this forum, and started trying to take pictures. However, it was so humid that my camera fogged up (there aren't many pictures of HK Disneyland therefore). So the PTR will mostly be a TR, but there will be some pictures at the end. In order of the rides and shows: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR This was the first ride we went to. It is the favorite of my second cousin, and since it was her idea to go to the park, she chose where to go. Apparently it's one of the most popular rides in HK Disneyland, and apparently on any good day there's a good hour line, so I was extremely happy when we just walked on the ride with no line. I'd never been on a Buzz Lightyear ride (when I went to Magic Kingdom at WDW the line was way too long (and my parents weren't thrilled about it). But I can say that it is a good ride, as evident when we rode over, and over, and over again. We rode a good dozen times the entire day, and I got better and better and better at scoring points. We on average hit at least 450,000 points each by the last ride, it was awesome. The fact that it was inside and air conditioned didn't hurt either. SPACE MOUNTAIN Now, I've been on two other Space Mountain's (the ones at WDW and the original in DLR), so I knew what to expect. My dad's cousin rode with me, and I was very happy again, that there was no line (am I guessing a theme is starting to build up?) The ride is alright, however, there is one point where I felt it was a little rough (there was a turn that felt out of place among the ride about half way into the ride). It didn't hurt or anything, but I wasn't expecting it (not on Space Mountain). I rode it again later, and it hit me at the same spot (maybe I'm paranoid or something). Overall, it was a great ride though, especially with it being a walk-on. MICKEY'S PHILHARMAGIC Because it was pouring again, we decided to go see this show. All I have to say about this show is that it was well done, which is pretty surprising. I didn't expect to get sprinked on, which happened, but it was a well done show (especially with Donald at the end). JUNGLE RIVER CRUISE We weren't about to go on this (my little second cousin didn't like it), but we saw that it had no lines, so we went on it anyways. Good ride, the navagator was a little sarcastic (it didn't help that his English sucked), but fire and arrows and hippos and elephants can't hurt, can it? Good ride, typically Disney. THE GOLDEN MICKEYS Another show we watched because it was raining. It was a good live performance (but it was painfully obvious that the performers were lip-singing). My little second cousin loved the bubbles and the ribbons that were released. There was a huge fight to pick-up the most ribbons, it was actually kind of humerous. LUNCH Now, I expected to get ripped off, after all, it's Disney. However, I was surprised that the prices were pretty low (maybe it's Hong Kong). Most of the food was Chinese style, and it was pretty good. The mango pudding in the shape of Mickey's ears made it taste even better. FLAT RIDES (WINNIE THE POOH, DUMBO, ORBITRON, CAROUSEL) All decent rides (except for the outdoor ones, which have marks deducted because of the rain). FESTIVAL OF THE LION KING The best out of the three shows. I'd seen Lion King (the Broadway musical), so it was nice to see a similar show. Well worth the half an hour wait we had in the rain. In the middle of all of this we hopped back and forth from Buzz Lightyear to each and every single other attraction. There were also fireworks, which was kinda weird, because I'd never seen fireworks in pouring rain. All in all, a great day. It was great because there weren't a lot of people there, and every ride we rode there was only a brief, if any wait for. Perhaps if the lines were as long as they could have been, then it wouldn't have been as good. The pictures for this Photo TR will be in the post below. I will be going to Ocean Park on the 16th of July, so I will post those pictures up when I get there. I will also post up some wild and wacky pictures of Hong Kong (as it seemed that everyone liked the pictures that Robb posted when he came to Hong Kong). I can also answer any Hong Kong questions, as I probably can answer them better, or ask someone directly.
onemorenightwithyou Posted June 30, 2006 Author Posted June 30, 2006 So here are the pictures that I took when I went to Hong Kong Disneyland. (There aren't a lot, mainly because the camera kept on fogging up because of the humidity). But here they are anyways... "Mommy, where can we go where it isn't raining?" Elissa, you have some competition when it comes to Chip 'n Dale! We saw a lot of these in the park. "Let me get out of the rain!" Something about Disney and phallic symbols anyone? Everyone with Minnie but me... My little second cousin with Minnie. We were surprised at how short the line was to meet the characters... The Chinese translates to "If you don't recycle, he'll send you to a place where the sun don't shine!" Thank goodness for the poncho my dad's cousin bought me, or I'd be soaked after riding Dumbo... oh wait, my legs and my shoes were soaked... stupid rain... A shot of the Golden Mickeys. Wasn't allowed to use flash, so it's not the best picture ever. Kinda weird to see Asians playing cowboys. The window for the subway train that heads to the HKD resort.
onemorenightwithyou Posted June 30, 2006 Author Posted June 30, 2006 Continuation of my Photo TR from HKD Resort: Hey, you're on the wrong set! This isn't Star Wars, this is Finding Nemo! The best part about this picture??? The little bunnies... Ahh... rodents... is there anything you don't like about them? Disney has replaced their security guards with people dressed up in Mickey costumes. This results in a decrease in crime, as people are constantly in fear of beatdowns by Mickey! (a la the Simpsons) Gotta love the "Asian" Mickey! The rain stopped just enough for the parade to start... but started again, causing the parade to be "abandoned"
SharkTums Posted June 30, 2006 Posted June 30, 2006 Thanks for the TR! Glad you had a good time, we really enjoyed the park. Also, thanks for visiting my rodents and giving them some much needed love. Hope you have time to visit Ocean Park and post a TR!
onemorenightwithyou Posted July 1, 2006 Author Posted July 1, 2006 Elissa, hopefully I'm going to be going on the 16th of July... I pray it doesn't rain though, I'd actually like a little bit of sunshine in Hong Kong right now.
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