Hong Kong no Phooey TR (Apr 2012)! The Yee's have it....TR finish #1101, 07/09

[zanzibar138]

Awesome pics! Glad you had a bit better spot this time around!

 

[simzac]

Terrific TR and even better photos. One question if I may. Do you ever feel you missed out on seeing everything you could see because you were always shooting photos. I for one like to take everyting in, and keep a mental record of what I saw. Taking pictures always makes me feel like I'm missing half of the trip. Hope you truly had time to enjoy the vacation also. Thanks again for a great TR. Only took me 10 days to get caught up to this point. Can't wait to enjoy the rest of it. Bill

 

[dgbg100106]

I love the lion king production... Beautiful pictures...

 

[kmedina]

Glad you got a better view of the show. Lovely shots. The aerialist shot is amazing.

Do you ever feel you missed out on seeing everything you could see because you were always shooting photos. I for one like to take everyting in, and keep a mental record of what I saw. Taking pictures always makes me feel like I'm missing half of the trip.

My husband feels the exact same way you do. I've heard him complain about this before. I love taking a lot of pictures, and he loves enjoying the moment. Stupidly, I allowed him to be in charge of the camera last trip (since carrying and nursing our baby) kept me busy. Reviewing the pictures, there were days where he barely took photos at all. He will never be in charge of the camera again even though he is better at taking pictures than I am.

 

[aussietravellers]

Have just caught up on the TR.

The shots of FOTLK are awesome!

Oh and I'm still singing the Small World song in my head too by the way, read that pages back

 

[jacs1234]

I've really enjoyed your TR and photos. Thank you so much for taking the time to do it. We hope to mak it to HKDL one day. Planning a trip to Paris with a stopover in Hk but waiting for our money tree to bloom. I must try your trick of the water from the fountain of youth.
So is 3 days enough in HKDL?

 

[usnuzuloose]

As always fantastic pictures! Even though you take the photo's it seems you still enjoy what you are photographing.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Awesome pics! Glad you had a bit better spot this time around!

Thanks! I was glad to have a better spot this time round too. No heads in the way.

Terrific TR and even better photos. One question if I may. Do you ever feel you missed out on seeing everything you could see because you were always shooting photos. I for one like to take everyting in, and keep a mental record of what I saw. Taking pictures always makes me feel like I'm missing half of the trip. Hope you truly had time to enjoy the vacation also. Thanks again for a great TR. Only took me 10 days to get caught up to this point. Can't wait to enjoy the rest of it. Bill

Hey! It's another DisDad!

Thanks for making your way out of the man cave and all the way over here. I really appreciate it.
10 days to catch up???? I appreciate the staying power even more!

Your question is something that I seem to get asked a LOT....especially if I'm not in the Dis photoboard subforum.
I don't think that I miss out on the mental record. Especially at Disney....where I'm usually doing each attraction at least twice or 3 times. That's one of the things about taking pictures at Disney....totally repeatable and predictable in the rides and shows makes for perfect picture shooting practice. For me, that's half the fun. And my DH used to be the photographer in the family, so that makes 2 photonuts eager to be snappy happy.
Besides, I was conscious about being a good community Disboard member....and am considering this as part of community service.


I suspect that when we move on the Hong Kong side of things that you'll see the noticeable difference in picture volume. With Hong Kong, there were a lot of things that were new and different. So, we did take more time to enjoy the surrounds FIRST and then work out what pictures to take. There are less pictures in the Hong Kong section than at the Disney section.

I love the lion king production... Beautiful pictures...

Glad you got a better view of the show. Lovely shots. The aerialist shot is amazing.



My husband feels the exact same way you do. I've heard him complain about this before. I love taking a lot of pictures, and he loves enjoying the moment. Stupidly, I allowed him to be in charge of the camera last trip (since carrying and nursing our baby) kept me busy. Reviewing the pictures, there were days where he barely took photos at all. He will never be in charge of the camera again even though he is better at taking pictures than I am.

There is always a balance to be found between taking pictures and enjoying the moment.

Have just caught up on the TR.

The shots of FOTLK are awesome!

Oh and I'm still singing the Small World song in my head too by the way, read that pages back

Now look what you've done. I've just about managed to excise that song from my memory banks....and you dredge it up all over again!

I've really enjoyed your TR and photos. Thank you so much for taking the time to do it. We hope to mak it to HKDL one day. Planning a trip to Paris with a stopover in Hk but waiting for our money tree to bloom. I must try your trick of the water from the fountain of youth.
So is 3 days enough in HKDL?

Hey Jacs! Nice to see you around. Been a while! Hope you and the family are well.

We stayed 3 nights at HKDL and had a 2 day pass to the park. A 2 day park pass is the maximum that they sell right now.

You can always buy a one day pass or a Magic Access (AP) pass....if you needed extra days.

Even with me taking heaps of photos i.e., extra time at some attractions, I found that we could pretty much cover the entire park in the 2 days. Of course it didn't help that our visit coincided with the Mainland Chinese holidays; but still...we managed.

The extra time allowed us to really enjoy the resort.

But I will say that making HKDL as the major destination stop is difficult to justify. If you're visiting HKDL because it is convenient as a stopover or as an addition to the HK trip, then that should be fine.

Of course, this will depend on whether Mystic Point and Grizzly Gulch live up to expectations or not; when they open.

I will be re-iterating this comment again in my next update.

As always fantastic pictures! Even though you take the photo's it seems you still enjoy what you are photographing.

Yes, I've got bitten by the photography bug.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Loving the show. Well I have to go to HKDL now-and DD has to come-LK is her favourite movie and the show just looks fantastic. We were rapt in the AK version and this looks even better since as you said it tells the story. Add Tarzan's Treehouse on an island-which is so much better a setting - and I'm sold. Sounds like we need to time it for after one or two of the new attractions are open..talking of which I now have to do some homework and read up more about them..but bed is calling with work tomorrow (sigh!)

 

[franandaj]

Awesome pictures! As usual! I hope to be seeing that show in about 4-5 days! Thanks for getting me all excited!

 

[Princess_Melanie]

My 1st post on this epic report THANK YOU for such an amazing job so far!!

Really loving the information and all the detail and pictures I am the type of person who is happy to sit for hours with friends looking thru their vacation pictures!!

We just booked our trip to HK today - the DVC reservation was confirmed this morning and we just booked the flights - we'll be staying in in Disney but doing as much of HK as we can, so I for one cannot wait for the non-Disney part of your trip too!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Loving the show. Well I have to go to HKDL now-and DD has to come-LK is her favourite movie and the show just looks fantastic. We were rapt in the AK version and this looks even better since as you said it tells the story. Add Tarzan's Treehouse on an island-which is so much better a setting - and I'm sold. Sounds like we need to time it for after one or two of the new attractions are open..talking of which I now have to do some homework and read up more about them..but bed is calling with work tomorrow (sigh!)

I definitely thought that the HK version was better than the one in WDW...only because it was truer to the movie.
Have a good day at work.

Awesome pictures! As usual! I hope to be seeing that show in about 4-5 days! Thanks for getting me all excited!

I'll be looking out for your TR!

My 1st post on this epic report THANK YOU for such an amazing job so far!!

Really loving the information and all the detail and pictures I am the type of person who is happy to sit for hours with friends looking thru their vacation pictures!!

We just booked our trip to HK today - the DVC reservation was confirmed this morning and we just booked the flights - we'll be staying in in Disney but doing as much of HK as we can, so I for one cannot wait for the non-Disney part of your trip too!!

Thanks for stopping by and welcome to this TR. I just noticed your post about going in November. I think this "epic" might be done before then.

How long are you going for?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Disneyland “transportation hub”


There was something wrong with the sound system for FotLK. It broke down 3 times during the performance. I have to say that the cast were terrific and well-rehearsed in how to stop and leave the stage. The upshot of this was that the 30 minute show ended up closer to 45 minutes.

By this stage, DH and DS had long deserted me. They had gotten into Stitch and had decided to head back to the hotel. I guess it was to be expected. It was a hot and humid day; major crowds (despite being a Monday) and a little more pushing and shoving than we had thought.

In any event, I needed to get my tripod so I headed on back to the hotel as well. Naturally the boys were at the pool. The surprising thing as that my mother was there too. She and my dad had decided to enjoy the high tea option in the Grand Salon. After a little family discussion, DS decided he didn’t want to head back to the park for the fireworks and my mother kindly offered to stay with him so that DH and I could enjoy the fireworks.


So that’s what happened. Knowing that all the queues were going to be a case of push and shove, DH and I decided we were going to be shooting night shots.


It was at this point that we decided to give Disney transport a first look. To date, we’d used our feet to get us to and from the park. Tonight….we caught the bus.

From the Disneyland Hotel, the bus stops at the Hollywood Hotel before heading into the transport hub at the park.

The hub is located at the other side of the fountain, maybe 25 - 50 m away.

Can you see the building in the right hand side? That’s the Disneyland Train Station and if you are catching the train in from Hong Kong city, this is where you’ll eventually end up. We were to explore it further the next day.

There is only one reason or one person that I’m posting this picture for. If you’re lurking, you know who you are!

It takes about 15 minutes by bus to get to the park. It was taking me about 10 – 15 minutes to walk. Either option is good, depending on how you feel about walking.




(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Last night at the Park and a most serious discussion


Re-entry into the park is relatively simple with a 2-day park pass. After bag check, you insert your ticket into the machine and place your finger on the reader for fingerprint check. This is much the same as with the US parks.


However, I understand that if you only have a day pass, you will need to get a hand stamp on your way out if you wish to re-enter the park. Coming across a single day pass holder at WDW is rare but more common at DLR.

So, I am used to the hand stamp system at DLR.

What was interesting was that the person 2 in front of me was trying to re-enter HKDL but did NOT have a hand stamp. It might have been an isolated incident but it made me wonder how common that is for this park???



Anyway, DH and I had managed to get back to the park just as the sun was beginning to set.

Check out the difference in cloud colour in the space of 2 minutes!

Yes….crowded!

We tried to get into a couple of shops in Main Street but figured there was no point given the checkout queues.

I did make the effort at the Bakery….would you believe that at 7 pm, they were nearly sold out?

These were the only two line items still available in the shop.

Yup. 4 donuts and about 8 Tira Misu cups. That was it for stock in the bakery.



DH and I headed for Fantasyland. Specifically here…

I just caught the tail end of the top of the hour opening.

FWIW - Queue time was out to 50 minutes. We weren’t seriously looking for a repeat dose of that single track anyway.

DH and I had other things to amuse ourselves with.

It was here…that a very serious discussion and important question got raised by DH. One that I had never thought he would ever say….EVER!



The discussion continued in this location.

Things were definitely moving too fast for me!

…and we were definitely spinning circles in the discussion for a while.

Yup. No doubt about it. DH was definitely serious!

Even when the conversation started to slow down, I still couldn’t believe what DH was asking and proposing.

I would need some time to consider the implications.


(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Off-Kilter Fireworks



I’d been distracted by DH proposal. Would you believe that he thought it was time he claimed the camera back for his own? And he was deadly serious about it!

For those not aware, we bought the camera I am shooting with – my camera – originally intended for DH about 2 years ago. He had use of it for WDW in May 2010 and when we came home, the camera stayed in the bag for 2 months. I repeat…the very expensive toy stayed in the bag for 2 months.

And then I found the photo scavenger hunt on the Dis and after 3 weeks, the camera became mine. It’s been mine now for over 18 months….and he wants it BACK?????


It was no wonder that I lost track of time.



By the time, I’d realised the time, it was way late. We should have been staking out a position for the fireworks 30 minutes ago.


We had to take the long way round (through Tomorrowland) in order to get to the front of the castle. By this stage, there were a ton of people around. I had thought to set up in Main Street somewhere but between the crowd and the lateness of the time, there was no way we were going to get a decent position for the shoot. In any event, we were stuck in the human traffic and we had to go with the flow.

We ended up in front of the castle and found a spot to the side. I barely had time to set up the tripod before the show started; and there was no time to check my metering.

Just a reminder – my firework shots tonight are not in the same calibre as on night 1. I was just a little off-kilter and my timing was also a little off. I definitely had more ending up in the delete basket than in the keep file. Having said that, they still aren’t a bad set of shots.

I think you can just about make out the montage projections on the castle wall in this one.

And all those people….still sitting!

I do wish that I had that extra 5 minutes to check the castle metering but I was a little floored by DH; and his proposal was something that I would ponder for the next week.





(Continued in the Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Saying Goodbye to the Park



With two nights of fireworks shooting, I think I've finally made some peace with those firework gods. I finally have a set of firework pictures with a castle in them.

After the firework show, the CMs were determined to close the park. There would be no repeat performance of being able to sneak into Tomorrowland as I had done the night previously. This time round, there were ropes already in place and 5 CM standing by the rope to hustle everyone out.

And even the Castle night lighting didn’t cooperate. It was not to change to the blue colour until we were almost back at the start of Main Street.

I did say that the park was busy, didn’t I? The crowds didn’t look like clearing any time soon.

So, it was definitely time to head out and say goodbye to being in a Disney park for another lengthy period. I didn't even want to contemplate that feeling as I walked out of the park tonight.

Yup, I’m with Donald. Definitely feeling the blues and rather glum at this stage.

But it was definitely time to say goodbye to this park.



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


’Slacks’ and ’Smacks’ at the Grand Salon


Anyone else notice that DH and I had forgotten to eat dinner?

Well….our stomachs hadn’t forgotten.



We did think we were going to pick something up in the park but there were just such long lines that we decided to maximise time in the park rather than time in a line.

So, by the time we’d walked back to the Hotel, we were still hungry but over that hump of being starving.

DH went up to the rooms to get DS whilst I scouted out what food options were available at the hotel. Neither of us wanted a sit-down meal (nor a large meal), which meant that Walt’s Café and Crystal Lotus were out of the equation.


One of the dining options at the hotel is the Grand Salon. It’s that area where the massive windows are….

It is a place where you can get drinks of all persuasions (there were people getting hot chocolate and coffee whilst I was waiting and lots of cocktails on the tables), high tea in the afternoon…..

….and when I asked Michael, the CM on duty that night, he confirmed that we could get ‘slacks’ to go.


Me: Er….Pardon me?
Michael: ‘Slacks….smacks’




Okay…..I’m guessing he was trying to tell me I could get sNacks at the Grand Salon so I checked out the menu and placed an order.



For about HK$160 (about $22), I got us one serve of Vegetarian Spring Rolls.

There were 5 in the serve. I just got hungry and couldn’t wait…I guess I was just too slack to pull out the camera first.

The springrolls came with the requisite red sweet and sour sauce. I didn’t get a picture of that because I had completely messed it up when I dunked my first springroll in.



I also got us two serves of the Lemon Grass Prawns (this picture shows two serves)…lip smack-ingly good.

….which came with a delightfully fresh cucumber and mango salsa.

Both dishes were fabulous! I can only imagine what high tea would have been like here. My parents assure me they enjoyed it very much.



After we'd eaten, it was time for showers and bed. We were checking out tomorrow and heading into Hong Kong. A brand new adventure beckoned!
But we would still have half the day at the resort to enjoy.

 

[kmedina]

There is always a balance to be found between taking pictures and enjoying the moment.

He does not see it that way and probably never will. I, on the other hand, agree with you. I can take pictures and still enjoy the moment. The pictures help me enjoy the moment longer, because memories come rushing back to me when I look at them in the future. That is why I am having a hard time remembering our first MK day. There are hardly no pictures!


More great pictures. I love all of the night and fireworks pictures a lot. My favorties are the fountain ones and the one where you can barely see the teacups. That one is astounding and should be published in a photography journal. DH wants to take your camera back! Hopefully, you did not let him. Our Cannon 50d hardly ever gets used. I will learn how to use it someday. I know the trash picture was not meant for me, but that is not a site you see very often at Disney. Interesting catch. Those circle buns look awesome. Too bad there was not much left in the bakery. Glad you remembered dinner.

 

[ACDSNY]

I finally caught up again...love the pics and I agree those pics of the teacups are fantastic, you're talented with the camera. What's DH thinking?

 

[DisneyFirefly]

There is only one reason or one person that I’m posting this picture for. If you’re lurking, you know who you are!

Yes, I am lurking I just forget to comment sometimes Your pictures, as always, are gorgeous, even this one