8 days in the East - Trip Report

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 16

By now it was well and truly lunchtime so we decided to go back to Grizzly Gulch for a simple western meal of fish and chips at Lucky’s. These are served in a paper cone for HK$40, one of the better value meals. They just hit the spot. While sitting outside here we got chatting to a school group (looked like 9-12 yo and I was curious by the mix of nationalities in the group) who were from an international school in Melbourne, having a day at DL at the conclusion of a trip to mainland China before they flew out that evening. Their teacher was amazingly organised! I take my hat off to all those teachers and parents who take their young charges to far flung destinations-I find it hard enough managing three of us! We also watched part of a show while we were waiting for our order.









I don't know how we fitted all this in but I do know that we had time to watch a showing of Mickey's Philharmagic after lunch.
The 4D effects seemed to be working heaps better than we remembered from wherever we last viewed this and we all really enjoyed the show.







Then it was back to Adventureland to catch the afternoon showing of The Festival of the Lion King.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 17

Unlike in the Animal Kingdom, the HK version of the Festival of the Lion King tells the story with a narrator and songs and dance, although many elements are similar including the floats. I missed the acrobatic scenes from the Orlando version but it was still an excellent show.

Our photos from this show were all pretty bad but PrincessInOz's trip report shows you what you will see!

 

[zanzibar138]

Wow those gardens in Mystic Point look really cool!

I agree with you on Toy Story Land. Doesn't do it for me at all. Even the theming doesn't impress me. The parachute men ride was surprisingly fun though!

I really hope FOTL is up and running for me next time. Two trips down and I have yet to be there when it's open!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the MP gardens. I wonder if they light it up at night?

I have to admit that I found TSL....messy. Not my favourite part of the park; which is a shame as I really love the franchise.

I really hope FOTL is up and running for me next time. Two trips down and I have yet to be there when it's open!

Hope it's up and running for you! 3rd time lucky.

 

[zanzibar138]

Love the MP gardens. I wonder if they light it up at night?

I'll find out for you

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 18

It was time to go back to our hotel and check in and get changed to come back in for Halloween night. On the way out I tried Zanzibar’s recommendation of a Minnie Bar – mmm mm!! Very yum. DD’s dairy free Stitch Bar also hit the spot.



I forgot to mention as we walked up (and down Main St) how much we love the ‘smell’ that greets you at every Disney Main St – that Disney subtle popcorn or other sugary sweet goodness smell that completes the ‘welcome home’ feel.

We received our room allocation promptly. I’ll post all the room pics together after I post the Halloween party but we were very happy with the room and its outlook over the gardens and four complimentary bottles of water (no moisturiser among the toiletries though).

We found time to snooze for an hour before we had to get ready for the party. Given we are all Dr Who fans we went in theme -I recycled my Dr Who outfit sans light-piece from the Halloween party last year, DH who will not dress up just wore his Dr Who T, and DD went with an outfit that required minimal extra luggage, Amy from The Silence sequence of stories with tally marks.





An attempt to take the three of us reflected in the gorgeous art deco mirror



Next set of pics sunset and the Halloween Party

 

[Aussie Wendy]

"In this town we call home, everyone hail to the pumpkin song"

Part 1

We got back in around 5.30. It was becoming more crowded than during the day but nowhere near the crowds of Orlando. There were less Halloween events it seemed to me than I had read about in previous years and I wondered if the budget has been cut due to the lower crowd levels. It certainly seemed like Ocean Park scored the bulk of Halloween visitors with its numerous houses. Most of the queues were for pics with the characters who were in the Halloween outfits they had been in all day. In retrospect I wish I had queued as they were not overly long in comparison to the States.

Obligatory Halloween pic before Mickey and Minnie came out (they were in this rotunda).




Window displays of Halloween merch. Isn't Figaro cute!





It was just on sunset so we rushed up Main St to take some pics of the castle silhouetted against the sunset background.













Main St

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 2

Some pics near the entry to Tomorrowland




A not very successful pic of Amy and the Doctor with a planet.








Learning from our experiences in Orlando we decided to eat now in case we didn’t find time later. Many of the venues were already closed, however. We ended up at the Starliner in Tomorrowland as the Tahitian Terrace seemed too biased towards Indian food which none of us are keen on and we didn’t want to waste time walking all the way around the park looking for other options.



DH and DD had the chicken and rice for $HK98 and I had the children’s burger with corn on the cob for $HK78. Mine came with a drink; not sure about the others.



It doesn’t look much for the equivalent of Aus$52 for the 3 of us!

We then nabbed a spot to watch the Paint the Night parade. Main St while we were waiting.

 

[mrsgavrily]

Wow! Those pics of the castle at sunset are so pretty!!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 3

The parade was excellent. I had always loved the old Main St Electrical Parade in Anaheim and this was a great reinvention using LEDs.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 4

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 5

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 6

The timing of the shows and parade etc was not great if you wanted to fit everything in, in the one night. The Halloween shows appeared to overlap so you could not go from one to another without missing out on part. Of course if you watched Paint the Night and the fireworks another time then it would be slightly easier.

We headed up to Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor between the parade and the fireworks in the hope of catching some of the three events happening there. Both these areas were swathed in green fog. We arrived too late for Ghosts Rising, which was apparently a puppet show introducing the feud between the cowboys and the miners. The story goes they were all poisoned by the strange green water which emanated from the geysers and sent them all mad; on All Hallows Eve, the deceased come back to settle old scores. The ‘Engineer’ tells the story of the epic feud. This is followed by The Haunting of Grizzly Gulch with a shoot-out between ghosts of the miners and the cowboys. We missed this too but later in the night caught some of it.

While we had also missed the beginning of the Cycle of the Spirits at Mystic Manor, the ghosts were still circling. The story here was the green mist had penetrated the gates of Mystic Point and created a time-warp for the undead, who are cursed to relive one hour of their lives in a repetitive time loop. The clock will only stop if the ghostly spirits are granted mortality – by whoever possesses the glowing antique green amulet. The Timekeeper keeps watch on all the spirits ensuring that when their “time is up” they return to the portal so that the time loop begins all over again.

We had a lot of fun here now and later in the night interacting with the ghosts who would speak to you but didn’t see anyone with the amulet. Pics from both times we were in this area.





"Have you seen my Daddy?"





The station master





The Timekeeper



The photographer





Several often loomed up behind you, presumably to see if you had the amulet

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 7

Creepy twins



Oblivious



Ghost in the mist



Not so ghostly



Timekeeper on the balcony calling them back






It was time to head back to Main St for the fireworks which were at 9pm I think while the park didn't close til 11pm. DD and I watched the fireworks the second night as well so think I will post the pics there. I wanted to watch tonight thinking they might have a special Halloween feature show but they didn't. We found a perch on the fence to one side of the circular gardens which was OK though for pics more central and a little further back would be better. The fireworks had some good segments but we have seen Disney fireworks we prefer much better.

After the fireworks we went straight to the Jungle Cruise which for tonight had been turned into the Curse of the Emerald Trinity. This was excellent. According to tribal lore, three ancient stones, known as the “emerald trinity,” were placed in the jungle centuries ago by a voodoo tribe. “Immortality is the reward for escaping the jungle with one stone,” the legend goes, “A fate worse than death, however, is the price for failure!” It is believed that thieves have ignored this prophecy and taken two of the ancient stones, awakening the spirit in the stones and wreaking havoc on all. The Navigator takes you on the Jungle River Cruise in the darkened night time hours but will they manoeuver you to safety, or are their intentions that of greed and a more self-serving nature?

You witness a thief in silhouette (looking remarkably like Indiana Jones) attempting to steal the amulet and being overcome and buried alive by vines. From zombies rising up out of the water at you to the creepy cave spirit at the end it was a fun trip even though the commentary was only in Cantonese-we got the gist! Mostly no photos though - too dark.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 8


Zombie attack



Cave which had lots of glowing green mist and we think we saw a green glowing amulet.



The Tiki's at night



Toy Story land at night, quiet now it was getting late



Overgrown pixies



Since it was so quiet we did take the opportunity to do some rides - I rode the Mine Train twice more - great fun in the dark as some things stand out better.

Due to the Jungle Cruise we once again missed the cowboy show but caught the end half of the shoot out. These were the most macabre of the ghosts tonight.

Some pics first in and around Grizzly Gulch







The shoot out left them all dead



Til they rise and return to the grave

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 9

The miner and the cowboy






Scaring me



This is who loomed up behind me



Posing with a miner



Some last pics of Tomorrowland as we walk through






and farewell to the castle from Fantasyland side



Mickey Halloween cookies for desert back in our room - very yum!



I forgot Highlights of today – Disneyland of course! Especially exploring a new to us park, Mystic Manor ride, the Mine Train ride, Festival of the Lion King, the castle at sunset, Halloween fun and delicious snack treats. Downsides - very few, getting seats in the Lion King Theatre that seemed to be side-on to the action even though I thought I followed PIO tips, fireworks show not as great as I hoped, muddling up the Halloween evening timing of events so we seemed to keep missing out on the shows, being unable to find decent commemorative pins-all trivial. Steps walked: 19,953, approx 13.5km.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Wow! Those pics of the castle at sunset are so pretty!!

Thanks. Yes he castle sits beautifully inits surroundings here. You must be packing this weekend? Exciting!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

The Hollywood Hotel

Part 1

I already posted a pic of the exterior but here it is again.



Entering the foyer. The hotel has a delectable citrusy sea smell in the lobby – H20 Disney products I believe





Lots of art deco touches





Down the corridor – Chef Mickey







Caricatures line the hallway

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 2

In the lift – Mickey and Minnie talk to you which is really cool.



Mickey is everywhere



Lift selfie



In our room











Pretty limited complementary toiletries

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 3

Towel animal in keeping with the time of year



View from our window



Corridor with hidden Mickeys



Seating area at the end of the passage



View of the pool from here and cranes working on the new hotel



View of the ocean-you can just see the hoarding that now closes off access to the esplanade from the grounds



View of another building site next door (not the new hotel building site but the opposite side of this hotel as well)



Hollywood and Dine - didn't ever visit for breakfast but for snacks and light meals during the day seemed fine. It sold pre-made sandwiches, yoghurts, crisps and icecreams etc as well as the meals on the menu board but closed early (3.30/4pm) while we were there.