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

[queenie82]

Glad the CM came through for you but I can only imagine the $$$$$ involved

“The Wonderful of Disney”…My Park Must-do list!

Hong Kong Disneyland – My Park must-do list

Hong Kong Disneyland is located on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It was opened on 12 Sept 2005 and consists of Main Street, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland and the new Toy Story Land (recently opened in 2011). Reputed to be the smallest of all the Disney parks, it is a place that most people seem to claim is ‘doable’ in less than a day. I suspect this will come down to what the crowds are like during the day.

There are 2 new lands planned for HKDL:

• Mystic Point, which will include an expanded Haunted Mansion type attraction, based on the technology available at Tokyo Disneyland. Planned to be completed in 2013.
• Grizzly Gulch, which by all accounts will be the critter country and part Frontierland equivalent, taking its inspiration from Grizzly Peak in DCA. Planned to be completed in 2014.

To me, somehow, the park won't seem so small after these two new lands are opened and a return trip might be in order.

I’ve checked out the pictures online and also in Robert TG’s photo tour TR for a view of how this park looks. You'll find it on this part of the boards, otherwise use the link here.

I'm not going anywhere near HKDL until after these are done...

Toy Storyland – the newest land in the block, with attractions including RC Racer (a U-shaped coaster which I’m not sure I’m going to get on), Toy Story Parachute Drop and Slinky Dog spin (a kiddy looking attraction). None of these attractions are available at any of the other parks I’ve been to, so we’ll be checking this land out for sure.

There’s only a snack type food service in this land; and it serves healthy snacks and frozen yoghurt. I might need to check it out afterall!



Hopefully, I'll be returning with a set of pictures to post on my TR!

It is the same rides as at Paris which I've never bothered doing...
I didn't realise that until I read this in your report. I guess Disney are doing ye ol copy if you can...

 

[PrincessInOz]

Glad the CM came through for you but I can only imagine the $$$$$ involved



I'm not going anywhere near HKDL until after these are done...



It is the same rides as at Paris which I've never bothered doing...
I didn't realise that until I read this in your report. I guess Disney are doing ye ol copy if you can...

If it works at one park, it should work at another. Besides which, it saves the imagineers having to imagine some more.

 

[PrincessInOz]

There is a distinct lack of information regarding Disneyland Hong Kong on the Dis. I guess this might change over time as more Dis-sers head to Hong Kong and post reports.

In the meantime, the HK Disney website contains some information....but I found this blog at the weekend.


http://hkdisneylandreview.blogspot.com/


Seems to contain most information in the one spot, not sure how often it is updated or how current the information is....given that there is a reference for Toy Storyland, to say it was "opening in November 2011".

 

[zanzibar138]

There is another website www.hkdlsource.com which has a bit more information but doesn't seem to be that up-to-date either. I actually sent them an email a few months ago but never received a reply.

 

[stephielela]

Jack wold LOVE Toy Story Land. Thankfully he doesn't know it exists It all looks so interesting, and different. I visited DLRP once, but it was raining and I just wasn't enjoying myself. I often kick myself for not taking better advantage of the park.

 

[franandaj]

It's very interesting looking at "other" Disneylands, it's like you're in a Twilight Zone. HKDL looks more similar in size to DL than MK, especially the castle. That TR you linked to was great, but I can't download that many pictures at one time.

I'll just wait for yours. The tweaks in the lands sound very interesting. I too would be avoiding the burgers and fries and trying all the funny noodle dishes and other things. You'll have to notice if they have both at any restaurants, that way I can get what I want and the other in my party can have what she wants!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Sounds like alot of walking, I cant imagine the costs of visas. Sometimes it feels like you spend the same amount for the needs as much as the trip itself costs. I know nothing about HK, so I have to live it through you. I wont even look at that other TR as I dont want to spoil it from reading yours. I want to hear and see it from your take. What a journey in the making.

 

[PrincessInOz]

There is another website www.hkdlsource.com which has a bit more information but doesn't seem to be that up-to-date either. I actually sent them an email a few months ago but never received a reply.

Thanks zanzibar. Really appreciate the input.

Jack wold LOVE Toy Story Land. Thankfully he doesn't know it exists It all looks so interesting, and different. I visited DLRP once, but it was raining and I just wasn't enjoying myself. I often kick myself for not taking better advantage of the park.

There's always a next time for Paris.

It's very interesting looking at "other" Disneylands, it's like you're in a Twilight Zone. HKDL looks more similar in size to DL than MK, especially the castle. That TR you linked to was great, but I can't download that many pictures at one time.

I'll just wait for yours. The tweaks in the lands sound very interesting. I too would be avoiding the burgers and fries and trying all the funny noodle dishes and other things. You'll have to notice if they have both at any restaurants, that way I can get what I want and the other in my party can have what she wants!

It took me a long time to work through the visual festa of pictures too. I know I've been accused of photo overload...but I don't think I've posted that many....at least I don't think so.


I'm hoping to at least take a peak inside most of the dining places in HKDL and get some pictures. What was that I just said about photo overload??

Sounds like alot of walking, I cant imagine the costs of visas. Sometimes it feels like you spend the same amount for the needs as much as the trip itself costs. I know nothing about HK, so I have to live it through you. I wont even look at that other TR as I dont want to spoil it from reading yours. I want to hear and see it from your take. What a journey in the making.

I don't know how it compares to the price of a Chinese visa in the US; but a one time visit visa (within 3 months of visa issue) starts at AU$60. A two time vist (within 3-6 months of visa issue) is AU$90. There are a couple more options for a Chinese visa but I'm debating between two time and two time. I just need to check with my parents that they are not thinking more than two times as well.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Before I move on to the Hong Kong sights, I just thought I'd say that it is universally acknowledged that HK Disneyland is about the smallest and least exciting of all the Disney parks. It is also almost universally acknowledged that pending crowd levels, you can *do* the park in less than a day. More than anything else, the fact that HK Disneyland only sells a maximum of 2-day general entry pass speaks volumes about what Disney thinks their visitor base will be achieving at this particular park. Maybe with the opening of Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point this view may change and Disney may think that a 3-day pass might be something worth offering. I don't know...but it is food for thought.


And if the financial reports are accurate, HK Disneyland, after 5 years, is only now starting to hit the target visitor expectations that they thought they would have 5 years ago. And it has been pretty much operating at a loss...until about now.

For me, I'd rather go, see and experience for myself and form my own personal views rather than accept universally acknowledgements.


Therefore, right now, I do not have very many expectations of what HKDL is going to be like. In my research, I've already worked out that there are less attractions and coasters here than in DLR and WDW. And that's okay with me. Afterall, this is meant to be a vacay to Hong Kong; rather than a Disney destination....right?


Is it fair to compare HK Disneyland with the other Disney parks? Probably not....but comparisons is something that is inherently part of human nature and I'm pretty sure that I might have a few things to say about this park in comparison to the others that I've visited to date.


I have posted this post as a reminder to myself (and hopefully I will come back and read this when I'm writing the TR) to keep the comparisons to a minimum and provide a report based on 'in the moment'.

 

[PrincessInOz]

”No one can deny the excitement of visiting Another World”…..Ocean Park


”No one can deny the excitement of visiting another world” Barney Oliver



Barney Oliver might have been referring to planets in outer space for the quote I’ve drawn inspiration from; but he might as well have been referring to Hong Kong Ocean Park for all I know.

Most of us on the Dis seem to spend all our vacation time heading back to a Disney theme park that it seems like we forget that there is a whole world of experiences out there for us to explore and enjoy. It’s just as well that this is a Hong Kong vacation; rather than a Disney vacation…..right?



Aside from Disneyland, there is another theme park in Hong Kong – Ocean Park (link here). Trip Adviser posters currently rank it as attraction #11 in Hong Kong; piping out Disneyland which comes in at #14.

It is split into two sections – the Waterfront and the Summit. Animal exhibits, roller coaster rides, carnival attractions, shows. As far as I can gather, there are about 19 rides (2 rollercoasters), 10 or 11 animal exhibits and an aquarium in the park. The animal shows include a Birds of Prey, one that involves marine animals and one specific for sea lions. It seems to be a mash-up of Carnival meet Theme Park meets Animal Park.



Without a doubt, the major drawcard here for me will be the Giant Pandas. The pandas have been here since 1999 and it will be an opportunity for us to see them. I gather that there is a LONG queue to see the Giant Pandas.

I have seen Giant Pandas before, when they visited the Melbourne Zoo many years ago and also at the San Diego Zoo. Yes, I know there are Giant Pandas in the Adelaide Zoo right now. And someday, I’m going to make it out to Chengdu in China to see the Panda Breeding Centre there and make the trek out to the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base.



For now, I’ll just put Ocean Park on my hit list of things to do in Hong Kong. We’ll just have to see how my parents are and whether they are happy to get to this park early in the morning, mid-week.

 

[PrincessInOz]

“One Country, Two Systems”…..Macau



Macau sits at the mouth of the Pearl River downstream from Guangzhou (Canton). During ancient times port city was part of the Silk Road with ships loading here with silk for Rome.

In the early 1550s the Portuguese reached Ou Mun, which the locals also called A Ma Gao, "place of A Ma", in honour of the Goddess of Seafarers, whose temple stood at the entrance to the sheltered Inner Harbour. The Portuguese adopted the name, which gradually changes into the name Macau, and with the permission of Guangdong's mandarins, established a city that within a short time had become a major center for trade between China, Japan, India and Europe.

Portugal's golden age in Asia faded as rivals like the Dutch and British took over their trade. However the Chinese chose to continue to do business through the Portuguese in Macau, so companies like the British East Indies Company continued to maintain a presence in Macau. Following the Opium War in 1841, Hong Kong was established by Britain and most of the foreign merchants left Macau, which became a quaint, quiet backwater. In recent years, Macau has developed to become a tourism hub and is known as the Las Vegas of the East.

Today Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, and, like Hong Kong, benefits from the principle of "one country, two systems".
Its been quite a few years since Hong Kong and Macau were handed back and from the outside, it would appear that China has lived up to its promise. I’m interested to see how this works and I suspect that being in Hong Kong and Macau will provide me with a little perspective.



By all accounts, the architecture in Macau is meant to be very European (Portuguese) in nature. I am, of course, talking about the historic architecture rather than the glitzy hotel casinos that Macau is also known for.

You can get to Macau on by sea (ferry or turbojet) from Hong Kong. It takes roughly an hour and you travel in this general direction. I’m planning to spend a day exploring Macau.

Macau’s currency is the pataca and is pegged to the HK Dollar. Thankfully, it would seem that the HK Dollar is readily accepted in Macau. I suspect that one of the things that I’ll be doing is making sure that I get some pataca currency to bring back with me as a souvenir.

I’ve already covered off the Visa requirements for Macau in an earlier post. So, let’s take a look at the city….

I’ve checked out Frommer’s and the Lonely Planet for Macau. I’ll put a link here for Frommer’s, only because they list two walks that seem eminently doable.



The first walk covers these sites:

The second walk includes:

I’m hoping to be able to combine both walks and see most of the historic sites in Macau.



On the foodie front, Macau’s cuisine will have Portuguese influences. Local specialties include the dry and salted cod fish (bacalhau), the pork chop bun, Portuguese-styled chicken. I’m expecting to be enjoying snacks like almond cookies and egg tarts. It’s the Portuguese egg tarts that I’m looking forward to the most.

As I understand it, Lord Stowe and Margaret’s Café e Nata offer some of the best egg tarts in town. My other option is to purchase the tarts from street food spots, some of which are found around the ruins of St Paul. We need to look for the Pastelaria Ko Kei , if possible. At around 7 Pataca each, that’s roughly AU$1 per morsel.

Margaret’s Cafe e Nata is located at Gum Loi Building, on a small patio off Rua Comandante Mata e Oliveira : A small street that connects Avenida de D. Joao IV and Avenida da Praia Grande. Apparently near the Hotel Sintra.

Lord Stow is located on Coloane Island, 1 Rua do Tassara about 20 minutes bus ride from Macau Peninsula. I'm hoping to take the bus ride out; but it will depend on how we feel on the day.

Alternatively, there’s a Lord Stow outlet in the Macau Venetian Casino. Looks like I might need to take a walk inside this casino to sample one! I don’t think I’ll have any problems with getting my parents to agree to visit the casino……DH…..well….that is another story!


Margaret is the ex-wife of Lord Stow so a comparison might be fun. Certainly puts a different spin on “One Country, Two Systems”!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Interesting, are you going to Macau? Chris is interested in different money. Is it worth anything?

 

[queenie82]

Have no interest in Macau tbh...
OTHER than the tarts.

I looked at the 'stuff' to see but the architecture is poorly preserved and they are often literally JUST a facade held up with scaffolding.

Their attention to looking 'after' things is worse than that Italians.... [where a wall in Pompeii just tumbled over a few months back...]



Do enjoy though....

 

[zanzibar138]

I'll be interested to see what adventures you have in Macau. I'd never really heard of it until the amazing race lol!

 

[dgbg100106]

I watched Anthony Bourdaine (sp?) Show no reservations when he was in Macau and the food looked to be a mix of cultures and showed a different side.

 

[franandaj]

Macau sounds interesting to me, however, as I said on Brandi's TR, I'm always interested in how HA foreign countries are. I realize there is no ADA outside the US. That's why we like going to Disney so much! We know what we are getting into. I will enjoy seeing all your photos of the interesting sites regardless of their state of disrepair.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Well your TR pretty much covered most of our Sunday. My DH (who really needs to get a name of his own for the DIS) saw on my PTR that you had a PTR going and didn't even wait for me to wake up before he read it all. He is a big fan of your style. A bit later on I got a chance to enjoy your planning and your little side trips, as usual you make me smile then laugh. Colton joined in when he heard about the zoo so we went back and went through the report again. Now all is quiet here and I just wanted to let you know how much enjoyment we got out of this PTR today Thanks!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Interesting, are you going to Macau? Chris is interested in different money. Is it worth anything?

One Aussie dollar is currently exchanging around the 7.5 Hong Kong Dollar mark. The US dollar should get you 7.5 Hong Kong Dollars as well.

Have no interest in Macau tbh...
OTHER than the tarts.

I looked at the 'stuff' to see but the architecture is poorly preserved and they are often literally JUST a facade held up with scaffolding.

Their attention to looking 'after' things is worse than that Italians.... [where a wall in Pompeii just tumbled over a few months back...]



Do enjoy though....

May I refer you back to the Willie Wonka quote (post 36)? "So much time, so little to do"


Seriously, I love looking at old buildings, facade or otherwise.

I'll be interested to see what adventures you have in Macau. I'd never really heard of it until the amazing race lol!

I can guarantee you that I will NOT be climbing up the Macau Tower for any roadblock clues.

I watched Anthony Bourdaine (sp?) Show no reservations when he was in Macau and the food looked to be a mix of cultures and showed a different side.

I'm looking forward to the food.

Macau sounds interesting to me, however, as I said on Brandi's TR, I'm always interested in how HA foreign countries are. I realize there is no ADA outside the US. That's why we like going to Disney so much! We know what we are getting into. I will enjoy seeing all your photos of the interesting sites regardless of their state of disrepair.

Hopefully, I'll have interesting photos when I return.

Well your TR pretty much covered most of our Sunday. My DH (who really needs to get a name of his own for the DIS) saw on my PTR that you had a PTR going and didn't even wait for me to wake up before he read it all. He is a big fan of your style. A bit later on I got a chance to enjoy your planning and your little side trips, as usual you make me smile then laugh. Colton joined in when he heard about the zoo so we went back and went through the report again. Now all is quiet here and I just wanted to let you know how much enjoyment we got out of this PTR today Thanks!

Sherri! Nice to see you back on the Boards. And I didn't know your DH was a lurker. Time for TheColtonsDad to get his own profile on the Dis.


Glad y'all enjoyed the PTR so far.

 

[PrincessInOz]

OT - Chinese New Year week


The Year of the (water) Dragon officially started on 23 January 2012. Life has been one hectic round of running around, sorting out gifts and preparation for the in-coming year.

I started out late this year....very late. I left it to 22 Jan (New Year's Eve) to run around to shop for gifts. In my defence, it is food and fruit that I give away, so there's no point getting these early. I do normally make jam...but it's been an expensive year for fruit so I declined on the jam making this year.

The good thing was that the suburb that I went to for shopping was celebrating the New Year early. They had a street festival on the 22nd Jan. If I had realised that, I would have left the boys at home and gone by myself. As it was, they came with me and I only had 30 minutes to try to grab some shots....er....enjoy the festival.


The street kinda looked like this....

Nice view, isn't it?


As it is the Year of the Dragon, the carnival prizes were loaded up....

....and even the Red packets or "ang pows" that we hand out to kids were depicting dragons on them (just ignore the marketing of a certain health fund provider).

On a serious note, there is a prayer said for the occassion....and the Buddhist marquee was full when I peeked in.

Don't ask me about what he's calligraphing on the red.....it's all Chinese to me!

I would have liked to have stayed for the street heralding in the New Year...we would have seen the Dragon procession. But the boys weren't keen to stay too long.

I'm consoling myself with the fact that I'm planning on hitting the city Chinatown celebrations on Sunday.

I had gotten there early; so most of the food stalls were still setting up and I think I missed all the decent food.

But I did get some curly fries....not cooked yet.

And some early frying of artery clogging Chinese pancakes.

Plus some Chinese concoction for a refreshing drink. Nuts, anyone?

By this stage, the boys were making noises and not in a good way. So, I packed the camera up and we headed home. I needed to get ready for CNY Eve dinner, anyway; and make sure I had my 'ang pow's done and the presents organised.


(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

OT - Chinese New Year Eve Dinner


It is a tradition on Chinese New Year's eve for anyone of chinese descent to head 'home' to the oldest family member's home for dinner. Usually, this means Mum's home and Mum's cooking.

I suspect that over the years, most Mum's of chinese descent have long worked out that cooking two big meals in a row (NY Eve and NY 1st night) is an absolute PITA and have, by sheer convenience, settled on the old favourite Steam Boat for the NY Eve dinner.
I don't know if all mum's do this...but certainly in my circle of Asian friends, 80% of them were heading home for a steam boat dinner of sorts.

You might also know steam boat as Chinese fondue or Shabu shabu or lok lok....most asian cultures will have a variation of this meal.

The beauty of a steam boat is that everyone cooks their own dinner. Mum just needs to provide the raw ingredients....most of which is available at Asian grocers as is...or is simple to assemble at home.

I ended up being the first one there; so that meant that I needed to help with the table organisation.

As you're cooking your own meal, you'll need appropriate fishing implements.

For convenience, we use the rice cooker as the steam boat. Just add stock and let it boil.

This is what my Mum put on the table for CNY Eve dinner.

The seafood selection...

Mum assembled these two...

Tofu puffs stuffed with fish paste.

Seafood wontons.

The pre-made stuff.

Fish balls...

...and tofu skin 'rolls' with fish paste.

Mum did offer some chicken and I don't think I saw this again till the end of the night. The kids just 'hogged' it all!

We normally like lots of vegetables and there were 5 kinds of vegetables on offer. The one that might not be so commonly available is the water spinach...pretty much a weed in Asia; but is an amazing peppery tasting veg.

We also had water cress..

...standard chinese spinach...

....and broccoli...chinese and conventional (not pictured).

When you're ready to eat, dump a whole heap of stuff into the rice cooker.

Close the lid, wait a while and when the pot is steaming.....start fishing!

Some of my bowls of food...

At the end of the night, the broth would have completely 'sweetened' up from the cooking. I normally like to finish with some noodles at the bottom and poach an egg....and have lots and lots of broth!

Enjoy! I know I did.