Phil's Adventures in Hong Kong Disneyland - April 2016 *new June 29th - link to PTR added*

[TheMaxRebo]

I really like the lanterns on their tea cups.

The green aliens on the train is a cool feature. I kind of wish there was some special effects on the WDW railroad.

I love the look of their autopia. I wish MK speedway was more futuristic looking or looked more like autopia than the speedway theme.

Hong Kong can tell Anaheim Ha we had it first! In terms of Paint the Night. Only difference between the two is the Frozen float. I really want to see that parade in person.

Their fireworks show sounds good but nothing spectacular. I loved reading about your thoughts and I hope to get to Hong Kong someday.

Yeah, the lanterns were neat - this was another ride that felt like a combination of what is in California and Florida

I was totally not expecting the green aliens to pop up so I thought it was really cool! I guess there is the Native American settlement and stuff, but really nothing super special on the WDW Train route - not like the dinosaurs in California, that is for sure!

Fully agree about Autopia, I liked it so much better than the noisy, smelly version we have in Florida

There were a few other small differences. The big drum that Peter Pan is on is new to California and then there were more lights added in spots (like to the base of Tinker Bell's float, etc.) ... both versions are great and definitely must sees!

The fireworks themselves were nothing super special. Good, but not like Wishes or anything - but I thought the projections were quite good so definitely think it is worth staying for

Good advice for the teacups. (Do they sell alcohol in the park there?)

I LOVE this! Those little guys are my favorites.

Glad things cleared up for you!

So glad that you both had a great day and excited to hear about your return visit!

I'm excited to hear about the non-Disney sightseeing too, as I know little about it.

So no alcohol sold in the park but it is just a train ride from downtown and a few of my co-workers said they have had a few to drink and then thought going to Disneyland sounded fun, so I guess there is some practical use to that warning and not just something that got altered in meaning in translation

It was quite a surprise when the popped up and I just thought it was a fun little thing to add interest. We only went that one 1/2 way around the park so not sure if there was anything else the other side like this

Definitely was glad the skies cleared for the night time shows!

Cool - hope to get to the non-Disney stuff this week, but kind of a crazy week and I am taking the last few days off for vacation with Memorial Day weekend

I forgot the DL train faced outwards like that. LOL on your coworker falling asleep! hehe

I just love the view!

Really cute sign!

Great job, and I like your autograph!

This autopia is really cool. It would be neat to update the one at WDW.

WOW this parade is AWESOME! I wish it would come to WDW, I've actually been underwhelmed by MSEP lately

The fireworks must be pretty cool to see from the hills surrounding the park too!

Yay! Seriously how can you go all the way there and only spend a day, anyway! I look forward to reading what else you saw, too!

I think in Disneyland California some of the trains face outward and some are "norma" ... I only saw ones that face outward in Hong Kong

It really is a neat view with the hills behind the Castle

Thank you!

I full agree - I think it would be great to have an update like this in Florida and doesn't feel like it would be that big of a deal and would really refresh it

Pain the Night is so great! I guess with it now being at Disneyland I can see not bringing it to Florida as well, but would be nice to update the night time parade - maybe to something new though! Might be a little while thought with just getting Festival of Fantasy.

It was a neat and different view of the fireworks, for sure!

Thanks - hoping to get to the non-Disney stuff later this week

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The Tea cups look really pretty!

The toy story aliens are a cute touch to the train ride!

Their version of Autopia sounds cool!

I'm glad you got to see Paint the Nite and the fireworks!

It sounds like a great day and I'm glad you to squeeze in a second! Can't wait to hear about it.

The tea cups were pretty, especially at night which I saw the 2nd day I went. Still not quite as cool as Disneyland with no roof, but nice

Exactly! I thought it was a small, but fun, touch to have the Aliens appear!

Their Autopia was so much better than what we have in the states - and I wouldn't think it would be a huge investment to update what we have and I think it would have a bit impact on the entire area.

I am very glad the weather cooperated!

Hoping to cover the non-Disney stuff later this week and then get into Disneyland day 2 after that!

 

[zanzibar138]

It was quite a surprise when the popped up and I just thought it was a fun little thing to add interest. We only went that one 1/2 way around the park so not sure if there was anything else the other side like this.

FWIW there are more 'surprises' for the train over near the teacups and IASW. I think at some point the dormouse pops up out of a teapot which is cute.

For the person who was wondering if people watch the fireworks from the surrounding hills, yes this is possible. There are lots of hiking trails in the area that start from Discovery Bay or Tung Chung that lead up into the hills. I don't think people do it very often (you would then have to hike back down in the dark which would require some dedication). There's nowhere you can drive to - those hills are pretty much all wilderness area with no roads through them.

I did a lot of research on hiking trails in the area, because I was in training for Oxfam (100km trail walk) when we were there and I was hoping to be able to fit in a short hike. Unfortunately with only 23 hours and 50 minuts in Honkas, there was wasn't time.

 

[katt789]

YAY!! I've finally damn caught up!!! I fell behind so bad with my bad internet conncection and moving and everything!!
Love the TR and so glad you got so much done despite the rain!
I kinda only skimmed parts as to try to be surprised when I see stuff there in person!
Glad that the rain stopped for fireworks & PTN!

 

[horse11]

The parade and fireworks looks outstanding!! So glad the rain held off so you could see it! I love The Little Mermaid float!!!

 

[annie170]

I've been insanely busy with work and life, but am all caught up now.

That train is adorable with the Mickey cut-outs for windows and hand holders. I'm surprised you don't see that elsewhere.

The castle with the mountains in the background makes for a lovely photo.

The green army men parachute ride is pretty clever. Too bad your view wasn't better.

Mystic Manor sounds just incredible. Any chance we'll be seeing something along that line in the states?

Explorers Club sounds like a perfect place to have lunch. Very nice looking for quick service. Kind of reminds me of BOG at breakfast and lunch.

Too bad the weather wasn't very cooperative. It's funny to see so many umbrellas, where in the US you see more ponchos.

Were you able to see everything you wanted? Is one day very doable?

 

[NJlauren]

Late to the party! But I'm here now and that's what matters!

I love your review of this park, it's on my Disney bucket list but probably way down the road, so it's nice to read about it and see some pictures!

The food looked good as did most of the rides! Also seems like you had a pretty good time!

Can't wait to hear more and hopefully stay up to speed!

 

[chillitsanne]

The tea cups with the lanterns looks really neat! I bet it looks pretty awesome at night, too!

This is a great picture!!

Paint the night . By far my favorite Disney Parade. It would be interesting to hear the soundtrack with the different language.

 

[KathyM2]

Wow that parade looked so awesome!! The doors on the Monster's Inc...sooooo coool!!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

FWIW there are more 'surprises' for the train over near the teacups and IASW. I think at some point the dormouse pops up out of a teapot which is cute.

For the person who was wondering if people watch the fireworks from the surrounding hills, yes this is possible. There are lots of hiking trails in the area that start from Discovery Bay or Tung Chung that lead up into the hills. I don't think people do it very often (you would then have to hike back down in the dark which would require some dedication). There's nowhere you can drive to - those hills are pretty much all wilderness area with no roads through them.

I did a lot of research on hiking trails in the area, because I was in training for Oxfam (100km trail walk) when we were there and I was hoping to be able to fit in a short hike. Unfortunately with only 23 hours and 50 minuts in Honkas, there was wasn't time.

That's cool they have other surprises - definitely makes the train ride more interesting

When I did the Ngong Pink 360 gondola ride up I saw a lot of people hiking the trail that also went up the mountain - looked pretty cool but that it would take a while

YAY!! I've finally damn caught up!!! I fell behind so bad with my bad internet conncection and moving and everything!!
Love the TR and so glad you got so much done despite the rain!
I kinda only skimmed parts as to try to be surprised when I see stuff there in person!
Glad that the rain stopped for fireworks & PTN!

Hi Katt! I know you had a ton going so glad you caught up!

Totally understand not wanting to see details to spoil things since you are going. I tried to do the same but was hard to resist somethings - especially back when I never thought I would get there, so figured what is the harm in watching a video of Pain the Night (and of course then the bring it to Disneyland in California so I saw it there first anyway)

The parade and fireworks looks outstanding!! So glad the rain held off so you could see it! I love The Little Mermaid float!!!

The parade is just amazing. The fireworks themselves are good but nothing compared to Wishes - but I found the projection component of the show to be very good!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I've been insanely busy with work and life, but am all caught up now.

That train is adorable with the Mickey cut-outs for windows and hand holders. I'm surprised you don't see that elsewhere.

The castle with the mountains in the background makes for a lovely photo.

The green army men parachute ride is pretty clever. Too bad your view wasn't better.

Mystic Manor sounds just incredible. Any chance we'll be seeing something along that line in the states?

Explorers Club sounds like a perfect place to have lunch. Very nice looking for quick service. Kind of reminds me of BOG at breakfast and lunch.

Too bad the weather wasn't very cooperative. It's funny to see so many umbrellas, where in the US you see more ponchos.

Were you able to see everything you wanted? Is one day very doable?

Darn life and work always getting in the way!

The train was really neat - I think it works there because that particular line only connects between two stations so really is just for Disneyland ... but agree, would be cool to see touches like that elsewhere!

It really is a different and cool view of the Castle with the hills behind it

Mystic Manor is just awesome! Not sure if/when we see anything like that exactly in the states. I believe the boat ride that is part of Pandora is to use the trackless ride system (I think the Pirates ride in Shanghai Disney does as well)/. Also, I could see one of the attractions in Star Wars land use it as well

Umbrellas are big all over Hong Kong - I think because it rains off and on a lot it makes it easier, and also when the sun is out it helps as shade

We saw most of what we wanted - though one of the mini lands was closed and then we didn't get to that one show because they wound up not having the later showings of it. I think one day is doable if you go during the week and push to get to everything. I think 2 days is perfect to allow you to take things a bit slower and re-do things you really like - probably don't really need more than that though, unless you want time to explore the hotels a lot

Late to the party! But I'm here now and that's what matters!

I love your review of this park, it's on my Disney bucket list but probably way down the road, so it's nice to read about it and see some pictures!

The food looked good as did most of the rides! Also seems like you had a pretty good time!

Can't wait to hear more and hopefully stay up to speed!

thanks for joining! I do have "visit every Disney park" on my bucket list but never thought it was at all realistic so it was neat for the opportunity to come up!

Definitely had a good time - it is unique but still familiar and the food was really good!

The tea cups with the lanterns looks really neat! I bet it looks pretty awesome at night, too!

This is a great picture!!

Paint the night . By far my favorite Disney Parade. It would be interesting to hear the soundtrack with the different language.

The tea cups did look cool at night ... I actually think I have a picture of that coming up from my 2nd day there ... Fantasyland as a whole at night looked really cool - they had a lot of lights strings up

Paint the Night is just so amazing. The soundtrack worked out fine with mixing the languages and the only characters that didn't speak English was Woody and Buzz. It was a different version of the song - I think for Disneyland they had Owl City do it so same song but a bit different sound.

Wow that parade looked so awesome!! The doors on the Monster's Inc...sooooo coool!!!!

Pain the Night is amazing! so much fun and just cool technology. The one at Disneyland is even a little bit better. While not as great as being there live even seeing it on youtube is pretty cool

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Chapter 10 - Tour of Hong Kong - Part I​

thanks for all the great comments everyone - glad you have been enjoying this trip report!

While I want to keep the focus on Hong Kong Disneyland I thought I would share a few other sites I saw while there, just to provide a bit more color of how the city is.

Outside of Disneyland, I had 2 other main excursions, one to see the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple and then stop at the Mong Kok street market area and then another up the Ngong Ping 360 cable car that went up to the Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha

Though I should mention that this was actually for a work trip as my team had our global off site in Hong Kong, so I thought I would start with this picture which is where I sat in the office to do work - it was on the 63rd floor of the Central Plaza building. One side overlooked the Harbor but where I was looked over parts of the city and some hills beyond:

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First up was heading to the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple - which we took the MTR train there. This is from inside the train and I loved these signs - clearly showed where the train current way, where it was heading, etc. ... I would love if the NY Subway had this! (you can also see on the left side the little Mickey Head indicating where Hong Kong Disneyland is)

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I was really excited to visit this temple - even though it is actually fairly new, build in the 1970s. It is a Taoist temple but Buddhism and Confucianism is also practiced here. I minored in comparative religion studies in college with a lot of focus on comparing Eastern and Western religions, so getting to see these religions being practiced really intrigued me

This one one of the main areas and there was a lot of incense being burned and practitioners would kneel and shake containers that had a number of sticks in them and if one fell out that would provide an indication of their future. The second picture is of a side temple in the same general area:

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This temple was for Confucius - and one of my main papers in college was comparing the Analects of Confucius to the Gospels of the Bible, so I definitely wanted to get in the picture here:

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There were also a number of garden areas with waterfalls and ponds that were very beautiful and relaxing - also provided quite the juxtaposition with the modern city skyline in the background

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Adjacent to this is a complex with a lot of stalls selling spiritual artifacts (I purchases dome peace bracelets for my wife and oldest daughter) as well as fortune tellers. My colleague actually got her fortune told and it was quite the elaborate process (took 20+ minutes) and went through her whole life and what years would be challenging, etc.

After this we took the train back a few stops to visit the Mong Kok street market area which is one of the most congested areas in the entire city. It was neat to see all the stalls. One area had a lot of "gold fish stalls" which sell a variety of fish but also small turtles (in the water areas at the temple there were just tons of turtles around)

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below is a picture of one of the streets with a lot of stalls - we picked up some souvenirs here, including some chop sticks and I got a traditional style dress for my youngest daugther. I did notice a sign for New York Station so that made me feel a bit at home:

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The next major outing I did was actually after the off site and my colleague had already left (she actually was heading directly to another corporate function in Kenya, Africa) so I did this one alone. This was to take the Ngong Pink 360 Cable Car up to a "village" at the top which is near a very traditional monastery named Po Lin as well as the Tian Tan Buddha - also known as the "Big Buddha". To get to the starting point I also took the train and then walked to the starting terminal for the cable car - this was a Friday and it was actually pretty crowded:

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I decided to take one of the gondolas that had a glass floor (there was a bit of an up-charge) which definitely created some unique views as you could see the water below you but also we would travel over trailways and you could see people hiking up

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Early on you go over the biggest gap which is across a waterway and goes near the airport (could see planes taking off from the gondola). First picture is looking up, the 2nd is looking back down

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As we got closer you could start to make out the Big Buddha - the second picture is zoomed in a bit and you can make out people walking near it to give you an idea of how big it is, and then one of me in the Gondola with the Big Buddha in the background

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You disembark at a "village" which was clearly build in modern times and is just a collection of shops and other tourist trap type activities to do. There are some neat things there including this "wishing tree" where you write you wish on one of those hexagonal wooden pieces and hang it from the tree. I also liked this picture I got of this sign pointing out the direction and distance to other sites with the Big Buddha above it

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I then walked to the Po Lin monetary which was really beautiful. I didn't get a ton of pictures as many of the buildings were there for worshipers and they asked you not to take pictures. One of them was the hall of 1,000 Buddha's and it contained what looked to be at least 1,000 Buddha statues of varying sizes - really impressive! The architecture was really cool too as all the cornices and ridges on the roofs had carvings in them.

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This post is getting long, so I'll split it up - part II will have climbing to see the Big Buddha and then a recap of some of the meals we had there

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Chapter 11 - Tour of Hong Kong - Part II​

So after visiting the monestary it was time to get up close to the Big Buddha. To give you some info about the Big Buddha, it is 112 ft tall, weighs over 250 metric tons. It was conmpleted in 1993 and was constructed from 202 bronze pieces. You have to climb 268 steps to reach the Buddha (and it felt all of those 256) and the statue symbolizes the "harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and faith."

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And proof that I did climb all the steps, and the view from the top (you can see the Po Lin monastery in the background)

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I then returned to the village and one place I did want to stop was the tea house they had which was pretty cool as they had a small ceremony in serving the tea and everything - nice place to hang out especially as the rain really picked up and turned into quite the storm for about 40 minutes, to the point they stopped running the gondola

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Once the rain stopped I headed back down and it was still only early afternoon and since I had to pass the transfer spot to the train to Disneyland I figured I might as well stop in again - but that is for another post

Last thing I wanted to touch on here was some of the food I had while over there - we hit up a lot of different cuisines - one of the first was we went out with a number of local colleagues for sichuan food - which was basically course after course of heavily spiced food. Below is the trip which was not something I typically have but was really good! After this we went out for a late night/early morning of Kareoke!

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One meal we did as a team was for Japanese teppanyaki style cooking. It was defintiely different than what we have in the U.S. - much less of a show and different types of food/cooking techniques. The location I think is popular for business lunches so they put these bibs on everyone to keep our work clothes clean which I think was cute

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One of the highlights, food wise, of our offsite was eating at the Grand Buffet which was one of those 360' rotating restaurants which gave some great views of the city. Also, I have never had buffet food like this - I think I ate my worth in sushi alone but there was tons of carving stations and lobster and other raw bar items and soups and tons of dessert

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It also had the most amazing chocolate fountain I have ever seen and a really cool wine system in that you bought a pre-paid card that you would hold up to the machine and then select how much you want the machine to dispense of it - it was pretty neat

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Definitely hit up some other spots as well and just took time to walk around the city - but wanted to touch on at least some of the highlights. I'll end it with one last photo which is a panoramic I took from the top of another building where we had cocktails one night.

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Come up next, back to Hong Kong Disneyland, but for now ... TTFN!

 

[missangelalexis]

What a great update, you got some really amazing pictures! I'm glad you were able to experience what you did!

That chocolate fountain sure does look amazing As does that last panoramic shot!

 

[SarahDisney]

That's not a bad view from the office!

That subway map is pretty cool ... but I actually kinda prefer what the newer subway cars have (the digital one on the R160s). It may not have the whole system, but I find it to be infinitely more readable than anything the older cars have. Of course ... no Disneyland on the NYC subway maps .

Wow ... I'm so used to thinking of Hong Kong as an industrial and financial center, I never really thought about what amazingly beautiful stuff there is to see there! Thanks for sharing!

The food looks and sounds pretty good too.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Nice view! It would be hard to work, with that in front of you.

Thanks for the tour, really interesting and the food looks delicious!

 

[KathyM2]

What an amazing trip!! And so nice that you got to have some fun on a work trip like that!! The view from that cable car was fantastic!

 

[ElenaJane]

That was awesome!! You know you had a good trip when you take a "Big Buddha Selfie"! The food sounds amazing! And that wine dispenser?! Even were you did your work looks amazing. My annual meeting for my job is not usually that fun! Looking forward to your DL side trip.

 

[katt789]

Seriously this post just got me so excited for HK!! When we started planning, we weren't excited about China at all, minus Disney, and I felt more excited about actual China vs HK, and now I'm thinking that I'll enjoy HK as a city WAY more than the others!! Who knows though! Lol.
Glad you shared!!

 

[Leshaface]

Oh my gosh, maybe this is another reason they don't want alcohol served at Disneyland!

This is great!

Good job. And what a signature you have!

it was electric cars that had lights on and made cool noised through a speaker behind you when you accelerated and had fun signs and lights around the course.

This is awesome! I enjoy Autopia at Disneyland, but if it had these features, i'd go on it more I think.

I was hyping up this parade to my co-worker quite a bit - but I knew I didn't have anything to be worried about as it is so great!

Because of you, we're going to make a huge effort to see it on Wednesday night! We're doing a quick Disneyland/Knottsberry Farm trip and this parade is high on the priorities list. You said you sat over by IASW right? Like on that platform over there? Depending on the time we show up, we'll try to head to that spot!

this was the only thing I noticed in Hong Kong Disney that featured Mulan which surprised me a little bit.

That is so strange that there is not more of a strong presence of Mulan there

What an amazing view. I bet it's just as gorgeous at night!

Totally helpful

Wow this is beautiful! I bet it's a peaceful place for business people too.

AGHH! Those little turtles are absolutely adorable!

Did this freak you out at first?

This is super cool.

I would be so excited to try all the food!

The location I think is popular for business lunches so they put these bibs on everyone to keep our work clothes clean which I think was cute

I've seen this on tv! This is so cool! Did you recognize any of the wines?