8 days in the East - Trip Report

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 2



We walked part-way around Lugard Rd but Disneyland was singing its siren call so we didn’t spend time following the full route but turned back. It does look a nice walk though, especially if you did it early morning or evening.

The Sky Tower viewed from Lugard Rd





View over the other side of the island





The Peak Gallery was having some major reno’s being done but I think it was still open and we didn’t realise until later we could have gone inside and got up to another viewing veranda there. We just renegotiated the levels inside Sky Tower and found our way to the tram station, through a door cunningly disguised with the sign ‘Staff Only’ on one half. The tram was quieter of course so we got seats this time though not very good ones as we quickly grabbed 3 spare ones before we missed out.

Back in HK we grabbed some take away sandwiches and drinks to keep us going for the trip back to our “bubble”.

Bringing me back to Sunday and the MTR to Sunny Bay and Disneyland. This poster reminded us of the graphic video that was showing on all the station platforms about the hideous dangers that happens if you put your feet on the side of an escalator - illustrated by a child not listening to their Mum - your shoe and foot will end up crunched. We agreed if we were children we would be too terrified to ever ride an escalator again after watching the vid - they breed them tough in Hong Kong!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 3 Disneyland

How you know you are nearing Disneyland – the Disneyland train from Sunny Bay





The empty train. Mickey Mouse handholds.



Disneyland Station



Art deco entrance gates set the scene at the entry to Disney's Hollywood Hotel







Since we had got away so early when we arrived at the hotel the doormen met us before we could approach the doors, whisked away our luggage before you could say ‘Mickey Mouse’ and we were free to queue for entry. Luckily we had read to be prepared and already had our gear sorted into what we needed for the day before we approached the doormen.

Welcome home



DD and I fave posters

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 4

Disneyland was only just opening and we took the time to snap pics out front with the gorgeous fountain while it was quiet.









Looks familiar



As does this apart from some additions



Main St also is very recognisable




First stop pics with the castle-number 5 for me. An attempt to photograph me jumping in the air – failed absolutely every time – memo do not try doing this again.



Castle number 4 for DD and 5 for DH



The castle with its lovely mountain backdrop. It may be small like the original Disneyland but it fits the backdrop beautifully.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 5

Second stop since we were where we had to be and all day to be there, back to the Market House Bakery for second breakfast.



We tried a Halloween pumpkin red bean paste bun (forgot the price), mini BBQ pork puffs (3 for HK$32) in delish flaky pastry, custard tarts (HK$18) and DH a pizza bun (HK$43). The custard tarts were good but not as good as Dragon Bell's.









We also listened to some entertainment



Finally took a picture of the Cigar Store Red Indian



and admired the Halloween decorations that looked very similar to those in WDW in 2014.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 6

More views of Main St










All the favourites in their Halloween costumes (we were too lazy to queue-the only activities today that had longish queues really)









Corner Cafe Halloween High tea - I was tempted by this to share between 3 of us (if we could as 2 of us would never get through it) but in the event never got there.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Ah. You DID make it to the Peak. You can definitely tick that one off the bucket list now.

And HKDL; castle No 5. You're officially the Queen of the 5 Castles now. Well done.

Great pictures!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Thanks PIO. I think I might post a list of my faves across the parks at the end.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 7

Let’s explore further afield. First land Adventureland, always a favourite. You can see how quiet it is and this must be more than an hour after opening as we missed rope drop and had looked around Main St, eaten second breakfast etc.



It looks very lush and jungly here.



Cave carvings





We walked on to the Jungle Cruise, the English version, but the guide didn’t really try to make many jokes.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 8

I liked the different scenes here, with the temple and the headhunters














Action shot - if you look to right of picture



I especially like the water spout and fire effects at the end (spoilers sorry!).





Viewed from shore

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 9








Safely back to dock



Tarzan's Treehouse - we'll be visiting that tomorrow.



Continuing on our way to Grizzly Gulch.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 10

Since DH experiences in recent years feeling ill on coasters and DD’s very bad motion sickness issues, I rode the Runaway Mine Cars alone. It was a 5 min wait so I didn’t need to do single rider queue and could check out the walk through queue. I LOVED this ride, just the right amount of speed and turns etc for me without feeling too dizzy (since I’m not the greatest motion person either – we’re a useless family!)





The family totally failed at taking pics of me on this ride. I am right at the back.










We explored some of the surroundings here then before it became too busy (which in the event it didn’t), headed next door to Mystic Manor. In the interest of keeping most of the pics together, here are most of our pics of Grizzly Gulch. I keep reading about things we missed seeing even though we poked around this area quite a bit over the two days. The story goes that this mining town was established in 1888 during the prosperous days of the Gold Rush. It was accidentally constructed on top of a bed of active geysers so the town was literally sinking and financially underwater until gold was discovered in nearby Big Grizzly Mountain when the town's fortunes changed.



Lucky Springs Geyser - make a wish when the geyser erupts!



The smaller geysers reminded me of the Rotorua area in NZ

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 11

There’s a little friendly competition between the blacksmith's shop and the dry goods store. The bellows that once fanned the smithy’s fire now pump water in the direction of the dry goods store. But the dry goods store owners are fighting back—they’ve taken possession of a shipment of bellows meant for the blacksmith shop, and are using them to squirt water back in that direction. This area was very popular with the kids!



Off to Mystic Manor. The story goes that during an expedition, Lord Henry Mystic discovered a young monkey entangled in the web of a monstrous spider. He rescued the monkey and named him Albert. Taken with Albert and the tropical area, Lord Henry decided to stay, calling the area Mystic Point and building a home and museum for the growing collection of art and artefacts gathered by members of Lord Henry’s team, the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.). This society is an international assembly of men and women who travel the world in search of knowledge, adventure, art and priceless cultural artefacts.



We spent a lot of time in the walk through queue letting people go ahead of us, looking at all the exhibits.





Looking one way


and the other




Lord Henry and Albert



Albert in the spider's web



The S.E.A.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 12





We loved the details on these exhibits; as good as any museum piece.











Preview show introducing the latest acquisition, a beautifully carved Balinese music box, said to make inanimate objects spring to life with its enchanting music dust.




The loading bay

 

[PrincessInOz]

Loving this edition. Neither Mystic Manor nor the Mine Train were opened when we were there. I think I need a re-do!

 

[mrsgavrily]

Thank you for all the pictures and great descriptions! So excited for my DL and HK trip next week!

 

[zanzibar138]

Well, I managed to get behind again over Christmas lol! Let's see...

The flower market looks beautiful. I'm with DH though - I think I would hate the bird market. Can't believe the amount of sleaze DH encountered just metres away from all those people! I'm exhausted just reading about your day.

The Peak seems equally as exhausting lol! Your stories of the crowds and the shoving certainly don't enhance the appeal of going, although I'm starting to feel like I should do more of the HK thing when we go. My next trip will be my 4th to HK, and all I've really seen is DL

I love how uncrowded HKDL is, especially now DLR is starting to get consistently busy. I do wonder what will happen when SDL opens, though they must have a good amount of faith in it to be building a huge new hotel! I also think that HKDL is one of the better themed and more aesthetically beautiful parks with the mountains in the background like that. I thought Grizzly Gulch was amazingly well done when I saw it on our last trip, and I can't wait to see Mystic Point!

Loving this edition. Neither Mystic Manor nor the Mine Train were opened when we were there. I think I need a re-do!

Yes, you definitely do

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Getting behind spending time on other projects! Glad I have helped build the excitement mrsgavily. You will love Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor PIO - lots of photo ops. Zanzibar the crowds varied - not as bad as I thought it might be. Within the markets at peak night time yes, like many markets but aside from those it wasn't too bad and was very quiet in other places like both gardens and in the normal shops. I do agree that HKDL is one of the better themed and aesthetically beautiful parks - to me along with Disneyland Paris. I have high hopes for Shanghai!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 13

On the Mystic Manor ride

"Now you will keep away from that music box, won't you Albert"



"Mmm" I don't think so!



Releasing the magic



which flows out through the manor



The magic animates all the exhibits in the different rooms and poor Albert - and us - keeps getting into tricky situations

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 14

The finale is brilliant but no decent pics - you have to ride several times to get to properly see all the different scenes. Back in the drawing room:

Now you haven't opened that music box have you, Albert, you never know what might happen?



"No, Nup, Nuh". It's all right Albert. We won't tell.



We all loved this ride and managed to fit in many rides over our two days noticing more things each time! It’s equal with Sinbad in Tokyo DisneySea as our favourite dark ride.

Another exterior view



We also loved the design of the rubbish bins in this area.



Nearby are the Garden of Wonders that includes exhibits from around the globe collected by Lord Mystic. Theoretically these reveal optical illusions but we didn't succeed very well in making them work.

3 statues—a firebird, a Chinese unicorn and a carp—transform into one sculpture.



A Mesopotamian mythological creature, the Lamassu (need to do this with adults and little children for the best effect).



A 3D Roman mosaic

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 15

Next we walked through Toy Story Land. DH and I had seen Paris’s version but DD hadn’t been with us that trip. As in Paris it failed to impress though I felt the layout was somewhat better here or something.





RC Racer makes me feel sick just watching it – lol!



Slinky Dog Spin



Having a rest.



Parachute Drop in the background. I am sure this did more rise and drops each sequence than in Paris.



Mr Potato Head



Little Green Man



I'd rather a little green alien



Andy talks to you as you go by.