A (2019) HalloXmas trip to Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo! - COMPLETED 5/1!!!

[missangelalexis]

I love the Halloween decor at the entrance- and Mickey & Minnie's Halloween costumes!!

Omg Gelatoni!! Great pics!

I think I would need a whole suitcase to bring home all the Duffy & friends merchandise I'd want to buy hahaha

Sounds like a fun version of jungle cruise!!

 

[lindseyanne]

Gelatoni in his lil' Halloween costume...I am deceased!

Big Grizzly Zoom Zoom not only looks like so much fun, but is also fun to say. And Mystic Manor...wowzers. It looks so awesome.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I bow to your Disney knowledge, and also just LOVE that there is so much backstory for the attractions making them SO much more than just a ride!!!


Someday I'll get to ride RotR (and maybe Mystic Manor at some point, too!) so I can get in on the debate

I just am so intrigued by SEA with it carrying over to all the parks! I wish there were even more references, and I wish I had visited when they had Explorer's Club!

I didn't realize you hadn't ridden RotR yet!

I love the Halloween decor at the entrance- and Mickey & Minnie's Halloween costumes!!

Omg Gelatoni!! Great pics!

I think I would need a whole suitcase to bring home all the Duffy & friends merchandise I'd want to buy hahaha

Sounds like a fun version of jungle cruise!!

The decor was cute! And I loved how all the characters had coordinating costumes! They do different ones each year!

I bought so much Duffy and Friends things! I wish they took hold over in the US!

Gelatoni in his lil' Halloween costume...I am deceased!

Big Grizzly Zoom Zoom not only looks like so much fun, but is also fun to say. And Mystic Manor...wowzers. It looks so awesome.

Haha, he was adorable!

Both of those rides were just so great!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 6 – Exploration with a side of lunch
And checked out the Gardens of Wonder, which had a lot of photo optical illusions set up! Unfortunately they don’t quite have the same results without people in them!

I decided to eat lunch at The Explorer’s Club Restaurant, which is a quick service next to Mystic Manor. It actually is supposed to be another exhibit area for the mansion, so a map was in the queue for the ride.

Like most of the other places in the park, the restaurant has a couple different stations, including Indian, South East Asian, Korean, and Japanese.

The restaurant entrance is the Tribal Entryway and Collection Room.

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[Lesley Wake]

So I ended up going with the Deep-fried Chicken Steak with Vegetable Fried Rice Combo (with chicken leg, mild curry sauce and preserved vegetables). I do not like curry at all, so got it sans curry. But I still ended up liking it! Oh and I guess I had assumed “chicken steak” would be like chicken fried steak, which in the US is a steak that is cooked like fried chicken. But nope, just a thinner chicken cutlet fried. It was still good but surprised me for a moment!

I ended up eating in the Chinese Room. I loved how all the rooms even had different tables/chairs based on their theme!

Next door was the Indian Room. Sorry, for these upcoming photos I tried to avoid taking photos of the people just eating in there so they show more of ceiling than I would like!

There was also the Russian Room.

And the Morocco and Egypt areas, which were actually open to the outside (though covered, as HK gets lots of summer storms). I think the Egypt area was actually roped off though.

Coming up - Toy Story Land and another date with Villains! ​

 

[KEK1]

What did you think overall of the food at HKDL? Expensive and not very good is what I've heard..

 

[missjackiemcg]

I didn't realize you hadn't ridden RotR yet!

Isn't that the saddest thing ever!? I should have sucked it up, despite not feeling well, in December and just gotten up early for a boarding group!!! Never made it on then, and in July we only had one DHS day, and despite the really low crowds and being on the app right at the release times, still failed miserably. SOMEDAY!!!!!

Those optical illusion pics would be SO much fun!! I just imagine our EPIC girls crew and how amazing that would have been to do together

 

[vamassey1]

The different rooms in the restaurant are very interesting, again just so much detail. I can understand your disappointment in the the chicken fried steak. That would not be what I would expect either.

 

[Lesley Wake]

What did you think overall of the food at HKDL? Expensive and not very good is what I've heard..

Hmm, I'm trying to remember, but I was pretty satisfied with it! Some of the in-park quick service options did just seem like typical theme park fare, but nothing worse than WDW or DLP! The hotels did have good options though.

The different rooms in the restaurant are very interesting, again just so much detail. I can understand your disappointment in the the chicken fried steak. That would not be what I would expect either.

I love the themed restaurants in the parks! And it wasn't disappointment - just surprise! It worked out well, and probably if you like curry, you'd love that sauce!

Isn't that the saddest thing ever!? I should have sucked it up, despite not feeling well, in December and just gotten up early for a boarding group!!! Never made it on then, and in July we only had one DHS day, and despite the really low crowds and being on the app right at the release times, still failed miserably. SOMEDAY!!!!!

Those optical illusion pics would be SO much fun!! I just imagine our EPIC girls crew and how amazing that would have been to do together

We would have so much fun in those photos together!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 7 – Toy Story Land & Another Date with the Villains


Now I was finally going to Toy Story Land! I realized I had never gone over there the previous day. Though all the rides are identical to the ones in Paris (and 2 are the same as Shanghai) so I didn’t plan on bothering with them.

I loved how the fence posts looked like the pieces you pop out from a model kit

Lots of fans everywhere! Like DHS, they also didn’t have enough shade in this land!

There wasn’t a line for the Slinky Dog Spin, so I decided to go ahead and give it a whirl! I did like it in Paris, though it’s not something I would bother waiting in line for!

And despite how small this land is, they even had an actual gift shop! (Ahem… Hollywood Studios…)

This is a pretty cute shirt!

A fun photo opp.

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[Lesley Wake]

The food option – Jessie’s Snack Roundup.

Looks like I got a swirl ice cream (it was H O T!) I think they also had some options like pineapple slush, pizza sticks, potato spirals, etc.

I really really really liked the Halloween decorations in this area! Maybe they will eventually come to DHS, since we do get Christmas decorations!

Oh and since I have now been to all of the Toy Story Lands worldwide (there isn’t one in Tokyo but they do have TSM), here is my ranking:​

• Florida – it is the only one with unique rides, and Slinky Dog Dash and TSM beat any of the others. AS2 is also fun enough. And it is the biggest one. But it is still lacking in shade and a gift shop.​
• Shanghai. I know! I think I liked the theming there and Woody’s Roundup is a pretty cute version of the ride, plus a cute shop and yummy food options.​
• Hong Kong. This only beats Paris because of the proper food and store (I think Paris does have a store but it doesn’t seem to ever be open), plus seasonal decorations. But the rides are identical to Paris.​
• Paris. This one definitely needs some help! And I think it really is the smallest, with everything crowded together.​

I looped around the river, admiring the Liki Tikis again!

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[Lesley Wake]

And then I decided to go and see Let’s Get Wicked again! I had hoped to get an actual front row space, but unfortunately wasn’t fast enough and ended up in the second row. Still a great show and view! Also interesting to see a different group of performers!

I didn’t take too many photos this time, just trying to enjoy the show!

Well, I did make an exception for my favorite Gaston!

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[Lesley Wake]

And of course the finale!

Nothing in particular for this photo, but I loved the trees all around the park!

Coming up: window shopping and Mickey's Halloween Cavalcade​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

*whispers* TSM at Studios has a gift shop at the end of Mania. It was kind of an add-end, but omg it's fun working in there.

But omg the Halloween decorations!! If only they'd expand Halloween to Studios because it would work SO WELL there. Uggggghhh.

 

[KEK1]

The Halloween decorations at TSL look hilarious! Land looks cute. Great pics!

 

[Lesley Wake]

*whispers* TSM at Studios has a gift shop at the end of Mania. It was kind of an add-end, but omg it's fun working in there.

But omg the Halloween decorations!! If only they'd expand Halloween to Studios because it would work SO WELL there. Uggggghhh.

Haha, yeah I forgot about that! And it doesn’t count since I’ve never walked through lol! (I don’t ride TSM at DHs that often since I have the same one in dca).

And I agree about Halloween! Nighttime ToT with lights totally off! RnRC with Halloween music and projections (a la Space Mountain). Figure out a place to put Let’s Get Wicked and you are gold!

The Halloween decorations at TSL look hilarious! Land looks cute. Great pics!

Thanks! I think it was photos of those decorations which spurred on my decision to go to HK and SH!

 

[vamassey1]

Love the Halloween decoration in TSL. I wish they would add them to DHS too. Lots more cute details in TSL, and yes it does need more shade.

The shows here just blow me away.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Love the Halloween decoration in TSL. I wish they would add them to DHS too. Lots more cute details in TSL, and yes it does need more shade.

The shows here just blow me away.

Yes, those decorations were awesome! I know you never visited DCA and A Bug's Land, but I wish they had relocated a lot of those clover shades over to TSL! They gave the area plenty of shade.

And yeah, that show was just amazing!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 8 – Main Street & Mickey’s Halloween Cavalcade


After the show I decided to take a walk down Main Street.

Halloween decorations in the day. I liked that they tried to make the most of the area between the Hub and the construction walls.

I loved the garlands at the candy store!

More decorations

This was where Mickey and Minnie meet! I think the line to meet them was always around 30-45 minutes. Which, when considering some other parks, isn’t too bad. Just not how I wanted to spend my time (plus it would be almost all in the hot sun!)

Cutie Cookie decorations!

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[Lesley Wake]

Some more window shopping

Travel accessories. I did end up getting the Cookie passport holder on the right side of the last photo!

Hair accessories – so cute!

I considered this but ultimately passed!

Tsum tsums are alive and well in Hong Kong!

And they LOVE keychains. (Oh I ended up going all in on these too and got a bunch from the various parks)

I almost got these shot glasses, as I planned on getting a couple Disney shot glasses for friends/family souvenirs. But I was worried about them breaking during my travels and figured they would have options in Tokyo (spoiler alert – they didn’t, but I did make it up at the Tokyo Airport duty free!)

I wanted to buy this shirt but I know their sizes are already smaller than American and wasn’t confident at all it would fit.

Some sweaters for little kids and adults. I considered one of the adult ones but I didn’t think sizes would work.

Cutie flip flops – I like the coordinating but not matching sets!

Some pins – I really liked a lot of the options, especially unique HK ones!

Pandora. Love the ticket book!

Walking outside I caught the Main Street Pianist, who was fun to listen to!

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