Hong Kong, Disneyland Trip Report

[scrpbookr]

Hello there! I'm Brenda and this is my little boy, Reagan.

We are about thirty-ish days out from our next Disney adventure. In the meantime I've been trying to get some of our past Disney trip reports documented here on the DIS.

For a few years my Mom lived in China. While she was there we had the opportunity to visit. We flew in and out of Hong Kong which made for the perfect opportunity to visit Disneyland, Hong Kong.

This is my lovely Mom...

My DH wasn't interested in a trip to China but his brother was so we brought him along on the adventure. This is Uncle Mike...

Trip Report Entry Links
Disneyland Train and Entering the Park (just scroll below)
Enjoying Main Street
Tomorrowland
The Golden Mickeys
Fantasyland
Fantasyland - Part 2
Adventureland
Tarzan's Treehouse
A Really BIG Cookie
"I didn't know you were a Disney maniac"

The day's excitement began with riding Disneyland's special train....

The hand grips in the train were so adorable!

Uncle Mike, Reagan and my Mom...

In true Disney fashion even the transportation was an experience....

Disneyland Railway Station...

Exiting the train and entering the park...

There is a lovely fountain in the entrance park with a surfing Mickey...

And our first peek at the Main Street station entrance....

The four of us...

Reagan has always had a fascination with maps!

It seems he has always started his park days with a study of the map...

Even as a little guy. It is as if he's looking at the wall of park maps thinking Wow!, Look at all those maps....

I can't get enough of the boy and his map!

As we made our way past the maps and into the park we spotted the fab 5!

Peeking in at guest relations....

Here comes a marching band...

There were cast members selling special Chinese New Year goody bags...

I'm out of picture space for this post so I'll continue on in the next entry...

 

[scrpbookr]

I left off with the cast members selling special Chinese New Year grab bags...

The view back down Main Street towards the entrance....

And towards the castle...

Some of the Main Street shops...

Can't pass up an opportunity to take balloon pics on Main Street!

Next Up.... Tomorrowland!

 

[scrpbookr]

After our stroll down Main Street we entered Tomorrowland...

Our first ride of the day was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters!

Time to load into our vehicle...

A glimpse of Space Mountain...

Reagan and I rode the space ships...

Throughout the park there were several kiosks set up with cast member driving little remote control Mickey cars. Reagan got a big kick out of them. Before the day was through Nanny surprised him by letting him pick one out as a souvenir....

He also found some very big leaves to carry around. He's a boy....

There was a cute autotopia photo spot that we took advantage of!

We were there on a cooler day but on a hot day this splash pad would be a hit, I'm sure!

Our first Character meet of the day was with Cowboy Woody!

Up Next... The Golden Mickeys!

 

[scrpbookr]

While walking through the queue for the Golden Mickey's Show we got a glimpse of the train going by with IASW in the back ground....

The show was enjoyable!

Mickey and Minnie!

Loved the surf scene!

Under the Sea....

Beauty and the Beast!

The Huntchback! I remember sometime in the early 90's that Disneyland California had a Huntchback show in an outdoor setting that was very cool and different....

I remember reading somewhere on the Dis boards that this show is elsewhere. I don't remember if it's on some of the cruise ships or in Disneyland, Paris. I did enjoy it and wouldn't mind taking it in again....

Next.... Fantasyland!

 

[scrpbookr]

Time for Fantasyland!

Loved this underpass that leads to IASW!

There it is! Very pretty with the mountain in the background!

A very cute outdoor eating area... Festival of Foods...

We found the tea cups!

Reagan was admiring the neatly trimmed hedge....

LOVE the lanterns!

A peek at IASW from the Tea Cups queue...

We had a view of the train, too.

White Rabbit greets the train!

And the Cheshire Cat sends it on its way...

It's tea cup time!

He looks a little concerned that he's on his own. He should know that Mommy just needs a picture...

We got one together in the photo op cup after our ride...

Lovely elephant topiaries!

Reagan, Uncle Mike and a very cool Fantasia statue!

Next up.... Winnie the Pooh!

 

[scrpbookr]

Our next ride was The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh!

Our very own honey pot!

Scenes along the way....

Bouncy, bouncy!

Buddy Boy got pounced!

Such a great birthday party scene!

The store that you exit the ride into is very sweetly themed!

Pure Pooh Love!

These next few Sword in the Stone pics *melt* me! Love him!

This is my favorite of the three...

Reagan had a lot to tell me about while I tried to get a good Dumbo ride picture!

Our turn to ride!

Hi Timothy!

Cuteness overload...

The views from Dumbo....

Little boy on the move! Nanny tries to keep up!

Merlins...

Coming up next.... Adventureland!

 

[scrpbookr]

After finishing up in Fantasyland we made our way towards Adventureland!

The Disney details never disappoint!

The Leaky Tikis in Adventureland were a surprise to me. Again, these lend themselves better to warm weather. It was a little cool this day but that didn't stop Uncle Mike and Reagan from checking them out!

The Jungle Cruise was our next destination!

The Jungle Cruise boats pass the Treehouse which is a bit different from what we are use to in other parks...

I always enjoy the queue details...

Great Treehouse views!

Elephant friends along the way...

It was all fun and games until the piranha attacked!

This next pic is one of my favorites from Hong Kong, Disneyland...

creeeeepy....

A camp along the way....

Fire feature!

Heading back to the dock...

I'll jump ahead a bit here and share a view of the Jungle Cruise from the Treehouse...

This jungle cruise boat pic was taken from the Treehouse, too....

The Treehouse shares some of the same views as the Jungle Cruise, too...

A cafe near the Rivers of Adventure...

When we finished with the Jungle Cruise another remote control Mickey car caught Reagan's attention. The cast members drive them right up to you as you walk around...

I'll stop here and pick up in the next entry with the rest of Adventureland.

 

[helenk]

Great pictures, I can't wait to read more!

 

[steve76]

Wow, great pictures and a great report! Looks like you had a lot of fun.

The park doesn't look crowded in your pictures, but what kind of wait times did you encounter? When I went 5 years ago, there weren't really any lines at all (apart from Autopia), but I'm curious as to what it's like these days.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Looks like a nice empty park. How fantastic for you! Looking forward to more.

 

[scrpbookr]

After the Jungle Cruise we non to Tarzan's Treehouse. As you can see it is across the River of Adventure on an island similar to how Tom Sawyer's island is at Disneyland, CA.

I loved these Adventureland tiki lanterns!

Transportation to the Treehouse island was via raft...

The dock on the other side of the river....

We've arrived!

Looking back at the loading dock toward "the main land"...

This is a cute shot of Reagan climbing the treehouse stairs with Uncle Mike. Maybe it is just a Mommy thing though....

More awesome lights! Metal lanterns this time!

I love books! Especially children's books! So attractions like this one or The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh that include the book get me every time!

Reagan seems to be looking at the book in this next one, too. Just ignore that ferocious cat and read on...

Rock-a-Bye Baby in the Treetops...

Details like the Chinese characters remind us we're in Hong Kong. Otherwise it could almost be Disney anywhere...

What can I say.... I'm obsessed with the adventureland lights!

Sweet Kala....

Tarzan and Jane....

Looking down over the treehouse railing to a greenhouse type workbench...

and now a closer look down low...

A science lab type set up at the Treehouse...

Look at this sweet baby elephant playing in a swim hole along side the Treehouse!

Reagan and Uncle Mike found a cave!

The treehouse has a waterfall view!

Time to catch the raft back! My sweet boy!

Thoroughly enjoyed the treehouse!

 

[scrpbookr]

Once we took the Tarzan Raft back over we made our way out of Adventureland. But not before stopping to smell the flowers....

And take in a bit of sidewalk art. These amaze me!

I'm not sure if these cast members are really part of the custodial crew or if they are part of entertainment. These are done with water and a broom. Incredible, right?!?!!

I dislike the idea of them just drying and disappering though....

Reagan spotted a really big cookie with his name on it....

And since we were by the castle we popped on our ears for a picture....

A big cookie like that calls for some milk! There's another one of those little cars coming up to say hi to Reagan!

Some Main Street Transportation...

Reagan has a tummy full of cookie and he's ready to look at the map for phase 2 of his plan!

We decided to join the queue for our favorite mice....

We were there in January and crowds were low. The line for Mickey and Minne was our longest of the day....

We passed the time with a bit of mouse ear peek-a-boo.....

A lot of cast members were handing our stickers throughout the day. I think we had about 30ish by the time the day was done. Reagan took some time while in line to look through what he had so far...

Eventually he gave up on the line and left Mommy to wait while he joined Nanny and Uncle Mike on a bench close by...

He had a good view of Minnie and Mickey from the bench. You can tell he's enjoying watching them greet those in line ahead of us.

Finally it was his turn and in my opinion so worth the wait...

This one melts me....

I got in on the action, too...

A nice hug goodbye.... or a hug see ya real soon, I guess...

Reagan looks sad to be saying goodbye....

But there is more fun right around the corner! Coming up!...

 

[scrpbookr]

Minnie and Mickey are a tough act to follow but Goofy and Pluto did a good job with it! More big hugs...

And a very cute picture of the three of them...

Checking out the whiskers!

I popped in for a picture, too...

We rode the train next...

Uncle Mike, Reagan and Nanny on the train...

The station...

taking in all the sights along the train route...

We passed through Fantasyland...

Mickey and Goofy left some cute notes at the Fantasyland station...

And Tomorrowland from the train...

After our train ride it was time for the evening castle/firework show...

Poor Reagan was exhausted and fell asleep about half way through the show...

Mommy took lots of pictures for the scrapbook though so he could see what he missed later...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a...0100201135314531.JPG/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/

Our evening ended with some photopass shopping. Nanny bought the little remote control car for Reagan, too. Then we were on our way back to the hotel in Hong Kong...

Reagan slept right through the rest...

At the end of the night my brother in law said to me that he had no idea I was such a Disney maniac. I'll take that as a compliment! I guess he didn't mention it during the day because he didn't want to damper my enthusiasm. Little does he know that nothing can dampen my enthusiasm while at Disney.

It was a magical Disney day!

 

[bswift]

Looks like you had a fabulous trip!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the pic of your DS asleep.

 

[Minnie222]

Great report! You had a great trip to HKDL.

I really miss the days when HKDL was this quiet. The park now is a lot more crowded, and wait times are much longer.

 

[dee slack]

thank you so much for sharing your visit with us and for the wonderful photo's.
We are visiting at the end of March and am finding it quite difficult to get much info about the park (even the website doesn't have park hours for March yet) so would you be able to help with a few questions, please to help with my obsessive planning?

Photopass - you mentioned this in your report - is it the same as WDW? How much is it, and are there many park photographers?

Is English spoken widely? My Mandarin is VERY poor I'm afraid.

Shopping - Is there a Christmas shop? Are there any HKDL special items to look for?

Characters - are they scheduled? Is there an organised line for them, or a 'choose me' type system like Japan?

thanks in advance!

 

[dee slack]

sorry, forgot to say - you are correct, the Golden Mickey's show is on DCL.

 

[Minnie222]

thank you so much for sharing your visit with us and for the wonderful photo's.
We are visiting at the end of March and am finding it quite difficult to get much info about the park (even the website doesn't have park hours for March yet) so would you be able to help with a few questions, please to help with my obsessive planning?

Photopass - you mentioned this in your report - is it the same as WDW? How much is it, and are there many park photographers?
They have photographers at the main locations:
Entrance, Castle, Fantasy Gardens (Character Meet Location), Princess Meet locations. They don't use Photopass as in WDW. They give out tickets showing the specific number of your photos. You can then choose and buy your photos at a photo store near the exit area. The photographers can also use your camera to help you take pictures.

They have magic shots also, mainly in front of the castle. Please just ask the photographers there.

Is English spoken widely? My Mandarin is VERY poor I'm afraid.
Hong Kong's main spoken language is Cantonese, not Mandarin. But there are a lot of Mandarin speaking guests from Mainland China at the park. The CMs in the park are local Hong Kong people. They can speak English no problem.

Shopping - Is there a Christmas shop? Are there any HKDL special items to look for?
There is not a particular Christmas shop there. They have many items that said "Hong Kong Disneyland" in the park, ranging from T-shirts to stationery items to candies. After purchase, you can ask them to send your items to the exit for pick-up when you leave, so you don't have to hold them throughout the day.

Characters - are they scheduled? Is there an organised line for them, or a 'choose me' type system like Japan?
They are scheduled. It is an organized line to meet them. If you are looking for a particular character, you can go to customer service to ask for their location and schedule.

Hope you have a great trip to HKDL. If you have more questions, ask away!

 

[missangelalexis]

Great trip report!