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

[amberg93]

FotLK looks incredible, if we ever make it to HKDL that will be Marie's priority for sure. Especially since you said it isn't too different, because she does love it in its current ways.

The train for the rainy day express is super cute. Man, I wish we had a super cute train for our rainy day parade.

Meeting Mickey is a solid choice. I like how you two are holding hands, simply because I've only held hands with like one character before and it was Russel.

I think that the characters on IASW look adorable. I love Marie in France and Lilo and Stitch. But Bambi in Antarctica is really weird.

Tomorrowland is my favorite land so I think I'd like it there from what you said. And I know Marie would love 2x2 seating on Space Mountain.

 

[Volunteer]

That was definitely one thing I did wrong - I didn't realize the wait that would be there for that show ... I thought on a weekday it wouldn't be too bad, but I was wrong. Oh well.

Did you notice all the gift shops were overrun with tsum tsums too? Crazy! It's like they took a page from the, "Let's stock Frozen everything in every gift shop" playbook.

I am thinking I will hit on some of the other highlights I did in Hong Kong in a future post, but overall I really liked it. It had a bit of a similar vibe to New York but also felt different at the same time. And it was so easy to navigate and the train was great, etc. Really good food too. I liked the elevated covered walkways as well. Thought some of the buildings went a bit over the top with the electronic advertisement on them, but was neat from a technology standpoint

Great, looking forward to it! It's such an unique city with it's East meets West culture and history.

 

[Imagineer5]

Yeah I don't think I've seen Mickey carry his own umbrella! Glad to see the characters have the same appearance there. And LOVE the small world façade, reminds me of DL which is so much better than WDW.

was that Bambi and Thumper are playing on the ice in Antarctica (why they are in Antarctica, not sure) - you can see Bambi up on top of the mountain in the back:

Yeah, no idea?! Kind of strange, but overall the ride sounds great

Anyway, we went to check out Space Mountain to either get a fastpass or ride if the wait wasn't too high ... well, it was only posted as a 5 minute wait so we just went for it! (BTW - there are only two rides that have fastpass in this park - Space Mountain (which I never saw have more than a 5 minute wait) and Winnie the Pooh

Interesting about FP, I didn't realize that.

All I can say is that I loved this ride! I've now ridden the version here, in Disneyland in California and at Walt Disney World and this is my favorite! You sit 2 x 2 like in California but it has more of the ups and downs and little hills like in Walt Disney World. It also plays cool music through speakers behind your head and has same projection mapping on the ceiling and some glowing asteroids and stuff ... just a really fun ride!

Awesome!

 

[chillitsanne]

Yay for castle selfies! I actually really like the look of the castle there. It looks very storybook - if that makes sense.

I love Mickey carrying the umbrella! Haha not something you see everyday.

Also, kinda random that Winnie the Pooh is one out of the two rides with FP. Is that particularly popular is Hong Kong?

Glad you enjoyed Space Mountain, sounds like it is more similar to Disneyland the WDW.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Getting caught up.... again…

It's strange to me that the English speaking skippers for the Jungle Cruise were somewhat lame. For better or worse, it seems that the corny jokes are one of the main schticks of that attraction. Weird that they'd let that aspect slip here.

It's interesting to read about the cultural differences that you experienced too. I'm not sure what I would have done if those old ladies squeezed in front of me, pushed me back, and then gave me dirty looks. I hope that I would have been gracious and just let it slide , but the little devil on my other shoulder would have been telling me to mess with them.

That Rainy Day Express parade was interesting. I've never heard of anything like that before, pretty cool! Sure seems like there were still a lot of people lined up on the sides of the street to watch it.

I love the photos with the big cheese. Cool to see Mickey carrying an umbrella!

Nice batch of photos for the It's a small world ride too!

5 minute wait for Space Mountain is super awesome!!! And it sounds like their version is a nice blend between WDW and DL versions. I would have probably rode it over and over for a while.

Looking at all your fun photos makes me jones for a Disney trip. And then I realize that I'll be in WDW this time next week.

It was very odd - especially considering that good English is spoken (ok, that wasn't really "good English" either, how about "that English is spoken well") in other parts of the park. It was definitely not as special of a ride without the jokes

I wasn't really sure what I could do - I kinda just stood there and dealt with it. I didn't want to make a big deal but also didn't want to be a complete pushover

There were definitely a lot of people for the parade - and the nighttime shows as well ... but that was definitely warranted!

If anything Space Mountain was more like Disneylands but with the dips and hills of WDW - so a good blend of the two like you put it

That's great your trip is coming up so close! Have a great time! Hopefully Mickey got back form visiting me in Hong Kong

Joining in here! Loving reading about HKDL...I was in HK about 20 years ago but I think it was before HKDL? Would love to go back with my kids now and take them there...

That is the coolest thing!! Totally want to see that. I love HM and even anything remotely similar...looks pretty awesome.

It looks empty in there!!! And I can't believe the ride times...why isn't it busier? I would expect it to be crazy crowded there all the time?

In mainland China there is really no such thing as personal space. HK is pretty crowded too in most places...there is just no hope of getting anywhere without disrespecting others' personal space in a lot of cases....

!! Yeah, this year was the 10th anniversary of HKDL so definitely after you left (I am sure one didn't cause the other )

There was some feel of the Haunted Mansion with Mystic Manor but more closely tied to the Adventurer's Club theme

Hong Kong Disneyland is often very empty. Apparently it gets a bit more crowded on the weekends but that is about it. It lost a lot of money last year. Not sure why - it's super easy to get to and a very nice park. It is small though so don't need to spend a ton of time there and not really worth a trip for foreigners just for it.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Well, at least they weren't jerks about it and everyone came away feeling okay about things.

I am truly surprised that you didn't step in and narrate for her from memory.

Wow, interesting about the cultural differences!

That train and the raincoats are adorable!

Very cool - sounds like I'd enjoy that version.

Okay, this one sounds great too. Love the little hills and the 2x2 and music sounds great.

Yeah, they were chatting us up at times too so very subtle, but nice about the cutting

The scense are a bit different - I think I did say a joke or tow ("he got it, in the end", etc.) - didn't want to freak my co-worker out too much

yeah, i really liked the train - though it was mixed feelings as I was bummed to miss the regular parade. definitely a better alternative that the rainy day calvacade they put on instead of Festival of Fantasy in WDW

Definitely a fan of the HKDL versions of both Space Mountain and It's a Small World - I guess being newer they got a bit of the "best of" which isnice

Catching up also. It is so fun to see how much alike HKDL is to DL, and yet just enough different to feel exotic.
Mystic Manor looks so cool! It does look worth a trip to see it! The ticket price is pretty good. How are hotel prices there?
Toy Story land looks so fun! Looks like they did a great job with this park.

exactly! Definitely similar but different at the same time. Hong Kong as a whole felt like that for me as it reminded me of New York City at times, but then had those exotic elements as well

I only briefly checked the hotel rates and they seemed pretty reasonable for the area (the hotels in downtown Hong Kong were a bit pricey so these semed comparable at least). Ok, just checked and their high end hotel (which looks like the Grand Floridian) says it starts at $334 USD, and their other hotel starts at $238 ... so not cheap, but not crazy considering you are a subway ride away from downtown

Lots of great themeing with the park!

Cool! I can't say that I've ever seen Mickey carry an umbrella before!

I really like that. When we were in Disneyland, it was during the tail end of their Christmas season for the ride and I liked hearing the song broken up by jingle bells. I appreciate the song for what it is and what it means. It is classic Disney. But on a loop for 15 minutes it just gets to be a bit much. I think breaking it up a little bit is a welcome change of pace.



Cool! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I think that is what I liked about the song in their It's a Small World - it was still the same basic song but enough little variances to break it up from being the exact same for 15 minutes

Definitely loved Space Mountain!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

FotLK looks incredible, if we ever make it to HKDL that will be Marie's priority for sure. Especially since you said it isn't too different, because she does love it in its current ways.

The train for the rainy day express is super cute. Man, I wish we had a super cute train for our rainy day parade.

Meeting Mickey is a solid choice. I like how you two are holding hands, simply because I've only held hands with like one character before and it was Russel.

I think that the characters on IASW look adorable. I love Marie in France and Lilo and Stitch. But Bambi in Antarctica is really weird.

Tomorrowland is my favorite land so I think I'd like it there from what you said. And I know Marie would love 2x2 seating on Space Mountain.

FOTLK really was neat and I think that is what I loved about it - definitely the same "feel" as the AK one, but some difference to make it unique

I know! I wish our rainy day parade was like their's ... I think I just appreciated that they made some effort. Sometimes that's all you want is for the other side to make some effort!

I wasn't expecting Mickey to grab my hand but I think it made for a cute shot ... like we are old friends or something

The Bambi one seemed forced, the rest all made sense which I think is what I loved about them

I really liked their Tomorrowland - just felt a bit more intimate than the one at WDW and it made it feel like there was a lot to do

Did you notice all the gift shops were overrun with tsum tsums too? Crazy! It's like they took a page from the, "Let's stock Frozen everything in every gift shop" playbook.

Great, looking forward to it! It's such an unique city with it's East meets West culture and history.

I did see a lot of tsum tsums though I didn't find it too crazy. Like, they were definitely in each store, but there was enough other stuff that it wasn't too bad. Definitely didn't feel like Frozen at it's worst, but definitely noticeable

I loved the City - I liked the variety or it but also how easy it was to navigate!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yeah I don't think I've seen Mickey carry his own umbrella! Glad to see the characters have the same appearance there. And LOVE the small world façade, reminds me of DL which is so much better than WDW.

Yeah, no idea?! Kind of strange, but overall the ride sounds great

Interesting about FP, I didn't realize that.

Awesome!

I feel like in the States Mickey would have a handler to hold his umbrella for him. It was a short walk on a side path so I guess he didn't need a handler there

There were 2 main meeting spots for Characters, in town square and then in the back of Fantasyland (where we met Mickey) ... the characters in Town Square had more traditional Asian outfits

Overall Small World was really cool - a really good version of it!

The FP situation was weird in that why bother if only do it for 2 rides, one of which I never saw more than a 5 minute wait?

Yay for castle selfies! I actually really like the look of the castle there. It looks very storybook - if that makes sense.

I love Mickey carrying the umbrella! Haha not something you see everyday.

Also, kinda random that Winnie the Pooh is one out of the two rides with FP. Is that particularly popular is Hong Kong?

Glad you enjoyed Space Mountain, sounds like it is more similar to Disneyland the WDW.

"Storybook" is a really good way of describing the Castle - it almost makes it look more realistic to have the hills behind it

Definitely not something you see every day!

Not sure why Pooh has the FP - it did have a long line at some points so I guess it is at least somewhat popular. I know the disneylands in Tokyo and Shanghai both have a Pooh ride (Shanghai's is the same as in the States, Tokyo's is a bit different) so guess the character is at least somewhat popular

Definitely more like Disneyland's than WDW - but had the hills and drops that are more in WDW than in Disneyland

 

[horse11]

I love the Disney Characters add to It's a Small World. That would make me want to ride it! I do not care for the ride at WDW and did not ride it this past trip. However I would love to ride this version!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love the Disney Characters add to It's a Small World. That would make me want to ride it! I do not care for the ride at WDW and did not ride it this past trip. However I would love to ride this version!!

I enjoyed the characters being added to the version at Disneyland, and this was even better / everything taking just a bit further and I really appreciated how it broke up the monotony nature of the ride

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Chapter 8 - I am satisfied with my care​

Missing out on seeing Mickey and the Wondrous Book messed up our plans a bit so we were in search of what do do for now. Since they were right there we decided to take a spin on the Tea Cups. First, I appreciated this sign out front indicating that you should not be drunk when riding:

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The set up here reminded me of California Disneyland's with the lanterns - but obviously it was covered. It was a fun spin - though we never got our cup going too fast

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After this we decided to take a ride on the Train up to the front of the park to check out the Animation Academy, getting on at the Fantasyland Station

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The train was cute and again reminded me of the California Disneyland counterpart as the seats faced out (so for those that have only been to Walt Disney World, it is like the train that takes you to Rafiki's Planet Watch). I also noticed that each of the cars were named after cities in California that had a connection to Disney (Burbank, etc.) which I thought was unexpected but kinda neat.

Apparently all I got was this one blury picture of the train though:

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The train ride was nice (nice enough that my co-worker fell asleep for a bit, I guess the jetlag catching up with her a bit). They did have this neat part when we were going by Tomorrowland where the green aliens from Toy Story popped up over the wall and took pictures as we went by, further establishing this as my favorite Tomorrowland

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We decided to stop for a snack, walking up Main St - and couldn't help but take another scenic picture:

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We stopped at the bakery where I got a sweet bun with Darth Vader on it in cocoa and a coffee. It was pretty good and hit the spot, it was nice to have a bite to eat. We ate our snacks on a bench outside of the Animation Academy

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We had to wait a few minutes for the current class to get out and then it was our turn. They had a nice set up here and we got to draw Baymax - which I thought was fitting! Or, as my drawing would indicated, we got to draw "small headed Baymax"

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We then still had a bit of time before the evening shows started so we decided to check out Autopia. It had a 45 minute posted wait time and we probably waited close to that which was definitely our longest wait. Not sure if we would normally do it but it was one thing we hadn't done yet, and while probably not worth that wait, it was a really cool version of the ride and definitely the one that I have been on that felt the most appropriate being in Tomorrowland - 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. I would love if the Stateside versions were changed over to something like this.

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It also gave you a cool view of Space Mountain as you drove by:

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Coming up next .... on any continent Paint the Night is AWESOME!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Chapter 9 - Paint the Night and Disney in the Stars​

The one thing I was most afraid of with the rain was that it would result in Paint the Night being cancelled. Fortunately things cleared up in the evening and both the parade and the fireworks went off without a hitch. 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! I will say I didn't get as many pictures/video this time as I really just wanted to take it in and appreciate it, so some floats are missing below. If you have never seen the parade before, unless you are trying not to spoil it for yourself, I totally recommend looking it up on Youtube.

For the most part it was the same as the one recently added to California Disneyland except it doesn't have the big drum that Peter Pans on and doesn't have the Frozen float. Also, some of the performers are a little different and I liked some of those that were unique to Hong Kong Disneyland.

We staked out a spot just at the base of the hub so the parade would go around the hub past the Castle and then turn down Main St basically right where we were - it was a neat spot to see the floats make the turn. This picture sort of shows our view and you can see the parade just starting to enter the top of the hub area and then the Castle in the background:

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First up were the fairies in front of Tinker Bell:

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After Tinker Bell (which I guess I didn't get a good picture of, was the Monster's Inc float - I love the doors on this one!

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And then Mike on the back:

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Then the Cars part - with Big Mac being one of the coolest floats with the 3-dementional light balls having really cool images being animated on it - including some I didn't remember from Califonia where it had cars racing

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Then Ariel's part:

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Then into Beauty and the Beast, with belle in the most uncomfortable looking outfit / giant cake

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Then it was Toy Story time but I was really bad about getting pictures of this - we weren't at the best angle. I do remember though that Buzz and Woody spoke in Chinese (not sure if Cantonese or Mandarin) - most of the rest of the voices in the parade were in English and the song would cycle between using English and Chinese (I think they would feature both Cantonese and Mandarin). One thing I did like was they had these cowgirl performers who were using light up yo-yo and it was really neat!

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Then it was the part with the Fab 5 (well 4, as they didn't have Pluto) and I was a terrible DISer and didn't get many pictures and this was the best one I got of Mickey:

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Once the parade ended there was a bit of time before the fireworks so I used this time to go souvenir shopping. Unfortunately that took a bit longer than I expected (I first waited for my co-worker to get some food while holding down the spot), so I missed the beginning of it. I had heard that the fireworks here aren't the best but they updated it for the 10th anniversary adding a lot more projection on the Castle and I thought it was pretty neat! They also had some fireworks/sparklers actually coming off of the Castle and also some flame throws so that was cool.

I didn't make it all the way back to our spot opting to watch what I could from Main St - so this was my view:

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There wasn't a specific theme to the fireworks show - it was called "Disney in the Stars - 10th anniversary" and was just a lot of the big animated movies - mostly from the 90's renaissance and newer. They did do a cool part with Mulan which had a heavy red theme and used the flame throwers - this was the only thing I noticed in Hong Kong Disney that featured Mulan which surprised me a little bit.

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And with that it was time to head out. Overall we had a great day and my co-worker said she enjoyed it so much more than she thought she would (which, I mean, I knew would be the case). I really loved the park - it had a lot of the elements that makes Disneyland in California great - but actually had very low crowds. Plus a few unique and great attractions made for a great visit.

So great in fact, that I wound up figuring out how to fit another visit into my trip So lot's more to come from that day ... and I staked out a great spot for Paint the Night and the fireworks, so I think I make up for the lack of pictures in this update

Before I get to that I thought I would take one post to go through some other things I saw in Hong Kong - so that will be like the intermission and will come next.

TTFN

 

[PrincessInOz]

I love that you enjoyed HKDL so much that you're working out how to fit another visit! It's a smaller park than the US versions but there's enough there to satisfy Disney cravings..

Looking forward to seeing what you saw in HK.

 

[SarahDisney]

I actually laughed out loud at the "you should be sober to ride." It's not bad advice ... tea cups + alcohol could be a very messy combination!

Autopia looks pretty cool - I like that it has a more futuristic look. Definitely looks like it could be a nice inspiration for an update to the domestic versions of the ride.

Paint the Night looks amazing!! The fireworks sound interesting too ... I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures from your next visit!

 

[ElenaJane]

Was the Animation Academy in English? Your Baymax is great! I am a terrible artist with any language instructions. I am looking forward to your other Hong Kong highlights "intermission" also!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love that you enjoyed HKDL so much that you're working out how to fit another visit! It's a smaller park than the US versions but there's enough there to satisfy Disney cravings..

Looking forward to seeing what you saw in HK.

It is pretty small but there is still a lot to do and I think just 1 day is really pushing it. Plus when we first went one of the mini-lands was closed, but it opened up for a day later in my trip so that was one main reason I went back

I actually laughed out loud at the "you should be sober to ride." It's not bad advice ... tea cups + alcohol could be a very messy combination!

Autopia looks pretty cool - I like that it has a more futuristic look. Definitely looks like it could be a nice inspiration for an update to the domestic versions of the ride.

Paint the Night looks amazing!! The fireworks sound interesting too ... I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures from your next visit!

And in talking to some of my co-workers based in Hong Kong they have had a few to drink in town and then took the train over to Disneyland since it is so close, so it actually is useful information. They had a similar warning out front of Autopia

Paint the Night really is an amazing parade and from the next viewing I can tell you the projections with the fireworks are really good!

Was the Animation Academy in English? Your Baymax is great! I am a terrible artist with any language instructions. I am looking forward to your other Hong Kong highlights "intermission" also!

The Animation Academy was in both - so I think he was just repeating everything in both English and Chinese.

Thanks!

 

[rteetz]

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.

 

[Dugette]

First, I appreciated this sign out front indicating that you should not be drunk when riding:

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

They did have this neat part when we were going by Tomorrowland where the green aliens from Toy Story popped up over the wall and took pictures as we went by, further establishing this as my favorite Tomorrowland

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I LOVE this! Those little guys are my favorites.

The one thing I was most afraid of with the rain was that it would result in Paint the Night being cancelled. Fortunately things cleared up in the evening and both the parade and the fireworks went off without a hitch.

Glad things cleared up for you!

And with that it was time to head out. Overall we had a great day and my co-worker said she enjoyed it so much more than she thought she would (which, I mean, I knew would be the case). I really loved the park - it had a lot of the elements that makes Disneyland in California great - but actually had very low crowds. Plus a few unique and great attractions made for a great visit.

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

Before I get to that I thought I would take one post to go through some other things I saw in Hong Kong - so that will be like the intermission and will come next.

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

 

[Imagineer5]

The train ride was nice (nice enough that my co-worker fell asleep for a bit, I guess the jetlag catching up with her a bit). They did have this neat part when we were going by Tomorrowland where the green aliens from Toy Story popped up over the wall and took pictures as we went by, further establishing this as my favorite Tomorrowland

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.

After Tinker Bell (which I guess I didn't get a good picture of, was the Monster's Inc float - I love the doors on this one!

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

Once the parade ended there was a bit of time before the fireworks so I used this time to go souvenir shopping. Unfortunately that took a bit longer than I expected (I first waited for my co-worker to get some food while holding down the spot), so I missed the beginning of it. I had heard that the fireworks here aren't the best but they updated it for the 10th anniversary adding a lot more projection on the Castle and I thought it was pretty neat! They also had some fireworks/sparklers actually coming off of the Castle and also some flame throws so that was cool.

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

So great in fact, that I wound up figuring out how to fit another visit into my trip So lot's more to come from that day ... and I staked out a great spot for Paint the Night and the fireworks, so I think I make up for the lack of pictures in this update

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!

 

[missangelalexis]

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.