Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland March 17 – Day 7 Complete in Hong Kong Proper; 12/04

[PrincessInOz]

Rainy Day Strategy #8 – Enjoying a Hot Drink (Ovaltine is NOT Hot Chocolate!!!)




We had eaten such a full breakfast that neither my mother or I had felt hungry that day. At least, we hadn’t felt hungry until after the Jack Sparrow Stunt Show.

We still weren’t feeling hungry but we were both thirsty and in need of a drink.


Rainy Day Strategy #8. On a cold and rainy day, nothing cheers you up like a hot drink. So, you might as well take time out and enjoy a hot drink.


As we were right there, we headed in to Barbarossa’s Bounty to see if we could get something warm to drink. Naturally, I was tempted in there. We ended up getting this snack.

CAUTION: This picture MAY contain traces of nuts, sugar, milk solids, processed wheat products and oil.





Yup, as you would expect…..With that many ingredients that are considered on the naughty food list, it was DELICIOUS!


We also got Hot Chocolate. I figured the chocolate would cheer me up.

This is what we were given for Hot Chocolate.





Ummmm. Ovaltine is NOT Hot Chocolate. At least, it’s not the kind that I’m used to.We had to use hot water to make the hot chocolate. There was no milk involved!


The drink did warm me up; but I'm not a fan of Ovaltine. I made myself drink 2/3 of it. I had to leave the rest of it behind.




(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

PotC Fully Loaded: Covering Old Ground




There was another good thing to come out of our time in Barbarossa’s. The SDL app had indicated that the PotC attraction was down but we noticed that the boats were running whilst we were having our not hot chocolate. And they were filled with people!



So, we headed on next door as quickly as we could.






The wait times weren’t too bad.





The app did eventually update whilst we were in queue.






With not very many people behind me, I held the queue up a little.





Afterall, we were undercover in the fort.






The Disney spirit was alive and well in this ride. No one pushed ahead of us or hurried me up.






A 15-minute wait time will mean that you’ll have to wait in the ‘dungeon’ section of the queue.






It gave me the opportunity to shoot the Map Room.






It didn’t take us long to get to the top of the stairs. I think it was about a 10-minute wait in total.





I asked if we could sit at the front. Afterall, it is the best place to sit if you want to snap, snap, snap away in this attraction. The CM was happy to let us wait for the next boat before letting us board in the front.





Front of the line, with the Pirate Lord of Singapore ahead of us!





With a clear view ahead.





I somehow suspect that Disney Imagineers took a hard look at the Willie Wonker Wonkavator, which can go sideways and slantways and longways and backways and frontways and squareways and any ways you can think of, when they were designing this ride.

The tracks for this attraction are one of the reasons why this ride works the way it does. Suffice to say, it’s a magnetic track system that allows the bateaus to travel frontways, backways, upways, downways and sideways. It can speed up or slow down, maintain vehicle to vehicle spacing, and can synchronize show elements exactly to the position of the vehicle.


The talking skull…..all in Mandarin…..looks straight out of DLR. I might even know someone with a replica of this prop in their home!






It didn’t take us long to clear the Fortress Snobbish area.






We headed into Barbarossa’s Bounty waterfront area again. I guess this puts a completely different spin to the “backside of the waterfall”, right?






The “Dead Man’s Grotto” section of the Shanghai version.





They call this the Cave of Misfortune.





I think we all recognise some of these scenes.





It’s not a true Mickey Head….but that lock could be a hidden Mickey.





Poor unfortunate souls.






I think we got up to meeting Jack Sparrow yesterday.








For anyone not wanting to see the new version of this ride, stop now. Go back. I'll be fully loaded in the next post.




(You've been warned about the spoilers!!)








(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

PotC Fully Loaded: Finding the Sunken Treasure At Last



Yesterday, when I first got on the ride, my memory card filled up just after we met Jack Sparrow and I was left stumped for words after that point.


Not so this time round!


From here on end, it’s the ride imitating the movie series.


The magic of this ride is the way it takes you into the Graveyard of Lost Ships. Those magnetic tracks made me feel like we were completely submerging down into the bottom of Davy Jones’ locker.





The projection system completely makes this an awesome experience. The curved screen in here puts Soarin’ and IMAX to shame! And it’s HUGE! When that Kraken rose up, it was just gobsmacking larger than life.





I reckon that screen covers about 270 degrees inside the Graveyard. For anyone who doesn’t want to lose the magic…don’t look back and up.


Even better than the new tracks and the projection system……somehow, Disney have managed to merge the physical 3D world with the 2D world and make it all seem so real. There were times where it was impossible to work out where one realm stopped and the other started.






Pure magic!





Another turn and we headed into Davy Jones’ lair. There are two unfortunate souls that will be in those stockades for a long, long, long time. The animatronics are pure Disney and absolutely amazing.





Again, there were angles in here where I couldn’t tell the difference between 3D reality and 2D projection.





This ride is all about the Battle for the Sunken Treasure.





We definitely found the treasure.





The extent of Disney theming can be found in the details…..check out the barnacles on the prow of the boat!






As the first version of the Pirates ride to be based entirely on the movie series, the audio-animatronics in here were straight out of big screen.

Audio-animatronics have come a long way from the Tiki Room. Instead of using pneumatics and hydraulics to operate them, these days, AA use high speed computers and sensors to control speech and movement. It’s no wonder that Maccus seems larger than life!





And if his first mate didn’t impress you, Davy Jones, himself, can also be found as an example of life imitating art.





Both were stunningly amazing.


Another turn and we hit another massive curved IMAX screen. This time, we were rising up, up and up.






Straight into the middle of battleships!










Upways, downways, sideways, slantways and backways…..





The battle was raging all around and being completely immersed in it, I hardly noticed the splash and drop that came with this part of the ride.





All his dialogue was in Mandarin. I guess he was happy to have found treasure and to see us again.






Another turn and we were back.





It’s a close call between this attraction and Tron for Best-In-Park. I’m calling it a tie. Both rides are absolutely amazing and will be the reasons why I’d be happy to head back to Shanghai Disneyland anytime!






(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Lure of the Siren Was Wasted on Me (Siren’s Revenge)




After being immersed in all things pirates, it was little wonder that there was an attraction in Treasure Cove that my DM wanted to explore.





The lure of the Siren was strong for my DM and I was happy enough to go along with the suggestion.





Besides, it looked empty in there.





There were some quirky figureheads in this area.





I guess you could call it cutting edge.





The Siren’s Revenge is a full-scale replica of a pirate’s ship. I’m sure someone here can confirm if Joshamee Gibbs was it’s captain.





I remember feeling rather cold in here and that probably explains why my pictures are rather pedestrian.





I sure didn’t give myself enough rope in here to capture the essence of the ship.





Everything just seemed a little flat to me.





Talk about clangers…..





….and leaving things to hang and dry!





Still, I think my DM had a good time looking around.





It took me a while to see through the fog I was in.





I did eventually realise that the view from the deck was stunning.






I really need to get back on this ship next time and give it a closer look.






It might just be worth checking out, if you have time and if there are no crowds.



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

Back to My Happy Place in the Jungle (Happy Circle Meet and Greet)




It was still spitting a little when we headed out of Treasure Cove. At least, it was a heavy rain anymore.





We were heading into Adventure Isle when I realised that we were walking past a Meet and Greet area.





There was a group ahead of us; so wait time was probably 5 minutes.

Of all the Jungle Book characters, Baloo is my favourite! I may have even been (badly) singing the Bare Necessities of Life when I gave him a hug.










Sadly, I didn’t get an individual shot of Baloo. Surprisingly, there was another group behind us and we were hustled out of there by the CM.


We found King Louie next door.






He was happy to pose for me.





Photopass came in handy here as well.







If nothing else, meeting Baloo and King Louie put me in a happy frame of mind for the rest of the night.








(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

Walking Our Way out of the Park




After our Jungle Book encounter, we kept on walking around. With the rain, I wonder how busy the Challenge Trails had been today. It would have been super slippery on the rope courses.





Roaring Rapids was down for scheduled maintenance.







It’s an all too familiar look for me. I’ve seen Grizzly Bear Rapids in the same state.





Roaring Rapids will remain something for me to come back for.





I’ll be chomping at the bit to get on it next time.





I got my answer about how quiet it had been here today. If you can read it, Soarin’ stand-by wait time is 5 minutes. And there are still fast passes available!





If we had wanted to go on them, the Explorer Canoes were also a 5-minute wait.





I did try and capture some of the details in this part of the park.





But we had arranged to meet Wendy and her DD for dinner and needed to head out to make our date with them.





I think my DM was also feeling the cold and was over the wet at this time. She hustled out even faster than me!





Sadly, the drizzle started to get a little bit heavier by the time we made it to the Wandering Moon Teahouse.





I did feel sorry for the CM standing out there.





We cut across the Garden of Imagination from one side of the Castle…..






….to the other.





We were heading towards Disneytown!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Whoa!!! That POTC is unreal!

The pics of you and your mom with the characters are adorable!

 

[franandaj]

Nice pictures in the shows. Too bad they didn't have subtitles or some element for the non Mandarin speakers. I think this is going to be our most disappointing part if we ever get there. Not knowing what is going on. I like your idea of making up the stories as you go along!

We arrive in Disneyland in 11 days too - say hi! if you see me

We're going to DCA that day mainly to ride Guardians of the Galaxy, and my Mom wants to get on Soarin'. Those are the only firm plans so far, other than dinner at the Uva Bar and Cafe. I'll keep a lookout for you!

 

[zanzibar138]

Ummmm. Ovaltine is NOT Hot Chocolate. At least, it’s not the kind that I’m used to.We had to use hot water to make the hot chocolate. There was no milk involved!

For the record, I got a real hot chocolate at the Sunnyside Marketplace at the Toy Story Hotel, so it is around.

There was another good thing to come out of our time in Barbarossa’s. The SDL app had indicated that the PotC attraction was down but we noticed that the boats were running whilst we were having our not hot chocolate. And they were filled with people!

Lucky you! Love your run-through of this ride.

Typical PIO - caught mid-click!

I did eventually realise that the view from the deck was stunning.

Yep, that was definitely the best part of that attraction. Although I do regret not going aboard for a better look this time around. Last time I could hardly move with all the people!

Sadly, I didn’t get an individual shot of Baloo. Surprisingly, there was another group behind us and we were hustled out of there by the CM.

That is surprising. On my previous trip I found the CMs at Happy Circle to be among the most laidback I had met!

If nothing else, meeting Baloo and King Louie put me in a happy frame of mind for the rest of the night.

I also regret not going back to my happy place on this day! I'm sure it would have helped my mood

After our Jungle Book encounter, we kept on walking around. With the rain, I wonder how busy the Challenge Trails had been today. It would have been super slippery on the rope courses.

I'm surprised the Challenge Trails were even open in that kind of weather! I wouldn't have thought it would be much fun!

I got my answer about how quiet it had been here today. If you can read it, Soarin’ stand-by wait time is 5 minutes. And there are still fast passes available!

I did try and capture some of the details in this part of the park.

You did a great job

Ooh! Love this angle!

 

[darrenf67]

POTC was an absolute highlight - we rode it 4 times i think. Outstanding

 

[Aussie Wendy]

PIO captured the pics beautifully but you can't represent the sheer amazement of that huge screen incorporating projection and 3D elements and riding through it - has to be experienced! A bit like just taking pictures in Soarin'. And yes I thought typical PIO caught taking a pic!

That hot chocolate was not inviting! Yep we got real hot chocolate from Toy Story Hotel the previous day too.

We spent some time on Siren's Revenge the next day and it was quiet even though it was a fine day. You did notice the pictures talked to you though in Mandarin so not sure what they were saying? and among the bunks I forget what - kittens meowing perhaps, people snoring. That big map you can actually twirl the inner map to different points as per the map in the movie. We had a dude that we couldn't work out if he was a CM or a cosplay (but didn't think they were allowed) in the boat with us and on the quay but saw him later elsewhere further afield than just those surrounds which would be odd normally (unless it was a long way to an CM exit).

DD wonders if there were some hints from the next Pirates movie embedded in the ship as they have done that before.

I am jealous of your and Zanzibar's pics with Jungle Book characters. I only realised belatedly that M&G was there and then every time we went past I could only see King Louie who I really do not like but if Baloo had been there I would have jumped in line!

I agree the castle with the flowers in front is a brilliant pic.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Whoa!!! That POTC is unreal!

It is an unreal attraction. The pictures don't do it full justice.

The pics of you and your mom with the characters are adorable!

Thanks. I'm so glad we got so many pictures together. It was one of my highlights for this trip.

Nice pictures in the shows. Too bad they didn't have subtitles or some element for the non Mandarin speakers. I think this is going to be our most disappointing part if we ever get there. Not knowing what is going on. I like your idea of making up the stories as you go along!

I hope it's a matter of time before they add subtitles. I know we all know the stories and everything....but I would still like the subtitles.

For the record, I got a real hot chocolate at the Sunnyside Marketplace at the Toy Story Hotel, so it is around.

Well....at least we know it's available.

Lucky you! Love your run-through of this ride.

Thanks. I hope you got on the ride as well?

Typical PIO - caught mid-click!

For some reason.....all my on-ride pictures look like that; except for TRON and a couple from Buzz. I really don't know why at all.

I do regret not going aboard for a better look this time around.

We definitely have to go back then.

That is surprising. On my previous trip I found the CMs at Happy Circle to be among the most laidback I had met!

The group behind me had 2 kids. And I think the kids were running in, so we were hustled out.

I'm surprised the Challenge Trails were even open in that kind of weather! I wouldn't have thought it would be much fun!

I was surprised as well. Although, I do wonder if anyone was *brave* enough?

Ooh! Love this angle!

I'm glad I spotted it!

 

[PrincessInOz]

POTC was an absolute highlight - we rode it 4 times i think. Outstanding

I think that was the same number I got up to over the 3 days. It's such a great attraction.

PIO captured the pics beautifully but you can't represent the sheer amazement of that huge screen incorporating projection and 3D elements and riding through it - has to be experienced! A bit like just taking pictures in Soarin'. And yes I thought typical PIO caught taking a pic!

Agreed. The pics don't do it justice.

That hot chocolate was not inviting! Yep we got real hot chocolate from Toy Story Hotel the previous day too.

That was definitely NOT a hot chocolate!

We spent some time on Siren's Revenge the next day and it was quiet even though it was a fine day. You did notice the pictures talked to you though in Mandarin so not sure what they were saying? and among the bunks I forget what - kittens meowing perhaps, people snoring. That big map you can actually twirl the inner map to different points as per the map in the movie.

I really wasn't feeling the love on Siren's Revenge. Definitely felt cold and didn't poke about. So, I completely missed the hidden details. But I did notice Barbarossa talking to us. Didn't understand a single word.

DD wonders if there were some hints from the next Pirates movie embedded in the ship as they have done that before.

I guess we'll find out when the next one opens in the theatres!

I am jealous of your and Zanzibar's pics with Jungle Book characters. I only realised belatedly that M&G was there and then every time we went past I could only see King Louie who I really do not like but if Baloo had been there I would have jumped in line!

That's a shame. I always try and hunt out Baloo if I can. Next trip!

I agree the castle with the flowers in front is a brilliant pic.

Thanks!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

It's so great to see the Chinese touches within the park.
Also, that castle is pretty spectacular. Remind me, what Princess does it belong to?

 

[PrincessInOz]

It's so great to see the Chinese touches within the park.
Also, that castle is pretty spectacular. Remind me, what Princess does it belong to?

Enchanted Storybook Castle is the first one to be dedicated to Disney Princesses.

 

[Fairy Floss]

I'm glad I spotted it!

So am I - just beautiful!!

 

[knewton64]

Getting ideas for my next DISney adventure and I see yours......





Just made my day -


Getting caught up..........





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[PrincessInOz]

So am I - just beautiful!!

Thank you.

Getting ideas for my next DISney adventure and I see yours......





Just made my day -


Getting caught up..........





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

Hi Kris! Long time no see. Hope you've been well.

The Asian parks are worth a trip!

 

[franandaj]

Pirates sounds like a neat ride, and your pictures are all the spoiler that I want to know. I don't plan on watching any videos of it in case I actually make it there one day. Too bad you weren't feeling it on that ship, but I can see that a walk through pirateish attraction wouldn't have the thrill factor of some of the other rides you've already done.

Sounds like you mostly avoided the rain, but I can see that after a while, you just get sick and tired of slogging around with wet feet and pants. Nice pics with Baloo and King Louie on the way out.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Pirates sounds like a neat ride, and your pictures are all the spoiler that I want to know. I don't plan on watching any videos of it in case I actually make it there one day. Too bad you weren't feeling it on that ship, but I can see that a walk through pirateish attraction wouldn't have the thrill factor of some of the other rides you've already done.

I did have a small internal debate about posting the pictures; but then I figured that if you didn't want to see them, you'd avoid them and move along to the next post.

Yes. I'm definitely going to have to give that ship another look-over at some stage.

Sounds like you mostly avoided the rain, but I can see that after a while, you just get sick and tired of slogging around with wet feet and pants. Nice pics with Baloo and King Louie on the way out.

I was definitely getting very tired of the rain on that second afternoon. Still....when at Disney, you just have to make the most of it. Irrespective of what the weather is.