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

[dolphingirl47]

All the hotels in that part of the world provide free water. We got 2 bottles a day at the other hotels we stayed at. Getting 4 bottles was an absolute bonus!

That is good to know. Not wanting to jinx anything at the moment, but there is a good chance that I will get to experience this sooner rather than later.

It probably looks fair in Pounds. But it is a much more expensive character breakfast buffet than the similar offerings in WDW.

I think what makes it seem fair and about the same as the prices in the US parks is that the Pound is still fairly strong against the Yuan, but much less so against the Dollar.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

That is good to know. Not wanting to jinx anything at the moment, but there is a good chance that I will get to experience this sooner rather than later.

Oooh! Awesome news. I hope to be reading all about it soon, when it's all confirmed. Such exciting news!!!

I think what makes it seem fair and about the same as the prices in the US parks is that the Pound is still fairly strong against the Yuan, but much less so against the Dollar.

The Aussie dollar has dropped!

 

[dolphingirl47]

The Aussie dollar has dropped!

Oh, that is not good. I have to say, even when we were in Sydney, we got a pretty good exchange rate.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

Back to the Pirate’s Lair



After lunch, Zanzibar, my DM and I wanted to do another ride on Pirates. It was a 10-minute standby wait.





We requested a front row seat and the CM was happy to comply. She told us to wait by the side until the next vehicle came along and loaded us on the front row.


I have to say that by the time I finished with this pass through and what I’d shot for the other 2 days, I’ve come back with a full collection of pictures. So, for those of you that don’t want to see any spoilers, keep heading along. I’m just going to put up the pictures I shot on this day here.





The Skeleton Collection

























The Animatronics from this ride were totally amazing. I guess you’d expect that of Disney.


























Inside the Sunken Treasure area

















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[PrincessInOz]

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The Imax Images
























Playing Battleships. Being in the middle of a make-believe life-sized Battleships game is totally awesome too.

















The final scene.







After we finished, Zanzibar and I decided that we needed to head back in a second time. It really is that good!






Afterall, it was still showing a 10-minute standby wait.





I think the only rooms I hadn’t yet captured were in the queueing area.















I will admit that I put away the camera for this fourth (in 3 days) and final ride through the Pirate’s Lair. It’s such an amazing ride that it was deserving of my full attention and enjoyment. I sure hope to experience this ride again some day.






Awesome, awesome ride!






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[PrincessInOz]

Fashions in the Sun (Mickey’s Storybook Express Parade)



After being washed out for 2 days, it was time to enjoy some of that live entertainment that Shanghai prides itself on.


It was nice to see some traditions translate across into this park.





Mickey’s Storybook Express is the daytime parade at Shanghai Disneyland.





It's billed as the parade with the longest route of all Disney parks. In truth, how long a parade route is doesn’t really matter. Afterall, most people would stay to watch the parade go past them once. And when it's done, they just move on.






For me, I’d prefer to see a parade get a good wrap for the floats and colour.





More importantly, I actually like to see the Cast Members, their costumes and dance steps.






It was interesting to see some of the Disney characters W-A-L-K-I-N-G along the parade route. I wonder how they cope in the hot summer sun?





How do you tell a Chip from a Dale? The Black nose is Chocolate Chip.






Maybe they take turns to ride the minor vehicles.





The first major float of the parade was the headline Mickey’s Storybook Express vehicle, complete with lucky number 8.





It was rather familiar looking. We did see this on the rainy-day parade.






No one tell Mickey….but I do have a soft spot for Donald.





Did I mention that I like checking out the costumes in a parade??


I liked the bright yellow and green costumes of the CMs that accompanied this vehicle. Yellow and green are very familiar colours for the Aussies.






But I liked the characters that followed this vehicle even more!





Their attire was just perfect. Casual and comfortable!






Maybe it’s me, but in the American parks, I rarely see all the Dwarfs together. They seem to only come out on special parades.





For Hong Kong and Shanghai, I seem to have better luck in seeing them.





The second group is all about Toy Story.





I liked the pogo jumpers! Such fun bubblegum colours!

I like this picture. It’s the shadow selfie you take when you’re not really taking a selfie.






And there’s always gotta be the Green Toy Soldiers.
My brothers used to have toy soldiers. In those days, I used my teeth a lot. I seem to recall chewing off some of their toy soldier heads when I was younger. I suspect that will be TMI and may be more appropriate for the Queen of Hearts.





It’s definitely not easy being green or wearing green. I’ll pass on this outfit.





The main Toy Story float.





Woody was riding on Dino. I wonder what Bullseye thinks of it?





I took the opportunity to grab some close-ups of the supporting cast here.






At one time, there was a conspiracy theory floating the web that Wheezy was actually a de-facto baddie out to get Woody. Just look at him! It couldn't possibly be true!









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[PrincessInOz]

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The 3rd group comprised of one of my more favourite Disney movies of the last 10 years.





I like the music of the Tangled movie very much.






I tried hard to grab a picture of Flynn.





But with that blonde next to him, he never glanced my way!





If Flynn wasn’t playing, at least the costumes were flirty.





Another one of the support characters from a movie. Ulf the Mime. I don’t know why they chose him to include in this group. Afterall, there were any number of Thug sidekicks to choose from. Maybe he got the nod because he was the silent type.





And let’s not forget Maximus. He was bringing up the rear.





The Finding Nemo group.





I am a fan of both the Nemo and Dory movies.





But I really wasn’t sure about the seagulls costumes. I’ll just say they are NOT moine, NOT moine, NOT moine.





I definitely won't be running into Tren-D to pick these outfits up.










It’s all a little too frilly for my tastes.






Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming right along.






It's the Frozen group.





The design of these costumes was more to my liking.





Even the male costumes were nice.





I think I liked the boots the best.






The main float was impressive.





I totally loved the Frozen sidekicks in the movie.





Afterall, who doesn't like warm hugs?







Anna and Elsa were wearing their normal costumes.





This group also included an additional element. Loved it!







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[PrincessInOz]

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Without a doubt, the most impressive group was Mulan.





LOVED the costumes here.





The flags added a nice flourish too.





And then there was the float!





Khan was larger than life.





Mulan was dressed in her Ping costume.





Very functional.





There was obviously no expenses spared for this group.





I loved this float.





I was really sad to see the back of it.






The final group.





We’ve seen this float before. It’s the second float that came out on rainy-day.





No rain today. It was all smiles!





And I have to say that I appreciated these costume more today than on rainy day.





Another couple of characters for my photo collection. It was nice to see Nick Wilde…..




…and Judy Hopps about.





As a parade collection, I thought the fashions were incredible.





This 20-something minute parade covered movies from the Disney movie collection from the 90’s, 00’s and 10’s. It just goes to show what a diverse range of movies and characters Disney has to choose from.

It’s a nice parade but I can’t say that it’s my favourite daytime parade. Each group works but there really isn’t anything that connects the groups together. If you don’t know what I mean, just think about Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade at Animal Kingdom. The costumes, floats and music just blend cohesively in that parade. This one just seems too disjointed between the groups.


Still.....I do wish that I had another opportunity to shoot this parade. Oh well. Something else to add to the re-do list.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Once again, lovely pics! So glad you were able to enjoy POTC once not behind the camera (although I am thrilled that you did take so many pics the other times!) and the full parade in the sunshine.

 

[dolphingirl47]

It was interesting to see some of the Disney characters W-A-L-K-I-N-G along the parade route.

For me this is perfectly normal. I am not a huge parade person, with the exception of when I am at Disneyland Paris as their parades are something else. They also have walking characters.

I loved the photos of the parade. It looks like a parade that I would definitely enjoy and I will factor this in when I get to visit Shanghai Disneyland.

Corinna

 

[shushh]

I loved seeing Mulan being so prominent at Shanghai. It is one of the nice things about visiting the various parks worldwide, being able to see different characters because of local preferences. I absolutely ADORED the Mulan dress. Have never seen the same details elsewhere. Would have bought one if 1) there was one my size and 2) it wasn't so darn expensive!

 

[franandaj]

Ugh, same problem with the pictures. This time I'm using my phone, on the home internet. Will look again when I get dressed and go to the computer room.

 

[franandaj]

The parade pictures are great! I have never paid attention to the actual costumes and thought about things so trivial as boots! With your commentary I paid so much more attention to these things. Thank you for letting me see the parade through your eyes.

I have to say that Pirates is the ride there that I will most be looking forward to ride when we eventually get there!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Rainy Day Strategy #10 – It’s Always worth Lingering over another Meal (Crystal Jade)


But aside from the value-added head and comb, it was the pinkness of the chicken that had 2.5 of us gasping. I suspect it was way too pink for Wendy and her DD. I was the half. It was barely acceptable for me…..and I do remember eating pink chicken in my youth.

My DM did her best to tell Wendy that that’s how chicken is cooked in Asia…..and I do remember eating pink chicken in my youth.
It wasn’t until I came home and unpacked my pictures before I realised how pink that chicken was. It looked a little different and more cooked under the tungsten lighting. If I had taken a proper look at the colour, I suspect that Wendy and I would have insisted it go back to the kitchen for another round of cooking.


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I didn't know the latter was an option!! Yes it was very much too pink for J and I especially with her virology and bacteriology background!! We ate very little of it! Your Mum was very kind to keep finding us the most cooked bits and giving them to us - sorry if you missed out! Still we are all well so no worries! I never knew its auspicious Michelin heritage though. I also really like funghi so enjoyed that dish.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Once again, lovely pics! So glad you were able to enjoy POTC once not behind the camera (although I am thrilled that you did take so many pics the other times!) and the full parade in the sunshine.

Thanks! I was really pleased to have enjoyed POTC without the camera as well.

For me this is perfectly normal. I am not a huge parade person, with the exception of when I am at Disneyland Paris as their parades are something else. They also have walking characters.

Maybe I just don't remember the parades as well as I thought!

I loved the photos of the parade. It looks like a parade that I would definitely enjoy and I will factor this in when I get to visit Shanghai Disneyland.

Corinna

This parade at Shanghai is pretty decent. It's a wide range of themes and well worth checking out. I'm just sorry I only had one fine day to enjoy it. I just wish that it was a little more cohesive from group to group. If it was, this would have been a great parade!

I loved seeing Mulan being so prominent at Shanghai. It is one of the nice things about visiting the various parks worldwide, being able to see different characters because of local preferences. I absolutely ADORED the Mulan dress. Have never seen the same details elsewhere. Would have bought one if 1) there was one my size and 2) it wasn't so darn expensive!

The Mulan dress is lovely, isn't it?

Yes. They don't make them my size either.

Ugh, same problem with the pictures. This time I'm using my phone, on the home internet. Will look again when I get dressed and go to the computer room.

That's a shame! Must be a specific time of day for Photobucket!

The parade pictures are great! I have never paid attention to the actual costumes and thought about things so trivial as boots! With your commentary I paid so much more attention to these things. Thank you for letting me see the parade through your eyes.

I have to say that Pirates is the ride there that I will most be looking forward to ride when we eventually get there!

Glad you liked the details in the parade.

Yes. Pirates (and Tron) are the rides that will draw me back to Shanghai.

I didn't know the latter was an option!! Yes it was very much too pink for J and I especially with her virology and bacteriology background!! We ate very little of it! Your Mum was very kind to keep finding us the most cooked bits and giving them to us - sorry if you missed out! Still we are all well so no worries! I never knew its auspicious Michelin heritage though. I also really like funghi so enjoyed that dish.

LOL. I think the Chinese waiters and waitresses would have taken the chicken back to the kitchen if you or J had asked them to.

All good. I got enough of the chicken that night.

 

[PrincessInOz]

To everyone lurking and reading this TR. Thank you so much for your continual visits.

I noticed that this TR has clicked over 100,000 views. I am truly humbled and grateful that you are still reading along!

Thank you again.

 

[pooh'smate]

I just followed the link from your signature but I still have to go back and read.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I just followed the link from your signature but I still have to go back and read.

Hi Michelle. Nice to see you here! Thanks for reading along.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Daytime In Front of the Castle (Golden Fairytale Fanfare Show)



We were really loving all the blue sky and sunshine today. It meant that we could enjoy the live entertainment that Shanghai prides itself on.


Having ticked off the full parade, it was time to head in front of the Castle and check out the Golden Fairytale Fanfare show. There was a small crowd here but we still managed to find a position along a railing to view the show.





Our host for the 17-minute daytime show was dressed in red and yellow, auspicious colours for the Chinese. Yellow, corresponding with earth, is considered the most beautiful and prestigious color. Yellow represents neutrality and good luck; and freedom from worldly cares (as used in the Buddhist monk’s robes). It’s the colour worn by Chinese Emperors of the past. I wonder what that says about our affable host?





Red, corresponding with fire, symbolizes good fortune and joy. Joyful is something that I would associate with the opening number.




The opening number was lovely. I didn’t understand a word of Mandarin, but it didn’t matter.





The first princess on stage was Snow White.





I know I’ve been doing Fashions in the Field for all the live entertainment this afternoon…..but really! Snow White’s dress was beyond words! I hope they get rid of the yellow tinsel and head back to just plain yellow fabric.





Frozen has been a mega-hit for Disney. I have to admit that I’m a big fan of Frozen so the Anna and Elsa take-over….er….inclusion in all aspects of Disney is one that I welcome.





Generally blue has a negative connotation for the Chinese. Opera characters with blue make-up are usually ghosts or bad characters. I doubt this applies to Elsa blue!





And it certainly couldn’t apply to any of the Aladdin CM!





Mind you….there were a number of them dressed in green. Generally green is associated with health, prosperity, and harmony.





There was an amazing prop in this section of the show.





The visuals were just stunning against that castle.









Water play time.





Ariel was singing Part of Your World here. Whilst everything was in Mandarin, I did understand a few words. For the few that I did understand, the direct translation of this song into Mandarin seemed to be pretty good.





This was a Brave move!





And another amazing stage production. I loved that Merida’s entrance on stage was on ‘horseback’ and that she rode out from the middle! The backstage (or is that the pit-section) of this castle must be incredible to see.













You have to admit. That’s one heck of a horse prop.





The final (reprisal) number was all about yellow gold and red.





It was also all about the Disney Princesses.





And our main Disney hosts also made an appearance.





Nice to see the Golden Mickey costumes in use again.





As Castle shows go, this one was really decent.





But then….I’ve come to expect all Castle shows to be decent from Disney.




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[PrincessInOz]

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A Quick Spin around Tomorrowland



We had caught up with Aussie Wendy and her DD during the Castle show. When we compared notes of what we wanted to do for the rest of the day, we worked out that we all wanted to head back to Tomorrowland. Specifically, we all wanted to head back to the Grid for one last ride.

At this point, my DM decided she wanted to head back to the room, so we said our goodnights to her.

The rest of us....we made our way to Tron. Stand-by time was listed as 5 minutes and Wendy’s DD sat this one out so she took our bags.





This time, Zanzibar asked the CM if we could ride in the front. I was the lucky one that got to ride in the front with her. If you have the opportunity, riding Tron from the front vehicle is something that you should put on your must-do list.






Wendy sat behind us.






When we caught up with Wendy’s DD, we all decided that was another attraction worth a spin around. This time, I put the camera away and just enjoyed the experience.





I can’t seem to win where those in-ride camera’s are concerned. Either I’m caught with my camera in front of my face…..or I’m caught with the gun in front of my face!







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