Disneyland Hollywood Hotel - a sneak peek & Goodbye to the magic!

Hong Kong Disneyland has two hotels - the first one being the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, and the second being the Hollywood Disney;and Hotel. Since we were billeted in the first - I was curious to see the latter.

From afar, the architecture looked... well, retro - say, circa 1950s U.S.A., I guess... complete with that 'diner' feel that can be related with said era, and images of serving girls on roller skates came to mind.

The Hollywood hotel did not necessarily present itself as pure elegance, but it did present itself in a Hollywood elegant manner; one that brings to fore images of past Oscar awards, and the glamour attached to it - and it was certains comparatively more 'modern' in looks when compared to the Victorian feel of its sister hotel... though not necessarily more modern than the other in terms of equipment and facilities (which I could not conclusively state, since I had not experienced the amenities of both hotels; heck, I hardly experienced the amenities of the hotel we stayed in).

As we entered, I noticed that there were many Filipino tourists here, and Barbie told me that this hotel was relatively cheaper than the Victorian one, ehich might explain the greater representation of budget-conscious Filipino families here, as compared to the mostly Indian contingent we say, billeted in our hotel. One advantage of our hotel, I was later told, was the presence of Disney characters in our hotel - something missing in this one... but the Disney themes were more obvious here. In other words, there was more than enough Disney eye-candy via the hotel's designs.

Had I been the one planing this, I might have chosen this hotel, due, of course, to my somewhat frugal nature. Not that our stay in the other hotel was a mistake, mind you - as we had experienced the better (in terms of the mere presence of Disney characters) one-day lodging experience, I'm just saying that given outward appearances and price - I'd have chosen this (but I'm glad we stayed in HK Disneyland Hotel).

Since time was short, we went straight out their garden and took some pictures.


The Hotel's theme and era became more apparent, as we looked at this hotel's garden. For example, here's a replica of the Disney studio signage - where classic movies like Snow White, Pinochio and other Disney classics were made.


And we couldn't help but pose in front of the Hollywood backdrop. By the way, it just wasn't always 'Hollywood' as it used ot be called (and presented as) 'Hollywoodland'. The 'land' was part of its early times and somewhere along the way, the word 'land' got dropped, leaving us with the all-familar 'Hollywood' sign on the mountain-side.


This hotel had Hollywood Hotel spelled out - but naturally, we just wanted the first portion. How about that? A little trivia on the side, while exploring Hollywood Hotel. I should be paid for stuff like this.

To call the read of this hotel a garden was possibly short-selling it. It was more a park - and definitely seemed larger than our hotel's rear-side garden. I would liken it more like a mini-park (no animals, though) complete with benches for those who would like to pause and rest or just take in their surroundings. As you can see, ther are no Hidden Mickeys to be found - simply because they aren't hidden - one can't help but notice them.


Here's a 'top-of-the-hill' moment for Bernice... as I experiment with larger pictures


... and here's Bryce making like Tiger Woods - and I'd have to say that had this been a golf tourney, people would know who exactly is sponsoring Bryce... need a clue? Look at his get up - see anything familar?


Perhaps a close-up is in order. That's right... the tell-tale sun-visor. So with a sponsor like that, who needs Nike?


Get a load of this 'hot rod'... with a paint job like that, its just begging for challengers to a long-stretch road race.


Of course, such a set of wheels needs a world-class driver like me - and before anyone balks, I scored a 94 in an international driving test I had to take two years ago (never mind the fact that it was for 'defensive' driving), and anyone who's driven in Metro Manila can attest to the sometime insane drivers we have... not that I'm insane, mind you. I was just making a point that I can dish it out with the best of 'em.


Anyway, here's a picture of Bryce and Bernice outside the hotel's perimeter fence - that's the South China Sea behind... and somewhere beyond that horizon must be the Philippines.


Funny story about these fences and the gates they have - its an electronic lock type, and as I saw said gate open, I went out - not realizing that the gate was closing and slammed shut on me. So, here I was on one side, with Barbie giving me a 'now what will you do' look, and Bernice, who was behind me, exclaiming that it wasn't her fault (it wasn't).

Luckily, I noticed an intercom beside the lock with a sign that only hotel guests could access the gate. I had to use the intercom and inform the hotel security that I was accidentally locked out. Lcuky for me, they believed me, and opened the gate. had this not happen, I would be hard pressed to climb the fence since its design was purely vertical bars... with the only horizontal bars either too low and too high(yes, I did assess the gate and fence the first few seconds I was locked out).

Had help not been had, it certainly would have been interesting to see if I could climb - or to see where the path eventually led, had I needed to follow the fence parallel to the next possible exit point... deciding, of course whether I would need to go either left or right (though right seemed a more logical choice, had the need, to walk and search for an alternate ingress, arisen).

Having had that close call, and having reached the end of the road (literally) we decided that we had enough outdoor experience - and headed for the hotel corridor nearest us. Did I say I imagined a diner - well, there actually was one!... though we did not have to eat yet.

We also noticed what seemed to be a cinema in this hotel followed by a Golden Mickey statue. This I took, with Bernice at the foreground.

After this , we noticed a blue-tinted mirror shaped like Mickey, Barbie took a picture of the mirror with us.

So as you can see, noting to search for as far as hidden Mickey's go - they're all overtly displayed. Wherever you turn, this hotel reminded you that you were in a Disney establishment.

Anyway, it was back to our hotel via the shuttle service's three destination route: HK Disneyland hotel to Hollywod Hotel to Disneyland theme park then back... so we naturally had to disembark the bus once we reached the theme park - walked towards the other side where the busses waiting to bring guests to the hotels were already parked and leaving every 10 minutes... which gave us time for one last picture of the park's entrance.


Once we reached our hotel, I went to get our stuff, while Barbie checked us out... and while waiting for our shuttle service to our next hotel, we took some last-minute pictures... including this with Bernice and Cinderella.

Notice the intricate iron-works behind Cinderella... can you spot the hidden Mickey? Like I said, this hotel had them - and I got to enjoy this more covert manner rather than its Hollyood counterpart's 'too obvious' Disney motiff.

Bryce got a last minute picture with the Mickey statue by the lobby. Somethign he was not able to do the previous day. After which, it was off to Hong Kong proper, with Bryce and Bernice taking advantge of the 45 minute trip to take a power nap - a new skill they learned in this trip.

As for me? I wanted to absorb everything I could - after all, I felt that Disneyland did not afford me with my real Hong Kong experience. Sure, there were obvious influences... and you might even say that the Victorian design of the hotel we came from was a salute to the island's British influence, but I felt insulated in Disneyland... not totally immersed with the sights and sounds of the city / past colony. In fact, I could say that if I had just my Disney experience to base HK with, I'd say it was not different form Manila or better yet KL (because of the crows). In short, I had little - to no HK exposure... with excpetion to what i read in certain fiction, my knowledge of the city and culture was nil. I needed exposure to something that would give me a unique perspective of the city, and make me say I had been there. Guess this was the explorer in me talking.

Now, as we were enroute to the city proper, I was curious to finally see Hong Kong for real.

Hong Kong - day 2: Disneyland Hotel

I this habit that I've cultivated by way of a combination of sheer practice and repetition plus some outside stimulus - its to make my body clock wake me up early morning around 5:30 in the morning (Philippine time of course - and it so happens that Hong King time is just the same) - this is because I normally bring Barbie to work, before going to work myself... and since Manila traffic can be spectacular, we do need to leave the place we stay around 6:30 to 6:45.

Regarding my outside stimulus? Bubbles (our dog) wakes me up between 4:30 to 5:30, so I can bring her out. You could say that I've also gotten used to the fact that even as she approaches me, I know she's doing so - I can sense it, even in dream-state and need not have my face kissed (in her case, lots of licking) too much.

The reason I stated this is that regardless of how tiring yesterday was, I found myself awake around 5:30 A.M. and looked out our room's window to notice that it was raining. We'd left Manila behind experiencing a storm - and it seemed that said storm finally caught up with us. I felt slightly disappointed since this meant that we'd have little to no time to go around exploring the hotel's grounds. Hence I just stayed in our room - watching some television (but not too loud, since I was still sharing the room with barbie and the kids - all still blissfully asleep.

Eventually, I got bored - hit the shower, left a note that I'd be exploring the hotel, and brought with me my trusty camera - battery newly charged at that. I wanted to really see the garden up close, but only if the rain allowed it. Meanwhile I was roaming the hotel's corridors to get a lay of the land. Maybe find something I could show the kids later.


Call it an early bird catching the early worm thing, but in my roaming, I found a wing filled with conference rooms - which normally would be a 'so what?' moment for me. But this time, I spied Donald Duck (or if you don't want to suspend belief - someone wearing a Donald suit) at said conference room entrance. So I approached the hotel staff, and requested to have a picture with Donald. The result you can see right here.

I then looked around some more and realized that it stopped raining - or at least, it weakened to a bearable drizzle. This allowed me to go outside and explore said garden that I spied from our hotel room window.


I specifically, wanted to see the garden maze. Not to try it out though - at least, not yet, but to capture it in a picture too. Notice the shape of Mickey's head in the maze's center?

The garden was nice, and I noticed some crows (or were they ravens? - I couldn't tell too much since they were not making too much cawing sounds to make sure), and remembered seeing similar birds in Malaysia all those years back. So I wondered... there are crows, here in Hong Kong, as there were in Kuala Lumpur too - so how come I do not see them in Manila? I thought maybe because they're caught and are eaten? Possible. They don't like our pollution? Maybe, too.

I dismissed the thought and started clicking away some more. Explored a little more and discovered where the outdoor and indoor pool were - but then I decided to return to the room. I felt that I gave everyone enough time to rest, and wanted to wake them up, so this morning would not be wasted on sleep.

Barbie was awake by then, and we ordered breakfast delivered to the room, while the kids were getting up and taking their respective showers. We then explored the hotel, with my earlier exploration helping us navigate through its corridors. It was also at this time that I started noticng those hidden Mickey's in the hotel's designs, pointing them out to the kids or challenging them to find such hidden Mickey's - a game introduced, by the way, via the Disney Channel on cable TV.


I'd also found what I can just term as sweet spots for taking pictures to capture certain parts of the hotel in the background. Take these two large chandeliers, for example. I wanted to catch their size, but traditional pictures would not capture their grandeur - or size, but there was this little balcony that seemed perfect for a picture taking moment, while affording one to likewise capture these chandeliers.

Okay, so I still wasn't able to capture the size... but you get an idea.

We then went to the garden, so Barbie and the kids could enjoy the maze.

On second thought, why let them have all the fun?

That's Bryce with me in the Mickey head portion of the maze.


The maze wasn't so intimidating - but that was because I could see above the walls, thus able to navigate to the right direction by virtue of above-sight (as in, I can see above the maze and know which leads to a dead-end or an opening). I'm sure they could be more daunting had they been around six-feet high.


This here's the entrance to the romantic portion of the garden leading ot the Gazebo where garden weddings can be arranged - at least, that is what the hotel's website says.


And here's the rest of the pathway to the gazebo (which can be seen in the background), and where "I do's" can be exchanged. I'm sure that with proper lighting and romantic music played by a string quartet, this could be a really romantic and memorable evening for a 'Happy ever after' night.


I, then, showed Barbie and the kids where the indoor pool was, and I'm sure we were all kicking ourselves for not bringing our swim wear (at least, I know I was...). Ah well, we can still request for ourpicture to be taken, so it wasn't a total loss.

With the aid of the hotel's scheduled activities, I learned early this morning (during the time I was contemplating what to do) that there would be a 'learning how to draw' talk around 10:30 in the morning, so this would easily fit into our schedule. Though this was also offered in the theme park, we had no time to try it out - now, I was glad that it was being offered here, so Barbie and I decided to add Bryce and Bernice to the attendees.


Here they are getting instructions of how to draw...


... and here's Bernice, proudly showing her masterpiece. Hey... why does Mickey look scared? Not bad for a first try, though. In fact, I'd even say that she drew the best Mickey in the room amongst all the art-course students.

Since we still had more time to kill (about an hour before pick-up and transport to next destination), we decided to go visit the other Disney Hotel... the one with the Hollywood theme.

High School Musical and Disneyland at Night

Alright, as far as shows go - this was the last on the list of our must see items, asfter which would be the wait for the fireworks at 8 P.M. This was supposed to happen at the same spot where we observed the Disney parade earlier, and since it wasn't too immediate, this time, we waled around in a liesurely pace - Bernice even got to find time to eat a cotton candy.

Soon as the High School Musical show came around (basically performers with one float as a backdrop, the kids were all watching - and the cast even tried making the show interactive by getting young kids to play 'basket ball' using hoola hoops and beach balls as props. The very young kids were, of course, up to the challenge.


High School Musical - one float with cast performers dancing to the movies upbeat tunes.


This is it? Where's Zack? Vanessa? Ashley?

After which, the cast invited older kids to join them and teach them simple choreographies, so they could dance with the cast with some of their music. I was hoping to get a picture of Bernice dancing with them - but I guess, she did not find it enticing enough to join in.

Having ended, we were now just walking around Main Street U.S.A. looking for characters whom we could pose with - you see, as of this time, we hardly had such poses with said characters, as we were too busy running from one show to another.

We also got to explore some spots worth taking pictures of - like the castle in the middle (where the fireworks would later be seen from).

We also looked at the different shops, coffee, pastry, souvenir - all just to pass the time. Here's Bernice looking at candies and chocolates.


While Barbie is looking at other similar souvenir items.


Bernice posing with Main Street U.S.A. in the background.

Here I am looking around...




...and we finally found Mickey and Minnie, to get our pictures taken.



Right after that, we found Goofy too!


Bryce and Bernice posing beside a shop's display...


...and later on, just resting and awaiting the fireworks display.


Here's a picture of the castle as the fireworks were about to start.


Here I am, having my picture taken with the Mickey collage lighted up. This was on the way out - post fireworks display, which also signalled the formal close of the theme park, likewise ending our Disneyland experience. We then returned ot our hotel, took our well deserved baths... ate dinner - room service style, as we were too tired to go out, and finally got our first decent sleep since... well, since two nights ago.

The next day, we were scheduled to leave the Disneyland Hotel by noon, and transfer to another hotel - one closer to the city proper, Ocean Park and the shopping centers... which was good, since I'd suspected that we'd be sleeping until late morning.

Magical Symphony! or Disney Magic comes alive! ... and just in time, too.

After the parade, we really had all the time on our hands, since the next show we were planning to watch was the High School Musical, at 5 P.M. - or about an hour's time, we decided to take thing easier, and for the first time enjoy the sights and sounds the park had to offer.

We finally ate a long delayed lunch, and even then Barbie was worried that we were sacrificing theme park exploration time; after all... when wuold we be back for this kind of experience? Still, we really did need to replenish our energies and rest our feet. I mean, between barnie and me, we could continue this demanding pace - but the kids were already burnt out with all the walking across the park and the quite hectic pace our trip demanded from us.

I could see Barbie's viewpoint, but I also could see how tired Bryce and Bernice were. This was ceasing to become enjoyable... and I was starting to feel that my feet were acheing (despite very comfortable shoes). So, we took our lunch, then walked around some more - with the intent of maximizing our one day stay in Disneyland.

Note to self - should such an experience afford itself in the future, it would be unwise - and unenjoyable to force-explore Disneyland, H.K. or otherwise, in half a day. It's just too hectic a pace... specially with kids. After all, Disneyland... as the Greeks would say, should be a Kairos moment. not a purely Chronos moment. For non-greeks, it means that the trip should be enjoyable (quality time focused) and not a purely linearly time-bound minute-maximizing event. That is why they refer to it as the Disney Magic... not marathon.

We were obviously doing something wrong - and spoiling the experience for the kids. Unfortunately, the cost of such a vacation does not lend itself to easily being enjoyed by others quite easily... specially non-H.K. residents who would need to plane in.

Going back to the Disney experience. After the much needed, albeit slightly rushed lunch. We then decided to try a few of the theme park's rides, specifically the Magic Mountain - a roller coaster, complete with health warnings that people with High Blood Pressure or a weak heart should skip... and using our quick entry pass, we were able to skip having to join the ride's queue and head string to the start of the line... see our package afforded us preferential treatment as far as the theme park's more popular rides were concerned - unfortunately, maybe because of the warning signs, Barnie decided not to join us, and just wait outside. So it was just the kids and me.

The roller coaster was in a pitch black environment to simulate space, and all we could see were starburst-pattered light shows (quite similar to the effects in Star Trek's warp speed or Star War's hyperdrive. As we careened sharply in a random manner - going left or right or up or down. I noticed (when I could) that Bernice closed her eyes for the most part, while Bryce; sitting behind us, had his head down most of the ride - how did I know? Well, he told me, and there were cameras taking pictures with the hope of convincing us to get a souvenir photo. Unfortunately, since the kids faces were hardly seen, I decided not to get said photo. Having survived that, we explored other theme-park activities.


Bernice with an 'I was here' moment.


Here she is again, ready to toss the Tommorowland globe like a large beach ball.


Lifting the Tommorowland globe while doing an Atlas pose, with a little help from Bryce. Notice I've got an admirer observing how strong I am?


What's so hard about this?

We were not too keen on other rides. For the most part, the kids (and I use the term kids here loosely - since it might be better to call them pre-teens... and in Bryce's case, he'd officially be a teen before the month ended) had outgrown them, so we simply took some pictures of certain rides - but declined taking the rides themselves.

After all, no one thought they'd miss out on the experience from the the Winnie the Pooh ride...others were not seemingly enticing enough on the outside (like the Buzz Lightyear experience), or we could not see their entrance - thus we just took a picture and decided to look elasewhere to maximize our remaining time the park.



Bryce and Benice posing separately in front of the Buzz Lightyear Space Command ride.



Simply put, the kids and I were exhausted - though the pictures may just hint at this - which shows that they (the kids) were real troopers. Barbie then insisted that we then tried, what was to admitedly be (at least, to me) the highlight of our Disney Theme Park visit - Mickey's Magical Symphony - a 3D movie.

Even while we were entering the theater to watch this, Barbie was bragging that we would enjoy this 200% guaranteed - though truth be told, I was rather skeptical, since I was really tired. We were given special 3D glasses to wear while the movie was playing (to be returned after, of course) so all we have is this picture to remind us of the experience.


The future is bright with 3D-technology and its special glasses. Arguably, the Disney attraction not to be missed - period!

The story was simple... Mickey asks Donald to help clean up while he's out - and under no circumstances must Donald play with the Sorcerer's hat (of Fantasia fame) - naturally, donald does the opposite, and everything goes awry. Never mind the story... the effects of this purely animated feature was really and utterly FANTASTIC!!! I had not exprienced any recent 3D movie lately - but this was obviously a more rewarding experience... in fact it was touted ot be a 4D experience.

This explanation was a bit of an exageration, of course, courtesy of what I'm sure is the marketing department's attempt to say that their 3D movie was unlike any other 3D experience - and though I will readily admit that it was an unforgettable experience, it was simply not a 4D experience; as the Sci Fi afficionado in me (U'm a Trek fan, as can be seen by the shirt I was wearing in the Disney experience) would reason out that the 4th Dimension - at least, for most SciFi fan, is Time. So unless ths show could trasnport us through time, it could nto bost of said 4D experience. But that's just me over-explaining what is supposed to be a rather innocent marketing tag line.

Like I said earlier - it was the highlight of our exprience. You could almost touch Donald (in fact I attempted to, as my senses were telling me he was just within reach), as he was trying to get away from a vortex (and you could feel the wind from said vortex) accidentally cast by his tampering with the hat. I also had the seeming instinct to duck as certain instruments seemed to fly to you - and judging form the noise in the theater, many reacted instinctively by not just ducking - but screaming... in an ejoyable way, of course, at the exprience.

Then there were the magically animated brooms (also from the Fantasia Sorcerer's apprentice portion) carrying water pails, and as their job of gathering water was likewise becoming messy... resulting in spashed water around; the audience felt sprinkling of water as well, reacting delightedly once again. Then Donald had to find the hat as it jumped from one well loved Disney scene to another... these from from different movies like the Little Mermaid and Alladin - with the the animation (and 3D) seamlessly flowing - both in our fronts... and later at our back (as when Donald was thrown from the screen - front, to his complaining while stuck in a hole at our back).

How much did I enjoy this? I can't recommend it enough. I laughed - and actually wept at the sheer magic I was experiecing before me. Yup - you read it right... I did weep with joy at the experience. Something I did earlier in the Little Mermaid portion of the Golden Mickey show. So I guess that's as good a barrometer as any to tell me that this movie like the previously mentioned Little Mermaid show, was something I was thoroughly enjoying. Both hit me, emotionally - but not because they were taer-jerkers... nope. Both visual extravaganzas actually reached my emotions, maybe pulling out my inner-child, making me stare at awe. For the Little Mermaid show, it was the visual spectacle on the stage... for this Magical Symphony, it was just that... the technical magic of 3D.

If I had any misgivings about our Disney experience, this one movie... this one attraction erased all such misgivings, we forgot about our fatigue, and this one attraction made our entire Disney trip worthwhile. THIS was the Disney magical experience I was looking for, and to me, it beat Lion King and the Golden Mickey shows hands down. this is what I would reccomend as a MUST SEE to anyone who had the plan and opportunity to visit Disneyland. Heck, had we not needed to serch the rest of the park for what else we could expereince, I would not have minded watching this again.

How would they top this? Think about it... this show was playing with the sense of sight (and depth), sound and touch as the water spray or the wind would make it an 'almost real' experience. So we have sight, sound and touch... I'd say add some way to integrate the sense of smell - with taste, I should emphasize... as I likewise remember Barbie telling us that the 3D Shrek movie she saw had him break wind, and they - the audience, felt - but thankfully, not smelled said 'break wind'.

Note: after our Disney experience for the day, we asked the kids what they enjoyed the most about it - and yup... it was unanimous - the 3D movie was this family's favorite experience. This was the day's saving grace and I can't thank it enough for reviving our interest and enthusiasm to move on and see the rest of the park.

Rejuvenated by the movie, we then looked for some souvenir items at the shop beside the theater - Bryce got a sun screen designed like Donald's eyes and upper beek, Benice got a Minnie doll, and me? I got a 6" statue of Mickey with the Sorcerer's hat and a small water globe on the ball - I can't call it a snow globe, because it isn't filled with snow... it was a bargain too, after mentally converting it's price into Philippine curency - and knowing that i would not see such a pice - at such a price back hOme - and since it was Mickey in Sorcerer's apprentice garb. it was a worthy souvenir for a table-top (or shelf-top) displayable conversation piece... not just of the movie - but of Hong Kong Disneyland.


Here's Bryce wearing the Donald sun shade.


Bernice wiht her Minnie doll.

We then thought to take the train ride around the park - and hit two berds with oen stone, rest while sitting down in the train, and see what else we could do from the train trip's vantage point. This was where we discovered that the train had two stations - one at the front and another at the back of the theme park.


Barbie and kids riding train - you can see the train's red 'steam' engine behind them. I can't decide who's more exhausted-looking in this picture... Bryce or his sun shade?


Same train ride, this time - its me with kids. Note the plastic bag I'm carrying? Within is the Mickey souvenir statue I got.

As I said in an earlier post, had we known about the train's path and stops, taking it would have saved us a lot of walk-time. Riding the train also made us discover where certain Disney characters were located - and we planned to go see them, with the intent of having our pictures taken with them.

Anyway, we were just killing time until the High School Musical attraction. The one that we said to ourselves, was a must see - simply because Bernice was a great fan of the two movies.