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.

Disney on Parade

I remember when Barbie first showed us pictures she'd taken from her first Disney experience... one of them being a video of the Disney on parade. I secretly wished we had seen it first hand - well, this afternoon was a wish fulfillment of sorts. Unfortunately, there are some things one does not realize while watching the video... number one being the sun's heat on you - specially since the parade was obviously an outdoor event. Still, we braved the afternoon heat and patiently waited in one section of the circle in Main Street U.S.A.

Sure enough, the parade started coming, and I tried taking pictures of all the floats with the different characters. Here are a few pictures of said parade.


Street dancers preceeding the first float.


The Disney on Parade float.


Brass band preceeding an old style Mickey float.


Pink flamegoes? and the White Rabbit (Alice in Wonderland)


Alice in Wonderland float


Little Mermaid float


Toy Story 1 & 2 characters float



Naturally, the parade wouldn't be complete without Mickey and friends.

Over-all a nice experience, though I would have wanted to see more characters - for example, I don't remember seeing any of Jim Henson's muppets anywhere. Too bad... I would have wanted to take a pciture of Kermit, Piggy and the rest of the gang.

Lion King, Its a Small world and others

Having just finished the Golden Mickeys Show, we needed to proceed to the scheduled Lion King show - and again, we had to walk under the hot afternoon sun from one part of the theme park to another - we did not even have time to stop for lunch just yet, because we would miss the schedule.

As we entered the Lion King show, I noticed that the place was circular, with seats all around, similar to a coliseum styled seating arrangement. After having found seats where our vision would not be blocked while we watched (thanks in part to the seating arrangement wherein rows in the back were raised as compared to the ones in front), the lights dimmed and we started seeing the actors play their roles.

Once again there were parts of the show where conversations were made in Chinese - specifically the shows two main narrators (I think they were supposed to be monkeys - but I'm not sure what their costume was trying to depict). But that was okay, since most of the show was still in English, and I could follow the story as it was being depicted. Besides, anyone who's watched the Lion King movie would easily understand the show - it being a retelling (albeit, in a very truncated manner) of the movie.

The show itself boasted of a very intricate stage, with various portions of the circular center stage being able to rise (it started out as an all flat floor), and I can only guess that a great number of the show concentrated on making this technical marvel work for them - aside from that, there were at least four other floats (at least I can best describe them as float-like) representing Timmon and Pumba, Simba and others. But aside from the limited animatics movements, these floats did not contribute much to the added effects of the show - or at least, after their initial effects. I noticed nothing added from them.

Other than that, it was purely a narrative plus re-enactment of the movie. Now... between this show and the Golden Mickey, I'd say that I enjoyed the Golden Mickey more, simply because it covered more characters, a plethora of songs form different movies and a more original script... at least, from a fan's viewpoint. Don't get me wrong... the Lion King was a good show - not to mention, it was airconditioned, and I was glad to get out from under the hot sun... but it came in second to the Golden Mickey, possibly because of its lack of additional material aside from the movie, and lesser variety. Understandably so, since it focused on the Lion King. I left the show feeling tired, not so impressed and looking at our itinerary for what was next.

Again, since it was a show... no flash photography was allowed, and I complied - but in this case, I'd say nothing much; aside from how the floats looked like, was missed by anyone not seeing pictures.

As we left the Lion King, we were wondering how to get to the boat ferry ride around Tarzan's tree house, situated on an island complete with waterfalls and gadgets as seen from the movie. We did not find the boat, but instead went to the tree house. But since it was not that interactive, we decided not to go up and in, and just got out of the island to catch the next item in our itinerary.


Here's a picture of barbie and three kids, posing in front of the makeshift waterfall beside Tarzan's house.

Once we were back on the main parkland, we spied the line to the boat ride, assessed the possibility of riding and still seeing the next item in our list - realized, we did not have time to ride and watch the parade... so we skipped the 'river' ride.

Bottom line? Barbie liked Lion King (though she claims remembering it as having a better impact on her before - hmmm... inconsistency in show performance?... or a case of faulty memory?). The kids liked it too - as for me, I guess, I was just a more discerning - and demanding 47 year old tourist.

I remember that Menchu (the same one who reccomended I not miss the Golden Mickey) likewise reccomended Lion King to me, but I did not find it worthy of a 'must see' stamp of approval. Maybe I was just getting tired (and I was not the only one)... after all, kids' power naps aside, it was roughly close to 3 P.M., which meant that we four had been awake for around 31 hours already.

Next stop would be the Disney on parade, but we had about 30 minutes to spare, so we strolled around the park looking for lunch and other attractions. We entered Its a Small World, for lack of anything else to do. I was surprised to enjoy it - even if it was just a stage of puppets. I must say that I was surprised to see a portion dedicated to the Philippines, and equally surprised to hear the Pilipino version of It's a Small World being sung accurately. I later learned that this particular It's a Small World show had a comparatively greater Asian focus than its counterparts around the world. Logical, I guess, since most visitors in this place would be Asians.


Bernice in It's a Small World

Later came upon the Narnia location - minus Prince Caspian though, but I still got Bernice to pose by the Narnia standard.


Bernice with Narnia standard

Our Disneyland Tour - The Golden Mickeys

Once in the Disney theme park, we proceeded to the first scheduled show in our itinerary - namely the Golden Mickeys. How did we know what to go to? We got hold of a one-page pamphlet complete with schedules of the activities in our hotel room. Since I had the honor of scheduling our itinerary, I first chose shows that were recommended to me by a friend who had visited this same place earlier. Menchu (Cueto) - a colleague of mine, told me that I should make it a point not to miss the Golden Mickeys and the Lion King show - aside from that, I had to schedule the High School Musical show for Bernice and not forget the Disney on Parade.

As for rides - well, we were not really serious about trying them, prioritizing the shows instead. But should we find time, then we would try the rides out. We also had to make sure we got to experience the 3D movie - which in this instance was about Mickey's Magical Symphony. Lastly, we needed to see the fireworks display at 8 P.M.

All these activities had to be carefully planned - and in some cases, prioritized - with lunch and snacks squeezed in when possible. To say that it was a hectic schedule was belaboring the obvious - specially when you consider that we arrived in the theme park around 1:30 P.M. - and the first show was scheduled at 2 P.M.

So from the entrance; armed with a map, we begun our trek - pausing and posing once in a while for pictures (as seen below).


Bernice with Mickey flower garden on background.


Like daughter - like mother.

Our first stop, the Golden Mickeys... no problem you say? Check the site map, if you can... this was near the end of the map (top portion), which was the direct opposite of where we were. So we had our long trek to accomplish. In hindsight, we should have taken the train, and disembarked at the back of the park - but we didn't know about this back then. It pays to have someone with you to act as guide in situations like this... but since we didn't have one... well, we just had to do things the hard way. You can glimpse the train station near the park's entrance above the Mickey garden shown - as it is just above said collage. Sheesh...

Anyway, back to the Golden Mickeys. What it was about: consider something similar to an awards show - in fact, the Golden Mickeys concept seem closely tied to teh Oscars. This show presented the magical moments or memorable instances in many of the Disney movies seemingly worth of recognition by way of the Golden Mickey statuette. Each moment was then represented by one show episode or musical number. The awards night hostess was basically trying to interview Mickey, and in the process, she gets dragged to re-experiencing many of these Disney moments... from Hecules, Tarzan, Mulan, etc...

This was our first experience (at least, that of Bryce, Bernice and I) of a Disney show... and how was it? Well, for starters, we were readily reminded that although this was Disneyland, it was very much in Hong Kong as well. The host and the characters were speaking Chinese - with only a screen showing us the English translations. Unfortunately, said screen was to the side which would mean our having to look away from the stage (and the show) to understand what they were saying - a slight bummer if you ask me.

Maybe they (the organizers) could possibly schedule alternating shows - one in English, the other in Chinese - this way, such awkwardness can be avoided... either that or take extra effort in having a character speak in English - even while the others are speaking in Chinese... something similar to what was done in the Lion King show.

Still... language barrier aside, it was a great musical, with several numbers - and I had to admit that though some of these numbers were not that impressive (at least, to me), they were nonetheless entertaining - with lavish costumes and great choreography. Why do I know these things, one might ask - I've had the chance to be part of a musical (or two) by way of joining the ADB chorale roughly about more than a decade ago. So as you can see, I was looking at it on a done that viewpoint.

That said, I really loved the Little Mermaid portion. I was amazed with how they interpreted a mermaid floating in water (suspended with wires similar to that used in trampolines - or like the ones used by Angelina Jolie in Tonb Raider during her aerial exercise routine) - and how the actress playing the mermaid moved her tail... it was akin to seeing a fish swim through water. I also liked how they portrayed the Jelly fishes. To me, this had to be the highlight of the show.

Unfortunately, we could not take pictures - at least, ones with flash photography, so we just had to enjoy the show. Still, should you look at their web site, you'll get to see pictures of the show.

Once out of the Golden Mickey show, it was off to the next show... the Lion King.

Entrance to H.K. Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland offers transport services from its hotels to the theme park, and these leave every ten-minute intervals. I counted at least 10 buses - and mind you, these are full-blown large buses that can easily seat at least 50 people comfortably (though I really did not bother to count, so consider this a rough estimation). These are buses worthy of tourist-use... and as elegant as the hotel was, the buses were. likewise, a reflection of the quality that Disneyland experience that I had read about in various articles.

Such was the bus that we boarded from the Honk Kong Disneyland Hotel, and it took us around 20 minutes to get to the theme park, since we also had to make a detour to the other Disney Hotel - Hollywood Disneyland Hotel. If our hotel had an old English feel, this looked to simulate a more contemporary Hollywood circa 50s feel. Retro - yet classical. We did not bother getting down to look around, as we were pressed for time - armed with our itinerary and with the hope of catching up to the first scheduled show in our plan.

We finally reached the theme park and alighted out of the bus from its terminal, to walk under the afternoon sun (we had been advised by a hotel staff that we might want to bring lots of water, since it would be warm).


Entrance to HK Disneyland

People had to then line up to buy entrance tickets to the theme park - but we already had our park pass (part of the package we got), given to us at the hotel - so we just proceeded to the entrance - showing our tickets. An intriguing feature in the entrance was the fact that aside from getting our tickets, we had to place our finger to a scanner - my guess, it took an image of our finger and stored it in the ticket... a simple but effective use of biometrics to prevent people from coming in by using other's tickets.

We then saw this impressive fountain designed with a lot of Disney cartoon characters - with Mickey, standing on a surfboard and floating by way of a whale shooting water out of its water hole.


Nice fountain with surfing Mickey


Notice how Mickey is being pushed up by the water coming out of the whale's water hole? (which explains why Mickey's head was cut off from the picture) Alright, alright, so I was unable to consider this small detail when taking the picture... but it proves the fact that Mickey does go up and down.

I found an online map of HK Disneyland - in case anyone is interested in seeing the lay of the land, it can be viewed at this address:
http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/general/popup?name=ExplorerParkMapPage

Or here's a smaller view to just give everyone an idea...


HK Disneyland map. The fountain on the above-shown pictures, can be seen at the bottom of the map.

Side note: This map came from the official HK Disneyland website - its a whole lot more interactive there than in my blog, and it shows a lot of pictures from their shows (which guests were advised not to take pictures of - and I complied). On a technical perspective, this may be the very first Photoshop edited image I have done and posted. Score one more lesson learned by way of my creating entries to this blog.

The Disneyland Magic - interlude

Before I continue, let me just mention that I have often wondered about visiting Disneyland when I was younger - sure, I knew it was in another country, making it difficult to just do. I likewise knew that this was just another theme park, but I wonder if my looking at it as such was a way for me to compensate (psychologically) for the fact that I was not going to see it... after all, I grew up in a family background that - due to its situation, we were relatively living on a hand-to-mouth existence... maybe not poor, but definitely middle-income comes to mind, and definitely just looking at overseas trips as pipe dreams... specially since Disneyland was just in the United States. This is not a sob story - just a fact.

I also grew up with Disney movies being shown intermittently, and literally liked their products (movies), from Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Bambi, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins... these were great movies, and I ended up imagining how these things were done. As I grew older, newer Disney films would come... and as I endeavored to gather a collection of Disney DVDs, I would have my kids watch them and relive the magic with them as well - in this way, I could ensure that they would appreciate the Disney films.

I would, of course, remove the yearnings to see Disneyland. After all, this posed no reality nor practicality to me. Even if I wanted to see Disneyland, I had to contend myself with the thought that the closest I would get so something like it was to go visit the Enchanted Kingdom over at Laguna. To even think of stepping into Disneyland was, well... something I had put out of my mind - simply for its sheer impracticality.

I even thought I outgrew Disney's magic. Oh, I marveled at Hook - a Spielberg live rendition of Peter Pan's story as a grown up... but this was not Disney. Yet in some Disney movies, when things went right... I would find myself teary-eyed, take Mulan's movie... I silently wept with joy when her father accepted her for what she was... as opposed to what society expected from her. The Lion King was closer to home, far as I was concerned - after all, it represented tradition, teachings and a loving relationship between a father and his son. Hercules was a dud - and I think Disney did not get this as well as it could have, but their Tarzan was great as well. Toy Story (1 and 2) raised the bar with computer animation, and ensured my continuing appreciation for what they do.

This Hong Kong Disneyland trip, I will have to admit, came as a surprise. But it was a welcome surprise. Thought I would not openly admit it, I wanted to see Disneyland - my inner child was excited... and I wonder if my kids know how lucky they are. I had to wait for more than four and a half decades of my life to pass before seeing Disneyland.

I mention this, so one can get a feel of what I was going through, as I entered the Disney resort. I was cool and calculating on the outside - but my inner child was excited to experience something four and a half decades in-waiting.




Now that you know... I continue my blog about our H.K. Disney experience.

HK trip - Disneyland Hotel

From the airport's arrival area, we went to the booth to inquire about where our pick-up point was to HK Disneyland, and after waiting for about 30 more minutes, we were finally led to the bus that would take us to Disneyland. Apparently, incoming tourists were not that many at this time (around 8AM) for Disneyland - since we had the bus all to ourselves.


Barbie and Bernice on the bus ride to Disneyland


My smile courtesy of the Starbuck frap I had taken earlier.

We then arrived at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel - one of two hotels in the entire place, and it came across as a sort of Somewhere in Time (the movie) Old English (I'm reluctant to say Victorian, but it came to mind) design. This struck me as... well, a bit disappointing - after all, what had Disneyland to do with 'old English'?


Disneyland hotel (from the back) - Old English elegance meets Disney magic

What exactly was I expecting in a Disney hotel, you might say? I dunno... maybe a few more overt Disneyland-related designs... I mean, it need not be a castle - but I was hoping to see more visible Disney-related themes. Still, I brushed this initial reaction off - after all, we would not be staying in the hotel for long periods of time, it was a place to rest after the busy Disneyland exploration.

When we entered the hotel's lobby some of my expectations were met. Right after entering the double door, and at opposite sides of the lobby's entrance were the first overt manifestations that this was a Disney hotel... two bronze statues of Disney's first couple - Mickey and Minnie, placed on green marbled pillars (or pedestals). Both Disney - and stylishly matching the hotel's theme.


Bernice posing beside a bronzed statue of Minnie Mouse.

Checking-in took some time, as we were apparently coming in together with some convention delegates. And as we were on our way to our room, we bumped into a few recognizable characters, as seen in the pictures below.


Alice (of Wonderland fame) taking time to pose with us before continuing her chase for the White rabbit.


Snow White and Bernice - two of the fairest in the land?

After those pictures were taken and once we reached our room, we decided to let the kids have a power nap and freshen up before going to the Disneyland theme park proper... this while I studied the schedules of shows we would like to catch to maximize the day.

Had I been more rested, I would have probably taken more pictures - but I was also making sure my batteries would not run out while I was at Disneyland proper... yes I had a spare, but it was not cooperating too well with me, hence the sparse pictures of the hotel, since there was not much to take back then.

By the way, there were a lot of hidden Mickey's in the hotel - including the floor's designs. I apparently just wasn't looking hard enough... but they were there... at the main lobby's waiting area, the floor's marble design, the maze garden outside at the back... all Easter eggs ready to be found, as I eventually did the next day after a full bight's sleep. As for the hotel's wall paintings - I guess you can't get more overt than that.

I guess its safe to say that the slight disappointment I felt reagrding the hotel was just a first impression - one that was easily removed upon closer scrutiny of the hotel's surroundings. I must also say that the hotel staff were very accomodating and definitely helpful. Our room smelled great as we entered - and we had a nice view of the garden as well as the South China Sea. The rooms's television was large - and the kids naturally switched to the Disney Channel - yes, even in Disneyland they wanted to watch Disney shows. All in all - great service and facilities... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

HK trip - flight and arrival

A new day... and what a way to view it!

Our flight lasted approximately an hour and 30 minutes. We all spent it watching our different TV progrmas - as the inflight movies were uninspiring... after all, we've seen 27 dresses and were hardly interested in the latest Rambo - not to mention that the flight would definitely end prior to the movie, so why bother... as the kids watched Disney, and Barbie chose ET, I caught up a bit with Heroes - man... its been a long time, and I just realize that this is one of the many pending items I had lined up, shold the week-end where I'm not doing anything arise.

Anyway, back to the trip itself. The plane was okay - if you can call uneventful and not filled with excitement, okay (which is okay by me) - we had our in-flgiht meals, which for Barbie and me, was breakfast... and for the kids... well, their second breakfast - but definitely better than the rammen they had at the airport departure area.

Upon arrival, the first thing you will notice is the glaring contrast between the NAIA-1 departure area and general ground-crew work areas and that of its HK counterpart. Of course, to be fair... there is a NAIA-2 which is a whole lot newer and better than the facilities of its predecessor... and I understand that NAIA-3 will finally... let me repeat that... finally be operational by December this year.

Hopefully, the eye-sore that is NAIA-1 can finally rest - or be converted to purely cargo-related use (and I'm not even talking about out older domestic departure area with exception to this one line).

First things first... the size. How amny conveyors did we use to get form point A to point B? I lost count really. But yes... those conveyors made the otherwise long walk more enjoyable for first-time HK visitors (which included Bryce, Bernice and I).


We could actually take several pictures and still keep a conversation going while using those conveyors (a.k.a. walkways).


Man... my eye also caught many advertisments of service providers (more likely, Systems integrators) and the only reason I noticed this was that they were prominently placed, and in my line of work... I would notice these things.

But that's not all... consider for a moment that these conveyors had people coming our way and going the other way... which I assumed to be people departing HK (one that I would realisze to be a wrong assumption when we would be departing). So you've got a pair of these for both directions.

Once we got through customs and immigration, we had some money changed and the first thing I got in Hong Kong was a Starbucks mocha frap - the one sold in convenience stores. I was, after all, feeling the effects of nto having slept for... oh, just about 24 hours.

See... I normally wake up early, even on non-work days - if not because of body-clock reasons, Bubbles... our dog, wakes me to go out too. Such was the case that past Saturday, and had I been home sleeping - I'm sure it would have been the case this Sunday morning.

On a side note, we left Bubble with Barbie's yongest brother, Ben who would be minding the home while we were gone, so she (Bubbles) would have to bother him for a few days should she want out.


The Hong Kong airport was stylish without being too overbearing - its near-minimalist, yet stylized designes were nice to look at - and directions/signs were well placed. No awkward English used here... after all, this was, for a long time, a British colony - so people should be able to speak English (but not all, as I would find out later too).

Just to show you HK airport's salute to aviation history, they have a replica of the plane made by the Wright brothers - at least, that's what I think it is, hanging on the ceiling.


Here we are waiting for our lugages.


Bernice the global traveler


The countdown to Beijing's Olympics continues - whic can be a timestamp on my arrival at HK as well.

HK trip - departure

Due to time constraints (i.e. the limited time we would be in Hong Kong), we had to try and maximize our trip. Arriving in HK, traveling to the hotel, checking-in... and other details around that would eat up a lot of time - time better spent roaming around Disneyland.

With that in mind, we - at first, thought about an early flight out (naturally), but were thinking about waing up 6, and leaving at 9 - but our Cathay pacific flight coordinator politely mentioned that should we take such a flight, we might well end up in Disneyland around 2PM - half the day gone. Luckily for us, there was a 6AM flight out - unlucky for us, in this post-9/11 world, that would mean having to be in the airport by 3AM. So... we decided that despite the ungodly hour - it was worth leaving earlier.

Our ealier plan - in preparing for this early flight, was to do everything we had to, by Friday's end and leave Saturday free - possibly have a long afternoon nap and feel fresh enough for the early trip. Well, guess what... Saturday was spent in last-minute preperations. Afternoon nap? Nope... not done. What caused this? Thought Barbie and I could buy all the stuff we would need earlier - work got in the way, and the kids could hardly go out and buy stuff themselves. To be fair, I did get to but almost all the stuff I thought I'd need - btu ended up getting more while barbie and the kids had their last-minute shopping.

What exactly did I get? Two pairs of slacks (more for work, but ones I was thinking of wearing to HK), a black denim (as the blue ones could not fit me, and besides... this I could also use for Friday attire at work) and a slip on leather shoe... not too casual, not too formal (and yes, one I can use for work too).


Barbie preparing rammen for Bernice

Anyway... we do get to the airport - sleep-deprived, and all. Throught the help of modern-day technology, Barbie was able to confirm our flight - and choose seats via the internet. So we really had no worry about coming in late for choice of seats. I cannot over-emphasize this convenience, so people... please, if you want hassle free-flgiht confirmation, use the on-line option whenever possible. I think the only limitation right now is that you can only do this three day prior to departure - and I've no idea until what it can be done prior to the flight time.

From depositing our luggage, we went to the departure area and rested at the lounge - with the kids having some hot rammen (while looking like zombies, he he), until our flight was finally called for boarding... from then on, I could observe anticipation, excitement (and some worry? - nah... they were too sleepy to worry) on our kids eyes, as we boarded the plane for HK.

Barbie with a more awake Benice


Bryce and me - in plane

Hey...! I got to post several pictures in one article! Cool!

Our HK trip

Last Sunday, my family went on a trip to Hong Kong... our very first trip out of the country, and you might say... our very first official vacation in years. Our itinerary was daunting... in three days we were to visit Disneyland, go see Ocean Park and prior to the return trip - go shopping.

Sounds like fun? Well it was... immensely so, but not without the downside of fatigue in between. But that one damper aside, it was a worthy excursion - one not made possible had it not been for Barbie having won outstanding leadership recognition from her regional organization's viewpoint (we used her prize money), and a summer promo by Cathay Pacific - specifically their 'buy three, one free' offer... thus allowing us to get to Hong Kong at 75% of our usual cost.

Okay... enough with the economics. I'll be presenting some pictures (with running commentaries, of course) of our experience. But due to limitations - either of the site or my imagination, I will have to do this in tidbits, as I have yet to see how I can upload several pictures in one article.

Nature pics - part four

There's something to be said about a well-maintained lawn, or garden. This may very well be the best spot to look at in Greenbelt. Where others may be beauty in isolated cases, this has beauty in its totality.

I likes this view - the seeming artistic sculpture of the plants positioning and if you just focus on these - leaving out the building in the background... one can forget (for a brief moment) that they are in the heat of the city. Behind me is a restaurant, and I must say, this view; while eating your meal in the evening, can be very enticing to relaxing and enjoying said meal - specially with good company... be it a loved-one or friends.

Whay is not too evident about the picture is that the shaded area in the middle can actually seem like an alcove - a naturally made one, that can shade people caught in light rain. From a religious (Roman Catholic) viewpoint, I'd say it would be perfect to place a statue of the Virgin Mary... but it can easily be as perfect for, say any religious statue, since the place can definitely promote tranquility.