AdventureScapes

Related Posts to this Story:
Day 1 - Have you been OUTSIDE Disneyland?
Day 2 - Ocean Park: See Hong Kong's National Treasures!
Day 3 - Get Up Close and Personal with the Giant Buddha at Ngong Ping
Day 4 - Shopping Galore at Sham Shui Po and Temple Street
Day 5 - How to Get to Victoria's Peak and Avenue of the Stars
Day 6 - Fast Passes: The Secret to Disneyland
Day 7 - How to Get Around Macau for Free
Day 8 - Party the Night Away in Lan Kwai Fong

The plan for this day had already been set before we even left the Philippines, heck, even when we had just bought our tickets more than half a year ago! Rona had decided that she would spend her birthday in Disneyland, so that was where we went. We boarded the MTR in the Tung Chung terminal once more, got off at Sunny Bay, and rode the Disney-themed MTR to Disneyland.

We thought Rona would also get a discount like in Ocean Park, but she only got a Happy Birthday pin. Oh well.

We grabbed a map at the entrance and also the schedule of events for the day. I was studying the schedule to make sure we didn't miss anything important.

Disneyland opens at 10am and closes at 9pm. Our first stop that morning was to join the Animation Academy, where we tried (tried being the keyword), to draw Goofy. The show was in Cantonese but it didn't really matter if we couldn't understand a thing because it was clear we just had to imitate the teacher. We got to keep our drawings.

Mickey and Minnie

Diw told us from her experience in Tokyo Disneyland that we should get fast passes to special attractions so that we didn't have to queue in line, but we could only get one fast pass at a time. We took our first fast pass for the Winnie-the-Pooh adventure ride. We just fed our tickets to a machine to get the fast pass ticket with a time printed when we should get back to actually ride it.

So in the meantime we headed to Fantasy Gardens in Fantasyland to queue in line to have our pictures taken with various Disney characters. I was only interested in Mickey and Minnie but Rona and Diw also posed with Goofy and Pooh. I wanted to look for the Princesses but didn't know where they were.

The Golden Mickey's

After about an hour, it was time to go back to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We easily bypassed the line with the fast pass then we were on our way to experience a storybook adventure ride.

When it was over, we hurried to Tomorrowland to grab another fast pass to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters then went back again to Fantasyland just in time to catch the Golden Mickey's.

The Golden Mickey's was a 25-min musical performance to showcase Disney films in the form of an awards show. It was also in Cantonese but there was an English translation on the sides of the stages via projector. There were song and dance numbers from the following films: Lilo and Stitch, Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and of course, Mickey Mouse. This celebration was really one of the highlights of our visit to Disneyland.

After watching the Golden Mickey's, we headed back to the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters to use the fast pass. On this ride, we grabbed our "space guns" to blast alien creatures to kingdom come. You get to know how well you did by the number of points you accumulated. I did rather well. Hehe.

After the Astroblasters, we were already hungry and wanted to have lunch but we happened to pass by the Stitch Encounter, also in Tomorrowland, and saw there was an upcoming show in English in a few minutes so we skipped lunch for a while. I found this attraction unique since an animated Stitch (not a mascot) would talk to the audience and even to Diw! Stitch asked her if he could be her boyfriend. Lol! It was funny and very entertaining.



We finally had lunch in a nearby food shop . The prices ranged from about HK$40-50. We stayed a while to rest since we did so much walking. When it was nearly 1 pm, we headed back to Main Street U.S.A. to view the parade.

Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse

I must say the parades were my favorite attraction in Disneyland. Since it was summer, they had a waterworks parade where the floats were spraying water everywhere and even the princesses had small bottles of perfumes that sprayed water. We definitely got wet but I didn't mind at all! I loved the colorful, giant floats and the many characters that joined the parade.

Mickey's Float

We nearly ran all the way to Adventureland after the parade so we could still catch the Festival of the Lion King. This was another musical performance much like the Golden Mickey's and we didn't want to miss it. Certainly, it was another spectacular show. We arrived just in time before the doors closed.

Festival of the Lion King

We again went to Tomorrowland to ride the Space Mountain. I was so naive because I didn't know it was a roller coaster! But I was glad I did because it was a one-of-a-kind experience to ride a roller coaster in total darkness. It was designed to be a space ride so there were twinkling lights all around us and other planetary-looking objects but the problem was I couldn't tell if there was a sudden drop ahead or not. It was truly memorable... and kinda scary. Hehe. 

Belle

Along the way, we happened to catch Belle in Fantasyland and had our photos taken with her. I was at least thankful that I had a photo with one of the princesses even though I really wanted it to be Ariel.

Stitch sporting an Elvis hairstyle

Then it was time for the Stitch Summer Dance Bash! This was the second street parade in Main Street USA that I absolutely loved. We felt like dancing along with the other people and the catchy tune. Of course, Stitch was there, sporting an Elvis hairstyle, but he was also accompanied by Genie, Goofy, Mr. Incredible and Ariel. Volleyballs were passed around and we even joined the towel pull!

Ariel at Stitch's Summer Dance Bash

We also watched Mickey's Philharmagic in Fantasyland. This was a 3D show and we were given 3D glasses. There were also several special effects like air and splashes of water.

Then we rode the Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad in Main Street USA which circled the entire park. There was a stop in Fantasyland but we rode it all the way back to Main Street just for the fun of it.

We then took a short stroll around Adventureland since we felt it was the place we visited the least. We posed in one of Stitch's Get Silly Photo Themes and listened to the rhythm of the Liki Tikis where a few children were playing with the water they squirted out. We also visited Tarzan's Treehouse and climbed all the way to the top. To get there, we had to ride a raft to get across the "river".

We spent the rest of the time to browse the shops and look for suitable souvenir items to take back home.

By the time we were done, it was early evening and all that was left was to wait for the fireworks. Again, I had my tripod with me because I knew I wouldn't be able to catch the fireworks without it. So we settled ourselves in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle and waited for 8pm. When the castle's colors started to change, we could already hear gasps and cheers from the people. It was one of the grandest fireworks displays I had witnessed.

Disney Castle fireworks

When the show was over, we waited until nearly everyone had left so we could take photos with the castle as the backdrop. At night, Main Street lit up like a Christmas Tree with all the lights.

It was a sad moment to finally bid goodbye to Disneyland but I was content with all the things we got to do and experience.

We got back late but Tata had prepared a small party for Rona since it was her birthday. Tata had reserved the meeting room in one of the buildings in her flat so we headed there and sang in the karaoke and ate dinner. It was a perfect ending for a wonderful day.

Related Posts to this Story:
Day 1 - Have you been OUTSIDE Disneyland?
Day 2 - Ocean Park: See Hong Kong's National Treasures!
Day 3 - Get Up Close and Personal with the Giant Buddha at Ngong Ping
Day 4 - Shopping Galore at Sham Shui Po and Temple Street
Day 5 - How to Get to Victoria's Peak and Avenue of the Stars
Day 6 - Fast Passes: The Secret to Disneyland
Day 7 - How to Get Around Macau for Free
Day 8 - Party the Night Away in Lan Kwai Fong

My first day in Hong Kong was quite interesting. I think of it as visiting places "off the beaten path" because most people would head straight for the Disneyland theme park. We didn't. Anyway, let me start from the beginning.

I went there with two of my officemates, Rona and Diwata. Rona had a cousin working in Hong Kong who kindly allowed us to stay at her flat for the duration of our trip.

Day 1.

Our flight was from Clark International Airport at around 4am so the night before, we traveled to Bulacan to spend the night at Diw's place since it was closer to the airport. We got promo tickets (PHP 2,500++ each) from Cebu Pacific, hence the flight from Clark.

Playing Around at Disneyland Hotel

Since this was an international flight, we had to pay a travel tax of Php 1,620 at the airport.

We arrived at the Hong Kong international airport at around 10am. At the immigration, the tellers asked to see our passports and return tickets. Their airport was huge and since we didn't really know where to go, we followed the crowd of passengers. At one point, we boarded a train to get to the other side of the airport. 0_o You can also grab a map of Hong Kong and some tourist brochures along the way. There was also a money changer in the airport but we were advised not to exchange all our $$ there because there were higher rates at Central. We just needed some HK$$ for a few days until we could get to Central. Btw, we each took about $300 with us as pocket money.

On the outskirts of the park

Tata (Rona's cousin), lived close to the airport and we were at her flat a mere 10-15 minutes after getting inside a taxi. Tata's flat was located in The Caribbean Tower 9, a few minutes walk to Citigate Outlets (branded items at low prices).

We didn't know where to go on our first day because despite all of our research, I was still depending on Tata's information which places were close to each other so we could visit them in a single day and save time.

However she suggested that we go and visit Disneyland first for the remainder of the afternoon because it was close.

Disneyland Hotal

So off we went to ride the MTR. Hong Kong's MTR is the counterpart of our very own MRT, just bigger and more organized. You won't have a problem getting anywhere in Hong Kong if you ride the MTR. The station closest to us was Tung Chung, the orange line. We each bought an Octopus Card. 

An Octopus Card is a very handy card that has a preloaded value, like our MRT cards, which you can swipe and it will deduct your fare. The difference is that the Octopus can be used almost anywhere, not just the MTR. You can use it on a bus, 7-11, even McDonald's. When you're ready to go back to the Philippines, you can surrender it at any station and get your HK$50 back.

A Light Meal at Disneyland Hotel

We got off at the Sunny Bay station for Disneyland. The train heading for Disneyland is also designed to go with the park so there are mickey-shaped windows and Disney character statues inside the train.

Our destination wasn't the theme park itself. Rather, we visited the other interesting sights outside it like the Hollywood Hotel, the Inspiration Lake and the Disneyland Hotel. No entrance fee required. Snacks were provided by a nearby 7-11 and we just sat on their picnic grounds to talk and observe the people passing by. One guy was taking pictures of his girlfriend while a couple was riding a 2-person bicycle. We mostly just walked around and took pictures. We were treated to a light meal at the Disneyland Hotel by Tata.

The Hollywood Hotel

Make sure to have your picture taken by the Holly Wood sign at the Hollywood hotel, and visit the maze in the Disneyland Hotel. I think you can also go boating in the Lake of Inspiration or ride the two-passenger bikes in the park.