My Hong Kong Disneyland 2013 Adventure

Like I said in my previous Hong Kong Disney Hollywood post, the last time I was here at Hong Kong Disneyland was in November 2007… almost 6 years ago. I’ve always wanted to go back and now that I finally did, this time with my mom, I couldn’t contain my excitement, especially since they have two (2) new attractions ---  ToyStory Land and Grizzly Gulch which I will discuss in detail here. But before that, I want to share with you my experience in chronological order. We’ll get to the exciting parts later.

So it was around 2:30 pm when we finished our scrumptious lunch at Crystal Lotus in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. We took the complimentary shuttle bus service from Disneyland Hotel to the Disneyland Theme Park and before 3:00 pm, my mom and I were already taking pictures at the entrance and at the Main Street USA (which we also did the next day).

Main Street USA

 

My mom had a funny moment while in there. Being a Pinoy teleserye addict (my mom is fond of watching Filipino telenovelas and TV shows) She spotted two local celebs --- Divine Lee and Victor Basa. To be sure, she asked me “Jen, aren’t those two Filipino artists?” To which I replied “Mom, I dunno… I don’t have time to watch local TV shows anymore so I really dunno.” I haven’t even finished my sentence yet when my mom excitedly went to the two and asked them instead. I didn’t know if I blushed of shame or fondness for my mom after that! Good thing Divine and Victor were such good sports that they let us take their pictures with them instead. ^_^

We wanted to catch the famous parade of Disney characters, Flights of Fantasy Parade, so we took a spot and stayed there while waiting for the parade to start.

My mom seemed like a kid amidst all the excitement. I took a ton of her pictures while the parade was going on and with the multitude of people in the background. I was really feeling happy that I get to give this to her, albeit at her retiring age. I guess, being in Disneyland, we all become children once again. No matter how old we are, when we enter the magical world of Disney, our child-like wonder will kick in and it’s as if we’re transported back in time, feeling like we did when we were still kids watching Mickey and Minnie Mouse on black and white TV. At least that’s how my mom and I both felt the whole time we were in Hong Kong Disneyland. It’s like having all those child-like dreams come true and we suddenly feel so very special.

Fantasyland

After that fun parade, my mom and I headed to ToyStoryland. On the way there, we passed by Fantasyland and was in awe of the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle (a magical portal into a timeless realm of enchantment), Cinderella Carousel (with 60 graceful, prancing horses), Dumbo the Flying Elephant (where you can soar high aboard pachyderm), Mickey’s PhilharMagic (where you can witness a magical 3-D adventure), and a lot more!

ToyStoryland

Now we come to one of the newest attractions inside Hong Kong Disneyland --- ToyStoryland! And this one is Asia Exclusive! Yep, ToyStoryland can only be found in this part of Asia.  

It was so exciting to see gigantic statues of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head, the Aliens, the Toy Soldiers, Jessie and the rest of the gang! We felt like we were in one of the movie scenes and anytime the toys would move and greet us. Oh how we wished!

This part of Disneyland has four attractions:

Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop – Here, guests get to drop from the sky with the Toy Soldiers in a parachute training drill that definitely thrills! My mom and I tried it and it was such an exhilarating experience. I’m not that fond of heights but my mom is. Plus, it’s now or never so… I just screamed at the top of my lungs and laughed my head off to shoo away the fear in my gut. It worked!

And pretty soon, I was already enjoying myself. My mom and I even spotted Divine Lee and Victor Basa once again riding the same thing. Moreover, the view was really spectacular from the top! Woohooo!!! When the ride was finished, I wanted to do it all over again. Teehee.

Slinky Dog Spin – This ride is like a mini roller coaster that gets faster and faster and faster… Guests hop on as the slinky dog chases its tail around and around. So of course, my mom and I tried it. And it was a lot of fun!

RC Racer – If you want a thrilling, gravity defying race by speeding back and forth on a soaring U-shaped track then this ride is for you.

Barrel of Fun – This is where guests meet and greet their favorite toys from Toy Story movies.

My mom and I didn’t go here anymore as we wanted to check out the other attractions including the new Grizzly Gulch before sundown.

Fantasyland’s The Golden Mickeys

My mom and I went back to Fantasyland to catch The Golden Mickey’s in Disney’s Storybook Theatre. This is a musical show celebrating Disney’s films and characters. It’s like watching a short Broadway show. It’s very entertaining and both kids and adults will love watching it. As kids cheered for Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto, the adult crowd were awed by the performances of Beauty and the Beast, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Pocahontas and many more.  I even found one entertainer very cute and a possible crush material. Teehee. While the rest of the adult crowd ogled at Tarzan’s perfectly chiselled body, I kept waiting for the appearance of my cute crush. Hehehe.

 

Adventureland

When my husband and I went to Adventureland before, we only got to see Liki Tikis where we swayed to the beat of jungle rhythms pounded out by these “leaky” tiki poles and visited Tarzan’s Treehouse by riding a raft to Tarzan’s house. My mom and I still did these things during our visit.

But what got me excited was the Jungle River Cruise. There were a lot of scary surprises along the way that we both felt like kids doing an adventure out in the wild.

For one, we got a beautiful view of Tarzan’s Treehouse on the way to the more dangerous parts of the river; we saw lifelike elephants, spiders, crocodiles, gorillas, zebras, hippopotamus, skulls and fire! It surely was very exciting!

Grizzly Gulch

After getting a bit soaked during our Jungle River Cruise, my mom and I headed to one of the newest attractions in Hong Kong Disneyland --- the Grizzly Gulch! It’s a world exclusive theme land opening in July 2013. This amazing section of the theme park has two attractions:

Geyser Gulch – It is said that part of Grizzly Gulch is accidentally built on top of active geysers. Now it’s a great place for water play! If you want to get the most fun, stop by here and have yourself completely soaked!

Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars - The description says that it is the wildest ride in the west and my mom and I definitely thought so! We tried it and before getting in, we were asked to remove our bags, cameras and hats. Hence, we have no photos while on the ride but trust me when I say that this ride is crazeeee!!! It was so wild as grizzly bears sent our mine cars racing out of the mountain, forward and backward through the whole town of Grizzly Gulch. This ride is way more exciting than any roller coaster ride I’ve ridden in the Philippines, including the Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. We definitely recommend guests to ride these Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. And once you do, you will surely experience one crazy and wild ride! Have I said “wild” enough? This ride is really wild! Try it when you visit Hong Kong Disneyland!

It was already getting dark when we finished the ride at Grizzly Gulch. We went to have dinner first at the Plaza Inn, after which we went to see the amazing fireworks show. Our tour of Disneyland won’t be complete without it!

My mom and I were both so tired by the time the fireworks ended. But the colourful display of lights around Main Street USA and at the entrance woke us up from fatigue and we still managed to take some more pictures.

We couldn’t get enough of Disneyland that we promised ourselves to come back again the next day and enjoy the rest of Tomorrowland.

Tomorrowland

 This section of Hong Kong Disneyland has six (6) attractions but my mom and I only went to two of them since we wanted to have a more leisurely walk around the rest of the theme park and to bond over tea, cakes and other dishes in many of its food establishments (which I will blog about next).

Stitch Encounter – Here, guests get to talk and play games with mischievous Experiment 626 (otherwise known as Stitch) at the Space Traffic Control center. I remember watching this with my husband before. Perhaps, my mom and I should’ve watched it again as they said that it’s never the same show twice.

Orbitron -  Here, guests can pilot their own  flying saucer high above Tomorrowland.

UFO Zone – This is an interactive play area where you can experience close encounters  of the cool kind with UFOs of the squirting type.

Autopia – Guests can drive into the future on board electric cars that can cruise the highways of tomorrow.

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters – My mom and I went here and helped Buzz Lightyear save the universe  from the evil reign of Emperor Zurg. It is an interactive adventure where we got to shoot the villain while riding an orbiting machine. It was so much fun!

Space Mountain – For me and my mom, this is the best attraction here in Tomorrowland. It doesn’t matter that we had to line up for 30 minutes or so just to have this roller coaster ride amidst the stars in the sky and through various universes. This thrilling high-speed journey is comparable to the ride we had at Grizzly Gulch, only it’s interstellar traversing the far reaches of the universe and back. What we liked about this ride is that at the end of it all, we get to have our picture taken, with mouths open wide and all, and be able to buy it as a keychain or a photo. It was indeed so much fun!

Okay, that’s it! Oh before I forget, when coming to Hong Kong Disneyland, it’s worth to get a 2-day pass. Check out the details here: 

http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/ticketsAndReservations/overview?name=2DayTicketPage

I hope you enjoyed our Disneyland adventure. Be sure to check out all these attractions to get the most of your vacation here at Hong Kong Disneyland where the magic truly never ends!