Disneyland, HK
-November, 2010-
Having a promo flight of about P2,500/ head, we booked our HK tour for November during the first quarter of 2010. Our good friends gave us a heads up and even booked the flight for us. Eric and Jho were our companions. Jho, having lived in HK for the most part of her childhood was a resident. She became our official tour guide.
We arrived at the country early in the morning. We first bought our octopus cards which you could use in riding buses and trains as well as payment for food. It was one hell of a powerful card. After purchasing our card from the airport and having a couple of pesos exchanged for HKD, we rode a double decker bus heading for our hotel. It was a first time for Oliver to ride one so we took the seats on the second level.
Having a promo flight of about P2,500/ head, we booked our HK tour for November during the first quarter of 2010. Our good friends gave us a heads up and even booked the flight for us. Eric and Jho were our companions. Jho, having lived in HK for the most part of her childhood was a resident. She became our official tour guide.
We arrived at the country early in the morning. We first bought our octopus cards which you could use in riding buses and trains as well as payment for food. It was one hell of a powerful card. After purchasing our card from the airport and having a couple of pesos exchanged for HKD, we rode a double decker bus heading for our hotel. It was a first time for Oliver to ride one so we took the seats on the second level.
It took almost an hour's ride from the airport to the city where our hotel was located. It was on the 13th floor of a building which costs about P1,500/ night (the name of which already escaped me). It consisted of a queen sized bed, a small space for moving around, thin cloths for towels and a really small bathroom. It was airconditioned though and quite clean. We would use it merely for sleeping anyway so it was quite fine plus its near the MTR station making its location convenient. After settling down we had a hefty lunch at an affordable restaurant nearby (they had huge servings) and rode their MTR to get to Disneyland. Jho's friends Kaye and hubby joined us, both HK residents too.
The final train heading for Disneyland at Disneyland Resort Station was quite cute. It had mickey's head for windows and figures of the Disney characters were placed everywhere.
We bought our tickets at our hotel at around HKD 300 or roughly P2,000. Once at Disneyland we were back to being kids. We first had our photos taken on the entrance with the arc and the fountain and the garden.
Our first stop was the Art of Animation at the Main Street. Sketches of different Disney characters were on the walls and they featured Toy Story's animation--they were mere figures of Toy Story's characters who seemed to be moving due to speed application as the characters were rotated. Amazing.
From Art of Animation we watched the "Festival of the Lion King." A 30 minutes presentation at their Theater in the Wild located at Adventureland. It was a show of song and dance numbers. I fell asleep somewhere in the middle of the show. I guess it could be great for kids but it was not enough to hold my attention in place.
After the show we had a Jungle River Cruise at the same site--the Adventureland. I honestly thought that fake gorillas would surprise us during the cruise, I was preparing myself for the scare. Only to find out that it was one friendly ride. The only surprise I got was the volcano eruption as the cruise ended.
Philhar Magic at Fantasyland came next. It was their 4D show. Donald Duck was really funny. He was one walking disaster and the main character at that. This was the feature I enjoyed the most.
The final show we watched was the Golden Mickeys. I enjoyed it better than the Lion King--must be the characters, they are all adorable.
It was getting a little late, we hurried towards Fantasyland for our picture taking with Mickey. Visiting Disneyland without this photo would be incomplete.
We passed by Winnie the Pooh's Adventures but skipped visiting it deeming it was more for children. We also dropped by Sleeping Beauty's Castle before heading for Tomorrowland. There we rode the "Space Mountain." I am not much of a thrill seeker when it comes to ride but this one I liked. It wasn't that extreme.
Last stop was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters where you get to shoot at the aliens with a fake laser gun and the more you shoot with a good aim the higher you'd score. We did this 2x competing with the other 2 couples on the highest paired score and we won!
We left Disneyland after the gorgeous fireworks display at the castle. I didn't get to take pictures since I was filming the whole thing. It was to wow about. We had our first dinner at HK at a hawker's place, the temple street (where you could buy cheaper foods). Tired from all the walking everyone ate most heartily.
Other 2010 Travels:
> Hong Kong
- Ocean Park
- Peak Tower
- HK Night Life
> Macau, China
> Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao
- CDO
- CDO Night Life
- Bigby's Cafe
> Camiguin, Mindanao
> Bukidnon, Mindanao
> Batanes
- Northern Batan
- Itbayat
- Sabtang
- Southern Batan
- Basco
> Bohol
- City Tour
- Island Hop
- Panglao
> Tree Top Adventure, Subic
> Singapore
- SG at Night
- City Tour
- Chijmes
- Singapore Zoo
- Universal Studios Singapore (USS)
- Sentosa
> Bali, Indonesia
- Cultural Visits
- Temples
- Tourist Spot
- Menjangan Island
- Menduk Waterfall
> Tagaytay, South Luzon
> Pueblo Por la Playa, Pagbilao Quezon
- The Wedding
- Morning After
> Hundred Islands
- Islands
- Maxine's Restaurant
> Anawagin Cove, Zambales
> Cebu
- Shangri-La, Mactan
- The City
> Hong Kong
- Ocean Park
- Peak Tower
- HK Night Life
> Macau, China
> Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao
- CDO
- CDO Night Life
- Bigby's Cafe
> Camiguin, Mindanao
> Bukidnon, Mindanao
> Batanes
- Northern Batan
- Itbayat
- Sabtang
- Southern Batan
- Basco
> Bohol
- City Tour
- Island Hop
- Panglao
> Tree Top Adventure, Subic
> Singapore
- SG at Night
- City Tour
- Chijmes
- Singapore Zoo
- Universal Studios Singapore (USS)
- Sentosa
> Bali, Indonesia
- Cultural Visits
- Temples
- Tourist Spot
- Menjangan Island
- Menduk Waterfall
> Tagaytay, South Luzon
> Pueblo Por la Playa, Pagbilao Quezon
- The Wedding
- Morning After
> Hundred Islands
- Islands
- Maxine's Restaurant
> Anawagin Cove, Zambales
> Cebu
- Shangri-La, Mactan
- The City