Hong Kong Disneyland

On Saturday, my girlfriend L and I visited Hong Kong Disneyland as guests of her business partner (as I've mentioned before, being her boyfriend brings with it many perks). The Park will not be opened to the public until 12 September, but the management had given complimentary tickets to many of its partners (the Official Bank, Soft Drink, Credit Card, Caterer, Shampoo, Toilet Paper ... ...) to attend "Rehearsal Days" where the staff can put into practice what they have been trained to do.

The Park is built on Lantau Island which is where the airport and the monastery with that big Buddha statue is. At the moment, it is the smallest Disney resort in the world - it would take no more than an hour for one to take a leisurely stroll from the main entrance down Main Street USA, turn left into Adventureland, walk through to Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and back. It is currently designed to host close to 30,000 visitors a day. I think there were some 20,000 on the day of our visit.

I have been to other Disney resorts before - Tokyo Disneyland in 1984 after my Primary Six PSLE exams, and EuroDisney outside Paris in 1994 after my final-year university exams.

Although the Park opened at 10am, L and I decided to set off only at 1pm after a heavy lunch. We had heard about the long lines - for rides and meals - from people that had attended earlier Rehearsal Days, and so we were prepared not to go on any of the rides. We hate crowds. Plus, it was a balmy 32-degree day, so standing in line with dozens of other sweaty people ain't such a good idea.

At a new MTR station called Sunny Bay (欣澳), we boarded a special train that took us to the Park, about 5 minutes away.




The interior of the train features soft lounge-style seats, Mickey Mouse handles and Disney figurines.


The Disneyland Resort MTR station was modeled after Victorian railway stations.








The cost of a day at the Park. For a family of four (two adults and two kids) that's HK$1,200 (S$250) for a visit on a weekend. A blue-collar parent would find that tough on the family budget.


A map of the Park. The blurred section on the right is the car-themed ride called Autopia, which is being completed. My favourite Disney ride, "It's A Small World" (and I say that unabashedly) has not been built.


In this day and age, corporations cannot treat security lightly. Visitors that bring in contraband items pose a clear and present danger to the operations of the Park. A burger and drink bought from the outside means HK$60 in lost potential revenue !


The railway station at the main entrance


The view down Main Street USA




Main Street USA, lined with souvenir and gift shops, a bakery, photo studio and food stands. Contrary to our prior expectations, the merchandise was quite affordable. A standard kid's T-shirt costs HK$100 (S$20). Food and drink prices though, are on the same level as movie theatres. At the snack stands, a small bottle of Coke costs HK$15 (S$3), mineral water HK$10 (S$2) and a red bean popsicle HK$15.


Our first celebrity sighting of the day !!! (Take photo also must queue)


Sleepy's castle (the Beauty, not the Dwarf)


Potential health hazards :
- sunburn
- dehydration
- injury by umbrella spoke


Jungle River Cruise


Tarzan's Treehouse. Three-room duplex with nice view and near amenities. Ample parking for canoes and sampans. Sure beats Sentosa Cove.


Long queues for everything


Into Fantasyland. Dumbos in flight. A friend who was there told us she queued for an hour just for the one-minute ride.




A.k.a. food court


Average wait to see Winnie and his friends : 150 minutes




Confession: besides "It's A Small World", I like these tea cups too.


Space Mountain. I did not try it in Tokyo thanks to my paranoid mother, and when I was in Paris as a soon-to-be graduate, it had not been built. And I did not try it in Hong Kong.


There are two parades a day : at 1:30pm and 3:30pm. We managed to catch the one at 3:30.


There were nine floats and I will just show a few here.
Remember that rampaging, giant Marshmallow Man in "Ghostbusters" ? To be frank, this giant marching bandmaster Mickey reminded me of that.


Let's see, there's Dopey, Sleepy, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Doc and ... Horny ?
No, Sneezy.


A pretty mature-looking Snow White.


The "Little Mermaid" float


My oh my ... how Ariel has grown. She's hot.


The "Toy Story" float. My favourite.


T-Rex, the cowardly dinosaur.


Finally, the superstar of the Park makes his appearance with his main squeeze.




Our final "Land" was Tomorrowland. That's the Orbitron flying saucer ride.


Besides Space Mountain, the most popular ride at the Park must be the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters


... with the requisite wait.




There are many restaurants and eateries scattered around the Park. We finally made a Coke-and-fries pit-stop at the StarLiner Diner, which is said to be the largest fastfood restaurant in Hong Kong, about 5 times bigger than the average McDonald's outlet.






As we made our way back down Main Street at 6pm to leave, queues were already forming up for dinner (or maybe a very very late lunch).


When we reached the railway station near the Main Entrance, we decided that we must ride on it so that we did not have to leave the Park ride-less. Fortunately there were only six people ahead of us in the queue, but it filled up quickly.


A rather svelte-looking Daisy Duck.


We left the Park at about 6:30pm. We were so worn out by the heat and crowds that we just had a quick noodle dinner in town and went back to our own homes. I was in bed by 10pm.


Disneyland is certainly worth visiting if you already plan to come to HK for some shopping and sightseeing, but until the Park is expanded, it's just not worth a dedicated trip. I might go back with L again to try out some of the rides - now that we have been there, we can skip some of the sightseeing - and if we have friends visiting from overseas. But only in the cooler months.

I had enjoyed my visits to the Tokyo and Paris parks tremendously. For me, one of the joys of going to a Disney resort is that, besides being in a fantasy wonderland, you are also in a foreign country. Going to a Disneyland which is just an hour and a half away from home by MTR, and where the staff says "Foon ying" (Welcome) and "Dor cheh" (Thank you) to me just does not feel exotic enough.