Econ Man had an early in-studio tv interview with CNBC Asia followed by a day of filming in various parts of HK. So that left me the three kids. What to do in a big city? Well there's lots to do here. But we hadn't done HK Disney before, and it was overcast and kind of dreary and rainy, so what better day to stand in long cues than a day like today?
My first hurdle to overcome was the subway. Get correct tickets. Get to the proper train. Get the kids in. Get off at the correct stop. and actually, it was pretty easy. And it was really clean, albeit crowded. And the whole Asian thing of no personal space was a bit overwhelming (if there is like half of an unused seat they will sit in it, even if it means you end up almost sitting on two peoples' laps). But alas with little hassle we arrived at Sunny Bay where we changed trains at the same platform for the Disneyland Train. Yes, Disney has their own subway train with Mickey windows and Mickey hand holds. They even have their own tracks that lead to their own station just out front of Disneyland.
After the hoards disembarked I began to rethink this day's adventure wondering if we shouldn't have stayed back in the room. This was going to be an exhausting day.
So in the distance, in front of the mountain, you can see Cinderella's much smaller HK real estate investment. After all, houses do cost more here than in Florida or California. Smaller is in. And after waiting in our first cue of the day--the one to buy tickets (they don't have ticket purchase machines at HK Disney--though they most definitely need them)--we headed right through to get our Fast Pass for the Pooh ride. I had heard that ride cues were long here, but that was an understatement. After years and years of doing Disney in the States I can say I have very seldom stood in lines this long. For instance, I have never waited almost 30 minutes to ride the Carousel. Never. Till today. Maybe I've waited 5 minutes. But not here. And so the day went. And since I had three kids with me which limited which rides we could actually ride, I vouched for the watery play at the parks. And being that it's normally really hot here they had quite a few water play areas within the park. So I had the boys dress in their swim trunks this morning, making the water part super easy. By the end of our stay the shorts had dried. Brilliant.
One of the fun parts of HK Disneyland is the Toy Story Land. It's really cute and it was the kids favorite part.
Tess rode her first faster ride--the Slinky Dog. She was a little apprehensive, but I think by the end she was enjoying herself.
Of course no day doing anything is complete without Dashel hurting himself. He slipped in the water play area and fell directly on his head leaving a small hematoma on the back side of his head. He then fell later and hurt his arm. Really, it's just not a day out till Dash has injured himself.
They loved the Tiki water squirters. They could have stayed at this stop for hours.
This is HK's Tomorrowland in petit form. Everything in HK Disney is like a microcosm of the Florida Magic Kingdom. So the whole park is shrunk down making travel from one side to the other quicker. The down side to this is less rides.
Dash wasn't quite tall enough to be seen through the mask.
The long-awaited carousel.
The Sword in the Stone. My boys were just sure that together they could get it out.
This is Declan exhausted. I let him have a Sprite at lunch just to pep him up. We had been searching for an indoor eatery just to get some AC. I was drenched in sweat from carrying Tess in the Bjorn and pushing Dash in the stroller. The eateries were mad houses with people everywhere and not a table to be had. Note to HK Disney: Either make the eateries bigger or put more in the park. After finally finagling a table we sat under fans and dried off. Declan drank his Sprite, which by the way has to be the best Sprite I've ever tasted. It had a hint of lemongrass flavor in it. Really it was good. They should do that in the US, because Sprite is one of the most uninteresting sodas around.
So as I stood in lines today and observed I realized a few things. First, our family of 4 here was entertainment in itself. Not many moms doing Disney on their own with three kids. Everyone stared. Rather funny. Second, I realized that Asian women have perfect skin with no pimples. All of them. Not a one of them had a flaw or blemish on their face. So now I'm perplexed and wondering at this newly discovered phenomenon. DNA? Green Tea? I'm baffled. Third, Asians have no sense of personal space. If there's a gap, they'll shoot it, even when waiting in a cue and propriety says wait your turn. I had to get a little pushy with a few people. Fourth, Asians like picture ops, eating, shows and parades. Disney is clued into this. There are so many picture op places around the park, everyone is walking around shooting with expensive cameras, the parades are packed, the food stalls are everywhere and the dining packed, and every Disney show --whether live or recorded --has a serious waiting cue. Just getting into Fantasia was like waiting for some rock concert. When they opened the doors people literally ran--mob style--for seats. It was insane. In the US people don't care so much for the shows. And they'd almost never run mob-style for seats to one of them. It was definitely a cultural experience.
By 4:00 I was fed-up, hot and exhausted (sounds like a Tyler Perry film title). I had had my fill of long cues, a tired and whining Dashel, profuse drenching sweat, and a very claustrophobic feeling I needed to be away from the hoards. I booked it for the exit and decided the most direct and air conditioned route home was via a taxi. I'm not much of an air conditioning girl, but I have to say I can't remember a time I welcomed it more!
On the way back I used my iPhone to brush-up on Hong Kong and Chinese tipping etiquette. It's so different all over the world. It's worth understanding place by place. So interestingly, in China tipping is an insult. It means the person is some how beneath you or didnt do a job well or something to that effect. So you'd never tip a cabbie in the mainland. But in HK they are used to Westernized ways, so the taxi driver usually rounds up to the nearest dollar automatically. Thus working in his or her own tip.
We returned to the hotel a little worse for the wear. So we all napped. It was tremendous, really.
In the evening we had dinner with Sid under lots and lots of fans. We were the only people there when dinner started. I loved it.
Location:Hong Kong
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