A (2019) HalloXmas trip to Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo! - COMPLETED 5/1!!!

[Lesley Wake]

Day 4
October 23, 2019

Part 1 – A Sanrio Travel Day

Today was my second travel day, going from Shanghai to Hong Kong. I obviously would have preferred to fly direct (it’s only about a 2-3 hr flight), but unfortunately none of those were available via reward travel, so I was flying PVG (Shanghai) – TPE (Taipei) – HKG (Hong Kong). I was scheduled to leave Shanghai at 1:10 and arrive in Hong Kong at 6:25 with a 1.5 hr layover in Taipei. I was also flying EVA Airways, which I always heard good things about, so was curious to see how it went!

I had decided to use Mr Orange Transfer again and prebooked my car service to pick me up at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel at 9:30am (that was the time they decided based on my flight time). Originally I had hoped to go to Lumiere’s Kitchen for breakfast, but after realizing how tired I was from the past 2 days I didn’t want to have to get up too early, so I just headed to the Ballet Café for pastries.

Really liked the look of the specialty dessert offerings!

But I decided to go with the tried and true, Shanghai Pork Cake and a Pineapple Bun (which actually doesn’t have pineapple in it, it just sort of looks like a pineapple with the cracked top). Both pretty yummy!

I brought my bags up to the front lobby (oh and the bell hops look horrified when I wheeled them myself rather than calling them to help and ran to meet me when I came out of the hallway) where I checked out and admired my last view of the castle (and Donald’s butt)

The driver arrived a bit early and actually found me in the lobby while I was chilling on the couch (I guess it’s easy to spot the only Westerner in there)! And an uneventful drive to the airport. I think I’ve heard people don’t really have issues taking normal taxis from the hotel, as the hotel staff make sure you are charged the right amount and the driver has the instructions, but it was about the same cost and just easier!

I think this was up for some international convention that was being held, but I thought it looked cool!

Hello PVG!

I don’t think any issues at check-in or thru security/immigration control (but no photos allowed then) and I made my way to the business class lounge (it was Air China’s as they are a Star Alliance partner). The actual lounge was 2 stories and unfortunately the bottom story smelled pretty strongly of cigarette smoke. I don’t think I saw anyone actively smoking, so it’s possible the smoking section was down there so the smoke drifted through – I just know I spent all of the time upstairs.

I was pretty excited about seeing this from afar as I thought it was coke (remember I had been relegated to Pepsi for the past several days). Unfortunately nope…just beer.

So…American Chocolate Cake?

My lunch plate. It was actually pretty good and plenty of seating options around the lounge.

Something random I took a photo of: floor exit signs. I saw these all over Shanghai (including in the queues at Disneyland, just not lit up). As a fire engineer I definitely notice stuff like that and think it could be a pretty good idea. (Geek flag flying: you actually do see low level signs now a days in hotel corridors since smoke could obstruct the higher ceiling signs, but those are on the walls within a foot of the ground, not actually on the floor!)

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

Onto the aircraft. I think the business class was pretty full. It was also a “herringbone” type of layout, so all the seats are slightly angled rather than every other one offset. Only negative was that the video screen had to be stored against the seat during takeoff/landing, so I couldn’t watch anything.

But the safety video – LOL! Basically interpretative dance in a safety demonstration!

There was a meal served. I ended up going with “Braised chicken and bamboo shoot in Sesame Oil. Served with egg fried rice which I think was decent. Can you tell what movie I watched? I think I slept too!

And arrival in Taipei. I was sad there was such a short layover since I’ve heard good things about it! Once I touched down though I quickly checked all the stuff I could on social media, since I had been blocked from it for the last several days due to the Chinese firewall! (the VPN I had used was only about 50/50 in working and if I wanted to use the SHDL app, I really needed to have the VPN turned off so I had been cut off from twitter/facebook/Instagram/google for too long!)

Also they have like 4 business/first/vip lounges! My ticket gave me access to “The Infinity”

Mmm…my eternal journey for a Coke satisfied!

And food options here were awesome! Ice cream, donuts, steamed buns, plus savories!

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

Before long, I had to leave to catch my next flight… but I did have to make one detour!

On the way, this was the breastfeeding area! So cute!

Some other cool terminal/decorative areas – Taipei airport is known for having some really interesting gate designs!

But my actual destination was the Hello Kitty gate! I unfortunately wasn’t flying out of it, but I did want to see it!

Which was why even though I had seat 1A, I still was the last person on the flight…

I don’t have any photos onboard, so I assume I probably slept most of the flight (or watched part of a movie) – it was only a 1 hr 45 minute flight, so pretty short!

Coming up: Arrival at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort!​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Glad to hear your travel to the airport that morning went smoothly. They really do seem to make sure everything goes smoothly at the hotels in Shanghai Disney.

I know I spy Far From Home when I see it. But also... IT WAS OFFERED ON FLIGHTS, ALREADY? Can't even find that on Netflix yet UGH I NEED MY TOM HOLLAND AND JAKE GYLLENHAAL FIX IMMEDIATELY DANGIT

The Hello Kitty gate is so cute OMG THAT is where I'd be taking all the photos. I'd be stocked up big time on pastels and kawaii style couture just for that. *makes note to do a layover in Taipei*

 

[KathyM2]

I'm loving reading about your Asia Disney trip....it seems like tales from a faraway place that isn't earth right now...but it's a nice fantasy!!! So fun that they had a Hello Kitty gate lol

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a good travel day! Especially since you were reunited with Coke!

Love the Hello Kitty area!!

 

[cindianne320]

Sounds like a great travel day!

LOVE the airport areas, especially the Hello Kitty- and even though I'm done with babies, I still always check out the Mommy areas!

 

[KEK1]

Wow Taipei airport looks interesting!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Glad to hear your travel to the airport that morning went smoothly. They really do seem to make sure everything goes smoothly at the hotels in Shanghai Disney.

I know I spy Far From Home when I see it. But also... IT WAS OFFERED ON FLIGHTS, ALREADY? Can't even find that on Netflix yet UGH I NEED MY TOM HOLLAND AND JAKE GYLLENHAAL FIX IMMEDIATELY DANGIT

The Hello Kitty gate is so cute OMG THAT is where I'd be taking all the photos. I'd be stocked up big time on pastels and kawaii style couture just for that. *makes note to do a layover in Taipei*

Yup, Spiderman was already on the flight! I think it's on Starz right now for streaming.

I would have spent more time soaking in all the Sanrio goodness, but I had to get to my actual gate!

I'm loving reading about your Asia Disney trip....it seems like tales from a faraway place that isn't earth right now...but it's a nice fantasy!!! So fun that they had a Hello Kitty gate lol

Yeah, they even have a whole Hello Kitty aircraft. One of the routes it flies is from Taipei to Hong Kong, but unfortunately it was the flight before mine (which wouldn't have worked timewise coming from Shanghai)!

Sounds like a good travel day! Especially since you were reunited with Coke!

Love the Hello Kitty area!!

I was so happy to finally get Coke! At least the other places I went to all had it!

Sounds like a great travel day!

LOVE the airport areas, especially the Hello Kitty- and even though I'm done with babies, I still always check out the Mommy areas!

It was all so cute!

Wow Taipei airport looks interesting!

Yeah, I would have liked to see it more. I know Singapore airport it supposed to be jaw-dropping, so when/if I fly there I need to add time to see it!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 2 – Arrival in Hong Kong!

I don’t have any photos in Hong Kong airport, but it was pretty empty. This was in the middle of the protests going on, so they weren’t getting a lot of tourists coming into town. The airport was also set up with lots of transit options – ferry to Macau, train to the city, etc. I just hopped into a taxi heading to Hong Kong Disneyland! They actually color code their taxis (since their airport is on a different island than the main city, some taxis go downtown, while some stay on the island which is where Disneyland is) so I just knew I needed to catch a blue car (I think it was blue; maybe green; I just know there was a Mickey head on it)! And it was a quick drive over there!

We were driving too fast, so unfortunately this was the best shot I got!

And arrival at my home for the next 3 nights – the Explorer’s Lodge!

There are 3 hotels at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort – the Disneyland Hotel (most expensive), the Hollywood Hotel (cheapest) and the Explorer’s Lodge (newest). From everything I read it was designed similar to Animal Kingdom Lodge, just without the whole savanna outside! I think Joe Rhode was involved in its design, so of course I would be ok with that! But it was highly recommended by all the online guides, and rightly so!

Check-in was extremely painless, as it was pretty much empty! I ended up getting room 3561, which is on the same level as the lobby and just down the hallway, on the South America wing (there are 4 wings – Africa, India, South America, Oceania).

I really did like the theming in this room. And it was huge (especially for Asian standards)! It’s not quite on-par with AKL in terms of authenticity, but I still highly recommend it and would absolutely stay there again! (Oh and I don’t believe the rooms themselves have a different décor based on their wing, but the corridors do have slight differences; the outside façade and landscaping is the most different but I’ll show that later.)

This little guy was hanging out on the lamp, which I assume was part of the Halloween decorations? Or just left by someone for the next guest? Because he was still there when I was leaving…so came home with me!

The amenity kit had a super cute tin that was themed to the hotel (though I think in the Disneyland Hotel you get 7 different items, each themed to a different dwarf)! Funny thing was I got a new one of these each night, so I ended up with 3, though due to luggage constraints I only took 1 with me.

The view from my window (the next morning though). Some rooms have views of the ocean, which is pretty cool! But I appreciated that my room was pretty close to the lobby so fewer steps!

Staying on-site isn’t super necessary to having a good time at HKDL. There is a train that goes right to the park (well you do have to make a transfer if coming from Hong Kong itself – HKDL is on Lantau Island). And the parks have limited hours so you don’t have to get up super early. There also aren’t EMH to worry about.

You do get a coupon packet, so this is what I received when I checked in (most of these are about trying to encourage spending money at the hotels):

-3x Merchandise Discount Coupon of $10 HKD off at hotel gift shops (this is equivalent to $1.30 USD each)
-Buy 1 Get 1 free discount for game tickets at the Adventureland game area
-One free merchandise gift (ended up being a postcard)
-10% off of Pandora merchandise of $1800 HKD ($230 USD) at a hotel gift shop
-$100 HKD discount at Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique (I don’t actually remember if this was open when I was there due to the castle construction)
-3 types of hotel dining discount coupons (20% off, $100 discount, dinner buffet), but I think most of those had fine print it was only good for lunch or a certain minimum order, so none could help me. They also gave me an insane amount of these, like 18 total coupons for 1 person on a 3-night stay!

And one other thing I did get (which apparently I didn’t take a photo of), was 1 Priority Special pass per night. Basically a fastpass (done via a paper slip) which could be used on a handful of their biggest attractions. This was included in the room booking. I’ll get into more detail later, but I actually never used these because every ride I did was a walk-on!​

 

[Lesley Wake]

Eventually it was time to adventure out for food!

The lobby of World of Color restaurant from above, though I never ate there

The elevators were adorable! Like you were in the basket of a hot air balloon!

For dinner that night I had considered going over to one of the other hotels to eat at the buffets, as I had heard good things about them. But I was just wiped after a long travel day! So I decided to just head down to Chart Room Café, which was the quick service in the Explorer’s Lodge.

I loved all the theming that it was a voyage!

These beer labels were pretty awesome looking!

Pastry counter, some really cute things like the Jessie cake, Forky fruit cup, suitcase cake! I didn’t end up getting any of these though – a combination of being too tired to eat them and also being too picky! If you can’t read the names, some of them were the Chip and Dale Almond Chocolate Tart, Jessie Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Cake, Mickey Tiramisu, Duffy White Chocolate Cheese Tart, The Traveler coffee chocolate layer cake, Tigger mango mousse cake, Mickey mango cheesecake, Cookie caramel and mango mousse cupcake, Jack Skellington Dark & White Chocolate mousse cake with passion fruit jelly.

And you can order a full cake, which looked awesome!

For dinner, I ended up just feeling plain and wanted something “normal”. So I got a cheese pizza. Yeah, all these options and I went with the most boring thing on the menu! It came with the seasonal soup, which I think was a tomato bisque. And I got it to go so I could eat in my room. Unfortunately it was pretty mediocre. Edible but nothing great. I wish I had been a bit more adventurous, I just was too tired to think!

They actually make the food to order, so while I was waiting for it to come out I did a loop around the pool area outside. Really pretty and I wish I had added in a rest day here just to use the pool!

After eating I tried to relax and crash to sleep!



Coming up – Hong Kong Disneyland! ​

 

[GDubDIS]

Wow, I had no idea HKDL even had a third hotel and it looks great! The elevators are so cute

 

[missjackiemcg]

You impress me so much, Lesley, with your international travel all by yourself!! So glad you found yourself some Coke and LOVED the Sanrio/Hello Kitty gate. Adorable (and also glad you didn't miss your boarding for it!)

Awesome that you were able to stay "on property" and have a meal that reminded you of home...even if it wasn't super enjoyable!!! Excited to hear about your adventures here!

 

[KEK1]

Yay HKDL ! Can't wait for the rest. Think we will be going next Christmas. How would you rate explorers vs AKL?

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Omg the Explorers Lodge does look a lot like DAKL. Wow. You definitely made a good choice going there.

That's super neat how they give you all those coupons but gosh that's a lot to plan to use over a trip. I wouldn't know what to do.

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

WOW!!!! The airports look like they could be there only vacation destination!!!!!

Too funny about you missing Coke... We all miss our go to drink when we're on vacation.... For me, I miss my Diet Pepsi when I'm at Disney...

You're really giving me the travel bug to visit all the Disney parks... But first I need to figure out how to get my money tree to grow so I can afford to go!!!

 

[vamassey1]

Really liked the look of the specialty dessert offerings!

These look sooooo good. I would really have a hard time picking.

I brought my bags up to the front lobby (oh and the bell hops look horrified when I wheeled them myself rather than calling them to help and ran to meet me when I came out of the hallway) where I checked out and admired my last view of the castle (and Donald’s butt)

It's always hard to say good bye but at least you were headed to more Disney fun.

Something random I took a photo of: floor exit signs. I saw these all over Shanghai (including in the queues at Disneyland, just not lit up).

Very cool.

But the safety video – LOL! Basically interpretative dance in a safety demonstration!

Now that is interesting. I guess they're hoping more people will pay attention.

Once I touched down though I quickly checked all the stuff I could on social media, since I had been blocked from it for the last several days due to the Chinese firewall!

I would have done the same thing. You were cut off from the West.

Mmm…my eternal journey for a Coke satisfied!

On the way, this was the breastfeeding area! So cute!

Very cute!

Some other cool terminal/decorative areas – Taipei airport is known for having some really interesting gate designs!

Wow this is so much better than everything looking the same.

But my actual destination was the Hello Kitty gate! I unfortunately wasn’t flying out of it, but I did want to see it!

I would too, bu talk about pink overload.

And arrival at my home for the next 3 nights – the Explorer’s Lodge!

Looks really nice. I love all the details.

The amenity kit had a super cute tin that was themed to the hotel (though I think in the Disneyland Hotel you get 7 different items, each themed to a different dwarf)! Funny thing was I got a new one of these each night, so I ended up with 3, though due to luggage constraints I only took 1 with me.

What a neat kit. It reminds of the past when hotels use to actually give you stuff over here. I guess that was back when I was a kid.

The elevators were adorable! Like you were in the basket of a hot air balloon!

Perfect elevators.

I loved all the theming that it was a voyage!

I do too. The luggage seat cushions are perfect.

For dinner, I ended up just feeling plain and wanted something “normal”. So I got a cheese pizza. Yeah, all these options and I went with the most boring thing on the menu! It came with the seasonal soup, which I think was a tomato bisque. And I got it to go so I could eat in my room. Unfortunately it was pretty mediocre. Edible but nothing great. I wish I had been a bit more adventurous, I just was too tired to think!

I can understand this. You're tired and you're not really hungry but know you need to eat, just go with what you know.

 

[Lilias]

LOL your sad cheese pizza is like 80% of what I will be eating when I eventually make it to a foreign park I am LAME

I love your trip reports! <3

 

[missangelalexis]

The hotel lobby does remind me of AKL!

I love the mickey & minnie on the headboards!

Excited to read about your time in HK!!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Wow, I had no idea HKDL even had a third hotel and it looks great! The elevators are so cute

Yeah it's only a couple of years old. But I know tdrexplorer, Disney Tourist Blog, and other people who visited loved it, so I know I wanted to stay there!

You impress me so much, Lesley, with your international travel all by yourself!! So glad you found yourself some Coke and LOVED the Sanrio/Hello Kitty gate. Adorable (and also glad you didn't miss your boarding for it!)

Awesome that you were able to stay "on property" and have a meal that reminded you of home...even if it wasn't super enjoyable!!! Excited to hear about your adventures here!

I guess I just know if I have to wait for someone else to come with me, I'll never get to go anywhere!

The sanrio gate was pretty adorable!

Yay HKDL ! Can't wait for the rest. Think we will be going next Christmas. How would you rate explorers vs AKL?

AKL is definitely a level above. Bigger, with the amazing lobby (AKL felt about 2x bigger). But Explorers works for HKDL!

Christmas would be so much fun!

Omg the Explorers Lodge does look a lot like DAKL. Wow. You definitely made a good choice going there.

That's super neat how they give you all those coupons but gosh that's a lot to plan to use over a trip. I wouldn't know what to do.

I know - lots of coupons! I think there was one I may have been able to use but totally forgot until I had left the restaurant!

WOW!!!! The airports look like they could be there only vacation destination!!!!!

Too funny about you missing Coke... We all miss our go to drink when we're on vacation.... For me, I miss my Diet Pepsi when I'm at Disney...

You're really giving me the travel bug to visit all the Disney parks... But first I need to figure out how to get my money tree to grow so I can afford to go!!!

Asian airports are crazy with their amenities!

Wow this is so much better than everything looking the same.

Definitely!

What a neat kit. It reminds of the past when hotels use to actually give you stuff over here. I guess that was back when I was a kid.

I know- super cute! At the HK Disneyland Hotel they have 7 different toiletries, each in a themed box for a different dwarf!

I can understand this. You're tired and you're not really hungry but know you need to eat, just go with what you know.

Yup, basically this!

LOL your sad cheese pizza is like 80% of what I will be eating when I eventually make it to a foreign park I am LAME

I love your trip reports! <3

Oh no! I am a pretty picky eater, but was pretty good at finding food I liked!

The hotel lobby does remind me of AKL!

I love the mickey & minnie on the headboards!

Excited to read about your time in HK!!

Yeah the headboards were cute!