I just got back an hour ago from a day at HKDL - what better way to unwind and reflect than by jotting down a quick trip report.
We’re staying at Explorer’s Lodge in 2 interconnecting rooms - there’s my husband and I, my mum, and our kids (Big is 6 and Little is almost 4). We flew in yesterday afternoon (from Singapore, but we are from Australia) caught the S1 bus to Tung Chung Station, then MTR from there. I know that people say that taxis are the way to go, but I beg to differ - the look on my kids’ faces when the Disneyland train pulled up made it worth hauling our luggage up and down the stairs at Sunny Bay station as the lifts weren’t working.
We had a quick breakfast at Chart Room cafe this morning - I rather like the later park opening (10:30...granted the last Disney park we did, my husband and I waited 1.5 hours outside of WDW Animal Kingdom to get a head start on Pandora, so anything is a relaxing morning compared to that). It gave us time to enjoy our breakfast, wander around the hotel grounds and then up to gather our belongings for the day. We shuttle bussed to the park and were through the security check and in the park by 10am, and quickly in a line for a photo with Chip & Dale (at the choice of my kids).
Shortly after rope drop, we went and grabbed fast passes for Winnie the Pooh, and seeing barely anybody on the ride, we walked on while we were there. Then we flew on Dumbo before heading around to Toy Story land as it opened and walking straight onto Slinky Dog Spin & Parachute Drop (and RCRacer twice for my husband). From there, we wandered the park at a pace that suited both my mum and the Little kid and managed to fit in pretty much all of the rides except for Jungle Cruise (and It’s a Small World as it was closed). Both my kids rode pretty much everything they were allowed to from a height perspective - which meant my 3 year old went on Hyperspace Mountain. Not his favourite ride (And he said he liked Iron Man better), but he’s pretty pleased with himself for going on a “ride for big people”.
We enjoyed lunch at Royal Banquet Hall - kids loves the spaghetti & meatballs, and I was quite taken by the special edition peach soda in the Mickey cup. Kids also loved the popcorn that we munched on during the day parade.
We were given 4 priority passes from our hotel, each for 4 people (2 rooms for 2 nights each) and we didn’t use them at all, as the wait time for everything was under 5 minutes (mostly walk on) at the times we went.
The highlights for Little were the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the Disneyland Railroad and parades - he is OBSESSED with Lightning McQueen & Cars. His face during the Paint the Night parade was sheer magic. Big Kid really enjoyed the character greetings and Mickey’s Philharmagic, and he was particularly pleased to have met and gotten some photos with Mickey. Highlight for my husband was Mystic Manor (Big kid loved this one too - he, husband and my mum all went straight back on as soon as they got off).
A fabulous day all around - we’re back at Explorer’s for the night...and little do the kids know that we have character breakfast booked at Enchanted Garden tomorrow before we check out!
We’re staying at Explorer’s Lodge in 2 interconnecting rooms - there’s my husband and I, my mum, and our kids (Big is 6 and Little is almost 4). We flew in yesterday afternoon (from Singapore, but we are from Australia) caught the S1 bus to Tung Chung Station, then MTR from there. I know that people say that taxis are the way to go, but I beg to differ - the look on my kids’ faces when the Disneyland train pulled up made it worth hauling our luggage up and down the stairs at Sunny Bay station as the lifts weren’t working.
We had a quick breakfast at Chart Room cafe this morning - I rather like the later park opening (10:30...granted the last Disney park we did, my husband and I waited 1.5 hours outside of WDW Animal Kingdom to get a head start on Pandora, so anything is a relaxing morning compared to that). It gave us time to enjoy our breakfast, wander around the hotel grounds and then up to gather our belongings for the day. We shuttle bussed to the park and were through the security check and in the park by 10am, and quickly in a line for a photo with Chip & Dale (at the choice of my kids).
Shortly after rope drop, we went and grabbed fast passes for Winnie the Pooh, and seeing barely anybody on the ride, we walked on while we were there. Then we flew on Dumbo before heading around to Toy Story land as it opened and walking straight onto Slinky Dog Spin & Parachute Drop (and RCRacer twice for my husband). From there, we wandered the park at a pace that suited both my mum and the Little kid and managed to fit in pretty much all of the rides except for Jungle Cruise (and It’s a Small World as it was closed). Both my kids rode pretty much everything they were allowed to from a height perspective - which meant my 3 year old went on Hyperspace Mountain. Not his favourite ride (And he said he liked Iron Man better), but he’s pretty pleased with himself for going on a “ride for big people”.
We enjoyed lunch at Royal Banquet Hall - kids loves the spaghetti & meatballs, and I was quite taken by the special edition peach soda in the Mickey cup. Kids also loved the popcorn that we munched on during the day parade.
We were given 4 priority passes from our hotel, each for 4 people (2 rooms for 2 nights each) and we didn’t use them at all, as the wait time for everything was under 5 minutes (mostly walk on) at the times we went.
The highlights for Little were the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the Disneyland Railroad and parades - he is OBSESSED with Lightning McQueen & Cars. His face during the Paint the Night parade was sheer magic. Big Kid really enjoyed the character greetings and Mickey’s Philharmagic, and he was particularly pleased to have met and gotten some photos with Mickey. Highlight for my husband was Mystic Manor (Big kid loved this one too - he, husband and my mum all went straight back on as soon as they got off).
A fabulous day all around - we’re back at Explorer’s for the night...and little do the kids know that we have character breakfast booked at Enchanted Garden tomorrow before we check out!
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