Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. It is a place where we see our childhood heroes and heroines come to life. My daughter, Francine, wanted to celebrate her 10th birthday at Disneyland, thus making this the highlight of our trip.
There are many websites offering discounted Disneyland
tickets ranging from 3,100php to 3,400php per person. I already had an idea
that per ticket would cost around 3,500php and since there would be three of
us, I would like to find the cheapest tickets I can.
After searching value-for-money tickets on numerous sites, I
finally found the best deal. I booked our tickets at the Hong Kong Disneyland website. I also encourage you to check their site from time to time for
fantastic offers. On our case, we took
advantage of their “Play and Dine” ticket offer which cost $537HKD for adults and $389HKD for children 3 to 11 years. Per ticket includes an all-day
access pass and a combo meal from any of Disney’s signature restaurants. You
might want to take advantage of these kind of offers since food inside the park
is somewhat expensive—ranging from $80HKD to $115HKD for full meals—and food
bought outside the park is strictly prohibited.
Our hotel, Rambler Oasis, in Tsing Yi is only a few minutes train ride to Disneyland. From Rambler Oasis, we took the bus to Tsing Yi Station and
paid $10HKD bus fare for the three of us. At Tsing Yi Station, we took the train
to Sunny Bay.
Travel time is only 5 minutes and tickets cost $3.25HKD per
person. Upon reaching Sunny Bay Station, we took the Mickey Mouse themed train
immediately to the Disneyland Resort.
When we got off the train, we proceeded to
the train ticketing booth and paid our fare for $6HKD each to get through
Disney’s grounds.
When we got in, we headed to the park’s ticketing booth
and presented a screenshot on my phone containing the confirmation ID which was
sent to my e-mail. We were then handed our all-day access pass and meal
vouchers.
After getting through security check, we patiently waited in line for
the gates to open. Disneyland opens at 10:00 am and closes at 8:00 pm after the
spectacular fireworks show (subject to weather conditions). Maps are also found
right at the entrance and you can take one freely.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse stood at the other side of
the gate a few minutes before the park officially opened. After waving their
hands and welcoming their guests, they proceeded to the park’s pavilion.
Finally, the gates were open and we were stoked to begin our magical adventure.
Below is a photo of us with Disneyland’s most famous couple.
We waited about an hour and a half in line to get this photo with Mickey and
Minnie. Had we known it would require a lot of patience and perseverance to get
this photo op, we could’ve raced to the pavilion.
Nonetheless, it was worth it.
I still look at our photo from time to time and it never fails to paints a smile on my
face. I also had shirts printed for effect, indicating the date we set our feet
at Hong Kong Disneyland .
After having our photo with Mickey and Minnie, we took the
opportunity to take more photos with other Disney characters we can find on Main Street then
began exploring the park’s different themed areas.
We first went to Tomorrowland and instantly spotted Darth
Vader and Stormtroopers. A few steps and we got to Disney’s newest attraction:
The Iron Man Experience. Since it was the newest attraction, the line was
overwhelming and so we decided to spend our time exploring other areas of the
park instead. There is a statue of Iron Man outside though, hence the photo
below.
Just next toTomorrowland is the jungle themed zone,
Adventureland. Adventureland is the land of Simba, Tarzan and many wild animals
lurking at the jungle.
We rode the Jungle River Cruise and sailed around the
island not knowing what “dangers” were waiting for us. We had an English speaking
guide that entertained us all throughout our safari journey.
After our encounter with wild animals and tribes men, we
headed to the musical arena of Pride Rock to watch the “Festival of the Lion
King”. This musical re-telling of Simba’s story is something that you should
not miss. It is 100% entertaining and will surely give you a dose of nostalgia
especially hearing The Lion King’s
entrance song. And who does not want to see Timon and Pumbaa?
We were still not halfway exploring the park and so we ate
as fast as we could. The meal voucher entitles us a combo meal to any of
Disneyland’s signature restaurants and we chose to eat at Clopin’s Festival of
Foods.
After stuffing our tummies, we headed to Fantasyland, which
is my personal favorite because it is home to the Disney princesses. We entered
the Fairy Tale Forest which displayed medium sized castles of Belle, Ariel,
Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White.
We explored the Mystic Point and Toy Story Land, too, as well as the wild wild
west of Grizzly Gulch.
Since the rides like the Grizzly Gulch Rollercoaster,
Slinky Dog Spin and RC Racer were too extreme (well, for us) and we weren’t
adventurous enough, we decided to watch the “Happily Ever After” show that
presented musical numbers from Baloo of The
Jungle Book, the Genie from Aladdin
and princesses like Rapunzel, Tiana, Ariel, Merida and Queen Elsa. It was entertaining
and we had fun singing along. Check out "Friend Like Me" number below:
Here's a cute mashup of "When Will My Life Begin" and "Part of Your World" by Rapunzel and Ariel:
And Queen Elsa's stellar performance as she sings her hit song "Let It Go".
After singing our hearts out, we went back to Main Street and visited some shops were we
can grab a few souvenirs. After purchasing, we had a quick snack at the Main
Street Bakery. I got myself a Jedi latte for $28HKD and a Minnie Mango Mousse
for $36HKD. My daughter wanted a frozen treat despite the cold weather and so
we got a Minnie Mouse ice cream bar for $35HKD.
Here are two of my favorite photos of her at Main Street:
It was almost dark and we were looking forward to the
fireworks display. To while away the time, we jumped into the Mad Hatter Tea Cups
and enjoyed the hilarious 4D show at Mickey’s Philharmagic.
When we went out of the theater, the parade already started
and we had to look for a spot near Sleeping Beauty’s castle fast to get the
best view of the show.
Unfortunately, it was already jam-packed. However, I still
managed to record short clips of “Disney’s Magic in the Stars” and our view
from where we were was not bad at all. Below are some of the clips:
Disney never fails to amaze the kids and the kids at heart. They
say Disneyland is a magical place where all your dreams and wishes come true. Seeing my daughter’s eyes glow at every spectacle and hearing her telling her wonderful stories after the experience, I can say that both our wishes and dreams did come true. Thank you, Disney!
I hope this blog gave
you a handful of tips as you plan your adventure with your family. If you need to know more information, don't hesitate to ask on the comments below. Have fun and may you have the most magical Disney experience! To infinity
and beyond!
