Hong Kong Disneyland is 10 years old and has a daily capacity of 34,000 visitors — the fewest of all Disneyland parks.  The park was also constructed very quickly, taking 2 years and opened early, with additional lands such as Mystic Point, Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land opening later.

It’s funny looking at the reactions of people who asked if we were going to Hong Kong Disneyland.  Ranging from “Oh cool” to “Don’t go there, only Mainlanders go!”  Funny, given most of the people who visited the day we were there, were mainly people from Hong Kong. I think Hong Kongers are afraid to admit that they actually like something as kawaii as Disney, maintaining the British-influenced stiff upper lip.

To get there, you can easily get to Hong Kong Disneyland via MTR from Sunny Bay.  There is s dedicated line featuring a subway with Mickey Ear windows.  Inside the train has statues of Disney characters.  Seating is very similar to the monorail at Tokyo Disneyland.

Hong Kong Disneyworld is a small park, and it can be done in half a day, especially if the park attendance is lower, which it was.  Scott and I had no problems getting on rides within 5 minutes of joining the queue.

One question we get asked is, “Are the rides big enough for big people?”  We can say, without a doubt, yes.  It’s not like Canada’s Wonderland where Scott and I have problems getting on rides.  Both Hong Kong and Tokyo Disneylands fit big people.

The park is gorgeous, and the lands around the park just add to the stunning scenery – the green hills and mountains.  Local foliage used.

When you arrive at the park, check out the fountain at the entrance, especially the Mickey riding on top of the Whale’s blow spout.

Main Street is uncovered, different from Tokyo and Paris, and refreshingly does not feature a Starbucks! You will notice that Sleeping Beauty’s castle is even smaller than the one at Disneyland.  Funny thing is, the first time I went to any Disney park, which was Disneyland in Anaheim, I thought Sleeping Beauty’s castle was really quite small and I was disappointed.  For the record, Shanghai Disneyland’s castle will be the biggest in the system, bigger than the one at Magic Kingdom at WDW.

We started out in Tomorrowland which seems more futuristic than than it’s retro-futuristic brother at WDW.  Not a criticism, just different and they both have their charms.

Definitely check out Space Mountain and Autotopia.  Space Mountain is definitely different and has some very cool visual effects.  Autotopia features electric vehicles!

I really would love to return for the Iron Man Experience which opens in 2016.  Beyond Stitch, Iron Man is my next favourite Disney, uh, Marvel character.  Yeah, that’s it.

The parades at Hong Kong Disneyland are fantastic- Flights of Fantasy is the 3pm parade, and Paint The Night is the night parade.  During both of the parades, the people actually in the parade REALLY ham it up, getting into their character and interacting with the crowds in a big way.

For Flights of Fantasy, they pull people into the parade to dance at one point.  With Paint the Night, if you have the Hong Kong Disneyland Magic Brush or one of the colour wants from WDW, you can change colours of some of the dancers and a massive electronic wall that’s part of the parade.  It’s quite something. Also if you have the Made with Magic Mickey Glove, Glow Ears or Glow Headband with bow, those will change colour with the parade too.

I’m torn between Tokyo’s or Hong Kong’s night parade being my favourite.  Both have amazing night time photography opportunities, but I think Hong Kong’s wins out for the interactive nature.  If you can’t get to Hong Kong, you can see the Paint the Night Parade at Disneyland in California, so be sure to check it out.

If you don’t have a glow brush to interact with the shows, you can get a package of a glow brush and a glow hand or a glow band for CAD$25.  That’s cheap and a great deal!

It’s fun to have colour change duels with staff selling the brushes at the park. *GRIN*

Admittedly, I’m not one for parades.  The thought of standing in the heat of the sun drives me nuts.  I will say, for both Tokyo and Hong Kong, I’m glad we stuck around for the parades.  They blew me away.

It’s a Small World, always a classic to go on, features characters singing in their native language as well Canada has a significantly bigger presence in the ride than it does in other Small Worlds I’ve been to.  It’s refreshing to see.

Toy Story Land is fantastic!  I am a huge fan of Pixar films and I’ve always wanted to visit Toy Story Land.  Be sure to go on the RC Racer coaster.

Mystic Point is where you’ll find the Mystic Manor which features Disney’s new GPS ride system.  It is AMAZING and a must-do ride!

Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars in Grizzly Gulch is an awesome rollercoaster and almost a combination of Expedition Everest and Big Thunder Mountain. That’s all I will say as I don’t want to ruin any surprises.

Food-wise, Hong Kong Disneyland caters to local tastes.  We found restaurants that offered Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Singaporean, in addition to some North American favourites.  We didn’t actually eat at the park due to the huge lunch we had at Crystal Lotus, but did have a snack of curried fish balls which were tasty!

In Tomorrowland you can even get a Mickey lunch box with your meal!

We stayed at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which is almost a mini version of Grand Floridian.  Such  gorgeous hotel with a great view of Discovery Bay.  If you stay at the hotel, it includes entrance to the park.  Not a bad deal.

Crystal Lotus?  I’ll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

All in all, a nice ending to the holiday.  Tomorrow  we get up at 4:50am to start our 24 hour journey back to Toronto.

To some of us, it’s easy to chuckle at the graphic nature of some of the health and safety posters seen around Hong Kong, but putting yourself in the shoes of someone who has never experienced a big city before, these posters are quite vital to those who simply don’t know better due to life experiences.

When you’re dealing with multiple cultures and different ways of living, and also remembering that Hong Kong dealt with SARS (as did Toronto), and also knowing that there was a recent outbreak of MERS in South Korea, it’s not surprising the Hong Kong and other countries in Asia take health, wellness and safety importantly.

Originally titled: Day 12: Fragrant Harbour – 香港

Givenchy, Gautier, Darling, names names names!  We even passed by Harvey Nicks, sweetie!  Patsy and Edina would be very happy!

After spending the day away from the central business districts of Hong Kong and Kowloon, we decided to spend time closer to Hong Kong by… going to Hong Kong, the city.  People often think of Hong Kong as the combined entities of Kowloon and Hong Kong themselves, but it’s a much bigger place as evidenced by our visit to Tai O yesterday.  I know I’m guilty of that.

Hong Kong is an autonomous territory, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.  Previously it was a British Overseas Territory, handed back to China as agreed to after a 99 year lease in 1997.  An area of 7.2 million people.

It is a vibrant, busy place.  It has no taxes, so shopping is relatively cheap relative to some places.  If you’re looking for a new watch, gold, jade or a new suit, this is the place to be.

MTR is an awesome service.  If you’re a traveller, order the airport express pass in advance and you get 3 days of unlimited travel which was perfect for our needs.

One of the things that struck me about MTR, are the advertisements for safety.  They’re quite funny to me at one level because I can be pretty twisted, but these are very important advertisements especially for mainlanders who may not have the big city experiences that some of us do have.  As MTR’s slogan goes, “Caring for life’s journeys”, and it shows.

Getting up, the day was grey, rainy and humid.  Totally unlike our first day which was beautiful.  When in Rome, do as the Romans – Get yourself an umbrella and make the best of it.

We headed to Causeway Bay which was similar to the area our hotel was in, except for the guys hawking “Copy Watches” and suits – There were none, which was very refreshing!

Ah yes, the guys who love to approach you and say, “Friend!  I’ve got beer for you if you come and look at my suits!  I’ve got ice cream, friend!” or the guys that, right in front of a Rolex shop ask if I’m interested in a copy watch which is a fake watch that might last a year if you’re lucky.  Dude, seriously, I’m wearing an Apple Watch, or a Citizen Blue Angels Skyhawk, or a 25^th Anniversary Swatch Club watch… Do you really think I’m going to be wanting to buy a copy watch?  I’m going to go to a reputable dealer and buy that Seiko Astron for $2000 (which I did not), not go for a copy watch.

I do like watches, I have to admit and I will say that the pricing was out of my league despite the tax free/duty free pricing.

None the less, I am amazed at the number of shops that sell jewellery in Hong Kong and amazed that theses businesses are sustainable.

It’s amazing seeing bamboo being used for construction.  I’ve heard about this and seen pictures, but never in the flesh.

The rain soon cleared up as did the fog/mist/cloud coverage on Victoria Peak, so we decided to get the cable car up to Victoria Peak.  Yes, another tourist trap mecca, but has to be done. J   The cable car journey is quite something.  You’re easily at a 45 degree incline.  It’s quite something to experience especially as a big guy.

The view from Victoria Peak is stunning.  Such a beautiful view of Hong Kong, Kowloon and environs.  It has to be done at least once, and take it from me, words do not do it justice, nor pictures.

We stopped for lunch at the Hong Kong Day restaurant at the peak.  Don’t bother with the other restaurants there, they’re expensive and somewhat westernized.  The Hong Kong Day, while probably inflated, has good cheap food relatively speaking and it was tasty!

We got the Star Ferry back to Kowloon.  This, again, is something that must be done.  For HK$2, it’s cheap, historic and you get some amazing views of the CBD.

Sadly, for today, I did not have my good camera on me, mainly because of the rain so had to settle for my iPhone camera.

One of the first people I worked with when I started my career 20 years ago at Nortel, lives in Hong Kong along with his wife.  He had arranged dinner at the Peninsula Hotel, specifically at Springmoon, the Chinese Restaurant within the hotel.

Scott and I knew this was quite an upscale hotel without even walking in.  Heck, after walking into our hotel and seeing some choice luxury automobiles, walking into the Peninsula and seeing the cars parked outside, we felt very out of place.  Very out of place.

The lobby of the hotel was out of this world, just beautiful.

Dinner was off the planet!  Peking Duck served two ways, Hot & Sour Soup, Fried rice, Mango pudding, just amazing, and the service was stunning. (Dinner pictures coming)

It was so good seeing Albert after 17 years, and his wife Natalie; where we’ve gone and the things we’ve done.  It’s weird knowing that I have spent just slightly over half my life in the working world, and not in school.  The time flies so quickly.

After we stopped by the Avenue of the Stars featuring many icons in the Hong Kong movie industry, beyond Bruce Lee.

The one thing I wish we could do is spend more time in Hong Kong, checking out places outside the standard tourist areas.  We only scratched the surface.  That said, that is why, on trips like Scott and I just took, that we sometimes like to go to a place for a small ‘teaser’ to make us hungry to come back.  Believe me, I really do want to go back to Hong Kong.

Tomorrow would be our last day in Hong Kong.