Flying off to Disneyland Hong Kong (香港迪士尼樂園) in a Week’s Time for a Family Vacation!

All work and no play make Alvin a very dull person.

Yes, I did a fair bit of traveling this year, but I cannot recall an instance whereby I did not had to respond to work queries or other personal commitments while overseas or while on leave or even during my in-camp training.

In a few hours (5 Sep), I will be flying off to Hong Kong for a family vacation with my wife Rachel and one year old son, Asher.

While not expecting to go totally undisturbed, I tried my best to clock in more hours prior to this trip to ensure I clear most of my work commitment. I also tried my best to clear any personal commitment outside of work.

We will be staying at the Disney’s Hollywood Hotel at Hong Kong Disneyland (香港迪士尼樂園) for two nights, over a 5D4N trip:

This will be a well-deserved break in a hectic year.

Rachel and I have not travel together for a long time. Our last trip abroad as a couple was a trip to Bangkok a few months before Asher was born over a year ago.

Asher is now one year old. He will be following us on this trip. It will be his first time riding an airplane and traveling overseas.

We were so excited when we applied for his passport.

Many people warned Rachel and I not to bring a baby for a vacation, but this trip will be special for the three of us. We will get some alone time together for five days.

As new parents, Rachel and I are still struggling to achieve the perfect work-life balance revolving our son and us as a family unit.

As a dual-income working couple, we received a lot of help from our parents in looking after Asher. We are deeply appreciative of this, especially to my wonderful mum who is shouldering the bulk of the burden.

Yet, we still experience a nagging guilt that we could have spend more time with Asher.

For our five days in Hong Kong, all our time will be devoted to us three as a new family unit.

This will be a memorable first overseas vacation for my family. Moreover, it is to a magical place where dreams and fairy tales come alive – Disneyland.

Look at this map of the entire Hong Kong Disneyland:

The 22.4 hectares park consists of six themed areas: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land.

The latter two are star attractions, with Grizzly Gulch being a world exclusive and Toy Story Land an Asia exclusive to Hong Kong. Rachel and I are both big fans of the Toy Story animation film trilogy. We are thrilled to be able to experience Toy Story in real life.

We are also looking forward to introducing our son Asher to the various Disneyland cast members whom I know speak a mixture of Cantonese, English and Mandarin. Interesting isn’t it? They know three languages – one more than most bilingual Singaporeans. I would love to hear Mickey Mouse switch language from English to Mandarin to Cantonese!

Frankly, I am not a big fan of theme parks before Asher came along. When you have a child, your perspectives change.

Asher enjoys sitting in those $1 rocking car rides that is commonly found in local shopping malls. He will smile widely and refuse to get up whenever we indulge him in a ride.

I can imagine how happy he would be enjoying some of the kids friendly rides in Disneyland.

This to me is bliss.

A smile on our son’s face is worth all the hard work Rachel and I put in on a daily basis.

Stay tuned to my blog for updates on the trip when I return. ☺

CLICK HERE to read all my blog posts on my family trip to Hong Kong Disneyland.