Family Fun at Hong Kong Disneyland – Day 1 Noon

I spent 3D2N at Hong Kong Disneyland a few weeks back with my wife, Rachel and one-year-old son, Asher for our first ever family vacation overseas.

Family vacation in Hong Kong Disneyland!

We enjoyed ourselves so much during the three days that we could not bear to leave  the hotel on the last day… for those three days, Rachel and I got to escape from work, family commitments and other adult stuff while Asher got to spend three full days with both his parents – a rare treat for him as both of us are often kept busy at work.

A few quick tips for family (especially those with children under two years old) on traveling to Hong Kong Disneyland:

1. You can leave your stroller at home and rent one for HK$90 per day like we did
2. You can leave your kid’s cutlery and baby food at home as the restaurants all provide kids’ meals, baby chairs and wares
3. Shuttle bus service is provided from the two hotels to the theme park; there’s storage room for luggage and baby stroller if you brought one along
4. Baby cots and wash basins are available in the hotel rooms
5. Hong Kong Disneyland souvenirs are available not just in the theme park, but at the two hotels and at the airport too. Prices are all the same.
6. Bring a water bottle. Free water is available at various water points in the park.
7. Weather can get scorching hot in summer – bring a cap, sunscreen and perhaps a small mobile fan for your kid.
8. Free Wifi is available at the restaurants and hotels’ lobbies (Awesome right!)

Free shuttle transfers

In summary, Hong Kong Disneyland is extremely baby and child-friendly! Perfect for a family vacation with your young ones. 🙂

For my trip, we arrived at around noon at Disney’sHollywood Hotel and was able to check in early.

The hotel was very spacious and adorned with Mickey-themed items. Asher particularly enjoyed having his own cot and Mickey bedroom slippers.

Rachel and Asher in our hotel room in Disney’s Hollywood Hotel
MIckey and Minnie decor on the wall
Washroom
Disney cup with toothbrush and toothpaste inside
Mickey shower gel and shampoo
Bath tub
Asher in his baby size Disney bedroom slippers
We took a free shuttle transfer from Disney’s Hollywood Hotel to Disneyland Hotel for lunch
Entrance to Disneyland Hotel
Lobby area
At the lobby of Disneyland Hotel
Gift shop
Giant chandeliers at Disneyland Hotel
Victorian style decor
Does this remind you of a fairy tale castle?

After check in, we had a most amazing lunch at the award-winning Crystal Lotus restaurant at Disneyland Hotel.

There was a little throne chair for Asher and his own baby cutlery which got him really excited.

Entrance to Crystal Lotus
Asher in his little throne chair
Asher eating with his own cutlery
The classy interior of Crystal Lotus restaurant

Many of the food items were shaped into Disney characters. Some were so cute that we actually felt bad biting into them.

If you are worried taste was compromise because of the character designs, fret not, the food quality and standard is still there like any first rate Chinese restaurant. My wife, son and I had a wonderful meal at the restaurant, stuffing ourselves silly.

Check out the dishes we had for lunch:

Our lunch menu
Pomelo Salad with Smoked Duck Breast
Little Pig Barbecued Pork Bun and Little Green Man Vegetable and Pork Bun
Mickey’s Seafood Glutinous Pancake
So beautiful how to eat????
Double dose of the Green Men
Double-boiled Sea Whelk and Stuffed Whole Dried Scallop in Mickey Winter Melon Soup
Wok-fried Shrimps and Disney Root Vegetable
Chinese beef stew
Fried Rice with Crispy Eels and Pickled Vegetable in Golden Nest
Chicken Little Steamed Lotus Seed Puree Bun
Chilled Mickey Green Tea Jelly and Chilled Mickey Red Bean Honey Pudding
Rachel and Asher were both very satisfied with our lunch
Family photo

After lunch, it was time to hit the theme park!

Musical fountain at the entrance of Hong Kong Disneyland
Group photo
Our 4 x admission tickets over 2 days

Upon entrance, we made a quick dash to catch the daytime Flights of Fantasy Parade after renting a stroller for Asher.

We were glad to make it on time. Asher loves it! He was swinging and dancing excitedly to the rhythm and music even before the characters appear:

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Dumbo the elephant leading the front of the parade
The parade is lead by a mobile band
Asher is all ready to swing to the parade
The first car in the parade featuring all the main Disney characters
One of the chipmunks in Chip & Dale
Donald Duck clapping
Pretty, cheery dancers
Close-up of the dancers
Asher excitedly pointing at the parade
Tinker Bell, the fairy from Peter Pan
Small ladybird cars
Princesses’ car
Snow White
Anastasia
The Jungle Book car
Baloo the Bear
Lion King car
Timon the meerkat
Colourful dancers
Winner the Pooh in a large pot of honey
Acrobatic bees, jumping up and down the WInne the Pooh car
Hopping tigers
I feel sorry for Eeyore – he was the only who had to walk all the way under the hot sun!
Buzz Lightyear
Pretty female Buzz
Asher dancing
Cowboy Woody, another crowd favourite
Rachel and I were very amused by how realistic the toy soldiers look
The Toy Story car
Lilo and Stitch car
Dancing with kids
Close-up of Stitch

After the parade, we were headed to the two star attractions first for the afternoon – the Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land!

The three newest attractions in Hong Kong Disneyland (Mystic Point won’t be open till 2013)
Coming Soon!
Sneak Peek of Mystic Point

Grizzly Gulch

Opened on 14 July 2012, Grizzly Gulch is a complete, world-exclusive new story for Hong Kong Disneyland, which is equivalent of Frontierland and Critter Country. The themed land reminisces an abandoned mining town called “Grizzly Gulch”, set amidst mountains and woods. The centerpiece structure is Big Grizzly Mountain, inspired by Grizzly Peak in Disney California Adventure Park. The town was set to be founded 8 August 1888 — the luckiest day of the luckiest month of the luckiest year — by prospectors looking to discover gold.

Enter the Grizzly Gulch
Grizzly Gulch jail house
Asher on a wanted poster
Asher with daddy
Asher pointing at some items on the shelves
Asher having fun
Gold bars
Asher got very good at cheating Disney stickers from Disneyland staff during the trip
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I rode on the Runaway Mine Ears whereby the wagons would go both forward and BACKWARD. Pretty exhilarating and  not too scary for most people. This ride is fun and should be rather tame for 90% of visitors. Do try it!

Riding on the Runaway Mine Ears
Closer picture of the ride

For children, there’s the Geyser Gulch to run around and get wet as well as Disney characters going around interacting with everyone.

Geyser Gulch to get wet
Small geyser fun
Station to squirt water at others

Toy Story Land

Opened 17 November 2011, Toy Story Land is the first new themed land since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005. It is located to the west side of the park, behind Fantasyland. Toy Story Land features characters from the Toy Story movies, such as an enlarged Woody, Rex, an oversized paper plane, and Luxo Jr. Toy Story Land has been marketed by the park as “Asia exclusive”, since its only counterpart, Toy Story Playland, is located at Walt Disney Studios Park in Marne-la-Vallée, France.

Toy Story Land!
Family photo
Entering Toy Story Land

I rode on the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop and RC Racer. The parachute drop is not as scary as it looks and should be tame enough for most visitors. The RC Racer on the other hand, looks tame, but got my heart pumping crazy as we zip up and down at high speed! It is definitely scarier than it looks and deserve the title as the most thrilling ride in Hong Kong Disneyland – a must-try for thrill-seekers.

Toy Soldier Parachute Drop where you can tossed up and down the sky
Me, all ready to get tossed in the sky
Rachel and Asher posing in a RC car while I was on the RC Racer ride
The RC Racer ride
The two ends of the RC Racer

For family fun, there are rides like the Slinky Dog which Rachel and I brought Asher on. It was Asher’s first ever theme park ride. He was mostly stunned by the sights and sounds throughout the ride while Rachel seems to enjoy herself more:

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The Slinky Dog! We chose this as the first ever ride for Asher
Barking Pass for the Slinky Dog
Rachel and Asher, all ready for the ride
Asher wasn’t scare in this picture, but pissed that we have to lock him in the seat

This conclude my first blog post on Hong Kong Disneyland.

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

alvinology

Alvin is a marketer by day and blogger by night. He is a 100% geek who spends too much time surfing the web.

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