Hong Kong Day 3: Hong Kong Disneyland

We’re halfway through our week in Hong Kong already! You can check out my previous posts for day 1 & day 2, too.

 

For our third day in Hong Kong, we went to the happiest place on Earth: Disneyland!!! ‘Twas truly the highlight of our trip; well, at least for me, it was.

 

Anyway, just like our trip to Ocean Park, we wanted to get to Hong Kong Disneyland as the park opens (10AM). From our hostel, we walked to Tsim Sha Tsui station and boarded the train (Tsuen Wan Line) towards Tsuen Wan, which is around 17 minutes or 9 stops. We alighted at Lai King station, and rode the Tung Chung Line towards Tung Chung (around 11 minutes, 2 stops). Then, we walked to Sunny Bay station and rode the Disneyland Resort Line train. The travel time is around an hour. The fare is less thank HK$20; forgot the exact fare. Again, we used our Octopus Card.

 

Oh, a tip for you guys: you can also bring snacks and water into the park. Water costs HK$22 inside the park, but you can buy the same brand of water in 7-11 at only HK$3!!! So if you don’t want to spend so much money on water and snacks, you can bring your own water and candy.

 

 

The train’s design is absolutely gorgeous! The theme, obviously, is Mickey Mouse. Can you find the Hidden Mickey?? LOL! But yeah, the windows are in the shape of Mickey’s head. The plush blue curved sofas are really comfortable. Also, lots of Mickey décor adorned the train. Definitely picture-worthy!

 

 

HELLO, DISNEYLAND!!! Disneyland’s gate is a tourist spot on its own.

Hello Kitty top from Forever21, Highwaist shorts from Pull & Bear, heart-print tights from Hong Kong, and flats from Forever21

 

We also got our Disneyland tickets at Asia Travel because it’s cheaper. Tickets cost HK$390 (around Php2000) at the entrance, but we got our tickets at a lower price (forgot the exact price). Some hotels also sell Disneyland tickets at lower prices especially if you book with them, so do check out their rates as well.

 

Disneyland has 6 main areas: Grizzly Gulch, Toy Story Land, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Main Street, USA. My favorite is Fantasyland, where Sleeping Beauty’s castle is located.

 

I enjoyed Disneyland more compared to Ocean Park. The rides are more child-friendly, less-extreme. Aside from the rides, there are loads of performances to watch, like Mickey’s PhilharMagic, The Golden Mickeys, and various Street Performances. Your eyes will drop with loads of things to see!

 

 

One of the highlights of the park is the Flights of Fantasy Parade everyday at 3:30 PM. It begins in Fantasyland near the entrance of Storybook Theatre. The weather wasn’t nice when we visited the park, so instead of having the Flights of Fantasy Parade, the visitors enjoyed Mickey’s Rainy Day Express Parade.

 

 

Aside from the rides, we also got to meet several Disney characters. Do check out Disneyland’s Daily Calendar, so you’d know where and what time to catch them. They were really nice and friendly! Such a fun experience to meet the characters we love since we were kids. Each character has an assigned photographer to take “official Disneyland photos.” But you can also give them your own camera for your own copy.

 

 

Disneyland also has lots of shops where you can buy gift items, clothes, and other knick knacks. My sisters and I bought matchy-matchy charm bracelets in memory of our Disneyland trip. Souvenir items here are a tad bit pricier compared to Ocean Park, but they’re too cute to pass. Oh, except for the Minnie Mouse headband, which is around HK$128 to HK$168 each.

 

Another must-see attraction is the “Disney in the Stars” Fireworks signify the closing of the theme park. At 8PM every night (9PM every Thursday until Saturday), watch the skies light up. This is best viewed on Main Street, USA. Crowds flock in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle minutes before the fireworks start, so be there earlier than 8PM to get good seats.

 

 

The fireworks display was truly beautiful! I got teary-eyed (hehe) while watching coz they’re just soooo pretty! I felt thankful to God to be able to experience this together with my family. Cheesy, eh?

 

 

The fireworks display lasted for about 15-20 minutes. Then, it was the closing of the park. We lingered for a little while at the shops at Main Street because we knew the lines at the MTR will be crazy long.

 

Three different train lines after, we were back at Tsim Sha Tsui. Our feet were too tired from walking for the past three days, but ‘twas definitely worth it.

 

‘Till next time, loves!

 

Love,

Dianne

Technorati Tags: 2013,abroad,travel,hong kong,hong kong disneyland,family,trip,outfit,ootd,fashion,forever21,pull & bear,longchamp,train,commute,fireworks

Read More

Hong Kong Day 2: Ocean Park Hong Kong

How’s Day 2 of your 2014, so far? Mine’s ok! Haha.

Anyway, Day 2 of our family’s Hong Kong getaway last April was dedicated to visiting Ocean Park Hong Kong. Have I mentioned how easy commuting in Hong Kong is??? I love their public transportation system; hoping we have disciplined commuters and effective commuting system, too!

I highly recommend buying an Octopus Card once you get to Hong Kong. The Octopus card is similar to the LRT/MRT card; only BETTER. Aside from using the card at the MTR, you can also use it to pay for your bus fare. In addition, you can use it for your purchases at 7-11, SaSa, and other retail stores, parking lots, and more! It’s a reloadable card that you can use to pay for almost everything! The regular Octopus card costs HK$150 (HK$100 load but HK$50 is refundable). It has other card types, such as the Tourist Octopus card. We opted to get the regular one, so we can still refund the HK$50. You can buy the Octopus card at the airport or any MTR station (that’s where we got ours). Also, fares are relatively cheaper if you use the card compared to giving cash for your fare.

We wanted to get there as the park opens (10AM), so we left the hostel at 9AM. Mirador Mansions is very near the MTR station (Tsim Sha Tsui station), so commuting was really easy for us. To get to Ocean Park, ride the Tsuen Wan Line train towards Central, and get off at the Admiralty Station. Walk to Admiralty West Bus Terminus (Exit B) and wait for the 629 Bus that will take you to the Ocean Park Main Entrance (bus trip is around 25 – 30 minutes). The bus will drop you off the entrance; ride the escalator going up, and HELLO, OCEAN PARK!!!

Lace longsleeves top from Forever 21, Aztec print skirt from Pixie Dust, black tights from Hong Kong, Red jelly flats from MEL, Le Pliage Longchamp bag

We got our tickets at Asia Travel because it’s cheaper there compared to buying it at the gate. I think, during our trip, tickets cost HK$290 (around Php1500) at the entrance, but we got our tickets at HK$252 each (around Php1300) instead. Few hundred bucks cheaper ;)

Ocean Park Hong Kong is soooooooooooo big. Unlike Manila Ocean Park, HK OP has tons of rides and other amusements aside from the usual aquariums. It has two areas (The Waterfront and The Summit), which are connected by the cable cars and the Ocean Express.

The Waterfront area has 5 “sub-areas” : Amazing Asian Animals, Aqua City, Waterfront Cable Car Station, Ocean Express Waterfront Station, and Whiskers Harbour. The Summit has 7 sub-areas: Submmit Cable Car Station, Ocean Express Summit Station, Marine World, Adventure Land, Thriller Mountain, Polar Adventure, and Rainforest.






We visited The Summit first, and we rode the cable car going there. IT WAS AMAZING! ‘Twas my first time to ride the cable car. A bit terrifying, yes, but the experience was worth it. Take the cable car option if you’re a thrill junkie; if you’re afraid of heights, I suggest you take the Ocean Express instead. My parents visited Ocean Park Hong Kong in 1994, and they swore the cable car ride wasn’t that loooong then. I guess the park underwent tons of renovations since then.









The Summit has more rides compared to The Waterfront. However, we weren’t able to ride everything ‘coz most were scary! The most adventurous ride we went on was the Mine Train! The track is more than half a kilometer long and is 85 meters off the ground. Plus, it was beside the ocean! We felt like we would fall off to the ocean!

Here’s a picture of the Mine Train!

My favorite attraction at The Summit was the South Pole Spectacular. Was able to  meet real live penguins!!! They were really cute and playful! Be warned though, it’s verrrry cold inside! Around 8-10 degrees inside the building.




 

We also got to watch the dolphins show. It was quite similar to the show at Ocean Adventure in Subic.



They were many things to see at The Summit, but we were really tired from all the walking. We then headed back down to The Waterfront via the Cable Car. Once there, we visited my next favorite attraction: the Giant Panda Adventure!



This was the highlight of my trip to Ocean Park! I loooove pandas <3 Good thing the pandas there were awake! One of the pandas just woke up from his nap and he was hungry, so he ate in front of us! UGGGGH. CUDDLY PANDAS!!!





I also bought a souvenir: a panda plushie. My boyfriend and I named him (CHESTER) [apparently, Chester is my TIGER plushie. Haha! #confused] GAO.



The dancing lights fountain show marks the closing of the park, which is at 6PM. So be there before 6PM, as people would flock that area. We didn’t wait for the show since we were too tired.





We went back to Tsim Sha Tsui the same way we went to Ocean Park: 629 bus and MTR ride to Tsim Sha Tsui. We headed back to our hotel and rested for a while. After, we headed out to scout for dinner, and we landed at KFC. Haha!

‘Till next post, readers!

Love,

Dianne

(See previous posts about our Hong Kong trip here and here!)

Technorati Tags: hong kong,ocean park,family,love,ocean park hong kong,panda,animals,penguin,rides,forever21,mel,pixie dust,longchamp,ootd,outfit

Read More