HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!! - The Beginning (Otherwise Known as Prelude)

This is the 2nd time within a year that I've been to Hong Kong Disneyland, and to be very honest, I took so many pictures last year that this year I decided to just enjoy myself and take lesser pics, since I haven't posted those from last year... MUAHAHAHA~~~~

Flight there was via UA, and it was part of a 3-sector flight to Washington DC via Chicago and HK. So you can imagine the flight was FULL~~~ What caught my attention, was this:

 NO inflight entertainment??? I mean for me it's okay since I get off at Hong Kong, but for those going to Washington D.C???? OMG...help~~~30 hours without ANYTHING to watch but just sit there??? I'm one hell of a restless passenger, and given such circumstances, I'll switch places with the flight attendant, anytime.

Maybe flying with Singapore Airlines for so long spoiled me. I suddenly miss SQ's big screens.

The travel companion was this joker. You may have seen my earlier post about this dear friend of mine. =)

Everyone I asked wanted to come with me...but:

• My partner couldn't go cos he couldn't manage to get leave clearance. 
• I asked Qiuting, she couldn't go thanks to her dear BF who wanted to keep her by his side.
• I asked Yishi but she had an event she organized going on.
• I asked Candyce and she couldn't get leave cos someone else from 88.3fm took those few days' leave already. 
• I went with Junhao last year already so I'm not going to ask him la...fair ma...lol...

So I tried my luck with Wei Lie (aka Jerry, but I'll stick to calling him Wei Lie cos Jerry isn't even his real name...long story...). Aha~ He managed to get clearance from both company and school (after I went to ask someone else just in case...so it was awkward telling the person I asked that I'm not bringing her anymore....really paiseh JS...=P)

Oh well... 

Flight there passed pretty quickly as we had loads to talk about (the beauty of travelling with a good friend), but because we checked in at abt 5am this was the kind of face I was talking to throughout the flight...

Ai koon... 

I seriously think deep inside he wanted to just smack my head and render me unconscious so he could sleep cos I was so chatty...but he couldn't cos I brought him on a free trip...WAHAHAHA~!!!

Okay I'm going to incorporate stuff from last year so I could make the information more collected for those who wants to visit Hong Kong, and particularly, Disneyland HK. =)

So don't be alarmed if you see my hair different. 

Upon reaching HKIA (Hong Kong International Airport), you can choose to go to Disneyland via taxi, bus or the MTR (that's their version of the MRT). I assume you might be carrying luggages so it's kinda leh cheh to lug those around while trying to squeeze past crowds and walking long distances (when you have luggages with you, a 10-minute walk can be quite taxing). Hopping onto a taxi at the airport (take the blue ones to Lantau) would the most cost-efficient way of getting there, about $100 to $150 HKD. Our taxi cost $115, which amounted to roughly $19 given the current conversion rate of about 1SGD=5.8/5.9 HKD. =)

Oh, just a tip: If you're in Hong Kong for the first time and do not have their EZ-Link card, known as the Octopus card, get one at the airport. It'll cost about $150 HKD. (Less than S$30), and can be used on all modes of public transport including MTR, Airport Express, trams and buses (except taxis la). You can get a  refund on the remaining card value and the initial card deposit before you leave Hong Kong. There are also special tourist packages for the MTR card. Depending on what works for you, here're the links:

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/train/products_index.html

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/whatsnew/valuepack1003.html 

It's important that you get an Octopus card if you're going to be on Free and Easy in Hong Kong. The first time you use it will be when you're taking the bus/train to your hotel to check in and dump your bags before heading out to explore Hong Kong. ;)

So we took a taxi to our hotel, which was the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel.

Photo Credits: Disneyland Hong Kong

 It looks a whole lot nicer at night though. =)

Photo Credits: Disneyland Hong Kong

Photo Credits: Disneyland Hong Kong

Check in was at 3pm and we were there at 11:30, but we could leave our luggages with the hotel first, go explore Disneyland, and come back at night to check into the rooms. I'll show you guys how my room looked like, instead of in sequential order, so you guys have a more organized read. (I'm so considerate I can't believe it...Lol~)

 Ah~ Nice. Each of us has a big bed to roll around in. =D

 Really, after having been to Hong Kong so many times...this was by far the largest room I checked into...

 The bathroom.

And what's that yellow thing on the far top right corner?

Ahahaha~~~ A towel folded into a...mmm...hmm....bird? Duck?

 Cute amenities.

 

 And that's the shower curtain. =)

 
The good folks at Disneyland had arranged for us to have lunch at Disneyland Hotel's Crystal Lotus, which was great, since we were hungry by the time we got into Hong Kong (UA only gave us muffin and some fruits...grrrrr). There's a shuttle service which runs every 10 minutes (or less) between Disneyland Hotel, Hollywood Hotel and Disneyland so it's very convenient for hotel patrons to visit Disneyland, as well as to explore the other hotel. ;)

I was soooo impressed by the decor of Disneyland Hotel... Very Victorian. Very grand....

Photo Credits: Disneyland Hong Kong

Photo Credits: Disneyland Hong Kong

 Aiyoh the names of specific places of the hotel already make me feel like I'm in a fairytale...

The grandeur of the main lobby...gee~

But honestly, if you've been to any regular 4-star hotel in Hong Kong, you WILL find Hollywood Hotel heaven...

Want to book a room or find out more about their hotels?

Click here.

Oh by the way, should you have booked a room with any of the 2 hotels, you can get Disneyland's Stay2Day tickets (means you can visit the park for 2 days) at only HKD$398 per adult, and HKD$288 per child (that's less than S$70 and S$50 respectively). Quite a good deal, if you ask me. 

Details on this link --> http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/special/listing?name=SpecialOffersStay2DayTicketsPage

For more details on Disneyland or the hotels or ticketing, here are the links!

• Hong Kong Disneyland

• HK Disneyland Tickets and Reservation

• Hong Kong Disneyland Hollywood Hotel

• Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel

Okay lunch at Crystal Lotus.

At first I thought it was just another normal Chinese restaurant, and why would anyone want to eat Chinese when they're in Disneyland???

Until I got served my first dish...

 超可爱的啦！！！！！

 创意一百分嘞！！！This is actually Roasted Suckling Pig!!!

This first dish got me really excited. So I started reading the menu. (I hardly read the menu when I'm served this kinda meals...food comes, just eat.)

 Steamed Piggy Mask Buns~ Teehee~ 

把你吃掉！

Oh by the way...the roasted suckling pig was LAGI SEDAP!!!!! Damn good! Shiok!!! 赞！！！If you're ever there, the Dim Sum lunch is a MUST-TRY. And I'm only on the first dish...lol~

第二道菜上了！I see 2 familiar faces peering out~~~

The pig is Char Siew Bun!!! And the Little Green Man is 菜肉包~

I was kept amused throughout this meal. =D

The piggy's nosrils remain even after I've bitten off the nose~ LOL!!!

Yes I'm the type that had this pig had more appendages, I would bite them off one by one before eating the main thing. No it's not an OCD.

 Mickey 煎薄饼！！！ (Seafood Glutinous Pancake)

 I love the pancake as well. YUMMMMSSS~~~ 

Why did it come in only a pair???? I had to share it with Wei Lie lor~~~

I want more~~~~~

(Kidding la...Of course I'll share it with Wei Lie...hor buddy?) =P

 Menu read Double-Boiled Chicken and Conpoy Soup in Petite Coconut. Conpoy is scallop (干贝？）

 Wok Fried Veggies all cut into Disney character shapes.

 CRAB!!!!!!!! No la the gold crab was just a crockery...you think really have meh? This is the Fried Rice with Tasmanian Crabmeat Stuffed in Whole Crab Shell...

 The "Whole Crab Shell" meant the gold crab or the crab shell inside the gold crab shell? I'm confused. -.-"

 

Made me crave for the crab at Bottle Tree Village back in good ol' Sembawang.... =(

I didn't take a picture of the dessert...because...

I forgot. LOL!!! It was an interesting Chinese Pear boiled with Mandarin Peel. By this time I was too full and was yearning for Disneyland already, so yah, I forgot to take a picture. Go eat and you'll know la~ Sounds like a weird combo, but it's quite nice~ =)

So after the wonderful meal at Crystal Lotus at Disneyland Hotel, we hopped onto the shuttle which would bring us to *gasp* HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!

Okay okay before I get into the actual Disneyland...here's something for those of you who won't be visiting Disneyland via the hotel shuttle. (I'm a responsible blogger. *wink*)

If you're not staying at either of the hotels in Disneyland and are coming via the MTR, you're in for a pleasant treat when you change over to the Disney Resort Line...

 Happy music in the trains...complete with Disney details!

 The cute handles!

 Even the windows are mickey-head-shaped.

 Oh~~~boy~!!! ^.^

 Even the station was nicely decorated with Xmas ornaments. Perfect time to visit Disneyland would be from now till 31Dec2010. Because Disneyland is such a happy place, Christmas makes it even better. Plus the weather would be so nice~~~ =) This year it was between 19-24degrees celcius, but the sun was a tad too sunny...last year I went during Christmas, it was between 14-19degrees I think, and it was P.E.R.F.E.C.T!!!

YAY!!!! Music's around us EVERYWHERE!!! It's hard to get into a bad mood when you're there~ because everywhere in Disneyland, there's happy music reminding us of childhood and the Disney fairytales we used to watch...awww~~~I wanna go back there again!!!! =.(

 Outside Disneyland...the first Disney statue that greeted us. =)

Seeing this should start getting you really excited...because you know you're almost inside~ ;)

 The entrance into Disneyland's just on both sides of this pretty Mickey landscape.

I prefer last year's Mickey's face (top picture). Last year was colder but he was more ang geh~ 

This year he bin cngeh cngeh one~ (and I thought it was my camera....) @.@

Okay I'm going to take a break and stop here. Don't want to overwhelm you guys with a too long post. ;) There're just too crazily many pictures~ Come back soon and I'll OFFICIALLY take you into HK Disneyland with me okay? ^.^

Disney Wonder,

*~Silver~*