We left the guest house early so we'll have a couple of hours head start towards Disneyland. It's another adventure as the only thing we have is the MTR map going there.
We went to the Tsim Sha Tsui station and rode the MTR to Lai King. From Lai King, we again rode the MTR to Sunny Bay, and then from there, we rode the Disneyland Resort Line MTR to Disneyland. The Disney Express was a our first taste of Disney and yes, it was already magical. The windows and the hand rails were shaped like Mickey Mouse's head and bronze statues of Disney characters are displayed inside.
We bought our tickets and went in. An adult ticket costs HK$ 350, and a child from 3 to 11 years old is HK$ 250. They also give senior citizens (65 years old and above) a cheaper price at HK$ 170. I was almost in tears the moment we went inside Disneyland. It was a lifelong dream for us, and it finally came true now that my wife and I are both 29 years old. The feeling was just surreal.I knew that we wouldn't be able to enjoy the place as much if we'll be bringing our luggage the whole time so we left them at the luggage storage for HK$ 60 per luggage. We left the 2 big ones.
We got a map of the whole place and before starting to explore, we ate at the Starliner diner and ordered their burger meals (the most affordable) for the three of us. Total for our lunch was HK$ 146. Converting it into Philippine Pesos is Ouch! :)
After lunch, we went around Disneyland, experienced the different rides, took a lot of pictures, watched their different shows, and just had a lot of fun. Real fun. They were not kidding when they called Disneyland as the Happiest place on Earth. It really is. Imagine walking around the park and seeing Princess Aurora, Cinderella and the very beautiful Belle in person. I also bumped into Buzz Lightyear outside the Restroom, and met two Muppet characters, Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker.
I was again in tears watching the Golden Mickeys, a "Disneyfied" version of the Academy Awards. It combines live-action theatre with film, video, music and pyrotechnics in a memorable salute to Walt Disney and his legacy of classic animated films. My dream roles were live on-stage singing my dream songs. It was a half dream come true. :)
Mickey's Philharmagic, High School Musical, The Grand Parade, It's a Small World, The Lion King Adventure, and the amazing fireworks dubbed as Disney in the Stars are just some of the many more magical experiences we experienced.
The Disney in the Stars was the finale before Disneyland closed for the evening, and what a spectacular sight it was. And yes, it was so hard holding back my tears watching it. It was the end of a beautiful experience, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. And what a way to end the fulfillment of that wish I had when I was little than to watch the sky light up with that Disney magic.
From the Happiest place on Earth, we again rode the MTR to Sunny Bay, then took another MTR to Tsing Yi and finally the Airport Express to the Airport. We were shocked to see the price of the Airport Express tickets on the Ticket Issuing Machine. HK$ 150 for 3 one way tickets to the airport! We went to the customer service counter to have our HK$ bills exchanged for coins, but we ended up buying the same ticket for only HK$ 120. Turned out, customer service were selling a package of 3 tickets promo.
We arrived at the airport at around 8:30 PM, checked in at 9 PM to a very friendly Filipino Cebu Pacific guy, then went through immigration. I was told I can't bring my half-filled 500mL mineralized water inside so I left it with the immigration officer. And yes, they call it mineralized. We slept for a couple of hours at the waiting area before we departed for the Philippines at 12:40 AM.It was a very tiring and painful (my feet!) 2 days but also something we will never forget. For my daughter, it was the first of many more adventures with her parents, for me and my wife, it was an experience 29 years in the making. Yes, we were drained but it was damn worth it!
To all who come to this happy place: -Welcome - Disneyland is your land.
Here age relives fond memories of the past...
and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.
Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams,
and the hard facts that have created America...
with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration
to all the world.
- Walter E. Disney, 1955
Here age relives fond memories of the past...
and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.
Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams,
and the hard facts that have created America...
with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration
to all the world.
- Walter E. Disney, 1955
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