 [Day 1] Exploring Hong Kong Disneyland - Part I plus Short Clip on Firework  | | Hong Kong Disneyland | Finally after a few hours of flight from Singapore, sourcing our way from airport to Disney's Hollywood Hotel ( our first time to Hong Kong) plus an enjoyable Disney characters themed lunch at Crystal Lotus (晶荷轩) now it's time for the main highlight of our trip. From this moment onwards, we are going to explore the Magical kingdom - Hong Kong Disneyland to its fullest.
Between since we arrived quite late after lunch during the first day, I will featured and shared their 7 Main themed attractions, food and beverage as well as some tips to get around the park in two separate posts.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] A photo of our family visiting the Magical Disneyland themed park. |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Surfing Mickey Fountain near the park entrance |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Ticketing Booths near the Entrance |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Ticket Pricing | Ticket(s) for Disneyland Theme Park can be purchased in various ways through their on-line purchase; Disneyland Hotels when making reservation together with your rooms; travel agent or etc. You can read more details at their official site here.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Park Entrance | Before entering the park, the crews at the entrance gates will need to check all the bags of the guests for security purposes but all this will just take a little while as the checking lines move pretty fast.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad facing the Main Entrance |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad facing the Main Entrance | [PHOTO TAKING POINT] Greeting you at the park entrance is a beautiful Mickey designed flower garden which is located behind the Disneyland Railroad Station.
OUR TIPS TO START OFF
Before exploring the theme park, here are some of our recommended tips for your reference.
 | | Hong Kong Disneyland Guide Map And Times Guide |  | | Hong Kong Disneyland Guide Map | [Tips 1 - MUST GET] Remember to grab a copy each of the Disneyland Guide Map as well as Times Guide so that you can move around the park easier with access to the shows and parade timing.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Disney's FASTPASS Machine | [Tips 2 - MUST GET] FASTPASS can help to save queuing time on popular attractions such as Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh as well as Festival of Lion King Show.
Note:
Without incurring any extra cost, use your Park admission ticket and insert it into any of the FASTPASS Distribution Machines mentioned at the four attractions above to redeem the tickets. If you are not sure on the procedure you can always check with any of their friendly crew members around the park.
[Tips 3 - PLAN YOUR ROUTE] If you are holding two days theme park tickets like what we do you can split the park attractions into two days targeting 4 themed attractions and one showtime (lion king or golden mickey) each day so that you won't miss out any favourite rides or showtime .
[Tips 4 - BE EARLY FOR CHARACTER GREETING] If you wish to meet and greet your favourite Disney characters and have a photo taken with them, try to reach the park by 10.30am where you will see most of the characters at Town Square - Main Street USA.
[Tips 5 - MUST TRY RIDES] Disneyland Hong Kong has a few new rides at Mystic Point, Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land which is featured in this post. Our recommended must try rides would be:-
For Family:
- Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars
- Toy Solider Parachute Drop
- Mystic Manor
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
- Autopia
- The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
For Brave Heart:
- RC Racer
- Space Mountain
[Tips 6 - FIREWORKS DISPLAY] In order to catch a good view of the Disney in the Stars Fireworks at the end of the day, remember to standby at the empty space (you will spot many people there) in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle (Main Street USA) as early as 6.45 - 7.00pm. Please check the Times Guide or their official website here for Firework display timing.
Ok with the above information, now we are ready to explore the Magical Dreamland of every adults and kids and let the fun begins....... Since we reached the park around 2.45pm (after lunch), we decided to start off with the "Flight of Fantasy Parade" which is a must see musical parade whenever you visit Disneyland.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Flights of Fantasy Parade | [MUST SEE] On weekday around 3.30pm (Sat: 3.00pm; Sun: 1.00pm; please check the Disneyland Times Guide for update timing or refer to their official website for latest update) you will be able catch up with this Magical Flight Of Fantasy Parade (迪士尼飛天巡遊).
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Flights of Fantasy Parade | This approximately 20 minutes (with two show stops) parade features seven Disney Character floats such as: Mickey's Magical Airship, Caught Up in Daydreams (Winnie the pooh), Romance Takes Wing (Disney Princesses), Jumpin' Jungle Jam, The Magic of Pixie Dust (Tinker Bell), Hangin' Ten and Ridin' High (Lilo Stitch) and To Infinity and Beyond (Toy Story).
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Flights of Fantasy Parade | Meet Mickey's Magical Airship together with his friends, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Donald and etc.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland] Flights of Fantasy Parade | Caught Up in Daydream features Winnie the Pooh next to Eeyore and Tigger and attached to the float are Heffalumps and Woozles, with four "Tigger family" performers and a performer in a honey pot bringing up the rear.
Above is a short 15 seconds clip of the Parade that I uploaded to Instagram (here) for your viewing.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Adventureland] Jungle River Cruise | When the parade ended, we went over to the Jungle River Cruise which is a 5 minutes rive tour along the River of Adventure with a cast member on board as guide and driver. There is even a split queue of "Cantonese, English and Chinese" speaking guide for guests to select on their preferred language guide too.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Adventureland] Jungle River Cruise |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Adventureland] Jungle River Cruise | We have being to a similar Jungle Cruise Ride in Tokyo Disneyland but this one in Hong Kong is slightly different and we enjoy it throughout the ride with the humorous guide plus some "surprise" during the ride. Love the final scene of this ride which features two huge rocks representing Gods of Water and Fire with dramatic fire and water effects that surprised us.
After the Jungle Rive Cruise, we walked further down to the new zones which feature more attractions from Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point and Toy Story Land.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Gulch] Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars | [MUST TRY] Entering into the Grizzly Gulch zone you will see the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars ride just in front of your view. This world exclusive exciting car rides which only available in Hong Kong Disneyland bring guests through caves of Big Grizzly mountain which is filled with surprises. And for safety reason guests must be at least 112cm tall to take the rides and(luckily my boy is tall enough to get in or else he will be super disappointed.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Gulch] Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Gulch] Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars | Each train can take up to 24 guests with minimum waiting time varies from 20 - 120 minutes depending on the days (peak or non-peak). And according to my boy the roller coaster ride is not as scary as he thought except for some turns with slight gravity force.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Gulch] Lucky Nugget Saloon |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Gulch] Lucky Nugget Saloon | Lucky Nugget Saloon is a quick bites stall featuring Fish And Chips, Nuggets, Salads and Dessert where they even have cozy sitting area behind the saloon. My boy pick up a Chicken Nugget with Chips Set @ HK$42 (SG$6.80) to munch on before continue with other rides and activities.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Gulch] Geyser Gulch |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Gulch] Geyser Gulch | Can you spot the short rainbow which I managed to capture form the Geyser fountain through the reflection of sunlight?
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Grizzly Gulch] Geyser Gulch | Beside the Geyser fountain which just across the Lucky Nugget Saloon, there is this water playzone area where you can spray someone opposite with water cannons. It's a popular hangout area for kids and even some adults so do prepared to get wet with this free fun game which is suitable for all ages.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Mystic Manor | Mystic Point (迷離大宅) is one of the New themed area which opens in May 2013. This world-exclusive zone features key attractions like Mystic Manor and Garden of Wonders which only available in Hong Kong Disneyland.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Mystic Manorn |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Mystic Manor | [NEW] Mystic Manor is a all-new attraction within Mystic Point with special effects and architecture featuring Lord Henry Mystic's Magneto Electric Carriage which transport guests into a mysterious and fantastic universe to view his amazing collection of art and antiquities from around the world.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Mystic Manor | The trackless Mystic Magneto Electric Carriage moves in gliding and swirling manner just like those teacup and Winnie The Pooh rides which takes you through different various rooms of the manor where you can enjoy magnificent visual and sound effect along the ride.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Garden of Wonders | At the Garden of Wonders it features ancient sculptures and mosaics with 3D illusions which will amazed your sight. Above is a photo taken showing my boy is of "bigger" size than his dad through the "illusion" focus point.
 | | Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land | Toy Story Land (反斗奇兵) ) which is an Asia-Exclusive attraction is located at the far "left" end of the theme park with two exciting NEW rides that we love and conquered. At this attraction, guests are transported back to Andy's backyard where the Toy Story Characters comes alive. This new attraction is opened in 2011 with rides mostly designed for children but it is also enjoyed by all ages too.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land] A lovely photo with REX | Toy Story Fans will not missed their chance taking photos with Woody and Rex which is located near the attraction entrance.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land] Toy Soldier Parachute Drop | [MUST TRY] The Toy Soldier Parachute Drop is a "gentle" drop ride which is not as fast as most drop towers because I still managed to take the ride with it's 25 metre height and speed so it's not as bad as I thought. Overall the ride is a fun experience where you get bird eyes view on different area of the park (Toy Story Land, Mystic Point and Adventureland) depending on where you are seated.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land] Toy Soldier Parachute Drop | Upon seated the parachute ride would be raised to the top and descend gently from a height of 25 meter for a few times leaving you a "heart" jump feeling which is thrilled. But just a note; for safety reason guests are not allow to bring any loose items (bulky bags, water bottle or etc) on the ride so you can just leave your belongings on the provided crates on ground level.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land] RC Racer | [MUST TRY] For those who are brave enough, you can take up the challenge to go on board the RC Racer which is a shuttle roller coaster that goes up and down a soaring U-shaped track. This ride is built with magnetic launch and braking systems with strong G-forces and it's really very thrilling but too bad I am not brave enough to test it up. However my boy loves this ride after his first try and he even wanted to go for second and third rides. *faint*
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land] RC Racer |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land] RC Racer | Rey and his dad in action on the RC Racer up in the mid air while I stay put on ground level taking photos for them. I almost broke into cold sweat seeing both of them at the racer swaying back and forth on the U-shaped track.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land] Slinky Dog Spin | Slinky Dog Spin is the most kid friendly ride which spins in circular motion featuring Slinky running in a circle chasing its own tail. Although this is a "kid's" ride but it's waiting time can go up to an hour during certain time of the day too.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land] Slinky Dog Spin |  | | Hong Kong Disneyland - Toy Story Land | Just like other attraction zone, Toy Story Land also has its own unique food and gift store selling Disney Characters items and food. Guests can pick up some Frozen Yogurt, Mickey Cookies or Pizza Cone from Jessie's Snack Roundup (opposite Slinky Dog Spin) or check out some limited edition gifts from Andy's Toy Box (adjacent to RC Racer).
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - AdventureLand] Festival Of The Lion King | [MUST SEE] Hong Kong Disneyland offers 3 different types of "Stage Shows" each day on scheduled timing such as Festival of the Lion King (30 minutes), The Golden Mickeys (30 minutes) and Stitch Encounter (15 minutes). You can check the available time slots from the park "Times Guide" to catch up the showtime.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Adventureland] Festival Of The Lion King |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Adventureland] Festival Of The Lion King |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Adventureland] Festival Of The Lion King | [FASTPASS Available] Before dinner, we went for the Festival of the Lion King show which is a live stage musical performed in Adventureland zone. The show uses songs, dance, puppetry and visual effects to portray a tribal celebration in an African savanna with setting filled with lions, elephants, giraffes, birds, zebras and gazelles.
So do plan your schedule and pick up one of your suitable time slot to enjoy this wonderful 30 minutes musical show which is a "must see" in Hong Kong Disneyland.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Explorer's Club Restaurant | Explorer's Club Restaurant is located inside in the NEW Mystic Point attraction and it offer park guests with a diverse range of cuisines with popular dishes from Japan, Korea, Indonesia and South East Asian. For your information all food served in this restaurant and Tahitian Terrace (located at Aventureland) are Halal-certified which makes it a bonus point for Muslim guests to consider when planning their visit and food source in Hong Kong Disneyland.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Explorer's Club Restaurant |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Explorer's Club Restaurant | There are 4 main ordering counters for you to make your selection and you can refer to the menu shown above to have a rough idea on what is being served behind each counter.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Mystic Point] Explorer's Club Restaurant | [Halal-Certified Food] We ordered Hainanese Chicken Rice @ HK$128 (SG$21) that comes with generous portion of chicken meat, blanched vegetables and a bowl of fragrance chicken flavoured rice which is filling enough to share between me and my boy. Although the rice is a bit hard as compared to what we have in Singapore but overall the taste is still good and the chicken meat is tender and juicy too.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Sleeping Beauty Castle] Disney in the Stars Fireworks | [MUST SEE] Disney in the Stars Fireworks starts at 8.00pm but timing might varies on certain days so it's best to pick up a Times Guide or refer to their official website for latest timing. The sharp and the best viewing point is in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle where you can see a lot of people sitting there as early as 7.00pm to reserve a good view (Free Seating) for the Fireworks Show.
 | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Sleeping Beauty Castle] Disney in the Stars Fireworks |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Sleeping Beauty Castle] Disney in the Stars Fireworks |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Sleeping Beauty Castle] Disney in the Stars Fireworks |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Sleeping Beauty Castle] Disney in the Stars Fireworks |  | | [Hong Kong Disneyland - Sleeping Beauty Castle] Disney in the Stars Fireworks | I believe Fireworks display is always one of the main highlight for every guest in Hong Kong Disneyland. With unbelievable sight and orchestra Disney music as background, this is indeed a magical moment for everyone.
Here is the link for the 15 second short fireworks clip that I shared over at my Instagram - @cuisineparadise (here) if you cannot view the clip above.
 | | Hong Kong Disneyland - Main Street USA | After the firework display at Sleeping Beauty Castle (Fantasyland) crowds starting to leave the park back either Disneyland Hotels or Hong Kong city so you can see a lot of people hanging around the shops along the Main Street USA to do their last minute shopping on gifts, souvenirs or photo taking.
Ok! So that's all for the day and we will be back tomorrow for more park adventures and rides.
 | | [Disney's Hollywood Hotel] Beautiful View of Our Hotel | I Managed to capture this beautiful night view of Disney's Hollywood Hotel (upcoming post) on our way back from Disneyland at the hotel Shutter Bus Service waiting/alighting point.
 | | [Disney's Hollywood Hotel] Studio Lounge (clockwise:- Fruit Punch, Mai Tai and Citric Matini) | Before ending the day, D suggests that we go over to Studio Lounge to pamper ourselves with a glass of drink each to relax after a long day since the early morning flight. The concept at Studio Lounge is kind of an "elite' style cocktail bar with full bar facilities and light snacks available in a cozy environment.
And for guest with young kid(s) like us, they do serve a variety of non-alcoholic cocktails like fruit punch and juice along with snacks like burgers, pizzas and fries too so no worry to go in as a family even though you have kids that wish to tag along.
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