My most recent visit, in fact, was at Hong Kong Disneyland. Located in Penny’s Bay on the northeast end of Lantau Island, it is just 10 minutes away from Hong Kong International Airport and less than 30 minutes by train, ferry or motorway from downtown Hong Kong. To me, that means 10 minutes away from my favorite Disney characters: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Buzz Lightyear, Mulan, Simba, Winnie the Pooh, and all of the Disney princesses.
We stayed at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, the flagship hotel of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. This luxurious, six-story grand Victorian-style resort transports guests to the charm of the late 1800s. It features towering turrets, gabled, red-shingle roofs, white clapboard sliding, elaborate formal gardens, intricate latticework, ornate scrollwork, and curved moldings typical of the Victorian era. All with a touch of Disney whimsy. No wonder designers have dubbed it "Micktorian" architecture.
Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel has the second largest hotel ballroom in Hong Kong. It’s also Hong Kong’s Luckiest Hotel Ballroom because its size – 888 square meters – contains the lucky number 8 three times.
The resort really is all about romance and luxury – three ballrooms, a spa, a heated indoor and outdoor pool, two tennis courts, extensive formal gardens, and a four-level atrium lobby.
Apart from all this, guests are pampered with a Disneyland Resort Shuttle. A shuttle arrives every 5-10 minutes to bring guests to Disneyland, which is only a few blocks away.
To many, Disneyland is simply an amusement park. To others, it’s a magical storybook kingdom. But to creator Walt Disney, it’s "The Happiest Place on Earth." This kid can’t help but smile and agree.
Here are my top 10 favorite things about Hong Kong Disneyland.
1. The Mickey Mouse Maze at Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. This boxwood-type hedge maze in the shape of Mickey Mouse is a great place to play hide-and-seek. The hedges are trimmed just high enough for children to lose themselves but not their parents! Why did it take my breath away? It had a spectacular view of the South China Sea.
2. Find the Hidden Mickeys. In all areas of the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Resort, the silhouette of Mickey Mouse is hidden in many places – carpets, walls, dinnerware, rocks, railings, and even in your special breakfast waffle and butter!
3. Stitch Encounter. The cute alien officially known as "Experiment 626" takes center stage in Stitch Encounter, the newest attraction in Tomorrowland at Hong Kong Disneyland. Seated in an intimate theater, guests come for a tour of the Space Traffic Control center when it’s suddenly interrupted by this six-limbed mischief-maker! Featuring out-of-this world technology, this interactive show allows guests to talk, play games, and ask questions and Stitch will answer unrehearsed in real-time! Depending on whom he’s talking to, Stitch can answer in English, Cantonese, Putonghua and even Tagalog! It’s never the same show twice!
4. Space Mountain. Ever dreamed of going to outer space? This indoor-roller coaster is your only chance to experience a high-speed journey to the far corners of the universe and back! Experience the most exciting twists, turns and drops as you travel through the darkness and swerve to avoid the showers of meteors. Unconfined by capsules or space suits, you get a sense of speed that makes this intergalactic journey seem so real.
5. Autopia. Perhaps the only place where a kid can drive a car – no driver’s license required. It’s a drive into the future along the highways of tomorrow, over bridges, through dips and bends and around curves onboard shiny, electric cars. For a change, kids can take the wheel while parents sit back and enjoy the scenic landscape.
6. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. At Disneyland, kids don’t only get to drive cars, they get to play with guns too – well, infrared laser guns that is! It’s an interactive ride that allows you to help Buzz Lightyear save the universe from the evil Emperor Zurg.
7. Mickey’s PhilharMagic. A 3-D adventure for the eyes and ears featuring Maestro Mickey Mouse and a surprise "con-DUCK-tor" who attempts to take over Mickey’s magic baton. The in-theater 3-D effects make the Disney characters seem to leap and pop into the audience in scenes inspired by classic films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. This is my ultimate favorite! It’s a surprising and enchanting experience for the senses where you can see, hear, touch, and yes, even smell!
8. Jungle River Cruise. Trumpeting elephants, charging hippos, hungry crocodiles, prowling apes, cobras and spiders, angry tribal warriors, exotic vines and flowers, crowded animal watering holes with a finale of fire, flood, and underwater explosion. This guided tour along the mysterious Rivers of Adventure is definitely filled with intrigue, surprises, and plenty of humor!
9. Disney on Parade. Your favorite Disney characters come to life here! See them sing and dance aboard floats, with marching bands, musicians and dancers. You can’t miss the inflatable Band Leader Mickey as it stands seven meters high – one of the largest moving inflatables ever used in a Disney Park Parade! The young and young at heart will definitely enjoy the colorful floats of the Disney princesses, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, and the finale float featuring Disney’s own royal family, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, in a rolling replica of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. The upbeat music of the parade theme was so catchy, I caught myself dancing to it!
10. Disney in the Stars. Spectacular fireworks are only half of the story as music and star-like formations fill the air and transform the sky above the Sleeping Beauty Castle into a stunning evening spectacle. Enjoy lights as they seem to dance and waltz in harmony with the enchanting music. Songs from Aladdin, Cinderella, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast are accompanied by distinctive bursts of color in the sky that also tell a story. Aladdin described it so well: "Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling."
It really is all so magical.