The Magic of Disneyland Hong Kong

I never thought I would go to one Disney Park in my lifetime, let alone four. I have so much good to say about Disneyland Hong Kong. Forget the U.S. parks, this one is amazing.

I relented and took a photo with the old boss. They were so cute and the line was short.
Disney-Regular Note: There are no ‘cut offs’ to lines here. They have breaks every 15 minutes!

This must be Sleeping Beauty’s Asian Holiday home…

One of my favorite parts of the park was Fairy Tale Forest hosted by PANDORA. It was perfect for little ones with tons of interactive storytelling and a meet and greet with Tink.

Mystic Manor is Hong Kong Disneyland’s version of The Haunted Mansion. I loved the story line and characters. I hope they make a movie about it! The little monkey is adorable! There was a callback to Haunted Mansion hidden in one of the galleries, the staring busts!

Something brand new that was awesome?? Toy Story Land!!

I felt pea-sized and ecstatic to be in Andy’s World.

Next up was Theater in the Wild for The Festival of the Lion King. This varied slightly from the WDW version in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They had the same floats (perhaps a bit fancier) but instead of an interactive circus performance, they told the entire story of The Lion King. I was so happy to see Scar (who looked great) sing Be Prepared with the hyenas.

Everything was beautiful and the dancers were so great! The singing could’ve been better, but I’m guessing there aren’t many who can do The Circle of Life justice in Hong Kong.

One experience I wish would come to the States is Mickey and the Wondrous Book. This is a thirty minute production with singing, dancing, and incredible graphics. You go down south with Tiana, Let it Go with Elsa, and even witness a sing off between Rapunzel and Merida! If for no other reason than to escape the heat and rest your feet, dont’t miss it!!

One cannot leave Disney without riding Dumbo. Pretty sure it’s a rule. (oh T-Spin…)

As we snagged a few souvenirs from the gift shop, we were able to catch the end of “Disney Paint the Night” Nighttime Spectacular. Gorgeous floats with so much Pixar!!

I have become such a fireworks snob from working at Walt Disney World. If it isn’t perfectly choreographed to music, color-coded for villains and heroes, then it gets pretty hard to impress me. “Disney in the Stars” was alright, but I wasn’t tearing up about it. (anyone who doesn’t cry watching Wishes needs to ask Oz for a heart)

Overall, I loved this park. We went just after open and spent all day there. Nearly everything was walk on. If there was a line, it was never more than twenty minutes. I never felt crowded or rushed to finish an experience. It felt like what Disneyland should be, or what it must have been a long time ago. If you want to know which park is going the be the greatest experience for your kids, Hong Kong Disneyland is your best bet.

The price is good too given the exchange rate coming to about $70 US dollars. We got to do about 80% of the attractions, but that wasn’t due to lines. It was due to the fact that the kids couldn’t do some rides and most of Tomorrowland was under construction. Still though, that’s pretty high for day at the park.

Charlie Chaplin in Christchurch

After a blissful wedding weekend in the North, I headed down South to Christchurch. I was to spend the evening with another friend from my time at Disney!
These two ladies were lovely and the most gracious hosts!

They are also blessed to own a majestic Persian queen named Frida. I am not a cat person, but she was real cute. She showed her love and/or curiosity all night long, tenderly pawing my face. Or she hates me.

Alas, we would only spend one night together as I was leaving for my first ever Tour Group the next morning. Thankfully, my dear friend took me for a quick drive around the city and a last-minute-supply run. I forgot to get a converter at the airport. This is safe right? Meh, it worked like a charm.

We had lunch at the cutest cafe that could’ve been plucked straight out of Portland. Local art covered the walls, re-used industrial materials were given new life and purpose, plus, a secret bookcase door lead to the bathroom. Oh, and the bathrooms?? Depending on who you choose (Luke, Leia, Han…) you are read to while you do your business. I got to listen to a bit of Harry Potter! Let me clarify: there is not a random dude sitting on a stool reading in each bathroom. It’s a speaker people, simmer down.

This place was honestly my favorite part of Christchurch. Those tubes you see on the ceiling? They deliver fries. There’s also an old sewing machine which doubles as a water fountain. You have to run the pedal and turn the wheel. It’s hipster heaven, I know.

Another perk was a doorway that led to a video shop next store. That’s right. A good old fashioned movie rental store (and also a theater). They had categories! They were so specific and fun, plus apparently they change often. I’M MOVING TO NZ TO WORK HERE. I never wanted to leave. The only downside was this heinous thing:

This statue was so unsettling!! I didn’t notice that it wasn’t a person until I stood right next to him, and his red eyes were staring me into a pit of hell fire. Real creepy. First thing to go on my list.

As a thank you to my lovely hosts, I wanted to give them something special. I noticed they had a few original artworks hung from their friends. I decided to paint their dearest feline, Frida. She was an excellent model.

So, back to my super exciting Tour Group!! It was seven days long, covering most of the South Island. A friend recommended Haka Tours to me, having just went on a two week tour with them and loved it. Her pictures looked great, and their website was super helpful and detailed, complete with online helpers who answered any question I had, no matter how stupid.

They have a road-trip-with-your-mates approach rather than a rigid schedule of long speeches over the PA. This sounded perfect to me, so I went for it. As my first day was in Christchurch, we walked the city for a bit, funnily enough, re-visiting a few places I’d already been (including the cafe!).

Some history on Christchurch –  In 2011, the city was hit with an earthquake, causing several aftershocks for months afterwards. The city was devastated, leaving an eerie skeleton behind. After five years, there is still much work to be done. Where once stood the pride of the city, Christchurch Cathedral, there are piles of rubble and unstable scaffolding.

It truly was a somber sight, but seeing how people have come together in light of what’s happened was encouraging. On many buildings were massive works of street art, making an otherwise desolated place, look beautiful.

I was joining a group of sixteen people, eleven of which had already been on tour for a week on the North island. From here we were headed to Lake Tekapo. Which is where my next post is headed!

New Zealand Nuptials

Since I’m on this side of the globe, I had the perfect excuse to head down to New Zealand for a friend’s wedding. I met the bride in Florida five years ago. We both worked at Disney! Though our time together was short, we kept in touch, missing each other dearly, and swearing to see each other again some day.

I have dreamed of coming here since I was 12, when The Fellowship of the Ring came out. Sorry NZ, I didn’t know much about you until Legolas & Aragorn showed me the way. Don’t worry, I’ll chat more about LOTR locations later…
Before I begin on this epic tale of beauty and adventure, it needs to be proclaimed across the land that flying in New Zealand is incredible. I was flying overnight from Seoul and was pretty positive I would miss my connection. Once I arrived with less than two hours to go through customs, get my baggage, get that cleared, check my baggage again, go through security….that my flight would be long gone.

I was pleasantly surprised. Customs was a breeze. Being an American was a mega-advantage. I skipped the whole queue, scanned my passport, a robot took my photo and I was through! My bag was already waiting for me and there was no line to scan it. AND finally the very best part, NO SECURITY. New Zealand is such a care free, friendly place, they don’t feel the need to screen you if you’re flying domestically. These people are so great.

OK. Back to the wedding. This is the view from the venue, a vineyard on the outskirts of Tauranga. Yup, I pretended I was in The Shire.

It was a small crowd, less than 80 people. This is the way to do it, folks.

We felt so fancy! Champagne and hors d’oeuvres were served as the wedding party took their photos. I could get used to this. 

With such a small group, fun things can happen, like free photo booths!!

We were into it, and never wanted to leave it.

I loved getting to see old Disney friends, it had been so long! It was so awesome to be at the ‘Disney’ table. Over 10 of us flew from all over the world to be there! We went to a Haka ceremony in Rotorua. We also saw some natural geysers (smelly but cool!) and went luging. Hakas are a Maori tradition that I highly recommend you experience.

I bet you’re wondering if I took advantage of this lovely event and spent some more time in New Zealand. C’mon, you should know me better than that by now. OF COURSE. I stayed the rest of the month, and did A LOT. I saw Charlie Chaplin in Christchurch, found adventure in Lake Tekapo & Queenstown, fell in love with Wanaka, and melted into the mists of Milford Sound…

-wedding photos were not taken by me –