As someone who'd grown out of her Teddy bear-Barbie doll-Mickey Mouse obsession eons ago, I wasn't exactly jumping in joy about the prospect of going to Disneyland, Hong Kong. More so, as I was doing this alone, leaving my cartoon-crazy children behind, who were giving me the 'we're the ones who should be going to Disneyland, for God's sake, not you' treatment. The fact that I was part of a media contingent accompanying 37 children who had won a trip for themselves and their families to Disneyland, after having participated in Disney Channel's Jet Set Go contest, did not go down well with them.
And so, I found myself on the flight to Hong Kong, and after having landed groggy eyed, I was ferried to the Hollywood Hotel within Disneyland. For me, this was a fantasy land that had existed in the confines of books that I read in school. Suddenly, its characters, frozen in my childhood imagination, thawed and took on life and shape.
My first encounter with Mickey Mouse was in a cup of cappuccino, his famous ears outlined in cream. I was to discover him hidden in the prints of the bedspread in my room, the carpet on the floor, on the dining table, cutlery, emblazoned on the light switch, key chains, the tooth brush stand in the rest room, and what have you. As the day progressed, I played this game to spot as many of him as I could, however cleverly he was hidden behind design.
We had about 30 hours or so (night included) to take in whatever Disneyland had on offer. If we had to make the best of it, we had to set off soon. So off we went, first to Main Street USA, one of six themed areas here, the others being Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch. It is on the streets of Main Street, sporting old-world American buildings, that the Flight of Fantasy Parade is held, where Disney characters ceremoniously march, sing and dance, and in the summer, squirt water on unsuspecting adults, much to the delight of young fans lining the road.
The parade done, our next stop was to watch the Mickey PhilarMagic 3D show, a riotous, rumbustious screen rendering of Mickey, Donald and company's antics in their inimitable style. It came as a pleasant surprise that the special effects involved the olfactory and tactile senses — you could smell the goodies on screen and feel the water on your skin as the characters dived into the depths of the ocean.
Satiated, we moved on to Adventureland and the Lion King show, a musical with puppets on larger-than-life floats and people dressed in colourful animal clothing. I had not seen anything like it before, so, the effect on me was mesmerising, as I tumbled out of the theatre, feeling a strange kinship to Simba, the lion.
Adventureland, as the name suggests, is also where you can get an adrenaline rush — if you're really young and adventurous. Being neither, I was content to watch people squealing in delight, as they took the jungle river cruise or climbed up to Tarzan's house on a high tree, and vicariously enjoy my fellow travellers' accounts of their numerous adventures. I overheard an eight-year-old girl talk of a simulated parachute drop that she did "twice" and was at once ashamed at my cowardice.
Late evening was reserved for a spectacular display of fireworks at Sleeping Beauty's Castle. We congregated at the venue about 15 minutes before the show began and found all the vantage points taken. So, standing, we witnessed the sudden, synchronised eruption of colour, light and music that was breathtaking to say the least. Some 20,000 spectators must have witnessed the show that night, going by the crowds that thronged the place.
The next morning, having breakfast at the Enchanted Garden Restaurant, we encountered Mickey and Donald again, going from table to table, chatting up children, posing for photographs and signing autographs. After breakfast, we decided to see what we could of Hong Kong in the time we had. It helped that the MTR, the Hong Kong metro, had a station right in Disneyland.
Alighting at Tung Chung, we took a cable car to Ngong Ping's Big Buddha, supposedly the world's largest seated bronze statue. The 20-minute cable-car ride provides a spectacular view of what is below — skyscrapers, mountains, streams, the airport even, and finally the Buddha in full glory, bestowing his beatific grace on the faithful. It was then, gliding in mid air, that I realised what I had seen of Hong Kong was only a small slice of a big pie.
And so, I found myself on the flight to Hong Kong, and after having landed groggy eyed, I was ferried to the Hollywood Hotel within Disneyland. For me, this was a fantasy land that had existed in the confines of books that I read in school. Suddenly, its characters, frozen in my childhood imagination, thawed and took on life and shape.
My first encounter with Mickey Mouse was in a cup of cappuccino, his famous ears outlined in cream. I was to discover him hidden in the prints of the bedspread in my room, the carpet on the floor, on the dining table, cutlery, emblazoned on the light switch, key chains, the tooth brush stand in the rest room, and what have you. As the day progressed, I played this game to spot as many of him as I could, however cleverly he was hidden behind design.
We had about 30 hours or so (night included) to take in whatever Disneyland had on offer. If we had to make the best of it, we had to set off soon. So off we went, first to Main Street USA, one of six themed areas here, the others being Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch. It is on the streets of Main Street, sporting old-world American buildings, that the Flight of Fantasy Parade is held, where Disney characters ceremoniously march, sing and dance, and in the summer, squirt water on unsuspecting adults, much to the delight of young fans lining the road.
The parade done, our next stop was to watch the Mickey PhilarMagic 3D show, a riotous, rumbustious screen rendering of Mickey, Donald and company's antics in their inimitable style. It came as a pleasant surprise that the special effects involved the olfactory and tactile senses — you could smell the goodies on screen and feel the water on your skin as the characters dived into the depths of the ocean.
Satiated, we moved on to Adventureland and the Lion King show, a musical with puppets on larger-than-life floats and people dressed in colourful animal clothing. I had not seen anything like it before, so, the effect on me was mesmerising, as I tumbled out of the theatre, feeling a strange kinship to Simba, the lion.
Adventureland, as the name suggests, is also where you can get an adrenaline rush — if you're really young and adventurous. Being neither, I was content to watch people squealing in delight, as they took the jungle river cruise or climbed up to Tarzan's house on a high tree, and vicariously enjoy my fellow travellers' accounts of their numerous adventures. I overheard an eight-year-old girl talk of a simulated parachute drop that she did "twice" and was at once ashamed at my cowardice.
Late evening was reserved for a spectacular display of fireworks at Sleeping Beauty's Castle. We congregated at the venue about 15 minutes before the show began and found all the vantage points taken. So, standing, we witnessed the sudden, synchronised eruption of colour, light and music that was breathtaking to say the least. Some 20,000 spectators must have witnessed the show that night, going by the crowds that thronged the place.
The next morning, having breakfast at the Enchanted Garden Restaurant, we encountered Mickey and Donald again, going from table to table, chatting up children, posing for photographs and signing autographs. After breakfast, we decided to see what we could of Hong Kong in the time we had. It helped that the MTR, the Hong Kong metro, had a station right in Disneyland.
Alighting at Tung Chung, we took a cable car to Ngong Ping's Big Buddha, supposedly the world's largest seated bronze statue. The 20-minute cable-car ride provides a spectacular view of what is below — skyscrapers, mountains, streams, the airport even, and finally the Buddha in full glory, bestowing his beatific grace on the faithful. It was then, gliding in mid air, that I realised what I had seen of Hong Kong was only a small slice of a big pie.