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Disney Magic

Hong Kong Disneyland – Part the Second

Day 2 of our Hong Kong Disneyland experience was possibly even better than the first day. Partly because we managed to recover somewhat from the exhaustion of having to hit the ground running on the first day.

Friday morning, we took a 5am flight and arrived in Hong Kong at about 10am, blitzed into the hotel for a quick check in, then went straight for lunch and into the park. Which meant that I was awake for the better part of 48 hours and even though the kids got pockets of sleep on the flight, they were surviving on pure adrenaline the entire first day.

After a nice deep sleep in our room at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, the kids were up and ready to go at 8am on Saturday morning.

Breakfast was a character buffet meet and greet at the Enchanted Garden in the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel next door. The food? Stunning both in terms of variety and quality. I still can’t get over how good the food is in Hong Kong Disneyland because my brain has been programmed to associate Disneyland with fried chicken. But the best part was that Mickey, Goofy and Pluto came over to say hi while we were munching on dim sum.

Kirsten saw Mickey approaching from 3 tables away and started shouting “MICKEY! MICKEY I’M HERE!! SEE, IT’S MICKEY, MOMMY!!!” Naturally, everyone turned to look at the commotion but she got an extra hug from Mickey for her enthusiasm.

Once we were in the park, our first stop was Tomorrowland to get Fastpasses for Space Mountain. Since I was pregnant and Kirsten was too short, we did the baby rides while the 2 boys used our Fastpasses and went on Space Mountain 4 times. Yes you heard right, 4 times. Truett just made the height limit for the ride and he was in roller coaster heaven.

Hearing him rave about Space Mountain, I almost tried to sneak in once for old time’s sake but I didn’t because I’m pregnant and responsible.

Another of their favorite rides was Autopia, a race car ride that they could steer and drive along a track all on their own. They weren’t very good at steering so the ride got a little bumpy but all that bumping made it all the more fun for them.

Here’s a video of Truett showing off his driving skills. By the second ride, he actually got pretty good.

While queueing for the Jungle Cruise boat ride, they were picked by one of the cast members to be little helpers to the skipper on board. They were given special safari vests and allowed to help the captain steer the boat.

The last land we visited was the bright and cheery Toy Story Land, the park’s latest addition which opened in November last year. It is also Asia Exclusive, so you’ll only be able to experience it here. There were 3 rides here – the Slinky Dog Spin, the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop and the RC Racer. Unfortunately, Kirsten was too short and I was too pregnant for all the rides here so we walked around and took pictures while the boys got their adrenaline fix.

Baby girl is on a mission to grow taller and I’m on a mission to give birth so when we do that, we’ll be back to try them out.

By late afternoon, we managed to try most of the rides but we couldn’t possibly leave without doing the meet and greets, so we spent the rest of the time waiting to meet characters.

Truett wasn’t big on queueing to take pictures so after spending 20 minutes in line to meet Pooh, he decided his time was better spent on one of the rides. Kirsten, however, was intent to meet Minnie. I told her the queue to meet Minnie would take 25 minutes and she was all “I will be patient…I want to give Minnie a big hug.”

So she did. And that hug meant the world to her.

That pretty much wraps up our 2-day Hong Kong Disneyland experience. Just as we were walking out of the park and waving goodbye to the happiest place in the world, Tru turned to us and said “I like Disneyland. We need to come back again, ok?”

My sentiments exactly.

kids inc

Truett’s top 5 TV shows

The topic on whether TV is good for kids has been debated to death. So I shan’t keep flogging the dead horse. My philosophy is that there are plenty of good programs out there and when consumed in moderation, there’s probably not much harm.

What’s more, I LOVE TV. It’s one of the best discoveries of all time, right next to sliced bread.

My son has come up with a list of top 5 TV programs on Playhouse Disney.
(I’m not sure if I agree with all of them though)

5. Higglytown Heroes.

Higglytown Heroes

First of all, what’s up with the giant storage pouches in their stomachs. Believe it or not, they can hop inside each other’s pouches and hide, which is so wrong on so many levels. And why are they mutated pudgy, legless beings? Most annoyingly, they keep coming up with retarded suggestions, plus they take advice from an ugly talking cat. Go figure.

4. Thomas and Friends.

Thomas and Friends

The husband claims that the trains are possessed. They are supposed to be youngish trains but it’s so disconcerting that they’ve got overly-large eyeballs that roll around and deep-baritone-grandfather voices. And the accent. The only people who speak like that are old farts drinking in the taverns of Manchester.

3. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

There’s Mickey Mouse and his exclusive Clubhouse of which JT, Britney and Christina are members. The social status alone is a big enough draw for any kid.

2. Pocoyo.

Pocoyo

This is Tru’s alter ego. The only problem is that he wears the same clothes ALL THE TIME and he’s got a duck, an elephant, a dog, a sleepy bird and a mysterious, old  narrator for friends. Other than that, he’s hands down the cutest 4-year-old on television.

1. Bunnytown.

Bunnytown

Definitely the best cartoon on Playhouse Disney. They’ve got all kinds of awesome music, ranging from hip hop, rock, rap, gospel and jazz. It’s also got a very witty script and lots of colorful bunnies. Tru’s all-time favorite segment is the Bunnytown Hop, a bunny-concert where all the bunnies go all rock and roll. Good stuff.