Hi guys (a bigger and louder hi if you have reached here from the Part 1 of this post, if not here’s the link),
I am back after my coffee break and I am just writing it all out. Because I know if I don’t do it today I won’t have time tomorrow. I am sure of it. Today my mum is taking care of Ivanka and it’s sort of a mini vacation I am on, though I am missing Ivanka a lot and I have a play date to attend with her in the evening but still oh gosh I have missed writing! It’s like such a release for me to write about my favorite topic that is travel! And I want to do full justice to it, at least from my point of view. So if you are up for it get ready to soak in the Part 2.
STAY:
There are 3 Disney Land properties within the Disney Land (Disney Land Explorers Lodge, Disney Land’s HollyWood Hotel, Hong Kong Disney Land Hotel) but the best amongst them is Hong Kong Disney Land Hotel. It’s a 10 minute walk from the Disney Land (there’s free shuttle service too for all the 3 Disney Land properties, but it’s sort of annoying if you are at Hong Kong Disney Land hotel, because it is the first stop of the shuttle, then you have to visit all 3 other properties and pick up guests from there and then finally reach Disney Land so it takes approximately 20-25 minutes especially if guests have luggage like we had our stroller because then loading also takes time, however, while coming back yours is the first stop.) We preferred to walk with our stroller as weather was really nice.
Best part about Hong Kong Disney Land hotel is you have various birthday packages available (however, you can not customise the package they are standard packages, for example we wanted a 2 tiered cake and lots of balloons , it was not possible), as most of the people go to Hong Kong Disney Land hotel to celebrate birthdays. Almost always it’s at full occupancy.
At the time of Check in because we had come for Ivanka’s birthday (she turned 2 years old), she received a birthday pin and 2 eggs full of candy (the easter decor was still on there) to be worn on her birthday date (we checked in before her birthday).
There are numerous fun activities that go on throughout the day and surprise character visits happen too, we ran into Goofy on Ivanka’s birthday morning. There’s a story session too at night that shouldn’t be missed but we were just so hard pressed for covering Disney Land that we couldn’t catch it on any of the nights we were there at the property.
You must also check the Bibidyy Bobbidee Makeover place here if your child is over 3 years (or one of your children is) , now Ivanka was so prettily dressed up in her outfits that she can I say just didn’t need a make over/ dress up session at all! Not to mention she wasn’t even eligible!
You also get a priority admission pass if you are staying at Disney Land Hotel for a fixed selection of rides, we used it in “It’s a small world” and one more “Transformer” themed ride. But we were glad as there were huge queues.
One more good thing is that at the time of entrance to the park we didn’t have to queue up either because there’s a separate entrance for those staying on Disney Land properties.
About our Disney Land pass we bought it from Disney Land Hotel’s website itself.
Now, if you had read the Part 1 of this blog post (you can read it by clicking here) you would remember that we faced a flight delay. Now that’s exhausting because we were so tired in the flight along because of the wrong timing that we reached in wee hours of breaking dawn by Indian Standard Time and well into noon by Hong Kong Time. So it was very taxing for us, along with a baby and also led to us missing out on a significant day at disney land as we had planned to be well rested in the flight and check into hotel and reach Disney Land when it opens at 10:30 am sadly it didnt happen so and majority of our first day at Disney Land got wasted, as did the validity of the pass.
Insider Tip 1: Try to stay the first day at Hong Kong instead of Disney Land as that will ensure that even if you have a flight delay or cancellation, it wouldn’t be at the cost of the best property you plan to stay in. Next day you can comfortably move to Disney Land. Or you can stay 2 days in Hong Kong, cool it off a bit by keeping provision for flight delay/ cancellation and then one day to tour the city (Victoria Peak, Times Square, Botanical Garden, Ocean Park) .
Insider Tip 2:You can even go to Macau for half a day as soon as you reach Hong Kong because in Macau you wouldn’t be allowed in Casinos with a baby…obviously)Â
Insider Tip 3: Please download the Disney Land Hong Kong App before you go. This way you will be able to know exactly which ride has how much of a waiting time. Also, which character is positioned where. What shows are running. There’s free wifi so you can access the app if you have a fully charged phone.
Insider Tip 4: Plan your trip in a manner that you don’t have to go to Disney Land on the wekend. It’s very crowded on weekdays you can only imagine how crowded it gets on Weekend when entire China who has an all year pass comes to visit Disney Land, I don’t blame them because it’s such a happy place to be.
Insider Tip 5: If you are booking the birthday package at the hotel, don’t forget to try for the upgrade to Deluxe Suite over email because the bed sizes are so small there. In Deluxe Suite you get 2 separate queen sized beds. But they are worth it even if they are tiny. Especially if you are travelling with a toddler. You need that bed, even 2 people can’t sleep comfortably otherwise on a bed. Let alone co-sleep. My baby co-sleeps with me.
FOOD:Â
Every food item is so expensive in Disney Land especially if you compare it to main Hong Kong. In Hong Kong you will be able to get a good filling meal example a sandwich, salad, pasta etc for anywhere between 25-50HKD at any decent fast food joint whereas in Disney Land unless you plan to survive on doughnuts or Mickey Waffles you wont find anything that cheap. We chose to dine each day at Corner Cafe at the end of Main Street because we really can’t feed our baby Doughnuts. An average dish costs 200HKD at Corner Cafe, Kids Meal costs around 116HKD if I remember correctly.
We usually are always happy booking good hotels after Ivanka because we really bank up on the breakfast buffet at hotels so we can maybe pack a sandwich or some fruits for her as on the go while travelling sometimes you don’t find good restaurants or even an eating place. So we always have our back up from buffet, which almost always the hotel staff has been courteous to give us by letting us know the average time within which we must consume it if we taking it out of the hotel property. However, the buffet was lacking so much variety even for non vegetarians like us that I can only imagine what vegetarians will do. For example: at a buffet there was a fixed menu from which we could only choose one dish per person- an omelette, egg, waffles, noodles (any one could be chosen) (this is the case only in Disney Land, in Hong Kong Hotels there’s a great spread) there were some cold cuts, watermelon and bread, and I might be missing on details because they were not noteworthy.
Insider Tip 6: Please carry something that has a longer shelf life like variety of fruits from Hong Kong itself as a back up for baby, or like us carry besan laddoos from home!
ITINERARY WE FOLLOWED:
3 days/ 2 Nights- Hong Kong Disney Land
2 days Hong Kong
1 night Macau
We were hard pressed for time as we didn’t want Ivanka to miss out on a lot of school days as she is in the weaning off phase in her school. Which is why we chose Hong Kong Disney Land only and not Hong Kong Disney Land along with Japan Disney Land. Ideally you should just do a stopover in Hong Kong for Disney Land because my god Lantau is beautiful with it’s mountains and sea!
Insider Tip 7: Please know what we came to know very late… the Sleeping Beauty’s castle is undergoing transformation and is NOT open to visitors. I can’t even tell you how heart broken I was. It has been under transformation since early January this year and I don’t think transformation will take any time less than 2 years or so.
Insider Tip 8: Because sleeping beauty castle is under renovation there’s NO firework display at night either.
Insider Tip 9: If you plan to stay at Hong Kong Disney Land Hotel, do not stay in the wing next to the swimming pool i.e. with the swimming pool view because that side is also under going renovation (we traveled in April 2018), it’s quite an eyesore, please email them this request once your booking is confirmed.
ITINERARY YOU SHOULD FOLLOW WITH A TODDLER (HONG KONG DISNEY LAND)
DAY 1: Arrive Hong Kong, Rest, go to Victoria Peak (we missed it because it was sooooo crowded and it was very hot in Hong Kong..also I think after seeing Lantau it was too overwhelming for me to be in Hong Kong with all the crowd, I personally didn’t enjoy it much or it’s infrastructure) , Botanical Garden (this was a little fun because we got to see Flamingoes, it’s also very close to Victoria Peak, but opt an uber ride because the journey is horrible with no ramps and only steps connecting them in between and no one in Hong Kong helps you even when they see you struggling with a stroller, every where else where we have been people come to help even with 2 steps)
DAY 2: Go to Ocean Park (we didn’t have the appetite for this despite us having free passes) and visit the popular shopping areas. Leave for Macau (buy your tickets etc and there’s also separate immigration procedure that’s followed at the dock, before you board the ship to Macau). In Macau, definitely visit Venetian but there are so many new properties that have opened up that they deserve a visit too, it should be fairly simple to cover them as you wont be allowed in any of the casinos with a baby.
DAY 3: Leave Macau and head to Disney Land (but see if your previous hotel will allow you to keep the luggage with them overnight because usually all hotels are courteous enough and you can travel with just one hand bag to Macau)
DAY 3, 4, 5 to be spent in Disney Land
DAY 5 After check out you can still go to Disney Land (check out is very early in Disney Land Hotel) then travel back to the airport and fly back home!
Insider Tip 10: There are hardly any ramps and mostly steps in Hong Kong so you will have a very tough time with a stroller.
Insider Tip 11: When in city it’s best to rely on Uber for comfy clean rides (imagine Tesla is also an Uber there) so have the app handy but remember there are rules and taxis don’t stop everywhere, so it’s best to find a hotel nearby or a popular spot where you see cabs stopping, or even a taxi stand. Otherwise, Uber driver will just cancel your ride.)
Insider Tip 12: Travel with a very light stroller
This way you will have a happy ending to your trip. Because Disney Land has to be the HIGHLIGHT of your trip.
For break up of all the things to do in Disney Land and how to plan your Disney Trip you have to wait for the Part 3. Hopefully, by weekend I should do it! I am exhausted now.
Much love,
Ruchi
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