Stepping into a Real-Life Disney Dream

1. Celebrating Five Years of Magic: The ‘Flights of Fantasy’ Parade
2. Meeting Tinker Bell and the Enchantment of the Castle Illumination
3. Exploring Hong Kong Disneyland’s Natural Beauty
4. Adventureland: Thrills and Exotic Encounters
5. Tomorrowland: Journey to the Future and Beyond
6. Fantasyland: Where Fairy Tales Come to Life
7. Taking a Break: Exploring Main Street U.S.A.
8. Magical Stays: The Disney Hotel Experience
9. Must-See Attractions: Beyond the Rides
10. Planning Your Visit: Reaching Hong Kong Disneyland
11. Explore Beyond: Shopping in Hong Kong

Every child is probably in love with Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse. I was too, but I never thought I would be walking through this fairyland one day, and that too in my adult years.

Celebrating Five Years of Magic: The ‘Flights of Fantasy’ Parade

It was January 2011, and I was working with Swagat (Air India’s inflight magazine) as Deputy Editor. On a bright morning, I landed in Hong Kong to meet my childhood cartoon wonders at Hong Kong Disneyland.

The theme park was celebrating its fifth anniversary, and the highlight was the ‘Flights of Fantasy’ parade. Sorcerer Mickey came in a ship of dreams; Winnie the Pooh was in a honey pot full to the brim with honey bees hovering over it. Elegant court dancers escorted lovely princesses—Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora—and gorgeous Tinker Bell and her fairy friends sprinkled pixie dust from their balloon. Yippee! I was in Hong Kong Disneyland, dancing with the Disney characters to a song created for the celebrations, ‘Celebrations in the Air’:

Take a breath and look around,
Where we are feels just right,
We picked up speed and covered ground,
And now it’s time to take flight.
Feel the magic in you getting stronger,
Let the story in your heart begin,
A million wishes can’t wait any longer.
Look to the sky….

Dazzled by the beautiful costumes, the lovely floats, and the magical aura of my favourite childhood characters coming alive, with dancers on stilts, this was pure magic.

Meeting Tinker Bell and the Enchantment of the Castle Illumination

The parade over, we went to meet Tinker Bell in her fairy garden and took some pictures with the lovely pixie. Tinker Bell, or Tink from the movie Peter Pan, is a beautiful, jealous pixie secretly in love with Peter Pan, and her dust makes you fly—something I experienced during the Tinker Bell Castle Illumination.

The celebrations did not end with a parade. There was a firework display at Sleeping Beauty’s castle and illumination as Tinker Bell dusted it with magical pixie dust. Gasps and sighs filled the park as dusk turned to night and the sky sparked with all the colours.

The castle shimmered and shone, and my mind wandered to the story, imagining the princess being woken up by the prince and the heavens showering their blessings, the earth coming alive with their love. It was surely a flight of fantasy, and Disney lived up to its promise of a magical day.

Exploring Hong Kong Disneyland’s Natural Beauty

The park is not only a technical marvel; it also has great natural surroundings. Situated in Penny Bay, we could see the mountains and the Hong Kong skyline as I gazed into the horizon. A Mickey fountain greeted us at the entrance, much before the ticket counter, with a happy Mickey bobbing up and down. And a flower Mickey awaited as we punched in our tickets. And then I heard a train…. tuk, tuk… slowly it passed by, smiling faces looking out of the windows.

Disneyland has been protecting the environment at various community events as well as introducing nature walks, I was told. There are facilities for a park tour and a guide too. And I saw a lot of women working there.

Armed with a map, I discovered that the park had three zones for rides—Adventureland, Tomorrowland, and Fantasyland.

Adventureland: Thrills and Exotic Encounters

Everything about this was racy and pacy. We had a choice of a Jungle River Cruise, Tarzan’s Treehouse, Festival of the Lion King, Liki Tikis. So, Jungle Cruise it was to begin with. There were three separate rows for Chinese, English, and the local Cantonese-speaking citizens.

Large spiders, crocodiles, snakes, even our Ganesha, were in the jungle. Hippos and elephants sprouted water, and then suddenly danger came from the tribals. Sighting invaders, they raised an alarm, and the boatman hurriedly took the boat past the fire cave, through whirling waters, and finally we got off, just a little wet. Oh! the dangers of the jungle surely need a strong presence of mind.

The Disney way of learning lessons is more fun and easily absorbed.

And off we were in a raft to Tarzan’s Treehouse. We lived the life of Simba in the Festival of the Lion King, a phenomenal representation of the film.

We found Africa in Hong Kong with acrobatics et al. Lunch was at Tahitian Terrace, as it also served Indian food and a much-needed chai. I opted for palak paneer and roti—perhaps not the best choice in a foreign country.

There was also River View Café, Safari Snacks, and a Frozen Lollipops Cart. And Disney products were available at Professor Porter’s Trading Port, besides the stall at the entrance of this zone. Each zone had a food and shopping area.

Tomorrowland: Journey to the Future and Beyond

It was difficult to decide what to see first, as this had more options—Space Mountain, Orbitron, Stitch Encounter UFO Zone, Autopia, and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

One of the more popular rides, Space Mountain, raised all the hair on my body because I thought I would never come out of space. The roller coaster began slowly enough, and then suddenly I was clinging to the bar, holding onto my bags, and closing and opening my eyes many times in the two-minute ride. Suddenly a rocket blasted, red was everywhere, and the roller coaster came to a slow halt. From space, I was back on earth on shaky legs and a smile on my face. In fact, the perpetual smiles, sighs, and awestruck children were a part of Disneyland magic during my three-day stay.

Now to what seemed a child’s play was Autopia. But we caused many a traffic jam with our swerving and curving of the little car. Orbitron was a high and low experience as the spacecraft moved up and down with a lever. Stitch charmed the crowd with all his antics. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters was another popular attraction. And off we were to more shops—Star Traders and Star Command Suppliers. Here, eateries were Comet Café, Starliner Diner, Flying Saucer Snacks, and carts with lollipops, cotton candy, and popcorn.

Fantasyland: Where Fairy Tales Come to Life

It was time to meet the fairies and the magical creatures who would change our experiences with their special powers. We walked into the world of The Golden Mickeys, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad Hatter Tea Cups, It’s a Small World, Snow White Grotto, experienced the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, went around on Cinderella Carousel, and saw the Sleeping Beauty Castle, Fantasy Gardens, and Fairyland Train Station. Winnie the Pooh’s honey pot took us on a journey around his home.

The 3-D effects of Mickey’s PhilharMagic were an experience to savour; through the 3-D glasses, Donald seemed to touch us all. The Golden Mickeys looked awesome. It’s a Small World—the boat ride introduced us to life in all the continents. Storybook Shoppe, Merlin’s Treasures, and Pooh Corner offered more Disney goodies. For the hungry ones, there were carts, ice cream at Small World, and Chopin’s Festival of Foods.

Taking a Break: Exploring Main Street U.S.A.

The rides over, we decided to come back to Main Street USA. This village square was modelled on the home village of the creator Walt Disney. Here, a Disney Police Van cruised, ensuring discipline and giving people a ride. More attractions were the Animation Academy and Art of Animation, which displayed some interesting things. The City Hall, ATM, and Guest Relations help centre were also here.

We had dinner at Main Street Corner Cafe. But one could choose to eat at Market House Bakery, from which drifted amazing fragrances of freshly baked stuff, Plaza Inn, and carts offering lollipops, Turkey Legs, Jumbo Sausages, popcorn, and coffee. I did try the pizza stick there.

And then explored the shops—Emporium, Centre Street Boutique, Town Square Photo, Main Street Sweets—loved the glass-blown artefacts at Crystal Arts and gasped at the gold jewellery at Midtown Jewelry.

Anything that the Mickey in you would need was there. Little girls and women wore Minnie hair bands. Children roamed around with Duffy the Bear and Winnie the Pooh in their hands.

Magical Stays: The Disney Hotel Experience

We stayed at the Hollywood Hotel, where princes and princesses seemed to occupy every corner. Mickey silhouettes dominated the décor. Chef Mickey offered a sumptuous breakfast.

Goofy rubbed his nose against me, Mickey shook hands, and Duffy lay on my plate. I was eating breakfast in the restaurant in Enchanted Garden Disneyland Hotel. And this very real dream was full of goodies—a buffet breakfast fit for a king was on offer with a choice of traditional Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Continental cuisines. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald hugged all the children in the restaurant. Victorian décor with a fountain completed the fairyland feeling.

The day we had landed, lunch was at the Crystal Lotus restaurant, where a wall of crystal lotus gave it that fairy feel. Drinking jasmine tea with the meal was the norm, said to stimulate appetite. And the food craft was to die for; dumplings looked like live golden fish. Then there was Duffy. It was a shame to dig into the sweet little thing, but we shamelessly cut him in half and popped the meat-laden, flour-coated dumpling into our mouths. And when travelling to this part of the world, it’s best to take a lesson on eating with chopsticks.

A visual treat was the gorgeous crystal chandelier with crystal Cinderella shoes. It also housed the Victorian Spa.

In the garden was a heart-shaped gate. A maze completed the landscape.

I put an Indian rupee coin in the fountain with complete faith that my wish would be fulfilled.

Must-See Attractions: Beyond the Rides

Disneyland has its own port, where people visiting or staying anchor their boats/yachts. And you must take a ride in the MTR. The windows are in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s face. Sculptures are spread across the train, and seats are cushioned, luxurious sofas.

You can check out all the details of Hong Kong Disneyland here.

This was such a magical trip that I can still feel myself in the theme park even after 15 years.

Planning Your Visit: Reaching Hong Kong Disneyland

Trains from Sunny Bay station connect it to the mainland. Buses and taxis ply. Inside the resort, you can use the shuttle.

Explore Beyond: Shopping in Hong Kong

Mong Kok was fun with Ladies Market and other malls. It is open from Noon till 11 pm.

All photographs in this post are screenshots from Hong Kong Disneyland website. Didn’t even know how to use a camera then!

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