Hongkong Trip (part 2)

The next day, we were finally moving out of the guesthouse to move into one of the hotels of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

Out of the three hotels, we stayed in the one named ‘Hollywood Hotel’, which had a glassy building feel to it.

It also had a winding path behind it, which led to the pool and also the famed Hollywood sign.

Hollywood Hotel

Our room was on the fifth floor, and unlike the guesthouse, actually looked like a hotel room. It was spacious and had a carpet. The TV also could play those super old Disney cartoons. The room also had Wi-Fi, which was perfect for me to use the phone I did not have.

We also visited the other two hotels, Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Disney Explorers Lodge. The Disneyland Hotel was more of a regal castle, whilst the Lodge was made to look like a wooden shack. The differences between, from what I know, are purely aesthetic.

Hongkong Disneyland Hotel

Disney Explorer's Lodge

The day after that, we finally entered the Disneyland Park. The park was split into seven parts, Main Street U.S.A, Adventureland, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, Toy Storyland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

Main Street was a road that served mainly as the entrance leading to the park. The sidewalks were lined with shops that sold merchandise. My brother bought one of those mini-electric fans that had the Avengers on theme.

Main Street

Adventureland had a river ride where you could ride a boat either around the river or to Tarzan’s tree house, where you can get a view of the area. It also had a dance show of the Lion King, where they would retell the story whilst adding in songs and dances.

Tarzan's Tree House

Grizzly Gulch had a rollercoaster that went around the entire area, and was fun, though not as intense as the Hair Raiser in Ocean Park. There was also a little area where you could get wet, called the Geyser Gulch.

Grizzly Gulch

Mystic Point had the Mystic Manor, where you would ride a vehicle through the entire manor and watching the spectacles of light bring its artifacts to life. Though, there is a jumpscare near the end. The most interesting part is that the vehicle operates through magnets under the floor. There are no rails that lead the vehicle through the manor.

Mystic Manor

Toy Storyland had the RC Racer, which is just a reimagined version of the Viking ship ride that most amusement parks had. There was also the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop, which was just a less intense version of The Abyss in Ocean Park. There are also two other rides that we did not bother riding since they seemed not very thrilling.

Toy Storyland

Tomorrowland had a ride featuring Iron Man, where we wore 3D glasses and rode in motion-simulating seats. It was fun, despite the lack of the thrilling feel that rollercoasters had. There was also a character greeting with Iron Man, and his introductory effects were cool. I was a bit disappointed when he did not have a voice, though.

There was another ride called Hyperspace Mountain, a Star Wars rollercoaster in the dark where it seemed like we were flying through space. It was tame, compared to the Hair Raiser in Ocean Park.

Another ride that we rode was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. It was a slow-ride where you would be equipped with a laser gun to shoot targets with during the ride. There was one occasion where the ride was stopped, but the guns continued to work, so my brother and I just continually shot and racked up points. I almost hit a million.

Fantasyland was, well, avoided almost completely. There was nothing that suited a family that had two teenage boys, so we just ignored it. The only thing we did that was eat at the Royal Banquet Hall.

The castle that we didn't get to explore...

The food was super expensive, and honestly not that good. I am not going to bother writing about it.

Later at night, were the parade and the fireworks show. I found them to be not so interesting, as I was not a little kid, and I had to use the toilet. Unfortunately for me, one of my slippers ended up breaking, and I had to walk back to the fireworks show barefooted.

But, thanks to my dad’s genius, he managed to patch it up long enough until we got back to the hotel.

The following day was when we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel. To be honest, the food was nothing special, as was most of the food at the park.

Mom said we gotta have the
Mickey Mouse pancake...

We ended the day off by visiting the other two hotels before leaving for the airport.

Hongkong Trip (part 1)

Tsim Sha Tsui is an urban area of southern Kowloon, where we took our place of stay for a majority of our trip in Hong Kong. Tsim Sha Tsui had an excess of malls, guesthouses, and most of all, money exchangers.

I once found six money exchangers all right next to each other, albeit one was closed.

Mom and bro at the park...

My mom booked a guesthouse instead of a hotel, so the services were purely just one tiny room.

The building itself was called Harilela Mansion, and its elevator’s smell reminded my dad of Quiapo Underpass, which apparently smelled worse.

The worst part was when we had to go check in. My dad and I were waiting on the twelfth floor with our luggage whilst my mom and Tristan went upstairs on the thirteenth floor to check in.

It was quiet, other than the constant beeps of the elevator that had stopped working on that floor. The door would not close, and it would not operate at all. There were barely any windows in that corridor, so I felt thoroughly spooked.

Then, my dad told me that he was going to

check up on my mom and brother upstairs, leaving me by myself with the luggage. I firmly said that he had to stay with me, because otherwise there would be literally no one else but me there.

When my beloved mom and brother who were taking way too long finally returned, we eventually reached our room.

Except, not really.

The card did not work, so the receptionist took us up to the thirteenth floor to get us another room.

Fortunately, we took the stairs so we did not have to enter the smelly elevator again.

When we finally got into the room, I was surprised to see how cramped it was. It’s difficult to put into words how cramped it was, so you will just have to take my word for it.

But, there were beds, so I was more than relieved to finally let my dumb, skinny legs rest.

The next two or something days were just us walking around, I, for the life of me, cannot remember those two days, so I will not bother writing about them.

Me: Really dad?

Tristan: I don't believe you mom!

In my opinion, the highlight of the trip was our visit to Ocean Park. It had its share of thrilling rides and decent food.

The first ride we took was immediately the biggest one, called the Hair Raiser. It was one of the more intense rollercoasters, which had loops.

Fortunately for us, the first time we waited in line was pretty quick. It was one of those rides that you had to take off your glasses for.

Somehow, through sheer coincidence, I bumped into a friend from school. I decided that we headed to the bumper cars, and whilst my family and I were idly waiting in line, I spotted him, waiting in a car for it to start.

I found it a humorous coincidence, and the surprise on his face when I called out to him was hilarious.

About to ride "The Flash" with Asher...

Afterwards, when we had finished the ride too, my friend and I met up at what I would call the best ride in all of Ocean Park.

The Flash was a ride that would bring you up and down like the Viking ship rides at most amusement parks, except it was twice as tall and several times as fast.

The Flash would swing like a pendulum, slowly reaching higher heights until it would cover all 360 degrees.

It was an exhilarating ride.

Other memorable rides were The Abyss, where it would lift you up, and then drop you.

Unlike my parents and brother, I was too tired to ride it a second time.

Though this was not a ride, Ocean Park had a mesmerising shark tank, full of marine creatures and the like. It was, for the lack of a better word, really cool.

The tank had two levels of viewing areas and the room itself had a cave-like feel to it.

On the higher level, the surface was exposed, and occasionally, you could see the fin of the shark poking out.

I recall there being this incredibly ugly fish. It was gigantic, as in, bigger than my whole torso.

 On the lower level, you could see the marine creatures through the side view. Most of the sharks were just lazing around near the bottom, so this is you can see them the most.

There was one shark where the teeth were all exposed, and its eye seemed to be bulging out, staring at the people who looked at it through the glass.

Like most fish, it did not blink, ramping up its creepy factor to a whole ‘nother level.

As the shark swam across the tank, I walked beside it on the other side of the glass across the corridor.

The shark was fun to observe with its frightening appearance.

The aquarium had those educational boards that most aquariums had, which were also interesting to read.

Afterwards, we walked around, trying out the other attractions and just enjoying ourselves in the park, though nothing to distinct to write about.

And soon afterwards, the day concluded, and we had to head back to the guesthouse.