City Lights and Bright Skies: October 2016

Travel Tales: Hong Kong - Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

We visited Hong Kong last June, and as Disney babies, there was no way that my family and I weren't going to Disneyland.

Disneyland Resort Line

We arrived in Hong Kong at night, and headed to Disneyland first thing in the morning. Luckily, our accommodations were in the Lan Kwai Fong area so we were within walking distance of the MTR Central and MTR Hong Kong stations. We got off at Sunny Bay station and transferred to the Disneyland Resort Line. The trains to Disneyland are, as you would expect, Disney-themed.

A Donald Duck statuette in between the comfy seats.

The rings you hold onto are Mickey Mouse-shaped.

The ride was actually longer than I expected, 12 minutes, I think. You can see the estimated time of arrival while you're on the train. We arrived about an hour early since we wanted to get there before the crowds did.

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Entrance

Welcome to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort!

While waiting for the Resort to open, we took some pictures next to this gorgeous fountain.

Before the guests were allowed inside, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse greeted the guests from inside the park.

This lucky kid, his sister, and his parents got to enter Disneyland early and got their picture taken with Mickey and Minnie.

Attractions and Entertainment

This is Sleeping Beauty Castle.

My husband, my son and I are all Star Wars fans so we were thrilled when we found out that the Star Wars attractions would be open already during the travel dates we had planned. When the Park opened, we made a beeline for Tomorrowland. My son was asleep at this point, so I persuaded my husband to go ahead and ride Hyperspace Mountain, where he took the picture below.

We spent an hour or so in Tomorrowland: looking inside the souvenir store, STAR WARS: Command Post (where my husband and son had their picture taken with Chewbacca), and visiting the snack stands.

In between exploring the different locations, we made sure to make some time to see some of the shows. First stop was Festival of the Lion King. Best show we saw that day, which is saying something since all the shows were excellent. These aren't cut-rate productions. You can certainly see where the money you paid for your ticket went.

Scar was my favorite. His voice is so good, and his acting is top-notch... which is probably why my son was a little scared of him. Haha.

It was a good thing the rain was just a drizzle, so the afternoon parade pushed through.

Another show we saw, right after the parade, was Mickey and the Wondrous Book. My son liked this one a lot, because Mickey and Olaf were part of the show. I liked it a lot too, but I was disappointed that Mulan didn't have a singing part.

We were also able to ride the "it's a small world" ride. I thought this ride would be boring, so initially I didn't want to go, but I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Time to go!

Tips:

Before you head to Disneyland, make sure to visit their website to see the list of attractions and shows that are available. If you can, try to schedule your day in a way that allows you to see all of the shows at least once. Admission is free (part of the ticket price already). My must-sees: Festival of the Lion King, Mickey and the Wondrous Book. and Mickey's PhilharMagic.
Bring an umbrella/raincoat, if you can.
Bring a water bottle/container so you don't have to keep buying something to drink when you get thirsty. There are plenty of water fountains at the park.
Be on the lookout for staff members who hand out stickers to kids. Free souvenirs!
If you see a line for a photo op with a Disney character, line up immediately, even if the line is long. They don't stay for very long, and attendants won't let you fall in line anymore after the cut-off time.

Have you been to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort or are you planning on going there? If you'd like to ask me questions about our Hong Kong visit, feel free to comment on this post and I'll do my best to answer.

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My Landers Experience + 9 Things That Caught My Eye

Food

I actually learned about Landers awhile ago, prior to its Balintawak opening, I think, but wasn't able to go until the weekend of Landers Otis' opening.

Landers Otis

Landers Otis was a little smaller than I expected, and it didn't have some of the things I spotted (and liked) in some of the Landers Balintawak blog posts I saw. However, my experience was quite positive. Pretty much all of the items we bought at a regular supermarket were cheaper at Landers. For example, the 10 kilogram bag of the rice brand we use is cheaper by P23 at Landers. Galunggong was also cheaper by P79.25 per kilo (!). The quality of the fish was excellent too.

Landers Balintawak

Because of the positive experience we had, we decided to visit Landers Balintawak the next time we had the opportunity. Our first stop was the Membership area. We got a Day Pass/Temporary Card at Otis because there were quite a few people ahead of us in line and getting a permanent card right away might take time. We had already filled up the membership form back at Otis, so at Balintawak, all we had to do was present our temporary cards and a valid ID, then wait to be called so we could have our picture taken. The process was quite quick and I think we got our cards in five minutes.

Landers Balintawak is much bigger than Landers Otis, but the layout is more or less the same.

9 Things That Caught My Eye

THOMAS AND FRIENDS MINI SHORTBREAD COOKIES

To be honest, it was actually my son who spotted this. I was looking at something else when he started pointing and saying "Ooh, train! Train!" He loves cars, trains, and the like, so it's no surprise he liked this one. Thankfully, unlike some character-branded products, this one actually seems to be tasty. My son ate a lot when he first tried it, and he still hasn't grown tired of it.
FROSTED A&W ROOT BEER POP TARTS

It's been years since I've eaten a pop tart, but I do have fond memories of it. Same with A&W Root Beer. This should be an interesting combination.
4C HALF & HALF ICED TEA AND LEMONADE

I liked this mostly because it combined two of my favorite drinks: iced tea and lemonade. I have no idea if it will actually taste good.
THE HONEST COMPANY ORGANIC HEALING BALM

This would have been great to have around the time when my kid was still a baby. He had sensitive skin and this would have been perfect for the times when his skin would get irritated.
BE SMART, GET PREPARED FIRST AID KIT

I know there are plenty of cheaper first aid kits out on the market, but I loved the look of the container and the fact that it glows in the dark.
DINO BUDDIES CHICKEN BREAST NUGGETS

My son likes dinosaurs too, and since it's all-natural, it seems like a good alternative snack or meal for him. I ended up not buying this, though, because it's a huge box and it's fairly expensive. It would have been nice if there had been a smaller box available so I can see first if my son will like its taste.
KID CUISINE

My son wanted this one when he saw it. It's a good thing I only bought two because he ended up not liking it. I ended up eating it. It's actually not that bad. The fries are a bit starchy, but I liked the corn dog. The corn was on the watery side but otherwise, fine. As for the brownie, it was a little sweeter than I like, but it was dense, which was nice.
THE ORIGINAL POPPERS BRAND CREAM CHEESE JALAPENOS

I like spicy things and cream cheese, so of course I want this.
KEY LIME CHEESECAKE

I love key lime cheesecake! The price is a bit too steep for me, though, considering the size of the cheesecake.