Higher than High in Hong Kong

Tourists and locals alike say if you were to visit Hong Kong and only had one attraction to visit, go to the Victoria Peak. Visitors having a stopover in HK do not even have an excuse not to visit this site as the airport is connected to the central station where one may catch the Peak Tram going to The Peak. Luckily our short trip to HK did not limit us to one attraction as we stayed in three different hotels in different locations letting us experience, Disneyland, Lantau, and Causeway Bay in a short period of time. Our one day stay at Causeway Bay was surprisingly very productive as we got to dine in two Michelin starred restaurants, shop a bit, ride the ding ding tram, and visit the breathtaking Victoria Peak.

We're higher than high, having stood 428 meters above sea level at the Sky Terrace in the beautiful Victoria Peak

DAY 1

We arrived HKIA a little before 7pm and headed straight to Disneyland Hollywood Hotel via taxi (paid around HK$ 120 or Php800) although the MTR was as accessible as the taxi, fare is much higher at HK$60 per adult and child at around HK$ 20-40. Iñigo was asleep during the ride but woke up upon arrival at the hotel. He was mesmerized by all the Mickey Mouse logos he was seeing, the brass statue of Mickey, the Mickey Mouse show on the TV at the lobby, and the talking elevator featuring who else but Mickey and his friends. We stayed in the Garden View room (number 8691). There were two beds which they referred to as single but looked like two queen beds to me. The sheets were very clean and soft. I loved the smell of the whole hotel which we noticed as soon as we stepped in at the lobby. They had a tub which I and the little one enjoyed. The room had subtle Mickey Mouse touches including a brass painting on top of the beds.

All smiles at the hotel room

For dinner we shared a bowl of Ramen and a sandwich. Also had three beers. Total price paid: around HK$ 300 or Php 1500-2000 

We had dinner at Hollywood and Dine and had a quick tour of the hotel grounds. We saw the pool which was full at that time of the night (around 9pm). Iñigo played a quick game of Space Hockey at the Malibu Games and didn't want to leave anymore. We went back to the room so late and he still didn't want to sleep in his own bed. I had to tuck him in with us since it was also way too cold.

Loved the soft sheets at Hollywood Hotel

DAY 2

We woke up to the greenest view I have ever seen. The lush trees in Hollywood Hotel were so refreshing to look at. Our itinerary that day included a swim in the piano pool and character dining at Chef Mickeys.

Morning dip at the Piano Pool, Hollywood Hotel

Picture taking with Chef Mickey

It was also our first day at the Park. Here we are about to enter Disneyland:

We brought everything we needed for the day: water, snacks, change of clothes, umbrella, stroller, and a happy disposition.

Contrary to popular belief, HK Disneyland is not a one-day park, especially if you are Disney-enthusiasts. Some of the attractions like Mystic Manor, Festival of the Lion King, and PhilHar Magic are comparable to the shows in other bigger and more celebrated Disney Parks in the world. If you want to experience all of the attractions in HK Disneyland, you must plan your visit well. Since Iñigo is only 95cm tall, we opted not to ride the Mine Cars and Space Mountain anymore, although I read these two were the best ones. We also avoided most of the characters as we saw them in the Flights of the Fantasy Parade anyway. Falling in line for the characters would easily take away a full hour to our visit. Park hours were very short from 1030am-8pm.

We visited Toy Story Land first. It was so hot.

Walking to Toy Story Land, you will easily spot familiar toys and characters from the movie. Since everything were so big, it looks as if the people are smaller than the actual toys.

Toys were brought to life at Toy Story Land. Some of them like the walkie-talkies even talked. It's among our top favorites in HK Disney.

After watching PhilHar Magic, waiting for his stroller.

Have you seen the stroller parking at HK Disneyland?

We passed by Winnie the Pooh ride to get a fastpass but were informed they have run out for the day. We toured their gift shop instead.

Since it was almost time for the Fantasy Parade, we walked around Main Street to have a snack and look for a nice spot to watch the parade.

We did not have waffles from this stall, we brought our own from the breakfast buffet. Harhar. We also had some egg tarts and Jell-o from Maxim's Bakeshop inside the park.

Before the crowd piled up at Main Street for the Flights of Fantasy Parade.

Here are more pictures from the parade:

Our view while waiting...Not a bad spot

Filipino musicians at Disneyland were aplenty

The first float...Dumbo!

Very festive atmosphere during the parade

Bouncing Tiggers

The Princesses

J-E-S-S-I-E

Woody went to us to give Iñigo a hug but I got too excited to capture the moment.

The space ranger on his float

I think this was when the parade hasn't started yet, hence Iñigo's bored face.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thank You for Fathers!

It's almost the weekend. We are running low on food supply. There's a last batch of fruits in the refrigerator that we can juice, some slices of wheat bread, and frozen cold cuts. I try to finish up on work from last night and haven't slept. The caffeine from the coffee I drank early that morning is beginning to fade. I'm sleepy and hungry. Inigo comes to me and asks me to play with him. The room is a mess as usual. Toys and books on the floor. Small pieces of playdough are all over our bed. It's sunny outside and we hear the gate open. The Daddy has arrived. He comes up to say "Hi" and goes out again. He comes back inside the room with this:

Turkey pastrami sandwich, freshly juiced watermelon with basil, feta cheese on crackers

Thank you for fathers!