Saturday, January 6, 2018

Welcoming 2018 at Hong Kong Disneyland


We were at Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) to welcome 2018. 

It has been five (5) years since our last visit. My 13 year old is now half inch taller than I am and my 9 year old is likewise growing as fast.  

Since we have been to HK numerous times before (Check here to read about our trip to HK in 2012), our HK year-ender was spent primarily touring the park.



Our before and after picture at HKDL (5 years apart).



Without toddlers (i.e., no whining and no piggy-backing) this HKDL travel was actually more enjoyable.  






DAY 1 (December 31)
  • Arrival / Shopping at City Gate Outlet Mall (the closest to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, where we are staying).  
We took the Philippine Airlines 8am flight and arrived at HK Airport at about 10am. 

After deplaning, we made our way out of immigrations and picked up our pre-rented pocket Wifi via Klook.  I have been using this attractions/tours booking site for sometime now (used it in Singapore, Macau and Japan tours) and find it quite efficient.



Click here for Klook booking discount for first time users: Klook Discount Code

We quickly headed to the taxi stand and took the Blue Taxi to HKDL Resort.  Taxi fare costs us about HKD150 (for 4 pax with 2 luggage).

We arrived at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel about 20 minutes after. We were assisted to the 7th Floor Kingdom Club Lounge  and warmly greeted by the lounge casts (as they call all personnel in the resort).

We were given our lounge card access, detailed time table of the shows, explained the resort amenities and our complimentary Fast Passes (FP).

We were also given 12 FPs for 4 per pass and 1 Priority Pass to the Mickey's Wondrous Book Show. These FPs proved helpful in making us enjoy the park even more (Read as: No Queuing).  Please check my separate post on our Kingdom Club experience.



We left our bags and headed to the MTR Disneyland Resort Station to do some shopping at the City Gate Outlet Mall, which is located in Tung Chung Station, which is two (2) stops away. We got roundtrip MTR tickets to save us queuing time.


HK ~ where riding an MTR is actually fun


It was way pass lunch time when we arrived at the City Gate Outlet Mall. Lunch was at Korean BBQ Time located at the Fu Tung Plaza next to City Gate Mall (we decided to transfer to Fu Tung as all the restaurant at City Gate Mall were full).

We ordered deep fried chicken, Korean seafood pancake and Pork and Beef BBQ set.  Everything we ordered were spot on (It was good to know I will not die of hunger when visit Incheon mid this year).




Our plan was to check the mall for shoes.  City Gate Outlet Mall carries our preferred brands: Nike, Adidas and Sketchers.  Shoes were on sale up to 70% off and if you are not too choosy of the model these are really good deals.  Be warned, however as the mall was quite crowded and the payment counter were quite long and busy.

My 13 year old was quite specific to the Nike shoes model he wanted and decided not to buy any.  Me and my youngest, however, got ourselves Sketcher shoes.  I paid HKD850 for 2 Sketcher shoes.

My son loved his Sketcher's Light Up Shoes ~ and wore them soon after paying.

We were back at Disneyland at around 5pm, with enough time to freshen up for the New Year's countdown later.

Our room for 3 nights (Hongkong Disneyland Hotel) ~ Unlimited snacks and beverage access at the Kingdom Club Lounge and a room with a balcony view Discovery Bay (#LoveLife)


Somebody is excited to welcome 2018.


HK Disneyland New Year's noise makers.  So ready for the Countdown Party.



HK Disneyland Hotel is Victorian Themed, similar to the other Disneyland Hotels (Tokyo Disneyland Hotel Review)


Do you notice the intricate details on the room décor?





This cute toiletry kit made its way to my bag.





HK Disneyland Resort hosted a New Year countdown event at the hotel lobby.  It was fun and exciting seeing Disney All Stars (Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale, etc) perform while waiting for the clock to strike 12.



Countdown to 2018 with Chip and Dale





Unfortunate my kiddo's power were not enough to keep them up to see the countdown.  The early Manila-Hongkong flight earlier was too much for them (Oh well).




DAY 2 - 3 (January 1 and 2) - DISNEYLAND PARK
  • Disney Park (we bought the 2 days ticket) also via Klook.  The vouchers were changed to Disneyland tickets on first entry at the turnstile. No need to queue differently to have them exchanged.
Please follow our Day 2 and 3  ~ Disneyland Park Post  

DAY 4 - DEPARTURE
  • Departure back to Manila.  We left the hotel at 1030 for a 120pm flight.  Yes, extra time for shopping for "pasalubong". A down side staying inside the resort is the lack of affordable shopping.

Check below link to our 2012 HK trip, in case you wish to read about HK Travel Tips with Kids in Tow >>>  Hong Kong with Children in 5D/4N .




13 comments:

  1. We were at HK Disney last Christmas 2016. How I wished to stay at Disney hotel, pero budget wise, we chose cheaper hotel near MTR. Spending the holiday there was truly memorable. Sana makabalik din kami when the kids are older. By the way, we also use klook for our tickets. Very convenient!

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    1. Klook is so convenient and easy to use. And not to mention cheaper than buying the tickets onsite.

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  2. This reminds me na 2012 din yung first and last trip namin in HK. I hope we can go back and tried this Hotel, we stayed in Disney's Hollywood Hotel before. We visited City Gate Outlet before and matao nga.

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    1. We did the Disney Hollywood Hotel the last time we were at HK too. We were actually torn between Hongkong Disneyland Hotel and Explorers Lodge (the newest HKDL resort which opened just recently).

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  3. The DL countdown seems so exciting. I'm actually looking forward to taking the kids there soon. We like the idea of spending New Year's Eve outside Manila where we can just be family.

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  4. Wow, I love the idea of welcoming the new year at Hongkong Disneyland. I'd love to go to Disneyland but patiently waiting for my daughter to grew up, she's just turning 3 now and she might not really appreciate it. Will bookmarked your itinerary for upcoming HK Disneyland trip. I love their room, waa nakakainlove!

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  5. Too bad your kiddos missed the countdown. It would've been fun to experience it in Disneyland. Hope we get to do that with our kids too soon.

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  6. The last time I went to HK Disneyland, wala pa akong kids. Hehe. We plan to go by next year since my kids are getting bigger plus my eldest is bugging me na because her classmates went there. LOL

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  7. Hello Ate Joy, Benpol here. Im going to take Zyra to HK Disneyland this June and we are now planning our itinerary. I'm getting good pointers from your blog and I'm so excited for Zyra..

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    1. Wow, I am excited for you and your family too. I hope you get good tips from our HK trip. Punta din kayo sa Ocean Park. There are so many kids friendly attractions to go to in HK.

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  9. Hindi ko pa nadadala kids ko sa Disneyland and I'm planning to, sana next year. Thank you for the tips and for the photos. Ang ganda ng hotel. I might opt for a more affordable place to stay though. :)

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  10. I didnt enjoy much our stay in Hong KOng because I was so heavy with a child then. I wasnt able to join my boys in any ride except for the train to tour Disneyland Hong KOng. We stayed in Hollywood Hotel and it was a pleasant stay. Hope to be back in Hong KOng and this time, enjoy.

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