Saturday we surprised the kids when we hopped on the Disney Express
and headed over to Lantau Island to spend the day at Hong Kong Disney!
Although Hong Kong Disneyland only opens at 10am, they let people enter the gates and go down Main Street before it officially opens. But then they rope off the end of Main Street until 10am, keeping all of the visitors piled up waiting to get to the rides. Once the clock strikes 10, the rope is pulled away, and tons of Chinese visitors start running to the rides. We just stepped aside to avoid the rush.
Our first stop was Tomorrowland
where we rode on the Buzz Lightyear Ride, one of Asher’s favorite rides.
Afterwards, Aliya and Ben went on Space Mountain, while Asher and I zoomed around in rockets in the Astro Orbitor.
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Aliya was so proud that she made it on to Space Mountain, a ride too scary for her Mom!
Since no trip to Disneyland is complete without riding It’s a Small World, we made it our next stop. It is quite similar to the one in the US, except it has a more expanded section for Asia.
Then the kids thought it would be funny to get me sick by twirling the tea cups as fast as they could
After going to Mickey’s Philharmagic and making our way through Fantasyland, we quickly passed through Toy Storyland to get to the Mystic Manor ride (like the Haunted Mansion), which the kids did not like at all. I guess it was because they took out the ghost that magically appears in the car.
Next we headed for the Grizzly Gulch, where Aliya and Ben rode the Runaway Mine Car roller coaster
while Asher shot water
No wonder he was a “wanted kid”
And who is that girl behind the bars?!?!
We then went on the Jungle River Cruise in Adventureland. But I think Asher enjoyed the musical instruments more.
I really liked the Lion King Performance, which was in both English and Chinese.
Then it was finally lunch time. We ate at the Plaza Inn for some typical Disney cuisine – Dim Sum! My favorite was the mango pudding dessert in the shape of Mickey Mouse.
After lunch, we were walking back to the rides when Aliya spotted Belle. It was cute how Aliya’s eyes lit up when she saw the princess. It reminded me of when she was just 5 years old and LOVED princesses. 
We then found a good spot to watch the Flights of Fantasy Parade.
I loved the colorful costumes
We rode some more rides, like the Autopia, which we stood in line for about an hour!!! It was pretty much the only ride that we waited for more than 10 minutes, so we put up with it. Next, Asher and Ben went on the Carousel and Toy Soldier Parachute Drop, while Aliya and I went to the Golden Mickeys, which was completely in Chinese (fortunately there were some subtitles on the wall next to the stage).
Everyone was hungry after a day of fun activities, so we went for the typical Disney fare of Noodle Soup with Dumplings!
We went back to Space Mountain so that Aliya would have a good photo of it as a keepsake.
And then found a good spot to watch the Disney Paint the Night Parade
It was a magical, fun filled day!
