Disneyland opens at 10am, so we had plenty of time for our breakfast at the Intercontinental. And it’s a great breakfast. I liked the thick slices of smoked salmon, and Jess was impressed by the large size Yakult.
We caught the MTR to Disneyland and arrived about 10:30. Walking down “Main Street” builds the hype. Tomorrowland was our first stop. Antman and Wasp was our first ride – travel along in cars and shoot targets with lasers. It was ok, but forgettable.
Next was a 40 minute wait for the next “ride”. We went into each thing completely blind, not knowing at all anything about the ride. This 40 minute wait was the longest in the park, so we thought it must be amazing. It turned out to be a photo op with Iron Man himself. Meh.
Following that was a quick queue for a 3D motion master ride where you ride a special vehicle around Hong Kong blasting monsters and ducking and diving through the air. It was pretty convincing and Jess and Mina’s favourite of the day.
Also in Tomorrowland was Star Wars, so we queued for a ride that had signs warning you that it was like riding a roller-coaster in the dark. It wasn’t like it at all, because it was a roller coaster in the dark! Essentially it simulated a Star Wars battle where you’d duck and dive around lasers and battle cruisers. You’d fly at a projection the the coaster would fling you up, down or sideways at the last second. It was pretty thrilling, and my favourite of the day.
We had a quick visit for a photo op with R2D2, then off to Fantasyland, and the classic ride “It’s a Small World”. This was followed by the second classic – the Teacups.
After the Teacups was a parade, the off to Adventureland and the Jungle River Cruise, which is only slightly racist.
We climbed the Tarzan treehouse on the island in the centre of the river, and by this time the heat was getting to me. Time to cool off in the air-conditioned shops.
We walked straight through the lamest land – Toy Story Land. The rides were like what you’d get at any park, and the whole place seemed lacking. Past this was Mystic Manor, which was a very effective ride-on magnetic vehicles that operated independently to take you through various mystic rooms with various effects.
Then it was on to the Grizzly Mountain Runaway cars. A bit of the surprise was spoiled as you could see the coaster on the way in – and the fact it was travelling backwards. This coaster was easily my second favourite ride in the park. It progressed like a normal coaster at first with tight bends etc, then it climbed a hill and “broke free” letting you fall backwards along the way you came. At some point there was dynamite involved that flung you forward again with some good G-force.
Mickey’s Philharmagic was next. I was a bit dubious about this one going in, but it turned out to be a 3D movie with a twist. In the movie when food was cooked you could smell it, when wind was blown you could feel it it your face, when it rained you got water on your face.
We also attended a live action show Mickey and the Wonderous Book, which did a great job of mixing animation and live action. It could have done with steeper staggering of the audience though, as it was hard to see if you are short eg a child.
Finally we did the Cinderella Carousel. Pretty much standard stuff.
Then, as a finale, there was a parade of all the characters. By this time it was 8pm and dark, so all the parade was lit up in lights. It was very impressive.
By about 9pm the parade had finished so we took the MTR back to our hotel.
Finally we had supper in the lobby lounge about 10pm, overlooking the harbour. Intercontinental prices are stupid to say the least, but the tapas were exceptional value, and were probably the best I’ve ever had.
All up, a long day, but a very enjoyable one. Disneyland has a lot of hype to live up to, and by and large it does. Jess gave it a rating of eleven thousand out of ten, so that’s an endorsement.
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