Disneyland!

On Jan and Don's last day we went to Disneyland.  The kids have never been to a Disney park and Tom and I haven't been since we were kids (me to Disneyland in California and Tom to Disney World in Florida).  Disneyland in Hong Kong is much smaller than either park in the US, we figured it was the perfect introduction to Disney.  Due to some issues with weather and scheduling, we decided the best day to go was on a Thursday.  I figured at 4 and 6 it wasn't a huge deal for them to miss a day of school to go to Disneyland with their grandparents.  We told the kids at breakfast that morning that instead of going to school, they were going to Disneyland.  Needless to say, they were VERY excited.  We had to ride 4 trains to get there.  The last train is a special train that goes from the main line just to Disneyland.  The train had blue plush benches to sit on, windows and handles shaped like Mickey's head and Disney statues throughout.  When we arrived at our stop, the announcement told us to "Have a Magical Day."

Mickey shaped handles

So excited!

Disney train

Hong Kong Disneyland is also much cheaper than in the US.  We bought the annual pass that will allow us to go on weekdays (with blackout days on holidays and around Christmas and Chinese New Year) and several designated weekends throughout the year for less than $100 USD each (there are more expensive options).  If we go twice it pays for itself and we will definitely get our money's worth.  If you are 65 or over, it only costs around $13 USD to visit Disneyland for the day.

Sleeping Beauty's castle

With it being a school day, the park wasn't very crowded, but I had read online that even on busy days, people don't get there early (it opened at 10:30 and most people don't get there before noon--this is very common in Hong Kong.  Many stores don't open until noon and close around 10 or 11 PM).  Also, the blogs said that the people that do get there early either ride the first ride they see or get right in line to meet the characters.  We headed to Fantasyland in the back of the park and had virtually no lines.  The kids had a blast riding the Winnie the Pooh ride, Dumbo, Cinderella's Carousel, Mad Hatter Tea Cups, and It's a Small World.

 Even as the day went by, there were very few lines.  We waited almost 30 minutes to drive the space cars in Autopia (with the steering wheel on the right, of course), but every other line was 10 minutes or less and many rides we walked right onto.  The kids also liked the afternoon parade.

Tommy was so excited to drive.

The princess float in the parade

Charlotte asked several times when she was going to get to meet some princesses.  After a little while we saw Minnie Mouse and she wanted to wait in line.  I was surprised at how many adults without children were waiting to meet the characters.  Many had autograph books filled with signatures and carried plush Minnie and Mickeys with them.  The characters were dressed in costume for Halloween.  Charlotte was shy at first, but she eventually gave Minnie a hug.

Later, we saw Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel.  Charlotte met Sleeping Beauty first and was much braver with her.  I think it helped she could see her face.  Then she met Rapunzel.  Rapunzel was so cute with her.  She probably talked to her for 2-3 minutes, asking her where she was from, her favorite ride, and telling her she looked like her 2 friends Ariel and Merida with her "pretty red hair".  Then she asked Charlotte if they could be friends forever.  Charlotte was in heaven.  We didn't see any princesses after that, but I don't think anyone could have topped that.

BFFs

Tommy rode Space Mountain, but thought it was too scary being in the dark.  While Charlotte was meeting the princesses, he went over to Grizzly Gulch with Don and rode the Runaway Mine Cars roller coaster and loved it.  He ended up riding it 4 times (luckily there was no line).  Charlotte wasn't tall enough to ride it.  We rode a few more rides in Toy Story Land and it was time to go home.  The kids had school the next day, so we couldn't stay for the night parade and fireworks.  Hopefully, we will be able to do that soon.  It was definitely a magical day and the perfect end to Jan and Don's visit.