A (2019) HalloXmas trip to Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo! - COMPLETED 5/1!!!

[missjackiemcg]

I realized I was standing near the walkway they would take to leave so I hurried over there to get some candid shots!

Awesome to get a close up look at the bad guys on their way out I love when I just happen to be in the right spot!

The short park hours were a shame, though it was appreciated to be able to rest a tiny bit!

I found myself feeling like that when we visited WDW in July. I thought I'd be so disappointed with the shorter hours, but we hardly waited, so we got so much done (and so many steps still!) in a day that we enjoyed heading back and having time to relax instead of passing out!

I went to catch a bus back to the hotel and this is going to blow your mind....flip down seats in the bus queues! So helpful after being on your feet all day!

Ok, I seriously have no shame plopping right down on the ground when I'm waiting for the bus, but this would be a welcome addition at WDW for sure!

 

[KEK1]

Looks like fun!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I rarely comment, but Great Job!
Really enjoying this report.

Thanks! I'm sorry it's taking so long to post everything - it takes a while to write it up and go thru photos/videos to put it all into place!

They definitely are trying to replicate the success of the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular from WDW with shows like this. It's too bad the Sanderson Sisters aren't as popular around the world as they are in the United States, but I love how they do things like use an Iago puppet. That's cool. Definitely looks like a lot of fun.

That fountain is so pretty. I definitely would find myself watching it for awhile.

OMG, SEATS IN LINE?! We would love to see it at WDW especially.

Yeah, I definitely haven't seen any Hocus Pocus outside the US! I know Tokyo has done seasonal nighttime castle shows which get great reviews in the past.

I did like the fountain and I think it fit well with HKDL being right on the water!

and those seats - awesome! If I ever meet Josh D'Amaro in person again, I need to remember to suggest it to him to add to WDW! I know he was out in HKDL for a while so he would know what I was talking about and it wouldn't be too hard, but would improve guest satisfaction a lot!

Awesome vantage point!

Good practice for your next WDW trip

Omg, awesome! How much would we love these here??!!

Yeah, it was cool to see them! I don't mind shorter hours when it comes with a corresponding low crowds and low wait times!

Why didn't WDW think of that???? And why haven't they installed them yet!!! Genius!!!!

I know! I mentioned to Timmy that Josh D'Amaro used to be the head of HKDL so maybe eventually he will get around to adding them to WDW!

Wow, love the flip down seats, can we make those a thing literally everywhere?

Also it's kind of insane how much you were able to get done in one day!! It seems like if you were doing a trip to Hong Kong not specifically for Disney it would be easy to knock out this park in one day and still get to experience the best parts of it.

Excited to see how the next day goes!

You could definitely do it as a 1-day add-on to a Hong Kong visit. I still liked having multiple days because I could take my time, but you could easily hit most things. And it was pretty easy public transport from the downtown area, so you wouldn't even need to change hotels!

Catching up! The Halloween decorations in HKDL look so cute, and I'm loving how much they use the Villains. Seats at the bus stop have BLOWN MY MIND--we need this concept to come to the U.S. parks immediately!

Oh wait until you see some of the best decorations in the park - I forgot to go there on the first day, but you won't miss it on the next day!

What a great night! Those bus line seats are GENIUS!

I know!

Awesome to get a close up look at the bad guys on their way out I love when I just happen to be in the right spot!


I found myself feeling like that when we visited WDW in July. I thought I'd be so disappointed with the shorter hours, but we hardly waited, so we got so much done (and so many steps still!) in a day that we enjoyed heading back and having time to relax instead of passing out!


Ok, I seriously have no shame plopping right down on the ground when I'm waiting for the bus, but this would be a welcome addition at WDW for sure!

Yup, right place, right time!

And I agree it seems like the way WDW was right after reopening! I just hope they make sure to scale up quickly once crowds start returning!

And neither do I, lol!

Looks like fun!

Yup! It was!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 6 –
October 25, 2019

Part 1 – Breakfast and a hotel tour

For breakfast today I just headed down to Chart Room Café and picked up “Congee of the Day with Steamed BBQ Pork Buns”. I knew I was getting the buns with dim sum the next day, but really wanted to try them!

The buns were very yummy! Though I did confirm I’m not the biggest Congee fan, which is basically rice porridge. Maybe I should have added more sugar or toppings?

I had plenty of time before the park opened so did a bit of a Hotel Tour. (Like the gardens, some of these photos are from others points in the trip, but I consolidated them into this one post.)

First the Lobby – I really did like the openness! It’s not quite AKL or Wilderness Lodge level, but it works! This is the view looking towards the entrance.

The check-in desk had an awesome backdrop showing all the areas that inspired the wings of the building. (Sorry – it was hard to get the full thing in a photo since it was so big!)

And some fun Halloween details in the flower arrangement

Only recently before I got there, HKDL had turned the backroom (Dreamer’s Lookout) from a lounge into a chocolate shop! I wish I had picked some of these treats up! Next time! (I think they also had limited hours so weren’t open in the mornings.)

Miscellaneous lobby decorations

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[Lesley Wake]

In the lobby there were 4 suitcases, for Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald! And they had so many little details it was so cute!

The hallways – each wing had a slightly different wallpaper and carpet color, as well as different light shades, which I totally loved!

Cute elevator signs

Coming up - Rope Dropping HKDL​

 

[dolewhipdreams]

First of all, my apologies for the insane amount of notifications you just got from me.

Second of all, I'm FINALLY caught up! My firewall at work blocks out your photos so I can't read them at work which is when I (ahem) check the Dis hahaha

Really liked the look of the specialty dessert offerings!

OMG these desserts are beautiful. I want one of each.

(and Donald’s butt)

Goodbye, Donald's butt.

So…American Chocolate Cake?

Hmmm...what an interesting interpretations.

There was a meal served.

Wow that actually looks really good!

And food options here were awesome! Ice cream, donuts, steamed buns, plus savories!

YUM YUM YUM

But my actual destination was the Hello Kitty gate! I unfortunately wasn’t flying out of it, but I did want to see it!

Well if that's not the cutest gate I've ever seen

And arrival at my home for the next 3 nights – the Explorer’s Lodge!

This is where we were going to stay

Really pretty and I wish I had added in a rest day here just to use the pool!

Gorgeous! And so detailed!

I made sure to bring Gelatoni, because I heard what they did for the friends of Duffy… Oh so cute!

Oh my goodness, that's precious

Apparently there also was some pasta dish somewhere, because I ended up with pasta and tomato sauce.

Wow so strange to see Mickey waffles and pasta in the same meal

A really gorgeous hotel that it would be awesome to explore more of!

Truly, it looks incredible

saying hi to Carl on my way!

Carl!!

I heard some people come out at it turned out to be time for the Grizzly Gulch Welcome Wagon!

Well this show looks incredible

I would have liked to meet Oogie Boogie, as I think that is the only place he actually meets, but I think they randomly rotated so I couldn’t guarantee meeting him.

It would be so cool to meet Oogie Boogie!

Overall a cute parade. It probably needs a few more parade units to be really great. But it works with the park right now.

Loved all the characters that don't get much parade love

Clopin’s Festival of Foods – a quick service which unfortunately was not open while I was there.

A Hunchback themed restaurant??? I would be in heaven

After lunch I headed to the Fairy Tale Forest. Basically Storybook Land Canal Boats, but a walk-through!

Huh, interesting concept! I love all the photo frame shots of the castles

Honestly this show was one of the coolest things I’ve seen! Just so many unexpected elements and so much talent! I knew I’d be seeing it again!

Uhhh this may be the coolest looking show ever.

And another snack HKDL offers are these squid things. Basically its grilled, pressed squid that they roll up.

Like, an actual squid?? Just steam rolled??

Of course I’m not exactly an expert photographer, so just know I tried my best!

I was actually thinking your photos look so good! You definitely got the hang of your new camera!

I went to catch a bus back to the hotel and this is going to blow your mind....flip down seats in the bus queues!

Mind. Blown. This needs to exist everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

 

[buzzrelly]

First the Lobby – I really did like the openness! It’s not quite AKL or Wilderness Lodge level, but it works! This is the view looking towards the entrance.

Totally getting AKL vibes!

In the lobby there were 4 suitcases, for Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald! And they had so many little details it was so cute!

How adorable

 

[disneyAndi14]

Love all the detail, totally think of AKL and WL. The steamed buns are so cute! I’m glad you liked it.
The park is so quiet, is that normal?

 

[KEK1]

Gorgeous lobby! Did you get to the HKDL one ?

 

[vamassey1]

Lobby photos are fabulous. It's making me even more excited for our AKV stay in October. The traveling trunks are so detailed and tailored to each character.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Oh, my goodness, those trunks and all their details are really so incredible!! I love that Mickey has his Duffy packed along for the trip

Also, it is pretty hilarious that they make the pork buns in the shape of a pig, LOL

 

[Rowlf the Dog]

OMG, we desperately need these seats in bus queues in Orlando!!
Your hotel looks gorgeous on your photos, I would love to stay there... argh my dreamed all-Disney-parks-in the world-roundtrip is going to be very expensive

 

[Lesley Wake]

First of all, my apologies for the insane amount of notifications you just got from me.

Haha, no worries - I actually turned off most notifications for any 'likes' or things like that a while ago!

Well if that's not the cutest gate I've ever seen

I know! I wish I could have flown the Hello Kitty aircraft. I think Shanghai Disney has some partnerships with airlines and they've done a Duffy aircraft for special promotions!

This is where we were going to stay

You'll get to stay there eventually!

Wow so strange to see Mickey waffles and pasta in the same meal

Yeah, but it works for me!

It would be so cool to meet Oogie Boogie!

I know! I wish he met at the US parks too!

Uhhh this may be the coolest looking show ever.

It really was!

Like, an actual squid?? Just steam rolled??

Yup! Asian food can be really really weird!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Totally getting AKL vibes!




How adorable

I loved the suitcases and what was great is the path to get to my room passed right in front of them so I got to admire them every day!

Love all the detail, totally think of AKL and WL. The steamed buns are so cute! I’m glad you liked it.
The park is so quiet, is that normal?

So the park is usually not too crowded. I think it's very rare to get wait times exceeding 30 minutes. But because I went on weekdays, in "off-season", and with the protests reducing tourism, it was extra empty!

Gorgeous lobby! Did you get to the HKDL one ?

I did - on my last morning I stopped over there for food and photos!

Lobby photos are fabulous. It's making me even more excited for our AKV stay in October. The traveling trunks are so detailed and tailored to each character.

Oh you will love AKL! My home resort, where I will be staying 2x next year!

Oh, my goodness, those trunks and all their details are really so incredible!! I love that Mickey has his Duffy packed along for the trip

Also, it is pretty hilarious that they make the pork buns in the shape of a pig, LOL

Yeah the pork buns were so cute! And when I got dim sum they actually came in sets of 3 for the 3 little pigs!

OMG, we desperately need these seats in bus queues in Orlando!!
Your hotel looks gorgeous on your photos, I would love to stay there... argh my dreamed all-Disney-parks-in the world-roundtrip is going to be very expensive

It probably won't be as expensive as you'd think! I can't remember how much I paid, but I know it was on par with moderates in WDW.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 2 – Escorted up main street

I headed to the park pretty early (well, it was around 9:30, which was still 1 hr before park open)

I think I was one of the first people in line at the turnstile, so I just chilled waiting for the gates to open!

Like Disneyland (CA), they do have a “family of the day” and picked one with someone who had an awesome Malificient outfit! You can sort of see them in the following photos. I had noticed the day before Mickey and Minnie come out to Welcome everyone to the park! So I made sure to actually get photos this time!

We were quickly let in the park. There are some character meets in the “Town square” area, including Mickey and Minnie, who do get relatively long lines. I saw plenty of people running over there, so I didn’t bother fighting people to get a photo!

Instead, I sort of wandered up main street and was the first person. So, who should come out to greet me, but Gelatoni! He was so excited to have people coming to visit so he ended up grabbing my hand and escorting me up to his character meet! It was super cute too, I think I warned him not to eat too much candy because it could make him sick! And he showed off his ghost impression!

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

We still had time before the rides opened up, so I did some random window shopping. I didn’t get anything though.

The Duffy and Friends costumes were so cute! I ended up getting keychain versions of them all, though Dino Gelatoni had sold out so I had to ebay that one!

Some shirt options. I honestly would have liked some of these, but I just felt overwhelmed by the options and was worried about luggage space!

Had to check out the castle, despite the crane in the way!

And I LOVED the Pardon our Pixie Dust signs for all the different princesses featured on the castle! I unfortunately missed 2 of them… can you guess which ones?

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

(I originally wrote this as a separate installment but can post now, I just don't want to renumber all my "parts", lol!)

Part 3 – Jungle Cruise

I decided to “rope drop” Jungle Cruise this morning. (Though I did drag my feet as I saw an annoying tour group walking into the English line, so I waited until I could ensure I wasn’t on their tour boat; I did peek over and it looks like the CMs were using paper and pens to track the boat languages, sending out 2 English boats for every 1 of the other boats!) And this time I made sure to take photos!

Of course every version of Jungle Cruise needs a bathing Bertha! (I really will be disappointed if they don’t include this shot in the Jungle Cruise movie)

Up the river we go!

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

Let’s rock the campsite!

Onto the savanna, though it looked pretty much like a jungle to me!

Dangerous hippos!

Gotta have these guys!

Watch out for headhunters!

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

And the amazing grand finale! You basically start going down one path before a massive geyser explodes, forcing you the other way, which turns out to have some cursed stones, including fire and fog!

This little guy tried to spray us near the exit!

Still love this one!

Coming up - hitting my favorites again! ​

 

[KEK1]

Wow. That was a really great tour of the Jungle Cruise!