The HKDL Source

This Week in Hong Kong Disneyland

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The column you love to love is back and focusing on the two things we know you all want - trip reports and toilets. As Chinese New Year approaches, we have not one but three trip reports and even more photos of things around the park.

Update for February 4 to February 10 - News and Commentary

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News This Week: Chief Spy's Triple Trip Report | Toilet Treats

Never let it be said that a week off doesn't do you the world of good. Of course, we haven't actually taken any time off the site, as we've been busy uploading photos; posting the odd story and generally doing some behind the scenes stuff. Isn't "behind the scenes" a great phrase? It could mean anything from 'we are redoing the entire site with bumble bees' to 'we accidentally deleted the database and had to rebuild it from scratch'. Sadly for both our fans and detractors, neither of those things are true. Guess the phrase "life gets in the way" gives us a fair bit of leeway as well. Of course, sitting down to write a column for another week brings with it another set of problems: what the hell do we write about? Well, Chinese New Year is officially celebrated this week, so Happy New Year to all!

Chief Spy Trip Report - January 25th, January 28th and February 3rd, 2008

To start out with, on the 25th of January, we braved the rain with another 600 crazed Disney fans to get free tickets to the Enchanted premiere. The giveaway was to start at 3:00 sharp, but the weather allowed us to get to the ticket window by 2:45. We arrived early because if anything is free here, people line up for hours to get in. I guess we got there around 2:30, met a friendly Cast Member that I used to work with over a decade ago, and she let us in the line. When we left the people were still waiting with umbrellas up and braving the weather.

We went into the park for a trip to Mickey's House. A lovely tour guide told us the tour would have to be conducted in Mandarin because the majority of the guests spoke that language. No worries she said, she would translate. Enter the first room; "dog house", enter the second room; "cheese". Enter the third room; ditch the tour guide. We stepped back outside, took pictures of the statues, and made a bee line for the main gate. Rain is one thing, cold is another. The two together make for a miserable day in the park.

Fast forward to 28 January. I had a very short time in the park that night. Met a fellow Mice Chatter at around 4:30 as we were disembarking from the Jungle River Cruise. We walked around for a while, and chatted. I got suckered into a pen by the little one, so we departed only to meet up again for the Mickey's Rockin' the Mouse show. While we were in Adventureland we decided to take in the Adventures in Fashion show. I have to say, I loved the hair on the Goofy girl, and my little one said she wanted one of the Pluto dresses. Nice, short (15 minutes or so) and sweet.

We headed over to the hub to meet up with the Mice Chatter and watch the stage show. He had staked out a spot right up front, so I stood by chatting some more and snapping photos for your wonderful website. [That's us! - Ed] The little one sat on the ground and drew pictures until it began. Now this I must say this show was so neat. It was the little things that made it great, the dancers coming up from the floor, the tattoo sleeves on the singer, the chain on Mickey's jeans, and I just loved Minnie and Daisy's dresses at the end. Very upbeat music. The crowd really enjoyed it.

One last Jungle River Cruise in the dark, and dinner at the Corner Cafe was a day for us. We were only in the park for 2 1/2 hours, but it was really packed with things to do. I wanted to get over to (the forthcoming) Small World, but there just was no time. As we were leaving the park, the line for MTR tickets was very long. About 20 people deep or so for the 5 or 6 machines they have outside. Thank heavens we have Octopus!

On to February 3. We went to the convention center to see Enchanted. It was a great movie, and not only because it was a Disney flick either! I normally don't have the time or patience to sit through a movie, but I would go see this one again. A truly amazing thing happened during this movie, the audience was laughing! Not just once or twice, but through the entire film! At the end, there was applause. Now I haven't heard that in a theatre since Dad was in the Army and we went to see The Wild Geese. Ok, Ok I know everyone there was a Disney fan, but the applause just warmed my heart, as it should all those nay sayers that I read every week on another web page. [There are other pages? - Ed]

Next trip to Disney will be Thursday or Friday, weather permitting. I want to see the Dragon Dance again. The TV previews of it look nice, and I have a feeling it will be different from last year. 6 new sticker designs for the year of the mouse and I've only got 3 of them so I really need to get back there.

Until next time,

The Chief Spy

Toilet Treats

Now, we don't want people to get the impression that we are obsessed with toilets, but there is a bit of history behind this next story. Back in November 2006, we found that a large group of sources were all talking about the toilets in Hong Kong Disneyland. The in March of the next year, we discovered that some construction that had us very excited turned out to be a large block of toilets. We now have some photos of some toilets that our Chief Spy has kindly sent to us, because we are the Internet's only Hong Kong Disneyland website that cares enough to bring you photos of toilets.

Toilets

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Toilets

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Toilets

(Click on the image to view it full-sized)

Toilets

(Click on the image to view it full-sized)

Standard Sign Out Section

We're just getting warmed up! With our membership sign-up section fixed, there is no stopping the onslaught of the Member Zone; the fabled competition and anything else we've written down on the back of a coaster over the last few years. 2008 is going to be huge.

Remember, as always, if you have any news, photos, trip reports or just a question, feel free to contact us.  We like to think of ourselves as the people's site.

Also, don't forget that you can now subscribe to The HKDL Source Newsfeed via the links below:

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If you have any trouble using the feed, or have spotted some pesky bugs, please feel free to Contact Us and we'll try and sort it out.

Current and Forthcoming Closures, Refurbishments and Construction

• Taihitian Terrace (CLOSED): On Tuesday through Thursdays until further notice
• Fantasyland: No closures in Fantasyland, but there is constant construction going on ‘beyond the berm’ for the forthcoming it’s a small world attraction (Coming April 2008).
• Land appears to be cleared and built upon behind Adventureland and the Promenade for as-yet-undisclosed project. While some contend that this land has always been in this state, we have reports that some construction was seen to be going on in this area. Others still say that this is prep-work for a Downtown Disney style area and the Pirates extension to Adventureland. The HK Building Department reports this as a 'Dangerous Goods Storage Area'. We now have an indication that a hotel will be going up in the area. Time will tell.

Events & Important Dates

If you know of any events that should be listed here, please let us know. 

February 2008

• Chinese New Year (January 22 to February 24): Quite possibly the most important traditional Chinese holiday on the calendar, Hong Kong Disneyland has put it's own stamp on the event. Traditional Chinese parades and costumes can be seen mixing it up with the magic of Disney. The week of February 7 to 13 will be the Peak time, so get your tickets now!

April 2008

• it’s a small world (April 2008): RTHK News reports that the attraction is set to open in April 2008, which is consistent with Disney’s official line of ‘early 2008’. You can follow the progress in our Construction Photo Gallery .

Spring 2008:

• Four New Attractions start to roll out in HKDL: Muppet Mobile Lab, High School Musical Celebration, Nemo Submarine “Turtle Talk” and The Art of Animation

May 2008

• Richard visits Hong Kong Disneyland late in the month (May 24 to May 27). Prepare the fortifications!

Current Discounts/Promotions

• Annual Passholders: Benefits can be found here.
• Interest Free Installment when Purchasing Annual Passes: Purchase Annual Pass now with a Standard Chartered VISA Card or MANHATTAN VISA Card to enjoy a 12-month interest free installment. Offer Period: 1 December, 2006 – 31 December, 2008. See here for details. 
• Stay and Play for 2 Days: Book a hotel stay and enjoy an extra day at Hong Kong Disneyland when you purchase a one-day ticket! The offer has been extended until 30 September 2008!
• Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel Victorian Escape Package for 2 Persons: Enjoy the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel Victorian Escape Package at the starting price of HK$2,280 and indulge in a relaxing spa with your beloved or friends! Offer period: 27 November, 2007 to 31 March, 2008. See here for details.
• Dining Deal: Book breakfast in advance and receive 30% off. Conditions apply.
• Cathay Pacific and Dragonair Deal: From now until 31 January, 2008*, you can take advantage of the "Buy 2 get 1 Free" or "Buy 3 get 1 Free" travel package from Cathay Pacific and its partner airline Dragonair, featuring an array of value-added benefits. See Offer Details.

Park Hours/Schedule/Annual Pass Block-out Days

Value Annual Passholders will have all weekends blocked to them during January and February. Both Value and Deluxe Annual Passholders also have February 7 to 15 blocked to them.

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