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Update for April 22 to April 27 - News and Commentary

 

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News This Week: IASW Photos | Earth Day

 

Well folks, I hate to brag but as I type this, it's only 6 days until I'm on a plane bound for Los Angeles. After a stay in the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland, I'm off to Las Vegas; New Orleans; Walt Disney World; New York and finally, Hong Kong Disneyland. As such, you will probably understand that I won't be typing up a column next Monday, as I'll be hovering over water in a Qantas plane watching all those movies I missed at the cinema, and eating my vegetarian lacto-ovo meal. Tom Pacy has also offered to keep the site running, so this may not be the last column in the near future either. However, that's not going to stop me from posting a big column  this week, with plenty of interior shots of the new it's a small world from a Annual Passholder Preview over the weekend. Would you belive  - IT  OFFICIALLY OPENS NEXT WEEK! We've also got a look at the Environmentality Challenge, and some random shots from the park thanks to our Chief Spy. So I'm just going to hand it over to her for a bit.

 

It's a Small World Report

 

By the Chief Spy

 

Everyone has a Disney story and here is the start of mine. When my grandfather was still alive he took my sister and I to CA Disney for a vacation. I must have been about 8 years old or so. We lived in Wisconsin and drove across I80 to get out to California. I'm sure that we kept asking are we there yet for the entire trip. I can only remember two things about that trip: it's a small world and Tinkerbell! She made such an impression on me that I can still see her. Ok, so I saw her every Monday night on the Wonderful World of Disney and that probably had something to do with it. Five years later my grandfather had passed away and my grandmother took us to Walt Disney World, FL. 'Small World' played a major part in the three days we spent in the park. We must have ridden it five or six times in a row before grandma told us that there was a really cool runaway train ride we could go on. I have clear memories of seeing the characters and running up and hugging them and taking photos with them while wandering around the park. I also have a hazy memory of a Jules Verne type ride (was that Disney?) Two years ago, I bought a plane ticket to fly my grandmother over so she could go to Disney here with me. Sadly, she passed away before she could use the ticket.

 

 

When we heard HKDL was going to build it's a small world, I was over the moon. I started showing my little one old home videos of the ride in the hopes that she would want to go. We walked past the construction 100's of times and I would always tell her about my two (First) visits to 'Small World'. When we read about the AP opening on Micechat, I canceled work for the day to take her. And here comes the report.

 

Being a special opening, it wasn't crowded. The first encounter with SW is the endless switchbacks to get to the boats. (According to my pedometer, it's just over 1/4 mile) Disney must be expecting this to be a bigger attraction than Space Mountain because the queue line is much longer. We did four rides before lunch, and the wait time was non-existent today. There was one short hiccup when we had to wait a bit to get on, but otherwise it was smooth sailing (pardon the pun).

 

 

As you enter the water and go around the first bend, you are greeted with a giant Welcome Sign, and I'm going to assume that everything else in that first room says the same. The characters in order as you go through the ride are: Bambi and Thumper, Marie, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, and Wendy, Pinocchio, Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, and Abu, Two Hyenas from The Lion King, Timon, Pumba, and Simba, the Llamas from Emperor's New Groove, Jose, Panchito and Donald, Pocahontas, Flit, and Meeko, Jessie and Woody, Mowgli and Baloo, Mulan, Ariel, Flounder, Crush (I think-if it wasn't him, it sure looked like him), Nemo, Dory, Peach, Lilo and Stitch and the blue Dragon from one of the Silly Symphonies [The Reluctant Dragon? - Ed]. In the Africa section, there is also a very clear picture of Mufasa on the wall above Simba.

 

Songs played were "Bippidy Boppidy Boo", "When You Wish Upon a Star", "A Whole New World", "A Friend in Me", and "Bare Necessities". You really do have to pay attention to hear them. The first three rides I missed them. There may have been more that I've missed, but for the nine rides we took, I had an ear full of chatter and excitement about everything on the ride.

 

 

I have to say, I was impressed. It's been a long time since I've ridden 'Small World'. At least 16 years ago was the last time I was on one so I know my memory is a bit fuzzy. The hair of all the dolls is yarn. The clothes are real cloth, and the flowers in Mexico are paper as are the pineapples. The thunder rolls in the rainforest scene. The tassels are all made of thread. The water is real, and wet. There is a smell of coconut throughout the ride. The music isn't too loud that it is overpowering. The mouths of the dolls move as they sing. The feet of the Dutch children wiggle, the Russians spin. Eyes don't just blink, they look left and right as well. The sun changes color, the rooms are just full of things to see. By the five o'clock closing time, we rode it nine times. I loved every minute of it. The only downside, was the last two rides, the final scene wasn't working. They were singing, but not moving. If you look closely, you can see wood shavings on the ground by one of the sets of dolls, and the torn up gears right under where they sit. I think something went wrong.

 

As for the rest of the day, we went to Kidzzone and made a bookmark, colored in an Environmentality pledge and got a pin. We wandered down Main Street in search of a notebook to put our awesome sticker collection into and ran into a game in the candy shop. Toss a doll into a can and win a notebook (Can you believe it, I won one!) In the Princess Castle, we played a pinball type game, roll Ping-Pong balls down a shoot into a cup and win more stickers. Then over to Tomorrowland to play a recycling game. Ten recyclable items needed to be put into the recycling bin in ten seconds. For this we won a set of Earth Day stickers, a bracelet set and a Jiminy Cricket trading pin. I watched a janitor paint Jiminy Cricket on the ground and asked how they did it. The "Paint" is a mix of water and coffee. We took a bug hunt tour in Adventureland, no releasing of Lady Bugs this year. Unfortunately, by 10:15 the horticulture tour was full up, but we will be at the park next Saturday and Sunday at opening again and try to get on the tour.

 

 

On the train ride home, we ran into a bunch of cast members as usual. One of them told Katherine what a cool mom she has because I take her over so much, and tolerated 7 JRC rides and 9 SW rides. What can I say? We showed them our sticker collection, and were given a GENIE! I've only been looking for that one for around two years.

 

Nine hours of Disney today, and I'm exhausted, but elated....It's a small world after all.... Chief Spy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earth Day

 

HKDL is celebrating Earth Day this week (April 19 to 26), and full details can be found at the Official Site. Here's a few previews of the activities that will be on all week.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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If you have regular access to the park as a visitor or Cast Member or if you’d just like to start helping us post news and photos, we’d really like to hear from you. We don’t pretend to know what you want, but we offer love. Really, if you are on the ground, and you'd like to contribute, we want to know you!

 

Current and Forthcoming Closures, Refurbishments and Construction

 

• Autopia (CLOSED): Tomorrowland attraction Autopia is temporarily closed for maintenance.
• Taihitian Terrace (CLOSED) - Tuesdays  to Thursdays
• Festival of the Lion King (Theatre in the Wild) (SUSPENDED - THIS WEEK): Will be suspened from April 6 to April 11 in order to perform routine maintenance.
• 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. 

 

April 2008

 

• it’s a small world (28 April 2008): The official launch date is now set! You can follow the progress in our Construction Photo Gallery .

 

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 Residents Save, Dine and Save: Hong Kong Residents get-away for a magical night that includes fabulous dining for two. Stay and Dine package price starts at just HK$1,488 (Save over $400). Offer period: 17 February to 30 June, 2008. Details can be found here.
• Hong Kong Disneyland Victorian Spring Package: Stay amidst the magic in our Victorian hotel and enjoy a relaxing spa vacation with the Victorian Spring Package with your beloved or friends at the starting price of HK$2,380! Offer period: 1 April 2008 to 30 June 2008. Details here.
• 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.

 

Park Hours/Schedule/Annual Pass Block-out Days

 

Hours are 10:00 to 7:30 PM throughout April. Hours are 10:00 to 8:00 PM daily in May.

 

Value Annual Passholders will have the remaining weekends in March blocked to them, and all weekends in April. Deluxe Annual Passholders can go crazy for a few months, although it should be noted that April 4 and May 12 (and all weekends) will be Peak Ticket Days.

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