Small World Clock Disneyland Hong Kong
plays every 15 minutes!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sunday, November 16 Character Breakfast
On Sunday, we went downstairs to the character breakfast with Goofy & Pluto dressed like chefs and Minnie, Micky and Daisy! Each character came around to our table and we had a great time seeing each one.
Saturday, November 15 Hong Kong Tour
We began our day taking the subway and then, walking to the downtown Hong Kong Hard Rock Cafe. Upon arriving, we did not have a great deal of time, but enough to grab a few shirts/hats in the gift shop and ordering a great American burger! I can always depend on Hard Rock to provide an awesome burger for about $8 - 10 US.
After leaving Hard Rock, we went to the Sheraton Hotel to take a tour of Hong Kong. It was great! We started by driving up to Victoria's Peak, then to a fishing village with a ride on a real sampam or "junk" boat as they are called. Next, we went to the famous Stanley market.
We found out that Hong Kong's official languages are Cantonese Chinese and English. China's official language is Mandarin Chinese.
At 8:00 p.m., each night in the overlooking downtown Hong Kong harbor there is a tradition of a laser show flashing on and over the buildings lighting of the skyline in a most brillant display of lights.
The day ending with dinner on the largest floating restaurant named Jumbo.
Downstairs you could see a massive amount of fresh, live seafood that would be prepared for many upcoming meals along with a brief museum display of the history of the restaurant and some pictures of famous guests, such as Yul Brenner, Elizabeth Taylor, William Holden, the last Bristish Governor of Hong Kong and Queen Elizabeth.
Before riding the junk boat back across the bay to take a taxi back to the metro subway station (called the MTR), we got our pictures sitting in the Emperor's Chair along with Joe from the restaurant.
A great day was had with a whirlwind tour of Hong Kong!
After leaving Hard Rock, we went to the Sheraton Hotel to take a tour of Hong Kong. It was great! We started by driving up to Victoria's Peak, then to a fishing village with a ride on a real sampam or "junk" boat as they are called. Next, we went to the famous Stanley market.
We found out that Hong Kong's official languages are Cantonese Chinese and English. China's official language is Mandarin Chinese.
At 8:00 p.m., each night in the overlooking downtown Hong Kong harbor there is a tradition of a laser show flashing on and over the buildings lighting of the skyline in a most brillant display of lights.
The day ending with dinner on the largest floating restaurant named Jumbo.
Downstairs you could see a massive amount of fresh, live seafood that would be prepared for many upcoming meals along with a brief museum display of the history of the restaurant and some pictures of famous guests, such as Yul Brenner, Elizabeth Taylor, William Holden, the last Bristish Governor of Hong Kong and Queen Elizabeth.
Before riding the junk boat back across the bay to take a taxi back to the metro subway station (called the MTR), we got our pictures sitting in the Emperor's Chair along with Joe from the restaurant.
A great day was had with a whirlwind tour of Hong Kong!
Friday, November 14 Disneyland Fireworks!!
We spent another great day at Disneyland. One of our friends from Orlando, Florida who is an "Imagineer" (engineers with imaginations as Disney calls them), was here in Hong Kong this week. He was discussing that there are 10 rides here and more to come as with any business when the money allows. I asked him about The Haunted Mansion ride and if there were any cultural issues to why it was not at this park. The answer reflected that there will probably be one to come in the future and yes there is a cultural aspect, which would translate into a darker, more sinister Haunted Mansion than in the United States.
As I always note to my business students, when a business goes to another country or region, the cultural aspects of that area must be taken into consideration. The Disneyland and Disney World in the United States has special night tickets just for Halloween, Christmas and Princess/Pirates nights in February/March. These parks have held these events for several years.
This was the first year that Hong Kong Disneyland had added special ticketed events specifically for Halloween. This trick or treat night is not native to China, but the two nights the park offered this event it was a huge success! What a surprise for a culture that does not traditionally celebrate Halloween, but for there to be a crowd at the park for the two nights it was offered is amazing! I thought this was very interesting from a cultural and marketing perspective. However, I have been told that at Disney, patrons are expecting a slice of America so that Halloween would be expected to be celebrated there.
The park was also decorated in Christmas and some special Christmas ticketed nights are being considered, especially since the Halloween nights did so very well!
We loved all of the rides. But I think the overall favorite was Space Mountain. Here, the ride holds 6 passengers with 3 rows of two, which is different from the parks in the states that look like a rocket and only 3 people can sit one behind the other on the ride. Once the ride begins, both the ones in the US and in Hong Kong are very similar.
Here is a interactive map of Disneyland Hong Kong.
At 3:30 p.m., each day there is a spectacular parade.
We often hear and see little fireworks a couple of times each week. The Chinese culture has fireworks before the wedding ceremony, unlike American weddings where the "fireworks" begin after we say "I do"! (Ok... a little joke, I couldn't help myself!)
Fireworks are also seen for very special occasions. So the day ended with an awesome fireworks show over Sleeping Beauty's castle, but I was expecting nothing less from a fireworks display in China!
As I always note to my business students, when a business goes to another country or region, the cultural aspects of that area must be taken into consideration. The Disneyland and Disney World in the United States has special night tickets just for Halloween, Christmas and Princess/Pirates nights in February/March. These parks have held these events for several years.
This was the first year that Hong Kong Disneyland had added special ticketed events specifically for Halloween. This trick or treat night is not native to China, but the two nights the park offered this event it was a huge success! What a surprise for a culture that does not traditionally celebrate Halloween, but for there to be a crowd at the park for the two nights it was offered is amazing! I thought this was very interesting from a cultural and marketing perspective. However, I have been told that at Disney, patrons are expecting a slice of America so that Halloween would be expected to be celebrated there.
The park was also decorated in Christmas and some special Christmas ticketed nights are being considered, especially since the Halloween nights did so very well!
We loved all of the rides. But I think the overall favorite was Space Mountain. Here, the ride holds 6 passengers with 3 rows of two, which is different from the parks in the states that look like a rocket and only 3 people can sit one behind the other on the ride. Once the ride begins, both the ones in the US and in Hong Kong are very similar.
Here is a interactive map of Disneyland Hong Kong.
At 3:30 p.m., each day there is a spectacular parade.
We often hear and see little fireworks a couple of times each week. The Chinese culture has fireworks before the wedding ceremony, unlike American weddings where the "fireworks" begin after we say "I do"! (Ok... a little joke, I couldn't help myself!)
Fireworks are also seen for very special occasions. So the day ended with an awesome fireworks show over Sleeping Beauty's castle, but I was expecting nothing less from a fireworks display in China!
Thursday, November 13 Room Service?
Believe it or not, breakfast was over except for room service. So we had to order room service with Mickey Mouse waffles and pancakes of course!
Then, we were off to a fun filled day at the "House of Mouse " also known as DisneyLand in Hong Kong. The rides were great! The people were nice. We were told that there was little shade in the park and it was hot that day, so we purchased umbrellas for the children. This was the first thing we did prior to entering the park.
Then, we were off to a fun filled day at the "House of Mouse " also known as DisneyLand in Hong Kong. The rides were great! The people were nice. We were told that there was little shade in the park and it was hot that day, so we purchased umbrellas for the children. This was the first thing we did prior to entering the park.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday Evening, November 13 Hello there!
Well...as Goofy the Disney character would say: "Well....hello there!"
After a hot, fun filled day at Disneyland, we went back to the room and took showers/changed into clean clothes. I stopped at the elevator (or as the British/Hong Kong label noted, the Lift) and listened to the band playing for a few minutes.
Then, I proceeded on downstairs to the Garden restaurant for a Character dinner. The food was fabulous and it was a gourmet style buffet!
The characters were Goofy, Pluto, Minnie and of course, Mickey!
The entire restaurant got a good laugh, when Goofy attempted to "kiss" Carter! Carter began running around the restaurant with Goofy hiding, then chasing him. All was in hilarious fun!
We took numerous pictures and videos with the characters. I enjoyed dancing with Goofy and Mickey Mouse.
I asked someone who was walking around with Minnie if we could get a picture with Minnie AND Mickey together. I thought this would be great!
She replied by explaining to me that they were not to be photographed together and this was in their contract. They are suppose to walk around separately and go from table to table. BUT she realized that this was a special time for me and my family to be at Hong Kong Disneyland. So if we were willing to wait, she would work it out. I said OK.
After about 15 minutes, she and another worker came over to our table and escorted us to another dining room next to the kitchen door behind a wall. Suddenly, Mickey and Minnie came out of the Kitchen and we ended the evening with pictures of the most famous mice in all the world!
After a hot, fun filled day at Disneyland, we went back to the room and took showers/changed into clean clothes. I stopped at the elevator (or as the British/Hong Kong label noted, the Lift) and listened to the band playing for a few minutes.
Then, I proceeded on downstairs to the Garden restaurant for a Character dinner. The food was fabulous and it was a gourmet style buffet!
The characters were Goofy, Pluto, Minnie and of course, Mickey!
The entire restaurant got a good laugh, when Goofy attempted to "kiss" Carter! Carter began running around the restaurant with Goofy hiding, then chasing him. All was in hilarious fun!
We took numerous pictures and videos with the characters. I enjoyed dancing with Goofy and Mickey Mouse.
I asked someone who was walking around with Minnie if we could get a picture with Minnie AND Mickey together. I thought this would be great!
She replied by explaining to me that they were not to be photographed together and this was in their contract. They are suppose to walk around separately and go from table to table. BUT she realized that this was a special time for me and my family to be at Hong Kong Disneyland. So if we were willing to wait, she would work it out. I said OK.
After about 15 minutes, she and another worker came over to our table and escorted us to another dining room next to the kitchen door behind a wall. Suddenly, Mickey and Minnie came out of the Kitchen and we ended the evening with pictures of the most famous mice in all the world!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, November 12 Off to Hong Kong!
Well...I'm off to teach class and then, we are flying to Hong Kong to stay there for four days! On to another grand adventure.
After teaching classes, Tom arrived at my classroom door to say that he had called a Taxi and it was waiting downstairs with my family.
We took the "scenic" tour to the airport! Our taxi driver did not speak any English. He took us through very little towns and even through a congested construction site where only small vehicles could cross, so we had to wait until the traffic cleared. We still made the flight though, thank goodness!
When we arrived at our destination it was absolutely gorgeous, I expected nothing less from Disney. We stayed on property at The Disney Resort Hotel in Hong Kong. We were excited but we were exhausted. Everyone really enjoyed sleeping in a western bed where there are box springs and a soft mattress. I have been very surprised though that the board that I have been sleeping on has not had any negative effects on my back and neck! It is nice to see a different country with different cultures than the west.
After teaching classes, Tom arrived at my classroom door to say that he had called a Taxi and it was waiting downstairs with my family.
We took the "scenic" tour to the airport! Our taxi driver did not speak any English. He took us through very little towns and even through a congested construction site where only small vehicles could cross, so we had to wait until the traffic cleared. We still made the flight though, thank goodness!
When we arrived at our destination it was absolutely gorgeous, I expected nothing less from Disney. We stayed on property at The Disney Resort Hotel in Hong Kong. We were excited but we were exhausted. Everyone really enjoyed sleeping in a western bed where there are box springs and a soft mattress. I have been very surprised though that the board that I have been sleeping on has not had any negative effects on my back and neck! It is nice to see a different country with different cultures than the west.
Monday, November 10 Art Show & Superbee Pizza!
On Monday afternoon, we were invited to an Art Exhibit at the Howard Johnson's in downtown Wenzhou by Wendy, one of my classroom translators. She has a car and picked us to take us there. It was awesome! Thanks Wendy this was THE best sculptor exhibit I have ever attended.
Later that evening, I had another let's get on the bus and go downtown moment! So we had seen a Steak House that we thought was a similar to our Japanese Steak Houses. So we took Bus 38 to downtown Wenzhou, got off where we saw the restaurant.
We went in and it was gorgeous! After taking a quick look at the menu and realizing that it would be about $50 a person, we decided to leave and return another day.
We walked down the street and as destiny or fate would have it, we saw a SuperBee Pizza restaurant calling our names. We went in and were seated immediately. Here, customer service is awesome! The restaurants are very clean and the staff are all wearing the same neat, freshly pressed uniforms of that company. You are happily greeted at the door with smiles and friendly welcomes!
Here, we sat down and the only other person in the restaurant was Chuck, an American from believe it or not...Atlanta, Georgia! We began talking and he came over to eat with us. He then took us to a European market where we were able to find milk and cheese! We have searched every where for cheese, this is not something that is part of the food culture here.
So we have met a new, great friend! Thanks Chuck for showing us the western side of Wenzhou!
Later that evening, I had another let's get on the bus and go downtown moment! So we had seen a Steak House that we thought was a similar to our Japanese Steak Houses. So we took Bus 38 to downtown Wenzhou, got off where we saw the restaurant.
We went in and it was gorgeous! After taking a quick look at the menu and realizing that it would be about $50 a person, we decided to leave and return another day.
We walked down the street and as destiny or fate would have it, we saw a SuperBee Pizza restaurant calling our names. We went in and were seated immediately. Here, customer service is awesome! The restaurants are very clean and the staff are all wearing the same neat, freshly pressed uniforms of that company. You are happily greeted at the door with smiles and friendly welcomes!
Here, we sat down and the only other person in the restaurant was Chuck, an American from believe it or not...Atlanta, Georgia! We began talking and he came over to eat with us. He then took us to a European market where we were able to find milk and cheese! We have searched every where for cheese, this is not something that is part of the food culture here.
So we have met a new, great friend! Thanks Chuck for showing us the western side of Wenzhou!
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