Happily, "what is there" didn’t and wouldn’t disappoint a newcomer to Disneyland, whether in Hong Kong or at Anaheim in California, including the kids and kids-at-heart in our group who were, yes, expecting too much and got it to their brimming hearts’ content during the whole-day adventure.
But if, like yours truly, you’ve been in and out of the "original" Disneyland, you’d get drowsy especially if, in preparation for the four-day Hong Kong trip, you had to do three advance columns and put to bed dozens of pages.
The Maundy Thursday we were there, the place was crawling with tourists, a good number of them Filipinos (Dennis Trillo and family among them, and Gladys Guevarra with her doctor-boyfriend) who must have put Disneyland No. 1 on their must-see itinerary, conveniently downgrading the Ocean Park as an alternative, you know, in case there was time to spare.
Jojo Gabinete (who was there weeks ago with colleagues Mario Bautista, Salve Asis, Dondon Sermino) kept texting me, asking if our group had visited Disneyland and how I found it compared to, well, "the one at Anaheim."
I texted back, "Not as huge as ‘the one at Anaheim’ but good enough."
That is, even if more attractions have yet to be completed.
If you’re traveling on very limited budget (like our group) and cannot afford to stay overnight at the Disneyland Hotel (like Dennis and company, and Gladys with her doctor-boyfriend, did), you must wake up at the crack of dawn, take a quick breakfast at your hotel’s coffee shop, rush to the Ocean Terminal to take the Star Ferry from Tsim Tsa Tsui (Kowloon side) to Central (Hong Kong side) and walk a few blocks to the Express Train Station to catch the first trip to Disneyland, armed with tickets bought by a cousin in advance (HK$295 each for adults and HK$210 for children, on ordinary days).
The Hong Kong Disneyland is, just like "the one at Anaheim," from the welcome arc to the tree-lined sidewalks to the colorful buildings straight out of a fairy-tale book to the souvenir shops. Guests are welcomed with songs from Disney movies blared out from loud speakers. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy are there, ready to pose for souvenir shots and the various rides attract queues of eager-beavers.
A cable car (with limited seats) goes around for a quick tour of the wonderland. Two parades are scheduled, one a little after lunch and another at dusk, featuring such favorite Disney characters as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, etc. Cap the day by watching fabulous fireworks.
In the Adventureland, you can watch the Festival of the Lion King (featuring Filipino talents like Anna Fegi and Ralion Alonso), a colorful pageant of music and dance; Rafts to Tarzan’s Treehouse;
Tarzan’s Treehouse (brace yourselves for what you will find inside); the Jungle River Cruise (very popular with the kids); and the Liki Tikis (the guidemap says, "Sway to the beat of jungle rhythms pounded out by ‘leaky’ tiki poles").
After a quick lunch (at McDo or other cafés; food not allowed, especially chicken), rush to the Fantasyland for a quick visit to the Sleeping Beauty Castle, Cinderella’s Carousel, Fantasy Gardens, Snow White Grotto and other attractions like Mickey’s PhilharMagic, The Golden Mickeys, The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh and the Mad Hatter Tea Cups.
So many attractions in a place "not as huge as the original, but good enough" but so limited time – unless you return the next day and have more HK$295 to spare.
Now, did our group get to see all these?
The kids and kids-at-heart did, but drowsy as I was (and having seen "the one at Anaheim" several times), I simply took a quick look-see of a few attractions (but missed Anna Fegi and Ralion Alonso in The Lion King show) and passed the rest of the day tourist-watching from a nook at the fast-food joint facing the Orbitron (which makes you sit inside one of the flying-saucer-like things that "orbit" around a globe).
Yes, we caught the grand parade but purposely missed the fireworks, no thanks to the intermittent drizzle.
The rest of the group bought all sorts of souvenirs. All I brought home were my train ticket to Disneyland, the entrance ticket and a copy of the guidemap and brochure.
Oh, well. Been there, done that.
On the chart at right, you will see the credentials of the protagonists:
• Screen Name: Pokwang
• Real Name: Marietta Subong
• Likened to: Aruray
• Height: 5’3"
• Weight: 98 lbs.
• Movies: Bcuz of U, D’Anothers and Dubai
• TV Shows: Yes, Yes Show; Maid in Heaven; Krystala; and Quizon Avenue
• Educational Attainment: Second year high school
• Experience: Two and a half years in Japan and six months in Abu Dhabi
• Other Special Talent: Singing
• Civil Status: Free as a bird
• Number of (love) children: Two (by two different men)
• Favorite Comedians: Tom Hanks and Dolphy
• Favorite Comediennes (aside from Vilma Santos): Ai-Ai delas Alas and Tuesday Vargas
• Favorite Comedy Films: Tanging Ina (seen thrice, twice in the moviehouse and once at home) and The Gods Must Be Crazy
• Favorite Moment with Vilma Santos: When she ran after Ate Vi during the Luna Awards for her on-the-spot report for The Buzz. "Ate Vi saw me being pressed by other reporters at hinila talaga niya ako palapit sa kanya dahil naawa siya sa akin."
• Favorite Vilma Santos Movie: Anak ("I was able to relate to her character as an OFW because I was once an OFW myself at bilang isang ina")
• Favorite Scene from a Vilma Santos Movie: Ate Vi’s confrontation with Claudine Barretto in Anak ("Naka-relate din ako sa kanya d’un")
• Screen Name: Eugene Domingo
• Real Name: Eugenia Roxas Domingo
• Likened to: Chichay
• Height: "Almost five feet"
• Weight: "Almost 130 lbs."
• Movies: Has lost count but counts as memorable Divide By Two (directed by Ishmael Bernal for the UP Films Center), Linlang (Maryo J. delos Reyes) and Tanging Ina "dahil medyo napansin ako sa mga pelikulang ‘yon."
• TV Shows: Soaps like Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, Marina, Kampanerang Kuba, etc.
• Educational Attainment: AB Theater Arts, UP
• Experience: Theater (mostly in UP; she recently did a monologue at the CCP)
• Civil Status: Single ("Too busy")
• Number of Children: "No love children, just three love dogs that look like me"
• Favorite Comedienne aside from Vilma Santos: Lucille Ball ("Isang bukas lang ng mata, kuha ka na niya")
• Favorite Comedy Film: Too many to name just one; mostly TV series (I Love Lucy, etc.)
• Favorite Moment With Vilma Santos: During the shooting of D’Lucky Ones where Ate Vi revealed some of her "secrets" to her
• Favorite Vilma Santos Movie: Relasyon and Broken Marriage
• Favorite Scene from a Vilma Santos Movie: The death scene of Emil (Christopher de Leon) in Relasyon