As the end of summer looms near, you’ll want to plan that off-peak vacation sometime in July or August to avoid the crowds and enjoy a massive place like Hong Kong Disneyland. But when you’re there, some mental readjusting may be of help, especially if age has rendered your mind mature.
Here are five ways to trigger that inner kid as you tour the amusement park’s latest offerings.
Go YOLO: You only lounge once.
First rides first: your flight out to Hong Kong. You’ll love to know that Cathay Pacific’s new business class and premium airport lounges (The Cabin and The Wing) are small vacations in themselves. I mean, what can be better than waiting for your flight like a spoiled princess?
I know what you’re thinking, though: Who’s going to pay for this? If you’re skilled enough to wing it, have your parents reward your good grades by upgrading your economy flight to and from Hong Kong to the new business class. Downloading Cathay Pacific’s app called CX Mobile to your iWhatever will significantly help your case as well, since you can show your folks photos of the plane seats and lounges. Make sure you apply for Marco Polo membership, too, since The Wing’s noodle bar is exclusive to its members.
Or, you know what? Why not reverse the situation and treat your parents instead? Pamper them, since all trips should start and end on a smooth note.
Get your 4-D fix with the Mystic Magneto-Electric Carriage.
As one of the newly opened attractions of the park (May 17), Mystic Point is the final chapter of Hong Kong Disneyland’s expansion project. The Mystic Manor is where Lord Henry and his shockingly friendly monkey Albert reside and house the Mystic Magneto-Electric Carriage. It’s a sophisticated four-carriage ride that slides from magical room to magical room, sending you to high-definition heaven. It feels like you were warped inside a Disney cartoon, animated for approximately five minutes as you weave through each chamber. Over 7,000 fictional artifacts are on display here as you listen to the soundtrack of Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman (credits include scoring for The Simpsons and Silver Linings Playbook — weird).
The secret here is to ride in all four carriages to see a slightly different adventure every time. My inner kid was kind of blown away here.
Brave the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars.
Just do it, man. Enter Grizzly Gulch. You’re a cowboy, just like Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly — but giddier and Asian. The rapid turns and backward plummeting are memories waiting to be kept secret and as a wild-all-you-can cowboy of the west, you need to be a bro and take many ones for the team. It’s fun. Go alone for seconds and thirds, if no one wants to join you.
After the ordeal, head over to Lucky Nugget Saloon for their crispy fish and chips. Then buy a stuffed bear for your cowgirl friend at Bear Necessities (hell, yeah, that’s right — Baloo and Mowgli’s theme song from The Jungle Book).
Drop down like a toy soldier at Toy Story Land.
The Toy Soldier Parachute Drop may look slow at first glance but it actually isn’t. It’s a fun hassle to ride. Guests ought to hold tight as they are made to descend from 25 meters high. The parachute drop is in fact so simulated — sorry, I still am talking to your inner kid here — that a few green-painted soldiers actually join you when you drop down.
When you’re done with that, upgrade your adrenaline rush at the RC Racer, which makes you race along a 27-meter-high U-shaped track at full speed — all in a massive version of Andy’s toy car. They use real gas on this, too. Wild stuff.
In the end, it’s all about the company you bring along.
Hong Kong Disneyland is what it is: an amusement park that fulfills your inner child’s starry dreams. So the moment you feel your inner adult kicking in, revert back to your inner Goofy and get with the brogram even for just half a day.
In the same manner, bringing friends who are game-minded will dictate the pace of your tour. If they get tired too easily, you will end up having a bench tour, sitting on every bench in sight.
It may take more effort to enjoy stuff like this as adults, so make sure you have the energy to ride the rides. Slip in a Berocca tablet in your bottled water if you must, because Disneyland can’t be dissed.