I must be crazy! - An October-November 2016 Solo PTR - Update 10/9 2 Weeks to Go - That's a Wrap

Volunteer · Jan 18, 2016

SnowWhiteOz said:
I'd go straight to the top and talk to Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast

Screw that!! I'm never talking to anyone from Comcast ever again.

I would rather get stuck in a group text message conversation with complete strangers then talk to Comcast.

I would rather fly in economy non-stop around the world on a Spirit that's completely full then talk to Comcast.

I would rather listen to "Let it Go" on repeat for 24 hours then talk to Comcast.

I would rather watch Waterworld again then talk to Comcast.

I would rather give up bacon then talk to Comcast.

I would rather get back together with an ex (a specifically evil one) then talk to Comcast.

I would rather share the results of a Facebook quiz then talk to Comcast.

I would rather watch Glee then talk to Comcast.

I would rather take a selfie then talk to Comcast.

But most of all ... I would rather ride Stitch's Great Escape then talk to Comcast.

Sorry - got a little carried away there. Comcast is a curse world in my household, as with a lot of Americans. I'm not sure if they have a presence in Australia. If they don't, maybe I should move there and hope they don't follow me.

But Universal. I love Universal

DonnaBeeGood · Jan 19, 2016

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 19, 2016

Volunteer said:
Screw that!! I'm never talking to anyone from Comcast ever again.

I would rather get stuck in a group text message conversation with complete strangers then talk to Comcast.

I would rather fly in economy non-stop around the world on a Spirit that's completely full then talk to Comcast.

I would rather listen to "Let it Go" on repeat for 24 hours then talk to Comcast.

I would rather watch Waterworld again then talk to Comcast.

I would rather give up bacon then talk to Comcast.

I would rather get back together with an ex (a specifically evil one) then talk to Comcast.

I would rather share the results of a Facebook quiz then talk to Comcast.

I would rather watch Glee then talk to Comcast.

I would rather take a selfie then talk to Comcast.

But most of all ... I would rather ride Stitch's Great Escape then talk to Comcast.

Sorry - got a little carried away there. Comcast is a curse world in my household, as with a lot of Americans. I'm not sure if they have a presence in Australia. If they don't, maybe I should move there and hope they don't follow me.

But Universal. I love Universal

Well we don't have Comcast here but we do have terrible telcos so I'm sure it's similar (our equivalent is probably Optus).

So you could move here but it may not be as annoyance free as you hoped!

pkondz · Jan 19, 2016

Volunteer said:
Screw that!! I'm never talking to anyone from Comcast ever again.

I would rather get stuck in a group text message conversation with complete strangers then talk to Comcast.

I would rather fly in economy non-stop around the world on a Spirit that's completely full then talk to Comcast.

I would rather listen to "Let it Go" on repeat for 24 hours then talk to Comcast.

I would rather watch Waterworld again then talk to Comcast.

I would rather give up bacon then talk to Comcast.

I would rather get back together with an ex (a specifically evil one) then talk to Comcast.

I would rather share the results of a Facebook quiz then talk to Comcast.

I would rather watch Glee then talk to Comcast.

I would rather take a selfie then talk to Comcast.

But most of all ... I would rather ride Stitch's Great Escape then talk to Comcast.

I'm sorry, but your feelings towards Comcast are a little unclear to me.

lilpixiebabe101 · Jan 19, 2016

Love the Universal mini. Neat that they have such different lands.

So on suggestions.

Have you thought about the mountains? Maybe treking up to Tennessee. Lots to do in Gatlinburg and it would be beautiful. You might get snow!

Or maybe up to D.C. if museums are your things. Lots of history and things to visit. Plays and whatnot.

Prettiest cruise and best I've found through work on the US side is hands down the Alaskan cruises. Just absolutely breathtaking and the lines that go that way are fantastic.

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 19, 2016

lilpixiebabe101 said:
Love the Universal mini. Neat that they have such different lands.

The unique lands were cool - but I did miss the Harry Potter section!

lilpixiebabe101 said:
So on suggestions.

Have you thought about the mountains? Maybe treking up to Tennessee. Lots to do in Gatlinburg and it would be beautiful. You might get snow!

Or maybe up to D.C. if museums are your things. Lots of history and things to visit. Plays and whatnot.

Prettiest cruise and best I've found through work on the US side is hands down the Alaskan cruises. Just absolutely breathtaking and the lines that go that way are fantastic.

Great suggestions. I'm not really an outdoorsy person so I'm not sure mountains and trekking is my thing.

Definitely considering D.C. as I haven't been there since 1999 - and if I keep my cruise booking it's not too far from Boston to D.C.

I would love to do an Alaskan cruise but it seems to be the wrong time of year for them - I figure the Canada/New England one will be pretty with all the fall foliage, so while not quite icebergs it should be good.

JustCor · Jan 19, 2016

Is Texas an option? Austin is particularly awesome, with tons of live music and amazing restaurants all around. It's a really beautiful area. San Antonio is also really nice, with a really cool river walk type area, as well as a bunch of history. New Braunfels is a sweet little German community in a really nice area with a giant water park. Big Bend National Park is very serene and majestic, though it is way out in the middle of nowhere and might be too far out of the way. I might have a very slight bias because I was born in Austin, but it's a fantastic area that I miss quite often.

Volunteer · Jan 19, 2016

DonnaBeeGood said:
This is serious stuff here!

I know what I said.

SnowWhiteOz said:
Well we don't have Comcast here but we do have terrible telcos so I'm sure it's similar (our equivalent is probably Optus).

Drats.

pkondz said:
I'm sorry, but your feelings towards Comcast are a little unclear to me.

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 19, 2016

JustCor said:
Is Texas an option? Austin is particularly awesome, with tons of live music and amazing restaurants all around. It's a really beautiful area. San Antonio is also really nice, with a really cool river walk type area, as well as a bunch of history. New Braunfels is a sweet little German community in a really nice area with a giant water park. Big Bend National Park is very serene and majestic, though it is way out in the middle of nowhere and might be too far out of the way. I might have a very slight bias because I was born in Austin, but it's a fantastic area that I miss quite often.

Texas sounds great but even though I said I had plenty of time to fill in it turns out I probably don't have enough! I'd want to spend more than a day or two there which I don't think I have anymore.

lilpixiebabe101 · Jan 20, 2016

SnowWhiteOz said:
Great suggestions. I'm not really an outdoorsy person so I'm not sure mountains and trekking is my thing.

Definitely considering D.C. as I haven't been there since 1999 - and if I keep my cruise booking it's not too far from Boston to D.C.

I would love to do an Alaskan cruise but it seems to be the wrong time of year for them - I figure the Canada/New England one will be pretty with all the fall foliage, so while not quite icebergs it should be good.

I'm not either. Lots of touristy things like Dollywood, Dixie Stampede, Ripley's believe it or not. Lots of shops. Omg the apple barn restaurant! Look up Gatlinburg/pigeon forge. Plenty of places to stay right in town and the mountains can just be pretty scenery to drive through haha!

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 22, 2016

39 Weeks to Go

It’s time to explore one of my favourite Disney parks in the world – Hong Kong Disneyland. I can’t put my finger on why I love it so much but I think it’s the combination of its compact size, it’s unique rides and probably because it is in one of my favourite cities in the world!

Because I want to show you guys everything in the park I’m going to do a quick written overview and the picture posts on each of the lands (be thankful I’m doing it this way and not showing you the 400+ photos I took during my one day there)

So let’s start with the basics. Hong Kong Disneyland is about 20-25 minutes by train from Central Hong Kong. You take a train out to the gorgeously named Sunny Bay station and then change trains onto the Disneyland Resort line. Much like the DME the Disneyland trains are all themed and you get into the Disney spirit straight away. 5 minutes later and you pull up to the Disneyland station. A short walk later and you are at the entrance (the hotels are here too).

Like a good Disney girl I was there for rope drop (and quite a bit before that too). The park opens at 10:30 and I was there at 9:50. At 10:00 they let us through the turnstiles and instead of holding people at the railway station they actually let you explore Main Street until the park opens. After a few photos I made my way up Main Street towards the hub and the internal rope drop. I was lucky enough to get a front row spot where I waited for the 20 minutes or so until the park opened. But first there was the family of the day who got to cut a ribbon with Aurora and then it was off.

I knew exactly where I wanted to go first and if you’ve read any of my reports you’d know too. That’s right I made my way to Grizzly Gulch and straight onto my favourite ride (or at least the HK equivalent) – BTMR. Here it is called Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Rail Cars. This is the best version of this ride out there. It is so much better than WDW and includes ride elements similar to Everest including the backwards drop and ride. After an exhilarating ride I could have walked straight on again but I wanted to make use of this early start before queues started.

I left Grizzly Gulch and entered the next land – Mystic Manor. This is where the HK version of Haunted Mansion is. The big difference here is that there are no ghosts – it is the only version worldwide without them. Instead you enter the Society of Explorers and Adventures and the home of Lord Henry Mystic and his monkey Albert. Albert releases an ancient curse (like Pandora’s box) and everything comes to life. After walking on I spent the first ride taking lots of pic for my dear friend @pkondz and later in the day I came back to film a ride through video. This turned out awesomely well until the ride broke down in the second to last scene and when it restarted we were out of sync with the ride – oh well!

After Mystic Manor the next land I went to was Toy Story Land. I think the theming here is some of the best that Disney has ever one and can’t wait to see if DHS can recreate this. Last time I was here I only rode one of the three rides so my goal was to be able to do them all. First up was the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop. No lines as usual (I clearly bought the VIP pass that @pkondz got on his last trip) and then it was straight onto my parachute. It’s a standard lift and drop ride but I still love it and if you pick the right seat you can get great views over the park.

Next was the Slinky Dog Spin which is basically a kids coaster (without seatbelts so I kept sliding up and down the seat!). Again this was a walk up (yay for mid week rode drops!). Don’t know if I’d ride this again without little kids but it meant that I could say by the end of the day that I had ridden every ride in the park.

The last ride was the RC Coaster. This was the one I had ridden on my last trip and it is pretty fun. It’s like a pirate ship ride that you’d see at a carnival but instead of being on an arm you’re on a track. So back and forth drops and great views.

On my way out of the land I saw that Woody and Jesse were doing a M&G so I jumped in line as there were only two families in front of me. 5 minutes later it was my turn. It was a fun M&G and I got some great candid shots (photopass photographers here seem to take more than one photo if you give them your own camera which is something I wish WDW ones did). By now it was 12:20 so in less than two hours I had experienced all the rides in three lands of the park – not a bad effort.

Continuing clockwise the next land is Fantasyland. With Sleeping Beauty’s castle as the backdrop this is the area that is most similar I think to other Disney parks. But it did have some different attractions. The first was the Fairy Tale Forrest. This is like a walkthough hedge maze with an area set aside for a display relating to each Disney Princess. And in the middle is their Pixie Hollow. I had a fantastic M&G with Tink here – she was absolutely amazing in her role (way better than the one in Main Street at MK) and I think she enjoyed having someone to speak to as there was no one else around.

After this I went on to one of the two rides at HK that has Fast Pass (paper style). And yep, I walked on. I did not wait more than 10 minutes for anything the entire day and the longer waits were those with pre-shows were you have to wait for the last one to finish before you can move through. Anyway, back to the ride – Winnie the Pooh. This is pretty much a replica of the one in MK but has a built in ride photo which I found hilarious.

I was starting to get a little hungry but nothing caught my eye in Fantasyland so I continued around in Tomorrowland. I was going to grab something to eat straightaway but who can pass up a 5 minute standby time for Space Mountain. And the 5 minutes was walking through the queue so it wasn’t even a wait. This is the other ride that has FP but it wasn’t necessary that day. I love this Space Mountain – it’s a lot smoother than the one in Florida and I find it a little faster. It also has the wider ride vehicles.

As I was heading towards the counter service location I passed by Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters and had to ride it (could you blame me when it was also a walk on?). My first ride of the day wasn’t great score ways but I had plenty of opportunities over the course of the afternoon to improve.

I finally made it in to the Starliner Diner to grab some lunch. A word of warning, food is expensive at HK Disneyland. I spent around $15USD on a hamburger meal. I could have gotten a plain one for around $13.50 but I figured what the hell and splurged on the Star Wars Darth Vader Burger (it was like a big Mac in an Asian style bun).

Fully sated I made my way into the Stitch Encounter. I know what you’re thinking but this is nothing like the one at WDW it is basically Turtle Talk with Crush but with Stitch instead. Hong Kong Disneyland rotates it’s shows between three languages, Cantonese, Putonghua and English so you have to make sure you pick the right time to go. I love this one and find it funny and I was actually picked as one of the people to interact. To cut a long story short Stitch became my boyfriend, name a planet after me and then accidentally blew it up – so a usual first date.

I then went and rode Buzz again to see if I could beat my score – I did better but still not Galactic Hero standard.

I then made my way across the park to the land I had skipped earlier in the morning - Adventureland. I got in line for Jungle Cruise which was the longest of the day – this is because they rotate between the three languages and you have to wait for an English speaking skipper to be free. The theming here is pretty much the same but there are not really any corny skipper jokes which is a bit of a disappointment.

It was then time to line up for Festival of the Lion King. It’s a pretty similar show to the one at Animal Kingdom but doesn’t have the cute tumbling monkeys or the audience participation. Still it’s always a good respite from the heat.

I spent 30 minutes or so walking around the park taking pictures as the sun set and as everything took on their special night time looks. I still had a little time to fill in before the evening parade so I rode Buzz one more time – I managed to improve my score to around 600,000 thanks to a timely ride malfunction!

I grabbed a Mickey Bar and then staked out my spot in front of the castle for the parade. They let you sit here which is so much nicer than having to stand and see over people. The night time parade is called Paint the Night and is everything that Main Street Electrical wishes it could be. I absolutely love this parade and think WDW could do with something like this. It also starts with a little castle light show.

There was about 40 minutes to fill in before the fireworks so I did my shopping alone Main Street. I bought myself some gorgeous Mickey Ears that were celebrating Hong Kong Disneyland’s 10th Birthday and a necklace.

I staked out a spot at the end of Main Street to watch the fireworks knowing that I could escape quickly and beat the crowds back to the train (you know the only way back to the city if you hadn’t driven!). The fireworks show was called Happily Ever After and is a special show as part of the birthday celebrations. It was good but Florida wins on the fireworks front. Plus I had someone who kept walking in front of me with a balloon as I was trying to film which didn’t help.

And then it was park close. I hightailed it out of there and made it onto the first train back to the city. I had spent all day at the park from rope drop to park close and all of it was wonderful. If you are ever in Hong Kong I would highly recommend going to the park and I’d even go so far as to say it would be worth planning a trip around visiting.

If you have any questions about HK Disneyland I’d be happy to answer them but for now enjoy the next few pic heavy posts of each of the lands.

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 22, 2016

Adventureland

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 22, 2016

Grizzly Gulch

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 22, 2016

Mystic Manor

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 22, 2016

Toy Story Land

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 22, 2016

Fantasyland

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 23, 2016

Tomorrowland

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 23, 2016

Main Street, U.S.A

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 23, 2016

Flights of Fantasy Parade

SnowWhiteOz · Jan 23, 2016

Paint the Night Parade

I must be crazy! - An October-November 2016 Solo PTR - Update 10/9 2 Weeks to Go - That's a Wrap

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