Feature Article: Hong Kong Disneyland - A Disney Parks Review - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Feature Article: Hong Kong Disneyland - A Disney Parks Review
Hong Kong Disneyland - A Disney Parks Review by Petra Neuhauser
Most of our vacations we spend in the US, so from Germany, we always headed west. Now it was time to go in the other direction to Hong Kong!
Since Hong Kong is said to be a cosmopolitan city and is also home to a Disney Park, this seemed to be a very interesting destination for us. In April 2014 we started our 9-day Hong Kong trip by visiting Hong Kong Disneyland. After spending the night in the wonderful Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, we entered to the park as it opened at 10:00 am. We went to guest services in order to get our "1st visit" buttons. They didn't have any buttons, but we got some small stickers instead.
After a little breakfast at Market House Bakery, we went to the park's newest attraction, Mystic Manor at Mystic Point. Mystic Manor is a different kind of Haunted Mansion, without ghosts. The story is that explorer and adventurer Lord Mystic has a big collection of fine art and antiques in this house. And he has a little companion Albert, a monkey. Lord Mystic told him not to play with the enchanted music box, but Albert did not listen and so the collection comes to life. The ride features new technology - the vehicles seem to float--we didn’t see any tracks. What a fantastic ride with great effects, we loved it!
Next Stop: Toy Story Land. The attractions here are all outdoors. The familiar Pixar characters are placed in giant size. Since I’m afraid of heights, I hesitated to ride the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop. But hubby convinced me that we would have a great view. After some moments of shock while dropping down and up, I was able to enjoy the view, especially of the castle and the mountains in the background. We also enjoyed Slinky Dog Spin, a Caterpillar-style ride. However, the ride of the RC Racer I left to my hubby. He enjoyed to be moved forwards and backwards in a giant "U." Next Stop: Fantasy Garden. Here we met our personal favorites; Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Daisy Duck. Daisy was wearing a unique, Chinese-style outfit, which looked especially nice.
For lunch we went to a counter service restaurant in Fantasyland called Clopin's Festival of Foods. There we enjoyed some Chinese-style dishes, which were very delicious; of course they came along with chop sticks.
Next should have started the Flights of Fantasy Parade, but due to heavy rain, it had to be canceled. What a pity. But instead a short Rainy Day Express came along. There were only a few characters, but to see Mickey and his pals in special rain gear was very cute. Afterwards we warmed up with some coffee and sweets, again in the Market House Bakery.
Then we went to Adventureland for the Jungle River Cruise. Compared with the ride in Walt Disney World, this one had some pretty good special effects like fire and rapid waters. Afterwards we went to Grizzly Gulch, a Wild West-themed area, home of the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. This attraction reminds of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but it is racier and it also turns backwards. We both loved this ride very much and also the way this area was constructed. It looked like a typical California Gold Rush town.
Slowly it turned dark as we went back to Fantasyland for some well-known classic rides like "it's a small world," Mad Hatter Tea Cups, and the Cinderella Carousel, which are also found in the park.
After astro-blasting with Buzz Lightyear and a little dinner in Tomorrowland, it was time for “Disney in the Stars” fireworks. We hoped so much that this event would actually take place in spite of the weather! And yes, this time we were lucky and enjoyed a fantastic Disney-style fireworks display. The music also included a part of the “Mulan” soundtrack; this was of course very suitable for this location.
At about 8:30 pm our magical day in the park came to an end. From our point of view it is a magical park, the way a Disney park should be. I allowed only one day for the park since I read from different sources that this park is the smallest of all Disney parks and all attractions would be easy to complete within a day, but the time passed so quickly. Although we almost didn’t need to wait in line for a ride and some attractions were closed due to maintenance, we were not able to do every attraction or show. If you plan to go to Disneyland Hong Kong and you are a Disney park lover, I recommend planning at least one-and-a-half days for the park visit.
Even though he's in faraway country with such a different culture, Mickey brings the same smile to peoples faces as he does in his own country. That's magic.
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Thanks for sharing your experience in the park with us. I know it's changed a lot since we were there in 2008 and Mystic Manor sounds wonderful. One day we'll have to make a return visit out there.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
I know it's changed a lot since we were there in 2008 and Mystic Manor sounds wonderful. One day we'll have to make a return visit out there.
Linear Mode
