All things bright and beautiful: (2022) Hong Kong Disneyland --- Follow your dreams

Not having gone out of Hong Kong for an overseas vacation since the start of the Covid pandemic in early 2020, our recent visit to Hong Kong Disneyland truly gave us the most holiday-like feeling we had had in the past two and a half years. This was only our second visit to the park, the first time being over 10 years ago, which was not long after the park opened. One of the common reasons of dissatisfaction of the park in its early days was its small size and the consequent over-crowding. Since our last visit, the park has much expanded. Not only are there several more themed areas with new rides and shows, the centrepiece Sleeping Beauty Castle has been replaced by a grand Castle of Magical Dreams in late 2020. And with the drop in the number of tourists from outside Hong Kong because of the pandemic restrictions, it is now actually a very good time for locals to visit the park.

Halloween spirit starts early at the Hong Kong Disneyland

We had planned to stay at the park to watch "Momentous Nighttime Spectacular", the much hyped lights and fireworks display, at 8pm. While the park opened at 10:30am, fearing we might be left too exhausted if we had gone for the whole day, we decided to arrive after an early lunch. Though it was a Monday, there were more people arriving at the same time as us than we had expected, but possibly still fewer than the norm in pre-pandemic times.

We found the park's mobile app very helpful, showing the times of all the live shows on the day. That helped us not to miss anything we wanted to see. The interactive park map provided on the mobile app was very handy too, with a real-time indication of our exact location within the park. That surely helped as we moved to and fro between the locations of the various shows.

Visitors arriving at the park are greeted by a floral arrangement in the image of Mickey, in front of a historically styled clock tower. Even though it was only in mid-September, the floral image of Mickey was adorned with pumpkins all around, as well as a large jack-o'-lantern in good Halloween spirit.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Stepping through the entrance, one is transported in time and space to the scene of a US Main Street in the early 20th century or about. A motor carriage in fashion of the period drives along the Street. At the end of the Main Street stands the magnificent Castle of Magical Dreams, which has multiple towers with roofs in pale blue colour, and walls in soothing pink or beige. The Castle is a fairly new addition to the park, only opened in late 2020 to replace the former Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Main Street leading to the Castle of Magical Dreams

Stylish transportation on the Main Street

Delightful shops on the Main Street

Checking the time schedules on the mobile app, we were just in time for the show Moana: A Homecoming Celebration. Not having seen the animation Moana, we didn't know what to expect, but sent to see it anyway. The show was performed on an open-air stage in the Adverntureland area of the park. The show, which featured a flashback of Moana's voyage and adventurous mission, was actually very entertaining.

Moana

Moana and Grandma Tala

Heihei the rooster

Moana: A Homecoming Celebration

Right after the Moana show, we hurried back to the staircase in front of the Train Station at the end of the Main Street, for the Grand Birthday Celebration Moment featuring Mickey Mouse and friends, with an accompanying marching band and dancers.

Marching band of the Grand Birthday Celebration Moment

Stars of the Grand Birthday Celebration Moment

Mickey and Minnie

Grand Birthday Celebration Moment with Mickey and friends

Grand Birthday Celebration Moment

We had a good experience of how unpredictable the weather can be on the day. Right after the Grand Birthday Celebration Moment, as we were browsing in the gift shops on the Main Street, rain started to pour down. In fact the rain was so heavy that more and more people hurried into the shops to get shelter.

We were hoping to see the Follow Your Dreams show in front of the Castle. But with the rain still falling quite heavily at the scheduled time, it was announced over the PA that the show was cancelled. We just hoped the rain would have stopped by the next and final scheduled time of the show.

Fortunately, there are plenty of indoors activities not affected by rain. We opted for the rides in the Tomorrowland area. With minimal waiting time throughout, we managed to go through three rides within an hour --- Hyperspace Mountain (a Star Wars-themed indoors roller coaster), Iron Man Experience (a thrilling and very realistic 4-D simulator of a flight around urban Hong Kong, battling robotic monsters with Iron Man), and Ant Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle! (a moving shooting game).

S.H.I.E.L.D. Science and Technology Pavilion, home of Ant Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle!

The rain had stopped when we came out from the rides. It was disappointing that the Mickey's Halloween Time Street Party parade through the Main Street was cancelled nevertheless. Well, that was understandable with the unpredictable weather.

We headed back to Adventureland for the Jungle River Cruise. The waiting time was fairly short too. This riverboat ride was really fun, sailing past very realistic wild animals along the river.

Waterfall in Adventureland

On the Jungle River Cruise

After the Jungle River Cruise, we looked around Toy Story Land, though we didn't have time to try out the rides there as we didn't want to miss the last showing of the day of the Follow Your Dreams performance.

Toy Story Land

The Castle of Magical Dreams, location of the Follow Your Dreams show, looked beautiful in the setting sun.

Colourful Castle of Magical Dreams

Castle of Magical Dreams

Magical!

Back of the Castle

The Follow Your Dreams performance features lively and upbeat music and performers dressed in colourful attire, in the company of a number of Disney characters. The Castle of Magical Dreams provides a perfect backdrop for the show. Fifteen minutes or so into the show, rain started to fall again! And alas, the show was very abruptly terminated. We could actually see Judy of Zootopia standing at the Castle gate just about to come out at the time.

Follow Your Dreams

Mickey and friends in Follow Your Dreams

Follow Your Dreams

"To be here with you tonight brings me joy ..."

"... que alegria."

"For this music is my language ..."

"... and the world es mi familia."

Miguel, "Remember Me"

Elsa, Pocahontas and Moana

Elsa, "Into the Unknown"

In the light drizzle, we headed for something under cover. Before watching the last showing of Mickey and the Wondrous Book music performance, we had a go at the Cinderella Carousel and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride. We just had enough time to squeeze in the classical and very delightful It's a Small World ride before the park closes.

It's a Small World

People from around the world ...

... and animals too!

Hong Kong's representative

Hong Kong buildings

To our greatest delight, the rain had stopped by 8pm, so that the fireworks and light projection display, "Momentous", could go ahead. The Nighttime Spectacular truly lived up to its name with stunning fireworks and very colourful light projections onto the Castle of Magical Dreams. This was very much a happy ending of a magical day.