In-depth photo tours, reviews and updates on Themed Attractions.
We’ve finally arrived at Tomorrowland, a space port of the future.
Tomorrowland is a staple themed zone in all Magic Kingdom-style Disney parks around the world. It’s like Sci-Fi meets Fantasyland – a optimistic view of the future with a focus on space travel and exploration.
Due to time constraints, I wasn’t able to spend a lot of time in Tomorrowland during this trip. I’ve decided to share mostly photos of this area at night, where smooth streaks of lights circle around this futuristic port.
You’ve seen Grizzly Gulch in the previous update. Now let’s take a detailed tour around Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, the feature attraction in this Old West town.
Founded on 8 August 1888 (the luckiest day of all time) by prospectors hoping to discover gold, Grizzly Gulch brings travelers to a bustling Wild West town filled with adventure and prosperity.
Our journey around Hong Kong Disneyland continues. Welcome to Fantasyland.
Sleeping Beauty Castle marks the dramatic gateway to this land of enchanted tales. In the castle courtyard is a large open area – a cross between a quaint European village and medieval fair – where many gentle themed rides delight park guests with Disney’s classic stories.
Our Photo tour continues into Adventureland. This once remote jungle is now filled with outposts and river cruises, bringing explorers and eager tourists. With the spirit of travel and discovery, this lushly landscaped zone offers park guests with three main attractions – set in the wild and exotic.
According to Hong Kong Disneyland, this is Disney’s largest Adventureland.
Let’s have a quick look of Toy Story Land at night! More photos of this area, taken in the day, can be found at the complete overview of Toy Story Land.
It’s play time! Toy Story Land “shrinks” guests down and transports them to Andy’s backyard, where the lovable Toy Story characters are out to play. Based on the successful Disney-Pixar franchise, this themed land uses oversized versions of real world toys. Toy Story Land opened in 2011, and was the first of three new themed zones for the major expansion project at Hong Kong Disneyland.
I feel that Toy Story Land is a great addition to Hong Kong Disneyland. It’s a simple playland with rides designed for children, but yet enjoyable for all ages. Theming is attractive and impressive. The area music is well chosen and re-arranged from Randy Newman’s memorable score. I expected this area to be boring with nothing much to see or do and I was very pleasantly surprised and proven wrong. It is amazing how Disney could combine some simple rides with an imaginative franchise – and turn it into a charming experience.
For the older crowd, stepping into Toy Story Land could be nostalgic. There are many classic toys to be spotted here, which are bound to trigger some childhood memories.
Hong Kong Disneyland is still one of my favourite theme parks. It’s not as large as Tokyo Disneyland, but still has Disney’s magical atmosphere. There’s an abundance of great theming, suitable area music and a lot of things for guests to see and do.
With the crazy amount of photos I took at Hong Kong Disneyland, I will write a series of features called Hong Kong Disneyland – 2012 Photo Tour. Each themed area will have its own entry, so you won’t need to sift through hundreds of photos in one post. For the first (or actually second, if you count the Mystic Point post), we’ll get to Main Street, U.S.A.
Mystic Point is one of the new themed areas at Hong Kong Disneyland. Slated to open in Mid 2013, the themed zone features key attraction Mystic Manor and a play area called Garden of Wonders.
I’m very excited about Mystic Manor and had a chance to see the area under construction when I was at Hong Kong Disneyland recently. While I cannot comment (critically) about its architecture, I’m amazed at how it looks in reality. There is a lot of detail everywhere and the colour scheme reflects the area’s adventure, mystery and occult character well. Enjoy the photographs and read about Mystic Manor as you go along.
Marine Life Park opened to the public last Thursday, 22nd November 2012. While there is no further construction taking place at the park, the from the air series will continue as we take an extended look at Marine Life Park’s Adventure Cove Waterpark in operation.
The opening of the world’s largest Oceanarium was blemished with the unfortunate passing of Wen Wen, an Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphin. This dolphin died en route to Singapore. A candlelight vigil and memorial service will be held for the dolphin on 2nd Dec 2012. The remaining 24 dolphins (from the original group of 27) are now at the Dolphin Island section of Marine Life Park, acclimatizing to their new home.
The loss of another captive dolphin has stirred up the angry nest of animal activists, causing Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) Facebook Fan page and local news websites to be flooded with comments, urging for the release of the remaining 24 dolphins in captivity.
Note: My blog entries on Marine Life Park are here to provide coverage and share content that other sites do not offer. These entries are produced for documentation purposes and as personal reviews and trip reports of Marine Life Park. I do not get paid by RWS. While I enjoy taking photos and blogging about attractions, my entries are not direct endorsements for Marine Life Park. I am not oblivious to the issue of dolphin hunting and dolphins in captivity, having viewed campaigns and research findings by activist groups as well as the responses by the Marine Life Park.
Edit 29/11/2012: Please do not jump to conclusions on the overall enclosure size for the dolphins, or the living conditions in the enclosure, because these details cannot (and SHOULD NOT) be inferred solely from the photos in this entry.
