Planning this trip myself was fun, because I had something exciting to look forward to... light at the end of the Tunnel of Everyday Drudgery and Exhaustion! I enjoyed surfing the web searching for accommodation and learning more about Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland. All in all, the holiday cost us around less than RM11,000;
Airfare: RM5265
Accommodation: RM2700
Park Entrance fees: RM1020
Transportation: RM400
Food & Shopping: RM1500
Most things were free for Eva (ages 3 and below), like park entrances and MTR tickets. I splurged a bit on the Disneyland accommodation. There are 2 hotels there, namely Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Disneyland Hollywood Hotel. The former is a 5 star hotel, while the latter is a 3 star hotel. The standard rooms at Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel are only slightly more expensive compared to the other hotel. I also read reviews that said for the price they paid, Hollywood Hotel was disappointing. More importantly, they have princesses greeting you at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel lobby (Annie's dream come true)!
When we got there, we were told we could save even more on rooms, if one of us got an annual pass for the theme park. To upgrade the ticket, we had to pay an extra HK$300 (RM150), but saved around HK$1000 (RM500) on the rooms. So a standard room worked out to cost HK$1200 (RM600) a night. It was worth it, as the hotel was gorgeous. It was Victorian style and had huge glittering chandeliers like the ones in Beauty and the Beast! The rooms were great, the kids were 'wowing' at the flat screen tv, huge beds, spacious bathroom and even the Seven Dwarfs toiletries! :) The staff were also extremely friendly and helpful. We saved on park tickets as well, as there was a promotion for hotel guests; one day tickets purchased could be used for 2 days.
It is their attention to detail that sets them apart from the rest. From the moment you step on the train with the Mickey shaped windows (there's a Disney line that brings you to Hong Kong Disneyland), there are 'hidden Mickeys' everywhere, on the carpet, fencing and even manhole covers! The fact that they keep their 'small guests' in mind is also endearing. They provide a cute mini bathrobe, alongside the 2 adult-sized ones, a plastic cup at the bathroom sink and also a small wooden stool which I assume is for them to reach the sink to brush their teeth.However, the beds are quite high and there are no safety rails, so at night I had to push the chairs up against the bed to prevent Claire from dropping like a durian to the floor! The beds were fixed to the floor so we could not join them and push them up against the wall, like we usually do. As for Eva, we made a 'nest' for her in between the two beds, using the bed covers and duvets! That way she was safe from falling and cozy as well (she also sleeps on the floor between 2 beds at home you see).
Oh yes, another thing that Annie was exceptionally pleased about was the Disney tv channels. We do have Astro at home, but her evil parents cancelled the cartoon channels because we think apart from Playhouse Disney, the other channels mostly show nonsense; think "Cow and Chicken" or "I are Baboon"! We do however have the adult's nonsense channels like Star World and E (double standard! Hey, we pay the bill!). Well, we thought that maybe they would learn to appreciate the other more educational channels like National Geographic or TVIQ. Instead, they are now hooked on shows like "Adi dan Ayah" and "Tom Tom Bak" on Astro Ceria. Sigh, I guess at least they can improve their Bahasa Malaysia. Actually, Claire and Eva's BM is quite good, since Paula the maid can only speak BM. Claire and Eva even speak BM to each other most of the time when they are playing alone!to be continued... when I can find the time...
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