Originally Posted By TDLFAN So, I once again visited Hong Kong and decided to hit the park to catch my favorite new parade before it ends it's summer run, and enjoy a tranquil experience at the park. WRONG! HKDL was in fact a bit crowded on this day Friday the 7th sept. BUT!! ..before I get to that... you should know that I decided to spend a few hours at Victoria Peak, HK's most popular tourist spot, visiting the newly refurbished Peak Tower (I call it the hammerhead) at the top of the mountain. Here in the Peak Tower, next to the Peak Galleria Mall.. you can probably get the most awesome view of the entire city of Hong Kong down below, and on clearer days, a great view of Kowloon and surrounding areas and mountains. The Peak Tower has been refurbished and now offers some touristy experiences and some culinary delights as well. The Tower's indoor atrium, with it's escalators next to the huge glass windows, offer spectacular views of the city below. Within the Tower itself.. there is an NBA attraction, Madame Tusseau's (sp?) Wax Museum, and other shops, both well known by name or in street market style, selling a wide range of merchandise, from the expensive to the usual souvenirs. There is also a Bubba Gump restaurant and a Japanese style restaurant with great views overlooking the city. Likewise, a coffee shop also sells light snacks and bakery items in a very contemporary setting, with equally spectacular cityscape views. There is also a Burger King for the not so fu-fu types. HKDL has also set up a temporary kiosk with promotional video and CMs on hand to sell you HKDL tickets and APs... The HKDL kiosk is badly misplaced in the lower level of the Tower, next to Madame Tussaus's exit. The kiosk was staffed with 4 CMs (that's probably more CMs that you could find at WDW's Main Street performing custodial duties!) The promotional video was at least 10 mins long and featured every aspect of the park and hotel resorts. Sadly, not too many people walking out of the wax Museum seemed interested in even looking at the display, much less stop for a second to see what this was all about. If it was up to me, I would pull the plug on this venture, but hopefully it is temporary. One observation about the Tower.. the Peak Tower's observation platform is one great place for boy watching. Ladies (and gay men) take notice. There were a lot of western boys up there who were to say the least... very good looking. Some with girls and some alone... Hmmm... Tres nice. All in all, it was an enjoyable few hours at the Peak before heading to HKDL for the afternoon. I Took the Peak tram to the bottom of the mountain and walked to Central Station, then on the MTR train to HKDL. I arrived at HKDL at about 2pm, expecting the park to be quiet, but much to my surprise, there was a little crowd, but that was not apparent until after the "Mickey's Waterworks Parade" ended, and as the day progressed, it seemed like the park was actually more crowded than in the early afternoon hours. I did the usual... shopping around (see some more pics of new, park-exclusive merchandise). Watched another performance of the Waterworks parade (awesome! We have not seen a parade as much fun, colorful and elaborate design at WDW since the 20th anniversary Party Gras parade in 1991.) I also went around the park to see the status of things.. such as.. the new entrance to the haunted Hotel, complete with landscape for the upcoming halloween seasonal attraction. Also, Adventureland is back to it's original theme, since the Pirates Takeover overlay has been finally retired. It was fun while it lasted but frankly, I like this Adventureland in it's purest form. One quick check of IASW's progress....etc etc. Took my time enjoying the sights and sounds of the park, and didn't even ride one single attraction. Then capped it off with "Disney In the Stars" fireworks. Coincidentally, some guests here caught my attention as well, just like they did at the Peak Tower. Hmmm... Hmm... Anyways... moving alone... Below is the link to the photos from both my visit to the Peak Tower and HKDL. Hope you enjoy them in this PG-13 rated album LOL!, and for further pleasure, do read the captions if you have time to kill, and that way.. you will even find out how HKDL yet again surpassed TDLFAN's expectations with the most miniscule of details... Meg C, are you paying attention dear? Enjoy. <a href="http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4334673&a=32584214&f=" target="_blank">http://albums.photo.epson.com/ j/AlbumIndex?u=4334673&a=32584214&f=</a>
Originally Posted By koobar you should of asked said cute guy to take his picture for him. take the initiative!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Looks like the park is finally getting a healthy (at least to a certain point) ammount of attendance. That's great news, and I'm glad to hear that other people are starting to appreciate this little gem of a park too.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: Home-wrecker!! That's what ya is, Koobar, ducklin'! Whatcha tryin' ta do? Git TDLFAN in the dog house with G-fan?!
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: I liked your pictures too, TDLFAN, duckling. Of course I wish the trees at the rear of the castle weren't so tall. They block out the view of the castle itself. I never could understand why current management has gone hog-wild about planting so many trees around some of their castles--which end up hiding such beautiful structures.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN TDLFAN is indeed taken... almost 10 yrs now! ...And as much as I would have loved asking the "cute" guy if he needed "help" with his camera, it would have not been a smart move for me. Besides... (and G-Fan agrees...) you can still look at the menu, even if you are on a diet. No harm in that.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>I never could understand why current management has gone hog-wild about planting so many trees around some of their castles--which end up hiding such beautiful structures.<< ORWEN, how can trees in the *rear* of the castle block the castle itself if them trees are *rear* of the castle?? Maybe I am misunderstanding your post since I speak no english. Also... that is a very tricky thing to do. I happen to LOVE them trees around the castles as they serve a framing purpose and cosmetically enhance the lines of the structures when well positioned. Similar way I feel about that lovely mountain behind HKDL. See what they have done to the MK's hub.. BARE! and it looks horrible. The trees there are so small, you can't even see them over other people's heads as you walk up Main Street USA. I also don't like vines attaching themselves to the castle like it was the case at DL for many years... made the castle look dirty.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I like the trees, since they leave enough exposed that you know it's there, but you still have to take a little extra time to fully explore all the little nooks and crannies that make the structure interesting. At their current size, they invite people to come explore. If they are allowed to grow too much, I could definately see how it could become a problem, but at this point, I like them.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Good point. In HKDL in particular, the "Kodak photo spot" on the walkway that winds on the left side of the castle, shows a picture of what the castle would look like if you took your picture there. But the trees have grown so much at that spot in the last two years.. they block most of the castle in the background, making that photo spot un-usable. But that is a miniscule example. The castle itself has not lost any visual impact at all when seen from Main Street USA or the hub.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: Well, us Cauldron girls just like getting pictures of the castle's BACKSIDE as much as its front side. Those two little trees at the rear are just big enough to block any pictures we might, some day, want to take of the castle from that point. It's the same way in CA. They used to just have real short trees in the courtyard, there, until somebody decided to plant bigger ones--probably for shade. But if we wanted to see that many trees we'd just go to a forest instead of the Happiest Place on Earth. Positioning is everything, you know. If you block somebody's view of something pretty you ruin the purpose for its even being there.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>But if we wanted to see that many trees we'd just go to a forest instead of the Happiest Place on Earth.<< Witches, e-mail me. I have just the right forest for you to go visit, just one hour away west of Orlando, where "bears" rule.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: I'm more inta FROGS, myself, TDLFAN, ducklin'. 'Course I cain't speak fer Orwen er Orddu on the subject. Maybe they's willin' ta cuddle up with somethin' furry. As fer me, I'm inta green 'n slimy!!!
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Last call! This pictorial will be replaced with the HKDL Halloween photos in the next two weeks. Check it out before it's history.
