Robb & Elissa in Asia - 2016!

[larrygatorObsessive Overlord of the TPR Park Index]

The pizza appears to have the correct sauce to cheese ratio.
Trying to spot all the Disney characters in Hong Kong Disneyland's version of It's a Small World actually makes the ride bearable.

[vfireI Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

Don't get your hopes up too high for the announced HKDL expansion. The Hong Kong Legislature blocked the funding for the announced expansion saying they didn't want to throw so much money into a park that loses money. Of course, Disney will continue to negotiate with the HK government (which is the majority owner of the park) to get an expansion, but by no means is it a done deal. Disney is going to need to put in a lot more of the upfront costs for this expansion to happen. Most ticket prices at HKDL just went up over 10% so they're trying to recoup costs that way... but that makes Shanghai DL even cheaper for mainlanders. Next year is shaping up as a make or break year for HKDL's future.

I hope Mystic Manor stays unique to HK, the park has very few marquee attractions unique to it. JC at HKDL is terribly overrated. The fire sequence at the end has been toned down significantly since opening and the skipper spiel in English is embarrassingly bad. Duffy isn't needed at the stateside parks, there's already tons of great characters from Disney media to meet without adding a cloying one created in the marketing department.

I hope Mystic Manor stays unique to HK, the park has very few marquee attractions unique to it. JC at HKDL is terribly overrated. The fire sequence at the end has been toned down significantly since opening and the skipper spiel in English is embarrassingly bad.

I think I brought this up in my own TR or the discussion thread but it must be really hard for them to try and land those jokes in something that isn't their native language. I remember I did the night version at Tokyo and due to heavy snow the park was dead so it was just me and one Japanese couple. The skipper kept trying to apologize that she didn't know English while waiting for more guests even though I generally wanted to see the Japanese version after I'd tried Japanese Jaws the week before (that bubblegum high pitched skipper who sounded straight out of an anime until the shark showed up and she became a deep voiced batman/terminator hybrid will never be beaten for entertainment). I was amazed enough when people at both Tokyo Disney parks kept bringing me these subtitled boxes for some attractions.

I bring this up because we've always avoided the English version after our first trip and it's fine without it. The skippers are more at ease and the atmosphere on the boat is much more pleasant. Maybe we've just been unlucky but we always find with the English version it's full of people who don't speak it but thought the line would be shorter or some mainland Chinese who speak well enough but want to show off how much they know. Heck, I remember one group who almost tried to use it for English practice for their child even when it was obvious he was shy, and kept pushing him to speak to the foreigners on the boat and skipper which you could see made people uncomfy.

[vfireI Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

I think I brought this up in my own TR or the discussion thread but it must be really hard for them to try and land those jokes in something that isn't their native language.

English is one of the official languages of Hong Kong. There are also non-Chinese cast members. The last time I was in HKDL this past summer, the skipper was South Asian who spoke English fine, but the spiel was horrible. It was literally, "oohhhh, look at the hippos..." and "watch out for alligators...." But I don't blame the skips, I blame the park management for not doing proper training and quality assurance. It was such poor show and Disney could and should do better.

Yeah the English version is hilariously bad both times I tried it (for sh*ts and giggles), I generally do the Cantonese side.

It was literally like "Oh my god ya deez peepou can eeat you ah go fast go fast"

[jray21Why do I still have a donkey title???]

That is a great looking park. They've done a great job expanding it.

[rosscoeBeware of the freeze-dried donkey!]

It really is a great park , Mystic Manor and Grizzly Mine Train are really great rides.

[robbalveySite Admin]

Our next stop was Ocean Park. This place is sort of like the "SeaWorld of Hong Kong" as it has a mix of thrill rides and marine animal exhibits. This is the park that also features some of the most amazing views of any theme park in the world as it's built on a mountain that overlooks the water on almost all the sides. They Sky Ride that you take from one side of the mountain to the other (the park is built on both sides) is just breathtaking.

Onto some photos!

We have arrived early to do some filming at Ocean Park! Going to take the train that goes through the mountain to get to the "thrill" side of the park!

This train, we are told, with the screens above you was the inspiration for the Harry Potter train at Universal Orlando.

The screens above you tell you the story of the "underwater exploration" that your train is doing. During Christmas, though, Santa makes a cameo!

OMG! NO! DON'T EAT US!!!

First stop! Hair Raiser!

Here's just a few of some of our Hair Raiser pics! We'll have some new footage up soon!

Next up... The Dragon!

Hold on tight!

Are you guys ready for this one?

Don't you think every roller coaster needs a view like this?

Speaking about great views...

Next up is the Mine Train!

I still think this ride offers the best views of ANY roller coaster in the world!

That's just incredible!

Just look at that! Absolutely beautiful!

More amazing footage coming soon!

They are currently building a new water park at Ocean Park!

Up the escalator back to "thrill mountain!"

Oooh...thrilling!

This is just insane.

Hooray for penguins!

This enclosure is super cool, although it didn't seem to have as many penguins as the last time we were here.

Normally you'd see them swimming all across under the floor, but we didn't see that this time.

Hello Mr. Arctic Fox.

Woof...

Taking a ride on the Observation Tower!

Here's some of the sights we have observed...

Got that all in? Good!

Yes, they gave Kristen a gun!

Gotta prepare for the zombie apocalypse!

Any park with a McDonald's in it is ok by me!

We went to see some sharks...

...and see sharks we did!

This is a zebra shark. It was cool.

Time for the amazing Sky Ride!

Hello girls! How are you guys doing?

Here's some of the incredible views you see from the Sky Ride.

This was on the wall. Not sure why. But it was. And now I am sharing it with you.

"Nobody ever wins the giant A$$ panda."

There it is... a giant A$$ panda.

They had goldish that looked like they had testicles on their face.

This human statue was amazing!

See! It moved!

The newer section of Ocean Park still looking pretty good!

Yup, it's a monkey.

Yup, it's a sleeping panda.

Yup, it's two girls. I wonder how much of an upcharge this attraction is?

Thanks again to Ocean Park! We had an awesome day!

Click HERE for the next section of the report from our trip!

[xstech25She turned me into a donkey! I got better...]

How was Hair Raiser this time around? When I rode it last year it was by far the roughest B&M I have ever been on, it was like Mean Streak bad, and we were in the front row. I don't know if I got a bad train or something but it was running 1 train so I wouldn't have been able to find out (and wasn't about risk getting my a** kicked again anyway).

Ocean Park is a place I was really looking forward to but was kind of a let down. Not only because of Hair Raiser but also we couldn't see sh*t from the cable car because of all the smog. You always hear that HK Disney struggles because of competition from Ocean Park which has a cheaper gate price, but found Disney to be a far superior park. Ocean Park does have a few nice animal exhibits though.

[PearThis B&M donkey is so smooth!]

Did you get any footage from the powered coaster?