Not learning from our nightmare trip to Sydney, we made the brave decision this time to take another family holiday – this time to Hong Kong.

No la hahaha. This was a family trip with Fatty’s family, and we thought it would be better this time since Penny is older and the entire contingent came along – grandparents, uncles and aunts who could help out if needed.

It was much better!  The highlight of the trip of course was Disneyland.

Visiting Disneyland for the first time with kids was a very different experience!  Here’s why.

1. No more scary rides

Most of me and Fatty’s youthful experiences in theme parks were going for the craziest rides.

Now this was the wildest ride we went on – the Slinky Dog ride at Toy Story Land.  We so wild, we went on it TWICE.*woohoo*

Yea twice because this boy loved it so much he cried when it ended so me and Fatty took turns bringing him on it.

2. We spent most of the time in Fantasyland and Toy Story Land

We had two whole days in Disneyland and we only managed to really cover these two lands (reason: babies are slow walkers).  Normally I’d skip Fantasy Land but this was the highlight of Disney for Fighter.

Toy Story Land where Fighter and Penny kept looking around in awe at all the colorful thingamajigs.

Fantasy Land which is fantastic wtf.

3. No time spent in the stores

I used to shop a LOT at Disney; the merchandise was basically the highlight of the trip for me hahaha. Now between rushing for the next kid friendly ride, rushing back to the hotel for nap time and rushing to grab food, there was no time at all to go shopping FML.   The only time I managed to browse a bit was at the store in the Disney hotel, after the kids were asleep wtf.

4. Speaking of shopping, I used to buy new cute headgear every Disney trip

Wearing Stitch ears the last HK Disneyland trip

NOW I HAVE SOMETHING SO MUCH BETTER TO DO YO.

And that is buy complete costumes for my kids to wear HAHAHA.

Here’s Fighter dressed as Woody.

Complete with hat which sadly is too small for his head wtf.

And here’s Mochi White.

5. KIDS MEALS

Never got a chance to order them till now lol. Now… EAT ALL THE CUTENESS.

6. Missing the fireworks

I used to stay back till the end to catch the amazing fireworks display Disneyland put on every night.  It never disappointed.

This time, as it is, it was hard enough to stay until the night parade (at 7.15 pm wtf).  Penny’s usual bedtime is 7 pm so on the last day we boh pian forced ourselves to stay until then to catch the parade, knowing Fighter would love it.  He did but I spent the entire parade with my hands clamped over Penny’s ears while she snored away in the baby carrier.  Then we went back to the hotel before the fireworks started wtf.

7. We now spend time hunting down the mascots

Last time, I’d siam the Disney characters like mad cos (A) super long lines and (B) better time spent on lining up for rides

This time, most of our day was spent hunting down the characters and taking photos with them.  Because while Penny is too young and only mildly interested in these funny looking people, Fighter LOVES them.  He becomes happy until crazy whenever he spots one hahahaha.

Had to take photo with Woody since Fighter is dressed as him. 

And Lotso!

We also went to have buffet breakfast at the Disneyland Hotel because that’s when all the characters come and say hi!  If you’re planning to go for this, please book in advance cos it can be difficult to get a table.

And here’s the biggest difference of all…

As a kid, Disney is magic.

When you visit Disneyland as an adult, you go there to enjoy all the cuteness and adorable-ness of it all.  Or you go there to relive your childhood and bask in nostalgia, and to study how Disney brings it to life in the best theme park in the world.

But when you go to Disneyland as a kid, everything there is real.  Including the magic.

Fighter didn’t walk down Main Street impressed at the level of quirky detail on the stores.  To him, he accepted the shops were all real and normal, as were the rides we went on.  Instead of a ride that looked like a teacup or an elephant, he accepted he was sitting in a real tea cup and a real Dumbo.

When he saw the characters, he shrieked in excitement because finally instead of being stuck behind a screen, he finally saw his ‘friends’ in person! When I realized that, I started looking at everything with new eyes.  

It’s an absolutely awesome experience, discarding the adult baggage that come with experience, and just enjoying Disneyland as kids do – with total acceptance and belief.

Maybe that’s how we should try to see the real world too. 🙂  

One thing I really loved was how hard the cast members of Disney work to keep the magic going for the kids.  Disneyland isn’t about the adults (although we’re the ones paying FOL).  It’s for the kids.

When Fighter spied Chip and Dale, he went crazy.  He shrieked with happiness and pointed at them and shook his little body excitedly.

We decided to line up to take photos with Chip and Dale then.  Suddenly we noticed Chip (or Dale) leave their post and my heart sank a little, thinking it was break time.

Instead, Chip walked towards us, waving.  Fighter saw him and went crazy again, shrieking joyfully and pointing.  And Chip gave him a kiss before going back to his photo post.

We happily settled back into line, with Fighter on cloud nine.

After a while, it was time for their real break.  I told Fatty maybe we shouldn’t wait anymore since Fighter already had his encounter with them.

But what happens next? Dale comes up to us instead on his way out. 

He beckoned Fighter over… and gave him a big bear hug.

That totally made Fighter’s day.  He was blissfully happy, all just from two simple gestures from the cast members playing Chip and Dale.

Here’s a snapchat of Fighter going crazy when he saw Chip and Dale.

And him being in awe after getting his hug from them.

The next day, I was holding Penny, standing around waiting for Fatty and Fighter who went to the toilet. We saw Donald Duck doing his thing nearby so I went closer to kepoh.

Again the same thing happened! Donald left his post to come over and tickle Penny and make funny signals at her.  Penny was enthralled and reached out to pat him on the beak.

So thank you Disney for creating magic for Fighter and Penny.

Here’s some family photos! With Aunty Fayth and our nanny.

And just the four of us.

Snapchats of our Disney trip.

To other parents of similarly aged kids –

If you’re thinking of taking them to Disneyland now, DO IT.  Don’t worry about whether they’ll be too young to enjoy or remember.  Maybe at Penny’s age they are, but at Fighter’s (two and above), they will love it.

Sure they may not remember much when they’re older but the younger they are, the more they believe.  The Disney magic can fade the older and more jaded they become but when they’re young it will be by far the best day of their lives.

Fighter was so happy and in wonder at all the awesome sights and experiences and I’m so glad we took him!