Disneyland is made for kids and kids at heart. No wonder the closest one to the Philippines, Hong Kong Disneyland, is one of the top vacation destinations for Filipino parents. Although, for those with toddlers, a huge question lingers: is taking the kids to Disneyland worth all the expenses and exhaustion, given that they’re too young to even remember the details of the trip?
Just a few weeks ago, my husband and I flew abroad with our 23-month-old toddler for the first time. The highlight of our trip was our visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, no less! We were dog-tired as soon as the iconic “Momentous” pyrotechnics was over, but I can tell you that given the chance, we’d go through the entire experience all over again. Here’s why.
It was an exciting Thursday morning for all of us as we woke up our toddler telling her it’s finally the day she meets Mickey Mouse. To amplify her excitement, we dressed her up in a printed Disney shirt, and we brought along the Minnie Mouse ears her Lola gave her.
We arrived at the park way before gates open at 10:30 am. Despite the unfriendly heat of the sun and the growing queue to the entrance, our toddler already enjoyed the sights and sounds the place offers. No one enjoyed the waiting better than she did!
Disneyland was such a spectacle, and she enjoyed walking especially in the Main Street. We checked our list of toddler-appropriate rides one by one, and we sure wouldn’t leave Disneyland without riding the Cinderella Carousel! Our daughter said, “Wow!” many times over – the perfect antidote to our lightheadedness from the fast-moving merry go round.
Since toddlers aged three and below enter Disneyland for free, my husband and I didn’t avail any admission ticket for our toddler. But even then, just a few minutes in the park, we already had our “Return of Investment” from buying the plane tickets – our toddler was having the time of her life, and she generously expressed it through smiles, squeals, and dances.
Inside the park, she’d point to or move closer to every character she recognizes. She’d linger on glass displays and tell us, through the syllables she can produce and her high-pitched tone, how excited she is to see the characters from her books right in front of her!
Two of the book staples in her reading nook are entitled, “Winnie the Pooh: How are You? Let’s Talk about Feelings” and “Winnie the Pooh: 10 Busy Bees.” She encounters Pooh and friends almost on a daily basis, so it’s a must that we take the Pooh-themed ride and take a Pooh plushie home! Oh, she couldn’t take her hands off the newest addition to her toy collection.
We brought our toddler to a total of five rides, and our best one is definitely “It’s a Small World.” It was a clear favorite from the first ride that we had to go back two more times!
“It’s a Small World” is a boat ride that took us to “different continents” through art installations that move, dance, and sing to the tune of the song of the same title. Since it is designed to take us to every part of the world, the song is also translated to different languages and we hear the different versions as we pass by. What a grand show it was!
There was no dull moment in this ride for our toddler and for us, her parents. But one of my best memories here is our toddler excitedly pointing to Disney characters we encounter from the books we read her. Oh how she recognized Pinocchio (and she pointed to her nose as soon as she saw him), and Mowgli from the Jungle Book! I didn’t realize how much detail she remembers from our daily reading time until this ride.
About an hour before the afternoon parade, we already stayed close to Main Street so we could get a good spot before the street gets crowded. The waiting was worth it, because our toddler was able to get a good view of Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy! She said, “Hi!” excitedly as each character passes in front of us, as if she finally met her long-time friends in the flesh!
Hong Kong Disneyland was a place unfamiliar to her as it was our very first time to visit, but seeing the Disney characters she knew so well through the stories we read made the place her home away from home.
One morning, while we were eating breakfast back home in Manila, she randomly said, “I-i Waws” (Mickey Mouse) and “Dat” (duck, referring to Daisy Duck). I knew then that just like us, her parents, she too reminisces her experience of meeting Mickey and friends.
They say that toddlers won’t remember anything until they’re 4 and older, but I personally didn’t take her there just so she could “remember.” I want her to experience the joy and the thrill of being in there and meeting the Disney characters, and if this memory lingers to her only for a few weeks or months, it’s all good. Seeing my daughter have the time of her life was enough. Let me soak in this priceless moment and let me use it to look forward to another Disneyland trip.
We went to Disneyland with my brothers, cousins, and in-laws, and my brother took the lead in all the bookings. I personally did not see the advantage of booking Disneyland on a Thursday until we were there. I set my mind on entertaining our toddler during long queues, but there were little to no queues at all! Our longest line took just 10 minutes. Our toddler had a little tantrum because of the wait, so I couldn’t imagine how it would look like should rides have taken us 30 minutes to an hour of queueing.
If you can, visit Disneyland on a lean season, too!
Since it’s our first flight with our toddler, I thought that bringing her stroller would be a huge hassle. Turns out, it saved our tired bodies from walking and running some more after an overstimulated toddler!
Along with my youngest brother, I researched on Hong Kong Disneyland’s toddler-friendly rides. Our list includes Cinderella Carousel, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Madhatter’s Tea Cups, It’s a Small World, and Jungle River Cruise. There were no tears in the rides except for one – we didn’t anticipate the splash of waters which was a feature on Jungle River Cruise. Our little one got startled and cried for a moment.
Thanks to the Disney plushies she got as pasalubongs from our relatives overseas, it was not difficult to introduce Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy. We supported it through a Disney Tsum Tsum sticker book and Disney story books from book sales. I can definitely say the trip had more meaning to her because the characters were familiar to her.
Before going to Hong Kong, we checked the weather forecast for the duration of our trip and we anticipated light showers on our Disneyland day. This was the main reason we brought extra pair of shoes for her. Thankfully, it didn’t rain, but when our toddler kept holding her right shoe, we took it as a cue for us to change the pair. She didn’t hold her shoes anymore since.
But because it was hot, it was inevitable for us to change her shirt. We had more shirts in our bag just in case!
Thankfully for us, packed food are allowed inside Disneyland because as expected, our toddler didn’t want to eat anything from there – even her favorite rice and broccoli from my lunch at The Royal Banquet didn’t make it! She was able to get through the day with malunggay pandesal, Marie biscuits, water, and breastmilk, of course!
As there will be a lot of walking in Hong Kong Disneyland, you will never go wrong with investing in a pair of walking shoes. I don’t buy so many things for myself most especially when I became a mom, but a comfy pair of shoes is a need on a trip like this. Trust me – the exhaustion from the whole day trip in Disneyland became more bearable because my feet weren’t complaining.
I’ve been to Hong Kong Disneyland when I was in college. It feels so different to go back there as a mom. There’s a balance of familiarity and surprise that I enjoyed feeling the whole day through. I woke up the next day with stuffed nose and aching upper body, but just like what I said earlier – for my toddler, I’d do it all over again.