It's been a lovely last couple weeks :) From celebrating Anto's birthday at Disney and starting to volunteer at Crossroads, waterfront walks and used book store tours, going to the movies,hustlin' in the jade market, playing bball, and celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving Hong Kong style...we've been busy! That's why it's so nice to spend a quiet evening reflecting on, and re-enjoying all the stories and fun times we've had.
PS It has literally taken us over a week to get this blog posted. From the writing, to uploading all the pics, it has taken forever thanks to the worst internet ever! Sorry to keep every one waiting on an update. I thought Teksavvy was bad...I should have never complained, now I'm destined to feel the wrath of the slow internet gods.
Anywho, the first and most special day was definitely celebrating Anto's 29th birthday At Disney World. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, we were bursting with love, and you could feel all the excitement in the air. There is a subway line dedicated solely to getting you to Disney Land. It literally lets you off at the entrance gates to the park!
The whole subway is full of rambunctious and giddy kids just chanting about “Going to Disney! Going to Disney.” and Anto fit right in! And then there's the poor parents, carrying all their supplies (and sanity) to make it through the day – picnic lunches, blankets, hats, cool damp towels, and always a suitcase full of who knows that. It was so cute seeing how excited Anto was though :) We were in total birthday celebration mode, so we were already having so much fun and we hadn't even got there yet!
PS It has literally taken us over a week to get this blog posted. From the writing, to uploading all the pics, it has taken forever thanks to the worst internet ever! Sorry to keep every one waiting on an update. I thought Teksavvy was bad...I should have never complained, now I'm destined to feel the wrath of the slow internet gods.
Anywho, the first and most special day was definitely celebrating Anto's 29th birthday At Disney World. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, we were bursting with love, and you could feel all the excitement in the air. There is a subway line dedicated solely to getting you to Disney Land. It literally lets you off at the entrance gates to the park!
The whole subway is full of rambunctious and giddy kids just chanting about “Going to Disney! Going to Disney.” and Anto fit right in! And then there's the poor parents, carrying all their supplies (and sanity) to make it through the day – picnic lunches, blankets, hats, cool damp towels, and always a suitcase full of who knows that. It was so cute seeing how excited Anto was though :) We were in total birthday celebration mode, so we were already having so much fun and we hadn't even got there yet!
As soon as you arrive, the air is filled with classical Disney music, and you're surrounded by nostalgia, passing by countless cool displays and reminiscent, movie moment monuments. Someone's excited!
When you're through the main gate, you're in "Mainstreet USA", which really just means shopping. So we enjoyed a fun stroll through some of the shops, looking through all the crazy amounts of Disney EVERYTHING, and being silly all along the way. It made us laugh how many things also turned into nail clippers. They're just really into nail clippers.
One of the first things you notice as you arrive is Sleeping's Beauty's giant castle up ahead. Now, I'm not big into Disney like Anto is, but I'm definitely a sucker for a pretty castle. So we clearly had to go there first!
We were just in time to watch a 3D movie in this little theatre we stumbled upon. It was very elegant inside, all red velvety and such. And the film was so well done! All kinds of movement throughout the whole thing - characters jumping out at you, items and objects flying through the scene. It felt so real! I couldn't help but reach out in front of me to try and grab them as they flew by me. As I looked around, I wasn't the only one! The story was cute too, all about Donald Duck setting up for Mickey's orchestra, but then he goes into some weird portal, and has to get through all the popular Disney movies just to get all his instruments back in time. It was so fun, the perfect first attraction of the day and sweetly romantic :)
As it turns out, we were also right next to Space Mountain. I remember this ride from when I went to Disney as a kid. My brother was so scared, saying "I'm too young to die" over and over again, it was too funny! And it's still pretty scary now, the most exciting ride there for sure! Then we shot lasers at robots with Buzz Lightyear, and stopped for some cheesy, but awesome, photo ops along the way. Also, the garbage can moved around the park on it's own, talking, reacting and interacting with people! So cute.
As it turns out, we were also right next to Space Mountain. I remember this ride from when I went to Disney as a kid. My brother was so scared, saying "I'm too young to die" over and over again, it was too funny! And it's still pretty scary now, the most exciting ride there for sure! Then we shot lasers at robots with Buzz Lightyear, and stopped for some cheesy, but awesome, photo ops along the way. Also, the garbage can moved around the park on it's own, talking, reacting and interacting with people! So cute.
After that, we headed to Adventure Land! We took a raft over to Tarzan's tree house, which was kind of a bust actually. I'd say the 30 second raft ride over was more exciting! But it's always fun to make fun of things together, so at least we had that. Afterwards, we found a little boat ride that would take you around Tarzan's little island in more detail. It took you on an adventure through elephants and other wild life, fake tribal attacks, firey passageways, and more. It was kind of corny but the tour guide was the cutest girl, so it was entertaining!
Had to check out the, always creepy, It's A Small World ride. It's so hilariously weird in there. Totally reminds me of that episode of the Simpsons where Lisa drinks from the water on the ride and goes all wild, running around yelling, "I am the lizard queen! I am the lizard queen!"
Anyway...haha Anto hadn't been on this ride before, so I loved watching his reaction to how funny it was and how stereo-typically each "World" was displayed. The best part, was all these places had the most elaborate sets, but you get to Canada and it was just a Mounty and two totem poles. Hilarious! Here are some pics!
Anyway...haha Anto hadn't been on this ride before, so I loved watching his reaction to how funny it was and how stereo-typically each "World" was displayed. The best part, was all these places had the most elaborate sets, but you get to Canada and it was just a Mounty and two totem poles. Hilarious! Here are some pics!
Somehow it was easier to find at meal at Disney than it is walking around the streets of Hong Kong, but I'm not complaining! We found a place in Adventureland that had a veggie indian style lunch, even came with Pappadamn! Which is like a thin and crispy naan-style side, but made out of chickpea flour so I can enjoy it. I was very happy! The meat option wasn't that exciting for Anto but we shared and had a lovely lunch in the shade together, watching the birds plan their next crumb snatching.
We continued to stroll through Adventureland, checking out the rides and photo ops. Even got to meet Chip & Dale! When it was our turn for the picture, they walked up to get me from line, pointing at my arms, giggling and thumbs-upping me. I guess they approve of my tattoos? It was cute :)
We continued to stroll through Adventureland, checking out the rides and photo ops. Even got to meet Chip & Dale! When it was our turn for the picture, they walked up to get me from line, pointing at my arms, giggling and thumbs-upping me. I guess they approve of my tattoos? It was cute :)
The park doesn't take too long to get through, so our last stop was Toy Story Land. They had a couple good rides, and we made friends with a mom and her young daughter in line, whose birthday it also was! So the Mom loves it and instantly wants to take a picture of them together. It was awesome. We noticed she had a giant Disney button on that said it was her birthday...so we had to investigate. Turns out they give them away for free back at the "City Hall" in "Mainland USA." Now we had a mission! The mom and Daughter duo was going to go on the next ride with us since we'd had a lot of fun together on the last, but the little girl was too short. It made me feel so old, we used to be the kids faking our heights for the rides, now we're the people hanging out with those kids at Disney World haha
We strolled through the rest of Toy Story land, which was so fun! There were some cool things to see, like people marching around as those little green army figurines, photo ops with Woody, cool displays and decorations, etc.
We strolled through the rest of Toy Story land, which was so fun! There were some cool things to see, like people marching around as those little green army figurines, photo ops with Woody, cool displays and decorations, etc.
But now there was only one thing left to do... get Anto his birthday button! Which was easy, they don't even ask for proof, they just love that it's your birthday. They gave him stacks of stickers and were so pumped that it was his brithday! Turns out, once you are the wearer of the birthday button, you must feel all the added cheer of the Disney employees. It's like, once they see it, they get extra excited and kind, I love it! After the whole day in a Disney birthday portal of awesome, you could just feel all the happiness Anto was beaming in his birthday gear. Such a perfect day. So lucky we will keep memories like these in our lives :)
A trip to Disney just wouldn't be complete without the patented picture with Mickey Mouse. Right as we were walking out from getting the button, we saw him right there in the center of the street! We got in line behind a Dad and his two young daughters. They are Chinese but born in Australia, so they actually only spoke English. Finally, I can communicate! And they were so cute, oh my goodness!
They loved playing with Anto of course, there was so much giggling and fun happening. It was the perfect moment, just as the sun was setting in Disney, castle in the distance and everything. We noticed they were covered in stickers like the stack Anto was just given, so we shared some with them that they continued to stick them up their arms, or on their Dad.
After the pictures with Mickey were all done, we stopped to talk to them some more and meet their Mom. We remembered we had also made our own Disney buttons at home and had been wearing them all day! So we asked if we could give them to the girls, and sure enough they accepted! It was so lovely, they were such nice people and their daughters were so adorable and kind, we were all just excited to be experience that memory in Disney together. The wife asked if she could get a picture of us with their daughters before we left, and it made us so happy, such a nice gesture. We got her to take one for us too so we can always remember. Can't post it though, it's too cute for the internet.
They loved playing with Anto of course, there was so much giggling and fun happening. It was the perfect moment, just as the sun was setting in Disney, castle in the distance and everything. We noticed they were covered in stickers like the stack Anto was just given, so we shared some with them that they continued to stick them up their arms, or on their Dad.
After the pictures with Mickey were all done, we stopped to talk to them some more and meet their Mom. We remembered we had also made our own Disney buttons at home and had been wearing them all day! So we asked if we could give them to the girls, and sure enough they accepted! It was so lovely, they were such nice people and their daughters were so adorable and kind, we were all just excited to be experience that memory in Disney together. The wife asked if she could get a picture of us with their daughters before we left, and it made us so happy, such a nice gesture. We got her to take one for us too so we can always remember. Can't post it though, it's too cute for the internet.
Once the sun sets, and it's 30 minutes before closing the park, they turn the streets into a giant parade of lights. Sounds more exciting than it is, but it was still cool seeing some flashy floats. It was going pretty slow and we already felt like we conquered the day, so we decided to beat the crowds and head home feeling totally content with the entire day :)
Besides, we had cheesecake and a candle to blow out waiting for us at home. I will never forget this day celebrating Anto's brithday together...at Disney World...in Hong Kong. Such amazing memories and so much love. It literally felt right out of a fairy tale. I hope all your birthday wishes come true forever and ever Mr. Anto. Gnaw oy lay so much!
Besides, we had cheesecake and a candle to blow out waiting for us at home. I will never forget this day celebrating Anto's brithday together...at Disney World...in Hong Kong. Such amazing memories and so much love. It literally felt right out of a fairy tale. I hope all your birthday wishes come true forever and ever Mr. Anto. Gnaw oy lay so much!