WOW! Travel Christmas Party 2007 - HONG KONG

 

WOW! Travel has just enjoyed a long weekend in Hong Kong for our 2007 Christmas Party!

 

This year we thought we would go just that little bit further than last years’ Fiji weekend away, this time escaping the mild weather of Melbourne during Cup Weekend.

Again this years’ Christmas party was enjoyed by all 13 of us (that’s including Lisa & Robyn’s 5 children). We started our adventure, not telling the kids of course and tricking them by experiencing the Virgin Blue lounge, making them think we were travelling to a domestic location. All 5 children were held in suspense until handed their travel documents, which upon reading was met with squeals of excitement and disbelieve! None of the children had visited a Disneyland property before, so the prospect of meeting some Disney characters was just overwhelming.

 

We flew Virgin Blue to Sydney then Cathay Pacific and Virgin Atlantic to Hong Kong. Some of us were lucky enough to experience the new seating on Cathay Pacific (very ingenious and comfortable) and Premium Economy Class on Virgin Atlantic. Both flights were extremely pleasurable, due to the friendly and helpful staff.

Upon arrival we were met by the transfer staff of Octopus Travel and YQ4 Travel, for a speedy transfer from the airport to our hotel. Off to the Disney's Hollywood Hotel for a sleep before a full day of Hong Kong Disney the next morning. We rode the courtesy bus from the hotel to the park and wandered down to the front gates. While receiving our tickets, courtesy of Disney Australia, Martin (Robyn’s husband) was asked if he would like to officially open Hong Kong Disney! Well we all jumped at the opportunity, which meant that we walked past the hundreds standing in the queue, allowing time to take photos of our WOW! Travel group in front of the Disney Train, officially open Hong Kong Disney after the countdown and then received the certificate to prove it! What a start to the day!!!

 

From here we all experienced Hong Kong Disney at our leisure, catching up with each other in queues for rides or eating at many of the restaurants and food stalls scattered around the park. Most agreed that the days highlights included opening the park, ‘Space Mountain’, the ‘Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters’ ride, the ‘Jungle River Cruise’, the ‘Mickey’s PhilharMagic 3D theatre and the Lion King performance ‘Festival of the Lion King’. It was such a fantastic day with fun being had by young and old! The shopping is also great because of our Aussie dollar at the moment. The park is smaller than the original Disneyland in Anaheim, which means you could see all of the park in one day if you had limited time in Hong Kong.

 

The following morning we walked to the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel for the Disney Character Breakfast! This was a lot of fun. We enjoyed over indulging ourselves at breakfast, as the food was so yummy. Then when we were too full to move, out came Mickey, Goofy and Daisy to join us for photo opportunities. After breakfast those with children returned for another day in Hong Kong Disney, while the others took the train into Kowloon to start shopping!

 

We stayed at the Prince Hotel Hong Kong, which really is in such a great location, just near the Star Ferry Terminal. We spent an afternoon of exploration and haggling in the fantastic Mong Kok area. The next morning was a planned orientation tour with Splendid Tours.  This is a really great idea, as it allows you to get your bearings on Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The tour included Victoria Peak, Aberbeen, Repulse Bay, a factory visit to see how some local jewellery is produced then finishing at Stanley Market. We all decided to get off the tour here so that we could spend more time exploring for bargains and eating lunch along the water front. 

 

Although a short time, we all thoroughly enjoyed our Hong Kong visit and can highly recommend it to all our clients, friends and family (we can even recommend a few local bargains like the authentic fake Tiffany’s jewellery stall!). We would also highly recommend Cathay Pacific and Virgin Atlantic to get you to Hong Kong. Some of us were even lucky enough to try the lie flat beds, the stand up bar and the massage facilities on our return to Sydney on Virgin Atlantic, what a way to travel!

 

 

We would like to say a big Thank You to the following people, as they helped to make our Christmas Party unforgettable.

  • Virgin Blue, Cathay Pacific & Virgin Atlantic
  • Karen at Disney Australia
  • Ange, our fantastic rep at Virgin Blue
  • Mark Miller at Virgin Atlantic
  • Anita at Holiday Connect
  • Justin at Octopus Travel
  • Scott Cammell at Concorde
  • Lisa at YQ4 Travel
  • Hong Kong Tourism Board in Sydney
  • Splendid Tours & Travel in Hong Kong