We took on our first long haul trip of the year to Hong Kong and Macau over the kids Spring Break. We chose a nighttime flight because I did not want to entertain 3 kids for 7 hours (can you blame me?!). And luckily we tired them out enough so that they slept pretty soon after take off and stayed asleep until we reached Hong Kong 6.5 hours later. Best.Flight.Ever.
We arrived in Hong Kong with an ambitious schedule. For our first outing, we went to Ocean Park, a large theme park for children of all ages. For our buckaroos, we focused on the panda exhibit, aquarium, toddler rides, and a themed play area they designed inside. Ocean Park is so big that you can take a submarine "train" or sky cable car to take you from one end to the other. The mountains were a gorgeous backdrop for the park and it was lovely. We were off to a good start!
The next day we went to Disneyland. Originally we were planning to stay at their hotel but that would have been our second hotel move within just a few days, making our overall stay at 3 hotels during a week long trip, which we decided was too much moving around. I think next time we may stay at the resort just because we will probably go for more than half a day since the kids will be older and we could cover more ground.
Riya enjoys her princess books and loves Minnie just because (can't say I blame her) so we tried to tie all that in for her to prepare her for this trip. We were especially excited about visiting Sleeping Beauty's Castle and hyped that up for her. At the last minute I remembered to pack her Beauty and the Beast dress that she is obsessed with for the trip. Of course she asked to wear it that day (phew, crisis averted!) and off we went to Disneyland! I was surprised at how big the area was and luckily for us, there was really only one area we needed to focus on because our kids are so young.
Fantasyland had all a toddler could want: Its a Small World, Fantasy Gardens where you could meet and greet characters, Minnie Mouse's Garden, Sleeping Beauty's castle, and toddler rides. We tried to save the best for last, that being the Castle, and did everything else. The kids loved Its a Small World and it definitely brought back childhood memories for me. Too bad Reina was snoozing during the ride but she woke up just in time to snag a picture at the end:)
Sadly, we didn't get to meet any characters, the line for Mickey and Minnie Mouse was insane and we were encroaching on cranky hour. So we rushed to the Castle only to find out that it was under repair and CLOSED. Our hearts sank and Riya was very disappointed but thankfully she handled it very well.
The next day we set off to Macau. We took a 60 minute boat ride to the island of Macau. A city that was created to be the Vegas of Asia. And boy did it deliver! We visited both Wynn properties (in old town and new) and instantly felt transported to Vegas. Unfortunately, all the American slots (ahem Sex and The City) were not transported there, but everything else (decor and restaurants) were the same. It was nice to get a bit of gambling in since I haven't been since I was pregnant with Rayan. Macau is definitely not a place for little kids although all the hotels have nice indoor play areas for toddlers. Apart from shopping, dining, and gambling, there wasn't much else to do or see. This part of the trip was just for the adults:) It was a special treat to get to spend my birthday in Macau.
All in all it was a fun and memorable trip and the kids are still talking about it!
We arrived in Hong Kong with an ambitious schedule. For our first outing, we went to Ocean Park, a large theme park for children of all ages. For our buckaroos, we focused on the panda exhibit, aquarium, toddler rides, and a themed play area they designed inside. Ocean Park is so big that you can take a submarine "train" or sky cable car to take you from one end to the other. The mountains were a gorgeous backdrop for the park and it was lovely. We were off to a good start!
The next day we went to Disneyland. Originally we were planning to stay at their hotel but that would have been our second hotel move within just a few days, making our overall stay at 3 hotels during a week long trip, which we decided was too much moving around. I think next time we may stay at the resort just because we will probably go for more than half a day since the kids will be older and we could cover more ground.
Riya enjoys her princess books and loves Minnie just because (can't say I blame her) so we tried to tie all that in for her to prepare her for this trip. We were especially excited about visiting Sleeping Beauty's Castle and hyped that up for her. At the last minute I remembered to pack her Beauty and the Beast dress that she is obsessed with for the trip. Of course she asked to wear it that day (phew, crisis averted!) and off we went to Disneyland! I was surprised at how big the area was and luckily for us, there was really only one area we needed to focus on because our kids are so young.
Fantasyland had all a toddler could want: Its a Small World, Fantasy Gardens where you could meet and greet characters, Minnie Mouse's Garden, Sleeping Beauty's castle, and toddler rides. We tried to save the best for last, that being the Castle, and did everything else. The kids loved Its a Small World and it definitely brought back childhood memories for me. Too bad Reina was snoozing during the ride but she woke up just in time to snag a picture at the end:)
Sadly, we didn't get to meet any characters, the line for Mickey and Minnie Mouse was insane and we were encroaching on cranky hour. So we rushed to the Castle only to find out that it was under repair and CLOSED. Our hearts sank and Riya was very disappointed but thankfully she handled it very well.
The next day we set off to Macau. We took a 60 minute boat ride to the island of Macau. A city that was created to be the Vegas of Asia. And boy did it deliver! We visited both Wynn properties (in old town and new) and instantly felt transported to Vegas. Unfortunately, all the American slots (ahem Sex and The City) were not transported there, but everything else (decor and restaurants) were the same. It was nice to get a bit of gambling in since I haven't been since I was pregnant with Rayan. Macau is definitely not a place for little kids although all the hotels have nice indoor play areas for toddlers. Apart from shopping, dining, and gambling, there wasn't much else to do or see. This part of the trip was just for the adults:) It was a special treat to get to spend my birthday in Macau.
All in all it was a fun and memorable trip and the kids are still talking about it!
