A peek inside 'It's a Small World' attraction

Life becomes complicated as we focus on "more important" matters such as money and career.

Don’t you wish that you could just go back to the time when you were still a child who didn’t have a care in the world?

When my editor told me to go to Hong Kong Disneyland, I was ebullient and excited. It was the perfect escape…my chance to feel like a kid again and spend a day without worries.

Recently, delegates from various countries were invited to go to HK Disneyland to try the different rides and to witness the unveiling of its newest attraction, the "It’s a Small World" boat ride.

It was a hot Saturday morning when we arrived in Hong Kong Disneyland. Under the heat of the sun, we watched HK Disneyland’s "High School Musical Live."

Presented three times daily, the show features songs from the Disney movie, "High School Musical." In the middle of the production, the performers pick people from the audience to join the show.

There is a huge number of Filipino talents in HK Disneyland. In fact, one of the lead characters in High School Musical Live! is played by a Filipina.

Another production staged daily at the Storybook Theater is the Golden Mickeys.

Excerpts from famous Disney cartoon movies such as The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, and Cinderella are featured in the Golden Mickeys. The musical celebration is a feast for the eyes and the ears. Watching the production was nostalgic as it brought back memories of my childhood days. Meanwhile, kids who were watching the shows were all giddy and excited to see their favorite characters onstage.

One of the shows we really enjoyed was the Stitch Encounter. The Stitch Encounter is an interactive show where guests are seated in an intimate theater. The place is supposed to be a space craft and guests are on a space tour. Every show is different as Stitch answers the guests’ questions unrehearsed.

Stitch’s funny antics and jokes made us laugh our brains out!

Among the rides that we were able to try were the Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, and the Mad Hatter Tea Cups.

Space Mountain is an indoor rollercoaster which sends the guests soaring fast and high past the stratosphere and into outer space.

The boarding queue is designed with planetoids to give the guests a feel of what they will see inside the Space Mountain.

Inside the Space Mountain, we experienced a different kind of ride compared to the usual roller coasters. Unlike other roller coasters, this indoor rollercoaster made us feel like we were really on a space voyage because we were surrounded with planets and stars. (But if you ask us, we would have enjoyed more if there were more plunges and unexpected drops.)

The Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, on the other hand, is an interactive ride-through adventure. Armed with infrared lasers, we began another space adventure. Our mission was to protect the Earth’s supply of batteries from the evil Emperor Zung. It is inspired by the animated movie "Toy Story 2."

Our third ride was the Mad Hatter Tea Cups, inspired by a scene from the cartoon movie "Alice in Wonderland." Riders can control the rational speed and direction of their own cup. Next to Space Mountain, this was our favorite. Plus, there was a huge tea cup just outside the Mad Hatter Tea Cups, which was perfect for our "photo shoot." The common thing among us was that we love taking photos, a la "America’s Next Top Model."Tyra Banks would be proud of us if she saw our photos!

Later in the afternoon, local and foreign tourists flocked to the Main Street for the "Disney on Parade"

which featured floats, musicians, dancers, and Disney characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy, Pluto, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Cinderella, among others.

But what we were all anxious to see was the "It’s a Small World" boat ride. Celebrities Nikki Gil, Miriam Yeung, Michael Wong, and Two joined Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Jay Rasulo and financial secretary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government John Tsang, JP at the rope drop ceremony.

"‘It’s a Small World’ is a perfect example of Disney’s signature entertainment that immerses guests in a wonderful story of peace, hope and friendship. We are confident that ‘It’s a Small World’ will touch the hearts and minds of guests of all ages for generations to come," shares Jay Rasulo.

"It’s a Small World" takes guests on a journey across the continents of the world, inviting them to rediscover the world through the eyes of a child.

Along the journey, guests can marvel at 241 dolls dressed in different traditional costumes, while the song "It’s a Small World" plays on the background.

To make it more appealing to the guests, the song "It’s a Small World" is sung in different languages namely Cantonese, Putonghua, Korean, Tagalog, English, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, and Japanese.

Compared to the other "It’s a Small World" attractions, HK’s version of "It’s a Small World" is the biggest one.

The sets and designs are twice the size of the other "It’s a Small World" attractions.

Our journey to the world began as soon as everyone hopped on the boat.

First stop was the North Pole, where we saw seals, walruses, polar bears, and Eskimos fishing and singing. Disney characters Bambi and Thumper can be spotted on the icy grounds of North Pole.

Next on the list was Europe. The Europe scene included Scandinavia, England, Scotland, Denmark, and France. Here, we were greeted by characters Peter Pan, Wendy and Tinkerbell, who floated above the London Tower Bridge, while Cinderella and her Prince Charming waved to guests.

Then, we enjoyed a view of Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Russia, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

As we drifted past the Europe scene, we entered the Middle East set, which featured Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and Disney’s fictional kingdom of Agrabah, from the animated film "Aladdin."

Princess Jasmine welcomed the guests as she sat on the magic carpet in the Kingdom of Agrabah.

Past the Middle East was the exotic savanna in Africa. Here, characters from the movie Lion King such as Simba, Mufasa, Pumbaa, and Timon were part of the set.

Up next was America, which featured dancing Chilean penguins and children singing "It’s a Small World" in Spanish.

The scene gave us a peek of the North and South America and their culture. Disney characters present on the set were Pocahontas, Jessie, and Woody (from the movie "Toy Story").

Then came the Asian segment with sets representing Japan, India, Cambodia, Hong Kong, China, Korea, and the Philippines, among others.

Chinese elements like acrobats, lion dancing, the Great Wall of China, lanterns, and bamboo are present in the China scene. There, Mulan flies a kite that looks like her guardian, Mushu the dragon.

The Philippines is represented by a nipa hut with dolls wearing "baro’t saya." Outside the nipa hut, a tarsier climbs a tree.

These segments are followed by the Islands set, where Ariel (Little Mermaid) and her sisters sing the background song. Nemo, Dory, and Peach (from Finding Nemo) can be spotted swimming among the bubbles, corals, and seaweeds.

This Island set includes scenes from Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti, New Guinea, New Zealand, and Australia.

The rainforest is beside the Islands scene. UV lights and paint make this scene look real.

At the final stop, children from all over the world came together to sing "It’s a Small World." Dolls in various traditional costumes are displayed at the last set.

Finally, a trip to Disneyland won’t be complete without the fireworks. Just outside Sleeping Beauty’s castle, people gathered to witness the fireworks display. It is not the usual fireworks display. There is a storytelling portion just right before the fireworks display starts. During the fireworks exhibition, songs from Disney movies are played simultaneously.

After the fireworks display, we left the park and headed to Hollywood Hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Lost In Translation

After spending a whole day in Disneyland, we decided to leave Sunny Bay and do the next best thing…shop!

We hopped on the MTR and headed to Kowloon and Mongkok. In Mongkok, we shopped in pairs and agreed to meet in one of the restaurants at Ladies Street.

There, we bought clothes, bags, DVDs, footwear, and lots of souvenirs. After shopping, everyone was famished...well, everyone except me. There was still one thing on my list that I needed to buy. My brother asked me to buy a muscle spray for him, so I decided to leave the group for a while and look for it.

After entering a few shops, I was ready to give up. I couldn’t find the muscle spray and it was so frustrating! I have wandered far enough and my feet were hurting like hell. Still, I decided to give it a final shot. So, I went inside a store and asked a Chinese lady, "Is there a drugstore nearby?"

The woman looked alarmed and called her colleagues. They began talking in Cantonese. I couldn’t understand their language but somehow, I knew what they were thinking. Soon after, two guards were rushing towards me. I was right; they thought I was looking for drugs! I tried to explain but they could not understand English. I found myself surrounded by Chinese people and everyone was pointing at me. All I could understand from what they were saying was the word "drugs." Luckily, a (Chinese) passerby joined the commotion. Although she couldn’t speak English fluently, she understood what I meant. She explained that I was looking for a pharmacy. Then, it hit me. They are not familiar with the word "drugstore," but instead, they use "pharmacy."

In the end, they said "Tupuchi," which means sorry in Chinese. I just smiled at them and hurriedly walked back to where the group was. Now, that is an adventure in Hong Kong that I will never forget!