Bob Welbaum: My Hong Kong Non-Adventure
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Two of the more memorable cast members I met in the theme park were stationed at the barricade in front of �It�s a Small World.� These two petit ladies were named Pinky and Nicole and they could have modeled for the Small World dolls. This new attraction wasn�t scheduled to open for another two weeks, but I was hoping there would be a soft opening. No such luck � only cast members were allowed in. Pinky and Nicole politely but firmly � and consistently � turned away my every effort to gain admittance. (I thought the Chinese were taught to respect elders.) Oh well, I consider them good friends anyway.
Bob Welbaum and Pinky in front of "It's a Small World". My pained expression
reflects my inability to get past her and ride!
The new "It's a Small World" attraction, ably guarded by Nicole
Another incident involving the cast surprised me: I have always been remiss about submitting comment cards at City Hall to recognize helpful cast members. This visit was an exception � we decided to fill out comment cards to formally thank cast members who had been especially kind to us in the theme park. The amazing part was we were given gifts for submitting our comments � a 4� x 6� color photo of Donald & Daisy standing in front of City Hall in a heavy-paper frame bordered by Disney characters. That has never happened before.
Areas of improvement? We didn�t eat that many meals inside the theme park, so I hate to make any sweeping judgments, but the aforementioned sweet & sour pork wasn�t what I�m used to in the USA; maybe that�s a local thing. We did have some nice meals in the hotels. Also the souvenir line was not what I expected. We saw some beautiful blown glass and silver & gold models of Cinderella�s Castle on Main Street. But many collectible mainstays, like audio CDs, souvenir books, and the large park maps were nowhere to be found. A friend of mine collects shot glasses � excuse me, toothpick holders � and the only ones I found were comparatively pricy Arribas Brothers versions in Main Street�s Crystal Arts shop. But unlike Tokyo, pin collecting/trading is alive and well.
A meteor has crashed through the ceiling in one of the Tomorrowland gift shops.
A few miscellaneous comments:
Regarding the attractions, it was a real joy to be in theaters with generally enthusiastic audiences, especially to hear those around us ooh and aah at the 3-D effects of Mickey�s Philharmagic. I say generally because the Jungle Cruise jokes mostly fell flat. The Jungle Cruise is offered in three languages: English and two Chinese dialects. This could be because we were on an English cruise and our guide had a pretty heavy accent. Plus it was impossible to know how many of those around us actually did speak English or had simply hopped on the most convenient boat. Then too there was no �backside of water� gag in this version for people to groan over.
The "Jungle River Cruise" dock. This attraction is actually on the Rivers of
Adventure, which it shares with "Rafts to Tarzan's Treehouse".