The AIA Great European Carnival + Thrillography Goes to Hong Kong Disneyland (Day 5) : My Fabulous Far East Trip Report - Part VII

Woo! Back in the city!

Yes! As soon as Kaitlin and I left Disneyland, we went straight to Central Hong Kong, home of the AIA Great European Carnival! 

The large funfair, which is modeled after those found in and around Germany, was once a seasonal tradition. However, interest tapered off to the point where the carnival stopped taking place for several years. 

Miraculously, the event made a triumphant return this past November after a seven year break, and I just happened to be in town for it. :}

We're also in the right place at the right time for the brand-new Hong Kong Observation Wheel, which opened just this past December. 

As you can see, Central Hong Kong is full of cool things!

Like this two-story Apple Store suspended over an eight-lane highway! 

And lots of cool buildings! The one on the far right is the 1,184 ft Bank of China Tower, which is currently the 4th tallest building in Hong Kong.

Several of the office buildings are featuring light displays to celebrate the impending Year of the Ram!

Directly behind the Hong Kong Observation Wheel is the 1,362 ft "2 International Finance Tower," which is the second largest building in Hong Kong. Only the 1,588 ft International Commerce Center in Kowloon is taller, but we didn't see that one. You'll have to just settle for the tall buildings that are next to amusement park rides. :}

The Ferris Wheel is 200ft tall and was built by Dutch Wheels, which is part of Vekoma. :}

Let's go for a ride!

Hooray for a Ferris Wheel and a funfair all in one go!

Since this is a wintertime funfair, it's only fitting that it should feature an ice rink. :}

This lovely view is of Victoria Harbor, which is a natural landform harbor situated between Hong Kong Island (which is where Central is), and Kowloon, which, like a majority of Hong Kong, is actually attached to the mainland. On the exact opposite side of Hong Kong Island from which we are currently located is Ocean Park. :}

On the right is Mach 5, which is literally the tallest Booster ride I've ever seen.

Though this fair is not as big as the ones we visited in Germany, it's still apparently large enough for three different Booster-type rides. lol

And what's that down there in the middle?!

IT'S A CREDIT!!! :'D

As for the building signs, we have a Year of the Ram "Season's Greetings" sign,

this birds, presents, and good luck charm flower,

and this additional flowery one, which changes color. 

Why can't office buildings in the US look like this? lol

Also, this Ferris Wheel is very, very blue. 

Alright! Time to check out the carnival!

Unlike traditional a-la-carte, every-vender-for-himself German funfairs, the rides at The Great European Carnival are all rented by AIA (a life insurance company) from a single vender. There is a small admission fee, but it includes 10 ride tokens (which can get you on almost any ride at least once, or a few small rides).

I have the sudden urge to play Roller Coaster Tycoon.

There were several atmospheric differences between this fair and those in Germany: patrons are quiet, courteous, and primarily sober, the grounds are immaculate and covered in astroturf, the rides have actual queues (rather than a continuation of the German-style free-for-all tradition of queueing), and overall things felt less cluttered and more sedate. 

That being said, the beer still remains intact along side the crazy rides and flashing lights.

There are also several games of skill here, though the mildness of the region has converted the often rowdy practice of carnival games into a quiet activity. 

Rather than facilitate the earsplitting chaos of German carnival games (or even just the general loudness and cheesiness of American carnival games), carnival games here invite guests to calmly contemplate their goal before attempting to win themselves an off-market stuffed toy made just across the bay in China proper. 

While some aspects of funfair culture don't translate as well as others, one that translated completely without fail is that of good, interesting food. ^_^

Oh, and three minute ride cycles from which there is no escape.

While most of the ticket takers and food venders are locals, the rides themselves naturally came with native German ride operators. The operational instructions are all written in Deutsch, after all. :}

It would seem that an attempt was made at a haunted house, but Kaitlin and I skipped it.

We also decided to avoid this neck-breaking monstrosity.

Coin pushers made an appearance, but they were less like what you'd see at a German funfair and more like what you'd see at your local Chuck-E-Cheese. Again, at least an attempt was made. :}

Inflatables are also extremely popular here, as in Germany.

I think Kaitlin and I have decided on our first ride! We'll be back after we find some dinner. :}

I was tempted to ride the Dragon Slide, but I was worried I might break it.

Thanks to a giant 45º angle mirror and a floor made to look like a cottage façade, this optical illusion photo area was hands-down the most popular attraction at the fair!

Delicious dinner: a made to order mini cheese pizza and Fanta. :}

An American Classic: Go Gator! Not a credit, but still cool. :}

Now here's the real deal! A genuine (actually, probably not) Big Apple / Wacky Worm / "Happy Caterpillar" coaster, complete with a totally-not-ripped-off-from-Pixar-at-all mural.

Kaitlin is such a good sport. :}

Now it's time for ATMOSPHERE!

Picture a full-revolution-Frisbee-type-ride with freely rotating seat benches.

Picture three minutes of absurdly aggressive transitions with a side of whiplash.

Picture me, screaming like a small child and almost crying while Kaitlin giggles with glee.

This ride is awesome. Scary as hell and a little rough on your body, but awesome.

We decided to make Mach 5 our fourth and final ride of the night. It looks rather intimidating, but honestly it was quite pleasant. :}

There's a nice sense of speed and g-forces that comes with a ride of this size. And the views were stunning!

This one's ride cycle was surprisingly short compared to other rides, but for the typical local that would probably be considered a blessing. :}

Tonight was a huge success! It's not every day you get to experience a cultural tradition through the lens of a completely different culture. What a great experience!

  

Goodnight, everyone. :}

Tomorrow is our third consecutive Disney day, 5th overall! 

Do you think you can handle it? ;}

Good morning, everyone!

(or good afternoon, rather. When you're on day 5 of a park, sometimes a few extra hours of sleep win out in the morning. :} ) 

As expected, Hong Kong Disneyland is in full swing! It's sunny, it's unseasonably warm, and it's a Saturday!!

Hmmm…let's see…

What would be a good thing to do on a busy day? Maybe something we haven't done yet?

Of course! Let's hop across the river and check out Tarzan's Treehouse!

The Rafts to Tarzan's Treehouse not only navigate around passing Jungle Cruises, but when both rafts are running, they do a little synchronized swimming act so that they both depart and dock at the same time! 

You may remember that Tarzan's house is currently undergoing a remodel; lucky for us, all of it is still accessible by the general public!

In addition to Tarzan's Treehouse, this island is teeming with lovely scenery! 

The way between Tarzan's house and the raft dock is around this bonus grotto!

And who doesn't like bonus grottos? :}

The many floors of Tarzan's Treehouse are completely engulfed in bamboo!

So much so that it reaches all the way up the crow's nest!

But no amount of bamboo can extinguish our thirst for adventure!

(nor can it extinguish Kaitlin's Taylor Swift-level fashion fabulousness!)

From up in the tree branches, we can see the dock for Jungle Cruise.

ACK!

TARZAN!

YOUR CAT IS ATTACKING US!

Wait - just kidding!

The leopard was just a prop to help demonstrate the chronological events of the movie. :}

Like with the park's various shows, Tarzan's Treehouse serves as many guests' first exposure to the many stories that Disney tells. 

Everyone wave to the Jungle Cruise!

Once the abridged re-telling of Tarzan is complete, guests make their way back down from the treehouse amid countless curious doodads.

There's even a chemistry set and a slide projector! I wonder if we could get it to play Breaking Bad...

And LOOK! Another baby elephant!! They just love their elephants around here. :}

Time to cross the river back to the mainland! 

We rode Grizzly next. The line was at a length that required us to wait in a previously unvisited part of the queue house, which provided us with a nice new view. :}

Just when you think you've seen Grizz from every angle, and new view pops up!

For lunch I had fish & chips, along with my umpteenth Geyser Gulp and some delicious mango panna cotta! These people definitely know how to do their gelatinous desserts. :}

Next we passed trough the hub to wave to Christian in the parade,

and then followed up with MORE DESSERT. Because this is my vacation and I say more dessert. :}

(>^^)>  Chocolate Banana Ice Cream Basket!  <(^^<)

And look! The train is running more test runs! I guess I'll just have to come back and ride it next time. ;}

Wanna know how busy it was? Bam! Seventy-five minutes for Autopia!

Also, it looks like we've finally got some vertical construction on Tony Stark's house! It will definitely be another reason to come back. :}

Now it's time for another new attraction! Can you believe there were still any left on day 5?!

While waiting in line, for the Stitch Encounter, I made friends with a local family. :}

These little girls asked me every question they could say in English and it was the cutest thing ever. 

Hey look! It's stupid-head!

The Stitch Encounter theater-type-thing is wedged in between its own queue and Space Mountain's queue, while also underneath Space Mountain itself. Clever use of space in space. :}

The encounter begins and Stitch starts addressing various members of the audience. Stitch is just so sassy! 

My grandiose intentions of sitting in the back corner and simply observing were shattered when Stitch called me out for impersonating Buzz Lightyear. He spent a good five minutes chewing me out for it. It was awkward and hilarious and surreal. lol

Before the encounter is over, we have to help Stitch flee from Gantu when his ship is intercepted! Fortunately, we were able to direct Stitch to his escape pod, but not without one last snide remark from him about my jacket!

Extra Fast Passes = scrapbooking gold

Even on the busiest of days, a Fast Pass is hardly necessary on Space Mountain. :}

I of course rode small world again, but this time I actually sat back and just watched instead of trying to take a picture of everything that moves. 

I haven't eaten junk food in, like, an hour.

I DECLARE SNACK TIME!

We're going to try a local favorite that took several days of mustering up the courage to try:

Dried Squid!

The squid is essentially a glazed jerky that's made by rolling it flat and grilling it panini-style. It has a tough, stretchy, stringy consistency that felt not unlike chewing on a burlap sack, but frankly it tasted good and I quite enjoyed it. Culture credit. :}

Adventureland's main marquee is quite a sight at night. :}

It's almost time to go! Kaitlin and I are going into town to eat MORE FOOD!

But first, a few more Fantasyland pictures. :}

I made sure to steer clear of the Mad Tea Party / small world side of Fantasyland. Otherwise we'd never get out of here! 

Alright, let's MOVE OUT! It's chow time!

In the train station that connects to the Disney line, we noticed that someone had made an edit to one of the safety signs with a Disney sticker. 

FOOD! Tonight we're having Mongolian stir fry with Kaitlin's friends from work!

And that means grossly over-stuffing your bowl of raw ingredients for the cook to turn into a delicious noodle bowl! Mine was so good that I forgot to take a picture of it before I ate it.

I did get a shot of my second course, however: a made-your-way personal cheese pizza, loaded up with two of my favorite ingredients: red onion and fresh clam! <3

Totally gross, I know.

…….

DON'T JUDGE MEEEEEE!

Time for a family picture!

Look at all of these lovely smiling faces! Everyone is so pretty; pretty as a prince or a princess, don't you think? 

;}

Well, I'm bloated. Time to lie down.

Tomorrow, though. Get ready. 

Kaitlin and I are taking on some SERIOUSLY wild territory: Mainland China! We'll be going off the grid (no Facebook or Twitter allowed!) and into the land of green air and over 1 billion citizens to ride what would end up being the two best roller coasters of the trip!!!

Some of this stuff you will have to see to believe. 

See ya next time. ;}