Celebrating its 5th Year this 2011, Hong Kong Disneyland puts on a wonderful afternoon parade called “Flights of Fantasy.” I must have been very fortunate to visit HK Disneyland at this time because they’re on their landmark 5th Anniversary. You can definitely feel the joy and excitement of being there.
I could say that HK Disneyland isn’t the most thrilling place to be. It’s not like Universal Studios Singapore (USS) where the rides are all on steroids. Disneyland is a place for kids, there’s no denying that. But, I could say, that there is something in Disneyland that USS does not have- “magic”.
Yep… Magic. And I’ve totally felt that when I watched the afternoon parade.
You see, if you are an adult, you don’t actually go to Disneyland for the rides. The rides, except for Space Mountain, won’t bring you the thrills you’d expect. Leave that to the kids. What you should NEVER EVER miss however is the parade.
The moment I sat down on the pavement and saw all of the floats and characters go by, it was like a flashback of my childhood. I grew up watching everything Disney- from Snow White, to Beauty and the Beast, to Aladdin, Lilo and Stitch, and all the Toy Story movies. I’ve literally watched each and every Disney animated film. And that was “magic”. For 20 minutes, I felt like I was no different from the five year old kid sitting beside me and waving at the characters.
I mean, these are all just normal people in costumes, (not to mention many of them were Filipinos!) but the moment I saw them, I was totally bewildered. Reality and fantasy blurred like “magic”. I really don’t know why I just felt amazed and touched. And what’s wonderful about this is that this was the last in my Hong Kong itinerary. I was going home the next day.
This parade was just like the tastiest morsel you’d save as your last bite on your plate. It was a wonderful closure not just to end my dream to visit HK Disneyland, but also to end my fantastic Hong Kong experience.
NXB: No Excess Baggage 