where dreams come true...

When we found out that we'd be moving to Hong Kong, we told Annika that for her 5th birthday we'd take her to Disneyland. Let's be honest... we probably would have visited Hong Kong Disneyland regardless, but her birthday fell at a good time- not immediately when we first arrived, and also once the weather had cooled down a bit.

So we've been looking forward to this for a loooooong time. I think the girls have been more excited than they've ever even been for Christmas! On Thursday when Leila woke up, the first thing she said was "is today Disneyland?". It was fun to hype it up and anticipate it when them.

My only experience with Disneyland was going to the one in California with my parents, brother, and grandparents when I was four, but a few months from being five. Pretty much exactly Annika's age. And I actually do have quite a few memories from that day when I stop and think about it. My favorite memory is going on "It's a Small World" three times in a row with my grandma. When I told Annika that I had done that with Oma, her eyes got big and she said "I want to go on it FOUR times!". We ended up going on it three times throughout the day! It's such a good ride. Really, Disneyland didn't disappoint. I didn't have high expectations- I thought it would be crowded and cheesy. But they keep the park so immaculate and there is such attention to all the details. It's run really well. I think every single ride/show was better than we thought it would have been. And we didn't even have to wait that long for rides. Hong Kong Disneyland isn't as big as the others and is aimed at younger children. It was so perfect for Annika. We weren't sure what Leila's problem was- she was tired, grumpy, and easily frightened on the rides. And maybe over-stimulated by all the sights and sounds. We didn't let her ruin the day, but it was too bad she wasn't as enthusiastic as Annika. Hopefully she's not coming down with something. And hopefully she won't have nightmares about the flames we saw on the river boat cruise. Or the loud music during the Lion King show. The only "scary" ride was Space Mountain, and the line-up for single admission was only 5 minutes, so Mike and I each took a turn riding on that by ourselves.

We also enjoyed a short 3D animation that sprayed water, blew air on the crowd, and had smells that matched what was going on. It was pretty crazy!

But the big highlight for Annika was meeting Cinderella! There were really long line-ups to meet the characters- I don't know if it's like that at other Disneylands, but something tells me this is unique to Hong Kong because Asians love to pose and having their picture taken. There were plenty of adults in the lines. But we made a point to go see Cinderella. For some reason, Leila refused, but Annika was thrilled to meet her. Her conversation was hilarious...

"Hi, my name's Annika. And I know who you are!

Cinderella: "you do?"

Annika: "yes! You're Cinderella! We came here for my birthday, but it isn't actually my birthday."
Cinderella: "When is your birthday?"

Annika: "it's on September 27".

Cinderella: "Oh... it's on Tuesday! How old will you be?"

Annika: "I'm turning FIVE! My mom says that I am growing up too quickly."

Annika: "I came to Hong Kong from Canada and I am going to be here for TWO years. When I grow up, I'm going to be a princess just like YOU!".

(I'm never going to wash my face again!)