Summer Vacation Suggestions 2014

Summer Vacation!  Two words that mean so much joy to both kids and moms who don't have to wake up early.  Yay!

In a few more weeks, summer is going to be upon us already. Soon enough, the kids will be asking, "where are we going?" Do you have a destination in mind already? 

I know where I will be taking my family this summer, and I have already started planning our itinerary. Shempre, pati itinerary DIY! My daughter, B, and I station ourselves in front of the computer as we research about our upcoming trip.  She enjoys it so much, and feels so valued that she has a say in which hotel to choose!:)

We love taking our time during trips because this allows us to stay in an area long enough for the kids to explore it until they've satisfied their natural curiosity for their surrounding. But no matter how long or short a trip is, only one thing matters: take lots of travel photos and make sure to document them in a photo album, with anecdotes if you have the time. I can't begin to tell you how much my kids and I love to re-read my previous blog post about our trips.

We went to Taiwan last 2013, but somehow I wasn't able to do a blog post about it.  But even if it's a year ago already, I feel like I want to do a catch-up post on Taiwan.  I should because we made so many wonderful memories there!

I have written in a 2009 travel post on Korea, "Being able to look at a photo and give a chuckle or to giggle uncontrollably in recollection of something... these are the travel souvenirs I wish my children would carry with them as they grow older, forever locked in their hearts. It is true that traveling creates character, tolerance, insight and confidence, but most of all it creates memories, which, hopefully, will keep us connected even when distance will later separate us.".

If you are still clueless on where you are taking your family, let me invite you to join me as I re-visit some of my travel posts. If you have young kids, the countries we've visited are perfect for them!

1. SINGAPORE
Our Singapore trip ranks as one of the kids' all-time fave. I couldn't blame them! We spent 8 leisurely days touring this tiny country. We took time to enjoy ALL the sights! They enjoyed this room at the Marina Bay Sands so much that they did not even want to leave the room anymore! Click here to read more about where we stayed in Singapore and how we got around.

The hotel's infinity pool was a sight to behold, especially during bright sunny mornings!

The Singapore Zoo was also another fun destination that the kids spent the entire day going around. I kid you not - an entire day! Read all about our experience at the Singapore Zoo right here.

Hong Kong: Disneyland

Yet another late but still relevant post for all of you out there still planning your trips this summer vacation.

Disneyland is indeed the “happiest place on earth” for my kids.  The park has plenty to keep my young kids occupied as most of the rides and attractions are seemingly designed for this age group.  For my children’s ages, a 2-day park visit is ideal at this time to ensure that the outing goes along at an enjoyable, leisurely pace.

For little girls, going inside any castle is always a dream....

The glittering Disney Holiday Parade always brings cheers.

Aren't the green little men just so delightfully creepy
For all the toy story fans out there, you will be happy to know that the park will open a Toy Story Land in 2011.  Among the additional rides include a Green Army Men-themed parachute drop, a Slinky Dog-themed caterpillar ride, and an RC Racer-themed shuttle coaster.  It is too bad that it is not ready yet during the time of our visit.  I am sure R would have loved that.

Sapce Mountain is top on the list for C and the 2 girls.  J, who can't seem to get enough of it, rode it twice and would have wanted to line-up for a third time if I didn't stop her.

I am not very adventurous, and I usually choose the "safe" (otherwise also known as "boring") rides.  
The Mad-Hatter Tea Cup looks like a safe and gentle ride...

... that is until you turn the wheel in the middle and it gets faster and wilder... "it turns into the wackiest tea party this side of the rabbit hole."

Dumbo (at Fantasyland) and  the Orbitron (at Tomorrowland) are rides that make the kids feel as if they are flying in the sky- without the face-pulling speed of Space Mountain are also perfect for me.

It's a Small World is a slow sail in an imaginative journey through the different cultures around the world.  Needless to say, I found it very comforting. 

For older kids, Ocean Park might offer more alternatives, as aside from Space Mountain, there are no other rides that can possibly gratify a teenagers’ need for thrill.  But the one area in which HK Disney beats Ocean Park is in dining.  The dining options at Disney is more varied and the dining accomodation are more comfortable.  Our personal favorite is the gothic-styled Royal Banquet Hall located at Fantasyland.  This fast-food style outlet has four food stations: The Kettle kitchen offers curries, satays and stews; the Steam kitchen serves dim sum and other Chinese dishes; the Grill kitchen that serves the typical American food such as steaks and sausage; and the Tempura kitchen serves sushi, tempura, and other Japanese fare.  The food that is consistently good and comes with an affordable bill. 

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Aside from the Disney Parade, be sure to catch the 8PM Fireworks Display by Cinderella’s castle. It’s amazing to watch colorful fireworks light up the sky accompanied by Disney’s well-loved songs. 

Staying at one of the Disney hotels is highly recommended.  When I first brought my kids to HK Disneland, we were billeted at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.  The  Victorian styled hotel is the premier hotel in the resort.  My kids enjoyed the breakfast with the full cast of Disney characters on call.  This time around, we chose to stay at the Disney Hollywood Hotel.  Although the rooms seem to run a bit smaller, the amenities are pretty much still the same Disney standard. 

As you can see from the photos that follow, there is nothing to complain about...

Phenomenal Tip:
~ There are three attractions where you can use FASTPASS:   Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters,  The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,  Space Mountain. The queues for these attractions are generally longer, so what you can do to use your time wisely is to can insert your admission ticket into Disney’s FASTPASS stations to get your FASTPASS ticket, go ride another attraction, return during your given time and join the much shorter FASTPASS queue.
~ You are only allowed to bring a personal-size bottle of water inside the park.  Do not even bother to sneak in snacks, they check. 
~ If you want to get a good view of the fireworks,plant yourself at the benches in front of the castle at least 30 minutes before the scheduled firework activity.

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Hong Kong: Must-See Lantau Island

Lantau Island is the biggest island in Hong Kong.  It has been relatively obscure to tourists until recently when it became recognized because of the developments in the island such as the relocation of the new airport and Hong Kong Disneyland.

We spent our last 2 days in HK at Lantau Island where we booked an overnight stay at the Disney Hollywood Hotel.  We arrived in Disneyland mid-morning and quickly left all our luggage with the hotel concierge since check-in was still at 3 in the afternoon.  Since the kids had previously visited the park, the adults decided that a quick visit to the nearby Citygate outlet wouldn’t upset any of the kids.  We boarded the train going to Tung Chung and we all enjoyed riding the Disney train... complete with Mickey silhouette windows, and Mickey handrails.

The seats are more plush, too

Citygate Outlet is located right next to Tung Chung MTR Station and approximately just 10-minutes away from the HK International Airport.  It is the only outlet mall in the entire HK and the place boasts of offering up to 70% discount and its location makes it great for last minute shopping. 

Sorry, as it would seem that I only took photos of the Christmas display... R kept bugging me to "take a picture of that..."  They do look cute and cuddly, like giant sized marshmallows.

We got to the outlet just in time for a very early lunch and afterwards went in fast pursuit to see what this mall had to offer.  The mall has some designer brands like Burberry, Diane von Furstenberg. Ralph Lauren, DKNY and the Armani bridge line, Armani Exchange.  There are a lot of mid-priced brands, some of them being Kate Spade, Coach, Mango, Esprit, Giordano, Levi's, Quiksilver and Timberland.

There are a lot of athletic apparel stores, too.  It is a runner's heaven as there huge discounts on shoes and dri-fit shirts and compression shorts.   More than half of the SRP in Manila.

I would also like to share a new shopping find, which also has an outlet store in Citygate.  Dr Kong is a manufacturer of one of the most comfortable shoe insoles I have ever tried.  My mom discovered this on her HK trip a few years ago, and she swears by it.  They also sell shoes with their special insoles inserted in it, but the designs are not that great, so I suggest just buying the insoles to put in your traveling shoes.

 

We got back to Disneyland just in time for the Holiday Parade.   

Hong Kong Disneyland is, obviously, the city's No. 1 attraction for families with young kids, and I am sure the Disneyland franchise is familiar to almost everybody. It is the world's smallest Disney Park, but nonetheless, it is well recommended, most especially if your kids range from 3-9 years old.

There is also another attraction in Lantau Isalnd that I really wanted to visit, but we fell short of time so will have to do that next time around.  The Ngong Ping 360 is a dynamic new tourism experience, which combines a 5.7 km cable car journey with a cultural themed village and easy access to the Tian Tan Buddha Statue, the world’s largest, seated, outdoor, bronze Buddha statue.  You can know more about it here.

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