Hong Kong Disney: Part III

Stitch Encounter was probably my favorite show at Hong Kong Disneyland.  We caught the English show and weren’t certain what to expect.  A large group of us was herded Disney-style into a dark room with about five rows of bench seating, all facing a large video screen.  Once we were all settled, we got to meet Stitch on screen.  He interacted with specific members of the audience by telling his human helper (a Disney employee) which person he wanted to talk to and she brought over a microphone.  Stitch chose an elementary-age Japanese girl to talk with first and she was fairly terrified of not only being singled out of the audience by a giant cartoon character on screen, but also of speaking English into a microphone for all to hear.  Stitch eventually got her to agree that she did in fact like to eat chocolate, one of Stitch’s favorite foods. 

There was a storyline progression throughout the show that would culminate in the audience helping Stitch navigate his way out of a secure installation where he was being held.  But before he was captured, he “recognized” someone in the audience as a former cell mate of his.  The gentleman a few rows behind us denied ever being in prison while he turned bright red from the attention, but Stitch was adamant.  Through the technological wonders of Disney, Stitch even showed us on the screen a wanted-poster of the gentleman, complete with a photo of the guy.  He was still fairly mortified and wouldn’t talk much to Stitch.

Then Stitch told his human helper he’d like to talk to person number seven in row three.  This would probably be a good time to mention a bit of background history on why I’m so animated when we go to productions, sit in classrooms, or anywhere a presentation is being given.  It’s true, I absolutely adore being in musical theater, so I tend not to be overly intimidated by microphones or being in the spotlight.  But I also have been on stage, whether for theater or giving a speech, and I can tell you, it’s so disappointing when the audience doesn’t participate or show much interest in what you’re talking about.  I’ve learned to be an active listener when it comes to listening to speeches, because I want people to actively listen and participate when it’s my turn to be the one in front of the crowd.  I understand how much time and effort the person on stage put into their presentation, the least I can do is at least act interested.  So, when it comes to watching theater or theme park productions, I’m the first one giving the rock n’ roll scream the presenter is asking the audience to do (more about that in our trip to Singapore in November 2012), or the one who’s actively nodding in agreement, smiling and laughing at the jokes, and generally attempting to give the person on stage someone to act off of.  I’m also the person in the audience who is attempting to get everyone around me to participate as well.  So be warned if you sit next to me – you’d better give the presenter your undivided attention and be prepared to have a lot of fun!

So, of course, person number seven in row three was me!  I had an absolute blast bantering back and forth with Stitch, and he clearly had fun interacting with an audience member who attempted to actually play into his story.  (And I should probably also note, although I was joking back and forth with Stitch, and giving much more than one-liner answers that left him no where to go, I was also not attempting to derail his show.  It’s Stitch’s show – I was there as an audience member to have fun and help him move the story along, not make it MY show.)  So, long and wonderful story slightly abbreviated: Stitch decided that even though I had a wonderful husband, Stitch would still be my boyfriend; Stitch named a planet after me (!!!) and then subsequently blew it up while attempting to correct his misspelling of my name – and he blamed the “former convict” behind me of destroying the planet which further mortified the poor guy who was too shy to play along; and he made me say I forgave him three times for blowing up the planet he named after me – he evidently didn’t believe me the first two times I said it.  It was so much fun to get to actively participate in the show!  Definitely the highlight of my day at Hong Kong Disneyland!

And what’s a trip to Disney without riding the classic “It’s a Small World?!”  Besides the song getting stuck in our heads for the next few days, this was the first “Small World” in which we saw Disney characters in their respective countries.  For example, animatronic Aladdin and Jasmine were next to the classic belly dancers.  Thought that was a neat addition!

“The Golden Mickeys” was our favorite musical performance of the park!  It was based loosely as a music awards show (think the Grammy Awards) and had lots of wonderful singing and dancing by a variety of talented Disney characters.  The music was great, the audience had fun singing and clapping along, and the show was overall outstanding.  We’d highly recommend!

After the scary lunchtime experience, we thoroughly enjoyed Mickey Belgian Waffles with raspberry sauce for dinner.  Yum, yum, yummy!  And so cute, too!

The evening light and firework show was the best we had ever seen!

The lights and fireworks paired with the iconic Disney music was perfect!  And they projected well-loved scenes from the movies on the lower walls of the castle!  What an amazing show!

Of course, we weren’t the only ones who thought it was a great show….fortunately, this was the only time during the entire day that we noticed crowds of people.  The rest of the day (excluding Toy Story Land), we waited in almost non-existent lines.

Overall, we loved our trip to Hong Kong Disneyland!  What fun and wonderfully happy memories we’ll have!

And they even made it “snow” for us at the end of the show!  A great way to end a perfect day at Disneyland!