Hong Kong Disney

Hi everyone. So, as promised, I just wanted to share about our experience at Disneyland. What a blast! First, we decided to take the train as Disney is on Lantau Island and we were in the area of Kowloon. We were a little intimidated but had gathered some courage after wandering around a few places by ourselves so, armed w/our trusty map, we set off to find the station. We actually did amazingly well, considering it was our first time wandering around a foreign country w/o assistance! We eventually figured out the maps to Disney and finally purchased our tickets and set off on our adventure. Disneyland itself really turned out to be a magical experience for us. We continued to be objects of focus, primarily because of Lily. We had been told ahead of time how the Chinese are fascinated w/blond haired little girls and that definitely turned out to be true. Everywhere we went, people were interacting w/her, sometimes touching her hair or asking to take pictures w/her or asking for hugs. Disney was no exception! She made all kinds of friends while we were waiting in line to get in. We decided to purchase a stroller (mostly for our overly heavy & uncomfortable backpack & coats which we didn’t end up needing) and while we were doing that we were approached by 1 of the park employees who asked if we would be the Grand Marshalls of the Disney Parade that afternoon at 3:30. We thought they were putting us in a drawing w/a number of families so we agreed, thinking what an honor it was to be nominated. (Ha!)

At any rate, we set off on our adventure checking out all of Adventure land and then to lunch & then Fantasyland. We stood in line to take pictures w/2 of the princesses and had another one of those celebrity moments w/Lily. When it was her turn to take pictures w/the princesses, people came out of nowhere and were lined in a semi-circle around her like paparazzi, cameras in hand, shooting pictures of the little blond American girl. It was really hysterical to watch! She just charmed the socks off of everyone she met.

Ironically, one of the last rides we decided to check out before we went back to see if we had won the Grand Marshall drawing, was “It’s a Small World.” While we were in line, we met a guy named Jeff from Orlando on the same ride. We got to chatting and come to find out that he and his wife had adopted 2 little girls from China! What are the odds?! He’s currently working in Germany was out here on business. We had a great time sharing w/each other about our adoptions, our girls, etc. After saying goodbye & joking about it being a small world, we just shook our heads and thought, once again how we LOVE how God is in the tiniest of details!

But, the best was yet to come. When we got back to City Hall, we found out that there was no drawing! They had chosen our family (let’s be honest – they chose Lily) to be the Grand Marshalls of the Disney Parade! What a trip! They had us relax in a little room while they got things ready. They had embroidered Mickey Mouse hats w/each of our names and gave us padded hands to wave in the parade. We even got an official certificate! They walked us through the streets to the Grand Marshall car and made an announcement about the Youngs from the United States of America. It was so surreal! The whole time, Lily was waving like she had been born to do it.

We left after the parade finished, too wiped out to do anything more but go back to the hotel, eat dinner and go to bed!