Disneyland: Hong Kong

Our first surprise was on the train heading to the park. It's the only Disney park in the world that is part of a city's main transport system. The MTR runs throughout Hong Kong and the Disneyland Resort route takes you straight from the Sunny Bay station to the park itself. As soon as I saw the train pull into Sunny Bay Station, I knew we were in for a treat, with the familiar sight of Mickey ears greeting us in the shape of the windows. Inside were plush blue seats and models of the main Disney characters, all helping to transition you from the real world into a world of magic and imagination.

That continued when we arrived at the Disneyland Resort station, which reminded me of a grand Victorian station, with steps and escalators leading up to the ticket barriers to outside. From there, it's a short walk and you're greeted by a superb water feature, with Mickey surfing the fountain waves, surrounded by his closest friends, including Goofy, Minnie, and Donald. Your attention is first drawn to that and then, as you wander around, taking it all in, you realize that the real attraction is to your right, with the park awaiting you down another short avenue.

We found out quite late on during our day in the park that it's the only other park in the world to be based so closely on the original Disneyland in California. As soon as we realized that, it made so much sense. There are touches of California everywhere you look, from the Mickey topiary that greets you as you enter the gates, which is almost exactly the same as the one from Disneyland, to the castle, which has some similarities to the original Sleeping Beauty Castle and is nowhere near as dominating over the park as the ones in Florida and Paris.

It's important to know that this is the newest addition to the Disney theme park family, having opened to visitors in 2005. That means that it has fewer attractions than the more established parks. Notable omissions include Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain. Even It's a Small World isn't here... yet! It's due to open later this spring, but it's interesting how many Disney classics that we take for granted at the other parks aren't in existence here two and-a-half years in.

Despite that, this park has charms of its own and, like every other theme park; it also has unique attractions and familiar rides that are superior to those found anywhere else. The Imagineers had a tremendous challenge here with the language issue. It's the only Disney park in the world to be based in a place that has two official languages -- English and Cantonese -- and it's a challenge that they managed to respond to, ensuring that no-one is left out.