The Happiest Place on Earth
Last Sept 10, 2005 I was lucky enough to be part of the Philippine media to witness the Grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland…days before my trip I was such a mess…not sleeping and crying all the time…I almost gave my ticket to someone else…when I went to the media briefing, I looked like I haven’t eaten for ages…with red bulging eyes, skinny flesh and bones and a tinge of depression all over me…anyway…good thing I pushed through with the trip, I would have regretted it!!!
I got word from our Ogilvy hosts that we had to abide a smart casual dress code…the pok-pok little me freaked out ‘cuz in real life I barely even wear a jacket or long sleeves in the office…well not unless I’m required to… I’m the kind of person who’d wear a tube top even when it’s freezing to death…(my ex always get mad at me for that…protective instinct I guess 
I freaked out, I over packed, I ended up bringing all formal stuff and other not so comfy outfits…and heels, talk about 3-4 inch stilettos in freakin’ Disneyland! Up ‘til now I can’t feel my right big toe to think it’s been a week already…pain to death! Right now I’m scouting for flats and rubber shoes…I don’t have any ‘cuz I never really wear them…now’s a good time I guess….
Anyway, the pain won’t match the experience…as corny as it may sound Disneyland truly is the happiest place on earth…(and I’m happy my editor liked my article and the trove of photos I took home with me, if anyone would like to see it, it’ll be out on the October 2005 issue of People Asia). Yes the happiest on earth…everyone was just in awe…the media treatment was extra special, every time we went inside our hotel rooms there’d be bags and bags of gifts for us to take home…that was three days and everyday I’d open my room and there’d be something in store for me…I got a very cute Mickey Mouse commemorative necklace you can’t buy anywhere, not even in Disneyland gift shops. I got commemorative pins, a handy shoulder bag perfect for strolling Disney, umbrellas, a huge Walt Disney coin bank, pens, notebooks, and so many more…there were also funny gifts like that lovely box of freakin’ Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce and a dimsum steamer :)…talk about excess baggage on the way home… I could barely lift my hand carry…
It’s so much fun to go around and eat all the food you can get for free:) and the media people I went with were such a happy bunch…there were Gelli de Belen from Sis together with her segment producer Ruth (who took me home the night we came back that I was so freakin’ drunk, thanks so much guys!) writers from Philippine Star, Tanya and funny Christine who told me all her cinematic love stories while happily dining and drinking 5 minutes before our flight that we ended up running ala Amazing race to actually board the plane:) 
…there’s Gilbert from Inquirer, cute couple from Goodhouse Keeping Charmaine and Daki, MMPI’s Ms. Sari Yap and Carmen Valerio, who also ditched our media host and went on our own throughout the trip :)…the cast of Ogilvy Philippines VJ and Bea who stood with me while I blabbed endlessly and puffed all the cigarette I could inhale on our first night…Candy from Manila Bulletin, and of course the group of F, lovely Angel Aquino, Candy and Mel whose so much fun I wanted to just hang with them throughout the trip…hahaha yuck feeling part of F :).
It’s one of the happiest I’ve ever been in a long time. It’s a good thing I went there…I felt like a kid again…even seeing the funny music video of Jacky Cheung’s Disney theme made me float from my seat, I was overwhelmed with so much warmth and happiness I couldn’t explain why I almost wept when the rest of the Disney characters entered the stage…
Mickey Mouse leading his pack, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto and the rest of the characters from our long ago cartoons…it was funny but it was also surreal how the people behind Disney put all these subliminal effect on everyone…’cuz take note it wasn’t just me who felt like crying, Angel herself said she cried after the show…
It was also my first time to ride a roller coaster again after years of dreading it since childhood. I rode it alone just to prove I can overcome my fear. It was one hell of a ride and the fact that Space Mountain is dark inside, it kind of helped me not to see where I’m going to fall …I didn’t take my scary photo on the way out though, I’m sure I looked really awful:) …
When we we’re leaving the Hollywood Hotel already, VJ told me “So that’s it, back to reality again.” Yeah, reality bites I guess, but I went back home happy and singing all the hakuna matata that my lungs can utter…
