Happpppppy New Year! We all thought 2022 would be our year, however, literally one week into the new year, and we received the news that Hong Kong Disneyland would be closing again. Hong Kong has not had a single local Covid case since March 2021, and we were doing so well. One Omicron case snuck it's way through and you all know how this ends. Cases started popping up, which means entertainment venues closing, back to 4 or less in a group, restaurants closing at 6pm, the public transportation stops running earlier, and overall anxiety heightens. We still have to come in to work to be tested once every 14 days, we are still being paid and housed, and we are very grateful to hold onto our jobs. Initially they said the shut down was just 14 days (til Jan 20), however, it already was extended, cancelling Chinese New Year (sad face).
When the news broke on Jan 5, Mike was already at the park and had watched my first of 2 shows of the day. We were enjoying lunch and about to ride Antman when the government press conference announced that that day would be the last. I was devastated for various reasons, the first being that my birthday 5 days away and my birthday party activities were cancelled. Also, with us going home, there is a good chance I had my last show, if we don't reopen, and I did not even know it would be my last. I spent the rest of the day panic buying stuffed animals, and crying watching the parades and shows. I am so glad Mike was in the park that day, but it's been a wild week.
Riding Antman
Before all this happened, we celebrated New Years. For New Years Eve, we decided to just stay in and have a chill night with some of our friends.We sang some karaoke and ate some yummy snacks while we waited for midnight.
When midnight finally came, there is no Ryan Seacrest New Years Eve Countdown to watch, but we watched the harbour countdown and celebrated with a few fireworks someone set off outside our window.More cause for celebration back at the park before we shut...we also celebrated Mickey and the Wondrous Books' 10,000 show, which I got to hang out with Ariel for.
The night before the closure was announced, we had a cast party in Discovery Bay to celebrate the 10,000 shows. It is crazy look back now and think in just 24 hours everything would be closing down.
We also had a hot pot party at
Master Beef before we could no longer go out together, and it was such a memorable experience.
Now we will have even more time to eat cool foods in this country, like the time we went to the
Cool Cousins Cafe for a spicy chicken sandwich with ice cream and the mac and cheese burger.
and the best stop off was the
Crazy Pie. We had the yuzi lemon tart and it was incredible.
and second chicken and waffles brunch with Scarlet and Elysia but this time at
Frites-
and definitely some
Coco Ichibanya and Japanese pork katsu curry -
But we also have a lot more at home meals (and tea parties!) now that we're locked in as well.
With the shut down, initially we were going to have a 1920s themed tram party to say goodbye to the 20s and hello to the 30s for my 30th birthday. With months of planning, I was devastated that it has all been derailed and really did not know what to do instead. Luckily, I have some absolutely amazing friends who all jumped in to help and make my 30th extra special. I am so incredibly blessed to get to celebrate with them, and I could not have done it without each and every one of them. We started the day off with brunch FEAST complete with homemade cinnamon rolls, a breakfast egg and sausage wreath, pancakes, and so much more.
We also did presents where I was spoiled with an Apple watch, a Swarovski crystal necklace, a staycation, and a custom HKDL spirit jersey.
After brunch, Mike and I had a little time to ourselves to get dress up and go into the city for high tea at
Madam Fu.
The food was delicious however, I had a major sugar crash on the way home.
Once we got back from high tea, Kira did my hair and make up before bringing me up for dinner. Bayley had made a beautiful 3 course meal consisting of her famous salad and Holli's homemade bread, bell pepper soup, and chicken coq au vin.
We spent all dinner talking in a Brooklyn/Jersey accent and making core memories.
After dinner, we headed up to the speakeasy where everything was absolutely decked out.
Complete with delicious cake pops (Thank you
Jarvey!)!
The evening took a turn when the police (Karina) showed up and announced there was a murderer among us!! We all were handed our character bios to quickly learn about who we were and how we knew Mr. Body (the murdered victim). We mingled a bit to get to know the others secrets before we ran around the hotel looking for clues to solve the murder with our partner.
Little did Natasha Noir (me) know, the whole time the murderer had been my partner Mr. Crimson (Mike) all along!! (to be fair, he didn't know either, but he must have covered his tracks well cause no one solved it, haha).
I was hesitant about a murder mystery party as a last minute replacement at first, but when you're in a room full of actors, everyone fully commits, and it was a BLAST! Thank you to absolutely everyone to creating this sensational event, and making my birthday an amazing memory.
The celebration continued into the next day as well since it was still my birthday in America with a zoom call and some Jackbox games with the fam.
The festivities did eventually come to an end, and we had to finally settle into the reality that we are very much still in a pandemic, and everything is shut. We had booked our 3rd booster shot a few weeks back before knowing things would close, but it came just in time.
Hope everyone is continuing to stay safe and healthy in the meantime.
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