Aug. 17 (revised and updated)

We got the twins up around 7:30 a.m. so that we could meet our van at 9 a.m. to go to Hong Kong Disneyland. At 8 a.m. I called to confirm the van and they said it would come at 11 a.m. I told them that we had originally said 11 a.m., but then we changed it to 9 a.m. They said that it would take about 90 minutes to get the van. (Previously they told me that we would take the van in the hotel parking lot, but that wasn't true. The driver and his van were from Hong Kong.)
This gave us an extra hour to get ready. To be honest, we needed the extra time to pack efficiently. When the bellman came for our luggage, he told Peter "The van is here." What he meant to say was, "The van will be here." However, in Chinese, there are no verb tenses. So it is difficult for some Chinese to remember that verb tenses are critically important in English. He clarified himself by saying, "Yes, the van is not here." (In Chinese, he would literally use the words for "The van is here in the future.")

We packed the plush van full with all of our gear. This van wasn't as big as the one we took from Guangzhou, but it was more plush. The driver had us fill out separate cards for each person to exit China and also to enter Hong Kong. We had to go through two different checkpoints. It was extremely complicated and took an hour to get through. We were so relieved that we hadn't tried to go in the previous day because we never would have been able to go back to the hotel and get our stuff.

Our driver was quite humorous. He told us that in order to drive in Hong Kong that "You have to be crazy. I'm crazy, but I'm 'safety crazy.' " We asked him what the weather would be like and he said, "Oh, you're going to Disneyland. It will be sunny. After I drop you off, I will send an SMS (text message)." Peter asked, "To the clouds?" And he replied, "No, to the Jesus." We chuckled.

We made it to Disneyland and checked our bags. Finally it was time to enter the park. I had been to every Disney theme park in the world except for Hong Kong Disneyland. Now I've been to all 11 of them.

We wanted to get a double stroller for the s, but they didn't have any available. I guess since China has a "one child per family" rule there is no need for a double stroller. So we rented an -sized wheelchair that held them both. This was much simpler than two strollers.

The park -- which is much smaller than the Magic Kingdom in Orlando -- was extremely crowded. Our first order of business was to eat lunch. Mark got a hamburger and fries to go from one restaurant and joined the rest of us at a noodle restaurant. (The quick-service restaurants were adjacent to each other in Tomorrowland.) The twins loved the noodles with s I ordered. Sienna loved them so much that she had a complete meltdown when her daddy wouldn't let her feed herself. (Each noodle was about two feet long, so they were difficult to eat.) There were no forks at this restaurant -- just chopsticks and soup spoons.

After lunch, we walked around Tomorrowland. I took the twins to the Baby Care Center to use the bathroom (Sienna) and change a diaper (Scarlett).

We determined that we should "ease into" the concept of a theme park by starting slowly (rather than jumping on Buzz Lightyear). So Mark and Brian went off with their Space Mountain FastPasses. Peter and I took the s to a character greeting area where they met Minnie Mouse. They really enjoyed the experience. I was relieved. I had this fear that our children might be the only two in the world who didn't love Disney theme parks.

Then we went over to the carousel. The line was long, so Peter suggested I run over to Space Mountain with my FastPass. I did just that. The ride was excellent! It was fast and smooth -- much like the new, improved Space Mountain at Disneyland ("The Original" in Anaheim).

By the time I ran back from Space Mountain, Peter and the s were just getting off the carousel. He said the s both loved it! They each had their own horse, and both were the kind that go up and down.

We continued to do as many attractions as we could during our limited time. We did the Jungle Cruise (which had a pirate theme), the tea cups, the train and the carousel a second time. And we ate noodles again at the same quick-service restaurant. We also got to hear the Main Street barbership quartet. They were excellent! They had a California surfing theme. Then I did some shopping at the Emporium.

We all met at the Mickey statue at the Disneyland Hotel and got two cabs to take us to the Hong Kong airport. It was about a 15-minute ride. We changed clothes and prepared our carry-ons for the trip.

Our first flight -- to Guam -- was just over four hours. We all slept soundly. When we arrived, we had to go through Customs (even though we were just transferring to another flight). At this point, the s received stamps in their passports which conferred American citizenship. We all had to go through another x-ray screening before getting back to our gate.

At this point it became Aug. 18, but our next flight took us back to Aug. 17. (We wondered what our tombstones would say if we died on Aug. 17 in Hawaii, but had actually lived to see Aug. 18 in Guam.)

Our next flight -- to Honolulu -- lasted about seven hours or so. Peter and the s slept well. Mark, Brian and I slept intermittently. We were served breakfast, ice cream and a snack. Peter and I received vegetarian meals, the s received kids meals, and the boys had "regular" meals.

We arrived into Honolulu at 5:30 p.m. local time. It took a while to get all of our bags. Then it was time to rent our mini-van. However, Peter couldn't locate the paperwork I gave him that provided him with the name of the rental company, so I told him to go around to each both and ask. But I also recommended that he ask how much it would be for a big cab to take us to Waikiki Beach. We were told it would be about $35 plus 50 cents per bag. We agreed it would be easier and probably cheaper to take a cab.

The next "cab" that pulled up was a stretch limo! We happily boarded with all of our stuff. It was a pleasant nine-mile ride to our hotel, the Sheraton Princess.

We checked in to our rooms. Mark and Brian were two floors above us, but we both had ocean-facing rooms. Better yet, the balconies overlooked the evening entertainment which consisted of cultural Hawaiian singing. It was a great background for unwinding in our room. We "freshened up" and had some dinner on the balcony. Then we went downstairs to use the Internet. (There didn't seem to be an Ethernet connection in the room.)

After the professional entertainment ended, some locals began to sing spirited (off-key) karaoke. At this point, we put the s in borrowed strollers and all six of us went for a walk. It was quite different to be walking the streets of Honolulu at night. On my previous visit, I had jetlag and went to bed between 3:30 and 5 p.m. each night. We went into a few shops and bought a couple of souvenirs and food for breakfast. Mark and Brian stayed out a bit later and went to Planet Hollywood to look around. It was unreal to think that on the morning of Aug. 17 we were in Shenzhen, China, went to Hong Kong Disneyland, flew to Guam where the s became U.S. citizens and then flew to Hawaii where we went shopping.

The s had a bath and put on their pajamas. However, they didn't want to go to sleep. I didn't feel tired either, but I knew if I stacked a week's worth of USA TODAYs on my lap that I would go to sleep within five to 10 minutes (and I did). After about 15 rounds of Patty Cake, the s started to settle down somewhat. Peter read "Emma" for a little while and we fell asleep around 12:30 a.m.