Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Day 5: Disneyland - A Day Much Awaited

Today, we spent our day at Disneyland.
We met our instructors at the entrance, and it was unexpected that they could speak English quite well. The workshop was mainly about Physics.  The instructors left us a deep impression by introducing the “Imagineers”.  It was the combination of imaginers and engineers. They use Physics to build roller coasters applying the concepts of Friction, Gravitational Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, Sound Energy etc.

When we entered Disneyland, the first experiment we did was to measure Frictional force between the wooden block and other surfaces by using spring balance. After this experiment, we concluded that the rougher the surface in contact with the wooden block, the larger the friction. The instructors compared gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy by having us to ride the “Space Mountain-Ghost galaxy”, which was known as the most thrilling high speed ride among all the attractions  in Disneyland. The whole journey was fascinating and exhilarating. It was not that scary as compared to Ocean Park’s.

To further our understanding of the concepts, we were told to construct our own mini roller coasters.
Then we were shown how the “power” of air when used properly could  raise objects that were very heavy. Making use of that property, the instructors showed us the ride Orbitron. The ride involves using pressured air to raise or lower the space ship. It was fun and exciting being able to control the ship up and down, while enjoying the scenery. We were amazed at what, air, which is always present around us when used properly, can do and our perspective of air as useless has changed.

The Physics Workshop


Next, we went to watch the ‘the golden Mickeys’ which was a musical celebration of Disney’s films and characters. The musical was interesting as we were watching it in a 4D version with special effects such as surrounding sounds, when the scene change to the underwater world, water was splashed on us and some of us were shocked. After this show, some of us felt giddy but were still amazed by the ‘powerful’ sound effects. In conclusion, the workshop was fun and enjoyable as we were able to recap some of the physics concepts learnt.
After the workshop, we were allowed to continue our journey in Disneyland.  We went shopping in the souvenir shops.  The things were expensive but we still bought quite a lot of stuff as we all thought that it’s quite meaningful to buy Disney’s character stuff for our friends. After shopping, we managed to have some time to enjoy other rides in the Disneyland. The space mountain was the top favorite ride among us that we took the ride for 3-4 times. We watched the parade which started at around 3.30pm. Most of us was busy taking photos of the Disney’s characters while the parade was going on. The parade was fascinating to us as we were able to see all the Disney’s characters at one go.

We went for dinner at a nearby restaurant.  The dishes were almost the same every day, but due to the fact that we were all tired and hungry after the day in Disneyland, we managed to finish almost all the dishes that were served. So this has been the most enjoyable day trip since we arrived in Hong Kong. All of us look forward to the rest of the days of the trip, hoping that we would have more fun in Hong Kong.

Posted By: Group 3 - Stella Pear, Soh Jia Yi, Xavier Chu, Ng Gui Rui