Thanks for all the input. As of right now, my only way to getting the Hello Kitty experience is thru the connecting flight from TPE to HKG. Although it is a short two hours flight for my little one, i think it is better than no hello kitty experience.

My son will be 18 months during the time of travel. I am still debating if we should get a seat for him or just consider him a lap baby and pay for the 10% charge.

On a separate note, is it recommended to purchases Intra-Asia ticket (IE: TPE to NRT) through United, or other american airline or best to purchase the ticket at TPE airport with specific airline? This is totally new to me so i am not sure if my question even makes any sense.

Through award travel, united only allows me to go from LAX-TPE-HKG-LAX
i can't include a third country per phone conversation with the United Rep.

What i was hoping to achieve with the trip was LAX-TPE-NRT-HKG-LAX
if i can purchase ticket from TPE to NRT at a discount or good rate, i can fly back to TPE from NRT and take the HKG as part of the layover. Does this make sense?