A (2019) HalloXmas trip to Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo! - COMPLETED 5/1!!!

Whattt that's insane! How'd they even manage to get them all??
I have no idea! Maybe bought extra APs or something?
Wow! That's amazing. I feel like that would fit in well in AK but I agree that I don't think I see it coming to the US parks.
Yeah, it probably would fit in at AK! I think adding it to the Fort Wilderness area could be super cool! But there are probably concerns about meeting ADA rules!
I'm obsessed with that Coco area! I didn't know any of the parks had something like that, so cool. I must go.
It was a lovely area. Not super huge, but nicely decorated! Have you seen the Disneyland Halloween stuff - they have a whole Coco show!
All caught up! Business class definitely seems the way to go for a long flight!

You got so much done during EMH! Definitely worth the early morning for sure. I can't wait to ride Tron when MK gets it!
It's going to be so much fun!
Still reading along, Lesley. :) Lots of photos to compare the parks, which look very different that our US ones.
Shanghai definitely is so different than any other place!
Casual...
Hope you have fun! BC is on my travel bucket list, but I'm sure it's a whole different experience when you're there for work vs vacation.
Haha, well my mom is from Vancouver so we spent a couple weeks up there every summer growing up. So, it's not an exotic location for me!
Did you try any??
I didn't! I'm not a big flavored popcorn fan - I did try a couple in Tokyo though, but it wasn't as good as regular DL popcorn!
Huh I wonder what the GoPro rules are, then. May have to look more into that.
Maybe if you have it fully hooked up to yourself? You could still wear sunglasses without any special straps, so if you had an appropriate harness you prob could keep the gopro!
Your recap totally changed my mind on this. From the basic descriptions I've found I wasn't sure what this would be like but OH MAN it looks so cool! Jon is going to absolutely love this.
It really was fun!
All the cuteness!!! I'm so going home with those Gelatoni ears. I'm trying to remember if you shared on Insta which one you got.... was it the bunny ears??
Nope, not Judy Hopps!
The Camp Discovery Challenge Trails are so unique! What a fun experience to try out!

I love all those different hats and ears! The chip and dale one is my fave so I hope you got that one!
It was totally unique! And gave a good view of the park from the top! (Spoiler - you are right, it was Chip & Dale!)
 
Part 4 – Time for lunch!

Another merch check at Whistle Stop Shop, where they sell mostly Duffy things. Loved the train riding around the ceiling!

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This sign was especially fun for me since the departing trains are all going towards places near my actual home – especially Altadena and Azusa which are only a couple towns over on each side. I think some local Imagineers must have been involved in that!

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I think at this time I decided it was time for food, today at Market Café, which is buffeteria style with multiple ordering areas (I’d compare to a food court at a Moderate/Value resort, but more diverse foods)

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Love the Halloween carvings here

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I got one of the Halloween dishes – “Beef rice flour and pumpkin”. I was curious about this, but wasn’t the biggest fan of one of the flavors in the sauce. It wasn’t bad or anything, just not for me. (I noticed this again with another dish I got in a different spot, so I think it’s just a particular spice or something that is used in actual Chinese cooking.)

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The seating area(s) for this place were interesting – so there was the main buffeteria area (which thankfully wasn’t crowded when I was there).

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And then the cash registers, but then it opened up into several different rooms, which on initial glance seemed to be different restaurants, but were actually all just part of the same space.

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I ate in the main hallway, but there was a “storage” space, which showed the Flying Gauchito segment from The Three Caballeros by projecting it on a sheet.

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I think this must have had some Imagineering easter eggs! (I did some searches and identified some of these names on Linked In as Imagineers)

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Or you could choose Tony’s, which had a New York diner feel.

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Has anyone watched “One Day at Disney”? One of the animators who drew all the character pictures was featured in it, which was a fun thing to see!

Mickey’s Galley looked like a boat

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And Daisy’s Cafe (closed off at that time but I peeked over the ropes). Sort of fun to have different “dining experiences”

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(The outside of the building also looked like different places)

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More atmosphere photos

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Time for some rides! I had lots of Fps burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided to attack the park in a counter clockwise fashion.

But first, castle photos!

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I’ll visit the Alice in Wonderland maze the next day

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If you can’t tell, I was actually having a pretty awesome day!

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Coming up - using all the Fastpasses!
 


Another merch check at Whistle Stop Shop, where they sell mostly Duffy things
And now we know where I'll be spending all my time.
But seriously that train is so cute!

Has anyone watched “One Day at Disney”? One of the animators who drew all the character pictures was featured in it, which was a fun thing to see!
I was going to say that looked familiar!!
That guy was awesome :D

But first, castle photos!
Wowza so gorgeous! what a beautiful day and so many fun photos. Crazy how massive that restaurant was!
 


I got one of the Halloween dishes – “Beef rice flour and pumpkin”. I was curious about this, but wasn’t the biggest fan of one of the flavors in the sauce. It wasn’t bad or anything, just not for me. (I noticed this again with another dish I got in a different spot, so I think it’s just a particular spice or something that is used in actual Chinese cooking.)

I think it may have been Sichuan Pepper you might be tasting. It's very different and can actually give a slight numbing effect on the tongue. A lot of N. Americans don't care for it.

I think this must have had some Imagineering easter eggs! (I did some searches and identified some of these names on Linked In as Imagineers)

Niiiiice! Love that!!!
Oh cool! Brown Derby-esque!
 
The scalping stories are crazy! I had no idea there were such issues within the park.

A rope course within the park is pretty unique. I bet it was a fun way to explore!

I was looking at the photos you took of the character paintings, thinking how much I loved the blend of all the different characters, when I read your note about the artist being on One Day and remembered thinking that would be a cool piece of art to view. It looks like that held true.


That Queen of Hearts head at the maze is massive. It makes quite the statement. :laughing:
 
Sounds like you were having a really terrific day!!!

I found it so interesting how people even have the idea to buy up FPs, strollers, etc and resell them!! Just crazy. Stinks that you had to pay for premier access, but sounds like it is a helpful thing to have.

LOVE the pictures of the Coco area and the castle so far. Looking forward to more!

I'm thinking you bought either the Gelatoni ears or the Chip 'n Dale ones.
 
OK just read your first page. Nice that you scored Business class an you had one of those sleeper seats! I think I would have chosen the American menu as well on the first flight. I'm a little afraid to try Bibimbap and I'm not altogether sure why. :laughing:

Sounds like you had smooth sailing on the second flight as well but the moth would have freaked me out. Not sure why, but I'm definitely tormented by them. Something about looking at encyclopedias as a kid.

Back to catching up!
 
Nice pictures if the merchandise. It looks like they have a lot of unique items there that you dont find in the US parks!

I'll remember the tip on buying tickets there. We definitely want to stay at the DL hotel over TS!
 
Um, steak popcorn. Weird! (They probably meant BBQ, but it was also weird seeing the onion/bell pepper/carrots on the top!

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Interesting. I am guessing you didn't try it.

This was Roaring Rapids, their version of Grizzly River Run/Kali River Rapids. Its super popular among locals, and apparently has a really good crocodile/monster animatronic inside, but I didn’t end up riding because I didn’t want to bother with getting wet (ponchos are very popular but I didn’t care enough).

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You learned your lesson with us!

Why haven't they sprinkled more Coco into Mexico in EPCOT?

also has some weird complicated trespassing laws, that Disney can kick them out for the day, but not permanently ban them. Also, security guards would sometimes be bribed by the scalpers to look the other way.) The scalping wasn't just with fastpasses - some enterprising people would go and rent out all the official Disney strollers, go to another area of the park, and then re-rent them for more money! Or others would go to the metro station, which didn't allow balloons on the trains; they would buy the balloons from people leaving the park and then go to the parking lot and resell them to people who drove in! It's pretty interesting to read some of these stories!
So intresting that this would even be allowed in the country!

Back over at Adventure Isle, where it was time for the Camp Discovery Challenge Trails. This is a full ropes course in a Disney park! Seriously! (Of course I could never see this in any other park – well maybe HK could get away with it.)
This would be amazing to have in Animal Kingdom! It was be perfect! But they wouldn' tbe able to have everyone sign wavers and stuff.

There are also 3 trails, so you have to pick 1 and if you want to do the others, you have to re-wait in line. They don’t have a lot of CMs around on the trails itself, so you pretty much are on your own for getting thru the obstacles.
Yup!

one watched “One Day at Disney”? One of the animators who drew all the character pictures was featured in it, which was a fun thing to see!
I saw that! I am loving the shorts.

What time of day was it? Everything is empty!

If you can’t tell, I was actually having a pretty awesome day!

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Love the ears! So, glad that the day was going well!
 
The room looks great. I definitely want to stay there if we ever go.

Were those paintings in the lobby by Maggie Parr? She does a lot of famous paintings with Disney Characters. We have quite a few of them. I liked the ones in the lobby better than the ones on the upper floors.

I definitely want to do that character buffet. Lots of things on the buffets looked delicious! You got some very cute pictures with the characters, I loved those outfits!
 
It's taken me days, but I am finally caught up!

Your flight in business class looks dreamy. If I ever go far enough away to warrant this, I hope I am lucky enough to do that too!

Your park photos are just lovely. I don't know how you planned and managed all this, but good for you. I think that's very brave ::yes:: and definitely not something I think I could ever do.

The ropes course looks fun! I could see this fitting in on Tom Sawyer's Island!
 
I'm really enjoying your take on your morning in the park. I've read quite a few Shanghai TRs and I'm finally getting a grasp on the park. Your map with the highlights really helped a lot!

Is the hotel guest entrance relatively new? The people whose TRs I read visited in the first year of opening and I remember them reporting huge crowds at the entrance.

What is a pork floss bun? It sounds like they have added more snacks that westerners might enjoy from the earlier reports. Several of the writers of the TRs I read were Asians living in Western countries, and they commented that the offerings were a bit foreign to them. The addition of a croque Monsieur was nice.
 
Loving all the details in the park, and the ropes course looks very cool!

I did watch One Day at Disney and noticed the drawings right away in your photos. That is a really awesome buffeteria!
 
Ugh - sorry for such a delay!
Loving your report esp all the details. Your day looks like it was so relaxing!
It really did end up being great! Having the freedom of unscheduled FPs really helped!
And now we know where I'll be spending all my time.
But seriously that train is so cute!


I was going to say that looked familiar!!
That guy was awesome :D


Wowza so gorgeous! what a beautiful day and so many fun photos. Crazy how massive that restaurant was!
I did love that train! I'm surprised at how Shanghai doesn't have a train that circles the park considering how they have this whole shop and the parade is themed after a train!
The different seating areas are pretty cool!

Love the castle photos!
There was a lot of super cute areas! And also lots of food choices!
I think it may have been Sichuan Pepper you might be tasting. It's very different and can actually give a slight numbing effect on the tongue. A lot of N. Americans don't care for it.



Niiiiice! Love that!!!

Oh cool! Brown Derby-esque!
Interesting - maybe it was that flavor? Though I don't think it was spicy, just a weird taste I didn't love.
 

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