Feedback on our Shanghai itinerary

[brenda1966]

We will arrive after having spent a week in Korea (my sister lives there teaching English). Our main reason to stop in Shanghai is Disney, so we are staying 5 nights at the Toy Story Hotel. Am looking for feedback on our rough plan.

Tues June 11-- arrive at 3pm at Airport. Check into Disney hotel. Dinner and maybe a bit of shopping? I'm wondering if there is any transportation to the shopping at Shanghai Village? It looks like it could be a very lengthy walk.

Weds -- Wild Animal Park -- since I'm traveling with my teenage animal lover, this is something she is very interested in. The opportunity to feed a giraffe! Feed a kangaroo! We plan to have the hotel get a taxi for us and arrive early and stay most of the day. I hear there are usually taxi's at the exit and we will find one that uses a meter and will have our hotel written on a card in Chinese. This evening, maybe we will shop at eat at Disney Town. Maybe we will go walk through the other Disney Hotel.

Thurs/ Friday -- two days in Disneyland. I'm not sure if we should do this Weds/Thurs? Or if Thurs/Fri is okay So advice around crowds is appreciated. I read that Sat-Mon are the most crowded days. So is Friday ok or should we do Disney first and then the wild animal park on Friday?

Saturday -- one full day to head into the City and see the sights. I don't have an itinerary planned yet, so any advice... The Bund, the Gardens... we have seen temples in Tokyo and Thailand, and likely will have in Korea, so anything that is unique to Shanghai is appreciated. We plan to have the hotel get us a taxi into the city. Not sure how we will get back to Toy Story. I have the didi app, but can't get it to take a credit card. Perhaps it will still flag a taxi for me? Or we could use public transit? I'd probably try to find a hotel and ask them to get us a taxi.

Sunday -- fly home. Our flight is at 4pm, so we should leave for the airport at...noon? I figure we will shop at Disney Town before we leave. It appears Disney Town is walking distance from Toy Story? Or is it just better to catch the bus?

Thanks for any tips!

 

[bkmanhole]

There are regular buses from the hotels to Disneytown so venturing over for some shopping/food will be easy. There are also buses that go between the hotels.

I would say either day works - if you are a snack person, we noticed not all the kiosks were open on the slower days, only Fri/Sat when we were there. Granted, it was November when we went and crowds were less.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Public transit connects the main tourist places in Shanghai but is slow compared to taxis. Taxis aren't too expensive for a Westerner's budget so just to do that.

Just check the prices for Disney tickets. Peak days have significantly larger crowds than non-peak days so if both days are non-peak, the difference will not be too bad.

If you have an animal lover, maybe check out the aquarium in Lu Jia Zui and go up one of the tall buildings assuming the sky is clear. The zoo is unfortunately a bit far from the Toy Story Hotel. Pro tip: if you don't care for the museum aspect of tall buildings, get a dessert/drink at the Park Hyatt so you get almost just as good a view but get dessert/drinks for less than the admission price for the WFC observation deck.

Going to Yuyuan to have Xiao Long Bao at the place next to the zig zag bridge used to be the top thing every tourist had to do. I haven't been since they remodeled the restaurant so idk if it's still as good. But I doubt they'd just throw away recipes that worked for over 100 years.

 

[brenda1966]

Thanks! Yes, we'd like to try snacks. A reminder that sometimes a less busy park doesn't have everything up and running.

Ooh, yes, good idea to judge by the ticket price. I'll keep an eye on that when the calendar opens up (but will still buy my ticket at the hotel).

thanks for the other tips. I will look into those things. Dessert with a view is always a good thing.

 

[supedewoop]

I hate taxis in the large Chinese cities, but if you do plan on using one, I suggest having the hotel take care of it to get you into the city. Once you're in the city, I'd take the subway or at least be prepared to, because it can be difficult to get a taxi to stop for a foreigner. I'd also consider taking the subway back to the hotel. Either way, have your addresses of where you want to go written down in Chinese, in large print.
The Shanghai subway is very bilingual and easy to use, although it can be crowded. If the youngest you're traveling with is a teenager, though, it should be okay.
Is Shanghai Village the outlet mall? It may have a specified place for taxis which are "better" than trying to hail a taxi, so you should be okay there.

As for the snacks, I was really disappointed in how many stalls were shut when I went! It has to be pretty crowded to "justify" all the openings. That said, there's still lots of food to try. Remy's Pattiserie is generally always open and has many different options on its own. If the park isn't appealing, Disneytown is right outside it, and there's a stall with the menus INSIDE the park, near the exit gate that you can check to see if something is appealing before going all the way there to see. Since you'll have been travelling in Asia for quite a bit, I will recommend the Cheesecake Factory if you're missing western food!

 

[AndreaDM]

I used didi in Shanghai and was able to pay the driver in cash.