HK vs. SH Disney?

[cschaaf]

We are going on a Viking cruise in China in early July (Shanghai to Beijing) and are looking at adding a pre or post trip to our plans. If we do one of those, we would consider going to a Disney park for one of the days.

The pre-trip would be extra days in Shanghai, and the post would take us to HK.

For each of those add-ons, we'd basically have one day on our own - so one day to hit a Disney park if we chose to do that.

We'd be staying off-property for either. The HK hotel is pretty close (shows about a 15 minute drive) and the SH shows about a 30 minute drive.

Any advice on one park vs the other?

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

If you have not traveled to HK before, I would stick with Shanghai Disney. There is a lot to do in HK and you could plan HK Disney and the surrounding areas for another trip. Since you are already seeing China on your cruise you may not be as inclined to go back to China right away.

 

[cschaaf]

Thanks!

I doubt we'll ever go back to China. I'm thinking this is a once in a lifetime thing. Part of me feels like a day at Disney isn't the best way to spend our limited time... but another part feels like we'd be a bit disappointed if we were that close and didn't go. lol

So torn.

To your point, We'll have a few Viking days in Shanghai and will see some of the highlights, so taking a day for Disney doesn't seem as big of an impact. With HK, we'd likely have 2 half days (day of arrival and there is a Viking tour the morning of the first full day) that we could do some quick hits, then there is a single full day followed by the departure day.

 

[Agent 86]

That's a tricky one. I haven't been to Shanghai, but I think it has more unique attractions in comparison to Hong Kong which shares a lot of attractions (and overall design) with the US parks.

As such, I'd be inclined to go with Shanghai Disney.

 

[Karin1984]

I would also go for Shanghai, not only because of the reason Agent 86 pointed out. But also because Shanghai would be pre-cruise. When your cruise ends you are relaxed and go home relaxed. I would prefer that over a day or two of running around to get as much out of your day in a new Disney park.

 

[cschaaf]

Thank you!

I think we've come to somewhat of a decision. If we want to do a Disney day, we'll do the Shanghai pre-trip. If we don't want to do a Disney day, we can do either SH or HK.

Our cruise is actually relaxing at the start and packed with stuff at the end. We end in Beijing, so there is a day at the Great Wall followed by a day of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. That's a lot of walking on the last two days of the trip. We don't mind the rushing around of Disney, but we might be worn out before we get there.

 

[GabBeFit]

Hey! I just did both parks this fall! I LOVED both.. buttt Shanghai has some more unique rides.. Tron and Pirates is not something you want to miss! Shanghai is much busier... but i was watching a vlog on disney news the other day and attendance has dropped quite a bit since it opened... Hong Kong Disneyland was not busy while we were there which was AMAZING. I honestly fell in love with Hong Kong in general, and didnt really like Shanghai that much... so I would personally be more inclined to go back to Hong Kong Disney... but for a first time, do Shanghai!!

For your Great wall excursion... we went to the Badaling area.. its a lot less touristy so there are way less crowds. Ended up with no one in any of our pictures! It was PERFECT We booked our tour through the Leo Courtyard hostel and it was a fantastic tour, with lunch!

Ive been posting some China vlogs, and also Shanghai Disney Vlogs recently if you are curious! I hope you have an amazing trip!!

 

[cschaaf]

Hey! I just did both parks this fall! I LOVED both.. buttt Shanghai has some more unique rides.. Tron and Pirates is not something you want to miss! Shanghai is much busier... but i was watching a vlog on disney news the other day and attendance has dropped quite a bit since it opened... Hong Kong Disneyland was not busy while we were there which was AMAZING. I honestly fell in love with Hong Kong in general, and didnt really like Shanghai that much... so I would personally be more inclined to go back to Hong Kong Disney... but for a first time, do Shanghai!!

For your Great wall excursion... we went to the Badaling area.. its a lot less touristy so there are way less crowds. Ended up with no one in any of our pictures! It was PERFECT We booked our tour through the Leo Courtyard hostel and it was a fantastic tour, with lunch!

Ive been posting some China vlogs, and also Shanghai Disney Vlogs recently if you are curious! I hope you have an amazing trip!!

Thank you! I will watch all of your trip videos!

I've also seen that Shanghai attendance is very low - some estimates are 50% below the expected.

I clicked through your Great Wall video (I'll go back and watch it all when I have some time). Our cruise trip will take us to Badaling, but it looks like it's a different section than where you were. The section that we are going to - starting at the Badaling gate, is said to be the most crowded. It's where most of the locals go, and most foreign dignitaries

We won't have much spare time in Beijing, but if we do, we're hoping to check out another section like Mutianyu (the most popular for foreign tourists), Huanghuacheng, or Juyongguan.

 

[disney144]

I'm not sure how your tour is structured, but if you have an option, get to the wall EARLY! We arranged with our tourguide for a driver to take us to an area. We arrived 30 minutes before it opened and were the first people on the wall. We had it all to ourselves (until the turnaround point- we passed huge crowds on the way down). For me, it was worth the extra for the private driver.

 

[Feistygirl916]

I would suggest hitting SDL over HKDL, if you only have time for one or the other. HKDL is very similar to DL, and although it's an amazing park, it just doesn't have the "wow" factor like SHDL.

 

[cschaaf]

I would suggest hitting SDL over HKDL, if you only have time for one or the other. HKDL is very similar to DL, and although it's an amazing park, it just doesn't have the "wow" factor like SHDL.

Thanks!

I think we've figured out that we can pay a nominal change fee and have Viking get get get us earlier flights without having to take their pre-trip package.

If that's the case, we can stay on property and do 1 full day, and most of a second, at SHDL befor moving to the city to meet up with the regular trip.

 

[disney144]

That sounds like a great plan!