One Day in Shanghai Disney, September '16.

[GusIsaFoxhound]

Hello all! My day has been and gone this week, so I hope it's of interest to anyone reading it. Remember, it's just my own views, so it's not gospel! DH and I went there on our last day in China- if anyone is interested in our trip, I will put it up on TripAdvisor under 'Nexus Holidays', but I'm into the Disney theme first!

We stayed at the Toy Story Hotel for 2 nights, 18th and 19th. We went there 3 days before and left our large suitcases and just took our overnight luggage while we were elsewhere on the weekend. That was really useful. It also gave us a practice run on using the train to get about- it's really, really easy. The free shuttle bus from the hotel takes you to the Resort/DisneyTown, or the train station. We did 3 train trips, one each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the last one to Disney. We were 20 minutes too early for booking in, so we got our park tickets- and I got my photo with Woody and Jessie, out in the courtyard! A bellboy came and found us when our room was ready, and brought all our gear up to the room.
Now, before we came, I'd seen photos of TSH, and felt it a bit over-the-top and much more suited to kids. In fact, the foyer is, to me, but the room, while full-on Toy Story, was really sweet, and I liked being in it. (No way would I convince DH to waste more money staying at the Disney Hotel.) The 2 double beds were comfortable, but a bit small, and the second night we slept in one bed each. The walls seem paper thin, and it sounded like our neighbour was making his own furniture- DH is a light sleeper, so he didn't like this much, but I was ok. We were on the 6th floor, and outside the window we could see the park- and at night, TRON was glowing purple and blue! Got me very excited!!
We caught the shuttle to Disney Town. It was good for us, but we felt a bit sad for the workers who were politely waiting at the doors of the restaurants hoping for customers. The place was almost deserted. Now, the Mid-Autumn Festival had just finished the day before, so perhaps a lot were there then, but if not........ it can't be good for business. We shopped in World of Disney- DH went a little crazy looking for 'Grand Opening' stuff (must think he can make money as collector's items in the future!) and we got magnets, little plush Mickey, Minnie and Pluto, Grand Opening ears, my Minnie- Emperess ears, and a few others. (DH could be right, actually- I've seen the G.O. ears on EBay from USA for about $40!) We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck- a shared meal for 180yuan of pork and rice, crumbed calamari, pepperoni pizza, and cheesecake. I don't like pork, but the calamari was absolutely delicious. It had baby octopus too, and beans, cauliflower and onions. I don't like pizza, either, but DH suggested pulling off the pepperoni and trying it as margharita. Wow, it was great! Then, the cheesecake....mmmmmmmmm!! It came with cream, strawberries and strawberry jus, and the cheesecake itself wasn't really sweet, but creamy and nice! Sorry- a bit over the top for the food description, but after more than a week of Chinese food (which doesn't really agree with me) it was so delicious!

 

[GusIsaFoxhound]

Next morning, up and had breakfast at Storybook Cafe. A bit pricey (expected at a place like this) but not too bad. I had the scrambled eggs, hash brown, toast and tomatoes, which was nice enough. Then, out to the bus, and off to Disney! It didn't take long to get in the gate, and we were there for rope drop at 9am. Off to Tomorrowland- after a toilet stop by DH, to my annoyance. I was desperate to ride Tron! We were confused by the free lockers nearby, which was a bit stupid as it's easy really, but we couldn't see which was the 'English' button to get started. But, finally in. I took my camera to get the atypical shots of the inside. (I think you could tell who was riding for the first time ever- they were taking photos!) It looks awesome, a bit dark, and grids and bikes lit up. The line wasn't very long, about 5 minutes, and we were on. We were in the very front, so it's an exciting ride in the dark. I LOVED it- it was everything I'd hoped for, despite only being about 45 seconds long! We went around and did it again as it was still 5 mins. This time we were at the back, and that is more awesome, as you see the lights of the other cycles in front of you. In all, I rode it 5 times, the last 2 with FP- first mine, then DH's, as he'd had enough at 3, but I told him I was doing it 5 times. I thought the CMs would pull me up for FPing again so soon, (I would be easy to spot!) but they didn't seem to mind. After the 5th time (within 2 hours) I started feeling queasy, so decided it was enough.
(Instead of getting PhotoPass, which I had planned at first, I just got our first Tron photo, and left it at that. At DL in California last year, I lost our camera, so used the PPP to full advantage, but here DH took my photos instead. One less cost, keeps him happy! )
Pirates was closed all day. Disappointing, as it was closed at DL last year when I was there- for the whole 10 days- but I have ridden it in 2006, so not devastating. We went into 'Eye of the Storm- Captain Jack's Stunt Spectacular', as it was showering and we were nearby (Only bit of rain all day.) This truly was a "Spectacular". It doesn't matter at all that it's in Chinese- it's easy to understand, it's funny and they have great effects. Don't miss it if you are here.

 

[GusIsaFoxhound]

Buzz Lightyear doesn't really need any explaining, but it's still great fun, and I think the guns aim better than at DL. I was a real star at this!
We went into the Star Wars Launch Bay. It would seem that the Chinese have little interest in it, as there were only about 10 people in there at one time. There is a small theatre which shows clips from all the movies, and there were only 8 of us there- and 3 of us were Westerners! It made it easy to have my photo taken with R2D2, the Millennium Falcon, and Darth Vader, who sounded pretty funny in wheezy Chinese!!
The Garden of the Twelve Friends is really cute, with mosaics of Disney characters as Chinese Zodiac symbols. (Apologies here- if you've read other reviews before mine, some things I say you may already know. Bear with me, please.) As we were strolling on the other side, I saw Mickey's House, with only a 10 minute wait. I was SO delighted to meet him and see he had a cute little Mandarin jacket on (we got the plush toy with it on, too) so it will look like Shanghai Mickey in my photo! We didn't go into Marvel Universe. Captain America was so cute and sweet in DL that I didn't want to spoil my memories of him with someone different!

 

[GusIsaFoxhound]

My story isn't necessarily in order. I haven't seen my photos yet, which give me a timeline, but I doubt it makes much difference really.
The Once Upon a Time Adventure up through the castle is gorgeous, telling Snow White's story, and the cauldron is amazing! DH was impressed with this, too, as with Peter Pan's Flight. This is the same as at DL, but when we went as a family in 2006, it was too crowded to bother with. Last year I rode it for the first time, and was blown away. In Shanghai, you can get a FP, so no excuse to not try it at least once! We did it twice (once with FP) and it's worth it every time.
I loved the Alice in Wonderland Maze. I got to choose which out of 3 doors we could go in (it was pretty quiet, so I don't know if this always happens.) The Cheshire Cat (my fav!) appears and disappears in the cave, his paw prints do too. The Queen, like most of it, is more the Tim Burton one than Disney, but I didn't mind. It was such fun to see.
Looking back over the park map to see what I've missed, as I'm not in order. The Siren's Revenge is a pirate ship you can board and look down below. Listening to Geoffrey Rush in Chinese was very amusing!
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is the same as Big Thunder. Fun!
Didn't do Jet Packs, as once I saw it was like Dumbo at DL, I said no. Oddly, I can handle the rollercoaster-like rides like Tron, but the slightly up-and-down things make me nauseous! LIkewise, didn't do Soaring Over The Horizon for the same reason. The California one makes me travel sick.
We didn't eat much in there, either. Had a burger from Stargazer Grill mid afternoon, (not bad) and struggled to find somewhere for a much later meal, as we didn't want a sit-down one, and ended up back at Stargazer for much more ordinary hot dog and chicken.
Saw the parade during the day, which was fun, and stayed for the light show on the castle at 8.30. This was nice, but really, much the same as at DL, so could have done a few rides instead. If you haven't seen one, definitely see it, but we should have staked out the rides that were still running.
If I remember anything else, I'll add it on, but I think it's about all. Poor DH got a large blister on his toe from the day. I had my Skechers Go-Walk, which I'd had the whole time in China, and came out fine, unless you wanted to smell them!!
One day was still enough to enjoy myself very much. There are things to see if I ever get back (places to eat, too!) but if not, I've still had a magical time. I think we would stay off site next time, as the trains are so easy, but Toy Story Hotel was fun for the experience.
Hope this helps others still planning to go.

 

[4Mickeys]

Thanks for sharing Sounds like you had fun.

 

[zanzibar138]

Great to hear all about your trip! Thanks for sharing

 

[aussie shaz]

Sounds like you had a fantastic trip. Loved reading about it and kinda makes me want to go to China!

 

[GusIsaFoxhound]

China is amazing. Disney is the pleasant extra. We've been twice with those cheap trips that pop up Down Under, then stayed on a bit longer. Well worth it.

 

[GusIsaFoxhound]

It's been a while since I put anything up here! I've tried to add anything that helps out other travellers, and while I've got very fond memories, not everything is important enough to add to here.
I got around 1400 photos from our China holiday, and yes, I print them all up! Took me ages to figure out how to display them. Photo albums have gone up in price since people stopped so many prints, and anyway, as most take about 300 photos, it would have been a VERY big collection for one holiday!
I only finished putting them into 2 folders last week. I have 64 photos of when we first arrived at Toy Story Hotel (along with around 20 from when we dropped our luggage off 3 days earlier- even the drive to Disney was exciting!) Just over 100 for the one day we were there- including our first Tron photo, which I got instead of PhotoPass. Lots of stunning pictures from around Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo and Nanjing, too, obviously. (I am a sucker for photos of changing landscapes- from the train it would change from fields of crops to cities, freeways, roads with no-one on them, power stations....such a contrast all the time.)
So please, people, try to see the country, not just Disney. The whole experience is wonderful.