Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening Trip Planning Thread

[Dentam]

I'm planning to stay at the DL hotel - there are still openings for weekdays this July. I can't imagine that it's sold out beyond that. Maybe it's too far out from now to show in their system yet.

I wonder if I'll be able to use Disney gift cards and my Disney Visa redemption card over there?

 

[D23Ry]

Wow next year? I would keep checking, something might become available. Or maybe you're trying to book too far in advance? Might even be worth calling the reservations line.

If you're not that set on staying onsite, I did find a hotel in my search which seems to be like a 'good neighbour' style place offering Disney packages with a free shuttle to the Disney train line (only twice a day though). If you're interested, it's the Dorsett Shanghai right near the Maglev station. I was tempted to try it out, but it was a bit over budget since I totally blew all my money on my club level stay at the DL Hotel. I ended up booking a cheaper place just around the corner.

I'm imagining that once things are up and running the local hotels surrounding Disneyland will get a much bigger international prescence and start getting more English reviews on TripAdvisor etc. We'll probably even see some more international chains spring up in the area. If it was me, I would hang out and keep checking in with the onsite hotels for availability, but if you have missed out on them, you'll probably find it much easier to choose a hotel in a few months when there are more reviews and TRs etc around.

Thanks for the suggestions. They are taking reservations right now on their site until March I believe. nothing available. If i'm going all that way I might as well stay at the hotel, i'll just be patient......for now

EDIT: Just checked July and they have dates available. So maybe it is too far out, but strange that it lets you check those dates. WDW will only let you check until the end of December of this year if I remember right

 

[zanzibar138]

Thanks for the suggestions. They are taking reservations right now on their site until March I believe. nothing available. If i'm going all that way I might as well stay at the hotel, i'll just be patient......for now

The only thing I can think of if it's not that you're trying to book too far out is maybe there is limited availability already over Chinese New Year? If that's the case, and that's the time that you are going, I'd look into getting park tickets sooner rather than later too.

 

[Dentam]

I finally got the dates for the conference I am attending. It will be the last week of July and I will plan to go for two nights to the new park after the conference!

Hope you all have a great time at the opening!

 

[Wuzefelix]

Who wants to join us on the Disney Premium Tour?

The Disney Premium Tour is a VIP Tour Service offered by Shanghai Disneyland. During the 6 hour tour the group (up to 6 people) will get priority access with little or no wait to all attractions and select characters greeting experiences. More information can be found on the official website: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/tours/vip-tour-services/

These tours officially don't start until July 1st but we managed to get a reservation for Friday June 17th. That way, everyone has time to experience the new park and the festivities of the grand opening day (16th) in a relaxed way because we know for sure that on the next day we are guaranteed to do all the rides as much as we like during the tour.

Our plan is to do the tour in the afternoon between 1pm and 7pm on June 17th and focus on the rides. We would like to do the big rides like Tron, Soarin, Pirates several times and do the small rides at least once each. We do not plan to watch a show or have a table service meal during the tour because we feel that would be a waste of time / money. Those things can be done outside of the tour .

Who wants to join us? The more we are, the lower the cost per person. Currently we are 3 so with you we'd already be 4 . Send me a private message for details.

 

[Dentam]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/travel/shanghai-disneyland-etiquette-guide/

It will be interesting to see how the opening weeks go. They are doing crowd control drills now and have issued an etiquette guide after behaviors noted during the soft opening.

 

[pcmiranda]

In the "no respect for the red rope" department...
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/01/china/lego-statue-demolished-trnd/index.html

Personally, I'd have glued up an intricate work of Lego art like that no matter where it was going to be shown, if only to make sure it could be moved intact.

 

[RachelleBeaney]

FYI for all of you planning a trip to Shanghai Disney on opening day, this article has an interesting report on crowds and FP distribution rules from the trial periods. Looks like headliner waits were frequently 2-3 hours with waits for lesser attractions 20-45 minutes and you could get a new FP every 3 hours (which is the longest FP wait window of any of the parks!).

I reckon it's going to be insane the first few months of opening! You can find the article here

Still don't forget the following rides have single rider lines (which might be a must do with waits like mentioned above) - Roaring Rapids, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, TROL LightCycle Coaster and Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

[RachelleBeaney]

In case anyone is thinking about transportation arrangements, this sign is posted outside SDH...

Thanks for this info!! I have been wondering! We will be staying at the Toy Story Hotel, but I'm hoping the schedules will be similar

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Who wants to join us on the Disney Premium Tour?

The Disney Premium Tour is a VIP Tour Service offered by Shanghai Disneyland. During the 6 hour tour the group (up to 6 people) will get priority access with little or no wait to all attractions and select characters greeting experiences. More information can be found on the official website: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/tours/vip-tour-services/

These tours officially don't start until July 1st but we managed to get a reservation for Friday June 17th. That way, everyone has time to experience the new park and the festivities of the grand opening day (16th) in a relaxed way because we know for sure that on the next day we are guaranteed to do all the rides as much as we like during the tour.

Our plan is to do the tour in the afternoon between 1pm and 7pm on June 17th and focus on the rides. We would like to do the big rides like Tron, Soarin, Pirates several times and do the small rides at least once each. We do not plan to watch a show or have a table service meal during the tour because we feel that would be a waste of time / money. Those things can be done outside of the tour .

Who wants to join us? The more we are, the lower the cost per person. Currently we are 3 so with you we'd already be 4 . Send me a private message for details.

I'm curious how much these tours cost? Are you able to give me an estimate?

 

[Dentam]

I will for sure be doing the single rider lines when possible!

 

[zanzibar138]

I will for sure be doing the single rider lines when possible!

Me too!

 

[RachelleBeaney]

I will for sure be doing the single rider lines when possible!

Seconded!!

 

[Wuzefelix]

I'm curious how much these tours cost? Are you able to give me an estimate?

The peak season price for Disney's Premier Tour is 12500 RMB for 6 hours for the entire group of up to 6 people. The main benefit is priority access to all attractions and front of the line access at select character locations. More information can be found here: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/tours/vip-tour-services/

We have already found enough Disney fans to join us on our tour so unfortunately we don't have any available spots left.

Please note that these tours are not offered to the public until July 1st.

Best Regards,
Felix

 

[RachelleBeaney]

The peak season price for Disney's Premier Tour is 12500 RMB for 6 hours for the entire group of up to 6 people. The main benefit is priority access to all attractions and front of the line access at select character locations. More information can be found here: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/tours/vip-tour-services/

We have already found enough Disney fans to join us on our tour so unfortunately we don't have any available spots left.

Please note that these tours are not offered to the public until July 1st.

Best Regards,
Felix

Thanks for that info! It's probably about the same price as the US then! We actually aren't going for opening, we are heading over next January (hopefully it will be quieter by then) but I've been reading the opening day forum for tips and advice re planning - we be keeping my eye on crowd levels etc and if you all have any advice/info when you get back I'd really appreciate it

 

[AdamEfimoff]

Thats crazy

 

[wtdanceisthrough]

Some people noticed that the Roaring Rapids ride is now listed on the website as "Coming Soon": https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/attractions/roaring-rapids/ - the inside info is that there are some problems with the animatronic timing on the ride currently.

If Roaring Rapids is not open on the opening weekend, I will be so gutted!! This is pretty much the attraction I was most looking forward to!!

 

[zanzibar138]

Some people noticed that the Roaring Rapids ride is now listed on the website as "Coming Soon": https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/attractions/roaring-rapids/ - the inside info is that there are some problems with the animatronic timing on the ride currently.

If Roaring Rapids is not open on the opening weekend, I will be so gutted!! This is pretty much the attraction I was most looking forward to!!

I hope it's open too! To be honest though, my main priorities are POTC and Tron. I would be totally gutted to not experience either of them - let's hope they stay fully operational as they have been so far! My main concern about any ride closures will be the affects on wait times of the attractions that are open, but hopefully SR and FP will serve me well.

 

[Kboop0178]

• Have you decided to go yet? I decided to go when I first heard that the park was near completion.

• Have you ever attended a Disney theme park official opening before? No

• Where are you going to stay? We're going to stay at an offsite hotel. Since we're going to be in Shanghai for 5 days prior to heading to Tokyo DL, I want to be mindful of our spending.

• What's your strategy to get park tickets? I purchased my park tickets the day the tickets became available. However, I'm not going on the actual opening day due to my children's school schedule.

• How long are you going for? 2 days in SDL but 5 days in Shanghai

• What other sights / attractions are you going to visit during your trip? I'm not certain yet, but I've heard from my co-workers about some other good theme parks, that I need to check out.

• What else would you like to share? After Shanghai I have completed my Disney Theme Parks bucket list. And for my children, after TDL in August, they've visited all the parks within the past year and a half (we've done a lot of traveling!).

 

[Dentam]

Here's an article I found by a writer from Los Angeles who will be traveling with a photographer to cover the opening. They're looking for other Americans who will be traveling to the opening to interview while there.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/shanghai-717923-disneyland-going.html