Shanghai Disneyland summer

[Annabell]

We will be in Shanghai during the summer holiday when it is peak season for Disneyland Shanghai.
Initially we had planned to go to the parks but now after reading some reviews we are not so sure
whether we should go to the parks during this peak season. Many reviews mention waits of
150-180 minutes for the rides and it is super super busy. We have been to all the Disney parks
except for the Shanghai one and it would be good to also visit this park but waits of more the 150
minutes really put us off. TBH, it sounds more like a torture than fun to me.

Anyone been there during summer school holiday ? Is it really that bad ?

Now I understand there is an APP that can show the waiting times. Do you have to be in the park in
order to see the waiting times ? Or you can also use it outside the park ?

 

[CaptainCook]

I couldn't imagine being in Shanghai and NOT going to the park, if I were in your situation. Yes, it will be crowded, but if you've been to all the other Disney parks then there's a lot of attractions that you could outright skip - I think you'd get more out of the experience of actually being in the park than doing the attractions, except for those that are unique to Shanghai. We went for a day in July last year and it was crowded, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Prioritize what you want to do and enjoy it.

Our trip report is linked in my signature.

I'm pretty sure you can access the app from anywhere.

 

[indoshakespeare]

I am also going on the first week of July. We originally planned for the third week of June but my cousin couldn't make it and had to postpone it to July. It's not ideal but I'll take what I can get. A crowded Disney is still better than no Disney. We'll probably do a VIP tour or something, or we'll get the paid fastpasses

 

[Annabell]

I couldn't imagine being in Shanghai and NOT going to the park......

Yes, we feel the same. It's just that we are not sure that we can cope with such long wait times.
Will probably just decide when we arrive in Shanghai.
BTW, I love reading your trip report !

 

[Flossbolna]

We were in 2017 end of June. Both of our days they sold out on park tickets the week before, so we had capacity crowds. It was not ideal, but we did everything we wanted during those two days without getting the paid for FPs. Also at that time there was no hotel entrance, so that cost us a lot of time.

Would I plan a return trip for summer? No. Would I go during summer if I happened to be there? Yes! But I would pay for the FPs. And make sure to stay at a Disney hotel.

You can read about our experience in my trip report (links in the signature)

 

[OldSchoolReasons]

I'm in the park now and just a warning, the crowds are heavier than I anticipated and it's very hot - midday to 3pm are like walking through treacle. I was in Hong Kong and I've been Tokyo in September but nothing compares to this (and it's gonna get hotter as I work my way to Beijing! Yay)

If June is your only option do it - even if it's just to do Pirates and Tron which are both amazing. Park tickets are quite cheap. Stay on site, it'll give you a leg up on fastpass times - all fastpasses were gone by 10 today and it opened at half 8.

Pack your patience, the queues will shoot up to absolutely crazy waits but these will start creeping down by 3pm and by night a lot of rides are less than 20 mins. At one point Pirates was 2 hours, it's now 25 mins. Skip Soarin if you've done it, the queue today is 3 hours. At 1pm even stuff like the carousel were 40 mins.
Even with the nightmare queues I'd go again. If you can get an afternoon ticket and arrive after 3pm one day that'll help as you can watch the fireworks one night and ride low queue attractions the other.

It's such a beautiful park and is absolutely without a doubt worth visiting, the castle is amazing and even Peter Pan is state of the art.

Also if someone hasn't said it already - app works out the park.

 

[gelatoni fan]

On days with larger crowds, they decrease the number of FP to sell more priority admission. If you're willing to spend the money, you can just buy priority admission. The issue is if they put up barriers during the shows to restrict traffic. It can take a long time to get from one place to another place during the fireworks if you aren't jumping over barriers (people do it but it's technically not allowed). Another thing about shows: people in Shanghai often raise their kids and in the summer, open umbrellas to block the sun. Be aware that your view for an outdoor show may be blocked by a sudden umbrella or kid being put on a parent's shoulder.

Check the ticket prices. Often times Monday and Friday will be more packed if the weekend was peak pricing but those days were non-peak priced.

 

[indoshakespeare]

I've been monitoring wait times through out the day. On days that the park open from 8.30 AM to 10.00 PM, wait times drop significantly after 8.30 PM (after the night time show starts). At 9.30 PM, Tron and Pirates wait times is 10 mins, Seven Dwarfs Main Train is 20 mins, Soaring is 30 mins.

Combining early entry, Fastpasses and post-fireworks wait time, i think it's very managable. Go in early, ride stuff, get FPs early, then spend the afternoon walking around or rest at the hotel. Come back in the evening and ride more stuff.

 

[Lewdannie]

Also if someone hasn't said it already - app works out the park.

So like in Anaheim you can continue to pull Fastpass if you go back to the hotel for a nap?