When I was thinking about planning my trip to China last year I focussed on going somewhere I hadn’t been before – other than Chengdu I’ve been to Xi’an and Beijing, and while I love those cities, I need to branch out! I also need to visit some smaller places (for example Guilin is high on my priority list, it looks beautiful!), but I was thinking I should tick off the major sites first – which brought me to Shanghai. In my research Shanghai Disneyland kept coming up on travel blogs and TripAdvisor, but I was a little apprehensive about going alone. I then searched on Youtube and came across videos by thisnatasha, who has been solo to Shanghai Disneyland and really made it look super easy, so I became sold on the idea! I started my 2019 China trip in Shanghai, spending 4 days there split between Disneyland and visiting the city – it’s safe to say that the 1.5 days I spent at Shanghai Disneyland are in my absolute life highlights of things I’ve done, I just had the best time there and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since!
I bought a 2-day ticket for my trip on a Thursday and Friday in November – the pricing was cheaper than over the weekend, and the park was noticeably quieter on the Thursday compared with the Friday. At that time I paid 718 RMB for the 2 days, around £82, which I was pretty happy with as I think the American parks are more expensive – I have been to Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World before, however only for a few hours as I got a ticket free with attendance at a conference held in one of the Disney Resorts. So really, this was my first Disney experience and it was fantastic! I landed in Shanghai at around 11AM on the Thursday, by the time I got through the immigration, collected my luggage, bought a SIM card and caught a taxi, I made it to the Toy Story Hotel around 12:30PM. I dropped my luggage and headed to Disneytown to have a much needed coffee – there was no sleep on the flight, I was too excited! My first port of call was to World Of Disney to make my first ears purchase, then I was in the park before 2PM which I’d say wasn’t too bad, and that started my 1.5 magical days at Shanghai Disneyland!
The Castle
The castle is of course the focal point of the park and it is BEAUTIFUL! It’s also really really huge, I’d heard before going that it was big, but I didn’t appreciate just how big it would be, it was really spectacular – and it looks great in all lighting, I loved enjoying it early morning, in the sun, in the overcast clouds and it was so pretty as the sun was setting and at night. You need to see it across the whole day for sure! Walking into the park you first walk through Mickey Avenue which has a view straight down to the castle, I thought it would have been closer but it was quite a way in the distance from the park entrance. In front of the castle are the Gardens of Imagination, which has many beautiful planted/floral areas alongside a pond but also a couple of rides (Dumbo and the Carousel), so it really was a whole atmosphere in walking up to the castle. You can walk through the centre of the castle and in the middle is a beautiful hall with a high ceiling (you have to look up!) and the walls are decorated with the most beautiful mosaics of different Disney films, these were so detailed and really were stunning. There is also the Royal Banquet Hall restaurant inside the castle, the princess meet and greet area, and an attraction, the Once Upon A Time Adventure which was a walk-through telling of Snow White which was very nice. It was a good slow-paced activity to do, and whilst it was all in Mandarin, it wasn’t difficult to follow. I thought it had been put together very nicely with a range of technologies throughout the story. At night there is of course the projection/fireworks show to enjoy, Ignite The Dream, which I really loved. As a big Disney music fan this was perfect for someone like me – it lasted around 20 minutes and had a great selection of music and scenes projected onto the castle with fireworks also thrown in the mix. It was pretty busy, and people started gathering for the ideal spot quite early – I took advantage of the short ride queues instead and arrived about 5 minutes before the start but still found a good place to stand.
Gardens of Imagination
One unique aspect to the Gardens of Imagination is the Garden of the Twelve Friends which is set to the right of the castle after the carousel – these are twelve beautiful mosaics representing the Chinese zodiac animals, with the animals depicted by Disney characters. This is a lovely traditional touch to Disney that I think really stands out. There were almost no other people around looking at these when I was, so it’s a peaceful area of the park that you can enjoy classic Disney imagery alongside some Chinese tradition.
Adventure Isle
The Adventure Isle area of the park is the first on the right and was the first one I walked through when arriving at Shanghai Disneyland, although I didn’t take too many pictures! It has a couple of restaurants (didn’t try any of those though), and 3 attractions to enjoy – Roaring Rapids, a water ride, but I wasn’t really wanting to get too soggy, Camp Discovery, which is like a high ropes course of different difficulty levels, and of course Soaring Over The Horizon which was one of the most popular rides in the park often with a queue of almost 3 hours which sounds crazy to me! The only one I went on was Soaring, I hadn’t planned to, but I managed to get a fast-pass during my early magic hour. I did enjoy it, but personally I wouldn’t want to wait 3 hours to get on. Even with the fast-pass I think I still waited almost 30 minutes to get on the ride, I didn’t mind that much, but some fast-pass queues were walk-ons with the fast-pass. I liked the theming of the queue line however, so it meant for a non-boring wait. There is also a character meet-and-greet spot here, but because I didn’t spend much time here, I didn’t see which characters it was.
Treasure Cove
Treasure Cove is the next park area, and of course is where the pirates are – it seemed one of the busiest areas with the most popular restaurants and food carts (there was a huge queue for the turkey leg!). Here there were a few interactive attractions, where you could get on the shipwrecks, and there were also quite a few stunt shows along with meeting Jack Sparrow. This was also the area with my favourite ride – I loved Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure so much that I lost count of how many times I went one, we’re talking at least 8 over 1.5 days! I had watched videos of the ride on Youtube, because I don’t really want to be surprised with rides, I like to know what I’m getting myself in for, as I’ve actually never really been on theme park rides before, so I already knew most of the ride before getting on, but it was just amazing and so immersive. On every ride of it I would see different things and still get surprised at what would come up in the next scene or around the next corner. The dialogue was all in Mandarin but it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the ride at all, the story was fairly obvious to follow. This was the first ride I rode when entering the park as it had a short wait, and as soon as I came off, I went round and joined the queue again! The queue line theming was also amazing, it’s super long so made for a long queue, which I didn’t encounter so couldn’t always enjoy the different decor and designs on show. I was surprised that the queue was never over 25/30 minutes long, given how great the ride was I would have expected a longer wait sometimes. I’m having some regrets about not buying these cute pirate themed ears though, I’ll totally get them next time^
Fantasyland
The next area is Fantasyland which I think it the biggest one in the park, it covers the whole space behind and to the left side of the castle – it’s completely full of food to eat, characters to meet and attractions to ride. I’m a little disappointed in myself that I didn’t get more pictures, but I was having too much of a good time! This is the area that I did most of the rides in and it’s hard to pick a favourite. Winnie the Pooh was always a favourite when I was growing up so I thought the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride was great and full of cuteness, I couldn’t resist meeting Pooh himself either, the line was pretty short especially in comparison to the line to meet a princess – I really felt like I needed to meet at least one character on my trip! The ride always had quite a long wait, but I struck lucky by heading there immediately after seeing the parade, so it was almost a walk-on. I also enjoyed the Seven Dwarves Mine Train which is the most rollercoaster type ride I’ve ever been on – I went in the early magic hour when there was a short queue and I liked it so much I got a fast-pass for the evening. It was pretty fast with a lot of twists and turns, but actually the little adrenaline rush was fun. I went on Peter Pan’s Flight, which always had a surprisingly long queue, I’m not the biggest Peter Pan fan, so I wasn’t really fussed about waiting, but I did get a fast-pass on my first day for it. It was a nice ride, but I wouldn’t feel the need to go on it again. The Voyage to the Crystal Grotto ride however I’d happily go on everyday! There was always a reasonable wait for this, but I think it was worth it – it’s a boat ride around the lake behind the castle which goes through a range of scenes from Disney movies with musical accompaniment. I love Disney music, so I knew I would love this and it didn’t disappoint. The ride even has a portion going underneath the castle which is really spectacular. I rode this both during the day and at night, both were great and I’d really recommend doing it like that because seeing all of the scenes lit up at night was beautiful and a real highlight. And last but not least, the Alice In Wonderland Maze is also here in the shadows of the castle – this was a fun activity with a lot of great detail in the artwork, I really liked the first half of the maze before getting the the queen of hearts section, but the tea party scene was also pretty cute. This was something else that was fun to experience both in the day and at night.
Toy Story Land
Overall I thought the Toy Story Land had the best theming of all the different areas of the park – this might just be personal preference, but I think it’s been done so well and with so much thought, I loved the K’Nex fencing and the rides, and especially Al’s Toy Barn store, that’s such a great touch! There are 3 rides here, I already knew before going that Rex’s Racer wouldn’t be for me, as I don’t do going backwards, but I really liked Woody’s Roundup, it was fun and pretty cute with the horses, again it was another ride with great theming in the queue. The lunchbox-style theming to the restaurant area was great, so I was quite disappointed that all of the food outlets here were closed on my visit (not sure if it was just a timing thing of when I went by or they were closed all day), as I really wanted to eat there for the alien shaped pizza, but that’s always something for my next visit.
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland is the final area of the park and home to the only Tron ride in the world (soon coming to Walt Disney World) – along with Soaring and Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Tron always had a super long wait. I really umm’d and ahh’d about going on it, it was more the ride vehicle and the leaning forward position you had to sit in that put me off as I was worried about being constricted more than the speed of the ride. I watched it from under the canopy many times (it looks amazing lit up at night!), but in the end decided it wasn’t for me – I’m not sure if I regret not going on, I think I’ll try it next time I’m there though just to say I’ve experienced it. I was already impressed that I went on Mine Train twice, so maybe this was a fast ride too many for one trip. I did however love the Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue ride, I think I went on at least 4 or 5 times – it’s an interactive ride with targets to hit with a laser pointer, I’m a little competitive so it was always fun to try and beat my previous score on the game! There is also a restaurant overlooking the Tomorrowland plaza, Stargazer Grill, which I had dinner in one night, I went a little early to avoid the crowds which was perfect as it wasn’t too busy and was easy to get a seat. I’d definitely recommend eating a little outside of the regular meal times to have somewhat of a more quiet meal.
The Parade
One aspect of the day that I knew I wanted to make sure to see was the Parade, which was and still is Mickey’s Storybook Express – I’ve never seen anything quite like this before but it was fun and I’d definitely recommend seeing it at least once. It starts in Toy Story Land then heads past Tomorrowland – I watched right by Tron on both days, so I’m not sure where it heads after that, but I’ve heard it’s a long route. Seeing it near the start meant I could head off quickly to make use of the shorter lines for rides. I ended up seeing it on both days of my trip, more by accident on the second day as I happened to be at the right place at the right time, but I was glad that happened because Mulan hadn’t appeared in my first viewing, but she was there the second time and I’d been really looking forward to seeing her! There were a lot of my favourite films included in floats so I really enjoyed seeing the characters and listening to the music. After Mulan, my top highlights were the Frozen float and also seeing Marie from The Aristocats who is my all-time favourite and it was so unexpected to see her there^ The parade runs daily, however at the moment the timings might be varied due to the current restrictions/limitations. I found people started choosing their spot about 15-20 minutes before the parade began, and it didn’t actually get really packed in until a few minutes before the start. There was a little pushing to get small children into the front, but this wasn’t unexpected and I’m sure happens with most parades – I’m pretty tall, so I don’t mind being a few people back from the front as I usually still get a good view. Staff members were very contentious about making sure guests were behind the rope line around the parade route, so I thought it was very well controlled.
What to eat
I was both really excited and worried about what the food would be like at Shanghai Disneyland – I wanted to eat all the cute themed things but also knew the food would be more in the Chinese direction. I’m a pretty picky eater, but have definitely gotten better with Chinese food having been 3 times before. The restaurants in the park mostly advertise the Chinese dishes first but usually had something more western on offer too. I prefer to eat vegetarian which was definitely somewhat challenging as often that dish wasn’t advertised on the signage at all, but I think if I’d asked I would have gotten the right information. Breakfast was easy as I headed to Remy’s Patisserie which had a huge range of yummy baked goods to choose from – filling up at breakfast just meant enjoying a fun snack during the day and then having a larger dinner. I tried out a corndog, which was ok but I wouldn’t have it again, and also tried an Avengers themed burger and a hot dog, and of course had to have a classic Donald waffle. I really wanted to try the alien pizza which is sold in Toy Story Land, but I’ll have to have that next time!
Where to stay
Shanghai Disneyland Resort has 2 hotels – the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and the Toy Story Hotel, the first of which is beautiful and the more expensive of the two while the Toy Story Hotel is more affordable (still pricey compared with non-Disney hotels in Shanghai) and seems more orientated to families given the fun theming. I stayed at the Toy Story Hotel for 4 night – I booked via the Shanghai Disneyland website and had no issues, there was a 25% discount for 2+ night bookings, and the rate differed, being most expensive on Saturday night and cheaper on Friday. In total I paid 4700RMB (approx. £535) – which is by no means affordable but the benefits of staying on site really are great. You get an extra-magic hour in the morning before regular park opening, which was great, in that hour I rode all the rides that I wanted to, including getting on Seven Dwarves Mine Train as a walk-on, and was able to get both a Mine Train and Soaring fast pass, and had I wanted, could have also rode Tron as a walk-on. It really helps to tick the big name/popular rides off the list! By the time the park opened generally, it meant I was ready to enjoy breakfast having done a lot of rides while non-hotel-staying-guests rushed to the rides. The hotels are both very close to the park, otherwise it’s quite a trip from the centre of Shanghai – the metro system goes to Disneyland, but it’s around a 45 minute trip from the city centre (depending where you’re going to/coming from in the city), staying at Disney is just much more convenient. I loved being fully immersed in Disney for my whole trip! The Toy Story Hotel has a restaurant which served both a buffet breakfast and dinner, I didn’t try the restaurant but I bought from the Sunnyside Marketplace, which sold drinks, snacks and bakery items alongside some cooked foods, which was where I had my Donald Duck waffle. And of course there is also a small store, which was mostly Toy Story merchandise but did have some other items in case you missed it in the park or at Disneytown.
After booking my somewhat expensive trip to Shanghai I always told myself it was a one-time thing so it was an expensive treat that I wouldn’t have again – but I hadn’t been in the park even 5 minutes when I knew I just had to come back! I’d planned to buy an annual pass this year as I should have been in China in both the Autumn and November for some work conferences, which obviously didn’t happen, but I have really high hopes for next year. Leaving the park and walking under the ‘See you real soon!’ sign at the clocktower made me so sad, I really didn’t want to leave at all because I’d just had the best time ever!
After my days in the park, I had two more days in Shanghai, so whilst I wasn’t in the park having a magical time, I did also spend that time exploring in Shanghai itself which I look forward to sharing here as well =)