In December 2018, I was lucky enough to find a companion my wonderful boyfriend, to go to Shanghai with me and visit the newest Disneyland! This is my first time to visit the Shanghai Disneyland after waiting 2.5 years since it has opened. Since I heard quite a few comments that this park gets quite busy and waiting line is long, I did quite a bit of research on how to do this properly. In the end, we had a blast and we did majority of the key attractions in one day!
Preparation:
We got our ticket through Klook app and, at the time we were researching ticket price, it was the cheaper option than buying through the official Disney website. One thing about buying Shanghai Disneyland Park ticket; you will need to decide on the date you are going in before purchasing the ticket and it will need government ID (i.e. passport) information. The app gave us a QR code ticket once confirmed purchase, which we just scanned it when we were at the Disney Park entrance and the staff gave us the official Disney ticket of the day in exchange.
An added bonus, you can use the Klook promo code with HK$25 off for first time user: MDTNL
Next important thing we did was to download the Shanghai Disneyland Park App. This is a vital app to ensure you maximize your time in one day! It has the park map with GPS to show you your current position in the park, the waiting time for each attractions, the showtimes for all the shows, the current character meets, the opening/closing time for restaurants and to get your FastPass.
On the Day:
So our tactic was really to do all the major popular attractions, skip character meets for this time round, and just enjoy our time. Below are ones that was definitely our highlights (the good and bad) in our trip when in Shanghai Disney.
We also rode and saw the Peter Pan ride, Buzz Lightyear ride, and Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular show but nothing special in particular to other Disneyland rides so not included in the below list.
Also, a note, the park allows food to be brought in as long as it is not packaged and sealed food. So if you made a fruit salad and packed into a container, you can bring it in. However, if you bought a fruit salad from convenience store and it is in sealed packaging, that is a big no-no.
Entrance of the Park
We got our official Disney Park ticket at the entrance after scanning the Klook's QR code.
After a short walk from the entrance to the Mickey Avenue, you will see the castle from afar! We also saw the tall Christmas tree as we went during December. The night view of the castle and the decorated Christmas tree was just magical.
Soaring over the Horizon
Located at Adventure Isle, the same structural ride to the Soarin' rides in America ones (Epcot and Disney California), this ride takes you "flying" around the world in an aerial view perspective. It was beautiful and truly felt like I was flying in the air with the winds blowing at us. It ends at Shanghai city view, which is a nice touch to remind me I was in Shanghai Disney.
This was worth lining up for 30 min and sets a good tone in Disney.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure
Next up we headed to the Treasure Cove, which is right next to Adventure Isle, for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It is quite similar to the Tokyo Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride but greater and better effects, visual implementation and new technology. We join the journey of Jack Sparrow's adventure to get the treasure with a epic battle between two pirate ships.
I also highly recommend this ride!
Tron
Taking the Tron movie concept of virtual concept bike, this is one of the roller coaster rides in Disney that you should not miss. We sat on the ride like we were hardcore biker; leaning forward, hands stretching out for the bar and with our knees bends neatly on the side (almost like kneeling thinking about it). I was taken by surprised when it first accelerated and thoroughly had a blast. We didn't need to wait long for this as we took the FastPass right when we entered into the park. However, by night, we realized the waiting time was actually quite short (it stated 10 min only) so keep an eye out if you want to ride again.
This is a must go ride in Disney Shanghai!
Tarzan: Call of the Jungle stage show
The live acrobat show, located at Adventure Isle (right next to Soaring over the Horizon), that is a must watch. Definitely one of our highlights in Disney Shanghai. It follows the story of Tarzan in a 30 minutes performance. People were flying around, jumping up and down from crazy heights, doing back/front flips multiple times and just all those crazy acrobat moves that I would forever in my life could not achieve (too late to train up those moves at my age). I think it is one of the best live stage show I have watched in all the Disney parks I have been too.
A note though, this gets fill up pretty fast so I highly suggest to be there at least 30 min before the show starts. There will be a mob of people rushing into the line up... so embrace the push and shovel (nothing major for us but there will always be people FOMO-ing when in China).
Mickey’s Storybook Express (aka The Parade)
Do not miss this! The parade is one of my highlights and surprise part! I did not expect some character cars will appear like Tangled, Aladdin, Frozen and Mulan.
I have read people's recommendation is to stand at Mickey's Avenue to enjoy the parade with the castle view. On the day for us, we stood on the road near the Tron ride as we were in a rush with our FastPass, which was in the end a good spot for us too as we got to see the parade up close. The only downfall would be the weather factor as it is an outdoor show after all.
Alice in Wonderland Maze
This was a delightful maze right underneath the castle at Fantasyland. You choose your own path and along the way encountering Cheshire Cat, a tea party and meeting the Red Queen (Tim Burton's style). Truly got lost in the Alice's world. A note, when we were there, there was a line up to take a picture with the Red Queen and to sit at the Queen's chair.
Frozen: A Sing-Along Celebration
First of all, this is a musical show that has little action and just mainly a big screen TV playing the MV with lyrics for audience to sing-along like a karaoke. Secondly, the songs are in Mandarin version. Thirdly, the performers really just stand around, encouraging kids to sing-along, and the most interesting part is to see Olaf. The one good thing for us was that it was a cold day and we were getting tired so staying indoor with a comfy bench to sit was a bliss.
So my verdict: don't go into this show unless you really REALLY love Frozen and can sing-along to the song (in Mandarin or sing in English yourself if you remember the lyrics).
If you have read till the end, thank you. Hope you enjoy this review post!
Shall write another one just about the food we tried when in Shanghai Disney.
