Just back from a work trip to Shanghai and was able to spend a day (Monday 15th May) at Shanghai Disneyland. Booked my ticket in advance with the early bird offer (approx $70). This marks my 10th Disney park with only HKDL and Tokyo DL to do now. Below is my report on the day, but happy to try and answer any questions if anyone has any - I have found very little about Shanghai DL written post 2020.
Arrival process
I was staying around 20 minutes away by cab, and having read how busy it can get in the mornings, I decided I wanted to be in line for security by 7:30. I left at 7am and arrived right on cue. Already I was in awe by the number of people there who’d clearly been waiting for some time. Line started moving around 7:50 and then once through, there was another line for park entry. By the time we started moving, the build up behind me was huge, with swarms of people in line for security. I didn’t need to show my email confirmation, just my passport which had been linked to my booking. I entered the park just a few minutes before the official 8:30 opening.
Now, my plan had been to head straight to Soarin’, but I’d missed the opportunity and it was already showing a 75 minute wait at park opening. Roaring Rapids was showing 30 and I wasn’t keen on a water ride first thing, so I head round to my first ride.
Morning
I decided I would do Pirates of the Caribbean first, since it was a 5 min wait, and I’m glad I did. It set the bar extremely high, and it wasn’t beaten by anything else during the day. The technology and the integration of everything is world class I next headed to Fantasyland for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. They have single rider for it which was a nice surprise, which was a 20 minute wait instead of 60. Pretty similar to MK as far as I remember. Next to Rex’s Racers and I definitely notice the wait times creeping up now on the app. Waited 25 for Rex’s Racer, fun but very short! Next to the Challenge Trails - wanted to do this before it got to the hottest part of day, and it was a short 5 minute wait. Great fun and totally unique for a Disney park. Next I headed to Buzz Lightyear, with a short 10 minute wait. This is a great version of the ride, better tech than the US parks. I then headed to Peter Pan (30 minute wait) - really brilliant version of the ride, with fantastic use of projections.
I suppose what you can say about the morning was I was back and forwards a lot, trying to avoid the rides with the longer wait times.
Afternoon
It was getting hot and I needed some time to sit down. I had managed a standby pass for the 12:30 Mickey’s Storybook Adventure. I arrived at 11:50 and already it was heaving, downstairs was full so I ended up in the mezzanine level. Show was fine, all speaking in Chinese with a mix of English/Chinese for the songs.
I then went to the castle walkthrough Once Upon a Time adventure. Not really worth it in my opinion as again, all in Chinese. Next to Eye of the Storm, where I caught the 13:40 show. The first 15 minutes in the holding area I had barely a clue what was going on. The actual stunt part of the show was short, but very good to watch, particularly a fight scene where they are using the indoor sky flying tech. Next up I decided to do Tron which was listed as a 65 minute wait (Soarin and Rapids both listed at 105 mins for majority of the day, and longer at some points). Annoyingly, single rider line for Tron is closed and seems to be no longer in use. You can take your bags in with you and they move the boxes with bags between the load/unload. In fact I only waited 45 mins for Tron (which I loved, feels much faster than it looks), which meant I had time to do Voyage to Crystal Grotto (5 min wait) before the parade. This ride was pretty cute, certainly the kids seemed to enjoy it.
Next up was the Parade, which paled in comparison to Magic Happens, but was still fun. I’d decided to eat at Barbossa’s Bounty, so grabbed another ride on Pirates beforehand (short 10 min wait).
Evening
Dinner was pretty good. I had Ribs/Rice/Corn. Very tasty. I rode Pirates for a third and final time (20 min wait). It was getting towards 6pm and I wanted to do Tron when the Sun had set, so I head back to tomorrow ride, had a ride on Buzz, and then queued for another ride on Tron. Luckily, only waited 40 mins and got to experience it all lights aglow - beautiful. Right now it was crunch time - I had to queue for the Rapids otherwise I wouldn’t get on it, and it was the only ride left I really wanted to do (Soarin’ wasn’t a priority, have done it many times in Orlando and Cali). In the end, it was a 75 minute wait, which I didn’t mind because as with all the queues today, they moved quickly. I had time for a quick ride on Winnie the Pooh (pretty much same as MK I think) and another go on Peter Pan (walk ons) before Illuminate. This disappointed a bit, the new projection show at Disneyland is far superior.
Hundreds of Taxis waiting at the taxi rank end of day, nice and easy to get back to the hotel.
Roundup
All in all, a brilliant busy day. I’m already planning to visit again later in the year when Zootopia is open.
Some things to note
Arrival process
I was staying around 20 minutes away by cab, and having read how busy it can get in the mornings, I decided I wanted to be in line for security by 7:30. I left at 7am and arrived right on cue. Already I was in awe by the number of people there who’d clearly been waiting for some time. Line started moving around 7:50 and then once through, there was another line for park entry. By the time we started moving, the build up behind me was huge, with swarms of people in line for security. I didn’t need to show my email confirmation, just my passport which had been linked to my booking. I entered the park just a few minutes before the official 8:30 opening.
Now, my plan had been to head straight to Soarin’, but I’d missed the opportunity and it was already showing a 75 minute wait at park opening. Roaring Rapids was showing 30 and I wasn’t keen on a water ride first thing, so I head round to my first ride.
Morning
I decided I would do Pirates of the Caribbean first, since it was a 5 min wait, and I’m glad I did. It set the bar extremely high, and it wasn’t beaten by anything else during the day. The technology and the integration of everything is world class I next headed to Fantasyland for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. They have single rider for it which was a nice surprise, which was a 20 minute wait instead of 60. Pretty similar to MK as far as I remember. Next to Rex’s Racers and I definitely notice the wait times creeping up now on the app. Waited 25 for Rex’s Racer, fun but very short! Next to the Challenge Trails - wanted to do this before it got to the hottest part of day, and it was a short 5 minute wait. Great fun and totally unique for a Disney park. Next I headed to Buzz Lightyear, with a short 10 minute wait. This is a great version of the ride, better tech than the US parks. I then headed to Peter Pan (30 minute wait) - really brilliant version of the ride, with fantastic use of projections.
I suppose what you can say about the morning was I was back and forwards a lot, trying to avoid the rides with the longer wait times.
Afternoon
It was getting hot and I needed some time to sit down. I had managed a standby pass for the 12:30 Mickey’s Storybook Adventure. I arrived at 11:50 and already it was heaving, downstairs was full so I ended up in the mezzanine level. Show was fine, all speaking in Chinese with a mix of English/Chinese for the songs.
I then went to the castle walkthrough Once Upon a Time adventure. Not really worth it in my opinion as again, all in Chinese. Next to Eye of the Storm, where I caught the 13:40 show. The first 15 minutes in the holding area I had barely a clue what was going on. The actual stunt part of the show was short, but very good to watch, particularly a fight scene where they are using the indoor sky flying tech. Next up I decided to do Tron which was listed as a 65 minute wait (Soarin and Rapids both listed at 105 mins for majority of the day, and longer at some points). Annoyingly, single rider line for Tron is closed and seems to be no longer in use. You can take your bags in with you and they move the boxes with bags between the load/unload. In fact I only waited 45 mins for Tron (which I loved, feels much faster than it looks), which meant I had time to do Voyage to Crystal Grotto (5 min wait) before the parade. This ride was pretty cute, certainly the kids seemed to enjoy it.
Next up was the Parade, which paled in comparison to Magic Happens, but was still fun. I’d decided to eat at Barbossa’s Bounty, so grabbed another ride on Pirates beforehand (short 10 min wait).
Evening
Dinner was pretty good. I had Ribs/Rice/Corn. Very tasty. I rode Pirates for a third and final time (20 min wait). It was getting towards 6pm and I wanted to do Tron when the Sun had set, so I head back to tomorrow ride, had a ride on Buzz, and then queued for another ride on Tron. Luckily, only waited 40 mins and got to experience it all lights aglow - beautiful. Right now it was crunch time - I had to queue for the Rapids otherwise I wouldn’t get on it, and it was the only ride left I really wanted to do (Soarin’ wasn’t a priority, have done it many times in Orlando and Cali). In the end, it was a 75 minute wait, which I didn’t mind because as with all the queues today, they moved quickly. I had time for a quick ride on Winnie the Pooh (pretty much same as MK I think) and another go on Peter Pan (walk ons) before Illuminate. This disappointed a bit, the new projection show at Disneyland is far superior.
Hundreds of Taxis waiting at the taxi rank end of day, nice and easy to get back to the hotel.
Roundup
All in all, a brilliant busy day. I’m already planning to visit again later in the year when Zootopia is open.
Some things to note
- Very few people using Premier Access. Not surprising when it’s around $25 for one attraction.
- Only single rider line was Seven Dwarfs. They could definitely utilise this at Tron, and I hope they will for Zootopia.
- The walkways are very wide! Which is good because a lot of people using those big wagon style pushchairs
- Demographic was 99.9% Chinese, I only saw a handful of other western faces throughout the day. Mostly families with young children.
- There is little concern for personal space in queues. There was a lot of bumping and kids climbing all over everything and falling into you. Saw quite a few people queue jumping to join there groups, although some were stopped as people in line were having none of it.
- The technology in the rides is very impressive. Videos don’t do Pirates justice.
- Lines move fast, they are very efficient with loading/unloading. Majority of queues are covered which is good due to the heat.
- Wait times plummeted in the last hour, so if you aren't going to catch Illuminate, this is probably your best bet for Soarin' or other high wait attractions.
