# I just booked! Going to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo-update Disneyland Shanghai  day 5 - 01/06



## Karin1984

I have booked my longhaul flights, so no going back now! For 19 days incl. 2 travel days  
Shanghai first, then Hong Kong and then Tokyo!  

I can't believe it's finally going to happen, I've been thinking about this trip for so long and now it's 7,5 month away! 

We decided to book about 1,5 day longer than originally planned, so now we have to re-think the original schedule, but most likely, 2,5 days sightseeing per city, 2 days for SDL, 2 days for HDL and 4 days for TDL.


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## nycdisneygal

sounds amazing!


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## DisneyRegulars

We have a very similar trip planned too! We have two weeks in Shanghai and China, then three nights in Hong Kong, and 5 nights in Tokyo. We leave June 10th and just yesterday we booked our China tour. I'm so excited to see all three Asian Disneys in one trip!


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## GusIsaFoxhound

Two days in Shanghai Disney should be plenty. We did one full day (no kids) and saw everything I'd planned, and a few more too. I loved it there, and hope you will too. Are you going in September? That's when we were there, and the timing (just after Mid Autumn Festival) was great, with good weather and low crowds.


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## Feistygirl916

Karin1984 said:


> I have booked my longhaul flights, so no going back now! For 19 days incl. 2 travel days
> Shanghai first, then Hong Kong and then Tokyo!
> 
> I can't believe it's finally going to happen, I've been thinking about this trip for so long and now it's 7,5 month away!
> 
> We decided to book about 1,5 day longer than originally planned, so now we have to re-think the original schedule, but most likely, 2,5 days sightseeing per city, 2 days for SDL, 2 days for HDL and 4 days for TDL.



We did the exact same trip in November/December 2016  Have fun! Are you going to write a PTR?


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## Karin1984

Feistygirl916 said:


> We did the exact same trip in November/December 2016  Have fun! Are you going to write a PTR?



I'm already working on it, but it's on the Tokyo Board. I've tried to persuade DIS Boards to move my PTR, but they don't reply to my e-mail  
https://www.disboards.com/threads/im-going-to-tokyo-and-shanghai-and-hong-kong-ptr.3515338/


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## BrittyRo

I was trying to plan this for September but when I go on the Tokyo DL and Shaghai DL websites you can't book past July! Am I missing something?!


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## Karin1984

BrittyRo said:


> I was trying to plan this for September but when I go on the Tokyo DL and Shaghai DL websites you can't book past July! Am I missing something?!


No, just that you can't book that far in advance. I'm also waiting for Shanghai to release the month of August. 
Patience, Iago, patience!


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## Karin1984

Today we finally booked our flights within Asia. Little disappointed by alle the extra's you had to pay for with low cost carrier Hong Kong Express, but at least... it's booked! And still waiting for Disney to release the availability for the hotels for August. I hope it will before my birthday next month, when it will also be exactly 100 days before the vacation starts!

Btw, a friend who is on vacation in Japan went to Disney today on Easter Monday and according to someone who really doesnt know his theme parks, it was quiet.


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## Karin1984

And the last hotel is booked! Today I saw August opened for the Disneyland Shanghai hotels, so I booked! Standard rooms are already gone, so we have a garden view for 3 nights. Adding 150EUR (165USD) I hadn't budgeted for, plus an additional 75EUR (82USD) service charge. It had to be paid in full now and cancellation policy is up to 52 hours before arrival... We decided not to go with the breakfast buffet. Rather snack through the park  

Then we are all set, we have our flights, we have our hotels. All we need to do now is to show up on time!


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## Aussie Wendy

Such fun! 
Enjoy the planning


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## AdamEfimoff

Karin1984 said:


> I have booked my longhaul flights, so no going back now! For 19 days incl. 2 travel days
> Shanghai first, then Hong Kong and then Tokyo!
> 
> I can't believe it's finally going to happen, I've been thinking about this trip for so long and now it's 7,5 month away!
> 
> We decided to book about 1,5 day longer than originally planned, so now we have to re-think the original schedule, but most likely, 2,5 days sightseeing per city, 2 days for SDL, 2 days for HDL and 4 days for TDL.


where are you staying


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## Karin1984

AdamEfimoff said:


> where are you staying



We are doing a split stay in Shanghai, as I read in several reports about the issues of getting the last train back after the fireworks. I don't want to rush after a Disney day, so we have 2 nights first in the Charms hotel and then we move for 3 nights to the Toy Story hotel. 

Shanghai: 
Charms Hotel (Incl. breakfast) 
Toy Story hotel (Excl. breakfast) 

Hong Kong: 
Evergreen Hotel (Incl. breakfast)

Tokyo
Wise Owl Hostel (Excl. breakfast) 



Aussie Wendy said:


> Such fun!
> Enjoy the planning



So much fun!  As we have very limited time in each city we really have to make decision what we want to see and do. We will never be able to see all of Hong Kong or the other cities in 2.5 day. I am trying to find balance between seeing as much as we can, but without rushing too much.


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## Karin1984

For some reason I had placed my original pre-trip report in the Tokyo board, but as there have been so many changes to the plans I might as well continue here 

It's almost 100 days before departure! *Excited* 

*Shanghai*
I am in the Netherlands, my friend lives in Belgium, we will fly separately with Emirates to Dubai, and then transfer together to the flight to Shanghai.
We arrive around 15:30 at the airport, so hopefully no problems with baggage or at customs and we will be at the Charms Hotel around 6 PM. We are doing this trip on a budget and for a 3-star hotel we got a good deal. Probably as we are in a room without windows  It has a lot of amenities like a gym, but also a spa-like area with a barber, pool tables and by the looks of it places to play chess and Mahjong. If we have time, I'd love to see their karaoke facilities 

Our hotel is near the People's Park and about 20-30 minutes walk to the Bund. Depending on our jetlag we will probably go here to see the Bund at night and find a place somewhere to eat. There is a roof top bar called Flair in the Ritz Carlton which is supposed to be good.

After this we have 2 days to explore the city. To be honest, I haven't looked into Shanghai sightseeing yet. I have a long list, but no shortlist yet. Some options are:
- Fuxing Park
- People's Park
- Yuyuan garden

- The Bund (we might want to do a night time river cruise, anyone here done it?)

- Jade Buddha Temple
- Longhua Temple
- City God Temple

- Shanghai Museum
- Shanghai Science & Technology Museum (My friend, she is an engineer, she might enjoy this)
- China Art Museum

*Disneyland Shanghai*
Then on the 2nd day we will move to the Toy Story hotel. We have a Garden View Room, mainly because the Standard Rooms were already gone. We should arrive around 5 or 6 PM, I think. Also depends a bit till when the park is open, as this is a Saturday I hope till late. After settling in, we will go into the park for the evening entertainment and hopefully to have a character dinner in the Royal Banquet Hall.

We have 2 full days in DLS, a Sunday and a Monday. It's the end of the summer/vacation season, so it will be hot, no idea how crowded it will be. We love characters, shows, parades, we will probably try to see certain shows twice. And of course Pirates and Tron. I am not a big Soaring fan, I enjoy it, but never understood why it is so popular. I just want to walk around and enjoy the ambiance, little cultural things like Chip 'n Dale doing Tai Chi, the garden of 12 Friends, the Wandering Moon restaurant (this area looks gorgeous on @zanzibar138 's pictures). The entire park just looks gorgeous. Oh, and had I mentioned Pirates? I wanna see Pirates! At least 3 times! 

Not too afraid of the cultural differences, my mother has travelled to China several times and I know her stories and pictures  . Also working at Amsterdam airport for a few years has hopefully prepared me for all cultural incidents we might come across. I'm not too worried about squat toilets. As a child we went camping in France a lot, this is the 80s I am talking about, many camping sites had squat toilets. I haven't used them for years, but I think I should be fine in case no Western option available.

*Hong Kong*
On Tuesday we have an early flight to Hong Kong. We plan to take a taxi to the airport. I take it, it will not be much problems to ask Guest Services to order a taxi at the right time? We land at 12:45PM. Hopefully in our hotel (Evergreen Hotel ) around 2:30 - 3PM. Also here a room without windows. Hong Kong was hard to find a decent hotel for a decent price, and near public transportation (read: on the right routes to Disneyland  )

On our long list of things to do within 2,5 days:
- The Peak
- Symphony of Lights
- Wong Tai Sin Temple
- Sky100 (This is an Observation Deck with 360 degrees view over Hong Kong and the harbour, looks really nice)
- Harbour Cruise (might combine this with seeing Symphony of Lights)

- Ladies Market
- Temple Street Night Market (this one is close to our hotel)
- Jade Market

Originally, like almost everyone else, we had planned to go see the Big Buddha. But we might exchange that for the temple of the 10,000 Buddhas. It's a little less known, so there should be less tourist. Fun for me is that a few years ago, one of my favorite tv shows had an episode at this temple.

*Disneyland Hong Kong*
Here we are not doing a split stay, but staying in the hotel in the city. What I've read the subway from DLH to the city goes till late (also as it's on the same route as from the airport to the city) so we don't need to rush too much after closing the park. Really curious about Mystic Manor and Grizzly Mountain. I've never seen Iron Man (it's on the list to see before our trip starts). And as a show person I cannot wait to see Mickey and the Wondrous Book and Paint the Night and the parade. 

I must admit, I am a bit worried about visiting DLH, as the entire Toy Story Area is similar to our home park in Paris. Also Buzz Lightyear, I expect this to be almost identical to ours. I love Jungle Cruise in the US parks, but I'm afraid things will get lost in translation here. 2 days seem a bit too long. I don't think we will get bored that quickly, we can always take it slow and the shows do take up time. But still... Either way, really happy to see the old castle before it gets replaced.

*Tokyo*
Again an early flight to Tokyo, probably will catch the subway to go back to the airport. We fly with Hong Kong Express, a low cost carrier, and the lowest fare was pretty good, but when you look at adding extra options as bags, meals (also a strict warning not to bring your own food!) etc. it's not so low cost anymore 

We should arrive around 2:25PM at the airport, baggage, customs, rent Wifi thing, get cash and then go to Wise Owl Hostel, hopefully arrive around 5PM. I hadn't planned on staying in a hostel (I'm over 30 now, I don't mind budget travel, but my days of room sharing with strangers are over ;-) ) but also Tokyo was a bit tricky to find a hotel on the right train route. Also because I am travelling with my friend, not my significant other, we needed a room with 2 single beds, which was a challenge! We do have a private room, which is incredibly small, but it does have a sink. This hostel is fairly new, therefore I hope the condition of the rooms and beds are still good ;-) I like that they have  a little cafe in house where you can get coffee and a muffin for 4EUR (4.4USD). Just enough to start the day before we head into town. We stay here for 7 nights.

A friend has just toured through Japan for 3 weeks and brought back some cash and his Pasmo card for me  Depending on our mood that half day, we will just explore the area. Walk in the direction of Tokyo Station, we are close to the Ginza district.

Then we have 1 day in Tokyo, 4 weekdays in Disneyland Tokyo and then 1 more day in Tokyo. As there is so much to see and do in Tokyo, this is going to be very hard to make choices on what we will do.
We will probably try to see on our first day in the city:
- Tokyo Museum
- Harajuku area and shopping centers
- Meji Shrine
- Shibuya Crossing

*Disneyland Tokyo and Disney Sea*
4 full days. In a slow week, according to crowd calendar websites, we should be good. But still we will go in with a plan! Rope drop, utilize fastpass, skip Toy Story Mania, try the lotteries. In Disneyland Big Thunder Mountain and Jungle Cruise will be closed unfortunately, and maybe It's a Small World, as there is no end date mentioned for that. In Disney Sea the Magic Lamp Theater, but looking at it, that's not that important. I'm looking forward to see the Disney Sea, the park everyone raves about. A bit scared it won't live up to the expectations, but we will enjoy every last minute of it. Looking forward to all the shows and classics. See Pooh's Hunny Hunt, Monsters Inc., Journey to the Center of the Earth, Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror  I get happy just thinking of all the amazing stuff they have in Tokyo 

*Tokyo again*
After 4 glorious days, we have our 2nd full day in Tokyo, no fixed plans yet. But probably:
- Akihabara area
- Ameyoko
- Go to a Rabbit Cafe!  ( we wanted to visit at least one 'unusual' cafe)

We have a night flight, my guess is to go back to the airport around 9PM. Then to return our wifi things, get something to eat and then it's back to Dubai together and then on our own to Amsterdam and Brussel.


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## PrincessInOz

Congrats on having an awesome trip to look forward to.  Your plans sounds amazing.




Karin1984 said:


> It's almost 100 days before departure! *Excited*



YAY.  Almost in double digits.





Karin1984 said:


> The Bund (we might want to do a night time river cruise, anyone here done it?)



I have done the night time river cruise.  I highly recommend it at night.  It really makes the Bund and the Pudong skyline seem really magical.  






Karin1984 said:


> many camping sights had squat toilets. I haven't used them for years, but I think I should be fine in case no Western option available.



You'll find western style toilets in Shanghai itself.  All the ladies restrooms I went to would have at least one western toilet towards the back.  At Disney itself, there would be several cubicles.  Again, towards the back.  






Karin1984 said:


> we have an early flight to Hong Kong. We plan to take a taxi to the airport. I take it, it will not be much problems to ask Guest Services to order a taxi at the right time?



If you let Guest Service know what time you want the taxi, they will order it for you.  Our flight was midday, so we just rocked up to the concierge desk when we were packed.  They ordered it on the spot and we had to wait about 10 - 15 mins for the taxi to arrive.  If you have an early flight, you may want to see if you can get a taxi organised the night before so that it's there at the right time.







Karin1984 said:


> What I've read the subway from DLH to the city goes till late (also as it's on the same route as from the airport to the city)



The DL train station runs on a dedicated line between Sunny Bay and Disneyland stations.  You will need to change trains at Sunny Bay and get on the Disney line.
From memory, if you're near the Temple Street Market, you can catch a train from that area and change at Lai King and then change again at Sunny Bay.  The MTR system is great.  The train services are very regular during the daytime.  I expect there may be a short wait between transfers at night if you leave Disney at park close.





Karin1984 said:


> Really curious about Mystic Manor and Grizzly Mountain. I've never seen Iron Man (it's on the list to see before our trip starts). And as a show person I cannot wait to see Mickey and the Wondrous Book and Paint the Night and the parade.



All these 5 are fantastic and what makes the park different.
Micky and the Wondrous Book is a similar concept to Mickey and the Magical Map at DLR, Anaheim. 





Karin1984 said:


> I love Jungle Cruise in the US parks, but I'm afraid things will get lost in translation here.



There are 3 queues for JC at HKDL for 3 different languages.  Cantonese, Mandarin and English.  However, even when I caught the English cruise, I couldn't understand what was being said because our captain was so enthusiastic, she was yelling through the PA system and no one could understand a single word!





Karin1984 said:


> 2 days seem a bit too long.



HK have introduced seasonality at the park.  We were there for Spring and there were heaps of Disney decorated Easter Eggs around the park, and lots of spring decorations.  They easily filled in extra time as we would stop to take pictures as we walked between attractions.  In addition, there was an extra daytime parade to celebrate Spring.  We ended up catching all the daytime parades and nighttime parades each day.  So I found 2 days was just enough but still wasn't quite enough for me.



Have fun with the countdown.  Looks like you have all the major planning bits done and dusted.


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## Karin1984

PrincessInOz said:


> Congrats on having an awesome trip to look forward to.  Your plans sounds amazing.
> 
> YAY.  Almost in double digits.



And now we are in double digits! 98 days to go! 



> I have done the night time river cruise.  I highly recommend it at night.  It really makes the Bund and the Pudong skyline seem really magical.


Do you remember the company, and do you remember the price?




> If you let Guest Service know what time you want the taxi, they will order it for you.  Our flight was midday, so we just rocked up to the concierge desk when we were packed.  They ordered it on the spot and we had to wait about 10 - 15 mins for the taxi to arrive.  If you have an early flight, you may want to see if you can get a taxi organised the night before so that it's there at the right time.


Will certainly do, thanks!  




> All these 5 are fantastic and what makes the park different.
> Micky and the Wondrous Book is a similar concept to Mickey and the Magical Map at DLR, Anaheim.


In Paris we have now Mickey and the Magician, also very similar, except there is no book or map


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## Karin1984

Today is my birthday, so I am off and I have plenty of time to browse the internet  And TDR Explorer announced a 50% flash sale for Hilton Bay. It's a good deal and about 150EUR p/p  (166USD, 225 AUD) more, for 6 nights but quite the upgrade from a hostel room without windows, shared bathrooms and bunkbeds to a 4 star hotel in the Disney area  I sent a text to my friend, but she is at work, so she doesn't answer right away. Downside was paying immediately in full and none refundable.

While I wait, I browse on and find an even better deal at the Sheraton Grande Bay hotel!  About 130 EUR p/p (145USD, 195 AUD) more for the entire stay at a 5 star hotel!!! And with this rate we could cancel 2 days before arrival without any fee and payment is at check out!

So we are ending our trip on a high note! I am so excited, best birthday gift ever!!!  to me 

Oh and in other trip-preparing-news: I picked up my new passport and ID card yesterday so all good to go to travel! (Except the confusion of the document numbers contained an 0 or an o... weird printing on both documents, but both are 0 )


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## PrincessInOz

Karin1984 said:


> Do you remember the company, and do you remember the price?



We walked along the Bund from Nanjing Road down towards Shilupu Wharf.  Along the way, there were a few places selling boat tours.  They all seemed to be 120 Yuan.  We just randomly picked one and got on a twilight/nighttime cruise.

I got on this boat.  It was a 50 minute cruise down the Huangpo.







There were boats that looked like this.  We just didn't look hard enough at the places selling the boat tours to see what type of vessel we were getting on.














Karin1984 said:


> Today is my birthday,



Happy Birthday!






Karin1984 said:


> I browse on and find an even better deal at the Sheraton Grande Bay hotel!



YAY!  Congrats.  That's a great birthday find!






Karin1984 said:


> Oh and in other trip-preparing-news: I picked up my new passport and ID card yesterday so all good to go to travel! (Except the confusion of the document numbers contained an 0 or an o... weird printing on both documents, but both are 0 )



Awesome!


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## Aussie Wendy

Awesome news and I am getting excited reading your plans and I'm not even going!! We stayed at the Sheraton in Tokyo DL and it was great and handy for the parks except back in 2012 (presume still the same but don't quote me) the monorail linking the hotels and parks and Ikspiari you have to pay for (it feels like it should be free like other Disney transport but you are in the non-Disney area actually). You could buy a set number of days pass and I would recommend doing that. In HK in 2015 we weren't overly fussed on the Ladies Market to be honest but we are not big market people and we get a lot of the lower end stuff from Asia in our markets here in Aus. If you are near the Temple St markets you might like to check out the Jade Markets during the day too. In HK the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas caught my attention too when researching. We didn't get there in the end but do your research as I read a couple of posts that suggested it may not be quite as easy to find as some travel sites suggest. I remember finding one post (maybe in Trip Advisor?) that explained the directions really well. We have been to Paris DL (loved it and the castle is my favourite) but I think you will find enough differences (apart from Toy Story Land) that you will enjoy HKDL and it is nice to be able to spend what feels like less rushed (and less walking) days there -more time to appreciate the little details as well as the parades and shows. I am looking forward to reading your TR down the track!!


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## Karin1984

PrincessInOz said:


> We walked along the Bund from Nanjing Road down towards Shilupu Wharf.  Along the way, there were a few places selling boat tours.  They all seemed to be 120 Yuan.  We just randomly picked one and got on a twilight/nighttime cruise.
> 
> I got on this boat.  It was a 50 minute cruise down the Huangpo.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There were boats that looked like this.  We just didn't look hard enough at the places selling the boat tours to see what type of vessel we were getting on.



Thank you for the pictures! Then I know at least one company that is trustworthy 




Aussie Wendy said:


> Awesome news and I am getting excited reading your plans and I'm not even going!! We stayed at the Sheraton in Tokyo DL and it was great and handy for the parks except back in 2012 (presume still the same but don't quote me) the monorail linking the hotels and parks and Ikspiari you have to pay for (it feels like it should be free like other Disney transport but you are in the non-Disney area actually). You could buy a set number of days pass and I would recommend doing that.



I believe I read somewhere that it is by Japanese law they have to charge for the monorail, same goes for trains. That law states that you have to charge for that kind of transportation. And that this is why Disneyland Tokyo doesn't have a railroad through the parks like the others. (Although... Shanghai also doesn't have a railroad  )


I am so excited to stay at a 'real' hotel instead of a hostel! I hope the Sheraton will still have the outdoor pool open the first week of September when we are there. According to the website it's only open in August. I'd love to spend an hour or two here 






We might have to re-think our arrival plans. As it looks now we should be at the hotel around 5 o'clock.
Option 1: As the original plan, go to the city, meaning 2,5 day in the city, 4 days in the parks.
Option 2: Go to the parks  (We could also use the lockers to store our luggage at the park, get a starlight ticket and go in immediately), 2 days in the city, 4,5 days in the parks.
Option 3: Just go to the hotel and relax for the rest of the evening  Maybe go to Ikspiari. 2 days in the city, 4 days in the parks.

We will probably wing it, but at this moment option 3 is the most tempting. Only to be so close to a Disney park and not go in... not sure if we are capable of doing that. 
Both parks are open til 10... 



			
				Aussie Wendy said:
			
		

> In HK in 2015 we weren't overly fussed on the Ladies Market to be honest but we are not big market people and we get a lot of the lower end stuff from Asia in our markets here in If you are near the Temple St markets you might like to check out the Jade Markets during the day too. In HK the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas caught my attention too when researching. We didn't get there in the end but do your research as I read a couple of posts that suggested it may not be quite as easy to find as some travel sites suggest. I remember finding one post (maybe in Trip Advisor?) that explained the directions really well. We have been to Paris DL (loved it and the castle is my favourite) but I think you will find enough differences (apart from Toy Story Land) that you will enjoy HKDL and it is nice to be able to spend what feels like less rushed (and less walking) days there -more time to appreciate the little details as well as the parades and shows. I am looking forward to reading your TR down the track!!



I also found a website to the 10K Buddha temple with a very good description, except I didn't bookmark it...

When I look at the waiting times at HDL, Mystic Manor and Grizzly Gulch have 5-minute queues most of the time!

I really hope to write a trip report, I am only a bit worried if I can finish it!


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## Flossbolna

Congratulations on finding such a fabulous rate!

Be aware that it appears to be common that hotels in Japan charge for pool access. When I booked our hotels, my BF was really keen on having a pool since we will there in July. It seems that charging 2800 yen per day is not uncommon. Not sure what the Sheraton does though!


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## kahrani

I'm excited to read your trip report! I'd like to do a similar trip one day, although that is a while off as we have WDW planned for 2019. So maybe 2021! I've been to HK before and seen several of the big tourist sites but not to the Disney park there - we were with friends and they picked Ocean Park instead (which is still a great day out). Have fun!


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## Karin1984

Flossbolna said:


> Congratulations on finding such a fabulous rate!
> 
> Be aware that it appears to be common that hotels in Japan charge for pool access. When I booked our hotels, my BF was really keen on having a pool since we will there in July. It seems that charging 2800 yen per day is not uncommon. Not sure what the Sheraton does though!



Thanks for the warning!  I think I have read it for the Mira Costa hotel that it is the case, so I assume the same for the other Disney hotels. If Sheraton charges as well... I'll jump in the water next to Mount Prometheus  Or just take a shower.



kahrani said:


> I'm excited to read your trip report! I'd like to do a similar trip one day, although that is a while off as we have WDW planned for 2019. So maybe 2021! I've been to HK before and seen several of the big tourist sites but not to the Disney park there - we were with friends and they picked Ocean Park instead (which is still a great day out). Have fun!



Welcome!  2021 is not that far away. Only 4 years, plenty of time to plan  



I have e-mailed our hotels in Shanghai to put my friend's name to the reservations (see other topic I opened about the 144 transit visa) and I've e-mailed our Chinese embassy here to make sure there is not something else I have overlooked. That would be my worst nightmare, to arrive in Shanghai and only to be send back. Or change my ticket to Hong Kong to an earlier date. But I am now only thinking positive thoughts. This will be the best trip in my life and everything will be perfect 

While I wait for them to reply I spent my staycation looking online for original Disney outfits. Which might be made in  China!
I love swing dresses from the fifties (And I would love to go to Disney on Dapper Day), so to try if this website (Lightinthebox.com) has good stuff, I have ordered this dress. With all the locals in Tokyo with their coordinated outfits and all, I'd better try to fit in. When in Rome... Or in Tokyo

And I just want to have a fifties dress 






And for fun I might order this tank top from Etsy  Just in case I get lost.


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## Aussie Wendy

Like your option 3!! Also love the outfits! Back in 2012 the pool was closed when we were there (opening like the next week or two later - this was early April) but no mention of charges on anything I read in room etc I am pretty sure...but that was some years ago.


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## Aussie Wendy

I just checked and TA posts complain that the pool closes early like 8pm so before DL closes atm and the fee for wifi is dear but there is this in the Q&A in response to a Q: "Dear Guest, Thank you very much for contacting us and considering to stay with us again. Indoor pool is free for all of our staying guests. However, during the summer time when our Garden pool opens (normally from the end of July until the end of August, which is over the school summer vacation in Japan), the pricing may change for Indoor pool. We do not have exact schedule quite yet, but once our pricing and the dates get set for the summer this year, it will be announced in our branded website. If you have any additional questions regarding reservations, please contact us through our branded website. There is a link “contact us” close to the bottom of the homepage and then click “Email us”, which will connect you to the reservation team directly." So it looks like the Garden Pool isn't open much. Another version of their website says: Indoor Swimming Pool Closure Period: June 27 – June 30, 2017. It also says the indoor pool is complimentary to hotel guests but lockers cost money. Open 10-8pm, last entry 7pm. Treasure Island Oasis for children under 12 costs but adult accompanying is complimentary. Reiterates garden outdoor pool only open temporarily in summer and if there is a price I guess they post on this site when it opens. Weird? and all very regimented. I will keep this in mind if ever we go for a summer visit! The website with the most info is http://www.sheratongrandetokyobay.com/oasis


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## Karin1984

Thanks! Really strange that the hours are so limited, I would understand if it was closed during the day as most people will be out, but I would expert it to be open in the evening hours.

Probably then we will just take a shower, unpack and take the monorail to the parks or Ikspiari.

Got an e-mail from Booking.com for changing the names on the reservation of our first hotel. I get a reply about check in and check out times and how to get to the hotel from the airport... That is not what I asked, Booking.com!  I replied with a counter question to read my e-mail before answering


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## Karin1984

Just because it's Sunday and I have nothing better to do than to read the DIS... small updates. And only 2.5 months to go!

Shanghai
Booking.com has sent me another e-mail, apologizing for the inconvencience with a new confirmation of the hotel with both names on it. And so did the Charms hotel itself.

I had e-mailed the Toy Story Hotel over 2 weeks ago, but no reply. But coincidentally I checked my spam filter (tried to win a free trip with a Coca Cola contest we have here, and they advised; check your spam filter), and there was the reply from Disney Shanghai! An almost instant reply! Which is great  Except that it is in my spam folder and only told me to contact the hotel by phone instead of by e-mail... So I will give them a call next week.

I have been checking the app of Shanghai and currently crowds on the weekend don't look too bad, so hopefully it will continue like this all summer 

Hong Kong
Friends are visiting Hong Kong at the very moment and they have visited the 10K Buddha Monestry, so I can double check with them how to get there. They say it's definitely worth a visit. 

Tokyo
A friend  who was in Japan in March/April has handed over his Pasmo Card with about 1,000 Yen still on it, plus 1,000 Yen in cash he had left. So I will have a little bit of money when we arrive!

And in other news:
The fifties dress has arrived. It's flimsy and I could use a longer petticoat, but for the money I paid, I couldn't expect anything more!

Also made my first official purchase for the vacation: I bought a new memory card for my camera. I thought my camera was having issues as it took too long to get ready for the next picture. I'm sure that I missed some good shots at the parade in Disneyland Paris last month because of the issues.
After some googling, the first advice was to get a new memory card which can process with a higher speed. Then I checked my memory card and it is a 40MB/s card. So I upgraded to a 80MB/s card  I now only should go to DLP to try if my assumptions are right


----------



## Karin1984

One more update. A few hours after my previous post, I thought: Why would I wait till next week to call Disney Shanghai? Why not do it right away? Probably my irrational fear to call to arrange something in my 2nd language with a person who also speaks English as a 2nd language.

So I called, and after getting through the menu (with twice the option to select English...) I was put through to a CM who spoke decent English. There were long silences as she worked the system, but that could also be as the CM was new or I can also imagine it's not part of Chinese culture to small talk. She was friendly and polite and she didn't get confused when I spelled names using NATO-spelling. So I now have also this reservation on both our names. 

And the CM could also help with making the reservation for the Royal Banquet Hall! A little earlier than I wanted, we will have to leave the city an hour earlier than planned. Which I don't really mind, gives us more time after dinner to get familiar with the park before we have 2 full days. 

And I just wanna try this dessert





Now everything is really arranged. And the waiting even more begins. Less than 80 days to go!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Karin1984 said:


> There were long silences as she worked the system, but that could also be as the CM was new or I can also imagine it's not part of Chinese culture to small talk.



YAY for having all your accommodation paperwork sorted out.  Yes....I found the long silences a little disconcerting as well. 







Karin1984 said:


> And the CM could also help with making the reservation for the Royal Banquet Hall! A little earlier than I wanted, we will have to leave the city an hour earlier than planned. Which I don't really mind, gives us more time after dinner to get familiar with the park before we have 2 full days.



Double YAY for having a reservation at RBH.  That dessert is delicious!  Hope you enjoy it.





Less than 80 days to go.  Not long now.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Karin1984 said:


> 10K Buddha Monestry



The one at Sha Tin?  It looks awesome!  
Can't wait to see it in your TR section.




Karin1984 said:


> A friend who was in Japan in March/April has handed over his Pasmo Card with about 1,000 Yen still on it, plus 1,000 Yen in cash he had left.



WOW!  That's a very generous friend.





Karin1984 said:


> The fifties dress has arrived. It's flimsy and I could use a longer petticoat, but for the money I paid, I couldn't expect anything more!



It looks great in the picture.  And I'm sure you're going to rock it in Tokyo.





Karin1984 said:


> the first advice was to get a new memory card which can process with a higher speed. Then I checked my memory card and it is a 40MB/s card. So I upgraded to a 80MB/s card  I now only should go to DLP to try if my assumptions are right




What camera are you shooting with?  Hope the faster card fixes your upload processing.


----------



## Karin1984

PrincessInOz said:


> The one at Sha Tin?  It looks awesome!
> Can't wait to see it in your TR section.


Yes, that's the one!  What I like most about this, is the stairs leading up to the monastery with all the Buddhas next to the stairs. You can see they all have different personalities. I have been to my share of churches and chapels and museums in Europe, but when you look at Christian art saints are always depicted in the same holy way. Here they seem more human, some are happy, or sad, or serious. 



PrincessInOz said:


> What camera are you shooting with?  Hope the faster card fixes your upload processing.


I have a Sony Cybershot DSC HX-300, 2 years old. I'm not as good with it as I wanted to, but I get by. 

I love shows, parades and M&G, which have a lot of moving objects. And I noticed it on my last two Disney trips to Paris, definitely the one before the last, I was disappointed with my pictures. It looked like I was constantly one second too late or too early, but never right. Fingers crossed this solves it, but I would really love to get a trial trip to Paris. Hopefully end of July or beginning of August I might squeeze in a trip.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Karin1984 said:


> I love shows, parades and M&G, which have a lot of moving objects. And I noticed it on my last two Disney trips to Paris, definitely the one before the last, I was disappointed with my pictures. It looked like I was constantly one second too late or too early, but never right. Fingers crossed this solves it, but I would really love to get a trial trip to Paris. Hopefully end of July or beginning of August I might squeeze in a trip.



If you don't mind me poking my nose where it doesn't belong......

Whilst the faster memory card helps with the writing of your images to the card, I suspect that it may not be the cause of your disappointment.
I don't know if you are using the functionality on your camera already or not.....but I would try using either the AF Tracking or Face tracking function on your camera.  If you haven't use this function before, check it out in your camera manual.  The camera should be able to track your subject whilst it is still moving for a short duration. 
I would also set your shooting mode to burst or continuous shooting mode.  If your camera gives you a choice of 2 continuous shooting modes, choose the fastest one.  I googled your camera features and it is capable of shooting up to 10 frames per second.  If you click and let it shoot, you might find one of the images meeting your expectations.

Hope you get to test it out at Paris!


----------



## Karin1984

PrincessInOz said:


> If you don't mind me poking my nose where it doesn't belong......
> 
> Whilst the faster memory card helps with the writing of your images to the card, I suspect that it may not be the cause of your disappointment.
> I don't know if you are using the functionality on your camera already or not.....but I would try using either the AF Tracking or Face tracking function on your camera.  If you haven't use this function before, check it out in your camera manual.  The camera should be able to track your subject whilst it is still moving for a short duration.
> I would also set your shooting mode to burst or continuous shooting mode.  If your camera gives you a choice of 2 continuous shooting modes, choose the fastest one.  I googled your camera features and it is capable of shooting up to 10 frames per second.  If you click and let it shoot, you might find one of the images meeting your expectations.
> 
> Hope you get to test it out at Paris!



Of course I don't mind! I love your pictures, you are much more skilled with a camera than I am, I'll take all the advice I can get. 

I have never used face tracking, I usually use the sports mode, which works fine most of the time. I will try face tracking next time. Burst mode with 10 per second I haven't used often, but stopped because it takes a while to process the 10 pics.

Thank you for your help!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Karin1984 said:


> I have never used face tracking, I usually use the sports mode, which works fine most of the time. I will try face tracking next time. Burst mode with 10 per second I haven't used often, but stopped because it takes a while to process the 10 pics.




Hope it works for you.


With burst mode, you just click and stop when you think it's appropriate.  It just lets you take up to 10 fps.  Most of the time, I take 3 or 4 and usually there might be one in the bunch that is good enough.


----------



## Karin1984

Today it's 73 days to go! Not that this a particular interesting number to mention, but I need something to start this post with.

Today I cancelled the hostel we had booked originally in Tokyo. Somehow I had never done that. Booked at booking.com, no fee to cancel. So, that's done.
When I checked the hotel in Hong Kong they had the same room available but with a window! For only 3 euro more for five nights: that is 30 cents per night per person! A window is definitely worth 30 cents 

And the pre-vacation shopping has started. To me, this is what we call in Dutch 'pre-fun' has started. It means the fun you have, the excitement you feel before doing the actual thing  (Don't think the English language has a word for this feeling  ). I get very happy preparing and planning for a vacation, making lists and buying new things for the vacation. And during the last weeks I have bought:

- A new suitcase
I am used to borrowing the suitcase of my mother, but I am now in my thirties, I own a house, I make a good living. I can afford my own suitcase  And the store had Samsonite suitcases on sale. So I bought this beauty for 130 euro! And it's purple. Which wasn't the main reason to buy it, but it was definitely part of my decision.





- Flats
These are Crocs and supercomfortable. I am a pain when it comes to shoes as I have large wide feet. And I am a little bit vain. I want shoes that are comfortable to walk around all day, but also look nice under a skirt or dress.

- Collapsible water bottle
It's going to be hot when we are in Asia, I will need this.

- 100ml bottles
I used to also borrow this from my mother, I can afford this now too ;-)

- Powerbank
With all the apps on our phones we are going to use to get around in and outside Disney, our batteries will die at some point, no doubt. Better safe than sorry and bring along one of these.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Karin1984 said:


> - Powerbank



You probably already know this but I thought I'd just mention it anyway.

Just make sure you check your airline and airport guidelines for where they want the powerbanks to be packed.  I had packed mine in my check-in suitcase and when I was at Shanghai Airport, my bag got pulled out of the conveyor belt.  I had to go open the bag up in a separate room for bag check and pull it out before I was allowed to finish checking in and getting a boarding pass.

I just forgot....and packed mine in the big bag the night before without thinking.


----------



## Karin1984

@PIO Thanks! Will try to keep it in mind. 

Small update. About 2 weeks ago a friend of us from San Diego got tagged on Facebook for good fares from the US to Japan. When it appeared on my timeline I joked 'come join us!' 
First response: 'Oh no, I couldn't!'
Second response ten minutes later: 'When will you be in Tokyo?'

Fast forward, today the booked and she will be joining us for out last week in Tokyo! She is a Disneyland Anaheim regular and a SeaWorld employee and just really nice to have with you on a trip so happy about her joining.

This does mean look into the hotel options. Technically 4 adults fit in the room we had at the Sheraton, however none of us was very keen on sharing a bed. 

I checked for hotels and the Sheraton is still cheaper than Hilton, and about 30eur/35usd cheaper for the entire stay if we have 3 people.

However... the dilemma started when I looked at the Disney Hotels. The new Celebrations hotel is a bit more expensive than the Sheraton with 3 people, but still cheaper than what we had initally with 2 people. I am not sure what is better, Celebrations gives is 15 minutes early access but requires bus transport. Sheraton is closerby, 5 star vs Value Resort, also easier if we want to go into the city. But no early access...

Any advice?


----------



## Flossbolna

To me the Clebrations Hotel does not look that interesting at all. Unless you are planning to be there on very crowded day (I found this crowd calendar recommended http://tdrnavi.jp/forecast/disneyland?lang=en) I would not bother about the 15 minutes early entrance. But ultimately it is a question of how much you are willing to compromise on your lodgings for 15 minutes. I like nice hotels, so that is where my motivation comes from. What do your travel mates think?


----------



## Karin1984

Flossbolna said:


> To me the Clebrations Hotel does not look that interesting at all. Unless you are planning to be there on very crowded day (I found this crowd calendar recommended http://tdrnavi.jp/forecast/disneyland?lang=en) I would not bother about the 15 minutes early entrance. But ultimately it is a question of how much you are willing to compromise on your lodgings for 15 minutes. I like nice hotels, so that is where my motivation comes from. What do your travel mates think?



We are there the week after the summer season ends and before the Halloween season begins, so we are hoping for low crowds. If the Celebrations hotel was within walking distance of the park, then we might have done it. But in the end value vs. 5-stars, the last one being cheaper and on the monorail... it was a no-brainer. 

I had e-mailed the Sheraton to make sure the new room I was looking at had indeed 3 beds (the pictures didn't show), and they came back to me with a better offer than they had shown online, saving us more money than we had expected


----------



## Karin1984

It's 48 days! The countdown has truly started!

I  e-mailed Emirates to ask about the 144 hours visa. I don't remember who it was on the Dis, but someone started their journey at a small regional airport where no flights to Shanghai/China were going from directly, so the check in agents hadn't heard of this policy and this DISser almost missed her flight because of this. Of course Amsterdam and Brussels are by no means small regional airports, but as Emirates doesn't have their own staff at these airports but handling agents of the airport... I wanted to double check.
And after a quick and well-written reply, I was given a link to their visa tool. I must say, it is better than my own beloved airline I work for ;-)  It's very clear in stating the rules.
Yes, I'm happy with Emirates 

I really can't wait anymore. It's taking so long and there is nothing to arrange anymore! I have broken in my new shoes. That was the last thing I really HAD to do


----------



## Flossbolna

We are just back and we did have some issue with the 144-hour visa-free entry (important: don't call it a visa, it is a visa-free entry - two different things legally) at my little airport here in Germany. The issue is that it does not depend on the airline, but ultimately on the individual agent you end up with. Ours had never heard about this, but then called her supervisor and he knew about it. It still took them 15 minutes to locate it in their computer system. Once they had found it everything was ok. I kept telling her that she had to look it up as a transit, but she kept insisting that it would only be a transit if we had a boarding pass for our onward flight. Which of course we did not have. 

So, my advise would be to be there early, be insistent that such a thing exists, that it will be in their system and that they should escalate it to a supervisor. Then be patient. And ultimately if they make you miss your flight, they will have to pay you 600 € under the EU air travel regulation.

Good luck and have a great trip!


----------



## Karin1984

Flossbolna said:


> We are just back and we did have some issue with the 144-hour visa-free entry (important: don't call it a visa, it is a visa-free entry - two different things legally) at my little airport here in Germany. The issue is that it does not depend on the airline, but ultimately on the individual agent you end up with. Ours had never heard about this, but then called her supervisor and he knew about it. It still took them 15 minutes to locate it in their computer system. Once they had found it everything was ok. I kept telling her that she had to look it up as a transit, but she kept insisting that it would only be a transit if we had a boarding pass for our onward flight. Which of course we did not have.
> 
> So, my advise would be to be there early, be insistent that such a thing exists, that it will be in their system and that they should escalate it to a supervisor. Then be patient. And ultimately if they make you miss your flight, they will have to pay you 600 € under the EU air travel regulation.
> 
> Good luck and have a great trip!



Thanks for the update! 
Amsterdam Airport is a mess at the moment due to understaffing, so I will be there early! I'll take the e-mail answer from Emirates with me in print. Hopefully that helps. 

Where were you flying from? If they make me miss my flight, the first option for me to fly to Shanghai from Amsterdam is the direct flight with KLM ;-) Making me arrive 5 hours earlier, hihihi. But then I would have to wait for my friend who flies from Brussels... No, let's not hope for that.

I saw your update about Shanghai in the other thread. I really hope the crowds have died down a bit when we arrive. We will be there 2,5 days, and most likely also skip the fireworks. It's so identical to DLP's Illuminations, we can use our time better.


----------



## Flossbolna

Nuremberg. We flew Swiss and they have only two counters open for check-in. We blocked one for 15 minutes... The problem is that they might only schedule you on the next flight of their airline, not sure how many flights Emirates has. But of course you are far better off with options in Amsterdam. Just make sure that you have a print out of your confirmed flight reservation from Shanghai to the next stop.

I think with 2.5 days in Shanghai you will be fine. And might even have time for the night time show. I think it might be interesting to see with the larger projection area due to the castle being bigger. When are you going again? Hopefully temperatures will be a little lower for you there.

BTW we loved Once Upon a Time in Tokyo! Lovely show! Better than its "cousin" at WDW! And Dreamlights in Tokyo ist just amazing. And I am normally not a parade person, but happily watched it three times.

Also wanted to say that we loved the location of the Hilton and the Sheraton is right next to it, so that really is a great location! We did not feel like we missed anything by staying there as compared to an official hotel. The monorail was so convenient!


----------



## Karin1984

36 days to go till vacation and 37 days till we leave for Shanghai!  So we should be arriving the 24th of August, I am preparing myself for the heat of Florida in Aug/Sep. We will have about 2 days in the city. On Saturday we will move to Toy Story Hotel around 2-3 o'clock. Then after we settled in, we will go to the park for Royal Banquet Hall and hopefully Pirates and/or Tron. That's the only plan I have. For Illuminations, you are right about the projection area and that the show was designed for the castle in Shanghai. In DLP we both have one of the new AP's the Infinite one which comes with VIP viewings for parade and night show. We have already seen Illuminations 2 times from a good spot in DLP in front of the castle. Maybe we will check it out on the 2nd night, but that really depends on how much of the rides we have done and whether or not we should go for the Premium FP Access set. I have budgeted it in, just in case. Also because we are there partially during the weekend.  

When I used to work at the airport (now work at the head office of KLM), the policy was, and hopefully still is, when a passenger misses its flight it's part of the 'contract' you have with the airline to get you as soon as possible to your final destination. And in case of disruptions you were allowed to book any airline going from the airport, regardless if it's part of the group you had booked with. Not sure if this would count as a disruption, but I would definitely try to get it ;-)

But for now, I'm going with the mantra that nothing will go wrong and this is going to be a perfect vacation.


----------



## Karin1984

Now it's 28 days, exactly 4 weeks before my vacation starts! 
I spend my days in working out the best ways to use public transportation from airport to city to airport and restaurant reviews. Reading all the trip reports I have found... It's so weird in one way, time goes incredibly slow and in other respects I can't believe it's almost here! 

And I spend my days trying to find Disney Bounding outfits. 

For Ariel: 
It comes from a website with all kinds of Disney clothes, also more out there with prints of characters. But I prefer Disney bounding like this  





And this one is for Belle, without the apron it's almost too perfect. And I love that it's just ready and I don't have to do anything to get the outfit complete. 
It comes from a store that sells these mainly for Oktoberfest, but I have found another purpose for this outfit  
Love the little stag/antler detail on the bodice ;-)


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## Karin1984

3 weeks to go! Happy dance! 

Just bought the tickets for Shanghai Disney en Hong Kong Disney! Hong Kong had a special offer, saving 40 euro (47USD) on the 2 day park tickets, plus we decided to go for the meal vouchers of 225 HKD for lunch & dinner & snack, so 2 days at Hong Kong Disney, including food costs us 120 eur (141USD) per person!


----------



## Flossbolna

I had no idea they have meal vouchers at HKDL. Interesting!


----------



## Karin1984

Flossbolna said:


> Interesting!! It really could be that with the price hike they changed the system on how to process online orders as well. Or it is indeed different when you order just a couple of days before. We got an email with instructions to print this. I hope @Karin1984 will report back on how it worked for her if she ends up buying tickets before arrival!



To stop hijacking @zanzibar138 's Trip Report with my questions about tickets with @cschaaf and @Flossbolna 

I bought my tickets yesterday morning, so little over 3 weeks before we arrive in Disneyland Shanghai. 
I have an account on their website, and ordered my purchase, 1x 2 day tickets 1x 1 day ticket. I can see my order in my account.

It looks like this: 
https://ibb.co/iMHQsF

It says: 
_During your purchase, you provided the number of your Government ID, Passport or Travel Document ID. To enter the park, bring this document—along with your order confirmation—directly to the Main Entrance turnstile, where the tickets for this order will be printed. You will not need to first visit a ticket window. The ID or passport holder must enter the park together with all other Guests who will be using a ticket that is part of this order._

If I read this, I will bring a print with my confirmation numbers, go to turnstiles and that's it. Both me and my friend bought our own tickets, so the last sentence is not applicable to us. 

FYI, the exchange button lets me exchange the ticket for different dates. 

I will let you all know how it went when we get there!


----------



## Flossbolna

Karin1984 said:


> To stop hijacking @zanzibar138 's Trip Report with my questions about tickets with @cschaaf and @Flossbolna
> 
> I bought my tickets yesterday morning, so little over 3 weeks before we arrive in Disneyland Shanghai.
> I have an account on their website, and ordered my purchase, 1x 2 day tickets 1x 1 day ticket. I can see my order in my account.
> 
> It looks like this:
> https://ibb.co/iMHQsF
> 
> It says:
> _During your purchase, you provided the number of your Government ID, Passport or Travel Document ID. To enter the park, bring this document—along with your order confirmation—directly to the Main Entrance turnstile, where the tickets for this order will be printed. You will not need to first visit a ticket window. The ID or passport holder must enter the park together with all other Guests who will be using a ticket that is part of this order._
> 
> If I read this, I will bring a print with my confirmation numbers, go to turnstiles and that's it. Both me and my friend bought our own tickets, so the last sentence is not applicable to us.
> 
> FYI, the exchange button lets me exchange the ticket for different dates.
> 
> I will let you all know how it went when we get there!



This is exactly the same wording that we had, too! I know that my BF and I debated a lot over whether he would need his passport as well and we figured it would be better to bring it and not need it than having to go back to retrieve it. I think in the end he did not need it on the first day, but they did check it on our second day.


----------



## cschaaf

Karin1984 said:


> To stop hijacking @zanzibar138 's Trip Report with my questions about tickets with @cschaaf and @Flossbolna
> 
> I bought my tickets yesterday morning, so little over 3 weeks before we arrive in Disneyland Shanghai.
> I have an account on their website, and ordered my purchase, 1x 2 day tickets 1x 1 day ticket. I can see my order in my account.
> 
> It looks like this:
> https://ibb.co/iMHQsF
> 
> It says:
> _During your purchase, you provided the number of your Government ID, Passport or Travel Document ID. To enter the park, bring this document—along with your order confirmation—directly to the Main Entrance turnstile, where the tickets for this order will be printed. You will not need to first visit a ticket window. The ID or passport holder must enter the park together with all other Guests who will be using a ticket that is part of this order._
> 
> If I read this, I will bring a print with my confirmation numbers, go to turnstiles and that's it. Both me and my friend bought our own tickets, so the last sentence is not applicable to us.
> 
> FYI, the exchange button lets me exchange the ticket for different dates.
> 
> I will let you all know how it went when we get there!


I bet mine had the same language, I just didn't read it. 

Well, now I guess we know it works either way lol

I checked my phone and I deleted the screenshot I took so I have no way to go back and see what it said lol


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## Karin1984

Two weeks to go!!!

But that's not why I am so excited right now! 
I was sure, that Halloween would start the week after we left. When I researched, the week between Summer season and Halloween was the lowest crowds-period we could get. And I convinced myself for a first visit, it's not so bad to be between seasons without all the special parades, shows, merchandise...

Only today I saw a press release on TDR Explorer that the first day of Halloween is our last day in the parks! 
Which is just perfect, this is our 4th day, so we should have done and seen most of the parks and can focus our last day to see the Halloween stuff! 


And in other news: I've ordered some small amounts of local currency, just to get by on the first days. I bought some travel stuff like mini deodorant, shampoo etc. My two Disneybound dresses are in (might still change my mermaid dress for a larger size, it's a bit too tight) Made a packing list and printed all my travel papers.  

It's getting so close now!!!


----------



## Lollipop's Mom

Following this as my daughter and I are planning to do this - triple disney vacation with some other sightseeing and a LOT of shopping


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## Flossbolna

Great news about the Halloween start date!

As to travel cosmetics: all our hotels in Asia provided us with so many things! Toothbrushes, toothpaste, the usual soap, comb, slippers. In Japan you also get pyjamas to use. The stuff at the Toy Story Hotel is incredibly cute (and will be replenished every morning if you put it away). There is also a really nice reusable shopping bag for you to use,which also is being replenished...

Btw, some things that we loved and did not have on our radar before the trip were in SDL Buzz and Soarin (which we intended to skip as we know the WDW version well, we did it as the last thing of the evening as we could not get a FP and waited 45 minutes instead of the posted 90 minutes), in TDL Tom Sawyer Island and the Railroad and inTDS Sinbad and the King Triton's concert.


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## Karin1984

Thank you, @Flossbolna! I am not too worried about cosmetic while in the Toy Story Hotel or the Sheraton in Tokyo, but in the city of Shanghai and in Hong Kong we are staying at budget hotels and it's just a precaution. I like to have some things with me, also during travelling. Some deodorant after a long flight... maybe not necessary, just to freshen up a bit. 

For the rides in Shanghai, I find it difficult to judge how much time we need. Looking at the waiting times at the moment, we will probably buy the premier access FP for one day. Although I am still in doubt, is it really that busy or is it because the park is new and the visitors aren't used to FPs? How to judge in the morning if we should or shouldn't buy? 
Either way, if we do buy, we will have plenty of time left to do things like Buzz and roam around leisurely. If we don't buy, we will leave it to the last day. 

For Tokyo, we will now 'technically' have 3 days to do/see everything, as day 4 needs to be dedicated to all the Halloween entertainment, merchandise and food ;-) 
In Tokyo, Sinbad is a must, and I believe the concert is closed while we are there.


----------



## Flossbolna

Deodorant was one thing that we did not get in the hotels!! So, that is always important to have - and I always have that in my little bag of liquids in the hand luggage as well.

We had two days in Shanghai and both days the park was at capacity. We did not get the premier FP, mainly because we just don't like the idea of having to pay for FP and really did not want to spend so much money on it. In hindsight it would have made things a bit easier for us for touring, but I do not regret saving the money and spending it on other things!

Ultimately we had only a few really long waits: first ride on Pirates 70 minutes (because it was mid morning on our first day, everything had long lines and we just wanted to do something and this was our biggest priority, but we had multiple rides in the single rider line and later in the evening with much much shorter waits), first ride on Buzz 45 minutes (kind so similar situation as with Pirates that we were in the area and according to the app everything had long lines), Crystal Grotto 50 minutes because this seemed to never get shorter lines as it closed earlier than the rest of the park and be have a friend who helped to build it, so it was a must for us, otherwise this is really just neat and not worth a long wait, Soarin 45 minutes (and that is not really a long wait for Soarin in Shanghai, we got in line at 9:45pm and it said it would be a 90 minute wait, luckily it was much shorter).

We did not do the Jetpacks (Tomorrowland Spinner), Mine Train (have done it multiple times in Florida), Challenge Trails (forgot to wear closed shoes and were not allowed on it in sandals) nor Ignite the Dream. Oh, and we missed the Pirate Cove walk throughs. We also did not do any character meet and greets as that is not something we are interested in.

We did afternoon breaks back at the hotel both days from about 3pm to 5pm. And we were at the parks not really for rope drop (arrived at 9 am the first morning after flying from Europe to Shanghai, arrived at 7:30am the next day). Both days the park opened at 8am, both days it took us a little over an hour to get inside. The second day we had no problem getting a Tron FP in the morning for the afternoon. But I think that was the only FP we ever got.

The one thing that you really have to take into account in Shanghai is how far everything from each other. Just because two attractions are in Fantasyland does not mean that you cannot spend 10 minuted walking between them. We did most of our rides in the evening. Starting at 6pm the park is getting emptier, you can see lots of people leaving, then Ignite the Dream is pulling lots of people away from the rides and between 8pm and 10pm there is lots that you can do. They tend to inflate wait times at the end by quite a bit (see our Soarin experience, the same was true at Roarin Rapids which showed a 40 minute wait, but was a walk on).

We also did not spend a lot of time eating at all. First of all it was so hot that we were not really hungry and then in the evening most places were closed and we ended up eating dinner at Remy's in Mickey Avenue after 10pm. They had really good sandwiches and baked goods there and are open until 11pm (as is all of Mickey Avenue).


----------



## Flossbolna

Oh and one important thing in both Tokyo and Shanghai: Make use of the single rider lines!!


----------



## Karin1984

@Flossbolna thanks for all the tips! I know the feeling about paying for FP, but then again, when I have the money, I will definitely do VIP tours, which is a form of paying for FP. And in DLP I have an Infinite AP, which indirectly means that I am paying for the reserved spots for the parade and the fireworks... 

By the tme we get to Disneyland Shanghai, we have been in China for a few days, so we should have been adjusted to the time zone and should be able to make rope drops. I'm not sure if we will do midday breaks, with 33 degree weather we might. Normally to us a minute out of the park is wasted. Did it take a lot of time to travel back to the hotel? 
Other question, how was the a/c and covered queues? Was it possible to escape the afternoon sun? 

---------------------------------------

And now it's only 10 days before depature! The countdown has really started!

My table slowly gets filled with all kinds of travel goodies. With a list to cross off everything I plan to bring. 





We tried to buy park tickets for Tokyo online, but it refused my Visa and Amex credit card, while the website states it should except it. Jenna (the friend from the US who will join us for the Tokyo part) was able to buy tickets with her Mastercard. When e-mailing with the Sheraton to see if they could have park tickets ready for us at check in, they hey told me that the confirmed access for guests doesn't mean that you will always be able to access the park when it reaches capacity, but also that when it reaches capacity, hotel guests can still buy park tickets. Which is a relief, not that I think the park will reach capacity when we are there, but still nice to know. 

I've also got my vaccinations. Which isn't a requirement for our trip, but my mother wanted me to get them, my health insurance covers them and as a precaution... why not, so for the coming year I am protected against Hep A (when I get my repeat shot next year, I will be protected for 30 years) and for the coming 10 years I am protected against diptheria, tetanus and polio. So yay for vaccinations! 

Last week, Nikki scared the *PEEEEEP* out of me. I have worked at the airport and I have seen so many people where the name on the ticket doesn't match the passport and I know how strict airlines can be about them. And what a hassle it can be to get it changed. I have send people to the ticket office many times to have their tickets changed. Nikki is of Portuguese descent and therefore has 3 last names. What did she tell me last week, that on her ticket from Shanghai to Hong Kong, she booked her ticket only on her last last name! She wasn't too worried, as she does use her name like this in her daily life and when travelling within Europe... but to be sure she called the airline. She got 2 conflicting answers, one telling her 'çancel your ticket and book a new one' and the other one 'no problem, as long as one of your last names matches with your ticket & passport'. She decided to go with the most positive answer for her. 

Luckily we are travelling with one of our partners, China Eastern Airlines, on this flight and I asked a colleague who is the contact for China Eastern to check. And thank God, they checked ith the people at Shanghai Airport, and confirmed it wasn't a problem, but I am taking the e-mail with me, just to be sure. And gave her a lecture that one day, she will get into to trouble at an airport due to names not matching  

In the meantime Nikki was done with all her business trips and family trips and could finally focus on our trip to Asia  By coincidence we bought the same travel guides, so we spent last week texting at work. Our conversations go as followed  
"Can we do page 112?" 
"Sure, but let's combine it then with page 124, and it's close by page 84 and that restaurant on page 85." 

This was we have finally made a plan for Shanghai and Hong Kong. 
Day 1: Arrive in Shanghai around 15:30, go to the hotel, freshen up and then go to the Bund and find something to eat.
Day 2: We will first go to Qibao in the morning and visit the modern part of Shanghai in Pudong in the afternoon. 
Day 3: Check out, leave baggage, go to Fuxing Park in the early morning, then onto Tianzifang. After lunch we will go back to the hotel, pick up the baggage and take a taxi to Disneyland. We go into the park for dinner at the Royal Banquet Hall and depending on how much ti,me we have before and after, we will try to ride Tron and/or Pirates. 
Day 4: Tour the park, most likely with the FP Premier Access Set. 
Day 5: Tour the park
Day 6: Take a taxi to the airport and an early flight to Hong Kong, rest of the day low key, walk around and , explore the neighbourhood, probably the harbour.
Day 7: Go to Disneyland, we decided to switch days to avoid the last day that Buzz Lightyear is open. 
Day 8: Go to the Peak, Man Mo Temple, and in the evening Temple Street Night Markets
Day 9: Go to Disneyland again, repeat favorites. 
Day 10: Instead of the temple of the 10,000 Buddhas, we decided to go Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, which looks absolutely beautiful in the pictures and the Good Wish gardens. Then continue on to the Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian Gardens. 
Day 11: Go back to the airport and have a morning flight to Narita and take the Limousine Bus to the Sheraton hotel, where Jenna should be waiting for us. Depending on levels of tiredness we might relax, go into Disney or go into Tokyo.
Day 12: Shibuya Crossing, Yoyogi park, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku. 
Day 13: Go to Disneyland
Day 14: Go to Disney Sea
Day 15: Go to Disney, still open which park
Day 16: Park hop to see all the Halloween shows & parades, merchandise and snack around  
Day 17: Check out in the morning , leave baggage. This day isn't fully planned yet, maybe Akihabara and a rabbit cafe. Nikki and I have till about 20:00, then we should make our way back to Sheraton to pick up our baggage and go back to the airport. Our flight leaves 30 minutes past midnight and we should be back in Europe around 14:00. And that will conclude our trip. With 2 travel days that makes 19 days of Disney Asia  

Qibao













Pudong





Fuxing Park




Hopefully we shall see locals dancing, playing chess or doing tai chi





Tianzifang (part of the French Concession) 





View from the Peak





Man Mo Temple





Temple Street Night Market





Sik Sik Yuan Wong Tai Sin Temple










Good Wish Gardens





Chi Lin Nunnery & Nan Lian Gardens










Shibuya Crossing





Haichiko statue (need to make a picture, as we have a computer program at work called Haichiko  )





Harajuku (just wanna see the teens and their fashion  ) 









Yoyogi Park & Meiji Shrine















Akihabara


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## Flossbolna

Great plans! But what a scare with the ticket! I got a similar scare when I realised that my BF's middle name somehow did not appear on the ticket even though I had entered it in the booking process. It was not an issue though...

About Tokyo tickets: we got ours the day before we went to the parks at the ticket center it Ikspiari. This was easy to do and we used a Visa Card as well. We stayed at the Hilton and there you had to pay cash for the tickets. It was just easier to pay with a credit card when we passed through Maihama station anyway (this was after we had dropped off the luggage at the hotel).

The bus between Toy Story Hotel and the park ran every 10 minutes, but we never waited more than 3 or 4 minutes for it. The bus ride itself is about 6 minutes or so. Then it is an easy walk to the park - unless it is morning! Then the reroute you and have you walk all the way past the park entrance towards the metro station until you are allowed to turn around and funnel into the park entrance. I think in the morning the walk is about 15 minutes, otherwise not more than half this. So, getting back for a break is really easy and not too time consuming.

The air conditioning is great where it is. But we were surprised how little air conditioning there was! Most of the lines were covered and had fans going, but in a crowd (and people come really close to you in lines) in hot weather it only goes so far. I think most of the indoor rides the indoor queues are about 10 minutes long. Buzz and Tron seemed to have the longest indoor lines. No, Soarin actually is the one with the longest indoor line. All 45 minutes that we waited were inside. Otherwise most of your waiting will be outside under cover. This was quite a contrast to Tokyo where there was far more indoor waiting time and some, like Monsters, even blow cool air onto the people waiting outside! We were rather rurprised about this as it seemed that Shanghai has a climate that would be great for indoor queues. Even a lot of the restaurants have mainly outdoor seating (again with cover, but still no a/c).


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## Karin1984

Holy peep! What is going on with those crowds in Shanghai?!
I'm checking the app, it's now about 3:30 in the afternoon on a weekday and I see this: 
Soaring: 225 minutes
Tron: 210 minutes
Roaring Rapids: 180 minutes
SDMT: 180 minutes
Peter Pan: 90 minutes
Pirates: 75 minutes
Winnie the Pooh: 75 minutes

When we are there next week there is rain predicted, is it very bad of me that I hope the forecast doesn't change.


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## califlorican

Karin1984 said:


> Holy peep! What is going on with those crowds in Shanghai?!
> I'm checking the app, it's now about 3:30 in the afternoon on a weekday and I see this:
> Soaring: 225 minutes
> Tron: 210 minutes
> Roaring Rapids: 180 minutes
> SDMT: 180 minutes
> Peter Pan: 90 minutes
> Pirates: 75 minutes
> Winnie the Pooh: 75 minutes
> 
> When we are there next week there is rain predicted, is it very bad of me that I hope the forecast doesn't change.



Yikes...a lot of Chinese families go on holiday in August before kids go back to school. I would definitely go in expecting long lines, but hopefully it is better!

Oh, right before closing the line for Pirates went down considerably. Like from 40 minutes down to 5-10 minutes. A lot of people line up super early for the fireworks, so the park thinned out a lot. We also walked on to the Challange Trail right at closing, and had it all to ourselves! Maybe it will be similar next week!




Karin1984 said:


> To stop hijacking @zanzibar138 's Trip Report with my questions about tickets with @cschaaf and @Flossbolna
> 
> 
> It says:
> _During your purchase, you provided the number of your Government ID, Passport or Travel Document ID. To enter the park, bring this document—along with your order confirmation—directly to the Main Entrance turnstile, where the tickets for this order will be printed. You will not need to first visit a ticket window. The ID or passport holder must enter the park together with all other Guests who will be using a ticket that is part of this order._
> 
> If I read this, I will bring a print with my confirmation numbers, go to turnstiles and that's it. Both me and my friend bought our own tickets, so the last sentence is not applicable to us.



Mmmm...I think it means "this document" as in your passport. I don't remember if we were asked for our passport when we bought tickets, but we didn't purchase them ahead of time. I would bring your passport. China can sometimes be sticklers for this kind of thing and I wouldn't risk not having it!


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## Karin1984

califlorican said:


> Yikes...a lot of Chinese families go on holiday in August before kids go back to school. I would definitely go in expecting long lines, but hopefully it is better!
> 
> Oh, right before closing the line for Pirates went down considerably. Like from 40 minutes down to 5-10 minutes. A lot of people line up super early for the fireworks, so the park thinned out a lot. We also walked on to the Challange Trail right at closing, and had it all to ourselves! Maybe it will be similar next week!



I hope my research is correct. That this week is the last week of holidays and that next week only the international school still have days off before returning to school. Fingers crossed! (Or hope for rain, I just saw that several outdoor rides were closed at the same time, so must be raining now!)

------------
It's now 3 days before departure, last week still quite anxious about the 144 hours and possible discussions with check in agents as not flying direct into Shanghai. But somehow more relaxed about it now. Will see what happens.

It's really counting down now. Tomorrow one more day at work, then a day off and then... HOLIDAY BEGINS! Today is about doing laundry, cleaning up the house and I have started packing and collecting all the stuff I need. Can't believe it's finally going to happen! 

A friend gave me a pillow case of Flynn Rider a while ago, and while it's a very nice gift...I am not the person for decorative stuff. I like my interior more neutral, so with the help of my mother and an old canvas bag, we transformed the pillowc case into a tote bag!


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## Flossbolna

Have a fantastic trip! I am looking forward to reading about it afterwards.


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## Tanzanite

Have a nice trip will look for your trip report


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## Karin1984

Flossbolna said:


> Have a fantastic trip! I am looking forward to reading about it afterwards.





Tanzanite said:


> Have a nice trip will look for your trip report



Thank you! I will do my best to write a full and complete(!) Trip report!  

I just checked in and left work Vacation has started! Tonight/tomorrow is for packing and cleaning and then leaving on Wednesday!

Nikki also checked in, we decided not to sit together on our flight Dubai-Shanghai as we both want a window seat. But I did send her my seat number and so did she, I check her row and tell her: "You do know that this is the baby row...?" When she travels for business, she always has weird or smelly passengers next to her or loud children/crying babies. I have warned her, but she decided to leave it like that.  Okay...

Speaking of packing, last night we realized because we have such a cheap fare, we only get 20k check in baggage! And 7k for  hand baggage!! As we might want to bring back some souvenirs, I checked Emirates' excess baggage fees and they are per 5 kilo 250 EURO!!! I was shocked. Now I know hoe Emirates makes their money with tickets this cheap! So everything not completely necessary will not be packed  We also checked putting it in the mail, a 5 kilo package from Japan  the Netherlands is about 100 Euro, still a lot, but better than paying it to Emirates.


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## angai379

Safe travels Karin!!


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## Karin1984

Live from Amsterdam Airport! 
Everything going well, waiting at the gate. It took 3 check-in agents and 15 minutes before they decided to let me through. They had last week a passenger who they let through to Shanghai, but was refused upon arrival and was send back, so they were really careful. 
Flight is 40 minutes delayed, but we should make up for this in the sky.


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## Flossbolna

Karin1984 said:


> Live from Amsterdam Airport!
> Everything going well, waiting at the gate. It took 3 check-in agents and 15 minutes before they decided to let me through. They had last week a passenger who they let through to Shanghai, but was refused upon arrival and was send back, so they were really careful.
> Flight is 40 minutes delayed, but we should make up for this in the sky.



Yay! Similar to my experience: very careful checking, takes some time, but in the end all works out!  Have a great trip!


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## Karin1984

Testing Emirates on board Wi-Fi. Not very strong connection. You get 20mb for free, but it is very slow.

Food is okay, dessert was a bit top sweet. Just watched Hidden Figures, nice movie, but I wonder if everything went as easy as they show. They make it seem as the only problem they ran into is Jim Parsons' character glaring at her. For the rest as soon as they speak up, everything is solved. Now started to watch Muppets Most Wanted. They have a good selection of movies and shows.

Flight is good, Lucky enough to have a 3 seater to myself, so laying down with 2 blankets. Kids behind me are reasonably quiet. Crew is polite, although service started a bit slow. They take polaroid pictures of you if you want. With flash on. On a night flight... Okay... weird kind of service.

About 2 hours till landing.  30 minutes delay.


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## Karin1984

Small update from Shanghai!
Really nice city. Reminds me of New York, I had the same feelings when I walked through Nanjing Road as when I walk on Times Square. Only more bikes and motor cycles. A bit of a mix between Amsterdam and New York, with Chinese peopple  Also it is much cleaner than I had imagined, and not just in the touristy area we are staying. Not a lot of smokers, what I had imagined. 

The subway is super easy to use, if you can navigate in the subway of a major city like New York, London, Amsterdam, you can do it here too. Ticket machines are in English and easy to understand. Do make sure to get bills of 50 Yuan or lower, as ticket machines don't take the 100 yuan bills. Only once saw extreme pushing on the subway, and ony once had to push myself ;-) the Bund was extremely crowded at night, but the views were gorgeous. 

Today we went to Qibao, nice non-touristy area, with lots of shops and eateries, and a beautiful temple.  Discovered today that my new make up stays on extremely well eventhough it was today 35 degrees (Celsius, that's 95? in Fahrenheit?) and I was sweating like a pig.   We spend about 3-4 hours here. We went then to Pudong to make pictures of the Oriental Pearl Tower by day and go to the Disney Store (it's just next to the Pearl Tower. They let us in in groups. They had special 50% discounts due to Chinese Valentine's day. 

We are staying in the Charms hotel, which is a budget hotel I would recommend. We pay 50 euro a night for a room without windows, but we were 'upgraded' to a room with window  Also very decent size room. We do have a neon sign near our window, but the curtains are dark enough not to let through. T It's old and in need of refurbishment for new wall paper and carpets, but overall for this prize, no complaints! They were also very flexible at the reception when we checked in to split the bill. They don't speak a lot of English, but we manage to make ourselves understandable. One time the recepitionist pulled out his phone and opened a translation app and asked me to type in my question   The only thing I would report to the hotel is that the shower needs to be fixed. We could shower, but the shower head needs to be adjusted. 
Oh, I don't need a converter, my European plug works here too. 

We had breakfast at MacDonalds, we weren't feeling very adventurous, ;-) but I did order one of the Asian buns of the menu, which was like fried donut dough. Lunch we had in the mall in Qibao (as we needed the air conditioning) at a restaurant called Superheroes and was dedicated to DC heroes, mainly Batman. On the wall was a mural of the Penguin, the Joker, Two-Face and the Riddler. Lots of memorabilia and the Dark Night was playing on the tv screens. Today and yesterday we had dinner at Shanghai Grandmother's on Fuzhou Road, which was nice and cheap. Not all dishes were a success, but most were.

Tomorrow morning we go to Yuyuan Gardens and Fuxing Park, then around 3 we go to Disneyland and the Royal Banquet Hall!


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## Flossbolna

Great to hear how the trip is going! The heat sounds horrible!! But great news about the make up! 

Hope it all continues to be so great and easy!


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## Karin1984

Today was a bit of a mixed day. We both very jetlagged.  So not a lot of sleep. Result: both a bit grumpy and snappy. We did see Yuyuan Gardens, Temple of the City God, Fuxing Gardens and a bit of the French Concession. 

We went earlier than expected by taxi to Disney. And oh my God it was zo crowded! Problems with setting up Photopass, Tron 150 minutes waiting time, single rider was 105... Pirates out of order. So busy we didnt get a decent look at the parade...  and all I was thinking: This morning, I liked  the Temple better.

We went back to the hotel after the parade to get changed for dinner and get to our room (as not ready before 3), and then back to the castle to have dinner. Dinner was nice and worth the money. It was about 6.30 and in the last 3.5 hours we were able to do Pirates! (First ride, first row  ) posted 45 minutes, reality 50-55 minutes. Single Riders was closed. Then 7DMT single riders, posted 30, reality 15. Same train, different cars. Tron posted 40 minutes, reality 30-35 minutes, single riders closed. Then in the last hour we dus with 0-10 minutes waiting time: Peter Pan, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, Once Upon a Time and met Mickey at 2 minutes before closing time. So all in all, not bad.  

I hope that tomorrow we can get a fp for Soaring and see what else happens! Probably shows and character meets!


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## Karin1984

Yesterday was a bit of a mixed day. We both very jetlagged.  So not a lot of sleep. Result: both a bit grumpy and snappy. We did see Yuyuan Gardens, Temple of the City God, Fuxing Gardens and a bit of the French Concession.

We went earlier than expected by taxi to Disney. And oh my God it was zo crowded! Problems with setting up Photopass, Tron 150 minutes waiting time, single rider was 105... Pirates out of order. So busy we didnt get a decent look at the parade...  and all I was thinking: This morning, I liked  the Temple better.

We went back to the hotel after the parade to get changed for dinner and get to our room (as not ready before 3), and then back to the castle to have dinner. Dinner was nice and worth the money. It was about 6.30 and in the last 3.5 hours we were able to do Pirates! (First ride, first row  ) posted 45 minutes, reality 50-55 minutes. Single Riders was closed. Then 7DMT single riders, posted 30, reality 15. Same train, different cars. Tron posted 40 minutes, reality 30-35 minutes, single riders closed. Then in the last hour we dus with 0-10 minutes waiting time: Peter Pan, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, Once Upon a Time and met Mickey at 2 minutes before closing time. So all in all, not bad. 

I hope that tomorrow we can get a fp for Soaring and see what else happens! Probably shows and character meets!


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## GerriS

Does anyone have any feedback on Tokyo airporter car service? I am going from Narita to the Toyko DL resort in early November and we may get there too late for airport limo bus. I just want to make sure there is nothing negative about them.


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## Karin1984

GerriS said:


> Does anyone have any feedback on Tokyo airporter car service? I am going from Narita to the Toyko DL resort in early November and we may get there too late for airport limo bus. I just want to make sure there is nothing negative about them.



Maybe better ask this on the Tokyo board instead of my trip report, if you want to get a better response.

Today in Shanghai we had some Disney Magic and pixie dust. Crowds were massive but we managed without the premier passes. We rode Tron, Buzz Lightyear twice (broken gun in the first round), Voyage to the Crystal grotto (this time by day), Pirates, we saw Rapunzel, Belle, Cinderella, Timon, Rafiki (2×, 2nd time out of pity, no one was meeting him) and King Louie, saw the parade, Pirates stunt show and the Tarzan Show. Also saw Mickey conduct the Disneyland Band and Tai Chi with Character. Probably missing something...

But we are now waiting for the Fireworks in  the VIP area!! And we were made Star Guests! Before the parade Nikki was drawing Disney Characters for the characters to sign and this she does often in line and as more often, she got the attention of several CMs, they were amazed by her talent and gave her stickers and some Donald Duck Paper art and a button of the Lion King. And then supervisor Jenny joined the group (Nikki was surrounded by 3-5 CMs) and we started talking about out trip. Then  she gave us both buttons to recognize as Star Guests so we were very happy and grateful, and she goes back to her work. Right before the parade starts, she returns and sits in your area. As soon as the parade is over she came back to us with another supervisor and said they arranged VIP seats for us for the fireworks!!!

We are sitting in the area right in front of the castle with maybe 100-150 other people, that sound like a lot but we have lost of personal space   and no one in front of us!

We had planned to ride rides during the fireworks, but this was zo pixie-dust-y, we didn't want to refuse 

@katt789 is your friend Steve still working at Disneyland Shanghai? I think we sat next to him today while we were watching Tai Chi with characters. I wasn't sure so didn't ask, thought it was too awkward  'hey you don't know me, but are you the friend of a girl from Canada who I also don't know?' 
He was on his own, sounded North American and has a Shellie-May(?) bag and was talking to another guest about all the Disney parks in the works. Not sure, but could it be him?


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## JeffryK

Very cool read Karin. Really cool because ill be there on sunday and also from The Netherlands! Please keep up the great reporting, hope i get a bit more lucky with the crowds.

Quick question if i may, can you get WhatsApp to work on park wifi? And is the wifi at Toy Story hotel decent?


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## Flossbolna

So nice to hear that you got some pixie dust! Sounds truly wonderful! 

Since you mentioned single rider line for Pirates being closed, this reminded me of one tip for Tokyo: There we had trouble finding the single rider lines and when we asked, we were let into the FP-line. When you get to the second CM collecting the FP, you tell them that you are a single rider and there just before load they put you into the real single rider line. Works great! So, don't think the single rider lines are closed there because you can't see them.


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## Karin1984

JeffryK said:


> Very cool read Karin. Really cool because ill be there on sunday and also from The Netherlands! Please keep up the great reporting, hope i get a bit more lucky with the crowds.
> 
> Quick question if i may, can you get WhatsApp to work on park wifi? And is the wifi at Toy Story hotel decent?



Hello fellow Dutch-y! Crowds are manageable, but it takes experience with Disney parks to make the best of it. If you had never been to a themepark this would have been overwhelming. Next week low season starts, this week is last week of Summer vacation, starting next week the park closes at 20:30, so I think from then the crowds will die down. 

The wifi at the park was spotty, it works but I ran into a lot of trouble, also connecting wasn't the easiest. You have to fill in your phone number, the system texts you a code and you have to fill this in. But after I had filled in the code, the system kept texting me at random the code again and again. 23 times on the second day. Also at 3 o'clock in the morning... Today only 13 times...The first time to use the wifi at the park, I let a CM do it for me at the Photopass shop. The Wifi wasn't strong enough to download the Photopass app in the park. I downloaded it at night when I was at the hotel. 
I can recommend Express VPN (7 day free trial) if you want to use Facebook & Google. 

Wifi was good in the line of Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, but wouldn't recommend that ride to Whatsapp your friends and family ;-) 



Flossbolna said:


> So nice to hear that you got some pixie dust! Sounds truly wonderful!
> 
> Since you mentioned single rider line for Pirates being closed, this reminded me of one tip for Tokyo: There we had trouble finding the single rider lines and when we asked, we were let into the FP-line. When you get to the second CM collecting the FP, you tell them that you are a single rider and there just before load they put you into the real single rider line. Works great! So, don't think the single rider lines are closed there because you can't see them.



Today single ride for Pirates was open during the day, closed at night. Also tonight at Tron it was weird. It said 60 minutes, but as we had several times that they couldn't post the waiting times correctly, we'd go for it, also it was one of the last things we want to do on our last day. We get a ticket that said 'single rider' and are directed into the normal queue. I ask again, but yes we have to be in this queue. Okay... that defeats the purpose of Single Riders lines a bit, almost like they wanted to discourage the use? After about 30 minutes, we reach the next CM and she opens the door to the designated single rider's line and we walk to the beginning of the line... It takes a while as the CM assigning the seats splits up groups. Like when you have a group of 3 and 5, she fills 4x 2 seats, while in other parks, they would most of the time they fill 5x2 seats using 2 single riders. 

Tonight single riders for SDMT was closed, open during the day.


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## Karin1984

Today was our last day  *sad face* 

I really loved it here, it's a nice park, but next I will be back when it's not so hot. It was 36 degrees Celsius at 14:00 hours. We managed to do Roaring River Rapids, Pirates, Tron, saw the Summer Blast show again, met Rapunzel again, checked out the Garden of the Twelve Friends (I'm a rat!) saw the Frozen show, the Travelling Troubadours show, saw Timon and Rafiki again (wanted to check for Judy and Nick, but they were not meeting)  and the parade twice. The same CM manager recognized us from yesterday and moved us to the reserved viewing for the parade  More pixie dust! He also offered us again to use the reserved viewing for the fireworks, but we declined. We wanted to use the time at night to do more rides. Also did Voyage to the Crystal Grotto (Nikki loves ths ride, @night, but I still don't see the appeal) Nikki met Belle and Mickey again and I did Soaring (FP) and Pirates (last ride of my visit on the front row!) 

So basically we did the parks with only one FP... Not my normal routine, but it's okay. We had some words about buying FP, we had discussed it in advance, but after the first day when we got so much accomplished during the firework/last hour, Nikki changed her mind about the necessity. I gave in, as we are on vacation together, I stuck to only buying one FP for Soaring, as Nikki didn't want to do this ride. In the end, I am happy to have saved the money, on the other hand, it would have given me peace of mind to do every ride more than once without waiting. 



*What did I like: *
I love how the park looks, it's really well designed, lots of details and I didn't take enough pictures to capture it all. My camera doesn't do well in this heat. 

Speaking of heat, they had manay arrangements for the heat, not just the Summer Blast show and the Pre-Parade where you can get soaked/drizzled with water. There were cooling areas with mistng fans, their were air conditioned tents, CMs with carts of water and other chilled drinks everwhere, most of them were holding a small misting fan, and they thought it hilarious that we asked them to spray us. Most queues have (misting) fans, which don't help that much, but it makes it bearable in this weather. 

The CMs were amazing, not just because we got pixie dusted twice with reserved viewing for parade and fireworks, but also very nice. We were singled out easily as we were one of the few Western guests in the park (today on Monday there were more). 
As a side note, I don't mean anything by it, just as an FYI, people with darker coloured skin, be aware that you might be the only one in the entire park. I saw more Caucasian people visiting, but maybe 3 people with darker coloured skin in total in Shanghai and in the park. I have been asked at least 5 times to take pictures with other guests as pale skin and red hair is something they only see on tv. 

The music, Shanghai has very good music tracks, I heard Hunchback and Hercules, Enchanted and other Alan Menken songs Paris or US parks skip. An amazing violin version of I see the Light, Let it Go played by an oboe, which was lovely, but I am not sure who thought we would need a ukelele version of Let it Go? Oh, and in Remy's Patisserie I heard an up tempo Big Band version of I see the Light, and all I could think was: I want that CD!!!

Rides, I love Tron, don't do this ride on a full stomach, but the feeling of the forces pressing you in your seat... wow  and I love love love Pirates. How the boat moves in all directions, how you are in the middle of the movies, the amazing and huge animatronic of Davy Jones... one of my favorites. 
I liked the parade, although it was short and a bit all over the place when it comes to style or theme, the Frozen float was missing, but hey, I got several good interactions with Flynn Rider  what else does a girl need! No, also good interactions with  other characters on the parade, but again, being Western and standing out from the crowds was a huge plus. 

Clean, overall, the parks were cleaner than I expected. 2 exceptions, right after the fireworks and in the queue of Tron on Saturday night. But all the bathrooms were clean. Didn't encounter many smokers most of them stuck to the smoking areas. 

*What didn't I like: *
No matter how nice the CMs were, they spoke very little English. Sometimes asking where a ride/restaurant/show was or at what time was too much to ask for CMs at Guest Services throughout the park. So first question became: Do you speak English. As soon as I asked this, they got a colleague, but usually they weren't much of an improvement. If you want to have Engish at a decent level in the parks, you have to look for CMs with a Supervisor pin. At the hotel at the reception it is better. 

For example, I encountered only 1 'cultural' incident, and am not 100% sure, but 99%, 2 minutes before the Frozen show started, 3 rows down a toddler has to use the bathroom, as I saw her father pull down her pants (I could see the girl's private parts) and held her down in a weird position. As mentioned, I am not entirey sure, but I think she was peeing. I am willing to understand a lot of cultural differences and little kids doing their business in the streets, okay... but inside and in a theater?! Sorry, that's where I have some issues. But the show was about to start, I didn't speak Chinese, and I was 3 rows to the back, what can you do? After the show was over, I wanted to alert a CM, so they could clean before the next show started, but none of them understood what I meant and as the crowds left the theater, I was dragged away by the crowds. I couldn't go back inside to show them. 
That was a situation where I wished they spoke better English. I can figure out most things in a park, but this was something I'd like to have reported properly. 

One tiny thingy about the music. What I like at Disney is the theming, that it's not just random throwing stuff together, when in Paris I sit in the Hakuna Matata Restaurant, all I hear is Lion KIng music, when I am the Tangled Tavern, all I wanna hear is Tangled music, not the same random music you hear in Fantasyland. Also heard You've got a Friend inMe in Fantasyland and sorry, that's just not the right place  

We didn't encounter line cutters, except maybe once or twice when getting in when we saw people getting together with their group. For the rest of the time, we both held on to the railing/wall to make sure people couldn't sneak through. We did run into some people who never heard of 'personal space'. But also maybe two or three times, so not that bad. 

Okay, closing down my laptop, it's almost 23:15 here and our taxi leaves to Pudong at 6:15 in the morning! 

Night night!


----------



## Karin1984

While we wait at Shanghai airport to go to Hong Kong, I will write some more thoughts on Disneyland Shanghai.

*Photopass*
The price is good, we paid 199 yuan per day (about 20-25 euro?) Which is incredibly cheap.

The setting up of the pass is not as easy as it could be, for non-Chinese that is. I still don't really understand how it works. We bought 2 day passes and let the girl in the store set it up. She added the several cards to our passes. But there was also something that some photographers didn't want to re-use a card because there was no Mickey sticker on there? I get the feeling someone in the US came up with the system and some things got lost in translation.

The app was some getting use, but was easy enough to understand. It is nice to get a pop up message on your phone as soon as new pictures have been uploaded to the app. All pictures end up 2-3 timeson the app, already with borders. I will have to try at home to modify the borders and to see if there are more options.

The photographers themselves were a joy. Much better than in Paris and Orlando. They all understood to make pictures during character interaction, they made suggestions for poses in front of the castle etc. I think it was in @PrincessInOz (?) trip report that she wrote Western guests got only one pose, in comparison to Chinese guests who got complete photoshoots, this was not our experience. In front of the castle we got 4-5 poses, and at characters they kept snapping.

Even with the weather and some photgraphers stood in the blazing sun, they stayed friendly and cheerful.

*Characters *
Meeting characters isn't really a thing in Shanghai and queues were never long. 20-30 minutes for princesses and 30-40 minutes for Mickey mid-day at maximum. All face characters were Western and spoke English and I think basic Mandarin. Face characters were all good at interaction, maybe it is because they were happy to interact in their first language but they were good at improv.

For fur characters, it was hit or miss. At Happy Circle it was all great, most likely because there were hardly any people who wanted to meet Jungle Book/Lion King characters. There were guests at the front of the line and when Rafiki appeared, most of them just left. 
At the Royal Banquet Hall dinner, Donald was good, Mickey, Minnie, Daisy okay. Maybe it was our mime skills, not a lot of fur characters (or their handlers) spoke English. Some did, when we met Pluto and Goofy on Mickey Avenue Pluto spoke English, Goofy didn't.

*Food*
Better than in Paris. It is almost all counter service and the quality was better and it was all very cheap (for Disney prices). The pork & rice dish at Celebration Café was a favorite. There was a lot of variety at the different restaurants/snack carts.

Queues mid day for lunch were long, but it all moved quite quickly.


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## Karin1984

We are now in HDL, waiting for Elsa, hardly a queue but all sets are short.

Before I forget this detail, we have seen several cleaners at the restaurants who had Down syndrome, I think it is amazing of Hong Kong to have such a variety in their employees, I have never seen that at other parks. Thumbs up to Hong Kong.


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## Karin1984

Oh my goodness... this was a long day, and it only was 10 hours of Disney! We basically did the entire park in one day, so on our second day we can repeat favourites! 

The park didn't open till 10:30, but as we didn't know how long it would take to get there we left at 8:30. And even though Google Maps said that it would take about 50 minutes, it only took 35 minutes to get from Jordan Station to the resort. Around 9 the security opened and at 9:45 the park opened with a welcome ceremony with Mickey and Minnie. I say the park, but what I mean is Main Street opened, we were stopped about 30-50 meters before the castle. Very smart as this gave people a chance to get a castle picture with no one in the background and the guests in Hong Kong love to shop. There is currently a limit of max. 5 Stella Lou items per guest.

After a second welcome ceremony with a different family and Pluto the park opened and of course, we speed walked towards Grizzly/Mystic Manor... only to find it open at 11. So we did Jungle Cruise first, in English with Skipper Wendy. I was a bit hesitant about Jungle Cruise in Hong Kong as joking in a language that's not your native language is hard. And i must say, Wendy wasn't as funny as the ones in the US, but she did okay, she had some jokes, good sense of timing was difficult, but she was a bit of an actress, she was really telling a story. So pleasantly surprised by our first ride.

Then at 10:45 when we exited, we decided to wait at the entrance to Grizzly Gulch and at 11 were walked up to the country, where some guests ran towards the ride. We walked and were in the second car of the day. Absolutely love this ride, it was so smooth and I knew there was a piece going backwards, but not when. It also went faster than I thought it would go. It had more thrill than BTM in Paris and a lot more thrill than her US counter parts.

Mystic Manor!  Today after years of looking at youtube vids, I finally got to see it for real and it didn't disappoint. Easily in my top 5 of best Disney rides ever!

What else did we do? We saw Mickey in Western Outfit. Hong Kong guests love their characters and before opening there were already long lines for the characters on Main Street. We also saw Snow White, Elsa, Belle and Tinkerbell. There was a good variety of characters and very happy all their sets were in the app and lines were orderly. Only one with Photopass (Belle), but the handlers were all pretty good with taking pictures. One going really crazy and kept snapping. They were all pretty good, only Belle was a bit rushed as she started her set late and she had to get ready for the parade. It was our turn 10 minutes before the parade started and by then there were still 15 people in line! But it was okay, good interaction and she was very pretty. Liked Elsa and Tink best, I think, Elsa made us a snow flake  which in 30 degrees weather and humidity was so nice 

We also rode Small World (Like the Disney characters, it's a nice addition, although I had expected Mulan in China), Winnie the Pooh (FP), Space Mountain (FP), Iron Man (FP), saw both parades, Mickey and the Wondrous Book, Philharmagic, Festival of the Lion King, Disney in the Stars!

It was a full day. A very full day, but a fun day. 

-----------------
Some impressions:
It is a small park, especially compared after Shanghai, but I liked it. It had something cute and cosy. Like we say in Dutch (and doesn't really translate to English) 'gezellig'. @Flossbolna you're from Germany, right? I think Gemütlichkeit comes close to describe it? The park has some particularly good rides like Mystic Manor and Grizzly, some great shows like Mickey and the Wondrous book, but nothing really extreme. It's just perfect the way it is and definitely worth visiting. For Disney fans I would recommend 2 days, but you could do all the big rides and shows at least once in high season on one day.

It was 'busy' with queues up to 50 minutes for Buzz Lightyear and 45 for Grizzly (when Mystic Manor next door was out of order). Which was a breeze after the 3-4 hour queues we saw in Shanghai.

Food-wise, I'm not impressed yet. We had meal vouchers, limiting our options a bit. We had lunch at Clopin's and dinner at the Royal Banquet Hall, portions were large and it was tasteful, but I enjoyed Shanghai's food better. For value for the meal vouchers, I was able to make a little bit of profit, but only by a few euro/dollar. The voucher had cost me 225 HKD, Clopin's was 110, Royal Banquet Hall was 145 and one snack was included as well, about 38 HKD for a Stitch ice cream. Eventhough I didn't save a huge amount of money, it was very convenient to use.

CMs, like in Shanghai they were all friendly, but in Shanghai it felt more like what I experienced in WDW. The CMs in Hong Kong today were more business-like, I guess. As mentioned in my previous post, I am really impressed that HDL employs people with Down syndrome as so many companies who work with guests don't do this, while these people can be good employees. I think I saw 3, 2 working as cleaners in RBH and Clopin's and also at one of the stations of RBH I think I spotted a third.

Characters, there is a lot of variety in characters, however, sets are short. We counted the guests in line at some point and figured a 20 minute set processes about 50 guests. So get there 10-15 minutes before a set starts to make sure you get to greet the character, lines are closed when 50 guests are in line.

Shows, I love Mickey and the Wondrous Book, but think Mickey and the Magician in Paris is better, as it doesn't rely so much on projections like Wondrous Book. But... here they have the wonderful princess trio with Ariel, Rapunzel and Merida and Tiana's part was amazing. Also Festival of the Lion King is a nice addition to this park, I enjoyed this one more than the one in Animal Kingdom. Mainly because in Orlando it's too much for me. The pre-show with assigning the animals, audience participation, I am not a fan of the monkeys. The stunts they do are nice, but it makes the show unnecessarily long. This show was shorter and more compact.

Parades: Loved Festival of Fantasy, biggest downside is that the stop is too long. The floats look nice, the costumes of the dancers are great, I only have the feeling something was missing. I only don't know yet what. Must give this some more thought. Maybe it was a good finale float. It ended a bit abruptly with Toy Story.

I also liked Paint the Night, I am not a big fan of nighttime parades as you not always can see the faces/expressions from the dancers/face characters because only their customes are lit. But all in all, this was a nice parade. For such a 'small' park and then to have 2 parades... well done, Hong Kong!

That was it for now, going to sleep as tomorrow The Peak awaits!


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## Flossbolna

Yes, I think gemütlich could be the perfect word! My BF once worked in HK for some time and this was his local park and he really loves it for exactly that atmosphere! I know that I need to go there sometime in the near future!

Sounds like you had a great day! I hope the second day will be equally good!

And parade wise I think you kept the best for last with Tokyo!

Thanks for all the live updates, it is so much fun to follow along!


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## Karin1984

Flossbolna said:


> Yes, I think gemütlich could be the perfect word! My BF once worked in HK for some time and this was his local park and he really loves it for exactly that atmosphere! I know that I need to go there sometime in the near future!
> 
> Sounds like you had a great day! I hope the second day will be equally good!
> 
> And parade wise I think you kept the best for last with Tokyo!
> 
> Thanks for all the live updates, it is so much fun to follow along!



Thanks! Good to hear there are people out there enjoying this  I enjoy to share my impressions and get my thoughts to paper so when I make my real trip report I remember a lot of details. If I wait till the trip is over, lots of little details (like how Nikki almost broke Tinkerbell's wings yesterday...) will be gone!

It's a pity English doesn't have a word to describe the feeling this park has, it's a relaxed atmosphere, laid back and just enjoyable 


----
Today we have a rest day, we slept in till 9(!) and took our time for breakfast. We then decided to go to the Man Mo Temple in the morning, hoping the weather would get better in the afternoon for the Peak. Man Mo temple was really small, warm and crowded. But as most temples here, just beautiful. I love it how here in Asia people visit their temples between their daily business. Say their prayers and then move on. We saw a tourist-family where the mom was trying to teach her 5 year old son how to use the incense, how to pray etc. which for another tourist was just convenient to pick up a few things. Also saw a school boy, about 10 years old, I guess? He was on his own, he went from one prayer-place to the next, making a full round through the temple, banged the bell and the drum and then left. Also a man whose phone rang while he was praying. He answered the phone, and then went back to pray. It's much more integrated in lives here than in Europe.

After this The Peak, there were hardly any queues, so we did decide to take the Tram instead of a taxi (on our arrival day queues were over 1 hour long, and some locals advised to take a taxi instead). The view is just beautiful, it was a bit hazy, but good enough.

We then went back to our hotel in a leisurely pace, taking the ferry and walked down Nathan Road to the hotel. As we are half way through our trip it is now really time to do laundry. So we are waiting for this to dry and then go out for some dim sum.

But now that I have time, I finally uploaded some pictures of Disneyland Shanghai!
(a little too big, I guess, but I'll fix that when I get home  )


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## Karin1984

Today was the first of September which means: Schools in Hong Kong have started again and the park was empty! Meaning we had lots of time to play 
We saw before opening Mickey & Minnie and Chip & Dale, Aurora, rode Grizzly Mountain, saw Western Mickey, rode Grizzly again, saw Western Chip & Dale, rode Mystic Manor, lunch at Explorer's Club, saw Mickey and the Wondrous Book again. Walked through Fairytale Forest, had plans to see Tarzan's Treehouse, but decided to get ready for the parade.

And was this an interesting parade. We stood again where were stood 2 days ago, in front of the stop of the Princess float. And when the stop was done, it started to rain. And not a little bit of rain. It was raining like you see in Florida in August/September. In the beginning it was not too bad, but those princesses looked uncomfortable. When the parade went on it started to pour, the sky opened and it kept coming down. The dancers between the float could only smile and wave, as a choreography on those slippery tiles... not a good idea. Fur characters were having fun, but the face characters... poor girls! Belle kept looking up at Cinderella thinking "Can we please go? Say we can go!" 
I don't know if they made it to the end of Main Street ;-) We got some great footage 
Whoever was in charge of the parade that day didn't make a good decision. I can't imagine that there wasn't a weather app or website that hadn't predicted this downfall. 

As soon as the last float was past us, we ran into Space Mountain, which only had a 5 minute wait. But by the time we came out, it was still raining. The shop got overcrowded and even a flood came in. Part of the store was cornered off as the floor was just covered in water. The sky cleared, but all outdoor rides were closed and we wandered around for a while. We wanted to meet Cinderella, but her set got cancelled. We assume because her make up got ruined in the parade?  I made an extra round on MYstic Manor, while Nikki went for some coffee and shopping. We saw Aurora's last set and we made our way to Mystic Manor, but by then the wait was 30 minutes and that was too much on a quiet day like this  so we decided to have dinner again at the Explorer's Club (Did you know Chef Goofy has 3 sets in this restaurant, and one in Royal Banquet Hall? He just walks around in the food area, takes a few pictures and then leaves) After dinner the rain started again. We made one last round on Space Mountain and made some pictures, sorted out our photopass pictures and we were in the shop when Paint the Night got cancelled. So we decided around 8 PM we weren't going to wait to find out if the fireworks would be on or not.

It was a fun, but long day. Tomorrow we have one more day to explore some spots outside of Hong Kong and on Sunday we will go to Tokyo for the final part of our trip !
This morning was exciting, by the way, the news about the typhoon nearing Hong Kong popped up on our phones and we decided to check if it was possible to change our flights to Saturday and if the Sheraton had a room available. The room wasn't the problem. The flights were. Saturday's flights were all full. So we decided to take a risk and leave everything the way it is (not much you can do abbout it anyway). When we returned tonight to the hotel we chatted with the receptionist and she said the chances of a typhoon were lowered to 40% , so fingers crossed! It's still looking good!


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## Karin1984

For those of you who are curious to see how a rainy parade, without it being an official Rainy Day Parade, looks like: here's the last float and the corner of the floor of the shop of Space Mountain. (unedited  )


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## Karin1984

Oh my God! We just checked in into the Sheraton and we have a park view room!!!


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## Karin1984

Okay, where was I? Oh, on Monday. This was our last full day in Hong Kong, but as we had to get up early on Tuesday, we took it slow. We first went to the Sik Sik Wong Tai Sin temple, which was beautiful, but also very very very crowded and the Good Wish Gardens, which were largely closed for renovation. After this we went to the Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Gardens, which was much more relaxing. It was very quiet and soothing and in the nunnery it self no pictures allowed, so there was a serene atmosphere. No one (except some obnoxious tourists who kept taking pictures, even after being told not to) was trying to get the best shot or making selfies. Just enjoying the nunnery. 

We went back to the hotel, also because it started raining again in the afternoon, and worked on our pictures. Also went to the night market for half an hour, which was just around the corner from our hotel. Lots of junk, but also some good stuff. They had some nice Disney luggage tags. Including one of Albert from Mystic Manor.

Today on Tuesday we had to get up at 4:45 in the morning to catch the first shuttle bus to the airport. Hong Kong airport is a maze when you have to leave from terminal 2. Not a lot of signage about restaurants as we still needed to get breakfast. At first we only thought there was some weird looking Chinese restaurant, where Nikki decided to get eggs and toast. Which didn't taste that well, I skipped and thought about the meal I had ordered for the flight. But then we discovered a Starbucks! I bought a box with some chicken wraps and had the meal on the flight. So when we got off, I wasn't hungry. Nikki was  We had a bumpy flight, but no problems with typhoons or tropical depressions.

No problems at Customs. The Limousine Bus counter was easy enough to find and the bus would depart within 10 minutes! We first had to go by Disneyland, Ambassador Hotel, Disney Sea and the Disneyland Hotel before we went to the Sheraton, where Jenna was already waiting. Jenna arrived yesterday from the US and went to the Ramen museum today.

As mentioned we got a room with a nice view  we can see the entire Disneyland Park and Disney Sea  I was so excited! Tonight we went to Ikspiari for something to eat (there was a beer tasting  in one of the restaurants, where we sat for a while enjoying drinks and snacks. We checked out the Disney Store, which was just filled with stuff we had never seen before. Also many promotions going on. Especially Beauty and the Beast stuff was on sale.

We wanted to see the fireworks from our balcony, however the current nighttime show isn't very big on fireworks, which meant we stared at a castle with some vague projections... Too far away to see what was going on, although we think we recognized Tangled. We will see it on Tuesday from the right side of the castle! Tomorrow we will go into town, I think the Imperial Gardens, Shibuya Crossing, etc are on the list of things to see.

The view from our room, we can also see the monorail go by!

Right in front of us the castle. 






And to the right Disney Sea with the Little Mermaid Castle and Mount Prometheus


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## Simba001

Karin1984 said:


> Today on Tuesday we had to get up at 4:45 in the morning to catch the first shuttle bus to the airport. Hong Kong airport is a maze when you have to leave from terminal 2. Not a lot of signage about restaurants as we still needed to get breakfast. At first we only thought there was some weird looking Chinese restaurant, where Nikki decided to get eggs and toast. Which didn't taste that well, I skipped and thought about the meal I had ordered for the flight. But then we discovered a Starbucks! I bought a box with some chicken wraps and had the meal on the flight. So when we got off, I wasn't hungry. Nikki was  We had a bumpy flight, but no problems with typhoons or tropical depressions.



If you don't mind me asking:
      - What airline did you fly from Hong Kong to Tokyo?  
      - How did you like the flight (other than being bumpy)? 
      - Which Tokyo airport did you fly into?
Thank you


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## Karin1984

Simba001 said:


> If you don't mind me asking:
> - What airline did you fly from Hong Kong to Tokyo?
> - How did you like the flight (other than being bumpy)?
> - Which Tokyo airport did you fly into?
> Thank you



Of course not! That is what trip reports are for. We flew HK Express into Narita, which is a low cost carrier. So your ticket can be extremely cheap. But then you have additions like baggage and meals. They have 3 fares and in the end we bought the highest fare as that included everything a 'normal' airline would include. But it also came with priority check in and priority boarding, free seat selection etc.

I was happy with their services, staff was friendly, meal was tasteful. I was surprised that they have Dining on Demand. When the crew checked the list of who pre-ordered meals and drinks she asked me when I wanted my meal.

The only time I noticed it was a low cost carrier was with my meal and I wanted to change something.  At booking I selected a meal and the only drinks they offered was bottled water. Which is fine. But on board when they were going round selling drinks I saw that they also have sodas. When I asked to swap my water for something else, that wasn't  possible. But that was the only very minor thing about this flight.

I would definitely recommend this airline to others.


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## Simba001

Karin1984 said:


> Of course not! That is what trip reports are for We flew HK Express, which is a low cost carrier. So your ticket can be extremely cheap. But then you have additions like baggage and meals. They have 3 fares and in the end we bought the highest fare as that included everything a 'normal' airline would include. But it also came with priority check in and priority boarding, free seat selection etc.
> 
> I was happy with their services, staff was friendly, meal was tasteful. I was surprised that they have Dining on Demand. When the crew checked the list of who pre-ordered meals and drinks she asked me when I wanted my meal.
> 
> The only time I noticed it was a lot cost carrier was with my meal and I wanted to change something.  At booking I selected a meal and the only drinks they offered was bottled water. Which is fine. But on board when they were going round selling drinks I saw that they also have sodas. When I asked to swap my water for something else, that wasn't  possible. But that was the only very minor thing about this flight.
> 
> I would definitely recommend this airline to others.



Thank you for the information.
I am enjoying following along on your adventure.


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## YensiD2017

What a wonderful, informative report. The pictures/videos  are great too
Thank you very much for being so descriptive. Enjoying it all very much!


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## Karin1984

Today... was not our day ;-) Well, we did okay, but we made many mistakes with the trains. 

We wake up to see it's raining. Not like in Hong Kong, but plenty of rain that you need an umbrella/protection.
We left the hotel little after 8, thinking we will have breakfast at Ikspiari. We arrive: Ikspiari doesn't open till 10. 
We go to Tokyo station, trying to find Starbucks (I have coffee addicts with me). Can't find the starbucks.
Try a French bakery, besides that we can't get an English menu, we just pick stuff. They put corn in everything and they have a cd with Disney music  We listen to Dumbo (Crow song), Cruella de Vil and Mary Poppins. 
As it is still raining we decide not to go to the Meiji Shrine immediately but have a look at the Imperial gardens. Walk in the wrong direction. Gardens closed on Monday. 
We then do go to Shibuya Crossing, but finding the right subway/train line isn't easy... We do arrive at the station, can't find the exit. 
We make it outside, make pictures at the Hachiko statue, and then turn to the crossing. It's now 10:30, so rush hour is over and the crossing is kinda lame  
Disney Store. This is something we can do  and can understand and we spend at least an hour there. 
We want to find lunch somehwere, but that's not easy as a lot of places looked like they didn't have English menus. Others  didn't accept cards. Finding an ATM was also challenging. On our quest for the ATM wedid come across an interesting Arcade where adults were trying to catch stuffed toys with the CLAW!
We get some cash and then of course, the first place we find accepts credit cards ;-) Most remarkable is that this restaurant has a sticket on the door saying 'smoking is allowed', that was clear from the smell. We are led into a little cubicle with a table and half-curtains instead of a door, or just an opening. We order things that looks interesting/nice and it didn't disappoint.  
The weather is getting better, after lunch we do go to the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi park. Thank God for Google Maps and portable wifi, otherwise we would have never found it!How did people do that before Google?
The park is nice, the Shrine (except in refurbishment partially) beautiful. We get some fortunes, write a prayer and then go to Harajuku.
Quite a busy street, we find a Daiso (Dollar /100 yen store) and buy some essentials, like sun glasses, hairclips and stuff. While Jenna gets a waffle cone somewhere, we hear more Disney music. But first it's Be Our Guest from the movie (1992) and then ride music, Pirates of the Caribbean. Weird selection. 
We walk back in the direction of Shibuya and pass a Lush store, and as the conversion rate is good, I buy several things  After this, we get some things in a 7-11 (besides my companions love coffee, they do like a glass. So they got some sake to smuggle into the park. I do not drink, and do not understand, but I'll let them)
We are back at the crossing when the rush hour starts and watch it from the Starbucks on the 2nd floor opposite the crossing. I manage to get a seat at the window and we switch places to all get our videos and pictures. 
By now it's about 5:30 when we are done, but the night is still young. We take the train (after a lot of walking in the wrong direction in the station) to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which has a nice viewing point over the city and we are there to see all the lights go on. Pretty nice.

We debated what to do next, and exploring the neighbourhood of Shinjuku is an option, but we are tired, the Sheraton is far away and we still need to have dinner. So instead we go back to Ikspiari, which takes about 1,5 hours.Again, could have been shorter if we didn't make so many mistakes with the trains. I really don't think it's the easiest system to use for foreigners. Shanghai and Hong Kong were much clearer. Also more English signs than in Tokyo. 
We eat at a little Japanese place (4th floor, hidden in a corner, can't remember the name) where they sold mainly fried pork dishes. But all very good. 

When we got back it's about 9pm and we relax, shower, write reports  and call it a night, as tomorrow we have to go to Disney!


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## shelemm

Train stations can be confusing - but that is not limited to Asia.  The larger the station, the more confusing.  Subway stops (where there is no train station) are small and very easy to navigate.


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## Karin1984

It is almost 7 o'clock here in Tokyo and we are waiting for Dream Lights. We woke up early, got ready, Nikki and me bought our Disney tickets  (Jenna had bought hers online) and off we were. About an hour before opening, just as adviseadvised we arrived at the gates. We had a nice spot and we wait. So far no problems.  

The gates open, I am thinking : I AM IN DISNEY TOKYO!! Then I turn back and realize: where are the others. Jenna is stuck!!! She bought the tickets for the wrong date! Omg... how did this happen??
Her ticket started on the 4th of September, but here you have to choose with a 3 or 4 day pass, which park do you want to do on the first two days? And then you can hop for the last day or days.  The plan was today  5t Disneyland, tomorrow 6th Disney Sea, 7th hop, 8th hop. Jenna's ticket had the right order only starting on the wrong day  

She had to go back in line! And lines for the registers were wrong.  Nikki and I were in. We couldn't go far because Jenna had the wifi device! So all we could do was take a few pictures and wait. Luckily it didnt take long. A CM helped Jenna, she had to pay a 200 yen change fee, but then about 20 minutes past opening we were all in! 

Minor set back but we stuck to the plan: FP Monsters Inc, and then run to Winnie the Pooh, which already had a queue of 45 minutes.  It was a nice ride to start with. 

We ran into some characters in fantasyland: charrming & fairy godmother (weird combination) and met Peter Pan. We tried to are Hatter and Alice but they just left. 

We did Splash as a solo rides and then went into Haunted Mansion which has already the Halloween overlay  (done very well, love the Sally animatronic). We wanted to lunch at Queen of Hearts but there was a 35 minute waiting time. We then returned to the beginning to get some cash, as there is only one ATM place in Disneyland. But then ran into more characters.  We met Aurora and wanted to meet others  (Belle, Alice and Peter and Wendy were meeting). But it was time for our FP for Monsters Inc. Love this ride!
 We walked around for a bit, Tiki room was about to start. Fun show with Stitch  (they have English translator devices for this show), walked around Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse, saw part of a little garden show, shopped, took out statue pictures. 

It was an hour before the parade when we took our spots. I walked around to get green alien mochi  (Nice!) And ran into is green army men and Elastigirl. While I took my picture with her we got joined by Mr. Incredible.

Saw the parade, it was so long! And the costumes of the dancers! 

After this we wanted to meet Mickey, but the queue was 1 hour so we did Gadget's coaster  (fun) and saw Chip 'n Dale's treehouse. More waking around and shopping, trying to find shirts and pins but they don't really do shirts or pins here. The selections were limited. 

Our FP for Space Mountain were valid now  (We got them before getting on Monsters Inc), we saw a cute little show of 5 singers who sang Disney songs but also other things, two of them were beat boxing and they were really good! If we didn't have a FP we would have stayed longer.

And that is if for now! So far, pretty pleased with the park. Love the CMs and the guests they both look so amazing. I have started to take pictures of them to make a collage. (yes, I did ask permission to take pictures)

Popcorn score: 3 flavours, honey, soy and butter sauce, and caramel. Honey won.


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## Karin1984

shelemm said:


> Train stations can be confusing - but that is not limited to Asia.  The larger the station, the more confusing.  Subway stops (where there is no train station) are small and very easy to navigate.



True, but even when we had 1 smaller station where we had to change lines we somehow got lost we were not good at it.


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## Karin1984

We are in Disney Sea now and let me tell you getting FP for Tot Story Mania... that is intense.  The queue is enormous! And we are here in slow season!


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## Flossbolna

Karin1984 said:


> We are in Disney Sea now and let me tell you getting FP for Tot Story Mania... that is intense.  The queue is enormous! And we are here in slow season!



We skipped Toy Story - and were very happy that it attracted the masses!! It is very cute, but we have done it so many times in Florida and California. Hope you had fun! I hope you enjoy TDS as much as I did. What an amazing park!!


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## Karin1984

Flossbolna said:


> We skipped Toy Story - and were very happy that it attracted the masses!! It is very cute, but we have done it so many times in Florida and California. Hope you had fun! I hope you enjoy TDS as much as I did. What an amazing park!!



It is an amazing park, but we had rain today and yesterday, which doesn't help with the experience. Today is press day for Halloween and we saw a preview for the Halloween parade and saw many guests all dressed up. We also saw the preview for the Halloween show in Disney Sea, but due to the rain it was a modified version, so we will try again tomorrow. Almost time for fantasmic. Will update again later. Bye!!!


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## Karin1984

Okay a few minutes before the Villains Show in Disney Sea. It is dry no more rain!! Last night they had a preview of the Halloween fireworks but it was so clouded and foggy you couldn't are a thing.

No, what I wanted to say, Disney is a great park to leisurely spend your time, stroll around, have a few snacks And enjoy the beauty of the park. It was made to be captured on pictures.

It is not a good park for thrill rides, we all there thought Tower of Terror and Raging Spirits are beautifully themed but lack the speed and just overall thrill to be called thrill rides.

Also the lay out is confusing, that there is no short cut to Arabian Coast from Meditterean Harbour is a short coming.

They do have Chandu Tails which are the best snacks  I need a Chandu Tail.

Oh today is another press day and so many dressed up guests! Best costume was won by the guest dressed up as the Partners Statue!!!


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## Karin1984

Last Disney day! We went to Disney Sea for opening and rode Raging Spirits, Indiana Jones and Journey to the Center of the Earth saw the Villans Show (loved it!)  and then went to Disneyland for Character Hunting. We ended the day with watching Dreamlights, the Halloween Fireworks and Once Upon A Time. Tomorrow is our real last day with a bit of Tokyo and then back to the airport.

Did we have a great time? Yes, it was fun. Will I go back to Tokyo soon? Probably not. If I would rank the three Asian Parks, Tokyo would come in third. Not because of the parks, shops, rides, merchandise, shows, or snacks. For those I would go back in a heartbeat. 

However, we had some difficulties with Cast Members, there were incidents. Also not at shops or restaurants, it was mainly the ones at rides and crowd control. Not with all, but with the majority of the CMs at rides or when waiting for parades, they decided to pretend we weren't there. It wasn't downright ignoring, but it came close. And to be honest, I have the feeling it's because we were not Japanese/Asian and/or didn't speak Japanese. Not sure this is true, but as we were the only Western people around when there were problems. I know there are cultural differences but not acknowledging a person when he's standing in front of you, I'm sorry, I just didn't feel as welcome in Tokyo as I felt in the other parks.

For example, there were many times when CMs were giving extra instructions (besides the announcements at rides), like for shows where to sit/stand/walk etc. or extra safety instructions or reminders at rides. What happened several times is that they presented themselves, like before a parade started, looked around at the rowd and started saying their routine. They scan the crowd, look at the people on our left, skipped us and then looked at the people on our right. Like we weren't there. Only one or two decided to come up to us and explain in one or two words, or sign language what was going on or what was expected from us. It came to mind, that with safety at rides, it could even be dangerous to exclude certain guests from your instructions. Of course the important things like 'keep your hands and arms inside the boat'etc. were done over the speakers in English. Some only decided to acknowledge our presence when it was time to ask how many peopple where in our group.

I prepared with some generals, 'yes', 'no', 'thank you', 'good bye' etc. but more than that we didn't manage to prepare. I know some people take Japanese lessons before visiting Japan, but to get at a conversational level with a language as different from English, that takes a lot of time and effort. Which I unfortunately didn't have. I would like to one day, but now was not the time. In Shanghai and Hong Kong the CMs took the effort to at least try to explain things to us, not always with success, but they tried. The CMs in Tokyo we had problems with didn't. It was similar to "We Western people, we think everyone understands English as long as you speak slowly", of course this isn't true. But it's the same, the other way around.

At Shanghai and Hong Kong the CMs were happy to see us, they seemed honoured we came, as foreigners, to visit their land/city/park as we were honoured too. I had the feeling there were CMs in Tokyo who weren't too fond of guests who don't speak their language. Again, most of the CMs in general were friendly and waived and smiled as if their lives depended on it, helped us find our way, took pictures of us when we needed. But overall, there were incidents that leave me with some coloured memories of Tokyo, and don't make me put Tokyo high on my list of places to re-visit.

I hope this doesn't make me sound spoiled Western brat, and please don't take it the wrong way, it was difficult to write this opinion. I never assumed to understand everything that's going on in a different language or culture, or that I assume everyone should speak English and should adjust to me. I am just a bit shocked that I thought once or twice 'if you don't want people from outside of Japan to come to your park, then just say it' or 'do you want us to leave?'.


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## Karin1984

I'm home again! After another 21 hours of travelling my mom was waiting for me at the airport to take me home. I threw everything out of my suitcase, made some soup and then showed my mom the pictures of the first few days. Now trying to stay awake for another 4 hours till it's a decent time to go to bed! 

Before I start the trip report, I would like to show the pictures of the costumes of the guests I took when Halloween started on the 7th of September. This year it is allowed to dress up during the entire Halloween season, during the day, and not just at Halloween parties. And the JApanese are very serious about dressing up. We saw amazing costumes and worthy of being photographed. Although most guests dress up for themselves, so they can take pictures of themselves in costume in the parks, they were surprised that I wanted to take a picture of them. 
We saw many Ariels (especially in Disney Sea), Belle was popular, Cinderella (both movie versions), Anna was more popular than Elsa, and a lot of Snow Whites. Some costumes were store bought, some were home made, but they were all detailed. Oh and dozens and dozens of Mickeys & Minnies, but they were mainly more Disney bounding than costumes.

It was amazing, but also a bit confusing. Imagine seeing a rare character and then your first instinct is to run over, but then realize 'oh... it's a guest'. Happened mainly when I saw several Flynn Riders ;-) or imagine how confusing it is to be in line with four Rapunzels behind you ! 
Also at one point, we were waiting in line to meet characters, one of the groups was Mary & Bert. The character handler standing next to them, is tapped on her shoulder by a guest dressed up as Bert, and the costume was so good, the Cast Member gasped for a moment and had to take a second look to make sure it wasn't the real Bert  

Two out of three Caballeros





A Chesire Cat





Snow White & Cinderella





Cinderella, Prince Charming and Fairy Godmother





Anna & Belle





Rapunzel & Elena





Eric & Ariel in Wedding Outfit (Eric in sailor outfit seemed to be the easiest costume to have your boyfriend join the dressing up ;-) )





The harem girls from Aladdin





Anna





I thought this one was a fun one as well: Moana and Hei Hei





Hercules and Megara





Ursula and Ariel, getting extra credit for the fish-pen and creating the contract!





Belle and Mrs. Potts, the woman who is dressed as Mrs. Potts had knitted herself a little Mrs. Potts and Chip, they were cute! And Belle was surprised I wanted to take her picture, but she was prepared for Halloween as she handed me a little bag of trick or treat candy after taking their picture  





Esmeralda & Clopin, who had an adorable little puppet  





Flotsam & Jetsam, they were surprised I had recognized them. They were wearing both different colored contact lenses. I saw that more often, a lot of girls who played blue-eyed princesses were wearing contacts. 





Snow White & Mulan





Jane





Anastasia & Drizella Tremaine





But the absolute winner was this brilliant man, the costume is so simple, but maybe that's part of the brilliance. He dressed up as the Partners Statue.


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## califlorican

Karin1984 said:


> *What didn't I like: *
> No matter how nice the CMs were, they spoke very little English. Sometimes asking where a ride/restaurant/show was or at what time was too much to ask for CMs at Guest Services throughout the park. So first question became: Do you speak English. As soon as I asked this, they got a colleague, but usually they weren't much of an improvement. If you want to have Engish at a decent level in the parks, you have to look for CMs with a Supervisor pin. At the hotel at the reception it is better.
> 
> For example, I encountered only 1 'cultural' incident, and am not 100% sure, but 99%, 2 minutes before the Frozen show started, 3 rows down a toddler has to use the bathroom, as I saw her father pull down her pants (I could see the girl's private parts) and held her down in a weird position. As mentioned, I am not entirey sure, but I think she was peeing. I am willing to understand a lot of cultural differences and little kids doing their business in the streets, okay... but inside and in a theater?! Sorry, that's where I have some issues. But the show was about to start, I didn't speak Chinese, and I was 3 rows to the back, what can you do? After the show was over, I wanted to alert a CM, so they could clean before the next show started, but none of them understood what I meant and as the crowds left the theater, I was dragged away by the crowds. I couldn't go back inside to show them.
> That was a situation where I wished they spoke better English. I can figure out most things in a park, but this was something I'd like to have reported properly.



I personally don't think it's fair to criticize the park based on the amount of English the cast members spoke...if you're in a non-English speaking country, you shouldn't expect that in a park anyway. It might be frustrating, but that's not the park or the cast members' fault. 

About the peeing little girl, yes it's very normal for parents to have their small children pee in public. BUT they typically do it outside, and in the grass. Not in the middle of a sidewalk or inside somewhere. If you didn't see where she was peeing, it's possible there was a bucket or can (sometimes parents carry them around for this) and not just inside on the floor.


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## Karin1984

califlorican said:


> I personally don't think it's fair to criticize the park based on the amount of English the cast members spoke...if you're in a non-English speaking country, you shouldn't expect that in a park anyway. It might be frustrating, but that's not the park or the cast members' fault.
> 
> About the peeing little girl, yes it's very normal for parents to have their small children pee in public. BUT they typically do it outside, and in the grass. Not in the middle of a sidewalk or inside somewhere. If you didn't see where she was peeing, it's possible there was a bucket or can (sometimes parents carry them around for this) and not just inside on the floor.



I hope the parents had a bucket or a can, or something. I was prepared to see it outside, and that wouldn't be a problem to me, as I peed outside myself as a kid, when camping, on road trips etc. but it was inside that shocked me. 

About the English. I think you can expect it as a foreign visitor, but only because, everything in the park is in two languages. The guide maps, time tables, all signage, menus, many announcements and much more was in two languages, readily available (they never had to look for English maps etc.). The park presents itself as it is prepared for foreign visitors. Then I think you can have some expectations.   A question as 'where is ...' should be part of the training of the cast members who work at Information Stands (those places where they have all the waiting times etc) in the park. I should have added that this is where we asked these questions. We didn't ask the bus driver or the cleaners. I hadn't expected, and didn't try to have a full conversation with cast members, except with those who wanted to practise their English on us. 

I wouldn't blame the cast members, but I would think a small improvement could be as there are at least 3 CMs working at each Information Stand,is to schedule at least one who can answer those kind of questions in English. Or flag pins, like they do in DLP to make easy to identify which languages are spoken by which cast member, wouldn't necessarily always help, but it might take away some frustration.

My comments were more meant as informational for those who plan to go to Shanghai, to manage expectations.


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## califlorican

Karin1984 said:


> I hope the parents had a bucket or a can, or something. I was prepared to see it outside, and that wouldn't be a problem to me, as I peed outside myself as a kid, when camping, on road trips etc. but it was inside that shocked me.
> 
> About the English. I think you can expect it as a foreign visitor, but only because, everything in the park is in two languages. The guide maps, time tables, all signage, menus, many announcements and much more was in two languages, readily available (they never had to look for English maps etc.). The park presents itself as it is prepared for foreign visitors. Then I think you can have some expectations.   A question as 'where is ...' should be part of the training of the cast members who work at Information Stands (those places where they have all the waiting times etc) in the park. I should have added that this is where we asked these questions. We didn't ask the bus driver or the cleaners. I hadn't expected, and didn't try to have a full conversation with cast members, except with those who wanted to practise their English on us.
> 
> I wouldn't blame the cast members, but I would think a small improvement could be as there are at least 3 CMs working at each Information Stand,is to schedule at least one who can answer those kind of questions in English. Or flag pins, like they do in DLP to make easy to identify which languages are spoken by which cast member, wouldn't necessarily always help, but it might take away some frustration.
> 
> My comments were more meant as informational for those who plan to go to Shanghai, to manage expectations.



I agree it would be nice to always have someone at the information stands, but I do think it's (unfortunately) unrealistic to expect in China right now. While students do learn English in school, the system is more about memorization and writing/reading than it is with speaking. Many rarely use their English after they've finished university, unless they work in a business environment where it's necessary. I think it would be a great idea for Disney to have the CM's learn how to say certain things, but since it's a new park, I don't blame them for not currently having that set up. Once they have more foreigners visiting, I think they might make it a priority. While they do have signs and maps in English, the large majority of the guests are Chinese and therefore the CM's don't need to use their English as often. I believe it's very similar in Japan. However, I appreciate that you're giving out information and letting everyone know what to expect!


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## Karin1984

califlorican said:


> I agree it would be nice to always have someone at the information stands, but I do think it's (unfortunately) unrealistic to expect in China right now. While students do learn English in school, the system is more about memorization and writing/reading than it is with speaking. Many rarely use their English after they've finished university, unless they work in a business environment where it's necessary. I think it would be a great idea for Disney to have the CM's learn how to say certain things, but since it's a new park, I don't blame them for not currently having that set up. Once they have more foreigners visiting, I think they might make it a priority. While they do have signs and maps in English, the large majority of the guests are Chinese and therefore the CM's don't need to use their English as often. I believe it's very similar in Japan. However, I appreciate that you're giving out information and letting everyone know what to expect!



I wonder if there will ever be more foreign visitors.  I think during out visit it was less than 1% and it might climb to 3 or 4% but I think the visa is something that will hold back a lot of people. Shanghai isn't exactly a tourist destination like Hong Kong or Tokyo, for which no visa is required. I think it will remain mainly Disney lovers who will visit SDL and not a lot of local foreign visitors.

In Tokyo I think there was about 10% foreign visitors and in Hong Kong about 20-25%.


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## califlorican

Karin1984 said:


> I wonder if there will ever be more foreign visitors.  I think during out visit it was less than 1% and it might climb to 3 or 4% but I think the visa is something that will hold back a lot of people. Shanghai isn't exactly a tourist destination like Hong Kong or Tokyo, for which no visa is required. I think it will remain mainly Disney lovers who will visit SDL and not a lot of local foreign visitors.
> 
> In Tokyo I think there was about 10% foreign visitors and in Hong Kong about 20-25%.



To be fair, Hong Kong has more foreigners living there, so they may not be visitors coming from other countries. There's a pretty high population of Western expats and their families. I will say that when we went to Shanghai Disneyland in January, we saw MAYBE 10 or 15 other foreigners besides the 5 of us. Last week we saw a lottttt more. It may be just since January is not tourist season for Westerners (being right after Christmas/New Years season), but I also think it's just a really new park and not as many people have gone there yet. I agree it will probably never be as popular as Tokyo or Hong Kong as far as tourism goes, but Shanghai is becoming more accessible than it used to be (the 144-hour visa free option, for one thing!) and there is plenty to do there. I hope it does become more popular; we love Shanghai and would totally recommend people visit!


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## Karin1984

califlorican said:


> To be fair, Hong Kong has more foreigners living there, so they may not be visitors coming from other countries. There's a pretty high population of Western expats and their families. I will say that when we went to Shanghai Disneyland in January, we saw MAYBE 10 or 15 other foreigners besides the 5 of us. Last week we saw a lottttt more. It may be just since January is not tourist season for Westerners (being right after Christmas/New Years season), but I also think it's just a really new park and not as many people have gone there yet. I agree it will probably never be as popular as Tokyo or Hong Kong as far as tourism goes, but Shanghai is becoming more accessible than it used to be (the 144-hour visa free option, for one thing!) and there is plenty to do there. I hope it does become more popular; we love Shanghai and would totally recommend people visit!



I definitely hope it. Out of the three cities, Shanghai was definitely my favorite and I would love to return. I think on our days, there were about 25 Western people in the parks (last week August) so definitely less than 1%.


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## Karin1984

So here goes the trip report! Let’s see if I can complete it. Or at least start it, before I leave this Friday to Disneyland Paris for Half Marathon weekend (participating in the 10K and the half marathon, which was not a good idea so quickly after a 3 week vacation  )

August 23rd  and 24th

Travel days are always stressful, and this time added the 144-hour visa, plus my father bringing me to the airport, it all didn’t help. The relationship with my father is quite complicated, for about 7 years I had cut him out of my life and now that he is back in, things are always awkward. A week before leaving I heard via my mother that my father(they are divorced) had asked her if he could bring me to the airport. My mom answered: ‘she is probably stressed, but you should ask her herself’. By the fact that he didn’t ask me, I figured it was important to him to do this for me. So I send him a text that he could bring me.

On the departure day, my plane would leave at 3:20 in the afternoon, with the travel time and potential issues at check in, my dad was at my house at 11. At 11:30 we were at the airport. I don’t see my dad that often and I had forgotten that he is getting old and that he starts having difficulty walking. On a day like this, when I am anxious/stressed, walking slowly isn’t my strongest suit. It took us about half an hour to get to the check in desk from the parking lot. The good thing was, I was too busy worrying about how my dad was doing than I was worrying about check in.






When we got at the check in, they had started early, and I started queueing. And when I get to the desk, the girl indeed starts with ‘where is your visa for China, miss’? I explained about the 144 hour transit visa, and told her to start looking in her system. She does find other stuff about transferring and day visas, but not mine. I show her the print out of the Emirates website and that it’s common for check in agents to have problems. She calls a colleague who together with a third colleague to look. This third colleague was an Emirates employee, probably the station manager. Emirates only has 1 flight a day from Amsterdam, so they use general agents of the airport to handle their flights. The girl told me that she was extra careful as a week before she had let a passenger without visa go to China, who was refused upon arrival and send back, resulting in Emirates having to pay a fine.

I occupied the desk for about 15-20 minutes, and then the station manager of Emirates told the girl behind the desk that it was okay, to put his name into the system and let me go. All in all, it helped that I was prepared for the discussions and had taken the print out of the website.

Tip 1: Be prepared for discussions at check in if you don’t have a direct flight to Shanghai and take print outs with you, from a Visa-check-website (if your airline doesn’t have it), with Shanghai as your transit airport. So in my case, I filled in Hong Kong was my final destination and

Me and my dad go for a little walk around the airport, to the panorama deck which overlooks the airport and where KLM keeps one of their old planes. You can go in, it tells the history of KLM on the inside and some ins and outs of aviation, like what happens with baggage.

Old engine






Small plane 






By then I am just ready to go and leave my dad and go through customs. I buy something to eat and find a place near the gate to surf the internet for a while. I chat with Nikki who is facing the same problems in Brussels. About 15-20 minutes and several agents there had the same issues finding the 144 hours transit visa.

Nikki’s plane is on time, mine is 40 minutes delayed.

The flight itself was uneventful, I had a row of 3 all to myself. Food was decent, staff was nice, entertainment was fine, I watched Hidden Figures and Muppets Most Wanted. I tried to watch Thor in case we ran into Thor at Shanghai, but it wasn’t my type of movie.






I fly my first flight with the Airbus 380, a type of plane my own airline doesn’t have. And it’s one of the biggest planes out in the market at the moment, but very quiet. I was seated near the engines and I hardly heard a thing. The interior looked nice, still very new. The Inflight Entertainment System was touch screen and included USB ports. Also Emirates has a 20MB free wifi, and after that, for frequent flyers 7USD for 150MB and 11USD for 500MB. I didn’t buy it on the way out, but I did on my return flight. Whether you buy the wifi access or use the first 20MB free, connection wasn’t always good. Very, very slow at some times.

Beef with Rosemary and mashed potatoes, with some very sweet, but delicious chocolate mousse






Once in Dubai, I have to find Nikki, which was not that easy as Dubai is a big airport. Many big brands in the shopping area, which makes it clear that Dubai has a different/richer audience than my own little airport  (It never happens that I am flying and I am suddenly in the need for Chanel, Dior or Ferragamo  ) We just have some caffeine and snacks.

Our second flight was also not very interesting, I couldn’t sleep as there was a little kid who didn’t enjoy his/her flight. Watched Kong Skull Island and Fantastic Beasts. Emirates is very efficient to start cleaning the blankets and head sets half an hour before landing, only if you don’t have your own head set… you are left with reading lips on your entertainment set. Also the kind of disturbing message right before landing to ‘please read the safety manual’. That’s not very comforting! Also another message that if you feel dizzy, have diarrhea etc. to then report to the doctor upon arrival.

Breakfast






Chicken and potatoes






And then we are in Shanghai! It was a 21 hour journey, but we are here! Getting through customs was pretty easy, it’s very well marked throughout the airport and luckily for us, lines were short. There was two people in front of us, one of them sorting out his papers. I get through first, no problem. But then Nikki, she had travelled to Turkey about a month before. The agents at Shanghai couldn’t find the exit stamp in her passport, only the stamp getting into Turkey. Nikki couldn’t remember exactly what the procedure was, she thought it was only an entrance stamp. They kept asking how long she was there, and why she went to Turkey. Finally they find the 2nd stamp and also Nikki is allowed into Shanghai!

My suitcase arrived pretty quickly, but we had to wait about 30 minutes for Nikki’s. We decide not to take the Maglev (fun and speedy option), or taxi (expensive option), but the easy and slow option, the regular subway.

Tip 2: Make sure you have small bills/coins with you for the subway.

I only have some big bills with me that the machine doesn’t take, so I quickly buy a drink in a fast food restaurant to get some change. The ticket machines in Shanghai are extremely easy. Select the English language (if you don’t speak Chinese), select your destination station and you put in your money. It was 5 RMB (50 euro cents) to get from the airport to our hotel.

I was amazed how easy it was for visitors and also how clean the subway was. We didn’t have to transfer and about an hour later, we arrive at Nanjing Road. We get a bit lost, but my internet and VPN work.

Tip 3: Express VPN has often free trials for 7 days.

Around 7 o’clock we check in and have a little upgrade to a room with a window! There is only a big neon sign in front of our window. We quickly unpack a few things, message the people back home so everyone knows we have arrived and we are safe.

Nanjing Road by night











We are within walking distance of the Bund and it’s basically one long street we have to follow. It’s hot and busy, but so beautiful. This is my first time in Asia and somehow also feels very familiar. It feels a bit like the busy-ness of New York, but then mixed with a lot of bikes and scooters like in Amsterdam. Also it’s very clean, and hardly any smokers. Maybe it’s the prejudice I had, when I thought of China, but Shanghai definitely proved me wrong.

Also the difference with looking at Pudong, the modern area in front of me, and in the back clearly the marks that Europeans left on this city, is amazing. It’s familiar and yet all new. 





















To show you how busy it was on the Bund.











After taking pictures and walking around for a bit, it was very crowded, we leave to find something to eat and go to Shanghai Grandmother, which is a nice and busy restaurant. We had to wait for a few minutes before a table was ready.

Just as a remark, for those interested in cultural differences. This is a family restaurant, and we were seated upstairs and at some point when I looked down, I saw a family with a little girl about 2 years old. At some point, the girl is hungry and pulls her mother’s shirt down to get some breast milk. I thought it was funny to see how the mother absolutely didn’t react and continued her conversation with her family members. And when the girl was done, the mother adjusted her shirt and went on with her meal.

As FYI, I am all for breast feeding and it shouldn’t be something to hide in a dark corner (unless the mother choses to), I’m just mentioning it so people who travel to China and might have different opinions are aware; you can come across this.

The food is cheap, but very tasteful. I get beef with mushrooms and Nikki spinach soup and rice. Plus drinks was 132 RMB (about 15 euro) for the two of us.






We are back at the hotel around 9, 9:30. It’s time to shower and pass out. And that was day 1 and 2! And we might have not seen much of Shanghai, but I like this city already.

Oh one final detail we found in the bathroom, the picture is a bit blurry, but it’s basically condoms, lubricant and socks. I’m all about safety first, but what about those socks!


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## nancygirl1

21 hours on a plane. My goodness...bless you! Enjoying your pre-trip and now trip report. Love the pictures...


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## Karin1984

nancygirl1 said:


> 21 hours on a plane. My goodness...bless you! Enjoying your pre-trip and now trip report. Love the pictures...


Thanks!  
The outbound flights were fine, especially the first flight from Amsterdam to Dubai, as I had 3 seats all for myself. And the excitement of going to Asia and Disney was keeping me awake. 
My return flight... was less ideal. I'm still fighting with Emirates about it.  

At the moment I am very homesick to Disney Asia, I have made a preliminary hotel booking for Tokyo next year in May  I feel like we didn't spend enough time in the city and even though I liked Shanghai as a city the best, I really want to see more of Japan. I could get a good rate at an APA hotel (Tokyo-Shiomi-Ekimae) half way Disney and Tokyo, 45 euro per night, and I can still cancel up to 2 days before arrival. 

Unless I change my mind, and want to go somewhere else... I will go back to Tokyo next year with my birthday


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## Karin1984

Currently I am in the train on my way to Paris for marathon weekend and I thought: Perfect opportunity to update one more day of my Asian trip. 

August 25th

Today we are going to explore the old and the new of Shanghai and we start in Qibao, which is about 30-40 minutes from where we are. It’s a miniature watertown, most people who want to see water towns would go to Wuzhen for example, but that’s much further away and our time is limited.

We however started at MacDonald’s, we didn’t want to think about where to get breakfast. I did order some Asian Buns to get a little bit of local cuisine. Pretty nice (as long as they are warm), taste a bit like donuts, but then somewhat more dense, and a little oily on the outside.






They say that Qibao is very crowded, but I thought it was okay. There were tourists, mainly Chinese, I think we saw one other Western group.

Finding the place was more difficult, we took the closest exit (according to our travel guide), but how we had to walk from there was harder. So after walking in a random direction we asked a police man (with pictures in the travel guide), and then decided to follow the Chinese people who looked like a group of tourists.































There are lots of little stores, mainly street food here. All very cheap, I remember a bottle of water costing 3 yuan, which we needed as today it was about 36 (95-100) degrees. We didn’t try the food, again we weren’t brave enough.





















There were some signs in English, but not a lot. One thing that interested me was the cricket house, with cricket fights. I am actually against these kind of animal treatment, but I thought as part of the culture and I thought that it was a continuous show, let’s have a peak. When we found the right house, it was a little different, the place was empty and you had to pay for the tea and snacks, and while you drank/eat they would get the crickets to fight. So, we decided not to stay and explore more of the village.
















https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4419/37230453531_bbddc9f44c_c.jpg











We then saw a tower in the distance and decided to get closer. Here we found, by accident, the temple, which was absolutely gorgeous.  It was very quiet here, hardly any tourists.
















Who plays basketball next to the temple?


































































This just made me laugh


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## Karin1984

By now it’s about noon, the sun is burning (I’m so glad to have a hat and an umbrella!) and we decide to look for a place to lunch. We go back to the station, where there is a shopping mall. We find a Superhero restaurant. Mainly Batman themed, and everything just makes me smile. The tv is showing the Dark Knight, there are murals, memorabilia, the dishes all have (random) superhero names, the seats are themed, the plates are themed. And I’ve never seen a superhero movie in my life! Dr. Strange last year was my first one 






















Spicy beef, quite nice











We take the subway back to Pudong to see the Oriental Pearl Tower






The giant walkway around the rotunda and next to the tower is just perfect for pedestrians (and all the tourists who want to take their picture with the tower)






When you are on the walkway, there is an escalator downstairs next to the Disney store. I couldn’t find the Disney store on Googlemaps, but I knew it was there. It’s quite easy to find actually. A lot of merchandise, some familiar, some dedicated to Shanghai. Love the little castle inside. Outside there was a queue to get in. Luckily we were just on time and had hardly a queue.
















Almost bought this one:
















Of course Duffy  & Shellie Mae




































After the Disney Store, we try to find the People’s Park and the Shanghai Museum, somehow we kept walking in the wrong direction. We finally find the Shanghai museum, but by the time we arrive it’s unfortunately closed. Exactly when we arrive, there is a fountain show starting, with all kinds of Chinese music from pup music to opera. Really nice.




























And this lovely little girl was playing and directing the water. She was so fun to watch






Strangely enough, I have no pictures of the rest of the evening. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and then back to the same restaurant as the night before. Less successful today, the pork I ordered had a lot of fat, and Nikki had a local beer which was not exactly tasty  But overall it was okay.

I think after dinner we went back again to the hotel, showered and went to sleep. Don’t think we did anything special.


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## Karin1984

I have returned from Disneyland Paris and came back with 3 medals! I did the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo Challenge, aka the 10K (my first 10k) and half marathon (my second half marathon) challenge! To my big surprise I did very well, the weather was great and I got good results. 10K in about 75-80 minutes, this one wasn’t time, and the half marathon in 2:31 hours. Which is a 26 minutes improvement on last year.











But now back to August 26th, where we will explore Yu Yuan Gardens, the Temple of the City God a bit of the French Concession and our first taste of Disney Asia! We checked out in the morning and left our suitcases. Almost had a bump in the road as we couldn’t find the receipt for the 200 Yuan we paid as deposit.

Saw this in the elevator, I wonder how many elevators were broken by playing or by pushing hard and sharp objects.






It was very quiet this Saturday on Nanjing Road. I only took video, but there were quite some people practising tai chi, either with fans or with swords.











I never wished more to speak Chinese than when I stood in the subway watching this screen. I get the information (how many minutes till the next train, when do the first & last train go) but I couldn’t work out what the policeman with the two teddy bears was trying to tell me!






We started at the Bazaar area near the Yu Yuan Gardens and the Temple of the City God, it is very touristy, but this Saturday morning not very crowded. It was my first time that someone wanted to take my picture. At first I didn’t get what was happening, the woman asked if I could take a picture, and I said ‘sure’ reaching out to get her camera, but no. I had to be on the picture, together with her mother and her 2 children, one of the girls really not wanting to be in the picture! It was a fun experience.






I also made a lot of pictures of the dragons statues at the entrances of many buildings, this was one of the most peculiar ones.





















I also love taking pictures of merchandise, there was so much stuff here. And all very colourful.





















We then entered the Temple of the City God
































Also here, lots of parents teaching their children how to say their prayers. It is absolutely beautiful here and I would anyone recommend visiting this place.











We then went on to Yu Yuan Gardens which is almost just around the corner. It was busy here (being early is key here), but also nice and quiet, even though you are in the middle of the city.


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## Karin1984

We have more places to see, so we leave these lovely gardens and go to Fuxing Park to see the locals relax. The park itself is smaller than I thought it would be, but we did see all the guides write about. People come here to sing, dance, make music, talk, tai chi and play.





















It looks like they had an argument or heated discussion, but five seconds later they were all laughing.






And making sure the warning signs don’t fall into the water.






There was one more thing we wanted to see before going to Disneyland and that was the French Concession. On our way, we had fun signs.











This part had some French touches, but not that many.











Heineken is everywhere











It’s now lunch time and we are looking for a place to sit down and have a bite. We see a restaurant where all the western tourists are sitting and we see, yes, it has a menu in English, Western Style, burgers and fries. We do feel more adventures now, so we go to a dumpling place we passed earlier and we don’t speak Chinese, the guy behind the counter doesn’t speak English, we point at the menu and pay. We get these 2 huge dumplings for 10 Yuan (about 1 euro) and they are delicious! I have no idea if they are stuffed with beef or pork, but they are so good we order another portion.






On our way back to the station we pass this tea shop, must be good, if it’s worth queuing for!






In the subway we end up in a car with poems on the handles, in all languages, not just Chinese and English, but also saw Hungarian.






We decide to go back to the hotel and get a taxi to Disneyland. Earlier than expected , but there is too little time to do anything else.  At the hotel we order a taxi, they probably have some kind of agreement with a taxi company. We pay at the hotel (200 Yuan) in advance and the concierge helps us to make sure the taxi driver knows to drop us off at the Toy Story Hotel. I think the drive was about an hour, we left around 1 and we arrived around 2. Loved all the polaroid pictures of the Toy Story characters.
















It’s too early to go to the room, so we leave our luggage and go to the bus stop to go to the park. We never waited long for a bus. They came quite regular.






As it’s now about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, it’s not very busy to get in. But you can see the many gates for the morning crowds.











We first go to set up the Photopass, we want it for two days (so tomorrow and the day after tomorrow), but the girl already installs everything on my phone. To be honest, I would recommend for non-Chinese guests to go to the Photopass store to have a CM do the work on your phone. I’m still not exactly sure how the system works, but it seems complicated with codes and all. It didn’t immediately work, so the CM used her phone and Bluetooth to get my app connected.

A picture of the map where Photopass is offered, but not all photographers are there the entire day. The ones in front of the castle were there to 4 PM, I think.






We check out some queues, but it’s kinda busy everywhere. Very busy. 150 minutes for Tron, 105 minutes for the Single Riders. Pirates is closed (out of order)











We decide to only watch the parade at 3 and then go back to the hotel to go to the room and get changed for dinner in the Royal Banquet Hall. But the parade route was shortened due to construction work, so the crowds along the route were massive and we weren’t able to get a good spot. Also the heat and being tired didn’t help for my mood, at this moment, I longed for the peace and quiet of the temple we saw this morning.

Duffy’s Splash pre-parade, cute with 2 floats, catchy song and lots of water sprays.











Then the actual parade began, couldn’t really see it and therefore not really enjoy it, but I liked it. Yes, there isn’t much of an ongoing theme or pattern, but it’s bright and colourful and it made me happy. That this parade has Flynn Rider in it, has nothing to do with my opinion ;-)































But it is all about the Mulan float and it’s absolutely gorgeous!











Oh, one creepy thing that happened during the parade. We couldn’t stand at the front,  you had the crowd watching, the walk way, and then we stood close to the restaurants. So we could see the people walking by and the crowd. At one point, just before the Rapunzel float came, a guard (one of those in the blue uniforms) walks by, takes out his phone, takes a bunch of pictures of Rapunzel and then leaves again. To this day I wonder if this man was off duty, either way he was still in uniform. And to take so clearly pictures of one actress… It was kinda creepy.


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## Karin1984

We go back to the hotel, settle in. And it’s a nice room, regular value style hotel. Maybe a little bit above value. But the best thing is: This hotel is new! Everything is nice and clean, not a crack in the tiles in the bathroom.











Back to the park and back to the castle!
















The castle is so huge, but in real life it’s not as bad as I thought it would be when I saw pictures of it. It’s definitely not my favourite castle, I like it when it’s dedicated to 1 princess, it adds personality. This castle mainly says: “I’m a huge castle.”






Unfortunately for my Sleeping Beauty-loving friend, but Aurora was out of office and Minnie was greeting us at the Royal Banquet Hall, who was nice and in a pretty dress.






We had dinner at 5:30 PM, and it was so quiet in the restaurant, when we came in maybe 10 other families? But so many CMs! I kid you not, we had at least 8 or 9 CMs at our table. One to bring us to our seats, one to take our drinks, one to take our other orders, to bring water, to bring food, to take away the plates, and I am sure I am forgetting some things. I think it was because they had more staff than they needed at that time, or at least I hope so. They did have nice costumes.






We were seated in the Sleeping Beauty room.






For those interested, please see this picture of the menu











I chose the Gazpacho for starters. Very nice, I really enjoyed this dish.






First we met King Mickey!






Knight Donald, after him, there was a little dance intermission.






And Daisy! Interaction with all 4 characters was okay, but as always with character dinners a bit rushed.






My main course was the steak and potato, I loved it. With Mickey Shaped carrots.






And the slipper dessert!






After dinner, which is reasonably priced for a character dinner, we toured around and I loved all the paintings.






Concept art of Cinderella in the bathrooms. Beautiful, but the place was a bit weird. (The men’s room had paintings of Maleficent…)






We left the restaurant and found the mosaics right under the restaurant. Merida being my favourite






Most important thing of tonight was to get to Pirates. Luckily it was working again, single riders line closed, and a 45 minute (in reality 55) queue. We almost saw a fight. Two girls all of a sudden started to hit each other, but were quickly separated by the others in their party. There were people trying to push their way through the queue, but we didn’t let them pass. The queue is very nice with lots of things to look at.











We were in so much luck, without having to say anything we got to sit in the first row. And it was just amazing! It was everything I hoped for it was and more. I could sit in this ride all night.
















As we have 2 more nights and the fireworks in Shanghai is almost identical to the fireworks in Paris, we decide to skip Ignite the Dream.

We pass 7DMT with a 30 minute queue, but we go single rider which takes about 15 minutes. (Can I say it amuses me that the male CMs at this ride are dressed up like Gaston)






Snugly






I like this ride, not my favourite, but it’s fun. I got only confused for a second when we were at the top and saw many lights in the distance, I thought: which park is that? Then I realized, it’s no park, it’s the city of Shanghai in the distance.

We then moved to Tron which 40 minute queue (in reality about 30-35 minutes). One thing that really astounded me was how dirty the queue was. There was garbage everywhere, especially in the beginning of the queue. There were a few garbage cans, but not a lot, those that were there, were overflowing. With crowds as massive as this, it’s probably not possible to go into the queue and clean.






Also Tron enters my list of best Disney rides ever! That you sit in a motor cycle and not in a regular car adds so much to the ride. One tip: Do not do this ride shortly after dinner.

I don’t have  a lot of pictures, but we did Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, Peter Pan and Snow White’s Adventure all with a 5 minute queue in the last hour of the opening hours. Voyage was ok, not really special, a bit too much over the top. Peter Pan was good, nice to see the updates, I could do with less projections. And Snow White’s Adventure, fun to have seen, but not worth repeating.











And just before closing we see that Mickey is still meeting! We are the one before the last group of the day.






We go back to the bus and back to the hotel. All in all, I was pretty happy how much we accomplished in the last hour. When crowds are massive: Skip the fireworks and have a plan for the last 2 hours of park opening.


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## Agent 86

Karin1984 said:


> Again, could have been shorter if we didn't make so many mistakes with the trains. I really don't think it's the easiest system to use for foreigners.



It's a little late now, but I can't recommend Google Maps highly enough for the trains in Tokyo. It will tell you exactly what you need to know, including platform numbers at each station.


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## Agent 86

Karin1984 said:


> However, we had some difficulties with Cast Members, there were incidents.



That's very disappointing (and surprising) to hear. I've never experienced any issue with the Cast Members in Tokyo being anything less than excellent - they all seem to go above and beyond to make us feel welcome and to respond to any query (dependent upon their English skills of course). Perhaps they were relatively new Cast Members and unsure of their roles and not confident in their English skills, so they felt the best option was to not engage out of fear of doing it wrong?


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## Karin1984

Agent 86 said:


> It's a little late now, but I can't recommend Google Maps highly enough for the trains in Tokyo. It will tell you exactly what you need to know, including platform numbers at each station.



I don't remember, to be honest.  We did have portable wifi and did use it to look up which trains to take. But the platform numbers, I really don't remember seeing those.  

If I do decide to go back to Japan I will check 



Agent 86 said:


> That's very disappointing (and surprising) to hear. I've never experienced any issue with the Cast Members in Tokyo being anything less than excellent - they all seem to go above and beyond to make us feel welcome and to respond to any query (dependent upon their English skills of course). Perhaps they were relatively new Cast Members and unsure of their roles and not confident in their English skills, so they felt the best option was to not engage out of fear of doing it wrong?



Could be, we were right after the summer season, is that a time to hire new CMs? I remember one incident that could be regarding a new CM in the Volcania restaurant. The picture menu clearly stated in both languages that you had to pick one out of the four categories if you wanted to pay the fixed price for a set. The CM kept insisting you had to choose one dish in category 1, skip 2 and then either pick category 3 or 4. We had a language problem on top of that, to not hold the line and to stop the discussion I decided to just pick one from each category and pay more than the set price. When I get to the register, the CM charges me for a set, when I asked she did confirm I had understood the menu correctly. That is the only time I think we had a new CM for sure.

For the rest it was mainly at rides and at crowd control where I felt there was a difference in guests. I knew in advance they made a distinction in what they offer to non-Japanese guests in the maps, I had read on TDRExplorer the tip to pick up a Japanese map for the seasonal snacks and souvenirs (which we translated with a scan app). So maybe I shouldnt be surprised in other differences. Or maybe I was more disappointed as I had read so many wonderful reviews about the CMs in Tokyo, maybe my expectations were too high.

We also had good interactions, when we tried to take a castle selfie, a CM approached us to help and we spend several minutes before he was satisfied with the picture. Also a very sweet CM in Mermaid Lagoon who didn't speak English, but really tried her utmost best to help us to explain where Prince Eric was meeting. And I remember thinking that it is not necessary in Disney Tokyo to study a map to find out where to go, cause as soon as we or other guests opened a map a CM appeared to help you in the right direction.


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## Karin1984

I have finished the first video  Disneyland Shanghai!


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## katt789

I'm here!! Excited to see how your experience was compared to ours!!!

Hope you enjoyed everything! Looks like SHDR was pretty good so far!!


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## AdamEfimoff

I am seeing photos of Shanghai where is the pollution?


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## Karin1984

AdamEfimoff said:


> I am seeing photos of Shanghai where is the pollution?


There is not always pollution in Shanghai, like it doesn't always rain in Europe.



katt789 said:


> I'm here!! Excited to see how your experience was compared to ours!!!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed everything! Looks like SHDR was pretty good so far!!



Welcome! I think the experiences was the same for the parks. It was just overwhelming and great to be there and to tick off the three Asian castles! It was a great experience, but we did way too much in a short time. Still thinking of going back to Asia next year to take my time in Japan. (Unless I get a change of position and move to New York City for the coming 2 years! The chances are small, but still!)

I hope I will continue with the report, but life intervened and I realize that the negatives of the trip hold me back to continue to write on. I know I have the next day of SHDR ahead of me, which started with a fight between me and my friend, so not looking forward to the next installment. Hopefully during the Xmas break, I'll get back to this! 

So to pump myself up for the next day I have to write about, here a some of the Photopass pictures of the second day. Pretty as a princess ;-)


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## Karin1984

Happy New Year everyone! 

*August 27th*

We get up early, skip breakfast and go to the buses. It’s not too busy here, but when we get to the park… Oh. My. God. It’s 1 hour before opening, and we are stranded in a sea of people.

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It’s hot and uncomfortable. There are a few people trying to push their way to the front, but it was okay. Only, this all doesn’t help anyone’s mood. We have a little discussion about buying Fastpasses. My thought: I am not going back anytime soon, I want to experience some things and what is 100 euro on my entire vacation budget. Nikki thinks differently. She has the argument that last night we did a lot in the last hour and why spend the money on it when you can do it in the last hour. Which is true, but those weren’t the exciting rides. We are both quiet for the rest of the hour.

When finally the gates open, we almost immediately run into Goofy and Pluto at the end of Mickey Avenue. Meeting Characters always improves a situation, so we start the day with this meet. We suspected Goofy being able to speak English, Pluto not so much. I like that the photographers here are sensible enough to just keep snapping, it is nice to have interaction pictures. And some weird ones.

Like this one, with me thinking: I am surrounded by dogs… Get me out of here! (I’m more a cat person )       

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We continue to our first big ride of the day. The queue at Tron is short, so we walk right on. Strangely enough I didn’t make pictures in the morning, but luckily we have Photopass. I think I like the ride better at night, but I’m not sure. I think you should experience the ride twice. By day and by night.

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We then move on to Buzz Lightyear, we walk on as well, and immediately get to do it twice as Nikki’s gun isn’t working properly the first time. It’s a fun game, easier than in the other parks.

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We walk back to Fantasyland which is deserted. So finally getting some pictures without other people in it

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We browse around some shops. And they are absolutely beautifully decorated. It’s a bit more over the top and less subtle. If you compare it to the Emporium shops in the other parks, those are more decorated with things they bought at flea markets etc. Things that actually were around in the beginning of the 20th century. Here it’s all made and larger than life. Disney on steroids. But all within the theme.

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Huge castle pictures!

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We decide to continue with another thing we haven’t done yet: Alice’s maze. I’m not a big fan of the Tim Burton movie, but I also don’t hate it. I do love the look. The maze is nice and spacey, especially if you compare it to Paris’ maze. And the art is just gorgeous.

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Gigantic squirrel attack!

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## TLPL

Where are the crowd ??!?!!


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## Karin1984

TLPL said:


> Where are the crowd ??!?!!



Some pictures are good angles, but I think most people immediately went for Soarin and Roaring Rapids instead of Tron.


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## TLPL

Karin1984 said:


> Some pictures are good angles, but I think most people immediately went for Soarin and Roaring Rapids instead of Tron.


So that's a good idea to FP roaring and go start with Tomorrowland at rope drop like you did then? With their electronic FP booking App is it easy to book FP first thing in the morning?


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## Karin1984

TLPL said:


> So that's a good idea to FP roaring and go start with Tomorrowland at rope drop like you did then? With their electronic FP booking App is it easy to book FP first thing in the morning?



We didn't have the option to book FP's electronically. We only had at the machines and buy them at Guest Services. But I would indeed go for an option like that, book an FP for a ride on one side of the park and then rope drop the other side.


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## Karin1984

We go back to the castle to see which princess is meeting and to our surprise and joy, it’s Rapunzel! Love little meet, just the perfect bubbly personality we needed to brighten up our day!

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Needless to say, she loved my bag!
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We talked about my dress and that it looked familiar to her. And if I made the dress myself. She was mimicking how Pascal makes her dresses with his tiny hands. Apparantly it is possible for chameleons to do embroidery as well 

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It’s finally time for breakfast, we go back to Mickey Avenue and go to Remy’s Patisserie for some breakfast.

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I get the Mike melon bread and the chicken curry puff. Not that I am that hungry, but I just want to try different things. I loved the curry puff, the melon bread was a bit dry, not really my thing. The nice thing about this place is that they have a big band recording of I see the Light. I want that recording. 

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As you can see 70 RMB for all this, and I believe at the time it was about 8 euro / 9 USD. So very reasonably priced.     

As we sit there, we see a group of garden CMs appear with an American garden CM/imagineer. For a moment he’s confused to hear people speaking English/seeing Western people, when we say hi in English, he replies in Chinese. 

I think it’s about 10:30, when we get up as there is a little show starting. It’s Mickey and the Disneyland Band! It’s just a cute little show, there to make people happy 

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When we want to walk on, we see that Duffy is out and meeting. We are not Duffy fans, but a character without a line… We’re in!  Especially when the character kisses my hand 






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Bear Hug!

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We walk around, but it’s hot and we have to slow down. Queues are massive everywhere. We see that at the characters of the Lion King are out, and again, no one in line. Meeting characters is not a big thing here, so we don’t feel guilty of taking our time.

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When meeting a monkey, always curtsey politely.




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We walk back to the Pirates area. We plan to see the Pirate stunt show as it is time to get out of the sun.

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I loved the fire alarm next to this decoration  
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When we get into the building, there are several paintings of the previous productions, and can anyone tell me why Jack Sparrow participated in King Arthur as an angel?

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I liked the pre-show, and I think that if you turn off the sound in your head, and just looked at people, I think you can understand what’s going on. It’s a bit like an English Panto, I think. As you can see, my camera really starts to object to the heat and fogs up a bit, which I didn’t notice till I got home. The show itself is okay, not very special, but it’s a nice and entertaining, especially when it’s hot outside and you need a break.

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## buteraa

I'm really enjoying your trip report.  What an amazing opportunity to visit all of the Asian parks.


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