# Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo



## Jandreas

Has anyone from the US done all 3 in one trip? Any planning/travel suggestions would be much appreciated!


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## BlakeyD

The only major issue is see would be weather - when Tokyo & Shanghai are pleasant, Hong Kong is HOT! 

Hong Kong is nicest mid-winter and others would be cold.


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## Jandreas

How many days are recommended for each one? What is travel like between the cities?


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## katt789

I'm from Canada and in the fall we did a 6 week trip including all 3 parks! We took longer because we figured it would be the only time we were over there so we wanted to see it all (Aka, we stopped in Beijing/Great Wall, and did Kyoto, Kanazawa, Matsumoto, Mt Fuji, Nara, and Hiroshima in Japan too)

-First, sort out what aside from the Disney parks you want to see
-Do you want to explore the countries a little bit more, or just stick to the cities that the parks are in?
-Our trip involved, 4 days in Tokyo, 4 days in Tokyo Disney, 2 days in Shanghai, 3 days in SDL, 2 days in Hong Kong, 2 days in HKDL

*-BIGGEST THING: CHINESE VISA!* IF you are only doing Disney, or 1 day in the city & a few park days, you can use the *144 hour "in transit" visa*, and that will save you around $200. (the 5 year Visa for us is something like $180, the 10 yr is $200 ish)

-*Tokyo Disney* I would advise *4 days*, you cannot park hop the first 2 days, and need to decide which park on which day for those first 2 days. DL has a lot of similar attractions and has a very Magic Kingdom feel to it, it's almost surreal walking through it, expecting things to be in places, and they're not lol. The entertainment is incredible, don't miss Hunny Hunt, Monster's Inc!! (also they have Tiki Room & Country Bears but they're different versions and are hilarious) Disney SEA, is just so unique and amazing and beautiful! Again, incredible entertainment, amazing rides, Fantasmic is my favorite version here! Don't miss: Big Band Beat, Journey to the Center of the Earth. (you can avoid the morning craziness if you skip Toy Story Mania, which is the same as in the states) Also try all the popcorn flavors, and the Chandu Tail! 

-*Shanghai Disney you could do in 2 days. *Biggest advice: do NOT try to criss cross back & fourth across the park. We set aside the 1st day to head right, into Adventure Isle/Treasure Cove, and watch the parade/castle show and explore half of Fantasyland. Day 2 we started in Tomorrowland, then watched the shows again, and did the opposite side of Fantasyland. Our third day we explored Mickey Ave, and took our time heading in, meeting some characters and then headed to Pirates. DON'T MISS: Pirates, Tron, castle show (day & nighttime)

-*Hong Kong Disney *can easily be done in *2 days, or even 1* We enjoyed having 2 days because we liked to watch the shows multiple times. We were there in November, on a weekend, it was warm enough to wear dresses, and we experienced little to no crowds. DON'T MISS: Mystic Manor, Grizzly Gulch Railway, Mickey & the Wondrous Book, Festival of the Lion King, I've heard the new Iron Man attraction is pretty cool too. ( folk show is different from Dak's). The park is little, and very much like Disneyland in California. There's enough to do, especially if you watch the shows, and meet some characters (only place you can meet Gelatoni, and Anna & Elsa have bare minimum wait times!) Park opens around 10:00am, and parts of the park (Grizzly Gulch & Mystic Point) don't open until even later, so you have a bit of a laid back morning when you're here.

-Tokyo Disney hotels are expensive, you can choose to stay at a "good neighbor" hotel (not actually what they're called but I can't remember, they're the non official disney ones that are on the TDL website), such as the Hilton, and get transportation into the parks. The cheaper option is to stay further away & transit in each morning. We chose an AirBnB near Kasai station and there was a direct bus that took about 30 mins into Disney.

-Shanghai has its hotels, but is also very accessible by train, we stayed 2 stops away on line 11 at an AirBnB, took us less time to get to the park gate than it would take to get to MK from Pop Century, lol. Hotels are SUPER nice here, but pricey, even for Toy Story being a "value" resort, it's on the pricey side.

-HKDL we chose to stay onsite, partially because the resort is pretty far from the city, and partially cause we wanted to end our trip with some extra magic. The Hollywood Hotel is almost more comparable to a deluxe in WDW, it's super comfy beds, indoor hallways, lounge, 2 ts restaurants and 1 QS. There are busses into the parks that run very frequently and take less than 10 minutes.

**One thing to note about HKDL is the COST OF FOOD! It's seriously OUTRAGEOUS, it's more worth it to go to the lounge in the hotel since the costs are basically the same as the QS. If we had known this, we would have stocked up on groceries before we checked in, even just to have snacks/breakfast! But because we were so isolated it was hard to do that.

-Tokyo's food prices are about on par with WDW, pay attention to the "special sets" for example, we had lunch at Gramma Sara's with the special fall set, it cost approx $15 and we got a drink, soup, full plate (chicken, veggies, rice, large enough portion) and dessert! It was much more than you'd get for that cost at wdw. Shanghai was pretty average too, and the Disney train station has a few shops/bakery's that we'd stop in to grab breakfast on the way in.

-Food in Tokyo is the MOST "Westernized" of all the 3 parks, you can easily find many different options of pasta, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, etc.
-Hong Kong has a variety of options, but most are Asian inspired dishes
-Same goes for Shanghai, most of the food there is stuff that picky eaters might have trouble with. Pinnochios has pizza, and in all of the parks, when in doubt, head to Tomorrowland, you'll find some form of burgers! Lol.

I'm going to pause here & try to get my thoughts together and post a few more posts in a bit, lol, I feel like this is kinda all over the place! My TR is on the stall right now as I need to recover my harddrive on my old laptop, but feel free to check it out, I've also got Vlogs from 2 of the parks, and you can ask away on any questions you might have!


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## katt789

*Time of Year to go:*
-Check the regular holidays for China/Japan to make sure that crowds aren't going to be CRAZY. Make sure that your Tokyo Disney days are WEEKDAYS, Shanghai, try to do the same, whereas it doesn't really matter in HK. Tokyo is the busiest of the parks, and a regular weekend feels like a peak time in the states parks
-Tokyo has the most seasonal events going on, you want to avoid the opening/closing weekends of those as well, crowds will also be a little lighter during the week in between events (ie, Frozen Fantasy closes, then there's a week of nothing special before Easter starts). They have daily operational entertainment special for Halloween, Christmas, Summer, Easter, and others.
-Consider weather for time of year too, Tokyo can get cold enough to snow over the winter, but is scorching hot during the summers, spring/fall seem to be the best times (April after the school term starts, before Easter, or the first few weeks of May I believe are the best for crowds). We were there Oct 11-14th, crowds were good, lines were longer for some rides but the park didn't feel congested, and the weather was nice, but we did need layers once the sun went down. Also be careful in the Halloween season, Tokyo has "costume days" and those will be much more congested than the days where costumes are not allowed

*Shanghai:*
-Starting more details here because this park is the hardest to find information about!
You will find the most culture shock here/anywhere in China specifically, in the crowded situations, there is no such thing as personal space, be prepared for people pushing/shoving and potentially cutting in lines. The worst of this is usually right at park opening/during a fp run. I'd suggest rope drop straight to Soaring, ride Pirates, then circle back to the fp kiosk to pick up something for later. (we wasted the first 30 minutes of park opening getting a soaring fp)
-Squat toilets. They are in majority here, there ARE Western toilets in each bathroom though, and the bonus is most locals don't want to use them, so there's never a line (pertaining to Disney, outside the resort, it's hit or miss, but most places should have at least 1 stall that's Westernized.
-I did touch on food a bit in the earlier post, but again, a few Americanized items here & there, when in the city, you'll have no problem finding chain restaurants, heck my roommate had her first Hooter's experience in Shanghai lol!!
-Fast passes: are the paper fast pass style, there is a kiosk in each land that holds fp's for ALL attractions in that land (that have fast passes). This is what makes the morning fp run so chaotic, and why I'd advise to just ride things standby first, then go back to pull fp's later. This is especially true with Tron, so that you get to ride it at night when it's all lit up!
-Characters: all have set m&g spots! Stitch pops up in Tomorrowland, Princesses are right behind the castle and will swap out every 30 mins, Jack Sparrow si over in Treasure Cove, and over by the Tarzan theater you can find Judy &Nick or Timon & friends/Jungle Book characters. Fab 5 & Duffy crew all on Mickey ave in the morning.

-Shanghai City: we did 2 days, one in Shanghai where we hit the popular spots like the Bund, Pudong (Disney store here is amazing, also where you find the Pearl tower) French Concession, Yuyuan Gardens/shopping bazaar, then did a little trip out to Zhujiajiao Town, a river town with canals everywhere, popular tourist spot, lots of shopping/authentic stuff.
-BRING/BUY FACE MASKS!!! YOU WILL MOST LIKELY NEED THEM! Download an air quality app for your phone (and make sure it's set to American standards, not China lol) If anyone in your group is feeling sick, or has respiratory issues (I've got mild asthma) they're going to be bothered by it when you're spending all day everyday outside. Smog wasn't too much of an issue for us, we were blessed with blue skies for the first 2 days of Disney, but after spending 3 days in a row outside in the parks with no masks, I was definitely feeling it and opted to stay in the next afternoon when my friends went out.  
-Transit is pretty easy here, the trains are pretty self explanatory, and English signs are found easily.
-Make sure to have a VPN app on your phone/tablet while in China!! EVERYTHING is blocked, google, facebook, instagram, etc. It's a hot mess, WiFi in general is also legit just the worst thing ever in China, the best we found was at Disney (connection/speed wise, it was pretty readily available). Consider downloading We-Chat simply just to stay connected with your friends if you can't text and the VPN isn't working
-Trains are super cheap in China
-DO NOT drink the tap water, buy bottles, we were staying right beside a grocery store, so I bought a couple huge bottles to fill up a smaller one that I'd take into the parks with me. There ARE fountains that have filtered drinking water scattered around the parks as well! 


*Tokyo*
-This is where you'll have to do the most research on what you want to do, there is simply SO MUCH in the city that you could spend a week in the city and barely scratch the surface! We're in the midst of planning a 2nd trip to Tokyo and we have a week in the city and are doing 100% different things! IT'S INSANE! I suggest taking the time to at least check out the following: -Senso-Ji temple, Ueno Park, Harajuku, Shibuya Crossing/shopping area. There's a Disney store in the last 2 areas, and the Shibuya one is incredible! (you can also buy Tokyo Disney park tickets on the 4th floor, we had major struggles trying to buy them online in advance, so we did this and it worked out great)
-Mt Fuji, there are plenty of places to see it that are an hour or so from Tokyo, we're planning to spend a day in Hakone on this upcoming trip to hopefully get a better view of it than we did last time.
-Depending on time of year, there can either be cherry blossoms you'll see everywhere, or autumn foliage which is equally as beautiful
-Think about if you want to spend some more time in Japan, you can always bullet train down to Kyoto to explore, or over to Osaka, where you can hit up Universal. If you do end up down in that area, I highly recommend going to Nara, it's the small town where the deer roam freely and you can buy crackers to feed them and if you bow to them they'll bow back, super cute and lots of fun. 
-Sanrio Puroland is a Hello Kitty theme park just outside of Tokyo, much more kiddie like, but still a potential place you might want to check out.
-Transit is EXPENSIVE, we were in Tokyo for 10 days and in that time spent well over $100 on transit rides, it would've been more affordable to buy the monthly pass rather than load up every time. The nice thing is that if you use google maps to transit plan where you're going each day, it will tell you the approximate cost of the trip so you can try to plan that out in advance on if you should get the monthly pass.
-Pasmo cards (there is another one that I can't remember the name of) are cards you can buy from a machine at the train station that you pay a deposit for (that will be returned when you return the card) and then you can load up money on it whenever needed instead of having to pay each trip individually 
-If you're in the city and a sushi fan, check out Hamazushi, it's a chain restaurant, but it's delicious, and a conveyor belt sushi place, and hands down our favorite restaurant! lol
-Also Japan is seriously like, the safest place in the world. 

-Fast Passes: Go straight for Hunny Hunt, ride standby, circle back to Monster's Inc, fp it, then ride Space. Hunny Hunt & Monster's will have the longest waits of the park during the day. DisneySea, I would go straight for Journey to the Center of the Earth, ride standby, if you want to ride again, grab a fast pass. Circle over to ToT, then Indiana Jones.
-Show Lottery's: Because of crowds, you have to "win the lottery" to see the shows in prime locations. In DL, the lottery is located next to Space Mtn, it is for One Man's Dream II, and the nighttime projection show. You scan your tickets, and pick a show time, and if you win, you win, if not, you don't. The same goes for Big Band Beat & Shadowland in DisneySea. Now, if you DON'T win the lottery, you can still watch One Man's Dream standby the very first show of the day, BBB, you can watch from the upper balcony standby, and the nighttime show you can watch from further back in the hub.
-Characters: roam pretty freely, they stereotypically come out on the :15 in Fantasyland, and :45 out by the front gate. (I *think* those are the right times, they might be opposite). You'll find ALL sorts of characters, fur, rare in the states, Esmeralda, Princesses, Princes (with or without their respective couple). Pocahontas is found in Critter Country. DisneySea, you can find Ariel in a set meet & greet outside Mermaid Lagoon, Eric (and sometimes Max) either right at the entrance or inside somewhere. Aladdin & Jas on the Arabian Coast (though they meet separately) Stitch & Angel are also found here, Duffy has his own m&g in cape cod (which will have LONG lines) We've seen the aristocats, cruella, and the rescuers wandering around as well, usually in the new york streets area.

*
Hong Kong*
-We spent 2 days in the city, one day we did Victoria Peak/the Peak tram, and went to a couple shopping districts, and also Ozone, a super pricey bar on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton, provides gorgeous views of the city. Our second day we took the fairy over to Lamma Island, where we did a hike from one coast to the next & spent some time on the beach & had a seaside lunch of fresh seafood.
-Food & transit is super cheap in HK as well
-English is pretty widely spoken/on street signs and the like.
 -Again, only drink bottled water here. They provide you with bottled water in the hotel rooms at Disney if you choose to stay onsite. I believe there were 4 per day? I could be wrong.

-Park plans: -Iron Man first, it's new and will have longest waits
-Head to Mystic Point right at 11 when it opens, ride it, then go to Grizzly Gulch, we then circled through Toy Story land, rode some rides, did Fantasyland and watched some shows before Tomorrowland. There are only like, 3 rides with fast passes here, and I don't think we even used any.
-Characters: there is an app, and it will tell you who's coming out when. Princesses/Alice typically meet beside the castle,on both sides, Mickey & Minnie up by the front of the park, Tinkerbell has a set area in Fantasyland, and Duffy & co have a set spot on Main st in one of the buildings


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## Jandreas

katt789 said:


> *Time of Year to go:*
> -Check the regular holidays for China/Japan to make sure that crowds aren't going to be CRAZY. Make sure that your Tokyo Disney days are WEEKDAYS, Shanghai, try to do the same, whereas it doesn't really matter in HK. Tokyo is the busiest of the parks, and a regular weekend feels like a peak time in the states parks
> -Tokyo has the most seasonal events going on, you want to avoid the opening/closing weekends of those as well, crowds will also be a little lighter during the week in between events (ie, Frozen Fantasy closes, then there's a week of nothing special before Easter starts). They have daily operational entertainment special for Halloween, Christmas, Summer, Easter, and others.
> -Consider weather for time of year too, Tokyo can get cold enough to snow over the winter, but is scorching hot during the summers, spring/fall seem to be the best times (April after the school term starts, before Easter, or the first few weeks of May I believe are the best for crowds). We were there Oct 11-14th, crowds were good, lines were longer for some rides but the park didn't feel congested, and the weather was nice, but we did need layers once the sun went down. Also be careful in the Halloween season, Tokyo has "costume days" and those will be much more congested than the days where costumes are not allowed
> 
> *Shanghai:*
> -Starting more details here because this park is the hardest to find information about!
> You will find the most culture shock here/anywhere in China specifically, in the crowded situations, there is no such thing as personal space, be prepared for people pushing/shoving and potentially cutting in lines. The worst of this is usually right at park opening/during a fp run. I'd suggest rope drop straight to Soaring, ride Pirates, then circle back to the fp kiosk to pick up something for later. (we wasted the first 30 minutes of park opening getting a soaring fp)
> -Squat toilets. They are in majority here, there ARE Western toilets in each bathroom though, and the bonus is most locals don't want to use them, so there's never a line (pertaining to Disney, outside the resort, it's hit or miss, but most places should have at least 1 stall that's Westernized.
> -I did touch on food a bit in the earlier post, but again, a few Americanized items here & there, when in the city, you'll have no problem finding chain restaurants, heck my roommate had her first Hooter's experience in Shanghai lol!!
> -Fast passes: are the paper fast pass style, there is a kiosk in each land that holds fp's for ALL attractions in that land (that have fast passes). This is what makes the morning fp run so chaotic, and why I'd advise to just ride things standby first, then go back to pull fp's later. This is especially true with Tron, so that you get to ride it at night when it's all lit up!
> -Characters: all have set m&g spots! Stitch pops up in Tomorrowland, Princesses are right behind the castle and will swap out every 30 mins, Jack Sparrow si over in Treasure Cove, and over by the Tarzan theater you can find Judy &Nick or Timon & friends/Jungle Book characters. Fab 5 & Duffy crew all on Mickey ave in the morning.
> 
> -Shanghai City: we did 2 days, one in Shanghai where we hit the popular spots like the Bund, Pudong (Disney store here is amazing, also where you find the Pearl tower) French Concession, Yuyuan Gardens/shopping bazaar, then did a little trip out to Zhujiajiao Town, a river town with canals everywhere, popular tourist spot, lots of shopping/authentic stuff.
> -BRING/BUY FACE MASKS!!! YOU WILL MOST LIKELY NEED THEM! Download an air quality app for your phone (and make sure it's set to American standards, not China lol) If anyone in your group is feeling sick, or has respiratory issues (I've got mild asthma) they're going to be bothered by it when you're spending all day everyday outside. Smog wasn't too much of an issue for us, we were blessed with blue skies for the first 2 days of Disney, but after spending 3 days in a row outside in the parks with no masks, I was definitely feeling it and opted to stay in the next afternoon when my friends went out.
> -Transit is pretty easy here, the trains are pretty self explanatory, and English signs are found easily.
> -Make sure to have a VPN app on your phone/tablet while in China!! EVERYTHING is blocked, google, facebook, instagram, etc. It's a hot mess, WiFi in general is also legit just the worst thing ever in China, the best we found was at Disney (connection/speed wise, it was pretty readily available). Consider downloading We-Chat simply just to stay connected with your friends if you can't text and the VPN isn't working
> -Trains are super cheap in China
> -DO NOT drink the tap water, buy bottles, we were staying right beside a grocery store, so I bought a couple huge bottles to fill up a smaller one that I'd take into the parks with me. There ARE fountains that have filtered drinking water scattered around the parks as well!
> 
> 
> *Tokyo*
> -This is where you'll have to do the most research on what you want to do, there is simply SO MUCH in the city that you could spend a week in the city and barely scratch the surface! We're in the midst of planning a 2nd trip to Tokyo and we have a week in the city and are doing 100% different things! IT'S INSANE! I suggest taking the time to at least check out the following: -Senso-Ji temple, Ueno Park, Harajuku, Shibuya Crossing/shopping area. There's a Disney store in the last 2 areas, and the Shibuya one is incredible! (you can also buy Tokyo Disney park tickets on the 4th floor, we had major struggles trying to buy them online in advance, so we did this and it worked out great)
> -Mt Fuji, there are plenty of places to see it that are an hour or so from Tokyo, we're planning to spend a day in Hakone on this upcoming trip to hopefully get a better view of it than we did last time.
> -Depending on time of year, there can either be cherry blossoms you'll see everywhere, or autumn foliage which is equally as beautiful
> -Think about if you want to spend some more time in Japan, you can always bullet train down to Kyoto to explore, or over to Osaka, where you can hit up Universal. If you do end up down in that area, I highly recommend going to Nara, it's the small town where the deer roam freely and you can buy crackers to feed them and if you bow to them they'll bow back, super cute and lots of fun.
> -Sanrio Puroland is a Hello Kitty theme park just outside of Tokyo, much more kiddie like, but still a potential place you might want to check out.
> -Transit is EXPENSIVE, we were in Tokyo for 10 days and in that time spent well over $100 on transit rides, it would've been more affordable to buy the monthly pass rather than load up every time. The nice thing is that if you use google maps to transit plan where you're going each day, it will tell you the approximate cost of the trip so you can try to plan that out in advance on if you should get the monthly pass.
> -Pasmo cards (there is another one that I can't remember the name of) are cards you can buy from a machine at the train station that you pay a deposit for (that will be returned when you return the card) and then you can load up money on it whenever needed instead of having to pay each trip individually
> -If you're in the city and a sushi fan, check out Hamazushi, it's a chain restaurant, but it's delicious, and a conveyor belt sushi place, and hands down our favorite restaurant! lol
> -Also Japan is seriously like, the safest place in the world.
> 
> -Fast Passes: Go straight for Hunny Hunt, ride standby, circle back to Monster's Inc, fp it, then ride Space. Hunny Hunt & Monster's will have the longest waits of the park during the day. DisneySea, I would go straight for Journey to the Center of the Earth, ride standby, if you want to ride again, grab a fast pass. Circle over to ToT, then Indiana Jones.
> -Show Lottery's: Because of crowds, you have to "win the lottery" to see the shows in prime locations. In DL, the lottery is located next to Space Mtn, it is for One Man's Dream II, and the nighttime projection show. You scan your tickets, and pick a show time, and if you win, you win, if not, you don't. The same goes for Big Band Beat & Shadowland in DisneySea. Now, if you DON'T win the lottery, you can still watch One Man's Dream standby the very first show of the day, BBB, you can watch from the upper balcony standby, and the nighttime show you can watch from further back in the hub.
> -Characters: roam pretty freely, they stereotypically come out on the :15 in Fantasyland, and :45 out by the front gate. (I *think* those are the right times, they might be opposite). You'll find ALL sorts of characters, fur, rare in the states, Esmeralda, Princesses, Princes (with or without their respective couple). Pocahontas is found in Critter Country. DisneySea, you can find Ariel in a set meet & greet outside Mermaid Lagoon, Eric (and sometimes Max) either right at the entrance or inside somewhere. Aladdin & Jas on the Arabian Coast (though they meet separately) Stitch & Angel are also found here, Duffy has his own m&g in cape cod (which will have LONG lines) We've seen the aristocats, cruella, and the rescuers wandering around as well, usually in the new york streets area.
> 
> *
> Hong Kong*
> -We spent 2 days in the city, one day we did Victoria Peak/the Peak tram, and went to a couple shopping districts, and also Ozone, a super pricey bar on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton, provides gorgeous views of the city. Our second day we took the fairy over to Lamma Island, where we did a hike from one coast to the next & spent some time on the beach & had a seaside lunch of fresh seafood.
> -Food & transit is super cheap in HK as well
> -English is pretty widely spoken/on street signs and the like.
> -Again, only drink bottled water here. They provide you with bottled water in the hotel rooms at Disney if you choose to stay onsite. I believe there were 4 per day? I could be wrong.
> 
> -Park plans: -Iron Man first, it's new and will have longest waits
> -Head to Mystic Point right at 11 when it opens, ride it, then go to Grizzly Gulch, we then circled through Toy Story land, rode some rides, did Fantasyland and watched some shows before Tomorrowland. There are only like, 3 rides with fast passes here, and I don't think we even used any.
> -Characters: there is an app, and it will tell you who's coming out when. Princesses/Alice typically meet beside the castle,on both sides, Mickey & Minnie up by the front of the park, Tinkerbell has a set area in Fantasyland, and Duffy & co have a set spot on Main st in one of the buildings


You are absolutely incredible!!!! I cannot thank you enough for all of your detailed info. This is exactly what I was looking for!
What was your feeling on safety? We will be traveling with our 18 yr old daughter.  Her goal is to work for Disney internationally when she graduates from college.

Were you comfortable on the various forms of transportation? Did you use a tour company for your sightseeing excursions? 
How did you handle the time change/jet lag? We have traveled to Europe but this is a totally different area for us.


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## katt789

Jandreas said:


> You are absolutely incredible!!!! I cannot thank you enough for all of your detailed info. This is exactly what I was looking for!
> What was your feeling on safety? We will be traveling with our 18 yr old daughter.  Her goal is to work for Disney internationally when she graduates from college.
> 
> Were you comfortable on the various forms of transportation? Did you use a tour company for your sightseeing excursions?
> How did you handle the time change/jet lag? We have traveled to Europe but this is a totally different area for us.



No worries!! I'm sure I'll remember more, or you can always feel free to ask if any specific questions come up!!

Japan: totally safe, always felt safe. I mean, the first day or so it's weird adjusting to the level of safety, because I'm used to having to be a bit on edge when wandering around alone at night at home, but Kara went off on her own when I was sick in Kyoto at night, and we never had problems. (that being said, it isn't a magical bubble so don't let your guard completely out the window lol)
Hong Kong was relatively safe, it felt pretty much like home, keep an eye out as you usually would.
Shanghai, I've heard horrible things, mainly about pick pocketing type things, but I used a purse instead of a backpack here and the girls would keep their bags on their fronts during the train trips and such if we were standing, just a general keep an eye on things. Train cars too can be especially crowded, and men can think this is a time to take advantage of the crowdedness, (as with anywhere, Japan actually has women only cars during peak times for this reason) We NEVER had problems with this, but it could arise anywhere. And we didn't blend in or anything, I've got super bright blonde hair, so we were clearly tourists. The other thing is to be careful of scammers either on the train near SDL, or outside the gates, or even inside the parks. People selling mickey head bands, light up toys, trying to sell you tickets or fast passes, heck, I've seen pictures of bad Mickey/Minnie mascots outside the front gates! Bahah!

That's awesome!! Does she want to do like, Disney English, or work entertainment in the parks? I could shoot some advice/tips for the second one lol!

We did everything ourselves, with the exception of our trip to the Great Wall, which we were planning on doing ourselves but our hostel had a tour with it, so we went with them and it was a decent price and amazing experience. For our other random trips we had went with the information I'd gotten from Lonely Planet, some were great (the trip off to Lamma Island in HK) where as the trip to Kawaguchi-co to see Mt Fuji in Japan was a total bust, though some things come from not 200% researching them, so we're doing more of that this time!

For jet leg, I had the 2 days off before we left, so I swapped over to Japan time as early as I could, Kara did not, and she was pretty okay when we got there. We were up pretty early most days anyways. Abby joined us in China and she had a tougher time, but her inner clock wakes her up around 6-7am every day anyways, so she was waking up crazy crazy early for the first bit. Now, COMING HOME WAS ABSOLUTE DEATH. It didn't help that I wasn't working for the week after, so I had no REAL reason to get out of bed, so I'd be up all night, and exhausted during the day!


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## zanzibar138

Jandreas said:


> You are absolutely incredible!!!! I cannot thank you enough for all of your detailed info. This is exactly what I was looking for!
> What was your feeling on safety? We will be traveling with our 18 yr old daughter.  Her goal is to work for Disney internationally when she graduates from college.
> 
> Were you comfortable on the various forms of transportation? Did you use a tour company for your sightseeing excursions?
> How did you handle the time change/jet lag? We have traveled to Europe but this is a totally different area for us.



Well kat789 has done such a great job of dishing out tips, I'm not sure if I can really add anything of further value lol! If you have any more specific questions on Shanghai or HK though, feel free to ask. I haven't been to Tokyo yet.

Just addressing your questions about safety and jetlag...

I felt completely comfortable travelling on my own in both Shanghai and HK. I have done solo trips to both places before, travelled on the metro, got around on my own at night, did my own trips into and around the city etc, and never felt the slightest bit uneasy. FWIW I am a young blonde woman too, so tend to stand out in those places! As for scammers and pick pocketers, I actually saw far more of this going on in Europe. Having said that, some of my friends were targeted by scammers (and knew to avoid them), so you do need to watch it. I also kept my handbag well within my field of vision at all times in crowded areas. For just wandering around, I didn't feel the need to keep such a close eye on it.

For jetlag, it may be a different area with a different time zone, but the same sort of things will generally apply. I haven't done anything as extreme as getting myself into a new time zone before I leave (I usually work right up until I leave so logistically it can't be done). I always change the time on my watch as soon as I get onto the plane though, and try to time my meals/napping around the new time zone. If you arrive early in the morning and you're absolutely dead tired, allow yourself a short nap (max 2 hours). Otherwise, power on through the day and go to bed at a reasonable hour that night. Even if you're not doing anything specific on your first day, set an alarm for that morning to get your body into the routine.

Hope that helps!


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## shelemm

Does jet lag affect you the same coming back from Europe as going there?  Coming back from Europe does not affect me much, nothing like going there.  Likewise, I find if I can sleep on the plane, going West to China/Japan does not give me terrible jet lag.  I remember leaving at 1:30pm and arriving at about 3:30pm.  If you can get 6 hours sleep out of the 14 hour flight, then jet lag should not be problematic.  I've been twice, and neither time did it affect me.

We go commando, so 2 days in Tokyo Disney(one for each park) worked for us.  Spending another day at Disney Sea is a good idea if you don't want to knock yourself out.


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## ZBSW

Hello!
If anyone still reads this topic,
Is there a suggested Disneyland order for price or convenience?

We're about to take our first wdw trip and are already planning our 2018-2019 vacation. Tokyo Disneyland is looking good, but wouldn't mind taking the full Asian tour with Hong Kong and Shanghai if the price is manageable.


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## BlakeyD

I think the cheapest way to do it would be book an open jaw itinerary home-Tokyo and Hong Kong-home (or reverse) and then book Tokyo-Shanghai-Hong Kong on a discount carrier. 

However, I'm not sure you can use the free transit visa if you go this route, so the cost of the visas might tip the scales into just booking it into one itinerary. Worth checking both ways for sure. 

Definitely build in some times to see the cities along with their respective parks. They are all amazing! 



ZBSW said:


> Hello!
> If anyone still reads this topic,
> Is there a suggested Disneyland order for price or convenience?
> 
> We're about to take our first wdw trip and are already planning our 2018-2019 vacation. Tokyo Disneyland is looking good, but wouldn't mind taking the full Asian tour with Hong Kong and Shanghai if the price is manageable.


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## DisneyRegulars

ZBSW said:


> Hello!
> If anyone still reads this topic,
> Is there a suggested Disneyland order for price or convenience?
> 
> We're about to take our first wdw trip and are already planning our 2018-2019 vacation. Tokyo Disneyland is looking good, but wouldn't mind taking the full Asian tour with Hong Kong and Shanghai if the price is manageable.


After doing all three I would say whatever makes the flights cheapest. We loved them all and they were all different. Shanghai is definitely the most culture shocky, so maybe save that one for middle and end with either Hong Kong or Tokyo on a high and more civilized note.


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## Nomarian

Great information.  The only thing I would add now is that Shanghai Disneyland has gone to digital fastpasses and you will need the app on your phone to get them.  It is actually much faster and easier this way since you don't have to run to a fastpass booth to get your paper tickets anymore.


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## meryll83

DisneyRegulars said:


> After doing all three I would say whatever makes the flights cheapest. We loved them all and they were all different. Shanghai is definitely the most culture shocky, so maybe save that one for middle and end with either Hong Kong or Tokyo on a high and more civilized note.


I’ve not done much research on Shanghai yet, but at some point in the future I’d like to do this and Hong Kong to “complete the set”.
What is it that’s a culture shock in Shanghai?


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## DisneyRegulars

meryll83 said:


> I’ve not done much research on Shanghai yet, but at some point in the future I’d like to do this and Hong Kong to “complete the set”.
> What is it that’s a culture shock in Shanghai?



Oh boy... Mainly crowds and people don’t know how to stand in line. They will literally try to squeeze past you any chance they get. It’s really bizarre and can be infuriating. When people do stand in line they stand waaaay to close. Little kids use the bathroom wherever they want. Umbrellas being used for shade on sunny days by people mostly shorter than you so you get poked in the eyes. I could go on...


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## Nomarian

It's funny because I have friends who grew up in Shanghai and while I have never been, (Going in June) I asked them if most of these things were true.   I heard that the personal space thing is normal as is the umbrella thing, but the crazy stuff like kids peeing anywhere they want and trash all over the place is not the people from the city.  They actually blame all the people coming from the countrysides and outside the city for all this.   I guess it is the fact that the cities have sprung up so fast and the people living in them have a westernized way of thinking, but not people living outside of them.  It's going to be an interesting trip to see this firsthand myself.


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## DisneyRegulars

Nomarian said:


> It's funny because I have friends who grew up in Shanghai and while I have never been, (Going in June) I asked them if most of these things were true.   I heard that the personal space thing is normal as is the umbrella thing, but the crazy stuff like kids peeing anywhere they want and trash all over the place is not the people from the city.  They actually blame all the people coming from the countrysides and outside the city for all this.   I guess it is the fact that the cities have sprung up so fast and the people living in them have a westernized way of thinking, but not people living outside of them.  It's going to be an interesting trip to see this firsthand myself.



I would agree with your friends. We stayed a week in Shanghai to visit my parents and the rest of Shanghai was fantastic! My favorite peeing in random places though was not from Disney, it was a mom holding her kid over a trash can to pee in the natural history museum when there was a beautiful large and very empty bathroom literally right across the hall like five feet away.


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## meryll83

DisneyRegulars said:


> Oh boy... Mainly crowds and people don’t know how to stand in line. They will literally try to squeeze past you any chance they get. It’s really bizarre and can be infuriating. When people do stand in line they stand waaaay to close. Little kids use the bathroom wherever they want. Umbrellas being used for shade on sunny days by people mostly shorter than you so you get poked in the eyes. I could go on...


Squeezing past would really annoy me - as in queue jumping? Would you block them from doing it?


----------



## DisneyRegulars

meryll83 said:


> Squeezing past would really annoy me - as in queue jumping? Would you block them from doing it?


Yes, like literally pushing past you in a queue for a ride. My husband made it his personal mission to not let anyone by us, but somehow some still snuck past. We split up several couples because one would get past, but hubby would manage to block the second. He found this very satisfying.


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## TLPL

Can someone provide some tips in hoe the 144 hours visa free works? What do you  have to show to the airline when you check in at your departing airport? What will they ask for when you arrive in Shanghai? Any info would be great. Thanks.


----------



## Neha

for the visa read this:
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/free-transit-144hour.htm


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## chicagodisneyguy

katt789 said:


> *Time of Year to go:*
> -Check the regular holidays for China/Japan to make sure that crowds aren't going to be CRAZY. Make sure that your Tokyo Disney days are WEEKDAYS, Shanghai, try to do the same, whereas it doesn't really matter in HK. Tokyo is the busiest of the parks, and a regular weekend feels like a peak time in the states parks
> -Tokyo has the most seasonal events going on, you want to avoid the opening/closing weekends of those as well, crowds will also be a little lighter during the week in between events (ie, Frozen Fantasy closes, then there's a week of nothing special before Easter starts). They have daily operational entertainment special for Halloween, Christmas, Summer, Easter, and others.
> -Consider weather for time of year too, Tokyo can get cold enough to snow over the winter, but is scorching hot during the summers, spring/fall seem to be the best times (April after the school term starts, before Easter, or the first few weeks of May I believe are the best for crowds). We were there Oct 11-14th, crowds were good, lines were longer for some rides but the park didn't feel congested, and the weather was nice, but we did need layers once the sun went down. Also be careful in the Halloween season, Tokyo has "costume days" and those will be much more congested than the days where costumes are not allowed
> 
> *Shanghai:*
> -Starting more details here because this park is the hardest to find information about!
> You will find the most culture shock here/anywhere in China specifically, in the crowded situations, there is no such thing as personal space, be prepared for people pushing/shoving and potentially cutting in lines. The worst of this is usually right at park opening/during a fp run. I'd suggest rope drop straight to Soaring, ride Pirates, then circle back to the fp kiosk to pick up something for later. (we wasted the first 30 minutes of park opening getting a soaring fp)
> -Squat toilets. They are in majority here, there ARE Western toilets in each bathroom though, and the bonus is most locals don't want to use them, so there's never a line (pertaining to Disney, outside the resort, it's hit or miss, but most places should have at least 1 stall that's Westernized.
> -I did touch on food a bit in the earlier post, but again, a few Americanized items here & there, when in the city, you'll have no problem finding chain restaurants, heck my roommate had her first Hooter's experience in Shanghai lol!!
> -Fast passes: are the paper fast pass style, there is a kiosk in each land that holds fp's for ALL attractions in that land (that have fast passes). This is what makes the morning fp run so chaotic, and why I'd advise to just ride things standby first, then go back to pull fp's later. This is especially true with Tron, so that you get to ride it at night when it's all lit up!
> -Characters: all have set m&g spots! Stitch pops up in Tomorrowland, Princesses are right behind the castle and will swap out every 30 mins, Jack Sparrow si over in Treasure Cove, and over by the Tarzan theater you can find Judy &Nick or Timon & friends/Jungle Book characters. Fab 5 & Duffy crew all on Mickey ave in the morning.
> 
> -Shanghai City: we did 2 days, one in Shanghai where we hit the popular spots like the Bund, Pudong (Disney store here is amazing, also where you find the Pearl tower) French Concession, Yuyuan Gardens/shopping bazaar, then did a little trip out to Zhujiajiao Town, a river town with canals everywhere, popular tourist spot, lots of shopping/authentic stuff.
> -BRING/BUY FACE MASKS!!! YOU WILL MOST LIKELY NEED THEM! Download an air quality app for your phone (and make sure it's set to American standards, not China lol) If anyone in your group is feeling sick, or has respiratory issues (I've got mild asthma) they're going to be bothered by it when you're spending all day everyday outside. Smog wasn't too much of an issue for us, we were blessed with blue skies for the first 2 days of Disney, but after spending 3 days in a row outside in the parks with no masks, I was definitely feeling it and opted to stay in the next afternoon when my friends went out.
> -Transit is pretty easy here, the trains are pretty self explanatory, and English signs are found easily.
> -Make sure to have a VPN app on your phone/tablet while in China!! EVERYTHING is blocked, google, facebook, instagram, etc. It's a hot mess, WiFi in general is also legit just the worst thing ever in China, the best we found was at Disney (connection/speed wise, it was pretty readily available). Consider downloading We-Chat simply just to stay connected with your friends if you can't text and the VPN isn't working
> -Trains are super cheap in China
> -DO NOT drink the tap water, buy bottles, we were staying right beside a grocery store, so I bought a couple huge bottles to fill up a smaller one that I'd take into the parks with me. There ARE fountains that have filtered drinking water scattered around the parks as well!
> 
> 
> *Tokyo*
> -This is where you'll have to do the most research on what you want to do, there is simply SO MUCH in the city that you could spend a week in the city and barely scratch the surface! We're in the midst of planning a 2nd trip to Tokyo and we have a week in the city and are doing 100% different things! IT'S INSANE! I suggest taking the time to at least check out the following: -Senso-Ji temple, Ueno Park, Harajuku, Shibuya Crossing/shopping area. There's a Disney store in the last 2 areas, and the Shibuya one is incredible! (you can also buy Tokyo Disney park tickets on the 4th floor, we had major struggles trying to buy them online in advance, so we did this and it worked out great)
> -Mt Fuji, there are plenty of places to see it that are an hour or so from Tokyo, we're planning to spend a day in Hakone on this upcoming trip to hopefully get a better view of it than we did last time.
> -Depending on time of year, there can either be cherry blossoms you'll see everywhere, or autumn foliage which is equally as beautiful
> -Think about if you want to spend some more time in Japan, you can always bullet train down to Kyoto to explore, or over to Osaka, where you can hit up Universal. If you do end up down in that area, I highly recommend going to Nara, it's the small town where the deer roam freely and you can buy crackers to feed them and if you bow to them they'll bow back, super cute and lots of fun.
> -Sanrio Puroland is a Hello Kitty theme park just outside of Tokyo, much more kiddie like, but still a potential place you might want to check out.
> -Transit is EXPENSIVE, we were in Tokyo for 10 days and in that time spent well over $100 on transit rides, it would've been more affordable to buy the monthly pass rather than load up every time. The nice thing is that if you use google maps to transit plan where you're going each day, it will tell you the approximate cost of the trip so you can try to plan that out in advance on if you should get the monthly pass.
> -Pasmo cards (there is another one that I can't remember the name of) are cards you can buy from a machine at the train station that you pay a deposit for (that will be returned when you return the card) and then you can load up money on it whenever needed instead of having to pay each trip individually
> -If you're in the city and a sushi fan, check out Hamazushi, it's a chain restaurant, but it's delicious, and a conveyor belt sushi place, and hands down our favorite restaurant! lol
> -Also Japan is seriously like, the safest place in the world.
> 
> -Fast Passes: Go straight for Hunny Hunt, ride standby, circle back to Monster's Inc, fp it, then ride Space. Hunny Hunt & Monster's will have the longest waits of the park during the day. DisneySea, I would go straight for Journey to the Center of the Earth, ride standby, if you want to ride again, grab a fast pass. Circle over to ToT, then Indiana Jones.
> -Show Lottery's: Because of crowds, you have to "win the lottery" to see the shows in prime locations. In DL, the lottery is located next to Space Mtn, it is for One Man's Dream II, and the nighttime projection show. You scan your tickets, and pick a show time, and if you win, you win, if not, you don't. The same goes for Big Band Beat & Shadowland in DisneySea. Now, if you DON'T win the lottery, you can still watch One Man's Dream standby the very first show of the day, BBB, you can watch from the upper balcony standby, and the nighttime show you can watch from further back in the hub.
> -Characters: roam pretty freely, they stereotypically come out on the :15 in Fantasyland, and :45 out by the front gate. (I *think* those are the right times, they might be opposite). You'll find ALL sorts of characters, fur, rare in the states, Esmeralda, Princesses, Princes (with or without their respective couple). Pocahontas is found in Critter Country. DisneySea, you can find Ariel in a set meet & greet outside Mermaid Lagoon, Eric (and sometimes Max) either right at the entrance or inside somewhere. Aladdin & Jas on the Arabian Coast (though they meet separately) Stitch & Angel are also found here, Duffy has his own m&g in cape cod (which will have LONG lines) We've seen the aristocats, cruella, and the rescuers wandering around as well, usually in the new york streets area.
> 
> *
> Hong Kong*
> -We spent 2 days in the city, one day we did Victoria Peak/the Peak tram, and went to a couple shopping districts, and also Ozone, a super pricey bar on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton, provides gorgeous views of the city. Our second day we took the fairy over to Lamma Island, where we did a hike from one coast to the next & spent some time on the beach & had a seaside lunch of fresh seafood.
> -Food & transit is super cheap in HK as well
> -English is pretty widely spoken/on street signs and the like.
> -Again, only drink bottled water here. They provide you with bottled water in the hotel rooms at Disney if you choose to stay onsite. I believe there were 4 per day? I could be wrong.
> 
> -Park plans: -Iron Man first, it's new and will have longest waits
> -Head to Mystic Point right at 11 when it opens, ride it, then go to Grizzly Gulch, we then circled through Toy Story land, rode some rides, did Fantasyland and watched some shows before Tomorrowland. There are only like, 3 rides with fast passes here, and I don't think we even used any.
> -Characters: there is an app, and it will tell you who's coming out when. Princesses/Alice typically meet beside the castle,on both sides, Mickey & Minnie up by the front of the park, Tinkerbell has a set area in Fantasyland, and Duffy & co have a set spot on Main st in one of the buildings



Absolutely awesome info!  I am heading to Vietnam for 2 weeks in October/Nov to celebrate my 40th bday and being the Disney nerd I am, want to hit one of the Asian parks before heading home.  I know this is pretty subjective, but for the people who have been to two or three of the parks, which would you choose and why?  My plan is to be at the parks on a Monday and Tuesday and fly home on Wednesday.  What city I fly home from doesn't matter and I am pretty points/miles flush at the moment.


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## Mousequake

TLPL said:


> Can someone provide some tips in hoe the 144 hours visa free works? What do you  have to show to the airline when you check in at your departing airport? What will they ask for when you arrive in Shanghai? Any info would be great. Thanks.



You need to show confirmation that you have flights and hotel booked at your next destination. When you arrive in Shanghai, there will be a separate line for the 144-hour travel without visa, and you show that information there.


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## DisneyRegulars

[QUOTE="chicagodisneyguy, post: 58680581, member: 218372]I know this is pretty subjective, but for the people who have been to two or three of the parks, which would you choose and why?[/QUOTE]

I personally don’t think you could go wrong with any of them. They are all unique and have their own feel. If you are up for something that feels the most different I would say either Shanghai Disney or Tokyo Disney Sea. Tokyo Disneyland felt like almost a carbon copy of Magic Kingdom. The Pirates ride in Shanghai is amazing, and it doesn’t look like it’s coming to the USA anytime soon. The park is huge in Shanghai and feels massive, the castle is also very nice. The only bad thing about Shanghai is the other guests, so if you are prone to rage when people cut in lines or throw trash on the ground skip Shanghai in favor of HK or Tokyo.


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## cschaaf

DisneyRegulars said:


> The only bad thing about Shanghai is the other guests, so if you are prone to rage when people cut in lines or throw trash on the ground skip Shanghai in favor of HK or Tokyo.



Not arguing with your experience there, just wanted to add our experience at Shanghai.

We only had one time where someone 'cut' in front of us. We were in line for Peter Pan and were looking around and the line in front of us had moved about 10 feet. The group behind us walked past us and filled in that gap. It never felt 'rude', never felt like they were trying to 'get away' with something, it just felt like what they were used to doing. 

There were other times where, if we stood in single file, as apposed to standing right next to each other, someone would come up beside us and fill in that gap. When the line moved, they would let us back in front of them. They weren't trying to gain an advantage, just filling in gaps.

Lastly, when I was in line by myself for the Challenge Trails, there was a family behind me - a small boy, his mother, and what I would assume was his grandmother. The boy kept creeping up in line and would get in front of me while the rest of the family stayed behind me. They could have gotten in front of me too, if they wanted, but they stayed back. The mother would call the boy back and several times, she apologized to me in the best way she could with the language barrier. 

As far as trash on the ground, we saw it for sure, but didn't think it was anything that we wouldn't have expected at another park. We went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas at MK last month and saw just as much, if not more, trash on the ground. Especially in the darker queues: Pirates, Splash, 7 Dwarves, etc. 

Interestingly, we spent 3 days at Universal after that and saw very little trash on the ground anywhere.


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## katt789

chicagodisneyguy said:


> Absolutely awesome info!  I am heading to Vietnam for 2 weeks in October/Nov to celebrate my 40th bday and being the Disney nerd I am, want to hit one of the Asian parks before heading home.  I know this is pretty subjective, but for the people who have been to two or three of the parks, which would you choose and why?  My plan is to be at the parks on a Monday and Tuesday and fly home on Wednesday.  What city I fly home from doesn't matter and I am pretty points/miles flush at the moment.




I personally liked Tokyo the best, it won for attractions, entertainment, friendliness of cast members, and Japan in general was my favourite place!! However you cannot park hop until day 3 in Tokyo Disney, so you'd have to do one full day at Disneyland and one full day at DisneySea. We did 4 park days and still wished we'd had more time in DisneySea. I liked it the best but it takes the longest to explore

That being said, if you only have 2 days, I would go for Hong Kong or Shanghai as there's only 1 park to conquer. If you've been to DLR in California, HKDL is very similar to that, there's a few stand out attractions/shows that make it different, and they are AMAZING attractions, but it is a very similar feel and such in the park.

Shanghai is the most unique between the two, it has its own castle design, amazing shows, Pirates is worth the trip alone (Tron's also awesome, but I personally didn't like it). You could easily do all the original attractions and a few of the copycat ones in Shanghai in 2 days.


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## chicagodisneyguy

Thanks for all the info guys, very much appreciated!  We are leaning towards Tokyo Disney but Shanghai looks really neat too.  I'll definitely be back to pick your brains when we come to a decision!


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## nickcirc

Late to the party i know, but when we did all 6 parks around the world in one trip in 2016 we did Hong Kong -> Shanghai -> Tokyo. It's super easy to combine all 3 Asian parks into one trip over a week. No need for Chinese visa either if you adhere to TWOV.

That said, if you only wanna do 1, Tokyo for sure. But if you can get creative with your airline routing, putting HKDL into there isn't difficult and can be done as a stopover (less than 24 hours) if you're travelling on a low day (we were last there 2 weeks ago) even on a Sunday, nothing was over 20 min wait.


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## psakid

TLPL said:


> Can someone provide some tips in hoe the 144 hours visa free works? What do you  have to show to the airline when you check in at your departing airport? What will they ask for when you arrive in Shanghai? Any info would be great. Thanks.



My family of 4 used the 144 hour Transit Visa without any problems.  The biggest headache will be with your departure gate agents; however, they should be more familiar with the process as China has had this Visa for 3-4 years now.  Even Beijing is going from 72 to 144 hours soon, if not already.  

1) A valid Passport & Visa (if required for onward country).
2) You can't fly back to the country of origin, you must fly to another authorized country.  USA-HKG-PVG-TYO-USA, USA-PVG-TYO-USA or reverse works. Just think of the PVG stop as a layover between two different countries.  A flight to another mainland China city is not allowed. 
3) The departure ticket (with seat assignment) must be within 144 hours (6 days) of day after arrival (time starts at midnight after arrival).
4) Fill out Arrival/Departure Card on board before you arrive (you'll also need hotel/accommodation information to fill out the card).

This is a brief overview.  Various internet sites have details for specific or special situations.

You can't beat the price......


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## TLPL

psakid said:


> another authorized country. USA-HKG-PVG-TYO-USA, USA-PVG-TYO-USA or reverse works. Just think of the PVG stop as a layover between two different countries. A flight to another mainland China city is not allowed.
> 3) The departure ticket (with seat assignment) must be within 144 hours (6 days) of day after arrival (time starts at midnight after arrival).
> 4) Fill out Arrival/Departure Card


Ours trip is from Canada to Hong Kong (
Will layover Transfer in pvg for 2 hours), then on the way back from HK we want to stop in Shanghai for three days. So HKG to PVG to Canada. Will that qualify the 144 visa free program?


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## psakid

TLPL

The quick answer is Yes.  Canada is a participating country under the 144 hour visa program.  Hong Kong is considered a special administrative part of China so flights to and from are considered to be outside of China.  We'll see what happens after the 50 year treaty expires.

Enjoy your trip and especially the Disney Parks.


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## TLPL

psakid said:


> TLPL
> 
> The quick answer is Yes.  Canada is a participating country under the 144 hour visa program.  Hong Kong is considered a special administrative part of China so flights to and from are considered to be outside of China.  We'll see what happens after the 50 year treaty expires.
> 
> Enjoy your trip and especially the Disney Parks.


Thank you for confirming this.


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## AZMama2016

We are doing all three Asia parks next May but have a slightly different twist: it will be in conjunction with a HK to Tokyo cruise. The plan is to come into HK early and get three nights at a hotel near the airport since it’s easy to get into the main parts of the city by train and accommodations are cheaper. We will do day 1 sightseeing, then day 2 at HKDL. We were there back in 2007, although the park was much smaller then and we easily did everything we wanted to do in half a day. On day 3, we’ll transfer to the ship. The first night is an overnight in HK, so we’ll get more time to sightsee before departing.

Shanghai is going to be the toughest, as it’s an overnight stay during the cruise. I believe we get in about noon and depart around 5 pm the next day. I’m thinking we’ll do SDL the day we arrive. It won’t be a full day but better than nothing. I debated about getting off the ship and staying overnight at the park, but feel like we’d be missing out if we didn’t do something non-Disney during such a short stay, and the complications of an off-ship overnight stay and the possibility of missing the ship when it departs is too risky for me. I will need to find out where we expect to dock and arrange for transportation to and from the park.

Tokyo is the end of the trip and has another overnight there, so we will sightsee those days. I’m thinking it would be best to go from the pier to the park on disembarkation and stay a couple nights there to get at least two full days. Then we would fly home. I’d love to get a couple more days in Tokyo but we will have been gone over 3 weeks by then and the thought of hauling all that luggage around with just me, hubby and our 6 year old will be too much!

First question: I’m thinking of seeing about hiring translators or guides for Shanghai and Tokyo. With such a short time there, it would be best if we were with someone who could get us around quickly. I don’t know how I would find such guides and whether the cost is feasible, so it’s just a thought right now. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on this (even whether to do it)?

Second question: how are strollers viewed at the parks? We go regularly to WDW and DL and the stroller is a lifesaver. Our kid will be 6.5 at the time of the trip, but I wouldn’t hesitate to bring the stroller since she’ll get tired with all the walking and we’ll want to be able to get around fast to maximize our time there. I just want to make sure it won’t be a big cultural faux pas. And if I can bring it, is there any concern with stuff getting lost or stolen while the stroller is parked? I’ve never really worried about this in the US.

Final question: how much local currency in cash should I plan to bring per day in the park?

Thanks for any help! Normally I can find whatever I need online but this one is tough as there isn’t as much info about these parks available and very few people who have done all three Asian parks, let alone in conjunction with a cruise!


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## DisneyRegulars

AZMama2016 said:


> We are doing all three Asia parks next May but have a slightly different twist: it will be in conjunction with a HK to Tokyo cruise. The plan is to come into HK early and get three nights at a hotel near the airport since it’s easy to get into the main parts of the city by train and accommodations are cheaper. We will do day 1 sightseeing, then day 2 at HKDL. We were there back in 2007, although the park was much smaller then and we easily did everything we wanted to do in half a day. On day 3, we’ll transfer to the ship. The first night is an overnight in HK, so we’ll get more time to sightsee before departing.
> 
> Shanghai is going to be the toughest, as it’s an overnight stay during the cruise. I believe we get in about noon and depart around 5 pm the next day. I’m thinking we’ll do SDL the day we arrive. It won’t be a full day but better than nothing. I debated about getting off the ship and staying overnight at the park, but feel like we’d be missing out if we didn’t do something non-Disney during such a short stay, and the complications of an off-ship overnight stay and the possibility of missing the ship when it departs is too risky for me. I will need to find out where we expect to dock and arrange for transportation to and from the park.
> 
> Tokyo is the end of the trip and has another overnight there, so we will sightsee those days. I’m thinking it would be best to go from the pier to the park on disembarkation and stay a couple nights there to get at least two full days. Then we would fly home. I’d love to get a couple more days in Tokyo but we will have been gone over 3 weeks by then and the thought of hauling all that luggage around with just me, hubby and our 6 year old will be too much!
> 
> First question: I’m thinking of seeing about hiring translators or guides for Shanghai and Tokyo. With such a short time there, it would be best if we were with someone who could get us around quickly. I don’t know how I would find such guides and whether the cost is feasible, so it’s just a thought right now. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on this (even whether to do it)?
> 
> Second question: how are strollers viewed at the parks? We go regularly to WDW and DL and the stroller is a lifesaver. Our kid will be 6.5 at the time of the trip, but I wouldn’t hesitate to bring the stroller since she’ll get tired with all the walking and we’ll want to be able to get around fast to maximize our time there. I just want to make sure it won’t be a big cultural faux pas. And if I can bring it, is there any concern with stuff getting lost or stolen while the stroller is parked? I’ve never really worried about this in the US.
> 
> Final question: how much local currency in cash should I plan to bring per day in the park?
> 
> Thanks for any help! Normally I can find whatever I need online but this one is tough as there isn’t as much info about these parks available and very few people who have done all three Asian parks, let alone in conjunction with a cruise!



When we travelled around China we worked with Flight Centre travel agency to arrange a guide and private transportation in each city. It was great. If you want I can PM you the name of who we worked with at that travel agency. I bet they could arrange a guide for you. 

As far as cash, you don’t need much cash. I think that we spent the most cash on ice cream carts. Everything else takes credit cards. $20 per person would be more than enough cash. 

People definitely use strollers, but especially in Shanghai the average age of visitor I swear is young adult. We barely saw any actual children in our two days there. A lot of people had these really cool very small foldable stroller things that were more like pushing a kid on a bike seat. They were neat. I would just rent a stroller in the parks. It would be a nightmare to lug a stroller around for a three week trip.


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## AZMama2016

DisneyRegulars said:


> When we travelled around China we worked with Flight Centre travel agency to arrange a guide and private transportation in each city. It was great. If you want I can PM you the name of who we worked with at that travel agency. I bet they could arrange a guide for you.
> 
> As far as cash, you don’t need much cash. I think that we spent the most cash on ice cream carts. Everything else takes credit cards. $20 per person would be more than enough cash.
> 
> People definitely use strollers, but especially in Shanghai the average age of visitor I swear is young adult. We barely saw any actual children in our two days there. A lot of people had these really cool very small foldable stroller things that were more like pushing a kid on a bike seat. They were neat. I would just rent a stroller in the parks. It would be a nightmare to lug a stroller around for a three week trip.



Yes, if you don’t mind sending me the info about Flight Centre, that would be great. Thank you for that and the other advice as well. We may end up leaving the stroller altogether, although it’s handy at airports and I like having it for the storage at the parks.


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