# Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening Trip Planning Thread



## Wuzefelix

Hiho,

now that Shanghai Disneyland officially announced that it will be opening on 16th June 2016, who's in on this trip planning thread to exchange information or just share the excitement of their upcoming trip? 


Have you decided to go yet?
Have you ever attended a Disney theme park official opening before?
Where are you going to stay?
What's your strategy to get park tickets?
How long are you going for?
What other sights / attractions are you going to visit during your trip?
What else would you like to share?
Happy planning everyone, and have a magical time at Shanghai Disney Resort! 


---
Wuzefelix


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## Wuzefelix

I'll do the start: 

My brother, a friend of ours and me will be flying into Shanghai at night on the 15th of June from Seoul, South Korea, where we are going to visit both Lotte World and Everland theme parks. They aren't Disney but they look like a lot of fun and we are so excited to visit Korea for the first time! Yey!!

The official press release of Shanghai Disneyland says:


> Shanghai Disney Resort will host a multi-day grand opening celebration, culminating in a spectacular welcoming ceremony for the resort’s first official guests on June 16, 2016


So I see it as if there will be a multi day opening celebration *before *the 16th of June. However, we are thinking this is probably just going to be a multi day press event with celebrities and high ranking officials, so what are the odds to get invites for that, right? That is why we are planning for the 16th which in theory should be the first day the park will officially open to the public. Our plan is to go to the park on the 16th and 17th (Thursday and Friday).

Honestly, we are a little worried about actually getting into the park. Back in the day when Hong Kong Disneyland opened, they sent a lot of people with valid tickets home because the park reached its capacity limit (30.000). Does anyone know what the total capacity of Shanghai Disneyland will be? Since the park area will be larger than the one in Hong Kong, my guess is around 50.000 maybe? Anyway, Shanghai and the surrounded region are extremely densely populated and my guess is a ton of people are as excited as us to visit the park right when it opens.

Do you think Shanghai Disneyland will only sell dated tickets for the first opening days? This would prevent the extreme masses of people to show up because only people with tickets for that day would travel to the park. But it could also mean that these tickets might sell out within minutes when the sale starts on the website. Any strategies to make sure to get tickets?

If the tickets won't be dated, then would it be a good plan to arrive super early to make sure you get in line for rope drop before the park reaches its capacity limit? But how early are we talking? 2 hours before rope drop, 3? 4? 5? It's really hard to tell what it's going to be like.

The official Shanghai Disneyland website talks about the advantages of staying on-site in a Disney Hotel:


> *Priority Access* – Resort hotel Guests are given priority theme park access during peak times at Shanghai Disneyland.


https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/benefits-staying-on-property/

I interpret this the kind of "guaranteed access" to the park for on-site hotel guests, similarly to what other Disney Resorts around the world offer. So we consider staying at least one night at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. Would you agree that staying one night should theoretically mean priority access to the park for two days? The arrival day and the next day? Then we would probably try to get there around 6-7am, check in (the rooms most likely wouldn't be ready yet), store our luggage and try to get into the breakfast restaurant in the hotel before park opening.

The other nights we will probably stay at a less expensive hotel in the area. Does anyone know if the extension to Shanghai Metro Line 11 will be open in time for the Grand Opening of the park? But even then, we would probably stay somewhere closer to the park and then move to a hotel in the city center after visiting Disney. Because even with the subway it seems like quite a long trek from the city center area to the Disney Resort.
Even on Chinese booking sites such as Ctrip and Elong I don't see any hotels that are really close to the park. So right now we are considering the "Maixinge Boutique Hotel Chuansha Branch" which is about 8km from the park by taxi. It is cheap and looks reasonably clean and comfortable for just spending the night. Any other recommendations?

You see, at the moment there are still so many questions. But my guess is the closer we get to the opening date, the more answers we will get.

I'm interested to hearing your thoughts and just share the excitement of my first ever Disney Park Grand Opening!

---
Wuzefelix


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## katt789

Wuzefelix said:


> Hiho,
> 
> now that Shanghai Disneyland officially announced that it will be opening on 16th June 2016, who's in on this trip planning thread to exchange information or just share the excitement of their upcoming trip?
> 
> 
> Have you decided to go yet?
> Have you ever attended a Disney theme park official opening before?
> Where are you going to stay?
> What's your strategy to get park tickets?
> How long are you going for?
> What other sights / attractions are you going to visit during your trip?
> What else would you like to share?
> Happy planning everyone, and have a magical time at Shanghai Disney Resort!
> 
> 
> ---
> Wuzefelix



Hi!!!

We're SUPER excited and can't wait to go, especially with all the friends on the opening crew!! (although we're not going for the actual opening date!)

Since more info came available I think we'll end up staying at the Toy Story hotel they have, seems more like a value/moderate, though the other one looks amazing but we're trying to do things on a budget! We'll be in Asia for around 2 months, starting in Tokyo, ending in Hong Kong, hitting up all the disney parks & areas as we go!

Since we're doing so much more than just the park we'll stay at a different hotel more inner city/cheaper option while we're off exploring the city!

We originally planned I believe 2 days in the park and 2 days in the city BUT with more info about the park and how much we want to do/make sure we see it all I think we'll up it to 3!


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## HLester3

Hi.  I am sure the crowds will be horrible, but trying to figure out how to add it into our trip around the same time as the grand opening.  Does anyone have any when the Hotel reservations will open up?  I agree from above, that seems to be the only way to gaurante entry into the park.    

I have to say it does looks like it will be very interesting.  My favorite park is Tokyo Disney Sea where they have completely new and different parts lands from Disneyland. This looks like it will be the same.


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## old lady

I found this on Disney blog so it sounds exciting.
http://blogs.disney.com/insider/201...atural|disney-insider|2016-01-14|insider|box1


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## Wuzefelix

katt789 said:


> Hi!!!
> 
> We're SUPER excited and can't wait to go, especially with all the friends on the opening crew!! (although we're not going for the actual opening date!)
> 
> Since more info came available I think we'll end up staying at the Toy Story hotel they have, seems more like a value/moderate, though the other one looks amazing but we're trying to do things on a budget! We'll be in Asia for around 2 months, starting in Tokyo, ending in Hong Kong, hitting up all the disney parks & areas as we go!
> 
> Since we're doing so much more than just the park we'll stay at a different hotel more inner city/cheaper option while we're off exploring the city!
> 
> We originally planned I believe 2 days in the park and 2 days in the city BUT with more info about the park and how much we want to do/make sure we see it all I think we'll up it to 3!



Hi and  to the SDL trip planning thread. How amazing that you have friends on the opening crew!! So exciting!

Yeah, staying on-property for the entire Shanghai leg of your trip does sound like a bit of a waste for the days that you will be out exploring the city. They have much cheaper and closer options in the city center. For example i can recommend staying somewhere near People Square / Nanjing Road / The Bund. Wonderful, that you are considering staying on-site for the Disneyland days though! The Toy Story Hotel looks like fun and will give you the same benefit of priority access to the park.

How funny, just like you, we were planning on 2 days but now want to give us the flexibility of upping it to 3 when we're there and feel that it's necessary.

Wonderful, 2 months in asia and all 3 asian Disney Parks . You'll have such a great time!




HLester3 said:


> Hi.  I am sure the crowds will be horrible, but trying to figure out how to add it into our trip around the same time as the grand opening.  Does anyone have any when the Hotel reservations will open up?  I agree from above, that seems to be the only way to gaurante entry into the park.
> 
> I have to say it does looks like it will be very interesting.  My favorite park is Tokyo Disney Sea where they have completely new and different parts lands from Disneyland. This looks like it will be the same.



 to the SDL trip planning thread. Awesome, that you will get to go around the grand opening! Unfortunately there's no info out there about when they will start making hotel reservations or selling tickets, so stay tuned . 

I totally agree with you, Tokyo DisneySEA is also my favorite park. Everything is so unique and beautiful! I personally don't expect SDL to be quite at that level, but like you said it looks like it will be quite unique in that it's so different from other Magic Kingdom type Disney parks.




old lady said:


> I found this on Disney blog so it sounds exciting.
> http://blogs.disney.com/insider/201...atural|disney-insider|2016-01-14|insider|box1



 to our little SDL trip planning thread! Thank you for sharing the link. You know, that announcement is exactly the reason why we start planning our trips to Shanghai and are getting more and more excited . Are you going to visit SDL?

---
Wuzefelix


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## helenk

I won't be going until July, but I am anxious to gain all the info that I can and will look forward to reading everyone's reports.


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## zanzibar138

Wuzefelix said:


> Have you decided to go yet?



I'm in! Got my leave approved today, going to book flights tonight 



Wuzefelix said:


> Have you ever attended a Disney theme park official opening before?



Nope. So excited to see what it's all about!



Wuzefelix said:


> Where are you going to stay?



My plan is to stay at the Toy Story Hotel for the first 2 nights, then stay at the SDL Hotel for my last night.



Wuzefelix said:


> What's your strategy to get park tickets?



No idea! I plan to keep an eye on the boards/facebook/blogs etc for details. If there's guaranteed access to the parks if staying onsite, that will help a lot! I also plan to get there really early on the 16th, like 4-5 hours before opening.



Wuzefelix said:


> How long are you going for?



I'm pretty low on annual leave at the moment, so I can only manage 3 nights in China! I plan to arrive on the night of the 15th, and leave as late as I can on the 18th.



Wuzefelix said:


> What other sights / attractions are you going to visit during your trip?



No time for anything else! Although, thinking about the probable crowd levels, I may need an escape for a few hours, so may consider taking a short trip into the city if it's easy enough.



Wuzefelix said:


> What else would you like to share?



Hanging out for hotels and park tickets to become available. I really hope that I don't go to all this effort and not be able to get into the park lol!

Does anyone know about transport options from the airport? It looks really close - will there be a train, or will I have to take a taxi? I've heard horror stories about taxis in China (getting ripped off etc), and as a blonde curly haired, blue eyed female travelling solo, I will definitely stand out as a tourist!

Would also be interested in organising a meet up/s with anyone who is interested. I'll be a bit out of my comfort zone!


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## zanzibar138

Due to a public holiday in Melbourne that week, I managed to take one extra day of leave and score a whole week off! So now I have a few days to add a little side trip before SDL... now to figure out where I want to go!


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## psakid

Has anyone heard about DVC Reservation Points being made available at Shanghai? 
I'm guessing that information will come from DVC directly, if at all.


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## Wuzefelix

helenk said:


> I won't be going until July, but I am anxious to gain all the info that I can and will look forward to reading everyone's reports.



 to our little planning circle! July is still pretty soon after the opening so that still sounds very exciting . And you'll have the advantage of getting more information earlier on to help you plan your trip. With that, and Disney probably making the first operational improvements the weeks after opening, the whole experience might be a bit smoother for you.




zanzibar138 said:


> I'm in! Got my leave approved today, going to book flights tonight



Awesome!!!  to our club ;-). I bet you are as excited as we all are .




zanzibar138 said:


> My plan is to stay at the Toy Story Hotel for the first 2 nights, then stay at the SDL Hotel for my last night.



Wonderful! I cross my fingers you manage to book this when reservations do open up .




zanzibar138 said:


> No idea! I plan to keep an eye on the boards/facebook/blogs etc for details. If there's guaranteed access to the parks if staying onsite, that will help a lot! I also plan to get there really early on the 16th, like 4-5 hours before opening.



Oh my, that's gonna be one early morning. I am considering going around this time, too, but my brother doesn't appreciate waiting in line for a park to open... Maybe with the hotel preferred access it won't even be necessary. I just wish we knew how it's going to be like. We could go there 4-5 hours before opening and realize we're the only ones for the first 2-3 hours, or it could be already packed with other fans anxiously waiting for the park to open...





zanzibar138 said:


> Although, thinking about the probable crowd levels, I may need an escape for a few hours, so may consider taking a short trip into the city if it's easy enough.



Shanghai is an amazing city so I do recommend a visit if there's time. However, crowds in the city center in places like Nanjing Road, People Square or the Bund are not going to be much different from Disneyland. There are so many people living in Shanghai.




zanzibar138 said:


> Hanging out for hotels and park tickets to become available. I really hope that I don't go to all this effort and not be able to get into the park lol!



My biggest fear is exactly this .



zanzibar138 said:


> Does anyone know about transport options from the airport? It looks really close - will there be a train, or will I have to take a taxi? I've heard horror stories about taxis in China (getting ripped off etc), and as a blonde curly haired, blue eyed female travelling solo, I will definitely stand out as a tourist!



Taxi will be your best option! I've been to China a lot and my experience is as long as the driver agrees to run the meter, it's usually fine. Especially at airports I never had a bad experience because you get the taxi from an official taxi line, so they always run the meter. Same for the way back from Disney as you will either get it from your hotel or from the taxi line at the Disney Resort bus and taxi station.

If the extension to Line 11 of the Shanghai Subway opens by the time the park opens (as planned), there would be another option: Maglev train (faster but expensive) or Subway Line 2 (slower but cheaper) from Pudong airport to Longyang Road. Then Line 16 to Luoshan Road. From there the new Line 11 extension to Disney. However this would not be practical as it takes more time and would be a hassle with luggage. If taking the maglev, I bet this option would also be more expensive than a taxi. I really advise against this.





zanzibar138 said:


> Would also be interested in organising a meet up/s with anyone who is interested. I'll be a bit out of my comfort zone!



Count me in for a meet up . How about a meet up in Disneytown after park closing on the 16th? Would be fun to explore Disneytown and grab a bite to eat or something to drink with some fellow Disney fans while discussing opinions about the brand new park.




zanzibar138 said:


> Due to a public holiday in Melbourne that week, I managed to take one extra day of leave and score a whole week off! So now I have a few days to add a little side trip before SDL... now to figure out where I want to go!



I take it this will be your first time in China? How many days do you have? I would certainly recommend at least one day to explore the magnificent city of Shanghai with its famous sights such as Nanjing Road, The Bund, old town with Yuyuan Garden and a visit to Oriental Pearl Tower or the new Shanghai Tower.

If you like (non Disney) theme parks, take a look at Happy Valley Shanghai. It's a large park with many modern roller coasters, great live shows and some weird / interesting rides such as a 3D darkride or a "Soarin' over China" ride. You can easily reach it by subway within less than an hour from the city center.




psakid said:


> Has anyone heard about DVC Reservation Points being made available at Shanghai?
> I'm guessing that information will come from DVC directly, if at all.



to our SDL trip planning thread !

No information on this has been released yet but as soon as I hear something I'll post it in the thread. Although my worry is that they might not make DVC bookings for SDL available for the dates of the grand opening .

---
Felix


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## zanzibar138

Wuzefelix said:


> Oh my, that's gonna be one early morning. I am considering going around this time, too, but my brother doesn't appreciate waiting in line for a park to open... Maybe with the hotel preferred access it won't even be necessary. I just wish we knew how it's going to be like. We could go there 4-5 hours before opening and realize we're the only ones for the first 2-3 hours, or it could be already packed with other fans anxiously waiting for the park to open...



The joys of going solo - I don't have to care what anyone else thinks of lining up hours in advance! It will certainly be interesting to see what happens. I don't know how many hard core Disney fans there are in China, who will make the effort to line up that early.



Wuzefelix said:


> Shanghai is an amazing city so I do recommend a visit if there's time. However, crowds in the city center in places like Nanjing Road, People Square or the Bund are not going to be much different from Disneyland. There are so many people living in Shanghai.



Hmm... I'm expecting massive shoulder to shoulder crowds at Disneyland. If that is what Shanghai will be like, I don't think I'm interested  I'll just have to go back to my room if I need a break, or maybe check out the 'nature park' in the resort area if that doesn't look too crowded. I will definitely need a break.



Wuzefelix said:


> Taxi will be your best option! I've been to China a lot and my experience is as long as the driver agrees to run the meter, it's usually fine. Especially at airports I never had a bad experience because you get the taxi from an official taxi line, so they always run the meter. Same for the way back from Disney as you will either get it from your hotel or from the taxi line at the Disney Resort bus and taxi station.
> 
> If the extension to Line 11 of the Shanghai Subway opens by the time the park opens (as planned), there would be another option: Maglev train (faster but expensive) or Subway Line 2 (slower but cheaper) from Pudong airport to Longyang Road. Then Line 16 to Luoshan Road. From there the new Line 11 extension to Disney. However this would not be practical as it takes more time and would be a hassle with luggage. If taking the maglev, I bet this option would also be more expensive than a taxi. I really advise against this.



Hmm the train sounds like it's going to be a bit hard (kind of like in HK where you have to change at multiple stations. I would be interested in taking the Maglev, just for the experience, but it doesn't sound like it will be practical.



Wuzefelix said:


> Count me in for a meet up . How about a meet up in Disneytown after park closing on the 16th? Would be fun to explore Disneytown and grab a bite to eat or something to drink with some fellow Disney fans while discussing opinions about the brand new park.



Sounds good!



Wuzefelix said:


> I take it this will be your first time in China? How many days do you have? I would certainly recommend at least one day to explore the magnificent city of Shanghai with its famous sights such as Nanjing Road, The Bund, old town with Yuyuan Garden and a visit to Oriental Pearl Tower or the new Shanghai Tower.
> 
> If you like (non Disney) theme parks, take a look at Happy Valley Shanghai. It's a large park with many modern roller coasters, great live shows and some weird / interesting rides such as a 3D darkride or a "Soarin' over China" ride. You can easily reach it by subway within less than an hour from the city center.



Yep, first time in China. I *could* arrive as early as Saturday night if I there's something I specifically want to do, giving me all day Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before heading out to Shanghai. I thought about flying into Beijing and doing a Great Wall trek, but there don't seem to be many small group tours available. I suppose I could always fly into Beijing and just spend a few days there joining small group tours of various things that I'm interested in before taking the bullet train down to Shanghai.

Logistics are all a bit hard, and I'm nervous about being in China on my own - people I've spoken to have told me that it's really tough going over there for western tourists (I think it'll be ok at Disneyland, I'm sure people will speak English and be able to help me), so I'm considering going somewhere else entirely on the way through, maybe Malaysia since I'd have to go through KL on an AirAsia flight anyway. We've already been to KL, and will be going to Penang in March, but I wouldn't mind visiting Melaka/Malacca. Other options I was considering were South Korea (we had a short stopover in Seoul last year and I felt pretty comfortable there), Taiwan, maybe Indonesia (I've been there several times and speak some Indonesian, so that's not as scary). Vietnam or Thailand could be options too, but they're not as 'on the way'. Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan were also options, but they're all a bit too expensive. Being on my own, I'd prefer to keep things pretty straight forward and reasonably budget!


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## snoopybabe

Heading to China in July to visit my dd.  We have plans to visit July 12-15th. Hoping to stay at Toy Story Hotel. I keep checking each day to see when they will release prices. .  Looking forward to reading posts of those who go in June.


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## orion2185

Does anyone know when the Disney resorts open for booking/ room rates will be released? 

we are more interested in the Shanghai Disneyland Resort vs Toy Story
with under 500 rooms.....have a feeling this resort is going to sell out FAST!

thanks


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## zanzibar138

orion2185 said:


> Does anyone know when the Disney resorts open for booking/ room rates will be released?
> 
> we are more interested in the Shanghai Disneyland Resort vs Toy Story
> with under 500 rooms.....have a feeling this resort is going to sell out FAST!
> 
> thanks



I'm checking daily. It would be ideal if they would give us some notice before they start taking bookings, but I'm not counting on that happening. (I'd hope that whoever finds out first will upload this thread as a matter of urgency though ).

At this point I still don't even know if the onsite hotels are going to be within budget (I know they'll be expensive, but hopefully not outrageous)!


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## Dentam

I will be going to Shanghai in early July for a conference.  I've never been to China before and am hoping to check out the new DL park in Shanghai as well as take the high speed train to Beijing and visit the sites there including the Great Wall.  

I'll be checking the DL site daily as well to see when they release the hotel pricing!


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## Ember

We're seriously considering going. How many times in your lifetime can you go to the opening of a Disney park?? 

We'd probably fly in the day before and spend three or four days at a Disney hotel. I don't want to book flights without a hotel confirmation, though. I worry that without the hotel, the chances of accessing the park are small, even the days following the opening.


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## zanzibar138

Dentam said:


> I will be going to Shanghai in early July for a conference.  I've never been to China before and am hoping to check out the new DL park in Shanghai as well as take the high speed train to Beijing and visit the sites there including the Great Wall.
> 
> I'll be checking the DL site daily as well to see when they release the hotel pricing!



I'm so jealous of people who get to travel for conferences! Great timing 



Ember said:


> We're seriously considering going. *How many times in your lifetime can you go to the opening of a Disney park??*
> 
> We'd probably fly in the day before and spend three or four days at a Disney hotel. I don't want to book flights without a hotel confirmation, though. I worry that without the hotel, the chances of accessing the park are small, even the days following the opening.



My thoughts exactly!

If I happen to miss out on Disney accommodation, I still plan to go and try to get in to the park. If not, I'll enjoy the sight-seeing opportunities I do have in the Disney hotels, Disney Town, the large recreation area, and whatever other opportunities come up!

* * * * *

I think I've decided to stick with Malaysia for my few days on the way through to SDL. I'm just not comfortable with the idea of getting around on my own in China, and by the time I factor in the cost of tours/guides/drivers, it will end up being more expensive than I'd hoped.

In Malaysia, I'll be quite happy to make my own way around using mainly public transport. Still deciding exactly what I'm going to do. One option is Melaka. I'm also considering doing the Jungle Railway to Kota Bharu and flying from there to Shanghai. It's currently partly out of action from flood damage, and I'm struggling to find any decent information about when it will be re-opening. Looks like April, but definitely haven't been able to confirm that.


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## Dentam

zanzibar138 said:


> I'm so jealous of people who get to travel for conferences! Great timing



I'm giving a talk so there will be a bit of stress involved I'm sure but otherwise it should be great!  I've never traveled overseas for a conference before and am very excited!


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## schnerk

We are stalking the booking pages as well... This could be a mad dash for hotel rooms...


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## Ember

Is everyone watching the main website? Or is there separate site for hotel bookings?


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## orion2185

edited due to correct information coming out today


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## zanzibar138

Ember said:


> Is everyone watching the main website? Or is there separate site for hotel bookings?



I'm just going to the main website, but I'm also following Disney and More on FB. I assume they will post an update when hotels are open for booking.



orion2185 said:


> edited due to correct information coming out today



Oooh, what information have you got???


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## Dentam

It looks like my sister is going to join me for this trip - woohoo!  Still waiting to see when the hotel bookings open up!


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## RachelleBeaney

Ok so I'm not going for the grand opening (that is going to be insane!), but now that we have an opening date I am happy and comfortable in saying we will be heading to Shanghai Disneyland in January 2017. 

We are hoping to stay at the Toy Story Hotel, if it's reasonably priced (i'm hanging out for them to release prices at this point!) ... I'm hoping you can buy tickets online (it looks like you will be able to) and easily book hotels, FP, restaurants etc on the English website. We have decided to spend 3 days at the Shanghai Disneyland resort (part of an overall 5 days in Shanghai) cos it looks so awesome! We will visit Shanghai city too, our plans are to see the Yu Gardens, go on a Bund and see the city lights, watch an acrobatics show and do a tour of an old area of Shanghai called Zhujiajiao Water Town. 

The visit will be part of an Asian trip where we visit Singapore, and Universal Singapore, Hong Kong and Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai and Shanghai Disney (obviously) and Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and Universal Japan and Tokyo Disney. This will be our second time at the Tokyo Disney resort but a first for all the other parks!


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## Elias1901

I'm really hoping that I can manage attending the grand opening as my first overseas park. Does anybody think that the highest single ticket option will be a 2-Day ticket (due to it only being a single theme park, rather than multiple), similar to how Hong Kong Disneyland's tickets go? I was also potentially thinking that I could couple it with a plane ride over to experience Hong Kong Disneyland, since I'm on the side of the world anyway. What about dining reservations? When do you think those will open up? Will they even be offered in advance online? If so, does anybody think that there be a craze to grab up reservations like restaurants over here? I'm really anxious to see when tickets will go on sale and when hotels will open for bookings! I really hope I can jump on board with this and avoid being left in the pixie dust... I was thinking I'd opt for a stay at the Toy Story Hotel if I can swing it, reason being that the Disneyland Hotel is more than likely to cost several arms and several legs! And I can't afford tons of extremities when the trip will already be so much... especially if I opt to partner it with a trip over to Hong Kong Disneyland, as well! It would be memorable, for sure!


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## zanzibar138

Dentam said:


> It looks like my sister is going to join me for this trip - woohoo!  Still waiting to see when the hotel bookings open up!



Yay! 



RachelleBeaney said:


> Ok so I'm not going for the grand opening (that is going to be insane!), but now that we have an opening date I am happy and comfortable in saying we will be heading to Shanghai Disneyland in January 2017.
> 
> We are hoping to stay at the Toy Story Hotel, if it's reasonably priced (i'm hanging out for them to release prices at this point!) ... I'm hoping you can buy tickets online (it looks like you will be able to) and easily book hotels, FP, restaurants etc on the English website. We have decided to spend 3 days at the Shanghai Disneyland resort (part of an overall 5 days in Shanghai) cos it looks so awesome! We will visit Shanghai city too, our plans are to see the Yu Gardens, go on a Bund and see the city lights, watch an acrobatics show and do a tour of an old area of Shanghai called Zhujiajiao Water Town.
> 
> The visit will be part of an Asian trip where we visit Singapore, and Universal Singapore, Hong Kong and Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai and Shanghai Disney (obviously) and Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and Universal Japan and Tokyo Disney. This will be our second time at the Tokyo Disney resort but a first for all the other parks!



Sounds like a great trip!



Elias1901 said:


> I'm really hoping that I can manage attending the grand opening as my first overseas park. Does anybody think that the highest single ticket option will be a 2-Day ticket (due to it only being a single theme park, rather than multiple), similar to how Hong Kong Disneyland's tickets go? I was also potentially thinking that I could couple it with a plane ride over to experience Hong Kong Disneyland, since I'm on the side of the world anyway. What about dining reservations? When do you think those will open up? Will they even be offered in advance online? If so, does anybody think that there be a craze to grab up reservations like restaurants over here? I'm really anxious to see when tickets will go on sale and when hotels will open for bookings! I really hope I can jump on board with this and avoid being left in the pixie dust... I was thinking I'd opt for a stay at the Toy Story Hotel if I can swing it, reason being that the Disneyland Hotel is more than likely to cost several arms and several legs! And I can't afford tons of extremities when the trip will already be so much... especially if I opt to partner it with a trip over to Hong Kong Disneyland, as well! It would be memorable, for sure!



Not sure how the tickets will work - hanging out for this too! I plan to go for 3 days, so hoping that will be an option. Otherwise I guess we'll have to look at buying multiple tickets or else looking at an AP. APs can be great value for overseas parks, but not sure how it would work for Opening Day given the rush on tickets and hotel bookings!

There is nothing like the rush for WDW dining reservations at any other park in the world. I'm not even sure that there's an online option for HKDL and DLP - I've never felt the need to find out. Again though, being Opening Day may prove to be slightly different. Personally I'm not planning to do any dining on actual Opening Day - I'll be too busy running around taking in all that I can! But I may want to make some reservations for the next two days, hopefully I'll just be able to do that there.

I recommend a side trip to HK if you can swing it. I have a real soft spot for that park. It may be small with not much in the way of high thrills, but it's beautiful and full of character - no pun intended lol! Plus, I've heard reports of Mystic Manor being the best dark ride of any Disney park. I'll be able to confirm this after our March trip! If you think you'll make the trip, feel free to browse my HKDL TRs to get an idea about what to expect.


----------



## orion2185

The official Shanghai Disneyland website has announced that park tickets are on sale starting Monday, March 28, 2016. A regular priced one-day park ticket is ¥370 (about 52USD) and a peak price of ¥499 (about 76USD). During the grand opening period (June 16-30) the park ticket is at the "peak price" of  ¥499.

Hotel reservations will also start March 28

Visit the offical Shanghai Disneyland website for more info and  calendar of seasonal ticket prices.


----------



## Dentam

orion2185 said:


> The official Shanghai Disneyland website has announced that park tickets are on sale starting Monday, March 28, 2016. A regular priced one-day park ticket is ¥370 (about 52USD) and a peak price of ¥499 (about 76USD). During the grand opening period (June 16-30) the park ticket is at the "peak price" of  ¥499.
> 
> Hotel reservations will also start March 28
> 
> Visit the offical Shanghai Disneyland website for more info and  calendar of seasonal ticket prices.



Thanks for the info!!  Looks like I will be there right after the peak pricing ends!

ETA: Nope, from looking at the website, peak pricing goes through the end of August.  Oh well, it's still not too bad!


----------



## zanzibar138

orion2185 said:


> The official Shanghai Disneyland website has announced that park tickets are on sale starting Monday, March 28, 2016. A regular priced one-day park ticket is ¥370 (about 52USD) and a peak price of ¥499 (about 76USD). During the grand opening period (June 16-30) the park ticket is at the "peak price" of  ¥499.
> 
> Hotel reservations will also start March 28
> 
> Visit the offical Shanghai Disneyland website for more info and  calendar of seasonal ticket prices.



Woohoo! We have a date to work with! Heading to the website to check it out


----------



## helenk

orion2185 said:


> The official Shanghai Disneyland website has announced that park tickets are on sale starting Monday, March 28, 2016. A regular priced one-day park ticket is ¥370 (about 52USD) and a peak price of ¥499 (about 76USD). During the grand opening period (June 16-30) the park ticket is at the "peak price" of  ¥499.
> 
> Hotel reservations will also start March 28
> 
> Visit the offical Shanghai Disneyland website for more info and  calendar of seasonal ticket prices.


Thank you for the information! I really want to go in July.  Fingers crossed it will work out for me


----------



## zanzibar138

It would be nice if they would give us a time too. And I'm guessing they mean 28th March in local Shanghai time?

It's a shame they won't be offering 3 day tickets. It's going to work out pretty expensive having to purchase a 2 day + 1 day. Great news that the tickets will be dated though and we'll get guaranteed entry on the date we choose! That makes it less of a problem if onsite hotels sell out/are too far over budget.

I love that their child/infant tickets are based on height, and not age. Such a great way to do it since you get more value out of the park as you get taller, not necessarily as you get older


----------



## Dentam

zanzibar138 said:


> I love that their child/infant tickets are based on height, and not age. Such a great way to do it since you get more value out of the park as you get taller, not necessarily as you get older



I agree, that's a great and logical way to structure the pricing!


----------



## steamboat will

Count me in !!!

I've just booked my flights from UK and I'm looking forward to enjoying opening week in Shanghai Disneyland.

I'm really hoping they open hotel bookings up before March 28th as I'm not sure I can not bear the  wait to secure my tickets.

I'm planning to spend a week in Shanghai and maybe 3 or 4 days at Shanghai Disneyland. I'm lucky enough to have visited every Disney theme park in the world so can't wait to cross this one of my list too, looking forward to checking into to this thread over the next few months to enjoy the anticipation with all of you.

SW


----------



## Ember

I only saw the tickets announcement. Is it confirmed that hotels also become available on March 28??


----------



## Dentam

So, having never been to Shanghai (or any part of China), I'm assuming the weather in July is going to be incredibly hot and humid.  It can't be any worse than Orlando in August and September though, can it??


----------



## steamboat will

Ember said:


> I only saw the tickets announcement. Is it confirmed that hotels also become available on March 28??



Not that I have seen anywhere, I am hoping they open up earlier, as staying in a Disney hotel guarantees you park admission. Even if staying at a Disney hotel is too expensive for my entire trip I plan to stay 1 or 2 nights so that I can use this benefit. It's hard to guess what price the on-site hotels will be at the moment while the Toy Story hotel is being marketed as a value resort I'm not expecting it to be as inexpensive as the Disney World values.

 my best guess is it will be an expensive moderate by comparison $250-$300 a night? Hope I'm wrong as I'd like to book in for my whole stay.

SW


----------



## Ember

steamboat will said:


> Not that I have seen anywhere, I am hoping they open up earlier, as staying in a Disney hotel guarantees you park admission. Even if staying at a Disney hotel is too expensive for my entire trip I plan to stay 1 or 2 nights so that I can use this benefit. It's hard to guess what price the on-site hotels will be at the moment while the Toy Story hotel is being marketed as a value resort I'm not expecting it to be as inexpensive as the Disney World values.
> 
> my best guess is it will be an expensive moderate by comparison $250-$300 a night? Hope I'm wrong as I'd like to book in for my whole stay.
> 
> SW



I'm hoping for Toy Story, too. Probably for four nights. I figure we'll fly in on the 15th. Have the 16th, 17th and 18th in the park, then fly out on the 19th.


----------



## zanzibar138

steamboat will said:


> Count me in !!!
> 
> I've just booked my flights from UK and I'm looking forward to enjoying opening week in Shanghai Disneyland.
> 
> I'm really hoping they open hotel bookings up before March 28th as I'm not sure I can not bear the  wait to secure my tickets.
> 
> I'm planning to spend a week in Shanghai and maybe 3 or 4 days at Shanghai Disneyland. I'm lucky enough to have visited every Disney theme park in the world so can't wait to cross this one of my list too, looking forward to checking into to this thread over the next few months to enjoy the anticipation with all of you.
> 
> SW



Yay! Very jealous that you've managed to get to every park! I've still got WDW and TDL to go.



Ember said:


> I only saw the tickets announcement. Is it confirmed that hotels also become available on March 28??



I could have sworn that the original ticket FAQ said something about hotels being available on 28th March too, but they seem to have updated the content. It doesn't seem to mention anything about the different ticket types and costs anymore either, unless I'm looking at something different 



Dentam said:


> So, having never been to Shanghai (or any part of China), I'm assuming the weather in July is going to be incredibly hot and humid.  It can't be any worse than Orlando in August and September though, can it??



I'm not looking forward to the weather, especially combined with the crowds! From what I've read about both Shanghai weather and Orlando weather, I'm expecting it to be similar.


----------



## orion2185

Ember said:


> I only saw the tickets announcement. Is it confirmed that hotels also become available on March 28??



Yes, it's on the offical Shanghai Disneyland website

Copy and pasted below for easy reference:
*When can guests purchase tickets for THE LION KING production at Disneytown and book stays in your resort hotels?

Resort hotel rooms* and tickets for THE LION KING show at the Walt Disney Grand Theater in Disneytown _*can be booked beginning March 28, 2016*_ through all authorized official channels. _Pricing and room rates will be available at that time._


----------



## Ember

Thanks, Orion!


----------



## zanzibar138

orion2185 said:


> Yes, it's on the offical Shanghai Disneyland website
> 
> Copy and pasted below for easy reference:
> *When can guests purchase tickets for THE LION KING production at Disneytown and book stays in your resort hotels?
> 
> Resort hotel rooms* and tickets for THE LION KING show at the Walt Disney Grand Theater in Disneytown _*can be booked beginning March 28, 2016*_ through all authorized official channels. _Pricing and room rates will be available at that time._



Thanks Orion! I knew I saw it somewhere!

I really wish they would give us at least an idea of pricing before bookings open up... I'm thinking Toy Story Hotel is going to be around $300, but have no idea how close that's really going to be!


----------



## orion2185

zanzibar138 said:


> Thanks Orion! I knew I saw it somewhere!
> 
> I really wish they would give us at least an idea of pricing before bookings open up... I'm thinking Toy Story Hotel is going to be around $300, but have no idea how close that's really going to be!




No worries
I was pretty certain that I read it somewhere 
Bit of a weird place to put it on the website. You think it would be at the top,of the page and on the hotels pages too. 

I think it's part of their plan not to release pricing before tickets go on sale. Sine the tickets are date specific might force you to stay on site...if everywhere else is full. 

However, I don't think they are going to have any trouble filling the 2 onsite offical Disney hotels
There just not enough rooms...if crowd capacity is anywhere near projections. 

We are also very interested to see how they price the 2 onsite hotels
Really  curious where they price the Disneyland hotel,suites 

Of course it goes without saying Disneyland hotel,will be like a Wdw deluxe 
Where they price the toy story moderate or value (though could see it being a lower end deluxe) due to the draw factor. 
But it's all speculation at this point.


----------



## zanzibar138

Hoping at least an idea of pricing might be leaked before then, so I at least know how much money I have to save! Though I suppose we won't have to pay the total amount up front. Was hoping that the Toy Story Hotel might be cheaper than HKDL's Hollywood Hotel, but I'm guessing it will probably be similar, given that tickets are not going to be that cheap compared to HKDL. Definitely not expecting 'value' pricing.

DH was under the impression that they would be offering opening specials - he's hilarious


----------



## zanzibar138

So I've finally locked in my flights. Qantas had a great special, so I ditched my already booked reward flight on Cathay and got the Qantas ones! I fly out on the Wednesday morning, arriving early that evening (would have preferred an extra day as a buffer, but it was much more expensive - will just have to cross my fingers!). I'll go straight to the Disneyland area on Wednesday night, spend Opening Day there, Friday and then most of Saturday before heading home on the Saturday evening. I'll really have to consider whether I want to buy a ticket for that 3rd day - it's a lot of money for not even a full day in the park!

I'm a little bit disappointed that I won't get to see much of China, but really as long as I get to Opening Day I'll be happy


----------



## orion2185

zanzibar138 said:


> So I've finally locked in my flights. Qantas had a great special, so I ditched my already booked reward flight on Cathay and got the Qantas ones! I fly out on the Wednesday morning, arriving early that evening (would have preferred an extra day as a buffer, but it was much more expensive - will just have to cross my fingers!). I'll go straight to the Disneyland area on Wednesday night, spend Opening Day there, Friday and then most of Saturday before heading home on the Saturday evening. I'll really have to consider whether I want to buy a ticket for that 3rd day - it's a lot of money for not even a full day in the park!
> 
> I'm a little bit disappointed that I won't get to see much of China, but really as long as I get to Opening Day I'll be happy



Just wondering what price did you pay for the Qantas special flights?

Have been looking up,flight...but have not found any specials.


----------



## zanzibar138

orion2185 said:


> Just wondering what price did you pay for the Qantas special flights?
> 
> Have been looking up,flight...but have not found any specials.



Mine were $777 return Melbourne-Shanghai via Sydney  It did say it was the last seat though!


----------



## orion2185

zanzibar138 said:


> Mine were $777 return Melbourne-Shanghai via Sydney  It did say it was the last seat though!



Thanks!

Wow that was a great price


----------



## zanzibar138

orion2185 said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Wow that was a great price



Yep, definitely worth paying cash - will save those points for another trip! Cathay had some pretty good deals on too, might be worth checking out  I've been using skyscanner to help me find the best deals.


----------



## Tink1987

How difficult do you guys think it will be to get tickets for opening day and the few days after? We have annual leave booked for May but no firm plans as of yet because we have been waiting for Virgin Atlantic's reward seat sale here in the UK. Now it has launched and I have the miles for the RT to Shanghai and the taxes cost are low (will obviously be moving annual leave to June if we bite the bullet and book)

The only worry I have with this is getting tickets. My husband is worried we will book these reward flights, waste our airmiles and not get into Disney. As we were doing Shanghai next year as part of a longer trip to New Zealand anyway, we are trying to decide whether just to leave it as we have too many other places we want to visit in May anyway 

Thanks for letting me get that out and your thoughts!


----------



## steamboat will

Tink1987 said:


> How difficult do you guys think it will be to get tickets for opening day and the few days after? We have annual leave booked for May but no firm plans as of yet because we have been waiting for Virgin Atlantic's reward seat sale here in the UK. Now it has launched and I have the miles for the RT to Shanghai and the taxes cost are low (will obviously be moving annual leave to June if we bite the bullet and book)
> 
> The only worry I have with this is getting tickets. My husband is worried we will book these reward flights, waste our airmiles and not get into Disney. As we were doing Shanghai next year as part of a longer trip to New Zealand anyway, we are trying to decide whether just to leave it as we have too many other places we want to visit in May anyway
> 
> Thanks for letting me get that out and your thoughts!




Im in the same position.... Booked my flight as it was a bargain with BA. But don't know how easy it will be to get tickets for the park but I'm planning a week in shanghai so should be able to secure tickets for a couple of days.... I hope. 

I'm hoping to stay at a resort hotel for a couple of nights if possible so I know I will be able to get into the park.

It'll be 1am in the morning UK time when it turns 9am in shanghai and tickets go on sale (if they do get released at 9am) so a late night forms on the 27th-28th March.

SW


----------



## zanzibar138

That is a concern of mine too. I'll be online ready to go when ticket sales open. I've managed to get into RunDisney events before (and you think 1am is bad... in our time zone RunDisney events open at 3am ). I can't see tickets selling out within 10 minutes like those ones do, so I'm still hopeful. I only have 2 full days in Shanghai, so if I can't get in on the first or second day it's going to be pretty disappointing.

I do also plan to stay onsite, but not sure how difficult that will be to secure either. Since they are supposed to open at the same time, I'm not going to know whether to buy my ticket or book my hotel first! Does anyone have a game plan for that?


----------



## steamboat will

zanzibar138 said:


> That is a concern of mine too. I'll be online ready to go when ticket sales open. I've managed to get into RunDisney events before (and you think 1am is bad... in our time zone RunDisney events open at 3am ). I can't see tickets selling out within 10 minutes like those ones do, so I'm still hopeful. I only have 2 full days in Shanghai, so if I can't get in on the first or second day it's going to be pretty disappointing.
> 
> I do also plan to stay onsite, but not sure how difficult that will be to secure either. Since they are supposed to open at the same time, I'm not going to know whether to buy my ticket or book my hotel first! Does anyone have a game plan for that?



I would guess to for hotels first, there's less than 2000 rooms onsite  (let's say from 16-17th for example) but for the same days there'll be 100,000 park tickets (again in speculating 50,000 tickets per day)  2000 rooms will sell faster than 100,000 I would guess. Plus if you snag a room you're guaranteed park across from your arrival to departure day right?  

This is supposed to be fun right


----------



## zanzibar138

I guess that's what I was thinking too. I'm not sure how much I rely on the whole guaranteed entry thing for Opening Day though... anything could happen lol! But yes, going by the numbers it does make more sense to secure the hotel first, then go after the tickets.


----------



## orion2185

zanzibar138 said:


> I guess that's what I was thinking too. I'm not sure how much I rely on the whole guaranteed entry thing for Opening Day though... anything could happen lol! But yes, going by the numbers it does make more sense to secure the hotel first, then go after the tickets.




Or,  split it between the he 2 of us. 

One goes for the hotel

The other books/buys the tickets on another computer. 

We do this with DCL,WDW fastpasses and dinning bookings (anything that can be booked in advance) 
Has always worked well for us..and we have never missed out on anything we wanted without compromise


----------



## orion2185

Side note


i wonder how many 'resellers' are going to be buying tickets and hotels for open day...only to turn around and try to sell them for  exorbitant  Prices. 

While I'm sure technically it's not allowed...but it still happens all the time at all the other Disney resorts for popular events. 

The hotel rooms is what  concerns us. As the onsite hotels have very limited amount of rooms. I don't expect them to last long at all.


----------



## zanzibar138

orion2185 said:


> Or,  split it between the he 2 of us.
> 
> One goes for the hotel
> 
> The other books/buys the tickets on another computer.
> 
> We do this with DCL,WDW fastpasses and dinning bookings (anything that can be booked in advance)
> Has always worked well for us..and we have never missed out on anything we wanted without compromise



There's only one of me... maybe I can bribe someone into helping me out on the day 



orion2185 said:


> Side note
> 
> 
> i wonder how many 'resellers' are going to be buying tickets and hotels for open day...only to turn around and try to sell them for  exorbitant  Prices.
> 
> While I'm sure technically it's not allowed...but it still happens all the time at all the other Disney resorts for popular events.
> 
> The hotel rooms is what  concerns us. As the onsite hotels have very limited amount of rooms. I don't expect them to last long at all.



Wouldn't surprise me at all. It happens all the time with RunDisney bibs and merch too.

What sort of time frame are you expecting for the hotels? Like an hour? 15 minutes? A few hours? I really have no idea!


----------



## RachelleBeaney

orion2185 said:


> Yes, it's on the offical Shanghai Disneyland website
> 
> Copy and pasted below for easy reference:
> *When can guests purchase tickets for THE LION KING production at Disneytown and book stays in your resort hotels?
> 
> Resort hotel rooms* and tickets for THE LION KING show at the Walt Disney Grand Theater in Disneytown _*can be booked beginning March 28, 2016*_ through all authorized official channels. _Pricing and room rates will be available at that time._



Thanks orion2185, I've been hanging out for this information RE hotel room bookings! You are a wealth of info!!  

Our flights are now (as of today) officially booked for January 2017! I am so so so excited!


----------



## netimka

hope its ok to post it here as I just come across them and we dont really have a forum for Shanghai (I did ask in technical forum if there are plans for one, we are not going to opening but want to go next year or year after and of course really interested how it will all works out...


----------



## Tink1987

Thanks for your help everyone with the tickets. We are going to stick with our original plan of visiting next year - the heat will just be too much for us in May!


----------



## zanzibar138

netimka said:


> hope its ok to post it here as I just come across them and we dont really have a forum for Shanghai (I did ask in technical forum if there are plans for one, we are not going to opening but want to go next year or year after and of course really interested how it will all works out...



Post away! I'm hanging out to get an idea of what merch will be available


----------



## steamboat will

So thought I would share my cunning plan.....

If I fail to get any Shanghai tickets or hotel reservations on march 28th, due to them selling out super quick, which I really don't think is really going to happen ....

I'm going to book a connecting flight to Tokyo. It costs about the same as a Chinese visa. Which I won't need if im spending less than 72 hours in China.

I've been lucky enough to go to Tokyo a handful of times and love TDL.... 

So the worry of missing out on Shanghai reservations doesn't seem so worrying now....


----------



## zanzibar138

Good plan! If I can't get tickets or accommodation, I may book a flight to Xi'an and do my sight-seeing there instead.


----------



## xmansmom

We have a trip to China planned and will actually be in Shanghai on opening day.  We are with a tour so I'm not sure how it would work out for us to go out on our own for the day.  The tour ends in Hong Kong and DH has given his blessing to see about flying back to Shanghai and going to SDL.  The question is - do I go on opening day, which I think will be amazing, or wait and have more days there? If we attend on opening day I seriously doubt my DH will spend all the extra money to go back.  I also think that being so close on opening day and not being able to go is going to make me crazy.   Decisions...decisions...


----------



## zanzibar138

Wow I don't envy your dilemma - that's a tough call! I think if I was in that situation I would go afterwards. I'm sure it will still be crowded, but at least it may not be quite so chaotic, and if you can have a couple of days there you might actually be able to experience most of the park. If you have some spare time on Opening Day, maybe you could just go for a couple of hours, check out Disney Town, maybe have dinner there and just take in the atmosphere.


----------



## xmansmom

zanzibar138 said:


> If you have some spare time on Opening Day, maybe you could just go for a couple of hours, check out Disney Town, maybe have dinner there and just take in the atmosphere.



Good idea.  I doubt we could see it all in one day.  I'll probably never have another chance to go there so I want to see and do everything.


----------



## SoccerMickey

Just booked our flights too. $798 on delta from Seattle. Going to spend a full day in Shanghai and a day tour to Beijing then head to Hong Kong for a couple of days. Fingers crossed for hotel room and park/The Lion King tickets. Good luck to everyone else!


----------



## zanzibar138

Wow great deal on airfares! You're only spending a day in Beijing? Are you flying up from Shanghai?


----------



## Elias1901

Does anybody know if (or think) that booking hotels will work the same as other Disney Resort Hotels? Where you pay a night's rate up-front as a deposit and the rest upon arrival?


----------



## kidd_freeper

Wuzefelix said:


> Hiho,
> 
> now that Shanghai Disneyland officially announced that it will be opening on 16th June 2016, who's in on this trip planning thread to exchange information or just share the excitement of their upcoming trip?
> 
> 
> Have you decided to go yet?
> Have you ever attended a Disney theme park official opening before?
> Where are you going to stay?
> What's your strategy to get park tickets?
> How long are you going for?
> What other sights / attractions are you going to visit during your trip?
> What else would you like to share?
> Happy planning everyone, and have a magical time at Shanghai Disney Resort!
> 
> 
> ---
> Wuzefelix


I will be in China for six different one-month long business trips in the next 18 months. I arrive and depart from Shanghai for each of them. The second one starts June 20.
The word is that the Chinese will heavily attend the new park. Opening day will be insane, and the park will be packed solid for months after that. Nevertheless, I hope to get a chance to visit.
No railroad, no monorail, no Small World, no Space Mountain. However, the Tron ride looks extremely cool, as does the entire pirate area.


----------



## SoccerMickey

zanzibar138 said:


> Wow great deal on airfares! You're only spending a day in Beijing? Are you flying up from Shanghai?


Yes. I found a tour that is a 14-hour day that hits all the sites and includes lunch.


----------



## TexasMouseFan

We are looking at going to SDL after our China ABD trip at Christmas.  The trip ends in HKDL and we will spend an extra day there to see more of the park.  Then we will fly back to Shanghai to visit SDL.  We will miss the opening day crowds, but I'm afraid we will have similar experiences with the NYE crowds.  

It seems some of you are experienced China travelers.  Can you help me with a good airline that I can book from Hong Kong back to Shanghai?  Do I need to book the airline thru a China travel agency or can I book it online?  Thanks!


----------



## zanzibar138

I'm not an experienced China traveller, but I can recommend Cathay Pacific, or their more basic carrier Dragon Air (soon to be Cathay Dragon I believe). Cathay are based in Hong Kong, and we've always had great experiences onboard, and with their customer service department. You don't need to book through a TA if you don't want to, it's quite easy to just book online, whoever you decide to go with.

If you're just looking for the cheapest fare, I recommend visiting Skyscanner.com and seeing what that comes up with. You can check airline safety and product ratings and reviews at airlineratings.com. I generally refuse to fly with anyone who has less than 4 out of 7 stars, or if they've had any fatalities regardless of how many stars they have. FWIW, Cathay Pacific has 7 out of 7 for both safety and product, and DragonAir gets 7 out of 7 for safety and 6 out of 7 for product.


----------



## steamboat will

Looks like reservations will open at 12.01am on the 28th according to an official report on Shanghaidaily.com

So expect Disney's advanced and reliable web reservation to be overwhelmed by..... 12.02am

Let's hope not....

SW


----------



## zanzibar138

Awesome! Thanks heaps SW


----------



## zanzibar138

On another note, why does it always work out to 3am Melbourne time?  Lucky for Easter so I can go back to bed!


----------



## netimka

Good luck to anyone trying to buy them now... just read website was fine for 12 mins... good luck everyone


----------



## zanzibar138

Where are you getting your info netimka? I'm having terrible trouble getting through!


----------



## xmansmom

I'm trying to book on the English site but it won't let me sign in with my current log in and it's all in Chinese.  I can't even make my way through to get a new account.  Anyone else out there have better luck?


----------



## zanzibar138

Nope, I'm getting the same thing. And it won't let me create an account without a mainland Chinese phone number  I wish they'd just let us buy stuff without having to create an account!

Plus, it still says tickets are unavailable for every date I've tried. They can't have sold out yet, must be a system error.


----------



## xmansmom

I'm so frustrated!  What's your gameplan Zanzibar?  Verizon won't let me call and I don't have a home phone.  Ugh!!!


----------



## netimka

just saw on FB Disney and more site... https://www.facebook.com/Disney-and-more-302042929839518/?fref=nf ... had a quick look for hotels prices and looks fine but just didn't pass the logging page...


----------



## netimka

can you buy some credits and use skype to make a call?


----------



## zanzibar138

Already tried that - they're not open at the moment.

I finally managed to create an account, and it now looks like all hotel availability (at both hotels) is gone


----------



## BelleBway

I was able to register for the site, but I chose the option to use an email address and not a phone number.
Try using a browser like Chrome which can (roughly) translate from Chinese; the pages kept randomly switching back to Chinese no matter how many times I selected English, probably because of so many people connecting right now.

It looked like hotels require full payment up front; I wasn't clear if you could cancel or modify online because the terms only said to call.  Since I don't plan to go until the fall, I decided not to reserve yet because of those conditions.  Also, there are no park hours and tickets are only on sale until mid-September.  (I'm also seeing none now for any date but assuming that has to be a glitch)

On the positive side, hotel prices and theatre tickets for Lion King both seem very reasonable.  

Good luck to everyone who is trying for opening day!


----------



## zanzibar138

Still no luck with tickets either.


----------



## zanzibar138

So it's now taken me to a holding page - it says the wait will be 30 minutes.

So frustrating because I was in and had my hotel room selected - I was just delayed because I had to set up an account!


----------



## WAMUMOF4

I am so frustrated I spent 25 minutes pushing the confirm payment page for a Toy story hotel room all it did was open page after page whilst counting me down the 25 mins with the same thing.


----------



## netimka

just saw this on FB:
Sdlr.alitravel.com works just fine. Adult tickets are available for all dates except June 16.

sending lots of pixi dust for you guys xxx


----------



## zanzibar138

Thanks netimka, but that link doesn't seem to work. Starting to realise exactly how bad of an idea this was...


----------



## Ember

WAMUMOF4 said:


> I am so frustrated I spent 25 minutes pushing the confirm payment page for a Toy story hotel room all it did was open page after page whilst counting me down the 25 mins with the same thing.



I am having the exact same problem trying to book for mid-july...


----------



## SoccerMickey

Had Shanghai Disneyland Hotel in my cart. Club level. Then was not able to let me book nor change from Chinese to English. Was able to book Toy Story hotel from the 16th to the 20th. and then move to SDL Hotel for one night. Having frustration trying to get tickets to The Lion King and I'll just wait for park tickets now until this is over. My hotel confirmation says Tickets are not included in the room but guaranteed due to occupancy.


----------



## zanzibar138

Well I'm not quite sure what to do. My holding pages are merrily refreshing now and then and tell me that there's 1 minute to go. Whenever I click on the link to buy tickets at the other official store, it takes me to some Chinese online shopping page (not related to Disney at all). Looks like I've missed the boat completely with hotels... I mean, I knew it would be a rough start, but I've been here for 1 1/2 hours now (from 3am) and all I've done is missed out on stuff!


----------



## zanzibar138

SoccerMickey said:


> Had Shanghai Disneyland Hotel in my cart. Club level. Then was not able to let me book nor change from Chinese to English. Was able to book Toy Story hotel from the 16th to the 20th. and then move to SDL Hotel for one night. Having frustration trying to get tickets to The Lion King and I'll just wait for park tickets now until this is over. My hotel confirmation says Tickets are not included in the room but guaranteed due to occupancy.



Glad someone's gotten in - nice work!


----------



## schnerk

So frustrating. family is here for Easter Dinner and my DW and I are stuck trying to get this taken care of  Has anyone been able to pay yet?


----------



## netimka

SoccerMickey said:


> Had Shanghai Disneyland Hotel in my cart. Club level. Then was not able to let me book nor change from Chinese to English. Was able to book Toy Story hotel from the 16th to the 20th. and then move to SDL Hotel for one night. Having frustration trying to get tickets to The Lion King and I'll just wait for park tickets now until this is over. My hotel confirmation says Tickets are not included in the room but guaranteed due to occupancy.



congrats on your booking!!! do you remember how much was club room not that I will stay but just wonder lol


----------



## zanzibar138

schnerk said:


> So frustrating. family is here for Easter Dinner and my DW and I are stuck trying to get this taken care of  Has anyone been able to pay yet?



Nope I'm still stuck on the holding page.


----------



## zanzibar138

zanzibar138 said:


> Nope I'm still stuck on the holding page.



How long do I give it? I could be sitting here for hours lol!


----------



## wildernessjim

Clicking the "Pay now" button just pops up another page for me, sometimes going temporarily to that castle "please wait" page, and then coming back to the same order confirmation/pay now page. I don't get any page to enter credit card info. If anyone has success paying, can you post what browser you're using?


----------



## zanzibar138

wildernessjim said:


> Clicking the "Pay now" button just pops up another page for me, sometimes going temporarily to that castle "please wait" page, and then coming back to the same order confirmation/pay now page. I don't get any page to enter credit card info. If anyone has success paying, can you post what browser you're using?



You're having more luck than me - I can't even get to the hotel or ticket pages, I've been stuck on those holding pages for 40 minutes!


----------



## zanzibar138

So I made it back to the tickets page, but it still says they're unavailable - for every date I've tried right up until the end of July. I highly doubt that they've sold out of all of those dates already so maybe there's still hope? In the meantime, am I doing something wrong? Have people managed to purchase tickets yet, or just hotels?


----------



## zanzibar138

I'm pretty close to giving up... Really not sure what else I can do. Perhaps I'll give them a call when they open and see if there's anything left.


----------



## schnerk

I am earning my Easter wine... Anyone get through yet?


----------



## Ember

Yeah, I've been at it for two hours.  Also ready to give up.  I can make it to the Order Confirmation page, but it simply won't let me make a payment.  Glad I waited to book flights.


----------



## zanzibar138

Ok that's it for me. Not sure how well I'll sleep, but going to attempt to go back to bed. Will call the reservations line when I wake up and see if I have any luck there. Hopefully I'll still be able to get a ticket for 1 of the 3 days I'll be there. Otherwise it'll be Plan B - sightseeing in Shanghai with a day trip to check out Disney Town and Wishing Star Park.


----------



## WAMUMOF4

wildernessjim said:


> Clicking the "Pay now" button just pops up another page for me, sometimes going temporarily to that castle "please wait" page, and then coming back to the same order confirmation/pay now page. I don't get any page to enter credit card info. If anyone has success paying, can you post what browser you're using?



I had the same thing in both Safari and Chrome I am giving up.


----------



## xmansmom

WAMUMOF4 said:


> I am so frustrated I spent 25 minutes pushing the confirm payment page for a Toy story hotel room all it did was open page after page whilst counting me down the 25 mins with the same thing.



That keeps happening to me too.  How can I book when it won't let me pay???


----------



## wildernessjim

It's working now! It finally started redirecting to a payeco site and I was able to book.


----------



## TexasMouseFan

The site seems to be working now.  I just booked our December trip.


----------



## steamboat will

NOW WORKING !!!!!!

only took 4 hours


----------



## Ember

We are booked for July 7-12!! Finally booked the hotel and then got flights! May hold off on the tickets as they are guaranteed now and it's been an expensive day! Lol


----------



## wildernessjim

I was able to book the hotel but haven't managed to get through the payment page when trying to buy tickets. It just spins with the "the result will be notified to you in 5 minutes" message. Actually, I just saw that it displayed a message that I had exceeded my daily payment limit before it redirected back to the order page. I guess that's it for today


----------



## WAMUMOF4

I got 2 day tickets I can't believe so many hours after I gave up I got some I am so excited they are showing in my account now I just have to organise everything else.


----------



## xmansmom

I just (finally!) booked our 4trip for June 22. I was worried that they'd be sold out but it's either not a popular date, or the Chinese site wasn't working either. This was a frustrating day but I'm happy I finally booked!


----------



## zanzibar138

Ok so I gave up and went back to bed lol! Woke up at around 9:30am and thought why not give it one last shot. So I managed to get a club level room at the SDL Hotel for the 16th, a garden view room at the Toy Story Hotel for the 17th, and a 2 day ticket for the 17th and 18th. Now I just need to hope that the ticket guarantee thing comes through for Opening Day.

Has anyone looked at the Ts and Cs for the ticket guarantee? I'm actually a bit suspicious that it won't go through for Opening Day. First of all, I'm not sure whether the ticket would be for the day of check in or the day after (and since you can't get a hotel for the 15th, it would have to be the day after). Also, there is this, which is a bit of a worry!

* Blockout dates may apply to the theme park tickets in the package.

I'm going to call when they open and ask what the deal is.


----------



## zanzibar138

OMG I got my Opening Day ticket!  Woop woop!

Looks like they're still working through some bugs in the website.


----------



## Wuzefelix

OMG what a night!

Sorry I didn't reply earlier but I'm in Tanzania on Safari right now..

We had the same problem at midnight that we managed to get tickets into our shopping cart but then couldn't check out. The same with the hotel. We managed to secure the Toy Story Hotel but couldn't get the website for the payment to load.

Now after some hours my friend who will be coming on the trip with us managed to get us 2 day tickets for the opening day and the day after. We're soooo excited now! 

Hotel rooms would have been nice but apparently they're all gone now. 

See you at the grand opening


----------



## zanzibar138

zanzibar138 said:


> OMG I got my Opening Day ticket!  Woop woop!
> 
> Looks like they're still working through some bugs in the website.



Never mind. While I waited for an hour for my payment to go through the tickets sold out


----------



## Wuzefelix

Tickets are still available on the official website for the 16th and 17th as of right now! So good luck getting them!


----------



## zanzibar138

Wuzefelix said:


> Tickets are still available on the official website for the 16th and 17th as of right now! So good luck getting them!



Hmm I didn't see any after my last post. However, I did manage to get hold of someone on live chat with this result...





She went on to confirm that yes, I just buy the ticket at the hotel when I check in. She wasn't able to tell me yet what time I will be able to do that, but it sounds promising.

What an emotional rollercoaster this morning has been!


----------



## WAMUMOF4

Th


zanzibar138 said:


> Hmm I didn't see any after my last post. However, I did manage to get hold of someone on live chat with this result...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> She went on to confirm that yes, I just buy the ticket at the hotel when I check in. She wasn't able to tell me yet what time I will be able to do that, but it sounds promising.
> 
> What an emotional rollercoaster this morning has been!



That's great news that's why I was trying to secure a room first I don't why I actually expected Disney to launch something without issues I guess i was a bit unrealistic


----------



## zanzibar138

I was just trying to secure *something* lol! Had both hotels and the ticket screen up all morning trying to get something to work. I'm honestly pretty thrilled with what I've ended up with given the circumstances!


----------



## Ember

I'm really happy to hear about the ticket guarantee. If I can wait a month before buying tickets, that really helps the pocket book! We are there for four days, which may be too long. But I figure it will be hot and we can take it slow and enjoy it.


----------



## Dentam

Wow, the news is showing that opening day tickets sold out in 5 minutes.  Scalpers will be making some big bucks here no doubt.

I can't book anything now given that I have no idea what my schedule will be for the conference I'm attending in early July. 

ETA: I just checked and it looks like there are plenty of rooms left at both hotels for early July.  I'm going to try to get my dates nailed down this week so I can book something!


----------



## SoccerMickey

Okay...its been 24 hours since everything has gone live. I was able to secure the hotels but still no tickets. Thank goodness they're saying the tickets are guaranteed. Ive been able to extend Shanghai Disneyland Hotel from 20-21 to 18-21 and Toy Story from 16-18. I was hoping to be at SDL for opening day but I'm happy for what we got. Was anyone able to secure Lion King tickets? This website is nuts!!


----------



## xmansmom

Wuzefelix said:


> OMG what a night!
> 
> Sorry I didn't reply earlier but I'm in Tanzania on Safari right now..



I'm jealous! Out Tanzania trip was by far the best vaca we're had. It's been a few years but electricity and Internet were issues when we were there so it must have been extra difficult for you.


----------



## netimka

great to read you all got your reservations especially for the opening day... now cannot wait to hear all about your experiences


----------



## Dentam

I can't wait until the pics of the hotels and the new park start rolling in!  No pics of the rooms on the website yet, likely because they are still being built!


----------



## xmansmom

zanzibar138 said:


> Hmm I didn't see any after my last post. However, I did manage to get hold of someone on live chat with this result...
> 
> She went on to confirm that yes, I just buy the ticket at the hotel when I check in. She wasn't able to tell me yet what time I will be able to do that, but it sounds promising.


Thanks for this info.  I'm glad everything worked out for you.  It stinks that you got up at 3:00 am with no luck.  I think several of us proved our loyalty and love for Disney yesterday!


----------



## zanzibar138

Congrats to everyone who got the hotels/tickets they wanted  Pretty sure the main rush was for Opening Day and the couple of weeks until the end of June. I think those of you going in July or later should still find availability.



xmansmom said:


> I think several of us proved our loyalty and love for Disney yesterday!



Definitely!


----------



## steamboat will

With the trip only 10 weeks away..... By now I'm usually calling Walt Disney World to get dinig reservations... (Crazy in itself)

But as yet no sign dining reservations or menus available for Shanghai . Doesn't stop me for dreaming and planning tho....

Want to try to get dinner at the Royal Banquet Hall and Aurora, high tea at Bacchus lounge, and lunch at Tangled Tree Tavern.

Anyone else thinking about food yet??? Or is it just me


----------



## zanzibar138

I'm not thinking about dining - it's really not a priority for me. Part of me would like to do a high tea, but I think I'd be too worried about feeling like I was wasting time. I plan to just grab QS as I go. I do wonder when things like menus and dining reservations will become available though.

Having said that, I am already planning my outfits. I plan to do a different Disneybound each day. I thought for Opening Day I'd go with something classic like Minnie Mouse, and the other days maybe something fun like Pooh Bear, and just for an excuse to wear my tiara, maybe Cinderella. Still very much in the early planning stages though.


----------



## zanzibar138

Another question for fellow Opening Day planners... where are you planning to stay the night of the 15th? How early are you planning to get to the gates on Opening Day? And do you plan to check in to your Disney hotel before heading to the gates? The logistical part of my brain is going nuts trying to plan all this without knowing what time the park and hotels will actually open!


----------



## disney144

We're looking at going next April (2017) at the end of our Asia trip. Any ideas how crowded it will be? I know it will be crazy for a few months, but we're trying to figure out if it would be worth it this time next year.


----------



## Dentam

disney144 said:


> We're looking at going next April (2017) at the end of our Asia trip. Any ideas how crowded it will be? I know it will be crazy for a few months, but we're trying to figure out if it would be worth it this time next year.



There's no way anyone can know that at this point.  Some people are anticipating that it will be a heavily attended park while others believe the troubles with the economy in China will negatively affect attendance numbers.


----------



## zanzibar138

disney144 said:


> We're looking at going next April (2017) at the end of our Asia trip. Any ideas how crowded it will be? I know it will be crazy for a few months, but we're trying to figure out if it would be worth it this time next year.



I agree with Dentnam. This is a entirely new park with a completely demographic to what many people are used to dealing with. It's anyone's guess what crowds might be like after the initial opening pandemonium wears off!


----------



## Wuzefelix

zanzibar138 said:


> Another question for fellow Opening Day planners... where are you planning to stay the night of the 15th? How early are you planning to get to the gates on Opening Day? And do you plan to check in to your Disney hotel before heading to the gates? The logistical part of my brain is going nuts trying to plan all this without knowing what time the park and hotels will actually open!



We didn't manage to book a Disney Hotel because of issues with the website so we will stay off-site the entire stay at "Maixinge Boutique Hotel Chuansha Branch" which is in Pudong near the airport. I believe it's about 5km from Disney by taxi, so not bad. It's also right at a subway station. It's inexpensive so I don't expect too much but it should do the trick. Maybe you should look into that for the night of the 15th. Please note that I have never stayed there before so I can't really recommend it yet, I am just basing my decision on the location and the look of their website. Any other hotel near Pudong airport could also be an option for you.


The park opens at 12pm on the grand opening day. Here are the official opening times from the website:



> June 16, 2016: 12:00 to 22:00
> June 2016 through August 2016: Monday through Thursday from 09:00 to 21:00, and Friday through Sunday from 08:00 to 22:00
> September 1 to 13, 2016: Monday through Friday from 10:00 to 19:00, and Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 to 21:00



I don't know when the hotels or Disney Town will open yet but I think they will both open in the morning, way before the park opens. My assumption is based upon two things: 

Firstly, every other day the park and Disney Town will open early in the morning and the hotels will be open 24/7. So it would be logical that the first shift for the cast members would usually start in the morning. Also typically in hotels world-wide the early shift starts around 6am. It would be easiest to have the cast members work the same routine shifts even for the grand opening day.

Secondly, with a park opening at 12 noon, many people like yourself would want to check into the hotel with their luggage and stuff so it would make sense to have the hotels already open. And many people would arrive at the Resort before the park opening so it would also make sense to have Disney Town open so the people can already start buying food, beverages and souvenirs.

Maybe Disney will release the official opening times of Disney Town and the hotels later but this is my guess.

We will probably make our way to the Resort around 8am and check out the area. If it's already super busy we will just get in line at the gate, but if it doesn't look too crowded yet we will walk around Disney Town and the hotels for a bit. In the worst case scenario everything would be closed but we could still walk around a little. But like I said I expect the whole Resort (except the park) to be open in the morning anyway.


----------



## xmansmom

steamboat will said:


> Want to try to get dinner at the Royal Banquet Hall  Anyone else thinking about food yet??? Or is it just me



Me!  I want to go to the Royal Banquet Hall too.  The website says nothing about ressies.  Do you know if they'll have them?


----------



## zanzibar138

Wuzefelix said:


> We didn't manage to book a Disney Hotel because of issues with the website so we will stay off-site the entire stay at "Maixinge Boutique Hotel Chuansha Branch" which is in Pudong near the airport. I believe it's about 5km from Disney by taxi, so not bad. It's also right at a subway station. It's inexpensive so I don't expect too much but it should do the trick. Maybe you should look into that for the night of the 15th. Please note that I have never stayed there before so I can't really recommend it yet, I am just basing my decision on the location and the look of their website. Any other hotel near Pudong airport could also be an option for you.
> 
> 
> The park opens at 12pm on the grand opening day. Here are the official opening times from the website:



Where do you find all this information??? I've looked all through the website and still can't see it lol!

Can't believe the park won't be opening until 12pm! That's awesome, gives us plenty of time. I think I will be finding out what time the hotel opens, and get there slightly beforehand so that I can be one of the first in line to check in. Would be really great if it's 6am. I guess they realise they'll have a lot of guests to process before park opening and hopefully will take that into account. My plan is to head straight to the gates after I check in and hopefully be one of the first in line. Then hopefully be able to hold off on having to find a bathroom until after the park opens lol! The joys of travelling solo...

Will check out your hotel recommendation, thanks


----------



## xmansmom

Wuzefelix said:


> we will stay off-site the entire stay at "Maixinge Boutique Hotel Chuansha Branch" which is in Pudong near the airport.


I'm looking for a hotel near the airport for our last night.  I went to check out this place and got scared when the rooms listed showed that "family room with bathroom".  Luckily, I looked a little further and saw that the other rooms do actually have bathrooms.  lol  I see $145 which seems like a good price to me but in Shanghai terms is that considered cheap? I only found a few reviews but they weren't bad.  The worst one complained about lack of "proper teacups" and teaspoons, salt but no pepper at bfast, etc.  Not deal breakers for me.  It sounds like they're new and really trying based on a response from the hotel.

Does anyone know how big the beds are in Shanghai?  When we were in Japan we booked 2 rooms - one with a king bed and one with two doubles for 3 children.  The King was a queen bed and the two doubles were a little wider than a single.  We had to push them together to fit the three of them in places that didn't offer roll aways.  We'll only be traveling with two kids and would like to do only one room if possible.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Hello all!! My name is Adam and I was invited to join this discussion by an anonymous poster over at themeparx. I regularly post on there with Shanghai Disney Resort news. However it has become clear that there may be some discussions which are outside the scope of themeparx, and I would really like to discuss things with you lovely people over here at disboards! I have been a member of disboards for some time but I haven't been on it for a long time now and certainly wasn't aware of this thread until today.

I have spent the last hour or so going through the entire thread so far and reading all your posts. I'd like to introduce myself and also give an update on where I'm up to, and what I'm waiting for. After reading through all 7 pages of the thread I only really found posts I needed to reply to on the first and last pages, as the middle posts were mostly people speculating about the ticket sales and then going through the horror of ticket sales. Don't worry - we were all in the same boat - you can see myself and others posted on themeparx during our saga, and had much the same experiences as you guys!

I don't know if double posting is discouraged/disallowed over here on disboards - perhaps someone can let me know? Anyway to be on the safe side I will assume that double posting is not allowed and so this post will probably be quite long!!

Questions from original post

To start with, I will respond to the initial questions which Wuzefelix posted on the OP:



Wuzefelix said:


> Have you decided to go yet?



Yes! I decided a very long time ago that I would be going. I don't even remember when, but perhaps around 2012 or 2013 I made the decision to go.



Wuzefelix said:


> Have you ever attended a Disney theme park official opening before?



No, so this will be very exciting for me! This is a kind of "once in a lifetime" goal to attend a Disney theme park opening.



Wuzefelix said:


> Where are you going to stay?



Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, Toy Story Hotel and a third-party hotel (more on that later). To be honest, I know I'm probably in a very small minority but I actually don't like the Toy Story films! I have seen Toy Story 1 and 3 completely and about half of Toy Story 2. Nevertheless I see TSH as a part of the SDR experience and so I wanted to stay there for at least one night. SDH has been compared to Disneyland Hotel at Paris, which is one of my favourite hotel locations ever, so I'm particularly psyched about SDH.



Wuzefelix said:


> What's your strategy to get park tickets?



I'm going to say "was"....I just sat trying to get them from the moment the sales opened. I think I was lucky in that I booked park tickets before the hotels but this was not intentional - just happened to be the system that got fixed first during the nightmare that was 27/28 March! I say "lucky" because two other people on themeparx have reported that they have struggled to buy park tickets after making hotel reservations, and when they asked about it on live chat, they were told that you can't make park ticket bookings once you have already made hotel reservations; you have to get the tickets when you get there. But I don't really trust that....



Wuzefelix said:


> How long are you going for?



I will be in Shanghai for 7 days in total, and will be at the park for 4 days.



Wuzefelix said:


> What other sights / attractions are you going to visit during your trip?



Actually pretty much none! The last time I went to Shanghai I stayed for 3 weeks and got to do a LOT of sightseeing. This time is really just about Disney and nothing else. I will be arriving in Shanghai a few days before the opening day, but that is just to give me time to get over my jet lag. This might seem like a colossal waste of time/money but for me it's a really big thing - I don't want to be falling asleep during the opening day celebrations! My plan is, on those days I will stay in my (third-party) hotel room and watch Disney movies related to SDR attractions. I'm currently in the process of making a list of all the Disney movies which are linked to SDR attractions and how many attractions they are linked to. I can post it on here when I'm finished if y'all are interested!



Wuzefelix said:


> What else would you like to share?



Lots and lots of things! Well, first, I'll just give a run-down of my plan. I'll arrive in Shanghai 13th June. My hotel bookings are: SDH 16-19 June, TSH 19-20 June, and I will leave Shanghai on 20 June. I have park tickets for 16-19. Now, as others have speculated, I am really not sure I can rely on the Disney hotels being available on 16th June before the time I would want to go to the park opening. So I have planned to have a third-party hotel booking from 13-17 June. Yes, this does mean I have booked two hotels for the night of 16th June! Seems a waste of money, but right now I don't know if I can risk taking all my stuff to SDR on 16 June and having nowhere to put it, leaving me to enter the park a lot later than expected and possibly miss some of the "once in a lifetime" festivities.

Regarding flights - I live in London UK, and I'm flying Lufthansa both ways - changing at Frankfurt (1h change) on both the outward and return. The only other viable option was China Eastern which was cheaper but I have heard a lot of bad things about them and decided to avoid them!

Points from earlier posts

Now I want to reply to a few things other have said on the earlier posts...

What time to arrive



Wuzefelix said:


> Honestly, we are a little worried about actually getting into the park. Back in the day when Hong Kong Disneyland opened, they sent a lot of people with valid tickets home because the park reached its capacity limit (30.000). Does anyone know what the total capacity of Shanghai Disneyland will be? Since the park area will be larger than the one in Hong Kong, my guess is around 50.000 maybe? Anyway, Shanghai and the surrounded region are extremely densely populated and my guess is a ton of people are as excited as us to visit the park right when it opens.
> 
> If the tickets won't be dated, then would it be a good plan to arrive super early to make sure you get in line for rope drop before the park reaches its capacity limit? But how early are we talking? 2 hours before rope drop, 3? 4? 5? It's really hard to tell what it's going to be like.





zanzibar138 said:


> I also plan to get there really early on the 16th, like 4-5 hours before opening.





zanzibar138 said:


> My plan is to head straight to the gates after I check in and hopefully be one of the first in line. Then hopefully be able to hold off on having to find a bathroom until after the park opens lol!



Even though the tickets are dated, I am still uncertain about what time to arrive at the park. I too want to try to make sure I'm one of the first in line. I suppose my biggest fear is that there will be so many people to process through the turnstiles on opening day that either (a) it will take so long to process them all that I will miss some of the festivities, or (b) I will be so far towards the back of the crowd that I won't be able to see anything! I was also thinking something like 4-5 hours before opening. But I also just don't know whether it's a case of (similar to NYE celebrations - I have done Edinburgh and New York among others) you have to just stand in one place for hours and not use the bathroom for basically the entire day. I don't think I could cope with that, especially as it will be hot and I'll need to be drinking water! Has anyone got any experience from previous park openings and knows whether, once the gates are open, it's still necessary to stand in one spot for hours on end to get a good view of what's going on?

Additionally, the staff on live chat strongly advised me to get there early on the opening day.

Mutli-day opening celebration



Wuzefelix said:


> So I see it as if there will be a multi day opening celebration *before *the 16th of June. However, we are thinking this is probably just going to be a multi day press event with celebrities and high ranking officials, so what are the odds to get invites for that, right? That is why we are planning for the 16th which in theory should be the first day the park will officially open to the public.



I haven't seen much response on this so I'll just give my perspective from my time over at themeparx. My main source is this article: http://www.shendi.com.cn/news/366.html Unfortunately it's all in Chinese. Anyone speak good Chinese?

The important part is this:



> 1月13日，华特迪士尼公司和上海申迪集团宣布，上海迪士尼度假区将于6月16日正式开园迎客，并将举办为期数日的开幕庆典。



Which means (roughly translated *cough*GoogleTranslate*cough*):



> January 13, The Walt Disney Company and the Shanghai Shen Di Group announced that Shanghai Disney Resort will be June 16 officially opened its doors, and will hold the opening ceremony of several days.



My interpretation (albeit based on a less-than-accurate translation!) was that the opening ceremony will last over several days *starting* from June 16 - in other words, there will be some opening festivities on the other days as well. How long? Well I had taken the fact that the ticket price was fixed for 2 weeks after the opening date as some indication that something will be happening each day within those two weeks (between June 16-30). This is just wild speculation though!

However, I would expect that this would be the case to some extent. I very much doubt that Disney will just say on Day 2, "okay, we're open now, it's just business as usual". The opening of this resort is a BIG thing, and Disney will want to celebrate it for longer than just one day. We all know that Disney like to make a BIG deal of BIG things (think how long the 60th anniversary DLR celebrations went on for!)

It's also worth noting that the same article contains this quote (again from Google Translate):



> According to Fan Xiping disclosed yesterday that Disney will be a trial run before the park opened about a month and there will be for different objects, different content organization.



Ignoring the last few words which make absolutely no sense, this sentence is basically describing the month before opening as a "trial run". And this doesn't sound to me like much of an "opening ceremony"!

Priority access



Wuzefelix said:


> I interpret this the kind of "guaranteed access" to the park for on-site hotel guests, similarly to what other Disney Resorts around the world offer. So we consider staying at least one night at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. Would you agree that staying one night should theoretically mean priority access to the park for two days? The arrival day and the next day? Then we would probably try to get there around 6-7am, check in (the rooms most likely wouldn't be ready yet), store our luggage and try to get into the breakfast restaurant in the hotel before park opening.



There have been a number of posts on themeparx trying to work out exactly what "priority access" means. One poster found information from the live chat saying that we were guaranteed park entry 2 hours before other guests, but I found the following day that this was denied by the live chat agent I spoke to. I think that the "priority access" literally just means you are guaranteed to get park tickets for that day, and nothing else. If anyone else knows anything else on this, please let me know!

I also don't know whether any benefits we do get apply to both the day before and the day after a hotel night stay. Does anyone else know what the policy is at other Disney hotels around the world in this regard? As I imagine almost all on-site Disney hotels give some sort of park-related benefits?

Metro station



Wuzefelix said:


> Does anyone know if the extension to Shanghai Metro Line 11 will be open in time for the Grand Opening of the park?



The opening schedule for SITRZ (the zone surrounding SDR) has also been discussed at length at themeparx. I think the most important article here is this one: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/metro/society/Volunteers-wanted-for-tourism-zone/shdaily.shtml

It is saying that "the zone" (SITRZ) opens to the public at the end of April. And it also states that volunteers from that date will be assisting people with a number of locations, including the metro station. My take from this is that the metro station opens at the end of April. And that seems obvious too - that station is the primary way for people to actually get to SITRZ, not only SDR.

It's also worth noting that "Shanghai Village", an outdoor shopping mall which forms another part of SITRZ, is opening on May 19th. And that location will also be primarily serviced by the Disney metro station. So I think it's very likely that the metro station will open very soon. Not to mention that, having seen some recent photos of it (see themeparx for details), it looks basically complete!

Third-party hotel



Wuzefelix said:


> So right now we are considering the "Maixinge Boutique Hotel Chuansha Branch" which is about 8km from the park by taxi. It is cheap and looks reasonably clean and comfortable for just spending the night. Any other recommendations?





zanzibar138 said:


> Another question for fellow Opening Day planners... where are you planning to stay the night of the 15th?



For me, I'm much more interested in getting a hotel close to a Line 11 station, rather than the actual distance from the resort. My previous experience of Shanghai taxi drivers is that none of them speak English and they are very difficult to communicate with. For me, as I described above, I will mainly be watching Disney movies during the days leading up to the opening day. However I also want to do some blogging, so I wanted to find a hotel which was fairly basic/cheap, but had Wi-Fi in the rooms.

My primary option was/is the "Shanghai Dikang Boutique Hotel". This hotel is about 5-10 minutes walk from Kangxin Highway Station, which is just one stop from SDR. While I was still considering booking it, another poster on themeparx reported that he had booked the hotel through Agoda. This was back in the first week of February. It was a coincidence - we hadn't previously discussed that hotel. Anyway, I just thought I'll wait until the hotel reservations opened because I still held out some hope that there would be a possibility to check-in to the Disney hotels earlier than the opening day, although it was a long shot.

So, this week I got to booking Dikang. And I went to TripAdvisor, which took me to Ctrip, not Agoda. I didn't really think much of it at the time, because TripAdvisor does try to get you the best deal.

Anyway, later that night, about 3am, I got a phone call from Ctrip (obviously it was daytime in China) from someone saying that the room I had selected at Dikang was not available, and what did I want to do? I said I wasn't fussy about that room type, just any room type would do. The agent said she would call the hotel to check. Anyway, she called me back again about 4.30am UK time to tell me that actually this hotel does not accept reservations more than 2 weeks in advance! This was incredible to me, as the other poster on themeparx had booked his room successfully about 2 months before I did. Also, this will surely be a busy time for the hotel with it being close to SDR. Anyway she was just the messenger, and couldn't tell me anything more. She just said that the hotel had advised to try again 2 weeks before the arrival date.

Anyway, since my Ctrip experience had been quite confusing, I asked my fiancee (who speaks fluent Chinese, although ironically won't be accompanying me to the SDR opening) to call the Dikang hotel and ask them directly if a booking could be made this long in advance. They said that of course, it's no problem! Now I was really confused, so I tried again, but this time through Agoda. My booking was confirmed and so far I haven't got any information to the contrary or any late-night phone calls from China!

If this means it really was booked successfully, all I can think is maybe it's because the prices at Ctrip are much less. Maybe the hotel wouldn't accept bookings at those rates until closer to the time when they had rooms to fill up quickly. The price at Agoda was about £10 per night more expensive than Ctrip.

However, I do want to have some backups just in case this still doesn't work out. My second option is the Home Inn Sanlin Subway Station, which (guess what?) is just a stone's throw from Sanlin station on Line 11. But I haven't been able to find out yet whether they have Wi-Fi in the rooms there.

Meet up



zanzibar138 said:


> Would also be interested in organising a meet up/s with anyone who is interested. I'll be a bit out of my comfort zone!





Wuzefelix said:


> Count me in for a meet up . How about a meet up in Disneytown after park closing on the 16th? Would be fun to explore Disneytown and grab a bite to eat or something to drink with some fellow Disney fans while discussing opinions about the brand new park.



Not much has been said about this recently but if this is still planned and there is a bit of a group of us, I'll try to join in!

Dining reservations



steamboat will said:


> With the trip only 10 weeks away..... By now I'm usually calling Walt Disney World to get dinig reservations... (Crazy in itself)
> 
> But as yet no sign dining reservations or menus available for Shanghai . Doesn't stop me for dreaming and planning tho....
> 
> Want to try to get dinner at the Royal Banquet Hall and Aurora, high tea at Bacchus lounge, and lunch at Tangled Tree Tavern.
> 
> Anyone else thinking about food yet??? Or is it just me



I'm thinking about dining but only in the sense of character dining. I really hope to get a character dining reservation and want to book this before booking TLK (hope I'm not too late for that!) so they aren't on clashing nights.

I spoke to the live chat people yesterday and they confirmed that dining reservations can only be booked on the phone, not online or through live chat, and that they can be booked through the reservations phone line. The same is true if you want to have a hotel breakfast, which isn't included in the room rate. I haven't got around to calling them yet though (mainly due to the annoying timezone difference).

Outfits



zanzibar138 said:


> I am already planning my outfits. I plan to do a different Disneybound each day. I thought for Opening Day I'd go with something classic like Minnie Mouse, and the other days maybe something fun like Pooh Bear, and just for an excuse to wear my tiara, maybe Cinderella. Still very much in the early planning stages though.



It sounds like something fun to do - I've never actually done cosplay at Disney parks before. Has anyone else? But don't you think it's likely that Disney will set some rules around it, so that guests don't get mixed up between you and genuine cast members?

For example, the park rules at DLR state:



> Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, must be worn at all times. Costumes may not be worn by Guests ages 14 or older. ... We reserve the right to deny admission to or remove any person wearing attire that we consider inappropriate or attire that could detract from the experience of other Guests.



This seems so unfair to me....ages 14 or older  what ever happened to "the boy who never grew up"? However, I wouldn't want to risk getting "denied admission" just for the sake of an outfit......

Hotel opening times



Wuzefelix said:


> I don't know when the hotels or Disney Town will open yet but I think they will both open in the morning, way before the park opens. My assumption is based upon two things:
> 
> ...
> 
> Maybe Disney will release the official opening times of Disney Town and the hotels later but this is my guess.



I asked the live chat agents about the hotel opening times (especially on opening day for left luggage purposes etc) yesterday and I got the answer: "We will release related operation arrangement later ... for the hotel opening hours we still not get informed". I take it that there will be some information released in the future about the actual opening hours.

Other topics

There are a few other things I'm still hopeful to get answers on:

1. I still haven't got a clear answer one way or the other about whether there will be any opportunity to check into the hotel earlier than 16th or whether any hotel facilities (such as left luggage) will be available earlier than 16th. Since there is this "trial run" for a month before opening, presumably the hotel will be fully staffed, and since I have a confirmed booking, I don't know whether this would give me any special privilege. Every time I ask the live chat agents about this, I get the answer "We will release related operation arrangement later".
2. This thing about you have to present the ticket barcode at the turnstiles from your phone....I want to know whether they will have Wi-Fi at the turnstiles as we will need to connect to the Internet! I really don't want to have to turn on my mobile data connection from inside China - this will cost a ridiculous amount of money! Again, when I asked this I was told "We will release related operation arrangement later".
3. I don't know how two-day tickets work. The step-by-step guide says: "You will be granted admission to the park after your valid ticket has been scanned and voided, and you will be provided with a paper ticket for same-day re-admission (for the length of your ticket)." I want to know, if the original ticket was voided, and we were provided with a paper ticket for only same-day re-admission, how will we get in on the second day?! But again, the online chat agent said "we will release all the related policy you need later". So I am still in the dark about this.

I will keep checking back with the live chat agents about these and other topics. If I find anything I'll post it here!


----------



## zanzibar138

wtdanceisthrough said:


> Hello all!! My name is Adam and I was invited to join this discussion by an anonymous poster over at themeparx. I regularly post on there with Shanghai Disney Resort news. However it has become clear that there may be some discussions which are outside the scope of themeparx, and I would really like to discuss things with you lovely people over here at disboards! I have been a member of disboards for some time but I haven't been on it for a long time now and certainly wasn't aware of this thread until today.
> 
> I have spent the last hour or so going through the entire thread so far and reading all your posts. I'd like to introduce myself and also give an update on where I'm up to, and what I'm waiting for. After reading through all 7 pages of the thread I only really found posts I needed to reply to on the first and last pages, as the middle posts were mostly people speculating about the ticket sales and then going through the horror of ticket sales. Don't worry - we were all in the same boat - you can see myself and others posted on themeparx during our saga, and had much the same experiences as you guys!
> 
> I don't know if double posting is discouraged/disallowed over here on disboards - perhaps someone can let me know? Anyway to be on the safe side I will assume that double posting is not allowed and so this post will probably be quite long!!



Welcome aboard 

If by double posting you mean posting 2 or more replies in quick succession, it is allowed in moderation and where appropriate. However, you have to wait 30 seconds or something between posts. Obviously spamming is not ok, but in my opinion that is completely different!



wtdanceisthrough said:


> Regarding flights - I live in London UK, and I'm flying Lufthansa both ways - changing at Frankfurt (1h change) on both the outward and return. The only other viable option was China Eastern which was cheaper but I have heard a lot of bad things about them and decided to avoid them!



Oh dear. I've booked through Qantas, but have found out that my flight will be operated by China Eastern. I hope they're not too terrible!



wtdanceisthrough said:


> Even though the tickets are dated, I am still uncertain about what time to arrive at the park. I too want to try to make sure I'm one of the first in line. I suppose my biggest fear is that there will be so many people to process through the turnstiles on opening day that either (a) it will take so long to process them all that I will miss some of the festivities, or (b) I will be so far towards the back of the crowd that I won't be able to see anything! I was also thinking something like 4-5 hours before opening. But I also just don't know whether it's a case of (similar to NYE celebrations - I have done Edinburgh and New York among others) you have to just stand in one place for hours and not use the bathroom for basically the entire day. I don't think I could cope with that, especially as it will be hot and I'll need to be drinking water! Has anyone got any experience from previous park openings and knows whether, once the gates are open, it's still necessary to stand in one spot for hours on end to get a good view of what's going on?



My main priority is to be as close to the front as possible so that I can see what's going on. I hadn't even thought of the possibility of missing out altogether due to slow processing of crowds through the turnstiles!

As solo travellers, the dilemmas of bathroom logistics are very real. I definitely don't want to go all that way and miss out on everything just because I couldn't hold it for another half an hour!



wtdanceisthrough said:


> I also don't know whether any benefits we do get apply to both the day before and the day after a hotel night stay. Does anyone else know what the policy is at other Disney hotels around the world in this regard? As I imagine almost all on-site Disney hotels give some sort of park-related benefits?



The only thing I can contribute to this was that on live chat, I had someone confirm that the ticket guarantee applies to the day of check in (ie Opening Day).



wtdanceisthrough said:


> Not much has been said about this recently but if this is still planned and there is a bit of a group of us, I'll try to join in!



I'm definitely still keen on a meet up. Perhaps some of solos with similar plans may even want to 'team up' to combat issues like bathroom logistics lol!



wtdanceisthrough said:


> It sounds like something fun to do - I've never actually done cosplay at Disney parks before. Has anyone else? But don't you think it's likely that Disney will set some rules around it, so that guests don't get mixed up between you and genuine cast members?



Yes, there are rules that prevent adults from cosplaying in the parks. Disneybounding is much different though. It's just wearing normal clothes inspired by Disney characters. It's very popular in the US and I've successfully done it over there.

Here's a Boo (Monsters Inc) Disneybound I put together for our last trip.





I Disneybounded as Minnie for Dapper Day on another trip.





I've also done Marie, Russell (Up), and a couple of variations of Mulan.



wtdanceisthrough said:


> 2. This thing about you have to present the ticket barcode at the turnstiles from your phone....I want to know whether they will have Wi-Fi at the turnstiles as we will need to connect to the Internet! I really don't want to have to turn on my mobile data connection from inside China - this will cost a ridiculous amount of money! Again, when I asked this I was told "We will release related operation arrangement later".



I don't have a smartphone so I just plan to print my tickets out at home and take them to the turnstiles. I'm hoping I will be able to buy my Opening Day ticket over the phone before I go.


----------



## zanzibar138

As for my hotel for the 15th, I went ahead and booked a room on Air BNB. The house is in the high end residential area at the southern end of the Disneyland block, and the host has offered to give me a lift to Disneyland on her way to work in the morning! I will have to get a taxi there from the airport, but the host will send me all the directions in Mandarin so that I can just give it to the taxi driver.

I'm a little nervous, I've never used Air BNB before, and not sure that a trip to China is the best place to start! It did seem to be the most logical option though, and the host gets great reviews and seems like she will be very helpful. Plus, only $70 for a private room, which is great news for my completely busted budget.


----------



## steamboat will

xmansmom said:


> Me!  I want to go to the Royal Banquet Hall too.  The website says nothing about ressies.  Do you know if they'll have them?



Seems Disney resort hotel can enjoy "priority seating" at the Enchanting storybook castle.... So take from that what you like

Back in the day "priority seating" was what I'd now ADR's at disney, So that may mean only Disney Hotel guests are the only ones who can make advance reservations, or maybe they hold a certain amount of tables for them, or they get an advanced booking window....

Will certainly be interesting to see how the Chinese take to table service dining in a theme park. Disney got it wrong in Paris building too many table service restaurants when the park first opened there some sat largely empty while others were converted into counter service. With only the castle restaurant offering table service in SDL I wonder how popular it will be. However of course with Disneytown right outside the gates guests will have the option to go there for meals without going too far.

SW


----------



## steamboat will

Hi Adam 

Glad to welcome you. I'm also traveling from the UK, flying direct, but won't be arriving in the park till Saturday 18th. I'm a little surprised there aren't more Disney fans planning to head out to SDL,or maybe there are but they're not posting here LOL

I'm sure they'll be lots of crazy speculation, random musing and exciting rumouring over the next 11 weeks to keep us all entertained. 

SW


----------



## steamboat will

Just managed to get a room for Toy Story Hotel 17-18th June. This was previously sold out but appeared again today. So if anyone is still hoping to find a night or two that was previously sold out it might be worth checking again over the coming days as you might just lucky

SW


----------



## WAMUMOF4

I am struggling with where to stay offsite I really want to use the subway to the park within 10 mins, you would think that would be an easy task! 

Also noticed the 18th is sold out for park tickets as well.


----------



## zanzibar138

steamboat will said:


> Just managed to get a room for Toy Story Hotel 17-18th June. This was previously sold out but appeared again today. So if anyone is still hoping to find a night or two that was previously sold out it might be worth checking again over the coming days as you might just lucky
> 
> SW



Wow great score!

I think there's probably a few more of us going to Shanghai who aren't posting here. It's pretty hard to find this thread if you don't know what you're looking for. Having said that, I know a lot of American Disney fans are pretty upset about SDL possibly contributing to the higher prices and reduced services in the US parks, and say they won't ever go there out of principle. I've seen a lot more discussion about it on FB than here (every time a SDL update appears on my newsfeed really), but there's definitely discussion.

I don't want to get into that debate here and possibly cause this thread to head to the gutter. Just wanted to point it out as a possible reason why more people from the DisBoards may not be going (as this forum is largely US based). If anyone wants to read more, I think there are some threads in the US parks sections where you can probably join in the discussion.


----------



## zanzibar138

WAMUMOF4 said:


> I am struggling with where to stay offsite I really want to use the subway to the park within 10 mins, you would think that would be an easy task!
> 
> Also noticed the 18th is sold out for park tickets as well.



That was what I was aiming for too. There just don't seem to be a lot of options in that area yet. Plus it's kind of hard to tell what's going to be close to the train stations when they aren't visible on google maps yet! I didn't see much at all once you get out of the city on that side. I'm sure a few more options will start popping up though to cater for Disneyland guests, or possibly what's there already will become a bit more mainstream and easier to find info on.


----------



## steamboat will

zanzibar138 said:


> I don't want to get into that debate here and possibly cause this thread to head to the gutter.



That's really thoughtful of you. Think this should be the place for those looking forward and getting excited too.

Folks should remember that what happens in one park can also have a  very positive influence on the others too.

New film on soarin in the US is a direct response to the attraction being built in SDL, who knows one day we could see the technology from TRON lightcyles making it to the other parks or updated pirate animatronics that have been developed for SDL arriving in WDW. Disney love to recycle projects to other parks.

SW


----------



## steamboat will

zanzibar138 said:


> That was what I was aiming for too. There just don't seem to be a lot of options in that area yet. Plus it's kind of hard to tell what's going to be close to the train stations when they aren't visible on google maps yet! I didn't see much at all once you get out of the city on that side. I'm sure a few more options will start popping up though to cater for Disneyland guests, or possibly what's there already will become a bit more mainstream and easier to find info on.



I just searched Shanghai hotels on TripAdvisor and pulled up a map and the metro lines are clearly marked it should be possible to figure out hotels with close proximity.

Disney will be on line 11... Which is brown... According to wiki although it looks more deep red on my screen, though that could just be my eyes. Happy searching

SW

EDIT realised you might be referring to where  the line travels after it's extension... Now that does seem like a tougher question


----------



## Dentam

So... here's a question that I hadn't even thought of until it was brought up on a blog post I read recently.  What do you think the safety standards are for construction at SDL in comparison to the U.S. parks?  People have mentioned that the park has a delayed opening by months due to some areas needing to be redone due to poor construction initially.  It was also brought up that China's construction safety standards are not on par with those in the U.S.  I would think that with Disney having their name on this, they will ensure it meets the strictest standards.  Thoughts?  I've never been to a Disney park outside the U.S. so am curious about this.


----------



## zanzibar138

steamboat will said:


> EDIT realised you might be referring to where  the line travels after it's extension... Now that does seem like a tougher question



Yes, that's what I meant 



Dentam said:


> So... here's a question that I hadn't even thought of until it was brought up on a blog post I read recently.  What do you think the safety standards are for construction at SDL in comparison to the U.S. parks?  People have mentioned that the park has a delayed opening by months due to some areas needing to be redone due to poor construction initially.  It was also brought up that China's construction safety standards are not on par with those in the U.S.  I would think that with Disney having their name on this, they will ensure it meets the strictest standards.  Thoughts?  I've never been to a Disney park outside the U.S. so am curious about this.



Personally I'm not concerned. If areas have been redone due to original poor construction, Disney is obviously keeping a close eye on the project and are willing to shell out the extra time and money required to fix anything that's not up to par. If they were found to be cutting corners with safety, it would be disastrous for the company worldwide, and I'm sure they are well aware of that.


----------



## Dentam

zanzibar138 said:


> Personally I'm not concerned. If areas have been redone due to original poor construction, Disney is obviously keeping a close eye on the project and are willing to shell out the extra time and money required to fix anything that's not up to par. If they were found to be cutting corners with safety, it would be disastrous for the company worldwide, and I'm sure they are well aware of that.



This is my thinking on it as well.  I hadn't even really considered the challenges they must face working in a different country that has completely different building codes, etc though.


----------



## Wuzefelix

A few hotel rooms have opened up again! I have just been able to book us two rooms in Toy Story Hotel for the grand opening night and two rooms in Shanghai Disneyland Hotel for the night after. Now we'll be staying onsite after all . There is still some availability right now, if anyone still needs a room, go ahead and book it while you can!

 to wtdanceisthrough and all others who have joined us in our little trip planning thread! I am sorry I don't have time to welcome or reply to everyone individually but I am super excited that so many have joined us in the planning of our Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening trip. I'm impressed with how many people add posts to this thread and thank everyone of you for your contributions! 

xmansmon, the hotel that I mentioned only cost us 42 USD per night, that is why I said it was cheap. I booked it on the same day they annouced the opening date, I believe it was in January. You are right, this hotel is now much more expensive so I am not sure I would chose it anymore if I were you. I am really glad I did book it so super early. Now I was able to change our booking so we'll just be there the night of the 15th for and then the next nights we'll move to the onsite hotels. I do hope you'll be able to find some good hotel option, too!


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Welcomes



zanzibar138 said:


> Welcome aboard





steamboat will said:


> Hi Adam
> 
> Glad to welcome you. I'm also traveling from the UK, flying direct, but won't be arriving in the park till Saturday 18th. I'm a little surprised there aren't more Disney fans planning to head out to SDL,or maybe there are but they're not posting here LOL
> 
> I'm sure they'll be lots of crazy speculation, random musing and exciting rumouring over the next 11 weeks to keep us all entertained.
> 
> SW





Wuzefelix said:


> to wtdanceisthrough and all others who have joined us in our little trip planning thread! I am sorry I don't have time to welcome or reply to everyone individually but I am super excited that so many have joined us in the planning of our Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening trip. I'm impressed with how many people add posts to this thread and thank everyone of you for your contributions!



Thank you to all for your warm welcome!!

Getting in



zanzibar138 said:


> My main priority is to be as close to the front as possible so that I can see what's going on. I hadn't even thought of the possibility of missing out altogether due to slow processing of crowds through the turnstiles!



I live in London and go to the Wimbledon tennis tournament almost every year. (Tennis is another one of my obsessions apart from Disney.) The "Queue" (as it's called, a proper noun) is a big tradition at the tournament and so I know all about queueing and the time taken to process thousands of people through turnstiles! As I know, when visiting there, in order to see the first matches of the day you have to make sure you're not only in the queue before opening cut-off, but in the queue with a good position or else you won't get through in time. Luckily that is very very organised with position-labelled queue cards so you can leave the queue and re-enter at the same position. I doubt anything so organised will be present at Disney!



zanzibar138 said:


> As solo travellers, the dilemmas of bathroom logistics are very real. I definitely don't want to go all that way and miss out on everything just because I couldn't hold it for another half an hour!





zanzibar138 said:


> I'm definitely still keen on a meet up. Perhaps some of solos with similar plans may even want to 'team up' to combat issues like bathroom logistics lol!



I managed it at New York for New Year, standing in one place for about 8 hours from 4pm to midnight. The trick there was to basically drink nothing all day - but it was ridiculously cold and I didn't particularly feel the need to re-hydrate. Standing outside in China in June (not to mention the pollution which makes it hotter) is going to make that just impractical. I'm happy to meet up with others before opening but only if there's a group of us...

Third-party hotels



WAMUMOF4 said:


> I am struggling with where to stay offsite I really want to use the subway to the park within 10 mins, you would think that would be an easy task!





zanzibar138 said:


> That was what I was aiming for too. There just don't seem to be a lot of options in that area yet. Plus it's kind of hard to tell what's going to be close to the train stations when they aren't visible on google maps yet! I didn't see much at all once you get out of the city on that side. I'm sure a few more options will start popping up though to cater for Disneyland guests, or possibly what's there already will become a bit more mainstream and easier to find info on.





zanzibar138 said:


> steamboat will said:
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT realised you might be referring to where  the line travels after it's extension... Now that does seem like a tougher question
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, that's what I meant
Click to expand...


Maybe I can help with this? As I have gone through the same things. If you check my earlier post, I was looking for a hotel close to a subway station. The two I have found so far are:
* Dikang Boutique Hotel (1 stop away)
* Home Inn Sanlin Subway Station (~7 stops away)

For locations of subway stations I have used baidu. Basically the line extension is adding three stations, two of which have already opened. Disney Resort Station is the only one which hasn't opened yet. In order to find their locations, I have just had baidu maps and Google maps open simultaneously and worked out based on the road names where each station is located.

For the location of the Shanghai Disney Resort station itself, the websites about Shanghai Village can help. The metro station is positioned right next to Shanghai Village, presumably to tempt people to visit the shops there on their way to Disneyland. I saw some new aerial shots of Shanghai Village over at LATTOF recently and it's looking great!



zanzibar138 said:


> As for my hotel for the 15th, I went ahead and booked a room on Air BNB. The house is in the high end residential area at the southern end of the Disneyland block, and the host has offered to give me a lift to Disneyland on her way to work in the morning! I will have to get a taxi there from the airport, but the host will send me all the directions in Mandarin so that I can just give it to the taxi driver.
> 
> I'm a little nervous, I've never used Air BNB before, and not sure that a trip to China is the best place to start! It did seem to be the most logical option though, and the host gets great reviews and seems like she will be very helpful. Plus, only $70 for a private room, which is great news for my completely busted budget.



Good luck! You are much braver than me, needing my creature comforts!!

Dining reservations

Had a chat with Annie from reservations on the phone today for over 1 hour! Wow it's so frustrating, as the staff don't speak good English, and don't have a lot of information, and seemingly don't want to tell me they don't have lots of information. Often it feels like you are speaking to an automated service. Because several times after I asked a question, I was asked "So, you want to know about dining at Shanghai Disney Resort, right?" And I said yes, and then she read me some pre-scripted information, which she had repeated to me five or six times during the phone call, despite my protests. And this was mostly copied from the official website! No disrespect to the staff, seriously, they are just doing their jobs, and are very nice people. But it is very frustrating the way it's organised.

Anyway, basically I was able to confirm the following information:
* Booked breakfast is available at Lumiere's Kitchen and Aurora only (within SDH - I didn't ask about TSH)
* Booked breakfast times are at 6:30, 6:45, and so on every 15 minutes until 9:45 which is the last timeslot
* Bacchus Lounge and Ballet Cafe are also open in the mornings for breakfast, but don't take bookings. And the food provided would be a lot more basic because these two venues are intended as "a place to relax" only
* Dinner times are also every 15 minutes
* For both breakfast and dinner, you have to arrive within 15 minutes of your booked time or the reservation will be cancelled

About character dining, Annie told me that every restaurant offering character dining (which is only Lumiere's Kitchen (SDH) and Royal Banquet Hall (in-park) currently) is offering character dining for every single dining slot at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But to me this seems quite unlikely to be true. In fact, Annie did not even seem to know what character dining was until I explained it to her. Does anyone know for other Disney parks what times character dining is usually available at participating restaurants?

She was not able to tell me anything about the food available at breakfast at each restaurant, or any further details about dinner choices than what's already on the website.

Disneybounding



zanzibar138 said:


> Yes, there are rules that prevent adults from cosplaying in the parks. Disneybounding is much different though. It's just wearing normal clothes inspired by Disney characters. It's very popular in the US and I've successfully done it over there.



This sounds really interesting. Is there a thread/board on disboards to discuss disneybounding further? I want to know more like where do people buy clothes from, where to draw the line about what's acceptable, ideas for guys etc!

Other things



WAMUMOF4 said:


> Also noticed the 18th is sold out for park tickets as well.



Unfortunately it seems 16th-18th sold out within the first 24 hours... Source: http://shanghaiist.com/2016/03/29/disneyland_ticket_scalpers.php



zanzibar138 said:


> Oh dear. I've booked through Qantas, but have found out that my flight will be operated by China Eastern. I hope they're not too terrible!



Don't worry, you will be fine  I think you can cope with anything for 12 hours to achieve your dream!!



Dentam said:


> So... here's a question that I hadn't even thought of until it was brought up on a blog post I read recently.  What do you think the safety standards are for construction at SDL in comparison to the U.S. parks?  People have mentioned that the park has a delayed opening by months due to some areas needing to be redone due to poor construction initially.  It was also brought up that China's construction safety standards are not on par with those in the U.S.  I would think that with Disney having their name on this, they will ensure it meets the strictest standards.  Thoughts?  I've never been to a Disney park outside the U.S. so am curious about this.



Lol, I am clearly unconcerned with safety standards in China as this is an image of me walking along some ropes at Paradise Island water park in China:






In this image (not sure how to resize images on here?) I'm holding onto some ropes, but I walked around some parts of the course as a tightrope-artist without even holding on! Compared to this, SDR is going to be easy


----------



## Dentam

It looks like the scarcity in tickets can be partially explained by this story: http://shanghaiist.com/2016/04/01/boy_buys_friends_shanghai_disneyland_tickets.php.  Too funny!


----------



## zanzibar138

Congrats to everyone who managed to score onsite accommodation! I'm kind of ticked off that I spent over A$600 on a concierge room at SDL Hotel and now there's a basic cheap room at the Toy Story Hotel again lol! Ah well, at least I get to experience both hotels, and I've never been concierge before either, so that should be fun!



wtdanceisthrough said:


> Disneybounding
> 
> 
> 
> This sounds really interesting. Is there a thread/board on disboards to discuss disneybounding further? I want to know more like where do people buy clothes from, where to draw the line about what's acceptable, ideas for guys etc!



I'm not sure about the boards, but there is a whole community out there on the internet. This is a great place to start http://disneybound.co/ but you can also find a lot just by googling. There are heaps of options for guys too 

As for me, I just buy my clothes from any old where. They're just normal clothes worn in certain colour combinations and combined with themed accessories. I tend to buy most of my accessories from ebay (jewellery etc).



Dentam said:


> It looks like the scarcity in tickets can be partially explained by this story: http://shanghaiist.com/2016/04/01/boy_buys_friends_shanghai_disneyland_tickets.php.  Too funny!



As much as I can see the funny side of that, it is a bit of a shame for those many people who missed out on tickets.

Did anyone else read the part that said the father of the child was planning to buy tickets for all the parents too... I wonder how he's planning to do that lol!


----------



## Bone Daddy

steamboat will said:


> Just managed to get a room for Toy Story Hotel 17-18th June. This was previously sold out but appeared again today. So if anyone is still hoping to find a night or two that was previously sold out it might be worth checking again over the coming days as you might just lucky
> Anyone know the hours of operation for the parks??


----------



## the_princess

I'll just hang out here and wait for the opening. I can't wait to hear the opinions and see some pics from the park. I might look into a trip in April 2017 where the crowds hopefully has gone down a bit


----------



## Dentam

I'm planning to write a TR when I return in mid-July!


----------



## hb1900

Did anyone else notice his/her creditcard charges made on March 27/28 missing from their statement? They showed up for 7 days as being 'reserved' but the payments weren't finalized. I called to Shanghai several times and they stated that my payments were successful. My creditcard company says the payments were never finalized by Shanghai Disney Resort and that I haven't been charged? Anyone else noticed the same thing?


----------



## zanzibar138

hb1900 said:


> Did anyone else notice his/her creditcard charges made on March 27/28 missing from their statement? They showed up for 7 days as being 'reserved' but the payments weren't finalized. I called to Shanghai several times and they stated that my payments were successful. My creditcard company says the payments were never finalized by Shanghai Disney Resort and that I haven't been charged? Anyone else noticed the same thing?



I'll definitely be doing a TR as well


----------



## WAMUMOF4

hb1900 said:


> Did anyone else notice his/her creditcard charges made on March 27/28 missing from their statement? They showed up for 7 days as being 'reserved' but the payments weren't finalized. I called to Shanghai several times and they stated that my payments were successful. My creditcard company says the payments were never finalized by Shanghai Disney Resort and that I haven't been charged? Anyone else noticed the same thing?



Mines done the same thing I thought it was strange yesterday it was still pending now the money is back on my card. This is not good will have to call them eek


----------



## zanzibar138

WAMUMOF4 said:


> Mines done the same thing I thought it was strange yesterday it was still pending now the money is back on my card. This is not good will have to call them eek



Yikes, will have to check mine!


----------



## WAMUMOF4

zanzibar138 said:


> Yikes, will have to check mine!



I have checked my account my tickets are still there this is really a worry I would hate to get over there to find out my tickets had been cancelled because the payment dropped off.


----------



## zanzibar138

I've just been chatting with SDL on live chat, and they have assured me that all my bookings are safe. I guess it's just taking some time for them to get through all the payments made in the mad rush. I may also call my bank to see if there's any hold-up on their end, just in case.

Now in other exciting news...

I got my Opening Day ticket!!! Heard a rumour that there were some more available this morning, so went online to check (thinking of course that it would be too late), and there they were. The transaction went through and now waiting in 'My Tickets'.



Yep, I'm excited!


----------



## hb1900

zanzibar138 said:


> I've just been chatting with SDL on live chat, and they have assured me that all my bookings are safe. I guess it's just taking some time for them to get through all the payments made in the mad rush. I may also call my bank to see if there's any hold-up on their end, just in case.



Thanks to those who checked! VISA told me they only have a maximum of 7 days to finalize a payment from the moment they pre-authorize your card in case of an online payment. If they haven't made the final charge by then the customer will need to authorize them again. I really hope they're still charging me (despite the 7 days) or that my bookings are at least safe. The SHDR-hotline just keeps telling me that my payments were successful...


----------



## Bone Daddy

I'm parlaying a 7 day Tokyo trip (3 days in TDLR) with a 6 day Shanghai trip (3 days in ShDLR), coming from Miami, FL as life long Disney-philes. We've (DD14 and I) visited WDW countless times and DLR in Cali twice, including this year's Diamond Celebration. It's a personal 'bucket list' agenda to visit as many, if not all, Disney Parks on the 3rd Rock, so it just kind of fell into place this Asian Adventure. Now for the semantics...after luckily snagging ressies at Toy Story from June 26 through 28th (3 nights, Sunday-Tuesday), I had to change my pre-purchased 1 and 2 day tickets (it's the only way they sell the tickets) for alternate dates. Their policy is only allowing 1 exchange per ticket, so I spent 35 minutes (at $3.50/minute international rate charge) requesting the exchange which was assured to me by the Chinese Customer service rep was taken care of. After further review, no ticket exchange was executed, only about $120 of lost money in a futile ticket exchange, which is allowed by the Resort. Long story short, be careful with ShDLR trip planning, as they are literally breaking the ice on a monumental vacation resort destination. Are you willing to roll the dice...???


----------



## WAMUMOF4

zanzibar138 said:


> I've just been chatting with SDL on live chat, and they have assured me that all my bookings are safe. I guess it's just taking some time for them to get through all the payments made in the mad rush. I may also call my bank to see if there's any hold-up on their end, just in case.
> 
> Now in other exciting news...
> 
> I got my Opening Day ticket!!! Heard a rumour that there were some more available this morning, so went online to check (thinking of course that it would be too late), and there they were. The transaction went through and now waiting in 'My Tickets'.
> 
> 
> 
> Yep, I'm excited!





hb1900 said:


> Thanks to those who checked! VISA told me they only have a maximum of 7 days to finalize a payment from the moment they pre-authorize your card in case of an online payment. If they haven't made the final charge by then the customer will need to authorize them again. I really hope they're still charging me (despite the 7 days) or that my bookings are at least safe. The SHDR-hotline just keeps telling me that my payments were successful...



I spoke to them on chat today they told me I must call immediately I called and spoke to a CM who had no idea what I was talking about, I asked for a manager the manager has checked and said everything is fine with my tickets they show as processed and paid on their system. 
They asked if i received an email confirmation I didn't I printed it when I placed my order.  Did anyone else get an email? They are emailing it to me they said it will take 3 days. 

This is really strange they have no idea why the money is back on my card when their system shows paid and finalised.


----------



## Ember

I got an email confirmation right away.


----------



## WAMUMOF4

Ember said:


> I got an email confirmation right away.



Oh gosh I wonder why I didn't  yesterday when I was trying to log in it kept telling me my password was incorrect I tried getting an email sent to reset it and that didn't come through either I spoke to the, on chat they said they were having system problems I just assumed it was that.


----------



## hb1900

WAMUMOF4 said:


> I spoke to them on chat today they told me I must call immediately I called and spoke to a CM who had no idea what I was talking about, I asked for a manager the manager has checked and said everything is fine with my tickets they show as processed and paid on their system.
> They asked if i received an email confirmation I didn't I printed it when I placed my order.  Did anyone else get an email? They are emailing it to me they said it will take 3 days.
> 
> This is really strange they have no idea why the money is back on my card when their system shows paid and finalised.



I did receive my confirmation for the hotel, not for my tickets however. I experienced the same thing on the hotline and I'm starting to think I'll have two free nights at the SDLH since they are apparently incapable to figure this out. I guess some accountant will several months from June.... Very, very strange!


----------



## zanzibar138

Bone Daddy said:


> Long story short, be careful with ShDLR trip planning, as they are literally breaking the ice on a monumental vacation resort destination. Are you willing to roll the dice...???



If I wasn't going to Opening Day, I'd give it a year to get all the bugs fixed before I bothered to go. For Opening Day, I'm willing to cope with a bit of chaos.

I'm sure you will have a very enjoyable trip in the end. Did you consider adding in Hong Kong while you're over there?



WAMUMOF4 said:


> I spoke to them on chat today they told me I must call immediately I called and spoke to a CM who had no idea what I was talking about, I asked for a manager the manager has checked and said everything is fine with my tickets they show as processed and paid on their system.
> They asked if i received an email confirmation I didn't I printed it when I placed my order.  Did anyone else get an email? They are emailing it to me they said it will take 3 days.
> 
> This is really strange they have no idea why the money is back on my card when their system shows paid and finalised.



I got booking confirmations emailed immediately for the hotel bookings, but nothing for the tickets. I'm not too concerned about the tickets though - they're safely in my 'My Tickets' and I've printed them out ready to go!


----------



## TexasMouseFan

Thank you hb1900 and everyone else for posting about your credit card statements!!  I thought I was the only one.  The charge for my DLH reservation showed up on my credit card for a week and then just dropped off.  I have been trying to work with my cc company and they said I need to contact SDR.  It looks like my cc company rejected the payment.  They told me the same thing...that China did not complete the payment.  I am glad to hear that you guys were basically told the same thing.  I have the email with the confirmation and payment information.  When I go to the Shanghai site I still see my reservation.   My reservation is for December, so hopefully everything will be worked out before then.  In the meantime I look forward to learning from everyone that will be visiting the park before me.


----------



## Bone Daddy

zanzibar138 said:


> If I wasn't going to Opening Day, I'd give it a year to get all the bugs fixed before I bothered to go. For Opening Day, I'm willing to cope with a bit of chaos.
> 
> I'm sure you will have a very enjoyable trip in the end. Did you consider adding in Hong Kong while you're over there?
> 
> 
> 
> I got booking confirmations emailed immediately for the hotel bookings, but nothing for the tickets. I'm not too concerned about the tickets though - they're safely in my 'My Tickets' and I've printed them out ready to go!


Shanghai is actually the second leg of my Asian adventure. Going to Tokyo and Tokyo Disney on our first leg.


----------



## zanzibar138

Bone Daddy said:


> Shanghai is actually the second leg of my Asian adventure. Going to Tokyo and Tokyo Disney on our first leg.



Exactly - you just need HK to tick off all the parks in Asia!


----------



## Wuzefelix

hb1900 said:


> Did anyone else notice his/her creditcard charges made on March 27/28 missing from their statement? They showed up for 7 days as being 'reserved' but the payments weren't finalized. I called to Shanghai several times and they stated that my payments were successful. My creditcard company says the payments were never finalized by Shanghai Disney Resort and that I haven't been charged? Anyone else noticed the same thing?



Thanks for the info! 

For the tickets I booked on March 28th I never got any email confirmation and the charge on the credit card was reserved but has disappeared now. They still show under "My tickets" and I can print them out, though.

I didn't book the hotels until April 1st so that charge is still showing on my card. We'll see if it also drops after a week. I did get confirmation emails for the hotels right away.

This development isn't good. It worries me. I really don't think Disney will be giving us free stuff. I hope they find a way to charge the credit cards in arrears and not just void any tickets and hotel bookings where the payment didn't go through...  This isn't our fault! Our credit cards approved the transactions. It's Disney's fault (actually their payment processing provider) for not actually making the charge yet.

Is there anyone here who booked tickets or hotels and whose credit card charge is still showing after a week?

Felix


----------



## zanzibar138

Wuzefelix said:


> Is there anyone here who booked tickets or hotels and whose credit card charge is still showing after a week?
> 
> Felix



Yes, all my charges from the 28th are still on hold, showing as 'authorisation only'.


----------



## Wuzefelix

zanzibar138 said:


> Yes, all my charges from the 28th are still on hold, showing as 'authorisation only'.



Thanks, it's interesting that for you the authorization is longer than one week. But it also sounds like it was only authorized and not actually charged yet. If I were you I'd keep an eye on the transaction every few days to see if it gets charged. Please let us know how things progress.


Felix


----------



## zanzibar138

Wuzefelix said:


> Thanks, it's interesting that for you the authorization is longer than one week. But it also sounds like it was only authorized and not actually charged yet. If I were you I'd keep an eye on the transaction every few days to see if it gets charged. Please let us know how things progress.
> 
> 
> Felix



Yes, it's clear that it hasn't actually been charged yet. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it.


----------



## Amanda132

I am visiting Shanghai Disneyland with my husband in August! Booked Toy Story Hotel when bookings opened on Easter, but we haven't booked tickets yet. I am also no longer seeing my charge on my credit card, but I'm not too worried about it. Especially since we have the confirmation email and are able to see it online. I asked a friend who recently visited Tokyo Disneyland, and he said the charges from them didn't post to his credit card for almost a month.


----------



## TexasMouseFan

I agree that Disney is not likely going to give us hotel stays or tickets for free.  I just wonder what the exchange rate will be when the transaction actually posts to my account.  I'll just keep watching and watching this thread to see if anyone's transactions get posted.


----------



## zanzibar138

I can't believe how quickly tickets for Opening Day sold out, yet there are still tickets left for the 17th, 18th and 19th. I would have expected most people who were attending Opening Day to spend more than one day at the park! I'm expecting the 18th to sell out next, being the first weekend day that the park will be open.


----------



## hb1900

They charged the missing amounts today!


----------



## Ember

I was also officially charged today. The charge showed as "SHDRAFC" which threw me until I worked out what it was. lol


----------



## TexasMouseFan

My cc was charged today too.  Now... on to planning and looking forward to trip reports.


----------



## zanzibar138

Uh oh. My charges have dropped off my credit card...


----------



## rastuso

zanzibar138 said:


> Uh oh. My charges have dropped off my credit card...



I personally think any trips this year have a high likelihood of issues.  The recent videos show this park is built for ginourmous crowds.  I'd LOVE to know how many tickets constituted a sellout.  I could see it be 70,000 or more.  But there are few rides to take everyone in.  

The park looks incredible, but it's really Tron and a massively updated pirates, then a lot of duplicates.  Any pics of Peter Pan?  I'm curious if that is a big update. 

I think this park is going to be totally overwhelmed for  MONTHS, if not years.  This was NOT the place to build a half park, as Disney loves to do now.


----------



## Neha

It doesnt really matter if it has a bunch of duplicate rides though? Those are the 'core' rides which you think of when you think of Disneyland. I dont think anyone in China would care that other parks have the same rides..and this park is mainly aimed at the chinese population.


----------



## zanzibar138

I'm not sure that this thread is really the place to get into debate about the merits of SDL. It's simply a planning thread for those planning to attend Opening Day, and those who are planning to go are excited and enthusiastic despite any trepidations we may have about logistics or over-crowding.

Maybe this thread would be a better place for such a debate?

Or feel free to start your own


----------



## Dentam

I'm not planning to attend Opening Day, but it looks like my trip for early July is still a go - just waiting for the exact dates to get sorted out still before I purchase my hotel and tickets!


----------



## zanzibar138

Dentam said:


> I'm not planning to attend Opening Day, but it looks like my trip for early July is still a go - just waiting for the exact dates to get sorted out still before I purchase my hotel and tickets!



Yay! Looks like Saturday nights in July are starting to sell out at the SDL Hotel, so don't leave it too long


----------



## Neha

The park looks awesome to me. We were sold once we saw the toy story hotel as we love toy story here lol I can't wait to read everyones trip reports! Hope to go to Shanghai Disney in the future sometime


----------



## Dentam

zanzibar138 said:


> Yay! Looks like Saturday nights in July are starting to sell out at the SDL Hotel, so don't leave it too long



It's not in my hands, unfortunately.  I've been invited to a conference but haven't been told the exact dates yet.  There is a bit of a language barrier to deal with as well.


----------



## xmansmom

Dentam said:


> There is a bit of a language barrier to deal with as well.


Speaking of language barriers, do you think it will be difficult to communicate at the parks and, especially, the hotel?


----------



## Dentam

xmansmom said:


> Speaking of language barriers, do you think it will be difficult to communicate at the parks and, especially, the hotel?



That's what I'm expecting - maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised though!  I've met English speaking people from Shanghai at previous conferences and still had to concentrate hard to try to understand what they were saying.  It is doable though and I like that kind of challenge.


----------



## zanzibar138

xmansmom said:


> Speaking of language barriers, do you think it will be difficult to communicate at the parks and, especially, the hotel?



Yep, I'm expecting this too. It's all part of the experience though!


----------



## rastuso

zanzibar138 said:


> Yep, I'm expecting this too. It's all part of the experience though!



I hit a LOT if parks in Japan, and Disneyland truly was one of the worst, as far as talking to someone in English.  I lucked out and noticed one girl by mansion switched to English as I walked by, and I picked her brain for 5 minutes.  Even guest services spoke little English.  I was pretty shocked 

Similar at Paris, and even more shocking with a Eurostar from London going right to the park daily.


----------



## zanzibar138

rastuso said:


> Similar at Paris, and even more shocking with a Eurostar from London going right to the park daily.



I didn't have any trouble communicating with CMs in Paris, and haven't had any trouble in HK either (except for the time when I described a snack as a 'small meal' and the CM came out with a cup of milk for me lol!). I've heard Tokyo can be difficult though. I'm expecting Shanghai to be as bad or worse than Tokyo.


----------



## rastuso

Paris was better than Japan for sure.  But still some places with bad issues.  Mostly the restaurants.  Walt's was particularly bad.  There was one person there that spoke some English, and that was about it.  C'mon, it's WALT'S for crying out loud!

J


----------



## zanzibar138

rastuso said:


> Paris was better than Japan for sure.  But still some places with bad issues.  Mostly the restaurants.  Walt's was particularly bad.  There was one person there that spoke some English, and that was about it.  C'mon, it's WALT'S for crying out loud!
> 
> J



Lol! Funny you say that actually. Mum and I ordered glowing cocktails at Walt's as a special treat. The waitress brought them out with the glowing ice cubes on the side and turned off - didn't quite get the point! Mum and I laughed and immediately turned them on and put them in our drinks. It wasn't really a communication issue, but one of the many cultural differences that one experiences in another country.


----------



## Wuzefelix

Just letting you know that the Shanghai Disney hotels I managed to book on April 1st actually did get charged from my card. But the tickets I booked in the night of the 28th still didn't. Everything still shows as confirmed on the website. I am not too bothered since it says confirmed and even if there is a problem with the tickets, as on-site hotel guests we should have the guarantee to be able to buy new tickets.

The ice cube story from Walt's at Disneyland Paris is probably just a cultural difference. I'm European and I appreciate that they give you the fake ice cubes on the side because you are allowed to take them home. If they put them in the cocktail they would be wet and messy.

We should brace ourselves for culture shock and language barriers at Shanghai Disneyland. That's part of the experience though .

Felix


----------



## zanzibar138

Wuzefelix said:


> Just letting you know that the Shanghai Disney hotels I managed to book on April 1st actually did get charged from my card. But the tickets I booked in the night of the 28th still didn't. Everything still shows as confirmed on the website. I am not too bothered since it says confirmed and even if there is a problem with the tickets, as on-site hotel guests we should have the guarantee to be able to buy new tickets.



I am still concerned as my hotels weren't charged either. If those are cancelled and there's a problem with my tickets, my trip won't be much fun! Having said that, everything still says confirmed for me too. But I will definitely call over the weekend.



Wuzefelix said:


> We should brace ourselves for culture shock and language barriers at Shanghai Disneyland. That's part of the experience though .



Exactly my point


----------



## Wuzefelix

There are new rooms available for the night of the 17th now. For example there are Club Level Rooms that previously weren't available for that date. I called and tried to upgrade our Deluxe Lake View Room (their cheapest standard room) to club level but the agent on the phone said there was no availability. Yet online I could totally make a new reservation for club level... So frustrating. The chat agents only say to call. I might try my luck again tomorrow with the hotline...


----------



## xmansmom

rastuso said:


> I hit a LOT if parks in Japan, and Disneyland truly was one of the worst, as far as talking to someone in English.  I lucked out and noticed one girl by mansion switched to English as I walked by, and I picked her brain for 5 minutes.  Even guest services spoke little English.  I was pretty shocked
> 
> Similar at Paris, and even more shocking with a Eurostar from London going right to the park daily.



We had a hard time in Tokyo too.  Everyone is really nice there though and tried to help as much as they could.  Even though it was difficult, we'd go back again in a heartbeat.


----------



## xmansmom

Our charges went through but I don't see anything when I long into the SDL website.  Are any of you seeing your reservations when you log in?


----------



## xmansmom

Wuzefelix said:


> We should brace ourselves for culture shock and language barriers at Shanghai Disneyland. That's part of the experience though .



I agree.  I just hope there are no problems.  If we have any issues it will be really hard to resolve them if we can't communicate.


----------



## Wuzefelix

xmansmom said:


> Our charges went through but I don't see anything when I long into the SDL website.  Are any of you seeing your reservations when you log in?



Yes I can still see my tickets and hotel reservations when I log in on the official website.


----------



## Emma1987

Is the park actually open yet? I've heard people are able to buy their tickets and go already? Is it a soft opening or something?


----------



## Dentam

Emma1987 said:


> Is the park actually open yet? I've heard people are able to buy their tickets and go already? Is it a soft opening or something?



It won't open for about two months.  June 16th I believe.


----------



## zanzibar138

Dentam said:


> It won't open for about two months.  June 16th I believe.



I believe they have opened the 'precinct'. People seem to be able to access the entrance areas to the park and Disney Town, the hotels and Wishing Star Park. I haven't heard of anyone other than CMs actually getting into the park yet though.


----------



## steamboat will

We're famous,

This thread made it onto the top 5 threads on this weeks DIS-unplugged podcast. Though maybe there would be a rush of new people coming to post here.... 

But no, still just us...

SW


----------



## Bone Daddy

Less than 2 months away from DisneyAsia1.0, and wondering if any DISers will be in either TokyoDl (Monday June21st-Wednesday June22nd) or ShDLR (Sunday June26th-Tuesday June28th). Super excited, but will feel much better with the comforts of knowing I'd be sharing the experience with similarly-cultured Americans.


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## Royal Consort

Bone Daddy said:


> Super excited, but will feel much better with the comforts of knowing I'd be sharing the experience with similarly-cultured Americans.



Remember there are other nationalities posting here such as the high number of Australians/New Zealanders who are a lot closer to China.  They travel lots too.


----------



## Bone Daddy

Good point. If anyone on the boards will be at the parks on these dates, please let me know!


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

zanzibar138 said:


> I can't believe how quickly tickets for Opening Day sold out, yet there are still tickets left for the 17th, 18th and 19th. I would have expected most people who were attending Opening Day to spend more than one day at the park! I'm expecting the 18th to sell out next, being the first weekend day that the park will be open.



Couple of thoughts: (1) There will be loads of extra Disney staff on the opening day who will use up the park capacity (even though not members of the ticketed public), who will just be there for that one day (e.g. Bob Iger and his entourage). (2) Maybe some people who actually live in Shanghai will have booked just for the opening day itself, for the experience, and will book more days some other time, when all the (inevitable) initial teething problems have been resolved!

PS: Well done on getting your opening day tickets...I didn't realise you hadn't got them already! Sorry to hear about your continuing credit card saga. My purchases were charged about 10 days after I made the reservations, but the actual length of time seems quite random. Really hope you get it resolved soon, as it must be a bit stressful!!


----------



## zanzibar138

wtdanceisthrough said:


> Couple of thoughts: (1) There will be loads of extra Disney staff on the opening day who will use up the park capacity (even though not members of the ticketed public), who will just be there for that one day (e.g. Bob Iger and his entourage). (2) Maybe some people who actually live in Shanghai will have booked just for the opening day itself, for the experience, and will book more days some other time, when all the (inevitable) initial teething problems have been resolved!



Oh, both great points! That would definitely help explain it.

So far I haven't had much luck finding out what's going on with my credit card charges, but my tickets and bookings are all still in my account, so I'm trying not to let it stress me out too much.


----------



## xmansmom

Bone Daddy said:


> Less than 2 months away from DisneyAsia1.0, and wondering if any DISers will be in either TokyoDl (Monday June21st-Wednesday June22nd) or ShDLR (Sunday June26th-Tuesday June28th). Super excited, but will feel much better with the comforts of knowing I'd be sharing the experience with similarly-cultured Americans.



We leave the 25th so we'll miss.  Will anyone be there the 22nd-25th?


----------



## xmansmom

At this point I have planned 2 park days at SDL - June 23 & 24.  I'm trying to decide what I should do on the 25th.  I can fly back to Hong Kong and where we'll be until the 28th or stick around Shanghai.  Do you think we'll need another park day?  We arrive on the 22nd so I think we can visit Disneytown and Wishing Star Park then.  We'll be on a tour prior to returning to Shanghai so I will have already visited the highlights in the area.  What would you do?


----------



## Dentam

xmansmom said:


> At this point I have planned 2 park days at SDL - June 23 & 24.  I'm trying to decide what I should do on the 25th.  I can fly back to Hong Kong and where we'll be until the 28th or stick around Shanghai.  Do you think we'll need another park day?  We arrive on the 22nd so I think we can visit Disneytown and Wishing Star Park then.  We'll be on a tour prior to returning to Shanghai so I will have already visited the highlights in the area.  What would you do?



I think it will depend on how crowded it is.  You may want another park day to try to hit everything and you might also want to spend more time checking out both resorts.


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## wtdanceisthrough

In case anyone is thinking about transportation arrangements, this sign is posted outside SDH...


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## zanzibar138

That's great, thanks for sharing!


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## wtdanceisthrough

Does anyone know what "Qimiao Road Station" is? Is this another name for Disney Resort Station?


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## Hesperus

Has anyone run into the daily limit exceed error? Is it something imposed by the payment gateway because my limit on the card is higher than what I was trying to charge to my card to make a reservation.


----------



## travellertigger

we are new to this board. We are going to Shanghai for the opening on June 16th and stopping in Hong Kong on the way. We will be there 16th, 17th, 18th June. We wondered if anyone had any information on when the dining reservations will open?? We want to do so many of the awesome looking  restaurants but the top of our list is Royal Banquet Hall!! Any Tips??


----------



## Hesperus

Has anyone read this article?

https://t.co/VRuw1pY5BB

I'm hoping this isn't something we would have to worry about... I wonder how they would be able to enforce them to be orderly.


----------



## travellertigger

I had read that today. Unfortunately they can't and usually won't enforce it. A friend of ours who taught English at Hong Kong Disneyland said that unfortunately Chinese people are used to doing what they want without repercussion due to many being only children. She said they frequently had issues with line cutting at both rides and restaurants and that they didn't care abut it. They want what they want now. She said this kind of behavior is often what happens. I really hope the opening days ardent as bad and they can keep it clean.


----------



## Hesperus

travellertigger said:


> I had read that today. A friend of ours who taught English at Hong Kong Disneyland said that unfortunately Chinese people are used to doing what they want without repercussion due to many being only children. She said they frequently had issues with line cutting at both rides and restaurants and that they didn't care abut it. They want what they want now. She said this kind of behavior is often what happens. I really hope the opening days ardent as bad and they can keep it clean.



As we near opening day, I'm kind of getting more and more nervous!


----------



## Dentam

Hmm... I'm kind of rethinking my visit now.  I was just in DL and the crowds there were bad enough...


----------



## zanzibar138

travellertigger said:


> we are new to this board. We are going to Shanghai for the opening on June 16th and stopping in Hong Kong on the way. We will be there 16th, 17th, 18th June. We wondered if anyone had any information on when the dining reservations will open?? We want to do so many of the awesome looking  restaurants but the top of our list is Royal Banquet Hall!! Any Tips??



You'll be there the same 3 days as me! Which hotel have you got booked?

I'm hanging out for information to open on dining. I won't do much just being on my own, but I thought a character breakfast might be a good way to at least meet a couple of Shanghai characters in case the lines in the park are prohibitive. I'd also like to know what sort of characters we can expect to see with the breakfast and whether they will be wearing Shanghai specific outfits. It certainly wouldn't be worth it as much if the characters are the same you can meet at any character breakfast around the world lol!



Hesperus said:


> Has anyone read this article?
> 
> https://t.co/VRuw1pY5BB
> 
> I'm hoping this isn't something we would have to worry about... I wonder how they would be able to enforce them to be orderly.



Unfortunately this is something that we will have to deal with. It's not an American park, and there will be many cultural differences. CMs will do their best, but they will have a lot on their plate and won't be able to stop all of this kind of behaviour. Even in HK I've seen a bit of this stuff going on.


----------



## travellertigger

zanzibar138 said:


> You'll be there the same 3 days as me! Which hotel have you got booked?
> 
> I'm hanging out for information to open on dining. I won't do much just being on my own, but I thought a character breakfast might be a good way to at least meet a couple of Shanghai characters in case the lines in the park are prohibitive. I'd also like to know what sort of characters we can expect to see with the breakfast and whether they will be wearing Shanghai specific outfits. It certainly wouldn't be worth it as much if the characters are the same you can meet at any character breakfast around the world lol!
> 
> I asked the live chat about dining reservations. They said You can get reservations for dining 60 days out if you ARE NOT STAYING ON PROPERTY AND 90 DAYS OUT IF YOU ARE STAYING ON PROPERTY. I just got a reservation for 6 people on June 17th at the Royal Banquet Hall at 545PM by calling the +862131580000 number. They were very helpful and had tons of availability. If you want any dining reservations you should do it now!! So excited!!!
> 
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this is something that we will have to deal with. It's not an American park, and there will be many cultural differences. CMs will do their best, but they will have a lot on their plate and won't be able to stop all of this kind of behavior. Even in HK I've seen a bit of this stuff going on.



Culture shock happens all over. I traveled for 3 years and it was a huge difference in certain places. You just have to handle it and be friendly and courteous.


----------



## travellertigger

I asked the live chat about dining reservations. They said You can get reservations for dining 60 days out if you ARE NOT STAYING ON PROPERTY AND 90 DAYS OUT IF YOU ARE STAYING ON PROPERTY. I just got a reservation for 6 people on June 17th at the Royal Banquet Hall at 545PM by calling the +862131580000 number. They were very helpful and had tons of availability. If you want any dining reservations you should do it now!! So excited!!!


----------



## zanzibar138

Oh, that's great! Thanks for letting us know


----------



## travellertigger

Also, we are staying offsite at the Courtyard Shanghai Central. We are going to the opening ceremony and parks on the 16th as invited guests and then we have 2 day tickets for the 17th and 18th.


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## zanzibar138

Wow that's awesome! How did you manage to score invites (if you don't mind me asking)?


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## travellertigger

zanzibar138 said:


> Wow that's awesome! How did you manage to score invites (if you don't mind me asking)?



Our friend works for a PR firm handling the opening.


----------



## zanzibar138

Lucky ducks! Looking forward to hearing about it all from your perspective


----------



## zanzibar138

Wow exciting times now with CM previews happening! Tron is already up and running, so pretty excited that it looks like we'll get to experience that - although I'm guessing we'll have to wait more than the 10 minutes that I saw posted in the photos 

I ended up booking a hotel one stop away from the Maglev station. I wasn't quite sure how the Air B&B would affect my visa application and it seemed like it was all getting a bit hard. I estimate it will take me about 45 minutes to get to Disneyland on the metro.

The money for all my hotel bookings/tickets finally came off my credit card, so that's a relief! I called reservations today though to book breakfast at Lumiere's for the 17th. Be aware that the 6:30am time slot has already been booked out, so if you're planning to make any dining reservations I would get onto it ASAP. I ended up with the 6:45am slot so not too bad. Apparently the park will open at 8am in peak times, so I may still decide to ditch the dining in favour of being at the park for rope drop. The park will be closing at 10pm. I also got confirmation that we will be able to drop off our luggage at the hotel before heading to the park on Opening Day.

I have completed my visa application except for my passport photos, which I'll get at lunch time tomorrow and send it off. Also booked my flight to Perth to visit my family on the way to Shanghai, so it's all coming together!


----------



## Hesperus

*@zanzibar138* Hii! Were you charged for the restaurant bookings? Because 201 RMB looks to be quite cheap for the castle dining


----------



## zanzibar138

Nope, I wasn't charged and didn't have to give any credit card details or anything. I'm not doing the castle dining though, just Lumiere's at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2016/05/09/2003645815

Apparently there will be a "three-day event to mark the opening of the park". This is the first I'd heard of this. Does this mean 16th-18th or is it including some days before 16th (when the park would not be open to the general public)?


----------



## xmansmom

wtdanceisthrough said:


> http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2016/05/09/2003645815
> 
> Does this mean 16th-18th or is it including some days before 16th (when the park would not be open to the general public)?



I looked around online but only find the same press release.  I won't be there until the 22nd but I'm hoping it starts the 16th for all of you going then.  On a selfish note - I want to experience it through my fellow DISers since I can't be there myself.


----------



## Hesperus

Found this on instagram.. seems like they might start on the 14th!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFK2ZryrigI/


----------



## datunofficialDP

I started planning for a spring break trip for 2017 and im excited! 
i haven't gone to china before but i have traveled out of the country before.
any tips for traveling to shanghai?


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Hesperus said:


> Found this on instagram.. seems like they might start on the 14th!
> https://www.instagram.com/p/BFK2ZryrigI/



Thank you - that's so helpful!! I don't suppose anyone has more details than this? As the image is cut off before the end. I will be arriving in Shanghai on 13th, and while obviously I can't attend the private functions on 14th-15th, it would still be interesting to know what they are so I can hang around Disneytown on those days and soak up the atmosphere!!


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## zanzibar138

From a selfish point of view, I was hoping that the 3 day celebration would be the 16th, 17th and 18th, as those are the 3 days I'll be at the park lol!


----------



## Frankiemelb

Would be amazing to go, next year, the Pirates ride looks amazing


----------



## newbss

Someone posted a video of the Tron ride:






I will be there on 6/20 and 6/21 with my daughter, staying at the Toy Story hotel.


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## wtdanceisthrough

zanzibar138 said:


> I called reservations today though to book breakfast at Lumiere's for the 17th. Be aware that the 6:30am time slot has already been booked out, so if you're planning to make any dining reservations I would get onto it ASAP. I ended up with the 6:45am slot so not too bad.



I called up today (well, yesterday in Chinese terms) and I was told they still have "plenty of availability" for the 6:30am slot. Strange?!



zanzibar138 said:


> I ended up with the 6:45am slot so not too bad. Apparently the park will open at 8am in peak times, so I may still decide to ditch the dining in favour of being at the park for rope drop.



I reckon it only takes about half an hour to WALK from the hotel to the park - and surely will be even quicker by boat. I think we'll be fine getting an early breakfast and still being there for rope drop.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

^^ Amazing video of lots of Shanghai Disneyland stuff!! This whetted my appetite


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## zanzibar138

wtdanceisthrough said:


> I called up today (well, yesterday in Chinese terms) and I was told they still have "plenty of availability" for the 6:30am slot. Strange?!
> 
> I reckon it only takes about half an hour to WALK from the hotel to the park - and surely will be even quicker by boat. I think we'll be fine getting an early breakfast and still being there for rope drop.



That's weird, but I'm not at all surprised. Not sure if I can be bothered to call China again to move my ressie - will see how I go.

I generally allow an hour for a character breakfast, so I think it will be a struggle to get through that, organise payment etc, and walk to the park in time for rope drop (I plan to walk rather than take transportation as I think the lines/crowds will be out of control!). I hate that nothing's on Google Maps yet, so it's really hard to get any idea of how long it will take to get from A to B! I'm expecting huge crowds at the entrance and would prefer to beat the majority if I can by being there early. But if I can get a 6:30am slot it'll definitely be more doable. I guess it all depends on how quickly the characters do their rounds.

I'm still really tossing up which day is going to be best for the breakfast. I don't even know if they'll do it on the 16th, but I'm not sure how early I'll be able to get there on the train, and really just want to go straight to the entrance to line up. Part of me is thinking it would be better to do it on the Saturday (I'm staying concierge level on Thursday night, so I'll get free breakfast on Friday, and it would be a nice way to start the last day of my trip too). Any idea how far away the hotels are from each other?

Has anyone found out much about the castle dining? Is it just lunch and dinner that they do there? I wasn't planning to waste too much park time on table service restaurants, but maybe it would be worth booking for a bit of time out. After all, I am planning to Disneybound as Cinderella on my last day


----------



## zanzibar138

And by the way, loving all the photos and video that have come from the CM previews!


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## wtdanceisthrough

zanzibar138 said:


> I generally allow an hour for a character breakfast



Any reason? To be honest, I think on 17th, I'll be less interested in the characters, and more interested in getting through my breakfast so that I can get to the park on time  There's time for character meals on other days/later the same day.



zanzibar138 said:


> walk to the park in time for rope drop (I plan to walk rather than take transportation as I think the lines/crowds will be out of control!). I hate that nothing's on Google Maps yet, so it's really hard to get any idea of how long it will take to get from A to B!



Google Maps is not too inaccurate actually. I made this map using a distance calculator:






Distance: 0.707 miles
Approximate walking time (according to Google Maps): 17.1 minutes

So I think it should be fine to do it in 30 minutes.



zanzibar138 said:


> I'm still really tossing up which day is going to be best for the breakfast. I don't even know if they'll do it on the 16th, but I'm not sure how early I'll be able to get there on the train, and really just want to go straight to the entrance to line up.



I'm really not sure what I'm going to do about breakfast on the 16th. I'm not the kind of person who can function well without breakfast... I have no idea where I'm going to get it! Certainly breakfast at a Disney hotel on 16th is not an option for me. I need something really quick or that I can eat while travelling.



zanzibar138 said:


> Any idea how far away the hotels are from each other?



Google Maps is slightly less accurate here (the car park south of TSH is not there), but still helpful.






Distance: 1.202 miles
Approximate walking time (according to Google Maps): 29.0 minutes



By the way, I found that if you cancel a meal two days in advance, it's free to cancel, otherwise you have to pay a cancellation charge (not the full meal charge). For now I just booked breakfasts on all my days and figure I'll work out what to do later...


----------



## zanzibar138

Wow thanks for the tips!

The only reason I'm doing a character breakfast at all is for the characters. I love meeting characters, and I'm afraid that the lines will be prohibitively long in the park (as much as I love characters, I also want to ride some rides). So that's why I think I could be an hour. If I wanted a quick breakfast I could just grab something from the concierge lounge that morning. Perhaps you have the right idea with doing it later in the day - don't want to waste too much time going back and forth though. Ah, first world problems huh?

As for the 16th, my hotel has a free breakfast, but not sure that it will be early enough for me. If not, I'll probably try to grab something the night before that I can eat in my room/on the way, as well as some snacks to get me through to opening time!


----------



## Dentam

Just did an online search for Shanghai Disney and there are some great photos and video being posted by all the people who are getting in for the test runs.  The new Pirates ride looks really cool!!


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

zanzibar138 said:


> The only reason I'm doing a character breakfast at all is for the characters. I love meeting characters, and I'm afraid that the lines will be prohibitively long in the park (as much as I love characters, I also want to ride some rides).



To be honest, I also want to have a character breakfast to meet characters!! Character meeting has not really been a focus of any of my previous Disney trips (WDW, DLP). But since my last trip in 2014, I have somewhat caught the bug of wanting to meet characters, and looking forward to starting that journey on this trip. But I just think 17th is not the right time to be trying to meet characters before the park opens. I want to do a "proper" character breakfast on another day. I think we may be thinking along the same lines here.



zanzibar138 said:


> If I wanted a quick breakfast I could just grab something from the concierge lounge that morning.



I had considered that but I feel quite confused how it is going to work. Do you have any experience gleaned from prior trips? Because the other breakfast venues at the hotel (e.g. Bacchus Lounge, Ballet Cafe) are not bookable, I don't know if there will be massive queues or if they will even be properly open (i.e. have a range of food available) that early. I thought to book the only bookable breakfast restaurant (Aurora Restaurant does not do breakfasts) was the safest way to ensure I could get a quick breakfast on time before heading to the park. But if there are almost certainly going to be other options available, I may look at cancelling that reservation.....

Unfortunately the staff on the helpline are a bit unhelpful in this regard. They literally just read out what it says on the website word-for-word, and can't seem to answer any more complicated questions.....so if anyone else has ideas based on past experience, it would be really interesting! (I've never stayed on property before.)



zanzibar138 said:


> As for the 16th, my hotel has a free breakfast, but not sure that it will be early enough for me. If not, I'll probably try to grab something the night before that I can eat in my room/on the way, as well as some snacks to get me through to opening time!



I am in the same position. My hotel offers breakfast (not free though like some lucky people!) but I don't know what times. I don't quite know what I would buy the night before which would keep and also sort out my hunger!! Here at home I'd go to a local newsagents and buy a cereal bar brand which I know I like. But in China it is going to be a bit of a minefield - who knows what you are getting or even what it says on the front of the packet!!


----------



## zanzibar138

wtdanceisthrough said:


> To be honest, I also want to have a character breakfast to meet characters!! Character meeting has not really been a focus of any of my previous Disney trips (WDW, DLP). But since my last trip in 2014, I have somewhat caught the bug of wanting to meet characters, and looking forward to starting that journey on this trip. But I just think 17th is not the right time to be trying to meet characters before the park opens. I want to do a "proper" character breakfast on another day. I think we may be thinking along the same lines here.



I'm not sure that there is going to be a 'good' time to do a character breakfast during my stay. The 16th is out, and the only other day I'm there is the 18th. I'm thinking of doing the castle dining then. If not, I may try to move my character breakfast and just put up with having to walk between hotels.



wtdanceisthrough said:


> I had considered that but I feel quite confused how it is going to work. Do you have any experience gleaned from prior trips? Because the other breakfast venues at the hotel (e.g. Bacchus Lounge, Ballet Cafe) are not bookable, I don't know if there will be massive queues or if they will even be properly open (i.e. have a range of food available) that early. I thought to book the only bookable breakfast restaurant (Aurora Restaurant does not do breakfasts) was the safest way to ensure I could get a quick breakfast on time before heading to the park. But if there are almost certainly going to be other options available, I may look at cancelling that reservation.....
> 
> Unfortunately the staff on the helpline are a bit unhelpful in this regard. They literally just read out what it says on the website word-for-word, and can't seem to answer any more complicated questions.....so if anyone else has ideas based on past experience, it would be really interesting! (I've never stayed on property before.)



I just checked the information for the club level rooms again. It says the club lounge operates from 7am - 10pm daily. I'm guessing that the quick service restaurants in the hotel would have similar hours, although if they're opening the character breakfast earlier you might be in luck. The only time I've stayed onsite is at HKDL, and I haven't felt the need to be at their restaurants right on opening (the park there doesn't open til 10am and it doesn't get busy until the afternoon if at all!).

Not sure about the queues, but I'm guessing that pretty much everything on site (in the park, both hotels, and Disney Town) is going to be busy and pretty chaotic for those first few days. I'm hoping that the club lounge may be a bit quieter than the others because only a selection of people will be able to get in. But it might be so small that it feels busier even with fewer people - who knows! It will be my first time staying club level anywhere, so I really have no idea what to expect!

Personally I'm the kind of person who is happy to just live on snacks for a few days, so if I'm not having a meal for the experience of it, it's not worth the hassle and expense of going somewhere specific.



wtdanceisthrough said:


> I am in the same position. My hotel offers breakfast (not free though like some lucky people!) but I don't know what times. I don't quite know what I would buy the night before which would keep and also sort out my hunger!! Here at home I'd go to a local newsagents and buy a cereal bar brand which I know I like. But in China it is going to be a bit of a minefield - who knows what you are getting or even what it says on the front of the packet!!



I don't know what I'll buy the night before either, but there's bound to be something suitable. Like I said before though, I'll be happy to just buy a selection of appealing looking snacks and pick at those rather than have to have something 'breakfasty'.


----------



## D23Ry

Is everyone staying at the DL Hotel? I was looking online today for a trip next year and it looks like EVERYTHING is sold out.


----------



## zanzibar138

Wow next year? I would keep checking, something might become available. Or maybe you're trying to book too far in advance? Might even be worth calling the reservations line.

If you're not that set on staying onsite, I did find a hotel in my search which seems to be like a 'good neighbour' style place offering Disney packages with a free shuttle to the Disney train line (only twice a day though). If you're interested, it's the Dorsett Shanghai right near the Maglev station. I was tempted to try it out, but it was a bit over budget since I totally blew all my money on my club level stay at the DL Hotel. I ended up booking a cheaper place just around the corner.

I'm imagining that once things are up and running the local hotels surrounding Disneyland will get a much bigger international prescence and start getting more English reviews on TripAdvisor etc. We'll probably even see some more international chains spring up in the area. If it was me, I would hang out and keep checking in with the onsite hotels for availability, but if you have missed out on them, you'll probably find it much easier to choose a hotel in a few months when there are more reviews and TRs etc around.


----------



## Dentam

I'm planning to stay at the DL hotel - there are still openings for weekdays this July.  I can't imagine that it's sold out beyond that.  Maybe it's too far out from now to show in their system yet.

I wonder if I'll be able to use Disney gift cards and my Disney Visa redemption card over there?


----------



## D23Ry

zanzibar138 said:


> Wow next year? I would keep checking, something might become available. Or maybe you're trying to book too far in advance? Might even be worth calling the reservations line.
> 
> If you're not that set on staying onsite, I did find a hotel in my search which seems to be like a 'good neighbour' style place offering Disney packages with a free shuttle to the Disney train line (only twice a day though). If you're interested, it's the Dorsett Shanghai right near the Maglev station. I was tempted to try it out, but it was a bit over budget since I totally blew all my money on my club level stay at the DL Hotel. I ended up booking a cheaper place just around the corner.
> 
> I'm imagining that once things are up and running the local hotels surrounding Disneyland will get a much bigger international prescence and start getting more English reviews on TripAdvisor etc. We'll probably even see some more international chains spring up in the area. If it was me, I would hang out and keep checking in with the onsite hotels for availability, but if you have missed out on them, you'll probably find it much easier to choose a hotel in a few months when there are more reviews and TRs etc around.




Thanks for the suggestions. They are taking reservations right now on their site until March I believe. nothing available. If i'm going all that way I might as well stay at the hotel, i'll just be patient......for now 

EDIT: Just checked July and they have dates available. So maybe it is too far out, but strange that it lets you check those dates. WDW will only let you check until the end of December of this year if I remember right


----------



## zanzibar138

D23Ry said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. They are taking reservations right now on their site until March I believe. nothing available. If i'm going all that way I might as well stay at the hotel, i'll just be patient......for now



The only thing I can think of if it's not that you're trying to book too far out is maybe there is limited availability already over Chinese New Year? If that's the case, and that's the time that you are going, I'd look into getting park tickets sooner rather than later too.


----------



## Dentam

I finally got the dates for the conference I am attending.  It will be the last week of July and I will plan to go for two nights to the new park after the conference!  

Hope you all have a great time at the opening!


----------



## Wuzefelix

*Who wants to join us on the Disney Premium Tour?*

The Disney Premium Tour is a VIP Tour Service offered by Shanghai Disneyland. During the 6 hour tour the group (up to 6 people) will get priority access with little or no wait to all attractions and select characters greeting experiences. More information can be found on the official website: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/tours/vip-tour-services/

These tours officially don't start until July 1st but we managed to get a reservation for *Friday June 17th*. That way, everyone has time to experience the new park and the festivities of the grand opening day (16th) in a relaxed way because we know for sure that on the next day we are guaranteed to do all the rides as much as we like during the tour.

Our plan is to do the tour in the afternoon between 1pm and 7pm on June 17th and focus on the rides. We would like to do the big rides like Tron, Soarin, Pirates several times and do the small rides at least once each. We do not plan to watch a show or have a table service meal during the tour because we feel that would be a waste of time / money. Those things can be done outside of the tour .

Who wants to join us? The more we are, the lower the cost per person. Currently we are 3 so with you we'd already be 4 . Send me a private message for details.


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## Dentam

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/travel/shanghai-disneyland-etiquette-guide/

It will be interesting to see how the opening weeks go.  They are doing crowd control drills now and have issued an etiquette guide after behaviors noted during the soft opening.


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## pcmiranda

In the "no respect for the red rope" department...
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/01/china/lego-statue-demolished-trnd/index.html

Personally, I'd have glued up an intricate work of Lego art like that no matter where it was going to be shown, if only to make sure it could be moved intact.


----------



## RachelleBeaney

FYI for all of you planning a trip to Shanghai Disney on opening day, this article has an interesting report on crowds and FP distribution rules from the trial periods. Looks like headliner waits were frequently 2-3 hours with waits for lesser attractions 20-45 minutes and you could get a new FP every 3 hours (which is the longest FP wait window of any of the parks!).

I reckon it's going to be insane the first few months of opening! You can find the article here

Still don't forget the following rides have single rider lines (which might be a must do with waits like mentioned above) - Roaring Rapids, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, TROL LightCycle Coaster and Pirates of the Caribbean.


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## RachelleBeaney

wtdanceisthrough said:


> In case anyone is thinking about transportation arrangements, this sign is posted outside SDH...



Thanks for this info!! I have been wondering!  We will be staying at the Toy Story Hotel, but I'm hoping the schedules will be similar


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## RachelleBeaney

Wuzefelix said:


> *Who wants to join us on the Disney Premium Tour?*
> 
> The Disney Premium Tour is a VIP Tour Service offered by Shanghai Disneyland. During the 6 hour tour the group (up to 6 people) will get priority access with little or no wait to all attractions and select characters greeting experiences. More information can be found on the official website: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/tours/vip-tour-services/
> 
> These tours officially don't start until July 1st but we managed to get a reservation for *Friday June 17th*. That way, everyone has time to experience the new park and the festivities of the grand opening day (16th) in a relaxed way because we know for sure that on the next day we are guaranteed to do all the rides as much as we like during the tour.
> 
> Our plan is to do the tour in the afternoon between 1pm and 7pm on June 17th and focus on the rides. We would like to do the big rides like Tron, Soarin, Pirates several times and do the small rides at least once each. We do not plan to watch a show or have a table service meal during the tour because we feel that would be a waste of time / money. Those things can be done outside of the tour .
> 
> Who wants to join us? The more we are, the lower the cost per person. Currently we are 3 so with you we'd already be 4 . Send me a private message for details.



I'm curious how much these tours cost? Are you able to give me an estimate?


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## Dentam

I will for sure be doing the single rider lines when possible!


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## zanzibar138

Dentam said:


> I will for sure be doing the single rider lines when possible!



Me too!


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## RachelleBeaney

Dentam said:


> I will for sure be doing the single rider lines when possible!



Seconded!!


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## Wuzefelix

RachelleBeaney said:


> I'm curious how much these tours cost? Are you able to give me an estimate?



The peak season price for Disney's Premier Tour is 12500 RMB for 6 hours for the entire group of up to 6 people. The main benefit is priority access to all attractions and front of the line access at select character locations. More information can be found here: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/tours/vip-tour-services/

We have already found enough Disney fans to join us on our tour so unfortunately we don't have any available spots left.

Please note that these tours are not offered to the public until July 1st.

Best Regards,
Felix


----------



## RachelleBeaney

Wuzefelix said:


> The peak season price for Disney's Premier Tour is 12500 RMB for 6 hours for the entire group of up to 6 people. The main benefit is priority access to all attractions and front of the line access at select character locations. More information can be found here: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/tours/vip-tour-services/
> 
> We have already found enough Disney fans to join us on our tour so unfortunately we don't have any available spots left.
> 
> Please note that these tours are not offered to the public until July 1st.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Felix



Thanks for that info! It's probably about the same price as the US then! We actually aren't going for opening, we are heading over next January (hopefully it will be quieter by then) but I've been reading the opening day forum for tips and advice re planning - we be keeping my eye on crowd levels etc and if you all have any advice/info when you get back I'd really appreciate it


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## AdamEfimoff

Thats crazy


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## wtdanceisthrough

Some people noticed that the Roaring Rapids ride is now listed on the website as "Coming Soon": https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/attractions/roaring-rapids/ - the inside info is that there are some problems with the animatronic timing on the ride currently.

If Roaring Rapids is not open on the opening weekend, I will be so gutted!! This is pretty much the attraction I was most looking forward to!!


----------



## zanzibar138

wtdanceisthrough said:


> Some people noticed that the Roaring Rapids ride is now listed on the website as "Coming Soon": https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/attractions/roaring-rapids/ - the inside info is that there are some problems with the animatronic timing on the ride currently.
> 
> If Roaring Rapids is not open on the opening weekend, I will be so gutted!! This is pretty much the attraction I was most looking forward to!!



I hope it's open too! To be honest though, my main priorities are POTC and Tron. I would be totally gutted to not experience either of them - let's hope they stay fully operational as they have been so far! My main concern about any ride closures will be the affects on wait times of the attractions that are open, but hopefully SR and FP will serve me well.


----------



## Kboop0178

Have you decided to go yet? I decided to go when I first heard that the park was near completion. 

Have you ever attended a Disney theme park official opening before? No

Where are you going to stay? We're going to stay at an offsite hotel. Since we're going to be in Shanghai for 5 days prior to heading to Tokyo DL, I want to be mindful of our spending.

What's your strategy to get park tickets? I purchased my park tickets the day the tickets became available. However, I'm not going on the actual opening day due to my children's school schedule.

How long are you going for? 2 days in SDL but 5 days in Shanghai

What other sights / attractions are you going to visit during your trip? I'm not certain yet, but I've heard from my co-workers about some other good theme parks, that I need to check out.

What else would you like to share? After Shanghai I have completed my Disney Theme Parks bucket list.  And for my children, after TDL in August, they've visited all the parks within the past year and a half (we've done a lot of traveling!).


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## Dentam

Here's an article I found by a writer from Los Angeles who will be traveling with a photographer to cover the opening.  They're looking for other Americans who will be traveling to the opening to interview while there.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/shanghai-717923-disneyland-going.html


----------



## freedogshampoo

Hi everyone!


Have you decided to go yet? Yaaaaaaaas Day 1 & 2
Have you ever attended a Disney theme park official opening before? Nah
Where are you going to stay? Hyatt on the Bund
What's your strategy to get park tickets? Had to hustle that first day they went on sale. Bought 1st day tix on official site. 2nd day tix on Alibaba.
How long are you going for? Two days in park. One add'l day in Shanghai
What other sights / attractions are you going to visit during your trip? Eh
What else would you like to share? Let's talk about opening day:
I was wondering what peoples plans are for opening day. I think the park will open at noon, correct? Will there be a ceremony before that? Not sure what time I should arrive at the gate... worried a bit about crowds.


----------



## zanzibar138

freedogshampoo said:


> I was wondering what peoples plans are for opening day. I think the park will open at noon, correct? Will there be a ceremony before that? Not sure what time I should arrive at the gate... worried a bit about crowds.



Welcome aboard 

My plan for Opening Day is to get the first train to Disneyland (will be at about 6am I think). I'm estimating it will take me about 45 minutes to get there (I am staying near the Maglev station on my first night). I'll go straight to the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, check in and drop off my luggage, then basically head straight to the gates. I'll play it a bit by ear on the day. If it looks like it's pretty quiet early on, I'll have a look around Disney Town or Wishing Star Lake on my way through.

Happy to team up with any other solo travellers that morning to hold each other's places in line for bathroom breaks, coffee runs etc


----------



## newbss

The long range forecast on weather.com for Shanghai is calling for thunderstorms for the days we will be there (6/19-22).  Hopefully that changes as we get closer (or maybe it will serve to keep the crowds down slightly).  Guess I better pack a poncho...


----------



## Dentam

Some more details on the opening day festivities: http://www.laughingplace.com/w/news...-disneyland-telecast-disney-channel-networks/

Looks like it'll be broadcast on some Disney channels.  Too bad I don't have cable but I'm sure there will be stuff online too.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Dentam said:


> Some more details on the opening day festivities: http://www.laughingplace.com/w/news...-disneyland-telecast-disney-channel-networks/
> 
> Looks like it'll be broadcast on some Disney channels.  Too bad I don't have cable but I'm sure there will be stuff online too.





> *Bob Iger*, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, will be joined by nearly 3000 distinguished guests, celebrities and government officials at the largest, tallest and most interactive castle at the heart of any Disney Park, The Enchanted Storybook Castle.



This makes it seem as if members of the public will not be able to see the opening celebration itself, only 3000 invited guests  I guess these are the people who received the blue invitation we saw a few weeks ago.


----------



## zanzibar138

Dentam said:


> Some more details on the opening day festivities: http://www.laughingplace.com/w/news...-disneyland-telecast-disney-channel-networks/
> 
> Looks like it'll be broadcast on some Disney channels.  Too bad I don't have cable but I'm sure there will be stuff online too.





wtdanceisthrough said:


> This makes it seem as if members of the public will not be able to see the opening celebration itself, only 3000 invited guests  I guess these are the people who received the blue invitation we saw a few weeks ago.



Yes I got that impression too  Hopefully there will be *something* for us plebs lol!


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## Dentam

Apparently the tv special is only a half hour long. (?)  My parents get the Disney channel and have it set to record.  I'll be able to watch it when I go home for the 4th of July weekend.  It sounds like just the castle area is going to be reserved for this and all of the "special guests".  Very interested to see it!


----------



## zanzibar138

Dentam said:


> Apparently the tv special is only a half hour long. (?)  My parents get the Disney channel and have it set to record.  I'll be able to watch it when I go home for the 4th of July weekend.  It sounds like just the castle area is going to be reserved for this and all of the "special guests".  Very interested to see it!



Me too! If I can't see it on the day, I hope I can at least see the video online somewhere afterwards.


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## zanzibar138

Leaving for Shanghai tomorrow  I'm excited, but also a little nervous!

If you see me around, please say hi! I'll be the westerner with blonde ringlets Disneybounding as Minnie - shouldn't be too hard to miss


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

zanzibar138 said:


> Leaving for Shanghai tomorrow  I'm excited, but also a little nervous!
> 
> If you see me around, please say hi! I'll be the westerner with blonde ringlets Disneybounding as Minnie - shouldn't be too hard to miss



What do you have to be nervous about? Everything will be fine 

I arrived in Shanghai a bit earlier today (landed about 8 hours ago) and just been chilling out at my hotel. On that note, does anyone know any good places to eat in the Disney Resort area that are already open? My body clock is already getting used to China time and my stomach is rumbling (it's 6.30pm here) but want to avoid the typical Chinese place where menus are either not in English or in unintelligible English and you have no idea what you are getting!!


----------



## zanzibar138

wtdanceisthrough said:


> What do you have to be nervous about? Everything will be fine
> 
> I arrived in Shanghai a bit earlier today (landed about 8 hours ago) and just been chilling out at my hotel. On that note, does anyone know any good places to eat in the Disney Resort area that are already open? My body clock is already getting used to China time and my stomach is rumbling (it's 6.30pm here) but want to avoid the typical Chinese place where menus are either not in English or in unintelligible English and you have no idea what you are getting!!



I'm just a bit nervous about logistics and what's actually going to happen on Opening Day! Trying to go in with the attitude that just being there will be a thrill and anything I get to see or experience will be a bonus.

I think there are already places open in Disney Town. Not sure exactly what is though.

My friend helped me find an app that I've downloaded that will scan Chinese words and translate them for me. I don't think I'll need it at Disneyland, but it could be handy for the rest of China. Might be worth downloading it if you think it would help - once it's downloaded you don't need data to use it.


----------



## Dentam

Have a great time, everyone!!  I will be there at the very end of July/beginning of August!  Can't wait to see and hear all of the reports in the meantime!


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

zanzibar138 said:


> I'm just a bit nervous about logistics and what's actually going to happen on Opening Day! Trying to go in with the attitude that just being there will be a thrill and anything I get to see or experience will be a bonus.



I have been thinking EXACTLY the same. To start with I was a bit overly hopeful I would see the CEO speech, ceremonial music performances etc. Now it's looking less likely that will happen, but I've GOT to be content with that, otherwise I won't enjoy this trip at all.

I'm 99% sure I will be able to see a video of the opening ceremony sometime in future. On that basis, the sadness is largely psychological...between wanting to see something with my own eyes versus seeing it on screen. Having said that, here are some of the things I've been telling myself to psyche myself up:

This is the best spot I could have got as a member of the general public so to all intents and purposes I will be able to cross this experience off the bucket list. This is somewhat akin to seeing a film at midnight on the day it came out - yes, you didn't go to the grand premiere, which was only for invited guests, but you still scored a major victory by being in the atmosphere of excitement on public release day.
What's more, this is what being a true Disney fan is all about. The invited guests at the real opening ceremony will be largely businessmen and politicians who are not "Disney fans" as such. What we are doing is the rite of passage for all hardcore Disney fans out there. Being a Disney fan is not about being in an exclusive club.
The atmosphere is going to be great and especially as we will be some of the first people to "really" walk into the park - not just under trial operations.
If I attend the second part of the day (public part) in person and watch the first part on video, I've got the best of both worlds.
Just to try to catch a glimpse of the proceedings or a snippet of the audio is worthwhile to be there.
Just like with Character Hunting, Disney is equally about the journey as about the end result. If you searched all day for a character and didn't find them, was it necessarily a wasted day? No, because you took an adventure.

Anyway that's just my random thoughts.



zanzibar138 said:


> My friend helped me find an app that I've downloaded that will scan Chinese words and translate them for me. I don't think I'll need it at Disneyland, but it could be handy for the rest of China. Might be worth downloading it if you think it would help - once it's downloaded you don't need data to use it.




Is it Pleco? I used that one on several trips to China. It can literally translate things word-for-word, but it can still have trouble conveying the meanings of some things which are called a totally different way in common English.


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## wtdanceisthrough

Just a random tip for those who haven't been to Shanghai before: when you go to the metro station at the airport, there is the option to buy a travelcard but it's not clearly marked. If you follow the sign called "tickets" you can only buy paper tickets there. There's a separate desk next to the turnstiles where you can buy the card. It was very efficient and the lady spoke English. It costs a 20rmb refundable deposit.

If you take the metro to SDR, there are announcements as you get close advising you to buy a return ticket in advance if you are on single tickets, if you plan to go to the Disney resort. Presumably this is because they expect massive queues at the ticket desk after the park closes. If you get a travelcard you can avoid all this hassle. But I suppose if you are planning to stay on property for basically your whole trip, it isn't worth it.


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## zanzibar138

wtdanceisthrough said:


> I have been thinking EXACTLY the same. To start with I was a bit overly hopeful I would see the CEO speech, ceremonial music performances etc. Now it's looking less likely that will happen, but I've GOT to be content with that, otherwise I won't enjoy this trip at all.
> 
> Is it Pleco? I used that one on several trips to China. It can literally translate things word-for-word, but it can still have trouble conveying the meanings of some things which are called a totally different way in common English.



Yes, you're right. I was the same way - thinking I would get to see all of the opening ceremonies and everything. I was just a bit disappointed when I realised the general public are likely to get absolutely nothing. I'm still hopeful that there will be some sort of small special ceremony though just prior to rope drop or something.

The app I've got is CamDictionary. My friend (who lived in China for a while and speaks fairly good Mandarin) says that the translations are pretty good. Hope you're enjoying it so far!



wtdanceisthrough said:


> Just a random tip for those who haven't been to Shanghai before: when you go to the metro station at the airport, there is the option to buy a travelcard but it's not clearly marked. If you follow the sign called "tickets" you can only buy paper tickets there. There's a separate desk next to the turnstiles where you can buy the card. It was very efficient and the lady spoke English. It costs a 20rmb refundable deposit.
> 
> If you take the metro to SDR, there are announcements as you get close advising you to buy a return ticket in advance if you are on single tickets, if you plan to go to the Disney resort. Presumably this is because they expect massive queues at the ticket desk after the park closes. If you get a travelcard you can avoid all this hassle. But I suppose if you are planning to stay on property for basically your whole trip, it isn't worth it.



Great tip! Thanks for sharing


----------



## aussiecookfamily

wtdanceisthrough said:


> What do you have to be nervous about? Everything will be fine
> 
> I arrived in Shanghai a bit earlier today (landed about 8 hours ago) and just been chilling out at my hotel. On that note, does anyone know any good places to eat in the Disney Resort area that are already open? My body clock is already getting used to China time and my stomach is rumbling (it's 6.30pm here) but want to avoid the typical Chinese place where menus are either not in English or in unintelligible English and you have no idea what you are getting!!



You have probably found this out already but Disney Town has Cheesecake Factory and Starbucks already operational, plus more


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## wtdanceisthrough

Went to SDR for the first time last night. Remember that route I planned to Shanghai Disneyland Hotel before? I had no idea it was mostly in Wishing Star Park!

I had previously thought that Wishing Star Park was just the rectangular area north of the lake. Not sure if I was the only one under this misconception? In the early days of the map, that was the location marked as "Wishing Star Park" but turns out that is just the entrance and the park itself extends most of the way around the lake. In fact, I have not found any way to access that rectangular area (garden above the metro station) even though it can be seen from multiple angles - last night I walked around the whole metro station looking for a way in. If anyone has any details on this, I would be interested!!

The Wishing Star Park itself is only open from 7am-7pm, however I was able to walk into it at like midnight last night...but I wouldn't count on being able to do that after the official opening. Therefore I was a bit confused to find not one but two 24-hour convenience stores located inside the park itself! How can a store be 24-hour when the surrounding park is only open for 12 hours in the day? Well, turns out that there is a special entrance to the park for guests staying at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel - you can touch your keycard to get from the hotel gardens into the park and vice-versa, even outside the park's opening hours. However, even more surprising is that, while one convenience store is located right next to that special entrance, the other one is located about a 5-10 minute walk from there. Why would one walk to that convenience store when there is one right by the entrance? No idea!

I asked the staff in the hotel lobby (which incidentally I had to get security clearance to enter, a process which took some 10 minutes in itself, although that's likely because of the soft opening) whether the other park entrances are open to hotel guests outside opening hours but they didn't know. But I went to those entrances and there is no keycard reader that I can see. (There is an entrance to the park by Disneytown and another one by the metro station so this would be handy for walking to/from the hotel early in the morning or late at night. But I don't know for certain it would be open. The walking route I shared a few weeks ago relies on it being open. To be clear, all the bridges you see across the lake on the map, are actually inside Wishing Star Park.) For Toy Story Hotel guests (wanting to have their breakfast at SDH, for example) it's even less likely they can walk through the park.

There is another walking route to SDH (which I used in the end) that is much longer as it essentially goes around the boundary fence of Wishing Star Park. Basically it just goes along the main road towards the hotel entrance, with a pedestrian walkway along the entire south edge of that road. That would be a long walk, especially with luggage. Upon arriving at the main hotel entrance from the road, there is a pedestrian walkway to the lobby (you have to buzz in on the intercom).

I asked the hotel staff about plans for the opening day schedule but unfortunately they have no information


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

aussiecookfamily said:


> You have probably found this out already but Disney Town has Cheesecake Factory and Starbucks already operational, plus more



Yep, I had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory last night! A bit pricey (one expects food in China to be so cheap) but good! According to the staff, they soft-opened on June 1st, but this basically means they are open but not allowed to "officially" declare that until the 16th. Thanks for the info all the same!


----------



## zanzibar138

Thanks very much for all your information wtdanceisthrough! Really helps us out!

I actually thought from the beginning that Wishing Star Park was pretty much all around the lake, but I had no idea that it would only be open between certain hours. As the shortest route between the park and the hotels, I would have thought they'd at least make the opening hours in line with park hours, maybe an hour before opening and an hour after closing or something.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Hope this helps!:






Took this photo last night. It shows the extent of the park. The specific map board I photographed is right next to the "special gate" into the hotel grounds, so you can see ("you are here" marker) where that would be located relative to the other gates if you were using the park for commuting.


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## wtdanceisthrough

Just a tip.....remember not to drink the tap water in Shanghai....I forgot this yesterday (blame the extreme lack of sleep) and can almost still taste that horrible metallic flavour in my throat. The water is nowhere near as bad as India/Africa (where I always take crazy precautions) but still, not really good to drink it. Boiling it does not even help because the main problem is metal exposure. Sometimes I don't even use it to clean my teeth, depending on how paranoid I feel on that day!!


----------



## zanzibar138

Good tip. I was planning to buy bottled water anyway. I'm used to travelling in SE Asia where you can't drink the tap water at all. Probably a lot of people who wouldn't have thought of it though.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Anyone want to share their travel plans for getting to SDR on the 16th? I'm staying at a hotel right next to Xiuyan Road station, which is 2 stops from Disney Resort station. Even so, the first eastbound train (towards Disney  Resort) is at 7am. The first westbound train is at 6am but this doesn't help much. I thought if I want to go earlier than 7am I might be better to get a taxi, but not sure if I should be worried about opening day traffic / traffic restrictions.


----------



## zanzibar138

I'm just planning to get the first train. I'm staying near the Maglev station and I think the first train will be around 6am, but obviously no matter how early I get the train from my hotel, I'll have to wait for the first Disney train. I'm specifically trying to avoid taxis, and will be happy to get to Disneyland at around 7am or just after.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Thanks for your insight!!

Just to update, I went over to SDR this evening and there was a security guard on the West Gate to Wishing Star Park. He told me he will let people through if they have a Disneyland Hotel room key between the hours of 7pm-11pm. But there is no automatic card reader and after 11pm you can't get into the park through that gate even if you have a room key!

By the way, Disneytown was closed all day for a "private event" presumably the pre-opening events. So you couldn't even walk up to the park gates (security area) today. I spoke to a few people who had attended the events today and they told me there was a rehearsal for the grand opening celebration complete with all the celebrities and performers!! So jealous - I would even accept just seeing the rehearsal even if I can't see the real thing!! The people I spoke to weren't sure of the schedule for 16th but some news outlets are reporting that the grand opening ceremony is actually tomorrow (Wednesday) not Thursday...


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

After doing quite a bit of digging around, I'm now fairly sure the grand opening ceremony really is on Wednesday 15th not the 16th.

Multiple news sources, including ECNS and China Daily, are reporting it as taking place on Wednesday.

The schedule for Dragon TV (Shanghai local television station) shows a program on 06/15 from 1930-2125 CST titled "上海迪士尼开园盛典" which means "Shanghai Disneyland Opening Ceremony". Here is the schedule: http://www.tvmao.com/program/SHHAI-DONGFANG1-w3.html

So what to do? Sit in my hotel room and watch the live broadcast, or go down to the resort area and try to get a glimpse of something happening??

I'm swaying more towards the former right now....as now I know I can't even get into the park on the actual DAY of the ceremony, let alone get anywhere near the action....


----------



## Dentam

wtdanceisthrough said:


> After doing quite a bit of digging around, I'm now fairly sure the grand opening ceremony really is on Wednesday 15th not the 16th.
> 
> Multiple news sources, including ECNS and China Daily, are reporting it as taking place on Wednesday.
> 
> The schedule for Dragon TV (Shanghai local television station) shows a program on 06/15 from 1930-2125 CST titled "上海迪士尼开园盛典" which means "Shanghai Disneyland Opening Ceremony". Here is the schedule: http://www.tvmao.com/program/SHHAI-DONGFANG1-w3.html
> 
> So what to do? Sit in my hotel room and watch the live broadcast, or go down to the resort area and try to get a glimpse of something happening??
> 
> I'm swaying more towards the former right now....as now I know I can't even get into the park on the actual DAY of the ceremony, let alone get anywhere near the action....



Very interesting!  Thanks for all of the first hand observations!  I would lean toward watching it live on tv too knowing that if I went over there I might not see much of anything.


----------



## WAMUMOF4

wtdanceisthrough said:


> Anyone want to share their travel plans for getting to SDR on the 16th? I'm staying at a hotel right next to Xiuyan Road station, which is 2 stops from Disney Resort station. Even so, the first eastbound train (towards Disney  Resort) is at 7am. The first westbound train is at 6am but this doesn't help much. I thought if I want to go earlier than 7am I might be better to get a taxi, but not sure if I should be worried about opening day traffic / traffic restrictions.



Are you staying at the Holiday Inn or did you find something else in that area?
If it is how far of a walk is it to the station?



wtdanceisthrough said:


> After doing quite a bit of digging around, I'm now fairly sure the grand opening ceremony really is on Wednesday 15th not the 16th.
> 
> Multiple news sources, including ECNS and China Daily, are reporting it as taking place on Wednesday.
> 
> The schedule for Dragon TV (Shanghai local television station) shows a program on 06/15 from 1930-2125 CST titled "上海迪士尼开园盛典" which means "Shanghai Disneyland Opening Ceremony". Here is the schedule: http://www.tvmao.com/program/SHHAI-DONGFANG1-w3.html
> 
> So what to do? Sit in my hotel room and watch the live broadcast, or go down to the resort area and try to get a glimpse of something happening??
> 
> I'm swaying more towards the former right now....as now I know I can't even get into the park on the actual DAY of the ceremony, let alone get anywhere near the action....



I think I would watch it on tv.
I am not feeling so bad that my flight arrives Thursday morning now was intending on arriving Wednesday  but plans changed.  I hope they are still doing some special events for Thursday.
How long did immigration take when you arrived?


----------



## ChrisFL

sorry if this was asked before, but since it is opening, are we getting a Shanghai Disneyland specific forum now?


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

WAMUMOF4 said:


> Are you staying at the Holiday Inn or did you find something else in that area?
> If it is how far of a walk is it to the station?



I don't think I was ever planning to stay at any Holiday Inn - maybe you are getting me confused with someone else? I'm staying at the Dikang Hotel at the moment. It is a fairly decent hotel. It is about 3-5 minutes walk from Xiuyan Road station, which is 8 minutes from Disney Resort station. I don't think you will find any closer hotel.




WAMUMOF4 said:


> I think I would watch it on tv.
> I am not feeling so bad that my flight arrives Thursday morning now was intending on arriving Wednesday  but plans changed.  I hope they are still doing some special events for Thursday.
> How long did immigration take when you arrived?



Maybe about 10 minutes total including 9 minutes of queueing and 1 minute of actually being processed  It really depends on how busy your flight is, how many other international flights come in at a similar time to yours (as everyone gets pooled), what ratio of people there are who are non-Chinese nationals and what queues you get put in. Seems there are three queues: "China national", "Foreigner" and "China immigration". I think "China immigration" is for both China nationals and foreigners. I got put in that queue. You don't really get to choose which queue you get put in! There were about 4-6 desks per queue when I arrived and so that should give you a rough idea of how long it takes.

After clearing immigration you still have to go through baggage claim and customs...assuming you have baggage to claim this will depend on how long it takes to unload your flight. Then you have about 5-10 minutes walk from the arrivals area to the metro/maglev station assuming that's how you're getting to the resort/your hotel...


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## WAMUMOF4

wtdanceisthrough said:


> I don't think I was ever planning to stay at any Holiday Inn - maybe you are getting me confused with someone else? I'm staying at the Dikang Hotel at the moment. It is a fairly decent hotel. It is about 3-5 minutes walk from Xiuyan Road station, which is 8 minutes from Disney Resort station. I don't think you will find any closer hotel.
> 
> Maybe about 10 minutes total including 9 minutes of queueing and 1 minute of actually being processed  It really depends on how busy your flight is, how many other international flights come in at a similar time to yours (as everyone gets pooled), what ratio of people there are who are non-Chinese nationals and what queues you get put in. Seems there are three queues: "China national", "Foreigner" and "China immigration". I think "China immigration" is for both China nationals and foreigners. I got put in that queue. You don't really get to choose which queue you get put in! There were about 4-6 desks per queue when I arrived and so that should give you a rough idea of how long it takes.
> 
> After clearing immigration you still have to go through baggage claim and customs...assuming you have baggage to claim this will depend on how long it takes to unload your flight. Then you have about 5-10 minutes walk from the arrivals area to the metro/maglev station assuming that's how you're getting to the resort/your hotel...



The Holiday Inn was the only hotel that showed on the map when I was googling Xiuyan road station so I just guessed lol  

Thanks I'm still unsure if I'm even going yet but was just trying to figure out roughly what time I'd arrive at the park after arriving


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## wtdanceisthrough

WAMUMOF4 said:


> The Holiday Inn was the only hotel that showed on the map when I was googling Xiuyan road station so I just guessed lol




http://www.agoda.com/en-gb/shanghai-dikang-boutique-hotel/hotel/shanghai-cn.html

I think it's closer to the station than a Holiday Inn. Or at least, I never saw any Holiday Inn when walking to and from the station.


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## zanzibar138

Well, I've just arrived in Shanghai! Immigration wasn't too bad, and I found it fairly easy to get to my hotel using the Maglev and then Line 2. My hotel is in a pretty good spot for food and a little bit of sightseeing, but not overly convenient to Disney. Tomorrow morning I will need to catch Line 2 for one stop, then two stops on Line 16, then take Line 11 to the end of the line. Seems like a nice enough hotel so far - fairly basic and small but it's just me for one night so I don't need a lot of space.



wtdanceisthrough said:


> After doing quite a bit of digging around, I'm now fairly sure the grand opening ceremony really is on Wednesday 15th not the 16th.
> 
> Multiple news sources, including ECNS and China Daily, are reporting it as taking place on Wednesday.
> 
> The schedule for Dragon TV (Shanghai local television station) shows a program on 06/15 from 1930-2125 CST titled "上海迪士尼开园盛典" which means "Shanghai Disneyland Opening Ceremony". Here is the schedule: http://www.tvmao.com/program/SHHAI-DONGFANG1-w3.html
> 
> So what to do? Sit in my hotel room and watch the live broadcast, or go down to the resort area and try to get a glimpse of something happening??
> 
> I'm swaying more towards the former right now....as now I know I can't even get into the park on the actual DAY of the ceremony, let alone get anywhere near the action....



I would stay at the hotel too and watch it on TV. I'll have to look it up from here too!



ChrisFL said:


> sorry if this was asked before, but since it is opening, are we getting a Shanghai Disneyland specific forum now?



Yeah I think we need one!



WAMUMOF4 said:


> The Holiday Inn was the only hotel that showed on the map when I was googling Xiuyan road station so I just guessed lol
> 
> Thanks I'm still unsure if I'm even going yet but was just trying to figure out roughly what time I'd arrive at the park after arriving



You mean you're unsure about heading to Disneyland on Opening Day? Or are you re-thinking your whole trip to China? What time does your flight arrive on Thursday morning? If it's early and you can pretty much go straight to the park, it's probably still worth going. You may as well even go for a couple of hours since you've already bought your tickets.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

I'm at Disneytown right now....there's basically nothing happening here. I can see crowds of VIPs going into Disneyland park, and they have been doing so since about 4.45pm, but there is nothing for the public. It's actually a little depressing watching them filing in....half of them don't even look excited and are probably there only for corporate reasons....

I spoke to a bona fide Disney Imagineer earlier today and he said that even he doesn't get to go to the grand opening even though he was partially responsible for designing this place!! He said that from his world, only Art Directors and the like get to go. This did make me feel slightly better about not being able to go myself!

I also spoke to a guy at Guest Services who confirmed there won't be much going on tonight for the public and won't be any screens showing the proceedings. He did however say that there will be fireworks and that they would be "something quite special, not just our usual ones"...and obviously you can't just hide fireworks behind a security fence. However on balance I'll probably still go back to my hotel and stay there, as I don't want to be waiting around for hours while nothing is happening.

I did ask about tomorrow, and the word is, apparently there will be a special one-off show from 12-1pm, i.e. right after it opens...hope that's accurate!!


----------



## WAMUMOF4

zanzibar138 said:


> Well, I've just arrived in Shanghai! Immigration wasn't too bad, and I found it fairly easy to get to my hotel using the Maglev and then Line 2. My hotel is in a pretty good spot for food and a little bit of sightseeing, but not overly convenient to Disney. Tomorrow morning I will need to catch Line 2 for one stop, then two stops on Line 16, then take Line 11 to the end of the line. Seems like a nice enough hotel so far - fairly basic and small but it's just me for one night so I don't need a lot of space.
> 
> 
> 
> I would stay at the hotel too and watch it on TV. I'll have to look it up from here too!
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah I think we need one!
> 
> 
> 
> You mean you're unsure about heading to Disneyland on Opening Day? Or are you re-thinking your whole trip to China? What time does your flight arrive on Thursday morning? If it's early and you can pretty much go straight to the park, it's probably still worth going. You may as well even go for a couple of hours since you've already bought your tickets.


Unfortunately I'm not coming at all, I woke up with, went to to the DR  this morning to get a script for new asthma medication and got a medical certificate for an upper respiratory infection instead, just feeling a tad disappointed


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

WAMUMOF4 said:


> Unfortunately I'm not coming at all, I woke up with, went to to the DR  this morning to get a script for new asthma medication and got a medical certificate for an upper respiratory infection instead, just feeling a tad disappointed



Really sorry to hear that. Hope you recover quickly, all the same. Next time you come to SDL, at least Roaring Rapids will probably be open!! It's just a massive dry rock right now......


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## wtdanceisthrough

It's started! A singer just performed "A Whole New World" on a balcony above Mickey Avenue


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## wtdanceisthrough

Now a singer is performing "Immortals" (from Big Hero 6) with the verses in Mandarin and chorus in English....she is on a stage right next to TRON

Now I can see why the entry was so limited, if they are moving people around so much between different venues


----------



## zanzibar138

wtdanceisthrough said:


> I'm at Disneytown right now....there's basically nothing happening here. I can see crowds of VIPs going into Disneyland park, and they have been doing so since about 4.45pm, but there is nothing for the public. It's actually a little depressing watching them filing in....half of them don't even look excited and are probably there only for corporate reasons....
> 
> I spoke to a bona fide Disney Imagineer earlier today and he said that even he doesn't get to go to the grand opening even though he was partially responsible for designing this place!! He said that from his world, only Art Directors and the like get to go. This did make me feel slightly better about not being able to go myself!
> 
> I also spoke to a guy at Guest Services who confirmed there won't be much going on tonight for the public and won't be any screens showing the proceedings. He did however say that there will be fireworks and that they would be "something quite special, not just our usual ones"...and obviously you can't just hide fireworks behind a security fence. However on balance I'll probably still go back to my hotel and stay there, as I don't want to be waiting around for hours while nothing is happening.
> 
> I did ask about tomorrow, and the word is, apparently there will be a special one-off show from 12-1pm, i.e. right after it opens...hope that's accurate!!



Love your recon work! It'll be good if they at least do something for all the actual Disney fans who made the big trip to China just to have a unique Disney experience. Would be a bit sad if there wasn't anything unique about it lol!

I think I would have been getting too depressed if I saw the VIPs filing into the park without me lol! I think it was a good call to go back to your hotel and watch it there.

I decided to get myself into the mood by going to the Disney store in Shanghai! Unfortunately I got a bit carried away there and actually missed a lot of the TV special. I'm sure I'll be able to see it again somewhere eventually.



WAMUMOF4 said:


> Unfortunately I'm not coming at all, I woke up with, went to to the DR  this morning to get a script for new asthma medication and got a medical certificate for an upper respiratory infection instead, just feeling a tad disappointed



Oh, what rotten luck! The others are right though, you'll have a fully functioning park by the time you get there, and possibly less crowded and chaotic too once the initial novelty has worn off.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

I think you were asking about grand opening merchandise before? Today I went to check it out. It is mind-boggling quite how much variety of grand opening merchandise there is! Here I made a partial list:

Grand Opening soft toys (too many varieties to count: basically every character in the Mickey & Friends franchise and in small and big varieties. The "Grand Opening" logo is on the character's foot)
Grand Opening keyrings (many varieties)
Grand Opening pins
Grand Opening mugs
Grand Opening flasks
Grand Opening cups
Grand Opening "mouse ears" hats
Grand Opening rucksacks
Grand Opening figurines
Grand Opening snowglobes
Grand Opening notepads
Grand Opening notebooks (two varieties)
Grand Opening pens
Grand Opening erasers
Grand Opening photo albums
Grand Opening photo clips
Grand Opening photo frames
Grand Opening calendars
Grand Opening die cast vehicles
Grand Opening ponchos (two varieties)
Grand Opening mirrors
Grand Opening magnets
Grand Opening medallions
Grand Opening fans
Grand Opening bubble blowers
Grand Opening cushions
Grand Opening blankets
Grand Opening stickers
Grand Opening "light chasers"
Grand Opening lollies
Grand Opening sweet tins/packages
So have in mind what you want to pick up, but I think it's unlikely that _everything_ will sell out in the first five minutes


----------



## Flounder89

Any idea how long they will keep out Opening Merch? Only for a few days or do we think the first few months? Visiting early September^^


----------



## WAMUMOF4

wtdanceisthrough said:


> Really sorry to hear that. Hope you recover quickly, all the same. Next time you come to SDL, at least Roaring Rapids will probably be open!! It's just a massive dry rock right now......







zanzibar138 said:


> Oh, what rotten luck! The others are right though, you'll have a fully functioning park by the time you get there, and possibly less crowded and chaotic too once the initial novelty has worn off.



Thanks I'm not sure when I will actually get to go this was never a planned trip it was added in after buying the opening day tickets I never expected to get  

Have a Fantastic day today, I hope it's a magical experience for you all!


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

I think this thread has run its course. It was about planning a trip to the grand opening and the park is now open! As others have said, a new subforum is appropriate!!

I got into the park at about 11.40am today which surprised me (as official opening was at noon)! Managed to do Soaring, Roaring Rapids (which I was thrilled was open, although my feet got totally soaked), TRON and PotC all in one day, plus some more minor attractions like Once Upon A Time and Buzz Lightyear. Great day - TRON is particularly amazing, especially as I was on the front row.

By the way there was no event from 12-1pm as I had previously been told. When we got inside, we could see a large stage, but that was actually for the dedication ceremony which was at 10.30am and the stage was in the process of being dismantled when we came in.


----------



## Dentam

I don't think the thread has run its course... I'd love to see trip reports linked here or just included here for those of us who couldn't make the opening!


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Dentam said:


> I don't think the thread has run its course... I'd love to see trip reports linked here or just included here for those of us who couldn't make the opening!



Okay good idea! I wasn't denying the need for that kind of thing...just thinking there is probably a better home for it than a planning thread.

To be honest, for me, the opening was not much different from any other day. There was mostly nothing special to mark the occasion. One notable thing was that there were certificates given out after certain rides saying "You're the first guest to ride <name>". I got them after Roaring Rapids, TRON and Pirates but not Soaring. Not sure what other rides they were given for.

I spoke to a CM who told me that they originally had planned and even rehearsed a lot more things, but that lots of opening day events got cancelled because Disney didn't want to look "too happy" in the wake of the Disney World accident and the Orlando shootings.

Another cast member to whom I expressed my disappointment at not being able to see the dedication ceremony, told me "believe me, you are not the first person to have expressed that" so I guess a lot of people are annoyed. I watched the dedication ceremony online last night (recorded) after getting back from the park.

Few things from the rides:
- Pirates: I deliberately hadn't watched the "on-ride" video in advance but had heard lots of people talking about the "underwater" sequence...I was blown away by how good the special effects were with that part. With the movement of the boat perfectly synchronized with the screens, it felt like you were really there. When I was on the ride, our boat got stuck a couple of times and the boat behind almost caught up to us. Later in the day, the ride got closed for the rest of the day.
- Once Upon A Time: As with lots of things, the narration is key here and it was all in Chinese, which did lessen the enjoyment. But it's in the castle which is great.
- Roaring Rapids: The monster looked way less impressive than in the concept art. Not sure if they have toned it down due to the technical issues. Also, despite wearing a poncho to cover most of my body, my feet got absolutely soaked and stayed that way for the whole day 
- Camp Discovery Challenge Trail: Queued up for it for about an hour and then it closed due to weather conditions 
- Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue: It took me ages to figure out you can shoot targets more than once. The guy next to me got a much higher score than me. All the important instructions are pictoral so at least I understood the basics of what was going on!
* TRON: It's cool how they have a separate front row queue. I only had to queue for about an extra 5 minutes and I think it was worth it. This ride gives you the most amazing feeling!
* Soaring Over The Horizon: There's a fake mountain behind the entrance which looks massive and I have no clue how they created the illusion! In general the queueing system for this ride is the best one IMO. There's a pre-show for the ride that's all in Chinese (except for the safety briefing part which is subtitled - cheers Disney for not subtitling the rest!) and I had no idea what was going on there. The real ride seemed to have some flaws as I could often see black gaps above the screen or gridlines. Some parts were too obviously computer generated, while others were more realistic.

I saw lots of instances of angry Chinese people demanding to get on rides which had already closed or had restricted access. The CMs were doing the best they could.

The gap between Adventure Isle and Treasure Cove is very subtle... You can only really tell because of the change in music.

That's all I can think of for now!!


----------



## Dentam

Thanks so much for your insight!  I am hoping to go at the end of July but we'll see if it works out or not.  I think the Pirates ride and TRON are the ones I'm most interested in since they are so different and use the newest technology available!  I also really want to stay at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel if I go and am really interested to see how it compares to the Deluxe resorts in the U.S.

I do hope they start a special forum for this new park on the DIS soon!


----------



## cfcoo

excited and can't wait to go


----------



## Dentam

Here is a great article about the opening - people who came from around the world were interviewed and it shows the excitement and happiness of the day.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/disney-719505-first-guests.html


----------



## Traveling NGs

The grand opening was amazing!!   I cant wait to be there!  Does any know the dinner menu of the Royal Palace?  We will be there for my daughter's birthday!  And sure more tips, please!  
Thanks a million!!!


----------



## zanzibar138

Traveling NGs said:


> The grand opening was amazing!!   I cant wait to be there!  Does any know the dinner menu of the Royal Palace?  We will be there for my daughter's birthday!  And sure more tips, please!
> Thanks a million!!!



I had lunch at the Royal Banquet Hall today! It was awesome - the classic characters in their royal costumes are so cute! Obviously the dinner menu will be different, but I took photos of the menu and all my food, so it will give you some idea of what's in store for you (as well as some of the décor and the characters). When is your daughter's birthday? Just wondering if it's likely that I'll have that part of my TR done by then


----------



## Traveling NGs

zanzibar138 said:


> I had lunch at the Royal Banquet Hall today! It was awesome - the classic characters in their royal costumes are so cute! Obviously the dinner menu will be different, but I took photos of the menu and all my food, so it will give you some idea of what's in store for you (as well as some of the décor and the characters). When is your daughter's birthday? Just wondering if it's likely that I'll have that part of my TR done by then



Great!  Please share the pictures of the menu. My daughter bday is on 8/24. I made reservation already and cant wait to be there!!!  

Thanks you!!!


----------



## Flounder89

I would also love to see the menu


----------



## zanzibar138

Traveling NGs said:


> Great!  Please share the pictures of the menu. My daughter bday is on 8/24. I made reservation already and cant wait to be there!!!
> 
> Thanks you!!!





Flounder89 said:


> I would also love to see the menu



No problemo! I'll try to get some pictures uploaded here in the next few days for you.


----------



## Traveling NGs

zanzibar138 said:


> No problemo! I'll try to get some pictures uploaded here in the next few days for you.



Great!  Looking forward to them!!  Thank you!!!!!!


----------



## zanzibar138

Sorry it's taking so long to get these pictures up. I'll start off with a few from the entrance to the restaurant to whet your appetite


----------



## Traveling NGs

zanzibar138 said:


> Sorry it's taking so long to get these pictures up. I'll start off with a few from the entrance to the restaurant to whet your appetite



Great pictures!  Cant wait to see more!  
Thanks for sharing!


----------



## Corbisblue

It was suggested I add my TR here for the opening. I have started an "overall" TR and will add detailed ones for all the days we were there. This is the original thread I started.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/my...-experience-trip-report-faq-answered.3520388/


Hey, everyone! We just got back from Shanghai and what an incredible experience it was. Not only did we get to experience the park for the opening (which is fantastic by the way) we met so many great Disney fans from around the world (Australia, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Canada, United States, and Japan). It really was an experience I will always cherish. 

I just finished writing a preliminary report on my thoughts and first impressions along with answering some questions that I got quite a bit. I am sure some have been addressed already in other threads too. I will continue working on a proper trip report going into more detail of the trip along with reviews of restaurants and the hotels (we stayed at both).

I will post the links here and continue updating them as I write them. I can try and answer any questions people have as well.

http://tdrexplorer.com/shanghai-disneyland-grand-opening-experience-first-impressions/


----------



## zanzibar138

And for those who haven't seen it yet, I've also started a TR - link is in my signature.


----------



## Dentam

I'm really enjoying reading the TR's!  Thanks for doing them!


----------



## Traveling NGs

Corbisblue said:


> It was suggested I add my TR here for the opening. I have started an "overall" TR and will add detailed ones for all the days we were there. This is the original thread I started.
> 
> http://www.disboards.com/threads/my...-experience-trip-report-faq-answered.3520388/
> 
> 
> Hey, everyone! We just got back from Shanghai and what an incredible experience it was. Not only did we get to experience the park for the opening (which is fantastic by the way) we met so many great Disney fans from around the world (Australia, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Canada, United States, and Japan). It really was an experience I will always cherish.
> 
> I just finished writing a preliminary report on my thoughts and first impressions along with answering some questions that I got quite a bit. I am sure some have been addressed already in other threads too. I will continue working on a proper trip report going into more detail of the trip along with reviews of restaurants and the hotels (we stayed at both).
> 
> I will post the links here and continue updating them as I write them. I can try and answer any questions people have as well.
> 
> http://tdrexplorer.com/shanghai-disneyland-grand-opening-experience-first-impressions/



This is awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!!!


----------



## zanzibar138

A few more Royal Banquet Hall pictures for you. This time, from the dining room. You should be aware that there are several dining rooms, so yours may be slightly different.


----------



## zanzibar138

I've finally got good enough internet connection and a few spare minutes to upload the rest of my Royal Banquet Hall photos! Here is the long-awaited menu!


----------



## zanzibar138

And the corresponding food porn...

I had the goat's cheese and leek tart to start.





The chicken and pumpkin casserole (more like a curry) for mains.





And finished off with Elsa's White Chocolate Dome.





Everything was absolutely delicious!


----------



## zanzibar138

And finally, the character interactions! I LOVED that they had the classic characters in 'royal' outfits instead of having princesses.


----------



## BelleBway

Thanks so much for the menu photos!  I also love the characters there.


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Just thought I would write some quick messages to round off my trip experience...

Day One I've already covered mostly. After the park closed, the night was spent transferring my luggage from my old (non-Disney) hotel to the Disneyland Hotel. This was further complicated by the fact that the taxi driver didn't actually know where Disneyland was, and had to keep stopping to ask people. I finally got to my room at about 4:30am, which is annoying given that I had the character breakfast booked for 6:45am! By the way, the archway for the entrance to SITRZ is still there - it still doesn't explicitly state "Welcome to Shanghai Disney Resort" but it's the closest we have to an entrance arch for SDR. It's located approximately at GPS coords (31.156702N, 121.672919E).

Day Two - character breakfast where I met Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy. None of the (fur) characters spoke English but their handlers did, so acted as translators. The characters didn't react amazingly to my comments (I made a "three musketeers" reference to Goofy and not even the handler had ever heard of the film) but they are okay and still made everyone smile.

I also met a lady at breakfast who I arranged to meet in the afternoon. But then I went to bed for a "nap" and didn't wake up until 7:45pm!! Oh dear... This comes from having a totally exhausting first day and also only having had about 30 minutes sleep the previous night. Still, I was gutted to miss so much park time. Eventually I got to the park gates at 10:05pm. The park closes officially at 10pm. Strangely, I still managed to get into the park and even more strangely they didn't even check my ticket!!

I then proceeded to have quite an interesting evening. First of all I went to Siren's Revenge, a pirate ship replica attraction. Apparently while I was in there, there were some announcements about the park having closed and everyone needs to leave, but I missed them because these announcements are not broadcast on the internal speakers within Siren's Revenge, which only play ship noises and various snippets of pirate speech (in Chinese). There were also others looking around the ship in plain clothes but I later found out they were actually staff members. They opened up a display cabin and I was able to check out some of the props inside there such as a skull paperweight and a series of pirate books (which were real books, but not the same ones shown on the cover). Eventually they asked me "what department are you in" and it then became clear they thought I was a staff member, I thought they were guests, and I had to leave the park.

On my way out I went to the Wandering Moon Teahouse to try to get some food as I know some food places are open late. (As I found out later, Remy's Patisserie is actually open until 11pm.) Anyway the teahouse was closed but some staff were still inside and one guy offered to take me to the staff canteen! First we went to a place called "Inn Between" which was closed. After this, he took me to a restaurant called "PAB" which apparently stands for "Project Administration Building". It's the first building which was built in the whole resort. Inside there were posters of other Disney parks, posters of Walt Disney quotes, a TV loop with greetings from other parks and photos/videos from around SDR, and a buffet area with the food. We got some really cheap and actually quite tasty food! It was really interesting to see the backstage area of SDR.

After that, he took me to near the park entrance and said I could find my own way out. So I walked to the exit but all the gates were already locked! It was around 1am by this time. No security in sight, only a lot of construction workers and cleaners. None of them spoke any English. I walked around the park for about 40 minutes before I found someone who spoke English and could get me out of the park. During this 40 minutes I walked straight into the boarding areas of some rides hoping to find security there, and even tried to call security on the security stations (control panels with phones and microphones attached at (approx 15) fixed positions around the park). But there didn't seem to be any security in the entire park at this time!!


----------



## wtdanceisthrough

Day Three - I started off with "Voyage To The Crystal Grotto". It was very nostalgic!!

After that I went to Treasure Cove with the intention to visit Shipwreck Shore but I got a bit sidetracked. A couple were having a fight there and the staff didn't seem to know how to deal with it! To start with, one security guard was standing watching them but didn't make any attempt to break them up, just stood there talking on his radio while the couple were slapping each other and the girl was kicking and biting the guy. After a while a lot of other security guards came and then they did try to break the couple up whenever they were physically fighting each other, but this happened several times with them breaking them up several times and I was really surprised they didn't just escort them out of the park! Especially as there was a big crowd of ~30 people standing around watching the "action"!

During this time I did run into Lucinda who is a pirate and was just randomly walking around Treasure Cove. She is a very rare character to meet - I only saw her that once and looked for her a few other times on days 3 and 4 without any luck. She spoke very good English but she was not accompanied by any PhotoPass staff so I was not able to get a photo with her. I thought afterwards I should have just taken a selfie with her, hence why I looked for her again, but couldn't find her. The local staff told me she comes out irregularly and walks around the streets, but couldn't tell me when/where I could next see her. That's a big part of the reason I kept walking past this fighting couple - they were still at it basically every time I walked past for about 20-30 minutes!!

After that I went to see the parade "Mickey's Storybook Express" and took photos of all the characters there. It's very much like the YouTube videos we have seen, except that it seems Timon & Pumbaa have now been replaced by Nick & Judy from Zootopia.

Then it was time to see The Lion King. I love the inside of the Walt Disney Grand Theatre - lots of Chinese-style art depictions of Disney scenes. The production itself is basically the same as the English one (which I saw last year) but in Mandarin obviously. I only stayed for the first half, then went to do some shopping - bought a lot of things from the grand opening range and had them delivered to my hotel.

Back in the park, I headed for Happy Circle - a meet & greet point where I met Baloo and King Louie. After that, I went to Camp Discovery where I didn't have time to queue up for Challenge Trails but I did explore the children's areas - Excavation Site and Junior Adventurer Training. The most interesting part was an underground "temple" complete with hidden rooms which you had to crawl into (obviously designed for small children, not tall men like myself!)

Then I went back to the castle for the "Ignite The Dream" show - a fairly standard show. Aladdin was featured much more than I had expected - a pleasant surprise for me, because it's one of my favourite Disney films.

Finally I went on "Peter Pan's Flight". I haven't been on it at the other parks but I guess it's much the same.


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## wtdanceisthrough

Day Four - Checked out of my hotel early. The process to transfer to Toy Story Hotel was surprisingly smooth - all my luggage was transferred for me so I didn't really have to do anything, just leave in the morning and turn up in the evening at a different hotel.

To start with I went on Seven Dwarves Mine Train. Even though it was fun, I felt it wasn't worth the incredibly long wait time!!

I had a look at Festival Forest where they have the "sword in the stone" which the guidemap dares you to try to pull out. I did try quite hard but it wouldn't budge. I am guessing it is just for show and can't actually be pulled out.

After that I decided to take some time out to meet characters. First up was Storybook Court where you can meet different Disney princesses. I had missed Snow White and Rapunzel from earlier that day (probably Rapunzel had had to get ready for the parade), but instead Belle and Cinderella were there on rotation and I got to meet both. I had to queue up twice but it was worth it - both princesses spoke excellent English and we had a lot to talk about - mostly based on tips I got from the "Kenny The Pirate" website which elicited interesting responses. In particular when I asked Cinderella about Jaq and Gus, she told me a story about how they had been playing in the kitchen that day and their cake had got burned. So this was really fun.

I went to Hundred Acre Wood and met Winnie The Pooh. And then I went to Haus Of Waffles (a facade looking into the kitchen of Il Paperino, a Donald-themed waffle restaurant) to meet Donald and Daisy at the same time! The meeting with Donald and Daisy was by far the most disappointing as they did not want to listen to anything I had to say and just wanted to pose for photographs. I imagine their English was poor, and the handler does not want to spend time translating when there is a queue of people. With Winnie The Pooh I kinda got by because when I said key words like "Honey" it prompted a reaction, but with Donald and Daisy my conversation was more about their relationship and their friendship with Mickey, and it was likely a bit hard for the actors to understand if they don't have good language skills.

Next I went on Explorer Canoes and I'm a bit skeptical that the guest rowing actually makes any difference to the boat route! Because I tried rowing hard, not rowing, and even rowing in the wrong direction, and it had little effect on the boat whatsoever! I know maybe I'm a bit cynical but is there some sort of underwater pulley system which moves the boats along regardless?

After that I went to see the show "Tarzan: Call Of The Jungle". It's actually a really really good show! I enjoyed it a lot, and the language barrier had very little impact as there was no speech, only singing, and mainly the song "Two Worlds" which I know about anyway. The acrobatics were quite spectacular and prompted many "woah" sounds from the audience.

My next excursion was back to Camp Discovery where I planned to finally do Challenge Trails. What I hadn't realised is that queueing up for 40 minutes only entitles you to do one of the three challenge trails. There are three in total - "Hidden Falls Chamber", "Echo Cavern" and "Temple Of The Ancients". Well, I just queued up three times and did all three of them. The scenery in all three was quite impressive but I also look for the difficulty factor on ropes courses (which I love just generally) and a lot of challenges were lacking. Typically there are three routes through every part of varying difficulty, but on "Temple Of The Ancients" in particular, the hard routes are actually quite easy. I found "Hidden Falls Chamber" to be the most challenging, especially one part where (on the hardest route) you have to walk around a very narrow slippery ledge around the edge of a circular cavern with a waterfall dropping through the middle of it. Anyway, luckily the second and third times queueing were much shorter (maybe about 15-20 minutes each) because the fireworks had started and it was also raining.

Next I headed back to Shipwreck Shore and thoroughly explored it. It's very interactive and there was lots to do. It was quite empty by this time and I so I managed to discover many things on my own without noticing them from others. Even though this is a kids attraction, I really enjoyed exploring and discovering every aspect of it!

The final thing I did on my final day was The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh. Again, I imagine it's similar to the versions at other parks. Some parts of it did feel particularly bumpy though, uncomfortably so, so I'm not sure if this is meant to be part of the ride experience.

After that I really wanted to do Roaring Rapids again (as I'd missed seeing the Q'araq on the first time due to facing the wrong way; hit by a wave or something) but it was closed unfortunately - not sure if it was broken down or just closed due to the time of day. So headed back to Toy Story Hotel by bus and explored it (in the pouring rain) in between taking some naps and preparing to leave to go back to the airport.


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## Corbisblue

We added a full review of the Royal Banquet Hall (goes well with all the photos that have been posted in this thread already). It was a good experience and I would definitely recommend it! Who doesn't want to eat in the Enchanted Storybook Castle!?

http://tdrexplorer.com/royal-banquet-hall-review/


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## zanzibar138

Oh my goodness wtdanceisthrough you did have an interesting time! I can't believe you were literally out all night organising your luggage!

I think I saw that couple fighting too, but when I went past security seemed to be onto it.


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## Karin1984

wtdanceisthrough said:


> On my way out I went to the Wandering Moon Teahouse to try to get some food as I know some food places are open late. (As I found out later, Remy's Patisserie is actually open until 11pm.) Anyway the teahouse was closed but some staff were still inside and one guy offered to take me to the staff canteen! First we went to a place called "Inn Between" which was closed. After this, he took me to a restaurant called "PAB" which apparently stands for "Project Administration Building". It's the first building which was built in the whole resort. Inside there were posters of other Disney parks, posters of Walt Disney quotes, a TV loop with greetings from other parks and photos/videos from around SDR, and a buffet area with the food. We got some really cheap and actually quite tasty food! It was really interesting to see the backstage area of SDR.
> 
> After that, he took me to near the park entrance and said I could find my own way out. So I walked to the exit but all the gates were already locked! It was around 1am by this time. No security in sight, only a lot of construction workers and cleaners. None of them spoke any English. I walked around the park for about 40 minutes before I found someone who spoke English and could get me out of the park. During this 40 minutes I walked straight into the boarding areas of some rides hoping to find security there, and even tried to call security on the security stations (control panels with phones and microphones attached at (approx 15) fixed positions around the park). But there didn't seem to be any security in the entire park at this time!!



That's quite the experience! I hope you got some amazing empty-park-pictures


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## wtdanceisthrough

Karin1984 said:


> That's quite the experience! I hope you got some amazing empty-park-pictures



The park was by no means empty....it was full of cleaners and construction workers, none of whom spoke any English. It was also too dark to take any good photos. There was also a rehearsal for the castle stage show going on, where everyone was singing and doing their positions, but out of costume (e.g. wearing their own clothes, Nike hoody etc) - very surreal to see!!

I did get a lot of photos of the backstage canteen though


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## Corbisblue

I am still working on the written trip report, but if anyone listens to a podcast, we created two episodes focusing on Shanghai.

Trip Report and First Impressions
Shanghai Disneyland FAQ Answered


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## xmansmom

Flounder89 said:


> Any idea how long they will keep out Opening Merch? Only for a few days or do we think the first few months? Visiting early September^^


I arrived on the 22nd and they still had stuff.  They had tons of grand opening ears.  I didn't see one person wearing them.  I hardly saw any people wearing ears at all.  I was dissappointed with the lack of pins.    I was told they sold out in a few hours because they were limited edition.  They didn't even have many regular pins that said Shanghai.  Only pins for each land and they weren't that great. IMO  The cms said that everyone had been asking for them.  I think Disney made a mistake not having more pins.


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## Flounder89

xmansmom said:


> I arrived on the 22nd and they still had stuff.  They had tons of grand opening ears.  I didn't see one person wearing them.  I hardly saw any people wearing ears at all.  I was dissappointed with the lack of pins.    I was told they sold out in a few hours because they were limited edition.  They didn't even have many regular pins that said Shanghai.  Only pins for each land and they weren't that great. IMO  The cms said that everyone had been asking for them.  I think Disney made a mistake not having more pins.


Oh that sucks I also collect - I hope they get some, I had read somewhere that they will continuously add new merch over the coming months.


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## zanzibar138

FWIW there were still opening day pins left on the 18th. I know that doesn't help anyone going now though!

I actually really liked all the unique ride pins. I got them for Tron and Pirates to go with my 'first rider' certificates. They actually had a pretty good variety in the pin store, but yeah it probably doesn't compare with the US parks. I didn't see any generic Shanghai Disneyland ones either. Maybe by just having them specific to each land, they're hoping that people will buy more pins?


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## Corbisblue

Now for part two of our multi-day grand opening trip report at Shanghai Disneyland! Finally, get to ride TRON and I provide short reviews of some of the food we ate at Barbosa's Bounty and Pinocchio Village Kitchen!

Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening Trip Report – Part 2 – Enter the Grid & BBQ Ribs


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## Corbisblue

Added part three of our Shanghai Disneyland trip report! Got to dine in the Enchanted Storybook Castle at the Royal Banquet Hall!

http://tdrexplorer.com/shanghai-disneyland-grand-opening-trip-report-part-3/


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