Shanghai Disney was opened in June 2016. It is located in Pudong and there’s even a special metro station near the entrance completely in Disney style. Disney belongs 57% to Shanghai Sendi group, which is part of the government. This means that Disney was decorated with Chinese influences like a wall with the Chinese zodiac portrayed by Disney Characters, A chinese temple restaurant, but also Chinese acts and food. You can buy popcorn in the cutest chinese Mickey and Minnie shaped buckets. But even so the essence of Walt Disney is felt throughout the park. I felt like it was the happiest place on earth while I was there. Not just for kids but also for adults like myself and my mom.
We had booked two-day tickets for the park and one night in the Shanghai Disney Hotel but due to the bad weather ruining most of the plans we had made for our last week in China we decided going to Disney earlier and did an extra day. Arriving on Tuesday we were fearing the crowds as friends of us had told us that it was usually really busy with all the Chinese costumers coming to the parks but when we arrived it wasn’t so bad at all.
We came by cab and it was quite a bit of a walk towards the entrance but I noticed that the parking lot was even further away. Halloween and Disney music was playing on the way and the first things you see are the Disney Hotel, Wishing Star Lake, The Boathouse (A large complex with luxury dining and shopping), Disney Town. First we had to line up for bag checking which went rather quick then the ticket entrance, it was completely decked out in large plastic pumpkins in the shapes of Mickey, Donald, Minnie and pluto. If you buy your tickets online you have to put in your passport number so when you arrive to pick up your tickets all you have to do is give your passport and they will print the tickets after taking your picture to link to the QR code on your ticket.
When you enter you see the well-known train station, even though Shanghai Disney doesn’t have the train going around the entire park and when you’ve passed under it you come to Mickey Avenue, with views of the largest Disney castle ever build. It will always be the most exciting view no matter how old you become. The american style avenue is styles with Halloween decorations aswell, there’s a vampire and witch Donald and Daisy having their picture with Disney visitors taken and a huge Mickey Pumpkin between the Castle and the Walt Disney and Mickey statue.
On your left side is the futuristic Tomorrowland with the Tron ride Dome looming over the trees, on the right side more shops, a Chinese temple and the way to Adventure Isle and Treasure Cove. Behind the castle is Fantasyland. We took out our map and checked the rides and noticed there weren’t many.. or at all thrill rides to go on for us adults and we were bummed for a second, then remembered we had three full days to look around and go on whichever ride we wanted too so we just went to walk around first.
Adventure Isle & Treasure Cove
Adventure Isle is a jungle style area lots of plants and jungle sounds, this area surrounds a small lake where guests can ride canoes from the Jungle to the Treasure cove. Across the water you could see the half sunken ship and the big pirates ship and town. There are a couple of jungle restaurants and shops and three rides. Soaring over the Horizon, Roaring Rapids and Camp Discovery, you can always watch the Tarzan show at Adventure Isle.
Soaring over the Horizon is a 4D birdsflight ride. You sit in a long row of seats, of which there are 9 rows and you put on a seatbelt before the seats ride up to a half sphere screen, moving like a bird world when soaring and you visit famous sceneries.
Roaring Rapids is river rapids ride, guests begin by boarding rafts and set off upriver to Field Camp Beta. However, a fallen tree blocks the way and diverts the current in another direction, into the mountain. The ride has guests pass by a massive crocodile type monster named Q’aráq. After escaping Q’aráq, the rafts enter a whirlpool, then past simulated volcanic vents and steaming geysers as the rapids sweep guests to the end of the ride. It is a super exciting ride with fast turns, drops and lots and lots of water. I got soaked completely.
Camp Discovery has three different parts. The excavation site is mostly for young children who can play and dig in sand. Vista trails is a trail through the mountain adorning Adventure Isle so you can see the waterfall up close and the Challenge trails.
These 3 uniquely thrilling elevated rope courses traverse the terrain of Roaring Mountain—taking adventurers over river gorges, waterfalls and sheer cliffs, through stunning terrain and into spectacular caverns.
But. When we did these. there was only one small part of the course open, we were in after 40 minutes and out within 10. We have never felt so betrayed by a ride, granted it was fun to balance on ropes and walk along wobbly planks.
Treasure Cove
Pirates, Ships, Pirates.
What else can I say? I love Pirates of the Caribbean, I love Pirates in general. Just. Pirates.
Treasure Cove is themed to an 18th-century Spanish harbor town located on a Caribbean island that has been captured by Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.
The land’s marquee attraction is Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, a dark ride based on the films. Guests, riding in magnetically propelled boats, travel past audio-animatronic and projected depictions of Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones as the two battle against each other in attempt to seize the cove’s sunken riches.
The land also is home to Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular, a stunt show inspired by the films and Siren’s Revenge, a shipwreck-themed three-storey interactive play area set aboard a wrecked French galleon. The land also has Explorer Canoes, a canoe ride in Treasure Cove.
Eye of the storm of course is spoken in Chinese and in the beginning I disliked it a lot.. but the stunts in the end were amazing and it is show you have to see. The Pirates ride. is amazing. absolutely amazing, I loved it so much.
The Sirens revenge though was my favorite, It was a sort of playground for children but there were cannons and a wall and the side of a boat… and you could spray each other with the cannons….. and hidden spray buttons …. I spend about three hours in two days just battling fully grown Chinese men. I was both victorious and a loser but it’s the best fun you can have in my eyes.
For Halloween around 18:00 until 20:20 they had Ghost pirates roaming Treasure Cove. They would come out in small groups of two and three and take pictures with guests and talk to them. What I liked most was that there was also someone translating for people like me that didn’t speak any Chinese.
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland is the park’s futuristic-themed land. Unlike other Tomorrowlands, this version does not feature a traditional Space Mountain, and instead is home to TRON Lightcycle Power Run, an indoor Tron-themed roller coaster. Similarly, instead of a classic Astro Orbiter attraction, Shanghai’s park includes a spinning Jet Packs ride. Other attractions include Star Wars Launch Bay, Stitch Encounter, and Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue, a differentiated version of previous Buzz Lightyear dark rides.
Fantasyland
Fantasyland is the park’s largest land themed to classic Disney animated films. The land features the 60 m Enchanted Storybook Castle, themed to Disney princesses. The castle features the Royal Banquet Hall restaurant, a boutique and Voyage to the Crystal Grotto —a boat ride, located beneath the castle, that takes guests past scenes from films including Tangled, Aladdin, Mulan, Fantasia, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Attractions include Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. The area features unique attractions such as the Alice in Wonderland Maze—a walk-through hedge maze inspired by the 1951 and 2010 versions film adaptations—and the Hunny Pot Spin, a spinning Teacups-style ride themed to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
The Disney Hotel
The second day we took the cab from out hotel to the disney hotel. When we arrived there were already a couple of smart looking men waiting, they opened the doors, took out our suitcases and lead us inside. The hotel was beautiful, completely in Art Nouveau Disney style, Halloween decorations everywhere. I was in awe and also a little bit awkward with the luxury and how we couldn’t carry our own suitcases. We were told that we could store our suitcases there, come back after three and out stuff would be brought to the room as soon as it was ready.
We took the ferry from the hotel to the park across Wishing star Lake and went to have fun, Returning around four o clock because it started raining and were lead up to our room. It was beautiful in the same style as all of the hotel. The beds were the softest with 6 pillows, the bathroom so pretty as well. Bathrobes were ready for us to use.
The hotel also has two pools, One indoor and one outdoors. We were seriously bummed out that the indoor was closed for renovation because we we’re really looking forward to going swimming.
Theres a bar, 2 restaurants, a food to go shop and a novelties shop.
We didn’t go see all of this but we had delicious cocktails in the Bacchus lounge and expensive but delicious breakfast in Lumiere’s kitchen and had our pictures taken with Mickey, Pluto and Goofy.
My rating for the park
4 out of 5
I loved the park, it was all just as what you’d expect of Disneyland but I have to take off one point because of the lack of adult rides. I read that they’re building more but they’re unsure when these will open.
My rating for the hotel
4 out of 5
Luxury but a good price, the only downside was the far too expensive breakfast and the pool being closed. otherwise it was located perfectly, you could see the park but the noise of the music wasn’t annoying and the interior and the people working at Shanghai Disney Resort were the sweetest people I have ever met.
