A Whirlwind Trip to Shanghai Disneyland!

[Dentam]

After watching the stunt show, we decided to head toward Soaring Over the Horizon to see what the wait time was.

Mother Nature decided to intervene at that moment though, and a huge bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder. Kelly freaked out and wanted to get indoors right away - not a bad idea! We found the nearest gift shop and quickly ducked in.





After browsing the store a bit and admiring the theming inside, we decided to dash back outside to see what the weather was doing. It was lightly sprinkling but seemed like the thunder and lightning was moving further away. We came out right near Roaring Rapids, which had a wait time of 120 minutes, and shortly later was shut down.



We were now in the Adventure Isle part of the park, and the area near the Roaring Rapids ride was one of my favorites in the park, with stone sculptures of different animals and a really cool geothermal looking pool and waterfall.







Next, we backtracked to Soaring (not Soarin' here in Shanghai) to see what the wait time was.



The wait was 105 minutes and we decided that we might as well just get in line. Unfortunately, the rain began to get a little more steady at this point, and we didn't have umbrellas or rain gear with us. Most of the other people in line did have umbrellas, and after having one get snagged in my hair and another dripping a steady stream of water down my back, I decided that there was no way I could handle another 95 minutes in line, especially when the line didn't move one step while we were in it and it looked like we had a good way to go before we would get under any sort of cover. They told us we could check back in the evening because sometimes the line gets shorter as people find spots for the fireworks. I told myself that even if I didn't get to ride it, I would get to experience the new film when I'm in WDW next spring, so it wasn't too heartbreaking.

So... where would we head next?

Hint: We decided that this would be a good point to grab lunch!
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[TheLittleKatie]

I think I saw a video online of Roaring Rapids at the soft opening, and they hadn't finished the big beast yet and he was like half dragon half robot Not sure whether that would make him more scary or less

No idea where you're heading for lunch, Shanghai Disney is still completely foreign to me, both literally and figuratively. But I'm interested to hear how/what the food was! I don't typically like Chinese food (not sure whether that's because I've only tried take-out Chinese and not "good Chinese") - so I'm wondering whether I'd like the look of anything / if they do some more western items. Looking forward to hearing about it!

 

[bcwife76]

Those are some awesome affects, great theming again!

Yeah, sounds like the line for Soarin' (sorry, soarinG) was a PITA. I would've ducked out, too!

 

[Dentam]

I think I saw a video online of Roaring Rapids at the soft opening, and they hadn't finished the big beast yet and he was like half dragon half robot Not sure whether that would make him more scary or less

I didn't even know there was a beast/dragon in this ride, lol! Since it was raining we weren't too eager to go on a ride that might soak us to the bone, even if the wait time had been nice and short... which would have been a miracle that day!

No idea where you're heading for lunch, Shanghai Disney is still completely foreign to me, both literally and figuratively. But I'm interested to hear how/what the food was! I don't typically like Chinese food (not sure whether that's because I've only tried take-out Chinese and not "good Chinese") - so I'm wondering whether I'd like the look of anything / if they do some more western items. Looking forward to hearing about it!

We kind of just wandered around from gift shop to gift shop until we came across a place to eat - such master planners, ha! My update is coming up next!

Those are some awesome affects, great theming again!

Yeah, sounds like the line for Soarin' (sorry, soarinG) was a PITA. I would've ducked out, too!

They did a great job with this park's theming! I wish we would have had another day (without rain preferably) to soak it all in a bit more!

Yep, the line was not budging and was all the way to the entrance of the area, so no cover. Boo!

 

[Feistygirl916]

I love this TR so far Thank you for posting it!

 

[Dentam]

After ditching the line for Soarin', we made our way back to Mickey Avenue and ducked into a gift shop or two (mostly to get out of the rain since we planned to do our shopping at Disney Town the next morning) and then stumbled across a place to get lunch.



We decided to eat at Tony's - it was a large counter service restaurant with different themed rooms to eat in. We didn't see any western food options, and were fine with more steamed buns for our meal. Mine was bbq pork and I'm not sure what Kelly's had in them. She added a chocolate pudding to her meal that came in a cute panda souvenir cup.





I loved the murals on the walls in the room we sat in. The place was packed but we were able to grab a table just as someone was leaving.









Clearly the only way to eat chocolate pudding in China is with chopsticks!



Once we finished our light lunch, there was a couple ready and waiting to take our table, so we headed out to explore more of Mickey Avenue. I got a quick shot of another room in the restaurant as we were leaving - I liked ours a lot better!



It didn't take us long to find an awesome Remy themed bakery - here's a shot of the outside of the building. I LOVED the theming - pics coming up next!



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[Dentam]

I love this TR so far Thank you for posting it!

Aww, thank you! Glad you are enjoying it!

 

[Dentam]

So, being the sugar addicts that we are, and given that people in China don't seem to eat many sweets and we were apparently suffering from detox cravings, we were thrilled to find this place!

I absolutely loved the theming in this bakery, and it was pretty empty so I was able to take lots of pics!





















More pics in the next post!

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[Dentam]

More pics of Remy's - don't you just love all of the cute artwork on the walls??












Our desserts were very tasty! I had a slice of lemon tart and Kelly got a slice of the pecan pie. Mine even had a tasty macaron with Mickey on top!









With our sweet tooth/teeth satisfied, I took another close up shot of the outside of Remy's and then we headed out in search of rain ponchos!




Up Next: Rain Geared Up and Ready to Hit Peter Pan's Flight!

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[bcwife76]

Oh wow, Remy's is so cute, totally fits from the movie!!! Those pastries look divine - all of them do!!

 

[Dentam]

Oh wow, Remy's is so cute, totally fits from the movie!!! Those pastries look divine - all of them do!!

I know, I just adored all of the artwork inside!! We went back later for another treat and found a table outside to rest a bit before finding a spot to watch the nighttime show.

 

[Dentam]

We made our way back toward the Castle - so many cute details on this!



We found a little stand that sold rain ponchos - at last we were sporting the appropriate weather gear for the day and felt ready to tackle some more rides.



Kelly said that she hadn't been on Peter Pan's Flight since she was young, so we decided to get in that line - the wait time was listed at 90 minutes and it was every bit of that.

It was at this point that we discovered the very different approach the locals here have to lining up. Cutting is extremely common and we found that we had to stand side by side throughout the entire line and even then some people were very good at inching by us. It did start to get extremely annoying and I cut off half of a large family that cut in front of us by putting my arm across the walkway to the railing to stop the herd of kids behind the adult in the party. Once the woman got to the front of the line she asked the cast member to let her kids come up there with her, but luckily the cast member told her no. It is printed on the guide maps that cutting is not allowed, but they really didn't have any CM's around to police this, so it is something to be aware of if you are planning a trip here. You just have to let it go and not let it bug you too much, which was kind of hard for us to do for 90 minutes. It did make us realize that we would rather just enjoy the rest of the park and not spend any more time waiting in long lines. Anyway, here are some pics of the character statues in line and a few of the ride itself.



Unfortunately people also left garbage all over, but the CM's were good about cleaning it up pretty quickly.





The ride wasn't too different from what I remember of the other parks' versions, but I haven't been on those in awhile. Kelly looked at me after the short ride was over with a look on her face like "we just waited 90 minutes and fought off line cutters the entire time for this"?








I still really enjoyed the ride!

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[Dentam]

After Peter Pan, we went straight over to the Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, since this is a ride unique to Shanghai. Unfortunately, the ride was closed, probably due to the rain. We took a quick look at the wait times for Fantasyland and decided to make our way back over to Treasure Cove rather than wait in any of the lines.





We saw that the next showing of "Eye of the Storm" - a stunt show starring Captain Jack Sparrow - was starting in about 20 minutes, so we got in line for this. There was no line cutting in this line luckily, maybe that happens mostly in ride lines?

The area for this line was covered and nicely themed.









Once you get inside, there is a pre-show that lasts about ten minutes - it could be shorter but it felt at least that long since our feet were killing us at this point and we couldn't understand anything they were saying.





After the pre-show, it was time to go inside and sit down for the main event!



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[Dentam]

Despite the fact that we couldn't understand what anyone was saying, we were both impressed with this stunt show! We lucked out and got seats close to the stage.





I thought the CM who played Captain Jack was great! His mannerisms were perfect!





The best part of the show was toward the end, when there was a sword fight and Captain Jack was flying in the air - apparently using some wind tunnel type technology to make him go up and down. Very cool!



After enjoying the show, we made our way outside and decided that we'd try to get a turkey leg if there were any left!



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[Dentam]

So, turkey legs are extremely popular in Shanghai DL - people line up for them and they pull out ropes to form the line and cut it off when they know they won't have enough left to serve everyone. We lucked out and squeezed into line just as they were cutting it off!



As I was getting ready to pay, a young girl did cut right in front of me but a CM quickly told her that was not okay.



I had actually never had a turkey leg at any of the parks before, and it was very good! Apparently they source them from Poland for this park, and the wait times have gotten as long as two hours to get one. Thank goodness we didn't have to wait that long!

Next we decided to head back toward the Castle to check out the Garden of the Twelve Friends.



This area had mosaics of different Disney characters that represented the twelve Zodiac signs on a long wall. It was a popular spot for photos!









After admiring the beautiful mosaics, we made our way over to Tomorrowland for what would end up being our last ride of the day.



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[chunkymonkey]

I just wanted to say I love your trip report!!! Shanghai Disneyland is someplace I would really like to visit. I'm hoping that DH's parents would come with us so they can translate because my mandarin sucks. LOL. It looks beautiful and you took some amazing pictures. I'm really liking all the food pictures! I love everything you have ordered so far, especially that first meal, with the chicken and chestnuts. Looks delicious!

That Tron picture is classic! I am glad you got it! I really really want to ride it because I've seen both Tron movies.
Can't believe the wait times for rides! Do they have an FP system there?

 

[mercedeslois]

I am writing to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed your review so far!

I am going to Shanghai Disney Resort in 3 weeks time and I have found everything very helpful!

Mercedes

mercedeslois.blogspot.co.uk

 

[Dentam]

Oh, yay! I still have readers!!

@chunkymonkey - I'm glad you're enjoying my report! I'm getting closer to our stay at SDL Hotel, which I have a TON of photos for! I hope you get to visit Shanghai DL someday! And that would be great to have translators! They do have a FP system but I lost my room key early on and then found out when I got back that it wouldn't have done any good anyway. Apparently the room keys are your park tickets but don't work to get FP's - so you have to exchange them for paper tickets at the front of the park somewhere. And yes, the Tron ride was awesome and I'm so glad we went straight to it first before the wait time got to two hours or more!

@mercedeslois - I hope you have a great trip in three weeks!! I'm jealous!!

 

[mercedeslois]

I can't wait to read about the SDL Hotel portion of your trip as this is where I will be staying!

I am also slightly concerned about the fact that you mention your park ticket is also your room key as we have purchased a ticket for our first day but check in is not until 3? I have contact SDL about this and they said it wouldn't be a problem and we can leave our bags at the hotel and check in later on in the evening once we have had our day at the park... but how will this be possible if the entry ticket is the room key and we haven't checked in?

Hope this makes sense!

mercedeslois.blogspot.com

 

[Dentam]

I can't wait to read about the SDL Hotel portion of your trip as this is where I will be staying!

You are in for a treat staying there!!! I loved this hotel and can't wait to share the pics with you!! Coming up very soon, I promise!

I am also slightly concerned about the fact that you mention your park ticket is also your room key as we have purchased a ticket for our first day but check in is not until 3? I have contact SDL about this and they said it wouldn't be a problem and we can leave our bags at the hotel and check in later on in the evening once we have had our day at the park... but how will this be possible if the entry ticket is the room key and we haven't checked in?

I wouldn't stress too much about it - the CM's at both hotels were so friendly and helpful and I'm sure they'll take good care of you and make sure you have your park tickets. Maybe they have paper ones they can give you or they might just give you the room keys but not have a specific room attached to them yet... not sure but I know they'll take good care of you!