Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening Trip Planning Thread

[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]

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]

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?

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]

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.

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...

 

[WAMUMOF4]

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

 

[wtdanceisthrough]

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.

 

[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.

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!

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!

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]

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]

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......

 

[wtdanceisthrough]

It's started! A singer just performed "A Whole New World" on a balcony above Mickey Avenue

 

[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]

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.

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