Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening Trip Planning Thread

[zanzibar138]

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]

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]

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]

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.