Shanghai

[mauigal]

can anyone help? I'm trying to plan a trip to the park for early October but am having a little trouble getting info.
I would like to hear from anyone who was just there for the opening...Where did you stay if off property? Did the hotels have shuttles to the park?
Is it best to stay downtown Shanghai?
Is the train running from the airport to Disneyland yet? Conflicting info on line.
One would think the information would be more up to date..this is a big thing!!
I was under the impression Toy Story hotel was going to be affordable like a 'value resort' at wdw, but it seems to be almost $300 per night!
Any info will help!!
Thanks so much!!

 

[zanzibar138]

I'm currently at Pudong Airport on my way home from 3 days at SDL. I'll be writing a comprehensive TR, which will be linked in my signature when I start it. In the meantime, let me see if I can answer your specific questions.

I spent my first night at Yangjianhua Hotel (on Meihua Road - I think there's a couple of them), one stop away from the Maglev station. It was quite convenient for the airport, downtown Shanghai and Disneyland (you do need to change lines twice, but it is very straightforward without heavy luggage). It was cheap - cost me about AUD $85 for the night. It felt cheap too. Pretty small room, a bit dingy and not the most thoroughly clean place I've ever stayed in. For me though, it did the job for one night.

There is another place nearby, the Dorsett Shanghai. It's a bit more expensive (it was about AUD $180 for the night I was looking at), but looks very nice and is even more convenient being literally right on top of the station. They do have a Disney package available which includes a shuttle to the closest Line 11 station (which is the line that Disneyland is on). It was a pretty limited schedule though (like only twice in the morning and twice at night).

I think staying somewhere on a train line is the way to go. The trains are very easy to use and navigate (even for a westerner - there is lots of English around). The only problem I found was when I had all my luggage with me. There are plenty of instances where stairs are the only option for entering/exiting the station and changing platforms (I'd hate to have to get around in a wheelchair!). I'd recommend taking a taxi from the airport if you'll have lots of heavy luggage.

The Disneyland station has been in operation for several weeks now (I think I remember it opening mid-May). It was a little confusing on arrival, because the exit that said 'Disneyland Park' was closed off. It's possible that's just because it was opening day though and technically the park wasn't an option yet. Getting to the hotels was also quite confusing, but that won't be a problem for you if you're just going to the park. It would be fairly straightforward once that exit is open.

Feel free to check out my TR when it's up, but I hope that helps you in the meantime. If you have any other specific questions, ask away!

 

[katt789]

We're going in the fall too!! Headed to Japan in Oct then over to China in November! Here's what I've gathered from all my research and such!
-Try googling vlogs and blogs about the experience
-Google maps doesn't have Shanghai Disneyland OR the Line 11 metro on it yet, if you use google earth and scroll around, you can see Tron when you're zoomed in and then play the game of "guessing" to try and figure out where things are. I have yet to find an english app/website that works, but I'm still working on that

-We decided to save over $200 each and stay at an AirBnB instead of the Toy Story hotel, it's a little trickier because they don't give the exact address so you have to kinda trust what they say/the reviews, but I'm sure we'll be totally okay and it saves us so much I'm not worries

-I wouldn't stay downtown, Line 11 is the line that extends to Disney, so you can try to stay near/on that line and as close to the end as possible. We're splitting our stay near Disney, and then another hostel near the downtown ISH area that's closer to the attractions in the city that we want to see after we do our Disney days!

-Train runs to Disney, I BELIEVE you have to transfer lines though

-Toy Story was marketed as a value hotel, and the pics from the rooms make it look like that it, but it is super expensive and ended up being out of our range!!

 

[GabBeFit]

I am in the middle of planning a trip there too!! Going to be there September 20th Here is a youtube vlog I found describing a bit: