8 Aussie DISers take on China!

zanzibar138

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
For those of you already following along on PrincessInOz or AussieWendy's TRs, you will already know the general gist of how this trip came about, so I won't go into too much detail. I saw some great deals to Shanghai on Cathay Pacific one day, sent out the message to some fellow DISers, and after some discussion about dates and destinations, there were 8 of us going!

Attendees were:
* PrincessInOz and her DM
* AussieWendy and her DD
* FireFlyFi and her DF
* FairyFloss
* Me!

It was a lot of fun taking a Disney trip with people who were just as interested in all the little details as I am!

For anyone who has followed me across from PIO's TR, I should warn you - my TR will not be anywhere near as entertaining as hers lol!
 
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For me, the trip began first thing on a Saturday morning with the quick trip to the airport. There were four of us on today's flight - me, FairyFloss and FireFlyFi and her DF. We hadn't made plans to meet up or anything, but I ran into FairyFloss fairly early on at the gate lounge. FireFlyFi and her DF soon turned up too, and while we were waiting to board, we excitedly chatted about the adventures that lay ahead!

Soon we were boarding and it was time to say goodbye (we were seated throughout the plane). I'm a big fan of Cathay Pacific. I always find the flights comfortable, service good, and never have any problem with their food or entertainment systems. I chose my 'playlist' for the flight and got settled in.



It was a fairly uneventful flight, and soon we were landing in Hong Kong. We didn't have much time in Hong Kong, so the others were happy to just head straight to the gate lounge to wait for our connecting flight. I decided to try to find the Disney Store for a sneak peek!





There was plenty of Beauty and the Beast merch around. I managed to hold off on buying anything this time around!



I still had time, so I did a bit more wandering around the airport. I'd seen a few interesting things on the way from our arrival gate.



This duckie was made out of tinned foods.



By the time I got back to the gate lounge, it was nearly time to board our next flight.

I used the few minutes I had available to set up the local SIM card that PIO had gotten for us. She had gotten these from a friend in Hong Kong, so that we could communicate with each other in Shanghai. It seemed to go fairly smoothly, and I was able to get onto the internet before boarding.
 


It was another uneventful flight into Shanghai. It could have been at immigration that we spotted each other, could have been at the luggage carousel. Either way, we found each other eventually and made our way out to the taxi rank. We were able to get a large taxi to fit all 4 of us and our luggage.

FairyFloss was very well organised, and had printed out the details for the Toy Story Hotel in Chinese. Unfortunately the taxi driver still seemed confused, and we were kind of concerned that he might take us to the wrong place. After a while we started seeing the signs to Disneyland, because they had a large Mickey head on them. We tried to point them out to the driver to make sure that we were going the right way, but we weren't sure whether he was getting it or not. Eventually FairyFloss decided to take off her t-shirt that had a big Mickey head on the front, and hand it to the driver lol! Let it be noted that there was no strip show in the back of the taxi - she did in fact have another top on underneath the t-shirt. Anyway, kudos to her for the idea, because it seemed to work, and soon enough we were arriving at the hotel.



We didn't have any issues with check in here.



Everything went smoothly and we were all excited to check out our rooms!





By the time we got settled in, it was getting rather late and we were all pretty tired from a big day of travelling. We contacted the others to let them know we'd arrived and would plan our meet up in the morning.
 
Yay another perspective. I was pleased with Cathay not having flown with them before. I still think it was hoot FairyFloss showing the taxi guy her T shirt!
 


Yay another perspective. I was pleased with Cathay not having flown with them before. I still think it was hoot FairyFloss showing the taxi guy her T shirt!

Yep, definitely a hoot!

I'm sure the taxi driver would not have minded! LOL!!!!

:rotfl:

I meant to ask but kept forgetting.


What time did you check in?

You know what? I really couldn't tell you! Maybe around 9ish? Maybe 9:30?

If anyone else knows, feel free to speak up!
 
I had planned to get up early this morning to go for a run before hitting the park for rope drop. Luckily with Shanghai being a couple of hours behind Melbourne, it wasn't too difficult, and I was up before my alarm!

I took the opportunity to notice some more of the hotel detail on the way out.





It was still dark when I left the hotel, but as the day broke, I was a little disappointed to see that the weather was looking a little bleak. It had been forecast to rain during our trip though, so it wasn't unexpected and I was hoping any rain might hold off until after my run.

I ran from the hotel along the roadside path to Disney Town, and along to the park entrance. I had worn my Garmin in the hope of mapping the run, but because GoogleMaps still doesn't show the resort, it didn't really work out. It was absolutely deserted out there at that time of the morning (about 6:30am I think).





I still needed to make up some distance, so I did a bit of a lap around Disney Town.







The only other people I saw on my run were a few custodial CMs doing the early shift!



It was pretty light by the time I got back to the hotel, but the sky was still grey an



I headed straight to Sunnyside Café to pick up a bit of brekky before heading back to my room. It was also completely deserted (would have been about 7am or a bit after by now).



There was quite a bit to choose from there, but I couldn't resist the Dim Sum style breakfast, which was most delicious!



After such a productive and enjoyable start to the day, I returned to my room feeling quite pleased with myself!

 
Following along! Can't wait to hear about your trip. The Toy Story themed rooms look great!
 
I think I may have seen someone running that morning. ;)
I definitely saw a couple of people cycling.
 
Always impressed by people who still manage to fit in exercise while they are on holiday. ::yes::

I can only do it if I'm mid-training for a specific event ;)

Following along! Can't wait to hear about your trip. The Toy Story themed rooms look great!

Welcome aboard :wave2:

The Toy Story Hotel was a lot of fun!

I think I may have seen someone running that morning. ;)
I definitely saw a couple of people cycling.

Ooh I don't remember seeing any cyclists!
 
After my morning escapades, I ended up being slightly late to the park, arriving a few minutes after rope drop. Luckily there were no crowds and getting through the turnstiles into the park was a breeze!

I was just wondering how I might find the rest of my group, when I suddenly saw them in front of the floral Mickey! It turned out that they had all met up a few minutes earlier and had just had a group PP photo. There was much excitement as we got caught up on everyone's trips so far, making our way under the station to see Shanghai Disneyland revealed for the first time (for everyone except me anyway lol!). It was stunning, despite the dreary day.



We had some more group photos taken here before moving on down Mickey Avenue. The CMs were happy and welcoming despite the dreary day too!



While we probably should have taken full advantage of the lack of crowds by hurrying to a few of the more popular rides, we decided to make this a leisurely entrance, just taking everything in and allowing everyone plenty of time to take photos. We saw these two familiar faces at the end of the Avenue.



We regrouped a little at this point and decided to head to Adventure Isle for Soaring FPs. We still kept our leisurely pace, and many of the group stopped along the way for photos at various points. There was no line for FPs.



FPs in hand, the next logical destination was POTC, since we were in the general vicinity and it was rated very highly on everyone's priority list! There was plenty to see along the way.



Unfortunately POTC was down temporarily (something we probably should have checked on the app before trudging all the way over). We were all disappointed, but soon distracted by the beautiful views over the lagoon back towards Adventure Isle.





We kept up our wandering, kind of aiming towards Tron I think. Some of the more serious photographers in our group stopped at the castle for a photo shoot. It was well and truly drizzly by that time, and I have found my camera model to be fairly sensitive to moisture, so I was choosing to keep it fairly well protected at that point.

Just around the corner from the castle, we saw this lovely lady out greeting guests.



After our meeting with Belle, we noticed that Voyage to the Crystal Grotto was a walk-on, so we walked on! I describe this ride as a cross between the Jungle Cruise and the Storybook Land Canal Boats at Disneyland. Not a hugely impressive first ride, but a definite Shanghai exclusive and a cute little ride nonetheless. For the record, the boats are covered, so rain is not an issue here.













No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to get a decent photo of Mulan!



At the end of the ride, the boat disappears into a little grotto underneath the castle, where there are some fun projection effects to do with the crystal theme. I decided not to bother with photos on any of the dark rides on this trip, as they never seem to come out very well anyway, and just enjoyed the show.

Loved all the detail around the exit area.

 
Awesome!


I just love reading all the different versions and takes from this trip. And you got great pictures down Mickey Avenue and on the Crystal Grotto. Look forward to seeing the rest of your pics.
 
Awesome!


I just love reading all the different versions and takes from this trip. And you got great pictures down Mickey Avenue and on the Crystal Grotto. Look forward to seeing the rest of your pics.

Thanks! I'm loving reading everyone's TRs too!
 
After our little detour through the Crystal Grotto, we continued on our way to Tron.



Lucky for us, Wendy's DD wasn't keen on riding, so she was able to mind all our bags. She did look rather like a pack mule lol! The ride was a walk on anyway, so it was nice to not have to waste time with lockers (which are required for everything but the smallest handheld items that can fit into a tiny compartment on the ride vehicle).

The people in front of us in line were walking particularly slowly, and stopping to look around quite a lot. At first I thought they were, like us, taking in all the details in the queue area and just enjoying the journey. However, after a while, they turned and looked at me with such a confused look on their faces that I realised they were getting lost lol! For the record, the queue is just like any other - just keep following it until you get to the loading area. I told them (with some gestures to help with the language barrier) to just keep going, and they didn't seem to have any further issues with it.





We all eventually made it to the loading area of course, got strapped in, and very much enjoyed the ride!

I think we were all getting a little hungry by the time we were finished with Tron, and I suggested Barbossa's for lunch. Unfortunately that meant trudging all the way back to the other side of the park again. However, our trudging did take us past Peter Pan, which with only a 10 minute wait, proved to be a pleasant detour.





They have made some slight improvements on this version, adding in some new projections and lighting effects, but it is very much still true to the original version (unlike Pirates!).

By the time we made it to Barbossa's, we were all pleased to be able to spend some inside out of the steady drizzle. Like its counterparts at DLR and DLP, Barbossa's is located inside the Pirates ride, and one of the dining areas has a view of the boats going past. Unlike its counterparts, this is a quick service restaurant. Everyone in our party ordered either the chicken or the ribs. Both got good reviews, although no one really enjoyed the corn on the cob that came with the ribs. Luckily we were able to find a table in the section overlooking the ride. Boats were coming past empty, so we assumed it must still be down.



When we'd finished eating, we were all keen to have a look through the other areas of the restaurant (there are multiple dining rooms, each with a slight variation on the theme). I don't think any of us were that enthusiastic to get back outside lol!











It was still grey and drizzly when we got outside.



With Pirates still down, we now had to make a decision about what to do next. Some incredibly clever person (it may have been me), suggested that now might be as good a time as any to tackle the Challenge Trails. Having said that, it did actually turn out to be the best opportunity for it over the course of the next 2 days, as the rain only got heavier.



There are no loose items allowed on this attraction at all. Luckily, there were again a couple of us who had decided to sit this one out, so we left all our stuff with them. They don't check your pockets or anything, but if they see you carrying anything upon exiting the lockers, you will not be allowed through. A couple of us managed to smuggle through picture taking devices, but I will let them share their pictures on their own TRs.

Having donned our harnesses, we headed up to the course. Being drizzly and damp, only one course was available to us (I assume the one that gets the least slippery). Most of the obstacles managed to remain relatively grippy despite the rain. However, at the end of each obstacle there was a metal plate where you stepped back onto solid ground. This metal plate did get quite slippery. Most of the group started off with some of the harder options, and progressed to the easier ones as the obstacles got harder. This particular course seemed a little harder in general than the one I had done previously, but there were still 3 options to choose from for each obstacle. Only Wendy's DD was brave enough to tackle the single rope line at the end of the course.

After we'd all recovered from our efforts on the Challenge Trails, our next destination was the Seven Dwarves Mine Coaster. Happily, this wasn't too far away. This was another one I was pleased have done before the rain really set in heavily. At some point during the morning, we had gotten fastpasses for this, so we were able to walk straight through to the undercover bit of queue. We probably didn't need the fastpasses by this point in time - I can't remember what the wait time was here, but it certainly doesn't look that busy in my photos!





We had an interesting experience in this queue. As we were about to walk through to the loading area, one of the CMs stopped PIO's DM, saying something to her in Mandarin which of course none of us could understand. I think she was quite taken aback by it, and the CM started trying to talk to us in English, saying 'this is a rollercoaster'. We all tried to tell the CM that we all knew it was a rollercoaster, and that PIO's DM was ok with it, but they weren't letting her through. Eventually someone (I think FairyFloss) told the CM that PIO's DM had just been on Tron. That seemed to do the trick and they let her through. 'You know it's a rollercoaster' has since become a running joke in the group. FairyFloss even had a shirt made for PIO's DM that says 'Yes, I know it's a rollercoaster' :rotfl:

The ride is apparently pretty much a duplicate of the one at WDW, but there seemed to be some bits missing. I haven't been on the one at WDW, so perhaps someone who has done both can elaborate for me. Anyway, for me it was very enjoyable.





I particularly enjoyed the climb up the hill in the diamond mine with the dwarves singing 'Heigh Ho' in Mandarin, and the view of the castle going over the crests of the hills.
 

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