ABD China - are 2 1/2 days enough at the parks?

[LindaOwl1]

We are going in May and thinking of arriving a day early. it seems the actual tour does not start until day 2 at breakfast so we hope to use Day one in HKDL. Then staying an extra day at the end and getting an evening flight out and using the extra day at SHDL. So basically 1 1/2 days per park. Better than 1/2 day each but wondering if its enough?

 

[hardcorestitch]

Disney should have provided free Premier Access to those ABD guests. The crowds here are no joke.

 

[JAM9842]

We are going in May and thinking of arriving a day early. it seems the actual tour does not start until day 2 at breakfast so we hope to use Day one in HKDL. Then staying an extra day at the end and getting an evening flight out and using the extra day at SHDL. So basically 1 1/2 days per park. Better than 1/2 day each but wondering if its enough?

When in May are you going? We are going on the May 31st one.

 

[LindaOwl1]

We are going on the May 10th trip. First China trip of the 2026 season.
Hoping for some advise on weather and what people wear on an ABD trip. Any dress up days of dinners?

 

[sayhello]

We are going in May and thinking of arriving a day early. it seems the actual tour does not start until day 2 at breakfast so we hope to use Day one in HKDL. Then staying an extra day at the end and getting an evening flight out and using the extra day at SHDL. So basically 1 1/2 days per park. Better than 1/2 day each but wondering if its enough?

That's close to what we did when we went. Although there *used* to be a Welcome Dinner included on the night of the first day, which is no longer included. But we still had plenty of time to get to HKDL, do a ton of rides, and get back to the Hotel in time to get ready for the Dinner. HKDL was very not busy back then, due to the fact that folks from the mainland need a Visa to go to Hong Kong, so they tended to go to the new Shanghai Disneyland instead. I don't know if that's still the case now, but it likely is. We also did a post-day at SHDL, and also felt that was enough time, but it was QUITE crowded (day before the 1 year Anniversary celebration and fewer rides). We pooped out earlier than we planned to, and ended up checking out the light show across from the Bund on the Pudong. I didn't fly home until the next morning.

We are going on the May 10th trip. First China trip of the 2026 season.
Hoping for some advise on weather and what people wear on an ABD trip. Any dress up days of dinners?

I'm not sure how helpful I can be, since we went in early June, so a few weeks later than you. But honestly, except for Hong Kong (which I hear is *always* hot & humid) and the Li River day (HOT and HUMID), we had pretty beautiful weather.
The only dress-up nights we had were the Welcome Dinner (a requirement of the old hotel ABD used to use, but you don't have to worry about that anyways) and the night at Din Tai Fung/the Acrobat show. The Adventure Guides took really nice family and group photos that night, so it was nice that folks dressed nicely. Not super fancy, but nice. Those were the only ones. ETA: Oh, I almost forgot, some of us did bring 'nicer' outfits to change into for the Farewell Dinner at SHDL. They gave us a place to store them and a place to change beforehand. Our Farewell Dinner was a surprise at Club 33. I don't know if they still do that.

Sayhello

 

[LindaOwl1]

That's close to what we did when we went. Although there *used* to be a Welcome Dinner included on the night of the first day, which is no longer included. But we still had plenty of time to get to HKDL, do a ton of rides, and get back to the Hotel in time to get ready for the Dinner. HKDL was very not busy back then, due to the fact that folks from the mainland need a Visa to go to Hong Kong, so they tended to go to the new Shanghai Disneyland instead. I don't know if that's still the case now, but it likely is. We also did a post-day at SHDL, and also felt that was enough time, but it was QUITE crowded (day before the 1 year Anniversary celebration and fewer rides). We pooped out earlier than we planned to, and ended up checking out the light show across from the Bund on the Pudong. I didn't fly home until the next morning.


I'm not sure how helpful I can be, since we went in early June, so a few weeks later than you. But honestly, except for Hong Kong (which I hear is *always* hot & humid) and the Li River day (HOT and HUMID), we had pretty beautiful weather.
The only dress-up nights we had were the Welcome Dinner (a requirement of the old hotel ABD used to use, but you don't have to worry about that anyways) and the night at Din Tai Fung/the Acrobat show. The Adventure Guides took really nice family and group photos that night, so it was nice that folks dressed nicely. Not super fancy, but nice. Those were the only ones. ETA: Oh, I almost forgot, some of us did bring 'nicer' outfits to change into for the Farewell Dinner at SHDL. They gave us a place to store them and a place to change beforehand. Our Farewell Dinner was a surprise at Club 33. I don't know if they still do that.

Sayhello

Thanks so much for that helpful info!! Early May should be a bit less HOT I guess.
Hoping Beijing won't be too chilly! I plan to pack a couple light weight dresses for those dress up times. SUPER HOPE that Club 33 is still included - another bucket list dream!
For the pre and post Park Days - did you take a taxi to the Parks? Buy park tickets online direct from HKD and Shanghai DL? Purchase whatever the Fastpass is called there? I'm guessing we will not be eligible for early entry.

 

[abdgeek]

Thanks so much for that helpful info!! Early May should be a bit less HOT I guess.
Hoping Beijing won't be too chilly! I plan to pack a couple light weight dresses for those dress up times. SUPER HOPE that Club 33 is still included - another bucket list dream!
For the pre and post Park Days - did you take a taxi to the Parks? Buy park tickets online direct from HKD and Shanghai DL? Purchase whatever the Fastpass is called there? I'm guessing we will not be eligible for early entry.

When I did the China ABD, I did HKDL the day before the ABD did and stayed in Shanghai one day later to do SHDL. The time you have in the park isn’t sufficient if you want to ride every ride. I took the metro from the hotel to each park. Download the metro app for each city and it will give you exact instructions of how to get to your destination. I also called ABD to see which rides we would have fast passes to so that I knew which rides to concentrate on when I went. I bought tickets online in advance because I read that they do sell out. I believe I had to put in my passport number for SHDL and bring my passport to retrieve my tickets. I planned to purchase fast passes through the SHDL app when I got to the park, but they were already sold out when I arrived shortly after opening. The lines at HKDL were much shorter than SHDL and I don’t remember getting fast passes there.