Culture Shocks and Disney Magic... in Asia!!! A TR on all Asia Disney Resorts! [Update Dec19!]

[DarthGallifrey]

!!! 18 Jammed Packed Days of Far Away Disney Magic !!!
[ February 22, 2017 to March 11, 2017]
(Click here to skip to Table of Contents)
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Hello all! And welcome to my newest TRIP REPORT!!! (I easily suspect this will be my longest one yet as it was full of travels and adventures!) Covering all the Asia Disney Resorts: Shanghai Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, and Hong Kong Disneyland!
Hope you all enjoy as you follow along with me as I relive my latest (and biggest) Disney adventure!

I've only ever written two cruise trip reports, and I also started on one WDW trip report. If you wanted to read those while I get this guy ready, feel free to visit them:

• 1st Cruise, 1st TR: A Tale of a Little Sea Sickness (Or A Lot) - Fantasy Jan 15
• My Second Tale... Fantasy Rd2, TR Rd2: NO Sea Sickness! - April 2016 Disney Fantasy Eastern Caribbean
• Canadians do WDW in a (cheated) Weekend - Jan 2017

Disclaimer: If you have followed along on my previous TR's as I was updating them... you will probably have noticed that sometimes it takes me quite a while to get an update up. I apologize in advance for this!!! But I hope you'll still want to follow along anyways!


Okay! So here we go! The who/what/when/where/why etc:

WHO!!!

L to R: Glendon, Me (Jessica), Shanghai Grand Opening Mickey, Jenna, Brian
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Quick background info about us:
We are all what I guess you would call in our mid to late 20s. Glendon and I have been together for 3 and a half years and have been on quite a few Disney trips together. Jenna and Brian have been married for 3 years this summer, and have also done a few trips together. Glendon has known Jenna and Brian a long time. The three of them have done 1 trip together (I think it was only 1?? but also I think they also all got the Premier Passport one year. I can't remember if it was the same time. Anyways...) And the trip that Glendon and I went to visit Disneyland for the 60th anniversary, Brian was there for the marathon at the same time so he joined in our day time ride adventures! This would have been our very first trip all 4 of us together.
We all live in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. And we all do different things for work. (Originally, Glendon met Jenna and Brian when they all at one point worked at Apple together! This also means all three of them are way more techy than I am.)

WHAT!!

[The 4 of us on the metro in Shanghai!]
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Why, a trip to visit the Disney parks in Asia, of course! We definitely called this a Disney trip, and not an Asia trip, as the sole purpose was to visit the parks (with a few days here and there to see the cities as well.)

WHEN!!

[Jenna and I with Dale in DisneySea, with our not-the-warmest-weather wear]
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Our trip started off on February 22, and we came back home on March 11. Total of 18 days, which was about 2 and a half weeks! We had prepared for this timing's weather to be roughly between 3 degrees celsius at the coldest, and 15 degrees celsius at the warmest in Shanghai and Tokyo, and finishing off in Hong Kong expecting the weather there to be between 17 to 25 degrees celsius. It's still the middle of winter in Edmonton during this time, so anything above snow temperatures sounded nice. (It ended up being colder than we were anticipating! More on that later as the days come.)
Originally, we had planned to do this trip specifically for the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland! But the park's grand opening date wasn't set in stone for the longest time... which made our planning near impossible. When the official date of June 2016 was announced, it ended up being the exact same time as Glendon and I's possession date for our new home. In the end we had to scrap the idea of visiting for the official Grand Opening, and ended up with late February to mid March of 2017. These dates were specifically chosen because... between the 4 of us's work schedules we all had different blackout dates, and as well as coinciding with "slower" times at Tokyo Disney Resort. (Tokyo is notorious for hitting capacity at both parks numerous times throughout the year!)
DURING THIS TIME, we got to experience quite a few things! Shanghai was still doing Grand Opening celebrations. Frozen Fantasy in Tokyo Disneyland. Tokyo DisneySea 15th Anniversary: The Year of Wishes, and Grand Finale. The beginnings of cherry blossom blooming in Tokyo city. Easter Eggs at Hong Kong Disneyland!

WHERE!!

[Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland]
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SHANGHAI, TOKYO, AND HONG KONG!!!
Specifically... Shanghai Disneyland (2 days), Shanghai City (1 day), Tokyo Disney (4 Days), Tokyo City (3 Days), Back at Tokyo Disney (2 and a half days), Hong Kong City (1 day), and Hong Kong Disneyland (1 and a half days).
Disney hotels included on our trip: Toy Story Hotel in Shanghai, Disneyland Hotel in Tokyo, Hotel Mira Costa in Tokyo, Disney Hollywood Hotel in Hong Kong. (Other hotels during this trip included Sheraton Tokyo Bay, Citadines Shinjuku, and Sky City Marriott Hong Kong)

and... WHY!!

[Me standing in front of Tron Lightcycle Power Run in Shanghai Disneyland]
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The "why" is easy. All four of us are Disney parks lovers. And this was our chance to visit all the Asia parks in one go, and to do it all together so we don't break our banks doing it. Glendon had been the only one of the 4 of us to have gone to any of the parks in Asia, and it was to Tokyo. His favourite park is Tokyo DisneySea, and he'd been wanting all of us to experience it so bad haha.
Originally, Glendon, Jenna, and Brian had started to plan this trip as soon as Shanghai's Disneyland was announced. Which means... this trip had been in the talks since before Glendon and I started dating! (After we first started dating, he had asked me shyly if I might be interested in visiting all the Asia Disney parks with his two friends. Obviously I can't say no to that, so of course I said YES! To which he immediately let them know he found the perfect girl because she loves Disney as much as he does)

Things that helped us NOT break the bank on this trip:
- We didn't get a Visa to visit China. We decided to try the 144-hour visa free travel rule to Shanghai (will explain more on this later)
- Glendon's parents are DVC members
- SPG
- Brian has a travel agent license
- bargain hunting
- Amex platinum card (access to airport lounges!)


Other background info:

• After Shanghai Disneyland's original opening, we had read tons of reports and heard such horror stories of the Chinese visitors basically destroying the brand new park. Jenna and Brian have NEVER visited Asia before at all, and Glendon has only ever visited Tokyo (which is ridiculously clean). I've been to China before on tours, but I have witnessed the Chinese culture. While I didn't remember super terrible things, I did remember that you can definitely tell the difference between "class" in China. You can easily tell who had good education vs those that grew up in the villages. SO needless to say, after the horror stories we were a little bit worried it would be too much for us North Americans.
• I don't know if you hadn't noticed... but I am of Asian descent. Specifically, I am a Canadian born Chinese. While in my parents' household we mostly speak English, my parents grew up speaking Cantonese. So I grew up speaking both Cantonese and English at home. Growing up, my parents also put me in Mandarin bilingual schooling so that I could learn the Mandarin language at a young age. I have since LOST most of my Mandarin, but we figured if I at least had some basic communication skills, the 4 of us couldn't get too terribly lost in Shanghai. We weren't too worried about Tokyo as Glendon remembered that the Japanese were always very helpful. We also weren't too worried about Hong Kong as we knew most of the people there were fluent in English as well. And if for some reason they weren't, my conversational Cantonese is more frequently used at home than Mandarin so it's not so broken. (If you were wondering, Glendon is also Chinese. But his parents don't speak either mandarin or cantonese so he would be of no help if translation was an issue.)

Now... here are some very random photos from this trip to tide you over until I can get everything put together! (Sorry, I don't have super beautiful photos. I've gotten really accustomed to only traveling with my phone. Out of the 4 of us Brian is the camera guy, but I don't have his photos yet haha. Also... so hard to choose what to show you guys first! Turns out I have over 2000 photos from this trip...)

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Upcoming... Table of Contents and Itinerary

Following along as I want to plan a trip to all 3 Asian parks in one trip as well

 

[jesterrific]

I can believe all the super cute pastries they had! I like melon, but a honeydew bun doesn’t sound very appetizing to me The Monsters Inc Ride sounds so cool!

Hahaha, right? Honeydew bun sounds like a weird concept to me haha. I think mostly because melons are supposed to be juicy.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Banana & Walnut Muffin, Double Chocolate Muffin (both 270 Yen each)

Mmmm, those look so yummy! Especially the double chocolate muffin. I will probably be like you guys - so busy experiencing the park I'll skip early breakfast!

 

[Tinkerbella1111]

Ahh! I’m loving following along your amazing adventure!!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Wow! What an adventure!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed the read!

 

[jesterrific]

Mmmm, those look so yummy! Especially the double chocolate muffin. I will probably be like you guys - so busy experiencing the park I'll skip early breakfast!

It's actually really hard on me if I don't have at least a small breakfast before starting the day. Truthfully I was getting quite grumpy by the time we finally went for these pastries haha.

 

[franandaj]

I was a bit behind, glad you got your FPs. I know this was a while ago, DL has stopped issuing paper FP since you started writing this, do you know if they still do them in Tokyo?

I would have been put out by some of those strange flavors of pastries as well.

Monsters sounds like a really fun ride being interactive and all!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I was a bit behind, glad you got your FPs. I know this was a while ago, DL has stopped issuing paper FP since you started writing this, do you know if they still do them in Tokyo?

From everything I've read, Tokyo still does paper. So does Hong Kong. Shanghai does a system almost identical to Maxpass, except its free. And you can pay for additional FPs for the rides (either a full set or ride by ride).

 

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

Loving this TR can’t wait to read more about your adventures

 

[glendroid]

So Jesterrific and I ended up booking another trip to Shanghai Disneyland in February And she’s still not even done this TR yet!

 

[jesterrific]

I was a bit behind, glad you got your FPs. I know this was a while ago, DL has stopped issuing paper FP since you started writing this, do you know if they still do them in Tokyo?

I would have been put out by some of those strange flavors of pastries as well.

Monsters sounds like a really fun ride being interactive and all!

Lol, totally forgot about Maxpass in Disneyland... I honestly haven't done Disneyland in a few years now haha.

From what I know, yes Tokyo still does the paper fast pass.

I think you'd really like Monsters!!

 

[jesterrific]

Loving this TR can’t wait to read more about your adventures

Thanks for following along! Sorry life has gotten a little bit ridiculous this entire year and it's taking me way too long to finish writing this

 

[jesterrific]

Day 7 [part 3]: ALL OF THE CUTE STUFF​

When we finished eating our breakfast, we were still just a tad early for our fast pass for Monster’s Inc (how was it that it still wasn’t 8:40 in the morning yet?! It felt like we had run around doing so much already!) SO we decided to ride Pirates, since the entrance is literally right next to World Bazaar. Bonus? There was NO LINE at all!

Loooook the boats float next to where the queue is

Pre-Ride selfie, of course

Just coming from riding the grand Pirates ride in Shanghai, it was kind of nice to come back to the feel of the classic style Pirates of the Caribbean. But I’m going to be really honest and tell you that I can’t remember much about this version in compared to the other ones.

Fiiiiiiiiinally, it’s time for our Monsters, Inc fast pass!

A silly photo spot

Here we go again! (Please note the Slinky Dog hat =O! Its got a slinky dog body hanging off the bottom of the hat)

They take a ride photo for you

The second ride through was just as fun as the first one! And this time we decided to wander around the gift shop at the end of the ride. They have lots of fun Monsters decor in the store, as well as unique Monsters merch.

Mike with his Little Mikey

AND AN ACTUAL LITTLE MKEY

The funniest door stopper ever

COOKIES

Cute Monsters, University keychains

A silly sign

A really silly production poster

A ROZ keychain oh my (and Celia too)

“Think funny, it’s your job!”

Now that we’ve definitely been entranced by all the merchandise just from the Monsters, Inc store, we decided to go see what goodies await us in the shops in World Bazaar!

Bye bye, Ride and Go Seek! TO THE SHOPS WE GO

I have never built Nano Blocks, but I have a strange obsession over them LOOK AT SUN BATHING SNOWGIE

Three Little Pigs?! Oswald! Ortensia! Dalmatians!!

Okay these are the FREAKING CUTEST!!! It’s like, Tokyo Disney Polly Pocket. But the original teeny Polly Pocket that actually folds up and fits in your pocket. BUT FOR EACH OF THE LANDS IN TOKYO DISNEY RESORT. The first one features It’s a Small World with Mickey and Minnie. The second one features Mermaid Lagoon with Ariel and Flounder

(Glendon would NOT let me buy any of these at all, even though I was straight up obsessed. But I wanted ALL OF THEM and he did the whole “what are you going to do with these??”)​

BACK TO THE MICKEY SHAPED FOOD KEYCHAINS FEATURING THE MICKEY MITT BUN and again the Mickey fried ham and Mickey fried egg. OMG I just realized the spatula is Minnie bowed, and the frying pan is Minnie dotted.

More popcorn bucket keychains. This time featuring the Dumbo popcorn bucket. Okay I die

YOU GUYS. A JESSICA SIZED WINNIE THE POOH. Winnie the Pooh is my favourite, I needed this so baaaaad.

(No, there was no feasible way for me to bring home a Me-sized Winnie the Pooh… Goodbye Winnie)​

… TICK TOCK CROCODILE?!

A display of toy versions of popular foods and snacks

They have… TWO WALLS of different designed packaged BOXER SHORTS

And seriously the cutest character socks

OKAY OKAY OKAY Look at these HEADBANDS. Like, straight up CHARACTER head bands omg

These hair accessories!

And some stuffed Toy Story characters

THE CLAW fishing game with silly Aliens

Still to come…
Star Tours! Pooh’s Hunny Hunt! Lunch!

 

[franandaj]

Cute souvenirs and stuff, I would have wanted to buy all of them!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Have fun on your January trip! In other news, I just booked my own Asian adventure for next fall!

Okay these are the FREAKING CUTEST!!! It’s like, Tokyo Disney Polly Pocket. But the original teeny Polly Pocket that actually folds up and fits in your pocket. BUT FOR EACH OF THE LANDS IN TOKYO DISNEY RESORT. The first one features It’s a Small World with Mickey and Minnie. The second one features Mermaid Lagoon with Ariel and Flounder

OMG! I’ve never seen these and they are amazing! I loved Polly Pocket as a kid so I would totally get them!

But I wanted ALL OF THEM and he did the whole “what are you going to do with these??”

Who cares?!? Disney Polly pockets?!?

 

[jesterrific]

Have fun on your January trip! In other news, I just booked my own Asian adventure for next fall!


OMG! I’ve never seen these and they are amazing! I loved Polly Pocket as a kid so I would totally get them!


Who cares?!? Disney Polly pockets?!?

I fully regret that we went into this trip with a shared budget instead of a half-half budget, to which I could spend however I wanted as long as it was under budget hahahaha. I'm glad someone else understands the need for Disney Polly Pockets

 

[KEK1]

Fabulous TR! Hope it is still going

 

[bcla]

Day 5 [part 5]: NANJING ROAD! The good, the fun, the bad, and the ugly.​

We didn’t have a plan, so we decided we wanted to wander and look at some shops. The first shop that REALLY caught our eye was one that was along the street and seemed SUPER POPULAR. It was a store called Miniso!!! We’ve never seen Miniso before!!! Very similar to Daiso the Japanese dollar store. And this looked to be a similar idea! (Side note, our city JUST opened our first Daiso-like store a few months ago. Then last month Miniso was also brought here.)

Just searching through DIS and I found this. Miniso is a "faux Japanese" retailer. It's really a Chinese company (with one of the supposed founders a Japanese design consultant. However, they apparently have four stores in Japan, thousands in China, and are branching out around the world. There's one store that opened last year in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's not bad, but I have a distaste for their marketing themselves as Japanese in any way. They also have some of the most horrendous translation, including the labels that say "Designed by Japan". That being said, I've seen some really odd stuff at Daiso (an actual Japanese company) where it looks like bad translation. I bought a phone charger at Daiso where the warnings said that it should be unplugged if "the cable reeks" - which I believe was referring to what to do if the cable started overheating/burning.

I have no issue with the quality of what they sell. A friend of mine bought several Apple compatible Lightning cables that cost less than $2 each, and where I found they were actually on Apple's certified products list. But the fake Japanese vibe just rubs me the wrong way.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/econ...o-good-how-chinas-cultural-copycats-took-over