If anyone have questions about SDL

[KEK1]

Who said it's not included? it's definitely one of the on-property resorts' benefits.

People here on boards who gave even recently :/ I'm very confused. Maybe I will contact the resorts directly

 

[Mitre10]

Hi! I just found out I have to be in Shanghai at the end of February for a work trip. What will the weather be like then? Which rides have single rider?--I'm seeing conflicting information on that. Do you think it's worth it to stay in one of the Disney hotels?

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Hi! I just found out I have to be in Shanghai at the end of February for a work trip. What will the weather be like then? Which rides have single rider?--I'm seeing conflicting information on that. Do you think it's worth it to stay in one of the Disney hotels?

Depending on the cost difference (not sure what your alternative is) I would spend the money on a packaged fast pass for all the rides you want to do instead (there are different tiers encompassing different rides). I also recommend you catch the firework show if you can. We attend DL and MK often but the SDL show is unique and awesome.

 

[zanzibar138]

Hi! I just found out I have to be in Shanghai at the end of February for a work trip. What will the weather be like then? Which rides have single rider?--I'm seeing conflicting information on that. Do you think it's worth it to stay in one of the Disney hotels?

I'm not the expert here, but have done a couple of trips to SDL including one where I stayed off property (the night before opening day, when the onsite hotels were not available for us plebs to book ). It was easy enough to get around Shanghai on the train, but the SDL resort area is pretty isolated from the city and other touristy areas, so I'd definitely recommend staying onsite. From memory, I had to change trains twice and it took about an hour from my hotel in the city. At the time of my visit, some of the train lines also closed relatively early, and people had to leave before the fireworks to make sure they got back to their line in time for the last train.

I've enjoyed my stays at both the SDL Hotel and the Toy Story Hotel.

 

[Mitre10]

Thanks! I have the Marriott booked--they have a free shuttle to the park, and its half the price of Toy Story. I definitely plan to do early entry and have been researching the various ticket tiers. But the single rider question persists. The website says SDMT and Zootopia have it; other places have said Tron and Pirates have it, but I can't verify.

ETA: will definitely do the fireworks! can't wait!

 

[zanzibar138]

Thanks! I have the Marriott booked--they have a free shuttle to the park, and its half the price of Toy Story.

Sounds like a win then

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Thanks! I have the Marriott booked--they have a free shuttle to the park, and its half the price of Toy Story. I definitely plan to do early entry and have been researching the various ticket tiers. But the single rider question persists. The website says SDMT and Zootopia have it; other places have said Tron and Pirates have it, but I can't verify.

ETA: will definitely do the fireworks! can't wait!

I was there for a day in September and do not recall seeing any single rider lines clearly demarcated (and I was traveling solo)—but I also had a LL pass for everything I wanted to do so I wasn’t paying extremely close attention.

 

[DianaMB333]

Hi.. thanks for opening this thread!

I’m planning a trip to the three parks in Asia around Nov/25. Today I tried to book thr DL hotel with international card option but webpage keeps crashing… the other options were Wechat pay, Alipay or Union pay…

Is Alipay a safe option? Or am I better off with a travel agent?

Thanks!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Hi.. thanks for opening this thread!

I’m planning a trip to the three parks in Asia around Nov/25. Today I tried to book thr DL hotel with international card option but webpage keeps crashing… the other options were Wechat pay, Alipay or Union pay…

Is Alipay a safe option? Or am I better off with a travel agent?

Thanks!

Not sure where you are based— Alipay is a very reputable Chinese company — sort of like PayPal. They are safe to use in terms of fraud, assuming you don’t mind the Chinese government tracking your spending activity— but I would generally assume that’s happening in China anyway. I used Alipay at SDL and it was very convenient (also you generally want it in China as many vendors do no take cash or western credit cards— but the version available for United States citizens is a bit wonky so make sure you read up on using it before you go.

 

[nikkita]

Thank you, its so hard to find good information on SDL!

We are looking to go HKDL, SDL and TDR in Jan/Feb 2026 (before LNY).
I know its winter, but is it usually rainy or relatively dry?

We will have a 3yo with us. Originally we were thinking of staying at the Toy Story hotel, but I have seen lots of people talking about the Marriot Couryard also, I'm just not sure the shuttle will run often enough with a tired 3yo in tow...

Do you feel 2 days at the park is enough with a 3yo in tow?

Do you have recommendations for other toddler friendly activites in Shanghai for a day or two of exploring?

Thanks

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Thank you, its so hard to find good information on SDL!

It is crazy how little information is out there, I’ll try to help if I can but my top tip is do not miss the fireworks shows it’s unlike anywhere else in the world.

We are looking to go HKDL, SDL and TDR in Jan/Feb 2026 (before LNY).
I know its winter, but is it usually rainy or relatively dry?

Unfortunately, I’m a DLR local and not a great source of information for weather but DEFINITELY avoid LNY and the week before/after.

We will have a 3yo with us. Originally we were thinking of staying at the Toy Story hotel, but I have seen lots of people talking about the Marriot Couryard also, I'm just not sure the shuttle will run often enough with a tired 3yo in tow...

Assuming you mean for Shanghai, I liked the Toy Story Hotel a lot, I actually felt it was more convenient than the Shanghai Disneyland flagship resort hotel (we have stayed at both twice and I was at TSH in September). I am a Marriott ambassador member and didn’t even consider staying at the Marriott. The early entry and separate Disney town entrance are worth staying at TSH alone. You also get an adorable amenity kit and I suspect your 3yo will love the larger than life Toy Story character statues (and roaming Toy Story characters) at the hotel.

Do you feel 2 days at the park is enough with a 3yo in tow?

I think yes— but it depends on your goal. I think 1 day can be enough but I’m more of a park warrior and also pay extra for the fast pass lines throughout the park. Happy to chat through specifics more, but it would be helpful to know if your goal is to do literally everything, or only things that don’t have exact clones, how much you want to soak up atmospherics, wait in long queues to meet characters, etc. If you go to WDW frequently, seven dwarves mine train and Tron are true clones (though from counts through the gates in English in America and Mandarin in Shanghai). Meanwhile Pirates and Buzz have the same name but are quite different than their MK counterparts. Soarin is pretty close, etc. Zootopia was totally unlike anything anywhere else and I highly recommend.

All that said, it’s truly a fantastic park (and it’s big!) so 2 days gives you more time to explore and less pressure to catch all the parades, shows, etc., but our family has never needed more than one day (we just hauled napping kids around in the stroller at ages 1-4), but we also used to visit annually.

Do you have recommendations for other toddler friendly activites in Shanghai for a day or two of exploring?

Thanks

I do have fond memories of taking our kids at 1.5 and 3.5 and 2.5/4.5 and would be happy to share them with you, but it would be helpful to know if you’ll have a mandarin speaking member of your party (or friend or guide). Our kids had a blast at the natural history museum; the science museum, and an art museum, there’s also a fun sculpture park outside the natural history museum… a river cruise along the bund at twilight also tops our list— but I recently returned for the first time ever without a fluent mandarin speaker in our group (on a work trip) and the language gap was definitely more challenging— though most communication issues can be overcome with google translate and a good data plan, things like art and natural history require a bit less knowledge of the language than the science museum.

One other random tip, you actually MUST have your passport to enter SDL. It seems crazy to me but they have checked it each and every time.

 

[mathgeek]

People here on boards who gave even recently :/ I'm very confused. Maybe I will contact the resorts directly

I was just at SHDR over New Year's and stayed at Toy Story Hotel. We did have early access to the parks via the bus to the Disneytown entrance. Super helpful in getting into Zootopia first thing.

 

[mathgeek]

Thanks! I have the Marriott booked--they have a free shuttle to the park, and its half the price of Toy Story. I definitely plan to do early entry and have been researching the various ticket tiers. But the single rider question persists. The website says SDMT and Zootopia have it; other places have said Tron and Pirates have it, but I can't verify.

ETA: will definitely do the fireworks! can't wait!

I was just there over New Year's, and we found that the single rider lines were pretty much based on the whims of whether the CM's at that ride had it open. That said, even on New Year's Eve, we still got on everything we wanted to without really long waits.

Now finding a seat at any counter service for dinner was another story. That was nearly impossible b/c people were just sitting in the restaurants not eating and playing on their phones.

 

[Mitre10]

This post is so helpful! I'll be there in a few weeks and am super excited, working on my touring plan. I also switched to Melia Parkside (if you have an Amex platinum card--check it out using the FHR credit, I'm paying $40 for two nights and it's walking distance to the park). I have a couple more little questions:

1. Can you leave and re-enter the park in one day in general? Or to leave and re-enter from DisneyTown?
2. Do all the Dream Day tickets include early access or just the highest tier ones? I only see it listed on the really $$ ones.
3. Is the early entrance location different than the general entrance?

ETA I forgot the most important question: Is there Dole Whip?

Thanks! And I'll definitely report back to the group once I'm back.

 

[WannaTravel92]

On Site hotel guests are guaranteed to be able to buy park tickets correct?