Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland March 17 – Day 7 Complete in Hong Kong Proper; 12/04

PrincessInOz · Feb 25, 2017

Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland March 17 – A New PTR Hope

Welcome to the start of a new vacation! Congratulations and thank you for clicking through to this page and I hope you’ll stick around for the journey.

A new PTR/TR is always full hope and promise at the start:
Is it going to be any good?
Will it contain useful and useless information?
Will it be fun and easy to read?

Well…..let’s just say….it’s still a new hope. There’s plenty of time for promises fulfilled and hopes dashed later!

This is me, taken by a friend of mine. Actually….it’s a rare picture of me. I hate having my picture taken, which is why I’ve taken to being the photographer.

Did I mention that I take photographs? This is a good time of the PTR to post my standard disclaimers.

DISclaimers.

I hereby absolve all responsibility for any therapy that you might want to claim as a result of reading through this PTR/TR. Just remember. We are in an open forum and it is your choice to read along......right? And who knows? We might end up being 2D friends in a box along the journey.

I openly acknowledge that this TR will be photo heavy. At least I think it will be. I hereby absolve any responsibility for any therapy you might want to claim on behalf of your desktop or gadget. Afterall, I’m not responsible for what you might subject your device to.

Food porn is usually a feature in my posts. Anyone who feels strongly about food should be eaten and not photographed, please be aware that no correspondence will be entered into on this matter.

As always, deviations and deviants off-topic are usually another feature. Don’t worry. It’s not you, it’s me (although if you stick around, you could discover that it is you too. We just don’t know for sure yet). I hereby absolve any responsibility for any therapy that you might want to claim on my behalf. Although….feel free to PM me if you feel like contributing to my cause. :upsidedow

Above all else…lurk if you must……but I would appreciate you posting and providing input and feedback into “our”blog! Afterall…….How else is this going to be am I going to get deviations and deviants? NOTE: I really do mean FUN!! FUN!! I mean FUN!!

princess:

PrincessInOz · Feb 25, 2017

PrincessInOz · Feb 25, 2017

How this Trip Came to Be - FOMO

One October morning, a number of us received an exciting message from a fellow Dis-ser.

"Cathay Pacific Shanghai return flights $595"

For Australia, that's an amazing price to head to China! Even better, the flight path was hubbing in and out of Hong Kong....and that meant we could stopover there.

For a day. We dreamed. We schemed.

April worked for all of us. An Aussie Dis-sers’ trip. Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland.
Then I went to bed.

And when I woke the next day, there were 4 on a plane heading to Shanghai and Hong Kong in March.

Wait….what? March????

Taking DS out of school in March was out of the question. And that kinda meant that I had to get around two problems.

If taking DS out of school was out of the question, that meant that DH had to stay home.
The March date was problematic for my work.

My chances of getting on that plane was looking slim. I’ll just sit down (on this) and sit out now!

By 11 am there were 6.

Wait…..what? Oh no! S-I-X!!!

There I was with a baaaa-aaa-aaad case of FOMO.

From 11 am, I frantically made calls, sent emails. I made more calls, sent more emails……hmmm….I even think I made promises that I intended to keep…..and that FOMO went into overdrive as the time ticked by.

Finally, at 2 pm…..management took pity on my plight and I got leave approved.
And......Thankfully, DH was easier to talk round than work!

Yesssss!

At 3pm, when I was sitting down with my friendly travel agent, I made an impulse call to my mother. And with that, 6 become 8.

I had a seat on that plane and I no longer had FOMO!

:jumping1:

darrenf67 · Feb 25, 2017

Hey fellow Aussie! Your trip sounds like it's going to be a blast.
My wife and I saw the SAME cheap flights and booked the SAME trip leaving 29 March haha!
Can't wait to see what you have planned and how similar our itineraries will be.
Darren

PrincessInOz · Feb 25, 2017

darrenf67 said:
Hey fellow Aussie! Your trip sounds like it's going to be a blast.
My wife and I saw the SAME cheap flights and booked the SAME trip leaving 29 March haha!
Can't wait to see what you have planned and how similar our itineraries will be.
Darren

Hi Darren! Long time since our paths crossed on the Dis. Hope you've been well.

YAY! You're going too? How awesome!
How long are you going for?

Yes....it will be interesting. There's not a lot of information anywhere on Shanghai. So it would be great to add to the body of knowledge. :teeth:

klmall · Feb 25, 2017

Hi Princess! I love reading your trip reports; so full of good details and fun to follow along with as the trip approaches, actually happens and your impressions afterwards. And you are far from being the only photographer who hates to have her picture taken (p.s. I love your freckles).

Hurry on March 17th!

darrenf67 · Feb 25, 2017

PrincessInOz said:
Hi Darren! Long time since our paths crossed on the Dis. Hope you've been well.

YAY! You're going too? How awesome!
How long are you going for?

Yes....it will be interesting. There's not a lot of information anywhere on Shanghai. So it would be great to add to the body of knowledge.

We leave March 29 and have a tour booked starting in Beijing and finishing in Shanghai. Then we check into Shanghai Disney Toy Story Hotel for 4 nights - fly to Hong Kong - a few days in Downtown Hong Kong and then 2 nights at Hong Kong Disney Hollywood Hotel. We are away for 2 weeks altogether.
I have booked us into the Royal Banquet Hall for dinner, which can only be done by phone (and even with an English speaking CM was challenging). I also find it curious that park hours and schedules are only available a few weeks ahead.

usnuzuloose · Feb 26, 2017

Well, I am here. Love your pictures of you!

PrincessInOz · Feb 27, 2017

darrenf67 said:
We leave March 29 and have a tour booked starting in Beijing and finishing in Shanghai. Then we check into Shanghai Disney Toy Story Hotel for 4 nights - fly to Hong Kong - a few days in Downtown Hong Kong and then 2 nights at Hong Kong Disney Hollywood Hotel. We are away for 2 weeks altogether.
I have booked us into the Royal Banquet Hall for dinner, which can only be done by phone (and even with an English speaking CM was challenging). I also find it curious that park hours and schedules are only available a few weeks ahead.

For the 6 uber-Disney planners going on this trip, you can't imagine how frustrating this is!

Your trip sounds awesome! I look forward to reading all about it.

PrincessInOz · Feb 27, 2017

klmall said:
Hi Princess! I love reading your trip reports; so full of good details and fun to follow along with as the trip approaches, actually happens and your impressions afterwards. And you are far from being the only photographer who hates to have her picture taken (p.s. I love your freckles).

Hurry on March 17th!

Hi Kathy! Thanks for joining in. Hope you've been well.

We're actually going in early March. The '17' reference was for 2017.

usnuzuloose said:
Well, I am here. Love your pictures of you!

So glad to see you here. Hope that life is treating you well, and the dogs (and your sciatica) are doing great!

PrincessInOz · Feb 27, 2017

The Boring but Critical Planning Stuff aka Being able to Legally Enter China

With flights all sorted out, we now had to work out how to get ourselves legally through the Chinese authorities.

Our flight plan was Melbourne – Hong Kong – Shanghai and then out from Shanghai – Hong Kong – Melbourne. As a result of us hubbing in to Shanghai via Hong Kong both inbound and outbound, technically the 144-hour transit visa was not an option for us.

That meant that we were all left with having to apply for a Chinese Visa. For those in Melbourne/Australia, you can fill in an on-line form here. https://www.visaforchina.org/MEL_EN/

I'm pretty sure the form is universal....you just need to find it in the equivalent website for your country of origin.

There is also a tightened requirement for the mug shot.

If only it were that simple!

Seems like the new requirements came into force late in 2016 and I highly recommend you check them so that you’re aware of them. http://eg.china-embassy.org/eng/ywzn/lsyw/zytz/P020120528717997222806.pdf

The requirements seem to be tighter than what we would need for an Australian passport....especially where free space around your head is concerned.
Oh....one thing that the requirements do not specify is that they prefer no jewellery.

When I submitted the application for my mother, she was wearing earrings in her photo. The girl behind the counter pointed it out to us and said she would let it through this one time.

The China Visa website in Australia also allows you to prebook an appointment time. I highly recommend you do so. When you get to the visa office in Melbourne, there is one of those self-serve electronic machines with an option for appointment made. It’s an extremely civilised system. We were served at the next available counter. Just make sure you bring your appointment confirmation with you. They do check.

Collection of the passports was equally as civilised. We had to exchange money for the Visa. The Visa set us back AU$110 each. I guess it's a fair exchange.

So, with our Entry Visa all sorted out, hopefully, we won’t be met by these guys when we enter the country.

Note:

The 144-hour transit visa only applies to certain ports in China. You need to check if it applies to your particular circumstance.

The visa is valid for 3 months from application date so you need to apply for the visa at least 1 – 3 months prior to your entry.

There have been anecdotal reports that other travellers have gotten into China despite hubbing in and out of the same city. We could have chanced it but it is far better to be sure rather than sorry.

PrincessInOz · Feb 27, 2017

The W-W-W-W-W (Two Definitions)

With flights and Entry Visa all sorted out, I probably should digress back to the basics. Afterall, it is customary on the Dis to detail out the W-W-W-W-W at the start of the PTR. Who am I to change that convention?? :flower1:

(Definition 1)

What: This PTR/TR will cover off my version of events. By all accounts, I take a lot of pictures so the sequence of events will be told through the barrel of my camera.
Verity and truth may or may not be feature of the TR.

Why: The Melbourne Dis-sers have been meeting roughly once a month for the last 4 years. We have always dreamed of going to a Disney location together. Well....dream no more!

Where: Shanghai and Hong Kong. This is predominantly a Disney trip. We are covering off two Castles in this trip.

When: Early to Mid March. Some of us will be going for 7 days, others for about 10 days. We will all be at Shanghai Disneyland together.

Who: Your Cast Members for this trip include myself and my DM. There are 4 other Aussie Dissers – @zanzibar138, @FireflyFi, @Fairy Floss and @Aussie Wendy . The other two are either family or significant others for the 4.

(Definition 2)

But there is another definition for W-W-W-W-W that can apply to this trip.

What the
Woop-woop am I going to do to be able to access the
World
Wide
Web?

China takes it’s internet security rather seriously and there are any number of websites that are blocked when trying to access them from inside China. I believe that China employs thousands of people to monitoring content of the various sites that users might wander into; and then decide to block or keep it going. There are about 100 or so popular websites (including Facebook, Twitter, Google, gmail, Instagram) that are currently blocked in what is effectively the Great Firewall of China.

I might as well be left with no connection to anywhere!

The level of commitment also means that Chinese IT has progressed down an innovation path of independent technology in order to maintain control and step-side Western companies and open-source access. You have to applaud the Chinese determination when you end up with companies like Yonyou to rival SAP and Oracle, Inspur to replace IBM and HP, Hwawei to rival all the handset/phone manufacturers and 360 to provide antivirus software without needing Norton or McAfee.
And that's not counting the Chinese apps and Google-equivalent platforms that replicate all the stuff you and I take for granted!
Truly amazing and all kudos to the Chinese for dedication to the cause.

For a little longer (at least until 2018), the way around the Firewall is to sign up and get a Virtual Private Number (VPN). There are at least 3 major VPN providers in China recommended by people much more tech-savvy than me. However, the Chinese Government has recently announced that they will crack down on VPN providers in China. It will be an 18-month operation and it remains to be seen what will happen after this crackdown for visitors.

So.....What this means is that if I want to access Google or FaceBook, I would need to sign up to a VPN provider outside of China. Yes, I did the research but I’m essentially a goodie-goodie and the fact that the VPN crackdown is underway made me a little reluctant to go down this path.

My way of dealing with this was to ask a friend in Hong Kong. He suggested that if I have an unlocked phone, then getting a SIM card (data only) from Hong Kong will get me on the mobile network and be able to access the Western sites when in China. Voice calls are not that popular in Hong Kong so most of the cards are for data only. Getting what is effectively a ‘local’ SIM from Hong Kong would mean that I would not have to pay the high intercarrier charges if I used international roaming with my Australian service. It also means that as the original carrier is outside of Mainland China, it is not subject to the Firewall.

There are a number of data-only Hong Kong and China SIMs offered for sale via Amazon. Sadly for me, the one that I wanted was not available to ship to Australia. Neither was the HK SIM card my friend recommended - it required a HK address.

Thankfully, my friend came to my rescue. He’s purchased a SIM card on my behalf and has mailed it to me.

I sure hope the W-W-W-W-W workaround option arrives in the mail…..and soon! But, in the meantime, that leaves me.....anxiously…….W-W-W-W-W…..

Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting!

I sure hope the postman arrives soon!

princess:

darrenf67 · Feb 27, 2017

PrincessInOz said:
The Boring but Critical Planning Stuff aka Being able to Legally Enter China

With flights all sorted out, we now had to work out how to get ourselves legally through the Chinese authorities.

Our flight plan was Melbourne – Hong Kong – Shanghai and then out from Shanghai – Hong Kong – Melbourne. As a result of us hubbing in to Shanghai via Hong Kong both inbound and outbound, technically the 144-hour transit visa was not an option for us.

That meant that we were all left with having to apply for a Chinese Visa. For those in Melbourne/Australia, you can fill in an on-line form here. https://www.visaforchina.org/MEL_EN/

I'm pretty sure the form is universal....you just need to find it in the equivalent website for your country of origin.

There is also a tightened requirement for the mug shot.

If only it were that simple!

Seems like the new requirements came into force late in 2016 and I highly recommend you check them so that you’re aware of them. http://eg.china-embassy.org/eng/ywzn/lsyw/zytz/P020120528717997222806.pdf

The requirements seem to be tighter than what we would need for an Australian passport....especially where free space around your head is concerned.
Oh....one thing that the requirements do not specify is that they prefer no jewellery.

When I submitted the application for my mother, she was wearing earrings in her photo. The girl behind the counter pointed it out to us and said she would let it through this one time.

The China Visa website in Australia also allows you to prebook an appointment time. I highly recommend you do so. When you get to the visa office in Melbourne, there is one of those self-serve electronic machines with an option for appointment made. It’s an extremely civilised system. We were served at the next available counter. Just make sure you bring your appointment confirmation with you. They do check.

Collection of the passports was equally as civilised. We had to exchange money for the Visa. The Visa set us back AU$110 each. I guess it's a fair exchange.

So, with our Entry Visa all sorted out, hopefully, we won’t be met by these guys when we enter the country.

Note:

The 144-hour transit visa only applies to certain ports in China. You need to check if it applies to your particular circumstance.

The visa is valid for 3 months from application date so you need to apply for the visa at least 1 – 3 months prior to your entry.

There have been anecdotal reports that other travellers have gotten into China despite hubbing in and out of the same city. We could have chanced it but it is far better to be sure rather than sorry.

My wife's visa photo was rejected due to earrings and we had to resubmit

darrenf67 · Feb 27, 2017

PrincessInOz said:
The W-W-W-W-W (Two Definitions)

With flights and Entry Visa all sorted out, I probably should digress back to the basics. Afterall, it is customary on the Dis to detail out the W-W-W-W-W at the start of the PTR. Who am I to change that convention??

(Definition 1)

What: This PTR/TR will cover off my version of events. By all accounts, I take a lot of pictures so the sequence of events will be told through the barrel of my camera.
Verity and truth may or may not be feature of the TR.

Why: The Melbourne Dis-sers have been meeting roughly once a month for the last 4 years. We have always dreamed of going to a Disney location together. Well....dream no more!

Where: Shanghai and Hong Kong. This is predominantly a Disney trip. We are covering off two Castles in this trip.

When: Early to Mid March. Some of us will be going for 7 days, others for about 10 days. We will all be at Shanghai Disneyland together.

Who: Your Cast Members for this trip include myself and my DM. There are 4 other Aussie Dissers – @zanzibar138, @FireflyFi, @Fairy Floss and @Aussie Wendy . The other two are either family or significant others for the 4.

(Definition 2)

But there is another definition for W-W-W-W-W that can apply to this trip.

What the
Woop-woop am I going to do to be able to access the
World
Wide
Web?

China takes it’s internet security rather seriously and there are any number of websites that are blocked when trying to access them from inside China. I believe that China employs thousands of people to monitoring content of the various sites that users might wander into; and then decide to block or keep it going. There are about 100 or so popular websites (including Facebook, Twitter, Google, gmail, Instagram) that are currently blocked in what is effectively the Great Firewall of China.

I might as well be left with no connection to anywhere!

The level of commitment also means that Chinese IT has progressed down an innovation path of independent technology in order to maintain control and step-side Western companies and open-source access. You have to applaud the Chinese determination when you end up with companies like Yonyou to rival SAP and Oracle, Inspur to replace IBM and HP, Hwawei to rival all the handset/phone manufacturers and 360 to provide antivirus software without needing Norton or McAfee.
And that's not counting the Chinese apps and Google-equivalent platforms that replicate all the stuff you and I take for granted!
Truly amazing and all kudos to the Chinese for dedication to the cause.

For a little longer (at least until 2018), the way around the Firewall is to sign up and get a Virtual Private Number (VPN). There are at least 3 major VPN providers in China recommended by people much more tech-savvy than me. However, the Chinese Government has recently announced that they will crack down on VPN providers in China. It will be an 18-month operation and it remains to be seen what will happen after this crackdown for visitors.

So.....What this means is that if I want to access Google or FaceBook, I would need to sign up to a VPN provider outside of China. Yes, I did the research but I’m essentially a goodie-goodie and the fact that the VPN crackdown is underway made me a little reluctant to go down this path.

My way of dealing with this was to ask a friend in Hong Kong. He suggested that if I have an unlocked phone, then getting a SIM card (data only) from Hong Kong will get me on the mobile network and be able to access the Western sites when in China. Voice calls are not that popular in Hong Kong so most of the cards are for data only. Getting what is effectively a ‘local’ SIM from Hong Kong would mean that I would not have to pay the high intercarrier charges if I used international roaming with my Australian service. It also means that as the original carrier is outside of Mainland China, it is not subject to the Firewall.

There are a number of data-only Hong Kong and China SIMs offered for sale via Amazon. Sadly for me, the one that I wanted was not available to ship to Australia. Neither was the HK SIM card my friend recommended - it required a HK address.

Thankfully, my friend came to my rescue. He’s purchased a SIM card on my behalf and has mailed it to me.

I sure hope the W-W-W-W-W workaround option arrives in the mail…..and soon! But, in the meantime, that leaves me.....anxiously…….W-W-W-W-W…..

Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting!

I sure hope the postman arrives soon!

Wow!! This is vital information that I DID NOT know about. I was just assuming that I would be able to access the hotel wifi and Facebook from there! A little too western of me??

Now I am concerned about keeping touch with family back home. Any more info would be appreciated.

dolphingirl47 · Feb 27, 2017

Checking in.

PrincessInOz said:
I openly acknowledge that this TR will be photo heavy. At least I think it will be.

I really hope so.

PrincessInOz said:
"Cathay Pacific Shanghai return flights $595"

Wow, that sounds like a fantastic price.

PrincessInOz said:
Finally, at 2 pm…..management took pity on my plight and I got leave approved.
And......Thankfully, DH was easier to talk round than work!

Yay for everything falling into place.

PrincessInOz said:
At 3pm, when I was sitting down with my friendly travel agent, I made an impulse call to my mother. And with that, 6 become 8.

How nice get to share this with your mother.

PrincessInOz said:
The China Visa website in Australia also allows you to prebook an appointment time. I highly recommend you do so. When you get to the visa office in Melbourne, there is one of those self-serve electronic machines with an option for appointment made. It’s an extremely civilised system. We were served at the next available counter. Just make sure you bring your appointment confirmation with you. They do check.

Sounds relatively straightforward.

PrincessInOz said:
My way of dealing with this was to ask a friend in Hong Kong. He suggested that if I have an unlocked phone, then getting a SIM card (data only) from Hong Kong will get me on the mobile network and be able to access the Western sites when in China. Voice calls are not that popular in Hong Kong so most of the cards are for data only. Getting what is effectively a ‘local’ SIM from Hong Kong would mean that I would not have to pay the high intercarrier charges if I used international roaming with my Australian service. It also means that as the original carrier is outside of Mainland China, it is not subject to the Firewall.

I knew this either. I am glad that you have your internet access sorted provided the SIM card arrives in time.

Corinna

zanzibar138 · Feb 27, 2017

Ooh you've started our PTR - how exciting!

Just to add my version of a couple of things in case it helps someone else...

Visa
I applied for my visa via post. The process was pretty much the same, but instead of going to visit the application centre (which I didn't have time for), I just posted all my documents. It was a little more expensive to do it this way (even aside from the postage costs), but it saved me a lot of time which was much more valuable to me! I did fill in the wrong credit card payment form from the website, but I received a call early on in the process informing me. They were even able to send me the correct form via email, which I just filled in and sent back. My passport (complete with visa) was waiting for me in my mailbox about 10 days later.

VPN
I went to the Grand Opening of Shanghai Disneyland last year (and still haven't finished that TR - naughty, naughty!), and used a VPN to get around the firewall for that trip. I used Express VPN, which was very easy to download, install and use. You can also install it across several devices (so your phone and computer for example) for the one cost. You do need to download it before you go as obviously once in China access to VPN websites could be sketchy. It's a good idea to try it out too. I tried to use it to access video files from the US which I can't usually view through my Australian network. It worked perfectly, and I highly recommend it.

OrangeBirdGirl · Feb 27, 2017

PrincessInOz said:
Oh....one thing that the requirements do not specify is that they prefer no jewellery.

Oh no! I am far from a consulate. I just overnighted my application to a processing center today with delivery tomorrow. I notice I have pearl studs in. Thanks for the heads up, I emailed the processing agency to see if they think any issues and i could overnight a new photo. I am spending a lot on the processing center to walk my application over to the consulate, so I don't want to pay their fee twice if denied.

darrenf67 · Feb 28, 2017

zanzibar138 said:
Ooh you've started our PTR - how exciting!

VPN
I went to the Grand Opening of Shanghai Disneyland last year (and still haven't finished that TR - naughty, naughty!), and used a VPN to get around the firewall for that trip. I used Express VPN, which was very easy to download, install and use. You can also install it across several devices (so your phone and computer for example) for the one cost. You do need to download it before you go as obviously once in China access to VPN websites could be sketchy. It's a good idea to try it out too. I tried to use it to access video files from the US which I can't usually view through my Australian network. It worked perfectly, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the info I shall check it out

PrincessInOz · Feb 28, 2017

darrenf67 said:
My wife's visa photo was rejected due to earrings and we had to resubmit

I hope it's all sorted out now and that you both also have shiny visas in your passport!

PrincessInOz · Feb 28, 2017

dolphingirl47 said:
Checking in.

I really hope so.

Wow, that sounds like a fantastic price.

Yay for everything falling into place.

How nice get to share this with your mother.

Sounds relatively straightforward.

I knew this either. I am glad that you have your internet access sorted provided the SIM card arrives in time.

Corinna

Thanks Corinna. Glad you checked in!

Still anxiously waiting for those SIM cards.

Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland March 17 – Day 7 Complete in Hong Kong Proper; 12/04

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

DIS Veteran

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

aka Kathy

DIS Veteran

Loosing Boo Boo

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

In Search of the Tag Fairy

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!

Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!