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

[PrincessInOz]

OMG! I would have been stuck in bed for the next three days if I walked that much!

For the entire trip, our lowest step count on one of the days was 21,000.
I was surprised that my mother managed to keep at it for that many days in a row. But then.....she did leave the park to head back to the room at about 6 pm every day when we were in Shanghai. She watched the fireworks from the room.

That works, as long as they're inside.

I deliberately picked heading in the Tomorrowland direction because that's where a lot of pavilions are and the M&G were inside.

Wow!

The benefit of rainy days. Low crowds and low wait times.

Evidently, what did they think they were waiting for? His jacket is so cute!

Apparently.....to just look at the pictures. That's the one thing that was noticeably different about Shanghai. Disney characters are not that well-known.

I wasn't a fan of comic books so this is becoming an education process for me. Fran and I are going to eventually have to have a binge weekend where we catch up on the Marvel Universe. As of now we're about 10% in.

Hope you get that binge happening! Have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy? If you haven't, that's probably a good place to start because it'll be more meaningful with the ToT conversion.

Just wait. Buh-bye Hollywodland. Hello Marvel Universe.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the Universal park after that!

Him I know....at least in the 1940s, still have to see him in modern day...

Yes. The Captain America movies are good.

I can see that working out.

My mother likes the Buzz ride; so it really worked well for us.

Continuing to play catch up! Be back for more gotta start my day!

You're doing great with your catching up!

You're lucky to be able to do that. They have been in use so long over here, that some things are hardly available without GMOs. I had a very good lesson in them from a fellow DISer who is a farmer in the Midwest.

It's getting harder here too. DH is totally avoiding canola oil. He will eat corn if it is organic. He's off soy as well.

Well I'm glad he didn't destroy your Mom!

Me too.

That really was a blurry picture, I'm surprised they gave it to you.

Yeah. But then....it was a very wet morning. I'm not surprised that the tog was having problems with focus. I know I was for the 2 rainy days.

Launch Bay is still a kind of cool place to check out.

I think the DLR version has somewhere that serves drinks?
The Launch Bay at Shanghai was just an exhibit hall.

We do that in Florida sometimes too when it's too bloody hot!

Yes. It's a completely different reason for staying indoors in Florida.

she is so cute!

Yes she is. She put me to shame with the way she posed with them.

Looks uncomfortable, but I assume it's a fairly short ride.

It wasn't as uncomfortable as it looked. If you've been on a horse or ridden a motorbike, it's about the same sort of positioning.

The ride is probably about as long as RnRC or Space. Not long enough!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Very interesting details about the Disney PhotoPass at Shanghai. I rarely get pictures with the CM's at DL but it will be something worth trying if I go to Shanghai one day. Very nice character pictures along with everyone in those different photos.

Even though it was raining, you were able to do quite a lot of character meet and greet along with the indoor rides.

It's worth getting at WDW if you're there for an extended period as well. Between the 4 parks, there are enough togs to make it worth while. Especially if you go seek out the magic shots.


My DM and I figured that we were there. No point staying in the room because it was wet; so we just did as much as we could and stayed out of the wet as much as possible.

 

[PrincessInOz]

My fitbit has not been cooperating lately, but I will take your 29,000 steps and raise you a 5k run first thing and a 20 minute walk between the hotel and the park

I figure you do twice the amount of steps I do in a day. No bet. The pot's all yours!!

Your siggie says it all Upcoming Trip "2023 Extreme RunDisney". You crazy person you. You probably maxed a bit over 40,000 steps that first day- whew! but don't you wish you could train in a DL all the time!! though runs and walks through the Aussie bush are pretty good too.

 

[franandaj]

For the entire trip, our lowest step count on one of the days was 21,000.

When I wore a fitbit, I was happy on the days that I hit my 10,000 step goal. A few times I hit 14 or 15K and my body really felt it. There was one day in my life when I did 21,000 and that was the main day that we moved. It was excruciating and I'm pretty sure I soaked in my tub and did almost nothing for the next couple days!

Hope you get that binge happening! Have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy?

I've seen the first one. That was good, in fact I just watched it again on the cruise in February. Not sure if I'll see the second before we go ride the ride. It'll be 11 days from now.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the Universal park after that!

Well Universal still has the rights East of the Mississippi, but DCA will undergo a massive transformation. I don't rink the Hollywood Universal has much Marvel in it. Especially now that they added Harry Potter.

It's getting harder here too. DH is totally avoiding canola oil.

I just learned about that one. I think next time I need to buy general cooking oil, I'll go with grapeseed.

I think the DLR version has somewhere that serves drinks?

Both DHS & DL have Cantina areas but neither actually serve any beverages.

 

[zanzibar138]

Your siggie says it all Upcoming Trip "2023 Extreme RunDisney". You crazy person you. You probably maxed a bit over 40,000 steps that first day- whew! but don't you wish you could train in a DL all the time!! though runs and walks through the Aussie bush are pretty good too.

Yep, crazy person I am

I would definitely take running around Disneyland any day of the week - it's nice and flat there too

I figure you do twice the amount of steps I do in a day. No bet. The pot's all yours!!

My regular days are actually pretty sedentary. The joys of a desk job.

 

[darrenf67]

An Illuminating Establishment – Lumiere’s Kitchen



I'm generally an early riser so sleep-in only goes so far for me.

Good planning had 6 of us book in for a character breakfast at Lumiere’s Kitchen this morning. Wendy and her DD opted out of this DisMeet. Providence had our booking coincide with a wet morning.





Lumiere’s is one of only 3 table service establishments at Shanghai Disneyland. Dining here for the character breakfast will set you back 248 Yuan; or about $50 in my money.





$50 is comparatively pricey for a character breakfast; especially when you stack it up against the same offerings in the US. But if it seems expensive by Western standards, it must seem exorbitant by Chinese standards. I guess that’s why there are only 3 TS dining places at SDL and much more options for QS and snacks. In any event, we figured it was going to be a good way to spend some Dis-time together.



With a name like Lumiere’s, it isn’t hard to guess what the theme of this establishment is.





There were Beauty and the Beast touches everywhere!





I know there had been a lot of rain but I have to admit that I was surprised to find that there were drips INSIDE this area of the resort.





However, I did wonder if it was a function of a leaky plumbing system. The others were to find later in the after that the plumbing had been turned off during the day. Maybe they had to switch off the water to repair a leak or something.



We had booked our breakfast session for 7.30 – 7.45 am. At this hour, and on a Monday morning, this place was empty!





Our table was by the window. I’m guessing you won’t have any trouble picking out my DM.





The buffet area.





Whilst we were waiting for the others, I did take the opportunity to capture a few more details of the dining area. This was the inner dining section.





It was an illuminating experience. I loved the BatB touches here too.





I think this was my favourite section of the room. Loved that mural.





I guess 7.45 – 8 am was a slightly more popular session. By the time, I headed back to our table, there were a few more people in Lumiere’s…..





…..including my breakfast companions.






(Continued in Next Post)

Loved breakfast here

 

[darrenf67]

Agree with you TRON is amazing!

 

[PrincessInOz]

When I wore a fitbit, I was happy on the days that I hit my 10,000 step goal. A few times I hit 14 or 15K and my body really felt it. There was one day in my life when I did 21,000 and that was the main day that we moved. It was excruciating and I'm pretty sure I soaked in my tub and did almost nothing for the next couple days!

I think I definitely came home from China and HK feeling the steps!

I've seen the first one. That was good, in fact I just watched it again on the cruise in February. Not sure if I'll see the second before we go ride the ride. It'll be 11 days from now.

Not long to go. I look forward to hearing all about the new theme!

I don't rink the Hollywood Universal has much Marvel in it. Especially now that they added Harry Potter.

Next time I head to SoCal, I think a trip to the dark side might be in order.

I just learned about that one. I think next time I need to buy general cooking oil, I'll go with grapeseed.

I'm using olive oil. I know DH has a bunch of different oils as well.

Both DHS & DL have Cantina areas but neither actually serve any beverages.

Hmmm. No Cantina at the Shanghai version, drinks or otherwise.

Yep, crazy person I am

I would definitely take running around Disneyland any day of the week - it's nice and flat there too

My regular days are actually pretty sedentary. The joys of a desk job.

Tell me about it!

Loved breakfast here

Lumiere's did serve a decent breakfast.

Agree with you TRON is amazing!

 

[PrincessInOz]

On our way to Adventure Isle - Neverland got in the Way




I’d spent all morning in Tomorrowland because it was the part of the park that had the most number of indoor activities. Try as hard as I did to implement as many rainy day strategies as possible, we couldn’t stay here forever and we couldn’t put off walking in the rain any longer. We had to finally leave Tomorrowland and brave the rain.





We hadn’t intended to detour but the stand-by sign said 5 minutes. That was all the hook I needed.





I didn’t think it was possible to get that low a number for this attraction but was happy to be proven otherwise. And yes, we just kept walking right on up to this point before we had to stop and wait.





The wait time was less than 5 minutes. We were definitely flying through to Neverland today.





We even had to wait for the doors to open!






“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.”





It’s such a darling nursery. I love the rocking horse.





Wave goodbye, Nana. We’re heading up to the rooftops of London.





I know it’s blurry….but I’m hoping @franandaj or @mvf-m11c can confirm if these projections can also be found in the DLR or WDW version.





It didn’t take long for us to reach Neverland. It was just “second star to the right and straight on til morning”.






“I suppose it's like the ticking crocodile, isn't it? Time is chasing after all of us.”





“I’m a codfish.”






“All children, except one, grow up.”






“To live will be an awfully big adventure.”







When we got back from Neverland, we kept on heading to Adventure Isle.



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

Rainy Day Strategy #7 – Go See all Live Stage Shows (Tarzan: Call of the Jungle)





Rainy Day Strategy #7. Check out the daily show guide and plan your tour plans around all and any stage shows. Afterall, the aim of the game on a rainy day is to stay indoors as much as possible.




My first trip to WDW was back in 2005. I was totally blown away by how vast the World was and how different the 4 theme parks were. So many things stayed with me from that trip. One of which was a stage show called Tarzan Rocks.


Tarzan Rocks played at Animal Kingdom’s Theatre in the Wild, where Finding Nemo The Musical currently resides. It’s been consigned to the Disney extinction list and I’ve always regretted never being able to see it a second time. Afterall, the show featured the fantastic music of Phil Collins, all sung live, plus rollerbladers and acrobats zooming all around the stage performing mesmerising stunts, flips, jumps and anything else that just seemed impossible to do on wheels! Without being 'punny' about it, Tarzan Rocks will always Be in my Heart.


When I found out that there was a Tarzan stage show at Shanghai Disneyland, this production rocketed up in my list of must-do’s. On a rainy day, it was an even more perfect attraction to hit as it took us out of the wet. Even better, we managed to catch up with Aussie Wendy and her DD in the queue.






This version does feature a retelling of the Edgar Rice Burroughs story of the orphan Tarzan being brought up by apes. At least, I think it does. Aside from the music, everything else is in Mandarin.






I had hoped that we might see a similarly thrilling version and I have to admit that, secretly, I had hoped to see the roller-derby being pulled out again.





Sadly, it was not to be.






We got a version featuring the sort of acrobatics that you would expect to see in a Chinese Cultural dinner show.






There sure was no monkeying around in this show.






It was all a hop,






.....skip,







....and jump.







There were fight scenes that were all acrobatically choreographed and well carried out.






There were even some uplifting moments.











I have to admit that a lot of the Chinese acrobatics just seemed tame to me.


















Particularly when I remember the rollerblading stunts of the show that Rocks. But comparisons are a little unfair; especially given that Tarzan Rocks has been consigned to Disney archives.


Still…..there were sections of the show that were pure Disney gold.







Jane really lifted up the quality of the show for me.






Don’t get me wrong. Tarzan wasn’t exactly a slouch either.







He was really good as well.






Just put it down to a personal preference. I really like aerial and trapeze artists and they are always highlights for me.





So, any show with aerial acrobatics in it is always going to score big in my book.





And in this production, any time Tarzan and Jane were interacting with each other, I could totally Feel the Love Tonight.






I totally loved the aerial dance.











The aerialist components of this Tarzan show were very good. And if you’ve never seen the extinct version, this would be classed as pure Disney entertainment.





For anyone who has seen Tarzan Rocks and loves that show. This show will not draw the oohs and aahs that the roller derby moments do/did. I also missed having a rock band on stage and the live performance singing of the Rock version. But as I said, comparisons are a little unfair.




Besides, on a hot afternoon or a rainy day, this show probably becomes a must-do. It’ll get you out of the elements for the queue wait time plus 30-minutes show time.


Afterall, it's a Disney show, with classic music. What's not to love?





(Continued in Next Post)

 

[Fairy Floss]

I've seen the first one. That was good, in fact I just watched it again on the cruise in February. Not sure if I'll see the second before we go ride the ride. It'll be 11 days from now.

We arrive in Disneyland in 11 days too - say hi! if you see me

 

[PrincessInOz]

I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major Pirate (Jack Sparrow Stunt Show)




Rain kept us following Rainy Day Strategy #7. Afterall, the aim of the game on a rainy day is to stay indoors as much as possible.



After the Tarzan show, we parted company with Aussie Wendy and her DD after this show with promises to catch up for dinner.



From Adventure Isle, we headed towards Pirate Cove and straight to the Pirate Show. The timing of the two shows at this time of day was such that we walked out of one theatre and straight into the other.



We were fortunate enough to meet a mother and son and her sister in the foyer. We now have tour guides in Chengdu; should we ever want to check out the pandas there.






I did try and capture the details in the foyer.









But it wasn’t long when things began to happen in that foyer. There seemed to be a bit of audience participation required for clapping, laughing and general egging on the characters. As it was in Mandarin, I really can’t tell you what it was about.




But……when did that ever stop me, right???


Gilbert and Sullivan would be proud to see their Pirates of Penzance casting by Disney!


I’m guessing this is the Pirate King.






It IS a Pirate Show…..so, let’s say this is Samuel, the Lieutenant.








It didn’t take long for Major-General Stanley to make an appearance.





And I thought Ruth was a woman…..but no matter. We’ll go with Ruth.




After a while, we followed the crowd into the Theatre.






General Stanley’s daughter Mabel was warmly greeted on stage.






Turns out I got Ruth wrongly pegged. Absolutely multi-talented indeed!





Our protagonist? Who else but Frederic, the Pirate Apprentice.







So…..Frederic has finally reached the age of 21. He was supposed to be apprenticed as a pilot.





But Ruth mis-heard and he was apprenticed as a pirate instead.





As Frederick is now 21, his apprenticeship is over and he leaves the ship in search of adventure. Didn’t take him long to get into a fight.





I don’t remember cannons featuring in the Penzance show.






But after the fog cleared….





….Frederick’s trouble seemed to have gotten a whole heap worse. You could say he was at a noose-end.






He miraculously found his way to the top…..





…and promptly fell....





…heels below head….




….for Mabel with the flicky hair.





After a bit of sparring with the Major-General....





The must have come to an understanding. Because the Major-General bent over backwards to help him. The very model of a Major-General indeed!





Pour O Pour the Pirate’s Sherry. I’m pretty sure the Major-General and Frederick are trying to round up all the pirates!






Poor Wand’ring Me!





This is the spectacular bit of the show. About 2/3 of the way into the show, there is a fight in mid-air.





That’s an amazing horizontal wind machine they have as part of this show. It allows for the fight scene to cover a lot of air…..





….up and down….





…down and up! Yes! The characters are literally floating in mid-air and fighting with each other. They also move vertically during the fight scene and I found this section super impressive.






But back to the Pirate show. There’s always a happy ending.





The hero always gets the girl. Or, the girl always gets the hero.





Hip! Hip! Hooray!





Say goodbye to the Pirate King and his lieutenant.






Ok. Perhaps Disney didn’t put on the Pirates of Penzance. But hey…..I didn’t understand a word of the dialogue in here and that means I get creative license to play around with my images.






It was a fun way to pass some time on a rainy afternoon. I expect it would have been on my to-do list on a hot afternoon as well. But if there was no rain and bigger crowds, I think this attraction could have been one I would have skipped because of the language barrier. Perhaps Disney will install universal translators in the near future.
Based on the crowd reaction, it could be a lot of fun.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Another TR to follow along



@zanzibar138 has also started her TR on this Aussie Dis-sers trip.
Link is here or you can find it on the Other Lands section on the Dis.

 

[Fairy Floss]

Ok. Perhaps Disney didn’t put on the Pirates of Penzance. But hey…..I didn’t understand a word of the dialogue in here and that means I get creative license to play around with my images.

I LOVED your take on it!
....and as usual, your photos are spectacular

 

[zanzibar138]

I really liked the Tarzan show. I guess it's because I didn't see the old one

Loved your take on the Pirates show too. I have no idea what the actual storyline was, so we'll go with that

And thanks for the shout out!

 

[tiggrbaby]

I remember that Tarzan show; it was really high energy and fun! But the version you saw looks like it had its own charm.

Very immature of me, but I giggled at the monkey bums!

That pirate show looked amazing!

 

[darrenf67]

That wind machine action sequence was a highlight of the pirate show - pretty darn clever!

 

[mvf-m11c]

The Tarzan show is something I would like to see. I remember when I was at the D23 Expo in 2015 that talked about Shanghai Disneyland and this show. I never watched seen the show on video or on pictures until now. It looked very entertaining and I will have to watch it one day. But it is different from watching it in person than on video which isn't the same.

The Pirate show was interesting as well.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Awesome pictures. We enjoyed the Tarzan show too, never having had anything to compare to and despite the language we also really liked the Pirates - could kind of get the gist and the wind tunnel fighting segment was excellent. I also quite liked the stand offs with the Admiral.

 

[PrincessInOz]

We arrive in Disneyland in 11 days too - say hi! if you see me

Safe travels! Have fun and look forward to hearing all about it.

I LOVED your take on it!
....and as usual, your photos are spectacular

Thank you.

I really liked the Tarzan show. I guess it's because I didn't see the old one

Loved your take on the Pirates show too. I have no idea what the actual storyline was, so we'll go with that

And thanks for the shout out!

I liked the Tarzan show; but I really loved the roller derby version at DAK.

I remember that Tarzan show; it was really high energy and fun! But the version you saw looks like it had its own charm.

Very immature of me, but I giggled at the monkey bums!

That pirate show looked amazing!

Yes. The Tarzan show was fun and I know I shouldn't compare.

The monkey bums were cute!

That wind machine action sequence was a highlight of the pirate show - pretty darn clever!

Yeah. It really was the highlight of the show.

The Tarzan show is something I would like to see. I remember when I was at the D23 Expo in 2015 that talked about Shanghai Disneyland and this show. I never watched seen the show on video or on pictures until now. It looked very entertaining and I will have to watch it one day. But it is different from watching it in person than on video which isn't the same.

The Pirate show was interesting as well.

Both the shows were entertaining at Shanghai. Hope you get to see them sometime! Maybe you could add it to a TDL trip?

Awesome pictures. We enjoyed the Tarzan show too, never having had anything to compare to and despite hte language we also really liked the Pirates - could kind of get the gist and the wind tunnel fighting segment was excellent. I also quite liked the stand offs with the General.

Thanks.

Tarzan was enjoyable. I just really loved Tarzan Rocks.

Both shows were fun and a really good way to keep out of the rain that day.