Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass

[gelatoni fan]

You can now buy an Annual Pass for SHDL: https://www.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/ticket/

The terms are a bit weird compared to those at other parks. There's three tiers which are priced as follows for adults:

Sunday: 1299 RMB
Weekday+Sunday: 1599 RMB
Anyday: 3299 RMB

The blockout calendar is only out till May but there are also some Sunday and weekdays that are blocked out for the lower tier passes. The passes give 20% off most stuff and the Anyday pass grants 12 days of early entry. Your pass expires 380 days from the date of purchase.

One day tickets are 399 to 665 RMB depending on day so you'd need to visit 3-4 times to break even on the lower tier passes and an addition 3-5 times on black out days to break even for the anyday pass. If you don't live in Shanghai but visit often or for an extended period of time, I think the Weekday + Sunday pass could make sense.

 

[indoshakespeare]

February 3-9 is Chinese New Year week, a big holiday there

 

[supedewoop]

I live and work in China, but not particularly close to Shanghai. I've been waiting for this for years, for regular weekend trips. I had been thinking of getting a HK pass again (I had one a couple years back), but Shanghai is more convenient and slightly cheaper, particularly factoring transport.

I'm definitely going to get one, but I'm struggling to choose which. I'm mostly able to go on Saturdays and Sundays, and should I be able to go otherwise, it would be on holidays or likely black out days. I know it's crazy busy but I'm used to living in China crowds and I wouldn't need to do EVERYTHING EVERY TIME I go. Definitely could hit 3+ Saturdays in a year.

Living in China, the blackout days and even no Saturdays make sense, I just WISH there was a Saturday option with blackout days. I'd be fine to avoid holidays, but if I have the pass, I could make a point to go on a holiday or two, to maximize my value. I also wish there was slightly more information about discounts and if the "Anyday" pass will have more benefits in that way. The higher Hong Kong tiers do.

I could probably get away with a Sunday pass and just hang out at a hotel, visit a friend further into Shanghai, or even just do a good meal in Disneytown on the Saturdays. I just don't know that would be cheaper or any more convenient. I suspect the local Sunday passers might be significant enough number that an "off season" Saturday visit could be end up being more mellow than a Sunday visit.

Anyone else investing in one?

 

[lilmc]

I am considering one for a trip we are thinking about June 2020. We’ll only be in the parks for three days, but I’m thinking if we just get one AP, the rest of the family gets regular day passes (family of 4), that the discounts on food, PhotoPass, merchandise, and hotel rooms will make it worthwhile financially?

 

[supedewoop]

I already asked about the hotel. To get the AP discount, you should pay for the pass, then call and make a hotel reservation. They'll be able to access your AP discount before you have the physical one. Then, you can pick up your AP in person. If you're internationally travelling, I'm not sure it would make sense to "wait" for your hotel reservation until you could get in that suggested 15 day window for physical pickup. Was there a mail option? I didn't look, in part because I know mail sucks in China, and I can just book a weekend trip 15 or so days out.

Looking at the restaurant discounts, I think getting Sunday+Weekday one for one person would make financial sense, if you're eating MOST of the meals over 3 days there AND one or two will be "nice" sit-down meals. Food is cheap in China, but there's not much near the park and the park is mostly like to have food that will make international travelers happy. The only thing I would worry about would be that they set up a system to prevent one person paying for too many other people's meals, but that doesn't seem to be an issue yet and would unlikely ever be one for a family. (But, some people in China take scamming to a whole new level, so I could foresee issues with travelling adults in a group, but maybe not clear foreigners?)

 

[bkmanhole]

I am considering one for a trip we are thinking about June 2020. We’ll only be in the parks for three days, but I’m thinking if we just get one AP, the rest of the family gets regular day passes (family of 4), that the discounts on food, PhotoPass, merchandise, and hotel rooms will make it worthwhile financially?

We used the 1/2 year pass last November, assuming it is similar... Only thing I would add - is food and merch discounts are provided via coupon in WeChat and are limited to 5 per week (so 5 meal transactions) per pass.

 

[gelatoni fan]

We used the 1/2 year pass last November, assuming it is similar... Only thing I would add - is food and merch discounts are provided via coupon in WeChat and are limited to 5 per week (so 5 meal transactions) per pass.

I was thinking of buying a Shanghai pass but the travel warning for US citizens made me a little hesitant. The 5 meals per week is actually pretty limiting because I would likely do a few 5 day Shanghai trips if I end up getting an annual pass. Could you explain a bit about how you bought the pass and what a "week" actually means. Did you have any trouble using a foreign phone number, credit card, etc? And were the discounts 7 days from when you first claimed the discount coupons or was it a set time they reset each week?

 

[bkmanhole]

I was thinking of buying a Shanghai pass but the travel warning for US citizens made me a little hesitant. The 5 meals per week is actually pretty limiting because I would likely do a few 5 day Shanghai trips if I end up getting an annual pass. Could you explain a bit about how you bought the pass and what a "week" actually means. Did you have any trouble using a foreign phone number, credit card, etc? And were the discounts 7 days from when you first claimed the discount coupons or was it a set time they reset each week?

We purchased the 1/2 year pass at the main ticket gates. We didn't pre-purchase online as you will need to pick them up at the same location - I did not want to risk having trouble picking up. We also did not take advantage of the pass discount for our stay the Toy Story Hotel as there was a 25 percent off promo already when we booked.

We went up to the ticket booths with our passports and pointed at the pass on the sign. We paid with our credit card and the ticket booth person helped us add the pass to WeChat to access the discount coupons. You will need to "activate" via a text message code. But had no problems with our Canadian number.

Be sure to have your passport with you at all times, as sometimes a cast member will ask to see it. Less so at the restaurants, but more when you are making merch purchases and every time you enter the park.

Some downsides to a pass to consider - depending on when your arrival time is, you will need to brave the main gate security check even if you are staying on property. We had to do this in the morning as our flight arrived after park close. You also forgo the extra fastpass you get through buying your tickets through the hotel concierge. But for us the trade off was worth it. We went during a slow time and didn't need that many fast passes. We saved so much on food and merch it made up for itself. There are also "other" coupons. We used one for the Royal Banquet Hall that was a better discount than a straight % off and a 100 RMB off a 300 RMB purchase in stores.

The "week" resets on, Sunday (or Monday... having trouble remembering exactly). So you have a maximum of 5 WeChat coupons to use. They don't carry over each week. They are per transactions at Counter or Table Service restaurants, you cannot use them at food kiosks. We activated both of our passes on two of our phones, so we had 10 meal coupons between the two of us for our stay. This is also the case for the discounts in store.

Let me know if there are any other questions or if anything I typed is confusing...

 

[gelatoni fan]

Thanks for the info. I won't be staying on property because I would stay at the nearby Courtyard with Marriott points. The only reason I'm even considering a Shanghai annual pass is because the Courtyard is only 7,500 points per night and I have free breakfast with my platinum status.