Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening Trip Planning Thread

[WAMUMOF4]

Th

Hmm I didn't see any after my last post. However, I did manage to get hold of someone on live chat with this result...



She went on to confirm that yes, I just buy the ticket at the hotel when I check in. She wasn't able to tell me yet what time I will be able to do that, but it sounds promising.

What an emotional rollercoaster this morning has been!

That's great news that's why I was trying to secure a room first I don't why I actually expected Disney to launch something without issues I guess i was a bit unrealistic

 

[zanzibar138]

I was just trying to secure *something* lol! Had both hotels and the ticket screen up all morning trying to get something to work. I'm honestly pretty thrilled with what I've ended up with given the circumstances!

 

[Ember]

I'm really happy to hear about the ticket guarantee. If I can wait a month before buying tickets, that really helps the pocket book! We are there for four days, which may be too long. But I figure it will be hot and we can take it slow and enjoy it.

 

[Dentam]

Wow, the news is showing that opening day tickets sold out in 5 minutes. Scalpers will be making some big bucks here no doubt.

I can't book anything now given that I have no idea what my schedule will be for the conference I'm attending in early July.

ETA: I just checked and it looks like there are plenty of rooms left at both hotels for early July. I'm going to try to get my dates nailed down this week so I can book something!

 

[SoccerMickey]

Okay...its been 24 hours since everything has gone live. I was able to secure the hotels but still no tickets. Thank goodness they're saying the tickets are guaranteed. Ive been able to extend Shanghai Disneyland Hotel from 20-21 to 18-21 and Toy Story from 16-18. I was hoping to be at SDL for opening day but I'm happy for what we got. Was anyone able to secure Lion King tickets? This website is nuts!!

 

[xmansmom]

OMG what a night!

Sorry I didn't reply earlier but I'm in Tanzania on Safari right now..

I'm jealous! Out Tanzania trip was by far the best vaca we're had. It's been a few years but electricity and Internet were issues when we were there so it must have been extra difficult for you.

 

[netimka]

great to read you all got your reservations especially for the opening day... now cannot wait to hear all about your experiences

 

[Dentam]

I can't wait until the pics of the hotels and the new park start rolling in! No pics of the rooms on the website yet, likely because they are still being built!

 

[xmansmom]

Hmm I didn't see any after my last post. However, I did manage to get hold of someone on live chat with this result...

She went on to confirm that yes, I just buy the ticket at the hotel when I check in. She wasn't able to tell me yet what time I will be able to do that, but it sounds promising.

Thanks for this info. I'm glad everything worked out for you. It stinks that you got up at 3:00 am with no luck. I think several of us proved our loyalty and love for Disney yesterday!

 

[zanzibar138]

Congrats to everyone who got the hotels/tickets they wanted Pretty sure the main rush was for Opening Day and the couple of weeks until the end of June. I think those of you going in July or later should still find availability.

I think several of us proved our loyalty and love for Disney yesterday!

Definitely!

 

[steamboat will]

With the trip only 10 weeks away..... By now I'm usually calling Walt Disney World to get dinig reservations... (Crazy in itself)

But as yet no sign dining reservations or menus available for Shanghai . Doesn't stop me for dreaming and planning tho....

Want to try to get dinner at the Royal Banquet Hall and Aurora, high tea at Bacchus lounge, and lunch at Tangled Tree Tavern.

Anyone else thinking about food yet??? Or is it just me

 

[zanzibar138]

I'm not thinking about dining - it's really not a priority for me. Part of me would like to do a high tea, but I think I'd be too worried about feeling like I was wasting time. I plan to just grab QS as I go. I do wonder when things like menus and dining reservations will become available though.

Having said that, I am already planning my outfits. I plan to do a different Disneybound each day. I thought for Opening Day I'd go with something classic like Minnie Mouse, and the other days maybe something fun like Pooh Bear, and just for an excuse to wear my tiara, maybe Cinderella. Still very much in the early planning stages though.

 

[zanzibar138]

Another question for fellow Opening Day planners... where are you planning to stay the night of the 15th? How early are you planning to get to the gates on Opening Day? And do you plan to check in to your Disney hotel before heading to the gates? The logistical part of my brain is going nuts trying to plan all this without knowing what time the park and hotels will actually open!

 

[disney144]

We're looking at going next April (2017) at the end of our Asia trip. Any ideas how crowded it will be? I know it will be crazy for a few months, but we're trying to figure out if it would be worth it this time next year.

 

[Dentam]

We're looking at going next April (2017) at the end of our Asia trip. Any ideas how crowded it will be? I know it will be crazy for a few months, but we're trying to figure out if it would be worth it this time next year.

There's no way anyone can know that at this point. Some people are anticipating that it will be a heavily attended park while others believe the troubles with the economy in China will negatively affect attendance numbers.

 

[zanzibar138]

We're looking at going next April (2017) at the end of our Asia trip. Any ideas how crowded it will be? I know it will be crazy for a few months, but we're trying to figure out if it would be worth it this time next year.

I agree with Dentnam. This is a entirely new park with a completely demographic to what many people are used to dealing with. It's anyone's guess what crowds might be like after the initial opening pandemonium wears off!

 

[Wuzefelix]

Another question for fellow Opening Day planners... where are you planning to stay the night of the 15th? How early are you planning to get to the gates on Opening Day? And do you plan to check in to your Disney hotel before heading to the gates? The logistical part of my brain is going nuts trying to plan all this without knowing what time the park and hotels will actually open!

We didn't manage to book a Disney Hotel because of issues with the website so we will stay off-site the entire stay at "Maixinge Boutique Hotel Chuansha Branch" which is in Pudong near the airport. I believe it's about 5km from Disney by taxi, so not bad. It's also right at a subway station. It's inexpensive so I don't expect too much but it should do the trick. Maybe you should look into that for the night of the 15th. Please note that I have never stayed there before so I can't really recommend it yet, I am just basing my decision on the location and the look of their website. Any other hotel near Pudong airport could also be an option for you.


The park opens at 12pm on the grand opening day. Here are the official opening times from the website:

• June 16, 2016: 12:00 to 22:00
• June 2016 through August 2016: Monday through Thursday from 09:00 to 21:00, and Friday through Sunday from 08:00 to 22:00
• September 1 to 13, 2016: Monday through Friday from 10:00 to 19:00, and Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 to 21:00

I don't know when the hotels or Disney Town will open yet but I think they will both open in the morning, way before the park opens. My assumption is based upon two things:

Firstly, every other day the park and Disney Town will open early in the morning and the hotels will be open 24/7. So it would be logical that the first shift for the cast members would usually start in the morning. Also typically in hotels world-wide the early shift starts around 6am. It would be easiest to have the cast members work the same routine shifts even for the grand opening day.

Secondly, with a park opening at 12 noon, many people like yourself would want to check into the hotel with their luggage and stuff so it would make sense to have the hotels already open. And many people would arrive at the Resort before the park opening so it would also make sense to have Disney Town open so the people can already start buying food, beverages and souvenirs.

Maybe Disney will release the official opening times of Disney Town and the hotels later but this is my guess.

We will probably make our way to the Resort around 8am and check out the area. If it's already super busy we will just get in line at the gate, but if it doesn't look too crowded yet we will walk around Disney Town and the hotels for a bit. In the worst case scenario everything would be closed but we could still walk around a little. But like I said I expect the whole Resort (except the park) to be open in the morning anyway.

 

[xmansmom]

Want to try to get dinner at the Royal Banquet Hall Anyone else thinking about food yet??? Or is it just me

Me! I want to go to the Royal Banquet Hall too. The website says nothing about ressies. Do you know if they'll have them?

 

[zanzibar138]

We didn't manage to book a Disney Hotel because of issues with the website so we will stay off-site the entire stay at "Maixinge Boutique Hotel Chuansha Branch" which is in Pudong near the airport. I believe it's about 5km from Disney by taxi, so not bad. It's also right at a subway station. It's inexpensive so I don't expect too much but it should do the trick. Maybe you should look into that for the night of the 15th. Please note that I have never stayed there before so I can't really recommend it yet, I am just basing my decision on the location and the look of their website. Any other hotel near Pudong airport could also be an option for you.


The park opens at 12pm on the grand opening day. Here are the official opening times from the website:

Where do you find all this information??? I've looked all through the website and still can't see it lol!

Can't believe the park won't be opening until 12pm! That's awesome, gives us plenty of time. I think I will be finding out what time the hotel opens, and get there slightly beforehand so that I can be one of the first in line to check in. Would be really great if it's 6am. I guess they realise they'll have a lot of guests to process before park opening and hopefully will take that into account. My plan is to head straight to the gates after I check in and hopefully be one of the first in line. Then hopefully be able to hold off on having to find a bathroom until after the park opens lol! The joys of travelling solo...

Will check out your hotel recommendation, thanks

 

[xmansmom]

we will stay off-site the entire stay at "Maixinge Boutique Hotel Chuansha Branch" which is in Pudong near the airport.

I'm looking for a hotel near the airport for our last night. I went to check out this place and got scared when the rooms listed showed that "family room with bathroom". Luckily, I looked a little further and saw that the other rooms do actually have bathrooms. lol I see $145 which seems like a good price to me but in Shanghai terms is that considered cheap? I only found a few reviews but they weren't bad. The worst one complained about lack of "proper teacups" and teaspoons, salt but no pepper at bfast, etc. Not deal breakers for me. It sounds like they're new and really trying based on a response from the hotel.

Does anyone know how big the beds are in Shanghai? When we were in Japan we booked 2 rooms - one with a king bed and one with two doubles for 3 children. The King was a queen bed and the two doubles were a little wider than a single. We had to push them together to fit the three of them in places that didn't offer roll aways. We'll only be traveling with two kids and would like to do only one room if possible.