The 'I survived SDL's Opening Day' TR!

[PrincessInOz]

Love the pics! I really liked this area. So well done.

 

[zanzibar138]

It was hard to capture / follow, but the Cheshire Cat temporarily left some cool footprints on the walls of the cave and his "smile" would appear in some of the screens. I *think* you were meant to "follow" the cat through the entire cave, but it was a little crowded and people would "stop" where they first saw something and wait for it to reappear instead of trying to follow them.

Did they let you choose which of the three doors to enter by? When we visited, they forced everyone to use the middle door for some reason (even though they all end up in the same area just a couple of metres later).

Yeah, I saw the Cheshire Cat tracks on my next trip through

I think I went through the middle door. Can't really remember. I do remember that the door would only open at certain times to let people through for crowd control. I was pretty busy in there at that time!

Love the pics! I really liked this area. So well done.

Thanks! I loved this area too, being a big fan of Alice in Wonderland (both Disney versions!).

 

[Karin1984]

Maybe it's in here somewhere, but can you answer my questions about the Royal Banquet Hall? Do you remember how much you paid and how to make reservations? Can't find it on the website (or I am not looking in the right places)

 

[zanzibar138]

Maybe it's in here somewhere, but can you answer my questions about the Royal Banquet Hall? Do you remember how much you paid and how to make reservations? Can't find it on the website (or I am not looking in the right places)

You have to call to make reservations. I used Skype and found the process relatively painless. When you call, they will put you through to someone who can speak reasonable English. You need to give your credit card details when you make the reservation, and they will send you a confirmation email. You're supposed to take this with you, but I forgot mine and it wasn't an issue when I checked in at the restaurant.

I forget what the cost was in CNY, but I think it worked out to about AUD $80. May be slightly better now - I think the exchange rate has improved since then.

 

[Agent 86]

You can also make a reservation when in the park. Both times we spoke to the person at the front of the restaurant (once to make a reservation and then again to cancel that reservation), they ran off and got someone who spoke English to assist us. When we did the conversion last week, the price was still working out to be around $80 (AUD) per person, which is part of the reason why we ultimately cancelled our reservation.

 

[zanzibar138]

You can also make a reservation when in the park. Both times we spoke to the person at the front of the restaurant (once to make a reservation and then again to cancel that reservation), they ran off and got someone who spoke English to assist us. When we did the conversion last week, the price was still working out to be around $80 (AUD) per person, which is part of the reason why we ultimately cancelled our reservation.

That is an excellent point. I should have said 'you need to call to make reservations in advance of your trip'. If you're happy to wait until you arrive and you're staying at a Disney hotel, I imagine they would also be able to help you with this.

 

[zanzibar138]

There was one more restaurant I wanted to try for dinner tonight, so I made my way back to Mickey Avenue, stopping by the castle on the way through of course.



I was aiming for Mickey and Friends Market Café, as I felt like I couldn't leave Shanghai without eating some more dumplings.





I had no idea what to get, so I ended up getting a kids meal, which had a selection of different items.



There was one item in there that I didn't really like, but the others were delicious!

As with many of the restaurants at SDL, there were several differently themed dining rooms. I wanted to sit in the Lady and the Tramp themed room, but ended up only being able to find a table in the Daisy's Diner themed room.



When I emerged from the restaurant, I was greeted with the most beautiful sunset! The photos I took on my way through to my pre-decided dusk destination do not do it justice.

 

[Karin1984]

That is an excellent point. I should have said 'you need to call to make reservations in advance of your trip'. If you're happy to wait until you arrive and you're staying at a Disney hotel, I imagine they would also be able to help you with this.

Thanks! (Also thanks @Agent 86 ) I can't find much information about the need to make reservations for any restaurant in Disney Shanghai, I might just wait. It is not on our must-do list, but it would ben nice for our first evening there. On our arrival day we don't have a full day, arriving somewhere in the afternoon, we want to stroll through the park, enjoying the ambiance.

 

[Agent 86]

It is not on our must-do list, but it would ben nice for our first evening there. On our arrival day we don't have a full day, arriving somewhere in the afternoon, we want to stroll through the park, enjoying the ambiance.

If you're not arriving at the park until the afternoon, then I'd make a booking in advance. By the afternoon, it is entirely possible that all of the evening slots would be fully booked. You can always cancel the reservation in the park if you ultimately decide to eat elsewhere.

 

[zanzibar138]

Thanks! (Also thanks @Agent 86 ) I can't find much information about the need to make reservations for any restaurant in Disney Shanghai, I might just wait. It is not on our must-do list, but it would ben nice for our first evening there. On our arrival day we don't have a full day, arriving somewhere in the afternoon, we want to stroll through the park, enjoying the ambiance.

I think it would be a lovely first evening activity

Mostly I would say you'd probably get same day reservations, but if you're not arriving until late, I'd agree with Agent 86 that it might be worth booking in advance.

There are only 2 restaurants on the whole property that you even can book in advance - the other being Lumiere's character breakfast at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. So that's probably why there's not a whole lot of information on advance reservations.

 

[Karin1984]

If you're not arriving at the park until the afternoon, then I'd make a booking in advance. By the afternoon, it is entirely possible that all of the evening slots would be fully booked. You can always cancel the reservation in the park if you ultimately decide to eat elsewhere.

You are right, I hadn't thought this through You say you cancelled a reservation, was there a cancellation fee?

 

[Agent 86]

No cancellation fee. But, out of politeness and fairness to others, we cancelled ASAP after making our decision not to eat there.

 

[zanzibar138]

And here's what I was aiming for...



Yes, I had decided that I needed to see the Alice maze at dusk, for the sunset glow on those awesome steampunk statues, and the lighting up of all the lanterns. Turned out I wasn't the only one with that idea, and there was actually about 10-15 minute wait to get into the maze. In the meantime, I had plenty of time to check out the detail in the entrance area.



I also really loved the view of the castle through the trees. I had plenty of time to play around with my zoom and capture some of the detail.



Those steampunk animals really did look amazing in the golden glow of the sunset.





The Bandersnatch's chamber took on new life at this time of night too.



I visited the Cheshire Cat again, and managed to catch him at home this time around!







I just loved what was happening to all the colours when I came out the other side and entered the Red Queen's garden.







I tried to capture everything that I could see - the castle, lanterns and of course the magnificent sunset.







I love these photos, but they still don't do any justice to just how stunning it was that night.









Eventually I had to concede that darkness was closing in, and it was time to move on.

 

[zanzibar138]

And sadly, that brings me to my final post for this TR. Unfortunately with a midnight flight home, it was time for me to say TTFN to Shanghai Disneyland, head back to the hotel, and start making my way to the airport.

***Because I want to finish this report on a dramatic note, I'll do a quick run-down of the logistics of getting to the airport now. I had decided to just take a taxi, as I trusted that the CMs at the Disney hotels would be able to get me into a safe one, and that they shouldn't have any trouble finding the airport. Even so, I left plenty of time for the journey, not knowing what the traffic would be like etc. It was very straightforward, my taxi driver was very nice (even though he couldn't speak a word of English), and I was at the airport far too early in the end, and had hours of time to fill in! Still, better that than arriving late.***

I took my time wandering out, capturing a few final images of the sun setting over the park as I did so.











I waved goodbye to Mickey on the way out, with tears in my eyes, vowing to see him again real soon.

 

[Agent 86]

Awesome Trip Report. Thanks for taking the time to write it!

 

[PrincessInOz]

What amazing skies for the last night. Great sunset colour.

Aww. Always sad to see the end of another TR. It was fantastic to 'be there' at the opening with you. I know it'll be a trip that you'll remember and talk about for years to come. You're in the select few that can truly say you were there on Opening Day. Well done, congrats and kudos to you for making the effort to be there!!

Thanks for sharing.



ps. Here's to the NEXT one, which I know you'll start real soon!

 

[Karin1984]

Yes! Thank you for all your tips and advice it really helps preparing my own trip.

 

[Karin1984]

I just read back your description of the fireworks show, looked at clips online and only realized now that Disneyland Paris new fireworks show Illuminations is a copy of Ignite the Dream... fingers crossed they will have some new scenes when we are in Shanghai.

 

[zanzibar138]

Awesome Trip Report. Thanks for taking the time to write it!

You're most welcome! Glad you enjoyed it

What amazing skies for the last night. Great sunset colour.

Aww. Always sad to see the end of another TR. It was fantastic to 'be there' at the opening with you. I know it'll be a trip that you'll remember and talk about for years to come. You're in the select few that can truly say you were there on Opening Day. Well done, congrats and kudos to you for making the effort to be there!!

Thanks for sharing.



ps. Here's to the NEXT one, which I know you'll start real soon!

Yes, it certainly was a very special trip, and one to tick off the Disney bucket list!

Looking forward to starting the next one

Yes! Thank you for all your tips and advice it really helps preparing my own trip.

I just read back your description of the fireworks show, looked at clips online and only realized now that Disneyland Paris new fireworks show Illuminations is a copy of Ignite the Dream... fingers crossed they will have some new scenes when we are in Shanghai.

I'm so glad that my TR was helpful for you

I certainly did notice the similarities to the Paris show, but it was also quite different from what I remember. It has been a number of years since I saw the Paris show though, so perhaps it has been updated to a more similar one. One difference you can count on is that the show will be in Chinese instead of French

 

[ChrisNY2]

Really enjoyed your pictures! I was there at the end of March and had a wonderful time! It was great to relive some of the memories through your photos