Wednesday, 19 March 2025

Beijing-Shanghai Day 5: Shanghai Disneyland

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Since my unforgettable experience at Magic Kingdom, I've been chasing my next Disney Park adventure! My pre-pandemic plan to visit Shanghai Disneyland was finally resurrected after being shelved for more than 5 years! I was super excited for my first theme park after a year-long hiatus, the last one being Lotte World Adventure in 2023!

It was decided that only the Eldest and I would go since the rest of the family weren't fans of Disney parks and the Littlest was not tall enough for some rides. I bought the Bundle of Two Early Bird 1-Day Tickets (for 2 adults) via Klook at S$135.95 (cheaper than direct).

On the day of our Disney fun, I woke up at 6.30am as planned and discovered that the Eldest was still feeling nauseous since the night before. However, she was determined to go so we got dressed and left our room at 7am. Thankful on hindsight that the Early Park Entry Passes that I had initially wanted to buy were sold out because they would have been wasted if I'd bought them! 😮‍💨😔

Morning view from our room window

I booked a DiDi to the park and the journey took about 45 minutes (CN¥121). The driver dropped us off somewhere near the subway station exit at 7.50am and we had to walk a long way to the gate. By the time we arrived at the gate, we had to walk up and down the queue area (and clocking at least 4000 steps) before arriving at the security entrance. By the time we completed security clearance and scanned our passports for entry, it was 8.30am.

Security clearance and ticket entry
Familiar sight of the Railway Station
(Same as Hong Kong Disneyland and Magic Kingdom)

We headed straight to Tron: Lightcycle Power Run as I had missed out on it in Magic Kingdom and the waiting time was only 20 minutes. The Eldest was still feeling nauseous so I rode the attraction alone while she waited for me at the boarding area.

Tron, the highlight of Tomorrowland!
The ride vehicle
Going down the first major drop!

The launch was super fast and the drops were thrilling but not unbearable. If you like Hyperspace Mountain then you can definitely take this ride! I loved it! So glad I managed to ride it! 🤩

There were other rides in Tomorrowland such as Buzz Lightyear (rode many times in Hong Kong Disneyland) and Stitch Encounter (done in Tokyo Disneyland) but the Eldest was excited to see Zootopia. She and I both loved the movie!

Hence, even though the Eldest was still unwell, we headed to the only Zootopia in the world!

Welcome to Zootopia!
The attention to detail is just amazing! It felt like I had stepped into the movie!
Super long queue to meet and greet with Judy and Nick!

We immediately joined the queue for Zootopia: Hot Pursuit and the wait time was about 70 minutes. It was torturous for the Eldest, who tried her best to endure it for the sake of the ride. Halfway in the queue, I suddenly remembered that I had nausea medicine and gave it to her, praying that she would feel better and not throw up.

Queue area for the Zootopia ride
Zootopia Police Department
Realistic set-up of Judy and Nick's offices
Chief Bongo giving us a pre-ride briefing
Snippets of the ride
The very cool ride vehicle
Potential souvenir photo we could buy but didn't
(We were the only ones who didn't use our phones the whole ride! 😅)

Thank God that the Eldest managed to complete the ride without throwing up! However, she felt so drowsy (side effect of the medicine) after the ride that she slept on one of the benches in Zootopia. Since I had to wait for her, I decided to ride Zootopia: Hot Pursuit again but as a single rider. The queue was about 20 minutes but you'd miss the walk-through at the main queue with all the unique details. I'd suggest doing the single-rider only if you've done the main queue to get the full experience.

Single rider!

By the time I was done, the Eldest was feeling much better and we looked for somewhere to have our lunch. We decided on Tangled Tree Tavern as it was the nearest restaurant and wasn't crowded.

Tangled Tree Tavern
I ordered Wok-fried Australian Beef and Seasoning Rice for CN¥100

I didn't order a lot as I was afraid that the Eldest wouldn't be able to eat. Thankfully she had a great appetite and finished the meal! Words cannot describe my relief as I watched my beloved child eat! Thank God for His healing! 🙏🏻🔥💖

We headed to Voyage to the Crystal Grotto next as the queue was just 10 minutes. It was a classic Disney boat ride to see the Disney Princesses and more!

Voyage to the Crystal Grotto
My favourite princes, Belle!
Beauty and the Beast
Dancing water fountains

It's a relatively boring ride but great for chilling out if the queue is short.

The Eldest wanted to ride Peter Pan's Flight as she remembered how much she loved it in Disneyland Paris. It will be my 3rd time riding it (my 2nd was in Magic Kingdom)! 

Peter Pan's Flight

After the ride, we headed to the front of the Enchanted Storybook Castle in preparation for the parade.

Beautiful day for a lovely picture with the biggest castle of all the Disney parks
Lovely decorations in the park

This was my 5th castle! Just one more castle (the OG one in LA) to go! 🥳

We caught The Disney Colour-Fest: A Street Party parade at 2pm. We managed to see our favourite characters despite the large crowd, though the parade was definitely not as fantastic as Tokyo Disneyland.

Parade floats
Managed to see Belle!
Confetti at the end of the parade

After the parade, we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure as the wait time was 30 minutes.

Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Treasure Cove
Admiring the queue decorations and the attention to detail!
On the ride vehicle!

The ride and effects were fantastic! Compared to other Pirates of the Carribbean rides that I've experienced in Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Magic Kingdom, this was the best! We loved it so much that we queued to ride it again! It was so worth it! 😍

The Disney Imagineers designed the Barbosa's Bounty restaurant to be directly connected to the ride such that the restaurant was part of the ride scenery as the boat floated by. We decided to have an early dinner there and bought the Barbosa's Feast for Two at CN¥308.

Barbosa's Bounty
Managed to get a table where we could see the ride vehicle pass by
Barbosa Feast

After eating, we headed to "Once Upon a Time" Adventure as there was no waiting time. The attraction utilised technology to bring the story of Snow White to life! It was interactive and better than expected!

"Once Upon a Time" Adventure walk-through attraction
Exploring the inside of the castle

As we were leaving the castle, we spotted Belle at the Castle Encounters and joined the 70-minute queue in the hopes of meeting her. The staff informed us that the princess could change at any time without warning but we decided to take the gamble.

Queuing at Castle Encounters

When we turned the corner at the end of the line, we saw that it was Princess Jasmine! Although we were sad that we had no luck with Belle, we consoled ourselves that we've never met Jasmine either! 😅

Princess Jasmine

However, when it was finally our turn, Jasmine had to leave! 🙁😣 And guess who came in after her? Belle!! 😍😍

With this, I've met a total of 10 Disney Princesses, including: Ariel, Cinderella and Rapunzel, Aurora and Snow White, Moana, Mulan, Anna and Elsa! 😄 Hope that I'll get to meet Jasmine or Pocahontas next time! 😉

By the time we were done, the sky was turning dark and the whole park lighted up!  

With the mysterious looking castle in the evening

As the sun disappeared, the temperature dropped to about 5°C! I knew I wasn't going to survive with my thin sweater (the Eldest borrowed my jacket as she forgot hers) so we headed to the Disney store at Mickey Avenue and bought a sweater. We also bought other souvenirs such as pins as I'm a collector! 🤩😍

Left: My new Olaf sweater! Super love it!
Right: Walking to Adventure Isle after shopping

We decide on Soaring Over the Horizon for our last ride and queued for about 60 minutes. I enjoyed the ride at Epcot and wanted the Eldest to experience it as well. 

In the briefing area, watching the pre-ride instructions before boarding the ride

The ride was good, though not worth queueing for 60 minutes in my opinion 😅

Instead of taking another ride, we headed early to Gardens of Imagination, in front of the castle, to reserve a prime spot to view the fireworks. It was the right decision because the space was filled up very quickly!

While waiting for the fireworks, I bought popcorn and the Zootopia Pawpsicle that the Eldest had craved all day but didn't dare eat because of her stomach.

Caramel flavoured popcorn!
The Eldest was so thrilled with her Pawpsicle!

Waiting is much easier when you have snacks! 😄 The Illuminate: A Nighttime Celebration fireworks started promptly at 9.15pm.

Highlights of the fireworks display
Castle was beautifully lighted up
Beautiful!

I took a short video of the fireworks but was disrupted by people leaving when the show was not even finished! If you are not staying for the full show, then why secure such a central spot to watch it? The inconsiderate behaviour of some people! 😑

The fireworks display was good but of course Magic Kingdom's Happily Ever After and Epcot Forever were better in my opinion! 

The park closes after the show so we had to say goodbye! So sad! 😭 

We walked with the crowd to the Disney Resort Station and bought train tickets at just CN¥5 per person! Super cheap!

Bought single tickets from the ticketing machines
(just scan your Alipay to pay)

The metro was clean and modern. We arrived at Lujiazui Station and walked back to our hotel. Even though it was late and we were females, we felt safe as there were many security officers around.

Passed the Oriental Pearl TV Tower along the way

It was a fun and fulfilling day at my 8th Disney Park! Just the Disney parks at LA left!

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P.S: Want more Disney? Here's the full list of my experiences at Disney parks around the world:



Continue to >> Beijing-Shanghai Day 6: Expo, Yu Yuan & Nanjing Pedestrian Street
<< Back to Beijing-Shanghai Day 4: High Speed Train to Pudong Shangri-La

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