I recently visited Shanghai Disneyland for its Grand opening on a HOT summer day (AVOID IF POSSIBLE).  The iPhone weather app showed “99 degrees Fahrenheit & feels like 117”.  I felt like I was in an enormous oven slowly roasting to death.  If you plan on visiting, here are some things to be aware of:

1. A Sea of Dangerous Umbrellas: Asians don’t like to tan, and about 70% of the guests at Shanghai Disneyland use umbrellas for sun protection.  There was even an old man outside the gates selling them for 20 RMB (about $3).  The downside of being a taller Asian girl is that the spikes of these umbrellas come up to about eye level, so I almost got stabbed in the eye a few times.  A few hours into the day, I started to believe that I have mastered the skills of dodging umbrellas, until, a demon child ran across with his umbrella up high in the sky and got my ear. Still, not too bad I would say.
2. No Personal Space: There is no such thing as personal space here at Shanghai Disneyland.  The lady behind me in line for Soaring Over the Horizon had her body against my back for the entire 120-minute duration of the wait time.  Her sweat drops merged with my sweat drops and formed into bigger droplets until it all melted into my shirt, pretty intimate I would say.  I had more physical contact with this lady than with my boyfriend on our first date.
3. Trash Everywhere: There is trash EVERYWHERE.
4. People Sitting on the Ground Everywhere & Anywhere with AC: This includes but not limit to the restrooms and restaurants.

   

   

5. What Lines? Waiting in line isn’t really for everyone here.  There will be children, adults, couples, families squeezing past you as they try to make their way to the front of the line.  Tip: Never stop in line to take pictures, because people will pass you.  Vice versa,  if a group in front of you stops to take pictures, PASS THEM.  If you don’t do it, someone else will, and before you know it at least ten people have cut you, so immerse yourself in the culture when necessary.
6. Unattended Children: These unattended children usually appear in longer lines.  They would crawl through every hole they find and climb on every object they see.  Many times these kids will end up next to your leg and the back of their hot, sweaty heads would be rubbing against your thighs. Cute? Gross? You decide.
7. Inhaling Sweat Particles and more: I visited on a very hot summer day (again, bad idea), and apparently deodorant is not as popular here.  The AC is not strong enough in parts of the indoor lines and with 1000 people in the room, we were like pulled pork in a giant crock pot marinated with sweat particles and other things I do not wish to know.
8. Germs Germs Germs: No one covers their mouths when they cough and sneeze.  Enough said.
9. Hustlers Wanting Your Money & Fastpasses: Starting from before you enter the gates, there will be multiple hustlers coming up to you and attempting to sell day tickets, and you don’t even have to pay until after you get in!  Inside the park, there are people selling fast passes everywhere, single ride, multiple rides, take your pick. Lastly, in front of Tron is where most of them hang out.  There are old men and women camping with bags of snacks at the entrance to the ride and asking people if they have extra fastpasses.
10. No Food Variety: One of my favorite thing about Disneyland is the food.  I used to spend my entire paycheck on food when I worked there.  Sadly, I cannot say the same about this Disneyland.  The food selection is pretty limited, most places only have Chinese food.  Worst of all, there is only ONE churro stand and ONE turkey leg stand, AND they close at 7PM.  WHAT IS DISNEYLAND WITHOUT EASILY ACCESSIBLE CHURROS.

Now to the good stuff,

The Rides are AMAZING: Disney always produces top quality everything, rides, movies, you name it.  They take pride in that.  The details you’ll find at Disneyland cannot be found in any other amusement parks, and Shanghai Disneyland is no exception.  With the rides being newer and technology being more advanced, Disney was able to create effects that optimize the guests’ experiences.

Here are the top three rides we went on:

Pirates of the Caribbean: This ride takes you on a journey underwater and the boat moves 360-degrees rather than going straight for the whole duration like the one in Anaheim. The CGI was great and made me feel like a real pirate. 10/10 would recommend.

Tron: It’s like the Space Mountain of Shanghai Disneyland, but better. You ride on Tron motorcycles and it is probably the most high-tech Disneyland ride I’ve ever seen. 10/10 would recommend. SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND EXCLUSIVE.

Soaring Over the Horizon:  Apparently, the old Soaring Over California in Disney California has been changed to Soaring Over the World and is identical to this ride.  However, for those who haven’t been on the updated version of the one in California yet, this is very similar to the old Soaring Over California. It even has the same music.  The only differences are that it takes you to the Wonders of the World and you smell grass and perfume rather than oranges.  (I’m still a little confused with the perfume smell because I promise you that is NOT what the Taj Mahal smelt like). 7/10 would recommend.

*Wait time for the more popular rides are 120-150minutes, and fastpasses run out by noon.

Everything is Cheaper:

Ticket Price: 370RMB (about $55) on regular days, 499RMB (about $75) during peak season

Bottled Water: 10RMB (about $1.50) half the price of the Dasani water at Anaheim Disneyland.

Turkey Leg: 55RMB (about $8.25) if I remember correctly, by the time I quit Disneyland in 2014, turkey leg was about $13 after tax.

(TAX IS INCLUDED IN ALL PRICES)

Last Tip: There is a Shanghai Disneyland app, it tells you the wait time for all rides in map view and list view, download it if you’re going!