Flew Singapore airlines on Easter Sunday 5th April
Singapore airlines is my favourite airline, beautiful trip there and back.
In Australia we always use AXB cars, and in China we used Mr Orange transfers, which are great but on the way home the car smelt like smoke - yuck.
Toy Story Hotel
We stayed here last time, and loved it. On a midnight arrival the staff took time to go through everything with us in English, they were so thorough and friendly. The wifi is janky though.
Day 1
We got in late and slept in, got to the parks at 9.30ish.
The day was sold out as it was a public holiday, but it felt like most people
were in very long lines to meet characters. And later I realised, crammed into
Zootopia land.
TIP Set up Ali pay and WeChat, both! We had times when one or the other wasn't working, having both was great. They don't accept international credit cards or Apple pay with an international credit card. They also seem to be wanting cash less and less, much like here. The worst part was 3% fee on using those apps. Be aware when buying new sims that often the bank will want to send a text to confirm the purchase. Make sure you have a password on the Disney app too, otherwise they send texts to your phone to log in too, and it seems to sign you out all the time. Bit of a nightmare.
TIP Bring your passport everywhere when buying new sims be
aware that often the bank will want to send a text to confirm the purchase.
Make sure you have a password on the Disney app too, otherwise they send texts
to your phone to log in too, and it seems to sign you out all the time.
Our celebrity experience 🤣
saw/met a lady in the elevator, she came back to find us and get a selfie with
us 🤪
Disney Shops: people shouting, bring loops if you have sensory
sensitivity to noise.
Everywhere you turn there are influencers/girlies posing
with merch having little photo shoots, this ended up being everywhere all over
the park.
Way more western people than 2019, and it feels like
staff speak more English. Last time we were one of two white families, this
time there were loads.
There is definitely less pushing past you (in lines etc),
it still happens, just less. Keep your eyes on any spaces between you and your
party though, chances are that someone will cut through, and then bring their
whole party.
Way more Disney bounding and cute outfits. The park
culture has definitely changed with this, I love it so much. Park culture is
one of the things I love about going to the parks.
Less roaming characters. At 400 minute waits to see some characters, roaming used to be a nice way to get a quick snap, rather than wait
for a full photo shoot.
Food
Mobile order is king, but make sure your bank isn’t
trying to text your Australian sim when you have a Chinese sim in your phone, sadly
the mobile ordering isn’t in app, it’s on a QR code at participating locations. Don't ask staff for the code, they don't know that word, look on their menu or up on the walls or on a column in the middle. Mobile ordering is my favourite thing, just wish we could have done it in park, rather than in the restaurant.
We ate at barbossas, an early lunch because it’s a
national holiday so the park is packed, and they had several vegetarian dishes,
mostly bland. We got tofu and noodles and bean fritters for the win. It’s so
good to be catered for! Even if being catered for isn’t necessarily delicious.
Decided to try our luck on pirates and it was closed, as
we went up to read the sign they opened it, was a 50 min wait before lunch,
walk on after, yay. I love this attraction so much and we didn’t go on it enough last time. It
is so immersive, I love it so much.
Zootopia Land entrance was 30 min wait in heat with
little shade. Took 15. Hectic inside. So immersive would be great to see it
quiet and really absorb all of the details, it’s very special. Make sure you
watch both Zootopia films before you come.
Needed to sit, cruised into frozen singalong 15 minutes
before show time, a/c, sit down, loads of seats, much needed rest. Even though
songs in the park are in English, the singalong was not 🤣
we did get to cool down and rest, that was something…
Did buzz 25 mins wait, this is my favourite astoblasters,
it rarely has a wait of over 30 mins. Then grotto voyage, 30 min, I forgot how
average it was, not worth 30 mins. It’s 3pm at this point and everywhere is
long waits. We knew what we were getting into, didn’t expect 24c to feel like
36c.
Dinner at troubadour tavern, another veggie dish which
was great except that the tofu was a bit too meaty in texture, the sauce and
rice were great.
Shopped around Disney town, back to the hotel for an
early night.
Day 2
TIP Western toilets at the back of the block, there are
often queues to squat, rarely for the western toilets, if you see one free go
for it.
We got to the queue for the bus at 6.55, there were
hundreds of people waiting so we decided to walk, 7.20 got to early access,
hundreds of people in that queue too, stuffed around by staff a bit, the perils
of not speaking Chinese.
Legged it to Zootopia, no queue to enter, hot pursuit was
at 60 mins, no single rider so we got in the queue at 7.52. 8.24 we were in!
The queue is pretty awesome and kept moving so it wasn’t bad at all! Great
attraction, same style as ratatouille/rise of the resistance, this is a must do
along with pirates. Big donut for breakfast, dry, the food in this land is so
average, it’s a shame. Pirates 15 min wait, was a bit broken, kept pausing.
Hung out at the pirates area checking out the ships and water areas, was very
chill, park is way more empty and manageable today.
Mark played the log game at chip and dales shop and won
first prize, we had no idea 🤣 a huge Clarice (chip
and dale) plushie. A girl watched it unfold and wanted a photo of Mark and his plushie.
Lunch at Mickey’s spot, meals come with a soft drink,
around $20 for a meal, we got the pasta and left the meatball on the side, was
a bit cold, but edible. We have been eating an hour before normal to avoid the
crowds, it’s much more pleasant.
Marvel Universe, it’s always quiet in here and you can
usually get a character meet in 10 mins. We met ant man and wasp. Cruising
around we realised that having Clarice with us was stopping us from doing
things, so we took her back to the hotel.
Back in the park, Buzz so often this is a ten minute
wait, then Pixar adventurous journey exhibition, this is quite cool, a unique
immersive experience in each room. But it’s never busy, maybe too tucked away. Worth checking out. Met Edna Mode on
the way out, short wait times on those Pixar greets in that spot all day.
By mid afternoon like all parks, the wait times all
spiral, it feels like half the park is resting in any available seating, the
other half is in queues. Joined pirates queue at 45 mins. Ate at barbossas, not
enjoying the food here, yes we are catered for but all of the veggie food is
mushrooms and or bland…
Watched the parade, which didn’t actually move, shopped a
bit and back to hotel.
One in 4 people/group is coughing sneezing spluttering
and not covering their mouth. This place
is a cesspit of germs, I am sure I will be sick by the time I get home… (this was a correct prediction)
Day 3
Shanghai day
DiDi from toy story hotel to Shanghai city, comfort
luxury car, $22! 40 min drive. Ride shares are so cheap here!
The city is beautiful. So many trees, planters on the
side of the freeway, I didn’t expect this greenery. Flowers everywhere, clean,
no gross smells, no shady people, nothing like the concrete jungles of other
cities we often visit.
Checked out the oriental pearl, Disney store, super brand
mall (great for gifts for tiny humans back home), ate at shake shack, it was so
refreshing to eat something and know/enjoy it. Took a DiDi to the Nike store on
jianjing ?? Rd. Cruised around street
after street ended up in xianting ?? Very cute and cool vibes, nothing we
wanted to buy, but a nice day out. Such a lovely city, safe, clean, pretty,
interesting architecture. Totally unexpected. It is absolutely easy to navigate
without any Chinese beyond a few words. But it does feel like there is mental
gymnastics at times, or not being able to check out at family mart because we
can’t read Chinese (we did find one that was staffed). But staff everywhere
were super accommodating.
Day 4
Today is going to be warm and stormy, I’m hopeful that
the park will be less busy!
Bus at 6.40 the queue is long but not spiraling out of
the bus shelter, we got on the second bus. Sardines style, no oxygen and a lot
of coughing, yuck. Open windows!!!
TIP Go through X-ray on the way in (as opposed to the manual search), always
quickest, the entrance was less busy than the one we walked to on Tuesday.
Then passports out to checkin.
7.40 queue for Zootopia, said 30 mins, was short of 20.
Zipped to Snow White which was climbing by the minute, at 40 mins, single rider
not open yet, on in 30! Walk on pirates. 15 min rapids (so wet!), walk on buzz, pizza at
Pinocchio’s, played some games at Toy Story land and mark won another first
prize alien on the shooting game, so we took him home.
TIP don't bother bringing an expensive poncho from home to go on rapids, they are around 50c in the queue
30 min zootopia, 25 min Winnie the Pooh, 30 jet packs, 15
pirates, shopping. Meet with spider man 20 mins. Dinner at cheesecake factory,
I needed veggies, sadly the mexacali salad was mostly lettuce, zero flavour. Why is the food so bad for vegetarians here??? It was almost $30 for a lettuce salad.
Today has been overcast and warm, barely any rain, the
wait times have been decent all day.
Day 5
6.40 bus queue second bus
Eat before you go the park breakfast is gross, downstairs
at hotel or paper an stone at Disney town has the best choc hazelnut croissant, that way you can focus on attractions before they spiral.
Crazy amount of running and pushing this morning Zootopia
15 minute queue until we got there then it changed to 50 mins but only took 15!
So many people pushing to catch up to the rest of their
party. It’s wild. People rush and just pull their party past maybe 30 other people, it is audacious AF.
Zootopia again 40 min, was 25, this queue moves! Woodys
round up 5 mins, Peter Pan 5 mins.
Queue for character meet with Donald and Daisy 9.11 40
min wait, queues really spiral from opening. Duffy and friends meets sit at up
to 240 mins.
Pirates 15 mins, buzz, pizza at pinocchios, different
chef, very flavourful. 60 min zootopia. Shopping around. Pirates. Zootopia last
time. gross dinner at treehouse, Disney town and back to the hotel. Gave our big
plushie prizes to staff which was pure joy and started packing.
Day 6 travel day
