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Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

calisota
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Thu May 11, 2017 12:32 pm

Yep, leave on Monday afternoon and get there really early Tuesday morning. Hope they have coffee shops in Shanghai. :-)

The weather reports had been looking a little dodgy but they have been improving and now say "partly cloudy and warm" for the days I'm there.

The Park is open from 8am until 8pm but Disneytown doesn't open until 10am. Is this common for other parks? I would have thought it would be the other way around.


Greg
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby DisneyKaren » Sat May 13, 2017 11:57 am

In Anaheim, the cafes opened earlier but the actual shops didn't open until around 10am.  I was surprised and thought they'd be open - that was the day we arrived from Hawaii so were at the hotel before 7am, so I was super keen for a Disney store to open!
1996: Disneyland & Epcot | 2001: EuroDisney | 2014: DLR & DLRP | 2015: WDW | 2017: DLR, Aulani, TDR | 2018: DLR | 2020: SDR & HKDL | 2023: WDW

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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Sat May 13, 2017 5:06 pm

In Anaheim, the cafes opened earlier but the actual shops didn't open until around 10am.  I was surprised and thought they'd be open - that was the day we arrived from Hawaii so were at the hotel before 7am, so I was super keen for a Disney store to open!
I thought it was odd that they wouldn't take advantage of people arriving before the Park opened. I hope that there is a coffee place open outside Shanghai at least.

Greg
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby KeithS » Mon May 15, 2017 6:55 am

There is a Starbucks outside the entrance but I can't remember if it was open early or not. I imagine it would be.
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Mon May 15, 2017 2:53 pm

There is a Starbucks outside the entrance but I can't remember if it was open early or not. I imagine it would be.
AAAHHHH Not Starbucks!!! No, just kidding, I actually don't mind their coffee. :-)  There's bound to be something at the train station as well. Speaking of which, I'm not really looking forward to the experience of fighting my way on and off the trains there. From what I've read it can be quite a battle. Luckily I'm fairly large and intimidating.

Heading to the airport in a couple of hours. Trip report when I get back if time and the internet in China allow. I'm relying on my phone to take photos and it's been a bit temperamental lately so fingers crossed.

Greg 
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby KeithS » Mon May 15, 2017 8:04 pm

Good luck Greg! Have a great time and I look forward to your report when you return.
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Tue May 16, 2017 11:34 am

Woohoo!! Looks like China loves DUD! At least more than they love Google. :-)

I made it to Shanghai, after a very long time. I've been awake for about 24 hours so far and it's only 9.30am. I'm safely in my hotel room, using the wifi and finding out just how tied into the whole Google ecosystem I am. I have even laid my hands on a paper map because Google maps doesn't work. Haven't had to do that for many years now.

The weather is overcast and I got a few drops of rain while I was walking here from the train station. It's also surprisingly cold. Not exactly winter, should have brought something woolly  to wear (no Kiwi jokes please) weather but it is a lot colder than I'm used to. The weather report for the next couple of days is for Sunshine so I should be okay when I hit the Park.

I took the Maglev from the airport which was pretty cool. It hit 300 kph according to the speedo on the wall, a bit short of the 430 top speed but still pretty impressive especially when it leans into the turns. It is a bit expensive though, 50Y for a one way trip that only took 12 minutes, but it is cool and a lot quicker than the normal train. I then had two more changes of train to get to my final stop but made a slight error at one point and had to backtrack to get going in the right direction. I also learned that being a foot taller and about 40kg heavier than anyone else is handy when you have to battle your way off a train. It was packed heading into the city!

With that in mind I'm going to sit in my room and let rush hour die a little before I head in myself. I can actually see the really tall buildings across the river from the Bund from my window and they aren't that far away. I may even have a little power nap before I head off.

So, that's where I am at the moment just checking in to say I made it safely.

Greg
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Tue May 16, 2017 5:00 pm

Made it back from my first exploratory trip into the wilds of Shanghai. I had to call it quits a little earlier than I might have because I've now been awake about 30 hours and I'm starting to get to the unsteady stage on the way to the hallucination stage. 

I did have a quick walk along the Bund and through the pedestrian mall as well as a lot of smaller streets on my way there from the Peoples Square train station. The plan is to spend all of Friday back there so I wasn't too worried about not seeing too much today. Who knows, the way I feel now I may not even remember any of it so it will all be a nice surprise again.

I did spend a bit of time looking for an ATM. For a place that claims to be a financial Hub it's really hard to find one. When I did find one it was only in Chinese so I had to cancel because I had no idea what buttons I was pressing. Eventually I found one in Citibank that had an English option and took one of my cards. 

Damn the street food is excellent here. Some of the best I've had, and I've had a lot.

Keith, was the breakfast at the Disneyland hotel worth it? I can't see myself staying awake too late tonight so I'll probably be awake really early. That means I can get to Disneyland early and maybe be in a position to check it out.

Greg
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Wed May 17, 2017 4:14 pm

Standing in line for the Frozen show at the moment. So much standing!!!

Greg
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Wed May 17, 2017 8:47 pm

I've just gotten back from my first day in Disneyland. I'll do a more in depth piece when I get home so just some first impressions at the moment.

The food is really expensive and I'm not just saying that because I've gotten used to living somewhere relatively cheap. I really did find the food in the Park expensive.

The whole Park is much tidier and well maintained than I expected. I guess it is Disney but it still came as a pleasant surprise.

I saw no behaviour I could call "bad", at least not as bad as had been reported when it first opened. There was a little bit of pushing and shoving in a couple of the longer queues but not as bad as the train or probably what you would see in most places.

There are lots of little extra attentions to detail if you keep an eye out. 

You would need two days if you want to see and do everything.

The Duck is missing big time in this Park.

The cast members don't look unhappy per se but they do lack the sparkle of other Parks. You'd probably describe them as low key.

Just this second realised that there is no train!!

The line for a fast pass can be almost as long as the line for a ride.

I have really, really sore feet and I'm going back to do it again tomorrow. :-) 

If you have a specific question you'd like answered and you post it before I leave in the morning (or I'll try and check the forum while I'm there, yes I got a sim card) then I'll try and answer it.

Greg
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby Lauren05 » Wed May 17, 2017 10:38 pm

Sounds like a good trip so far, Greg!
I'm working towards a visit in mid October. Nothing booked yet, just going through possible itineraries in my head for now and hoping I can get time off work.
Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip
Trip History:
DLR: 1997, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2018 (April & October), 2019
WDW: 2007, 2014
DLRP: 2003, 2016
HKDL: 2011
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2012
DCL: 2012 (Wonder), 2014 (Panama Canal - Wonder), 2018 (Magic), 2019 (Wonder)

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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby KeithS » Thu May 18, 2017 8:19 am

Thanks for the updates Greg.  I have to admit that I never noticed the food prices - I think I was probably using the wrong conversion rate when I was over there and was left blissfully unaware of the costs LOL.

I also never saw any 'bad' behaviour - except for the lady selling counterfeit Disney goods in a line once.  People lined up quite patiently which is not what I was expecting.

Yes, there is a lot of walking there and the park could do with some mechanised transport to get you around the park.

Have you been on Pirates?  I know you won't get on Tron :)

Keep the updates coming - I am enjoying reading your experiences.
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Thu May 18, 2017 12:06 pm

Quick update...just stood in line for the rapid tide for half an hour when they suddenly kicked everyone out because it had broken down. :-(

I'm now in the line for Souring. 90 minutes.

Greg
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Thu May 18, 2017 4:28 pm

Just got off Crystal Grotto and am in line for Peter Pans Flight. Just about done everything I wanted to do, I've even bought my fridge magnet.

Greg
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Re: Greg's 2017 Shanghai trip

Postby calisota » Thu May 18, 2017 4:34 pm

Might be a drink and a sit down if I get through this one hour wait for Pan.

I'm staring at a statue right now and for the life of me...Wendy, Michael and who was the other brother?

Greg
Chiang Mai Pickleball Club Play Pickleball in paradise


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