Postby DisneyKaren » Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:57 pm
Day 4 - Sat 18 Jan
Saturday was a down-day for us. We'd decided against getting an annual pass and were going to head to the Giant Buddha in the afternoon. Again my day started with Tai Chi with Goofy before we checked out the gardens of the Disneyland Hotel. Walking along the waterfront, we headed to Disney's Hollywood Hotel and looked around, having a snack in the garden. While I'm very aware of Disney's great theming, they have done an outstanding job keeping the three hotels all very distinct with gardens to match the hotel's theme. Hollywood Hotel does make you feel like you're in LA.
My back was in a fair bit of pain so I decided against going to the Giant Buddha. Eventually we headed to the Park Promenade for lunch at a food truck near the park. Back to our hotel for a rest and then we sat in the lounge with a view of the ocean while I downloaded photos and Lynelle wrote her diary. Later we started to pack however as my back was in pain I didn't get far.
Day 5 - Sun 19 Jan
It was a bad night for me as I was very, very sick however I won't regal you with the details. Sunday morning was a hard one for me. I rang down to reception to see if they had a heat pack as my back was really bad, they did have a hot water bottle and sent this up to me. Lynelle kindly went down to the Chartroom Cafe and bought me a Sprite and a banana as they didn't have Gatorade or similar. There was no way I could make Tai Chi and eventually I told Lynelle to go to the park without me and I'd message her if I could get going. Drinking and nibbling a small Mickey head biscuit with the hot water bottle calming my back, eventually I was up and about, very slowly getting to the bus and across to the park. I messaged Lynelle then just found a chair on Main St until she got back to me as I couldn't walk for long. She was at Merlin's Treasures, a place we visited quite frequently for some reason, perhaps it was often on our path. After she had lunch, we did It's a Small World which was about all I could manage; the sign said a 10min wait however it was really just walking through the queue and then there was one boatload of people before us so very quick really. We tried for the 1:00 Wonderous Map however it was full. I didn't want to waste Lynelle's last day because I was feeling unwell so I sat near Merlin's while she wandered the park and took photos. While sitting, I heard an odd rendition of Let it Go and on looking up, I saw the Fantasyland talking rubbish bin was going by - great fun to follow for a bit before returning to my seat.
I lined up to meet Cookie-Ann (Lynelle met her earlier before I arrived) and the line for Gelatoni who was next was already closed before we even got in the door. At the Animation Academy on Main Street we learnt to draw Goofy - I don't understand how drawing lots of circles is so hard, however it sure is fun. We arrived early for the 3:00pm Mickey & the Wonderous Map so I sat down in the line and closed my eyes having a few power naps. During the show a couple of times I thought they'd changed it before remembering I dozed off a few times in the last viewing. Sad to say, I may have had a couple of power naps this time also, thankfully Lynelle recorded it so one day I may actually see it all the way through!
Time to do PhilharMagic one last time. The People next to me appeared to be first-timers as they reacted all the way through and it was great to hear their laughs and surprise throughout as well as the kids reaching out to grab Ariel's jewels. Lynelle waited outside (the 3D is too much on her) and while waiting she also saw the talking rubbish bin.
A couple of times through the day - once at the train station stairs and another at Toy Story, we saw a group of people who were displaying all their Duffy & friends fluffies - they had masses on display.
I took quite a few photos as we did one more (slow) lap of the park as this was our last walk through. Lynelle recorded the We Love Mickey show, then we watched Paint the Night from the Train Station (very chilly tonight). This was the busiest day we've had in this park however it's still really good with quick moving lines.
There were times I didn't think I'd make the whole day however I was glad I did. At Chartroom Café I managed to order two pieces of toast and purchased a different brand of water (the one in the room had a plastic taste, however to be fair my taste buds are a little skewed at the moment). Ironically it was an electrolyte drink rather than water so it was perfect. While ordering my food Lynelle got me the hot water bottle from reception while asking about check-out and getting a taxi tomorrow.
Day 6 - Mon 20 Jan
Today was a travel day, however as I hadn't been well I still had to finish packing. I gave up and just took the medium suitcase out of the large and we filled it with stuff between us so had 3 checked in bags, however they're not packed well so hopefully we'll be ok going home if we pack right. I did manage to get to Tai Chi with Goofy before returning to the hotel to collect our baggage and head to the airport. Now we're at Toy Story Hotel. I'm trying to force down a blueberry muffin (Mickey shaped of course). The cast members checking us in gave me some heat pads for my back - I showed them the photo of the hot water bottle I'd used in HK. All cast we've come across have been really lovely.
One thing that Shanghai is doing differently to other Asian parks - they no longer give away the tin and toiletries. While we were looking forward to the tin, I do support the environmental changes Disney are making. Toy Story Hotel is a lovely hotel and the room is great. Looking forward to a week here with a few days sightseeing in the middle.
We have our tickets for tomorrow, 2 fast-passes booked and now it's time for a good sleep before we visit Shanghai DL for the first time - then we will have done every Disney park!
1996: Disneyland & Epcot | 2001: EuroDisney | 2014: DLR & DLRP | 2015: WDW | 2017: DLR, Aulani, TDR | 2018: DLR | 2020: SDR & HKDL | 2023: WDW