Trip Planning - Hong Kong/Shanghai

[DisneyKaren]

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!

[KeithS]

Hi Karen - I hope you are feeling better for your first day in Shanghai!  Thanks for the mega updates - it has been great following your story.

Enjoy Shanghai - there is a lot of walking involved but it is definitely worth your time (and make sure you ride Pirates - it isn't high impact and you should be fine).

[Lauren05]

Welcome to the 6 castle club!
I should have told you to follow a lady I follow on instagram. She lives in Hong Kong and her husband is an imagineer. She quite often meets up with people she’s met online. Maybe next time!
Enjoy Shanghai

[calisota]

Great posts, really interesting to hear how quiet it is in the Park. There are also a couple of new things for me to see but I am still really tossing up about going. If I go it will be with someone who has never been to Hong Kong and it would be a shame to go all that way and only see the Parks and not the city. I'm just not sure about visiting the city itself. I'm not worried for myself but the girl i would be travelling with is not an overly experienced traveler and i don't want to put her in situations that would be uncomfortable for her.

Your posts are making it really, really tempting though.


Greg 

[DisneyKaren]

Keith - thanks for the heads up on Pirates, we loved this.  There were a couple of times I thought it would take off up or down at the start and end, however it is actually very smooth and such an amazing ride.  We've already done it 3 times!

Lauren - So glad enough scaffolding is off the HK castle so we could feel like we'd really seen it.  I enjoy meeting people when I travel so will get the Instagram info next time I see you (or just tag me when I'm back in social media access again.

Greg - We were told by the people we met (Jefferson is from London & Susanna from Finland), that it's been very safe as a whole.  I was looking forward to getting out of the park, it was just my back pain that stopped me.  I'd love to see the Giant Buddha and the city on another visit (too smoggy for The Peak this trip).

[KeithS]

Hey Karen, I was just wondering if there were any further precautions being taken in Shanghai with the outbreak of the Corona Virus.  Seems like it is big news here, but I was wondering if it was even being mentioned over there!

[DisneyKaren]

Hey Karen, I was just wondering if there were any further precautions being taken in Shanghai with the outbreak of the Corona Virus.  Seems like it is big news here, but I was wondering if it was even being mentioned over there!

We are doing a private tour today and they'd emailed yesterday to say they'd give us face masks.  Also this morning a note came up on the Shanghai website (logging into the guest Wi-Fi takes me to their page) updating their cancellation policy for the immediate period allowing people to change their plans within certain timeframes.  With my back so sore I'm feeling unwell a lot anyway, I'll try not to look unwell today though so our tour guide doesn't quarantine me!

[DisneyKaren]

Day 7 - Tues 21 Jan

Here we are about to visit our 6th and final Disney Park.  I'm already missing the leisurely 10:30 opening of Hong Kong as we are up and ready, at the shuttle before 7.  After security and having our tickets and early access scanned, we are herded into the waiting area.  At 7:30 we were let loose into the park with cast members waving their Mickey hands happily as we walked past so of course we waved back.  Many of the Chinese were off at a run in two different direction.  We let them go as this was scheduled to be the best weather of our stay so we wanted to get acquainted with the park and take photos while it wasn't raining.

Chinese New Year Lanterns are everywhere giving the park a festive look, we stopped at the Storytellers Statue and checked out the CNY statues of Mickey and the gang around Gardens of Imagination (at night these lit up beautifully).  There were 'ice' sculptures all around with Frozen (1 & 2), Zootopia, Bambi and Frozone that I can remember off hand.  A Wishing Wall had been placed along the Garden of Friends walkway.

Crystal Grotto was open so we took a little cruise, then found our way through Alice's maze.  Golden Fairytale Fanfare was great and I love they've included Brave and Mulan (the music!) - neither seen much in US shows.

On our stroll I had seen an Alien pizza which I'd decided on for lunch, however on returning they were closed so later we had a snack at Remy's instead. I was hoping for some sort of Remy merch but none.  Although my pizza wasn't available, a crowd was gathering on the parade route for Mickey's Storybook Express so we waited and watched this go by.  Some things here have been in English, some in Mandarin - I don't mind as the music is great and I can sing in my head in English!

Throughout our afternoon/evening we also saw Mickey Avenue Shanghai Swing, competed in Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Lynelle completed Avengers Training alongside an American guy - lives so close to DLR he goes all the time - who also happens to be Captain Marvel's boyfriend (she's there for 12 mths and is Cinderella & Belle in USA) so he was excited to be up on stage and waved at her a couple of times when she came out which was quite funny.  Sitting resting my back, I listened to the parade and saw the tops of the floats from a distance and then we went into Disneytown for a quick look. We've noticed there are far less shops and merchandise variety throughout the park.  There are some more quality pieces which we're happy with and it's not that we buy a lot, we just use shops to keep us amused waiting for entertainment and there's a lot less (Duffy & Co CNY all sold out other than Cookie).

The Frozen Snowtime show on Mickey Ave provided some atmosphere before we did Pirates of the Caribbean (twice in a row - it was walk on), then headed to find a position for Ignite the Dream castle projection/fireworks followed by a special CNY fireworks spectacular - both wonderful shows.  Exhausted it was time to head back to the hotel.

[calisota]

before we did Pirates of the Caribbean (twice in a row - it was walk on), 

Now I'm really jealous. I had to wait forever in the line to get on. Mind you, the queue has some interesting stuff in it as well. Great ride, well worth it.

Greg

[Lauren05]

I just read that they’re closing Shanghai Disneyland and Disneytown because of coronavirus. I don’t know what the rest of your plans were but hopefully you’re not affected too badly!

[KeithS]

I just read that too. What a shame for the resort to have to shut on Chinese New Year.

[DisneyKaren]

We found out about the park closure when we returned to the hotel this afternoon from the city.  I was definitely a little sad as I am here for the Chinese New Year celebrations and will miss the Lion Dance, Drum Circle, etc.  I wish they could at least open for hotel guests but I understand that's not financially feasible and still puts more cast members at risk. Considering it's now outside of China I think it's a bit overkill but hey I'm just still a touch sad.

After commiserating in our room, Lynelle realised there were some statues she wanted to purchase so we raced over to Disneytown, which closed at 8:00pm tonight, as she knew they were available there.  She bought all the big ticket items she wanted as if the park doesn't reopen there won't be a chance to get them.  Tomorrow we'll go see the Disneyland Hotel and catch up on diaries, start packing, etc.  I have my fingers crossed it opens at least Sunday or Monday for us.  If not we look up the city as I'm sure there's loads still to see and do.  At least we had 2 days in the park and got to do everything at least once, most things twice.

[KeithS]

Such a shame. I also think there is an element of overkill and panic mixed with a desire to avoid bad press! They have also stopped face character meet and greets at HKDL from today.

Would you consider coming back early? They have shut down transport from some affected cities so you wouldn't want to get stuck in Shanghai if the infection takes off there and they close the airport.

Stay safe Karen, I am sure you'll find something to do in the coming days. And Happy Lunar New Year!

[DisneyKaren]

Our last day in the park it seems, thankfully we finished everything.

Day 8 - Wed 22 Jan

Ready and in the park at early opening, this time we followed the crowds to Sourin' however we walked at a more reasonable pace and still made it when the queue was only 10mins (although probably really just the time to walk through).  Winnie-the-Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight and Mickey's Film Festival followed.  Frozen Sing-along was fun and I didn't mind it being in Mandarin, actually I'm not sure of the storyline as the songs went from three Frozen 1 songs (First time in Forever, Build a Snowman, In Summer); then Some Things Never Change from Frozen II; back to Let it Go and finished with Into the Unknown.  I was only there for the music anyway and loved that they added in the Frozen 2 songs.

Before heading back to the hotel for a rest, we checked out Marvel Universe.  Unfortunately the Marvel Comic Academy was closed so I'll have to learn to draw another day if it opens back up.

Today was a rainy day which is scheduled to continue, however at least it's more drizzle than constant rain so just a coat was fine for most of the day.  In the afternoon we returned for our fast pass at Peter Pan and then watched the rainy parade.  We all waited patiently, the music built, people stepped too far out to look around the corner and quickly moved back when a cast member turned, then 2 floats came by!  Still worth the wait for the music but was a little funny how many of us waited for such a tiny parade. An early dinner of Mickey Head pizza at Pinocchio Village Kitchen before photographing the evening lights reflecting on the wet ground.  FYI Tomorrowland looks so calming but moody with a grey sky, evening lights and reflections.  Another go on Buzz where Lynelle's laser just stopped working throughout.  I scored over 960,000 so pretty happy, however to be honest it was due to all the stops creating a much longer ride and easier to hit targets when you are stopped!

We found a spot for the evening show nice and early as Lynelle wanted to film it.  The crowds were good with some asking if their kids could go in front which we had no issue.  A couple of times when kids were pushed forward to be at the front a Chinese lady behind me had a go at the offending parents who quickly backed off (one kid was pushed so hard I nearly fell over and was hoping I didn't squish the small child in front of me too hard against the railing).  The Chinese do have good manners - like every race, it's the arrogant/entitled few who give everyone a bad name.

After the fireworks we quickly went over to Pirates to ride again while the major crowds rushed to the buses (easy walk on at this time of night). I took more photos on the way out with the lights all looking pretty and Steamboat Willie all lit up.  Another great day.

Random notes:
- Waiting for Winnie-the-Pooh the continuous voiceover was commenting 'please look after your adorable children'.  For some reason I immediately thought - what if I don't think my kid is adorable?  Do I still have to look after them?  Once I had this in my head I couldn't get it out! 
- This time on Pirates I really noticed the strong moody music and was more affected by it.  Perhaps it takes a couple of rides to take in all the visual aspects before the senses truly take in the sound.

[DisneyKaren]

Day 9 - Thurs 23 Jan

Today was a slower start with time for a leisurely breakfast before we met our tour guide, Apple.  We were given our face mask and I have to say it is quite claustrophobic at times wearing one.  Apple was amazed that Lynelle and I have 2 other siblings, she has a 13 year gap between her children due to the 1-child rule changing to 2-children. She did suggest we not go back to Disneyland as there's so many people we could catch the virus.  We politely smiled (behind our masks however - I kept forgetting that).

Our first stop was the French Concession area, followed by the Confucius Temple (university).  Lunch was a small local dumpling shop where we tried the pork dumplings, noodles in soy sauce and noodles in soup.

We had made changes to our personal tour by taking out the Bund which we could do ourselves and added in the Jade Temple which seemed better to go through with a local and learn the culture.  There was quite a lot of preparation being made for the long lines expected at CNY, being a sacred place where the locals worship, apparently the first few in on CNY pay a lot of money.  We saw people worshipping here and I was careful taking photos so as to be respectful ….. then a worshipper's phone started ringing so I stopped feeling bad (although continued to be respectful of course)!  On the way to Yuyuan Garden we walked through a market shopping area where there were lots of Year of the Rat displays and even a considerable area beautifully decorated with Mickey & Minnie!  Disney must have paid well for the amount of advertising and it was worth it to me as I really enjoyed walking through.  Entering the gardens we had our temperatures taken. Yuyuan Garden is stunning, the pavilions, gateways, stonework, water features and of course gardens themselves.  Wonderful place to visit.

Apple took us to some shops which sold Chinese New Year decorations which I wanted to buy.  It turns out what we can buy in Chinatown at home really is what they sell here - I still purchased a few things.  Nothing has price tags so I did wonder about the prices but it was cheap enough so didn't make a difference.

Walking the raised pedestrian walkways through the financial district we could see the observation tower was well in the clouds as were the buildings beside it.  At this stage it was raining so every time I tried to take a photo of the tall buildings my lens was quickly covered with drops!  A bathroom stop in a nice shopping centre was the best bathroom of the day, even having warm water to wash your hands.  The Disney Store is in this area and we wanted to check it out.  Again it is filled with children's items and no real adult merchandise so we took lots of photos but didn't buy anything.

At this time our day tour came to an end so we returned to the hotel and had dinner at the Market Café.  Ironically Lynelle had Ratatouille and as I type this she's watching the movie!