Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Shanghai Disneyland: Disney’s Newest Fantasyland( Shanghai Disneyland Series 4 )


Shanghai Disneyland 
Disney’s Newest Fantasyland
Shanghai Disneyland Series 4 

Visiting Shanghai Disneyland was one of the reasons
why we chose to spend our spring vacation in China.
After a week in central Shanghai, we extended our stay
for four more days exclusively for the theme park visit. 



Shanghai Disneyland  completes our bucket list of
having visited all the Disneyland Parks in the world.



We have been to Disneyland Anaheim five times,



Disneyland Paris twice,



…to all Disney Park in WDW Orlando,









…including their waterparks,



…once in Tokyo Disneyland,



… and once in Hong Kong Disneyland.



We all woke up early in the morning and took the first
shuttle to Shanghai Disneyland from Novotel Clover.



It wasn’t a peak season so the queue
to the ticket booth was tolerable,

 

…still we decided to upgrade our tickets at
the Guest Services to buy Disney Fastpass 
for the park’s major Fastpass attractions. 

 

This is one advantage of Shanghai Disneyland compared
to other Disney parks as guests had an option to purchase
as many Fastpass tickets as they want to avoid the queue. 



While most of the portals in Disney Park
is a train station, this on is not, as the park
does not feature a steam railroad locomotive,

 



…and leads onto Mickey Avenue. 



Mickey Avenue, is the park's
equivalent to Main Street, U.S.A.





It was is inspired by Disney’s
popular cartoon characters,

 



…as well as Disney iconic movies.



At the end of Mickey Avenue is the Storytellers statue,
which depicts a young Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse,   



…that leads to The Gardens of Imagination. 

 

The Gardens of Imagination is
unique in Shanghai Disneyland.

 

 

It is a huge well manicured Chinese garden featuring
all the zodiac signs represented by Disney characters.





The zone’s attractions include 
Dumbo, the Flying Elephant, 

 

…the classic Fantasia Carousel,

 

…and Marvel Super Heroes at Marvel Universe,



…a meet-and-greet pavilion
featuring Marvel characters.

 

 

This is also the best place to watch the light and fireworks display called
“Ignite the Dream,  A Nighttime Spectacular of Magic and Light.” 

 

This is also the best spot to watch kilometric 
Mickey’s Storybook Express, musical parade.



Right ahead is Fantasyland the park's largest zone
with the Enchanted Storybook Castle as a portal.



The castle is the largest in any Disney theme park -

 

...and the only functional castle as it offers several attractions, 
 like the  Royal Banquet Hall and restaurant, a boutique,

 

 

...the Storybook Court,

 

 
 
…and Voyage to the Crystal Grotto,

 

…a boat ride around and under the castle,

 

…. that takes guests past scenes
from popular Disney movies. 

 



Fantasyland’s attractions also include
the popular Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, 

 

 

…the old time favorite Peter Pan's Flight, 

 

…the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,

 

and another Winnie the Pooh themed spinning
Teacups-style ride called The Hunny Pot Spin.



Also found here is Alice's Curious Labyrinth, a walk-through
hedge maze inspired by Alice in Wonderland film adaptations



Worth watching is Fantasyland is an awesome stage musical-
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration.

 



Right next is the Treasure Cove Zone. themed to an 18th-century harbor
town in the Caribbeans inspired by the movies  Pirates of the Caribbean.





The zone features Shipwreck Shore,



…and the Explorer Canoes.

 

 

 Treasure Cove main attraction is the Pirates of the Caribbean:
Battle for the Sunken Treasure, a dark ride based on the films.

 

This audio-animatronic dark boat ride is the hi- tech and modern update
of the classic Pirates of the Caribbean found in other Disenyland parks. 



Siren's Revenge, a shipwreck-themed interactive
play area set aboard a wrecked French galleon. 

 

The Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular, 
a stunt show inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. 

 



Adventure Isle is counterpart to Adventureland
in most of Disneyland Parks in other countries.



Inspired by an imaginary mysterious
lost world full of hidden treasures,



… the zone features Roaring Rapids, a river rapids
                ride through the land's towering Roaring Mountain. 

    

    . 

Soaring Over the Horizon, a simulated hang gliding
flight experience across the world, an all time favorite
Disney ride for my family is also found in this zone.



It is the counterpart of Soarin’ Over California in Anaheim,


Soarin' in Anahelm

...and Soarin' over the World in WDW Orlando.

It also has the Camp Discovery, 

 

…and Tarzan: Call of the Jungle

 

...a breathtaking live acrobatic
 stage show are also found here. 

 



Tomorrowland is the park's futuristic-themed land
with ultra- modern looking Tron Lightcycle Power Run
Jet Packs as the most visible attractions at the portal.

 



Unlike the other Tomorrowland in other Disney Parks,
Shanghai’s version does not have the Space Mountain,


Space Mountain Anaheim


Space Mountain Paris

…and instead is home to TRON Lightcycle Power Run,
an indoor Tron- themed high speed motorcycle roller coaster.

 



Similarly, instead of an Astro Orbiter attraction,


Astro Orbiter Orlando


Astro Orbiter Anaheim


Orbiteron Paris

…Shanghai's park replaced it with a more
modern looking  a spinning Jet Packs ride.

 

Other attractions are the Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue, 
a variant of Buzz Lightyear dark rides in othe Disney Paks,

 

Star Wars Launch Bay,

 

…and Stitch Encounter.

 

 Shanghai’s Toy Story Land is the park's first expansion.

 

This is very similar to Toy Story Playland 
Disney’s Hollywood Studio in Paris, France-



…that had a similar attractions like the Slinky Dog ZigZag Spin 


Shanghai Slinky Dog


Paris Slinky Dog

…and the RC Racer, a steel shuttle roller coaster where
guests  ride in RC Racer Car on an orange, half loop track.

 
Shanghai EC Racer


 Paris EC Racer

Exclusive to Shanghai is Woody’s Round Up 
a horse and wagon spinning Teacups-style ride.

 



Inside the zone are several Toy Story
themed restaurants and food stalls. 

 -0-0-0-0-0-

Shanghai Disneyland is worth visiting as  the park have several
unique attractions not found in any other Disney Parks. I have
some precautions for tourists  visiting Shanghai Disneyland though. 

 

First, Chinese people have the penchant on spitting anywhere   
even on carpeted theater floors. So never make the mistake
of sitting on the floor like you would in other Disney parks. 

 

Second, Chinese locals do not to comprehend the principle of
waiting for one's turn. This may be the reason why it in only in
Shanghai Disney where one could buy as many Fast Pass Tickets
as you can. This would not assure that no one would squeeze in
on the Fast Pass lane but shorter lines, equates to longer tolerance. 

 

Third, Chinese mainlanders are rude. They would take your seat
in restaurants even if your using it. My wife went to the toilet and
left her handbag and shawl on her chair to signify that it was occupied.
However and elderly Chinese lady yanked them out, placed them on
top of our table and grabbed my wife’s chair without asking for permission.
We just stared in disgust and disbelief for the display of brazen disrespect.

 

There was also an instance that my daughter’s raincoat
was grabbed from her without asking for permission
as we went out of the Roaring Rapids river rapids ride.

 

This post was not meant for racial stereotyping as
these Chinese bad manners can be attributed as an
acceptable cultural identity. Whatever it is, tourists
should just bear their loutishness, grin and have fun.

Read my other posts on
Shanghai Disneyland Series








No comments:

Post a Comment