Shanghai Haichang: You REALLY That Hungry?
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Alas, I genuinely wish for Shanghai's tourism to improve all the time, but my recent visit to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom has truly been disappointing!
To be honest, their operations and management are far from satisfactory. (Back in 2021, when I first visited, it still seemed to be adequate.)
What about now?
- Long lines, feeling hopeless! It felt like they aren't regulating the number of people entering, as there were endless queues everywhere.
️ Heads up, friends: If you can't stand queues or you're bringing someone who isn't patient, you may want to reconsider. Without proper daily crowd control measures, popular attractions could have waiting times of one to two hours. To avoid long queues, you may need to start early and get in before opening or test visiting on a weekday.
- Limited attractions to enjoy. Compared with theme parks like Disney, there are fewer activities in terms of both variety and quantity.
- Pushy salespeople everywhere! It feels almost impossible to escape vendors who try to sell items to you constantly, which is quite annoying.
Moreover, this park is located far away from the central urban area!
- ️ Note for first-time visitors to Shanghai: Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is rather away from the city centre (in Lingang New City, Pudong), taking considerable times by taxi or Metro from downtown districts (e.g., Huangpu River Bund or Renmin Square).
- All that travelling took me far, only to end up with a bad experience, leaving me with no intention of returning anytime soon.
In short, this #ChimelongOceanKingdom trip has somewhat put me off (not really recommended). I hope they will make efforts to improve the situation!
- Long lines, feeling hopeless! It felt like they aren't regulating the number of people entering, as there were endless queues everywhere.
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Planning to go the day after tomorrow, but everything I see online is discouraging me.
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Maybe it's better on weekdays? But it's summer vacation now, so there are lots of kids.
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And the food is ridiculously expensive! Two oden skewers for ¥27! A small ice cream for ¥38 or ¥48! It's insane.
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Yeah, and it doesn't even taste good. Luckily, they don't stop you from bringing your own food.
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Did a whirlwind tour today. Watched the last show, quickly went through two more exhibits, and then left.
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How was it? How was it? I'm going in a few days.
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Went today. It was awful. The experience was terrible.
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I went today too. Felt like I was suffocating.
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Plus, the AC felt like it wasn't even on; it was incredibly stuffy inside the halls.
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Exactly, the experience was awful, not much fun at all.
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It was suffocatingly crowded and everything was ridiculously expensive. I'm literally sitting on the ground trying to catch my breath. There's a shop at every little stop – it's overwhelming!
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After every attraction, they make you walk through a gift shop.
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It's really not fun! If you don't watch the shows, you can't see the dolphins or killer whales. But if you want to watch a show, you're looking at a minimum one-hour wait to get in! Otherwise, you risk them hitting capacity limits. I'm speechless. Seriously, steer clear of this place!
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They don't limit entry at the main gate, so the attractions can't even handle the crowds.
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I thought it was fun! Didn't even have to queue for the shows, got in pretty quickly.
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It was quite fun, actually.
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I'm at Haichang right now. Can't see any of the shows; outdoor queues are at least an hour long. Don't even get me started on the rides: the raft ride has a 4.5-hour wait, and roller coasters are 2 hours minimum. The park signage is poor, and the air conditioning in the halls is insufficient, making it extremely hot and stuffy. You're just shuffling along with the crowd, can't see anything. The experience is terrible. Haven't managed to do anything and I'm planning to leave early. Everyone, avoid this place! I will never come back here in my life!
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Me neither. Felt like I was going to suffocate, so I got out of there quickly.
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Actually, I think it's okay to go now. The roller coaster queue was only 30 minutes today. When I went at the end of last month, I waited for 2 hours.