Disney: Yeah, It's Good. But Still, Never Again.
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Sure, here is the translation:
I feel that this Disney criticism conference is worth a look for foreign friends too, so as not to step into the same pitfalls!
Wishing to visit Shanghai Disneyland? You need to prepare mentally first, because there almost isn’t any so-called "low season". The visitors can reach over 70,000 if the weather is pleasant!
The goods inside are extremely expensive, beyond belief!
- Planning to bring your own food? Think again due to strict security check.
After visiting, you may find that Disneyland always says they aim to fulfill your princess dream, allowing you to recover your childhood, treating every visitor as a princess.
- Don’t be naive! They only pamper those “rich” princesses; we common people, so-called princesses, hold no interest to them.
Let me provide some examples:
- It's obvious that during peak season (tourist high peaks), there’s such a long line, at least more than 50 minutes. But the queuing places don't provide anywhere to sit!
- Want less pain? Spend money on "Premier Access" (Disney Premier Access, it's a paid service which allows you to swiftly go through some lines). Otherwise, stand patiently until everything gets done.
️Attention! Early Entry Tickets trap:
I purchased an “Early Park Entry Pass” (a ticket allowing early entry into the park). However, eager to jump directly into projects, I forgot to take my early entry ticket – it was on my husband.The inspector insisted on seeing tangible tickets or electronic ticket certificates and stated that regular passholders would start entering from 8:07, making it impossible to identify whether I had an earlier entry. Showing him photos made no difference!
Witnessing the incoming crowd, I almost freaked out. I eventually got in only after my husband delivered the ticket.
How to avoid this: Each person who enters the gate must carry their ticket, or the leader should gather all the passes in one place, rather than spreading them apart.️Attention! Another weird regulation:- In the afternoon, we chose to play a rope challenge "Challenge Trails at Camp Discovery", accompanied by my son and husband.
- Although his phone was zipped inside a pocked, the staff asked him to take it out and store it elsewhere before he could climb.
- Furthermore, either my son had to go with his father or wait alone. In such a crowded and hot situation, only my spouse could step out first and have to queue again before returning to find my son.
- Just! In the morning, they suspected me entering the park for free, yet, in the afternoon, they would rather let my child sit alone in the crowd than take risk storing the completely safe phone.
How to avoid this: Better to inquire in advance about the rules for personal possessions. Alternatively, it’s more convenient to take only money and cards, nothing else, to avoid trouble.To make the kids happy, we are all working hard: we purchased early tickets and five "Premier Access", along with Zootopia Lego set. All unpleasantness remains for the adults to digest.
Moreover, most of the attractions are relatively gentle. It won't satisfy those who look forward to exciting rides. Long lines followed by short visit times only made it worse.
The next day, we visited "Happy Valley" (another very popular chain theme park in China) and experienced much more pleasant atmosphere and fun. More about this in the future.
Upon returning home, my husband remarked, "Happy Valley is better after all; feels like Chinese people don't swindle fellow Chinese". (A local saying referring to the belief that homegrown brands are more trustworthy).
Even my kids exclaimed, "In Disney, everything seems not worth the prices, including time."
So I'm pondering, maybe we should support more domestic theme parks next time!
#Believe in Fairytales Forever #Adults Need Fairy Tales Too
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Fate punishes anyone who goes to Disney without doing their homework beforehand.
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To be fair, I spent a whole week planning, but plans often go awry. In the end, it was just way too crowded; otherwise, I wouldn't have spent the entire morning rushing around for nothing.
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Bringing your own food to Disney isn't practical? Hahaha!
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I snagged early entry tickets and arrived at 6:50 AM to a sea of people. Security made me take everything out of my bag. Even though I didn't have much, it still held me up for a good while. And you expect me to bring lunch too?
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Since when can't you bring your own food? First I've heard of it! As long as it's not strong-smelling things like self-heating hot pots, it should be fine.
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Sigh, the whole point of early entry tickets is to get in quickly, so bringing food isn't practical. Manual security checks are pretty slow, and the people ahead are rushing like their lives depend on it. If you're a local, you're probably used to it, so you can come later, bring food, and just enjoy the park's scenery – that’s nice. We do that at our local amusement parks too, bring our own food and drinks, and watch others race around.
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Went to Hong Kong Disneyland in March and Shanghai Disneyland in April. When it comes to rides, I'd give Hong Kong Disneyland a million votes!
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I was shocked to find that Shanghai Disneyland actually has 'fan culture' (like for pop idols). What kind of trend is that?
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Let me summarize your demands: You're saying they don't allow food (which isn't actually the case), you want early entry but don't want your ticket checked (?), and you don't want to store your phone for the climbing attraction (even if it's in your pocket, how can they ensure you won't take it out mid-activity? Should you sign a pledge?). Honestly, it all sounds very strange.
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When I said bringing food wasn't 'practical,' I meant because I wanted to get through security quickly, not that it's not allowed. I read in guides that many people get held up at security, and since it was my first time, how was I to know how strict or lenient the check would be? Secondly, to save time, I put the tickets in my bag and gave it to my husband. I had no idea I'd need to show the early entry ticket again for rides later on. There were no signs or loudspeaker announcements about this when we entered and did the facial recognition scan. Consequently, I rushed all the way to a ride entrance only for the attendant to refuse me entry. Seriously, with tickets this expensive, can't the park do a better job of reminding visitors? Most of us are from out of town, and even if you do your research, you can miss things. What's wrong with a simple reminder? Our local amusement park always has signs at the entrance: 'Please watch your children, wallets, and phones. Your first ride requires facial scan activation to proceed.' One time, it was extremely crowded, and I went to the service center to complain about them not limiting ticket sales. The customer service manager came out, gave me his business card, said they would add a reminder service to their app, and told me I was welcome to call him directly if I had any issues. Isn't that something they could learn from?
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This is the longest queue I've ever seen. Took a screenshot to commemorate it.
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That's considered short! When I went, I had to queue for eight hours.
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I just went in the middle of last month. Tickets for our family of three were 1100. We were on a tight budget inside the park and only spent a little over 100 RMB in total because we brought all our own food.
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You're really something! Didn't buy anything at all? So you paid over 1000 just to stroll around?
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I don't get it. If you didn't have your ticket on you, isn't it perfectly normal for staff not to let you in? You genuinely didn't have it. But if simply saying 'I don't have my ticket' was enough to get in, couldn't people who haven't bought tickets do the same? For the climbing attraction, they inform you in advance that phones aren't allowed. You can bring your phone on all other attractions, or you can choose not to do this particular one. Not bringing your phone just means a bit more time spent at the lockers. The climbing course involves water and can be slippery; if your phone falls and breaks, who pays? You or Disney? Can you guarantee everyone would take responsibility for their own broken phone? The long queues are definitely real, and the food is very expensive – that's true.
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So true. I was thinking the same thing.
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For my first visit, I started reading guides many days in advance!! But even the best-laid plans can go awry. We specifically chose a Tuesday, a workday, but then we ran into elementary school spring trips. We arrived at 8:40 AM, not realizing entry itself would take so long – it was already 10 AM by the time we got inside. I was the only one who managed to reserve a spot for a show; my three friends couldn't, so in the end, none of us saw it. Plus, we picked the Pirates ride first – it would have been a 10-minute wait in the afternoon, but we ended up queuing for a full hour that morning! I also didn't keep track of the parade time, which turned out to be different from what I'd found online, so we missed it while queuing for something else. We had even planned our lunch, but one friend thought a set meal for over 100 RMB was too expensive and refused to eat, just sat there watching us. It was so awkward.
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I queued for 90 minutes for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and it wasn't thrilling at all. Haha! Since you live nearby, you should just go again on a weekday.
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Our security check was quick; we didn't even have to take everything out. We brought enough snacks and actually had no time for a proper lunch. We ate dinner in Disneytown, which wasn't too pricey. We also bought some souvenirs and took lots of pictures. For a first trip, it was a pretty good experience! We're planning to go again when our child is older.