Shanghai Disney Mar. 25-28 A magical experience

March 25, 2019

Disney Hotel

Today we checked out of the Radisson and going to be transferred to Shanghai Disney.
Our guide and driver picked us up from the Hotel for the 40 minute drive.

I had booked  a Concierge level room  at the Disney Hotel  because of all the extra perks provided.

Once we were dropped off we were met by a cast member who escorted us to a separate room to register. We bypassed having to wait in line at the registration desk.
We were offered a cold drink and then checked in. We received our pass to the park and were told of the amenities we would be entitled to during our stay.

Since our room was not ready we headed to the Park. We were able to use the hotel guest entrance and bypassed long lines.

Another perk of the Club room level was early entry into the park at a separate entrance. Our hotel was a short walk to the entrance and we bypassed the large lines of people waiting to buy tickets and get entrance into the park.

We expected the park to be spread out  and it was. It spite of the expanded size of this Disneyland there were not that many rides.  I think Anaheim Disney had so many more rides in a smaller area.

After our day in the park we returned to the hotel. The room was amazing. Beautifully decorated in Disney Theme decor and it had a great view of Disney Land.

Our room was on the same level and the Magic Kingdom Club. During the day snacks and drinks were available and from 3-5 pm there was a cocktail hour where we ended up having desserts or appetizers and drinks.
We would have breakfast here every morning.

Ken the manager was very welcoming and hospitable. Before we checked out he helped arrange the shipment of our souvenirs of the park home.

Ken

One night we had dinner at the restaurant at the Aurora Restaurant at the  top floor of the hotel. During dinner we saw the fireworks display over Disneyland.

view from restaurant

The next night we had dinner at Club 33.

 Again the club overlooked the park and we saw the fireworks display. Dinner was very nice and the service great.

The last night we had dinner at the Blue Frog restaurant in Disneytown.

Lunch at the Blue Frog

The menu featured Western style food and cocktails. We ordered ribs and steak and the meal was great.

We ate lunch at the different restaurants in the park every day.

One thing that surprised us was the emphasis on Easter. There were  character decorated eggs all throughout the park, the daily parade had the characters dressed in Easter themed clothing and the food was served in Easter themed cups or plates.

Quiet place in the park

The only frustration was the lack of signage to find different rides. When we asked cast members for directions we had to use sign language and point to our map to find how to get to the rides. Most of the time we succeeded.

On our first day we went on Pirates of the Caribbean which is a new version of the rides in the US. The difference being when we entered the large cavern where the pirates ships are we saw video projections of the ships having a sea battle.
It was a great ride but we did not go back again because of the long lines.

We went on the Soarin' ride and  Peter Pan. The Honey Pot spin was closed and the seven dwarfs ride had lines with a two  hour wait. Went on some more rides but cannot remember which ones.
We explored Toy story town but some of the rides were closed.
We did have short wait to go to Mickey's house where we got individual photos with Mickey.

Writing this now I see that we really did not go on many attractions in Shanghai Disney- lines were very long, not that many E ticket rides and some were closed.
We saw one parade and watched a show at the castle. We explored the castle which was gigantic.

Everyday we would go to Disney town where we had a coffee at the Starbucks and then walk around.

Later after the park we would walk to Disney Town to buy souvenirs or window shop.

There were a lot of Disney characters spread out throughout the park and available for photo ops.

Checkout was a breeze - we went to the special room on the lobby level where we settled our bill and our luggage was loaded and taken to the front entrance ready for the van to take us back to the Radisson in Shanghai.

In summary, our hotel experience was GREAT. The room was very nice with lots of amenities, easy walking distance to the park and Disneytown. Having access to the Magic Kingdom Club was the best experience- the cast members were super, the assistant managers spoke English and provided help when we needed it.
Some of the hotel amenities  included ta bakery, restaurant, mini market, free wifi, and much more.
The weather was always overcast due to smog and it rained sporadically day and night. The rain obviously stopped many of the rides from operating.

As a Californian I still really like Anaheim Disney for various reasons. I have not visited Paris Disney nor Hong Kong but Anaheim is better than Florida and Shanghai.

NOTE- We visited Tokyo Disney at the end of our trip and we both thought Tokyo Disney was superior (except for the hotels both were great) in all ways compared to Shanghai- ease of getting around, getting help from cast members, food plus the Tokyo Sea park which was really cool.

Visit Shanghai city March 24, 2019

The Bundt with the towers behind us

Today is our first day in Shanghai. The tour company arranged for us to take a full day city tour.

First we had a wonderful buffet breakfast at the Radisson dining room. Lots of choices including American coffee, eggs, bacon waffles etc.

We arranged for a private tour so we could set the pace at each visit. First  was a drive on Nanjing Road, the main commercial street in Shanghai. Lots of tall buildings with the names of large companies on them. From here the driver took us to the Bund, the waterfront promenade with the Huangpu River on one side and historical buildings on the other.

Bundt promenade

Shanghai Tower

 This is the Shanghai tower https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/oriental_pearl.htm

The Bundt  is one of the must see things in Shanghai. The driver let us off and the guide led us to different spots on the Bund pointing out historical buildings and some history of the city.
Lots of people out- tourists and locals.
One place we saw was the Fairmont Peace Hotel. I had read it has a famous jazz band and afternoon teas.

Peace hotel interior

We looked across the river and saw the Shanghai Tower - second highest tower in the world.  https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/tower.htm.

Shanghai  tower on right and Pearl tower on left

We spent about an hour walking the Bundt and taking photos.

Next stop was the Jade Buddha Temple. It was a short drive from the Bundt.

One of Shanghai’s few active Buddhist monasteries, this temple was built between 1918 and 1928. The highlight is a transcendent Buddha crafted from pure jade, one of five shipped back to China by the monk Hui Gen at the turn of the 20th century. 

The Temple complex includes  the Hall of Heavenly Kings, holding the statues of the Four Heavenly Kings who look upon the four cardinal points. Directly opposite is the twin-eaved Grand Hall, the temple's most significant building, where worshippers pray to the past, present and future Buddhas. Also within the Grand Hall are splendidly carved luóhàn (arhats), lashed to the walls with wires, and a copper-coloured statue of Guanyin at the rear. Passing through the Grand Hall is the gated tranquil courtyard, where stairs lead up to the Jade Buddha Hall. The absolute centrepiece of the temple is the 1.9m-high pale-green jade Buddha, seated upstairs and carved from one piece. Photographs are not permitted. Further into the complex is the Reclining Buddha Hall, which contains a small reclining white jade Buddha from Burma that's displayed in a glass cabinet. The Mahavira Hall was renovated and reopened in 2019; it was raised by a metre and now stands at 18.2m tall and weighs in at 1000 tonnes.



After an hour of visiting the temple Rebecca our guide said she was going to take us for lunch. She took us to a restaurant near our hotel-not close enough for us to walk to- and she started ordering a few dishes and I ordered Kung Pao Chicken. That chicken dish was the best I have ever eaten anywhere. If we could have walked here from the hotel we would have eaten every meal here.

After the delicious filling lunch it was time to visit the 400 year old Yun garden. My impression was that is would be located on the city outskirts.
Wrong. It was in the center city and surrounded by a large complex of tourist shops-the Yuyuan bazaar. 
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/yuyuan-bazaar.htm

We walked through the shopping complex to reach the garden entrance.

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/yuyuan_garden.htm

Once we entered we experienced quiet from the city noise. The visitors were quiet and we were able to visit all the buildings in the garden. It was really beautiful.

After visiting the pavilions and halls we went to the bazaar and did shop shopping and sightseeing.

Since we were done with the tour early we asked Rebecca if we can go visit the new Starbucks Reserve. She said it was by a upscale shopping center.
Away we went and the driver left us off close by.

There was a line to enter and we had to wait around 5 mins to get in. The place was huge. 
The main floor had pastries and merchandize for sale. Second floor sold tea and accessories.
We bought some pastries and coffees and had a coffee break. Afterwards we bought two small souvenirs- a magnet and coffee cup.

We went back to the hotel to rest.
Around 6pm we walked down to the promenade across the street to find a place to eat and to walk in the pedestrian mall. We found typical American restaurants ie McDonalds and KFC.

Our hotel is in the center with the round top

Small train to take to get to the Bundt

Checking one mall for restaurants we found the Blue Frog and went there for dinner. I had read online that it was a good restaurant serving Western food.

We had cocktails and ordered dinner. The drinks and dinners were great. The service was wonderful and the waitresses spoke some English and were eager to speak to us.

Afterwards back to the hotel. Tomorrow we go to Shanghai Disney Land.

March 22, 2019 We leave San Francisco for Shanghai on United

We booked the flights to China and the return from Japan on United Air business class because of the length of the flight and it left in the evening planning to sleep during the flight.

Our flight left as scheduled at 2:05 pm. We arrived at the airport 3 hours early to allow time to check our bags and get to the gate.

Check in and security went smoothly and since we had time we went to the United Polaris lounge to wait for boarding time.
The lounge was beautiful and spacious. The hostesses were very nice and helpful. We were able to order some food from the menu which the hostess brought to our table.
We had access to wifi so we were able to send messages to our family, check email etc.

45 minutes before boarding time, we were told that we should get to the gate for check in. That procedure was quick and easy. The flight attendant showed us our seats and we buckled up ready for departure.

An hour after take off the beverage service started and then the dinner was served.
After dessert the crew lowered the lights and we started watching movies. We planned to watch one or two movie and then sleep. The flight was 13 hours 20 mins.  We did go to sleep 8 hours into the flight ( around 10 SF time) and were awakened 2 hours before landing. We were served breakfast and got our belongings together ready for deplaning.

Upon arrival at 6:35 Shanghai time we had to get our fingerprints checked inside the terminal.

Since we were over 70 the security guard said we did not have to do that and to go to immigration. We got in long lines and waited to go to a terminal where we put our fingers on the screen for the visa check and once cleared we gave a form to the immigration agent who checked our passport and then let us through to go to baggage claim.  Once we got our bags we went to arrivals and looked for our driver.
Once we found him and a guide we were led to their van, loaded the bags and were driven in 45 mins. to our hotel.
Goway tours recommended the Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World which was centrally located near downtown. (We had stayed at Radissons in London and Australia and were very pleased with them).

Since we were jet lagged we decided to eat dinner at the hotel in the Epicure on 45 (revolving dining room). We had great views of the different parts of the city as the restaurant rotated.
https://radissonhotels.iceportal.com/image/Radisson-Blu-Hotel-Shanghai-New-World/NotSet/16256-113952-m17817606.pdf

Wonderful meal and service.

Our adventure to China and Japan with stops in Korea- cruise and independent travel in March 2018- Itinerary and planning

When we were aboard the Celebrity ship in Jan 2018 we checked the future cruise desk for a cruise vacation to a place we never had been before.
The salesperson found a cruise in Mar 2019 that had two cruises from China to Japan and return.

Upon reviewing the itinerary we were excited to find that the cruise from China to Japan was one we had to take.  Reason being we could visit the Shanghai Disneyland and the Tokyo Disneyland  as well as spend 3 days in Beijing. Everything we wanted to see and do on the cruise.

We contacted our travel agent to find a tour operator for China and Japan to arrange hotel stays, tours and transfers to and from the airport and ship.

We ended up with Goway Tours and the itinerary seemed very good. However this changed once we were on the trip. We had to make adjustments during our trip and I will list those when I get to the appropriate day and post.

The cruise itinerary was really good- Sailing from Shanghai to Seoul, Beijing with a three day overnight, Jeju Island, Korea, overnight in Kobe, Japan; Mt. Fuji; and an overnight in Yokohama and then disembarking in Tokyo.

Once we had booked the cruise I immediately booked the three night excursion to Beijing ( details in future posts for those days).

Preparation for the trip was not too difficult but time consuming.

We started the prep 4 months before the cruise. We only needed Typhoid shots as we had all the others. see list here  https://www.tripsavvy.com/required-recommended-vaccinations-for-china-travel-1495144.

We had booked out tours with Goway so that was taken care of.
We had a travel agent help me book the hotels in Shanghai and Tokyo Disneyland's so we were set there.
Three months before the cruise we applied for out Chinese visas. We used a visa service in San Francisco ( I dropped off and picked up the passports in interests of time and not getting lost in the mail). It was a bit expensive for the visa and the visa service but the visas are good for 10 years.

I started reading about travel to both countries on the internet to see what else to bring with us on the trip. Main thing was to have at least 1 $100 in Chinese and Japanese currency for the car service, bellmen etc.

There were lots of Youtube videos about travelling to China that I saw and as well as the sights in Beijing.

Since most internet apps are blocked in China the advice was to get a VPN app and find an international phone plan to use with the app. More on this when we get to Shanghai.

One thing that we were concerned with was the flight to China and the return from Tokyo. Since we are now older and want more comfort we decided to take business class both ways.
Main thing was to find direct flights and we ended up booking United round trip.   Turns out the return was on ANA air because it was a codeshare with United.

The advantage with business class other than the comfortable seats and great service was being able to check two bags each free and access to the business class lounges at the airports.