Tniel183

HELP. LOL. I have lots of questions. Going March 2019 and need advice and tips. People say I’m nuts going all the way to Asia and seeing Disney. But after it’s done I can say I’ve been to every Disney Park in the world. (And seen the Great Wall).

It will be a trip of a lifetime! Ask us any questions and we will try to point you in the right direction

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Sounds like an amazing trip! We brought our kids too and I hope the memories we made will last a lifetime. I hope that you post plenty of pics and advice for others after your trip.

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Oh I love TDR... that was a game changer when planning this trip to all the Asia Disneys.

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We are still trying to decide between Shanghai and Tokyo (either end of the cruise). I am leaning towards Tokyo.

I see there is a bus to the port. Would we be able to get a bus from the port? (Never mind- I see that answered in #22).

Tokyo is a great choice! We just loved everything in Japan. Both parks were amazing but Tokyo was a lil more English friendly and we found the food more western friendly too although we did try many new things.

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We visited Shanghai Disneyland in June this year (not on a cruise). Thought I would just share some of the videos I made here.

 

 

 

Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster Train (full ride)

 

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The light show. They cancelled the fireworks that night. Sob.

 

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Shanghai Disneytown, located outside Disneyland. Plenty of food.

 

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Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue. I tried the one in Hong Kong and thought this would be the same. This turned out to be bigger and better!

 

[YOUTUBE]B9eBrue2yoQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

Since we were in China, the Cinderella had to sing in Chinese!

 

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In Disneytown, we ate both lunch and dinner at this eatery called Nan Xiao Dian.

 

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Remember to get your tickets in advance. We bought them through the official app. When we entered the park, all the ticketing booths were closed!!

 

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I blogged about our one day trip to Shanghai Disneyland here - http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.com/2018/06/day-3-shanghai-disneyland-happiest.html

Wow... Great videos!!! Thanks for adding to the info here.

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This is a VERY helpful thread for us, so thanks in advance for the info shared! We are heading out in mid-Sept on the Coral Princess for a 60-day cruise around the North Pacific Rim. ONE of the reasons we chose this cruise is so we can visit the Asian Disney properties. We've been to Tokyo before, but not Shanghai nor Hong Kong. Hubby's dad was an Imagineer and did some planning for Tokyo and was asked to go there, but declined (had retired by then). He was also involved in some preliminary planning for Hong Kong. He wasn't involved with Shanghai. We've been to Anaheim a LOT (starting the year it opened, our Grad Nite, etc), Dad was involved with projects there, too, including the fountains in Toontown, and he did the facilities engineering, electrical, for the original Star Tours ride, while my hubby did the mechanical design (so you can thank him for the air conditioning and that water fountain as you come down the ramp at the end of the ride - LOL!)

 

We've visited WDW a few times. Dad was the Electrical Engineer in charge of getting Epcot opened and later worked on Animal Kingdom, as well. We've been to Disney Paris - Disney sent Dad back and forth for a while until Disney moved him and mom there and they spent two years there until it opened! So, we have some special reasons for having these on our bucket list. With only one day in each port... we are not intending to do a FULL "vacation" there, and we hope to cram in some other sights, but if "all" we can see is Disney, we are REALLY good with that! There are just the two of us (late-60's senior citizens), but we are young at heart - especially when doing Disney!

 

We aren't as concerned about doing a LOT of rides but will do a few - "must-do" suggestions are most welcomed to make best use of our limited time.

 

We booked this cruise just about a month ago.... and are now scrambling to figure out 22 ports. These 3 ports are especially important and with ports being not-so-conveniently located, I'm focusing on the" how-to-get there." I've done a lot of searching on Disney sites and elsewhere and although I'd looked here on CC, I JUST now found this POSITIVE and really-current thread - others were not so helpful about getting to Disneyland...

 

I saw information posted here on the bus to Yokohama for Tokyo Disney - thanks, as we'd gone previously from Narita in on train. I'll check that out.

 

In Hong Kong, we tried to figure out how to get to the metro from the port... since we heard that's a very small park, we hoped to see a few other sites, too. A ship excursion has the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus (for the day) picking us up at the port and gets us off the ship early and on our way. We will take in a few sites (viz Victoria Peak) and drive around until we can connect with the metro for the Disney line. So, I THINK we are set for that one. Any additional thoughts, caveats, etc are welcome!

 

In Shanghai... not sure which port is ours; still checking this one out - looks like if we can get to the metro we will be ok... probably a taxi? Any thoughts, pricing, etc would be helpful.

 

We'll buy our tickets online before we go - we get a really good rate for having survived all our years - LOL! And we'll have the app for each park on phone - BTW, what did you do for phone service in each of those? What carrier, international plan or local SIM card? We are hear T-Mobile offers a really good plan for folks 55+ that includes data, text, voice unlimited and international included for super rate. Anyone used that?

 

Thanks, in advance, for any and all additional info you can share. Once we get home and acclimated (and I get back to work) I'll happily share info from our experience with anyone interested.

Wow that is so special and so amazing!!! I just love your story.

For a phone plan we used Att international day pass which was total amazing. So we have att unlimited and the day pass just extended our plan we already have. So for $10/ day and only on days you used it we got unlimited phone calls, internet, and text. We were gone for 3 weeks and only used our pass for 9 days. So it worked out well. No using it at sea. We mostly used it for google maps. I also turned on my hotspot and let a few other people from the ship use my unlimited internet.

In Hong Kong if you go to Disney remember that it opens late, usually at 10:00am. We got to stay there for 4 days and it was amazing. I would recommend taking a taxi from the port because it is very far away and the metro will take forever. Make sure you see the show mickey’s wondrous book, next to small world. Our favorite ride was mystic manor... it’s a must if you like haunted mansion. It’s crazy! The pin trading was really good in this park too.

Victoria’s Peak was very nice. Everything in Hong Kong seemed so far away. We traveled from island to island.

Shanghai I suggest taking the taxi again. Disney is pretty far from the port. I think I have the prices somewhere in this thread. Please make sure to always take a picture of the port with the name in the local language for the taxi driver on the way back. We didn’t encounter anyone in Shanghai that could speak even basic English. We had 13 hours here and still felt rushed at Disney. Had no time for the city.

Pirates is a MUST. It’s unlike anything in the US.

Let me know if I missed any questions.

Have so much fun!

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Another question: did you get a visa or the transit-without-visa for a limited stay? It’s a bit unclear to me what we will need under the circumstances.

 

Thanks!

Yes we got Visas. They actually collected our passports when we boarded. Those without Visas were not allowed to leave the ship in Xiamen, Shanghai, or Beijing. There were about 80 very upset people. No one knew for sure if we need a visa before the trip. We all keep getting very mixed messages. So we got one just in case and we were glad we did.

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Sorry for the slow response, I’ve been out of town.

For Shanghai, it really depends when you go. We went Easter weekend on a Saturday so of course they ran out quick. You might Be able to grab the Fp primer access or paper Fp if you are going on a less busy time. Paper Fp do run out on busy days just like at WDW.

Tokyo: both of those hotels seems amazing! We stayed in the TDL hotel the cheapest room they had and it was amazing. We had a view of the Sea, monorail, and Space Mountain. So whatever you pick I’m sure you will love it.

They have a bus that goes from the park to Yokohama station. It’s takes 1 hour and then a taxi from the station to the port (it’s a short taxi ride to the port) if thats the port your ship is leaving from. Yes the taxis are small. We only had 2 suit cases so it was not a problem. The charter bus had plenty of space underneath it.

What ship and cruise line are you taking? Also when does it leave?

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We did a Viking cruise in China last July. We had one full day in Shanghai and my wife and I opted to skip the Viking tour and go to Shanghai Disneyland and had a fantastic time.

 

The Fast Pass purchase has changed since we went, for example, Fast Pass was not available for Pirates, but we also felt it was worth every penny. If you had more than one day there, you probably wouldn't need it.

 

The day we were there, park tickets sold out, so it was packed. We did a ton by buying the passes. Expensive, but worth it.

 

SDL is a massive park. It feels like you walk 20 minutes to get from land to land. It was also oppressively hot and humid, but fortunately, the water and Gatorade weren't crazy expensive.

 

Tron was really fun and I loved the Challenge Trails (you'll never see those in a US Disney park), but Pirates was amazing.

Thank you for adding a great review for future cruising Disney fans!

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Thank you, you have been extremely helpful. Disney hotels are booked, guides for all of our Japan and South Korean ports are arranged, it was just those final transportation questions I was having difficulties with. After searching various sites, as usual our Cruise Critic people have come to the rescue.

 

Have a great time planning your last Disney Park. We took the train out...very easy too navigate. Just don't be surprised if the park closes before the time listed online. (that happened to us. They closed at 7pm instead of 9. The park is small so we had plenty of time to see it all just no shopping time at the end. The shops did not stay open longer.)

Thanks for the DLP tips. Disney fans rock! We can’t wait to go. Trying to pair it with a European NCL Cruise. Let the planning begin :)

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Feel free to ask questions and I will try to be helpful.

We arrived in the same port in Shanghai. There were plenty of taxis lined up and ready. It was about 50 mins to Disney. If you are returning to the ship Please take a picture of your ship, and a picture of the pier with the name of the pier in Chinese. Most taxi drivers could not understand English. We heard one family got dropped off at the wrong pier.

It should cost 200 yuan or less each way.

Have a blast! Paris will be our last park. We are hoping to go next fall maybe.

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Tokyo Disney has buses that go from the resort to Yokohama station all day. They have a schedule online. You can buy your tickets in the lobby of the hotel. It takes about an hours to get from Disney to Yokohama station. At Yokohama Station catch a Taxi for a short ride to the pier

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Tniel183

We are going to HK and Shanghai DL next month. I'm dreading the hot weather!! Were the 8 extra fast passes in Shanghai per person? Do you remember the cost? Did you get to select the specific ride and time? Thanks.

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Download the Shanghai Disney app. The fast passes are called primer access. Looks like it’s 525 yaun for 10 passes per person now. It has changed a little bit since when went.

You don’t have to choose any times just ride the rides when you are ready. You can only buy the premier access pass after you enter the gate. We bought them through the app on my phone. As you enter the fast pass line you scan your phone and that’s it.

We were also able to get 2 regular paper fast passes while we were there.

We were told they only sell a limited number of these primer passes each day and it sells out pretty quickly. We were in the park minutes after it opened and bought them right as we walked in.

It was well worth it for us because were there on a Saturday of Easter week and it was packed.

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Just a lil update from my cruise. Hong Kong to Tokyo March 21.

Thanks so much for a taking a pic of us leaving port. Amazing!

We had a fabulous cruise. I really don’t think it could have been much better. Every single thing was great: the ship, ports, weather. It was a trip of a life time.

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Wow thanks so much for the reply.

Thinking about booking out of New Orleans

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Are any of the activities extra charge?

What are some of the activities?

I saw mini golf, ropes, maybe bowling, some sort of walk the plank lol.

Thanks!

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Thanks!

 

 

 

I think we will plan on Tokyo, I'm sure we will be pleased either way.

 

Still a year away but I am trying to get a general framework to work with for planning purposes.

Oh have a blast! You will love it. We already want to go back to Japan.

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Looks just like WDW right? Except for the cool popcorn bucket lol... they must have had 20 cool popcorn buckets.

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That picture is from Shanghai.

Here is a pic from Tokyo

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You can only buy the Shanghai fast passes after you pass through the gate. Buy as soon as you get in on their app. They are limited. We bought the pack of 8 and it was worth every penny. We were also able to get a regular fast pass too. Just buy the passes on your phone after you get in the park. When ready to use they just scan your phone.

We did buy our park tickets ahead of time. You have to know what day you will be there and show your passport.

Tokyo you can’t buy any fast passes.

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Oh that’s a really hard question. We loved all 3 Disneys for all different reasons.

I’m not sure where you are from but I think Tokyo was a little more English friendly. Seems like most people knew the basics but in China it was hard to find anyone that spoke a word of English.

Shanghai’s ride were way better of course because they are brand new.

We just loved Japan. It was so clean and the people were polite. We loved taking the JR into Tokyo. It was very easy to get to Tokyo station from Disney. There were so many things to do.

Now the lines at Tokyo Disney are super long so be mentally prepared for that. For course we went Easter week so maybe they were longer.

It was nice in Shanghai that we bought 8 extra fast passes. Worth every cent.

I would go back to Tokyo in a heartbeat.

We also went to Hong Kong Disney and fell in love with it. It was very small but it was so laid back and the lines were very short. We stayed at the Explorers Lodge and was it absolutely unbelievable. They nicest hotel ever.

Don’t hesitate to ask any questions. I’ll try to answer.

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Well we did it. We hit all 3 Disneys in Asia on our cruise. It was amazing. Believe it or not the only problem we ran into in 3 weeks was the taxi to Shanghai Disney. We were scammed. His meter was not working (yeah right). Realized after it should cost between 180-200 yaun from the port. He charged us 400.

Beyond that we had an amazing time. We stayed at Disney’s Explorers Lodge in Hong Kong 4 days and The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel for 3 days. Both were amazing.

Boarding the Jewel today!!!

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