Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland March 17 – Day 7 Complete in Hong Kong Proper; 12/04

Your pictures in the 7DMT were the best I've seen of anyone's pictures. Crystal clear and full of fun! I wish mine would come out that well.

The Alice in Wonderland Gardens look interesting. I must admit I wasn't a huge fan of the Tim Burton version, but it does make for some interesting lawn ornaments.

The Crystal Grotto looks much nicer in sunny skies than the gloomy weather.
 
Took a while to go through 10 pages...but I did it. Never going to let myself get behind ever again!!! My excuse is that our 180 day mark is coming AKA crazy dining planning time. I have to admit I somewhat cheated as I've seen most of the photos on facebook...

Oh wow! That's a labour of love right there! Thanks so much for catching up.

I hope you got your ADRs for the places and times you wanted. 180 days is an exciting milestone.



2 comments - you ran out of space on your memory card!!!

I know, right? I couldn't have timed or planned that any worse!

:faint:




You should always be blessed with good weather so we can benefit... Absolutely love the creative shots on the last day!

Awww. :blush:

Thank you.
 
Nice to see that you were able to ride the 7DMT at Shanghai. The mine scene shots were very nice.

Thanks! Yes. I was very pleased to be able to ride that many times without having to wait.



There are quite a lot of interesting pictures at Alice in Wonderland Maze.

It's a really lovely area. The ornaments and stat



The Voyage of the Crystal Grotto was something that I wanted to try if I go to Shanghai Disneyland.

I sure hope you make it out to Shanghai at some stage, Bret.
 
Your pictures in the 7DMT were the best I've seen of anyone's pictures. Crystal clear and full of fun! I wish mine would come out that well.

Thank you! :flower3:





The Alice in Wonderland Gardens look interesting. I must admit I wasn't a huge fan of the Tim Burton version, but it does make for some interesting lawn ornaments.

That maze is fantastic. I think you would enjoy walking through it.
I came home with a new appreciation of the Tim Burton version. And Alice Through the Looking Glass has been playing on our PayTV here; so I've been giving that a second lookover as well.



The Crystal Grotto looks much nicer in sunny skies than the gloomy weather.

Everything looks much nicer in sunny skies!
 


I’m Late! I’m Late! For an Important Date!




As the mother of a Disney BOY, my chances of being able to convince him to go see a bunch of girl princesses at Cinderella’s Royal Table has been Buckley’s and none. Zilch. Zippo!


So, when the others suggested that we book in a character meal at Shanghai and in the park, I eagerly said yes. Afterall, this was going to be my first opportunity to be able to dine inside a royal Disney structure.





Between the longer than expected queue at Voyage of the Crystal Grotto, I was running late for our reservation booking time. Yes, Zanzibar will probably comment that she was late for her ressie on Opening Day and that she still got her table. But I was aware that the booking was under my name and I really should have been there by now.


I was making my way to the castle when I noticed a colourful flutter of balloons.





It kinda felt like circumstances today were putting barriers – distractions – in my way.





I had planned to take a leisurely stroll through the castle to catch the amazing mosaics and ceiling there. Somehow…..I got waylaid down the outside instead.





I was a little late but not by much. I was probably about 5 - 10 minutes later than when our booking window had opened and still within our booking window.

All the others were there, waiting for me. Sorry to have been late!




(Continued in Next Post)
 
Inside The Castle (Royal Banquet Table)




The Royal Banquet Table is about the only table service establishment inside the park at Shanghai Disneyland.





They do recommend you make a reservation if you want to dine at RBT. I called up about 4 months prior to our travel and made our booking. I think I was asked for my hotel reservation details before the CM took my booking; so it may be a pre-requisite of being able to book that far in advance. The CM asked for my reservation number and name at check-in, so make sure you bring it with you.

Reports say that it is rather popular and that check-in can be busy. I guess with the rain and being mid-week, we just got lucky.





As an aside. There is another table service establishment inside the park. It's
Club 33 and you'll find it near Il Paperino. But you either will need to know a member, or have special arrangements with Disney in order to make a booking there. I believe Adventures By Disney may have one of those ‘special arrangements’ and they might well have a meal booked as part of their China tours.


Not having been to Cinderella’s version, I don’t know if they have similar wallpaper or not. But I found it charming.





I really liked the Disney characters on the wall.






Sidekicks really don’t get enough attention.






There was another reason for us to stick around the foyer entrance. We got to meet Royalty here. She was rather gracious and rather happy to meet the Aussie princesses.





There was a photopass photographer here so we all got individual or couple shots with Aurora. That photopass package really worked out for us here.





The minder was also happy to take pictures using our cameras. This particular one seemed to be rather good at it too! I was happy to see this one in my set.






And at the end…..I remembered to ask for a shot of just Aurora.





After the photo opportunity, we were directed to go upstairs.





We were seated in the Tiana room.





The table service-ware.





I did take some time to look around the room before I sat down.





There were a couple of images from the bayou that added to the ambience of this space.





The view from the Tiana room overlooking the park.





Our waiters were rather attentive. They even volunteered to take a picture of the group …. And ended up clicking a similar image from at least 4 or 5 different cameras.




I know there have been mixed reports about the degree of CM helpfulness from the Opening week reports but I couldn’t fault any of the CM that waited on us this day.




(Continued in Next Post)
 
This is What Being a Photopass Photographer Must Feel Like (RBT Characters)




We had barely sat down when we realised we had Royal visitors.





The visitors arrived with their minders; but there didn’t seem to be any official Photopass photographer with them.


Not that we minded. With our party of 8, that just meant that we passed the camera round someone else to take our picture.





But….. I’ve always wondered what being a Disney Photopass photographer would be like.






Would it be cool to be taking pictures of people at the Happiest Place on Earth?





Would it be satisfying knowing you were helping people capture memories that they would look back on for years to come?






The answer?


Absolutely!






For the initial couple of characters, I ended up snapping pictures of our group.





Click-click-click.





Click-click-click.





Click-click-click.





This MUST be what being a Disney photopass photographer feels like. Pure delight!





It was about half-way through that we realised that the minders were capable photographers. One of the waiters clued us in on this fact. Judging by some of the picture in my camera, I would say this was probably about correct.





So, the others relinquished their cameras to the minders and I just took it easy enjoying the moment and concentrated on taking pictures of my DM.





I will admit…..my trigger finger went through withdrawal symptoms. So, I snuck a few more in.






And as was my custom to do so on this trip, I made sure I got individual shots of the Royals.



















I've always fantasised that if I lived closer to a Disney park and if they were hiring, I would work as a photopass photographer. I could quite easily spend a day or two a week doing this. But as I don’t live near a park, I guess I’ll just have to hang on to my day job and work on a different retirement option.



(Continued in Next Post)
 


Food Porn from Royal Banquet Table



It wasn’t just about the character interactions at Royal Banquet Table. There was also food involved with this experience. For the fixed price (or prix fixe) of 369 Yuan (or $75 in my money), we were to be treated to a 3-course meal.

Naturally, we had come prepared to eat! And we were definitely after more than bread and butter for this meal.





Appetizers first.

Some on our table ordered the pumpkin soup. At least….I think it was pumpkin soup.





There was also an order of the Goat Cheese and Leek tart.





I chose the Crab Cake with Mango Salsa.





The crab filling was delicate and nicely seasoned. The mango salsa was not overly sweet and a perfect accompaniment for the crab.






Entrée next.

Some on our table ordered the Beef Steak. It came with a medley of vegetables…..






….and a Mickey shaped potato cake.





There was also an order of the Beef Ragout with Penne.





We had also a couple of orders for the Grilled Salmon.





That looks like a fun serving of fried rice!





I ordered the Confit Duck. The duck was melt-off-the-bone and delicious.





And closing out the entrée selection. This was Cinderella’s pumpkin with Chicken stew.





Judging from the empty plates, all the entrees were tasty.




My favourite course of any meal. Dessert!


A couple on the table ordered the Sticky Date Pudding.





We also had orders for Elsa’s White Chocolate Dome.





There was also an Olaf’s Mango and Chocolate dessert option.





Without a doubt, the most spectacular looking dessert was Cinderella’s Slipper.





A few of us ordered this option, including me.





I really liked this dessert very much. It was such a visual feast for the eyes and there was enough of a portion size on the dish for me to satisfy that sweet tooth of mine.





As you would expect, there were mixed reviews about the food served at RBT from the Opening Week reports. Good, bad, indifferent…..it all comes down to personal taste and how one might be feeling on that particular day.

For me, on this particular day, the food was good. The serving sizes were also perfect for us Aussies.

$75 may be a little pricey to pay for a meal in China but when you factor in the castle location and the character interaction, it looks like fair value for money. In my money terms, $75 is about par with paying for a character lunch at Akerhaus. It’s certainly cheaper than lunch at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

And without the overload Princess factor, I suspect that I may be able to convince my Disney boy to come and enjoy a meal here!




(Continued in Next Post)
 
Closing out the Royal Banquet Table Edition




After lunch, we mostly parted company. Zanzibar and I wanted to spend time capturing some of the details in the other room at RBT so we spent some time just wandering through.


There was another smaller dining room and it was relatively quiet in there.





This room was Cinderella themed.





I really liked the wallpaper here.





The biggest room seemed to be Snow White themed. It was also the room with quite a few diners sitting there and I didn’t want to disturb their dining experience too much.





There were a few opulent touches in this room.









I don’t remember if this owl detail was in the Snow White room or not. Zanzibar can correct me if I’ve gotten it in the wrong spot.




I actually found the Snow White room to be a little too big for my liking.





The tables were rather spread out and there was a lot of empty space. I expect that’s because we need the space for the characters to come out and for people to stand up to take pictures.





Although…..there were a couple of smaller quiet corners that were more to my taste.








The room that Zanzibar and I liked the best was the Mulan room.





There were people in the room and we tried to be discreet.





But they did notice us loitering around the door to grab some pictures.





So, they generously told us to come on in and take our shots. I don’t think they are on the Dis but whoever you are….thank you so much for letting me take your picture as well!





By this stage, it was definitely time for us to go.





And…if you are dining at RBT, make sure you check out the facilities. They are really worth visiting!



princess::upsidedow
 
What a beautiful venue and marvelous meal! I really like that they had the characters as royalty better than the movie royalty.
 
I am all caught up again.


The room looks very nice.

The Cast Members will check your passports to make sure that there is a China Visa in your passport. Apparently, it is Government policy that they do that at every hotel you check into.

That is a little strange considering you would need a visa to even get there.

We were told that the first time we used each card we would need to show our passport to the Cast Member on entry duty.

That is good to know.


This is a really nice touch.

The buttons? They were in the cardboard folder!


I really like those celebration buttons.

Did you spot the water bottles? We got 4 bottles in the room.

That kind of surprises me. It is not like Disney to provide free water/

This is the Reception Desk.


This is very pretty.


I love all the stained glass.

There was a pianist in the corner playing Disney tunes. Actually, there were two of them and they were both amazing. They just kept playing a set each and changed over. It was non-stop music from about 5 – 7 pm.

Oh, I would love this. This is one of the things I really enjoy at the Grand Californian.

Afterall, this was my view.


That is quite a view.

I thought the décor was functional. It was almost the same as the Ballet Café only the upholstery is a little different.


I actually quite like it.

Perhaps this might give you a better idea of the view.


That is definitely a nice view.

It was a little prettier at night. :teeth:


This is just stunning.

Ignite the Dream is billed as a Nighttime Spectacular of Magic and Light at the Storybook Castle, Shanghai Disneyland. Like most other displays at Disneys around the world, this attraction combines building projections, fire, lasers and fireworks; and throws in water fountains as well.

This sounds very much like Disney Dreams that used to be at Disneyland Paris.[/QUOTE]

I really enjoyed the fireworks photos.

The downside of viewing Ignite the Dream from this location is that there are a LOT of seemingly dark gaps between the firework bursts. I gather from Zanzibar that the relatively smaller amount of fireworks could be due to the strict pollution standards that Shanghai is under. I think there are only about 15 or so firework bursts in the whole show. Those gaps are where you would be viewing the building projections, laser, fire and water fountain displays if you were right in the park.

Again, that sounds very similar to Disneyland Paris.

From this vantage point and with the telezoom lens, I just had to take a picture of the Tron building.



That looks very impressive.

I had hoped for sunrise colour in the sky. Sadly, the sky was not awake. Sunrise was just not going to happen.


I love the colours in this photo.

At Disneytown, it’s opened from 7 am. It’s about the only establishment opened at this time of morning at Disneytown.

This is the same as at Disneyland Paris.

This is one of my regrets. I had decided that this set of mugs needed to come home with me on this first morning. It had the name of a number of Chinese cities, including Suzhou on them. I just forgot to buy a set!


What a shame. They are very nice.

I will say that we did see a few instances of queue cutting during our time here. By and large, they were in the minority. The majority of queues were quite orderly.

This is also a problem at Disneyland Paris. Continental Europe does not really do standing in line.

Err…….I think I figured out why the scammers were wanting your phone number and why it would take an hour to collect the FP. I guess that’s the time it would take for them to custom print your fast pass with your ticket number and deliver them to the park.

Talk about attention to detail/

Since our return, I gather that Disney have now introduced Countermeasure Mark 2. They are now selling Premium Access passes. And they aren’t exactly cheap! A single land-specific FP sells for 120/150 Yuan for peak/off peak (about $24/30 in my money) or a set of 7 FPs for all the FP rides sells for 480/600 Yuan (about $96/$120 in my money).

That is very expensive.

And no! We didn’t plan it. We’re all such Disney-philes that Rope Drop is the only option! Plus, if you tarry a little at the entrance, you’re bound to bump into each other!

That is nice how this worked out.

We (FireflyFi and her DF went off to do their own thing. The rest of us hung about as a group.) wandered slowly down the only Disneyland park without a Main Street, USA and ran into a group of Cast Members.

I thought Tokyo Disneyland did not have a Main Street either. I think there the entrance area is called World Bazaar.

At the end of Mickey Avenue was a major drawcard for me. The Storyteller’s Statue is the same as the one found at DCA. I was just lucky to get there with no one around.

Oh, it is nice to see something familiar.

My glasses? I kept them on. I had specially purchased a sports strap from my local optometrist before I left because I knew that they did check and ask people to put all loose items away. And yes, the CM did indicate that I should put my glasses away until I showed him the safety strap. He let me keep them on after that.

That is good to know. I don't see too well without my glasses.

We were heading back towards Treasure Cove after our returning from the I/O Portal when we realised that there was a 10-minute stand-by wait for Peter Pan.

That is what I call a result.

There is a seating area in here that overlooks the Pirates of the Caribbean ride much like Blue Bayou does in Disneyland.
This area is very popular with the diners. Sadly, we didn’t get a table by the water.

That is a really neat touch.

I missed the orange smell.

I am worried that I will really miss this.


I absolutely adore this.

Dining here for the character breakfast will set you back 248 Yuan; or about $50 in my money.

This looked really expensive, but when I converted this in Pounds, it looked very fair.

That’s because Shanghai Disneyland does have PhotoPass photographers located around the park. I found them mostly down Mickey Avenue (the prime spots!) and in the character meet and greet locations.

That is good to know. In Paris, they only have Photopass photographers with the characters.

The PP+ option at SDL will set you back 369 Yuan.

This is fair.

After the transaction was completed, I got given the card at the top of the picture below.

It is almost worth it for just that.

We were the first table the characters came to visit and the characters all came to visit complete with their handlers as well as PhotoPass photographers.

That is nice. I always have said that they should have Photopass photographers at the character meals.

My favourite station was the Dim Sum selection.

Oh, I would like this.

Compared to US pricing….it IS expensive.

I suppose it depends on what currency you compare it with. From my perspective, they are about the same.

You’ll find the Meet Mickey attraction on the Tomorrowland side of the Gardens of Imagination. We powerwalked from the transportation hub here as quickly as possible. The wait time was 5 minutes.

Wow, that is amazing.

…..everyone else walked PAST Mickey in his official Shanghai Disneyland jacket. I guess the Chinese haven’t yet worked out who he is!

I am shaking my head in disbelief. How can anybody enter a line to meet Mickey and then walk straight past him.


I really like this costume.

Poor Spiderman was spinning webs waiting for someone – anyone – to hang with him.

I wish I would encounter Spiderman with nobody around.

Repeat Rides as much as Possible (Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue)

I like the look of this.

Thankfully, the gun is based on the DLR version so you get to remove it from the holster for better aim.

I am glad to read this.

Heading to infinity and beyond was mostly just 2-dimensional.

That seems kind of strange.


Oh, I am glad that Stitch is at Shanghai Disneyland.

Yet again, we were the only ones seeking out the Meet and Greet. Stitch was just happy to spend extra time posing for me as well.

I would have been in my element there.

I did eventually realise that the view from the deck was stunning.


That is a beautiful photo.


Oh, the boats have the same scrollwork as the DCL ships.

They really worked to get a clear shot of us.


That is an amazing photo.

I gather that there is a similar garden in the Paris Disneyland. If I ever make it there, it will be on my to-do list.

There is a similar one, but that is based on the animated version.

I loved the characters in the royal outfits at lunch.

Corinna
 
Ugh, I finally made time to come look at your latest update and now my internet is acting up and none of the pictures are downloading! :headache:
 
That is definitely on the list if we make it to Shanghai. I would imagine the menu would change so I won't get my hopes up for any specific offerings, but most everything looked good. I would have been right there with you on dessert! None of the others really appealed to me until I saw yours and thought that was just perfect.

And if I do ever get a Shanghai trip in the works, I'm going to do my best to see about getting into that Club 33. I've seen posts of people who have been in there, and I'd love to say that I got in there!
 
There are some great shots of the team with the Royals! We must have similar tastes, I ordered the same items except for dessert only because the children were already ordering the slippers and I wanted to try something different! I thought the duck was very well prepared. As you said coming off the bone but moist and tasty.

After 4 late nights and early mornings booking Disney dining, I'm glad to report it is mostly done and we mostly got what we wanted. I'm just so shattered! The things we do for Disney!!!
 
What a beautiful venue and marvelous meal! I really like that they had the characters as royalty better than the movie royalty.

It was a lovely venue and the characters were fantastic in those costumes. The food was the icing on the cake!
 
I am all caught up again.

Welcome back! Looking forward to your TR. And no rush. I know you're busy this month (good luck!!!)



That is a little strange considering you would need a visa to even get there.

I know, right? But when in China.....



That kind of surprises me. It is not like Disney to provide free water/

All the hotels in that part of the world provide free water. We got 2 bottles a day at the other hotels we stayed at. Getting 4 bottles was an absolute bonus!




Oh, I would love this. This is one of the things I really enjoy at the Grand Californian.

My mother made it a point to head back to the hotel to listen to the pianist for 2 out of 3 days. She really liked just sitting there after a big day's walking and when it got a little too cold for her at night.




That is quite a view.

Well worth the money for me!



I actually quite like it.

It's nice. I just wished they had done a bit more. :)



This sounds very much like Disney Dreams that used to be at Disneyland Paris.

Yes. And if I understand correctly, I think the new show at Paris is a slight modification of this one at Shanghai.



This is also a problem at Disneyland Paris. Continental Europe does not really do standing in line.

Good to know. I hope to make it to Paris Disneyland someday.




I am worried that I will really miss this.

If you're anything like me, you probably will. :(





This looked really expensive, but when I converted this in Pounds, it looked very fair.

It probably looks fair in Pounds. But it is a much more expensive character breakfast buffet than the similar offerings in WDW.






I am shaking my head in disbelief. How can anybody enter a line to meet Mickey and then walk straight past him.

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief!
 
Ugh, I finally made time to come look at your latest update and now my internet is acting up and none of the pictures are downloading! :headache:

Glad it finally worked out for you.

I think it might have been Photobucket itself; rather than your internet. I know there are times of the day where I have issues with uploading pictures or even seeing my pictures in PB.




That is definitely on the list if we make it to Shanghai. I would imagine the menu would change so I won't get my hopes up for any specific offerings, but most everything looked good. I would have been right there with you on dessert! None of the others really appealed to me until I saw yours and thought that was just perfect.

I hope you make it to Shanghai. If you want extra company, let me know! Happy to meet your there. And yes, RBT will be a great place for lunch.





And if I do ever get a Shanghai trip in the works, I'm going to do my best to see about getting into that Club 33. I've seen posts of people who have been in there, and I'd love to say that I got in there!

I sure hope you get to go see Club 33 there!
 
There are some great shots of the team with the Royals! We must have similar tastes, I ordered the same items except for dessert only because the children were already ordering the slippers and I wanted to try something different! I thought the duck was very well prepared. As you said coming off the bone but moist and tasty.

That duck was pretty good, wasn't it?

I hope you got to taste the slipper from one of your kid's plates. It was such a visual feast for the eyes!




After 4 late nights and early mornings booking Disney dining, I'm glad to report it is mostly done and we mostly got what we wanted. I'm just so shattered! The things we do for Disney!!!

YAY for getting mostly everything you want.

Now.......next will be your FP+ booking!........only 4 months to go to another round of sleepless nights. :upsidedow
 

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