zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
Well, I haven't been to Asia yet, I am only preparing a Hong Kong / Shanghai / Tokyo trip for next year. But when I look at getting around Hong Kong or Tokyo, it seems less daunting than Shanghai. Could also be caused by all the paperwork the visa brings with China and all the 'advice' is posted about the police and authorities in China on the website of our embassy. Things like: bring at least 2 forms of ID, don't store them in the same place, leave a copy of your IDs with family, register yourself with the embassy as soon as you arrive, be reminded the police has a lot more authority than in the Netherlands, don't argue with police, follow instructions immediately etc. etc. It really puts me off to visit China. I am really curious to see Disney Shanghai (and Shanghai itself, it's a city with an interesting history & culture), but when I read this, I think: 'Maybe it's better not to'. I will go, but it takes out the enjoyment of planning a trip.
But back to the fun stuff what did you think of the shows, were you able to see the castle stage show and Tarzan?
I wouldn't let that stuff get you down. Those warnings are pretty much par for the course in any Asian country - I would pretty much follow that advice for Hong Kong too. Police are all in camo and carry around rifles - it can be pretty intimidating. We've done a lot of travel through many Asian countries and never had any issues with police at all. As long as you're not doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to worry about! In fact, the security people at Disney (not actual police I know, but similar sort of lines) were quite friendly and approachable, even if they didn't speak any English lol! And registering with the embassy is something you don't have to worry about - your hotel will take care of that for you, it's why they will need your passport when you check in, and just means the check in process takes a few minutes longer than you might normally expect. Honestly, I felt much more comfortable getting around in China (even on my own) than I did in France with all the scammers and pickpocketers there!
I will be doing full reviews of all the shows I saw later in my TR. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the castle show as they were still taking down all the opening ceremony related props from in front of the castle, and didn't start the stage show until Sunday (my last day was Saturday ). I did manage to catch Tarzan and also the Pirates stunt show, and enjoyed both very much. The language barrier was a little bit of an issue with the stunt show, but not noticeable at all with Tarzan because there wasn't much dialogue. There was also a Baymax show in Tomorrowland, which I didn't bother to watch but looked cute, and the Tai Chi with Character show in Gardens of Imagination. I really wanted to watch that one when I just happened to walk by as it was starting, but it was too glary and I'd forgotten to take my sunnies so I had to give up. It looked really cute though with some great photo opportunities!