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

[tiggrbaby]

Great ride pics! That trail looked like a lot of fun; you were brave to tackle it in the rain. The food and restaurant looked like a great find.

 

[franandaj]

Originally released on 5th February 1953, Peter Pan is probably one of Disney’s most classic and beloved films for historic reasons. It is the final Disney animated feature released through RKO Radio Pictures before Walt Disney's founding of his own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution. BVD was founded in 1953, but after Peter Pan was released. Peter Pan is also the final Disney film in which all nine members of Disney's Nine Old Men worked together as directing animators. With that kind of provenance, it is no wonder that most people – me included – consider Peter Pan as something quintessentially Disney.

Huh. There was some information in there that I did not know!

From Shanghai to the roof tops of London. It’s been a while since I’ve flown over London. Whilst it looks the same, I did wonder if I had imagined a certain shadow to the scene. Still there was a definitely ‘freshness’ to it all for me.

Nice shots on the ride!

That is definitely one of the differences that you will notice in Shanghai. It’s one of those distinctively Shanghai Disney (and Hong Kong Disney) things.

What difference?

However, don’t be fooled into thinking that the food will not be up to scratch. Take a look at what was on offer here.

I don't know what that is?

If I were in the US, I wouldn’t have even attempted this! If we were in the US, I may have walked to the waterfront to take a look but only if I weren't going to disturb anyone or encroach on personal space. But as we were in China, not only did I walk up to take a look, I also squeezed in between the tables to grab shots! Neither party at the two tables I squeezed past even gave me a second look or said anything. When in China, right?

Funny how different the two cultures are.

Squat toilets are quite common in China. I took this picture where I was in Suzhou. It was probably the ONLY time I actually had to use a squat toilet and that was because there was no choice.

I remember coming across my first squat toilet at a rest stop in the Alps. I had no idea to expect that!

These are taken inside the Disabled Accessible restrooms at Barbarossa’s Bounty. All of the ladies’ facilities that I went to had a DA restroom.

Thank you very much for taking those pictures. I showed them to Fran and she was happy to see the bars.

Challenge Trails are a set of ropes courses set against the backdrop of Roaring Rapid Mountain.

I think I would sit that one out...or take the disabled trail.

There are 3 different options at each section of the trail that you can choose from.

They all look like more than I want to challenge.

There was a cast member that had stopped my mother and was trying to tell her something.

“You DO know this is a roller coaster, don’t you?”

Wow. Just wow.

But having not ridden the Orlando attraction, I have nothing to compare apples to apples. I gather that there might be a scene or two missing from the ride itself. Guess I’m just going to have to get to Orlando and find out what the differences are!

They're probably missing from both versions of the ride. You'll need to experience it for yourself. My comment after my first ride was, "I'm glad I didn't wait 120 minutes to ride that!"

 

[darrenf67]

I thought the Adventure Isle challenges were so well done and the looks on the faces of the people as they were doing it was pure joy. A great idea and well executed.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

A Quintessential Disney Ride – Peter Pan’s Flight


This ride is almost a replica of the other Peter Pan rides. I know it’s not a roller coaster but it really is pure classic Disney. For my inner child, it’s a ride that I am happy to go on again and again and again. There is just something compelling about it.

(Continued in Next Post)

Me too!! and not just because I was named by my Dad (Peter) after Wendy in Peter Pan.

 

[zanzibar138]

Another great update! Love seeing it all through your eyes (or lens )

:


I don’t remember the projected animations. Is this a new addition since 2014? Either that or I’ve been strangely unobservant or I’m really slipping down that Old Fogie road.

From what I can tell, there were a couple of new effects in the SDL version. It's been so long since I've done the DLR version, I couldn't tell what they were lol!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I've ridden both and feel that this ride is identical to the Orlando version but the cottage at the end in Shanghai is pathetic in comparison to the Orlando cottage
I loved Snow White and the Dwarves dancing in Orlando and the witch looking in through the window

Hmm. I don't think I even remember the cottage. So that must be how pathetic that is in comparison.

It was funny hearing the song sung in Chinese

Ah. I guess I was singing so loudly/badly in English that I didn't hear the Chinese.

On another occasion I rode and was sitting next to a Chinese lady whose husband and son were in front
She was petrified...
I held her hand and sang along (me in English)....
we got to "hi ho..." and I said "now they go home ... quick!"
She screamed and I laughed .... at the end we decided it was "like husband driving "

Just like husband driving.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I loved the "freshness" the rides had at Shanghai - Peter Pan had a few wow moments for me with the digital projections, but Pirates took Disney Park rides to a whole new level. WOW - amazing.

Yes, it was the freshness of everything that grabbed me too. I suspect that in years to come, we're all going to be glad that we got there in the 1st year of opening. (I know Zanzibar is going to be in the elite group of people that were there on opening day! So awesome!)

I thought the Adventure Isle challenges were so well done and the looks on the faces of the people as they were doing it was pure joy. A great idea and well executed.

We have tree surfing here in Victoria. I expect there might be places that do it in Queensland.
Tree surfing is based on the same concept; except you don't have a choice of 3 routes at each pass.


Yes....pure joy on this challenge.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great update, I especially liked the bathroom details! Southern France has those, too, especially in public bathrooms. Maybe they are disappearing now. My mother always made the point when I was complaining as a kid when we were on vacation there that they are cleaner than the ones where you sit down as you don't need to touch anything with your naked behind. So, I got used to them. But I still would prefer the Western version in DL...

I think that's what the Asians like about these kind of bathrooms too.

I seem to recall that there might have been squat toilets in Mexico when we were last there too. Again, I expect that they will also disappear.

The ribs at Barbossa's look very good. And the restaurant is very pretty. Reminds me of the counter service restaurants at DLP. They are also very themed, lots of small rooms and nooks. Luckily the food seems to be better in Shanghai though. I hope it stays that way and is not just an opening year thing before quality slips.

I have high hopes that the food quality will stay consistently high in Shanghai. I know that the food in Hong Kong Disneyland (in the park itself) has kept to a very decent standard.

As far as I know the mine train is quite identical to WDW. Originally both versions were supposed to be quite more elaborate, have a third lift hill and far more show scenes. Then the budget was cut several times.

Seems like there is a little cottage scene that is missing.

Peter Pan looks a Little like Paris, too. At least there they have the same seating configuration with two rows. It is even three and three there.

I will get to Paris one of these days. I have Tokyo in my sights first.

Great ride pics! That trail looked like a lot of fun; you were brave to tackle it in the rain. The food and restaurant looked like a great find.

Thanks!
I had a lot of fun on the trail. The first couple of obstacles were okay. Towards the end, it just got too slippery in the rain and I just opted for the easiest path across.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Huh. There was some information in there that I did not know!

Someday.....in one of your Disney trivia quiz things on a cruise somewhere.....you're going to thank me for it!!!

What difference?

There is only one TS place in the Shanghai Disneyland park. And that's the Royal Banquet Hall at the castle. The rest of the eating places are either Quick Service or snack carts. I don't think any of the American parks would cope if there was only one TS option available in the park.

I don't know what that is?

It's stuffed calamari or octopus. By all accounts, it's meant to be the pick of the meals there. I was going to try it but it just didn't look as appetising as the chicken did on the day we went.

Funny how different the two cultures are.

Thank you very much for taking those pictures. I showed them to Fran and she was happy to see the bars.

Glad she was happy. I specifically made a point of getting in that particular cubicle for that reason.

I think I would sit that one out...or take the disabled trail.

It is worth trying. After the stairs, there are a few flat platforms.

Wow. Just wow.

I know, right?

They're probably missing from both versions of the ride. You'll need to experience it for yourself. My comment after my first ride was, "I'm glad I didn't wait 120 minutes to ride that!"

I guess Snow White or the dwarfs were greedy guts' and ate ALL the apples. So rude of them not to leave any for us!!


Yes. After going on this ride at Shanghai, I would say the same thing. Can't believe that the ride gets out to 120 minutes in Orlando!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Me too!! and not just because I was named by my Dad (Peter) after Wendy in Peter Pan.

Ooh. I did wonder if you were named for Wendy! Nice to have the confirmation because I don't think I knew that before this!

From what I can tell, there were a couple of new effects in the SDL version. It's been so long since I've done the DLR version, I couldn't tell what they were lol!

I think it was the projections on the wall. There was Tinkerbell, and Peter's shadow in the scene over the rooftops of London, and them all flying to Neverland....and I think the sword fight shadows with Peter and Hook were also new.


I was hoping that either Bret or Alison could confirm. I'm the same as you....the last time I rode Peter Pan could have been back in 2014.



And the ride is definitely much smoother.

 

[1nfrequent]

Quick question about the lockers - how secure are they? Were you happy to leave valuables in there?

1F

 

[Agent 86]

Quick question about the lockers - how secure are they? Were you happy to leave valuables in there?

1F

The Roaring Rapids lockers (which I used for the Challenge Trails because the line for the Challenge Trails lockers was very long) and the Tron lockers seemed fine. They no longer appear to require you to use a locker for Roaring Rapids - we took our backpack on the ride both times. On Tron, you can carry your wallet and phone with you. If you're not comfortable leaving them in your pocket, there is a small ... box at the front of the "motorbike" in which you can store them. Of course, I saw people openly playing with their phones on Tron (i.e. surfing, taking photos, etc) when actually loading (i.e. getting onto the bike and waiting for the ride to start) and nine times out of ten, the cast member would say nothing.

They didn't check for valuables on Challenge Trails particularly well. They simply mimed patting your pockets. Although we stored EVERYTHING in a locker (as instructed), there were plenty of locals in line openly playing with their phones and they were never challenged or asked to store their phone even though the various cast members could clearly see that they were using phones (both in line and when on the course). They also had their hats and sunglasses whereas we were instructed to remove and store our sunglasses (but could keep our hats).

Basically, as long as you didn't try to carry a bag onto Tron or Challenge Trails, then you would be fine.

In general, I noticed that the cast members were extremely lax about enforcing any rules. They wouldn't enforce height restrictions, Fast Pass return times, people who were pushing in, etc. The few cast members who I saw who tried to enforce the rules, seemed to end up in a yelling match and the guest would simply push past, walk around or otherwise ignore the cast member. The only time I saw a cast member successfully castigate someone was when a bunch of people tried to push into the standby line for Soaring and that's probably because the cast member was "supported" by the people in line who also started yelling.

So, basically. If you're uncomfortable storing valuables in the lockers, you probably don't have to for any ride / attraction. As long as you store your backpack or any merchandise bags, then you should be fine carrying your wallet and phone with you at all times and on all rides.

The lockers themselves were okay. There were two types - one which required you to set a pin code and one which required you to insert a coin and you then got a key on a band to wear around your wrist. We ended up using the latter type the most since it was very crowded around the machines for setting your pin code and because there is no real concept of personal space, it would have been easy for the people behind us to see the pin code. The type which required a coin to be inserted (which was returned after use) seemed to be less popular and was therefore easier to procure. I can't recall whether they offered both types at Roaring Rapids or whether they only offered the pin code style of locker.

 

[zanzibar138]

Quick question about the lockers - how secure are they? Were you happy to leave valuables in there?

1F

I was quite happy to leave my valuables in the lockers. I used the sort where you had to set a PIN, and it seemed perfectly secure to me. They are similar to the ones for The Mummy at Universal if you're familiar with those.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

O

I think it was the projections on the wall. There was Tinkerbell, and Peter's shadow in the scene over the rooftops of London, and them all flying to Neverland....and I think the sword fight shadows with Peter and Hook were also new.

I was hoping that either Bret or Alison could confirm. I'm the same as you....the last time I rode Peter Pan could have been back in 2014.

And the ride is definitely much smoother.

Having rode WDW version just in Jan yes it felt like heaps of little things actually were different. The projections in SDL were unique though I noticed a few more shadow projections at WDW than I had previously (maybe just working better in refurb). The trip through the nursery is a bit different (eg don't pass close to the bed with Wendy and Michael in SDL) and there is a big difference with the splashdown by Skull Rock at SDL. I am sure we saw the Indians closer in WDW that we didn't in SDL but SDL we got close to Tinkerbell locked up that I don't remember seeing in WDW (but maybe it was the other side to me). The pirate ship projection like the beginning projections are much clearer and bigger at SDL and I am sure the characters are all in different spots saying goodbye. Think SDL pips it as the better now. Also yes MUCH smoother. Cannot remember DL or DLP or TDL versions but I know one felt very very bumpy and jerky and we were disappointed but was that TDL or DL I am not sure.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

They didn't check for valuables on Challenge Trails particularly well. They simply mimed patting your pockets. Although we stored EVERYTHING in a locker (as instructed), there were plenty of locals in line openly playing with their phones and they were never challenged or asked to store their phone even though the various cast members could clearly see that they were using phones (both in line and when on the course). They also had their hats and sunglasses whereas we were instructed to remove and store our sunglasses (but could keep our hats).

Basically, as long as you didn't try to carry a bag onto Tron or Challenge Trails, then you would be fine.

Interested with this because the CM actually checked PIO and confirmed she had a mobile phone on her though she didn't have it out and when she said yes he ordered her to go back and leave her mobile phone behind or no entry to the trails. I had a small camera hidden in an inner pocket and he didn't challenge me but after that I didn't dare openly to get it out to take pics just snuck a quick one or two. Guess it depends on the CMs.

 

[Agent 86]

I don't think we came across a single cast member who was engaged and focused on their job.

The only time I saw a cast member show any signs of life were when two visiting Disney officials were around. But, as soon as they were out of sight, the cast member immediately reverted to their usual self.

To be fair, we did visit Shanghai less than two weeks after Tokyo and the cast members at Tokyo are uniformly amazing!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Quick question about the lockers - how secure are they? Were you happy to leave valuables in there?

1F

The Roaring Rapids lockers (which I used for the Challenge Trails because the line for the Challenge Trails lockers was very long) and the Tron lockers seemed fine. They no longer appear to require you to use a locker for Roaring Rapids - we took our backpack on the ride both times. On Tron, you can carry your wallet and phone with you. If you're not comfortable leaving them in your pocket, there is a small ... box at the front of the "motorbike" in which you can store them. Of course, I saw people openly playing with their phones on Tron (i.e. surfing, taking photos, etc) when actually loading (i.e. getting onto the bike and waiting for the ride to start) and nine times out of ten, the cast member would say nothing.

They didn't check for valuables on Challenge Trails particularly well. They simply mimed patting your pockets. Although we stored EVERYTHING in a locker (as instructed), there were plenty of locals in line openly playing with their phones and they were never challenged or asked to store their phone even though the various cast members could clearly see that they were using phones (both in line and when on the course). They also had their hats and sunglasses whereas we were instructed to remove and store our sunglasses (but could keep our hats).

Basically, as long as you didn't try to carry a bag onto Tron or Challenge Trails, then you would be fine.

In general, I noticed that the cast members were extremely lax about enforcing any rules. They wouldn't enforce height restrictions, Fast Pass return times, people who were pushing in, etc. The few cast members who I saw who tried to enforce the rules, seemed to end up in a yelling match and the guest would simply push past, walk around or otherwise ignore the cast member. The only time I saw a cast member successfully castigate someone was when a bunch of people tried to push into the standby line for Soaring and that's probably because the cast member was "supported" by the people in line who also started yelling.

So, basically. If you're uncomfortable storing valuables in the lockers, you probably don't have to for any ride / attraction. As long as you store your backpack or any merchandise bags, then you should be fine carrying your wallet and phone with you at all times and on all rides.

The lockers themselves were okay. There were two types - one which required you to set a pin code and one which required you to insert a coin and you then got a key on a band to wear around your wrist. We ended up using the latter type the most since it was very crowded around the machines for setting your pin code and because there is no real concept of personal space, it would have been easy for the people behind us to see the pin code. The type which required a coin to be inserted (which was returned after use) seemed to be less popular and was therefore easier to procure. I can't recall whether they offered both types at Roaring Rapids or whether they only offered the pin code style of locker.

I was quite happy to leave my valuables in the lockers. I used the sort where you had to set a PIN, and it seemed perfectly secure to me. They are similar to the ones for The Mummy at Universal if you're familiar with those.

Thanks for the responses.

I agree with both. They are rather secure and I would have been happy to use them and leave my valuables there......if I could have figured out how! Looks like I missed the bit about putting coins in! LOL.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Basically, as long as you didn't try to carry a bag onto Tron or Challenge Trails, then you would be fine.

In general, I noticed that the cast members were extremely lax about enforcing any rules. They wouldn't enforce height restrictions, Fast Pass return times, people who were pushing in, etc. The few cast members who I saw who tried to enforce the rules, seemed to end up in a yelling match and the guest would simply push past, walk around or otherwise ignore the cast member. The only time I saw a cast member successfully castigate someone was when a bunch of people tried to push into the standby line for Soaring and that's probably because the cast member was "supported" by the people in line who also started yelling.

Interested with this because the CM actually checked PIO and confirmed she had a mobile phone on her though she didn't have it out and when she said yes he ordered her to go back and leave her mobile phone behind or no entry to the trails. I had a small camera hidden in an inner pocket and he didn't challenge me but after that I didn't dare openly to get it out to take pics just snuck a quick one or two. Guess it depends on the CMs.

We were there at on a quiet week. With the rain and mid-week, the longest we ever waited for a ride was 20 minutes. Most of the time, they were walk-on.
I think we only pulled 2 FP on the Sunday and 1 on the Monday before I realised there was no point.

I don't know if you were there on a busy day or not, @Agent 86, but I suspect that the CM we encountered at the time we were there might have been a bit more diligent about keeping the rules. They definitely were not allowing anyone in the FP entry if they didn't have a FP; and they checked the FP against the ticket numbers as well. There was more than one group of people that were told to go away on the 2 instances where we walked up to the FP entry.

I expect it would be significantly different on a busy day.


And yes, I wasn't allowed to go on the Challenge trail until I had left my mobile phone behind. Oh well. I guess it really depends on the CM and if you've been picked out of the crowd.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Having rode WDW version just in Jan yes it felt like heaps of little things actually were different. The projections in SDL were unique though I noticed a few more shadow projections at WDW than I had previously (maybe just working better in refurb). The trip through the nursery is a bit different (eg don't pass close to the bed with Wendy and Michael in SDL) and there is a big difference with the splashdown by Skull Rock at SDL. I am sure we saw the Indians closer in WDW that we didn't in SDL but SDL we got close to Tinkerbell locked up that I don't remember seeing in WDW (but maybe it was the other side to me). The pirate ship projection like the beginning projections are much clearer and bigger at SDL and I am sure the characters are all in different spots saying goodbye. Think SDL pips it as the better now. Also yes MUCH smoother. Cannot remember DL or DLP or TDL versions but I know one felt very very bumpy and jerky and we were disappointed but was that TDL or DL I am not sure.

I think the DL version is pretty jerky.
I still need to get to Tokyo!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I don't think we came across a single cast member who was engaged and focused on their job.

The only time I saw a cast member show any signs of life were when two visiting Disney officials were around. But, as soon as they were out of sight, the cast member immediately reverted to their usual self.

To be fair, we did visit Shanghai less than two weeks after Tokyo and the cast members at Tokyo are uniformly amazing!

I'm definitely going to have to go to Tokyo!