The 'I survived SDL's Opening Day' TR!

It's basically a Donald waffle with either chocolate or vanilla/berry extras. I can never resist chocolate.

We definitely need to go again. Happy to split a Donald waffle with you.



I was constantly amazed at how short the wait times were here for characters.

It was crazy how there were hardly anyone queuing for the characters.



I was thrilled to see that all the obstructions had finally been removed from in front of the castle.

YAY! That's a great shot.


Turned out she was a pretty good photographer

You got great shots!
 
Dang it!

Another one to add to the list of things to re-do.
I know hey....at least you did a wander round the Adventureland at night. Kicking myself we didn't - came within a whisper of doing so but were just a bit tired that last night. DH is already scheming how we might fly to Europe next trip via Shanghai so he can see SDL - lol!
 
We definitely need to go again. Happy to split a Donald waffle with you.

It was crazy how there were hardly anyone queuing for the characters.

You got great shots!

Thanks! And yes, happy to share a Donald waffle any time :thumbsup2 Although sadly I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to go back.

I know hey....at least you did a wander round the Adventureland at night. Kicking myself we didn't - came within a whisper of doing so but were just a bit tired that last night. DH is already scheming how we might fly to Europe next trip via Shanghai so he can see SDL - lol!

I missed many things on this first trip due to being too tired and sore. I was still getting over Oxfam I think lol!

and yes love your pics. You as Cinderella in front of the castle is beautiful.

Thanks :goodvibes
 


My next stop was the Pirates Stunt Show. It wasn't a must-do for me, but all my must-dos had been done, so I thought I may as well give it a go!

On all the guides it said to arrive at shows at least half an hour prior to the starting time. I arrived basically right on the starting time, and was waved through to the queue, which was already filing into the theatre.



I loved the inside of the theatre, and quite easily filled in the few minutes waiting for the show to start by taking photos.





The show started with a drawn-out 'pre-show' that was all in Chinese. For about 10 minutes I was standing there without the faintest clue of what was going on.



I noticed a westerner in front of me, who seemed to have a local friend who was translating for him. I asked if he would mind if I listened in too. Until that point, everyone I'd spoken to had been lovely and friendly and willing to help out wherever they could. However, this guy just shot me the dirtiest look ever, and then ignored me. I continued to wonder what on earth was going on.





Eventually everyone started shuffling forward. The translator guy actually turned to me and said in quite a short and to the point way 'we're going in now'. Thanks, but I'd actually managed to figure that bit out on my own...

Considering that I'd been late to the party, I was very happy with my seat.



The show was all in Chinese, and bits of it didn't really make sense to me. Like what's with 'fishgirl'???



And this guy???



The best I could figure out is that they seemed to be doing some sort of comedy act while waiting for Jack Sparrow to arrive.



He made a fairly dramatic entrance.



From that point, I started to be able to follow the story a little better. Some guards showed up, I'm guessing to capture the pirates.



There were some explosions which revealed the rest of the stage.





It seemed like it was all over for Jack.



But of course he escaped and some sword fighting ensued.







For some reason there was a tornado coming.



I didn't get any decent shots of when the tornado hit. The fighting moved to one of those wind tunnel things that keeps you floating.



There were some more explosions.



And the pirates all escaped.





At the end of the show they picked out some members of the audience to give pirate medallion coins to. Not sure if this was just part of the opening celebrations or if it happens all the time.



I did enjoy the show, but there were a few bits that left me scratching my head, and I felt like I did miss a little bit by not understanding what they were saying. There were a several parts where the rest of the audience burst into laughter or applause and I had no idea why lol!

Next I decided to head back to Mickey Ave to do some shopping. I took a couple of pictures on the way out.



Would you believe, I accidentally stumbled across the Chip and Dale Tai Chi show again lol!











Donald came in to crash the party.







I had to give up on the show as it was such a glary day and I didn't have my sunnies with me! After 10 minutes or so watching the show, my eyes were starting to water and I couldn't handle it anymore (yes I do have overly sensitive eyes).

I wandered through a couple of the shops on Mickey Ave.



Then I headed back to Treasure Cove for a meeting with Jack Sparrow.



Jack was quite popular and actually had a bit of a line forming to see him. To my delight, he was speaking English to everyone! We had quite a chat - I suspect he was also pleased to meet someone who could speak English.

Some of you may have noticed that I had been criss-crossing the park quite a lot this morning. Yes, I had been, and there was even more to come! This was very tiring, and not something I would recommend.
 
Oh you got a piccie with Jack - lucky!! We really enjoyed the pirate show especially the stunt fighting and wind tunnel bit. They were after a treasure chest but not sure how that fits with the intro prelude. I presumed the pirates had raided the governor of the Caribbean island since we seemed to be in a grand mansion inside and they were taking the mickey out of him - perhaps it was his treasure chest? and I wasn't sure if some of Jack's pirates as always had gone AWOL on him taking things into their own hands in his absence. Some of the stage show before the cannon blowing up the stage scenes, was very English burlesque style with elements that seemed familiar from my school days and perhaps visits to shows in London ...not sure what I am remembering. I am hoping some time soon a Chinese English speaker will put up a synopsis somewhere for us to find (and ditto for Pirates too)
 
Nice pics of the pirate stunt show!

I don't remember if they were handing out any coins at the end; but I wasn't paying attention at all.

And awesome that you got a shot with Jack.
 


Oh you got a piccie with Jack - lucky!! We really enjoyed the pirate show especially the stunt fighting and wind tunnel bit. They were after a treasure chest but not sure how that fits with the intro prelude. I presumed the pirates had raided the governor of the Caribbean island since we seemed to be in a grand mansion inside and they were taking the mickey out of him - perhaps it was his treasure chest? and I wasn't sure if some of Jack's pirates as always had gone AWOL on him taking things into their own hands in his absence. Some of the stage show before the cannon blowing up the stage scenes, was very English burlesque style with elements that seemed familiar from my school days and perhaps visits to shows in London ...not sure what I am remembering. I am hoping some time soon a Chinese English speaker will put up a synopsis somewhere for us to find (and ditto for Pirates too)

Thanks for your input! Yes, that would be very handy.

Nice pics of the pirate stunt show!

I don't remember if they were handing out any coins at the end; but I wasn't paying attention at all.

And awesome that you got a shot with Jack.

They made a pretty big deal out of it - I'd be surprised if they did it and you didn't notice. Must have been an opening thing.

I was looking out for Jack on our recent trip too, but never saw him out. I'm guessing he wouldn't have come out in that rain we had, but I thought he might make an appearance on the last day.
 
From Pirates, I had to trudge across to the complete opposite side of the park for my Tron FP. I still had plenty of time, so I had a bit more of a look around the castle on the way through, enjoying the lack of obstructions!



I actually arrived at Tron a little early, so took the opportunity to get some more photos. This girl was obviously enjoying the ride!





Love the views from the Tron bridge.







With 5 minutes to go until my FP return time, I decided to see whether they'd let me through. Success!



By the time my ride finished, I had just enough time to get across to the castle for my lunch booking. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that there was a parade at 1pm, and got stuck on the other side! I figured I may as well take a few photos while I was stuck there.







After what seemed like forever, the parade passed by and I was able to get through. I was running a few minutes late by then!
 
Man! What a difference no rain makes. I totally wish we didn't get rained on so like we did. I completely missed out on the landscape shots around the park! :headache:


Another great update, zanzibar. :thumbsup2
 
There was a long queue at the Royal Banquet Hall when I arrived, so I joined it and waited impatiently, knowing that I was now running fairly late and worried that they might give my booking away!





Upon arrival, I had to register at the front desk. Luckily they were ok with me running late and nothing was said about it.



I was then shown to the waiting area, where I joined another queue, which I assumed was for entry into the restaurant. The waiting area was very cute, with some beautiful artwork, and lots of detail in the wallpaper.

















It turned out that the queue was actually for the photo opportunity on the way in to the restaurant. I hadn't been expecting this! Aurora and I had a nice chat about skirts!





Then it was time to make my way up the grand staircase to the restaurant.



I was shown to what appeared to be the Snow White dining room, and seated at a large table for 4. I had been a little wary going into this, as I haven't really dined alone in an actual restaurant before, but I was never made to feel uncomfortable about it and ended up enjoying the experience, despite my huge table.





I was promptly handed a menu.



The CM came back around a few minutes later to take my order. It's a set menu, with several choices for each course. You just order the whole lot at once, along with any drinks.

I busied myself looking around with wonder and taking photos.







Keeping in mind that this was opening weekend and there had been no prior reviews of this restaurant, and it was also advertised as 'dining with royalty', I had been expecting princesses. I'm not huge on princesses, but I had been excited about dining in the castle anyway. Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw Mickey emerge, dressed in the cutest medieval inspired outfit!



I had to keep a lid on my excitement, as my appetizer was being served. I went for the leek tart, and it was quite delicious, but a massive serving! I only allowed myself to eat half, as I was concerned about not being able to fit the rest of my meal in otherwise.



I'd just finished my tart when Mickey came to visit!





For main I went with the chicken curry. Loved the cute pumpkin detail and the rice served in the shape of a Mickey head! It should be noted that there was actually no pumpkin in the curry - not sure what they did with all the pumpkin insides!



Minnie came around next, in a beautiful fair maiden gown!





Daisy's outfit was lovely too!



Donald was about the cutest thing out!



After I'd had my fill of characters, dessert was served. I had gone with the Elsa option - can't remember what everything was. It was all delicious though, and presented spectacularly!



I didn't think to ask if I could have a look around the other dining rooms, but this beautiful artwork was on the wall near the bathrooms.



I had another brief look around the inside of the castle and immediate vicinity on the way out.



 
Thanks for your input! Yes, that would be very handy.



They made a pretty big deal out of it - I'd be surprised if they did it and you didn't notice. Must have been an opening thing.

I was looking out for Jack on our recent trip too, but never saw him out. I'm guessing he wouldn't have come out in that rain we had, but I thought he might make an appearance on the last day.

Yes I did too and no didn't see him. They do still hand out coins but not many because I thought blow we are too far from an end to have any hope of getting any and I was right. I expect they are the same/similar as the onesthey hand out to kids after the pirate tutorial in WDW now.
 
After lunch, I headed to Treasure Cove for one last ride on Pirates.



I took a few more queue photos.







Including some showing some of the guest behaviour I encountered. Like this girl clipping her nails while waiting in line.



And these ones showing some of the rubbish around the queue area.





There was a bit of a hold up at the end of the ride, so I got my camera out again and got a couple of 'on ride' photos.





After the ride, I made my way back to Mickey Ave for some more shopping. Check out the wait times for the main headliners in Adventure Isle!



The Whistle Stop shop had merchandise related to the Gardens of Imagination when I was there, including Fantasia items and Garden of the Twelve Friends. For the record, on my latest visit, it had been turned into a Duffy shop.



Minnie's Sweet Shop has a whole heap of biscuit tins and such, as well as the selection of sweets in the display case.



For some reason I headed back to Treasure Cove to go back to the Pirates shop. I guess I must have been looking for something in particular - can't think of any other reason why I would need to go back after having just been there lol!

There was a large crowd gathering for the second parade.



The Pirates shop does have some VERY cool merchandise, and I could have really spent up big in there!







Sadly, I was on a very limited budget this time around, and had to pick my few souvenirs wisely!

I must have been feeling a little lost at this stage, because I seem to have just wandered a bit.



I remember sitting and resting for a few minutes as the parade was just passing through and I couldn't be bothered fighting my way through the crowd. You can probably get an idea of how exhausted I was getting from this photo lol!



Just near me was a large expanse of lawn area designed for picnics. From memory, there are a couple of these scattered throughout the park. I wonder if they'll eventually ditch them in favour of putting in more attractions.

 
My next destination was the Alice in Wonderland maze. Being a big fan of Alice in Wonderland (both the original animated version and the Tim Burton live action version), this was a definite must-do for me.

First of all, I wandered around the castle 'bridge' to get some photos of the maze from the outside.





Loved these steampunk animal garden statues, and would have totally taken home a miniature set for my own garden if they were available!







I then headed to the other side of the bridge to get some photos of the Red Queen's maze.









The castle loomed over this part of the attraction.



I zoomed in a bit to get some photos of the tea party end of the maze too - I absolutely loved all the lanterns!





 
After wandering around the top, I headed to the entrance.



There are vignettes of story leading into maze.



Entry is via one of these doors.



There are great views of the castle from within the maze.



I had a lovely time checking out the garden in more detail.















The small cave that led under the walkway to the castle seemed to be home to the Cheshire Cat, but I didn't see any sign of him on this occasion.



I came out the other side at the entrance to the Red Queen's garden.



It was so detailed in here, I could have spent hours taking photos!









Then over the bridge to visit the Mad Hatter's tea party.





It was fun getting lost in the maze, and I just loved the lanterns against the castle!







The tea party was incredibly crowded, so I didn't hang around there too long!



 
It was hard to capture / follow, but the Cheshire Cat temporarily left some cool footprints on the walls of the cave and his "smile" would appear in some of the screens. I *think* you were meant to "follow" the cat through the entire cave, but it was a little crowded and people would "stop" where they first saw something and wait for it to reappear instead of trying to follow them.

Did they let you choose which of the three doors to enter by? When we visited, they forced everyone to use the middle door for some reason (even though they all end up in the same area just a couple of metres later).
 

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