Day 1: Solo at Shanghai Disney
- Laura Hohman
- 53 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Knowing I was going to travel to Shanghai for work, I immediately booked my hotel and tickets to go to Shanghai Disney!
A little about me, I am a Disney Adult. I have a huge love and nostalgia for this brand from childhood and I take the chance to go to a Park whenever I am traveling. There's just something about how the music, the characters, and the joy can cross cultures and bridge languages. It truly is magical.
Day 1: Check in
Toy Story Hotel - Shanghai Disney
Now, this was insanity upon checkin. Soooo many children running around, and it was crazy loud. I did check in on a Saturday, so I'm sure that is part of it.
Whomever designed the beads on this check-in counter should have won an award. This distracted so many kids, it was incredible.
receptionist desk
English Support:
Many of the staff speak some level of English, and if they dont, they are friendly and quickly find someone who can help you. Otherwise, if you have the Shanghai app loaded, they can easily walk you through it with tech assistance.
First thing to know, you will need to download, use, and preconnect everything on your Shanghai Disney app. I'll go into this down below.
The Room:
This was niiice. Super cute decoration, great comfortable bed, tons of bottles of water, an super cute checkin gifts.
The TV had free access to a bunch of Disney+ content, so when that midday heat hits and you want to retreat to the AC in your room, there's plenty of entertainment.
Lotso Shop
Attached to the hotel was it's merch store. This actually had a decent selection of things, from Toy Story specific content all to Duffy and friends. Good place to stock up before you leave incase you didnt while at the park.
Why did I pick this hotel?
Toy Story Hotel is the cheaper of the places to stay that qualify for Early Entry to the park. There is also a shuttle bus that runs from 7:30 am to 11:30 pm every 10 minutes or so.
Overall Recommendation:
4/5 Stars. This was a great stay, convenient, comfortable room and great service. Only issue for me was the food options, it was pretty limited, but not a big deal since you are so close to Disney Town and the parks.
Day 1: Dinner at Disneytown
This is Shanghai Disney's Downtown area. Essentially outside the park, there are a bunch of restaurants, merch, and additional things to keep you occupied.
Again, make sure you have Alipay and Wechat installed - see my previous blog post "1 week in China" for more details.
Taking the shuttle from the hotel, its less than 10 minutes to get to Disneytown. (You can also walk, it takes about 20 minutes or so, and there's a major street crossing)
There's alot to do, and great shopping in this area. I actually found most things I bought at the park here in this Disney store, World Disney, rather than the ones inside the park. The official large Disney stores seemed to take VISA and traditional forms of payment, but smaller places did not.
Where I ate:
Nino Matcha - this matcha gelato was great. While the attendant didnt speak English, there was english translations on the menu and I could easily point and communicate. 5 stars. (Alipay)
IPPUDO Ramen - Their menu and ordering system was through minimal english options in Wechat (qr code scanner). Paid upfront in wechat, then they deliver to the table. Great food, fast service. (Wechat)
Shanghai Disney Resort app
This app is ESSENTIAL to any trip to Shanghai Disney, so make sure you have set it up beforehand. Find it here.
You will need to "Bind" your hotel stay to the app (so it shows up), same with your Disney park tickets. This app will then be used to check you into the hotel, enter you in special merch lotteries, be your park ticket/early entry ticket into the park, and more!
Check out my next post for my day in the park! Day 2: Solo at Shanghai Disney
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