A (2019) HalloXmas trip to Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo! - COMPLETED 5/1!!!

[Lesley Wake]

Oooo that does look really cool for photos, especially the Red Queen area. That throne calls me to the most.

Yeah I can imagine you on it!

It's amazing all the detail they've put into that area, so cool!

It was very cool! And unlike anything else I've seen in a while! I especially loved the music coursing through the whole area!

I love this! I would have had to try all 3 doors too. I'm still amazed at all the details.

Haha, yeah! Why would they only give me one choice - I'm too indecisive!

You are ridiculously good at selfies !

Lol - I think that's the first time I've heard that! If they do turn out well its because that is one shot out of 20 crappy ones!

Love seeing a new park. It does remind me a lot of DLParis- the only other park I've been to, other than WDW.

Can you go into the castle?

Yeah there are certainly some similarities to DLP, especially with more themed areas. I think when I went to DLP there was one day when I spent 12 hrs in the park, only did 2 rides, but was never bored!

I did go in the castle. I think a previous installment from Day 1 showed some photos from the ground floor with the gorgeous tiles and chandelier. Then there is a restaurant, but I didn't end up going in it (I didn't want to spend time eating at a table service when I only had 2 days in the park). And then a castle walkthrough, which I'll post next!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 6 – Once Upon A Time

I was checking wait times and saw the Honey Pots had a lower wait, so, besides it being basically the same as teacups, I decided to give it a spin, literally! It was only about a 5-10 minute wait. And I certainly made it spin – I don’t think many other people were really taking advantage of it! But nice lighting inside. (I do think a lot of people were watching me on the ride as I was the only westerner, plus the only person really spinning…but I didn’t care!)

Then I headed back down towards the castle and did the “Once Upon a Time Adventure”, which is basically a castle walk through of Snow White’s storyline. Some cool projection effects! And they send you in groups; while at the beginning it was a big clump, people sort of walked slower or faster which meant the earlier groups didn’t really finish up the whole story at each point. (So if you do it I recommend sticking out each scene until the end)

The introduction, it’s all in Chinese, but I assume it’s basically transitioning the story from page to physical sets…

Then you go up several flights of stairs. It’s a lot, but that is where they have these cool reliefs of the princesses.

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[Lesley Wake]

And then up to the top where the Magic Mirror introduced you again (it was similar to the effect at Enchanted Tales with Belle in WDW, though not as spectacular as you could tell it was a door opening).

And into Snow White’s storyline. Some had screens or projections. Others had physical animation.

Once you were done with the walk through you could enjoy a garden on the roof level.

And admired some more stained glass before heading downstairs and thru the exit again.

Coming up - Another Voyage and another parade viewing!​

 

[cindianne320]

Very cool walk through of the castle!

 

[vamassey1]

These are sooooo cute. Love the bright color. Too bad I could never do the spinning.

I would love this attraction. I need the animals to come clean my house next.

 

[rndmr2]

Found your TR a couple days ago and now I am caught up. I read your DLP TR back when I was researching for my November trip (which was awesome BTW, TR below if you are interested - From your TR I really wanted to see the Musee D'Orsay but sadly, we missed it)

Sounds like it is a great trip so far. I have really wanted to see the Asia parks (Especially DisneySea) but that won't happen anytime soon, at least I don't believe I will get the hubs to go there, might have to be a trip without him, maybe I can talk a friend into going...

Great that you were able to do business class, those seats looked really comfy! Too much really to comment on at this point but I have to comment on your meal on the first flight, I couldn't help but notice that yogurt, Upstate farms is located here in Upstate and Western NY where I live... Crazy to see it on an Asian Airline flight from LA.

I really wanted to see the Alice Maze in Paris but it was raining pretty good. This Alice maze is really cool.

I have to say I LOVE this castle, it is so cool with all the brick and stone. It is so gorgeous inside too, love the walk through story of Snow White, the effects are awesome.

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I totally would've been that westerner spinning like crazy. Granted not as crazy as you considering how wild you spun us that one time on Roger Rabbit lol

You know I'm a sucker for a good walkthrough and the Snow White one looks super duper cool. I love door effects like that so I'd love to see how it works in person. OOOOHHHHH I NEED TO GOOOOOOOOO

 

[missangelalexis]

The Alice in Wonderland maze looks pretty cool! Love the Tea Party setup at the end!

The Snow White walkthrough also seemed cute- especially the displays of all the princesses!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Very cool walk through of the castle!

Yeah. It made me think of an updated version of the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough at Disneyland!

I would love this attraction. I need the animals to come clean my house next.

You and me both!

Found your TR a couple days ago and now I am caught up. I read your DLP TR back when I was researching for my November trip (which was awesome BTW, TR below if you are interested - From your TR I really wanted to see the Musee D'Orsay but sadly, we missed it)

Sounds like it is a great trip so far. I have really wanted to see the Asia parks (Especially DisneySea) but that won't happen anytime soon, at least I don't believe I will get the hubs to go there, might have to be a trip without him, maybe I can talk a friend into going...

Great that you were able to do business class, those seats looked really comfy! Too much really to comment on at this point but I have to comment on your meal on the first flight, I couldn't help but notice that yogurt, Upstate farms is located here in Upstate and Western NY where I live... Crazy to see it on an Asian Airline flight from LA.

I really wanted to see the Alice Maze in Paris but it was raining pretty good. This Alice maze is really cool.

I have to say I LOVE this castle, it is so cool with all the brick and stone. It is so gorgeous inside too, love the walk through story of Snow White, the effects are awesome.

Looking forward to reading more!

For some reason I remember seeing your TR but didn't end up reading it. I have it bookmarked to go back and check once I get a chance!

The Asian parks are pretty cool! And if you've already done Paris, might as well try to hit those up!

I loved flying business. I normally am just an economy class person, but it really helped in keeping me rested and low stress on the plane.

I liked this Alice maze better than the one in Paris. Newer, so fewer fading elements. And it just felt funky, not like a cartoon!

I didn't think I'd like the castle, and wasn't the biggest fan from photos, but I really loved it in person! Huge!

I totally would've been that westerner spinning like crazy. Granted not as crazy as you considering how wild you spun us that one time on Roger Rabbit lol

You know I'm a sucker for a good walkthrough and the Snow White one looks super duper cool. I love door effects like that so I'd love to see how it works in person. OOOOHHHHH I NEED TO GOOOOOOOOO

Haha, oh Roger Rabbit! I definitely want to go back to the Asian parks! Especially since I've been reliving all the moments.

The Alice in Wonderland maze looks pretty cool! Love the Tea Party setup at the end!

The Snow White walkthrough also seemed cute- especially the displays of all the princesses!

The tea party area was super cute (I think it's mostly roped off right now due to covid. I did love the princess reliefs - I wish they had a pin set of all of those, but maybe they did and it already sold out?

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 7-Some more repeats!

I then headed over to another re-ride, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto. (I actually got a premier pass for this one to skip the line, and this was worth it as the line was about 45 minutes long.)

A funny anecdote – this day there were lots and lots of school groups. Lots of kids walking around in their uniforms (mostly white polos) and matching baseball caps. They were mostly ok, but as with all school groups, rowdy and rambunctious (though not as crazy as the South American groups you get at WDW). When I skipped the line at Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, the CM sent me as the first person to wait in the boat loading area (so I would be close to the CM – the last day the CM had done his safety spiel in Chinese over the loudspeaker, then turned to me and gave me a basic – stay seated, etc – in English). Anyways, I was waiting at the gate and was suddenly surrounded by a full school group (about 20 elementary school kids). I knew they would probably push past me onto the boat, but knew I’d still make it on, so just shrugged my shoulders. While, as the gate was starting to be opened, they rushed forward, but the CM there immediately stopped, yelled at them and held out a hand, motioning toward me. She waited until I got onto the boat and sat down before she released the hoard of kids! I definitely appreciated it.

Once I was on board I ended up being surrounded by the kids again and some cute ones decided to try out their English. “Hello, where are you from?” They were actually sweet kids, so I was ok to answer some questions and ask them stuff in return. Oh, and funniest thing, one kid decided to tell me, very helpfully, “Did you know there is a Disneyland in America?”… Um, yup, I know that!

Anyways, another fun voyage (and I sat on the opposite side of the boat this time to try and get different photos since it's hard with the other guests and boat bars).

Beauty and the Beast

Aladdin

Fantasmic

Creepy Rapunzel! (Note the flower in the background – it appears at the end of the music, and the lanterns move up and down)

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[Lesley Wake]

Mulan. I’m surprised how this one doesn’t have more of a big show piece, since it is a Chinese “princess”!

The Little Mermaid

And finale in the Grotto, which has things projected all along the walls.

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[Lesley Wake]

Then, it was time for the parade. (Well it was about 30-45 minutes away, but I wanted to get a decent spot). I ended up sitting in the area next to a roped off VIP section, hoping that would mean I wouldn’t have people crowding me on at least one side. It did mostly work, but there was a little girl who was excited and sort of fit into the small concrete patch between me and the rope. I knew she would block my view, so instead I offered to squish a bit over and she was able to sit on the ground next to me, so we both had a good view! Every time she tried to get up her dad would tell her to sit back down, so it worked out well for everyone!

Oh, and before the parade, I saw this CM getting help from a little girl who was checking to make sure people’s feet were within the lines! Pretty cute! (her vest says “Junior Guest Flow”)

A photo dump of parade images!

Here Minnie and Daisy were strutting down the route while the chipmunks were lazy on the carts!

I like how Chip is just lounging away!

And I zoomed in on the briefcase stickers! Wilderness Lodge, Shanghai Disneyland, Polynesian Village, Explorer’s Lodge, Animal Kingdom, Grand Californian, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Port Orleans Resort, Disney Cruise Line! (And on the trunk there was also Walt Disney World, Beach Club, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Aulani. Dale also had Animal Kingdom Lodge and Star Tours (from what I could tell on the zoomed in photos)

The other side of the engine (I made sure to sit on the inside edge of the parade route, rather than the outside, so I could see the other side of the floats). Though I think Donald’s side should have had a taped-on sign that said “Donald’s” overtop the “Mickey’s”!

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[Lesley Wake]

Toy Story. I appreciate the extra characters from the later movies!

Tangled. Got another shout-out from Rapunzel this time! (Yesterday Flynn had given me a special wave.)

Finding Nemo. I love the seagulls!

Frozen

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[Lesley Wake]

The magnificent Mulan

And Caboose

Coming up - An outstanding castle show! ​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

How nice of that CM to let you on the boat before the school group. They sounded like a wonderful group of kids though. Those interactions sound like the most informative and fun.

That Mulan float really is so impressive. It is interesting how in the Asia parks, they don't seem to feature Disney's one Asian princess all that much or Asian characters for that matter in a way you'd expect. I tend to find they gravitate towards the anthropomorphic characters above it all (hence the popularity of Duffy & friends). Very interesting.

 

[missangelalexis]

That was nice of the CM to make sure you didn't get trampled by the school kids!!

At least the kids were sweet once on the boat!

Great parade photos!

 

[xlsm]

Wow! I spammed you with likes, lol

Love the Alice stuff, it's incredible.

That parade looked amazing!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

So very cool of the CM letting you board first!!!!

And love the parade pictures and videos!!!! Looks like they went all out on their parade!!!

 

[vamassey1]

Love your interaction with the school kids. You sound like a minor celebrity. Your parade picture make me really miss the Disney parades. Who know when we see another one.

 

[Lesley Wake]

How nice of that CM to let you on the boat before the school group. They sounded like a wonderful group of kids though. Those interactions sound like the most informative and fun.

That Mulan float really is so impressive. It is interesting how in the Asia parks, they don't seem to feature Disney's one Asian princess all that much or Asian characters for that matter in a way you'd expect. I tend to find they gravitate towards the anthropomorphic characters above it all (hence the popularity of Duffy & friends). Very interesting.

I definitely appreciated the consideration! And they were a good group of kids - more excited not obnoxious!

And yeah, they do tend to the anthropomorphic characters. I realized I didn't see much of Mulan in Hong Kong or Tokyo either! Just the float and the small fountain in Shanghai!

That was nice of the CM to make sure you didn't get trampled by the school kids!!

At least the kids were sweet once on the boat!

Great parade photos!

Thanks! And yeah they were sweet!

Wow! I spammed you with likes, lol

Love the Alice stuff, it's incredible.

That parade looked amazing!

Lol, Alice was cool - I liked the music the most! Wait until you see the Tokyo Parade photos!

So very cool of the CM letting you board first!!!!

And love the parade pictures and videos!!!! Looks like they went all out on their parade!!!

It was cool seeing another parade setup. Though it paled in comparison to Tokyo!

Love your interaction with the school kids. You sound like a minor celebrity. Your parade picture make me really miss the Disney parades. Who know when we see another one.

I know - I never even got to see the new Disneyland one yet! I was in Florida when it premiered and only had 4 (week)days left before the park closed!