It's A Small World - A Never-ending Pre-trip Report

Your plans are very exciting!

I am definitely very excited about this trip.

I have China on my long term radar

This has been a long time coming for us.

can't wait to hear about your trip!

I should get started on that trip report just after the new year.

Which airline are you going to be on?

Both of our short-haul flights will be on ANA.

We loved the Dreamliner. The windows make such a difference. And ANA was lovely all around! Such a fantastic experience. Hope you will enjoy the Dreamliner, too.

That is good to know. Now I am even more excited.

We loved the 25th celebration in May and the Halloween stuff will be a bonus.

I loved the Halloween festival last year and I can't wait to experience the new stuff for the 25th anniversary.

I am a bit sad that we will not manage a Christmas visit this year, especially since it looks like there are some extra things they are doing this year.

I have not completely given up on this yet. Apparently the Christmas season will last until 8th January so there is just a slight chance I could sneak in a quick visit.

And I would have loved to visit for the Food & Wine Festival they are having right now. I think next year we will consider a September trip to take part in that (if it becomes an annual thing).

I would have loved to be there for this, too. However, what makes me really sad is that I cannot be there for the Run Disney weekend this weekend. I will move heaven and earth to be there next year.

The sweatshirts are fabulous !!!

Thanks.

Corinna
 
Your plans are really coming along. The sweatshirts are very nice! Sounds like a lot of work traveling to Shanghai, I'm glad all the flights worked out for you.
 
Your plans are really coming along.

Yes, I suppose they are. I am actually investing very little time in this, but things just seem to come together almost on their own.

The sweatshirts are very nice!

Thanks. I really love them and can't wait to wear them.

Sounds like a lot of work traveling to Shanghai, I'm glad all the flights worked out for you.

Traveling to China is a little more involved than what I have done before, but a lot of it is self-inflicted as we want to cross off as many bucket list items as we can while we are there.

Corinna
 
I think it is time for another update. Things are still on a slow burner and will stay that way until I get back to Disneyland Paris, but things are happening slowly almost on their own accord.

I have now received the new jacket with the Mickey head and this is just perfect. It will be nice and warm, but it is still not too bulky and the Mickey head is bigger and bolder than on the original jacket. I am very pleased with how this has worked out.

I still have not heard anything regarding the custom ears so I chased this up. I should have some options for those within the next couple of weeks. I can't wait to see what she is coming up with. The ears she makes are precious. I bought a Disneyland Paris 25th Anniversary pair earlier in the summer and I cannot wait to wear them next month.

My ears:



Official ears:







Speaking of Disneyland Paris, more information is now coming out. It looks like that Main Street is not decorated for Halloween this year, but they seem to have gone all out in Frontierland. There are a bunch of decorations that I have never seen before. The villains will be out in force again, but there won't be a villains show this year as the castle stage is used for one of the 25th anniversary shows. There will be a Halloween street party in Frontierland and I have also read about a mini parade with characters on tricycles, but I am not sure if this will go down Main Street or will also happen in Frontierland. The first schedule for the Halloween season should be published on Saturday and I will know more than. What I am the most excited to find out is what they have in terms of special characters this year.

Back to the big trip. Since I have started to go to Disneyland Paris quite frequently, it has served me well to aim to do 4 rides a day. This gives me plenty of time to enjoy character interactions and generally absorb the atmosphere. So I have decided to accept the same approach for the Asian parks. The theming will be very different from anything I have seen before and I am hoping to catch some unusual characters or characters in unusual costumes.

Tokyo Disneyland

I should get a nice long day there. I was kind of surprised that Tokyo Disney Resort goes all out for the Christmas season. So that is going to be a nice treat. The opening hours are much longer than I had anticipated as well. Disneyland will be open from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM on both days that I will be there. So I should have plenty of time to fit everything in. @Flossbolna kindly sent me some park maps from Tokyo Disney Resort and Shanghai Disneyland and this helped a lot with the planning.

I found out from the park map that It's A Small World will be closed while I am there so this is one ride I don't need to consider. At the moment the list of rides that I am intending to do is as follows:

Big Thunder Mountain:

I have always had a soft spot for this ride and all three versions that I have done are quite different from each other so I cannot go to Tokyo and not try this.

Haunted Mansion:

This is another old favourite of mine and again, it is different enough at each park that this is a must do for me. This became even more of a must do for me when I realised that Tokyo has Haunted Mansion Holiday between September and January. I am so excited.

Pooh's Hunny Hunt:

This is the first ride that is unique to Tokyo Disneyland and everybody who has done this seems to adore it. So this is firmly on the must do list. This is a trackless ride and I kind of imagine it to be a similar ride experience to the Ratatouille ride at Walt Disney Studios in Paris. If it is, it will definitely be a hit with me.

Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!

This is another unique ride to Tokyo Disneyland. The descriptions states:
The human child, Boo, and lots of monsters, including Sulley and Mike, are playing a special game of hide-and-go-seek and you're invited to join them. As you travel through the Monsters, Inc. offices and the streets of Monstropolis, use your flashlight to "find" the funny, hidden monsters.
This sounds like a lot of fun and something that I would enjoy very much.

There were two other attractions I was seriously tempted by and if I have time left over after I have done everything else I want to do, I may do one or both. As most of you know, I am love Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. I think this is pretty much identical to the rides at Disneyland Paris and Disneyland. So this is far from a must do, but if the wait time is short and I am in the area, I may well have a sneaky ride.

The other attraction is a bit more unusual for me. I have done the Enchanted Tiki Room twice at Disneyland and the best I can say about this is that it is a part of Disney history and that it is air-conditioned. I do not really enjoy this attraction. However, the version at Tokyo Disneyland is hosted by Stitch and this makes this quite tempting to me.

Parades and Shows

It looks like I will be absolutely spoiled in that respect. They have a day time Christmas parade called Disney Christmas Stories and an evening parade called Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights. They will also have a new projection show this year called Disney Gifts of Christmas, which is based around Disney characters giving Christmas gifts.

Tokyo Disney Sea

Tokyo Disney Sea will be open from 08:30 AM to 10:00 PM on both days that I will be there. This has been on my bucket list forever and it is not actually the rides and attractions that are drawing me there, but the theming which is meant to be the most stunning of all Disney parks. In terms of rides, it seems to be a mix of thrill rides and very tame rides. There seems to be very little in the middle. At the moment the list of rides that I am intending to do is as follows:

Toy Story Mania:

I do like this ride and as I only have three out and out must do rides at this park, this made the cut.

Nemo & Friends SeaRider:

The description of this are really vague and this ride only opened in May. Curiousity got the better of me there. It kind of sounds like a cross between The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Ellen's Energy Adventure.

Sindbad's Storybook Voyage:

This is the only one of my chosen rides that is not a Fastpass attraction. This is a scenic boat ride and should hopefully not attract long lines.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

I am saving the best to last in that park. This is the one ride that has captured my imagination ever since I first read about it. I have seen this described as a Jules Verne version of Test Track. It is a combination of dark ride with a high speed finish. This looks absolutely amazing.

If I do end up at a loose end, I may try the various different vehicles like the steamers, gondolas and electric railway.

Parades and Shows

Tokyo Disney Seas has a day time Christmas show, but I may give this a miss. What I have to see is Colours of Christmas. I initially thought that this may be a version of the World of Color Christmas show, but this seems to be very unique with characters on boats and various light effects.

There is a fireworks show that can be seen from both parks, but apparently this gets cancelled more often than it takes place. If it is shown on either of the days I am there, I will definitely watch it, but I don't hold my breath.

Shanghai Disneyland

This is definitely the park I am most excited about. I can't wait to finally get to see this. I was surprised that Tokyo Disney Resort celebrates Christmas, but I was even more surprised that this is celebrated in Shanghai. Somehow China and Christmas do not seem to go together. Shanghai Disneyland is not quite so generous with the opening times. Chances are that the park will be open from 9:00 to 8:30 so this still gives me a nice long day.

I have to admit, at this park I have miserably failed to narrow things down to 4 rides. So I have gone with 5 rides, which is close enough.

Soaring Over the Horizon


This is my absolute must do ride. Soarin was always my favourite ride and I always said that I want to experience the new version for the first time at Shanghai. Hopefully that dream will come true.

Voyage to the Crystal Grotto

When I first read about a boat ride that goes underneath the castle, I was sold. I think I will love this.

Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue

This looks quite a quite novel take on this kind of ride and I definitely want to experience this for myself.

TRON Lightcycle Power Run

I have to say I am both terrified and excited about this ride. I know I would regret it if I did not try it.

Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure

I keep reading that this is absolutely amazing and a must do so I am definitely not going to pass this up.

Parades and Shows

This is the big unknown. Shanghai Disneyland seems to subscribe to the Disneyland Paris model that releasing details for any special entertainment for any given season on the first day of the same is plenty early enough. So time will tell if there will be any different shows and parades. At the moment they have a Villains Calvacade on top of the normal afternoon parade and the standard shows. So I am hoping that they will have something similar for Christmas. I know last year they did a tree lighting ceremony. The afternoon parade and Ignite the Dream are definitely on my to do list.
 


Some suggestions, but remind me to come back with more feedback, its late and I need to go to bed...

TDL:

Splash Mountain! You won't get wet, they don't drench people. Michael has been on in December multiple times, never got wet. We got a slight splash on a hot day in July. And it is amazing how much nicer it is than the other two! It now is one of my favourite five attractions worldwide!

Yes go Tiki Room. You won't have a line and it is very cute!

TDS:
Sinbad will not have a wait, it never has long lines. And you will love it! The 1000 Leagues under the Sea should be without long line, too and it is very nicely done!

Shanghai:
It's the best Peter Pan of them all, just lovely! And don't expect too much of Crystal Grotto, it sounds better than it is...
 
Splash Mountain!

Out of all rides at Disney, this is joint first in rides that scare me the most. The other one is Crush's Coaster. I would rather do Tower of Terror than either of those two and I avoid that at all cost, too.

You won't get wet, they don't drench people. Michael has been on in December multiple times, never got wet.

It is not the getting wet that worries me (although this is an important consideration in December), but it is the drop that freaks me out.

Yes go Tiki Room. You won't have a line and it is very cute!

I may need to move this up on my priority list. Is this in Japanese?

The 1000 Leagues under the Sea should be without long line, too and it is very nicely done!

Thanks for the tip. For some reason I thought this was a walkthrough attraction and had discounted this for this reason. I don't do too well in low light with my dodgy eyesight. I now had a look at the short video on the Tokyo Disney Resort website and it does look good.

It's the best Peter Pan of them all, just lovely! And don't expect too much of Crystal Grotto, it sounds better than it is...

I think maybe I need to give Shanghai a rethink or maybe add a 6th ride.

Corinna
 
Your plans sound awesome! All those new rides are very exciting!!! Love your sweatshirts. The ears are too cute. Glad the flights are all settled.

I've heard the Tron ride is absolutely amazing!

Enjoy DLP :)
 
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Out of all rides at Disney, this is joint first in rides that scare me the most. The other one is Crush's Coaster. I would rather do Tower of Terror than either of those two and I avoid that at all cost, too.

That's a shame. I find the falling sensation much less intense on Splash. There are a couple of shorter falls but those are comparable to Pirates. For the long one, if you just close your eyes and brace yourself, it should be over before you notice. But I do understand not wanting to do something that is scary. If you are all scared, you won't appreciate the lovely scenes before the drop either.

About ToT: You might want to consider this for the line and the pre-show as it is a totally different story and really cool! You can always chicken out after the library room...

I may need to move this up on my priority list. Is this in Japanese?

Tiki Room is in Japanese, but you can ask for a translation device. It displays English "subtitles". However, I found that looking at the device kind of took away from the show itself. Still, it was nice to have.

You can also go to guest services and ask about English explanations for the attractions. They should have them for several atractions (and they are really nice looking, too).

I think maybe I need to give Shanghai a rethink or maybe add a 6th ride.

I think if you are there on a low attendance day you ought to have time for 6 attractions without any problem.

Oh, and Buzz is fantastic in Shanghai! Since you like this attraction, I am sure you will love this! A great update! The one in Tokyo however is the same as all the others.

A few more thoughts:

Dreamlights is amazing! The best parade I have ever seen in any Disney park. Don't miss it!! We watched it three times! The fireworks are nothing special, don't plan around them. They were cancelled 4 out of the 5 evenings we had there.

Monsters and Pooh at TDL are a definite must!! You should get a Monster FP first thing in the morning and then head over to Pooh and ride this. You might be able to get a Pooh FP when your window opens again. BTM has good FP availability, we got several in the afternoon without problem. I would have said to skip HM as it is the same ride as in WDW before the updates. But with the overlay this might be interesting. The Country Bears also do the Christmas overlay. We got the summer overlay there and I really enjoyed it a lot! The sound was fantastic and it was a lot of fun. If you want a break, this might be nice to just sit down and listen to some cheesy Christmas music.

Is Fantasmic not showing when you are at TDS? I really liked it, it is very different from the WDW and DL versions. Otherwise at TDS: TSMM has horrendous waits. The only way you will get to ride this will be with a FP first thing in the morning. However, the Nemo Searider also gets very long waits and FP runs out quickly. Of the two I would choose Nemo as it is unique. However, the ride is cute, but certainly not really memorable. One thing not to miss is King Triton's Concert. It is a continuously running musical show and I thought it was amazing! Try to pick a seat at the far end, away from the entrance. Also, there is a walk through attraction in the Mediterranean Harbour that I wanted to do, but we ended up missing out. That sounded really interesting and unique as a small distraction. Otherwise plan to just walk around in awe at TDS. It is really amazing!!

If you like curry, the Hungry Bear and the restaurant in the Arabian Coast have those Japanese curry dishes. We really loved our meal at Hungry Bear and I think on a cooler day we would have loved it even more!
 
Hi Corinna!

It's been so long since I've chimed in. I just happened to hop into this trip report today and read your last few updates. I'm so glad I did--so exciting that you are heading East and will be visiting the Asia parks (really excited that there is a potential upcoming @Flossbolna trip report too on the subject).

I am flying out Sunday evening for an Adventures by Disney China trip--that trip starts in HK and ends in Shang Hai but we are starting in Tokyo first. It will be so nice to read about similar places from other people whose stories I value.

--Karilynn
 
Those ears are great! There is just so much to plan when going to a new Disney park! I have to read more TRs to get familiarized with what is there!

So exciting! Wow and it's only six weeks away!
 
All those new rides are very exciting!!!

I can't wait to try them out.

I've heard the Tron ride is absolutely amazing!

It really looks great, but this is the one ride I am slightly nervous about.

If you are all scared, you won't appreciate the lovely scenes before the drop either.

That was precisely what happened when I last braved it for my sponsored ride-a-thon in 2013. I was so wound up about the drop that I did not enjoy the rest of the ride.

About ToT: You might want to consider this for the line and the pre-show as it is a totally different story and really cool! You can always chicken out after the library room...

That is worth remembering.

Tiki Room is in Japanese, but you can ask for a translation device. It displays English "subtitles". However, I found that looking at the device kind of took away from the show itself. Still, it was nice to have.

That is great to know.

You can also go to guest services and ask about English explanations for the attractions. They should have them for several atractions (and they are really nice looking, too).

I will check this out.

I think if you are there on a low attendance day you ought to have time for 6 attractions without any problem.

I had a look at a crowd calendar and the two days I am there seem to be the lowest attendance days all year.

Oh, and Buzz is fantastic in Shanghai! Since you like this attraction, I am sure you will love this! A great update!

I am really looking forward to trying this out.

Dreamlights is amazing! The best parade I have ever seen in any Disney park.

Is it even better than Paint The Night?

The fireworks are nothing special, don't plan around them. They were cancelled 4 out of the 5 evenings we had there.

I have heard that they are cancelled more often than they actually take place.

Monsters and Pooh at TDL are a definite must!! You should get a Monster FP first thing in the morning and then head over to Pooh and ride this. You might be able to get a Pooh FP when your window opens again. BTM has good FP availability, we got several in the afternoon without problem.

Thanks for all the tips. I appreciate it.

I would have said to skip HM as it is the same ride as in WDW before the updates. But with the overlay this might be interesting.

I am really excited that I get to experience Haunted Mansion Holiday in Tokyo. I love this overlay at Disneyland.

The Country Bears also do the Christmas overlay.

I have seen a lot of positive reviews about this, but have not really considered it as I did not enjoy the regular version at Magic Kingdom.

Is Fantasmic not showing when you are at TDS?

I think it is, but I am not sure if I will be able to fit in everything.

I really liked it, it is very different from the WDW and DL versions.

Maybe I will need to see if I can make this work.

If you like curry, the Hungry Bear and the restaurant in the Arabian Coast have those Japanese curry dishes. We really loved our meal at Hungry Bear and I think on a cooler day we would have loved it even more!

Thanks. I love curry of any description.

It's been so long since I've chimed in.

Welcome back.

I am flying out Sunday evening for an Adventures by Disney China trip--that trip starts in HK and ends in Shang Hai but we are starting in Tokyo first. It will be so nice to read about similar places from other people whose stories I value.

I have been eagerly following along on Facebook. Your trip looked amazing.

Your plans look exciting!

I am very excited about this trip.

Can't wait to read about them!

I am looking forward to writing the trip report for this trip. First of all, I need to finish the trip report for the last trip though.

Those ears are great!

I really love them and had great fun wearing them in Paris.

There is just so much to plan when going to a new Disney park!

You can say that again.

Corinna
 
I was hoping to post an update before now, but I have been very busy. It also has not helped that I brought back an unwanted souvenir from Disneyland Paris. I have been feeling under the weather. Hopefully I will get the chance for an update before the end of the week.

Corinna
 
I’m sorry about the bug, I hope you feel better soon. I also hope you still had a fabulous trip :)
 
I’m sorry about the bug, I hope you feel better soon. I also hope you still had a fabulous trip :)

I am starting to feel better. Fortunately I did not start to feel ill until the morning when I headed to the airport in Paris. I had a fantastic time at Disneyland Paris.

Corinna
 
Hope you feel better soon!

Yes, both Michael and I think that Dreamlights is better than Paint the Night. It is longer and a more complete package.

I just made sure to watch the Country Bears at the MK again to see if my opinion has changed, but I am still not impressed with the original at all, even though I really enjoyed the summer show in Tokyo. So, if you can spare the time, I would give it a shot. At least you will get a rest in a warm room.
 
Feel better soon!

Thanks.

Hope you feel better soon!

Thanks.

Yes, both Michael and I think that Dreamlights is better than Paint the Night. It is longer and a more complete package.

That sounds very promising. I cannot wait to see this.

I just made sure to watch the Country Bears at the MK again to see if my opinion has changed, but I am still not impressed with the original at all, even though I really enjoyed the summer show in Tokyo. So, if you can spare the time, I would give it a shot. At least you will get a rest in a warm room.

That is interesting. I only have seen the original and this did not do anything for me. Looks like you fell much the same. I may well fancy warming up at some stage so I will keep this in mind.

I owe you a PM. I should manage to get caught up with everything tomorrow.

Corinna
 
There is not a great deal to report, but I am still making steady progress and we are having a very productive weekend. I suppose I need to as well as we have just over a month until we leave for this adventure.

The biggest piece of news is that we had our visa appointment on Wednesday. I was very impressed. We have a Chinese Visa Application Centre in the city centre. The Chinese embassy in the UK does not issue tourist visas directly, but you have to go via their approved agents and this was the one they recommend. The form was pretty straightforward and I had made sure I had all the supporting documents at the ready. The only slight issue was the photo. On the first take, my ears were not visible. Fortunately I realised that this would be an issue before the appointment and the place I had them done redid them for me free of charge.

On the day, we arrived a little early to our appointment and it was not particularly busy. The receptionist checked the paperwork and asked a few questions. Then we were issued with a queue number. We were just about to sit down in the waiting area when our number was called. Our documents were checked yet again, the photo was attached to the forms and then we were given a pick up form. When I had a look at this, I had a lovely surprise. As per the application form, multiple entry visas come with a 6 or 12 months validity. I ticked 6 months as I could not see me needing more than that. However, on the form, it states that the expected outcome is a 2 year multiple entry visa with each stay being up to 90 days. If this is what actually gets issued, then I see another trip to China coming up in 2019 before the visa expires.

The pick up form also states that we should be able to pick up our passports tomorrow. However, I somewhat doubt this as the passports did not arrive at the Chinese consulate until Friday afternoon and I doubt that they process visas over the weekend. Still, there is plenty of time and Wednesday suits me better anyway as this is my day off. I just want to know that my visa has been approved.

One of the aspects of the trip we have been
 
Sorry you picked up a bug in DLP, but I suppose you are feeling better now.

How nice about the extra extended Visa! It's really getting close for you!
 

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