Around the World in 330 Days: Brian's Fulbright Journey in China and Elsewhere: Day 235: Shanghai Disneyland

Today we went to the happiest place on Earth. Well, one of them, anyway. We got up early to go to Shanghai Disneyland.

I was hoping that we'd leave by 6:30 am because I knew the lines would be crazy, but no such luck. We left a bit after 7:00 am and used a Didi to get to the park. We arrived about 8:10 and then endured a security line for 50 minutes, with people pushing to get ahead of each other. So I pushed, too. When in Rome... We were worried that they wouldn't allow our water bottles through security, but they did. After getting through security, we went to ANOTHER line to get the tickets: this wasn't as bad. We got through into the park, finally about 9:20 am. All I had to do to get in was show my passport because I bought the tickets online in advance. Glad I did.

So..we were milling around and watching a band on Mickey Avenue, and who do we see: Pluto and Goofy! Quickly, people queued up for pictures, including us. At first Kerry didn't want to, but I insisted: "Goofy is your favorite!" I said. When we were three back from reaching them, Pluto and Goofy took off! However, it was only for a five-minute break. I guess they had to stroll around the park or something. I have no idea. But eventually we did get our pictures. After this, we decided to get something to eat and went to "Remy's Patiserrie." We had a pear danish shaped like Mickey Mouse and a chocolate muffin. Good stuff!

Next, we headed to Marvel Universe. Lots of costumes on display. We got to meet Black Window: she was a very cool customer and stayed in character the entire time. At one moment, all the characters came out and posed: Spider Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and a couple others.

Once this was done, we went to the Alice in Wonderland maze, which was quite elaborate and fun. It even had a little cave in which we saw holograms of the Cheshire Cat, and a garden with a huge Queen of Hearts head. The entire thing seemed mostly modeled after the newer Disney movie, which was a bit disappointing, but I'm sure it's what most kids remember.

Afterwards, we went to our only ride of the day: Winnie the Pooh's Hunny Pot, where we spun around together in a pot. Completely childish, completely fun, and worth the 30 minute wait.

Next we went to the "Once Upon a Time" experience: going to Snow White's castle. We walked over various parts of the castle, seeing the story of Snow White in animation. It was interesting to walk up to the top of where the story began and seeing other Disney princesses (like Ariel) on the wall. The princesses were listed in reverse chronological order, Kerry noted, starting with Elsa and Anna; Snow White was at the top. He theorized that this was a way of taking us back to the first Disney princess.

For lunch, we went into Disneyland (right outside Disneyland) and had burgers at Blue Frog, which we really enjoyed in Nanjing. The burgers didn't disappoint, but Kerry didn't really like their tomato soup. We rested a bit after that--very filling.

We then did some souvenir shopping at the M Arcade on Mickey Avenue. I got a stuffed Donald Duck and a stuffed Tigger (my two favorites), and we got some gifts for others as well. Spent too much, but it was a fun time.

Next was the "Garden of 12 Friends," which was based on the 12 Chinese years. 12 Disney characters were chosen to correspond with 12 Chinese years. For example, Pluto represented "The Year of the Dog," and so on. The "friends" were 12 separate mosaics on the outside wall of a garden. The garden wasn't overly impressive, but interesting.

We then went to "Tomorrowland," where we saw a Star Wars exhibit. We met both Kylo Ren and Darth Vader and saw a lot of Star Wars paraphernalia.

Finally, we went to a "Stitch Encounter." Even though it was all in Chinese, it was interesting because an animated Stitch interacted with people in the audience. I don't know how it was done. Kerry suspects facial recognition software.

For awhile, we just sat and listened to and EDM DJ play dance music--he was really good! Then we waited around for the fireworks show at 8:00 pm. We tried to walk over early, but already it was crowded, and, of course, people pushed it. But, fortunately, the show was well worth seeing: lots of animation, music, lasers, and, of course, fireworks!! Nice ending.

To avoid the crowds leaving, Kerry and I hid out in Disneytown for a bit, and stopped in at The Cheesecake Factory, a place I hadn't eaten in years. We just got appetizers and drinks, but it was pretty expensive.

The day ended by walking to get a cab. People tried to sell us Disney crap on the walk there, but I kept saying "Bu yao." It's a very useful phrase here. We had to wait a bit for a cab, but eventually we did get one and arrived home about 11 pm.

A very full day! And here are the Top 11 Disneyland pictures of the day....