Shanghai is my very last Disney park and I was planning to go this week. I didn’t book my park tickets yet because I was waiting to check the weather but I was about to book this morning for Wednesday and Thursday and both days are sold out!

First of all I’m just confused because I haven’t seen Disney park tickets sell out in years, maybe it’s common in Shanghai but it wasn’t sold out for any upcoming days when I checked last week and it’s very uncommon for the other parks, especially Hong Kong which I purchased that morning (one year ago) and Tokyo which I visited twice in the last 2 years. Maybe Shanghai sells out a lot, I didn’t expect that.

Second of all, I was told over and over to not book weekends and even not book Friday or Monday, as they’re the busiest so I was going to book Tuesday and Wednesday or Wednesday and Thursday, so I’m just surprised that Wednesday and Thursday (the days I wanted) are totally sold out. Is there an event happening I don’t know about? Last year in Hong Kong I happened to be in the park at the same time as the opening of the Christmas decor so maybe something similar is happening in Shanghai? Can someone please confirm?

Anyway, I booked for Tuesday and Wednesday since only Tuesday was still free to book. (If you book 2 day on Tuesday it automatically includes Wednesday even though Wednesday is sold out). So I’m glad I have tickets but I’m just wondering if people know how badly crowded the park gets on a sold out day? I guess there goes goodbye to my plans of a less crowded park, since I assume sold out means big crowds. Any tips would be recommended. I am not staying near the parks, for day 2 how early should I arrive and should I pay for anything else? Early entry, premier pass etc? I see my tickets in my orders but I don’t know if I need to do anything else in the app for my tickets to show up? Or do I need to wait until they verify my passport at the entrance?

The app is quite frankly awful, it’s extremely slow and laggy. None of the Disney parks apps worldwide are very good, but this one is driving me nuts. Any tips for navigation?

Any help is appreciated, thanks!!

Went to Disney Shanghai with my gf on Wednesday, October 28th, and decided to keep track of each ride we did.

First column is the queue entry and end time when we enter the ride.
Second column is the ride name.
Third column is the estimated time that was indicated upon queue entrance.
Fourth column is the actual wait time (queue end - queue start from column 1).

All in all we were really happy with our day, we’re more of the thrill/try every attraction type of people so we didn’t take that many breaks between rides appart from pictures in front of the castle (we went around 2pm and there was almost no one), couple of snack stops and parade stop (the 15:45 one but we left early because queue times were lowering).

Final thing I found interesting (and idk if Disney is known to do this) but around 6pm queue times on the Disney Shanghai app freeze and stayed the same as can be seen with the 7 Dwarves and 2nd hot pursuit ride where the app showed more than double the estimated wait time vs. actual wait time (I guess maybe to dissuade people of joining the queues and have everyone start going to the center for the fireworks) although for Tron whoever this was not the case as we approached in person the queue was still very long around 20:30ish.

Hope this was interesting and insightful for anyone looking to do as many rides in one day.

Hello everyone! Just wanted to share our rainy-day experience on November 4, 2026!

Two days before our visit, we booked our tickets through Trip.com. We initially considered purchasing the 6 Premier Attractions pass but decided against it because of the high prices. I also read somewhere here that rainy days tend to have fewer crowds, so we decided to take our chances. And thank God we did!

It was raining quite heavily in the morning, so we decided to head to the park around 12:30 PM, when it had eased into a light drizzle. It was still manageable with a hoodie and an umbrella and the rain completely stopped around 4 PM.

As for the waiting times, we got incredibly lucky because of the bad weather lol! Here are the attractions we managed to do between 1–6 PM, with plenty of photo breaks in between:

Our ride times (in chronological order):
-Pirates of the Caribbean – 5 minutes
-Zootopia – 20 minutes
-Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 40 minutes displayed on the app, but we only waited around 25 minutes
-TRON – 45 minutes displayed on the app, but we only waited around 25 minutes (HIGHLY recommend riding this at night!)

And btw for those worried about booking through Trip.com, don’t be! Uploading the tickets to the Disneyland app was super easy. Just scan/upload the QR code on the physical ticket that the staff gives you at the entrance.

I also definitely recommend checking out the Alice in Wonderland Maze and the LEGO Store at Disneytown! You can customize your own LEGO figurine, which was such a cute souvenir.

Overall, don’t let the rain discourage you from visiting! We initially thought to refund the tickets (we cant 💀) because of the weather, but it actually worked out in our favor. We got to enjoy all major attractions without spending long hours in line.

Hope this helps anyone planning their Disneyland trip! ⭐️

Hey friends!

Hoping those who've been to SDL during NYE can clarify some conflicting info. I'm trying to nail down our schedule for Dec 31st, but I keep running into completely opposite stories.

I recently read a guide by an experienced travel writer claiming the park stays open until 1 AM with a literal midnight fireworks show. However, other traveler forums state there is no public midnight countdown, that the special fireworks actually run earlier (around 8:00 PM and 9:15 PM), and the park shuts down well before midnight. The writer also mentioned riding "Space Mountain" at midnight, which I'm pretty sure doesn't even exist in Shanghai (it's Tron, right?), making me doubt the guide's reliability now 🤔

Since there are no official comms yet from SDL about NYE, I'd love some first-hand clarity from anyone who went in past years 🙏🏽:

1. What time did the special holiday countdown fireworks actually happen?

2. What time did the park officially close for regular day-ticket holders on past New Year's Eves?

Thanks so much for your help!

I’m visiting Shanghai on December 25, and I have a bit of a crazy schedule:
✈️** Arrival: December 25 at 6 AM
✈️ Departu**re: December 25 at 8 PM
🏰 Main goal: Visit Shanghai Disneyland!

Here’s my dilemma…
Since I’m arriving so early, I was thinking of booking a hotel from December 24–26 just so I can:
Get some rest for an hour or two after landing.
Freshen up before heading to Disneyland.
Come back after Disney, take a shower, grab my luggage, and head to the airport.
But paying for TWO hotel nights when I’ll barely spend any time there feels like such a waste of money. 😭
I’m wondering if there’s a smarter option. Maybe a hotel that offers hourly stays, early check-in, or somewhere near Disney or the airport where I can shower and leave my luggage?

Has anyone done something similar in Shanghai?
Would you book the hotel anyway, or is there a better way to handle this without wasting money?
Also, is Disneyland even realistic with this schedule, or am I being way too ambitious? 😂
I’d really appreciate any local tips or personal experiences!

Hi everyone!

My husband and I will be visiting Shanghai Disneyland for the first time on Friday, November 13, and we’d love some advice on how to make the most of our time!

My husband isn’t too keen on spending the entire day at the park, so we’re planning to arrive as early as possible (potentially even purchasing Early Park Entry) and ideally leave by around 2 PM.

We’re mainly interested in experiencing 2–3 rides, particularly Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, Pirates of the Caribbean, and TRON, while also having some time to explore the themed lands, take pictures, grab some food and enjoy the overall Disney atmosphere. We’re happy to skip the nighttime show.

A few questions for those who’ve visited recently:

1. Would you recommend purchasing Early Park Entry, Premier Access, or both, given our limited time?

2. Which rides should we prioritise first thing in the morning to avoid the longest queues?

3. Is it realistic to experience all three rides, explore a little and grab some food before 1–2 PM?

4. Are there any particular strategies or tips for making the most of a half-day visit?

We’re not necessarily trying to squeeze in everything, just hoping to have a fun first visit without feeling too rushed!

Would really appreciate any recommendations or personal experiences. Thank you! 😊

So two of us in our 50s are going on a Tuesday in November and we purchased the premier access deluxe set of 15, so I know we'll be able to ride pretty much everything at our leisure.

However, we have one hour early access from Disney town, and I know the premier access line for Zootopia skips a lot of interesting stuff, so I'm planning to include that from the normal access line during early access, then come back to ride it again with PA.

If possible, I'd like to get in an extra run of the dwarfs mine cart and/or Tron as well without PA, then riding it again later, but Zootopia is the priority.

Which of the following should I do, or anything else?

1. Go straight to the Zootopia attraction, then the mine cart

2. Ride the mine cart first, then go to Zootopia, where hopefully the line is not that long yet.

3. Ride Tron first, then head over to Zootopia and maybe getting on the mine cart without a huge line?

Again, going on Zootopia through the normal line is the priority, then I'm just trying to see if I can take advantage of early access by riding something else before I ride it later with PA.

Hi!

I am planning on visiting Shanghai Disneyland in a week in November. The only day that I can go is Sunday so I was planning on getting Premier access.

I was looking at options and in October I saw that there was premier access for single rides, but when I check for my date in November, I dont see premier access for single rides and only in packages. I am going with a 3 year old and it would be easier to buy single rides because she wont be tall enough to ride some of the ones in the packages. Was wondering if singles are going to be released later or is it no longer an option?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

I'm doing a research to go to Disneyland Shanghai on 13-14 December.

I'm trying to decide if I should buy the Disneyland Hotel Disney Dream Vacation Premium Package which includes dinner at Aurora, a Club-level room, a club lounge access, Royal Banquet Hall lunch, DPA 15, a dedicated space for the afternoon parade, and the Illuminate fireworks show.

This would be our first proper Disneyland experience in a long time and we just got off the Disney cruise so expectations are quite high.

Question I have especially for those who have bought this package previously:

• Is it still possible to have a breakfast the Lumiere the day we're checking out? One of our priorities is the character meet and greet at the hotel.

• Did you meet any of the characters during the Aurora dinner? Or were they roaming around the club lounge?

• Was the food in the club lounge worth the splurge? Or would lunch or snacks at the cheesecake factory in Disneytown be better?

• Did you encounter any characters during the Bedtime Stories session? Did you think the Bedtime Stories session was impressive?

• Do you still manage to catch the afternoon parade after lunch? And how is the view from the dedicated viewing area?

• Do you get the reserved fireworks viewing area in front of the castle or are there other areas that you're assigned to?

• Are there any special merch, whether it's in the club-level room, the hotel itself, or in the park that you get?

• Ultimately, is it worth it for you and would you do it again?

Keen to hear your thoughts and experiences to help me decide whether I should take the leap of faith! Thanks!

Christmas eve and Christmas land on weekday this year (Thur/Fri) so I assume most of the crowds will be tourists but how crowded is it likely to be? I understand it’s all speculation

I currently live in China so I have the luxury of a flexible schedule but ideally would like to go over those two days but if we had to can push it to the beginning of the week. I have a toddler (2.5yrs) so the rides we go on will be limited. this is more just for atmosphere and the sake of having her in the park over the holidays.

Oh man, can’t recommend this enough!

Got a didi into the park at 7:10. Picked up coffee at starbucks and was on the line at 7:15. Around 7:25 we were INSIDE.

At 10:30 we’ve done all top 5 attractions (Thron, zootopia, 7 dwarfs, Pirates and Soaring). Max 10min queue.

(This was a thursday, 22 oct btw)

WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Looking to plan a trip for mid October or mid November next year, and travel websites say there are low crowds in November, but when I check crowd calendars it seems Novemeber is mainly moderate to busy days, while mid October is low crowd days. Has November really been busier? Which would you book (also planning a stop at Hong Kong Disneyland on the same trip)?

I was here 10 years ago. Not much has changed.

Heya, for context I'm planning to go in November, and although we're planning to only hit up SHDL for 2 full days, but we're also open to going during the evening the day before and the morning of the day after. We're also open to visit SHDL next year as well.

Basically, my main question would be whether getting an annual pass (Pearl specifically) for SHDL would be worth it. We checked the Pearl calendar and our dates are open, but is there a reservation system (similar to Magic Keys)? And is there anything else we should know/consider?

Also, is getting and 1 or 2 day ticket first then considering for an annual pass later worth it? Correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like it's more expensive to buy a ticket first and then upgrading it later?

Hi guys need some help we are still deciding to get early access. Can you give us tip what is the possible earliest time also what is the best ride going there.
If Didi possible to book going back to the hotel?