Travel Notes Shanghai Disneyland: The First in Mainland China, and How to Fit a Whole Day Inside
The first one in mainland China
It opened on 16 June 2016 over 1.16 square kilometres, 3.9 with the resort around it, the first Disney park in mainland China and the sixth in the world. Seven years passed between the 2009 framework agreement and the opening day. Metro line 11 goes straight to the Disney station, some forty minutes from the centre.
Six lands plus a zoo town
Mickey Avenue is the entry corridor, three hundred metres long, with the castle at the far end. From it the lands fan out: Fantasyland, Treasure Cove, Tomorrowland, Adventure Isle and Gardens of Imagination. In December 2023 a seventh area arrived, the first Zootopia land anywhere, and a full animal city you can drive through — this is what makes this resort unlike any other.
Enchanted Storybook Castle: 69.28 metres
The castle at the centre stands about 69.28 metres, the tallest, largest and most playable in the Disney chain. It is not a model you only look at from afar: there are stairs to climb and rooms to enter. The evening projection turns the whole castle into a screen that changes colour again and again, and children on grown-ups shoulders wave glowing Mickey ears — the fixed ritual of almost every family here.
Tomorrowland and Treasure Cove
Older children head for Tomorrowland, where the dome hides a space ride that throws you off the planet, jet packs lift you over the city and the Tron roller coaster has the longest queue on site. Treasure Cove goes pirating: the boat ride builds a wreck around you, and the open-air theatre runs several shows a day without a break.
Spending one day well
Install the official app before you arrive and watch the live queue times instead of walking. The long lines sit on the tron coaster, the Seven Dwarfs mine train and the mountain raft ride. Around midday the queues drop, which is the right moment to catch the parade; the evening fireworks start twenty minutes before closing, and the lockers are easiest to find afterwards. Pushchairs, wheelchairs and lockers can all be rented inside, which makes a day with older relatives far gentler.
One night here buys half a day
One day is enough, and it runs eight thirty to nine thirty without much slack. If you want it unhurried, sleep inside the resort: official hotels let guests in half an hour early, and that first hour has a queue so short it surprises people. A weekday ticket is 475 yuan for adults and 356 for children or seniors; peak days 719 and 539; peak plus 799 and 599. Check the calendar before you book.
The biggest difference here is not the rides, it is the crowds. This is the first one on the mainland, so what arrives is not only tourists but a great many local families seeing Disney for the very first time. Which is why the plan should not be tight. Rather than rushing five attractions, sit ten minutes on a bench along Mickey Avenue and watch a child get lifted off the ground by Mickey. That picture is much harder to repeat than any posed shot.
Practical information
- Hours: typically 8:30 to 21:30, shifted by season and events; check the official site before travelling.
- Tickets: weekday 475 yuan adults, 356 children or seniors; peak days 719/539; peak plus 799/599, subject to the official channel.
- Getting there: metro line 11 to Disney Station, about forty minutes from the centre; parking around 100 yuan a day if driving.
- With children: pushchairs, wheelchairs and lockers are rentable; baby food is allowed in and there are warmers inside.
- Phone: the official app gives live wait times and booking passes, which saves the most trouble.
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