It hasn't even been open for a full two years, and already Shanghai Disneyland has become well known by international Disney fans as a cherished mecca. It's now the world's sixth "Magic Kingdom" complete with familiar elements and attractions enhanced beyond belief.
Like all of its core parks, The Walt Disney Company's latest on mainland China is based on the original Disneyland in California with a fairytale castle at its center. However, Shanghai's Enchanted Storybook Castle is the largest ever constructed and dwarfs the one in Anaheim as it welcomes citizens of the most populous country on Earth.
Shanghai Disneyland is predominantly visited by locals with only a smattering of Americans-yours truly included-and Europeans mixed in, but all are catered to. Signage and prerecorded safety spiels are in both Chinese and English. PA announcements and attraction scripts are generally only in Chinese, however.
In regards to speaking with staff, ride operators are bilingual with only retail and food services personnel exhibiting a more frequent communications barrier. Nonetheless, Disney is pretty much a universal language unto itself, and it's never much of a struggle to get by.
Overall, the park can best be described as a beautiful hybrid between Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Epcot because this one-catering culturally to the Chinese-remarkably has no Main Street nor train at the entrance. Instead, an abbreviated shopping bazaar opens to a wide array of gardens and waterways in front of the castle, more akin to the World Showcase at Orlando's latter park.
Of course, there is still a classic Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The first features great rides like Peter Pan's Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Voyage to the Crystal Grotto.
Peter Pan is the same great suspended attraction remembered from childhood but with the latest projection technologies applied, and the Crystal Grotto is this park's closest facsimile to the Jungle Cruise boat ride, alternatively passing by marvelous animated fountain tableaus.
To make the most of their time at the park, Americans can also download the Shanghai Disney Resort app to mobile devices. Like in the U.S. a helpful digital map shows directions and one's current position in the park as well as wait times for attractions. Best of all is how it interacts with the Fastpass service-essentially the same as the premium MaxPass from California's Disneyland but for free.
Guests need only pull up their smartphones to select a ride and available window to return to an expedited queue. Alternatively, Fastpasses can also be procured from Guest Services kiosks in Adventure Isle, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.
Because of its remarkable list of familiar and distinct attractions, Shanghai Disneyland should be on the list of every dedicated Disney fan and theme park enthusiast.
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