Expat Travel Mom

Shanghai has been on my radar ever since Disneyland opened, as I'm a Disney lover. I grew up in Southern California, where Disney was in my backyard, so visits were frequent. I made it to Florida, Hong Kong and Paris as well, so Shanghai was going to be next. 

The Local Neighborhood

We decided to stay in an Airbnb 45 minutes from town by train, which gave us an authentic experience, including haircuts by sign language and a lot of laughter together (but that's the best way!). Honestly, staying further from town put us closer to Disney, so that the commutes morning and night were too much on the kids. Of course traveling to the city was long, but we rather enjoyed the journey. On our first day, we explored our neighborhood, and one of our favorite things to do is visit the grocery stores of the countries we visit. Not the chains that can be found around the world, but the local stores. They are always a source of laughter, surprise, and curiosity for my kids...great learning experiences! The girls have been looking in each shop we pass for unfamiliar foods in order to make a video trying these foods. We've got tea eggs, packaged spicy fish, fermented spicy bamboo, and more.

The City Life

The next day, we headed to the city. I know, I know...Starbucks is overrated, overpriced, and taking over. But, it's also just a familiarity thing, and something about holding my Starbucks cup in a foreign land, let's me know it's going to be ok. So, we went to the largest Starbucks in the world! It was pretty impressive, whether you like Starbucks or not, and I'd recommend popping by just to see it. Seriously impressive. With cup in hand, we continued walking around town where my kids had photo requests from passers by (blonde hair and blue eyes...they always get asked for photos throughout Asia), cherry blossom trees in full bloom, a children's museum sucked us in (this seems to happen to us everywhere there's a children's museum), marriage umbrellas in the park, and more!

Easter

A little random, but because we were spending Easter in Shanghai, and the kids were hoping for an Easter egg hunt, wouldn't you know, I found one. One of our favorite places in Singapore is the Paulaner Brewery for their all you can eat brunches and family friendly atmosphere. After some inquiry, I found a Paulaner Brauhaus in Shanghai, and they just so happened to have been having an Easter egg hunt. So, off we went to enjoy some familiarity for the kids. The walk there was rather nice, passing some interesting architecture and sculptures, as well as rental bikes galore!

The Former French Concession

The Former French Concession area was a foreign-administered territory from 1849 until 1946. Today, the leafy, walkable neighborhood is famous for its tree-lined avenues, European-style architecture, boutique cafes, and trendy spots like Starbucks, lol. But seriously, I felt like I was somewhere else entirely, not in the middle of Shanghai. But, then again, I had no idea what to expect on this trip as I wasn't really familiar with it. It was a really delightful afternoon of walking around, seeing the sites and just slowing down a bit during our trip.

Yu Yuan Gardens

We weren't going to let the cold and rain stop us from an amazing afternoon at Yu Yuan Gardens. So much fun. It's busy, not gonna lie, but when you know what you're getting yourself into, you don't mind the shoulder to shoulder...you embrace it. One of the highlights were the crab soup dumplings (you drink with a straw) and the famous, Shanghai only, Shanghai pan fried buns. Mmmmmm, so much good food here. The gardens themselves were beautiful, but just look at the buildings! Stunning! More eye candy everywhere you look.

Ok, 6 hours later, we emerged from the knock-off mall in the Science and Technology train station! We got Adidas and Nike for the family, a Kipling bag, a piece of luggage, some Ugg gloves, and scored on prescription glasses, 6 pairs for the family, made in 20 minutes!

Shanghai Disney

We read blog after blog, all the recommendations, all the reviews (positive and negative) and felt really prepared. The first task was getting from our Airbnb to the park, navigating the train system. Complete punctual, and relatively easy to figure out, we were on our way. We got there early enough that the line to get into the park wasn't too terribly long, which meant happier kids (and parents). 

Day 1-

As you can see, we lucked out in the morning, with hardly any wait times. Tron was FANTASTIC, and fa favorite for all of us. They got even more bonus points because they understood my panic attacks and claustrophobia with dark indoor lines, that they take me to the front of the line to wait for my family. The grounds are beautiful, the design is lovely, and all in all, felt like Disney. The water stations were nice to have, the bathrooms were clean (despite some blogs I had read), 

At the end of a very long day, and on the way back to our Airbnb, we stopped for some street food and called it a night. 

Day 2-

Day 2 at Disneyland Shanghai was even better than the first! Roaring Rapids was great!  We made sure to get in line quickly and make it one of our first stops, as the line gets long quickly. While in line, my girls witnessed approximately 30 min of the two girls in front of us editing one photo to perfection. It's real here...and lead to great family discussions later. The Winnie the Pooh, slightly different and enhanced, was a favorite as well! Character encounters along the way, a wall of Zodiac characters for each of our family members, Star Wars and one of our favorites...Astro Blasters...we had a very full and fulfilling day. Make sure you really to visit the Star Wars Experience! It's hidden in a corner and no lines. The characters were great with us and took their time. What does this Disney girl end up with as her memento? A black and white Mickey to match my wardrobe, of course. So in love with his knitted body. Great two days at Disney, once again. Lots of memories. Park #5 in the books. One to go. Tokyo! (anyone want to help me make that dream come true?)

Coming back to update: Disney's fast pass systems have changed a lot since 2018 and are often paid now rather than free, worth checking current park info before you go. Also, in hindsight, knock-off shopping is a fun travel story, but it's worth knowing that buying counterfeit goods is illegal in many places, including for the buyer.