SDL: The Good.
What's good at SDL is, indeed, very good.
You've heard all about their version of Pirates. It's true. All of it. (yeah, had to get that reference to that overrated space soap opera in)
I am tempted to say that it is worth flying over just to experience this attraction and marvel at its brilliance. All I can say to my UNI pals is THAT is how you use screens. What an amazing combination of different mediums to take you on a cohesive adventure. The problem with using is screens is that, inevitably, they end somewhere and you find yourself looking at a black wall or ceiling etc. That doesn't happen here. When Jack Sparrow and Disney's new ride system send you to the bottom of the sea, that is where you wind up and the illusion is very successful. Easily one of the best attractions in the world today.
How about those other E-Tix? Tron, since that is on a lot of folks' minds recently, is also a great ride. But ... it has shortcomings. First and foremost are its length. Too short. You can also tell where Disney cut the budget and the result is painted flats when there should be projections or other effects. It is still fun as can be. One of my few regrets from the visit was only being able to ride during the day. As to how it will work at WDW ... let's circle back to that later.
Roaring Rapids is another exclusive and the fact I loved it should tell anyone how successful the theming and ride itself are because I hate raft rides as a genre and view them as quick thrills and below what Disney should be doing. Riding only at night with lighting and fog effects made the experience greater, I am sure. But also there's that giant 'alleged' AA ... that you come face to face with (depending on where you are on the raft and where you are looking) ... and that is something we need to come back to on ... the bad.
Even Soaring got plussed a bit for SDL. The queue is certainly the best out there. And the scents all work as they should (but haven't in Anaheim and Orlando on about 15 rides from last fall to this spring). The CGI pyro added at the end over downtown Shanghai is amusing.
Attractions like Peter Pan and Buzz Lightyear are both substantially upgraded to the point where one might consider them D-Tix in SDL. Of course, with today's technology, they should be. Buzz was one of those surprises of something truly much better than originally anticipated.
Shows and live entertainment are wonderful largely. The daily parade, Storybook Express, is quite nice with creative floats and a catchy soundtrack ... that is fine until you see Happiness Is Here at TDL about five days later and totally forget the former. The standouts for me were the Tarzan acrobatics show and the Pirates stunt show, which interestingly uses music from the original attraction while the new attraction strictly uses the scores from the film series. I didn't see the Frozen show or the Ignite The Dream projection show. The latter was because I had seen Disney Illuminations at DLP three times and knew that ItD was about 90% the same.
Detailing is good across the park, but much more so in Adventure Isle and Pirates Cove (or Adventureland 1 and 2 as I call them). Sure, there's plenty on tiny Mickey Avenue. But it seems forced and largely for egos at WDI to show they know some obscure character or 1940s cartoon short.
CMs were absolutely wonderful. Everyone we dealt with at the resort was either completely fluent in English or knew enough. And they were so friendly and proud to work for Disney, something that used to mean something in Orlando ... back in 1987. We found ourselves talking longer to CMs because it was so pleasant. I may have even done something I haven't done in many moons. No, not that. Pin trading. Before I left for Europe, I went to the local Disney outlet and got a bag full of Marvel and Rogue One pins at 99 cents a piece. Amazing what a Doc Oc pin has for value over there ... wound up with grand opening pins, LEs that had just come out and sold out and some HKDL designs too.
Toy Story Hotel was a wonderful place that surprised me. It is as ugly in reality as it is in pics. But inside, it has a fun and warm vibe and really is impeccably maintained. Now, should it have been the priciest hotel of four in Asia that included four star hotels with one bordering one five? Of course not, but this is Disney. The beds were the most comfortable I think I have experienced in the mainland and the AC was great on days where the temp was around 90 with humidity that makes Orlando look cool. We were lucky, though After we left, there was a period of over two weeks where the temp was over 100 every day with feels like temps in the 120s. I have no idea how you function in weather like that at all.
Transportation was a breeze with great bus service. I don"t think we ever waited more than five minutes. None of that standing crap from WDW either.
Food is always an important topic and I wish I had more to say on the subject, but because of the shortness of the trip (we had two full days in the park and a half day at Disneytown) and the heat, we didn't eat like we normally would. We took every blogger's advice (shoutout to my hero and Disney Blogger to the Stars, Tom Bricker, AKA
@WDWFigment) and had our first meal at Barbossa's Bounty. I had steak with rice and corn on the cob. My beautiful other half had ribs. We really enjoyed the food. I believe the meal was about $12 a person (but before anyone talks about it being a great deal, think of your audience ... people there do not find those prices cheap because it would be more at EPCOT ... it"s like telling a minimum wage CM at WDW that they should go to Whole Foods to shop ... not reality!) You do have a small view in one rooms of the Pirates boats starting their journey. But it isn't like a Blue Bayou deal. There was some ugly here that will come in a later post.
The only other QSR locale we had meals at in SDL was Remy's on Mickey Ave., a location that serves until 11 p.m. when the park closes at 10. The sandwiches and baked goods were outstanding. And sitting on the patio watching the lighting on the castle is a great nightcap, even if you don't find the castle as pretty as a New Jersey fanboi who finds Chinese food, Americanized Chinese food, scary.
Meals at TSH were also terrific. Had meals at both the grab and go, which also has seating, and the buffet at the cafe. First thing's first, the salted caramel cookies they serve are the absolute best cookies I have ever had at any Disney hotel or park anywhere. The buffet is almost entirely Chinese items, from dumplings to meats to noodles, but was very, very good. The buffet didn't include drinks and there is an awkward process to buy them as they are in a freezer in the buffet area (near one with the desserts that are included) with a CM standing guard to make sure you don't grab a Pepsi or 7-Up and walk off.
Finally, we had a meal at the Boathouse, which looks like it will close shop. For whatever reason, everyone heads into either the park or the main part of Disneytown. The Boathouse sits on the spit of land that juts out toward the SDLH and Wishing Star Lake. Nothing in that wing, even the Disney owned and operated shop that sells Marvel and Star Wars toys, seems to be able to get people to walk that short distance. Again, I'd suggest the design and master-planning of the area was lacking. The food at The Boathouse might surprise any westerner as while the interior looks like a slimmed down version of Orlando, the menu is 100% Shanghai cuisine. No token burger or chicken sandwich (which you NEVER order in China!) or salad. Nope. But amazing pork and veggie dumplings, wonton soup, noodle and other dishes. Oh, and all for slightly more than the price of whatever the cheapest sandwich on the Orlando menu is.
