Shanghai Disneyland has opened its gates for a six-week trial run in preparation for its June 16 opening. Before you get too excited, the trials are only open to Disney staff, partners, and stakeholders and their relatives and friends - and if you've not had an invite by now, then we're sorry to say you're probably not going to get one.
If you like, you can console yourself with a visit to the new Disneyland metro station or the adjacent Disneytown development that is open to all, but be warned it may have already been vandalised by certain park-goers.
At its trial opening last Saturday, some 10,000 visitors got a chance to enter the self-declared 'Happiest Place on Earth'. Here's what those who have been given an early Disneyland Shanghai adventure have been saying about their experiences:
The service is world class
Weibo user @ 次头怪脑好姑娘 tells us that, ‘The service staff at the theme park have a super good service attitude. There was definitely some special training before this. No other Mainland theme parks will display such an array of smiles and warmth and responsibility. But this is only the first day that they’ve opened, I’m not sure how long this can last.’
You have to queue up for at least an hour for most rides
The trial operations have only seen 10,000 odd visitors per day, but when the park officially opens, it will expect to receive around four to five times this many guests. Unsurprisingly, and as with any theme park, you can expect some long lines.
The South China Morning Post interviewed several park attendees after the first day trial and one highlighted long queues as one of the main features of the new park, while another mentioned that although the number of visitors were limited, he still had to wait an hour for a ride.
'Everybody had to queue for two hours,' said Weibo user @一只乔仔 after a visit. 'My legs were almost breaking.'
A glimmer of hope is offered by Weibo user @时光益行者 however, who said, ‘Almost all the rides require an hour of queueing at least, but there are fast passes that you can obtain for certain rides that are marked "fast" on the map.'
The soft toys might not be what you're expecting
When it comes to merchandise, the only photos we've seen online from within Shanghai Disneyland have been of super cute plushies. But Weibo user @次头怪脑好姑娘 was far from impressed by the 'China-fied' ranges: ‘Although most of the products from Disney stores located worldwide are made in China, at China’s Disneyland I saw the ugliest type of dolls. They're so ugly that I’ve become cynical.’
The park looks pretty damn cool at night
Weibo user @欣小渔fish gave her thumbs up to how Disneyland Shanghai looks after dark. Hard to argue with that.
The food and drink isn't cheap
If you are planning on spending the day at Disneyland, you have little option other than to dine on site - outside food and drinks (and, mercifully, selfie sticks) are not permitted in the park. If you've ever been to another Disneyland, you'll know that this often means paying more than you'd normally expect for basic food items.
Shanghai's Disneyland doesn't look like breaking that pattern. According to Weibo user @时光益行者’s receipt from the Stargazer Grill at Tommorowland, a hamburger or fried chicken meal with fries and coke costs 75RMB while a kid’s meal of grilled chicken fillet and rice costs 60RMB. Over at Barbossa’s Bounty, a BBQ pork ribs combo costs 95RMB while an Indonesian BBQ chicken combo costs 75RMB.
Street snacks located around Disneyland like caramel popcorn in a memorabilia bucket would also set you back 65RMB.
The TRON ride might just blow your mind
We were pretty excited about the TRON Lightcycle Power Run just from thepre-opening photos a few months back. But Weibo user @Kin大頭's video of the ride has us practically giddy. He captioned the video by saying, 'I am unable to capture the actual speed... my legs were soft after this.'
Excited? Well, there's just over one month to go now...