Shanghai Disneyland is not for the faint-hearted. Compared to it, Universal Orlando feels like a warm-up. But is it worth it? Absolutely. It’s also the only Disneyland in the world with a dedicated Zootopia land. In this guide, I’ll show you how to make the most of your day: which rides are actually worth the wait, how to catch all the best shows, and how to explore every themed area without spending your entire day standing in queues.

Best Time to Visit & Tickets

Like every theme park on Earth, the golden rule is simple: avoid weekends, public holidays and school vacations. I’d also skip summer—the heat is brutal. We visited on a weekday right before the May holidays, and the park was already incredibly busy. I’d rather not imagine what it looks like during the holidays themselves.

Where to buy tickets. The official Shanghai Disneyland website is the obvious choice, but before buying, compare prices on Trip.com and GetYourGuide. Ticket prices usually increase closer to your visit date, so book in advance. You can also purchase Early Entry, which lets you enter the park one hour before everyone else.

Plan for a full day Forget the idea of “just popping in for a few hours.” Shanghai Disneyland deserves an entire day. Without rushing, you’ll have enough time to explore the themed lands, watch the shows, wander around the castle, and stay for the fireworks. If you don’t buy Premier Access (Fast Pass), you probably won’t manage to ride every major attraction.

Fast Track. While we managed to get by without a Fast Track at Harry Potter World in Orlando, it’s almost impossible here. There’s a convenient Fast Track system, and you can buy one directly through the Disneyland app (more on that below), or purchase a priority entry ticket to one of the attractions, or several at once—those are expensive. If I had the money, I’d choose from these tickets on trip.com.

Before You Go

Be sure to download the Shanghai Disneyland app; it’s available in the App Store and Google Play. It’s the most useful thing you’ll ever need. What’s in the app? It has an interactive map so you know exactly where to go, and most importantly, it shows the exact times of all the interactive shows and the wait times for the rides. This lets you see exactly which rides are best left alone and which ones are best to try while the lines are short.

Be sure to bring water and a light snack. Thanks to it, we were able to visit two rides during our lunch break with virtually no lines—we were enjoying ourselves while everyone else was having lunch. We ate lunch a little later, of course.

Wear comfortable shoes, but your outfit can be anything! After all, you’re going to a childhood land, so don’t be shy. There will be plenty of adults dressed up as dolls or Judy from Zootopia, so you won’t stand out.

The park is open from 9 a.m. until about 8 or 9 p.m., depending on the time of year. Arrive early to be the first to enter the park and have time to stroll and take photos in the still-empty areas, especially near the castle.

Crowds. When you stand in line to enter, you’ll be waiting alongside about 1.5 million Chinese people. Don’t be afraid. The Chinese are excellent at crowd management; no one pushes or pushes ahead.

Best Rides

Disneyland is divided into several sections, each with its own main attraction. I’ll tell you about the ones we managed to get to—and we managed to get to the coolest ones! (Read below to find out how to get there.)

Treasure Cove (Pirates of the Caribbean). Oddly enough, this attraction isn’t as famous as TRON or Zootopia. I honestly have no idea why. It ended up being my favourite ride in the entire park. The queue itself is an attraction—you’ll walk through pirate taverns and treasure caves before boarding a boat that takes you through spectacular scenes with incredibly realistic pirate figures and breathtaking special effects. Yes, everything is in Chinese. No, it doesn’t matter. I spent the whole ride with my jaw on the floor. If the queue hadn’t been so long, I would’ve gone again immediately. Don’t skip the Pirates live show nearby either.

Zootopia. The world’s only Zootopia-themed land. Walking around here is almost as fun as the ride itself—there are thousands of tiny details hidden everywhere. The queue is long, but it’s surprisingly entertaining because it takes you through the Zootopia police station filled with animated characters, posters and Easter eggs. The Hot Pursuit ride is fantastic… …although I still preferred Pirates.

Tomorrowland. This is where you’ll find TRON, probably the park’s most popular ride. Fast, intense and genuinely thrilling. Was waiting two hours for a three-minute ride worth it? …Yes. There’s also the Buzz Lightyear shooting ride, which is fun if you have time. Marvel fans will also find several superhero performances here. I skipped them. Not really my thing.

Fantasyland. Fantasyland is home to the castle, Alice in Wonderland Garden and one of the biggest surprises of the day. We accidentally joined what looked like a regular castle attraction. Instead… …Snow White and Prince Charming walked into the room and started talking to us—in English. They complimented my earrings, chatted about the Seven Dwarfs and happily posed for photos. Was this designed for children? Probably. Did I care? Absolutely not.

You can also pay to be completely transformed into any Disney princess in this castle, explore the upper floors, and listen to an interactive fairy tale about Snow White (yes, it’s in Chinese, but you already know all those fairy tales!). I don’t know if the princesses rotate or if it’s just Snow White? I think there are others as well.

Toy Story and Adventure World. There’s also a Toy Story zone (not my favorite cartoon, and they’re all just kiddie rides) and an adventure world set in some Amazonian setting. But I’ve already ridden similar rides in Phu Quoc, so I don’t mind. A review of the amusement park on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam is here.

Shows You Shouldn’t Miss

Disney Character Parade. One of Disneyland’s main shows takes place outside on Mickey Mouse Alley. Before the parade, guests fill the entire street on both sides—make sure to find a front-row seat! The parade lasts about 30 minutes and runs several times a day, so don’t worry if you miss one. Keep in mind that the entire street is closed during this time, so you may not be able to access some rides.

Fireworks show. If the park is busy, the show may be performed twice to ensure everyone sees it. Check the app. Seats near the castle begin filling up about an hour before the show starts—this provides the best view, but I recommend reserving your seats early. Visitors sit directly on the floor in front of the castle. The show itself, including the fireworks, lasts about 20 minutes. It’s incredibly touching, bringing back childhood memories. I admit, I even shed a tear. Check out my review of this light show.

Restaurants, Shopping & Photo Spots

Every themed land has its own restaurants, from pirate taverns to Rapunzel-themed cafés. Prices are fairly similar everywhere. Don’t miss the enormous shopping street near Mickey Avenue, where you can buy pretty much every piece of Disney merchandise imaginable—including an alarming number of Mickey ears. And make sure to visit Alice in Wonderland Garden, one of the most photogenic places in the entire park.

How We Managed to See Almost Everything

Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to all the rides, as the wait time for each ride ranged from 1 to 3.5 hours. To ride the most popular attractions—Tron, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Zootopia—you need to buy a pass for at least one of them if you see a wait time longer than 1.5 hours.

So, if you’d wait an hour for Pirates of the Caribbean, you’d have to buy a pass for Zootopia there too—on busy days, even the Zootopia section has a huge line! We also saw the Pirates show—don’t miss it! Thanks to the Fast Track pass, we entered the Zootopia section in 1 minute, instead of waiting an hour (according to the app), and the ride itself took 25 minutes instead of 3.5 hours. At lunchtime, we went to the castle to meet the Disney princesses and stood in line for only 30 minutes instead of 2 hours (this was before lunch!), then walked through Alice’s garden, watched the parade, then stood in line for 2 hours for TRON (I didn’t want to buy a fast track for it), then stood for only 20 minutes on the Buzz Lightyear ride, watched a princess show in the theater and Disney character performances at the castle, had lunch at Rapunzel’s tavern, walked around the souvenir shops, and went to get a seat about 40 minutes before the light show at the castle.

Thanks to this strategy, we managed to ride Pirates, Zootopia, TRON and Buzz Lightyear, meet Disney princesses, explore Alice in Wonderland Garden, watch several live shows, browse the shops and still finish the day with the fireworks

This could be one of the happiest days of your life. Good luck!

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