(From our trip in April 2018)

Up nice and early for breakfast with a sinking feeling that I’m starting to get sick.  At this stage it just feels a little like a cold so fingers crossed it moves the hell on quickly.

This morning we took a quick metro ride over the the French Concession Area of Shanghai.  This area was for many years designated for the French and is still now very popular for tourists and expats.  Perfect for a leisurely stroll around – filled with lots of lovely cafes and tree lined streets.

Then it was onto Fuxing Park which I was really looking forward to seeing and honestly it did not disappoint.  What a perfect little haven amongst the bustling madness of Shanghai.  It was once the largest park in Shanghai, laid out by the French in the early 1900s so it’s got a very formal feel to the design – which I love in a garden.

None of this messy native crap that we in Australia whip up.  If you ask me it’s just us Aussies being lazy and saying “yeah bro, I wanted all the plants to look half dead and straggly – it’s how us Australians roll”.  Clearly I’m a formal European in a bogan Aussie body.

From early in the morning the park begins to fill up with dancers, card players, karaoke singers, families and tai chi.

We really enjoyed this quiet glimpse into outdoor life in Shanghai.  We then headed back to the Bund for one last walk along to enjoy that glorious skyline!

And now it was time for pixie dust and princesses and dreams come true…..

Shanghai Disney Resort

If you don’t already know, I’m a crazy Disney obsessed loser from way back.  I still love watching all of the Disney movies even though my kids are grown and refuse to watch with me.  I love the Disney Princesses and going to the theme parks and the Disney attention to detail.  There isn’t much I don’t love about Disney really – except for how much it costs and crowds.  More on that later…

Finally it was time to up sticks and head to our 3 days at nearby Shanghai Disneyland – well 45 minutes away at least.  It’s so exciting staying “onsite” at a Disney Park.  We have been to Disneyland, Walt Disney World twice and Paris Disneyland and have stayed onsite each time.  It’s such an immersive experience and you don’t ever really have to deal with reality.  Your credit card is linked to your park entry card, as is your room key and so you drift through your days being blissfully sucked into the fantasmic world of fairytales and dreams come true – all the while your credit card is haemorraging buckets and buckets.  And this is happening while you skip and laugh and sing your way around.  Sounds like a dream right????  More on that later…

Shanghai Disneyland is the newest of the Disney parks, opening in 2016.  And as such it doesn’t have the established infrastructure to support the dream.  There aren’t as many onsite hotels so the 2 that they do have are through the roof to the moon expensive.  And as the park has to start somewhere and then continue to grow, it doesn’t have as much inside the park to entertain the crowds.  It will eventually – but for now Shanghai Disneyland is a newborn trying to grow into a teenager with all the teething problems that come with it.  More on that later…   (are you starting to sense a theme here yet lol)

We, and our budget, chose Toy Story Hotel to stay at.  We would’ve preferred the Disneyland Hotel however we had school fees to pay this year so that was ruled out.  Jokes about prices aside, Toy Story Hotel cost an arm and a leg and my left boob (and you know how big my knockers are so you get the picture).  You can’t put a price on happiness, or so I told husband haha.

Honestly when you first start seeing the signs of any Disney Hotel or Park when you drive in, you pee a little in your pants, squeal with glee, clap your hands and giggle maniacally…..well that’s what husband did.  I just sat there like the reserved and classy queen I am!

What I love the most about the onsite hotels is the attention to detail.  Toy Story movies are just so fun and the theming throughout the movies is a marketing dream and they have left no square inch untouched by this theming.  Toy Story through up everywhere in this hotel and I’m totally here for it…..

Now when we booked our room here we had our son travelling with us and today would’ve been his 16th birthday.  And honestly what does a 16 year old teenage boy want for his birthday – well he wants a woody and a bit of a buzz – cough cough – what I mean is he wants to stay at Disney to celebrate so that’s what we did.  Of course 3 weeks before the trip he decided to choose football over us little barstage and so here we were staying in a kiddie themed hotel room with birthday balloons hahaha.  My only sadness is how embarrassed he would’ve been if he was here to witness this birthday tribute!!!

Look at the cute little room details…..

What I loved was they had their own onsite Woody and Jessie and so after dumping our bags we headed straight out to meet them.  I tried to get Husband to walk and not run but he was just too excited.  See, see how excited he is meeting them….

He’s pulling away and sneering and I’m leaning in and my head may snap in two from that smile!!!

And I love this big statue…

Then it was off to Disneytown where all the shops and restaurants are.  Our park tickets don’t start until tomorrow but we thought it would be exciting to head to Disneytown in the late afternoon and check out the shops and restaurants near the park entrance.  The onsite hotels have their own free bus system so we waited at the bus stop, jumped on and jiggled in our seats with anticipation.  I mean, husband really is getting his “embarrassing” on with his Disney trip.

Disneytown

The best shop in the world

A man and his Disney store

Every Disney park requires a new pair of ears….obvs!

This little guy clearly didn’t get the modesty memo and just used those damn split pants to syphon his baby python right there outside my favourite store.  And here’s mum looking on proudly.

What, and I CANNOT stress this enough….the actual FUCQUE!

We also got to see the entrance and where you line up for entry into the parks.  Lots of cattle fencing but I appreciate an organised system ~ looks harmless enough.  More on this later…..

By now husband and I are both craving western comfort food.  I know we suck but we just need it so shut up.  Where else to head but The Cheesecake Factory which anyone who has visited the US will know is a hugely popular chain restaurant.  I knew the pricing would be outrageous because well, Disney and The Cheesecake Factory but who cares….it’s all going onto the magic Disney card of fairytales right.

OMG yum yum yum with a triple shot of bloody incredible.  I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten food so gloriously delicious wrapped up in a doona cover of comfort but here it is my friends……chicken snitzel and mashed potato.  You may not have heard of such a meal – you guys, it’s a rare and hard to come by beast of a meal but lucky me, I was showered in pixie dust of food heaven goodness so I rolled my whole body in it’s scrummy goodness and angels were heard singing.  #winning  (of course I’m joking because Aussies are mad for a snitty, they are almost our national food these days)

I did order some green strange looking shite for on the side and forced myself to eat it since I think I’m coming down with scurvy (or maybe pneumonia) , it’s hard to tell at this point because I’m such a trooper but hopefully it helps…

After this magnificent culinary excellence we had a quick walk around enjoying everything lit up

Then it was time to head home to Buzz and Woody land for some unpacking and a good night sleep.  Little did I know what was to come tomorrow…this may be my last moment of happiness sob sob!

Yes I slept in my ears, shut up, I can if I want!

Tomorrow is a big day – stay tuned!!!