Shanghai Disney resort starts trial run
Thousands of people visited the Shanghai Disney Resort on May 8, the second day of its test run, Shanghai TV news reported. The theme park itself only opened to some staff and their relatives during the test run, but Disney Town, its nearby retail and entertainment area, and Wishing Star Park welcomed the general public.
By 5pm, a preliminary estimate showed that some 30,000 visitors were at the resort, including both Disney staffers and their families and those without tickets in Disney Town and Wishing Star Park.
On Saturday, nearly 10,000 staffers, their relatives and other invited guests were allowed into the theme park for the soft opening.
This allowed employees to familiarize themselves with the park in advance of its grand opening, which is scheduled for June 16. The stores in Disney Town also started their test run from May 7, including the World of Disney Store.
The resort manufactured more than 7,000 Disney-related products — such as the Shanghai-style Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck — and most of them can only be purchased at the resort.
According to Wenhui Daily, attractions that were open for the test run included: Lives like Tarzan: Call of the Jungle in Adventure Isle; Frozen: A Sing-Along Celebration in Fantasyland; Golden Fairytale Fanfare — featuring songs and stories about beloved Disney princesses; and Mickey’s Storybook Express, a train-themed parade featuring the world’s most famous mouse leading a procession of characters from classic Disney movies, including Mulan, a celebration of the legendary Chinese female warrior.
One of the most popular attractions was Peter Pan’s Flight in Fantasyland.
The adventure begins in London, then visitors head off into the night sky as Peter leads the way to Pixie Hollow, the Lost Boys’ hideout, Mermaid Lagoon and Skull Rock, where he finally comes dagger to cutlass with Captain Hook.
At the end, Peter and company help you navigate through the clouds back to sleepy London Town, where your extraordinary journey began
A visitor described it as as “very amazing,” adding: “After setting sail, we passed the Darling’s nursery in Kensington Gardens and swooped over rooftops, heading to Never Land.”
She added: “We learned to fly with Wendy, Michael and John, courtesy of their bedtime heroes — Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.”
Metro service
Set to become one of the busiest stops on the network, the Disney Resort station is just a 10-minute walk from the theme park.
One of the main differences between the new station and others on the network is that security will be much tighter, with all passengers and all luggage being scanned before being allowed entry, it said.
Pressure tests will be carried out in the coming weeks to see how the new station copes with the huge numbers of passengers that are expected to use it once the Disney resort opens, the company said.
People who would rather travel to the Disney theme park by bus will be able to do so on either the No. 51 or No. 52 services, which also went into operation on Tuesday.
The services are operated by Yanggao Bus and Nanhui Bus, and run from Zhoupu and Nanhui, respectively.