Denise Sturrock, PSYO parent & 2016 Tour Blogger and
Desiree Sturrock, Age 12, Assistant Tour Blogger and Emoji Editor 
Shanghai Disney - what a great opportunity to come to this park so soon following the grand opening. We got lucky (?) with the weather because this was the first day in several without any rain, but it was hot...how hot?, you ask, well let's just say it felt like going to Disneyland as if it was contained "under the dome" and the dome was a giant spa steam room. 
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According to my weather app, it was 90 degrees and I'm sure the percent humidity was close to that. But...this Disney park does a great job with providing covered waiting lines and air conditioning. Apparently (I did notice this but thought it was just me until other students told me that had similar impressions), the bathooms are super-cooled (like a meat locker). One group employed a strategy of dashing into the bathroom for 5 minutes between rides to splash water on themselves and reapply sunscreen. So resourceful! My personal method for combatting the heat was to drink slushies all day. It's like a trifecta of heat/fatigue combat - 1. Brain freeze, 2. Sugar high, 3. Taste bud sensation. The slushies are amazing - like 7-11 on steroids - I even had one that had what appeared to be Mickey head-shaped boba mixed at the bottom. Wow! Slushies heaven! Ok enough about that - I'm starting to crave another...
We were very dispersed today - the kids basically formed small groups and wandered the park on their own. I think it was especially nice for them to have free time and fun after yesterday's long day filming the remake of Planes, 
️Trains
and Automobiles (buses) 
. When we met up at the end; however, my impression was that spirits where high and it was a fun day for everyone, despite the heat and humidity. I heard a lot of animated conversion and saw a lot of smiles. A commonly heard comment as we headed to the bus was "I can't wait to take a shower," and "my feet hurt so bad"! Same! Why did I wear heals? Duh...
Anyhow, we're back to the hotel now and and it's time for bed, but I will briefly share some observations of Shanghai Disney that struck me...
- Unique and/or re-imagined rides were amazing and so much fun...everyone seemed to love Tron (a super-fast roller coaster on cars that resembled motorcycles and positioned you as if you were riding a motorcycle) and Pirates of the Caribbean. Blake and I loved pirates so much, we went right back on after we finished our first ride. The special effects were incredible!
- How strange to hear everything announced in Chinese and watch all the pre-ride videos by actors speaking Chinese - no subtitles and only minimal English translations. At least instructions at Disney are mostly either previously memorized or intuitive...keep you arms inside the vehicle at all times, fasten your seat belt and pull to make sure it is secure, the safety bar will automatically come down across your lap...I could almost pretend that I understand something in Chinese besides "gung hay fat choy" (sp?)
- The food offerings were a bountiful variety of all types of Chinese cuisine (oh and slushies!) - I only found one "American-style burger restaurant" on the map. We opted for fish and chips and it was delicious!
- Shanghai Disney exclusive souvenirs! Yay! More pins for your Disney lanyards - unique Mickey ear hats - Chinese characters on certain merchandise (you know it's all appropriate wording because hey, this is Disney) all at the low, low price of...What? how many yuan did you say? Do you accept visa? Hmmm...What's my limit again? Have I reached it? I think I paid off the bill before we left for this trip. Gosh, that makes me wonder...did I turn off the oven? Did I ask the neighbor to put out the trash? Did I take that load of wet towels out of the washer and put them in the dryer? Should I call my sister (the only person with my house key) and make her drive over to the house and check? Naaaaw...not now, it's bed time in Shanghai - I'm on "vacation" 
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Oh and one more thing before I forget - a special shout-out to Alicia, Luchi and Evette for making Desiree's day today! You girls rock!
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