Photo taken on May 10, 2016 shows the front gate of the Disney Resort in Shanghai, east China. The Shanghai Disney Resort, Disney's first theme park on the Chinese mainland, started an internal test run Tuesday to prepare for its opening, scheduled for June 16. (Xinhua/Ren Long)
More than a million visitors have already toured the Disney Resort since the Disney Resort metro station opened on April 26, according to fortune.com. These visitors have been restricted to non-ticketed public space in the resort outside the Disney park. The $5.5 billion Disney park will open on June 16, 2016.
On May 7, Shanghai Disney Resort started a trial operating period, inviting staff members and relatives to visit. Talking with some of these visitors, the first members of the public to experience the Disney Resort, there were the expected complaints about high prices and long queues but many also talked about the genuine excitement and fun they had there.
Jane Chen, an office worker from Jiangsu Province, bought a trial operating period ticket through a friend who is working at Shanghai Disney Resort. She visited the theme park on May 14 and enjoyed an exciting and "special" experience inside the park.
An innovative story
"I think Disneyland revolutionizes the way things are usually done in amusement parks. They provide an innovative and complete story line and create great visual and sound effects in almost every theme land. You feel totally inside the story as if you were really adventuring," Chen said.
Unlike other amusement parks where many of the violent roller-coaster and spinning rides get visitors throwing up, Disneyland's most thrilling attraction, The TRON Lightcycle Power Run, a race for survival, didn't make her feel at all uncomfortable.
"It's actually not quite a thrill-seeking thing, but the spectacular high-tech visual effects and creative plots are just amazing," Chen told the Global Times.
She said she had to queue for 40-50 minutes for each attraction, and the longest she had to wait was some two hours for the most popular attraction, Soaring Over the Horizon.
"But it was all worth it. I was really excited throughout that. Everything was worth waiting for - they are not just attractions or rides, but wonderlands to explore," Chen said.
Postgraduate student Gloria Gao, visited the park as the relative of a staff member and she also found the experience worthwhile. She most enjoyed the shows and the parade. "The performers are professionally trained, and all their lines are in Chinese. I was delighted to see so many Disney characters coming to life," Gao said.
"And I actually felt I was seeing Jack Sparrow himself when I was in the Pirates of the Caribbean. It was announced as being the 'first-of-its-kind pirate adventure' for any Disney park. I think Caribbean fans from around the world might want to take this adventure."
For Gao, the best thing about the Disney Resort is that it is theme-based and fans can find their own favorite theme land.
A devoted fan of Winnie the Pooh, she spent some memorable moments in the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and was totally immersed in the story.
"If I just wanted thrills I think I could find exciting rides in other parks but I can only find a Winnie the Pooh attraction here in the Disney Resort."
