Visiting Shanghai Disneyland on the Autism Spectrum Tips!

The Doc is IN… Shanghai Disneyland!! The 2nd stop of our tribe’s Ultimate Disney Road Trip brings us to the newest Disney property and the first in mainland China! It boasts the tallest and largest castle of them all, and in our opinion has 2 of the best Disney rides ever designed (Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure & TRON Lightcycle Power Run). Shanghai Disneyland also features fun twists on some of our Disney favorite attractions like Soarin & Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I can’t wait to get the vlog and blog posts up because this park was AWESOME! Big Thank you to @DisneylandShanghai for having us and @shopDisney for our Doc’s adorable park gear! [sponsored]

A post shared by Tribe on a Quest™ (@tribeonaquest) on Jan 9, 2018 at 7:47am PST

I have to say right off the bat, Shanghai Disneyland is by far one of our favorite Disney Parks! Not only do they have amazing rides (we’re looking at you Pirates and TRON), but they have the easiest Disability Access Pass to navigate.

The day we visited Shanghai Disneyland it wasn’t a particularly busy day once we made it past the turnstiles, so we made the mistake of trying to tackle the park without the pass. It only took standing in 1 line for us to realize that Roo was overwhelmed. We high-tailed it back to Guest Services and I am so thankful we did, it truly made our day.

Shanghai Disneyland on the
Autism Spectrum Tips

Table of Contents

1. Arrive at the park well before opening to try and avoid the lines, or alternatively, sleep in and come to the park later in the day.

Even though the park wasn’t packed once we got into the park the lines outside were absolute madness. You start the day with the security line, and they are incredibly strict about what you are allowed to bring into the parks. From here, you must line up to enter the turnstiles. If you have sweet visions of showing up at the park an hour before rope drop and strolling into the park like in the states dash those visions. We arrived well before rope and there were droves of people!

Not only were there droves of people, but there were also people pushing and even line cutters to content with. This was stressful enough for us adults, so Roo was having a hard time before we even entered the park. You can, however, avoid this if everyone in your party purchases your park tickets from your on-site hotel. There is a special entrance just inside Disney Town for guests staying at Toy Story Hotel.

2. Bring your headphones!

Depending on how she is feeling when she wakes up for the day, Roo will opt to either put her headphones on before we leave the house/hotel or carry them with her to gauge how she is feeling. If your kiddo is sensory sensitive I would encourage you to have them put on their headphones before leaving their hotel room. The bus ride from the Toy Story Hotel was meant to get you excited for the day, but it was a little loud for Roo. Roo absolutely loves the music that is pumped through the speakers at Downtown Disney and Main Street, but if your kiddo is not a Disney fanatic then the music, combined with the volume of the crowd may be too much.

3. Get your Disability Pass, regardless of how light the crowds seem.

Roo is a repeat rider Disney fanatic. If she rides a ride and she really loves it, she will want to ride it nonstop. This happened with the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and having the Disability Pass was such a lifesaver. She was able to ride the ride with one parent, ride again with the other parent (utilizing a child swap for Lightning Bug), then grab a FastPass, and sign up for the ride again with the Disability Pass. While waiting for the Disability Pass we could find a quiet corner for her to re-group or grab a bite to eat, it was perfect.

*Fellow mine train repeat riders: There is a really awesome Alice in Wonderland Maze across from the Mine Train that serves as a great way to spend time and has some quiet pockets away from the Queen of Hearts and Tea Party areas for kiddos who need to decompress.

4. Check height requirements and watch videos of the rides before coming to the park.

Shanghai Disneyland has a lot of rides that have similar counterparts in the states, but don’t be fooled these are not cookie cutters of the parks in the U.S. If your kiddo’s favorite ride is a ride like Buzz Lightyear there will be so many subtle differences that may completely throw them into a tailspin. The language is different, the ride track is a bit different, the targets are in different locations, and so is the lighting.

Watching the ride on Youtube can help clue you and your kiddo into some of these changes and prepare them. Watching rides is also a very useful tool for new rides like TRON. Observing the different harness system for the ride and the visual stimulation changes can help you and your kiddo decide if a ride should be crossed off the list ahead of time.

5. Prepare yourself and your little ones for the extra attention.

If this is your first visit to China you may not be familiar with the extra adoration your child may receive. Despite the social challenges that come with being on the spectrum, Roo actually enjoys meeting new people, so all of the stares and requests for photos made her feel like a little celebrity most of the time.

However, when she was feeling overwhelmed we created a little bit of a cocoon around her to make her a bit less accessible to strangers. You have to realize that this is a different culture, so the cultural norms are also different, which means grabbing a child to take a photo with them seems like an ok thing to do. Trying to explain that a child has autism and may hate touch, especially from strangers, is going to be incredibly difficult, so prepare yourself and your child beforehand.

6. Plan your day!

Because Shanghai Disneyland is new, there isn’t an app for planning out your ride order with the least amount of waiting. The best suggestion for navigating the parks on the spectrum without wasting a ton of time is to make a list of favorite rides, and from there make a plan to eat, see shows, and have time away from crowds to make the best of your day.