We just got back from China and had just one day in the park. It was a Friday but crowds were still pretty sizeable. We took a cab direct from our hotel and arranged it the night before with the concierge. The cabs will take 4 max so our group needed 3 cabs. We considered taking transit but from our hotel we weregild it would have taken 1-1/2 and we'd have to transfer busses at one point. It was easier and less stressful just taking the taxi. We got there just after 9:00, made our way through the security and ticket lineups. If you are getting your tickets in advance you need to show your passport so make sure to bring those with you for them to scan.
We didn't rush around the park but managed to take in all your top rides (Pirates was AMAZING!!!) with the exception of Peter Pan which had too long of a wait and we didn't want to criss-cross the park for Fast Passes. Do not underestimate just how large the park grounds are - it was a lot of walking just to get from one land to another. I think my wife's FitBit registered somewhere around 26,000+ steps the day and we left around 6:00pm and didn't stay for the fireworks.
If you are going in July the heat and humidity will be intense. Even now in early May I found it to be very hot and felt drenched shortly after leaving our hotel. Make sure to stay hydrated as the park has little in the way of shade.
One tip with the Challenge Trails that I hadn't seen mentioned is that there are several different routes to take. I was waiting out front for our group to come down and across the rope bridge in front of the big waterfall to get some photos but they went right instead of left and ended up going a different path and never came by the waterfall. I had waited all that time they were in the cue for nothing!! So if you want a photo in front of the waterfall make sure you direct them to head in that direction.
All in all I was VERY impressed with SDL. It was quite clean with lots of cast members going around cleaning up any trash they saw. The food was ok but not great. I think if we were ever to go back we'd plan on 3 days to take it all in accounting for the crowds, amount of walking and old style Fast Passes but we were all glad we went even for the one day. There won't be too many people that can say they went to China and Disneyland in the same trip!
Thank you! Wow, that is a LOT of walking!
Back with our one day report from April! Had a great time and totally worth doing. Big takeaways: much busier than we expected and even arriving well before opening, security and the ticket check took almost 50mins, so be sure to factor that into your time estimate (the walk from the parking lot ain't short either). Also check the park times as you get closer--when we bought the tickets, it listed as closing at 7PM but found out when we arrived they had extended the closing to 8PM. Like you, we debated the Premier Access Set, and ultimately went for it. So glad we did; made for a stress free day, and were able to see everything we wanted no worries; even squeezed in Soarin' which was originally low on our list but the kids loved. IF you decide to go that route, I can you give more specifics on some of the oddities on how the set works, but the big lesson learned is with the set, your first target should be Pirates, as it is the only major ride without a Fastpass. The wait time started low, but was listed as 45 mins when we hit, and we waited over an hour. If we did over,we would start there, then work our way around counterclockwise. (Other side note: Challenge Trail, the first line you'll see if for lockers ONLY, actual line is farther in).
One other thought for you: we were on a guided tour as well, stuck at an out of the way hotel, and was trying to figure out transportation. We found out once we got there the hotel offered a daily complementary shuttle to Disney! So I would contact your hotel concierge ahead of time, you never know what they offer.
I am totally interested in the Premier Access Set oddities! We're still on the fence about even attempting the side trip - but we'd really like to give it a shot. We kind of think we'd have to be able to do Pirates and Tron more than once, Peter Pan, Buzz, and the Challenge Trails for it to be worth our time and money. Anything else would be a bonus.
Great idea about starting at Pirates.
Yes, I want specifics and oddities!
I had never heard of it before, so I checked the website but not really sure what it is. It's like buying front-of-the-line access for one of the 7 rides listed? And I take the set inludes several or all of the list?
The way I understand it is - you can buy them as Premier Access which are single FPs for those 7 rides. Single use, pick one of the 7 rides.
Or, you can buy the Premier Access Set which gets you a single ride on all 7 of the listed FP rides. @Aviator621 can correct me if I am wrong.