One last trip to Disneyland Shanghai! 2017

For Brian's birthday we decided to go to Cheesecake Factory and Disneyland one last time!  We had dinner at Cheesecake Factory and they sang to Brian, then we had the room decorated at the hotel and Brian got a birthday button.  The next morning at breakfast they saw his button and proceeded to sing to him and bring a birthday brownie :)  While in line for the rides he was sang Happy Birthday by our party as well, to say the least he wasn't thrilled with all the birthday attention!  LOL  The kids were thrilled to go again (of course) and we had another family come with us to make it more fun!  If you have heard us talk about the Costa Rican family this is them, Sheila, Ronny, Alejandro and Fernando!  Our kids just adore them and they truly have become family to us.

This trip was different in that we stayed at the Toy Story Hotel which is the second Disney hotels at this Disneyland, and we went on non-holiday, non-weekend days.  The Disneyland here is now offering seasonal passes good for three months at a time, you can purchase anyday, weekend only or Sunday only so the weekends tend to be very busy and as we discovered during Chinese New Year, you don't want to go over a holiday in China.  They do now offer a premier pass if anyone is interested.

Here is the Toy Story Hotel, while it was nice and the kids really enjoyed the theme, we felt it wasn't up to Disney quality at home.  There could have certainly been more attention to detail and more Disney!  While the staff was friendly they weren't Disney happy and I think the language barrier throws them off as well.  The hotel has standard rooms throughout but there are three views you can choose from and pay accordingly.  We had the garden view and cheapest room, we had a view of the park and were on the top floor so for us was just fine.  There is a shuttle bus to Disneytown and Disneyland which are next to one another every 10 minutes.  The kids got to meet Woody and Jessie which is unique in that they aren't available to meet in the park as Toy Story Land is under construction right now.  There are some fun statues on the property and a splash pad it was too cold for.  There is a Sunnyside cafeteria and coffee shop and a play room for the kids.  Here are some of the photos from the hotel.

In Disneyland it was less crowded but still crowded!  We were able to get Fast Passes to Soaring over  the Horizon which takes you from Europe, to Fiji, and The Great Wall with some places in between.  Mind you the first day we arrived to the park around 8:30, waited in line for security checks and then ticket lines to get in the Park after the opening time of 9:00 and by 9:40 all the Soaring FP were gone.  So day two we arrived to the park at 7:30 with Starbucks in hand and waited in the security line and were there when the park gates opened at 9:00 and we got the coveted Soaring FP, without the ride is 105-120 minutes on an average day.  The kids got to go on their favorites, Grace's The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh and Blake's Seven Dwarf Mine Train.

The castle is meant to represent all the princesses.  They have flags inside from all the princesses and they also have murals of many of them in the breezeway you walk through.  These are some of the nice things inside the crystal store in the castle, the Snow white experience inside and Grace with Rapunzel!

While we were on Peter Pan's Flight (Which had been temporarily closed on and off) the ride was shut down.  After a few minutes of sitting in the pirate ship the lights came on and we realized it was over.  We were stuck over London, they brought a 10 foot ladder to escort us off the ship, while Brian was stuck in the bedroom of the house so his exit was a little closer to the ground.  Here are a few photos of the inside of the ride.

We found some snacks as before, Churros, Caramel Popcorn (in the Mickey bucket), and Mickey Pretzels but we also tried the spring rolls, which like the turkey legs and duck legs they sell come with a nice plastic glove as in true China style.  We also found a chicken and waffle sandwich that wasn't bad.  They love waffles here in China!  Blake got a frosty Buzz Lightyear popsicle!

This time we did pay extra to see the night show from the upfront viewing spot, they also provide hot chocolate and cookies!  The kids really got to experience more of the show this way because a lot happens in the water below the Castle but with such large crowds it can be difficult to see the whole show, so I would recommend this especially with little ones!  And I of course enjoyed the English songs of the show :) 

With the new Beauty and the Beast being released and the cast visiting the Shanghai Disneyland, I expected to find special merchandise but all they had was the dolls from the movie that I am sure you can buy everywhere.

And with that we wrapped up our last trip to Shanghai Disneyland....if you are ever in Asia check it out!  

Until Next time....

Our last few months in China.....

As our last few months here are rapidly approaching, we will move from our apartment about one week before we leave China, June 1st.  We are trying to get in lots of time with our friends here, many of which have become family and see a few last things while we are here.  There is no telling if we will ever be back in China but one thing is for sure, we will never be here again, this time, this place, with these people.  Being an expat is a unique experience and had anyone tried to explain it to me before we moved here I probably wouldn't have thought so much about it but it truly is a different way of living.  You are a visitor in another country for a semi-permanent time and you have to immerse yourself as you can into the culture; however to some extent you end up living in a bit of a bubble.  

We have places we like to go, we have places we are comfortable being with English signs and menus, English speaking people here and there but most of all we end up with other expats on this journey and learning so much about them and their cultures as well.  There is a lot I will miss about this experience but by far it will be the people we have met along the way.  When we left the USA the thing we said we would miss most was friends and family and that is the case now as we prepare to leave China.

Brian's company had some visitors from Australia and they brought their wives so I became a tour guide for a few days.  My friend Camila and I took them to Wuxi to see the Giant Buddha which you have probably seen previously in my photos but we had such a beautiful day weather wise the photo is great of the statue!  It was also International Women's Day, as I left my comoud that say they were handing out roses to all female residents and taking photos of them of course!  At Blake and Grace's school one parent brought in roses for each of the little girls in the school.  All around China there were sales and benefits for women that week.  Many companies provide half day of work for women, offer a lunch and some small gifts for them on this day.  

Some Spring time fun in Hong Mei park too!  Our visitors were happy to see the cherry blossoms blooming!  They had Monkey men walking around the front of the park, they were quite friendly for photos, even picked up one of the Australian ladies for a picture!

Another crazy experience at the hair dresser.  I asked for two colors this time, while it didn't turn out like the photo I showed them, I did in fact get two colors.  They used coupons to paint the second color onto the hair instead of foils or those plastic pieces meant for this.  Luckily the color from the coupon didn't transfer to my hair and there are no sales being advertised when I walk around China.  Then a conditioning treatment with the alien machine over my head.....when I left everything looked "normal" so I survived one more time at the hair dresser in Changzhou!

A few fun photos of the kids!  They are growing so much I can't believe it!!!  

Of course one of my favorite things in China is the strawberries and endless entertainment by people decorating their cars with Discovery Channel stickers, flashy paint jobs and bilingual sayings on the bumpers.

Some other fun China things, everyone washes their hair with a special seat and a bucket , right?  Who needs a shower???  Ah and fruit delivered fresh and cut up to my door for cheap prices....something I will miss for sure!!!  The random lady hanging out of a car top taking pictures in the rain!  If you have seen the way they drive here in China you would be sure to never do this, besides the obvious hanging out of a moving vehicle in the rain.  And a beer vending machine inside the mall.....now they have everything.

As we get ready to come back, I am making sure to bring a little but of China home with us.  This is a Terracotta solider, from Xi'an.  We are making a trip there later in April but I wanted to be sure to add this little guy to our family, we named him Xi Guo (Watermelon) and he will go in front of the new house in Arizona!

One more new experience this month was our ladies lunch and go karting.  I am not sure this is the safest place to go go karting but we sure had fun!

 The orange juice machine, hand painted cherry blossom cake, Starbucks Affogato (gelato and espresso) and "salad donuts" are all part of our China experience.

So that is it for catching you up on Changzhou!  Before you know it we will be back at home.  

Thailand or Bust!

We made it to Thailand, the last of our vacations while living here in Asia.  We took a train to Shanghai, a plane from Shanghai to Bangkok, Bankok to Phuket and then an hour car ride to the resort and we were in heaven! The Club Med resort was really nice, the staff was friendly, the beach was right there, the pool was great, they have kids clubs for each of the kids ages so they could participate in activities.  Blake's favorite two thinks were the Trapeze and the elephants!  We got to ride on elephants through the jungle and feed them, for Blake it was awesome, Grace really enjoyed riding the elephants but was not going to feed them, no way, no how!

I do like pina coladas.....

Brian and I got out into the city to do a little shopping, there were scooters all over the place!  Lots of 7-eleven shops, local shops and every other door was a Thai massage place....for 60 minutes......300 baht or about $9USD you could lay and have a massage.....for 100 or $2.85 USD you could have a fish pedicure :)  Many wood carvings were seen in the shops, they had a lot of elephant items as you can imagine.  

A typical street, lots of scooters!

Gasoline in bottle like this everywhere, not many gas stations.....green, orange, yellow choose a color!

  

Didn't try it but we saw many places offering this service....100 is like $2.85

We spent everyday some time in the pool and the beach, it was perfect temperatures in the water, the outside temperature was 85-90 with humidity during the days.

Ready for some pool time!

incredible sunsets

The only thing i had to do while in Thailand was get to see and ride an elephant.  It was a very neat experience, we were able to feed them after riding them too.

The whole family on elephants!

so much fun!

Photos from a lookout point we visited close to the elephant trekking place.

A few Thai items I saw around the hotel....

Part of the fun of this trip was that is was my birthday!!!  We were able to have a nice dinner just the two of us, Brian arranged flowers and a birthday cake to be delivered to the table.  On my actual birthday we had a pool side table for the water trapeze show and a nice bottle of Champagne...I am one lucky girl!

Birthday dinner...no kids!

Birthday flowers....beautiful!

rarely so we see mint ice cream in Asia, usually its green tea!

Snacks

Tuk-Tuk ride in style!

Even Ronald knows the local customs to place your hands together and bow to say thank you.

coconut lamps!

We found a local brewery!

Another Tuk-Tuk ride

Our family <3

Rolled Ice Cream

They had special lanes in the airport and waiting areas for the monks and priests, I thought this was a nice and thoughtful touch but more importantly speaks to their importance in this country.


.I would love to go back one day, so far i think it has been my favorite beach! The people were incredibly friendly, in the airport it says the land of smiles and friendship and it really was.  While we didn't get out to see a lot of the cultural sites it was a fantastic and relaxing trip!

Until Next Time.....