Shanghai Disneyland is Disney’s newest resort. Opened in 2016, it’s now one of the most attended theme parks in the world. According to AECOM, it was the fifth most visited theme park in the world in 2023, only behind Tokyo Disneyland, Universal Japan, Disneyland, and Magic Kingdom. It also happens to be in the top 5 of my personal favorite theme parks. If you’re reading this, you’re probably planning a trip to Shanghai Disneyland. The first question you’re going to ask yourself is what are the best times to visit Shanghai Disneyland? Well that’s where this guide comes in.
If you’re like me and want to avoid long lines as much as possible, then there are certain times of year you need to avoid if you want to experience the park with lower crowds. This guide will help you decide when to go to Shanghai Disneyland. It’ll tell you when to visit Shanghai Disneyland if you want to encounter low crowds, as well as the times you should avoid if you don’t want to experience peak crowds. So without further ado, let’s dive in!
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Is Shanghai Disneyland Always Busy?
Shanghai Disneyland is located in the second most populous country on earth, so it should come as no surprise that Shanghai Disneyland commands large crowds almost all times of the year. This park is almost like the opposite of Hong Kong Disneyland, which experiences low crowds throughout the year. This makes picking when to go to Shanghai Disneyland crucial as it can make or break your visit to the park.
But with crowds being higher than Hong Kong Disneyland, is there even a low season to speak of at Shanghai Disneyland? Based on my research and experience, I would say there is still a low season. Shanghai Disneyland, while being the fifth most visited theme park in the world, still has times where the park is relatively quieter.
Now, of course Shanghai Disneyland’s version of quiet is still busier than Hong Kong Disneyland’s version of quiet, but I would say Shanghai Disneyland isn’t like current Disneyland or Walt Disney World where the “off-season” is slowly disappearing. You’ll still encounter crowds in the off-season, but in my opinion peak season crowds are so busy that they dwarf the off-season crowds.
Another difference between Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland is that usually only Mainland China holidays affect the crowd levels at the park. At Hong Kong Disneyland, the park will be busy if some key Southeast Asian countries have holidays or school breaks. At Shanghai Disneyland, the only holidays you need to avoid are the Mainland Chinese holidays.
I would actually say that Shanghai Disneyland is the worst park among all the Disney Parks to be in during a holiday. When you visit during a holiday, every ride has a long queue, lines for food and merchandise will balloon, and walkways are full of people. I cannot overstate enough how crucial it is that you visit during less busy times, because when it’s busy, it’s BUSY.
For this guide, I’m going to go over what I think the least and most desirable times to visit Shanghai Disneyland are based on research and my own experience. However, I will not be doing a crowd calendar. Let me explain why.
Why I’m NOT Doing a Crowd Calendar
After visiting various Disney Parks and experiencing what they are like first hand, I can say with certainty that many crowd calendars are wildly inaccurate. Now I’m not saying that those who make crowd calendars are being untruthful, but there’s just way too many factors that influence the crowd levels of a Disney Park on a daily basis for anyone to be able to predict any one day’s crowd levels accurately.
It’s for this reason that I’ve decided to structure this guide to predict the best times to visit Shanghai Disneyland in terms of periods rather than days. Days are too hyper-specific. Periods, on the other hand, are broader and because of that are more predictable as compared to days. I can’t promise you with certainty that March 26 will be a light day to visit, but I can tell you that March in general tends to be one of the best times to visit Shanghai Disneyland.
Another reason is because Shanghai Disneyland’s busy days are easier to predict because most of them (if not all of them) fall on or near holidays and school breaks. Lunar New Year, Golden Week, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Labor Day can all be predicted to have higher crowds. Since this is mainly the factor that influences crowds, I personally don’t think a crowd calendar is necessary.
But now you may be wondering, what are the other factors that go into predicting or deciding when to go to Shanghai Disneyland? I’ll explain the two most important factors that go into that decision in the next section.
Klook.comThe Factors You Should Consider When Planning Your Shanghai Disneyland Vacation
As mentioned, there are two main factors you should consider when planning your Shanghai Disneyland vacation. As mentioned in the previous section, the first is Mainland China holidays and school breaks. As Mainland Chinese guests make up a large majority of the guest makeup of Shanghai Disneyland, it makes sense to plan your trip around these major holidays and breaks.
Things like Summer Vacation, as well as the various holidays sprinkled throughout the year, are the main times of year you should avoid when figuring out when to go to Shanghai Disneyland. I would say that the secondary country you should consider would mainly be Japan, but no group really influences the crowd levels at Shanghai Disneyland like the mainland Chinese guests do.
Klook.comThe second main factor, which is actually similar to the main factor that will affect your visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, is the weather. Shanghai weather comes in extremes. In the summer it can be very hot and humid. On the flip side, the winters can be brutally cold, with temperatures regularly dropping below 0 degrees celsius. The in-between between summer and winter is, in my opinion, the perfect time to visit. Temperatures are mild, making it the perfect time to visit the park.
I would say that visiting Shanghai Disneyland is optimal when both factors are taken into consideration. You would want to visit an empty park, but if it’s incredibly warm or cold it could also ruin the experience for you. On the flip side, you may want to visit at a time with amazing weather, but if the park is inundated with people it might make for a lesser experience. The best time to visit Shanghai Disneyland would be at the confluence of the two.
Now that we’ve sufficiently covered the reasons behind my recommendations, it’s time to actually go into the periods I think are the best times to visit Shanghai Disneyland, as well as the days when to go to Shanghai Disneyland, and of course the times when you shouldn’t go to Shanghai Disneyland. We’ll start first with the worst times to go so you know off the bat when the worst times to go are.
Klook.comWorst Times to Visit Shanghai Disneyland
As mentioned, we’re going to be covering the worst times to visit the Shanghai Disneyland Resort first. These are times I recommend you flat out avoid. Most of them revolve around holidays, with some of them also being on this list because the weather is just flat out awful. Let’s get into it!
Avoid Visiting During Chinese New Year
This is, without a doubt, the worst time to visit Shanghai Disneyland. You have a small added benefit of it being Lunar New Year so the park will be decked out for the celebration and there will be added entertainment offerings during this time, but that’s where the positives end. This is the most crowded time to be at Shanghai Disneyland.
Lines will be long for everything. I’ve seen attractions exceed three hour waits at this time of year. Even the queue just to enter Zootopia will be out the door. Add to the fact that it will also be bitterly cold at this time and you have every reason not to go to this park during this time. I would avoid the months of February and late January altogether for this reason. Even the weeks surrounding Chinese New Year will be busy. I cannot discourage you enough from visiting at these times and, if you do, I would recommend buying Premier Access to shorten your waits in line.
Klook.comAvoid Visiting in the Summer Months
This is another time I would not recommend visiting. Mainland Chinese students will be on break for the summer, meaning the park will be absolutely packed with people. I actually visited the park during this time and it was chock full of people. We couldn’t get on rides on the first day because lines were incredibly long for everything.
Another reason not to visit at this time is because of the weather. Not only was it hot and incredibly humid, but we visited in the rainy season. The rainy season usually only happens in June and July, and during that time we had one day where it rained the entire day. It made navigating the park really difficult and since Shanghai Disneyland has a lot of open space, it made experiencing the park really challenging. I wouldn’t recommend coming at this time of year for these reasons.
Klook.comAvoid Visiting During Golden Week, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day
These series of holidays comprise the first week of October. While October is a fantastic time of year to go, I wouldn’t recommend visiting at this time as the park will be filled with guests. This is a very popular time to go for people who want to go during a holiday but don’t want to deal with the weather of the summer months. So, in terms of when to go to Shanghai Disneyland, I would plan to go on the weeks surrounding this holiday period.
Klook.comAvoid Visiting During Qingming Festival, Labor Day, and the Dragon Boat Festival
These festivals all take place on various days in April and May. April and May are actually amazing times to go, but if you want to experience Shanghai Disneyland with lower crowds, then it would be wise to skip out on these days. Plan to go in the days leading up to or after these holidays as crowds should be lower at these times.
Klook.comAvoid Visiting from December to February
There’s only one reason why I would advise you to steer clear of these months: it’s incredibly cold. Now if you come from a relatively cold country, or are used to visiting Tokyo Disney Resort and Disneyland Paris in the winter, then maybe this won’t be an issue for you. Weather aside this would be a great time to go as long as you avoid the New Years holidays and Chinese New Year. But if you’re like me and hate the cold, then avoid this time. There are better months to visit Shanghai Disneyland when the weather is a lot nicer.
Klook.comBest Times to Visit Shanghai Disneyland
Now that we’ve gotten the worst times to visit out of the way, it’s time to talk about the best times to visit Shanghai Disneyland. I would highly recommend visiting at any of these times. Just keep in mind that while these periods may be amazing to visit, they contain some holiday breaks within them. In that case, just plan to go around those breaks and you should be fine.
Klook.comVisit from March to Mid-May
Now this time of year has holidays that I would recommend you avoid (which I talked about above), but for the most part this is an amazing time to visit. Crowds will be low as most children have school, and the weather won’t be too cold or too hot. It won’t be as humid as well at this time. This makes it the perfect time to enjoy the park.
If you’re coming from the United States, this would make the perfect Spring Break trip as long as your Spring Break doesn’t fall on any holidays. Shanghai Disneyland also usually has a Spring promotion too, meaning there’s special entertainment at this time, making it a fun time to visit.
Klook.comVisit in September to November
This time of year contains Golden Week, National Day, and the Mid-Autumn festival, but is also a great time to visit for the same reasons March to Mid-May are a great time to visit. Lines will be relatively shorter because kids have just started school in China, and the weather is transitioning to being relatively cool after the warm summer months.
Take note that Early September may still be hot and humid, while late November will start to get pretty chilly. If you can visit in between both that would be great, as long as you avoid the holidays of course. During this time, the Halloween and Holidays seasons will be taking place depending on when you go, which could make for a more enjoyable visit.
Klook.comBest Times to Visit Shanghai Disneyland During the Week
Now that I’m done explaining when to go to Shanghai Disneyland in terms of seasons, I think it’s also important to look at the best times to visit Shanghai Disneyland during the week. Just like picking what season to go, picking when to go during the week is crucial to having a good time at the park. So let’s get right to it.
Klook.comAvoid Weekends
This is quite obvious, but you should try to avoid weekends as much as possible. Weekends are just as busy as holidays. Shanghai locals will storm the park and make it extremely crowded, and don’t underestimate the amount of people who will be coming from different parts of China for the weekend. If you can, plan to visit Shanghai Disneyland on weekdays, although there is one particular weekend you should avoid (aside from weekdays that are also holidays, of course).
Klook.comAvoid Mondays
Mondays can be just as crowded as weekends sometimes. This is mostly because people planning trips will avoid going on weekends because weekends command higher ticket prices. Because of this, they’ll visit on the closest available weekday, which is usually Monday. Surprisingly, Fridays aren’t affected like this as much, meaning it’s actually a great time to go.
Klook.comBest Time to Visit is Tuesday to Friday
The best times to visit during the week would be Tuesdays to Fridays, with Fridays and Tuesdays being slightly more crowded than Wednesdays and Thursdays. There is some spillover from Mondays that bleed into Tuesdays, and Fridays are close to the weekend so it tends to be more crowded. For the best experience, I would recommend visiting in the middle of the week.
Klook.comBest Times to Visit Shanghai Disneyland Conclusion
Planning a trip to Shanghai Disneyland does not have to be confusing. As long as you do your research and plan based on that, you are sure to have a good time. I would highly recommend taking this guide, as well as the other guides you can find online, into consideration before you book your trip. And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on my socials!
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