Visiting the real-life reproduction of the city where anyone can be anything is probably most Zootopia fans’ dream – at least, it was definitely mine! I’ve wanted to visit Shanghai Disney Resort ever since Zootopia Land opened in December 2023, and a few weeks ago, as we were celebrating 10 years of Zootopia, my dream finally came true: I hopped (no pun intended) on a plane to Shanghai and fell right into Nick and Judy’s world.
Hi! My name is Audrina, and I’m a 21-year-old fan of Zootopia living in Paris, France. While I am obviously no travel agent or Disney Park expert, but I aim to provide a Zootopia fan’s complete guide to visiting Shanghai Disney Resort, and hope this article is somewhat helpful for those who share my dream of taking a trip to the magical city of Zootopia…
Before we start, all prices mentioned in this article are in USD.
WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING A TRIP TO CHINA, AND SPECIFICALLY TO SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT?
Well, this varies greatly depending on where you live. Of course, if you’re fortunate enough to live in or around Shanghai, I won’t tell you to look into flights. But for those of you who, like me, live several continents away, that would definitely be the first step, as this is most likely going to be the most expensive part of your trip (unless you plan on buying every single item of Zootopia merch you’ll find there, in which case, good luck with the ten suitcases you’ll need to bring everything home).
If you’ve planned trips before, this is definitely going to sound obvious, but for those of you who need some tips on how to find the cheapest flights, here they are.
- COMPARE PRICES: there are many good websites that will help you find the most competitive prices, such as SkyScanner, Google Flights or eDreams to name just a few
- BOOK EARLY: in general terms, the earlier you book your flight, the cheaper it’ll be; however, you might want to avoid certain periods of the year that tend to be more expensive such as July/August, or Christmas, as there is usually more demand for flights during these times
- HAVE A LAYOVER IN ANOTHER CITY: some airlines will offer cheaper flights that include a layover, usually in another Chinese city such as Beijing; the layover can be as short as 2 or 3 hours (yes, I would consider 2 or 3 hours a “short” layover, speaking from experience), and is almost always cheaper than flying straight to your final destination
For your information, Shanghai Disney Resort is located very close to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), therefore landing there rather than at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) would bring you a little closer to the park, but both airports are connected by public transport and getting from one to the other can be as short as a 40-minute train ride! So honestly, just land wherever is cheapest.
Another thing you might want to look into quite early on is whether or not you’ll need a Visa. As a French citizen staying in China for less than 30 days, I was fortunate enough to not need one, but I know that all American citizens must request a Visa prior to entering the country, and I would assume that is the case for some other nationalities as well. Regardless of whether or not you need a Visa, keep in mind you will need to fill an entry form or “arrival card“: this is a completely free but mandatory step and it can be done either at home or at the airport. I would suggest doing it at home just to save some time when you get there!
Obviously, you will need a place to stay. Shanghai Disney Resort offers two themed hotels: Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, and Toy Story Hotel. You guessed it, Toy Story Hotel is entirely Toy Story-themed, so you won’t have any chance of finding a Zootopia-themed room there. As for Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, there once was a time when you could pay extra to request some Zootopia “decorations” to be added to your room (it was just bedsheets, really; click here to see an example video) but as of Spring 2026, that does not seem to be an option any longer when you visit the hotel’s website to book a room – although it might make a comeback someday, who knows. In my humble opinion, unless you love Disney/Pixar in general (especially Toy Story) and really want a themed room, it is not worth staying at these hotels which are, like all Disney hotels, awfully expensive (anywhere between $350 and $550 a night for Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, and $200 to $300 a night for Toy Story Hotel).
What I would recommend instead is staying at a hotel close to Shanghai Disney Resort that offers a free shuttle bus to and from the park. These hotels can be found on Booking.com and other similar websites, and can be as cheap as $50 a night, on top of having excellent ratings! That is personally what I did, and I don’t regret it one bit: very clean and quite luxurious hotel, with a free shuttle bus to and from the airport as well as to and from Shanghai Disney Resort – super convenient, and no taxi or public transportation fees to add to the overall budget. If you’re looking to visit Shanghai while you’re there, I suppose you could also consider staying closer to the city center, but in that case you’d surely be paying a lot more, and you’d have to figure out how to get to and from the park yourself.
Talking about budget, you might be wondering how much such a trip might cost overall. Unfortunately, I can only give you my personal total, not a general amount, because this will vary greatly due to many factors: where you’re flying from (the further you live from Shanghai, the more expensive it’ll probably be), what kind of hotel you choose to stay at, how much you choose to spend on merchandising and food at the park, how much park tickets cost when you visit (I’ll come back to that later, but tickets are usually more expensive on the weekend and during busy months like July and August), etc.
While I can’t tell you what precise budget you need to expect, I can definitely tell you that a lot of places in China do not accept credit or debit cards, and only take either cash or the most common means of payment in China, which are Alipay and WeChat – two apps I’d definitely recommend downloading and setting up before your trip! Fear not however, you can pay with a credit or debit card almost anywhere inside Shanghai Disney Resort (except if you want to rent a powerbank at one of the powerbank stations inside the park, you would need WeChat or Alipay in that specific case). Some subway stations also offer a “tap to pay” system with your credit or debit card, but if you plan on also visiting Shanghai or other Chinese cities while you’re there, you will most definitely need some cash or Alipay/WeChat.
Since I just mentioned powerbanks, here is a rather important warning I’d like to give: do not try to bring your powerbank to China unless it has a clear “CCC” mark on it! There is a law in China that entirely prohibits bringing powerbanks that don’t bear this certification onto an airplane, so although your powerbank will pass security checks at your home country’s airport, any Chinese airport you’re flying from will force you to throw away your powerbank. Been there, done that: airport security made me throw away both of my non-CCC certified powerbanks before I got on my connecting flight from Beijing to Shanghai… Had I not had a layover in Beijing, they surely would have found my powerbanks when I’d have to fly home from China anyway, and they would have confiscated them then. So that leaves you with two options: either buy a powerbank with a visible “CCC” certification (I’m pretty sure you can order one online, maybe some physical stores sell them but you’d have to check), or don’t bring a powerbank at all and rely on renting a powerbank from a powerbank station inside Shanghai Disney Resort, which is a thing, as I briefly mentioned earlier.
Another little heads up if this is your first time visiting China: keep in mind that basically any app on your phone, from Google to your emails and social media apps, will be blocked by a firewall. You will most definitely need to download a reliable VPN, and find yourself an equally reliable Sim or eSim card.
Enough about visiting China in general, and let’s now talk about planning your visit to Shanghai Disney Resort specifically. First things first, you need to decide when exactly you want to visit! If you would like to avoid going when it’s more crowded and expensive, don’t think about going on a weekend or during holidays (July and August especially): park tickets usually start at around $65 per adult, but can easily go up to well over $100 on Saturdays/Sundays and during the summer. Unlike many other Disney parks around the world, it is impossible to buy tickets several months in advance: the earliest you can purchase a ticket is 4 weeks ahead. Note that purchasing a ticket at least 10 days ahead of your visit rather than last minute gives you the opportunity to buy a ticket from the “early bird” category: they’re just regular park tickets, but 50 Chinese yuan cheaper (that’s only about $7, but it’s still some money saved)!
On top of purchasing a regular ticket, you can buy an “early park entry pass”, which grants you access to the park an hour before other guests who only purchased regular tickets. This option can either be purchased as a bundle with a regular park ticket, or separately as an add-on (the latter can be a little cheaper sometimes). The “early park entry pass” costs about $30 and is totally worth it in my opinion! While the official Shanghai Disney Resort website says that accessing Zootopia land is impossible during that time, that is not true: you can walk around the land, however you cannot access the “Hot Pursuit” ride or meet Nick and Judy until the official park opening time. I still found it worth it paying a little extra to enter the park early because it was less crowded, so I got to discover Zootopia land for the first time while it was more calm than throughout the day, take some nice pictures, and start getting in line for the meet and greet.
Booking tickets can be done either through the Shanghai Disney Resort website, or via the app, which you can usually find under the name “上海迪士尼度假区” on the Apple Store or Google Play. Although the app often feels like it was created by Flash himself – it’s extremely slow – I’d suggest downloading it ahead of your visit anyway as it contains lots of useful information including an interactive map of the park. You are also supposed to use the app to enter the park by letting a cast member scan your ticket in QR code format within the app, but if for some reason you can’t download it or access your tickets via the app (I couldn’t because mine crashed, logged me out and wouldn’t let me log in again), simply giving your passport number to a cast member should be enough to be let into the park as all tickets are linked to the guest’s passport number (it is something they will request when you purchase).
Also, be on the lookout for special bundle tickets: following the release of Zootopia 2, Shanghai Disney Resort used to offer a bundle that included a regular park ticket, a Disney Premier Access Pass (also known as “Lightning Lane Pass” in other Disney Parks) for the “Hot Pursuit” ride, and a voucher for Zootopia-themed food, all for a pretty fair price. This was a temporary offer that only lasted a few weeks though, but perhaps they’ll bring it back someday!
AS A ZOOTOPIA FAN, WHAT IS THERE TO DO OR SEE AT SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT, EXACTLY?
Now you’ve read the first part of this pretty long guide, you’re probably thinking “ok Audrina, that’s cool, you went into great detail about how to book flights and hotels and park tickets and all of that but… what is there for me, the biggest Zootopia fan, to see at Shanghai Disney Resort?” and I guess it is now time for me to go into equally great detail about that subject.
Shanghai Disney Resort is currently the only Disney park in the world that gives guests the possibility to visit an entire Zootopia-themed land and go on a Zootopia-themed ride. That’s a pretty big deal, if you ask me! When you walk into the land for the first time, you’re taken right into the heart of Zootopia, with iconic landmarks like the ZPD, City Hall, Zootopia Central Station, Jumbeaux’s Café, or the Natural History Museum. You’ll also see other buildings reminiscent of the city’s different districts such as Tundra Town, Little Rodentia, or Sahara Square. The land in itself is very immersive and full of little details that, when you’re walking around, truly give you a sense of being one of many animals living in Zootopia: you’ll find both tiny and giant benches, a huge car designed for giraffes, small doors and big ones, signs that say “no grazing” or “mind your horns”, and so much more. Pro tip: for the best view of the land when you walk in for the first time, make sure you enter from the left side (on a map, that would be the side where “Fashions by FruFru” is located), rather than the right side which is just one long (and quite empty) lane that doesn’t immediately give you a view on the city.
Shanghai Disney Resort’s Zootopia-themed ride “Hot Pursuit” is just as wonderful as the whole land itself, and that includes the ride’s waiting line! The queue first takes you through the ZPD where you’ll be greeted by Clawhauser in person, then through the gloomy prison Bellwether just escaped from, and back into the ZPD where you’ll meet Chief Bogo and witness a call from Nick and Judy saying they found out Bellwether and popstar Gazelle, who is being held hostage by the ex-mayor of the city (therefore putting the concert she was due to perform that day at stake) are in Tundra Town. Bogo orders guests to hop onto a police car and help Nick and Judy in their crazy chase through Zootopia, from the coldest district to the hottest one, with a surprise visit to the Naturalist Club before heading to the Rainforest District, and finally (spoiler alert) to Gazelle’s concert, whom we managed to rescue from captivity. Overall, “Hot Pursuit” is a highly immersive ride that tells a fun and compelling story by combining multiple animatronics, big screens, movement, music, heat and cold, and dialogues which I bet are very interesting to visitors who speak Chinese. Only a few of Clawhauser’s lines were recorded by Nate Torrence, his American voice actor (these can be heard near the end of the queue, right before you’re about to get onto a car); anything else is in Chinese only, however English subtitles are provided on screens throughout the queue, but not throughout the ride, which I personally don’t think is too big a deal considering it does not take away from the story, or the fun of the ride itself. The ride itself is rather long (almost 6 minutes), and the waiting times can be rather short (30 to 45 minutes) on less busy days. “Hot Pursuit” also has a single rider line and a “Disney Premier Access” line which both make the wait much shorter, but unfortunately take away from the overall experience of the ride since you won’t walk through all parts of the ZPD, and skip the prison entirely – believe me when I say they are worth seeing at least once. If you happen to be visiting on an extremely busy day, or if you want to go on the ride multiple times, the single rider and “Disney Premier Access” lines are definitely good options. To access the “Disney Premier Access” line, you’ll need to buy a pass directly on the Shanghai Disney Resort App for about $25, but again, you’d only truly need it if you were visiting on a day when waiting times are very long, which definitely wasn’t my case when I visited on a Thursday in March. If you want to keep a small souvenir from the ride, make sure to strike a pose during Gazelle’s concert at the end, and check your picture when you walk out the ride!
Although “Hot Pursuit” is Zootopia land’s main attraction, the land has a lot more to offer, notably “Fashions by FruFru” and its overwhelming amount of Zootopia merch from floor to ceiling (which isn’t as expensive as some would think due to eBay resellers often doubling the original price of certain items). There is also Jumbeaux’s Café, where you’ll find treats that’ll take you right back to the first movie, such as the iconic “Jumpo Pop” (a chocolate rice crispy bar), Little Rodentia’s “The Big Donut” (a big chocolate donut, obviously), Nick and Finnick’s famous “Pawpsicles” (hawthorn berry-flavored popsicles) and so much more – you can check the whole menu at the bottom of this page [Jumbeaux’s Cafe | Dining | Shanghai Disney Resort]. However, if I have to be completely honest, I believe the food tends to look a little better than it tastes (except for the Jumbo Pop, which I loved), but hey, they’re perfect for some nice pictures!
On the topic of pictures, Zootopia land offers tons of very Instagram-worthy photo spots. You’ll easily find the most popular ones (like the pedestrian crossing signal with a view on City Hall behind, the massive giraffe car, or the giant bench), as people usually get in line to take pictures there. If you’d like a pic but you’re visiting alone, don’t be afraid to ask other guests! And if your aim is to avoid crowds showing in the background of your photos, I’d recommend taking some pictures early in the morning, or late in the evening: Zootopia at night is equally as magical as throughout the day, and usually less crowded!
Even if you’re not too big on pictures, surely you wouldn’t want to leave without taking a picture with Nick and Judy themselves! Head to the meet and greet area next to Jumbeaux’s Café, preferably early in the morning as the waiting time gets progressively longer throughout the day. The waiting time for the meet and greet is often much longer than the waiting time for “Hot Pursuit” – and by “much longer”, I mean twice as long as the wait for the ride, generally reaching over two hours! The meet and greet is a fun experience regardless of whether or not you speak Chinese since cast members usually speak and understand English, and will guide you through taking pictures with the characters. Besides, I do believe interactions during meet and greets transcend all language barriers: a big hug from your furry best friends is a sign of affection regardless of the language you speak! Nick and Judy are generally dressed in their officer uniforms, but will occasionally wear accessories (ex: a scarf and hat in the winter) or other outfits on special occasions (ex: they were dressed as Gazelle and one of Gazelle’s dancers for Halloween). For your pictures with Nick and Judy, you could choose to ask a cast member to take some with your phone (or film the interaction with them), but you could also choose to rely on the park’s photographer, who will hand you a small card with a code that will give you access to your pictures if you choose to purchase a PhotoPass. The Shanghai Disney Resort PhotoPass costs about $40 and allows you to download all your pictures taken on the day of your visit: that includes meet and greet pictures, pictures taken on the rides, but also any other picture taken by a professional photographer inside the park – for example, you’ll usually find some near the castle, and all it takes is walking up to them and asking for some pictures!
Make sure you don’t miss the “Zootopia Comes Alive” shows: multiple times a day, animatronics of our beloved secondary characters from the first and second film – such as Gary, FruFru, Bonnie and Stu, or Flash to name only a few – appear at the windows of the building opposite the ZPD! There are different shows at different times of the day (you can check those times on the Shanghai Disney Resort App) and they’re all very fun to watch even if you don’t speak any Chinese! The animatronics are very true-to-life, and one of the shows includes a very catchy song that’ll get stuck in your head for the rest of the day…
Shanghai Disney Resort also provides entertainment for Zootopia fans outside of the land. For their current parade titled “Mickey’s Storybook Express”, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the park (and coincidentally, of the first film too), Shanghai Disney Resort went all out: three beautiful floats dedicated to the franchise (a float for Gary, another for Clawhauser, and Gazelle’s tour bus which features the iconic singer as well as a dozen of other secondary characters), many dancers dressed as animals, and Nick and Judy themselves dressed in their Zootopia 2 attire, accompanied by catchy Chinese versions of “Try Everything” and “Zoo”! There are multiple parades a day, so make sure to check the Shanghai Disney Resort App to find out what times they’re happening.
Still outside of Zootopia land, I would definitely recommend checking out “Mickey’s Storybook Show”, which includes beautiful tributes to different movies, including Zootopia, of course! In this show, Gazelle, her dancers and a blinking/talking Judy Hopps get on stage to perform a Chinese version of “Try Everything”! As always, the whole show is in Chinese, but it’s a pleasure to watch regardless.
As you make your way back to Zootopia land for some more adventures, make a stop at the “Garden of the Twelve Friends” near the castle to catch a glimpse of a lovely mosaic depicting a familiar bunny face…
And even as the day ends and the park is about to close, Shanghai Disney Resort still celebrates Zootopia in its night time show “Illuminate”, which includes multiple nods to Judy, Nick and their friends as well as an adorable version of “Try Everything” sung by children – a lovely way to say goodbye to the park.
If your budget was too tight to bring home lots of merch, fear not: it’s common for cast members to hand out some cute stickers for free, one of which is a Zootopia sticker! I was given one by the cast member who handed me the Big Donut I had bought at Jumbeaux’s Café without even having to ask for one, but I’ve heard it’s ok for guests to ask cast members for a sticker! It’s always a nice little souvenir to bring home.
THAT’S TOO MUCH INFORMATION FOR ME, MY BRAIN IS SHORT-CIRCUITING… CAN YOU PLEASE SUMMARIZE?
For sure! I know this is a lot of information, and some of it might seem obvious to people who travel a lot or visit Disney parks on a regular basis. Here’s what I think you should take away from this article if you’re trying to plan your own trip.
- PLAN YOUR TRIP TO CHINA: book flights, find a place to stay (outside the park is a lot cheaper!), look into specific details such as requesting a Visa or getting yourself a CCC powerbank, an eSim and a VPN
- PLAN YOUR VISIT TO SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT: book your tickets (no earlier than four weeks in advance, and avoid July/August and Christmas as they’re the busiest and most expensive seasons), download the Shanghai Disney Resort App
- KNOW WHY YOU’RE GOING: Shanghai Disney Resort is – so far – the only park in the world that offers an entire highly immersive Zootopia land, with its fantastic ride “Hot Pursuit”, its Zootopia-themed food, a large merchandising offer, an opportunity to meet the characters, and more interesting things outside the land such as nods to Zootopia within the parade and shows
THE BIG QUESTION… WHAT WAS YOUR BUDGET FOR THIS TRIP?
I know it’s an important question, and I want to be transparent in order to give you some kind of idea of what budget you might want to expect for yourself. Again, as I’ve said in this article, everyone’s budget is going to be unique because it depends on a lot of factors: what time of the year you’re traveling, where you’re traveling from, personal choices…
But regardless, here is a cost breakdown for my trip to Shanghai Disney Resort in March 2026:
- flight (Paris-Shanghai-Paris, with Air China, with a layover in Beijing): $613
- hotel (outside the park, 2 nights): $107
- Shanghai Disney Resort ticket: $71
- early entry for the park: $29
- photopass (obviously not mandatory): $42
- food in Zootopia land (3 items): $35
- merch (5 items): about $80, I think
This brings us to a total of about $977, which I can only admit is a lot, and which is the very reason why I said that being able to visit is a huge privilege, at least in the eyes of most people, and definitely in mine. But as the lovely French saying goes: “quand on aime, on ne compte pas” (“when you love something, you don’t count the cost” or in other terms, “if you love it, it’s worth it”)…
WHAT DID YOU PERSONALLY THINK? GIVE US YOUR TOTALLY UNBIASED OPINION…
Visiting Shanghai Disney Resort, especially Zootopia land, was a dream come true. I spent a whole 14 hours there (from 7:30AM to 10:30PM) and enjoyed every single second of it. I was in awe of the attention to detail they put into this land, and couldn’t help but be fascinated by how beautiful everything was, especially the inside of the ZPD which honestly took my breath away when I walked in the first time. I do believe this place is a Zootopia fan’s little heaven on Earth!
Choosing merch is hard, you’ll want to try all the foods, take a million pictures of everything, and ride “Hot Pursuit” 20 times because it simply is that addictive. Even the queue of this ride is gorgeous, and I repeatedly got upset that the line was moving too fast for me to be able to see every little detail, which is not something you’d ever catch me saying about any other ride!
Despite being on my own and so far away from my country (and having to face some culture shocks because Asia is just so different from everyting I’m used to), I felt completely at home. Chinese people are welcoming, and everyone in Shanghai is absolutely crazy for Nick and Judy, which only made me think “ah, good, finally some people who can match my energy!” – I’m not exaggerating when I say nearly half the visitors at the park, even outside Zootopia land, were wearing Zootopia merch.
It truly is an unforgettable trip, from the moment I was greeted by Nick and Judy promo and merch at the airport in Shanghai, to the moment I watched the last fireworks before having to make my way out of the park…
My only hope is that they can expand this land to include more references to Zootopia 2 (there is a Marsh Market sign already, after all…) and hopefully build more lands similar to this one in other Disney parks around the world in order to bring Zootopia closer to the many, many fans who unfortunately don’t have the privilege to be able to travel this far.
As for non-Zootopia-related rides and activities in the park, you’d unfortunately have to do your own research. I am sure Shanghai Disney Resort has a lot to offer beyond Zootopia, but I am not qualified to talk about that topic as I personally chose to spend my day in Zootopia land and only checked out other parts of the park if they had some kind of connection to Zootopia.
IN CONCLUSION…
I had so much fun writing this article and I truly want to thank everyone who took the time to read it despite its length. Hopefully it helps some of you plan their next trip! There is probably more I could have said, although I tried to be extremely thorough in giving you all the details I could think of. Should you have any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them in the comments!
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