Shanghai 3-Day Itinerary 2026: Disneyland & Chagee Tea

The cultural and economic heart of China

A captivating city where East meets West

Shanghai

Shanghai

---

Hey everyone! I'm Ciel, your go-to travel influencer-!

Today, I'm excited to share Days 1 & 2 of my 2-night, 4-day Shanghai trip

with my little brother, which we took solely to check off some major "Wanghong" trending bucket list spots.

---

Shanghai Day 1

Incheon Airport → Gourmet Bridge Food Court (Rice Noodles) → Pudong Airport → CHAGEE → Shanghai Joyful Yard Hotel

After my brother and I spontaneously decided to head to Shanghai,

we got off work, grabbed a ride from our parents (thanks, Mom and Dad!), and arrived at Incheon Airport.

Since the Eastar Jet flight departed at 12:30 AM, it was perfect for jetting off right after a workday,

so we chose Eastar Jet for this trip.

+ It seems like Shanghai is super popular for travelers lately,

but it was interesting that we barely saw any other airlines at the terminal besides the Chinese carriers..

I absolutely love getting actual paper boarding passes!❤️

Safe travels, my suitcase! See you there!💜

I don't think I've ever taken a flight this late before(?),

so I completely forgot that the duty-free shops would close.

I arrived all excited to do some duty-free shopping, only to be totally caught off guard..

So, even though we had already eaten dinner, we decided to eat... again!

Since it was so late, the menu options were pretty limited..

I originally wasn't going to get anything,

but my brother wanted some rice noodles. So we got a bowl,

and I ended up eating about 70% of it myself!

My brother literally asked me five times, "Are you sure you don't want any?"

and even though I kept saying no, I totally devoured it, haha.

We got super lucky and scored exit row seats!✨️

Since it was an exit row, my brother couldn't have any alcohol,

but he was just so happy with the extra legroom, which was a relief! haha.

I don't sit in exit rows very often, but Eastar Jet

was incredibly thorough, double-checking everything starting with whether we had consumed any alcohol.

So, wow✨️ they suddenly felt like a super reliable airline in my eyes...

The only thing is... the person who is supposed to assist the flight attendants

in an emergency is *me*, which is the least reliable part, lol.

The moment we landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport, we were greeted by these beautiful lanterns!

It really hit me—I'm finally in China!!!

Since we had about 40 minutes before our hotel shuttle bus,

we wanted to find a convenience store. But once we got to the departures hall, we couldn't find one,

and the only place open was CHAGEE.

This place was already super trendy on socials as the "Jang Wonyoung milk tea" spot,

so we tried the "Jasmine Green Milk Tea" (Bai Ya Jue Xian) recommended by the staff. It was absolutely delicious!👍🏻

+ My friend Yejin had given me tons of local recommendations before my trip, and she had actually mentioned CHAGEE!

Since I was drinking it right then, I excitedly messaged her to brag about it💜

Sorry for the late-night text, haha!😂

As we were waiting near Exit 26,

our hotel shuttle arrived!

The license plate number was different from the one the hotel had messaged me,

but it was heading to the hotel, so I double-checked with the driver and hopped right in!✨️

It was only about ~$32 a night and even included breakfast, so I honestly didn't have high expectations.

I really just booked it for the convenient Disneyland shuttle service,

but it turned out to be the absolute best value for money! 👍🏻

Shanghai Day 2

Shanghai Joyful Yard Hotel → Shanghai Disneyland → Convenience Store → Shanghai Joyful Yard Hotel

The staff at the breakfast buffet were so incredibly kind.

Starting the morning with a warm "Nihao"❤️

Even the staff refilling the buffet dishes were so sweet!😂

The breakfast itself was pretty decent, and the watermelon was super sweet and delicious.

The only bummer was that the water was... lemon water...😂

Although we chose Shanghai Joyful Yard Hotel mainly for the Disneyland shuttle...

If we tried to catch the early morning shuttle, we’d only get two hours of sleep...

So, we decided to sleep in, grab a leisurely breakfast, and catch a taxi straight to Disneyland instead!

Everyone says you have to wait in massive lines if you try to make it for rope drop...

But since we skipped the morning rush, we walked right in without any lines! It was honestly the best decision.

Our very first ride: Dumbo the Flying Elephant! 🐘

The app showed a 50-minute wait, but we got on in about 30 minutes.

Next up was TRON, which I seriously debated riding!

I do ride Atlantis back home, but only when I'm dragged kicking and screaming.

Knowing TRON is even faster, I was super hesitant...

But I knew I’d totally regret it if I missed out.

Honestly, the absolute scariest moment was trying to put my phone in the ride compartment...

My Galaxy Fold 7 was so long it barely fit into the slot... 😱

To all the iPhone users feeling relieved right now:​

The iPhone 17 Pro Max barely fits either lol.

The ride was about to launch, so my sister and I were like...

"Forget the phones, our lives are more important! Just hold on tight!!!" But then...

It was so much fun, I could easily ride it 10 more times!

Who on earth said this was scary?! 😂

You can even snag a cool souvenir photo!

Spotted the famous paw-shaped popsicle on our way to Zootopia! 🐾

I'd read plenty of reviews saying it wasn't good...

But it's just so iconic!

Plus, the similar one I tried in Tokyo Disney was actually delicious.

I figured, 'How bad could it possibly be?' and bought one...

Turns out, it was absolutely 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶 TERRIBLE.​

My sister and I immediately started a cutthroat game of trying to force each other to finish it.

We waited a whopping 3 hours to ride Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, which everyone raves about.

If I had paid extra for a fast pass, I would have been so mad...

At least the merch was adorable.

The famous traffic light photo spot that everyone lines up for.

Funnily enough, it felt like literally everyone in line was Korean! 😂

You can't go to Disneyland and not get a photo with the castle! Snapped a quick shot.

We had some time to kill before the fireworks, so we grabbed some pizza and chicken leg fried rice.

While the malatang we had for lunch was a total fail...

The pizza and chicken legs were actually super tasty!

We headed over early to get a good spot for the fireworks...

But it didn't really matter because people kept shoving their way in, pushing us further and further back.

I totally get letting little kids stand in front, but...

I'll just leave it at that. 🤐

Being on the shorter side, my view was completely blocked by the heads and arms of the crowd in front of me. I could only see the fireworks through my phone screen! After a bit, I decided to just head out.

We went to catch the shuttle—I highly recommend leaving a little early!

If you can sprint after the show ends and find your bus easily, great...

But if you think you might get a bit lost or confused, definitely make an early exit.

Some people actually ended up missing the shuttle! 😂

Since we didn't eat very well at Disneyland all day...

We stopped by a convenience store near our hotel.

I always thought Japan had the absolute best convenience store oden/fish cakes...

But wow, China's convenience store version is surprisingly amazing too!

It was too late to order delivery...

So we tried this with zero expectations, and it was a total win.

And that's a wrap on Days 1 & 2 of my Shanghai adventure with my sister! 💜

Cielso

ⓒ2026. Cielso. All rights reserved.

​

​

​