Shanghai Disneyland Rules You Should Know Before Going!

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Hello there! Today I’m going to share all about Shanghai Disneyland’s rules and regulations, which are absolutely essential to know before your visit!! This will ensure your Disney trip is fun with zero hiccups. Let’s get started!

Why Do We Need to Follow Disney's Rules Anyway?

Before I dive into all the rules, many of you might wonder, “Why are there so many rules in the first place?” Well, there are plenty of good reasons!

Safety always comes first! Shanghai Disneyland is a huge theme park with tens of thousands of visitors daily. Clear rules help keep everyone safe, whether it’s bag checks, prohibiting dangerous items, or setting height requirements for rides.
So everyone can have equal fun! Imagine someone blasting loud music during a spectacular show, or someone cutting in line after you’ve been waiting for 2 hours. That would totally ruin your experience, right? Rules help ensure everyone can enjoy themselves equally and respectfully.
For a smooth, uninterrupted experience! Ever heard that Disney is called “The Happiest Place on Earth”? The park staff prepares everything to make your experience as smooth as possible, from queue management to stroller parking spots to photo systems on rides. If everyone follows the rules, everything works as planned!
Because we’re in China! Don’t forget that Shanghai Disneyland is located in China, which has stricter laws and culture regarding safety and order than many countries. Many rules are direct orders from the Chinese government!
If you don’t follow them… you might get kicked out of the park! This is super important! If you don’t follow the rules, the park has the right to escort you out immediately without any refund. That would be such a waste of your expensive tickets!

Now, let’s see what rules you should know about!

Items Prohibited in the Park (Shanghai Disney Resort)

There are many items not allowed in the park, including:

Explosive and flammable items (like firecrackers), knives, weapons of any kind, objects that look like weapons or toy guns (including water guns!)
Alcoholic beverages
Cans or glass containers (except small containers like baby food jars)
Bags, boxes, or luggage larger than 56cm x 36cm x 23cm
Wheeled luggage of any size
Wheeled devices like skates, shoes with built-in wheels, skateboards, scooters
Kites, remote-controlled devices like drones or remote-controlled toys
Cameras and video cameras that might endanger others, professional photography equipment of all kinds including tripods, extendable selfie sticks, stabilizers, lighting equipment, etc.
Folding chairs and stools
Animals (except guide dogs)

Materials prohibited by law and other items that may be dangerous or disruptive

Luggage Storage at Shanghai Disney Resort

This is something many people worry about! If you have large suitcases or lots of stuff and want to store them before exploring, good news – Shanghai Disney has luggage storage services!

Where is the luggage storage? The Luggage Storage is located on the east side of Shanghai Disneyland’s main entrance, near the security screening area. It’s not hard to find, there are clear signs!

How much does it cost?

Regular-sized luggage: 80 yuan/item/day
Small items: 10 yuan/item/day (items with total dimensions i.e., length+width+height not exceeding 60 cm)

What are the opening hours? The luggage storage service will remain open for at least 1 hour after the park closes! But I recommend checking the exact times at the luggage storage location, as they might change depending on the day.

Items NOT allowed for storage! (super important)

Weapons of any kind or objects appearing to be weapons
Expensive items
Food
Dangerous items, explosive and flammable materials
Items with strong odors
Animals or plants
Anything that may cause damage or require special storage conditions

One last super important thing! Don’t forget to retrieve your items on the same day! You must bring your storage receipt to get your items back, so don’t lose it!!!

Special service for Disney hotel guests

If you haven’t checked in at the hotel yet but want to visit the park first, you can leave your luggage at the luggage storage at the main entrance and have it delivered directly to your hotel. So convenient!
Similarly, when checking out, you can leave your luggage at the hotel and have it sent to the luggage storage at the main entrance, so you can pick it up before leaving the resort.

This service is perfect for people with lots of luggage or belongings so you don’t have to drag them around and get tired!

Security Before Entering the Park

First things first, everyone must go through security screening before entering the park! You’ll need to walk through metal detectors, and every bag will be thoroughly checked. This is a Chinese government rule, so I recommend arriving at least 30-45 minutes before the park opens because the queues get suuuuper long!!! Especially during peak season!!

If you bring large bags, the park might refuse entry, or they might handle items you leave behind without warning because they’re concerned about bombs and things like that. So never leave your belongings unattended!

Food and Beverages

For those worried about expenses, guess what? You can bring your own food into the park!! But there’s a catch – the food can’t require heating, refrigeration, and most importantly… it can’t have a strong smell!!

Examples of food NOT allowed in the park:

Instant noodles that need hot water (like ramen, instant porridge, etc.)
Food in containers that can be heated
Durian!!! (because it smells really strong)

Foods you can bring include snacks, water, sandwiches, bread, or ready-to-eat lunchboxes that don’t need heating. But I’d recommend using the food services inside the park for more convenience, and to avoid the risk of having to throw away food if staff doesn’t allow you to bring it in despite your preparations!

Strollers and Wheelchairs

For families with small children, you can bring strollers, but they must be no larger than 110 cm x 85 cm! And they must be for children aged 11 or younger, or not taller than 1.4 meters.

A point many people miss… once inside the park, you must park strollers in designated areas only!! If you park in the wrong place, staff might move your stroller, or if you chain it somewhere that’s not a designated parking spot, they might cut the chain off! 😱

For wheelchair users, regular wheelchairs are fine to bring in, but electric wheelchairs must be registered at least 2 days in advance through Shanghai Disney’s Reservation Center, and must not exceed 6 km/h.

Dress Code

How you dress for Disney is super important! You must wear shirts, pants/shorts/skirts, and shoes at all times, and clothing that drags on the ground is absolutely forbidden. If the park thinks your outfit is inappropriate, they might deny entry or ask you to leave!

What’s special is… masks that cover the entire face are prohibited for anyone 16 years or older (unless worn for medical purposes). If you wear a mask, your eyes must be clearly visible.

Children and Ride Access

For parents bringing kids, you must supervise children at all times! Children under 16 years must be accompanied by someone 16 or older to enter the park.

Super important: children under 7 years must have an adult 16 or older with them on every ride! Plus, each ride has height requirements too. So plan your trip well, because you definitely won’t be able to ride everything in one day!

Photo ID Verification at Main Entrance

Another thing you need to know!! At the main entrance, they’ll take your photo as proof of identity that you own the ticket. This is a special system at Shanghai Disney that might be different from other Disneyland parks!

What is it? Staff will take a photo of your face when you scan your ticket at the entrance for the first time, to link your photo to the ticket used. This system is implemented to prevent people from lending tickets to others (since some Shanghai Disney tickets allow multiple entries/exits on the same day) and for everyone’s safety!

What happens if you refuse to be photographed? If you refuse, you won’t be able to use special services in the park, such as:

Disney Premier Access (service that helps you skip long queues) – because they need to verify that the person using this service is the actual ticket owner
Re-entering the park on the same day – for example, if you leave to eat outside and want to come back, without a photo in the system, they won’t let you back in
Using Disney Standby Pass – the system for booking ride slots in advance through the mobile app

What about children? Kids need to be photographed too! There are no exceptions, even for little ones, because the park prioritizes maximum security. But don’t worry, the photo takes just 1-2 seconds, and the photo will only be used in the park’s system.

If children are scared or crying during the photo, staff will be kind and try to make them feel as comfortable as possible. Sometimes they’ll make jokes or encourage kids to smile before taking the photo. But either way, there must be a photo in the system to verify identity for various services in the park.

Even though children must already have a guardian to enter the park, the child’s photo will be stored separately and linked specifically to the child’s ticket!

Be careful!! If you use a friend’s phone to scan your ticket in the official Shanghai Disney app, your face photo taken at the main entrance will appear in your friend’s app too! The system shows the photo to confirm who the ticket belongs to. So if you don’t want your photo on someone else’s phone, it’s best to use your own phone for scanning tickets!

Activities Prohibited in Shanghai Disney Resort .

The following activities are not allowed without permission:

Selling or exchanging goods or services, or displaying goods for sale (including Disney-branded merchandise!)
Distributing or displaying printed materials, using flags, banners, or signs
Organizing rallies, events, performances, speeches
Pulling permitted vehicles (including permitted strollers) behind yourself
Using permitted vehicles (including permitted strollers) exclusively to transport personal belongings, merchandise, or other physical items
Using selfie sticks
Photography, videotaping, recording, or livestreaming of any kind except for personal, non-commercial purposes
Interviewing without prior authorization
Dressing in costumes or using accessories that might cause confusion or imply you’re a Shanghai Disney staff member
Engaging with other guests or impeding operations while posing as a character in costume
Feeding any animals in the park, including birds
Any unsafe acts or activities that might impede park operations
Any activities that violate Chinese laws

What Happens If You Break Shanghai Disneyland's Rules?

For those who violate the regulations of Shanghai Disneyland, the park reserves the right to:

Deny admission or request immediate exit from the park without refund or compensation for rule violations, unsafe/illegal/disruptive/offensive behavior, or behavior that causes attractions or entertainment to stop
Change park or attraction operating hours, temporarily close the park or any part of it, limit the number of visitors, and/or suspend or cancel any attraction or entertainment due to capacity issues, extreme weather (such as typhoons, high temperatures, air pollution), special events, park safety or order

These rules may change. If there are mandatory requirements stated otherwise in laws, the related ordinances will be followed. The final decision is at the discretion of the staff.

The scariest part is if you commit serious violations, such as trying to bring illegal items into the park or assaulting others, not only will you be immediately escorted out of the park, but you may also face legal prosecution under Chinese law!!! And let me tell you, Chinese laws can be quite strict – you could face heavy fines or even imprisonment!

For minor issues, like accidentally entering a restricted area, staff might just give you a warning the first time. But if you repeat the offense or show disrespect for the rules, you might still be asked to leave the park.

Instead of risking having your fun Disney trip end sadly, let’s understand and follow the rules, shall we?