Trip Report "It's for work, I swear!"

When I have my students complete identification questions, I always make them give me the who, what, when, where, and why of the word. So that's what I’m going to give you.

Who: Myself and @lostpro9het

What: Another trip to Disney

When: March 19 – 23

Where: Pop Century

Why: Here's perhaps the most important bit of info. It's not for fun trip (yes it is). It's for work, I swear! Sean has a conference. He cannot go to Orlando without me. He just can't.

The seeds of this trip were planted around October of last year. Sean mentioned a big IT conference and said he probably wouldn't go. Fast forward to a few months ago and he's decided he's going.

First things first...I book airfare via SouthWest. Let me tell you now. I HATE FLYING. I'm convinced we are all going to die. I've been reading a book to learn strategies to help with this, so we (and you) will see how it goes.

I had to do some research regarding the Orlando Convention Center, conference hotels (not a Disney one in sight – boo), and all the costs associated with the trip. We were trying to find a hotel that fit the following qualifications: remained within the per diem, free transport to Disney or Disney Springs OR within walking distance of DS. Guess what? None of those fit.

We chose Cabana Bay Resort at Universal. I had resigned myself to the possibility of not visiting WDW. Sacrilege, I say. I wouldn't have minded staying there, but if there's a Disney alternative, I'm taking it. Fast forward to today. We were trying to arrange a shuttle to/from the airport. It was approx. $70 RT for the both of us and we'd be at the mercy of Mears. I then looked up rental car prices. They weren't bad, plus we wouldn't be reliant on the shuttle AND we could visit Disney AND have all of our Disney food choices. This is really what we wanted.

I crunched the numbers.

Cabana Bay was almost $900, plus $12 for parking.

Pop Century WITH a rental car was $793. No brainer. I canceled Cabana Bay asap and booked Pop with a car rental.

Everything (except my FP selections) have been planned.

What can you expect on this trip:
  • Me flying – yikes. I'm not as nervous as I usually am about flying, so I take that as a good sign.
  • Me driving in Orlando. - I'm taking Sean to/from the convention center. Parking is $15/day (unless someone knows something I don't), so that's not even an option.
  • Me solo at the parks – I'm going to ride some rides solo and get some character photos.
We're super-excited that we will be at Disney 2-ish weeks.
 
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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Well-Known Member
So guys, what did we think of flying vs. driving? Prefer one over the other?

Nice on the Entenmann's BOGO. And the beer! Don't recall Publix ever doing BOGO on beer here.

The beer on your Pop "balcony" overlooking the pool pales in comparison to your usual AKL pool beverage pic. :joyfull:

The Plaza fries stopped being good when they changed from fat steak fries. Was Noor there? He's our favorite server. And no shake (or sundae)??!!! :jawdrop:

Waiting patiently for my Space Mountain pic.
 
lostpro9het

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
So guys, what did we think of flying vs. driving? Prefer one over the other?.
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I dont speak for @imahistorygeek but flying doesn't bother me one bit but the time commitment to flying combined with the hassle of a rental leaves me just fine with driving for all our future trips.

Tuvalu said:
The beer on your Pop "balcony" overlooking the pool pales in comparison to your usual AKL pool beverage pic.
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As does most everything when compared to AKL but I'm making the best of the situation.

Tuvalu said:
The Plaza fries stopped being good when they changed from fat steak fries. Was Noor there? He's our favorite server. And no shake (or sundae)??!!! :jawdrop:
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No Noor and no shakes, we're not big shake folks.

Tuvalu said:
Waiting patiently for my Space Mountain pic.
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I did it!!! It took about 3 seperate trips and about a dozen SM rides but I finally broke your hacking algorithm! May I present to you....the perfect... @Tuvalu ride photo:
wdw2017078689626881_7981598909_dsnyRes-base_dsnyLoc-reg.jpeg
 
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Patcheslee

Patcheslee

Well-Known Member
imahistorygeek said:
The name of the book is Soar: The Breakthrough Treatment for Fear of Flying.

You basically associate the negative with a positive. You have to make your brain realize that all those scary noises are routine.
The book teaches you how to do this and also includes ways to shut your brain off to the anxiety. It also goes through how flying actually works. It has really been beneficial to me.
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I'm 36 and still haven't been on a plane. We had planned on a 13-16 hr drive until the inlaws purchased our flight as a delayed wedding present. I'm dreading feeling like I can't get out, and really have no idea how I'm going to handle it. I'm getting this book though, hoping it helps.
 
lostpro9het

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
So we decided to hit up our BTM fp before making for the exit. We did, however, have the chance to pick up the one thing Laura wanted before getting on the bus:
20170319_195332.jpg


We then fought our impulse to board the AKL bus and head for the POP bus queue. As we approached we noticed a DCL bus parked at one of the queues and thought it odd. As we neared lane 30 we realized it was POP bus!!! Naturally, I took credit for this as surly The Mouse heard me complain about the lack of seats on the accordion bus. When we arrived at POP we pondered what would happen if we never left those comfy seats...
20170319_195914.jpg

20170319_195941.jpg


The final stop before we hit the room was to get some tie-dyed cheesecake for Laura, got to use the TiW card here too! While not as visually appealing as it once was, I didn't hear any complaints about it.
20170319_203133.jpg

20170319_203141.jpg
 
imahistorygeek

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
MySmallWorldof4 said:
Looks like massive Spring Break crowds! :eek: But it could be worse. You could not be there ;)
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I'd give it a 6 or 7 (is pushing it) out of 10 for crowds. We've experienced a lot worse during Christmas. One of the indicators we use is the ability to move freely through the Stitch/Monster's Inc. corridor. We could. Of course, it may have lightened up since Stitch doesn't run all the time. I didn't pay attention to see if it was running yesterday.
 
imahistorygeek

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Patcheslee said:
I'm 36 and still haven't been on a plane. We had planned on a 13-16 hr drive until the inlaws purchased our flight as a delayed wedding present. I'm dreading feeling like I can't get out, and really have no idea how I'm going to handle it. I'm getting this book though, hoping it helps.
Click to expand...

I know that exact feeling. Get the book and do what it tells you to do. Honestly, the worst part is right before boarding. I still had some anxiety on the plane, but it was nothing like before. When I say before, I mean white knuckle grips, freaking out at every single noise, and asking Sean what every single noise meant. I had to learn that all of these things are routine and normal. The pilots want to arrive just as safe as everyone else.
 
imahistorygeek

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I think he posted before I had finished the tie-dyed cheesecake. Let's just say if you were a fan of the previous style, this one is sorely lacking. It's fine tasting. If it's a snack credit, I don't think it's worth that credit. The bottom of cup is a dome, so you get EVEN LESS cheesecake! I shake my fist at you Disney!

To answer @Tuvalu's question about flying - It's nice just to be able to drive and do your own thing. Flying can be a hassle, especially if you have to rent a car. With that said, I'd do it again.

Today's plan is Epcot. I have one, single FP for character meet and greet. Whatever happens, happens. I will be on the lookout for something for our daughter.
 

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