THE GOOD
- Despite WALLCOT being an absolute mess, I had a great day there productivity-wise. 20 rides in one day at WALLCOT of all places is pretty unheard of. Not to mention, the weather was nice and cool that day.
- School bread continues to amaze me
- I rode Haunted Mansion a LOT. 10 times I think? I can't show you guys my on-ride photos because I believe screenshots are probably not allowed, but each time I did a count with my fingers because I'm #cool #like #that. I also never look at the camera even though I'm certain that I look at it every time.
- The chicken nuggets I consumed were good.
- La Hacienda de San Angel was great! I feel like it doesn't get enough hype.
- My room at Pop was quite comfortable and I couldn't have asked for a closer location to the food court/parking lot.
- I got some good merchandise! (Most of these were wants rather than needs which required reflection upon returning home once the Disney blinders had been removed).
- My Boo Ba$h strategy was successful.
- I surpassed my previous record of 53 attractions in the span of 3 days - now I'll have to ride/do 57 attractions LOL. Hey, if you count my 4 rides on the Skyliner, that would get me to 60, but... That's obscene, so we're not counting them.
- (the Skyliner, while terrifying, was actually pretty fun and I definitely felt like I was getting to EPCOT/DHS much faster than if I had taken the bus, but don't tell Bob that I said that)
THE BAD
- My sandwich at the Plaza was wretched.
- It was hot - I knew it would be hot going in. I think any sort of belief that Floridians know how to handle heat better than X/Y/Z is incorrect. I think we actually know how to stay inside when it is too hot to function. A trip to Disney in mid-August is killer. I KNEW this going in, and I still went. But never again lol.
- I didn't get to ride Jungle Cruise! The line for it was long no matter the time of day, and I wasn't going to waste precious Boo Ba$h time on it. I imagine this is due to the film, but who knows.
- Tensions were running high. I had to stop two CMs in Tomorrowland to let them know that a fist fight was breaking out in line at the Mad Tea Party (no joke, guys, I was scampering to find someone so that security could be called). I also heard a lot of snide comments about wearing masks - which, like, whatever, but you've chosen to come to Disney knowing that these are the rules but WHATEVER I DIGRESS WHATEVER.
THE UGLY
This is the first time I've come home from a Disney trip and felt frustrated. It's hard to put into words, really, but I think the overwhelming thing I feel is that I don't think the value is there anymore. I was looking up flights to Paris this week for fun and had the sudden realization that for what I spent at Disney World for 3 DAYS, I probably could've gone to Paris for a week. There are roundtrip flights to Paris for 489$. Granted, I can't go to Europe right now (TEEHEE THANK YOU CORONAVIRUS YOU SURE STAY DOING THE MOST!), but the fact remains that there's a lot of the world out there that I still haven't seen, and I have started to ask myself whether Disney is the best bucket for met to dump my money in. I know you guys don't come on here to read depressing stuff, but it's how I feel. Especially after the announcement of Genie+, if my eyes could roll completely backwards into my skull, they would have. Paying for something that was free in the not so distant past is not something that I am willing to do. BUT PAYING TO PARK AT DISNEY HOTELS!, you cry, thinking you've caught me. And you know what? You're right. There's really no benefit to staying on property at present - I don't care about an hour of EMH in the mornings, and I think it's classist that they're holding nighttime EMH for Deluxe resort guests only. You can argue that Disney's current business strategy in general is classist, and you'd be correct - but this continuing trend of valuing certain customers over others does put a bad taste in my mouth. Consider Boo Bash - it is a rip off. There's no denying that. I paid 130 some odd dollars for 5.5 hours of park time. That's absolutely crazy. Yes, I was able to get a bunch of rides in, but there was no possible way to do EVERYTHING at Boo Bash. If I had cared about treats, cavalcades, and character meet'n'greets in addition to riding rides, I probably would have accomplished nothing. And I do feel like After Hours Parties will prevail over MVMCP and MNSSHP, even though I tore Boo Bash to shreds in the survey I received, because I don't WANT that to be the case.
I tell you what, Bob, start selling a ticket that allows me to walk through MK and only ride HM and PeopleMover, and I'll happily buy it, because that's really all I care about lol. Maybe one ride on Carousel of Progress, too. And I don't think I'm feeling this way because of COVID - I don't care about having to wear masks, and as I've said, I don't really care about fireworks. But maybe the ambiance was a little lacking? Maybe some subconscious part of me expects to be held up by parades and kind of enjoys it? Who knows. Heck, when they announced new APs, I did take a look - but it doesn't feel like many perks come with it, so I'm holding off. I'm not going to lie to you and say I'm NEVER GOING BACK TO DISNEY WORLD!, because I'd also be lying to myself. My grandma wants to do a trip in January, and I won't turn her down because that's our thing. All these rambling thoughts to say, I got my fill of HM, and will enjoy reading everyone's TRs - but for now... Man, I wish I was sitting outside at a Parisian cafe right now drinking French hot chocolate and eating a croissant.
. At the moment, looking at a stay at Pop! and will be hitting up Epcot, MK, and MGM/DHS (?). And I must be honest with you. I really must...
Also I have 100% forgotten my swimsuit before...like as in my last trip. And the one before that. And the one before that (but that time my cousin was with me and brought THREE so I borrowed). Why is this not at the top of my packing list at this point?