Trip Report Let's Be Financially Irresponsible

hehehehehe....

Oh, friends, it has been so, so very long. And so much has happened in the past year! Namely, a year of clinical rotations mostly around Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, venturing as far west as Kansas. It was an experience I'd rather not repeat, and fortunately do not have to, as I graduated at the end of December, passed my board exam, moved back to Florida, and will begin a new job shortly. Phew! I just got back from the UK on Saturday, after spending Christmas with my family over there, and had to drive past WDW TWICE on my way to and from MCO. It hurt me. It hurt me so badly that after driving past it on Saturday I started talking to my mom about how I could just go.... I could just... go.

Here's where I could just go... The following morning, jet lag had me up rather early so I was like... shall I check to see if there are any hotels available? What's the harm? What is the harm. So I looked for Wednesday and Pop was available for 162 that night. I hate making decisions and that number wasn't really speaking to me, so I held off. My grandparents came over yesterday to see my new apartment now that I finally have furniture (that is a story and a half...) and while there, my grandma (the one I often go to Disney with) and my mom started being little evil devils on my shoulder whispering to me that I should just DO IT. So I looked at the hotel availability for Tuesday... and lo, All Star Sports for $93 a night. That's more like it. So, I jumped. And by jumped, I also bought my annual pass. Thus, the title of this thread (which I figure I'll just keep ongoing for the year a la @Tuvalu as long as I, of course, am not cramping your style). My credit card is taking a beating.

So, this Tuesday through Thursday I'll be at WDW, and I'm kind of just winging it. I have reservations for MK tomorrow, Epcot on Wednesday, and who knows on Thursday because I haven't decided if I'm going to go to a park or head home for any administrative stuff outstanding for my job since my remaining funemployment free time is rapidly dwindling. Don't expect great pictures for now because 1) I did not settle on the Photopass upcharge and 2) I dropped my phone this year directly on the camera and shattered the glass over the lens, thus the weird flares in the photo above. But she still works, so that will be dealt with in the future if any of the new iPhones this year tickle my fancy... a different opportunity to be financially irresponsible in 2025! Yay! So, join me on what is sure to be a year of me just riding Haunted Mansion and Peoplemover and calling it a day since I have no interest in figuring out the latest FP replacement

 

[Seagull59]

Have a great day!!

 

[tonystark]

conned by the nemo wait time it seems but too deep in the line to turn back now

 

[tonystark]

it’s down and i befriended a mom who is making her way to the exit and i am following her path yay moms!!!

 

[Swissmiss]

 

[cgersic]

Love the title, congratulations on all of your accomplishments, and Bring.It.On!!!

 

[rshell68]

Congrats on graduation and good luck with the new job!!

 

[BigDis]

Looking forward to reading about your yearlong adventures!

 

[tonystark]

Can’t wait to follow along!

this was playing in the back of my mind but the problem with treat yo self is the price that comes with it... but teehee it matters not! for we are having fun in the moment.

Congratulations on your graduation and future job. You so deserve these few days at the Happiest Place on Earth. Looking forward to your report.

thank you so much!

Congratulations on graduating, your new job and getting an annual pass for WDW. You are on a roll.

it was nice to be on a good roll for once instead of a bad roll that felt figuratively like I had fallen down a very big hill for many days

Woo hoo!!! Loving all of this!! You should definitely just add on the photopass.

honestly... may add it on in a couple of months once I get "paid" (if this is a true concept)

A full year of Haunted Mansion rides?

Max

the doom buggies are going to be molded to my body like memory foam sorry to everyone else wanting to ride

Congratulations on all your accomplishments!

Congratulations on graduating and your new job! Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

thank you!!!! hopefully it won't be too boring to read!

this was me for the last year and finally I think I will be able to pull myself to my feet...

Many positives in your life -- graduation, and a new job -- good for you!! Go ahead and splurge. You deserve this!

thank you so much! appreciate the encouragement to splurge

 

[tonystark]

stoked on your report!

me making my way across Disney property with no discernible rhyme or reason

Congrats on graduation and good luck with the new job!!

thanks so much! I'm going to need it because first day jitters are real.

Looking forward to reading about your yearlong adventures!

we shall see how long I make it before I really am just riding Peoplemover over and over again

Have a great day!!

I had a very good day!

View attachment 835484

Love the title, congratulations on all of your accomplishments, and Bring.It.On!!!

thank you!!

 

[tonystark]

Tuesday morning dawned at 4:18 am. I needed to get up at 4:40 to take my mom to the airport, but I was up late fretting (as per usual) and then my brain was like WAKE UP NOW SHE IS GOING TO MISS HER FLIGHT. of course she wasn't, because I woke up way before my alarm... and she said she could just call an Uber but I knew that she would give me a ride to the airport at 4 in the morning if I needed one, so I decided to be a good child. She wanted me to just go back to my apartment afterwards but I figured I was already on the road and I thought that I could avoid some I4 traffic since it was the crack of dawn. It was showing just over an hour drive to All Star Sports, and then once I had my mom at the airport at 5:20, it was an hour thirty... And then... things were... becoming bad.

It felt like I was in Pittsburgh again trying to get through the Fort Pitt Tunnel... a traumatizing experience to be sure. And it was about at this point when I REALLY NEEDED TO PEE. Like... really, really bad. I was preparing myself to literally just pee my pants by the time I got to the security gate for All Star Sports because I figured the process when they check your ID was simply going to take too long. Except all they did was have me hold up my driver's license at the window, so I got through that gate in twenty seconds. And it was a close call, my friends.

The face of someone who did not pee themselves. While I was here, I had the bright idea to just ask the front desk if there was ANY WAY AT ALL a room would be ready because I was also tired... perhaps my mom was right and I should have gone back to the apartment for a nap and then left for WDW after rush hour, but here I was... The CM didn't even glance at her computer, just said nope. Okay, that's fine. Totally fine. I guess I could CHANGE OUT OF MY SHORTS (whyyyy did I wear them) and head to Magic Kingdom. It was flipping cold outside.

Oopsies, totally forgot that this was a thing. I consoled myself by saying that it was too cold to do that ride, anyways. I was heading to early entry for MK, completely forgetting that it was only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland that would be available.

I joined this long line for the bus to MK, and I learned something marvelous! My high school best friend was here, at All Star Sports, with her husband and 2 children that I had never met! We last saw each other when we were both home from college in maybe 2016, but then life took us in different directions. But here we were at WDW at the same time, and we said we would meet up in the park later, because they were going to MK today, too.

I was shivering as the bus arrived. The wind was biting, and I'm usually okay with the cold, but this was wayyyy too cold. I needed another layer, but I didn't pack anything else layers wise, and I was mad thinking about all the other jackets, coats, hoodies, etc. in my closet an hour away. I wasn't going to spend money on a jacket in the parks just because I was cold. I was going to tough it out.

The faster I walk, the warmer I will be.

I stopped at guest relations to activate my annual pass, only to learn that it was already activated. I was sure that they would be scanning my driver's license since that always seems to happen when I buy something Florida resident related, but this time, they said it's okay girl we believe you. And this was when the CM didn't want to write on the I'm celebrating button, so I was kind of bummed out. I told myself I'd stop at City Hall once I was inside and get it done there.

Obligatory picture I take every time I enter MK. Yes, that woman is wearing gloves. Would that I was wearing gloves.

Post City Hall fail. Someone had posted in the subreddit for my profession that this looked like a particular surgical specimen, and now I can't unsee it.

Hub grass looking empty. In fact, this side of the park (left, towards Adventureland as is my traditional path) was looking rather empty indeed. It was not registering in my mind why that was, as I was happily toodling over to the Liberty Square entrance, giggling to myself about how I was going to be able to early entry Haunted Mansion many, many times...

 

[tonystark]

Where am I going when I took this picture? Why, to the right side of the hub, of course, where the check in for early entry was taking place. I knew that, of course!! Whatever gave you the impression that I had forgotten about the limitations of my extra 30 minutes???

And here is where I stood for 20 minutes, waiting. And if I haven't impressed upon you just how cold it was... It was cold. Children were crying and whining to their parents about how they were being forced to stand outside in the cold. I was laughing. Parents were not laughing. Tensions seemed a little high. Probably because everyone was cold! Standing here, I realized I needed to make an actual decision about what ride I was going to. People were talking about Mine Train. Why are we still talking about Mine Train? That would NOT be where I was headed.

And I was sure as heck not going to spend 27 dollars on Lightning Lane. Good lord! I've told myself that if I'm going to get a hotel during this year, I'm not allowed to pay for Lightning Lane. But if I'm just nipping up and back for the day, I will allow myself the purchase. We'll see if I adhere to that rule.

Peter Pan would be my first ride. I think I waited about 10 minutes.

Yes... my shattered camera is not very good on dark rides these days... This is when you are flying over London. You'll have to take my word for it.

Hello Ariel. I would not be riding your ride this time, my apologies.

Well, since I'm right here...

With every year that passes, I feel like I appreciate this ride a little more. The song isn't even annoying at this point. I'm jamming along.

The dolls that aren't the typical Small World design always throw me off.

Hello you cheeky beast.

 

[tonystark]

Never realized that these platypi (?) are holding eggs and not little croquet balls or something.

Backed up a bit far today I felt. It was time to look around.

Clowns BEGONE!! You do not belong here. While I'm looking up....

Here's a gaping hole in the ceiling tile where the balloon drops up and down from. Surely this does not need to be such a large hole...

I do feel like this is a downgrade. I liked seeing my name on the screens. Sigh.

The park had been open for a few minutes, so you know where I had to go. The only place that matters. What would have been my first ride of the day, and what is the first ride of the day in my heart.

They have wasted no time over at Big Thunder, which I'm bummed to have missed by a day.

Greetings to my favorite family.

Good to see they've kept the chandeliers suitably cobweb strewn in my absence.

And here he is. The hatbox ghost. My opinion? I guess I didn't really... care. I remember being mad when they announced it. The STORYLINEEEE you're not SUPPOSED TO SEE A GHOST BEFORE LEOTA.... and then I realized that it's never that serious. It's fine. Projection screen animatronics are not my favorite. And this guy just stands there with his hat box. Not much to write home about.

 

[meggo819]

The STORYLINEEEE you're not SUPPOSED TO SEE A GHOST BEFORE LEOTA

Yes!! This should bother more people, in my opinion

 

[Go.Nijntje]

Yes!! This should bother more people, in my opinion

I'd never thought about it before but you are right. He does seem out of place.

 

[tonystark]

My little dancing ghost. You are under appreciated. The average HM rider probably does not even spare you a glance. But I do. I spare you a picture, too. Every time.

And I got my usual outside of HM picture. As you can see, I am somewhat appropriately dressed. And yet I was still cold. Time to visit Memento Mori and see if anything there catches my eye...

I considered this for $15, but I didn't know if I had any bumper space. I have a couple other magnets/stickers so I ended up not buying this. Maybe next time, but I still haven't looked at my bumper to check.

Here is where I was sorely tempted. But did I want to spend $100 on this little lounge set that I likely would only wear occasionally on weekends? No... But then later on during the week I saw many people wearing them and they looked so comfy... So if this is still here the next time I go, and if I've been paid by that time, well... all bets are off.

I was now starving at this point because I believe the only thing I'd had to eat was a fruit Mento I found on the passenger seat of my car that I had dropped when I had been driving back from MCO. I wanted to get the creme brûlée croissant that was making the rounds on Instagram, but by the time I got over to Gaston's Tavern, there was quite a line. I was honestly too hungry to wait in a line that long by this point, so I mobile ordered at Friar's Nook.

This breakfast bagel absolutely hit the spot for $14. Trouble was, there was nowhere to sit because it was around 9:30 and no doubt everyone was having the same desire to eat breakfast.

So I sat here on this ledge close to Mine Train and enjoyed my breakfast. Sufficiently fed, it was time to move on.

Any guesses where my first Tomorrowland stop would be? And the sun kept creeping in and out. When it was sunny, the cold was almost tolerable, but when it wasn't...

Yes, of course this was where I was heading!

 

[tonystark]

Years of construction pictures and it all comes down to this... a ride that I am too afraid to ride. You recall the ride vehicle on FOP made me freak out with claustrophobia, and with Tron grabbing you around your ankles and wrists, I figure the sensation would be similar and would result in a similar freak out. Didn't want to risk it. Also the line was enormous all day so that was enough of a deterrent for me.

As close as I would come to Space Mountain this trip, too. Which is a bummer, but the timing was never right. Either the line was really long, or it would be short but I would be clear across the park. I told myself, often and to varying degrees of success, that it was not imperative that I ride every ride anymore. I could always just come back whenever. I did not need to park commando anymore. Perhaps I had been honorably discharged from that branch of Mickey's Military. And yet... sometimes I would catch myself hurrying across the park for something I'd done dozens of times in the past, and for what... or I would find myself feeling guilty for not getting to rides like Space Mountain or even Ariel's time waster.

The usual.

Just thinking about how warm she probably is in there. I was so cold.

So cold in fact that I needed to warm up. Perhaps you recall that I didn't get to ride COP when I had been last here for a Halloween party. It was time to make up for that.

The child next to me was filming this entire show on their phone, and rapidly panning back and forth to whatever animatronic was speaking. Footage that would probably give someone motion sickness to watch. But amusing to witness, perhaps a budding director in the making.

After COP, my friend let me know they had a little downtime between LL, and her husband was in a massive line at Starbucks so she had sat herself outside by the Plaza. I scampered over there and had a great hour catching up with her, meeting her kids, and her husband! But it also meant standing outside, and the wind... The wind... My resolve fractured. I needed another layer. So off I went to the Emporium.

This is what I bought. Thank heavens for the AP discount, because I didn't really like the style of this jacket — I liked the design, on the back anyways, but wasn't thrilled to be purchasing a grey zip up hooded jacket that would likely never leave my closet again. But needs must... and after buying this, I wasn't so cold anymore. It definitely helped make the day more enjoyable, so I suppose I can't complain about this purchase too much...

With the help of another layer, it was time for another attraction.

Yes, the line was outside of the building. But I didn't have anywhere else that I really needed or wanted to be, so I hopped in line.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

But still wanted to say Congratulations on all of your accomplishments!!

 

[Bullseye1967]

You recall the ride vehicle on FOP made me freak out with claustrophobia, and with Tron grabbing you around your ankles and wrists, I figure the sensation would be similar and would result in a similar freak out. Didn't want to risk it.

There is a car with a bench on Tron.

 

[RememberWhen]

There is a car with a bench on Tron.

Also they don’t hold your wrists. You could definitely try the regular seats. A totally reasonable option.

 

[Go.Nijntje]

There is a car with a bench on Tron.

Also they don’t hold your wrists. You could definitely try the regular seats. A totally reasonable option.

That's a good idea.