Pre-Trip The DeVille made me do it

Okay so here we go... first time trying to do one of these but I made it official today so I thought I would do this so my friends won't be the only ones bombarded by my Disney trip OCD.

The who: just me, Bret, 42 high school math teacher. Lover of Cruella. This will only be my second trip to the world and it like the first time will be a solo trip so that I can have fun.

The when: October 3-11. We have a balanced schedule at school so we have a 2 week fall break so I decided to take 9 days.

The where: Pop century. I stayed there on the first trip and it was fine. I picked value because my major splurge is the deluxe dining plan. More on that in a moment...

The why: This trip is the culmination of my first year at my current job. It took time for me to get the job of my dreams, teaching students that others have given up on, but I finally got it...so reward!
The fact that I can take this trip in October is a bonus! Food and wine fest! The chew tapings at Epcot! The rare chance to meet the goddess that is Cruella at MNSSHP! It seemed prefect. And it also gives me a chance to try some of the places I couldn't eat at last time... I love trying new dining.

Today I pulled the trigger a few days early. I was waiting until I got my summer school pay check to pay for everything, but when I did my morning check on pricing the Disney site said they could no longer get me the flight I wanted. Indy has a delta hub and their flight times to Orlando are great!
The flight down I wanted lands in Orlando at 8:30am giving me a nearly full first day. And the flight back doesn't leave until 7:30pm so basically a half day on the final. Today Disney started saying no more morning flights, which I really didn't believe... So off to the delta sight I go and get my preferred flight times. So today I bought just the flight...later this week I get the room, the tickets, the dining, and probably the memory maker ( for a solo traveler, having the Disney photographers taking care of so much picture taking saves time and having to ask strangers to take my picture).

Starting the planning now...

 

[Crew DeVille]

As promised my fast pass list
Arrival day: haunted mansion, Peter Pan, and a late afternoon seven dwarves mine train
Day two: soarin', turtle talk and character spot
Day three: toy story mania, frozen sing along, star tours
Day four: test track, imagination with figment and mission space
Day five: (my off day mostly hitting Disney springs) mid afternoon frozen ever after (may hit some Hollywood studio stuff, great movie ride, before my club villian)
Day six: primeval whirl, Everest, and a late afternoon Kilimanjaro safari
Day seven: space mountain, jungle cruise, and splash mountain
Day eight: Rock 'n' roller coaster, tower of terror, and star tours again!
Day nine: (going home) ( hitting an early safari before Tusker house but no fast pass) pooh and buzz lightyear

I knew heading in that grabbing frozen and 7dmt were the big rings to aim for. I found 7d late on the first day so I took it. And the FIRST available frozen was Friday afternoon. I did not have plans for that day as to which park to hit so this worked for me. I forgot how oddly popular pan was so I added him to the first day.

Two notable things missing: no dinosaur and no big thunder mountain both will be in referb during my visit. I hit both of them on my first trip so I will survive. Two big things I did not get last time on this trips list are mission space(no idea which side I will pick) and Everest. I also know I missed some stuff last time mostly in the magic kingdom that I want to hit: hall of presidents, the tea cups, philharmagic, and the tiki room (which was under refurb last trip).

 

[Crew DeVille]

Sleep is for the weak. At 4am I got that buzz that says one of my missing ADRs was found. Again thank you touringplans.com, I don't work for you but you are making my pre trip report sound like I do. I finally got to replace 50s prime time with sci fi dine-in. And at the exact same time! So it doesn't effect my fast passes.

 

[Crew DeVille]

The airline sent an email this morning, I am still 50 or so days out and I imeadiately thought well they are pushing my flight back. Nope they shoved it forward! If the flight goes as planned I will need to sleep on the plane because I now leave at 5:43 am (means I get to the airport around 3:30). But I land in Orlando at 8am. Bam! What was going to be a partial day could now basically be a full day.

 

[FlaggNL]

plans looks great!

 

[Crew DeVille]

The magical express packet came today... 31 days to go. I called and asked for a second luggage tag because I am a clothes horse and nine days means 15 outfits and a Halloween costume and how else am I going to carry everything home.

 

[Crew DeVille]

Fun. Went to the doctor and got told my blood pressure is no longer properly regulated by my current med. time to bump up the dosage before Disney. The thing is the switch makes me stress so that pumps up my bp. This I don't need right now.

 

[Crew DeVille]

Rah! The last meal is officially set! Finally got a chef Mickey breakfast to pop under 30 days before the trip. That means all my meals are set so I am good to go... In addition, I set up my mail and paper holds and since I have to hit the airport at 3:30 am, I decided to spend the night before at an airport hotel with shuttle transport. Got a decent price and went with it. That means my best friend doesn't have to be at my apartment at 3 in the morning and I might get a bit of sleep before I visit the airport.

When I look at my 23 meals I realize over a third of them involve character interaction, what does that say about me? Cindy's royal table, askerhaus, crystal palace, chef Mickey, Tusker house, garden grill, Minnie's Halloween dine, and the club villains event. I plan to be totally disneyed out by the end, lol.

 

[Crew DeVille]

Well the end of the week was nice. I got my second luggage tag for the dme and in the same batch was my package slip for me to grab my magic band. I totally forgot they would send me a real tag for the luggage as well as the stickies for the dme. It is sooo cute. Purple to go with the purple band, it has Mickey and Minnie on a scooter. I love it. 22 days to go...

 

[DimpledDevil18]

Sounds like fun! I've thought about doing a solo trip, but I don't know,,, It sounds tempting, but 'd be afraid of being bored. Maybe some day...

 

[Crew DeVille]

Sounds like fun! I've thought about doing a solo trip, but I don't know,,, It sounds tempting, but 'd be afraid of being bored. Maybe some day...

I am never bored! First off, I carry a journal with me. On the first trip it was a mix of my personal trip report and my autograph book. It is a good way to remember for those of us with dory-like short term memory issues. Second I usually have a book, if I want to be quiet these two things are perfect. If I want to be social, talk! Other visitors are fun, I hear some great stories about why people come to the world. By far the best people at WDW to talk to are the cast members. So much fun and so amazingly nice! I talked to ride runners, bus drivers, servers anyone I felt like interacting with I never felt alone if I didn't want to be alone.

Character interaction solo can be very interesting. I danced with pooh, hugged eeyore, sang bear necessities to baloo, basically I was a big kid and they loved it as much as I did. The first time I saw the main mouse was my Tusker house breakfast. I told him I had waited 30 plus years to meet him and it was magical how he interacted and responded. Heck, I even got to flirt with belle at akershus, she kept checking on me BECAUSE I was solo.

And of course solo on rides can be a bonus. The single rider line let me ride test track a half dozen times. And they are always asking for solos to fill in seats. So I often get on rides faster alone. And sometimes I really love having a seat alone...no one else in my HM doombuggy, my nemo shell, etc.

But the absolute best thing is... I can do what I want when I want! No one says I hate the tea cups, I can watch the tiki room over and over if I want, I can eat where ever and when ever. If I want to nap and pool it no one can whine about going to a park. I love it.

Give it a try... It would also solve the snoring issue (see I am reading your TR,lol).

 

[DimpledDevil18]

I am never bored! First off, I carry a journal with me. On the first trip it was a mix of my personal trip report and my autograph book. It is a good way to remember for those of us with dory-like short term memory issues. Second I usually have a book, if I want to be quiet these two things are perfect. If I want to be social, talk! Other visitors are fun, I hear some great stories about why people come to the world. By far the best people at WDW to talk to are the cast members. So much fun and so amazingly nice! I talked to ride runners, bus drivers, servers anyone I felt like interacting with I never felt alone if I didn't want to be alone.

Character interaction solo can be very interesting. I danced with pooh, hugged eeyore, sang bear necessities to baloo, basically I was a big kid and they loved it as much as I did. The first time I saw the main mouse was my Tusker house breakfast. I told him I had waited 30 plus years to meet him and it was magical how he interacted and responded. Heck, I even got to flirt with belle at akershus, she kept checking on me BECAUSE I was solo.

And of course solo on rides can be a bonus. The single rider line let me ride test track a half dozen times. And they are always asking for solos to fill in seats. So I often get on rides faster alone. And sometimes I really love having a seat alone...no one else in my HM doombuggy, my nemo shell, etc.

But the absolute best thing is... I can do what I want when I want! No one says I hate the tea cups, I can watch the tiki room over and over if I want, I can eat where ever and when ever. If I want to nap and pool it no one can whine about going to a park. I love it.

Give it a try... It would also solve the snoring issue (see I am reading your TR,lol).

You are starting to sell me on this idea... My sister just got engaged though so until she figures lout what she's doing as far as a wedding and I have a better idea of how long I have to save up money for all the wedding festivities, I can't really start to even think about another trip to Disney.

You are right though. It WOULD help the snoring issue lol!

 

[Crew DeVille]

Here I sit ten days out. TEN days away, how exciting is that! I have been double checking menus and decided that the lunch menu of raglan road isn't as exciting as I would like. Soooo, I switched the reservation to San Angel inn since it is the day I have that coveted frozen ever after fast pass. I wish the lunch menu at raglan was as good as the dinner menu seems to be, but I can always have Irish at my favorite place in Bloomington.

 

[DimpledDevil18]

Getting close! Very exciting! I like San Angel Inn. The atmosphere is amazing, especially if you can get a table right next to the boat ride. I got the enchiladas and they were VERY filling.

 

[Crew DeVille]

I think the deciding factor was the oddest thing to like: huitlacoche. Disney calls it corn truffle, but I am a farm boy from Indiana and corn smut by any other name is still corn smut, a fungal infection of corn. There is a great local taco joint here in Indy and they serve an amazing corn smut taco to which I am addicted a combination of earth and sweet. I get it every time I go as well as whatever their taco of the day is. When I saw the huitlacoche appetizer on the menu I know I had to try the Disney version.

And in honor of you,DimpledDevil18, I may even have an adult beverage!

 

[Crew DeVille]

So today at work was crappy. Pretty much everyone got yelled at because of not doing something that was sprung on us and not implemented right. The kids are acting up because of fall break next week. It was an all around hard day, what I needed was Disney Magic.

And suddenly it appeared. My co workers, who are at this point tired of hearing about my trip and hearing me sing Disney songs badly, came in after the day was done with Mickey shaped goodies of all types. Rice crispy treats, chocolate covered caramels, even cupcakes with Oreo ears. They wanted to say have fun before the break and thank me for the extra stuff I do without thinking ( I am often the one man support staff around my floor). One of them even found the Dalmatian spotted shirt I was looking for to wear at the MNSSHP and got it for me.

Then as extra topping my sister called and asked if I wanted to host me niece and nephew the weekend after I get back. Of course I do! I love the little stinkers and the never get to spend the night with uncle Bret. Time to put my zoo membership to good use and take them to the Indy Zoo Boo.

Just 6 days to go...

 

[PacNWTigger]

I am so excited for your trip! Sounds like you have some pretty great co-workers that are understanding of your Disney love. I am looking forward to hearing all about your trip because you have me toying with the idea of doing a solo trip myself now.