Pre-Trip Therapy.

So, uh, there's a pandemic happening. And I'm very cagey about crowds right now. However, based on hotel/reservation/dining availability and pricing, I think I can get away with it. I was supposed to go to WDW for my 25th birthday last October. Then I moved the target to 'celebrating my law school graduation.' Now, I'm just calling it a belated birthday-graduation-bar-exam trip. The 'I'm Celebrating!' button will be very crowded. (Fingers crossed I actually passed the bar exam.) I'm in the Deep South, and I have a very strong suspicion that everything is going to get bumped online by the end of September/early October, based on how swamped hospitals are. Might as well go now. Plus, you know, the world is becoming an increasingly terrifying place, and I'm pretty stressed out. After May of next year, I'm going to have a big-girl job and big-girl responsibilities, and I don't know when I'll get my next vacation. Also? Prices were ridiculously low.

So. I said **** it and booked a solo trip.

Burning skymiles to save on airfare, so I only paid incidentals. Hotels and tickets, including Boo Bash, totaled $1040. Magical Express has not been phased out yet, so I'm saving on transportation. This is as good as it gets price-wise, folks. All-Star Movies was $134/night, and if you think I wasn't going to jump at the Marriott price, then you absolutely don't know me. (Which, I'm suddenly realizing, none of you *do* know me, actually. Never mind.)

But anyway. Flying out on Sept. 11, which is giving me the heebie-jeebies. Returning that Wednesday. All-Star Movies. Day 1 is pool day at the hotel; maybe Downtown Disney Disney Springs. I absolutely hate Disney Springs now--it's Century City Mall, basically--but I have to fill the time somehow, and I want to try out Erin McKenna's. This is my first trip since being diagnosed with celiac, so I have to scope out the snacks. Day 2 is MK + Boo Bash. Did I gladly shell out $140 for artificial crowd reduction and free gluten-free candy? Giddily so. Eating for the first time at Skipper's Canteen. I normally do Be Our Guest, but I'm trying to shake it up a bit. Day 3 is Animal Kingdom, my favorite park in the place. Just quick-servicing, but I'm going to park it at Nomad Lounge for a while and get some GF churros. Day 4 is Hollywood Studios. My last trip was before Rise of the Resistance and Runaway Railway (RIP Great Movie Ride) opened, so I'm eager to try them both out. Oga's Canteen will be my dinner choice. I also have missed MuppetVision more than certain relatives. The last day is EPCOT. I'm just dropping in for a few quick rides, AKA riding Test Track on a loop and some French pavilion snacks.

Maybe I'm a grump, or maybe I'm just old, but I'm a fan of there being zero Fastpass. It's more democratic if we're all forced to stand in the standby line together! I should note that I'm the last person to complain about entertainment offerings being cut because I've found that the most meaningful moments I've had at the parks have been with Cast Members, with characters, and with my family. The pricing is out of control these days, though, and had it not been for this particular chunk of the week being ridiculously cheap, I wouldn't be going. I just really need a vacation, so I caved.
 
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BuckyMom

BuckyMom

Well-Known Member
Congrats and hoping for great scores on the bar. My son took it last month as well. We are celebrating at Disney next month as a family. Plus his very disney sister is turning 21. Have a great trip!
 
chimchimcheree

chimchimcheree

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I haven't even left yet and there's already a screw-up. I mean, *I* screwed up. I initially planned my trip for Sept. 12-15, but I couldn't get a flight that would get me to MCO in time for Boo Bash, so I booked a flight for Sept. 11. (It still weirds me out, but it's the best I can do.) BUT. My idiot brain forgot to make the switch when booking the vacation package. So, there was a one-night gap in between my arrival and my vacation start date. Uhhhhh. Whoops. I spent a part of the morning on the phone with a *very* helpful cast member, who was able to tack on an extra night for me at All-Star so I don't have to resort-hop, but I did have to pay full room price instead of the discounted price I'd had on the package, thanks to the promotion. Shoutout, though, to all the WDW employees who continue to go above and beyond! They're the best part of any Disney vacation, hands down.
 
chimchimcheree

chimchimcheree

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Me again! I just have to say how delighted I am that I don't have to sit in front of my computer and fight for Fastpasses. The magic is back, baby! I have booked a couple ADRs, secured my park reservations (EPCOT not opening until 11 a.m. is...a choice), and am now on cruise control for the next 24 days. This feels like planning a trip in the 1990s all over again--except I get Magical Express one last time, and then we'll all really be shot back into the '90s. (Now bring back Alien Encounter, Chapek, you coward.)
 
chimchimcheree

chimchimcheree

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
haHAAAAAAAA, suckers! Guess who booked an hour of indecision between Tonga Toast and Macadamia Nut Pancakes?? THIS chronic overthinker!
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I

InHisLove

New Member
chimchimcheree said:
I haven't even left yet and there's already a screw-up. I mean, *I* screwed up. I initially planned my trip for Sept. 12-15, but I couldn't get a flight that would get me to MCO in time for Boo Bash, so I booked a flight for Sept. 11. (It still weirds me out, but it's the best I can do.) BUT. My idiot brain forgot to make the switch when booking the vacation package. So, there was a one-night gap in between my arrival and my vacation start date. Uhhhhh. Whoops. I spent a part of the morning on the phone with a *very* helpful cast member, who was able to tack on an extra night for me at All-Star so I don't have to resort-hop, but I did have to pay full room price instead of the discounted price I'd had on the package, thanks to the promotion. Shoutout, though, to all the WDW employees who continue to go above and beyond! They're the best part of any Disney vacation, hands down.
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Keep an eye out- my non-discounted night at All Star Movies eventually became available at the 25% off room only offer- I applied the discount online!
 
chimchimcheree

chimchimcheree

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
17 days to go! I'm watching the Genie+ situation unfold with great interest; I have no plans to return to a Disney park until 2025 (my 30th birthday--HOW AM I THIS OLD), so it's a fairly low-stakes news event for me. And I think the masses will have guillotined the Bobs à la Louis XVI by that point, so Genie+ will probably have been hurriedly shoved back in the lamp by that point.
 
chimchimcheree

chimchimcheree

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 0:

Hello, all! Welcome to a very messy trip report. Things are strange. I planned this trip to celebrate passing the bar exam......I failed the exam by six-tenths of a point. Fortunately, my state bar permits score appeals, so I'm appealing two of my essays and hoping/praying/wishing (Jiminy Cricket, now's your moment) I can find that extra 0.6 to get me to a passing score. (Am I upset? Yeah. Round the grade up. Also? The day after the exam, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Clearly, I did the best I could with the mental capacity I had.) The state bar is going to get the *saltiest* appeal memorandum. They asked for it, so...

And THEN. To add insult to injury, I was planning on going as Black Widow for Boo Bash/Halloween. I got a set of stupid blonde highlights (I looked like someone dumped a bottle of Sun-In on my head), so I went in to get my hair reddened out, like ScarJo's in the movie. It didn't come out. I look like the Hot Topic website model for the Black Widow Halloween costume. I don't even want to tell you how many showers I've taken. (Tip: shampoos with sulfates strip color. Double-shampoo at least three times to see some decrease in the color. I took three showers yesterday.) Fortunately, it will be dark for most of Boo Bash, so no one will be able to see; additionally, I don't have to go out in public on Halloween. It'll be fine. It's just salt in the wound :cautious:
 

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