Pandemonium & Pixie Dust – The Highs and Lows of a hectic November 2019 TR - Update 11/27 Travel Day

[SnowWhiteOz]

Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.

No wait scratch that, you’re staying in the present to hear all about my latest trip to WDW.

And this one was a doozy. It had peaks as high as Everest and lows as low as 20,000 leagues under the sea (with Nemo and Friends).

This was my first time back since my 6 week solo adventure in 2016 and this time I wasn’t travelling alone – I brought a husband along with me (thankfully mine but I’m always open to taking others as long as it means I can go back to Disney sooner!).

It was a short trip (and for my husband even shorter), and I was back home in Denver just six short days after I left.

But before I get into reliving both the pain and the pleasure of this trip let me introduce myself and my partner in crime for this adventure, DH.



I’m 32 years old and I’m originally from Melbourne, Australia. I spent almost nine years living in the nation’s capital, Canberra working for the federal government but that all changed after my last Disney trip.

I happened to meet a boy on that adventure and that boy is now DH. Part of the package of marrying him involved moving to the US and we’re now based in Denver, Colorado (well in a suburb just outside of it).

I’m a public servant (I think you call them civil servants in the northern hemisphere) and work for the Colorado state government for the Department who administers Medicaid.

I love to travel, have been to over 30+ countries, and, if I’m in a country with a Disney park, I will always go. The only park on my list left to visit is Shanghai and now that I’ve moved to the states its less likely to happen, but a girl can dream right?

Favourite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favourite Ride: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (specifically in HK but I do love all of them)
Favourite Character - Princess: Snow White
Favourite Character - Non-Princess: the Genie
Favourite Disney Movie: Aladdin (the animated version)



And my travelling partner was my DH. My DH had been to WDW for one day as a child (he grew up in Atlanta, so it wasn’t that far for his family to travel there) and all he remembers was waiting in ridiculously long lines.

So, it took some convincing to get him to agree to go to Disney. But he loves me so that won out in the end.

He’s also 32 and works for the county government. His main hobby is video games and he’s also become a pretty good baker over the last few years as well.

He hates crowds, lacks patience and suffers from anxiety so WDW is basically a powder keg for him and it won’t take much to ruin his day.

Favourite Park: Animal Kingdom
Favourite Ride: Expedition Everest
Favourite Disney Movie: The Lion King (original)

So stay tuned to see if I managed to convert my DH to a Disney lover and whether we’ll ever be able to go back!​

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Travel Day
Chapter 2 - Lines, Lines Everywhere!

 

[ariane37]

Joining! Six days in Disney is better than none

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Joining! Six days in Disney is better than none

 

[missjackiemcg]

Looking forward to hearing about your trip! The promise of Pandemonium drew me in!!

 

[Kellyh123]

Looking forward to reading your trip report. We are going to be there in 11 days!!!!

 

[Rory CB]

Just finished your last TR - excited to see where this one goes!

 

[pkondz]

Here!
And.... will read later!!!
Got lots of catching up to do.
But I'll get here when I can.

 

[Raeven]

Following along!

 

[docsoliday1]

Following along...hoping the DIS actually notifies me.

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Looking forward to hearing about your trip! The promise of Pandemonium drew me in!!

The crowd levels and subsequent pandemonium definitely shaped this trip in more ways than one!

Looking forward to reading your trip report. We are going to be there in 11 days!!!!

And enjoy your upcoming trip!

Just finished your last TR - excited to see where this one goes!

Thank you and

Here!
And.... will read later!!!
Got lots of catching up to do.
But I'll get here when I can.

Take your time - I'm trapped in snowstorms (we got more than a foot today!) and family thanksgivings so my next update might take a few days anyway!

Following along!

Following along...hoping the DIS actually notifies me.

I hope they notify you too but sometimes with technology

 

[Rory CB]

Take your time - I'm trapped in snowstorms (we got more than a foot today!) and family thanksgivings so my next update might take a few days anyway!

This is all I can picture now... ❄❄❄

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

This is all I can picture now... ❄❄❄

Now that is some impressive snow - I feel like my 19"s is pitiful compared to that

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Chapter 1 – Travel Day

I think it’s time to get things started with this report (I was hoping to start last weekend but we’ve had a lot of snow and my in-laws arrived three days early for Thanksgiving to beat the weather so I haven’t had much time to myself!). As a word of warning, the days I had my husband with me I have much less detailed notes and less pictures as I was trying to enjoy the time together, and then stuff happened towards the end personally so everything goes down hill from there - but it starts out comprehensive I promise!

So, we begin on Wednesday November 6, 2019. I had an evening flight booked (7:10pm) so I could do a full day of work and not have to waste another day of leave (1st difference between this trip and my last one – last time I was working back in Australia and got four weeks paid leave annually and now I’m in the states and let’s just say it is nowhere near that amount!).

I had a meeting on my diary that was set to end at 3:30 but it usually finishes early than that so I was hoping to be on the road by 3:30. Well that day of course things did not go to plan – the meeting ran way over and didn’t finish until almost 4pm. I grabbed my things and headed out to my car to drive to the airport – but that 30-minute delay almost doubled the time it was going to take to get out there!

And during that time the heavens opened, and this miserable slushy rain/snow mix fell from the sky and the temps dropped to right around 30°F. So the drive got slower and slower and the skies got darker and darker. I finally made it to the airport but the main parking lot was closed for a refurb (I did know this in advance) and the drive out to the secondary lot was not well signposted and I was so sure I was going the wrong way as I was getting further and further away from the terminal.

Eventually I found the lot and entered and grabbed the first park I saw (it was pretty full, but I found one right down the end of a row). I had hoped to be able to just wear my jeans and sweater on the plane, but it was so miserable I needed to leave my coat on and thus had to carry it around Florida with me. I trudged back up the aisle to the shuttle bus stop and thankfully a bus arrived before I even had a chance to get inside the warm room.



After a longish drive which seemed to stop at all the other stops in the parking lot, we eventually made it to the terminal. Unfortunately I didn’t know how bad the renovations were so I went in my normal door and upstairs to the check in level and it was all blocked off – so I had to go back downstairs and walk through the miserable weather outside to a door further down and then back up again. I had checked in online but I was carrying the suitcase with all mine and my husband’s stuff in it, so I had to go bag drop that.

With my bag dropped I headed down to the TSA security check. At that point I was worried about the time as my flight was meant to leave in about 90 minutes and I had to get through security, take the train out to the terminal and try and eat dinner before boarding in 60 minutes. And the line at TSA was about 20 minutes long. But then I got that dreaded text – your flight has been delayed and will now leave at 8:10. While that removed the need to rush it added a whole other level of stress because I was already meant to be arriving late at MCO (12:30) and now it was going to be 1:30 at the earliest.

Through security, I caught the train out to the C Gates at DIA which is where all the Southwest flights depart from. I headed down to a local restaurant chain (which is now national but started in Colorado) called Smashburger and grabbed a burger and fries for dinner (it was not their best effort – they are usually much better than the one I was served!).



And then I made my way back to our gate to see if the one-hour delay would stay just that or stretch longer.



And it turned out to be a little bit longer. They started boarding at 8pm. There is no way you can board a whole plane and leave the gate within 10 mins, so I knew 8:10 wasn’t the magic number. But the one plus of travelling solo on this trip is that by the time I was boarding as part of B group people had done their usual two people in each three person row so I was able to grab a front row seat next to two older ladies!

The plane actually managed to board relatively quickly and at 8:20 we started to back away from the gate. And then we stopped. That weather I had driven through was affecting the planes too and we had to enter a queue for our plane to be de-iced. About 30 minutes later and that process was done and at 8:55 we finally headed out to the runway for take-off. While it was still just under 2 hours of delay from the original flight time when your landing late at night every extra minute sucks!

The flight was ok – not the best and not the worst. The inflight wi-fi wasn’t working so no entertainment other than what I had managed to download on my phone beforehand. And then for the second half of the flight some nice patches of turbulence to keep the flight entertaining. But I got cookies for everything was alright in the end.



The pilots had said they were going to try and make up time, but we actually landed even later than the original flight time (they actually apologised and said it wasn’t their usual service).

We eventually touched down at 1:55am. Being in the front row I was first of the plane and straight onto a monorail that arrived just as I walk up (is that how the VIP transport package usually works for you @pkondz?). The monorail waited about two minutes and then took off for the main terminal almost empty.









Of course, arriving early meant I just had to hang around and wait for my bag but at least I was one step closer to getting out of there. My bags arrived on the conveyer belt at 2:15am and I dashed outside to call a Lyft.

My Lyft arrived at 2:25 and I’m not sure if he was speeding or just having no traffic on the roads but we arrived at my hotel for the evening, Universals Endless Summer Resort: Surfside Inn & Suites, just after 2:40am.

Continued​

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Continued

There was absolutely no one in the hotel lobby which was a strange experience. I headed up to the check in desk and a team member eventually came out to check me in. Then I got the first bit of ‘pixie dust’ of this trip – I had a room upgrade from the standard room I’d booked to a two-bedroom suite (although it was the ADA accessible suite with the modified bathroom). Now was a room that slept six really worth it for a solo traveller – no – but it was still nice to be upgraded.

So, I got my room key at 2:45 and my room was right down the end of the wing – as far away from the lobby as you could get. I trekked out there with my bag and there was a do not disturb sign on the door and the room key flashed red. Just what you want at almost 3 in the morning. So, I trekked all the way back to the lobby and waited for the team member again – she was confused and then had to go back into the system where she realised she wrote down the wrong number - I was in room XX60 not XX80. So, I then had to trek all the way back down again with my luggage and finally made it to my room right on 3am. I took a few pics before I left a mess everywhere.

















And then just fell straight into bed ready to get a few hours’ sleep before my first day in Orlando.

Chapter 2 - Lines, Lines Everywhere!​

 

[pkondz]

Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.

No wait scratch that, you’re staying in the present to hear all about my latest trip to WDW.

I'm happy either way.

lows as low as 20,000 leagues under the sea

Oh, dear.

Funny... I just watched that movie (on Disney+) a couple days ago.

I brought a husband along with me (thankfully mine but I’m always open to taking others as long as it means I can go back to Disney sooner!).

Take me! Take me!

Wait... do I have to pay?

It was a short trip (and for my husband even shorter), and I was back home in Denver just six short days after I left.

Just slightly quicker than your last trip.

I’m a public servant (I think you call them civil servants in the northern hemisphere)

No you don't. You call them that in the US, but not in the Northern Hemisphere and certainly not just in the Western Hemisphere either.
Here it's public servant.

but a girl can dream right?

Of course. Isn't that how you got your DH?

My DH had been to WDW for one day as a child (he grew up in Atlanta, so it wasn’t that far for his family to travel there) and all he remembers was waiting in ridiculously long lines.

So close and only one day???

So, it took some convincing to get him to agree to go to Disney. But he loves me so that won out in the end.

Awww...

He hates crowds, lacks patience and suffers from anxiety so WDW is basically a powder keg for him and it won’t take much to ruin his day.

Oh dear...

As a word of warning, the days I had my husband with me I have much less detailed notes and less pictures as I was trying to enjoy the time together,

And that's perfectly okay! I totally get this.

and then stuff happened towards the end personally

Oh, no.

last time I was working back in Australia and got four weeks paid leave annually and now I’m in the states and let’s just say it is nowhere near that amount!).

I had a meeting on my diary that was set to end at 3:30 but it usually finishes early than that so I was hoping to be on the road by 3:30. Well that day of course things did not go to plan – the meeting ran way over and didn’t finish until almost 4pm.

Of course it did. That's how it works.

the temps dropped to right around 30°F.

How hard was it to type that instead of 0?

I was so sure I was going the wrong way as I was getting further and further away from the terminal.

Let's just add on the stress, shall we?

I needed to leave my coat on and thus had to carry it around Florida with me.

Yeah, I've done that. Just seems like such a waste, doesn't it?

I had to go back downstairs and walk through the miserable weather outside to a door further down and then back up again

I was already meant to be arriving late at MCO (12:30) and now it was going to be 1:30 at the earliest.

I can see you just getting more and more tired...

I headed down to a local restaurant chain (which is now national but started in Colorado) called Smashburger

This place is on my list of places to try. I've done In-N-Out and now want to try that one.

Like the top.

There is no way you can board a whole plane and leave the gate within 10 mins, so I knew 8:10 wasn’t the magic number.

Nope!

But the one plus of travelling solo on this trip is that by the time I was boarding as part of B group people had done their usual two people in each three person row so I was able to grab a front row seat next to two older ladies!

Nice! Score!

That weather I had driven through was affecting the planes too and we had to enter a queue for our plane to be de-iced.

I was wondering about that when you mentioned it...

While it was still just under 2 hours of delay from the original flight time when your landing late at night every extra minute sucks!

Yeah...

The inflight wi-fi wasn’t working so no entertainment other than what I had managed to download on my phone beforehand.

I always make sure to download things to watch now. I haven't used the inflight entertainment in a long time.

And then for the second half of the flight some nice patches of turbulence to keep the flight entertaining.

Wheeee!!!! On a coaster and you're not even in Florida yet!

But I got cookies for everything was alright in the end.

Cookies make everything better.

Being in the front row I was first of the plane and straight onto a monorail that arrived just as I walk up (is that how the VIP transport package usually works for you @pkondz?).

Of course, arriving early meant I just had to hang around and wait for my bag but at least I was one step closer to getting out of there.

I think in some ways, waiting for your bag is easier on the nerves than trusting it to DME. (Yes I know you weren't going to WDW yet. Just an observation.)

There was absolutely no one in the hotel lobby which was a strange experience.

I thought you meant guests... but you mean everyone. I've had that on a few occasions. It's weird.

Now was a room that slept six really worth it for a solo traveller – no – but it was still nice to be upgraded.

Take the upgrade.

So, I got my room key at 2:45 and my room was right down the end of the wing – as far away from the lobby as you could get.

Which... is weird. If it's an accessible room... shouldn't it be more... accessible?

I trekked out there with my bag and there was a do not disturb sign on the door and the room key flashed red. Just what you want at almost 3 in the morning.

Oh, come on!

she was confused and then had to go back into the system where she realised she wrote down the wrong number - I was in room XX60 not XX80.

 

[docsoliday1]

This was my first time back since my 6 week solo adventure in 2016 and this time I wasn’t travelling alone – I brought a husband along with me (thankfully mine but I’m always open to taking others as long as it means I can go back to Disney sooner!).

I live local, so come on down and we'll head over.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Joining in!

 

[Rory CB]

Now that is some impressive snow - I feel like my 19"s is pitiful compared to that

That's about 5 hours from me I don't think I've ever seen that much snow, maybe half of that...

 

[missjackiemcg]

Ugh, I HATE arriving so late, but have definitely been in that boat before. Glad you had the experience of a little pixie dust at least!