My Practically Perfect, Pseudo-Solo, May 2018 Trip Report

[Imaginationsetfree]

Hi! I'm Susie. I'm a lover of all things Disney (like everyone here) and I looooooove to travel to Disney World. I had a stint where I was going to Disney about once a year, but other travel/budgetary plans have slowed that frequency. My last Disney trip was in 2015, which means it feels like everything, and I mean EVERYTHING has changed. Some for the better, like the addition of Pandora and three nighttime shows (my favorite things) that I haven't seen yet. Others...not for the better. RIP, Great Movie Ride. I didn't even get to say goodbye.

The reason for my title is two-fold. One, as you might guess, I am obsessed with Mary Poppins. It was already an obsession, but the upcoming Mary Poppins Returns has me positively giddy. I actually hadn't realized quite how obsessed I was, until I started making some fun purchases for this trip (Magic Band decals, accessories, etc), and realized they were ALL Mary Poppins themed. Whoops. The second part of my title comes from the fact that I am planning this as a solo trip, but may have a joiner for any part of it. One of my dearest friends lives in Orlando, but will not get his work schedule until about a week or two before my visit. So with his blessing, I am planning this trip solo and will welcome him along whenever and wherever he feels like joining in.

I will be going in May for the first time, which also means this will be my first Flower and Garden Festival since the addition of the food and wine carts. I've been to F&G once before, but it was 10 years ago. I remember how lovely it was and am looking forward to seeing it again, with the addition of yummy food.

Ready to dive in? I'll be updating as I go along, but here is what I have so far:

Who: Me! Also my BFF who may make frequent or infrequent appearances. TBD
When: May 13th - May 20th
Resort: Off-site. I would love to stay at a Disney resort, but since my parents are timeshare owners, I can use theirs and the cost difference is too much to pass up. I will be at Vacation Village at Parkway, which I've stayed at before and love.
Most excited for: Pandora and the Star Wars Nighttime Spectacular

So come join me in this pre-trip report! I will be updating shortly with the plans I have so far.

 

[Imaginationsetfree]

Back again!

So here are the plans so far. I have a tendency on week long stays to do one full day in each park and one half day in each park. It's a system that works pretty well for me, so I've kept with it. I don't plan midday breaks, but I'll take them if I need them. Also, since I am staying off-site, I have to wait until 30 days out to book my fast passes, but I've found that I can usually get them as long as I'm not trying for hot ticket items like Mine Train (or FOP now). I plan otherwise for those, as you'll see below.

Sunday, May 13th: I have a very early flight, but do not plan on doing any parks that day. I have some friends in Orlando that I would like to see, so I intend to use the day spending time with them and possibly enjoying the pool at the resort.

Monday: Magic Kingdom Day! I love starting my trips off at MK. I want to be sure I am there for rope drop, so I booked an early breakfast at Kona Cafe (my favorite breakfast at WDW) so I can be at the main gate in plenty of time. I am not planning on fighting down Main Street on my first day to get to the Mine Train (stay tuned for that), so I intend to just spend the day at MK enjoying the park and only riding Mine Train if I can get a short line at the end of the day. I'm especially looking forward to the Festival of Fantasy parade (which I've seen but only once) and Happily Ever After.

Tuesday: Hollywood Studios Day. I'm feeling a little mixed about this one. I love this park so much, but it's not going to feel the same without The Great Movie Ride. That was my all time favorite ride in all of WDW, so it'll be missed for sure this time around. On the other hand, I'm super excited to see the new nighttime Spectacular (and still adore the rest of the park), so it'll be a great day still.

Wednesday: Epcot Day. Another park I adore, especially the World Showcase. I can't wait to be there for the Flower and Garden Festival again! I also snagged an ADR for Le Cellier, so I'm a happy camper.

Thursday: Animal Kingdom Day. I'm SO excited about this, and that's why I saved it for last. So much is new here since I last left - not just Pandora, but the nighttime show, and just the fact that the park is now open at night! I've ridden EE (another favorite) only once at night and it was an incredible experience - I can't wait to do it again! My inability to book fastpasses until 30 days out almost certainly means I won't get one for FOP, so I fully intend to get to the park super early to head straight there. I gotta do what I gotta do, right?

Friday: My first 1/2 and 1/2 day. I will be starting at Animal Kingdom again, and if I find FOP to be worth the early morning on Thursday, I will do the same on this day. I'll hop over to Epcot sometime in the afternoon to enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival once again (no ADRs today as I want to try some food!). I also planned it this way because I HAVE to see Illuminations at least twice during a stay. I love it so much.

Saturday: My second 1/2 and 1/2 day. I'm starting my day early with a pre-park opening reservation at BOG. This is basically my Mine Train strategy - I will preorder my breakfast so I will hopefully have a great meal and be out in plenty of time to run over to Mine Train before it gets too crazy. When I'm at a good point to switch parks, I will head over to Hollywood Studios to round out my trip with Fantasmic. I'm debating on getting the dessert package, but I haven't bit the bullet on that yet.

Sunday: sadly head home

So that's it. I'm so excited and can't wait until I can start booking Fastpasses! (Just a few more weeks!)