4 Festivals, 1 Year. Annual Pass Goals!

[DancinDaisyDuck]

Who's turning 40 this year and is a newly minted WDW Annual Pass holder?
Who bought an AP in April but can't use it until October?
Who decided to start a PTR 6 months in advance?

It's me, hi. I'm the planner, it's me.

I am feeling super duper lucky and grateful that I've reached a point in my professional and personal lives that I can buy an Annual Pass and take the time off work and school (going for my Doctorate in Education!) to treat myself to several Disney trips in the coming years. I have a very supportive partner, who himself would rather snowboard than visit Disney so he puts his own Epic Pass to good use in the winter months, who tolerates WDW with me. He may make some appearances on my trips in the next 16 months or so, but by and large I'll be solo. Which, frankly, is my favorite way to "do Disney."

So, now that I have the AP, what am I going to do with it!?! Here's my goal -

All four EPCOT festivals in a year. There, I said it. I know EPCOT is a polarizing park and she's going through some stuff at the moment. Honestly, it used to be my favorite park out of all the options in WDW but with all the construction, confusion, and identity crisis, I much prefer the vibe in Animal Kingdom right now. Anyway, I am really looking forward to EPCOT reclaiming the #1 spot in my heart once all the work is over. That being said, I have only ever experienced 1.5 festivals in World Showcase.

Why 1.5? Well because I typically travel to Disney in October, so I've done Food & Wine Fest many times over. In 2010 (I think, it was a while ago!) I visited during Spring Break in March so Flower and Garden Fest was going on but it was nothing like it is now (aka, topiaries but no food stalls) so that's why I feel like I've only done half of that festival. Here's a pic of my sis and me at Akershus breakfast from that trip:

I have NEVER been to WDW during the holiday season, and it's been on my bucket list since I was a tiny kid in the 80's and 90's whose parents never made enough money to take us to a local theme park, forget Disney, and could only experience what WDW might be like by watching hours and hours of Disney channel and ABC specials. So I'm psyched to finally be able to visit in December now that I no longer work in a job that follows an academic calendar, if you know what I mean!

But I think I am most looking forward to Festival of the Arts. It seems like the least popular fest, more laid back, and since I am lucky to live fairly close to NYC and get to see Broadway shows kind of regularly I would LOVE to go to to EPCOT to see the special performances by Disney Music and Broadway Legends.

Even though I won't be activating my AP until October, I still have some Disney-related or adjacent activities planned soon, including the Disney 100 Exhibit in Philadelphia and some trips to the NYC Disney Store, and more! Follow along for the next year to see where the road takes me.

 

[DLo]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more .

I used to go during Food and Wine but now got during Flower and Garden . I think I like Flower and Garden better . I have never been during Arts but want to. Looks like good food and exhibits . I also have what I count as a half festival - I went to the Holidays in 2020 so it was very scaled back so I think I need another go with that one.

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

A Calendar Year of Potential Dates and Plans!

Spring 2023
No park visits yet
April & May NYC trips with family, stopping by The Disney Store in Times Square
In May I will visit the Disney 100 Exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia

Summer 2023
No park plans but stopping by Disney Springs on our way to Port Canaveral for a Royal Caribbean Cruise

Fall 2023
September 30 - October 7! Finally activating my AP to enjoy Halloween at MK and Food & Wine at EPCOT! 4 days of park time before a conference begins nearby, I plan to spend evenings in the parks at the end of the week. Husband will also join for the first half!

Winter 2023/2024
December 9-12! Hitting up the Holidays, I can't wait! Will be solo.
February 7-9, 2024! A short trip down for Festival of the Arts. My bestie may join me.

Spring 2024
April 24-26! Another fast one but just enough time to enjoy Flower and Garden Fest.

Fall 2024
September 21-24! Squeezing out one more trip before the pass expires. Halloween is not my favorite holiday but it is my very favorite time of year to visit WDW.

All of the above (except October 2023) is tentative, and nothing has been booked yet but I tried to find the pockets of the year crowds are fairly low relative to popular times of the year. I tried to avoid school breaks, holidays, and race weekends as much as possible. You'll notice a large gap in spring/summer 2024. Husband and I are going on an Alaska cruise in May 2024 so the budget will be a bit tight. I'm not entirely sure I can make the April trip work, and if not I will move it to June after the cruise.

Now, where to stay! October and December will definitely be on property, one because I want to take advantage of early entry in October and first crack at ILL's for certain rides when Husband is with me (its been so busy the past few years in the fall!) and in December I want to stay in the beautifully decorated resorts since I've never seen that before. For 2024 trips I'm flexible! I've never visited WDW as an off-property guest and would be totally fine renting a car and driving since parking is included with the AP. I'll just need to do the (fuzzy) Disney math to weigh my options against on property hotel rates and any available AP discounts. More decisions to make on the way!

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

October 2023 Planning
Halloween may not be my favorite holiday, but it is definitely my favorite time to visit Disney World. With MNSSHP tickets on sale and my conference plans shaping up well, I am in full on planning-mode for October!

Dates & Parks
Saturday September 30. Jet Blue keeps adjusting the early morning non-stop flight schedule, which is v annoying. Originally it was 5:01 a.m., which I was not thrilled about but would have done to get to my first park almost at opening. Then they changed it to a more humane 7 a.m. but this week it changed AGAIN to 9:30 a.m., which means landing at 12:30ish at MCO. Still not terrible but means we'd only have an afternoon as opposed to nearly a full day in a park. I had originally thought Animal Kingdom through close (I love the last 2 hours of park time there because it really empties out) but now that it's likely we won't be arriving in a park until 2 it doesn't make sense to use a full day ticket for Hubs there. We will go to Magic Kingdom instead to have more time.

Sunday October 1. Animal Kingdom in the morning and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in the evening. Hoo Boy has MNSSHP gone up in price! Hubs has never been to it but I've gone many times (remember when it was like $40?) so this will be the only big splurge for us outside of his tickets.

Monday October 2. Hollywood Studios all day. I can't wait to show Hubs all the Star Wars stuff! He is a much bigger fan than me and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there on my most recent trip so he's going to geek out in all the right ways. I just missed the return of Fantasmic! on my last trip so I am really looking forward to seeing it again.

Tuesday October 3. EPCOT all day. It's Food & Wine Fest time so Fromage Montage here we home. I love a nighttime spectacular and I saw Harmonious one time and thought it was nice but I was an Illuminations fangirl. I'm interested in seeing what will be in place and won't be sad if it's EPCOT Forever since I never saw it. But honestly I'm probably more excited about the Spaceship Earth projection/light show.

Wednesday October 4. Husband is taking off back home this day and I'm staying in the Orlando area through the end of the week for an academic conference. But I don't need to get to my conference hotel until 4 pm so after dropping him at the airport I can head back to a park. Not sure where yet but probably Magic Kingdom or EPCOT.

Thursday October 5 - Saturday October 7. Conferencing in the day but free each evening so I'll pop back into the parks to enjoy evening activities, especially in Animal Kingdom. I just love the last 2 hours in the park there.

Accommodations
Still unsure, it depends on the room rates and what discounts are offered at the time. Right now current offers only go through September 28th so I may need to wait another couple months before I know. But if I needed to pick right now I'm leaning toward Pop or All Star Movies. We will have a rental car and planning so much park time that I am not concerned with staying anywhere luxurious or super close to parks and we won't need to rely on buses. The Skyliner from Pop would be clutch but it's really just a wrapped ski gondola which we ride at ski resorts all winter long.

Food
Not planning any table service right now because we want to maximize park time. We will also likely stop at a grocery store for supplies. We don't mind quick service and often get a full size plate and a kid's meal to share and keep food costs on the lower side and not make ourselves ill overeating.

Must-Dos
Husband has only visited the MK as an adult and has some childhood memories of a brief time at EPCOT but otherwise he's a noob. I've been preparing him for getting the "full experience" with me in October, LOL! We are walking everywhere we can (clocked 9 miles in one day visiting NYC last weekend) and I've tutored him in the art of rope dropping. As of now, here's our list of non-negotiable, we-won't-leave-until-we've-done-this experiences:
Galaxy's Edge - all the things including Oga's, but definitely not the lightsaber or droid workshops
MNSSHP - All the special fun stuff for the party - stage shows, nighttime spectacular, character meets (Elvis Stitch is a must), ride overlays, special treats, and of course Boo to You!
Tron Lightcycle Run - this will be brand new for both of us
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind - I've done it twice in the past but this will be Husband's first
Pandora the World of Avatar - I've never cared about this movie, but Husband really likes it so I'll take one for the team and spend as much time here as he wants
Food & Wine Fest - I'm old hat at this but it's always such a fun time and we love trying new dishes.
Finding Nemo: The Big, Blue, and Beyond - I adored the original version so I'm sad it's not the same anymore but excited to see this one. Plus if there's a Broadway Bradshaw in the cast I'll be thrilled!

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

My first Fest is coming up soon! Husband and I will be going September 30 - October 4. This will be Husband's first time getting the FULL Disney experience with me. We took our kiddos only to the MK many years ago and he hasn't returned since. I can't wait for him to experience alllll the things! We made some adjustments since the last post I made based on scheduling and strategy.


We are staying at POP Century. I've had many, many stays at POP and looking forward to returning for the first time since 2012 or 2013. It's been a while! The last time I was there the Skyliner didn't exist so I'm excited for this newer mode of transportation to Studios and EPCOT.


On our arrival day, if everything goes well, we will land at MCO by 10:30 a.m. We will Uber to POP and head to the room, or leave our bags if the room isn't ready. Then we'll hop a bus up to the MK! It's a Saturday, so I'm expecting it to be busy. Not sure if we will get G+ yet but since we won't be park hopping I anticipate I'll buy Individual Lightning Lanes for 7Dwarves and TRON at 7 a.m. I don't think we will be in the park in time for the 1 p.m. virtual queue drop. It will be tight, but if we are able to get in the queue then that will be a nice bonus ride.


The next day, Sunday, we will head to AK in the morning so Hubs can see Pandora, Everest, and the Safari. He hated the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland so I'm not sure I will force him on Dinosaur but if the wait is short (which it usually is) I may go by myself because I love that ride!


After hitting the AK highlights we'll head back to POP for a midday rest before getting ready for Mickey's No So Scary! I haven't been since 2018 and it's such a fun event. We are thinking of dressing as Donald and Daisy. I'm excited for some of the spooky treats, seeing the Hocus Pocus Spooktacular again, and the new fireworks. I was a Hallowishes forever fan so I will really miss that one, though the clips I've seen of the new show with the Jack Skellington puppet look really nice.


Monday is our EPCOT day. Since the night before will be a late one, we will likely take our time getting to the park this morning. I know it's not usually needed in EPCOT but I do plan to buy G+ this day to make hitting everything we want to do just a little easier and free up some time for festival booths. I'll buy Guardians and then join the 1 p.m. virtual queue so we can get 2 rides in. I rode this twice my last trip and it's so much fun, I know Hubs is really going to like it. Even though we will take it easier in the morning I'll still be on the app at 7 to get Remy and then keep stacking LL's from there. For F&W Fest we will do the cheese crawl and get one drink in each country. Not going to go overboard for budget and dietary reasons, and I will be coming back solo to EPCOT in the evenings after my conference days are over later in the week. My only 2 must-dos in World Showcase this day is seeing Boyz II Men for Eat to the Beat, and see EPCOT Forever. I know people don't like it, but I haven't seen it and I love nostalgic EPCOT.


Tuesday, our last full park day together, will be at Hollywood Studios. I will absolutely buy G+ and pay for Rise today. Again, just to maximize our time there since we only have this day to experience all the heavy hitters. I imagine we will arrive as early as we can to do as much as we can. We have a lunch reservation at 50's Prime Time and happy hour at Oga's. We may take a midday or evening break and come back to Fantasmic! depending on how we are feeling.


Wednesday we have breakfast at Topolino's before we head back to MCO. I am PUMPED to go to breakfast here, I've wanted to do it since it opened but couldn't ever get a res. After breakfast we'll check out and Uber back to MCO. Hubs is flying home and I am picking up a rental car, turning around, and heading back down I-4 to Rosen Shingle Creek for my conference.


In the evenings from Wednesday to Friday I'll likely pop back over to EPCOT (so happy to have a car!) for dinner and sunset strolling around World Showcase. On Saturday I am presenting a session in the morning, then taking myself to AK to enjoy a luxurious afternoon and then hitting Disney Springs for some shopping and dining. I will drive back to MCO to drop off my car and staying the night at a nearby Courtyard. I'm flying out on Sunday around 7 p.m. back to NY. It will be a long but so much fun week!


Next trip for the Holidays is already planned in December!

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

4 Days until returning to the Magic!
Husband and I had a date night planning meeting over the weekend. I made sure he had the MDE app all set up, our accounts were linked correctly, and park & MNSSHP tickets were downloaded to Magic Mobile. I think we tossed his old Magic Band from 8 years ago but he prefers to use his phone and AppleWatch instead.

Packing has begun (well, for me at least. Husband will wait until Friday at 9 p.m. to pack!), and wow is it hard to pack for a week in a carryon. Don't the airlines know how bulky 5 pairs of Minnie Ears are to squeeze into a tiny weekender bag? Plus not only do I have park clothes and essentials, I need to pack for a 3-day professional conference where shorts and Mickey t-shirts are not acceptable attire (killjoys). But, I refuse to pay for a checked bag and I don't trust that any checked luggage will make it to our plane with just a 40 minute connection at JFK. We will be lucky if WE make our connection!

Next Trips
As hyped as I am for this inaugural AP trip, I think I am looking forward to the next two even more.

December 9-14 at Animal Kingdom Lodge(!!), Very Merry Christmas Party, resort touring, and Festival of the Holidays. I wish my dates overlapped with Jollywood Nights but maybe next year.

February 4-7 back to POP for a mostly EPCOT Festival of the Arts long weekend. Love that Skyliner when doing an EPCOT heavy trip.

April is a ? right now. I might come down for Springtime Surprise race weekend but I'm not sure about it yet. If not, then I may have to delay a Flower & Garden trip to late March or mid-June depending on schedules.

 

[SEAGULL59]

Have a great trip!

 

[zanzibar138]

I love all your plans for the year ahead - always great to have something on the horizon to look forward to!

I hear you on trying to pack just a carry-on. I recently had a 9-day winter work trip that I had to strategically plan all my outfits for so I could basically wear the same thing over and over again but in a different configuration so no one would notice

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

Have a great trip!

Thank you!

I love all your plans for the year ahead - always great to have something on the horizon to look forward to!

I hear you on trying to pack just a carry-on. I recently had a 9-day winter work trip that I had to strategically plan all my outfits for so I could basically wear the same thing over and over again but in a different configuration so no one would notice

Thanks! That's the nice thing about conference wear - you can change out the tops with the same suit pants and no one is the wiser day-to-day!

I know it. With so many trips planned I looked into self storage in Orlando! I thought it would be so convenient to have a small locker where I could at least store some full size bottles of shampoo and sunscreen and a couple pair of ears or something just so I wouldn't have to pack a huge bag and pay to check it or pay for a carryon depending on the airline. Post-9/11, you can't rent storage lockers at like a train or bus station anymore. BUT I did find a storage service called Owner's Locker that fits the bill perfectly! It's a large bin that comes with dividers so your stuff remains upright, a small tackle box style container that holds jewelry, and plenty of space for ears and even clothes. They store it in a temperature controlled, secure facility and here's the best part - you can either drive to their warehouse when it's open and pick your bin up or just take what you need and leave it there, OR, THEY WILL DELIVER IT AND PICK IT UP FROM YOUR RESORT! I did the math and the cost for a 1 year subscription and unlimited roundtrip deliveries is the SAME cost of checking a bag or additional fees for a carryon for three roundtrip flights. I will have 4-5 trips this year so it was a no brainer to use this service. Now all I need to do is throw a few spare shirts and essentials into a backpack that counts as my "personal item" on the plane and I'm good to go! I do laundry at my resort on my last morning, pack up my bin, and then leave it at bell services when checking out. That way my clothes are fresh for my next trip.

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

I'm BACK! Had a wonderfully magical time, read all about it here.

Onto Christmastime! In the past week I've gotten a lot planned because my 60 day ADR window opened up, the Candlelight Processional lineup was announced, and the CP dining packages were available to book. So here's what I have planned for the very merriest time of year!

Sat. December 9
Fly down and arrive by 4:30ish in the afternoon. I learned that TSA Precheck isn't enough to expedite your time in security at MCO, so I am going to sign up for Clear Plus online and when I arrive I'll go to the Clear office to finish my enrollment. I'll need to Uber to my hotel and I'd assume by that time my room will be ready so likely I'll head right there to drop off my bag and ask bell services to deliver my Owner's Locker bin. I have no idea if I'll get to a park but I may go to Hollywood Studios for a late dinner and Fantasmic! if I have the energy. I don't need to have a super early morning to travel so hopefully I'll get sleep the night before and have that big Disney energy on my arrival day.

Sun. December 10
It's a Christmas Party night at MK so I'll head there in the morning to enjoy the holiday decoration vibes, ride a few things, and then have lunch at Skipper Canteen and leave in the early afternoon. I'll likely head back to ALK to chill and then hop to AK to enjoy the holiday decorations and merry menagerie puppets, have dinner, and then enjoy the park after dark. Hopefully at this time the Tree of Life evening show will be happening!

Mon. December 11
I'll head to Hollywood Studios in the morning to enjoy rope dropping my favorite attractions and see Beauty and the Beast since I missed it in October. I want to park hop more this trip instead of doing marathon days one park at a time. I'll take the boat over to EPCOT at some point and experience the Festival of the Holidays for the first time ever! Marlee Matlin is narrating the CP this day so I'll try to see her in the first show and then have a dinner reservation at Via Napoli. I'm looking forward to seeing Luminous, and EPCOT is open through 11:30 p.m. for deluxe resort guests so I'll use this time to ride Remy, Soarin' and TT and hopefully Guardians.

Tues. December 12
It's party day! I have a Boma breakfast scheduled and then I'm taking myself on a tour of several resorts to enjoy the holiday decorations! I'll get a bus to Studios and then walk over to Boardwalk, Beach Club and Yacht Club. Then walk through through EPCOT and get the Monorail to the TTC. This should be around early afternoon and the perfect time to get a drink and a snack at each monorail resort before entering the MK for the Christmas Party! I plan to stay as long as I can just drinking in the festivities, getting cookies and cocoa, seeing the fireworks and parade from Main St. USA with "snow!"

Wed. December 13
Check out of AKL and do a resort transfer to All Star Music. I just didn't have the budget to do another night at AKL, and any money I "save" is being diverted to the CP dining package later tonight, hahah!!! Disney Math, amirite? I'll enjoy EPCOT most of the day today, maybe take a quick hop to HS or MK but would need to be back in time for my dinner reservation at Garden Grill and the 8:30 CP narrated by Brendan Fraser! It's the first night of his run and he's so popular right now my friend and I decided to treat ourselves to the dining package for it.

Thurs. December 14
Up early to do laundry at AS Music, pack up my Owner's Locker bin and leave at bell services. Get breakfast at the food court and order an Uber back up to the airport for my 11:30 a.m. flight back home.

As always, everything is subject to change and if it does, that is OK! For now, I have to focus on completing my dissertation proposal before I leave. I think that's a good carrot to dangle for the next 52 days, don't you think?