A Bash, a Benson, and a Banshee: A DIS 20th Event Solo Trip ** new Aug 2nd, 2017 - Complete! **

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 1: Introductions​

Greetings everyone - it is time for another trip report ... but this one will be a bit different.

But first, allow myself to introduce ... myself

​

I am TheMaxRebo (also known as "Phil" in the real world) - fan of alliteration and taker of really bad selfies (seriously, the one above it the best one I took all trip). You may remember me from past trip reports such as... well, all the ones in my signature

Not surprisingly I am a very big Disney fan and have been pretty active on the DISboards over the past 5 years or so. I was able to attend the MegaMeet last July which was in honor of the 10th anniversary of the DIS Unplugged Podcast and when they announced that they would be doing another even this July, this time for the 20th Anniversary of the DISboards themselves, I was disappointed that I didn't see a way for me to get there as my kids would still be in school. But as more details special room rates came out and then when I realized that I had enough airline miles to travel for free I brought up the idea of a solo trip to my wife and, because she is awesome, said I could go. I did try to keep it as short as possible so would only be traveling from Wednesday, May 31st through Friday, June 2nd (only on Disney property for 48 hours)

So you know how it can sometimes be awkward when you tell people at work that "yes, I am going back to Walt Disney World, again ...."? Just try it with adding "... but this time I am leaving my wife and kids at home"

Oh, and while this was technically a solo trip there were a bunch of "unofficial" meetups scheduled and I was also bringing with me flatties for two DISers that were unable to make the trip:
@SorcererHeidi and @pjweaver

​

So I hope you enjoy as I recount my experience with a Bash (the DIS 20th event), a Benson (a concert by Jodi Benson, voice of the Little Mermaid, and a Banshee (as we experience flying on the back of one on Flight of Passage in Pandora).

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 2: Contents​

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Part 1: Introductions ... Post #1
Part 2: Contents ... Post #2

Day 1:
Part 3: Travel to Walt Disney World ... Post #4
Part 4: Arriving at Walt Disney World ... Post #26
Part 5: Picking up my Credentials and off to Animal Kingdom! ... Post #28
Part 6: First sights, sounds, and tastes of Pandora! ... Post #30
Part 7: Meeting DISers and a Yeti ... Post #49
Part 8: Exploring Pandora ... Post #50
Part 9: Flight of Passage ... Post #52
Part 10: Nomad Lounge and Dinosaur ... Post #76
Part 11: Satu'li Canteen for dinner and Rivers of Light ... Post #77
Part 12: Nighttime Encounters with a Yeti and the FoP Queue ... Post #98
Part 13: More of the FoP Queue and post-ride group photo ... Post #99
Part 14: Drink time and Na'vi River Ride ... Post #101

Day 2:
Part 15: Running 3.1 miles and a bit of Pop ... Post #120
Part 16: Breakfast at The Grand ... Post #121
Part 17: Exploring Disney Springs ... Post #144
Part 18: Homecomin' ... Post #168
Part 19: The Longest Trip to Geyser Point ... Post #193
Part 20: Uh-Oa! It's Trader Sam's .... Post #195
Part 21: Reach Out and Find Your Happily Ever After ... Post #196
Part 22: It's Party Time! ... Post #216
Part 23: The Land and Arriving at the Show ... Post #217
Part 24: Jodi Benson Performs! ... Post #218
Part 25: Illuminations - nice work pal! ... Post #230
Part 26: Test Track again and the night ends ... Post #233

Day 3:
Part 27: The Beginning of the End ... Post #254
Part 28: Back to Reality and Final Thoughts ... Post #255

 

[rdkeim]

In! Anxious to read about your Pandora experience!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 3: Travel to Walt Disney World
Wednesday May 31st 4:45am - noon​

Well, travel day is generally not the most exciting trip report update, so I will try to be as brief as possible (and I promise it will be shorter than for my last trip report in which it took us 4 days to get to Walt Disney World)

I woke up the morning of Thursday, May 31st 2017 at about 4:45am to get ready and get out the door by 5:45 to allow time to drive from my home to the long term parking at Newark International Airport (which, without traffic, takes about 1 hour 15 minutes)

I got my luggage ready, and Flatties Heidi and PJ were excited to get going

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I made pretty good time (took just about that 1 and 1/4 hours) and arrive at the Parking Spot McClellan. First time I tried them but it worked out great - and had a coupon that was only $12.95 a day with valet service. Everything was very smooth going in both directions, so would definitely recommend them

Got through security quickly (helps having TSA pre-check) and had time to grab a bit of food and wait for boarding. I posted the below to Facebook with the caption "I hope they didn't use Jiminy #CricketFlour" - I didn't actually eat it until I was on the plane but it turned out to be really tasty!

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Flatties Heidi and PJ were excited the plane was here and scheduled to leave on time (we wound up leaving just a little late, but made up the time and landed basically at our originally scheduled arrival time). Also, no one was physically removed from our plane due to it being oversold which was nice (Had the miles via work travel and got my ticket before that incident with United happened - normally, not my first choice)

​

I got settled in my seat and proceeded to take a terrible selfie. At least you can see my button I had on - got a number of compliments for that one

​

I was happy to see it was a plane with the headrest monitors and some entertainment was included. Well, I had to watch something Disney to get me in the spirit ... you might say, "It calls me!" (it's that type of high-brow humor that will be littered throughout this trip report, so get ready!). Flatties Heidi and PJ seemed to enjoy the movie as well

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I enjoyed my cricket flour bar and before too long we were landing in MCO and I got to see the first ride of the trip - the Fakeorail (side note, the Pandora advertisement was very present this trip).

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We normally stay off site so it had been years since I had taken Disney Magic Express - and I've seen posts on Facebook and stuff about people having trouble finding it, so I was a bit nervous about that and was studying the map they provided, etc. .... turns out I did not need to be worried and there are tons of signs around so very easy to find it. This would also be my first chance to try out my Magic Band - I get very nervous about logistic type things working out properly and basically play out in my head how everything will go wrong - but, no, everything was fine, they found my account, told me to go to Row 7 and after about a 5minute wait I was called to my bus (which I was glad to see was one of the official DME buses)

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Flatties Heidi and PJ were happy to watch some Goofy Cartoons and I was happy to have a seat close to the front (was in the 2nd row). After about a 10 minute wait or so we had a fairly full bus and we pulled out. I noted that we passed a Disney Cruise Line bus that was waiting as we will be taking one of those for the first time next February - but that is for a future Trip Report

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I think I will leave it for there now - coming up next: rest of the DME trip, getting to the resort, and getting to the DIS event credential distribution - and then to an actual Theme Park!

TTFN

 

[dlavender]

Nice button/pin!

A solo trip would be awesome. Definitely a different kind of WDW trip.

Interested to see your take on Pandora.

 

[samsteele]

Excellent start, Phil! Wouldn't miss your TR for the World. You & the flatties seem very happy & joyful for such an early dark-thirty departure. Maybe they also knew they were jetting off to WDW?

 

[annie170]

Sounds like fun! Looking forward to reading all about it.

 

[Capang]

Woohoo! I've been waiting for some TRs from the anniversary to start posting! Looks like fun!

 

[rteetz]

Well joining in! Can't wait to read all about it and maybe see myself appear!

 

[ashleymrush]

So excited to see that you decided to do a TR! Can't wait to read more! I'm in Salt Lake City right now grading a million AP exams for 8 straight days. Your posts will help me get excited about my upcoming trip again during my breaks.

 

[GAN]

And away we gooooooo ......

 

[missangelalexis]

Hey Phil! Excited to hear about this solo trip!

OoOh you were flying out of my home airport Glad all your travel went smoothly!

 

[pucknasty]

Following along! Can't wait to see where you're staying!

 

[SorcererHeidi]

You always write the best trip reports!! And this one is even bester, 'cause I'm (flatly) along! Thank you SO much for this. And the betestest part is that even though that pic is 7 years old, I'm much thinner now, which hardly EVER happens in real life, so it's making me even happier!! Can't wait for more!

 

[pjweaver]

Is Mary Pooin's cool? I can't stop wanting that button.

Best picture so far is the magical express bus that appears to have knocked a stop sign over. Can't wait to read more.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

In! Anxious to read about your Pandora experience!

Thanks - Pandora will be coming up soon and that was definitely a key goal with the trip!

Nice button/pin!

A solo trip would be awesome. Definitely a different kind of WDW trip.

Interested to see your take on Pandora.

and thank you! Not normally a button person but I found a bunch before this trip so decided to wear them - got a few fun stories around them!

Yes, this was *definitely* a different type of trip - not better or worse, but different than with my kids and the focus is more on character meets, etc.

Pandora is coming up soon!

Excellent start, Phil! Wouldn't miss your TR for the World. You & the flatties seem very happy & joyful for such an early dark-thirty departure. Maybe they also knew they were jetting off to WDW?

Thanks Sam! It is definitely easier getting up at early dark-thirty when you know you are heading for Disney! Did make for a long day though!

Sounds like fun! Looking forward to reading all about it.

thanks Annie!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Woohoo! I've been waiting for some TRs from the anniversary to start posting! Looks like fun!

definitely see a few popping up but wanted to share my thoughts - only had 2 quick days there but covers Pandora and the anniversary party and some "un"official events - so crammed a bunch in!

Well joining in! Can't wait to read all about it and maybe see myself appear!

I think it is safe to say you will appear at some point!

So excited to see that you decided to do a TR! Can't wait to read more! I'm in Salt Lake City right now grading a million AP exams for 8 straight days. Your posts will help me get excited about my upcoming trip again during my breaks.

haha, glad to hear of the motivating power of my trip report! Best of luck!

And away we gooooooo ......

thanks GAN!

 

[PrncessA]

You are quick to get started, I still feel like I am recovering! Can't wait to read all about your trip and relive the parts I was a part of! It was great to meet so many DISr's in person! I am going to try and start mine today, seeing as I can type but have lost my voice almost completely!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Hey Phil! Excited to hear about this solo trip!

OoOh you were flying out of my home airport Glad all your travel went smoothly!

Thanks Alexis! I live about equidistant from Newark as to LGA/JFK so we have been using Newark more often (I have been avoiding LGA as much as I can with all the construction). Overall travel both ways was pretty smooth (I mean, nothing is ever perfect but nothing major to complain about)

Following along! Can't wait to see where you're staying!

next update we will arrive there!

You always write the best trip reports!! And this one is even bester, 'cause I'm (flatly) along! Thank you SO much for this. And the betestest part is that even though that pic is 7 years old, I'm much thinner now, which hardly EVER happens in real life, so it's making me even happier!! Can't wait for more!

aw, thanks Heidi! Glad it makes you happy!

Is Mary Pooin's cool? I can't stop wanting that button.

Best picture so far is the magical express bus that appears to have knocked a stop sign over. Can't wait to read more.

Thanks! I haven't been into buttons in the past but I saw that one and sort of needed it. haha, I noticed that too about the stop sign

 

[TheMaxRebo]

You are quick to get started, I still feel like I am recovering! Can't wait to read all about your trip and relive the parts I was a part of! It was great to meet so many DISr's in person! I am going to try and start mine today, seeing as I can type but have lost my voice almost completely!

I think I just wanted the trip to feel like it was still going so that was part of the motivation to get it started so quickly