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

[Raeven]

Following along I love your button! I was actually looking at getting one of those or a shirt that said that for my next trip

 

[belle1986]

Following along

 

[afwdwfan]

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"

They only think you're a little crazy...

That's awesome that your family was understanding and allowed you to do this.

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

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That button is awesome! It's like my goal in life to find the right situation to use that line.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Following along! It was great to meet you on this trip!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Following along I love your button! I was actually looking at getting one of those or a shirt that said that for my next trip

thank you! I loved that button the first time I saw it - I was happy to get it in time for the trip - definitely got a few comments about it

Following along

thanks for joining!

They only think you're a little crazy...

That's awesome that your family was understanding and allowed you to do this.

That button is awesome! It's like my goal in life to find the right situation to use that line.

Yeah, I am pretty lucky to have a family that let me do this. To be honest I was surprised how accepting of it the kids were as well (the promise of souvenirs definitely helped their attitude )

Following along! It was great to meet you on this trip!

Thanks for joining - definitely was great to meet you as well!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 4: Arriving at Walt Disney World
Wednesday May 31st noon - 1:20pm​

We last left off as I was on Disney Magical Express. I had not ridden this in years so it was my first time with the new movie being played. I did like the trivia they had on at the beginning - good thing to pass the time (even if they were all pretty easy questions). Once the film started it was largely promotions for the parks - including a lot on Pandora.

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They did have one fun part which had Josh Gaad interacting with Gaston in Magic Kingdom - some funny bits comparing muscles, etc.

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The driver said it would take about 35 minutes to get to property but it felt a lot less than that - seemed like pretty shortly we were getting to this - and I was glad to be sitting near the front of the bus! (I do wish the road sign said "Walt Disney World" instead of just "Disney World" as Roy was so insistent on that being the name)

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The first stop was at Art of Animation and a good number of people got off there - next stop was my resort - Pop Century!

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This was my first time staying here (and my first time staying on Property in several years) so I was interested to check it out. I had gotten an e-mail that my room was ready, so after I got off the bus and collected my bag from under the bus (I only did a carry-on bag so didn't utilize the bag transport part of the Magical Express service) I went straight to my room to drop my stuff off.

I had requested to be close to transportation and the 50s section. I got the 50s section, so that was good - but I think I was in the room that was the furthest away in that section - all the way at the end of the "T" in building 2. So, not as close to transportation as I was hoping, but not the end of the world and it worked out fine in the end.

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I had a "Roommate" for my trip - another DISer down for the event. We arranged to room together since we were both going solo and figured we wouldn't be in the room that often anyway and would have an extra bed. He had arrived earlier that morning before the room was ready and had left his bags with the front desk - but they had been delivered to the room before I got there (I texted him to let him know his bags were here). The room was fine overall and I did like the decade shadow-box type art work. It has a fridge (but no coffeemaker). I know the rooms are currently undergoing refurbishment and in my opinion it is needed. The room is fine but rather dated and just stale and a bit worn

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After dropping my bags and just freshening up a bit, I left the room and arranged for an Uber to take me over to the Boardwalk convention center. This worked out really well as my driver arrived in about 3 minutes (and she picked me up right outside my building) and it took 8 minutes or so to get to the convention center and cost just over $6 - so totally worth it in my mind.

Up next, I pick up my event credentials and head over to my first park!

 

[rteetz]

Yeah they always say 30-35 minutes to WDW but I feel like it never takes that long.

The rooms weren't bad. I am interested to see what the new ones are like. I didn't get to look around the resort as much as I would have liked.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 5: Picking up my Credentials and off to Animal Kingdom!
Wednesday May 31st 1:40 - 2:30pm​

The Uber driver was able to let me off right out front of the convention center entrance at the Boardwalk, and right inside I saw the sign directing me to where the credential pick up spot was (which was the same ball room as was used for the Mega Meet last year)

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I am very introverted so I get nervous talking to people - especially when I have to strike up a conversation with them ... only heightened when it is famous people like the Podcast team. So definitely had the nerve running before I got there.

Out front of the ball room was the sign-in table where both John and Kevin were sitting. I had met them at the Mega Meet so it was good to talk to them again. John asked what my board name was and seemed to recognize it when I said it (so I guess that is a good thing ... though perhaps he says that to everyone). Keven provided me with the DIS 20th Pin and the credentials and also explained how the one part was the "ticket" to get into the party and they didn't have any extra and to not lose it, etc., etc. - basically scared me silly about it so I just kept that part in my bag rather than having it on my lanyard.

I then went into the ballroom itself and saw @WebmasterJackie right away and she came out from behind her table and gave me a big hug. She is so sweet and was good to see her again - we chatted for a bit and just caught up. Then I checked out the auction item tables and saw in the back of the room Ryno was filming Pete who was talking about some of the items and encouraging people to bid, etc. It was kind of neat to see them in action like that.

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After they were done I went up to talk to Ryno - I had spoken to him at one of the Hershey meets a while ago and interact with him a bit via social media, but don't know him that well. I was really impacted emotionally when he shared how the Pulse Shooting event impacted him on the Podcast episode following that horror. So I wanted to get him something and I always loved his arts and craft vlogs he did and so I decided to try and make him something using one of those techniques (the Zootopia outline pictures). I actually tried to do this last year but, um, I am not as talented as Ryno is. So I took a different approach this year and tried to do it utilizing computer graphics which I am better at. To be a bit crafty I modge-podged put the images onto tiles to make coasters out of them. Anyway, I gave them to Ryno and he seemed to really like them (and loved the idea of making the coasters, said he hadn't thought of that). He tweeted out about it and I thought that was nice - I was a bit nervous about giving him something, so I was very glad he liked them

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All in all I was there for about 30 mins and then headed out to the bus stop to catch a bus to Animal Kingdom - and I got lucky as a bus pulled up basically at the exact moment I got to the bus stop). On the buses was, of course, more advertisement for Pandora:

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I am not sure if this is always how the buses go, but it traveled a bit through backstage areas of Animal Kingdom so we could see a bit of the back of Pandora:

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I was off the bus and in front of Animal Kingdom at 2:23. I think that is pretty good for just having flown down that morning, gotten to my room, and stopped by for my credentials and stuff.

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I had linked my ticket to my magic band online so just went right to the tapstyles and fortunately got the green Mickey and then I was in! As soon as you get in you can see the higher floating mountains rising above the tree lines. And then a quick shot of the Tree of Life (which was looking amazing!) before I headed towards my first destination

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Coming up - my first look at Pandora and my first taste of Pandora!

 

[rteetz]

John was busy on the phone when I got there so I didn't get to chat with him. I did talk to Kevin and he knew me right away when I said my name. He said my claim to fame is that I'm the youngest moderator.

Ryno was busy but I got to chat with Corey and Pete which was nice. Jackie saw me and gave me a big hug. She said it felt like we already. I also got freaked out about the party ticket and put it in my wallet.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 6: First sights, sounds, and tastes of Pandora!
Wednesday May 31st 2:30 - 2:50pm​

So I headed to where the main Pandora entrance is - which I knew was by Tiffins/the Nomad Lounge, but last time I was there the walls were still up so I was very excited to get to go past where the walls were and actually get in Pandora!

The still had the set-up for the lines to wait to get into Pandora, but they were not holding people (though it was a bit crowded). And as you are walking in you can see some of the floating mountains peeking out

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The first thing you see when you enter the land is the Flaska Reclinata plant - which is this big thing that has mist and stuff coming out of it and you can touch it and stuff. There was a Photopass Photographer there and a pretty long line of people waiting, so I had to skip really checking it out, but it looked neat and certainly "alien"

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And then my first real look at the floating Mountains! They are just so darn impressive and beautiful and it is just hard to put into words how different and other worldly and how *not* in a theme park you feel

So ​

The main thing I wanted to accomplish right away was to get some food as I hadn't had lunch yet. I was very excited about the food options in Pandora so knew I wanted to try it out as many times as I could. As soon as I got into Animal Kingdom I used the MDE app to order my lunch via the mobile ordering system. For me, this system is a home run. It is so easy to use and enabled me to pick up my food with basically no wait. I hope the role it out to as many places as possible (I understand they are going to do so soon to other quick service locations in Animal Kingdom, haven't hear about the other parks yet)

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So I was heading to the mail dining location in Pandora - the Satu'li Canteen

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I picked up my food (just had to show my phone so they could confirm the order number) and then grabbed a table - excited to try my cheeseburger pod! I have to say that I really liked it (I do like bao buns though - some people might find it too doughy) and it really did taste like a McDonald's cheeseburger - but better. Also, the kids meal I thought was good sized and came with the water bottle which I took to go. The beer I got now is the Mo'ara High Country Ale and it was my favorite of the drinks I tried in Pandora. Maybe not the most exotic option but it was a really solid beer - enough going on but not too heavy - definitely recommend!

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There weren't too many open tables so I sat in one close to a family who did check to make sure I was ok being next to them - and all I could think was that I am usually the one with the kids that are making noise and not staying still .... so obviously it was fine!

I ate relatively quickly and headed out the back entrance of Pandora as I had my first DIS meet to get to (and it was one of the ones, if not the one, I was most looking forward to!) .....

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.... but that will wait for the next update

TTFN!

 

[rteetz]

Thanks for the food run down! I never made it into Satuli and I really regret that.

 

[pucknasty]

I think I know who the DisMeet is with because I'm at the same part in both of your reports!

 

[afwdwfan]

I know the rooms are currently undergoing refurbishment and in my opinion it is needed. The room is fine but rather dated and just stale and a bit worn

I love Pop, but it was due...

Anyway, I gave them to Ryno and he seemed to really like them (and loved the idea of making the coasters, said he hadn't thought of that). He tweeted out about it and I thought that was nice - I was a bit nervous about giving him something, so I was very glad he liked them

Awesome! They look great and I'm glad he liked them!

I was off the bus and in front of Animal Kingdom at 2:23. I think that is pretty good for just having flown down that morning, gotten to my room, and stopped by for my credentials and stuff.

That isn't bad at all.

I just took in some of the Pandora stuff. It does look great and I look forward to checking it out in a few weeks. You were there, what? 4 or 5 days after it opened or something like that, right? It makes me feel better that you could actually walk right into the land at 2:30 rather than standing in a long line just to get in.

 

[missangelalexis]

Great shot of the sign when entering property!

I'm sorry you weren't too impressed with the room or its location!

You made great timing get to AK! Loved seeing all your Pandora pictures and I'm glad you enjoyed your meal!

 

[DVC Kayla]

I am so relieved that Pandora is good.. I'm so excited to see it for myself!

 

[Dugette]

I brought up the idea of a solo trip to my wife and, because she is awesome, said I could go.

Wow, that is pretty awesome!

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"

Yeah, I don't know how that would go for me...

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.

Eh, if I can find it, anyone can. (Seriously, I still can't find my way around half of WDW, but I've made it to the bus on my own.)

I am very introverted so I get nervous talking to people - especially when I have to strike up a conversation with them ... only heightened when it is famous people like the Podcast team. So definitely had the nerve running before I got there.

I can relate. I'm glad you were able to push out of your comfort zone and make this trip and have the DIS-meets.

I was off the bus and in front of Animal Kingdom at 2:23. I think that is pretty good for just having flown down that morning, gotten to my room, and stopped by for my credentials and stuff.

Wow, that is pretty impressive!!

As soon as I got into Animal Kingdom I used the MDE app to order my lunch via the mobile ordering system. For me, this system is a home run. It is so easy to use and enabled me to pick up my food with basically no wait.

I've heard only good things about this so far and can't wait to try!

Looking forward to seeing more Pandora!

 

[Raeven]

I got the 50s section, so that was good - but I think I was in the room that was the furthest away in that section - all the way at the end of the "T" in building 2. So, not as close to transportation as I was hoping, but not the end of the world and it worked out fine in the end.

We we're in the 50's section when we stayed there, and it felt like we had to walk quite a ways to our room from the bus stop. I'm glad they're refurbing rooms there too I think they needed it.

So I wanted to get him something and I always loved his arts and craft vlogs he did and so I decided to try and make him something using one of those techniques (the Zootopia outline pictures). I actually tried to do this last year but, um, I am not as talented as Ryno is. So I took a different approach this year and tried to do it utilizing computer graphics which I am better at. To be a bit crafty I modge-podged put the images onto tiles to make coasters out of them. Anyway, I gave them to Ryno and he seemed to really like them (and loved the idea of making the coasters, said he hadn't thought of that). He tweeted out about it and I thought that was nice - I was a bit nervous about giving him something, so I was very glad he liked them

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It's really nice that you made him something, I'm sure he really liked it; they're really good!

It is so easy to use and enabled me to pick up my food with basically no wait. I hope the role it out to as many places as possible (I understand they are going to do so soon to other quick service locations in Animal Kingdom, haven't hear about the other parks yet)

I think today they said some MK places would be included now. I can't wait to use it. When I order at Panera that way it's usually very fast.

I picked up my food (just had to show my phone so they could confirm the order number) and then grabbed a table - excited to try my cheeseburger pod! I have to say that I really liked it (I do like bao buns though - some people might find it too doughy) and it really did taste like a McDonald's cheeseburger - but better. Also, the kids meal I thought was good sized

Ordering a kid's meal is a good idea because those are pretty filling. I didn't think of that when we were there. They do taste like Mcdonalds, but they're pretty delicious.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Very much enjoying your trip report. How sweet of you to make something for Ryno, those look AWESOME!! That same show/incident touched me deeply for him as well, and he seems to think he's so "fat", poor dude, (I have been struggling with weight and body issues my entire life, so I can SO empathize!!), so I try/reach out via social media every week or so, and send him virtual hugs and positive messages. He is such a sweet and creative soul! I'm glad I came back and checked this trip report - I'm a neophyte with the board's controls, but despite me "watching" and "requesting email updates", it did not indicate you had done one.

 

[bamacmac]

Fun TR Phil! Enjoying it!

 

[katt789]

I'M HERE!! AND IN!!!
AND SO much regretting the fact that I never messaged you about a meet up!! We were so close for those few days lol!!
Also can't believe you're 4 updates in alredy, I'm just BARELY organizing photos to get a TR on the go!
Great updates so far! We managed to not eat in Pandora, but its definitely on the list for next time!!