Celebrating Graduation, Solo Style! I AM OFF TO THE WORLD! (Dec. PTR UPDATED 12/02)

[darthspielberg]

Hello there, DIS Boards. Let me introduce myself a little.

My name is Donald! I am a 26 year old video/film production student living in Boston, and I have been a Disney Park Nut(tm) since I was six years old.

This is me at work in Boston during a special event. Probably the snazziest I've looked.

This is me hanging out with famed author Neil Gaiman, rock star Amanda Palmer, and my sister.

and finally, how about me looking like I am going to die on Splash Mountain

I am a big guy with a big heart and Disney is one of my many passions. The main current passion is filmmaking and storytelling in visual mediums. It is a dream of mine to do this for Disney either for their film studio or for their theme parks.

Next March, I will graduate, earning a four degree in a little under three years. I am astounded that I am pulling it off, as I was never an A student in any of my previous schools, but here, I am pulling As and Bs and on course to graduate in the first few months of 2014.

To kick the celebration off a little early, I am going to Disney World. It's a trip that has been in the making since my last trip in 2010, but finally I was able to get things moving here in 2013. My trip is December 2nd to the 8th, staying at the brand new Art of Animation (Little Mermaid since I will be staying by myself)

I hope to live it up pretty big, and I hope to make Disney Parks a yearly tradition (It's already looking like I'll get to go to Disneyland in 2014 shortly after I actually collect my degree)

Now I am new to trip reports/pre trip reports here on the DISBoards (done them a few other places) and I see that most people make a table of contents post, so...

 

[darthspielberg]

...I'll do my best to log and put everything in here. Of course I don't know how many chapters there will be as my plans aren't super detailed as of yet. So let's do this thing!

Table of Contents
A Brief Introduction to Me
Why Yes, I Do Love Disney, Why Do You Ask?
The Gameplan (for now)
Plans - Day One
Plans - Day Two
Plans - Day Three
Plans - Days Four - Seven, Wrap Up!​

---

 

[darthspielberg]

As I said in my first post, I've been a Disney Park Fan since I was six. Of course I had grown up with Disney films and television (my first theatrical experience was Beauty and the Beast) but when my parents took me to Disney at age 6, something clicked. Everyone tends to enjoy themselves at a Disney vacation (well, most everyone) but I became obsessed.

Years later, I got to go back to the Magic Kingdom for a day when we were visiting, and I was in that phase where I was pretending Magic Kingdom wasn't my thing, but it so totally was.

When I got home from that second taste of Disney Magic, I began to design my own Disney parks, rides, even shows and other things. I didn't even know what an Imagineer was and I was already aspiring to be one. I created Disney Country, a park for the Northeast, ignoring the logistics of snow, saying "They have a park in Paris! It snows in Paris!"

In high school, I became obsessed with movies, and shifted gears towards becoming a filmmaker. It took a while after a few false starts, but I finally made it to a film school and decided to bust my butt to make it through. The school runs classes through the summer, so I decided not to take any time off and just run my way through. Soon, I will graduate, getting a bachelors degree in digital film and video production. I am hoping to find a job producting videos for a theme park's creative branch, preferably Disney, but doing Universal wouldn't be bad either.

Anyway, my obsession with Disney has never gone away and was only furthur rekindled when I spent six days there with my family back in 2010. Since then, at least once a year, I've started to make plans to go back that year, but it's never worked. Being in college is not conductive to throwing 1500 or so at Mickey Mouse, but this year, I used a large portion of my tax refund to kick start the trip, and am now in the final stages of paying it off.

This December, I return! For my first ever Solo Trip. But..not really. I'll explain that in my next post!

 

[francis6306]

Congrats on your success in college! Have you considered doing the college program? I have a friend who is currently looking into it- apparently there are jobs and internships that are opened to former CP'ers first or something like that… I'm not sure, but he is really excited about the possibilities. He is studying video game programing.

Christmas is such a magical time to go to Disney!! We've been twice and I'm so sad that our next trip in March will be missing all that extra special stuff!

 

[darthspielberg]

Okay, so this trip has been in the works since about February. I can remember clicking "submit" on the Walt Disney World page, and waiting for it to go through, and when it did, oddly enough, Disney randomly selected Donald Duck to be the greeting for me saying my trip was booked. A sign of good things. When I was younger I wasn't fond of sharing a name with the cantankerous duck, but as I've grown older, I am proud of my name and the duck who carries it as well. Us Donald's have to stick together.

In May, I booked my plane ticket. I am taking JetBlue because I managed to snag a good deal, and while I'd normally fly Southwest, they didn't have any direct flights to Orlando from Boston. If I wanted direct, I'd have to go up to Manchester, NH or down to Rhode Island, and that would require a whole different level of planning since I am a city boy with on car. I rely on public transportation.

Because of relying on public transport (and hating the cab system in Boston) I chose a later morning flight instead of the earliest. I know most try to maximize their time in Disney, but my flight allows me to take the MBTA to the airport with minimal fuss and not spend 50 bucks on cab fare. My plane departs at 10:25 and flies straight to Orlando, arriving by 1:38pm. From there I am taking the Disney Magical Express for the first time ever! I am excited beyond words...and that' s just my ride to the park!

I am staying at *drumroll* Art of Animation.

My college budget demands I stay at a Value resort, and I was planning on Pop Century, but someone suggested that I check the prices of the rooms at Little Mermaid because I'd probably not be paying all that much of a difference. After crunching the numbers, it was something hilarious low, like 304 or 40$ more for the entire trip to stay there, so I opted for the new and shiny. I like new and shiny.

Hopefully I will be all set up and ready to head off to magical stuff by around 2:30-3:00.

 

[darthspielberg]

Congrats on your success in college! Have you considered doing the college program? I have a friend who is currently looking into it- apparently there are jobs and internships that are opened to former CP'ers first or something like that… I'm not sure, but he is really excited about the possibilities. He is studying video game programing.

Christmas is such a magical time to go to Disney!! We've been twice and I'm so sad that our next trip in March will be missing all that extra special stuff!

I certainly have thought about it, and originally I looked into college just to have an excuse to do the CP.

However, things didn't work out in favor of that. The plan to run straight through affords me no periods off (and Disney's periods are longer than my school's so I'd have to take even more time off) and it would also require me to exit out of my current housing arrangements, which wouldn't be a problem at first, but when I moved back to Boston it might.

I've considered doing it after I graduate, but that starts to cut into my time where the clock ticks down until I start to owe my loans back. Time where i could be finding a job that will help me afford those loans.

So I don't know. I'd love to. It'd be a blast, and would look great on my resume, but I don't know if the money I'd be making at Disney would be able to equal what I could be making in my field.

 

[darthspielberg]

Day One - December 2nd 2013

I of course have a plane to catch in the morning. I will probably grab breakfast at the airport as I wait for my plane. I have a tiny netbook that I will be bringing so I can watch a movie or something on the plane and not focus on the fact that I am in a metal tube hurtling through the air at ungodly speeds.

When I arrive in Orlando, I am gonna head straight to the Magical Express, and then off to the Art of Animation. I am estimating this will take around an hour depending on how long I have to wait for a bus.

Once I have arrived and checked in at my hotel (or at least told them I have arrived if my room isn't ready) I will jet off to The Magic Kingdom. To me, it's the only place to start the vacation.

Other than that, I have nothing planned for the trip on this day. I haven't booked an ADRs or special events. I am just going to see where the wind takes me, which I imagine will be in the direction of The Haunted Mansion to get my ghost fix.

I do intend to stay through the night's Extra Magic Hours, which I know is often considered a mistake since so many others have the same idea, but I've never gotten to stay in Magic Kingdom until super late.

I may venture back to the hotel a little earlier than park close just to able to swing by Landscape of Flavors for a brief snack.

 

[darthspielberg]

Day Two - December 3rd 2013


Despite the late night planned at Magic Kingdom, I plan to be up bright an early to grab breakfast then head over for park opening of Hollywood Studios. This is the park that holds the one major new ride since my last visit (Star Tours) and I am dying to check it out. I may also see if I can get a spin in on Toy Story Mania, but if I can't, I won't be too bummed for reasons I'll explain later.

After doing at least Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Muppets, I will grab a small lunch at Studio Catering Co, which I discovered on last trip and cannot rave enough about for a small counter service joint. Just lovely sandwiches.

Then at around 2:30 or 3, it's off to the Magic Kingdom. Now I said this is a Solo trip, and that's mostly correct, but in my second post I mentioned it isn't entirely true. Here's Why.

My aunt, her partner, and their son David will be at Disney World at the same time. They visit once a year, and my last trip in 2010 was also around the same time as theirs. We have planned a few things that we have to do together, and today presents the first.

At 4:30 they have invited me to join them on their reservation at Be Our Guest for dinner. I am thrilled. I wanted desperately to give it a try, but because of the 180 day reservation system (and how it allows folks to book for their entire trip) the only chance at a reservation was the last night of the trip at 9:20 on a night where the park closes at 10. Not ideal. I took it, and still have it, but I may release it soon since I think once will be enough to say I tried and did the experience.

Once dinner is over, I intend to stick around for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. I want to bask in the goodness that is Disney Christmas since I haven't seen it before, and besides, the allure of small wait times for pretty much any attraction that isn't a parade or fireworks show has my tongue wagging like a dogs. This might change as I haven't bought a ticket yet, but we'll see)

That's Day Two in a Nutshell

 

[darthspielberg]

Day Three - December 4th 2013

Today I am going to once again tempt fate and go with the flow of Extra Magic Hours. Animal Kingdom has morning hours, so I am going to head over there for that to catch all the must rides (and try to ride Everest as much as I can. Love that ride to death) and wander around taking in the atmosphere and sightseeing.

I'll probably catch lunch at FlameTree, possibly with an Orlando area friend with an AP who wants to meet up if his schedule allows. We still haven't really chatted that out much, so we'll see.

The only other major plan of the day is to head to Kona Cafe at the Polynesian for a 5:20 ADR. I knew I wanted to book a meal at the Polynesian, but Ohana didn't feel right as I am running solo. Kona sounds wonderful though, so I feel like I made a good choice.

After dinner, I am not sure what I want to do, be it to head into the Magic Kingdom until it closes, or to try and catch up with my aunts in their Bay Lake DVC pad. Who knows. I've also thought about just soaking up the Poly and watching wishes from the Beach (which is something I've never done)

Onward to Thursday!

 

[darthspielberg]

Whoops, sort of fell behind on this. In the fall I work at a Halloween "Scream" Park, and opening weekend took up most of my time recently.

Today I hit the 60 day mark, so in two months I shall be jetting off to the World of Disney and taking in all that magic. Feels good. I did online check in, mostly out of excitment, but also because I want to try and flag myself as a potential tester for MyMagic+ (Yeah, I am excited for it. I'm strange)

Also, I recently partook of a little "Disney" magic here in my city of Boston. Early this year, they opened an Earl of Sandwhich in the Boston Common park area.

Behold the magic!

Just a little breath of Disney air while I count down the days to go.

 

[darthspielberg]

Fell behind AGAIN. October is a busy month for me. This year it was also an exciting one because that's when my final payment was due.

I just payed it. I am officially paid off for Disney World! I am so excited. Not only do I not have to worry about not being able to afford it, but I don't have to worry about anything except making sure I put away some spending money for fun stuff while I'm down there.

 

[darthspielberg]

Day Four - December 5th 2013

See Last Full Post.

 

[darthspielberg]

Sure is quiet around here, so here is a little something to spruce things up a touch.

I recently received my MagicBand for my upcoming trip, so I did a video about unboxing it. so here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Xv9s1YcJU

 

[darthspielberg]

Six Days to Go, and I've yet to finish this bad boy of a Pre Trip Report. So, let;s do this. One fell swoop!

Day Four - December 5th 2013

Today sees me at Epcot, me thinks. I booked the essentials of Soarin' and Test Track for FP+ (along with Maelstrom which I've never done, figured I'd use my pass there since I won't ride Mission: Space, and the rest of the park's rides are pretty easy to get into via standby. Also: Managed to get in before the Tier system was introduced. Huzzah!)

For dinner I have a reservation for Yachtsman, which I've been dying to try since my last trip. Then, depending on the time, I am gonna head back to Epcot to watch the fireworks.

Day Five - December 6th 2013

No solid plans for the first half of the day. I may try to get into Be Our Guest for an early Lunch and putter around the Magic Kingdom for a bit. Still debating.

In the afternoon I have some FP+ reservations at Hollywood Studios (mainly that evening's showing of Fantasmci, although I am hearing I should use my FP for something else) so I'll head over there around 1 or 2ish. After Fantasmic, I am attending DisApalooza, so I'll exit the park then end up back in it just a little while later. Really looking forward to riding To Story Mania a lot.

I booked a FP for Rock N Roller Coaster, thinking about giving it a shot, but looping coasters terrify me, so we'll see.

Day Six - December 7th 2013

Originally I had minimal plans for today. That changed. I moved my Via Napoli lunch from Thursday to here.

I also have dinner booked at Be Our Guest for 9. I did this because I had no idea I'd be added to my aunt's reservation on Tuesday, and I wanted to try it out so badly. Originally I had planned on cancelling, since it's at 9:20 on a 10pm closing night, but Magic Kingdom just extended their hours to 1am, so I am gonna keep it and try a second dish. Lumiere better be ready.

I think today will be a park hopping day where I bounce from place to place, with the only sets being Epcot for lunch at noon and Magic Kingdom around 8pm.


Day Seven - December 8th 2013

First thing I'll do is check out of my room and hand over my luggage to them. Then I am debating where I'll go for a few last hours of park magic before I head back at around to get my Magical Express back to the airport. Sadness, but I think this trip will scratch that Disney itch I've had since 2010.

It's my first "solo" trip, which is exciting. Of course, I do have family that will be down there at the same time, and I'll be hanging with them a few times. At some point in that tightly planned schedule they are going to come over and visit me at Art of Animation so my cousin can see the Finding Nemo pool. (Nemo is one of his favorites)

So if you have any tips, suggestions, comments, concerns, want to yell at me, want to hug me, whatever, give a shout. I am all ears (wait, wrong site)

 

[darthspielberg]

Well, that about wraps it up for this wildly popular (I kid) pre trip report.

I jet off in less than 5 hours. Time to make some magic happen.

To quote my favorite ghost, I'll see you all a little bit later.