(Completed 10/22) I May Be Just a Bit Crazy - Sept 2025 TR

[Araminta18]

20 minutes and 3 rides! - Monday Sept 8 2025 (part 6)​

Well when I made it over to Slinky, it was not 15.

It was 5!!! What is even happening with the wait times?

I waited 9 minutes, including asking for row 9. Brilliant! Such a good ride.


Such a great view.

I had 10 minutes til the park closed, so I decided since I was there, might as well do Midway Mania to close out the night. It was posting 10 minutes, so why not?

It was (as I'm sure you're surprised to hear) a walk on.

This ride is harder to do well on when it's just you, but I did pretty good - I made the alien spaceship take off all by myself, which is a feat!

226,100 is not at all a bad score. Brilliant! I wasn't best in vehicle but still I was proud.

Then, I asked the CMs if I could re-ride and they didn't even make me get off the ride! Yay! I didn't do as well this time (didn't get the alien spaceship to take off or anything):

Still not bad though. And this time it was the best in vehicle!

I do wonder how anyone gets that "best this month" score - that's crazy!!

Pretty good way to end the night! I got off at 9:10, so was making my way out of the park intending to stop at the Starbucks to pick up the "You are Here" mug for Hollywood Studios for my friend but fun fact: Starbucks does NOT stay open after the park closes. The stores there run by Disney do, but not Starbucks. Oops! My one miscalculation - I'd have to come back tomorrow or the day after to get the mug. The other bad thing was that I was leaving right as Fantasmic had let out so it was CROWDED. But when I made it to the bus stop there was no one there, so yay I definitely would get a seat but with no one there it made me think that I probably just missed a bus. BUT! The bus pulled up 3 minutes later and by 10 pm, I was back in the room. Brilliant.

Overall, it was a really good - unexpectedly so - day. I rode so many rides with such a low wait and no need for any Lightning Lanes! I got to enjoy my favorite lounge, and got to try Geo-82, and get my passholder magnet....just a really fun day all around. And really only a half day! I got in the parks at like 1 pm and left at 9:10 - 8 hours, 19 rides, 3 parks...what a day. Sometimes these unplanned days just turn out perfect.

Tomorrow was the conference all day, BUT! This is me being crazy again: it was pin drop Tuesday, and they were going to drop the Haunted Mansion map puzzle pin set. And I love Haunted Mansion, so I decided what the heck why not - I'd rope drop Animal Kingdom to try and get that pin set. Animal Kingdom had extra magic hours starting at 7:30 and my conference didn't start til 9, so I figured that was probably enough time to get some pins and get back for my conference right? Not crazy at all....hahahahahahahaha

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 21349 steps (8 miles)
Ride count: 19 (Guardians, Everest x11, Tower of Terror x2, Rockin Roller Coaster, Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Midway Mania x2)
Annual Pass Savings: $6.00

 

[Araminta18]

Pin-Tastic Tuesday - Tuesday Sept 9 2025 (part 1)​

Ok, I woke up bright and early on Tuesday, ready to rope drop Animal Kingdom. With the park opening at 7:30 am, I left the room at 6:04 am, and got to the bus stop at 6:10:

Notice that it says the AK bus is coming at 6:10 - good timing!

I had all my stuff with me for the conference so I could get my pins and head straight to the conference center. As I'm sure will surprise you, I was the only one at the bus stop, and the only one on the bus when it actually pulled up at 6:12 am.

I got to Animal Kingdom at 6:27 am, and they hadn't opened security yet:

There weren't that many people there in front of me, so that's not bad at all. There were two lines - the one here I joined that was pretty short and a slightly longer one out of frame on the left. We kept hoping they'd let us through security at 6:45 and we were watching them testing the scanners and watching the light on the scanners in front of us turn red and yellow and then blue and then red again...we got really nervous that the scanners weren't working or something when they stayed red for a while but we needn't have worried - they opened up security just after 7. This was the line behind me right before they opened:

Much longer!

Anyways, security was finally open and of course I got gotten - sadness. I did kind of expect it since I had my laptop with me, but still, lame. Once through though I lined up at the turnstiles and they held us there for about 10 minutes or so. Then they let us tap in and while most folks were heading to Pandora, there was a steady stream heading to Discovery Trading Company for pins!

My spot in line - the shop hasn't opened yet so I wasn't too far back. And it was 1. in the shade and 2. by a planter where we could sit, so not bad at all!

At 7:45, they opened up and it was time for pins! I didn't want any of the other pins, just the Haunted Mansion map puzzle set, but the set had 13 pins (well 12 plus the "chaser" or rare one) and only one pin in the box and a limit of two boxes per person. So I was a bit bummed cause I was like man, no way I can get close to completing the set. I bought my first two and opened them (yay!) and then noticed that the pin line was pretty short, so I decided to hop back in line, and got two more! I got a duplicate then (sad ) but the line was even shorter, and kept getting shorter so honestly, I just kept looping...I ended up getting 16 pins (oh my gosh...absolutely crazy I know) and was having a great time with some of the other folks there trading around a bit. I even got 2 of the chasers! There were a BUNCH of chasers pulled that morning - the group of people I was talking with a lot pulled like 5 or 6! When all was said and done that morning, I was missing only two of the set - the bride, and the coffin. Not too bad! And I had several duplicates, including a duplicate chaser. Not a bad morning! Though the FOMO and adrenaline definitely got to me - I was like "buy more!" It's a good thing I don't gamble. LOL.

I ended up heading back to Coronado Springs slightly later than I planned but still made it back to the conference right in time for the start.

The conference was fine, but at lunchtime, I ducked out immediately to head back to the parks. Why? I'd set up some in-person trades!! One at Hollywood Studios for the coffin puzzle piece and another at Animal Kingdom for the gravedigger cauldron pin from MNSSHP. I made it over to Hollywood Studios (which was convenient cause I could buy the Starbucks mug for my friend), made the trade (yay! only one more pin needed to complete the set), and then hopped on the bus over to Animal Kingdom. I made the trade for the gravediggers and then I managed to set up one more trade for the last piece I needed for the Haunted Mansion puzzle map (the bride). It seemed like EVERYONE was having troubles getting the bride - it was like she was the real chaser LOL - and since the chaser was Stitch which I don't like, I decided to offer the chaser for the bride and got that trade set up, and even better, the gal who traded with me was at Disney Springs and agreed to meet me at Coronado Springs. Brilliant! So in 2 hours (we had a long lunch), I made it to two parks and got all three of my trades - and the Starbucks mug I wanted. What I did not manage to do was....eat lunch. And I don't know if you noticed, but breakfast did not figure in the earlier part of this post - I essentially decided pins were more important than you know, eating. I'm insane. BUT! I was a crazy person with a complete Haunted Mansion map puzzle, so really, was it a crazy choice after all?

Anyways, skipping lunch didn't turn out to be too bad because in the afternoon they had snacks for us, including Mickey pretzel!

Not a bad late lunch, honestly.

Then that night we had some time to look at the exhibit hall but what caught my eye were some of the photo ops they had set up:


So cute.

At about 5:30 or so the conference ended so I dropped my stuff in the room and decided to head over to Epcot to try and do some more trading. I found out from some of the folks that morning in the pin line that the pin traders had moved to the breezeway between Connections Cafe and Club Cool, so I figured I'd head over there. It was really fun! I ended up trading for a while and got some good pins that I wanted, and then ended up looking in the shops by the World Showcase entrance a bit more - I got this awesome Mickey pumpkin wreath pin that lights up!

Super neat.

I also ended up buying the Muppet Labs t-shirts for Trevor and I, and a Food and Wine festival bowl. And then decided I needed to get out of there quick before I spent more money. Though I did stop for some pictures:

 

[Araminta18]

Bunny! - Tuesday Sept 9 2025 (part 2)​

And two more -


Had to show off my Gideon's parasol!

I made it back to the resort a little after 8 pm, and decided to get another dinner from the Three Bridges. I thought about mobile ordering but I wanted to get chips and guacamole, and their guacamole included shrimp and there was no way to mobile order it and have the shrimp be on the side. So I thought I'd ask about getting it to go in person, and asking there to take off the shrimp. So off I went!

I saw a bunny on the way:

Little bunny!


Pretty resort all lit up.

At the Three Bridges, they were super obliging - I got my chips and guacamole sans shrimp, and ordered the chicken berry salad again, since it was so delicious last time. As I got my food and headed to the room, it started to rain so I was grateful I had my parasol!

I was finally in the room for the night a bit after 8:30pm. My food was delicious:

This doesn't look like much but man was it tasty. Highly recommend the Three Bridges! (also you can see my Maleficent duck that I was gifted there in the upper right corner. )

So yea, no rides today but quite a lot of pin action! I was definitely laughing at myself but I still had a lot of fun. Tomorrow was the conference all day and a night time closing reception, so I wasn't sure if I'd have a chance to visit the parks at all.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 17189 steps (6.9 miles)
Ride count: 0
Annual Pass Savings: $108.60

 

[Araminta18]

Last Day - Wednesday Sept 10 2025 (part 1)​

The last day of the conference dawned bright and early.

Massive hall that would be completely filled later.

Today though, I managed to get breakfast!

Not too bad a spread.

And today the displays were lots of aliens, which made me laugh:


The morning talks flew by and then it was time for lunch:

Very barbecue forward, which isn't my favorite (I'm not really a barbecue fan). But still, an included meal isn't bad!

After lunch I spent some more time in the exhibit hall - lots of tables had claw machines:

I actually managed to snag a prize at this one - the lady behind me in line was telling me all the tricks, namely wait until the claw stops wiggling after you get your spot, and then hit the button for it to go down. And it worked for me! The prize was like lip balm but still, fun to win!

I also saw this awesome tote bag:

Had to snag that for my team.

Then back to the conference sessions, though I enjoyed that they put out more snacks:

Mini corn dogs


Oreo brownies and strawberries! Nothing Mickey shaped today but still yummy.

Then right before the closing keynote, they had Woody and Buzz and the gang come out and say hi:

And even the Green Army Men came out and did some drills with us:

They were hilarious! I love the Green Army Men.

Then, the business part of the conference was over and it was time to head to Epcot for the "party". I don't envy the logistics of this, trying to put all of us (probably at least a thousand) on buses and get us over to Epcot. They bussed us backstage to that pavilion between Canada and Epcot, and then they had us go through security before going into the building which would have been fine except it was raining pretty heavily and it took like 10 min to get through the line. Oops! A lot of us were quite wet...

But finally we made it in!

They were going to be serving dinner, and dessert, but they also had a DJ going and a several characters out!

 

[Araminta18]

All the Characters - Wednesday Sept 10 2025 (part 2)​

As I was walking through just getting my bearings, I noticed that Jesse and Bullseye had basically no line, so of course I linedu p!

Bullseye is having me pet his mane.


Then of course I had to meet Woody too.

The DJ was going hard so this is us "dancing".


I kept wandering through seeing what all was there, and realized they had bars set up. I don't drink but I definitely got a Shirley Temple!

Then I saw Mickey and Minnie were out in these Old West outfits so I hopped in the short line (like 10 min) to meet them. I realized that I could you know, take my hair down if I didn't like how it was looking after I got all wet waiting in line to get in, so tried that:

A bit better but still not my favorite look. But how cute are Mickey and Minnie!

I kept doing the loop to see what all was going on, and looped back over to the front where Donald and Daisy were, who now had a short line. HERE is where I got some brilliant inspiration - they handed us all bandannas as we came in and I wasn't really sure what to do with mine but I saw a gal using it as a headband and was like YES! Brilliant. So I tied mine on my head as a headband and liked that look a lot better.

All three of us being super cute.

Having hit all the characters, I decided it was time for dinner:

A bit too barbecue themed for me still - I skipped the barbecue meet and got salad and potato salad and grits with cheese but still good.

They also had a temporary tattoo stand set up so I got a temporary tattoo:

They told me that if I was careful and didn't scrub it hard it might last for 5 days. Guys it lasted for 10 and only came off cause I like scrubbed my arm within an inch of it's life. Dunno what these temporary tattoos were made of but they had staying power!

I actually was having way more fun than I expected - the characters were cute, the DJ was great, and folks were dancing on the dance floor...it was just a lot of fun. I also decided that now that I'd figured out how to do my hair, I needed to re-do my pictures.

Me with Woody!

 

[Araminta18]

From the Wild West to Magic Kingdom - Wednesday Sept 10 2025 (part 3)​

Mickey and Minnie had a bit longer of a line now, but still only about 20 minutes - it helped that a good chunk of the line were groups who would take one picture and then be done. One group was literally like 20 people!

Aw, love it.

I also got some desserts:

Smore Rice Krispie treat and fried apple pie.

Then, my last photo redo -


So fun! All the while the DJ was going and playing awesome music. They were even passing out glow stick things - I sent Trevor a quick video:

We also had a conga line get going!

Silly, but really a ton of fun.

It was about 8:30, and I still wanted to run over to Magic Kingdom, so I decided to get one more temporary tattoo, and then I'd ask about leaving and going into Epcot instead of back to the hotel. There ended up being a bit of a line, but I had fun talking with the guy next to me who turned out to be the guy who beat me in Kahoot on the first day! We mended our fences.

Hercules!

The CMs were super nice, and when I asked about going into Epcot they were super accommodating and just walked me back to International Gateway (so that I could tap in to get into the park). However I decided since I was going to MK, I'd just take a bus from Beach Club and then I wouldn't have to worry about transferring at the TTC or anything. I did get slightly sidetracked to do a pin trade (for a yoda snowflake pin!) which may have been a mistake cause I got to the bus stop and it said 20 minutes til the next Magic Kingdom bus. Oh well!

The bus came as predicted and at 9:26 we were pulling into the bus stop area at Magic Kingdom - I was getting all excited cause maybe I'd make it inside MK just in time for Happily Ever After! But I forgot how slow the bus goes around the loop and so I didn't get off the bus until after HEA had started. I ended up walking in as my favorite sequence (the Hunchback sequence) was playing and not gonna lie I was singing along veeeeeery loudly.

I kept walking up Main Street and ended up finding a spot to the left of the castle, blocked a bit by trees but not bad.



Aw, Aurora there on the side!

I filmed the finale but it cut off early cause my phone ran out of storage apparently, but at least it got the ending of the song!

Seriously, that finale just gets me every time.

Show was over at 9:50 and I decided to go ride Tiana's, cause why not? The line was 10 minutes, it was just after the fireworks, what better way to end?

It was indeed a walk-on - I almost got my own boat!

I did want to look in Critter Co-Op but the store was closed by the time I got out. I started heading for the exit and realize the Starlight parade was going to start in like 10 minutes so I figured why not stick around.

 

[Araminta18]

Starlight Parade (for the Third Time) - Wednesday Sept 10 2025 (part 4) and Thursday Sept 11, 2025​

I got a great spot at the rope in Town Square:


I still had my glowstick thing from the party and ended up giving that to a little girl nearby who seemed to enjoy it, so yay! Then it was time for the parade:





It really is such a pretty parade! I was so glad I got to see it again.

Then off to the bus stop - I was back in the room by 11:30 pm. I had to leave the next morning but I didn't have to leave super early so I could sleep in a little bit.

The next morning I got all packed up, including putting all the candy back in the backpack -

Isn't that crazy that all my candy fits in this backpack? (hand for scale ) It made my suitcase very heavy but I had a 70 lb weight allowance so no worries there.

At 10:30 am, I was off to the airport -

Starlight Parade billboard!

My flight home was uneventful, and by 5 pm I was home and unpacking and eating some of my candy.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps Walked: 13,223 (Sept 10) and 6,657 (Sept 11th)
Ride Count: 1 (Tiana's Bayou Adventure)
Annual Pass Savings: $0.00

 

[Araminta18]

Wrap-Up and Haul​

So overall this was definitely an odd trip - most of the time was my conference, and MNSSHP got rained out, but I ended up riding so many rides (without Lightning Lane) and got super into pin-trading. It was a lot of fun! Reminds me how fun some of these go with the flow, unplanned trips can be. I wouldn't recommend it for someone's first time, but if you've been a lot, it can be fun to just...not plan. And to do crazy things like ride Everest 11 times in a row, or skip breakfast and lunch to get pins.

Anyways, haul!


Trevor loves that Sam the Eagle tumblr.


Crush is the AP magnet, and then the two matching Halloween shirts!


Pins! The Haunted Mansion pin map is there at the bottom.


Swag from my event.



And my almost-forgotten cake slice!

Delicious.

 

[iHEARTflorida]

Awesome character photos from the Conference party - very rare outfits and Buyseye!! - can I do the conference lol!

 

[Mary Pops In]

Geo-82 - Monday Sept 8 2025 (part 2)​

I was still about 15/20 minutes early but they checked me in (yay!)
View attachment 1018180
I like the Geo-82 logo but I feel like having it covered by the plant is...not great.

You go up some stairs into a waiting area, which was nice with PLENTY of seating, and better than that - they had cold towels! Delightful.
View attachment 1018181
After about 10/15 minutes, they brought me into the restaurant - I got sat at the very end of the bar (closest to the entrance). That was slightly disappointing - didn't really get to see much of the lounge.
View attachment 1018183
My view.

What I did see looked cool -
View attachment 1018182
I love those lights!

The bartender was super nice, but I'm not one to chat with bartenders or strangers so wasn't my favorite seating spot. But I was excited to try the drinks and the food! I got the mocktail called "A Walk Through the Garden": Seedlip Garden 108 Non-Alcoholic Spirit, Basil, Fennel, Lemon, Hella Cocktail Co. Orange Bitters, The Bitter Truth Celery Bitters, Bubbles
View attachment 1018184
This was super fresh and refreshing - very "green" feeling. I liked it, though I usually prefer more berry-type drinks.

Then for food, I got the Truffled Ahi Tuna: Japanese Whisky Barrel-aged Soy-Truffle Ponzu, Citrus, Scallion, Tobiko, Black Sesame Seeds.
View attachment 1018185
This looked super pretty, and had a really interesting taste. I wished there were more of the components so every bite of the tuna had a bit of the caviar and the seeds and the citrus and scallion - the bites with all the components were my favorite!

I was thinking of getting the hummus, but I decided instead I was done and I'd head over to Animal Kingdom to pick up my passholder magnet, do some rides and get dinner at Nomad Lounge. Nomad Lounge was a bit more my speed, and definitely a bit less expensive! So I paid my bill and off I went to the bus stop to ride over to Animal Kingdom. The bus stop was a bit far but a bus pulled up right as I got there, which was veeeeeery nice.

As the bus drove over, I was looking at the wait times at AK and they were WEIRD. Earlier in the afternoon when I'd looked, Everest was 5 minutes, but now it was 40 minutes. Flight of Passage however was 20 minutes?! In what universe does that happen....crazy!

We arrived a little after 3:30, and I walked in, got my AP magnet, did some pin trading, and was heading over to Everest. It was still saying a 35 minute wait so I figured I'd do single rider and hope that line was a lot shorter. It was! I only waited about 5 minutes and then I was on row 15 - the last row of the second-to-last car! Woot.
View attachment 1018186
I got off and was like "i should do that again!" so I got back on the single rider line. This time I only waited 2 minutes and got row 11 - not too bad!
View attachment 1018187
At this point was about when I decided to just keep going round and round on the single rider line til I didn't want to anymore. Another 2 minute wait, and I was on row 13.
View attachment 1018188
This next ride (ride #4) was a 3 minute wait, for row 12:
View attachment 1018189

Best ride photos!

 

[Mary Pops In]

Aw thank you for reading! That's so nice. Yup, we've done a bunch of trips - all my TRs are linked in my signature, though some of the older ones had the pictures get lost due to imgur being weird a few years ago).

Oh wow - going in June and as a school chaperone?! I salute you - the heat must have been insane! Yea, the getting drenched actually made it a lot more tolerable And at that point, more important to keep my bag and merch dry than me! Glad to find a kindred spirit who would also do that.

Photopass shots I feel like is just a numbers game - you gotta take a bunch and you'll definitely get some good ones. And yes I absolutely got some pixie dust not having to go around again on the last ride - at that point my feet hurt and I didn't want to walk anymore so it was extra nice of them!

The conference was Disney Data Analytics, and there's a data analytic component to my job, though I'm more of a supervisor at this point than a line worker doing the analytics. It's hosted by Disney at Coronado Springs, but they have folks in the industry come and give keynotes or breakout sessions - there were a LOT of Disney employees at the conference too. I hope you get a chance to go! They have the Disney Institute classes too which I did a few years ago (on leadership) and that was really interesting as well.

Thank you for reading!!

I appreciate the conference information. I'm going to check out the Disney Institute for continuing ed. My DH will love it when I tell him it's one of my retirement goals!

 

[HappyGal]

I just adore your trip reports! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your adventures!

 

[Araminta18]

Awesome character photos from the Conference party - very rare outfits and Buyseye!! - can I do the conference lol!

Right?! I've never seen Bullseye out for folks to meet, so i was really excited for that. And the cute outfits were just cherry on top. And yes, absolutely do the conference! It's open to anyone, as far as I can tell May be a bit expensive just for the closing party though LOL

 

[Araminta18]

Best ride photos!

LOL thanks! I was having...fun times

 

[Araminta18]

I appreciate the conference information. I'm going to check out the Disney Institute for continuing ed. My DH will love it when I tell him it's one of my retirement goals!

I love that for you! Do it!

 

[Araminta18]

I just adore your trip reports! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your adventures!

Thank you so much for reading and for the compliment! I love writing them but I'm glad at least some folks find them interesting to read

 

[mi*vida*loca]

What a great report! You got a lot of done in a very short time. Sounded like a very fun trip!

 

[ckmiles]

I really enjoyed reading this - thank you for sharing your trip.

Im really impressed how much you get done (and still attend the conference!)

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Fun to read about a different type of trip. Thank you for sharing! And all the pics!!