Neon Cactus
Old Run Disney Addict
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2016
- Messages
- 713
This is how fast Disney gets my money. I thought I was pretty much set. Since my divorce last year, I've taken my daughters in July, did the Marathon in January and had plan set for four nights in September with friends and then a week for the Dopey Challenge next January, so I bought an annual pass. Then I added a quick 3 night trip in April because of low airfare and to get more use of the pass. So I was set until this past Friday.
It started with a post about RunDisney releasing a limited edition Magic Band for Marathon weekend. So I went to their website to buy it. As I was going through the websites, a link caught my eye about the Candlelight Processional narators being announced. I used to go see this at Disneyland every year when they didn't make a big deal of it. In fact, I used to have to call Disneyland to find out what weekend they would have it. But I haven't seen it in many years. I have the CD with Louis Gossett Jr. narrating (personally I'd love to hear Samuel L Jackson). So now that was in the back of my mind.
Right after I ordered the Magic Band, I had a free weekend night certificate from Hilton and I called them to use it for a hotel in Boston for August when my daughter is performing at Boston Conservatory's summer dance program. The agent said they had a special offer and I'd get 500 points just for being transferred. So ok. It was Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare with an offer for 3 nights for $199. I used this in April and just had to spend over 3 hours telling them no. I told the agent I'd just been and he said that's ok, as long as it's been six months in between stays, so I bought it again. In the meantime, I started looking at Candlelight Processional information and my calendar. The second weekend in December was open! So I started looking at airfare and it wasn't great, but wasn't too bad. I could fly out Friday and then back on Monday morning. Then I looked again at my calendar and realized that the one weekend wasn't going to work because I have the Dallas Marathon weekend challenge. I'm doing a 10k on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday, as my tune up for Dopey.
But by now I'd started to think how much I like the holidays at Disney World and all of the decorations, parades and shows. It's been several years since I've been. And by this time, I'd also seen that Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was happening too. And I have the time off from work to spare. So I started thinking. I'm not sure where I'll be in the half marathon corrals, but the last one starts at 9 AM. So even if I'm having a terrible day, I wouldn't finish later than 12:30. I live very close to the course, so I can get back and get ready by 1, so an afternoon flight would work. Spirit Airlines has a flight that leaves at 3:30 and lands at 7 PM. So I called Hilton and got everything set and then the agent on the phone told me it had to be a year between visits to the same city. I told him what the other agent told me and that I was up front about being there in April. So they ended up refunding me, so no Hilton deal but that had sparked the trip actually happening. Disney's Value resorts were at least $170 a night, so that wasn't happening. I ended up on Hotwire and found a hotel nearby for only a little more than I would have had the Hilton for. Once you book it, it tells you the name of the hotel. I ended up with Towneplace Suites by Marriott near the western entrance of WDW and only a couple of miles from Coronado Springs. That was non-refundable now, so I figured I might as well book the air and then got a Candlelight Processional lunch package and the Christmas Party to boot. So what started as me going to buy a $35 magic band now has me going to see Disney at Christmas.
Like most of my solo trips, it's going to be a lot jammed into a short time. So on that weekend, that Saturday, I have the 10k, then the Half marathon on Sunday morning, followed by getting ready quickly and getting to the airport and flying to Disney World. If Spirit is on time (I haven't flown them before but I can pack everything into a backpack and put it under my seat, so I won't have to pay extra fees), I'll land at 7 PM and can take an Uber to the hotel. The Studios close at 9, so if I can get to the hotel by around 7:45 or 8, I can make it in time to see the park decorations lit up at night and maybe even get on a couple of rides. Then my plan is to take the bus to the Polynesian and see the decorations and take the monorail to see them at the Grand Floridian and Contemporary, then take the bus to Disney Springs and see their decorations, then a bus to Coronado Springs to see their decorations and then Uber back since it's close.
Monday, I'm going to get to DHS early and do some more rides, maybe Galaxy's Edge, depending on crowds. Then I'm going to walk to the Boardwalk and see the decorations there, the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht and Beach Club resorts, and then my Candlelight Processional package is at 1:10 at Via Napoli. The show is at 5, so I'll have time to do all of the holiday activities around World Showcase and ride a few rides in between and see Impressions de France. Then once the show is over, I'll have more time to spend doing that. It's a pretty big lunch so I won't need much dinner, so I'll probably just get dessert at Boulangerie. And then it will be my first time seeing EPCOT Forever. I love EPCOT Music and am really looking forward to this. After that, I'll take the gondolas and see decorations at Caribbean Beach, Riviera, Art of Animation and Pop Century, then take the bus to Disney Springs and walk over to Saratoga Springs and then take the bus to Port Orleans and see those two resorts and Uber back.
Tuesday morning, I'm going to go to Animal Kingdom Lodge first and see their decorations, might even have breakfast at Boma. Then take the bus to Animal Kingdom and spend the morning there. Once I'm done there, I'll take the bus to Wilderness Lodge to see their decorations and then the boat over to Magic Kingdom and I have the Christmas Party there. I'm not sure how late I'll stay, but knowing me, probably close to the end. I'm thinking I'll take the bus to the All Stars, see their decorations and then Uber from there, but I may just Uber from the Contemporary. Then Wednesday morning, my flight leaves at 6, so even if I stay until midnight at the party, I'll be up around 3 AM and get ready to go. So it's a quick trip but I'm going to be able to see a lot of the parks and resorts and get some more use of my annual pass. Also, because I know I'm coming back less than a month later for Dopey, I don't have to be as ride intensive (doesn't mean I WON'T be, I just don't have to be!). And I thought I was using the 10k and Half marathon challenge as a final tune up to Dopey, but going right into two days of Disney parks and resorts will really help get me ready!
It started with a post about RunDisney releasing a limited edition Magic Band for Marathon weekend. So I went to their website to buy it. As I was going through the websites, a link caught my eye about the Candlelight Processional narators being announced. I used to go see this at Disneyland every year when they didn't make a big deal of it. In fact, I used to have to call Disneyland to find out what weekend they would have it. But I haven't seen it in many years. I have the CD with Louis Gossett Jr. narrating (personally I'd love to hear Samuel L Jackson). So now that was in the back of my mind.
Right after I ordered the Magic Band, I had a free weekend night certificate from Hilton and I called them to use it for a hotel in Boston for August when my daughter is performing at Boston Conservatory's summer dance program. The agent said they had a special offer and I'd get 500 points just for being transferred. So ok. It was Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare with an offer for 3 nights for $199. I used this in April and just had to spend over 3 hours telling them no. I told the agent I'd just been and he said that's ok, as long as it's been six months in between stays, so I bought it again. In the meantime, I started looking at Candlelight Processional information and my calendar. The second weekend in December was open! So I started looking at airfare and it wasn't great, but wasn't too bad. I could fly out Friday and then back on Monday morning. Then I looked again at my calendar and realized that the one weekend wasn't going to work because I have the Dallas Marathon weekend challenge. I'm doing a 10k on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday, as my tune up for Dopey.
But by now I'd started to think how much I like the holidays at Disney World and all of the decorations, parades and shows. It's been several years since I've been. And by this time, I'd also seen that Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was happening too. And I have the time off from work to spare. So I started thinking. I'm not sure where I'll be in the half marathon corrals, but the last one starts at 9 AM. So even if I'm having a terrible day, I wouldn't finish later than 12:30. I live very close to the course, so I can get back and get ready by 1, so an afternoon flight would work. Spirit Airlines has a flight that leaves at 3:30 and lands at 7 PM. So I called Hilton and got everything set and then the agent on the phone told me it had to be a year between visits to the same city. I told him what the other agent told me and that I was up front about being there in April. So they ended up refunding me, so no Hilton deal but that had sparked the trip actually happening. Disney's Value resorts were at least $170 a night, so that wasn't happening. I ended up on Hotwire and found a hotel nearby for only a little more than I would have had the Hilton for. Once you book it, it tells you the name of the hotel. I ended up with Towneplace Suites by Marriott near the western entrance of WDW and only a couple of miles from Coronado Springs. That was non-refundable now, so I figured I might as well book the air and then got a Candlelight Processional lunch package and the Christmas Party to boot. So what started as me going to buy a $35 magic band now has me going to see Disney at Christmas.
Like most of my solo trips, it's going to be a lot jammed into a short time. So on that weekend, that Saturday, I have the 10k, then the Half marathon on Sunday morning, followed by getting ready quickly and getting to the airport and flying to Disney World. If Spirit is on time (I haven't flown them before but I can pack everything into a backpack and put it under my seat, so I won't have to pay extra fees), I'll land at 7 PM and can take an Uber to the hotel. The Studios close at 9, so if I can get to the hotel by around 7:45 or 8, I can make it in time to see the park decorations lit up at night and maybe even get on a couple of rides. Then my plan is to take the bus to the Polynesian and see the decorations and take the monorail to see them at the Grand Floridian and Contemporary, then take the bus to Disney Springs and see their decorations, then a bus to Coronado Springs to see their decorations and then Uber back since it's close.
Monday, I'm going to get to DHS early and do some more rides, maybe Galaxy's Edge, depending on crowds. Then I'm going to walk to the Boardwalk and see the decorations there, the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht and Beach Club resorts, and then my Candlelight Processional package is at 1:10 at Via Napoli. The show is at 5, so I'll have time to do all of the holiday activities around World Showcase and ride a few rides in between and see Impressions de France. Then once the show is over, I'll have more time to spend doing that. It's a pretty big lunch so I won't need much dinner, so I'll probably just get dessert at Boulangerie. And then it will be my first time seeing EPCOT Forever. I love EPCOT Music and am really looking forward to this. After that, I'll take the gondolas and see decorations at Caribbean Beach, Riviera, Art of Animation and Pop Century, then take the bus to Disney Springs and walk over to Saratoga Springs and then take the bus to Port Orleans and see those two resorts and Uber back.
Tuesday morning, I'm going to go to Animal Kingdom Lodge first and see their decorations, might even have breakfast at Boma. Then take the bus to Animal Kingdom and spend the morning there. Once I'm done there, I'll take the bus to Wilderness Lodge to see their decorations and then the boat over to Magic Kingdom and I have the Christmas Party there. I'm not sure how late I'll stay, but knowing me, probably close to the end. I'm thinking I'll take the bus to the All Stars, see their decorations and then Uber from there, but I may just Uber from the Contemporary. Then Wednesday morning, my flight leaves at 6, so even if I stay until midnight at the party, I'll be up around 3 AM and get ready to go. So it's a quick trip but I'm going to be able to see a lot of the parks and resorts and get some more use of my annual pass. Also, because I know I'm coming back less than a month later for Dopey, I don't have to be as ride intensive (doesn't mean I WON'T be, I just don't have to be!). And I thought I was using the 10k and Half marathon challenge as a final tune up to Dopey, but going right into two days of Disney parks and resorts will really help get me ready!
