Will I ever actually get there??? A first-time trip to WDW (3/10 - 3/16 2024)

[Keladry84]

1. Introductions

After just getting back from a first trip to Walt Disney World, I thought it would be fun to try writing a trip report. The couple of reports I read before heading to WDW were really helpful as I was navigating the parks, especially during a really busy crowded time (Spring Break!)

Who I am:

My name here on Dis is Keladry – it’s not my real name, but a handle I often use online. It comes from a character from a Tamora Pierce book, who is my favorite author. I’m 39 approaching the big 40 this year. I teach high school German, have lived in Germany in the past, but now reside in the Midwest of the US, where I am originally from. I am also autistic - I’m hoping with this trip report to give a perspective of someone visiting the parks for the first time, and someone navigating the parks with autism. This is also a solo trip, so my apologies for a lot of the use of “I” in this report.



This is my first time at WDW, but I have been to Disneyland once, and both Universal parks. I have an annual pass for Universal Orlando, which for me is slightly crazy seeing as how I don’t live anywhere near the parks, but hey, 40 is coming up, I might as well finish the 30s with some fun and craziness!

I started planning this trip as soon as I got back from my first time at Disneyland last summer. It was FUN! Note that I am not particularly a fan of Disney per se, and the parks had not been on my radar as a place to visit at all until I watched the Imagineering episodes on Disney + last year and was fascinated. I’m most interested in the history of the attractions, especially the older ones with animatronics (Pirates!!). I’m also a fan of World’s Fairs, and so the history of the 4 attractions developed for the 1964 World’s Fair is also a draw. I enjoy theme parks in general and experiencing different rides. My favorite areas of the parks are areas where there is immersive theming combined with multiple ride options.



The above is a picture from Smallworld in Disneyland, and was one of my favorites rides/areas at DLR. During my WDW trip this week, I was also lucky enough to get a Photopass picture with the Mary Blair overlay for Women's Month:



Next up: Planning for the trip

 

[MyDogTink]

Glad you enjoyed WDW. The Imagineering episodes on Disney + were fascinating. I watched some in the hotel room when I was at Disney.

 

[Keladry84]

Glad you enjoyed WDW. The Imagineering episodes on Disney + were fascinating. I watched some in the hotel room when I was at Disney.

I didn't even think of doing that - that would have been so fun! I didn't even actually turn on the TV the whole time I was there...kind of forgot about it!

 

[Keladry84]

2. Pre-planning
While planning for this trip, I stumbled across Disboards, and have been on here every day for months. I guess you could call this “research” but it was more just interest and excitement than necessarily research. I like to loosely plan a general outline of what I will be doing, but not down to the daily nitty-gritty. I really struggled with some of the over-arching details as there were so many options.

Time of Visit: I could choose from Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, or pushing it off into the summer. While I really wanted to go as soon as possible, I had plans to visit family over Thanksgiving and didn’t want to deal with the prices/crowds of Christmas. Waiting until summer was not appealing due to the heat, so Spring Break it became.

Length of trip: I at first planned to have 4 park days and 5 nights, but then managed to catch the Tripadvisor/Target circle 20% off deal (Thanks Disboards!!!!), so got a 5th day for less than the cost of the 4 day tickets (yay!). So I got 6 nights, 5 park days, and decided to add on 1 Universal day to catch Mardi Gras (since annual pass so why not). So my trip plans became the following:

Sunday: Fly to Orlando, arrive early afternoon, go to Mardi Gras at UO
Monday- Friday: Disney parks
Saturday: Fly home, no parks this day

It was an ambitious plan but seemed doable.

Travel plans: There’s an airport in the town where I live. It’s small, and you can only get direct flights to Dallas or Chicago. I still prefer to fly from here whenever possible as it’s amazing to be able to leave home and be at the airport in only 15 minutes! The closest larger airport is a 2 hour drive away.

For most people this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but for me it is very challenging as I struggle with driving, especially on the interstate. It is extremely stressful for me and I am very careful about when, where, and how I drive. Living in the Midwest, this sadly limits what I can do and experience.

Ticket prices over Spring Break at both airports are outrageous. The local one is over 1000 for round trip to Orlando!! This is absolutely insane – I’ve flown to Europe multiple times for much less. I look at Southwest at the airport 2 hours away. I can get direct flights for around 750 ish round trip. This is also outrageous. The only things cheaper though are Spirit which I DON’T want to mess with. I book Southwest, hoping the price will drop sometime before my trip, but it doesn’t :/ However, I do have direct flights, and flight times that actually work with me driving.

Lodging: This was also tricky, and I made a couple of posts here to get help with making a decision.

The first obvious thing for me was that I would need to stay on Disney property. I would NOT be able to drive in Orlando. The combination of traffic, freeways, unfamiliar territory and exhaustion would not be a good mix for me to try driving. Also, I knew I would need to take a break for several hours each afternoon. As much as I would like to go, go, go, I physically can’t. Battling the crowds, noise, and constant need to adjust plans in the parks takes a lot of out of me. I needed to be able to easily get back and forth from the parks so that I could rest and re-charge.

In addition, a quiet resort would be a must, which pretty much eliminated the cheaper values (my pocket book is going ouch!). With help from Disboards, I brought my choices down to POP, and POFQ. POP is cheaper but possibly chaotic. POFQ would be a better fit altogether with my needs. So the decision – pay more for a quieter place, or go budget with possible chaos??



Getting my annual pass at UO and deciding to do Mardi Gras for one evening helped me decide on:

Sunday night: 1 night at Surfside, annual pass rate
Monday -Saturday: POFQ

This was the more expensive option, but should serve me well. The only downside is the split stay on Monday as I wouldn’t be able to retire to the room to rest in the afternoon.

Parks: Since I would already be going back to the hotel every afternoon, park hoppers made a lot of sense. I knew I wanted to visit all 4 parks, but Hollywood Studios only had 1 or 2 things I was interested in, so would work for an evening only.


My main interest at Hollywood Studios!

Also, I knew I would need to apply for DAS and decided to do the 30-day out online registration. For me, it was very helpful to just know in advance I would have it – the advance registrations were not something that I thought I would be able to use and were simply a perk – in hindsight though, they became very useful both for planning and for managing the crowds at the park. Other than the DAS and having to know which park I was visiting on each day, I didn’t make further specific plans regarding the make-up of the park day – I don’t do well when plans need to shift, and it was almost a certainty they would. My general plan for park days was:

Sunday: travel/UO Mardi Gras
Monday: Morning Epcot, afternoon rest/Disney Springs
Tuesday: Morning AK, evening TBD
Wednesday: Morning MK, evening TBD
Thursday: Morning TBD, evening Hollywood Studios
Friday: Morning MK, evening TBD
Saturday: Travel day, plane takes off late morning

Everything was falling into place. I researched my must-dos food and rides in the parks – no DDP or dining reservations. My needs can change quickly depending on crowds, noise levels, heat, exhaustion, etc. so sticking to a dining plan or reservation time is really not possible for me. Restaurants can also be chaotic and noisy, so quick service works so much better – I can spontaneously grab food, and carry it off to a quiet corner devoid of people and chaos to enjoy.

The last decision to make was whether or not to buy Memory Maker. I’ve never gotten theme park pictures before and the price for one person was very steep – it makes more sense for a large party, but then again I am solo and this is my first visit. I decide to splurge – and the Photopass in the parks ends up being my favorite aspect of my trip!!




Two of my favorite Photopass pictures from the trip! The Mickey one I did twice as the first picture didn’t turn out. I’m glad I did – the first stop at this Photopass photographer didn’t have the princess, and it came as a complete surprise! (also, I hate to admit - I don't know who she is...remember I mentioned I'm not a huge Disney fan? I think she is from one of the later movies that weren't around when I was a kid...if anyone could help I'd be thankful!)

Next up: Travel day!

 

[DL1WDW2]

The name of the movie is Encanto and her name is Isabela Madrigal .

The most popular themed song from the movie was We Don’t Talk about Bruno

I am enjoying your trip report . Thank you for posting

 

[jrmint427]

I’m following along! I also just got back from a spring break trip and overlapped with your dates. Excited to read more!

 

[Mary Pops In]

Nice photos!! I look forward to reading your TR. You have an enjoyable writing style. As someone who has traveled with a small entourage, which requires planning, I'm captivated by a solo traveler with a play it by ear attitude!

 

[Keladry84]

The name of the movie is Encanto and her name is Isabela Madrigal .

The most popular themed song from the movie was We Don’t Talk about Bruno

I am enjoying your trip report . Thank you for posting

Thank you! I actually did see Encanto, but only once. I'm also bad at remembering faces/characters, so am not surprised I completely forgot Isabela!

I’m following along! I also just got back from a spring break trip and overlapped with your dates. Excited to read more!

I hope you had a great trip! It seemed really busy in the parks, but then as it was my first time, I have nothing to compare to. Hope to also hear some about yours!

Nice photos!! I look forward to reading your TR. You have an enjoyable writing style. As someone who has traveled with a small entourage, which requires planning, I'm captivated by a solo traveler with a play it by ear attitude!

Thank you very much! I'm almost always solo when I travel, so I'm just as interested when reading trip reports about those traveling in a larger group! It's such a different experience.

 

[jrmint427]

I hope you had a great trip! It seemed really busy in the parks, but then as it was my first time, I have nothing to compare to. Hope to also hear some about yours!

We had a wonderful time! It was really busy most of our park days. We've seen it a little busier on holidays (NYE & Thanksgiving) but it was about the busiest we've seen outside of those times. We still managed to get a lot done, I'll be posting about our trip too!

 

[Mich123]

Following and looking forward to your report!

 

[ambula603]

Beautiful flower photo! Sounds like a great start, thanks for sharing!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I love experiencing someone's first trip to Disney. Following along. Can't wait to hear more. And POFQ is one of my favorite resorts. Pop is my favorite value, POFQ favorite moderate, and Old Key West is my favorite DVC.

 

[footballmouse]

 

[Keladry84]

Following and looking forward to your report!

Thank you!

Beautiful flower photo! Sounds like a great start, thanks for sharing!

Thank you!

I love experiencing someone's first trip to Disney. Following along. Can't wait to hear more. And POFQ is one of my favorite resorts. Pop is my favorite value, POFQ favorite moderate, and Old Key West is my favorite DVC.

Thanks! I absolutely loved POFQ. If I go back, it will be difficult to choose another resort because for me now, it's Disney!

Popcorn is perfect for what comes next!

 

[Keladry84]

3. Day 1: Travel Day/UO Mardi Gras

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally time. After months of waiting, planning, and anticipation it’s finally my time to go to WDW!! Woohoo!

I’m not a morning person, so I’m glad I chose the 11:50 am flight. I wake up at 6:30, check the app and the flight is still on time. I’m doing surprisingly well with the early morning, especially because Daylight Savings starts today. I follow my normal morning routine and am heading out the door at exactly 8:00 am, just as planned.

Wait a second. I’m on time? What?! I’m leaving the house at the time I planned? Oh no, this never happens. This is a very bad sign. As I walk to my car I have a sense of foreboding and suspect I am going to have some adventure in my travel today. Sure enough, as soon as I get in my car and my phone connects, I see I had a text from Southwest as I was going out the door.

Flight delay, appx. 1 hour.

Ok, I can handle that! I hate waiting at airports, but oh well. I briefly debate heading back inside and waiting to leave, but decide against it as the flight time could change.

I get out on the highway and about 5 minutes into the drive, my car pings. A warning sign I’ve never seen before flashes on the dashboard. Seriously?



As I’m trying to figure out what it is and if I need to do anything, it disappears. I keep driving but it nags at me – will I even make it to the airport?

(note from later: After looking this up, it looks like it was a forward collision warning…..except there was no-one/nothing in front of me at the time! Could it have been the Haunted Mansion ghosts trying to hitchhike to the airport???)



About an hour into the drive I get another text from Southwest. The flight time is adjusted to only a 20 minute delay. I’m now very glad I didn’t hang out at home any longer.

I make it to the airport with no more mishaps. I park in lot C, shuttle stop E12 and take a picture. I wave good bye and good riddance to my car – I won’t have to drive again for another week – YAY!!



Once in the airport, I breeze through security with TSA pre-check. This is another purchase I am very glad to have – I used to have a lot stress going through security, and realize a lot of it was caused by having to take everything out of bags, take everything off, and then keep track of belongings all while trying to follow security directions in the middle of chaos. The pre-check eliminates most of the chaos and uncertainty.

I look at the flight board and see that my flight is back to an hour delay. I see another direct Southwest flight to Orlando that was supposed to leave at 9:30 is still here and is only taking off about 20 minutes before mine- yikes! A 3.5 hour delay! I had almost booked that flight and am very glad I didn’t.

I look around for food and find my favorite – Auntie Em’s! While ordering a sweet almond pretzel, I notice they have a sensory room right next to it! This is awesome! I peek in, and there’s some neat stuff in there, but it is all kid-sized :/ I forget to take a picture.

I go to my gate and sit down to eat. My flight now has a 2.5 hour delay. Supposedly the delay is due to air traffic control. They are overwhelmed and slowing down all air traffic into Florida. It’s supposed to be affecting all airlines, but I’m a little suspicious of the gate agent’s explanation.

As I sit, I am trying to manage disappointment and adjust my plans for the evening – Mardi gras at universal Orlando.

I think I can still at least make the parade (barely), and of the other things I planned, maybe just the tribute store and hopefully I can still get the Fried Green tomato po’boy I’ve been thinking about since the menus came out. I’ll now only have about 2 hours in the park, but this is doable – at least I have an annual pass so won’t feel like I wasted money for only 2 hours in the park.



It’s now 1:30 pm. Boarding should start in 30 minutes. I decide to go to the bathroom now rather than my usual 10 minutes before boarding so I don’t miss other announcements. I’m gone for about 5 minutes total.

As I am leaving the bathroom, I notice I have a text message on my phone.

My flight is cancelled.

What???!! I was only gone for 5 minutes, what happened?!

I dash back to the gate. Everyone is just standing/sitting around. I ask someone next to me if they heard the announcement. They said all the info given was that it was cancelled.

Sigh.

I check my phone hoping to get a jump on a different flight. It is not letting me make any changes or updates. I wait a couple of minutes and get a text that I was rebooked to:

Leave at 6:40 PM TOMORROW, with a layover (even though I booked/paid extra for a direct flight), not getting in to Orlando until midnight. WHAT?! No, no, no, no, no.

I frantically get back onto the Southwest app and immediately try to change. There is one option leaving around 1 pm, with a layover in Atlanta arriving around 6:30 pm in Orlando. I immediately book it even though I can’t really process anything other than the leaving/arrival times.

This still stinks. A lot.

I get stuck in thoughts as I try to figure out what to do next: Try to book another airline, maybe still getting there today/Stay with the 1pm the next day/Try to re-book with Southwest on an earlier flight through the gate agent?/Drive back home?/Get a hotel here close to the airport?/OR/OR/OR, all while fighting disappointment and trying to figure out how to adjust my plans on the ground in Orlando at the same time.

I have difficulty when plans change, especially when it happens multiple times in a short space of time. I am literally stuck between all the options and can no longer process anything. I end up sitting at the gate for another hour.

No matter what, I know I won’t get to experience UO Mardi Gras. At all. :/

Booking another flight today quickly becomes a non-option. I briefly see a decent flight with American Airlines for $350, but it jumps to 600, then 1000, then is gone in the space of seconds.

Driving home would make sense, but for me 2 hours on the road after what I just experienced is too much for me. Looks like I’ll be paying for a hotel in two different towns tonight.

I leave the airport, and find my car at E12. I guess I didn’t get to leave it for a week. Sigh. I hate driving. A lot.



I end up at Drury Inn. This is a good choice as it provides both dinner and breakfast, eliminating the need to figure out those two meals. My ability to make decisions today has long been exhausted.

I immediately call Universal after arriving. My one-night hotel room is supposed to be non-refundable at this point (I had even already checked in online yesterday!), but I explain what happened. I am lucky – the person on the phone puts me on hold for 15 minutes while she talks with a supervisor. She gets me a refund. Yay!

Out of curiosity, I look at flights going into Orlando with Flight Aware. Yes, other airlines are having delays, but maybe around 20-30 minutes ish. Southwest has multiple delays of 3+ hours and many cancellations.

While the impetus starting the delays may be Florida air traffic control, there is something in Southwest’s organization that is causing it to affect them disproportionately as opposed to other airlines. This is an important distinction because it is the difference between me having to pay for my hotel vs. Southwest having to. Southwest is basically saying they don’t have to because it is out of their control. From what I see….nope. Not true. If so, the other airlines would have similar length of delays and amounts of cancellations. I wish now I had booked with American from my local airport and just budgeted in the extra cost.

I go to sleep exhausted, wondering if I will even make it to Orlando the next day........

 

[mommyk8]

Can’t wait to read more about your trip.

 

[Keladry84]

4. Day 2: Travel day, take 2
Original plans: Transfer from Surfside to POFQ, Epcot in the morning, Disney Springs afternoon/evening
New plans: Travel day – will I even make it to Orlando???

Since my flight isn’t until 1pm and I’m only 15 minutes from the airport, I sleep in as late as possible and still get breakfast. I then hang out in the room until 11 am check-out time and head to the airport.

I park in the same place as yesterday – E12 Once I become familiar with a place, I keep going back to it – over and over again. This is the 3rd time I’ve been at this stop in less than 24 hours.



I again breeze through security, stop at Auntie Em’s for another sweet almond pretzel, and peek into the sensory room, again forgetting to take a picture.

I get to the gate. So far the flight is on time. I ask the gate agent if she can look up the flight to Orlando, explaining that I am nervous after what happened yesterday. It is also on time. The gates for the transfer are also right next to each other.

Crossing fingers.

It’s time to board. We take off. On time. YES! I am least going to get out of the state.

We land. My gate is indeed right there. Boarding starts in 10 minutes. Just enough time for the restroom, and then we are on the way. I’m actually going to get to Orlando today! With a delay of only 36 hours. Sounds about right for the start of an expensive vacation.

After landing, I try to get an Uber, but it is surge pricing. I can’t get anyone to pick up my ride. Someone picks up and then cancels 30 seconds later. This happens several times. I try for over 20 minutes, then give up and head to the taxis. There is a really long line here, but at least it is tangible, and the driver can’t just drop my ride. I get to POFQ but it is around 80 dollars after tip. Ouch. Thanks again Southwest. My original arrival was NOT during surge pricing.

It’s about 7:30 pm by now. I had been hoping to be able to experience at least part of a WDW park day after getting here, but at this point, it’s way too late at night. That’s two park days gone.

When I check in, I ask the CM if she has any advice for what I could still do this evening. She recommends Disney Springs. She also suggests to ask the CM on check-out day regarding my 5th park day ticket that I won’t be able to use. She said it would depend on who I talk to, but I may be able to get a 1-day comp ticket good for 2 years as the reason was travel delays out of my control. She couldn’t do anything at that time as I could still potentially use the last day.

I check in. I am so glad I chose this resort, it’s very peaceful and non-crowded! I also get my room request – yay! Disney gives me a nice surprise:



I may have missed out on Mardi Gras at UO, but I still got some beads! Thanks Disney/POFQ!!

Even though it’s late and I’d normally be ready for bed at this time, I decide to head to Disney Springs.

 

[Lynne G]

I hear ya with the delays. Mine was 1 pm on the 9th, and was delayed to 2 then 3 then cancelled at noon. Grabbed the 9 pm at night, only to see delay and we don’t take off until after 10 pm. We arrive at MCO at 12:30 am, and drive into Caribbean Beach at, with time change, 3 am. Guy at gate asked us if we drove all that way. Got a laugh and said no. We live a 2 or so hour flight from MCO. On way back, on the 16th, we had a 9 pm flight, that by mid morning said 5 am arrival, then said 3 am arrival then finally said delayed until 10 pm. We again left at 10:30 and had a late arrival home too.

Thankful my rental car took off a day, given I didn’t pick it up the day I should have arrived.

What a start to your trip.

 

[Keladry84]

I hear ya with the delays. Mine was 1 pm on the 9th, and was delayed to 2 then 3 then cancelled at noon. Grabbed the 9 pm at night, only to see delay and we don’t take off until after 10 pm. We arrive at MCO at 12:30 am, and drive into Caribbean Beach at, with time change, 3 am. Guy at gate asked us if we drove all that way. Got a laugh and said no. We live a 2 or so hour flight from MCO. On way back, on the 16th, we had a 9 pm flight, that by mid morning said 5 am arrival, then said 3 am arrival then finally said delayed until 10 pm. We again left at 10:30 and had a late arrival home too.

Thankful my rental car took off a day, given I didn’t pick it up the day I should have arrived.

What a start to your trip.

My complete sympathies! Were you also with Southwest?

This is so similar to my experience the next day. I did have a chance to switch to the 9pm flight after I was checked into my hotel, but decided against. I'm glad so - looking the next day it looks like it didn't actually leave until midnight and landed around 3:30am, similar to what yours was. I'm glad at least you were able to get to Orlando the same night!

Can’t wait to read more about your trip.

Welcome! Thanks for following

 

[jrmint427]

I go to my gate and sit down to eat. My flight now has a 2.5 hour delay. Supposedly the delay is due to air traffic control. They are overwhelmed and slowing down all air traffic into Florida. It’s supposed to be affecting all airlines, but I’m a little suspicious of the gate agent’s explanation.

This is such a bummer to read about! We flew out on the 9th and our pilots also blamed our delay on air traffic control & staffing issues. They also told us that most flights to Orlando were similarly delayed and so we were waiting in a line of others waiting to take off. We were lucky we were only delayed a little over 2 hours.

This still stinks. A lot.

That really does stink! I'm sorry your travels out were so difficult.

I immediately call Universal after arriving. My one-night hotel room is supposed to be non-refundable at this point (I had even already checked in online yesterday!), but I explain what happened. I am lucky – the person on the phone puts me on hold for 15 minutes while she talks with a supervisor. She gets me a refund. Yay!

Yay for small wins!

I’m actually going to get to Orlando today!

Woohoo! Finally!

I may have missed out on Mardi Gras at UO, but I still got some beads! Thanks Disney/POFQ!!

That is a nice touch!