Day 609: They Came!

When I asked one of my friends for blog post ideas she came up with a crazy total of two. Yes, two blog post ideas for me to write about when I have about 20 blog posts I need to actually write. Super helpful, right? Then again, she did come up with the topic for this blog post, at least half of the way. She told me to write about how park tickets came for her and Megan for our trip in January, which is super exciting considering it's just the next phase of "I'm actually going to Disney World again."

That's not what we're here to talk about though. Nope, in fact I figured that since I can't really just write a bog post about how their tickets came. That's exciting for us but not really for all of you. However, it is still a bit of Disney in my everyday life and deserves to be talked about.

After much consideration, when it came to our January trip, we decided on Basic 9-Day tickets without the parkhopper option. It really doesn't matter for my family since we all have (or will have) annual passes, but for my two friends who are spending a good deal of money on this trip, we had some decisions to make. My Mom was shocked by my recommendation for basic tickets in trade for the parkhoppers, since I honestly can't remember a trip where we didn't parkhop at least once (unless it was a super super short trip before a cruise or back in the day when it was only one park a day no matter what). So here are the reasons as to why we decided on those basic tickets:

1. Parkhoppers are more expensive. 

I figure this one is pretty self explanatory, but it's still worth mentioning. When deciding which ticket is right for you, cost is definitely one of the things you have to think about. Based on what you like to do, parkhoppers might be worth the extra money, but they're not for everyone. You have to factor in the time it takes to get from one park to another and whether or not you're staying on property and if you have a rental car. All those things matter!

2. Park Hours

A big one for us in January is if it's even worth it to park hop. We're going during the off season, which to be honest is kind of weird for me now. When I was younger we traveled during the off season all the time, but in the past couple of years we've gone more in the summer, simply because it works better time wise. Summertime means longer park hours, and it also means that Magic Kingdom closing at 8 in January is a huge shock. This is a park I regularly visit at midnight or one in the morning, simply because I can, so having it close at 8 (although it's open until later a few nights each week) is crazy. That being said, with the parks only open for those shortened hours, it's way less worth it to parkhop.

3. Everything Else

Because of those reduced hours, it gives us a lot of time to spend outside of the four main parks. There's still Mini Golf and Downtown Disney and a whole world of resorts to visit, so there's enough to do outside of Epcot and Hollywood Studios that parkhopping seems almost ridiculous. You can spend that time doing other valuable things!

4. Personal Preference

This is a new addition to my list of "Do you want a parkhopper." I'm so used to Walt Disney World that it really doesn't matter to me HOW much I experience rather than how I experience it. For the seasoned Disney goer, parkhopping is kind of fun. It's an adventure to see how many parks you can make it to in one day, and seriously the next time I'm there in the summer I'm going to attempt a run at seeing all the fireworks in one night (yes, Fantasmic, then Illuminations and finally Wishes). It's gonna happen. But for someone who hasn't been to Disney World as often as I have, it's sort of nice to stay in one place each day and just sort of take things in. When we went in June the only park we had a full day in was Magic Kingdom, and both Megan and Ashley commented on the fact that they enjoyed being in one place the whole day, simply because they felt like they got to see way more. I definitely took that into account when planning this next trip, and I agree with them. As much as I love parkhopping, it's kind of nice to just go to Magic Kingdom for a day. A chance of pace for the constantly moving Disnerd.

And so, we ended up with basic tickets. No matter which ones they had though, I'm just happy they get to go with me. Honestly, after June I don't think Walt Disney World will ever feel quite right without them by my side, and I'm extremely lucky to be able to share it all with them on a much grander scale.

We may have a few months to wait yet, but we'll figure some way to pass the time, right?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 30).

Day 564: For the Next One

It took me forever to find it (I really need to be on Pinterest less), but I finally found the meme I was looking for that goes along with this blog post!

My friends have now been to Walt Disney World once, and that's a huge milestone for them! It's something I've been waiting for for years! But here's the best part: they're going again, and that makes me infinitely excited. But it also means that we are in the midst of planning the next trip, which always makes you feel better about life.

Perhaps the best part about going in January is the fact that we'll get to experience all the Christmas stuff in addition to the rest of the parks, something I'm pretty sure my roommates are excited about. However, since we did so much stuff in June it's a bit awkward trying to figure out what we want to for sure do again in addition to the things we have yet to do.

But the nice thing about our next trip is that we have the blessing of time, especially since we'll be staying on Property, and we're taking everything one park at a time. While Parkhoppers are great, we went for the singular park option, just to give us the greatest amount of time possible, and we'll be using it all for sure. There's just so much to see and I intend to make sure my friends get to see bunches of new stuff on this next trip while also going back to see some of their favorites they saw in June.

Of course, what's important here is that we all get to take a trip together, and I couldn't be more excited!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 18).

Day 447: Back to the Cold

You know Elsa, maybe you should just stop with this eternal winter.

Seriously though, coming back from Florida to the awful cold of Wisconsin was not a fun transition. I literally walked out of the airport, wearing my Epcot Sweatshirt, a leather jacket and the rest of my clothes from Florida (I was smart and changed into full length Jeans back in Orlando) and all I could say was "Bloody Hell."

Yeah, it's cold up here, which can only mean one thing. I want to go back to Disney. But let's take a few moments to reflect on my trip as a whole, since there's plenty I could talk about that I haven't...or ever will I suppose.

I did enjoy my five days home. I really did. It was sometimes hard to distract myself from the fact that the next time I'm there I'll be there with my high school band, and that trip is causing me more problems than it is solutions and happiness. But I was able to find a silver lining: The next time I ride Spaceship Earth it will be with my best friend sitting next to me, and that's kind of weird to think about considering I've wanted her to come with me for years and it just hasn't happened, and we were starting to think it never would. So it just makes for a really awesome thought. That I finally get to bring my friends along to experience even just a little bit of my home with me. It will be a stressful trip, but they never fail to remind me that it's my trip too, and I deserve a chance to relax just as much as, if not more than, anyone else in the group.

I am a little sad that I didn't get to see as much of the Flower and Garden Festival as I wanted to. In fact, I really only got to try one of the special foods: The Bacon Cupcake. You all knew I wouldn't be able to resist that one. It was pretty good, considering it was a cupcake with bacon in it and that's just a weird thought to get over. I mean, it's not like we had a ton of chances though, with meals all the time and going from park to park. In fact, other than our first and last day, we were always in more than one park each day. It just gets to be a lot if you ask me. Granted, we're Parkhoppers by blood, so I suppose not. But it's still a lot of going back and forth, especially when you have to either walk or take the bus all the time. You get through it though.

Other than that, there were a ton of great moments on this trip, especially considering it was only 5 days. I actually have over 6 hours of video to get through, both for band stuff and for my vlogs, and there's tons of pictures I'll have to get through sometime soon so I can put them on my phone and then on Instagram as time goes on. I also learned a ton of awesome stuff when it comes to My Magic Plus, and I've got a few surprises thrown in for the band too, if they'll be so kind as to let me help them. I really did a learn a lot, and it's amazing to see what the My Magic Plus system can do. I really am in awe at some of the enhancements they've made, and I can't wait to see the whole thing rolled out and mostly bug free. That will be a grand day indeed.

Here are a few last random pictures from my trip!

Have a magical day!