DisneyDINK
09-26-2013, 04:10 PM
If you haven’t already noticed, I’m of the Facebook/TMI/oversharing school of trip reports. No, I don’t usually post what I’m having for lunch on FB, but here in the Trip Reports Forum that seems to be fair game, more like expected actually. I enjoy writing so I write a lot. As I edit these reports I have 19 pages in total which includes the previously posted pre-trip report. Like most you, I love going to WDW and I do it in my own unique way which never (yeah, I’m sayin’ never!) involves a character breakfast. If you see me in line at a meet & greet it is probably because I’ve had an aneurism. I am a proud supporter of my friends and families who have children, I am understanding when the very young ones cry a bit, when the slightly older ones have the occasional meltdown and I love seeing families having fun in the parks. With that said, my posts are about doing Disney as an ADULT. Don’t read anything too sinister into that. I’m just saying I might talk about imbibing a bit. If you are reading this let’s just say you are proverbially in the front 5 rows which are the beer splashing zone; you may get wet. Again, this seems to fly on the boards and in the podcasts. Sometimes I can be a bit blunt, abrasive and or cynical, but my intent is always to entertain. We’ve got a fun community here and I’m glad to be a part of it. With that said, on to…
Yeah, I already wrote a pre-trip report which covered a lot, but this trip does indeed have a day zero since I’m taking the red eye and arriving at the crack of dawn the next day. The red-eye is a double edged sword, but a necessary evil for me. The bad part is there is no chance for a full night’s sleep. The flight time from Seattle to Orlando is right about 5.5 hours, 6 coming back. I took off at 9:30pm on Friday night. Of course, I am going to lose 3 hours with the time zone change. Best case scenario you get maybe 3-4 hours of sleep. This trip I figure I got about 2 hours. Being tired is not a recipe for a magical day one. The good part is I can work a full day on Friday, catch an hour nap in the afternoon and when I finally get there I have a FULL arrival day. If it weren’t for the red-eye I wouldn’t be taking this trip; I would either have to take a daytime flight and have less time in the parks or miss an unacceptable amount of work time. I’m only taking 2 days off of work, Monday and Tuesday.
DW and I got Nexus Cards last year. This card allows you expedited US/Canadian border crossing privileges. It also makes us eligible for Global Entry (use an ATM type thing when reentering the USA by plane – HUGE time saver) and the TSA’s Trusted Traveler programs. Getting this can take a long time and costs about $150 per person, but it is good for 5 years and man, do I love it. I went to the TSA Pre-Check lane and security today took me (dun-dun-dunnnnn!) 3 minutes. They scanned my ticket where they note my Trusted Traveler number is in my reservation then I walked to the screening which is essentially pre 9/11 security: shoes and coats stay on, liquids stay in my bag, not that I have much. (Unlike some I can go without moisturizer for a few hours – ladies, you know who you are.) Moments later I’m off for a bite to eat. For those of you along the US/Mexican border, you can apply for a Sentri card which entitles you to similar privileges, provided there is an interview center convenient to where you are. I believe you can also apply for Global Entry alone, a good idea for those US citizens who fly out of the country regularly.
Some airports aren’t places you’d want to spend much time. SEA-TAC has a great central dining area with a pretty good sit down seafood restaurant. I have a No Sushi and No Seafood airport rule, but in Seattle I can waive it. My vacations usually begin here as is the case today. A lot of airports have improved services behind security these days. MCO is pretty good too. I think SEA is a bit better. I went to the bar at Anthony’s and grabbed a scotch and soda. Normally I like to strike up a conversation, but I was flanked by the servers’ computer on one side and a large angry looking goth girl on the other. Instead of trying a Bauhaus anecdote I decided to play Words With Friends against my mother in law on my IPad.
This trip I managed to wrangle a first class one-way using miles for half price. No regrets, but this was the first time I had taken a flight and NO ONE was on the First Class upgrade list; if I had bought a coach ticket I would have been upgraded. Oh well. First class is awesome, but you have to remember not to overdo it with the drinks. “Would you like another, sir!” (Actually, they use my last name. I love my fellow Intercotees, but we’re not on a last name basis.) Well, yeah, another one sounds good, and the price is definitely right, but I’ll pass. Why? Dinking ‘Round the World – Day 1, that’s why. Bars at WDW for me are becoming like Arcades at WDW as a kid; I can drink and go to bars back home, while I’m at Disney I don’t want anything getting in the way of the unique experiences. WDW is the LAST place I want to have a hangover. (Hey, let’s go on Mission Space! :ack:) The flight attendant came by and offered me a second scotch and soda. When I declined and asked for water she seemed a bit surprised. Why not, I surprised myself. This trip I would DINK responsibly ©.
To aid me in the composition of these reports I started a text thread between my Galaxy S4 and both my email and DW’s email. Over the course of the trip I sent 98 of these which served two purposes. 1.) Helping me remember what I had done on the journey and record all of my musings and “bright ideas” that came to me, you know, whenever. 2.) To keep my DW in the loop about where I was and what I was doing. By sending the messages to her email and not texting them to her phone I avoided blowing up her said phone while she was doing things three time zones away such as working, talking to friends, sleeping, etc. It worked out really well. Unfortunately all of these messages showed up as attachments, so I have to open all 98 of them in Notepad and I have to paste them all together. They are all conveniently time stamped, but in PST; no big, I can add 3 to things pretty easily. A lot of the time I used the voice-to-text feature. It does pretty well, but will all of the ambient noise in the parks it provided a kind of nifty blooper reel ala Apple auto correct.
Eye mask on, earplugs in, neck pillow in place. G’nite!
I DINK Alone! – Day 1 – The DINK Has Landed (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=2378274#post2378274)
:goofy2:
Yeah, I already wrote a pre-trip report which covered a lot, but this trip does indeed have a day zero since I’m taking the red eye and arriving at the crack of dawn the next day. The red-eye is a double edged sword, but a necessary evil for me. The bad part is there is no chance for a full night’s sleep. The flight time from Seattle to Orlando is right about 5.5 hours, 6 coming back. I took off at 9:30pm on Friday night. Of course, I am going to lose 3 hours with the time zone change. Best case scenario you get maybe 3-4 hours of sleep. This trip I figure I got about 2 hours. Being tired is not a recipe for a magical day one. The good part is I can work a full day on Friday, catch an hour nap in the afternoon and when I finally get there I have a FULL arrival day. If it weren’t for the red-eye I wouldn’t be taking this trip; I would either have to take a daytime flight and have less time in the parks or miss an unacceptable amount of work time. I’m only taking 2 days off of work, Monday and Tuesday.
DW and I got Nexus Cards last year. This card allows you expedited US/Canadian border crossing privileges. It also makes us eligible for Global Entry (use an ATM type thing when reentering the USA by plane – HUGE time saver) and the TSA’s Trusted Traveler programs. Getting this can take a long time and costs about $150 per person, but it is good for 5 years and man, do I love it. I went to the TSA Pre-Check lane and security today took me (dun-dun-dunnnnn!) 3 minutes. They scanned my ticket where they note my Trusted Traveler number is in my reservation then I walked to the screening which is essentially pre 9/11 security: shoes and coats stay on, liquids stay in my bag, not that I have much. (Unlike some I can go without moisturizer for a few hours – ladies, you know who you are.) Moments later I’m off for a bite to eat. For those of you along the US/Mexican border, you can apply for a Sentri card which entitles you to similar privileges, provided there is an interview center convenient to where you are. I believe you can also apply for Global Entry alone, a good idea for those US citizens who fly out of the country regularly.
Some airports aren’t places you’d want to spend much time. SEA-TAC has a great central dining area with a pretty good sit down seafood restaurant. I have a No Sushi and No Seafood airport rule, but in Seattle I can waive it. My vacations usually begin here as is the case today. A lot of airports have improved services behind security these days. MCO is pretty good too. I think SEA is a bit better. I went to the bar at Anthony’s and grabbed a scotch and soda. Normally I like to strike up a conversation, but I was flanked by the servers’ computer on one side and a large angry looking goth girl on the other. Instead of trying a Bauhaus anecdote I decided to play Words With Friends against my mother in law on my IPad.
This trip I managed to wrangle a first class one-way using miles for half price. No regrets, but this was the first time I had taken a flight and NO ONE was on the First Class upgrade list; if I had bought a coach ticket I would have been upgraded. Oh well. First class is awesome, but you have to remember not to overdo it with the drinks. “Would you like another, sir!” (Actually, they use my last name. I love my fellow Intercotees, but we’re not on a last name basis.) Well, yeah, another one sounds good, and the price is definitely right, but I’ll pass. Why? Dinking ‘Round the World – Day 1, that’s why. Bars at WDW for me are becoming like Arcades at WDW as a kid; I can drink and go to bars back home, while I’m at Disney I don’t want anything getting in the way of the unique experiences. WDW is the LAST place I want to have a hangover. (Hey, let’s go on Mission Space! :ack:) The flight attendant came by and offered me a second scotch and soda. When I declined and asked for water she seemed a bit surprised. Why not, I surprised myself. This trip I would DINK responsibly ©.
To aid me in the composition of these reports I started a text thread between my Galaxy S4 and both my email and DW’s email. Over the course of the trip I sent 98 of these which served two purposes. 1.) Helping me remember what I had done on the journey and record all of my musings and “bright ideas” that came to me, you know, whenever. 2.) To keep my DW in the loop about where I was and what I was doing. By sending the messages to her email and not texting them to her phone I avoided blowing up her said phone while she was doing things three time zones away such as working, talking to friends, sleeping, etc. It worked out really well. Unfortunately all of these messages showed up as attachments, so I have to open all 98 of them in Notepad and I have to paste them all together. They are all conveniently time stamped, but in PST; no big, I can add 3 to things pretty easily. A lot of the time I used the voice-to-text feature. It does pretty well, but will all of the ambient noise in the parks it provided a kind of nifty blooper reel ala Apple auto correct.
Eye mask on, earplugs in, neck pillow in place. G’nite!
I DINK Alone! – Day 1 – The DINK Has Landed (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=2378274#post2378274)
:goofy2: