"October Surprise" Trip Report - Recap and Final Thoughts
“October Surprise” (or ICOT25 Celebration) – Recap and Final Thoughts
Trip Dates: October 11 – October 18
Resort: All Star Music
Transportation: Southwest Airlines, then Mears Connect to resort.
First off, this trip was a BLAST!!!! Much better than my January trip.
Weather: Except for the heavy rain Monday afternoon, it was hot, sunny and dry! Almost 180 degrees from what January was like. I left home with the temps in the low 40’s and arrived to 90’s! I had been tracking the 10-day on The Weather Channel website and was expecting low 80’s for highs. I packed wrong for this one! No shorts! Well, at least it kept people from being blinded by my ‘fish belly white’ legs!! LOL
Parks: Crowds were slightly higher than normal for this time of year, but manageable. StandBy queues were very long, but people were good about waiting. I didn’t see anyone getting flustered or upset, most joking about them. But this brings up my one gripe for the whole trip – Genie+ and Lightning Lanes! I had used FastPass and FastPass+ when they were available and never found the backups that this new system has created. FP and FP+ had limited numbers of ‘slots’ open per hour for each ride and about an 80/20 split on ridership – 80 FP/FP+ to 20 StandBy. Genie+/Lightning Lanes do not seem to have these limitations in place and certainly not for ridership. Maybe it’s just my perception, but it seemed more like a 90/10 split and CMs would wait until they got the 90 before ever letting the 10 on.
CMs: For the most part, the CMs were pleasant and attentive. Sure, there are always some that are less than ‘friendly,’ but none were downright ‘unDisney-like.’
Food: WOW! The selection and quality have fallen appreciably over the past few years. Now, I do mostly counter service while I am there, so maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but I was not impressed on this go ‘round.
Now, to the best part of the trip – The INTERCOT 25th Anniversary Celebration!!!
Needless to say, I was a bit nervous meeting a group of people I had only ‘chatted’ with on the boards, but starting with the ‘meet and greet’ at Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar, I felt comfortable and at home with everyone I met. (Hope they can say the same about me!! LOL) I got there a little early and waited until I saw John and Ian arrive before thinking about going in. By the time the evening was over, I knew I was around “my kind of people” and that this was going to be fun. I wasn’t wrong! Wish I had taken part in the earlier ‘celebrations!’ Except for the ‘scheduled’ events, I still stayed to myself quite a bit, but that’s just me.
At the end, at Gary’s Column, there were lots of handshakes and hugs and it felt like I was saying goodbye to family! My heartfelt thanks to everyone for making this such a memorable gathering.
Final thoughts: Although I did not get to do everything I wanted to, primarily Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, I did get a lot in. I need to be better about packing for Florida weather! No matter what the forecast is, prepare for every eventuality! Meeting like-minded people is a good thing! As much as you might hate it, spend the money for the Genie+ and/or Individual Lightning Lanes so you don’t get shut out of rides or attractions you really want to experience and get better at getting in the Virtual Queue(s.)
Thank you for taking the time to read my reports! Sometimes the words flow like water off a duck’s back, but putting my thoughts down in print keeps the memories alive for me. Yeah, I’m kind of selfish that way! LOL
Special thanks to John and all the INTERCOT crew and members that helped make this trip so memorable!! I hope to meet all of you again!
