60 During 50 -- Pre-Trip report
60 During 50 -- Pre-Trip report
Yep, it’s that time again. After an over 3 year ‘break,’ I am heading back to ‘The World’ to celebrate Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary as well as my own 60th ‘anniversary’ (birthday.)
If any of you remember my past trip reports, this will undoubtedly be LONG! LOL
Dates of trip: January 18 – January 25, 2022
Cast of Characters: Me, myself, and I.
Resort: All Star Movies on an Annual Passholder discount. Thank you, Denise of Magical Journeys, for getting me taken care of! You’re the best!
Ticket(s): Grandfathered Platinum Annual Pass (PAP,) which has been waiting for me to activate for more than two years. Because it is a grandfathered pass, I still get the MemoryMaker and other PAP benefits.
Flights: Southwest - BWI <=> MCO
Transportation: Mears Connect <=> MCO
Park Reservation made, with hopping ‘options’ planned in.
Yeah, maybe that’s TMI, but that just shows how excited I am to return. LOL
The “Plan:”
Tuesday, January 18th:
Park Reservation: MK
I will be flying out of Baltimore (BWI) early, with an expected arrival time just after 9am. Hopefully, it won’t take too long at Baggage Claim and a Mears Connect bus will be waiting for me. Once I arrive at ASMO, I will check my bags in to Baggage Claim as I do not expect my room to be ready that early, and wait for a bus to MK. I will spend the rest of the day in MK and do what I can, even if only to walk the park and soak up the atmosphere. No Genie+ on this day, mainly to get a feel for crowd level and ability to take in attractions without it.
My only real desire on this (long) day is to have a decent spot to catch the Beacon of Magic and Disney Enchantment shows.
Wednesday, January 19th:
Park Reservation: DHS
Planned ‘Hop To’ park: AK
If I can get up early enough, I hope to take advantage of the 30 minute ‘extra magic’ for resort guests. This might make it possible to get Batuu under my belt before crowds get too big. Looking forward to seeing Batuu for the first time and, hopefully, get Rise of the Resistance and Smugglers Run in.
Plans then call for me to hit Toy Story Land for the 3 attractions there. After that, continue clockwise around the park and drop in on the attractions as time and queues allow. I’m in no real hurry as I will be back here a few more times during my trip.
Since AK has hours until 7pm, I hope to ‘hop’ over there for the late afternoon/evening hours. Kind of bummed that Expedition Everest is scheduled to be down for my entire trip, but there is still plenty for me to see and do in the park before going to Pandora once the sun starts going down. Besides, I will be back here ‘bright and ugly’ tomorrow morning.
Thursday January 20th:
“Happy 60th Birthday!!!” :party::beer:
Park Reservation: AK
Planned ‘Hop To’ park: EPCOT
Dining Reservation: Le Cellier 7:05pm
Since yesterday was an ‘early evening’ day, I should have plenty of rest before getting in on the ‘extra magic’ half hour at AK. I would like to start in Africa and get Kilimanjaro Safaris in while the animals are getting their breakfast. Then, take a walk to see the gorillas and maybe take a train ride over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. I haven’t done that on my last few trips, so I’m about due. Once back from my train ride, I hope to be able to catch Festival of the Lion King before heading over to Asia.
Again, since EE is scheduled for maintenance, it may be just a quick trip through Asia and on to Dinoland USA for Dinosaur. This is going to depend greatly upon whether or not the updated Nemo show will be running. If it is, I will try to hit this first. By the time I return from the Cretaceous Period, it is back to the Oasis to ‘get small’ with all my friends in It’s Tough to be a Bug before heading over to EPCOT for the evening.
Once over at EPCOT, my plan is to see what the queues are like around Future World, or should I say – World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature? If anything is ‘walk on’ (under 30 minute wait time,) I’ll try it. Again, I’m in no great hurry to hit everything in one day, so I’ll get what I get and be happy.
My two big reasons for being at EPCOT this evening are: Birthday Dinner at Le Cellier and HarmoniUS! I have one other evening scheduled for EPCOT, so anything else I get in is a bonus for the day.
Friday, January 21st:
Park Reservation: MK
Planned ‘Hop To’ park: DHS
For some reason, I just don’t ‘plan’ MK days, I just let the magic happen. Of course, I want to hit Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, Space Mtn., etc., but we’ll see what happens….I am, however, hoping to catch at least one Cavalcade during the day.
Splash Mtn is typically down for the winter by this time, and who knows when it is going down for the PatF reimagining, so I don’t expect this will happen on this trip.
Hopping over to DHS for the evening and REALLY hoping (against hope) that Fantasmic! Is back. Even if it is not, I will enjoy the parts of the park I did not hit on my day visit earlier. Muppets 3D, Indy (if running again,) Star Tours, a stop at Baseline Taphouse are all in the ‘plan’ for this evening. If I have not hit Rock ‘N Rollercoaster and/or Tower of Terror, this might be the time for those. I still have a morning and evening planned for DHS, so we’ll see.
Saturday, January 22nd:
Park Reservation: EPCOT
Planned ‘Hop To’ park: MK
Just a personal note here….I really miss the earlier opening times for the front half of this park!
The 30 minute ‘early magic’ time might really come in handy here with the park opening at 10, rather than 9, especially on a weekend day. My thought is to head for The Land pavilion for Soarin’ and Living with the Land, then maybe a bite to eat. But, this might not be the best use of my time in that Test Track and Mission Space may get busy quickly and have relatively large wait times before I finish up. If I try for Mission Space, then Test Track before heading for Soarin’, I might be stuck in a long queue there. Or maybe just head to Norway for Frozen Ever After? Or France to try for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure? I am SOOOO confused! LOL
Whatever I can hit in the ‘early magic’ time will be fine by me. After that, just wandering around and taking in what I can will be the order of the day.
The afternoon takes me back to MK for things that I had missed on my earlier visits. Maybe skip the shows and fireworks to ride some things after dark. This is just a great park to walk aimlessly around in the evening hours.
From here on in, I have hit all 4 parks for the mornings and for the evenings, so going back to each is more to catch anything I might have missed, or to hit my favorites all over again, so I won’t go into detail for planning…
Sunday, January 23rd:
Park Reservation: DHS
Planned ‘Hop To’ park: EP
Monday, January 24th:
Park Reservation: AK
Planned ‘Hop To’ park: DHS
Tuesday, January 25th:
Departure Day :(
Park Reservation: EPCOT
Since I don’t have a lot of time, and have to make sure I am all packed up and ready to head back home, I figured EPCOT would be a good ending. Give me time to get my things in order before the park opens, do a few things, then head back to ASMO to be picked up by the Mears Connect coach around 2:30pm.
Granted, this is an aggressive ‘plan,’ but it is just that, a ‘plan.’ We all know from experience that things at WDW rarely go as planned, so you’ll just have to check out my actual Trip Reports to see how I did. LOL
Thanks for your patience in reading all of this and I welcome any thoughts on what I could do differently or make better use of my time.
