Various Thoughts about our 2024 Trip to Disney World

1. It was very crowded, the most crowded we've experienced as our family of three.

2. Eventually what was once new and exciting becomes old and less exciting.  I enjoyed Rise of Resistance much less the 6th time I went on it than the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time.

My reduction of enjoyment might not have been due only to becoming too habituated to the ride but also because I had gotten it into my head that I wanted to use the early morning low wait time to retry Rock-n-Roller Coaster. 

 Also, there was much less actor-enthusiasm from the cast members.  

3. After doing some research, I undid my vow to avoid Guardians of the Galaxy.

From what I read, the aspect that seems to cause the most motion sickness is the visual stimuli.  My plan was to go on the ride if we could do it with the virtual cue, and I'd close my eyes the whole time. I told Tim and Jack that I wouldn't pay extra to go on the ride, because it would be a waste of money to go on such a ride with my eyes closed the whole time.

Jack either didn't listen to what I had said, or he misunderstood me.  Or he was overexcited and pressed the wrong buttons.  He bought Individual Lightning Entries for all three of us. 

Thank Heavens.

Thank Jack.

I still closed my eyes the whole time.

The ride was one of the most fantastic experiences of my whole life.

I almost cried in the middle of it...not out of joy but out of sadness that it would soon end.

I later did actually cry.  Or maybe I didn't cry but just felt kind of depressed.  I can't remember exactly.

What was my problem?

It was the feeling that no other Disney ride could come even close.  So what was the point?

It was kind of similar to the feelings of trying to enjoy other books after reading Harry Potter. 

And yeah.  That's another reason why I was blah about Rise of Resistance.  It had been the best Disney ride...until Guardians of the Galaxy came about.

4. At one point, we had considered canceling our Hollywood Studios reservations for another day at Epcot. So we could go on Guardians of the Galaxy again.

Then we decided not to do that and ended up with the tentative plan of Jack using his Park Hopping ability to go to Hollywood Studios AND buy a Lightening Pass for Guardians.

Tim and I had made the choice not to get Park Hopping tickets this trip.

I guess there was that parental feeling of being satisfied enough to have our child have the wonderful experience even though we would not.  

Unfortunately that plan was thrown out the window, because Jack became ill by the end of our Epcot day and ended up going to neither Epcot nor Hollywood Studios the next day.

5. I regretted not going on Guardians of the Galaxy on my birthday trip in 2023.  In my ignorance, I had had absolutely no desire to do so. 

6. Tim and I sat together on Guardians of the Galaxy.  Jack sat in front of us with a very enthusiastic and friendly stranger.  She told us she had gone on the ride many times.  

When we were parting, she told us to have a magical day.  I realized she was probably an off-duty cast member.  It felt like a movie moment...you know when someone finds out the person they were talking to was actually God or an angel or someone with some kind of secret identity.  

7. I didn't join Tim and Jack on Tron.  I had planned to but changed my mind when seeing the ride vehicles.  I don't like lying prone or bending forward for too long.  It tends to make me feel unwell.  

8. I have stopped enjoying the slow/dark rides. Sadly.  

I am totally burned out.  

I go on them not for enjoyment but just out of a kind of pilgrimage/obligation kind of feeling.

What I've decided is that while I'm still healthy enough to go on thrill rides (and my travel companions are as well) I'm going to put most of my concentration on those.  

I'm thinking what I might do is not stop the slow rides all together, because that pilgrimage push is too strong to ignore all together (I still feel uneasy about skipping Spaceship Earth this trip).  Instead maybe I'll make a rule of one slow ride per park per trip.  

Not including Living with the Land for Epcot, because I HAVE to go on that ride every single trip, and I'd therefore end up never again going on Nemo, Spaceship Earth, The Mexico Ride, etc.

9. I'm not sure if Soarin should be considered a slow ride or thrill ride.

But I think I shall count it as a slow ride for my plan.

10. Russia was my favorite soda in Club Cool this year.

11. Back to Rock-n-Roller Coaster.  I had tried it many years ago and had felt an uncomfortable feeling in my chest during the launch.  

Since then, I've slightly considered trying it again.  After riding Guardians and being okay with that launch, my motivation to retry Rock-n-Roller Coaster was increased.

But while I had been alone for the rope drop the first three days, Tim joined me on the fourth, and I felt the need to let him decide which rides to go on first.  And by that...I mean the two or three rides we'd go on before the park got way too crowded and we'd stop with the rides, soak up the atmosphere, eat, take photos, and then make our exit.   

Tim picked Rise of the Resistance and Mickey Mouse.

Oh!  Also there was the fact that I had been to Hollywood Studios in 2023 and he hadn't gone since May 2022.  So I felt it was more fair to let him pick.

We did line up for Rock-n-Roller Coaster for our third ride...at that point when most waits have become quite long.

The wait time was posted for 90 minutes.  

I do like the experience of waiting in Disney lines but prefer lines that are 60 minutes or less.

Still. We decided to endure.

Unfortunately our efforts didn't pay off.

The ride closed down.  

There have been times, faced with that situation, where I have waited around for a ride to re-open.  

We didn't do that this time.  Instead we went to get lunch.

Since it was our last park day, I kind of regret that we didn't try harder to go on the ride.  

12. Rides I went on more than once this trip:  Expedition Everest and Living with the Land. With both, I went on alone during early entry and then again later with Tim and Jack.

13. I've become quite militant about being there for rope drop.  I now have this feeling that if I'm not there at least twenty minutes before early-entry; then there's actually no point in going to the parks at all.

I'm thinking these feelings are going to end up leading to some sort of recurring anxiety dream.  

14. We used Genie Plus for The Magic Kingdom.  I loved using it on my birthday trip.  It was much less great on this trip.  What I've learned is it doesn't help all that much when the park is very crowded.

Or it could have been that Jack had mentioned wanting to go on The Jungle Cruise. I used it for that which was had one of the longest wait-windows.  So by the time we were able to pick another selection, there wasn't much left. Because I didn't want to be at the park in the evening.  

I think Genie Plus is good if you plan to be at the park from morning to closing...or if it's not overly crowded and there are a couple of moderately popular rides you want to go on.  OR if there's a popular ride that you're highly motivated to ride.

Our motivation to ride The Jungle Cruise was due mostly to the fact that we hadn't gone on it on our last trip.  

And maybe the trip before?

15. If I was going to redo our Magic Kingdom Genie Plus experience, I would have used it to go on Big Thunder Mountain.

16. We ate at one table service restaurant all together: Tiffins.  I liked it, especially since they have a salad called The Land Salad that is made up of produce from The Land in Epcot.  I wish more restaurants had food that was labeled as being specifically from The Land.

Tim and Jack ate dinner at The Flying Fish together while I rested in the room. 

I don't much like going out at night. 

17. I had my beloved Lefse in Norway.  That might be a necessary every-trip tradition for me.

18. I have become much less excited about Disney snacks.  And since the loss of The Magical Express pushed us to rent a car, I had the idea of doing less over-priced Disney snacking and more fun room-snacking.

This is a change for me.  I'm usually wanting to limit the snacks we buy at the grocery store with the idea I want to use our calories (and tummy real-estate) for super special Disney food.  

We bought home a container of six delicious cupcakes that were...I think cheaper than one Disney cupcakes. 

We also bought bagels, crackers, cheese, apples, vegetarian nuggets, cookies, olives, etc.

19. One of my proudest food moments: I considered getting a Dole Whip before leaving the Magic Kingdom but realized I was just craving something fruity.  I decided to wait and have an apple when I returned to our Beach Club room.

And I truly think I enjoyed the apple more than I would have enjoyed the Dole Whip.

20. I actually didn't buy any food at The Magic Kingdom.  I ate some candy clusters I had brought from our room and also some olives.

We did make reservations to eat at the Jungle Cruise restaurant, but that got all messed up with the Tron Virtual Cue, and we had to cancel.

21. If I'm remembering correctly, the only park treat I bought and ate was the Lefse.

22. Outside the parks, though....

Tim and I got ice-cream twice; once at The Fountain at The Dolphin and another time at the Boardwalk ice-cream place.  

23. One of my favorite places at Disney World lately is The Swan and Dolphin.  I love how they look at night.

24. One of my favorite things to do at Disney World this trip (and my previous solo one) is walk around the Epcot Resort area while listening to an audio book.  

On the last trip, I listened to Never, Never by Serana Valentino.  

This trip I listened to King of Shadows by Susan Cooper.  

I also listened to an episode of the Harley Quinn and the Joker podcast.

It's hard to explain but I love the mix of audio books and podcasts with my own personal setting/experiences.

It's like both the place where I'm listening AND what I'm listening to becomes more special to me.

I was kind of blah about King of Shadows until I started listening to it while walking around the Epcot Resort area.  Then the book started feeling magical to me and the Epcot resort area became even more magical.

25. It turns out Jack has Covid.

And Tim is sick now as well...probably with Covid.

I'm wondering if I will join the club.

I hope not.  

26. Our song for Guardians of the Galaxy was "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".  Tim found a playlist of all the possible songs.  He played some of it for us as we drove back to the airport.  

I'm glad we got the song that we did and am thinking I might be dissatisfied if we get one of the other songs the next time we go on the ride.  

27. I might be sort of okay with "One Way or Another"

28. It's been four days since we went on The Guardians of the Galaxy ride.  

The feelings have kind of faded.  

I mean I've forgotten why I loved it so much.

I guess it's kind of like the way mothers forget the pain they felt while in labor.

It's like we remember in a cognitive sense but not emotionally/physically.  

It's almost like I'm confused and mystified by my intense feelings from four days ago.  Was it really THAT amazing or had I been overreacting?  

29. It's official.  Tim has Covid too.

I feel snotty.  It seems likely to be Covid but who knows....

 

Read my novel: The Dead are Online