[SPEAKER_00]: when welcome to very amusing you're one stop shop for the story secrets and shenanigans of a popcorn fueled theme park journalist.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm curly myself and I just walked in at the door from buying jeans now if you know me at all if you listen to this podcast you know that that is a double header of things that should be shocking you.
[SPEAKER_00]: One I bought jeans I have been putting up buying jeans for no joke a year and a half
[SPEAKER_00]: I just kind of like let things come to me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't like to actually go out and buy them.
[SPEAKER_00]: A friend of mine recently was like, she asked about something I was wearing.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, oh, he was for sale in like spring of 2007.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then it was never sold again.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just these random random stories about how I've...
[SPEAKER_00]: a masked random object and things that I wear and she was basically like, why don't I feel like everything you own is a story like that?
[SPEAKER_00]: And that is exactly what happened today.
[SPEAKER_00]: Two brands that I like were collaborating and I was like, I gotta get those jeans.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I went out, bought jeans, they fit perfectly but she never happens and now I'm back and I immediately walked in and was like, I'm recording the second I walk in the door.
[SPEAKER_00]: Usually, I'll go do some stuff, and if you have seen from what I've posted on mine, I am really struggling with staying focused lately, it is a big thing that I'm going to be working on.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure we'll talk about it in a future gab session as well, but I'm really working on staying focused, and I walked in the house and immediately got on the mic, and I am so proud of myself.
[SPEAKER_00]: Basically like two birds one stone maybe like a bird and then a worm and a stone because they're like different They're totally different objects, you know what I mean?
[SPEAKER_00]: But anyway, I am so happy to be here and so happy about this week's podcast because I learned recently as I was making some videos for Instagram I learned that oh, I mean
[SPEAKER_00]: I maybe don't approach, and if you don't approach theme parks, the way a normal person does, most people have a very linear approach to how they book their theme park trips, and I have a very emotional approach, which I really can't wait to share with you, because listen, I have been doing this for a long time, and there's basically like the way I would tell people in a magazine story to do it, and then there's
[SPEAKER_00]: the way that I tell you straight up to do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that is what this week is.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is my actual tips that I would give to a friend who is going which all of you are.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm so excited to share them with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Stick around.
[SPEAKER_00]: We have a really fun show.
[SPEAKER_00]: So excuse me back after spring break.
[SPEAKER_00]: We have a lot of exciting stuff coming up, including an episode like you would never expect to be happening in spring.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it is, it's not track.
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't worry, don't worry.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not track, but oh God, if I can find a gear on race in the do track, I would.
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, stick around and we have a great one and I'm so happy to be back.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm so happy to be back!
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back.
[SPEAKER_00]: Today we are discussing the planning truths that I live by.
[SPEAKER_00]: These rules which are fully convoluted and made up in my head, but they still guide the way that I plan my Disney trips.
[SPEAKER_00]: The reason I wanted to do this episode is because surprise unless I've already told you and honestly I can't remember, but I don't think I have.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am planning a vacation, a family vacation, to Disney World this summer.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm bringing Ben, I'm bringing Ben, and if you know anything about me, you know that my husband does not go to Disney World.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has not been to Disney World in
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm trying to come back, I was pregnant, but I bad at math.
[SPEAKER_00]: So four years, it's around four years ago.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was the last time he went to Disney World.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now we are all going together.
[SPEAKER_00]: My mom is coming, I'm going pros going, my husband is going.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I am planning a full trip for multiple people, just something that I don't do that often.
[SPEAKER_00]: And while I've been thinking about what I want to do and plotting and scheming, I've really realized that I have this strict set of commandments that I tend to follow when I plan a trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, even I plan a trip often.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's be real.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm acting like, oh, a rare trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: I meant Disney World all the freaking time, okay?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like,
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think some of you side-eyed me while you're listening to this in your car while you were running and we're like Um, ma'am what I'm planning to do some real trouble the time and these are the rules that I live by and I thought it would be nice to share them with you because a lot of times There is that invite there is the go-to advice that I give for people planning their trips a lot of that is pretty rigid and pretty intense
[SPEAKER_00]: Lightning lanes, booking windows, things like that are so serious, but the way I plan it myself, is a lot stranger.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm kind of opening the door to my psyche on this one, and I hope that it doesn't forget any of you out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now before we begin, I do need to acknowledge, I need to say that, yes, I do have annual passholder privilege.
[SPEAKER_00]: I go to these parks often which some of you do but some of you don't.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am here more than once a year which means that it's not like make or break if I go on some of these attractions, if I do some of these activities.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, I do think that the way I approach these trips is a way that can help balance out a lot of that kind
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, awesome.
[SPEAKER_00]: All of the you're supposed to do this.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're supposed to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: You got to do this.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do think that my approach is very chill.
[SPEAKER_00]: May I say as, you know, I don't really, I'm not very chill.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then I go to the parks, but I do think my approach is coming from a good place.
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's get into it and let's start with the first Disney planning rule I live by.
[SPEAKER_00]: And these are all randomly assorted with numbers.
[SPEAKER_00]: This isn't like working my way down.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like we're just going to start randomly with number one, which is that good is better than great.
[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, being there to see something alive is good.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's better than getting their early waiting and waiting and waiting to have the perfect great view.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now this is something I admittedly struggle with a lot that I have worked through over the years.
[SPEAKER_00]: My mom is probably listening to this and either cackling or biting her tongue.
[SPEAKER_00]: I fear the chose how I'm going to get from my mother after this episode because she knows the truth and I don't want to give you a false bill of goods.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is how I think I approach these trips.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do aim for perfection because when you're up for with this stuff which so many of you are
[SPEAKER_00]: I just feel like there's this thing in your head where you can see the day so clearly.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know what the day could be and when something derails that it's so annoying.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know when you're like okay we can do this right and then that right and then you go and it's like why is this lot like whenever spaceship earth line is 80 minutes long you're like this is not how it's supposed to be and I know you know what I'm talking about.
[SPEAKER_00]: But when it comes to things like entertainment, a parade, a show, I truly believe that it is worth it to me, to save time and energy and just roll up to something like fantastic.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you get a bad seat, that's totally fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: Being in the room at a show in worst seats is completely fine by me because I'm there and I saved time, I didn't stress and I got to do other stuff I wanted to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: I also feel this way for a good view of fireworks, and as much as I love happily ever after, I would love to have that perfect vantage point.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is uncomfortable and I am not willing to do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't think we talk about that enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to waste my time possibly hours uncomfortably sitting there.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then, even if the show is fantastic, if nobody near you is accidentally bumping an iPhone into your head, if nobody is in front of you at the last minute and then put a kid on their shoulders, even if everything works out, you are still going to be in some sort of nightmare toilet bowl mosh pit trying to get out at the end of the night.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know that when I went last year with my friend Jamie, we truly got stuck in the hub.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was almost, it was one of the scariest moments in my life, and I think that's just how it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not done for that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not willing to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: So my approach is that you don't need a perfect game.
[SPEAKER_00]: You just need to make it to that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I really do feel this way about honestly almost all entertainment at the parks, but it can really apply to scheduling an approach to.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're still going to walk away having seen Mickey perform, seen characters on float, seen a princess on stage.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're still in the space where it happens, or on the main street or the waterfront here, I'm saying.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just don't think it is worth stressing about getting that perfect view because if you want to go away from a parade having only seen it through people's shoulders, you're still going to have enjoyed it almost as much because again, you're still there, you're still on a theme park and doing that with ease and comfort is really more important to me than doing it perfectly.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that is why I think that good is better than great.
[SPEAKER_00]: which brings me to another planning truth.
[SPEAKER_00]: We are here for more than the rise.
[SPEAKER_00]: We've talked about this plenty of times before I'm very amusing, but really not through the lens of planning.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's more of like, we do mention this in like recap post-trip discussions, but pre-trip, I do think I gotta be saying it loudly because this is in my head every single time I am laying out in itinerary.
[SPEAKER_00]: Lightning lanes take up so much of the planning discussion.
[SPEAKER_00]: if he comes like the focus of the trip and as the Walt Disney World app home screen will tell ya since it's the only thing you can see.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why are we not talking about this more or honestly complaining?
[SPEAKER_00]: When you open the Disney World app, all it is is a prompt to spend more money.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's bananas.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's so frustrating when I open it and it's like I just want to see something and it's just do you want lightning Layers you want the really expensive lightning lane literally like I can't I can't like one third the top third is like High-carly and then the middle third is lightning and multi-pass and single-pass I think and then the bottom is premier
[SPEAKER_00]: Two thirds of the home screen is lightning lane.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's, hmm, okay.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to be chill.
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember, my chill approach to the parks.
[SPEAKER_00]: But we are here for more than the rides.
[SPEAKER_00]: And let's break it down.
[SPEAKER_00]: Walt Disney World is not a midway.
[SPEAKER_00]: We are not just here to ride rides and immediately leave.
[SPEAKER_00]: We are paying money to enter this park, which means that we really need to value all of the other stuff that is happening.
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I will admit why I'm an annual passholder, I do come here often, I like to mention that, I don't want to be extremely biased, but this perspective is not AP privilege.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's really just facts, because when you really break it down and take a look at it, we've basically reverted back to the original Disney ticket book system, and it might blow your mind a little to think about it that way.
[SPEAKER_00]: But
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's talk about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: E-tickets, you know, which used to be the biggest fanciest rides.
[SPEAKER_00]: Those are lightning lane single pass.
[SPEAKER_00]: The BCD type of tickets?
[SPEAKER_00]: Those are lightning lane multi pass.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, but there's not that many levels.
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, yeah, there's Tier 1 and Tier 2.
[SPEAKER_00]: It kind of correlates.
[SPEAKER_00]: A ticket is like buddy pass in California.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, the metaphor falls apart here.
[SPEAKER_00]: So just just focus on the part where it makes sense.
[SPEAKER_00]: But a long time ago, back when we walked up, he'll do school both ways and lightning links were called fast pass and they were free.
[SPEAKER_00]: The rides were included with admission.
[SPEAKER_00]: But those days have ended.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just think that the parks themselves need to be heralded just as much as these rides that now have a search arch.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, look, we are essentially suckered and dispending like 30 bucks a pop to skip the line.
[SPEAKER_00]: Your admission ticket is no longer covering you going on the rides the way it used to, the way so many of us visit the parks.
[SPEAKER_00]: So in theory, you are paying to go to Walt Disney World, mostly just to be at Walt Disney World.
[SPEAKER_00]: And should we be enjoying that a little bit more?
[SPEAKER_00]: I do believe Lightning Lane provides a great service.
[SPEAKER_00]: I use it, I get it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I also don't want to spend 85 minutes of my life in life or test track on my Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: Great ride, but I won't be waiting in the queue.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just like your feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: It feels like you're just like waiting to vote.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like you're just like a tight corridor.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't love it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I'll tell you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do find Disney World much more stressful when it's a lightning lane day.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do not buy lightning lanes for every day of my trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is something I've talked about before.
[SPEAKER_00]: But on those lightning lane days, I am less happy than the days that I do less and can just experience the parks as it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do appreciate that it's an option that I'm able to guarantee I can get my kid on everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, who are we falling to guarantee I can get on everything I want?
[SPEAKER_00]: But I can't relax.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm locked in and I get stressed if I don't feel like I've gotten my money's worth.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm refreshing, I'm on my phone.
[SPEAKER_00]: All day, there's the schedule, the tracking, the additional drops.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're like trying to figure out when, oh, maybe I can get a peer pan.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could pick it up later.
[SPEAKER_00]: Leading up if you don't book the things that you want.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I'm gonna refresh every single day.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just so much effort.
[SPEAKER_00]: I swear, $28 has never cost so much effort in the history of time.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I just think it's helpful to remember, to have the approach mentally, that when you or I, since that's what we're talking about, when I am planning out my days and I'm deciding what we're doing, it's not a question of which lightning lanes are rebooking.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's which day would we really benefit from this?
[SPEAKER_00]: I like to approach my trip as which days do we want to focus on the parks and which days do we want to focus on the rides?
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't like to default to spending more money.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean?
[SPEAKER_00]: I strongly believe that unless you rarely come here, you really want to do it all, which sometimes that's the trip is that you want to get it all in and I totally understand that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unless that's the situation that I'm working with, it is not worth it to me to do lightning lane every day or honestly.
[SPEAKER_00]: for like more than half the trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: I will do it for one maybe two days, which is what I'm planning for our June trip just to get Pearl and Frozen Ever after because that queue is so boring.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're just when you can see the whole queue, I mean I also don't like when you can't see the whole queue.
[SPEAKER_00]: Guess what?
[SPEAKER_00]: I just don't like waiting.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I just don't want to be in that room for 60 minutes, I would not be able to handle it.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I am looking at doing lightning lanes for two of the days, but I just want to emphasize that when I'm looking at our schedule and when I'm building an artinerary, I always like to remind myself that we are here for more than the rides.
[SPEAKER_00]: and to whoever needs to hear it, not paying extra for lightning lane, does not mean you are doing Disney World worse.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not going on every single ride doesn't mean you missed something.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unless you really like coasters and you skipped guardians because that ride is so good, and that is actually worth the money to skip that line.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Disney doesn't employ this many people to fill the space between attractions for no reason.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like this place and the artwork and the architecture and the thought and the entertainment, there is so much happening.
[SPEAKER_00]: And while it is my entire job to think about these places, I still don't think I appreciate just the base atmosphere enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you take away one thing from me, one thing from this episode, I wanted to be that we should all consider spending more of our vacation, more of our planning approach, thinking about how we can be within these space in the parks instead of just getting on the rides.
[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe just maybe we should try to be okay with using lightning lane a little bit less.
[SPEAKER_00]: In a way, this idea that we are here for more than just the rides is just me saying, it's just great to be here.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just an honor to be nominated.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think when we focus so much about paying for this and that and paying for all these surcharges, we lose sight of the fact that these parks themselves are the special place that we are traveling for.
[SPEAKER_00]: We love the rides and they're frankly incredible whether or not it is one that you need to wait a long time for or not, but everything else between the rides is also pretty worthwhile.
[SPEAKER_00]: Which brings me to my next planning rule.
[SPEAKER_00]: In this house, we only spend feel good money.
[SPEAKER_00]: Dollars are not created equal in these here parts, okay?
[SPEAKER_00]: And the best way I can explain this is what I like to call feel good money versus feel bad money.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I always try to only spend money that feels good.
[SPEAKER_00]: To me, this is the ultimate guess in check.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is flipping to the back of the math book to see if you did the equation correct.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's also the number one way to weed out if you're overdoing it with lightning lanes and dining reservations really.
[SPEAKER_00]: Anything that you may have wanted before you wittle down what you're actually going to book.
[SPEAKER_00]: I recommend you spend the money not where you think you should, but where gives you the most joy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's very important because it may come from an unexpected location.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keep in mind this is the this is what I broke it down to it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was like this makes so much sense to me And I hope it makes sense to you for as much as we rag on cake big shop They have extremely expensive food.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't like eating like a 23 dollar slice of cake just out on the boardwalk It doesn't make any sense to me, but you can basically get okay ready for me to do math laughable.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had to go to math tutoring every morning.
[SPEAKER_00]: My mom had dropped me at school to go to math tutoring and now I am yelling into a mic about girl math, okay?
[SPEAKER_00]: So, here's the deal.
[SPEAKER_00]: As much as I make fun of cake fake shop, as I mentioned, by the way, that chicken velvet soup fantastic worth going back for.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had a great meal.
[SPEAKER_00]: I take back everything I said actually, XT was right.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, for as much fun as I make of cake fake shop, you can basically get two of their extremely overpriced lattes for the price of a single ride on
[SPEAKER_00]: You see what I'm getting at?
[SPEAKER_00]: A single lightning lane for Tron is around $20, $22.
[SPEAKER_00]: That ride is liquidy split quick.
[SPEAKER_00]: The latte that I got at Cake Bank that I drink over two days because it felt like such an indulgence and it was actually a gigantic and I think I like four shots of espresso in it.
[SPEAKER_00]: That latte that I almost combusted over was $12.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I got two syrups in it.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if I would've just gotten the, you know, it's like, ooh, raspberry latte only, it would've been $10.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could have had two indulgent fancy divine exciting special coffees on two separate mornings or about a two minute ride on tron.
[SPEAKER_00]: And what I put it that way, I feel better about the spending I am doing in a way I really couldn't sus out otherwise.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know it is the girl math and finance is, but it's true because money is not created equal at Walt Disney World.
[SPEAKER_00]: So when you're evaluating what you're doing, which is what I do when I'm planning these trips, just pause and think to yourself, is this worth it to me?
[SPEAKER_00]: Because in the end, what would bring you more joy?
[SPEAKER_00]: I strongly feel that booking lightning lanes yields to emotions.
[SPEAKER_00]: One, I'm so glad we know that we're going to get on these rides, our plans are locked and loaded, that makes me happy, that makes me comfortable.
[SPEAKER_00]: do I really need to be doing this?
[SPEAKER_00]: And if, you know, you're on a trip where it feels like this will give me peace spending this money, I absolutely recommend it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if it's bringing you stress, if you are at that checkout and you're like, do I have to do all this just to go on Peter Pan one time?
[SPEAKER_00]: don't do a dog, don't do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: That money can bring you so much joy elsewhere.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, only try to spend money that feels good.
[SPEAKER_00]: I will be spending money on this trip on lightning leaves on certain days, as I mentioned, but people don't really talk about the psychological effect of having to pay to skip the line because the thing is, I don't know if you guys do this, but I sure do, that when I'm paying for lightning lanes, I am clocking what the standby weight is,
[SPEAKER_00]: more than I ever have in my entire life.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if I buy lightning lane, I am constantly like, oh, the stand by's only 15 minutes, why do I do this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why did I waste my money?
[SPEAKER_00]: That goes over and over in my head and it's feel bad, money.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's feel bad, money!
[SPEAKER_00]: And remember, not spending money on something else can make another experience you might not have done because of the price, feel kind of free.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you opt out of lightning lanes for one day, for a family of three,
[SPEAKER_00]: That's 100 or so bucks that you can use on other experiences that might feel splurgey, like a character feel.
[SPEAKER_00]: Suddenly, that becomes much more affordable.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you're spending money on a strip, you want to feel good about it, which is why I try to always spend feel good money.
[SPEAKER_00]: My fourth rule is to leave room for spontaneity.
[SPEAKER_00]: We do not do three full park days in a row ever, period, even doing two is a lot for me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some of my favorite memories have come from those random windows of time where we just follow a whim, a fleeting idea.
[SPEAKER_00]: What if we just hang out at the pool?
[SPEAKER_00]: What if we just get lunch at the hotel?
[SPEAKER_00]: What if we just stay here because it's so freaking hot out, and we just go at night?
[SPEAKER_00]: it happens.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I truly believe that if you don't leave those gaps of room in your schedule, it just never comes together.
[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of people tend to leave an open-ended window for the departure day, but I actually find it to be way too risky.
[SPEAKER_00]: If nothing is locked in on that last day, I'm just going to be like, well, just pack instead, which is why I like to leave those spontaneous windows for earlier and kind of in the middle of the trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: On one of Pearl's first trips to Walt Disney
[SPEAKER_00]: I had a full day open, and usually when there's a baby involved, that's kind of a nightmare.
[SPEAKER_00]: But it was amazing because we woke up when we woke up, we took our time, and then I thought, what if we just go to Animal Kingdom?
[SPEAKER_00]: I think the only plan we had was a late dinner that night, so we truly
[SPEAKER_00]: didn't have anything during the day.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we just rolled up to Animal Kingdom and we ended up just buying a lightning lane that day because I wanted to get her on Navi River journey.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't think we'd be able to wait in the line because she was a baby.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we did it and it was the friggin' best.
[SPEAKER_00]: Also that was feel good money.
[SPEAKER_00]: That was feel good money through and through.
[SPEAKER_00]: On my upcoming trip in June, I have one of the nights open for just Pearl and I and I cannot wait to see where our legs take us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like summer time, it opened and did afternoon and evening.
[SPEAKER_00]: She'll have a full nap and then we'll wake up and just maybe go to AppCon.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe just I don't maybe go to Hollywood Studios events.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hasn't it good night?
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, it's just heaven.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you're dealing with a limited schedule like I am, just try to fit in one gap in the middle.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, the rule I usually say is I don't like to do three park days in a row.
[SPEAKER_00]: So maybe if you're going to the parks in your arrival day or the second day that you're there, maybe if the third day of a little gap.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe the morning, the fourth day's a little gap.
[SPEAKER_00]: Having that room to stretch out really is what I think keeps everyone's S together, if you know the parents listening, know what adult listening, know what I mean.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just think it is the best way to approach Disney World.
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to just like sit around and do nothing.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just having that, oh, we should do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: That little whim's the co-thought is so lovely.
[SPEAKER_00]: And also, this doubles is a really great global warming friendly approach because you do not want to be doing stuff during the day if it is hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot and if you don't book anything before like 3pm you have hotel time you can abandon hotel time and it just feels so free isn't it fun to bring the vacation and ease back into Disney world that's what I'm trying to do when I plan a trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you can also balance this with full days.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like we have one full day at Magic Kingdom that I'm dragging my family out of bed for.
[SPEAKER_00]: We have a Harmony Barbershop appointment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Boom, I got it done.
[SPEAKER_00]: See, I am very intense, but I balance it with being chill.
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you tell I'm a Gemini?
[SPEAKER_00]: If you haven't figured that out yet, oh, it all adds.
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't understand horror scopes and things everybody knows astrology now like I think there was a college course that they started giving out after I graduated Then now everybody just knows I have no idea But when I was in college I remember being like what is Gemini and I looked it up and was like is this a prank?
[SPEAKER_00]: This is exactly me.
[SPEAKER_00]: How did they know?
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I approached these parts both sides.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was like, wake it up early, got to get that reservation.
[SPEAKER_00]: But now my schedule is set and there are pockets of chill time and one in 10th magic kingdom day.
[SPEAKER_00]: The appointment's a 10 a.m.
[SPEAKER_00]: I family will need to be ready by 845.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am not rushing.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do not want to be rushed.
[SPEAKER_00]: We will be ready.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be great.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I balanced that with having the day before and after that have these pockets of calm so we can kind of choose our own adventure make a last minute dining reservation and just be able to embrace again the vacation in your vacation and that is why you have to leave room for spontaneity.
[SPEAKER_00]: And one more thing, if you're hearing this and you're kind of sweating through your clothes and the idea of not planning something makes you ill, don't worry, dude, I'm right there with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I have a decoy schedule.
[SPEAKER_00]: I talked about this a little bit on Instagram, but if you can't not plan,
[SPEAKER_00]: just don't tell the people you're going with your full plans.
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to tell them everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: I send my mom, my mom knows this.
[SPEAKER_00]: I send my mom her own schedule, which cuts out a lot of this stuff she doesn't know about.
[SPEAKER_00]: I like to have loose plans that I can always abandon, and so during those free pockets for me, somebody who, you know, I do this for my job, but also I have stuff I want to see, and I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way, throughout the year you see people, oh I want to eat that, oh I want to get that, oh I want to stop by that and check that out.
[SPEAKER_00]: I keep a little list of those, and so then if I have free time, I resort to the list, and there's a loose schedule sometimes that has, oh, we can do this, this or this, but it is still free time, and that I think is the best way to do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I call it a slush list, it's kind of like this stuff I want to eat or try or experience where if I don't get to them, it's totally fine, but if I have no plans, it might be a little mission that I a little side quest that I can go on.
[SPEAKER_00]: that is not necessary, but it is an option so that if I can't think of anything I want to do, but I want to do something during those little spontaneous windows, I have something to refer back to.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's, I mean, that's how it began.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gemina, both worlds!
[SPEAKER_00]: That's kind of how we rock it.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to take a quick break, and then we'll be back with the rest of my planning truths.
[SPEAKER_00]: And welcome back.
[SPEAKER_00]: I need to be so for real with you guys that once I actually broke down the pricing of a cake bake latte versus one tron lightning lane, I can't stop thinking about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even my brain is like, if this is true, what else is true?
[SPEAKER_00]: Because those lattes felt so expensive and so indulgent, and it didn't feel like the same money.
[SPEAKER_00]: As Trot, I will be thinking about this when I go to Disney World, I'm going in May and I'm also going in June.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to be thinking about this the whole time and I will report back if any other bizarre, I guess we can call it like very amusing economics.
[SPEAKER_00]: If any of these pop-up, I will let you know because I just truly can't.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is the perfect way to distill what I'm trying to say with feel good money, because getting those lattes felt bad spending that much money, but that brought me so much more joy than skipping the right on one single ride.
[SPEAKER_00]: And one single ride!
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe I should be a mathematician.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just kidding.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
[SPEAKER_00]: My number five, oh no, none of them are my fifth.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll say, Disney planning rule that I live by.
[SPEAKER_00]: is the just one thing philosophy, abide by the just one thing philosophy.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have said this many times on our episodes about visiting Disney World and even Disney land with a baby or a toddler, but not everybody listens to those so I just want to emphasize it here because this is really how I approach our trips.
[SPEAKER_00]: you got to have one main goal for each day, one main goal.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you are going with adults, if you are going solo, you can expand that to three.
[SPEAKER_00]: If I'm going along something, I'm going to try to have just three things that I really want to do, but having just one top thing, the one thing that if you do it that day, everything else is going to be great, I think that is maybe the best way to approach these parks.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because as long as you get that done, you set the bar just low enough where everything past it is gravy, as long as you do that one thing, the whole day is going to be great.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have a very chaotic magic kingdom day planned for us.
[SPEAKER_00]: We are trying to do as many rides as possible in one day, because my husband does not come here a lot, and I want him to just jam it all in.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know once that man enters magic kingdom, he's never going to come back for at least another year and a half, so I need to get it all done while we're there.
[SPEAKER_00]: But my itinerary doesn't rest on us going on.
[SPEAKER_00]: Pan us doing all these rides going on pirates.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, my one thing is harmony barbershop.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is the one thing that I want him to be there for.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then the rest of the day, it's just easy breezy, even if we're booking lightning lanes.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's the one thing and you can't, you're one thing can be one of the rides at Epcot.
[SPEAKER_00]: My one thing for our family is going to be frozen ever after.
[SPEAKER_00]: But viewing your day through this lens, not just brings in so much gratitude for the fact that we're able to come here and we're here and isn't that incredible, but it really helps you hone in on what is most important for you having a great trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't look the same to everyone.
[SPEAKER_00]: For some people, it can be getting that one dish in a festival.
[SPEAKER_00]: For some people, it can be a character breakfast that they maybe didn't realize was that important to them until they really focused in on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that one thing, if you have one thing that you focus on every day, I think that really is the ticket.
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is maybe an impolite way to say it, but the all ages version of this, because again, this philosophy really came out of my experience visiting with a baby.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now a toddler, a child.
[SPEAKER_00]: I used to just bing bing boom, my mom and I were just going to do everything in one day, but having a young kid really made me slow down and think about what is most important to my trip, and it's that just one thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: As I mentioned, the all ages versions of this are a little uncouth, but the all ages version is that you only get to be annoying about one thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: You only get to be annoying about one thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: One thing that's important to you, I am annoying about everything and I'm working on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of it is a caffeine addiction and then me not doing well in hot weather.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm doing my best, okay?
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's also my job.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's also family time.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot wrapped into it.
[SPEAKER_00]: but you won't only get one thing and approaching our trip like this, I can't even tell you like sets your expectations correctly.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if you can hear that Morty's rolling around on the floor.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just like sounds like elbows everywhere.
[SPEAKER_00]: It sets your expectations.
[SPEAKER_00]: It quills to disappointment and I really think it just gives if you have a larger group and really gives you the team high mentality to get things done.
[SPEAKER_00]: The sixth Disney planning rule that I live by.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't believe I'm already at six.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's wild.
[SPEAKER_00]: Also, like this is a peek into my brain.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's pretty sane.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm pretty impressed by myself.
[SPEAKER_00]: These things could have been decoy schedule.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a little, little cookie.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know, but I think for actually...
[SPEAKER_00]: The amount of, I've played so many trips and like professionally, I have all of my go to recommendations, but when it comes to what I do, the rules I live by, this is really what, these are the philosophies that I use when I am sitting down and planning my own trips.
[SPEAKER_00]: So these six Disney planning rule that I live by is to ask yourself, do we really need to do this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Essentially, this one could just be called,
[SPEAKER_00]: And I get it, my brain also falls into that state where the 60-day booking window is approaching and you're like, okay, I got a wake up in the middle of the night to book this stuff.
[SPEAKER_00]: I need that reservation, oh, we should grab that.
[SPEAKER_00]: We should make sure to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: We should plan for this.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm gonna recommend you just pause.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you really need to wake up in the middle of the night?
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're on my coast, otherwise you can just wake up early on the East Coast.
[SPEAKER_00]: Most of the night, do I really need to wake up early to book this?
[SPEAKER_00]: this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Do I really need to be this scheduled in?
[SPEAKER_00]: Do I really need to spend hundreds of dollars for my family to eat at this restaurant?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I used these exact questions to solidify my upcoming trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: There were a few things I wanted to do, the experiences that I was circling were Harmony Barbershop, which you knew I looked, Acreshiss, which I don't like saying out loud, because I didn't think I'm pronouncing it wrong, for Princess Breakfast, and the new Grand Floridian T.
[SPEAKER_00]: Those are the three things that when I put in my calendar to wake the heck up, that is what I was going to book.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I sat down and I thought about it and I really asked myself these questions.
[SPEAKER_00]: When it came to the barber shop, okay, so here's the deal.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am unhinged, obviously.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's very funny to only have my kids haircut there.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know it's a dumb gag, but I think it's very funny if my child does not know a barber shop outside of Main Street USA Isn't that kind of fun because her first haircut quote-unquote they sniffed like just the tiny spit was when she was a baby And she has not gotten her haircuts since and we're at the point where hair's long enough where I think we can make it to June I think we can make it happen
[SPEAKER_00]: She's never gonna see one of those cute little cars that all the other proper shops have We just kind of a disappointment, but how funny is it?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like my Disney child only ever gets her hair cut at Disney world and for the gag I do think it is worth it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do think it is worth it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm the middle of the night to book it And that's basically what I did.
[SPEAKER_00]: I woke up super early.
[SPEAKER_00]: I fucked it
[SPEAKER_00]: And even if it locks us into like a must arrive by time, which isn't fabulous, again, if it's a 10 a.m. or on West Coast time, it's not the best situation.
[SPEAKER_00]: I still think this was worth it.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is something that is, I feel good about spending this money.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a memory that I can't wait.
[SPEAKER_00]: My husband has never seen her get a haircut.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's ever done this.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it is absolutely worth it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Acreshuss.
[SPEAKER_00]: This one I'm still on the fence about again my kid is kind of into meeting princesses She wasn't before but now she wears a princess as every day because she's like listen I didn't I didn't like put her in Disney princess dresses she kind of gravitated towards and on her own Which is funny, but I was like weighing my options and at Disney land, you know, the Morty's new studio here that I'll check bless you
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh my god, he's laying so cute right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: I wish this was a video podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: At least you can see him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, he looks so sweet.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, anyway, back to the podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: The best princess dining option at home is the princess breakfast adventure in Napa Rose, which costs $150 a person.
[SPEAKER_00]: $150 a person.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is so much money for a three-year-old to go to a breakfast.
[SPEAKER_00]: I should have taken her when she was almost three.
[SPEAKER_00]: That was a huge mistake.
[SPEAKER_00]: But also, like, Napper Rose wasn't open, and I didn't want to do it in that other little, like, conference room area they were doing it in.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I asked myself, do we really need to do this?
[SPEAKER_00]: And the answer is, maybe.
[SPEAKER_00]: I made a reservation?
[SPEAKER_00]: I honestly don't know if I'm going to keep it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll cancel in times that I'm not taking up the space for anyone, even though that isn't like, the hardest reservation to get for a dinner.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sidebar.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, this is really open.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've been opening up the door to my psyche, but I want to know what you guys think I should probably do a pull on social media because I am wondering if this is a thing for anyone else.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you also feel?
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh my god I can't believe it was saying this a lot.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you also feel like a character meal at night as weird?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like do you feel like do you feel like it's like girlies go have a slumber party go to bed like you shouldn't be entertaining us at dinner at 9 p.m.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just feel like characters at dinner is strange and maybe that's just because often there's a character breakfast or a brunch and then the restaurant is normal at dinner time.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Aggresha's has dinner, and it just seems weird to be there when the sun is down When the sky lights are away, and there's just a bunch of princesses hanging out It just seems weird to me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was booking it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was like, well, dinner Weird.
[SPEAKER_00]: It just seems strange to me I'm very curious if anyone else feels this way because it's kind of like giving me the hippie jibis
[SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of given me the hippie jubies.
[SPEAKER_00]: So accuracy is again.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a lot of money.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if I want to pay it's $70 for me and I think somewhere near there for her and that just seems unfathomable to me when I would be just as happy eating my $15 meal with an hexagon pavilion.
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, good money thinking about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's basically half the price compared to the other option by my house, still.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't, I don't feel fully committed.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not bringing me the level of joy that that money should bring.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we may not end up doing it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the grand Floridian T. This was my number one thing I had to do on this trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: Before I started really focusing in on how funny it would be to have a gag going where my kid only gets her hurt.
[SPEAKER_00]: your kingdom.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was like dead set.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was I was watching the calendar.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was like oh my god I got to see updates.
[SPEAKER_00]: We grant learning and reopening tea.
[SPEAKER_00]: We got to be doing this.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you have not seen, so the grand Floridian around COVID time, but like it's been a minute, it's been a minute.
[SPEAKER_00]: The grand Floridian has changed a lot in the last five or six years.
[SPEAKER_00]: They used to have life jazz music and it was amazing.
[SPEAKER_00]: They used to have this team, which was amazing.
[SPEAKER_00]: They used to have a Floridian Pancake, which my friend Chelsea introduced me to.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the cafe, which was amazing, and that's gone.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not related to Kovian, but it's just something I really miss.
[SPEAKER_00]: They changed the whole characters in 1900 Park Fair.
[SPEAKER_00]: They changed the vibe.
[SPEAKER_00]: They added that bar upstairs in Chanted Rose, which...
[SPEAKER_00]: Listen, I love it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think a nice bar is nice.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had drinks there.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was lovely But the furniture is giving way fair and that is a hill I will die on They added a bar love the lobby bar that looks like a bird kitchen There's a lot of things happening at the Grand Threadian to have changed over the years and then bringing this tea back I was like oh, I would love this my daughter loved the idea of tea, but that is a lie I wanted it for me
[SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to go for me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to go so badly.
[SPEAKER_00]: I needed to know what this tea was.
[SPEAKER_00]: That area we opened and it was so joyful.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then I sat back and realized, do I really need to really need to go to this tea?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I was hyped guys.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was like number one thing on my list was going to this tea.
[SPEAKER_00]: But then I asked myself, do I really need to do this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Is this something that is worth scheduling myself in for?
[SPEAKER_00]: It got to the point where it was like, I would have to leave the hotel, go to it, and then come back.
[SPEAKER_00]: Or I would have to interrupt our only magic kingdom day to be able to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: There was just no pocket that made it seem worth it, and then on another level, once they revealed the menu, I was like, does this food even interest me?
[SPEAKER_00]: I like tea sandwiches.
[SPEAKER_00]: I love the Grand Floridian.
[SPEAKER_00]: It sounds so special and so wonderful, but
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe I don't need to do this.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I passed on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I removed it from our itinerary.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is no longer on the table.
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is something that I absolutely was going to book until I asked myself these questions.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just feel like so often we forget that so much of the joy of being a Disney World comes from being a Disney World.
[SPEAKER_00]: I myself do this for a living, a plan trips for a living.
[SPEAKER_00]: I talk about this for my job, and yet I was like, it all it took was asking that one question to just reframe my entire trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I wanted to save this one towards the end, because it really ties in with all my other tips.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do we really need to plan a meal, or do we happy you're leaving room for spontaneity?
[SPEAKER_00]: We're here for more than rides, so would we prefer to just be at Disney World to be at our pool, or just to walk around the park enjoying yourself, taking it easy, and just seeing what we see?
[SPEAKER_00]: I do have that go-go-go-go-go-go brainwormer.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just want to pack everything in, but honestly, as I get older, it's my body deteriorates in the heat.
[SPEAKER_00]: As I really start to think about how I'm spending my money because these things cost real money, and I want to feel good about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just as time goes on.
[SPEAKER_00]: I really want to hone in about on hone in on what makes visiting Disney world so special to me.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so often it's not the things that cost extra money.
[SPEAKER_00]: Which is why my final planning rule is that you got to reserve the right to change your mind.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes knowing what you don't like is as important as knowing what you like.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you are a Disney Parks fan like I am your opinions and your preferences will change over time.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am 11 years now and I used to say that if you go to Magic Kingdom and you don't write space Mountain, it's like you didn't even go to Disney World.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, I don't ride it all the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not on it all the time because it doesn't matter to me as much as it used to.
[SPEAKER_00]: My preferences have changed within the parks.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's other things I like to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: I like to enjoy the atmosphere now more than some rides.
[SPEAKER_00]: And while I am still ride obsessed, I mean, like I said, Gordon the Galaxy is a must.
[SPEAKER_00]: For me,
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of slower rides that I also enjoy too, like an unexpected ride, like an, oh, a 15-minute wait for a pirate to the Caribbean, a small world, that is as joyful to me as planning certain things out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sponsority has become very important to my joy at these parks.
[SPEAKER_00]: Getting a little treat like the cake big latte is something that's become very important to me and things that I used to value I used to love to go to sit down restaurants That's not as important to me anymore because I would rather spend that time and money elsewhere And I just think it's important to remember that we can reserve the right to change our mind
[SPEAKER_00]: And proof of that is that the Disney restaurant cancellation policy has gone from 24 hours to two hours.
[SPEAKER_00]: Disney World is now letting you change your mind so much more easily than they ever have before.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now don't hoard reservations.
[SPEAKER_00]: People want them.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I love that you can just make a pivot at any time now.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's that easy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just think it's really nice to remember that when there's so much lore and there's so much focus on planning and being specific and getting those lightning lanes seven days in advance or three days in advance if you're staying in a hotel and just being so deliberate about everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: When really it's like, yeah, I would really love to do XYZ with my family, but it's not a deal breaker because the fact that we're here together is the highlight of the trip and that's the reason we are going on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you enjoyed the seven Disney planning rules.
[SPEAKER_00]: I live by if you have any of these planning truths that I have not mentioned that you Kind of focus on when you're planning your own trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: Please call in.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm very Interesting to see how other people plan their trips because I have been both ends of this spectrum I have been so intense and so scheduled then on one of my trips I got like violently ill from trying to touch and as it gets my entire schedule like I've seen both sides of it and now I really think that
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, 11 years into planning Disney trips.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, my lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: I really think that I have figured out how to harness the joy of Disney world while lowering the stress.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have a lot of work stress just because like now I have to film videos and that's not supposed to be my job.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm trying my best.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm trying my best to film with video.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just like, you know, I'm just like a journalist who got like plopped in a different time and is like trying to do her best.
[SPEAKER_00]: So that brings me stress, but otherwise planning.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do think like I've really dialed it in and I hope that some of this has helped you find the future fun in your vacations.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just think it's not, I just want to make Disney World pleasant even if the infrastructure is trying to make it tricky.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just want to make it pleasant.
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is Lauren longtime Instagram comment through a fresh listener, first-time caller.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to Disneyland in just over two weeks.
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you can't enter this before like April 28th, I totally get it because I'm a really big procrastinator.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I'm running a focus friend timer right now to do calls.
[SPEAKER_01]: So all that said, I'm going to Disneyland for the first time since 2017, for the first time alone, which I'm really excited about.
[SPEAKER_01]: And for the first time,
[SPEAKER_01]: just like staying for literally more than doing a one-day speed run with friends.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm feeling a little intimidated or that I'm not prepared enough because all my strategies are based on the Florida Parks.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I'm going to throw a night before I do two days of park offering.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm wondering on throw a night, should I like try to hit as many rides as I can to avoid lightning lanes in the following days, or should I just like stick with the heavy hitters?
[SPEAKER_01]: and focus on the Star Wars nests that night.
[SPEAKER_01]: Have you ever done Star Wars, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: I guess.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I haven't booked lightning lanes in advance because of how I learned you can only book those rides when you're in the parks.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm wondering, is it worth it to get a lightning lane if I don't rope drop like I'm worried that I'll just run out?
[SPEAKER_01]: Is the last week of April typically high for spring breaks?
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't tell.
[SPEAKER_01]: One of the things is I keep hearing vloggers
[SPEAKER_01]: Shressing mobile ordering in Disneyland and I'm like, again, I go to the far part far to parts all the time.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I have mobile ordered a lot, but are the stakes higher in Disneyland that people push it so much?
[SPEAKER_01]: Do I need to be ordering meals much further in advance in certain places?
[SPEAKER_01]: Please let me know.
[SPEAKER_01]: And finally, because I'm a big mid-day break person in Disney World, I was wondering if you had any advice about like any people watching, chill,
[SPEAKER_01]: for a nice, like long break, I usually usually have to sit out and have like one of those hydration packets and then continue after that.
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is a lot of rambling, but overall I think I'm just wondering what you would say the biggest difference is for someone who's very used to doing Disney World Park solo when I'm doing Disneyland and California Adventures solo.
[SPEAKER_00]: are they single writer lines what are the best ones um that's it i think um thank you so much and i hope you're having a nice spring break okay thanks bye hi oh my gosh i am so happy to help you with this because is this not the most perfect call to cover our bases from coast to coast
[SPEAKER_00]: We talked all about Disney World this episode, and then magically, this called drops in my inbox, as a Disney World person asking about Disneyland.
[SPEAKER_00]: Listen, happy, happy to do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have so much to tell you, I'm so excited, but by the way, isn't focused from the best.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm obsessed with it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm obsessed with getting that little bean, to niddle, to shock, and then I bought a new room.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know I have two rooms.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's nothing in the second room because I have no sock points left, but it's very exciting.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you don't know what I'm talking about, listen to the gabs that show episodes.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's all I'm going to say.
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, if you are very used to doing Disney World solo, which it sounds like you are, I just want to warn you about something.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's gonna be so much easier here!
[SPEAKER_00]: Was that a fun fake out?
[SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna have the best time because it is so much easier to be a solo traveler at Disneyland and Disney World.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not only is there less ground to cover, not only is it like, easier to maneuver as a single person, but Disneyland really kind of caters to the single rider.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just gonna read off the bonkers amount of rides that we have with a single rider line.
[SPEAKER_00]: Literally there's like too many, it was too many for me to like copy paste into a list.
[SPEAKER_00]: I did the land.
[SPEAKER_00]: We have Millennium Falcon Smugglers run.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keep in mind you will probably get that back seat.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was just not great, but it's fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: Matterhorn Bob's leds.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, keep your spine.
[SPEAKER_00]: Listen, it's really rough.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's fun, but just keep in mind.
[SPEAKER_00]: Space Mountain, Tiana's valued venture, and Indiana Jones adventure.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's five major attractions that have single rider.
[SPEAKER_00]: But wait, there's more, as Becky would say, because we also have Goofy Sky School in Credacoster.
[SPEAKER_00]: Radiator Springs Racers, Grizzly River Run, Web Slingers, and Sorin', which is Sorin' over California.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is so many attractions.
[SPEAKER_00]: And while I do also have to give you the official note that those can be open or closed at any time, your wait could be the same length possibly longer as the regular line.
[SPEAKER_00]: My husband was actually booted out of a space mountain single rider line recently.
[SPEAKER_00]: They just like flushed the queue and they were like, everybody goodbye.
[SPEAKER_00]: but I've never had that experience and just the fact that this is an option.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not that you can't go on these rides otherwise.
[SPEAKER_00]: It just means like there is a way for you to go solo and maybe save time and if not then you just go to the regular one and it is what it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's so much for you and I'm so excited for your trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: Also, don't forget, buddy pass, which is on Winnie the Pooh and Monster Zink, can also be used for single riders.
[SPEAKER_00]: It'll just be in the back of the vehicle which is like totally fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: Actually, kind of prefer being in the back is like, you know, you're just in the back.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're chilling, back roads, like being in the back of the bus, how cool.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what the cookie
[SPEAKER_00]: But the same thing with that do note they are not always in service.
[SPEAKER_00]: They won't always be passing out those buddy passes You have to ask at the front.
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to ask the cast member at the entrance of the ride for it, and It can be a short weight, so I'm just keep that in mind not only the poo is never short never a long weight I'm sorry can be a long weight.
[SPEAKER_00]: It can be a long weight for monsters, but frankly worth it
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, let's get to your itinerary.
[SPEAKER_00]: You are starting with Star Wars Knight and then doing two days in the park, which I think is the best way you could have possibly planned this trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: I would recommend.
[SPEAKER_00]: On Star Wars Knight, which I will be so real with you, I know nothing about, I do not go to the ticketed themed events at night because they're not really for me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, there's like a Disney channel one coming up.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's the Star Wars one.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're not really,
[SPEAKER_00]: They're not really like something like I'm not that type of fan.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have her that pride might is incredible and that is kind of the only one I would be interested in going to But personally, I feel like I pay so much for my annual pass and at Disneyland all the time
[SPEAKER_00]: that the things offered aren't appealing to me to buy a ticket.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is not true for many people, but for me, I'm very happy with the standard Disney parks offerings that they have there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, while I have no advice for Star Wars Knight, I would definitely like look around that YouTube and just kind of like see what's what.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do want to help you approach the entirety of your trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I would recommend that first night, Star Wars Knight,
[SPEAKER_00]: Prioritize the stuff that is special for Star Wars night only because you have due to some flush time.
[SPEAKER_00]: You have days ahead of you.
[SPEAKER_00]: We can do other things.
[SPEAKER_00]: So really prioritize anything you want to do Star Wars on that night.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if at the very end of the night you're like, yeah, maybe I do want to go and ride.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then pop on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But truly the trade-off is like something you can only get there versus waiting loss.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that we're with two days at the park.
[SPEAKER_00]: You had one would be different two days.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we are good.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now because you said you had two more days, it does sound like you were staying nearby.
[SPEAKER_00]: So you were going to have an advantage, both first lower, right lines and lower, lower rates in the morning is what I meant to say, and also with lightning lane.
[SPEAKER_00]: So lightning lane can run out, but I, in my experience, I don't think it ever really runs out that they stopped selling it before that day.
[SPEAKER_00]: You are going to disadvantage the later you arrive because you can only book once you enter the park.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if you are staying nearby, you just get there early, you get in and you can start booking things.
[SPEAKER_00]: And honestly, having advantage over people like me who roll up and have to drive all the way there and get there like 10, 10, 30.
[SPEAKER_00]: So my suggestion would be to actually not purchase lightning lane in advance, which I know there's a little part of me that's like, what if it sells out?
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think you would be fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think you would be fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: I would do everything you want to try to do on the first day.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if at the end of the first day, you're like, I really like to do this, this and that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think lightning would help me then purchase it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, you are only purchasing it from one person.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's not as big of a purchase as if we were planning for an entire group of friends or a family.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's up to you, but I would want to roll the dice and see what I could get down on that first day between single rider lines and just waiting in regular cubes.
[SPEAKER_00]: for mobile order.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we are kind of freaks about our mobile order Disneyland.
[SPEAKER_00]: I never thought about it, but my recommendation for Disneyland Resort is always to mobile order everything you might want that day while you are waiting in the first queue of the day.
[SPEAKER_00]: You got nothing else to do and it's a really good time to just blam out those orders.
[SPEAKER_00]: It just makes your day easier because at Disneyland Resort, if you want to try to eat when you're hungry, you're already a little too late.
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone once told me that when it comes to Zara, if you see someone on the street and they're wearing something adorable and you say, oh my god, where's that from?
[SPEAKER_00]: And they say Zara, it's too late.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's already gone and it's already sold out.
[SPEAKER_00]: And frankly, that's kind of how I feel about food and discipline resort.
[SPEAKER_00]: It really is.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the best part about mobile order is, as you know,
[SPEAKER_00]: Just because you place the order doesn't mean you get charged, you only get charged when you pick it up.
[SPEAKER_00]: So often, I will place some orders and I will end up judging those times.
[SPEAKER_00]: I will end up pushing those times by half an hour by an hour towards the end of the day.
[SPEAKER_00]: If my schedule doesn't really allow me to grab those things at the moment, I think I will want to.
[SPEAKER_00]: But doing something like mobile ordering the dessert you want that night in advance for that time is immensely helpful.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's also something that you can work on planning right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can scour through all of the menus.
[SPEAKER_00]: I prefer a lot of people would like go to the website to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I prefer to actually be on my phone and pretend mobile order because they need to see the pictures and stuff.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I like seeing exactly what I can get.
[SPEAKER_00]: Also, the mobile order menus can't be a slightly different from the actual menus.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you want to go that level deeper, be sure to compare the both.
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, I like to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, also if you wanted to do that research, especially for seasonal food, kind of plan it out to make sure you don't miss anything, that will save you so much energy, day of, you'll just know what you want to order and you can order in advance.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, there's really no disadvantage to mobile ordering food in like, right when you get there for later that day.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just it kind of works in your favor and I just highly recommend it because again, you don't get charged.
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, and so it's pretty easy.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty easy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now you're last
[SPEAKER_00]: The last question was, where's like a chill sit down area for a midday break?
[SPEAKER_00]: I personally love to hang outside Jolly Holiday.
[SPEAKER_00]: I love.
[SPEAKER_00]: I love to sit there.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can just hang out.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a really good spot.
[SPEAKER_00]: Located by Main Street, of course.
[SPEAKER_00]: But what that also lengthens itself to is a lot of different nearby snack food drink options that you can grab easily.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's like multiple dining options right there.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can get a corn dog.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can even go to the popcorn cart because you're near the hub.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's just a lot of things that you can grab and chill and hang out with.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is somewhere I would be hanging out if I was you.
[SPEAKER_00]: If I was a Disney California adventure, you know, there is always the Grand California lobby, but frankly, I'd like to be in the mix.
[SPEAKER_00]: I like to be in the park.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I do really like sitting outside by flows.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're charmed by car scenery and not overstimulated by it because you will hear like the Wush of the car is going by.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just think it's so beautiful to connect with nature.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm kidding I'm kidding if somebody who made fun of Disney knows her that they would murder me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's just nice to like honestly Like look at the I mean it is kind of like fake nature.
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't want to meet a look look at them the fake mom I'm like look at it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I like it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just think it's beautiful and so that is where I
[SPEAKER_00]: Personally, would probably be sitting and hanging out is outside of flows just chill and just chill and get in that Joffries cold brew it flows.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, gosh, I can't wait to go to Disneyland and go in a few days and I get out of wait So that that is all my recommendations for your trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have an amazing time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me know how it goes and have so much fun That's our show
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you all so much for listening to this and if you have any planning tips or feedback about it Let me know what I'm supposed to say down in the second we have an order.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I just haven't the order I guess we can do anything out of order.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's really shake things up you guys.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, if you have any
[SPEAKER_00]: If you have any thoughts or planning tips that you like to use that are like these because I know that we can do the aggressive version where it's like Oh, you gotta go to the real daddy got him out of this now.
[SPEAKER_00]: You gotta get him big thunder mile before my right in the afternoon Well, that is all very valid.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's not the way I plan my own trips and I'm curious if you have little ways you plan your own trips That just are a little different from the standard advice we all get
[SPEAKER_00]: If you do give us a call at 747J, I feel so weird saying it before the other thing we usually say.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give us a call at 747J.
[SPEAKER_00]: Wow.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I feel like a little baby chick just like cracking out of that egg shell because things are different and fresh and new.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give us a call at 747J.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me know.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am very curious about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can now or back contract.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can read review and follow us on Apple Podcast, so that's kind of fun.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, I was taught a lot again.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can read review and follow us on Apple Podcasts and read and follow us on Spotify.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you are, I'm so hard for me to not say Charles right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, wow, we're just gonna, can you tell that I was like, maybe we just won't take our minutes today and we'll just do what happened.
[SPEAKER_00]: Love to be on this journey together.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you are planning a trip to Disney, and I mean this so hardedly, if you are planning a trip to Disney or Universal or Disney Cruise Line or any of the cruise lines truly, because Becky is on top of the problem.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if you are planning a trip to Disney World and Disneyland and a Lonnie and Disneyland, but Disney a world, this summer, you need to hit up an M.E.I.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mouse fan travel Disney plan, because...
[SPEAKER_00]: There are so many freaking deals out there, and they, they're like, you know that, you know that gift that's like the person with all the math around their head, they are that, there are these deals and they are so difficult to parse out because anytime you change anything, you basically have to reload the entire website, and they can find the best deal for you and your trip, whether that's free dining, whether that's not doing free dining because you'll save so much money that you can just buy all the food yourself.
[SPEAKER_00]: They will help you with everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: I cannot recommend them enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: They plan my trips.
[SPEAKER_00]: I adore them and yeah, I truly think they're the best.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's why I work with them You could head to mousefamtravel.com slash amusing for all your travel needs and again You don't have to be like lined up ready to go we are planning to email them.
[SPEAKER_00]: They can get a quote for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've said emails being like
[SPEAKER_00]: might want to go to Disneyland in two weekends, what do you get?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I checked the numbers and then I might go and then I might not.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is the beauty of using a travel professional, like MEI Mouse and Travel.
[SPEAKER_00]: Cannot recommend them enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: Follow me at CurlyWizelocross, the internet, join the formerly at Facebook.com slash group slash CarlyWizel and subscribe to my Instagram 99 cents a month.
[SPEAKER_00]: I posted some really good stuff last week, that's all I'm gonna say.
[SPEAKER_00]: I posted some stuff that I could not post on the main feed, which is the best part of having subscribers in my opinion.
[SPEAKER_00]: And also, if you join now, you can check that out because they save the highlights, and I posted one of them as a subscriber's only real, which I'm going to do more of.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, thanks so much for listening, see you real soon!
[SPEAKER_02]: Hi, Carly.
[SPEAKER_02]: Hi, Scott.
[SPEAKER_02]: Scott, thank you for always speaking my starving daughter with snack.
[SPEAKER_02]: You are so sweet.
[SPEAKER_02]: I love that.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm how fun to listen to you and Scott.
[SPEAKER_02]: It was just great stories one after another.
[SPEAKER_02]: I really, truly enjoyed it.
[SPEAKER_02]: The kite tails was so silly, but was so much fun.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I do have my green kite tails t-shirt that I still have.
[SPEAKER_02]: I saved it.
[SPEAKER_02]: Such fun stories, honey.
[SPEAKER_02]: The pedal fish robbery.
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, my God.
[SPEAKER_02]: If that's true, that's just crazy.
[SPEAKER_02]: Broadman.
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, my God.
[SPEAKER_02]: Swimming with Swimmers.
[SPEAKER_02]: This is crazy.
[SPEAKER_02]: An animal poop candy.
[SPEAKER_02]: OK. Bad name.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm sorry if you do want to bring it back.
[SPEAKER_02]: Bad name.
[SPEAKER_02]: But the chocolate was probably delicious and great.
[SPEAKER_02]: But I'm curious how it smells.
[SPEAKER_02]: I know I'm going down the way up at all.
[SPEAKER_02]: But I'm just thinking that it's smell fun for the kid.
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_02]: But I'll take a Mickey ice cream bar.
[SPEAKER_02]: Because finally, at my first one, at a muse of polusa, and nobody can believe it was my first one.
[SPEAKER_02]: And it was the greatest thing I've ever eaten in my entire life.
[SPEAKER_02]: It was the greatest show on earth.
[SPEAKER_02]: It was so good.
[SPEAKER_02]: I can't wait to go back and have another one.
[SPEAKER_02]: This was so much fun.
[SPEAKER_02]: I truly enjoyed it.
[SPEAKER_02]: Great episode, sweetheart.
[SPEAKER_02]: I love you so much, Carly.
[SPEAKER_02]: I love you so much, Pearl.
[SPEAKER_02]: Bye.