Pre-Trip Report: Ron’s Buddy Trip with a WDW First-Timer (April 2026)

[00:00:11] Welcome to Where I Long To Be, a Magical Trip Report Podcast. My name is Alex and I'm going to be subbing in for my mom, Virginia, today because unfortunately this weekend she hasn't been feeling well. All I'll say is that we could use the kidney stone healing powers of Big Thunder Mountain, which she says is really smooth now and wouldn't help, but you know, what can you do about it? She's doing okay for right now, you know, we were a bit worried, but she has some super strong meds that seem to be working, so it's looking pretty good.

[00:00:40] Anyway, all that being said, she'd only gotten the Pre-Trip Report for this week edited before we had to take her to the emergency room, so she wanted me to at least get that posted on time for her. So I'll be doing that. She should have the post-trip up in like the next day or two. Stay tuned. So let's dive into this week's Pre-Trip Interview without further ado. Please, everybody, welcome Ron to the show. Welcome to the podcast, Ron. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

[00:01:07] It's a pleasure to have you. I am looking at all the Disney stuff in the background and the music stuff in the background where you're sitting, and I feel like we are friends already. Thank you. Thank you. I feel the same already. Why don't you let the listeners fall in love with you then and tell us a little bit about who you are, where you are in the world, why you love Disney, etc. Sure. Well, my love for Disney started as it does for most people with the movies and growing up with those just as a core part of my life.

[00:01:37] Mostly, I watched the films from the 50s and 70s with my dad and have some real just core memories enjoying those with him from Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Pete's Dragon, those old classics. And then really, really loved the entire Renaissance era as well. And, you know, those movies just always have a really warm place in my heart that's really just kind of stayed with me into adulthood.

[00:02:04] You know, my family was a little bit of a Disney family. We went to Disney World a couple times. And then as an adult, I go back every now and then for nostalgia's sake and just for the memories and the fun that Disney brings. What was your favorite Disney movie growing up? So I think the movie that stuck with me the most and that I could watch over and over again was the Ichabod Crane. I just thought he was so awkward and funky.

[00:02:32] And I think maybe I related to him a little bit. But I don't know why I wore that tape out. Have you ever been to the real Sleepy Hollow? Have not. No. That's up here in my neck of the woods. And we used to go to Sleepy Hollow to celebrate Halloween. I say used to. We still are going to go from time to time. But you can go and kind of walk around the streets. You can do like a haunted hayride, of course.

[00:03:01] But then you can also go to Washington Irving's house and tour his home, see like where he wrote the books. They have actors come in and do dramatic readings of things. And it's really cool. Oh, amazing. I would recommend it if you ever are looking for a good Halloween trip. Maybe do like a Northeast Halloween sites. Like go there and then go to Salem. And then all the covered bridges. And yeah, definitely. Beautiful.

[00:03:30] I love that one too. I would say you mentioned, I think you mentioned Robin Hood a moment ago. Definitely. Yes. And that is one that I had connected with partly because I used to have a lot of those records that came with the book. And it would like do the little chime when it was time to turn the page. And Robin Hood was one of the ones I had. So and I don't know. I sort of had a crash on Robin Hood. I think a lot of people did. That sounds so weird since he's like a Fox character. But I know listeners can relate.

[00:03:59] I have to think listeners can relate. Absolutely. That Fox is pretty foxy. Oh my goodness. When was the last time you were in Disney World? So I was there just a year and a couple months ago in February of 2025 with my husband. Okay. It was just an adult's trip. Just he and I enjoying lots of great dining and, you know, a few roller coasters here and there. Yes. Festival of the Arts. We loved it for sure.

[00:04:27] What time of the month were you there? Because I was there that month as well. The first week. Yes. Oh, then I missed you. I was there for President's Week and for the Princess Race. And I know that you had mentioned it some time before we got into recording something about wanting to sign up for a Disney race, but not being able to this time. Are you a runner? No. Previously was a runner. I think I could train up pretty quickly.

[00:04:55] I definitely keep my cardio fitness up. But I think the last time I ran was almost 10 years ago. I was doing 5 and 10 Ks. But it's just been a minute. Okay. Well, I think if anybody can do a Disney race like me, like somebody like you who is in great shape and could run a 5 or a 10 K. Like for me, I'm like, oh, a 10 K, that's a lot. But if you think you could do that, you should definitely try a Disney race next time. You can have the opportunity to get in.

[00:05:23] But the sign up is a race unto itself. It is. I noticed. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about this trip. Is your husband going on this trip? Or if not, who is? No. So this is going to be a buddy trip. When we went last year, a friend of mine, Michael, was very interested. It just didn't happen that all of us could go. So I promised that he and I could go this year.

[00:05:49] And so this is just me and my best bud going there together to have kind of a friend trip and get away a little bit. Yeah. He has never been to Disney World. He knows nothing about it. Love it. Only went to Disneyland once as a child. And that is his frame of reference. And I think some of the fun things that I've asked of him is to not Google anything. Don't look at YouTube videos. Don't Google any of the rides. And he so far has done his homework.

[00:06:19] He promises me he hasn't been doing any kind of research. So all of this is going to be a complete surprise. And I just I can't wait to show him around and just show him a really good time. So knowing Michael and what he is interested in, what do you think he's going to be the most excited to experience? Well, Michael's college degree is in plant biology. So living with the land, obviously. Yes. And we're going to do behind the seeds.

[00:06:49] Taking him during flower and garden festival was an absolute. We'll get into it a little bit later. But staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge when he works, he currently works for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in the hunter education department. So he is big into conservation and all of those things. So staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge was absolutely necessary. So I think all of these things are going to be really right up his alley. Do you have any guesses as to what his favorite park will be?

[00:07:18] I think he's going to like Epcot. I think he's going to like the cultures, being able to go through all the countries and get little sample platter of, you know, different parts of the world. And I think he's really going to enjoy the especially like world. I think it's called world nature, the right hand side of Epcot. I think he's going to enjoy that quite a bit. Yeah. This is going to be so much fun. One of my favorite things is watching people experience things for the first time. And it's not limited to Disney.

[00:07:48] Like I say this all the time, but one of my favorite parts of being a parent is watching Alex experience, you know, something that I've seen a million times or whatever, and just kind of seeing it through his eyes. I think much to his chagrin. So because he sees me off on the side, like excitedly watching as he like sees what the twist and the sixth sense is and watching Titanic with him for the first time. And he goes, he could fit on that door, too. And I was like, exactly. Thank you.

[00:08:15] So I think that you're going to have the best time getting to see things through his eyes because it will make everything feel fresh for you again as well. And I really am looking forward to that. It was very similar when I went with Stacy to where everything was brand new for him as well. He had never been. And so I get to do that again this time. Yeah. Are you both in the same town, you and Michael? Yes.

[00:08:40] So he was one of the first people I met when I moved to Denver 11 years ago. And we probably get together at least every two weeks and hang out. He's just he's been a constant friend ever since I moved here. Fantastic. And told me before we started recording that that Stacy enjoyed his time in Disney, but like he's not as big of a Disney person as you are.

[00:09:06] So I'm hoping that you'll walk away from this and it'll be like, I've got Michael converted. He's a Disney guy now. And we can hear all about how much he loved his experience. Did you happen to use a travel planner for this trip or did you do all the planning yourself? I did not use a travel planner this time. My cousin, Anna, is an official Disney. I forget what they call it, but it's the travel planners that work via commission through Disney.

[00:09:36] And she's with Sam and Anna Love the Mouse. And so Anna did my last trip. But since then, this time I rented DVC points for Animal Kingdom Rage instead of paying the regular rack rate and getting a package. So because of that, I didn't use a travel planner. I decided to just go ahead and plan it myself. Yeah, which makes sense because I don't think she would have been able to get commission anyway. Which rental agency did you go through? I did the DVC rental store.

[00:10:06] Okay. All right. What kind of tickets did you decide to get? So, well, that's an interesting question because I got add-on-itis at one point. So we started with a four-day non-park hopper. And then I decided that, you know, we may as well do the after-hours party. And what if we want to go to the after-hours party early? So then I need the park hopper. And then we added on the evening on the travel day in Epcot. So I needed a five-day ticket.

[00:10:33] And then I ended up getting one of the enchanting extras on what was supposed to be a rest day. So in order to do that, I had to add on a sixth day. So we ended up with a six-day park hopper when I started with a four-day non-park hopper. So if you give a mess a cookie, it's going to want some milk. Okay. I know very well how all of that works. I cannot recall if you've already said this or not, but Animal Kingdom Lodge, is this your first time staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge?

[00:11:03] No. So I stayed there last year on my first trip. Oh, okay. Okay. And were you in Jumbo House or Kidani last time? And what will you be in this time? So we were in Jumbo last time and on a Savannah view. In order to sort of economize a little bit, we're still staying in Jumbo, but we got the resort view this time. Okay. Kind of hoping for a partial Savannah. Yeah. And I just had someone on, and I think it was her episode last week,

[00:11:32] that was Animal Kingdom Lodge. Was it Chelsea? Yeah. Okay. So you can ask for that partial view room. Hopefully that'll come through for you. All right. Let's talk through your day-to-day plan. So Sunday, April the 12th is the day that you are leaving Denver. What time is your flight? So we leave. First flight in the morning was 8.15 on United. And then we arrive at 1.58 at MCO. Is that because of the time difference? Or is there a layover? Yeah. Yeah.

[00:12:02] You lose two hours going. So yeah, it ends up being many more hours. And the earliest flight being at 8.15. I would die if that were the earliest flight I could get. I am like, I want the sun to be rising as we are taking off. Or maybe even not even up yet. Doesn't matter if I've only had two hours of sleep. But that's just me. There may have been earlier flights, but I really like United. So I just stick with them. I think there might have been a Southwest that was earlier. Yeah.

[00:12:32] There's pluses and minuses to every airline. Are you currently experiencing the security delays in Denver that we're seeing in other parts of the country? Well, Denver International, we're actually kind of lucky because we just went through this massive remodel. And part of that was creating a lot of efficiencies around TSA. So we've been padded from that. And there really have not been any kind of delays to speak of. Good.

[00:13:02] All right. I'm going to knock on some wood here that you're not going to have any issues on your travel day. What is your plan for getting from the airport over to Animal Kingdom Lodge? So we hired Orlando Lux Transportation, who I have not used before, but we're going to give them a try. Okay. That's nice because then you know that they'll be waiting there for you and they'll be paying attention to your flight so that they will for sure be ready for you the minute you get there.

[00:13:30] And you'll probably have a sign with your name on it, which is always a VIP feeling. I don't know why. They also include a one stop for free at a grocery store. So they are going to stop at the Target on the way and we're going to get some breakfast food there. Okay. Are they stopping and letting you do like a pickup that you've already ordered in advance or they let you go on a job? They didn't specify, but I was going to do the order pickup and just hopefully have it just waiting. Yeah.

[00:13:59] That's what I would recommend anyway. I did something similar there, but with like a normal lift and I was able to say like I'm making one stop and because it was pickup, it was only going to take five minutes and it was really convenient. They just had specific parking spots. You pulled in, somebody brought out your order and it could not have been easier or faster. So, all right. What are your plans for the rest of this arrival day?

[00:14:23] So once we arrive at Jumbo, I'm thinking we'll get there not quite four o'clock. It might be 3.30. Hoping the room is ready. If it's not, I think we want to just grab our, we're going to grab our Disney dining plan mugs. We got the dining plan. Which version of it? The one where you get a table service and a quick service. Okay. Yes, that's it. And so grab our mugs, hopefully throw our luggage in the room.

[00:14:52] If we can't get into the room, I think we're just going to put it with Bell Services and take off for Epcot because we just want to get to Epcot as early as we can and start our trip. What are you going to be doing at Epcot that evening? So just yesterday, we're talking right in time because I was able to get our lightning lanes arranged yesterday. I got a Guardians for $520. I have a Geo 82 reservation for $620.

[00:15:18] And then our thought was we were just going to do festival booths for dinner and then look at the topiaries, just really walk around. The only ride we're going to do is Guardians. We're going to spend the rest of the time just kind of looking and walking around and then hopefully watch Luminous from a nice spot. And that will be it. Is Michael going to be willing to ride anything that you ask him to? Yeah, I don't think there's anything in Disney World that's going to scare him.

[00:15:47] He'll be fine. Not even Mission Space? We'll see. Thankfully, they have the barf bags in the cockpit. Watching these astronauts in space this week is so stressful to me. I don't know if anybody else is feeling that way. But especially like I know we were kind of talking about our ages before we got on and we don't have to say our exact numbers because we're not going to do that here.

[00:16:11] But I have a very specific feeling watching that take off and remembering back to watching the Challenger take off. Yeah, the bravery of those astronauts is just amazing. And the cowardice of me to go on Mission Space ever again is... I cannot do it. I mean, I might ride green again at some point in the future just if Alex twists my arm. But I really don't even like green very much. It's not good.

[00:16:41] All right. Let's move into Monday, April the 13th. Which park are you heading to? Okay, so we're going to start in Hollywood Studios. I was not able to get the lightning lanes I wanted here. I think it's just because it's the first day of the trip. And by the time I got there, everything that I wanted to do was way out into like 12, 1, 2 o'clock. And all of Toy Story Land was already at like 5 and 6 p.m. So things were so far out.

[00:17:09] Yeah, but you can kind of hashtag Mammoth Club fiddle faddle a little bit. I love Molly's strategy of fiddle faddling the lightning lanes and just trying to move them up. So I've been playing with that a little bit. And I actually did get one of them moved up by an hour so far. And I'll keep playing and see what I get. All right. What were your three choices there? Oh my gosh, let me see. The ones I got. Okay, so I got a burner by doing Star Tours at like 9, 10.

[00:17:37] And I figured we can check in for Star Tours and then immediately see if standby skipper can find me an early Tower of Terror. Okay. So that's my strategy. We're going to see if that works. And then I went ahead and got the two Toy Stories. So Slinky Dog and Toy Story Mania I got in like the 5 to 6 o'clock hour. Okay. All right. Have you used standby skipper before? I did. Yes. And it's very good. I like it.

[00:18:04] Have you used it since they went to multi-pass or just back in Genie Plus times? Nope. This was February of 25. Oh, you did use it then? Okay. Pretty recently. Okay. Yeah, I'm interested to hear about people's experiences with that because I used it during the Genie Plus times but have not used it since. And I think it is – I do so many interviews. I apologize, listeners, if you're like, why can't she never remember who she was talking to?

[00:18:33] But I think this week's episode actually when I can finally get this post trip posted for Samantha, I think she's the one who had standby skipper and liked it as well. Do you have any dining reservations this day? Yes, but they are in Magic Kingdom. So we're doing the after hours party. So the hope was to finish up Hollywood Studios and get on to transportation by 6 at the latest.

[00:19:00] And currently this is probably the worst thing that I did to myself for this whole trip. I have an 815 at Tony's and there's an 830 parade, there's 930 fireworks. And during all of that, I wanted to be on the other side of the park doing rides. So we may get trapped at the top of Main Street by a big crowd and not be able to escape. I don't know. We'll see. So the after hours party is the one that you pay extra for, correct? Yes.

[00:19:28] Okay, just wanted to clarify for folks that this is not the extended evening hours we're talking about. We're talking about an actual party party. What made you decide to make a dining reservation during the party? So I guess I just wanted to make sure that we were going to use the Disney dining plan effectively. So doing and I know that you don't have to do one table service every day, but that just sometimes makes the most sense to have one on a day. So I'm not sure what we're going to do here.

[00:19:58] I think, you know, I'm keeping the door open for changing that to like a skipper canteen or a Liberty Tree Tavern reservation or just canceling it entirely and just getting a quick service that night, possibly. Yeah. And if you end up doing that, you could easily on a day when you realize like, oh, we feel like we could just sit down now. Just find what's available in whatever park you're in if you're trying to use that credit. Yeah, for sure.

[00:20:28] Are you planning to use the dining plan to just keep it more like, quote unquote, convenient because you just wanted to pay for it and not have to worry about it? Or are you going to try to keep track and come out on top? So me and Michael are definitely both big eaters and we're both the type who are always going to order. If there is a steak on the menu, we're going to order it. So we tend to like the more expensive meals anyway.

[00:20:56] Anytime we eat out, it's a big tab. So while I'm not going to keep track, I have a feeling we're going to come very close. I think we got it because of the all-inclusive feel and to be able to just spend that money up front and then worry less while we're there. Okay. Yeah. If you're big steak eaters, you could probably make it work for you. I cannot make it work for me based on my choices of what I'm eating, etc.

[00:21:24] Because I'm not a vegetarian, but I frequently will gravitate towards vegetarian things on the menu for whatever reason. All right. Have you ever done a party before at the Magic Kingdom? I have done Magic Kingdom After Hours party before. Okay. And I think the only complaint I have is it goes so quickly. One o'clock comes really quick and then you're like looking around. I could have done more. But they are a lot of fun.

[00:21:50] Trying your hardest to eat your weight in premium bars is a lot of fun. Are both of you night owls? Are you going to be just fine going that late with as much walking and all that kind of stuff that you'll be doing? Michael is. I am not. Actually, I usually go to bed at eight o'clock. But luckily for Orlando time, that means 10 o'clock. So I should be at least good enough for that long. Okay. All right. Perhaps you'll have some adrenaline going there. All right.

[00:22:18] Given that this is going to be a very late night, what is your plan for the following morning, Tuesday, April the 14th? Kind of sleep in a little bit. Not worry about getting to the park too, too early. Okay. Which park? And so we'll be going to Epcot that next morning. Mm-hmm. And we are going to do the – we're actually doing the Premier Pass for Epcot. Kind of specifically for that reason, but there's also another reason.

[00:22:47] So we can start later. We can still do all of the rides without worrying about wasting too much time in line. But we also wanted to have the time that we needed to see all the topiaries, visit all of the different exhibits for the Flower and Garden Festival. Mm-hmm. So we're trying to fit in a lot in one day because it's really hard to do Epcot this time of year in one day. And with Premier Pass, you will be able to be very efficient because you can do the rides when you want to do them.

[00:23:16] Right. With the shortest amount of walking. So you just – Right. You can take a tour through the park and just hit every ride in order because there's no timing. Yeah. You get one lightning lane for every ride in the park. Right. You are actually the first person I am speaking with that is doing Premier Pass. So congratulations. Congratulations. We did a few of them last time we went when me and Stacey went.

[00:23:41] And it was really worth it to have a couple of days where you don't have to be running across the park because, you know, you're trying to get that specific time. Right. Yeah. All right. Well, I will look forward to hearing how all that goes for you. And what kind of dining plans do you have for this day? So let's see. For Epcot, we are – we currently have – we have the Behind the Seeds tour. So we're going to do that at 1030. That's not dining. That's not what you asked.

[00:24:11] That's okay. I think we're going to just do – we're going to find a quick service for lunch, whatever's nearby. I love the little fish shop in the UK Pavilion. I think that's fantastic. Also, the Mexico Pavilion has some great food over there, kind of wherever we end up at that hour. And then we have a beer garden in the evening at 7 o'clock. I love beer garden. And so does Charles. Charles is obsessed with beer garden. Have you been there before? Yes.

[00:24:41] Yes, have been there. Love all of the entertainment. Yeah, so much fun. Are you a big beer drinker? A little bit. Not a whole lot. They do have a good Hefeweiss in there, as I recall. Yes, they do. That is one of the ones I will have. But I just like the food there, too. I don't know. I like little side salads and things like that. And there's a ton of little side salads. And then the soup that they have, the beer cheese soup. It's really good. Definitely.

[00:25:11] All right. Wednesday, April 15th. Tax day. Yeah. What are you doing tax day? Not taxes. So this is actually meant to be a rest day. But Mouse Watcher was looking out for an Up Close with Rhinos for us. And this was the day that Mouse Watcher was able to bubble up a Up Close with Rhinos. So I went ahead and booked that. And so we are going to pop into...

[00:25:39] Well, first of all, we're doing Boma breakfast in the morning. Oh, nice. 8.15. And then just running into Animal Kingdom, really just to do the Up Close with Rhinos at 11. Okay. And then you're truly going to rest after that tour? And then we're going to come in theory. This is the theory is that we're going to come back to the resort and rest a little bit more before going to Disney Springs for dinner and a show there. Okay. What show are you seeing?

[00:26:08] So we're doing Drawn to Life at 8 o'clock. And that's the Cirque show. Yes, I have seen it. Have you... Do you know where you're sitting? Yeah, we're kind of in the sort of the second section back about halfway. I will tell you that there is really not a bad seat in the house. The closer you are to the center of the U, obviously, the better. But you can be far back or we were even on the side when we saw it. And it was still great. It was easy to see everything.

[00:26:34] It's very like the stadium seating, like nobody's blocking your view or anything. It's wonderful. And I hope you enjoy it. Have you seen any Cirque du Soleil shows before? Yeah, we're really lucky in Denver. The tours usually come here. And typically every year or two, we get one in the summer and we always make a point to go see them. Oh, fun. Yeah, this was my only Cirque du Soleil experience, but it made me want to try something else too because it was really cool. Yeah, for sure.

[00:27:02] Are you going to be planning to visit any specific locations within Disney Springs during your time there? There is, and I'm so sorry, I can't remember the name of them now. There is a candle company there that spoofs all of the scents. They do things from pirate water to, you know, the haunted mansion smell and all of that kind of stuff. So I need to stock up. I think it's called Bowes. I think it's a Bowes store. That. B-O-W-E. That is it. Yes.

[00:27:32] Maybe an apostrophe. Is it possessive? I'm not sure. But yeah, Bowes. So I have to go there. I have been dying to try the Summer House cookies because everybody raves about those. And I refuse to wait 45 minutes for a Gideon cookie. So we're going to do the Summer House instead. And then we're doing dinner at Haleo. I have not been to Haleo before, but I ate somewhere else that was Jose Andres.

[00:28:00] And I can't recall where it was, but same celebrity chef. So I'm sure it will be good. All right. Thursday, April the 16th. So getting up early, unfortunately, which this might be another bad decision. We'll see. I booked a breakfast at Ohana at 730, which is a little early for how late we might be in Disney Springs. We'll see. But I have to give a big hug to my favorite, Stitch.

[00:28:28] And I know that's a controversial opinion on this show. No, you're allowed to like what you like. Even if it's wrong, right? Even if it's Stitch. Oh my goodness. 730 at Ohana. How are you going to get over there? Are you just going to take a lift? I think we're just going to do a lift to Ohana. But then the exciting part is to take the monorail to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. Mm-hmm.

[00:28:58] Now, since Michael has not been to Disney World before, that's going to be another exciting part is getting to show him at least one other resort with this jaunt over to Ohana outside of Animal Kingdom Lodge. Because there's so much to enjoy in all of the resorts. I mean, you have some other days to get through yet. But do you have any other specific resorts that you want to pop into just to let him see them? Yeah, actually, that was intentional as well.

[00:29:25] So we have a Topolino's reservation towards the end. So we'll get to see Riviera. And on the last morning, we'll be going over to Wilderness Lodge to do a goodness, what is the name of the Whispering Canyon? We'll be doing Whispering Canyon Cafe for brunch there. Okay, fantastic. Yeah. And if you're if you're big meat eaters, and you like all you care to enjoy, that is a good one. The skillets are so good. Yeah.

[00:29:50] And I think that's one where finally enough, I'm not a vegetarian, but I got the vegetarian skillet there. Just I don't know. And I'm drawn to vegetarian dishes for whatever reason. Okay, monorail to Magic Kingdom and then spending the whole day there? Yes, this whole day is in Magic Kingdom. I'm thinking that after doing the after hours party will have gotten most of the kind of big banger rides all done.

[00:30:16] So I was really hoping to kind of take a slower pace with Magic Kingdom on this day. Kind of see the shows, the Country Bears, Tiki Room, Feel Her Magic, maybe Catch the Parade. I am looking for the famous pianist Grayson. I have never been able to catch him. And it's my understanding that he works Wednesday through Saturday. So that was part of the reason to do this on Thursday. Because every time I see him on Instagram or TikTok, he's just amazing.

[00:30:46] Just an incredible musician. And I would really like to see that. So like I said, slow pace. Do you have any special requests for Grayson? Should he be taking requests? You know, I don't think I'm the person to ask for that. I think if I had the opportunity, I would ask him to play something new that he's working on. Just to get that special. What is in Grayson's head to do? And what is he interested in? Yeah, he's so good.

[00:31:13] I mean, I just have such admiration for people who can play the piano that well. I played the piano in my youth. And that was not my instrument that I was really good at. But I appreciate that I learned how to play. And it definitely helped in other areas of my life. But when I watch someone like him, who can just like up and down the keyboard. And it's just like so effortless. That's just, it's such a gift. That's true talent. Yeah.

[00:31:40] Are you getting multi-pass lightning lane this day if you're planning to take it slow? We did. I don't think I'm going to be running it. You know, I don't think I'm going to be on the app all day. I wanted to do another Haunted Mansion. I could do that ride over and over and over. I just love it. I did get a Tiana's because that's another one. I'm from New Orleans originally. You know, I knew the chef that Tiana's character was based on. I've eaten at her restaurant. Just an absolute historic place. Yeah.

[00:32:10] The Dookie Chase restaurant is just fantastic. And then we have a mine train. But that's, I think that's all we were going to do. Okay. All right. Well, that sounds like a good plan there. Friday, April the 17th. Yep. And the last park to do is Animal Kingdom. So we have nothing else really to do that afternoon. I did get the three good times for some lightning lanes. Kilimanjaro bright and early at 8.05.

[00:32:39] Love catching when the animals are just waking up and starting to stir around. It's the best time to catch them. I know a lot of people like to head straight for Pandora bright and early, but I think the best tip is to go straight to the back of the park and get that stuff done first. I think Everest at 9.05. And then the other lightning lane I got was Navi at 2.10 and a flight of passage at 2.05.

[00:33:04] So I kind of timed the Pandora stuff into the afternoon so that we can do all of Africa and Asia first. Yeah, that's usually the best plan. That's usually, I say it's usually the best plan because that's usually what I do. You're doing my plan, which is to do the back of the park thing. Things. And then I try to do Navi at the same time as Flight of Passage. And I always do an individual lightning lane for it because I don't like to wait if I don't have to.

[00:33:34] So, yeah, that's going to be good. And then the park, does it close at 6 p.m. on the day that you're there? I think it does. I didn't double check that usually because the last time I did Animal Kingdom, I did it pretty thoroughly and we were not there nearly that late. I think we were walking out at 3. So what are you going to do with the rest of your day? Because even if you stay till the closing time on this day, you're going to have some time to play with. Right. This is the night that I have Topolino's booked. Okay.

[00:34:03] Yeah, I booked an 835 reservation so that we can see the fireworks out the window. Oh, perfect. I love that. And say goodbye to Epcot. This is sort of the way of me coming full circle with the trip on the last night. Well done with your planning, Ron. Well, thank you. I absolutely love dinner at Topolino's too. P.S. I know it gets so much love for breakfast, but the dinner there is so good.

[00:34:30] And that is one of the places that I get the filet mignon. I'm looking forward to it. So good. So good. All right. Saturday, April the 18th. Sadly, it's your departure day. Yes. All right. We'll see you again soon, day. Yes. Yes. What is your plan for this day?

[00:34:50] So we're going to check out early and leave the bags with bell services because we're then going to head over to the brunch at the Whispering Canyon for 950.

[00:35:28] Mm-hmm. And I think it has some similarities to Animal Kingdom Lodge, like in that feel of the grand lobby and everything. But there's just something to me so special about the theming there. And I don't know that it's – I was a trumpet minor in college. And so I've played some of those Aaron Copeland pieces in symphonies and orchestras and things that I've been a part of.

[00:35:57] So I just – it feels so majestic. And then I also, on a personal note, go back to the feeling of performing those pieces and getting to hear, if not the exact same piece, very similar feeling pieces playing in that lobby. And then that combined with the scale of everything, it's just – you walk in and there's just something so special about it. Yeah. That's what Disney's best at. Yeah. Yeah. We've given you those feels. That's why I keep going back.

[00:36:27] I cannot quit them. So good. Well, I think I have everything I need for our post-trip conversation. Anything else you wanted to squeeze in there about something you didn't mention before we close out? No. I think we're set. I can't wait to share what goes well, what doesn't go well, and we'll see what happens. Yeah. All right. Well, have a fantastic time or a phantasmic time, whichever you prefer, and I will talk to you when you get back.

[00:36:56] Thanks so much, Virginia. Ron, thank you so much for joining the podcast family. My mom said how much she enjoyed you as a guest, and I, for one, am looking forward to hearing your post-trip interview in a few days. Thank you all for listening and supporting my mom. If you are on TikTok, please give her a follow on that platform. She could use some love over there. Anyways, checking my schedule here, which I 100% have, that should be all for today. My mom should be back in about a day or two.

[00:37:25] And, yes, the post-trip interview will be up. So just, you know, stay tuned for that. But, in the meantime, keep daydreaming about where you long to be.