Going back for more MVMCP, this time I'm spending the night - SOLO! December 14-15, 2017 TR

[IanDLBZF from MCMagic]

Ok, I know this is late but here we go!


December 14, 2017 - Travel to Disney and MVMCP night!


Starting off where things should start off....

The day before this trip I had completed all my finals for the semester, so I spent the afternoon and evening charging my devices, packing, and getting all my ducks lined up in a row before I left.

The plan for me would be to have an hour layover at the Seminole Towne Center mall in Sanford, which would include time for an early lunch. I called Uber around 9 AM and they picked me up by 9:15 AM, arrived in Sanford by 10:11 AM, under an hour! Only problem I had with Uber was the driver kept changing the radio one too many times adjusting it to her needs, not mine!

Seminole Towne Center, IMHO has gone downhill ever since Belk left in 2010, and since Disney Store left in 2012. It’s not what it used to be anymore! Lunch was at Chick Fil A in the food court, they start serving lunch at 10:30 AM so I had an advantage as the bus I needed to transfer to would arrive by 11:15 AM or so. I had time to check it all out and look around, didn’t really need to buy anything at the mall.

The bus I would end up transferring to, Lynx Link 46W to the Sanford SunRail station arrived at the mall by 11:27 AM, and the whole ride from the mall to the SunRail station took about 15 minutes. I had brought a 7-Day pass before this trip so that way I wouldn’t have to have the cash fare on me full time.

SunRail heading down was not bad at all. I will admit you do see the most interesting things, I saw Amtrak Train 97 with FOUR private cars! We ran a little late due to a flagging operation at Winter Park and us meeting train 97 in Maitland.

Lynx Link 50 heading down was a different story, the driver was new and couldn’t figure the route out (you'd think that the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX) would train their drivers on the routing!). The driver figured it out eventually hehe. Had no issues with the Express Monorail going to MK, but did have to wait a while for the boat to Wilderness Lodge (usually they run one cruiser and one Launch Boat, however only the cruiser was doing the Red Flag run because the launch boat was OOS).

Anyway...

The room I had was 4563. Excellent room! No cleanliness issues, nor maintenance issues. At first couldn’t figure out the light switches, but I found them eventually. Lovely view of Bay Lake too!

The lobby is beautifully decorated at Christmas too!

Had a short time to layover before going back to MK for MVMCP! P.s. I never knew BRV/CCV had grocery order service, so I ordered two water bottles for when I got back and the return trip the next day!

Onwards to MVMCP!

I then got the boat back to MK for MVMCP, and realized I would end up missing my FP for BTMRR, called an audible before I did Splash (I had a FP for that) in that I would BTMRR that night during the party. Love the new screening procedure in that the entrance doesn’t get crowded.

Splash Mountain had a log jam (almost went 101 towards the end of the ride), but it cleared out eventually and we never had an evac.

After Splash I had to hightail it over to Tomorrowland because I was planning to meet Nick and Judy. I had a pair of bunny ears with a matching tail from Walmart which I wore as part of a Halloween Costume, and my Nick & Judy plushies. Got there by 5:10 PM, and hopped in line by 5:20 PM.
The pair doesn’t sign, like last year, so they handed us autograph cards. They came out by 6:15 PM, and I meet them by 6:18 PM (about 3 minutes after they came out). Was a teensy bit anxious/nervous before they came out but I calmed down by the time they came out.

My interaction with them was amazing! Went up to Judy saying “Judy you’re my favorite character ever! I love you!” Her hug was the best! I managed to kiss her on the cheek for a change, as Judy has kissed me (on the cheek or neck) on TWO separate occasions!

Then I hugged Nick, and as I did, from what I saw on the video I had the Blueberry record on my iPhone, Judy saw my tail and her reaction was priceless.

Blueberry - He has a tail on, just like you!

I asked Nick if he still made Pawpsicles with Finnick, and asked how Finnick was doing. Even asked Judy if Chief Bogo was keeping her busy.

Showed them I had plushies of them, Nick took his and KISSED IT (and I heard that all too familiar to me kissing sound that Judy made when she kissed me during MVMCP 12/16)! I told them they were the best and I got a GROUP HUG!

Grabbed a quick dinner at launching pad before doing Space Mountain (which had about a 10-15 minute wait). Knocked that down and proceeded to hit 7DMT as the party was getting underway! Did two treat stations in FantasyLand, then proceeded to head for the hub to see A Frozen Holiday Wish (something I now regret doing)! The hub was like Times Square in NYC on New Year’s Eve for this show!!!


After seeing A Frozen Holiday Wish (which this version had Anna, Elsa, Olaf, and Kristoff), I headed back to Fantasyland to knockdown Peter Pan’s Flight, posted wait was 25-30, actual wait was 15-20. Cleared out Peter Pan and then headed to Frontierland to do BTMRR at NIGHT! I then went to Adventureland to have the snowman pretzel/snowcone. As I got off BTMRR I realized my Olaf pin had fallen off and the black Mickey on the back had disappeared (it was on my shoe!), thankfully I went over to Frontier Trading Post to get the black thing replaced! Love how friendly and helpful CMs can be in situations like this!


Then it was back to Fantasyland to see Holiday Wishes and to meet Scrooge and Donald!


Saw the show from the same spot I saw it last year, fantastic as ever! But when compared to HEA, HEA knocks Holiday Wishes off its socks! I’ve heard rumors, per Jim Hill, that MNSSHP would be getting a replacement for Happy HalloWishes, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Holiday Wishes gets a replacement too! Before I went to meet the Ducks, I hunted down the MVMCP exclusive pins and picked up a figurine set featuring the characters from "Mickey's Christmas Carol."


Now onto Scrooge and Donald. Hopped into their line by 10:25, meet them by 10:54. It was a wonderful yet very amusing interaction. Even told Donald that HE was number 1, and Mickey was “number 1 and a half”! Overall it was a very fun interaction too. That makes two out of the fab five I have meet!

Headed back over to Main Street USA to see the second parade from the train station, just as Kringle Krew was approaching the train station. I even heard the Mad Hatter shout something but I couldn’t tell what he said! I swear one of the elves riding a scooter in the Toy Land segment of this parade must be good friends with Judy (during MISIDPI) as she waved and saluted at me!

My last order of business for the day was to see Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration. Me being a Three Caballeros fan I just had to see Panchito and Jose perform, I’ve seen them in Soundsational once back in 2014! The show was pretty amazing, once it got to the Three Caballeros segment I shouted “PANCHITO I LOVE YOU!” Had no issues seeing Text Me Merry Christmas being performed in this show, having seen a Periscope reference in “Fiends” at Busch Gardens during Howl-O-Scream once!


By this time, both me and my feet were tired! So I headed on back to WL, no issues with transportation back to the resort. I saw that my order had been delivered and put into the mini-fridge! Took my evening meds, put my PJs on, and went to bed.

The next chapter is coming tomorrow!

 

[IanDLBZF from MCMagic]

December 15, 2017 - Take the long way home!

Originally this day was supposed to be a park day, however my mom had a Christmas Party for her work she wanted to attend and couldn’t pick me up from the DeBary station that evening so she would pick me up from my apartment in Leesburg the next day. So I made this day a travel day, and decided to take Lynx, SunRail, and LakeXpress back to Leesburg.


Got up around 8:45 AM, showered/shaved/brushed teeth/got dressed and packed for the long trip home! Had breakfast at Roaring Fork, it wasn’t too bad. Had french toast banana foster, yogurt, a danish, grapes, and apple juice.


WARNING - WHAT FOLLOWS MAY SOUND “CRAZY” TO SOME PEOPLE, BUT FOR THE MOST PART ITS NOT.


I grabbed the boat from WL to Contemporary (it was already at the dock when I got there), I took that then hopped onto the Resort Monorail to the TTC.

The next leg was from the TTC to Downtown Orlando (Lynx Central Station) via Lynx Link 50. I was the ONLY one on the bus from the TTC to Disney Springs! On-time for most part. Then it was SunRail from there to Altamonte Springs. No issues there either. Train was on-time.


The next leg was from Altamonte Springs to Apopka, via Lynx Link 436N. We did run into some traffic, mostly on SR 436 as we approached Apopka. Thank god I didn’t miss my connecting bus to Zellwood (Lynx Link 44), where I would spend the next hour or so in a layover before my connecting LakeXpress Bus (Route 4 to Eustis) arrived. It was a fairly quiet run on the 44 and LakeXpress Route 4. My connecting bus to Leesburg (LakeXpress Route 1) had no issues either. Then came the bus back to Downtown Leesburg (LakeXpress Route 2), which is where I live during the school year. There were no issues up until we hit the Southside Shopping Center. Here’s what happened:

A passenger tried to board the bus without his shirt on, the driver told him to put it on, that’s when one of the passengers stood up and threatened the driver! This passenger mind you was apparently high on crack, he pushed a cart in front of the bus, showed his phone screen, made threats, and that same passenger who boarded without his shirt on (he did put a shirt on before sitting down) even flipped the middle finger a number of times! Police were called too because the driver’s safety was at risk. This caused the bus to be DELAYED, so what he did was run the bus back to Citizen’s Boulevard via Downtown Leesburg (he did let me off at the stop near Leesburg City Hall), thank god nobody was injured, but OMG that was scary!

PSA:

Remember kids (and readers alike), don't do crack it can harm you in many ways. It can even get you in trouble with the law.

 

[IanDLBZF from MCMagic]

Overall:

Boulder Ridge Villas - Would do again. Despite the room being small, I loved the view. Nothing was dated, room was (surprisingly enough) clean. The resort is beautifully decorated at Christmas!

Pro-Tip: When doing online check-in, request an upper floor for an excellent view!


Disney Transportation - Didn’t rely heavily on the buses, but I liked the boat between WL & MK. However, I can totally understand that one of the two boats on the Red Flag line was out of service. Going back from MK following MVMCP we had a combined Green/Red Flag run. No issues with any watercraft transportation or the monorail for that matter.


Lynx - The public buses in Orlando can be hit or miss. On the Link 50 run Thursday afternoon the driver was rather confused. My thought - Lynx you need to train your drivers more.


SunRail - Always a good experience what else do I need to say.


LakeXpress - LakeXpress is one of those systems that you normally see in the more rural suburbs that have fixed route bus systems. Mind you LakeXpress is 10 years old going on 11. The Route 1 & 4 ran perfectly smooth no problems. What happened that evening on the 2 was something I never had happen to me while using public transportation here in Central Florida, didn’t matter if it was Lynx, Votran, SunRail, or LakeXpress I’ve never had this type of situation happen to me.


Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party - AMAZING! I did this in 2016 too (on a sold out night) and me and my friend loved it! This is my first time doing it solo, so I didn’t have to drag along my friend (Alex Dangel). Short wait times on attractions are a BIG plus here too! Crowds weren’t too bad, outside of the hub which was like a mosh pit during a Frozen Holiday Wish. Loved Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration, especially since Panchito and Jose were in it (of course)! Saw the reindeer on the left pull off quite the show too!


Cast Members - A lot of very good CMs here this time around. Got to hear “Merry Christmas” often. Even had a great experience with getting a new "black Mickey" for my Olaf pin


Character interactions - Excellent! Didn’t feel too rushed at all, especially with the ducks.

 

[chs27]

One day I'll travel solo. I've talked to many who love it and travel regularly alone. One day.