13-year-old Henry's WDW trip report

WDW Prep To Go - a Disney World planning podcast

Thirteen-year-old Henry shares his detailed Disney World trip report from a four-day visit in August, highlighting his independent planning,

Key takeaways

• Teenagers can take significant ownership of Disney trip planning, including booking Lightning Lanes and managing itineraries with parental assistance.

Main topics

• Teen-led Disney World trip planning
• Lightning Lane booking strategies

Notable quotes

"It's truly unforgettable. It's a once-in-a-lifetime trip."

Conclusion

Henry's trip exemplifies how thoughtful planning and family involvemen

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Today we'll have 13-year-old Henry's Disney World Trip Report that's coming up on this episode 531 of WWE Prep To Go. Speaker 2 (0:25) Hello and welcome to WTEP Prep to Go, Retalk Strategy and Ideas for People Planning Their Disney Trips. I am your host Shannon Albert from www.prepschool.com. Thank you for being here for episode 531. Today is another trip report. I will have that for you in just a moment. Before I get into that, a reminder to follow on social media if you aren't already. This morning I had a 3.30 alarm, 3.30 Pacific Time alarm, so that I could get up and... post the promos to social media immediately. There are four new promos out for 2027. And those are some pretty good deals for annual pass holders and for packages and for room only rates and different options there. So if you are following on social media, you would have seen those right in early this morning. And if you would like to get a quote for your trip through Small World Vacations, who we partner with, I'm going to link that in the description. And also a reminder that if you want the episodes without ads, there are two ways to do that. And one of those is to become a patron where this exact same episode is posted there. But without the ads inserted, we have to pay the bills one way or the other, either through Patreon subscription or through the ads being inserted. Take your pick which one. But if you want it to play uninterrupted without the ads, that is one way to do it. The other is to have a YouTube premium subscription. And if you want to be a guest like Henry, the only way to do that is to leave a voicemail, speakpipe.com slash WW prep to go leave a message with the kind of overview of your trip. And if the details of the trip and the timing of the trip and everything work out with our schedule, then somebody in my team will reach out and get you scheduled for a pre Speaker 1 (2:07) -trip and post-trip. Speaker 2 (2:09) That's it for the admin. So I was super excited to talk to Henry. I don't know about the guests before I show up because they just appear on my calendar and I appear for the booking. And so I was like, oh, talking to a kid today, but he had expert level planning skills. And so I was excited to talk to him. I know I often mentioned during Trip Report Tell. I love when teenagers get to sort of flex independence they might not get to at home at Disney World. And this is kind of a whole other level of that because it's a whole lot of hands-on planning right from the beginning from the teenager and in addition to all the independence that she can have during the trip. So I really love talking to him. So without any further ado, here are my chats with Henry. Welcome to the podcast, Henry. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. We are talking on Saturday, August 22nd, and you told me that you were headed to Disney World. Speaker 1 (3:07) Yes, we are staying at Pop Century through Thursday, August 27th to the Monday of August 31st. Speaker 2 (3:14) 27th through the 31st, Pop Century. Yep. And have you ever stayed there before? Speaker 1 (3:20) Yes, I stayed there in 2016, so I don't really remember it that much, but we're really excited for it since we're on the Skyliner. Speaker 2 (3:27) Yes, you don't remember it because would you like to share your age? I Speaker 1 (3:32) am 13. Speaker 2 (3:34) And so 2016, you would have been a toddler. Yep. Okay, so you don't remember it, but you know what, back then? I'm not sure if it had the Skyliner on it or not. Speaker 1 (3:48) No, I think it was like 2019 when it was built or something. Yeah, Speaker 2 (3:52) I think so. So it has, we always liked it even back then, but we like it even more now with the Skyliner. Yeah, it's even Speaker 1 (4:00) better, yeah. Speaker 2 (4:01) Okay. And who's going on this trip? Speaker 1 (4:05) It's me and my mom. Speaker 2 (4:09) All right. And how Speaker 1 (4:12) often have you guys been? So we went in 2016. That was really fun. I don't really remember it that much. And then we went in 2018. And we did all four parks then. In 2016, we just did Magic Kingdom. I still don't really remember that one. And then we went in 2024. And we did all four parks then. And I remember really liking Hollywood Studios. That was my favorite park. So we're doing a lot of Hollywood Studios on this trip. And then we're going now. Speaker 2 (4:39) How did you guys decide to go right now on these like four days in August? So Speaker 1 (4:44) we wanted to do the Halloween party. And then we also know a lot of kids are back in school already because I'm from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and our schools haven't really started up yet. But I know a lot of other people's schools have, so hopefully the crowds will be a little bit lower. And then we're also here for the Halloween party. Okay. So low Speaker 2 (5:02) crowds and Halloween party are Speaker 1 (5:04) the Speaker 2 (5:05) focus. Speaker 1 (5:06) So on Thursday, August 27th, are you guys flying from Minneapolis? Yes, we are. Just going down to my boarding passes. We are leaving MSP at 715 on Delta, and we are arriving at 1133. Speaker 2 (5:22) Okay. And I assume that's your arrive at 11.33 a.m., like right before lunch. Speaker 1 (5:26) Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay. And then Speaker 2 (5:29) when you land there, you will be making your way to Pop Century. How are you going to get there? Speaker 1 (5:35) Yes. I think we are going to Uber from MCO. That's what we've done in the past, and I don't think we're going to do anything different. Yeah. Speaker 2 (5:45) Okay, and you'll still have plenty of day left. So what do you do after you get to Pop Speaker 1 (5:50) Century? So we are going to go to, we are doing two parks today. We have Park Hopper and we are starting with Animal Kingdom. The Lightning Lanes I have, I booked Lightning Lanes a few days ago. So I have Zootopia at 11.50, Flight of Passage at 12.25, Kilimanjaro at 12.30, and Navi at 1.30. Speaker 2 (6:13) All right. And you said you booked them. So are you the planner? Speaker 1 (6:18) Yes. So I can't book them because I'm not 18. So I go on my mom's phone and book them. So, yeah, I am allowed to modify Lightning Lanes, but not single passes because when you modify a single pass, it's like it's separate. But so I can modify the Lightning Lanes. So when we're in the parks, I can book new ones. But when we were just booking them a few days ago, I had to book through my mom's phone. Speaker 2 (6:42) Yeah, and I assume that's because payment's required. Speaker 1 (6:45) Mm-hmm. No payment's allowed. I can't even book dining reservations on my phone. Speaker 2 (6:49) Okay. But then once it's paid for, then you can modify it on your account. Speaker 1 (6:55) Mm-hmm. Speaker 2 (6:56) Okay, so when you talk about the lighting lanes, these are all things that you booked from your mom's phone? Speaker 1 (7:01) Yeah. Okay. And Speaker 2 (7:02) the Speaker 1 (7:02) dining reservations, too. Speaker 2 (7:04) Okay, nice. We'll get into those as we come across them. So you're starting with Animal Kingdom. You got some hunting lanes lined up for your midday arrival. Speaker 1 (7:13) And Speaker 2 (7:14) then what? Speaker 1 (7:15) We are planning to do, this is our only Animal Kingdom time, so we want to get everything done that we can. I really want to do, I want to see Festival of the Lion King. And I also really want to go to Bluey and Bingo at Rafiki's Planet Watch because that was new and my family is really into Bluey, so that would be really fun. But if the line is really long, it might not be worth it. But we also... Were you about to say something? Go ahead. We're also leaving at 6.15 to go to Epcot because we have a single pass for Guardians. Speaker 1 (7:54) And you've been on Guardians before? Yes. Yes, I have. Speaker 2 (7:58) Okay. You must have liked it because you wanted to play it again. Speaker 1 (8:01) I know. It was so fun. When we went in the past, I was really hoping for September, and my mom was too. And then we got September, and it was the best thing ever. It was so fun. Okay, so is Speaker 2 (8:12) Guardians the first thing that you have on your agenda for Epcot this evening? Speaker 1 (8:16) Yes, and then I was also hoping to do some of the other rides because the next day when we're doing Epcot, we're leaving pretty early for the Halloween party. So I want to be able to maybe do Test Track if we can get a lightning lane for that and maybe Frozen. And then after that, after Epcot, we'll Skyliner to Riviera and then take a bus from there to Disney Springs. And Speaker 2 (8:37) then what are you hoping to do at Disney Springs? Speaker 1 (8:39) I really want to go to Gideon's because we haven't gone to Disney Springs before. And I've been listening to the podcast for a while and everyone's like Gideon's is so good. So I really want to go to Gideon's. And then Ghirardelli, Ghirardelli Square, I think it's called. Because it's the online, it said it has really good milkshakes. I read a bunch of reviews. And then I also want to go to Disney's Days of Christmas to get an ornament. Because every year we go, we get an ornament for the year. Speaker 2 (9:07) Yeah. That's a good souvenir. Speaker 1 (9:09) Yeah. This could be a busy day. Yeah, I know. I know. I'm hoping I can get everything done. But if not, if not, I'll just prioritize the things I really want to do. Because there's some things I could cut out if we're on a time crunch. And also, this is assuming that we arrive on time. Last time we left from MCL, our plane got delayed 18 hours. That will definitely Speaker 2 (9:32) change your plans, won't it? Yeah. Speaker 1 (9:34) So, yeah, that's today. And throughout our whole trip, you'll see that we're rope-dropped to park close people. Speaker 2 (9:41) Yeah, this does feel like that vibe. What about dining on this day? Do you have any plans made? Speaker 1 (9:46) So I want to go—we're not sure what we're going to do for breakfast and lunch because we're traveling, but for dinner I want to do Satili Canteen. And then I also remember going to an ice cream truck in Animal Kingdom. I don't know how to pronounce the first part of it. But I got the Yeti sundae last time, and I really, really liked it. So I want to get that again if we can. And then obviously the cookies at Gideon's. Speaker 1 (10:09) Does that count as dinner? Yeah, but yeah. We're going to Tuli Canteen in Animal Kingdom for dinner, but yeah. Speaker 2 (10:18) Okay, Gideon's is dessert. Speaker 1 (10:20) Okay, right. So then Speaker 2 (10:22) let's talk about Friday, August 28th. Speaker 1 (10:24) Yes, we are rope-dropping Epcot, and we are rope-dropping Guardians. And then hopefully, we have early entry, so hopefully... Test track won't have a super long line after that and then we could also do we could just do single rider for test track too but hopefully we can ride together if it's not a super long wait and then Remy's if there's still time in early entry or we're planning to do that in single rider anyway So hopefully it won't have a long ride at all a long line at all. But yeah Do Speaker 2 (10:58) you have lightning lanes for this day? Yes, Speaker 1 (11:00) we do. Okay We have Frozen at 9.40, Guardians at 10.30, Living with the Land at 10.40, and Soarin' at 11.40. And then we have a San Angel Inn lunch reservation at 12.30. I think I said that completely. San and hell, not San Angel. Speaker 2 (11:18) My mom's okay. I do not. Well, San Angel, I think, is correct. So you got it. Speaker 1 (11:25) Yeah. Okay, Speaker 2 (11:25) so you've got some, it sounds like you've got some rope drop things you want to do, and then you can use lightning lanes, and then in the middle there somewhere, you've got this San Angel and watch. Speaker 1 (11:36) Uh-huh, because we really, we always do three caballeros, and it's really underrated. I don't know why it always is a walk-on, but it's a really fun ride. And every time we go past the restaurant, we're like, we should go there sometime. So I finally booked a reservation there, and we're going to eat there. So that'll be really fun. And Speaker 2 (11:53) will you be requesting to Speaker 1 (11:54) sit Speaker 2 (11:54) on the water? Speaker 1 (11:56) Yes. It's okay if we can't, but that's what we're hoping we can do. Speaker 2 (12:02) Okay. And you have park hopper tickets. Is this another park hopping day? Speaker 1 (12:06) Yes. So we are park hopping to, well, this is on Mickey's Not So Scary Day. So you could count it as park hopping, but we're pretty much just going when the party starts. But we want to arrive at Magic Kingdom at 345 since we have park hopper tickets so we can beat the crowd of everyone getting in at four for the party. And then this is a really long thing, but I really want to get... I want to go to Gaston's Tavern and get the Grey Stuff Cupcake and the Creme Brulee Croissant because I've seen really good reviews for both of those things. So I'm really excited for those. But yeah, we're park hopping to Magic Kingdom. And then before the party, we're hoping to be able to get some lightning rings and do some rides. Speaker 1 (12:51) Okay, and has some snacks, including Speaker 2 (12:53) Gaston's Tavern. Speaker 1 (12:54) Okay, so Speaker 2 (12:56) tell me your Magic Kingdom priorities then, other than Gaston's. We Speaker 1 (12:59) really want to ride Tiana's, because when we went, Tiana's opened a few months after we went, and we were like, oh no, we miss Tiana's. So I really want to do Tiana's a few times in this trip. During the party, I have a whole plan. I want to go to the Market Street Welcome, obviously to get the candy bags and everything. And then... I want to do the Trick or Treat Trails in Fantasyland and then meet Pluto at Storybook Circus. I had to change a lot of these plans because I was planning off of last year's Halloween party. And they cut the Stitch meet and greet. But it's okay because he has a party. They sure did. And it's such a Speaker 2 (13:34) disappointment. Speaker 1 (13:36) So after that, I want to meet Mickey and Minnie at Town Square Theater. And that's a little bit out of the way, but it's okay. And then... We might actually do Tomorrowland stuff on the way there because I want to do the two rides that have overlays. So that would be Mad Tea Party and Space Mountain. And I think Tomorrowland Speedway might have one. I think that might just be a Christmas one, though. Speaker 2 (14:01) That's just Christmas. Speaker 1 (14:02) Yeah. So we're going to do Mad Tea Party and Space Mountain on the way there and also hopefully get some more Trick or Treat trails in. And then, okay, and then after. Mickey and Minnie were hopefully going to head to Adventureland and do the rides there. Because I remember we did the Halloween party in 2018, I think. And I went with my mom and dad, and we went and did Pirates of the Caribbean, and that was one of my favorite memories. And it was so fun, and I never did it before. And I was, like, scared at the beginning, but I really liked it at the end. So I want to do that again. So we're going to do Pirates of the Caribbean, and hopefully... I was going to get this tart thing that looked really good from the party last year, but they also cut that from the Pico's Fill menu. So I looked at the other stuff. So we're going to get this delicious cake, hopefully. And then I also want to ride Haunted Mansion. But I think it might have a really long line because it's the Halloween party. And then my mom and I both really want the donuts at Fry's Nook. And that's basically the plan. And maybe at the last part of the party, we might hit like Seven Dwarfs or Tron to get a big one in before we leave. Speaker 2 (15:08) I didn't hear you mention the parade or fireworks. Speaker 1 (15:11) Okay, so I wrote this at the top of the plan. I definitely want to see the fireworks at 10. That is my top priority for the party. Speaker 1 (15:22) We'll see how it's going, but we might want to see... We're not really big parade people, but we might want to see the 1115 parade in Frontierland, like in the Frontierland area, because I've heard that it's a lot less busy in Frontierland. So maybe we'll go to Frontierland to see that, but it depends on how we're feeling and if we want to or if we want to do other stuff. So, yeah. Okay. So it may or may not happen. Yeah. Fireworks are definitely happening, though. Speaker 2 (15:50) All right. Yes. And you got one shot at those. So definitely go to those at 10 o'clock. Got it. Okay. That's going to be a late night. Do you plan to stay till close? The party ends? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Speaker 2 (16:03) I need to bottle some of your energy, Henry. Speaker 1 (16:07) I didn't mention what dinner plans were, but I really want to go to Cosmic Rise to see. I forgot his name, but the robot guy. Sunny Eclipse. Sunny Eclipse. Yeah. And then there's some snacks in Epcot. I want to get like the pretzel nuggets at Block and Hans and the s'mores brownie at Wriggle Eagle. Speaker 2 (16:26) Okay. So you are a snacky dude. Speaker 1 (16:29) Yeah. Oh, and I forgot to mention this, but we have, I am really confused by this, but we have a dining plan that came with our Pop Century stay because we had four nights there. So we have a dining plan, and I think it'll be more obvious what our credits are once we check into the hotel, but I'm not sure how many credits we get. I know it's a quick service one. So we're getting... I'm not sure. But we'll just check and we'll use our credits as much as we can throughout the day. But it was really nice that it just came with our stay. So that was really nice. Speaker 2 (17:09) Yeah. So then the food is included. Yeah. So you don't have to worry about it. So you will get two quick service meals for every night. So you do the math of how many nights am I staying. Yeah. Multiply that times two. And then you will each get that many quick service credits loaded into your account when you log in, when you check in. You don't have to use them two per day, but you'll get that many loaded into your account. And then you also get a snack. per night of your trip. Speaker 1 (17:39) Okay. So we each get a snack per night and then two quick service meals per night. Speaker 2 (17:43) Yes. Okay. Thank Speaker 1 (17:45) you. Yeah. So Speaker 2 (17:47) that'll be good. And when you're like, if you mobile order and stuff, it will let you use those credits, which makes it. Speaker 1 (17:53) Okay. Yes, Speaker 2 (17:54) it does. It makes it really easy. It Speaker 1 (17:56) was really hard. I was trying to find the dining plan in my account and then I went into our stay and it just said like, it comes with the dining plan, but I didn't know where to find my credits. So. I think it said that I'll find it once I check in. Speaker 2 (18:09) Yeah. But hopefully that's what you find is the numbers that I just told you. So that'll be lots of meals for you. Speaker 1 (18:15) Yeah. Are you ready to talk about Saturday, August 29th? Yes. We are starting with Hollywood Studios and we are rope dropping, rock and roller coaster. I'm so excited about this one because when I went in 2018, it was down for a refurb. And when I went in 2024, it was down for a refurb. And I was scared it was going to be down for a refurb again. Because they were redoing it. But it's not. So I'm so excited. And none of the rides are done for Reverb when we're gone. So I'm so excited. Yeah. Are you using Lightning Lanes on this day too? Yes. We have a Rise at 9.35. Aliens Ruin Saucers at 10. Toy Story Mini at 11.45. Slinky Dog Dash at 12.25. And then we have a dining reservation at Sci-Fi Dine-In at 5.20. Speaker 2 (19:05) Okay. Sci-fi 520. Have you been to sci-fi before? Speaker 1 (19:10) No, I haven't. But I really liked, I thought it looked cool. And I read reviews of the food online, and they said the food wasn't that bad. So I think it'll be a fun experience. And if we are feeling like we don't want to sit down for dinner and we want to get more stuff done, then we don't have to. There's another dining reservation in the trip that's like my must-do dining reservation. And then I also really want to go to San Angel. But if we can't make it to this one, it's not the end of the world. And then we're also park hopping to Magic Kingdom, so we have a seven dwarfs at eight. So... Oh, Speaker 2 (19:47) and Speaker 1 (19:47) so Speaker 2 (19:47) it's in the evening that you hop? Speaker 1 (19:49) Yes. Speaker 2 (19:49) Yeah. Got it. Okay. All this hopping. Yeah, not 8 a Speaker 1 (19:55) .m. Not 8 a.m. Speaker 2 (19:57) Yeah, that would be crazy, wouldn't it? Speaker 1 (19:59) Yeah. Speaker 2 (19:59) Okay, so in the evening you are hopping to Magic Kingdom. Are you hopping in the evening or you just happen to have a lighting lane for Seven Dress My Chain in the evening? Speaker 1 (20:07) Yeah, we're hoping to hop at around 8 because we really want to maximize our Hollywood Studios time. But I really wanted to get to the Magic Kingdom like night time. And on the other day that is our Magic Kingdom day, it closes at 6 for another party. So I just moved. We're still doing Magic Kingdom that day because hopefully it'll be lower crowds because there's a party later. But I just moved a chunk of Hollywood Studios to the end of that day and then moved a chunk of Magic Kingdom to the end of this day. This is exactly why we recommend park hopper tickets this time of year is what Speaker 2 (20:40) you're doing because you're like, I'm going to take advantage of the low crowds on a party day, but also I still want to go in the evening. And so I'll do that a different day. Okay. Speaker 1 (20:47) Hollywood Studios is open later that day too. It's open till 10 instead of nine. So that'll be better too. Okay. So any Speaker 2 (20:54) other priorities at Magic Kingdom other than Seven Dwarfs My Train? Speaker 1 (21:01) Peter Pan. Speaker 2 (21:02) Okay. Speaker 1 (21:03) Fireworks? No. No, we're not big fireworks people, but I've never seen them before, so I want to see the Halloween party ones. But I really just want to maximize our time at Magic Kingdom. Oh, I want to see Starlight Parade. That's what I want to see. That's what I forgot. Yeah, I want to see the Starlight Parade that day because we didn't see that. The last time I saw Parade at Magic Kingdom, it was the... I don't remember. It was this one where they all had like really bright lights. It was like neon lights. And it was at night. And it was the last day of our trip. And it was so fun. So I want to see how Starlight Parade is. So we're doing that. And then hopefully we can maximize ride time during fireworks. Because we're very big ride people. So maybe even get like a bigger one like Tron in. We'll just see how we're doing. Okay. Got it. Are you ready to talk about Sunday, August 30th? Yes. Speaker 2 (21:58) Okay, what you got? Speaker 1 (22:00) We are rope dropping Magic Kingdom, and we do have Lightning Lane, but we are rope dropping Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. And then this is a big rope drop plan, so we're hoping that we can fit Peter Pan's flight in during early entry, and then double rope drop to Haunted Mansion. But if we aren't feeling that like we can, then we'll just head straight to double rope drop Haunted Mansion after Seven Dwarfs. We're hoping because of the lower crowds, we might be able to get in Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan's before it is double rope drop time, but we'll see. Speaker 2 (22:39) Okay, so you're hoping during early entry to Seven Dress My Train, Peter Pan's, and then at regular park opening, Haunted Mansion, which is like your second job. Okay, I got it. Speaker 1 (22:49) Yeah. Speaker 2 (22:50) All right, you'd have to be really early to be able to accomplish that. I know, I know. Speaker 1 (22:55) We're hoping to show up to the park really early on all of the days because we just want to maximize all of our park time because we don't go a lot to Disney World, but yeah. Speaker 2 (23:04) All right, so you've got... Three big ones there in a row. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Then what? Speaker 1 (23:12) I'm hoping that we can use our lightning lanes right after that because we have Buzz at 9.05 and then we have Tiana's at 9.45. And I'm hoping that after we tap into Buzz, we can modify our poo to be like Big Thunder Mountain because we have poo at 10.45 and I don't want that one. So because I feel like we can get that with a shorter wait. And it's just really popular because a lot of people have young kids and they want to get a Lightning Lane for it. So I think hopefully we can get that one without a Lightning Lane and then modify that to be Big Thunder because Big Thunder just opened. So it's having a lot of Lightning Lane. It's very popular in Lightning Lanes. So, yeah. Speaker 2 (23:53) And you have a clear understanding of how the Lightning Lane system works. How hard was that for you to get? Speaker 1 (24:00) So I actually booked Lightning Lanes first, and I got like a really bad buzz. But then I went on Thrill Data, and it said that literally every single Lightning Lane for that day was at 905. So I just modified around and got the ones I wanted. Oh, and now you're talking about Speaker 2 (24:15) Thrill Data, so you're at a whole other level. But I mean, how hard was the Lightning List system for you to understand? Because you obviously understand it enough to be able to book all this stuff. Speaker 1 (24:26) Yeah. So when it came out like two years, two or three years ago, I was on top of it because I knew I was going to go on a trip in a few years. And I was like, I need to understand this. So within the first month that it was out, I completely understood it. Okay, because I think for some people it's really hard Speaker 2 (24:42) until you're there. Because it's like you can read and read and read, but then until you're there, sometimes it doesn't make sense. Speaker 1 (24:48) Yeah. Yeah. Well, you just have three and you can always have three. And once you use one, you book another one. I mean, that is the simplest way to explain it for sure. And once you tap in, you can, or once you tap into your first one, you can modify your other ones to be tier ones. But you can only book one tier one when you're booking seven days in advance. Speaker 2 (25:06) Correct. You definitely understand that. I'm just really impressed that you have graphed it all. Speaker 1 (25:12) Yeah. So, Speaker 2 (25:13) okay. So you're hoping to, you've got some money lanes on this day, but you're hoping to modify the Winnie the Pooh one to be something that is more attracted to you. Yeah. Have you considered using one of the tools? Because you said Thrill Data. So have you considered using their tool, Weight Magic? Speaker 1 (25:28) We already Speaker 2 (25:28) have Speaker 1 (25:28) Weight Magic. Trying to find us a better Slinky and a better Speaker 2 (25:32) Toy Story Mania. Toy Speaker 1 (25:33) Story Mania is at five on the day that we're going. I can't believe it. It's later than what Slinky is. So we're having, it's trying to modify, but we have it, we have pretty good times. And it's also trying to modify Pooh to be earlier too. Because I do want to ride Winnie the Pooh, but I just think it's not really a good use of the lightning lane because it's normally not that long of a wait. The Speaker 2 (25:54) weird thing about the Winnie the Pooh is that For some reason, the lighting lanes are very, very popular. Speaker 1 (26:00) Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. I'm not sure. And Speaker 2 (26:03) then I think Speaker 1 (26:03) it's worth paying for one more, but I'm not sure what it is. I can look. Okay. All Speaker 2 (26:07) right. So you are using Weight Magic. Yeah. And so you're using it right now to modify. Will you also be using it during your trip to get new ones? Speaker 1 (26:14) So during our trip, we are using Weight Magic and Standby Skipper. Okay. We are using lots of things to try to get good ones, but so... We're using weight magic and hopefully, because I'm being very ambitious with lightnings I want to get later. Like on our Animal Kingdom day, I want to get a test track, which is very unrealistic. So hopefully we can get Standby Skipper or even weight magic to book an earlier one or just get one at all for us. So that'd be nice. Speaker 2 (26:45) I mean, I've had a lot of good luck personally with doing Animal Kingdom and then Epcot and then getting three headliners at Epcot. So maybe you'll have the same luck. Speaker 1 (26:54) Yeah. But I think what's really—Wait, Magic isn't gotten us anything right now, but I think what's really— Limiting it is that it can't get us anything earlier because our lightning lanes are all really close and Disney won't let us get them close. So hopefully 12 a.m. on Thursday when the conflicting lightning lane rule drops, it can move them all earlier. But we'll see. I mean, we have pretty good time. So it doesn't really matter that much if we get earlier ones. I just want to be able to churn our lightning lanes and get... All the Speaker 2 (27:29) ones throughout the park. Okay. Let's go back to your original plan, which was Sunday, August 30th, where you were in the middle of Magic Kingdom. So you've got some lighting lanes starting with Buzz, and then you've got some after that. You want to modify. What other plans do you have on this day? Speaker 1 (27:45) So we are monorailing to the Contemporary, and I'm really excited about this one. It's been getting really mixed reviews, but I'm really excited to be going to Chef Mickey's. I think that'll be really fun. What time is that one? 12. So we're hoping that we can get a few lightning lanes, do those, and then head over to Contemporary for this. And I'm really excited for this because I really like the Contemporary, and it's always been my dream to stay there, but the room rates Speaker 2 (28:17) are just Speaker 1 (28:17) so expensive. So we are going to Chef Mickey's instead, and it's a character meal inside the Contemporary. How can it get better? Speaker 2 (28:28) You're like everything in one place. Speaker 1 (28:30) Yeah, and it's Mickey themed, my favorite character. Anyway, but it'll be so good. Even though the breakfast food, hopefully it'll be really good, even though it's been getting mixed reviews for the price and everything. But I hope it'll be worth it, and I hope it'll be really fun. So then we're going back to Magic Kingdom after that. Speaker 2 (28:48) When I was a kid, I rode the monorail through the contemporary because I was staying off-site. And Speaker 1 (28:54) I remember looking down from the monorail and thinking, that's where all the fancy people are. Speaker 2 (28:59) And then as an adult, I've been able to stay there, you know, and every time I'm like, this is so cool. Speaker 1 (29:05) Yeah, yeah. So hopefully at some point in my life, I'll be able to stay there. I Speaker 2 (29:11) hope you do. All right. So when you go back to Magic Kingdom, then what is your plan? Speaker 1 (29:15) Okay, we want to get Adventureland done, so get Lightning Lanes for Pirates, hopefully Jungle Cruise, even though that's a Tier 1 that's pretty popular. I think Magic Carpets will pretty much just be a walk-on, so we don't really need a Lightning Lane for that. But we want to do that. We want to do... Hopefully we'll be able to knock out Tiana's and Big Thunder before launch, but if not, then we'll do those then. We have a Tiana's at 945, so I think Tiana's we will, but maybe... If we can't get one earlier for Big Thunder, then we'll do that. I want to do some more Fantasyland and then Space Mountain. And then after that, we are hopping to... Speaker 1 (29:57) when we get kicked out. Oh, we also have a lightning lane for Tron because I wanted to do Tron at night, but we can't because it's not open. So we have one at 440 to 540 right before they kick people out. So we're hoping to hit that at the end when maybe there's sort of a sun. I don't think it's going to work out, but it's okay. I just, we'll be able to do Tron anyways. So we're going to do that. And then I mean, hopefully we'll do Tron at night on the other day when I switched the Switchie around. So hopefully we'll do that during the Halloween party. Yes, and then also we're hoping to do it during the Halloween party. So there's multiple chances for me to do it at night. But this is just the day where I was like, oh, we're going to be at Magic Kingdom all day. We should do Tron at night because Tron is so cool at night. So we have one, not really at night, but we have a Tron lightning link. Early Speaker 2 (30:50) evening, Speaker 1 (30:51) maybe. Yeah. Yeah. And then I also really want to get the Tiana Spagnuos and pepperoni spring rolls. I love those. I didn't like spring rolls until I went to Disney. Opening up a whole new world for you. Yeah, I went to Disney and we went to the spring roll cart and my mom was like, we should get spring rolls. And I was like, no, I don't like spring rolls. And then she got me a pepperoni pizza spring roll and it was so good. And now I like spring rolls. Speaker 2 (31:20) You Speaker 1 (31:21) never know. Yeah. Okay, so then are you hopping somewhere? Yes. So we are hopping to Epcot for one ride. And it is Guardians. And I think we have a lightning lane. Indeed we do. We have a lightning lane for Guardians. That is our third lightning lane of the trip for Guardians. It's understandable. I know, it's so fun. So Epcot for Guardians, and then we're monorailing from, wait, we're monorailing to Epcot. And then we're skylining from Epcot to All I Do Is to Spend a Night There, because we did the swishy. And then I want to do the headliners, so... Rise, Slinky, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and Mickey Minis. And if we, hopefully we can get lightning lanes for some of them, but it's going to be really late, so hopefully the crowds are dispersing a little bit, but we'll see. All right. And then Speaker 2 (32:20) Monday, August 31st is your departure day. Speaker 1 (32:23) Yep, we are leaving at 6.40. That is when our flight is departing, so it'll be an early morning, but... Oh, I forgot. We're also doing Beacon Barrel on the Sunday. So I'm excited for that, too, because that's new, and I think it has really cool theming, so that'll be cool. Speaker 2 (32:39) What time is that Speaker 1 (32:40) reservation? Yeah, we have a reservation at 4. Speaker 2 (32:44) Okay, so before your Tron lighting, Lane. Speaker 1 (32:47) Right before my Tron. Speaker 2 (32:52) All right. Okay. So when you went to make dining reservations, how did you, did you do a browser or app? App. Yeah. And how'd you know what like order to do it in? Speaker 1 (33:06) So I basically just went for Chef Mickey's first because I wanted Speaker 2 (33:12) it the most, even though it wouldn't fall out. But Speaker 1 (33:15) I did Chef Mickey's and Beacon Barrel, and then the other two were really easy. And I literally, sorry, literally, but I literally booked SyFy like a week ago, and the times were just all over. Speaker 1 (33:31) So they weren't that hard to get. And there's still times for Chef Mickey's all over too and Beacon Barrel, which is weird because Beacon Barrel seems to be popular. But it's pretty easy to get nowadays. Really? Mm-hmm. It only opened like, when did it open? Like a year ago? Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 2 (33:50) But it's wide open. I think maybe it's because a lot of people, they do it once and move on. Speaker 1 (33:56) Yeah, it's Speaker 2 (33:57) a one and done for a Speaker 1 (33:58) lot of people I've heard. Okay, I Speaker 2 (33:59) was going to say something, but I forgot. Speaker 1 (34:02) Oh, yeah, I booked. I was looking at the times when I was booking if I dine in. And even the ones that I booked before, San Angel Inn, Beacon Barrel, Chef Mickey's, they were all over. So it didn't really matter if I booked them then or now. But I was in two months earlier and I booked them all. But I don't think my competition mattered at all. Speaker 2 (34:24) Well, this is why I often say planners have such an advantage during the summer and holidays. Because most people going during the times are not online. 60 days out looking. So you have first dibs. Speaker 1 (34:38) Yeah, yeah. Speaker 2 (34:39) So you got everything you wanted, I assume? Speaker 1 (34:42) Yeah, everything I wanted. The only one that seemed to be going pretty fast was Cinderella's table, Cinderella's royal table. That was going really fast, especially the earlier times, but we didn't want that one anyway, so you're Speaker 2 (34:55) good. Okay, you just happened to notice that it was disappearing? That Speaker 1 (34:58) was the only one, even like... I'm sorry. I don't know this one because I didn't plan to go at all, but the one where you go into Beast's Castle. VR Guest. Yeah, VR Guest. VR Guest. I went there when I was little, but even that one, I didn't even see the times going pretty fast. And I know there's a lot of controversy over it. It's a lot of money for food, but yeah. Speaker 2 (35:18) Yeah, Speaker 1 (35:18) it's expensive. It used to be a little bit more affordable, but Speaker 2 (35:21) now it's... People don't want to book it necessarily because of the price. Yeah. So that's totally understandable. And then have you ever been this time of year? Speaker 1 (35:31) I went during a Halloween party in 2018. But I'm not sure. I think it was closer to Halloween. So I don't think I've ever been in summer at all. So I don't think so. I think this is my first time. Speaker 2 (35:44) And you're going to be out like all day. So in the, you know, all the temperatures. So do you have any concerns about like the heat or the rain? Speaker 1 (35:53) So we have ponchos, and I know it rains in Florida a lot. The only concern for us is lightning. However, a lot of the rides in Disney are inside. So if we were at Hollywood Studios, the only issue would be, like, slinky because we could do all the other ones because they're inside. And we don't really care about getting a little bit wet if we're walking outside. You know, if it deters the crowds, then that's good. You use it to your advantage. And then the heat, we also, I don't know. We're going inside a lot, but we haven't really planned for that. We have sunblock, I guess, but we're just, if it gets really hot, I guess we'll do AC hot thing around Epcot or something. Speaker 2 (36:28) That's right. That's right. Good. Well, and plus you live in Minneapolis where it's not as hot as Florida. So, you know, it can sometimes be a tough adjustment, but maybe at your age it's easier. Speaker 1 (36:39) Yeah, last time in 2024, we were in Epcot, and it was so hot. The second I got my Mickey bar, I had these brand-new white shoes, and it melted all over my shoes, and then I got brown stains all over my white shoes. Speaker 2 (36:52) Yeah, that's a good afternoon break. Don't forget to use your snack credits and stuff like that. Speaker 1 (36:57) Yes, uh-huh, yeah. Speaker 2 (36:59) So, all right, is there anything about your trip that we haven't talked about yet? Speaker 1 (37:04) I don't think so. Speaker 2 (37:06) All right. Then I hope you guys have a great time. I might see you there because I will be there as well. Are Speaker 1 (37:11) you going to any of the same parks as us on the day? I have to check. I'm not sure. All Speaker 2 (37:16) I know is that I will actually be at the Halloween party the same Speaker 1 (37:20) night as you. Speaker 2 (37:20) So I'll look for you. Oh Speaker 1 (37:21) my Speaker 2 (37:21) gosh. That'll be so cool. I'll look for you too. That would be really fun. All right. So I will talk to you when we both get back from our trips and hopefully it'll go well. All right. Speaker 1 (37:29) Thanks, Speaker 2 (37:29) Henry. Speaker 1 (37:30) Yep. Speaker 2 (37:32) Welcome back from your trip, Henry. Thank you. It was so fun. We're talking on Saturday, September 5th, so you've been back for about five days. How was your trip overall? Speaker 1 (37:43) It was the best. It was very tiring. And my mom says this is probably a one-and-done kind of trip for her. But it was really fun for me, and I would definitely do it again. Speaker 2 (37:57) Okay. Well, I'm excited to talk through it and see how it went then. Let's start on August 27th, Thursday. You were flying into Orlando around 11.33, I think. Speaker 1 (38:07) Yes. So