Disney Adult Lite

I just got back from the happiest place on earth. I went for a Sleep Medicine and Surgery course, which was designed in a classic CME-style of having classes for half the day, which leaves the rest of the day open for fun. Ski CME courses usually have a morning and evening session with the day open for skiing. But there was no snow at this course (except in Frozen), because we were at Disney! Overall, the days were pretty packed with the course and theme park, so I actually didn’t sleep all that much. Disney is an endurance adventure sport, for sure.

Initially, I wasn’t too excited. I really wanted to go to the course and sort of wished it was elsewhere. But after SMS declined to come, I invited my friend who’s a Disney Adult lite. As the trip got closer, I was more excited because it was going to be fun to have someone to hang out with and I was starting to catch the Disney spirit!

The course sold (slightly) discounted tickets with 1p entrance. On both days, I met Beth at the park once the course was over. This meant I usually got there ~2. The first day, we went to Epcot since there was a dessert reception hosted by the conference that evening. Beth planned the day, which was pretty novel for me since I usually plan most trips I’m on.

Our focus was the rides. Beth bought us the Lightning pass, which at first seemed ridiculous. By the end, I was completely sold and thought it was a godsend. And that’s how Disney takes your money, lol.

The best ride of the trip, far and away, was the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster. It was so cool. The cars themselves pivot so not only do you bank the curves, but you really twist into them. It was awesome. Disney roller coasters are mostly banked curves rather than huge drops so this really amplified the experience. The picture is terrible but the ride is fantastic!

We also went on Frozen, which was cute. I liked how we went through an icicle tunnel during Let It Go. A few times, announcements were made in a ridiculous Norwegian (although it sounded more like Hans and Franz) accent that we then used (selectively) during the rest of the trip. I hope it continues to stay hilarious for a long time, because it’s a good trip joke/memory. We’ll see what SMS thinks.

We also went on Journey Into Imagination with Figment (strange), Finding Nemo (classic ride int the style of Haunted Mansion, Small World, etc in that we moved along a track through different scenes), and Soarin’ Around the World. Beth is such a Disney pro that she knew we should be in the front (aka top) row so we didn’t see people’s dangling feet as we “flew” through the scenes.

We also went on the Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, which was pretty cool. You wear 3-D glasses and it’s pretty immersive. One part in particular was really well done and it was a cute, fun ride. I recommend!

Then, I went to the dessert reception and watched the 9p fireworks show. It was a great first day.

The next day, we met up in the Magic Kingdom. Beth was in line for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which broke down a few times during her wait. I met up with her in the line (this was allowed!). It was really kind of her to do the bulk of the waiting while I was making my way over to the park after the course.

We were really excited about Space Mountain and Tron. We ended up riding both twice: in the mid-afternoon and after 9p. Both were a lot of fun. I really liked Tron because Beth told me it was short, but then there was an inner portion that I didn’t know existed so it lasted longer than I expected. That was a nice surprise!

We had pictures taken at Cinderella’s castle where we had such a cute photo marred by cutting off the top of the castle! Those stupid greyed out bars on Apple iPhone cameras- you can see more than is actually in the frame. Boo! So, we took a selfie to get us with the whole castle. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

We also went in the Haunted Mansion, Mad Hatter Tea Cups, Dumbo Ride, Swiss Family Robinson Tree House, the Jungle Cruise (during fireworks!), Pirates of the Caribbean, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Oh my gosh, typing this out makes me tired all over again. I felt like a Disney pro. We ended up leaving the park around 11:20p.

Then, we kept going! I really wanted to go to Jellyrolls, a dualing piano bar. Beth read that it’s moving at the end of the month, but it was there when we needed it. The players were so good and we had the best time. We left at closing (145a), which was a little later than necessary but I didn’t want to miss anything!

The next day, I was tired. I went to the Boardwalk after the course and had a most nutritious lunch: a Mickey pretzel with nacho cheese. So tasty, so healthy! I hung out by the pool for a bit, Then Beth, who had spent the morning at Animal Kingdom, met me at the bar and we had a glass of sparkling wine on the hotel lounge balcony.

The flight home was a bit delayed, but not too bad. I ended up switching seats so a man could sit next to his wife. It was an aisle for an aisle, so it wasn’t a true hero move. But I did feel accomplished because I used Google Translate to communicate since she only spoke Chinese. Technology for the win!

And now I don’t need to go to Disney for many, many years. Below is a collection of items I wanted to buy, but didn’t. Not buying them was my gift to SMS, which was much appreciated since he’s anti-stuff and often encourages taken a “mental picture” as a memory rather than buying something. I was really tempted by the Cinderella coach though!!