"Solo Trip Report"
or
"How I Learned To Stop Being A Complete Introvert And Go To The Greatest Place On Earth"
WARNING: EXTREME HOKEYNESS AHEAD. TURN BACK IF YE HATE SEEING A GROWN MAN GET SENTIMENTAL! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
(also, a lot of rambling )
Let me first start by saying a heartfelt âthank youâ to all of you who answered my very noobish questions and dealt with my ramblings with the kindness and patience of several saints. I can honestly say my trip wouldnât have been near as fun if it wasnât for the expertise found here as well the folks who populate this forum. When my Travel Agent signed me up for this, I thought it was going to be a waste of time⌠wow was I so wrong.
So, truly, thank you. So very much.
Additionally, I need to come clean about something, up until now, Iâve posted saying I was going as a first timer, but that wasnât technically true. For the sake of time and explanation, I just said I was, but I have actually been to WDW once, when I was a child, way back in 1990. Though after all the technological advancements and other changes, it certainly felt like being a first timer. So there will be times where I compare what I remember from when I was a kid, to what I experienced.
And what a trip I experienced! Short of a small handful of minor issues, I honestly cannot think of something I couldâve planned better for the whole trip. Every precaution I took, every choice I made, prior and during, built on top of each other to deliver a trip that not only held up to the lofty hype and expectations I had for it, but places the bar so high that it threatens all future trips to never be able to surpass it. In short: it was perfect even with flaws.
PROLOGUE: When we went in 1990, it became pretty apparent to me, even back then, that my family didnât really âgetâ Disney. And considering we never went back, I can conclude my assessment was and is right. Even today, no one in my family will count WDW as one of the greatest places to go for a vacation. When asked, my Dad felt that it âover-deliveredâ to him initially, and then became humdrum (I have no idea what this means and the more I explored the topic, the more he sounded like a lunatic), my mom said âit was niceâ and wouldnât really go farther than that, and my brother was completely apathetic about the whole thing.
Iâm not sure why, maybe it was the planning (or lack thereof) involved, maybe something happened there that spoiled the experience that I didnât pick up on, or maybe it was simply they just donât âget itâ.
But me? I loved it. Every last second I was there. The little details that WDW triumphs with become apparent both when youâre there and even more when youâre not. Even to a kid. Iâve held every vacation Iâve ever had up to the standard that was set back then by WDW and each time I learn that no one has yet to come close to the perfection that was WDW. Iâm no stranger to theme parks either. I grew up near Hershey Park, and have visited many other parks. While some elements obviously translate and succeed, Disney has perfected the formula and continues to improve.
Especially after this recent trip, I understand why WDW costs so much. Itâs not simply because âyouâll pay itâ. Itâs because itâs âWORTH it.â Since that first trip, I always wanted to go back, and I looked forward to the day I would have a family of my own that I could spoil them with a trip.
However, the family thing hasnât happened for me yet. And so I faced a dilemma: for the first time in my life, my financial and employment situation (after much turmoil) was finally in a position where I can go, but I find myself without anyone to go with who would enjoy the place as much I would. So do I continue to put off the one place I always want to go⌠or go by myself? After reading accounts of those going to Disney World solo, I finally made my decision.
Day 0 - 9/2/16 âbecause letâs face it, no trip just starts at Disney World â
The day begins with me at work, and being lucky enough to get out early as it was a holiday weekend. Hi ho, hi ho, to home from work I go! Knowing that for the next couple of days sleep was going to be minimal, I knew tonight was going to be my last opportunity for real sleep for a while. I also am aware of how my mind and body will betray me. Iâll want to sleep, but thereâs no way my body is going to comply⌠excitement would reign supreme and so sleep wasnât going to just happen⌠so I needed to outthink it. Once home I took a dose of nyquilâs sleeping pills. While I waited for it to kick in, I did a quick final check of packing, and a final overview of printed itinerary. There was a lot. After all that was done, I was starting to feel the effects, it was around 4PM⌠I crawled into bed and almost immediately fell asleep.
Day 1 9/3/16 âYou can fly, you can fly you can flyyyyy!â
Nearly 10 hours of solid rest and Iâm awoken by a wonderful instrumental version of âWhen You Wish Upon A Starâ. Itâs 2AM and within a short while Iâm showered, dressed and ON. MY! WAY!! On the road, I fire up the âGoinâ to Disneyâ playlist I had readied months ago.
For those ever flying out of Philadelphia, I cannot recommend Preflight Airport Parking enough. Quick, efficient, friendly, and at a reasonably cost. In about 60 minutes total travel time from my home, I arrive at the harbinger of adventure: The Philadelphia International Airport.
After parking in the lot, shuttle ride, and airport security are all flawlessly (if not a bit awkardly) achieved, I have about a 90 minutes to explore the airport. For many, this is not a big deal, but for me⌠this is something Iâve been looking forward to. I never fly anywhere and have only dropped people off, so Iâve never seen anything beyond the Baggage Claim area. Do I do anything special during this? I wish I could say I did, but no. Due to the time of day, nothing was actually open other than a few convenience stores and a McDonaldâs. But it was ok, cause time seemed to move right along and there wasnât much waiting/exploring to be done before it was time to line up for the flight.
I had purchased âadvanced boardingâ with Southwest so that I could ensure I got a window seat on the right side of the plane and this was a good move as it worked out perfectly. After about a half hour of everyone boarding, weâre taxiing and soon weâre airborne. As the ground falls away and with the sunrise, Iâm reminded of the Disney Movie Intro. Very fitting.
You canât tell me that doesnât look like the intro! Only thing it needs is a little train going and fireworks!
After a little over 2 hours, we began descending toward Orlando about 10-20 minutes ahead of schedule. Because Iâm on the right side of the plane, Iâm hoping to get a glimpse of Disney World from the sky. Unfortunately, the morning humidity and my slight disorientation of where exactly everything was hindered that as I couldnât pick out where to look.
Once landed, it was a fairly easy process to get from the plane to the bus for Magical Express(ME), wellâŚonce you figure out that âLevel1â is considered both the absolute ground floor the first floor of the airport simultaneously. But anyway, either follow the herd and signs, or ask an employee there, and youâll find yourself at the bus loading area. And if you have the ability to utilize the MEâs ability to deliver your luggage directly to your room, absolutely do it. While Iâm waiting in line to be checked in for the bus, my phone buzzes with a text message:
âDisneyRoomAlts: Welcome! Your room isnât quite ready. Weâll send another message when it is available. Thanks! Text STOP to cancel.â
Now that is COOL! I do a mental happy dance as I scan my first magic band and assign a finger print to it.
At 9AM sharp, weâre all loaded and the bus rumbles to life and it makes it way to the hotels. Almost there!
Because I was staying at the Contemporary, I was the last stop after the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. The trip from the airport to the Poly was certainly long, but it was definitely made better with the videos playing on the bus. Delightfully hokey little videos set the stage for what I was about to experience all week. After some time, we drive under the gates of Disney Worldâs âWelcome Archâ and start making turns to the hotel drop off points. Almost there.
Both drop off points just build the excitement as each one has extravagantly themed loading/unloading areas and attendants out and bustling about, helping guests along. As we pulled away from the GF, Iâm a kid again, waiting for this long car ride to be over so I can go and play. Almost there.
Finally, we pulled up to the contemporary and itâs like pulling up to a corporate center. No theming, attendants moving about, but in just khakiâs and polo shirts. Unlike the GF where they wore early 1900s attire. Frankly, I knew of the lack of outside theming because of my research of the place, and my past experience, so I certainly wasnât surprised, but to say Iâm still disappointed in Contemporaryâs decision to go this way is an understatement.
Still, I MADE IT!!! Itâs all I can do not to run off the bus like a sugar-crazed child.
Once off the bus ⌠no one greets me or directs me anywhere. Ok, thatâs odd. I had kinda expected a welcome of some sort. The bus driver is helping the other attendants and, as I only have my backpack of âin case my luggage gets lostâ essentials, Iâm left alone. Confused if I need to do anything, I head inside the lobby to confirm.
The lobby of the Contemporary has a really weird smell to it. I canât say itâs pleasant, but I also canât say I hate it. I make my way over to the check in desk and ask what I need to do, saying I know my room isnât ready yet but Iâm not sure if I can go straight to the park. They inform me very nicely that I am, indeed, able to go right into the park and thereâs nothing I need to do. Another text will be sent to me when itâs all ready. I also confirm that I while I am doing a split stay, my room will not be changing throughout. So wherever I am, Iâll be in for the whole week. Which is a huge concern off my mind.
Satisfied, I head out the front doors and go through the parking lot and start making my way to the Magic Kingdom (the clerk forgot to mention thereâs a specific walk-way to the park). I check my phone and itâs 10:03 AM. While it felt long, Iâve actually been making great time and actually ahead of my plan by over an hour!
With the sun shining and the weather delightfully warm and humid, I make it to the entrance to the park and Iâm greeted by the bag check. I unzip my backpack and they go through it without an issue. Once done I move up to the mickey-posts, place my magic band to the post and my finger andâŚ.blue (blue is bad).
Cast Member cocks his head to the side and says âTry again?â I do so and itâs still blue. The CM now looks closer at his display and says âare you sure you have tickets for today?â
Itâs at this time I quickly explain that Iâm doing a split stay and my tickets are probably associated with my 2nd magic band, but I was assured they could be used today. He nods and suggests trying the 2nd magic band then, and so I do.
Still blue.
âIâm sorry, Iâm going to have to send you over to customer relations, right over thereâ he points to a line that is snaking 5 levels deep in a queue and my heart sinks. âIâm sorry, thereâs nothing else I can do.â he explains.
I smile and assure him itâs quite alright and make my way over to the line. I had a feeling something like this was going to happen. Throughout my planning of the trip, I was having an issue with the assignments of the magic band and tickets. In fact, while I was able to make FPP reservations for the rest of the week, I wasnât able to make any for today because of that and was told I had to wait until in the park before I could start making any. As I made my way over to the line I mentally kicked myself for not calling and confirming this was all sorted out before I left. So now Iâm in line and I wait.
After about an hour (so much for that bonus time), I get up to the counter and explain the situation to the guy behind the window. He nods, hits a few keystrokes on his computer and says âOk, youâre all set! You will use your first band today and then tomorrow you can use your second and you should have no more problems.â
Back to the mickey-posts and I place my wrist and finger up to the icon. Moment of truthâŚThe lights spin, and time seems to slow down, the light continues to spinâŚ. It stops and now itâs time for my fingerprint⌠andâŚ. GREEN! Cast Member smiles and says âhave a great day!â and, after releasing the breath I didnât realize I was holding, I thank her and head in.
Walking in⌠itâs a weird feeling. It was like coming home even having not been here for 26 years. The place is done up tastefully in Halloween decor and all my hazy memories are being refreshed with crystal clear sights.
My camera is off and running and I just take photos as I make my way toward main streetâs -uh - main street.
And then thereâs the castle. Just as awesome as I remember. And that term gets thrown around a lot these days, âawesomeâ, but in this case, it is perfectly apt: awesome. I freeze just in front of the candy shop and just stare at it.
âŚ(wow)âŚ
After snapping out of it, I move my way down the street, taking photos of everything. When I went the first time, I only had my Dadâs horrific video skills (and even worse video technology) to remember everything by as only very few photos were taking on the trip. But all of them had been lost to time and moves.
I get to about to the center of the courtyard in front of the castle when I suddenly remember I have a plan! In all the excitement, It had completely slipped my mind and I pull out my phone to see whatâs on the list:
Item 1: 12:30PM MICKEY PRETZEL AT LUNCHING PAD.
I look around where I am and start making my way over to Tomorrow Land and the prize that awaited me. I get in line and wait. Itâs really loud here and this cast member seems to be taking forever.
But thatâs ok, while she is slowly moving, I remember I also now have Fastpass ability and use this time to see what Fastpasses I can snag. Looking it over, it looks like Pirates is the only thing of interest to me and thatâs at 2-3PM. Works for me, as thatâll give me time to find it and take in the park a bit.
No sooner do I make the selection that my phone starts to ring. Itâs Disney. Oh crap, what did I screw up? Are my tickets still not allowing fast pass?
âHello?â I answer nervously. Please donât be bad news. Please donât be bad news. Please donât be bad news.
âHi, this is Brandon from Disney. I see you had some issues getting into the park today, Iâm really sorry for that and Iâd like to help you make up some of that time. Iâd like to offer you an extra fastpass for any of the parks for any ride, is that ok?â
Iâm caught off guard by this, I wasnât expecting anything out of the glitch from earlier as it certainly wasnât anyoneâs fault and my plans had allotted for eventualities like it so I wasnât inconvenienced in any real way.
âHello? Are you there?â He asks after a moment
âUh yeah, sorry! Sure, that sounds great!â
âDo you have anything in mind on what you would like to do?â he asks.
I explain I havenât really had time to do anything yet so I donât know what I would want to use it on.
âThatâs no problem. Take your time and decide, and when you do, just send us a text or call us and weâll get you set up.â
I agree and after exchanging a bit of information to make sure I can get ahold of them, the call ends and just in time as itâs my turn to order. One Mickey Pretzel, please!
Pretzel in hand, all is better than well, I start making my way back to Main Street to continue my plan, which was to catch the roaming entertainment of Main Street, but instead I stumble onto the Dance Party parade. Well, this kinda counts, right?
I like the song, but Iâll be damned if I can remember the words or lyrics. Which is odd for a Disney song for me. I also love those t-shirts theyâre wearing. I now know what Iâm getting for a souvenir when this is all over.
Parade goes through and I donât see any performances, so I hit the next part of my plan: railroad. I donât get on immediately and I go exploring a bit. It wonât be until I find myself in Storybook Circus before I hop on. As I board, my phone buzzes. My room is ready. Excellent, but based on what Iâve read here, my luggage probably isnât there yet, so Iâm in no rush. On with the rail road! When I was a kid, this train flew, but now⌠Itâs moving too slow and looks like rain is moving in too fast. So nuts to this and I get off at Main Street.
Just in time to see the Dapper Dans. Well that worked out. I watch their fun performance and just as they finish up rain rolls in. Fortune favors the prepared though and itâs on with the poncho as everyone scurries and tries to get indoors.
I walk down an emptying main street smiling ear to ear. As I go, I remember thereâs a Starbucks and I could really go for a frappacino. Once I have that, I just walk around a bit, getting the lay of the land, and I canât take photos at the moment cause itâs coming down pretty hard and water will just get on my lens.
For weeks, I have studied maps, ride locations, and birds-eye perspectives of this park, like a military general preparing for war, and it has helpedâŚextremely little. For the first day I was so completely lost as everything is so much bigger in person. I just meander along, taking it all in. I donât have any set plans other than that fastpass for Pirates, so itâs a perfect time to get a really good look at everything.
I find myself in Adventure Land and the Tiki Room and gleefully realize Iâm absent-mindedly following my touring plan. Itâs still raining so I duck in and catch the show and check off #3 of my plan. When I was a kid, I didnât pick up on the clicks and whirs of the mechanics of the ride, but I do now. It actually adds something to the show for me, the sheer engineering flawlessly executed day in and day out amazes me. For a kid, the âsurface showâ alone is pretty great⌠for an adult being able to see below the surface of everything, I feel itâs even more impressive. Less magic, but more brilliance.
Once the show was done I walked out and it was time to ride Pirates. Stand by time says 35 minute wait. Sucks to be them. I walked up to the Mickey Posts and scanned my band and the light turns that super-satisfying green. Well thatâs easy.
Can I just take a moment and thoroughly thank and congratulate the imagineers who designed the queues at Disney? Not only are they well done to snake a line a longer than you would think in such limited space, but they also set the tone for the ride as well as keep you entertained throughout. Peter Pan, The Pirates and Mansion ones always were exceptional standouts for me. Just fantastic mood setters and the details gone into them are outstanding. There were times through the trip I almost (almost) didnât want to use a fastpass because I wanted to really take in the line queue area.
Anyway, Iâm through the queue and then lobbed in with stand by crowd toward the end of the line when you get on the ride. Down the ramp and itâs time to board the boat.
âHow many?â the cast member asks.
âOne.â is my reply and she doesnât bat an eye and instead directs me to row 5. I get my own seat? For real? Cool. For the entire planning of this trip, one of the things I was little concerned about was the being forced to share seating with another party. I was rather surprised I got my own seat.
The ride begins and down the slope we go. Thereâs been some major changes to this ride since I last rode it. I wish I could say itâs all positive, but I find the extreme focus on Jack Sparrow to be slightly off putting. The old ride just focused on pirates in general but now that Jack needs to be mentioned in nearly every scene, it loses something. I donât know, itâs certainly not a bad ride and the opening where Black Beard and Barbosa sorta contradict each other is great.
Rideâs over and itâs back outside, rain has stopped and itâs also time for the Festival of Fantasy parade. I catch the tail end of it heading back to main street just in time to see that massive dragon cross the liberty square bridge. Iâm moving faster than the parade though (no surprise) so I set up just outside the Emporium where a cast member tells me I canât be there as itâs a pathway and I have to be in front of the tape on the ground. He couldâve been nicer about it, but it made sense and itâs not a problem, I acknowledge and follow directions and find a spot behind tape so I can watch the parade.
Afterward, I built in a breather into my plan and so I go through the shops a bit and head over to Tomorrow Land to get some dinner. I grabbed an Angus Cheese Burger. To say I was disappointed with the food wouldâve been an understatement. I wasnât expecting gourmet cuisine or anything but this was something you would get from Dairy Queen around where I live, which is to say itâs the bottom of the list when it comes to fast food burgers. I would find far superior eateries later on in the trip. Edible, but hardly worth the money. Anyway, I picked out a seat in the cafeteria-looking area, with a view of the castle and enjoy my dinner.
As I eat my dinner, families of all sizes populate the cafeteria. Itâs loud and itâs crowded, but as I sit alone, in the center of the cafeteria, I have to admit I felt a few pangs of loneliness and envy as I watch everyone. From my perspective, I consider them all pretty lucky that they have people to share the experience with. Though most probably wouldnât see it that way. One of the things that surprised me was, throughout my trip, for every time I saw a family happily interacting with each other, I would see 6 in some form of argument.
After dinner, I donât have much going on in my plans and thereâs a while before the electrical parade begins so I decide now is the time to head to my room to see whatâs what. This will also be a good time to grab my sunscreen as the sun had long since returned with a vengence.
Leaving the park, I found the actual walk way I shouldâve used initially. Itâs amazing how close the park is to the hotel. I make it to my room after getting a bit lost (turned the wrong way) on floor 11, and my MB scans and unlocks the door without an issue. I had requested (loosely) 4745 as it was an odd number room and on a higher floor. Per the text message, I got⌠4739. Not too shabby and I really didnât care which room I got so long as it was a higher up and odd number room. I walk in and to my delight I take in the view.
Worth.
Every.
Penny!
The room had everything I couldâve hoped for in a view. And because it was an odd number room, the beds faced toward the castle. Perfect. By the way, the photo above is a accurate depiction of how close the castle is (I know photos will often make things look farther away than what they are), but the castle is really that close in the viewing. I tired to get a 1:1 size depiction in my photo and thatâs about as good as it gets.
But the room was a bit different than what I was hoping for. One thing that I love is theming. In a place like Disney World, I love to have everything themed and the smaller the detail the bigger the impact for me.
As it was back in 1990, this room had zero Disney tell-tales. The yellow mickey pillows I was expecting were nowhere to be seen. The mickey towel-sculptures were missing. Not even paintings of Mickey or Minnie could be found. I understand âcontemporaryâ means âmodernâ, but does it also have to mean âsoulessâ?
âŚboring. So so boringâŚ
But that view. Wow. JustâŚWOW! After a few photos, I noticed that my luggage had indeed been delivered. So with that, I ditched my now-feeling-like-a-3-ton backpack and stripped down to a lean and mean park kit of a draw-string pack with granola bars, two 5 hour energies, hand wipes, sunscreen (something I couldnât have in my carry-on), contact lens drops, and water.
Looking ever more forward to tonightâs fireworks, I headed out. Before heading back to the park, though, I decided to stop in and check out the the in-hotel gift shops. In the short time I was looking around in the park, a souvenir I decided on was a hat. But I couldnât find one I liked exactly, so I shopped around a bit in the store and realized everything I saw in the park is available here as well, with almost no variety. I found that a bit odd. After checking out the store and the convenience store, it was back to the park. But this time, we were going via monorail!
And I chose the wrong one. Dâoh.
Well, thatâs not entirely true, I mean itâs the monorail, you canât screw it up too badly. But I was expecting to take the monorail from the contemporary straight to the park, but I took the one that goes to the Ticket/EPCOT switch off, which then go to the polynesian and then to the Grand Floridian. Finally ending up Magic Kingdom, and I disembarked.
Once through security and turning that mickey-post green, thereâs still some time yet before the electrical parade, I ran into a bit of an issue, I didnât have anything to do. I had ridden all the rides I wanted (and all the ones I would consider doing again had a really long line), so I pretty much had nothing to do other than walk around while I waited for the electric parade and fireworks. In my walkings though, I found myself in Tomorrow Land and rode Carousel of Progress. As I sit on the ride I am reminded why I love this place, the sheer optimism is hard to find outside, in todayâs world. A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, and itâs only a dream away. I love it.
The ride ends and I walk around some more and just take pictures. Through my walks I really take in the parks and, more specifically, the transition between the lands. How seamlessness they are is just a joy to experience. My favorite will become the transition between fantasy land and adventure land.
I wasnât sure exactly when I should find a spot for the electrical parade so I figured this would be a good time as people were already claiming their spots. I found my own pretty much dead center of main street. It was a bit of a wait, but well worth it. Iâve never seen the parade before and it was absolutely fantastic.
After the parade was over, it was time to head back to the hotel to complete my #1 objective for this entire trip. There wasnât much time, so I had to move with purpose.
Now, months ago, when I decided to go to Disney World and where I was staying, I set a goal that was relatively easy to achieve in case the entire trip turned into one big mess, I could look back and smile on this one thing. It was also something that drove many a decision in how I would prep and spend my week. It would also become a bit of a litmus test for the whole trip, if this went poorly, there wasnât much hope for the rest of the trip
The goal was simple: watch the Wishes fireworks, and the subsequent electric water pageant, from the balcony of my hotel room with a bowl of ice cream.
This was harder to achieve than you would think. First, the only thing I had to go on during planning was park hours. Everything else was up in the air until it was locked down the day of. So, to counter, I had to know when the fireworks were happening, and on what days. And then I had to worry about the weather. Turns out they were happening on my first night and that would end up being my best chance to see them as I had made sure I had no reservations or obligations at any park for the whole day in case there were any travel delays that might encroach on the schedule. Itâs a good thing too, as I couldâve easily been caught in the hurricane/tropical storm that cleared out the night before.
Then, I had to worry about the ice cream. In my research, room service for ice cream was going to be a minimum of $18 for a pint. Now, ice cream was a must⌠but $18 for a pint? That stings a bit too much, even at âDisney Pricesâ, so that just wasnât going to fly. I researched some more and learned from here about Garden Grocer, and I was able to get a full container (1.5qt) of ice cream for $7. This seemed like a steal compared to the $18, and there were other items that I could get (like milk and cereal) so that worked out perfectly and I went with them. Milk and cereal would be something I wanted to repeat from my last trip (a fond memory was me at the hotel table while my mom prepared a little box of cereal for me).
Once ice cream and room reservations were secured, I got the idea that if I had some binoculars, if anything was going on at the castle, I could get a closer look. So I packed two tripods (a good one and a backup) and rigged up a bracket system that I could mount the binoculars on. Obviously, this would reduce any hand jitter and give me a cleaner, closer, picture of the castle.
Fast forward back to the present, I race back to the Contemporary and visit bell services for my Garden Grocer order (which had texted me back at 4PM saying it was delivered). The guy disappears for a few minutes and comes back with 2 large grocery bags⌠I ahâŚdidnât realize how much I ordered. He asked if I wanted them delivered to my room. I looked at my watch and saw I was running out of time and I still had to âset upâ so I told him no thanks and took the bags up myself.
Once at the room, I unpack the groceries to find that I was missing the key item I was looking for: my chocolate ice cream. Instead, I found a bowl of fruit.
Argh. Seriously?
Figuring that was that and a bit disappointed, I set up my binocular and camera rig and turned the TV on to the Wishes soundtrack (the channel below the âpark infoâ presentation. I then looked, with sadness, over this bowl of fruit again and noticed there was a name that wasnât mine on it. A glimmer of hope. I check my watch⌠5 minutes. I got time⌠hopefully??
I zip out the door and wait for the elevator that seemed to take an extra long time and then iâm back at bell services and explain I got the wrong item. At first he seems confused, but finally the guy understands that I want the bag that Iâm originally supposed to have. He disappears and comes back out with my ice cream! SUCCESS!
Iâm such a 10 year old.
I say thanks and make my way back to the room. As I walk in, the soundtrack has already begun and so has the fireworks. Iâve missed the first minute or so. But itâs ok, I sit down outside and watch the magic unfold.
The ultimate goal of my trip has been achieved. Even if it was a bumpy start.
And what a show! Unlike what Iâm used to here in PA, these fireworks werenât random. Each one had a color and a purpose. And then when you sync it to the music coming from your hotel room TV, that matched what was in the park, it was a remarkable experience.