So I’ve had a nice mental health break from you people because, you know, y’all drive me crazy. But I’m back because there’s news.
tl;dr I’m planning a trip and I’m open to suggestions
Let’s recap
@mousematt and the Gaggle (@JuliaMc coined the term to refer to the little gang I took to Orlando in December and it’s kinda stuck) went to, erm, Orlando in December and it was great. Really great.
But it seemed clear that another trip was not going to be possible for a while, and @mousematt felt he should quit while he was ahead. End on a triumphant note. That sort of thing. It made sense at the time. (Shut up. Your “clever” comments are neither clever, nor funny and I’m not above flounce-deleting again.)
So what to do this year? Anthony, Stuart and @mousematt decided a trip to DLP and Paris itself was in order. Paul and @mousematt made a similar trip in 2009 about a month before they broke up, so Paul decided he didn’t want to be part of this new trip, but he and @mousematt booked a short break to Alton Towers (theme park) for @mousematt’s birthday.
But, as you cult members know, the call of Orlando is a strong one. @mousematt started looking at options for visiting this year. However, the economy sucks over here and the finances just weren’t there.
The Gaggle did however, come up with an idea: let’s do a trip in early September 2024 — cheap flights, low crowds and all kinds of Halloween fun. But Anthony wanted to see real America, so we hit on the following. Fly to Boston, check that whole thing out, including a side-trip to Salem; then train to NYC and check that whole thing out; before finally flying to Orlando for WDW and UOR, with the intention of hitting MNSSHP and HHN.
This turned out to be a terrific plan, right up until the point where @mousematt started pricing it up. The problem was partly that Anthony had tasted some luxury during the December trip and he had acquired a taste for it. No flying coach for him. Or not having Express Passes at UOR. To even approach our budget, we ended up with two full days in Boston and two full days in NYC and some complicated machinations for Orlando because @mousematt and Stuart really wanted to do WDW and Anthony and Paul weren’t that bothered.
Anthony had an idea. Why not split the trip in two? Boston and New York one year. Orlando another. This made a lot of sense. Which is odd, because Anthony is usually an idiot. We can give Boston and New York more of the time that they deserve. And by waiting until 2025 for Orlando, Epic Universe will be open and that will be something new for us all.
Anthony had another idea. Do we really need to go to Paris this year? You see, the thing is that none of us were actually that excited about it. If we cancelled it we could put the money towards to the two new trips. We agreed to do so.
This left one issue. No more Orlando for @mousematt until Fall 2025. But with the Paris trip cancelled — and maybe (TBC) the Alton Towers trip, too — a solo trip to Orlando suddenly became possible.
You see, a return to Orlando has been eating at me for three reasons.
First, I acquired Virgin Gold status last year, having taken four — !!! — trips to Orlando in 2022. I’m never getting that again. It comes with decent perks. For example departure and arrivals lounges at Heathrow, priority check-in and boarding, free seat selection. My Gold year runs out at the end of July this year.
Second, I have a UOR Premier AP, which features Express Passes after 4pm. I’m unlikely ever to buy one of those again. It runs out in October this year.
Third, I feel like I have unfinished business at WDW. There are things I want to do. More of these later.
So, as previously billed, I’m planning a trip to Orlando this summer. I haven’t booked anything yet, though I’m itching to do so. I’ll start a new post with my ideas.
