The First Step

I cannot believe that I am actually getting to type this news on my blog.

In two weeks, I am going to be auditioning for Disney Entertainment for a Character Performer/Lookalike role.

SERIOUSLY!

If any of you know ANYTHING about my dreams, you would know that my goal since I was a young girl has been to work for the Disney Company in entertainment. It has been the never ending dream that I just refuse to give up on. This dream of mine has actually altered my entire life.

As a child, I constantly wanted to dress up as the Disney princesses for Halloween (or any random day). We didn't have a lot of money, but my mom worked with a woman that could make costumes. I recall dressing up as Cinderella and Ariel when I was around 4-6 years old. I wanted to wear these outfits all around the house all day, every day. At age 4 I was obsessed with Ariel. A few years later it was Cinderella and Belle. When I was 8 or 9 I became absolutely infatuated with Pochohantas to the point that I had a Pocohantas comforter, pillows, and curtains. That was all I asked for for my birthday one year. I suppose the love for Disney princesses/female characters never left me since I still get goosebumps when Cinderella waves to me during a parade at Walt Disney World.

Soon after I graduated from high school, Matt (my husband) and I decided that we wanted to move to Orlando for me to pursue my dream. We had a place to live all lined up and a time-frame for the move. However, we ended up backing out of it for a few reasons. Leaving my mom has always been a huge fear of mine, and I felt as though the transition of me graduating and then just up and leaving would be a struggle for both of us. Matt and I feared not having enough money saved up to make it down there. It was sort of a rushed decision that we just didn't feel totally prepared for.

Fast forward a few years. Matt and I got married. I took a job at a bank and we bought a house, both of which I insisted would be temporary until we figured out the blueprint for the big move. It was always my goal... every second of every day, Disney was my goal. Somehow the years just flew by in a huge blur. Eventually, I learned that Matt had a secret fear of moving away from Michigan all together. This hit me like a ton of bricks and I had no idea how to handle it. We eventually worked through this and he's now totally on board with the move, and he understands that I HAVE to try and make this dream of mine possible. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try.

Even though quite a lot of time has passed since I could have started work at Disney, nothing has changed for me. The fire in my belly is still burning like crazy. I look very young still, and my body is in better shape than it has been in years. I feel so prepared for this upcoming audition. I have talked to many people that have worked for Disney, as well as a few who have actually been "friends" with characters in the parks.

Despite feeling prepared, I still feel haunted by self-doubt. I'm constantly criticizing myself, which is just awful. My inner critique is always, "your nose isn't symmetrical, your teeth aren't white enough, your eyebrows look weird, be careful of that arm fat." Clearly, I'm psyching myself out! I just have to be me, and either the casting directors like what they see, or they don't. I know I have it in me to be exactly what they are looking for... I just have to show them.

There are so many people encouraging me to audition and flooding me with positive energy. It's so great that Matt is supporting me and giving me advice. He keeps me grounded. He reminds me that there are other girls out there that want it just as badly as I do and are just as qualified, so I am going to have to work really hard at that audition. Of course, my mom is excited for me to finally get this opportunity, since she knows better than anyone how much this means to me.

My biggest cheerleader and inspiration for this experience is actually someone I've never even met in my life. I came in contact with her in such a strange way... YouTube. Rachel and her friend Jennifer made a video on YouTube talking about what it was like working for Disney as a character performer. Rachel is so incredibly positive that it is just infectious. You know how sometimes people tell you nice things, but you yourself have a hard time believing that they mean what they're saying? Yeah, this isn't like that. She so genuinely believes in me. I can't thank her enough for giving me that extra push and filling me with confidence.

Matt and I are still trying to sell our house. We recently got rid of our real estate agent, and have decided to sell the house on our own. This allows us to be more competitive with our asking price. Even if I got a position down in Florida right now, I would be able to accept it and have 6 months to get down there to work. That's a lot of time, and I'm sure with the proper motivation, we'd be able to get the house sold.

Sure, my heart races every single time I think about the audition, but I am SO SO SO ready! I'm bringing it, Disney!

Back to Reality

Doesn't it suck, my friends?

Knowing that your wonderful WDW vacation is over and you had to come back home to real life. While some parts of my every day to day life are great, like my pets, my bed, Netflix, and my family, I honestly miss Disney like crazy... and I've only been away for less than a week.

Currently, I'm at home writing on my blog because I have caught an awful cold. Maybe it's from the plane. Maybe it's from public restrooms. Maybe it's from the filthy little youths running amuck at Disney World (I kid, I kid). While it could be any of those things, I'm going to put my money on my body totally rejecting real life.

I had such a wonderful time on my vacation... especially the last few days. There are so many funny stories and memorable moments that I hope I'll always remember. I still have to edit the majority of my pictures, but I think you guys might like to hear about some of the more memorable experiences of my recent WDW trip.

• I was gifted the lovely experience of a private security screening at Detroit Metro Airport. Yes. Groping at the airport is something that I had never experienced until this trip. My Express Portofino shirt had studded pockets which set off the screening machine. The TSA agent had to pat down my chest area (AKA, touch my boobs). No biggie. The TSA agent asked to go through my belongings (which was just my purse), as well as do a hand swab. Again, I just assumed it was protocol and didn't think much of it. At this point Barbara, Ben, and Matt all found this funny and watched as the woman swabbed my hands and looked through my purse. Soon after she opened up my purse, the computer displayed the results of my hand swab... "EXPLOSIVES DETECTED." She sighed and told me it was because of my lotion (glycerin is a common ingredient in explosives), and that she'd have to do a private security screening. At this point, it was just getting funny. Two female TSA agents took me into a back room, and one of them proceeded to politely feel me up. By the end of the pat down I was talking to both agents about doing theater and performing. As I walk out of the screening room, there's Barbara snapping pictures of me on her phone. Even though we almost missed our flight, and we didn't get to stop for coffee (the only sad part of this story), it was a hilarious (and educational) experience. 

• During our visit to Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, a man walked up to me as I was grabbing napkins and silverware and asked if I was a cast member. I told him that I wasn't, but I'd like to be. He told me that he saw me during the park opening show, and asked how I knew the words to the song. Uhh... I just listen to the song nearly every day at work, and anytime that I feel like a need a pick-me-up. He didn't like my response. The man said, "Are you sure you're not a cast member?" Yes, sir. I'm sure. The man said, "So, you just listen to the song a lot? That's it?" Yep...pretty much. 

• I'll go into more detail of our pretty rough dinner at 'Ohana in another blog post, but let me just say that it was without a doubt, the worst dining experience I have ever had on Disney property. It really didn't have much to do with the food. It had to do with the many issues that we had, and how they were not addressed properly. It was the first time I've ever had to speak with a manager at a restaurant. 

• We experienced a very strange version of the Indiana Jones show at the Studios. There was a big technical difficulty mid-show that they didn't seem to know how to handle. At first I thought that it was just a new part to the show that I hadn't seen before, but when the actors started to obviously try and stall until a solution was determined, I knew something was going wrong behind the scenes. Pretty much everything after the opening scene of Indy and the boulder was different. They even said that they had to improvise the next stunt scene. After that, the show ended and the theater was cleared out. 

• I finally got to conquer the Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream! It was one of my favorite dining experiences I've had at WDW. Ever! In the end, the bowl was a sloppy melted mess of ice cream and whipped cream. For an extreme ice cream lover such as myself, it was a dream come true. I was the last man standing, and the bowl had to be pried out of my grip before I'd stop eating. I regret nothing.

• Spice Road Table was absolute perfection. We loved it so much that we actually ended up eating there twice during our vacation. Nadia, our first waitress that hailed from Morocco, is easily one of the best Disney cast members there is. She really gave us a cultural dining experience that I will not soon forget.

• After Matt's birthday dinner, us ladies wanted to just take a cab back to Pop Century. The boys insisted we save some money. Not realizing that the Studios closed early that night, our plan to take the boat to the Studios and then hop a bus to Pop Century was foiled. We got a cab at the Beach Club, and proceeded to have one heck of an experience thanks to our crazy ass cab driver.  Barbara kept saying awkward things to him. One question being, "So...what are you up to tonight? Any big plans?" The cab ride ended with the guy insisting we pay him in cash, and then giving us his business card and explaining his name is, "Khan...like Chaka Khan." Exiting the cab, we all turned to each other as I asked, "Did he just say Chaka Khan?" 

• Barbara and I had an epic battle of bar seating with three fellow guests at Tambu Lounge. We went there to get a drink after dinner at Captain Cook's. Every seat was taken at the bar, so we patiently waited for something to open up. After about ten minutes, this girl that looked a few years younger than us along with her two guy friends came into the area and waited for seats as well. We see three seats opening up at the bar right in front of us, and as we approach the seats quickly, this other girl swoops in and sits in one of them. She gives us a very dirty look as we sit in the two seats next to her. Clearly, she had assumed her two friends deserved those seats. They were all dolled up and obviously thought they were too cool for school. After the dirty look we received, it was on. We anxiously awaited two more seats at the bar to open up, or a nearby table in the 'Ohana waiting area. Whispers were exchanged, more crappy looks were thrown, but eventually, we won and got two seats on either side of us after the girl and her friends gave up.

• After we left the airport on Thursday, I was hungry. We made a stop at Del Taco for the first time. It. Was. Awesome. We paired that with a few episodes of New Girl and had one heck of a night. 

Once I get my pictures edited, I promise I'll share some of them with you! Thanks to all of you that followed along during my vacation on Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook. It's almost like you were right there with me. :) 

Think of All the Joy You'll Find...

The big day is so close! In just one week from right now, I'll be on my way to Disney World with some of my favorite people on the planet.

This week was a real challenge to get through. I'm not sure why, but I feel like I have been just muddling through every day. I keep trying to find ways to keep my spirits up despite being stressed out about work, home life, future life, and every other little stressor that comes along. Now that Disney is just one week away, I have to tell myself that it can only get better from here.

On Thursday, I was drawing a picture of Michael from Peter Pan in my Wreck This Journal, and played the song "You Can Fly!" over and over and over again. A few weeks ago I realized just how happy that song makes me feel. Since then, I sing it to myself ALL THE TIME! It makes me think about how Disney is my Neverland. I don't even have to be there and it becomes an escape just to think about Disney World.



When I'm at Disney World, I'm not Stacey from Michigan. I'm not 25, going on 26. I'm not a Customer Service Representative at a bank. I'm not defined by any of that. I just feel like... me. The kind of me that I want to be every second of my life... carefree, hopeful, childlike, confident, and independent. There are no boundaries or limits as to what you can be when you're at Disney World. When I am there I feel free from judgements and obligations. The knob that controls my imagination is turned all the way up, and it feels wonderful.

Before I get to that wonderful place, I have a lot of things I need to do this weekend to prepare for the trip. Wash clothes, start packing, buy toiletries, buy Clif bars, and purchase some birthday surprises for Matt. Ellie went to the groomers yesterday, so she is all set to spend the week at Matt's parent's house (that's her Disney World). On Wednesday, Matt and I are going to go get pedicures together. He got me a gift certificate for a mani/pedi for my birthday back in April, and I still have yet to use it. I'm not into the idea of going to a nail salon by myself, but if I have someone that'll go with me then I'm all for it.

Speaking of stuff to do, I should probably stop laying on my couch and writing on my blog. I've got a fun vaca to get ready for. :)

The Details

24 days until I am home!

My travel crew is so excited about our upcoming Disney vacation... as am I. I have been hammering out the details with my friend, Barbara, and we have everything planned out pretty darn well at this point. Our park tickets have been bought, Fastpass+ selections made, dining reservations are done, and we just got our Magic Bands in the mail!

Now that I know what Fastpass+ is all about and how it actually works first hand, I feel way less stressed about it than I was before my trip in November. When I first heard about Fastpass+, I thought, "isn't that kind of scheduling excessive?" In theory, yes. In practice, no. It's kind of nice knowing that I don't have to hurry and accomplish three attractions first thing in the morning, because I already have a place in line for later in the day. At mostly every park, it means that I just need to get to a couple of the more popular attractions in the morning, then take it easy from there. I seriously have no concern at all that we won't get to do something that we want to.

If you know anything about me, you know that I go to Disney World to have fun and eat. Or is that have fun eating? Eh, it all applies. Barbara and I were, of course, in charge of our food choices for the trip. My husband is the birthday boy during the trip, so he had a few requests as well. We have two painfully more expensive restaurants picked out, and the rest of our sit-down meals will be less expensive. Here is what the layout of our vaca looks like.

Saturday - Early flight, breakfast and snacks on the plane, maybe a snack at Pop Century, then off to Animal Kingdom. We'll grab a bite to eat at Yak and Yeti without a reservation. Our Fastpasses are for Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, and Primeval Whirl. That evening, we're going to head to Downtown Disney to grab dinner at Earl of Sandwich (I haven't been there in years), and Babycakes for breakfast on Sunday.

Sunday - Magic Kingdom day! Our Fastpasses for this day are Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Peter Pan's Flight. We're going to be getting a Fastpass for Be Our Guest Restaurant for lunch. I can't wait to take Ben and Barbara there! Dinner is going to be at 'Ohana. After that, we'll grab a Lapu Lapu (mmmm) and head down to the Poly beach to watch Wishes. We'll wrap up the night with Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom.

Monday - Hollywood Studios day! Our Fastpasses are for Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, and Toy Story Midway Mania. We'll grab lunch at Sci-Fi (Barbara is really excited about this), a quick dinner at Pizza Planet (Matt will kill me if we don't go here), then we're going to take a break at Beaches and Cream to conquer the Kitchen Sink for the first time! Someone will have to roll us out of there.

Tuesday - It's Matt's birthday! I have some surprises in store for his birthday, but I totally won't give them away here and now. We're going to Epcot (the best park in the whole wide world) to spend the day eating and drinking. Our Fastpasses are for Soarin', Living with the Land, and Spaceship Earth. I'm crazy excited about our lunch plans at the new Spice Road Table. We'll, of course, make a few trips to my home away from home, La Cava del Tequila. I've been craving an avocado margarita and guac like a mad person lately. Later, we'll walk to the Beach Club for dinner at one of Matt's favorite restaurants, Cape May Cafe.

Wednesday - Another Magic Kingdom day! Our Fastpasses include Under the Sea, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Barbara and I decided yesterday that we're gonna give the Plaza Restaurant a try for lunch. I've never been there before, but have always wanted to. Since counter service options kind of blow at the Kingdom, we're going to take the boat over to the Polynesian Resort and grab dinner at Captain Cook's. Mmm... dole whip.

Thursday - Sadly, this is our last day. However, we are spending it in Epcot, so it can't be all bad. We have a lot of time to play because we have a late flight. We chose Test Track, Living with the Land (yes, we love it a lot), and Turtle Talk with Crush as our Fastpasses for the day. Since Epcot is filled with great counter service food options, we're going to play our meals by ear. I just know I'm ending the day with a margarita.

I'm trying to hammer out a situation I have with My Disney Experience. I haven't gotten it entirely taken care of yet, but when I do I'll be back to report an update.

Until next time...

The Next Trip...

Just days after coming back from Walt Disney World, I began planning my next trip!

This is going to be very special.  My husband, Matt, is turning 30! He's admittedly not very excited to get another year older, so I figured a Disney trip would be perfect for Matt to feel like a kid again. He really is a big kid at heart... one of my favorite things about him. :)

On this trip, we're also taking our friends Ben and Barbara, who got married earlier this year. They came with Matt and I to Disney World a few years ago, and we have been dying to do another couple's trip ever since!

Here are some pictures from our last group adventure.

Barbara and I really had our hearts set on either the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation or a standard room at Pop Century. Last time we went together, we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort and didn't have a great experience. Because we wanted to get a good deal, we booked a room only reservation at Pop Century. We also added a 20% off discount to the reservation. I haven't personally booked a reservation on the phone with Disney in years. It was a really fun experience, as the Cast Member who helped me out was such a lively woman! She shared in my excitement and was really knowledgable of what Disney offers.

We're going to be flying into Orlando from Detroit on February 8th. Our flight is in the morning and we should be hopping on the Magical Express motor coach by 11:45. We're really excited to be flying with Southwest and using our Rapid Rewards points that we've earned by signing up for Southwest credit cards.

We do have a few special sit-down meals planned for our trip already. Matt requested Cape May Cafe for his birthday dinner. We're also going to have dinner one night at 'Ohana, and lunch another day at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. While I can't give rave reviews on Sci-Fi's entrees, their appetizers and milkshakes never fail to put a smile on my face. Barbara is crazy excited to try LeFou's Brew at Gaston's Tavern. I tried it earlier this month and absolutely loved it. One other goal is to attempt the Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream. I've wanted to do that for years!!

Last time we went, we didn't buy park hopper tickets and we'll be doing that again this year. We found that it really saved us time by not having to travel from park to park. On top of that, it also saves us money.

I'll get into more detail about the trip as it gets closer. :)

Our Medical Emergency on Main Street U.S.A.

If any of you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, you might have read that my mom had a medical emergency our very first day of vacation, which resulted in us taking an ambulance to Celebration Hospital. I figure some of you might like to hear about what exactly went on that very scary night.

Our first day was really REALLY incredible. Everything seemed to be going right. We didn't have any issues with our flight, checking in at Pop Century, and using our MagicBands at Magic Kingdom. My mom and I didn't do the typical mother/daughter bickering that can happen with us. It was just, as my mom later put it, too good to be true.

We didn't eat any lunch that day, and when we got to Magic Kingdom we decided to share a meal at Columbia Harbour House. By about 11:00 p.m. we were both starving. We'd thrown around the idea of going to eat at the Polynesian Resort, but we ultimately decided to go back to Pop Century, grab a bite to eat, and go to bed so we'd be ready to get to the Studios at park opening.

The Main Street Electrical Parade was going on, so we were taking our time walking through the crowd, stopping to take pictures here and there. Mom and I were walking to the left side of the American flag, on our way to the left exit, when my mom fell over a small curb. I was two steps in front of her and only realized she fell because I heard a PhotoPass photographer say, "Ma'am, are you alright?!" Immediately, I turned around and saw my mom on her hands and knees. My first thought was, "Oh shit, she has osteoporosis." I helped her up and she seemed totally shaken and distraught.  I think I asked her if she was okay, and that's when she told me that she hit her face on the concrete. She said she wanted to sit down.

We made our way across the street over to Town Square to sit down on a bench. When she said she was getting really warm and sweating, I knew what was coming. I squatted down in front of her, took off her sweater, grabbed a water bottle, and made her drink. I kept saying, "Mom, stay with me", but within a few minutes, her face went limp, water flowed out of her mouth, and her eyes closed. No cast members were within earshot, so I aggressively nudged the guy sitting on the bench with us (who clearly just ignored what was going on), and told him to go get a cast member right away. He looked startled as I was holding my mom up, keeping her from falling over. It was all a blur for a bit after that, but I know eventually we were surrounded by a couple cast members. I asked for a cold bottle of water and napkins. When a cast member asked me if my mom was breathing, I instantly thought, "Oh my God. I didn't even think of that." I internally panicked and started searching for a pulse. I finally felt relief when I saw her inhale and exhale. Soon after I began putting cold, wet napkins on her, she came to. She really couldn't form sentences, but just sat there with her head in her hands. The bridge of her nose was bleeding and she had a big red bump on her forehead. At that point, a few medics showed up and had her lay down on the bench while they hooked all sorts of wires and machines up to her. I sat on the ground right in front of my mom and one of the medics told me that her blood pressure was very low. Her glucose level was only a little high.

I probably explained what happened to at least five different people. Guest Relations, Disney security, a few medics, and then EMTs when they showed up. Before I knew it, my mom was on a stretcher and hooked up to a bunch of things. They told me that they would need to transfer her to Celebration Hospital. At that point I started calling and texting family. Surprisingly, I was really calm, cool, and collected on the outside. I wanted to make sure that I kept my composure and handled the situation like an adult.

All I could think about at this point was how my mom was feeling. Not medically, but emotionally. She gets embarrassed easily and deals with guilt when things like this happen. That was the worst part of this whole ordeal, by far. I knew there was nothing I could say to my mom to make her feel better as she laid on a stretcher in the middle of Magic Kingdom.

You'd think that I would have been really interested in looking around backstage at Magic Kingdom as we walked to the ambulance, but I wasn't. I actually don't remember a thing except for watching my mom's face as they lifted her into the ambulance. She looked so angry and disappointed. I just got in the passenger side of the ambulance and waited to leave. The guy driving the ambulance was really nice and kept making small talk until we reached the hospital.

Once at the hospital, it was a slow process getting into a room. The nurse had me help mom get into a hospital gown. They ran blood work, did a chest x-ray, and a CT. Mom was freezing, and so was I. The hospital was like ice. We waited forever for an update on anything. The nurse forgot to take her IV out. She was hooked up to nothing, yet had a huge needle in her arm that was throbbing. After 20 minutes of silence, I was getting worked up (not at all like me in public situations), and walked out to the nurse's station in search of my mom's nurse. He was just casually a clickin' on his computer. I somewhat aggressively asked what was going on and what we were waiting for. He was like, "Oh, everything looks good. Just waiting on her CT results." As I started to explain that she was cold, tired, and uncomfortable from the IV, the doctor came up behind me and asked how she was doing. Right away he came in and talked to my mom and told her that she most likely had a mild concussion and probably passed out from trauma and stress of falling. After getting the IV out, getting mom dressed, and going through billing, I called us a cab to take us back to Pop Century.

I think it was around 1:30 or 2:00 a.m. when we got back to our room. The food court was closed. I ended up paying $2.25 for a little bag of Sun Chips. Mom was not in the mood to eat. I made her chug a bottle of water before I'd let her go to bed. I was really scared to let her sleep, but the nurse assured me that it was okay. Still, I stayed up until about 4 a.m. watching her sleep. Even once I got to sleep, every single time I woke up I pointed my phone over to my mom to light up the area so I could make sure she was breathing.

The next morning she was feeling better. We took it slow all morning. We figured we'd get to the parks whenever she was feeling like it. Around 11:00 we went to the food court to get lunch and she soon realized she didn't feel well. She was very nauseated and weak. I quickly panicked, grabbed food without paying first, and got her in a booth to sit down. I made her chug water and eat a sandwich. My goal was to prevent her from having to go back to the hospital. Once she ate and drank what I wanted her to, we went back to our room. Mom took a nap and when she woke up, she was feeling a lot better.  We walked around the resort to make sure she felt up to going to a park. She did great, and around 5:00  we were off to Epcot.

Aside from my mom getting sick at Hollywood Studios the next evening, the rest of the trip was free of any illness or medical emergencies. Thank goodness.

In case you were wondering, yes, I am looking into getting my mom a helmet for our next Disney trip. :p

I really appreciate the kind words and well wishes that were sent to us when all of this was going down. It was really touching and a little surprising to see people reach out that hadn't talked to me in months or years. To those people, really, thank you so much. It was super scary at one point and I felt very nervous playing nurse the following days. Kudos to my mom for putting up with me and my demands for her to drink water every two seconds. She was such a trooper.

My next post on my blog will be about something much happier and less depressing. :) Promise.

My Fastpass+ and MagicBand Review

Boy do I have so much to share with you all!

I got back from Walt Disney World last Thursday and I have found some time to tell you about my trip. Let's get to the part you guys really wanna hear about... Fastpass+ and MagicBands!

I am VERY happy to report that my mom and I did not have big issues with the MagicBands. They were comfortable to wear, even when the weather got up in the 80's. I admit that I LOVE them to get into my hotel room. It's so much easier than having to find my Key to the World card. Like, way easier. Not until the 2nd to the last day did we realize that my mom's band wasn't set up to be able to get into the room. It wasn't a big deal since we were always together, but if we needed it to work, we would have had to go down to the lobby and have them fix it. An issue like that could happen with a KTTW card, so it's not some "MagicBand Only" problem.

As far as using the MagicBands to get into attractions with Fastpass+ reservations, it was really easy. The only issue I forsee happening is that there are 2 places along the queue in which you need to touch the censor thingy. Once is when you enter the queue, and another before you board. I know on Maelstrom they didn't have someone watching the second censor post. I walked by it without noticing until I turned the corner. Not sure why there are two and how that affects using Fastpass+, but that is just something I noticed.

Using MagicBands to get into the parks was the only area I saw a problem. It's more of a user issue that guests will have to learn and adapt to. You know how with the card readers you'd just pop your card in and get your finger scanned usually using your right finger because you'd only enter your card on the right side of you? Well, the new entrances have censors on BOTH sides of you. This makes things tricky. Make sure you remember whatever finger you initially use. My mom and I both screwed this up. Our first park was Magic Kingdom and we didn't pay any mind to what we were doing. When we went to get into Epcot the next day, I believe I used a censor on my left instead of my right, which threw me off in terms of what finger I needed to scan. While I quickly did it again with the other finger, my mom wasn't so lucky a few days later. The cast member working the entrance kept having her try again and again. It was a slow process. Finally, another cast member with an iPad came up to her and asked her what finger she used and all that jazz. In my opinion, they needed to step in much faster, especially RIGHT at park opening when there was a long line behind her. I also did not like how no one was totally sure when they were supposed to take their wrist off the censor and proceed to have their finger scanned. I just kind of waited until the white light started spinning quickly, but I don't know if I could have done it sooner. I think that needs to be explained somehow.

Onto Fastpass+. My summary in one sentence is this... While we had no issues at all on this visit, I can still forsee a lot of potential problems. Pretty much everything I spoke about before as a concern, is still a concern. Fastpasses fly like mad (really, they do), guests without smart phones have a huge disadvantage, and park hopping is now almost pointless. In terms of lines, we waited no more than 10 minutes for anything. Ever. I understand that long lines for Fastpass+ can build, however, I believe we timed our Fastpasses really well. My best advice is to get those reservations done well in advance to ensure you're going to save some time standing in line.

I didn't think that we would need to change any of our Fastpass+ selections at all during our trip. I was very sure of my decisions. However, when my mom had a medical emergency Saturday evening, the next few days changed our schedule quite a bit. On Sunday, we didn't even get into a park until 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening. I had three Fastpass+ reservations made for the morning and early afternoon that we would have missed if I didn't get to change them using the phone app. I actually changed them all twice that day. At first we thought we'd be in a park by noon, so I made reservations from 12:30-3:00, but my mom became ill again and we stayed at the resort until about 5. I changed them again in the afternoon before we left for Epcot. This was a great help. I wasn't looking to get into popular rides that night, so we were fine with getting whatever we could.

My BIGGEST complaint about the new system is actually the My Disney Experience app. It ran horrifically slow, even when my WiFi was strong. It was embarrasing really. While I liked being able to change my Fastpass+ selections on a whim, actually doing it was a huge pain in the butt. Sometimes, the app would freeze entirely and not save my changes. Sometimes, it would save my changes, but the app would freeze, so I didn't know if I actually had made changes or not until I got out of the selection window and went back to look at my confirmed reservations. It's like the app is a mini version of the Disney website... slow and annoying.

I still need to share with you other details of my trip, but this is good for now. :) If you have ANY questions about MagicBands or Fastpass+, feel free to ask!