Is it five days or is it six? This is a hard vacation to count down to, because we leave Indianapolis Friday night, but we don’t get to Orlando until after midnight. Technically we’ll get to our hotel Saturday, and our first day at a park is definitely Saturday. But I think I’m still going to say five, because leaving is half the fun.
Although, is it? There is a lot I need to do between now and Friday, not the least of which is to make a packing list and actually pack. Because our flight in is so late, and our flight home is so early (7:25 am on Christmas Eve), And our stay is so short (three days/four nights) I’ve talked the girls into taking only carry-ons. Carry-ons, for me, take a lot more thought than checked luggage. Rather than throwing all my toiletries into a Ziploc bag and throwing that into my suitcase, I have to choose only the most important, one quart’s worth of products.
Usually when I’m leaving for vacation I take a very laissez faire attitude and think, “I won’t care what I look like; I’m on vacation! I don’t need that curling iron! Leave it at home!” Then when I’m actually on vacation I wish I looked better and had the products to do so. Years later, when I look back at pictures, I think, “What was I thinking?’ So basically, I want to be happy-go-lucky but haven’t achieved that yet. I’m not sure where this trip’s packing attitude will land.
And then there’s the whole question of the trip itself. This is Ellie’s birthday trip, and I want her to enjoy herself. But I also paid a lot of money for this little birthday jaunt, and I want to get the most out of it. What if she wants to sleep until noon one day? That’s not usually her approach to vacation, but we leave the day after she finishes finals. I guess I’ll have to play it by ear.
The big question for me is Hollywood Studios. The Star Wars Rise of the Resistance ride looks really cool. Here’s a description from the Disney Parks blog:
This harrowing adventure will blur the lines between fantasy and reality and will put you in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance. You will join the Resistance and depart from Batuu in a transport ship to meet General Leia Organa at a secret rendezvous point. Along the way, however, you will be captured by a First Order Star Destroyer. The action then ramps up as you seek to escape the clutches of Kylo Ren and the First Order – with the help of some heroes of the Resistance.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will be one of the most ambitious, advanced and immersive experiences ever undertaken by Walt Disney Imagineering. The attraction is also one of the largest Disney has ever created. Its massive show building is a world unto itself, housing two full-size AT-AT walkers and a Star Destroyer hangar bay – complete with a TIE fighter and a garrison of Stormtroopers – plus more thrills and surprises.
Sounds good, right? Early this week I read that the park opened around 6:30 am, even though the published opening time was 8 o’clock, and to ride Rise of the Resistance you really needed to be there when the park opened. Then later in the week my travel agent emailed me that Disney is officially changing the opening hours of Hollywood Studios to 7 am the whole week we’ll be there and that you have to be there “at park open” to ride Rise of the Resistance. So that’s 5:30 am. I’m not one of those people who says, “Hey, I’m on vacation! I’m going to sleep until noon.” But 5:30 at the park? That’s a 5 am wake up time, at least. (Fortunately, our hotel is within walking distance of Hollywood Studios, so that will save some time.) I like to make the most of my vacation, but 5 am seems a bit excessive.
Do I need to ride Rise of the Resistance this time? Of course not. Do I really, really want to? Yes. But maybe not 5 am yes.
We will probably take a family vacation to DisneyWorld in January of 2021. I’ve already been approached about speaking at a conference there. I’m sure it would be MUCH easier to ride then. Can I wait? Of course. (But I don’t want to.)
In the end I’ll probably leave that call up to Ellie.
One good thing is that we have reservations at Oga’s Cantina at 11:05. And I’ve read that people are allowed into the new Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge area an hour before their reservations. So even if we don’t get in early enough to get a good “boarding pass” for Galaxy’s Edge, we’ll be able to get in. I can’t wait to see it! This is like a fantasy six-year-old me never even thought to dream.
But if I had dreamed it, I’m sure it wouldn’t have included the crazy crowd that will be there. I guess we’ll just see how it goes.