I'm so excited to write a PTR in general, and super excited that it's for ICOT20! This will be my third ICOT meet, and I think it's going to be the best one yet.
I am flying down Thursday night the 12th landing at 11:55 p.m. Using QuickSilver to get to the hotel since I don't want to spend forever waiting on the ME at that hour. I love QuickSilver and it makes me happy to support a longtime ICOT sponsor. I splurged for a round trip back to MCO on Sunday, too :blush:
I am staying at All Star Sports rooming with the very generous and kind Gale for the weekend. This will be a new resort for me as the only value I've ever used is POP. Virtually all my trips from 2006 to 2012 have been at POP, and then I got real spoiled going Deluxe and Moderate on the next trips. I don't mind being thrifty on this trip, all I need is a bed and a shower since I plan on being in the parks and at meets 90% of the time. Plus saving some money is important - I have my honeymoon beginning the next weekend! I am also very grateful to my enabler (aka husband) for supporting me and encouraging me to not miss this meet. He's only been to Disney with me twice, and he didn't want me to miss a minute of the ICOT20 fun!
Since I won't be on property until probably 1 a.m. (sorry, Gale! We should probably talk about Magic Bands and I should make sure the one I have will work to let me in the room, I would fee awful waking you up!) I will miss the Hangar Bar pre-meet meetup. Friday morning I will be at Magic Kingdom for early EMH. A late bedtime and early morning will mean running on lots of coffee, adrenaline, and pixie dust for the rest of the day but hey, it's worth it! I will be at the Carousel of Progress meet, Haunted Mansion meet, and Dole Whips and Tiki Birds. Lunch with Gale at Be Our Guest, I have never been here before and I am really excited. I am ordering two cupcakes and I am not sorry about it :)
Not attending MNSSHP that night will be a change from previous meets, but I am excited to try something different and looking forward to traveling around the monorail resorts with the gang :marg: It will be a little like a progressive dinner!
Saturday I'll head to EPCOT for rope drop and take a quick ride on TT before joining everyone at The Land for our Soarin' and breakfast meet. The rest of the day I will go to the meetups and have a FP for Frozen Ever After. It will be my first time on this ride since Maelstrom closed (RIP) but I am looking forward to it. I don't really have food plans this day. Normally I'd eat around World Showcase but since ICOT15 I am not sure I'll want to stick around for too long in those crowds. I don't minds crowded parks but EPCOT on a F&W Weekend and Disneyland on a Friday night in the summer are the two occasions I've ever felt close to a panic attack at Disney. Besides, I will be visiting the real France and Italy a week later! So, before Jellyrolls I may go back to Sports for a rest or go down to Disney Springs and check out what's up over there since I've never seen the finished product. Have I mentioned it's been since Marathon Weekend 2014 that I've even been to EPCOT and Jellyrolls, and since ICOT15 in 2012 that I've been in Disney Springs, the Studios, and Animal Kingdom? It's been a while. But, in my defense, I have been to Disneyland twice in the mean time :mickey:
Sunday I'll get packed up and leave my carry on bag with Bell Services at Sports before going over to Animal Kingdom. I have a FP for Navi River, and we'll see how my luck holds out for Flight of Passage. I have faith I'll get on it at some point. Looking forward to Pandora, even though I've never seen Avatar. I may get it from the library if I have time to watch it between now and the meet. I have a FP for Everest and the Safari, and will be at the Flame Tree and Dawa Bar meets.
Sadly, I will have to go back to Sports around 4/4:30 to catch my Quicksilver back to MCO for my 8 p.m. flight. I am so sad I will miss the second live taping of the Insider. That was one of the highlights of ICOT15 for me, I listen to the podcast faithfully and loved being a part of that last time. I hope John can figure out a way to stream it live somehow so I can watch it from the car on my way to MCO! Otherwise, it will be a nice way to relive the fun when the final version is released.
So that's it, my crazy whirlwind plans for ICOT20. Can't wait!
