Disney World

The most magical place on Earth…for introverts?

Some background: Disney was never really on my radar as a potential destination until they acquired Star Wars and developed Galaxy’s Edge. The crowds and expenses suddenly seemed more bearable. Fast forward to May 2023 and this would be our third time visiting a Disney property in the past year. We got hooked! This trip, however, would be the most involved as we wanted one last hoorah before moving to the UK the following week. Talk about complicating things! Planning and executing a trip to Disney World concurrently with a move overseas…easy!

The Planning:

In proper Josh and Carrie fashion, we jammed as much as we possibly could into the itinerary.  I’m pretty sure that I watched every Disney-related video on YouTube in preparation. The plan also saw some pivots along the way. We had booked the trip already when we found out we would be moving to the UK sooner than expected. This caused us to move the trip up a week. Then, after rebooking everything, the Galactic Starcruiser (Disney’s Star Wars immersive, role-playing experience) offered a Disney cardholder discount. We went to the Starcruiser previously and absolutely loved it. With our move pending, Carrie and I decided to jump on the opportunity to experience it one more time. Spare no expense! Good thing that we did since they announced shortly after we booked that they are closing the experience at the end of September 2023. Sad.

So after the dust settled, we ended up with the following itinerary:

– Wednesday – Arrive at Disney (Pop Century)

– Thursday – Board the Halcyon! (Galactic Starcruiser)

– Friday – Continue Starcruiser experience

– Saturday – Disembark, meet up with the Fam and head to Hollywood Studios, afternoon park hop to Magic Kingdom

– Sunday – Morning in Animal Kingdom, evening in EPCOT. Dranks!

– Monday – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

– Tuesday – Fly home and prepare for move

Note: This was the itinerary for myself and Carrie. The Fam were spending full days in the parks and were staying longer than us so we joined them at Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Universal.

A trip to Disney requires planning. I don’t care who you are. You can certainly wing it if you want, but for the price you pay, it’s best to come prepared. I learned a lot from our previous visits (Disneyland and Disney World), particularly with the ins-and-outs of Genie+. I won’t do a deep dive into the Disney app since there is a lot out there on it already, but I’ll just say make sure you download the app and get familiar with it, even if you are not paying for the extras. We, however, paid for the extras including lightning lanes and individual lightning lanes. Our time is valuable to us and no thanks to standing in line with strangers for hours.

I compiled a strategy with a few backup options to what we would target for lightning lanes and what we would rope drop for each day. Carrie was in charge of booking the first lightning lane of the day while I focused on the individual lightning lanes. 

I cannot take all the planning credit though as we had the amazing Disney travel agent, Sara Maciel, in our corner. She’s helped us out so much during our Disney trips and relieved that stress exponentially. If you are planning a trip to Disney or Universal, use her! It costs you nothing, and you get her expert services. Even with her help, we still had plenty of stressors.

The Insecurities:

Needless to say, we had a lot going on during this time. Leading up to the trip, we were scrambling to get everything ready for our move to the UK and post-Disney, we had movers coming as soon as we got back. We also still did not have flights booked for our move, which was pretty much out of our control but a stressor, nevertheless. I wish it was as easy as flipping a switch to vacation mode, but the move logistics were on our minds the entire time. If anyone knows how I can get that switch installed, please let me know.

It was also tough to plan a trip with other stakeholders involved. I wanted to ensure that we all had a great time and that added a lot of pressure. Carrie and I are pretty much the same person so it’s easy planning our trips together. If I think I’ll enjoy something, I’m pretty sure she will also enjoy it. Adding in two other adults and two kids, how do?

Last time I checked, Disney can get pretty crowded, especially on a holiday weekend. Yay people! One of our biggest pet peeves are people stopping right in their tracks with no awareness towards the other people around them. Disney is hard mode. Add in crying children, parents that look like it is the least magical place on Earth, and sticky things, it can be tough for the most prepared introvert. Anxiety and stress in crowds is real.

Did I say we, two introverts, were going on an immersive, role-playing experience? Oh boy. Cue the anxiety about interacting with other people and having to think quick on my feet. I consider myself a pretty witty person, but usually in a controlled environment. Impromptu is not on my to-do (this mantra should probably be on a shirt). Luckily, we are now coming in prepared having done this several months prior. The first time was great, but I left it feeling like I could have interacted more. We were also planning on going down different “paths” so it would be a totally different experience from last time.

The length of this insecurities section is making me insecure. I should probably move on. You get it, right?

The Adventure:

So much to say about this adventure. From start to end, it was an action-packed thrill ride. Continuous activities, continuous fun. Our journey begins on the Halcyon. Having experienced the bigger picture and more popular storylines previously, it was time to get down and dirty. Prepare to be immersed. Sorry for any non-Star Wars fans out there. We boarded the Halcyon as two smugglers with a particular set of skills that were down on their luck, looking to make some credits with the whispers of Resistance and First Order activity. To keep things short, we aided the First Order with the hopes of getting paid (we never got paid). The out of universe reasoning for assisting the First Order was that the actor commanding the Order recognized us from our previous visit so we felt more comfortable around him, and he did a great job both times (in different roles).

But the highlight while flying through space was the Heist. As smugglers, we were brought into a plan to steal a priceless jewel aboard the Halcyon. Man, was this fun. Sorry Fam, but this was my number one thing during this trip. It was exhilarating as a group of us were given different tasks throughout the heist in order to complete the mission. It was fast-paced where you just had to do and not think. Usually not my thing, but the actors are so good at what they do. My biggest reservation during both of our visits was my inability to interrupt conversations or push kids out of the way to get a word in at times but all is good.

We disembarked first thing Saturday morning to give us plenty of time in the parks. We already had late nights and early mornings while on the Halcyon so the next three days were going to be interesting. Oof…who planned this?!? Oh…

It was a boost to see my Fam before heading to Hollywood Studios and not just because they had a vehicle to give us a lift. It was a busy day with us hitting up both Hollywood and Magic Kingdom, but we got everything in that we wanted to do and capped it off with a night run of Tron on the very front light-cycles. Amazing! It was short but very sweet. We love the Tron aesthetic so it was tough to disappoint from the start. End of day.

Sunday was a highly anticipated day only because it was more of a chill one. We rope dropped Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom and got right on. It was a cool morning so we saw plenty of animals out and about. Probably started off the day with the best part of it. Note: we rode on the right side of the vehicle, but we would recommend the left for better views. We did get plenty of views of giraffe butts, though. Carrie was feeling the impact from the past few days so she took an unscheduled nap during the Lion King Show. I enjoyed it, but apparently it was not her thing. After that, it was time to hop to EPCOT for the rest of the day.

On the way to EPCOT, we shared the gondola with what we think were an older, Scottish couple. They were having a conversation about how much cheaper petrol was in the states. I get it now. You’d think we would have started a conversation with them since we were about to move to the UK, haha, nope. We just kept to our eavesdropping thank you very much.

We went to EPCOT during our last visit so it was pretty laid back. The only thing we had to do was Cosmic Rewind and get a Violet Sake from Japan. Both completed, both still excellent. We toured around the World Showcase with the Fam and grabbed dinner in Germany. They then made their way back to the hotel, and we decided to make a quick stop to ride Ratatouille. It was not quick. Pretty sure it broke down but the app wasn’t showing anything. It was getting late, the line wasn’t moving much, Carrie had a mini-breakdown. Nothing to see here folks. Move along…

Back to the hotel, time to relax, there’s a poop in the pool, time for bed…Monday! Another busy day on tap doing mostly Harry Potter things at Universal. Out of everything at Disney or Universal, the Wizarding World is definitely the most well done followed closely by Galaxy’s Edge, in my opinion. It was crowded though. By midday, it was unbearable. Whether we were in a building or out in the streets, it was shoulder to shoulder walking around. Anxiety building! Ended the day by sending out some letters from the Owl Post. I would love to go back during non-peak times to experience it. But I was happy to breathe again when it was all done for the day.

With that, the trip ended with memories that will last forever. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always worth it.

The Aftermath:

We pretty much nailed this itinerary execution. The plan came together, and I think we had the best time that we possibly could. A perfect send off with family before our move. Now, this type of planning and trip experience is not for everyone. A go-go-go mindset can certainly drain you both physically and mentally, but for now, it’s how we roll. I left Disney with a sense of achievement. 

These kind of trips really help build my confidence both with my planning abilities and alleviating those stressors for future adventures. I have to remember that the joy always outweighs the stress. I mean, I planned it, so I’ll surely enjoy it, right? Dear reader(s), do what makes you happy, and you will win every time.

So is Disney World the most magical place on Earth for introverts? I’ll leave that up to the individual, but we certainly had a magical time.

Ta’bu e Tay (cherish the moment) and onto the next adventure!

What about you? Do you have any Disney must dos or don’ts? How do you handle big crowds? What about planning trips with family or friends? Tell us your stories in the comments below or at introvertingadventure@gmail.com for a chance to be featured here on our site and social media.