To go on a trip or not go?
That is a mayor question that we as humans ask ourselves all the time. Should I go now? Should I wait? What about the money? Who I am going with? These questions are constantly on my mind, but then again, I love to go on new adventures and encounter countless possibilities. Even though I haven’t been to many places I am a frequent flyer. How do I do it you may ask? I start by putting aside any spare change I have, set a date, a place with many months of anticipation, use different apps that help me make an educated decision, and look for people who have been to the place I’m visiting in order to make a list of priorities of Do’s and Don’ts.
The Planning
A few day ago, I went with a mayor group of friends to Halloween Horror Nights. Not an easy decision given the fact that it was in the middle of the semester, during midterms week and I’m currently in a PhD program. So, how did we do it? First of all, we set a place, a date, and look for a long weekend preferably. If it’s a group trip, it is a good option to create a group chat, that way no one is left behind and everybody gets the updates at the same time. Look for the best options for places to stay in, Inns, AIRBNBS, Condos etc.… Third buy all the tickets at the same time, that way you all get seated together, and make sure that everybody has the same schedule. In our case, the majority of us flew together, but some had work so they all flew the very next day. Now onto the parks, the best and worse part of it. You HAVE to buy the tickets for HHN beforehand, that same week or weeks in advanced, do not buy them the same day. For the Disney parks there is a 12 to 24 hours wait for ticket validation, so either buy them with that time in advanced or buy them there. My group and I bought them all at the park including the fast passes.
The Experience
First few days were very relaxed, we opted to stay in a condo so we went grocery shopping and did our homework and assignments during this time in order to enjoy the days ahead. Also, this first 2 days were used to wait for everyone to get to Orlando and be able to settle down in the place where they were staying. We were a total of 16 people in the trip so the scheduling part f it was a bit of a test, but we managed. The first day at the park; that one was Animal Kingdom, a beautiful, relaxed park where you can eat many things, enjoy the safari, rides and shows – PANDORA IS A MUST ON YOUR LIST-. The next day we went to Island of Adventures/ Universal/ Halloween Horror Nights. This one was the hardest day, given the fact that it began at 9 am and ended around 3:30 a.m. My Do’s for you? Go in a group, bring snacks, buy the limited access for the rides so you can go through the fast pass line and enjoy every ride. Take additional clothing with you. If you have the stamina do everything the same day. But for me? This is the BIG DON’T, the experiences are amazing but in order to enjoy it, you have to be fully there in your senses, prepare yourself too be scared and to run around like a crazy human. Remember to take a day to relax, keep hydrating and just have fun. All in all, planning a trip is no easy task but is completely satisfying and fun of course. Don’t be scared to go ahead and plan one, there is a world awaiting to be discovered and enjoyed.