Who's turning 40 this year and is a newly minted WDW Annual Pass holder?
Who bought an AP in April but can't use it until October?
Who decided to start a PTR 6 months in advance?

It's me, hi. I'm the planner, it's me.

I am feeling super duper lucky and grateful that I've reached a point in my professional and personal lives that I can buy an Annual Pass and take the time off work and school (going for my Doctorate in Education!) to treat myself to Disney trips in the coming years. I have a very supportive partner, who himself would rather snowboard than visit Disney so he puts his own Epic Pass to good use in the winter months, who tolerates WDW with me. He may make some appearances on my trips in the next 16 months or so, but by and large I'll be solo. Which, frankly, is my favorite way to "do Disney."

So, now that I have the AP, what am I going to do with it!?! Here's my goal -

All four EPCOT festivals in a year. There, I said it. I know EPCOT is a polarizing park and she's going through some stuff at the moment. Honestly, it used to be my favorite park out of all the options in WDW but with all the construction, confusion, and identity crisis, I much prefer the vibe in Animal Kingdom right now. Anyway, I am really looking forward to EPCOT reclaiming the #1 spot in my heart once all the work is over. That being said, I have only ever experienced 1.5 festivals in World Showcase.

Why 1.5? Well because I typically travel to Disney in October, so I've done Food & Wine Fest many times over. In 2010 (I think, it was a while ago!) I visited during Spring Break in March so Flower and Garden Fest was going on but it was nothing like it is now (aka, topiaries but no food stalls) so that's why I feel like I've only done half of that festival.

I have NEVER been to WDW during the holiday season, and it's been on my bucket list since I was a tiny kid in the 80's and 90's. My parents never made enough money to take us to a local theme park, forget Disney, and could only experience what WDW might be like by watching hours and hours of Disney Channel, ABC specials, and vacation planning VHS tapes. So I'm psyched to finally be able to visit in December now that I no longer work in a job that follows an academic calendar, if you know what I mean!

But I think I am most looking forward to Festival of the Arts. It seems like the least popular fest, more laid back, and since I am lucky to live fairly close to NYC and get to see Broadway shows kind of regularly I would LOVE to go to to EPCOT to see the special performances by Disney Music and Broadway Legends.

Even though I won't be activating my AP until October, I still have some Disney-related or adjacent activities planned soon, including the Disney 100 Exhibit in Philadelphia (With some INTERCOT Friends!) and some trips to the NYC Disney Store, and more! Follow along for the next year to see where the road takes me.