Yoo Hoo, Jennifer!
JS>BM> I as so excited just to live here.  I have my Florida resident
JS>BM> Premium Annual Pass so I can go anytime I want, and I do--about
JS>BM> twice a week.
JS> So how do your weekly visits differ from the trips in the past?
JS> I've always wondered this - about what those with annual passes do
JS> and see when they visit, versus those of us who plan whole
JS> vacations.  Is it more laidback, or do you have a specific agenda
JS> (i.e. I will see this show or ride this ride)?
Well, it's ... different.
If you recall the trip report I wrote on my 3-week visit last September,
I commented at the time that it felt odd to be without the usual time
pressure so common to the WDW experience.  As I said, "It's more than
just having an Annual Pass in your pocket, it's having time in there
too."
[Note:  the trip report is available online at
.  If you can't
read that for any reason, please just send me netmail and I'll find a
way to get yo a copy.]
Some days I go with the intention of seeing one particular show or ride,
but more often I just go to soak up the spirit of the place.  My job,
when I had it, was pretty high-stress.  The stress of unemployment is
different in source, but not much in substance.    We all have
days when we need a little extra pixie dust, and now that it's possible
to go for a quick refill, I do.
I'm spending more time just people watching, more time looking for the
little details that Disney is (justifiably) well known for, and a lot
more time chatting with the cast members.  Each trip, I wear my red
"Guest of Honor" nametag, and my red scarf, so the CMs are getting to
know me, too.  Last visit, they were starting to ask *me* questions!
The impact on my patience is two-fold:  On one hand, I'm willing to
spend an hour waiting for an attraction, parade, or performance, because
I'm not *missing* something else.  On the other hand, when a park gets
too crowded, or the screaming children in their jet-rammer strollers
get to be too much for me, I can bail from one park and go to another,
or to a resort--again, without any feeling of loss.
Because my wife is still back in Tennessee, packing and trying to sell
our house, I'm going to the parks alone.  This is a whole different
experience, and I would recommend it to all.  Take your family--by all
means--but set aside one day for independent exploration and discovery.
You'll find it a different experience.
Alone, I spend a lot more time talking to other guests.  As a native, I
can answer a lot of their questions, helping them find things and such.
A lot of the WDW experience is pretty confusing, partly because it's so
complex (especially the packages and discount programs), and partly
because no one cast member can remember it all.  (That takes more than
just a Disney employee, that takes a Disney Fanatic!)
So far, I've had two cast members offer me referral cards.  They are
down by about 1500 positions, due in large part to the opening of Animal
Kingdom, and they are holding auditions six days a week here, and also
in Atlanta, Houston, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.  If I don't find
professional work in a month or two, I may just declare myself
semi-retired, shave my mustache, and audition for a part-time role
myself.
I can definitely recommend living close by.  Depending on the size of
city you like, you can choose metro Orlando, sleepy St. Cloud, or
anything in between.  Orlando has a *great* public library system (with
a *huge* Disney collection), decent schools (to all reports), a superior
public transit system (important to my non-driving wife), and a growing
variety of non-Disney cultural activities.  Also, an umemployment rate
under 2% (and it's not *all* minimum wage attraction work).
Next time you visit, give me a wave.  I'll be happy to show you around
*my* new town.
()_()
 (_)  Bruce (WDW native) Metcalf
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