Like most of my travel mistakes, this one is due to trying to do too much in too little time. Last year when I had a business trip in Disney World, I decided to try to do as much Disney and Universal in just 2 days. On Saturday, I did a whirlwind visit to Disney Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney World until I could bearly walk. I also did a lot of shopping, and had it sent the next day to my hotel’s store for pickup. The problem was, you could only pick it up when the hotel’s store was open…and they closed early on Sundays.
So the next say I did Universal, buying a lot of Wizarding World merchandise and having it sent “to the front”. When I switched over from Universal Studios (it was closing early for Halloween Horror Nights) I took with me my half days worth of purchases and asked the front desk of Islands of Adventure to hold my things. I had an amazing time, buying more and more things along the way. And suddenly…I just couldn’t anymore. I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t walk. I had about 1.5 hours left before I needed to head back, but I was done. Literally shopped until I dropped. I made my way to the front to collect my MANY bags…but they couldn’t find them all. And the amount of purchases made it confusing. While they were looking for my things, I begged the staff to let me sit on their stool. They said they usually didn’t do it, but they could see how much crap I bought that they let me. It took almost an hour to find everything (thank god I had decided to leave early) and then I hobbled out of the park towards where I could call an Uber.
You’d think that with the drive back from Universal to my Disney World hotel I had rested enough to walk again…but I was done. A couple days of working on my feet, a long walk around Epcot, a Halloween night at Magic Kingdom, and 2 whirlwind days in 4 parks…I couldn’t stand any longer. When I trudged up to the nearly closed hotel shop to collect all my things…I looked like a bag lady, loaded down with dozens of bags from Disney and Universal parks. I MADE IT! I thought. I got to the hotel shop before it closed for the night. But two things awaited me, and I didn’t think I had the energy for either.
I MADE IT! I thought. I got to the hotel shop before it closed for the night. But two things awaited me, and I didn’t think I had the energy for either. First, I’d need to walk 20 minutes to my hotel room, due to the way the lagoon separated my building from the main lobby. And then I’d need to figure out how to pack away all the crap I bought! I sat in the lobby, waiting to get my second (5th?) wind…and it didn’t come. I ended up begging the baggage/bell hop guys to take me and all my bags to my hotel room. I had seen them do it for some obviously rich or injured people. After waiting a bit longer they took on a fast ride back to my hotel. I wistfully thought “Well this is a nice theme park ride! Shop till you drop, then get carted around in a golf cart!”
Travel Missteps is an every-other week series on how sometimes part of the journey is making mistakes and getting lost.
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