Today was the last chance…

There were so many things I still wanted to see and do and buy, but there was only one day left.  In years past, I had spent at least one day pretty much wandering the Expo floor, exploring the world outside the panels.  I loved looking at all the neat things you couldn’t find in the big three stores. But so far, I had spent so much time doing all the things I never had time to do before I was missing the stuff I normally got to do.  Today, I decided to just wander the floor, get a couple of things I hadn’t had a chance to get the past three days, and relax.  From everything I had heard, the farewell party for Sorcerers was just a cake and punch affair so I decided to skip it and get a head start on getting home.

First things first.  I got in line with the rest of the Sorcerers for our morning routine, except today it wasn’t routine.  Michael and Laura who welcomed us the first day took time out of their busy scheduled to come down the line and pass out donuts to all of us.  And yummy donuts, too.  I thought that was especially thoughtful and a nice way to start our final day.  I had wanted the Jada toys Sorcerer Mickey something fierce.  It was only $30, limited to 750 pieces, and was completely made of die-cast metal with a special finish but they sold out the previous two days and weren’t open at all for the preview day (no one was except the big three).  While I wanted the Rescue Ranger Tsum Tsum from the Disney Store, I also wanted to get to Mickey’s of Glendale for more pins.  Turns out on Day 2 they didn’t switch out all the pins so I made the smart move by going to the Disney Store the day before.  They did have some new pins, but not the wholesale change a cast member said would happen.  But what about today?  I decided to hit Jada first and then dash to MOG.  But getting in early meant nothing to Jada as they were prohibited from selling before 9am. Still I was about 10th in line and thought I’d make it to MOG without too much delay.  Turns out the Jada people were pretty slow.  I got to MOG but they had about an hour wait.  Not bad considering and MOG didn’t have wholesale changes this day either.  I picked up a few items like the Shanghai Disneyland poster pins and a couple of the Chinese New Year pins and while beautiful, they were basically left overs from the main MOG store and nothing new.  In hindsight, Disney Store would have been the smartest move, then to Jada, then maybe to MOG, but no regrets.

Hanging out at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with Mark and John

Mark and I getting an appropriate Star Wars picture together

After MOG, I joined up with some friends and we headed to the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge model.  Wow.  After a brief hiccup with the background, they let us in pretty quickly and we were able to hover over all the different sections.  On display was the Disneyland version of Galaxy’s Edge which will open first in 2019.  It wasn’t clear when the Hollywood Studios version would come to life, but probably soon thereafter (and certainly in time for the 50th anniversary of WDW).  The detail in the model was fascinating and the story behind it was remarkable.  Basically it’s divided into two areas – the Resistance in the woods and the Empire in the city.  In the city you’ll be able to pilot the Millennium Falcon and in the woods will be the battle of the Resistance vs. the Empire.  Astounding that there are only two attractions for such an expansive area.  Will there be other additions in the future?  Will Star Tours make its way over to the new area (as it likely will be a part of the Hollywood Studios area)?  No one is saying, but it is strange to devote so much land to only two attractions.  As the biggest single land in Disneyland, even New Orleans has two and it’s probably the smallest.  Still it was super impressive.

After drooling over the massive scale model, we walked around the floor for a while.  I found this impressive Hallmark Mickey Mouse ornament with motion, sound, and lights.  I loved it!  It was almost time for my massage so I went upstairs into the massage room and met my masseuse, Lisa.  She was super nice and really worked on my kinks.  After carrying all those bags around all weekend, I needed it more than I thought.  Thirty minutes later I walked out feeling a bit sore but much less tight.  I went back down and wandered through the Emporium section with my friend Mark, checking out all the different vendors and the new USPS villains postage stamps.  But I was done.  I left right before lunch.  I could have stayed for Alan Menken (who I’m sure was incredible), but wanted to hit the road for the long trek home.  I had seen all the things I wanted to see.  I had shopped to my heart’s content.  And I had a chance to hang out with my friends.  What more could you ask for?

After all that, was it worth it?

Yes.  Yes, it was.  But, I don’t think it’s for everyone.  If I had the stamina I once did as a youngster, I might instead save my money and camp out overnight.  $2,250 can buy you a LOT of stuff.  And it seems like Sorcerers don’t get as much swag as they did back in 2011 (but more than apparently they did in 2015).  There weren’t any exclusive “Sorcerer only” items other than the badges and nametags.  The rumors that you get in early are both true and not true.  While we did get in first, that didn’t give us free reign on the floor.  We still had to wait in lines like everyone else.  That being said, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.  Not having to wait in line for the panels was SO worthwhile!  The chance to buy things ahead of time was a real time-saver and lifted a lot of shopping anxiety off my shoulders.  And getting to go in first every morning guaranteed that I would get at least one thing I wanted each day.  I can’t say that for anyone else.  Plus, being a Sorcerer was like being among like-minded friends and that made it all the more fun.  I had a BLAST and would definitely do it again!

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