1. Welcome to the Disney pod that's as Extra AF as you!

Cheers. I'm Michelle, the OG memory maker of making memories travel. My love affair with travel started at the young age of three on a search for Little Red Riding Hood. More about that in a minute. 

I'm a former Disney cast member, not just a CP Alum (that stands for College Program in the Disney vocabulary). I was an actual permanent (AKA “perm”) cast member for multiple years. I'm currently an empty nester with a firm belief that Disney World should have adult-only days and nights, at least once a month, and a charter member of the #Wanderlust Society. Okay, so I made that one up. But, if there were a hashtag Wanderlust Society, I would be a charter member. 

Why does any of that matter to you? Because I will be your extra AF guide as we talk Disney tips for adults bougie travel around the world, offer up some hot Disney takes, and have some of my extra AF friends for hot goss sessions. And there may even be a live episode or two coming up. 

Don't at me for advocating for adult-only days at Disney. I have the PTDD -that's post-traumatic Disney Day- to back me up. I was 21 years old and in the college program. 

As college program cast members, we didn't have the same ability to sign in “friends and family” to visit the theme parks with us. Yes, all you current and recent CP Alum… sign in back in the day was literally that - it was paper and people had to sign their initials when you went in with your friends and family.

A coworker agreed she would help me, and in return, I agreed to babysit for her two and four-year-old little girls for a few hours at the Magic Kingdom. Did I mention that in the college program, I helped open the Disney MGM Studios theme park? And yes, it was the Disney MGM Studios theme park and shall always be the Disney MGM Studios theme park to me. But I digress. 

Back then, there was only one Dumbo ride, and it had one queue. Think the wait time at Peter Pan with no shade, and you're starting to get the idea. My pint-sized entourage, as I will call them, wanted to make Dumbo the first stop, and I was too green to know to ask, “Do you need to go potty before we get in line?”

50 minutes of waiting later…and remember, I was in the college program when I helped open the Disney MGM Studios theme park. There was no such thing as a cell phone, a play, Disney Parks app, or streaming of any kind, not even music that was going to occupy us. Yes, 50 minutes later, we made it to the front, we're getting ready to board, and the two-year-old says…

I know you know what I'm about to say. “I have to go potty.” What the fuck? I'm thinking to myself, we're going to have to get out of line, find the nearest restroom, and do this whole thing all over again. I wasn't amused, and neither was her older sister. And meltdowns ensued. Yes, I may have had one too.  

Before the cast member at the load (that's the one who tells you it's time to get on and buckle up), gave me the silent you got to get the fuck out of here now nod, it was right then and there that I swore. Yes, many words, many F-bombs, but also a silent promise that I would never, never return to a day at Disney with anyone who was too young to go to the bathroom without me. And more than thirty-five years later, I have stuck to that silent promise. 

I am an only child, and I was lucky. It was less expensive for my parents to pile me in the way back of the family station wagon when they wanted to travel than it was to send me off to camp. That's how it was. 

At the age of three, I was riding on my dad's back while he, my mom, and some of their friends decided to backpack across the Continental Divide. I've already told you I helped open the Disney MGM Studios theme park, at least once. So Google what backpacks were like in the 70s…you'll find they weren't exactly ergonomic, and neither was the toddler carrier I was stuffed into on my dad's back.

Chaffing, anyone? We had walked approximately ten steps outside of the car on the way to the trail before my brilliant (and I do stand by this) three-year-old self said, “Why are we doing this?” 

Even at three, I clearly understood there were better ways to travel than being chaffed in a backpack carrier. And just like me being too green to ask the potty question before getting in line, one of the groups said, “We're going to see Little Red Riding Hood.”

Oops. Don't ever tell a three-year-old something if it isn't really going to happen! I asked, “Where is Little Red Riding Hood?” Every three minutes for three full days. Finally, a red poncho and a picnic basket on Cecilia. She was the person in the group with the long blonde hair. Had to be sent far enough away that I would see her running through the woods, but not close enough that you would actually be able to get a photo with her. Props to my parents for creativity. 

I tell that story a lot, and everyone always asks, “Do you remember it? Or have you just heard it so many times that you think you remember it?” And the answer is, I 100% remember it. It is my very first core memory, and I know in every fiber of my being, it is why I love creating travel memories. It is how I know experiencing the world is my #happyplace and lowers my anxiety. That same core memory is also how I know me and camping, we were never meant to be friends. I am meant to stay at hotels with robes and freestanding soaking tubs. I am the only certified travel advisor who plans and does Disney and pretty much every other vacation I take, as Carrie Bradshaw and her gal pals would.

I'm out to quash the vacation itineraries built for the family of four with two kids who are both under 18. We're going to talk about solo travel, girlfriend getaways, and how traveling with other couples is where “what happens on the ship stays on the ship” was invented. In future episodes, I'm going to give you the 411 on the best Disney dining experiences, where my favorite spa is in the entire world (Hint: it's in the Caribbean), my favorite cruise line (some foreshadowing here, it’s not Disney), and my current favorite city in the world changes on the regular. 

But currently, it is based on my all-time favorite dessert. Because who wouldn't base their favorite city in the world on their favorite dessert? It's chimney cake in Budapest. I'll introduce you to many of my former castmates from Disney who, like me, thought Run Disney would never succeed. Yep, that's an episode. 

Okay, let's get this party started. See you real soon.