New Years Eve 2021

Greetings, adventurers! Dan here.  I’ve been trying to figure out how to wrap up 2021 for the Gold Key Adventurers Society, torn between our traditional virtual, auditory New Year’s Eve party and a clip show featuring highlights of the best episodes of the past 12 years. I have to admit, between the hustle and bustle of preparing for and celebrating Christmas, recovering from those preparations and celebrations, and preparing to do it all over again for New Year’s while also going to work my day job, I kind of let this episode go until the last possible minute. 

Just as I was sitting down to finally crack the New Year’s puzzle, the pitter patter of little feet on the stairs told me I was about to have another visit from Sophie, and sure enough, the next thing I heard her sweet little 2 year old voice saying “sing, Daddy, sing!” What came next was a round of fatherly sighs, and my infinitely kind and patient wife wisely reminding me that sometimes, what’s most important is laying down and singing Blue Christmas to the baby, even if you’ve already sung it 6 times tonight and you have the sneaking suspicion that she’s figured out the trick to delaying sleep time because she has daddy wrapped around her little finger. 

All that is to say, instead of putting together an end of the year spectacular, I sang Blue Christmas. Twice. Then White Christmas to change it up a bit, Love Me Tender, Can’t Help Falling In Love, and a medley of highlights from the Boss’s Born To Run album. But to be honest, now that I’ve reached the ripe old age of 37, I think I’d rather ring in the new year with a cozy, quiet night in anyway. Sit down by the fire, pour yourself a glass of cheer, and let’s take a look back before we look forward. Maybe we’ll still have fireworks at midnight. 

2021 has definitely been a rollercoaster of a year for travel, theme parks, and your favorite Disney/Travel podcast. (Us. I’m talking about the Gold Key Adventurers Society.) People slowly started feeling ready to venture forth and see the world  again, with a few bumps in the road as gnarly new variants of our favorite virus popped and made life more interesting. On the show, we played a lot of games, designing our dream Disney World homes, planning the ultimate Disney parks meal, naming tunes and drafting the ideal team of athletes from Disney theme parks to take home the gold at the Olympics. We also spent the year exploring the luxurious world of all inclusive resorts in Mexico, speculating on the future of the Fastpass at Walt Disney World (and feeling somewhat smug when our predictions were mostly spot on), and preparing for Walt Disney World Resort’s big 50th anniversary celebration with monthly tours of each of the lands of the Magic Kingdom. And who can forget the great guests? Gabi from WDW Bathrooms and James from Hot Dogs at Disney showed us how even the humble hot dog and restroom can be works of art when you’re in the Most Magical Place on Earth. (By the way, I’ll be linking all our best episodes of the year in the show notes for this episode, so you can check out any you missed, or catch up on old favorites.)

As for 2022, I can barely begin to speculate, other than I’m certain we’re in for another exciting year of growth for travel and the podcast. We have some exciting trips to Disney Parks and elsewhere planned (I know I can’t wait to hear all about Heather’s trip to Antarctica!), we’ll be looking for some funny and interesting new friends to chat with, and we’ll definitely continue to make off color jokes, refuse to take life too seriously, and never ever eat at Flo’s. 

Before the ball drops, I want to end the year with the most important part- thanks so much to all of you! Our show has seen some amazing growth over the past year, and trend that is continuing through to 2022, and we couldn’t do it without every last one of you. It’s humbling to know that there’s at least dozens of people out there who come back week after week to listen to us goof off with our friends and talk about Disney stuff. Thank you thank you thank you for spending time with us and letting us have so much fun. And to all the newer listeners who have joined us recently-welcome aboard! We’re glad you found us. Next year is going to be a ton of fun. Now the big ball is about to finish its trip to 2022, so I’m going to finish by raising my glass to adventuring, exploring, and experiencing all the best things in life with family and friends old and new in the coming year. Happy new year!