Best Way to Cure Disney Depression? Plan Another Trip! A Solo PTR *Updated 5/13 TR Link

[PippiDancer]

Daily Plans - Thursday

It’s Epcot day! I’m planning on getting to the park around opening at 9. I’ll probably get breakfast at Landscape of Flavors first. I have a fastpass+ for Nemo at 9:35 and I’ll probably spend time looking at the tanks, maybe catch Turtle Talk with Crush. After the Sea it is off to The Land for my 10:40 fp+ for Soarin! I might head over to Figment next, since it is right there. And then I will just be wondering around Future World, probably doing single rider at Test Track at some point. I have a 12:45 fastpass+ for Spaceship Earth, but I might end up changing it.

I want to get lunch in World Showcase, because that is where all the good food is. And I’ll probably spend the afternoon exploring the countries and checking out the Flower & Garden Festival. Dinner will also be somewhere in the World Showcase. There is so much amazing food there, I don’t know how I’ll choose. I might head back to Future World after for some more rides. I want to make sure I get to the Visa exclusive character meet at some point during the day. And then I will end the day with Illuminations at 9.

 

[PippiDancer]

And I can't wait to see the PHOTO of you standing in front of the glorious castle! I do hope you'll do a TR when you get back! I'll be starting mine shortly after I get home on the 27th, albeit mine will be much shorter.

I will definitely be doing a trip report! I'll take any chance I get to re-live the Disney magic!

 

[SarahDisney]

Definitely make sure you have time to explore Flower & Garden - there are a lot of really amazing topiaries to see!! (Plus, there's the food, too, apparently)
Epcot plans sound good and I'm sure you'll have a great day there!

I can't believe you're going to be in Disney in 2 weeks!! So exciting!!!

 

[Tracy161]

I know what you mean about it not feeling real yet! I still have over a month to go before I leave for my trip and already I'm feeling that way! I can't believe how close you are to your trip!!!!!!!!!

 

[PippiDancer]

Definitely make sure you have time to explore Flower & Garden - there are a lot of really amazing topiaries to see!! (Plus, there's the food, too, apparently)
Epcot plans sound good and I'm sure you'll have a great day there!

I can't believe you're going to be in Disney in 2 weeks!! So exciting!!!

I am excited to see the Flower & Garden Festival! All the topiaries look so beautiful!

I know what you mean about it not feeling real yet! I still have over a month to go before I leave for my trip and already I'm feeling that way! I can't believe how close you are to your trip!!!!!!!!!

You are getting pretty close too! I can't believe how close my trip is, its almost too good to be true

 

[PippiDancer]

Only 10 days left!! ​

Daily Plans - Friday

I’m going to start my day with breakfast at Landscape of Flavors. I am headed to Hollywood Studios today. The park opens at 9 but I’m going to try to take it slow this morning and aim at arriving around 9:30.

It is going to be so strange to walk into the park and not see the hat. I’m in the minority of people who actually liked the hat. It will always be the park icon to me. It will be kind of sad to see it gone.

The first thing I’m going to is Toy Story Mania for my 9:35 fastpass+. I love this ride! One of my goals is to ride it more than once. It seems like wait times aren’t as crazy as they used to be, so hopefully that won’t be a problem.

I have no idea what I’m going to do next. I’ll probably grab lunch before my next fastpass. I have no idea where because HS is seriously lacking in good counter service options. Would it be crazy to go to Epcot just to grab lunch and then come back?

I have a 12:10 fp+ for the Frozen Sing-Along. I am excited to see this show. I love Frozen and the soundtrack. It is nearly impossible to hear those songs and not start singing, so I’m sure it will be a fun show!

Then it is more wandering. I definitely want to walk through One Man’s Dream at some point and see the Beauty and the Beast show. And of course I will be doing Rock n’ Rollarcoaster. I also really want to try the animation class. I have a 2:10 fastpass+ for Tower of Terror. This is another one I’m excited about. It will be my first time on it.

And then I have no more plans. I do want to catch the 8:30 Fantasmic! because that show is wonderful.

Epcot has late Extra Magic Hours until 11:00 on this night, so I am planning on taking the boat over there after Fantasmic! is over.

 

[PippiDancer]

Daily Plans - Saturday

My Birthday!!

I am going to start out my birthday with a relaxing breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe at 8:50. I’m going to request a window table so hopefully I can enjoy the wonderful views of the garden.

I have fastpasses in Epcot so I will most likely be heading there next, although I am not opposed to canceling them all if I decide to do something else. I have a 10:30 fp for Soaring, 11:40 fp for Nemo, and a 12:40 fp for Figment. After those I have no idea what I’m going to do. I might stay in Epcot, or go to a different park, or maybe head to AoA for some pool time. Anything goes!

The only definite thing is that I will be in Magic Kingdom that night! I have no idea when I will get there, as long as I’m there in time for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes. But if you’ve read my PTR this far you probably could have guessed that.

My mom’s friend (the one I’m splitting memory maker with) and her family are flying in on this day. They are going to spend the night at MK and asked if I wanted to grab dinner with them. So if I do make it to MK before dinner I will probably meet up with them.

The most important thing of this night is that Magic Kingdom is open until 2 am!! I am very excited about this and am planning on closing the park.

 

[Tracy161]

Though I have mixed feeling about the hat (I wasn't thrilled when it went up but then it kind of grew on me...) I admit that it will be a shock to not see it there next month!

As for going to EP just for lunch... honey! That's the beauty of solo trips!!! You can do whatever you darn well please! If the mood strikes to go to EP just for lunch, go for it!!! No one will be there to question your sanity or try to talk you out of it! I do things like that all the time on my solo trips... because I can!

Yay for your birthday breakfast at the Grand Flo!

 

[LindseyJo22]

You are so so close!

I really think this sounds like an amazing trip. The Animation class is something I'm interested in too, though I am not good at drawing at all! I'll be waiting to hear about the Grand Floridian Cafe; it doesn't look like we'll be eating there this next trip, but eating somewhere in the resort is definitely on my to-do list. It's just so fancy and beautiful

I hope you have a fantastic time!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm with you on the hat - it was so weird to be there in February and see only a little bit of it over the construction walls. I can't imagine what it's like now that it's totally gone.
Waits for Toy Story are still a little crazy - it's now generally 60-90 minutes (sometimes a little less, longer when it's very busy), but it's better than it once was.
Frozen Sing-Along is awesome ... if you love the movie, you'll love it!

Birthday breakfast at the Grand Floridian should be an awesome start to the day, and I like that you have an "anything goes" mentality about the day with an amazing ending planned. Should be an awesome birthday!

 

[Elevationist]

The most important thing of this night is that Magic Kingdom is open until 2 am!! I am very excited about this and am planning on closing the park.

If you spot a big fat brunette wearing a pink tshirt, and a tiara on her head, and probably with a balloon tied to her ECV and a goofy smile plastered to her painted face... stop and say hi! I'll be there with you!

 

[dreamseeker9]

Love your plans! I'm so excited for you to ride Tower of Terror for the first time - that's one of my two favorite attractions (Splash Mountain being the other one).

For solo lunch in DHS, if the weather is nice, I highly recommend the Hollywood Brown Derby lounge - it's outside, so great people-watching. There are smaller portions. I ordered the Cobb salad, and it was the perfect size for me (especially since I'd had a cupcake at Starring Roles for breakfast!). HBD is well-known for the Cobb salad, and it was delicious! The other food looked really good, too.

Another option is to walk or take the boat to the BoardWalk or to one of the EPCOT resorts for lunch or just to wander around. I love the Beach Club and Yacht Club - maybe go to Beaches & Cream for lunch? But you might need an ADR, it's not counter service. Or go on over to EPCOT, why not? I can never get enough of the Les Halles bakery in France, for any meal of the day!

Sounds like a wonderful birthday! I really enjoy the GF Cafe. Good for you for wanting to close the MK at 2:00 AM! I'm not sure I could stay up that late, LOL!

 

[PippiDancer]

1 week from right now I will be watching Wishes!! ​

Though I have mixed feeling about the hat (I wasn't thrilled when it went up but then it kind of grew on me...) I admit that it will be a shock to not see it there next month!

As for going to EP just for lunch... honey! That's the beauty of solo trips!!! You can do whatever you darn well please! If the mood strikes to go to EP just for lunch, go for it!!! No one will be there to question your sanity or try to talk you out of it! I do things like that all the time on my solo trips... because I can!

Yay for your birthday breakfast at the Grand Flo!

I've never seen Hollywood Studios without the hat, I can't imagine what it looks like without it. I will probably end up staying in HS for lunch, but I love the idea of simply hopping somehere else if I feel like it!

You are so so close!

I really think this sounds like an amazing trip. The Animation class is something I'm interested in too, though I am not good at drawing at all! I'll be waiting to hear about the Grand Floridian Cafe; it doesn't look like we'll be eating there this next trip, but eating somewhere in the resort is definitely on my to-do list. It's just so fancy and beautiful

I hope you have a fantastic time!

I'm horrible at drawing also, but the animation class looks like fun! I LOVE the Grand Floridian, it is my favorite resort.

I'm with you on the hat - it was so weird to be there in February and see only a little bit of it over the construction walls. I can't imagine what it's like now that it's totally gone.
Waits for Toy Story are still a little crazy - it's now generally 60-90 minutes (sometimes a little less, longer when it's very busy), but it's better than it once was.
Frozen Sing-Along is awesome ... if you love the movie, you'll love it!

Birthday breakfast at the Grand Floridian should be an awesome start to the day, and I like that you have an "anything goes" mentality about the day with an amazing ending planned. Should be an awesome birthday!

TSM waits are still crazy, but not as bad as they used to be. I don't want to be rushing to fit things in on my birthday, having an anything goes plan seems like the best way to have a carefree day.

If you spot a big fat brunette wearing a pink tshirt, and a tiara on her head, and probably with a balloon tied to her ECV and a goofy smile plastered to her painted face... stop and say hi! I'll be there with you!

If I spot you I will definitely say hi!

Love your plans! I'm so excited for you to ride Tower of Terror for the first time - that's one of my two favorite attractions (Splash Mountain being the other one).

For solo lunch in DHS, if the weather is nice, I highly recommend the Hollywood Brown Derby lounge - it's outside, so great people-watching. There are smaller portions. I ordered the Cobb salad, and it was the perfect size for me (especially since I'd had a cupcake at Starring Roles for breakfast!). HBD is well-known for the Cobb salad, and it was delicious! The other food looked really good, too.

Another option is to walk or take the boat to the BoardWalk or to one of the EPCOT resorts for lunch or just to wander around. I love the Beach Club and Yacht Club - maybe go to Beaches & Cream for lunch? But you might need an ADR, it's not counter service. Or go on over to EPCOT, why not? I can never get enough of the Les Halles bakery in France, for any meal of the day!

Sounds like a wonderful birthday! I really enjoy the GF Cafe. Good for you for wanting to close the MK at 2:00 AM! I'm not sure I could stay up that late, LOL!

Thanks for the suggestions! I don't really want to do table service meals this trip, just to be a little more budget friendly. But I hadn't thought of eating at one of the resorts. I will probably stay in the park for lunch just because of my Fastpass times, but maybe I'll go somewhere else for dinner.

 

[jodistrock]

I will be in WDW for a conference - solo at the same time! I have plans but then I have no plans. The last conference I was by myself & I felt "naked" without my kiddos but I am determined this time that I will enjoy doing what I want to do without anyone else's plans or objection I plan to do some serious shopping! I will still miss them though...

My conference is at the GF too! How wonderful! I decided to do this since my family is all "tapped out" of Disney. So I guess I will be going solo until I find someone who loves Disney as much as I do that I can travel with (it's not cheap, right?!).

Have fun!

 

[Tracy161]

1 week from right now I will be watching Wishes!! ​

SOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Elevationist]

1 week from right now I will be watching Wishes!!

 

[PippiDancer]

I came up with a few potential problems with pin trading 1) I’m not sure I’ll want to wear my lanyard all the time and 2) I want to put the pins I like most on my lanyard but trade the ones I like least first. I want something to put in my park bag that could hold all my pins. But I don’t want to just put them in a baggy and have to dig around for the pin I want to trade. I thought I could make some sort of pin book, so I scoured pinterest thinking I must be able to find some idea. Nope. Nothing. I couldn’t find anything close to what I was looking for. So I took on the task of coming up with my own diy project. I’m not crafty at all, but I managed to come up with some decent ideas.

These are my supplies

I got some plastic mesh squares that are used for needle crafting from Michael’s, a pack of 10 for $1.99. They turned out to be perfect for the “pages” since I can put the pins through the holes. I struggled to find something that I could use to put the pages together. I was planning on using basic key rings, but the turned out to be too thick to fit through the holes. I ended up finding a package of binder rings at target for $1.89 and the 2 medium sized ones fit perfectly! I also grabbed some Minnie-esque fabric at Michael’s for $2.99 to make a cover.

Here is the book pre cover

I made it 3 pages and it ended up about 2 inches wide. The plastic mesh ended up being perfect to store the pins! I wanted to put some sort of cover on it so the pins wouldn’t catch on anything in my bag.

This is what it looked like before I put it on the book

I haven’t sewn since freshman year of highschool and I’ve never made my own pattern. So this project turned into a huge pain. It took me way longer than I thought and there are many mistakes, but it works. I used a plastic mesh square inside for the front and back cover to make it a stiffer and I cut another square for the spine. I made little loops to hook the binder rings onto. As you can kind of see, the top loop is a lot lower than I wanted it so the loops don’t fit perfectly. I was getting really frustrated with it by the end and had a bunch of other stuff I needed to do, so I was just over it. I’ll probably remake the cover at some point to make it more of what I wanted, but it will do for this trip.

Here is the finished product

I was planning on making some sort of closure to keep it closed, but I wasn’t sure what to do. And like I said, I was so done with it. I’ll probably remake the cover at some point to make it more of what I wanted, but it will do for this trip.

 

[LindseyJo22]

That turned out awesomely!

I have been playing with sewing as well, and it's interesting since I never really learned except for from my grandmother in like elementary school

The book seems like a really good idea to have a good pin variety and not have to have a giant lanyard or something too.

 

[Tracy161]

Wow!!! It sounds like you weren't without your struggles to get this done but I'm telling you this: it looks absolutely AMAZING!!! You did such a great job and I think it's perfect for your needs in the parks. For a fairly simple closure, you could get a pair or two of those small, sticky on one side, Velcro circles and with just another small piece of fabric you've got a relatively simple (at least it sounds it in theory... DIY can frustrate the heck out of me, that's for sure!) closure.

You're SO close to leaving for your trip!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PippiDancer]

That turned out awesomely!

I have been playing with sewing as well, and it's interesting since I never really learned except for from my grandmother in like elementary school

The book seems like a really good idea to have a good pin variety and not have to have a giant lanyard or something too.

Thank you! I took sewing in high school, but its been a while since I've done it so I'm kinda rusty. I really like haveing the pin book, I think it will make everything a lot easier. And I don't have to worry about them falling off my lanyard

Wow!!! It sounds like you weren't without your struggles to get this done but I'm telling you this: it looks absolutely AMAZING!!! You did such a great job and I think it's perfect for your needs in the parks. For a fairly simple closure, you could get a pair or two of those small, sticky on one side, Velcro circles and with just another small piece of fabric you've got a relatively simple (at least it sounds it in theory... DIY can frustrate the heck out of me, that's for sure!) closure.

You're SO close to leaving for your trip!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much! I was going to something similar for a closure, but by the time I finished what I have I was so done with it, I didn't want to spend anymore time on it. It is just something I can add for the next trip!