Miss Independent takes on the World, a May 2014 Solo Trip

[pirateprincess1976]

Miss Independent takes on the World, a May 2014 Solo Trip Update x4 pg7 COMPLETE!!!!! 11/9
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The Who, What, Where, When and Hows
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Hi! It's me and I'm back with my second trip report If you're interested, here's the link to my first trip report http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3186145
Let's get the basics out of the way...

The Who:​

Me- otherwise known as Mary, or bruinz442 on Intagram
I'm your basic, average everyday Disney Addict.
My faves include...
Favorite resort- Pop Cnetury
Favorite Quick Service- Be Our Guest
Favorite Snack- Dole Whip Float
Favorite Park- Magic Kingdom
Favorite Attractions- Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Soarin' and Expedition Everest​

Favorite Princess- Belle
Favorite Character- Tinkerbell
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The What:​

A solo trip to the world with my first Flower and Garden Festival, 25th anniversary of Hollywood Studios and Star Wars Day.
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The When: ​

April 30th- May 6th 2014

The Where:​

6 nights at Pop Century
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The How:​

I upgraded to an annual pass in September so why not go?

Ok... That's all the details.
Next up... Getting there is half the fun!​

 

[heaven2dc]

Yay...another TR So anxious to read all about your solo trip

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Yay...another TR So anxious to read all about your solo trip

Yay!!!! Welcome back! So excited, I had so much fun. So much fun that I was home for 12 hours and booked another trip, but hey, thats for another trip reprt

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 1 4/30 Part 1:
Getting There is Half the Fun

The day before I left I didn't do anything terribly exciting. I worked until 2 and came home and packed. Well, I was "pre-packed" for weeks so it mainly consisted of me putting the stuff in my suitcase, but whatever...
My poor cat discovered I was leaving him for a week.



He looks pathetic, but rest assured he has a fantastic week being spoiled by my uncles. Yup, rough life for my Cam.
Anyway, I went to bed around 10 because, you know, there's no sleeping in Disney
Before I knew it my alarm was going off because it was DISNEY DAY!!!!
I got up at 4am (ouch!) and jumped in the showered, got dressed and packed a few last minute essentials.
My taxi showed up at 5:10 and I was on my way to Logan. I love Logan Airport, mainly because it's so close. I mean, I was there in like 20 minutes. Can't beat that!
I had already checked in for my flight and had my boarding card so all I needed to do was drop off my luggage and hit security. It was a little after 5:30 and there was practically no one. I pretty much just walked up and was able to drop my bag with an agent. I love not having to wait in line
Security was a breeze. Basically in about 10 minutes I had dropped off my bag and made it through security. A personal best. Clearly everyone knew I was ready to bid Massachusetts goodbye and they weren't going to stand in my way. And boy was I ready to kiss home goodbye. It was 39 and raining when I left. Not cool Mother Nature, not cool.
My flight was at 7:15 so I had a little bit of time to kill so what did I do? Go to Dunkie's for breakfast of course! I didn't take food picture because basically it was a couple of donuts and it wasn't disney food so... yeah. But I did capture my last Dunkies ice coffee because that is important.



America runs on Dunkins and so do I.



Here they are getting the plane ready to head to Orlando!
Boarding started around 6:40. We took off on time, right around 7:15. The flight was pretty uneventful. I watched a Disney special I had on my itunes, Disney Splurge I believe it was called. Got me in the Disney frame of mind
I checked facebook, instagram and listened to my ipod.



Before I knew it we were descending into Orlando. We landed around 10;30 and it was time to put on my Magic Band and head to the Magical Express!





I got to the DME and was quickly sent to the Pop Century line. I waited about 5 minutes before I was let onto a waiting bus and by 11:05 I was on my way to DISNEY WORLD!!!!







I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing the Disney World sign...
The first stop was Art of Animation and then it was onto Pop Century.



I waited about 5 minutes to check in. It went quick and smooth and my room was ready! Yaaaaaay!!!!! I Building 5 which is the 60s Building with Baloo and Mowgli and I was on the 3rd floor like 3 doors from the yoyo stairwell and overlooking the Hippie Dippie Pool. It was a perfect location!



I could get used to that view lol







I was making awesome time. It was just about noon and I was ready to go and play. Where would my first stop be?







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[heaven2dc]

Wow..another trip booked? Yay!!

What a great start to your first day - love when everything goes smoothly esp the first day Love your Mickey ears!

 

[Ellsbells]

I'm in and I'm off to read your other trip reports!
Taking notes for a future solo trip.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

I'm in and I'm off to read your other trip reports!
Taking notes for a future solo trip.

Welcome! Thanks for joining! I will say, as much as I love going with friends or family, I also adore my solo trips. There's something fun about going and doing what you want when you want. And there's tons of people to talk to, so I never really feel lonely, which was my biggest concern the first time I took a solo trip. I say if anyone ever gets the chance, they should go for it. It's fun!

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 1 4/30 Part 2:
EPCOT or Bust​

So it was just after 12 and I was already off to my first park of the trip. And I was heading to EPCOT. I was dying to check out the topiaries and I was starving and EPCOT has some pretty awesome places to eat.
I didn't have to wait too long for a bus which was a good thing because I had a FP+ I was hoping to make.





OK, I was in EPCOT for 5 minutes and I was already in love with the Flower and Garden Festival. Look at those topiaries, they're adorable!
I made it to my first FP+ with time to spare. What was my first FP+?



Spaceship Earth! OK- I know it's not really necessary to have a FP+ for this, but with the tiering of EPCOT attractions, I got one for it because hey, I love this attraction.
About FP+... I made my selections as soon as my 60 day window opened. I'm a planner when it comes to Disney trips. I look at park hours and I like to have a game plan, even if it's not set in stone. I personally like FP+. I had done the testing for it back in September, so I was already pretty familiar with it. I like that I could be guaranteed times on my favorites, so I find that it makes my day more relaxed. I do a little less running around and can just enjoy being in Disney. And I like that I could change things up easily if I needed to. And the new allowance of additional FP+ after the original 3 were used just came into effect that week which I did end up taking advantage of and I'll touch on that later in the trip. All in all I had an enjoyable experience with FP+. The biggest issue I ran into was a bottle neck at the front of the line due to people either not understanding the system, or those waiting for their time to come up and blocking the entrance while doing it.
Anyway, I digress. After my time travels I headed over to the Land for some food.







I just LOVE the smell the moment you step into the Land. It's one of those scents Disney should bottle and sell. I would totally buy it.
I headed over to Sunshine Seasons to grab lunch. I was a good Dis-er this trip and remembered to take food pics!



I got the porkchop and cheddar mashed potatoes, creme brulee and a coke. It was fabulous! I love this meal.
When I finished it was probably between 1 and 1:30. I had a FP+ for Living with the Land at 1:45 and one for Soarin' at 2:45, so I wanted to kill a little time, that way I could hit Living with the Land and have my FP+ for Soarin' be good to go immediately after. So where did I head?



The Seas with Nemo and Friends!



The wait was about 10 minutes which mainly consisted of the very long walk through the very long queue. But soon I made my way to my little clam shell.





The Seas is such a cool place to explore!



I could watch the manatees all day.







Look! It's Mr. Ray!





It was getting close to 2:30 so it was time to leave the Seas and head back to the Land.
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[pirateprincess1976]

Wow..another trip booked? Yay!!

What a great start to your first day - love when everything goes smoothly esp the first day Love your Mickey ears!

It's always a relief when travel day goes as planned because you just never know.
Thanks- I always get a ton of compliments on those ears. Everyone always asks about them. I just happened to come across them a couple of years ago and I haven't seen them since. I love them, they're kind of unique.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 1 4/30 Part 3:
Exploring More of Future World​

I headed back over to the wonder smelling Land Pavilion and headed down to Living with the Land. Again, it's not an attraction I necessarily need a FP+ for but that silly EPCOT tiering...
There was a pretty nonexistent line for it and I pretty much walked right on to the first row, Living with the Land is pretty relaxing but it's not something I feel the need to do every trip. It is cool to go through the green house though. They always have some pretty exotic and interesting things.



A Peanut Butter tree? What exactly is this?







I'm really digging the Mickey tree.
After the Living with the Land I headed over to Soarin' since it was now time for my FP+. The line moved pretty quickly and I was directed over to Concourse A. Soon Patrick was giving us our safety instructions and we were flying over California. Not sure how a feel about the rumored new film for this attraction. I'm not sure any other state can have the breathe taking views and varied landscapes that California does. We'll see what happens...
Now that I was done with the Land, I headed over to the Imagination Pavilion. Always gotta make time for my favorite little purple dragon, Figment!







Wayne Szalinski!!!!! OMG can I just tell you how much I miss Honey I Shrunk the Audience? I loved that show!!! I even liked the pre-show, I would always sing along with True Colors! Get rid of stupid Captain EO and bring back Wayne Szalinski!!!!!



"One little spark of inspiration...."
Since I was protesting Captain EO, I was done over here. It was time to start making my way over to another thing I missed from old EPCOT.

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[pirateprincess1976]

[B]

Day 1 4/30 Part 4:
The Pavilion I Will Miss Forever
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[/B]

I started to make my way to my next destination. But first let's take a stroll through Tink's Butterfly Garden.













It was really cool how detailed the fairies houses were. They were adorable. I didn't really see any butterflies but the weather was pretty crappy, it hadn't done it yet, but the sky definitely looked like it wanted to rain.
I did see a ton of butterflies when I went through here later in the week. Not sure if I managed to capture it on film so your might just have to take my word on that.









I made it to my destination!!!!!!
The Flower and Garden Festival Center. AKA the Wonders of Life Pavilion AKA my formerly favorite Pavilion and I miss it every day. I didn't actually take any pictures inside because the inside is kind of boring, I was just excited to be in it again. It's probably been 10 years since it was last opened when I was there and I definitely miss it. I loved Body Wars. The Making of Me with Martin Short was hilarious and I just absolutely adored Buzzy and Cranium Commando. I heard that back there, behind the walls, Buzzy and Cranium Command are still there.
After indulging my nostalgia, I bought myself the Cars Flower and Garden Festival pin, I made my way out. It was time to start my journey over to World Showcase.















Good Bye Future World! Time to journey around the world, no passport required.
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[IheartDDuck]

I'm joining! I love finding IG friends that I didn't know were on the DISboards.

One of these days I'm going to take a solo trip. It's just that every time I mention one, others hop on board.

 

[annie170]

Hi Mary! Joining in!

I miss the Wonders of Life Pavilion, too. Body Wars was one of my favorite rides and there was some great stuff in that building. I still don't understand why they closed it.

Great photos of the butterfly garden!

 

[pirateprincess1976]

I'm joining! I love finding IG friends that I didn't know were on the DISboards.

One of these days I'm going to take a solo trip. It's just that every time I mention one, others hop on board.

Yay for IG friends on DISboards!!!!
I've actually lurked on your current TR and your summer one. That on caught my eye because my sister's kids call me Tee Tee (only we spell it Titi)
I wish my family was as into Disney as yours. I love your hilarious family adventures

Hi Mary! Joining in!

I miss the Wonders of Life Pavilion, too. Body Wars was one of my favorite rides and there was some great stuff in that building. I still don't understand why they closed it.

Great photos of the butterfly garden!

Great to have you along! Yay for another Wonders of Life fan

 

[marDgreen88]

Joining in! Glad I found this!

 

[may1787]

Ahh! I'm totally excited for the rest of your trip report. I am planning my first trip as an adult to Disneyworld (also my first solo to disneyworld) in May of 2015 and your dates are very similiar to mine. Its nice to see what its like at the specific time of year I want to go.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Joining in! Glad I found this!

Yay! So glad you're here

Ahh! I'm totally excited for the rest of your trip report. I am planning my first trip as an adult to Disneyworld (also my first solo to disneyworld) in May of 2015 and your dates are very similiar to mine. Its nice to see what its like at the specific time of year I want to go.

Glad you're joining in. How exciting, a first adult trip! Hope you have an amazing time next year

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 1 4/30 Part 5:
World Traveler, No Passport Required...
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So, when we last left off I had just made my way to World Showcase. Which way was I going to go? To the right and our neighbors to the North? Or to the left to exotic Mexico?



My first stop was the Pineapple Promenade! This was a no brainer, I love Dole Whip, I've never met a rum I didn't like so.... Dole Whip with Parrot Bay for me! Of course, as soon as I got in line the skies opened up and it started to rain. I huddled under the ledge of the Duffy store, enjoying my treat and waiting for the rain to lighten enough to move. Of course, I had a rain coat. In my luggage. That I haven't seen since Boston. Yup. I wasn't quite ready to give in and get a poncho. We'll see how long that lasts...
After a few minutes it lightened enough for me to shuffle my flip flop wearing feet over to...



Mexico!
I love this pavilion, I think it might just be my favorite. I love the indoor market place and the Grand Fiesta tour. I mean a ride featuring Donald Duck? What's not to love?
I found a seat and finished up my delicious Dole Whip and just enjoyed the ambiance.





After some browsing in the market, I decided to venture outside and see what it was doing. Yay! It stopped raining! So I made my way to Norway. And then.... MONSOON!!! It started pouring! So I dashed inside the Stave Church to try and wait it out. I'm glad I did. I never really go in there, but now they had a Frozen display set up inside. It was really cool to see all the aspects of Norwegian culture they used in the film.









After about 15 minutes of huddling in the Stave Church, it was starting to get crowded and hot so I ventured back out into the downpour and ran a couple of steps to...



Kringala! School Bread is a necessity. It was delicious.
After my treat headed back out into the rain and hit the Maelstrom. I even stuck around and watched the movie afterwards. What can I say? It was raining and it was an indoor activity.
When I came out it was just drizzling so I could continue my adventures.
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[pirateprincess1976]

Day 1 4/30 Part 6:
World Travels continued...​

More topiaries along the way...





When I got to Germany, it started down pouring again. So I finally gave in and bought a poncho. Now I was dry (somewhat) and happy so time to move on!









By the time I hit the good ole USA, it was just about 6 and I was right on time to catch the American Adventure. I love this show. I'm a big history geek, so this is right up my alley. Strangely enough, my sister has a fondness for this show. Probably because this is her favorite nap spot in the World. She says it dark, air conditioned, the seats are comfy and the voices are very soothing.





The Spirit of Adventure reminds me of the Gloucester Fisherman Statue.









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[pirateprincess1976]

Day 1 4/30 Part 7:
My Favorite Topiaries!
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Next up was France!



Even in the rain France is beautiful!







OMG! These were so perfect! I love Beauty and the Beast and I was so excited for these topiaries and they did not disappoint.





Off to the United Kingdom and more awesome topiaries...







As I was browsing through the stores I came across the Practically Perfect Mary Poppins (never just Mary) and she had no wait so how could I not stop and say hello (ok, who are we kidding, I love Mary Poppins, I would have waited in a line lol).



She was very sweet and proper. A wonderful first character meet.







The Peter Pan topiaries were awesome! I adored them.



More Mary Poppins!



Since I made my way around World Showcase, I headed out the International Gateway because I wanted to check out Downtown Disney and grab some dinner. I headed over to the Beach Club and grabbed their bus to Downtown Disney.
First place I headed was the Earl of Sandwich. It was crowded with a lot of kids on their music trips. It made me all nostalgic for high school. I wish our band trip was Disney World. We weren't good enough for that. We did Six Flags in New Jersey.
I got my favorite sandwich, the Hawaiian BBQ, a coke and some chocolate pudding for dessert. So good!



After dinner I did some shopping. I didn't get much except for a Cars piggy bank for my nephew and a Olaf book for oldest niece. Then I headed back to Pop.
I got back to Pop a little before 10. My luggage made it to my room. Yay! I changed into my bathing suit, grabbed my refillable mug and headed to the food court for a drink and then I relaxed in the Hippie Dippy Pool for a bit. I went back to the room, watched a little Stacey, unpacked and went to bed. Couldn't wait for my first full day to start!
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