With Every Passing Hour, I'm So Glad I Left My Tower! My Solo Birthday Adventure *NEW 3/5

[SarahDisney]

I'm totally with you on the ME video - I wish they could have found a way to incorporate the "characters on vacation" theme into the MyMagic+ information.

I love the pictures from the resort. I consider Art of Animation to be like a second home, so I always love seeing pictures!

And I agree about the walk - I don't think it's that bad and I don't know why people complain about it so much.
Then again, I've never been in the farthest building - maybe that's where all the complainers are staying.

 

[smhwalker2011]

I'm totally with you on the ME video - I wish they could have found a way to incorporate the "characters on vacation" theme into the MyMagic+ information.

I love the pictures from the resort. I consider Art of Animation to be like a second home, so I always love seeing pictures!

And I agree about the walk - I don't think it's that bad and I don't know why people complain about it so much.
Then again, I've never been in the farthest building - maybe that's where all the complainers are staying.

where did you get your disney ticker?!

 

[SarahDisney]

where did you get your disney ticker?!

I yanked the code from a Disney email (you know how they send you an email when you make your reservation that has a countdown? I took the code from there a few trips ago, and I just keep changing the date on it)

 

[smhwalker2011]

I yanked the code from a Disney email (you know how they send you an email when you make your reservation that has a countdown? I took the code from there a few trips ago, and I just keep changing the date on it)

ahh I need to figured out how to do that!!!

 

[hokieinpa]

We stayed at AOA in a Nemo suite and loved the resort! We never made it down to explore the LM section on our one "resort" day but I'm thinking that's where I'll stay on my solo trip. It's my favorite movie and since we're a family of 5, it will be the only chance for me! I love the details of the room. And you had a great view...and a king bed!!

I'm guessing MK was your first park!

 

[PippiDancer]

Wow, your room looks so awesome...especially that shower!!

That room was wonderful and it was so cool to shower in Ariel's Grotto!

What a great photo! We stayed at Art of Animation and the pool is cool. My kids loved the underwater speakers.

Waiting for the next installment....

The Big Blue pool is amazing! I love the themeing and the underwater speakers are a great touch

Nice pictures of the resort.

Thanks!

When I visited AoA last year, I thought that lighted wall behind the check-in desks was just gorgeous!

Score!!! I had a king bed at Pop last year for my solo trip, and it was the great!

I loved the lights behing the check-in desk, they are so pretty especially at night. I was very happy to have a king bed, I didn't request it because I didn't care either way, but it was so nice to have it!

I'm totally with you on the ME video - I wish they could have found a way to incorporate the "characters on vacation" theme into the MyMagic+ information.

I love the pictures from the resort. I consider Art of Animation to be like a second home, so I always love seeing pictures!

And I agree about the walk - I don't think it's that bad and I don't know why people complain about it so much.
Then again, I've never been in the farthest building - maybe that's where all the complainers are staying.

I love Art of Animation! I will definitely stay there again. The walk to the Little Mermaid room isn't bad, but it does seem a lot longer after a long day at the park

We stayed at AOA in a Nemo suite and loved the resort! We never made it down to explore the LM section on our one "resort" day but I'm thinking that's where I'll stay on my solo trip. It's my favorite movie and since we're a family of 5, it will be the only chance for me! I love the details of the room. And you had a great view...and a king bed!!

I'm guessing MK was your first park!

The Little Mermaid section is amazing! I'm sure you'll love it if you decide to stay there.

 

[LindseyJo22]

Your room looks fabulous! I love the theming and how super Disney it is Definitely a lot of fun Plus, a king sized bed seems like the perfect way to relax after a long park day

Can't wait to see where you go next!

 

[PippiDancer]

Hey Everyone. Sorry for the delay in posting, life has gotten very busy and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write an update. I've been going to camp every weekend with no internet so I can only work on it Monday through Thursday nights and lately I've been busy trying to get all of my photopass pics edited and downloaded before they expired.

But the good news is that school ends in a few weeks and since I'll be spending my summer getting prepared for my new classroom next year (that's right, I got a teaching job!!) and not working a regular job, I will have plenty of time to dedicate to this trip report. Which means I can get back to my plan of weekly updates.

Hopefully the next update will be ready for Monday. Thanks for hanging in there. I promise the updates will be more frequent very soon!

Your room looks fabulous! I love the theming and how super Disney it is Definitely a lot of fun Plus, a king sized bed seems like the perfect way to relax after a long park day

Can't wait to see where you go next!

That is what I love about Art of Animation, it is pure Disney!

 

[Nanaji]

I stayed at Little Mermaid last October and it looks like you were in about the same location as my room. It is a great resort. The rooms are very colourful and upbeat.

 

[PippiDancer]

When I last left off I was on my way to my first park of the trip. So where was I headed? Magic Kingdom of course! I can’t think of a better place to start a Disney trip.



I was looking forward to walking down Main Street, staring at the castle, and taking in the magic. I got to the park around 8:15 and Main Street was packed with people waiting for the 9:00 MSEP. There was no way I was getting through the crowds, I tried. I had to use the backstage path that they had opened. It was kind of a bummer that I couldn’t get my magical walk down Main Street, but it didn’t matter because I was AT DISNEY!! Once I got off the path, I still had to fight through the crowds at the hub. I couldn’t stop, but I managed to get a quick pic of the castle on my way through.



I managed to get away from the massive crowds at the Tomorrowland bridge and was finally able to stop and admire the castle. I spotted a photopass photographer so I stopped for my first Memory Maker picture of the trip.



I had a Splash Mountain Fastpass for 8:10-9:10 and I figured I would be able to make it, but once I hit the Tomorrowland I realized it didn’t make sense to try to rush across the park to make it in time, so I decided to just skip it. It wasn’t a difficult decision, I figured I could get to it later that night and if I couldn’t I had another FP+ for it the next day.

I decided that the People Mover would be a great first ride since I would get some great views of the park. And then I saw the line. It was huge!


Notice how you can’t even see where it ends. I was going to skip it and walked around a little. But then I noticed it seemed to be moving quickly and decided to try it, I ended up barely waiting 5 minutes.

It was a great ride in the sky. Magic Kingdom is gorgeous at night. I tried to get some photos, but they all turned out really blurry. It seemed to move a lot faster than I remember.





It was a little after 9 when I got off the ride and I decided to see if I could get into the Wishes fastpass area before my window opened since I saw some people there on my way to Tomorrowland. The answer is yes, you can get into the fp+ area early. Which is great because I was worried about the rush to get in for Celebrate the Magic at 9:45 when the window didn’t open until 9:30. There were already a bunch of people there already, but there were plenty of spaces.

I watched some of the Electrical Parade.


And then sat on the grass and relaxed for a bit. They did make us stand up about 10 minutes before Celebrate the Magic started. It was a great time to admire the beauty that is Cinderella’s Castle. I swear I could stare at it all day and never lose any of that magical feeling.

 

[Disneycrewof5]

Congratulations on your new job! Great night pictures, though sorry you had to miss that first walk down Main Street when you entered the park.
Love the pics of the castle!

 

[hokieinpa]

Magic Kingdom is the only real choice for your first park!

Love the views of the castle - excited to see what you thought of the FP+ view for Wishes!

And congratulations on your teaching job!

 

[KathyM2]

Wow, I've never seen a line like that for the PM...good thing it moved quickly!! You got some great first night pics at MK...what a great feeling it must have been to just be there!

 

[SarahDisney]

Congrats on the teaching job!

Magic Kingdom is the best choice for your first park!

PeopleMover is definitely a great choice for your first ride ... but holy cow that line! At least it moved fast!
I also noticed it moving faster than I remembered on my last trip (but I also hadn't been on it in 15 years ...)

I'm glad you were able to get into the FP+ area with plenty of time to get settled in for Celebrate the Magic! It looks like such a great view of the castle!

 

[kadrachb]

Joining in! Congratulations on the job, that must be so exciting! I love how the castle is all lit up at night, its beautiful!

And I've never ridden the people mover, but its on my to-do list!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Yay for arriving at Disney. It just doesn't hit that you are there until you have been in MK and seen the castle does it.

 

[LindseyJo22]

Congrats on the new job! Also, I love all the castle pictures You look so happy!

 

[PippiDancer]

Congratulations on your new job! Great night pictures, though sorry you had to miss that first walk down Main Street when you entered the park.
Love the pics of the castle!

Thank you! It was kind of a bummer not to get the perfect first walk down Main Street, but at least I was at Disney!

Magic Kingdom is the only real choice for your first park!

Love the views of the castle - excited to see what you thought of the FP+ view for Wishes!

And congratulations on your teaching job!

Thank you! I can't imagine going anywhere else beside the Magic Kingdom as a first park. It is just pure Disney.

Wow, I've never seen a line like that for the PM...good thing it moved quickly!! You got some great first night pics at MK...what a great feeling it must have been to just be there!

I was shocked when I saw that line. But it moved so quickly without stopping, there must have been a big rush of people that got in line at once.

Congrats on the teaching job!

Magic Kingdom is the best choice for your first park!

PeopleMover is definitely a great choice for your first ride ... but holy cow that line! At least it moved fast!
I also noticed it moving faster than I remembered on my last trip (but I also hadn't been on it in 15 years ...)

I'm glad you were able to get into the FP+ area with plenty of time to get settled in for Celebrate the Magic! It looks like such a great view of the castle!

Thank you! Magic Kingdom is the only choice for a first park in my book. The People Mover was a great first ride, it was great to just sit back and take in the views. I swear it was so much faster, I felt like I was getting whipped around, glad I'm not crazy!

Joining in! Congratulations on the job, that must be so exciting! I love how the castle is all lit up at night, its beautiful!

And I've never ridden the people mover, but its on my to-do list!

Thank you! I love the castle at night, so beautiful and magical. You have to ride the People Mover! It is a great "relax" ride.

Yay for arriving at Disney. It just doesn't hit that you are there until you have been in MK and seen the castle does it.

I feel the same, standing it front of the castle for the first time of the trip just makes it seem so real.

Congrats on the new job! Also, I love all the castle pictures You look so happy!

Thank you! I was very happy to be back, I felt like I was finally back home.

 

[PippiDancer]

It was about time for Celebrate the Magic to begin! That is my favorite nighttime spectacular, I might even say I like it more than Wishes. It is so unbelievably magical and that magic feeling I get while watching it can’t be beat. It is pure Disney magic.

I had a great view of the castle! There was a walkway directly in front of the fp+ area and the CMs weren’t letting anyone stop there, so there wasn’t anyone in front of us to block the castle with their heads. At least until some guy squeezed into the crowd with his rather tall daughter on his shoulders. She blocked the majority of the castle. But luckily he didn’t show up until the end of celebrate the magic, so I was able to see most of it unobstructed.

Be prepared for a bombardment of Celebrate the Magic pictures. It is so hard to choose between them.


Walt!














Note the girl on the right blocking the side of the castle, they moved to the center of the castle at one point.




“Never lose sight of one thing...It was all started by a Mouse”

I was definitely a little teary eyed by the end of it. I just can’t describe the feeling I get when I watch this show. I feel like I’m home, like reality melts away and the whole world fills with magic.

 

[PippiDancer]

After Celebrate the Magic ended, they guy in front of us took the little girl off his shoulders and everyone around me cheered. That lasted about 10 minutes before they announced that Wishes was about to start and he put her back on his shoulders, this time in the dead center of the castle. Everyone around me booed. I understand wanting to put your kids on your shoulders so they can see, but it is pretty annoying when they are right in front of you and block your previously perfect view.

But it is hard to stayed annoyed once Wishes starts. Even though I like Celebrate the Magic slightly more, I still LOVE Wishes. And the two of them combined is absolute perfection!





















I love everything about Wishes; the fireworks, the soundtrack, the message, the magic. It's all perfect!

I really like the Wishes Fastpass+ section. I had a great view, it wasn’t crowded at all, and you can sit down while you wait for it to start. If you don’t mind missing out on another ride FP+, I would definitely recommend it. I found myself wishing I had a FP for it later on in the week.