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

[PippiDancer]

With every passing hour, I'm so glad I left my tower!

Welcome to my solo birthday adventure!
​

I caught the Disney bug on my second trip to the World in 2013 and I’ve been dying to go back ever since! I decided that I needed to make it back to Disney World this year, I’d been saving up and I didn’t want to wait anymore. The only problem was I didn’t have anyone to go with, so I took the plunge and went on my very first solo trip. And it was AMAZING!

Well, I guess I should tell you a little about myself...

I’m Jess. I turned 24 on this trip, but I’m really 4 years old at heart. I’m currently working as a long term substitute teacher at an elementary school and I’m hoping to get a teaching job for next year. I can be very shy, which is why I was so nervous about this trip. My favorite Disney princess is Belle (with Mulan as a close second) and my favorite Disney character is Minnie Mouse. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom and Epcot is my second favorite.

My trip was April 18-April 26, which also happened to be during my birthday! I stayed at the Art of Animation in a Little Mermaid room. I decided to give Memory Maker a try since I was able to split it with a family I knew that was going the week after my. I’m really glad I did because I ended up with some really cute photos! This was my third trip to Disney World, but my first “adult” trip anywhere.


Thanks for joining in! I can’t wait to share my trip with all of you!

 

[PippiDancer]

Chapter Links

Saturday, April 18
It's Disney Day!
Part of Your World
I'm Finally Here!!
Pure Disney Magic
Even More Magic
The Desperate Search for Food

Sunday, April 19
A Perfect Start to the Day
A Laid Back Morning
The Laughing Place
A Castle Party
It's a Festival of Fantasy
Walking Through a Deserted Kingdom
An Early Night

Monday, April 20
An Unneccessarily Panicked Morning
A 3 Hour Tour
The Monorail Counts as a Ride, Right?
I Finally Make it to Another Park
Journey From Sea to Land to Imagination
It's Raining, It's Pouring
Another Desperate Search for Food
Bear Hugs!
Where is Everyone?

Tuesday, April 21
A Different Kingdom
Chipmunk Shenanigans
Africa, Asia, Broadway
Dinosaurs Alive and Well
A Big Blue World
You're Gonna Get Wet!
Travel to Africa
Relaxing Night by the Pool

Wednesday, April 22
It's Pure Magic Wrapped Up in Pixie Dust
This Small Provincial Town
A Magnifique Meet
Stepping into my Favorite Movie
Enchanted Red Card
Trip Report Title Explained
My First Dole Whip

 

[ursalita]

Welcome back! I'll be following along.

 

[Elevationist]

I'm here, I'm here!

 

[SarahDisney]

I caught the link on your PTR, so I'm here to follow along. I can't wait to read all about the trip!

 

[jordansmama]

Following along- Happy Belated Birthday! What a great way to spend your birthday!

 

[wiscbugs]

I'm ready

 

[hokieinpa]

Joining in!

 

[dalayney]

And we're off! Can't wait to read about your adventure!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Joining in!

 

[marabusybee]

Following along! Excited to hear how it went since I decided to book a solo trip for December.

 

[LindseyJo22]

Yes! I've been waiting for this trip report Glad you had a fabulous birthday trip!

 

[dreamseeker9]

Following! Looking forward to hearing all about your birthday trip! Love that first photo of you in front of the castle!

 

[lisagyo]

Yay! Can't wait!

 

[PippiDancer]

The day was finally here! I woke up around 8 and was bouncing around the house chanting “it’s Disney day!” I threw in some last minute things in my suitcase, triple checked that I had everything packed, and then I was ready to go!



The goal was to leave by 9:30 and we were out the door by 9:15. Yay for being ahead of schedule! We made a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and then my parents drove me to the airport, which is about an hour and a half away.

The plan was to get to the airport at 11:30 for my 1:15 flight. But our airport is really small and there aren’t many places to eat, so first I wanted to stop at subway to grab a sandwich that I could eat later. We ended up pulling into the Subway parking lot around 10:45. Since it was so early we just sat in the parking lot for a while. We got to the airport around 11:15 and there wasn’t a single person in line for bag check or security. I easily found my gate and settled for my 2 hour wait. There was barely anyone there until about 12:30.


I killed time by listening to Disney music and playing some games on my iPad. I ate half of my sandwich right before they started boarding.


Airport Selfie!

They started boarding right on time, I was in the A group so I was easily able to find a window seat near the front of the plane. It didn’t take long at all to get everyone boarded and before I knew it we were taking off! I spent the first 15 minutes just looking out the window. There was one point where you couldn’t tell where the ocean stopped and the sky began, it was so beautiful and I had a moment of pure happiness thinking “wow I can’t believe I’m actually doing this”






When they came around with drinks I got a Diet Coke and ate the second half of my sandwich. Then I spent the rest of the flight playing Candy Crush and doing jigsaw puzzles on my iPad.

It was a pretty short flight before we landed in Baltimore. I didn’t have to get off they plane, but most of the other passengers were getting off. Apparently there was a kid who got sick so the flight crew had to clean that before they let anyone else board the plane. I ended up chatting with the lady next to me. Her and her husband were meeting up with their grand kids in Disney. They finally got everything cleaned and sanitized and let people board.
The last family to board had a little girl and there were only single seats left. The little girl (about 6 maybe) was too young to sit by herself and the pilot announced that we couldn’t take off until someone moved so she could sit with her mom. No one would move, it was ridiculous. The pilot even offered a free premium drink to someone if the switched seats, but everyone still refused to move. The row across from me had an empty seat and the two people in the row weren’t together, there was absolutely no reason why one of them couldn’t move. It’s not like they were being asked to get off the plane! The little girl and her mom stood at the front of the plane for literally 20 minutes waiting for a seat. While all of this was going on the kid got sick again, so the crew had to stop and clean that again. The sick kid and his mom ended up getting off the plane, which solved the problem of the little girl and her mom needing seats. We sat at the gate for over an hour and it pushed our departure time way back.

This flight was longer, but it seemed to go by quickly.


I love the view from planes!

Before I knew it, we were landing in Orlando! I was practically jumping out of my seat in excitement. My plan of sitting towards the front worked and I got off the plane pretty quickly. We were supposed to land at 5:50, but I’m pretty sure it was closer to 6:15.

I got a little turned around at the airport and had to stop to check the map a few times, but it didn’t take too long to find Magical Express. I got in line at 6:35 and had to wait a while. It seemed like forever before I got to get on this beauty!



The bus was already pretty full, but I was able to get a seat a few rows back. I sent my mom this picture to let her know that I landed safely and was on my way.

It is time stamped 6:57, so I guess I waited about 20 minutes.

I was pretty excited to see palm trees because palm trees mean Florida and Florida means Disney!!

 

[KathyM2]

I'm here!! Looking forward to hearing about your trip!! That's so brutal about people not wanting to move to help someone out. What's the big deal?? I guess when people pay to choose their seats they get all bent out of shape being asked to move...but what can you do...

 

[ursalita]

Ugh. That second flight sounds awful. Sitting at the gate for an hour waiting to go to Disney sounds like absolute torture.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

We were supposed to land at 5:50, but I’m pretty sure it was closer to 6:15.

Not bad after such a long delay at the gate.

I was pretty excited to see palm trees because palm trees mean Florida and Florida means Disney!!

I always feel the same way.

 

[SarahDisney]

The last family to board had a little girl and there were only single seats left. The little girl (about 6 maybe) was too young to sit by herself and the pilot announced that we couldn’t take off until someone moved so she could sit with her mom. No one would move, it was ridiculous. The pilot even offered a free premium drink to someone if the switched seats, but everyone still refused to move. The row across from me had an empty seat and the two people in the row weren’t together, there was absolutely no reason why one of them couldn’t move. It’s not like they were being asked to get off the plane! The little girl and her mom stood at the front of the plane for literally 20 minutes waiting for a seat. While all of this was going on the kid got sick again, so the crew had to stop and clean that again. The sick kid and his mom ended up getting off the plane, which solved the problem of the little girl and her mom needing seats. We sat at the gate for over an hour and it pushed our departure time way back.

Sounds horrible. Seriously, people, I know you like your seats, but if you get up, you get to Orlando sooner!
I'm glad they ended up getting seats, even if iy was because someone else got off the plane.

Before I knew it, we were landing in Orlando!

Yay!!!

 

[Elevationist]

I think I told you this already on your PTR, but your luggage is so cute!

Such a cute photo! And your shirt... is there any doubt where you're headed?

I spent the first 15 minutes just looking out the window. There was one point where you couldn’t tell where the ocean stopped and the sky began, it was so beautiful and I had a moment of pure happiness thinking “wow I can’t believe I’m actually doing this”

I love this! What a great feeling!

Then I spent the rest of the flight playing Candy Crush

Girl, I had to get off the Crack Crush. It was doing me in. I couldn't handle it!

The last family to board had a little girl and there were only single seats left. The little girl (about 6 maybe) was too young to sit by herself and the pilot announced that we couldn’t take off until someone moved so she could sit with her mom. No one would move, it was ridiculous. The pilot even offered a free premium drink to someone if the switched seats, but everyone still refused to move. The row across from me had an empty seat and the two people in the row weren’t together, there was absolutely no reason why one of them couldn’t move. It’s not like they were being asked to get off the plane! The little girl and her mom stood at the front of the plane for literally 20 minutes waiting for a seat.

That's just ridiculous. People are so self-centered, it's just absolutely amazing.