A Solo Flower and Garden Trip: 5/2 to 5/7 @ POFQ - Updated 7/5

[Quacktatty]

I thought I'd do another little pre-trip update since I have a few new things to share.

First up - shopping!

I bought two things, 1 specifically for the trip and 1 that will be used on the trip, but wasn't bought for it.

The first is a new bag. I have bag issues and never know exactly what to bring with me. I've used a backpack, a purse, a fanny pack, but none of them were ideal. I like the backpack because it holds a lot and I like the fanny pack because it is easily accessible, but both have their downsides. So I found a bag that combines the best of both worlds - holds a lot and is easily accessible - a messenger bag. I had been looking at the make your own messenger bag that Disney had for months, but couldn't justify the $24.95 price. Then a few weeks ago I got an email saying that all of the Make Your Own stuff was on sale - score! So I made my own Disney Messenger Bag:

This will be perfect for all my stuff and I'm considering sticking my pins to it (not sure if it'll ruin the fabric though). I'm excited to get to use it on my trip and wish I'd gotten it 3 years ago!

Next up is a purchase that I made yesterday, kind of on a whim, but truly necessary. My 4 year old iPod died on Friday and I had window trim to paint on Saturday so I needed something to listen to. I went to the Apple store on Saturday morning and got myself a brand new 16GB iPod Nano. I LOVE it! The Disney part is that it takes video! I will be able to use it for video on my trip in lieu of my camera video which drains the batteries and eats up precious hard drive space. Plus it's small so I should be able to get some video on Carrousel of Progress without getting caught

Last but not least, today I changed 2 ADRs. I had Teppan Edo for dinner which I changed to Les Chefs De France for lunch. I've seen so many reviews lately that I decided I needed to try it. I also moved my Kona breakfast from 7:30am to 10:30am. Seeing as it is for the last full day of my trip, I figured I'd be too tired to wake up that early in the morning and would rather have a late meal.

 

[MEK]

All caught up again and I absolutely love the picture you took right before the drop on Splash Mountain. Did you use a regular camera or a phone? I have always been afraid to take a picture there. But I LOVE that view.

I love you messenger Mickey bag. It's really cool! Nice design job!

to the new ipod!

 

[Quacktatty]

All caught up again and I absolutely love the picture you took right before the drop on Splash Mountain. Did you use a regular camera or a phone? I have always been afraid to take a picture there. But I LOVE that view.

I love you messenger Mickey bag. It's really cool! Nice design job!

to the new ipod!

I used my regular camera for that shot. I find that there is enough time to take the picture and then quickly hide the camera in my bag or under my shirt. Plus, you really don't get too wet on that first drop - or at least I don't since I'm almost always in the back row.

 

[Quacktatty]

My plan for my last afternoon was to play mini golf. I played the Summer side of Winter Summerland last trip and I wanted a chance at the Winter side and also wanted to try Fantasia Gardens.

I arrived at Winter Summerland and paid for my round (with an EXCELLENT AP discount I might add). The course was pretty empty and I was about the only person on the Winter side.

I started out pretty good although I felt like I was rushing through things even though there was nobody waiting behind me. I kind of liked it last year when there was a group in front of me and I was forced to pace myself. This time with no one in sight I was going warp speed.

I had to take a couple tries at getting this picture. The lid of the cooler only opens when you hit the ball underneath it and it doesn't stay open for long. I'm glad there weren't more people around because they would have thought I was nuts!

It felt incredibly hot on this day. Accuweather.com says it was 90 degrees, but I think it felt much hotter, especially standing in the full sun playing mini golf. I pretty much lost interest with what was going on around me by the 10th hole and just went on auto pilot through the rest of the game. I knew that playing another round was no longer an option. I had to go to plan B. Except, I had no plan B!

I got in the car and thought for a second about where I could keep cool for the next few hours. After sitting for a few minutes to clear my head I realized there was only one thing to do - Epcot! I needed the Epcot A/C tour and I needed it fast.

I got over to Epcot and was parked close enough to walk to the entrance. I started with Spaceship Earth as I needed an immediate cool down.

Then it was on to the Sum of All Thrills, Living with the Land and finally Nemo. I realized that I was cutting it pretty close with getting to my plane at this point, my flight was at 5:30 and it was about 3:30 already. But, I did take the time to grab one last Mickey Bar and then walked to the tram to head to the airport.

At about 3:45 I made it to my car and started to exit the park. There was a terrible accident in the parking lot and they had to detour cars around. It looked like a possible head on crash, one car was completely flipped over and the other car was wedged beneath it. I can't imagine that everybody walked away from that crash unharmed.

I made it out of the WDW Resort area fairly easily and started on my way to the airport. Not much traffic and I only had to slow down for the tolls. The way to the airport is very well marked, so no fear of getting lost. I probably cut it a little bit too close as I didn't get to my plane until they had just started boarding, but I made it. I did have to run to the mini monorail in my bare feet to make the train

It was an uneventful couple of flights home until we were getting off the flight in Providence. The man in front of me couldn't feel his left arm and there were a few medical people sitting around him that felt that he had definitely had a mini stroke of some sort during the flight.

It was all a little too much excitement for me for one day and I was glad to be getting back to see my kitties. They missed me quite a bit and made sure to give me lots of kisses and rubs when I got back to my mom's.

Well, that does it for me for a few months! I'll be back "home" at AKL starting October 11th. Look for another trip report towards the end of October!

Thanks to all who stuck with me to read along.

 

[MEK]

Wow - I am impressed that you used your regular camera to take that picture coming out of Splash Mtn. I guess I will have to try that. I am always nervous about taking pics on rides, so I let DH handle that. But he won't be coming on my next trip.

I really enjoyed your TR. When I went solo in 08 I didn't even so a TR cause I thought my trip was sooooooo boring.

I plan to have about 24 hours of solo time in September. I am looking forward to that. I like the freedom of going wherever the wind takes me.

Thanks again for a great TR!

 

[GaRain]

You should do it! Which ABD trip are you going on (I noticed your ticker). I'm planning to do Backstage Magic next year and would love to do the South African trip too, but that one will have to wait until I win the lottery

Are you?
I am hoping to do that too - if the Dis puts together another group trip, I am so in!!

 

[Quacktatty]

Wow - I am impressed that you used your regular camera to take that picture coming out of Splash Mtn. I guess I will have to try that. I am always nervous about taking pics on rides, so I let DH handle that. But he won't be coming on my next trip.

I really enjoyed your TR. When I went solo in 08 I didn't even so a TR cause I thought my trip was sooooooo boring.

I plan to have about 24 hours of solo time in September. I am looking forward to that. I like the freedom of going wherever the wind takes me.

Thanks again for a great TR!

You should try it - do you have an old digital that you bring along? I probably wouldn't try that photo with a fancy camera like you have. I just have a cheap Fujifilm camera.

I thought that my first trip report would be boring too, but I'm glad I did it and I find that I actually have fun writing and taking photos throughout the day to use in the report. I mean really, my family would NEVER be impressed by the Splash Mountain shot!

Are you?
I am hoping to do that too - if the Dis puts together another group trip, I am so in!!

I'd consider doing the the DIS group trip, but it depends on the time of year. I'm thinking I'll do a fall trip, most likely one of the Adults only trips too. But if the DIS announces one around my ideal time frame, I'd probably jump on it.