A Solo Trip: "The Heartbeat of Freedom!" July 2-9, 2018! *COMPLETED 10/14/18*

VIDEO: Voices of Liberty - “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes!”

Here is the Voices of Liberty singing one of the songs that they sang at my last set listening to them on this trip. The song in this video is “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes!” This was a great song to hear at my final Voices of Liberty Concert for this trip.

Make sure you watch my video in HD.

Voices of Liberty - “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes!"


I hope you enjoyed the video!

More in my next post!
 
Day 8: Traveling Home to the Midwest!

It was time to take Disney’s Magical Express to Orlando International Airport. :(



Once I got to the main building of Orlando International Airport, I had to go in the Walt Disney World Resort store!



I then realized the line for security wasn’t that bad. It would take me about 10 minutes to get through security.



My last ride of the trip! :(



I would get a quick dinner before making my way to my gate.



It was time to fly back home!





It was a beautiful day to fly!



We would begin to land, and the sunset was a great one this evening!





I would finally arrive back in the midwest.



I would wait for my luggage which can take a while in my home airport.



It was then time to drive home and get some rest in my own bed. :)

This will conclude the daily updates from my July trip to Walt Disney World. I will have an overview of Saratoga Springs that will be posted soon, as well as, my conclusion!

Stay tuned for more updates from my solo adventure to Walt Disney World!
 
Last days are so sad, but you picked a great way to wrap it up stopping at a favorite ride and of course Voices of Liberty :) Glad you had a safe trip! Looking forward to what you thought about Saratoga springs.
 
Last days are so sad, but you picked a great way to wrap it up stopping at a favorite ride and of course Voices of Liberty :) Glad you had a safe trip! Looking forward to what you thought about Saratoga springs.
They definitely are which is always why I try to do my "favorite" things. It makes leaving Walt Disney World a little easier.

That update should be up within the next 2 days.
 


Saratoga Springs Overview - Part 1!

Hello everyone and welcome to my overview of the resort I stayed at on this trip. That resort being Saratoga Springs!



Saratoga Springs is a Disney Vacation Club Resort that is located very close to Disney Springs.

Here is a closer look at several aspects

The Carriage House is the main lobby area.





The lobby area is nice. It feels a lot like a barn to me for some reason. Maybe it’s the high ceilings and the





There is a hallway that separates the lobby from the quick service restaurant/shop.



There is a boat that can take you to Disney Springs.



The grounds of Saratoga Springs are really nice.





Depending on where you are at the resort, there is a bridge that takes you right to Disney Springs.





I would stay at the Congress Park district. There is a parking lot right by the buildings for easy access to your car/rental car.



There is a bus stop at each “district” of the resort.



The pool area at Congress Park is really nice. Not as big as the main pool, but a nice option to go to after a day in the parks.







There is also a hot tub at this pool.



You can get a great view of Disney Springs from the Resort.



The resort is really nice to walk around at night.



There is a Senses Spa at Saratoga Springs that is really nice and relaxing.







The walkway to Disney Springs is really nice as well.







There is a nice lake and fountains in the middle of the resort.







There is a bridge that connects the "main area" of the resort to another one of the main pool areas.







The main pool area is very nice. This pool area has a water slide.





This building is home to the quick service location, as well as, the main shop.



The grounds of Saratoga Springs are definitely really nice.



More in my next post!
 
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Saratoga Springs Overview - Part 2!

Here is a look at my Deluxe Studio that I stayed in at Saratoga Springs!

When you open the door, this is the view you are welcomed to.



There is a little kitchenette with a refrigerator, microwave, a sink, and some necessities.



This is the sink that is apart of the restroom.



The restroom with a shower/bath.



The closet was a decent size.



The bedroom area which I thought was nicer than I was expecting it to be.





There is a table with two chairs, as well as, a mirror.



There is a T.V. with plenty of drawers. As you can see, I was watching Mexico lost to Brazil during the World Cup. :)



There is a couch, a foot rest, an end table, and a lamp.



The bed was a great size and was comfortable.



This area was definitely a nice living space.



My room had a balcony that had great views. This was a preferred room.









There were some nice pictures in the room.





The walkway from the bedroom to the door.



The table in the room has some information that you can look at to better plan out your stay.



My favorite part of the room was the pillows on the couch with the horse from Tangled. Sadly, this was the only “Disney” touch that I could find in the room.



Saratoga Springs is definitely a great resort despite my issues that I had with the door of resort room throughout the stay. The room was a comfortable size. Definitely larger than some DVC rooms that I have seen. The grounds are very nice. The resort had some great amenities. I really enjoyed being walking distance to Disney Springs. I don’t think that I have ever visited Disney Springs as much as I did on this trip.

Would I stay at Saratoga Springs again? The answer to that is yes, but I would rather stay at some other resorts before I chose to stay at Saratoga Springs again.

I hope that you enjoyed this look at the resort that I stayed in during my solo adventure to Walt Disney World!

Stay tuned for my conclusion which will be posted soon!
 


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I was going to say that I loved this Disney touch of Maximus and I think the one on the left looks like Phillipe from Beauty and the Beast. Then you beat me to it after I quoted this one!! :)

My Mom and I stayed across the street at the Lake Buena Vista Palace that's called something else now, but we used Saratoga Springs transportation a couple of times (shh, don't tell!) and thought it was a lovely resort! The stop we used was the Congress District :)
 
Good overview of Saratoga Springs! I really enjoyed that resort when I stayed there. It was never on my radar before that and I would definitely stay there again.
 
I was going to say that I loved this Disney touch of Maximus and I think the one on the left looks like Phillipe from Beauty and the Beast. Then you beat me to it after I quoted this one!! :)

My Mom and I stayed across the street at the Lake Buena Vista Palace that's called something else now, but we used Saratoga Springs transportation a couple of times (shh, don't tell!) and thought it was a lovely resort! The stop we used was the Congress District :)
- I think you are right about the horses from the two movies. Looking at the picture, they do look slightly different. I just figured it was Maximus.

- I have used that bus stop with going and coming from Disney Springs on any occasions. Especially when going to Disney Springs before 4 p.m. :D
 
Good overview of Saratoga Springs! I really enjoyed that resort when I stayed there. It was never on my radar before that and I would definitely stay there again.
Thanks. I agree that the resort was definitely not on my radar as well. I think the issues I had with my resort room definitely hinder me wanting to stay there again, but I would definitely give it another try because the resort had a very unique feel to it. It didn't feel "busy."
 
Conclusion!

Hello everyone and welcome to the Conclusion of my Trip Report. It has definitely been a journey since the start of this trip report with telling all of you what happened on this adventure. I had some highlights, I had some negatives, but I still had a great time!

Lets take a look back at my week-long 4th of July trip to Walt Disney World. :)

Negatives:

  • My room at Saratoga Springs that had trouble closing for 2 days straight thanks to Housekeeping.
  • The Cast Member at Nomad Lounge that didn’t feel like he wanted to give me the time of day.
  • The rude guests playing rap music (with cuss words) in the Kilimanjaro Safari line.
  • The rude female guests that decided to flash the camera on Expedition Everest and the Cast Members working the photo booth at the end of the ride didn’t block the picture.
  • The Cast Member at Geyser Point that decided I was done with my food before I was close to being done with my food.

I figured I would get the negatives out of the way quickly and talk about the highlights of the trip! :)

Highlights:

The first highlight of this trip was staying at Saratoga Springs and being walking distance to Disney Springs! :)





The amount of times I went to Ghirardelli on this trip, it has to be a highlight!



I might not have thought about this being a highlight when I did it, but being first in line at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on July 4th was awesome! :)



Getting to experience Toy Story Land on its Opening Week was awesome! Slinky Dog Dash is a new favorite of mine!





Another highlight was riding Tower of Terror alone…



Spending 4th of July at Walt Disney World is always a highlight!

Getting to see the Voices of Liberty Echo performances is out of this world! Definitely worth the time I spent waiting to hear them perform these indoor sets! Also, their 4th of July outdoor performances are amazing! The Voices of Liberty are always a highlight for me! :)





Seeing Disney’s Celebrate America at the Magic Kingdom and the 360-degree fireworks finale will never get old!







The Heartbeat of Freedom Fireworks Finale during Illuminations on the 4th of July. Wow…Just WOW!









Spending a morning at the Senses Spa at Saratoga Springs was so relaxing and a definite highlight!



Another highlight of this trip was getting a lot of Magic Kingdom completed while attending the Disney After Hours Event!



One of the biggest highlights of this trip for me was getting a picture with an empty Main Street U.S.A. after attending the Disney After Hours event!



The final highlight I had on this trip was eating at California Grill for the first time and the great view of the Magic Kingdom!





This was truly an awesome trip despite the negatives I had. I am actually surprised I had as many highlights as I did, because I was not feeling like I was having a great trip when I was at Walt Disney World.

I would like to thank all of you for following along and reading this trip report. It’s great to have so many of telling me that I have helped you plan your future trips and helped you find things that you would not have thought about doing until reading my trip report. It really means a lot to have many dedicated readers! :)

If you have any questions about this trip, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and Aulani, feel free to message me at any time. I would be happy to answer any questions.



So, in the words of Mickey Mouse…”See Ya’ Real Soon!"
 
Wonderful report and conclusion! I really enjoyed reading along! Glad you had many positives to outweigh the negatives. We have never stayed at SSR, it does look lovely and the walking to DS is so nice.
 
Wonderful report and conclusion! I really enjoyed reading along! Glad you had many positives to outweigh the negatives. We have never stayed at SSR, it does look lovely and the walking to DS is so nice.
Thank you for reading along! It was really nice to look back at the positives that I had. If I wasn't staying so close to Disney Springs, I probably wouldn't have gone as many times as I did.
 
Love the trip wrap up :) You certainly did have a lot of highlights!!! Empty Main street pic and ToT by yourself are both on my Disney bucket list.

I may need to pick your brain on Disney Cruises because we have officially booked a Very Merrytime Cruise on the Dream next year 12/23-12/27. I can't wait, but we've never sailed the Dream or sailed during the holidays so I feel a little clueless.
 
Love the trip wrap up :) You certainly did have a lot of highlights!!! Empty Main street pic and ToT by yourself are both on my Disney bucket list.

I may need to pick your brain on Disney Cruises because we have officially booked a Very Merrytime Cruise on the Dream next year 12/23-12/27. I can't wait, but we've never sailed the Dream or sailed during the holidays so I feel a little clueless.
Those were 2 big highlights for me!!!

I would love to help! The only problem is the Dream was the first DCL ship I went on, and I haven't been on since (literally not planned this way. My Dad and I just like longer cruises). However, my Dad and I are booked for a Merrytime Cruise this December for the Fantasy. So, keep an eye out for a trip report. :)
 
I would love to help! The only problem is the Dream was the first DCL ship I went on, and I haven't been on since (literally not planned this way. My Dad and I just like longer cruises). However, my Dad and I are booked for a Merrytime Cruise this December for the Fantasy. So, keep an eye out for a trip report. :)
I look forward to hearing about your experience!! :)
 
What a fantastic trip and wrap up report to tie it all together. I learned soooo much....some of which I already put to use last month. I also took plenty of notes to help me on future WDW adventures! Thank you once again for sharing. :goodvibes
 
What a fantastic trip and wrap up report to tie it all together. I learned soooo much....some of which I already put to use last month. I also took plenty of notes to help me on future WDW adventures! Thank you once again for sharing. :goodvibes
Thank you. I'm happy that I have been able to help you with your Disney adventures! :)
 

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