A Solo WDW Adventure: New Experiences, Repeat Highlights, & More! Oct. 2-9, 2017! *COMPLETED 12/20*

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 7: Keys to the Kingdom Tour!​

Welcome to day 7 of my trip report! I would begin my day by heading to the Magic Kingdom for my final tour of the trip!

I decided to take a Lyft from my resort to the Transportation and Ticket Center, because I wanted to take the monorail in. There is just something special about taking the monorail to the park!



I would be taking the Keys to the Kingdom Tour today at the Magic Kingdom. So, I would get to the check-in location which is inside the Main Street Theater right by where you meet Mickey.

We would begin our tour on Main Street where our guide would talk to us about many of the names on the windows.



Many of the names on the windows I had already heard about on different podcasts like Connecting With Walt that the DIS does. So, a lot of the information was the same that I had already heard.

We would then make our way to Adventureland where we would get a ride on the world famous Jungle Cruise! This was not an ordinary trip on the Jungle Cruise. The Jungle Cruise skipper just drove the boat while our tour guide told us some of the history behind the attraction. In many ways, this was the highlight of the tour.



We would then continue a tour around Adventureland where our guide would continue to tell us many things about it. While we were by the Tiki Room, I noticed a squirrel that was stealing from a parked stroller. So, make sure you don’t leave food in your strollers. You might find it in the hands of a squirrel when you get back.



Next, we would make our way to our first backstage location. This location I was really excited about, but sadly, I couldn’t take pictures. We would make our way to the parade storage location. I have always wanted to go up close with many of the floats at Walt Disney World. So, it was rather interesting to see many of the parade floats up close especially since the Halloween parade and the Festival of Fantasy Parade were both happening during this time. We also got to look at the Electric Water Pageant where we noticed some damage to some of the floats from Hurricane Irma.

So, we were also treated to something special during this time. I was also rather excited about this. We got to witness the toy soldiers rehearsing backstage for the Christmas Parade. They didn’t have any of their outfits on, but it was interesting to see them rehearse since they are my favorite part of any Disney Christmas Parade. Our guide ruined my excitement though. There was a question from someone in our group that said…”Are they actually playing (in reference to the trumpets)?” Our guide then replied saying “no.” I almost wanted to correct her, because as a musician, I can totally tell that they play during the parade and they were playing right then. I have also had friends who have been the toy soldiers. I kept my mouth shut though. You can’t fool a musician!!!

Anyways, it was now time for lunch. We would make our way to the Tomorrowland Terrace where we would have some time to eat. I got the spicy chicken sandwich and it came with chips. It was actually pretty good.



After lunch, we made our way to Liberty Square. On our way, I snapped a picture of Cinderella Castle.



We would be making our way to the Haunted Mansion where we would learn some history about the attraction, as well as, ride the attraction. We were told to keep a lookout for a couple things.



Next, we would make our way into the utilidors! I really enjoyed the utilidors on this tour more than the Backstage Magic Tour. Even if we went into the same area, we entered differently. We entered from Fantasyland where we got to walk underneath the Castle which was really cool.

When we came up from the utilidors, our tour was basically complete.

I don’t know if I would do this tour again. There were many times where I found our guide to not know as much as she should have or would even say some false info (like the Toy Soldiers not actually playing the instruments). The highlights of this tour were definitely the parade storage area and the ride on the Jungle Cruise.

After the tour, I decided to take a grand circle tour on the Walt Disney World Railroad before I would leave the Magic Kingdom until later in the day.





After a trip around the Magic Kingdom on the train, I would make my way toward the exit of the park. I would decide to take the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center.









I would arrive at the Transportation and Ticket Center, and I made my way to the EPCOT Monorail Station!

I was off to EPCOT!!!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 7: EPCOT, Resorts, & the Magic Kingdom!​

I would make my way to the EPCOT Monorail, and I was off to hopefully have a better afternoon at EPCOT than the previous day.







I would enter the park, and I would capture a nice picture of the “golf ball.”



I would make my way to the American Adventure Pavilion and listen to the Voices of Liberty for the final time on this trip. I would stay for about 3 shows.



After listening to my favorite singing group, I would leave EPCOT. My whole trip to EPCOT was to just listen to the Voices of Liberty.

I would make my way to the bus stops where I would be traveling to the Wilderness Lodge Resort!

When I arrived, I forgot how beautiful this resort actually is. On the Backstage Magic Tour, we only stayed in the lobby, and I didn’t have the chance to go out and walk around the resort.



My trip to Wilderness Lodge involved me eating at the Geyser Point Bar & Grill!



This place definitely has a beautiful setting to it.



I would end up getting a watermelon lemonade as my drink which was rather interesting. It definitely had a unique taste.



I would get the crispy chicken sandwich which was delicious. I would highly recommend this dish at Geyser Point.



It was time for me to leave Wilderness Lodge, so I made my way to the boat dock.





It had been raining. As a result of that, I spotted a double rainbow!



I would take the boat to the Contemporary Resort where I would begin my walk to the Magic Kingdom.







I would arrive at the Magic Kingdom as the sun was setting.





I would make my way to Big Thunder Railroad since I had a fastpass for it.



I would then take the Walt Disney World Railroad to Main Street!





After a ride on the Walt Disney World Railroad, I made my way to the Peoplemover where I would get a front car!







Since I was in Tomorrowland, I had to go on Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress!



Next, it was time to find a spot for Happily Ever After. It is rather easy to find a spot for the show when you are a solo traveler.



If you would like to see pictures of Happily Ever After, check out my previous update of the show.

After a great show, I had a fastpass for Peter Pan’s Flight! I still find it amazing how a ride this short can have a line that lasts a lot longer than the actual ride. It is my favorite dark ride though.



I would then cross the street and sail the world on It’s A Small World!



I would continue down the road after my cruise to watch Mickey (or mostly Donald) in Mickey’s Philharmagic! As a musician, I really like this show.



Up next, it was time to go on a search for Captain Jack Sparrow on Pirates of the Caribbean!



It was then time for me to leave the park, but I would snap a couple photos of Cinderella’s Castle!





Sadly, it was time for me to make my last walk down Main Street for this trip.





I would make my way to the bus stop where I would enjoy one final evening at All-Star Music! I would adventure to one more park the next day. Stay tuned to find out where.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 8: A Final Trip to my Favorite Park!​

Welcome to day 8 of my trip report! This was going to be a very sad day for me. That is because this was my final day of this amazing vacation. There is no better way to end this vacation than by going to my favorite Walt Disney World Theme Park. That means I was off to Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

My day would begin rather early since it was an extra magic hour morning. That is mostly because I wanted to get one final ride on Flight of Passage. So, I would arrive to the park, and make my way toward Pandora. When I arrived, I realized that the end of the Flight of Passage line was across the bridge next to Tiffins. I decided I would stay in the line since I didn’t know when I would ever be able to ride this amazing attraction again.



I had not even entered Pandora yet!!! When I was on the bridge, I looked to my right to see that the line was already curving on the Africa exit side of Pandora toward Festival of the Lion King. So, I realized I had a long ways to go.

Soon, I would finally see the floating mountains.



I would then make my way toward the Africa exit.



I started close to that bridge over there, and the line was still going that far.



Waiting…waiting…waiting…I was really starting to get the jeopardy theme song stuck in my head. However, I was really enjoying being in my favorite park since there always seems to be something to see.



I finally made it to the real entrance to the attraction!





The queue to this attraction is really amazing.







So, after being in line for an hour and a half, I made it to the loading rooms!



This attraction is really amazing. It is really making a tough decision for me regarding my favorite attraction on Walt Disney World property. The decision is between Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest. I still don’t know though.

So, I was fortunate to go on the side where they have the 3 handprints of James Cameron, Jon Landau, and Joe Rohde on the walls of the Flight of Passage exit.



I would then take in the sights of Pandora one final time for this trip.







I would then leave Pandora and travel back to Earth where I would then travel to Asia.



I decided to use a fastpass by getting wet on Kali River Rapids!



Next, I would use another fastpass and travel to my favorite attraction on Walt Disney World property which is Expedition Everest!



My last fastpass for this trip, as well as, the final thing I would do is see Festival of the Lion King. I can see this show a thousand times, and it will never get old for me.





It was then time for me to say farewell to my favorite theme park.



I would then head back to my resort where I would wait to catch Disney’s Magical Express.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 8: Traveling Back to the Midwest!​

Sadly, it was time for me to say farewell to Walt Disney World. I would be leaving All-Star Music Resort and departing to MCO on Disney’s Magical Express.



I probably waited 45 minutes for my bus to arrive which wasn’t bad. I actually really liked the design on the bus that drove up. It had the 4 park icons on the side of it.



I would arrive at MCO, and I was able to get through TSA a lot quicker than my previous trip. One thing I really enjoy about MCO is the tram system that takes you to your terminal and the main building.





I would then wait for a little while before my flight home. I find MCO to be a really good airport that has lots of options if you are waiting a while for your flight.

It was finally time to fly home!



When I arrived at home, it seemed like 7 flights were waiting to deliver luggage with only 2 baggage claim carousels. So, I was stuck in my home airport for a while.



I would then go and pick up my car, and I was off to my house. This would conclude my fantastic solo trip to Walt Disney World! Stay tuned for more updates regarding different aspects of my vacation.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I'm happy you could ride Flight of Passage one more time! And I'm actually surprised that huge line only took 90 minutes! Was the Fastpass side opened yet?

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I'm happy you could ride Flight of Passage one more time! And I'm actually surprised that huge line only took 90 minutes! Was the Fastpass side opened yet?

The fastpass side opened probably within the last 20-30 minutes I was in line. It was pre-park opening, and I was one of the first people to actually go through the whole line, because they open up the fastpass bypass for EMH and not the whole queue since there are no fastpasses yet.

 

[Capang]

FoP just never gets old. It's such an amazing ride and it is hard to believe it is a screen ride. The imagineers did an outstanding job with that ride. Great pics as well! FOTLK is fantastic! Had it not been for you and a few other Disers that speak highly of it we probably wouldn't have stopped to see it. So thanks to you!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

FoP just never gets old. It's such an amazing ride and it is hard to believe it is a screen ride. The imagineers did an outstanding job with that ride. Great pics as well! FOTLK is fantastic! Had it not been for you and a few other Disers that speak highly of it we probably wouldn't have stopped to see it. So thanks to you!

I'm always happy to get someone to see the Festival of the Lion King, so you are welcome!

The only real time where I can tell FOP is a "screen" attraction is the very beginning for some reason. I don't know if it is the glasses, but it always seems blurry just at the beginning.

 

[rteetz]

Great TR as always!

Animal Kingdom is the best and Pandora only made it better. FoP is a really great attraction. I am not sure if it is my favorite or not but its up there.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Great TR as always!

Animal Kingdom is the best and Pandora only made it better. FoP is a really great attraction. I am not sure if it is my favorite or not but its up there.

Thank you!

I agree that Animal Kingdom is the best. Not as good as Disneyland, but it is definitely my favorite at WDW. My WDW order of preference right now is:

1) Animal Kingdom
2) EPCOT
3) Magic Kingdom
4) Disney's Hollywood Studios

If I was to include the Disneyland Resort, my order would be like this:

1) Disneyland
2) Disney's Animal Kingdom
3) EPCOT
4) Disney California Adventure (moved down a spot with GotG and Pixar Pier on the way).
5) Magic Kingdom
6) Disney's Hollywood Studios

This can easily change once Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land open though. I'm afraid that Magic Kingdom will go to the bottom of the list for me in terms of Walt Disney World parks. That is probably due to me being raised around Disneyland.

 

[cstorm65]

Great report. I just found it a few days ago and have enjoyed reading! Thanks for sharing!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Great report. I just found it a few days ago and have enjoyed reading! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for joining in! I’m glad you enjoyed the report! I hope you enjoy the rest of it, and I hope to see you on my other reports!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

All-Star Music Overview!​

Here is my overview of the resort I stayed at for this trip which was All-Star Music. All-Star Music is my favorite All-Star Resort with the main reason being that I’m a musician. For that reason, I will say that I really enjoy the theming of this resort.

My Room:

I would have a standard room with two double beds.



Here is the table and chairs in my room.



There are two lamps above each bed. There is also an end table between both beds.



I loved this picture from Fantasia in the room!



There was a T.V. in the room, three good sized drawers, and a refrigerator.



The wallpaper that lined the ceiling of the room. I really liked it with all of the music touch symbols.



There was a clothes hanger in the room.



The restroom was decently sized with a bathtub and a shower.



There was a decent sized sink area with a mirror. This also acted as a closet. There is also a safe in this area.



Resort Area:

I would stay in the in the Western or Country themed area of the resort. This area is in the very back of the resort. It was a really far walk to the main area, but I really did enjoy the theming though.

Here is the view as I would walk out of my room each day:



The area had a couple huge cowboy boots which seemed to be the symbol of each building.



Here are more pictures of the country themed area:





Another area of this resort is the Rock N’ Roll Section.



My favorite area of the resort has to be the Broadway section. That is probably because I am a huge Broadway fan. This area features posters of all of Disney’s Broadway shows.



















My second favorite area of the resort is the Jazz section. I really liked this theme since I’m a saxophone player, and I could really relate since I’ve played jazz a lot over the years.





There was a nice fountain that split the two Jazz Band sections.



This is the biggest drum set I have ever seen!



The other end of the jazz band section had a trumpet player.



Here is the tropical themed area of the resort.





I really liked how they designed this area that looked like a marimba.



Here is the main pool:



Overall, I really enjoyed All-Star Music. I would choose this resort over any of the other All-Star Resorts, but I still haven’t stayed at All-Star Movies. So, I might give that one a try if I ever get a chance. If I was to choose between Sports and Music, I would definitely choose All-Star Music though.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Bought Merchandise!​

Here is where I’m going to share with you all of the merchandise I purchased on this vacation!

On this trip, I experienced Cirque Du Soleil: La Nouba for the last time. For that reason, I decided to buy the soundtrack from the show.



I am a heavy Disney pin collector. I have a lot of Disney pins. So, here are all of the Disney pins I purchased on this vacation:

Food and Wine Beauty and the Beast pin:



The Dawn of a New Disney Era EPCOT 35 pin:



Passholder EPCOT 35 pin:





Limited Edition EPCOT 35 pin:





EPCOT 35 pin with Figment:



Doorways to Disney Star Tours pin:





2017 Walt Disney World Annual Passholder pin:





Haunted Halloween pins with the ghosts from the Haunted Mansion:







So, those are all of the Disney pins that I purchased.

Now, as most of you know, I am a huge fan of the Lion King. So, on this trip, I began collecting Lion King artwork!





The last item I would purchase on my vacation is the EPCOT 35 mug from Starbucks.



These are all of the merchandise items that I purchased on this vacation!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I had an issue with my All-Star Music Overview report. That report is now available! Thank you for your patience and understanding as I fixed the issue.

My conclusion will be posted in a couple days.

 

[Capang]

LOVE the pins! Pins have become our biggest souvenirs because they are easy to display and store (plus they are just really well designed).

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

LOVE the pins! Pins have become our biggest souvenirs because they are easy to display and store (plus they are just really well designed).

I’m a big pin collector, but I only get pins that I want. I am currently 5 pins away from owning 300!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Conclusion!​

It has now come to that time. This is my conclusion to my trip report about an awesome solo adventure! I had a great time sharing what I did with all of you, and I hope I helped many of you plan your upcoming trips to Walt Disney World.

Here are some highlights from my trip:

This trip was very busy, but I also got to experience many things that I haven’t done before. Many of those new experiences ended up being tours.

The tours I participated in on this trip:

• Backstage Magic
• Wild Africa Trek (only tour I have done before)
• Behind the Seeds
• Keys to the Kingdom

The best tour of this trip was the Backstage Magic by far. It was really neat to go to the areas that guests never see. The Wild Africa Trek remains to be one of my favorite tours on property. Behind the Seeds was a neat tour, but I wouldn’t do it again. Keys to the Kingdom was a great tour, but I only say it was great for the trip down Main Street, the Jungle Cruise ride, and going to the Parade Staging Area.







Another great thing I got to experience on my trip was saying goodbye to Cirque Du Soleil: La Nouba. This show has meant a lot to me since I was in high school and my marching band days. I say that since I did a field show with the music from that show. So, it was definitely sad to experience seeing it for the last time.





I got to experience Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party for the 3rd time on this trip, and I finally got to see the Headless Horseman! Of course the Boo-to-You Parade is always a highlight at this party. Also, getting rare character experiences is awesome as well!







I enjoyed some great food experiences, as well as, some interesting food experiences. I had dining reservations for some of my favorite places to eat and here is how I would rank them:

1. Flying Fish
2. Teppan Edo
3. Be Our Guest (lunch)
4. Nine Dragons (Still good. Just some rough experiences that hindered some of my enjoyment of the meal.)

Flying Fish remains to be my favorite restaurant on property, but there are still many places I need to try. I say Flying Fish is my favorite place on Walt Disney World property, but in many ways, Victoria & Albert’s is my favorite place to eat on property. I just know the chances of me eating in there again is very slim so I consider Flying Fish to be my favorite restaurant.



I also got to experience some more Food & Wine Booths that I had missed on my previous trip. Some things were amazing, and I didn’t care for some of the things that I got.

I would finally get to meet another character from the Lion King which ended up getting me one of the best character photos I have ever had.



The Voices of Liberty will always be a highlight of any trip I take to Walt Disney World.



Animal Kingdom remains to be my favorite park at Walt Disney World. It has always been my favorite park even before Pandora had opened.





Illuminations: Reflections of Earth remains to be my favorite nighttime show, but I really do enjoy Happily Ever After as well.





As a fan of the Lion King, it will be hard for any theme parks show to beat the Festival of the Lion King.



I hope you enjoyed reading some of the highlights from my solo trip.

I would like to thank all of you for reading my trip report. That is if you have been following along since the beginning or if you have read my trip report at any time, thank you very much! It really means a lot to me. I really hope all of you have found this trip report to be helpful. Whether if that was to try a tour, eat at a restaurant, go to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, or try anything that you have never done before, I hope I was able to help in that process.

If you have any questions about Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, or Aulani, feel free to contact me at any time. I would be more than happy to answer any questions that you might have.

So, in the words of Mickey Mouse…"See Ya’ Real Soon!!!"

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

If you would like to follow along on my most recent Disneyland adventure, I would like to invite all of you to follow along at…

A Solo Trip: It’s the Spirit of the Season at the Disneyland Resort!

Just click the title of my trip report above, and it will take you right to the trip report.

Stay tuned for my next Walt Disney World Trip Report that will be announced next week!

 

[Templemom]

So fun to read! Thanks for taking the time to write out and can't wait to hear of your next adventure!