A Whole New World - My Solo TR (May 12-15)!

[disneyj914]

I can't believe it's over! My first solo trip is over, and it was amazing!!! I did so much planning....and promptly threw it all to the wind as soon as I arrived! I just did whatever I wanted when I wanted....with no one to tell me anything different. It was amazing just being able to go wherever I wanted on a whim! I think that unless you've done a solo, you can't really imagine what it would be like, but if you keep following along, I'll do my best.

For those who didn't read my pre-trip report, I guess I should provide some background info. I'm Jess, 25, and this was my 7th trip to the world, and my first solo trip ever! I went on the trip as a present to myself to de-stress from my crazy job! I love everything about Disney World, the parks, the hotels, the restaurants - it's all wonderful!!! Here's a pic from the trip:

So on to the trip!!! I had to work Tuesday night and I got home from work around 1:30am. Since I had to leave for the airport by around 4am, I decided that there would be no sleep for this girl - there was no way I was going to miss that plane. It was raining pretty hard, but I got to the aiport on time and found the power was out at the check-in counter. Everyone had to check in without the aid of a computer, and I ended up not having to pay for my checked bag! Our flight left on time and I ended up with a whole row to myself!!! I stretched out and got some much needed sleep!

We landed right on time in Orlando, and I didn't have to wait at all for my Magical Express bus. After about two minutes, we were on our way to my happy place!!! After a stop at Caribbean Beach, we arrived at POP Century! I was expecting a massive line to check-in, but there was no one at all in line. It was only 10:30am so I was not expecting my room to be ready, but it was! I got my Key to the World, headed over to pick up a Refillable Mug, and began the looooong walk to my room.

This is the moment I kicked myself for not making any room requests. I was placed in the 50's section, and my room was pretty much as far away from the middle of the resort as you could get. It was probably a 5-10 minute walk to Classic Hall and the bus stops. But it was clean and quiet so I decided to stick it out and stay put. After changing and unpacking, I made the best decision I did all week - I threw my plans to the wind and decided to visit UG's recommended park of the day.

This turned out to be a great decision and almost everything all day was a walk-on.

 

[manntra]

Hi there!! Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!! I am taking my first solo in October and am nervous/excited!! I was at Kidani two weeks ago and had such a looooong walk too but I ended up liking the area I was. What's another few hundred steps after a long day in the parks?! Hahaha

Tracy

 

[PaulaW]

Can't wait to read more of your report. I'm making my first solo trip in September.

Paula

 

[Disney_Jill]

I can't wait to hear about your trip. I am going on my first solo trip on the 31st.

 

[disneyj914]

So, I got off the bus and saw

It was with a little apprehension that I entered my first park all alone. Would I feel lonely? Get bored? Have the crowds point and laugh at this person by themselves? Well, the only thing that happened was that overwhelming feeling of happiness when you walk through that train station and out onto Main Street. I was back!!! I met my first photopass photographer during my wandering, and realized that these wonderful people would be here all week to help be document my trip.

I love that they will take pictures with your camera too....I have some great photopass "magic" shots that I'll be purchasing, but the pics that they took with my camera were awesome as well! I also had some really great conversations with many photopass photogs.

So after wandering down Main Street, I headed to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain. It was closed for refurb when I was there in September, so I was anxious to see the changes. Since it was almost noon at this point, I was expecting a pretty substantial wait. What did I find? 5 minutes!!! That's right, a walk-on! I quickly grabbed a fastpass for later and then sprinted through the remodeled queue. After riding, I was underwhelmed....until I rode again and waited for the front seat (this would become a theme of the trip). From the front it was amazing, and I would definitely recommend waiting for the front on this ride!

After Space Mountain, I stumbled upon this guy...

and he became my first entry in my mom's autograph book. In case you didn't read my TR, my mom is a huge Disney fan! Instead of buying her something, I decided to collect autographs and pictures with all the characters for her. I printed out cute autograph cards that I found on the Disigns forum and the whole thing turned out really well.....I'll throw in some pictures later. All the characters loved the cards....they pointed at it like, "that's me!"

After seeing Buzz, I helped him defeat Zurg with a walk-on ride on Buzz's Space Ranger Spin. After some space fun, I decided it was time to take a final walk around Toon Town, since I wasn't sure if it will still be there in December. I took a quick walk through Mickey and Minnie's houses and then decided to pay the princesses a visit. I waited about 15 minutes, and it was probably my longest wait of the day. Inside, I met

Princess Aurora, who is very excited about moving into her new cottage

Cinderella

and Belle

I have to head into work for a little bit to do some inventory and the rest of my pics are still uploading. Hopefully, I'll have time for one more update before bed tonight. See you real soon!

 

[OhMari]

I've done WDW solo a few times, while my dh is at his convention. I sort of plan which park I attend, but once I am inside, if anyone had to follow me, they would totally get dizzy. I tend to change my mind frequently.

I had to look at your Christmas Family vacation name twice, my maiden name is Reimer-I know it is German and I was told my ancestor's were beer makers.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

[GaRain]

Lovin' it so far!!! Solo trips are great!! I am in the middle of posting my trip report from March - solo for me as well!
Can't wait for the next installment!

Lara

 

[disneyj914]

and thanks for stopping by!

Hi there!! Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!! I am taking my first solo in October and am nervous/excited!! I was at Kidani two weeks ago and had such a looooong walk too but I ended up liking the area I was. What's another few hundred steps after a long day in the parks?! Hahaha

Tracy

Thanks for stopping by! Don't be nervous, you will have so much fun! Where are you staying?? We were looking at AKL for our upcoming trip but we decided on Coronado Springs.

Can't wait to read more of your report. I'm making my first solo trip in September.

Paula

I was really nervous before hand but it turned out to be a really great trip! Good luck with your planning? Will you be there for any MNSSHP parties?

I can't wait to hear about your trip. I am going on my first solo trip on the 31st.

Congrats! You're going to have a blast!

I've done WDW solo a few times, while my dh is at his convention. I sort of plan which park I attend, but once I am inside, if anyone had to follow me, they would totally get dizzy. I tend to change my mind frequently.

I had to look at your Christmas Family vacation name twice, my maiden name is Reimer-I know it is German and I was told my ancestor's were beer makers.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

I agree with the dizzy part! I think I walked more this trip than any other! Most of it was for collecting fastpasses....but sometimes I just wanted to wander!

Lovin' it so far!!! Solo trips are great!! I am in the middle of posting my trip report from March - solo for me as well!
Can't wait for the next installment!

Lara

Thank you! Trying to get another post done before work today!

 

[disneyj914]

So after wishing the princesses well in their moves to their new homes, I wandered through Fantasyland over to Frontierland. I didn't do any rides b/c it was really crowded and I've done them all about 1000 times each! I'd be back later to take in my favorite attraction in the MK though. I stopped to take some pics of the castle...this one is my fave.

I decided that I was pretty hungry and ended up at an old favorite after picking up a fastpass for Big Thunder Mountain. I had lunch at Pecos Bill's, forgot to take a pic after the madness of finding a table, but I had a pulled pork sandwich that was awesome! I think it is one of the newer menu choices and it definitely gets two thumbs up!

After that I headed to Adventureland to meet some pirates! PoC was another walk-on and I love this ride, even with all the new effects. One effect I didn't love was that pretty much everyone in my boat was snapping pictures. When did this become ok?

After Pirates, I decided to climb the Swiss Family Treehouse because I heard you could get some great photos up there. Here's what I came up with:

After that, I headed over to BTMRR to use my fastpass, grabbing another for Splash Mountain on the way. You may be thinking, low crowds, why all these fast passes?? I just figured, why wait 15 minutes when you could wait no minutes!

Anyway, in line for Big Thunder was pretty much the only place anyone was rude to me the whole trip about being alone. I was waiting for the next train to come and a gentleman next to me asked where my family was. I told him that I was here alone for some relaxing time in Disney World, but he wouldn't let it go and actually kind of insisted that the rest of my group must be back at the hotel. Once he finally realized I was really alone, he gave me a look like "you're crazy" and said good luck and walked away. Some people.....

Anyway, a quick trip to Aloha Isle quickly lightened up my mood

and my Dole Whip and I headed off to Main Street to watch the Celebrate Today parade. Well, the Florida sun had other plans. The weather was great all week, but standing in one spot for the parade was just a little too much. I wandered back over to Fantasyland for my favorite MK attraction - Mickey's Philharmagic!!!! I love this show so much!

After Philharmagic, I headed back towards Frontierland to use my Splash fastpass, stopping by this scary place to take a tour of the vacancy they had available since I've been thinking about moving to Orlando.

The outside was pretty, but it was a little musty in there for my taste! In fact, some of the current residents even tried to leave with me!

Then it was time for Chickapin Hill! If you were at MK this day, I was the loser of Splash Mountain wearing a wonderful Mickey poncho!!! I love this ride, but I hate getting wet! After that, I had one more fastpass to use so I headed over to Tomorrowland and rode Space one more time, followed by a trip around the TTA.


Then, it was time to head out and over to Hollywood Studios to try to catch Fantasmic. I was almost to the gates when I realized I should use the restrooms before I left, and then I stumbled onto these guys....with no line!

Then I was about to leave again, and the Move It Shake It Celebrate It parade started right next to me and I got some great pictures....

Then, it was time to head to Hollywood Studios! Coming up....how many times will I ride Tower of Terror? Will I get in to Fantasmic!?

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

That has to be such an awesome feeling to go and do whatever YOU want at Disney. Good for you.

 

[notaprincess]

Fun TR to read.

I've been solo a few times. no regrets whatsoever!

Planning my very own de-stress trip in September! I sooooo need it, away from work.

 

[manntra]

Wow that was perfect timing when you were leaving MK!! I was there 2 weeks before you and while watching the parade at HS I felt like I was melting into the pavement!
Grrrrr to the rude guy on line at BTMRR.....I think that line makes people nasty anyways....always hot, close contact, etc

Tracy

 

[disneyj914]

That has to be such an awesome feeling to go and do whatever YOU want at Disney. Good for you.

It was so much fun!!! I'm already saving for solo round 2!

Fun TR to read.

I've been solo a few times. no regrets whatsoever!

Planning my very own de-stress trip in September! I sooooo need it, away from work.

Congrats on your trip! Yes, this trip was the ultimate de-stressor! Just make sure you turn off your phone!

Wow that was perfect timing when you were leaving MK!! I was there 2 weeks before you and while watching the parade at HS I felt like I was melting into the pavement!
Grrrrr to the rude guy on line at BTMRR.....I think that line makes people nasty anyways....always hot, close contact, etc

Tracy

I lucked in to great timing all week! And I got over that comment as soon as we chugged up the first hill on BTMRR!

 

[disneyj914]

So as I left you last, I was headed out of the Magic Kingdom and over to Hollywood Studios. When I got there, it was packed!!! UG park recommendations were dead on! This was the only Fantasmic day of my trip, and people are nutso about this show!

Anyway, I knew I didn't have a lot of time tonight, especially if I wanted to catch Fantasmic! If you've been following along at all, you know exactly where I headed first.

I love everything about this ride....the queue, the theming inside and outside the hotel, the cheesy movie in the holding room, and espcially the cast members who get into their roles, although there seems to be less and less these days. On a previous trip, my family encountered one of the best CM's we've ever seen at ToT. He was in charge of showing people into the room where you are shown the video and he was very into character, kinda creepy, kinda strange...perfect for the Twilight Zone. Well, the ride wasn't very crowded and my family had gone around probably 3 or 4 times in a row. He started moving around in the dark while the movie was showing and popping up right next to one of us when the lights came back on. It was hilarious and really added to the magic. Anyway.....flashback over. I rode ToT and then headed back up Sunset Blvd to the American Idol theater.

I caught the finale show and there were some really talented people. The woman who won actually gave me goosebumps while she was singing. She was amazing!! The judges play their roles really well in this, they def remind you of watching the tv show.

At this point it was about 8:00 so I headed over to the Hollywood Hills Theater to get in line for Fantasmic....and saw about 500 people already in line! No way jose - it's a great show but I'm not the most patient person in the world so I decided that Fantasmic was not really going to work out. So I headed back to my Tower! And rode two more times! After that I headed over to the Rock n' Roller Coaster for a visit with Aerosmith. I hopped in the Single Rider line which turned out to be a huge mistake! I waited about 45 minutes and watched tons of people walk right through the stand-by line. Not sure what was going on but this was probably my longest wait of the vacation.

At this point, the park was about to close so I headed over to Toy Story Mania to check out the wait-time. Well as I left the Sunset Blvd area, I noticed people running (with strollers, kids, wheel chairs, etc) in the direction of the big hat. What was going on? Toy Story Mania sprint part 2! I quickly gave up on this idea and just headed to One Man's Dream. I'd never done this before and it was pretty interesting!

After that, I headed out with the Fantasmic crowds and waited for the bus. Got back to Pop and got some dinner from the food court and passed out....another early day tomorrow!

 

[disneyj914]

Day 2 was another early start, although I did miss rope drop. After getting ready, I headed over to Classic Hall to grab some coffee and then out to the bus stop. The ride to Hollywood Studios from Pop was awesome....about a 5 minute ride. I headed through the turnstiles and into my favorite park! The weather was gorgeous, the crowds looked low, it was going to be a great day!! Before hitting some rides, I stopped to take some pics in front of the big hat.

Here's a look at the crowds at around 9:30am

First up, I headed over to Pixar Place to pick up a fastpass for TSM. The stand-by line was already pretty long so I would only be riding this once today.
Then I headed over to my favorite area of the park, Sunset Blvd. I love everything about this area - the rides (of course), the Streetmosphere characters, and the shopping.

Then it was time to head back to my fave, Tower of Terror. I took a few pics along the way.

It was a walk-on and I considered going around again, but decided to see some other stuff first. Next up was Rock n' Roller Coaster; I picked stand-by this time and was on in about 10 minutes. Looks like they're getting ready for the refurb.

I took a leisurely stroll up Sunset Blvd and shopped a little bit. I made my first souvenir purchase of the trip from the shop in the Carthay Theater building.

Before leaving the area, my FP window opened up so I grabbed a fastpass for Tower of Terror.

I headed over to the Animation Building for my first meeting with Lotso! It was a really short wait, and he was so cute and cuddly!

Then it was finally time for Toy Story Mania!

I was really glad I had a fastpass for this, as the stand-by line was up to 90 minutes! I ended up riding with a little girl from a family of 5 behind me in line. They were from Orlando so they're able to visit the parks fairly often so it was nice to talk to them for a while in line. The little girl was so cute and was really excited that she got the highest score she'd ever gotten. I didn't do very well It was still fun of course, and I was glad to see that they hadn't replaced Bo Peep and her sheep yet.

After TSM, I was hungry! I headed through the Streets of New York to find some lunch and on the way, I ran into this guy!

Lunch would be at Toy Story Pizza Planet. Now, I'm from an area where I can get really great pizza, but for some reason I love Pizza Planet pizza! I was able to get a nice table outside and just relax for a little while.

After lunch, I decided to head back towards TSM to see if there were any fastpasses left. No luck, so I headed back towards the Tower of Terror to use my FP. I grabbed another at Rock n' Roller Coaster on the way. Here's a few more pics of Tower of Terror.

After the Tower, my fastpass time for RnRC was almost up so I stopped to watch Beauty and the Beast. I'd never sat through this whole show, and I'm really glad I stopped in. It was really cute, and the dancers were awesome! The Beast was kind of awkward though, but I guess it's pretty hard to move around in that costume.

I don't have any pictures for the next couple of hours but my notes say I grabbed another FP for Tower of Terror, saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid (I love all the special effects, especially when they use lasers to make it look like you're under water), Star Tours, and Indiana Jones.

Alright, I have to go unpack some more....yes, a week later and I'm still not unpacked......but stay tuned. Next update includes Block Party Bash, Character Palooza at the Animation Building, and my final tally for Tower of Terror rides!

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

Sounds like you are having an awesome time! We usually go in September when we only had to get a FP for TSM. I didn't realize that you could get more than one FP at a time...unless I am misreading your report.

 

[disneyj914]

Sounds like you are having an awesome time! We usually go in September when we only had to get a FP for TSM. I didn't realize that you could get more than one FP at a time...unless I am misreading your report.

At the bottom of each Fastpass, there is a time when you can get another one, usually about two hours after you get your first. I tried to get one at that time whether it was really necessary or not. I also saved FP's until the line looked pretty long, so I used some of them after their expiration times and didn't have any problems.

My last trip was in September and the crowds were so small!!! May wasn't really that much busier though, so I think it was a great time to go!

 

[disneyj914]

So as I left you, I was coming out of the theater for Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. I took a nice walk around the lake and I heard the music for Block Party Bash starting. I know I would be melting without a drink, so I stopped by the Tune-In Lounge for a cold Sam Seasonal to help me enjoy the parade. I wish I had more time because there was a group at the bar having a ton of fun, and they told me that they had all met there that day! Who know...there may have been some Disers among them! I decided that I really wanted to catch the Bash so I headed back out to the streets. The parade was a lot of fun, and they really worked hard to get everyone involved. Monsters Inc stopped in front of my section.

After the parade, I decided it was time to use my fastpass for Rock n' Roller Coaster...I waited for the front row and it was awesome! After that I had a little time to kill so I rode my Tower a few more times. Then, I had a date with some characters.

I had a little time to kill so I visited with Mr Incredible and Frozone.

Then, the madness began. Doors started opening and characters were everywhere!!! At the beginning there were only a few families around. The first set included Hook and Smee, Minnie and Pluto, Mary Poppins and Penguins, Genie and Jasmine, and The Evil Queen.

Second set included Pinocchio and Gepetto, Pocahontas and Meeko, Goofy, and someone else that I can't recall because I think I had already seen them earlier in the week.

After the Character Palooza, I was planning on heading out, but my old friend was calling my name. I did the Tower two more times!!!

That makes my Tower of Terror grand total = 9 times!!!! I love that thing!

After saying goodbye, I headed over to the bus stops to get to the MK. I knew I wanted to head there via a resort, so I just picked the first MK resort bus that pulled up - Wilderness Lodge. It's such a pretty hotel. I also stopped in the Territory Lounge for dinner and had a pulled pork flatbread and a couple beers. I met a guy at the bar who was from my hometown, not Philly, but my actual town of about 3000 people! It was crazy!

I caught the boat to the MK and planned to hit a couple rides before Wishes but it was packed!

And every online website I looked at was wrong....they had listed Wishes at 9 and Spectro at 10, but it was really reversed! I ended up finding a spot in Frontierland to watch Spectro and then headed back towards the Hub to watch Wishes!! I love those fireworks....they almost bring me to tears!

After Wishes, I browsed a while on Main Street and then headed back to Pop, grabbed some dinner from the food court, and headed to bed. Tomorrow, EPCOT!

 

[katejay]

I am really enjoying your TR so far! Your trip looks like so much fun.

 

[manntra]

I TOT too....definitely my favorite. When I went a few weeks my friend wasn't as excited as me about the ride so I rode 2x by myself...both times were asked on line if there were any single riders and I got the front row middle each time And both times we went up instead of dropping first As an aside...Rod Serling was born and lived 10 minutes from my hometown
Good character mojo!! Good one of the evil queen!!

Tracy