"All Alone in the World...Whatever did I do?" - A Solo Trip Report

[Practically_Perfect]

Hello everyone!!

I just returned from my first ever solo trip to my (our) favourite place - Walt Disney World. I was there for 6 magical days and had the best time ever!

This is just a little teaser post to get everyone hooked; I'll be back later with more of the "who, what, when" details. For now, I'll leave you with a little pictoral review of my trip:

See ya real soon!

Why? Because I like you

Chapter Links:
Introducing me...And my Disney History
Departure Day
How I Fell in Love with Pop Century
Off to a "World" of a different kind...Harry Potter's that is
Sweets, Jokes and Butterbeer
Don't forget about me!!
Ducks Dance Too!!

 

[JoBird]

Oh gosh, am I first????? Thanks for the link!

I can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Nice giraffe's butt. Hope that it isn't a bad omen.


Ready for more....

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oooh you've started! I'm here and look forward to all of the details!

 

[sue_88]

Hmmm... I'm interested! Bring on the report!

 

[Disney999]

I love your pictures of WDW! I can't wait to get back there in September. Can't wait to read about your trip!!

 

[Bella213]

Great pictures! I'm going to Disney in June. My husband will be attending a conference, so I'll essentially be alone and I am anxious to read about your travels and experiences!

 

[jessidoll]

im here 2!!!!cant wait 4 more of ur TR
its really great tht youve started

 

[Practically_Perfect]

Oh gosh, am I first????? Thanks for the link!

I can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Nice giraffe's butt. Hope that it isn't a bad omen.


Ready for more....

Yep - you're first! You win a prize:

Oooh you've started! I'm here and look forward to all of the details!

Glad you came over. I'll have intro details up tomorrow hopefully...

Hmmm... I'm interested! Bring on the report!

Soon, I promise

I love your pictures of WDW! I can't wait to get back there in September. Can't wait to read about your trip!!

I took over 571...not sure all will make it into the report, but many will. I have TONS of Animal Kingdom.

Great pictures! I'm going to Disney in June. My husband will be attending a conference, so I'll essentially be alone and I am anxious to read about your travels and experiences!

I'll be as detailed as I can be without getting too boring, I hope.

im here 2!!!!cant wait 4 more of ur TR
its really great tht youve started

 

[bentos]

lol @ the giraffe pic!

 

[Practically_Perfect]

lol @ the giraffe pic!

Yep - he was quite...shall we say...photogenic that day

 

[JoBird]

Aww, I won a flower. Thanks!!

You say you got lots of AK pics--- I hope they aren't all of animal's behinds.

 

[Practically_Perfect]

Aww, I won a flower. Thanks!!

You say you got lots of AK pics--- I hope they aren't all of animal's behinds.

Well...I got a giraffe's, and probably a few rhino's, but no lions. No one wants to see a lion's behind!!

Also, it's not the giraffe's behind that's the bad omen...it's the Capitol Building.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I'm here too! I went on my first solo trip last November. I loved it! Glad you got tons of pics at AK, that is my favorite park because of the animals.

Looking forward to reading your TR!

 

[Practically_Perfect]

* Sorry...this one's kinda long on words and short on pics *

As promised, I'm back with the "who" and the "when" part of this trip report. The "what" will be told in bits and pieces over the next coming weeks (and maybe months...).

First off, you'd probably like to get an idea of who it is writing this. Hi there! It's me, Katie.

I'm 27 years old, I work for the Canadian government, and as such I live in our beautiful nation's capital, Ottawa! I'm also extremely proud of being Canadian, and hence you will never see me without this pin proudly displayed somewhere on my park bag:

I've now been to Disney 6 times in my life; when I was 8 (1991ish), 13 (1997), 22(2006), 25 (2009), 26 (2009) and now 27 (2011).

My first trip was back when I was 8 years old. My mom had just opened a "Leo's Young Savers" bank account for me with the Royal Bank of Canada, and I was entered in a draw to win a family trip for 4 to Walt Disney World, and they pulled my name! Of course, my mom had to go through the stress of answering the skill testing questions, but she did great because we were soon there!

My second trip was with my father, stepmother and three stepsisters. This was huge, because my father does not do theme parks. He's a farmer, and therefore hates the feeling of "being herded like cattle". We spent a week there in a rented home in Kissimee, and we had a great time. I have a treasured memory from that trip, which I'll touch on in one of my updates later in the report. Here's a teaser though:

From then, there was quite a Disney lull. I finally made it back in December of 2006 with my mother, stepfather, and 5 year old little brother. We stayed off-site at the hotel mom and I had stayed at on our first trip. It was great fun, and seeing Disney in all it's Christmas glory can't be beat.

Then we planned another trip for February 2009. I had finally convinced my family that we needed to stay ONsite this time. I started digging around on the good old internet, and stumbled across the Dis. I lurked for a while, reading other people's thoughts, ideas and tips. I took some mental notes, tucked them away for future reference. I spent about an hour on the phone with Disney dining trying to get reservations for us all...a little difficult given that I was calling in January for a February trip! By the way, did I forget to mention that we only booked this trip on New Year's Eve?? At the end though, this was one of the best trips ever, and sparked my true and everlasting love for all things Disney.

I had so much Disney love that I was back in October for my 26th birthday. My mom was super sweet and treated me to a stay at the Grand Floridian! Oh the opulence and elegance! Such annoying friends who get to come along for next to nothing and wind up complaining the whole time...At least nothing can ruin a birthday in the house of the Mouse.

Which gets us to this trip. It was originally planned as a re-do of my 26th birthday trip. I even had it all booked - October 1-6, 2010 (catching my birthday on October 4th), staying a Pop, free QS dining. Then, my best friend decides to get married in Punta Cana. And I'm her bridesmaid, so my presence is a must. And the final payment is due in August. Wait...so is the final payment for my Disney trip. I can't afford both of these at the same time So unfortunately, my birthday trip had to be sacrificed, even though I was stuck with a Delta credit I had to use by June of 2011. But it was most definitely worth it, as my friend was beautiful on her special day, and I would have moved mountains to make sure I could be there with her. And it included a week of fun in the sun, so

In December, I got a PIN offering a discount of 25% off Values. I did some number crunching and realised that with my Delta credit, I could get a trip to Disney in for just about $1000 all in! That's pretty awesome considering airfare from Ottawa can easily reach $500 on it's own. So I rebooked my trip - April 7-12, 2011, Pop Century, QS Dining, 5-day PH tickets. And the rest, as they say, is history!

Up next:

Will I make it through Customs to catch the plane on time??

 

[mickeystoontown]

I really enjoyed reading the history of your trips to Walt Disney World. I like those sort of backstories.

How sweet of you to cancel your Disney vacation so you could attend your friend's wedding! Like you said, you ended up getting to see your friend get married and you had a mini-vacation mixed in.

I can't believe that your Disney trip cost just $1,000! That's AWESOME!

 

[Practically_Perfect]

I'm here too! I went on my first solo trip last November. I loved it! Glad you got tons of pics at AK, that is my favorite park because of the animals.

Looking forward to reading your TR!

I'll probably have a couple posts of just pics from AK. I had a fantastic Safari Guide this time - provided TONS of picture taking opportunities!

I really enjoyed reading the history of your trips to Walt Disney World. I like those sort of backstories.

How sweet of you to cancel your Disney vacation so you could attend your friend's wedding! Like you said, you ended up getting to see your friend get married and you had a mini-vacation mixed in.

I can't believe that your Disney trip cost just $1,000! That's AWESOME!

We had a great time in Punta Cana. We were talking last night about our next adventure - we're thinking maybe Mayan Riviera. There's about 20 people who came to the wedding who'd like to go away as a group again, so we'll see!!

Well...I might be doing a little bit of "Disney math" on the numbers just a little bit. I mean, I had technically already paid for most of the airfare for the October trip. So it was probably closer to $1200 when you factor that in. But still, not bad in my book! I'm also not counting some of the things I added on, like a day at Universal Studios and a tour of a certain Kingdom that we all know and love

 

[Darkfirewolfe]

Subbing! I haven't ever been on a solo trip myself, so I love reading solo TRs!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Can't wait to read more. Great start.

 

[jenseib]

I'm in too. I want to go solo some day, so I will love to hear what you do and how you do it!

 

[Nermel9]

I'm in! I would love to do a solo trip someday, but I'm so nervous to go alone! I can't wait to read about your trip!