Close Encounters of the SQUIRREL! Kind. A Farewell to Wishes Solo Trip Mar 2017 - 10/25 New PTR!

[rteetz]

It is Deja Vu! However Soarin, and LWTL are really must dos so its understandable to do them together like that.

I really like the Joy and Sadness meet, its a long wait but it has some great character interaction.

SSE is always good!

I almost wish Epcot had two express bus stops but I am a big fan of the express bus.

 

[xlsm]

I made it through much quicker with my FP and was even pulled from way in the back of the line as a single rider.

I hope this happens for me! I have a lot of hope for my upcoming solo trip. 10 more days! Your TR is helping me maintain excitement since "real life" is stressful right now!

I ended up all by myself in the front row of the boat. I’m pretty sure this was the first time I’d gotten row 1 and it made for some different perspectives for my photos. I was able to shoot straight ahead instead of off to the side.

I have always wanted to sit in the front row on LwtL! I want pictures without other people's heads getting in the way.

I found another Hidden Mickey.

Hidden Mickey hunting on LwtL is the best! Some of them are so clever.

Instead I headed back to the Joy and Sadness meet and got in line.

One of my favorite meet and greets we've ever done! They were adorable and so perfectly in character.

I decided to go check out the Flower and Garden Festival Building instead, taking some Topiary photos along the way.

I am really looking forward to checking out all the topiaries. My first WDW trip ever was during Flower and Garden, and I haven't been back during this timeframe since, so I can't wait to go a little picture taking crazy!

I sat for a while after and called Jim to check in on him and the doggies. Unfortunately he had some bad news. Alex would not eat his dinner. This wouldn’t have concerned me too much as long as it was just one meal but he had not eaten his dinner earlier in the week and he had also thrown up a few times. I was very worried and told Jim to take him to the vet the next day.

I'm sorry you got bad news on your call home! I hope Alex is ok!! I know I'm going to be worrying about my dogs while I'm gone. They love DH, but they DO NOT like it when I'm gone, especially our chihuahua.

 

[missangelalexis]

Fun times in the Land! Love the pics you got on Living with the Land, sure helped having that front row seat!

Cute pics with Joy & Sadness! And I like that Stitch topiary a lot!

What a mess at Test Track- wasn't meant to be!

Sounds like you had a successful visit to Epcot!

 

[Tracy161]

Loved all your Land pictures! And yes, it did seem a little deja vu! But I don't mind one bit because Epcot is my favorite and I could look at pictures and hear stories about it all day and not grow tired! Sorry your meal was a bit of a bummer though. As a solo traveler, I love eating at odd times - fewer crowds to deal with!

 

[marabusybee]

Those March bag check lines turned me into a bag-less park guest from now on. The worst part is they wouldn't let kids go through the metal detectors before their parents. This really backed it up. And I don't mean small children, they wouldn't even let teens through. I spent St Patrick's Day at Stormalong Bay which was perfect.

 

[Chicago Mo]

hey there i am caught up.. I see they added a face to poor belle's topiary!

What was inside the stitch egg?

your pictures are awesome. and there is no bad shot of SE. so many ways to photograph a ball! LOL

great hidden mickey finds too!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I finally got to see the Leaning Eiffel Tower and understood what all the fuss was about. That was really the only distortion I noticed and it didn’t bother me at all.

I thought the same thing!! I was noticeable, but didn't ruin my day!

I also noticed that the alligators were gone and replaced with fish. I wondered if that had to do with the attack last summer.

We wondered the same, so we asked about it on our Behind the Seeds tour. They didn't really answer as to whether it was changed in the timeframe of that incident or not, but they are now using that exhibit space to breed albino catfish. The tour guide also told us that there will be some exciting changes happening here in the next 2-3 years but wouldn't elaborate.

When Jimmy was 4 and made us ride SSE about 20 times on our trip, he insisted (very excitedly!) on every ride that these were the Three Wise Men.

I'm sure you already know this, but I had read that these audio animatronics are the the Dad and daughter from Carousel of Progress, and when I saw a side by side picture it definitely is!!! I love finding out little tidbits like that!

 

[Pluto0809]

OMG love Schnauzers and Schnauzer mixes. I will try to post a pic of my Snickers, my Schnoodle...but I haven't had much luck with pictures here...

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[/URL][/IMG] Ugh ok or not...I have to figure this out...argh!! anyway...

Oh this is really exciting...

This really made me laugh out loud - the visual!!

I love Schnoodles too, my aunt has one. I wouldn't mind having one someday. No idea what Ellie or Alex are mixed with.

The Express Bus was one of the best decisions I made on this trip.

I still laugh when I think about throwing that squirrel of the table.

It is Deja Vu! However Soarin, and LWTL are really must dos so its understandable to do them together like that.

I really like the Joy and Sadness meet, its a long wait but it has some great character interaction.

SSE is always good!

I almost wish Epcot had two express bus stops but I am a big fan of the express bus.

I did have almost identical updates there didn't I?

It was a long wait but I'm glad I did it. With as fast as they've been changing out meet and greets, who knows if it will be there next January.

I loved the Express Bus and will definitely use it again in the future.

I hope this happens for me! I have a lot of hope for my upcoming solo trip. 10 more days! Your TR is helping me maintain excitement since "real life" is stressful right now!

I have always wanted to sit in the front row on LwtL! I want pictures without other people's heads getting in the way.

Hidden Mickey hunting on LwtL is the best! Some of them are so clever.

One of my favorite meet and greets we've ever done! They were adorable and so perfectly in character.

I am really looking forward to checking out all the topiaries. My first WDW trip ever was during Flower and Garden, and I haven't been back during this timeframe since, so I can't wait to go a little picture taking crazy!

I'm sorry you got bad news on your call home! I hope Alex is ok!! I know I'm going to be worrying about my dogs while I'm gone. They love DH, but they DO NOT like it when I'm gone, especially our chihuahua.

I hope you had a wonderful trip! I see that you have a TR started. I'll try to get there but no idea when, I'm way behind on all the ones I'm reading right now.

It was very nice to sit front row on LWTL.

There will be more on Alex as the trip continues but he is fine now.

Fun times in the Land! Love the pics you got on Living with the Land, sure helped having that front row seat!

Cute pics with Joy & Sadness! And I like that Stitch topiary a lot!

What a mess at Test Track- wasn't meant to be!

Sounds like you had a successful visit to Epcot!

Thanks, I did get some great pictures that trip through LWTL.

Nope, TT was not meant to be on that trip. I'll have to make sure and get a FP next January since it's Jim's favorite.

I did have a good day even though it was a bit short.

Loved all your Land pictures! And yes, it did seem a little deja vu! But I don't mind one bit because Epcot is my favorite and I could look at pictures and hear stories about it all day and not grow tired! Sorry your meal was a bit of a bummer though. As a solo traveler, I love eating at odd times - fewer crowds to deal with!

Unfortunately that was the last I saw of Epcot that trip. It was so short but I'm glad I did get to go and see Wishes a few more times.

I've learned that odd times are the best for solo meals!

Those March bag check lines turned me into a bag-less park guest from now on. The worst part is they wouldn't let kids go through the metal detectors before their parents. This really backed it up. And I don't mean small children, they wouldn't even let teens through. I spent St Patrick's Day at Stormalong Bay which was perfect.

I'm not sure I could ever go bagless, I like to carry too much with me into the parks.

hey there i am caught up.. I see they added a face to poor belle's topiary!

What was inside the stitch egg?

your pictures are awesome. and there is no bad shot of SE. so many ways to photograph a ball! LOL

great hidden mickey finds too!

Nothing inside of Stitch, just a plastic egg.

Yep, for being just a big ball, SE is sure photogenic!

I thought the same thing!! I was noticeable, but didn't ruin my day!

We wondered the same, so we asked about it on our Behind the Seeds tour. They didn't really answer as to whether it was changed in the timeframe of that incident or not, but they are now using that exhibit space to breed albino catfish. The tour guide also told us that there will be some exciting changes happening here in the next 2-3 years but wouldn't elaborate.

When Jimmy was 4 and made us ride SSE about 20 times on our trip, he insisted (very excitedly!) on every ride that these were the Three Wise Men.

I'm sure you already know this, but I had read that these audio animatronics are the the Dad and daughter from Carousel of Progress, and when I saw a side by side picture it definitely is!!! I love finding out little tidbits like that!

I'm not surprised that they wouldn't give you a straight answer about the Alligators. I'm sure that is why they removed them but I don't think they would admit it.

I can easily see those three being the Three Wise Men.

I actually didn't know about those two being the same as COP. I'll have to check it out next time. There are a ton of animatronics that are the same. When we took the KTTK tour, our guide told us they only have about 30 faces they use. In Pirates for example, the last lady in line in the auction scene has the same face as one of the pirates on the bridge above the boats. And the grandma ghost in the chair in the ballroom scene of HM is also the same.

 

[Pluto0809]

Wishes #1 Part 1

Sorry for the long absence! Things got a bit crazy at work for a while plus Jim and I took a short trip to Williamsburg, VA. I planned on doing a small TR for that one but I was super lazy with photos and took only a handful. Basically we spent two days exploring historical Williamsburg and then one day at Busch Gardens where, despite some motion sickness issues, I managed to ride 5 of their 7 coasters.

After finishing up my shopping, it was time to check in for the 7:10 Express bus to MK. I headed over and there was a guy in line in front of me. He was trying to buy the Express Transportation and the CM was having a difficult time with the IPads. She had three of them sitting there and kept switching
between them to try to get one to take his credit card. I was really glad I had already paid at the resort. While I was waiting, I snapped a closer picture of the lines.



The family with the stroller was headed to MK and the single lady was headed to HS. After I checked in, the CM told me I could go ahead and get in line behind the family with the stroller. The gentleman in front of me had already gotten in that line and then one other couple got behind me. So there were about 9 of us on the bus. I ended up talking with the couple behind me the whole trip. They drove from Utah (I think) to visit their daughter who was doing the College Program. They were driving back by going up the coast with a stop in Savannah, GA. Once they found out I had been there several times, we discussed things to do in Savannah for the rest of the trip to MK. Once it was 7:05 pm, a CM lead us out to the bus and we were soon on our way. 20 minutes later, I was entering MK in Tomorrowland. I never took a picture of the MK location but it came out between the Buzz Lightyear Meet and Greet and the Buzz Lightyear ride. That was the fastest I have ever traveled between two parks and I was already in love with the Express Bus.

I had about an hour to kill before I needed to find a spot for Wishes so I looked around TL to discover huge wait times. I wish I would have thought to make a FP for something but I never dreamed I would have time for any rides once I got to MK. Instead, I went with the one ride that I knew would be quick, the Peoplemover! It even had a small line but it didn’t take me long to get on.





Time to relax my tired feet.



And pictures from the ride. It was a beautiful time to ride, right at sunset.









I still had some time before Wishes so I headed towards Main Street. There were a few items I was thinking about getting and I decided to scope them out ahead of time in the Emporium. I did pause on the way to take a few sunset castle and main street pictures.







I walked quickly through the Emporium and found the items I wanted to buy on the way out, made a stop in the Pandora store to see if they had the Dumbo charm I was looking for (CM said it didn’t come out till summer) and then headed back down the street to find a spot near the Hub to watch Wishes. This was my view.



And this was the crowd that filled in behind me.



And then it was time for my first Wishes viewing of the trip.







As you can see from many of the pictures, I had a random cell phone in a lot of them.















Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Wishes #1 Part 2



















One Wishes down, two to go. I wasn’t too sad yet since I knew I still had two more viewings to go.

On the way back to the Emporium, I stopped for a few PP pictures. They all look pretty much the same so I’ll just post one.



My first purchase in the Emporium was a new Alex and Ani bracelet. These birth stone ones had just come out and I wanted the August one.



I also got my stuffie for the trip, a Stitch pillow pet.



For my Mom’s dog, I picked up a Mickey dog collar. I was thinking of getting them for my dogs also but I have five dogs and they only had three colors, red, blue and purple. We always do different colors for each dog so we know which collar belongs to which dog at a glance so only three colors was not going to work.



A pack of mechanical pencils for work.



And finally, I picked up a Wishes blanket. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. All blankets in our house are eventually claimed by the dogs and I don’t want this one getting ruined. For now it’s still in the packaging well out of reach of the dogs.



MK was open till 11 pm but I was exhausted after my early morning so I headed out to the buses. There was a pretty big line for All Star Music but luckily two pulled up right in a row and I ended up on one of the non-Disney buses similar to the Magical Express buses with nice comfy seats.

I made a quick stop at the food court to pick up a few things for the morning. I brought cereal with me but needed milk to go with it. And I also picked up a few bottles of coke for some morning caffeine.

I don’t think I mentioned it before but I finally got my room text around 3:30 pm. I was excited because I had been upgraded to the Calypso section which is all preferred. I didn’t write down my room number but I was in Calypso building 1 on the backside away from the pool.

I arrived at my room to find a king sized bed all for me.







The room was a handicap room but luckily I had a regular tub. I think the only downside was the shower head. It was one of those removable kind with a hose and there was no way to adjust the shower head to spray any direction except straight down.







I spent a few minutes unpacking and getting ready for the next morning before finally crawling into bed around 11:30 pm.

Here are my pin trades for the day.



And my Fitbit stats. I really racked up the steps during this trip.



Up Next: Did I Really Do Something That Stupid?

 

[rteetz]

That express bus is just so great. I am not going to get it for my short trip coming up but I will definitely use it in January.

The Peoplemover is always a great time.

Oh Wishes.... I will definitely miss it but man Happily Ever After looks great. Awesome pictures of the show!

 

[buddha112]

I am in. Sounds like a great trip so far.

 

[missangelalexis]

The Express Transportation really sounds like it's worth it!

Love your pics from the People Mover during sunset!

You snagged a great view for Wishes! Great photos!

Nice getting your room upgraded!

 

[KathyM2]

Way to go on the Fitbit stats!! It's amazing how easy it is to walk that much at WDW lol. Love your Wishes pics too! Cute pins also!

 

[Tracy161]

It was a beautiful time to ride, right at sunset.

And this was the crowd that filled in behind me.

Yikes!

On the way back to the Emporium, I stopped for a few PP pictures. They all look pretty much the same so I’ll just post one.

Love this picture!

I was excited because I had been upgraded to the Calypso section which is all preferred.

Woohoo!

Great update, and looking forward to more! I'm so excited to try the Express Transportation in August.

 

[missjackiemcg]

And finally, I picked up a Wishes blanket.

That's my "couch blanket" I picked it up the first day of our trip in December. It was the deal when your purchase was over $50. It's so soft and cozy--don't let the dogs take it over!

Oooooh, I LOVE the Bernard pin!!!!! My brother and I used to watch The Rescuers non-stop as kids!!! That's an awesome find.

I wondered if the express transportation was really going to take off and stick around. It sure seems like it was worthwhile for you!

Packed house for Wishes!! Glad you got to see it 3 times on this trip! I was bawling the last night watching everyone's posts and videos on facebook!

 

[BlvInMagic]

I've heard so many good things about these Express Busses..that I'm very tempted to add this feature onto our upcoming trip! Thanks for the input on those

Beautiful picutres of Wishes! I can't believe it's gone from MK.... but looking forward to Hppily Ever After. Your Wishes blanket is beautiful! Looks super comfy too!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

We are planning on using the Express transportation. Thank you for reminding me that we can pay for it at the resort.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Question--how much was the Express transportation option again?? Trying to figure out if it's worth it for us (I assume it would be!) Do you pay by the day or just pay for the whole trip right away?

P.S. Booked our airfare today for December 30th! Woohoo!!

 

[Pluto0809]

That express bus is just so great. I am not going to get it for my short trip coming up but I will definitely use it in January.

The Peoplemover is always a great time.

Oh Wishes.... I will definitely miss it but man Happily Ever After looks great. Awesome pictures of the show!

The Express bus is one of the best upgrade options that Disney has come up with in a while I don't think I'll get it for our January trip but we won't be park hopping. But any time I'm solo I will definitely be adding it on.

I've chosen not to look at the stuff for Happily Ever After. I'm hoping I can mostly avoid stuff about it until I see it in person in January. I did listen to the song and didn't like it nearly as well as the Wishes song.

I am in. Sounds like a great trip so far.

Welcome, thanks for joining in!

The Express Transportation really sounds like it's worth it!

Love your pics from the People Mover during sunset!

You snagged a great view for Wishes! Great photos!

Nice getting your room upgraded!

It definitely was worth it on this trip when I was park hopping every day.

That was a great time to ride the People Mover. I want to do it again sometime to try for some more pictures.

I do like the photos but personally I like the ones from the next night better.

Way to go on the Fitbit stats!! It's amazing how easy it is to walk that much at WDW lol. Love your Wishes pics too! Cute pins also!

I know, I wish I could get that many steps everyday. I work a desk job and am lucky to get 5000 a day normally.

Thanks, I did pretty good with those pictures and my pin trades for the day.

Yikes!

Love this picture!

Woohoo!

Great update, and looking forward to more! I'm so excited to try the Express Transportation in August.

It was definitely crowded that weekend but I was expecting it since it was spring break. Being solo made it much easier to find places to stand for fireworks and parades.

The Express Bus was wonderful, I know you will love it in August.

That's my "couch blanket" I picked it up the first day of our trip in December. It was the deal when your purchase was over $50. It's so soft and cozy--don't let the dogs take it over!

Oooooh, I LOVE the Bernard pin!!!!! My brother and I used to watch The Rescuers non-stop as kids!!! That's an awesome find.

I wondered if the express transportation was really going to take off and stick around. It sure seems like it was worthwhile for you!

Packed house for Wishes!! Glad you got to see it 3 times on this trip! I was bawling the last night watching everyone's posts and videos on facebook!

It was the same deal when I bought it. It was kind of an impulse buy, I didn't go in to the Emporium planning on getting it. But it was perfect since this trip was all about Wishes. I'm still afraid to use it though. Sierra thinks all blankets are hers!

I was really excited to find that Bernard pin.

I do hope it sticks around. I don't think we'll use it in January since we are really only doing one park a day but I will definitely use it on future solo trips.

I avoided everything on Facebook on the last day. I just didn't think I could handle it.

I've heard so many good things about these Express Busses..that I'm very tempted to add this feature onto our upcoming trip! Thanks for the input on those

Beautiful picutres of Wishes! I can't believe it's gone from MK.... but looking forward to Hppily Ever After. Your Wishes blanket is beautiful! Looks super comfy too!

It was an awesome extra, definitely worth the money for me.

I'm hoping I'll love Happily Ever After. I guess I'll see what I think next January. I'm trying to avoid videos of it till I see it in person.

We are planning on using the Express transportation. Thank you for reminding me that we can pay for it at the resort.

I think paying at the resort is the smart way to go. Those Ipads the CMs use are not very reliable.

Question--how much was the Express transportation option again?? Trying to figure out if it's worth it for us (I assume it would be!) Do you pay by the day or just pay for the whole trip right away?

P.S. Booked our airfare today for December 30th! Woohoo!!

It was $19 a day or $29 for 7 consecutive days. I paid for the whole trip since the $29 was a better deal.

I am so excited to see you guys in January! I need to send you my preliminary itinerary to see if any of our days over lap. I haven't purchased airfare yet because the Southwest flights did not work out with having to drop of our doggies that morning. We'll probably fly Delta so I need to start watching prices.