Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust! - Sept 2014 Solo TR *Updated 04/07*

[DisneyKates]

That photo of you and Daisy at Tusker House is really fabulous! We had such a fun time at MNSSHP in October, but traveling with little kids means I didn't really document the experience. I can't wait to read more of your report!

 

[godders]

Aww thanks! Yeh looking back on it now I kind of missed out on some of the delights of MNSSHP like trick-or-treating but I shall definitely be making up for it this year!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Awesome that the nice couple at Tusker House took great photos of you with the characters. And if the ones you took of them are of as good quality as your usual photography, it also worked out great for them!

I've found that CMs sometimes take excellent photos but other CMs are rushing too much and they take blurry ones, so it's hit or miss.

 

[godders]

Awesome that the nice couple at Tusker House took great photos of you with the characters. And if the ones you took of them are of as good quality as your usual photography, it also worked out great for them!

I've found that CMs sometimes take excellent photos but other CMs are rushing too much and they take blurry ones, so it's hit or miss.

Yeh I was really lucky. Got 3 character meals on my upcoming trip (think it's safe to say I'm hooked) so I'm hoping for some more nice people but just in case I'm going to have to practice my selfie taking *hangs head in shame* The CM I had was quite a bit older so I think my camera was too heavy for her to hold steady. I know it's difficult for me at times!

 

[godders]

Day 8 Part 4 - MNSSHP Ep.2

Now that I had conquered my fear of the Haunted Mansion I was willing to go on it anytime and it was really cool to see all the CMs in their special get-up. After the stretch room though I noticed a little girl with her family who was behind me and really scared of going on the ride. Boy did I feel her pain! But her family were doing a great job of calming her down and giving her the option to get out if she wanted but she stuck with her Dad and by the end of the ride I noticed that she was all giggly and smiley which was really nice to see.

Just as I came out of HM Madame Carlotta was just taking her place. She was hilarious! There was a group of young guys exiting just ahead of me and she got very excited! I could've spent ages there just listening to her talking to people! But alas I had other short ride queues to take advantage of!

I wandered through Frontierland and noticed a fairly friendly bird who was attempting to take advantage of some dropped popcorn



So this MNSSHP was on Sunday 14th Sept so it was VERY quiet! If there are any readers looking to go this year really try for a Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday well before Halloween if you can because seriously the park is quiet!



I really liked the Mickey lanterns they had everywhere as well so I had to get a picture of one of those



and of course one of the "Wildest ride in the wilderness!"



I tried to get some fun photos of people coming down the big SM drop but the logs kept being empty....




So I thought now was as good a time as any to go on it. The wait time said 5 minutes but it was actually a walk on which is funny because I ended up with a nearly full boat. You could definitely tell it was later in the day though because as soon as I sat down I had a very wet bum!



We didn't get too wet overall though which was good. Next I went to Thunder Mountain which was also a walk on and ended up in the very back row. It was sooooo much fun!

By the time I came off the ride, the crowd in Frontierland was just being warmed up for the parade so I dashed across into Adventureland! ​

 

[godders]

Day 8 Part 5 - MNSSHP Ep. 3

In Adventureland I jumped on Pirates and that was a walk on as well. I had quite a long nosy around the gift shop wondering if I could find something for my brother but I kept getting distracted by the CMs have a gun battle in the middle of the shop. Clearly it was a slow night!
I ended up getting some more pins (shocking I know!) and felt a little peckish so I decided to try something I had heard so much about from you guys.....a dole whip! Well I can see what all the fuss is about! They are delicious! Unfortunately the lighting was really bad so I wasn't able to get a good photo for you guys but I promise it was good!

By the time I'd finished it, Adventureland was busy again so I decided to head on over to Tomorrowland. Holy Cow! The difference between then and the night before was amazing! I could actually walk across the Hub!

Anyway....I tried my hand at Buzz once again to see if I could do any better and I did worse. I literally only scored 38,000 points..... *hangs head in shame* After my embarrassing attempt I had just enough time to jump on the People Mover which I hadn't done yet. Boy was it nice to sit down for 5 minutes. Plus it was fun to do it in the dark and see MK lit up. I also got a good overhead view of Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc at the Dance Party.

I managed to time it perfectly and hit the hub just before Celebrate the Magic started. To give you another indication of how quiet the night was, most of the people in the Hub and the perimeter of it were all chilling and sat down. It was pretty awesome to see!

I ended up on the opposite side of the Hub to the Rose Garden and a little further away from the castle. There were a few trees in the way which blocked Celebrate the Magic but everything was good for my first every viewing of Hallowishes!

You can find my video here: Hallowishes 2014

OMG! The fireworks were HUGE! It was so good! And 10 months on I still get the music stuck in my head..... So I really enjoyed the fireworks apart from the woman standing behind me (on the part of the path which is supposed to be kept free for people moving) who kept bashing me in the back of the head with her bag....seriously woman.....put it down!

Anyway, after the fireworks I managed to squeeze in a quick ride on both POTC and Thunder Mountain before I decided to head back to Main Street to find a good spot for the 2nd parade.

I found a good place slightly up from Casey's and it was really empty so I sat on the curb and watched all the lights changing up the street




And then the worst happened (well not really in the grand scheme of things but you know what I mean)....one of THOSE tour groups you hear so many bad things about sat down next to me! They were so loud and kept dashing back and forward across the street even though the CMs kept telling them not to because the Headless Horseman would be coming past soon. Their ONLY redeeming feature was the really cute 2-year old dressed as Peter Pan. He was worthy of cute aggression! He found my toes really fascinating and he spent ages playing with them.

Finally it was time for the Headless Horseman! It was so cool! I thought I'd film it as he came past because I'm still working on my picture taking in the dark but when I got home I realised I hadn't pressed the record button....grrrr!

Soon after it was time for the parade....it was so cool!! Again I am still getting the song stuck in my head! I am definitely going to have to buy the CD on my next trip!

After the parade, I decided to give the crowds leaving a bit of a head start so I nipped into the Emporium. I of course bought more pins (seriously I have a problem!) and even got some of the special Halloween ones. I just realised I don't have a picture of the ones I got so I shall remember to add them on at the end when I show you my haul from the week!

After the shopping I headed on out to the bus stops where the CMs were handing out more sweets. I managed to get on the bus straight away and it left only half full (I managed to get a seat woo hoo ). I was in bed just before midnight and I couldn't wait for the next day when I was heading back to Universal for my new tattoo!!​

 

[godders]

Day 9 Part 1 - Back to the Darkside!

So I wanted to go back to the Darkside for 2 reasons. 1) To get a new tattoo and 2) to get a Minion cuddly toy. I decided I'd need a bit of a lie in after my late night so I'd booked my cab for 10am. I'd again booked through Mears because they had been so reliable on my previous pick ups from the airport and RPR. I had looked into getting the shuttle with Mears over to the Darkside but I'd heard a lot of reports about it being unreliable and I just didn't want to hassle of possibly being stuck somewhere.

I got to the lobby at 9.45am and the driver was already there so I jumped in straight away. I got to US really quickly but boy is it a long walk from where they drop you off (by the parking garages). I've always stayed on site (except when I was too young to remember) so it was a little bit of a shock. Plus bag check was just mayhem. Can't imagine what it's like just before park opening!

But I made it! Now my original plan had been to go on all the roller coasters I'd missed out on last time but it turned out that I wasn't really in the mood. Plus it was boiling! I definitely do better starting off early in the morning and letting the day get warm around me! I also really wanted to do Disaster and Terminator 2 as I hadn't made it onto either of those either.

By the time I got into the park (which was literally at about 10.10am) the queue for Minions was already up to 50 minutes and I noticed quite a big difference in the crowds from when I was there the previous week. But I have to say, when you don't have Express Pass, single rider will do just as well!

I went straight to Transformers and was able to walk straight on (no solo mission for me this time ) and then headed straight for the lockers at The Mummy where I met these guys



Considering they were on stilts, they were very sneaky! They kept jumping out at people as they tried to put their stuff away. It was very funny to watch and luckily I managed to avoid being a victim because when I get made to jump I squeal like a girl! So embarrassing!

The Mummy was also a walk on as a single rider and I ended up in the back row again. It was really nice to ride something that really got your blood pumping after nearly a week at Disney.

After the Mummy, the wait for Disaster was 30 minutes so I decided to head back to Diagon Alley to sit in my favourite spot and people watch. I knew I had to eat so I grabbed an ice cream from Madame Fortesque's (apparently because I genuinely have no recollection of this!) and then I sat on the steps by Gringotts in the shade and wrote my diary for the previous day. After I ate my ice cream I ended up getting this shot of the dragon breathing fire



I ended up sitting on the steps for nearly an hour and afterwards I wandered around a little more taking a last few photos





After my Harry Potter fill, I headed back to Disaster and got there just as they were letting people in. As we were waiting for the "pre-show" to start I noticed this poster which from my experience was pretty accurate!



Anyway, the girl running the show was great! One of the best performers I'd seen at Universal. She was hilarious, especially in her slightly stalkerish behaviour towards the "hunk"

After Disaster I went on back towards the entrance to see if T2 was near starting but it was another 40 minutes till the next viewing so I decided to wander around the Universal store for a little bit. I got myself a pin and a couple of presents for people back home. After I made my purchases I went back to T2 and they had literally just stopped people going in.....grrrrrr!!! ​

 

[godders]

Day 9 Part 2 - "Why Am I Doing This Again?"

When I couldn't get on Terminator I decided to leave Universal and head into CityWalk because I thought I needed something else to eat before my appointment. I thought about going to the Hard Rock again but I didn't have too long and I didn't want to feel rushed eating and I didn't want to miss getting my tattoo either. As I was wandering aimlessly around CityWalk I noticed a merchandise cart with Bazinga! t-shirts from the Big Bang Theory which is one of my favourite tv shows. I then also saw a really cute magnet with the "Soft Kitty" song on it so I had to get that too!

After that I decided to just head into Starbucks because in the UK they have all sorts of things to eat. Unfortunately I must've timed it wrong because they were cleared out of a lot of items so I ended up with just a Mango Smootie and a bag of crisps (or chips to those of you who aren't British). The sweet potato barbeque crisps were good but the smoothie was a bit too watery for my taste. Anyway, that took up the rest of my time and it was finally time to head to Hart and Huntington!

I ended up being there a few minutes early and my artist Derek had just arrived too. We had a chat about the design I wanted and then he went to sketch it up for me with a couple more pics he found on the internet. After about 15 minutes we had something I was happy with and it was time to get down to business....

First things first, shaving the area.....luckily it was between my shoulders but it tickled soooo much it was actually really hard not to move! Next he stuck on the outline and then finally positioned the bed for me to lie on. Good thing I'm graceful.....NOT! Then he got going......

And then I remembered how much I dislike having a tattoo done!

No, seriously it was fine. There were a few areas that were worse than others and at one point it felt like he was dragging a needle through my skin (oh wait, he was...)

Anyway, we chatted quite a lot and listened to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers which was cool. A lot of the other guys from the parlour kept coming in and having conversations which was really good fun and helped to take my mind off the pain!

Finally after 2 1/2 hours I was finished but first he had to wipe it with anti-bac...ow! ow! OW! When I was all sorted he said it was really weird because not only had I not really moved in the entire time but I also hadn't really bled (I think I was nervous so my blood vessels were really constricted) but he said it was really unusual and he'd only seen it once before in his 17 year career so I guess it means I'm special! Plus is means that I'll keep the colour really well. But here is the end result:



After I was finished I checked my watch and it was 5.30pm which was the time I was supposed to be being picked up. I was absolutely desperate for the loo but I just had to hightail it back to the taxi point. By the time I got back to POR I had to practically run back to my room! Oh sweet relief!

I had thought about heading back to Downtown Disney for dinner but by the time I'd got changed I found myself feeling very sleepy so I decided just to go to the gift shop, grab some Cheetos (which are my favourite crisps and you can't get them here ) and fall asleep watching Harry Potter​

 

[godders]

Day 10 Part 1 - Down at the Boardwalk....

And so it began....my final full day at Disney

What was I going to do?? Go and explore another resort or two that's what!

And from the title of this part you may have guessed which....



Because I knew I wanted to go exploring in that area, I decided to get an ADR at one of the resorts and eventually settled on Beaches and Cream but that wasn't until 11 so I got to stay in bed until 8am! What a lie in for a Disney holiday!

I got dressed and was out the door pretty quickly though that morning and found that the bus stops were really busy. I wasn't sure if it was because I'd just got up later or because September gets busier at the month goes on but hey ho. The Hollywood Studios bus came eventually and one large group of people ended up queue jumping which caused a bit of drama. It was so busy I knew I wouldn't get a seat anyway but it was still kind of annoying. But again, hey ho, there are a lot worse things in the world.

Anyway, as we pulled into the Hollywood Studios bus stop I could see the Friendship boat just coming into the dock which was perfect timing so I was able to jump straight on it. Even though it was hot I decided to sit outside so I could get some photos along the way:






(Anyone know what these buildings are from? Can't for the life of me remember)

Soon we were coming up on the Swan and Dolphin. Wow those hotels are big! After staying at POR where everything is two storeys, they were a bit of a shock





As we began to pull into the Swan & Dolphin dock I realised there was a bridge over to the Boardwalk so I decided to get off there and walk on round instead of waiting for the boat.

Boy was that place quiet! I know it was early but it was actually slightly eerie to be there and there be no one else in sight. But it was also very peaceful. Think it was probably the least noise I'd heard since I got to Florida!

I still had quite a while until my ADR so I just wandered around getting some nice photos


Mental note: Must visit on next trip!










Seriously that whole area is so picturesque!!! I would absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to stay at the Beach Club or Yacht Club one day.....a girl can dream right!

The more I wandered, the more people started to appear. There was a very cute elderly couple strolling around hand in hand which was lovely. The temperature was creeping up again though so I decided to stop and sit for a moment in the shade. I then also remembered I hadn't really spoken to my Mum so I thought it best to drop her a quick hello and to remind her to please come to pick me up from the airport in a couple of days

My wandering eventually brought me to the Beach Club for my early lunch but then I realised I had absolutely no idea where to go....luckily there was a handy resort map on the path, unluckily, it wasn't very good! It really could've done with a "You are here" marker! But I decided to take my luck indoors and headed into this building...



....which luckily took me to the lobby. From the lobby I followed the route the map outside seemed to suggest (if I had guessed where I was on it correctly, turns out I hadn't) and I ended up at the bus stop.....hmmm. I asked the CM with a clipboard at the buses if she knew which way to go and she attempted to show me on another map which still wasn't any good so I smiled and nodded and figured someone in the lobby would give me a better idea. As I went inside I just happened to glance up and see a sign for Beaches and Cream so I followed the signs through another restaurant and round a bit until I was at a very nicely themed pool and my destination!

I was about 5 minutes early so I took a photo of the cool windmill in the pool area



As soon as they opened I was straight in there (I hadn't eaten yet...) and all the CMs clapped and cheered because I was the first customer of the day. Oh dear god! Cringe! I seriously wanted the ground to swallow me up! I hate that sort of thing!

I hustled myself over to the counter to take my seat pretty sharpish and immediately ordered a mint chocolate chip milkshake (which just for reference is my favourite flavour of ice cream...because I'm sure you all wanted to know that )



It was soooooo good! I'm salivating just looking at the picture!

I ordered the burger (as one always should at a diner) and unfortunately it didn't really live up to the standard I would expect from a Disney burger but the chips were really good which made up for it



After lunch I was so full but I still had half my milkshake left so I grabbed a to-go cup. I managed to find my way back to the bus stops really easily and decided to jump on the first bus that came and it was DTD so off I went. I was resisting the temptation to go and do more shopping so I decided to just head straight to the boat dock to go back to POR. I ended up having to wait for about 15 minutes but in front of me was a mum with possibly the prettiest little girl I have ever seen. Beautiful blonde curls with these big blue eyes (you know the kind of girl you hate at school....) but anyway she and her Mum were very friendly and we chatted a lot about princesses and she even had Frozen inspired facepaint on. Just as the boat was pulling in, her mum bent down to kiss her on the cheek and the little girl put her hand in her mum's face to stop her and said "No! You'll ruin my face!" The way this little girl came out with the line was hilarious! Neither me or her mum could stop ourselves from laughing!

After the boat ride, I decided to have a nap because I was going to have another late night....but why I hear you ask.....why?.....because I was going back for a second MNSSHP!​

 

[godders]

Day 10 Part 2 - MNSSHP: The Return

I got ready at about 5pm and put on my 2nd planned costume for MNSSHP.....
Minnie Mouse!



The bus came almost immediately and I was able to get a seat. There was a little girl opposite me also dressed as Minnie Mouse and she got very excited when she saw mine. The forecast said rain for the evening and it was getting even more humid so I was a bit of a sweaty mess by the time I made it to the park gates.....and that is the very last thing I wrote in my trip report diary ....my guess is that I was too tired that night and too emotional at having to leave Disney the next day that I just couldn't bring myself to write anymore. Thank god for photos! Otherwise I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have any idea what I'd done that evening this far down the line. With that in mind please bare/bear (I never know which one) with me as I attempt to fill in some gaps....

As soon as I got in to MK I knew I wanted to get a picture with the Mouse himself so I headed straight into Town Hall where there was a 10 minute wait for the main man. As I stood in line a group came in all dressed as bananas and they had a little kid with them who must've only been about 2 and he had on a monkey costume....it was amazing!!!

Anyway, I was eventually taken into the room to meet Mickey and I think he liked my outfit:







When he got down on one knee all the CMs started to giggle and one of them then said "Don't tell the other Minnie" which Mickey agreed with with was really funny.

After Mickey, I headed on up Main Street and finally clicked that the statues of the Fab 5 around the center were all Halloween themed. Not sure how I missed that one but I thought they were really cute!







And then I finally managed to get a picture of the castle without the crane in it. Huzzah!



I also see a lot of Disney Wedding photography taken at that point which I thought was cool.

And then I have a gap in my pictures but I'm fairly certain that I would've followed my old route into Tomorrowland to do some rides and then round to Fantasyland.

When I got to FL I saw Snow White and Aurora just coming back from their breaks so they had a really short line which I quickly jumped in





Snow White and I chatted about our hair and how difficult it was to make a good bow and then Aurora asked me to tell all her woodland friends that she was thinking about them. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was a city mouse....

After the ladies, I noticed another line over the bridge in FL and just decided to jump in it. I was hoping it was for the Evil Queen from Snow White but it turned out to be for my main man Gaston



Now I had a really good interaction the first time I met Gaston but I can't say that this time was quite so magical. This time Gaston told me to go and find him some pretty girls and bring them back to him for a party....now I get that I'm not the most attractive person in the world but I did think it was just a bit rude. He could just have easily said pretty girls that look like Belle or something along those lines. It kind of upset me but I just brushed it off and got out of there and went to my happy place on the Little Mermaid.

After LM I went over to Liberty Square and the Haunted Mansion. It was the longest queue I'd seen all week and it was about 10 minutes long (yay for early Sept crowds!) Madame Carlotta was in full swing having a Whitney Houston sing-off with one of the ladies in the line. You can guess who won.... As I was in the line it started to rain a little bit. Not enough to warrant putting on my poncho but enough to make my hair even frizzier

After HM the first parade was in full swing but I managed to skirt around it all along the water front to get to Frontierland. It was still raining but only in a constant light drizzle which wasn't too bad. Pretty sure I then jumped on Mine Train and Splash a couple of times each and then went over to the smoking area to wait out the rest of the parade.

Post parade I went into Adventureland and got another ride on POTC and then got my photo taken outside



I realised that there was another little queue starting which I assumed was for Capt Jack so I jumped in that. We ended up having to wait for about 30 minutes in the end because obviously Mr Sparrow makes an appearance in the parade.... But he arrived eventually and had some really good interactions with the people ahead of me. When it got to my turn he asked me if I was one of those bad mice who drank all the rum. I said of course I wasn't, I was one of the good mice who drank all the vodka. Well that nearly had him break character but he just about held it together and told him I could sail on his ship any time so I'm guessing that was a good thing



While I was in Adventureland, Hallowishes started so I grabbed myself another Dole Whip and found myself a bench to watch them from. Very difference experience from watching in the Hub and turned out to be a bad idea when all the smoke came drifting over us.

I finished my Dole Whip and headed on down Main Street because I wanted to get a good spot of the parade where I could set up my tripod. I ended up right at the bottom just off center on the bit in the middle. There were a couple of other people with tripods up as well and there was plenty of room around so I felt it was ok to put it up.

While I was waiting I took some shots up Main St in all the different colours







Pretty soon the crowd warmers were out and about. I would so love to have that job!



Unfortunately because of the earlier rain the Headless Horseman wasn't going to be riding but it wasn't long before I saw the tell tale sign the parade was nearly there



All together now:

Boo to you and you
It's not so very scary
It's really not so scary
Boo to you
Boo boo boo
Boo to you
Boo boo boo
Boo to you
Boo boo boo
Boo to you

As I was so close to the exit, after the parade I joined the throngs headed for the exit. I ended up in a massive queue for the bus and I think I only managed to get on the 3rd bus that came. I offered to stand the whole way but some very nice people insisted I have a seat which I eventually took them up on. Then it was back to POR and one last sleep before I had to say goodbye ​

 

[godders]

Day 11 - Time to say Goodbye

And so it was finally time to bid Disney goodbye

I had asked for a late checkout so I got to have a lovely lie-in until about 11am when I decided that I really needed to get my stuff packed.
Over my week at Disney my stuff had managed to spread itself ALL over the spare bed in my room (oops!) so it required a full-on sorting out. Couldn't believe my amazing trip was already over and I was having to go back to cold and wet England. After getting all my things sorted I called bell-services to help me get my stuff to the lobby and then I went and checked out.

I still had 3 hours until my pick up for the airport at 4pm so I decided to chill out in the lounge area just off the lobby and start working on my photos. It was really nice in there with lots of people reading the newspaper and books so it had a lovely atmosphere. Just as I got my laptop and camera unpacked I realised I was actually pretty peckish so I dashed into the gift shop to grab a snack. That was when I noticed they were selling the mystery pin set that I had been collecting all week but hadn't yet been able to complete (although I did end up with 4 Alice's). I thought what the hell and bought two of them and little Port Orleans Riverside pin to go with my snacks. I sat back down with my stuff and opened the pin sets and what do you know, the last box I opened had the very last pin in the set I had been searching for FINALLY! My OCD could now take a break! Huzzah! Of course it was then that I realised I never actually bought the stuff Minion toy I had been thinking about getting since I'd first planned my trip. I couldn't believe it! Luckily I remembered that they had a Universal Store at MCO so I had my fingers crossed that they would have one.

Before I knew it, it was time leave WDW and I didn't know when I would return. I had had an absolutely amazing time and done things I'd never thought I would do. I'd met some amazing people and characters, eaten some delicious food and got to relive my Disney dream!

Thank you to all of you out there on the DIS who had a hand in helping me get to this trip whether it was from your amazing trip reports or for answering questions. I really don't know how people go to Disney without reading these boards!

Thank you to all of you guys who have joined me as I relived my trip. I hope you have all enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it! If you did enjoy it then please feel free to join me on my new report, just a hop, skip and a jump away on the pre-trip thread. That's right people! I'm off to Disney again!

For DisneyKates, below I include pictures of my pin haul (including my completed Heroes & Villains set). Most of the pins are from this latest trip but there are quite a few from previous visits

















​

 

[DisneyKates]

For DisneyKates, below I include pictures of my pin haul (including my completed Heroes & Villains set). Most of the pins are from this latest trip but there are quite a few from previous visits

Yay!!!! I love love love seeing these. Thank you for sharing We just bought an awesome set of framed cork boards so that we can display our collection. (Yes. I am 36 and married and will have a collection of disney pins on the wall in my bedroom! )

 

[DisneyKates]

Also...FWIW My favorite chips are hula-hoops BBQ Beef. I almost never find them in the U.S. except for the occasional specialty shop. I totally feel your pain!

 

[DLHNYC]

Hello! I just discovered your TR and really enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to write it. I love that you decided you wanted to go and did your own trip the way you wanted it. Now I will head over to your other TR!