godders
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2014
- Messages
- 1,002
Well hey there Disers! It is I, Godders! Your solo trip extraodinaire!
It is August 2024 and officially the 10-year anniversary of my very first solo trip so I thought it was time to do another trip report!
Ok, so I'm not really old (I started solo tripping young) but a lot has happened in these 10 years - I've changed jobs (multiple times), moved house twice, got a doggo, gained a bunch of grey hairs (or wisdom hairs as my old boss used to say), had Covid 4 times and been to Disney (World and Land) 12 times.
Not only have I changed but so has Disney - I've seen magic bands get introduced, paper fastpasses go to Fastpass+ to Genie to whatever the thing is we have now. I've seen newly opened Pandora, new Fantasyland, Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land and seen some fan favourites go - Wishes, Illuminations, Splash Mountain and the evolution of Red.
Throwback to my first trip - don't think I've aged a day (ha!)
Your (ghost) hostess
So hi! I'm Godders, I'm 34 from London, England. I'm an in-house lobbyiest at a conservation charity so I try to come Disney once a year to top up my pixie dust to give me the patience and grace to deal with people for the rest of the year
. I come to Disney solo because I'm single and this stuff is expensive so my friends can't come but that's ok - I am perfectly capable of keeping myself entertained (although I am a single pringle ready to mingle)! Been coming to Disney since I was 4, I have a not too indecent sized collection of Minnie ears (well they have to match your outfit and your mood right?) and a couple of tattoos including a Disney one.
The trip
So I have two WHHHOOOOOLLLLEEE weeks in the Disney bubble. August 27-Sept 10th (we are T-5 days people!) Food & Wine, MNSSHP - it's gonna be amazing! I am staying at the fabulous Caribbean Beach Resort.
Last time I stayed here I was back in 2015 when I did a mega resort hopping trip (5 resorts in 18 days
) and I did 4 nights here if I remember correctly. The only rooms available were the dreaded Pirate rooms all the way down in Trinidad South. I vaguely remember thinking it would be a pain to stay at this resort for 14 days with the multiple bus stops but for a short stay it was fine. Oh how times have changed!
So I ended up booking a 5th sleeper room (cheapest category available at the time of booking), and then I found a review of the new Little Mermaid rooms that have taken over Trinidad (including the Pirate rooms) and they are soooo cute!! - Photo credit to DisneyTouristBlog
I have become such a fan of Pop Century because of the murphy bed with Skyliner combo so I was very pleased to find out that there was somewhere at CBR where I could have the same. As a solo traveller having a murphy bed means so much more space. Personally, I also think it makes the room feel a bit more grown up. Plus who doesn't love the Little Mermaid?? I have a touring plans room request in for one of these so fingers crossed!
Now, I do have some hesitation about staying at CBR so let me explain:
I booked this trip back in April 2023 when the offers for 2024 first came out - it was $100 per night dining/merchandise card plus $200 gift card. I have had the dining card for the last couple of trips and and I love it. As a vegetarian, the free dining plan offer that Disney has gone back to just isn't worth it so having the flexibility to pay for whatever food I want (and not wasting any if I'm not that hungry) and being able buy myself some new Minnie ears - it's just such a better option! So I'm very sad that the dining plan is now back.....but I digress....
As I said earlier, I work in politics and therefore I can't be on holiday before or during key political moments, like the build up to a General Election. And ALLLLL the gossip and suggestion for the last 18 months has been a late autumn election (so Nov) which meant that my entire preferred visit period (cooler temps but parties and festivals) was out. So I went with end of August like I used to do back in the day and I probably wasn't thinking too hard about it at the time because I was dealing with some heavy personal stuff at the time.
So we get to May 2024 and our Prime Minister at the time decides to call a snap election so we're going to the polls in July. Naturally, I start to shop around to see if I can switch up my trip to later in the year so that I can avoid the absolute sweat box that is Disney in late summer. Unfortunately, no matter which way I tried to square it, I already had the best value deal (for me) and there wasn't any availability at French Quarter for the same period so I'm heading for CBR come rain or shine, hell or high water.
So what's my hesitation??
Well as we all know Florida summer is kind of known for it's mega afternoon rainstorms and I am feeling quite anxious about the Skyliner going down due to weather. Not like physically collapsing down but not operating down and me having to drag my butt all the way back to the main entrance at EPCOT (and my worse fear of doing that, only to find out they were putting the buses on at the back of the Skyliner Station). Being a solo person, you are completely reliant on rallying yourself and bucking yourself up which is extra hard when you're tired, hot and sweaty from being in a park so I'm feeling a smidge anxious about it even though it's completely out of my control and I can just treat myself to a cocktail in the UK on the way.
When I did a trip at the same time last year, I chose to stay at POFQ rather than PoP because of this issue and then it ended up raining only twice in the afternoon the whole trip (the first 2 days of outer hurricane rains totally don't count). While the lack of rain was appreciated in some ways, it was bonkers hot!! I managed to give myself a smidge of heat stroke one evening by hanging out outside for too long without a drink (like 3 hours) and this was after dark (9pm-midnight). It was hotter than even the normal hotter than the surface of the sun florida temps. So I am slightly glad that this year is looking a bit more regular.
So that's my introduction, I hope to see some of you following along. Next post I shall talk all things MNSSHP and Food & Wiiiinnnnneeee! Woop woop!
It is August 2024 and officially the 10-year anniversary of my very first solo trip so I thought it was time to do another trip report!
Not only have I changed but so has Disney - I've seen magic bands get introduced, paper fastpasses go to Fastpass+ to Genie to whatever the thing is we have now. I've seen newly opened Pandora, new Fantasyland, Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land and seen some fan favourites go - Wishes, Illuminations, Splash Mountain and the evolution of Red.
Throwback to my first trip - don't think I've aged a day (ha!)
Your (ghost) hostess
So hi! I'm Godders, I'm 34 from London, England. I'm an in-house lobbyiest at a conservation charity so I try to come Disney once a year to top up my pixie dust to give me the patience and grace to deal with people for the rest of the year
. I come to Disney solo because I'm single and this stuff is expensive so my friends can't come but that's ok - I am perfectly capable of keeping myself entertained (although I am a single pringle ready to mingle)! Been coming to Disney since I was 4, I have a not too indecent sized collection of Minnie ears (well they have to match your outfit and your mood right?) and a couple of tattoos including a Disney one.So I have two WHHHOOOOOLLLLEEE weeks in the Disney bubble. August 27-Sept 10th (we are T-5 days people!) Food & Wine, MNSSHP - it's gonna be amazing! I am staying at the fabulous Caribbean Beach Resort.
Last time I stayed here I was back in 2015 when I did a mega resort hopping trip (5 resorts in 18 days
) and I did 4 nights here if I remember correctly. The only rooms available were the dreaded Pirate rooms all the way down in Trinidad South. I vaguely remember thinking it would be a pain to stay at this resort for 14 days with the multiple bus stops but for a short stay it was fine. Oh how times have changed!So I ended up booking a 5th sleeper room (cheapest category available at the time of booking), and then I found a review of the new Little Mermaid rooms that have taken over Trinidad (including the Pirate rooms) and they are soooo cute!! - Photo credit to DisneyTouristBlog
I have become such a fan of Pop Century because of the murphy bed with Skyliner combo so I was very pleased to find out that there was somewhere at CBR where I could have the same. As a solo traveller having a murphy bed means so much more space. Personally, I also think it makes the room feel a bit more grown up. Plus who doesn't love the Little Mermaid?? I have a touring plans room request in for one of these so fingers crossed!
Now, I do have some hesitation about staying at CBR so let me explain:
I booked this trip back in April 2023 when the offers for 2024 first came out - it was $100 per night dining/merchandise card plus $200 gift card. I have had the dining card for the last couple of trips and and I love it. As a vegetarian, the free dining plan offer that Disney has gone back to just isn't worth it so having the flexibility to pay for whatever food I want (and not wasting any if I'm not that hungry) and being able buy myself some new Minnie ears - it's just such a better option! So I'm very sad that the dining plan is now back.....but I digress....
As I said earlier, I work in politics and therefore I can't be on holiday before or during key political moments, like the build up to a General Election. And ALLLLL the gossip and suggestion for the last 18 months has been a late autumn election (so Nov) which meant that my entire preferred visit period (cooler temps but parties and festivals) was out. So I went with end of August like I used to do back in the day and I probably wasn't thinking too hard about it at the time because I was dealing with some heavy personal stuff at the time.
So we get to May 2024 and our Prime Minister at the time decides to call a snap election so we're going to the polls in July. Naturally, I start to shop around to see if I can switch up my trip to later in the year so that I can avoid the absolute sweat box that is Disney in late summer. Unfortunately, no matter which way I tried to square it, I already had the best value deal (for me) and there wasn't any availability at French Quarter for the same period so I'm heading for CBR come rain or shine, hell or high water.
So what's my hesitation??
Well as we all know Florida summer is kind of known for it's mega afternoon rainstorms and I am feeling quite anxious about the Skyliner going down due to weather. Not like physically collapsing down but not operating down and me having to drag my butt all the way back to the main entrance at EPCOT (and my worse fear of doing that, only to find out they were putting the buses on at the back of the Skyliner Station). Being a solo person, you are completely reliant on rallying yourself and bucking yourself up which is extra hard when you're tired, hot and sweaty from being in a park so I'm feeling a smidge anxious about it even though it's completely out of my control and I can just treat myself to a cocktail in the UK on the way.
When I did a trip at the same time last year, I chose to stay at POFQ rather than PoP because of this issue and then it ended up raining only twice in the afternoon the whole trip (the first 2 days of outer hurricane rains totally don't count). While the lack of rain was appreciated in some ways, it was bonkers hot!! I managed to give myself a smidge of heat stroke one evening by hanging out outside for too long without a drink (like 3 hours) and this was after dark (9pm-midnight). It was hotter than even the normal hotter than the surface of the sun florida temps. So I am slightly glad that this year is looking a bit more regular.
So that's my introduction, I hope to see some of you following along. Next post I shall talk all things MNSSHP and Food & Wiiiinnnnneeee! Woop woop!
