"Here I go again! On my own??" Solo in May 2017 PTR **updated 4/29

[xlsm]

Ok, I'm a total fail in missing your previous trip reports but somehow I found this (aka like you I've had a case of the Mondays for two days in a row now and managed to make it home with some semblance of awake time left in the day so I can be in my happy disney place ) I'd think I want to say sorry your plans haven't worked out and MIL dropped out, but that actually sounds like a total win for you. And you must exploit all things AKL dining if you stay there. Jiko, Boma, Sanna, all perfection!

Hello and welcome!!

Honestly, this feels like it's been the longest week EVER and it's only Wednesday!!

You're right, I think this change of plans is really a win. I've decided to embrace it and enjoy it to the fullest. I'd be lying if I didn't have doubts every.single.day. but in the grand scheme of things, I'm super excited!

The restaurants were a huge draw for booking AKL, so I want to eat alllll the things!!

Thank you!! So far so good. I've toyed with the idea of a PTR, but I don't think I'd know where to start. But I'm pretty sure there will be a TR.

I understand about PTRs. I really struggle with them, because I feel like I have a hard time being entertaining I guess. Old habits die hard! I was going to skip it for this trip, but then I realized how much I've valued being able to bounce my ideas off of other people. I hope you do a TR, because I want to hear all about the wedding and the trip!

Do breakfast! I think it's my favorite breakfast on property. We haven't done dinner since 2011 I think so I can't really speak to it, but breakfast is awesome.


I thought about this and first I was going to say keep it; but now I think if I were you I might cancel....like you said, it's only one person you need to find a good spot for and you could use the time you'd be at the dessert party to be doing other things. Plus is less time sitting and eating by yourself. Not trying to make you feel uncomfortable again just thinking as if it were me! However on the flip side since sadly it'll be your last time seeing Wishes, being guaranteed a good viewing spot is appealing
Have you considered doing a tour since the boys won't be with you? They're so much fun! KTTK, or Undiscovered FutureWorld in Epcot in the morning and then you could go to WS for Flower and Garden. That one surprised us with how informative and interesting it was!


I'm watching too

I'm pretty excited to do breakfast at Boma! I have a couple of open mornings where I could fit one in...I'm trying to decide if I should do an ADR or just show up. Hmm...I might go look and see what's available after I get my next post typed up.

I've made a decision on Wishes, which I'll update today.

I have considered doing a tour! DH said I can't do Keys to the Kingdom, or any of the "big" ones without him, because he really wants to do those too, but I am thinking about doing Wild Africa Trek, Backstage Tales, or Caring for Giants. What I REALLY want to do is Sense of Africa, but it's $250. I don't know if my cheapo mom-guilt self would let me do that! I just want to do something where I can pet an animal. I'm like a child, I cannot keep my hands off! I want to cuddle and pet everything. I have four dogs and I still feel like I don't get enough opportunities to spend time with animals, LOL!!

And hooray for Riverdale! I'm hooked!!

Someday I will be all about the pictures, just not right now. And yes! I REALLY love AKL and I will always do my best to stay there now. Like, how great is it to be able to walk out of your hotel room and boom, in the lobby, two amazing restaurants. And then if you walk past the pool (and who wouldn't want to, it's GORGEOUS), boom! Another restaurant. I loved my dinner at Jiko and I LOVED by breakfast at Boma. I would really only do Boma (lunch or dinner) for the dessert table, the same way I'm doing Tusker House breakfast at 10:30 am so that we get breakfast and lunch because I really like desserts? But that's also because I'm picky. (I think we have maintained by now that I'm a dessert person.)

We will definitely have to be on the lookout for one another. But if you want to organize something, I'm happy to do that. We could always eat a meal together or something! It's fun talking to people who are not your people sometimes! I'll be traveling with my best friend (I'm SO EXCITED to say that), so we might be getting sick of each other by the time we switch to Disney. The longest we've been 'together' is like...two days.

I'm also sorry about your MIL, but I'm also glad you get to do your own trip. I will probably do my own trip sometime, since all of the reservations I've picked are to appease other people. It has to be kind of neat to make all the decisions for yourself!

See, my favorite place is the Wilderness Lodge, so I feel like AKL is going to be like going "home" there, but with the addition of animals!! AKL is just stunning, and I love all of the food and activities right at your fingertips. I'm so excited to fully explore the resort, and I think it's going to be perfect for me to actually relax...I am a TERRIBLE relaxer. I'm so used to doing everything for everyone, that it's going to be nice to just focus on myself. I think, anyway. I might hate it, LOL!!

When we get closer we should exchange info or PM on here to meet up and at least say hi or get a drink or meal or something. I think that would be fun!

I'm really trying hard to embrace this solo trip and oh my gosh...picking things that I want to do without worrying about anyone else being happy?? It's so much freedom, and it's amazing...but it also is overwhelming! But I love that no one is going to complain if I want one more picture or one more ride on Everest!!!

 

[xlsm]

Chapter Three: Sooner or later, Nana, people have to grow up

And unfortunately, part of being a grown up is making hard decisions, right??

Well, I've made some. Are you excited to hear??



Calm down, calm down...it's not THAT exciting.




Goodbye, Wishes Dessert Party.



I decided that I just couldn't justify this, or keep the reservation knowing that a group of two could benefit from it. Even just switching it to a party of one would limit others' options, and I would feel bad. I carry a lot of guilt around, can you tell??
I have two evenings that could be used for Wishes viewing, and I'd like to watch both times. The first night I will get a spot early, and the second night I currently have a fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain during Wishes. It was an attempt to see the show while riding, but I don't know if I want to risk it. I might just watch it "normally" again. I'm going to leave that up to how I feel at the time.

Annndddd....

I JUST made a 7:40am Boma breakfast reservation! My stomach is growling just thinking about it, and I'm very, very excited!



I do think it's kind of funny that the two meals I've added are breakfasts, since it's not typically my preferred meal of the day. DH and L are the main breakfast people in the family, X and I can take it or leave it most of the time. That said, some of my favorite meal experiences at Walt Disney World are breakfast related!

It must be that old Disney magic!



The next time I update, I will be obsessing about my fast pass choices, and start doing some day-by-day plans! Having so much freedom is kind of overwhelming. I can do whatever I want!! So...WHAT do I want??

I guess that means making more decisions. Ugh.

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm sure it was tough ditching the dessert party, but it sounds like it was the right call. And yay for a Boma reservation!

 

[Fia]

Is there really a bad decision if you are at Disney???? All of your plans and changes so far sound amazing.

 

[ariane37]

I JUST made a 7:40am Boma breakfast reservation! My stomach is growling just thinking about it, and I'm very, very excited!

Yay!!
I really want to do the Backstage Tales tour but Steve isn't interested so I believe the next one we'll do is Marceline to the MK. But you should most definitely book one!

 

[steviethegreat]

See, my favorite place is the Wilderness Lodge, so I feel like AKL is going to be like going "home" there, but with the addition of animals!! AKL is just stunning, and I love all of the food and activities right at your fingertips. I'm so excited to fully explore the resort, and I think it's going to be perfect for me to actually relax...I am a TERRIBLE relaxer. I'm so used to doing everything for everyone, that it's going to be nice to just focus on myself. I think, anyway. I might hate it, LOL!!

When we get closer we should exchange info or PM on here to meet up and at least say hi or get a drink or meal or something. I think that would be fun!

I'm really trying hard to embrace this solo trip and oh my gosh...picking things that I want to do without worrying about anyone else being happy?? It's so much freedom, and it's amazing...but it also is overwhelming! But I love that no one is going to complain if I want one more picture or one more ride on Everest!!!

I wanted to stay at the Wilderness Lodge in the first place for my last trip. But it was more expensive (somehow) than AKL. So I bumped down to POR and then when POR was only $200 less than AKL and AKL had free dining, I booked AKL. And now it's my favorite resort of all time. (Granted, I have not stayed overnight in many resorts, but my guess is that it will remain my favorite as time goes on.) Some day I'll stay at WL, though! I hope you love AKL as much as I do. We were fortunate enough to get a standard room view of the savanna, so we spent several afternoons watching Gigi the baby giraffe galloping around. It was pretty much the highlight of our trip. And the hotel smells AMAZING all the time because of the fire pit in the middle of the lobby. And the water flowing next to the bar is SO cool. You're going to love it. Just walking in is relaxing. If I wasn't a 'get your money's worth from the parks' person, I would never leave the hotel.

Yes! When we get closer, we should definitely try to work something out. It would be cool to meet a Disboarder! (I'm a long-time lurker, fairly new to commenting, but I've read your posts before. )

And yes, picking things on your own for yourself truly has to be liberating. My bff vetoed like..all of my favorite restaurants. I had to kind of stick up for myself with a few of them. I can't imagine how neat it has to be to just ask yourself 'Oh, hey, self, you wanna go to Raglan Road? Get that bread pudding for dinner? What's that self, follow it up with take-home pastries from Amorettes?' Heck yes. You just keep riding Everest! I encountered a 'no line' scenario in September and I am horrified to say we only walked back through the queue once because my mom's ankles were swollen, so she hated walking through lines. I still have yet to see the entire ride because I'm a chicken and I close my eyes.

 

[xlsm]

Yes! Ooo I used to love PLL, but I haven't been as into this last season. I liked the original mystery. Not so much a mystery but I watch a lot of Criminal Minds I always double check all the doors are locked at night now.



Me too! We went to the restaurant last trip, and I loved the Cobb salad. I really want the Cobb salad and maybe a dessert trio so I'm trying the lounge this time. The margarita flight sounds good too! Drinking alone is okay if you're on vacation

Yeah I think a buffet works for that!

Ooo ok!

This past season of PLL is super weird. Actually, the past couple of seasons since the A reveal have kind of gone off the rails. I feel like I have to see it through to the end though...only ten more episodes and then it's all over!

Criminal Minds is one of those shows that I didn't start from the beginning, but if I see reruns on I watch to have background noise. That's how I got hooked on Bones and Castle...Criminal Minds is on Netflix and I always say that's going to be my next binge.

I like your thought process about drinking alone being ok on vacation, lol!! I just can't get lost going back to my room...

I'm sure it was tough ditching the dessert party, but it sounds like it was the right call. And yay for a Boma reservation!

It was tough to give up, but I knew ultimately I wouldn't eat very many desserts and it wasn't any kind of real value. I'll book it for my mom's trip in October, though!
I'm really, really excited for Boma!

Is there really a bad decision if you are at Disney???? All of your plans and changes so far sound amazing.

That's true! Every decision leads to somewhere fun at Disney World! I'm looking forward to the plans I've made so far. I'm so ready for trip time!

Yay!!
I really want to do the Backstage Tales tour but Steve isn't interested so I believe the next one we'll do is Marceline to the MK. But you should most definitely book one!

I'm trying to figure out how to work one in. The reason I want to do one of the AK or AKL ones is because they're the ones Matt has no interest in, so I understand! He wants to do one with backstage stuff at MK, and I want to do Marceline to MK to see the Haunted Mansion behind the scenes!

I wanted to stay at the Wilderness Lodge in the first place for my last trip. But it was more expensive (somehow) than AKL. So I bumped down to POR and then when POR was only $200 less than AKL and AKL had free dining, I booked AKL. And now it's my favorite resort of all time. (Granted, I have not stayed overnight in many resorts, but my guess is that it will remain my favorite as time goes on.) Some day I'll stay at WL, though! I hope you love AKL as much as I do. We were fortunate enough to get a standard room view of the savanna, so we spent several afternoons watching Gigi the baby giraffe galloping around. It was pretty much the highlight of our trip. And the hotel smells AMAZING all the time because of the fire pit in the middle of the lobby. And the water flowing next to the bar is SO cool. You're going to love it. Just walking in is relaxing. If I wasn't a 'get your money's worth from the parks' person, I would never leave the hotel.

Yes! When we get closer, we should definitely try to work something out. It would be cool to meet a Disboarder! (I'm a long-time lurker, fairly new to commenting, but I've read your posts before. )

And yes, picking things on your own for yourself truly has to be liberating. My bff vetoed like..all of my favorite restaurants. I had to kind of stick up for myself with a few of them. I can't imagine how neat it has to be to just ask yourself 'Oh, hey, self, you wanna go to Raglan Road? Get that bread pudding for dinner? What's that self, follow it up with take-home pastries from Amorettes?' Heck yes. You just keep riding Everest! I encountered a 'no line' scenario in September and I am horrified to say we only walked back through the queue once because my mom's ankles were swollen, so she hated walking through lines. I still have yet to see the entire ride because I'm a chicken and I close my eyes.

I loooove giraffes! I'm hoping to see a lot of them from my room!! I completely understand about not wanting to leave the resort...the short time that we were there looking around in December, I wanted to just sit and hang out in the lobby by the fire. It is just so comforting there, and so beautiful!

I'm sorry your friend vetoed your choices, but I'm glad you stuck up for yourself. Bread pudding for dinner sounds like my dream come true!! I've never had it at Raglan Road, but I've heard such great things. I love it from Ohana and Tusker House, and everywhere else on property that serves it! It's one of my favorite Disney foods.

I wanted to ride Everest multiple times in December when there was no line, but my family was not on board. They were ready for food...I was like, I can eat any old time, I want to chase the Yeti!! But we ended up skipping it, then didn't end up eating until much later back at the Boardwalk
You should open your eyes next time, it's amazing!!

 

[Raeven]

I totally feel like I have to stick out PLL just because it's almost over too

 

[kittylady1972]

Been reading your report and finally decided to just chime in here. I've done a solo trip myself before...it can be fun and also strange at the same time. On mine I don't think I made ANY ADRs...I just ate on the go at different counter service places. At one point I was tired and I took a NAP on a bench in EPCOT!

We haven't done the Wishes Dessert Party in a few years but I can understand dropping it as well as thinking somebody else might have the chance to take your spot.

During my solo trip, I recall that I arrived very close to Wishes time. I ended up stopping at the ice cream place at the end of Main Street, grabbing a sundae and then scoping out a spot in the middle of main street to watch the show...alone! My own little dessert party!

Can't wait to hear more about your plans!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Having so much fun reading about your planning that I bit the bullet and started my own PTR for August after all...we'll see how this goes!

 

[xlsm]

I totally feel like I have to stick out PLL just because it's almost over too

How can any of the girls go on to have normal lives??

As long as Hanna and Spencer are alive at the end, I don't care what else happens, lol!!

Been reading your report and finally decided to just chime in here. I've done a solo trip myself before...it can be fun and also strange at the same time. On mine I don't think I made ANY ADRs...I just ate on the go at different counter service places. At one point I was tired and I took a NAP on a bench in EPCOT!

We haven't done the Wishes Dessert Party in a few years but I can understand dropping it as well as thinking somebody else might have the chance to take your spot.

During my solo trip, I recall that I arrived very close to Wishes time. I ended up stopping at the ice cream place at the end of Main Street, grabbing a sundae and then scoping out a spot in the middle of main street to watch the show...alone! My own little dessert party!

Can't wait to hear more about your plans!

I'm glad you decided to chime in

I really thought about dropping all ADRs for awhile! The ones I have now are there mostly so I feel like I have a little bit of structure to my trip. I'm the type of person who feels a little panicky with too much freedom! I may end up getting rid of them during the trip, but right now I like knowing they're there. I'm weird!!

The dessert party was a struggle mainly because I had made the reservation so MIL could see Wishes in a reserved area. Since it was to be her first time, I thought it would be better for her (she would NOT have managed well in the free for all crowd outside of the party). And then...I realized it could be my LAST time seeing it (I have another night I want to see it again, but just in case) and it was so hard to let it go. But ultimately, I wouldn't eat many of the desserts and I can find a good spot on my own, so it was so long, farewell to that!
I like your party for one with a Plaza sundae!! That's a really good idea!

Real life has been dragging me down, but I should have another post up soon!!

Having so much fun reading about your planning that I bit the bullet and started my own PTR for August after all...we'll see how this goes!

I will go check it out, I'm so glad!!

 

[xlsm]

Chapter Four: And now for something completely different...

HIIIIIII!

Like much of the country, we're dealing with the weirdo ups and downs of weather craziness. Thursday it was 77, and Saturday it snowed. The snow is gone now, but we have cold temps for the a few days before bouncing back to the mid-60s next week. Spring started here about a month earlier than usual, my hyacinths are up and in full bloom, daffodils have been up for a couple weeks, and flowering trees are already seeing their blooms turn to tiny leaves...it's nuts.

But I'm ok with it because it means I am closer and closer to Disney World! As of right now, I am only 48 days away. I feel like it's going to go pretty quickly. I've been looking at a few shirts and things online, but haven't bit the bullet and bought yet. I fill my days with Odyssey of the Mind prep for state, and PTO stuff. Oh, and harassing X (my 13 year old son, for anyone who hasn't followed along with me before!) by taking pictures of him...



(He hates having his picture taken, and was annoyed with me because I kept snapping photos. But his hair actually looked clean and not like a greaseball, I had to document that wonderful moment!)

I don't have anything Disney-ish to talk about really, but I thought I'd fill some time and talk about our weekend. Saturday was frigid and the weather was bad, so we stayed home, but Sunday the sun was out and the snow had melted. We have an internationally known art museum here, and they had partnered with local florists...the florists made arrangements inspired by several pieces of artwork throughout the museum. I love art and I love flowers, so this was a must do for me!

We started the museum visit with a visit to our best pal Alexander Hamilton



Hehe...I had to.
Here's the real one:



(an aside...DH entered to win me and X tickets to a show in San Francisco and sit with Lin while watching. I would die if we won. I would not be able to be cool, I'd be a mess.)

We soon found the first floral interpretation of an art piece. This was an orchid arrangement meant to represent this gorgeous marble sculpture of Sappho:



The museum was crowded, as it usually is, and I was trying and trying to get a creative shot of the sculpture behind the flowers, but there was a couple who would. not. move. Finally they did...and X walked into the shot I gave up, and this is as good as it gets!

I was sad to see that the flowers weren't holding up all that well. They'd been on display since Friday, and it was Sunday, so I knew they might not be in peak shape, but it was still disappointing. Some of them had already been removed, because there weren't as many on display as I was expecting to see.

Nevertheless, we persisted, and soon came upon the second arrangement, based on this painting:





Up next was one of my favorite paintings, which was being interpreted by one of my FAVORITE florists in the area:



This painting is called The Lantern Bearers, and it's so cool because the artist has done a magnificent job capturing the light. It truly looks as if it is glowing. The flowers were taken apart and put back together to mimic the lanterns. It was amazing in person!

I love that we have this museum here. The building itself is a piece of art, and outside there are nature trails, ponds, and a river...sculptures and art installations are along the paths, as well a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that was moved to the museum grounds and is available for tours. It was too cold for a hike along the trails, so we just kept moving through the inside...



Two more arrangements were coming right up:





The second was obviously the most literal of the arrangements we saw. The lighting in the gallery away from the paintings isn't great for photos, since they have the light concentrated on the paintings themselves, so unfortunately the detail is lost in this picture, but the red and blue are carnation tufts, the yellow is craspedia, and the black is a deconstructed peony bloom painted black. The bottom white is more carnations, and then the tendrils are wire and stems.

We had to stop by and visit Rosie the Riveter:



I always have to come say hello to her! A few years ago, they had a full Norman Rockwell temporary exhibit that was incredible, but Rosie is part of the permanent collection here

We also got to see something new that wasn't on display the last time I was here, or if it was I somehow overlooked it, but I can't imagine not noticing it!





I loved reading the words on the quilt...If you know Maya Angelou's work, you know it is powerful and moving.



She was scheduled to speak at the university a few years ago but had to cancel. She passed away not long afterward, and I was so sad to have missed the opportunity to experience that. Faith Ringgold did a beautiful job on this piece. I wish I had better photos, but I had the phone camera on the wrong setting and ended up with a bunch of weird choppy videos

The boys insisted on visiting the gift shop after we finished looking through the galleries, and ran into their favorite 5th grade teacher. They were happy to see her, and she was happy to see them!

We came home and watched Hamilton's America on PBS, and I came up with the great idea to rewrite the musical with cats: Meowlexander Hameowlton and Aaron Purr

I think I can make room on my mantle for a Tony award


Have a good night, and I'll be back with Disney related stuff soon!!

 

[coloredimage]

Okay I'm going back and reading the rest because I'm trying to do like four things at once and am failing miserably lol.

I'm so glad you're going solo! Can't wait to read about your new plans

 

[Shrfleen]

I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and am a student of pop culture! All things music, movies, and television have always been a huge part of my life. I know pretty much every word to every song that comes on the radio, on any station, that was released between 1950 and 2007, and most current pop. If I was ever on Name that Tune, I would make a killing and wipe the floor with every other opponent. I routinely speak in movie quotes, and I. Love. TV. Love it.
I love musical theater. Les Mis, Rent, and Wicked are my favorite shows, but I am also obsessed with Hamilton and all things Lin Manuel Miranda. The soundtracks to Jersey Boys and Book of Mormon are the runners up for most listened to.

I grew up on Disney, receiving a new bulky, plastic-clad VHS movie from my grandmother for every holiday or event. I worshipped the Little Mermaid, and had a lunch box and pants with Ariel all over them. I watched Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin over and over and can recite them start to finish. The late 80s and 90s will always be Disney's golden years for me, no matter how much I love the older and newer films!

Joining in! All of this! I majored in History in college and honestly I need a major in Pop Culture! I'm also obsessed with Hamilton and had the honor of watching the Chicago production just a few weeks ago. I agree the gold years of Disney are the late 80s and 90s.

I hope you have an amazing solo trip! I look forward to hearing about it!

 

[xlsm]

Okay I'm going back and reading the rest because I'm trying to do like four things at once and am failing miserably lol.

I'm so glad you're going solo! Can't wait to read about your new plans

I'm both REALLY excited and REALLY nervous about going alone...mostly excited though! I should have some plans posted soon...real life keeps getting in the way of me sitting down and focusing, combined with a heavy dose of procrastination, LOL!

Joining in! All of this! I majored in History in college and honestly I need a major in Pop Culture! I'm also obsessed with Hamilton and had the honor of watching the Chicago production just a few weeks ago. I agree the gold years of Disney are the late 80s and 90s.

I hope you have an amazing solo trip! I look forward to hearing about it!

Hello and welcome!!

How exciting that you got to see Hamilton in Chicago!! We keep trying to fit it in there this summer but other things keep getting in the way. My 13 year old is my fellow Hamilton fan, and I really want to take him during his birthday week in August, but his bday is right before school starts and it's always so busy around here then. Luckily, it will be showing a few places close to home once it starts the national tour. I can't wait to see it in person, instead of just listening to the soundtrack...non-stop. (I had to!)

Thank you! I'm looking forward to being there for Flower and Garden again, and to have the chance to do things on my own schedule

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a fun weekend!

 

[xlsm]

Good morning!!

I haven't opened the Dis or even my computer in four or five days, so I'm behind on EVERYTHING!!

If I'm reading your reports I will catch up soon, I owe @Raeven a PM about a meet up, and I have a post to get up about my first planned park day!

It's spring break, so I should have free mornings to get back into the PTR groove

 

[xlsm]

Do you ever just get suuuper unmotivated??

Like, to do ANYTHING??



That's kind of where I've been living for the past week. Ok, more than kind of. It's completely where I've been living for the past week!

Last Thursday, DH and I celebrated our anniversary, and Friday was the boys' last day of school before spring break. Their grandmother came to town to have lunch with me and then take them home with her for a few days, so I was busy with last minute school and home things to get everything ready for that.

Once they were gone on Friday afternoon, my house was clean and quiet and there was nothing for me to do. I thought, I'm going to unplug! I'm not even going to open my computer, I'm going to finish the book I've been trying to read for the past month!

And I did!

Over the weekend DH and I were out and about most of the time...Then Monday happened and I was left to my own devices.

I had the WHOLE DAY to do whatever I wanted.

I did laundry.

And ate food.

If my alone days at Disney World are anything like my alone days at home, everyone is going to be so bored when I write the trip report!



But I've decided to try and snap out of my laziness and anti-socialness and talk about my plans for my arrival day which is a mere 39 DAYS away!!

Chapter Five: Feels like the first time

First things first...I bought new ears! For the past year or so (maybe longer??), I've been wanting a pair of ears from an etsy shop called Be Ear Guest, but I was always juuuust missing shop openings. She's one of those shops that only manages to be open for a few seconds before selling out. Getting ears from certain etsy sellers is like the Hunger Games!

But I got lucky last Thursday and managed to remember to set an alarm on my phone for 5 minutes before shop opening, and just sat there hitting refresh constantly until her shop opened. I was able to get the main pair I've been eyeing right away, and then went back and bought a second pair I liked. If you ever find yourself in that situation, make sure your payment info is saved to your account and click "buy it now", not "add to cart". There's a two week turnaround time so I will show them to you as soon as they arrive. I'm so excited!

But moving on to actual plans...

My flight leaves really early. First flight of the day early. Between my two flights and short layover in Atlanta, my total travel time will be about four and a half hours, and I should be landing at MCO around 11:30am. I haven't decided if I'm going to go collect my suitcase myself or let it get picked up by the ME CMs.

I will go catch the Magical Express bus to...



The Animal Kingdom Lodge! (minus the tree of course. I only have Christmas photos from AKL!)

Hopefully my room will be ready early and I can go get settled. The room being ready kind of impacts my next move. If it's ready, I might take a nap or something if I'm feeling really tired. If it's not, I'll probably go get some food from the Mara and check things out around the resort, and then go hop on a bus to...



The Animal Kingdom!

I have fast passes for the safari, Everest, and Rivers of Light.

I have two plan outlines for this evening, depending on tiredness levels.

The first plan is to just get there in time to hit the end of my safari fast pass, use my Everest pass, and then see if I think I can stay alert long enough to make it to Rivers of Light.

The second plan is a little more intense! It's basically a minute by minute schedule. When I'm with my family, I don't plan that way, but with it just being me, I know I can keep moving more quickly.

If I go this route, I will not be wasting much time at the resort, because I will need to be at Animal Kingdom in time to kick things off with the 2:30 Flights of Wonder. That will be followed by:

Festival of the Lion King
Safari FP
Pangani Trail or Majarajah Jungle Trek
Everest FP
Nemo
Dinoland
back to Asia for RoL FP

Then I plan to hide in someone's stroller so they can roll me to the bus stop because I'm going to be EXHAUSTED.





What better first day of a first solo trip while staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge for the first time??

That's a lot of firsts...and there will be so many more throughout this trip.

39 days until...

 

[MeghanEmily]

I can't wait to see your new ears!! I just purchased rose gold sequinned ears from an Etsy seller whose shop had been on a break for a long time, too, and I was super pumped when she opened back up. Ears are no joke, I'm coming to realize! I'm so curious what yours will be...

I feel you on the unmotivated doing nothing phase. We just got off a spring break here last week, too, and I still haven't managed to get my mojo back. (Or gotten used to getting up at 6am again! Work mornings got me feelin' like your precious little gif of Boo up there...)

Sounds like you could have a wild first day!! (Get it? Wild? Yeah, I know, sorry.) Good to have several plans though. The nice thing about a solo trip is that you can pick whichever plan suits YOU best! Yeah, I'm loving the solo idea more and more.

 

[kittylady1972]

Do you ever just get suuuper unmotivated??
Like, to do ANYTHING??
That's kind of where I've been living for the past week. Ok, more than kind of. It's completely where I've been living for the past week!

Last Thursday, DH and I celebrated our anniversary, and Friday was the boys' last day of school before spring break. Their grandmother came to town to have lunch with me and then take them home with her for a few days, so I was busy with last minute school and home things to get everything ready for that.

Once they were gone on Friday afternoon, my house was clean and quiet and there was nothing for me to do. I thought, I'm going to unplug! I'm not even going to open my computer, I'm going to finish the book I've been trying to read for the past month!
And I did!
Over the weekend DH and I were out and about most of the time...Then Monday happened and I was left to my own devices.
I had the WHOLE DAY to do whatever I wanted.
I did laundry.
And ate food.

If my alone days at Disney World are anything like my alone days at home, everyone is going to be so bored when I write the trip report!

But I've decided to try and snap out of my laziness and anti-socialness and talk about my plans for my arrival day which is a mere 39 DAYS away!!


I will go catch the Magical Express bus to...

The Animal Kingdom Lodge! (minus the tree of course. I only have Christmas photos from AKL!)

Hopefully my room will be ready early and I can go get settled. The room being ready kind of impacts my next move. If it's ready, I might take a nap or something if I'm feeling really tired. If it's not, I'll probably go get some food from the Mara and check things out around the resort, and then go hop on a bus to...

The Animal Kingdom!

I have fast passes for the safari, Everest, and Rivers of Light.

I have two plan outlines for this evening, depending on tiredness levels.

The first plan is to just get there in time to hit the end of my safari fast pass, use my Everest pass, and then see if I think I can stay alert long enough to make it to Rivers of Light.

The second plan is a little more intense! It's basically a minute by minute schedule. When I'm with my family, I don't plan that way, but with it just being me, I know I can keep moving more quickly.

If I go this route, I will not be wasting much time at the resort, because I will need to be at Animal Kingdom in time to kick things off with the 2:30 Flights of Wonder. That will be followed by:

Festival of the Lion King
Safari FP
Pangani Trail or Majarajah Jungle Trek
Everest FP
Nemo
Dinoland
back to Asia for RoL FP

Then I plan to hide in someone's stroller so they can roll me to the bus stop because I'm going to be EXHAUSTED.
What better first day of a first solo trip while staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge for the first time??
That's a lot of firsts...and there will be so many more throughout this trip.

39 days until...

I love your day of doing nothing. That's why I can't get into books too often, because I find I'll ignore my entire family and life to finish one! Good for you!

I love your more "aggressive" AK day plan but I'm sure I'd be exhausted as well. How great would it be to have a plan like that and be able to follow it without any family complaints??? I love FoW so starting it off there is a great plan.

Our family ONCE attempted to do 4 parks in one day...but I think we only got to 3, but we also had a group of 9 and my MIL who wasn't capable of moving very well on her own so we had to take things much slower. I just MIGHT try it again for our May trip though, for fun. We really just want to hit a few "main" rides at each park before moving along and we probably could do it if it's just the five of us. I don't know if we'll be up for it or not though.

For my solo trip...I think I already mentioned I napped on a bench in EPCOT! There were other days I also went to my room and just enjoyed the chance to take a quick nap to refresh myself, something the kids would never have tolerated. AK Lodge is just so lovely so hanging out extra there can also be nice.