Houston-- its a go.. My first Solo trip!! LEAVING TODAY!!

[bettyann29]

I already have another PTR going for my trip in September with DH but I've been thinking of asking DH if I could do a solo trip this year..

I've been wanting to do a solo trip for several years and thought I would get to do one last year, but it just didnt work out.. so the last 2 days I've been thinking more and more of asking DH about it.. Last night I got the nerve to ask DH if he would mind if I went by myself for a long weekend and that would be my birthday gift (my bday is next Monday) and combine that with my Mothers Day gift.. I wasnt sure what he would say.. but he thought about it for a minute and said "sure honey.. if thats what you really want" woohoo.. Yep it is!!

Let me give a little background on myself..

I am a COMPLETE Disney nutt! and anyone who knows me will confirm it.. My favorite Disney character is Tinkerbell.. Not sure what it is about her, but I just love her.. I am 38 years old (SHHHHHHHH dont tell anyone.. but I will be 39 next Monday )..I am mom to 3, my oldest DD is 17, my DS is 15 and youngest DD is 11.. I have 2 stepchildren, ages 18 and 21 and 2 grandbabies.. ages 2 and 9 months.. and several fur babies..

When am I going you ask??? Dont know yet, but hoping by the end of today I will have my airline tickets and hotel booked..

Where will I stay? I dont know yet either but it will be one of the value resorts, as Im trying to keep this a budget trip..Ive already stayed at all the values, so any of them will be fine I think..

Where will I eat? again I have NO clue.. but it will be all counterservice meals.. between trying to keep this a budget trip and I had lapband surgery last year so I dont eat much at all and I hate wasting food.. normally when we go out to eat, DH eats what I dont in addition to his own plate..

I will figure ahead of time how much I'll allow myself for souvenir shopping.. I figure I'll keep it to a minumum I'll do most of my shopping when me and DH go later this year to WDW..

Well let me find a decent picture of myself and I'll post that for you..

Here I am with my brother:

So excited about this trip as I plan on taking it easy and doing what I want to do.. and of course I will be taking tons of pictures..

Once I make the reservations for the hotel and flight then I will know how many days I will be there and I can start planning.. Im looking at May at this time, so I can make it for the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.. so excited as I love going to this.. Ive been the last 2 years..

 

[bettyann29]

so excited to report that I have decided when I will be going..

Its Friday, April 17 and will return home on Monday, April 20th.. I have already booked my flight and resort stay..

I am flying out early Friday morning and will arrive at MCO around 10:30 so Im hoping to be in the parks by noon.. and my return flight leaves MCO at 8:05 Monday night.. so I have pretty much 4 full days of Disney and its all by myself..

I will be staying at Pop Century.. I opted not to reserve a preferred room as Im trying to do this on the fly and as budgetwise as I can..

I have checked the park hours for the time Im there..

Heres my plans so far:

Friday:
Either AK or DHS-- still need to decide which park for this day.. Hoping to be in the park by noon and they both close at 7 pm.. so Id get the same amt of time.. Im leaning towards DHS right now..

Saturday:
Epcot- since its Flower and Garden Festival time I want the full day in this park

Sunday:
MK- there is an EMH til 1 am.. so my plan is to be there at rope drop.. go back to the resort and take a nap midday then head back to the park later.. but we'll see how this goes..

Monday:
again Either AK or DHS- I will do the opposite park of which one is chosen for Friday.. Im thinking AK this day as there is a morning EMH and I can get into the park at 8 am..

Im so so so so excited!!

Cant wait to come back with more details.. This is the first time that Ive booked a trip this close to the time.. Normally its months and months AND months away.. This will be here before I know it..

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

Sounds like a lot of fun!!

Are you from Houston? I lived there for 4 months during an internship last fall and LOVED IT! (Well, besides for my first hurricane...)

 

[bettyann29]

Sounds like a lot of fun!!

Are you from Houston? I lived there for 4 months during an internship last fall and LOVED IT! (Well, besides for my first hurricane...)

Welcome

No I actually am in the Dallas/Fort Worth area..

When I thought of my title I was thinking more of the shuttle launch.. I know I know.. Im not very good at thinking of titles..

 

[bettyann29]

Its funny how I thought of going to Pop Century.. Do you want to know what made me pick there??

There is another thread going on the Theme Park boards about pictures of souvenir shops.. someone posted a picture of a really cool bag that I WANT and NEED.. YES NEED!! and it said that they got it at Everything Pop.. so thats where I'll be staying.. Im sure there are other places I can get that bag at, but this is just a good of a place as any..

Let me see if I can get you a picture of the MUST have bag.. DH calls me a bag lady because I have so many bags..

 

[disneyaddicted]

It's nice of your DH to give you his blessing on your solo trip. I have thought about going solo. I'm looking forward to hearing/reading about yours.

I love Pop Century, and I love that bag. That would prompt me to stay there. Although I love Pop for the bright colors and the value sticker.

 

[bettyann29]

It's nice of your DH to give you his blessing on your solo trip. I have thought about going solo. I'm looking forward to hearing/reading about yours.

I love Pop Century, and I love that bag. That would prompt me to stay there. Although I love Pop for the bright colors and the value sticker.

Welcome Thank you for reading my PTR..

I agree that Pop is wonderful for the colors and the price.. my favorite of the values is between Movies and Pop.. but me and DH will be staying at Movies later this year.. I love the theming of Pop and also the fact that that resort has its own bus normally is a plus also..

 

[bettyann29]

Decided that I will bring some granola bars for breakfast and will pick up a yogurt or piece of fruit to go along with the bars each morning..

Im planning which counterservice places Im gonna eat at..

MK: Cosmic Rays
Epcot: not sure yet
AK: not sure yet
DHS: not sure yet...

I figured for my other meal of the day I'll just play it by ear.. Once I decide on the food places I'll let you know...

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

Oh my gosh that bag IS cute! I love bags as well. My dad tells me I need to go to "purse rehab" LOL! I've never stayed at Pop before. We tried to book it for the first night of our trip next week but it was sold out! Have you stayed there before? Is it your favorite resort?

 

[bettyann29]

Oh my gosh that bag IS cute! I love bags as well. My dad tells me I need to go to "purse rehab" LOL! I've never stayed at Pop before. We tried to book it for the first night of our trip next week but it was sold out! Have you stayed there before? Is it your favorite resort?

I know.. I love that bag too! I need to go to rehab also.. We went on a cruise last year and the only souvenirs I came back with were multiple bags from the different ports.. If I remember correctly, I came back with 6 bags.. I cant help myself.. I'm a total bag and shoe lady..

Yes I have been to Pop 3 times already.. As far as being my favorite, its a toss up between Pop and Movies.. I really do like Pop for the atmosphere.. its a fun value resort I think...

 

[bettyann29]

I started thinking of all the things I want to ride and do on this trip and thought.. " wow.. Im going by myself.. I can do anything I want"

I think I have each park narrowed down as far as what I want to do:

DHS:

Backlot Tour
The Great Movie Ride
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
Muppet Vision 3D
Rock N Roller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Beauty and Beast Show
Star Tours
Toy Story Midway Mania
and last but not least Voyage of the Little Mermaid

I definitely would like to do everything, but if time doesnt permit I will leave off Beauty and Beast Show and Muppet 3D..

I think I decided to do DHS on my arrival day.. The park closes at 7 pm so I figure I'll head back to the hotel when the park closes and get an early nights rest so I can be replenished the next morning for a fun filled day at Epcot!

The things I want to do at Epcot:

Spaceship Earth
Soarin
Living with the Land
Circle of Life
Seas with Nemo and Friends
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Test Track
Ellens Energy Adventure

Definitely want to hit World Showcase.. I will have a full day at this park so I should be able to get everything in on this day.. and have plenty of time for picture taking.. I wanted to see Illuminations, but I think I want to save this for my trip with DH in September.. I love this show and its so special and I want to share this with him...

My next day at MK will be full of fun fun fun.. Heres what I have planned:

Splash Mountain
Pirates of the Carribean
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Enchanted Tiki Room
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Carousel of Progress
Country Bear Jamboree
Its a Small World
Liberty Square Riverboat
Many adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mickeys Country House
Minnies Country House
Philharmagic
Peter Pans Flight
Snow Whites Scary Adventure
Swiss Family Treehouse
Tom Sawyer Island

Im hoping to hit Space Mountain and TTA but think they may be closed for refurb.. I will be at MK on 4/19 and that shows the day they will close, but not sure if that means that is the last day.. if the last day is 4/18 then I'll miss them.. but that just means I'll have to catch them on a future trip..

There are so many things I want to do in this park and just dont know if I can get it all in.. so we'll have to see.. The things listed above are the things Id like to do or see, but definitely not a requirement..

and last but not least is AK..

For the most part I want to take this day easy and take in the park.. I dont normally get much time in this park.. so I want to concentrate on doing the few things I really want to do and then after that I'll just take it easy and see the animals and take pictures..

Dinosaur
Expedition Everest
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo- the musical
Flights of Wonder
Kilimanjaro Safari
Maharah Jungle Trek
Pangani Exp Trail
Rafikis Planet Watch..

Well there it is folks.. My hope to do list..

 

[disneyaddicted]

Your hope to do list sounds great. I think you'll get it all in, you won't have to wait on anybody else, your time is yours so you'll probably get things done faster then normal. I wonder how much extra you will see, all the little details you never noticed before?!

The only thing that holds me back from a solo trip is eating alone, I hate that, can't do it.

Your excitement has me excited.

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

SKIP BEAUTY AND THE BEAST?!?! THAT'S MY FAVORITE!! But hey, that would be so nice to do whatever you want! Someday I want to do a solo trip. I would do the Marajah or whatever its called Jungle Trek and sit and watch the tigers all day and then ride the safari 10 times in a row. When I went w/my family they said they could do that stuff at the zoo, so they sat on a bench and ate ice cream and waited for me.

Are you going to be doing any TS restaurants? I see that you want to go to Cosmic Rays for CS - that's one of my faves!

 

[bettyann29]

Your hope to do list sounds great. I think you'll get it all in, you won't have to wait on anybody else, your time is yours so you'll probably get things done faster then normal. I wonder how much extra you will see, all the little details you never noticed before?!

The only thing that holds me back from a solo trip is eating alone, I hate that, can't do it.

Your excitement has me excited.

Im definitely excited to be able to do what I want.. The eating part is the hardest for me.. I keep thinking everyone will be staring at me.. Im sure thats not the case, but thats what I keep thinking..

Im hoping to get alot done as I figure I'll be able to move around at my own pace.. I made out the list of the things I want to do, but if I dont get to something than I will save it for my trip with DH in September..

Im so so excited...

 

[bettyann29]

SKIP BEAUTY AND THE BEAST?!?! THAT'S MY FAVORITE!! But hey, that would be so nice to do whatever you want! Someday I want to do a solo trip. I would do the Marajah or whatever its called Jungle Trek and sit and watch the tigers all day and then ride the safari 10 times in a row. When I went w/my family they said they could do that stuff at the zoo, so they sat on a bench and ate ice cream and waited for me.

Are you going to be doing any TS restaurants? I see that you want to go to Cosmic Rays for CS - that's one of my faves!

I know.. Oh the horror.. I so love Beauty and the Beast show and Im so hoping I can get it in.. I really think I will with no problems.. If time doesnt permit me to do that plus TOT and Rock N Roller Coaster, than I may skip those as I love riding those rides with DH.. so if its between the 3, I believe I will do Beauty and the Beast..

Im planning on really taking it easy in AK.. For some reason this park always is the last one and we are always so tired by the time we get there that we miss so much.. I havent seen Festival of the Lion King since 2000.. Ive never been to Conservation Station and also have not seen Flights of Wonder or the Nemo Musical.. so these are things I am really looking forward to.. anything else is a bonus.. I plan on spending extra time looking at the animals..

Currently I dont have any TS meals planned.. but mainly because I eat so little and I hate paying that much for a plate only to not eat the food.. but I think I will eat at Rainforest Cafe while at AK.. I am a member of the safari club and with my card I can get an appetizer or 10% off my bill.. I also got an email yesterday from them as my birthday is next week for a $5 off coupon that I can print out and use before June.. and I have a $25 giftcard that I've been saving.. so I think I will do this one tableservice meal.. mainly because it wont cost me anything out of my pocket.. whatever I dont use on my giftcard I will save and use when me and DH go in September as I have another $50 worth of giftcards that I can use at Yak & Yeti/Trex or Rainforest Cafe...

 

[wdwkimberlee]

Hi Bettyann, Your plans sound so fun! What a nice and generous DH to be so agreeable to your solo adventure! I love the idea of a solo trip. I'm really thinking I might do one myself the week after Thanksgiving. I'd like to see and do all the Holiday stuff. I'm gonna wait and see how things are going further along in the year.

Your to-do lists look great! I bet you'll be able to get everything done that you want to since you'll be by yourself.

Sounds like fun, fun, fun!!

I lool forward to reading more!

Kim

 

[bettyann29]

Hi Bettyann, Your plans sound so fun! What a nice and generous DH to be so agreeable to your solo adventure! I love the idea of a solo trip. I'm really thinking I might do one myself the week after Thanksgiving. I'd like to see and do all the Holiday stuff. I'm gonna wait and see how things are going further along in the year.

Your to-do lists look great! I bet you'll be able to get everything done that you want to since you'll be by yourself.

Sounds like fun, fun, fun!!

I lool forward to reading more!

Kim

Welcome Kim

Thanks for stopping in.. Im thinking I will be able to get everything in plus have time to just walk around and take pictures..

DH really is very agreeable to most things.. I dont think he knows how to lose his temper, which sometimes is a curse I think though.. He lets people walk all over him too much and I tell him that.. He always just goes along with the flow.. I did try last year to go on a solo trip and I thought he was going to go along with it, but he wormed his way on the trip with me.. That in itself is funny as he never used to like going to Disneyworld.. He went a few times before I met him and the first time that he and I went together I thought it was like pulling teeth to get him to go.. now I cant get him to stay home.. but he knows how much I truly love Disney and Im so glad he agreed to let me go.. The only thing Im afraid of is that I will love it so much that I will want to go back by myself again in the future..

I hope you get to go on your solo trip later this year.. Getting to go during the holidays is one of the things I really want to do.. boy to get to go solo would be swwwwweeeet..

 

[bettyann29]

I went to CVS tonight as I had a $25 giftcard that the pharmacist gave me last month due to a messup on a prescription.. Ive been holding it for the right time and decided today was the day to cash it in.. I pulled out the sale ad and picked up a few hair things I needed for the house and then decided to get some small travel size items that I will need for my trip.. Im hoping that since its just myself going on this trip and its only for 4 days that I might be able to get away with just a carryon bag.. but not sure yet..

Heres what I bought to put back for the trip:

2 travel size hair gels
1 travel size deodorant
1 travel size hand sanitizer
1 travel size wind song ( I know.. I know.. I always thought of this as an old womans perfume... but I love the smell of this stuff)
1 travel size pack of q tips
pack of 2 razors
1 travel size of kleenex tissues
1 travel size toothpaste
1 travel size toothpicks in a container that you can put on your keychain
pack of 7 quart size travel bags

I think I should be good on everything else.. I have samples of body wash, shampoo and conditioner.. I have a travel toothbrush.. Im thinking this is all I need..

Im hoping Im not leaving anything out.. but Im really just going to pack light this time..

 

[seasideteacher]

A Solo trip! How fun! I think one of the big pros of this is when they have the lines for one person ( I dont know what they are called?) lol. Have a blast! A wonderful way to celebrate a birthday!

 

[bettyann29]

A Solo trip! How fun! I think one of the big pros of this is when they have the lines for one person ( I dont know what they are called?) lol. Have a blast! A wonderful way to celebrate a birthday!

Welcome!!

I agree that is one of the perks of a solo trip is that I can take advantage of the single rider lines.. I think thats the name of it..

I agree that its a great way to celebrate a birthday, I just wish I could celebrate it on my actual birthday which is Monday next week.. but I'll take it a month late.. Its never too late..