Just back from first solo trip. Any questions?

[eeyorefanatic]

I camped at FW for 5nights-6days and would be happy to answer any questions y'all mnight have.

 

[BetsyAnn]

eeyorefantic -- Could you tell what were your 5 favorite things you did? I leave in a few days for my first solo trip!

Thanks

 

[eeyorefanatic]

LOL

1. Ohanas for dinner to watch fireworks.
2. Pin Trading ( i just started and it really was a great way to come out of my shell and talk to people)
3. eating a ghiradhelli's fog horn sundae for dinner
4. taking lots of pictures with out worrying about slowing any one down
5. Disney Quest

 

[BarryCF]

Hi...I hope your vacation was wonderful How is a solo trip? I'm going probably solo in Dec. and was wondering about ps's and character meals. Did you feel out of place as a solo eater? I've never done a character meal of any sort and I'd really like to do a couple on this trip. I've seen some restaurants, like Boma, have a counter in front of a show kitchen. Being in the restaurant business for 21 years, I enjoy eating out and soaking up the atmosphere. Roughly how expensive is it for one person to eat a day? I was thinking $60 a day should let me do 1 PS and counter meal with some snacks. Do I need to add money to my budget for food? I'm gonna bring a cooler for bottled water and snacks so that should help, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Simba's Mom]

Wow, I've stayed at a WDW hotel on 4 solo trips, but never heard of anyone camping solo! Were you tent camping? Any times you felt lonely camping? FW seemed like a big family place, why did you choose that?

 

[eeyorefanatic]

I think that $60 would be plenty. A good sit down dinner will be about $30-$40 plus $10 at counter service for lunch. A character breakfast ranges around $20. I would not hesitate to do one solo as I think the chracters like adults as m,ost of us know the movies better than the kids and can get more "detailed" interaction. I just sang to King Louis and it seemed to really make his day. I also seemed to be the only person to recognize the Sheriff of Noghtingham(sp?)

My favorite find of this trip was Ohanas. I had a late night seating (9:40) and watched the fireworks while having the best meal i have ever had at WDW.

I don't know if they let in coolers but perhaps the smaller insulated bags would be ok.

Just go and have fun!

 

[msr709]

Eeyoorefanatic, so happy to hear you had a good trip. I'm going solo this July and I've heard raves about Ohana's but no one mentioned you could see the fireworks from there! That just about clinches it for me. I'm off to make my PS for that!
To BarryC: just a suggestion, instead of taking a cooler for bottled water, why not buy a Brita Bottle the "Fast and Carry" (I think they are called) anyway I have one and since it has a filter inside the bottle you can refill it anywhere and have great tasting water all the time. I usually fill it up with ice and let it melt at the park. Just a suggestion. Have a Disney day!

 

[eeyorefanatic]

With my AP discount I can get a prefered site for under $40 including tax. Since Its only a 6-7 hour drive I make mini budget trips when I can. I can stay 2 nights at fw for every night at the AS and I like the transportation better.

While FW is big and can seem like a family place, to me it offers quiet and solitude. While people are friendly the sites have some distance between them so its not like you are right on top of your neighbors the way you are in a hotel.Other than the lack of airconditioning I never think twice about staying there.

 

[plugnickle]

How were the crowds?
Since my knees are so much worse than the last time we went I am not looking forward to the long lines. We are going to be in Orlando the week of June the 15th. I have been searching for crowd information, but I am evidently looking in the wrong places.

Steve

 

[eeyorefanatic]

i too have bad knees and had a sprained back so I rented an ecv for this trip. You should check out the disabilities board for information on getting a Guest Assistance Card (GAC) that may help. Depending on how bad your knees are you may want to consider getting an ecv if the long walks are an issue as well.

 

[plugnickle]

Thank you for the advice. I did look at the disability board for information on the GAC after reading this thread earlier in the day The Pixiedustinn was very helpful, also. I am glad that the information is here. I can't walk or stand for very long without increasing pain. I take two Lortabs a day and am talking to my surgeon in a few days about increasing the dose to three. My stomach cannot tolerate Viox anymore and the absence of it is making my pain worse. I also take Ambien at night to sleep without nightmares. Aside from walking and standing, if my knees stay in the same position for too long the pain intensifies. Hense, when I sleep the pain brings me into a semi-sleep state in which the pain triggers nightmares throughout the night. The Ambien works wonderfully as I can still fall asleep fine without it, I just can't sleep for very long without it. It is so depressing to be in this condition, my doctor says that since my condition is degenerative it has only gotten worse for the last 8 years. I plan to enjoy my present walking ability to the fullest, and not take it for granted.
I plan to request a GAC at Disney and Universal. What is the Universal policy on mobility impairment? I looked at their ADA Accessibilty page but it only says that the queues are wheel chair accessible. Do they have the same policies as Disney on mobility impairment? If anyone knows of a site with this information I would appreciate a link so that I could read more about it.
Sorry to go on about myself, but now it is out of the way.
Oh, you forgot(?) to comment on the crowds during your visit.

Your friend in pain ,
Steve

 

[eeyorefanatic]

I thought I read somewhere that Universal does have a similar system as WDW. However they are much newer=much more ADA compliant. I personally didn't get the GAC the ecv is enough at WDW, unledd you have additional problems, like not being able to be in the sun, crown problems etc...

Speaking of crowds they were very managable and on some days non existant. THe only exception was MK Sat night as that was the only day that week they were showing SPectro and fireworks. I spent all of 5 minutes in there before Iheaded out to Ohanas for my dinner Ps and watched the Fireworks from airconditioned peace and wuiet.

This was my experience:

Thur. pm: MGM, only real crowds I saw were at the B&B show immediatley folowing the parade. I think everyone decided to go to this showing. Fantasmic was also SRO
Fri: MK crowds easily manageable with use of Fast Pass.I even walked on to SWSA at 10am or so.
Sat: Epcot: No crowds at all. Walked on to TT woth 10 min wait (they hadn't even opened the FP machines yet. But I did go there first. The only line I noticed was at Maelstron that afternoon. FP return time 45+minutes. I didn't check back at TT but I am sure it was similar there as well. I zipped around all the countries in record time. I didn't stay for the parade or Illuminations, as I had been on an Illuminations cruise the night before.

Sun: Disney Quest no crowds at all. It was mothers day and I guess its not real popular with Moms. No more than a 5 minute wait for anything there.

Mon: AK. Again no crowds. I headed straight for the safari (Iwas walking this day) and walked right on. Same for Kali (rode 3x in a row) and Dinosaur. Chester and Hesters was SO tacky and there were lines for these rides (go figure). Also minimal wait for ITTBAB. Got a great spot for parade in front of Tusker House and saw the parade coming and going took some nice pics. www.geocities.com/eeyorefanaticus/mjjp.html

Left on Tuesday after breif stop at MK which was deserted!

Hope this helps

 

[plugnickle]

Thank you for the information.

Steve

 

[msr709]

What wonderful pictures eeyorefanatic! Simply beautiful colors, I've never stayed at AK long enough to see the parade and now I know what I am missing. I'll make it a point of seeing this coming July. Thanks for posting those beautiful pictures!