LIVE Solo trip from SSR 6/23 - 6/28

[DMOMof3]

Just joined in and all caught up.. Can't wait to read the next report.

Sitting here at work dreaming of a solo trip

 

[heathers4um]

You are making me want to plan a solo trip for sure! I have never been to any of the water parks and had no idea things like scuba were offered! That sounds so exciting as I have only snorkeled - once - in my life when I was in college...just a short itme ago

cant wait for more...

 

[ClareH37]

Sounds an absolutely fantastic trip - I love that solo 'feeling' too, being able to do exactly what you want, when you want, bliss

 

[manntra]

Glad you enjoyed the flatbread! I had that same salad also
Great score on TSMM.....I remember doing the balloon pop but I swear Little Bo Creep rotfl2: that is what my niece calls her...when she is out in the parade she is a bit creepy) was there in May...I will have to pay attention in October!!
Hope you are enjoying your tour and will share your secrets!!

Tracy

 

[DFD]

ohhh now I want some flatbread!!!

glad you are having a wodnerful time..

yesss.. great score at TSM

now go have more fun and share it with us lonely ones...

 

[Iggipolka]

One of the blessings of being a DVC member and traveling to WDW several times throughout the year, is that we rarely do a marathon day at the parks anymore. We've even been known to go into a park, do one ride, grab something to eat and head out completely happy.

Today, was not one of those days.

OMG..am I tired! So much for getting my rest and relaxation on this trip! This is going to be a short report before I fall over.

I was up by 7 this morning and crawled out of my comphy SSR bed and into the shower, turning on the coffee pot as I went. It's been so quite in my room that I just have to believe that the 1-bedroom next to me is unoccupied. There's just no way that the sound proofing is that good. With the bliss of the quiet, I am sleeping super soundly, so getting up this morning was not easy.

However, with the glee of the Backstage Magic tour as motivation, I was at the bus stop by 7:45 anxiously waiting. And waiting. And waiting. My bus karma ran out on the morning I actually had to be someplace! Another poor couple was trying to make the 8:15am Segway tour at Epcot and they'd been waiting since 7:00am for a bus! The bus stop CM was of absolutely no help "I honestly don't know when a bus will arrive and dispatch won't tell me."
Ooookay

So, the other couple and I split a cab to Epcot. I made it there in plenty of time and the $6 for me was well spent. I hope that they made their tour as the Segway tour is a lot of fun!

I highly recommend the Backstage Magic tour!! I can't say enough good things about it, except that we were asked not to talk about it! Umm..ok. I'll just give a few highlights. We started in Epcot and learned that the American Pavilion was originally going to be located inbetween Canada and Mexico. Makes sense, huh? Well, then the realized that people would just stop there and not go around the lagoon, so that idea was changed.

We also got to see the inner workings of the American Adventure, which was AMAZING. OMG..I loved that show before, I love it more now.

Then it was off to Magic Kingdom where we first stopped at a gigantic machine shop where they build all of the ride vehicles from scratch, assemble them and paint them. They also repair and paint the buses and signs and pretty much all the rest of the hardware. Way cool to see bits and pieces of various ride vehicles in stages of assembly.
We also toured the tunnels under MK and walked down Mainstreet.

Lunch was at the Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge. I was a bit leery of this lunch because I haven't had good experiences with the food there. Well, they either improved it greatly, or they treat the tour guests better because the food was outstanding. The ribs were super fall off the bone, tender, chicken was moist and tasty, all the other stuff in the skillet was yum and the berry cobbler with ice cream was to die for. So good.

We all sat family style, so I didn't feel weird about being solo. In fact, there were a couple other solo people on this tour, so I wasn't even the only one. Everyone was super friendly and we chatted throughout the tour and they even invited me out to Jelly Rolls tonight! So nice of them. I didn't make it there, but that's for later.

Ok, back on the bus after lunch and over to DHS where we went behind the scenes to the costume shop where they make and repair all of the costumes (way cool) and we got a very close view of a ToT ride vehicle. They went into great detail about how ToT actually works, which helps to diffuse some of my fears about this ride. I still doubt I'll ever ride it again, since the last time I did I had a major panic attack at the end, but I'm happy to inform you that it is a very safe ride.

We then went to Animal Kingdom and walked through where the floats for the parade are kept and also saw the green houses for the horticulture. It was really fascinating to see how the topiarys are made and the large number of plants that are grown on property. The amount of care that Disney puts into something like a hanging basket, is really amazing. I'm going to pay so much more attention to those baskets on Main Street now!

We then got to watch the Parade at AK, which was awesome after just walking right next to them while they were in storage.

Sadly, that was the end of the 8.5 hour tour and they dropped us off at Epcot by 5pm.

Again, well worth doing.

Ok..I'm just too tired to continue this tonight. I'll pick up the evening tomorrow after I crash out! Super fun day.

 

[DFD]

great update! thank you!

 

[kathmzh]

Just joined, enjoying your reports! The tour sounds amazing. I love SSR too...and the flatbreads!

 

[iluveeyore]

Just found your report and am really enjoying it - I've been on two solos and long for another one someday! Happy to read about your positive experiences - always nice to show my hubby the DIS solo reports and say 'see, I'm not the only one on the planet that likes to go to WDW solo!' Can't wait to read more!

 

[Iggipolka]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the comments and reading along. I always wonder if it's "worth it" to do a trip report, but I know I have so much fun reading them when I'm stuck at home that this feels like my turn to give a back a bit of the magic.

I am so glad I did this trip. I still have twinges of Mama Guilt and Spouse Guilt, but usually a Mickey Bar or a spin on a roller coaster that neither of them could or would do, sends the Guilties back into hiding for awhile.

Ok, so where I was I. Oh ya, the 2nd part of my Marathon Friday.

The fantastic Backstage Magic Tour ended in the Epcot Bus Parking lot at 4:30. So romantic. Hi, Bye..your tour is done, have a pin and get off our bus. heh

I had a decision to make. I really wanted to see Illuminations since my wife finds it incredibly boring (how that is possible, I have no idea) so we rarely see it when we travel together. I was also really tired with super sore feet, so my debate was the usual one of ---Go back to Resort and chill before heading back out for Illuminations, or Damn It, I'm at Disney World and I wanna see stuff! Since my responsible side (Super Ego) won the night before, I decided to let my Id (see Freud: Id, Ego, Superego) win and it did a little dance to the Epcot entry music.

I headed over to Soarn' with a stop for a soft pretzel. Those pretzels always taste so good. I can get them at home in the freezer section of my grocery store, but they never taste as good as they do at WDW.

Soarin' was awesome, as always. I teared up a bit when we zoomed over the Golden Gate Bridge, made me a little homesick. I was riding next to a couple who had never been on the ride before, and their Ohh's and Ahh's were so much fun to share in.

Next up, I had a date with a Totally Awesome Dude - Crush! I never miss Turtle Talk and he was in rare form. He asked a Dad if he knew the little girl that identified him as her father, and the Dad said "No"! Crush asked him if he had other little off spring he didn't know about. Dad said "Probably".
Crush had the most surprised and shocked look on his face. He then said "Duuuuude. Remember, this is Disney, Cha?" It was super funny.

After chuckling at Crush, I headed back across Future World with a stop at Space Ship Earth for a nap, er..I mean to listen to Dame Judy. Love her voice. I like the new computer scene at the top with Uhura in her Go Go Boots.

Time for Test Track! I rode in the back of the car and it seems faster back there then in front. Maybe because the windshield prevents the wind from whipping my hair around so much, but in back, I felt like we were going much faster than 65.

It was around 7pm now and I was STARVING. I always seem to forget to eat at WDW until I'm absolutely famished. I thought about getting some Fish-n-Chips, so off to England I went. When I got there, I remembered that I had the phone number for one of the phone booths in England. I've called it from home and have had several lovely chats with people and I wanted to call while I was at Epcot to actually see who I was talking to.

Well, the guy who answered the phone was so rude! He was a person in his early 20's, all dressed in black and kept swearing at me for "interrupting a family vacation by calling on the phone". I kept thinking to myself that he was the one who answered the phone! I think he was just messing with me, but it was weird. He finally hung up by yelling "Stranger Danger!" Umm..ok. I decided I needed food before I tried the phone booth thing again.

It was still in the lower 90's at 7:30pm and the heavy grease smell of fish-n-chips was just not doing it for me. I went to Japan and thought about eating at the TS place there as a splurge, but ended up getting sushi at the CS place instead. Yes, I know it's supermarket quality California rolls, but it was tasty and cool.

I ate sitting outside by the World Showcase Lagoon and enjoyed the night breeze and the people watching. Epcot was quite busy and there were three separate Illuminations Viewing Parties being set up. It was interesting to watch them get the areas ready for guests and also to see how CM's handled guests who wanted to enter those areas w/o permission.

At one point, I saw Disney Security assist with "escorting" a obviously intoxicated guest away who was trying (highly unsuccessfully) to step over the rope into the party area. The CM and I were pretty amused by the guest's efforts. He stepped up about a foot away from the rope and then seemed surprised that the rope was still in front of him, so he tried again..and again...and again... Sad and funny. I'm not sure if he was by himself or his family were too embarrassed to claim him!

After my dinner and watching this "show", I decided I needed a drink myself! So, off to Mexico to the Tequila bar I went. The Tequila bar was mobbed with people, but I managed to snag a bar tender and ordered an Avocado Margarita. I know, it sounds gross, but it was soooo good. I don't like sweet drinks and this had just enough sour to make me very happy. I chatted with a lovely couple next to me who were DATW and they shared their guac and chips with me for a bit before I wished them luck on their quest.

It was 8:30 and I found a spot along the Lagoon just outside of Mexico to wait for Illuminations. I was just next to one of the big fire torch things, which I didn't think much about, until 8:45 when they lit that thing up and sweat poured down my face. Umm..wow. Fire is hot. heh

I love Illuminations and I had a great spot for it. Usually I watch from the other side of the Lagoon, but I think I actually prefer the Mexico side. I had a better view of the globe than I do from around France and could actually make out the scenes on the globe. Of course, I cried at the end. Doesn't everyone?

I know this sounds crazy and perhaps it was, but at the end of Illuminations, I decided to walk allll the way around to the other wide of WS. I figured that instead of walking the quick way out past Mexico which was right behind me and then waiting for the bus with the rest of the crowd, I'd take my time and enjoy the night.

It was a lovely walk. The air had cooled down just enough so it was very comfortable and once the massive crush of people past, the WS was quiet and relaxing. It was a long walk on tired feet, but a delightful one just the same.

Some people from the tour had invited me to join them at Jelly Rolls and as I past the International Gateway, I briefly considered joining them. If I had been staying at Boardwalk or Beach Club Villas, I probably would have, but getting back to SSR from Jelly Rolls would have been a hassle. Even my Id, tiredly agreed that it was time to go home.

So, I marched from WS, through the rose garden, past the fountain, past the golf ball, past the graveyard and out the gates to the bus. Thankfully a SSR bus pulled up within a couple minutes of my arrival at the stop. Yeay!

I was back in my room by 11:00 and crashed out in bed by 11:30. At 12:30, my next door neighbors in the 1 bedroom arrived and after much talking and toilet flushing, they were finally quiet. I guess I had been right in my suspicions that that villa had been empty for the first few days I have been here.

My plan for Saturday - sleep late and then go to AK for a brief moment to ride Everest and then over to the Poly for a Dis Meet, followed by relaxing pool time. ...

 

[Iggipolka]

Ya know what they say about plans? Don't bother making them because they will always change. Well, one good thing about Solo trips, is that I can be a lot more flexible when it's just me, than when it's me, the wife and the baby. This day called for a lot of flexibility.

6:00am "THE CIRCLE OF LIFFEEEEEEEE" What the heck? Ok, my language was a lot stronger than that, but this is a family board. At 6:00am, my neighbors in the 1-bedroom Villa were BLASTING the Circle of Life. OMG..someone is going to have to die. I tried to doze through the music, but there was just no way.

So, I peeked my head out my door and got their room number. I called them, someone answered, but no one said anything. I hung up and called again, this time (very politely, I must say, I said "This is your next door neighbor calling, I love Disney Music as much as the next fan, but I don't like it at 6:00 in the morning when I'm trying to sleep. Please turn off the Disney Music until after 8:00." and hung up. It worked, because they switched to Rap.

After a few more choice words to myself, I gave up and decided that since I was up, I might as well start my day. I realized that AK had AM EMH, so after grabbing the last 1/4 of the giant blueberry muffin from MK that had been feeding me for three days(!) I headed off to the bus stop.

I got to AK at 7:30 and they were already letting Guests into all areas of the park. Woo! I rode the Safari twice w/o waiting for a moment and the animals were all out. In fact, we got stopped by a Black Rhino who was just happy to stand in the middle of the road for a good long time. I even saw the Lion actually stand up! That's the most movement I've ever seen him do. I do wish Disney would get rid of that Poacher story line. It really detracts from the safari.

After the sarafi, I walked on the jungle trek right at the exit to the ride and said hello to the cute Meercats and the 4 month old baby gorilla. So cute.

In Asia, I rode Kali River Rapids and ended up totally soaked. It's the fault of the woman next to me. She was poking fun at her husband and son who were sitting across from us, telling them that they were going to get SOOO wet. Well, Kali heard her and soaked her and me good. I told her that I'm never sitting next to her again on a river raft ride. It was actually fine because by 9:30, it was Animal Kingdom Hot and I was dry within 20 minutes.

I was getting hungry, but I knew I wanted to see the Yeti and eating before Everest, just didn't seem like a good idea. The single rider line was moving very fast, so I got to ride twice. Woohoo! I love Everest! To me, this ride is more exhilarating than R&R and it always freaks me out a bit. Ok, a lot actually. I think it's the backwards uphill that gets me the most. So fun though.

It was close to 11:00 and I was starting to think about heading out to go to the Poly to grab some sushi from the Kona Sushi bar and hang out at the pool before the Dis Meet. I had brought my swimsuit with me, so I was all prepared. Plus, I was hungry and food was sounding really good. However, as I was on my way out, I noticed that Nemo was at 11:30 and they were just loading the theater. I couldn't leave w/o seeing Nemo!

"It's a Biiiiiig Blue Worrrrld"

And I now have that song stuck in my head for the rest of my life. Nemo, The Musical, is awsome. It has to be my favorite show at WDW, even more so than the Lion King. The puppets are amazing, the quality of the singing is great, the sets are fantastic, it's just a really good show.

Ok, so now it's close to noon and I'm starving, but I really want sushi for lunch. I thought about back tracking to Yak and Yeti CS to get an egg roll snack, but that just seemed too far away. I stopped at Flame Tree and was just about to suck it up and have lunch there, but my wife called, so I chatted with her as I walked out of the park to find the Poly Bus.

The bus came relatively quickly and the bus driver's switched. I guess Noon is a bus shift change? The new driver got on and I just have to wonder if an age limit or a more frequent driver's test when one is of advanced age, might be appropriate.

The driver took (no exaggeration) 20 minutes to get his seat right. He even had to call over a manager to help him adjust the seat. Then he had to get out and adjust the mirrors. Then he lowered the bus and raised the bus and lowered the bus and raised the bus. Externally, I stared at the scenery, internally I was screaming. The man across from me kept muttering "Just drive. Just drive the "f"ing bus. If you don't start driving, I'm gonna drive it for you." Heh. It's funny now, but not so funny then.

Finally, he got it together and off we went. It was a scary ride, with lots of SURPRISE braking, but we made it finally to the Poly at around 1:00. I was famished and so looking forward to a big plate of sushi. I went upstairs and to my dismay, the sushi bar was empty with no pretty displays of tasty fish and no sushi chefs. I asked at the Kona if I could get sushi there, but was told that they don't serve sushi until 5pm. Cry!

So...I tried to look on the bright side and think about the money I saved by going down to Cpt Cooks and eating a CS meal on my QS dining plan instead of expensive and tasty fishies. Besides, Fish are Friends, not Food!

I got a fresh Hawaiian Chicken Salad with mixed spring greens, pineapple, wonton chips and blue cheese with a Dole Whip for dessert. The salad was Delicious and I certainly would get this again. Dole whips are always two thumbs up.

The Dis Meet was at the Lounge at 2pm and about 30 people attended. I had a lot of fun chatting with people and putting faces to screen names. Plus I got my baby fix as there were about 3 babies in attendance. Super cuties too.

I forgot to mention that while waiting for the Nemo show to start, I called Disney Visa because my Rewards Card that had $80 on it on Wednesday, was suddenly empty when I tried to use it at Mexico the night before. I had all of my receipts and somehow I was missing $20 reward dollars. Disney Visa reviewed the charges and I had been double charged at Typhoon Lagoon for the scuba I did there on Thursday. Instead of being charged $20, I was charged $40! I asked Disney Visa to fix the problem and they told me I had to go back to Typhoon Lagoon to get the charges reversed.

I wasn't happy about this.

My plan for after the Dis Meet was to go back to SSR and relax by the pool with a fruity adult beverage. Instead, I took the DTD/Typhoon Lagoon bus from the Poly which took FOREVER. I waited a long time in very hot temps for any bus to come at the Poly. I don't know if this is a normal experience, but if it is, the people who are spending a lot of money to stay at the Poly should be very ticked off.

I got back to Typhoon Lagoon and talked to Kathy at the Shark Reef Scuba place. She was the same person who checked me in on Thursday and she remembered me! She was very nice, but unfortunately, not able to help me. I called Disney Visa again and explained the situation again. I was put on endless hold while Kathy and I chatted. She writes up the receipts with the CC information and then turns that information into her managers at the end of the day. They are the ones who actually run the CC's, so Kathy said she would speak to her managers in the morning about it (they were gone for the day). Her managers aren't even located at Typhoon Lagoon, but at the Circle D Ranch at Ft. Wilderness of all places! Sharks - Ft. Wilderness...umm..ya, I see the connection?

Finally, the Disney Visa lady came back on the line and said she would "escalate" my problem, but I wouldn't hear back from Disney Visa until Monday. Well, I'm leaving WDW on Monday so I guess if I get my $20 back, it will have to wait for another Disney Trip. Good thing I'm going to DL in July. Kathy did say she'd call me on Sunday and let me know what her managers say.

I briefly thought about going swimming at Typhoon, after all, I had my swim stuff with me, but decided that the pool at SSR was more inviting.

The SSR bus pulled up as soon as I reached the bus stop and delightfully, the Springs is the first stop when coming from Typhoon Lagoon. Woohoo!

I quickly changed and got down to the pool around 5:30. Bliss, pure bliss. The water was the perfect temp and it felt soo good on my tired, sore feet and muscles. I read and swam for a little over and hour and was so happy.

For dinner, I stopped at Artist Palate and just had to try the Cheeseburger Flatbread that came so highly recommended here. Yumm-O! Very tasty with the tomato salad. I also got a yogurt parfait for breakfast tomorrow.

Tonight has been a relaxing night typing and people watching from my balcony. It's going to be an early bedtime and hopefully my neighbors will be a little (ok, a lot) more considerate in the morning.

Tomorrow is my last day and my 1st and last days, are always MK days. I have some shopping for friends I need to do and I want to explore the "old" Fantasy Land before it goes away. I'm also hoping to get some more relaxing pool time in before my solo trip draws to a close and the *gasp* real world sneaks back in.

But first, one more happy day of vacation coming up!

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I just wanted to pop in and say hi. I've been lurking here since you started your TR and I've been totally enjoying it! I normally don't bother with TRs that don't have pictures (I love me some pictures!) but you write so well that I don't need pictures, I can see it all in my head!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Congrats on seeing the baby gorilla at AK. For a while, he was very ellusive. I tried 3 different times the end of April/beginning of May and he hid. CMs there said they'd been unable to see him. Yet, my parents saw him in March. I'm so envious!
Good luck with your rewards points. That must have been a pain to have to go back to Typhoon Lagoon.

 

[manntra]

Enjoy your day tomorrow!!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed the cheeseburger flatbread!! That sounds so good right now!
Wow....what a lot of "extras" you had to deal with....your friendly neighbors, the rude boy in England, the needs to really retire this time bus driver, no sushi, the Disney Visa mishap....
Here is a little pixie dust that you will have a magical day tomorrow

Tracy

 

[Iggipolka]

I just wanted to pop in and say hi. I've been lurking here since you started your TR and I've been totally enjoying it! I normally don't bother with TRs that don't have pictures (I love me some pictures!) but you write so well that I don't need pictures, I can see it all in my head!

Thank you so much! I usually only read TR with pictures too and my past TR's have been loaded with pics. This trip, I left the camera at home so I could just concentrate on being present with the magic, rather than being the photographer.

I have been taking a couple pics with my cruddy cell phone though.

Stitch Topiary during the Backstage Tour

My scary white legs and tired feet, resting while waiting for Illuminations.

Congrats on seeing the baby gorilla at AK. For a while, he was very ellusive. I tried 3 different times the end of April/beginning of May and he hid. CMs there said they'd been unable to see him. Yet, my parents saw him in March. I'm so envious!
Good luck with your rewards points. That must have been a pain to have to go back to Typhoon Lagoon.

The little baby gorilla was so adorable and Mom was taking good care of him too. He was crawling all over her and she just had this very patient look on her face. Super cute.

Going back to Typhoon Lagoon was a pain, especially after I was told that I didn't really have to do that. Arugh! I'm hoping to hear back from Management today in regards to my points.

Enjoy your day tomorrow!!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed the cheeseburger flatbread!! That sounds so good right now!
Wow....what a lot of "extras" you had to deal with....your friendly neighbors, the rude boy in England, the needs to really retire this time bus driver, no sushi, the Disney Visa mishap....
Here is a little pixie dust that you will have a magical day tomorrow

Tracy

Thanks Tracy! It was an adventure yesterday, but still a great day. How could it not be? I'm at Disney World!

 

[Iggipolka]

Today is my last full day of vacation as I leave tomorrow morning to go back to California. Bummer. I miss my daughter and my wife though, so it will be lovely to see them. Ok..I'm not going to dwell on that because I still have today!

But first, last night. I crashed out at 9:30(!) and immediately fell into a deep sleep. My neighbors came home at 11:00 and were loudly talking. I thought to myself that I'd give them an hour to settle down before I got upset. It sounded like two or three college (drunk) college age women and one of them was upset with the others for "dissing" her. I heard the whole argument loud and clear. Because they were already angry, I decided against calling them or going over there myself and at midnight when they were still arguing, I called the Front Desk who said they would send Security.

At 12:30 Security arrived and things settled down a bit. They were still talking, but at least they stopped slamming things and I couldn't exactly hear what they were saying anymore. By 1:00, they were quiet and I went back to sleep.

6:00 they were up and slamming around again. Oh to have the energy of the youth. The "dissed" one was still angry and ate all of the cereal this morning, much to the others annoyance. She responded with "payback is a b*tch". Oh she's going to be a joy to be with today. I have to wonder why they are traveling together when already on their 2nd day, they hate each other?

Thankfully, they slammed out of the room by 7:00 and I went back to sleep until 9:00. Ahh..the bliss of sleeping until 9:00. I haven't been able to do that for 14 months now. 'course, my sleep was just as interrupted as it is at home!

I considered switching rooms, but since I'm just here one more night, I'm going to suck it up and deal. I don't want to be homeless today while waiting for a new room to open up anyway.

So, my new revised plan for the day, go to DTD for some shopping, pool time this afternoon and MK this evening.

At the moment, I'm munching on a Yogurt Parfait and coffee for breakfast and enjoying the delightful quiet and peace of my balcony. I'm going to miss SSR. This is such a relaxing resort.

 

[Iggipolka]

I just had to share this picture my wife sent me last night. My daughter, Lillian (yes, named after Walt's wife - I didn't tell my wife that's why I liked the name until after the baby was born ), wanted to climb on our dog's chair. Well, Bella was already sitting there, so Lil climbed up over Bella and sat on her instead! We have a very patient dog. Poor puppy.
Lil is happy though!

 

[puggymom]

Thanks for your report, I love Solo trips to the World.

I took the Backstage Tour in 2007 and it sounds like a completely different tour now, AK wasn't included and lunch was at Mama Melrose and no ToT included. Makes we want to go again.

I keep saying I am going to pool hop with my DVC membership to Poly and never get to it. Too bad about the Visa mess up, hopefully you got it straightened out.

I love that your dog has its own chair My dogs think they have their own house and just allow me to live here

 

[rmom50]

Thanks so much for this fun read! I'm a solo traveler and enjoying your report. You are trying some things that I haven't yet, but want to. I always do MK on my last day too. Have a safe trip home.

 

[Iggipolka]

What a great day! I had a very relaxing & easy day, which is just perfect for the last day of my get-a-way.

I walked over to DTD, which was a very pleasant 15 minute walk from the Springs section of SSR. The view of DTD from Congress park is wonderful and I'm sure at night it's just gorgeous. I got to see the balloon at DTD go up and down a couple of times. Wow, that really goes high! I don't think that is something I ever care to do.

It was a very hot day today and I was surprised at how crowded DTD was at 10:30am. I thought it would be empty and I could do some quick shopping, but the World of Disney store was crazy busy. That store always overwhelms me, but I managed to find a few t-shirts for friends and a couple goodies for my wife. She's also a pin collector, so I had to stop at the Pin Store to get the Passholder pins.

I was looking for the pet store that used to be at DTD, just off of the World of Disney store, but couldn't find it. I didn't want to go home without gifts for the pets, but I guess that they'll just have to get extra special strokes and brushings from me instead of presents! I don't think they'll mind.

After shopping, I had lunch at Wolfgang Puck's Express. I'd never eaten there before and I am so impressed! I had a really tasty Chinese chicken salad, an ice tea and took a cookie to eat on the plane tomorrow. The salad was delicious and the meal was such a value on the Dining Plan. I was amazed at the number of people getting big heavy meals like Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf and Alfredo Pasta. I just can't eat like that when it's close to 100 degrees and 80% humidity.

I was going to take the boat back to SSR, but it was such a lovely easy walk, that I just walked back. When I got back to my room, I dumped my purchases and changed into my swimsuit for the pool! Woo! I had a perfect afternoon sitting in the pool with the water up to my chest, reading my book. Every so often, I'd put my book up on a rock and swim around a bit, then head back to "my spot" and read some more. I was cool and happy and enjoyed the people watching.

Opinion alert: I was very surprised by the number of people with very tiny babies who were out with them at the pool in the middle of a very hot, very sunny day. These were babies well under 6 months of age, so too young to have sunblock on them. The majority of the babies were not happy and were making it known how much they weren't happy. Now, I was one of those mother's who took an infant to WDW. When Lil was 3 months old, I took her (with my brother and his family) to WDW in August and we stayed at the Boardwalk Villas. We didn't go out in the middle of the day though and I only took her into Epcot at night when it was cooler. Just my opinion, but I felt bad for the obviously unhappy babies who would have been much happier napping or staring at the ceiling fan in the room.

Ok, opinion over. Around 3:00, I decided to get myself together and head over to MK for the evening. I showered and changed and was on the bus to MK by 3:30. I had an entire bus to myself! I couldn't believe I was the only one going to MK at that time. The bus driver and I chatted and he told me all about the luxury homes that are being built on WDW property, close to Ft. Wilderness. They start at 1.5 million and go up to 8 million, so start saving your pennies!

MK was busy, but not overwhelmingly so. My first stop, the Bakery for an ice cream sandwich. My general rule is to not eat anything bigger than my head, but this was an exception.

So tasty.

The wind was kicking up and clouds were looking pretty nasty, so I decided to head for an indoor attraction before the rain started. The Hall of Presidents was close by, so I visited Obama and the rest of the gang while it rained. It was perfect timing, because as soon as the show was over, the rain stopped!

It was still pretty hot though, so I went over to Splash Mountain to cool off. I got very wet. So wet that several hours later, my shorts are still damp. It felt good at the time though.

Since I was at that end of the park, I decided to ride BTMR, which didn't even have much of a wait! I was surprised and happy. I love the goat and the other animals along side the train tracks. Those little details is what makes WDW so special.

Speaking of special, on my way out of Frontier Land, I heard Hokey Pokey music! Woody and the gang were dancing the Hokey Pokey with a crowd of 50 guests or so. It was so fun to watch all of the adults "Put your head in. You put your head out. You put your head in and shake it all about" The adults got into it, just as much as the kids! That was a Disney Magic Moment.

The rain clouds were threatening again, so it was time for another indoor ride, Haunted Mansion that was a walk-on! No wait at all! Woo. Once inside, the ride was stopped for several minutes while 3 CM's all clustered around the terminal. I'm not sure what the problem was, but eventually they pushed a button and the doom buggies took us off into the Mansion.

It hadn't rained yet, but was still looking nasty, so I stopped at my favorite CS place in MK for dinner, Columbia Harbor House. I wasn't all that hungry, but I was getting tired and figured a little food might help. I got the Lighthouse sandwich and an apple crisp for dessert. I love the crunchy broccoli slaw on the sandwich. I had 1/2 a bite of the apple crisp though. After that giant ice cream sandwich, I really didn't want anymore sweets.

I wandered through Fantasy Land for awhile, just trying to cement the image of the "old" Fantasy Land in my head before it is completely changed. Tree are lots of walls up all in the back of Fantasy Land, so they have started work already.

It seemed like all of the people in the park were in Fantasy Land and 80% of them were yelling at their kids. It makes me so sad to see the hurt look on the kids faces. Granted, I have no idea what was actually going on, but it still made me sad and made me really miss my daughter. Thankfully, there was that 20% of parents who weren't tired/hungry/hot/whatever and I saw a Mom skipping to the Tea Cups with her 5 or 6 year old daughter. That was super cute.

I rode Space Mountain, the TTC and then realized that I was ready to leave MK. I was going to stay for the Fireworks, but I was just done with the crowds and I was tired. It had been drizzling off an on, nothing significant, but I wanted to get back to SSR in case it really started to pour. I felt a little guilty (!) leaving MK before the fireworks, but I kept reminding myself that I came on this trip to feel less tired than I did when I got here, not more. Besides, we're going to Disney Land in a month and I'll see the Nightastic Fireworks there.

So, I said Goodbye to MK as I slowly walked down Mainstreet. When I got to the train station, I turned around and gazed at the Castle for a bit. I always get a little teary eyed when I leave MK for the last time on a trip. Silly, I know, but I do.

On the bus back to SSR, the clouds opened up, so I felt a little better about my decision. The rain really helped to cool the night off and it is very comfortable out now. I walked over to Artist's Palate and finished off my snack credits with a bag of Mickey Pretzels, a package of Mickey coconut patties and a Mickey chocolate bar. Woo! Treats for when I'm back at work next week.

Currently, I'm enjoying the lightning flicking across the sky and the occasional rumbles of thunder while I'm packing and getting ready to leave tomorrow. The worst part of a Disney trip, the leaving part. My ME pickup time is 10:30, so I'll have time for breakfast at Artist's Palate in the morning.

It's been a great trip and one I will remember for a long time. I have no idea if or when I'll be able to do another solo trip, so this will be a cherished memory. I know that my wife, Lil and I will be back at WDW next year and we'll be at DL next month, so I have all those future trips with the family to look forward to. This special time just for myself, was so worth it and so needed.

Thanks for reading along!