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

[nurse.darcy]

Iggi, what a thoughtful trip report. Thanks for sharing on the DISboards. This will help those that question the decision to go solo or not. I am so glad you had such a great time.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Iggi,thanks so much for the wonderful reading you gave us the last few days!I was enjoying it so much that I told my wife to read it and she totally enjoyed it also.Very engaging,thoughtful and at sometimes hilarious!!Glad your trip was a great one and thanks for getting us pumped up for our 2 week AK and BC trip coming up in 4 months.

 

[dort]

Hey Iggi, I've been following your TR, it's been great, really enjoyed reading all about your solo trip.

Safe travels home!!

 

[kathmzh]

Great report, thanks for taking the time to post....now I want to go on a solo trip!

 

[Iggipolka]

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

I asked the tour guides (Mike and Wayne) if the tour ever changes and they said that it actually changes pretty frequently, at least every 6 months. They used to stop at the Holiday Storage area and now they go to the Machine Shop. They are planning some changes to the tour in September, including a different lunch stop. They said that the lunch stop changes are demanded by the Tour Guides because they get sick of eating at the same place all the time! I can totally understand that.

Pool hopping to the Poly is very easy and it's a nice quick break from MK.

The Disney Visa mess is still in process. I called both Managers at the Circle D ranch yesterday. I have to say that they were less than helpful and just said they would "research it". What actually surprised me is that no one apologized for the mistake. A little "I'm so sorry for your troubles and we'll take care of this for you", would have gone a long way in making me feel better.

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.

Yeay for a fellow solo traveler! I'm glad that you've enjoyed the trip. MK is always my first and my last park. It's the most magical of the parks for me and I just love the atmosphere there. Hard to leave though.

Iggi, what a thoughtful trip report. Thanks for sharing on the DISboards. This will help those that question the decision to go solo or not. I am so glad you had such a great time.

Aww..you're so sweet. I strongly encourage solo trips. I think that everyone needs some time to themselves to recharge and be a little selfish. I think it makes for better spouses and parents if we take care of ourselves. Plus, it's fun!

Iggi,thanks so much for the wonderful reading you gave us the last few days!I was enjoying it so much that I told my wife to read it and she totally enjoyed it also.Very engaging,thoughtful and at sometimes hilarious!!Glad your trip was a great one and thanks for getting us pumped up for our 2 week AK and BC trip coming up in 4 months.

Heh..thanks for sharing my little adventure with your wife! I'm glad that you guys liked it. I do enjoy writing these and find that doing live reports is fun for me because I get to read them when I get home and remember the nifty time I had.

Have a wonderful 2 week trip! Prior to the baby, my wife and I stayed for 14 days at AK and absolutely loved it

Hey Iggi, I've been following your TR, it's been great, really enjoyed reading all about your solo trip.

Safe travels home!!

Thanks! I'm all stocked up on snacks, movies on my iTouch and a good book. I'm ready (well, not really ready, but I gotta go) for the trip.

Great report, thanks for taking the time to post....now I want to go on a solo trip!

Oh do it! I encourage you to just take a deep breath and give it a try. You will so love the freedom.

So, now that this trip is over, I thought I'd post a picture of myself so you can see who this crazy lady is who took off for the wilds of WDW, leaving her spouse and infant behind.

This is a picture of Lillian and I on the Disney Magic in March for formal night. Yes, my wife was there too, but she doesn't like her picture "plastered all over the internet". *chuckle*

The Sorority Sisters were surprisingly quiet last nigh and not a peep from them this morning. There's an ME tag on their door, so I know they haven't checked out. I'm wondering if they ditched the "Dissed" and are having a better time without her!

I've already checked my bag in with RAC and had breakfast at Artist Palate. I don't know what it is about CS breakfast, but I just have never had a good one. I always get the "Bounty Platter" which is scrambled eggs, mickey waffle, bacon, sausage and a biscuit. The eggs and waffle were ok, but the rest..blaugh. It's too much food anyway. I should have stuck with my yogurt and fruit.

ME comes at 10:30, so my plan is to saunter around the resort and enjoy walking until I have to sit for the long flight across country to California. My body is going to be really surprised that it's not walking all day today!

Thanks again for reading along. It makes me happy to be able to share this wonderful experience. I hope it encourages other people to take solo trips.

 

[magicmommy]

Wow. Really enjoyed your TR! Ill be going to WDW in 17 days for my birthday!
Have a safe trip home!!!

 

[Iggipolka]

Hello from Houston Hobby Airport. It's a nice airport, as airports go. I like the ones with free wireless (Oakland, MCO..) much better, but oh well.

To back track, I took a lovely stroll around SSR this morning and really wish I'd done that earlier in my trip! I found out that I could have gotten off the bus at the Paddock stop (3rd stop) and walked across a pretty bridge to the Springs section. This would have been faster and more enjoyable than waiting on the bus for the Springs stop. Ahh well. I learned something new for next time.

I also walked past the Grandstand section and oohh'ed and Ahh'ed over their pool. My daughter would love that pool with the large splash zone. Really nifty and it is a quick 5 minute walk to the main pool area.

I passed through the Grandstand area and walked down to the first section of Treehouses. I didn't want to walk too far into the Treehouse section, just enough to get a feel for the place. I would love to stay in one of them, but only if we rented a car. Even then, it would be a hassle because if you were in a far away Treehouse, you'd have to take a car to the pool and back. It's a looong walk. I'm in good shape and I hike and exercise a lot at home. I would not want to be lugging my WDW tired body and feet to the pool and back to the Treehouse on a frequent basis. It was only a 10 minute walk from the first Treehouse to the check-in desk, but still...

I circled around to the Congress section and walked partway to DTD, before I realized that I had better get back to my room and grab my carryon bag before the ME bus arrived. Maybe a little departure denial was happening on my part.

ME was scheduled to leave at 10:30, so I was at the bus stop at 10:20. The bus arrived at 10:45, which was freaking some of us compulsive people out who thought we'd missed the bus. However, it was a good thing for a family who arrived late and hadn't even checked their bags in for the RAC. They were quite late and just managed to make the bus.

The bus got into MCO about 2.5 hours before my flight. I don't understand why ME gets to the airport so early. However, since I had time I went back to Lush to get some more bath bombs and the solid perfume I liked so much. I also got a free foot treatment! Woohoo! Apparently they offer free face, hand or foot treatments with their products. I got a lovely foot treatment including a massage with stuff to reduce rough skin, a salt scrub, wash and then another massage with peppermint lotion. Ooo..yummy and all free! My feet felt soo good afterwards. Of course, I had to buy their foot package, which was only $20 and had 7 different products in it. Not bad actually! Totally worth it just for the happy feet part.

The security line at MCO is crazy. I cannot believe how unorganized and chaotic it is. One of the TSA guys pulled me out of line and my heart stopped for a moment. I thought for sure I had been "randomly selected" for a search. However, he'd selected me to go through the employee screaning line. Score! No wait for me!

The flight from MCO to Houston was totally uneventful, just the way I like it. I now have two hours to chill until my flight to Oakland California.

I usually don't do this, but I do have to recommend some products. I got a Hydroflask http://www.amazon.com/Hydro-Flask-Stainless-Drinking-24-Ounce/dp/B002ZKVFJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1277756604&sr=8-1-spell from Amazon.com and I absolutely love it. It keeps liquids cold for over 24 hours, even in Florida heat. In the mornings, I would load it up with ice water and even in 100 degree heat, I still had ice in it at 5pm. Love it!

I have super fair skin and burn easily. At home, I use Neutrigena Dry Touch sunblock, 75 spf daily and used that on my face at WDW as well. I used the Neutrigena Cool Mist spray, spf 50 on my body as it's easier to make sure I don't miss a spot than the lotion is. I didn't burn a bit! My arms are slightly tanned, but not a single burn and I was out in the sun the majority of my trip. Great stuff.

Ok, enough with the product placements, just had to recommend two things that worked really well for me.

Now, one last flight and then I'll be home with my family.

 

[cj9200]

Great TR and I agree solo is a great way to go. Beats not going. I enjoyed meeting you and our brief conversation at the Dis meet. It was fun. Unfortunately I had to keep an eye on my daughter (I picked her up on Friday) so I was bouncing back and forth between the meet and her. She was shy and did not want to meet my "Internet friends." Did you win anything from the raffle?

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Thanks for sharing your TR!

I can't believe you didn't take your camera! But awesome for you too! I've actually had nightmares that I've forgotten my camera! I've been twice on solo trips, and they are quite fun and somewhat relaxing too. Even if it's go go go, it seems more relaxing because you do what you feel like.

 

[momatater]

Thanks Iggipolka for the great TR!

I was a follower of your trip when you were pregnant and stayed at the AKL, so I was thrilled to find this report. Your daughter is adorable!!

Glad you had such a great time going solo! I also have been considering a solo trip without my gang, and now I just might do it. I grew up in FL close to the world and have never been by myself....don't know why either. Oh well.

Again, Thanks for the great report....enjoy being back with your family!

 

[ttester9612]

Thanks for sharing your TR. I did a solo trip in May 2009 and stayed at SSR for 2 weeks. I thoroughly enjoy SSR, it's so beautiful and quiet. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I'll have to do the Backstage trip on my next trip, it sounds totally awesome.

 

[VrBchJ]

Thanks so much for your very detailed trip report. I've been considering the Backstage Magic tour but it's gotten so expensive. After reading how much you enjoyed it I'll think do it when I'm solo in Oct.

 

[DFD]

Now, one last flight and then I'll be home with my family.

are you home???? I hope you got in safe and sound and now busy having fun with the lil one

 

[Iggipolka]

Wow, real life just kinda smacks ya in the face when getting home from a Disney trip, huh? Yup, I'm home and back in the swing of things. Although, I'm certainly got a bit of post-Disney/post-Solo Trip depression going on. But, let's back up a bit.

My flight to Oakland was right on time and was uneventful until landing. Right as the wheels touched down, the 9 year old girl behind me repeatedly vomited all over the back of my seat. OMG. Don't get me wrong, I felt bad for her, but I couldn't get off of that plane fast enough. I feel sorry for the flight attendants and clean up crew. Yeach. At least she waited until the end of the flight, rather than the beginning.

I saw the girl and her family at baggage claim and her mom was feeding her a muffin! A Muffin? Really!!??

Anyway, My bags came quickly and after picking up my car, I drove the short distance home. I walked in the door and my wife said "The baby just went down to sleep, but she's fussing, would you go and check on her?" Hello Mom and welcome home, you are back on duty. In a way, it was nice because I got to see little Lillian, but it was also 11:30 WDW time and I was tired. Ahh well. Real life goes on when one is at WDW and I'm sure my wife needed a baby break.

This week, I've been finding myself thinking "This time last week, I was walking around Epcot" or, "This time last week I was on that Backstage Magic tour", or "This time last week I was eating breakfast on my balcony".
Anyone else drive themselves nuts like this?

We have a Disneyland trip coming up at the end of this month and we're going with good friends who are also Disney freaks, so I know that will be fun. We're looking forward to seeing the World of Color and I'm looking forward to Lillian's first trip to the park Walt built.

One of these days, I'll get to do another solo trip to WDW. It may be a few years from now, but it's going to happen again.
Thanks for reading along!

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Welcome home!

Glad you got to see Lillian right away. I'm sure you were tired, but at the same time, you were probably happy to see your baby girl!

I am in the midst of doing the whole "this time..." except it's "this time, in 3 weeks... " I'm sure I'll be doing the same thing when I come home.

Thanks again, for sharing your TR with us!