Missy1961
Knows who did it and why
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2000
- Messages
- 34,090
I went on my very first solo trip from Sept. 27-Oct. 1. It was wonderful!
A little background. I'm single, no kids. Most of my family loves Disney, and I've tagged along on a few trips: in 1993 & 1999 I went with my older brother & his family to WDW & went along with them when they went to DL in 1995. When my younger sister & her family made their annual trip to WDW in 2004, they asked me to join them. I spent 2 days with them, and then 3 days alone. The days alone got me thinking--maybe a solo trip would be fun. I didn't want to keep "butting in" on their family vacations. So with the encouragement of 2 of my best friends, I decided to book a short solo trip. I had 2 days left over from last year's ticket, I was able to go during value season, so my room at All-Star Movies would be $77, and when I heard about Magical Express (since I don't drive I would have had to cab or use Mears to get to Disney) that was it! I booked the trip on July 14th and started counting down the days.
I planned on a late arrival at DW since I had family obligations the weekend before I left. I took JetBlue from JFK. The plane left at 4:20 PM, flight was great (the best airline IMO), and we arrived on time at 7:05. Got off, took the tram, found the first ME greeter. Kept going from one to the next, finally got there. No-one waiting (I guess that's one advantage of arriving at night), very pleasant people working for ME. And then got some good news: since JetBlue was now part of ME for departures, I would be able to check in at my hotel! Was told to go wait by the ASMo line, and in a few minutes I was on the bus with 3 other groups (20 minutes after I got off the plane). The bus made 4 stops, I was the third. ME worked for me, that's for sure. I was checked in by 8:30, an hour & half since I got off the plane. I was in Mighty Ducks, building 3. I had planned to do some shopping at Downtown Disney, but it was raining very hard, so I just had some dinner at the food court, and went to my room and watched TV. My luggage arrived at 10 PM, so I got to bed by 11, so I could be up early & get to the MK!
Well, I had planned to get up at 6 (MK was opening at 9), but I guess I was so excited to be there I woke up at 5! I watched some TV, got ready for my day, and went to the food court for a little breakfast. I was planning to get on the next bus when I realized I had forgotten to put on my sunscreen! And it wasn't in my backpack either, so I went back to my room and put it on. I still got to the park by 8:30. I had no problems with the biometrics, and was able to watch the opening ceremonies which were great.
Headed straight to Fantasyland, my favorite part of the MK. It is just so "Disney". No waits for Winnie the Pooh, IASW, Peter Pan, and Philharmagic. The refurb of IASW was great, everything looked good. I love that ride! I left Fantasyland, walked over to Liberty Square. Rode Haunted Mansion. Great as always. Decided to get on Splash Mountain. I rode SM for the first time last year, I enjoyed it, but I am a big baby when it comes to rides like that. So I was ready--but when I got there, they were having mechanical difficulties and it was closed! OK, I'll ride BTMRR, a ride I've never been on before. It was so much fun! Walked over to Adventureland. Realized it was 11, I was a little bit hungry, and my ADR for lunch was a 2. I decided to take a snack break. Then I did some window shopping. Went on POTC & Jungle Cruise. 2 more favorites that didn't disappoint. Went back to the store, bought 2 pretty scarves. Went back to Frontierland, Splash was still closed, went to see Woody & Jessie. Woody liked my pen. Went to HOP. Again, I know a lot of people find it boring, but I love it. Decided to sit on a bench for a while & people watch. Too early for my ADR, but not quite enough time to do anything else. Went to check in at the Crystal Palace. The place was mobbed, but I was buzzed exactly at 2.
What a beautiful restaurant! And the food smelled wonderful...and it was all good. Karen, my waitress, was great. She took my picture with all the characters, brought me refills of my soda without me having to ask, and I saw her ask the characters to wait for people to get back to their table. I can't say enough about the food..the steak was tender & juicy, the mashed potatoes were delicious, the soup was soooooo good. Simply one of the best meals I've had at WDW. I'd recommend it.
It was now 2:55 PM...so what time is the 3 o'clock parade???? (
) I found a perfect spot and decided to stay and watch. (I like parades, don't go out of my way for them). It was nice. I felt bad for the person who was Cruella DeVille. It was hot & there she was in fake fur!
Went to Tomorrowland. Rode Buzz Lightyear. Shot both laser cannons at the same time, right hand won! Left and went to Toontown--but it was mobbed with people. Didn't want to get in the way of all the kids, so I went shopping, but decided not to buy anything. Walked thru Fantasyland, lines were too long to go on anything. Went to check on Splash Mountain and it was open. Rode it (no wait) and loved it again. I seemed to get wetter this year than last, and I was sitting toward the back of the flume. Oh well, it did feel good. Went to eat dinner at Peco Bill's. Enjoyed the chicken salad. It was nice & cool inside and I just sat there for a long time. I knew that "Wishes" was scheduled for 8. I decided to stake a claim, something that's hard to do when you're with little people. I found a nice spot, just sat on the sidewalk as did many others. At 7:30, they announced that it was going to be the Halloween edition of "Wishes". They started right at 8, and they were great. Great music, great fireworks (I loved the smilie faces when the music was "Never smile at a crocdile). It was EMH for MK that night, so I just walked down Main Street and went shopping. I had gone on all the rides I wanted to, and I knew I had a busy day ahead of me (MGM & Epcot EMH the next day), so I left MK about 9:30, got back to my room by 10 (I did have to stand on the bus home). Went to sleep about 11, so I could get my rest before my next day of touring.
A little background. I'm single, no kids. Most of my family loves Disney, and I've tagged along on a few trips: in 1993 & 1999 I went with my older brother & his family to WDW & went along with them when they went to DL in 1995. When my younger sister & her family made their annual trip to WDW in 2004, they asked me to join them. I spent 2 days with them, and then 3 days alone. The days alone got me thinking--maybe a solo trip would be fun. I didn't want to keep "butting in" on their family vacations. So with the encouragement of 2 of my best friends, I decided to book a short solo trip. I had 2 days left over from last year's ticket, I was able to go during value season, so my room at All-Star Movies would be $77, and when I heard about Magical Express (since I don't drive I would have had to cab or use Mears to get to Disney) that was it! I booked the trip on July 14th and started counting down the days.
I planned on a late arrival at DW since I had family obligations the weekend before I left. I took JetBlue from JFK. The plane left at 4:20 PM, flight was great (the best airline IMO), and we arrived on time at 7:05. Got off, took the tram, found the first ME greeter. Kept going from one to the next, finally got there. No-one waiting (I guess that's one advantage of arriving at night), very pleasant people working for ME. And then got some good news: since JetBlue was now part of ME for departures, I would be able to check in at my hotel! Was told to go wait by the ASMo line, and in a few minutes I was on the bus with 3 other groups (20 minutes after I got off the plane). The bus made 4 stops, I was the third. ME worked for me, that's for sure. I was checked in by 8:30, an hour & half since I got off the plane. I was in Mighty Ducks, building 3. I had planned to do some shopping at Downtown Disney, but it was raining very hard, so I just had some dinner at the food court, and went to my room and watched TV. My luggage arrived at 10 PM, so I got to bed by 11, so I could be up early & get to the MK!
Well, I had planned to get up at 6 (MK was opening at 9), but I guess I was so excited to be there I woke up at 5! I watched some TV, got ready for my day, and went to the food court for a little breakfast. I was planning to get on the next bus when I realized I had forgotten to put on my sunscreen! And it wasn't in my backpack either, so I went back to my room and put it on. I still got to the park by 8:30. I had no problems with the biometrics, and was able to watch the opening ceremonies which were great.
Headed straight to Fantasyland, my favorite part of the MK. It is just so "Disney". No waits for Winnie the Pooh, IASW, Peter Pan, and Philharmagic. The refurb of IASW was great, everything looked good. I love that ride! I left Fantasyland, walked over to Liberty Square. Rode Haunted Mansion. Great as always. Decided to get on Splash Mountain. I rode SM for the first time last year, I enjoyed it, but I am a big baby when it comes to rides like that. So I was ready--but when I got there, they were having mechanical difficulties and it was closed! OK, I'll ride BTMRR, a ride I've never been on before. It was so much fun! Walked over to Adventureland. Realized it was 11, I was a little bit hungry, and my ADR for lunch was a 2. I decided to take a snack break. Then I did some window shopping. Went on POTC & Jungle Cruise. 2 more favorites that didn't disappoint. Went back to the store, bought 2 pretty scarves. Went back to Frontierland, Splash was still closed, went to see Woody & Jessie. Woody liked my pen. Went to HOP. Again, I know a lot of people find it boring, but I love it. Decided to sit on a bench for a while & people watch. Too early for my ADR, but not quite enough time to do anything else. Went to check in at the Crystal Palace. The place was mobbed, but I was buzzed exactly at 2.
What a beautiful restaurant! And the food smelled wonderful...and it was all good. Karen, my waitress, was great. She took my picture with all the characters, brought me refills of my soda without me having to ask, and I saw her ask the characters to wait for people to get back to their table. I can't say enough about the food..the steak was tender & juicy, the mashed potatoes were delicious, the soup was soooooo good. Simply one of the best meals I've had at WDW. I'd recommend it.
It was now 2:55 PM...so what time is the 3 o'clock parade???? (
) I found a perfect spot and decided to stay and watch. (I like parades, don't go out of my way for them). It was nice. I felt bad for the person who was Cruella DeVille. It was hot & there she was in fake fur!Went to Tomorrowland. Rode Buzz Lightyear. Shot both laser cannons at the same time, right hand won! Left and went to Toontown--but it was mobbed with people. Didn't want to get in the way of all the kids, so I went shopping, but decided not to buy anything. Walked thru Fantasyland, lines were too long to go on anything. Went to check on Splash Mountain and it was open. Rode it (no wait) and loved it again. I seemed to get wetter this year than last, and I was sitting toward the back of the flume. Oh well, it did feel good. Went to eat dinner at Peco Bill's. Enjoyed the chicken salad. It was nice & cool inside and I just sat there for a long time. I knew that "Wishes" was scheduled for 8. I decided to stake a claim, something that's hard to do when you're with little people. I found a nice spot, just sat on the sidewalk as did many others. At 7:30, they announced that it was going to be the Halloween edition of "Wishes". They started right at 8, and they were great. Great music, great fireworks (I loved the smilie faces when the music was "Never smile at a crocdile). It was EMH for MK that night, so I just walked down Main Street and went shopping. I had gone on all the rides I wanted to, and I knew I had a busy day ahead of me (MGM & Epcot EMH the next day), so I left MK about 9:30, got back to my room by 10 (I did have to stand on the bus home). Went to sleep about 11, so I could get my rest before my next day of touring.
thanks!
