Mom needed a break...no laundry, no hubby, no kids...sorta!! A SOLO TR..updated 11/15

[ILuvCrush]

Hi Paula, I am subbing, can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! We were at WDW the same week as you, just me and the kids. I would love to do a solo trip one day, so I am very interested in how much you enjoyed yourself. Your pics of the parade are great and the fireworks pictures are awesome. Mine never turn out that well. We were at MNSSHP the same night as you and watched the fireworks from Pinocchio's patio in Fantasyland. I'm sure we missed a lot not seeing it over the castle, but the kids thought it rocked because the fireworks were all around us and things were lit up so bright.

Hi Schmoodle!!! Thanks for coming over Thanks for the compliments too I think I like watching the fireworks from Fantasyland better than in front of the castle. I wanted the 'full effect' for Hallowishes, since I hadn't seen it before. But I usually watch Wishes from Fantasyland... I love being in the middle of them

Paula, Congrats on your solo trip!

Have so enjoyed your TR and as others have said, the photos are fantastic!

Also, good to know about ASMU - not a fan of values, enjoyed POP, but it's in need of room refurbishment, so nice to know there might be another option if needed.

A solo trip takes so much courage! You did great!! I'm such a wimp, would have asked for a manager to find me a room closer.

All the Disers commenting on your TR that they wish they could go solo, but don't want to go alone, got me thinking that we maybe could get together and do a group solo trip!!! We could share a room or not, but maybe stay at the same resort and not have to eat alone or do the attractions alone all the time. Could be the best of both worlds - some solo time, but also time with other DIsers! Sounds perfect to me!

Okay, on to the rest of your TR!

Oh, may I use your rainbow photo as a desktop, please?

I likes ASMu way better than I expected to. I'm more of a moderate girl than a value girl.... and I'm sure I'll end up being a deluxe girl rather than moderate, once I break down and spend the $$$cha-ching

I love your idea of a group solo trip!! I guess that mousefest could be sorta like that, but December was just too busy of a time of year for me (not Disney busy...Christmas/gymnastics busy ) I think you're on to something!!!

As I said in an earlier post...anyone is welcome to any of the pics I took, so help yourself to the rainbow!! I'm so glad you like it!!

Go Tribe!!! My DH is from PA. Has family in Westmoreland County (where he is from) and a brother in Centre Hall. We get back there a couple times a year.

Maybe we can meet next summer when you're in town.

Sophia

We're in Cambria County, so you pretty much drive past on the way to Centre Hall ... A Cleveland Dis meet... I'm all for it!! I just hope our Tribe looks better next year October is SOooo lonely without them!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I likes ASMu way better than I expected to. I'm more of a moderate girl than a value girl.... and I'm sure I'll end up being a deluxe girl rather than moderate, once I break down and spend the $$$cha-ching

I love your idea of a group solo trip!! I guess that mousefest could be sorta like that, but December was just too busy of a time of year for me (not Disney busy...Christmas/gymnastics busy ) I think you're on to something!!!

As I said in an earlier post...anyone is welcome to any of the pics I took, so help yourself to the rainbow!! I'm so glad you like it!!

Ohhh, Paula, a deluxe stay will hook ya fer sure!! I guess we were lucky - my kids are adults now so waaay back in the early days (after horsedrawn carriages though) we only had CR, Poly or the Golf Resort (later The Disney Inn, now Shades of Green), so we would alternate between CR and Poly each trip. By the time CBR opened in 1988 we were ready to try somewhere new - we LOVED the ambiance of CBR, but missed the amenities etc at a deluxe.

Would you believe the Poly and /or CR Garden view was $79.80 inc tx in 1981?? It felt downright inexpensive! The Tower was $100 and change!

Of course, these days a deluxe is big bucks, so those stays are not often. I digress...you will LOVE a deluxe - OH! Go for a monorail resort for your first deluxe stay - it will be a whole new experience of what it really means to be immersed in the magic.

So glad you like the group solo idea. December can be a tricky time to get away and MF now alternates weeks so some yrs it is mid December and too close to Christmas for many. Really enjoyed MF, but would love a group solo trip where there would not be a 100 meets to try to make!

I bet we Disers could make it happen!

Thanks for sharing the photos.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

 

[ILuvCrush]

Thanks for hanging in with me all week... it's been a little crazy. Now, on with the report!!

I woke up at 8:00 on Tuesday... I thought my head was going to explode when I stood up, so I went back to bed!!

At 9:00 I actually GOT UP! I felt really really crummy. I now had a lovely cough to complete my cold I got ready, stopped and filled my mug, stopped at Maestro Mickeys and picked up a box of cough drops, and hit the busses.

I was heading to Epcot!! I wanted to spend the day in World Showcase. I was also planning to hit Soarin'. I didn't wait too long for a bus, and got thru the Epcot gates at 11:00. UG is right, don't go to a AM EMH park unless its for EMH, then leave. Wow. It was a Tuesday... not a weekend ... wow!!

I checked the times board to find out about waits....
Soarin' 90min (FP return 4-5pm)
Fast Track 70mon (singles line 30min)
Spaceship Earth 20min
Nemo 30min

I was SO glad I wasn't committed to riding rides!! So I headed off to WS. I figured I was back there by 11:20... I should be ahead of the masses... and for the most part I was

My first stop was at the Festival Shop to pick up a stretchy bracelet gift card. I put $40 on it... I figured that that was a good start, toward my food tour around the world!! I also bought a F&W pin with Figment on it.

I'll have a pic of the card later in my Day 2 posts... I took it along with ALL my other purchases that day, and I don't want you to know what all I bought yet!! If you missed my PTR, part of the reasoning for this trip was for Christmas shopping. I moved my Epcot day to Tuesday, so that I could take advantage of resort delivery.

Next stop is Poland!! Ilove Pierogies. And Keilbasa!

Yum!! It was very good. There's alot of ethnic festivals around our area with lots of polish food... this was just as good as they make

Well my little appetizer left me hungry for more... so I headed to Canada!! I
was intrigued by the Maple Custard with Almond Crumble.

OMG... it was Sooo yummy!!! It was tiny though, I'm glad I didn't have to share!! It was sweet, but not TOO sweet, if you get my drift!!

After my delightful little maple delight... I went to see O'Canada! One of my missions on this trip was to see all 4 of the world showcase films!! So while in Canada.....

I thought the O'Canada film was very well done! Unfortunately, due to the 360 circlevision, I got a little queasy but I recovered pretty quickly.

Next stop, England.

I wanted to find a teabox for my DMil for Christmas, or something similar. I shopped around for quite a while. I skipped the Toybox, but i poked around in all the other shops. I found some beautiful teapots, but a $200 thay were out of my Xmas budget I also found no teaboxes nuts!! So I left England empty handed, and walked across the "english channel" to France!!


Along the way I noticed this....

I never noticed the waterwheel at Morocco before!! I stood in a little outlook near the lake and just looked around for awhile, drank some water, ate more Motrin and Sudafed.... then I continued my travels!

 

[jenjolt]

I'm simply just loving your TR, it has me so excited for going solo LOL!!! I'm hoping for some good deals for Florida residents and hopefully I'll go from being a value girl to being a moderate girl...at this point I'm not sure I want to spend the $$$ just for myself LOL!

 

[ClareH37]

Finally caught up (my internet keeps going down so just as soon as I got back online, it would go again!).

Sounds like a great trip so far

I love Epcot, it's my favourite resort and I can't wait to be strolling around worldshowcase again - your photos are fantastic but are making me very 'homesick'

 

[ILuvCrush]

Welcome to France!! home to the city of lights...amazing food, amazing fragrances and fashion, a shopping mecca by all standards!!!

The France pavillion is, IMHO, one of the prettiest places in Epcot. I was really looking forward to this one. Ellie (DD10) is enamored with all things Francais, so I was going to find some great stuff for her for Christmas while in France. We are planning a trip to France, including Paris, in less than 3 years to celebrate her 13th birthday. I was looking, in particular, for photo books (like coffee table books), clothing, accessories, and maybe something nick-nacky.

I wandered around, there still was not too many people about... I was keeping ahead of the crowds I noticed a few details that I've missed before, I assume because of all the people milling around and blocking them.

I found this artists area...

A nice clear view of the advertisments....

I've seen the hedge designs before... but this is one of the best photos I've ever gotten from there

I decided since I was in France, I needed some Creme Brulee The France F&W booth had Chocolate Creme Brulee, so that was my pick.

It was a nice big serving... but although it tasted good, it wasn't 'brulee'd' very much The crust was rubbery not, well, crusty. It was a bit disappointing, but I ate it all anyway So obviously, it wasn't THAT bad!!

I browsed around the shops for a while. I found a library that I didn't know was there... I think they do Belle and Beast meet and greets there, but when I found it, it was empty

It was about time for the next Impressions of France film... so I headed that way next. It was not as good as O'Canada, but enjoyable none-the-less. It will be on the must do list when I take Ellie next... I think she'll enjoy it..... plus there are SEATS!! However, like O'Canada... it made me nauseous. What is with that I can ride the rides without getting ill... but I watch a film and need a little white airline bag

After the film... I was browsing the shop that we were emptied into and found a really cute barrette for Ellie with the Effiel Tower on it. So I bought that. I couln't find any photo books, just young kids books and travelogues. the clothes and nick-nacky things were just blah. The shirts were not really any different than ones I have seen elsewhere with "paris" on them. So that was the end of my shopping in France.

Actually it was the end of my shopping at WS period!!! I was expecting bags and bags of shopping, but I couldn't find much I really liked AND was willing to pay for!! WS has some very cool things, but so much of it you can find elsewhere, for alot less. I did really enjoy all the browsing.

Here's my purchases... I won't keep you in suspense

to be continued......

 

[Schmoodle]

All the Disers commenting on your TR that they wish they could go solo, but don't want to go alone, got me thinking that we maybe could get together and do a group solo trip!!!

Now, this is an excellent idea. Sorry you weren't feeling well this day. Hopefully that will clear up as the week progresses. Now see, this is why I need to do a solo trip, or at least a trip w/o kids, I have never even seen those parts of Canada! One of the things I would do is spend an entire day just exploring World Showcase. My kids liked it, but a whole day would have been too much.

I had a creme brulee from the Boulangerie and it was so yum, and nice and crispy on top. Glad I didn't get the one from the F&W booth. That barette is so cute. My kids liked "seeing France" too. My DH is French and we plan to take them to see his family next year, so they are very excited about that. Your trip to Paris sounds very exciting!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Now, this is an excellent idea. Sorry you weren't feeling well this day. Hopefully that will clear up as the week progresses. Now see, this is why I need to do a solo trip, or at least a trip w/o kids, I have never even seen those parts of Canada! One of the things I would do is spend an entire day just exploring World Showcase. My kids liked it, but a whole day would have been too much.

I had a creme brulee from the Boulangerie and it was so yum, and nice and crispy on top. Glad I didn't get the one from the F&W booth. That barette is so cute. My kids liked "seeing France" too. My DH is French and we plan to take them to see his family next year, so they are very excited about that. Your trip to Paris sounds very exciting!

I went the wrong way to the O'Canada film.... that's how I found the waterfall I took the wheelchair route...instead of the regular one.

I hope that the Paris trip goes off well. I'm leaning toward doing an Adventures by Disney trip, then adding a couple days for DL Paris afterward. I'll have to see. I got the 2009 ABD book and their prices have REALLY shot up. But If we're going, I'd rather pay more and go with Disney. I trust that it will be a great trip

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I wish we could have hooked up for Epcot day. I don't like this park at all but maybe going with someone who adores it as much as you would show my the good things. It's funny that all the food you ate was the food I stopped and considered for a very long time before deciding to save my money for other things.

I hope you feel better soon in the TR. I was lucky enough not to get sick until I stepped off the plane at home. Now, if only I could get rid of this gosh darn cold.

Looking forward to more updates.

 

[ILuvCrush]

I continued my trek around the world.


I wandered thru Morocco, I saw a family taking turns taking pictures of each other...so i offered to take one of them all together. The lady looked at me like a had 2 heads, and snapped a 'No' at me I was like 'Oh OK, just thought I'd offer." The hubby smiled and thanked me, I guess mom was having a bad day. I offered to take pics lots of times over the course of the week... everyone but this lady took me up on it. It was fun to take pics for other people

I took quite a few pics in Morocco, i was originally going to try to do the free tour, but I was tired and my head was still pounding a bit. So I decided not to pursue it. At least it saves me something new for the next trip!!

I had to find the water wheel, now that I've seen it

While lurking around behind a tent, checking out the water wheel, i found a cart full of goodies too.

I love all the tile

I found a rug shop... the colors were eye-popping!! This is one of my favorite pics!! It makes me want to redecorate a room

I found this light.... and thought of LL

Next stop was Japan for a little Plum Wine. I had been really looking forward to trying it, everyone kept saying how good it is. The closer my wine tastes to juice... the happier I am I was told that plum wine tastes just like plums I LOVE plums... so I was really excited!

while in line here.....

I saw this.... which if I hadn't been in the F&W line, I'd have missed

And the PLUM WINE!!!!

I didn't like it... I tried it, hoping that it would get better, til I had drank about 1/2... but I couldn't take anymore... so I threw it away
Oh well... next time I know I should try something else

I continued taking a few more Japan pics:

 

[ILuvCrush]

OK when I went to post the last installment, I had 39 images... oops!! so rather than redo it I just cut and pasted half or so to this post

I meandered taking pictures to the American Pavillion... here's another 'golf ball' picture as my kids call it. I must have a thousand from all different angles from all my different trips

I checked out Pearville... it had some cute stuff for the kids, and I had a yummy pear. The best part was the Pear King...isn't he swell??

I was a little too early for the American adventure, so i went and got another bottle of water, i could have used some caffeine, but soda made my throat hurt more, so water it was. I caught the end of Voices of Liberty. They are so good... tears in my eyes good!! No pics, I was just mesmerized.
I hadn't seen the American Adventure since 1999. I remembered liking it. This time, I thought the first 2/3 was pretty blah. But the last 1/3 made me cry!! It was so good!

Continuing my adventure... I was off to China. I poked around the shops a bit then I went to see Reflections of China. I was early again. So I took some time to check out all the artifacts in the Tomb Warriors exhibit. The exhibit was great... much better than the film, which I will never stand thru again, unless it undergoes a remake. But at least I could check it of my to do list.

Here's my reflections of China

I kept on going to Norway.... I had one more film I needed to see. That was all that was keeping me going at that point. I was exhausted. And felt pretty crummy. But I had a mission. There was a 35min wait for Maelstrom... doesn't anyone READ the guidebooks?? it is so NOT worth a half hour wait!! But here's the wierd part... the FP return time was only 30 minutes away Why wait for 35 min, when you can FP???
So I got my FP and then explored the shops. I had read that you can go inside the Stave Church. It has a bunch of viking stuff in it that was very cool.

I found the sod roof neat too... I wonder how they mow it

It was then time for Maelstrom... all 1.5 minutes of it. I walked right on and got in the front of the boat. The couple behind me had waited 30min+ to get on and were all excited. I guess they had never ridden it before So 90 seconds (or less) later, the lady behind me was laughing with the DH and was like "is that it...we waited half an hour for that!!" She was funny, not mad. So as everyone buzzed thru the seating for the film, on to the next big thing, I got comfy in my seat. The film was OK. i didn't really learn anything about Norway from it... but really how educational can a 5min film be

I had had enough... I started to Futureworld... I didn't even take any pics!! When I got to the times board it looked like this....
Soarin' 90min...no fp available
TT 40min... no fp available
SE 20min

Not alot better than it was 6 hours ago (it was about 5ish) I thought maybe TT singles line might not be too bad, since the standby was only 40min. So I walked over. The sign said singles was 30min... I figured no way, its gonna be shorter than that!! So I took the chance and hopped in line. I checked my watch, and from the time I walked into the line until I got in my car.... 4 minutes flat!! That ride is so FUN!! I sat with a friendly couple who hadn't ridden it before and they loved it. There was a little girl (4ish) in front who cried the whole speed part... I felt so bad for her... she was scared

So after TT I went to leave. on my way out I saw that the Spaceship Earth line ended at the bottom of the ramp. Thats not 20 min... it like 5, or less...so I hopped in line. After a nice trip to the past, I got a look of my future, with an unknown man... hmmmm what does that tell me, Madame Lolita???

I got lucky and caught the bus while they were changing drivers...so no wait and was back at ASMu by 6pm. I had supper at Intermission Food Court. I had the spaghetti with meatballs and a salad. The spaghetti was so-so, the meatballs were good and the breadstick was awesome. I went back to my room and called it a night. I talked to DH and the kids--Allison had finally stopped crying about me being gone. I found out the kids located the Xmas cookies already in the freezer, and ate them Now I'll have to start all over.

This is where my Sorta started coming into play from my TR title. I did a load of laundry (I wanted to wash my sweatshirt from Monday...b/c I'll wear it home too) I also sat in the sun and read a little of my book too.

I took a really long shower and watched some election coverage on CNN. I was out by 9!! It was a good thing too.. I needed to feel better and the bus was picking me up at 6:45 for my KTTK tour in the morning!!!

 

[ILuvCrush]

I wish we could have hooked up for Epcot day. I don't like this park at all but maybe going with someone who adores it as much as you would show my the good things. It's funny that all the food you ate was the food I stopped and considered for a very long time before deciding to save my money for other things.

I hope you feel better soon in the TR. I was lucky enough not to get sick until I stepped off the plane at home. Now, if only I could get rid of this gosh darn cold.

Looking forward to more updates.

The first time I ever went to epcot was with DH in 99. It was an EMH day so we got there at 7:30 am and got back to ASSports at 11:30pm!!! I've been enamored with it ever since. The funny thing is, all 3 of my kids, love it too... even the "WDW is Stupid" DS!! I managed to spend about $30 of my giftcard... I used the last of it on my dinner back at music. I still have 33 cents left

Paula

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

I found out the kids located the Xmas cookies already in the freezer, and ate them Now I'll have to start all over.

I'm sorry. I am still laughing at this one. This sounds just like my family!!!
Anyhow, I applaud you for being so organized to have made the cookies in the first place.

We were at Disney same time as you. It was my grandson age 10 and I. Too bad I didn't see you in line at any time. Sometimes I needed to talk to someone over age 10, lol. We were also at the downpour MNSSHP that you attended (Oct 13?).

I am enjoying your report and gorgeous photos.
tink

My resort reviews:
Beach Club
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1989297
Saratoga Springs
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1991822
Caribbean Beach
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1988280

 

[ILuvCrush]

I'm sorry. I am still laughing at this one. This sounds just like my family!!!
Anyhow, I applaud you for being so organized to have made the cookies in the first place.

We were at Disney same time as you. It was my grandson age 10 and I. Too bad I didn't see you in line at any time. Sometimes I needed to talk to someone over age 10, lol. We were also at the downpour MNSSHP that you attended (Oct 13?).

I am enjoying your report and gorgeous photos.
tink

Welcome Tink!!! Thanks for the compliments!!! I'm not usually ahead on the baking stuff, but I needed to bake cookies for a bake sale, so I just doubled up since I was baking anyway Seemed like a good idea at the time

Thank goodness that the rain stopped. I had already decided on the bus en route to the party, if it was a total washout, I was going to buy a ticket for the 16th. I did learn my lesson though. Next time, unless there's only 1 day available to go to a special event on my trip, I'm going to pay the extra $5 to buy my ticket that day instead of in advance!!

Paula

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Welcome Tink!!! Thanks for the compliments!!! I'm not usually ahead on the baking stuff, but I needed to bake cookies for a bake sale, so I just doubled up since I was baking anyway Seemed like a good idea at the time

Thank goodness that the rain stopped. I had already decided on the bus en route to the party, if it was a total washout, I was going to buy a ticket for the 16th. I did learn my lesson though. Next time, unless there's only 1 day available to go to a special event on my trip, I'm going to pay the extra $5 to buy my ticket that day instead of in advance!!

Paula

Thanks, Paula.

This year I thought I would do the smart thing and, like you said, wait til we get to Disney to check out the weather report before buying MNSSHP tix. Then a week before we left, I started freaking out when I read the Oct 31 party is already sold out. I kept seeing the words "MNSSHP is a POPULAR PARTY.. Don't miss out!!! Tickets should be purchased before they sell out" ...in a panic I ordered them online and used the Will Call feature. I don't know what the answer is, lol.

Luckily our MNSSHP turned out ok since the rain stopped, but I did feel very sorry for a family at our bus stop that went as a deck of cards. Wow, were they ever drenched with their wet faces sticking out of big wet spongy cards, but they were real troopers and didn't pay it any mind.

I'm especially interested in your reasons why you probably wouldn't do a solo again. I'll wait for that installment of your trip report. Sometimes I think about going solo, but then imagine myself crying at a parade or something, lol.

Anyhow, keep up the good work. Love reading your report.

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Ugh! How terrible that you felt so bad on you solo trip! I'm glad you got to enjoy a few things from F&W if not the Plum Wine! Did you use all $40? Just curious!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Sounds like you had fun at Epcot. The first time we rode Maelstrom we all said practically at the same time...."is that it?" yet every trip we ride anyway!

I didn't know that you could go into the church. I'll have to check that out next time!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Ugh! How terrible that you felt so bad on you solo trip! I'm glad you got to enjoy a few things from F&W if not the Plum Wine! Did you use all $40? Just curious!

Can't wait to read more!

I used just shy of $30.... I also used it to buy a couple of drinks (water and pop) and a pretzel in Germany... which was not very good, and was thrown away mostly uneaten If I'd have felt better, some of the things I originally wanted to try would have looked better to me...so I would have probably spent an easy $50 or more... maybe its a GOOD thing that I was sick

I could use the Gift card anywhere, so I used it for supper at ASMu and I think I had a little left over for grapes one night too I have the card upstairs.. it is very convienient, I'm hoping I'll be able to reload it and use it on my next trip(s)......

Look a 'teaser' LOL!!!!!

Paula

 

[lmillercrew]

Great update, as usual. It's just too bad you felt so crappy! It totally stinks being sick when on vacation. I hurt my back somehow when I was in Mexico this summer. Thankfully you can buy "stuff" down there. I took a Flexerall and fell asleep on a lounge chair in the sun.
I'm surprised that you weren't able to find all of your Christmas goodies. I hope we get to hear if you were able to find other things instead.

 

[ILuvCrush]

Great update, as usual. It's just too bad you felt so crappy! It totally stinks being sick when on vacation. I hurt my back somehow when I was in Mexico this summer. Thankfully you can buy "stuff" down there. I took a Flexerall and fell asleep on a lounge chair in the sun.
.

That was one REALLY great thing about being solo.... probably the BEST thing. If I was with anyone else... I would have pushed myself alot more. I wouldn't have taken the nap on Monday...because I wouldn't have cancelled O'Hana. I wouldn't have done a very short touring day on Tuesday and rested either. I most likely would have been ALOT sicker come Wednesday, and if not, I would have definately been too crabby for anyone to have fun.

I do that at home... like any mom, I put everyone elses wants before my needs... so when I get sick.... it lasts for weeks, because I never give myself time to feel better. Fortunately, the rest is exactly what I needed on Tuesday, so even though I didn't get much done that day....the rest of my week was MUCH better

Paula