keenercam
Loves Mickey!
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2001
- Messages
- 10,466
Okay, given a day at EPCOT to do anything you want -- no schedule, no one else's preferences to accomodate -- what would you do?
After many years of visiting, in all sorts of groups -- just adults, adults and kids, many, many adults, kids and 2 sets of grandparents, etc., etc, -- I was finally there, on my own, for one whole day. Count them. 12.5 hours! Okay, maybe not that many and not all of them alone (there was that mini-DIS WISH meet later on -- I'll get to that), but you get the gist. And, believe you me -- I had a list of 18 items I was going to accomplish -- from a turtle to talk with to shops to explore, concerts to hear, rides to ride, buildings to admire. . . I COULDN'T WAIT!!!
My roommate woke up very early and headed off to USO/IOA to meet the marching band. I politely declined. After all, why go elsewhere when I have a premium annual pass and my first chance ever to explore EPCOT at a leisurely pace?
EARLY MORNING STROLL TO SARATOGA SPRINGS AND BREAKFAST IN MY UNDERWEAR
So, I woke up at about 5:45 a.m. (crazy, I know, but Tiny was getting a cab at 6 to meet up with the band for breakfast). After getting myself somewhat coherent (just enough to be sure I was wearing all necessary articles of clothing), I wandered out for a 3 mile stroll. I wandered over to the Hospitality House to ask where I could leave the OKW jogging trail and get onto the nature trail over to Saratoga Springs, and the CM there was very helpful. I found it was an easy walk to the end of Penninsular Road and then a left hand turn, past building 55, I think? and out of the resort onto the jogging trail/nature trail. I really enjoyed the morning air and watching all the little bunnies scurry across my path as I strolled along listening to my music and checking my Garmin for pace every few minutes. After a bit, I did see some golfers on a course I was walking past and everyone seemed so happy! That early in the morning! My kind of people, for sure.
I made it over to SSR where I stopped in at the registration area for a resort map. I think I was there a bit early because there was nowhere to get coffee at that hour. So, I headed back out and promptly chose the wrong "fork" in the road, which I noticed after about 5 minutes. I got to see more scenic aspects of the golf course, but should have been walking along the canal, so I realized pretty quickly that I had to get re-directed. Saw lots more pretty trees and plants and more cute bunnies.
When I arrived back at OKW, I stopped at the snack bar for coffee and fresh cut fruit, which I took back to my balcony. My dear friend Liz called to say "hey" and ended up keeping me company while I ate my breakfast on my nice sunny balcony, dressed (or should I say partly undressed) in a sport bra and bike shorts -- hey, I had no audience. no roommate. no one to gag or gawk. I had caffeine. and I had fruit. Who could want more?
I'M REALLY HERE! A CRUSH, LOTS OF CUTE BOYS AND A TATTOO
Soon, I gathered up my strength to shower and dress and grabbed my sport bag ladened with only my wallet, a frozen water bottle, a sudoku book and a granola bar. The bus arrived within minutes of my arrival at the bus stop. Just long enough to chat with a really sweet young couple with two toddlers (all I could think of was "not on this trip!" -- not that I have toddlers. I mean, I haven't had a toddler in, oh, about 9+ years, but, well, you know what I mean. Someone who's stuff you have to gather. Whose hand you instinctively grab -- yeah, like DD17 or DS12 would have stood for that!)
Anyway, I digress. Where was I? Oh, yeah, bus to EPCOT.
Entered easily (yeah, I got that whole biometric finger spread then clench thing down pat!) and head right over to The Land. My goal was to get a FP for Soarin and get in the standby line. Met a really nice couple on holiday from England for 3 WEEKS!!! and a sweet girl from New England who was wearing those "all-the-rage-for-the-moment" roller shoes and having a great time on the slightly sloped ramps. Soarin' was as wonderful as I remembered. My next quest was a boat ride -- "Livin' With the Land" -- how awesome! I just couldnt' believe the hydroponic gardening techniques. And those were some really HUGE pumpkins!
The next thing on my to-do list was "Turtle Talk". I have to tell you. Waiting in line for an hour just isn't my gig. I know how to use FP. I can't remember the last time I waited in line an hour for an attraction. Well, I have to say -- I would have waited in line much longer than that for that brief visit with Crush. What an amazing experience. I and all the adults around me were trying to figure out the technology. It was so impressive! The kids were excited and interested, for sure, but the adults were ENTHRALLED!!!! I should mention a little tip here -- a sudoku book really helps the time in line pass quickly if you are surrounded by sullen teens and sleeping toddlers (i.e., no one to talk with for an hour)
It was time to use my Soarin' FP, but it was also nearly noon and I was hungry, so on to WS.
I'd first tried the fish 'n chips in England when DH and I returned to EPCOT after the 1/2 marathon. Until this moment, I wasn't sure whether the memory of how extraordinarily delicious that was was real or just the product of being famished after traipsing 13.1 miles through the parks. Now I can say for certain that the food really is THAT delicious! Well, the fish is. I'm not a big steak fries person. But the fish was awesome, especially with lots of malt vinegar on it. Oh, yeah, that was a benefit of being solo. We always share foods so we can try more things, but no one in my family likes their fish 'n chips with malt vinegar. SO, alas, I'd not had this culinary delight until now. YUM!!!
I then proceeded to explore every nook and cranny of World Showcase that I'd not seen in the past. I admired the mosaic in Morocco (and scoped out Restaurant Marakkesh so I could find it for my dinner date later), walked in and out of shops, viewed "Impressions de France", heard "Voices of Liberty" (AMAZING!!!), explored the mercado in Mexico, rode Rio del Tiempo, explored the little church in Norway, etc., etc. It was really wonderful. I even found a great soccer jersey for DS12 that says "ITALIA" on it -- ever since my Dad died a year ago, DS seems to really embrace his Italian heritage (my Dad was from Naples, Italy), so whenever I see something like that, I try to get for him. I was glad I found it -- he LOVED it.
By mid-afternoon, I realized something was really missing from my day and realized I needed a ride on the monorail. Have I mentioned I am a monorail fanatic? Yes, I really love it so much that I was more than willing to leave WS and walk all the way to the monorail station to do a loop. Somewhere en route, I decided to take a short jaunt over to the Polynesian. By this point, Id talked with DD17 about, oh, I dont know, maybe 9 times? She wanted me to know what she was doing at USO/IOA and how it just wasnt the same as the Disney parks. Yeah, I knew I raised that kid right!
Well, once I got to the Poly and wandered a bit, I decided to get a mid-afternoon snack. Yes, you are counting right. My 3rd meal of the day. And it was only about 3:30. And I had a 6 pm ADR for Marakkesh. 
So, I figured I should be reasonable. Sensible. At least somewhat adherent to my weight watchers plan. 
So, I got a garden salad and fat free Italian dressing. Oh, yeah, and a big fat yellow cupcake with vanilla icing, mickey head candies and a chocolate disk. How could I resist? Really. It was beyond delish!! DS and I LOVE vanilla. This one was for you, sweetie! 
Anyway, I got it at the food place near the pool and carried my tray outside to watch the kids at the pool. I called DD17 to tell her I found where all the cute boys her age and college age were hanging out. Board shorts and those necklaces the boys from the OC wear. You know what I mean. Yeah, sweetie, eat your heart out over at USO/IOA. Yes, well stay here again sometime. No, I wont send you pictures with my camera phone. No, I wont take digitals to show you later. Geez, someone would call security on me. A mothers love only goes so far!
So, reluctantly, but also with some excitement, I took the monorail back to EPCOT, then a friendship boat right to Morocco. Hmmmm, its only 5:15. 45 minutes before I have to meet my WISH buddies for dinner. Then, I spotted it. Just a tiny little sign at the cash register of the shop where Id bought my secretary a piece of jewelry. Henna tattoos Did I dare? It was something Id always wanted to do, but never had the courage, between modesty, time constraints and just plain old embarrassment. Suddenly, I had the best idea of a souvenir to bring DH! Im not going to say anything else on this except, well, uh, never mind. .... (Bet you're really curious now, aren't you? I have no excuse, except that I am a 42 year old mother of 2, a professional, who has lost over 60 pounds putting me at a smaller size than since I was about 13, so the temptation was just too great. It was temporary and NO ONE would know except my WISH friends I was having dinner with [had to explain why my shirt was rolled up for the ink to dry] and now some of my 70,000 closest friends!)
So, I listened to Mo'Rockin (another thing on my to-do list) and then met my friends Nancy and Barry from the WISH board for dinner at Marakkesh. I had Night in Casablanca. It was a sampler of 3 delicious foods a seafood mixture in phyllo dough with a cream sauce, roasted lamb, and chicken brochette. It was awesome! With couscous. YUM. We packed a lot into the rest of that night, too. A second showing of Impresions de France for me, a British Invasion show back near the maze and gazebo, the American Experience, then Illuminations. It was so much fun, especially being with real EPCOT experts! Thanks, guys!
LATE NIGHT AT DOWNTOWN DISNEY -- ALONE
When we parted at the end of the night, I was to meet my friend Tiny at Jellyrolls (a last minute brainstorm), so I jumped on a Friendship Boat to Boardwalk. Just as I disembarked I got word she wouldnt be able to meet me. So, right to plan B took a bus to Downtown Disney where I got a ticket to the very next movie starting, Failure to Launch. I dont go starry eyed over movie stars, and typically dont agree with the hunkiest guy alive titles, but Matthew really is not too hard on the eyes, and the movie was cute. While I was waiting for the movie to start, I checked my TO DO on my SOLO TRIP list and realized Id accomplished absolutely everything on it except seeing Off-Kilter (they weren't at EPCOT that weekend) and what Id knock off the next day. Id even made it to DTD for a late night movie. Not bad.
One thing really did disturb me at the movie. I even ended up moving to another seat. There were many, many older teens who were in and out of the theatre constantly. One guy in particular made at least 10 trips to the hallway. I realized after a little bit that he was pretty obviously dealing drugs. There couldn't be any other explanation. I did move my seat to the far side of the theatre, where he didn't pass me every time he left and where there were other tourist-looking people more my age. The whole experience did convince me to leave the theatre prettty quickly at the end of the movie and head to the bus stop.
Got back to the resort around 1:15, moved the clock ahead so that it was really 2:15 and planned an early wake-up to head to Animal Kingdom to knock the last 3 items off my now nearly completed To Do list.
Next up, Day 3 --Cam comes face to face with the YETI!
After many years of visiting, in all sorts of groups -- just adults, adults and kids, many, many adults, kids and 2 sets of grandparents, etc., etc, -- I was finally there, on my own, for one whole day. Count them. 12.5 hours! Okay, maybe not that many and not all of them alone (there was that mini-DIS WISH meet later on -- I'll get to that), but you get the gist. And, believe you me -- I had a list of 18 items I was going to accomplish -- from a turtle to talk with to shops to explore, concerts to hear, rides to ride, buildings to admire. . . I COULDN'T WAIT!!!
My roommate woke up very early and headed off to USO/IOA to meet the marching band. I politely declined. After all, why go elsewhere when I have a premium annual pass and my first chance ever to explore EPCOT at a leisurely pace?
EARLY MORNING STROLL TO SARATOGA SPRINGS AND BREAKFAST IN MY UNDERWEAR
So, I woke up at about 5:45 a.m. (crazy, I know, but Tiny was getting a cab at 6 to meet up with the band for breakfast). After getting myself somewhat coherent (just enough to be sure I was wearing all necessary articles of clothing), I wandered out for a 3 mile stroll. I wandered over to the Hospitality House to ask where I could leave the OKW jogging trail and get onto the nature trail over to Saratoga Springs, and the CM there was very helpful. I found it was an easy walk to the end of Penninsular Road and then a left hand turn, past building 55, I think? and out of the resort onto the jogging trail/nature trail. I really enjoyed the morning air and watching all the little bunnies scurry across my path as I strolled along listening to my music and checking my Garmin for pace every few minutes. After a bit, I did see some golfers on a course I was walking past and everyone seemed so happy! That early in the morning! My kind of people, for sure.
I made it over to SSR where I stopped in at the registration area for a resort map. I think I was there a bit early because there was nowhere to get coffee at that hour. So, I headed back out and promptly chose the wrong "fork" in the road, which I noticed after about 5 minutes. I got to see more scenic aspects of the golf course, but should have been walking along the canal, so I realized pretty quickly that I had to get re-directed. Saw lots more pretty trees and plants and more cute bunnies.
When I arrived back at OKW, I stopped at the snack bar for coffee and fresh cut fruit, which I took back to my balcony. My dear friend Liz called to say "hey" and ended up keeping me company while I ate my breakfast on my nice sunny balcony, dressed (or should I say partly undressed) in a sport bra and bike shorts -- hey, I had no audience. no roommate. no one to gag or gawk. I had caffeine. and I had fruit. Who could want more?
I'M REALLY HERE! A CRUSH, LOTS OF CUTE BOYS AND A TATTOO
Soon, I gathered up my strength to shower and dress and grabbed my sport bag ladened with only my wallet, a frozen water bottle, a sudoku book and a granola bar. The bus arrived within minutes of my arrival at the bus stop. Just long enough to chat with a really sweet young couple with two toddlers (all I could think of was "not on this trip!" -- not that I have toddlers. I mean, I haven't had a toddler in, oh, about 9+ years, but, well, you know what I mean. Someone who's stuff you have to gather. Whose hand you instinctively grab -- yeah, like DD17 or DS12 would have stood for that!)
Anyway, I digress. Where was I? Oh, yeah, bus to EPCOT.
Entered easily (yeah, I got that whole biometric finger spread then clench thing down pat!) and head right over to The Land. My goal was to get a FP for Soarin and get in the standby line. Met a really nice couple on holiday from England for 3 WEEKS!!! and a sweet girl from New England who was wearing those "all-the-rage-for-the-moment" roller shoes and having a great time on the slightly sloped ramps. Soarin' was as wonderful as I remembered. My next quest was a boat ride -- "Livin' With the Land" -- how awesome! I just couldnt' believe the hydroponic gardening techniques. And those were some really HUGE pumpkins!
The next thing on my to-do list was "Turtle Talk". I have to tell you. Waiting in line for an hour just isn't my gig. I know how to use FP. I can't remember the last time I waited in line an hour for an attraction. Well, I have to say -- I would have waited in line much longer than that for that brief visit with Crush. What an amazing experience. I and all the adults around me were trying to figure out the technology. It was so impressive! The kids were excited and interested, for sure, but the adults were ENTHRALLED!!!! I should mention a little tip here -- a sudoku book really helps the time in line pass quickly if you are surrounded by sullen teens and sleeping toddlers (i.e., no one to talk with for an hour)
It was time to use my Soarin' FP, but it was also nearly noon and I was hungry, so on to WS.
I'd first tried the fish 'n chips in England when DH and I returned to EPCOT after the 1/2 marathon. Until this moment, I wasn't sure whether the memory of how extraordinarily delicious that was was real or just the product of being famished after traipsing 13.1 miles through the parks. Now I can say for certain that the food really is THAT delicious! Well, the fish is. I'm not a big steak fries person. But the fish was awesome, especially with lots of malt vinegar on it. Oh, yeah, that was a benefit of being solo. We always share foods so we can try more things, but no one in my family likes their fish 'n chips with malt vinegar. SO, alas, I'd not had this culinary delight until now. YUM!!!
I then proceeded to explore every nook and cranny of World Showcase that I'd not seen in the past. I admired the mosaic in Morocco (and scoped out Restaurant Marakkesh so I could find it for my dinner date later), walked in and out of shops, viewed "Impressions de France", heard "Voices of Liberty" (AMAZING!!!), explored the mercado in Mexico, rode Rio del Tiempo, explored the little church in Norway, etc., etc. It was really wonderful. I even found a great soccer jersey for DS12 that says "ITALIA" on it -- ever since my Dad died a year ago, DS seems to really embrace his Italian heritage (my Dad was from Naples, Italy), so whenever I see something like that, I try to get for him. I was glad I found it -- he LOVED it.
By mid-afternoon, I realized something was really missing from my day and realized I needed a ride on the monorail. Have I mentioned I am a monorail fanatic? Yes, I really love it so much that I was more than willing to leave WS and walk all the way to the monorail station to do a loop. Somewhere en route, I decided to take a short jaunt over to the Polynesian. By this point, Id talked with DD17 about, oh, I dont know, maybe 9 times? She wanted me to know what she was doing at USO/IOA and how it just wasnt the same as the Disney parks. Yeah, I knew I raised that kid right!
Well, once I got to the Poly and wandered a bit, I decided to get a mid-afternoon snack. Yes, you are counting right. My 3rd meal of the day. And it was only about 3:30. And I had a 6 pm ADR for Marakkesh. So, I figured I should be reasonable. Sensible. At least somewhat adherent to my weight watchers plan. So, I got a garden salad and fat free Italian dressing. Oh, yeah, and a big fat yellow cupcake with vanilla icing, mickey head candies and a chocolate disk. How could I resist? Really. It was beyond delish!! DS and I LOVE vanilla. This one was for you, sweetie! Anyway, I got it at the food place near the pool and carried my tray outside to watch the kids at the pool. I called DD17 to tell her I found where all the cute boys her age and college age were hanging out. Board shorts and those necklaces the boys from the OC wear. You know what I mean. Yeah, sweetie, eat your heart out over at USO/IOA. Yes, well stay here again sometime. No, I wont send you pictures with my camera phone. No, I wont take digitals to show you later. Geez, someone would call security on me. A mothers love only goes so far!So, reluctantly, but also with some excitement, I took the monorail back to EPCOT, then a friendship boat right to Morocco. Hmmmm, its only 5:15. 45 minutes before I have to meet my WISH buddies for dinner. Then, I spotted it. Just a tiny little sign at the cash register of the shop where Id bought my secretary a piece of jewelry. Henna tattoos Did I dare? It was something Id always wanted to do, but never had the courage, between modesty, time constraints and just plain old embarrassment. Suddenly, I had the best idea of a souvenir to bring DH! Im not going to say anything else on this except, well, uh, never mind. .... (Bet you're really curious now, aren't you? I have no excuse, except that I am a 42 year old mother of 2, a professional, who has lost over 60 pounds putting me at a smaller size than since I was about 13, so the temptation was just too great. It was temporary and NO ONE would know except my WISH friends I was having dinner with [had to explain why my shirt was rolled up for the ink to dry] and now some of my 70,000 closest friends!)
So, I listened to Mo'Rockin (another thing on my to-do list) and then met my friends Nancy and Barry from the WISH board for dinner at Marakkesh. I had Night in Casablanca. It was a sampler of 3 delicious foods a seafood mixture in phyllo dough with a cream sauce, roasted lamb, and chicken brochette. It was awesome! With couscous. YUM. We packed a lot into the rest of that night, too. A second showing of Impresions de France for me, a British Invasion show back near the maze and gazebo, the American Experience, then Illuminations. It was so much fun, especially being with real EPCOT experts! Thanks, guys!
LATE NIGHT AT DOWNTOWN DISNEY -- ALONE
When we parted at the end of the night, I was to meet my friend Tiny at Jellyrolls (a last minute brainstorm), so I jumped on a Friendship Boat to Boardwalk. Just as I disembarked I got word she wouldnt be able to meet me. So, right to plan B took a bus to Downtown Disney where I got a ticket to the very next movie starting, Failure to Launch. I dont go starry eyed over movie stars, and typically dont agree with the hunkiest guy alive titles, but Matthew really is not too hard on the eyes, and the movie was cute. While I was waiting for the movie to start, I checked my TO DO on my SOLO TRIP list and realized Id accomplished absolutely everything on it except seeing Off-Kilter (they weren't at EPCOT that weekend) and what Id knock off the next day. Id even made it to DTD for a late night movie. Not bad.
One thing really did disturb me at the movie. I even ended up moving to another seat. There were many, many older teens who were in and out of the theatre constantly. One guy in particular made at least 10 trips to the hallway. I realized after a little bit that he was pretty obviously dealing drugs. There couldn't be any other explanation. I did move my seat to the far side of the theatre, where he didn't pass me every time he left and where there were other tourist-looking people more my age. The whole experience did convince me to leave the theatre prettty quickly at the end of the movie and head to the bus stop.
Got back to the resort around 1:15, moved the clock ahead so that it was really 2:15 and planned an early wake-up to head to Animal Kingdom to knock the last 3 items off my now nearly completed To Do list.
Next up, Day 3 --Cam comes face to face with the YETI!
) as we will be focusing on the flowers and less on the rides this trip.
Great report Cam!!! Thanks for taking the time to write it. Can't wait for the next installment!! 
