My Solo Supercalifragilistic Sabbatical at SSR UPDATED 9/6 Final Thoughts

[PIRATEGIRL007]

My Solo Supercalifragilistic Sabbatical ~ Sushi, Salads, and Sandwiches at Saratoga Springs​

Hi there Dis’sers! I love reading many of your trip reports and have been meaning for 2 years now to get back over here and write one. I have done a few in the past, like in the mid 00’s but nothing recently. So bear with me it’s been a while, but I hope to catch back on to the trip report etiquette pretty quickly. I also tend to ramble; it’s a habit I picked up from my DH.

A little introduction:

I am Tabitha a 31 year old Disney addict. My first trip was in 2002 as a (barely) adult and I feel in love. Before my trip I bought the Birnbaums guide and planned everything I wanted to do, read the book cover to cover, etc. I fully expected it to be my first and once in a lifetime trip, I am happy to say it is not. I have been over 25 times since. I do something Disney related every day, usually come here on the DIS (I’m a regular on Theme Park Attractions and Strategies), answer questions on Touring Plans chatroom Lines, read some blogs or news, check to make sure no WDW promos have came out and listen to Disney music. When I’m not busy doing that I have a real job with a communications company. I have been with the company for over a decade (literally) and am fortunate to have a great job that allows me about 6 weeks a year to travel. I also am lucky enough to work with my husband. In my sparetime I have a second fun job that is Disney related.

My favorite character: Duffy with Captain Hook as a close second.
My favorite resort: Port Orleans Riverside (well it was at the start of this report)
My favorite park: Magic Kingdom of course
my favorite ride: This is tough but Haunted Mansion because it was the first ride I ever rode at WDW.


This is my husband Matthew. We have been married for about 3 years and we have two children (my steps). We are both WDW Annual Passholders. He loves all the parks, and could spend days at Epcot listening to Off Kilter and Voices of Liberty. We actually are planning on doing just that on our upcoming couple trip in September. I converted him to a Disney fan on his first trip with me. We stayed at CSR for a week with free dining back when you got the free appetizer too. He loved it. He had been a few times as a kid and twice for day trips as an adult but never stayed on site and did Disney ‘right’. I talked him into Annual Passes upgrades for that trip and he hasn’t looked back. I knew he really was a true Disney fan when on our 3rd or 4th trip we were leaving Orlando and passed under the bridge downtown with the weather Doppler thing and he turned to me with a puppy dog face and said I miss it already when can we come back. He works in a web development type of job for the same company I work for. He has probably been to WDW since we got together about 15 times since we first started dating.

Favorite character: Donald Duck
Favorite resort: Port Orleans Riverside
Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite ride: Rock N Roller Coaster


Meet my 2 lovely step kids. They are great kids, very well behaved and get along with each other well. We get them every week some and alternate weekends, summer vacations, holidays, and such. I admire you full time moms out there and don’t know how you do it. God knew I couldn’t do full time so he blessed me with two part time kids. DD is 10 and isn’t a huge Disney parks fan, she often asks to go to the beach. DS is 7 and he loves Disney but not as much as Matthew and I do. He occasionally lets his sister talk him into things like asking to go to the beach. That’s how you can tell they don’t have my blood; they would have the Disney virus in it. So we don’t get the kiddos Annual Passes we take them every other year for a week and that seems to be good enough for now. DH and I have to suffer thru the beach for them every other year or so and try to take them to new places like Williamsburg and next year we are going to Nebraska. They both do love Star Wars and have watched the movies hundreds of times, were SW characters for Halloween and play SW all the time at home. They were last at WDW in May for Star Wars Weekends (we did a full week with them) which is when we try to take them so they can get both Disney and Star Wars overload.

I will let you oohhh and ahh for a moment b/c they are truly adorable. Check out DS’s missing tooth!

Ok so you meet DH and the kids, ooh and ahhh’d. Now get a good last look because........you won’t see any more of them at ALL in this trip report!! This is all about me and, my solo trip. So get used to seeing me.

What you say? You are married, have two kids, two jobs, and you are getting to take a solo trip to Walt Disney world? What??! How in the world did you manage that?


Continued in the Next Chapter

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Pre Trip and Plans
Who are you and why are we reading about your trip?
How to justify a solo Walt Disney World Trip~ Don't OD on HGTV
My FairyDVC-godmother comes thru !

Disney Day 1
I don't do Morning Unless its or Disney!
Saratoga Springs Arrival
It's time for my favorite Disney game - Bus Roulette!
Day 1 continued The I'm out of Clever Titles post

Disney Day 2
It's Toy Story Midway Mania Morning Mad Dash time!
Let the Hopping Begin!
Late night, Short Lines

Disney Day 3
Workin' in the World
A park in one hour? Are you serious? It’s time to put your Imagination Caps on

Day 4
The Running of the Strollers
The Busses love me, the monorail….not so much
The Disney Magic Mile

Final Thoughts​

 

[Suelala]

I'm in, sign me up! I am thinking of a solo trip next year, so this will be interesting.

 

[DisneyDame27]

Can't wait to do something like this myself...........I'm in!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I'm in, sign me up! I am thinking of a solo trip next year, so this will be interesting.

Can't wait to do something like this myself...........I'm in!

Glad to have you all along. If you are even considering it I say go for it! I had some people encourage me over on the adult/solo board here and I've gotta say they were all dead on correct. It was fabulous.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Joining in.

 

[jecskc]

I'm here !! I can't wait to read !!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Joining in.

I'm glad you joined.
And I love your name, that could be me b/c DH sure can live up to the Grumpy title sometimes. : At least its once of his favorite charecters.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I'm here !! I can't wait to read !!

Welcome! I feel a little pressure to do the Saratoga Springs review parts well since your TR is what inspired me to want to check it out.

 

[lurkernj]

Joining in! I love reading solo reports! I'm hoping to do one someday and love living vicariously through you all.

I am getting a couple of days semi-solo on my trip next month(i will have my in-laws with me, but im ditching them for part of the time)but it's still not the same as being totally alone and independent.

 

[jecskc]

Welcome! I feel a little pressure to do the Saratoga Springs review parts well since your TR is what inspired me to want to check it out.

You already saved a page for links !! I think you will be fine !! I can't wait for photos and to read your thoughts. We have ressies there for November, but we are on the wait list for BLT and BWV.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Joining in! I love reading solo reports! I'm hoping to do one someday and love living vicariously through you all.

I am getting a couple of days semi-solo on my trip next month(i will have my in-laws with me, but im ditching them for part of the time)but it's still not the same as being totally alone and independent.

Do it! Solo is a blast.
As you will see mine was to be a MIL and me trip but she had other things come up. We are great friends and it would have been fun but now I'm glad she didn't come. And I'll do it again solo and just not tell anyone till its too late to 'add' them on.

I will have another chapter or two up tomorrow. I might even make it thru the plane ride to WDW and check in. That's my goal.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Good Morning everyone! Anxiously awaiting 7am so I can call and book Be Our Guest for some clients. Good luck to anyone else out there waiting. I may have time to post an update if I'm on hold for a while if not I'll have one up by lunchtime.

 

[Aussiesalad]

Sounds like a great one!
I love the idea of solo

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

wow its been a morning to remember already. The Be Our Guest mad dash was nuts but it seems I was one of the first that came thru. Had to take the call on my cell (got thru faster than landline) and service started getting sketchy so had to jump out on the back porch. Lets just say I was not in my work clothes yet and was very very thankful our neighbors had not awaken for the morning and were not outside. But I was off the phone in under 15 minutes and got the first choices of times and dates for my cleints so I'm happy.


Then as we are walking into work, my DH goes umm dear your jeans are ripped. Huh? Yeah on the pocket he says. I think ok no biggie they get those little holes in them around the pocket seams pretty easy and I can hide that. DH says oh no this is big time. Yeah the entire pocket had a tear down the seam and you could see my undies! So off to Target I went, luckily I found a pair of jeans quickly changed in the bathroom and am back at work. <Shoutout to Target for opening at 8am! > Now I find out I've left my jump drive with all my pictures for the update on it at home (or lost it in Target worst case scenario). The next installment wouldn't have alot of pictures so I'll post it but my flight and check in will have to wait till late tonight or in the morning. At least my underwear aren't showing anymore......

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Sounds like a great one!
I love the idea of solo

glad to have you along!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Warning~ Do not OD on HGTV

Thanks for asking. It’s a long story I’ll give you the cliff notes. DH is a missions leader for our church this year in January they decided to do a mission trip to Montana to an Indian Reservation. I immediately said no way ‘jose, I am not a teepee kinda gal. And I never felt any regrets over that I prayed about it and didn’t feel led to participate in that ministry. DH did. He wanted to go right off the bat, I jokingly said fine you go and I’ll go to Disney. I never ever thought they would get that trip organized and off the ground when I first said that. As the months ticked by they did get it together so I said again I want to go to WDW while you’re gone. My mother in law is also an AP holder (first year we took her at Thanksgiving last year for her Christmas present and she bought one then, she also went with us and the kids in May) and said she wanted to come too. After our May trip DH concreted his Montana plans and I still was on the fence. Should I go and spend that money or stay home and save it? I had just invested in my new TA career and money was a wee tighter than I like between that our vacation and DH going to Montana. Then I was almost convinced b/c I found good flight prices ($120 RT) and splitting it with DMIL it was reasonable. I booked a room just in case, got All Stars b/c that was all that was left a decent price. Then DMIL backed out the weekend I picked her other grandkids were coming to her church to sing.

Time out for some back story:

DH and I bought an older house built in the 50’s after we got married. I love it, actually it’s a house I wanted to live in as a child (my babysitter’s aunt owned it) and I thought it was so cool. Being from the 50’s it has tile up ¾ of the wall in the bathrooms in colors like brown and pale green. When we moved in I knew we couldn’t afford to redo it right away but knew a coat of paint could spruce them up. I started watching HGTV. Way too much HGTV. David Bromstead (a former Disney CM and animator if you didn’t know) from ColorSplash inspired me. My brown tile would look good with orange and a vanilla cream color. We did a big trip to Lowes after we moved in bought paint, new door knobs, etc. I bought some art for the walls and some other accessories like towels and a shower curtain.

So a few years ago on 4th of July DH had to work, I didn’t. I started watching HGTV (the kids were at their mom’s). I got inspired that I could re-do our main bathroom completely while DH was gone to work. In my mind it would work just like the TV show he could come home at quitting time I’d do a big reveal and he would be so impressed with our makeover. I taped up the edges of the room, put down drop cloth, poured out my orange paint and went to town. I painted the whole bathroom in like 2 hours. Then I tried to fix the smudges I got on the ceiling. The pant looked weird. Splotchy kind of. I remember the paint guy at Lowe’s trying to talk me into primer. I’m like nooo I don’t need it my walls are beige. So I think second coat, that’s what it needs. So I wait a bit and start a second coat. It looks worse, its dark orange in some spots, light in others. I think it’s just the lighting in here so I go get another light. Nope it’s the walls. I say ok well let the 2nd coat dry it will look better it’s just wet. So I take the vanity handles off to start to paint them. They get stuck the screws won’t move. I get the electric screwdriver. Nothing not an inch. So I contemplate painting around the handles and having DH removes them to replace them when he gets home, luckily I don't touch the vanity cabinet.

I take a break, I come back the paint is still splotch. I call my dad. “Umm, dad why would the paint be splotchy?” Dad: “Did you use primer?” me: “well no dad the walls are beige”. Dad: “well I don’t know then did you try a second coat to even it out” me: “yes”. Dad: “sigh, where is Matthew?” me sheepishly: “at work?” Dad in that dad voice “so you painted your bathroom by yourself and it’s a mess” me: “yup”. Dad: “SIGH, ok I’ll come over”. Me: “Thanks dad I’ll see you in a minute”. So we hang up and I go to take the painters tape off the tile. And it tears. The wall. I’m like what?! The paint peeled a little off. How did this happen? I start flipping out. What is going on? I convince myself it’s just I got too much paint on the tape there and start peeling the rest of. Another chunk comes off. I start looking around, the splotches make sense now. Then a huge piece around the light switch about 7 inches tall comes off. It looks like the wall is peeling and the paint bubbling up. I call dad back “umm dad could my bathroom walls be peeling off”. Dad “wait a second you don’t have wall paper do you?” me: “no dad, its regular walls you know in the brown bathroom”. Then I see IT. A seam in the corner. It’s tiny and blended in well till I painted it orange. Oh crap. “Dad turn around and goes back home I’ll call you back”. I put down the phone and nearly start to hyperventilate. I have ruined my bathroom it’s a mess it looks awful and I’ve painted wall paper. For those of you who may not know you can’t paint regular wall paper with regular paint. It looks like crap. I have pictures to prove it, which I will not be sharing with you guys. I am a wreck upset that DH is going to be mad and all this. I worry about it for hours, I do other stuff like frantically clean the house so the rest of the house looks good, I steam cleaned the floors, organized the closet, etc. So DH comes home that night. I try to break the news gently. I say I have some bad news and take him in there. He starts cracking up. I mean laughing like there ain’t no tomorrow. I of course burst into tears. He calms me down, re-assures me it’s ok and that he didn’t know it was wall paper and that’s that.


So back in 2012 DH is leaving for a week. I am itching to fix that bathroom, redo our master and most importantly knock down the wall between the kitchen and dining room to have a eat in kitchen. And replace the cabinets. All of DH’s ‘handy’ friends who I could talk into helping me are going in the trip to Montana with him. But the what if wheels are still turning in my head. Hmmm. I mention it to DH. How a full week would be plenty of time to re-do the kitchen. His reply “Go to Disney, please just go”.


So that my dear DIS friends is how you destroy a bathroom but scare your
husband into shipping you off to Disney anytime he is out of town.

Continued in next post​

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

My FairyDVC-godmother comes thru- DISser’s rock

I convince myself that I need to stay DVC for this solo trip. It will be safer I tell myself and since I’m not getting a discount at All Stars with renting points I can find something not a lot more than my value reservation. I hit the DIS DVC boards hard and heavy and another board (that the DIS blocks the name off evidientally, oops my bad). Anyone with $11 and under points I start researching and inquire about every point availability out there. I post ‘wanted’ posts. I realize SSR is my only choice. We have AKL booked in September for DH and I as first timers there. I don’t want to stay there without him so I pass on all the ALK. I look up stuff about SSR and remember some fabulous trip reports about it. I am in love and happy to be going after SSR. I find someone who has points and will rent them to me. It’s not a great deal but not that bad. I take the plunge get ready to send payment and they rent them to someone else because I didn’t email them back within 20 minutes to double confirm I was booking. So back to the boards. I post some more. I almost give up and am ok with staying at All Stars. I get my DME tags and my trip confirmation documents.

I don’t DIS much on the weekends I am usually too busy to be online much. So I see an email of a PM from the DIS come thru. I check it and the title is I have DVC points I can give you. I think this is a joke or a scam even though the DVCFairy says it isn’t. I PM them back, then we exchange phone numbers and call. An awesome DISser here saw my posts for points, had 20 points they had not banked to save for their grown child to come to WDW in July. Their kid and grandkid couldn’t come. So my FairyDVC-godmother offered them to me. And rented me the rest of the points for about $10 a point! So I end up getting my entire stay at SSR in a studio for LESS than what I was paying at All Stars! I still am in owe. It seemed too good to be true then and still does even though its over. I am so thankful to be a member of the DIS because of the awesome people here that are willing to help out other Disney fans. I try to pass the magic along when I can but this was really over and above.


Now that my Saratoga Reservations are ready I can really start planning. I try not to say a lot to DH because he isn’t coming but after a few days go by I can’t stand it. It starts with "Honey is there anything you want me to do while I’m there so you don’t have to do it again in September?" See "Beauty in the Beast." Ok sure I will I love that show.
"Anything else?" "Nope not that I can think of. "
"Hmm how about eating at Kona?" "Sure go for it" me:" I might try their Sushi". DH:" gag a maggot that stuff is nasty knock yourself out."
Then I remember California grill is supposed to have awesome sushi, "DH can I go to Cali grill? " DH "sure".
me: "So Matthew what are you all eating in the wilderness in Montana?" DH: "I have no idea." "Well what if you don’t like it? It’s not like you can go to McDonalds or Wal-mart." DH: "I’ll survive. Enjoy your sushi and Disney food."

I think sheww again it’s a great thing I’m not going to Montana. I am not picky but I flat out don’t eat some stuff. Then I plan eating at Hollywood Brown Derby for Cobb Salad. I love salads and they have the best. Then I start daydreaming about all the yummy places to eat salads. And then sushi. And poof my title is born for my trip report. Sandwiches is actually what I ended up eating the most though.

I don’t make any ADR’s b/c its just me and I want to be free. Free to wander around. I figure if I get shut out of the places I want to go I’ll just go somewhere else. Then I start a list of things I want to do that DH will do but doesn’t love. Beauty and the Beast, all the parades, Wishes, Illuminations. My list grows and grows. I know it will be busy so I plan on things like Liberty Belle and Hall of Presidents. I don’t count on hitting headliners like Rock N Roller Coaster, Space Mtn, Splash, etc as must do’s incase its too busy. It is mid July after all. I plan on the waterparks. DH likes them but doesn’t love them. I think ooh I can spend hours in the lazy river just going around and around. I am getting more and more excited.

Up Next: Airports, Airports, and who needs sleep I’m going to Disney!
I promise I will really leave for this Disney trip sometime.

Continued in Next Post ​

 

[Aulika]

Subbing i can't wait to read about the rest of you trip !

 

[jecskc]

OK that story about the bathroom and then you mentioning redoing some stuff in the house to get your DH to OK your Disney trip ... was hilarious !!

How awesome that you got pixie dusted by the DVCFairy. That was so amazing. Looking forward to reading more !!