Solo Trip Report – Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Disney – 12/18 to 12/23/11

[jmw1975]

I have been a lurker on these boards for quite some time while planning my trip, and the tips I read here absolutely MADE my trip. So I thought I should pay it forward with a report of my own adventures, in the hopes that it helps future planners.

About me: I am a 30-something female. This was my 4th trip to Disney, but my first solo trip. I travel alone for work quite frequently, so I am very comfortable traveling alone… but this is the first time it occurred to me that I could choose to travel solo purely for vacation purposes. It was thanks to folks here on the Disboards that I had this realization!

First an overview: My trip was just 5 nights, so I had to pack a lot into a short period of time. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so the motivation for the trip was to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. Then I figured if I am traveling to Orlando, I had to go to Disney as well! I booked a Harry Potter vacation package with Universal Studios, which had me staying at a Universal “partner” hotel (The Holiday Inn directly across from the park entrance). My package included 2 nights hotel, 1 day park admission, early park entry, breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, and a CityWalk party pass (which I didn’t use, because night clubs aren’t my thing). I then did 3 nights at Disney (Coronado Springs Resort) with the Quick Service Dining Plan.

Some general thoughts before I go into the day-by-day account: Regarding traveling solo… 95% of the time, I absolutely loved it! As others have said, I could do what I want, at whatever pace I wanted. I could go on whatever rides I wanted, in whatever order I wanted, as many times as I wanted. I LOVE rollercoasters, so I went on just about every rollercoaster at least twice, sometimes as many as 4 times. I didn’t have to worry about dragging anyone down. And I didn’t have to pass up doing things I wanted to do just because it might not interest a travel partner. Because I was on the quick service dining plan, I didn’t find it uncomfortable to eat alone. Ordering at the counter and sitting alone is something I do often at home, so this was no problem. I did splurge on one table service meal at Coral Reef in Epcot (in order to book the Candlelight Processional dinner package), and the only time I did become self-conscious the entire trip was during that meal. I feel self-conscious being waited on alone (although my server was awesome and friendly, and definitely did a lot to make me feel more comfortable), and I feel awkward waiting for my food to arrive with nothing to do. Part of why I booked Coral Reef was that I figured I could watch the fish while waiting for my food – which did help somewhat. However, with my table location, watching the fish required me to look directly over a neighboring table, so this also made me self-conscious, because I felt like I was staring at these people while they were eating! So I ended up getting out my cell phone and playing Words with Friends while waiting.

In terms of the dining plan value – I did not get free dining, so I paid for quick service, and honestly, I’m not sure it was such a bargain for me. I think if I added up everything I ate, I probably about broke even. That being said, I probably ate more than I would have otherwise (and had to throw out some food I couldn’t finish), so if I hadn’t done the dining plan, I probably would have spent less, eaten less, and wasted less. I also don’t eat red meat, so it’s hard to get your money’s worth when you eat a lot of chicken and vegetarian items. However, I still enjoyed the fact that all my meals were paid for in advance, and I probably indulged in more treats than I would have if I’d had to pay for them per item, and some of those treats were quite enjoyable! So I don’t regret having given it a try. In the future, I’m 50/50 whether I’d pay for it again (but would certainly do it if it were free!).

Crowd level: It was definitely crowded this time of year, which I anticipated. However, by following the guidelines on these boards, I don't think I waited more than 20 minutes for any ride. I made use of early park hours and got to parks by rope drop, and made sure to hit all the big attractions early (or late or during parades/fireworks).

Bags and lockers and such: I bought the Baggalini messenger bag on the recommendation of people on this site, and it worked out great! Because of the time of year, there were big temperature shifts - very warm in the afternoon, but quite chilly in the early morning and late evening. So I also rented a locker most days, so I could store bulky items (fleece jacket, change of shoes, etc.) that I wanted available, but might not want to carry around all day. By the end of my trip, it was a bit warmer so that I could just bring the Baggalini and not need a locker. (I just carried a lightweight hoodie which fit in the messenger bag). At Universal / Harry Potter I used a very small (flat) belly bag, and wore cargo pants to carry stuff in my pockets, since they don't allow you to bring bags on many of the rides. This way I didn't have to wait in the locker lines. But I did rent a locker for the day so that I could have my fleece (which I definitely needed by nightfall!).

Pin trading: I had read so much about pin trading on this site and it sounded like so much fun, so I gave it a try. Initially I felt a bit uncomfortable asking CMs to trade, but I quickly got the hang of it. My only disappointment was that it was much more difficult than I had hoped to find the pins I was looking for. I had a list of favorite characters I wanted to try to find, but the pickings seemed to be predominantly Mickeys and Figments (who were both on my list, but I was looking for more variety!). I felt like the CMs were just wearing other people's "rejects" so often nothing appealed to me more than what I already owned. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the process of trading, and I think had I stayed for a longer trip, I would have found more of what I was looking for.

Okay, next up - the daily details!

 

[jmw1975]

I had an afternoon direct flight from CT to Orlando, which was supposed to get me in around 5:30 p.m. However, due to a mechanical issue, my flight was redirected to NY, where we had to wait on the plane until they fixed the problem. This added about 2 hours to my trip (so much for a direct flight!), and I ended up arriving in Orlando around 7:30. The first part of my trip was my Universal Studios package, so no Magical Express. Had I known I’d be delayed, I probably would have splurged on a cab to my hotel, but I had already pre-booked the Mears Shuttle. I had intended to have dinner near my hotel, but given the delay, decided to grab a quick sandwich at the airport and eat it while waiting for the Mears shuttle. It was about a half hour wait until the shuttle arrived. And then my hotel was the very last stop that the shuttle made – so it was about 9:30 p.m. before I arrived at my hotel. I didn’t mind, though, since I had no plans for that evening, and I liked saving some money. Mears was very convenient and easy to use – I definitely recommend it if you are in no big hurry to get to your hotel. There are signs all over the airport directing you to the Mears location. Then you just show your receipt at the counter (or scan it at an electronic kiosk) to get your ticket, and hand in your ticket at the bus stop, where they will give you a “buzzer” that lets you know when your shuttle has arrived. This way you can go back inside if you so choose (although it was a nice night, so I sat on a bench near the bus stop).

My first two nights I stayed at the Holiday Inn on Kirkman Rd., which was across the street from the Universal Studios premises (but about a mile from the actual park entrances, which are quite a ways inside the premises). The hotel itself was very nice. I think my room had been recently renovated – everything was very new and clean, and it even had that “recently renovated” smell. The hotel had a pool and fitness room as well, but I didn’t have a chance to use them.

After checking in, I spent an hour or so getting settled, and packing up my backpack for the next day. Then I got to bed as early as possible, since I had to be up before 6 a.m. for the 7 a.m. early park hours at WWOHP.

 

[jmw1975]

I woke up at 5:45 a.m. (which is unheard of for me, but somehow it’s much easier to get up early when you’re on vacation!). Although my hotel had a complimentary shuttle to Universal Studios, the first shuttle left at 8 a.m., and I wanted to be at the park for the early park admission at 7 a.m. that came with my Universal package. I had read the fine print in my travel documents, and knew there would likely be no shuttle at that hour, which is why I chose a hotel within walking distance of the parks. My plan had been to start walking between 6:15 and 6:30, which would have me at the park entrance around 6:45 – 15 minutes before early park hours began. However, I didn’t realize how DARK it would still be at that hour, and as a single female, I didn’t feel comfortable walking alone in the dark. I considered calling for a cab, but figured by the time a cab arrived, it would be light out anyway. So I just decided to wait until there was a bit more light in the sky. The waiting was painful, because I was dressed and ready to go!! Finally around 6:40 a.m., the sky was fairly light, and I started walking. It was a pleasant and easy walk. At a fairly brisk pace, it took me about 15 minutes to reach Citywalk (the shopping district that connects the two Universal parks), and another 5 minutes to get to the entrance of Islands of Adventure. So I arrived at the entrance at exactly 7 a.m., at which point the park was already open. I proceeded directly to the electronic kiosk to print out my tickets (park entry ticket, Three Broomsticks meal ticket, and CityWalk party pass – all of which came with my package). Everything went smoothly as far as the package went – everything was there as expected. I then made a quick stop immediately inside the park entrance to rent a locker for the day, and drop off my backpack. I hated taking the time to do this because I was eager to race to the WWOHP area… but I knew it would save me time not to have my backpack with me all day, and in the evening I definitely appreciated having brought a fleece jacket with me at the park! It only cost me a few minutes to get the locker. Universal has a neat electronic locker system where you use a computer kiosk to rent your locker, and you then set a password and use the same kiosk every time you want to open or close your locker. Actually quite a bit more high tech than the Disney lockers, and very easy to use.

I then booked it over to WWOHP. I had read a tip on these boards to use a “shortcut” by turning left as soon as crossing the bridge into Seuss Landing (rather than staying with the main path, which is a slightly longer, and more crowded route). However, at this hour of the morning, EVERYONE was using the shortcut! The main path was completely empty. I think the early park goers are pretty well informed – and those who aren’t informed were just following along with the rest of the crowd. Anyway, I followed the crowd as well, and finally made it to the WWOHP around 7:15 a.m. My plan was to go directly to Ollivander’s, because I wanted to experience that attraction and knew that very quickly the line would get unbearbly long. I got immediately in the line, which was already a half hour long! Standing in line, I got my first glimpse of the Hogwarts castle:

The Ollivander’s show was cute. For me it was worth the 30 minute wait, but it might not be for everyone. I was done at Ollivander’s at 7:55. While others browsed the wand shop, I booked it on over to the Forbidden Journey, because I really wanted to get in that line before the regular park hours began at 8:00. At this point, the line was about 20 minutes long. Not too bad. I went through the full queue just this once, because I wanted to see everything inside the castle. The ride was absolutely amazing!! One of the most high-tech rides I’ve ever been on, complete with 3D holograms making it appear that the characters were actually there in the room. The ride combined motion simulation with animatronics. Really cool, and very hard to explain in words. I will say that it was much more intense than I had expected, so if you don’t like thrill rides, you might not like it. It is also pretty scary – not for little kids (a little kid next to me got off the ride sobbing). It has a bit of a haunted house feel at times with dementors getting right in your face. But I absolutely loved it, and ended up riding it 4 times over the course of the day. By the time I got off the ride, the wait time was 45 minutes, and by 8:30 or so, it was 90 minutes!! Just shows how it pays to make use of those early park hours.

I had read on these boards that the main queue is just for people using the lockers, and that people often make the mistake of waiting in that line even though they don’t need a locker. Basically how it works is there is a long queue that starts outdoors and goes through the greenhouse. But after you get into the castle, there comes a point where the line splits in 3 directions. To your right are the lockers, where you have to go to store any bags you are carrying. Straight ahead is the continuation of the regular line. And to the left is the single rider line. When you get off the ride, you end up in Filch’s emporium, where you can re-enter the lockers from the other side to retrieve your stuff. Well, what I had read on this site is that most of the line is just for people who need lockers, but that if you don’t need a locker, you can enter the line by going through Filch’s, through the locker room, and then entering the queue at that point. So I did that a couple of times – through the lockers and directly into the single rider line. By doing this, I literally walked onto the ride one time, and waited only 5 minutes the 2nd time! This was with a posted wait time of 90 minutes for regular riders. It really seemed too good to be true that this was “legit” and I felt like I was cheating the system. So I actually found a ride attendant and asked if it was legit to do this, and his answer was: “It used to be, but we just changed our policy, and unfortunately you now have to stand in the full line even if you are a single rider with no bags.” Oops! So I guess I cheated the system a couple times (but not intentionally!). There was really no one monitoring the locker area to make sure no one did what I did, so it’s easy to cheat the system if you want to, but I’m an honest person, and don’t like to do that. By about 7 p.m., the regular queue was back down to 30 minutes, and by using the single rider line, I was able to get on in 20 minutes total, without having to cheat the system. Some pictures of the FJ ride:

Anyway, after riding FJ a couple times, I browsed the Hogsmeade shops, since I knew those would be ridiculously packed before long. At this hour (around 8:30 a.m.), they were pretty empty, since most people were in line for FJ at this point! So I was able to leisurely explore the shops without feeling like a sardine.

Next I headed over to the Flight of the Hippogriff, which had about a 15 min wait at that point. I wanted to do a “warm up” roller coaster before moving onto the big leagues. It was a cute and fun little ride, but too short! From the line, you can see Hagrid's hut:

Then I headed to Dueling Dragons, which had no line at all – I just walked right on. In the line is the (crashed) flying car:

I rode the blue coaster first – so much fun! At this point, it was approaching 9:30 a.m., and I had been on all of the WWOHP rides at least once (and FJ twice), and had browsed all the shops, whereas most people were just arriving around this time! The timing was perfect for my 9:30 breakfast reservation at the Three Broomsticks, which was included in my package. For some reason, I was expecting a table service restaurant (I guess having a reservation implied that to me), but it turns out it was counter service – which was fine with me, because as a solo traveler, I much preferred counter service. I had read a tip here on Dis that even though butterbeer is not listed on the breakfast menu, you just have to ask for it. And sure enough, I asked, and they provided! It’s a smaller portion than you get from the butterbeer cart or at the Hog’s Head, but still – it’s a way of getting to try it without waiting in the long lines. The butterbeer was delicious!! It basically tasted like a very rich cream soda with a bit of a butterscotch flavor. Later, some staff told me that I had to try the FROZEN butterbeer – so I came back in the late afternoon and got a frozen butterbeer from the Hog’s Head (tip: lines are shorter in the Hog’s Head than at the butterbeer cart outside – people don’t seem to realize that Hog’s Head sells butterbeer). The frozen variety was also quite tasty. To me it seemed a bit less sweet, but very refreshing.

After breakfast, I rode Dueling Dragons again (red coaster this time) – still almost no line – and then just walked around Hogsmeade and window shopped.

Then I went back into the shops to buy some souvenirs (I knew exactly what I wanted from having browsed earlier). At this point it was going on 11 a.m., and the WWOHP area was starting to get uncomfortably crowded. So I decided it was time to hit the rest of the park, knowing I could return to WWOHP later in the evening. I took my purchases to my locker at the front of the park to store them. Then I decided to hit the Incredible Hulk coaster. I used the single rider line, and only waited about 15 or 20 minutes. The ride was very intense, but very fun!

Then I went to watch the 12:00 showing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (a live musical version of the TV special). It was really cute, complete with fake snow which brought tears to my eyes and got me in the holiday spirit. A view of the stage:

Next I exited the park to have lunch in CityWalk. I found a little sushi place – it was decent for “fast food” sushi, but nothing to write home about. I re-entered IOA, and basically made the loop around the lake going clockwise from the main entrance. I rode the Hulk a second time, Spiderman (using the single rider line again) – a cool 3D motion simulator ride, Cat in the Hat, Caro-Seuss-el, and Poseidon’s Fury (did not impress me). I skipped the water rides, because it was a bit chilly. It got dark around 6 p.m., at which point people started flooding out of the park in masses. So I went against the flow of the crowds back into WWOHP, where I rode Dueling Dragons a couple more times, and FJ one more time (as I mentioned, at this point, the line was back down to 20-30 minutes).

Around 8 p.m. I was feeling tired and hungry, and had been on all the rides I had wanted to go on multiple times. So I headed back to CityWalk and had some pasta for dinner, and then went to the taxi stand to get a ride back to my hotel (only a $5 fare, since my hotel was so close by).

I had reserved a Mears taxi for 8:30 the next morning so that I could enjoy the day at Coronado Springs, so once back at my hotel, I basically repacked my messenger bag with the things I would want at CSR the next day, packed up my suitcase, and crashed into bed!

 

[jmw1975]

I woke up Tuesday morning, had a protein bar in my hotel room, and checked out of the Holiday Inn around 8:15 a.m. My Mears taxi arrived right on schedule at 8:30, and I was off to Coronado Springs! I had planned today as the most leisurely day of my trip, although it was still pretty busy!

My first impressions of CSR were positive, although I have to say I was surprised at the amount of dead vegetation around the lake. This is not a complaint, as I know it is winter time, and this happens, but it being Disney, I was surprised they didn’t have landscaping people tasked with removing the dead brown stuff. It wasn’t so bad that it detracted terribly from the beauty of the place for me. I really loved this resort. I have a weak spot for lakes, so I love any place on a lake. I could have spent days just lying on one of the hammocks by the lake. But it was a short trip, so I didn’t have that luxury!! Some pics of CSR:

I checked in using regular check-in. I had considered doing online check-in, but since it was my first time staying at a Disney resort, I wanted the full service experience. And boy did I get it! There was no one line for check in at that hour, and I got a very chatty CM who had nothing to do but chat with me! She kept me there probably about 20 minutes! She was quite intrigued with the fact that I was traveling solo, and kept apologizing that Disney would be a difficult place for me to meet single men, as if that were the reason I had come! Lol. She gave me an “I’m celebrating” button, and then said “Put this on!” and stood there staring at me expectantly until I complied! When I asked her what I was celebrating (I thought these buttons were usually for birthdays or special occasions), she responded, “You are celebrating traveling all by yourself with no one to bother you!” That put a smile on my face.

I had booked a standard view room, and had requested the Casitas section. Since buildings 1-3 are “preferred” rooms, I assumed I’d be put in building 4 or 5, if I was lucky enough to get Casitas at all. Well, when I checked in, I found out I’d been upgraded to preferred, and was being put in Casitas 1! There was no conference going on during my stay, so I assume that meant more preferred rooms were vacant than usual, which was probably the reason for my upgrade. Anyway, the location was perfect for me. I was about as close to El Centro as you could be. I was midway between bus stops 1 and 2 (which meant I could always choose whether to be first on or last on the bus to the parks in the morning depending on whether I wanted a seat or just wanted to head straight to the parks without stopping at the other stops first) and was always first off the bus on the way home.

After checking in, my room was not yet ready, so I had my bags held. I then headed to Rix Café to get a pastry (snack credit) for breakfast, and picked up my refillable mug (which comes with the quick service DDP). I sat outside by the lake to eat my breakfast, which was lovely. Then I walked around the lake and explored the premises. Then I was good and went to the fitness room to do some strength training, after which I laid in a hammock for about 20 minutes.

Then I went to the Pepper Market for lunch. The PM is doing a temporary trial as a buffet, which I know a lot of people on the CSR boards have been concerned about, but I really liked it and can’t see how anyone could complain. I have never been there under the old system, but from what I can tell, it works exactly as it always did – you go up to the servers at the various stations and ask for what you want, and they put it on your plate for you. The only difference now is that instead of paying a la carte prices for each thing you order, you instead pay a single entry price, and then can eat all you want. If you are on the dining plan, this is a great deal. It is a quick service credit (at least as of now), for "all you can eat." With the old system, for a quick service credit, they limited how many items you could get. So I think it’s a good deal, and as long as it remains a QS credit, then it’s a GREAT deal! If you are not on the dining plan, I can see that you might not like having to pay a fixed price, since you might just want to grab a small amount. But there is still the Rix Cafe for grab-and-go items.

After lunch, I went over to the main pool and went for a quick swim.

Here’s one disadvantage I found of traveling solo – there was no one to watch my stuff while I swam! So I ended up staying by one end of the pool so that I could kind of keep an eye on my chair and my stuff while I swam. They did have lockers, but they required 4 quarters, and I had no cash on me. If I had had time to swim again, I think I would have used the Casitas quiet pool, which was always nearly empty:

While at the pool (around 1:30), I got the phone call that my room was ready. So I headed to my room, and was greeted by a towel animal:

The room was clean and nice:

Although I had a standard view room (non-water view), I looked out over a lovely courtyard:

I took a quick shower, and then headed to the bus stop to Downtown Disney. I’d never been there before on my previous trips, but thought that just before Christmas would be a great time to check it out. I did some holiday shopping, and had dinner at the Earl of Sandwich, which was tasty. I pretty much just stayed in the marketplace area – I didn’t have time to explore all of DD.

From DD I took a bus to the Boardwalk, another place I’d never been before.

It was fun – I walked around, and used a snack credit to get a pastry from the Boardwalk bakery which I saved for the next morning’s breakfast. My intention had been to go to Jellyrolls, because it sounded like a lot of fun from what I’d read. But when I got there, I think it was too early, because no one was going inside. I didn’t want to pay a cover charge to be the only one in there, but I also didn’t want to stay out too late. The place also looked like it had a lot more of a “night club” atmosphere than I had expected (intimidating bouncer standing at the door), and I suddenly got self-conscious about going in there as a solo traveler. I also realized that my transportation back to CSR required a connection at Hollywood Studios, which closed at 9 that night, so I realized I couldn’t stay out too late if I wanted to get home using Disney transport. So I scrapped my plans of going to Jellyrolls (next time if I go solo, I think I’d arrange in advance to meet up with some fellow DISers for Jellyrolls!). Instead I just watched some street performers at the BW, sat by the lake a bit (nice view of the Epcot globe lit up at night in the distance) and then enjoyed the ferry ride to HS and the bus back to CSR. Back at CSR, I filled my mug with hot chocolate, and turned in around 11 p.m.

 

[__disneygirl]

Loving your report! Great details and tips.

I went to Disney solo three years ago and I loved it, but seeing all the families together made me miss mine too much! I never thought I'd do it again, but I probably will someday. Your report is making me miss solo travel! It's fun getting to do whatever you want WHEN you want it.

Everything you were able to do in one day at IOA is impressive. I am a massive Potterhead but haven't been able to get over there yet. I'm thrilled to find out all you were able to do!

 

[jmw1975]

Wednesday was primarily a HS day. I had never been to that park before, so I wanted to spend as much time as I need there. Since it closed at 8, I knew I’d also have time to also hop over to MK, whose hours were extended to midnight that night because of the holiday crowds. My plan was to stay at HS until dark so I could see the Osbourne family lights, and then head to MK and get in a few rides before closing. After eating my muffin that I had saved from the BW Bakery the night before, I got to the bus stop at 8 a.m. The bus pulled up just as I arrived (I actually had to run a bit to catch it), and it turned out I was the ONLY person on the bus! I got to the park around 8:10 – almost an hour before the scheduled 9:00 opening. The tree at the entrance was all decked out for the holidays:

I wasn’t the first in line, but was pretty close up. Around 8:20 or so, someone came out with a megaphone and got the crowd shouting “lights, motors, action!” over and over again. I think this may have been the rope drop ceremony, or maybe they were just trying to rev up the crowds. They ended up opening the gates around 8:30 – half an hour early, so I was really glad I’d gotten there early! I headed directly to Toy Story Mania and picked up a fast pass, which had a return time between 9:55 and 10:55 a.m. Then I went over to RnRC and with the single rider line, basically just walked onto the ride. It was awesome! Like Space Mountain on steroids. I got off and got right back in line and rode it a second time in a row. Then I faced a big decision: Whether to brave the Tower of Terror. The one type of ride that I really have never liked are free fall rides. I always avoid them. However, a co-worker had told me that ToT is really cool, and I should just make myself do it. So in planning my trip, I had decided that if the wait was short, and I was feeling brave, I’d give it a try. So I headed over, and found a wait time of 10 minutes. After having ridden so many thrill rides the past couple of days, I was actually not feeling too nervous about giving it a try (I think my body had become somewhat desensitized). So I got in line, the whole time thinking, “What am I doing!??” But I reminded myself that as a kid I had hated rollercoasters. Then one day, I just made a conscious decision to change my attitude about them – instead of resisting them in fear, I would just embrace them, and “go with the flow” of the ride. So I had this epiphany – maybe I can do the same thing with free fall rides! So while sitting on ToT, prior to the drop, I kept repeating to myself, “You like free falls. Just go with the sensation. Don’t fight it. It will be fun.” And you know what? I actually enjoyed it! And I was super proud of myself for braving it.

At this point it was 9:55, and I was able to pick up another FP, so I got one for Star Tours, and then headed over to ride TSM using the FP I had picked up earlier. TSM was cute – I can see why it’s so popular with the kids. I was seated with a family of 3 (I was with the dad; the mom and son were in the neighboring car), and the dad informed me that he and his wife were extremely competitive with each other on this ride. They sure were! This guy was firing at the targets like a mad man! Being that it was my first time on the ride, it took me some time to get the hang of it, but I think my score was decent for a first timer. I think I fed off of the energy of my seatmate.

I had time to kill before my Star Tours FP time, so I rode the Studio Backlot Tour, and then saw Muppet Vision 3D. I rode Star Tours (very cool), and grabbed a FP to ride Star Tours a 2nd time, because I’d read it changes each time. And sure enough, the 2nd time I rode it, it was completely different! An entirely different storyline. The first one had us traveling through space, whereas the 2nd one had us going under water. I then had lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet, which was good but way too much food! Since I was on vacation, I didn’t eat the crust of my pizza (my least favorite part), since I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish it anyway. After lunch, I rode Star Tours again, the Great Movie Ride, went to an American Idol performance, went to a Beauty and the Beast performance, went to Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, and went to the Indiana Jones stunt show. I also used a snack credit at Starring Rolls Café to get a butterfinger cupcake. Oh my goodness, this thing was amazing! I couldn’t finish it, and there was too much frosting for my taste… but otherwise it was fabulous!! I am still dreaming about it.

My afternoon activities took me pretty much to sunset, which meant it was time for the Osbourne family spectacle of lights. All I can say about this is… WOW! It was really a highlight of the trip for me. Several blocks completely covered in lights, dancing along to holiday music. I took some video footage and I keep replaying it over and over!

At this point, I had done just about everything I wanted to do at HS, so I got my stuff from my locker and headed over to MK (bus & monorail). The locker attendant at HS had warned me that I might not be able to get a locker at MK if I didn’t arrive in the morning, but I guess it was late enough in the day that some people had vacated their lockers, because there were some available (it was around 7:30 p.m. at this point). I got my locker, and then jumped on the train to Frontierland, and had dinner at Pecos Bill’s. It was pretty good, but my choices were limited since I don’t eat red meat. It was once again way too much food. Instead of fries, I got a side of apple slices, which came in a sealed bag. So I put those in my backpack to save them for the morning.

I wasn’t particularly interested in the parade or fireworks, so I took advantage of the shorter lines during the evening hours while these things were going on. I got a FP for Thunder Mountain, with the hope of riding it right around 10 p.m. so I could see the fireworks while riding. Conveniently, my FP return window was 8:55 to 9:55. Meanwhile, I rode the Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World, and went to Mickey’s Philharmagic. I wasn’t sure exactly how long the line would be for Big Thunder Mountain in order to time it for the fireworks, and unfortunately I didn’t time it quite right (I got in line around 9:45, and was on the ride at 9:55 – with the ride ending before the fireworks began). So that was disappointing. Then I saw that Splash Mountain had only a 5 min wait. I put on my poncho (didn’t want to be wet late at night), and got in line, and it turned out that there was no wait at all – I walked right on! And as it turned out, I could see the fireworks from Splash Mountain! It was absolutely perfect, because when you come to the top of the final big drop, you have a perfectly clear view of the fireworks. So I literally looked straight ahead, saw a KABOOM of fireworks, and then, drop, and SPLASH!! So awesome. I had packed some large Ziploc bags at the advice of someone here on DIS, so I was able to pack up my wet poncho after the ride.

I then thought I’d take the railroad back to the main entrance. I was really tired after a long day, and in my fatigue, saw a line for something that said “railroad” and without thinking, just got in the line. I did think “gee, this line seems pretty long just for the train” but thought that probably a lot of people were exiting the park that way like I was. It wasn’t until I got to the front of the line that I realized I had been in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!! Totally the wrong “railroad!” Lol. At that point, I’d waited in the line for about 15 min, so I figured I might as well just ride the ride again. So I did. Then I found the actual railroad I’d been looking for, but it was closed for the night, so I just walked back to the main entrance, got my stuff from my locker, and headed to the CSR bus stop. The line was quite long, and the people in it were voicing complaint that a bus had not come in a very long time. I was lucky, because shortly after I arrived, 3 buses in a row pulled up, so I got home pretty quickly. I was home around 11 p.m., and tried to get to bed quickly because the next day was early park hours at MK, and I would be heading back just 7 hours later!

 

[jmw1975]

Thanks for the reply, Lia! Yes, I was also amazed how much I was able to get done at IOA (and at all the parks, actually), given it was the week before Christmas. Following the advice of arriving at the parks prior to opening was really what made all the difference. WWoHP is awesome if you are a big HP fan! I definitely recommend it!

You reminded me of another thing I didn't like about traveling solo, which was not having anyone to talk to or share in my experiences. I found that at the end of the day, I missed having someone to say, "Hey, remember when THAT happened? Wasn't that great??" I went directly from my trip to my parents' house for the holidays, but unfortunately quickly discovered that they only wanted to hear the highlights of my trip, and had no interest in the minute details. That's another reason I decided to post this TR... I knew fellow DISers might actually be interested in these details, so it gives me someone to share them with!

 

[jmw1975]

It was another early morning. I got up at 5:30 a.m., because MK EMH started at 7 a.m. I got ready quickly and was at the bus stop at 6 a.m. I ate my leftover apple slices from the night before while waiting for the bus. The bus took a little while to arrive, but I was at the MK at 6:45, in time for rope drop. I had decided not to get a locker this time, because the weather was a bit warmer, so I didn’t think I’d need my fleece (and I was right). I just had my Baggalini with me, again with a hoodie that fit in it. The rope drop ceremony was cute.

Once they opened the gates, I headed directly to Peter Pan to pick up a fast pass. Unfortunately, the machines were not yet printing FPs, and instead I got something labeled “test ticket.” I was hoping they would accept it as a FP since it did have a time return window on it, but no such luck. After getting the non-FP, I headed over to Space Mountain, where the line was only about 15 minutes long. I have always loved SM, so it was great to ride it again. Then I rode Buzz Lightyear (cute) and Winnie the Pooh (also cute) before heading back to Peter Pan, where my non-FP was rejected. There was a family arriving at the same time as me who also had a non-FP, and they started arguing with the attendant that they should be allowed in since they had a ticket that the FP machine had dispensed. For a moment I considered joining them in arguing our case, but then thought, “I’m at Disney World. I don’t want to argue about anything.” So I just got a new real-FP for later. It was still only about 8 a.m. at this point. So I went and rode the Jungle Cruise, climbed the Swiss Family Treehouse, and rode Pirates of the Caribbean. This area of the park was completely dead at this hour, so I just walked right onto everything (in fact, my jungle cruise boat was only about half full).

Then I headed to the Main St. Bakery for breakfast. I had an amazing, and ENORMOUS cinnamon roll, which was delicious! I also got a banana (since I was using a QS credit rather than a snack credit), which I saved for later (are you noticing a theme? I did a lot of “saving food for later.”). And took the obligatory castle photo:

After breakfast, I explored Tom Sawyer’s Island:

Then I returned to ride Peter Pan with my real-FP. Around 11:00 I decided I needed to try the famed Dole Whip that I had read so much about here on DIS. I was thirsty, so I opted for the Dole Whip float (in pineapple juice). Now, don't hate on me, but I actually don't understand what all the fuss is about. It was just pineapple flavored soft-serve ice cream. Am I missing something? I thought maybe it would be the most rich and creamy and amazing ice cream I had ever tasted, but to me it just tasted kind of artificial and not too different than your run of the mill soft-serve. Also, I really did not enjoy the float. In contrast to the ice cream, the pineapple juice tasted extremely sour, which made it unpleasant to drink. Sorry if I've offended those who love their Dole Whips - to each their own, I guess!

At this point I’d been on all the high-demand rides at a time when most people were just arriving at the parks. So I went to less popular things like the Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress (a nostalgic favorite of mine), and the People Mover (which was a really neat tour of all of the Tomorrowland rides). By the time I’d done all of this, it was not even noon yet. There was no wait for Stitch’s Great Escape. I had no idea what that was, but had some time, so gave it a try. Wow, in my view, the worst ride ever! I’ll admit I haven’t seen Lilo & Stitch, so I don’t know anything about the character of Stitch. But the ride was not a “ride” – more like a show, with obnoxious elements like bars that press on your shoulders to the point that I found it painful, and deliberately obnoxious odors spritzed in your face. No thank you.

At this point, I was done with MK, and ready to head over to Epcot. I took the monorail, and was at Epcot before 1:00.

Since I didn’t arrive at Epcot until the afternoon, I knew my chances for getting on Soarin’ were slim, and sure enough all FPs were gone, and the wait was about 2 hours. I had ridden Soarin’ on my last trip in 2007, and as much as I loved it, decided I couldn’t give up 2 hours for a single ride, since my time at Epcot was so limited. Instead, I headed over to Test Track, and took advantage of the single rider line. The wait was about 20 minutes. The ride was fun, but I was glad I hadn’t waited 90 minutes like the people in the regular queue, because I don’t think it would have been worth that long a wait. It was definitely worth the 20 minutes, though!

Then I went and checked out The Sum of All Thrills in Innoventions, where you get to design your own roller coaster and then ride it. That was really cool! My Coral Reef reservation was at 3:55, and I still had some time to kill, so I picked up a FP for Maelstrom, and then rode Journey Into Imagination (I love Figment!), and The Seas with Nemo. Dinner at Coral Reef was very good (although as I mentioned this was one of the few times I felt self-conscious traveling solo). My waiter was really nice and friendly, and chatted with me a lot. I ordered the Mahi Mahi in a coconut based sauce, which was delicious (although maybe a bit salty). I had crab cakes as an appetizer (yummy!), and crème brulee (yummy!) for dessert. I really enjoyed the meal, and enjoyed watching the fish (including a shark and a giant sea turtle), so it was worth the bit of self-consciousness. Even more worth it was getting the perks of the candlelight dinner package! I finished dinner around 5:15, and then meandered my way around the lake. I had read here on DIS and was told when I booked my reservation that I should arrive at least 15 min early for the Candlelight Processional (even with my priority seating pass). So I had planned on watching the American Adventure and then getting in line around 6:15. Well, on my way to the American Adventure, I came upon the line for the Candlelight Processional, which was already quite long at 5:45. So I decided to forgo the American Adventure and secure my spot in line. I had no idea how many dinner packages they sold! I thought that by “priority seating” it meant that only a small portion of the audience would be people who did the dinner package, but they actually filled almost the entire audience with “priority” people. I’m actually not sure if anyone from the general public got in. It couldn’t have been very many. So I was very glad I had booked the package, because I got in with pretty good seats having gotten in line so early. Anyway, this concert was absolutely amazing and inspiring! I had Susan Lucci as my celebrity narrator, which was fitting, because in high school I used to be a big fan of All My Children. So it added a bit of a nostalgic component for me. The music was amazing – with trumpet fanfare and some of the best high school choirs in the country, as well as the Disney professional musicians. Wow, wow, wow – words really can’t describe it. Definitely puts you in the holiday spirit!

After the concert, I headed to the Germany pavilion’s caramel shop to get a snack for the flight home (was trying to use up snack credits at this point, and I LOVE caramel!). Then I went to Maelstrom and used my FP to walk right on (even without FP, there was barely any wait at this time of night). Then I killed some more time by doing some pin trading, before heading to the priority viewing area for Illuminations (part of the dinner package). The priority viewing area was great – perfect view of the fireworks, which were great (although they were so close, or maybe it was how the wind was blowing, but ashes from the fireworks were falling in my eyes every time I looked up! So I ended up wearing my sunglasses just to prevent that). Perhaps the best part of the viewing location was that it was on the side of the lake closest to the park exit. I knew the lines would quickly get long for the buses, so after the fireworks ended, I booked it to the exit! Another advantage of traveling solo is that you can power walk with no one to slow you down, and being alone, it is fairly easy to dodge between people as you make your way through the crowds. Between the fact that I was close to the exit to begin with, and the fact that I was walking faster than most people, I was among the first to arrive at the bus stops. A CSR bus pulled up right away, so I was on a bus around 10 p.m., and back at the resort by 10:15!

When I was at Downtown Disney I had had a package sent to my resort, but thus far had not had a chance to go to the CSR gift shop to pick it up. Luckily, the gift shop was open until 11, so I headed over to pick up my package, and also did some last minute souvenir shopping. I still had a snack credit left, so I went to Rix Café with the intention of finding a pastry to take home with me… but when I got there, was reminded that they had gelato! One of my favorite things! And they had coconut – my favorite flavor! So as a final treat, I had myself some coconut gelato, and then filled my mug with hot chocolate to take back to the room to pack for the trip home. My Magical Express documents were waiting for me when I got back to my room, which indicated that I was scheduled for the 8:15 bus. I also still had one QS meal credit left. So I set my alarm for 7 a.m. so that I could have breakfast before leaving for the airport.

 

[jmw1975]

I got up at 7:00, did the airline check in at the resort and checked my luggage, and then had breakfast at Pepper Market. The breakfast was good, but since I don’t have much appetite that early in the morning, I probably didn’t get my money’s worth. If I weren’t on the DDP, I would not have eaten here for breakfast – I would have just grabbed something quick at Rix, or at the airport. After breakfast, I went back to my room, at which point my express checkout document had arrived – since I had put a credit card on my account, I didn’t need to do anything to check out. So I just gathered up my stuff, took some last minute photos of CSR, and headed to the ME bus stop. The ME left pretty much right on time. It got me to the airport 2 ½ hours before my flight, and then my flight was an hour delayed, so I ended up being at the airport a lot longer than I’d have liked. I guess ME leaves extra time in case you need to stop at multiple Disney resorts before heading to the airport, but on my route CSR was the final stop, so it was a direct trip to the airport from my resort – and yet they still had me depart 3 hours early. Still, I can’t complain for the convenience of included transportation!

I was very sad to be going home, but was also pretty exhausted given the high pace of my trip. My legs were actually sore just from walking so much (and I go to the gym regularly, so walking does not usually cause me soreness – so that tells you how much I walked!) I would not be surprised if I walked 15 miles some days – especially since I was often racing from one end of a park to the other end in order to hit all the big rides before the lines got long. But all the walking probably offset all the calories I consumed!

As I mentioned, this was my first time staying at a Disney resort, and on my next trip to Disney, I will definitely do it again! I loved the conveniences of the transportation system and ME, and just having those Disney “touches” throughout your experience, including your hotel (e.g. my bedspread had hidden Mickeys on it!).

Thanks everyone for reading my report! Writing this was like reliving my vacation! Feel free to PM me or post with questions, and I will try to be good about replying.

 

[AliciaG]

Awesome TR! Sounds like you had a really great time. We are going to DW for the very first time in March, staying at CSR as well, and we have a day planned out @ IOA just to see the HP world. SO cannot wait. My almost 13 yr old son loved all the HP books, and my daughter (almost 10) is excited for the whole thing. If I think of any questions we might have before our trip I will pm you.

 

[jmw1975]

Oh, you and your kids are going to have a great time! CSR is beautiful and lots of fun stuff for the kids (pools, waterslide, video arcade, evening movies and other activities by the pool). And if they are HP fans, they will love IOA. It's like you're walking around the movie sets.

Have fun!!!

 

[TosaTrio]

Great TR! I am amazed at how much you got done in such a short amount of time.

 

[jmw1975]

Thanks! Yeah, I may have overdone it a bit. By the last day, my body was pretty achy and tired from the high pace of things. I probably couldn't have kept up that pace for many more days than I did. But I knew since my time was short, I could manage the pace - especially since I still had a few more days off work after returning home, where I could catch up on sleep!

 

[natebenma]

Great trip report!

So far I have only read the Islands of Adventure section and scrolled through your pictures (which are fantastic, BTW). It is very obvious you did your homework!

Great call on Ollivander's first!

Very smart to rent a locker and just carry a small bag that you didn't have to lock up before the rides.

You really made the most out of your time at the Wizarding World. I'm glad you had a chance to browse in the shops- it was always really crowded when we tried to do this in July.

The Grinchmas show sounds very cute.

 

[mamamary]

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[dani77]

Thanks for your trip report. I will go to WDW solo in may and your report gave me an idea of how much you can actually get done on a single day! I'll also be staying at CSR...looks like I made the right choice there.

 

[jmw1975]

You are going to have a great time at CSR! I thought it was the perfect place to stay as a solo traveler. I was also amazed how much I got done on my trip. Getting to the parks early was really key. But being solo helped, too, because I could go at my own (pretty speedy) pace!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Nice trip report! Very cool that you got to do the WWOHP AND most of Disney! I'm going solo next week, and hoping to get a good deal done as well - which should definitely be the case, since I'm going in January and it should be relatively empty in the parks (relative to when you went!). What made you decide to stay at CSR? Had you stayed there before? That's a resort I know very little about.

 

[Farm Girl]

Thank you for this TR. I am going solo in October and also planned a day at US and Harry Potter. You have provided some really great solo tips.