Solo Trip Report 2/29 to 3/11 (I'm here now!)

[cornjob]

ok, thanks for the positive comments. i'll keep going with it. i was just was just feeling left behind by all of the giant mondo postings.

so......

3/1/08 - day 2 -

i arrived yesterday (2/29), but by 6pm when i had checked in and gotten settled here at the pop century, i felt like it was too late to really do anything. i was real tired from flying all the way from the west coast, so i just went to bed early. i did eat at the food court (and regretted it all night. the fries tasted funny (change the grease!) and the bottom bun of the burger was completely soaked with grease. i'm just eating sandwiches and fruit from there going forward. oh, i DO NOT like the tie dye cheesecake...yeccch! and the next morning? well just remember all of that bright, colorful dye). i just got back from my first day at the park, the magical kingdom and i'm writing this over my lunch of tuna, grapes and strawberry pop tarts - no grease here!. it's actually pretty nice here, sunny only 75 or so, but humid. i'm from seattle, i'm really not used to humidity.

the room is small but serviceable. i would just appreciate more seating, a loveseat or something. the bed is hard but not REAL bad. am i the only one who doesn't understand towel animals? or pin trading? maybe if i was a kid, it'd make more sense. i'm in the 50's close to overlooking the bowling pin pool and it's been pretty quiet so far. i pick up my free fridge in two days on the fridge swap, and i have ordered water and other stuff coming right after that.

i was there at park opening. actually, a bit early, so i rode the monorail around a few times to look at the "posh" resorts. i felt a pang of sadness going by the GF, because that's where i was supposed to stay. actually, looking at it, it look a little princess-y. maybe the wilderness lodge next time.

just strollers everywhere you looked. i'm not around children a great deal, so sometimes they kind of annoy me. i have friends with kids, and i love them. they're energetic and have a view of life that makes me laugh. they also have that "the world revolves around me" thing going on many times, so they don't understand personal space or look where they're going and i got a few straight-on shots right at the beltline. ouch! it seems they do a little musical number right before the MK opens, hosted by (it sure sounded like, anyway) bette midler.

so....i got on the train right away to get to the back of the park. psychologically, people have a tendency to go the right whenever they go in anyplace (stores, theme parks, etc). notice, you'll see. i'm trying the "keep to the left" touring mode, just to see, you know, if it works. so far, yes.

so i got off at frontierland. and just FYI, everything i went on today was walk-on, no lines at all. in order, i did splash mountain (got soaked but sat behind a very nice older couple. well, he was nice, she ignored me because she had to mouth the words to every line uttered by every animal on the ride - amazing!), the haunted mansion, carousel of progress (i love this ride, but the little girl next to me kept screaming "this is boring! i want to go on rides!" through the whole thing. oh, it also broke down so we had to watch the same scene 2 and a half times before moving on), the pirates of the caribbean (eh, disneyland's is better), the people mover (i know it's called something else now, but i like that old name. it reminds me of the old days in 68 at disneyland). anyway, i watched two guys in the car behind me making out in the dark parts of the ride. nice!, mickey's philharmagic (3-D! the spray water smelled funny! the 3D is well-done. i actually wouldn't have minded if this show was a bit longer) and it's a small world.

later, in fantasyland, i gave a small girl 2 dollars in a store where i was buying a coffee mug, because she didn't have enough for the rock candy she wanted. the nice frenchman behind the counter beamed at me, but the ungrateful wench just took the candy (and my change!) and left without a thank you. i think that's officially my checkout of the human race. i now hate everyone. watch out. especially you, you ungrateful little girl. i hope you choke on your stupid candy.

i think i might go to pleasure island tonight and try out the adventurers club.

oh, and i just discovered that there ALOT of stupid people in this resort who leave their filesharing "on" when they connect their computers to the available ethernet. i just read someone's written-up plans for an upcoming girl scout party. i was tempted to add "quick game of doctor" to the list of things to with the girls before bedtime. but....i didn't. or did i? if the writer is reading this, don't do it, ok?

so, tomorrow is the keys to the kingdom tour. then, maybe it's time to look at another park for a change....

 

[Jamie77]

deleted. alright, no one cares.

Hey! Come back here! Please?

I want to read your report. It's hard to find solo reports and I go solo all the time so I want to read your experiences. Sorry I just checked the updated reports today.

 

[McDISer]

You had 59 people read your TR. Just because they don't leave a comment, doesn't mean they don't care.

 

[pezheadmeg]

You're up to 87 now, I like to read from the beginning.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Yeah, you know alot of people are lurkers-don't get discouraged-post again!

What's the weather like now, and the crowds?

 

[wendy darling]

Please re-post, I go solo alot so I would really like to read your report

 

[Dolce27]

I was reading ... just didn't post.

If it makes you feel any better - not many people at all ever post on my TR's yet there are some people out there who's pre TR is up to page 60.

 

[OhMari]

I hope they check back.

 

[OhMari]

If he has his internet set up to e-mails, he will see all the posts he received.

 

[cornjob]

day 3 - 3/2/08 -

i awoke early, after not sleeping very well at all. the bed was hard, yes. but i'm also stewing about a lot of things going on at home right now. wow, no shortage of disney info on the TV, huh?

anyhow, today was tour day. i was on the 9am "keys to the kingdom" tour, which meant i had to be there before the park opens, about 8.30. if you've never been in the park with nobody there, it's an amazing sight. all clean and empty. i took a couple of pictures down main street.

michael was the tour guide, a short, smiling young man, who kind of resembled what's-his-name from the fantastic four movies. he was a VIP tour guide, he said, as well as serving as the concierge in the castle for the families staying in the cinderella suite. during lunch, he told me about how it was to tour celebrities through the park (his biggest was robin williams). they basically have people on all sides of the star, running interference, stopping picture-takers. and forming a box around them to keep them safe. it al sounds very interesting, anyway, he had a hidden microphone and a mahogany swagger stick with silver tips (i have a feeling that's probably something you have to earn). we all had wireless headsets so we could hear him from far away as he led us around the park. there were 15 or so of us, no kids at all. very nice people, just not very "energetic" - according to michael, anyway.

off we went down main street with michael feeding us facts about windows and sidewalks, utilidors and hidden speakers. we went on rides too -- pirates, the jungle cruise and the haunted mansion. i was glad that we did the jungle cruise, because i hadn't done it the previous day. honestly, i was actually getting a little sick of the MK by this point. i hadn't seen any other parks but this one so far. i figured i could do the remaining attractions on my to-do list the 6th, when i went back for the pirates and princess party. lunch was provided with the tour, so we stopped at the columbia harbor house for fish and chips (not bad). then off for more touring. after seeing the parade floats and the prep for woody's roundup show in frontierland (i like that song), we hit the utilidors. of course, that's the part of the tour where you have to stand a lot. i was ready to wrap it up. the tour actually ended up lasting about 5 and a half hours. longer than i thought it would. i caught a bus back home for dinner (i tried the parmesan chicken in the food court - it was actually pretty good), lots of phone calls and early to bed. this night i slept great.

 

[cornjob]

day 4 - monday - 3/3/08

you know, i'm liking this solo thing. ducking and dodging the crowds, always room for one more on the attractions. eating when you want to. nice. this morning, i had to get the fridge from the family that had it before me in the fridge swap, and then i planned on heading over to the hollywood studios. i felt a little bad for them. i think there 5 people in that room, and it was the same size room as mine. i don't know how they did it....

i decided to hit hollywood studios. mostly, because i really love high school musical and wanted to catch "wildcat fever"! um...no. caught a bus (i haven't had to wait for any buses at all longer than 10 minutes. the ones i do catch are never full) and arrived right before opening. so, this was the park with all of the cool souvenirs!. i talked for a while to an on-site artist doing pencil sketches of disney characters and actually bought a couple.

i was happy about this park choice. first, great theming. second, it's not a big park, and apart from looking around, there wasn't much on my to-do list here. i hit the tower of terror a few times (just amazing, but why so short?), the backstage tour, star tours, the great movie ride (three times), i just love how they make sure the gangster (never saw the cowboy thing, do they do that one anymore?) walk-on passenger holds their gun straight up in the air all the time. it's so.....PC. i was also really struck by how poorly the ripley character from "alien" resembles sigourney weaver. to the point where it's fascinating. it reminds me of someone. i just can't think who. i wonder if they maybe couldn't get permission to use her likeness. how could that be if they got permission to use the movie? and boy, i sure struck gold on that ride. the guides couldn't speak clearly enough for me to understand what they were saying. the first guide had a very heavy hispanic accent, the second guide was very southern and her accent was thicker than molasses in january. then i got the first guy again! they both sucked - mightily.

crowds were non-existent, although it was still early. also, today was just about as warm (about 78), but the first day i noticed any humidity. i hate humidity. hmmmmmmm.....off for lunch, i think. it was just 11 and i coerced my way into the sci-fi dine-in for lunch right as they opened. probably my only table service meal i'll allow myself this trip. it was a very cool experience and the food (burger and a vanilla shake) was excellent. the server was the best. the food was there right away and she kept coming back to fill my water glass. she even offered me a glass to take with me. A+ for that place.

after this, it was a walk down the street of america or new york street (whatever it's called) and then that backstage tram tour. hey, power rangers! do kids today even know who they are?

was this backlot tour really better before they shortened it? they kept going on about the stuff that was filmed here, but when we went through the costume section, it looked to me like they were just making cast member costumes. then i went on star tours a couple of times, back to tower of terror, then i walked towards the front a little bit more, to see if there was anything else souvenir-wise to get, then i vamoosed.

naptime, then i went to the adventurer's club tonight. very funny, very entertaining. probably would have been a bit more fun with someone along with me, but it was along the lines of tony and tina's wedding, just more singing. and i'm not even much of a drinker. i recommend it.

slept well tonight. am i actually getting used to this bed?

 

[Jamie77]

you know, i'm liking this solo thing. ducking and dodging the crowds, always room for one more on the attractions. eating when you want to. nice.

That's why I love solo trips. There's always room for a solo person on a ride. It's like having Fastpass Express. And it's easier for one person to maneuver around crowds of people to get where you need to be.

 

[Jamie77]

i was there at park opening. actually, a bit early, so i rode the monorail around a few times to look at the "posh" resorts. i felt a pang of sadness going by the GF, because that's where i was supposed to stay. actually, looking at it, it look a little princess-y. maybe the wilderness lodge next time, then.

I love the WL. It will be my first time solo there in December. The last time I stayed there, it was for three days and I had a grump with me who was always complaining. But there was nothing stopping the feeling of taking a boat to/from the WL or seeing the post at the entrance of the hotel greeting you when riding the bus. I say if you're going solo, WL is a real treat because you can take your own time examining all the details with nobody rushing you. The gift shop is to die for! I'm stocking up on scrapbooking materials when I get down there. If you have time, please go take in the sights at this resort and rub Humphrey's nose for me.

Keep on writing! I'm listening.

 

[stan]

We (family of four) must have been there at the same time, and we were also at Pop Century (although I didn't find the beds hard at all). Glad you had a good time! Unfortunately we never got to the parks early (exhaustion from the start) and so the parks were quite busy every day by the time we went there.

Keep posting! Good to hear from you.

 

[cornjob]

tuesday - 3/4/08

i decided epcot was the place to be today. i got started later than i wanted because i had to wait for the groceries to be delivered. the delivery window was 8-10, and they were here by 9. everything that was supposed to be cold was delivered cold, they even called ahead to get my room number and to make sure i was there. i will recommend garden grocer. good deal. got on the bus (again, no waits at all today for buses) and headed for epcot. i guess it was an early opening day for epcot, so it was already humming when i arrived. a few of the things i was going to go on - test track and soarin - had long stand by times when i got there; 50 minutes and up. maybe when i come back.

it was VERY humid today. it was also windy. towards the afternoon, it looked like there was a thunderstorm coming. i'm just waiting for the opportunity to whip out the handy poncho i seem to have brought along for no reason. lots of places seemed to be walled off getting prepped for the flower thingy that's coming up. went on ellen's energy adventure (anybody else find the ellen animatronic...um...creepy?), the american adventure (amazing, i thought. i really want to go downstairs and look under that stage), imagination with figment (yeccch! i remember this being so much cooler 20 years ago when i saw it), the seas with nemo and friends, spaceship earth (twice), and the land boat tour. i'll come back before i leave and pick up the few remaining attractions i missed. i so wanted to come back and see horizons and world of motion. those (and spaceship earth) were the attractions that made the biggest impressions on me in 1983. guess i'll have to make due with you tube videos of them. lunch was at the american pavillion. how do you make a hamburger taste like fish? um, nuff said, i guess.

i like the new spaceship earth, but dame judy grates on me a little. i thought people were overreacting when they said she seemed to be talking down to the listener, but i did sort of get that. the first time i rode, it captured my face well and the cute little animation worked fine. the second time, i was a horrible no-faced monster. the place where my face was supposed to go was just a black, bottomless hole. weird. i taped it just for the heck of it.

i'm a little opinion-less about world showcase. again, it wasn't crowded or anything. if it wasn't for the fact i had to go back to the france pavillion to get something someone had requested i look for, i doubt i would have gone back there. i remember kind of feeling the same way last time i was here. it seems mostly setup for table dining or shopping for "quaint" things. not much of a shopper, i guess. i did, however, see aladdin and jasmine come out in morocco. they seemed to actually be fighting with each other...kind of strange.

does anybody know when and why they discontinued the real people guides on the land boat tour? i know they had them....

oh, i also want to say at this point that the "going to the left" thing i talked about - WORKS PERFECTLY. try it. anytime disney gives you two choices, take the left. it's been fascinating to watch how people always go to the right. the tour guide, michael, even talked about it on the tour. how tomorrowland is staffed more than the lands on the left when the park opens.

early night tonight, because i'm going to attempt the animal kingdom tomorrow.

 

[pezheadmeg]

Yay, you're back. I personally hate starting any trip report when it's over 15 pages, it takes way too friggin long to read the actual TR.

They stopped the boat guides in the summer of 2007. I personally miss it, so now I just take the Behind the Seeds tour for the $12. It totally makes up for the lack of guides on the boats.

 

[cornjob]

hmmm...they only stopped the live tour guides last year? well, it makes a difference.
not too off topic, but in all of the merchandise stores, i keep seeing these stuffed characters like mickey, pluto, etc. but done as a round ball instead of the actual character shape. does anyone know if those have a particular name? i find them a little creepy, all squashed up and staring at you. *shiver*

 

[cornjob]

wednesday 3/5/08

i can't decide this morning whether to go to the animal kingdom or back to epcot. i'm leaning towards epcot, just clear up those last few attractions i didn't go on yesterday. it was great to sleep so well last night, despite everything that's on my mind. besides, the AK seems intimidating today - walking, walking, walking. yikes.
i decided to go to epcot, just to finish off the attractions i didn't get to go on yesterday. so, in QUICK succession, i hit mission space, test track and soarin. 3 of the most nausea inducing rides in all of disneyworld. mission space killed me - i almost puked into gary sinise's strange, altered-looking eyes on the monitor. doesn't he look like he's had some kind of plastic surgery? then, i stupidly ran right over test track. note to future riders: if you are taller than 6 feet, you will be extremely uncomfortable on this ride. i was in the middle seat with my knees jammed right up against that console. i didn't hear anything that was said or really even notice the ride because every bounce felt like it was going to dislodge a kneecap. oh, where's world of motion - now THAT was a ride. then, it's over to soarin. i got the top row - great, great ride. i got on all three within an hour. just for fun, i went on spaceship earth a couple more times. i do like that update they did, just not the narration.
just a bit off topic, but i vote for pop century as having the worst toilet paper in disneyworld.
came back to the room for a bit and then went over to downtown disney to look for some souvenirs. i built a light saber for a friend's son and bought a couple of doo-dads here and there. i'm using the "ship it and i'll pick it up later" thing more and more. it's a nice service. i was very tempted to eat at fulton's - boy that sounded good, but i ate cheaply back in my room. tomorrow it's the pirate and princess party.

 

[Loriann70]

Hello - Thanks for the live updates! Glad to hear your having a great solo trip. I love reading reports like this because I am trying to get up enough nerve to do a solo trip myelf. Keep it coming!

Lori

 

[cornjob]

thursday - 3/6/08

today was a do-nothing day, for the most part. i have the pirate and princess party tonight at the MK, so i decided to do laundry in the morning, have a relaxed breakfast, pick up the stuff i bought elsewhere that's been delivered to my resort and then take a nap until the afternoon. yes, it was very lazy. i felt a bit like i was wasting that precious disney time, but heck, it's mine. i'll do it if i want. i had a pop century waffle (not bad), some grapes and an apple.
truth be told, i'm actually getting a little anxious to go home. i'll have to remember this for future reference. my limit on vegas is 3 days, and i guess about 5 in disneyworld.
i headed over to the MK about 4.30, because i wanted to see the hall of presidents and the country bears before the park closed to the commoners, and they weren't going to be open later. so...took care of that as well as riding on the paddlewheeler and 3 trips through the haunted mansion. then, it seemed like the park emptied out fast. so it was me and 10,000 or so friends just running around like lunatics. the kids were almost all dressed up - it was pretty cute. i was surprised how many adults were as well. but all i really cared about was ridin'! i went on pirates, buzz's space ranger spin, space mountain, big thunder mountain, splash mountain, monsters inc laugh floor and the TTA all within an hour and a half. no lines at all. i would highly recommend this event to someone who just wants to go on the attractions as well as somebody who gets into the whole dressup thing. it was raining on and off all evening. by 9.30 i just headed back home. i had done everything i wanted to tonight. i would have loved it if the jungle cruise was open, unfortunately, it was one of the attractions they don't run on these nights. i have to say i like the WDW version of the jungle cruise a little better than the disneyland one. that whole asian temple you go through is pretty cool. when i got back to pop century, it was still raining. everyone on main street was huddled under the store awnings, looking miserable. everyone on the bus was dripping and complaining. i don't get it, it's just rain. maybe it's because i'm from seattle, but it doesn't bother me. they always say you can tell a true seattle native because they don't own an umbrella.
since i hadn't eaten anything since the morning, i was pretty hungry. i decided to order one of the pizzas they deliver around here. it certainly was convenient, just not very good. i like a nice thin crust, and this was a bit bready for my taste. the toppings were good though. damage for dinner - $29. ok, no more splurging on food.