The Most Amazing and Belated Solo Trip Report Ever!

[Nomi]

This trip report is very long overdue.

I do have an explanation (excuse) as to why it is so very dreadfully overdue.

You see, it all started when I went on my very first solo trip to WDW (!!!) in Dec 2009 and after an amazing ten days, returned to reality. And reality was apparently very disturbed that it was left behind. As I sauntered into my front door, sad to be done my trip but nevertheless happy to be home, I find reality sitting stiff in the chesterfield, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed.

“So where have you been, little miss?” Stated Reality.

“Disney World! Didn’t I tell you!? I’ve been planning and dreaming of this trip for years! Oh, and what a wonderful time I had.”

“No. I was not informed. I was under the impression that you were in fact terrified of people and suffered from social anxiety. I just thought these would be more empty plans…”

“Reality! You are being a little more snarky than usual.”

“Why did you leave me!?”

Long story short, despite all attempts at explaining because of things like school and work and money I probably wouldn’t be going on any more big trips for the next few years, reality decided to bombard me with more work and school stuff, just in case.

So there you go. That is why it took me forever to get the pictures from my camera to the computer, and then from the computer to photobucket, and even longer to start this most wonderful of trip reports.

----------------------------- PROLOGUE-------------------------------

Once upon a time, a little girl was lucky enough to have her parents take her and her two sisters on a trip to Disneyland. Already an enthusiastic fan of all sorts of rides (just being tall enough to go on most now), this little girl was instantly and irrevocably addicted to this magical place. And, oddly enough, she may have been the only one who had fun, as her younger sister had come down with the chicken pox and the rest of the family had contacted the flu.
Despite this, the family went on two other trips to Disney parks, once to WDW when the little girl was 12 for a very short trip, and again to Disneyland when she was 17 for her birthday (where her ears popped on the plane and never un-popped the entire week, probably as payback for the first trip).

At this point the rest of the family was all disneyed-out. The girl knew that the only way to get to Disney in the future was to either do it herself or go with friends. Suffering from an acute fear of people, I decided that it would be best to go with my friends, whom I am less afraid of than people I don’t know.

But to my dismay, most of my friends showed little interest in going to Disneyland or WDW. After a while I gave up, and I moved onto option number two.

Going alone.

It’s important to mention that other people terrify me. Even my friends and family, though significantly less so than strangers. Going alone was no small thing. But I did it. I planned and saved and had the travel agent help me make reservations.

For those interested, the PTR is here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2236051
It’s not all that great, as the date of my trip approached I got more and more excited and more and more terrified. More excited than anything else. But it is very short.

---------------------------- Important Info ---------------------------

My name is Hannah, and I hail from Edmonton, Canada.

This is me:

I am 19, and was when the trip happened.

I love all things Disney as well as theme parks of all kinds, animatronics and gadgetry, as well as animals, especially fish and reptiles.

Trip Plan as of before I left:
Nov 30: Arrival
Flights: 8:15 EDM → 10:55 DEN
12:40 DEN → 6:04 ORL
Check in to the Animal Kingdom Lodge (!), check out hotel and room. If feeling up to it, take first bus that shows up to any park.
Get lots of sleep!

Dec 1:
Go for rope drop to the Magic Kingdom ( 9:00, arrive 30 mins earlier). Hang out at MK until 6:30-7:00.
ADR at Boma for 7:40. Arrive at 7:25
Hang out, perhaps swim, at hotel.

Dec 2:
Head over to EPCOT whenever I’m feeling up to it (probably around 9-10) and explore the World Showcase (maybe do soarin first). Take is slow, sample lots of food.
ADR at the Nine Dragons, be there around 5:50 for 6 res.
Stay for Illuminations, head back to Hotel.

Dec 3:
Do EMH at the MK. When it starts to get busy, leave. The head to AK or DHS, or tour the monorail resorts first.
No ADR’s. Eat at AK. Afterwards, head to hotel or DTD (Christmas shopping time perhaps)

Dec 4:
Discovery Cove. Take taxi (or other transportation if provided. Will find out) to check in, around 8-8:30.
Leave at 6 (taxi) to hotel, arrive at Jinko at 6:50 for 7:10 ADR.

Dec 5:
AK for rope drop, get there at 8:30. Then hop over to EPCOT for the afternoon. Explore Future World. ADR at the Garden Grill at 8:10. Be there at 7:50.

Dec 6:
Head to any park for the morning (AK or MK). Get to DHS for at around 5-6 to catch Fantasmic. DHS EMH.
ADR at Prime Time for 9:25 (be there at 9:10).

Dec 7:
Rope drop at DHS (9:00, arrive 8:30). The head over to MK.
ADR at California Grill for 9:30 (arrive at 9:00). Wishes from the Cali Grill!!

Dec 8:
Any park in the Morning (AK perhaps). Head over to MK for…. MVMCP!!
No ADR’s.

Dec 9: Leaving.
1:55 Orlando → Toronto 4:45
6:00 Toronto → 8:14 Edmonton

Would I follow this plan? Would I even follow any of it? More to come!
PS: Here was the short recap I wrote when I returned, for any interested.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2348376

 

[ms mouse]

Great start, cant wait to see how it turns out.

 

[Nomi]

Thank you! I have a goal to update at least two or three times a week, but we'll see how that goes. I am, after all, the queen of procrastination. In my favour though, I'm already working on the next bit.

I used the bulk uploader on photobucket and was dismayed at how small they came out. Oh well, it's probably for the best. There are far too many of them, and this small they look better than they are.

 

[GaRain]

Ok, ready for more......I want to know how it went.
Hard for me to understand the people scaring part as I am such a people person - which is why going to Disney solo is easy for me!

 

[cmp1111]

Good for you for going! I love the AKL, and the trip sounds great in theory. Hope the plans panned out! Or, if not, that you still had fun!

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Subscribed.

As a solo-tripper extraordinaire I love me some solo TRs.

Your plans sound great! Looking forward to seeing what happened and what didnt.

And for the record, two things:

1. I DETEST the Photobucket bulk uploader and refuse to use it.
2. I love the word irrevocably. Yeah, I'm a Word Nerd. And proud of it.

 

[heaven2dc]

I can't wait to read all about your adventure! Kudos to you for going solo Sometimes I feel I'm all alone in loving Disney so much but I will never outgrow my love (I started a blog for Dizaholics like myself where I can share my love as well as on here - my favorite happy place!)

 

[Iggipolka]

Woo! Can't wait to read your report. Great start so far and I love the picture.

 

[Nomi]

AAARG! I'll have you all know I had almost finished writting the first part of the report and the I accidentally deleted it.

Poop.

 

[heaven2dc]

Oh no!! I'm so sorry that happened - we will wait patiently

 

[Nomi]

Hello! Day 0 of my report is forthcoming in mere moments!

Ok, ready for more......I want to know how it went.
Hard for me to understand the people scaring part as I am such a people person - which is why going to Disney solo is easy for me!

Thank you! And I do like people, despite them being scary mammals. I tend to prefer reptiles and fish. Ok, and birds, insects, most other mammals…

Good for you for going! I love the AKL, and the trip sounds great in theory. Hope the plans panned out! Or, if not, that you still had fun!

Mmm, it does sound great in theory. I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

Subscribed.

As a solo-tripper extraordinaire I love me some solo TRs.

Your plans sound great! Looking forward to seeing what happened and what didnt.

And for the record, two things:

1. I DETEST the Photobucket bulk uploader and refuse to use it.
2. I love the word irrevocably. Yeah, I'm a Word Nerd. And proud of it.

Yes, I now have a photobucket account full of too small photos. Updates may take longer was I upload the photos bit by bit, but at least people would be able to see what the pictures are of.
Ah, words. I like me some reading, but I must warn you I am abominable at both spelling and grammar.

I can't wait to read all about your adventure! Kudos to you for going solo Sometimes I feel I'm all alone in loving Disney so much but I will never outgrow my love (I started a blog for Dizaholics like myself where I can share my love as well as on here - my favorite happy place!)

Thank you! I always use the excuse that I love the Disney parks because being an imagineer is my dream job. XD I know there must be other disneyaholics out here in E-town. I’ll rat them out someday.

Woo! Can't wait to read your report. Great start so far and I love the picture.

Thanks! I’m a looker, aren’t I?

 

[Nomi]

Day 0
‘The Rather Uneventful Travel Day’ or ‘Why Does This Eating Establishment Have No Condiments?’

This will be the third time I’ve written this, but since I’ve already gone through this day several times it only stands to reason that this time around it should be the most amazingly written thing ever. Right? Ok, probably not.
The day before I left seemed to last about 42 hours. Seriously. There must be some law that says the closer an exciting date comes the slower time moves. Of course, once the time comes, time must speed up to make up for earlier. Clearly this is an important mathematical formula that some genius out there needs to come up with.

Despite all the excitement and the need to get up at an ungodly hour, I do not think I got any more than a couple of hours of snooze time total. But I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself, I was going to Disney World in the morning! Wooo! 5 AM and ready to go! I won’t bore you with too much of the nonsense that went on during my day long travel expenditure. Just a little bit of it (let’s say it’s practice for my meal reporting skills).

I had a full hour and a half in the Denver airport, yet I was still paranoid about making my connection. Nevertheless, I was hungry like several polar bears on an iceberg in the prairies. So I rushed my way into the closest food place and ordered what looked like a nice chicken sandwich. As you can see here.

And it was. (those chips were good. What are they?) But you will notice the lack of some of the small things that make sandwiches great. Like mayo, or onions. It seems I was in such a rush that my paranoia made the condiments bar invisible! And instead of staying a few seconds more and looking around like any normal person, I rushed off to eat my nummy sandwich by my gate in case the plane decided to leave suddenly a half hour early.

Oh, the fun I have.

On the bright side, I bought myself some horrible/good snacks for the remainder of my airplane hours.

Mmm. Fake cheese in fake pretzels.

Ok, enough of this nonsense. It’s time for us to time warp and arrive at the Orlando Airport!
Hay look you guy’s, it’s those proto-monorails!

At this point I’m getting pretty sleepy (gosh sitting down all day takes it out of ya), but I’m also more excited than people should ever be. Because ho my gosh look over there! It’s a sign for the Magical Express! Woo!
I must note that at this point my camera is showing the effects of my sleepiness and these arrival pictures are pretty lousy. My apologies.
Woo, no big lines! There were only a couple other people there checking in to the ME.

Another fantastic thing about the start of this vacation is that once checked in, I was able to get onto my ME bus almost instantly! Hurrah for no waiting! And look at all those people with their invisibility cloaks! Those must be getting popular. XD

Aaaah, comfy bus seats. Unfortunately it was already quite dark, so not much could be seen on our way (though I did get a nice glimpse of Expedition Everest, which I was pretty excited to ride). No matter, for I got to enjoy the fun ME welcome video!

Way to make me even more excited ME video!

Shortly (yet far too slowly) we arrived at the AKL. I was so psyched that I was able to stay here, and gosh is this resort well designed (aka pretty)! Again, once inside there was no line to speak of to check in. Woo! I must have seemed like a kid in.. well… Disney World! (albeit an almost adult kid). Check in was a breeze. I got my key, and my room way at the end of Zebra trail. I’m not sure, but I think I skipped all the way there (looks long on the map, but it’s really not a long walk).

Why hello there room!

That sure is a welcome sight! What’s that on the bed…

What a nice welcome to the World, a towel mickey!

Some more obligatory room pictures. I loved this room, especially the carved wood accents.

Waiter, there’s a crazy person in my mirror…

Hmm. Flattering.

Again, the resort, it’s grounds and the rooms were even better looking in person. I loved all the details, from the furniture to all the info and artifacts about African culture. You really can just wander about this resort for hours on end. And, since I was again hungry, this was just what I planned to do! Not for hours though. That would be silly, as I had a big day tomorrow.

I like masks.

Eventually and against all odds, I reached the Mara. Just in time too, I was about to start snacking on the delicious looking foliage around the grounds. And, having just arrived, I had to get myself some of the highly recommended AKL foods.

Chicken Flatbread and Zebra domes!

The chicken flatbread was very yummy, but could do with more cheese. But really, what couldn’t do with more cheese. And as for the zebra domes, well… I can’t say I liked them all that much. They were alright, but I could only eat one at a time (they lasted me the whole trip).

Very rich and filling. And you get five of the things (Ignore my dirty finger, I was drawing on the plane and I always get the graphite under my fingernails somehow.

And, once stumbling back to my lovely room, thus ended day one.
Tune in later for the next exciting enstallment!

 

[cmp1111]

Oh, I'm feeling homesick for the AKL. Glad you had a decent travel day!

 

[JanetMom]

I stopped at AKL for a visit on my last trip and it is beautiful. Good choice to stay there.

 

[Yankeemouse]

Hi Nomi,

really enjoying your trip report! You have a way with words / photos! Plus, I think it is INCREDIBLE that you are only 19 and going solo. I have nieces who are going to be twenty next month and who are also college students, but there is NO way I could see them going to WDW by themselves. Just not mature enough to handle it. Which is really a compliment to you!

 

[7165red]

I am really enjoying reading your TR and love your photos.

 

[nutz2notz]

Great start. I love your writing style and great photos.

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

There must be some law that says the closer an exciting date comes the slower time moves. Of course, once the time comes, time must speed up to make up for earlier. Clearly this is an important mathematical formula that some genius out there needs to come up with.

Like Fuzzy Disney Math skillz.

Nevertheless, I was hungry like several polar bears on an iceberg in the prairies.

I've often been that hungry myself.

those chips were good. What are they

They look good. And they kind of look like they may have been sweet potato chips by the color. Were they?

On the bright side, I bought myself some horrible/good snacks for the remainder of my airplane hours.

Mmm. Fake cheese in fake pretzels.

The BEST kind!

But really, what couldn’t do with more cheese.

AMEN! sistah.

 

[Nomi]

Day Two Part One: The Great Day of Greatness! Or How a Pretzel Stole My Heart.

I had left all of you lovely people with Zebra Domes and me snoozing away on my lovely bed. Well, maybe not lovely bed, but the pillows were super comfy! The last night I had remembered (about five minutes after I rolled into bed) to phone down for a wake up call. Go me for remembering! I think that morning may have been one of the astoundingly rare times I was happy to be awaken so early. Parents sick of grumpy teens? Live at Disney World. It’s so simple! I’m a genius!

Where was I? Oh yes! Waking up happier than a June bug finding the fountain of never-ending life. I rolled out of bed and fell all over my suitcase (note to self, don’t place suitcase next to the bed. Gosh was I glad I had the room to myself then). To rectify the lack of light, I opened the curtains and saw THIS:

Do my eyes deceive me? Is that a Giraffe or am I hallucinating on Disney fumes? HI MR. GIRAFFE!!!

Now, just so you know, I paid for and expected a standard room. You know, parking lot or, if I’m lucky, foliage. Flora, not fauna. I had been upgraded, and I never noticed until the morning! (I know, I’m ever so clever) Woohoo!
And it’s not just my good friend giraffie here. I was able to find all sorts of African animals. I have to admit, I spent most of the time staring like a goon, and not enough time photographing. I did get more photos later.

As much as I loved my balcony, I had a Magical Kingdom to infiltrate. And it was looking to be a fantastical day.

Shining sun and great weather? Check

Happy Hannah? Check.

Awesome LGM-ified pack full of necessities? Check


Granola Bar Breakfast? Check

Ok, all ready, lets go! I’m sure I skipped down the hallway this time. I took the time to stop in at the gift store to buy a bottled water and a lovely lanyard for my key/fastpasses.

However, once I got out the door, I realized I had no idea where the bus stop was! I walked around in circles for a short time, but eventually I followed the steady stream of people down the right side of the hotel. And lo, there was my missing bus stop! And it was pretty nice, covered from the sun and rain, plenty of benches, and even a few bag toss games for bored children (and big children too). I don’t really remember how long I waited for a bus that first day (time just flew by) but I do remember the bus occasionally took 40+ minutes to show up. But that is what bag tosses and iphones are for, yes?

In what seemed like no time at all, we were pulling up to the MK! It seemed I had gotten there early enough to avoid any lines at the bag check, and I was soon corralled before the train station to await the grand opening of the happiest place on earth!

The opening ceremony is very cute. Loved it! ☺ And I do not know if you can tell from these photos, but it really wasn’t all that crowded.

Why, who could that be…

It looks like Mickey and all his friends! And a very lucky family. Ok, Parks open, lets motor!

Ah, nothing like the small of that popcorn to welcome you to the park! And it was a sight to behold, especially with everything decked out in holiday fashion. And it is a bit difficult to describe to people who have never been to any of the parks. The park is immaculate, the details astounding, all the sights, sounds and smalls are designed to welcome you and/or ignite you’re imagination. The cast members almost always seem genuinely glad to see you. Everything combined, walking around in WDW really does feel unlike anything else.

Plus, check out the little Mickey details on this awesome fellow.

He’s so obviously proud of his fantastic gear. And he looks like he’s going to nom that girls Minnie ears. Run little girl!
And the ubiquitous first sighting of the castle! You can just make out the rear end of the group of people running for Space Mountain up front there. Run people run! Yes, run, but I shall walk. For I know a secret.

I will, instead, go this way. Notice the lack of the human stampede.

Looking good castle!

Sorry for the glare, but I loved this poster. I would totally stay at that hotel. That hotel needs to exist in real live.

And despite taking a very leisurely pace to gape at all the windows on main street, the fun posters, the flowers, ect… I still got to be in the first 50 or so people in Space Mountain! The line here starts just under the fast pass sign.

I really like how they re-did the queue! Unfortunately we were moving too fast to try out any of the games this time, but it didn’t seem like the buttons were responding this early anyway. Still, what a cool idea!

The ride itself was much improved from before. I remember being very underwhelmed with the ride when I was 12. This time around it was much better! Still not as good as DL, but a ton of fun. I was able to spot the tracks throughout, but then again I’ve always been good with the dark. From ‘bah’ to ‘WHOOHOO!’, Space Mountain is a ‘Wheee!’.

However, when we come to a stop at the end, I notice something is out of place. My key… it’s gone! It must’ve fallen off the lanyard, plastic case and all, during the ride! I got that cold feeling of horror, and frantically searched the car. To my great relief, it was under my legs. But my gosh, what a fright! I must’ve looked like someone who has ever been on a roller coaster before.

I stopped in the gift store and located a cast member to see of they had anything to fix it with. The girl came back with a paper clip, which lasted all day. XD So Disney Lanyard: 0 Paper Clip: 1! (I did end up getting another lanyard back at the hotel that evening).

At that moment I was feeling all Gangta’ with my DIY lanyard. But this was no time to be lollygagging and showing off my paperclip. I had rides to go on! Nexy up on the docket was Buzz Lightyear. The ride. Even if this ride wasn’t as fun as it is, I would still queue up to see the animatronic buzz. Because I love me some animatronics! I’ve always dreamed of making animatronic dinosaurs and dragons when I grew up.

As much as I love shooting at things on this rise, my score was so mediocre I didn’t bother to take a picture of it. And I didn’t improve over the rest of the trip either. When aliens invade helpless planets, call be for emotional support. With my lack of aim I’m sure I wouldn’t be helpful with a laser blaster.

Hmm, now what. You know what I want to do? The TTA. Never been on it before, so I decided to ride it! Once I found the entrance, that is. I swear, I walked by the escalators at least twice before I saw them. This ride, while slow, does give some great views of the park. And a sweet peak at space mountain when the lights are off! I would save it for later in the day in the future, however. Or when it’s hot.

Relaxing view attraction done with, I grabbed myself a snack (snack credits for the win, am I right?).

But I was not prepared.

For the Awesomeness.

That was the Cream Cheese Pretzel.

Holy mother of science you guys!! This, after all the snacks I ate all trip, remained my most absolute favorite thing I ate! How come I had never heard about how great these are before? Why!?

I shall leave for a short while on that note, as I need to upload more photos’ TTFN.

 

[Nomi]

Like Fuzzy Disney Math skillz.



I've often been that hungry myself.



They look good. And they kind of look like they may have been sweet potato chips by the color. Were they?



The BEST kind!



AMEN! sistah.

You know, I think they were sweet potato chips! Good call.