Wait! I walked HOW far in 7 days? A (mostly) solo trip report

[MEK]

. Oh, sorry. No food porn. I didn't take a single picture of food. Rob doesn't come to the Dis much and I think that might have freaked him out.

:

So funny , yet so true!

Love your report so far!

 

[robwthomas]

Oh, sorry. No food porn. I didn't take a single picture of food. Rob doesn't come to the Dis much and I think that might have freaked him out.

Did you really think I would be freaked out by pictures of food? Do you even know me? The guy who's idea for a condoment on his hot dog is another hot dog?

BTW I'm loving this report! I didn't know you took such detailed notes!

 

[jenjolt]

I'm totally subbing in!! And I must say I love how your partner in crime chimes in with replies...that is so awesome!! I can't wait to hear more from you....and from Rob of course!!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I'm totally subbing in!! And I must say I love how your partner in crime chimes in with replies...that is so awesome!! I can't wait to hear more from you....and from Rob of course!!

Oh yeah. Rob's a character. Wait until we get to the part he WASN'T involved in. He'll have a whole lot more to say about whether I did things correctly. Welcome aboard!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Right before the alarm was set to go off at 6:45am, I made the executive decision to sleep a little longer. I had showered the night before, so I knew it wouldn’t take us too long to get ready and get out of the room. About 7:20, I got up to get ready. Now, this is how all our mornings went while Rob was with me. Alarm goes off, I get up, Rob sleeps. I shower, dry my hair, brush teeth, put makeup on, get dressed – Rob sleeps. I touch his shoulder and say “Rob, wakey wakey eggs and bakey.” Rob rolls over, blinks at me, mumbles something under his breath, and tries to go back to sleep. I resort to bouncing on the bed until he can form a complete sentence. Then, while he showers (which, as a boy he can do really fast), I run to the food court to get us breakfast. Fed, dressed, and with Diet Coke or coffee running though our blood, we are ready to head out. Ok, it’s now 8:00 so we have missed the start of EMH, but it’s all good.

We get to Magic Animals and head for the safari.

Every other time we have done this in the past, it has been in the afternoon when the animals are sleepy. We were very hopeful that going in the morning would let us see more active animals. While we were in line, we ran into the “I may be on vacation but I don’t like anything” family. These people were NOT in the Disney vacation frame of mind. Nothing was right. The lines were too long, the souvenirs were stupid, the CM’s were dumb, etc, etc. As soon as we got to the point where the lines split, Rob and I waited to see which way the family went and we went the other way. We lucked into being behind a multi-generational group of women who were on a “Girls gone wild at Disney” trip. They were a hoot!

The safari was great. We saw more animals than ever before and they were all up and moving around.

I tried to get some pictures but I am camera impaired so this is the only decent shot I got. Rob tried to help, the nice CM driving the truck tried to help, I gave up. At the end, the CM asked if I had any success. Nope. But no big deal. My Disney mellow has hit and nothing can go wrong in my world! We decided to head over to the Festival of the Lion King – one of our favorite shows. On the way, we stopped to get a Diet Coke and I spotted Baloo and King Louie. Now, one of my goals for this trip was character pictures. Despite many, many visits, I didn’t have a single photo with a character. Luckily, Rob ALWAYS has a Disney mellow on so we headed over to get in line. Right before this picture was taken, I felt King Louie’s hand touch my behind. Now, I figured it was just an accident but as we were walking away, Rob says “Did King Louie just cop a feel?” Well, the monkey king loves me anyway.

Festival of the Lion King was terrific as always. I found out that a friend of a friend is one of the stage managers for the show. I’d hoped to catch up with her and maybe get a VIP peek backstage but she wasn’t calling the show that morning. I started crying the second the music started and basically cried through the whole thing. As we were standing up to leave, Rob turns to me and says "You are a hot mess right now." Yep, that's the second time I've heard this and it's only day 2. I don't care, this is one amazing show and I could see it over and over. My future husband, one of the tumble monkeys, didn’t see me this time but that’s ok.

Rob and I decided to head over to Everest but on the way, we passed Flights of Wonder which was going to start in 10 minutes. I have never seen the show before. Those birds rock! Funny, informative, this show has it all. Oh, and the birds are gorgeous. We then headed over to Everest but fast passes were for 3:30-4:30 and the standby line was about 60 minutes. We passed and headed out to find lunch. I mentioned Flame Tree BBQ and thought Rob was going to levitate. I guess we’re having some BBQ for lunch. Neither of us had ever eaten there but as soon as we could smell it, we knew we had made the right choice. We both got the pulled beef sandwich. I had some fries and Rob got a corn muffin. Oh, and of course Diet Cokes all around. I truly don’t know how to describe the deliciousness that is Flame Tree except to say I may be drooling right now thinking about it!

After lunch, we did a quick check of time/energy level/future plans. It was close to 1:00 and we were dragging. Plus, we knew we had MNSSHP that night. It was time to head back to the hotel for a nap, dinner, and prep for the party. On our way out, we ran into Pluto so I had to get another picture.

Up next: Will rain keep us away from MNSSHP?

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Rob and I had a very refreshing rest back at POFQ. While he was sleeping, I noticed that it started to pour rain. Oh oh! I hope it doesn’t affect MNSSHP. We decided to grab dinner at the food court to save time at the party. There were so many wonderful choices. I ended up with the Cheese steak sandwich which was delicious! Rob got a pizza. He said it was different than the park pizzas and left it at that. We then quickly got into costume and ran off to the bus stop.

It rained most of the way to the park and I was a bit worried. Most of my costume was a custom made headpiece for Shere Khan and I did not want it to get wet. Was that going to stop us from going? Not a chance, we just had to dodge rain drops. We got to the park about 5:30 and got our picture taken by the partner’s statue.

We then decided to hit Fantasyland since we hadn’t really done that on Sunday night. Right as we got to Snow White, it started pouring, so we jumped on the ride. I still say this ride is way too scary for kids (and my niece reminds me that it was the first ride I ever took her on every time she wants a present from Disney!) The rain had let up when we got off so we headed to Pooh – again, just in time for a downpour. I love, love, love bouncing with Tigger. We started for Peter Pan when the skies opened up again. Ok, I’m done playing. Time to buy a poncho. Bad plan for me. You see, it didn’t fit over my headpiece. So, to the amusement of many other people who were avoiding the rain in the little gift shop by Snow White, I proceeded to unpin and remove Shere Khan, put the poncho on, and repin Shere Khan on my head. As soon as we stepped out to head to Peter Pan, it stopped raining. I reversed and repeated the entire process while in line for Peter Pan.

When we emerged from Neverland, the party was in full swing and it was done raining! We stopped by Cinderella’s coach for some photos first,

and then off to the Haunted Mansion. I loved the special makeup on the CM’s. Rob just kept repeating “Don’t make direct eye contact. Keep moving.” We stopped for the photo op by the hearse on our way out. It was a great shot and one of the photo pass pictures I ended up buying at the end of my trip. We then headed over to Thunder Mountain as the first parade was starting. All my research on the Dis before leaving said go to the second parade, so that was the plan. It was so hard not to sneak a peak at the parade as it went by, but we wanted to be surprised later. BTMR was a walk-on and so much fun!

It was now time to stroll over to the hub for Hallowishes. We loved looking at all the special lighting and effects throughout the park. We found a great seat for Hallowishes and had time to get a snack. Rob ran off to the funnel cake place in Liberty square while I held our spot. He came back with a funnel cake and a Mickey waffle for us to split. I LOVED the fireworks. I know some have said that weren’t super impressed, but I LOVED them (did I mention that?). I especially loved the surround of the fireworks at the end.

Rob and I then moved closer to the castle for the Villains Mix and Mingle. My friend David was performing! I was so excited because I didn’t think I would get to see him this trip. We quickly got in line for a photo op with Maleficent, one of Rob’s new girlfriends (in addition to Cruella, Aurora, and the dancers in the show).

(Don’t tell his real girlfriend Christine though.) We also had time to get a photo with the Evil Queen from Snow White for me!

We were going to try to get Cruella as well, but it was time for the 2nd parade. We found a spot to stand and got ready to cheer. Just then, some of the dancers from the show came out for a second and I got to say hi to David. I promised to see the next Villain’s show as well so I could cheer for him.

The parade was fantastic. I couldn’t believe how much energy they had. I loved the grave diggers with their shovel dance. I couldn’t believe how much those spade sparked when dragged on the ground. I thought that even if nothing else happened, we had certainly gotten our money’s worth for this event. We saw the next Villains show as promised. Some people showed up at the last minute, pushed their way through the crowd seated on the ground, and then stood right in front of the stage. Never a shy person, I said very loudly “Could you please sit down? Down in front please!” There was also a family who had pushed directly in front of Rob and I right before the show. They were sitting, so no problem, but they had several huge balloons that they just let float around. I leaned forward and asked them to please pull them down. I got a dirty look from the mother but I just kept politely repeating the request until she had no choice. David blew me a kiss from the stage and Rob got his picture with Cruella.

Cruella was a hoot! She came up to me after the picture with Rob and started petting my head. Always ready to play along, I fake groweled and told her she couldn't have my pelt. She said she would NEVER skin a fellow villain, but my coat sure was pretty!

Ok, it was just about time for the party to end and we had down about all we wanted to do.

We stopped in the pin store so I could get the MNSSHP pin and then headed to the bus stop to go home. We were on the bus before we realized we had never gotten around to trick or treating. Oh well, I don’t really need candy anyway. As we got to the hotel, we realized it was Rob’s last night until the end of the week. I think he was ready to return to work so he could get some rest.

Up Next: How was my first solo day? Where did I go?

 

[Schmoodle]

Can't wait to hear about your solo adventures!
Were you at MNSSHP on Monday Oct. 13? If so that's the night we attended - and got DRENCHED. Still had lots of fun though.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Can't wait to hear about your solo adventures!
Were you at MNSSHP on Monday Oct. 13? If so that's the night we attended - and got DRENCHED. Still had lots of fun though.

Yes. We were there on Monday, Oct. 13. We managed to stay dry though. I still say, as soon as I bought that poncho, it stopped raining. So, to all party goers on Oct. 13 - you're welcome. It was the best money I spent the entire vacation! I"m glad you still managed to have a good time.

 

[ILuvCrush]

Yes. We were there on Monday, Oct. 13. We managed to stay dry though. I still say, as soon as I bought that poncho, it stopped raining. So, to all party goers on Oct. 13 - you're welcome. It was the best money I spent the entire vacation! I"m glad you still managed to have a good time.

HEY!!! I thought that I stopped the rain by buying that $10 broken umbrella!!!!

LOL!!!
Paula

 

[WDisneyWforMe]

Enjoying your trip report! Looking forward to your solo segments. We leave on the 12th of December for a Christmas vacation Disney style and I'm praying for a bounceback offer!! If I get one I've promised myself a first solo trip for ME!!! Keep it coming!
Diane

 

[robwthomas]

Up Next: How was my first solo day? Where did I go?

I'm interested in reading this, as well. Could you have possibly had anymore fun then you've already had? You know what I miss? You. You and WDW. Can you come back? I'm moving to Celebration. Why is this Banana dancing?

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Today was the start of the solo portion of my trip. Rob had to go back to work for the rest of the week. I decided to sleep in a little bit because 2 late nights and 1 early morning make for a very tired Stacy. And a tired Stacy generally equals a cranky Stacy and there is no crankiness allowed at Disney! So, we got up about 8:45 and headed down to the food court for a good breakfast before Rob took off. Rob was a hungry boy and got the big breakfast which had everything – eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, a biscuit, and a Mickey head waffle. I decided that maybe I wasn’t THAT hungry and got an amazing plate of biscuits and gravy. Delicious!!! After breakfast, we split up. Rob went back to shower and then drive home; I headed straight for Hollywood Studios.

DHS is my second favorite park at the world and I intended to have a great time. It was about 10:15 by the time I got to the gates so I headed straight for Toy Story Mania (after a stop for a photo op of course!)

The wait time was posted at 50 minutes and the fast pass return time was 5:15. The park closed at 6:00 today. Why, I don’t know but I was super sad to be on my 2nd full day and still not get to see Fantasmic. Anyway, I decided to wait in line. The themeing inside the ride is amazing. I saw toys that took me way back to early childhood – I won’t blow the surprise if you haven’t been there yet, but wow. However, as we approached the hour mark and I still wasn’t on the ride, the themeing became less important. Finally, an hour and 10 minutes later, I was in a vehicle with 3D glasses in place. I had a great time! Was it worth the hour and 10 minutes, maybe not. But once the hoopla dies down, this will become one of my favorites at DHS.

Ok, time for a Diet Coke break. I also need to make some decisions on the rest of my day. I see that Mickey is doing meet and greets at the Magic of Disney animation. I love this attraction, so I head on over. I never saw Mulan, but Mushu cracks me up every time. I then walk right past the offices and speed walked my way to Mickey’s line. Oh, and bonus – its Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey! It was this line that I ran into one of the “hot topic” behaviors from the Dis – one parent stands in line and the other parent (and the kids) enjoy running around, playing with the interactive stuff, and then, when it’s time, they all push into line. You know what, it didn’t bother me so much here. The que was pretty small and I think there would have been a lot more crying, cranky kids if they had to wait. Plus, I don’t really think it affected my wait time too much. Finally, it was my turn. I was a bit worried because this was the first time I did a character meet by myself. Did I seem like a freak? Would people point and laugh? What do I care? I will never see these people again and I want a picture with Mickey. Poor Mickey. I don’t think he expected a 37 year old to cry when she hugged him. I whispered to him “I’ve been waiting 37 years for this hug.” And didn’t he kiss my hand and drop to one knee! I loved it. The photopass people and Mickey were amazing. I can’t thank them enough – a sentiment that continued throughout my solo trip.

I stopped at the Great Movie ride on my way to the other side of the park. It was a walk-on. Oh, and I finally got to do the Cowboy pass off. I always get the Mobster one. In fact, I was in the dark about the Cowboy exchange until just recently. I don’t know if it was because it was the first time I had seen it or if it was because of the explosion, but I liked it a lot more than the Mobster one. I know some people don’t like this ride, but I always enjoy it. I just wish they would time the Aliens thing a bit better. I don’t think it ever really gets anyone. And what’s with the 2nd one being so completely visible?

Ok, enough of the mushy, feel-good stuff. It’s time to get my ride on. I head for the 2 biggies – Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Rollercoaster. On my way over, I pass the dining reservation kiosk. Now, I have always wanted to try 50’s Prime Time Café, but I never make ADR’s. I stopped to see if it was possible to squeeze in. Table for 1 for lunch? Sure, no problem AND I had my choice of about 8 times. I set the reservation for 2:35 and headed off to TOT. The wait time said 10 minutes, which, for this ride, is nothing so I head right up. I literally walked into the library and there were only about 20 people in it. In the boiler room, I was probably in the middle of the pack. Everyone in front of me went right when the lines divided so I headed left (which I always do thanks to Rob’s good advice.) I figured the people behind me would follow me but no one did. I got to the front and there were 2 CM’s there and NO PEOPLE! They ask how many. Ummm…just me. Do you want an elevator to yourself? WHAT? Are you kidding me? Yes, Yes, Yes. So, I had the entire thing to myself, which I have to admit, was a bit creepy. No one screaming but me. The picture was even creepier – all those empty seats. I wish I had bought the picture or taken a picture of the picture but I didn’t even think of it.

I still had time before my ADR so I headed to Rockin’ Rollercoaster. The wait time said 50 minutes but there didn’t appear to be anyone in the single rider’s line so I headed in. I got all the way up to the building before there was someone in front of me. Still, I was seated in a limo with shoulder harness in place in about 15 minutes. Gotta love single rider lines! I took my time walking over to 50’s Prime Time. I usually love to browse the shops on Sunset but one whole side was closed? What’s up with that? I have money I want to spend. I arrived at 50’s Prime Time a few minutes early and was seated pretty quickly. Cousin Louise was my server. She was great – she stayed in theme but was good at reading the situation. She saw I was alone so she wasn’t as strict with me as she was with the big family next to me. I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and a Diet Cherry Coke. I hadn’t planned to order dessert until the family of 1000’s (ok, maybe 8 or 10) all ordered dessert. Now that I had seen them in person, I couldn’t pass it up. Normally, I am a chocoholic but the apple cobbler with ice cream was SCREAMING my name, so I listened. Oh goodness, it was amazing!

A quick glance at the time showed me I had time to get to Beauty and the Beast. I love this show and I had heard the rumors that Disney was thinking of closing it. I really wanted to see it just in case. There was a new Belle and a new Gaston, neither of which I thought were great singers. The costumes looked like they had just been refurbished though – they were all shiny and pretty! After the show, it was about 5:15. With the park closing at 6:00, I decided maybe it was time to head back to the resort.

Once in the room, I realized I wasn’t ready to stop for the night but I didn’t feel like a park either. I grabbed a bottle of water and changed my shoes and decided to get a boat to DTD. On the way to the boat, I took some quick pictures around the resort. This place is truly beautiful.

The boat trip was great and it got me to DTD pretty quickly. I started shopping for presents for people. It didn’t take me long to find what I wanted and I discovered I just didn’t feel like wandering and looking. I happened to be next to Earl of Sandwich and I had heard wonderful things about this place from the uncle. It was one of his favorite places to eat at DTD. I grabbed a club sandwich and decided to head back to the hotel. Everything just felt crowded to me and that’s usually a sign that I need some alone time. I caught the boat and headed back, grabbed a refill in my mug and some snacks for later, and headed to my room to put my pj’s on and make an early night out of it. After all, there was a lot more Disney to be conquered tomorrow!

Up Next: Did I fall in love with Epcot finally?

 

[ILuvCrush]

Great update Stacy!!!!

I liked TSM too POFQ is beautiful!!!

I'm really glad you got your pic with Mickey I thought the 1st character pic solo was the hardest.... they were easier after that. I hope you got more!!!

Paula

 

[WDisneyWforMe]

We've stayed at POFQ three two times on previous trips and simply love the resort! Perfect size, the food court is great and we like the shop there too! I can't believe you road ToT by yourself, it's kind of freaking me out just thinking about it! And good for you on getting your character pictures!

Diane

 

[Kmango]

Aw, I miss you Stacy! I wish I could have come up to see you too! But alas, I was stuck in the box office. Come back again soon.

 

[reelmom]

Just found your TR and I am hooked. I love your food choices. We don't do ADR's either. When we are on vacation, calories don't count. So it's junk, junk and more junk with junk on top. I cried when reading about you meeting Mickey for the first time. Disney is such a magical place. And very cool about getting an elevator to yourself on ToT. Can't wait to read more.

 

[lmillercrew]

Hello!! I'm joining you from Iluvcrush's TR! I am enjoying it so far. We've stayed at POFQ twice and we love it. I'm glad you liked it too. I look forward to reading the rest of your adventure.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Aw, I miss you Stacy! I wish I could have come up to see you too! But alas, I was stuck in the box office. Come back again soon.

Katie!!!!! Hi. How's life in the box office? I am so jealous that you have 3 trips coming up so soon. Can you pack me in your suitcase?

Just found your TR and I am hooked. I love your food choices. We don't do ADR's either. When we are on vacation, calories don't count. So it's junk, junk and more junk with junk on top. I cried when reading about you meeting Mickey for the first time. Disney is such a magical place. And very cool about getting an elevator to yourself on ToT. Can't wait to read more.

Hello!! I'm joining you from Iluvcrush's TR! I am enjoying it so far. We've stayed at POFQ twice and we love it. I'm glad you liked it too. I look forward to reading the rest of your adventure.

Welcome, welcome to you both. I'm glad you jumped on board for this TR. I'm actually having a lot of fun reliving it while I write it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest.

 

[Kmango]

Katie!!!!! Hi. How's life in the box office? I am so jealous that you have 3 trips coming up so soon. Can you pack me in your suitcase?

Same ridiculousness as always. Also some new ridiculousness. I've actually also got a secret mini-trip Nov 6-7. Rob may or may not be joining me for some of that. If you pack yourself in a duffel and get to the appropriate bell services, you're certainly welcome to come along too!

 

[angela3676]

Just found your trip report Stacy. I'm really enjoying it. Waiting for more. Just waiting.