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

[MEK]

Thanks for the update! It sounds like you had a great day at HS. But 1 hr 10 mins for TSM - you are a trooper! I like your pics of POFQ. Keep the updates coming!

 

[robwthomas]

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!

I'm trying my hardest! I now have a work log, so I have proof of all the extra hours I put in. Last week it was 62 total. I hope I'm justified for at least one of those days. I need my yearly dose of food and wine!

Plus, how can I resist spending the night within stumbling distance of France?!

Stacy! Please post more, I can't wait to get to Aunt and Uncle!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Hi! Count me in. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. You're off to a great start!

 

[donac]

This is a great trip report. Not too long but lots of great pictures and info.
I have stayed at POFQ and also love the theming.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Epcot has always been my least favorite park in all WDW. I’m not sure why – maybe it’s because on my very first visit, someone made us stand in line for 90 minutes for Soarin’ so that’s all we saw of Epcot (Hi Rob! ) Maybe it’s because my second visit was during the end of August when it’s about a billion degrees out with a bazillion percent humidity. Or maybe it’s because I just don’t “get” Epcot. No matter, I was determined to visit the park on my own and see if I could find something to love. Hey, at least it was Food and Wine Festival. I was looking forward to desserts and maybe some adult beverages.

Before I could get to Epcot, I had to brave the bus stop. It was an ugly morning at Bus Stop at POFQ on Wednesday. It seems everyone and their cat was headed to Typhoon Lagoon for the day and the line was pretty cut-throat. Part of the problem was that some people didn’t realize that there WAS a line to get on the bus. When the bus pulled up, people who had been sitting on benches got up and headed toward the bus doors. People started yelling “There’s a line. Hey, no budging.” And a couple of things not fit to print on the Dis. Ok, they packed the bus and still there were over 30 people waiting for the next bus. Lovely. Fortunately for me, the next bus to pull up was for Epcot and there were only 5 of us waiting. I moved to get on the bus and the Typhoon rowdies started yelling “Hey, there’s a line.” The other 4 people (a lovely family of husband, wife, and 2 kids) looked intimidated and started for the back of the line. I just turned to the people yelling and said “What does the side of the bus say? Epcot right? You are going to Typhoon Lagoon which is NOT this bus. Please stop yelling and have a magical day.” I then asked the family to get on the bus in front of me. Hey people – it’s a vacation. Chill out!

Ok, Epcot. I got the requisite picture with the golf ball in the background and headed in. Spaceship Earth was finally open so I decided to give it a try. I thought they did a great job with the scenes and the little movie of the future was fun. I then headed for a place to accomplish one of my key goals – character pictures. Who knew about the Character Spot? I sure didn’t. The line was fairly long but there was a really nice woman and daughter in front of and we spent the time chatting. I hit the jackpot for character pictures here – Mickey,

Minnie,

Pluto,

Donald,

and Goofy.

Then, as I was exiting, a CM said “We have a bonus character today. Cinderella is waiting right over here.” Woo hoo! Of course, there was no photo pass person for her but the very nice woman and daughter were right there so they took my picture with Cinderella and I took theirs so they could both be in the picture.

A quick look at my watch showed it was noon. I knew Belle (my favorite ever!) appeared in France starting at 12:45. I had time to make my way slowly to France, exploring as I went. I checked out a few Food and Wine booths on my way to Canada, the UK, and France. Ok, if I wanted to sample things, I was clearly going to go broke. I did contemplate a frozen pina colada for a long time but I decided that $6.50 for a tiny punch cup was sick and wrong and I wasn’t going to play that game. I continued exploring until I got to France and my meeting with Belle. I was excited beyond belief. I think the kids in line behind me were a little freaked at the 37 year old waiting for the princess, but I just didn’t care. I got a great photo and Belle and I had a wonderful conversation about books.

Hunger hit. Hmmm…what to eat? Nachos in Mexico sounded perfect. And they were. But, even with advanced medicine to coat the stomach, I could feel my stomach lining dying a slow and tragic death (I’m not great with really spicy food.) You know what helps that problem – a Mickey Head Ice Cream Bar!!!! And now I’m full. And bored. As pitiful as it may sound, I was done with Epcot. Time to head back for a nap.

Up next: What should I do with the rest of my afternoon and evening? Is it finally time to see Fantasmic?

 

[Stacybaeasm]

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

Yeah, sorry about the lack of update yesterday. Life got in the way. By the time I got home, I barely had strength to put on my pj's and sit on the couch.

Thanks for the update! It sounds like you had a great day at HS. But 1 hr 10 mins for TSM - you are a trooper! I like your pics of POFQ. Keep the updates coming!

It was a long line, but that is the bonus of a solo trip. I could stand in line forever or skip it and come back later!

Hi! Count me in. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. You're off to a great start!

This is a great trip report. Not too long but lots of great pictures and info.
I have stayed at POFQ and also love the theming.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm having a great time writing this so I'm glad that people are enjoying reading it. I love to read people's trip reports so I can feel like I'm in Disney even when I know I have 11 months until I can go back!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Great update Stacy!!! We HAVE to coincide a trip so I can 'help' you fall in LOVE with Epcot

Believe me... a few grey goose slushies and EVERYTHING will be more fun!!!!

Keep up the great report

Paula

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Great update Stacy!!! We HAVE to coincide a trip so I can 'help' you fall in LOVE with Epcot

Believe me... a few grey goose slushies and EVERYTHING will be more fun!!!!

Keep up the great report

Paula

See, I was LOOKING for the Grey Goose slushies and couldn't find them. I know that even one of them would have helped. Ok, new plan. We have to plan a trip to get me to love Epcot. Who's in?

 

[ILuvCrush]

See, I was LOOKING for the Grey Goose slushies and couldn't find them. I know that even one of them would have helped. Ok, new plan. We have to plan a trip to get me to love Epcot. Who's in?

Me me me!!!!!

Alcohol and Epcot.... you'll have to beat them away from this meet!!

Paula

 

[Kmango]

See, I was LOOKING for the Grey Goose slushies and couldn't find them. I know that even one of them would have helped. Ok, new plan. We have to plan a trip to get me to love Epcot. Who's in?

Epcot's totally my favorite. I will share with you my childlike wonder. And insights on where to find 11 countries worth of delicious, for relatively few of the American Dollars.

 

[robwthomas]

See, I was LOOKING for the Grey Goose slushies and couldn't find them. I know that even one of them would have helped. Ok, new plan. We have to plan a trip to get me to love Epcot. Who's in?

Who are you kidding? I LOVE Soarin'! And Grand Marinier slushies! And Norway! I'm in.

 

[lmillercrew]

DH and I discovered the pasty shop in France. Mmmm...
How can you leave us hanging like this? Come back quick

 

[jenjolt]

Great Updates!! WoW, you totally hit the jackpot with the characters. One of the things I am hoping to do on my Solo trip is to get a lot of photos with the characters.

 

[Kmango]

Who are you kidding? I LOVE Soarin'! And Grand Marinier slushies! And Norway! I'm in.

Back, back, over de falls!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

DH and I discovered the pasty shop in France. Mmmm...
How can you leave us hanging like this? Come back quick

Sorry about that. I have no excuse for not posting an update last night except Ghost Hunters was on ALL night. I know, but once Grant, Jay, Steve, Tango, and the rest get going, I can't stop watching. I will try to post an update tonight (late production meeting but still...) I can pretty much guarantee there WON'T be an update on Friday night though. 7 hour live Ghost Hunters. Yep, geek that I am, I will be glued to the TV set. Commercials will be devoted to more diet coke and probably snacks
I will make up for it by posting all weekend though.

And to everyone reading, thanks for hanging in. It brightens my day to see people post to this thread.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I returned to the room for a quick rest and change of shoes. I don’t know if I mentioned this earlier, but I was trying something new this trip – 2 pair of shoes. I had my trusty very well-broken in sneakers with fresh inserts and my “oh my gosh I can’t believe I’m actually wearing these ugly things that I always made fun of” crocs. And while crocs are ugly and people who wear them SHOULD be made fun of, they are sooooo comfortable and they actually kept me up and moving around. My trick was to wear one pair of shoes in the morning and then switch out to the other shoes after each day's rest. Ok, now that I have gotten completely off track, after my rest I was headed back to DHS to see Lights, Action, Motorcars and Fantasmic!!!! Just as I was leaving the room, I noticed the message light on my phone was blinking. I quickly checked it and had a message that there was a package for me at the gift shop. Right, the pictures I bought yesterday at Disney Animation. Great, I’ll pick them up tonight when I get back or tomorrow morning.

The bus to DHS was quick. Once through the gates I headed right for the stadium. As I was going down the Streets of America, I smelled that delicious smell – you know the one – the warm glazed nuts. Oh, I totally have time to stop for some of them. Off to the show with nuts and water in hand. I love this show. As I’m sitting there waiting for it to start (and listening to that repetitive and annoying music play over and over and over) I flashback to my trip to DHS with my dad on New Year’s Eve. He is a total car guy and I remember watching him watch the show that night. We had just gotten the word that I had gotten the job I wanted and we were celebrating and having a great father/daughter day in the parks. It was, we knew, possibly the last time we would get to Disney together now that I was moving out of Florida. And I remember my dad leaning over to me after the show and saying “That was worth the price of admission right there” and then he took my hand and we made our way out of the stadium.

Now what? I wanted to see Muppets 3-D because I haven’t seen that show in quite awhile. However, I think everyone else at the stunt show thought the same thing and the line looked like it went on forever. New plan, head over to TOT and Rock n rollercoaster for a few thrills. On my way, I passed the Publics Works Guys out for some streetmosphere so I pulled up some curb and laughed along with the crowd. A quick glance at my watch showed that it was 6:00. I need to make some serious decisions. Early or late Fantasmic? If late, what do I do until 8:00? A quick glance at the Tower of Terror time board showed only a 10 minute wait so it was time to do some screaming.

Ok, 6:15. What now? I decide to walk up to the Fantasmic studio and see how busy it looked. If I couldn’t get the seat I wanted, I would come back for the second show. The theatre wasn’t crowded at all so I stayed. I got a pretzel and cheese (and diet coke) for dinner and found a spot about halfway down on the aisle in the center and settled in to people watch until the show. I chatted with the family behind me who were tons of fun. I had to shake my head at the people who come pouring into the theatre at 5 minutes to show time and then expect to find seats in the center for their family. I know some people don’t Dis, I know some people are there for the first time, but come on. Do you go to a movie theatre at the last minute for a really popular movie and expect to get great seats?

Fantasmic is my favorite show in all of Disney. I could see it over and over. And I cry, a lot. I cry when Mickey’s hands shoot pyro, I cry for the jungle animals, I cry for the princesses. Oh, and to quote my friend Rob (who was not with me at this point) I am a big hot mess from the appearance of the steamboat until the lights go out. This show makes me believe in all the magic and renews my belief that Disney is the right place for me to vacation for a long time to come.

The bus back to POFQ was a challenge. Contrary to some, POR and POFQ share a bus from DHS. That’s a lot of people to move around. Since it was only about 8:20, I decided I was in no hurry so I pulled up a bench and waited for the crowds to die down a bit. After 4 buses came and went, it was finally time for me to get in line and go home and just in time too. The late Fantasmic was starting. Back at the resort, I stopped by the gift shop to pick up my package and headed up to the room. I was just planning to grab my mug and head back down to refill it. However, my phone was flashing again. This time, there was a message that there was an envelope for me at the front desk. What? I grab my mug and head down. The first stop is the front desk. I rip into the envelop and then have to find a seat before I fell down. Some really wonderful people had sent me $100 Disney gift card to spend on my vacation. I couldn’t believe it. I have really wonderful friends. And the dreaming began. What could I spend it on? Off to bed to dream Disney dreams.

Up next: What DID I spend my present on?

 

[ILuvCrush]

And while crocs are ugly and people who wear them SHOULD be made fun of, they are sooooo comfortable and they actually kept me up and moving around.

I bought crocs special for my trip... I ended up with blisters on the top of my feet I usually wear the generic kind from walmart, but with socks (I know... I'm a geek) So I splurged on a real pair and DOH!!!

As I was going down the Streets of America, I smelled that delicious smell – you know the one – the warm glazed nuts. Oh, I totally have time to stop for some of them.

Yummmmm!!!!!!!!

I flashback to my trip to DHS with my dad on New Year’s Eve. He is a total car guy and I remember watching him watch the show that night. We had just gotten the word that I had gotten the job I wanted and we were celebrating and having a great father/daughter day in the parks. It was, we knew, possibly the last time we would get to Disney together now that I was moving out of Florida. And I remember my dad leaning over to me after the show and saying “That was worth the price of admission right there” and then he took my hand and we made our way out of the stadium.

OMG that is such a wonderful story!!!

I had to shake my head at the people who come pouring into the theatre at 5 minutes to show time and then expect to find seats in the center for their family. I know some people don’t Dis, I know some people are there for the first time, but come on. Do you go to a movie theatre at the last minute for a really popular movie and expect to get great seats?

Fantasmic is my favorite show in all of Disney. I could see it over and over.

Me too!!!!!

I rip into the envelop and then have to find a seat before I fell down. Some really wonderful people had sent me $100 Disney gift card to spend on my vacation. I couldn’t believe it. I have really wonderful friends. And the dreaming began. What could I spend it on? Off to bed to dream Disney dreams.

That is SO AWESOME!!!! I hope you bought something really great!


Paula

 

[reelmom]

You have some pretty awesome friends. Can't wait to hear what you bought. Did you ever find out who sent it to you?

 

[Stacybaeasm]

You have some pretty awesome friends. Can't wait to hear what you bought. Did you ever find out who sent it to you?

I do have really awesome friends. The card was signed so I know who sent it. I am just protecting their identity (Disboard protection program and all). I called the next morning to thank them profusely and let them know that I had pretty much spent every penny of it in my head already

 

[robwthomas]

More trip report, please!