What are you going to do at Disney all by yourself? - Updated with the last day

[GaRain]

Wow you have done a lot of walking! I'd rather walk at Disney any day than our neighborhood T-Rex looks fun but that was definitely too long of a wait. The food looks scrumptious

I don't think people realize just how much they walk when they are at Disney! It definately is a more enjoyable walk than at home!

Everyone loved Food porn, right?

 

[GaRain]

I was up early and skipped breakfast to head to the Magic Kingdom for the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. I got into the park along with all those going to have breakfast in the castle. This is awesome, as it makes for a very empty main street – perfect time to have your picture taken by the photopass photographers! I made sure to wear my birthday button this day too! Heck the whole trip was a present to myself, so why not!?

My princess pose:

I checked in for the tour and made my lunch selections. The first time I took this tour was the first time I had eaten at The Columbia Harbor House – and loved it! What I didn’t know what how disappointed I was going to be in the changes they have made since then.
I even got to meet The Mayor on Main Street – got a picture with him too!

Mathew was our tour guide – if you look at Dawn’s Space Mountain trip report, you will see him holding a picture of her boys with their “naked” picture! We didn’t do any of the intros that some of the other guides have done in the past, what’s your name, where are you from and who is your favorite character (Goofy, if you want to know).
We started on Main Street, off into a little side street. While I had been here before, I had never noticed hearing the “singing lessons” from the window before! How cute!
Next, we headed over to Adventureland, but alas, we did not ride anything here. We did learn that Mathew had been out late the night before and was called into work early this morning on his day off. This may explain why we did some things we were not supposed to and why we didn’t ride much of anything on this tour.
From Adventureland, we headed over to Frontier land and behind Splash Mountain. We did get to see some of the CMs working on fixing some of the floats for SpectroMagic – it is AMAZING the amount of lights on those floats. Well, he did tell us that this wasn’t part of the tour anymore and since he was getting some “looks” we better move on. We got to see where all your sunglasses end up when you hit that hill on Splash Mountain – oh yuck, you do NOT want those back!
I noticed he didn’t discuss the “air freshener” that I had been told about in the past, but we did discuss the recycling efforts of WDW!
On this day, Andie was going to have the day off from her convention and planned to be in the Magic Kingdom. So, I stopped every once in awhile to update her on the progress of the tour. We wanted to meet up afterwards and hang out a bit before her flight.
From Splash, we headed over to The Haunted Mansion and entered through the “servant’s entrance”. This entrance is used by the CMs who work here, but also VIP guests at WDW – so the area is still themed to the ride!
Lunch was a little earlier than I tend to like to eat, but there you have it. They always have it upstairs – did you know there was an upstairs area to eat? Well, the lunches are all set up at tables with your name and your KTTK pin! I was sat at a table with 2 gentlemen whose parties did not join them on the tour today – the solo table!
We did learn that in keeping with the theme of Liberty Square, there are no inside facilities in The Columbia Harbor House! What? Yes there are! Nope, technically, the property line has the bathrooms located in Fantasyland!!!
I ate my lunch and even though I am not a fish eater, I got the fish and chicken combo – this had been my favorite! Well, I doubt I will order this again – what a let down! The chicken planks are now like nuggets – and not good at all! The fish is smaller too! So sad….
We head back out into the street and the Town Crier announces my birthday! Some stranger in the crowd runs up and hugs me and wishes me a happy birthday! The whole tour group is looking at me like “What just happened?” Turns out it was just Andie! She and her group of convention misfits were just walking by at that time!!
We spent a little time in Liberty Square and then on to Main Street, we headed backstage through one of the doors in one of the stores…..and then down to the utilidoors!
Lots of stuff to see and learn down here. At one point, Mathew was trying to explain something about all the tubing and Belle walks by, all made up, wig and everything – but in regular clothes. We all had a good laugh at the fact that he could have been telling everyone the secret formula to coke, but since Belle walked by – he lost everyone!
One girl on our tour suddenly started feeling ill. Not sure if she was dehydrated, tired, or claustrophobic. She nearly passed out! So, Mathew had to take her up and out of the utilidoors over to the medical treatment area. He left us with the pin trading resource guy – who had just started working there that week! He was so at a loss of what to tell us, so I just kept asking him things about pin trading. I was hoping we would all get a pin out of this – but no such luck!
Back over to a parking lot that is behind the stores on the right of Main Street as you are facing the castle. We got to see where Tinkerbell lands after she flies from the castle. There is a full time, a part time and a back up Tinkerbell. She basically works for 2 hours a day and gets paid full time. Heck, jumping out of a building and flying down in the dark….yeah, she can keep it!!
This is the time when you get to ask all the “backstage questions” that you have. We discussed the evacuation signs we had seen at Splash Mountain and I asked about the guy who had gotten hurt on the Speedway Cars the day before – he said he knew nothing about it.
We came out from backstage by the chapeau and headed over to turn in our headphones. I picked up my bag and had my picture taken with Mathew. Texted Andie to let her know that I was done and she let me know they were heading to Pecos Bill to get some lunch.

Ok, a couple of photopass special shots, I think these were from the day before (diff shirt!).

Would I find Andie....cont. on next post!

 

[GaRain]

Heading over through Adventureland, I was tempted to stop for a Dole Whip, but I didn’t. Met the group at PB and this place was PACKED! The whole MK was packed! Where did all these people come from!?
We decided to partake in a little AC, so Hall of Presidents. The CM who introduced the show had a very strange “accent” and you could hardly understand what they said! Wish we had sat a little closer so that I could see the new Obama, but it was a good show.
Facilities break for the group (I think there were 11 of us total) and a long wait for Pirates. I don’t think I have ever waited this long for this ride. It was a little over 30 minutes, I would guess. I think our group took up the whole boat – or at least the first 3 rows.

One of Andie’s friends is a CM. So he had been able to obtain 9 fast passes for Jungle Cruise – so 2 people chose to sit it out – thanks guys! Our guide was AWFUL! She said all the lines with no emotion. At the end, there was a boat jam and she was forced to adlib a bit. So, she sang her birthday song, it isn’t very long. Yup, that was it!
DOLE WHIPS!!! Aloha Aisle was calling our names and we stood in line and waited and waited – did I mention how crowded the MK had gotten? Andie again treated me to a Dole Whip – I so owe her now! What yummy goodness!!!

I pointed out the time, as Andie had a flight to catch and had to take James back to the hotel and turn in her rental car. I walked them out of the park and they headed to the monorails and I headed to the buses. She said she would have driven me back to POP, except she was cutting it short on time. What a nice person – so glad to have met her. I hope we get to hang out again soon!
I was the only person on the bus on the way back to the resort. I stretched out in the seat and laid my head back. It was nice to get a little rest!
Back in my room, I rested some more and even soaked my feet a little.
Some of the guys had mentioned that it was EMH at DHS that night. I decided to head over there to see some things I hadn’t the other day when I was there.
I rode Aerosmith RNRC again through the single rider line. The wait time for ToT was 1 hour – I guess I would not be doing that one on this trip!
Headed over to Muppets, but first stopped to watch some street performers and then ride Star Tours – I can’t wait for the refurb on this!! Muppets is always a great show, but it really needs a refurb too!

Hey Look - its a net full of jello - get it!?

I got off at the Poly and headed up to the monorail and headed back to The Magic Kingdom. I grabbed a bucket of popcorn on Main Street and watched Spectromagic!

I followed the end of the parade, right behind the last float – waving to those stuck on the sides of the street along my way. I headed into Tomorrowland and rode the TTA while eating my popcorn. How perfect, except they changed my ride! How dare they take out “Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr Tom Morrow”. I loved that!
The line for Buzz was way too long, so I headed back to Main Street to watch Wishes. And this is where my tour from earlier in the day came into play. Main Street was SO PACKED that they sent us on the evacuation route – back through the parking lot I had been in earlier that day. Tinkerbell flew down and landed while I was walking through – how cool is that?!?!
Back out by the hat store and onto Main Street. I found a decent spot in between strollers to watch Wishes – just love this show!!

Afterwards, I walked through the store and picked up a few things and then headed back to Pop along with the masses!
It was pretty late, but I don’t remember exactly what time it was. I had to check out the next morning, so I spent the rest of the evening packing up.

I had no specific plans for the next morning. Where would I go?

32,400 steps
15.34 miles
874.8 calories

 

[Mikey88]

Found you! Keep the posts coming. We really need to plan a trip sometime.

 

[GaRain]

Found you! Keep the posts coming. We really need to plan a trip sometime.

So good to see you finally made it!
We so need to plan a trip - BECKY!!! RUTHI!!!
(ok, that sounded like I love Lucy in my head)!!!

 

[disneyj914]

Sounds like you had a great trip! I definitely want to try some of the tours on one of my upcoming trips and the two you picked sound like a lot of fun!

 

[GaRain]

Sounds like you had a great trip! I definitely want to try some of the tours on one of my upcoming trips and the two you picked sound like a lot of fun!

Always love the Keys to the Kingdom Tour!
I also love the Undiscovered FutureWorld Tour at Epcot!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hey Lara,

I've read all of your installments! What a wonderful trip you are having. I can't wait until our son is old enough to do the behind the scenes tours. Just three more years to go.

 

[GaRain]

Hey Lara,

I've read all of your installments! What a wonderful trip you are having. I can't wait until our son is old enough to do the behind the scenes tours. Just three more years to go.

THANKS!
Have you ever taken him on the tours that don't go backstage? Like The Family Magic Tour? I took Mickey's Magical Milestones with some friends and we loved it!

 

[Disney_Jill]

Great trip report! I am going on my first solo trip next week. I can't believe how much walking it actually is. No wonder my feet hurt so bad after visiting there!

 

[GaRain]

Great trip report! I am going on my first solo trip next week. I can't believe how much walking it actually is. No wonder my feet hurt so bad after visiting there!

I hope you are having a great time on your trip - can't wait to read about it!!!

 

[MadiMouse]

Hi Neighbor! I just found your TR and I am loving it. I so want to do the KTTK Tour one day. Can't wait to read more!

 

[GaRain]

Hi Neighbor! I just found your TR and I am loving it. I so want to do the KTTK Tour one day. Can't wait to read more!

Hey! Thanks for reading! I love the KTTK tour and definately recommend it.
Only 1 more day in the trip to go and I hope to have time this week to type it up!

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Subscribing so I can catch up!

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

All caught up!

Excellent report. I love that you included the info from your pedometer. And some day I'll take the KTTW tour. It's still on the "next trip" list.

Looking forward to hearing about your last day!

 

[GaRain]

All caught up!

Excellent report. I love that you included the info from your pedometer. And some day I'll take the KTTW tour. It's still on the "next trip" list.

Looking forward to hearing about your last day!

Thanks so much!!! I told myself I would get up and work out each morning, but when I saw how much I was walking, I figured that was enough...

 

[GaRain]

I got up early this morning and got ready. Triple checked the room for anything I forgot to pack – thank goodness for the purchase with purchase bags!!
I ate my last fiber bar and went to check in my luggage for my flight. I also checked my carryon (see Disney bag!!) with luggage services. Then I headed to the bus stops – decided to go to the Magic Kingdom for my last morning!
No wait at baggage check and hardly a line at the turnstiles. I went to the customer service desk and exchanged my 5 day park hopper for an annual pass (really feeling the pull of this pass right now – must plan a trip!!!). Then I found a seat in the open area in front of the train station to watch the opening show – waited about 15 minutes with some interesting people watching (why do parents allow their kids to just pick stuff up off the ground and keep it – just cause they are at Disney?).

I did not plan to RUN to Space Mountain, and so since I was not in a big hurry, people were SHOVING me as we went through the tunnel under the railroad after the rope drop!
I cut over to Tomorrowland and straight onto Buzz! The line for Space Mountain was HUGE!!
I cute around past the tea cups over to Fantasyland – hoping that the churro cart was open for us early morning snackers – but Nope!
I took a ride with Pooh and then watched Mickey’s (Donald’s) Philharmagic – I just love this show! Met a nice lady while waiting who was shocked that I was on a solo trip – but after I described to her the benefits, she started seriously thinking that she should talk to her husband about it.
The line for Peter Pan was way too long, so no flight over Neverland for me on this trip. But I did go pick up a hitchhiking ghost! There was no line for this when I walked in – but when I walked out, the line stretched into Liberty Square!
Walked back through Fantasyland to check the churro cart status and noticed a family of 4 waiting by Pooh’s Playful Spot and I got in line behind them – I had not had any character greets with them on this trip and a friend of mine from work wanted me to tell Tigger that she said hi!
Pooh and Tigger came out and walked the 2 kids all the way through the line – Tigger tried bouncing with the little boy, who took a moment to get it until I started telling him to jump! So cute!

Churros? Nope!
Over to Toon Town and into the store. The wait time for the Princesses is 20 minutes, but the wait for the Fairies was already 45 minutes. I got in line to see some Princesses, but as I got closer, I noticed the lines were exactly the same – I didn’t want to waste the little time I had that morning waiting in there.
Decided to take the train from Toon Town to the front of the Magic Kingdom, and then decided to go ahead and go to Frontierland and walk back to the front of the park – who knows, I could pass another hidden churro cart that might be open!

No such luck – you know, I should have at least stopped for a Mickey Premium ice cream bar or something….I did stop to see Jasmine and Aladdin!

Did a little last minute souvinear shopping as I got some Mickey (Minnie?) ears for some precious little girls that I love (2 of my very close friends and my cousin had all had baby girls within the past year). I took all of these over to the chapeau shop and found out the wait time to get names on ears was 3 HOURS!!! I was hoping she was kidding me, but she wasn’t! Is this because they changed the machines? I loved the way they used to do it – and did it while you were standing there.
While I was waiting to find out what the wait time was, there was a lady that was there taking pictures – and kept walking BEHIND the counter to get pictures of the girls with the machines. It was all kinda strange.
So, I ended up leaving without getting any of the names on the ears (sniff).
I was the only one on the bus heading back to Pop Century – how sad is that?
I grabbed some lunch in the food court – double bacon cheeseburger, fries and a water. Also grabbed 2 rice krispy treats for the road. Picked up my carryon bag from luggage services and went outside to wait for the ME bus back to the airport.
They CMs outside were trying to get some people to hoola hoop with them, but it just wasn’t happening!
The bus back to the airport was pretty full, and mine was the 2nd stop, so I just leaned back and rested my eyes for the trip. It is nice not having to deal with the suitcase as well as the backpack and carryon!
I checked out the Earport shop, but didn’t see anything I really had to have. I should have bought some more Disney snacks – but hindsight, you know, 20/20!
I got on the wrong ‘monorail’ to the gates and had to ride it back to get on the other one – woops!
I was still extremely early for my flight. I understand why ME picks up people early – but maybe they should have a pick up time for international and a separate amount of time for domestic travel….I am just wishing for another hour at Disney (any cheese to go with that whine?).
I grabbed a water and some snacks in the shop and waited. It was an ok flight home – at least I got my pretzels this time! The little “princess” next to me talked the whole flight home – no listening to my podcasts….but she was cute!
I got my luggage and hit MARTA (public transit train for those not in Atlanta). My parents picked me up and we went straight home. I ordered some dinner from this place up the street – Atlanta’s Best Wings. When I got in my car to go pick it up, my car wouldn’t start!! Ended up with a dead battery – maybe I should have just stayed at Disney!

All in all, it was a great trip!
Some good things about traveling solo: Decision making, it is just me; skipping ahead in line; schedule, it is all my own time; meeting people and people watching.
Some maybe not so good things about traveling solo: I do get lonely at times, but am really ok with a book and my cell phone; miss some things that someone might point out to you; and you always end up riding with strangers – but that can be good too!

Would I do it again – ABSOLUTELY!!!!


14,742 steps
6.98 miles
398 calories

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Excellent report! Glad to hear you had a good trip. And an AP! I'll have to be on the lookout for your future trips.

 

[GaRain]

Excellent report! Glad to hear you had a good trip. And an AP! I'll have to be on the lookout for your future trips.

Thanks! I appreciate you reading and commenting!
I need to plan a trip and like SOON!

 

[MadiMouse]

I hate to see your TR come to an end. So no Peter Pan??? Ughh! Lol. Can't you tell that's my favorite ride at MK??? Lol. As far as picking up snacks, I learned a valuable lesson and I always get enough to last me for a while. I love those Mickey coconut patties so I bought two big boxes from Goofy's and munched on them for two months. They kept nicely in the 'fridge. Lol.