My First Solo Trip

[bbangel]

Early to rise... late to bed


My traveling day started with the alarm clock going off at 4:30 am. Since I had not slept well due to a combination of excitement and anxiety it was really hard to get going. I left for the airport just after 5. I had already checked in and printed my boarding passes, and I was only taking carry-on luggage, so I by-passed the whole check-in, drop the luggage mess. Because of that I could probably have left for the airport a little later than I had but my anxiety about flying always makes me afraid of being late. No one can by-pass customs though and while the line seemed long, it only took about half an hour. That meant I was at my gate about an hour before my flight. And of course then the plane was a little late in arriving. The first flight I was on was to Portland on a tiny Dash 8. I found this flight incredibly scary but we landed safely after a little less than an hour.

The Portland airport was nice (although the bathrooms could use a refurb). My next flight was delayed (are we sensing a pattern?) as the aircraft had not yet arrived. The flight finally left and due to a good tailwind we landed in Denver close to our scheduled time. I didn?t need to worry about missing my connection as (you could probably guess) the flight was seriously delayed. We boarded almost an hour late and then had to sit on the tarmac while they repaired/replaced a panel on the wing. Now anyone who knows how I feel about flying is amazed that I stayed on the plane. I decided getting stuck in the Denver airport would not be a good vacation so I stuck it out. We finally left an hour and a half late. Finally made it to MCO at 11:30. Because of construction in the airport there was complete chaos getting the tram to the main terminal. Used my best Disney crowd skills to get through that and get on the first available tram to check in with Magical Express. On the bus before 12 but didn?t arrive at AKV until almost 1. The bus stopped at Pop and Coronado first.

Check in was really easy and the CM who checked me in was in complete sympathy of my exhausted state. After a quick clean up I had the lights out by 1:20 am (given the time difference that was like 10:20 which wouldn?t have been bad if the day hadn?t started so early.

[JillyFish]

Yeah! A trip report! Looking forward to hearing more!!

[Sunni]

Can't wait to hear more....

[Hedy]

Waiting for more.

[pbhall13]

Yeah.......another trip report!!

[bbangel]

I know many of you have been curious about what the new Villa's look like. Here are a few photos of the room.

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The "kitchen" is on the same wall as the armoir, just past the little dividing wall you can see in the picture. The bathroom sinks are just opposite the kitchen, with a separate tub/shower/toilet room just after the sinks. The door is down a little hallway from the kitchen. Unfortunately it was too dark and my photos of the kitchen and bathroom didn't turn out.

I found there was enough space to put away all my stuff and hang everything I wanted to hang. Two people could probably share the space comfortably but it would start to get cluttered with more than that - especially if you left the sofa bed set up. The fridge was large enough to hold quite a bit and kept a Mickey ice cream bar cold enough in the freezer!

[bbangel]

This wasn?t just my first solo trip, it was also my first trip where I didn?t have every minute of the day scheduled. I had set no alarm or wake up call before falling into bed. I thought that since it had been such a late night and exhausting day that I would sleep in. Nope. I was still up before 7. I decided to unpack and then got ready for the day. I wandered down to Mara, the quick service restaurant at AKL, and grabbed a fruit and cheese plate for breakfast.

I headed out to the busses and decided I would just get on the first bus that came. Lucky for me the first bus was headed to the Magic Kingdom. It only took 12 minutes to get there and I was just in time for opening!

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Once the show was over I headed over to Guest Relations to pick up my very first Annual Pass.

Once I was all official, I headed into MK and did all my favourite rides. Had an early lunch at Pirata y Perico, which was open for the first time ever during one of my trips. After lunch I ran into Captain Jack.

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Then I headed back to the resort for a break from the heat. I also needed to phone Traci to figure out where and when we were going to meet that weekend. She wasn?t in so I left a message. After a brief rest I headed back out to the bus stop and the next bus to come was going to Downtown Disney. I was tempted to spend all my Sunshine Rewards money in one go, but managed to resist the lure of all the fabulous stuff. Having no room to take anything home helped!

Once I got back to my room, I had a message from Traci, so I returned her call and set up a meet. Then I headed out to the pool for a cooling dip. As the sun started to go down I wandered the paths around the resort and checked out all the animal lookouts. Made me see one of the reasons why people love this resort.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t271/bbangel74/Disneyworld%20May%202008/AKV3.jpg

[Hedy]

How was the Pirate restaurant?

[bbangel]

How was the Pirate restaurant?

I quite enjoyed it. Kind of Americanized Mexican food with a great fresh toppings bar. I'm not sure if it was because I was eating early but the seating area was basically empty and nice and cool.

[wilsonfamily4]

yea, another TR!! Thanks:banana:

[askomsky]

Ohh Keep it coming Megan, I LOVE your pics!!!!!

[bbangel]

I was up early again on Saturday. Ate some breakfast in the room and headed out to the bus stop. First bus was headed to Animal Kingdom so I spent the morning there. I had a great time as the crowds were still fairly low. I rode Kilimanjaro Safari several times

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I checked out the Flights of Wonder, rode Dinosaur, did some people watching, and grabbed a Mickey bar for a midmorning snack. I also got my picture taken with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger before lunch at the Flame Tree BBQ. I love eating down by the water as the view is amazing and it isn?t too crowded.

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After lunch I headed back to the Lodge to get out of the heat for a bit. People were streaming into the park and I imagine would soon be complaining about the heat and the lines!

I borrowed a few DVD?s from the store (one of the perks of being a DVC member) and headed to my room. Later in the afternoon I headed out again and this time the bus took me to the Magic Kingdom. The only thing of note that happened is that Big Thunder broke down just before I could get on. I felt a little bad for all the people in the 50 minute long standby line (I had used a fastpass) when they were told to go back out the entrance. We all did get return tickets though. The tickets were good until the end of May for any fastpass ride in MK. I ended up using mine later that night though.

I did a lot of people watching that night. I saw way too many hot, tired and cranky kids. Biggest advice to parents is not to worry about what the tickets cost you, take the kids back to the hotel when they reach their limits or no one in your group is going to have a good time.

I stayed for the fireworks to make all my good wishes for people, then made my way back to the hotel.

[askomsky]

Love it!!! Keep it coming!

[pbhall13]

love this Megan.............such nice pictures at AK. I agree with know the kids limit.......even though it is expensive for tickets............who wants to remember how awful the trip was with crying kids way past their tolerance limit....and hey they didn't plan the trip...the adults did!!!!!! Watch out for the babies/kids..........they don't want to be cranky...they have limits!


Keep it coming.

pamela

[disney_girl]

Great trip report so far!! Can't wait to read more!!

Yes, you definitely have to know the kids limits! I'm sure it is easier for us since we are DVC and AP holders- we know we will be back so when we need to leave we do! Heck I get cranky when I'm miserably hot...why wouldn't they?:)

[bbangel]

I spent a lazy morning on Sunday. I ate breakfast on my balcony while watching the ostrich and giraffe that were hanging out on the savannah.

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Spent some time at the pool and tried out the fitness centre. I was meeting Traci at MGM (okay Hollywood Studios) at 4. I headed out a little early and poked around a bit before I met Traci just outside the gates. She was kind enough to have taken delivery of the birthday present I had ordered from My Jewelry Box for my best friend. That saved me a ton on shipping costs! I opened it up and got rid of all the packaging and then we headed for the rides. We grabbed a fast pass for Rock n' Rollercoaster and then went on Tower of Terror. It was basically a walk on which surprised both of us. This was the first time I was on the Florida version of this ride and I have to say it was somewhat scarier.

We still had 20 minutes before our fast pass time so we decided to check out Toy Story Mania on the chance that it might be open. We lucked out and found that they had opened it but no one seemed to know that it was there! We literally walked right on the ride. We had a great time. Traci beat me by a mile. I was a more accurate shot but she was a faster shooter. Be warned the ride occasionally shoots back!

By then it was time to face the music. I had told Traci that if she went on with me I would ride Rock n/ Rollercoaster. I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to the coasters but was determined to give this one a chance. We didn't have long to wait and then we were on the ride. Hopefully I didn't scream Traci's ear off!

I still can't believe neither Traci nor I though to take pictures! I did get one on photopass to commemorate the inaugural ride.

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We had basically done what we had set out to do and Traci needed to get home so we parted ways at that point. I am so glad we had a chance to meet up as Traci was so much fun. I am so glad I get the chance to meet up with her again on the SR cruise!

I decided to head over to Epcot on the boat. I grabbed supper at Sunshine Seasons, picked up some pins, rode Spaceship Earth and soaked up atmosphere. I contemplated staying for Illuminations but I knew I had to pack so I headed back to the Lodge. I watched movies while I packed up my stuff for the move to OKW in the morning.

[3dog2kidmom]

Sounds like a great trip so far! I just love the soaking up the atmosphere part :)

Your pics are great!

[Sunni]

I love your photos. Your trip sounded like lots of fun.

[Hedy]

Glad you met Traci!

[askomsky]

I love your TR! I'm glad you got to meet up and had so much fun!

[bbangel]

Another lazy start since today was moving day. I watched the ostrich?s and cattle on the savannah while eating breakfast.
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I checked out a little after 9. I must have just missed a Downtown Disney bus so it was a bit of a wait for the next one (my longest bus wait all trip). Once at DD I got on the OKW bus which came right away. I was the only person on the bus and the bus driver was really nice. We chatted about our home towns the whole trip.

I checked in at OKW but my room wasn't ready yet. No biggie. I just left my bags with the very helpful woman at bell services and headed out to Epcot. You guessed it, that was the first bus to come.

I had the dining plan for this part of the trip and I had a yen for some fish and chips from England. This was the first time I had eaten there and I enjoyed it very much. I ate on the benchs near the water. I wandered the World Showcase checking out some of the entertainment and the garden exhibits.

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Also saw a bunch of characters. Snow White and Jasmine who I'd seen before and some I?d never seen before: Mulan, Belle in her village dress and Donald in his Mexican threads.

[bbangel]

By early afternoon I headed back to OKW. Thank goodness my room was ready. I was in building 63 which was nice and close to the Hospitality House.

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I took a bit of a rest and then had to head back to Epcot since I had an ADR for Le Cellier at 5:30. I was seated pretty close to my time. While I was waiting I noticed lots of people being turned away. All those clueless people with no ressies trying to find somewhere to eat dinner. One was a group of 7 who couldn't believe there was no where in the WS that could seat them for dinner! My waitress was from Langley which is just down the road a bit. We had a pretty good time. There were nice people on either side of me so I didn't feel odd or lonely at all. I had the NY strip with the cream cheese mashed potatoes (don't worry about swapping foods here they do it all the time). I had a chocolate raspberry shake for my drink and then the chocolate moose for dessert. I was stuffed but it was all really good!

I headed back to OKW to do my laundry and hang out by the pool. Love the free laundry that you get with DVC!

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[pbhall13]

Megan I love the green crocs!!!!

Keep the pictures coming1

Pamela

[Blessing and Miracle]

Love your TR and the pictures are awesome. :) I so enjoyed AK last summer and can't wait to go back!

[disneyforever]

We're staying at OKW in Sept. The room looks cute.

Keep posting photos. Glad you are having a great time. :banana:

[3dog2kidmom]

I'm loving your solo trip, Megan!

[bbangel]

I was up really early on Tuesday so I decided to head to the MK since they had extra magic hours. I did all the rides in Fantasyland before the regular opening. Peter Pan and Wendy were hanging out in Adventureland. I grabbed an ice cream sandwich for breakfast (1 snack credit). It may have been a mistake since I started to feel a little sick afterwards. I headed for the gates about 11 and hopped over to DHS. I did a bit of wandering and met Mike and Sully before heading back to OKW.

I grabbed lunch from Goods to Go and took it back to my room. I still wasn't feeling that great so I took some of my meds and had a rest.

I was meeting my friend Cheryl at Coral Reef for dinner so I headed to Epcot about 4:30. We met in front of the Seas and she looked so good. She had just done the three night Disney Cruise and had had her hair braided. We were seated a bit late but we were catching up so it didn't really feel that long. We were seated right down by the glass and had a great dinner. There was a group doing one of the dive tours in the tank while we were there, which was cool.

After dinner we saw the stations giving out wristbands for EMH that evening. We decided to get bands just in case we wanted to stay. We toured Future World and some of the countries. We headed back over to the land just before Illuminations and managed to ride with less than a 15 minute wait. Cheryl had never seen the sign with so few minutes on it so she snapped a photo. One of the CM?s admitted they had done the same thing a few days before. On our way out we had photos taken with some of the characters in the meeting spot.

[bbangel]

After the late night I thought I would sleep in, but I was up at 6:30 again so I decided to head to EMH at AK. I made it to the park just after 8. I did all my favourites (I rode the safari 3 times) and walked the trails.

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I found a great spot to cool off and rest at one of the old boat landings. I munched on a pretzel and enjoyed the breeze.

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I know a lot of people don't like AK but it is my second favourite park after MK. I love walking the trails. The safari is one of my favourite rides and I love Dinosaur.

I ate lunch at Pizzafari and then headed back to the room about noon. I spent the afternoon resting before heading to the Polynesian to meet up with some DIS friends for dinner at Ohana and the Pirate and Princess Party.

[bbangel]

I had met a couple of people from the DIS for a dinner and MNSSHP in October. A couple of us had so much fun we started planning our next meet when we got back. Lindsay lives in Orlando and works for the Disney Florist so she was pretty easy to work around and Cheryl already had a cruise and WDW trip planned for May so I made my plans to mesh with hers. We started a meet thread and a couple of other girls decided to join us, so we ended up with 5 crazy women enjoying hula at Ohana.

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The dinner was good and we had a lot of fun. They kept bringing us food as if we were starving linebackers which we all found funny.

We were finished up by 7 and headed over to the MK for the party.

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We headed straight for Captain Jack, which took almost an hour (the sign said 30 minutes). We did have a good session with him though and he was great. A piece of the set fell on me because of all the fans they had going in there. I ended up with a bruise on the back of my leg. He was very gracious about it. The photographer was a bit rude but we didn?t let it get us down. We found a great spot in front of the castle to watch the parade, which was amazing. Barbosa was blowing us kisses so of course we blew some back! We rode a couple rides in Fantasyland and then caught the fireworks from the bridge to Tomorrowland. Turned out to be a great spot as Tinkerbell flew right over our heads.

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I waited in line to meet Pirate Mickey and gang while the other girls rode a few rides in Tomorrowland. Once we met up again we all went on Space Mountain. It was so fun to take up a whole car. We dashed across the park to ride Pirates and Big Thunder and then just had time to ride Snow White before the party was over. We wandered slowly out of the park and finally parted ways about 12:30.

The party was great and I would recommend it to anyone. I only hope I get to do another one and meet some of the princesses next time.

[bbangel]

This was the saddest day of my trip. Any down time I had I had to stop myself from going to the ?this is the last time I?ll?? place.

I was up early enough but I took the morning pretty slow due to the consecutive late nights. I got moving around 10 and headed to the MK. I ended up in a show on Main Street with Chief Smokey and the Ladies Auxiliary. I got to sing Supercalifragilistic with them and do the can can. I had a blast but the biggest problem with traveling solo means that I have no photos of this historic event, just the group.

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I headed right to the train and just missed the rare characters out near Toon Town. It started to sprinkle just as we got there and all of them went in for the day. I grabbed a Peter Pan fast pass before grabbing lunch at Columbia Harbor House. As a side note, check the labels for the servings. Those little chocolate cakes they give you for dessert are two servings and way too many calories.

I went over to Tomorrowland to ride the Carousel of Progress and the TTA one more time. As my last ride in the MK I rode Peter Pan for the last time (I may be a little odd but it is my favourite ride).

I was headed for Epcot to meet up with the girls from dinner. On my way out the gate I managed to catch the Dapper Dans. This was a first for me as they always seemed to be finishing the other times I?ve seen them.

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[mirandag819]

Love the TR Megan! So which one is you ? I've been trying to guess, it is nice to put a face to the name.

[ligrumpygirl]

This was the saddest day of my trip. Any down time I had I had to stop myself from going to the ?this is the last time I?ll?? place.

What does this mean?

Glad to see your TR...now I have to do mine!

[bbangel]

What does this mean?

Glad to see your TR...now I have to do mine!

It was the last day. I had to leave the next morning :(

[bbangel]

Love the TR Megan! So which one is you ? I've been trying to guess, it is nice to put a face to the name.

I'm the one with short hair in front of R n' R. Traci is standing with me!

[bbangel]

I realized that I haven't finished this report and since I only have a bit of the last day to go, I should be able to finish it today! Not bad considering I'm 8 days away from my next one!

[bbangel]

After saying goodbye to the Magic Kingdom, I caught the monorail over to Epcot. I met with the girls at Space Ship Earth at 2. We headed through the butterfly exhibit and rode a few rides. We headed into the World Showcase and stopped in Norway for a snack and a ride on Maelstrom.

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Jen did some shopping in China and Cheryl picked another pearl in Japan.

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Then it was time for our dinner at Tutto Italia. We were seated quickly; our waiter was great and Jen thought he was really cute. We all had great pasta.

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Then out came the cake. We had ordered a cake to celebrate Lindsay and Cheryl?s birthdays. The cake was amazing, chocolate with raspberries. So yummy we finished the whole thing.

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We did have a bit of a problem with the bills because we were all paying our own and I was on the dining plan. Eventually we sorted it out.
Jen and Julie left us at that point. Lindsay, Cheryl and I continued through the World and out the front. We rode Spaceship Earth to see our futures.
Cheryl and I then said goodbye to Lindsay and headed to Downtown Disney.

I managed to trade pins with a CM in World of Disney to get the Mickey in an Angels uniform pin. Totally made my night! I also got the park music CD I had been wanting since last trip. Then we stopped and got snacks at Goofy?s. I got the pretzel rods with my last snack credit. I ate one at each airport on my way home, the only bright spot in a long travel day. I had to get up at 4:30 for my flight and Cheryl was heading out pretty early too, so we parted at the bus stop. My end of trip blues began in earnest as it felt officially over at that point.

Next morning I was up early (but not so bright). The bus was a little late getting to OKW but I got to the airport in plenty of time. I had about 10 hours of travel time in front of me and I hate flying. Every flight on the way home was delayed but I finally made it.

The good news is that I knew I had the SR Cruise coming up and had planned my trip around it so I knew I would be back in 6 months!