The Single Girl's Guide to Doing WDW Solo - A Sept. 2014 Trip Report (COMPLETED)

[KelleyK75]

Mine is December 3rd. I was there for my actual 29th birthday. For my trip next year, I'm checking into AoA the day after my birthday (12/4). My birthday falls on a Thursday next year, and it just works out schedule-wise better for me to do a Friday-Friday trip next year. If anything, I might drive down on Dec. 3rd and do a pre-night off-property like I did on this trip, just to save some money and get a headstart on my trip. I'll decide that closer to the next trip, since what time I can get off work will obviously be a factor.

I somehow missed this earlier. But that's awesome! Even the day after your birthday trip will be great! And how fun to stay at AoA. My bday is on a Wed next year so I'd like to spend the whole week but I just hear those horror crowd stories the week after Christmas. So, we'll see. I still have a little time to decide.

 

[KelleyK75]

I can't lie, Lady is pretty much the main reason I wanted the 50s section. I was just thrilled to start my day with her every morning.

The moving pictures are animated gifs, and I get tickled looking up ones to use here!

I am going to take note of your section/building. I am trying to pull off a few days in Feb and will most likely do a value. I'd love to walk out and see Lady every day.

The gifs are fun.

 

[DisneyGuy758]

I like your style...I'm in.

 

[jordansmama]

Joining in! Loving your report so far. We stayed at POP for the first time this past August (also in the 50's section- building 3) and we loved it.

 

[cwiklamama]

Subbing, loving your report so far~

 

[KatMark]

What awesome pixie dust. I love when you have a Castmember who cares about her job and making things magical for the guest. You scored a great one there!

I'm glad it all worked out, and glad your neck was feeling better too.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hi Billie. I'm totally intrigued at your solo trip and I totally get the reasons for it. No point in waiting on people, just GOOOOOO!!!!

Carlton gif!!!!! OK, awesome!

And now POP CENTURY RESORT AND SPA!!! I miss that place so much! And 50's section too. Love it there.

OMG I love hearing stories about fabulous CM's. That just makes my day.

Really love your writing style Bille. Looking forward to following along.

 

[Elevationist]

Okay, three cheers for awesome Cast Members! I'm glad you were able to get your King room! My mom was just diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, and she's getting an EVC next time we go whether she wants one or not. I'm interested to hear how it worked out for you getting one from off-site.

Looking forward to the rest of the report!

I learned the hard way back in 2000 about being too stuborn and proud to get a scooter. I threw my illnesses out of remission, became VERY ill during my trip, shortly after returning home was hospitalized for a month, and in recovery for 2 years. NEVER again. You put your Mama on that scooter!

I somehow missed this earlier. But that's awesome! Even the day after your birthday trip will be great! And how fun to stay at AoA. My bday is on a Wed next year so I'd like to spend the whole week but I just hear those horror crowd stories the week after Christmas. So, we'll see. I still have a little time to decide.

I am going to take note of your section/building. I am trying to pull off a few days in Feb and will most likely do a value. I'd love to walk out and see Lady every day.

The gifs are fun.

I've been the first week of December before, and it's pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself! That Christmas/New Year's week is a nightmare. I say you just reschedule your birthday for the 7th or so.

Lady brightened my day every morning! I really lucked out on my room assignment.

I like your style...I'm in.

Hooray! Welcome! I promise another update soon.

Joining in! Loving your report so far. We stayed at POP for the first time this past August (also in the 50's section- building 3) and we loved it.

I very much enjoyed my stay at Pop! I will most likely stay there again someday... I'm just not ready to start repeating resorts quite yet. I love trying out different ones!

Subbing, loving your report so far~

Aww, I'm so glad! Welcome!

What awesome pixie dust. I love when you have a Castmember who cares about her job and making things magical for the guest. You scored a great one there!

I'm glad it all worked out, and glad your neck was feeling better too.

Stephanie at Pop really was wonderful, I hope the WDW knows how lucky they are to have her!

Hi Billie. I'm totally intrigued at your solo trip and I totally get the reasons for it. No point in waiting on people, just GOOOOOO!!!!

Carlton gif!!!!! OK, awesome!

And now POP CENTURY RESORT AND SPA!!! I miss that place so much! And 50's section too. Love it there.

OMG I love hearing stories about fabulous CM's. That just makes my day.

Really love your writing style Bille. Looking forward to following along.

Aww, this comment made my day, thank you! I hope to get another update going tonight!

 

[blairzo]

I just want to tell you...your GIF's are so freaking hilarious. The driving ones, seriously, I almost spit water on my computer. Can't wait to hear more about your trip! Id LOVE to do a solo trip...I'm a single lady myself.

 

[Elevationist]

I just want to tell you...your GIF's are so freaking hilarious. The driving ones, seriously, I almost spit water on my computer. Can't wait to hear more about your trip! Id LOVE to do a solo trip...I'm a single lady myself.

Hahaha, thanks! I laugh at lot when I'm looking up gifs to use in these posts. I'm pretty easily amused.

 

[Elevationist]

DAY 2 - Part 2
Sept. 21st, 2014 - Sunday
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (Chapter One)

After finally getting all settled into my room and getting my bag ready for my essentials for park touring, the rumbly in my tumbly spoke up again. It was about 1pm now, so I made my way back down to the lobby and into Everything Pop! to check out my lunch options. I sure was hungry!

I wandered between the stations, weighing my options very carefully. (Food is a big deal, okay?!)

After much deliberation, I made my selections...

Turkey Sandwich: Oven-roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, cranberry mayonnaise and watercress on Texas Toast. With pasta salad,and Tie-Dyed Cheesecake!

Honestly, I was hesitant about ordering this sandwich. But my curiosity won-out, and boy am I glad that it did. This beast of a sandwich was absolutely DELICIOUS. Every element of it came together perfectly.

I pulled the top off of it so you can see it's insides... YUM! I want another one now!

The pasta salad, however... I did not love. At all. It mostly got left on my plate.

As for the Tie-Dyed Cheesecake, I mostly only got it because I'd read so much raving about it here on the Dis. I was underwhelmed by it, truthfully. It was very dense... I like my cheesecake light and fluffy. I mean, don't get me wrong, I ate every last bite. Just not something I would order again.

I took my sweet time, and still had about an hour to kill before catching the bus over to Magic Kingdom for my 4pm entry time. I finished up lunch and wandered out to the Hippy Dippy pool for some more poolside lounging.

Finally it was time, omg omg omg! I headed to the bus stop, and of course, my ride to Magic Kingdom was along very shortly. (Love that legendary Pop bus service!) I boarded, grabbed a seat, and did my best to contain myself. I was on my way! Finally! OMG OMG OMG!

We arrived and I hopped off of the bus, and proceeded to take the LONGEST WALK EVER to get to the gate. And, of course... still early. So I found a bench and waited for what felt like forever. (It was like half an hour.) But at least I had a lovely view...

I was watching the gates, and I even though it was only 3:55pm, I saw them letting people through the gate that were marked off for MNSSHP attendees. I decided to check it out, and sure enough, they invited me on in with my party ticket! YESSSSSS!!!!!

I MADE IT, I'M HERE, OMG!

I stopped first to get my ECV for the evening from the rental place (the off-property one will come later in the week). Just as I got my wheels and was about to go under the train station, I noticed a PhotoPass photographer taking pictures in front of it. WHAT WHAT. U-turn! headed over there and patiently waited my turn! Just as it arrived, I experienced the first in a series of scenarios that would repeat themselves an unsettling number of times throughout the week...

The Single Girl: *Happy, smiling, moves to take position in front of the camera*
Random Family: *Also does the same, despite arriving after me. Cue awkwardness.*
The Single Girl: *tries to smooth things over, as if I had done something wrong by daring to ask for a photo by myself* I'm sorry, I'll be quick, I promise! *bounces into place*
Random Family: *Steps back, huffing and giving me the stink-eye.*

I wish I was kidding about this. I don't know if it was the ECV, or the fact that I was alone, or a combination of both. But time after time, people would just cut right in front of me at PhotoPass photographers, as if I didn't even exist. They treated me like a non-person, because I wasn't standing there with a companion or child. Even a good number of the PHOTOGRAPHERS acted weird about it. It was extremely disheartening.

But I persevered! The Single Girl is confident with herself, and just OVER THE MOON to be at Walt Disney World!

ONWARD! I hopped on my trusty roller-steed, and rode off into the Magic Kingdom. My heart was bursting! So full of joy beyond anything I can even describe!

As usual, my first stop was the The Chapeau to see what I could find in the way of Halloween-themed ears. I was hoping for some orange & black ears, and I was not disappointed! I found a perfect pair, made my purchase, and asked the CM to cut all the tags off so I could wear them. She happily obliged.

Then I started my emotional trek down Main Street. This is one of my most favorite moments of any Disney World trip.

Stopped for a couple more PhotoPass pictures...

Then snapped this selfie... It was my Facebook profile picture for the rest of my trip...

I cut through Tomorrowland to get around to New Fantasyland, dodging the crowd at the show going on at the Castle stage. I had a FastPass for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, with a window of 3:40-4:40, and it was about 4:30 at this point. So I booked it on over so see what I'd been missing! (Note my last trip was in 2009, well before New Fantasyland, so I needed to see IT ALL!)

It was way cute, and it made me silly happy. My next FastPass was for Enchanted Tales with Belle. For some reason when they were "casting" the rolls, I laid low as to not be picked. (Normally I love audience participation stuff!) In the end, it ended up backfiring and I was kicking myself when I realized that all the audience participants got to get a photo with Belle (MY FAVORITE PRINCESS) in her gorgeous gold ball gown (MY FAVORITE PRINCESS DRESS). Doh! Next time, I'm totally getting myself picked, dammit!

My third and final FastPass that I was able to squeeze in before 7pm was for Space Mountain! I decided to take my time and wandered a different was over there, this time past the Mad Tea Party. Wait, there's a thing I want to eat around here! I found the Cheshire Cafe, and quickly aquired one of these beauties that I'd read so much about...

Queen of Hearts Strawberry Shortcake Gourmet Cake Cup, and a vanilla iced coffee.

It was AMAZING! I love me some layer cake, so I knew this would be right up my alley! And it was... Until I got about 50% of the way through it. I had been told it was much heavier and more massive that it seemed, but I didn't believe it until I could feel my stomach starting to revolt, and I still had another half to go! Eventually I admitted to defeat, and ended up throwing about the last third of it away... Which just felt so WRONG.

Oh yeah, then this happened...

(MNSSHP continued in my next post!)

 

[Elevationist]

DAY 2 - Part 3
Sept. 21st, 2014 - Sunday
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (Chapter Two)

So I took my time making my way over to Space Mountain, since I still had a few minutes, and I also had a belly full of cake.

I got there and it had just turned 6pm, the time my FP window opened, so I walked right on. I loaded in, front car, front seat. SO excited. Aaaaand take-off!

Okay. So. Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe they made that crap more intense in the last 5 years and didn't tell me. Maybe it was the cake messing with my mind. But I. WAS. TERRIFIED. I have always considered Space Mountain a mild coaster. FUN! But mild. For some reason this time, I thought I was going to die. Like, I was enjoying it, but I noticed that the screams coming out of my mouth weren't my normal fun thrill ride screams. They were blood curdling slasher movie screams. As they were coming out of my face, I was even thinking...

Don't know what that was about, hahaha.

While I was in the gift shop as you exit Space Mountain, I remembered reading here about a particular photo booth in there that is connected to the PhotoPass system. I quickly found it, and was pleased to find it empty... BUT NOT FOR LONG!

I am so easily amused.

Left there and saw a 5 minute wait for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. YES PLEASE!

Check out my game face, ya'll.

My score was embarrassing. I don't wanna talk about it. I'm hang my head in shame!

I wandered across the bridge again to see what was up in the hub, and nabbed this photo.

There was a couple after me, and I noticed the lady had her face painted. I LOVE Disney face painting! I asked her where in the park she found the place, and sure enough, back in Tomorrowland, outside of Space Mountain. I zipped RIGHT past it.

U-turn again! Off I went and looked over the designs. I found one I sorta liked, and talked to one of the CMs to see if they could alter it and make it more Halloween-themed for me...

It was getting dark by this point, and I love riding the PeopleMover at night. On I went! I kicked back and just enjoyed my sightseeing trip around Tomorrowland, smiling like crazy.

After I headed through Fanstasyland, and found the picture spot for the Seven Dwarfs! The line didn't seem horribly long, it turned out to be about 45 minutes.

Notes about this photo: I'm pretty disappointed in it. This was another case of the PhotoPass photographer just acting like I didn't belong there, and inconvenienced by me. Then they lost my photos, and it took a week to track them down and put them in my account, I just got this this afternoon. And THEN... Well. Look at the photo. My shorts are all whomperjawed and I forgot to take my hair down for the photo, they positioned me poorly, and half the dwarfs look sloppy. Just.. weird.

From there I wandered into Liberty Square. I saw that there was pretty much no wait for the Haunted Mansion, so I jumped in line! At least, I thought I did. It was a happy accident that I was actually in line for PhotoPass magic shot. I love these...

After my photos, I hopped into the actually ride line, and pretty much walked on. All the CMs were SO in character, it was awesome!

I checked the time and realized it was getting close to time for the Boo to You parade, so I found a great spot in Frontierland, next to a really nice family. I LOVED the parade! Like a numpty though, I didn't take any photos, though. Doh!

Back to the Hub and rolled right into an AWESOME viewing spot for HalloWishes...

I stayed here for some time, staking my claim and updating Facebook with my pictures up to that point. Finally "Celebrate the Magic" began. I'd never seen the castle projection show, and the night time stuff at the parks always get me... Cue the tears. I started sobbing like an idiot as I sat there watching.

Then came HalloWishes! OMG, it was AWESOME! Again, didn't think to do pics, but my fireworks photos never come out great anyhow. I was too lost in the moment! SO GOOD!

As soon as the fireworks ended, I had an idea and hauled butt over to Frontierland to test my theory. A theory that proved true...

If you zoom over to Splash Mountain the moment the fireworks end, this can potentially happen:

I should note this is my favorite ride in the park.

Then I popped over to Big Thunder Mountain... Also zero wait. I rolled in with a couple other ECV users, and they loaded us together. While we were waiting for our train, they asked if we wanted to sit in the fast part of the train or the slow part. Um. DUHHH! I wanna go faaaast! (I didn't even know there was an option!)

It had been hours since my cake cup, and I was finally feeling hungry again, but had missed out on my chance for a Pumpkin Spice Waffle Sundae, as Sleepy Hollow was already closed. BUMMER! So I just cruised around until I stumbled upon a place to get food... and lo and behold, Gaston's Tavern was still open. I'd been curious about this carnivorous delight ever since the place opened...

Roasted Pork Shank

I was shocked at how SALTY the rub on this was. The meat was tender and juicy and delicious, but the crispy outside was a salt lick, seriously. I could feel my ankles swelling as I ate it! But, like a good girl, I ate the whole thing. Of course. I'm glad that I tried it, but from now on I will stick to my beloved turkey legs.

At this point, I figured it was probably time to start making my way out of the park, and that's what I did, right through Fantasyland. Wait, what's this? 10 minute wait to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel? DON'T MIND IF I DO!

I took my sweet time driving down Main Street. I absolutely love Main Street all lit up at night, but it was SUPER cool to see the way they light it for MNSSHP instead.

As I headed for the exit, I saw one last PhotoPass opportunity to jump in (a relatively short) line for:

Thus completing my first Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

I turned my wheels back in, got my deposit back, and started the long trek back to the Pop Century bus stop, with the happiest, most dopey smile on my painted face. After a shower to wash of my face and my funk, it was straight to bed for me!

Up Next... The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

 

[cinderkelly]

Yea!!! Love, love your photopass pics! Good for you for standing your ground and shame on those people in groups of more than one to pretend you were invisible. Love how you got your "tigger on" My family of 5 all Disneybounded Pooh characters!
I'm kinda jealous of your wheels, my feet were screaming at me for three days

And the Queen of Hearts cup of cake thing O M G !!! How did I miss that..... sad. Now that I think about it we didn't partake in any special Halloween treats, what the heck??? Our MNSSHP went by so fast I feel like i missed out on a lot. Must go again

 

[PippiDancer]

It sounds like you had a great first night! I would love to do MNSSHP some day.

An empty Splash Mountain? It sounds like heaven, what could be better?

I've never thought of going on the Peoplemover at night, that's genius! I'm sure there are some pretty amazing views of the park all lit up. I'll have to remember that for my next trip!

 

[cinderkelly]

Oh! Part 2 ! Your face on space mountain = priceless. Pure joy (ok at that moment probably until it scared the bajeezus out of you)

You had a "log" all to yourself on splash mountain!! Jealous

Thanks for the laughs, my 6 year old daughter is sitting next to me asking what is so funny, I'm trying to explain to her what whampajawed is...lol yes I have that problem too, high five

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Aw gee, now I'm missing Everything Pop... except for that now lousy, teeny tiny Tie Die Cheesecake. It used to be so grand. Sorry you didn't care for it though. I blame the container, lol.

I am so sorry you experienced the foolishness that some people give to solo travellers, assuming that was the reason. Surprisingly (and thankfully) I've never experienced that much myself, but GOOD ON YOU for not letting it get you down.

Wow, the ears match your outfit perfectly!

And incidentally, you REALLY didn't let that Photopass situation get you down. Lots of PP photos!! Love it!

Isn't Booo to You awesome!! The best parade anywhere ever.

What a great day!!

 

[KatMark]

Your dinner at Pop looks interesting. I'm not a Thanksgiving meal person, but my DH would have loved it.

Billie, good for you for not letting those silly people bother you who ignored that you were there for photopass pictures. I'm glad you didn't let it get you down.

Love your ears.

Great photopass pictures throughout the park.

Space Mountain. Oh how I hate that ride. I swore never to go on it again. As you'll see when I get to that part in my TR, I ended up riding it on a bet. I couldn't wait to get off. It is way too jerky for my older age.

I LOVE the picture of you on Splash Mountain by yourself. I remember the second and last time we did the party, that we went on it three times in a row and we didn't have to get off.

 

[Elevationist]

Yea!!! Love, love your photopass pics! Good for you for standing your ground and shame on those people in groups of more than one to pretend you were invisible. Love how you got your "tigger on" My family of 5 all Disneybounded Pooh characters!
I'm kinda jealous of your wheels, my feet were screaming at me for three days

And the Queen of Hearts cup of cake thing O M G !!! How did I miss that..... sad. Now that I think about it we didn't partake in any special Halloween treats, what the heck??? Our MNSSHP went by so fast I feel like i missed out on a lot. Must go again

Oh! Part 2 ! Your face on space mountain = priceless. Pure joy (ok at that moment probably until it scared the bajeezus out of you)

You had a "log" all to yourself on splash mountain!! Jealous

Thanks for the laughs, my 6 year old daughter is sitting next to me asking what is so funny, I'm trying to explain to her what whampajawed is...lol yes I have that problem too, high five

Sadly, I didn't partake in any special MNSSHP treats either, thanks to that dang cake cup. I'm hoping do it again in October 2017, and when I do, I'll be smarter about it!

I'm glad both you and your kiddo are enjoying my trip report antics!

It sounds like you had a great first night! I would love to do MNSSHP some day.

An empty Splash Mountain? It sounds like heaven, what could be better?

I've never thought of going on the Peoplemover at night, that's genius! I'm sure there are some pretty amazing views of the park all lit up. I'll have to remember that for my next trip!

You simply MUST do MNSSHP! It's so much fun! Next year I'm doing a birthday trip in December, then in 2016 I've got to take a break from Disney to save up a down payment on a new car, so I'm tentatively planning on doing a trip in October 2017. Maybe I'll see you there!

Tomorrowland at night is SO GORGEOUS. I have a special love for the parks at night (I even run a Tumblr for Disney night photos: http://disneyparksafterdark.tumblr.com/ ), so the PeopleMover at night is such a great trip for me!

Aw gee, now I'm missing Everything Pop... except for that now lousy, teeny tiny Tie Die Cheesecake. It used to be so grand. Sorry you didn't care for it though. I blame the container, lol.

I am so sorry you experienced the foolishness that some people give to solo travellers, assuming that was the reason. Surprisingly (and thankfully) I've never experienced that much myself, but GOOD ON YOU for not letting it get you down.

Wow, the ears match your outfit perfectly!

And incidentally, you REALLY didn't let that Photopass situation get you down. Lots of PP photos!! Love it!

Isn't Booo to You awesome!! The best parade anywhere ever.

What a great day!!

Yeah, I really was underwhelmed by the Tie-Dye cheesecake. Granted, as you'll see as this report continues on, even most of the things I complain about, I still eat the whole thing. So nothing is ever THAT bad!

As far as the issues I experienced with guests and CMs pretending I was invisible or just acting really awkward with me, I was less shocked that it happened, but that it happened so often, and so consistently with PhotoPass situations. By the end of the trip, it was like "Here we go again..." And don't misunderstand, I'd still say MOST of the PP photographers were great. But I was just surprised that multiple were NOT. The only other incident of a CM acting weird because I was solo was at Be Our Guest, but I'll get to that much later in this report.

And you're dang right I didn't let the PhotoPass situation get me down or deter me. I paid $150 for my MemoryMaker, dangit! I am ALL about getting my money's worth!

I was pretty stoked about the ears! I didn't see them at first, and was going to settle for the Purple & Green sequined "Halloween" ones that I was seeing all over the park. I had those in my hand, and turned around to go check out, and right there was the rack with the orange and black ones. SCORE!!!

It really was a great day overall. I recall sitting on the bus on the way back to Pop, just feeling so happy and relaxed and content, and even posting on my Facebook about what a wonderful day/night it was.

Your dinner at Pop looks interesting. I'm not a Thanksgiving meal person, but my DH would have loved it.

Billie, good for you for not letting those silly people bother you who ignored that you were there for photopass pictures. I'm glad you didn't let it get you down.

Love your ears.

Great photopass pictures throughout the park.

Space Mountain. Oh how I hate that ride. I swore never to go on it again. As you'll see when I get to that part in my TR, I ended up riding it on a bet. I couldn't wait to get off. It is way too jerky for my older age.

I LOVE the picture of you on Splash Mountain by yourself. I remember the second and last time we did the party, that we went on it three times in a row and we didn't have to get off.

I'm totally a Thanksgiving meal person, that's why I decided to take a leap of faith on that sandwich. It was incredible! The cranberry mayonnaise really made it perfect!

And as for the PhotoPass situation... Being an relatively young overweight ECV-user, I'm no stranger to getting shade from people in the parks. It takes more than awkwardness and dirty looks to get to me

Space Mountain! I've NEVER had a problem with it, I've always loved it! And I still loved it, and would totally do it again! I have no idea why I was freaking out!

I probably could have stayed on and done Splash Mountain again! It really was that dead! I wanted to move on through I knock out Big Thunder Mountain and find FOOD before the party was over.

I'm off to catch up on your TR now!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I love the face painting! It really matched the color of your shirt and looked very much in the spirit of Halloween.

I hate when the Phootpass photographers don't tell you that there is something wrong with your pose. It would only take them a minute.

I love your update on the Halloween party. We are going to it for the first time ever in just about two weeks and I am on a mission to find out everything that I can. We will be with our five year old grandson, and his parents, too. I want to make sure I see the parade and fireworks and I think they are most concerned with getting on as many rides as possible when the crowds are busy doing something else. Was Fantasyland crowded at the beginning of the party? I love the idea of Splash Mountain and Big Thunder being a walk on after the fireworks.

I love the magic shots. Did you know ahead of time which photographers were doing magic shots?

 

[pigletgirl]

MNSSHP looks like a great time! I can't wait to go next year!