I'm going to find adventure in the evening air! An August '18 solo trip report! New PTR link 01/04

suse66

When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true!
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Hi everyone!!! I'm Susan, self confessed Disney fanatic, kindergarten teacher and mom of three!
My first Disney trip was in 2009 when I had to be dragged along for ONE trip. Well of course that quickly changed as I fell head over heels in love with all that Disney has to offer and have just returned from my seventh trip (third solo) and can't wait to go back again!

This trip was especially important as there has been lots of real life stuff weighing me down. My parents are facing some major health issues, a dear friend passed away from cancer earlier in August and my sweet oldest son is moving away to attend university in early September.

I needed to escape from reality and what better place to do it than Disney??? Especially when you're staying at the gorgeous Polynesian!

Join in with me as I relive a glorious week filled with adventures, yummy food and all kinds of fun!

To all that come to this happy place,
Welcome!!
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It's worth waking up at 3:00 am when you're going to Disney!!!

Let's be real though... I was actually too excited to really sleep and bounded out of bed as soon as my alarm went off. My flight out of Toronto was scheduled to depart at 7:45 am and they request that you are there three hours prior to departure for an international flight. I had about an hour's drive to get to the airport and I needed time to park and get over to the terminal. Happily, traffic was minimal at that time of the day and I arrived with out any issues. After heading through security and clearing customs, I settled in to wait for the plane to show up. Of course, we were late heading out on Air Canada but once in the air everything went smoothly. We landed in Orlando only 1/2 hr behind schedule.

Soon I was heading towards the Magical Express where I checked in, beaming from ear to ear. It was Disney Day! There was a bus waiting so I hopped on board and we were soon off to the Polynesian! Upon arriving at the hotel, I went to collect my Magic Band and check on the status of my room. My room was not ready as yet but she did confirm that I had a ground floor room which I was very pleased about.

It was time to head to Pineapple Lanai for the first Dole Whip of the trip!
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Yay! I was in my happy place with one of my favourite treats and I was just soaking up every moment! After finishing up my super yummy Dole Whip, I decided to head into Captain Cooks and grab my refillable mug. I had a few hours to just hang out and relax so decided to head to the Oasis Pool. It was a perfect day and I enjoyed my ice cold lemonade as I stretched out on a lounger and read my book. After a refreshing dip in the pool I checked my phone to see if I had received a message about my room. Sure enough, my room was ready and I was in Aotearoa rm 1224. I was so excited to check out my room and quickly packed up to head over. As I walked down the hall I noticed my room was on the lagoon side!! I was so happy about this bit of pixie dust!
Imagine my delight when I walked to the patio and saw this view!
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Oh my gosh! I had a partial castle view!!!! I really felt as though my trip could not have gotten off to a better start. And my room was immaculate as well!
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It was now time to get ready to head out on my first adventure in the evening air.....EMH at Epcot!!!
 
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Hi from another 3am traveler! Wow, what a wonderful room and view, love it! Way better start than ours. The Pineapple Lanai so convenient at the Poly. I think Andi had one almost everyday when we stayed there!
 
Hello Susan! I'm joining in. A solo trip sounds like fun! I would like to do it one day, just not sure if my family would go for it. they love Disney too much to miss a trip!

As I walked down the hall I noticed my room was on the lagoon side!! I was so happy about this bit of pixie dust!
Imagine my delight when I walked to the patio and saw this view!
Oh wow, what a fantastic view. The Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge are two resorts I would love to stay at sometime.
 
I can't wait until I can stay at the Poly sometime...looks amazing! Yay for your castle view! (Shh...don't tell Disney, we don't want to be charged extra)
 
Hi from another 3am traveler! Wow, what a wonderful room and view, love it! Way better start than ours. The Pineapple Lanai so convenient at the Poly. I think Andi had one almost everyday when we stayed there!
The only time I don't mind getting up early is when I am going to Disney! Yes, I was so happy with my room and view, it certainly made for a great start to the trip!

Marking my spot and coming back soon to catch up!
Yay! Glad to have you along. Ariane! :)

Hello Susan! I'm joining in. A solo trip sounds like fun! I would like to do it one day, just not sure if my family would go for it. they love Disney too much to miss a trip!


Oh wow, what a fantastic view. The Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge are two resorts I would love to stay at sometime.
Thanks for joining in! My boys are at that funny stage.....university, jobs, girlfriends.... a trip with Mom just wasn't in the cards this summer. My lovely DH would have jumped at the chance to go but we had already been at our cottage in PEI and he couldn't take any more vacation time. I got a sweet "magical" deal on the Poly and was very happy to stay there again.

I can't wait until I can stay at the Poly sometime...looks amazing! Yay for your castle view! (Shh...don't tell Disney, we don't want to be charged extra)
Welcome! Glad to have you along! I loved my castle view! There are some great deals in late summer...a Poly stay may not be put of reach. Hope you get to stay there soon!
 
Soarin' into a magical evening!

After unpacking and getting settled into my lovely room, I got changed for my evening adventures at Epcot. I strolled through the resort over to the TTC and was soon climbing aboard the Monorail. My first order of business was to upgrade my Canadian resident ticket to an annual pass!! Hurray.....more Disney trips for me!
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My first FP of the trip was for Soarin' and I just made it at the very end of my window. As I was walking down the hall towards the theatre I was directed to the "A" side. Being in the know, I asked if it were possible if I could go to the "B" side instead. They were happy to accommodate me AND I got seated in the middle of the first row! A little pixie dust for my first ride of the trip made for a perfect adventure Soarin' over the World!

I decided to head to Living with the Land which was a walk on with a posted 10 minute wait time. I was happily surprised with how low crowds were at Epoct today. I just love this ride and never tire of it.

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Then it was time for a ride through history on Spaceship Earth. There are some terrific Hidden Mickeys on this ride so I had a lot of fun looking for those during my travels through time.
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Next up was a trip around Earth on Mission Space but I accidentally got in the line for the orange team which would have been a disaster. Thankfully I realized my mistake in time and was directed back around to the Green team waiting area where I had a great chat with one of the CMs on the college program. I really like the updated Mission Space and enjoyed my adventure around the Earth.

I was feeling a bit peckish afterwards and headed towards Mexico to stop in at the new Choza de Margarita. I ordered the guacamole and the Guava pink Peppercorn Margarita. The guacamole was absolutely delicious with crunchy pumpkin seeds and the salsa to give it a little kick. The fried chicharron were light and crispy and perfect for scooping up the guacamole. This was a huge serving for $7.95. I was disappointed with the margarita. They are not freshly made but came out of a nozzle like you would see for fountain pop. The CM filled my glass all the way to the top with ice but I asked her to dump out about 1/2 the ice as I was not going to pay $14 for a glass of mostly ice! She was really sweet about it and I am glad I tried this version. I know in the future I will stick with the cucumber lime which I enjoyed much more.
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I was texting with a friend and fellow Canadian Disney Addict who was also at Epcot that evening with her girls. They were going to go on Frozen so I decided to ride Three Caballeros and meet up with them after. Three Caballeros is always fun and a great spot for Hidden Mickey hunting as well. I met up with my friend and her girls and we decided to head to Germany for a treat. While we were selecting our goodies, the heavens opened and it poured down for at least 45 minutes! We huddled inside the Germany pavilion and enjoyed our goodies. This little darling made the rain a bit more bearable.
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Dark chocolate sea salt caramel, how I love you!! Finally the rain let up enough to venture out and I said my goodbyes to my friends and headed towards Japan. I always love browsing through this store. I was hoping to search out a great fireworks viewing spot but the show kept getting postponed due to thunder and lightening in the area. Finally it cleared long enough for the show to go on. I love Illuminations and was glad to have the chance to see it once again. By this time it was almost 10 pm and I was feeling my 3:00 am wake up. It was time to head back to the Poly for a good night's sleep. But first a slight soggy end of the night picture decked out in my Canadian Mickey gear.
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Next up, it's time to park hop until you drop!

 
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Looking forward to the rest of your trip report. We also get going at 3:00 am for our 6 am flight so I know how long of a day it was for you. We never would have made it till 10 pm
 
I am in. Looking forward to hearing all about your solo adventure. One day, I am just gonna get in the car or hop on a plane and go by myself. Went to WDW last Christmas and Disneyland in April with my youngest son. Asked him if he wanted to go to Universal or back to Disney for his birthday in September and he said no!!!!UNBELIEVABLE. And he loves going.
 
Awesome start to your trip, Epcot was very low crowds during our visit as well.

I love your Canadian Mickey gear.

The guacamole in Mexico always hits the spot, yummy!
 
Looking forward to the rest of your trip report. We also get going at 3:00 am for our 6 am flight so I know how long of a day it was for you. We never would have made it till 10 pm
Thanks for joining in! It was a long day but I always seem to have extra energy when it comes to Disney!

I am in. Looking forward to hearing all about your solo adventure. One day, I am just gonna get in the car or hop on a plane and go by myself. Went to WDW last Christmas and Disneyland in April with my youngest son. Asked him if he wanted to go to Universal or back to Disney for his birthday in September and he said no!!!!UNBELIEVABLE. And he loves going.
Thank you for reading along! My boys would not go this summer either!! They said they were there in 2016 and it was too soon to go back. I just looked at them in disbelief...what is wrong with these children?????

Hi! I'm joining in! Can't wait to read more!
Thanks so much! I am happy that you are here! :)
 
Glad to hear you're having good experiences with the CMs (allowing you to request B on Soarin', the nice chat outside Mission: Space, and dumping the ice out for you)!
 

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