KrisGoesToWDW
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2018
When I was considering going for a solo trip, I looked for as much info as possible to calm my nerves (knowledge is power). So, in gratitude for all the info I found, I am adding in my trip report.
I traveled in September, Wednesday to Wednesday. I took the Disney Magical Express bus from the airport to my hotel, Animal Kingdom Lodge. I loved AKL, but the pool was closed, which was a real bummer. The restaurants there though, are amazing.
Wednesday - Travel day, no park, dinner reservation at Boma. The food at Boma was great and I didn't feel uncomfortable as a solo diner. They are not going to clear the table and seat anyone else when you go back to line, the wait staff are monitoring the table. The meats and salads and sides were great. I liked the desserts, but I found I don't do a buffet true justice - I just don't have the appetite to go back for more.
Thursday - Hollywood Studios, regular start time 9am. It was HOT. The temps were in the 90s all week with heat indexes above 100. Even first thing in the morning it was tough. I had booked Fast Passes for lots of rides. I am also a 45 year old who hadn't been to an amusement park in a long time and has some motion sickness. So, I quickly determined that fast roller coasters (Rock 'n' Roller Coaster) and drop rides (Tower of Terror) and simulation rides (Star Tours) are not that great for me. I ended up moving a round a lot of my fast passes and switching from rides to shows. Great it was Sept and that was possible. I didn't love Hollywood Studios, but I also didn't go to Toy Story at all. It was hot and I was not acclimated. I had a late lunch that was part of the night show package (not worth it for me because I ended up not going back for show, oops). I ate a Mama Melrose and had steak. Good, but wished I had booked a more normal lunch time (I ate at like 1:50). Every day I did siesta from around 3pm to at least 5pm. This night and several others, I ended up not going back to the parks. I was too wiped out.
Friday - Animal Kingdom. This was more like it. I loved Animal Kingdom. I was there for opening and did Kilimanjaro Safari (FP), had photos taken (I did the Memory Maker because I wanted pictures of me at the parks and with the characters), took the train out to Rafiki's place (not too exciting), walked the Gorilla Falls trail, watched the street performers(who were terrific), saw Festival of the Lion King and Its Tough to be a Bug (loved it!), did Kali River rapids, and lunch at Tusker House all before siesta. I liked Tusker house, but was less comfortable there than Boma. Not uncomforatable and the characters were interactive, but I had to do selfies as there isn't any staff right near to take pictures. After my rest, I did go back for the evening and my FP for Flight of Passage. I took a Dramamine just in case. It was worth doing, very cool, very immersive. I was good doing it just once though. Also, I was never uncomfortable on any ride or show being by myself. A few rides they seat you with someone and usually announce that early on, others I had the space to myself. Of course, Flight of Passage is perfect for a solo as long as you have FP. I finished off the evening watching the Tree of Life awakening.
Saturday - More Animal Kingdom. When I knew I was staying at AKL, I decided two days at Animal Kingdom would be good. I am glad I did that. I loved Animal Kingdom the most. This was morning extra magic hours, so in a 8am and straight to the Safari again. Different every time. I met Mickey and Minnie, did the Na'vi River Journey (lovely, but not worth a long wait in my mind). I also did Up the bird adventure which was cool and the Finding Nemo show. It was a half day really and after lunch at Yak and Yeti Cafe, I headed back to the hotel. Dinner that night was Saana. The bread service is worth the splurge even just for one person.
Sunday - Slept in, Boma for brunch (again great food, not a big enough appetite). It was supposed to be pool day, but the pool was closed
, so I did go to the next door pool which was open with a short shuttle ride, but I didn't end up staying long. Napped and then Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party. I had bought several pairs of ears (might have gone a bit overboard) for the trip. I wore a fairy godmother inspired pair with blue dress and pink top for the party. So, of course, I went to see Cinderella. I think you need to decide what you want out of the party (rides, candy, characters, parades etc). I did Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and the Haunted Mansion. I also did characters - Mickey in his costume, Winnie the Pooh characters, and the Seven Dwarfs (a bit of a time suck). I did see the parade. Fireworks were postponed due to lightning and then when they went off I did see some, but not the whole show. I headed out around 11:30pm. I did find that Magic Kingdom just didn't intrigue me. I wasn't eager to go back for my scheduled day (Tues), especially since the rides I had picked were Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. So, I decided on the fly to cancel my day at MK and do a second day at Epcot (which had food and wine).
Monday - Epcot. Almost all I wanted at Epcot was to go see Joy and Sadness and Minnie. One pair of my Minnie ears were navy with white pokadots and I had a matching dress, so I got some great shots with both groups. I wasn't super interested in rides, but did Spaceship Earth, Journey into Imagination, and saw the Turtle Talk show (so cute). Then I wandered world showcase and tried different food and drinks. Love the Mimosa bar. I was ready for Siesta though and did not go back in the evening. Did a second dinner at Boma for convenience, it was right there after all and a reservation was available last minute.
Tuesday - Last park day, Epcot. This day, I did Frozen Ever After, Pixar Shorts, and more time for Food and Wine. I did do lunch as Via Napoli (excellent) and had dinner, again not going back to the park at night, at Saana. And yes, I did the bread service again and had a great window seat.
My biggest recommendations: just go and enjoy. I did lots of non face character greetings and had Memory Maker and I considered it worth it. I wanted to just enjoy being there and give into the magic. Do what is right for you in terms of rest. Some people can power through, but I wanted to enjoy my vacation even if it meant seeing less stuff. I also have to recommend TouringPlans.com which I used so much. It is $15 to get, you can use their plans, but the power is making your own plans by picking all the activities you want to do at a park and fast passes and it optimizes your day and puts them in order and gives you estimated wait times. You can change and re-optimize in the App so I would do that if I did something out of order or added something. It helped me so much know where to go next.
I traveled in September, Wednesday to Wednesday. I took the Disney Magical Express bus from the airport to my hotel, Animal Kingdom Lodge. I loved AKL, but the pool was closed, which was a real bummer. The restaurants there though, are amazing.
Wednesday - Travel day, no park, dinner reservation at Boma. The food at Boma was great and I didn't feel uncomfortable as a solo diner. They are not going to clear the table and seat anyone else when you go back to line, the wait staff are monitoring the table. The meats and salads and sides were great. I liked the desserts, but I found I don't do a buffet true justice - I just don't have the appetite to go back for more.
Thursday - Hollywood Studios, regular start time 9am. It was HOT. The temps were in the 90s all week with heat indexes above 100. Even first thing in the morning it was tough. I had booked Fast Passes for lots of rides. I am also a 45 year old who hadn't been to an amusement park in a long time and has some motion sickness. So, I quickly determined that fast roller coasters (Rock 'n' Roller Coaster) and drop rides (Tower of Terror) and simulation rides (Star Tours) are not that great for me. I ended up moving a round a lot of my fast passes and switching from rides to shows. Great it was Sept and that was possible. I didn't love Hollywood Studios, but I also didn't go to Toy Story at all. It was hot and I was not acclimated. I had a late lunch that was part of the night show package (not worth it for me because I ended up not going back for show, oops). I ate a Mama Melrose and had steak. Good, but wished I had booked a more normal lunch time (I ate at like 1:50). Every day I did siesta from around 3pm to at least 5pm. This night and several others, I ended up not going back to the parks. I was too wiped out.
Friday - Animal Kingdom. This was more like it. I loved Animal Kingdom. I was there for opening and did Kilimanjaro Safari (FP), had photos taken (I did the Memory Maker because I wanted pictures of me at the parks and with the characters), took the train out to Rafiki's place (not too exciting), walked the Gorilla Falls trail, watched the street performers(who were terrific), saw Festival of the Lion King and Its Tough to be a Bug (loved it!), did Kali River rapids, and lunch at Tusker House all before siesta. I liked Tusker house, but was less comfortable there than Boma. Not uncomforatable and the characters were interactive, but I had to do selfies as there isn't any staff right near to take pictures. After my rest, I did go back for the evening and my FP for Flight of Passage. I took a Dramamine just in case. It was worth doing, very cool, very immersive. I was good doing it just once though. Also, I was never uncomfortable on any ride or show being by myself. A few rides they seat you with someone and usually announce that early on, others I had the space to myself. Of course, Flight of Passage is perfect for a solo as long as you have FP. I finished off the evening watching the Tree of Life awakening.
Saturday - More Animal Kingdom. When I knew I was staying at AKL, I decided two days at Animal Kingdom would be good. I am glad I did that. I loved Animal Kingdom the most. This was morning extra magic hours, so in a 8am and straight to the Safari again. Different every time. I met Mickey and Minnie, did the Na'vi River Journey (lovely, but not worth a long wait in my mind). I also did Up the bird adventure which was cool and the Finding Nemo show. It was a half day really and after lunch at Yak and Yeti Cafe, I headed back to the hotel. Dinner that night was Saana. The bread service is worth the splurge even just for one person.
Sunday - Slept in, Boma for brunch (again great food, not a big enough appetite). It was supposed to be pool day, but the pool was closed
, so I did go to the next door pool which was open with a short shuttle ride, but I didn't end up staying long. Napped and then Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party. I had bought several pairs of ears (might have gone a bit overboard) for the trip. I wore a fairy godmother inspired pair with blue dress and pink top for the party. So, of course, I went to see Cinderella. I think you need to decide what you want out of the party (rides, candy, characters, parades etc). I did Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and the Haunted Mansion. I also did characters - Mickey in his costume, Winnie the Pooh characters, and the Seven Dwarfs (a bit of a time suck). I did see the parade. Fireworks were postponed due to lightning and then when they went off I did see some, but not the whole show. I headed out around 11:30pm. I did find that Magic Kingdom just didn't intrigue me. I wasn't eager to go back for my scheduled day (Tues), especially since the rides I had picked were Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. So, I decided on the fly to cancel my day at MK and do a second day at Epcot (which had food and wine).Monday - Epcot. Almost all I wanted at Epcot was to go see Joy and Sadness and Minnie. One pair of my Minnie ears were navy with white pokadots and I had a matching dress, so I got some great shots with both groups. I wasn't super interested in rides, but did Spaceship Earth, Journey into Imagination, and saw the Turtle Talk show (so cute). Then I wandered world showcase and tried different food and drinks. Love the Mimosa bar. I was ready for Siesta though and did not go back in the evening. Did a second dinner at Boma for convenience, it was right there after all and a reservation was available last minute.
Tuesday - Last park day, Epcot. This day, I did Frozen Ever After, Pixar Shorts, and more time for Food and Wine. I did do lunch as Via Napoli (excellent) and had dinner, again not going back to the park at night, at Saana. And yes, I did the bread service again and had a great window seat.
My biggest recommendations: just go and enjoy. I did lots of non face character greetings and had Memory Maker and I considered it worth it. I wanted to just enjoy being there and give into the magic. Do what is right for you in terms of rest. Some people can power through, but I wanted to enjoy my vacation even if it meant seeing less stuff. I also have to recommend TouringPlans.com which I used so much. It is $15 to get, you can use their plans, but the power is making your own plans by picking all the activities you want to do at a park and fast passes and it optimizes your day and puts them in order and gives you estimated wait times. You can change and re-optimize in the App so I would do that if I did something out of order or added something. It helped me so much know where to go next.
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