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Let me just say I had the BEST time ever! I was definitely excited but it was even more grander that I would have ever known. It’s a different feeling than going with my kids. Yes I was anxious but I never was nervous. Even when I look at the pictures I took I still get that rush of excitement! If you ever get a chance to go by yourself, take it! I wasn’t lonely or depressed at all. I met so many nice people and families, and they kept laughing too!
So my Trip Report starts out on August 14th, but leading up to that day was certainly dragging. That Monday, August 12th did not start out fun, in fact I ended up backing into another employee’s car and fortunately I just scraped paint on both cars, no dents! Her insurance and my insurance and then me calling my insurance to report the “crash”. What a pain in the neck! Plus it was raining and it was just not a good way to start the week! So looking forward to Wednesday even more so….. I was so proud of myself that by Tuesday night I was almost all packed- just waiting for the last minute things on Wednesday morning.
My flight from Philly was at 8am, but I had planned to be at my Mom’s by 6am. She was driving me to the airport since my oldest son was on vacation and he could not drive me, like we had planned. I got up and slept great (normally I wouldn’t...too much excitement!) took my shower, tried to eat all my bagel (I think I was little anxious), dressed, and threw in whatever I had been waiting for into my suitcase. I had one big one and my backpack. I left later than I thought, so when I got to my parents’ house I noticed my mom’s car was missing. She came up the driveway a few minutes later; she had been calling me and when I didn’t answer she drove to my house. She thought something happened; I think she let her imagination get the best of her. Anyway the drive to the airport was uneventful and she gave me 2 hugs and wished me a Great trip! I told her I would call her when I got to the resort. Curbside took my suitcase and getting through security was fine; however I did see another person in the line with the same exact blouse on, that was funny! She was headed to Key West! Nothing going on but I did notice that my flight was Crowded! I was in Zone 7 and that seemed to take a little longer for the guy to call it. Then the 1st red flag came in view- when the Captain came up and started talking to the guy who was scanning the boarding passes.
However I didn’t know it was a red flag, but I thought the Captain was saying that there weren’t any more seats, but I paid for this ticket as for all the other people waiting to board too. I said Good Morning to the flight attendants as I got on the plane. I found my seat 17D, an aisle seat! My luck too! In the next few minutes the flight was packed. Remember when I mentioned the red flag? One of flight attendants asked if anyone was flying solo, of course I raised my hand. She asked if I could sit in the Emergency section and it had more leg room. I was okay with it…. And sat next to another woman and we started talking right away. She was headed to Disney too, with her family with her parents. However she said that it has taken her 8 months to get here. Medical issues and she started to explain, that is when someone walked past us and mumbled “I am getting off this plane”. It was her mother. Apparently her mother did not want to sit in the last row of seats and her husband was crammed in there too. Her mother ended up switching seats with her (so I didn’t get to hear the rest of the story) and SW would not let her sit in the Emergency Exit. She started to cry and I said “Couldn’t you ask someone else to switch seats?” SW asks this man, who was 2 rows back and all I heard him say is “You are going to give me something free for this?” He kept repeating and SW employee said “yeah a drink”. That is not what he wanted, he wanted a free ticket. First of all, you could tell right away he was not a happy person and giving up his seat made him even more unhappier. He was a little man too, but angry. I said something and he replied “I don’t like to talk”. That shut me up, and I never said anything else to him. I did notice that he talked to himself and he could not stop moving, either with him or his hands. He brought out his ipad twice. I tried to fall asleep but he made me nervous. I ended up drinking some Coke and that seemed to relax me. The plane lands and I get off the plane. As I am walking towards to baggage claim I run into the young woman and her family. The mother immediately said that the guy was strange, I agreed! (She did finish her story).
I LOVE Orlando’s airport, because you know where you are going! It just seems so comfortable and more open than Philadelphia’s airport. Plus the fact when I get to Orlando’s airport I know that I am on my way to being “Home”, Disney! I ended up going to the wrong baggage claim in A, should have been B. But I get there and I see the luggage coming out, I see mine and grab it. I get on the elevator and walk down to Magical Express. It is a better set up and I am in line waiting for the bus to take me to the resort. The family in front of me is from West Grove, PA. In fact I had seen the Dad at the Philly airport. Anyway they were staying at Key West and they had been there without kids; they now had 3 year old girl and a 1 year old boy- she is a teacher. I wished them a Happy Trip.
I wasn’t the only one with luggage. I boarded the bus and took a seat close to the back. It started filling up and we were on our way. The driver said we were headed to Key West first, then French Quarter, then Riverside. The movie played and that made me more excited. The driver was quite funny he told 3 jokes! The one I laughed at was “What does Epcot stand for? Every Parent comes out tired” Good one! I get to Riverside and the driver gets my one suitcase I in turn give him a tip. He deserved it!
More to come.......
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Kate in PA All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them- Walt Disney
Last edited by lovewdw2; 10-19-2013 at 09:37 AM..
Reason: Reads better
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I walk into the lobby and I am already in love! I get in the line for checking on-line and I am immediately greeted by a cast member. She asks me to sit while she retrieves my reservation. This is where I get a little frustrated. She comes out telling me that I owe $680.00. I said no, because I put a deposit down. She goes back and comes out with the amount that is less of the deposit. She shows me the map of where my room is located. It seems like a long walk and of course walking out of the main building the humid and hot air hit me! WOW it is really hot here. I had forgotten what it was like coming here in August! I am pulling my suitcase behind me with my backpack on my shoulder. This was one of the bad cons, walking with your suitcase looking for your room, while sweating!
I am going to pick up my Trip Report here: (I started to write one that was probably going to take me a long time to write it..so I shortened it.... and broke it up too.)
Here is what I did for the 5 nights I was there. First I stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and the landscape was just beautiful. It really made me feel like I was in the more relaxed city of New Orleans. I had a corner room, which I had requested and it was on the 2nd floor. When I walked out the door I had a nice view. I had found a closer way to get to the Food Court and this was much quicker, especially when those rain storms would come. I had a king size bed, which was okay but I ended up sleeping on the side because the middle was hard. The room itself was very nice and it seemed to welcome me “home” after being out for a long day! I went to the pool only once, but that was so relaxing.
Here is what I ended up doing:
Wednesday August 14th: Went to DHS, visited One Man’s Dream (tears), got some popcorn, waited for the rain to stop, checked out Toy Story Mania- 70 minute wait and no fast passes, decided to go back to the room. Got back to the room and then it poured! I took a nap and a shower and went to my 1st reservation for dinner: Boatwrights at 6:20pm. It was good, but not much choices on the menu. The serving was huge and I tried to eat as much as possible; warm corn bread with soft butter. I decide to check out the resort. They had 2 horse drawn carriages. I took pictures of the 2 horses. I went to bed, exhausted! (understatement!)......
More to come.... Thanks for hanging out with me! : )
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Kate in PA All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them- Walt Disney
Okay, when do you get to the good part that includes me and my family .
Seriously though, I'm sorry to hear you had a strange, untalkative guy sitting next to you - totally awkward. And that rain? I remember it - we were in AK when it started. We hadn't been off of Kali too long when it started the first time. By the time we were done with Lion King and the greeting trails, it started up really hard again with thunder and lightning. CM's kept warning us to be careful because of our umbrellas.
And for pictures in your TR - I know I've read somewhere you wanted to put some in - what I do is upload my pictures to Photobucket in the size requirements for here (I forget the size but I know there is a sticky at the top of the TR forum with the info). Then I copy the image code from photobucket and just paste the link in my post where I want it. You can try it first in the testing grounds if you want to get an idea of how it works.
Great start and I can't wait to read more of your first time solo adventures.
When I woke up I didn’t know where I was…so strange! I must have fallen into a deep sleep. LOL! I had a breakfast reservation at 8:55am at Boma’s. Got up early and ate a good breakfast before making my way to the Animal Kingdom. Boma’s breakfast was plentiful, but I think I liked the dinner better, the Jungle Juice was Delish! Their banana bread was so yummy, ate 2 slices. I enjoy coming to AKL for meals, just have no desire to stay there. Ate too much but I walked it off. I told myself that I would keep an open mind when it came to the AK. That soon changed when I stood in a very long line for the Kilimanjaro Safari and it was so humid and hot that there wasn’t a fan in sight! No air moving at all. I ended up talking to the people in back of me and the people in front of me. After went to the Festival of the Lion King (tears again) and I so enjoyed this again. It was dang hot that I had decided to go back to the room and pool. Took a swim and napped, took a 2nd shower. I was headed to Magic Kingdom for the evening. I have never done 2 parks in one day! Pretty cool!
Headed to Frontierland for dinner; Pecos Bill’s! YUMMY! I had a cheeseburger piled high with sautéed onions! I decided to go on the Haunted Mansion (very fun), Peter Pan was a 75 minute wait, no line at Small World (go on next time), but decided to do Philharmagic. Started to rain and made my way to the castle, to watch fireworks. While passing the time (it was raining off and on) I met a family from the United Kingdom. Actually the Mom was from Thailand. It was so nice to talk to them! They were on their “holiday” Disney was their first stop. Electrical parade started late, but seeing the Castle and the fireworks was very MAGICAL! (tears). I can’t explain the feeling. After it was wall to wall people going down Main Street, but I waited and filled my water bottle. I didn’t get back to the room until 11:30pm. Exhausted!!
I know I didn't go to Disney to get rest......!
Darlene...Your day hasn't come up yet! LOL!
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Kate in PA All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them- Walt Disney
I think I might post the pictures after my Trip Report! Of course I ended up taking 256 pictures, but I promise I won't post them all.... just pick out the ones that are most interesting...... and comical of course!
Thank you for reading..... stay tuned!
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Kate in PA All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them- Walt Disney
About This Page: 
My 1st Solo Trip to Disney 2013
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Sorry about the rain and the tiredness, too.
JuliB
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