Trip Report Great Garland! Solo Trip in November...It's Totally Tinsel!

Hello folks! I've been back since November 14th but just now getting around to my report.

Here's the lowdown: I'm Amy and I have taken a couple solo trips to Disney World and Disneyland and have gone many times with my hubs, Brad. This was another solo trip. I usually take my solo trips in the Spring but this year Brad is going to go along on my spring trip. So what's a girl to do with a couple personal days and an annual pass....go solo to Disney.

On Halloween my solo trip was almost derailed...long story short my husband missed the last step to the basement steps and fell onto the concrete floor breaking his right ankle in 2 spots. One of the first things he said to me was, "You are not cancelling your trip because of this." Well, I felt like I probably should cancel if he was having difficulty getting around. Well, things worked out and I was still able to go and he survived my absence. I did make sure his meals were all line up before I left.

So back to the trip....

My dates: November 11 to November 14

Resort: All Start Sports (cheap, clean, on property, and cheap)

Since my flight left Minneapolis early on Saturday morning I decided to spend the night near the airport so I didn't have to worry about driving early that morning. I live about an hour and 15 way from the airport, but I'm a worry wort and would rather not have the hassle on the morning of departure.

So on Friday after work I drove to Minneapolis, actually Bloomington where the Mall of America is. I had dinner at Margaritaville and then relaxed in my hotel room. I got to sleep at a decent time and woke up at 4:15 am feeling rested.

My bacon bbq aioli burger from Margaritaville and an Octoberfest Sam Adams beer.
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So went I left the hotel on Saturday morning for my less than 5 minute drive to the airport there was a coating of snow on the ground and on my car. As I was brushing off my car I looked up and the salt truck was driving past. Now I was really glad I decided to stay close to airport instead of driving this morning. I am a total wimp in winter driving even though I live in Wisconsin. Even on my short drive I took it slow as I could see some spots looked a little dicey.

I made it there fine and once through security I went to get my coffee at Caribou (so much better than Starbuck and it started in Minnesota). I was happy to see the Reindeer blend was out, this blend is great and only out at Christmas!
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Shortly after getting my coffee I spent about 10 minutes at the gate before boarding started. I was flying out on Spirit and had splurged for one of the big front seats (extra room!) so I boarded, settled in, and enjoyed my coffee and a doughnut I had brought from home and put on a podcast.

As I was enjoying my coffee my row-mate arrived and sat down, his daughter, a girl in her early 20's boarded with him and was in the aisle seat next to him. About a minute after he sat down, he turned to me and asked if I would switch spots with his daughter because he wanted to sit next to her. I thought, you are sitting next to her she is just across the aisle from you and it isn't like she is a young kid that needs your assistance. He looked put out by my answer and said, "Well I guess you did pay for your spot." I just nodded and went back to my relaxing. He eventually convinced the person sitting next to his daughter to switch and then he slept most of the flight. Whatever, I guess.

So this was my view leaving Minneapolis...
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And my view when landing in Orlando. It was rainy. Oh well at least it wasn't snow!
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Then I was greeted with the mob at Magical Express. I was lucky and found a line to the far end that only had a couple people in it. And I was through in a couple minutes and then waited about 20 minutes for my bus to load.

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I might be a little excited. Actually I just did the crazy eyes because it makes Brad laugh.
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Soon we were boarding...
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And soon I was home!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
After the exhilaration of the Peoplemover I was ready for one more snack. It was citrus swirl time...
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I decided to eat it in the hub and was pleased that the Festival of Fantasy parade was going past. So I just relaxed and enjoyed the parade from afar and my delicious little citrus swirl.
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It was windy so the dragon never let loose with any fire.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
I followed the parade out of the park and headed over to to the Grand Floridian to check out the gingerbread display. I was also going to stop at the Contemporary to check out their display but I was a little worried about time and getting back to the Sports for the Magical Express.

On the monorail.
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It is always fun to see the gingerbread house. It smells so good and does look beautiful and so many little details on the house.
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It was soon time to head back to the Sports so I made it back to the Magic Kingdom and to the Sports bus stop with a little over an hour until my pick up time. But it took 40 minutes for the bus to show up! I arrived at the Sports got my bags from bell services and literally walked up as my bus was arriving. It was all so stressful, especially since I had tried to arrive back with plenty of time to spare.
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Things at the airport were fairly uneventful and I was in for a nice surprise when the plane was ready to go. I had a the whole row to myself! It was nice to be able to lie down and rest during the flight.
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Overall I had a fantastic solo trip. I think it was perfect timing, I got Food and Wine and Christmas stuff. The only Christmas stuff I missed seeing was the Candlelight Processional. Oh well, maybe another time!

Thanks for following along and have a great Disney Day!
 

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
Thank YOU for your great trip report!
I have yet to get the nerve to write one.
I absolutely love the peoplemover; it's still the Wedway People Mover to me:)
Thanks for all the photos, but especially for the pictures of the beautiful window displays at the MK. Awesome.
I love reading about solo trips, and hope to go on one some day. But it will be a while. :)
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Thank YOU for your great trip report!
I have yet to get the nerve to write one.
I absolutely love the peoplemover; it's still the Wedway People Mover to me:)
Thanks for all the photos, but especially for the pictures of the beautiful window displays at the MK. Awesome.
I love reading about solo trips, and hope to go on one some day. But it will be a while. :)

I always think about it as the WEDway Peoplemover too. I'm glad you liked the report.

Thank you for a great TR once again!!

9 more days for me!

Have a great time in 9 days! I'll look forward to your report.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sorry about the "like" overload! :bookworm: Between my vacation and the holidays it has been crazy. Looks like you had an awesome solo trip.

You are forgiven for the "like" overload.:) Hopefully you have had some good adventures too. Are you still planning on a big WDW vacation?

Enjoyed your report!

Thanks so much!

Great trip report, it is always impressive seeing all the Christmas decorations go up.

Thanks, the Christmas decorations at Disney are impressive.

Thank you for sharing. :) I especially love solo reports as my next trip will be solo as well.

I am looking forward to hearing about your trip!
 

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