I didn't get married, but I won the lottery and took a walk on the wild side at WDW!

To make a long story short, I was supposed to get married on September 21, 2012, but that didn't work out. I had planned part of my honeymoon to be at Disney World so when the engagement fell apart I knew I still wanted to go to my most favortie place in the world at what I knew was going to be a very difficult time. My friend Autumn agreed to go with me. For the longer version refer to my pre-trip report and when I figure out how to, I'll post the link.

Dates: September 21- September 26, 2012

Cast of Characters: Autumn, 34 and Me (Ty), 27

Hotel: Port Orleans French Quarter, Free Dining


September 21,2012
Autumn lives in Pittsburgh and I live in upstate NY, so we agreed to meet in Florida. Only bad thing is there was a 6 hour lapse between our arrivals. My flight landed at 10:31, I was on line for DME at 10:52 and on a bus at 10:55. I was slightly disappointed to get on a Cruise Line Bus, I have yet to be on an offical DME bus.Not that it really matters cause they all go to the same place.

French Quarter was the 3rd stop after Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. I checked in just before noon. I thought I made pretty good time. I quickly dropped my stuff off in the room.

View from just outside our room...

We got an excellent location. We were in building 4, 3rd floor right behind the bus stop. Before I headed to the bus stop, I picked up out resort mugs and bought a Disney bookbag to lug all our stuff around in. That thing was the best $30 I spent the whole trip.

As always my first stop was of course...

I just took my time taking in the atmophere as I slowly made my way down Main Street USA. Now, this was supposed to be my wedding day and the week leading up to the day had its fair share of ups and downs. I'm not ashamed to say I did some crying. Now I'm walking down Main Street alone and I see a show up on the castle and I see Mickey and Minnie dancing and holding hands on this platform and I get all teary eyed.

I think it was a combination of saddness and shear joy, but I quickly pushed back those tears and kept moving. I headed towards Frontierland and stopped to get a pretzel and water.

Sorry his ear is gone, I hadn't eaten all day and I couldnt wait.

While I was eating, I sat next to this elderly couple sitting in rocking chairs and holding hands. I couldn't help but smile at how cute they were, but I was sad too, hoping that I'll have that one day. Soon the rest of the family joined them, they had just gotten off splash mountain. They too thought grandma and grandpa were adorable, they took pictures and helped them back into thier matching scooters and drove off. People watching is quite fun sometimes.

By that time the birds that hangout in Frontierland and Liberty Square were starting to get a bit too close so I wrapped up the rest of my pretzel and threw my water in that handy bookbag and headed towards Pirates. Pirates was having technical issues and was closed, so I hopped on the line for the Jungle Cruise instead. It was a nice ride, but nothing fantastic. I did have a great skipper though. She tried to get everyone invovled, but no one was really responding. She told the most corny jokes that few laughed at. They were so bad they were funny, which was actually the best part of the cruise.

Afterr the cruise I was starting to get really hot. I didnt realize it would be so hot in late September. I still had a few hours before Autumn was set to arrive so I just wandered around in and out of air conditioned shops and ended up on Main Street again headed towards the exit. Before I left I took a leisure ride on the MK railroad. I caught the end of the 3:00 parade and lef the park about 3:30.

Autumn texted me she arrived at MCO about 4:30 and I went down to meet her bus about 5:30, just as a storm was about to roll in. I sat on a bench out front enjoying the nice breeze and trying not to think about the fact that at that very moment I was supposed to be walking down the aisle.

 

[MITCH 112198]

Sorry to hear things didn't work out, but ya had had a real nice vacation it looks like. Great pictures so far.

 

[Blueskyze]

Hey, we were neighbors! I was at POFQ from the 21-23, staying just a few doors down from you! We were in room 4305. I have a picture from outside of our room that looks a whole lot like yours. Can't wait to hear all about your trip...I'm so glad you ended up going, despite the circumstances!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Ugh... a very bitter sweet trip for sure but I can't wait to hear more!

 

[YoungNY]

Autumn finally arrived just before 6. We dropped her stuff off in the room and were on a bus to Epcot by 6:20. We had an ADR at Via Napoli at 7:00 and I was getting worried we'd be very late. Our arrival at Epcot at 6:40 didn't help to calm my nerves. I didn't know if we could make it clear across the park in 20 minutes and as we left the bus the rain had started to pour. By the time we got in the park and got to the entrance of the world showcase we had 7 minutes to get there. But as luck would have it, I saw a friendship boat loading and about to leave and ran for it. It was going to Germany, SCORE! We arrived at Via Napoli at 7:04. I couldn't believe our luck.

I told Autumn before our trip, I would need some liquid courage to get through the week. So first thing we ordered... a pitcher of Sangria.

It was good, slightly sweet and strong. Autumn is a vegetarian so she ordered Lasagna Verde which is some kind of cheesy, spinach lasagna.

I ordered the Prosciutto e Melone which is basically white pizza with spinach, prosciutto and cantolope, I ordered the cantolope on the side because I wasn't sure about fruit on pizza.

Both entires were very good. That pizza was huge though, even for an individual. I took half of it to go. For dessert. I had the Tiramisu and Autumn had the Zeppole di Caterina. My tiramisu was very good, but it wasn't the best. I think I have cheap taste when it comes to food. I love cheap wine and I think diner desserts are the best.

I put that it was Autumn's birthday on our reservation. Eventhough her birthday was a month earlier, we didn't celebrate together. Later on she pointed out that we should celebrate mine too, since we are right in the middle of our birthdays and we probably won't be together to celebrate mine either. So after this point we were both birthday girls. But it was just Autumn that got the free cake at Via Napoli.

We were both so full by the end of dessert but there was one more thing we had to finish.

I should mention I'm a bit of a light weight when in comes to drinking and I had gastric surgery this year which makes me even more sensitive to alcohol. I was told 1 drink equals 3 for me now. So I was feeling pretty good as we left.

After a quick smoke break for Autumn we had about 10 minutes before Illuminations was to start. So we found a spot on the bridge in Italy and watched from there. I was looking forward to it. Illuminations is my favorite night time show in all of WDW, but for some reason I think it was better last time. It might have been the rain too. After the show we took our time leaving and walked very slowly out of the park.

When we got back to the resort, we stopped by Scat Cats Club. It wasn't actually what I was expecting, but it was fun. We got two more drinks...

Autumn got a beer ( no idea what kind) and I got some sweet lemon thing served with bitter cherries.
They were good. As soon as we finished our drinks we refilled our mugs and took a quick walk around the resort.
We were both a little drunk by this point so when we ran into these guys we had to get a picture.

Soon after we retired for the night and I fell asleep watching the Disney Must Do's. Last thing I remember was Autumn telling me how much the woman hosting the Must Do's annoyed her.

 

[OswaldTheRabbit]

They look ok! I am following your TR and glad you were able to make the best of a bad situation! What a better way to get over the blues than Disney with a girlfriend! Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

 

[sam_disney]

Break ups are horrible, but what a place to go and cheer yourself up! Life is far too short.. and its not meant to be! You will meet someone who truly deserves you I'm sure!

Enjoying your report very much so far! xx keep smiling xx

 

[dopeylover]

You picked the best place ever to try and heal! Sounds like a fun trip so far, can't wait to read the rest!

 

[disney dharling]

Great TR so far! Nothing like WDW with a good friend.

 

[Joshua&CalebDad]

I'm in for the ride. looking forward to hearing the rest.

 

[YoungNY]

September 22,2012
We were supposed to go to DHS for EMH this morning, but we were chosen to do the Fastpass+ so I had to change our plans. I wanted to ge to MK early to see the rope drop show because Ive never seen one at all, but as always we didn't get there in time. We arrived at the park at 9:04am. Our first stop was a Mickey and Minnie meet and greet using our fastpass+. I must say I felt like a VIP. 10 minutes after the park opened and the line was already 20 minutes long. We were ushered to a side line and then right into the meeting room. We had maybe 4 people in front of us.

Autumn hadn't been to Disney in 20 years. She travels often but rarely visits the same place twice. My goal for the trip was to get on rides I'd been too afraid to get on before and Autumn's goal was to meet and hug as many characters as possible. I'm not a big character picture person, I'd rarely spend that time waiting in line to take a picture doing other things. I like taking pictures with certain characters, but Autumn did me a favor by coming with me and I wanted her to have a good time, so when we left Mickey and Minnie we hopped on the line for Pluto.

We then started down Main Street and even Autumn had to comment on the unsightly crane behind the castle.

Autumn was hungry, but the line at the Bakery was too line and most other places serving real food was still closed. I used one of my trusty WDW apps to find a place in tomorrowland as our next fastpass+ was at Space Mountain. First we took a spin on the People Mover as I needed a preview of Space Mountain cause I was a little nervous. When we got to Auntie Gravities we ran into PUSH, I was quite excited as I had only heard about him, but had never seen him in person before.

Autumn got a Strawberry and Banana Smoothie. I got nothing as I was still too nervous and didnt want to get sick on Space Mountain.

Space Mountain wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be, but I kept thinking about our disscussions here about how the tracks are really close together and people fear getting decapitated. Most of the ride I was holding on for dear life and tried to slump down in the seat as much as possible. But I did it!

This would be the first of many fears I conquered this trip.

 

[lebeau]

Looks like you're having a blast! Good for you!

 

[wiigirl]

Loving your pics! Hope you are having the BEST time!

 

[YoungNY]

After Space Mountain we met Space Chip and Dale.

The rest of our day at MK is picture free,sorry I'll try and make it short. I went back to Auntie Gravities and got an iced coffee float. It was so fillings that Autumn and I had to share. We did CoP, Winnie the Pooh (which I had never done before),our next fastpass+ was at the Haunted Mansion, then we did Pirates of the Carribean. We took a stroll over the bridge where you can watch the people on Splash Mountain. I debated if I was riding it for a while and decided if the fastpass was before the time we had to leave then we'd do it. Unfortunately or fortunately, I can't decide, the fastpass return time started at 2:30 and we needed to leave the park by 2. The standby wait was over an hour. We still had some time before our next Fastpass+ ride so Autumn caught a break room while I got a ice pop. Then we rode the only rollercoaster I actually like, Big Thunder Mountain. Soon after we left the park and took the ferry to the TTC where we took a bus to DHS. We got there just in time to catch on of thier many parades.

Of the time we spent in DHS, it just seemed like there was a parade or street show going on every half an hour. As the parade ended we slipped up a side street and checked in for our Fantasmic Dining Package at Hollywood and Vine. The food was ok. The buffet was small, the choices weren't that great. Not to mention this buffet was our most expensive meal of the trip. It was ridiculous. If I had paid for it, I would have been upset. I wasn't impressed and will not be back.

At least the dessert was good. Too bad I didn't get a picture of that. After dinner Autumn took a quick smoke break then we got on the movie ride. I now understand what people mean when they say a guide who doesn't speak English can ruin the ride. With the first woman I spent most of the time trying to figure out what she was saying and the second woman had such a high pitched, very fake, very bad, jersey shore, female gangster accent I spent most of the time with her wishing she would shut up.

As we left the movie ride, we debated either Indiana Jones or Beauty and the Beast. Autumn thought she remembered seeing Indiana Jones and I thought BatB is a better show, so BatB won. I took a quick right leaving BatB and got in line for the tower before I lost my nerve. The ToT and I have a love-hate relationship. I have a slight panick attack everytime I get on it, but I come off laughing everytime. It is terrorifying, but a lot of fun.

I wish I had gotten a better picture, but we are the two at the top in the middle. After ToT Autumn needed a smoke break so she pulled out the map and tried to find a place. I wasn't really paying attention until she said she couldn't find where we were on the map. So I looked at it and told her in disbelief that she was looking at the MK map. Several people close by laughed as well as we did for quite a while about it.

After a smoke break we found our way to Star Wars using the right map this time. It was my first time riding it after the refurb. I love it, but I thought it was similar to the old ride, only this time it was in 3D. I could be wrong.

It took us forever to get this picture as liitle kids kept running up and jumping on it and we just didn't have the hearts to tell people that there was a line. So we just waited patiently until it was clear and got a shot real quick. By that time it was time to head over to Fantasmic. It was a good show, we had great seats, but those benches were so uncomfortable. Our butts were hurting something aweful by the end of the show.

The walk out of fantasmic was long, slow and crowded. I found out something new about Autumn while trying to get out... she doesn't like crowds. I had no idea, but unfortunately for her, it would only get worse throughout the week. We tried to take our time walking out of the park, stopping to shop and hoping that by the time we left the crowds and bus lines would be down. It seemed everyone else had the same idea.

When we got back to the hotel we were both a little hungry, so we used two quick service meals to get a pizza and desserts. I got the beignets, Autumn got a Mickey shaped rice krispy treat.

Everything was really good.

 

[YoungNY]

Sorry to hear things didn't work out, but ya had had a real nice vacation it looks like. Great pictures so far.

Thanks we did have a great vacation.

Hey, we were neighbors! I was at POFQ from the 21-23, staying just a few doors down from you! We were in room 4305. I have a picture from outside of our room that looks a whole lot like yours. Can't wait to hear all about your trip...I'm so glad you ended up going, despite the circumstances!

We were neighbors. We were in 4312. We decorated our window with cheap halloween decorations.

Ugh... a very bitter sweet trip for sure but I can't wait to hear more!

With each passing day it got more sweet than bitter.

They look ok! I am following your TR and glad you were able to make the best of a bad situation! What a better way to get over the blues than Disney with a girlfriend! Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

Yeah, it's weid. Sometimes they are messed up and sometimes they are not.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I'd like to say something profound about the breakup, but everything keeps sounding so cliche or has already been said. The reality, as hard as these things can be, at some point you turn around and realize it's for the best (ok- still sounding cliche). And from what I've seen so far, it looks like you had a great trip!

Having gone to college in upstate NY and later lived in FL...yeah- the south's version of "cooler temps" and "fall" is not quite what others think of cool or fall. Still- you were at Disney. That pizza you had at Via Napoli looked AWESOME!!! Can't wait to read more.

 

[YoungNY]

Break ups are horrible, but what a place to go and cheer yourself up! Life is far too short.. and its not meant to be! You will meet someone who truly deserves you I'm sure!

Enjoying your report very much so far! xx keep smiling xx

It was just too hardn to be upset about it for long at Disney.

You picked the best place ever to try and heal! Sounds like a fun trip so far, can't wait to read the rest!

Couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

Great TR so far! Nothing like WDW with a good friend.

Yes, I'm so glad Autumn was able to come with me.

I'm in for the ride. looking forward to hearing the rest.

Great. I'm glad people are reading.

Looks like you're having a blast! Good for you!

We did have a blast.

Loving your pics! Hope you are having the BEST time!

We did have a great time.

I'd like to say something profound about the breakup, but everything keeps sounding so cliche or has already been said. The reality, as hard as these things can be, at some point you turn around and realize it's for the best (ok- still sounding cliche). And from what I've seen so far, it looks like you had a great trip!

Having gone to college in upstate NY and later lived in FL...yeah- the south's version of "cooler temps" and "fall" is not quite what others think of cool or fall. Still- you were at Disney. That pizza you had at Via Napoli looked AWESOME!!! Can't wait to read more.

It really is for the best, you're right. It was really hot most of the time, but I can see how Floridians could consider high 80's fall weather. The pizza at Via Napoli was great and I tried it with the cantalope and it wasn't that bad. I still perfer pizza without fruit though.

 

[YoungNY]

September 23, 2012
We got a late start this morning. Well, late for me anyway. I don't think we left our room until about 9:30. We stopped at the food court to refill our mugs and shared a Mickey waffle.

We took the boat to DTD, it was a nice leisure ride on a Sunday morning. We got to see the tree house villas up close. I'd love to stay there one time.

Our first stop was the create a t-shirt place, I wanted to wear Disney t-shirts the whole trip, but I didn't have enough. So I figured I'll just buy a couple, but I couldn't find any I loved enough to spend that kind of money on. I had my heart set on a Ursula shirt and the one I found at DHS was $40. I just couldn't do it. So I made one. I used the solgan "Life's full of tough choices innit?" You wouldn't believe how long it took us to spell "innit". We had the help of a lovely, very spunky, perky and excited young woman named Raquelle. She made sure I had the right spelling on the shirt and talked to us about her favorite characters while we waited for her boss to look it up. She was one of those people you could tell really loves Disney. So, next time you visit the create a shirt shop, ask for Raquelle, I'm sure she would get a thrill out of it.

We did some more shopping and stopped for a snack at Ghirardelli. The smell of chocolate was just too overpowering. Autumn got a huge peanut butter and chocolate sundae...

I got a plan sugar cone with 1 scoop of butter pecan.

We did some more shopping. At the world of Disney, one very happy cast member stopped us to serenade us with a round of Happy Birthday. We headed back to pick up my t-shirt and then to the bus stop. We needed to get to Epcot, but there were no buses to the parks. So we decided to just get on the next bus that showed up and transfer at that hotel. Well, as luck would have it the next bus that showed up was going to the contemporary and polynesian hotels. I was excited cause both were monorail hotels and we had yet to take a monorail. We were the only ones to get on at DTD, the bus stopped at Pleasure Island and Typhoon Lagoon and we were still the only ones, we had the whole bus to ourselves. We got off at the Contemporary. It was my first time there. It seemed like a nice hotel. We took the monorail to the TTC where we transferred to the Epcot. After that trip I understand why some people prefer to drive. It took us an hour to get from DTD to Epcot, but we finally arrived.

We went straight to soarin to get fatpasses, then rode livin with the land. Next we did Nemo and Turtle talk with Crush. Crush apparently found a bikini top belonging to a woman named Autumn. We thought that was hilarious. I kept reminding Autumn to pick up her bikini top before we left, Crush was stilling holding it for her. Autumn saw the character spot and waited to jump on line, the wait time was posted as 25 minutes, but upon looking at the line inside, we decided not to do it. It was hot so I suggested we stop by Club Cool. I told Autumn they had free soda and she was in. Of course, I couldn't wait to tell her to try to the Beverly.

I missed the shot I was going for, but I can assure you Autumn did not like the Beverly. While I was waiting for her to taste test them all (I cannot drink soda anymore), these two little boys came up wanting some soda. I'm not sure where their parents were but the first little boy was around 3, he grabbed a cup, but couldn't reach the button for the soda. His older brother was probably about 6, the little brother put his cup under the beverly and the older brother was getting ready to pour it for him. Both Autumn and I shook our heads and told him, he doesn't want that one. The older brother smiled at us and said, "Yeah, but he doesn't know what it is." We laughed and watched the little brother drink the beverly. Needless to say, the little brother didn't trust his older brother when he tried to give him a second cup.

Mission Space was up next. I told Autumn the differences between orange and green and that I refuse to ride orange, but Autumn was game. So when we got to the queue line we took differnt cards and went in opposite directions. My green side was low key and fun, while Autumn's orange side had her eyes tearing. She thought it was intense, but she loved it. Then it was Ellen's Engery ride, which I don't remember it being that long and I think Ive had my fill of that ride for a while. I do however like how they make learning fun. We were just about done with Future World, we just had Spaceship Earth to do. Autumn got a kick out the holes in our faces on the screen. Autumn wanted to play a little when we got off, which is something I had never done before. I honestly didn't even remember there were things to do there, I was always in such a rush to get the next thing. It was nice to take our time and play.

 

[Briangwen7]

I haven't got to ride the green side of Mission Space what is the difference? ​

 

[ExtinctJenn]

I haven't got to ride the green side of Mission Space what is the difference?

It's much less intense... no "spinning" just tipping, so you don't get that G-Force effect.