The strolling, sipping, snacking and snapping somewhat solo trip report!

Hey all! I returned this past Monday from my solo visit to the World. My DH was a peach and didn't mind me leaving him behind with the dogs and the freezing temperatures. He happened to have last week off, so I'm sure his time was spent wisely doing his manly man things, whatever they may be.

The basics of the trip:
When: January 24 - 28, 2013
Where: Pop Century
Who: Mostly just me, Jessica, with some appearances from my dear friend Shalon (wvugeograd) who lives local to WDW. She was a former client of mine before relocating to Florida and we have become such great friends.
Why: Not that there really needs to be a reason to visit WDW, but I was there mainly to increase my picture library. Not that I don't have a lot of pictures, but I needed more. Between the Kingdom Konsultant Blog and our Facebook page, we use a lot of pictures, and sometimes I can never find what I'm looking for. So perfect excuse to visit WDW, right? I thought so!

This trip report will be more photos than words because frankly, I did more snapping than anything. I really only did a few attractions at each park, but it was still a wonderful visit with perfect weather. I couldn't have been happier with the weather. Seriously - mid 70's and sunny every day, and not a drop of rain, how do you beat that?!

I'll really start off the trip report when I get home this evening, but I figured I'd get a head start. Stay tuned...
 
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Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Zman-ks said:
Great pictures!! :)
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Thank you! :)
 
ginadee

ginadee

Well-Known Member
I am so inspired now. Great for you. I have my room booked for november regardless if anyone goes with me or not. Im pretty sure it will be my boyfriend but if not, like you, i have a couple of friends who may can meet me a couple days. Also I have so many pics of Disney that this time I decided to take pics like yours. The up close kind and unique. Thanks so much for sharing.
 
Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
epcotisbest said:
Simply stunning photos. You have a great eye for detail. These truly exemplify the difference in a snap shot and a photograph.
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Thank you very much! I'm still fairly new to the DSLR world and still learning, but that means a lot!


ginadee said:
I am so inspired now. Great for you. I have my room booked for november regardless if anyone goes with me or not. Im pretty sure it will be my boyfriend but if not, like you, i have a couple of friends who may can meet me a couple days. Also I have so many pics of Disney that this time I decided to take pics like yours. The up close kind and unique. Thanks so much for sharing.
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One thing I love about going solo is that I had all the time in the world to look for the details. I actually did very few attractions while I was there because I was there to take the photos rather than to ride the rides. Solo trips are awesome.

PartOfYourWorld said:
Love your pictures Jess and the trip report :) You really take beautiful pictures!!!!

Oh ya and people with the name Jess are awesome ;)
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Thank you Jess! Glad you enjoyed them. I am going to try and finish the report between today and tomorrow :) And yes, we are awesome :)
 
Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wow I've been a slacker on this report! It's been almost a month since I returned from my visit and I haven't finished yet! But, today, it will be done :) So continuing where I left off, Shalon and I made our way from Morocco through Japan and into America. We watched Voices of Liberty and The American Adventure.

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We had decided earlier in the day that we would be stopping at Tutto Gusto for a glass of wine, which is what we did.


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We ended up each ordering the Dessert Flight which came with three desserts and a glass of wine. The main reason we ordered the dessert flight was not the wine, it was the Chocolate Nutella Cake. Oh. My. Word. Delicious! I also had a tiramisu dessert and a pistachio dessert (those are the three that usually come with the dessert flight). All three were delicious. Our server gave Shalon, along with her Chocolate Nutella Cake, a chocolate raspberry dessert and another dessert which I forgot. He figured we could share all of them and try them all. While they were all great, we should have only gotten one flight, not two. Way too much sweetness! And the wine. Well, that's another story. I can't remember what kind of wine it was, but it was hard to swallow. It had honey in it, but reminded me of cough syrup. Shalon was stronger than I and finished her glass. I didn't make it past 5 or 6 sips and I ordered a glass of Rosa Regale instead. My favorite! I will definitely visit Tutto Gusto again, but next time I'll go with some different selections. I didn't take my camera out after we ordered. It was too tight and I didn't want it dropped or bumped into. I do have some dessert flight photos from my phone:

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The oh-so-delicious Chocolate Nutella Cake:

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Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The next stop was Germany:

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We looked at the time and decided we'd head over to Test Track to use our FPs.

I've got the golden ticket!

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Test Track was fun. I enjoyed it!

After TT, it was about 6:30. Shalon asked what I felt like doing, I asked if she wanted to go see Bob Jackson at POR and she said she was up for it. If you haven't seen Bob Jackson, you have to. Great show for the entire family! I didn't take any photos, just enjoyed the evening! After a great show I headed back to Pop. I wasn't quite ready for bed yet, so I dropped my camera off in my room and headed to Art of Animation to check out the Lion King and Little Mermaid sections. It was a nice stroll on a beautiful Florida evening.
 
Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sunday - January 27

It was my last park day :( I was sad. I was headed to DHS for the morning then going to close out the evening at MK.

I got to the park shortly after opening. I didn't do any attractions aside from One Man's Dream. I was just there to take some pictures, so I apologize for the lack of excitement! Shalon texted me and said she would meet me for lunch at Backlot Express. I wandered through some stores, took some pictures and watched one of the Jedi Training Academy sessions.

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Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Shalon texted me that she was on her way, so I waited for her at Backlot Express. This little guy was hanging out with me:

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Shalon showed up and we each ordered the buffalo chicken nuggets. They were pretty good! After lunch we strolled and I snapped.



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Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We walked down Streets of America and the backside of DHS. Toy Story Mania had a long line, which I anticipated. I always make it a point to visit One Man's Dream, so that was the next stop.

Always have to get a picture of this sign.

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One Man's Dream

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I had gotten all of the pictures I needed to get so my time with DHS was done. We decided to head to Beach Club for some Oreo Bon Bons and hopped on a boat. I grabbed a pack of Oreo Bon Bons and Shalon got a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting topped with Reese's cups and Reese's Pieces. She said the cupcake was delicious. I had two Bon Bons, Shalon had one and the rest sadly went in the trash. I wish they sold them in 3 packs instead of 6! They're so good, but so sweet! I guess if you're staying right at the resort you can just stick them in the fridge and save them for later. I wasn't going to be back to my resort until much later, so they would've been a mess.

Oreo Bon Bons:

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As I was getting ready to take a picture of Shalon's cupcake, we got photobombed by a Cast Member.

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After our snack, we hopped the boat back to DHS to get our cars. Shalon was heading out with some friends later in the evening and I was going to MK for EMH that evening so we said our see ya real soons and headed out.
 
Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
Gorgeous, gorgeous photos!!

Totally random observations:
I especially like the ones from your safari. That's one annoyed joey, how great to capture that expression.

Love the photo of the sparrow.

The knitted Mickeys look really cute!

That Reese's cupcake looks amazing.
 
Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tiggerish said:
Gorgeous, gorgeous photos!!

Totally random observations:
I especially like the ones from your safari. That's one annoyed joey, how great to capture that expression.

Love the photo of the sparrow.

The knitted Mickeys look really cute!

That Reese's cupcake looks amazing.
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Thank you, Tiggerish! I loved the kangaroo. He was settling in for his nap when I walked up, so he wasn't very pleased. But he fell asleep shortly after. I love kangaroos so I sat and watched them for a while!
 
Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After leaving DHS I drove over to MK for my final evening of the trip. We always close out our Disney trips with MK, so I had to stick with tradition. Plus there were evening EMH that night.

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I heard MISICI rolling out and made my way down to the hub. I love, love, love the street party! When I got down to the hub I noticed Walt had a new friend...

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I watched the entire MISICI performance. I love the music, the characters and just seeing so many people having fun.

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Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Once the street party was over I toward Liberty Square. I saw a grandmother, mother and toddler son trying to do a self portrait of them with the iPhone and get the castle in the background. I offered to take their picture for them and we started chatting. It turns out they would be on the same flight as me the next evening! Small world! I stopped and snapped some pictures of the castle.

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I then decided it was time for a Dole Whip! I got my Dole Whip and sat on a bench by the tree house and called my husband. After our chat, I finished my delicious treat and visited The Enchanted Tiki Room. I love this attraction and DH never wants to do it, so I took advantage of being solo and went through.

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After ETR, I headed over to HM.

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Wishes would be starting soon, so I headed up toward New Fantasyland, which is where I wanted to watch from.

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Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I stood between the new castle walls and watched Wishes. Such a different perspective, I loved it. After wishes I walked behind Cinderella Castle and took the path that leads out to Liberty Square. I wanted to watch Celebrate the Magic again, so I walked out toward Main Street and watched. Such a great show!

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After Celebrate the Magic I made my way out toward the exit. It's kind of like pulling off a bandage - do it quick and get it over with haha. It's always painful to leave MK, so I wanted to just get it over with lol. Plus I would be back in just over 3 months, so that helps ease the pain, too :) I took a monorail back to T&TC and went back to Pop.
 
Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
I love MISICI too! I find it very uplifting. I'd love to have the song, but I don't know where to find it.

I laughed at your remark that your hubby never wants to do ETR--things like that make solo trips worth it, eh? :)

Your photos are simply stunning. Is that the moon over Fantasyland? (stupid question, I know) Wow, it was really bright that night!
 
Ellie444

Ellie444

New Member
Wow I loved your trip report. Your pictures are gorgeous!!! It makes me want to take a solo trip. How nice it would be to do what it wanted when I wanted!! Thank you for sharing your memories
 

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