Trip Report What do Harrison Ford and I have in common? We both played solo - a mini trip report

Sooooo...How's everyone

If you followed along with our August trip report (http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...d-other-musings-an-august-trip-report.917713/), at the end I mentioned that I was going to be in Orlando near the end of October for the AFP Conference and that I would probably be hitting up Disney a bit while I was there.

Well......I did.

Ready???

OK...

Some pre-trip stuff

Who is going: Just me (Graham). I had a feeling this was going to feel weird being at Disney alone.

No, I don't wear glasses. I raided the lost and found at the kid's karate dojo. Steph (my daughter) said I Iooked like a hipster and told me to post it on Instagram. I guess it's like being Clark Kent vs my in-park Superman identity.

When: October 22-26th

Where: I was staying offsite at the Rosen Plaza Hotel (the AFP conference was at the Orange County Convention Centre, and I wanted to stay within walking distance of the place).

Well, that's it for now. I'll start posting shortly.

 

[gwhb75]

Good stuff! I just got back from a solo trip myself! Well, on the 10th anyways... It was great, however really crowded. It was weird at first but the freedom is great and there is always people to talk to or willing to engage in some convo.

I agree the freedom to do whatever you want is really nice. However, I really did miss having my family with me.

 

[gwhb75]

Lucky dog!

I know.

 

[gwhb75]

I've done solo trips too and enjoy them but miss my girls. Same thing, business trip and as long as I'm there why not?!

Exactly how I feel.

 

[gwhb75]

Following along. I've thought about taking a solo trip to WDW since my husband doesn't love it as much as I do but he's not ready for me to go by myself. Personally, I think it's because he secretly likes WDW more than he lets on

I'm sure He's a closet Disney fan.

 

[Billy6]

I agree the freedom to do whatever you want is really nice. However, I really did miss having my family with me.

Same here! Every time I spoke with the wife and son on FaceTime, I said its not the same unless they are there.

 

[gwhb75]

Sunday October 23 – AK and the start of the conference

Good morning Orlando. It still feels weird being here alone. I woke around 7ish. The first order of business was to call Tammy on messenger and say good morning. After checking it at home, I had some more checking in to do….I had to register for the AFP conference. I got ready and then walked over to the AFP conference (which it turns out was at the other end of the convention centre so I had about a 15 minute walk once I actually got into the convention centre (that place is huge)).

Check in went smoothly and I was back at my car just after 8.

oooooh. Fancy bag

The next order of business was breakfast. I noticed a Denny’s on the way to the hotel yesterday, and decided I’d stop there.

It was good (it was here that I figured out the whole Google Maps issue I had mentioned earlier).

With breakfast out of the way, I jumped back in the car and made my way over to AK. The drive was much quicker this time, and for the first time in 8 years I finally got an unobstructed shot of this.

Next was this sign.

I showed my AP to the person at the gate and was waved through. I parked the car in the Dinosaur section,

hopped on the tram,

and was at the front gate in no time.

more to come

 

[gwhb75]

Oct 23 continued

The first thing I did when I got in the park was get another one of my “all alone” pictures done. It is kind of neat being alone because it lets you do things you don’t normally do in a group. For example, I went to get my picture taken, and the CM took me over to where the AK plaque was and told me to sit beside it and then she took a few pictures. It wasn’t anything earth shattering, but it was fun.

After the picture I made my way through the Oasis and ended up in front of the tree of life.

A few more pictures in my “all alone” series were taken and sent home.

With those pictures out of the way, I made my way over to Asia. If you’ve read my past trip reports, you know my kids love Everest. In honour of them, I decided I’d ride 3 times (one for each of us).

I had a FP for the first one (not that I really needed it - the line was pretty short). Since I was riding alone I had someone from the single rider line with me. She was a youngish woman (I’d guess late teens early 20s – I just realized how old I must be when I say that early 20s is youngish). So we ride through the Himalayas. When it gets to picture time I of course broke out a dab for the kids.

We get to the end of the ride (before the unload dock) and the girl looks at me and says “did you dab in the picture?” I tell her yes. She says “that is so cool”. I then explained that I do it on all the rides so I can send the pictures back to my kids who couldn’t come with me on this trip. “You’re the Dad of the year” she tells me “So cool”. I think I’m way too old to be dabbing.
One Everest trip down, two to go. The next one was “chilly” Everest (I already dabbed, no need to overdo it)

followed by a “sleepy” Everest.

I did it. 3 times and I don’t even feel nauseous (again, I’m getting old).

more to come

 

[gwhb75]

Oct 23 continued

Well that was fun. Next up I decided I’d walk the Maharaj Jungle Trek.

It was a nice walk. I didn’t see any tigers, but I did see the giant fruit bats

this huge spideweb

and this lizard.

It was an enjoyable stroll, although I miss not having Tammy with me for things like this.

After my walk I decided to hop on the Wildlife Express and wander around the Conservation Station.

There wasn’t a whole lot going on over there (I had just missed the surgery), so I didn’t hang around too long.

I did take a picture of a slow loris from the mural for the kids. They saw the "don't tickle a slow loris" video on You Tube and have liked them ever since.

I was keeping my eye on the clock as I wanted to get back to the hotel in a good time to get ready for the AFP conference (I had an Executive welcome reception at 3, and the keynote address started at 4). It was now around 1:30, so I decided to call it a day.

I headed back to the car (but not before a quick Avatar from the parking lot picture)

, and headed back to the hotel. I wasn't sure if I'd be back to AK or not (this was around the time of rumours of a RoL Soft opening on the 24th so I thought of possibly coming back (spoiler: I didn't).

more to come

 

[gwhb75]

Oct 23rd continued

I won’t bore you with the AFP conference details (the keynote was actually pretty interesting. It was a panel of 3 people, one of whom was a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff).

It was a good first day.
After the speaking ended the exhibit floor opened. Again, a lot of financial things so not overly interesting to most. However, there were two kind of cool things:
1) This

2) An Oxygen bar

– I hooked myself up and breathed in some fresh peppermint air.

I was looking at the other options and saw this.

I took a picture and sent it to Tammy with a “wish you were here”. LOL


Now my original plan was to either go to the AFP reception at CityWalk, or go to Disney Springs. However, I really wasn’t feeling either of those things tonight. Instead I just went back to my room and called it a night.
Tomorrow is a full day at the Conference, with the plan to either hit EPCOT or Disney Springs (or both) in the evening.

End of Day 2

 

[MegRuss626]

Oct 23 continued

Well that was fun. Next up I decided I’d walk the Maharaj Jungle Trek.
View attachment 177647
It was a nice walk. I didn’t see any tigers, but I did see the giant fruit bats
View attachment 177649
this huge spideweb
View attachment 177650
and this lizard.
View attachment 177648
It was an enjoyable stroll, although I miss not having Tammy with me for things like this.

After my walk I decided to hop on the Wildlife Express and wander around the Conservation Station.
View attachment 177651

View attachment 177652
There wasn’t a whole lot going on over there (I had just missed the surgery), so I didn’t hang around too long.

I did take a picture of a slow loris from the mural for the kids. They saw the "don't tickle a slow loris" video on You Tube and have liked them ever since.
View attachment 177654

I was keeping my eye on the clock as I wanted to get back to the hotel in a good time to get ready for the AFP conference (I had an Executive welcome reception at 3, and the keynote address started at 4). It was now around 1:30, so I decided to call it a day.
View attachment 177655
I headed back to the car (but not before a quick Avatar from the parking lot picture)
View attachment 177653
, and headed back to the hotel. I wasn't sure if I'd be back to AK or not (this was around the time of rumours of a RoL Soft opening on the 24th so I thought of possibly coming back (spoiler: I didn't).

more to come

So that post had me curious and I had to look up the video....I also join your children in thinking they're cute now! haha

 

[gwhb75]

So that post had me curious and I had to look up the video....I also join your children in thinking they're cute now! haha

Glad I could be of assistance.

 

[Princess Leia]

Your TR is reminding me of the time my dad had an extra day in Disney without the family (my sister's dance troupe performed in Tomorrowland, his work schedule made him a day late for the trip, and his flight home was in the evening, while ours was in the morning). He said that he really enjoyed the single rider lines, but missed having the rest of us around.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Solo trips can be a lot of fun, looks like you made the most of your convention trip.

 

[gwhb75]

Your TR is reminding me of the time my dad had an extra day in Disney without the family (my sister's dance troupe performed in Tomorrowland, his work schedule made him a day late for the trip, and his flight home was in the evening, while ours was in the morning). He said that he really enjoyed the single rider lines, but missed having the rest of us around.

Exactly. There were pros and cons for sure. The freedom to do what you want is great, but I'd gladly give that up to have my family with me anytime. It was definitely an interesting thing to experience though.

 

[gwhb75]

Solo trips can be a lot of fun, looks like you made the most of your convention trip.

It was enjoyable to some extent, but I really did miss having my family with me. However, given that they couldn't come I did try and make the best of it.

 

[MinnieM123]

Exactly. There were pros and cons for sure. The freedom to do what you want is great, but I'd gladly give that up to have my family with me anytime. It was definitely an interesting thing to experience though.

I think for people that are always used to traveling with their family, a solo trip might not be as exciting. In my case, I've traveled solo many times, and I always have fun. Some people like both options, but I think most guests probably prefer one over the other.

 

[Courtney6682]

Awww, the people mover picture with the empty seat was so sad! Are you guys all booked for this summer?

How is Steph's recovery going?

 

[ScarletBegonias]

The picture of the empty seat of TTA made me

How sad!!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Enjoying your report! I am always looking for conferences in that area... I am going down to Tampa for work in April, and I may just squeeze in a quick trip up to Orlando. Might be able to get my husband to join me, but I don't mind doing a couple of days alone either. I'll take what I can get! haha

 

[gwhb75]

Awww, the people mover picture with the empty seat was so sad! Are you guys all booked for this summer?

How is Steph's recovery going?

I really did miss having the family with me.

Yes we are tentaively booked for the end of August again. We'll firm up the plans in the next few months.

Thanks for asking about Steph. She is doing well. She is still in a walking cast, but is off the crutches now. We have a Dr's appointment this week where we're expecing that she'll be out of the cast and back to normal. She can't wait to get back to karate (and back to wearing two normal shoes again).

Thanks for following along.