The Best Solo Trip I've Ever Had!

Disney Trip Report

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - Arrival

Today I arrived at Walt Disney World, checking into the Pop Century Resort. The moment I walked into the Classic Hall (front desk area, shop and restaurant), I was overwelmed by the amount of people milling about. I headed straight for the check-in area, and was greeted warmly by a Castmember from another country I can't remember right now. Thanks to my travel agents request, I got a room in the '80's building on the third floor overlooking the pool. The theming at Pop Century is awesome, see the pictures. It has been raining off and on all day, sometimes pretty heavy. After checking out the resort a little, I took a shower and decided to head towards Downtown Disney to eat dinner at Planet Hollywood because I had a fifteen dollar coupon to use. It was packed and very loud. I had to wait about 30 minutes for a table, I bounced between the gift shop and the bar, where I had a Bud Light Lime. I was then seated right in front of the stage area where I assume famous people have probably addressed the crowd at some point. I order the LA Lasagna and a Sprite to drink. The LA Lasagna was good, it was like a stuffed lasagna nood deep fried and covered in marinara sauce. Even with my coupon, I stilled ended up dropping about 10 bucks including tip on the meal. I don't think I was pay full price to eat there. After dinner I checked out a little bit of Downtown Disney West Side, hitting the Virgin Megastore and a few other shops, not seeing anything of real interest. I decided to head back to Pop Century to get some rest, I plan on taking advantage of the Magic Kingdom's Evening Extra Magic Hours that last until 3 am tomorrow (and I guess the next day technically speaking).

Sunday, August 31, 2008 – Animal Kingdom

I arrived at the Animal Kingdom at about 8 am, and the park opened at 9, so I was at the front of the line. There was a little ceremony starring Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, and Mickey to open the park, it was cool! Goofy, Minnie, and Pluto were on a truck, and Mickey was at the Tree of Life. After the rope drop I headed directly to Kilamanjaro Safari and walked right on. I saw pretty much all of the animals, and got good pictures too. The highlight was the lion and a giraffe that was blocking the road. After the safari I explored the Pangani Exploration Trail, and saw some gorillas. As I was exiting, I was awarded a Dream Fast Pass! It was good for six different attractions, but I only used it on Dinosaur, it will make a great keepsake. After the Dream Pass, I headed to Expedition Everest. I pretty much walked on in the single rider line. It was a blast. I was getting pretty hungry by then, so I ate at the Yak and Yeti quickservice spot, and it was awesome! I had the Shrimp Lo Mein, Chicken Fried Rice, and a Diet Coke. I also got a big cookie which I saved for later. I didn't really know that Lo Mein came with noodles, or I would not have ordered the rice, but the rice was the best part! Thank goodness for the Dining Plan, because this meal would have put me back over 20 bucks. Since it was a little early for lunch, I had a nice quiet spot around behind the restaurant by a fountain to eat at. This was probably the most peaceful, relaxing meal I had on this trip. After lunch I was heading to DinoLand and saw that I could walk in Finding Nemo: The Musical, and it was good, I had great seats, kind of to the left of the stage. On to DinoLand. I snagged a Fast Pass for Primeval Whirl, and did a little shopping, finding a cool Goofy Hot Wheels car for Isaac. I then rode Primeval Whirl, it was fun, but not too thrilling. Next I used my Dream Fast Pass to ride Dinosaur, it was a very bumpy ride in the dark, with lots of loud noises and surprises. By this time it was almost time to head back to the resort, so I rode Everest once more and filmed it. As I exited the park, I browsed quite a few shops, and saw a lot of cool stuff, but I'll wait until I've seen it all to make a purchase. So I head back to Pop Century, and its now about 3:15 pm. Next stop, Magic Kingdom.

Part 2 – Magic Kingdom

I headed to Magic Kingdom around 4 pm. I parked at the Ticket and Transportation Center in the Pluto lot, row 14. I then took the tram, and then took the Ferry to the park. The Ferry ride was very pleasant, but the day was still pretty hot. On the ferry I could see the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian resorts. I arrived at the Magic Kingdom a little early for my 5:00 reservation at Tony's Town Square Restaurant, and was seated within 5 minutes. My waiter gave me probably the best service I've ever had. The meal started with bread and olive oil, which was very tasty. For my meal I had the Chicken Parmagiana. It only took about 2 minutes after I ordered for it to arrive. The meal was excellent, and I followed it up with a chocolate cheesecake that was great. I checked in a the restaurant at about 4:50, and was out of there by 5:10, fastest sit down meal ever! After Tony's I headed for Tomorrowland and snagged a FastPass for Space Mountain for 7:50. I took a spin on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, a conveyer type ride that goes all around Tomorrowland, going thru Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. It is a slow ride, but very cool. I would ride the TTA many more times after this, as it is a great way to take a break. After this I saw the Carosel of Progress, a Walt Disney original from the Worlds Fair. It had 5 stages of the same Audio-Anamatronic family in different time periods showing the advances in technology. It's a little dated, but cool none the less, the seats move in a circle to each stage. I then took some pictures and browsed a few shops, then headed for Space Mountain. It was about a 10 minute wait with my FastPass, and it was worth it, a very fast ride in the dark. It was getting to be about 8:15, so I headed for Main Street to grab a spot for The Spectromagic Parade. Already at this time the street was packed. I decided to get an ice cream cookie and Diet Coke to snack on from the Main Street Bakery, it was gigantic and very good (and very messy in the heat). I settled down in from of the Candy Store to watch the parade, it was very fun and bright, with floats covered in lights featuring Disney Characters. After the parade I headed for the castle to watch the Wishes fireworks display. I sat off to the right in front of the castle by the Walt and Mickey Partners statue. The show was fantastic, with more fireworks than the Forth of July, and Tinkerbell flew from the top of the Castle. As soon as the show was over, I immediately took off for Adventureland, and walked right on the Jungle Cruise, which was very cool at night (about 10:00). Our driver had some really great jokes. Next was Pirates of the Carribean, with was a lot bigger and longer than I remembered, and featured Captain Jack 3 different times. There was one point where I even thought I was outside, the ceiling of the attraction looked like the night sky. By this time it was getting close to midnight, so I found a station to get a bracelet for Extra Magic Hours. I did a lot of roaming during this time, the second Spectromagic was going on and cutting off a few routes, mainly the one I wanted to take to Big Thunder Moutain. I then walked back to Tomorrowland thru Mickey's Toon Town Fair to check the wait time for Space Moutain, but it was lined out the door, so I hit the TTA again. The second ride was more about resting my feet. After this I headed back toward Frontierland, going thru Fantasyland, so I hit It's A Small World because there was no line. Man, what a crazy ride. It's cool because it's a Walt original, but it gets annoying after a while. Finally, I made my way to Big Thunder Mountain and waited about 20 minutes to ride, and it was very exciting in the dark By this time it was about 1:30 am, and I felt a little punchy, so I decided to call it a night and head for the Ferry. The ride back to the TTC was pleasant, the night was still muggy, but the breeze cooled things down a lot. Back to Pluto 14, and a mostly empty lot. I made my way back to Pop, but took a wrong turn, so I detoured a little, but made it back about 2:00 am. Right to bed, not to wake until about 9:30 in the morning.

Monday, September 1, 2008 – Typhoon Lagoon

Typhoon Lagoon was somewhat of a letdown. It was good, but I am just on a waterpark guy I guess. The wavepool was huge, and went out to almost 7 feet deep. You have to cross a sand beach to get to it, which gets all over your feet. Instead of continuous waves, the pool just puts out one monster wave every few minutes. The first wave knocked me down and into a very large man. After a retreat to remove my shoes and glasses, I did a few more waves, and then went in search of the Crusher N Gusher. This was the slide that shoots you up hill, and it was fun, but not better than any other waterslide I've every been on. After this I had seen enough, so I got my gear out of my locker and turned in my key to get a Typhoon Lagoon travel coffee mug with a bag of coffee inside instead of my 5 dollar deposit. The best part of Typhoon Lagoon was the coffee mug. There were quite a few men wearing speedos that just shouldn't have been wearing speedos, it was a shame. Typhoon Lagoon as a whole is kind of confusing, while it is well themed, it is hard to find where anything is. It also needs more food options. Back to Pop.

Part 2 – Pop Lunch

I headed down to Everything Pop Restaurant for a bite to eat after hitting the showers, and had a bacon double cheeseburger, fries, a brownie, and a Diet Coke. The brownie ****ed, but the burger and fries were good, but no veggie fixin's. This was probably the best burger I had all week, it was definitely different than the burgers in the parks. I browsed the gift shop after lunch and got Colin a Pirate Mickey plate. I'm on the lookout for a nice big coffee mug and stainless steel travel mug, Pop has a big mug I've got my eye on, but I want to check the Studios and Epcot before making a purchase. So far I've been pretty light on souvineers, just finding a few things for Colin and Isaac. Next Stop Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Part 3 – Disney's Hollywood Studios

Since I was pretty much tired of driving everywhere, and thought that maybe I would have a drink at the Studios, I decided to take the Disney bus to the Hollywood Studios (I never got that drink). I waited about 15 minutes for the bus at Classic Hall, then sat all the way in the back with a foreign family. After arriving at the Studios, I went directly to Rock n' Roller Coaster, and discovered it was down because of technical difficulties. After this I walked into the Beauty and the Beast stage show, and it was pretty good, just a 20 minute version of the movie. After B&B, I went to the Animation Courtyard and entered the Magic of Disney Animation. The first part was a show featuring an artist interacting with MuShue from Mulan. It was a good show, with a really well decorated stage, kind of like an artists home office. After the show, I got my picture taken with Sorceror Mickey, what a treat. Next I entered the Animation Academy, probably the coolest experience thus far in the trip. (Other than the TTA, this would be one of my favorite attractions). The same artist from the show showed us how to draw Goofy, and my drawing turned out great! I hope to hang it in Colin's room. After this I kind of roamed the Streets of America, and then headed for dinner at the ABC Commisary. I had a Cuban Sandwich, Plantain Chips, Sprite, and a Strawberry Parfait. Pretty good, I used a table service credit for this meal, and in return got a coupon good for two snacks, a pretty good trade off. After dinner I took in Sounds Dangerous starring Drew Carey. 90 percent of this show is in total darkness while you listen to sound effects via headphones. It was funny. By this time it was time to get a seat for Fantasmic, and I had no idea what I was in for. After waiting almost an hour, the show started, and it was AWESOME. It stared Mickey and most of the Disney Villians, and used water, fire, film, actors, fire, and fireworks. I won't really describe it, you just have to witness it. It totally blows any show I have ever seen up to this point out of the water. The show ended, and I checked in at Rock n' Roller again, and it was still closed. After this I just kind of roamed for a while, and got an Extra Magic Hours bracelet, but didn't use it, and caught the bus back to Pop. I wasted a lot of time this evening because I had not touring plan. I was the last person to load the bus, karma I guess.

Part 4 – Pop Petals Bar

I arrived back at Pop Century, and found the Petals Bar at the Hippy Dippy pool, where the Tennessee football game was on, so I pulled up to the bar and ordered a Hula Hoop. It had Malibu Rum, Pineapple Juice, Bannana Liquer, some other Liquer, Grenadine, and something else. Not bad, but not worth what I paid for it (11 bucks with tip!). I hung at the bar for a while, half watching the game and half observing other bar patrons. After this I headed back to the room and the Vols are losing 17-14. Epcot Tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008


Today I got up around 6:30 to make it to Epcot for Morning Extra Magic Hours. I stopped by Everything Pop and used my 2 snack voucher for a Cheese Danish and OJ, and it was the best cheese danish I have ever had. After this I drove the the Ticket and Transportation Center, and boarded the Monorail for Epcot. The Monorail ride was a lot rougher than I expected, but it still makes for a great ride. Today I decided to use a touring plan instead of just going at my own accord. I entered the park right at 8:00, and headed straight for the Land Pavillion to get a FastPass for Sourin', but saw that the wait was only 10 minutes, so I hopped in line. Soarin' was a very cool ride, I was in the first row, which I think when 4 stories up, but I couldn't tell, all I could see was the movies screen. After Soarin' I road Living with the land, a water ride that talks about plants and growing fruits and veggies, and even went thru a greenhouse where many exotic plants here growing. The tour said that all the food harvested from the plants is used in the Disney Restaurants. After the Land, I went to the Imagination Pavillion and saw Journey Into Imagination with Figment. It was a fun show ride starring Eric Idle and the cartoon dragon Figment. I then rode Spaceship Earth, a slow but interesting ride inside the Epcot Ball. After Spaceship Earth, I rode Test Track, walking directly on in the single rider line. It's funny how I drove 80 miles per hour to get to Walt Disney World, and a ride that only goes 65 mph is a thrill. By this time it was 11:00, so I headed for World Showcase, and was looking for a snack to hold me over until lunch at 2:40. I rode the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico, and fun water ride featuring Donald Duck, then walked the entire length of World Showcase (what felt like 2 miles) in search of food. Unfortuately everthing was still closed and I had to settle on McDonalds french fries, but they had some hot mustard sauce that was really tastey. After this I snagged a Diet Coke, and rode Test Track again, with no wait. I then saw Universe of Energy featuring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye, the more I see of Ellen, the higher up on the funny chart she gets. This ride was huge, going thru the history of energy, and had a large portion with Audio Anamatronic Dinosaurs. It then featured Circlevision movies featuring Bill teaching Ellen about Energy, so she could beat Jamie Lee Curtis and Albert Einstien at Jeopardy. Did I mention this was all supposed to be a dream sequence? Alex Trebek was even there. After Universe of Energy, I headed back to World Showcase to tour the countries until lunch, with Norway being the only country I could work in before heading to Canada to eat at Le Cellier. I rode the Maelstrom in Norway, a Viking ship water ride. Le Cellier was a very small restaurant, and had great service. I had the mushroom filet mignion with wild mushroom risotto and white truffle herb butter sauce, Canadian cheddar cheese soup, and chocolate on chocolate whiskey cake for desert. The steak was small, but really good, and the soup was just awesome. They also serve you 3 huge breadsticks, one multigrain, one white bread, and one pretzel. All in all, a good meal, but I have come to realize I am just no a steak guy, I would rather have a good burger or taco. After the meal any older couple who was sitting a few tables away from me said that Narcusies is better. After lunch I toured World Showcase in reverse, watching the O Canada film in Circlevision featuring Martin Short, hit the shops in the UK, skipped France, shops in Morocco, browsed the Mitzukoshi store in Japan, and had a bowl of Miso soup at the Yakatori House in Japan. I then skipped the American Adventure, because I was tired of shows by this point, and just plain tired. I hit some shops in Italy, more shops in Germany, skipped a show in China, and left the park. I took the Monorail back to the TTC, and headed for Pop Century.


Part 2 – Kissimmee and Dinner


I came back to Pop, took a shower, and then went in search of Target to get some supplies to treat a few blisters that popped up in all my walking. I found some great sodas at Target, they looked Mexican, and I don't think I heard a word of English the whole time in the store. I also picked up some plantain chips to take home. After Target I went to NYPD Pizza and got a large with sausage, mushroom, tomato, and garlic, and headed back to the resort. The pizza was good, but no great. Afte I ate I did a load of laundry, and watched a few episodes of 24, then when to bed. Studios Tomorrow, hopefully Rock n' Roller Coaster is back on track.


Wednesday, September 3, 2008


Today I headed to the Hollywood Studios with a great touring plan and a lot of good luck. Throughout the day, I magically walked on most every attraction. I started out at the Rock n' Roller Coaster. I was in line, and this 11 or 12 year old girl asked if I had ridden before, and wanted to know if I would ride with her because she was scared, so I did. After the ride she said she really liked it, so I got my good deed of the day over with early while riding a rollercoaster. Afte R&R, I did the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and this time I was scared. I really don't like this ride, but I drove 900 miles to get here, so I probably should ride it. It was not bad, but it will be my only ride on it. I then headed to the Great Movie Ride, which was sort of boring, but was on the touring plan, so I did it. After this I did Toy Story Midway Mania, and it was awesome! It was a really fun ride in 3D, and my score was around 88,000. I think the best score of the month was something like 336,000, so I ****ed, but I'll try again on Friday. You sit in seats with a pull string gun in front of you, and you are carried to diffent games where you have to hit targets. Each game is different, and it is all done with computers. By this time, about 11:00, I wanted to eat, but the Backlot Express was not open, so I walked into the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular just as it was starting and watched it, which lasted until the Backlot opened. This is a pretty cool show the first time, but once you've seen it, it looses it's luster. For lunch I had a double cheeseburger, fries, and a Diet Coke, with marble cheesecake for dessert. It wasn't as good as the burger I had at Everything Pop. The theming in the Backlot Express was great, full of stuff you would find on a movie backlot. After lunch I watched Muppetvision 3D, it was a really funny show with great 3D gags, it made me want to Netflix the Muppet Show on DVD when I get home. I then did the Studio Backlot Tour, which was fun, and lasted over 30 minutes, showing lots of movie effects ala Micheal Bay. I got out of the Backot Tour just in time to see Lights, Motors, Action, and it was a really exciting car stunt show with lots of fast driving, ramps, and drifting. It even had some motorcycles. After the show I hit the R&R Coaster again, no scared little girls this time, but I did ride in the very back seat. As my walk on luck continued, I walked right into the Animation Academy and drew a decent picture of Jiminy Cricket. (Editors Note: I think someone just “made a mistake” in the pool as I am typing this, because they totally cleared it out and are fishing something out of it.) After my amateur drawing of a cricket, I did something strickly for Colin that was kind of embarassing, I got my picture taken with Leo from Little Einstiens. I was the only adult in line, and felt kind of foolish, but I know Colin will enjoy seeing it. After my run in with Leo, I headed back to the resort for a shower before dinner.


Part 2 – Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boma


After a shower, I took off for Animal Kingdom Lodge to eat dinner at Boma. On a sour note, I forgot to put the SD card in the camera before I left, so I have no pictures of the lodge, but the lobby was AWESOME. You can even go out back and look on the Savana. I only saw some antelope, but it was cool none the less. After checking out the lodge, I headed to Boma, which was downstairs. It was a pretty good meal, buffet style. I had prime rib, cus cus, sweet and rye mashed potatoes, a few different soups, salmon, and a few other things to which I can't recall the names. The dessert was the best part of the meal. I had some pineapple cheesecake, some kind of whipped cream and coconut cake, banana bread pudding, and something called zebra paws, kind of like cheesecake with layers of something else. The dessert was a lot better than the meal. After dinner I browsed the gift shop and bought a giraffe wall hanger for Colin, then headed to The Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours. I didn't do any attractions, I just kind of roamed. I wanted to do Kilamanjaro Safaris, but it was closed. I picked up a Bonzia Tree for Sheri, and spotted a travel coffee mug I will get on Friday, I wanted to check out World of Disney before the purchase. I then found another shop where I picked up a cool bag, a Pooh magnet, and a special edition watch that I got for 15 bucks for spending over 40 dollars, it featured 2 different eras of Mickey , and the four park icons for the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions, probably the coolest souvineer yet. I also got Sheri some chocolate covered Carmel Corn. After roaming a little more, I started to head back to Pop Century, but decided that now would be a good time to hit the Downtown Disney Marketplace. The first stop was World of Disney, where I got a huge coffee mug, some treats for Sheri, a t-shirt, and a sweet snow globe with the Walt and Mickey Partners statue in it. I then roamed the Marketplace a little more, checking out a toy store, a soap store, a pin store, and a few others. I ended up at Earl of Sandwhich, where I got an Earls Club, because I have more dining credits than I know what to do with. I also got a cookie that I will save for later. The Sandwich was great, but not very big. After eating I headed back to the resort to make a touring plan for the Magic Kingdom tomorrow.


Thursday, September 4, 2008 – Magic Kingdom


Today was Morning Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom, so I hopped on the Monorail at the TTC about 8:00 am. When I got the the Kingdom, I headed to Tomorrowland to find that Space Moutain was down, so I took a left towards Fantasyland. There I walked directly on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Snow White's Scary Adventure, and Peter Pan's Flight. I'd say that Peter Pan's Flight was my favorite. All of these attractions wer ride thru stories. After this I took in the 3D show Mickey's Philharmagic, which was really good, featuring a lot of Donald Duck and many other Disney Characters. It was kind of weird seeing Donald Duck and Aladin characters in the same movie. By the time the show was over, it was just past 9:00, and the rest of the park had opened, so I went and walked right on the first ride of the Haunted Mansion, which was not may favorite, but I did drive 900 miles. It was a good thing I did the Haunted Mansion, because as I was exiting the Dream Squad was handing out A Year of a Million Dreams Mickey Ears! I was pretty happy, my second Dream Squad encounter! After than I went to Frontierland, and walked right on Big Thunder Moutain Raildroad, then cooled off with a Diet Coke at the Brier Patch. I did a little shop browsing then, and then took a ride around Tom Sawyer Island on the Liberty Bell Riverboat. This was a nice relaxing ride on the second deck. There were many Audio Anamatronics in the water and on the shores. It was 10:30 when I got off the boat, so I had lunch at Pecos Bills, which had a great fixins bar for the burgers. I had a bacon double cheeseburger, fries, a Diet Coke, and carrot cake for dessert. I then had a chocolate/vanilla swirl Dole Whip at Aloha Isle, but didn't see what all the fuss is about, it's just soft serve ice cream. (I would be later informed that the famous Dole Whip is the Pineapple version, guess I have a reason to go back!). After that I headed back to Tomorrowland and rode Space Mountain, waiting only about 5 minutes to board, I rode on the opposite side from last time. It was during this ride that I realized that I have bee eating way too much, I thought for a second I was going to have an urge contrary to swallowing. After Space Moutain I hopped on the TTA to chill out, and then walked thru Mickey's Toon Town Fair to board the Magic Kingdom Railroad, and road it all the way around the park to the Main Street Station, where I left the park and headed back to the TTC via the Ferry, then back to Pop Century for some rest before dinner.


Part 2 – Trails End at Fort Wilderness and Beyond


After a nice bath and a little down time, I headed back to the TTC and took the Ferry to the Magic Kingdom where I then caught a boat the the Fort Wilderness Campground. It was a very nice 15 minute ride thru part of the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. I got to Trails End a little early, but there was no one there so I got seated immediately. The food was good, but my waiter was a little more interested in standing in the back talking than filling my drink or bringing my check, so it took forever. I had roast beef, mashed potatos that were exceptional, squash and zuccinni, kilbasa, and some really tastey chili. After dinner I took another boat to the Wilderness Lodge. The Lodge is awesome to say the least, the lobby is huge, and I went up to the sixth floor to get a birds eye view. I then went down to the beach and sat for about 20 minutes while waiting for a boat back to the Magic Kingdom. It was really peaceful. Once I got back on a packed boat to the Magic Kingdom, I considered taking the Monrail to Epcot, but my feet told me it was time to go back to the resort for the night, they just plain hurt. I took the Monrail back to the TTC, and drove back to Pop Century to relax. Last day tomorrow, I'm not quite sure what I will get into other than breakfast at Chef Mickeys.


9-5-08 – 4 Park Extravaganza


After waking up with a little bit of a stomach ache from the previous days overeating, I decided to skip Chef Mickey's, which I regret, but I just could not have handled another buffet. I started my last day at WDW at the Hollywood Studios for the rope drop. They had a fun show that involved a stereotypical 1930's era Hollywood director and actor, which was funny. Once the rope dropped, a huge crowd and I followed some Castmembers directly to Toy Story Mania, and beat my previous score by almost 40 thousand. After that, I rode the Rock n' Roller Coaster in the front seat, and it was much better that way! I then headed over the the ABC Commisary for breakfast and had a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel. My last stop in the Studios was the Animation Academy where I drew Tigger. My next park was Animal Kingdom, where I took the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch, where I saw some Cotton Top Monkeys and toured the Conservation Station. After I took the train back, I hopped in line for Expedition Everest, and when it was my time to board it was pouring rain. Luckily I had a rain poncho in my bag and that kept me pretty dry, but the rain just beat me down when the coaster was outside, it was so bad I had to close my eyes. After Everest I had lunch at the Yak and Yeti quickservice, having the Honey Chicken, which was really good. The seating area was soaked, so I headed to an area by the river with some stand up counter tops to eat. For dessert I have a Mango Pie, which was also really good. After lunch I roamed a little more thru some shops, bought my travel mug, then headed back to the resort for a break and a shower. Once I rested a little, I drove to the Ticket and Transportation Center and caught the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom. I didn't do much there, I rode the Jungle Cruise, browsed the stores on Main Street, and had a taco salad at Pecos Bills. I was not hungry in the least, but I wanted to try the Taco Salad anyway. I then watched part of a show at Cinerellas Castle, and headed back to the exit, where I took the Ferry back to the TTC and caught the Monorail to Epcot. I didn't do any attractions in Epcot, I just sort of roamed and browsed the shops just to say I went to all four parks in one day. I thought about some food, but I realized that I would in fact puke on the Monrail ride back to the TTC if I had another bite or sip of anything, I was that tired of eating. I headed back to Pop Century where I cashed in the rest of my dining plan snacks on some rice crispy treats to take home. Now time to pack, I am ready to go home.


Tuesday, September 9, 2008 – Post Trip


I got up at 4:00 am and drove straight thru with only making 2 stops for gas and made it home in 11.5 hours. No good food along the way. I was happy to be home, and decided to have no more vacations without the family. I am definitely ready to go back and let Sheri and Colin have some fun with me. All in all I'd say that my favorite park was the Animal Kingdom, because of the detailed theming. Second place goes to the Magic Kingdom because of the attractions, third to the Hollywood Studios, and fourth place is Epcot. If I had to leave a park off of a touring plan, it would be Epcot, just because it is so big. My favorite attraction was The Tomorrowland Transit Authority, with Space Moutain and the Animation Academy being not far behind. Expedition Everest was also high on the list. Living with the Land was cool, as well as Soarin. My favorite shows were Mickey's Philharmagic, and Muppetvision 3D. By far the absolute best thing I saw all week was Fantasmic, it just blew every other parade or fireworks display out of the water. I regret not seeing Illuminations, as well as not eating at Chef Mickeys. When we go back, if the dining plan is not free, I would seriously think of purchasing it, it was that good. My favorite meal of the whole trip was probably Le Cellier, with the Yak & Yeti Local Foods being not far behind. All in all this was a great trip, but it probably lasted one day too long, or I should have drove to the ocean midweek to shift gears a little bit. See you next year.

Sounds like a great trip, thanks for sharing!

I have wanted to go solo for a while. It sounds like you had a great time! I am the WDW freak in the family, and I think my wife owes me a solo trip.