Trip of Firsts :-)

[richmo]

Looks like a good trip! I'll be there solo myself 3/9-3/15. Without the family, I tend to stay cheap, so I'm offsite and won't get to do my FP's for another couple weeks. I know I won't be able to get Flight of Passage and probably not 7DMT, but hopefully some things will still be out there. Let's hope for good weather!

 

[richmo]

...
Day 4

• Toy Story Mania 9:20
• Star Tours 10:55
• Voyage of the Little Mermaid 12:10

But now that I'm seeing TSM is at 9:20, i don't know if i'll be able to rope drop slinky... hmm...

I would think you'd be fine. You've got until 10:20 (probably really 10:35 or so) to show up for TSM. I wouldn't think Slinky's rope drop wait would be that bad, at least I would hope not.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

As Rchmo said, you have s good buffer even if the ride is an hour wait in standby for SDD.

One of the ubiquitous tips I see is "don't get your fastpass too early in the morning". All that really means is you don't fully maximize the rope drop times. But hey one ride in standby before your first fastpass is better than no rides before, right?

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

So I just checked the wait time for SDD. It's 85 minutes.

But keep in mind they also had morning Extra Magic hours. So considering without EMH, rope dropping SDD shouldn't threaten the fastpass. Fingers crossed though

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

So I just checked the wait time for SDD. It's 85 minutes.

But keep in mind they also had morning Extra Magic hours. So considering without EMH, rope dropping SDD shouldn't threaten the fastpass. Fingers crossed though

i think i'll just wait and see how crowded the parks are! if the crowds are low, i'll rope drop it, but if the crowds are bad i might just skip it. also depending on if i'm tired or not, i don't want to wear myself out this trip, ya know?

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

wow so i haven't posted in a while! i'm officially at 31 days out and I just made my last payment today! i'm beyond excited!! now i'll just not-so-patiently wait for my magic bands to get here and the flower and garden menus to drop

i've never taken a trip by myself before, is there anything i need to do? i'm pretty sure my TA got me magical express (i need to double check with her though), I have my airfare, my trip will be paid off today... i think i'm all set? i'm kind of nervous about flying though, do i need to print my tickets??? i should probably figure this out, haha! i also need to decide if i'm just doing a carry on or if i should check a bag...

 

[reyasmommy]

I actually prefer SDD at night or sundown …. It's just so much better riding it when all the lights are on and it's not as hot outside. Hopefully you can figure out a way to ride it.

Everything looks great! I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

I actually prefer SDD at night or sundown …. It's just so much better riding it when all the lights are on and it's not as hot outside. Hopefully you can figure out a way to ride it.

Everything looks great! I hope you have a wonderful time!

ooh that sounds lovely! maybe for my trip in august i'll try and plan to do DHS at night! and thank you!

 

[reyasmommy]

On our last trip I had a FP for it earlier in the day and it was great, but then we got super lucky and a nice family gave us 4 fast passes for anything we wanted and whenever we wanted, so we used it on SDD at night. I don't think I could ever go on it at any other time of day. ((That's my opinion)) It also gets so hot in TSL during the day. There's hardly any shade and the que for SDD and Alien Swirling Saucers are not indoors with air conditioning like TSM.

 

[richmo]

wow so i haven't posted in a while! i'm officially at 31 days out and I just made my last payment today! i'm beyond excited!! now i'll just not-so-patiently wait for my magic bands to get here and the flower and garden menus to drop

i've never taken a trip by myself before, is there anything i need to do? i'm pretty sure my TA got me magical express (i need to double check with her though), I have my airfare, my trip will be paid off today... i think i'm all set? i'm kind of nervous about flying though, do i need to print my tickets??? i should probably figure this out, haha! i also need to decide if i'm just doing a carry on or if i should check a bag...

Yep, I hit 30 days myself yesterday and started doing FastPasses yesterday...since I'm offsite, I can only do one day at a time. So far, so good.

I think you're in pretty good shape. Good idea on checking on the Magical Express. At some point, they should send you luggage tags...but if you go with just a carry-on, that won't be an issue.

You probably should print out a copy of your airline itinerary, just in case. Most airlines don't do the actual checkin until 24 hours prior to the flight, so you won't be able to print out your boarding pass yet. Even then, if you were to forget it, you could reprint at the airport. Having that 6 character confirmation/booking code is the most important thing. Some airlines (maybe most at this point) also have the option of getting the boarding pass online, so you may not have to print at all. If you do that, be sure to have a screenshot of it, just in case you happen to lose your signal in the airport.

Of course, make sure you have My Disney Experience on your phone and working. You should see your tickets, hotel and fastpasses there. That's also how you can pick up additional fastpasses onsite. Also it wouldn't hurt to have the app for your airline loaded too.

Forgot about Flower and Garden...I'll have to leave an afternoon/evening or two for eating around the world...

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

Yep, I hit 30 days myself yesterday and started doing FastPasses yesterday...since I'm offsite, I can only do one day at a time. So far, so good.

I think you're in pretty good shape. Good idea on checking on the Magical Express. At some point, they should send you luggage tags...but if you go with just a carry-on, that won't be an issue.

You probably should print out a copy of your airline itinerary, just in case. Most airlines don't do the actual checkin until 24 hours prior to the flight, so you won't be able to print out your boarding pass yet. Even then, if you were to forget it, you could reprint at the airport. Having that 6 character confirmation/booking code is the most important thing. Some airlines (maybe most at this point) also have the option of getting the boarding pass online, so you may not have to print at all. If you do that, be sure to have a screenshot of it, just in case you happen to lose your signal in the airport.

Of course, make sure you have My Disney Experience on your phone and working. You should see your tickets, hotel and fastpasses there. That's also how you can pick up additional fastpasses onsite. Also it wouldn't hurt to have the app for your airline loaded too.

Forgot about Flower and Garden...I'll have to leave an afternoon/evening or two for eating around the world...

ooh how'd your fastpass day go? get everything you want? and i actually got my magical express tags right after i posted that LOL!
apparently for the airline stuff, all i have right now is an "e-ticket" or something, and i won't get access to the boarding pass and everything until 24 hours before my trip.

MDE is already on my phone! i'm the lunatic who likes to check it every so often and share the wait times that no one else cares about
F&G is gonna be awesome!! have you done it before? i'm so excited to check it out, it's the festival i have most wanted to go to!

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

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[Unvoiced_Apollo]

so a small little update- i decided i'm going to get an annual pass when i go! since i have another trip in august and i'd like to take another one within the next year, it just makes sense also i dropped the dining plan from my trip. i think it's going to be too much food and it's not like it's free. i don't really know why i got it in the first place tbh lol! oh and i also made a dining reservation for nine dragons! i was nervous at first about doing a sit-down alone, but after reading a thread about solo dining, i felt more comfortable.

i feel bad for my TA with all the changes i've made for both trips within the last day or two... but hopefully she's use to pain in the asses like me ;-)

As long as the TA gets her commissions, I'm sure she's happy to deal with "pain in the asses" despite those changes.

I got the dining plan for my upcoming trip (leaving President's Day) but I'm using it more for the convenience of it. I was also able to get the ADRs I wanted. Otherwise I also can't fully maximize its potential. Though I intend to use many snack credits as possible

One thing I learned on my last trip is castmembers are great whether you're with a group or flying solo. Solo is definitely a great way to enjoy the atmosphere in a way you might not be able to in a group. And I know a thing or two about needing to read threads for encouragement (I had to read some to feel comfortable being an adult at character meals & asking for character autographs ). But your trip looks like it came together very nicely

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

As long as the TA gets her commissions, I'm sure she's happy to deal with "pain in the asses" despite those changes.

I got the dining plan for my upcoming trip (leaving President's Day) but I'm using it more for the convenience of it. I was also able to get the ADRs I wanted. Otherwise I also can't fully maximize its potential. Though I intend to use many snack credits as possible

One thing I learned on my last trip is castmembers are great whether you're with a group or flying solo. Solo is definitely a great way to enjoy the atmosphere in a way you might not be able to in a group. And I know a thing or two about needing to read threads for encouragement (I had to read some to feel comfortable being an adult at character meals & asking for character autographs ). But your trip looks like it came together very nicely

yeah i had it for the convenience too, but since i'm upgrading to an AP i can't justify getting it anymore. and you might already know this, but one of my favorite things about the dining plan is using unredeemed credits as snacks to bring home! you can use QS or snack credits for this! they make great souvenirs for family and friends

the one thing i'm scared of doing solo is meeting characters... even when i'm with other people i never know what to say to characters (mainly face characters) and just stand there awkwardly. i really don't know if i'll be able to do it by myself, haha. i really admire you for doing character meals!

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

not much to update today. but i was thinking, since i'll have an AP, i'll be able to spend my last day in the parks! before i was planning on going to disney springs and maybe resort hopping, but my flight is at 10 pm so i was scared of getting bored. at least now i'll have the options to go to a park!

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

the one thing i'm scared of doing solo is meeting characters... even when i'm with other people i never know what to say to characters (mainly face characters) and just stand there awkwardly. i really don't know if i'll be able to do it by myself, haha. i really admire you for doing character meals!

Imagine being a 33yo guy meeting the princesses solo. That's what I did for part of my last trip. I had trouble conversing too (and being a guy made it feel a bit more awkward). But it was still fun and the princesses were all gracious about meeting me.

I decided to do autographs this year. I made my own autograph book by taking a field notebook and making a cover from images of the "journal" fold out from the Bon Voyage Breakfast. Just know you're not the only solo adult who meets characters & feels awkward with those experiences.

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

Imagine being a 33yo guy meeting the princesses solo. That's what I did for part of my last trip. I had trouble conversing too (and being a guy made it feel a bit more awkward). But it was still fun and the princesses were all gracious about meeting me.

I decided to do autographs this year. I made my own autograph book by taking a field notebook and making a cover from images of the "journal" fold out from the Bon Voyage Breakfast. Just know you're not the only solo adult who meets characters & feels awkward with those experiences.

lol i give you props! i'm not really a big character person even when i'm with other people, but maybe i'll try mickey/minnie or winnie the pooh just to push myself a bit (plus i'll get some insta pics! LOL) i kinda want to do something like you did though and get autographs i feel like that'll make for a unique souvenir! ahh, decisions, decisions...

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

Thinking of maybe doing another sit-down since I no longer have the dining plan.. I'm just not sure where I'll fit it in my schedule. I really want to try Hollywood Brown Derby, but I don't want to be in DHS for that long. Also, I really want to try Woody's Lunch Box's totchos and pop tarts... Maybe I'll book something for my last day? Maybe Disney Springs? Or I was thinking for my last day I'd grab lunch at Capt. Cook's and head to MK or Epcot...

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

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[suse66]

Sounds like your planning is coming along well! I just booked a last minute solo trip for March Break (11-15 of March) and am SO excited! I am staying offsite at the B resort in Disney Springs and am happily making plans. So excited to sneak in another solo trip with my AP.