A Whole New SOLO World: A July 2015 WDW TR - My 1st! (complete)

[bamacmac]

Day 3: Monday, July 20th

Part 6 - THE FINAL PART!

I then headed to the UK to relax a bit. I had some time before I would be meeting up with another DISer (shoutout to DaisyDuck001!) at Le Cellier for dinner. So I parked myself near the water in the shade and enjoyed the view for awhile.



Finally it was time for what I knew would be an outstanding meal, at Le Cellier. Daisy had a reservation and graciously let me join her. I had exactly what I had on my last trip there. Cheese soup, the glorious ribeye and the crème brulee that I have literally thought about way too much for the last 2 years. I never liked crème brulee until I had it at this place. But vanilla bean crème brulee is now an absolute favorite of mine. And the maple flavor with this one makes it even better. Another thing I discovered for the first time on my last trip to this restaurant, was ice wine. I am not much of a drinker at all, but this stuff is amazing. It’s a dessert wine and is very sweet. So yummy and so expensive. I had one glass and then decided on a trying a flight. Yum x 4.



We stepped out during our meal to catch IllumiNations, which is always perfection.




After the meal, it was way later than I had planned on staying up that night. I said goodbye to Epcot, thinking it would be the last time I would be there until December. Or would it?

I hurried back to my room and crashed. I had big plans for the next day and desperately needed a good nights sleep.




Day 4 would be a Magic Kingdom day and would include my first time experiencing Rope Drop and the Welcome Show, many, many attractions, good food and more!

 

[bamacmac]

Yes, American Adventure is a great show. I didn't manage to catch it this trip, but hopefully next time.

Isn't it though? Love.

I thought there was another post from you to rely to but I can't find it. Anyway, yes it was pretty empty even when I left! Which was so very nice!!! I think empty parks create amazing moments!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Isn't it though? Love.

I thought there was another post from you to rely to but I can't find it. Anyway, yes it was pretty empty even when I left! Which was so very nice!!! I think empty parks create amazing moments!

Hi, after I posted my other comment, you re-arranged your posts, so that my comment then appeared before what I was responding to! So to preserve your continuity, I decided to move my comment to the new correct place in your sequence -- which is now here:

Thanks for the shout-out! I'm glad we could meet up. It was a nice evening, all the way from the Disney trivia with the Mickey sticker prizes while waiting to be seated for our reservation, through the meal and Illuminations and the rest of the meal.

By the time I finished my tangerine tea, I was one of the last guests to leave the park. I walked out through a very empty Epcot and was pleasantly surprised that the show with the fountains moving to the music was still going on, even with me as the only audience!

(But now, you've answered my question before I've asked it in the new sequence. It's like a science fiction story, where the timelines get changed... oh, well.)

 

[bamacmac]

Hi, after I posted my other comment, you re-arranged your posts, so that my comment then appeared before what I was responding to! So to preserve your continuity, I decided to move my comment to the new correct place in your sequence -- which is now here:

Thanks for the shout-out! I'm glad we could meet up. It was a nice evening, all the way from the Disney trivia with the Mickey sticker prizes while waiting to be seated for our reservation, through the meal and Illuminations and the rest of the meal.

By the time I finished my tangerine tea, I was one of the last guests to leave the park. I walked out through a very empty Epcot and was pleasantly surprised that the show with the fountains moving to the music was still going on, even with me as the only audience!

(But now, you've answered my question before I've asked it in the new sequence. It's like a science fiction story, where the timelines get changed... oh, well.)

Oh ha!! Sorry about that. I accidentally posted some before I was done editing and adding pictures, so then I had to do some rearranging. This whole trip report thing is quite an undertaking! I've had to figure out the world of resizing pictures. Not something I had ever really done before. But it's also been very fun to do the TR and think back through each day of the trip in such detail! And I love knowing that I will have this all "recorded" now to share and keep!

It was a nice evening for sure...thanks again!

 

[nilla]

Wow, amazing photos! I'm joining in late here, but will (eventually) catch up

 

[bamacmac]

Wow, amazing photos! I'm joining in late here, but will (eventually) catch up

Thank you! And thanks for checking it out! No worries...I just started it this week and added a ton last night, so you aren't that late! I still have 6 more days to cover!

 

[Sailormoon2]

I will add a third...Amazing photos!!! WOW!

 

[bamacmac]

I will add a third...Amazing photos!!! WOW!

Awww thanks! I love getting feedback. I am pretty happy with how most of the pictures turned out! I guess when you take over 2,000, you are going to get at least a few good ones, right? Hahaha. And instagram does great things for iPhone pics!

 

[LowesChevy]

You have some really great pics--perfect angles on many! Love it

 

[FosterLovesMickey]

Love all the updates!!!

 

[bamacmac]

You have some really great pics--perfect angles on many! Love it

Thank you for your comment! I try! So from your name...Jimmie Johnson fan?? I'm a huge nascar fan.

 

[bamacmac]

Love all the updates!!!

Thank you! I appreciate you following along!! It's been fun to do and I've been on a roll!

 

[Evansvillegirl26]

I am loving your report!!! I took my first solo trip this past January and I wish I would of done a report!!! I'm taking another solo trip in January and this time I'm doing one!! Looking forward to the rest of yours.

 

[bamacmac]

I am loving your report!!! I took my first solo trip this past January and I wish I would of done a report!!! I'm taking another solo trip in January and this time I'm doing one!! Looking forward to the rest of yours.

Thank you so much for the very kind words! I'm so glad you are following along and liking it. I have been reading a great, fun TR lately and it totally inspired me to do my own! It's fun to relive the details of the trip! I'm doing December solo again and then a trip with friends in Feb and hope to do TR's for those too now! I found that it helps to know ahead of time you are going to do it. I used pictures to help me remember the order of things, and I took some time here and there to make little notes!

 

[cajunbaby1]

Get photos! I did a solo trip last Oct and loved it. Don't you just like being able to go and do what you want when you want?

 

[bamacmac]

Get photos! I did a solo trip last Oct and loved it. Don't you just like being able to go and do what you want when you want?

Thank you! It was incredible freeing to be able to do whatever, whenever! My game plan changed quite a bit at times and it was nice to not have to debate options with anyone or worry about making someone else happy! I also found it nice when navigating through crowds...not having to worry about keeping up with someone!

 

[bamacmac]

Day 4: Tuesday, July 21st, 2015

Part 1

By Day 4, I was more than ready for a full day of feeling like a 5 year old, also known as visiting the Magic Kingdom.

I got up very early as I was on a mission that morning!

Leaving CBR...



I headed to the TTC to take the ferry to MK. This was another first for me. I had taken the ferry once when leaving at night, but had never taken it to the park in the morning. I loved the still water on Seven Seas Lagoon, loved the sun slowly rising in the early morning sky, loved the excitement of all the kids around me so eager to get there, and loved watching the castle become bigger and bigger in the distance.












Believe it or not, I was about to witness my very first Rope Drop/Welcome Show as well! I was very excited for that. And it did not disappoint! I had a great spot to watch it from and was very glad that I had made it in time to see it.






So many pictures...so little space....continue on to the next post!

 

[bamacmac]

Day 4: Tuesday, July 21st

Part 2

Once the park opened, I was happy to have a few hours until my first fastpass. The plan was to not have much of a plan and it worked out beautifully. I took my time on Main Street, just taking in everything around me.








Spent some time enjoying the hub area, and really getting to see everything new about it for the first time during the day. I love what they have done with it. It feels so open and the fountains are gorgeous. (I seemingly have a thing for fountains. Huh.)








Being there so early was awesome. Very low crowd level. Very hot, as you can tell from the last picture, but the heat really didn't bother me. Yes, I was sweating...you are going to sweat if you are outside in Florida in July...but it really wasn't bad. I did so much that morning, without even really trying to. OH and wait...I'm from the south. We don't sweat, we glisten, right?



(On to Part 3! Anyone else wish you could at least put 20 pics in a post? Just me? Ok.)

 

[bamacmac]

Day 4: Tuesday, July 21st

Part 3

I wanted to explore Fantasyland first. I got to the back of the castle and realized I wasn’t sure if I had ever ridden the carousel. Maybe on that trip when I was 5, but I don’t remember and I’ve never seen any pictures to prove that I did. So, I got on the carousel. It was a lovely first attraction of the day and I was happy to do yet another “first”.










Next I headed to a favorite of mine, Mickey’s PhilharMagic. 4-D films are fun in general. But I love the little story that goes with this one. Who doesn’t love Donald and his silliness?



After that fun show and a good dose of AC, I headed over to Enchanted Tales with Belle. This was another one I was somewhat hesitant to do, but I was curious to see what it was like. No one paid one bit of attention to me though, so it was no big deal! I thought this was a very fun little attraction though. If I had little kids, we would be doing this one every single visit. The kiddos in there loved it so much! It was pretty adorable to see them all interact with Belle and play their roles in the story.



I so loved seeing this picture in there...how sweet! And shout out to Mrs. Potts!




(Sidenote: this particular Belle was awesome! Just sayin'.)


(On to Part 3! )

 

[bamacmac]

Day 4: Tuesday, July 21st

Part 3

From Belle’s cottage, I chose to go with It’s A Small World next. I know so people are completely annoyed by the ride and the song. But. I. Love. It. I really do.









Oh I almost forgot who I spotted on the way to IASW!

I SAW FLYNN RIDER! Hehe.



So after ALL of that, I realized I hadn’t had breakfast yet! I was so hungry and not sure where to go, as I had never grabbed a quick breakfast at MK before. So I did what everyone does these days when they don’t know what to do…they go to Facebook. I asked for suggestions in the “disboards on facebook!” group and within minutes I had tons of responses. The overwhelming majority of folks were adamant that I should go to Sleepy Hollow for a nutella waffle. I like nutella. I don’t love it and I don’t eat it very often, but I’m fine with it. However, this sounded so weird to me. I decided to trust the masses though and this was quite possibly the best decision of my entire life. Have you had one of these things? OH MY WOW. So this freshly made, thick, big, fluffy waffle is slathered with nutella and then piled high with bananas, strawberries and blueberries. Seriously y’all. Incredible. Messy. But completely incredible. I felt like I had been missing out on something huge all this time. So I am saving you from discovering years from now that you never knew about this amazing, chocolatey, fruity goodness. You are welcome.



I have to say, I think I accomplished a lot in a short amount of time that morning! It helped that there was no wait for anything I did. I could have done more if I had tried, but I went at a pretty laid back pace and just took things as they came. It was such a nice morning. Once again, I could imagine this being a random morning spent in the park as a local. Just a few great hours spent doing whatever comes along.

Time for fastpasses!


My first FP for the day was for my favorite roller coaster. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. SO fun! I love the theming throughout the entire attraction and love the views you can catch while you are riding as well. And did I mean it is REALLY FUN?! Cause it is.




After BTMR, I decided to do something I had never done before: take a ride on the Liberty Belle. I know, I know…and I call myself a WDW fan. I am beyond happy that I did this. It was so fun. I loved the unique perspective being on the top deck of the boat gives you. And I got some truly amazing pictures. I will most definitely be doing this again!!

(Head on to Part 4 for LOTS of pics of and from the Liberty Belle!!)