I was originally going to make multiple posts with lots of photos. I think instead I'm going to do this one post.
So...here it goes.
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| A smiley, friendly sun at Animal Kingdom Lodge |
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| Chair fabric at Animal Kingdom Lodge. |
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| Me at Disney Springs |
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| Tim at Saana. He was with me for the first two nights of the trip |
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| The many bread dips of the Saana bread service |
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| My first night alone I walked around the Boardwalk and took photos and listened to my audio book |
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| Buildings like this, at night, remind me of my special dreams that take place in what I call "Dream City" so I'm kind of infatuated with them. Another place, at Disney, that gives me this feeling is the city scene on the Mexico ride in World Showcase. |
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| Another picture from the night walk. It's kind of become a special, magical memory to me. I was partly there on the Boardwalk and partly on a pirate ship with James Hook, Smee, and Blackbeard. |
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| Frozen was the first ride I went on this trip. |
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| Soarin' was funny, because after the video where we are told to take off our Mickey ears and stow other stuff, a Cast Member (or was it via announcement?) insisted that we keep our Mickey ears and other small things ON us. I guess there have been too many cases of people leaving small items under the seat. And Disney probably finally realized that Mickey Ear, glasses, hats, etc. were NOT flying off people during the ride. |
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| One of way too many photos I took in the Living with the Land greenhouse. |
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| There were many cast members inside the Greenhouse setting up little scenes and also working in the science area. That was cool to see. I wish I had gotten photos of that. Instead I got a photo of one of the scenes they set up. |
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| Epcot construction. |
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| This is the best photo of Spaceship Earth I've ever taken. It might be the best I've seen. It's probably arrogant to feel I deserve some kind of reward. But...I do. |
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| Disney construction and random strangers. Two things I like taking photos of. |
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| I was eating my Lefse and Rice pudding in Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe when I suddenly noticed I had a delightful butt view. |
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| A very cool plant at the Beach Club |
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| Waiting for Rise of the Resistance to open in the morning. It had some problems. |
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| A drone |
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| Another drone |
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| I got many photos of the backside of stormtroopers and Kylo Wren. One thing about solo trips is there's no one to stop you from spending your time following Star War characters for an extended period of time in an attempt to get a good photo of the front of them. Note: These guys move quite fast. |
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| Cast Members blocking the temporarily closed Smugglers Run. They did the same thing at Rise of the Resistance, but I failed to get a photo. They were very strict in a similar spirit to the First Order cast members on the ride. It was delightful. Seriously, I think the quest to get on Rise of the Resistance is just as exciting as the ride itself. And I don't mean that as an insult to the ride. The ride is fantastic. But trying to get on the ride whether by waiting in the rain, hoping it reopens or having a virtual queue adventure. I think these will be some of my most favorite Disney memories. |
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| From Toy Story Mania. Peter Pan was especially special to me this trip, because I was reading the book below. |
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| I choose my books somewhat randomly and luck had it that I was listening to this through out my trip. Well, I have a long list of authors and use random.org to pick the author. I ended up with Serena Valentino who writes stories about Disney villains. I was about to say (because I believed it so) that I had chosen Captain Hook. But now I'm thinking I didn't. I think I used Random.org to choose which book to read. I'm horrible at making decisions!!!! Though later I read it's recommended to start with the first book in the series. The Captain Hook one of the most recent. Oops. |
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| If you look at this photo close enough, you will see the little guy who decided that although it was fine for me to be at Disney World on my own, I shouldn't ride every single ride alone. He kindly insisted on staying with me for the entire duration of the ride. AND I kindly moved to the other side of the vehicle not wanting him to feel crowded. |
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| I got up very early that morning. I was the first and only person at the bus stop. I was the only one on the bus. I was one of the first in line at Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of the first inside the park. Because I went through a fairly long round of "Do you have lotion on your hand? Are you sure that's the finger you used before? |
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| Splash Mountain. It may be a bit racist. But it is quite photogenic. I'm sure the Princess and the Frog will be as well. Hopefully the racists will boycott the new ride, and the lines will be short. |
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| I usually don't have much of a desire to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. The Captain Hook book made me want to ride it twice. Though that ended up not happening, because it shut down when I was in line the second time. |
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| Towards the end of the day, this popped up. I texted to Tim: Hope Jeff Goldblum doesn't have to eat his words. I was delighted, though, because getting this message made the ride breakdown feel like a big deal. And I was in the line when it had the breakdown. I felt like I was part of history. |
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| I used to have a crush on this guy. Now I pretty much despite him. Thanks to Serena Valentino. |
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| One of many photos I took of this guy. |
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| Tom Sawyer Island. I didn't go there but liked the house and liked how the photo turned out. |
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| I meant to go on at least twice but only went on once. I'm okay with that, though. |
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| Carpet at Space Mountain. I love Disney carpet so much. |
I'm hoping we will still be able to take whole-family trips to Disney World or Disneyland. But I think there will also be more solo Disney trips for each of us. Jack took one last summer. I took this one. Tim is going in February.
I tend to have post-Disney-trip regrets.
My only one this time was that it seemed to be a birthday trip only inside my own head. I don't think anyone else got the memo.
No, I wasn't there exactly on my 50th birthday. I came home three days before...the reason being I didn't want to be there during the Thanksgiving week. But I had talked about it, and seen it, as being my birthday trip.
The only time my birthday was mentioned, though, was by the TSA agent, at the airport, just before I went through security. He noticed the date on my ID and wished me a happy birthday. I was delighted and imagined it would be the first of multiple mentions of my birthday on the trip. But it actually ended up being the last.
I didn't want any big surprises or an excessive amount of attention. I guess I would have wanted just a small acknowledgment. Like a text: Hope you're enjoying your birthday trip! Or a commemorative photo.
I briefly considered...maybe longed for...one of those celebration buttons. But I feared that would lead to awkward, embarrassing, and/or lonely moments.
Note: I did get several birthday wishes on my actual birthday from family, friends, and relatives. I appreciate that.
I think the mistake I made is depending on others to acknowledge that my Disney trip was a birthday trip. I should have done something myself to acknowledge it— bought myself a special birthday souvenir or labeled one of the many Disney treats I ate as a birthday treat.
In the end, though...being there was a gift in itself. And another gift is the prospect of future trips.
Next time I go, whether alone or with others, I'm going to make a point of labeling something I do or eat as a birthday thing. Even if it's months away from my birthday.
(I guess I ended up being talkative, after all. If anyone is surprised about that...they're either new here or haven't been paying enough attention)
