Yo ho Yo ho a solo trip frip for me About This Page:

[Shawn d]

Hi Everybody. I know I promised to a TR right after my trip in May, but work and going back to school kind of threw that idea out of the way.One of the resolutions I made this year (of a millions dreams. Pardon the pun ) was to complete the TR.

Come and join me


The cast:

Me (Shawn), 26 years old at the time, have gone to WDW twice before (once in Apr/May, once at Christmas). Both times at POR

The time: May 23 - 30

Lodging: at the POP Century

Special Plans: First time going solo

Behind the journey:

Well, I guyes it was around January when I started thinking about where I wanted to go for vacation. I searched high and low to search for the perfect place to go? I was going to go by myself, and I never took a solo trip outside of Canada before. I wanted a place that was exciting, warm and mind blowing. I narrowed the list to a group of 3. My first option was to go to Las Vegas. While there was certainly a lot to in Vegas, I looked at the price tag that would come with all of the shows and other expenses that might pop up. My next option was New York City. I have never been to NYC, and I would still like to go in the future. I have made the joke to others that with Disney, it is chaos at times, but it seems like it was "organized" chaos. With New York , going at it solo would certainly be very scary for me.. part of the reason I also didn't choose New York was that I wanted to go to a Yankees game and actually witness the atmosphere. Sadly, single tickets were not on sale, and the price range for the trip in general was too high for me.

That led me to my choice of WDW. One day, as I was browsing the internet for flight deals, I saw a magical deal. My home to orlando, through Minneapolis for $450 Canadian return, before taxes(This was when the dollar was at 75 cents American) for exactly the time I was looking to go down. After rubbing my eyes, i looked at it again. Nope , it was $450. I phoned Northwest to see whether it was a glitch. Nope it was real, and it "wasn't a seat sale". huh?? Excuse me. At that price, to not perk my ears up would be criminal

Next i looked at Disney's package deals. When I went in the past with my parents, we took the Park Hopper with the Water Parks/PI. This time, I looked at that, plus the dining plan. The dining plan, what was that I wondered? The more i read on that, the more I was enticed. Thanks to my friends on passporter, and other boards, I made my choices for ADRs. In no particular order, I settled on CRT, Le Cellier, Ohana. Wolfgang Puck, Planet Hollywood, and 50's Primetime. I really questioned going to CRT, as did others around me, but when I looked at the menus beforehand, I was enticed, and who knows, maybe a little magic would come my way

When I talked to the travel agent, she smiled and her jaw fell when i told her about the price. Next, I asked her about adding on the dining plan. She never took it but was curious to hear from travellers so she could recommend it or not. I told her i would assist in her inquiry. When she punched the information, I told her i wanted a value resort, preferably Pop, since I was going solo. She broke into a huge grin. When I asked her why, she said she could get everything for me, AND she was able to lower the price another $100. Heck, could I lose?

Or could I?

Next: Day 1

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Shawn More please

[NanaTink]

Great start! Can't wait to read more!

[mcc0313]

Great start.....

[MickeyMAC]

Great start!

[wayneava81]

Great start!

[DyanKJ130]

Great start, Shawn!! Can't wait to hear more

[pparm]

Sounds great so far!

Paula

[Lemap760]

Great start.

[Shawn d]

Bags were packed, money and passport stowed away. Everything seemed to be fine. However, trips and I seem to be cursed as the week ofthe trip got underway, I was not feeling so well. Not to worry, right, just have toast, some ginger ale everything should be fine. But as Borat would say, "NOT!!". Not to mention the fabulous check in time of 4 AM!! Ugh, I am an early riser, and even that is too early for me. With everything packed I was feeling excited. In all the excitement literally 5 minutes before I walk out the door, my nerves get the better of me, and I have to get a new shirt. Not how I wanted to start my trip. And were off

The sky outside was dark and the weather was cold. I tried to rest as my ride drove to the airport. Just keep thinking "It'll be warm, you will be over this cold and your nerves should settle down. I printed the boarding passes beforehand , so all I had to do was check my luggage and go through security and it would be smooth sailing.

Well security had a different plan. No sooner do I walk thru the scanner when i get beeped. With nothing metallic on me...argh!!! I explain my grief of the morning to the security officer and he smiled and nodded at my predicament and I moved on.

Once I was on the plane to Minneapolis, I nodded off and tried to get some shut eye. Once I arrived in Minnapolis, I grabbed something small to eat at Mickey D's (I know not the best place to grab a meal when nerves are shot and getting over a cold) and went to grab some Tums. Normally Tums would probably help me, but the fruit flavored ones I grabbed at home did not help one bit, so I grabbed a pack at the airport.

On the flight from Minneapolis to Orlando I met a very beautiful woman sitting next to me. We talked about where I was going to, and i told her. She smiled and said she was there recently. She noticed that my bookmark from the city library was the same as her middle name, and I gave her the bookmark, which she thanked me for.

Finally, I had arrived at the House of the Mouse. I booked a room at the Pop Century at the 50s segment. So I was a little more than surprised when i checked in to learn i was placed in the 90s segment.at the furtherest possible location from the main check in and buses. Not good. So, after a little discussion withee check in lady, I get my original location, but would this be a good thing?

The first time I came to Disney World, when my parents and I went into our original hotel room at the POR, the carpets were SOAKING wet with cleaning solution and the receiver phone literally came off the phone, it would not stay connected. After I change to a better location, things seemed to calm down. Fast forward to my experience at the POP. No, the phones cord was intact, but I smelt a tinge of chlorine in the air. No big deal, I thought, the staff must have just been in here. I took my shoes off because I wanted to relax a little. Squish... Hmm a little dampness. nothing to get excited over. Squish squish squish. Ok, now I am more than a little disturbed. Finally I make my way close to the bathroom. Right at the door, there is a huge SOAKING 5 X 7 patch. Dear God please tell me thats not what I think it is. As I bend down, I can't smell anything foul, but I am in a very foul mood. At once, I dial the Front Desk and explain what the situation is. They "promise to send somebody ASAP" and I wait in my room. After 20 minutes of no answer, I calmly explain to them that I am going from my dinner ADR at PLanet Hollywood, and I expect this to be resolved when I get back.

Dinner at Planet Hollywood

Lesson #1: Never overindulge on an uneasy stomach
Lesson #2: The Dining Plan really has a LOT of Food
Lesson #3: See Lessons 1 & 2

Eating at Planet Hollywood was a tradition of the first night arriving in WDW the past 2 times. LOL. Looking back on it I have to laugh as I certainly didn't expect the amount of food that the dining plan would present. For my drink, I had a Sprite ($2.50?), and I started off with the Texas Tostadas($8.45). These were really enjoyable, and I did finish them all. Next came the entree of the BBQ Ribs($22.95). Again, these were excellent and as the meal went on my stomach was settling to normal. I ate most of the ribs , but didn't want to take any back to the hotel in case I moved to a new room. Finally the dessert was the banana split creme brulee($7.95), which was ok, but not something to write home about. When the Bill arrived , I smiled and put it on the DDP. Overall, while not disappointing, Planet Hollywood was adequate. On my way back to the hotel, I decided to stop by Goofy's Sweet shop and grab a rice krispie mickey. Loaded it up and used a Snack Credit. it looked so good that I kept it until I got back home.

When i arrived back at the hotel, the front desk assured me that everything was fine and I nodded and headed to my room. When I walked in , the floor was noticably drier. When I checked by the bathroom I cautiously stepped on the area. Sure enough...SQUISH. Enraged, I phoned the front desk. The woman on the other end apologized. At this point, I wanted a preferred location, or even to go to a new hotel in WDW. She said that someone would be sent over immediately. Again, I waited in my hotel room. This time, someone actually did show up. Sadly, they were not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I told them where the soaking area was and they smiled and said that was not their area to fix. I left the room furious and went to get some of my shopping done at DTD. After this was done, I came back and decided to try and sleep it off, hoping that it would be fixed. As a result I had to miss the night show at MK, Epcot, or MGM

Coming up: Day 2 MK (Princesses, Pirates, and Panic, Oh My!!)

[Colexis Mom]

What a nightmare with the carpet I'm sorry you're having such problems Glad you had a good dinner tough More please

[piratefreak]

What a nightmare . Can't wait to hear if Mickey magic steps in to make it better.

[GoofyMom]

I'm not sure if you live in Winnipeg (although I'm guessing you do due to the pricing and the route), but $450 pre-tax through MSP was a fabulous deal even once you add in the $150 taxes and I'd have snapped that airfare up immediately too if I were in your shoes! Usually a ticket is closer to $750 from Winnipeg via MSP and higher if I go through Pearson.

Sorry to hear that your room is squishy. I hope that's fixed in the next installment!!

[DyanKJ130]

Sounds like you had a nice meal at PH. to hear about the carpet. Hope you're feeling better soon!

[NanaTink]

ohh, squishy carpet....not good! What is meant by "not my area to fix? Is this person only responsible for rug areas say by the front door and you actually needed the person for the carpet area to the, say, LEFT of the front door? Squishy carpet is squishy carpet no matter WHERE it is in the room!

Hope they take care of it correctly this time!