Mr. Catperson's Solo Trip Report, as told to me

Hubby just said the sandwich also has bacon, yum. And cheese, ewww.

Anyway, he called and said after EOS he did indeed wander DTD, did a little shop browsing looking for shirts (he likes things like polo shirts with a subdued little mickey on the chest) and visited the Ghirardelli shop. Looks like he might bring home a boatload of chocolate, yum!

Tomorrow he says he'll probably start at Epcot and then head over to Hollywood Studios to use his daily FastPass+ allotment. And we'll find out how well his Magic Band works.

Here's his last photo of the day, the view of DTD from Saratoga Springs near the building he's staying in. He doesn't have a view from his windows, unfortunately.

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Hubby doesn't know when the Saratoga Spring/DTD walkway will open, but he says he will ask. If I'd known the walkway is closed I would've changed our request, also.

Day 2 - Epcot and DHS

Hubby started his day at the Epcot will-call window - even though he already had his wristband, he needed to pick up his ticket (and mine as well). Because we're now planning a spring trip to make up for my absence on this one, he upgraded to an annual pass, which will cost less money than his getting a second 7-day pass in the spring.

His first stop Soarin', where he got a regular FastPass. Now, since he had FastPass+ reservations later in the day at DHS, I thought he wouldn't be able to get any FastPasses at Epcot, but he said it was no problem at all. From there he went to Mission: Space. He didn't mention which intensity he chose - but he's a coaster buff so I'll bet he went extreme. Then it was on to Club Cool for his and my favorite, Beverly! No, I am not kidding, we both really like that stuff. Of course, he drank the Beverly first and then tried the new flavors - you do NOT want to try the Beverly after the sweet stuff. He said they're all very sweet and fruity, and his favorite was a raspberry cream ale, although there was an apricot flavor that he thought was pretty good. Having had his fill of free soda, he strolled over to England to try the fish and chips, which he declared quite good. He thinks they must use fresh fish and not the usual frozen crap you find at most fast-food places in the USA. He also said the chips were good, which is something because he usually doesn't care for thick chips. (Photos at the end of this post.) While in England, he snapped a photo of a Mary Poppins topiary that he didn't recall ever seeing before.

After lunch, hubby went back to The Land to wait out his Soarin' FastPass. Living with the Land and the Lion King movie did the trick, then he hit Club Cool again on his way to the World Showcase gate and the boat to DHS, where he had a FastPass+ for the last Lights! Motors! Action! show - don't know if this is the last ever or just the last prior to renovations, but from what I've heard about the changes coming to DHS, it might be the last ever.

While hubby was enjoying himself at WDW, I was making ADRs for our spring trip - actually, I made them for two separate weeks since we don't know when we'll be going yet. I'll just cancel the ones we won't need once we've got a reservation. Anyway, I happened to notice that the expiration date on his annual pass was 10/17/14, which was wrong since he just got the thing today. I mentioned, and he stopped at Guest Services at DHS and got that cleared up. Good thing I was doing Disney stuff because he hadn't noticed the expiration date was wrong.

Anyway, on to DHS. Hubby had FastPass+ reservations for the car show mentioned above, Toy Story Mania, and Fantasmic. After the first FastPass he got a sloppy Joe and fries at Studio Catering Co., which he thought was interesting because he's accustomed to sloppy Joes that are on the sweet side, and this one was more spicy than sweet - but he likes spicy, so it was all good. After Toy Story Mania he saw the finale at the American Idol Experience, even though he has a FastPass+ for an earlier show later in the week. Then he strolled through the Streets of America and the Osborne Festival of Lights, one of our favorite holiday attractions. Finally, it was time for Fantasmic, which he said was a great show as usual. I asked if the FastPass+ was worthwhile, and he said no - although he was able to sit closer than usual, he was in the splash zone, so he'd rather not do that again. After some butter pecan ice cream, he headed for his favorite thrill rides. He passed on Rock'n Roller Coaster because the single rider line was closed during EMH and he didn't want to wait, but he loves Tower of Terror and didn't mind waiting around for that ride.

Then it was a bus ride back to Saratoga Springs and a long soak in the jacuzzi. Tomorrow, back to DHS for more FastPass+ reservations. MK evening EMH was also on the original schedule, but we'll see if he goes - that's his least favorite park.

Pictures, in order: Fish and chips, the Christmas tree outside DHS, sloppy Joe and fries, the entrance to Toy Story Mania, and a couple of shots of the Osborne lights. Forgot to upload Mary Poppins, she'll be along in the next post.

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Mary Poppins topiary:

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Day 3 - Back to DHS

Hubby started the day with a bus ride from Saratoga Springs to Downtown Disney and then another bus to the Beach Club for a breakfast ADR at Cape May Cafe. (The other transportation option would've been bus to DHS and then boat to the Beach Club; he took the first of the two buses.) He arrived at the Beach Club a few minutes late, and then had to wait a good 15 minutes to be seated. But soon the photos started to arrive. The first two below depict his first trip to the buffet (bacon and sausage, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, cornbread sausage, breakfast potatoes, and eggs), then his second trip to the buffet (cottage cheese, berries, melon, salami and capicolla, quinoa with cranberries, and yogurt). He really wanted some Mickey waffles, but after all that food he didn't have room. I looked up counter-service menus online and discovered he can get Mickey waffles at the counter-service restaurant at Saratoga Springs, so he won't miss having them.

The next two photos show the characters visiting children at a neighboring table. Hubby said that the characters weren't coming to his table, probably assuming that a middle-aged man dining alone was only interested in the food. I know that if he'd made eye contact and called out to the characters they would've come over, but I imagine a middle-aged man dining alone might not feel comfortable doing that, maybe thinking folks would check his name against the predator lists or something. So I have to content myself with photos of the characters interacting with other people. He did mention that just as he was leaving, Donald Duck came over to his table, but no photo of that.

Once he was done with breakfast, he hopped the boat to DHS and started out with this day's Toy Story Mania FastPass+. (I hope he loves this ride as much as I do because he has a third FastPass+ for it later in the week.) After that he did Star Tours with a regular FastPass, one of the early rounds of American Idol Experience with a FastPass+, the Great Movie Ride (he got the cowboy storyline), Tower of Terror with his final FastPass+, and Rock'n Roller Coaster using the single rider line. Somewhere in the midst of his touring he discovered that today is Mickey Mouse's birthday, but he didn't notice any sort of special celebration at DHS. By then he was ready for a break and decided to head back to the resort to rest a little before going to MK for EEMH, which run till midnight.

Here are the photos of the Cape May Cafe breakfast. I'll report on MK EEMH later.

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Day 3, continued - EEMH at MK

Hubby wore his brand new Grumpy Cat T-shirt Monday (I got one for each of us, but mine will have to wait till spring) and mentioned he got lots of comments and compliments on it. It's quite nice. I'll take a photo of mine in a bit so you all can see it.

Anyway, after his resort break he arrived at MK around 7:00 p.m. He commented that everyone says Saratoga Springs is sooooo far away from everything, but he made it from the resort to the MK gates in 17 minutes, which he did not think was bad at all. First thing on his agenda was dinner (after the huge Cape May breakfast he had skipped lunch), and he asked me to direct him to the place where the corn dog nuggets were sold. We'd never had them before, but we love the ones at HersheyPark and had already decided to try Disney's version. On his way down Main Street he snapped a photo of the castle in the distance, but the page won't let me attach it, I'll try in another post. I should mention that all hubby's photos are from his cell phone, and neither of us has smart phones, so I apologize for the inferiority of the images.

He took a photo of his dinner so I could try to enjoy it vicariously (well, they LOOK good...). He did report that they were tasty, and he appreciated their having sauerkraut on the condiment table - he loves sauerkraut with his dogs. Photo below.

Just past 8:00 he texted me a photo that I couldn't make out on the small screen. It was the electric parade taken from a distance - he didn't want to fight the crowds to get any closer. Now, that is my absolute favorite WDW parade and hubby knows it. After a bit he texted another attachment. I assumed it was another photo, but instead it was an audio file of the parade music! Brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face hearing it almost live. The sound quality was crap, but I could hear it well enough.

Once the parade was over, hubby headed for the Jungle Cruise. I'd mentioned that WDW had added a slight holiday theme, but he said it was mostly holiday jokes in the script. Fun, but nothing to go out of your way to experience. Next up was Pirates of the Caribbean (hubby was hitting a lot of my favorite attractions, again so I could enjoy them vicariously). He took a not-so-great photo, which I will include here just for the heck of it.

The fireworks started. No photos of that, but hubby managed to find a spot to watch. While watching, he overheard a guy tell his wife, "We have no cash." Welcome to Disney World!

The next text I received had another attached audio file - hubby had gone back to Pirates to make an audio file of the music, which made me smile again. Next was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, then Haunted Mansion. Next stop was It's a Small World. This is far from hubby's favorite ride - I'm sure he would've been happy to skip it altogether - but I'd made him promise he would ride it at least once for me. He sent a few photos (I'll include the two best, since most are rather fuzzy) and another audio file, and I was grinning again.

Hubby's next stop was Space Mountain, which he usually skips so I won't have to wait around for him (he saves that for favorite rides like Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest), and the Buzz Lightyear. He then made his way to the park entrance hoping to ride the train, but it wasn't running so he decided to call it a night and head back to the resort for a much-needed soak in the jacuzzi.

Today's schedule has him back at MK with FastPass+ reservations for Peter Pan's Flight and two of the New Fantasyland attractions, which he'll be experiencing for the first time. Then he'll show up for our dinner ADR at Ohana and hope they'll seat him alone.

A few photos:

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Here's the castle from Main Street.

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Oreo seems fine. She's eating well again and doesn't seem to be in any discomfort. The vet hasn't called with the test results yet, so I still don't know what's going with her thyroid.

This is the T-shirt that attracted all the attention yesterday.

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Thanks, folks. Of course I wish I were there, but writing his trip report helps me enjoy it even though I'm not there.

Day 4 - MK and 'Ohana

Even though it's his least favorite park, hubby headed back to the Magic Kingdom Tuesday to use his FastPass+ reservations, two of which took him to New Fantasyland attractions neither one of us had experienced before. He got a late start due to staying almost till closing during EEMH the night before. He just missed a MK bus, so when an Epcot bus arrived shortly thereafter, he hopped on and caught the monorail to the TTC to get to MK. He knew it probably didn't save him any time, but it was a lot more fun than waiting for the next MK bus.

He arrived at MK after his first FastPass+ window opened (Peter Pan's Flight, always a favorite). Once that was done, he had a little time till his next FastPass+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle and snapped a few photos around New Fantasyland (see below). He called to ask about dining options - because of his 'Ohana dinner ADR he didn't want to eat a lot for lunch. I suggested finding Sleepy Hollow and trying a waffle sandwich, since folks here have raved about them, but also mentioned some quick-service restaurants that have salads on the menu.

Hubby declared Enchanted Tales with Belle just okay, since it was mostly a participatory attraction for children. His next FastPass+ (the Little Mermaid ride) wouldn't open for a while, so he rode Splash Mountain and then tried the chicken waffle sandwich on his way back to Fantasyland. He said it was awesome! So thanks for recommending it, everyone. This is something we will both definitely have next spring.

Next up was the Little Mermaid ride (sorry I don't have the name right, but I've never done it myself), which he liked better than Tales with Belle. Upon leaving the attraction, he texted, "No exit thru gift shop? IS THIS DISNEY????"

He finished the afternoon with another visit to Splash Mountain (a favorite of ours that we missed last year because it was always closed for maintenance when we happened by), the afternoon parade, and a circuit around the park on the train. Then he headed for the exit and bypassed the resort buses to take the ferry boat to the TTC and then the monorail to Epcot, where he caught a bus to Saratoga Springs. Not at all time efficient, but he loves the boat and the monorail, so it was worth the extra time. He'd hoped to visit the resort's main pool area to soak in a hot tub, but once the sun started to set he thought it a little too cool and settled for the in-room jacuzzi instead.

His 'Ohana ADR was for 8:10, and he hopped a bus for Downtown Disney with a good 1 1/2 hours to get there, arriving well before his ADR. I guess they aren't used to getting single diners (they don't even accept one-person reservations), or maybe they don't have a lot of tables for two, but it took them nearly an hour to get him to a table. He even went back to the desk to ask about it, fearing they'd forgotten to page him, or his pager didn't work, or some such problem. While he was waiting, he admired the Polynesian Christmas trees decorating the lobby, which were decorated with tropical flowers. He tried to take a photo, but the lighting was too dim.

Once he was seated, he enjoyed the bread and ordered a rum, whiskey, and fruit cocktail called a "backscratcher," which had a swizzle stick shaped like a backscratcher in it. No photos of the drink or the food, unfortunately, since it was too dark and his phone doesn't have a flash option for picture taking.

Then the fireworks started! Unfortunately, hubby didn't have a great view since he was at the back of the dining area, but he could see some of it. And he'd just seen the fireworks the night before, so it's not like he missed seeing them.

He declared the beef best of everything, and ate so much he didn't have room for dessert (but managed to take a few bites anyway).

For Day 5 he has FastPass+ reservations at Animal Kingdom, and since that's his favorite park I'm sure he won't change his plans.

Photos:

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Day 5 - Animal Kingdom

Hubby got a late start again today, arriving at the park in the middle of his FastPass+ window for Kilimanjaro Safari. But he got there in time and sent me a bunch of photos. I'm only posting the good ones. Unfortunately none of the kitty pictures came out very well; the cats are either so distant that they're unrecognizable or mostly hidden behind rocks.

Photos:

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Day 5 - Animal Kingdom, continued

After the safari, hubby got a regular FastPass for the Kali River Rapids and then rode Expedition Everest, taking advantage of the single rider line. Then he headed over to the Jungle Trek and snapped a photo of one lazy tiger (see below). Kitty! Back at Kali, he realized he hadn't needed the FastPass when people in the standby line made to the boarding platform ahead of him. Oh, well. He remembered a poncho so he didn't get completely soaked.

Because of his FastPasses, he decided to get a late lunch and staved off hunger with a Mickey ice cream sandwich. Then it started to rain, so it was a good thing he had a FastPass+ for Festival of the Lion King coming up. Along the way he snapped a photo of an Animal Kingdom Christmas tree (see below). At the show, hubby somehow managed to get seated in our favorite section - the LION section, of course. Roar! Once the show started, he sent me an audio file of the opening number. The sound quality sucked, but I could still make out the tune and even some words of the song, and of course had no trouble hearing when all the lions ROARED! He said the cast looked the same as last year, and we speculated that it was likely they were. Short of being an actual movie or TV star, or a headliner on Broadway, being a regular in any Disney show is probably as good as it gets for an actor - steady job with benefits and such.

After the show, hubby finally got lunch around 3:15 in the afternoon. He went to Yak and Yeti counter service and had the sweet and sour chicken (photo below). After lunch he caught up with the parade, done in the holiday them (see below). The jungle parade, holiday or regular version, is hubby's favorite Disney parade. He especially liked Santa Goofy, since Goofy is his favorite character. Whenever we've done a character meal, it HAD to be a place where Goofy made an appearance.

Once the parade was over, he headed over to the train to Rafiki's place and took a leisurely ride. "Sitting time, I like that," he commented. We'd actually never visited this attraction before, and he said it was worthwhile since the train passed various animal buildings along the way and he got to see more animals. Once the train arrived, hubby got a kick out of watching the conductor show a little boy the train engine and let him blow the whistle.

Hubby's final FastPass+ was for Finding Nemo - The Musical, the final show right at park closing. Which is where he is now. The FastPass+ got him six rows from the stage, so it was definitely worth it.

As for the evening? I don't know. My original schedule had us park-hopping to Epcot for the evening, but now that he's been to all four parks, I'm not sure whether he'll stick to the original schedule. He hasn't done DisneyQuest yet, and he really enjoys the attractions there. I also don't know what he'll do with the rest of his week. So...we will find out eventually.

Photos:

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Just suffered a spot of melancholy. Posting all these trip reports didn't do it, it was watching Jess and Mase's videos. Dang it, I should BE THERE TOO RIGHT NOW!!!!

I will go hug Oreo and remember why I stayed home.

Then maybe do some planning for our spring trip.

He's going to Epcot for EEMH, but he also has his FastPass+ reservations there, and the first one starts at 4:25. I'll ask if he can do DisneyQuest earlier.

Dee, he would be happy to meet you at DisneyQuest. (I assume that's the DQ you mentioned; surely you didn't mean Dairy Queen, lol, and I can't think of any other DQs.) Shall I tell him to be there at, say 1:30, and that you'll text him when you arrive to work out where to meet?

Edited to add: I just remembered that our cell phones get lousy reception inside DisneyQuest, so you'd better meet outside first.