norybell
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2009
Ive never written a PTR before. Or a TR, for that matter. But something had to be done. My WDW-mania has perhaps gotten a bit out of control. I mean, here I am, happily floating along in a Woo-hoo-Im-going-back-to-Disney-in-a-mere-five-months mindbubble, and no one understands! And not only do they not understand once they hear Im going all by myself, they tend to look at me with this weird combination of surprise, disgust, and incredulation, with a dash of pity thrown in. My boyfriend (of 10 years) is trying (kind of) to be understanding, but hes never been to Disney, so he really doesnt get it. And Im starting to worry that if he sees me reading trip reports or flipping through my Unofficial Guide one more time, he might sign me up for therapy!
So I turn to you, fellow DISers. You dont know me, but I know you, because Ive been obsessively lurking on the DIS since January. So hi! I know you understand!
Who am I? Im Nory. Im 33, and I live in Manhattan with my wonderful boyfriend, awesome dog, and evil cat. Im kind of sort of a book editor, the kind of sort of involving lots of details that are boring. The only important thing you need to know about it, really, is that I usually work from home. Leaving me plenty of time for DISing. Other than that, who wants to think about work, anyway?
DBF is a writer. Dog is a dog. Cat is, Im sure, some sort of evil mastermind, whos plotting ways to kill us all in our sleep.
Why a solo trip to WDW? Well, why not?
Ive always loved Disney World, since our first trip way back in 1977. My family used to go fairly regularly when I was a kid, every two or three years, always staying in the Treehouse Villas or Vacation Villas. I have three little sisters, and we used to play Disney World all the time wed take an old Magic Kingdom map and pretend that various locations in the house were different rides (My beds Pirates, and yours is the Jungle Cruise! Now lets take the train to Fantasyland in the dining room!) somehow this amused us for hours (ah, life before Nintendo!).
Sadly, for a variety of reasons, by the time I reached high school wed stopped making it down there very often. I went once with my high school choir to perform in Epcot, but that trip was more about flirting with the boy I liked than about any Disney magic. We went once during my first year or two of college (when my oldest younger sister and I, Im ashamed to say, put a plastic Mickey bubble pipe to some very non-Disney-like use, resulting in me accidentally using a mens restroom at Downtown Disney talk about stupid! ). And I went once with my mom and my sisters when I was 25, but I was about to move cross-country two days after I got back, so I was a bit too stressed out to enjoy myself on that trip (OK, to be totally honest, I was a real brat).
Thus, by 2004, itd been over a decade since Id had what I would consider to be a real WDW trip. The kind filled with joy and magic. In a spur-of-the-moment burst of inspiration, I convinced my sisters (all adults at this point) to head down to the world with me, in an effort to recapture our youth (or something). We went for four days during the first week of May, stayed at the YC, and learned that WDW can be as fun if not more for adults as it is for children. We had a blast, and appreciated it in a whole new way.
Then five more years passed. During that time, I occasionally tried to convince one or another of my sisters to go back with me, but lives and work and school and schedules kept it an impossibility; the idea of a solo trip never occurred to me (before I discovered the DIS).
Then, a miracle happened! This past Christmas, my mom said, Nory, why dont you and I take a trip together, just the two of us? We could fly down to Naples (FL) and relax on the beach. Or we could go to Disney World!
Well, that was a no-brainer! We stayed at the YC for four days the last week of April, and it was a near-perfect vacation. I discovered the DIS, spent about four months planning, and it totally paid off: we didnt wait for anything for more than 5-10 minutes, we had some wonderful meals, and we did stuff that was new to us, even after so many trips over so many years. So thanks to all of you!
Of course, the only problem with the trip was that it was way, way, way too short. After spending so much time thinking about it and planning it and spending time on the DIS, I felt like there was so much I didnt get to see and do. So, once I got home, I was plunged into a bit of a Disney-withdrawal depression. My mom and I had discussed beginning an annual family trip tradition for nieces birthday in October, but we want to wait until shes old enough (at least 3), so that wont happen until 2010 at the earliest.
I thought to myself, geez, if Disney World makes me so happy, why shouldnt I go more often? Why shouldnt I go in October, and check it out that time of year, as preparation for future niece-birthday trips (hows that for justification?)?
I knew none of my sisters would be able to travel that time of year, but I didnt want to go during a busier season. And I thought I could maybe talk DBF into it (he professes no interest in Disney, but he also admits to loving designed environments, and I challenge anyone to think of a more designed environment than WDW!), but he and I have another trip planned for September, and itd be hard for him to take more time off from his day job. Plus, I think there might be more of a chance hell love it there once we have kids to take with us (through the eyes of a child, and all that).
This left just me! I hesitated a bit, but after reading lots of solo trip reports, and getting some good advice over on the solo/adult travelers board, it started sounding more and more liberating.
So, now its really happening! Late October. F&W, MNSSHP, so many new things to see and do, with no one to worry about but myself! I cant wait!
Now that Ive written this novel, I wonder if anyone will actually read it? Well, if you are and youve made it this far, stay tuned. I promise future segments will be shorter! Next up: Where will I stay?
So I turn to you, fellow DISers. You dont know me, but I know you, because Ive been obsessively lurking on the DIS since January. So hi! I know you understand!
Who am I? Im Nory. Im 33, and I live in Manhattan with my wonderful boyfriend, awesome dog, and evil cat. Im kind of sort of a book editor, the kind of sort of involving lots of details that are boring. The only important thing you need to know about it, really, is that I usually work from home. Leaving me plenty of time for DISing. Other than that, who wants to think about work, anyway?
DBF is a writer. Dog is a dog. Cat is, Im sure, some sort of evil mastermind, whos plotting ways to kill us all in our sleep.
Why a solo trip to WDW? Well, why not?
Ive always loved Disney World, since our first trip way back in 1977. My family used to go fairly regularly when I was a kid, every two or three years, always staying in the Treehouse Villas or Vacation Villas. I have three little sisters, and we used to play Disney World all the time wed take an old Magic Kingdom map and pretend that various locations in the house were different rides (My beds Pirates, and yours is the Jungle Cruise! Now lets take the train to Fantasyland in the dining room!) somehow this amused us for hours (ah, life before Nintendo!).
Sadly, for a variety of reasons, by the time I reached high school wed stopped making it down there very often. I went once with my high school choir to perform in Epcot, but that trip was more about flirting with the boy I liked than about any Disney magic. We went once during my first year or two of college (when my oldest younger sister and I, Im ashamed to say, put a plastic Mickey bubble pipe to some very non-Disney-like use, resulting in me accidentally using a mens restroom at Downtown Disney talk about stupid! ). And I went once with my mom and my sisters when I was 25, but I was about to move cross-country two days after I got back, so I was a bit too stressed out to enjoy myself on that trip (OK, to be totally honest, I was a real brat).
Thus, by 2004, itd been over a decade since Id had what I would consider to be a real WDW trip. The kind filled with joy and magic. In a spur-of-the-moment burst of inspiration, I convinced my sisters (all adults at this point) to head down to the world with me, in an effort to recapture our youth (or something). We went for four days during the first week of May, stayed at the YC, and learned that WDW can be as fun if not more for adults as it is for children. We had a blast, and appreciated it in a whole new way.
Then five more years passed. During that time, I occasionally tried to convince one or another of my sisters to go back with me, but lives and work and school and schedules kept it an impossibility; the idea of a solo trip never occurred to me (before I discovered the DIS).
Then, a miracle happened! This past Christmas, my mom said, Nory, why dont you and I take a trip together, just the two of us? We could fly down to Naples (FL) and relax on the beach. Or we could go to Disney World!
Well, that was a no-brainer! We stayed at the YC for four days the last week of April, and it was a near-perfect vacation. I discovered the DIS, spent about four months planning, and it totally paid off: we didnt wait for anything for more than 5-10 minutes, we had some wonderful meals, and we did stuff that was new to us, even after so many trips over so many years. So thanks to all of you!
Of course, the only problem with the trip was that it was way, way, way too short. After spending so much time thinking about it and planning it and spending time on the DIS, I felt like there was so much I didnt get to see and do. So, once I got home, I was plunged into a bit of a Disney-withdrawal depression. My mom and I had discussed beginning an annual family trip tradition for nieces birthday in October, but we want to wait until shes old enough (at least 3), so that wont happen until 2010 at the earliest.
I thought to myself, geez, if Disney World makes me so happy, why shouldnt I go more often? Why shouldnt I go in October, and check it out that time of year, as preparation for future niece-birthday trips (hows that for justification?)?
I knew none of my sisters would be able to travel that time of year, but I didnt want to go during a busier season. And I thought I could maybe talk DBF into it (he professes no interest in Disney, but he also admits to loving designed environments, and I challenge anyone to think of a more designed environment than WDW!), but he and I have another trip planned for September, and itd be hard for him to take more time off from his day job. Plus, I think there might be more of a chance hell love it there once we have kids to take with us (through the eyes of a child, and all that).
This left just me! I hesitated a bit, but after reading lots of solo trip reports, and getting some good advice over on the solo/adult travelers board, it started sounding more and more liberating.
So, now its really happening! Late October. F&W, MNSSHP, so many new things to see and do, with no one to worry about but myself! I cant wait!
Now that Ive written this novel, I wonder if anyone will actually read it? Well, if you are and youve made it this far, stay tuned. I promise future segments will be shorter! Next up: Where will I stay?