My amazing solo trip in March

Spike101

Affable gay geek
Joined
Dec 7, 2018
Crikey where to start!

Well firstly the journey itself all went like clockwork, even getting through U.S security at MCO only took about 30 minutes, the only hitch was the transfer coach driver wanting to drop me off at the wrong Rosen Inn on I-Drive, that misunderstanding would also rear its ugly head on my last day but I'll get to that later

The Rosen Inn at 6327 (To be clear) I-Drive has rooms you'd describe as homely, not modern, but with everything I needed, very spacious and clean, 9th floor room, could see IOA from my window, huuuuge bed and very comfortable too, I'd highly recommend this Rosen for its value and location, the Walgreens up the road was a life saver for me!

I didnt keep a diary of what I did each day, I meant to, but hey, so this might ramble a bit but hopefully I'll get across everything I did, and what I liked the most, and disliked, if I can think of anything I disliked that is!

So first day Monday morning after a very early breakfast at Dennys, got to the park not long after 9, just travelling down the people mover for the first time was like something out of a dream, I couldnt quite believe I was actually there and could not stop smiling, oh just to add, through tecchy reasons I wont be adding any photos, anyhoo, first port of call was at guest services at IOA to get my UK bought 14 day ticket upgraded to a preferred annual pass.

Turns out to do this you can only upgrade to a 3 park pass, which I didnt want to do and it cost a lot more than I was expecting, so I decided the best thing to do, was to think on it for a couple of hours, which I did, then went back and upgraded anyway, just having the early entry every day to USO was worth the extra spend!

After that I headed over to USO and bought my Coca-Cola Freestyle cup, one of the new ones without the handle, worth noting that the first day you have these cups is not free for your refills, you still have to pay the $9 fee, a minor annoyance when I found this out, but it was the cup I wanted, so I quickly put that behind me.

After that, I had a little sit down just to look at everything, and smile even more, then decided to mooch over to E.T as I'd always said to myself that that was the first ride I was going to do, which I loved, after that the day is a bit of a blur, it was very warm, and I walked a lot here and at IOA just seeing everything, having done so much research the only time I had to refer to the park map was to see where the nearest smoking section was, and there are plenty if any smokers are reading this, the only other ride I did that day was Transformers, had to close my eyes once when some missile thing came hurtling at me, so well done!

So by about 4pm I was knackered, and I'd sat down plenty all day, but I had been up since at 5am, so that was expected, so I called it a day, from Citywalk back to my hotel, took me about 25 minutes, probably at half my usual London walking pace, according to my phone at the end of the day I'd walked 26000 steps, phew no wonder I was tired, so thats all for now, will come back to this later.

lastly I will say to any first timers reading this, do so much research that by the time you get to the park you'll feel like you know it back to front, it will save you so much time and energy, none of which you'll have spare reserves, trust me!
 
So after a thoroughly enthralling first day when I couldnt stop smiling, and a great nights sleep, back again on Tuesday, this time armed with my AP for early opening, today was the day I was going to do the rides I wanted to do the most and then see where my feet took me.

So I seem to remember getting to the park not long before rope drop, then headed straight for Diagon Alley to do Gringotts, the lockers werent the nightmare I was expecting, and I was on the ride in about 20 minutes, loved it and didnt make me feel sick at all, which was a worry of mine and indeed on all the rides as it had been such a long time since I'd visited a theme park.

In fact, just staying on that subject for a bit, there were times when I knew I couldnt do a ride for at least another hour, then sometimes I wanted to do another straight away, rides that rattled me around a lot certainly had the worst effects but I'll get to those later when I do my list of rides and what I liked didnt like, or even didnt do!

So after Gringotts I had a little mooch round Diagon Ally, had a cigarette next to Bruce while just enjoying being at the park, I had a LOT of those moments the whole week I was there, just sitting quietly, smoking or not smoking even and watching the world go by, oh yes, I nearly forgot thats when it started to rain so out come my little waterproof jacket which came from Mountain Warehouse and worked a treat, good thing too as it didnt stop raining for about another 3 hours, having said that, that was the only time I had to wear my waterproof the whole week so was pretty lucky with the weather, well, the next day was another story but I'll get to that later.

So post cigarette, went on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, then to Hogwarts for Forbidden Journey, those lockers certainly not as user friendly, and beware that once you open it, if you happen to let go while getting your stuff together it slams shut again and you have to get another locker, also worth noting that I was able to get my small backpack in containing my free-style cup, my own refillable cup (which I stopped bring after that day) and other bits and bobs, but it was a squeeze, take a backpack thats not large and can be easily squashed, oh and remember your locker number, I couldnt remember mine first time but luckily knew exactly which one it was as it was to the side.

Anyhoo, having just about won the Great Locker Battle of 2019 it was on to FJ, did the regular queue as it was my first time, and indeed was the only time I did this queue but glad I did, like everyone has said, has to be done once to enjoy the whole experience, but then the ride, ohmigod, the ride, when we swooped over the forest and lake I just screamed 'OH WOW!", its the closest (aside from in dreams) I've ever felt to flying, again didnt make me feel sick at all.

BEST

RIDE

EVER

So after round 2 with the lockers, and not once did they ever open first time, always had to put my number in twice, grrrrrrrrr, had another rest in the Jurassic Park smoking area, which became one of my fave places to sit, then headed down to Spiderman, I looked at Kong on the way down, only a short wait, but I'd been waiting to do Spiderman for a long long time, and it was worth the wait, I knew it used the same ride system as Transformers but I enjoyed it more.

Once I'd done Spidey I had a good mooch round the shops in Superhero island, then left IOA and walked back to USO (was quicker than walking back to Hogsmeade and waiting for the HE) and mooched around a bit waiting for the Passholders lounge to open at 11am to get out of the rain which I duly did, so pleased to hear its staying open until the end of this year, it became a very welcome refuge, and the free chips always made sure i didnt have to worry too much about lunch!

I cant remember much else about that day, once the weather cleared I have a feeling that was the day I did the Simpsons Ride, I think I wanted to get it over with after hearing so many people saying it made them sick, and now I know why, i was okay on it, but once was enough, and you wouldnt want to do it on a full stomach thats for sure, myself and the woman next to me pretty much synchronised our screams!

After this, more sitting down, more coke refill, and by god I made far more use of that refillable cup than I thought I ever would, dread to think how much I would have spent on soda the whole week, and I do prefer soda to water most but not all of the time. So I think it got to about 3pm and I was done, and knew it was time to head back to the hotel for the rest of the day, truly pooped again but a very happy boy!

Til next time.....
 


You got a lot done that day

Did it take many days to adjust to the time change coming from England?
 
You got a lot done that day

Did it take many days to adjust to the time change coming from England?

I'd say just waking up at 5am the first couple of days, but a lot of that was just my sheer excitement at being there and having (for me) relatively early nights, albeit after a ton of walking, 20000 steps a day was average, it was 30000 one day, and of course I walked to the park and back every day, sometimes more than once.

But jetlag wasnt an issue at all, although the fact I only did 2 rides on my first day, one being E.T which was very sedate, was very much on purpose as not being as young as I used to be, I wanted to treat my old body a bit kindly to start with, and having a whole week I knew I could take my time, and get everything done, or so I thought!
 
So this all brings me to Wednesday, the day of the big freeze!

It was FREEZING when I decided that I'd do the 10 minute walk down to McDonalds down the road (The largest in the world, the McDonalds, not the road) and have breakfast, in hindsight, I wish I'd gone to Dennys again, but what was done was done, but by god, the icy wind that was blowing up I-Drive that day went right to my bones, and I was wearing my winter coat from England, so after that little walk and a cup of tea back at the hotel, the little coffee maker in my room being equally good at making tea, I decided that later on I'd go for a walk but have a rest day from the parks.

I was very tired and figured that a freezing cold day, in my winter coat wouldnt be fun, and a days rest would do me good, and that turned out to be a great call on my part, so later on, still chilly but the sun was peeping out, I went for a wander to find a comic shop which was further down I-Drive, which I did find, and a cute shop next to it selling secondhand DVD's and CD's, love those kind of shops!

Anyway, rest of the day was spent chilling at the Hotel, reassuring the maids everything was fine every time they knocked on the door, had dinner at Dennys that evening and just more chill out time in the evening, not everyones idea of a fun day in Florida but I was perfectly content.

I havent mentioned it before, but that day was a perfect example of why I was so happy to do a solo trip, I wasnt being pulled one way or another to 'Do something' because 'We're on holiday' by another person, and I've always been very, very happy in my own company, and in fact I couldnt imagine doing a Universal trip aside from on my own after the great time I had.

Thats all from me today, the next bit of my report will be a strange mash up of Thursday to Sunday as I cant quite remember what I did on each day, but everything I did do will get a mention, as well as the things I didnt, and I'll talk a bit more about what I thought of each ride and the parks in general.

TTFN

Spike xxx
 


So where were we? Ah yes, Thursday onwards, right before I crack on with that I'll say a few things about the parks in general, one of the big things I noticed was how chilled out everyone in the parks seemed, I didnt see anyone at all have any cross words with each other at any point, in fact the whole week I was there I only saw 2 kids have a tantrum, and one of those wasnt a big one!

I had lots of lovely chats all week with people I just ended sitting next to while having a break or a smoke, and all the team members I spoke to were without exception friendly and more than happy to have a chat with me.

There were lots of lovely little spots just to sit and watch the world go by, again another favourite one of mine was by the lake at IOA underneath the Hulk in the smoking area just opposite the Backwater Bar, I loved just sitting there, listening to the music and simply enjoying being THERE, and again was a nice place just to pop a few photos on Facebook for the peeps at home, oh and that brings me onto the Wi-Fi in the park which was very, very good, I never had any problems with it and if anything probably forgot to make use of the App as much as I could have regarding queue times, doh!

Okay, so Thursday, if memory serves, I did Minions straight away, I think was on the very first loading, as it were, I knew that I had to do it early to avoid the big queues and Thursday was the day, then had my now traditional cigarette with Bruce (We were very much on first name terms by then) and hotfooted it onto the HE, did FJ again, single rider this time, literally was a walk on, and of the 3 times I did this ride, this was the only time I felt it almost outstayed its welcome!

After that, as there was a bit of a nip in the air, I went to the Hogs Head and had my first Butterbeer, ever! I was served by a lovely chap called Zach and we had a very nice chat, I went for the hot variety which was luverly, and warmed me up a bit, I sat round the back of the pub, and yet again, just couldnt believe I was actually there, I think I had at least a couple of those moments every single day.

After that, as it was still early I decided that I'd give Kong a go, again was a walk on, well I say that, but the actual queue bit is sooooooo dark in places, I truly thought I was going in circles at some points, I fear that the older couple I passed on my way to the ride are still there.......so Kong itself was a pleasant surprise, although it did rattle me around a bit more than I was expecting!

I decided after that to get the HE back to London as I hadnt been that way yet, and was well chuffed when I got a compartment all to myself! I think after that was when I eventually went on The Mummy, single rider again so very short wait, and, well, it wasnt my cup of tea, and I think its time for me to admit that my rollercoaster days are over....

TBC

Spike xxx
 
Sounds like a lovely trip so far! Glad you were able to enjoy some down time with your park days!
 
Speaking of the wild rides, lets move onto a couple of the non wild rides, I thoroughly enjoyed kang and Kodos, Storm, and the Suess Trolley, in fact that trolley was the longest wait I had of any ride the whole week, 25 minutes I think, again, didnt think to check the app, but still, I was very glad of these sedate rides, in fact I'm not ashamed to say that on Storm I spent a lot of the ride going "Wheeeee!" I love a teacup ride.

So while I'm on the subject of rides, there were a couple that I didnt bother with, The Slow and the Curious and Jimmy Fallon, neither one appealed to me, and in the case of the former nobody says its any good so I was happy to skip that, and the latter just has zilch appeal to me, maybe on my next visit I'll give them a go, but heres what I thought of the rides I did do with marks out of 10 and wether I was able to do single rider.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - Brilliant, wonderful, best thing ever can see why it makes people a bit sick though, I found holding the bars and leaning forward the whole ride far more comfortable and pleasant than sitting back (10/10) SR

Escape from Gringotts - Superb, and for a very short time was the best thing ever, well, 2nd best after back to the Future, til I rode FJ (9/10)

Flight of the Hippogriff - Okay but very very quick, and you do get rattled around a lot, especially when you're sitting on your own, probably not as bad with 2 on together! (5/10)

Hogwarts Express - Delightful, for the best effect try not to sit right next to the window (9/10)

Minions Mayhem - Good fun, the pre show takes up a lot of time so beware of that if you do it first thing in the morning with an eye on getting on the Hogwarts Express early, like I was! (7/10)

The Simpsons Ride - Its a bit manic, and probably more likely to make you sick than any other ride, dont do it straight after lunch or breakfast, I'm glad I did it, but its definitely a ride to do just once per visit! (6/10)

Kang and Kodos - Just a lovely little spin, very old skool, and great commentary going on, a little gem, but not worth a long wait (8/10)

Kong Skull Island - probably the most unexpected fun I had, didnt have high hopes from stuff I'd heard but I really liked it, could have done with a seatbelt though, I was slipping and sliding and rattled all over the place, and looking side to side at the screens was a bit disconcerting but a better ride than its reputation I feel, one to do very early in the day as always had big queues (8/10)

Jurassic Park River Adventure - The first time I went on I was 3 rows back in the middle on a quiet boat, got a bit of a splash, second time, it was a roasting day, I was in the 2nd row on the side, got very happily soaked! (8/10) SR

As an aside, speaking of the wet rides and the rain, I made sure, whatever the forecast that I had my important stuff in my backpack all in ZipLoc bags, on rides where I knew I'd get thrown about a lot I'd empty my freestyle cup before I got on, as I also did before using any lockers.

TBC!
 
Just pausing my ride chat for a little bit, one of the things I wasnt prepared for was how tired I would be at the end of each day, or even by mid afternoon, I'm not the spring chicken I used to be and probably thats why I didnt really see the park at night aside from one night when I did see the Mardi Gras parade, and certainly next trip I'll try and do more stuff later in the evening, not that I have any regrets or feelings that I missed out on anything at all as there was never a day I went to bed thinking "Oh I wish I'd done so and so".

Next visit I will make sure of one thing though, to put a bit more sunscreen on my nose, nuff said as Stan Lee would say!

Anyhoo back to the rides!

Men in Black - I didnt do, again just not my cup of tea.

Dr Dooms Fearfall - Short but fun, the worst thing is the anticipation of when you'll shoot up, I ended up on gate 3 which had a fab view of the park when you hit the top (7/10) SR

Spiderman - Loved it, had no idea what was going on but one of my favourites of the trip (9/10) SR

Transformers - The view from the front row is a little bit murky, and had even less of an idea what was going on than I did with Spiderman, but still very enjoyable! (8/10) SR

Storm Force - Very much my cup of tea (8/10)

Next up I'll talk about my last day, well, half day really as I remember that really well, and was the only day I wasnt smiling all day as I was so sad to be going home :(

Back soon

Spike xxx
 
Enjoy reading. I like a holiday trip where you don't go, go, go. And yeah, in January, one day I wore my winter jacket, and spent time in the indoor rides.
 
Hi thanks for sharing your trip. Glad that it was everything you hoped especially traveling so far. I hear you on the body getting old and some of the rides. I still do all the coasters but find myself having to take longer breaks in between and I can't do ones that rattle me. I use to love Rip Ride but I just can't do it anymore. I can mange the hulk once first row and then I am done. I do love the coasters. I also went in January once and we walked from the Double Tree Inn, it was about 32 degrees and by the end of the day it was 70.

Love taking down time to just sit in a favorite spot and look at everything. I find myself getting more tired after a long day. I use to go 12 hour park days non stop. Now it's harder.

Now you have something new to look forward to.

Look forward to the rest.
 
After that I headed over to USO and bought my Coca-Cola Freestyle cup, one of the new ones without the handle, worth noting that the first day you have these cups is not free for your refills, you still have to pay the $9 fee, a minor annoyance when I found this out, but it was the cup I wanted, so I quickly put that behind me.

That does seem kind of odd that you have to pay for the cup and the refills. The price of the cup should include the first day.
 
Righty ho, so better late than never, my last day, the Monday I had to fly home, even thinking about it now I just remember so well how glum I was, but decided to make the best of it.

Got up really early and made sure I was at the gates by about 7.30, I remembered either reading on here or elsewhere when standing in line for early entry, dont join an existing queue, just walk right to the front of an empty gate, best tip ever, I went to one of the temporary stations right in front of the gates, knowing a team member would be there, which sure enough happened.

It was most amusing to see all the people in the long lines watch me, and think, oh, does have a special ticket, whys he gone to the front etc etc, and sure enough, people began to join the other empty stations next to where I was.

Long story short, thanks to that, I was the 2nd one into Diagon Alley, managed to get a couple of great photos of it deserted before I headed straight for Gringotts, after that had a last wander round before my last cigarette with Bruce then onto the first Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade.

In quick succession I did Forbidden Journey, FOTH, Spider Man and Doctor Doom, after that just chilled out, revisited my fave spots in IOA then walked back over to Studios, had one last walk around, and finally had to admit that time was up and had to say goodbye :(
 
Happy you came back here to share your last park days with us


Do you have plans for a future return trip?
 
I'll be there from the 6th for 8 nights, and this trip will try to split my days a bit more, obviously working round HHN (not a fan) but am happy to spend my evenings at IOA, which is my favourite of the 2 parks, and of course there is the not so small matter of Hagrids coaster!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top