First solo trip to Orlando...and first PTR/TR

[Vanessa R]

I love to read trip reports and by now I've already annoyed all my friends and family talking about this vacation so I decided to give it a try here. This is also my first time ever posting on DIS.

A little about me: I'm Brazilian (sorry about my not-so-good English, it's not my first language), 25 years old and I currently live in NYC. I adore anything Harry Potter related and am looking forward to Diagon Alley and Hogwarts Express as they weren't ready yet last time I went. I've traveled solo a lot of times and I absolutely love being able to do things on my own rhythm and my own priorities but this will be the first time I go solo to a theme park and I'm pretty excited about it.

A little background: I went to Orlando for the first (and only) time in 2013 with my mother and childhood friend (we've been friends since we were 5) and I tried to squeeze in everything. We stayed at a Disney hotel and went to Disney parks for 4 days, Universal for 2 days, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens one day each. I had every step planned as I tried to fit everything into our tight schedule and even though we had an amazing time I still feel like we ended up not doing anything properly as we were always running to next thing and we definitely didn't enjoy the Universal parks as much as we should have because we went there on the last couple days and were all already exhausted and in a bad mood.
I went to California with my dad in 2014 and we went to Universal Studios Hollywood and I didn't really plan anything besides going on rides because that's all my dad cares about and I'm a thrill seeker too so it worked out great and it was a more relaxed day than our trip to Orlando.
Even though I haven't been back since then I kept reading trip reports, watching vlogs and travelling through other people vacation. But now it's time to go back!

When: I'll arrive in Orlando in the morning of August, 22 and will leave on August, 28 afternoon. I'll stay at Sapphire Falls and it'll be my first time on a on-site hotel (a lot of first times on this trip). I wanted to stay on the new hotel and since I don't think I'll need EP, I decided to do it.

Which parks: I learned from my mistakes and decided to slow down. I'm not going to Disney this time. I bought AP for Universal (I already have other trips planned there until next year) and will use one day to go to Busch Gardens. I'm allowing a lot of time to enjoy the pools and explore the hotels and CityWalk.

Why solo? Because I want to explore everything on my own without worrying about what the others want to do. I enjoyed a lot all my other solo trips and I'm quite sure I'll love this one too.

Sorry about the lack of pictures, I don't have any right now, maybe I'll post some later

 

[schumigirl]

Vanessa...........

Your English is very good.........don't worry about that........

Your trip sounds fabulous! There's lots of people go solo to Universal, including many on this board.....they all have a wonderful time.

It's an excellent idea to take your time and enjoy the resorts too.......so many make the mistake of trying to cram everything into a very short visit.......sounds like you will have a relaxing time and still take everything in you want.

Sapphire Falls looks beautiful, I'm sure you'll enjoy staying there.

looking forward to reading along with you.........

 

[johnaalexis]

Hi!

Welcome! Your English is great! I'm sure it's better than mine and it is my native language . Your solo trip sounds really cool and I hope you enjoy your stay at Sapphire Falls! I haven't been to Diagon Alley either. On my last trip to UOF I was there about 1 month before it opened. Now I'm going back too, about two weeks after you. I'm sure your going to have a great time! I see lots of awesome solo TRs on the boards and people seem to have lots of fun. Look forward to reading yours!

 

[Vanessa R]

Your English is very good.........don't worry about that.......

our English is great! I'm sure it's better than mine and it is my native language

Thanks a lot, I'm glad you think so

It's an excellent idea to take your time and enjoy the resorts too.......so many make the mistake of trying to cram everything into a very short visit.......sounds like you will have a relaxing time and still take everything in you want.

Yes, I made that mistake once, now I want to have time to relax by the pool and sleep in or go back to the hotel to take a nap in the afternoon.

I haven't been to Diagon Alley either. On my last trip to UOF I was there about 1 month before it opened. Now I'm going back too, about two weeks after you.

I'm really excited about Diagon Alley! That's awesome that you are going back too.

 

[Vanessa R]

I'm 12 days away from this trip and I'm counting down every second!

Here's my itinerary so far (I changed it a lot and that's a chance I'll change something again):
Monday (08/22) - I'll arrive at MCO a little before 9am and after a lot of recommendations here I booked the transfer with Tony so I'm guessing I'll be at the hotel at around 10am. I'll check-in, leave my suitcase and go to Diagon Alley. I'll do only the WWoHP this day, so I'll explore Diagon Alley and then take the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmead and enjoy the rest of the day there.
Tuesday (08/23) - Universal Studios. The priority is the other areas of the park but I'll probably stop by Diagon Alley again because I can't help myself.
Wednesday (08/24) - Busch Gardens. I'll take the free shuttle and spend the whole day there.
Thursday (08/25) - IoA. Same thing as US, the priority is the rest f the park but will probably go to Hogsmead too.
Friday (08/26) and Saturday (08/27) - Redo some rides, pool hop and explore the hotels and CityWalk.
Sunday (08/27) - Not sure. My flight is late afternoon so I'm thinking about sleeping in and go for one last round of rides after checking out of the hotel. I'll definitely be getting one last butterbeer.

I put all the parks on weekday because I figured it will be less crowded but I might change things around depending on the weather and how tired I am.

My list of places to eat is like this (I usually eat counter service in the parks):

• all Sapphire Falls restaurants (I have the $150 food credit)
• Leaky Cauldron
• Three Broomsticks
• Monsters Cafe
• Beverly Hills Boulangerie
• Thunder Falls
• The Kitchen
• Cowfish
• Bubba Gump
• maybe Mythos. I ate there last time and had a great meal but I might want to just grab something quick instead of seating in the restaurant.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Anything that I can't leave without trying?

 

[johnaalexis]

We are making reservations for Mythos and Mama Dellas, both were very highly recommended to me by DIS members. Mama Dellas was the most recommended restaurant to us!

 

[Vanessa R]

I'll add Mama Dellas to my list, thanks!

 

[macraven]

Monsters is not a place that has consistent good food

At least for me is why I say that

Thunder falls could be a better choice or Louie's if you enjoy pizza



You will love Tony for your car service

 

[Vanessa R]

Monsters is not a place that has consistent good food

I'll keep that in mind and add Louie's to my list. I usually make a list with a few options and see what I feel like eating when I get hungry, which is why I rarely do table service in the parks,it requires me to plan ahead.

Thank you!

 

[pcstang]

My opinion, table service is about the same price as QS. I recommend it but I get that it takes a little longer than QS.

 

[macraven]

I did the Simpsons food area and surprised myself with how good the food was there when it opened


First time I got the waffle chicken sandwich and though ugh.....
Did not finish it

But the second year it was opened thought to give it another chance

Big difference from when they opened that section

Now I hit that place frequently on my long stays there

 

[Vanessa R]

My opinion, table service is about the same price as QS. I recommend it but I get that it takes a little longer than QS.

Yes, it's not so much for the price, it's mostly the time it takes, but since I'll have so much time on this trip I might do Mythos if it's not crowded.

I did the Simpsons food area and surprised myself with how good the food was there when it opened

For some reason I completely forgot about the Simpsons food court. I'll get Monsters out of the list and leave Louie's and Simpsons. Thanks.

 

[Vanessa R]

Less than 36 hours until I leave home and I haven't packed a thing. I travel quite often and can pack pretty fast so I plan everything in my head and end up packing just the night before because, honestly, I hate packing! So I postpone this task for as long as I can.

I haven't mentioned it before but the first part of my vacation will be a cross-country train trip. I know it doesn't make any sense to leave from NYC, go to San Francisco and then to Florida but I already had this booked as sort of a weekend trip and was really looking forward to it. After a while this weekend trip became a full week vacation and I went back and forth with different plans for weeks but I REALLY wanted to keep the train trip AND go to Universal. When I found a good deal on a plane ticket from SFO to MCO, I decided to go with it even though the itinerary doesn't make much sense.

So Friday early morning I'll be flying from LaGuardia to O'Hare, then I'll take the train at Chicago Union Station and arrive in San Francisco on Sunday late afternoon. I've been to San Francisco a couple times before so I'm not staying this time, I'll just catch an overnight flight to Florida and arrive in Orlando on Monday morning.

I am extremely excited for both parts of this trip, I have feeling it'll be a great vacation!

 

[macraven]

You still have plenty of time to pack

I usually start mine 6
Hours before I leave for the airport

 

[schumigirl]

I would love to do a cross country train journey in the US..........when my husband takes early retirement we would like to do this too, as there`s so much more to the US to see than Florida, so I`m told! Sounds very relaxing for you to do this.........

Yep, last minute packer here too.......usually the morning we leave for our overnight at airport........that`s plenty of time.......you know what you need to no need to be one of those that packs weeks in advance

Your trip sounds excellent.........

 

[Vanessa R]

when my husband takes early retirement we would like to do this too

I met a retired couple from Georgia in the train and they were doing the whole country, went from Georgia to Washington, DC, then to Chicago, to San Francisco and I think they'll take the train back to Georgia too.


Just a quick update: I'm in the plane right now waiting for it to take off to Orlando. The train trip was amazing, the views are stunning, it was great!
Here's a few pictures (can I post it even though it's nor Universal related? If not, I'll delete them):

 

[schumigirl]

Of course you can post those pictures! They're part of your trip........ Don't worry some trip reports go so far of course they don't seem like trip reports anymore.........yours is just fine!

Gorgeous pictures...........so glad to hear you enjoyed the train journey.

Did you feel the journey passed quite quickly or did you have any moments when you thought it was too long? Have to admit I'm rather jealous of your journey.........sounds so much fun!

 

[macraven]

I never delete pictures the homies place here!

This is our place where we can share everything we want

We love to see what others did on their vacations !

Well no nudies allowed but other than that everything else

 

[Vanessa R]

Did you feel the journey passed quite quickly or did you have any moments when you thought it was too long?

It passed very quickly. The scenery changes so much, it's amazing, you spend the whole day glued to the windows.

Well no nudies allowed but other than that everything else

don't worry, I won't be posting any nudies.

 

[Vanessa R]

Monday (08/22)

I didn't get much sleep in the plane so I was exhausted when I got here. My flight was on time, I landed at about 8:40am and headed to the baggage claim where I met Tony. He was amazing, extremely nice, I'm really glad I booked him. We got my suitcase and went to the van, he dropped me off at Sapphire Falls around 9:30am. The check-in was empty, there were only 2 people in front of me and they had 3 or 4 attendants so it went very quickly. I was lucky that my room was ready and I asked if I could get my annual pass at the hotel or if it had to be at the park. She told me to ask at Attractions Tickets counter because they were changing the rules and she wasn't sure. The attendant there asked for my confirmation number and said that he could see my pass but he couldn't print it here because I bought it on flexpay so I would need to sign something saying that I'll finish paying, so I'd have to get it at the ticket window at the park.
I went to the room to take a shower and head over to the parks (I was so tired that I didn't even remember to take a picture of the room). I took the water taxi and when we were approaching the CityWalk the "driver" (I can't remember how it's called, sorry) told us that the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium was open for preview and I couldn't believe my luck!

I stopped to pick up my pass and then went to check it out. I loved the theme, the macarons and milkshakes looked delicious but I didn't buy anything,I wanted to get lunch first.
Some pictures of it (I don't know how to turn the photos around but if you click on it,it'll open right):

Candy Powder (I think it costs $8.95)

Liquid Candy (I know it's $1 cheaper than the powder but I'm not really sure what was the price of the powder)

These chocolates were $19.95

Some gourmet lollipops ($12.95)