Ridin' those rides and Trekking thru Africa, a Solo TR! FINAL UPDATE 10/28

ronnmel said:
I think I remember hearing that every year the restaurants that are not owned by Disney are only added to the dining plan at the last minute. So there is still hope that WPE will be back as a QS credit. I too really enjoyed my pizza there, though it did not beat Via Napoli.

That would be good, if DTD was just slow in adding their restaurants to the DP. I thought it was weird that like 10 were gone like that.

I haven't eaten at Via Napoli so I can't compare it. I'm still trying though. Only ADR they have open for my day as of yesterday was 9:30 pm, which is too late for me to wait!
 
DAY 9, SUNDAY FEBRUARY 19TH

I woke up around 6am on my departure day, but went right back to sleep. I got out of bed around 8am and showered. While I was in the shower I heard Mousekeeping knocking on my door (despite the "Do Not Disturb" sign) but they quickly left. I finished packing up the last of my things and loaded the car. I pulled out of POP Century at 9:35am, but not without a parting picture.


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I didn't get many pictures during the drive west, though I did get one of the Mickey Electric pole on I4.


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As I said in my last update, I was heading to Bradenton to TRY to see my friend Steve. I hadn't heard from him yet that morning to make sure we were on for lunch, but since it takes over 1.5 hours to get there I wanted to head that way anyway. I arrived in Bradenton around 11:15am, with a light on and off drizzle falling.


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I tried his phone, but no answer, and he wasn't at his house either. I was bummed, but he had told me he might have to work. After trying his phone again I headed to the gas station to fill up the rental and then headed to Panera Bread to eat lunch on my own.



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Once I finished eating I drove around for a while to enjoy the scenery of my future home.


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Around 1:45pm I started heading north to Tampa International Airport.


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I returned the rental car with no problems, though the man I returned it to was a little pushy about trying to get me to let him carry my bags for me. I finally convinced him I was fine, and headed into TPA and to the Southwest counter.


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And ran right into a long line waiting to check their bags, thanks to a baseball team of 30+ people in front of me. They have several overweight bags, so they were taking a lot of time switching stuff between bags to try to avoid paying fees. Finally they opened another kiosk just for everyone besides the team, so I made it through after 30 minutes and then took the shuttle to the terminal. The security line was pretty long too, but moved fast and I was done within 10 minutes. I made my way to my gate:


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And then played on my computer for about 45 minutes. I started to get hungry by then, so I made my way over one of the only restaurants near my gate, Home Team Sports Bar and Grill.


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I was seated and my waitress quickly came over, but she was not very friendly. I have a feeling it was because I was be myself and she knew I wasn't going to order much, but she would have gotten a much better tip if she had been friendly at least. Anyway, I ordered the Chicken Tenders with "seasoned" fries. Why the quotations? Well, they were called seasoned, but there wasn't really any seasoning on them.


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I think maybe 1/3 of the fries had some salt on them, and I saw 3 total flakes of pepper, and that was the "seasoned" fries. :sad2: Overall the food and service were mediocre.


CONTINUED IN NEXT POST



 


After the meal I headed back over to my gate. I took a few pictures as I waited.


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Before long my plane arrived...


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...and I boarded with the first group (I paid the extra $10 for the first grouping). I got a window seat by the wing and took a couple pics while waiting for everyone else to load.


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Before long we were in the air. The sun was setting just as we started north, so I got plenty of great pictures.



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After the sun set I managed to get a couple of lit up pictures.



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And a final picture when we landed.



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I did hear from Steve later that day, apologizing profusely. He had started to send me a text letting me know he had to work, but forget to hit send so it was still sitting in his drafts. He felt bad, but it was okay! I still had a great WDW trip overall. :goodvibes

THE END



 
Hello all! I just posted my final update for this TR, but wanted to say that I hope everyone who is in the path of Hurricane Sandy stays safe the next few days. I am in it's path, actually I'm in one of the areas expected to be hit the worst :sad2:. Thankfully though we have a large generator that will run most of the house, with a 5 gallon tank that is full, and an extra 25 gallons of gasoline to keep it going should we lose power. Right now it's just very windy, but the rain will start anytime now, and not end until Wednesday. Unfortunately due to the nature of my job (Pet sitting, for those that don't know/remember) I will still have to drive out in it no matter what the weather is like since there are pets that need to be cared for still. But I will be very safe, I promise! :goodvibes


I will be starting a PTR for my next trip in the next couple of days, depending on how my power is. I'll post a link here once I start it! :dance3:



 


I'm sorry Steve couldn't meet you for lunch. :sad2: Great pictures while you were in flight.

I totally loved your TR...thanks for sharing with us. Please let us know when you start the PTR (I finally updated mine).

Be safe during "Sandy". :hug:
 
I'm sorry Steve couldn't meet you for lunch. :sad2: Great pictures while you were in flight.

I totally loved your TR...thanks for sharing with us. Please let us know when you start the PTR (I finally updated mine).

Be safe during "Sandy". :hug:

Thank you very much. :hug: I'm glad I got it done now so I can completely focus on the next trip! :cheer2:

I will definitely be safe. I'm hoping it weakens quickly, but it doesn't seem to be doing that. Our government is already on liberal leave for tomorrow and many counties have already closed schools too. After the mess we had here in July from the Derecho that unexpectedly hit us the electric companies, shelters and government are all being extra cautious!
 
I enjoyed reading your TR (duh! :rotfl:). Too bad you couldn't meet up with your friend for lunch, it would have been an even better ending to a great trip. You did get some beautiful sunset pictures from above the clouds though. :cloud9:

Stay safe!
 


I enjoyed reading your TR (duh! :rotfl:). Too bad you couldn't meet up with your friend for lunch, it would have been an even better ending to a great trip. You did get some beautiful sunset pictures from above the clouds though. :cloud9:

Stay safe!

I meant to mention that I have seen him twice since then. Once in June for a 2 day weekend I saw him pretty much the whole weekend, except sleeping. And then we had breakfast together on my last day when I was down there for a 3 day weekend in August. And we are trying to make sure we see each other this upcoming trip for at least one of the days, even if he can't join me the whole time.

Thanks, I'm trying for sure! I just hope ol' Sandy cooperates and weakens so it's not so bad for the next 3 days!
 
Love the sunset pictures on your way home!! So pretty. Enjoyed your TR. I want to do a solo trip someday!! I think I have already said that on the Dec thread. :)
 
I was an update or two behind. It sounds like the last hours at Disney were well spent.....good food, shopping and relaxing. Notice I didn't mention the laundry because, well, it's laundry. :rotfl:

Too bad your friend couldn't met you for lunch but at least you got to see a bit of different scenery.

The pictures that you took from the airplane are fantastic! The sunset ones are my favorites.

I hope that you stay safe during the Hurricane! If you are able to, please keep us updated so we'll know how you are doing.
 
Wow! I go off the DIS for a week and missed about 10 updates! My MIL is finally gone so I'm all caught up now. A few random thoughts on the posts:

Loved the pictures from the Liberty Belle. I've been reading the Kingdom Keepers books and the Indian scene with the teepees plays a big role.

Bummer about the teen group on Splash Mountain. I'm hoping to get to ride it in a few weeks but it will depend on the weather.

I can't wait to see the Tiki Room back to it's original state. I really didn't like the update with Iago and Zazu.

I've never seen that band in Fronterland, will have to keep an eye out for them.

I'm jealous of your scores on Buzz. I am soooo bad at that ride. Last time I think I was still under 100,000 points and we even stopped in front of some targets for a while! I'm usually pretty good at that kind of stuff but a high score on Buzz alludes me for some reason. :confused3

I'm really going to miss the Snow White ride. It's never been my favorite but riding it is one of the few memories I have from my first visit to WDW. I think I was about 3 years old. :(

I really want to ride the Jungle Cruise at night! I don't know if we will get to this time though since we are not planning on going to one of the Christmas Parties.

Wolfgang Puck Express looks so good. I'm hoping to fit it in sometime this trip. As for it not being on the 2013 dining plan, I would check again closer to the beginning of the year. When I was first planning a January trip in 2010, there were a lot of restaurants not on the list that ended up being eligible. A CM I talked to told me that they have to negotiate with each restaurant and some take longer than others.

Arribas Brothers is one of my favorite stores! I can spend hours in there looking at the stuff. I have a few Pluto items from there.

Thanks for writing the TR! :goodvibes I enjoyed following along, especially the part on the Wild Africa Trek. I will join in on your PTR when you start it. Oh, and if you are interested, I started a PTR for my trip. Link is in my signature.
 
Love the sunset pictures on your way home!! So pretty. Enjoyed your TR. I want to do a solo trip someday!! I think I have already said that on the Dec thread. :)

You did mention a solo trip on the Dec thread, and you should do one! It's really a lot of fun, and different. :goodvibes

I was an update or two behind. It sounds like the last hours at Disney were well spent.....good food, shopping and relaxing. Notice I didn't mention the laundry because, well, it's laundry. :rotfl:

Too bad your friend couldn't met you for lunch but at least you got to see a bit of different scenery.

The pictures that you took from the airplane are fantastic! The sunset ones are my favorites.

I hope that you stay safe during the Hurricane! If you are able to, please keep us updated so we'll know how you are doing.

I did have a good end to my time at WDW. And the laundry wasn't too bad, I mostly took pictures while it ran. :rotfl:

I got lucky to sit on that side of the plane and that the sun was setting just as we took off.

I'm doing fine so far, though the worst isn't expected to hit us until after 5pm today and last for over 12 hours. Thankfully I did the only thing I had to do at the office this morning, and don't have to leave my house again until Wednesday now! I'll post more updates later tonight or tomorrow.

Wow! I go off the DIS for a week and missed about 10 updates! My MIL is finally gone so I'm all caught up now. A few random thoughts on the posts:

Loved the pictures from the Liberty Belle. I've been reading the Kingdom Keepers books and the Indian scene with the teepees plays a big role.

Bummer about the teen group on Splash Mountain. I'm hoping to get to ride it in a few weeks but it will depend on the weather.

I can't wait to see the Tiki Room back to it's original state. I really didn't like the update with Iago and Zazu.

I've never seen that band in Fronterland, will have to keep an eye out for them.

I'm jealous of your scores on Buzz. I am soooo bad at that ride. Last time I think I was still under 100,000 points and we even stopped in front of some targets for a while! I'm usually pretty good at that kind of stuff but a high score on Buzz alludes me for some reason. :confused3

I'm really going to miss the Snow White ride. It's never been my favorite but riding it is one of the few memories I have from my first visit to WDW. I think I was about 3 years old. :(

I really want to ride the Jungle Cruise at night! I don't know if we will get to this time though since we are not planning on going to one of the Christmas Parties.

Wolfgang Puck Express looks so good. I'm hoping to fit it in sometime this trip. As for it not being on the 2013 dining plan, I would check again closer to the beginning of the year. When I was first planning a January trip in 2010, there were a lot of restaurants not on the list that ended up being eligible. A CM I talked to told me that they have to negotiate with each restaurant and some take longer than others.

Arribas Brothers is one of my favorite stores! I can spend hours in there looking at the stuff. I have a few Pluto items from there.

Thanks for writing the TR! :goodvibes I enjoyed following along, especially the part on the Wild Africa Trek. I will join in on your PTR when you start it. Oh, and if you are interested, I started a PTR for my trip. Link is in my signature.

There are some threads and sites with good tips on how to get high scores on Buzz.

I'll miss Snow White too, just because it was there for so long. I am looking forward to the Mine Train though, once it opens.

WPE is great! Definitely eat there if you can.

I will link to my PTR here once I start it (probably later today). And I'll check out your PTR too! :goodvibes
 
Hello all! I hope everyone else who is in the path of Sandy is staying safe! It is pretty windy now and raining harder, but the worst isn't expected here until 5-6pm, and will last about 12 hours. Winds of 60 mph, gusts up to 110 mph possible, and extremely heavy, flash-flood causing, rains. I'm safe and sound inside now, and don't have any reason to leave until Wednesday!

I'm even heavy one extra cat. Actually, a 4 week old kitten! :goodvibes A woman found him in a box in her apartment complex late last night, and no one knew where he came from. She can't keep him (absolutely no pets of any type allowed there) so she took him to the local vet this morning to ask if they knew where she could take him. They happen to be my vet and know I foster, so they called. Picked him up around 10:30am and decided his name is Hurricane! :lmao: He is sweet as can be, not afraid of the dog or other cats, though he is being kept separated from them for now since he is itty bitty (fits in my hand) and needs kitten food only. Here is a pic of him!


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He has a slight limp in his front right leg that the vet thinks is just a minor pulled muscle, but otherwise seems completely healthy. And he is eating great already. So glad he was found and is not out in this horrible weather!

Stay safe everyone on the East Coast, and everyone else, happy Monday to you!

 
First off, good to hear that you won't have to leave home and can stay out of the storm! I hope that it doesn't get as bad as they are predicting.

Oh little Hurricane is adorable! I so wish I still had my kitty cat, Tiana.
 
I agree with Lisa, I'm glad you don't have to go out tomorrow. I also hope that all the pets you take care of are safe.

Hurricane is so freakin cute and has the best name. :cloud9:
 
First off, good to hear that you won't have to leave home and can stay out of the storm! I hope that it doesn't get as bad as they are predicting.

Oh little Hurricane is adorable! I so wish I still had my kitty cat, Tiana.

Thanks. Unfortunately they just measured 60 mph winds at BWI, which is only 15 minutes from me. And it's only going to get worse for the next few hours :worried: But on the bright side I still have power and nothing bad has happened in my neighborhood yet.

I agree with Lisa, I'm glad you don't have to go out tomorrow. I also hope that all the pets you take care of are safe.

Hurricane is so freakin cute and has the best name. :cloud9:

Thanks. And he is adorable!! Since he is alone, without siblings, I gave him an old stuffed cat to cuddle with and he is fast asleep with it right now. :lovestruc
 
Hurricane is so cute! I spend most Saturdays volunteering at a local animal shelter. I work with the kitties because my DH is allergic and I can't have one of my own. :sad1:

They are so much fun when they are that small.
 

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