A Split Stay POP and AKL Solo Trip Report (10/21-10/31) w/ lots of PICS! ***New 3/13

[praisehisname]

Sounds like a great demo! So cool that he stayed to sign all those autographs!

 

[Stefy]

Aww you two look cute together

 

[Quacktatty]

Sounds like a great demo! So cool that he stayed to sign all those autographs!

It was great - he was probably signing for at least 2 1/2 hours, maybe longer.

Aww you two look cute together

 

[Quacktatty]

I could probably just end my trip report now, you all read the highlight of my trip already!! But, I guess I will continue, since I took all those pictures and stuff.

I was on a total high from meeting Robert Irvine...I wanted to tell everyone I saw, but I didn't because I'm sure they either wouldn't have cared or thought I was nuts. Or both.

I was headed back to Animal Kingdom Lodge to check out my view. I liked the location of my room, it was easy to get to - no elevators required - and it wasn't 100 miles down the hallway like my room last year. I opened the door to the room and immediately headed to the curtains - it was a GREAT view! I could see a really good portion of the Arusha Savannah and was close, but not too close to Arusha Rock.

I had two Eland hanging out just below me

I could also see a giraffe, 4 zebra and my favorites - the Ankole Cattle!

I didn't stop and rest long, I was headed to Downtown Disney for some shopping. I drove and got an okay parking spot, but DTD was busy that night. I ended up walking to Pleasure Island trying to find a bathroom, but I wasn't having much luck. I ended up back in the Marketplace and I just used the McDonald's bathroom. Come to think of it, I didn't see any bathrooms at DTD the whole time I was there. I don't know if I just wasn't looking or they really aren't obvious.

Bio problems resolved, I was ready to shop. I had a bunch of things I needed to buy for people at home, so I started with that list. Unfortunately, it was an almost complete failure. My dad wanted something from Ghiradelli which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist, my boss' son asked for these figurines that they were out of, I wasn't doing well. So, I decided to just shop for myself instead!

I hit World of Disney first and ended up getting quite a bit of stuff. Some coffee mugs, a couple things for my cats, souvenirs for people at home, etc. I'll post pictures of everything in a later post.

I got to the register to pay for everything and used my AP to get a 10% discount - woohoo! I asked towards the end of the purchase if I could get everything sent back to my resort. The CM looked at me like she was going to cry...she kept whispering, "too late". I didn't back down. I was not hauling a bag around all night when I could have it sent back to my resort. I was irritated that she didn't even ask - I mean, I was paying with my Key to the World, that should have been the first hint that I was staying at a resort, right?? What she ended up having to do was completely rekey my order in the register in order to print the pack receipt. I didn't feel the least bit bad - it's not my fault she didn't offer me the simple, free service that should be offered to every resort guest, right?

That debacle over, I went to Basin. Ahhh....Basin, I love it there. I picked up a bunch of Bath Bombs and some of the soaps. The nice lady at Basin asked me if I wanted my stuff sent back....see, she can do her job!

I had wanted to get a bunch of Mr. Potato Head pieces, in particular, some Mary Poppins shoes. I had an incident last year when I bought the Mary Poppins hat and umbrella, but Cruella Deville shoes - oops! Once Upon a Toy turned out to be Once Upon a Disappointment. There were hardly any new Potato head pieces and the ones that were new, I wasn't interested in getting. And it turns out that Mary Poppins doesn't have her own shoes! So, Mary Poppins potato head will have to continue to wear the Cruella shoes...it's a nice contrast I think.

I was feeling irritated so I decided that I needed some Christmas cheer. Last year I had seen a cute Chip and Dale ornament at the Christmas store and was hoping to find it again. I looked all over and did not find it at all. There was another Chip and Dale ornament, but it was purple and covered in glitter - in other words, it couldn't have been a worse choice for me! Instead, I picked up a snowman head with Mickey ears. It's really cute. I briefly considered getting it personalized, but I deemed that too dorky and passed it up. Oh, and I had that sent back to the resort without any problems

My last stop was Goofy's Candy Co. I got a couple of make your own treats which I don't remember eating or what they even were I do remember getting two bags of Cotton Candy (one pink and one blue). I love me some Cotton Candy!

I was shopped out and decided to head over to TRex and see if I could get some food at the bar. There ended up being an open seat so I had a couple of drinks and the appetizer sampler. It was a good meal. I sat next to an older couple and talked to the wife for most of my meal. They lived not too far from WDW and had a time share at Bonnet Creek so they were frequent visitors.

I did get some photos of TRex - I didn't find it as loud or as annoying as everyone else seems to, but that could have been because of the martinis haha.

It wasn't that late, but I was pretty tired so I headed back to AKL. I got a bunch of unpacking done and hit the sack early.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Please don't end the report! I love seeing what a solo trip is like. We went to t-rex and it was so loud we could hardly hear each other but thats what I was expecting so we had a great time and are going back next year.
I waited a whole year to go shopping at downtown disney but by the time we got out of t-rex at about 8:00pm ds was done his eyes were closing while he was standing up so we left and never made it back Next year I'll go alot earlier so we can spend the day.

 

[praisehisname]

I can't wait to see pictures of all the stuff you bought!

 

[jenbear123]

You had every right to request the stuff to be sent back to your room. Perhaps saying it at the beginning of the transaction might have helped.... but regardless the CM should've asked you. Especially when you had so much stuff! Good for you and getting what you wanted!

Love the AKL pictures. I could sit out on the balcony all day when I stay there. Look forward to hearing more about your stay there!

 

[Quacktatty]

Please don't end the report! I love seeing what a solo trip is like. We went to t-rex and it was so loud we could hardly hear each other but thats what I was expecting so we had a great time and are going back next year.
I waited a whole year to go shopping at downtown disney but by the time we got out of t-rex at about 8:00pm ds was done his eyes were closing while he was standing up so we left and never made it back Next year I'll go alot earlier so we can spend the day.

I'm usually too tired to shop at DTD too

I can't wait to see pictures of all the stuff you bought!

I'll post it at the end...it's too much stuff haha

You had every right to request the stuff to be sent back to your room. Perhaps saying it at the beginning of the transaction might have helped.... but regardless the CM should've asked you. Especially when you had so much stuff! Good for you and getting what you wanted!

Love the AKL pictures. I could sit out on the balcony all day when I stay there. Look forward to hearing more about your stay there!

More coming up for sure!

 

[Quacktatty]

Today I woke up super early because I was going to be spending the day at Islands of Adventure. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get there or how easy the parking, getting tickets, etc. would be so I wanted to give myself plenty of time. Turns out it takes very little time to drive there (maybe 15 minutes?) and parking is super easy. I did like that the parking was in a garage rather than an open lot.

There is no tram from the parking garages to the parks, so you have to make quite a hike to get to the gates. Luckily there are moving sidewalks along the way, pretty much until you get to the plaza or whatever it's called with all the shops and restaurants.

I arrived at the IOA gates and literally only saw 4 other people. At this point it was about 30 minutes before opening and it was so empty. I needed to exchange my ticket voucher for an actual ticket and the ticket booths weren't even open yet. When they did finally open, it was just one lady and I was the only person who was even thinking about getting in line. The transaction went smoothly and soon I was standing in line at the turnstiles to enter the park.

By about 20 minutes of 9 there were only maybe 50 people in line. I didn't think that all the turnstiles wouldn't be open so I lined up at any old one, turns out that was a mistake. They only had 4 turnstiles open, two on one side, two on the other and I was standing at one of the ones that wasn't open. Thankfully, the two people next to me let me sneak over to their line so I was about the 10th person in the park instead of the first like I probably would have been my line was open.

I followed the crowd...or the 10 people in front of me...and made my way to The Incredible Hulk.

I am glad I read about the bag policies before getting to IOA because I knew that I was going to have to store my bag in a locker. You can't carry ANYTHING with you, even in line. They do provide lockers at all rides that have these restrictions which are free for a certain amount of time. I think it probably is based on the standby wait but I never even came close to running over time on them.

I pretty much ran along with everyone else through the queue and made it on to the first car. I sat all the way in the back row. It was a cool ride, but at times I felt like we were going too slow to get over the loops. I knew in my mind that we'd make it, but it was a little unnerving at times!

Next up was The Adventures of Spiderman. This was another complete walk-on and I was the only person in my ride car (that normally would seat about 8). This ride was amazing, there were so many cool effects. It's in 3-D but you are moving through the ride at the same time. I don't know if some of the things the car did were real or just an effect, but either way it was really awesome.

I checked my Unofficial Guide Touring Plan (ding!) and it told me that I was to backtrack to Dr. Doom's Fearfall. I wish it hadn't. I knew this would just be a freefall type ride, but wow, what a disappointment. It's basically a straight shot up and then a very slow let down. There is really no falling involved. And it's an incredibly short ride. Not worth the wait in line no matter how short it might be.

I was supposed to be going to Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges next, but there was a sign up saying it was closed until 10am so I had to skip ahead. I saw that Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls was open and like everything else had no line, so I decided that would be next. This ride had absolutely no line, as in no one in front of me and no one behind me. Empty logs were running and I didn't even see anybody getting off the ride as I approached. In fact, if I had seen people getting off, I might have held off on riding until later! The queue was long and dark. I had a hard time seeing where I was going at points and was afraid of getting lost in the queue. After what was seriously a 5 minute walk, I finally made it to boarding.

I knew this was a log ride with a big drop like Splash Mountain so I was prepared to get wet. I wasn't prepared to get completely soaked to the bone and I did! There is one part where you don't even go down a very big drop and the water just comes flowing in. I was seriously wet from head to toe and not even halfway through the ride yet. The big drop was fun though and I was glad to not get any wetter.

It still wasn't 10:00 yet so I skipped ahead in the touring plan to Dueling Dragons. Again, another walk-on. I did the Fire side first and then Ice. I really did like this one, but was disappointed that they weren't running the Fire and Ice sides at the same time. It kind of defeated the purpose of Dueling Dragons. One plus is that you don't have to completely walk back through the queue to ride the second side. There is a little path that will take you back via a shortcut to the other side. Not as useful when the queue is empty, but on a busy day I bet it's great.

I got a chance to see some of the Harry Potter work that was being done. I am totally not a Harry Potter fan - I've never read a book and I went to one of the movies and fell asleep during it - but I did like seeing the buildings being worked on. They look pretty cool and I'm sure Harry Potter fans are going to love it.

It was finally 10:00 so I went back to Toon Lagoon and the Bilge Rat Barges.

Not to be outdone by Ripsaw Falls, I was soaked again. And for an extra special treat because my underwear wasn't wet enough, I got a huge splash of water that went up the leg of my shorts. It was fun though, much better than Kali River Rapids.

It was at this point in the day that I realized that every single person at IOA that day, except for me, was British. Seriously...I did not hear one person except for the people that worked there that didn't have a British accent. I guess October is a popular time for the Brit's to be on holiday.

 

[praisehisname]

Great review so far for Islands of Adventure. Sounds like fun place!

 

[norybell]

I'm playing catch-up...

There's really not a better feeling than checking out of a hotel and knowing that your trip isn't even half way over! I was leaving Pop Century, possibly never to return again, and on my way to my favoritist resort in the whole world - Animal Kingdom Lodge!

I felt this way, too, when I switched from the CR to the YC!

My first plan for the day was to play mini-golf. I had never done mini-golf at WDW before and have always wanted to.

I've never mini-golfed at WDW, either. Which is weird, because I actually have tons of memories of mini-golfing in FL back in the '80s, but at those along-the-strip places, not at WDW. Did WDW even have their own mini-golf courses back then?

But, one problem, he called himself Daddy. Even when he was just talking to me. "Daddy is a golfer." "Do you want to play through? Daddy knows the kids aren't the fastest!" Yikes! You're not my daddy buddy!

That is just creepy! Ew!

Islands of Adventure sounds great so far. I've never been; I know I'd love it, but it's so hard to tear myself away from WDW for long enough! I'm thinking maybe a year or two after Harry Potter land opens I'll have to give it a try.

 

[Quacktatty]

Great review so far for Islands of Adventure. Sounds like fun place!

I'm playing catch-up...


I felt this way, too, when I switched from the CR to the YC!


I've never mini-golfed at WDW, either. Which is weird, because I actually have tons of memories of mini-golfing in FL back in the '80s, but at those along-the-strip places, not at WDW. Did WDW even have their own mini-golf courses back then?


That is just creepy! Ew!

Islands of Adventure sounds great so far. I've never been; I know I'd love it, but it's so hard to tear myself away from WDW for long enough! I'm thinking maybe a year or two after Harry Potter land opens I'll have to give it a try.

I have always wanted to go, but couldn't justify it until I had a long trip so this worked out perfectly. Plus I had free tickets!

 

[Quacktatty]

I made my way over to Seuss Landing

I rode the Cat in the Hat first which was a much spinnier ride than I expected it to be. It was your typical dark ride but did seem a little longer than the normal WDW dark ride. I didn't really know the Cat in the Hat story until a few weeks ago when I watched the movie, but thinking back to the ride it does seem to follow the story line pretty closely.

I followed that up with a ride on the Seuss Train Ride. It was cute, but I probably wouldn't be waiting in line for it or anything.

The best part about Seuss Landing was the little walkthrough that they had - I didn't see a single person while I was going through this place!

Some of this can be seen from the train, but you don't get the detail that you do when you see it up close. It's probably one of the better themed areas and seems to not get a lot of attention.

There was a Poseidon's Fury show at 11:15 so I wandered back over to that part of the park. I really didn't know what this show would be, but I figured I'd be sitting. WRONG! You stand up the whole time. It was a good show, with a live actor bringing you through for most of it. It was also freezing and I was still wet from the water rides, but here are lots of parts that have fire, so that was very welcome!

In the same area is the talking fountain. This was fun to watch. It's a guy somewhere backstage that talks to the people walking by, shooting water out. All the times I went by there were tons of kids in bathing suits playing and talking to the fountain.

At this point I had kind of done most of what I wanted to so I got some lunch and walked around taking pictures.

This guy was hanging out by one of the bridges

There was a showing of Sinbad's Eighth Voyage so I pulled up a bench and watched the show. It was kind of boring - it's supposed to be a stunt show, but none of the stunts are that impressive and the story line isn't great. I stopped paying attention half way through and watched the Sign Language interpreter instead.

I decided it was time to go and walked out via Marvel Super Hero Island

I took one last ride on Spiderman and the Hulk which were both still walk-ons and called it a day. It was about 2:00 and I had done everything I wanted to do and more. I considered it a success and was glad that it wasn't a very long day in the end. I walked through some of the shops on the way out but was disappointed that the Universal shop didn't have any NBC merchandise...I think they are missing out on selling some of that in the parks. I totally would have bought an Office shirt or something.

I headed straight back to AKL so I could rest up for an evening at Epcot.

 

[jenbear123]

Great report on IOA. I've never been there so it's neat to get an inside look. What was the Jurassic Park area like? Is there a ride? I'm sure I would LOVE to go on it if there is. I wonder what Disney is going to do with owning MARVEL now. Will Universal get to keep that area but pay royalties to Disney? I'm quite curious to see what's going to happen.

Too bad you don't like Harry Potter. I know it's not for everyone. But I for one am VERY excited for the new HP land when it does come out. That will probably the one and only time I take a special trip to Universal and IOA.

 

[Stefy]

I can't believe you didn't go on Jurassic Park, that ride is really cool.

Looks like you had a great day at IoA, a walk on for everything is the best. What was your fav part of that day?

I think Sept and Oct are good times for us Brits to go Florida because the weather is still great, as opposed to here in the UK.

 

[Quacktatty]

Great report on IOA. I've never been there so it's neat to get an inside look. What was the Jurassic Park area like? Is there a ride? I'm sure I would LOVE to go on it if there is. I wonder what Disney is going to do with owning MARVEL now. Will Universal get to keep that area but pay royalties to Disney? I'm quite curious to see what's going to happen.

Too bad you don't like Harry Potter. I know it's not for everyone. But I for one am VERY excited for the new HP land when it does come out. That will probably the one and only time I take a special trip to Universal and IOA.

The Jurassic Park area was alright...I didn't do the ride, but there is one. There is also a kids' ride but adults have to be accompanied by a child under a certain height in order to ride, so it was not in the cards for me!

I can't believe you didn't go on Jurassic Park, that ride is really cool.

Looks like you had a great day at IoA, a walk on for everything is the best. What was your fav part of that day?

I think Sept and Oct are good times for us Brits to go Florida because the weather is still great, as opposed to here in the UK.

I skipped Jurassic Park because I was so wet already that I didn't want to even wash my hands and get more wet

I think my favorite part of the day was that everything was a total walk-on but if I had to pick one specific thing it was probably Ripsaw Falls. I literally had the entire ride to myself and I think I laughed the entire time despite the fact that I was soaked to the bone!

 

[Quacktatty]

I arrived back at AKL and went straight back to my room to see what animal were out. I was disappointed that there weren't too many, so I grabbed my package pick-up slip and went down to Zawadi Marketplace to get my purchases from the day before.

While I was there, the pin trading guy - King Pin - was there trading with guests. He was talking to some other guests so I kind of just listened and browsed what he had to trade. I was able to get another Chip and Dale pin from the same set as the one I traded for at DHS earlier in the trip and a Hidden Mickey Tiki God Pin which I had a match to already in my collection. I believe this one is also from a set so maybe I'll have to try and complete it someday. I have a pretty laid back approach to pin trading - I just go for what I like even if the pins I pick aren't the most popular. I won't hesitate to trade a perfectly good Hidden Mickey pin for one from a starter set if it's something I like! I probably drive the hardcore traders crazy!!

Of course, while I was at Zawadi I had to do some more shopping - I just love all the different African carvings and pictures and stuff that they have. I got quite a few things, some that match items that I got last year. I was kind of mad though because I searched high and low in that place and did not find one single thing with an Ankole Cattle on it. I love those things and would love if they had anything with one. I mentioned it to the CM while I was making my purchase and he looked at me like I had 9 heads.

Back in my room I got a nice treat because the feed truck was coming around so the animals were out in full force!

This guy followed the truck around getting fed by the CM animal handler

Hay was also a big hit!

My view of Arusha Rock

One of my favorite pictures - it's like a postcard

Up next, I unintentionally relive the early 90's

 

[Stefy]

We didn't go on Ripsaw as last year we went in Dec which (to me) was cold so didn't want to get soaked, but we are so gonna try it out next year

Love the AKL pics, thats one cheeky Giraffe following the CM around for more food

Your Mickey Tiki God pin sounds v cool, you must post a piccie

 

[praisehisname]

IOA sounds fun, but nothing can compare to getting back on Disney property!

Back in my room I got a nice treat because the feed truck was coming around so the animals were out in full force!

Good thing you didn't end that sentence after the word "around"!!!

 

[beachphotog]

I'm all caught up and sad that there isn't more yet! Great trip report! A solo trip? I think I could really love that!