Saturday, 2/23
Saturday morning, I had to wake up kind of early because I was ready to go off on a solo adventure! Diane didn't want to do any parks on this day, because she wanted to rest for the marathon the next day, and go to bed early, so I was going to hit the parks alone all day. She said she was going to take Caitlin to some different resorts, and maybe in the pool. I, on the other hand, had some magic hours to get to. Morning magic hours at DHS, to be precise! So I was out the door before 8:00 to go down to the buses. Diane was already up and she told me she might go to the Wilderness Lodge later, when Caitlin woke up, so if I was finished, I could meet them there.
Of course, I had to get a sunrise picture over Bay Lake!
I went down to the bus area, which was surprisingly small for a deluxe resort, but then I remembered, oh yeah, they have the monorail, so you only need buses for 2 other parks! I got there so early that I was alone at first, but soon the whole waiting area filled up. Soon a bus came and we all crammed in and we were on our way to Hollywood Studios!
The first thing I did when I got there was race to get a Fast Pass for Toy Story Mania! I don't remember what my return time was, but I remember thinking it was kind of late for it being so early in the day. So I tucked it away for later and went in the direction of the Tower of Terror. Which was my whole reason for being there, really! I just wanted to ride it a few times and then leave. If I got to do something else, great, but if not, all I cared about was the Tower of Terror!
From the walk over...someday I'd like to eat there, but it's never been a top priority!
And there it is!! Yay!!!
I ended up going on the Tower of Terror twice! By the time I got off the second ride, the wait time was already really long! I was hoping to go on again, but I wanted to wander around and maybe do something else. But not before taking a few more pictures of my beloved tower!
I checked the wait time for RnRC, too long, so I just went back up the street to see what else I could possibly do.
I thought about the drawing class, but I didn't feel like wasting a half an hour drawing. So I figured I'd just loop around the park, and if I found something to do, great, if not, I'd just take pictures and head out whenever I got bored.
I still just don't like the Streets without the Osborne Lights! It looks creepy!
I went to the Muppets area, because one of my coworkers wanted a Swedish Chef doll, but they didn't have any, which was annoying, because I wanted to buy one for myself! They had them on my last trip!
While I was walking around the Muppet area, Diane texted me and said they were having breakfast at the Wilderness Lodge. I said I was pretty much finished at DHS so maybe I could meet them there. She said that was fine, they would just hang out and wait for me, so I started to make my way out of the park.
Gertie!
When I got to the Wilderness Lodge bus stop, I noticed one of the shiny new Disney buses, so I took a picture and put it on Instagram.
It's nice, but it's just so...I don't know, boring? I like the old ones better! Ah well, they're just buses, but still, why does Disney insist on changing everything?
It was just one other family and I waiting for a bus, and it seemed like it took forever! Finally the bus pulled up and we all got on, and were whisked away to the Wilderness Lodge, listening to that wonderful wilderness-y, western music they play on the bus! I LOVE it! I need that for my Ipod haha!
I got off the bus and was overcome with happiness! I didn't think I'd get to see my home, the Wilderness Lodge, on this trip, so I was thrilled to be there! I went in and saw Diane and Caitlin in the lobby, where Caitlin showed me her latest Vinylmation:
I was starving, since I didn't have breakfast yet, so we went down to Roaring Forks so I could grab something. I got a croissant sandwich, which I LOVE from Roaring Forks! I don't know why, they have them all over the Disney resorts, but there is something extra yummy about the ones at the WL!
When we finished eating, Caitlin wanted to show me some music boxes they had in the shop, so we headed over there, while Diane did something else...maybe she just sat in the lobby? I don't remember haha! Good trip reporting right there, people!
While we were in the store, I was telling Caitlin how I was planning to go to Epcot later alone, and then the next morning, while Diane was doing her race, we would go to Epcot together and do whatever she wanted. She said that was fine, so I figured everything was good for the rest of the day! We were planning to hit the pool, maybe go somewhere for dinner, and then they would stay in the room so Diane could go to bed early for her race and I'd go to Epcot. Sounds good, right?
We finished looking at everything, so we went to find Diane, who was ready to go back to Bay Lake Tower. So we went outside to take the boat back to the Contemporary, and I had to take some pictures of my Wilderness Lodge before I left, I love it there SO much!
It's just so perfect!
When we got back to Bay Lake Tower, I had to do some laundry, so I went down to the laundry room by myself to do that, and I think Caitlin and Diane just hung out in the room? We did go to the pool that afternoon, which was nice, but it was cold! It was strange, because it was pretty warm that day, but we were freezing in the pool! Caitlin went down the slide about 100 times and Diane and I tried it, but we were kind of hoping to get in the hot tub at some point! We were freezing! Diane and I both said the pool at AKL was much better. I mean, the pool at BLT is nice, but AKL is a lot bigger...and warmer!
We got out and they went back to the room, and I grabbed my laundry on the way back. I think we all took showers and hung out for a while, and then we had to decide what to do for dinner!
Up next...dinner at DTD and another solo trip!