A Commando on Valium - A 7 Day Solo Trip at AKL ***Update 3/23 page 19

I'm back!!!!

It's 12:38am and I'm so super sleepy, I'll try to get the first installment in tomorrow.

I took over 1000 pictures/videos!!!
 
Let the trip report officially begin!

For those of you just joining us, welcome! Please browse the previous 11 pages for some background. I'll wait....

...welcome back. Now let's get on with this thing.

Trip Report Index:
Day 1, Part 1 - From Java to Jambo: Right here!
Day 1, Part 2- It's a World of Puke Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Day 1, Part 3 - Do you Quacktatty, take Single Rider Line...?
Day 1, Part 4 - Extra Miserable Hours
Day 2, Part 1 - How Paul from Uttica, MI almost ruined my vacation
Day 1 Photopass Pictures
Day 2, Part 2 - Waiting for Improvements
Random Day 2 pictures
Day 2, Part 3 - I Have to Admit it's Getting Better
Day 2, Part 4 - How Ankole Cattle Saved my Vacation
Day 2, Part 5 - Dinner with Bra Straps Magee and Hat Guy
Day 3, Part 1 - 15 Minutes of Fame
Day 3, Part 2 - Frank and Robert are Better Guides than Paul
Day 3, Part 3 - How I ruined the CPers picture
Day 4, Part 1 - Why I rode IASW twice in a row
Day 4, Part 2 - Yo ho, Yo Ho, this guy is sure crazy
Day 4, Part 3 - The Real World Sneaks up on me
Day 4, Part 4 - Tony the Bartender doesn't like me
Day 5, Part 1 - My Last Trip "Around the World"
Day 5, Part 2 - Playing Favorites
Day 5, Part 3 - China Calling
Day 5, Part 4 - New Home Week
Day 6, Part 1 - Curse of the Nemo Understudy
Day 6, Part 2 - The Great Crash of 2008
Day 6, Part 3 - The AKL Wildlife Gets a Little Too Close
Day 6, Part 4 - The World's Most Pathetic Photo Shoot
Day 7, Part 1 - Don't Play TSM Angry
Day 7, Part 2 - AK See Yah Later
Videos
Final Thoughts

Day 1, Part 1 - From Java to Jambo

I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning to get ready to head to the airport. The only things I left myself to do were to pack the car and turn off the computer. I was out the door in 15 minutes.

I arrived at the off-site airport valet around 10 minutes later and was quickly led onto the bus. Everyone on the bus was headed to WDW. It was a popular destination for sure! One of the families had DME tags on their luggage that said AK - thought maybe they would be at AKL as well, but they were actually staying at All Star Music.

Once at the airport there was no wait to check-in and I was through security quickly as well. Then the decision had to be made - where to eat breakfast??
My options were pretty limited, McDonalds, Fresh City or one of two random coffee places. I chose Random Coffee Place #1 - Einstein Brothers Bagels.

I had never eaten here before because it always smells like burned bagels, but I risked it. I had a Honey Wheat bagel with Honey Almond cream cheese. It was delicious! The burned bagel smell comes from the toaster that sometimes gets bagel pieces stuck in it, not actual bagels being burned. There were even little almond slices in the cream cheese, yum.

2008_0919Disney09080001.jpg


I had also picked up a bottle of water and a People magazine at the newsstand. I did a lot of waiting, seeing as though I was at the airport fairly early. Here's my plane outside at the gate:

2008_0919Disney09080003.jpg


Around 6:30, the plane started boarding and I had secured myself an exit row. And there was nobody next to me, woohoo!!! It was nice to be able to stretch out a little bit and look out the window.

On the plane we were served drinks and a snack. I chose coffee and cookies:

2008_0919Disney09080004.jpg


The flight went fast since I was watching episodes from Season 1 of Mad Men - my new favorite show! We landed at 9:20am and my first stop was the restroom to put on some sunscreen before heading into the Florida sun. I am the whitest person, and I would have fried if I didn't! I arrived at the DME desk at 9:45. There was no wait in the DME line at all.

After another short wait in line for the bus, I was on board and settled by 10am.

2008_0919Disney09080005.jpg


I got a front row seat, but unfortunately the movie screen was not working, so no DME show for me on the way. I did get to listen to it though.

2008_0919Disney09080006.jpg


The heat was already noticeable. You could actually feel it on the jet way coming off the plane. But I didn't care - I was going to Disney World!!
By 10:10 the last load of people were on the bus and we were off! The driver said it would take about 45 minutes to get to the last stop, AKL.

Soon we were driving under the best sign on property.

I see it!
2008_0919Disney09080007.jpg


There it is, hooray!!
2008_0919Disney09080009.jpg


We stopped at Pop Century first. It was a cute place, I would consider staying there if I was going to be renting a car. It was a little to big for my liking to be trucking back and forth to the bus each day.

The next stop was Coronado Springs. Ick. It looked so fake Mexican. There was way too many colors and it really didn't look appealing at all, I won't ever be staying there!!!

By 10:55 - exactly 45 minutes as promised, we arrived at AKL. I walked in to the beautiful lobby and it was pretty busy for 11am! You could smell the food from Boma and Jiko being prepared for dinner and the spices were great. I was starting to get hungry!

A really great CM named Jean from Taiwan checked me in. Too my surprise, my room was ready - Room 2574 on Zebra Trail. I was at the junction of the two Savannas - I mostly was on the Arusha side, but with a good view of Uzima as well. I literally ran to my room which was almost at the very end of Zebra trail. I settled in and unloaded some of my stuff and threw open the shades to get my first look of the Savannah:

2008_0919Disney09080013.jpg


It was so awesome! As excited as I was to be in my room, I knew priority number one was getting over to DHS to ride Toy Story Mania.

I got to the bus stop at 11:25am where I was struck by the DHS bus curse that would follow me all week long.

Up Next...The longest line I waited in all trip and why it was worth it
 

Yippee!! It has begun! Sorry it means that you're home but I'm so excited to hear about a solo trip!

I think I'm taking roughly the same flight out of CT that you did so I'm thrilled to hear that you were settled on the bus by 10am and at the bus stop heading to a park by 11:25!!

How awesome that your room was ready and I just LOVE that first savannah view. AKL is definitely on my list for a future visit!

popcorn::

PS- meant to comment on your new TR title... "A Commando on Valium..." is that foreshadowing????
 
Hurray for a quick, easy, and event-free journey from your place to AKL! :banana:

I love the smell of AKL when you walk in -- it's one of my favorites!
 
Yeah, it has begun!

I am happy you got into your hotel so quickly! I am a little concerned that CSR looked so icky. We are staying there in January for our first time.:eek:

And I had Einstein Bros Bagels at the airport too! I also though they were pretty tasty!

Bad bus luck, oh no!

Allyson
 
Welcome back! I love arriving at the resort too when I arrive at WDW. It's always the best feeling.

Can't wait to hear all about the rest of your trip.
 
PS- meant to comment on your new TR title... "A Commando on Valium..." is that foreshadowing????

Maybe....

Hurray for a quick, easy, and event-free journey from your place to AKL! :banana:

I love the smell of AKL when you walk in -- it's one of my favorites!

It was great!!! The place always smelled so good.

I am happy you got into your hotel so quickly! I am a little concerned that CSR looked so icky. We are staying there in January for our first time.:eek:

Hopefully you will enjoy CSR - it just wasn't my taste.


Welcome back! I love arriving at the resort too when I arrive at WDW. It's always the best feeling.

Can't wait to hear all about the rest of your trip.

Isn't it great?? It's like the first real sign you are at Disney World!
 
I waited at the DHS bus stop for about 15 minutes before the bus finally arrived. Luckily it wasn't packed and I found a seat quickly. A family across from me was discussing their plan of attack for the day and asked me a few questions. They had never been to DHS before and wanted to know what to see, what to do, what the scary rides were (they had a 4 or 5 year old). The bus driver also got in on our conversation and pretty soon it turned from a discussion about WDW to a discussion about Mike the bus driver's life. And his life was interesting. He was recently divorced, looking for a condo - couldn't move into an Adult Community like he wanted because he was only 53, lived too far from WDW (30 Miles), wanted to pay cash for his house (????), shattered his leg last year, his elderly parents lived in NY and he often had to go up there to take care of them because they wouldn't move to Florida. Needless to say I was happy when the bus finally got to DHS!

I walked as fast as my legs could carry me to TSM. The first thing I did was grab a fast pass - there were still some left at noon. The return time was 5:40.

2008_0919Disney09080019.jpg


The posted wait time was 50 minutes, so I got in line.

2008_0919Disney09080015.jpg


Well, the actual wait time was more like 80 minutes - but it was an enjoyable wait as I spent the majority of the time taking pictures of the queue.

2008_0919Disney09080021.jpg


I love Candy Land although I have a heck of a time telling the Orange squares from the Red squares for some reason.
2008_0919Disney09080027.jpg


Spin Art!
2008_0919Disney09080030.jpg


Um...Sheriff Woody? You are lying down on the job again
2008_0919Disney09080034.jpg


Moo
2008_0919Disney09080044.jpg


Potato Head!
2008_0919Disney09080040.jpg


Potato Head Video:


Ants in the Pants...for 2 to 4 players, but you can also play alone. Humm...wouldn't that be 1 to 4 players?
2008_0919Disney09080050.jpg


I never thought I would say this, but 80 minutes in line was worth the wait! I LOVED TSM. I think my favorite is the last scene with the targets and the mine carts. And I think my arm just about fell off during the final bonus round. I scored pretty OK for my first round...I would improve over the coming days though

2008_0919Disney09080051.jpg


With TSM taken care of it was time to head to AK for lunch and some rides. On my way out of the park I stopped for some Photopass pictures (pics to come once I get the CD) and got to the bus stop around 1:50pm.

The DHS bus curse struck again and I waited a good 10 or 15 minutes for the AK bus to arrive. And to add to the bus curse that I already had, just as we were pulling into AK, the girl sitting across from me started puking her face off. Her mom luckily had a cup that she did most of the puking into, but she still got some all over her, all over the seat. It was nasty and unfortunately not the last time I would see somebody puke that day.

But finally, I was there!!

2008_0919Disney09080053.jpg


My first stop was the Africa to get a Kilimanjaro Safari Fast Pass. The return time was 2:51, and I got one even though the wait was only 10 minutes at the time. It's the only ride in AK that I really ever need a FP for, so I always get one to be safe rather than sorry.

Next, it was back to Discovery Island for lunch at my favorite place, Flame Tree BBQ! Since it was about 2pm, the line wasn't that long and I quickly got my order in. Of course, because I ordered quickly, it took a LONG time to get my food. It's always something, right? I got a Beef Sandwich with Coleslaw instead of beans and a Light Lemonade.

I got some sweet and spicy sauce and BBQ sauce for the sandwich. Everything was as good as I remember it. The only thing I didn't like was that the bun on the sandwich was a little bit on the soggy side, I think because it had been sitting out under the heat lamp for a little bit.

2008_0919Disney09080055.jpg



Continued in the next post...
 
Cont. from previous post

After literally inhaling my lunch (I hadn't eaten since those two stupid cookies on the plane!) I raced over to Dinosaur. The posted wait time was 20 minutes, but the line was much shorter. Not even a quarter of the queue was even opened up. I was put in the front row, like I always seem to be on Dinosaur and we were off! I screamed like a little girl as always. No matter how much I know that it's coming, I always am holding on as tight as I can when they take the picture!

2008_0919Disney09080062.jpg


I saw on my Times Guide that the next two Nemo showings were at 3:15 and 4:45. I didn't want to wait until 4:45, so I headed to the Theater in the Wild for the 3:15 show. I walked right in and quickly found a seat up front on the left side of the theater. I was only about 4 rows from the stage. A little close, but it provided some great views of the actors. I think I watch the actors more than the puppets, especially with Bruce and Crush. This was my first time seeing the show since January when it was still in soft openings, but it was as great as I remembered it being. They are finally allowing non-flash photography (it was no photography before) so I got a couple pictures that didn't come out too horrible.

Mr. Ray
2008_0919Disney09080068.jpg


My favorite actor playing Bruce
2008_0919Disney09080070.jpg


More Bruce
2008_0919Disney09080072.jpg


My favorite Crush actor
2008_0919Disney09080077.jpg


The songs are so catchy - I'll have video coming up later - and I am STILL singing them!!

After Nemo, I made my way to Expedition Everest. I quickly got in the Single Rider Line and my wait was only 10 minutes, tops. Much better than the 45 minute posted wait for Standby! This ride photo started a very common trend of nobody putting their hands up except for me!

2008_0919Disney09080080.jpg


Then back to Africa to use my Safari FP. The wait time was only about 10 minutes and they didn't even take my FP, but I still feel better having one! I had a pretty good driver this time, although the people behind me kept asking the dumbest questions!!! The poor driver was just doing his preset spiel and they were constantly interrupting him. I noticed when we got off the ride that they had 1st Visit buttons, so I'll let them go this time.

Just as I got the the Savannah portion of the ride, my camera freaked out and I thought I had lost the 100 pictures I had already taken. After some messing around I discovered that the camera just had a hiccup and only a couple pictures were lost. That would have been a horrible start to a vacation!! All was well though and I managed to take over 1000 pictures and videos - phew.

After getting off I got straight back on. The second driver was not as good, but he was having a better time. Sometimes that's more fun. There were tons of animals both times, I think because it was near closing and they were getting ready to go back to their night houses. I even captured some video of the Wildebeest running around - pretty awesome!

I won't bore you will all of my safari pictures, there are a TON, but here's just a few of the good ones:

Hippos!!
2008_0919Disney09080087.jpg


Elephants
2008_0919Disney09080095.jpg


Ankole (Watusi) Cattle
2008_0919Disney09080105.jpg


Baby Giraffe and Big Giraffe
2008_0919Disney09080109.jpg


Wildebeest Video
 
Hi Everybody!

I'll be back again soon with an update, I promise. Maybe even tonight if I can get off my butt to find my notes which were lost somewhere during my move.

It has been a very busy week of moving into my new house, but I'm finally starting to settle in.
 
Puke. Ugh. Never good.

Sounds like a fun day so far, aside from witnessing that!

Allyson :)
 
Once satisfied with my first day at Animal Kingdom, I headed back to DHS to use my TSM FastPass.

I love that DHS is such a small park, it takes no time to walk to Pixar Place and get on the ride. The FastPass line is not quite as exciting as the regular line, but it's a much happier place to be speeding through!

2008_0919Disney09080116.jpg


I rode alone again, but didn't do as well this time as I did last time. I got the Beaver prize once again. I wish that you could actually buy your prize at the end of the ride, that would be fun!

2008_0919Disney09080117.jpg


My next stop was TOT to see what the wait time was and also to get a FastPass. The return time on the FastPass was 7pm so that gave me plenty of time for Rockin Roller Coaster.

Rockin Roller Coaster is, now next to TSM, my favorite ride at DHS. I waltzed through a completely empty Single Rider Line and quickly reached the top of the queue. Nobody in front of me, nobody behind me, heaven. If you are alone or just don't care if you ride with other people, use the Single Rider Line. There is nothing better. And I think that RNRC has the best one. You go through the preshow like the other riders, but you get the top section of the show. Then you quickly line up and are on the ride. I was in the top section of the preshow all alone, it was awesome!

2008_0919Disney09080119.jpg


Again, here's just me with arms up!

2008_0919Disney09080121.jpg


I still had plenty of time before my FastPass was up, so I stopped for ice cream. I had seen a picture of the Flavor Burst on the Food Porn thread and just knew I had to get one. The cart is just outside of the RNRC exit, so it worked out perfectly. I got the Cotton Candy. It was, eh. Mostly just like Vanilla ice cream, but with a little tiny extra flavor. The good news is that I love Vanilla ice cream, so it hit the spot anyway!

2008_0919Disney09080122.jpg


After literally inhaling the ice cream, I ran back through the Single Rider Line. I literally could marry the Single Rider Line I love it so much. If only every ride could have one, life would be perfect!

This time, I made my Rock N' Roll face

2008_0919Disney09080123.jpg


After I got off the ride, I took some Photopass pictures. Don't have the CD yet, but I should soon enough. Then you can all see what a spazz I was when the guy told me to make my Rock n' roll face for the picture!

One more time through the ride...this time, I pretended to be asleep. It's the little things that thrill me. :rotfl:

2008_0919Disney09080124.jpg


My fastpass time for Tower of Terror was up, so I made the quick trip over. The wait time was only 10 minutes, so I probably didn't need to use the FP, but I did anyway. The people in front of me wanted to take me on as a part of their group. They couldn't believe I was doing such a scary ride alone! I thanked them, but quickly ran out of the preshow and veered right at the split. ALWAYS GO RIGHT! No one ever thinks to go that way for some reason. I was cruising through the line when the CM, another nice girl from Taiwan, called out to me, "Single Rider?" I said, yep! and hopped into place.

Before the ride started, the CM took a little kid, who was sleeping in his mother's arms and asked if it would be okay to measure him. The parents obliged and he hit the mark just fine. I couldn't understand why you would bring your now just waking up kid on the ride, but they did. The ride was great as always and I screamed my face off.

Again - what is with people not putting their arms up??

2008_0919Disney09080126.jpg


As soon as we got off the ride, right where you see your picture, the previously sleeping little kid stopped dead in his tracks and puked. Yes, that's the second time in less than 8 hours somebody had puked within 15 feet of me.

After the puking, I decided to call it a night at DHS and head to my next destination.

As I exited the park, I had a decision to make. Did I head to MK to start off the EMH night or did I go to Epcot to ride Spaceship Earth. I really wanted to see the changes to Spaceship Earth. I saw the Friendship Boat was waiting at the dock and my decision was made. I hopped aboard for a nice 20minute ride to Epcot.

The ride was nice, I got to see many resorts that I had not seen before. The Boardwalk looks like a fun place to stay.

On the boat there was these two guys in front of me, they were a couple. About halfway through the ride, they started laying on each other. In full view of the whole boat and the captains. Since I was sitting right behind them I was really tempted to say something, but I figured they would have been offended. But two guys, two girls, a guy and a girl, whatever the situation, it was totally inappropriate!!! And not just for Disney, for any place in public. Good thing it was only a 20 minute ride.

I walked as quickly as my legs could carry me to Spaceship Earth. I really forget how huge this park really is. It's also the only park that I can get lost in. Good thing Spaceship Earth is huge and easy to spot!

It was a great ride, I loved the updates! The girl in the go-go boots is hilarious. I took lots of pictures, but without the flash, most of them didn't come out too well.

2008_0919Disney09080136.jpg


From there I headed to the exit, there was nothing else I really felt the need to do that night.

2008_0919Disney09080139.jpg


I took the Monorail to MK...yes, I managed to hit all of the WDW between park transportation in one day!

Up next...Extra Miserable Hours
 
Fun update! I hope that I'm able to check out TSM with minimal lines. :wizard: I'm also anxious to check out the Spaceship Earth changes.

Extra MISERABLE Hours?? :eek:
 








Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom