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

[Quacktatty]

After a disappointing Nemo show, I was getting tired. I needed some lunch. I of course went to Flame Tree which after my one not great meal at Yak and Yeti will probably be the only place I ever eat at in AK! I got the ribs this time, substituting the corn muffin for coleslaw.

They were okay - a little fatty, but certainly edible. I even ate quite a bit of the beans, and I'm not a bean eater, it's a texture thing. The coleslaw was delicious as always!

My goal was to do some shopping before leaving the park for the day. I headed towards Discovery Island to see what I could find. On my way, I saw that there was no line at ITTBAB and the show was just starting so I went in. I love walking the queue even though it's always empty and always Loooooong but you get the up close views of the Tree of Life.

I didn't really see anything that jumped out at me in Discovery Island, but I knew that there was a few things that I wanted in Asia. They had some really cool beach towels and I wanted to get one of those. Unfortunately, when I got up close and actually touched one I discovered it was pretty thin and not soft at all. Not going to spend 30 something bucks on that!!

At the EE dump shop I KNEW there were a few things I wanted to pick up. The first was an Everest shirt I had seen early in the week.

I also knew that I wanted a Yeti of some sort, I found a magnetic one that wasn't too cutsey, but still cool.

I also got some Tibetan Prayer flags. I love looking at these hanging up all over Asia. I hung mine up on the back porch at my new house and they are fading really nicely after being exposed to the elements for a few months. Funny story about that - when I moved in to my house I discovered that my neighbors were Pakistani. My mom insisted that before I hang up the prayer flags that I find out if Tibet and Pakistan have any problems - I wouldn't want to insult them after all Wikipedia didn't say one way or another, so I figured I'd be safe.

I made sure to stop for a photopass picture in front of Everest before I left

I was done in Asia, so I went back to Discovery Island - just in case I missed something! I did find a Hidden Mickey Mystery pack that would contain two Chip and Dale Hidden Mickey pins. They were from the 4 seasons HM series - I got summer and spring. I also grabbed a Frozen Banana, my go to treat to get me through those hot AK days, and started towards the exit.

I stopped at the Tree of Life one last time and took a few more Photopass pictures. One thing about being a solo is that you seem to get a LOT of magic pictures

I look like such a spazz in this picture

At this point I was just done - I have never in my many years of Disney taken an afternoon break. But I was officially spent. I hadn't even been going too hard this vacation, but I guess the heat of September got to me. I slowly made my way towards the exit and thankfully didn't have long to wait for the bus. I climbed on, closed my eyes and enjoyed the 4 minute drive back to AKL.

Up Next - The AKL Wildlife gets a little too close

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Up Next - The AKL Wildlife gets a little too close

Don't keep us waiting too long! Although I suppose since you're writing this, you survived.

I'm a big believer in afternoon breaks.

 

[MomofCKJ]

I love seeing all the carvings on the tree, they are so amazing! And another Frozen Banana lover, my must have snack on any Disney trip!

Nice new ticker, I got a 40% PIN code too!

Allyson

 

[MyMuse]

Yay for more trip reports!

And I did decide to go for a Photopass share, so if I chicken out on no pics, I will not feel so bad since I didn't spend over $100 for it.

 

[Quacktatty]

Don't keep us waiting too long! Although I suppose since you're writing this, you survived.

I'm a big believer in afternoon breaks.

I'm already building breaks into my touring plan for the next trip!

I love seeing all the carvings on the tree, they are so amazing! And another Frozen Banana lover, my must have snack on any Disney trip!

Nice new ticker, I got a 40% PIN code too!

Allyson

Woohoo PIN codes!!! I was so thrilled to get mine, I have been waiting for yeeeeeears

Yay for more trip reports!

And I did decide to go for a Photopass share, so if I chicken out on no pics, I will not feel so bad since I didn't spend over $100 for it.

I thought I would chicken out, but it is nice to have pictures of yourself from your own vacation!

 

[Quacktatty]

It was, as always, a super quick trip back to AKL. So even though I was super tired and wet (from Kali), I did have enough energy to do some shopping. It seems that at most resorts there is always a short cut through the gift shop to get to and from the bus stops. AKL is no different and the Zawadi Marketplace is a nice place to shop if you are gonna do it.

I had done quite a bit of looking around in the shop already on my trip, and picked out some stuff that I wanted to get. I love the Giraffes and so I knew that I had to get something Giraffey. There is a lot of different African things to choose from. There are some nice paintings that I would have loved to have picked up, but I don't know how I would have even gotten them home, so I passed.

I did find the following:

This is a ceramic Giraffe that has the patterns of many different African animals, zebra, lions, cheetahs, etc.

A bowl with again, African animal patterns

A wooden Elephant, hand crafted in South Africa

And a small ceramic hippo that was hand crafted in South Africa with really cool patterns

I also picked out an AKL t-shirt that I wear a lot at home to remind me of my trip

While I was over getting my shirt, a lady was fighting with one of the managers because she wanted the black shirt that was on the mannequin. The only problem was that it was the old design which they didn't sell anymore. So then she said she wanted the one that was on the mannequin, the manager tried to explain that he couldn't sell it to her because it was damaged. She went on and on about how she wanted that darn shirt. It ended with her disappointed, but the manager was right - the shirt was damaged because it had been under the fluorescent lights and right in front of the door to the gift shop for so long. That lady was going nuts over a stupid t-shirt!!

The only thing I didn't find in the gift shop that I really wanted was an AKL magnet - hopefully I can find one next time!

After I got all my purchases paid for and wrapped up VERY carefully by the nice woman working at the register, I took the trek back to my room. My first stop was to see who was out the window. I saw 7 giraffe, 4 zebra, an ostrich and a random gazelle/antelope thing. I used this opportunity to call my mom and let her know how great a time I was having and how many animals I could see out the window. I'm sure she was jealous

One thing that I never realized is that you can actually hear Animal Kingdom from the Lodge. Probably because AKL closes at 5 most days and I was never back in my room at 5. Sitting out on my balcony I could hear screams from Everest, African Drumming and some of the Pocahontas show (one of the last shows she would have there ). I even heard the train that goes to and from Rafiki's Planet Watch!

While I was trying to relax, I was distracted by this guy out on his balcony who was trying to call to the animals. I will never understand the people that think they can talk in a high pitched baby voice and click their tongues and wild animals will just come to them. I had a boyfriend that did that, to squirrels, rabbits, even skunks. One time I asked him what he would do if an animal actually DID come to him...he just shrugged. That's what I was thinking about as I was listening this guy trying to attract the giraffe or whatever it was. Dude, it's a WILD ANIMAL!! It would probably eat his face off, and I would be glad

I decided that a dip in the pool was in order. I got my bathing suit on :gasp: and walked down for a quick swim. The pool was quite busy when I got there so I didn't stay for too long. I never know what to do with myself in a pool, I'm not the type of person that can just float and relax, so especially if I am swimming alone I end up just feeling really awkward. Plus, I hate wearing a bathing suit in public!

I got out about 10 minutes or so after I got in, retrieved my stuff and walked around a little bit. I came upon the hot tub and decided to get in there for a minute since it was empty. Again, didn't stay for too long because I just didn't know what to do with myself!! Before I went back to my room I stopped to get some Hot Chocolate and Zebra Domes, yum. I took them back up to my room and sat out on the balcony to eat.

Zebra Domes, yum

I was enjoying sitting and watching the animals, eating my zebra domes, taking some trip report notes and then I saw it. The squirrel! It was up on my balcony under the divider to the balcony next to mine.

At first I just kind of watched it, scurrying around, looking for something to do. It didn't look like it was going to do anything crazy. I even forgot about it for a bit as I watched the Wanyama Safari bus drive through.

Then, all of a sudden, the squirrel got wayyyyy too close. It was under the chair that was directly across from me.

Photographic evidence so you can't just say I'm a nut case

I freaked and ran into the room slamming the sliding glass door shut behind me. That was the last time I went out on the balcony that day! I took that as my cue to get my butt in gear and do some packing and get ready for my night at Epcot.

Up next, The World's Most Pathetic Photo Shoot

 

[Quacktatty]

I shopped, I relaxed, I swam, I was ready to get back to the parks. Epcot was on the agenda and wouldn't you know, as soon as I got to the bus stop, there was the Epcot bus waiting for me! Yay good bus mojo

The bus ride was uneventful and I got right in the park and found a Photopass photographer.

Spaceship Earth was first. There was actually a little bit of a line! Okay, so maybe I waited about 1 minute instead of none, but still - that's a shocker for the off season. I really like the new enhancements too, especially the interactive parts. I want to ride it enough times to pick all the answers to see what you get!

Mission Space was calling my name and there was only a 5 minute wait. I rode Orange Side because I laugh in the face of motion sickness! I hope that this is always my experience because I do love me some MS!

The Test Track single ride line looked lonely, so I jumped in line. I rode 3 times in about a half an hour.

Remember, there is NO DANCING on Test Track!

Ride 1:

Ride 2:

Funny story about this one, the guy right in front of me who you see leaning over is NOT with those people next to him. He was with me in the Single Rider line. He found out that this was either the other people's first time or they hadn't ridden in a long time and forgot what the ride was like. He proceeded to then tell them every single thing that was going to happen before it happened. When the picture was taken he was telling them not to worry because the giant fake 18 wheeler wasn't going to get us.

Ride 3:

As you can see I started having fun with the pictures - I'm sure the people riding next to me thought I was nuts!

Oooh...future car

I took a short-ish cut to get over to the living seas by going through Ice Station Cool. On the way, some folks stopped me to ask if I could take their photo, I happily obliged. Ice Station Cool was fun and I tried everything...except Beverly! There was a guy standing near me making small talk so I told him he needed to try the Beverly. He knew something was up, but he tried it anyway along with the two other people he was with. They all made the face and I laughed an evil laugh to myself. I knew my fellow DISers would be proud. I think that of all the flavors, Germany is my favorite. I would drink a whole glass of it.

I also stopped in what I'm going to call the Epcot Museum. I don't see it on the map, because lets face it, Epcot has a crappy map. It had various exhibits of the different pavilions as well as some other exhibits.

I took a picture of my favorite pavilion, Nap Time...err Energy

After a bathroom break in the Character Connection (good bathrooms by the way, not a high traffic peeing area) I made it to Nemo. I rode Nemo at least once, possibly more, and took some photopass picture. The PP photographer looked at me strange when instead of Dory and Nemo I wanted my picture taken in front of Gil and the Blowfish!

Another spaz picture courtesy of moi

I love these guys!

My artsy side kicked in when I saw the monorail going by the Imagination Pavilion. I knew what I had to do! I would go up to the big patio type area and get a picture of the monorail with SSE in the background. I knew timing was everything, I practiced lining up the shot just right and I waited...and waited...and waited.

I started taking pictures of the fountains

And then more waiting. I saw it in the background and I knew I had to get it just right because I wasn't going to sit around for another 20 minutes waiting for the next monorail to come through.

Sometimes my camera takes a few seconds to get the shot, so I assumed it would do it this time, especially since it was getting to be dusk-ish. I pressed the button, and well...I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Miserable failure...I sat there for soooooo long!!!!

I shook it off and made my way to World Showcase. Off Kilter was about to perform so I took a seat on the benches and waited for it to start up. I had heard such great things about them from everybody on the boards, I was pretty excited.

I'll be honest, I was underwhelmed. They really weren't THAT good. The lead singers voice has a really horrible forced fake accent and he's not that good of a singer. He also has ugly 90's hair and is goofy, not in a good way. The guitarist is short and old. The bass player is the only one that is halfway decent looking, so I took a picture of him.

Sorry everyone, I just don't get it. There were so many slutty women there dancing and fawning over them. I was befuddled.

My list of things to do told me that dinner was to be eaten in Morocco at the Tangierine Cafe. The line was looooong and there were a lot of cranky people in it. In theory the way they have the line work makes sense, but in practice it fails. You stand in the right side line to order - there are two cashiers. Then you get in the left side line to get your food. That confused people and we keep having to tell people that they needed to change lines if they started out standing in the get your food line instead of the order your food line.

I finally got my order - the lamb wrap, baklava and a tangerine daiquiri (which I had to go to the bar to pick up). I found a table towards the back of the outside seating area and popped a squat. I took out my camera for pictures (of course) and this little twit of a girl starting glaring at me. I snapped away and she starred some more. Her mom came back to the table from the bathroom with her little brother and she whispered, "Mom, that lady took pictures of her FOOD!!!" Her mom basically told her to shut her face and then they left. That was the only comment I got the whole trip, from a snotty, overweight, funny looking 9 year old!!

Lamb Wrap with Couscous and Tabbouleh

Tangerine Daiquiri that did not have alcohol in it like it was supposed to and gave me an ice cream headache

Baklava

I'm glad I tried this place, but don't think I will be eating here again. I have had better CS in World Showcase.

Illuminations was about to start, but I didn't want to watch it. I wanted to try and beat the crowds out of the park. But I couldn't leave without a Kaki Gori!

I walked as fast as my tired legs could carry me and made it to Mexico when Illuminations started. I just put my head down and kept going. Soon enough I was out of the park and about 3rd in line for a bus. I didn't have to wait to long to get ON the bus, but we did sit for quite a while before leaving. I guess no matter to me since I was sitting!

It was my last night in WDW so I did some packing before hitting the hay.

Up next, The Nemo B-Squad (again)

 

[MyMuse]

Thanks for the continuance of the trip report!

 

[Lynn5700]

Hi!!! I just found this and love it!!

I can not believe you saw 3 kids puke! YUCK!! I would have freaked. Me and protien spills do not mix well lol.

AND OMG you had me LMAO about the creeper guy in POTC with you!!!! OMG I'm still laughing. I probably would have been cracking up if he was in my boat lol.

Oh and I finally got to see what a Zebra dome is!!! They look good! I'm going to have to try them when we go.

 

[Quacktatty]

A 2009 Trip Update:

I became an Annual Passholder today!!! I bit the bullet and ordered my voucher - yay, I'm so excited!

 

[Girldreamer02]

Yay for becoming a annual pass holder! Congrats on that! Loving your trippie! We had a great time at akl two weeks ago! I'm going to be starting our trippie soon. Can't wait to hear about the end of your trip!

 

[Philadisney]

I just found your TR and spent the past 2 days reading it all. I love reading about solo trips, there is something so wonderful about being able to do exactly what you want when you want! I am taking a semi-solo trip in March and can't wait. Thanks for the great report!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Yeah on the AP! Many more trips in the next year for you!

Allyson

 

[Quacktatty]

Hi!!! I just found this and love it!!

I can not believe you saw 3 kids puke! YUCK!! I would have freaked. Me and protien spills do not mix well lol.

AND OMG you had me LMAO about the creeper guy in POTC with you!!!! OMG I'm still laughing. I probably would have been cracking up if he was in my boat lol.

Oh and I finally got to see what a Zebra dome is!!! They look good! I'm going to have to try them when we go.

Thanks for joining me! I've been reading up on your TR too!

Yay for becoming a annual pass holder! Congrats on that! Loving your trippie! We had a great time at akl two weeks ago! I'm going to be starting our trippie soon. Can't wait to hear about the end of your trip!

Cool, I will have to check it out.

I just found your TR and spent the past 2 days reading it all. I love reading about solo trips, there is something so wonderful about being able to do exactly what you want when you want! I am taking a semi-solo trip in March and can't wait. Thanks for the great report!

Thanks for stopping by and reading! I read your report too and really liked it!

Yeah on the AP! Many more trips in the next year for you!

Allyson

Woohoo! I'm already thinking that I can get at least 3 trips out if it.

 

[Quacktatty]

This was it, my last day in The World. I hate the last day of any vacation, but the last day of a WDW vacation is just plain painful. Thankfully, I had some time before my Magical Express pick up which gave me some time to enjoy the parks.

In the interest of time, I skipped breakfast. But I didn't forget to go out on the balcony and say goodbye to my buddies

I finished some packing and took a few last pictures of the resort.

This was my door and room number

My next stop was the DME desk to check-in for my flight. Well wouldn't you know, Delta was "down" and I wasn't able to check-in. I ended up having to leave my bags with Bell Services and would have to check-in once I got to the airport. In the long run this really wasn't a big deal since I already had my seats on Delta and everything, but it put me behind my already tight schedule.

DHS was having EMH that morning and I wanted to get in one last ride on TSM before leaving. The DHS bus arrived after about 5 minutes of waiting - an improvement over the rest of the week.

Once I arrived at DHS I walked as fast as I possibly could to TSM. I wasn't near the front of the pack, but I did get on to the ride pretty quickly.

I was seated next to a woman who was with her family - Husband, 2 sons and daughter. She drew the short straw apparently and was forced to sit with me. I could have cared less who I was sitting next to, I just wanted to play! We start going through the ride and what do you know? The Green Army Men scene was broken! This made the already cranky woman even crankier! That was the only scene that was down though and I still enjoyed myself. When the ride was over, she looked at my score compared to hers and just about had a hissy fit. My score was better and my accuracy was much lower. She just couldn't understand why she didn't win!

We mentioned to a CM as we were getting off that the Army Men scene was broken. I wasn't looking to ride again or anything, just wanted to let them know. But cranky lady wouldn't stand for it. She insisted that her WHOLE family ride again. Even though it was only her that had the broken scene. The CMs did say that the people in the broken cars were being allowed to ride again, but not their entire parties. So I stood over to the side where I waited to get on. Somehow she pushed her whole family of 5 back on the ride. This time though I got to sit next to one of her sons who was super nice. We made polite conversation through the ride and we both had a great time.

Again I got a pretty good score - I was in the top 3 for the day so far!

I decided to press my luck and get in one more ride. The posted wait time was 40 minutes, but it turned out to be more like 15.

For some reason this handicap postage stamp amuses me

I sat next to a normal person this time, well at least I think they were normal since I don't remember anything spazzy happening like with cranky lady! My score was okay, but not as good as the last time!

Once I got off the posted wait time was 45 minutes. I took that as my sign to move on. I was getting hungry and remembered that Starring Rolls was on my way to RNRC. I grabbed a Chocolate Croissant and a Toll House Cookie (for "later").

And I remembered as I passed the Sweet Shop that I wanted to get some Cotton Candy and a Chocolate Covered Strawberry. That was a lot of sugar for 9 in the morning!

My artistic TOT shot

I got to RNRC and jumped in the Single Rider Line. I went through that line very quickly - twice in less than 15 minutes. I saw the Dream Team and once again, no dream. They had Dream Fast Passes for the pre-show group ahead of mine. I shook it off - I wouldn't have been able to use it anyway

After RNRC I left the park and headed to the AK bus stop.

Up Next, AK See Yah Later

 

[jenjolt]

Great update!!! I love it...TSM is one of my new favorite rides!!! However I have never gotten as high of a score as that...WOW!!! Cant' wait to hear more!

 

[Girldreamer02]

aww I hate the end of the trip too! So sad! Sounds like you had fun on TSM despite the cranky lady though! We love that ride!

 

[Me&3]

I LOVE BOMA Just found your PTR trying to catch up.

 

[Quacktatty]

Great update!!! I love it...TSM is one of my new favorite rides!!! However I have never gotten as high of a score as that...WOW!!! Cant' wait to hear more!

It's one my favorites too!

aww I hate the end of the trip too! So sad! Sounds like you had fun on TSM despite the cranky lady though! We love that ride!

Yeah, the cranky lady was pretty bad, but she did get me a 2nd ride!

I LOVE BOMA Just found your PTR trying to catch up.

I'm hoping to try Boma on my next trip.

 

[Quacktatty]

I left DHS at 10am - I was making good time and getting a lot done for my last day! It always seems to happen that on my last day I am going from DHS to AK mid morning - I think it must be because Saturdays are DHS EMH mornings and that's the day I usually leave.

The bus took about 10 minutes to arrive and in that time the 4 most obnoxious teenagers joined us in line. This is also something I always run in to, obnoxious teenagers on the bus from DHS to AK. It's like Disney's way of shoving me back into the real world. It didn't take too long to get to AK and by about 10:30 I was walking through the gates.

My first stop was Asia.

I got to Everest and saw that the standby line was only about 15 minutes, I briefly considered getting in that line to see the queue, but changed my mind and got in the Single Rider Line instead - where I waited about 15 minutes

I rode once with a family who was scared, but excited. I think they had a good time:

There was a Nemo show at 11:30 and I didn't want to miss it. I wanted to be able to get some good video, so I sat towards the back of the theater in the center.

There was a man behind me asking a CM who was playing Crush that day. I guess he knew some of the cast, or was just a big fan of the show. I wanted to get up and talk to him, but I was afraid he would think I was a weirdo! Instead I just eavesdropped

Well, when the show started I understood why he had asked - it was the B-Squad Nemo show again. Bad Crush, Bad Dory, even a Bad Bruce and a Bad Marlin!! Ugh, not how I wanted to end my trip - that's for sure. The other 3 would have been forgivable had at least good Bruce been there. This is as close to a good Bruce I got that day

I had to redeem something about this AK visit, so I went to Flame Tree for lunch. I got a Beef Sandwich with coleslaw and a coke. It was much better than the one I had on the first day, no soggy bun!

I still had some time, so I rode the Safari. The driver was HORRIBLE!! He was not excited about his job at all, it was so bad that it was almost funny. I did get a few good pictures though.

The real ostrich sitting on the fake ostrich eggs

If that last ride wasn't a sign that it was time to go - I don't know what is. I reluctantly left the park, but not before having one more Mickey Bar!

The bus came quickly (yay for bus Mojo!) and in minutes we were back at the Lodge

I grabbed my bags from Bell Services and popped a squat on a bench outside. I couldn't bear to go back in the lobby. I was early, as always, and so I sat for about 40 minutes waiting for the DME bus. But it was nice to just sit and do nothing for a while - something I need to do more of on my next trip.

The bus finally arrived and we ended up leaving about 5 or 10 minutes late. There was a kid sitting behind me that did not stop whining the entire ride! And he kept repeating everything that he said. The kid was totally tired, but his parents kept yelling at him not to fall asleep! He was annoying, but slightly funny at the same time.

Check-in at the airport didn't go smoothly. I walked up to the electronic kiosk and they couldn't find my reservation. I asked a lady for help and she said, "What does it say?" I kept telling her, it says, "Your reservation cannot be found". Then she says, "What else does it say?" And I told her that it said something about seeing someone for assistance (DUH!) And she goes, I guess you need assistance then, and I said, "Ok...sooo??" Figuring she would tell me who I needed to talk to. And she says, "That's me!" Thanks Lady, thanks for being soooo helpful!!

The security line was a nightmare, nobody was in the right place. There were people with strollers in the expert line - ugh. I stayed in the middle line just because I did not care. There were people in front of me in line from Jersey and the mother kept complaining about everything. The line was too long, her daughter was carrying her bag wrong, the food at Disney was too expensive, blah blah blah blah blah.

I finally got to the fake monorail and to my gate. I had a Nathan's Slaw Dog and a lemonade while I waited.

I also looked at my pictures and videos and checked my checkout receipt where I saw the obscene amount of money I spent!

TSA was checking bags at the gate, randomly for the most part. Until one family was pulled aside and extra searched and wanded. They were an older couple and their daughter. The flight I was on was MCO->ATL->Dublin so I'm theorizing that they were on the No Fly list. That happened to my cousin who has the same name as someone in the IRA who is on the no fly list.

The guy next to me on the plane lacked the knowledge of personal space, so to pay him back I spied on what he was doing. He appeared to be studying to be some kind of Delta Captain. It seemed like he may have already had some flight experience but was moving up to a better position or a new plane. What scared me though was that he was reading about Runways from a printed out Wikipedia article. I get that Wiki is a good source of information, but I would hope that Delta might have some more concrete information to provide to their pilots!!!

I got off the plane at gate A1 and my next flight was to leave from gate B2. I had a lot of time to kill so I slowly walked to the gate. I stopped for pizza

Now, in Atlanta, the lower the gate number, the further back in the terminal it is. And Atlanta is a BIG airport, they actually use Segways to get around it's so big. For comparison, the only Disney park that uses Segways is Epcot...to give you and idea of the size of ATL.

I finally got to my gate where I looked up at the screen and discovered that my flight was now leaving out of...wait for it....gate A4!!!!!!!!!!!! So I walked alllllllllll the way back to basically where I started from. I got home super late, but after that day, I was glad to be home in my own bed.

Up next, Video and some final thoughts