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

[Quacktatty]

Me, too!

You've made me sad I didn't try out the Sum of All Thrills while I was there...I thought about it, and walked by, but the line looked a little too long for me. Oh well, next time!

The line actually does take a while, but if you get another chance it's well worth it!

 

[Quacktatty]

We did something similar (maybe the same?) to this in Disney Quest. It was so fun!

The one at Disney Quest is different than the Epcot one. I have heard that Sum of All Thrills takes the cake.

 

[Quacktatty]

It had finally arrived, my first full day in the parks. I celebrated by sleeping until the alarm went off. I was beat from the day before but was ready to face the day ahead of me.

I ran to Everything Pop for some breakfast and coffee, nothing exciting. Then I relaxed a little before walking to the parking lot to find the car for my drive to DHS. I never had much luck finding the car and started to either park in strategic places where I couldn't forget or try and remember landmarks that were near my spot. Nothing was a fool proof idea so I did a little bit of wondering every time I was in the parking lots. They should have marked rows at the resorts like they do at the parks - I almost never lost the car at the parks.

I was about 20 people back in the line at the turnstiles but was able to sneak to a shorter line when they started letting people in and I made it to the front of the pack. How close was I?

I was starting to get a little worried because it was about 3 minutes to ropedrop and the Toy Story Mania CMs were nowhere to be seen. They did finally arrive in time to see the boring ropedrop show. It was even worse than last years, at least that one included a family to help open the park.

And they're off! We all walked not so patiently to TSM following the wall of CMs. One of the CMs was way ahead of the others so the line was a little wonky, but we made due.

The green army men were there to greet us as we approached the queue.

They were there to entertain throughout much of the morning, mostly for the people in the Fastpass line.

As we approached the queue this is where I probably broke a rule, although I will forever maintain it was NOT my fault. The direct entrance to the ride was open, without having to go through the big outside snake queue so I popped right in. The poor CM standing there freaked out! He yelled, "Oh, no! You were supposed to follow them! I'm not supposed to be open!" He was a nice guy though and instead of making me go to the end of the real line, he let me stay where I was and then join the rest of the group as they came past me. He even told the people behind me that it was okay, he gave me permission to go first!

So I ended up first by mistake. I'm pretty sure though that had I stayed with the group I would have been first anyway, so I don't feel bad. This was actually my second time being first on the ride, a pretty cool accomplishment if I do say so myself.

Being first has another benefit - you nearly always get a high score for the day!

I grabbed a FP on my way out of Pixar Place for later.

I had a little lanyard pouch incident at rope drop - the zipper thing broke and I couldn't get into my pouch! I went over to the pin place by the Great Movie Ride and bought a new pouch and decided to get a new lanyard too. It's a really cute Chip and Dale lanyard with leaves on it. Very fall. And I love Chip and Dale (mostly Chip) so it was a must have. There is very little merchandise dedicated to Chip and Dale so I tend to get my hands on almost everything I can.

Photo courtesy of treasurekingdom.com

Since I was there, I decided to do the Not So Great Movie Ride. They really really need to do something with this ride. It's irrelevant to MY generation and I'm :gasp: nearly 30.

I knew that the Animation Academy would open at 10:00 so I hoofed it over to the Art of Disney store - that used to be the secret entrance so you could bypass the movie but they have since changed it and there is now a dedicated non movie entrance, finally! I was surprised that there were 3 other people waiting at the store entrance. Someone came out at 10:00 and informed us that they wouldn't be opening until 10:15...boo. I didn't want to sit around and wait so I made my way to One Man's Dream.

I really like One Man's Dream. It's always quiet and empty and it's one place where you can really take your time and just absorb all things Walt.

Hippos!

Walt and The Florida Project

My dad and I have a thing for vanity plates

I have this poster hanging in my basement!

Are you 23? I am!

This was the first D23 magazine cover, I love it

Bring back Progressland

Spanish Jungle Book

 

[praisehisname]

The one at Disney Quest is different than the Epcot one. I have heard that Sum of All Thrills takes the cake.

I'll definitely have to make sure I try it then!

Being first has another benefit - you nearly always get a high score for the day!

Good job!

Love it!

 

[Quacktatty]

By the time I was done over at One Man's Dream, the Animation Academy was open. I went in to wait for the doors to open and chatted a little bit with the CM who was there. We ended up doing a pin trade, yet another Chip and Dale pin to add to my collection!

The drawing class was good. We drew Pluto this time around. My skills have improved greatly and would improve even more as the trip went on. The CM had everyone vote from the Fab Five and it was an almost unanimous pick for Pluto.

CM Animator's Pluto:

My Pluto:

I decided at the last minute that my Pluto needed to have one ear up, but instead it just looks like he has three ears!

Since the CM had promised that the next round of drawing would include a different character, I decided to go again. This time around, again by vote, we drew Mickey Mouse.

Circles aren't my strong point, but I think I did OK.

The CM's Mickey:

My Mickey:

That was enough drawing for me and my Toy Story Fastpass was now mature so I went back for another ride.

I'm not sure why, but my score was pretty bad! I think I got obsessed with trying to figure out the tricks of the game rather than just playing to have fun.

I had a lunch ADR at 1:40 and still had quite a bit of time to go. I saw that American Idol had a 12:00 showing and it was just before noon so I thought, what the heck! I'm not a fan of American Idol really...but it was a new attraction that I had yet to experience. The warm up host got the crowd riled up before things started.

We practiced clapping, swaying and doing the raise the roof. Then the actual show host came out and introduced the judges - talk about trying to fill stereotypes! The Randy Jackson judge really looked like Randy Jackson, the others just acted like their roles. I wonder if they'll change the judges when the new season starts without Paula Abdul?

The three contestants came out and sang - I was embarrassed for them. The first lady did okay, nothing special but she didn't suck either. There was a guy second who sang in a kind of high voice for a man and was really pretty bad. The judges just didn't know what to say to him. Obviously they can't be really mean, but there wasn't much good to say about this guy. The last girl was good...obviously had some background in singing and she easily won that show. She probably went on to do well in the final show although I wish they would post the results somewhere so you could find out how people did.

Waiting for the results

I wrapped up my before lunch attractions with Star Tours and Muppets. Star Tours had a 20 minute posted wait, but it was nowhere near that. My pod thing wasn't even full. I am looking forward to Star Tours 2.0 though, should be fun.

Muppets had no wait as always. The preshow was about half way through when I walked in but I got a chance to walk around and take some photos.

I love Sam the Eagle

Lunch was at Sci-Fi and a general disappointment. It was too rushed and the food wasn't that good. I probably won't be back to that restaurant again.

I had a F&W Vodka tasting at Epcot so I decided to take the Friendship boat over. A crowded boat was waiting for me at the dock and it wasn't too long before we started towards Epcot.

Up Next - Vodka and a DIS meet

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Loving the trip so far!

 

[Quacktatty]

Loving the trip so far!

Thanks!

 

[Quacktatty]

I love the Friendship boat. It's relaxing and you get such nice views of the Swan and Dolphin, Boardwalk and Beach and Yacht Clubs. Someday I will stay at one of those resorts, if I can tear myself away from Animal Kingdom Lodge!

I was on my way to Epcot for a Vodka Seminar and a DIS meet with my new DIS friend Connie. She was gracious enough to offer up one of her tickets to the vodka seminar and I took her up on the offer! We were supposed to meet at the Welcome Center but I was a little bit early still so I walked from the International Gateway over to Innoventions to see if I could fit in a ride on the Sum of All Thrills. On the way over I stopped to look at a CM's pins and saw a really cute Chip and Dale pin but another lady took it before I had a chance. I was so mad, but fair is fair, she was there first and was the on to actually ask to see the CM's pins. I was just taking advantage of the situation.

The line at Sum of All Thrills was a little bit too long, so I passed on that idea and headed to the Welcome Center instead. There I waited inside for a little bit and then saw Connie and her friend Kim. We talked for a little bit while we waited outside the line for the seminar and soon enough it was time to get in line.

This next part is copied from my dining report, but since it's kind of both food and trip like, I thought I would post it here too. I'll be doing this with all of my food and wine seminars.

We got in line for the event a few minutes early although there wasn't much of a line to speak of. They had long tables set up for everyone and unlike the culinary demos they were directing people to seats.

I can't remember if Pam Smith did the introductions, I'm pretty sure she did, but nevertheless, Trish Linden was the presenter. She was from the Chopin Vodka company. Chopin is a super premium potato based vodka - and it is delicious.

The vodka samples were on the tables and waiting for us when we were seated, but I resisted the urge and waited until Trish told us to take a sip. She gave some background on Chopin and then on vodka in general. There was some interesting information that I did not know before hand.

The first sample was a Rye Vodka, then the Chopin and finally a Strawberry Balsamic Martini.

We were first asked to take a sip of the rye vodka to see what we could taste. She suggested there would be hints of white pepper and vanilla. I could taste the white pepper, but not so much the vanilla. I figure this had to be a store brand vodka as it was pretty harsh.

Then we took a sip of the Chopin Vodka. WOW! It didn't smell harsh like a cheap vodka does and it was very creamy and didn't burn your lips. Instead, there was a very slight burn that lingered in the back of my throat. It was definitely a sipping vodka if that's what you like. You could taste things like Green Apple which Trish said comes from the soil.

Finally, we had the martini.

It was really really good. I am a fan of sweet drinks and this was right up my alley. It wasn't too sweet though. The balsamic really cut the sweetness without masking the strawberry flavor. You could distinctly taste the two flavors but they blended together very well. I plan to make this at home. Trish was kind enough to give us the recipe.

For my first F&W event, this was a winner. I will definitely make a point to try and go to some of the other spirit seminars in coming years. I'm not a wine drinker so it's nice that they have alternatives for us liquorholics.

After the event, Connie and Kim went back to World Showcase to try some samples and I decided to catch the bus back to DHS. It seemed like a better idea than walking back to the International Gateway to catch the boat, boy was I wrong! I ended up waiting a good long time, at least 20 minutes for a bus. I did pass some of the time by talking to a girl who was traveling with her family and friends. Her family was at Epcot and her friends were at DHS that day so she was going back to meet up with them. She explained to met that she hadn't been to WDW since she was four, and that was before Epcot had the countries I didn't bother correcting her, it just wasn't worth it.

The bus finally came and it was a short ride back to DHS. When I got there I headed straight for Toy Story Mania as I had a Fastpass to use up. I did OK but not as good as I could have. I got hung up on trying to figure out the trick on the Alien level which I just could not manage to accomplish.

Rock 'n Roller Coaster was calling my name so I high tailed it over there. I loove the Single Rider Line and I was in the preshow room before I knew it. I did that twice, the second time a CM was standing behind me in the preshow and when they mentioned giving out backstage passes he said, "Backstage passes, how did we get so lucky?" I replied, "I feel really bad, every time I come to see Aerosmith I get free backstage passes!"

I think they must have improved the ride photo screens because I was able to get really good pictures on this trip.

I did Tower of Terror next. The wait said 20 minutes, but it was practically a walk on. I walked from the queue to the preshow without stopping. Even the two girls in front of me asked the CM why the wait said 20 minutes when it clearly wasn't and he said, "That's how long it takes you to get on the ride from here". Wrongo buddy!

This was an awesome ride with some really great drops. It was not at all predictable. It seemed longer than a normal ride too although I don't know if that's really the case. I checked as I was getting off to see if it was the same car that we saw the day before during Backstage Magic, but it wasn't.

I figured it was about time to leave the park, first I stopped for a Frozen Lemonade. I considered doing some shopping as well, but there wasn't really anything that I really wanted, so I skipped that idea. I did stop to take this picture in one of the stores, the whole display seemed super creepy to me.

I got on the tram and was able to find my rental car pretty quickly. I really liked driving to the parks, if cars weren't so expensive I'd definitely do it more often.

Back at Pop I went to Classic Hall to get my package from the day before. I traded pins with one of the CMs there. I got a Turtle from the Toy Story Mania set.

After that I just went back to watch TV and later in the evening I got some food which wasn't very good and ended up making me feel sick most of the night.

Up next - And I thought Splash Mountain smelled funny!

 

[praisehisname]

Great job on both!

At first it sounded like a really strange combination, but after you described it, it did sound good

 

[norybell]

Great update! I, too, had walk-on experiences with ToT and RnR while I was there...can't beat that!

 

[Quacktatty]

Great job on both!

At first it sounded like a really strange combination, but after you described it, it did sound good

I totally wasn't sure about the combination at first, but it really works!

Great update! I, too, had walk-on experiences with ToT and RnR while I was there...can't beat that!

Isn't that the best?

 

[Quacktatty]

I had a restless night and woke up still feeling pretty sick from my dinner the night before. I wasn't going to let it stop me though! I had a muffin and some soda to calm my stomach and hopped in the car to head to what is probably my favorite park, Animal Kingdom.

I made it for ropedrop and was able to sneak my way to the front of the crowd. I do enjoy being alone at ropedrop. If you are trying to get to the front, people don't even have a second thought about letting you through. I'm never pushy, but I'm able to sneak through those small gaps that even a group of two would get separated trying to take advantage of.

I was off towards the left, on the Africa side, so I didn't get any great pictures of the opening show, I wasn't able to see Mickey in the Tree of Life at all.

Did they change this show? I seem to remember Mickey being on the truck and at the Tree of Life but this time Minnie was on the truck and Mickey was only at the Tree of Life. I can't find pictures although I totally could have sworn that I took some last year!

Walking to Africa I was behind/next to this woman who just could not get the concept of walking behind the CM. He was constantly trying to push her back but she kept inching ahead. He finally let her go because we were approaching the people who were waiting at the Africa rope after their Tusker House breakfast. There was an instant look of relief and dismay on her face and I found it hilarious. Even funnier was that she wanted to get Fastpasses and the machines weren't working!

I got on the first Kilimanjaro Safari truck and was able to get a bunch of good pictures. I go a little overboard on the pictures and I ride the safari A LOT, so I've tried to keep it to a select few for each ride.

This guy was following the truck for a little bit

My favorites

The big lonely male

Anybody know what these are called? I can't find the name and I saw them at AKL too, they aren't on any of the animal guides so I'm thinking they are new to the safari and the AKL savannahs.

After I got off I checked to see if the FP machines were working and they weren't. I asked the CM and she said that they were just down temporarily and not shut off for the day. I thanked her and headed to Dinoland.

Dinoland was pretty quiet so I got into the Primeval Whirl queue. This was closed the last time I was here so I was glad to get a chance to ride it on this trip.

This used to be on my list of favorite rides but really isn't anymore. I don't know why, maybe I'm more mature now and spinning in circles just doesn't do it for me like it used to

I checked the Dinosaur standby and it was a short wait. I decided that since the KS FP machine was still down I could get a Dinosaur FP without messing anything up. I think my fastpass time was for around 10:00 but much to my surprise I found TWO extra FPs just sitting there. One was for 9:05 and one for 9:15 which meant I could use them immediately. Score!

I used the FP even though the ride was a walk-on, I had three so who cares, right? I pride myself in always being the first out of the preshow room and I was. I don't know why more people don't stand at the doors. It can't be everybody's first time on the ride, they must know where the exit is!

I was so quick down the stairs that I almost got a whole rover to myself, but the CM made me wait for everybody else, boo.

There was a Nemo show at 10:30 and Nemo shows take priority over just about everything! I think that weekend shows don't get the best of the best when it comes to the cast, but this one was definitely better than others I have seen. I couldn't tell if Bruce was the guy that I like because I was sitting in the second tier of seats, but he did a good job. The actor playing Crush didn't annoy me as much as he did last time, he is pretty good even though I still like the other actor better!

My favorite scene and one of my favorite songs

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Go with the flooooowoooowooowooowooowooowooowooowoooowoooow

 

[praisehisname]

Love all the safari and Nemo pictures. Hope your stomach was feeling better soon! Although it must not have been feeling too bad if you went on Primeval Whirl!

 

[Stefy]

All caught up

Your backstage tour sounded cool, I am with you on the I thought they just kept the cage/mould and grew new flowers.

Off to go read your Dining Report now

 

[Bounce_Tigger]

Great TR so far!
The animals on the safari were bontebok. They've been around for at least a year or two. For awhile last year they weren't "on show" at the safari, but it looks like they're back!

 

[Quacktatty]

Love all the safari and Nemo pictures. Hope your stomach was feeling better soon! Although it must not have been feeling too bad if you went on Primeval Whirl!

hehehe...I am totally not affected by rides at all, I can ride ANYTHING

All caught up

Your backstage tour sounded cool, I am with you on the I thought they just kept the cage/mould and grew new flowers.

Off to go read your Dining Report now

Isn't that neat? Enjoy the dining report!

Great TR so far!
The animals on the safari were bontebok. They've been around for at least a year or two. For awhile last year they weren't "on show" at the safari, but it looks like they're back!

Thank you!! I knew it was something with a b, but I couldn't find anything on the internet. This has seriously been bothering me for like a month, you are the best!

 

[Quacktatty]

It was only around 11:15 at this point, but I was hungry. I was feeling better and it was clear that the muffin I had for breakfast wasn't going to hold me over. I decided on Flametree BBQ as it is my favoritist place to eat at Animal Kingdom. I got my food and took it to my favorite seating area - this was my lunch view

I also had a lunch buddy!

After lunch, I walked the Discovery Island trails. I have never taken the time to do this and I'm glad I did. I saw some animals that I'd never known were in the park and got a really great look at the Tree of Life.

These guys were peacefully coexisting

Otter!

Cool Tree of Life Turtle

I thought this guy was cute hiding in his log

I stopped for a little bit along the way to watch one of the CMs feed the big fish - turns out they eat fruit, and they are pretty rowdy! I also watched the hippos for a while.

Eventually, I made my way to Africa

The Safari FPs were up an running so I grabbed one for later. I stopped and did a pin trade with one of the CMs before getting in line for the Safari. It was the same Chip and Dale pin that I missed out on the day before - score! The Safari line seemed long, but in actuality it was just people moving slow. I was on a truck in no time.

The giraffe were all hiding today

The bull elephant was hamming it up today

After my ride, I walked the Pangani Trail. Not too much going on, but the Gorillas were out. This is one of the males from the all bachelor troupe

Guess what I did next? Safari I told you that I ride this way too much.

This time he's hiding in the trees

This was adorable - three of the elephants, two babies and maybe an older adolescent were playing in the water together.

It was pretty hot on this day, so I started toward Asia where I got a FP for Kali River Rapids. Then, again I'm attributing this to the heat , I got myself an ice cream! Once my ice cream was finished I walked the Maharaja Jungle Trek. There were many more animals out than in Africa.

Bats! I heard a teenager exclaiming to her mother that it was gross that you could see their...ummm...junk

The tigers were pretty active. I didn't get a good picture of it, but one of them was walking around to the others and poking them as if to say - hey, get up, let's play!

Love, Love, Love the Tibetan Prayer Flags. They are so nice when they fade and get tattered.

 

[Stefy]

Awesome pics of of the Discovery Island Trails.

FTB is my fav place to eat in AK, although the ducks do get me slightly worried, they are quite agressive aren't they. I saw one last year tugging at a ladys trouser leg, funny thing was she didn't even notice. Awesome eating view though

Love your commentary for the Safari pics, love the second Giraffe one.

 

[praisehisname]

Great pics of the trail! I love the one with the sleepy tiger!

 

[norybell]

There was a Nemo show at 10:30 and Nemo shows take priority over just about everything! I think that weekend shows don't get the best of the best when it comes to the cast, but this one was definitely better than others I have seen. I couldn't tell if Bruce was the guy that I like because I was sitting in the second tier of seats, but he did a good job. The actor playing Crush didn't annoy me as much as he did last time, he is pretty good even though I still like the other actor better!

I went to see Nemo for the first time in October, and wow, did I love it! I developed a massive crush on the main guy, and spent most of the time trying to get good pictures of him.