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

[jenbear123]

The more I read your TR, the more I find in common. You like Chip and Dale, as do I. I'm currently going through a Chip and Dale obsession. Last week when I was in the World, I made it my quest to find and get a picture with the Chip and Dale duo. I WANT THAT LANYARD!!!

I also LOVE Sam the eagle from the Muppets. He's SO funny. I think Sam and Kermit are my fav Muppets.

Animal Kingdom is my favourite park too. Sometimes I feel like it was made for me. That and AKL My one night stay at AKL was not nearly enough. We did upgrade to savannah view which was simply amazing. I was in system overload with all the animals that were in front of the balcony. Incredible. I will have to stay there again though for at least 3 nights to fully appreciate the place.

Look forward to more from your report!

 

[kindra657]

Loving your report so far! I cannot believe the female pleasure device left on SM!! holy cow! ....I wonder how long it stayed there before a cm removed it. Did you report it? how embarrassing THAT conversation would be!

The backstage tour you took seems like it was pretty neat! We did the Epcot Segway tour last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. DH wants to do the Behind the Seeds tour...so maybe I'll do the backstage tour on my solo trip...one day

We were in the world from Oct 30-Nov 3 and thoroughly enjoyed F&WF as well! We didn't get a chance to do any special events, but we did grab a glass of wine from each country and our snack credits got plenty of use!

I'm surprised that you didn't enjoy Whispering Canyon. We thought the food was terrific!! I'll have to peek over at your dining review as well.

Awesome that you are a huge AKL lover! We bought into DVC once the AKV contracts began selling! We love AKL as well!...both Jumbo House and Kidani Village (tho Kidani needs a QS that the DDP works with). There's nothing like spending a long day in the parks and returning to the exotic atmoshere of AKL Aside from the atmosphere and the animals, we absolutely love the daily activities AKL offeres, especially the fireside stories

 

[Quacktatty]

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.

I haven't really experienced the aggressive ducks. I just get the friendly ones who like to hang out and watch me eat! Maybe they know that I'm not going to give them any food.

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

Thanks!

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.

heheh....I have a crush on Bruce

The more I read your TR, the more I find in common. You like Chip and Dale, as do I. I'm currently going through a Chip and Dale obsession. Last week when I was in the World, I made it my quest to find and get a picture with the Chip and Dale duo. I WANT THAT LANYARD!!!

I also LOVE Sam the eagle from the Muppets. He's SO funny. I think Sam and Kermit are my fav Muppets.

Animal Kingdom is my favourite park too. Sometimes I feel like it was made for me. That and AKL My one night stay at AKL was not nearly enough. We did upgrade to savannah view which was simply amazing. I was in system overload with all the animals that were in front of the balcony. Incredible. I will have to stay there again though for at least 3 nights to fully appreciate the place.

Look forward to more from your report!

I had to get a picture with Chip and Dale my last trip! I love seeing them in the parks, I'm like a little kid.

I'm glad you enjoyed AKL, it is addictive!

Loving your report so far! I cannot believe the female pleasure device left on SM!! holy cow! ....I wonder how long it stayed there before a cm removed it. Did you report it? how embarrassing THAT conversation would be!

The backstage tour you took seems like it was pretty neat! We did the Epcot Segway tour last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. DH wants to do the Behind the Seeds tour...so maybe I'll do the backstage tour on my solo trip...one day

We were in the world from Oct 30-Nov 3 and thoroughly enjoyed F&WF as well! We didn't get a chance to do any special events, but we did grab a glass of wine from each country and our snack credits got plenty of use!

I'm surprised that you didn't enjoy Whispering Canyon. We thought the food was terrific!! I'll have to peek over at your dining review as well.

Awesome that you are a huge AKL lover! We bought into DVC once the AKV contracts began selling! We love AKL as well!...both Jumbo House and Kidani Village (tho Kidani needs a QS that the DDP works with). There's nothing like spending a long day in the parks and returning to the exotic atmoshere of AKL Aside from the atmosphere and the animals, we absolutely love the daily activities AKL offeres, especially the fireside stories

I didn't report it, but I was told on Backstage Magic that the CMs do a sweep of each ride every morning, so I figured they'd catch it then! It wasn't there on my next time through.

I did Behind the Seeds later on in my trip - you'll have to stay tuned for the review!

 

[Quacktatty]

I was done with the Maharaja Jungle Trek and my Kali FP was only about 10 minutes away from being mature, so I just hung around outside to wait. Funny thing, I did this exact same thing on my last trip! I seem to have bad timing with Kali FPs.

I got in line and was quickly put onto a raft - there was one that was full except for one seat. I was seated next to a girl who can only be described as a hippie. She was with normal people, so I'm not sure what the deal was, but she stunk to high heaven. She also had almost a full mustache and wicked hairy legs and her hair was in dreads. I was glad that Kali is such a short ride as I held my breath through most of it. I got pretty wet, but I was smart and wore clothes that dried easily. I didn't want a repeat of the toilet seat cover incident last year.

Next up was Everest. I got in the single rider line and was paired with a family of three, a dad, a girl and a boy. They were waiting for the first car, so I was in row 2 - woohoo! It's not common to get that luck in the single rider line. I sat with the boy, he was probably 7 years old. He told me about the time he was riding and they had to get evacuated from the ride because somebody passed out. He said it was really cool...I trusted him and said that I'd rather not repeat that event.

I had a small lanyard incident...again...while on the ride. The pouch somehow came unlatched from the small metal circle that was holding it on, so I had to improvise and figure out another way to keep it attached. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do that while on the ride, so in the ride photo you can just picture my left hand holding onto my pouch filled with my AP, Tables in Wonderland and my Driver's License!

I got right back in line and with my pouch situation straightened out, I decided to take some pictures of my ride.

The view going up the first hill

Oh No! The track is broken!

Yeti!

Hey everybody taking pictures, I'm taking pictures of YOU!

In this one my hands are down because I'm holding on to the camera - usually I'm arms up all the way!

I had two Dinosaur Fastpasses left from the morning, so I used those back to back. That preshow is too long and too boring, I wish they didn't make you wait through it!

That was it for Animal Kingdom for me that day. I had a F&W demo to get to. I was out of the park headed to Epcot by 3:30.

 

[Quacktatty]

Review of the Claire Clark F&W Demo from my Dining Report:

I went into this demo blind. I'm sure I'll shock all of you, but I'm not foodie. I had no idea who Claire Clark was, I had no idea what the French Laundry was, I just knew I liked dessert and so a pastry chef would be right up my alley.

I got to Epcot with not a ton of time to spare and got in line kind of close to the front. Turns out that I needed to get a ticket, so I got out of line and then got back in without losing my spot. We were let in to the demo area about 5 minutes or so before it started.

I got lucky and was able to get a front and center table. Being a solo really pays off in that respect. The tables are set for 6 so there are often 1 or 2 seats left vacant at the front tables. The people at my table were really nice. The two ladies at the front spots were super friendly and while I didn't know it then, they'd come to be a big help the next day. There was also a couple at my table who knew all about the French Laundry and told me all about it.

Apparently it's this super famous restaurant in California. The reservations are almost impossible to get and book up faster than Le Cellier at 180 days. Their son lived in California and had been trying for years to get in without success. I guess I got lucky that I was able to get a spot at the demo since I doubt I'll ever be dining at The French Laundry.

Pam Smith welcomed us to the demo and talked a little bit about the wine we'd be having. I can't remember why, but the wine guy was not there - he might have been doing a bottle signing or something, but I can't remember what the real excuse was. The wine was an Ice Wine from Chateau des Charmes. I'm not a wine drinker, but this was nice. Very sweet which is right up my alley.

Then Pam introduced Claire Clark. She is this tiny little blond woman, not at all what I was expecting from an English Pastry Chef. Maybe I've been watching too many Cake Challenges on the Food Network.

Claire did a lot of the cooking herself which was cool. She also told a bunch of stories from her career. She seemed very comfortable in front of the crowd which must be hard to do.

Claire made 3 things - Lemon Posset, Shortbread and Fudge.

The Lemon Posset was amazing! It's about the simplest thing you can make - just three ingredients - lemons, sugar and cream and you don't even have to bake it or anything. It was light and really wonderful. She used Meyer Lemons which brought out the flavor quite a bit. They put it in these little glasses and gave us regular plastic spoons to eat it with. We soon discovered that it just wouldn't work. The glass was too small and the spoon was too big. Without prompting from anybody, nearly everyone turned their spoon around and started eating with the handle, it was that good! It was topped with a sugared rose petal. I did eat the rose petal even though Claire warned us that it hadn't been given time to properly set. It was still kind of moist from the egg wash it was dipped in. I'm not sure it was worth the time to eat, but it was interesting to taste nonetheless.

The shortbread was really light but not crumbly at all. Not what I would think of as shortbread, but still very delicious.

The fudge was very rich and very dense. She made two kinds, I think one had pistachios and the other was just chocolate? I can't even remember, but it was tasty. I wish we had gotten more than the two very small pieces that were served.

All in all I think I made a good choice with this demo. Turns out it would be my least favorite demo, but only because poor Claire Clark had a lot of competition. She was popular among the F&W attendees. I heard that her book sold out and her book signing line was pretty long.

After the demo, I went for my requisite ride on Spaceship Earth. It's so relaxing and I just love the questions and the video at the end. I think by the end of my trip I had tried most of the combinations.

Following my SSE adventure it was time to leave the park. I was having dinner at 'Ohana that night and wanted to get back to Pop and do some packing since I'd be checking out early the next morning to get to AKL!

I'm kicking myself for messing this up, but I forgot that you have to be all the way over in the far right lane to get the Magic Kingdom resorts. I was in one of the middle lanes and before I knew it, it was too late to get over. I had to turn around and try again. This time I got it right!

I had an OK dinner at 'Ohana, the service left a lot to be desired, but the food was pretty good.

Leaving the Poly I got all kinds of messed up. First, I took a wrong turn out of the resort and thinking I'd eventually see signs, I just kept going. One problem, there weren't any signs directing me back to the main WDW roads. I turned around when I got to a part of the road where the signs turned from the big WDW signs that you usually see to the regular green street signs.

I was finally back on the right track and was so happy to be out of there that I missed the detour directions for Osceola Parkway. It was the night of the Tower of Terror 13K and Osceola Parkway was closed for the runners. To get back to Pop, you take Osceola Parkway. Doh! I went past the exit and figured there would be another exit I could take and I'd just have to drive a little further. Before I knew it I was leaving property! I ended up on I-4 West to Tampa I got off some exit that put me back near Downtown Disney and I was on the right track again.

At least I got a picture of the sign at night!

I finally made it back to Pop and was ready to just go to bed. I had an exciting day the next day. I was checking into my favorite resort and going to see one of my favorite food celebrities!

 

[sunny04]

I enjoyed your past TRs after they were completed, and am excited to get in on this one while it's going on!

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Glad you found your way back. We did the same thing in Oct. (leaving property and trying to turn around and get back). Can't wait to hear about AKL!

 

[praisehisname]

on the stinky Kali ride. The dessert demo sounded great! Yikes on getting turned around getting back to Pop. Cool picture of the arches at night, though!

 

[kindra657]

still lovin your tr! The kali ride experience, though tough for you, was pretty funny for me!! OMG it must've been hard not staring at those creepy hairy legs! hehe!

 

[Mic_n_Min]

Just found your TR earlier today and I am really enjoying it! I love all of the pics you take. I would love to take a solo trip myself someday. Just not sure if I can actually do it or not.

Any chance you can share Jeff's blog with us? If not, that's okay too!

 

[Quacktatty]

I enjoyed your past TRs after they were completed, and am excited to get in on this one while it's going on!

I hope this one lives up to the potential!

Glad you found your way back. We did the same thing in Oct. (leaving property and trying to turn around and get back). Can't wait to hear about AKL!

I get lost in my own town so I'm glad it was relatively easy to find my way back.

on the stinky Kali ride. The dessert demo sounded great! Yikes on getting turned around getting back to Pop. Cool picture of the arches at night, though!

Thanks!

still lovin your tr! The kali ride experience, though tough for you, was pretty funny for me!! OMG it must've been hard not staring at those creepy hairy legs! hehe!

It was...and the mustache

Just found your TR earlier today and I am really enjoying it! I love all of the pics you take. I would love to take a solo trip myself someday. Just not sure if I can actually do it or not.

Any chance you can share Jeff's blog with us? If not, that's okay too!

I could share the blog I suppose, as long as you promise not to go over there and tell him I wasn't nice!!

 

[Quacktatty]

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 had done all my packing the night before and I had express checkout so all I needed to do was drag my suitcases to the car. My envelope of sadness was hanging outside the door but I didn't even care! And even better, my bill wasn't all that bad! Don't worry though, I made up for that later

I said goodbye to Pop and got in the car to head to AKL.

Bye bye

I arrived at AKL and was greeted by the guard. I told her I was checking in and she asked for my name and ID. She then handed over my parking pass and told me, "Welcome Home". I really did feel like I was home!

I once again used the valet parking which is free with Tables in Wonderland, score! I elected not to bring my suitcases in even though I could have had bell services hold them for me and or deliver them to my room. It just wasn't that important and self parking isn't very far from the lobby at AKL.

I checked in with a very nice CM who hooked me up with what he promised would be a great room. 2nd floor overlooking the Arusha Rock savannah overlook. Hmmm...overlooking and overlook, I never thought about how funny that sounded until just now! Check in was wicked easy and within about 10 minutes I was at Boma. I had a breakfast ADR for 10:00 and even though I was about 30 minutes early I was seated promptly.

Breakfast was great, I was beyond full. I was hoping my room would be ready by the time I finished so I could bring my stuff up before my day's activities started, but it wasn't - no big deal. I was there exceptionally early.

This was to be my no parks day and I held to that except for one brief and very awesome visit to Epcot which I'll talk about in my next post.

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 had considered playing all 4 courses - the two at Winter Summerland and the two at Fantasia Gardens, but I never got around to it.

I arrived at Winter Summerland and was told that the Winter side was closed and that I'd have to play the Summer side. No skin off my back, I was just happy to be playing. I used my Annual Pass discount and the whole round of golf only cost me about $7!

Because only one side was open, the crowds were kind of backed up. I made it through the first couple holes with no one behind me or in front of me.

Each hole had these little poems, some were more clever than others

I got a text just as I was finishing the 1st hole telling me my room was ready, of course! If I had kept my original ADR time or eaten a little slower I would have been able to see my room before leaving for mini-golf. Ah well...it'll be there for me later!

At about the 3rd hole, I ran into the preppy family. Perfect Mom, Perfect Boy, Perfect Girl and Awesome Dad. The mom and the kids were having a great time, nobody was following the rules and balls were getting whacked hard out of bounds and lost. We were all laughing by the last hole! Awesome Dad though, wow, he was sooo serious about golf. He made his wife and kids finish every hole before he even started. He lined up each and every putt very carefully and made sure that the kids didn't disturb his putting line. If they did, he took a mulligan and went again.

Awesome Dad and I actually ended up talking through about 14 holes and he was a decent guy, but he really thought he was cool. He even dressed like he thought he was cool. 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!

Surf's Up! (You can see the back's of the Perfect-Awesome family in this picture)

SANDerella Castle

Too hot for Frosty (also staring Awesome Dad's awesome mandals)

This thing was cool - you knocked your ball in one hole and this thing carried it up to the top and spit it out close to the other hole.

I said goodbye to Awesome Dad on the 18th and finished up with a pathetic two putt on the last hole. I should have gotten a hole in one, you'd have to be horrible at golf not to...maybe I was just finally relaxed from my awesome morning

As you leave and return your putter you get a bunch of stuff to take home. I got a souvenir ball - which my cats play with, a mini sharpie and a little candy cane. It's a pretty cute little place, I'd like to play the Winter side one day.

I considered going back to AKL to check out my room, but it was running kind of late and I had a very important appointment to get to at Epcot!

 

[kindra657]

The behind the Seeds tour maybe??? What appt did you have!?!

 

[jenbear123]

Oh I'm so excited to hear about your stay at AKL How was Boma for breakfast? Hmmm perhaps I will take a look at your dining report....

 

[wyodisney]

I am so enjoying your trip report. I have always wondered about playing minature golf at Disney World. I think now I will have to give it a try. I can't wait to read more of your report.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Too funny about awesome dad calling himself daddy! I did the winter side last year and realy liked it. Can't wait for more!

 

[praisehisname]

The mini golf sounds fun and I love the decorations! Awesome Dad reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine meets Jimmy and he always refers to himself in the third person. Jimmy likes Elaine. You should give Jimmy your number.

 

[Stefy]

Oooh the golf looks like fun, love the pics

 

[Quacktatty]

The behind the Seeds tour maybe??? What appt did you have!?!

You'll have to wait and see

Oh I'm so excited to hear about your stay at AKL How was Boma for breakfast? Hmmm perhaps I will take a look at your dining report....

Boma was pretty good, lots of food!

I am so enjoying your trip report. I have always wondered about playing minature golf at Disney World. I think now I will have to give it a try. I can't wait to read more of your report.

It was fun, it's much better themed than any mini-golf you'll play at home!

Too funny about awesome dad calling himself daddy! I did the winter side last year and realy liked it. Can't wait for more!

I'd like to go back and try the winter side and the Fantasia Garden course as well.

The mini golf sounds fun and I love the decorations! Awesome Dad reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine meets Jimmy and he always refers to himself in the third person. Jimmy likes Elaine. You should give Jimmy your number.

Oooh the golf looks like fun, love the pics

Thanks!

 

[Quacktatty]

I arrived at Epcot with just enough time to get to my very important appointment - the Robert Irvine F&W Demo! I hotfooted it to the Welcome Center where I'd get a chance to see and maybe even meet my favorite Food Network Chef!

Where to start with this amazing experience...I guess at the beginning

This was another demo that I was able to experience thanks to my DIS friend Connie. I was so excited that I would get to see Robert Irvine IN PERSON! I had called Connie the night before to let her know that based on the lines that Claire Clark had, we best show up very early to get in line. We got there about 30 minutes early, turns out it should have been even earlier!

We were kind of far back in line, but I was able to catch a glimpse of him through the plants blocking the seating area.

That's when I saw the two ladies I had been seated with the day before at the Claire Clark demo. They were second in line. They called me up to join them, so Connie and I slipped under the ropes and ended up with a great spot in line! We played it off like they had been waiting for us and nobody was the wiser. They had been there about 45 minutes already and told me that the people in front of them in line had been there since 10:30 for a 1:00pm demo!

I was disappointed to find out that you needed a wristband to get in the book signing line. I had brought my book from home to get signed and was oblivious to the Disney rules. I slipped out of line to see if they had any wristbands left, and of course they were long gone by 12:45. I had my heart set on getting that signature, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

We finally were let in and we took our seats at the front near the stage.

Pam came out and did her spiel and then introduced the wine lady. The wine was Petite Petit from the Michael-David Winery. It's a red wine which is a blend of the winery's Petit Sirah and Petite Verdot wines. It wasn't anything special, let's get to Robert already!

Finally Robert was introduced! He came out with coloring pages and crayons for the kids in the audience and he assigned a lady to pass them out to the kids. I think this lady would have done anything Robert asked of her

Then he sat down for a while and talked to Pam and told some stories. All the while, his Sous Chef Patrick and a special guest Chef, Tyler, were making the meal. Robert had met Tyler before hand while he was schmoozing those without tickets by the demo exit. Tyler had Autism and loved to cook, so Robert made sure he got a chance. The kid was very funny and did a good job.

But, back to Robert:

I was amazed that compared to the size of his ginormous biceps and chest, he's not a big guy. He's got a tiny waist, tiny feet and he's not all that tall. He does have a nice butt though

He finally did make it up to the stage for some cooking.

While he was up there, he showed everyone pictures from a men's fitness photo shoot he had done recently. He said he had one of him shirtless and coming out of the water all wet, but his handler, Randall, wouldn't let us see it!

He made Green Peppercorn Steak au Poivre which is on page 236 of his book, in case you have it!

He didn't stay cooking for long and was soon back in the crowd. He talked a little bit about how he cooks with grapeseed oil instead of olive oil. It has no flavor so it doesn't alter the taste of the recipe at all. He squirted some on his hand and licked it off then offered people in the audience a taste. You should have seen some of these women jump! Boy were they disappointed when he squirted it on their hands instead of his

The food was served and it was amazing. The steak was tender and the demi glace sauce was delicious.

And onion squiggles on the top, how can you beat that?

I was sad when the demo came to an end, but was thrilled when Robert mentioned that he would stay to sign books until the last person who wanted to see him got a chance!

Yes, clap for yourself you nice, nice man

I quickly rushed out of the demo saying goodbye to everyone and got to the end of a very very long line. There were two lines set up, one for those with wristbands and then the overflow line. I'd say there were easily 100 people total, maybe more.

I had another demo scheduled for 2:45 to see Jean Pierre Wybauw who is a Belgian Chocolate guy, but he got the boot in favor of of standing in line to see Robert!

1 hour and 45 minutes later, I got my chance! He was a super nice guy and signed my book, my recipe and a picture. I'm so glad that I got a chance to meet him.