Baby Elephants, Sassy Zebras, And Chelsea the Invisible; My First Solo Trip! 9/13-9/19/17 *Complete*

[AuroraRose22]

PRE-PRE TRIP REPORT:

Hi All!

I've been going to Disney for a while now, but figured maybe it was time I gave this trip report thing a try.

So for those you who decided to take a look, Welcome!

So...Where to Start?

Introductions, I suppose.

My name is Tiffany. This is me!



(That would be the one person not in the British Revolution. You'll find music tends to be a reoccurring theme in my trips... )


My first Disney trip I was four, and remember very little. Then there were two trips when I was thirteen or fourteen.

The Disney Obsession struck, and struck hard. Fast forward a few more years, and I've gone at least once a year to Walt Disney World for the last ten years or so. This September's trip would mark the first time I've ever gone completely solo though.

I had gone on a trip with relatives a couple years ago where we stayed at different resorts and would meet up during the day, so I did have at least a little idea of what being solo would be like.

Being pretty introverted, I can't say I've ever felt particularly self conscious or unhappy being alone, and the idea of a vacation where I could choose my own plans entirely was quite appealing. My usual travel partners were either unavailable or were not eager to brave the Florida heat in September. (Being from the Northeast, we usual travel in the winter months when Florida is a nice change. Not in the eighty to ninety degree temperatures I was about to encounter!)

Almost a year ago I had gotten an annual pass, and I wanted to get one more trip in before it expired.

So, decision made, I booked the room, booked my dining reservations, booked my fastpasses, and waited anxiously for September to finally come.

...And then a nasty little problem by the name of Irma started forming in the middle of the ocean, and soon became a BIG problem by the name of Irma.

The news talked about it for weeks. She kept growing in strength. She was headed for Florida. She could very possibly cause massive devastation.

...You know that sinking feeling you get when you just sense things are going to end badly, but at the same time, you feel guilty worrying about something as trivial as your vacation when there’s a hurricane bearing down on people’s homes and businesses and lives?

...Yeah, that’s where I was. My trip was supposed to be September 11th-19th. But the closer it got to those dates, the more it became obvious Irma was going to also be heading for Florida at that same exact time.

So now I’m glued to my phone for a week or more, checking Irma’s path while the experts go over every possible path she could take, without any clear idea which one will be correct. Before the weekend, my flight is canceled.



...However, it’s also looking like Irma will be over by Monday, and it’s possible Orlando won’t be hit with the same sort of severity the coast can expect. Disney and the airline are both offering full refunds, so I decide to tentatively reschedule my flight for the next available day, which ends up being Wednesday the 13th, figuring I won’t make any final decisions until after the storm passes through. Then if I need to cancel, I can still do it then.

(On a side note, I also decide since I took the time off from work, and I can’t reschedule easily, should my Florida plans fall through, I’m still going somewhere. Which then results in a mad dash three days before I’m supposed to leave to figure out a secondary option. Which is how this trip report almost became ‘Tiffany's Disney Trip to The Mall of America. It has a Disney Store, So It Still Counts, Right?’)

So now it becomes a waiting game. I wouldn't know until Monday at the earliest how Orlando and Disney fare in the storm. I spent most of the weekend glued to the Disboards reading every thread from the people currently there. Monday Orlando International Airport announced limited flights starting Tuesday. Wednesday still wouldn't be a full schedule. I’m cautiously optimistic, my rescheduled flight still says on time, but I’m still researching Minneapolis, just in case.

All the way up until the night before, I’m still not 100% convinced I’ll get off the ground. But my phone app tells me the flight is still showing ‘on time’, so I head down to the hotel at the airport the night before, hoping my 8am flight will make it to Disney.

(Reserved for future links: Spoiler Alert, I still haven't made it to the Mall of America!)

1. Day Negative One - Or, How I Found The Tower of Terror Twilight Zone Hotel Before I Even Made It To Florida
2. Day One - Part One - Or, How I won the Longest Arm Competition and was Corrupted by Vegetables
3. Day One - Part Two - Or, Once Upon a Time, Happily Ever After, and all the Chocolate Covered Strawberries In Between
4. Day Two - Part One - Or, How I Beat the Clock But Almost Got Lost On Another Planet
5. Day Two - Part Two - Or, How I Found Out About The Attitude Problems of Zebras
6. Day Three - Or, How I Went to Epcot And All I Got Was This Plain White T
7. Day Four - Or, How I had the least relaxing massage ever and discovered Disney Slim Jims are Delicious
8. Day Five - Or, How I Went to Almost Every Park and Still Never had a Proper Dinner
9. Day Six - Or, How I Made An Invisible Friend and Went Winter Clothes Shopping In Ninety Degree Weather
10. Day Seven - Or, My Final Disney Day: How My Suitcase Didn't Actually Explode, And How All Disney Food Does Not In Fact Taste Like Sunshine and Pixie Dust

 

[SewingSunflower]

I'm here!

 

[AuroraRose22]

Pre-Disney (Or, Day Negative One - Tuesday, September 12,2017):

My flight leaves at 8am, and I am not a particularly early riser. The airport I fly out of very thoughtfully has a hotel attached to it, so I can literally walk right down that morning instead of waking up at 2am to drive there.

Check in at the hotel is at 3:00pm, and I’m dropped off at about 3:30 so my ride down can beat the traffic back home. I’ve chosen the Club Level, since it isn’t that much more expensive and being solo, I feel a little more secure knowing people need a key to get to my floor, as opposed to the rest of the hotel, where travelers and guests can wander freely.

I’ve stayed here before, and it’s relatively nice and comfortable.

I have not, however, ever stayed in the particular room they give me before. It’s way at the end of the hall, in a corner, and laid out rather oddly. Opening the door, instead of walking directly into the room, there’s what I’m now fondly referring to as the Haunted Hallway. It’s also a connecting room, so there’s another random door in the wall. At the end of the hallway you turn a corner, and there’s the room itself. Maybe I don't get out a lot, but I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.



The acoustics in the room are also odd. I can hear the man in what I’m fairly certain was the room on the other side of the wall where my bed is talking on his phone, which is on speaker, so I can hear both sides of the conversation no problem. However, the acoustics in the room are making it sound like the man is levitating directly outside my window.

I actually had to go look outside the window to make sure there wasn’t a balcony or something.

And then, every time I turned off the cold water in the bathroom, the faucet makes a distinctive chiming sound.

None of this is particularly alarming, but I’m beginning to feel like I’m at the beginning of a sci-fi television show and any second a wormhole is going to open in the hallway. And when is the last time a wormhole ever spit out anything good on those shows? It’s never a bunch of kittens. It’s always dinosaurs or man-eating plants or something.



I don’t know how to wrangle dinosaurs. I am, however, horrible with plants and kill them almost immediately, so I might have a fighting chance against an angry dandelion.

...And I’m veering off course here.

Where was I?

Okay, so I booked the room so I didn’t have to get up super early, right?

We all know what’s coming, don’t we.

Sure enough, I’m still up at 11:30. And then wake up at 1:00. And then at 2:00. By 3:00 I’m wide awake and basically give up.

I do my hair. I play with my iPad. I download an app on my phone so I can keep track of all the Food and Wine Festival food I want to try. I go through every picture online of every choice at every food stand.

By 6am I'm checking in at the airport, heading through security and settling in to wait for my flight.

It's a completely full flight, though most of the people on it are adults rather than families, which is not typical to what I usually see, but I expect the hurricane has caused a lot of families to cancel their plans, and there are probably a lot of adults trying to get back to Florida.

The plane leaves on time, which means I am now on my way to Walt Disney World! Two days later than anticipated, but I'm just grateful that it worked out at all. And soon, I'll be in the Happiest Place on Earth!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following along! We were there too and supposed to fly in on the 9th-well that would have been cancelled so instead of waiting, we flew out on the 7th and just dealt with Irma at Disney!

 

[AuroraRose22]

Following along! We were there too and supposed to fly in on the 9th-well that would have been cancelled so instead of waiting, we flew out on the 7th and just dealt with Irma at Disney!

Hi There!

If it had been feasible on my end to go earlier, honestly, I think I would have been tempted. If there's one place I think I would feel comfortable riding out a hurricane, it's Disney. I was amazed at how quickly everything was back in working order afterwards.

 

[AuroraRose22]

Disney Day One: Wednesday, September 13, 2017


Something you should probably know about certain members of my family is they have a tendency to be a little bit of a bunch of worriers.

As in, ‘What do you mean you’re still going to Disney World? It’s underwater!’

...Now, I’m pretty sure Orlando International Airport is not going to be flying planes into a lake. And Walt Disney World is not going to encourage travelers to come if they don’t actually have a park or resort to keep them in.

That didn’t seem to sink in for all members of the at-home entourage.

In any case, if the airline and Magical Express buses were willing to take me, I was going to get there!

I was curious, however, exactly what Orlando and Disney would look like barely two days after Irma moved along. I had seen photos of the immediate aftermath online, and I have to say, while I fully expected Disney to have everything under control very quickly, I was even more impressed than I anticipated being once I hit what my family has always referred to as the ‘Disney Bubble’.




There was hardly any sign a hurricane had been through. There were a few plants here and there that looked like some leaves had been stripped from them, the lobby area had a small section roped off with blankets on the ground where there might have been some water damage, though that was repaired by the following day, and an empty space in one section of bushes near one of the buildings where one had been pulled up. That was it.

(I texted these photos to the family back home, I think certain members might still be a little miffed that my decision to go was validated as I knew it would be and I wasn't texting from a life raft. )

The only issues that I ran into seemed to be more technological than meteorological.

There seemed to be some confusion at the airport as far as Magical Express transportation was concerned for quite a few people. Whether that was because people had changed dates or flights without updating their reservations with ME or if it was just being glitchy, or a combination of the two, I’m not sure.

I didn’t have any issues, although I had called and updated my information several days before my rescheduled flight.

There were three cast members on hand at the airport, and each line was having issues slowing them down. Two women in front of me had just flown in from the midwest, and the computer seemed to be insisting they had just come in from Columbia, and didn’t have their return information.

In any case, it took slightly longer than usual to get on the bus, and then once I finally made it to Port Orleans-French Quarter, my absolutely-positively-beyond-a-doubt favorite resort of all time, it took quite a while to check in there too.

I had tried checking in online, but hadn’t received a room assignment by the time I got there. This was around noon, and while I know check in isn’t technically until 3:00, and with a King bed reserved, it was possible there just wasn’t a room available yet, I wanted to make sure the check in had actually gone through considering how the computer system seemed to be acting up.

Of course, the exact moment I made it to the desk is also the exact moment my phone decides to inform me my room is ready. It worked out anyway, because then they could give me the extra info I might not have otherwise known, such as the fact that the boats weren’t currently running yet because they were concerned the water level was too high. They expected the boats to be in service again by the next day.




I ended up in building one, which is as far away from the food court as you can get. Granted, French Quarter is much smaller than any other moderate, which is one of the reasons I love it so much, but I realized after a day or two that I am never buying a refillable mug again unless I’m staying in a building that is much closer, because I am simply too lazy to keep going back and forth between building one and the food court, and I ended up just buying a drink at the food court after a day at the parks so I don’t have to go back to the room first, or going to the vending machine in my building. Some people have no problem carrying their mugs through the parks all day. I applaud their dedication, but that’s definitely not me.



My room was gorgeous though. Corner room, King bed, and lovely view of the water. The only issue I had was the refrigerator wasn’t working when I got to the room. A quick check revealed it had come loose from the plug in the wall.

I’m half convinced somewhere there’s an interior design department whose job is to measure the average length of the human arm and then place plugs just barely within reach of the farthest length an arm can extend in a cruel game of Can We Get The Appliances To Work Without Calling The Front Desk?

I managed to emerge the victor in that particular contest, and I don’t think I dislocated anything in the process either. Yay!

Reassured that my refrigerator would keep my as of yet unknown food cold when the time came, I decided to make my way to the Magic Kingdom.

Epcot is my favorite park, and usually the first one I visit on a trip. My two day delay had forced me to rearrange those plans. This would be the first time I had seen the fireworks since Wishes ended and Happily Ever After began. I had decided that for the first viewing, I wanted a nice view.

I am not a big fan of crowds. I didn’t really want to have to wait for a long time in the middle of wall-to-wall people. The dessert party sounded like a good alternative. I had ultimately decided since the projections were supposed to be such an important part of the show, the Plaza Garden view would be a better choice for me.

I arrived at the Magic Kingdom around lunch time, and decided to get something light since I would have the party later.

One of the last times I had gone, I had gotten a lobster roll at Columbia Harbour House, and it’s been whispering at the back of my mind ever since, demanding I order it again. So I did. And then I did something I have never done before in my entire life.


...I impulse bought vegetables.


Don’t get me wrong, vegetables are fine. Raw vegetables are fine. Ranch dip is better than fine. (Cooked peas on the other hand are never fine. ) But I don’t typically glance at a bowl of broccoli and go, oh, I need that…now.

But someone walked by when I was in line with a tray with fish and a little cup of steamed green beans and shredded carrots.

And my brain, apparently already under some strange Disney induced madness, went, ooooohhhh…...I want those.



So I bought them. And I ate them. And they were wonderful. Light and just a little crisp and nice and buttery.

Only in Disney can even eating vegetables be a magical occasion.

Anyway. I got my lobster roll. (Which, as it turns out, had a bit too much mayo on it.) And a sweet tea. (Which I’m pretty sure never saw sugar or sweetener in it’s life. However, I was already sitting, and didn’t feel like searching out some sugar…) And vegetables.

I expected Disney to corrupt me with candy and chocolate and dessert parties. Instead it introduced me to the dark side with legumes.

Having some time before the dessert party, I then headed for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh to use my fastpass, headed under the sea to visit Ariel, hit the Philharmagic, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, The Wedway (Which will never be the Tomorrowland Transit Authority in my head, that's just blasphemy!), went after some aliens with Buzz, and then searched out a root beer float, because Florida in September...is HOT!!!

It was headed towards party time, so I did a little last minute recon on Main Street, checking out the stores. Usually I’ll take pictures of things I like so later I can go back and decide what I really want a few days in without buying everything in sight immediately. I did invest in a keychain clip to replace my magicband, which I think is one of the best ideas they have ever come up with.




This brings us to party time, but I’ve been rambling for a while here, so I think I’ll leave it for the next post so this one isn’t twice as long!

 

[paradesintherain]

Love it! Excited to read more about your trip. I'm staying at POFQ soon, for the first time, and I love to hear people talk positively about it!

 

[SewingSunflower]

"Only in Disney can even eating vegetables be a magical occasion." Love that! Immerse yourself in the magic! The only place where sitting on a bench is as special as going on a ride! Love Disney everything!

 

[Lesley Wake]

This brings us to party time

Wait-you stayed at POFQ too and were at the HEA dessert party on Wednesday?!? So did we! We must have crossed paths a bunch!

 

[AuroraRose22]

Wait-you stayed at POFQ too and were at the HEA dessert party on Wednesday?!? So did we! We must have crossed paths a bunch!

I was there! It's funny how you find these things out later and then think back and wonder how often you may have run across disboards people without even realizing it.

 

[AuroraRose22]

Love it! Excited to read more about your trip. I'm staying at POFQ soon, for the first time, and I love to hear people talk positively about it!

POFQ is my all time favorite resort. I've stayed in a few, visited quite a few more, and I just haven't found another one that matches it in ambiance and convenience. It's low key, quieter than most, much smaller than most, and I love having the boat to Disney Springs available since most nights I seem to end up there. Riverside is pretty as well, but the huge size and multiple bus stops have always turned me off.

I love the food court choices, and always have to order the ribs at least once per visit. If I had the option to upgrade to a deluxe resort, I wouldn't. I would absolutely take French Quarter as my first choice every time.

 

[AuroraRose22]

Disney Day One: Wednesday, September 13, 2017 – Continued

When I first booked my trip, it was with the idea that I would have a couple of days to enjoy the parks and then a couple days in, I would do the Happily Ever After fireworks in style, and reserved the dessert party.

Getting delayed two days meant that I was now ending day one with a fireworks spectacular. Start the trip out with a bang. (Or a lot of bangs! )

This would mark my first viewing of the HEA fireworks. The last time I was there, Wishes was still playing. I had seen the Once Upon a Time pre-fireworks projection show last time, but from a very limited vantage point where I couldn’t see a good percentage of the castle, so this would be my first full view of everything, and I wanted to be able to see it clearly without dealing with the crowds.

Hence the party. Which isn’t to say I wasn’t excited over the idea of tables full of sweet treats, because I absolutely was, but the Plaza Garden view was my first priority.

I checked in around 7:30 at the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant. There’s two separate check in stations, one for terrace seating and one for plaza view. I was given a quick tour of the food and drink stations, and ushered to a table near the edge looking over the park. While you can’t really see the castle from there, it was nice to be able to overlook the park goings-on as I ate since I was alone.

I know there’s a lot of your-mileage-may-vary views on whether dessert parties are worth the cost. For me, I think if your focus is being able to have a good view without waiting a long time and fighting the crowds, and you don’t mind paying premium for the view, then it’s certainly much nicer to spend the hour to hour and a half prior to the fireworks sitting in a nice chair in a well lit area drinking cider and eating way too many chocolate covered strawberries rather than trying to stake out a spot only to invariably have a six foot tall person in Oswald ears carrying a bouquet of balloons for his family of twelve suddenly materialize in front of you.

If you’re hoping for gourmet style desserts, you’re probably going to be disappointed. If you’re happy with cute, bite size snacks which are primarily more fun to look at than delicious to eat, you’ll be fine.



The chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate raspberry tart were awesome, and all you really have to do to keep me happy is hand me a plate of cheese cubes, so I was happy as a clam. (This is also an indication of how fancy I generally get in my food choices, so keep this in mind as you read any future reviews of food I eat. If you’re hoping for an expert opinion on how the escargot in France was, I can guarantee you won’t get it from me. A) Because I didn’t eat it, and B) because I have never in my life been able to figure out why anything that glides along in it’s own slime should be considered an appropriate thing to put in one’s mouth. But that’s just my opinion.)



I am easily won over by adorableness, though, so the kid’s make-your-own dessert skewers and unfrosted mini cupcakes with tubes of frosting for piping nearby won points for creativity.



The only real food complaint I did have was that only the cider was the only drink that was served cold. There were dispensers with other drinks, like the always fabulous POG, but they were lukewarm. Room temperature drinks are a particular dislike of mine.



(You can also see the party area in the background of the above picture. It's just started which is why it's so empty. More people did show up!)

Anyway. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the time until the show. We lined up a little before the projection show and were escorted to the Plaza Garden viewing area, using the wristbands they had given us to gain entrance to the coveted space.

Frankly, the space made it completely worth it for me. There was room to move. And breathe. A lot of the people from the party gravitated towards the front of the section, up against the front railing. I found that hanging out back by the back railing gave me even more space, without feeling crowded at all. There is a little bit of blockage from trees and lamp posts, but if you position yourself with a little bit of consideration, you can avoid the worst of it and end up with a pretty awesome view of the castle.



Which leads me into the Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After shows themselves.

...I may be in the minority, here. A lot of people seem to love Happily Ever After. And I’m not saying I dislike it.

...I just don’t love it as much as I loved Wishes.

I loved everything about Wishes. I loved the music. I loved the fireworks and the lights and the projections and the progression of the story.

Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After kind of blend into the same thing for me, I think, because HEA uses projections so heavily.

I think maybe part of it is it didn’t catch my attention right from the beginning. It starts with Tiana, then Quasimodo, then Merida. All three are characters from movies I’m not as familiar with and don’t really know the music to. It continued that way somewhat through the whole thing. Maybe I’m just old enough now that the newer Disney movies haven’t stayed with me like the classics.

The projections on the castle are definitely a technological marvel, and it’s great when they make specific scenes that utilize the shape of the castle, but when they just play scenes from movies without anything new it isn’t quite as eye catching to me.



The title song for HEA is catchy, but I don’t feel like it has the heart Wishes had. You know how you have the version of a Disney song that plays during the movie itself, and then sometimes it’s redone by a pop star for the end credits or radio release? The movie version always seems to have more life to me. I feel like this new theme feels more like the radio release version, a little too smooth and mainstream.

I realize this sounds kind of like I don’t like the new show at all, and it really isn’t that. It’s enjoyable. And I am glad I did it the way I did, I don’t feel like the dessert party was a waste. I think it’s a great way to get the fullest enjoyment out of the evening. But when it comes down to it, I think I’ll always remember Wishes with a bit of wistfulness.

Happily Ever After is a nice show, but I don’t know that I would go out of my way to see it repeatedly. Again, this is only my opinion. I know lots of people love it. And I’m happy it moves them.

But for me, I think the best part of the entire night might have been this:

 

[Lesley Wake]

Frankly, the space made it completely worth it for me. There was room to move. And breathe. A lot of the people from the party gravitated towards the front of the section, up against the front railing. I found that hanging out back by the back railing gave me even more space, without feeling crowded at all. There is a little bit of blockage from trees and lamp posts, but if you position yourself with a little bit of consideration, you can avoid the worst of it and end up with a pretty awesome view of the castle.

Ok, seriously-we must have been standing right next to each other for the fireworks as we were leaning against the back railing! It's like my photo is just a continuation of yours!



We were the last ones into the plaza as we stayed at the party during OUAT (ended up seeing it on Saturday night). We actually closed out the party, and spent a bunch of time just chatting with the girl running the sundae stand. She got bored at the end and started decorating her own cupcakes and adding lots of sprinkles to the chocolate sauce cups! Even made an actual kabob with the Mickey straw!

 

[mamamelody2]

Your TR is still only on day 1 and you have made wonderful use of the word "legumes."
I'M SO IN!!

 

[RedK]

following!

 

[AuroraRose22]

Ok, seriously-we must have been standing right next to each other for the fireworks as we were leaning against the back railing! It's like my photo is just a continuation of yours!

...

We were the last ones into the plaza as we stayed at the party during OUAT (ended up seeing it on Saturday night). We actually closed out the party, and spent a bunch of time just chatting with the girl running the sundae stand. She got bored at the end and started decorating her own cupcakes and adding lots of sprinkles to the chocolate sauce cups! Even made an actual kabob with the Mickey straw!

That's so funny! If we had taken pictures to the sides we probably would have caught each other! It sounds like the real fun was back at the party. Should have stayed for chocolate and sprinkles!

 

[AuroraRose22]

Your TR is still only on day 1 and you have made wonderful use of the word "legumes."
I'M SO IN!!

Welcome! I have to say, only in Disney can I be seduced by plant life. Must be the magic!

 

[AuroraRose22]

Disney Day Two: Thursday, September 14, 2017

My second full Disney day was going to be a busy one. I had booked Savor the Savannah for 5pm that night, and I was really looking forward to it.

This would also be my first time seeing Pandora, since it had still been under construction the last time I was there.

I had anticipated being there bright and early, I had a fastpass for Na’vi River Journey from 9:05-10:05 and was expecting to make it for park opening at nine.

Of course, I hadn’t turned on my phone’s alarm, and I had gotten a rough equivalent of three hours of sleep the night before, so it’s probably not that surprising that I didn’t even wake up until eight.

Some people can jump up and be ready in ten or fifteen minutes. I am not one of those people. Me in the morning most resembles Princess Anna. I think it’s the hair.




So I made reasonable time (for me) and managed to get to the bus stop by a little after nine. The televisions screens were up and running that day. They wouldn’t be up again at that bus stop for the rest of my trip. Maybe they felt guilty about the lies they were perpetuating.

Because the sign originally said 9:13. Which was doable. Port Orleans French Quarter to the Animal Kingdom is roughly the same amount of time from Louisiana to say the actual Serengeti desert in Kenya. If one took a rowboat. Okay, so I might be exaggerating a bit, but not by much.

So I watched the sign and waited. And watched it change to 9:13. And then 9:16. And then 9:19. It finally arrived about 9:20. A seven minute difference might not seem like a lot, but I had to get to Animal Kingdom, get through security, into the park, and make my way to Pandora and the new ride before 10:05.

...I have to explain something about myself.

My sense of direction is terrible. Like, get lost in a mall, always head in the wrong direction first, don’t have a clue where the car is parked, terrible. The more familiar I am with a place, the easier it is for me. I can navigate Magic Kingdom and Epcot without too much difficulty. Hollywood studios is manageable, though I do have a tendency to get confused back in the Star Tours area. But Animal Kingdom is the newest park, and the one I’ve been in the least. And I swear, every time I go in there, my brain goes, “JUNGLE!!! You’re in the JUNGLE!!! Look at all the TREES!!! You’re going to get so LOST!….Oh, and never mind the gift shops and restaurants. You should have hired a guide. All the archaeologists are going to find of you in a hundred years is your magic band key chain and your emergency poncho.”



This, I am not exaggerating about. Much. I have to check my phone for directions to rides about four times as much in Animal Kingdom. I don’t know what it is, but I am constantly getting turned around in there. Maybe it’s just that I am not naturally an outdoorsy type person at all.

It hit me when I was almost to the park that I didn’t actually know for sure where Pandora was in relation to everything else. For some reason I had this vague idea it was in the back of the park. As it turns out, it’s not! As my phone so helpfully informed me, it’s right inside the entrance to the right! (Edited as I proof read this...it's to the left. ...I rest my case.) So that would save me some time.

So I made it to the entrance to Na’vi River Journey with about fifteen minutes to spare before the end of my fastpass. I didn’t really have a chance to take a good look at the scenery beforehand, which I regretted a little. I had wanted to be able to really take in my surroundings, but that would have to wait until after.

Even with the fast pass, it was a little bit of a wait. The inside queue is interesting, dark and themed like the forest in the alien world.



I really liked the ride, but I do see why some people aren’t overly impressed with it. There’s nothing at all thrill ride-ish about it. I’ll also add it’s a tight fit when they send four average sized humans together in one boat row. An older couple, another single rider, and I became very well acquainted by the end of that trip.

It’s….pretty, I think is the best way I can describe it. They clearly went to a lot of work on theming, and the bioluminescent plant life and alien animals add an otherworldly wonder to it. It’s lovely to look at, but if you’re waiting for a waterfall to almost fall off of or some creature to jump out at you, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s unusually sedate for a Disney ride.

So, all in all, a nice ride, but I don’t think I would spend more than a half hour waiting for it once the newness dies down.

Once I got off the ride, I had to figure out what to do next. I hadn’t eaten yet in my mad rush to make my fastpass, so I headed over to Pongo Pongo. I had seen pictures of a drink online and knew I must try it at some point. That point had come.




That ladies and gentlemen, is a Night Blossom. A refreshing mixture of Limeade with Apple and Desert Pear flavors topped with Passion Fruit Boba Balls. It was everything I needed right then. Of course, it was already climbing into the 80s, and pretty much anything liquid and edible would have sufficed. It was quite tasty though. A good blend of flavors, not to tart, not too sweet, and I have a slight obsession for boba balls, so it was a winner.

I paired that with a pineapple cream cheese spring roll that was good, but nothing spectacular. It was warm, which actually is a little bit of a turn off for me. I’m not a big fan of warm desserts, and this was definitely more in the realm of dessert than breakfast to my palate.

Now that I didn’t have to beat the clock and I was suitably fed, I could pay a little more attention to the new world around me.

Pandora during the day is impressive, and I can see all the thought that went into it. I think I might have appreciated it a little more if I had watched Avatar before making the trip, as I had intended, but never actually got to. I’d seen the movie once before, back when it came out, but it’s been years. They definitely made it look alien, but kind of in a, “That plant wants to eat me, doesn’t it?” sort of way. There’s a sort of ominous feel to it, at least in my eyes.



I did stop by a photopass photographer, and followed their direction to point at a tree, and little did I know this guy was hiding in the background:




I had a fastpass for Flight of Passage for later in the week. The average wait every time I had checked the app in the week or two before my trip and pre-Irma was in the two hour range, which I didn’t really want to wait for. However, the post-Irma lack of crowds left FOP with a wait time of 55 minutes at about 10:45 when I was finished with my first ride/food/pictures/gawking.

Less than an hour??? I was in. It actually turned out to be about 45 minutes. Awesome! The queue is interesting enough so the line wasn’t torture once you got inside and out of the heat. Lots of science-y looking stuff going on there.



Getting on the ride, I can see why it’s such a huge draw. It’s pretty phenomenal. It’s like Soarin’ ramped up to 200%. I do agree the seats are awkward and not very comfortable. I’m 5’7, and squishing my legs inside the design was slightly uncomfortable. And I’m not really that tall! It was worth it for the view though. It’s an awesome show from start to finish. At a much faster pace. Think the part in Mickey’s Philharmagic where the Magic Carpet takes you through Agrabah. Your Banshee is flying though a vast alien world at high speeds and there’s water and wind and it’s lots of fun.

(One thing I will say, I had an awful time keeping the protective glasses they give you on over my own glasses. I wore contacts later in the week for my next ride. And the pre-ride part where they 'link' you with an Avatar has a section where they blow air at you with such force I actually had trouble breathing for a second or two. I also noticed a few issues that make being a single rider more of a hindrance than a plus my next ride, once the initial impression had ended. I’ll explain those later…)

So it’s only day two and I’ve managed to get both new rides in before the morning was over. I did a little more reconnaissance through the gift shops, before deciding a couple things I had seen online and had my eye on before I ever even got to Disney were worth buying right then and there.

(That would be the Pandora light-up smartphone case, and the gummy candies on a stick. Smartphone case is awesome, gummies were oddly firmer and chewier than I had expected. Worth a try, but probably not a repeat purchase item.)



By now it was roughly a million degrees out again, give or take a few. I knew I would be in Animal Kingdom again later that week, and had the Savor the Savannah tour later on today. I decided to go back to the resort for a while to relax and change before heading out for the tour.

I didn’t want to get anything too heavy, but I knew I would want something to eat before 5:00, so I grabbed a cheese pizza, (yum, but took a while to get since they make them as you’re waiting) cherry cheesecake, (Cherry topping was good, cheesecake was okay, mostly just ate the topping off of it) and made the loooong trip to my resort room and back (yes, I know those of you who have to catch a bus from your building to the food court are now mocking me ) to fill my mug with Cherry Mello Yellow. (Aren’t you glad I’m sharing this vital information?)

I hung around the room for a while, relaxing and eating and watching Disney television, (Why is what’s essentially a bunch of Disney commercials so much fun while you’re there?) until around 3:30, when I headed back out to make it to my 5:00 reservation for Savor the Savannah. And since that deserves it’s own post, I’ll leave it for the next one!

 

[paradesintherain]

Great pics! I'm pretty directionally challenged too, and something about DHS just doesn't make sense to my mind! Animal Kingdom is the classic hub and spoke design so it's more logical to me.

I want to try those gummies! I kind of like gummies to be a bit firmer and those look good

 

[AuroraRose22]

Great pics! I'm pretty directionally challenged too, and something about DHS just doesn't make sense to my mind! Animal Kingdom is the classic hub and spoke design so it's more logical to me.

I want to try those gummies! I kind of like gummies to be a bit firmer and those look good

All I can say is I'm glad I'm doing Disney in the age of the cell phone, because not only do I need a map, I need a 'you are here' dot that instantly tells me when I'm heading off in the opposite direction!

The gummies aren't bad, but I think I was hoping for something a little more unusual what with the dragon fruit flavor. Then again, I don't actually know what a dragon fruit tastes like, so it could be an exact replica and I wouldn't know lol.