Did I Hear That Right? A Solo Adventure at WDW Updated 8/30

[Pluto0809]

After I finished with Dinosaur it was about 12:30 pm. There were three more things I wanted to do before I left AK, the Maharajah Jungle Trail, FOLK and shopping. Since I wanted to leave the park about 2:30 pm, I knew that I needed to make the 1:30 pm FOLK show. Sadly I knew at that point I was going to have to sacrifice something in order to leave the park when I needed too. FOLK is a must do for me and I really wanted to look through the stores so visiting my tigers and bats would have to wait till a future trip. So I headed through the two dump shops after Dinosaur and shopped my way towards FOLK.





I got in line for FOLK about 20 minutes early and ended up with a great seat towards the front of the Giraffe section. The gentleman next to me turned and asked “So what kind of show is this? Are there real animals?” Hmmmmm…. how exactly do you describe FOLK? It’s kind of a show/circus/extravaganza/party. I did my best to describe it to him and we spent the time before the show chatting. He and his family were first timers at Disney. I told him FOLK is my favorite show at WDW and I could watch it over and over. I had a great time watching him and his family as they watched the show. They were absolutely enthralled with the entire thing. And of course so was I even though I’ve seen this show four times now. I’m getting better at taking pictures in the theater so enough of the chatting and on with the FOLK pictures!























This is my favorite of the FOLK pictures that I took. I just wish they were looking my way.









I still can't seem to get any pictures of the fire guy or the bird dancers. The lighting is just too low during those parts.

I just love this show! I think I need to get out the sound track now and listen to the music for the one millionth time.

On my way out of Camp Minnie-Mickey, I stopped for a minute to visit with Mickey and Pluto. Wish I could take Pluto home and put him in my Pluto room.





I also stopped for a few PP pictures.





And then I headed out of AK to hop to my second park of the day. I stopped briefly at the souvenir shop that is right outside of the park and they had their pin board (well it’s not a board, it’s actually a safari vest, very cute) out and I checked for Pluto pins. Not one on the whole thing.

So where was I headed for the evening? Stay tuned to find out!

Up Next: I’ve Never Been This Cold! Do I Stay or Throw in the Towel?

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So my brother and his family are going to FL in June for vacation. He sends me a text the other night asking me to tell him "the best rides at AK". They are planning to do ONE Disney day...1/2 day at AK and 1/2 day at DHS. They have never been to AK at all. It was hard, but FOTLK definitely made the list! They will have my 5 yr old great nephew with them, so no EE...here is the list I gave him:

Safari (get a FP)
Kali (get a FP)
Dinosaur (only if nephew can handle "Jurassic Park in your face")
Tough to be a Bug
FOTLK
Triceratops Spin (for nephew)

So, how do you think I did with the list?

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[katt789]

AW boo for having to cut something out of your plans, but yay for keeping FOTLK! Haaha. People are always confused on what kind of show it is, like, is it animals, is it people, is it like the broadway show!? It’s hilarious when the kids ask and the parents don’t know so they just make something up.

Oh my gosh tell me about it, getting the bird pictures is the hardest thing of MY LIFE! Bahaha. Definitely get the soundtrack!! They sell it at that little stand right as your coming out of the theater! I’ve definitely got it and I can’t lie, it’s on my playlist daily haha.

 

[Pluto0809]

So my brother and his family are going to FL in June for vacation. He sends me a text the other night asking me to tell him "the best rides at AK". They are planning to do ONE Disney day...1/2 day at AK and 1/2 day at DHS. They have never been to AK at all. It was hard, but FOTLK definitely made the list! They will have my 5 yr old great nephew with them, so no EE...here is the list I gave him:

Safari (get a FP)
Kali (get a FP)
Dinosaur (only if nephew can handle "Jurassic Park in your face")
Tough to be a Bug
FOTLK
Triceratops Spin (for nephew)

So, how do you think I did with the list?

I think your list is great! I can't think of anything else to add to it. I would make sure to let them know that Tough to be a Bug is a bit scary. I've never sat through that one without a small kid screaming their head off when the spiders come down from the ceiling!

Great pics!

Thanks!

AW boo for having to cut something out of your plans, but yay for keeping FOTLK! Haaha. People are always confused on what kind of show it is, like, is it animals, is it people, is it like the broadway show!? It’s hilarious when the kids ask and the parents don’t know so they just make something up.

Oh my gosh tell me about it, getting the bird pictures is the hardest thing of MY LIFE! Bahaha. Definitely get the soundtrack!! They sell it at that little stand right as your coming out of the theater! I’ve definitely got it and I can’t lie, it’s on my playlist daily haha.

FOLK is just so hard to describe since it's so unique. I don't think I've ever seen another show like it.

I'm so tempted to get a fancy camera so I can get better pictures at Disney! But I just don't want to carry a big one around.

Oh I do have the soundtrack! I just had to find it on my work computer among the 18 hours of Disney music I have loaded on it.

 

[ronnmel]

Did the man sitting next to you tell you what he thought of the show at the end? I sure hope he enjoyed it as much as he seemed to be.

We missed out on the Maharaja Trek this year as well. That's what next trips are for!

 

[Mickey'sMainMami]

Joining in!!

 

[sue_88]

your cousin it pic makes me laugh.

do they let people look inside the BOG even if they don't have ADR's? Id like to see it.

looking forward to more updates!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Loving your pictures!

I used to only eat at Flame Tree but my youngest is so picky so we've ended up at Pizzafari lately. They do have a nice hot Italian sandwich there and I love the murals but I think I need to book that solo trip so I can go back to flame tree.

I was browsing on etsy today and this made me think of you (and it isn't Pluto!).

http://www.etsy.com/listing/1503809...ga_page=50&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=Disney

I'm so tempted to get a fancy camera so I can get better pictures at Disney! But I just don't want to carry a big one around.

You can get a high end point & shoot that takes good low light photos but they are in the $400 range. I have a sort of mid range point & shoot that I paid $250 for that does OK in low light. I have a dSLR but I just can't drag that around on every trip.

do they let people look inside the BOG even if they don't have ADR's? Id like to see it.

Access to BOG is very controlled but it is counter service at lunch so you could go then without an ADR but you can't just walk in you to wait in line to order to get in at all.

 

[Pluto0809]

Did the man sitting next to you tell you what he thought of the show at the end? I sure hope he enjoyed it as much as he seemed to be.

We missed out on the Maharaja Trek this year as well. That's what next trips are for!

He did say that he really enjoyed the show afterwards. I didn't stay too long to chat though as I was headed out and didn't want to be late for my dinner ADR.

Yep, definitely always something for the next trip! DH & I will be spending a whole day at AK and athough he is not the biggest animal fan, I will be dragging him to see the bats and tigers. He is probably going to be terrified of the bats.

Joining in!!

Thanks for following along.

your cousin it pic makes me laugh.

do they let people look inside the BOG even if they don't have ADR's? Id like to see it.

looking forward to more updates!

Thanks, that was one of my favorite ride photos from this trip.

I see that lovesdumbo answered your question below. I do know that they were offering tours during previews but not anymore. The restaurant is just too busy now.

Loving your pictures!

I used to only eat at Flame Tree but my youngest is so picky so we've ended up at Pizzafari lately. They do have a nice hot Italian sandwich there and I love the murals but I think I need to book that solo trip so I can go back to flame tree.

I was browsing on etsy today and this made me think of you (and it isn't Pluto!).

http://www.etsy.com/listing/1503809...ga_page=50&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=Disney



You can get a high end point & shoot that takes good low light photos but they are in the $400 range. I have a sort of mid range point & shoot that I paid $250 for that does OK in low light. I have a dSLR but I just can't drag that around on every trip.


Access to BOG is very controlled but it is counter service at lunch so you could go then without an ADR but you can't just walk in you to wait in line to order to get in at all.

Thanks on the pictures, I love my little point and shoot but the zoom is starting to stick on it. I'm probably going to have to get a new one soon and am looking at the higher end point and shoot ones. I don't want to get a large one so a DSLR is out. I think I deserve a treat for my 40th birthday, don't you?

You do not know how close I came to buying that Big Al bank! I actually had my cursor over the button to buy it before I stopped myself. As much as I want it, I don't have an extra room to start a Big Al room. Now if it had been Pluto and I didn't have it there would have been no hesitation.

Thanks for answering the BOG question. That's what I thought the answer was but wasn't 100% sure.

 

[Pluto0809]

When we left off, I was about 2:30 pm and I was headed out of AK and towards my second park of the day. So where was I headed? MK of course! MK was open till midnight and I was planning on an early dinner at the Plaza restaurant, MSEP, Wishes and then seeing how late I could make it in the park.

I headed to the AK bus stops and a bus for MK came really quickly. When I got to the TTC I decided to make a quick detour before getting on the monorail. When DH and I got married in 1998, my aunt bought us one of the bricks you see all around the TTC and the entrance to MK. Our brick is located at the TTC and I hadn’t visited it since 2010. It has faded quite a bit over the years but it’s still there! I blocked out our last name.



I headed towards the monorail to be greeted by this:



So I did what all good DISers know to do in this situation, I jumped on the Resort monorail.





I walked right onto the monorail but it was still pretty crowded and I had to stand. I do like the monorail and try to get a ride on it each trip but I’m not it total love like a lot of people on the DIS. The quick half loop around to MK was plenty to satisfy me. Even with the two stops at the Poly and GF, I’m still sure I made it quicker than if I would have stood in the express line.

Over all, the trip from AK to MK with a detour to see my brick only took about 45 minutes. I know this for sure because I arrived at MK right at the tail end of the 3 o’clock parade.



My notes are a little fuzzy between here and dinner at 4:05 pm but I must have walked past the Emporium because I have a picture of one of the windows.



Why I only took one picture of the windows I have no clue. I also stopped for some PP pictures. I did this mainly to show just how windy it was on this day. Check out that hair!





I think I may have also walked through the Emporium to look at sweatshirts again. There were two in the store that I was debating between and I still couldn’t decide.

I knew I would have some time between dinner and the MSEP so I headed towards Tomorrowland to check out the FP situation. On the way I saw that the Tomorrowland Terrace was open. I knew it would be, since the Bakery was closed for renovations, but it was still weird to see.



Here’s what they serve there in case anyone is interested. The Pasta Alfredo with Chicken sounded yummy!





Once I made it to TL, I only took one picture, I think for crowd level? I was very crowded but I knew it would be on a Saturday.



I checked FP times for both Space Mountain and Buzz and the Buzz time worked better with my ADR so I grabbed one and headed back towards Main Street and checked in at the Plaza.





I didn’t wait more than 10 minutes but it felt like a lot longer because it was getting colder by the minute. I was lead to a table with this view:





I knew immediately that I was going to love this restaurant whether the food was good or not just for that view.

There were several things on the menu that I liked but I ended up ordering a burger and fries because it was what I was in the mood for at that moment. And yes, the burger is very plain, I only like ketchup on mine. But it did come with other toppings I asked them to leave off.



I also ordered a coke which I never do at dinner. Caffeine after lunch time usually keeps me up at night but I was planning to stay as late as possible so this was a good thing. The burger and fries were really good, the quality was a step above any of the CS burgers and I ate every bite despite the fact that I had a big lunch at Flametree.

Mom called while I was eating so I quietly told her I would call her when I was done. One of my pet peeves is someone talking loudly on a cell phone in a restaurant or other small area.

For dessert, The Plaza has all ice cream selections so I got a chocolate milkshake. Check out this thing! It was huge and that wasn’t even all of it! Behind the glass there was metal container with more.



This was soooo good and despite how cold it was making me I ate it all. Well except for the part that ended up on the table. I made such a bad mess it was almost embarrassing. It was impossible not to though, you can see it already overflowing in the picture. I ended up loving the Plaza and have made an ADR there in October.

When I finished, I headed back to Tommorowland to use my Buzz FP before I called Mom back. It was so cold that I was starting to wonder if I would make it the rest of the night. I was seriously contemplating just throwing in the towel and heading back to my room and warm bed. The wind was so bad that it blew me sideways at one point as I was walking.

Getting over to Buzz and finding the FP line out the door didn’t help either. But I got in line and was inside the doors before too long. There was just a sea of people everywhere.





I waited a total of 20 minutes in the FP line before getting on the ride. I was pleased with my score so it was worth the wait.



I did take a picture of my ride photo but it was really washed out and blurry and not worth taking up picture space.

When I finished with Buzz, the sun was starting to go down and therefore it was getting even colder. Tomorrowland was mostly in shadow but I found a small patch of sunlight by COP and called Mom. We talked for a while about my trip and she almost had me convinced to head back to the room and get warm. I still didn’t know what to do when we hung up so decided to do the only logical thing at that moment, I headed into COP to get warm!

After a spin through time on COP, I was much warmer and decided that heck with it, I was staying no matter what! I headed back to Main Street and the Emporium and finally made a decision on the hoodie I was going to buy. I also picked up a pair of gloves. They did not have Disney gloves, just some plain black stretchy ones. They were $10 and very cheap but it was the best ten dollars I spent all week.



And here’s the sweatshirt.



A few close ups of the details:





I’m honestly surprised it took me as long as it did to settle on that sweatshirt since it had Pluto on it. It is a little thinner than most so I think that’s why I was hesitating.

I double layered my sweatshirts, put on my new gloves and headed back out into the cold to find a good spot for the MSEP.

Up Next: Disney World Proudly Presents…..

 

[KatMark]

I'm sorry it was so cold that you had to wear two sweatshirts and gloves.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy that you liked The Plaza. We have yet to get that view, but we continue to make that our last meal of our trip almost every trip. Love the French fries and the simple food.

 

[ronnmel]

Being cold at Disney sucks, but it's still better than being cold at home.

That milkshake looks yummy!

 

[ronnmel]

Double post

 

[lovesdumbo]

Thanks on the pictures, I love my little point and shoot but the zoom is starting to stick on it. I'm probably going to have to get a new one soon and am looking at the higher end point and shoot ones. I don't want to get a large one so a DSLR is out. I think I deserve a treat for my 40th birthday, don't you?

You do not know how close I came to buying that Big Al bank! I actually had my cursor over the button to buy it before I stopped myself. As much as I want it, I don't have an extra room to start a Big Al room. Now if it had been Pluto and I didn't have it there would have been no hesitation.

You absolutely should treat yourself to a new camera for your 40th!!! (I bought myself an iPhone for my 50th). I think you should go all out and look at this one (then you can tell me what you think of it!).
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cybershot-dsc-rx100

Other than price it looks like a great camera. That site is a great resource if you do shop for a new camera.

Loved your last update. I haven't been to the Plaza in a while since I started going to LTT for lunch. I think it's about time I return.

Love your new sweatshirt!!!

 

[Pluto0809]

I'm sorry it was so cold that you had to wear two sweatshirts and gloves.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy that you liked The Plaza. We have yet to get that view, but we continue to make that our last meal of our trip almost every trip. Love the French fries and the simple food.

I was a bit miserable with the cold but at least I was at Disney!

Simple food is my favorite since I'm a picky eater so I couldn't help but love the Plaza. I'm really looking forward to eating there again in October. I'm glad DH didn't rule that one out (I sent him links to restaurant menus and he said either yes or no to eating at each one).

Being cold at Disney sucks, but it's still better than being cold at home.

That milkshake looks yummy!

You are definitely right! I do not like being cold but it was worth it to stay in my favorite park for the night.

The milkshake was delicious!

You absolutely should treat yourself to a new camera for your 40th!!! (I bought myself an iPhone for my 50th). I think you should go all out and look at this one (then you can tell me what you think of it!).
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cybershot-dsc-rx100

Other than price it looks like a great camera. That site is a great resource if you do shop for a new camera.

Loved your last update. I haven't been to the Plaza in a while since I started going to LTT for lunch. I think it's about time I return.

Love your new sweatshirt!!!

Thanks for the link, I will definitely check that one out and use the web site. I don't have a camera store near me and the "kids" that work at Best Buy are usually clueless.

The Plaza was wonderful. Funny thing, I didn't even know the restaurant existed till I started reading on the DIS. Now it's one of my favorites!

I love the sweatshirt too!

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[katt789]

Oh my gosh that brick is adorable!!!

Nice view!

Holy exploding milkshake, yum!

Man I’m glad we left when we did, after hearing from Jess and You how cold it was over the next couple of days I would’ve been frozen. I don’t even think I BROUGHT full length pants with me in Feb! Nov I was half prepared for. Thaat’s the first trip I had full pants and a sweater on, boourns.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Burrrrrr!!!! That wind DOES look crazy! Glad you were able to find a way to warm up and power on...makes for a longer TR.

I have wanted to try the Plaza, but DH typically wants to go with more exotic foods or more lively experiences while dining at Disney so the Plaza never makes the list. While I am not a picky eater, I am totally with you on the "ketchup only" burger!

 

[Pluto0809]

Great update!

Thanks!

Oh my gosh that brick is adorable!!!

Nice view!

Holy exploding milkshake, yum!

Man I’m glad we left when we did, after hearing from Jess and You how cold it was over the next couple of days I would’ve been frozen. I don’t even think I BROUGHT full length pants with me in Feb! Nov I was half prepared for. Thaat’s the first trip I had full pants and a sweater on, boourns.

Don't ya just love that brick! I hope it stays there forever at Disney.

The milkshake was awesome!

You definitely got out of there at the right time! I thought I was prepared with jeans and hoodies but even that was not enough. Sat and Sun were the two worse days cold weather wise.

Burrrrrr!!!! That wind DOES look crazy! Glad you were able to find a way to warm up and power on...makes for a longer TR.

I have wanted to try the Plaza, but DH typically wants to go with more exotic foods or more lively experiences while dining at Disney so the Plaza never makes the list. While I am not a picky eater, I am totally with you on the "ketchup only" burger!

It was really windy and cold. I was even having trouble walking it was so windy!

Yes there is lots left of the evening once I decided to stay. But don't worry I have two more trips coming up and there will be a TR for each of those!

You should definitely try the Plaza sometime. Yes it's more low key and plainer food but it was really good and you can't beat eating on Main Street!