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

[Pluto0809]

Continued from Previous Post





Check out the guy bundled up in this picture. I’m not kidding about the cold!



I didn’t realize I got mouse butt in this picture:



I headed towards the back of Storybook Circus to take the secret path to TL but I noticed the water was off on Casey Jr so I stopped to see the play area up close.









I will say that the path from Storybook Circus to TL is a bit creepy at night. There is very little lighting and I was the only one on the path.

When I got to TL, I went straight to Space Mountain but it was closed. So, what’s a good DISer to do when SM is down? Hop on the TTA in hopes of seeing the lights on in SM of course! I knew it would be a cold ride but so worth it if the lights were on. We got stuck for a while next to these guys:





No problem, I was at Disney, so I put up my feet and relaxed.



We started up again after about 5 minutes and finally entered SM. And….. THE LIGHTS WERE ON!! Yep, I got that excited. So the next four pictures are of SM with the lights on. If you don’t want to see it, skip those. Personally I find it fascinating to see behind the scenes.









When I got off the TTA, SM was still down so I headed to Buzz next. Didn’t do so good this time:



SM was finally open so I headed in. There was no wait time posted but I figured it couldn’t be that long since it just reopened. Well, I was wrong about that, the wait ended up being 30 minutes. I did get to play some of the games along the way. Also had to step around a large puddle of puke in the line, yuck! I found out later that the reason the ride was down was because someone had puked on it. Glad I didn’t know that ahead of time!

You can tell I was getting tired at this point by my boring ride photo.



When I got off of SM it was 11:45 pm and I was really tired so I headed down Main Street. I thought about getting some candy from the Confectionary but the line was pretty long. I was on a bus right at Midnight so technically I was still at the MK at close. I was back in my room in no time and turned off the lights around 12:45 am.

So how many rides did I ride in those last three hours? I don’t know, lost count and I’m too lazy to go back and figure it out.

I did forget to post one souvenir earlier that I got at AK. On my November trip, I had gotten a few of the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund pins so I decided to get one from AK this trip.



That concludes Day 3 so it’s time for quotes!

1. “Look boys that used to be Ariel!” Dad pointing out the mermaid skeleton on Pirates to his two young sons.

2. “Get your hands off the toilet, that’s disgusting!!!!” Said on two different occasions by horrified mothers in the stall next to me. I only found it funny because I heard the exact same thing twice at different times.

3. “I’m standing by a statue of some dude. He’s got his hand out pointing at something”. Guy talking on his cell phone standing next to the partner’s statue. I actually laughed out loud at that one and told him it was Walt Disney. I don’t think he appreciated my help because he just glared.

4. “It’s not what you do!!!” Screamed over and over by a wife to her husband as I walked through TL. I got away from that scene very quickly.

5. “You can’t get on the bus, no animals allowed”. Said by a CM to a girl with a Chip (or Dale?) hat. Poor girl spoke very little English and seriously thought she wasn’t allowed to get on the bus. I actually felt a little bad for her.

Up Next: I Did It Two Times Before Park Opening!

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Wonderful update! I love the Dumbo at night pictures. It is still on my list to try JC at night...just one of those things I want to try at least once. the quotes this time were awesome...every one of them. LOVE IT!

 

[Happy Duck]

Thank you for the SM pics! AWESOME!

 

[ronnmel]

Space Mountain with the LIGHTS ON!!! Awesome!!!! Ewww at the puke though... What, the person puked in line, then thought "I just got sick, what should I do? Why, ride a roller coaster, of course!"???

Yay for getting on so many rides with very short waits!

 

[Pluto0809]

Great update!

Thanks!

Wonderful update! I love the Dumbo at night pictures. It is still on my list to try JC at night...just one of those things I want to try at least once. the quotes this time were awesome...every one of them. LOVE IT!

Dumbo at night was beautiful! JC at night was on my list so I'm glad I did it this time. This was the best day for quotes for sure!

Thank you for the SM pics! AWESOME!

You're welcome! I was so excited to be able to take those.

Space Mountain with the LIGHTS ON!!! Awesome!!!! Ewww at the puke though... What, the person puked in line, then thought "I just got sick, what should I do? Why, ride a roller coaster, of course!"???

Yay for getting on so many rides with very short waits!

Yeah, I was not pleased with the puke! And spoiler alert but it wasn't the last time I dealt with puke this trip.

It was definitely an awesome night for lines. If Winnie the Pooh had been a short line, the night would have been perfect.

 

[Pluto0809]

I was up at my usual 6:00 am time on Sunday and out the door at 7:30 am. I was just as cold this morning as the previous day so I was bundled up in my two sweatshirts and gloves. Crazy thing, there was actually someone in the pool that morning!

I got my same old breakfast but ate it very quickly and did not work on my journal. Why was that? Because I was headed to HS this morning.





I was through bag check and in line by 8:20 am with about 10 people in front of me.



They had part of the lines blocked off, guess they were adding more of the new entry systems.



A CM came by and handed out maps and I ended up with one since I needed a times guide and she was handing out both at once. This was when I realized that they were the new maps. I had forgotten that they were being introduced the week I was there and this was the first map I had gotten. Yep, I’m past the point of needing a map a Disney. I tried to take some pictures but it was too hard with my gloves on. I did get two and planned on taking some more later but never did.





I didn’t have to stand there too long, they started letting us in at 8:30! I headed straight towards TSM, grabbed a fast pass and got in line. We walked straight through but I still managed to get a few pictures.











I really love this ride and wanted to get a few rides on it during this trip so I could get some practice. DH and I can be very competitive (in a friendly way) and I wanted to make sure I could beat him when we go in October. Here’s my score:



Probably not the highest score you’ve seen but the highest I’ve ever gotten! I was happy.



When I got off, the line still wasn’t very long so I decided to hop right back in again. There was a small wait this time so of course I took more pictures.







My arm got pretty tired towards the end of the second ride so I only scored:



Still not too bad! Of course, being by myself helped a lot since I didn’t have someone aiming at the same targets I was. I still think I’ll be able to beat DH in October.

When I got off the second time, I realized that it was just 9 am. I had gotten two rides in on TSM before the official park opening! I know its luck of the draw to get let in early and I sure got lucky on this day.

The line still wasn’t very long but my arm was sore and I wanted to get some other rides in before lines got long. So I headed towards Sunset Boulevard.

I must have been obsessed with the monkeys this time because this is the third picture I took that morning with them in it.



I was excited when I saw this billboard:



Wizard of Oz is one of my all time favorite movies so I couldn’t wait to see the prequel. While I did enjoy the new movie, it didn’t come close to the greatness of the original.

My first stop on Sunset Boulevard was here:



They were doing repairs to the big guitar but at least they had a tarp that made it seem like it was there.







Once again, the ride was a walk on. I was seated in the second row by myself because the single rider line wasn’t even open yet. The two girls in the front car were from FL and knew the whole preshow by heart.

When we got off the ride, we all tried to get pictures of the ride photo but it went away really quickly. Too bad because it was really funny. I just did the standard devils horns but the two girls looked at each other and pretended to be scared. One of the best ride photos of the trip and I didn’t get to take my redneck photo.

Up Next: Uh Oh, I Pushed Way Past My Limit

 

[Pluto0809]

Next stop after RnRC was of course this baby:



The wait time said 10 minutes but I didn’t run into any kind of line until I was almost to the doors into the lobby.











When I got into the boiler room I went straight ahead into the left side line. Don’t know why but I always go straight. The line was pretty much full so I figured I had at least two or three elevators before I got on one. But almost immediately, they came looking for a single rider and I got to skip past all those people!

Horrible redneck ride photo but yea, I had the front seat! The older couple next to me was so cute. The guy told me that if I was scared, I could hold his hand.



When I finished on TOT, it was time for my TSM FP so before heading there, I grabbed a FP for RnRC. Then it was a trek back up Sunset Boulevard to Pixar Place for my third time in Andy’s room.



I loved playing Chutes and Ladders as a kid.



I did not do the practice round (think I will be using that strategy in October) because I was saving my arm for the real games. But I still had a hard time and didn’t score as high as the first two games. Hmmm, maybe I need to start doing some strength training on my arms just for this ride!



Lowest score of the day for me but I still was best in vehicle:



It was right around 10:20 when I got off of TSM the third time and there was just one more thrill ride I hadn’t been on yet so I headed to the other side of the park. Mom and I had ridden Star Tours in November and were just not that impressed. I wanted to give it another chance so I got in line. The line was moving very fast so I only got two pretty bad pictures before getting to the front.





Just as I was about to board, my cell phone rang. It was DH and I answered because I figured he wouldn’t call unless there was something wrong. Nope, he was just at the grocery store and need to know what size milk I wanted. I’m afraid I was a bit rude to him for scaring my like that. I got off the phone quickly and ended up being seated in the front row.

I don’t remember the scenes at the beginning of the ride but I do know we had the Pod Racing one because halfway through that scene things went very bad. All of a sudden I got extremely nauseous. It was so bad that I had to close my eyes for the rest of the ride.

When we got done, I’m afraid I pushed past most of the people and headed straight through the dump shop and out to the cold, fresh air. I always shop in that store because both DH and I are fans of Star Wars but that wasn’t happening this day. I really thought I was going to throw up for a while. I found a cart near Indiana Jones that was selling drinks. I got a coke and also a banana and sat on a bench for a while. I slowly ate the banana and sipped the coke until I started to feel a little better. I spent some time texting Mom and also called DH back and apologized for being snippy with him. I also made sure he didn’t have any more pressing grocery questions.

I really can’t figure out what happened. I rode Star Tours with no problems in November. I’m not sure if I had just overdone it that morning with thrill rides or if it was the particular scene in the movie that made me sick. I don’t know what I’m going to do in October because I know DH will want to ride.

Thank goodness, I felt better after about 15 minutes but the FP for RnRC never got used. It was now 11 am and my plan had been to eat lunch at Pizza Planet right when they opened since I had another early dinner ADR. That time was now but I just didn’t think that pizza was a great idea after feeling so yucky. I decided that some bland Chicken Tenders at Backlot Express would be better but they didn’t open till 11:30.

Instead, I headed to the Great Movie Ride. The wait time was 30 minutes so I got in line. It seems that the crowds had finally arrived for the day. It was a little strange, they had people entering the theater through a side door rather than the front doors. I’ve never had that happen before, maybe because I’ve always been there at slower times.







Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Continued From Previous Post

They had changed out some of the display cases since I had been there in November. I have no idea what this first picture is. I think the sign says it’s from Star Wars but I sure don’t recognize it.



I definitely recognized this shirt from Nightmare on Elm Street.



And of course Mary’s horse was still there.





Most of the wait time was spent in the room where they show movie clips. Silly me, but I never realized before that the clips they show are all movies featured in the ride!

The wait time was correct and after ½ hour I was off on my trip through the movies.





I got the Gangster scene like most times but I was surprised that our gangster was a little old lady in a pin striped skirt. I could barely understand her because she was trying way too hard with the accent. Luckily, I’ve ridden enough times that I didn’t need the commentary. I wanted a good picture of her so badly but none of them came out very well.





More ride pictures.















When I got off the ride, it was 11:45. I totally forgot that the ride itself was pretty long. I really needed to get some lunch before it got much later so I headed back to Backlot Express. It was really crowded and took me a while to get through the line. Unfortunately all of the indoor seating was filled since it was so cold. I did walk around for about 5 minutes but finally gave up and found a table outside that was in the direct sunlight so I could try to stay warm. So here’s my boring lunch:



The two desserts they offered were marble cheesecake and some kind of strawberry cake, neither of which I liked. Luckily the CM let me have one of the kids chocolate chip cookies.



The chicken tenders were good, I do love Disney chicken tenders. I had something else in mind for dessert later so stuck the cookie down in my bag. Due to some other circumstances, I didn’t end up eating it till almost a week after I got home. It was kind of stale at that point so I can’t give you a good review.

Up Next: Something New and Something Old

 

[oopsiDAISY]

OY~Star Tours...I was fine the first time we went on it last year, but I too got sick the second time. I normally do not get motion sickness very easily, but something about that ride really did a number on me. I thought I was going to throw up, pass out, or both after we got off that second time. So yeah...let's raise our glasses of Mylanta and have a toast to enduring these terrible things for the sake of our Star Wars loving hubbies!

I am sure you are stalking D~'s FB page today ...but you may want to take a break a time or two to check my PTR...I am about to post pictures of the much awaited SerendipiD~ bag I got in the mail yesterday!!!!

 

[Happy Duck]

I think most everyone's Hollywood experience is Pixar Place-Sunset Blvd-Pixar Place-Sunset Blvd

I'm glad you started to feel better. I know what that is like! I'm guessing it was just a random event. Don't write off Star Tours just yet!

I just had my first ride on the Great Movie ride, so of course I didn't notice the movies either! I'll make sure to pay attention next time!

 

[Pluto0809]

OY~Star Tours...I was fine the first time we went on it last year, but I too got sick the second time. I normally do not get motion sickness very easily, but something about that ride really did a number on me. I thought I was going to throw up, pass out, or both after we got off that second time. So yeah...let's raise our glasses of Mylanta and have a toast to enduring these terrible things for the sake of our Star Wars loving hubbies!

I am sure you are stalking D~'s FB page today ...but you may want to take a break a time or two to check my PTR...I am about to post pictures of the much awaited SerendipiD~ bag I got in the mail yesterday!!!!

Hmmmm.... Maybe it was just the scenes I got this time then. It's a bummer though as riding it now is going to be a little like Russian Roulette. Will I get sick or won't I? I'm going to give it one more try in October and if I get sick again I think I'm done with the ride.

Your bag is beautiful! I think I said that before but it needed to be said again. Still stalking.....

I think most everyone's Hollywood experience is Pixar Place-Sunset Blvd-Pixar Place-Sunset Blvd

I'm glad you started to feel better. I know what that is like! I'm guessing it was just a random event. Don't write off Star Tours just yet!

I just had my first ride on the Great Movie ride, so of course I didn't notice the movies either! I'll make sure to pay attention next time!

Yep, those first few hours at DHS are all about running between those two places. I'm wondering how this will change with the new Magic Bands. I still think I will be running to Pixar Place first thing in the morning because I like to ride TSM more than once.

I hope it was random but the old Star Tours used to make me nauseous too. I thought I had the problem solved with the motion sickness pills I was taking but apparently not!

I don't think I noticed the movies before because I've never had to wait long in that room. I think we went through the clips two or three times on this trip and that's when it finally dawned on me.

 

[Pluto0809]

After lunch I headed towards one of the few attractions I had never done at DHS.



Mom and I had missed the opening for the new Pirate show by a few days so I wanted to make sure and catch it this time. The wait time was 30 minutes and there is really nothing to see of interest in the line except for the billboards right across from it.



Luckily the girls in line behind me asked what the attraction was all about so I talked to them awhile. I wasn’t able to help them much, about all I knew was that it was a show of some kind. They told me they were there for marching band and I discovered that I had a picture of them from the night before. They were the flag girls (not sure what they called themselves, our flag girls were called “Silks” when I was in Marching Band) in the colorful costumes. I showed them the picture and they laughed and told me how much they hated those costumes. Then they had to do a check in text with their chaperone. They were coming up with funny stuff to send like “I haven’t been eaten by a Dinosaur yet”. Made me feel a little old. Back in my day (yes I said it) we had to run all the way across the park to check in. Even had to get out of line a few times. Of course we never went to Disney, just the local amusement park and one time to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.

After about ½ hour, we were lead into the first room. It was pretty plain in the room, kind of disappointing for Disney. Just a plain black room with a set of doors with this guy above them.



I hate to admit it but my memory is a bit fuzzy at this point and I didn’t take any detailed notes. The skull guy talked to us and I think he said we would be entering the Pirates Lair and would be put through training to make us into pirates.

Then we entered the next room which was very detailed but so dark it was hard to see anything or get any decent pictures.



One of the walls was a large screen and we did the training which involved skeletons:



Mermaids:



And probably a few other things I don’t remember any more. Once we finished the training we were declared pirates and Captain Jack Sparrow came out and talked to us. This was a very well done hologram and since Johnny Depp did the filming for it, this part was very pretty funny. Try as I might, I couldn’t get a good picture of him.

And that was it. I want to say the whole thing lasted maybe 15 minutes and overall I just found it strange. As you can tell by my fuzzy memory, it did not make much of an impression on me at all. I was hoping to love this since I love all things to do with Pirates of the Caribbean but it fell far short of my expectations. I really have no desire to go back and see it again although I’m sure I will with two trips coming up with people who have not seen it.

After that weird experience I decided to go and do something I knew I liked.



I was aware of the rumors that Backlot Tour might be closing to create Carsland so I wanted to make sure I got to ride it this trip in case it was gone the next time.

I just missed a tour going in but since I was done with thrill rides for the day, I just relaxed and enjoyed the surroundings.





It was way too cold that day to have participants in the first section. I made sure to get in the top row too so there was no chance of getting wet. This part was kind of anticlimactic without the park guests attempting to be actors.







We headed down through the props warehouse and I continued to snap pictures as I walked. I wish they let you spend more time in this area.



This horse cracked me up. Looking at it now, it kind of reminds me of a certain horse I know named Maxine.





When we first started out, I tried to get a picture of the real Earful Tower and the topiary one. Not the best shot.



Some random shots from the tour:





These look like the start of topiaries from Fantasia:



Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Continued From Previous Post





My favorite part of the tour, the costume shop!





Another attempt at the tower/topiary shot.





I wish I could have lived during Walt Disney’s time and taken a flight on this plane.





And then we pulled into Catastrophe Canyon and of course I was seated on the side closest to the action! Luckily I didn’t get wet at all.















Finishing up the last part of the tour:









Up Next: I Get Accused of Cheating

 

[wiigirl]

Awesome update!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I am all caught up, but since I had gotten so far behind I will just comment on this latest update!

I agree with you 100% on the Pirates attraction. I didn't hate it, but found it very underwhelming. If I do go in September I'm sure I will do it with Steve, but I'm not going to rush in to do it again.

I miss the old Backlot Tour where there was so much more to see, but I do still enjoy it. I hope that if they do get rid of it that they can find someway to keep the memorabilia somewhere for guests to still see. Maybe just a smaller attraction of some sort.

 

[katt789]

Heck yes for being a solo traveler on TOT, love getting pulled to the front on that ride!

I still haven’t done Star Tours, the whole fact of 3d mixed in with motion kinda kills me, I don’t know if I could handle it, too bad you weren’t feeling to well!

Oh my gosh that’s so weird that it was an older lady, like, I guess it’s not that weird, but you just wouldn’t expect the gangster to be that…lol.

I still haven’t gotten to the Jack Sparrow adventure, lines were always so long! Hopefully in Sept we’ll hit it up, Mom did say she wanted to do new things, baha! Oh man, we were never allowed to split up in day trips! And if we were splitting up, we were old enough that we only met back up for meals! Weird…

I haven’t done backlot in so long, maybe it’ll still be open next trip and we’ll hit it up, if not, I’m not too concerned! Lawl

 

[Pluto0809]

Awesome update!

Thanks!

I am all caught up, but since I had gotten so far behind I will just comment on this latest update!

I agree with you 100% on the Pirates attraction. I didn't hate it, but found it very underwhelming. If I do go in September I'm sure I will do it with Steve, but I'm not going to rush in to do it again.

I miss the old Backlot Tour where there was so much more to see, but I do still enjoy it. I hope that if they do get rid of it that they can find someway to keep the memorabilia somewhere for guests to still see. Maybe just a smaller attraction of some sort.

Glad you are all caught up!

I was so disappointed in the Pirates attraction. I'm not sure what I was expecting though. The Narnia show that was there before was pretty bad and the Pirates one is not much better.

I know I probably rode the old Backlot Tour but I don't remember it at all. I do hope they keep something with the memorabilia. That's my favorite part besides the costume area.

Heck yes for being a solo traveler on TOT, love getting pulled to the front on that ride!

I still haven’t done Star Tours, the whole fact of 3d mixed in with motion kinda kills me, I don’t know if I could handle it, too bad you weren’t feeling to well!

Oh my gosh that’s so weird that it was an older lady, like, I guess it’s not that weird, but you just wouldn’t expect the gangster to be that…lol.

I still haven’t gotten to the Jack Sparrow adventure, lines were always so long! Hopefully in Sept we’ll hit it up, Mom did say she wanted to do new things, baha! Oh man, we were never allowed to split up in day trips! And if we were splitting up, we were old enough that we only met back up for meals! Weird…

I haven’t done backlot in so long, maybe it’ll still be open next trip and we’ll hit it up, if not, I’m not too concerned! Lawl

I know, the solo thing on TOT was awesome!

Star Tours is the only ride that really makes me sick. The old version also made me nauseous so I don't know if it was the 3D or just the motion this time? I'm going to give it one more try in October and if I get sick again, I'm done with the ride for good.

Yeah, the gangster lady was just more unexpected than anything else!

I would definitely not wait in a long line for the Jack Sparrow thing. It's not really worth it.

Backlot Tour is one I only do every couple trips. Mom and I didn't go on in November and the only reason I went this last trip was because of the rumors about Carsland.

 

[Happy Duck]

Ahh, the Backlot Tour. I went on that back in 2002. I don't think it's changed a whole lot

As much as Cars isn't my favorite movie, I think I'd be okay with Carsland. The DL Carsland pictures/videos look really cool! (Now, Avatar is another story...)

 

[marDgreen88]

I've been trying to get caught up and finally did! It makes me happy that you stayed at ASMu because I very rarely read TRs from people who stay here, and it was my first Disney resort ever so it's special to me!

Anyways, I got all caught up so I'm officially along for the rest of the report!