It's a SO-LO trip report! Oct 09, CR/YC, MNSSHP, F&W, and Independence! FINAL UPDATE!

[norybell]

Still with you! And still loving it!

Glad you're still here!

Anyway, am so loving that you got to be social, I'm hoping I'm brave enough to get some conversation going with some normal Disney freaks like me when I take my solo trip. I have never been to Jellyrolls, but sounds fun - those IT folks, feel bad that they aren't riding the Mickey train, different strokes I guess! Non Disney people on a free WDW trip... what a waste.

I'll cross my fingers for you, that you'll get to meet some people as nice as Tracy & Jim! I'm a bit worried that I'm spoiled, now, and that on my next solo trip I'll be crestfallen when I don't randomly meet some great people. I guess this might be what DIS-meets are for?

You are right! We need you to disclose information of how to contact Tracy and Jim, they should have even more juicy WDW secrets! Muhhahaha!

Well, it turns out they are reading this, so I'll leave it up to them!

Thank you so much, Nory! And....you are SO going to kiss the ground when you hear this one....I am about ready to post a TR on my solo trip in July. Okay, I'm way later than you are, but I have an excuse...I have a toddler. I was just downloading some pics for my first day. I think on Thursday or Friday I'll have the first installment up. Soon enough you'll see more pics of me and think, "Wow, she really is my older, yet wildly sophisticated and talented twin."

I always wanted a twin! Actually, no, that's a total lie. I wanted a twin briefly, when I was about eight. But hey, it could still be fun! As long as she's wildly sophisticated. I'll accept nothing less.

Joking aside, can't wait for your TR! And a toddler is a perfectly good excuse for the delay. Now I have a challenge to set myself: can I finish the old one before the new one starts? In other words, should I set aside all the slightly irritating, mundane tasks I'd planned for my day off tomorrow (shopping, vacuuming, laundry, dishes, etc.), and instead read TRs all day long and eat Oreos? Hm.

Duuuuuuude...that's not right. It's not like we're all going to be there at the same time and clog up this top-secret spot or anything. I say we all snub her TR until she spills it.

EVIL.

 

[hucifer]

Now I have a challenge to set myself: can I finish the old one before the new one starts? In other words, should I set aside all the slightly irritating, mundane tasks I'd planned for my day off tomorrow (shopping, vacuuming, laundry, dishes, etc.), and instead read TRs all day long and eat Oreos? Hm.

I'm surprised you even have to ask yourself that question. Look, the shopping, vacuuming, and stuff are all going to be there later. Check your priorities at the door and start cracking on that TR.

Please.

 

[glennbo123]

In other words, should I set aside all the slightly irritating, mundane tasks I'd planned for my day off tomorrow (shopping, vacuuming, laundry, dishes, etc.), and instead read TRs all day long and eat Oreos? Hm.

I can't imagine all the time spent just in picking up socks alone.

(If you saw our house you would realize how much I am kidding you here.)

 

[Tribilín]

... should I set aside all the slightly irritating, mundane tasks I'd planned for my day off tomorrow (shopping, vacuuming, laundry, dishes, etc.)

Sorry... I don't understand any of the words after "shopping" might be the language barrier.

 

[norybell]

I'm surprised you even have to ask yourself that question. Look, the shopping, vacuuming, and stuff are all going to be there later. Check your priorities at the door and start cracking on that TR.

Please.

You'll be happy to hear that, after an intensive emergency hour of therapy this morning, my priorities are in order: (1) eat; (2) read and write TR; (3) everything else.

I can't imagine all the time spent just in picking up socks alone.

(If you saw our house you would realize how much I am kidding you here.)

Hours, I'm telling you. Maybe I should give up and consider it a sock-carpet?

Sorry... I don't understand any of the words after "shopping" might be the language barrier.

Here, I'll translate for you.
"vacuuming" = go out for lunch
"doing laundry" = reading trip reports
"doing dishes" = writing trip report

 

[norybell]

Despite my late-ish night the night before, I woke up at 7:00 AM, without the alarm. Disney-time had clearly infected my system, hardcore. I even felt all bright and chipper.

Side note -- this was a far cry from the last time I’d woken up at Disney after a night at Jellyrolls. I was with my little sisters, one of whom had just gotten engaged. BF and I were having problems at the time. Take one soon-to-be-thirty woman contemplating singlehood whose little sis has just gotten engaged, plop her down at a bar where she can distract herself with many drinks and dueling pianos, and, well, the results aren’t so pretty. I learned an important life lesson: while WDW is one of the happiest places on earth, it’s one of the worst places on earth to have a terrible hangover. Ugh. I also learned that they pour drinks a lot stronger at Jellyrolls than they do in NYC.

Actually, I think I’d been woken up by the second irritating thing I discovered about my room (in case you haven’t been taking notes for the quiz and have forgotten by now, the first was the lovely view of the rooftop outside my window). Between the hours of 6 AM and midnight, there was a faint, recurring sound emanating from the walls somewhere. It reminded me of the sound of an AC unit switching on, but it wasn’t that. It was faint enough that you probably wouldn’t notice it, unless you were lying in bed trying to sleep. And were a light sleeper. Which I am, of course. It happened with the lovely irregularity of a fire alarm with a soon-to-be-dead battery. You hear it, you think, Did I hear something? What was that? You listen for it for a while, you don’t hear it again. You start to fall asleep. You hear it again. The cycle continues.

I suspect it was the service elevator, because the Cast Members Only room with the elevator in it was right around the corner from me. Good thing I was in such a good mood, or I would have been annoyed.

I was in such a good mood, of course, because I was in Disney! And because it was my Animal Kingdom day! I was pretty excited. I’d only been to AK twice before, never for very long for one reason or another, and I couldn’t wait to finally spend a good chunk of time there.

I stumbled to the CL lounge, probably in my pajamas, for some coffee and breakfast. Doesn’t this look beautiful?

I think this is the breakfast my butler should be bringing me on a tray every morning.

OK, if I can’t have the butler, I guess I’ll settle for BF bringing it to me on a tray every morning.

I don’t remember them serving hardboiled eggs at the lounge in May; I thought they were a nice addition. Other than that, they had all the typical options: pastries, cereals, bagels, etc. I took my time eating and getting ready, and didn’t leave my room until 8:40. I only waited five minutes for the bus, and arrived at AK by 9:05. It was the second time in my adult life I’d missed a rope drop (the first being the day before). It felt like liberation.

Obligatory Intro-to-the-AK-part-of-my-TR Tree of Life picture

Of course, like any good DIS-er (or anyone with a guide book or a brain), I rushed straight here:

I got a FP, then walked straight on. Briskly walked straight on, nary a stop or a linger or a pause. I’ll have to see the yeti poop (or whatever else is in the queue) some other time.

I’d only ridden EE once before, on the trip with my mom. And I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it, mostly because it was a very sunny afternoon, and I didn’t leave my sunglasses on for the ride. My eyes are very sensitive to sunlight. I don’t know why, maybe I’m a vampire, though if I’m a vampire, wouldn’t I be much cooler right now than I actually am? Either way, it meant that the outdoor parts of the ride were more painful than fun for me.

This time, I was prepared, and left my sunglasses on. And wow, what a ride! The yeti genuinely scared me, even though I knew it was coming. And the drops and turns were great. I was hooked. So, of course, as soon as I disembarked, I weaved through the gift shop and straight back into the line (or where the line would be, if there were a line). I walked straight on, again. Funnily enough, I walked straight on again right behind the same solo man I’d ridden with the first time—clearly he had the same idea!—and we ended up riding together the second time, too. I left my arms up for most of the ride this time, and, as always, that made it even better (it amazes me how much of a difference it makes). After this second, equally thrilling escape down the mountain, I debated walking right back on again (cuz there was still no line whatsoever). But I decided my stomach could use a break.

Tower of Terror is still my favorite Disney thrill ride. But Everest is now a close second.

I headed over to the Safari. My mom and I had skipped it on the last trip; we hadn’t gone to AK until the afternoon, and had pretty much only walked the trails and ridden EE (we still had a great time, though). But my sisters and I had loved the safari years ago. I put my ticket into the FP machine, and felt totally embarrassed when it shot back a paper saying it was too early for me to get another FP—I still had 10 minutes to wait. Oops! Not like anyone noticed, but I did feel kinda dumb. That’s certainly not a mistake you’d expect from a WDW Expert-in-Training, is it?

The wait was posted at 20 minutes, and since I hadn’t really waited that long for anything my whole trip thus far, I decided it was time to stand in a line for a change. It was probably about 15 minutes in actuality, not too bad, just long enough for me to really appreciate how lucky I’d been to escape the lines so much on this trip.

Sadly, the safari was a disappointment. Whereas my sisters and I had seen a ton of animals, I saw very few this time. I have no idea why. It was only 10 in the morning, it wasn’t particularly hot. The animals just weren’t harnessing their inner exhibitionists, I guess.

Of course, I will show you the few pictures I have, of the few animals I saw:

I believe the scientific name for these guys is Antelope Thingies.

I call this one: “Elephant in the Grass.”

I call this one: “Elephant with his Butt Cut Off”

You guessed it: “Elephant with No Butt or Feet”

"Giraffe, Three-Quarters."
This one isn’t even due to my photography skills (or lack thereof). We literally didn’t see the giraffe’s head. He kept it in the bushes the whole time.

I have nothing remotely clever to say about this ostrich. It’s an ostrich. That’s all.

And that’s it, folks. Antelope Thingies, an elephant or two, a headless giraffe, and an ostrich. There may have been one or two animals sighted off the other side of the jeep, but nothing all that hot. No lions. No rhinos. No purple flying unicorns.

Plus I was pestered the whole ride by these two women sitting next to me, who kept invading my personal space and leaning all over me so they could take pictures off my side, too. With their iPhones. Because you know those pictures are totally worth taking. Bumpy jeep, moving animals, iPhone cameras…I’m sure those shots will be in a gallery one day, after launching their brilliant photographic careers...

Sorry, that was snarky. But they were annoying, what can I say? I mean, I wasn’t leaning all over them to take pictures off their side. And I had an actual camera!

On my way out of the safari area, I took a picture of this for some reason:

Of course, I had to try to figure out what that text means by the door. I figured if I googled it, some Disney freak (other than myself) would have posted it somewhere. No such luck. But thanks to the magic of Google and a book—surely a fascinating read—called Language, Society, and Paleoculture by Edgar C. Polomé and Anwar S. Dil, I learned that HAKUNA RUSHUSA YA KUPITA HAPA is Swahili for “No admittance.”

The next part is more complicated. Luckily for you (or not, depending on how much you wanted a Swahili lesson today), I found an online Swahili-English dictionary. Stick with me here. Mikubwa means “big” or “grand” or “important.” Wa means “be” or “happen” or “they do (people or animals)” or “you” or “them” or lots of other things. Hifadhi means “animal preserve,” which makes sense, or “protect” or “rescue.” Peke means “uniqueness” or “isolation” or “by oneself.” And yake means his/her/its.

So maybe MIKUBWA WA HIFADHI PEKE YAKE means…

I dunno. Without a clue to the grammar involved, I’m overwhelmed with possibilities. Its making my head hurt. Any Swahili speakers reading my TR?

Coming Soon: Animal Kingdom, The Next Hour. Or Maybe Even Two.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

I was in such a good mood, of course, because I was in Disney!

How could one not be!

I got a FP, then walked straight on. Briskly walked straight on, nary a stop or a linger or a pause. I’ll have to see the yeti poop (or whatever else is in the queue) some other time.

Awesome!

I was hooked. So, of course, as soon as I disembarked, I weaved through the gift shop and straight back into the line (or where the line would be, if there were a line). I walked straight on, again. Funnily enough, I walked straight on again right behind the same solo man I’d ridden with the first time—clearly he had the same idea!—and we ended up riding together the second time, too. I left my arms up for most of the ride this time, and, as always, that made it even better (it amazes me how much of a difference it makes).

Double Awesome!

I believe the scientific name for these guys is Antelope Thingies.

I call this one: “Elephant in the Grass.”

I call this one: “Elephant with his Butt Cut Off”

You guessed it: “Elephant with No Butt or Feet”

"Giraffe, Three-Quarters."

I have nothing remotely clever to say about this ostrich. It’s an ostrich. That’s all.

Plus I was pestered the whole ride by these two women sitting next to me, who kept invading my personal space and leaning all over me so they could take pictures off my side, too. With their iPhones. Because you know those pictures are totally worth taking. Bumpy jeep, moving animals, iPhone cameras…I’m sure those shots will be in a gallery one day, after launching their brilliant photographic careers...

Sorry, that was snarky. But they were annoying, what can I say? I mean, I wasn’t leaning all over them to take pictures off their side. And I had an actual camera!

Arrrgh. That’ll rile you up! Some people. iPhone photo shoots on the safari. Sheesh. Maybe they’ll try baking a cake with film canister and a Zippo on the teacups.

On my way out of the safari area, I took a picture of this for some reason:
Of course, I had to try to figure out what that text means by the door. I figured if I googled it, some Disney freak (other than myself) would have posted it somewhere. No such luck. But thanks to the magic of Google and a book—surely a fascinating read—called Language, Society, and Paleoculture by Edgar C. Polomé and Anwar S. Dil, I learned that HAKUNA RUSHUSA YA KUPITA HAPA is Swahili for “No admittance.”

The next part is more complicated. Luckily for you (or not, depending on how much you wanted a Swahili lesson today), I found an online Swahili-English dictionary. Stick with me here. Mikubwa means “big” or “grand” or “important.” Wa means “be” or “happen” or “they do (people or animals)” or “you” or “them” or lots of other things. Hifadhi means “animal preserve,” which makes sense, or “protect” or “rescue.” Peke means “uniqueness” or “isolation” or “by oneself.” And yake means his/her/its.

So maybe MIKUBWA WA HIFADHI PEKE YAKE means…

I dunno. Without a clue to the grammar involved, I’m overwhelmed with possibilities. Its making my head hurt. Any Swahili speakers reading my TR?

I know how to say “My Mother in law is a potato” in Swedish. Does that count for anything? Great photo BTW!

Awesome update!

 

[glennbo123]

"Giraffe, Three-Quarters."

I laughed just when I got to this picture, after the nice set up of:
I call this one: “Elephant with his Butt Cut Off”
You guessed it: “Elephant with No Butt or Feet”

I have nothing remotely clever to say about this ostrich. It’s an ostrich. That’s all.

Have you ever noticed that most ostrich pictures are profiles? You captured one of the rare "head-on" shots.

But thanks to the magic of Google and a book—surely a fascinating read—called Language, Society, and Paleoculture by Edgar C. Polomé and Anwar S. Dil, I learned that HAKUNA RUSHUSA YA KUPITA HAPA is Swahili for “No admittance.”

You could have found that out just by attempting to open the door and having the cast members with billy clubs jump on you.

 

[onelilspark]

Ummm, I do know that "Ba" means father in Swahili.

 

[Tribilín]

OK, I'll mentally register this picture as "Hey, they only offer this kind of breakfast at the Club Level lounges. See? I cant' stay on a diet at WDW!"

I stumbled to the CL lounge, probably in my pajamas, for some coffee and breakfast. Doesn’t this look beautiful?

Don't you say otherwise!

I think this is the breakfast my butler should be bringing me on a tray every morning.
OK, if I can’t have the butler, I guess I’ll settle for BF bringing it to me on a tray every morning.

LOL! I guess he will check the possibilities of hiring a butler first

 

[hucifer]

Nory, brilliantly funny post! I laughed throughout the whole thing.

It was faint enough that you probably wouldn’t notice it, unless you were lying in bed trying to sleep. And were a light sleeper. Which I am, of course. It happened with the lovely irregularity of a fire alarm with a soon-to-be-dead battery. You hear it, you think, Did I hear something? What was that? You listen for it for a while, you don’t hear it again. You start to fall asleep. You hear it again. The cycle continues.

I too am a light sleeper and would have the worst time trying to fall asleep hearing that. I never travel anywhere without my white noise maker.

Plus I was pestered the whole ride by these two women sitting next to me, who kept invading my personal space and leaning all over me so they could take pictures off my side, too. With their iPhones. Because you know those pictures are totally worth taking. Bumpy jeep, moving animals, iPhone cameras…I’m sure those shots will be in a gallery one day, after launching their brilliant photographic careers...

Just boop them on the nose the next time they lean over you. They'll stop invading your space bubble after that.

So maybe MIKUBWA WA HIFADHI PEKE YAKE means…

I dunno. Without a clue to the grammar involved, I’m overwhelmed with possibilities. Its making my head hurt. Any Swahili speakers reading my TR?

 

[hucifer]

I know how to say “My Mother in law is a potato” in Swedish. Does that count for anything?

Most impressive. But not really applicable for many instances, is it?

 

[manntra]

Love your safari commentaries!
EE is my second favorite too...of course TOT is the first!
In January I had a new crown put in and had a trip to Disney a few days later...the weather was quite cold...in the 60's and colder in the am. When I was on EE and going outside flying through the cold breeze my mouth must have been open and my tooth was killing me! The sad thing was the lines were so short but we only did two rides because I couldn't take it!
I won't tell you about October when we got stuck on the hill and had to walk down! It actually turned out to be quite a fun adventure and we got to walk inside the mountain!
Okay...time for a nap after my Swahili lesson

Tracy

 

[ahoff]

I won't tell you about October when we got stuck on the hill and had to walk down! It actually turned out to be quite a fun adventure and we got to walk inside the mountain!

Whenever I am on a ride and see walkways and stairs, I have a secret wish that the ride will break and we get to walk around all of the walkways and stairs........

 

[ClareH37]

Loving your late night snack! It's now on my 'must do' list lol

 

[norybell]

Maybe they’ll try baking a cake with film canister and a Zippo on the teacups.

I know how to say “My Mother in law is a potato” in Swedish. Does that count for anything?

That totally counts for something, especially if you're in Sweden. And your mother-in-law is a potato.

Now, it'd be more useful if you could say "Your mother-in-law is a potato." Then you'd have a more universal insult on your hands!

Have you ever noticed that most ostrich pictures are profiles? You captured one of the rare "head-on" shots.

No wonder it looks so surprised -- I caught it at it's most unflattering angle!

You could have found that out just by attempting to open the door and having the cast members with billy clubs jump on you.

Next time...I'll do my best to come home with authentic Disney bruises!

Ummm, I do know that "Ba" means father in Swahili.

Congratulations! You win the prize for knowing more Swahili than any of my other TR readers! I'm sorry to have to say, though, that there's no cash prize involved.

LOL! I guess he will check the possibilities of hiring a butler first

Oooooh, maybe I can expect a butler for Christmas? Can he order one from Amazon? That would so take care of all the dirty socks!

Nory, brilliantly funny post! I laughed throughout the whole thing.

Thanks!

Just boop them on the nose the next time they lean over you. They'll stop invading your space bubble after that.

If only I could emit some really gross-sounding cough on command, or something. I bet that'd do the trick.

I won't tell you about October when we got stuck on the hill and had to walk down! It actually turned out to be quite a fun adventure and we got to walk inside the mountain!
Okay...time for a nap after my Swahili lesson

Tracy

That totally sounds like fun to me!

Whenever I am on a ride and see walkways and stairs, I have a secret wish that the ride will break and we get to walk around all of the walkways and stairs........

Hi ahoff, welcome back!

Loving your late night snack! It's now on my 'must do' list lol

It was pretty darn yummy!

 

[hucifer]

Now, it'd be more useful if you could say "Your mother-in-law is a potato." Then you'd have a more universal insult on your hands!

Good point.

If only I could emit some really gross-sounding cough on command, or something. I bet that'd do the trick.

That would be highly more effective, for sure. Then you'd REALLY get your space bubble.

 

[clearskies]

Hi Nory. I am catching up a bit.

Your dog and cat translations were flat out hilarious. You had me laughing out loud.

Too bad Jiko did not meet expectations. I have been wanting to go there but I am rethinking a bit. I suffered from high expectation syndrome myself a little at some other places.

If you want to understand aperture more, one of the most highly recommended books is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I have it myself and it is a great book. You are correct in stating that it is probably more of an issue with your camera vs a SLR. The smaller the sensor size, the more difficult it is to get a shallow Depth of Field. It is too difficult to explain though and it think you need an advanced degree in Physics to truly understand it.

I have never been to the Boardwalk area and you are convincing me that I must get my butt over there next trip. Jellyrolls seems like a great place.

I laughed out loud at the iPhone safari comments as well as your picture captions.

This is still an extremely entertaining TR. Looking forward to more.

 

[norybell]

That would be highly more effective, for sure. Then you'd REALLY get your space bubble.

Who says swine flu paranoia can't have its upsides?

Hi Nory. I am catching up a bit.

Your dog and cat translations were flat out hilarious. You had me laughing out loud.

Hi, clearskies, glad to see you back, and glad you enjoyed the update!

Too bad Jiko did not meet expectations. I have been wanting to go there but I am rethinking a bit. I suffered from high expectation syndrome myself a little at some other places.

Oh, I hope I didn't turn you off Jiko! It was so good the last time I was there, and I've read other very positive recent reviews, and it was far from bad when I was there...I probably just had bad luck, and it was the one out of a hundred times they slightly overcook the meat. It happens everywhere, I figure.

If you want to understand aperture more, one of the most highly recommended books is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I have it myself and it is a great book. You are correct in stating that it is probably more of an issue with your camera vs a SLR. The smaller the sensor size, the more difficult it is to get a shallow Depth of Field.

Thanks for the book recommendation. I'm definitely going to check it out. After the holidays (which has become my tagline lately).

 

[nursegirl]

She was a low-talker?

Yes!! That is the phrase I was looking for! Not close-talker, low-talker.

And, norybell, I totally agree about EE - rode for the first time this last trip in October and it was scary and thrilling - and I'm one of those unfortunate folks who laugh nervously the entire ride. My DH said it was funny at first, then slightly disturbing. Anyway, a great ride and was the Yeti in motion when you went? Sometimes they say he is "resting" ie broken.