MickeyMonstersMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2002
- Messages
- 1,429
MMMs annual solo trip
Part Four: Nahtazu? But thats my favorite part!
Friday, 4/22/05
My alarm woke me at 6:30. Wanting to avoid long lines later, I dashed over to Everything Pop and picked up a breakfast platter and fruit to eat in my room as I got ready. That worked out great - when I came back through at about 8:15 the place was packed, including a team of cheerleaders from New Zealand - cool! I wandered the gift shop and headed out to the bus stop at about 8:30. As usual, the next bus arriving was going to AK. As we boarded another ECV user came along. Some of the passengers already on the bus started rolling their eyes and grumbling. A young family had taken up four seats for the three of them (dad, mom, and 2-3 year old) and their stroller with a seat of its own. The father glared at people and clamped down on the stroller as if to fasten it to the seat, even though some people had stood to allow the ECV seats to be folded up. The mother commented in a loud, waspish voice, that there goes ten minutes as the ECV ramps were being placed. My blood pressure rose, but I bit my tongue and refrained from suggesting they get over themselves (sheesh - ten minutes out of how many??) and maybe even take that stroller off the seat to allow someone else a chance to sit down. We arrived at AK right before opening without incident, thankfully.
With the day being Earth Day and the anniversary of the parks opening, I was worried about crowds. Id already decided to forego the rides in favor of simply checking out the paths and animals, spending my last day at WDW relaxing as much as possible. Instead of joining the throngs heading for the Safari, I got lost in the Oasis (literally) and tried to go wherever other people werent. I had a fantastic conversation with a Moluccan Cockatoo who caught my attention by wolf-whistling and then said hello as I came over to him. He also liked to say pretty bird and would swing from a branch, obviously showing off. Every time Id start to leave, hed look intently at me and say hello again as if he wanted me to stick around and keep giving him attention.
When I finally made my way to Africa, it was jam-packed and somewhat claustrophobic. The Pangani Forest Trail, something Id been looking forward to seeing since missing it in 2002, was a disappointment of noisy gridlock. Id love to try the trail again in the off-season and see if that makes a difference. I wasnt in the mood for Kilimanjaro Safari, but grabbed a Fastpass anyway just in case I changed my mind and boarded the train for Rafikis Planet Watch. I sat next to a couple on the train who were in their 60s, and both expressed surprise that there were other retired people at WDW - theyd thought they were very unusual in vacationing there at their age. I also witnessed a lot of sheep behavior, with people admitting they had no idea what Rafikis Planet Watch was but had simply seen a line and gotten in it. One father told his kids, I dont know what this is, but were all doing it. When the train reached the station several people grumbled about the lack of exciting attractions at the other end; one woman griped that she was sick of walking and if Disney could not put the attraction closer to the train she was NOT going to get off and walk to it. I have to admit that Conservation Station was a disappointment, but I suspect that if Id stayed longer my patience would have been rewarded as CMs had mentioned bringing an animal out for a kind of meet-and-greet. However, there were just so many people there that I didnt see much, and the petting zoo is nothing new to me, so I went back to Harambe with about 15 minutes before my Fastpass window began.
I walked over to Tusker House and bought one of the meal deal vouchers and traded in the beverage one for a bottle of Coke, then ambled back to KS to watch a harried CM try to stop people from entering the Fastpass area before their time. She had herded most of them into two groups, one which could enter in five minutes and the other which would be allowed to go in ten minutes. Since I belonged in the second group, which was quite large and replete with grumblers, I decided I didnt want to go on the Safari after all, and returned to the Fastpass kiosks to give mine away. Unburdened, off I went to Asia.
I came across Flights of Wonder just as the show was about to start, and dived in to grab a seat in the back. What an excellent show! The eagle owl was awesome, and the presentation of the bald eagle made me tear up again.
The humor was cute, and I considered seeing the show again if things worked out that way. I moved on to the Maharajah Jungle Trek, which was as great as Id remembered and much better than the Pangani Forest Trail. Again, this area was much quieter and less crowded, which probably had a lot to do with it. I also love South and Southeast Asian culture, so the theming of this path really appeals to me.
Ive always wanted to try Flame Tree Barbeque, so I headed over there to redeem another voucher. There is a huge amount of seating for this place! I thought Id found the far back corner but later realized there were even more tables and pavilions. I had a view of the river and the construction on the incredibly impressive-looking Expedition Everest. Thats going to be some attraction! The bottom half looks like an actual mountain, and there are defined peaks all the way up surrounded by scaffolding. I walked over to the construction barrier and joined the groups of people just gawking at the thing. Roll on, 2006!
:
Dinoland holds no appeal for me without DSs obsessive interest in dinosaurs, so I worked off lunch by randomly walking anywhere but there. I noticed two areas that seem to have been created as queues for a river boat ride - - ? One is visible across from Flights of Wonder, and the other can be seen from the bridge between the Oasis and Discovery Island. That day, one was being used as a greeting area for Eeyore and Tigger, but that definitely wasnt its primary or originally intended function. Does anyone know if these were part of a later abandoned idea or have been created for something in the future?
I redeemed my snack coupon for a Mickey bar on my way out, then decided to prolong my last moments at a WDW park by taking just one more walk and ended up back at FOW just as the last show was due to begin. This time I chose my seat so as to experience the eagle owls flyover - that was downright creepy! Because I was in the very last seat before the owls perch, it looked almost as if he were coming for me and (what a wuss) I ducked at the last moment. His eyes were so intent! I have already told the Monsters that the next time we visit AK, they have to go and sit there.
At this point it was almost time for the parade and I did not want to get held up in that or the exodus that would follow it, so I hightailed it out of the park and ran to catch the bus that was loading (*what* is it with me and the buses this trip?). As I mentally celebrated the excellent luck Ive had all vacation, it dawned on me that this is my last bus ride for said vacation, and I felt my inner child working up a hearty tantrum over having to go home.
Once back at Pop I sorrowfully trod through the gift shop and went to my room to sulk for a while, taking the scenic route through all the decades first. Soon thereafter my ex-husband called to say they were on their way over after having spent the day at Universal Studios. The Monsters arrived, wet and happy, and we checked out the pools briefly before getting ready for our 7:50 PS at Boma. Id called earlier in the week to try to change to an earlier time, but Boma was booked solid; even so, we decided to go a little after 6:30 in the chance that they could work us in - and even if they couldnt, we could explore the resort as my ex and his wife had never been there before. We checked in at the podium and the Monsters dragged us out to look at the pool and the animals. We had barely identified the different animals in sight before the pager buzzed, so we again took off to get back to the podium before the CM gave up on us. The food was wonderful, as before, though the dining room was much louder. We all stuffed ourselves silly trying different things - and daring the kids to try them as well - but yet also wanting to have more of our favorites. I think I ate an entire plate just of couscous!
The kids said goodbye to dad and stepmom and we returned to our room to realize that, since their clothes were going to be mailed back home, we had no pajamas or extra outfits for them to change into! Back out and off to the gift shop we went, dropping $40 on nightshirts (DS just got a large t-shirt, keeping the cost down). I packed while the kids read and watched Krissa and made plans for their next trip to WDW.
Afterword:
The next morning I got the kids up and moving as Id wanted to stop by the DIS meet at the food court, but then realized I needed to fill up the tank on the rental (Alamo got enough of my money - they were not going to get $6 a gallon to refill that tank!), so we left earlier than scheduled to have time to find a gas station, etc. Good thing we did, as I got lost and turned around at least twice. By the time Id gotten the dratted gas and found my way out of there, we were almost half an hour behind schedule! I stressed all the way to MCO, but dropping off the car was a breeze and we reported on time for our flight. Security was a pain in the neck - I have never felt so much like cattle in my life. I missed Sanford all over again.
We landed late in DTW due to poor weather there and made our connection at a dead run, arriving with less than 5 minutes before the gate was to close. In Binghamton the parking lot attendant frowned at my meter ticket, asking if I had had trouble getting a space in the long term lot. I explained the sign I saw on arrival last week and he knocked $10 off my parking fees - cool! BGM is really a great little airport. 
Now were home, and as so many do when faced with the real world, already planning our next family trip to WDW. It makes it a little easier to get up in the morning and go off to (urgh) work knowing that well be back... maybe I need to get that license plate frame after all.
Part Four: Nahtazu? But thats my favorite part!
Friday, 4/22/05
My alarm woke me at 6:30. Wanting to avoid long lines later, I dashed over to Everything Pop and picked up a breakfast platter and fruit to eat in my room as I got ready. That worked out great - when I came back through at about 8:15 the place was packed, including a team of cheerleaders from New Zealand - cool! I wandered the gift shop and headed out to the bus stop at about 8:30. As usual, the next bus arriving was going to AK. As we boarded another ECV user came along. Some of the passengers already on the bus started rolling their eyes and grumbling. A young family had taken up four seats for the three of them (dad, mom, and 2-3 year old) and their stroller with a seat of its own. The father glared at people and clamped down on the stroller as if to fasten it to the seat, even though some people had stood to allow the ECV seats to be folded up. The mother commented in a loud, waspish voice, that there goes ten minutes as the ECV ramps were being placed. My blood pressure rose, but I bit my tongue and refrained from suggesting they get over themselves (sheesh - ten minutes out of how many??) and maybe even take that stroller off the seat to allow someone else a chance to sit down. We arrived at AK right before opening without incident, thankfully.
With the day being Earth Day and the anniversary of the parks opening, I was worried about crowds. Id already decided to forego the rides in favor of simply checking out the paths and animals, spending my last day at WDW relaxing as much as possible. Instead of joining the throngs heading for the Safari, I got lost in the Oasis (literally) and tried to go wherever other people werent. I had a fantastic conversation with a Moluccan Cockatoo who caught my attention by wolf-whistling and then said hello as I came over to him. He also liked to say pretty bird and would swing from a branch, obviously showing off. Every time Id start to leave, hed look intently at me and say hello again as if he wanted me to stick around and keep giving him attention.
When I finally made my way to Africa, it was jam-packed and somewhat claustrophobic. The Pangani Forest Trail, something Id been looking forward to seeing since missing it in 2002, was a disappointment of noisy gridlock. Id love to try the trail again in the off-season and see if that makes a difference. I wasnt in the mood for Kilimanjaro Safari, but grabbed a Fastpass anyway just in case I changed my mind and boarded the train for Rafikis Planet Watch. I sat next to a couple on the train who were in their 60s, and both expressed surprise that there were other retired people at WDW - theyd thought they were very unusual in vacationing there at their age. I also witnessed a lot of sheep behavior, with people admitting they had no idea what Rafikis Planet Watch was but had simply seen a line and gotten in it. One father told his kids, I dont know what this is, but were all doing it. When the train reached the station several people grumbled about the lack of exciting attractions at the other end; one woman griped that she was sick of walking and if Disney could not put the attraction closer to the train she was NOT going to get off and walk to it. I have to admit that Conservation Station was a disappointment, but I suspect that if Id stayed longer my patience would have been rewarded as CMs had mentioned bringing an animal out for a kind of meet-and-greet. However, there were just so many people there that I didnt see much, and the petting zoo is nothing new to me, so I went back to Harambe with about 15 minutes before my Fastpass window began.
I walked over to Tusker House and bought one of the meal deal vouchers and traded in the beverage one for a bottle of Coke, then ambled back to KS to watch a harried CM try to stop people from entering the Fastpass area before their time. She had herded most of them into two groups, one which could enter in five minutes and the other which would be allowed to go in ten minutes. Since I belonged in the second group, which was quite large and replete with grumblers, I decided I didnt want to go on the Safari after all, and returned to the Fastpass kiosks to give mine away. Unburdened, off I went to Asia.
I came across Flights of Wonder just as the show was about to start, and dived in to grab a seat in the back. What an excellent show! The eagle owl was awesome, and the presentation of the bald eagle made me tear up again.
The humor was cute, and I considered seeing the show again if things worked out that way. I moved on to the Maharajah Jungle Trek, which was as great as Id remembered and much better than the Pangani Forest Trail. Again, this area was much quieter and less crowded, which probably had a lot to do with it. I also love South and Southeast Asian culture, so the theming of this path really appeals to me. Ive always wanted to try Flame Tree Barbeque, so I headed over there to redeem another voucher. There is a huge amount of seating for this place! I thought Id found the far back corner but later realized there were even more tables and pavilions. I had a view of the river and the construction on the incredibly impressive-looking Expedition Everest. Thats going to be some attraction! The bottom half looks like an actual mountain, and there are defined peaks all the way up surrounded by scaffolding. I walked over to the construction barrier and joined the groups of people just gawking at the thing. Roll on, 2006!
: Dinoland holds no appeal for me without DSs obsessive interest in dinosaurs, so I worked off lunch by randomly walking anywhere but there. I noticed two areas that seem to have been created as queues for a river boat ride - - ? One is visible across from Flights of Wonder, and the other can be seen from the bridge between the Oasis and Discovery Island. That day, one was being used as a greeting area for Eeyore and Tigger, but that definitely wasnt its primary or originally intended function. Does anyone know if these were part of a later abandoned idea or have been created for something in the future?
I redeemed my snack coupon for a Mickey bar on my way out, then decided to prolong my last moments at a WDW park by taking just one more walk and ended up back at FOW just as the last show was due to begin. This time I chose my seat so as to experience the eagle owls flyover - that was downright creepy! Because I was in the very last seat before the owls perch, it looked almost as if he were coming for me and (what a wuss) I ducked at the last moment. His eyes were so intent! I have already told the Monsters that the next time we visit AK, they have to go and sit there.
At this point it was almost time for the parade and I did not want to get held up in that or the exodus that would follow it, so I hightailed it out of the park and ran to catch the bus that was loading (*what* is it with me and the buses this trip?). As I mentally celebrated the excellent luck Ive had all vacation, it dawned on me that this is my last bus ride for said vacation, and I felt my inner child working up a hearty tantrum over having to go home.
Once back at Pop I sorrowfully trod through the gift shop and went to my room to sulk for a while, taking the scenic route through all the decades first. Soon thereafter my ex-husband called to say they were on their way over after having spent the day at Universal Studios. The Monsters arrived, wet and happy, and we checked out the pools briefly before getting ready for our 7:50 PS at Boma. Id called earlier in the week to try to change to an earlier time, but Boma was booked solid; even so, we decided to go a little after 6:30 in the chance that they could work us in - and even if they couldnt, we could explore the resort as my ex and his wife had never been there before. We checked in at the podium and the Monsters dragged us out to look at the pool and the animals. We had barely identified the different animals in sight before the pager buzzed, so we again took off to get back to the podium before the CM gave up on us. The food was wonderful, as before, though the dining room was much louder. We all stuffed ourselves silly trying different things - and daring the kids to try them as well - but yet also wanting to have more of our favorites. I think I ate an entire plate just of couscous!
The kids said goodbye to dad and stepmom and we returned to our room to realize that, since their clothes were going to be mailed back home, we had no pajamas or extra outfits for them to change into! Back out and off to the gift shop we went, dropping $40 on nightshirts (DS just got a large t-shirt, keeping the cost down). I packed while the kids read and watched Krissa and made plans for their next trip to WDW.
Afterword:
The next morning I got the kids up and moving as Id wanted to stop by the DIS meet at the food court, but then realized I needed to fill up the tank on the rental (Alamo got enough of my money - they were not going to get $6 a gallon to refill that tank!), so we left earlier than scheduled to have time to find a gas station, etc. Good thing we did, as I got lost and turned around at least twice. By the time Id gotten the dratted gas and found my way out of there, we were almost half an hour behind schedule! I stressed all the way to MCO, but dropping off the car was a breeze and we reported on time for our flight. Security was a pain in the neck - I have never felt so much like cattle in my life. I missed Sanford all over again.
We landed late in DTW due to poor weather there and made our connection at a dead run, arriving with less than 5 minutes before the gate was to close. In Binghamton the parking lot attendant frowned at my meter ticket, asking if I had had trouble getting a space in the long term lot. I explained the sign I saw on arrival last week and he knocked $10 off my parking fees - cool! BGM is really a great little airport. Now were home, and as so many do when faced with the real world, already planning our next family trip to WDW. It makes it a little easier to get up in the morning and go off to (urgh) work knowing that well be back... maybe I need to get that license plate frame after all.
