Ridin' those rides and Trekking thru Africa, a Solo TR! FINAL UPDATE 10/28

[mickeystoontown]

You are a braver woman than I am! You took some great pictures while on Expedition Everest! I'm usually hanging on too tight to take decent pictures.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

You are a braver woman than I am! You took some great pictures while on Expedition Everest! I'm usually hanging on too tight to take decent pictures.

I love EE! I'll admit, I'm not really afraid of any rides, especially at WDW. And EE has some unique views that I wanted to take pics of. :

 

[KatMark]

I am so loving your AK updates.....your pictures are fabulous. I love AK and we just didn't have enough time scheduled for that park this year.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I am so loving your AK updates.....your pictures are fabulous. I love AK and we just didn't have enough time scheduled for that park this year.

Thanks! I love all the parks, but as an animal lover AK holds a special place in my heart. Sorry you didn't make it this time!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I hope everyone is doing well! I'm still trying to patiently wait to find out if I'm going to WDW or not. I promised Steve I'd let him just think about it and not ask him about it anymore, since I think I may have bothered him a bit with my enthusiasm and desire for an answer In return he promised an answer by the end of this week.

In the meantime half my family is planning their upcoming WDW vacations! In October my aunt, 2 of her daughters, their husbands, and 6 of her grandkids are all going for a week for their first ever WDW vacation! It is the first trip for all of them My cousin Cindy has planned the whole thing, starting last October, and she didn't need much help as she found the Dis and some other helpful websites and did a great job planning. They got free dining, which made them all so happy. She, her husband and their 2 kids (their DD7 and DS6), along with my aunt and the 2 grandkids (her DGD16 and DGS12) that she is raising (their mother is her oldest, and she is not fit to raise them at all!) are staying at ASMu while my other cousin, her husband and their 2 kids (Their DD15 and DS12) are staying at ASSp. I did talk to her about the trip for a bit this past Saturday at her son's 6th birthday party and gave her a few pointers and ideas for them to do outside the attractions. But they have less than 4 weeks until their trip, so they were all very excited, talking about it most of the party!

Then, my parents are going the week of Thanksgiving. They are more WDW veterns, as this is their 6th trip (I think 6th), and their 2nd trip during Thanksgiving week. But it will be their first time staying onsite at a resort besides Ft. Wilderness in their RV. They are staying at POP Century, and I've been giving them a ton of advice about POP since I've stayed there a couple of times. They are huge Disney fans and I know they will have fun, especially since they know what the crowds will be like and are prepared for it. They are especially excited to see the new parts of FLE already opened and hope the soft opening is happening while there (it's supposed to be!).


Hope you all have a great week! I'll be back soon with another TR update, and hopefully good news about a future trip!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

So, bad news (with a twist) and good news.

Bad news first. Steve and I spoke for 3 hours last night, and we won't be going to WDW, or anywhere, for a vacation. But the twist is the reason why he can't. He has been working with a state program to get a business loan, and will finally be getting one! It should be finalized within a month and then he will be so busy he just won't be able to take 5 days off. He will probably be working 6 days a week for the first 6ish months to get everything started and expanding. So, while I'm sad we won't get to go, I'm very happy for him that he is finally getting the loan he needs to expand his business and make it what he wants and needs it to be.


And, for the good news. I'm going to WDW anyway! I thought about it, and I just really want to go. I went back and forth about going on another solo trip, but my desire to be back at WDW won out and so I emailed a Small World TA this morning (the Free Dining for less than 6 nights can only be done through a TA). I'm going to stay at POP again this time since it's a short trip (5 nights) and just me. And it saves me a few hundred dollars too, which makes me happy! I'll be checking in on Thursday, November 29th and checking out Friday, December 4th.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do a separate PTR, or just put the details in here. I am going to step up the pace on this TR so I get it done before I leave for the next trip! I will be back later today with another update for this TR!

I love having a countdown ticker again!!!!

 

[KatMark]

I'm sorry Steve can't go, but happy things are turning around for him with work. Looks like we miss you by about a week.

You ate becoming a pro at these solo trips.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I'm sorry Steve can't go, but happy things are turning around for him with work. Looks like we miss you by about a week.

You are becoming a pro at these solo trips.

I'm bummed we will miss each other too! Unfortunately I can't take off that following week, as one of my sitters is already off and we are too small to have 2 people off at once. But if you have anything you want me to check on while I'm there to let you know before you leave, just PM or ask me here beforehand and I will get it for you!

I'm sad that Steve can't go, I was really looking forward to going with him. But I am really happy he is finally catching a break on a loan and can grow his business. And I do know I can have a great time going solo, as I have in the past. It will be a shorter trip than the last 2, but it will still be nice.

 

[Pluto0809]

Just found your TR and I'm looking forward to reading about your Wild Africa Trek. My Mom and I will be doing the Trek on November 27th! We are both huge animal lovers (we went to New York City one year in December and went to the Central Park Zoo in the freezing cold if that tells you anything) so I got her the Trek for her birthday. I am so excited and so is she!

It looks like our trips are going to overlap by a few days. We will be there November 25th through December 1st.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Just found your TR and I'm looking forward to reading about your Wild Africa Trek. My Mom and I will be doing the Trek on November 27th! We are both huge animal lovers (we went to New York City one year in December and went to the Central Park Zoo in the freezing cold if that tells you anything) so I got her the Trek for her birthday. I am so excited and so is she!

It looks like our trips are going to overlap by a few days. We will be there November 25th through December 1st.

Welcome!! I'm so glad you found my TR. And I'm sure you and your mother will LOVE Wild Africa Trek, it is amazing. If I could afford it I would do it again during my upcoming trip in a heartbeat. I'm on the 14th right now on my TR, and I did WAT on the 16th, so I'll be on that soon. I'll be posting a bunch of info and tons of pictures from it, both that I took and that they did. What time is your tour?

We will overlap a couple of days. Maybe if our plans overlap we can meet up and you can tell me how your WAT went!

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a bummer that Steve can't go on the trip but at least he had a really really good reason for not going. At least you are getting to go though! That's pretty darn exciting!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

What a bummer that Steve can't go on the trip but at least he had a really really good reason for not going. At least you are getting to go though! That's pretty darn exciting!

Yeah, if he wasn't going to go I at least wanted him to have a good excuse not to!

I'm very excited that I'm going though!

 

[Pluto0809]

Welcome!! I'm so glad you found my TR. And I'm sure you and your mother will LOVE Wild Africa Trek, it is amazing. If I could afford it I would do it again during my upcoming trip in a heartbeat. I'm on the 14th right now on my TR, and I did WAT on the 16th, so I'll be on that soon. I'll be posting a bunch of info and tons of pictures from it, both that I took and that they did. What time is your tour?

We will overlap a couple of days. Maybe if our plans overlap we can meet up and you can tell me how your WAT went!

Our Trek is at 8 am. I wanted the earliest time so we wouldn't miss a whole lot of park time. AK doesn't open till 9 am that morning so we will be an hour into the tour before they let everyone else in.

I would love to meet up if we get a chance. I just won't mention it to my Mom. She gets a little weird about that kind of stuff so maybe we can "accidentally" run into each other.

We are staying at CBR by the way. Wasn't that where you said you were staying? I am hoping to do a PTR, I've started writing it and would like to have it finished before I start posting. Just need to figure out how to post pictures.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Our Trek is at 8 am. I wanted the earliest time so we wouldn't miss a whole lot of park time. AK doesn't open till 9 am that morning so we will be an hour into the tour before they let everyone else in.

I would love to meet up if we get a chance. I just won't mention it to my Mom. She gets a little weird about that kind of stuff so maybe we can "accidentally" run into each other.

We are staying at CBR by the way. Wasn't that where you said you were staying? I am hoping to do a PTR, I've started writing it and would like to have it finished before I start posting. Just need to figure out how to post pictures.

I did the 8am WAT too. It was chilly in the morning, but nice. Piece of advice: pay attention to what the weather is supposed to be like, temperature wise at least. Once you get the harness on, you can't take it off again until you are done that part, which take about 90 minutes I think. So if you have on a jacket and start to get too hot, you'll have to deal with it. Once you get done the parts with the harness though and get in the safari vehicle you can take it off if it warms up. Guess what I'm trying to say is don't dress too warmly and regret it later. It shouldn't get that warm though by 9:30am, so you should be okay.

Once I figure out what days I'm doing what I'll post it, and if we are in the same place at the same time we can "bump into each other".

I was going to stay at CBR if I was going with my friend, but since it's just me I'm staying at POP Century.

For posting photos, check out this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1947588 It is a video tutorial on how to post photos on a thread!

 

[Pluto0809]

I did the 8am WAT too. It was chilly in the morning, but nice. Piece of advice: pay attention to what the weather is supposed to be like, temperature wise at least. Once you get the harness on, you can't take it off again until you are done that part, which take about 90 minutes I think. So if you have on a jacket and start to get too hot, you'll have to deal with it. Once you get done the parts with the harness though and get in the safari vehicle you can take it off if it warms up. Guess what I'm trying to say is don't dress too warmly and regret it later. It shouldn't get that warm though by 9:30am, so you should be okay.

Once I figure out what days I'm doing what I'll post it, and if we are in the same place at the same time we can "bump into each other".

I was going to stay at CBR if I was going with my friend, but since it's just me I'm staying at POP Century.

For posting photos, check out this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1947588 It is a video tutorial on how to post photos on a thread!

Thanks, that's great advice for the WAT. I hadn't thought about that before. It probably will be chilly in the morning.

I love Pop Century too! My Mom and I stayed there in 2010 but she wanted to try a moderate this time. This trip started as a solo and I was originally booked at ASMu so I could try somewhere new.

Thanks for the link, I've bookmarked it so when I get closer to posting I can pull it up and watch.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Thanks, that's great advice for the WAT. I hadn't thought about that before. It probably will be chilly in the morning.

I love Pop Century too! My Mom and I stayed there in 2010 but she wanted to try a moderate this time. This trip started as a solo and I was originally booked at ASMu so I could try somewhere new.

Thanks for the link, I've bookmarked it so when I get closer to posting I can pull it up and watch.

You're welcome!

I really do love POP. It's a fun resort that is small enough to be able to explore, but big enough to have lots to see. I thought about booking somewhere new this time, but since it's a shorter trip I wouldn't have much time to explore somewhere new.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 4, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14TH, PART 12


As some of you may have guessed, I was walking around the Tree of Life because I was in line for:

I had skipped it the last time I visited, but had seen it in 2008. It was better than I remembered it to be, and I will be doing it again if I have time on my upcoming trip. You can't take pictures in the theater, but I did get one in of the screen while people were still coming in. I was actually in the front row, which was nice.

As I left the theater I got some more pictures of the Tree of Life.

After that I made it back over to the trail between Asia and Africa, to try to see if Devine was out (no again!). I got a photopass photographer to get a picture of me and the ToL along the path, and a couple more pics of the ToL from a distance myself.

I wound up checking out the animals on the Discovery Island trails next. At least, I think these are the DI ones, and not the Oasis ones. I did both but don't have my notes in front of me now. I'm pretty sure I did the Oasis ones on my way out though, so these should be the ones on DI. I actually got more pics of ducks than anything else, but there were babies so it makes up for it!

One more shot of the ToL and then I headed to get a snack. I must have settled on one scoop of Cookies N Cream ice cream since that is what I have in my hand!

I headed back to Harambe next. Anyone guess what I did?

If you guessed ride KS again using the FP I got earlier, you'd be right! But first, I got another FP to use later on. Then I got in the FP line for my 3rd ride of the day.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST


​

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 4, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14TH, PART 13


I was quickly on another safari vehicle. Only one unique sticker in this one:

I had another good driver. I don't remember his name right now (I'll post it later when I look in my notes, if I remember). I was sitting further back so I didn't get to interact directly with him, but he was funny and answered lots of questions. I'll just post the pics of all the animals I saw on this trip.

Kathy, the next pictures will be to your liking, and Marks!

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST


​

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 4, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14TH, PART 14


More animal pictures:

After I got off I realized the FP I had gotten before getting on was already able to be used, so I got right back in the FP line. It was a little longer this time, but I still only waited about 10 minutes to get on. I took some pictures while in line.

I was soon on another safari vehicle, with more stickers!

And more animal pictures!

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST


​

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 4, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14TH, PART 14


And more animal pictures.

NEXT TIME: WHY AREN'T WE MOVING?



​