The Great and Powerful Oz took a 2nd Solo Trip!- Updated 01.08.09

[scottny]

great report and pics.

I followed you over from Glenda's.

I did a solo trip for the first time in early October. Eating at a restaurant the first time(T-Rex cafe for me) was strange.

Looking forward to more

 

[Candice30]

Honnnnneeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...I'm hommmmeeeeeee!

Great report so far!!!!

great report and pics.

I followed you over from Glenda's.

I did a solo trip for the first time in early October. Eating at a restaurant the first time(T-Rex cafe for me) was strange.

Looking forward to more

thanks guys for reading

 

[Glendamax]

My favorite part was definitely the grave diggers….they were too cool and I loved the sparks when their shovels hit the ground!

Yes! This was my favorite part too. They were a HUGE reason why I watched the parade a second time! Here's a video clip from the Haunted Mansion part of the parade:

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Looks like you hit the jackpot with Trick or Treating. I didnt do ANY the night I went! I was so excited about the other stuff, that I forgot about the candy! HA!

I think I will skip going to the parade this year, and insted try for the Christmas parade. At work, I put in for the week before Christmas - that was the only week available in Dec. I'll know next week if I got it! If I do, I'll let you know so maybe you can go then too!

-Gmax

 

[Candice30]

Yes! This was my favorite part too. They were a HUGE reason why I watched the parade a second time! Here's a video clip from the Haunted Mansion part of the parade:

​

Looks like you hit the jackpot with Trick or Treating. I didnt do ANY the night I went! I was so excited about the other stuff, that I forgot about the candy! HA!

I think I will skip going to the parade this year, and insted try for the Christmas parade. At work, I put in for the week before Christmas - that was the only week available in Dec. I'll know next week if I got it! If I do, I'll let you know so maybe you can go then too!

-Gmax

thanks for the video clip. i now have that song in my head....beats the "it's a small world theme!" as that has been in my head since antss' text earlier i really did have alot of fun trick or treating in the park. i actually just finished that candy up too.

i'm working on an update....hopefully i will get to post soon!

 

[Candice30]

Day 3 – 10/29/2008 Animal Kingdom, the lodge, magic kingdom, and epcot. All in one day!

I had breakfast in the room again before heading to the food court for coffee. I wanted to make rope drop at AKG. I couldn’t believe it but I finally made it and was up against the rope. The opening show was cute. Of course as soon as it started, I realized that I hadn’t changed my batteries from the night before at the party. So no pics. SHOOOTTTT! When we were let in, we all headed toward expedition. I was too busy watching the person in front of me that I forgot to take the other road the kids and I discovered last trip. Oh well, I still made it to the ride and was able to grab a fastpass before jumping on.

For me, this ride is definitely better in the freezing chill of the morning. It was so cold up there and the wind went straight thru to your bones. It was great! After riding twice, I stopped in at the gift shop to buy batteries. OUCH…$15 for 4 AA batteries! I made a contribution to the conservation fund also and stopped to grab a couple pics before heading off.

I had this “dream fastpass” feeling and felt like it would be at the safari ride right about now. It was about 45 minutes after opening and I decided to go for it. On the way over I stopped at the restroom and then ran to the safari ride. The car in front of me had just filled and I got on the second vehicle. The ride was okay but just not all that much fun as I didn’t have the greatest driver. He was driving way too fast and I couldn’t get many photos on my side of the vehicle. Most of the animals were hiding too.

When we approached the area to get off, we were held up by the vehicle in front of us. Finally we were waved past and let off at the next dock. I looked over and saw a crowd! When we got off and I headed out the exit, I passed the area where the first car had unloaded and guess what….YEP YOU GUESSED IT…DREAM FASTPASSES FOR ALL OF THEM! I was so sad and not speaking to my bladder at this point for making me stop. RATS…FOILED AGAIN! I was so totally bummed and decided to call home to mom for some comforting. She says I should have just held it!

I ran down my plans with the family and headed off to Pagani trail. I didn’t get a chance to see any of this stuff with the kids in July so I wanted to make certain to get it in. Most of the animals were not cooperating today though. i apoligize if these photos are out of order, just can't remember what was where.

Upon exiting, I headed back over to expedition for my fastpass ride….yep, my 3rd ride! I had been out since really early and it was starting to catch up with me so I decided to slow down a bit as I had a lot to get in today. I headed over to It’s tough to be a bug.

I think you have to take a pic of yourself in these things; notice the women behind me staring at me.

After it’s tough to be a bug, I made my way over to the lion king. I was so upset that I didn’t get to share this with the kids as I know they would have loved it but in July, AKG was so unbearable with the heat that we kept missing it and left the park. I was let in and had a great seat. I was seated next to a little boy with his parents and it was a lot of fun seeing the show through his eyes. He was so excited and kept engaging me…I guess he didn’t remember that his mom was seated on the other side! My camera again was not cooperating but about half way thru the show I was able to get a few good shots.

 

[Candice30]

On my way over to the jungle trek, I ran into lady divine.

Just like the pagani trail, the animals really weren’t cooperating all that much.

I was ready to head out but my tummy was rumbling. I stopped at Yak & Yeti as I had never been there before to grab a snack. I stood in line so long but knew I wouldn’t make it to the bus stop without something. I just grabbed some egg rolls ($3.50). They were just okay; a little mushy. Not really worth the wait but it was just a snack. I headed out to the bus stop. I really wanted a sweet treat but not sure what I wanted. Zebra domes jumped into my brain but I started to rationalize heading to AKL to get them. But hey………….this is a solo trip…I can do what I want so off to the AKL bus stop I went.
I really had to fight my way onto the bus to get a seat. See how crowded it was!

Actually I was the only passenger. Ray was my driver and I had a nice time chatting with him. He couldn’t believe that I was leaving the park so early but I had told him about all I had done that morning and he agreed that a rest at the lodge was in store. In my head I was thinking how nice if I was really returning home to the lodge for a rest. Oh how I have missed AKL. It really is my favorite resort. The lobby was empty and so peaceful. Just a few kids on the floor coloring. I headed down to the food court and grabbed some zebra domes ($4) and a drink.

ohh…ahh…..they were really good. I had to sneak these photos in between passer byers.

Once again, this is where being solo comes in handy. My family would have said, “let’s explore the resort since we came all the way over here.” But hey, this is my trip and I had an agenda. I stopped in the zawadi marketplace to find a box to match a jewelry box I had bought years ago. YEAH…they had it.

I also chatted it up with the CM working the register. Turned out she was originally from my hometown. I headed back out to the bus stop and caught a bus to downtown Disney. It was still only early afternoon and the crowds were light except in the world of Disney store. I was actually on a hunt for a Christmas ornament but they didn’t have one in gold which is what I wanted. I spotted a castle one but it was so expensive and all I could picture was someone knocking it off the tree and it shattering into thousands of pieces. I decided to leave it on the shelf. After doing some shopping it was time to have a more substantial meal. I went to earl of sandwich for “the original” $6 and decided to take it back to POP.

It took awhile for the bus back to POP to come and by the time I got there all I could do was eat and take a nap. I woke up about 5 pm and still planned on making it to MKG and EMH at Epcot. This was after all my last night at the world.

Next Up: I'll finish up this day with MKG and another trip to F&W at EPCOT.

 

[scottny]

just catching up and all caught up.

looks like you had a full day in one morning at AK.

great pics.

 

[MovienutNiffer]

Great update!

Just wanted to share with you my little Expedition Everest story. I was excited to go on it sinc I love BTMR and my sister said EE was like that but a little bit faster. So I thought I knew what I was in for. Little did I know! It scared the CRAP out of me! I was braced in that seat with my backpack so hard my hands hurt the rest of the day! I was just sitting there whimpering "Nononono" the whole time. Yeah I was a baby about it! The worst though I didn't know about until after we got off the ride. When we got back I was all shaky, a little nauseous and it was a little hard to walk. Well I went and sat down outside the store while my sister shopped. When she came out she goes "Now I didn't want to tell you this until now because if I said anything I knew what was going to happen but when we pulled up to the platform you were green." Well thank god she didn't tell me that because I bet you can figure out what would've happened. Things would have gotten real messy.

So I am glad I did it once but I vow I will never ever ride that again!

 

[Candice30]

just catching up and all caught up.

looks like you had a full day in one morning at AK.

great pics.

it was a full morning....i almost didn't make it back out the room that evening but i pressed on...i'll post the update soon.

Great update!

Just wanted to share with you my little Expedition Everest story. I was excited to go on it sinc I love BTMR and my sister said EE was like that but a little bit faster. So I thought I knew what I was in for. Little did I know! It scared the CRAP out of me! I was braced in that seat with my backpack so hard my hands hurt the rest of the day! I was just sitting there whimpering "Nononono" the whole time. Yeah I was a baby about it! The worst though I didn't know about until after we got off the ride. When we got back I was all shaky, a little nauseous and it was a little hard to walk. Well I went and sat down outside the store while my sister shopped. When she came out she goes "Now I didn't want to tell you this until now because if I said anything I knew what was going to happen but when we pulled up to the platform you were green." Well thank god she didn't tell me that because I bet you can figure out what would've happened. Things would have gotten real messy.

So I am glad I did it once but I vow I will never ever ride that again!

what a shame the ride had that effect on you. i am a thrill seeker though so i can't get enough of it.

 

[Candice30]

Day 3 continued

I woke up around 5pm and was still tired but I really wanted to make it to MKG for spectromagic and EPCOT for EMH. I cleaned up and pushed myself out of the room by 5:30pm and headed to MKG. I stopped to make certain to get some day shots of the Halloween decorations.

I headed to grab a fastpass for BTMR first. I decided to not do what I usually do which is wait till the last minute to grab a space for spectromagic. I had finally figured the camera out and was determined to get some good shots. I found a great space in front of the shooting gallery in frontierland. It was a long wait till the parade and people kept trying to sit in front of me even though I was almost up against the rope. I hate when people do that! I decided not to start anything and cast members came around and told them to move back anyway and since moving back meant my lap, they had to move. HA! Finally the parade started and I grabbed some great shots.

The end of the parade and my fastpass time where approaching. I decided to make my way to the end of the parade route when I saw the final floats coming down. I wanted to get to BTMR as soon as the parade was over. Unfortunately I didn’t make it very far and stopped to just catch photos of the end of the parade.

I ran to BTMR and was able to avoid most of the crowds. I was on pretty quickly and the ride was just what I remembered at night. So much better at night. It was so exhilarating and I decided to squeeze in another ride as the standby-by line was low. For some reason the crowds didn’t head here after the parade. As I was leaving the ride, I figured it out …..….UH…DUMMY….WISHES IS ABOUT TO START!! Okay, so I had to hall a** to the castle. I don’t remember ever running this fast through the park before. Wishes is one of my favorites and I couldn’t miss it my last night there. When the announcement came on that it was about to start, I ran even faster…………….think roadrunner! I grabbed my favorite spot on the bridge and the fireworks started soon after. I cried of course as usual; luckily just a few tears as there were a lot of people around.

I was getting pretty tired and knew that the booths at F&W at Epcot were closing so I wasn’t sure I would even try to head over. I decided for a split second to just call it a night. I headed out of MKG and the mass of people steered me away from the POP bus. I turned around and tried to get on the monorail but the line was all the way down the ramp. YUCK! People were starting to push at this point and I was getting frustrated. I headed for the ferry instead to TTC and would try to catch the monorail to Epcot after all. I had just missed a boat but was sure to get on the next one. When the next boat arrived, people starting inching forward without any regard for their children getting trampled. Many parents were putting their children purposely in harms way to occupy any open space closer to the front and then all 20 of the other relatives would attach themselves so they could all go on 1st. It was ridiculous!

The monorail at TTC for Epcot was pretty empty so it wasn’t hard to get on. I was trying to shake off the rude people in the ferry line and headed through to have my bag checked to get into Epcot. I just about had my Disney spirit back when I got stopped again to have my bag searched again at another desk. They had it setup all wrong and rather than admit that they did something wrong, everyone had their bag searched a second time. Very undisney like response too but I was fighting hard to stay happy.

Since world showcase was closing up, I headed to soarin first. The line wasn’t too bad and I was on in about 15-20 minutes. I asked for the 1st row in the center and I had to wait for the next departure. I felt stupid waiting there and the other attendants kept urging me to move as the attendant who told me to stay where I was, was inside the ride. I informed them of this and kept my feet planted. She came back out and let me choose my seat..YEAH! The ride was good at putting me back into the spirit. Just wish all of the smells were working. There were people next to me who had never been on the ride before and had waited all day for the ride. I felt bad for them as people had told them to expect the smells. I headed to test track to see how the single rider line was doing. It was very minimal and I rode a few times without any wait. I would have kept riding all night but it was freezing out and that cold wind in my face was not good. 2 of the times I rode I was placed with really fun families and we had a ball. After this, I was beat and needed to head back to POP to pack. I was starving and decided to wait and eat at the food court again. I grabbed…what else…parmesan chicken with pasta and a slice of chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was really good! I just spent the rest of the night packing.

Up Next: My last day at the World! I finally make it back to F&W again.

 

[MadiMouse]

Great update! I hate rude and pushy people, too. I swear I have to hold my tongue but sometimes I don't and I let it ROOOLLLLLLL! LOL.

I hate that this report will be ending very soon!

 

[Glendamax]

HEY! I'm all caught up!

-So Sorry the batteries were so expensive! How in the world can they do that?

- It's hard to imagine AK COLD! That is the HOTTEST park on the planet! If I go back next December, I hope it's not FREEZING!

- I was surprised that you were able to stick to your plans and do EPCOT and MK that evening! My feet and legs would've said "NO"!

- Sorry about the rude people at Spectro! I'm glad the CMs made them move!

- Great pics at Spectro! I need to practice so I'll be able to get better results!

-Isnt Thunder Mountain the best at night?! I LOVE it! I can't wait to go back and do it again!

- Bummer that the smells werent working on Soarin. I hope that family got a 2nd chance to ride!

-Glad you are enjoying yourself so far in the trip. But I gotta admit that I wish I was there with you! HA!

Looking forward to more!

 

[MovienutNiffer]

I'm glad you had fun! 3 parks in one day- you are my hero!!!

 

[Glendamax]

I'm glad you had fun! 3 parks in one day- you are my hero!!!

HA! Mine too!

 

[Candice30]

Great update! I hate rude and pushy people, too. I swear I have to hold my tongue but sometimes I don't and I let it ROOOLLLLLLL! LOL.

I hate that this report will be ending very soon!

HEY! I'm all caught up!

-So Sorry the batteries were so expensive! How in the world can they do that?

- It's hard to imagine AK COLD! That is the HOTTEST park on the planet! If I go back next December, I hope it's not FREEZING!

- I was surprised that you were able to stick to your plans and do EPCOT and MK that evening! My feet and legs would've said "NO"!

- Sorry about the rude people at Spectro! I'm glad the CMs made them move!

- Great pics at Spectro! I need to practice so I'll be able to get better results!

-Isnt Thunder Mountain the best at night?! I LOVE it! I can't wait to go back and do it again!

- Bummer that the smells werent working on Soarin. I hope that family got a 2nd chance to ride!

-Glad you are enjoying yourself so far in the trip. But I gotta admit that I wish I was there with you! HA!

Looking forward to more!

I'm glad you had fun! 3 parks in one day- you are my hero!!!

luckily i shook off the rude people and was able to enjoy the night. my feet really didn't want me to do 3 parks that day and epcot i could have skipped but once i get something in my mind, i do tend to do it. i promise the next update will be up when i get home tonight. thanks for staying with me.

 

[MadiMouse]

luckily i shook off the rude people and was able to enjoy the night. my feet really didn't want me to do 3 parks that day and epcot i could have skipped but once i get something in my mind, i do tend to do it. i promise the next update will be up when i get home tonight. thanks for staying with me.

"Shake them haters off...shake 'em off, shake 'em off."


YaY! Another update tonight!

Happy New year!!!!

 

[mjaure]

Hello Candice! I believe it was me and my family you met at the Haunted Mansion. Here is our picture.

You were the only DISer I found on our trip! We also stayed at POP, but we were in the 50s section facing the lake. Can you believe how cold it was? I also had to buy a $50 jacket. It was great meeting you and I wish we had had more time to chat!

--Mary

 

[Candice30]

Hello Candice! I believe it was me and my family you met at the Haunted Mansion. Here is our picture.

You were the only DISer I found on our trip! We also stayed at POP, but we were in the 50s section facing the lake. Can you believe how cold it was? I also had to buy a $50 jacket. It was great meeting you and I wish we had had more time to chat!

--Mary

yeah...it was you! you found me! sorry i am horrible with names. so nice to have met you.

 

[Candice30]

Day 4 – Final day

I can’t believe that I made it to my final day. The trip definitely went faster than this trip report. Sorry for the delay…on with my last day recap!

EMH was at MKG this morning and I had planned to make it there but after hitting all those parks yesterday I just couldn’t do it. I hung around the room for a while and finished packing. I was out of the room by 9 am which was still pretty good and headed to airport check in. I already had my boarding pass on the door so I just dropped my bags off and was off to have my last day of fun. I decided to head to Epcot since i wanted to hit F&W again. I arrived around 9:30 and it was pretty quiet. I rode spaceship earth and then realized I hadn’t hit finding nemo at the seas yet so I headed over.

Mine...Mine...Mine...Mine...Mine...

Just keep swimming...Just keep swimming

I headed over to world showcase and caught the street act on my way over.

Of course I made a stop at club cool also. The weather had changed this day thankfully and I was getting warm.

World showcase wasn’t open yet so I took the opportunity to snap some photos before it was filled with people.

This group came passed me on the segway tour and i was thinking how cool it would be to do this with some diser friends. I ran into them again while I was in Japan later and the thought re-entered my mind. The leader took them up the hill back to where the fountain and pond is in Japan and I was thinking "I'm not sure that these beginners can navigate that hill." Just as I was finished with this thought, i heard a loud thud and an "UGGH!" I looked up and everyone jumped off there segway and went running. Someone had fallen off. Maybe I'll wait on trying this experience.

I thought that I would take photos of all the booths at F&W before they opened but there was a rope at Norway so that is as far as I could get. I hung around there for a while until world showcase was finally open.

Someone was having a bridal shower type party on the waterfront in front of Italy. It was so beautiful but of course I didn’t intrude and take photos.

Love this hidden Mickey!

Once I finally made it to the end and grabbed all the photos, I killed some time waiting for the booths to open. I hadn’t seen the film in Canada in a long time and it was really getting warm and everyone was peeling their jackets off. After walking all the way around I was getting tired too. Unfortunately I forgot that you stand during the film. Yuck! I enjoyed the film though and got some much needed rest. I was getting hungry and the booths were all open so I decided to start the sampling. Today I had:

Greece – Spanakopita – YUM…YUM…YUM!

South Africa – Bobotie – I first had this at Boma and fell in love with it. I found the recipe online and though it calls for a lot of ingredients, it is worth the effort. This was really good!

Chile – Beef Empanda – Oh My! This was delicious!

Poland – Pierogie & Kielbasa – This was just okay. Maybe because it wasn’t hot.

Since the weather had changed, I finished it all off with a Grand Marnier slush from France. With a full tummy I decided to say farewell to Epcot at around 1 pm. My shuttle was not coming until 2:15 so I had a little time to chill. I stopped at the food court to have some dessert (chocolate cake) and took it to the hippy dippy pool and texted some friends (Hi Klofan). A ME bus came at 2pm so I jumped on it. My driver was a hoot and for once I stayed awake heading back to the airport. Only drawback, I had 3 hours to kill in the airport and was too full to eat again so I wandered around. Flight home was interesting. I was stuck in a middle seat and the perfume and cologne smells were driving my allergies crazy. I tried to take an allergy pill but I dropped my one and only one left on the floor of the plane. Ugghhh.. I will just have to suffer. I went to sleep instead.

Well that’s it! Thanks for hanging in here with me. I had so much fun and I would say that my first Halloween at Disney was a success. Too bad there was unusually freezing weather but I still had a ball and a much better time this solo trip.

 

[MadiMouse]

I really hate to see this report end. Great update. Your fish faces are hilarious!
When are you going in April? My family will be there on the 23rd?