Two Trips in Three Months?!?--A TR of Epic Proportions!

[elbodans]

FYI - the "champagne" from Italy is Rosa Regale. I love it! I have a bottle of it in my fridge right now.

thanks! i kept the wine walk paper for exactly that reason--to remember what that specific drink was called. it is...somewhere, but of course don't know where i put it!

Sounds like you had a fun day. Maybe you should've made a note to your friend that you shall stay sober in Disney. (LOL) It seems though you two had a fun time. And thanks for the note about Club Cool, I definitely have to check that out sometime. Is it sodas that they dispense? Also, I want to point out that the band in Canada is called Off-Kilter. Sorry noticed that and it was one thing I remembered from my first trip so had to point that out Moving on... Haha

Can't wait for your next update! Everest is my favorite ride at Disney though I was so nervous about going on and I loved it. It was one ride on my last trip that I went on the most. I can't wait to hear what you think about it after hearing about your adventure on Test Track (Glad to hear you like that and Spaceship Earth!). Update as soon as you can!

yeah...i have no desire to get wasted in WDW. it's fun enough, you know? why ruin it? (and go broke doing so!) don't worry--the friend 'pays' for her poor decision in my next post.

not to spoil the suspense, but i think i had EXACTLY the same experience as you did with everest! next installment coming soon!

 

[disneygeeks]

count me in....I like all the detail you go into about food and parks and where you are staying.....Great TR

 

[elbodans]

count me in....I like all the detail you go into about food and parks and where you are staying.....Great TR

thanks! another update coming right now (unless this lightening keeps up--in that case i need to turn off my computer!)

 

[elbodans]

Day 3 Part 1--Animal Kingdom with a very hungover friend, first time on Everest, Yak and Yeti TS lunch.

If you ever wake up one morning and think ‘hey, I know what would be fun--taking a very hungover friend to Animal Kingdom!’, please take my advice, for your sake and for the sake of your friend--don’t do it!

However, I have to give the woman credit. She was a trooper.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, breakfast. As we both woke up around 6am, I figured there was plenty of time for a hike to breakfast before boarding the bus for AK. I gave my friend some privacy in the room as I made the trek to El Centro to pick up breakfast for the two of us.

Notice my use of the words ‘hike’ and ‘trek’. It was pretty freaking far. But it was VERY beautiful in the morning...

Can you see the hot air balloon? It’s just below the one palm frond.

I especially like the symmetry of this photo...

I purchased two quiche-like things at the takeaway station and schlepped them back to the room. For some reason, they were baked into paper cups, kind of like giant egg-y cupcakes--and it was quite difficult to not accidentally eat the paper. Not the best meal I’ve ever had, I’ve got to say! Fortunately, this was the only thing I ate all week of which I failed to take a photo. I’m kind of glad--I don’t ever need to re-live it.

Because my friend is far more laid back than I am (which is very easy to be--I’m rather uptight when it comes to certain things), we didn’t make rope drop at AK, though I’m pretty sure we came close. We were at the very end of the giant mob entering the park--my first (and only) missed rope-drop of the trip. We stopped to take some photos in front of the tree of life, trying out my X-shot iPhone extender arm...

...and then made our way into the park. Problem one was that I had no plan--well, actually, my plan was ‘do whatever makes my friend happy’, but as she had no concept of what AK was or what there was to do there, it was kind of difficult for her to have an opinion. We eventually decided (ok, I decided) to walk towards Everest to get fastpasses. When we arrived, the standby line was only 10 minutes long, and my (very hungover) friend decided we should ride right away.

I asked her many, many times before entering the queue ‘are you sure you want to do this right now?’, and she was sure. So on we went. I once again found myself wishing there had been more of a line, because the details were really amazing. The line itself is an attraction, and I could have taken copious notes and photos--but I figured I’d wait until I was alone to do that (those of you smarter than me should be figuring out why that logic was incorrect--but we’ll get to that in a bit!)

So we rode Everest first thing, and I wasn’t even scared because I was trying so hard to make sure she was having fun, I jumped on the ride with gusto. Well, guess what? It is now my most favorite ride in the entire World. Like the whole world, not just Disney World. Best. Ride. Ever.

After Everest--and after I contemplated buying one of these guys...

...my friend decided she was feeling not so good (imagine!) We visited every restroom between Everest and KS, (ok, there are only two, so it wasn’t that bad) only to find the wait for KS was 40 minutes. While my friend bought a much-needed bottle of water, I ran over and got FPs for the safari, and we continued on our way. Oh--I also encountered....

...and was rather excited about it. Again, the friend was not.

We stopped at two more bathrooms en route to Tough to Be a Bug, which we watched while we waited for our FPs to mature. She liked ‘bug’, though she screamed bloody murder at the spider part (as did I upon my first viewing).

After Bug, it was time for our safari ride.

Even in the FP line, we waited a good 15-20 minutes...and then the ride was a bit disappointing. I realize that there’s not always going to be animals out, and I’m ok with that, but I think my friend was a little bit bored. To be fair, it is still a very cool ride even without many animals--but that’s because I like things like that. My friend was less than amused, and it's kind of hard to have fun with a less-than-amused person.

We arrived at AK at around 9am, and upon exiting KS it was around 11:10. I had reservations for Yak and Yeti for noon, but my friend needed to eat sooner rather than later. Fortunately, the nice people at Y&Y were able to seat us almost immediately--I think my friend sitting in the corner looking a bit green did the trick! Well, that and the fact that they had just opened, and not many people had arrived yet.

We were seated upstairs, along the railing of the open staircase. She ordered Won Ton soup, which she thought would help her stomach (it did) and the Honey Chicken. I ordered the Tamarind Chicken with no appetizer--I was waiting for dessert.

The Tamarind Chicken was very, very good. It was plated in a rather unusual way--it was a boneless breast, marinated and grilled and then sliced, but placed back together to resemble one whole piece--with a leg sticking out the side. It was very odd--but very tasty. The stir fried veggies underneath were equally good. I love bok choy, so that might have been why I loved it so much. The rice was less than great, but I’m a rice snob--if it’s not sticky rice or jasmine rice (which this was not, despite what it says on the menu) then it is not my cup of tea. But the amazing chicken and veggies more than made up for it. I didn’t taste my friend’s honey chicken, but she gave it thumbs up.

And then, dessert. I had the fried won tons, as I read about them on here and had to try them. They were SO very good. Fried won tons filled with cream cheese, drizzled with coconut sauce and served with fresh pineapple? Yes please!

Honestly, I think they look good, but they were even better than they looked. My friend said she’s ‘try one’, but we ended up sharing them, as one bite was clearly not enough!

At this point my friend had to leave--she had to pick her son up from school, and it was nearing 12:30. I walked her to the gate...

And then paused to wonder at the appropriateness of my Y&Y fortune cookie fortune...

...before turning around to go back into the park. Because I had not really ‘accomplished’ anything when un-solo, I decided to look at my return to the park as my first time entering for the day--it was kind of like trying to hit reset on your brain. I walked in and to the left, headed towards a show I hoped would be both entertaining and good for my research--The Festival of the Lion King.

 

[Cotillard]

Hi there. I'm really enjoying your report. You take lovely photos!
Looking forward to more

 

[elbodans]

Hi there. I'm really enjoying your report. You take lovely photos!
Looking forward to more

thanks! actually, most were taken with my iPhone, which is surprising even to me. i carry a regular camera as well, but i ended up using my phone more for photos, as i was maintaining a real-time blog during my trip (and can only post photos if they are taken with my phone) i think i posted something like 40 times per day--no wonder my battery was dying!

 

[elbodans]

Day 3 Part 3--Festival of the Lion King vs. Cirque, plus how this was the least productive day of my trip.

So...this brings me back to The Festival of the Lion King. I almost got out of line twice. Once because it seemed I was in the wrong line--the ropes led me to an area far off to the left of the crowd. Again because it seemed I would be waiting for far too long--I was wrong again. Fortunately I met some very nice people in line...in case you cannot tell, this has become somewhat of a theme for this trip--awesome people in line save the day (case and point, the women in line for the boat to WL, the people I met in line for rope drop at Epcot, that nice gay canadian librarian/teacher couple in line at the louvre...oh wait, that wasn’t this trip. Let’s just say I have very good line luck!) Said people were DVC owners, and later I found out that they only live one county away from me (and share a love of Disney and Vegas--it must be a PA thing!)

Anyway, needless to say, FotLK (did I get that acronym correct?) was amazing.

I’ve seen three Cirque du Soleil shows--Ka, Zoomanity, and LOVE--and FotLK was equal in impressiveness to the first two (LOVE is just out of this world, and I’ve found nothing deserving of its comparison). Ok--maybe the moving stage part of Ka is more impressive, but Ka lacks a story line--so FotLK wins.

I also took many, many notes during the show. It was very productive.

After FotLK, I located a restroom that wasn’t mobbed, which required a bit of a trek. Amazingly, I discovered that said trek deposited me right outside of Everest. Imagine! And the single rider line was right there, totally open...so I rode Everest again. Sans queue, which I needed to do again for my research.

Ah well.

After Everest, I continued on to Nemo, having decided that clearly, I like the shows the most.

I was wrong. Nemo was boring. Sorry. I completely realize this may be because I was beginning to crash at this point. I will try it again in May, and report back. But I used my time in the theatre wisely--I thought about my goals for the rest of my trip (which was quickly winding down). I came to several realizations regarding the limits of my time (long story really--and rather dull) and realized that there’s no way to do all I need to do in one trip, nor was that the purpose of the trip.

So...I rode Everest again (my third time ever AND that day--and I didn’t think I’d like it! Ha!) Again, yay for the single rider line--I was on and off in less than ten minutes. And then I shopped for a good half hour. I purchased a lanyard and a pin for my mother (to present to her on the plane on our way down--see the PTR I’ve not yet written about our mother-daughter trip) and contemplated a zebra striped shirt, also for my mom. And then I took the bus...back to my hotel.

The plan for the end of my time at AK was to take the bus directly to Epcot. But I knew the projected crowd level for that day (not good) and I knew how tired and burnt out I was becoming...and I got back onto the bus to CSR. My plan was to rest for a bit, and then contemplate making the trip to Epcot for EMHs until midnight.

I never made it to Epcot.

Up next--will I EVER find a corkscrew, or will I bash open my bottle of wine on the edge of the bathtub? Plus--Pepper Market, the good, the bad, and the strange, and my final CSR review.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Great update! I'm so glad you enjoyed Everest. It is my favorite too. Though I must say Space Mountain and Tower of Terror are close behind, so it wouldn't be my most favorite ever and dote upon it as much as you did, but its still my favorite. In the TR I'm doing right now, my friend actually bought one of the little Yetis. They are so cute. You definitely should've gotten one. I'm definitely jealous of your DiVine siting, missed her on both of my trips. And it was good to hear your review of Yak & Yeti, though I've already been to and didn't have an amazing (still good) experience like you did. I definitely should check out some of your meals if I go back there I also must see Festival of the Lion King, too many good reviews here. I'm also quite amazed you never got back to Epcot. And btw... that was the best fortune in a fortune cookie I've ever seen! (I love to write)

I can't wait to hear about more of your adventures. You have a great writing voice and are very engaging

 

[elbodans]

Great update! I'm so glad you enjoyed Everest. It is my favorite too. Though I must say Space Mountain and Tower of Terror are close behind, so it wouldn't be my most favorite ever and dote upon it as much as you did, but its still my favorite. In the TR I'm doing right now, my friend actually bought one of the little Yetis. They are so cute. You definitely should've gotten one. I'm definitely jealous of your DiVine siting, missed her on both of my trips. And it was good to hear your review of Yak & Yeti, though I've already been to and didn't have an amazing (still good) experience like you did. I definitely should check out some of your meals if I go back there I also must see Festival of the Lion King, too many good reviews here. I'm also quite amazed you never got back to Epcot. And btw... that was the best fortune in a fortune cookie I've ever seen! (I love to write)

I can't wait to hear about more of your adventures. You have a great writing voice and are very engaging

thanks! i don't know if i stalked you on your TR (i may have?) but i wanted to tell you how impressed i am that you are so young and yet you write trip reports. i teach kids your age (i'm assuming you are 'still' a kid and that the TR wasn't years ago--if so, sorry!) and it is hard to get them to write a paragraph, never mind a whole trip report!

i will totally get a yeti on my next trip. and one of the stuffed eeyores i wanted, too. i'm in disney, so i can be a kid too, right? plus, the yeti would make a great 'silent ball' ball. if you don't know what that is--ask one of your teachers!

yes, festival of the lion king is not to be missed--but i missed it on my first trip. that's what future trips are for!

i really liked Tower of Terror, too, but not as much as Everest...and that's a story for a different post.

it's funny--when i read over my TR, i think 'why didn't i just go back to epcot', but then i remember how burned out i felt. fortunately i now know that epcot is just the thing for a 'burned out feeling'--but again, i'm getting ahead of myself!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

thanks! i don't know if i stalked you on your TR (i may have?) but i wanted to tell you how impressed i am that you are so young and yet you write trip reports. i teach kids your age (i'm assuming you are 'still' a kid and that the TR wasn't years ago--if so, sorry!) and it is hard to get them to write a paragraph, never mind a whole trip report!

i will totally get a yeti on my next trip. and one of the stuffed eeyores i wanted, too. i'm in disney, so i can be a kid too, right? plus, the yeti would make a great 'silent ball' ball. if you don't know what that is--ask one of your teachers!

yes, festival of the lion king is not to be missed--but i missed it on my first trip. that's what future trips are for!

i really liked Tower of Terror, too, but not as much as Everest...and that's a story for a different post.

it's funny--when i read over my TR, i think 'why didn't i just go back to epcot', but then i remember how burned out i felt. fortunately i now know that epcot is just the thing for a 'burned out feeling'--but again, i'm getting ahead of myself!

Nope, that wasn't from a few years ago, just a few months ago actually . I do tend to write a lot more than the majority of kids in my class. I'm one of the very few overachievers (well it was few now it just seemed to have grown) and write a lot. I got interested in longer writing as in stories in... 7th grade so I've been working on perfecting it for awhile. I've actually written a 100 page long story, while not great I still am proud I did that when I just started testing it out. Okay, just went off on a huge tangent there, moving on...

Oh yes definitely and of course, Disney is for kids and the kid-at-heart. The Yeti are definitely one of the very few disney stuffed animals I'd get because its from my favorite ride and I can look at it every day thinking fondly of the memories. And... a silent ball? Must see if they know, unless that means what I think it means...

Yeah, don't get ahead of yourself, I need to read the rest of your TR!

 

[Chaitali]

I'm loving your trip report! Yay for following your dream and it's great that Disney can help with the research I may be solo for part of my trip with my brother in October so I'm glad to read that your solo experience was so positive so far and I can't wait to read more.

 

[elbodans]

I'm loving your trip report! Yay for following your dream and it's great that Disney can help with the research I may be solo for part of my trip with my brother in October so I'm glad to read that your solo experience was so positive so far and I can't wait to read more.

if there's one thing i can't stress enough, it's that disney solo is great! if you have part of a trip to do solo (as it sounds like you do), that's really best--i started out doing just a day solo on our first trip. it was a convention trip and i had a day free but my husband didn't--and that was a great introduction to the solo disney experience. i was much more comfortable doing an entire solo trip having had that one day.

 

[elbodans]

Day 3 Part 4--My search for a corkscrew, Pepper Market Review, CSR Review.

Instead of heading to Epcot for EMH until midnight, I decided I needed a break, and that this break should include wine, food, crappy TV, and some writing time. I’d been going nonstop since 6am Tuesday morning--it was Friday night. I needed some down time. Additionally, I thought that using my evening to organize my notes would be helpful in preparing (and planning) my last day in the parks. So I set out on what was to become an epic search for the first two required items--wine and food.

Correction--I wasn’t looking for wine. My Florida friend brought me two bottles, from the much-cheaper-than-Disney grocery store. But I as I’d only packed in a carry-on, I didn’t have a corkscrew. This was problem number one.

Problem number two was that I knew I needed dinner. Despite my awesome meal at Y&& that afternoon, I knew I shouldn’t combine wine with no dinner. But when I’m cranky--and at this point I was cranky--I get very picky about food and, inconveniently, money spent on food. So while I did take a good ten minutes gazing longingly at the room service menu, I decided to save a few bucks and venture out on my own in search of something tasty.

It would have been easier to go to Epcot.

I first walked to El Centro, which took about 10 minutes at this point, as I had developed a fairly noticeable limp after sprinting about the parks for three days. When I arrived, I visited the gift shop first. I was ok with paying for a corkscrew--but they didn’t sell them. My next stop was the takeaway counter. I’d purchased a bottle of wine on my first night there (now long gone--sorry, I like a couple of glasses of wine at the end of the day. It’s a writer thing...I swear!) and they’d opened it for me after I purchased it, so I assumed they had corkscrews.

They wouldn’t lend me one, but told me instead to ask at the front desk.

Attempt three led me to the concierge desk, where I inquired, and a very helpful woman DID take a good long time looking for one in every single cabinet behind that desk. Alas, there were no corkscrews to be found. Trying to be helpful, she said she’d contact housekeeping to see if they have any that they could deliver. At this point I wasn’t holding my breath.

Mission one was unsuccessful. Mission two--dinner. It is up to you to judge whether you think this mission was accomplished.

Against my better judgment, I went to Pepper Market. I really should have tried the sit-down restaurant, but it has been given such consistently terrible reviews I decided to skip it. Thus, Pepper Market was my only other option.

I was seated immediately, and the lovely waitress explained how everything worked even before I could read the explanation on the back of the ticket. I ordered a glass of merlot (I was going to have that wine no matter what!) and ventured into the stations area of the food court.

Please know that I’m an admitted food snob when I say this...nothing, absolutely nothing, looked good. Wait--that’s a lie. The desserts looked good. But I didn’t think a cupcake was a good choice for dinner (though it would be a good choice for breakfast the next morning...more on that later!) After circling the stations several times--which looked rather insane, as I was the only person there at the time, and all of the chefs were staring at me--I came to a decision. Here is my dinner...

Yes, that’s right. I had a glass of merlot and a chicken finger kid’s meal. And do you know what? It was damn good.

As I finished up my ‘meal’--complete with little tubs of BBQ sauce--I noticed the waitress watching me out of the corner of her eye. As she came to take my tray, an actual little chuckle escaped her lips. I said--you’re laughing at my kids meal and wine, aren’t you? She replied--I think it is awesome.

I’m glad she was amused. I know people always talk about ‘great CM interactions’ in trip reports, and I’ve got to say that I don’t really look to interact with Disney employees--but if I did, this would rank right up there as one of the best.

Side note--this was the least expensive meal of my entire trip, including the next day’s breakfast. It was less than the cost of one margarita from Cava de Tequila in Epcot. So it may not have been fancy, but it was fiscally responsible!

All in all, I did not love Pepper Market. While the chicken fingers were good (and that cardboard-looking cookie wasn’t bad, either), all chicken fingers are good. I mean, come on--this is a food even McDonald’s can’t mess up. None of the actual entrees being served looked as good as the food served in the cafeteria in my middle school. Though the cafeteria in my middle school doesn’t serve wine, so at least Pepper Market has that going for it!

Fortified by breaded chicken and potato chips, I made my way back to my room...to find THIS...

Yay! Housekeeping came through! Yay housekeeping!

The only problem? I didn’t know how to use it! I did what anyone would do with such a device, and ended up working myself into an actual sweat trying to pry the cork out of the bottle. It literally took a good 20 minutes of trying, and resting, and then trying again. i actually was using my feet at one point! but finally...

SUCCESS! I had a glass of wine, my netbook and, miracle of miracles, the wheel of fortune! Say what you will about the magic of Disney, and about how much TV sucks and is a waste of time whilst on vacation (because I’ll say all of those same things) but the channels available on Disney Resort television are woefully inadequate.

I managed to organize all of my MK notes on my netbook, and then created this list of ‘must-dos’ for the second part of my final day...

...written in my notebook for easy access in-park. I then drifted off to sleep, with my netbook still on my bed. I woke up with it in the morning...VERY early in the morning.

As this was the day during which I spent the most amount of time at the actual resort, I felt it was the correct point to review CSR itself. On a scale from one to ten, what do you think I will rate it? Go ahead. Guess.

Are you guessing?

Guess now. Quick, guess before you scroll down!

My overall rating is a 6 out of 10. Here’s why.

Pros:

-The amazing bus service.
-How pretty it is.
-My good fortune in getting a first floor room near a bus stop.
-The housekeeping person who brought me my corkscrew.

Cons:

-Having to walk 10 minutes to get to anything (other than the bus).
-After having waked 10 minutes, still only having access to a crummy takeaway shop, a crappy food court, and an insanely overpriced gift shop.
-Soundproofing or, rather, a lack thereof. I heard everything that went on around me, whether it was next door, above me, or outside. This typically doesn’t bother me, as I frequently travel in noisy cities. But after being out and about for 14+ hours in the parks, I’d like some peace and quiet at the end of the day.
-The housekeeping person who cleaned the room. There was hair in my bathtub that was there when I arrived, and there when I left. Yuck.
-The lack of wireless internet (I’d be fine with paying for it, but even that’s not available)
-The price, given all of the above. I consider myself a moderate traveler--meaning I travel more than some people but less than some people (ok, I travel more than most people and less than some travel writers)--and I’ve stayed in much nicer places for similar or lesser amounts of money. Though you really cannot put a price on being in WDW. And the buses were fantastic. Did I mention the buses?

Wow. Now I’m rethinking that 6 out of 10. It seems like with all of that, it should be lower. But really, some things rank higher than others. For example, I care more about good bus service and, well, pretty palm trees than I care about noise or hair in the shower. So I stand by my 6 out of 10. Yes. Yes I do. I’d even go back, if the price was right. Though my next stay--that is, after my trip in May to AKL--will be at the Dolphin. Because Epcot’s World Showcase is closer to the Dolphin than Pepper Market was to my room at CSR. Ok--that may be an exaggeration--but not by much!

Next installment--Can you say PARK HOPPING??? Three parks, one day. Seriously.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

You seem to be runninginto a lot of problems this trip... well I think that's how it works in Disney. You run into problems but it never ruins the magic. LOVE YOU, DISNEY! LOL It does sound all-in-all you were fine after having your yummy chicken fingers and wine. Those chicken fingers do look good... now I'm hungry! Great! Haha, well thanks for the awesome review of CSR and can't wait to hear about your park hopping adventures on the last day! Update soon!

 

[elbodans]

You seem to be runninginto a lot of problems this trip... well I think that's how it works in Disney. You run into problems but it never ruins the magic. LOVE YOU, DISNEY! LOL It does sound all-in-all you were fine after having your yummy chicken fingers and wine. Those chicken fingers do look good... now I'm hungry! Great! Haha, well thanks for the awesome review of CSR and can't wait to hear about your park hopping adventures on the last day! Update soon!

it's funny, when you run into problems, there's always a fun solution (like chicken fingers!)

update coming right up!

 

[elbodans]

Day 4 Part 1--Early Morning EMH Rope Drop at DHS, first time on TSMM and ToT, and why I am a wuss.

After my restful evening in my room with my wine and netbook, I was fully ready for morning extra magic hours at DHS. Though I did hit snooze...twice...I got out of bed at 6:40am. I showered, dried my hair with the dryer (a first for me in Florida--don’t worry, there will be awful pics!) and made it to the bus by 7:10am (which required running, as it was there when I exited my room and turned the corner!) By 7:25 I was here...

...and posting a blog post about how shocked I was! Seriously--from eyes open to the gate, 45 minutes. That has got to be some kind of record.

So I stood, and to be honest, this was the most uncomfortable part of my trip. Waiting in line for MK, there were lots of families. That was warm and happy. Waiting in line for Epcot, I was the ‘young one’--I think that many local retired people showed up for the flower and garden festival. And they were all VERY nice. Standing in line at AK...oh wait, I didn’t do that, because I missed rope drop. Standing in line at DHS, there were a LOT of teenagers and people in jerseys. As I am in my 30’s (not teens) and extremely un-athletic (I was wearing a skirt) I clearly didn’t fit in. Ah well--I was there! Yay!

As I stood in line, I devised a plan. I’d hurry to TSMM, grab a fastpass, and then head on over to RRC and ToT before breakfast. Yes, I realized that was a lot to want out of one morning...but...

Upon entering the park...

...I followed the small crowd toward TSMM. I got a FP. The return time was an hour away. And then I thought--why not? I’m not in a hurry (read--I was avoiding ToT and RRC!) So I got in the standby line, and was on the ride in less than 5 minutes. Note to self--rope drop rocks. Perhaps that should be the title of this trip report!

TSMM was great. I loved the queue, and took several photos...

...even though that meant letting people walk ahead of me--there really was NO line at this point. For those of you who have been on this ride before, the first time I stopped moving was on one of the landings walking DOWN the steps toward the ride, after the up-stairs part.

I was placed in a car (what is the name for the cars on this ride?) by myself, which I thought might be a bummer, but was really quite cool. I was able to play all of the games as though they were a test run--and as you shall see later, it was! I didn’t do very well...

...but I had a lot of fun, which is all that really matters. My favorite segment was the ring toss--it really FELT like you were tossing rings. Crazy. Please note, despite the short line, ALL of the fastpasses for the day were distributed BEFORE THE PARK EVEN OFFICIALLY OPENED. How crazy is that? I mean, it is a cool ride--but still!

After exiting TSMM, I made my way towards what I’ve dubbed the ‘scary ride’ section

I actually don’t know enough about DHS to reference the ‘land’ in which it resides...hold on, checking my book...I see it is Sunset Boulevard. So that’s where I headed (thank goodness for iPhone map apps!) stopping briefly to take this photo...

As a side note, you will notice that this day--my last day on my solo trip--could be aptly titled ‘the day I took a crap-ton of photos of myself’. I’m not sure why this is. It could be because I’d officially stopped caring what other people thought. It could be because I really wanted pics of myself, despite the fact that I was solo. It could also be because I’d totally lost my mind by this point, and was really thinking about my real-time blog as a human person following me on my trip. No matter what the reason, you will note that the above photo is only photo #1 of MANY similar ‘me’ pics I snapped during this very long day.

I stopped at the restroom on my way to ToT, and took this photo from outside...

...which was intended to be the pic I posted with the caption ‘this is the ride I didn’t ride’. But then...I walked into the ToT queue, and all of a sudden I was IN the ride. The queue is so cool, you hardly realize what you are doing...and then you are on the ride! Here’s me, in a very Blair Witch photo...

...and then here’s me again...

Yes, that’s right, I did it (I’m the one in blue on the far right in the middle row). You have no idea how scared I was. I have a huge fear of falling from the sky. This is the ONLY kind of ride I won’t even try. But I did it. And do you know what? It was really cool. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Did I like it as much as Everest? Not even kind of. Everest is fun in a breathless kind of way. ToT is stomach-dropping, but in a redeeming kind of way.

Though I’ll totally be making my mother ride in May. Maybe.

High on my ToT success, I jumped in the single rider line for Rockin Roller Coaster. It was 8:50am, and I realized that if I did the single rider line, I would have ‘done’ all of the ‘big three’ rides before the park officially opened. So I’m in line...and my stomach twists...and I realize that I just fell out of the sky, and the last thing I had to eat was that kid’s meal with the merlot 15 hours prior...and I get out of line.

I totally wussed out. I admit it. I’m afraid of dark coasters, and I was crazy hungry. I told myself I’d come back--spoiler alert...I didn’t.

But I made my way to something much more fun than RRC--Starring Rolls, for a breakfast fit for a six year old!

Up next...pics of my Starring Rolls breakfast, a photo tour of all things Star Wars, Muppets 3D, The Studio Backlot Tour, and The Brown Derby.

 

[elbodans]

Day 4 Part 2--The breakfast I’d been waiting for, two DHS attractions, a souvenir carrying tip, and another spin on TSMM.

Upon officially giving up on RRC, I had one destination in mind--the magical place everyone told me about: Starring Rolls. I’d heard tell of amazing cupcakes, and I was off in search of one.

The line for Starring Rolls was longer than the line for ToT--seriously. As usual, I chatted with several people whilst in line--only to find with shock that these seemingly nice, normal people were clearly insane. As we approached the front of the line, they did the unthinkable--they selected bananas, and yogurt, and bagels, and placed these things on their trays. I was confused. Did they not SEE the case full of cupcakes and parfaits? How could they miss them? It was a fairly well lit establishment!

I ended up with this breakfast....

...a ‘Devil’s Food Cream Cheese Cupcake’. I meant to take a photo of the inside of it, but once I’d cut it in half, my hands were all covered in icing! It was so good. The white icing you see was cream-cheesy, but the yellower portion in the middle was the cream-cheesiest. Best. Breakfast. Ever. Here's a closer look...

The only negative I can site for Starring Roles is this--it is not the best place to dine solo. I realize that many solo travelers prefer counter service restaurants. I don’t, and SR was a great example of why. It was quite busy that morning, but I managed to score a seat at a table--quite necessary to eat a cupcake of that size (I used a knife and fork!) However, as I ate, people continually came up to me and took the chairs from the table I was sitting at, until there were none left. Of course, I didn’t mind that they took the chairs (and most were very nice about it, minus one group of teenage boys), but I was literally interrupted a good 5 times before allowed to scarf down my embarrassing breakfast in peace.

To be fair, most of that was my fault. After all, I didn’t have to have such an embarrassing breakfast! And if I had purchased a banana or yogurt, I could have eaten on a bench, or even walking around. A cupcake the size of a softball is not a walking around food!

After finding a restroom to wash my cupcake-y hands, I bounded off in a random direction, only to find this...

...and immediately begin snapping pics for my husband and texting them to him. Actually, that texting may explain why there are so many pics of me on this day! My husband is a HUGE Star Wars fan, and in fact, if our May trip was one week later--after Star Tours reopens--we'd be doing Disney instead of Universal (more on that trip in a bit!). So I took a bunch of photos for him, of me...

That was one of my favorite pics of the trip, and the next one was my husband’s #1 pic...

He actually had hoped that I’d purchased the hat ‘because I looked so cute in it’. Really dear? You’re that much of a nerd? I contemplated buying him a great number of things in the gift shop, but I couldn’t settle on one item, so I planned to return later (I didn’t).

Up next was the biggest time-waste of the trip--Muppets 3D. I was actually quite excited about this show, though I don’t know why. In theory, I like Muppets. But in reality, it just isn’t my kind of humor. For some inexplicable reason, we own a season of the original Muppet Show on DVD--I don’t find it amusing, either. So I didn’t love Muppets 3D. Fortunately, it was rather short.

I grabbed a quick pic of the gift shop from the outside

Is it just me, or are the gift shops in DHS really awesome? Though I guess the gift shops are really awesome in AK, too. Oh and the Epcot WS shops...love those, too. Clearly I just love to shop! But I digress...ahem...I then wandered around the Streets of America for a bit...

...and continued to take photos of myself!

I thought about exploring the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie set, but decided against it--I don’t know why, because I was kind of looking forward to seeing this, even though it is ‘just’ a playground (and I am 31 years old!) Upon returning home, I learned from my guide book that I wouldn’t have been allowed in anyway, as adults have to be accompanied by a child...so I guess it is good I didn’t try, as I would have been rather embarrassed being kicked out!

By this time, I’d arrived at the Studio Backlot Tour--the attraction I’d been waiting for! I didn’t love the queue--I think it was at this point that I’d officially burned out on theme parks, or standing in line (alone) or just on the mad pace I was keeping up (it was before 11am at this point--10:42 to be exact) but I was annoyed. Thus, I didn’t go into the tour with the enthusiasm I should have had...meaning, of course, I didn’t like it as much as I could have. Catastrophe Canyon was pretty cool...

...and I took lots of photos of the spaceship from Flight of the Navigator (just a small prop, but it was one of my favorite movies as a kid--for some reason I didn’t upload any to Photobucket, so I don’t have one to post...ooops!) All told, it just wasn’t as cool as I’d imagined--though I will definitely take my mom when we return in May. As DHS is our first park, I’m sure I’ll be (MUCH) more enthusiastic!

The one good part of the ride was that in the gift shop at the end, I found a very nice Indiana Jones baseball hat for my husband...and it was only...drumroll please...$7.95?!? I sincerely thought the price was a typo, or it was a child’s hat--but no, the other hats were listed for the same amount, and it fit my (rather large) head, so it had to be for an adult. I purchased it, but failed to have them ship it to CSR for me. Do people actually use that service? I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t ask, but instead unhooked the strap of my small purse, looped the plastic bag through it, and re-hooked it so that it was attached to me and I could remain hands-free (a good tip, if I do say so myself!)

As I just now realized that I can use the times I posted my live blog posts as a document of time passed, I can tell you that I got in line for SBT at 10:42, and was off the ride at 11:31. This caused me to miss the 11:30 Indiana Jones show, but did give me just enough time to use my FP for TSMM before my 12:00 reservation at the Brown Derby.

The FP line for TSMM took significantly longer than the standby line when I rode first thing that morning--but it gave me the opportunity to take this pic...

Upon boarding the ride, the CM asked a teenage girl boarding alone and myself if we ‘minded’ riding together--to which I replied ‘Sure!’ enthusiastically. This enthusiastic ‘sure’ cheered the girl up, and as we waited for the ride to begin, she explained to me that she’d been waiting in the line alone for over an hour because the FPs were all out by the time they arrived at non-EMH park opening, and her friends didn’t want to wait. She’d never been on the ride before, so I explained how it will be much better having someone to compete against. I shared how I’d ridden alone earlier that morning, and we were off!

I swear I tried to let her beat me, and she did for most of the ride--we were neck and neck for a while, actually. But, alas, I ended up winning...

...though she still did say she really liked the ride. It is definitely better as a two person ride, even when that other person is a complete stranger. I can’t wait to kick my mom’s butt in a few weeks!

I exited TSMM at exactly the right time to head on over to The Brown Derby, for one of the best meals of the entire trip!

Up next--Brown Derby review (of course!), a new gadget I really need, and ‘on the road again’.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Great update! Mornings at DHS are always the best. Nobody is there and you can do so much. During Extra Magic Hours when I was last there and we got tons done in the morning and nobody was there. Its so awesome! And that cupcake is making me hungry *makes note of Starring Roles Cafe* Well, I can't wait to hear about your final hours of this trip! Update soon!

 

[elbodans]

Great update! Mornings at DHS are always the best. Nobody is there and you can do so much. During Extra Magic Hours when I was last there and we got tons done in the morning and nobody was there. Its so awesome! And that cupcake is making me hungry *makes note of Starring Roles Cafe* Well, I can't wait to hear about your final hours of this trip! Update soon!

we will be doing am EMH on our next trip--on the first DAY of our next trip, in fact. which means that exactly three weeks from right now, i'll be there!!!

 

[elbodans]

Day 4 Part 3--Lunch at The Brown Derby, a break at CSR, some quick online shopping, and my ‘plan’ for the rest of the day (spoiler alert--it gets messed up!)

The Brown Derby was an oasis of calm amidst the loudness that was becoming the area around the sorcerer’s hat. I realize I’ve been rather negative about my whole DHS experience thus far, and while I do blame most of that on the fact that this was my fifth day in a row of ‘go go go!’ (the first day being a full day of work followed by the flight to Orlando), some of it was due to ESPN the weekend. It was just...really loud.

Really, REALLY LOUD!

Fortunately for me, The Brown Derby truly transports you to somewhere else--more so than anywhere else I’ve been in WDW, in fact (and yes, I realize that’s a bold statement!) All of a sudden I was in a swanky metropolitan restaurant...and I was SO HAPPY TO BE THERE! (I'm screaming so that you can hear me over ESPN the Weekend!)

For a solo dining experience, The Brown Derby can’t be beat. Sure, the tables are a little close together, but at least no one took my other chair! Additionally, the waitress (I didn’t get her name) was the nicest one I met on the trip (yet another bold statement, as all of my servers were quite wonderful). I snapped a photo of myself (surprise surprise) that is posted in my signature...

as I waited for my glass of...water. This was my first wine-free table-service meal, but I knew that a glass of wine at noon would not have resulted in a productive day. Plus, water is free!

I had already decided I’d have to get the Cobb Salad, as it is their specialty and one of my favorite dishes. I was surprised to see it listed as an appetizer, as I planned to have an appetizer AND the salad...and that’s exactly what I did anyway (yet another bonus of not being on the DDP--I can order whatever I want!) However, picking an appetizer was easier planned than done--every single item sounded amazing. So I did what I typically do in this situation--I asked the server. She suggested the Cremini Mushroom Chevre Tortelloni.

To be honest, I likely wouldn’t have ordered this on my own; the Tuna Tartare was actually at the top of my list, followed by the Crab Cake. However, I am so very glad I asked the server for her recommendation--and accepted it blindly. It was so good. Amazingly good. Lick the plate good. As I’ve already mentioned, I love goat cheese, and having it combined with cremini mushrooms and then wrapped in a pasta sheet...oh. my. god. Beyond my love of goat cheese and mushrooms, the sauce was to die for. I actually used some of the bread to sop up what was left on the plate! Because I had to look it up to type correctly, I’ve just discovered that the sauce was a Tomato Fennel Sauce, which makes sense as I love fennel.

The Cobb Salad was good--just not as mind-blowingly awesome as the tortelloni. Here is is pre-mix...

...taken whilst the man stood there with the tongs--by this point in the trip, I had no shame in asking for him to wait for this (and I had my iPhone ready when it arrived). And post-mix...

...much less appetizing, but surprisingly good. It was very fresh tasting and light (minus the occasional chunks of avocado, which I loved!) My only complaint about this meal was not knowing which to eat first, as they both came out at the same time (a hazard of ordering two appetizers, I guess). I ended up going back and forth between the two, and saving my last bite for the pasta dish. To be honest, I’m returning to DHS in May mainly to eat here again. I’ll be ordering the tortelloni again, plus an additional appetizer. Perhaps the tuna. Or maybe the crab cake (or the scallops). Possibly all three! Even ordering three appetizers, the meal would be around $35--the same as one entree. I’ll have water again as well--I don’t even need wine when the food is so amazing.

Leaving The Brown Derby was a bit painful--not only because I was uncomfortably full. The music from the ESPN area at the base of the hat was deafening, but that was ok as I already planned to leave the park at this point. (Parenthetical note--I will never again go to DHS during ESPN weekend. It was the first and hopefully only time I had full sensory overload in a Disney park. There is NO WAY they could have turned up the volume ANY LOUDER. That really does ruin the Disney magic, at least in my opinion. If DHS is always this loud, I don't know--but if it IS, I'll never return.)

My plan was to head to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day...but alas, my iPhone battery was again dying. So I waited at the bus stop for CSR for a good 15 minutes, and then hopped a bus back to my room. Please note--this was the longest time I waited for a bus my entire trip. Not bad!

I left the restaurant at 12:56 (ish) and was back in my room by 2:00. This includes the bus ride to the resort, walking to my room, plugging my iPhone in, and 10 blissful minutes in the hammock on the beach at CSR. If I didn’t have things to do--and if I wasn’t concerned about the amount of sun I was getting--I would have been content to spend HOURS on that hammock. But 10 minutes was better than nothing!

It was during this time that I spent a few minutes googling ‘solar powered purse’, only to find that the only solar bag I liked was WAY over my budget (around $400)--but really, what do people do in the parks when iPhones die so quickly? I spent a good fifteen minutes looking for a rogue outlet in MK on my first day, thinking that if only I could fit my charger in my tiny purse, I’d be able to steal some electricity and charge my phone (I do this at airports all the time--there’s typically an outlet under each water fountain. These are the skills obsessive travelers acquire!) The only reason I returned to CSR was to charge my phone--a sad commentary on how poorly I respect my own body (no, I don’t need a nap--but my phone needs to charge!) and I honestly wished I didn’t even need to do that.

Gee--I’m starting to understand my earlier crankiness!

I was back on the bus, headed to MK by 2:53. Please note--between the hours of 12:00 and 3:00, the only thing I did was have lunch, charge my phone, and rest. And I still feel guilty that I ‘wasted’ that time.

Gee--I’m REALLY starting to understand my earlier crankiness!

I decided I’d use my time at MK as wisely as possible--I’d cross off everything on the research list I’d made the night prior (including ‘ride Space Mountain’, despite my all-consuming fear of said ride), try to do some first-time pin trading (both so I could write about it on my blog and to get some good pins for my mom as part of my mother’s day trip gift) and have some fun, too (this mainly involved riding BTMRR again). However, the best laid plans of mice and men...well, they are often screwed up by huge crowds.

Up next--My Saturday afternoon experience at MK, followed by a drastic change in plans!