You're Here BY YOURSELF? A Solo TR COMPLETED!

[creativeamanda]

Subbing! I've done two solo trips and loved them both. I did miss the kiddie but absence makes the heart grow fonder! It was great to be at WDW by myself, and great to get back to my babies!

It is great--I felt refreshed when I got back and seemed to have a lot more patience with them.

I am so glad that somebody loves EE as much as I do, nobody will ever go on it with me because they're too frightened!

The Christmas trees look gorgeous!

Well, that's what the single rider line is for

I sat at the tank in the Coral Reef once, and absolutely loved it. Mesmerizing. It did however, feel hypocritical, because I totally had fish for lunch.

I'm sorry about France. What a bummer. On the upside, you got some incredible Illuminations photos!

Beautiful pictures of the tigers! I think one of my favorite things about your trip report is all the wonderful photos.

I had fish for lunch, too, lol. I did enjoy Illuminations and can't believe it took me so long to see it!

I love, love, love my camera and I'm looking at a new lens for it. I think I'm going to rent the one I want to buy for my May/June trip for a test drive.

All caught up again! Looking forward to seeing if you rode Kali in the cold.

Denise

lol, it's coming up!

I have around four TRs that I'm subscribed to, and I need more! If I can't be there...I'd rather read about others being there!

Join my PTR, DisneyGuy! I even have bonus blizzard photos from here in PA!

I'll check it out!

I'm jealous of the snow though. I'm WAY further north, and have NOTHING.

You could read through mine from last month. 10 nights, 3 resorts, 7 crazy family members, lots of pics and fairly nice weather...

TRs are great--makes you get ready for upcoming trips and relive past ones!

 

[creativeamanda]

Kali River Rapids. . .One of my favorite rides in Animal Kingdom. Last October, in 40 degree weather, my family rode it three times in succession, never getting off the ride. The result? We had to buy sweatshirts at the park and dry our jeans out at the hand dryers in the bathrooms.

June 2009, this is Boo after a ride on Kali. . .

I am quite aware of how wet one might get on Kali. I knew it was cold that day. I really wasn't planning on riding it.

But I left the Marajarah Jungle Trek and walked over to the bridge, "Just to see".

Then I looked over at the non existent line. And I thought, I've had lunch, I'm going back to the room. How bad can it be?

I hopped on the ride with a 2-3 min wait, pulled out my trusty poncho, and of course, got stuck on the ride. Yep--39 degree weather and I'm stuck on Kali River Rapids. As I got off the ride, there was still very little wait, but I had no desire to get back on.

I walked over and took some photos of the tree

and caught a Fastpass photographer

Yep, not a drop of water!

I can tell, my luck may run out in May.

Coming up, what restaurant becomes my new favorite?

 

[LegoMom3]

Yes, but in May it'll be a heap warmer than 39 degrees!!!

.

 

[disneyshakeygirl]

I have never been on Kali River Rapids, and I'm kind of split on whether or not I should go

I forgot to add, that I love your photos!

 

[creativeamanda]

Yes, but in May it'll be a heap warmer than 39 degrees!!!

.

LOL, that it will . . .that it will.

I have never been on Kali River Rapids, and I'm kind of split on whether or not I should go

I forgot to add, that I love your photos!

Oh, thanks so much, hon

I love Kali River Rapids--just make sure you bring a poncho or change of clothes.

 

[OrangeJax]

I just read your TR and am LOVING it! I love all of your photos, and it seems as if we have similar tastes in rides/food! Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[creativeamanda]

I just read your TR and am LOVING it! I love all of your photos, and it seems as if we have similar tastes in rides/food! Can't wait to hear the rest!

Thanks! And

OT, but LEGOMOM!!!!!! I thought your ticker was for a trip farther away?!?! What have I been missing?!?

 

[LegoMom3]

Thanks! And

OT, but LEGOMOM!!!!!! I thought your ticker was for a trip farther away?!?! What have I been missing?!?

Oh, yeah....you caught that, huh?!....

Ok, here's the scoop: was watching "Yard Crashers" recently -- it was a special where they did a project at the Flower & Garden Festival last year. Suddenly I found myself thinking, "You know, it's been 14 years since I saw the F&G....I would really love to see that again. And HEY!....Disney has some nice discounts out for spring travel!...."

And, well, the rest is history. A few clicks here, some web browsing there, and voila!.... I mean really, what better time to really take in the Flower & Garden Festival, than without all my men in tow?!....

.

 

[creativeamanda]

Oh, yeah....you caught that, huh?!....

Ok, here's the scoop: was watching "Yard Crashers" recently -- it was a special where they did a project at the Flower & Garden Festival last year. Suddenly I found myself thinking, "You know, it's been 14 years since I saw the F&G....I would really love to see that again. And HEY!....Disney has some nice discounts out for spring travel!...."

And, well, the rest is history. A few clicks here, some web browsing there, and voila!.... I mean really, what better time to really take in the Flower & Garden Festival, than without all my men in tow?!....

.

LOL, another instance of fuzzy Disney math, huh?

 

[eandesmom]

Yay for not getting wet

Boo for getting stuck.

39 degrees.

BRRR!

 

[praisehisname]

Yay for riding, even in the cold! Like you said, you were heading back to the room, how bad could it be?

 

[creativeamanda]

Yay for not getting wet

Boo for getting stuck.

39 degrees.

BRRR!

It would not have been so bad if this guy who couldn't stop spouting all of his "knowledge" of Disney all over. Let me say, I remained tight-lipped, but 99.9% of what he was telling was either wrong or outdated.

Yay for riding, even in the cold! Like you said, you were heading back to the room, how bad could it be?

I'm glad I took my poncho. . .

 

[LegoMom3]

LOL, another instance of fuzzy Disney math, huh?

It was TOTALLY "Fuzzy Disney Math"!!!.....but you know what? -- It works!!


.

 

[creativeamanda]

It was TOTALLY "Fuzzy Disney Math"!!!.....but you know what? -- It works!!


.

I knew it. . .

Really, %off on your room works out better when you are by yourself than Free Dining, anyway.

 

[ladybugmom]

WOW!! I'm impressed that you rode Kali River Rapids with it being that cold! I won't even ride it in the heat--I don't like being wet in my clothes. That's great that you didn't get wet at all!!!

 

[xDisneyAngelx]

Great Trip Report Cant Wait To Read More

 

[TarzansKat]

I didn't know you could rent a camera lens. That's so neat.

You look so serious in your photopass photo! It must have been getting stuck on Kali that did it to you.

 

[creativeamanda]

WOW!! I'm impressed that you rode Kali River Rapids with it being that cold! I won't even ride it in the heat--I don't like being wet in my clothes. That's great that you didn't get wet at all!!!

I got lucky--I've learned that when you end up forward just before the fall on Kali, you will end the fall backwards and get soaked. The opposite happened and I was grateful.

Great Trip Report Cant Wait To Read More

Thanks and

I didn't know you could rent a camera lens. That's so neat.

You look so serious in your photopass photo! It must have been getting stuck on Kali that did it to you.

This site: http://www.lensrentals.com/ is relatively inexpensive with their lens rentals. I intend to rent this one: http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon-18-200mm-f3.5-5.6g-af-s-vr-ii/for-nikon for June. Another place I've looked at is www.borrowlenses.com.

I don't know why I looked so serious. Maybe I was tired? I don't know--I know I needed to get back to the room for rest!

 

[creativeamanda]

So this afternoon, I had a reservation at a location somewhere around the monorail line. Before I got there, however, I took the obligatory monorail line Christmas tour. I decided to just walk over to the Polynesian, rather than get on the monorail to ride all of 300 feet. (I know it's longer, but, you get the idea).

I love the Poly, even though I don't think I'll ever be able to stay there.

I walked over to the beach to take some awesome photographs.

For some reason, I have no good pictures of the Christmas decor at the Poly, but this is the reason why I like the Poly. . .the fountain in the lobby.

I skipped the Grand Floridian for now, and went over to the COntemporary Resort from there.

View from the monorail:

Then, I went back over to the Grand Floridian:

The Christmas tree

Mickey and Minnie character greeting

Orchestra in the lobby

Areal of the gingerbread house

By this time, I was ready to go over for dinner at my new favorite restaurant, which sadly, is no longer on my list for dining in June. Still, I can go back later. . .

The following is from my dining review:

So, for dinner on the 4th night, I was heading out to:

I had never been here before, but really wanted to try this one. My reservations were at 6:55pm. I checked in at 6:30 and was seated at 6:40.

My server was Tom, who was awesome. He was super funny, kept my drink filled, and was attentive, but not so attentive he was annoying. I was never left waiting for anything from the kitchen or the bar.

For my appetizer, I had: Crab Cakes - Southern Slaw and Cajun Remoulade sauce $13

These up to this date, were the best crab cakes ever. They were perfectly crispy on the outside, and wonderfully flavorful. The slaw and remoulade gave them a kick that made me wishing this was not just an appetizer.

With my coke, I also had the Narcoossee's lemonade

This was delicious. Not too sweet, just the right amount of alcohol.

My entre was the Grilled Filet Mignon - potato gratin, broccolini and choron sauce $41.

I had thought of the lobster here, but I really wanted a better Disney filet than the one I got at Yachtsman.

I got it! It was cooked perfectly, the potatoes and beans (not broccolini as in the allears description) were a perfect accompaniment, and I ate every bite.

Finally for dessert I had Almond-crusted Cheesecake - with lambert cherry sauce $8 which was with a blueberry sauce, unlike the allears description.

This was heavenly! I enjoyed the 1/4 I ate, but I was so full, I couldn't eat it all. I wish I had boxed it--it would have been fine in my backpack at the park because it ended up being frigid beyond belief that night!

Narcoossee's wins the new award for my favorite restaurant on Disney property, replacing another Grand Floridian location: the Grand Floridian Cafe.

Overall:
Atmosphere: 5 out of 5--I was seated looking out at the castle. It was simply beautiful!
Service: 6 out of 5--I will ask for Tom again in June!
Wait Time: 5 out of 5
Food Quality: 10 out of 5 (Can I do that? Well, I guess I did, lol)
Overall: 6.5 out of 5

Coming up. . .hopping over to Magic Kingdom EMH.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

OMG THAT FOOD LOOKS SOOOOOOO YUMMY!!!!

I'll have to put that restaurant in mind for future trips!