No right,no wrong, no rules for me - I'm free *First solo trip 4/30-5/6* updated 8/29x3 *complete*

[kastoney]

Loving all the AK pictures! Looks like you are making the most of your last day

 

[ariane37]

I'm here, finally and again! I read some of your updates while,we were away but just didn't quote.
I think the Maharajah Jungle Trek is stunning, moving tigers or not (but I do like when they move ). I find it peaceful, as long as there aren't any obnoxious families around other than my own

You do need to get back to your WL! The only reason I've stayed there at all is because of you, and now I've been there 3x since your last stay! I vote you begin planning your next trip following Oct. and that one include a stay at WL
It does stink that making a stop there triggered your Eve of Transportation Woes. We had a similar ferry experience last Nov. at BC. Racing down to the dock by the lighthouse to catch the ferry to HS, we saw that only a couple people had boarded. We got to the dock and just as we did, so mere steps from boarding the boat-the captain pulls in the rope and shoves off I swear to this day he and the guests on the boat laughed at us all the way to the park
Hope your floors are coming along!

 

[coloredimage]

OMG IT'S SO ADORABLE!

I was stuck on the Contemporary/WL bus, standing, and it was filled with Dance Moms. Or cheer moms, whatever the case may be. They were DRUNK and loud. It was like a Real Housewives of New Jersey kind of situation. They were so obnoxious, and were being really mean and catty while talking about girls from other teams than the ones their daughters were on.

ugh.

It was after 10pm!! It had been more than THREE HOURS from the time I left Raeven, Josh, and Jenna at Disney Springs.

Double ugh. Jeez.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'm back and all caught up!

Do you see all of the Lion King pals hiding there among the lace??

That's so cool! I never noticed this before.

I can't forget to mention the best part of this day. The weather was blessedly mild. I was so afraid of getting all hot, sweaty, and gross before going to the airport. The foliage along the trek is amazing, but on a warm day, it holds in all that humidity and can be so uncomfortable. This was probably the most pleasant walk through there I've ever had.

This was on my Best Day Ever! So yes, the weather was amazing that day! The jungle trek must have been amazing!

but THIS is the resort I really want to see! Don't you??

That would be awesome!

It was hard to leave! How often do you find moments of solitude like that inside a park??

Very rarely but they are very special indeed!

 

[Tracy161]

Departure day.

Ugh

there were some zebra domes left over so that's what I had for breakfast.

Yum! I approve

There was a family there with a bunch of teen boys who were being obnoxious, yelling at the cows and climbing all over the rocks and fencing. The parents were just laughing and yelling right along with them. Gross.

What ails people?!?!?

Two partridges. No pear tree.

I definitely read your chapter title in tune to the Nsync song

I did, too!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We had lunch at Jock Lindsay's Hangar Bar on our last trip. We sat out on the back porch and loved watching the boats go by. That was the best part of our visit. In fact, I think we are going to go back there next trip, just so we can sit out on that back porch again.

We went to DS for dinner one night when we were staying at the WL. We took the bus back to our resort and it was jam-packed with people going to the Contemporary. We pull up to the WL and no one will move out of the way to let us off. The bus driver calls back and asks if anyone is getting off at WL and I frantically wave at him to make sure he knows that we are stuck back there. Finally, I start yelling at people to let us off the bus. It was crazy!

It looks like you had beautiful weather at AK.

 

[xlsm]

Good morning!!

Ok, so I know I said I would do quotes and stuff, but I am still just trying to get this darn thing finished. Today will be the day!! I think it will be three posts, one right after the other!

@ariane37 I am watching The Mist as I type, I'm now on episode 5 I think? I started it yesterday while I was working. It's really good, I'm impressed! I was so nervous about it. Spike isn't exactly known as a leader in cutting edge television, lol.

Every year my trip reports seem to line up with whatever school fall festival I'm working on at the time. Every year I say "don't let me do it again next year! Tell me to say no!" and every year I'm right there in the middle of it again. I am obviously a masochist.

OH! Is anyone else watching The Lowe Files?? It's hysterical.

Anyway, enough is enough, right?? Here is...

Chapter Seven Part Four

If you remember from the last update, which was approximately 7.6 million years ago, when there were still like, dinos and mega crocs roaming around. Sharknados and what have you, I was in a verrrry crowded Animal Kingdom.

Despite the crowds, I was managing to dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge my way around. Sometimes you just have to get creative and do some things you might not ordinarily do on a normal park day!

I was headed to a first for me, Rafiki's Planet Watch!

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The train station was not crowded, really. The train had just pulled up so that was convenient! I also saw one of my favorite signs in all of AK:

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I wholeheartedly agree.

The train ride is not the most thrilling experience, but it's pretty relaxing and a nice place to just sit for awhile. You do get a teeny tiny glimpse "backstage", though, which is kind of cool.

Hoofed stock and warthog buildings:

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Ostrich says hello:

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Elephant building:

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Otherwise, your view is pretty much trees and bushes:

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When you disembark from the train, the single file march down the fairly narrow pathway is kind of odd, because people are also coming at you from the opposite direction on their way back from the exhibits. I saw a few animals on the walk, but it was pretty crowded around them, particularly the little fuzzy monkey things. Tamarins? I'm not up on my monkey names, but it was the ones I actually like and don't think are creepy.

Eventually I got here:

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I stood for awhile and watched the bees and butterflies buzzing around. There was a CM there offering little wipe off boards to kids to track how many times they saw an insect land on a flower. Several of the kids took this very seriously, it was cute!

I went on in the building next

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I survived the sort of off putting wall of eyes as you walk in...animal faces EVERYWHERE.

It seems kind of dark and weird, and then you walk into the main room and it's light and bright and there are MORE fake animals hanging around.

Tigers:

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Rhinos:

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and Grandmother Willow, oh my!

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I went over to the Grandmother Willow exhibit thing about the rainforest, and closed myself into one of the booths and listened all about destruction of rainforests. Uplifting.

I stopped by to see the nutritionist working on food:

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And then went out to see some animals!!

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I washed my hands and headed back to the train, mindful of the time. I knew I needed to start wrapping things up and make my way toward the front of the park.

The view on the way back includes some little hut things:

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Hey, they tried!

I know there are rumors floating around about this being transformed into Zootopia and I hope, hope, HOPE that comes to fruition. More than hope. I don't even think there are words to describe how excited I would be by that.

I like the opportunity to see the veterinarians work (although that was not available during my visit), and seeing the petting zoo animals, but otherwise, it's kind of blah over there. I know there are character meets, but I didn't see any, which was disappointing.

Eventually the train pulled back into the station and I found myself in Harambe once again:

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The sun was being a jerk, but trust me, the sign really does say Welcome to Harambe!

Next section coming right up!!

 

[xlsm]

Chapter Seven Part Five

I was ready to start heading back to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Well, I'm not sure "ready" is the right word, but I knew it was time to at least make an effort. It was getting warmer and I didn't want to get sweaty and gross before going to the airport.

I said goodbye to the Tree of Life



as I headed to Asia for one of my favorite snack items in any park, the frozen chai (also can be found at Disney Springs at the Joffrey's across from The Boathouse):

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I understand and appreciate the need for the paper straws, but I hate those stupid things.

It was already crowded, but it seemed to be getting worse. I was swimming upstream as I made my way toward the front of the park. I finally got up there and was shocked by the sea of humanity coming toward me.

To give you an idea, THIS:


was the line at the tapstiles.

It was insane. I think this was around noonish?

I didn't have much wait for a bus back to AKL, and decided to just wander around property for awhile, taking in the sights and trying to enjoy every last second of being there.


https://flic.kr/p/XzyuSj

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I went out to the overlook off the lobby and saw an ostrich.



Then kept on snapping away, trying to capture every possible thing I could!


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I needed to say goodbye to the zebras:


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and tried to get artsy with a tree:



I was starting to get thirsty so I came back in and started moving toward The Mara. I did stop to photograph the Victoria Falls Lounge and Boma while they were empty.


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I think the river flowing outside of Jiko is so pretty:



I grabbed a drink and a Mickey bar from The Mara and went out to find a place to sit. I found a table outside of the pool fence and set up camp.



I see more than one bag there, which reminds me, I did stop by the Zawadi Marketplace at some point to finally pick up a gift for DH - a Larry Dotson print of the AKL. On our last two trips we've been able to meet him and have him sign prints for us (Wilderness Lodge, which hangs in our living room, and Wishes, which isn't framed yet b/c it's a weird size!), and he has one of Everest that he keeps in his office, so I figured this would be perfect.

A Mickey bar in it's natural habitat:



the kids get them every now and then when we visit, but I rarely do, so it was an actual treat!

I had one last thing I needed to see before going to the lobby to collect my backpack and wait for the Magical Express, so I finished my ice cream and went off to look for them, admiring the pool on the way.



So what was I looking for?



Flamingoes!!



A check of the clock, and my phone battery, told me it was time to go inside and get ready to leave

I went back inside and headed up the stairs



I want one of these rugs!!

Next update on the way!

 

[xlsm]

Chapter Seven Part Six

I collected my backpack from bell services and sat here

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to charge my phone at the handy dandy little usb ports attached to some of the lamps in the seating area. I read while I waited (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children) and enjoyed my last half hour at AKL.

Much sooner than I would have liked, it was time to head outside and wait.

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There were a lot of us waiting to board! At one point a Cruise line bus pulled up and all the happy people arrived, fresh and ready for their new trip.

And then ours arrived:

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It was a quick and uneventful trip to the airport. When I got there, I had to go to the kiosk and print a boarding pass b/c DH had upgraded me to first class and it wasn't showing my boarding pass on the app, and the tickets Disney gave me in my packet showed the wrong seats. It was easy and didn't take very long.

Security looked like it was going to take forever, but I was probably all finished within 15 minutes and on the way to the fake-o-rail and my gate.

It was an entertaining wait to board. There was a guy near me who was so loud on the phone talking about how he'd fallen asleep and missed his flight so had to book another and now had no cash. He was trying to get his friend to pick him up at the airport in New York and telling him he would give him so much cash and weed in repayment, he just needed to get his uncle's house to get it. I'm pretty sure he was in the mob or a gang or something, LOL!! Super over the top New York accent, talking about his friend's yacht, etc...It was like a tv show.

There was also a service dog on our flight, and it took all I had not to go pet him.

Finally we boarded the plane and the trip home had begun (began? does anyone actually care if i used the correct word here??)!

Goodbye Orlando, it's been real!

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First class snacks are better than standard snacks:

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Our Delta planes from ATL to MCO and MCO to ATL are usually the really nice new big ones with screens on the back of each seat, which I love. I had watched half of La La Land on my arrival day from Atlanta to Orlando, so finished it up on the way back to Atlanta.

We landed and I had about an hour and 15 minutes to kill, so I wasn't in any hurry. I had checked my gate on the Delta app when we landed and knew where I needed to go, so I headed to the plane train.

My gate was all the way in the international terminal, so I literally rode that plane train as far as you possibly can. It's like the Gringotts vault or something. You're basically riding through a basement, it's weird. Eventually I got there and it was the fanciest terminal I've ever seen! Also the least crowded, it was nice!

I found my gate, used the restroom, and went to grab some food. I settled on some kind of taco place and talked to DH while I ate

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This art installation/chandelier thing was kind of cool:

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I got back to the gate and checked out my travel companions. There was a large family from Mexico heading to visit family (we have a high Hispanic population in my area), and one of the women and I commiserated over how cold it was in the terminal, as much as we could communicate since she didn't speak much English and I don't speak much Spanish.

Two other families included local Walmart execs coming back from their vacations...one was coming from Germany and the other from the Caribbean. They couldn't believe they were on the same flight, it was kind of funny. They ended up being in first class with me and talked to each other pretty much the whole time.

Eventually it was time to board...I don't know how I'm going back to a regular seat on a plane. I am now spoiled by first class and will always be checking for discounted upgrades during check in. At least if/when flying without the kids.

Goodbye Atlanta!!

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This was a much smaller plane, so no screen on the seat, but it did have the free Delta gogo wifi and movies, so I watched Miss Peregrine on my phone since I'd finished the book at MCO waiting for my plane to board.

We landed and as I walked toward baggage claim I saw a huge group waiting for their family from Mexico with big signs and balloons. It was adorable!

I got downstairs and found DH and we waited for my bags then headed home! It was late, after 11, and I was ready to be home.

I think that's why travel days are so long...you hate leaving WDW, but after you finish with all the airport junk, you're happy to be back home and it makes the DISpression a little more bearable, at least for the moment!

That's it for now!! I will come back and do a quick wrap up and answer quotes - for real this time!!

Happy Tuesday!

 

[missangelalexis]

It isn't the most exciting train ride but for sure is relaxing! That stinks that you didn't see any characters out!

Wow, look like you picked the right time to leave. So many people!

Love your pics around AKL, I can tell you were just trying to soak in every last bit before saying goodbye!

Glad you made it home without any issues!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I was headed to a first for me, Rafiki's Planet Watch!

We went there once when AK first opened and I bet it no longer looks anything like it looked back then. Our grandchildren like it. I would guess that most of it is geared toward the younger kids.

I love the pictures you took inside the AKL while waiting for the ME. They are beautiful.

Did you ever go swimming? I heard that the pool at AK is really nice, one of the best ones, in fact.

Eventually it was time to board...I don't know how I'm going back to a regular seat on a plane. I am now spoiled by first class and will always be checking for discounted upgrades during check in. At least if/when flying without the kids.

I've never flown first class but it sure would be nice.

 

[xlsm]

It isn't the most exciting train ride but for sure is relaxing! That stinks that you didn't see any characters out!

Wow, look like you picked the right time to leave. So many people!

Love your pics around AKL, I can tell you were just trying to soak in every last bit before saying goodbye!

Glad you made it home without any issues!

It is relaxing! The perfect spot to just sit and chill out for a bit. I was confused by the lack of characters, but maybe I was just wasn't looking in the right place?? I don't know, I feel like I went everywhere you could go but maybe I didn't.

It was really hard to leave!

We went there once when AK first opened and I bet it no longer looks anything like it looked back then. Our grandchildren like it. I would guess that most of it is geared toward the younger kids.

I love the pictures you took inside the AKL while waiting for the ME. They are beautiful.

Did you ever go swimming? I heard that the pool at AK is really nice, one of the best ones, in fact.

I've never flown first class but it sure would be nice.

It really was geared more toward younger children. I feel like they could do so much more with it than what they have there now!

I never did go swimming! It felt kind of weird being by myself. I just sort of pictured myself standing in the pool awkwardly The pool was beautiful though, and I was a little sad to miss out

It was my first first class experience and I hope it isn't the last, because it was so convenient. The seat size and legroom felt so luxurious compared to my regular seats, LOL!!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Leaving is so sad Sorry the park was so crowded on your last day too, but again you got some great shots of the lodge!

 

[xlsm]

Hello again everyone!

It's time for that wrap up I said I'd do. Hey, look at that, I'm actually following through in a timely manner! Rest assured I am much more organized in my daily life

Sooo...

What did I think of my solo trip??

I loved it! I admit, a little bit of me feels that way because I had so much fun reliving it through this TR, but I really did have a good time while I was there.

What would I do differently??

A lot of things...maybe. I would definitely stop second guessing myself. A lot of times, particularly with characters, I would think to myself, "Oh, you don't need to do that with just YOU", and I really wish I'd have taken the time to do character meets and things.

Would I do it again??

Yes, I think so! Especially if I knew I was meeting up with other DisFriends while there. I think that kind of trip would be the best of both worlds. I liked having the opportunity to take my time, but it would have been fun to spend time in the parks with others as well.

This was definitely the first time I think I actually really and truly relaxed on a Disney trip (outside of my first one ever in 2001, but when you're onsite for two weeks, there's more opportunity for that!)

Haha, this turned into a pretty weak wrap up didn't it??

Thank you all for following along with me!! I hope you had fun, even when all of the pictures disappeared from the first half of the report.

I haven't decided if I'm going to do a PTR for October, even a shortened one, but if I start one I'll post the link here.

Love you all, thanks for hanging out with over the past few months!!

 

[xlsm]

Leaving is so sad Sorry the park was so crowded on your last day too, but again you got some great shots of the lodge!

I think it was kind of a blessing in disguise, because I really got to just wander around and look at everything, and enjoy just being there on the last day

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm glad this was a good solo trip for you!! I really enjoyed hearing about it

Please do a PTR for your upcoming trip! Would love to hear what you have planned!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Congrats on a fantastic trip and subsequent report

 

[wdwnut61]

Thanks for taking us along on your solo adventure. I loved it and would go solo in a heartbeat. Your pictures are wonderful and I loved seeing the AKL again

 

[PolyRob]

Just reading your final reports and seeing that bus made me feel sad. Its always easier leaving when you know you have another trip already planned and booked! Not too long for October now

I loved all your reviews and photos of AKL and definitely have to stay there someday. I thought Fall 2017 would be the time. It doesn't look like I will make it there Fall 2017 or Spring 2018, but hopefully the next one!

 

[Tracy161]

What a fabulous TR you shared with us!!! I'm so sad to see it's over, though. Looking forward to your next one And at least you have another trip coming right up, too!!!