"Doctor Strange said not to touch anything!" - January 2018 solo MDAS/WDW (FINISHED Sept. 4)

January 25
White Sand and One Last Bingo (continued)

I hemmed and hawed over the snorkeling gear when I got back to shore--technically I had the rental for the full day and could theoretically put it back on and go back out after lunch, but I felt like I'd had my fill already (see? not a beach person). I opted to go ahead and return it so I wouldn't have to worry about it later, and took off in search of lunch. The buffets at the family beach looked a bit busy, plus I wanted to at least see Serenity Bay, so I headed down the runway in the direction the trams seemed to be going (once again eschewing the transportation offered).

I was rewarded with a slightly more adult spread of protein options, so of course I opted to have the same hot dog I could have had over on the family beach. Then, for dessert, strawberry and banana soft serve.

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By this time I'd cheered up quite a lot and was having a very nice time. It was just such a pleasant place to be, and the picnic-style lunch foods felt perfectly right after a (brief) swim.

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I poked around Serenity Bay for a few minutes after lunch, but a No Swimming sign was posted and it was much windier and colder on this side of the island. My apathy for beaches was only increased by the lack of anything to do beyond sitting in a lounge chair, so I turned around and left again.

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I took the tram this time, at least back to the family beach. I wanted to make a stop to buy a magnet I'd seen earlier, but beyond that I had no further plans.

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From the shop, I made my way the rest of the way back to the ship on foot, taking my time to look around and to snap a quick selfie.

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All in all, I only spent about three hours on Castaway Cay. I'm sure this seems like a terrible waste from the perspective of anyone who does love the beach, but despite it being generally pleasant and despite being very glad I left the ship and had a wander and a swim, I was perfectly content to cut it short.

Since I was already in my swimsuit, I dropped my phone and so forth off in my stateroom and rode the AquaDuck half a dozen times before showering and changing. I knew this would be the last time, as I had plans for the afternoon and evening, so I rode it probably a few more times than my body was really up for (so much water up the nose even when I held it shut!).

Good Morning Magic had changed over to the Debarkation Presentation, so after I showered I let that run in the background while I did most of my packing.

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With most of my stuff squared away in my bags, I headed to After Hours to wait until Bingo presales opened up. I was early enough to snag a porthole and watch the people coming back in to the ship. By then the sky was getting dark and it was decidedly colder and windier outside. It was really lovely to be comfortable and dry after a few hours outside in my swimsuit, and I was very content at this moment. Also, I got to meet the family whose little girl had won the baby race during MDAS, which I'd sadly missed.

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This last round of Bingo was both the most expensive and the most crowded round. In future I'd probably skip it even if I were doing most or all of the other sessions; the more people there are there, the less likely you are to win. And yeah, there was a $10,000 jackpot, but I knew from previous days that it was very unlikely that someone would win it.

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Yeah, no one won the jackpot. I didn't win anything at all; it was still a good time but it felt less worth the money than previous sessions because the odds were just so bad with that big crowd in the room.
 
January 25
White Sand and One Last Bingo (continued)

After Bingo, I headed to Guest Services to pay down my balance with gift cards and leftover cash I hadn't used for other things (I find it easiest to do my accounting if I use as little cash as possible). I...should have done that earlier in the trip.

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That was okay, though. I still had Goat Simulator on my phone to keep me entertained in line.

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And the view out the portholes was gorgous:

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It didn't take TOO long to get that chore done. I think this may have been when I went to Shutters and bought my photo with Loki, too, but I don't have any notes on that. It bothers me a bit that they print out all your photos and just throw away the ones you don't buy--it's very wasteful. I get why they do it that way (I'm sure it's a lot quicker to serve people if their prints are already prepared), and I know that in the grand scheme of things a cruise is a pretty wasteful form of travel anyway, but it just seems like a huge amount of material they could be choosing not to create and throw away.

Then it was time to head to the theater for the last stage show, Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic. The theater was pretty crowded by the time I got there, but another guest recognized me as a solo traveler he'd seen around, and invited me to sit in the empty seat his family and the family next to them had left between them. I've mentioned this incident once or twice on these boards; I really feel like this exemplifies the kinds of positive interactions I had with other guests.

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As for the show itself...I hate to say it, but I found it kind of tedious. The performers were great and there were some really impressive musical numbers (one of the performers who'd only played background characters up to that point gave an amazing rendition of The Circle of Life), but the plot was nothing more than an excuse to string a bunch of songs from Disney movies together. My favorite part was when Peter Pan flew in through the main character's bedroom window and a child in the audience let out a blood-curdling scream of terror. I feel you, kid.

I made yet another stop by my stateroom, where I discovered a deadly snake in my bed.

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I finished packing everything I wouldn't need that night or the next morning (including my swimsuit, since it had gotten dry enough to put in a plastic bag) and wrote myself a checklist of things to do before leaving for breakfast the next morning. Then it was back to the atrium to enjoy the live music from above while I waited for the MDR to open--I'd be in Lumiere's again this night.

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I didn't take any notes on dinner; I'm sure it was good but I have no idea what I ate. My tablemate and I had a conversation about the Doctor Strange movie, which he'd tried to watch but had walked out on mid-film. He didn't care for the...everything. He objected to the world being taken apart multiple times, and also to Dr. Strange as a character. I later wrote down my favorite part of the conversation:

Me: "Okay, the thing about Doctor Strange--and I'm saying this as someone who likes this character--is that he's a jerk. He's just a jerk."
Him: "You're being generous."

:lmao:

But then we did talk about something I really like about that movie, which is that even though Stephen's the protagonist and even though he goes through a bunch of character growth and becomes a better person, his ex, Christine, doesn't take him back. She doesn't owe him that, and I've always interpreted it the movie as indicating that part of his growth is that he understands that she doesn't owe him that. When he apologizes to her, it's because she deserves an apology, not because he deserves to be forgiven (and she never explicitly accepts the apology, which I also liked--that's another thing she doesn't owe him). So my tablemate was at least glad to hear that they don't get back together later in the movie. ::yes::

Afterward I had to scurry back to my stateroom to put my bags out on time.

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Sadness. I left the decorations up because taking them down would have been a bit depressing and it wasn't going to take me long anyway. I just added it to the morning checklist.
 
January 25
White Sand and One Last Bingo (continued)

Then back to the atrium! Again! This time I was there for 'Til We Meet Again, a.k.a. a chance to see our cruise director, the performers, and the characters one last time.

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The characters all got slammed with long lines immediately, but they weren't who I was after. I went around to all the groups of stage performers and got photos with them--beyond having loved their performances onstage, I recognized more than one from the lounge takeovers. They were all pretty fun face to face, too.

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:rotfl2:

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January 25
White Sand and One Last Bingo (continued)

They were out for a good amount of time, enough for me to get all the photos I wanted (though it wouldn't have been enough if I'd wanted pictures with Mickey and his friends). Then they gathered back together to say--well, not goodbye, but 'Till We Meet Again. :sad1:

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I had one last plan for the evening, and the timing worked perfectly.

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I'd intended to see Coco on this cruise from the start--from before the start, even, since I'd missed it in theaters at home and knew it would be playing on the ship. Every single time it had shown, though, I'd had a schedule conflict. Well, not tonight! I was going to stay up until one in the morning to see this movie if I had to, dang it!

The CM selling popcorn outside the Buena Vista Theatre was handing out extra napkins to everyone and telling us we would all cry. He was correct. I absolutely adored the movie; for months afterward I listened to the soundtrack nearly constantly and I bought it as soon as it came out on bluray so I could make my housemate watch it and cry, too.

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After the movie was another example of eery quiet on the ship compared to the hustle and bustle of daytime. It was a little strange and a little sad not to see anything on the entertainment board other than the DJ in Fathoms.

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Then there was really nothing for it--I just plain had to face the fact that the cruise was done and get myself to bed. It was strange going back to the stateroom with next to none of my stuff left in there, but good to know that I wouldn't have to haul those heavy bags around in the morning. I headed to bed to get to sleep as soon as I still could at that point, knowing I had an early morning and a long day ahead of me.

Next up: The Reason I Don't Drive on Vacation
 
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Really enjoyed your cruise trippie! And your selfie on CC was perfect with the palm trees reflected in your glasses.
 

Also, while I had some SCUBA experience about a decade back, I'd never actually been snorkeling. Is there some kind of trick to not getting water down the snorkel? Because there was constantly water in my snorkel and it seems to me like that defeats the purpose.

I'm so enjoying your trip report, thank you!!

The above is PRECISELY why I've never snorkled or wanted to! My brief forays into it when I was younger resulted in water in the snorkel lol!
 


My favorite part was when Peter Pan flew in through the main character's bedroom window and a child in the audience let out a blood-curdling scream of terror. I feel you, kid.

That is hilarious.

I made yet another stop by my stateroom, where I discovered a deadly snake in my bed.

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I love that! I've never seen that towel animal before.
 
Really enjoyed your cruise trippie! And your selfie on CC was perfect with the palm trees reflected in your glasses.

Aww, thank you! It was one of my favorite pictures from the trip. :goodvibes I've got a couple more posts coming up to cover my two night post-cruise stay in WDW, but I'm finally over the hump on this thing. I think trip report writing might not be for me after this one; it takes a lot more time than I'd imagined.

I'm so enjoying your trip report, thank you!!

The above is PRECISELY why I've never snorkled or wanted to! My brief forays into it when I was younger resulted in water in the snorkel lol!

I remember enjoying SCUBA quite a lot (though I've never done it in the ocean), and tbh I feel like memories of SCUBA have spoiled me--if I'm going to wear a thing on my face, I ought to be able to breathe! I can't help but feel like there's some method I just wasn't doing right, though.

Who were the performers in the Versailles type costumes?

Those were from Twice Charmed--the gentleman in the top hat and the popped collar is the villain of that show.
 
and brought my external charger and a book with me in the popcorn bucket (super handy for keeping the sand out of things).
Smart! I never thought about doing that, but it makes sense!

The CM selling popcorn outside the Buena Vista Theatre was handing out extra napkins to everyone and telling us we would all cry. He was correct. I absolutely adored the movie; for months afterward I listened to the soundtrack nearly constantly and I bought it as soon as it came out on bluray so I could make my housemate watch it and cry, too.
Oh totally! I won't watch it on a plane because then my seatmates would be wondering why I was bawling crying! Even hearing the song and watching that little gif you posted make me start to tear up!
 
I just found your TR today and spent a relaxing afternoon reading the entire thing! I've been on one cruise in my life but it wasn't a Disney one, which looks way more fun from your report! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed it - as others have said, you're a great writer!
 
I really like your writing style, and how you share the emotions that you feel during the cruise. I'm the same way, sometimes something happens that makes me feel a little down during the day, but it doesn't last long. DCL can sometimes be a little overwhelming. But, I agree with you that the vast majority of people on the ship both guests and crew are just amazing and you can make some good connections, even if they only last a week!

Loved our MDAS last year and your report has me looking forward to January.
 
January 26
The Reason I Don't Drive on Vacation

These next few posts have been way too long coming -- 8 months!! :scared: I think the lesson to be learned here is that while I've enjoyed sharing my trip, a report this detailed is a bit too much for me to keep up with on top of everything else going on in my life. Since the remainder to cover is two days of WDW vacation (well...one day and a bit), I'm going to crank it all out today so I can finally mark this done. Then in future I'll probably just put a few photos up in my runDisney training journal and maybe a "just back" mini-report for my trips to avoid dragging it out like this has. :confused3

When last we left off, I had experienced the emotional highs and lows of Coco and finally conceded that my cruise was effectively over and it was time for bed. I was rocked gently to sleep by the movement of the ship....

And rocked none-too-gently awake by the same! This last night provided me the wildest movement of the ship I had yet experienced. Recall that my bed was perpendicular to the line of the ship, so I was being rocked head-to-toe and back with such great motion that I felt like the ship was trying to tip me out over the foot of the bed! Logically, I knew that ships rock, especially when the sea is a little rough and especially when they're moving quickly, which I'm sure we were since we had to be in port very early the next morning. And logically I knew that if anything were actually wrong they'd be sounding the alarm and doing something about it. Less logically...well, I've mentioned a few times in this report that I'm not entirely comfortable being on a boat out in open water (I know, I know, funny choice of trip in that case...). It had been alright so far on this trip because the cruise ship was large enough and moved sedately enough that it didn't really seem like the same thing as being on a smaller boat. This night, though? I lay awake for a few minutes trying to convince myself that everything was okay, but being fully awake in the dark made it seem even worse than when I'd first woken up, and I had (silly, I know) visions of the ship just plain rolling over. :eek: I wasn't going to be able to just will myself back to sleep, so I got up, got dressed, and went for a walk around the ship to try to find a porthole I could see out of and better convince myself that everything was okay. I was extremely jittery and it was very, very strange to go wandering around the ship and find absolutely no one awake and about except for one or two crew members down on the bottom floor of the atrium. It helped, though, a little -- enough that I was able to go back to my stateroom and get back to sleep for a few more hours (I'd woken up around 4:30 in the morning).

I was awake again right on time to take down my door decorations and finish packing my carry-off bag. After doing a final sweep of my stateroom (and then another final sweep...and then a FINAL final sweep) I snapped a picture of it looking a little less homey without the various detritus from my travels.

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I am a delicate princess when I sleep and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Miami awaited. I'd finished getting ready a little more quickly than I'd realized and had about half an hour to kill before my assigned breakfast time.

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I wandered here and there; people were just milling around in general. In the artwork displays I found evidence of the previous night's suffering:

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And hey, why not finally get a picture of myself in front of the MDAS sign? A fellow guest spotted me struggling to get a selfie and helped me out.

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More milling....

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More selfie....

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And then it was time for breakfast in Lumiere's -- hey, I finally made it! Except I'm pretty sure it was just the same food they serve in Cabanas, because the quality was not particularly impressive. It was a nice chance to see my tablemate and my serving team one last time, but that's about all I'd say for it.

I didn't have to wait around too long, and since I was on second seating I believe I just lingered at the table drinking coffee until they called my luggage tag color. Hard as it was to believe, it was time to say goodbye to the Magic.

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:sad:
 
January 26
The Reason I Don't Drive on Vacation (continued)

And hello to travel logistics.

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:sad::sad::sad:

Seriously, could the Miami cruise terminal possibly be any more bleak and unwelcoming?? At least Disney had a good set-up with the banners; I was able to find my luggage quickly and head to the bus. From there it was back to the Miami airport, which is similarly un-magical.

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I'll be honest, I was kind of emotionally ready to just get on an airplane and go home, but that wasn't what I'd arranged for myself. What I had arranged was a fairly convoluted travel plan I probably could have done better in some way; I was in for a pretty unpleasant day's travels. I'd decided that it was simplest to get a rental car at the airport so I could take DCL transit both ways from the port instead of figuring out how to get to a rental agency, so that's where I was headed.

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I don't rent cars often, and I found the entire process confusing and stressful. They told me to pick out a car from such-and-so row, and I just put my stuff in the first one in the row, which was a mistake. I found this car very uncomfortable to drive; even with the driver's seat back as far as it would go I did not have enough leg room.

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I think after having basically everything done for me on the cruise, suddenly jumping into unfamiliar situations and doing something I don't like at the best of times (that is, drive) was especially unwelcome. I just wanted to get to Orlando (well, Lake Buena Vista) as fast as I could and get it over with.

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And, luckily for us, that's both the first and last of the photos from the drive, so rather than detail every loathsome minute I'm just going to give a couple of lowlights from the perspective of someone who's not used to Florida traffic:

  1. Holy cow, Miami drivers are ridiculously aggressive. I was amazed that I made it out of the city without getting run off the road or hit by another car.
  2. I hate toll roads. It's not even a matter of not wanting to pay the tolls; it's that I find them needlessly complicated. The car came with an automatic tollpass I wasn't entirely sure I was using correctly when I got on the turnpike, as the explanation it came with was vague and confusing. Later when I got the bill after the trip it turned out I was doing it right and everything was fine, but spending three hours wondering if I was racking up traffic tickets was not a great addition to the trip.
  3. I really hate toll roads. When I got closer to Orlando I accidentally got on the entrance to a different toll road where they only took cash. I'd gotten rid of all my cash and couldn't pay, but the on-ramp was designed so there was literally no way to get off the road again. I was given a warning ticket...on the bright side I didn't have to pay a fine, but the whole thing seemed archaic to me.
  4. Seriously, that car was so uncomfortable to drive, and I couldn't even put it on cruise control because no one else was keeping a steady speed on the turnpike.

At least the turnpike itself wasn't too bad of a drive. The cars were spread out enough that it wasn't constantly stressful like Miami had been, and I had some music downloaded to my phone to keep me awake (a serious concern; I was pretty short on sleep).

So all in all I was feeling downright rotten by the time I got to Disney World. I pulled into Coronado Springs and finally had a chance to check my phone and see that my room was ready for me. The front of the Coronado Springs Resort added to the overall bleakness of the day; I'd known when I booked it that it was under construction (that was, indeed, why I'd booked it; I got a pretty deep discount on the room), but all of construction walls and so forth just added to the overall feeling of un-magic the day had brought so far.

Back around at the Cabanas buildings it was a bit better. I hadn't paid the upcharge for a view, so my front door looked out on a parking lot. That put me right near one of the bus stops, though, and it wasn't like I was going to spend a lot of time hanging around the room!

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The room felt downright cavernous after my cozy little stateroom -- and I'm not a fan of the changeover to all white sheets and covers. I get it; having all the resorts share one standardized color probably simplifies things a lot behind the scenes, but it makes the beds look unfinished.

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Overall, I don't know that I'd be inclined to pay more for this room than for one at POP. This was only my home for the next two nights, though, and --

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Hey, what's this?

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OMG!!

So as I'd mentioned re: Jose Carioca's on the Magic, I do have a soft spot for the Three Caballeros. They come from a really interesting point in Disney history; the films that feature them are WWII-era oddities that Disney doesn't trot out anymore apart from a few little features on WDW property. For those unfamiliar -- well, I'm sure you recognize Donald at the top, but those are his friends Jose Carioca on the left and Panchito on the right. He met them during his travels through the Americas (Jose is from Brazil and Panchito is from Mexico).

I'd booked the room knowing full well that there would be construction going on at the resort, so my downer feelings about it were my own problem and my own problem only -- I had not expected any kind of compensation apart from the lower price I'd already gotten on the booking. This was a stellar little surprise, and it marked the turning point as the ugly parts of the day were behind me and I could begin to turn toward more pleasant things.

Side note: Just in the last week I finally dug out all my Disney trading pins, put them on the pin board I'd bought last year, and hung it on my wall. These guys got lined up all together at the bottom:

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Also, not to brag...well, actually, TOTALLY to brag...four of the pins on that board are CM exclusives from my two stints in the College Program. Top and center is my Expedition Everest opening day pin; I didn't work there but I was there bright and early for the cast member opening and was among the first few hundred people to ride it. I've been feeling very nostalgic about all of that this weekend as I've been going through old things from college, deciding what to keep and what to discard, and finally putting pictures and things up on the walls. The other three exclusives are below it: "I Make the Magic Happen," Cast Member Stitch, and 75th Anniversary Donald.
 
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January 26
The Reason I Don't Drive on Vacation (continued)

Back to January -- I still had one last chore ahead of me. Someone had told me on the Dis that I could have/should have set myself up to return the rental car at the Car Care Center and gotten a shuttle ride to my next destination from there, but I was stubborn and set up to drop it off at the Dolphin. Well! I got lost several times trying to find a gas station on property, and when I finally did find one...it was the one literally next door to the CCC. :sad2: Could have just zipped over there and been done. But no, I didn't know if there'd be a penalty for returning it somewhere else than I'd said, so on to the Dolphin it was. I'd never driven on property before (as a CM I always took the provided buses to/from the CP apartment complexes) and it was harder to find my way around than I'd expected. Or I was more tired than I thought. Probably both.

I finally made it to the Dolphin, got a receipt for the gassed-up car, and bid it a not-so-fond farewell.

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Now I was finally on familiar ground!! My mother and I stayed at the Dolphin on our 2015 trip, plus I'd been through the area many times on foot when I'd wander the parks on my days off in the College Program. I had a reservation to get to and I knew how I was getting there: the most inefficient way I could. Really, the quickest thing would have been to get a shuttle or a Lyft, but...well, for old times' sake I wanted to navigate property the way I'd always done it before: entirely by foot and by bus (and anyway, it was nice to stretch my legs).

So! Through the lobby I went, and down the escalator.

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And this? This was much more magical.

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I was still tired, but the crankiness from before had left and I was back in that strange mindset of realizing that I was actually factually back in Walt Disney World. I had not initially planned this as part of my trip (I'd intended to fly home on this day and spend the weekend recovering), but had the "crazy person thought" to tack it on at the last minute. Overall, given the logistics and what a bad day it was getting there from Miami, I wouldn't do this again. But still, there's something about getting to WDW that makes everything seem like it was worth it.

I trekked to Disney's Hollywood Studios, which was yet another construction zone. I actually hadn't heard about the gondolas they were putting in (I've been that far out of the loop!) and while it made for a bit of an eyesore at the time, I'm very interested to try them out in 2020.

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I don't know if I would call gondolas an "innovative transportation system," though.

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The evening was lovely and on one level I kind of wished I were simply going to one of the parks. I turned my feet, however, toward the bus stops.

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And Immigrant Song immediately starts playing in my head
 
January 26
The Reason I Don't Drive on Vacation (continued)

All of this because....

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My first time! I'd never been to any of the restaurants at AKL. I haven't done a lot of dining experiences at WDW in general; when I was a CM there I didn't feel I could afford it -- in hindsight I could have eaten a few nicer meals and bought less snacks on my days off and junk from the CM shops back then, but it is what it is. Or was what it was.

I hopped a bus to AKL and promptly got lost. This has been my experience every time I've gone there (well...okay, I've only been there two or three times in total). I don't know if I got the wrong bus or if I got off it too soon, but I ended up at Kidani Village instead of Jambo House. A CM set me straight and suggested I catch a bus within the resort, but I was afraid I'd mess that up and end up somewhere else entirely, so I just walked to Jambo House.

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I always forget how stunning this lobby is.

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I didn't have to wait too long to be seated, and began the pleasant-but-awkward dance of a solo buffet. My server was lovely and the food was amazing. I wanted to try absolutely everything, but I ended up stuffed long before I made it to the dessert section.

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The first plate of...I'm not telling you how many

I took a brief nighttime stroll on the Serengeti to help my big dinner settle.

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All in all, it was a great meal, but after the cruise the sticker shock was a bit much. Meals at Disney are expensive, period (especially if you're going to do something like Boma); it's more jarring than usual when you've spent most of a week not paying out of pocket for anything.

I probably should have gone back to my resort and gone to bed at this point, but I was too wired for that (and too foolish). Instead, I caught a bus to Disney Springs and set off to have a wander.

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Now, here was a place that was all but unrecognizable!! I had it in my head that Disney Springs was still basically the same as the old Downtown Disney, as I hadn't been there since 2009. I had no idea just how enormous it is at this point, or I might have had second thoughts about trying to take it all in.

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I did a lot of perusing, but very little buying. I like souvenirs well enough in general, but I'm very choosey because anymore I just don't like to accumulate tons and tons of stuff. And, well, I was on a budget.

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Also, I've never understood what one is supposed to do with novelty Coca-Cola bottles. :confused3

I got lost several times while trying to find my way to World of Disney. Once there, I found that I still didn't really want to buy anything...but I did find something bizarre and disturbing.

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Disney, are you okay??

Back out and about, I got what I think is a pretty good shot of the Rainforest Cafe volcano:

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And when I found the pin kiosk...shop...thing, I did what I should have done on the ship and picked up the DCL pin for the Magic (you can see it on the picture of my pin board).

Then I tried to find my way back to the bus stops and got lost several more times. By then the lack of sleep was really catching up to me, and I felt more and more like the world was rocking under my feet. It was kind of fun at first, but it grew worse and worse as I stayed out too late. Over-tired, I finally made it back to Coronado Springs and crashed for the night.

As I said above, I'm going to keep at this tonight and try to get everything finished! Just one more day left on the trip! I want to get this posted, though, and take a little break.

Next up: Four Parks, One Day!
 
The good news: I finished writing the report. The bad news: I have about a bazillion photographs to reformat before I can copy and paste it in, and it's already well past my bedtime. It should be a quick enough task that I can finish it up tomorrow evening, and then we're done! The final day was much, much more magical than the one I posted earlier today.
 

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