"Is it more fun to go by yourself?" "Well, I sure think so!" August 2014

[Elevationist]

Dug! I love Dug! Where do they meet at? I might have to track them down on my trip!

 

[missangelalexis]

Great gorilla pictures and character photos!

 

[amandaw]

You're not the 1st person I've heard complain about Pocahontas at AK breaking character. Sounds like she needs some more training!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Enjoying your reviews. Looking forward to the rest of them.

Thanks!

Enjoying your TR!

Glad you like it!

Dug! I love Dug! Where do they meet at? I might have to track them down on my trip!

They meet on Discovery Island, in front of the Tree of Life, across from the stores. They're out pretty much all day, shouldn't be too hard to find them.

Great gorilla pictures and character photos!

Thanks!

You're not the 1st person I've heard complain about Pocahontas at AK breaking character. Sounds like she needs some more training!

I met her on two different occasions two years ago and don't remember it being a problem then. And I was disappointed, because I once met a Mary Poppins who managed to subtly convey to me, while remaining totally in character, that we attended the same college. That takes skill!

 

[bellebookworm9]

After our Dug & Russell encounter, we walked across the path and wandered into Daisy Duck's line. Turned out to be perfect timing, as she came out from backstage and walked the path with us down to the meet & greet area. ("Why is this so far away?" asks PB.) There were a few people ahead of us, but nothing too bad-maybe 15 minutes. And the fans blowing on the queue were heavenly.

After that, PB and I said our goodbyes, since he had worked a very late shift the previous night and then gotten up early to meet me for breakfast. I continued to Dinoland, where I was the second person in line to meet Donald. However, the family ahead of me was a bit of a disorganized mess and graciously allowed me to enter ahead of them!

I had a FP+ for Dinosaur so that was my next stop. There was barely any wait at all...and I almost looked at the scary Carnotaurus this time! Oh well, maybe next time.

Then I joined the line for Goofy & Pluto, who were just returning from a break. Again, those heavenly fans blew on the queue. This one was a bit longer, maybe 20 minutes?

I told Pluto I loved his bandana!

They actually tried to walk off with me!

My FP+ to meet Minnie & Mickey was valid at 11:20 so I made my way back to Discovery Island. They had super cute photos in the queue line, and this was one of them:

There were two older men in line behind me who asked me about my MagicBand jibitts...and as it turned out, they turn up later in this TR too!

On my way back to Everest, there was a photographer taking pictures in front of the mountain.

"Let me see your Yeti claws!"

She told me I was the best Yeti that day!

I did the single rider line for Everest, and was put with another single- a young boy who had just ridden it a few minutes before. He was so excited and was talking to his friend about how the Yeti like picks you up and throws you or something like that. He asked me if I'd ridden it before and why, yes, I have a time or 20.

On my way out of the gift shop, I heard a group of teenage girls talking about having a question and not being able to find an available cast member. "Hi, what are you looking for, maybe I can help you?" They wanted to know where the restaurant was that sells the Macaroni & Cheese Hot Dogs. I happened to know that was Restaurantosaurus, since I was planning to eat there for lunch and had been perusing the menu. Just call me Gretchen, the Disney Parks ninja. I overhear you, answer your question, and melt away into the crowds.

 

[poppinspal]

The picture of you on Dinosaur is cute, you can almost see how determined you are not to look.

It also just hit me that Daisy seems to be the only one not in safari type gear. I wonder why that is.

 

[missangelalexis]

Donald's M&G area is so cute! As usual, lots of great character photos! And awesome that you could come the rescue for those girls

 

[LindseyLou2222]

So many great character meets! I'm taking notes for my trip!

 

[DisMom1981]

Haha Disney Parks ninja- works for the price Disney likes to pay!!!

Love all the character photos. I didn't realize you could meet so many at AK. I wasn't very impressed with the Tree of Life construction. Is it me or is it weird to have so much construction during the busiest time of the year? MK walls around the castle moats. Boo.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[amandaw]

Disney Parks Ninja! Love it!

Looks like a really fun morning! Love those pics with the backgrounds for Mickey & Minnie. I do like EE but won't be riding in October. My family just doesn't care that much for AK so we're skipping it this trip. I know, I know some people love it. Don't hate us!

 

[bellebookworm9]

The picture of you on Dinosaur is cute, you can almost see how determined you are not to look.

It also just hit me that Daisy seems to be the only one not in safari type gear. I wonder why that is.

That has been my pose every time I've ridden for literally the last seven years. At first I thought Daisy wears normal clothes because you can't meet her elsewhere in the parks like that, but Donald doesn't meet anywhere in his standard costume either, so I don't know.

Donald's M&G area is so cute! As usual, lots of great character photos! And awesome that you could come the rescue for those girls

I think the Dino area is a little weird, but it does make for some good photo ops. This was a weird time where I chose to answer a question-normally people pick me out to ask things-I must look like I know what I'm doing!

So many great character meets! I'm taking notes for my trip!

Yay! Glad I can provide some info.

Haha Disney Parks ninja- works for the price Disney likes to pay!!!

Love all the character photos. I didn't realize you could meet so many at AK. I wasn't very impressed with the Tree of Life construction. Is it me or is it weird to have so much construction during the busiest time of the year? MK walls around the castle moats. Boo.

There are more characters there than I realized as well. No, I wasn't impressed with the construction either. I actually had that conversation with a lady on the monorail-why change that scheduled during the summer season. It's inconvenient in the AM for everyone, and the reboots they have to keep doing turn the A/C off for a few minutes, which is torture in the heat.

Disney Parks Ninja! Love it!

Looks like a really fun morning! Love those pics with the backgrounds for Mickey & Minnie. I do like EE but won't be riding in October. My family just doesn't care that much for AK so we're skipping it this trip. I know, I know some people love it. Don't hate us!

I don't mind skipping AK, and I've done so on my two previous trips this year. Schedules changed last minute and that was the park that was least important to us. I thought the Mickey & Minnie pics were adorable.

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Hi Gretchen!

I'm enjoying your TR! I enjoy going solo too, but sometimes I have other people with me. (They help me stay longer because I pay less for the room!!!)

I especially love how you chat with the people all around you. It's one of my favorite things to do at Disney! (And I like helping those I overhear too... once I heard a couple asking a CM where a restaurant in AK was, and the CM was confused.... I think it was the Mara, so I told them it was at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I know it was one of the restaurants from AKL anyway, but it was a few years ago. They were a little annoyed because they were already late after looking around AK for it!

 

[nittanyliongirl02]

Just wanted to let you know that it took me several rides to work up the courage to even have my eyes open on Dinosaur! Most of the time, I would ride with my head down and my eyes closed. However, upon our last visit in October, I was brave and looked at the dinosaur AND kept my eyes open. DH and I agreed that they turned the sound down, so I think it was a bit less frightening for me.

Keep working on it, and you too will get the courage!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Hi Gretchen!

I'm enjoying your TR! I enjoy going solo too, but sometimes I have other people with me. (They help me stay longer because I pay less for the room!!!)

I especially love how you chat with the people all around you. It's one of my favorite things to do at Disney! (And I like helping those I overhear too... once I heard a couple asking a CM where a restaurant in AK was, and the CM was confused.... I think it was the Mara, so I told them it was at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I know it was one of the restaurants from AKL anyway, but it was a few years ago. They were a little annoyed because they were already late after looking around AK for it!

I'm always the one paying for the room. Typically the deal with PB is that if I'm by myself and he lets me use his CM discount, he can stay with me. If I invite other people, then I pay for them because I know it's an expensive place to be!

AK and AKL are really confusing to people. Even PB had to confirm a few times that Tusker House was at the park and not the lodge. I'll never forget a few years ago when my mom and I were staying at Kidani Village when we overheard this conversation on the bus: "Are you staying at Jambo House or Kidani Village?" "Animal Kingdom Lodge" Well...that narrows it down.

Just wanted to let you know that it took me several rides to work up the courage to even have my eyes open on Dinosaur! Most of the time, I would ride with my head down and my eyes closed. However, upon our last visit in October, I was brave and looked at the dinosaur AND kept my eyes open. DH and I agreed that they turned the sound down, so I think it was a bit less frightening for me.

Keep working on it, and you too will get the courage!

Let's take a trip through the past, shall we? I don't have a photo from 2007, but I can assure you it looks very similar.

April 23, 2012, riding by myself.

April 24, 2012. My friend is the girl in the blue hoodie, SMILING at the stupid thing.

Then I gave it a rest for three months, next attempt:

July 23, 2012. Same friend sitting next to me.

After that, I didn't go on it for another YEAR.
July 25, 2013. Two friends sitting next to me, looking downright BORED.

That was the trip where I opened my eyes at the *very* end and went, "Wait, that's what I've been hiding from?!"

Which brings us to the is year, August 15, 2014, riding alone, yet another year later.

As a side note, why is the ride photo border not fun anymore? This makes me sad.

I'm not going to AK in December since we just won't have time, but I'm definitely going in March 2015 with one of my friends from the 2013 photo. He LOVED AK and said the Safari was his absolute favorite ride of the whole trip.

 

[Elevationist]

Let's take a trip through the past, shall we?

Okay, this stroll down Dinosaur memory lane just cracked me up! You poor girl!!

As a side note, why is the ride photo border not fun anymore? This makes me sad.

OMG, this! I was thinking it too! The picture looks pretty crappy without it, actually. Way too much negative space at the top. If they're not going to do the border anymore, they need to reposition the camera so that the shot is framed better. Glad now that it's included in MM and I won't be paying extra for it on my trip next week!

 

[nittanyliongirl02]

Ok, well for some of us, it takes a little more time then others!



All I can say is that it is a good thing we never rode together, otherwise neither one of us would know how the ride ended!

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I love all those Dinosaur pictures!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Okay, this stroll down Dinosaur memory lane just cracked me up! You poor girl!!

OMG, this! I was thinking it too! The picture looks pretty crappy without it, actually. Way too much negative space at the top. If they're not going to do the border anymore, they need to reposition the camera so that the shot is framed better. Glad now that it's included in MM and I won't be paying extra for it on my trip next week!

Ok, well for some of us, it takes a little more time then others!

All I can say is that it is a good thing we never rode together, otherwise neither one of us would know how the ride ended!

I love all those Dinosaur pictures!

I think a huge part of my problem is that it's sensory overload as you get further into the ride, and I'm 99% sure I have a hypersenstivity sensory processing disorder. The jerkiness, loud noises, and flashing lights just makes me shut down.

As for the photo borders, they've all gotten much lamer even since last year.

Oh well, I'll try again in March.

 

[bellebookworm9]

After I was done on Everest, I walked back toward Africa. I saw Baloo and King Louie's line on the way, so joined in. I think it was about a 25 minute wait, but I passed the time talking to another family and picking out animals on the Tree.

Baloo was so excited about his autograph page he showed it off to the rest of the line!

Not gonna lie, I find Louie a bit creepy.

It was 12:50 and there was Festival of the Lion King show starting at 1, so I hurried along the trail to get to the new theater in Africa. There was a huge line, but it seems they were just holding people in stand-by until all the FP+ people were seated. I still made it into the show, where I was seated in the Giraffe section. I've never been failed to be amused by the kids that don't know what sound a giraffe makes...which is pretty much all of them!

By the time the show was over, I was hungry, so I made my way back to Dinoland to get some lunch at Restaurantosaurus. On the way, I passed the Daisy meet & greet again and the CM was encouraging people to come in because there was almost no wait. I always feel bad for the characters when that happens, like nobody wants to see them.

At the restaurant, I decided on the Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Cheesecake in a glass.

Good but nothing special. When I was done eating, I decided to call it a day. It was just after 2pm and I'd done almost everything I had planned, minus Kali River Rapids, the Maharajah Jungle Trek, and taking the train back to meet Rafiki. As I made my way out of the park, I stopped to get a Frozen Lemonade, but was overtaken by a large, extended, British family who couldn't make up their minds what they wanted.

Finally I was out to the car and on my way back to CBR for a couple of hours. Around 5pm, I decided to travel over to Blizzard Beach, since it was open until 8 that night. It was clearing out by then and I was able to park in the first row of the lot and find a chair on the beach under a shelter. There was a Photopass photographer in Meltaway Bay, so I got some pics taken.

Next I decided to take a float along Cross Country Creek.

See how empty it is?

Ice Gator sneezes and water comes out the chimney of his house!

I exited by the Red Slope area and made the long, long trek up the 100+ stairs to Runoff Rapids. I had to stop halfway up because I was so winded! As usual, they were funneling the single riders into the enclosed tube, which is not my favorite. But there was pretty much no line at all, I think maybe three people were ahead of me.

I believe my next slide was the Snow Stormers, which had another short wait of about 10 minutes. In that line I talked to a mom and teenaged son, who again, will pop up later. Then I joined the super short singles line for the chair left and was seated with two Spanish speaking women.

I thought this ledge was too funny! What a collection of rubber bands, Memory Maker cards and assorted things that have been dropped!

One of the women was afraid of heights, so it was a nightmare for her when the lift got stuck here for about 10 minutes.

She was like, "Don't breathe! Don't make the chair move!"

Eventually we were on our way again and I headed for Teamboat Springs, which I'd only done one other time. This time I joined a lovely British family of adults, who told me the tax I'd pay for riding with them is that they had a goal of riding the curves and seeing if they could flip the raft. Thankfully, we did not succeed, but came pretty close! At the bottom, we were heavy enough that the raft sank and we had to get out. They told me that I made all the difference and my "bit" of extra weight contributed to the best ride they'd had so far.

Not so hidden Mickey at the bottom.

Back to the chair lift and into the line for Slush Gusher, which I hadn't done in four years!

There were some teenaged/early twenties kids in line with me so we chatted away. This was one of the longer waits of the evening at about 25 minutes or so.

I got more air time on the humps than I remembered from my last ride and ended up with the same nasty wedgie. Then it was back up the chair lift (again, no wait) to conquer the monster that is Summit Plummet!

 

[bellebookworm9]

It had been four years since I'd done this, too.

I had remembered the view from the top as being awesome, which is part of the reason I bought the water-proof phone case in the first place, and took a ton of pics.

Here's Everest and the Tree of Life:

All Star Sports:

Looking down at Snow Stormers and Tobaggan Racers:

Animal Kingdom Lodge:

Coronado Springs:

On the right, you can clearly see the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower; to the far left is the Beast's castle, but there are some other tiny spires that belong to Cinderella Castle (around the middle of the picture) and Space Mountain (just a bit to the left of the hotels).

Looking down at Teamboat Springs:

Swolfin, Spaceship Earth, and Tower of Terror:

The rest of DHS (can you find the Sorcerer's Hat?)

The wait for this was only about 10 minutes at most. Since the photopass photographers had gone home for the day, you can have this throwback from 2010:

Oh my God, this was so much worse than I remembered! I screamed the whole way down, ended up with an awful wedgie, and the force of the water was like jackknives on my hips, I honestly thought they were going to be bruised. Definitely hobbled away from that ride and was like, "I'm going to be crippled as I wander Magic Kingdom tomorrow!" Absolutely waiting another five years or so to give this another shot, if ever.

Downhill Double Dipper had been closed for the 2 hours I'd already been there, and CMs were visibly working to correct whatever problem had occurred. By the time I had conquered everything on the Green Slope, it was finally open, so that was my next challenge.

I thought this punny sign was adorable:

The line for DDD is slow as molasses, and even at the late hour of 7pm, still took 30-40 minutes.

Eventually I reached the top, slid down, and went skimming across the top of the catch pool. My last attraction of the evening was Meltaway Bay, where I bobbed along for about 10 minutes. During that time, I also got (accidentally) kicked in the upper arm by a small child trying to board a tube, to go along with my sore hips.

Empty pool at 7:40pm:

About 10 minutes before closing I gathered up my belongings and made my way to the locker room to change for dinner. On the way, I passed that mother and son I mentioned before, who were taking pics of one another by the Snow Family. I asked if they wanted one together and the mom was like, "Yes! There's no proof that I've been here today!...Weren't you in line with us?" Yes, yes I was.

My advice for water parks is if you can't get there first thing in the morning, go in the last couple hours before closing. This tip works even better in the summer, when they're open later.

Bye bye, Blizzard Beach!

I had a dinner ADR at Boma for 9pm, so I drove the five minutes over to AKL. On the way, there was a beautiful sunset happening, pretty impressive considering how overcast it was in my earlier pics.

Since it was still way early for me to check in, I had brought my refillable mug and went down to the Mara to get a drink. Then I chilled in an out of the way lounge chair by the pool and called my mom to catch up. Around 8:50 I went to the restaurant podium, and my review is here.

Before I went back to CBR for the night, I took a photo of the lobby. Definitely one of my favorite resorts.

Day 3 complete!