Day 1, Part 3: Feeling a bit flustered!
Once I got into Magic Kingdom, I actually started to get a bit flustered. I originally hoped to get there by 2pm, but I was about 40 minutes "late" (I honestly don't know what I was thinking about that time, as it probably would not have worked out no matter what). This feeling actually happened several times during the trip, usually when I just had a lot going on, and it was weird, because being solo meant I didn't have to think about anyone else's priorities, so I don't quite know why I got so flustered! And in the end, everything worked out great, so, really just weird. But I just wanted to let people know who also go on solo trips and start to get overwhelmed at times - you are definitely not alone!
As I walked onto Main Street, there was a minor delay from a school band marching the parade route, but I wasn't upset, as it gave me a moment to chill. It also was a good reminder that the Festival of Fantasy Parade was starting at 3pm (when I visited in September it was a 2pm start).
I did a quick stop at the Emporium, where I was able to find those shirts I wanted in my size! Yippee! I ended up getting them sent back to AKL so I wouldn’t have to bother.
Something I also wanted to mention was t-shirt sizes. So, obviously, I'm definitely Pooh-sized (maybe more like Eeyore if I've had a big meal). When I've searched for Disney shirts (well any clothes, but we're just talking Disney now), I always have to go to the back of the rack, and for years I knew if it was "Disney Parks" branded, I could only wear an XXL, which was actually rare to find (meanwhile other shirts like Her Universe Star Wars ones I can get away with an XL); that meant I have seen many shirts I loved but knew I couldn't fit into. It seems like Disney has started getting more understanding that they have larger fans (especially women) who want shirts that fit. So, they've started stocking more shirts in XXL, as well as have a whole different size chart, 1X, 2X, 3X, in the same designs (I think the prices are the same, but I can't remember). So, it's actually worked out that I now have 2 sizes that fit, because an XXL is a very similar cut to a 1X. So... lots of Disney shirts make their way into my closet these days!
With the parade reminder, I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to head up main street to get to my first FP at Big Thunder (which was already well within it’s window)! So…train it is!
There was a delay leaving the station, which I later realized was because they had to wait for FoF to pass the train tracks in Frontierland. We almost had a delay before getting to Frontierland station, but thankfully we were just on time (I didn’t have my camera ready, but it was cool seeing the backside of the parade).
So, now it was finally time for my first ride this trip! Fastpass for the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness! (Also, I had totally scanned in welll into the 15-minute grace period, since the FP was from 2-3, and the FoF parade had already all gone through into the park.)
Turns out FP wasn’t needed at that exact moment, because Standby was also a walk-on (the crowds had shifted to watch the parade, which was just finishing). I did get held up after the merge point because first there were 2 women and a big gap, which is where I entered. Well I guess their boyfriend/husbands were delayed and I separated their party, so the women glared at me (though the guys weren’t exactly hurrying to stay up with them…). When we got to the split left/right, the women of course went in the shorter line, which I would have done too, but I was finished with that drama, so I just went to the longer side; of course the annoying men then made comments about laughing at everyone in the longer line – like dude, seriously, I did it so you could stay with your group. Whatever… [sorry if I sound negative, it’s just sometimes peoples inconsiderate behavior bothers me and I remember it]
Anyways, did the ride, which is fun, but Disneyland is better . I can't wait to try out Disneyland Paris's version in about 2 months! But I think they really should add ride photos to it (at least at Disneyworld; Disneyland may be harder since there is no easy place to display the screens for people to take down the download code; with WDW they can just do the Magic Band scan like for 7DMT).
Next, FP for Splash Mountain! I was pretty excited about this one, since it was closed on my previous trip.
There was a lineup at the FP scan point, which was due to a common thing on this trip. There were many international tourists visiting-European, South American, even Quebecois-and they didn’t understand the FP system. Many thought to go on any ride with a FP they would need to scan the ticket and the CM would tell them to go to FP queue or standby queue, so a lot of unnecessary scanning. Another guy tried to buy a FP at the ride with a credit card! Most CMs would just try to direct them to the nearest FP kiosk…
Anyways, once I got past the FP scan point, it was smooth sailing. I attempted to take some dark ride photos with my new iphone camera (I just got upgraded to an 8). Turns out the dark photos are ok, its just the moving photos there were issues with!
Don’t go into the light!
And Splash (this is after I wiped away my face)! Thankfully I closed my mouth JUST in time to avoid a mouthful of Splash Mountain water (I think someone is writing a TR with that title, which I remembered as we were dropping).
Wow! This one is so much better than Disneyland! Better animation and more of it, and more of a splash! Although, even though I was sitting on the left side, I still got the splash of the waterfall, since no one was there to absorb it!
I next headed to Adventureland. The crowds weren’t too bad this afternoon, with the view down Frontierland:
I passed by Pirates, which had closed a few days earlier to switch up the Redhead. I know I’m in the minority, but I don’t have an issue with the change. I think a female pirate is way more badass than a sexy slave! Though, I originally wrote that before the videos came out with the actual change, and it's, well, not very impressive. Anyways, the CMs had set out games in front of the ride, which I think people were having fun with!
Onto my next FP-Jungle Cruise! I was also happy to give this another shot, since I only got to ride it once in September (it was closed after the hurricane due to tree damage). I also ended up getting the seat right next to the skipper, which was fun
When the skipper started to make the joke about “if you don’t believe me you’re in de…” I finished with denial. Well she finished with despair! She knew I was going to say denial and totally was messing with me!
After a cruise, it was now time for an early dinner...
Cont... Where do you go for dinner after debarking from Jungle Cruise?