Don't Pet the Sweaty Things. An Aug Solo Birthday Trip. Updated 12/4!!

[Pluto0809]

Guess you'll have to go back!!

Of course! It doesn't take much of an excuse for me to go back.

Ooh, I haven't seen these before either. I do like that it says specifically your whole party needs to be together; however, I wonder if/how they really enforce it if people do get out of line for bathrooms or whatever.

No, they definitely don't enforce it. We had a whole group shove in between my group in October. It was not a pleasant experience but I'll save that for the other TR.

I like your face--it's like, Oh, hello old friend?
I think those guys look like they're just holding on their glasses! LOL Not sure what they were going for otherwise!

You are probably right about those guys. That ride definitely can jar the glasses off of your face!

Yum!! I LOVE those cookies! I'm usually using up snack credits on those to take home with me!

The are definitely yummy! I haven't had snack credits in a while since I've had an AP. I'm probably going to upgrade to an AP again in May so still no snack credits.

Yuck, I imagine you were!! I "get" being bounced around a bit, but it sounds like you were really tossed!!

It was much worse that normal!

Nice little collection there And I LOVE the pic of you and your Mom with the Osborne lights and cracked up at you, Jim and Gaston LOL

I'm so far behind on trip photos for my work shelves. I'm kind of out of room for pictures so I stopped getting new frames.

I give it 6 months, tops.

Well maybe a little longer since it's about 6 months before I go back to Disney again.

Hope so.
I'm thinking I'm going to have to post... something?
"We'll be in _____ park on this day, so if you're there, shoot me a text."

Something like that?

Definitely! I'm sure I'll eventually post my plans and which parks I'll be in each day so hopefully we can coordinate a meet even if it's a quick one.

Ugh. Yeah, that wouldn't be fun.
Heh. Just to mess with you, if we meet, I'll be a real jerk. Well, more of a jerk.

I just don't think you have it in you to be a jerk. But not that I said that, I'm thinking I may have just issued a challenge to you.

I'll eat white... but not much. I get sick of it pretty quickly.

White just tastes weird to me, kind of plastic-like. Not sure if that describes it exactly but I just don't find it appetizing at all.

mmmm.... cushy seats...

I actually really enjoy getting one of those buses to or from the parks even though they aren't Disney at all. Guaranteed (no standing allowed on those), cushy seats? I'll take that over a Disney bus any day.

Wow, that is nuts! I only did FoP once, but I am glad I had a FP for it.
Of course on the other hand, I would gladly wait that long for this ride. One thing I regret about FP is that you miss so much of the queue, and it looks pretty amazing. I think 50 minutes would go by fairly quickly in a queue like that.

This is the only ride that I will wait that long for. My normal limit is 20-30 minutes max. It's definitely worth waiting in the Standby line at least on time. Tons of stuff to look at does make the time go by fast.

Too bad. I've always said "No sleep like a Disney sleep."

I don't know what my problem was this trip. There was a lot of noise at night but I'm usually able to block it out after the first night.

Holy crap!
I may have to revise my plans with my DD for this May.

It wasn't really that bad since it was during EMHs. Without FP people, the line moved constantly. And once you get in the actual line, there is so much to see that the time goes very quickly.

What did you do when people were turning and staring at you?

Ignored them of course.

Huh. Hadn't heard of that. I guess they must have had.... issues.

This was the first time I'd seen those cards but I did know they were coming. I do know my Aunt got very sick on the ride last February. She didn't throw up but said she came awfully close. I also wonder if they've had to stop the ride after someone freaked out.

This is what one does. I've never actually been in the non-FP line.

It's definitely worth at least one time through the regular line to see everything. They did a great job on the queue for this one.

Wow! I've got a long ways to go to catch up with you.

I'm up to 7 times now!

I think they're just adjusting their glasses.

Probably is what they are doing. That ride does throw you around enough to dislodge glasses.

Well... no. It's Cheerios. And there's an entire World of Disney snacks at your disposal, you know.

True! But I try to eat something blander first thing in the morning. For some reason, cheerios or a plain bagel seem to help with my stomach issues. Anything too rich or greasy in the morning just makes me feel sick.

It does?
Hmmm.... not a Cinnamon roll fan?

Nope, don't like Cinnamon rolls at all. The main place for breakfast at AK is Starbucks and the line there is usually way too long for my taste.

Why?
Not questioning your desire, just that's a one and done per trip for me.

I just love to watch animals so more than one trip through the safari is something I like to do. Also, I was hoping to catch the Painted Dogs that morning. I honestly can't remember now if I saw them on this particular trip but they are only out in the morning. In the afternoon, there are Hyenas in that area.

Ah ha! I told you! Six months! Tops!

Nah, I still have two more shelves I can fill so I'm good for a bit.

Ouch. I don't think I would've been overly happy with that.

I was not happy. Maybe 5-10 years ago I might have thought it was fun but now I have too many aches and pains to enjoy a rougher safari.

Giraffe clotheslines itself at Disney Park. News at Eleven.

Clotheslined giraffe pukes up its food. News at Eleven.

I think they missed the best chance to name these guys. They should've called them KoolKats.

Hmmmm, not sure if I've ever seen them acting cool though. They are usually twitchy, nervous little things.

They grow up so fast. Soon she'll be asking for the car keys and demanding her own cell banana.

They do grow up fast! I've been following Lily since she was born in 2011 and I can't believe how big she is now. Even Cory and Flint have grown in leaps and bounds the last two years. Mom and I saw them in 2014 right after they were born. At that time they were still infants and totally dependent on their Moms just like a human infant.

I love to follow the Gorilla families at AK, so fun to see each trip.
I’m glad you found an elephant you liked and good thing it wasn’t with you on the bumpy Safari!
FoP is worth a little longer wait in my opinion

I really like checking out the Gorillas every trip. It's so much fun seeing them grow up over the years. FOP is about the only ride I would wait that long for. We did end up waiting that long for TSM last month but not by choice. The wait time said 30 minutes but was apparently not accurate.

Sounds like a good morning so far!! Love the new elephant addition.

It was a fun morning!

The SWAGS dessert party seems like fun. I wanted to try it again since they switched it from my previous trip, but I won't have any opportunity in May.

It was a lot of fun. Most days I can't decide whether this one or the HEA one is my favorite. I definitely like the desserts better at the Star Wars one but HEA has a slight edge over SWAGS for me so it's a toss up. I did think about doing this one in May but there is just not enough time with all the other fun activities we are doing! I also want to give the Epcot Frozen one a try someday.

Just back from WDW so playing catch up!

Hope you had a wonderful trip! Have you started a TR yet?

Holy cow. People don't mess around with that ride.

Nope, it definitely gets a long line early.

50 minutes! That's more than I'm usually willing to take. I regret not being able to see the queue area, though.

It's way more than I'm willing to do on any other line. FOP is worth it though in my opinion. And the queue is amazing so also worth the wait at least one time.

Maybe the dinosaur is stinky?

That's the best explanation so far!

I could see this making the ride better!

If I was 5-10 years younger than yes, the extra bounciness probably would have been fun. But this one was just a bit more painful than fun.

Hope you had a wonderful time at Disney - I'm excited to read about it

We did have a great time. I have started the new TR but haven't gotten very far yet.

I hadn't even considered that possibility for the one I went to solo. There weren't any assignments when I went in May - it was actually quite a light crowd and maybe that's why. It was pouring rain the entire time so when they brought us out to the designated spot, almost no one even went out. It was miserable! I need a redo Should have joined you

Did they have seating at your party? I know they changed from standing tables to tables with assigned seats sometime over the summer. That was the deciding factor for me going to the party.

What a bummer! This would have been super frustrating for me - after all, it's one of the reasons for going!

It was not a fun meet and greet at all. Granted I've never had great interaction with him in the past but this was a little ridiculous.

 

[rteetz]

Have you started a TR yet?

Yes link is in my signature!

 

[Pluto0809]

I Finally Crash on a Soggy Afternoon

After purchasing my elephant, I got in the standby line for Festival of the Lion King. Despite the fact that the line is under a roof, it was still sweltering. I swear there is zero air circulation in that area. But that was when I remembered that I had brought a little fan with me so I got it out and that helped a bunch. I wish I had remembered it in the sweltering Frozen Sing a Long line the previous day!

I ended up sitting towards the top of the Elephant section. While I was waiting for the show to start, I checked out the wait times to see if there was anything else I could do before heading to DS for my lunch ADR. Yikes! Not with these wait times.



I did try to take some pictures during the show but they were all turning out like this so I gave up and just watched.



I love this show and thoroughly enjoyed it as always. Something happened at the end though that had never happened before in all the times I’ve seen it. They asked us to please stay in our seats while they moved the floats back stage. So I present a blurry picture of the giraffe float heading backstage.



As soon as they opened the exit doors, I realized why they moved the floats before letting us exit. It was raining buckets outside which made everyone reluctant to leave the theater. I guess they realized that if they waited till everyone left, they wouldn’t have enough time to move the floats before the next show. And it was definitely slow going getting out of the theater. Lots of people stopped to put on ponchos or get out umbrellas. Many also just stayed in their seats probably hoping to wait it out before they got kicked out of the theater.

I pulled out my poncho and went for it. I had barely made it to Tusker House before my shoes and bottom half of my shorts were soaked. I decided I’d better head to the buses and back to my resort to change before heading to DS. I didn’t think I could get any wetter but I was seriously squishing by the time I made it to the bus stop. Here’s a video (along with my finger) of how hard it was coming down.

It was also thundering and there were huge flashes of lightning that I didn’t catch on that video.

By the time I made it back to the resort, the rain had pretty much stopped. I took a picture of my very wet shorts and shoes when I got back to the room. You can really tell were my poncho ended!



I took that picture around 12:20 and my lunch ADR at DS was 1:30. I knew I would be pushing it to change and catch a bus to DS in time to make that ADR. Plus I was exhausted at this point. So I made the decision to skip out on my ADR and take the $10 penalty. I’m sure I could have gone to the desk and come up with an excuse to have it cancelled without the penalty but I felt guilty doing that. I really didn’t have a good excuse other than being tired.

I ended up changing and heading over to the food court to get some lunch. I went with my old Disney standby, chicken tenders and fries.



And I couldn’t resist a piece of this birthday cake. It was my birthday trip after all!



After lunch I headed back to my room to pack a bit since I was leaving the next day. Remember the big Pluto I bought on my first day? He proved to be a bit of a challenge to bring home. I always bring an extra Vera Bradley bag folded flat in my suitcase in order to bring home souvenirs. He took up about 2/3rds of that bag and I had to bend him a bit to get him in!



After stuffing him in that bag along with the other items I’d purchased (thank goodness everything else I purchased was on the smaller side) I decided to try to take a nap. I’ve never had much luck with napping but I was exhausted. I attempted to trick my body into thinking it was bed time. I washed my face, took out my contacts, brushed my teeth and changed into my PJs. And it worked! I was able to sleep for about 2 hours. I had my alarm set for 4:00 pm but Mousekeeping, despite the Room Occupied sign I put out, knocked on the door around 3:30 pm. I did try to go back to sleep but I was wide awake after being jarred out of my sleep so I got up and headed back to AK for the evening.

I made it back to AK around 5 pm. My first FP of the evening was for the Safari at 5:15 so I had a little time.



I checked wait times and yikes! Two major rides down and everything else with massive wait times.



I later learned that Kali was down most of the afternoon and EE was down for several hours. The fact that it was a Saturday with morning EMH and two major rides down made for a very miserable, crowded day at AK. I was very glad that I had taken a break that afternoon.

I had a few minutes before my Safari FP so I stopped and got some pictures.







I made my way back to the Safari, and despite the long standby line, I was on very quickly with my FP. So here’s the photos from the second time around. I apparently didn’t get any from the first section of the ride. I do know I was disappointed that the baby hippo was nowhere to be seen on either of my Safaris that day.



I was excited to get a glimpse of the Hyena’s this time around. I don’t do afternoon Safaris very often and they are only out in the afternoon. They share an enclosure with the Painted Dogs who are out in the morning.







It was interesting to see a keeper out feeding the Ankole Cattle.



















I can’t remember if I checked the App again to see if EE was back up or if I just headed that way to see if it was. I stopped along the way for some more pictures since I’d been so lazy with them the previous days.







A few pictures as I walked.





EE was open when I got there but WOW, what a mess. The FP line was stretched all the way back over the bridge, almost to the Nemo theater and the standby time was 120 minutes. I was still a little early for my FP so I found a place to sit and enjoyed some cool air from my little fan. It had gotten super hot and humid after the rain that afternoon.



The FP line had gotten a bit shorter while I waited so a few minutes before my FP time, I got in line. There was a CM going up and down the line offering anytime FPs for AK for later that week if you gave up your current FP. Guess they were getting desperate to shorten the lines. Since I was leaving the next day, I decided to just stick it out. And honestly it wasn’t too bad of a wait, maybe 15-20 minutes if I’m remembering correctly.



Up Next: A Pandora Kind of Evening

 

[Pluto0809]

Yes link is in my signature!

Thanks! on my way to check it out.

 

[missangelalexis]

Wow, that's a lot of rain! Sorry you got soaked!

Napping at Disney can be tough- I'm glad you succeeded! You made the right call skipping your DS reservation.

Great PP pics!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Something happened at the end though that had never happened before in all the times I’ve seen it. They asked us to please stay in our seats while they moved the floats back stage. So I present a blurry picture of the giraffe float heading backstage.

Yeah, I have never seen that happen either. I can see why they would do that though. The show must go on, as they say!

So I made the decision to skip out on my ADR and take the $10 penalty. I’m sure I could have gone to the desk and come up with an excuse to have it cancelled without the penalty but I felt guilty doing that.

I feel like a lot of people come up with the excuses. I would have done the same as you and been honest.
I was honest with my overnight parking fee at ASMu. They asked me if I had a car, I told them yes, a rental. They said the $13/night would be added to my bill. But they did not ask for proof or record the license plate, and I did not get a parking permit to display, so I suppose I could have just said no and not have the fee.

I was excited to get a glimpse of the Hyena’s this time around. I don’t do afternoon Safaris very often and they are only out in the afternoon. They share an enclosure with the Painted Dogs who are out in the morning.

Cool! I have never seen the hyenas. I normally do morning safari's, so I guess that's why.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Wow thats interesting that they were giving out anytime FPs for later in the week! I guess at least they recognized the mess they were in!

 

[rteetz]

Looks like a good day despite the rain.

Interesting they would give out FPs for later in the week. I don’t know if I’ve heard that before.

 

[disneyAndi14]

We never saw the baby hippo in August either, I really wanted to get a look at him.

I loved my little fan in August, I used it a fair amount.

We haven’t seen the hyenas in ages, cool pictures from your Safari!

 

[pkondz]

Well maybe a little longer since it's about 6 months before I go back to Disney again.

Valid point.

Definitely! I'm sure I'll eventually post my plans and which parks I'll be in each day so hopefully we can coordinate a meet even if it's a quick one.

That'd be nice.

I just don't think you have it in you to be a jerk. But not that I said that, I'm thinking I may have just issued a challenge to you.

Gauntlet thrown!!

White just tastes weird to me, kind of plastic-like. Not sure if that describes it exactly but I just don't find it appetizing at all.

Huh. Now that you mention it... it does kind of have a plasticky taste to it!

I actually really enjoy getting one of those buses to or from the parks even though they aren't Disney at all. Guaranteed (no standing allowed on those), cushy seats? I'll take that over a Disney bus any day.

I didn't know they didn't allow standing. Huh! No proper handrails, I suppose.

I don't know what my problem was this trip. There was a lot of noise at night but I'm usually able to block it out after the first night.

Well, I'm sorry to hear that.

Ignored them of course.

This was the first time I'd seen those cards but I did know they were coming. I do know my Aunt got very sick on the ride last February. She didn't throw up but said she came awfully close. I also wonder if they've had to stop the ride after someone freaked out.

I'm sure that's happened.
About 2.3 million years ago (1987) I was riding Body Wars (yes... it was an Epcot ride) and right in the middle of it the film stopped and the ride came to a stop. The doors opened and a CM said "Would anyone like to get out?" and this woman quickly scrambled out. She was freaking out.

It's definitely worth at least one time through the regular line to see everything. They did a great job on the queue for this one.

Maybe... Not sure if I wanna stand in line for 3 hours to see it.

I'm up to 7 times now!

Yep. Wayyyy behind.

True! But I try to eat something blander first thing in the morning. For some reason, cheerios or a plain bagel seem to help with my stomach issues. Anything too rich or greasy in the morning just makes me feel sick.

Ah! Well, then that makes all the difference.

Nope, don't like Cinnamon rolls at all. The main place for breakfast at AK is Starbucks and the line there is usually way too long for my taste.

Love Cinnamon rolls. And.... Starbucks being the only place is... tragic.

I just love to watch animals so more than one trip through the safari is something I like to do.

Also, I was hoping to catch the Painted Dogs that morning. I honestly can't remember now if I saw them on this particular trip but they are only out in the morning. In the afternoon, there are Hyenas in that area.

Huh! Didn't know that. Only remember seeing the dogs.

Nah, I still have two more shelves I can fill so I'm good for a bit.

Okay!

Hmmmm, not sure if I've ever seen them acting cool though. They are usually twitchy, nervous little things.

Yeah but TwitchyKats doesn't sound as good.

 

[pkondz]

I swear there is zero air circulation in that area.

Huh. Last time I saw it, it was at the old location. I don't remember it being bad like that there.

Nope!

As soon as they opened the exit doors, I realized why they moved the floats before letting us exit. It was raining buckets outside which made everyone reluctant to leave the theater.

Ugh. Well..... poop.

Here’s a video (along with my finger) of how hard it was coming down.

I'm at work so can't see it, but... you gave us the finger?!?!?!?

It was also thundering and there were huge flashes of lightning that I didn’t catch on that video.

Too busy screaming?

I took a picture of my very wet shorts and shoes when I got back to the room. You can really tell were my poncho ended!

Yes, you certainly can.

So I made the decision to skip out on my ADR and take the $10 penalty. I’m sure I could have gone to the desk and come up with an excuse to have it cancelled without the penalty but I felt guilty doing that. I really didn’t have a good excuse other than being tired.

Um... for future reference, don't take the $10 penalty. Just call and cancel it. You don't need an excuse. Probably (but not certainly) save the $10 and frees it up for someone else too.

I ended up changing and heading over to the food court to get some lunch. I went with my old Disney standby, chicken tenders and fries.

Looks yummy.

I'm hungry.

And I couldn’t resist a piece of this birthday cake. It was my birthday trip after all!

That looks good!

He took up about 2/3rds of that bag and I had to bend him a bit to get him in!

Poor pup. Must've been uncomfortable for him.

I attempted to trick my body into thinking it was bed time. I washed my face, took out my contacts, brushed my teeth and changed into my PJs. And it worked! I was able to sleep for about 2 hours.

Good for you!

I had my alarm set for 4:00 pm but Mousekeeping, despite the Room Occupied sign I put out, knocked on the door around 3:30 pm.

Nopity nope.

True fact. They used to walk into people's homes all the time and eat the scones. So they bred them to grow their horns like that so they wouldn't fit through the doors.

Animatronic lion.

Animatronic lioness.

True fact. They're domesticated, and quite tame. So much so that they were constantly pestering people to scratch their backs. So they bred them to grow their horns like that so they could do it themselves.

Scary!!!

EE was open when I got there but WOW, what a mess. The FP line was stretched all the way back over the bridge, almost to the Nemo theater and the standby time was 120 minutes.

Holy cow!

Nice little fan. looks very compact. Presume it folds right up.

There was a CM going up and down the line offering anytime FPs for AK for later that week if you gave up your current FP. Guess they were getting desperate to shorten the lines. Since I was leaving the next day, I decided to just stick it out.

hmmm... EE FP or AK FP including FOP?

I don't believe I just typed that.

 

[buzzrelly]

I was handed the warning card they give out now on the ride. This was the first time I got one of those.

I got one of the this past trip, too. I wonder if it's completely random or if we have a "look" about us

Something happened at the end though that had never happened before in all the times I’ve seen it. They asked us to please stay in our seats while they moved the floats back stage. So I present a blurry picture of the giraffe float heading backstage.

So weird, I've never seen that happen

As soon as they opened the exit doors, I realized why they moved the floats before letting us exit. It was raining buckets outside which made everyone reluctant to leave the theater. I guess they realized that if they waited till everyone left, they wouldn’t have enough time to move the floats before the next show. And it was definitely slow going getting out of the theater. Lots of people stopped to put on ponchos or get out umbrellas. Many also just stayed in their seats probably hoping to wait it out before they got kicked out of the theater.

Ahhh…that explains it. Guess they've been through this a time or two

I checked wait times and yikes! Two major rides down and everything else with massive wait times.

Oh my! And that FOP actually isn't that bad if you take into consideration all of the closures and the fact that NRJ's wait was only 25 minutes less.

There was a CM going up and down the line offering anytime FPs for AK for later that week if you gave up your current FP.

Again, something I've never seen, and I've seen some long FP lines. I wonder if this would have included FOP too or was it strictly for EE?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

While I was waiting for the show to start, I checked out the wait times to see if there was anything else I could do before heading to DS for my lunch ADR. Yikes! Not with these wait times.

Wow. I guess the refresh trick didn't do anything for you, either.

As soon as they opened the exit doors, I realized why they moved the floats before letting us exit. It was raining buckets outside which made everyone reluctant to leave the theater.

Interesting. Glad they did that to give you a few extra minutes indoors.

Plus I was exhausted at this point. So I made the decision to skip out on my ADR and take the $10 penalty. I’m sure I could have gone to the desk and come up with an excuse to have it cancelled without the penalty but I felt guilty doing that. I really didn’t have a good excuse other than being tired.

Wow, I would be too cheap to give up on it!

I attempted to trick my body into thinking it was bed time. I washed my face, took out my contacts, brushed my teeth and changed into my PJs. And it worked! I was able to sleep for about 2 hours.

Hey, nice! I can usually never nap during the day either.

I later learned that Kali was down most of the afternoon and EE was down for several hours. The fact that it was a Saturday with morning EMH and two major rides down made for a very miserable, crowded day at AK. I was very glad that I had taken a break that afternoon.

Ugh. You wouldn't have gotten anything done that day!

EE was open when I got there but WOW, what a mess. The FP line was stretched all the way back over the bridge, almost to the Nemo theater and the standby time was 120 minutes.

 

[Tracy161]

Did they have seating at your party? I know they changed from standing tables to tables with assigned seats sometime over the summer.

Come to think of it, they didn't have seating at my party! That must be why, I guess I went before the change over the summer (in May).

How cute! Was it good? I'm a sucker for a good "cup" cake

The FP line was stretched all the way back over the bridge, almost to the Nemo theater and the standby time was 120 minutes.

Wow! I don't think I've ever seen that before!

There was a CM going up and down the line offering anytime FPs for AK for later that week if you gave up your current FP.

Yikes! I've definitely not seen that before!

 

[Pluto0809]

Wow, that's a lot of rain! Sorry you got soaked!

Napping at Disney can be tough- I'm glad you succeeded! You made the right call skipping your DS reservation.

Great PP pics!

It was definitely one of the harder rains I've experienced at Disney.

I'm glad I skipped the ADR despite having the $10 charge. I was just done at that point and would not have enjoyed my lunch.

Yeah, I have never seen that happen either. I can see why they would do that though. The show must go on, as they say!

Yep! I'm sure they've learned from experience how slow people move when it's raining out.

I feel like a lot of people come up with the excuses. I would have done the same as you and been honest.
I was honest with my overnight parking fee at ASMu. They asked me if I had a car, I told them yes, a rental. They said the $13/night would be added to my bill. But they did not ask for proof or record the license plate, and I did not get a parking permit to display, so I suppose I could have just said no and not have the fee.

I'm just too honest for my own good sometimes. I would have felt so guilty if I had tried to come up with an excuse.

Cool! I have never seen the hyenas. I normally do morning safari's, so I guess that's why.

That's me too, usually one of the first rides I hit up. I think I read about the hyenas here on the DIS so I wanted to do an afternoon safari to see them.

Wow thats interesting that they were giving out anytime FPs for later in the week! I guess at least they recognized the mess they were in!

They definitely had a mess going that afternoon! The area around EE was a complete madhouse.

Looks like a good day despite the rain.

Interesting they would give out FPs for later in the week. I don’t know if I’ve heard that before.

I think they did the FPs that way because it was only about 3 hours before park close and all of the rides had massive wait times. I don't think handing out FPs for that day would have done any good.

We never saw the baby hippo in August either, I really wanted to get a look at him.
I loved my little fan in August, I used it a fair amount.
We haven’t seen the hyenas in ages, cool pictures from your Safari!

Spoiler but we did get to see him in October but not till the very last day.

I really like my fan too, just wish I had remembered to use it more in August.

 

[Pluto0809]

That'd be nice.

I do hope we can meet up in May! I'd post my plans now but as always, they will probably change 100 times between now and then. I'm already trying to figure out how I'm going to fit the new Mickey Mouse show at HS into my plans.

Gauntlet thrown!!

I didn't know they didn't allow standing. Huh! No proper handrails, I suppose.

That would be my guess.

I'm sure that's happened.
About 2.3 million years ago (1987) I was riding Body Wars (yes... it was an Epcot ride) and right in the middle of it the film stopped and the ride came to a stop. The doors opened and a CM said "Would anyone like to get out?" and this woman quickly scrambled out. She was freaking out.

I only rode Body Wars one time and that was on my honeymoon. Jim hated the ride so much and got a bit nauseous more from the scenes than the motion, that he wouldn't ride anything else after that where he couldn't see the full ride. I still regret missing Dinosaur or whatever it was called back then because I know we would have both loved it. He refused to ride because he thought it was another simulator ride like Body Wars.

Not sure if I wanna stand in line for 3 hours to see it.

Yeah, it's a great ride and the line is very cool but an hour is about the most I would wait. Rope drop on EMH mornings is the best time to see the line.

Huh! Didn't know that. Only remember seeing the dogs.

I didn't either until I read it somewhere here on the DIS.

Yeah but TwitchyKats doesn't sound as good.

Huh. Last time I saw it, it was at the old location. I don't remember it being bad like that there.

OK, first I need to yell at you for not having seen FOLK for at least 4 years. But yeah, the new location does seem a bit more muggy. They also seem to pack more people in the waiting area now then they did before.

I'm at work so can't see it, but... you gave us the finger?!?!?!?

Not sure which finger it actually was. And I'm still not sure how I managed to film with my finger in that positions anyways?

Too busy screaming?

Not me but the teenagers in the bus line with me certainly were. My eardrums are still ringing from that one.

Um... for future reference, don't take the $10 penalty. Just call and cancel it. You don't need an excuse. Probably (but not certainly) save the $10 and frees it up for someone else too.

Huh, didn't know that. I will have to remember it for next time. I wasn't too worried about opening up the spot though because most of the restaurants at DS don't fill up for lunch.

Looks yummy.

I'm hungry.

I'm always hungry especially when reading TRs on the DIS! So many food pictures.

That looks good!

The cake was very good.

Poor pup. Must've been uncomfortable for him.

He survived. I guess I could have just carried him onto the plane, I've done that before. I have no shame so being an adult carrying a huge stuffed animal doesn't bother me at all.

True fact. They used to walk into people's homes all the time and eat the scones. So they bred them to grow their horns like that so they wouldn't fit through the doors.

True fact. They're domesticated, and quite tame. So much so that they were constantly pestering people to scratch their backs. So they bred them to grow their horns like that so they could do it themselves.

Holy cow!

Yeah, that pretty much sums up the area around EE that day.

Nice little fan. looks very compact. Presume it folds right up.

Yep, the blade comes off and goes in that hole in the base and then it folds in half. It's also rechargeable with an Iphone cord.

hmmm... EE FP or AK FP including FOP?

I don't believe I just typed that.

I didn't actually see the FPs they were handing out but my guess would be that they excluded both FOP and NRJ.

 

[Pluto0809]

I got one of the this past trip, too. I wonder if it's completely random or if we have a "look" about us

I'm pretty sure that every party gets one of those now. In October, the CM handed me one and told me to make sure everyone in my party had read it before we got to the second tape point.

Ahhh…that explains it. Guess they've been through this a time or two

That would be my guess too. Experience probably told them how long it would take to clear the theater with that mess coming down.

Oh my! And that FOP actually isn't that bad if you take into consideration all of the closures and the fact that NRJ's wait was only 25 minutes less.

I know, it was a weird day at AK with two rides down.

Again, something I've never seen, and I've seen some long FP lines. I wonder if this would have included FOP too or was it strictly for EE?

I'm guessing it was an anytime FP for AK and most likely excluded FOP and NRJ.

Wow. I guess the refresh trick didn't do anything for you, either.

I actually had some great luck with the refresh trick on this trip. But I didn't try it at AK because my FPs were late afternoon. By the time I finished the last one, there was less than an hour left before the park closed so I didn't try for a 4th.

Interesting. Glad they did that to give you a few extra minutes indoors.

I'm glad too. It gave me a minute to stop and put on my poncho, not that it did much.

Wow, I would be too cheap to give up on it!

I normally am the same way. The fact that I skipped it just shows how tired I really was.

Hey, nice! I can usually never nap during the day either.

Me neither. I was just really tired at that point.

Ugh. You wouldn't have gotten anything done that day!

Nope. Not that I normally spend a full day at AK when I'm solo. When I'm by myself I can usually get everything done in that park pretty quickly.

Come to think of it, they didn't have seating at my party! That must be why, I guess I went before the change over the summer (in May).

That was probably the case. When I went in August, they had only switched the seating about a month before.

How cute! Was it good? I'm a sucker for a good "cup" cake

It was! And it was really big. I think it was a special item though that they don't have all the time.

Wow! I don't think I've ever seen that before!

Me neither. I was pure craziness that day around the EE area.

Yikes! I've definitely not seen that before!

That's the first time I've ever been offered an anytime FP to give up my current FP. I wish I could have used it but I wasn't going to be back to AK again on this trip.

 

[Pluto0809]

A Pandora Kind of Evening

Before I start this update, I want to send a shout out to the DISer I meet on Saturday night at the Gwinnett Gladiators hockey game. I tend to get a bit flustered when I'm recognized so I totally forgot to ask your name and DIS name. Sorry about that! It was great to meet you and I hope you will stop in and say hi.

I was getting hungry after EE so I decided to head to Satu’li Canteen for dinner. I hadn’t eaten there yet and wanted to give it a try, plus indoor seating was sounding really good at the moment with the heat and humidity. But as I passed by Flame Tree, the smell of barbecue wafting in the air drew me in like a fly to honey. I ended up getting my usual half chicken meal which was delicious as always.



It wasn’t very crowded at all so I was able to find a seat in one of the pavilions and that helped with the heat. I had a pretty nice view too.



They no longer have the chocolate mousse dessert I used to get at Flame Tree, so I decided to still go to Satu’li to try out the chocolate cake there. It seems that since they changed the meal plan to not include a dessert with QS, a lot of desserts have been eliminated off the QS menus. I had a nasty disappointment in October when I discovered that the chocolate mousse cake at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot is gone.

I did mobile order this time and waited in the shade outside the restaurant until my order was ready. It took about 10 minutes so I don’t think I saved a huge amount of time by doing that.



The cake was very good and I ate everything except the little red things on top. Not sure what they were but I was afraid they might be peppers. The yellow fruit was just pineapple.

It was well into my FOP FP time after I finished my cake so I headed straight there. I took this one shadowy picture before getting in line.



And once again I thoroughly enjoyed FOP! Ride #6 in the books.

On the way through the gift shop I stopped to make some purchases. I have no desire to own one of the expensive Banshee puppets but the stuffies, well you know how I am. It was a tough decision on which color to pick but in the end I got a turquoise and purple one.



Yep, I’m still 5 years old at heart! I also grabbed a Pandora magnet for my file cabinet at work.



When I exited the store, it was dark so I finally had a chance to see Pandora at night. I walked around a bit and took some pictures.













As I got near the line for NJR I saw that it was posted at a 45 minute wait. Well at that point I had nothing else on my schedule, I was wide awake from my nap that afternoon and I wasn't ready to head back to my room yet. I decided, what the heck, I would go for it. I could either stand in line or start heading back to my room for the night. So I started walking, and walking and walking. It was quite a while before I ran into any kind of line and then once I did I ended up waiting a total of 9 minutes. Talk about an inflated wait time! I ended up riding with a dad and his adorable little girl. I took a few pictures as we sailed along.















I enjoyed the ride a bit more as this was the second time around. I think since I knew what was coming I was able to appreciate the ride for what it was. It was also fun to watch the little girl next to me. She was fascinated and wanted to ride again as soon as we got off. They were waiting for the rest of their party who were in the FOP line so I have a feeling that they rode NRJ several more times that night.

I decided I was done and started out of the park. I did make one more stop in one of the stores on the way out to pick up a bubble wand for my dogs.



Though I hadn’t tried bubbles with any of our current dogs, some of the ones we’ve had in the past loved chasing bubbles. I had previously brought them home most of the available dog toys so I thought this would be a good alternative. It turned out to be an absolute failure. Elle and Buddy were terrified of it and Remy could care less. Sierra did try to catch a few bubbles but once she tasted them she made a “that’s nasty” face (fondly known as “stinky face” in my house) and then she was done. I ended up sending it to my Cousin for her two girls.

I headed out to the bus stop and it was just me and my shadow waiting for the bus.



I made it back to my room, packed some more and then headed to bed. I had yet another early morning coming up!

I traded for only one pin that day and also made a Lion King pressed penny. Oh, I forgot to mention that at one point I started going around to the ice cream carts to trade pins because in January & February every cart had a pin board. But unfortunately they were all gone on this August trip. I asked a CM at one of the carts and she told me that people were stealing the pins without trading so they stopped having the boards.



And here’s my Fitbit Stats for the day.



Up Next: Early Morning Magic

 

[Terra Nova guy]

But as I passed by Flame Tree, the smell of barbecue wafting in the air drew me in like a fly to honey. I ended up getting my usual half chicken meal which was delicious as always.

I am glad I got to enjoy Flame Tree in August. It had been on my list for a while. I was pleasantly surprised by the chicken. So often it can be dry in restaurants, but the Flame tree chicken was wonderful.

When I exited the store, it was dark so I finally had a chance to see Pandora at night. I walked around a bit and took some pictures.

I am disappointed I never got to see Pandora at night, it looks amazing. I only had on night at AK and it was near the end of the trip, so my family and I were just too tired to walk in there.

Though I hadn’t tried bubbles with any of our current dogs, some of the ones we’ve had in the past loved chasing bubbles.

That's interesting. We had the same thought with our cat. She loves chasing little balls and toy mice around the house, and flies and bugs outside in the summer. We figured bubbles might be the same. Nope. She hated them.

 

[missangelalexis]

Flame Tree is hard to resist!

Wow, you definitely made the right call getting in line for NRJ! What a short wait!

Sounds like a good evening