Day one
I am checked into my room. 70’s section, first floor, which is ok. I have my scooter. I am leaving it in the
room to charge overnight.
So its
empty bus
queues, light crowds??
I make it to the park
and my Magic Band
works to get me into the park. :) I don’t even need a map to find my way to
Flame Tree anymore. After so many years of navigating the park, I am finally
learning my way around. :) I look for a line with the least number of people on
it and get in line. What I didn’t know
is the people in front of me were the last people on line for this cashier. There was a CM that was directing people away
from that line, but she didn’t notice me right away. She directed me to another line with no one
in front of me.
What happens is this, for
each cashier who takes your order, there is a left and
right side for guests to queue up on.
The cashier alternates between sides.
My side I am next. So of course
the people on the other side are new to the dining plan system and take a long
time ordering. I order chicken and ribs,
large soda with no ice, and chocolate mouse for dessert. The Magic Band works and I pay for the meal
that way with a quick service dining plan credit.
Due to leg injuries I have a
problem walking down stairs especially with full hands. Last year I found a path with stairs to
navigate to find a table. I felt I was
lucky I made it down the steps without dropping my tray.
After getting my food, I make
it to a garbage can and place my food on it.
My large soda is spilling its contents onto
the tray, so I drink some. Better then
spilling soda on my tray and hand. I
find a path without steps that leads to a seating area. There are no predatory birds. There are a couple of birds walking on the
floor, but they aren’t eyeing any trays of food. I sit eat and enjoy my meal, relaxing for
the first time in weeks. Like I tell people, I only relax and start to enjoy my
trip only when eating at Flame Tree.
This trip isn’t any different.
Expedition Everest as seen from Flame Tree
After eating I make my way to
Kali River Rapids using my Fast Pass Plus.
Obligatory photo of the Tree of Life
The skies look dark, like it is going to
rain. During thunderstorms, they shut
down the ride due to concerns about lightening.
The standby sign for Kali
showed 45 minutes. Even using Fast Pass
Plus, my wait is 10 minutes. Once in the
raft is going up the hill, other riders are warning me that I am in the
position to get soaked. I laugh at
that. I tell them I once rode it 5 times
in a row and I left trails of water to the park exit. Now this was being wet.
Here is my video from Kali
River Rapids.
After Kali, I am walking
around and I spot this pin.
Do you know what is sad? Buying a piece of your favorite parade, meaning it
wont be coming back. Also sad, the
person who sold it to me, didn’t even know what Spectromagic was. He
just started working at Walt Disney World and hasn’t even visited the
After Kali, I had another
Fast Pass Plus for Kilimanjaro Safari.
The standby wait time posted was zero.
My FP+ time had me waiting 15 more minutes, so I just walk nearby trying
to kill time. I should have just used
the standby line. Oh well.
Here is my video from
Kilimanjaro Safari.
After Safari, I decide to
leave the park and head to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I spot this spooky scene.
the water
mist is making a ghostly image.
Leaving the park, I stop in
and window shop other items. I find
this.
I like the music for the
show. I have seen the show once or
twice, but that’s it. I take the photo
as a reminder for later in the trip to buy it.
My dining ADR for Boma is for
I make it to Animal Kingdom
Lodge
and decide to try and find Mara, the counter service
location in the Lodge. While walking
outside for a bit, it starts to downpour with cracks of lightening and thunder.
I do find Mara and look
around inside. I use my refillable mug
to get a drink, just to see if I can. I
then head to Boma to check in.
Having eaten at Boma several times already, they always seat me in the
back. This time I ask, is it possible to
sit closer then the furthest seats in the back?
They will try. I tell them I have
problems with my legs, which isn’t really a lie. But I am seated in the back with the
apologies from the person who sat me and the server. The server takes me drink order and I head to
the food. I get my usual Kool Slaw, what I think is mashed sweet potatos,
and from the carver, some type of meat.
I had a couple of trays of food.
I save room for dessert and have one of everything, but several Zebra
Domes.
getting
drunk on Zebra Domes
After stuffing myself at Boma, and still being able to walk… haha. I can’t decide what to do next, Downtown Disney or
Epcot? I decide to let fate
determine. In what I will call bus roulette,
I will head to the bus stop at Animal Kingdom Lodge and whichever bus comes
first, that is where I will go.
I get to the bus stations and
I see a bus leaving for Epcot. I figure
Downtown Disney is my destination, but a minute later another bus pulls in for
Epcot, so it’s Epcot after all.
I get into Epcot and decide
to do Spaceship Earth first. It looked
like there was a very short wait. Its late at night and Spaceship Earth always has very short
waits. And yes… they edit my hat, but I
am used to that already. I email my
video to share.
Here is my video of Spaceship
Earth.
Here is the video of what ‘Your
Future’ is courtesy of Spaceship Earth and Siemens.
After riding Spaceship Earth,
I am texting Kelly, someone I know from the mouse for
less group. We
are both in the same park right now. I
am in Future World, she is in World Showcase.
She is leaving the park, I am entering World
Showcase to meet her. We send each other
descriptions of what we are wearing, but still miss each other. I am by the entrance to Le Cellier, she doubles back.
We chat while we walk towards the park exit. She leaves, but I am staying for a bit.
I head towards Imagination
Pavilion, but it’s closed for the night.
I then head towards The Land and see the wait for Soarin
at 20 minutes. Call me stupid, but I
decide to wait. I didn’t time how long
the wait was, but at one point the line was moving very slowly, then quickly
disappeared. Like a theater was closed
then it opened swallowing up a large crowd.
After riding Soarin, the wait time dropped to
10 minutes.
After Soarin,
I trek across the plaza and ride Mission Space.
No line at all this late at night.
After Mission Space, I
decided to call it a night while Illuminations started. I figure to beat the crowds. I make it to Pop Century bus station to see a
bus loading with standing room only. I decide to wait for another bus which comes just a couple of minutes later. So I can sit instead
of standing back to my resort.
Its been a long couple of days. I make my first day a
easy day. Tomorrow is breakfast at Boma.