My spontaneous against the odds solo trip adventure! - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Hi I'm back!
Sorry it's taken me a couple days to get back to this. I have had a great couple of days at my new job. It's such a relief to get out of the house and into an office. I have been working at home for three years, and so has my husband! Needless to say it will be nice to miss eachother just a teensy bit! And now when I get home... it feels like - which is a nice change.
Anyway back to the trip!
I had to wake up first thing and go meet my gracious CM sponsor who was letting me have some of her entitlements. I got three days worth of park hoppers from her - a mighty gift indeed! I am so so so grateful to my cousin for approaching her mother in law on my behalf. It really made the difference when I was negotiating with my husband. ; ) I would love to show you guys what one looks like, but I wouldn't want to get in trouble somehow I am not sure how confidential that's supposed to be? Better safe...
I got super lost in Orlando on my way to and from our meet-up point...I most definitely took the scenic route back! My husband took our GPS with him to Atlanta (I don't think I mentioned that he left to go on a business trip while I was at WDW) so I really had no clue where I was going. I did manage to find my way back before 11AM, got my day bag packed and hopped the Downtown Disney Resort shuttle to AK. The downtown Disney Resorts have really terrific shuttle bus service...it's almost just as perfect as the WDW internal system...a little further to the bus stations and they run less frequently but they sure do the job! I found them very convenient and reliable. I was actually headed all the way to AKL for lunch at Sanaa, so I transferred busses upon arriving at AK, and was to my final destination within a few more minutes.
This was my first time seeing Kidani Village, and I am SOLD on the place! It's absolutely charming and cozy/intimate in feel, but you still get all the great features of staying at the AKL....just like Jambo House on a smaller scale. Any which way I know everyone tries to hit Boma, but I'd do Sanaa over Boma any day. It's much smaller and has GREAT views of the savannah! Boma looks out over the pool area...well the sidewalk near the pool actually...so for views Sanaa's got it beat. Also, I am not that into buffets and everything at Sanaa is cooked to order, so for me that's much more palatable. It's just an all around pretty setting, AMAZING CM's - best service my whole trip - and a quieter, cozier size. I'm going to post a full review of Sanaa in the dining forum - when I finish that I will post the link here in this thread for those who are interested!
After I left Sanaa I headed over to AK Park. I finally got to go on Primeval Whirl, which always had too long of a wait on my prior trips. I'm a line-hater and can't deal with more than 20 minutes wait unless it's a stellar E ticket attraction. It was pretty cute, but I have to say, if I'd waited a super long time, I'd have been dissapointed. Also the jerkiness of it at the beginning of the ride didn't agree with my back so well...sorry I hate to be a "complainer" really it's the only ride at WDW I've ever been on where I was like, "ugh."
I got to meet Eeyore, Pooh and Tigger! That was something new I'd never done before - character meet and greets! Before, I felt silly alone , and when I was with another adult I always felt like they didn't want to spend their time on it. But this visit, the lines were SUPER short also, so I didn't feel too bad like I was kicking kids out of line or something lol! They were absolutely adorable and sweet to me...kissing my hand and stuff, awww
I had a really short wait for EE as well, so I took my time and let people pass me in line so I could look at all the cool Yeti artifacts. If you've never had a chance please take some time to check them out, there are some very beautiful and interesting items inside the queue area. In general the queues at AK are my favorites to linger in, lots of beautiful objects and foliage to look at.
AK closes early at that time of year so there wasn't time to do much else before I had to head out. But it's always such a nice stroll, especially in January when it's not hot. The animals all seemed to be lively and enjoying the cool weather.
I need to head to bed because I get up early for work, but I will post some photos from the first half of day one when I get home tomorrow!
Next up - I head over to the Epcot WS for some drinking, feasting, and Illuminations!
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Lunch sounds wonderful! We'll be trying Boma this trip, and I'm really looking forward to seeing AKL. Congrats on getting the tickets! Great day at AK!! Can't wait to see pictures & read more. Oh, and so glad to hear you are loving your job!
It's great to read that glowing review of Sanaa, and I look forward to reading the detail in the food forum! We're eating there in two weeks and one day (lol) and I'm eager to try it!
i will be obsessively checking back on this thread--i can't wait to hear more! this is really helping me gear up for my solo trip in a few weeks! i'm also looking forward to your sanaa review. i have reservations there for my mother's day extravaganza trip in may, and i'm super excited about it (i just hope my less than adventurous mother likes it!) thanks for sharing, can't wait to hear more!!!
EDIT: did i mention that 'i can't wait to hear more'?