Part 3- Day 2- December 3, 2001
After a great first day at WDW, I’d planned a wakeup call for 9:30am, but housekeeping decided I needed an early start, so they knocked on my door at 8:30 ;) Having to jump out of bed and ask them to come back later is way more effective for getting me up than just answering the phone, anyway! I’m used to traveling with someone else, so I was pretty worried that I’d end up oversleeping a lot on this vacation, but that was never the case!
I stepped out of my door, still dressed in pj’s, to check on the weather and found it to still be pretty chilly, so I dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, throwing shorts and an extra pair of shoes in my backpack to take to Animal Kingdom with me so that I could change if it got hot. My poor little toe was already hurting, after just one day! I decided it was better that it didn’t know what was in store for it now!!
I stopped at the food court for a breakfast of biscuits & gravy (I’m addicted!) and tried to get used to dining by myself. I missed having someone to talk to and discuss the upcoming day with, but it was also interesting to get to people watch, and really observe my surroundings.
Around a half hour later, I made it to the Animal Kingdom. There was a beautiful Christmas tree at the entrance, decorated with tons of animal-themed ornaments. As I’d done with Magic Kingdom, I really took my time to explore on the way in, trying to go through all the little entrance trails, and snapping a lot of pictures. I stopped for one of the Disney photographers to take my picture in front of the Tree of Life, and while I was there he asked me where I worked. I was pretty confused, as that seemed like a weird question for him to be asking. When I told him where I was from, he laughed, saying he thought I was a CM because a lot of them had been having pictures taken lately because they could get a free one. I was honored to be mistaken for a CM though! ;)
I wandered around the trails that surround the Tree of Life, and while I was watching the flamingos, a band paraded past, playing African music, and one of the flamingos started “dancing” to it! He was bobbing his head and moving around- that flamingo had rhythm!
I decided to check out Conservation Station, one of the attractions I’d never seen. The train ride over is relaxing, and looks exactly like the real trains they have in India. The train depot was really neat- they had all sorts of signs, and a huge pile of luggage that looked as if it were waiting for the next train- I love Disney’s attention to details! Inside Conservation Station, I browsed the exhibits briefly, but stopped for quite a while to watch the vets doing an exam on a dove from the South Pacific. It had recently arrived at AKL, and was almost through its quarantine period, and nearly ready to be put into one of the exhibits. I’ve considered going into vet medicine a lot before, and I’m taking classes to be a vet assistant right now, so getting to see the AK vets work on a bird was one of the highlights of my day! There was a board which listed all the procedures which would be going on that day, and this was the last one, or I’d have come back for others! I made a mental note to come check the board first thing next time I was at AK so that I could plan my day around that.
As I was near the Maharajah Jungle Trek, I stopped to make sure I had the right speed of film in my camera for animal pictures. While I was there, a family next to me was having a big debate because their little boy didn’t want to go on Kali River Rapids. The mom said something like “I’m not going to just sit here and do NOTHING at Disney world!!” I felt bad for the kid, parents seem to forget that kids aren’t always up for the touring schedules they are, and for them, sitting there doing what their parents think is “nothing” at Disney World can be a lot of fun!
I got GREAT pictures of the tigers on the Maharajah this time! They were very active, unlike when I was last there in May and they were all just laying around. They’re such beautiful creatures- one of my favorites! I managed some pretty good pictures of the huge fruit bats, too. I love those guys!!
My next stop was Tough To Be A Bug. My little toe that had been unhappy earlier that morning was now staging a full protest, so anywhere I could sit for a while was great with me! I loved listening to “Beauty and the Bees” in the waiting area. During the show, the little girl next to me started screaming when Hopper appeared- who could blame her? That’s a pretty intense show for little kids! I always feel sorry for them when their parents wont just take them out, instead of making them stay for the whole thing even though they are terrified. The show was great, as usual, but nothing can beat seeing it for the first time when you don’t know what to expect! I avoided the “sting” again, scooting up before it came. I’m actually going to sit there and feel it someday, but to date I’ve always chickened out!
Things were getting hot, and I was dying to go to MGM, so I started working my way towards the exit. I wanted to stop and see my photo, which turned out pretty decent, so I ended up buying it. I also got a red WDW t-shirt, because I hadn’t packed anywhere near enough t-shirts! My poor brain couldn’t believe that I would actually need them when there was a foot of snow at home, so I decided I’d just have to buy a few at WDW- tough life, huh? On my way out of the park, I passed a CM in a bright red/orange African inspired costume. I asked him how he was, and he said “Brightly dressed!”
On the ride back to POR, my bus driver said that French Quarter was just closed for painting and remodeling, and that it would be re-opening in the Spring. I hope it does! I’ve always wanted to try it out, and I know it’s a favorite of a lot of people! The bus driver also told us that Shades of Green was also adding 200-250 rooms and a restaurant. It was great to have a really informative bus driver!
After dropping off my shorts and extra shoes at POR (They were getting heavy!), I was back on a bus and off to MGM!
I took some time to browse the store near the entrance with all the autographed movie posters and pictures. They had an autographed picture of Tom Cruise from Top Gun that was a mere $595! :eek: I was also surprised and pretty excited to see that they had an autographed picture of Ray Park- the guy who played Darth Maul in Star Wars Ep. 1- for a minor $195! Oh, if only I were rich! :) Outside the store, Jessie from Toy Story 2 was posing for pictures. I really wished I had someone with me to take pictures, because she is one of my favorites! I guess I could have just had someone around take it, but I didn’t think about it at the time. Next time, okay, Jessie?
I spent a long time just wandering around the streets, in and out of shops, stopping to look at things along the way. I ended up at the Planet Hollywood store where I got a neat souvenir glass and a planet Hollywood t-shirt (Told ya I needed shirts! :) ) My next stop was One Man’s Dream, which had a lot of really neat things! I really liked the models they had of the parks, castle, etc. I had seen a sign that said no flash photography, so I was turning the flash off on my camera when a CM informed me that there was no photography! Darn! The movie at the end is a really neat story of Walt’s life, and how all these things that are such a big part of our lives came to be.
I wanted to see Millionaire, but the last show of the day had already started. Actually, checking my schedule, nearly all of the shows had already started their last, so I decided to go on over to Downtown Disney. I was almost finished with the book Kelly had loaned me at the airport, so I looked for one at 2 R’s, but didn’t find any that I was interested in. I decided they really needed a Barnes & Noble in DD! There were some half price ornaments at the Christmas shop, which I knew I’d have to come back and check out on my shopping day!! I wandered around the World of Disney for a while, but since I didn’t want to buy until one of my last days, I decided to go back to the resort. I got a pizza from the food court, which I took back to my room to eat while I ate and watched TV. I was filling out my Passporter for that day, and one of the things is “The funniest thing that happened today was…” I noticed that one thing that’s really missing traveling alone is all of the humor, the inside jokes you develop with your travel companions. I really missed having someone to joke around with!
I decided to list the positive and negative things about POR, and with all the action that topic has been getting on the resort boards lately, I thought those of you who are trying to decide about staying there might benefit from my list, so here we go!
The Good Stuff:
The room I had was more than enough room for me. When I stayed there with mom last year, it was also adequate, but I really can’t imagine having more than two people in there without feeling a little crowded. The bed was pretty comfortable, which is always a big plus! The food court has a wide selection of things to eat, but I wish they were open later! I also liked that you could turn the lights and ceiling fan on and off without getting out of bed- a big bonus! ;)
The Not So Good Stuff: POR can be a little difficult to find your way around- particularly the Alligator Bayou section! There are a lot of winding little paths in that half, unlike the mansion side which is pretty much a straight line. Also, none of the buildings are really close to the lobby/food area, so if you have trouble walking far, you may want to take that into consideration. I think that WL has the best layout as far as finding your way around and proximity to everything is concerned.
I could easily hear people outside my room from my bed, but I also noticed this at AKL and the Poly. It never posed much of a problem though.
Currently, the transportation options from POR are kind of limited: You can take the bus, or…. The bus! Or, we also have the bus! :) I know they used to have the boats, but those are gone. Yet another reason why I love the poly where you can bus, walk (to the TTC), monorail, or take a boat.
The heater was stinky, but we already covered that ;) As I also mentioned, I didn’t have shampoo or soap waiting when I got there, which a lot of other people have mentioned on the boards. The maid also didn’t replace the postcards after I’d used them the first day, which is something I’ve always noticed is promptly done in the past. Cutbacks, perhaps?
I know that looks like the bad outweighs the good, but I still really love this resort. I crave it sometimes when I’m stuck at home. The landscape is beautiful, the theming really makes you feel like you’re in Louisiana bayou country, and its very peaceful. I’ll definitely be returning.
Before falling asleep, I made a quick list of things I had planned for the rest of my days at WDW, a list of places I still wanted to eat, and a simple schedule for the next morning. Will I actually stick to a schedule for once? Will I oversleep until housekeeping beats down my door? Stay tuned! ;)