Subsonic Radio

Finally getting started on my trip report.

My original plan was 3 days in the Grand Cayman Islands then 4 days in Disney World. But the friend I was to be staying with in the Grand Caymans had to move back to Canada for some crazy complicated reasons around health care insurance and bureaucrazy a mere 30 days before my trip.

I was totally bummed for him, but rolled with it. Re-booked my flights, added 2 more nights to my trip which led to a hotel change and getting an extra ticket and giving up the Disney planning to a professional (which I loved in the end).

But here's day 1.

Jan 21: I actually started this day by going to work at 8:00 am (usually I start at 9)! Work I tell you! Was horribly antsy but did manage to get two big projects finished so I could really relax whilst on vacation. Left by 11:00am for the 2 hour drive to Santa Barbara. Parked the car in the extra cheap long term parking at the exact moment a shuttle pulled in to fetch passengers. There was no line to check-in and no line for security. So I just breezed through. Met a man who bore a remarkably striking resemblance to Owen Wilson. We ended up seated next to each other on the flight to LAX and chatted. He was headed to Cuba on an architectural history extended learning class. He had been all over the world with this educational focused travel company and he almost made me want to skip WDW and head to Cuba with him. But the Mouse won, even though I had my passport with me...maybe if he really had been Owen Wilson, but no.

Flight from LAX to Orlando was completely uneventful. Got lots of knitting done. And napped for awhile. Since I was a late re-book, my aisle seat preference was unavailable and I was booked into a middle seat. I explained to the gate agent in Santa Barbara that I have a long history of air sickness & claustrophobia and had eaten nothing but 2 peanut butter cookies for 24 hours in preparation for flying so I should be ok. But he would not hear of it and upgraded me for free to the bulkhead row. So it was like being in first class (only 2 seats rather than 3) but no under seat storage. Not a problem since I could check a bag for free. Woo!

Got my rental car and I'm sooooooo not a car woman. I own a 1997 Honda Civic that is about to flip 200,000 miles and I will own it til it dies in another 15 years or so. I just don't care that it's not stylish and that the front bumper has a huge crack in it, that the back bumper has a big dent, and the doors many a scratch. The engine is in great shape and I get fantastic gas mileage. I share all of that to make this point. I rented a Fiat and kinda fell in love with it. So stinking cute and wonderfully peppy.

And I could park it in the tiniest of spaces. I would buy one in a heartbeat if I had the spare cash.

Drove it without incident to my Vacation Club for the first few days: Hilton's Parc Soliel where I had a one bedroom suite. I requested a room on a high floor with a view of the Disney parks and was given it. First time staying at Parc Soliel, usually with the family we stay at the HGVC on International drive. I like the commute from Park Soliel better. The style of the rooms are more me at I-drive, but I can't complain about Parc Soliel. Elegant decor and the bathtub (which I forgot to photograph!) was totally cool. Filled from the ceiling.

Kitchen (which I barely used)


Dining Table (never dined at it, but did pile merchandise on it nightly)


Living Room


View from the balcony (lights indicate parks)


French doors to the bedroom


Bedroom


After some initial unpacking, I went in search of food. Can't remember what I got, but I brought it back to the hotel and ate it whilst watching the fireworks from my balcony. They were too far away for good photos and of course no audio at all, but I felt like my vacation had finally begun.

Coming soon, day 2: Animal Kingdom and my epic birthday dinner at Jiko.

I can think of worse things than being stuck next to an interesting gentlemen bearing a strong resemblance to Owen Wilson
That's nice that you were able to get a little more space on the airplane for the long flight. I hate being in the middle seat
The Fiat might be closer than you would imagine. They look expensive but I think you can have one for under $20k.
Your hotel room was HUGE! I wouldn't know what to do with all that space
Looking forward to your first day in the parks and your birthday dinner

Wow...what a nice hotel suite!!!

Really looking forward to your TR! I vaguely remember some of your pics and statuses from FB...so reliving it here will be fun!

theBIGyowski wrote:Wow...what a nice hotel suite!!!

Really looking forward to your TR! I vaguely remember some of your pics and statuses from FB...so reliving it here will be fun!

JenMuse is on Facebook?! Hmmm, I wonder if she would be my friend

Amy wrote:JenMuse is on Facebook?! Hmmm, I wonder if she would be my friend

Sure! Easiest way to find me on facebook is look for jenmuse.

JenMuse wrote:

Amy wrote:JenMuse is on Facebook?! Hmmm, I wonder if she would be my friend

Sure! Easiest way to find me on facebook is look for jenmuse.

Pretty sure I found you ~ sent you a request!

Awesome start! I still can't imagine flying out of LAX to come here for the parks since I am soooo ready to fly out there to go to DL! Haha... I agree with Amy on the hotel room space. I wouldn't know what to do with all that extra room.

I did mention that I'm claustrophobic, right? But seriously, the suite was much much bigger than I expected. It was only about 200 sq ft smaller than my house for heaven's sake! I was there on a special super discounted rate ($114 for 4 nights) and so expected they would put me in a studio, but nope, I got what they call a one bedroom plus. Of course, I had to give up 90 mins Wednesday morning to sit through a timeshare presentation, but since I already own and hadn't been through a presentation since I bought in 2005, I was interested in learning about all the new resorts.

As for buying a fiat, I just can't bring myself to own two cars. I've already got two bedrooms for a 1 person household...having a second car would just feel wasteful (plus the extra insurance). But man was it fun to drive, especially after I discovered the shift plus mode. I've never had an automatic transmission so it was weird to not shift. The Fiat let me shift without clutching. Fabulous.

More pictures after wine night with the ladies.

Absolutley beautiful suite.

That Hilton looks nice. Great view! Looking forward to more story and more pics.

Day 2 (my birthday): Disney's Animal Kingdom

Woke up early (well, early for me) and a year older. And after the usual morning routines, I drove on over to the Animal Kingdom. Of all the parks, it was the furthest away from my hotel, but some how I don't mind driving when I'm in Disney.

Parking was perfectly timed. I got the spot closest to the trams in the first lane where Disney decides to let you take the tram rather than walking to the gate. I don't mind walking, but I love the wind in my face on the tram. Be-bopped through security and found that the right hand entrances were closed (looked like they were putting in the wrist band poles), so we were all directed to longer than usual lines on the left hand side. But it wasn't too terrible a wait.



First thing, I made a beeline for the Kilimanjaro Safaris to get my Fast Pass. Then it was off to Camp Minnie and Mickey because I love the Festival of the Lion King. Every trip I've made with my family in the past 10 years, I have never successfully convinced them that this show is worth the wait. They just ignore me and head straight for Everest. So without them, I was bouncing with excitement because I hadn't seen the show in over 14 years.




I really wish I had taken a camera other than my iPhone 4. I had such a great time at the festival. I love how they make the circ du soleil elements and retell the story; so what if the story is just hamlet with fur. The music makes up for the lack of rhyming couplets.

I was trying to do a self portrait with Daisy and the nephews when a very nice couple offered to take my picture for me...


Not the most flattering, but Disney is the best place to not care about vanity, and I'm not what you would call vain anyways.

Crowds were light so my fast pass was active once the festival ended so I made my way back to the Africa section for my Safari. Crossing the bridge, this beautiful bird was posing for me:



Weather was fantastic. Mid 60s and overcast. Exactly how I like it, but the animals on the safari were less than thrilled. Most were huddles together keeping warm, but here are some of the better shots I got:









The Cheetahs and Lions were most uncooperative with the photo ops.



But just like the wild Zebras up the coast from me, these gals were ready for their close up and slowed down our safari until they were all safely away from the jeep:


On the last few DL trips, I've gotten my face painted (once with my sister and once with my best friends and their young daughters-- all the women folks got fairy face paint) but this trip I wanted something a little less juvenile and more lasting. So I sat for 30 mins to get a gorgeous henna tattoo. Rather than picking a design from the book, I let Tamika free hand. Why limit the artist?


Gorgeous, if I do say so myself. Seriously, get yourself a henna tattoo next trip. It lasted for nearly 2 weeks and was a great reminder of my vacation.

Then I wandered back to the animal enclosures by the tree of life to let the henna dry and set. I love meandering through the paths and watching for animals. But my photos didn't turn out so well. And I was saddened to learn that the capybara had died since my last visit. I love the capybara--it is my favorite animal. It's just so strange that there is a rodent who is bigger than many dog breeds.

With a sadness in my heart, I sought some retail therapy. The Yak and Yeti clothing shoppe is my favorite shop in the whole WDW resort, so I spent a long time sorting through scarves and textiles looking for the exact right ones to bring back as gifts. I was super bummed that they were out of the shawls though, because I've gotten a shawl (40% cashmere/30% silk/30% viscose) for myself every trip and they are my favorite souvenirs because they are beautiful and highly functional where I live. No shawl for me this time, but I did pick up 5 scarves for presents. The scarves were huge hits with their recipients.

Then it was time for a Shanghai Express and table service lunch at the Yak & Yeti:


Liked my drink, thought my food was just mediocre, but maybe I ordered the wrong thing (a fish filet that I thought would be grilled but was instead fried). I prefer the quick service Yak and Yeti, some how it seems more authentic (though I'm certain it's really not).

With a full tummy, I opted to wait a bit longer for Everest and instead took the Maharajah Jungle Trek. This is probably my favorite path because I love Tigers. Talked for a long time with one of the animal keepers about upkeep and care of the animals. The bat room was full of local kids with a science teacher so I hung back and listened to the lecture about bats. Super cool!

Then it was time to take on Everest. Gotta love that single rider line. I rode 4 times in a row (in less than 30 mins) and learnt that 4 is one too many for me. So I gave away my fast pass which had just become usable. With a queasy tummy, I headed to see Nemo but it had another 45 mins til the last show so off to A Bug's Life where I took the obligatory self portrait in front of the family's favorite Neil Simon poster:


I wondered back towards Nemo where a queue was forming but I still had 30 mins before the next show. Cast member Pat told me I should get in now to get a good seat, but I told her as a party of 1 I could walk in with 5 mins to show time and find a good seat. She didn't fully believe me, but I set out for Dino Land none-the-less.

The Primeval Whirl posted wait time was 20 mins so I queued. And with more than 4 hours of drying time, I started scraping the dried henna off my hand:



At last I could do some queue knitting without getting henna on the sweater vest I was working.

After whirling through time, I strolled back to Nemo and true to my promise, walked in with 5 mins to show time and found a seat in the front where Pat was waiting for me. Ok, she was directing people to seats, but she recognized me and we laughed as I took my seat. I gotta say, being able to breeze in and find a great seat just before curtain rise is a major bonus for solo Disney guests.

As this was the last show of the day, when it let out, park closing time was quickly approaching. I ducked back into the Tree of Life for another showing of It's Tough to Be a Bug. Then I joined the crowds and meandered toward the exit. I paused frequently to do some last minute animal watching since I had plenty of time before my reservation at Jiko.

Next post: dinner at Jiko!

Happy birthday once again! What a fun way to spend your birthday
Love your photo in It's Tough to Be a Bug. You manage to pull off those bug eyes quite nicely
I didn't know about the henna tattoos. That is definitely a fun souvenir!

So many comments, so little cooperative memory brain cells.

First of all, I do love the portrait of you by the Ducks. That color blue is GREAT for you. LOVED it!

Second, the nerd in me decided your photo of alligators could be used by a physics teacher to explain how vectors should be diagrammed to figure out the resulting vector. "Tip to tail"

Third, I"m somewhat appalled that your family won't sit through a Lion King show. They don't know what they're missing!

Lastly, even a solo trip through AK sounds fabulous. Glad you could spend your birthday just the way you like!

Keep it coming!

Day 2: continued (January 22, 2013)

Having left behind the Animal Kingdom, I followed the signs out of the parking lot and to the Animal Kingdom lodge. Super easy, and I had plenty of time before my 6:00 reservation, so I wandered around the lodge. It really is quite beautiful and the theme-ing is great. I looked at all the artifacts in the lobby and listened in to a drumming lesson already in progress. Then I strolled about outside where I couldn't believe just how close the animals would come to the fences out on the Savannah. There was a giraffe almost within petting distance.

I found a nice chair for animal watching and broke out the knitting, but as the sun dropped, so did the temperature. And even this cold weather loving fool had to nip inside to warm up. So I settled into a nice comfy chair with footstool in a quiet spot just inside the doors where I got about 20 minutes of knitting done before my phone alerted me that my reservation time was 5 minutes away.

Off to Jiko - the Cooking Place.

At first I was disappointed not to be seated at a window with a view of the Savannah, but then I was happy since the view pretty much vanished as the sunlight faded. I was put at the bar with the open kitchen space where the prep cooks--the ones who make the appetizers--work. Turned out to be super fun to interact with them and Ron, my waiter. They also supplied fantastic recommendations. I perused the menu, but pretty much put my dinner in their hands as I ordered everything they suggested (well, except the wine, turns out my knowledge on that subject was better informed but hardly a surprise since the cooks were all in their early 20s and I'm, well, not plus I live in one of the best wine regions in the country).

I love food, and though I didn't know it at the time, Jiko was about to become the foodie highlight of my trip. So let's get started:

Wine: After showing my ID (yep, I got carded on my 38th birthday!), a generous glass of Pinotage from The Den collection of Painted Wolf. It paired well with all the food.

Course 1: the Amuse Bouche of crab bisque


First flavor was salt, but then the sweetness of the crab exploded over my palate and it became the perfect combination of sweet and savory. An excellent start.

Then they brought me a basket of various breads with a tamarind butter. Oh so scrumptious.

Course 2: Wild Boar appetizer


Ordered this based on the unanimous opinion of the cooks and my waiter that it was the best appetizer on the menu. It was fantastic. Rich and perfectly cooked.

Course 3: complimentary Inguday Tibs


The cooks at the station made these for me as a birthday present. Yummy yummy. Sauteed spinach, peppers, and mushrooms in an Ethiopian spice sauce folded into filo on a bed of granny smith apples in a curry vinaigrette

Course 4: Palate cleanser of Mango sorbet


I'm a slow eater and the extra tibs got my timing off, but I enjoyed the sorbet before tackling...

Course 5: Seared Barbarie Duck Breast (When I ordered this, I made Ron promise not to tell Donald. He whispered "Don't worry, it's that other duck, Daffy.")


So with my conscience cleared, I can state that the duck knocked me off my chair. It was mind-blowingly tasty. And such a generous serving!

Before the first bite:



The port reduction almost made me lose all sense of decorum and lick my plate.

Course 6: Surprise: Complimentary Birthday Dessert (sorry, I took a bite before I photographed it)


I was so touched by this little addition. I teared up when Ron brought it out and everyone sang happy birthday to me. In the back of my mind, I was a teeny bit sad about spending my birthday alone, but the cooks and Ron went out of their way to make sure I felt like the most important person in the room.

Course 7: Sweet Potato Bread Pudding with Madagascar Vanilla Ice cream


I finished all the ice cream, and maybe a fourth of the bread pudding before I declared "enough, I'm done!" Ron boxed it up for me (and it became the one item I used the kitchen for back at the hotel) and sent me home.

The bill for my dinner was surprisingly low. 7 courses, 1 glass of wine (only cause they were out of both Ports I tried to order with dessert), a 22% tip: less than $90. I had budgeted $150 for my birthday dinner so I was super pleased with this price.

I will be making dinner at Jiko a regular part of my Disney trips from now on.

edited to fix a typo

Wow...Jiko looks awesome! DW and I definitely need to try it out on a future trip.