Ok, so I did the alternator today. It was a little tedious but not as bad as I thought it would be. To clear up the confusion you do have to remove the fan and it does have lines running through it that has to be removed. There are two lines running through the fan shroud, one at the bottom and one at the top on driver's side. Each line is held in by one hex bolt then easily pops right out. After releasing the lines you have to fold in the tab on the fan on the drivers side. disconnect elictrical plug then pull the fan stright up. Here are a few pics for clarification.

 

Congrats, you did it!

The first time is always the hardest for everyone.