Are there any substitutes for honey when trying to activate yeast

There is certainly a difference between different yeasts. Different kinds of yeast react differently, are "happy" at different temperature ranges, produce different amounts of gas, live for different amounts of time. In my little world, however, it's better to use a yeast that you use commonly and understand than it is to experiment with a different yeast that may not behave the way you expect.

The thing is "baker's yeast" is a generic term. If it called for rapid rise yeast, and all you had was active dry yeast, I'd say to go out and buy some, or your bread would become flat. Chances are, you have one of those two kinds. They both work in most recipes, but each have their peculiarities, and you need to adjust.

I'd give it a shot, and see how it comes out. If your bread ends up "whacky", then try something else.

When you find cheap lemons, buy a lot. Squeeze half a lemon in each of the cavities of an ice tray. Freeze. Within a day, remove the frozen slivers from the tray to a ziploc bag in the freezer. You now have measured units of fresh lemon juice you may use for cooking and will keep for months. The frozen lemons are a bit less acid than fresh juice, but full of flavor. You can do the same with limes.