My short summer getaway to WDW

cleophus12

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Just returned from a four day trip to the World. I don’t usually go in summer, and now I remember why. I had a great trip, but the heat was intense and I developed the dreaded Disney rash that I have read so much about. More on that later.

Because I got a great rate on one night at AKL, we checked in there for Saturday night. Reserved a standard room and requested Kudu trail. Our room was awesome. Last summer we stayed DVC in a savannah view room and we were on Uzima Trail. The view was far less than spectacular to say the least. This standard view room was amazing. We looked out on the building that houses the animals at night, so we were able to watch them come and go regularly. We had giraffes, zebras, bearded wildebeasts, ankole cattle, and several other animals. It was so great we didn’t want to leave to go to the park for fear we might miss something. Since we had only one night at AKL and were arriving around noon on Saturday, I booked our FPs for late afternoon. Our room was ready on arrival, so we checked in, spent some time at the pool, cleaned up during a thunderstorm, and went to Epcot for the evening. FP+ allowed us to have Soarin FPs for 8-9 pm, and we had Nemo and Spaceship Earth before that as well as an early dinner at Le Cellier. It was a great first day.

Since we were checking out of AKL on Sunday, we had a lazy morning animal watching and sitting by the pool. We also took the time to go over to Kidani and tour the one BR DVC unit they have for viewing. It was truly lovely, and the extra bathroom made it possible for us to cancel the two studios we had reserved for February and switch to the 1BR. Checked out at 11 and drove over to Pop Century where we were spending the rest of our trip. Once again our room was ready so we were able to drop our bags and be on our way. I had requested and upper floor with a lake view, and we were put in 70's Building 6 which had a lake view and was actually very convenient to Classic Hall. For Sunday I had scheduled the FPs beginning around 12:30, and that also worked out well. We had Splash Mountain, 7 Dwarves, and Space mountain. All good choices on a hot afternoon. Returned to the room for some down time, and went back to MK for the evening. Wait times were not as bad as I’d feared and we rode Buzz and Big Thunder. On another note, this was the day I developed the Disney rash. My legs were on fire by the time we returned to the room, so I bought some Benadryl cream and iced my legs before going to bed. They were some better by Monday.

Monday was our DHS day. We started the day with breakfast at Kona Café and drove to the studios. First FP was ToT and then on to the Frozen Sing Along. One thing I don’t love about the FP+ situation is that you are often given a FP to wait in line. I would much prefer that they save a section for FP holders and you could arrive in a given window and be seated. I don’t know why this would be hard to do since they know how many FPs they have distributed. We reported to the sing along within our FP time frame and were forced to wait for 30 minutes before the doors opened. In the heat, that was miserable and I almost got sick. Thank goodness the theater was very cold and the sing along was just long enough for me to cool off and regain my composure. We actually enjoyed the sing along quite a lot, and we don’t have any little ones in our party. We got out of the sing along about 1:30 and didn’t have another FP until 3:20 for TSM. It was just so hot we couldn’t stay there any longer, (and my Disney rash was flaring up again) so I went to the kiosk and traded in my TSM FP for a Fantasmic FP. The CMs were very excited to see that I was turning in a TSM FP and announced it to the group waiting in line around me. We did go back in the evening for Famtasmic! And Frozen fireworks. The only advantage to the Fantasmic FP was that we walked right through the gate. Our seats were on the far left side, and we still had to wait 30 minutes for the show. In all my trips to WDW (30+) I have found Disney entertainment to be on time for everything. However, the Frozen fireworks are scheduled for 9:30. Since we were in Fantasmic at 9:00, we were afraid we might miss the fireworks. Therefore, we left Fantasmic a few minutes early. Not necessary. We walked out to the Boulevard and waited and waited. Fireworks didn’t begin until 9:45, and even then it started with a silly pre-show which is totally unnecessary. Clearly, Disney wants the Fantasmic people to get out for the fireworks, so they are later than advertised. The fireworks were amazing, but the pre-show is not needed.

AK day was Tuesday. We had early FPs for the Safari, FotLK, and EE. Had a short break between KS and FotLK, so we walked the Pangani Trail which I haven’t done in years. It was a great walk with lots of animals to see. Our FP for FotLK was once again a FP to stand in line which we did for roughly 20 minutes. We did have good seats, but we found that the people who came in at the last minute (literally, just as the show was starting) got to sit on the front rows and had the best seats of all. We left AK around lunch and went back to room for some pool time. Returned to Epcot for a QS dinner and were able to ride Living with the Land and Mexico without FPs.

It was a great trip overall in spite of the heat, and if summer was the only time I could go, I would do it again in a heartbeat. This was our third trip with FP+, and although FP+ has its charms, I am not a fan of the FP to wait in line. I am also not a fan of the Illuminations FP+ which takes up all the good viewing space in the plaza area at the entrance to the WS. I have watched from there for so long, that I didn’t know what to do with myself when I couldn’t sit there.
 
Just returned from a four day trip to the World. I don’t usually go in summer, and now I remember why. I had a great trip, but the heat was intense and I developed the dreaded Disney rash that I have read so much about. More on that later.

Because I got a great rate on one night at AKL, we checked in there for Saturday night. Reserved a standard room and requested Kudu trail. Our room was awesome. Last summer we stayed DVC in a savannah view room and we were on Uzima Trail. The view was far less than spectacular to say the least. This standard view room was amazing. We looked out on the building that houses the animals at night, so we were able to watch them come and go regularly. We had giraffes, zebras, bearded wildebeasts, ankole cattle, and several other animals. It was so great we didn’t want to leave to go to the park for fear we might miss something. Since we had only one night at AKL and were arriving around noon on Saturday, I booked our FPs for late afternoon. Our room was ready on arrival, so we checked in, spent some time at the pool, cleaned up during a thunderstorm, and went to Epcot for the evening. FP+ allowed us to have Soarin FPs for 8-9 pm, and we had Nemo and Spaceship Earth before that as well as an early dinner at Le Cellier. It was a great first day.

Since we were checking out of AKL on Sunday, we had a lazy morning animal watching and sitting by the pool. We also took the time to go over to Kidani and tour the one BR DVC unit they have for viewing. It was truly lovely, and the extra bathroom made it possible for us to cancel the two studios we had reserved for February and switch to the 1BR. Checked out at 11 and drove over to Pop Century where we were spending the rest of our trip. Once again our room was ready so we were able to drop our bags and be on our way. I had requested and upper floor with a lake view, and we were put in 70's Building 6 which had a lake view and was actually very convenient to Classic Hall. For Sunday I had scheduled the FPs beginning around 12:30, and that also worked out well. We had Splash Mountain, 7 Dwarves, and Space mountain. All good choices on a hot afternoon. Returned to the room for some down time, and went back to MK for the evening. Wait times were not as bad as I’d feared and we rode Buzz and Big Thunder. On another note, this was the day I developed the Disney rash. My legs were on fire by the time we returned to the room, so I bought some Benadryl cream and iced my legs before going to bed. They were some better by Monday.

Monday was our DHS day. We started the day with breakfast at Kona Café and drove to the studios. First FP was ToT and then on to the Frozen Sing Along. One thing I don’t love about the FP+ situation is that you are often given a FP to wait in line. I would much prefer that they save a section for FP holders and you could arrive in a given window and be seated. I don’t know why this would be hard to do since they know how many FPs they have distributed. We reported to the sing along within our FP time frame and were forced to wait for 30 minutes before the doors opened. In the heat, that was miserable and I almost got sick. Thank goodness the theater was very cold and the sing along was just long enough for me to cool off and regain my composure. We actually enjoyed the sing along quite a lot, and we don’t have any little ones in our party. We got out of the sing along about 1:30 and didn’t have another FP until 3:20 for TSM. It was just so hot we couldn’t stay there any longer, (and my Disney rash was flaring up again) so I went to the kiosk and traded in my TSM FP for a Fantasmic FP. The CMs were very excited to see that I was turning in a TSM FP and announced it to the group waiting in line around me. We did go back in the evening for Famtasmic! And Frozen fireworks. The only advantage to the Fantasmic FP was that we walked right through the gate. Our seats were on the far left side, and we still had to wait 30 minutes for the show. In all my trips to WDW (30+) I have found Disney entertainment to be on time for everything. However, the Frozen fireworks are scheduled for 9:30. Since we were in Fantasmic at 9:00, we were afraid we might miss the fireworks. Therefore, we left Fantasmic a few minutes early. Not necessary. We walked out to the Boulevard and waited and waited. Fireworks didn’t begin until 9:45, and even then it started with a silly pre-show which is totally unnecessary. Clearly, Disney wants the Fantasmic people to get out for the fireworks, so they are later than advertised. The fireworks were amazing, but the pre-show is not needed.

AK day was Tuesday. We had early FPs for the Safari, FotLK, and EE. Had a short break between KS and FotLK, so we walked the Pangani Trail which I haven’t done in years. It was a great walk with lots of animals to see. Our FP for FotLK was once again a FP to stand in line which we did for roughly 20 minutes. We did have good seats, but we found that the people who came in at the last minute (literally, just as the show was starting) got to sit on the front rows and had the best seats of all. We left AK around lunch and went back to room for some pool time. Returned to Epcot for a QS dinner and were able to ride Living with the Land and Mexico without FPs.

It was a great trip overall in spite of the heat, and if summer was the only time I could go, I would do it again in a heartbeat. This was our third trip with FP+, and although FP+ has its charms, I am not a fan of the FP to wait in line. I am also not a fan of the Illuminations FP+ which takes up all the good viewing space in the plaza area at the entrance to the WS. I have watched from there for so long, that I didn’t know what to do with myself when I couldn’t sit there.
Glad you had a great trip. When you looked at the DVC in Kidani, how did your "view" compare with the two different rooms you had at Jambo? We have a 1 bedroom villa reserved for October, but haven't made any requests as of yet. Thanks.
 
Well, of course, the view in the model 1BR is a Savannah view on the lower floor, so when we walked in the door the first thing we saw was a giraffe right outside the balcony. We joked and said they must keep him tied out there so that will be what people see when they come in. The room was awesome, but when we booked for February we did book a standard view to save points. Our first stay at AKL several years ago was in an Arusha view room in Jambo on the third floor and that was a terrific view. The Uzima Trail view was terribly disappointing, and the Kudu view was again great although we were on an upper floor (the Kudu room was not a DVC room, just a regular standard view room). If you wind up with a Uzima Trail view, you may feel as we did that we had wasted our points on a savannah view that wasn't really much of a view at all.
 
Thank you. I will put in a request that does not include the Uzima Trail. I appreciate you taking time to answer.
 



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