~~ Sew the crowds in WDW were frightful, but the weather was so delightful ~~Nov 2015 COMPLETE! ~~

[Terkina]

The resort looks great. Sounds like a good idea to get some sleep on the bench since you didn't get much sleep before your flight.

 

[tatar63]

Wow! Page 4, I am late for the party I love the title you chose
I am amazed Suzi was able to keep the surprise and what a nice surprise it was! AKL-Oh my gosh, gorgeous and I bet Bradey loved the animals

 

[sunnysideup3]

That resort is BEAUTIFUL. It's at the top of my list of places I want to surprise the boys with this coming trip. We are booked at POR, but I want to switch and pull a Suzi and not tell any one

 

[Wood Nymph]

We decided to walk over to Kidani to check out their pool... and let Bradey play on the splash pad. That was quite a hike and it was pretty hot out this day. Both Suzi and I agreed - though we liked Kidani, we much preferred Jambo.

DH and I went to AKL just to check out the Christmas decorations and mistakenly got off the bus at Kidani. Although it has a nice view of the animals, it really doesn't have the jaw dropping architecture that Jambo House does. The the walk from Kidani to Jambo is long and boring. It was December for us, though, and the warm sun felt great on a cool day.

Bradey looks like he is having a great time in that splash pad. He reminds me of my 8 year old grandson. He is lean like Bradey and his hair is about the same length.

We were given room #5454 - and little did we know, that this was the most perfect room for us - location was great, view was spectacular... We couldn't have asked for a better room!

The view is fantastic. You really feel like you are on vacation with a view like that.

I see that the villa is smaller than a lot of the other DVC villas. It doesn't have the nice kitchen counter that some of the other DVC villas has. I see a couple of refill mugs on the counter. Are they the new design? We missed the new mugs by about ten days.

We unpacked - ahem - Suzi unpacked... I opened my suitcase. I explained to Suzi that I never unpack, I just live out of my suitcase... Then she explained to me, she always unpacks and then as she wears her clothes, she puts them back into her suitcase - so when the trip is over, she is packed. Hmmmm.... Novel idea! I didn't try it at this point in our trip - but once things got confusing in my suitcase a few days in - I tried Suzi's strategy and it worked out really well for me. Supa Smaat!

We always unpack at Disney and use the empty suitcases as our laundry basket. We don't fold the dirty laundry until is is time to pack to go home. But folding them sounds very smart.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Joining in. Still on day 1 so I'm not too late to this party. How I wish I could take a nap anywhere! I was not blessed with that gift. I've ready several of your other trip reports. I look forward to reading along on this one too.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Great update! What a fantastic surprise resort! Was this your first time staying Deluxe? I just love the HUGE smile on your face on all of these photos... HEAVEN!

 

[Sam33]

Going to have to follow along! I love AKL and we had almost the exact same dates!
Already miss it

 

[nowellsl]

I'm excited to see your pictures of The resort. We'll be at Jambo house in Sept.

 

[Iamthequeen]

I'm here, finally! We stayed at Kidani last year for a few days, but our next trip, we are staying at Jambo. So looking forward to it! Can't wait to read all about the fun, you, Suzi and Mo had!
.

 

[Llobal]

AKL looks amazeballs!!!! I probably wont get back to Disney until my 15th wedding anniversary in 2018 but ive told my husband its either a value resort and extra experiences like the wild africa trek and marceline tour etc, or a deluxe and go crazy at the parks. In between now and then i have to plan a trip to Universal. So at least i have something to keep me a little occupied.

 

[Hardheadedwoman]

Following along!

 

[DMGeurts]

Good morning all... My internet is down (so i had to step outside in the 30 deg cold to grab cell service...)

No worries though... I've been writing TR updates all morning in Word, so as soon as my internet is back up, I'll do replies and updates.

D~

 

[Rozz]

30 degrees! now that's dedication. it's 45 in NE Georgia. not too bad. Enjoying your trip report-hope internet gets back on line soon!

 

[ljcrochet]

Good morning all... My internet is down (so i had to step outside in the 30 deg cold to grab cell service...)

No worries though... I've been writing TR updates all morning in Word, so as soon as my internet is back up, I'll do replies and updates.

D~

I hope your internet isn't out for too long.

Were you in a value one bedroom or a regular one bedroom? I have only stayed at a studio at Jambo. I have stayed at a 2 bedroom at kidani, and i think a one bedroom. I was surprised at how different Jambo looks from Kidani

 

[solana131]

Bradey is 9 years old and LOVES Disney.... I am not sure what number trip this was for him? But I am thinking it was #5 or #6?​

Yep, he loves Disney. This was trip #4 for him. We have previously stayed at the Poly (twice) and the Grand Flo. I have stayed at POFQ, but that was without him.

So, the resort was a total surprise, as was much of the trip... I knew where we were eating and what our FPs were for - but for the most part, I just stepped back and let Suzi take over... Which was great for me - but maybe more stressful for her than she would have liked? I am sure she will chime in on that as we go along

She sure will
This trip was extremely hard to plan. Not only was I trying to consider how D would want to tour, but also had a TON of new experiences to figure in. We had never been during Food & Wine, never seen Christmas at Disney, and a new resort. It was hard to say the least.
It KILLED me that I couldn't tell her what resort. Because can't you all see how much this resort just screams for a custom bag and cute outfit??!​

I landed 45 minutes early - the pilot came over the loudspeaker and said "we had one heck of a tailwind!" Cool! It's always good to start a trip with an early landing. I texted Suzi right away, and she also had a good tailwind, she was already on the ground waiting for me...​

We did! We also took 45 mins off our flight time. And we were very close tot he front of the plane, so we got there first!

It took forever to deplane! First order of business - a biobreak...

Yes folks...it took FOREVER! Bradey and I were going nuts waiting. I swear 783 fake-o-rails came through before she was finally coming around the corner!

We checked in... Our room wasn't ready - but she did tell us we were on the 5th floor and which hallway we would be down - with a pool view

I think it was funny that she started out by saying that she was sorry, our request was not fulfilled. Ummmm...I had TouringPlans send my room request and it was pretty much that exact room. So we were very happy!​

Had Bradey stayed at AKL previously? Did he love the resort?

We had never stayed at AKL, but we eat dinner at Boma just about every trip and we make sure we either get there early or stay after our ADR to explore the beautiful resort. So he knew he loved the resort. We just didn't know what the rooms/buses/QS were like until this trip.

So, I asked Suzi for suggestions... She told me that I must try the couscous over the fries.​

I had read that on the DisneyFoodBlog. And they weren't lying. YUM!

And I think Bradey had the chicken tenders with butter nut squash soup?

Yep, he loves that soup and knew all about it from our dinners at Boma on previous trips. It is really really yummy.​

Fun!!!! Yes I wonder if you were snoring?!?!

Who knows....the sound of the water masked any snuffles. But I'd be willing to bet she was

I love the resort pictures. AKL is on my list of resorts to try. I'd love to hear why you thought Jambo was better.

Well, for me....I think having the main building and the quick service right there is key. We use the resort QS for at least one meal a day and it would have been a hassle from Kidani. If you don't eat at QS much, I think the layout of the Kidani 1 bedrooms are better with the second bathroom. But we just loved our room. Plus, Jambo has just so much more "WOW" to it. The lobby is gorgeous. Having the scents of Boma floating up at all hours in wonderful. Kidani is much quieter, and maybe if we ever get to the point where we cook meals in our room I might try it. We just liked the feel of Jambo better.

Bradey looks like he is having a great time in that splash pad. He reminds me of my 8 year old grandson. He is lean like Bradey and his hair is about the same length.

Thanks Sue, he did love that splash area. I wish Jambo had something like that. He isn't a swimmer. But he loves to splash and play.

I see that the villa is smaller than a lot of the other DVC villas. It doesn't have the nice kitchen counter that some of the other DVC villas has.

See, I thought that was a plus for Jambo. We wouldn't use that extra counter and I feel like it takes up too much room. This was just perfect.

I see a couple of refill mugs on the counter. Are they the new design? We missed the new mugs by about ten days.

They are! Mara only had the 2 colors when we got there, so it was lucky for us that D wasn't getting one. I love the new design....love that it has a lot of the resorts on them. We have quite a little mug collection going on here now

 

[Sweetly]

What a great guy Josh is for getting up on his day off to take you the airport. Your room and view looked amazing. What an awesome surprise it was! The lunch look yummy!!!
Love you snoozing on the bench. Do I see a pattern starting?????

 

[DMGeurts]

Day 1 Part 3

More resort exploring...

Suzi taking a photo of me taking a photo of her...

At 5:30, we had an ADR for Boma… We went down a bit early, it was so nice to have a reservation at our own resort – it didn’t feel rushed and we knew we wouldn’t be late. The food was excellent. It was at this meal that I discovered Bradey has really great taste in food – and I followed his lead on several occasions from here on out. One of the items he chose was the salmon – and I love salmon anyways – but this was crusted with nuts, and it was just delicious! I need to recreate this recipe at home. I also tried a curry soup (delicious), the couscous (delicious), the roast beef (delicious) – and several other items that I don’t have pictures of to jog my memory. I can’t even remember if I had dessert here – I must have, but if I don’t remember it, it couldn’t have been that marvelous?

After dinner, we decided to board a bus to MK to activate my AP voucher.

It was very easy and painless. The line was short and only took me a few minutes to take care of business. Due to the recent changes in the AP, and since I purchased mine before the new additions (lucky) – I was automatically upgraded to a Premium AP, which means I now have Memory Maker for the remaining 2 trips with the girls. I couldn’t have planned that one any better. It was an expense I was debating on having, since it was so costly… but it’s something I love to have – so I was elated to have it added.

From Guest Services, we hopped the Monorail to the Poly to do some shopping. While we were there, I grabbed some creamer and some sugar from Cpt. Cooks for my coffee in the morning.

We took the small boat from the Poly to MK.

Then we took the bus from the MK to AKL. Our driver was Bill – and I wondered at this time, if it was the famous “Disboards Bill”… He entertained our bus of very few people the entire ride, he was super funny. Then coming out of Kidani, he hit the curb very noticeably and he started to tell a story about how he was on parole and didn’t have his drivers license back yet… I can’t even begin to tell you how funny it was with him telling it… I guess you had to be there.

We came back to our room, enjoyed the evening view of the pool with all of the lights on, then went straight to bed. My feet were a little sore, but not too bad.

Overall – considering it was a long day of travel, it was a great and relaxing first day. I really loved that we had a nice ADR in our resort, and we didn’t have any parks scheduled… It was so not hectic and relaxing, with nowhere to rush to on any set time schedule.

According to my notes, I was in bed at 9:30… And according to my fitbit… I slept very well.

Link to Day 2 Part 1

​

 

[Terkina]

Sounds like a great first day at WDW. It's so nice seeing all the pictures.

 

[DMGeurts]

Day 2 Part 1

Thursday, November 12, 2015

I was up at 4:45 am. Suzi and I agreed that it would be best if she took the bedroom with Bradey – she is a very light sleeper, and I am always up incredibly early with my coffee/FB/Dis time… And considering that I can sleep almost anywhere, I was the most comfortable this way. It worked out very well for us – this way, I didn’t have to worry about waking her when I got up. The pull out sofa bed was a little harder than I like my mattresses to be, but to be honest, I was so tired – I never had a problem sleeping during the entire trip, and I was never sore. If Suzi and I were ever to travel together again – I do feel that this is the perfect solution for us. Just for the fun of it, I wanted to share my Fitbit sleep analysis for the night before I left (sleeping in my own bed, but in all fairness, I don’t ever sleep well for a few nights previous to a flight) and then my first night sleeping on the sofa bed at AKL… See – I slept great!

Anyways… Back to the TR…

I did my morning ritual of coffee/FB/Dis... On the balcony - with this view, of course...

Then I showered and got ready. With only one bathroom to share between us, I was very conscious about how much time I take to get ready, as I know I take longer than the average person. So, I was always sure to get in there early, so I could weave in and out as Suzi and Bradey needed to get in there. I think, overall, we did really good? I don’t think I was ever late getting out the door?

We had breakfast at Mara… I had the African platter – it was very good, and I enjoyed all of it. However – in all of my trips to WDW, I’ve never really noticed how wonderful the Mickey Waffles are… Well, this time I did – and ooooh, I couldn’t resist them at each breakfast from here on out. They are not just ordinary waffles – if you are wondering?

Suzi and Bradey's breakfast... Waffles and some sort of platter... Sorry Suzi - I only took notes on what I ate, not what you and Bradey ate.

We were on a bus to MK @ 8:10am for a 9am opening.

I was wearing one of my Steam Boat Willie outfits… And I just have to say – I adore this theme! It was so fun and so unique, and it was so easy to pull together. I will be wearing this theme again in January.

We watched the opening show from right outside the turnstyles… All of the performers were wearing Christmas attire – they were beautiful! It was a little different without the train there, but they did a good job modifying the show.

Upon entering Magic Kingdom, we went straight back to Fantasy Land – we were behind the massive crowds, so we had no issues there.

First we rode Winnie the Pooh.

Then we headed to Under the Sea with Ariel.

We stopped by Gaston’s Tavern for a water, then we headed to the little shop next door (I can’t remember the name of it)… Suzi purchased 2 of the chalkboard mugs (one white and one black) and had them shipped home with the free shipping promotion that was going on (Gosh that is nice!). Then I posed with a tshirt I really wanted to get, but I held back. I’d only ever wear it for jammies anyways – I think – and it was our first day, I knew I would find something else somewhere that I’d like better. But I did take a picture, because I thought it was funny.

We stopped for a round of Photopass pictures...

After that, we rode a ride that I haven’t ridden since our first trip in 2003… It’s a Small World… It wasn’t as bad as I remembered. And much to my delight – the song didn’t remain in my brain all day.

Then, it was off to Philharmagic… One of my favorites… Gotta love my favorite guy!

Once we were done there, we headed to Haunted Mansion… While we were in line, Santos – my favorite CM – texted me that he was headed through MK’s gates. I was so excited to be able to see him - I wasn’t expecting him to be there that day – so it was added Pixie Dust for me!

When we came out of HM, Santos was there to meet us. He met Suzi and Bradey for the first time… We decided to ride Pirates of the Caribbean together… While we were in line, he was telling us all about his new job he was just promoted to in Disney. I don’t want to spill the beans until he is officially in that position – but I am very excited for him and his new adventure – as he is too. Sadly – this is the only time we were able to meet up with Santos this trip, so I am very happy we had this chance!

After PoTC, we parted ways with Santos, because we had FPs for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I discovered, while riding BTMRR in a seat by yourself – it’s best NOT to wear pants that are slippery. Just sayin’. I am sure Suzi can tell you all about this, as her and Bradey were laughing hysterically behind me, as I was flying all over the place.

Once we were done here, we decided that we were definitely hungry… We’d heard great things about the waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow… We decided to give them a try. It was beginning to get quite hot out and crowds were getting thick – I found a table in the shade, as best as I could (it wasn’t that shady) while Suzi and Bradey brought our food. I ordered the Spicy Chicken Waffle and an ice water. Over all – it was very good, but the dressing they put on it (which I’d normally order on the side, but I’d forgotten) soaked through the waffle, so the waffle was quite soggy. I don’t enjoy soggy bread-type items all that much, so I ripped off the soggy parts and ate the rest. Would I order it again – probably. But Bradey had the one they make with Nutella and fruit, I think I may try that one next time?

I did Splash Mountain (my all time favorite ride) as a single rider...

We shopped our way down Main Street, and boarded a bus to AKL to rest up for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tonight.

Link to Day 2 Part 2

​

 

[Clio]

Both you breakfast and lunch look good. Everytime I ride IASW; the ride gets stuck. I try to avoid it for that reason. It looks like you're having a great time.
I've only stayed at Jambo at AKL. I thought the pool with the river flowing into it wa amazing. having to go outside to get to Mara was a bit different. I can't wait to read more.
Liz