Cindybell
06-26-2002, 06:19 PM
Cast Memebers
Myself Disney Mom
My Disney sister
2 Disney nephews ages 15 and 17
2 Disney Sons ages 9 and 11
Today was switch day to another resort which I was really looking foreward to. We had packed most our things the night before so we only had to pack the items we had left out to get ready in the morning. We had our last breakfast in the ASMo room and went to the bus stop. The resort luggage service was to move our luggage from the AS to the AKL by 1-2 PM that day.
Off we went to TL and what was that I saw in the sky? Was that the sun? No, it couldn't be, not here in Flordia. But yes I think it was just starting to peak out a little from behind the clouds. I said a little prayer and hoped that we would have a good day. We got there just after the park opened. I went to get in line to have my bag checked when it hit me. Oh no I had packed away my park tickets in the little bag I had been wearing to the parks every day. What had I been thinking? I went to the customer service area to see what could be done. My very nice 15 year old DN started complaining saying he wanted to go into the park right away. He told his mom "Why can't we go ahead in"? Why are we going to let HER ruin our vacation?! Well I thought I was going to blow a gasket. After all the planning I had done to save them money. (I had a least saved them $1,500). The extra money I had put up just so they could go. Now I was being blamed for ruining his vacation just because it was going to take a few extra minutes to get into the park. Oh I was mad but I was bound and determined not to let his whinning get the best of me. I knew prior to taking this trip just how ill-manered my DNs could be at times. So, I counted to 10 and just ignored him. I asked the CM if I could go ahead and pay for the tickets then get reimbursed for it later when I had my tickets. He said that would be fine and I would get a receit which I could take to the resort and get reimbursed. I was happy with that so I paid for our way in and off we went.
We got our locker rental, stashed our stuff and made our way towards the first slide. I can't remember the names of all the slides but we rode almost all of them (there are not many). The slides were all pretty tame and a few even a little boring. We only rode them once and were ready for the lazy river. Now it was nice. It went around the whole park and gave you plenty of things to look at.There was a tunnel and waterfalls that soaked you. In some places there was theming scenery with music playing in the background. It was really great until it got crowded. Then it got a little frustrating because there seemed to be feet always getting stuck in my face. I wasn't going to complain though because I was just so glad to see the sun. It had come out of hiding and was shinning brightly. I just happily ignored the dark storm clouds on the horizon.
I was really impressed with the wave pool. Those big 8 foot waves coming straight at you were a sight to behold. The kids just loved it. We would all get in a line and turn our backs to the wave and jump at just the right moment. If we did it right we could ride a bit on top. If we did it wrong we got smacked underneath and swallowed some water. But honestly it wasn't to bad. I am really protective of my children and would not let them do anything that I thought was dangerous. You had to watch out though for the people in front of you. Sometimes they would get to close and when the wave hit you were pushed in to them. This only had to happen once to someone and they got the hint to stay a safe distance from other people. Hey is that a sunburn I'm getting?
Oh no I spoke to soon. With a streak of lightening and a clash of thunder we were all herded out of the pool. We decided to eat so we got some refreshment and headed for a place to sit. By this time it was raining really hard but we decided to stick it out and see what happened. I'm glad we did because the sun decided to make one last effort for the day and started to shine even brighter than before. My DS, Disney sister and my 2 DNs decided to try the snorkling pool. I stayed behind with my youngest DS not because we didn't want to snorkle but because we read in the park information that one had to be at least 9 years old before being able to do this. When my DSister came back she told me that there were smaller kids then my DS snorkeling so we decided to give it a try. I was glad we did because no one was even checking to see how old anyone was. My DSs have been snorkeling many times and had no problem. It was quite enjoyable only short. There was coral, tropical fish, stingrays and small sharks to look at and swim with. When you got to the end you could just go back to the beginning and start all over. There was hardly any people in line so we never had to wait. Just remember though the water is cold.
One more time on the lazy river and we decided to call it quits. We were going to leave earlier but had enjoyed the sun so much we couldn't seem to pull ourselves away. Our curiosity of the AKL though got the better of us so we decided to call it a day around 4:00 PM. As soon as our bus started to pull away it started to sprinkle which eventually turned in to a hard rain. Oh well we had a good time while it lasted. I started a conversation with the couple seated next to us and found out that they were not happy with the AKL and were switching to the POR. The lady said that she did not like the darkness of the resort and all the rain just made it worse. She said that they liked the POR more than any other resort they had stayed at so were switching to it without further delay. I was thinking "Oh this is great" "First the rain now a dark ugly resort" Can it get much worse?" Well I shouldn't have started feeling sorry fo myself because I fell in love with the AKL as soon as I walked in.
The outside of AKL from the front is very deceivng. It looks like a 2-3 story thatched African hut. But when you walk inside you start to realize how big it really is. Pictures really don't do this resort justice. I went to check in, which went pretty smoothly. I was hoping for an upgrade but alas, none was forthcoming. We at least though, didn't get the rooms over the bus stop. We got the ostrich trail with the view of the parking lot. It was what we paid for so I really couldn't expect anything more. The rooms though, were very nice. I could really tell the difference in size when comparing them to the ASMo. My DSis had bunks in her room and was very happy. She had been paying $15.00/night at the ASMo for a roll away but now she wouldn't have to. Yes, the rooms were a little dark but I just opened the drapes when I needed extra light.
I next decided to go and get my money back for TL. I went up the customer service area and explained my problem. ( BTW our luggage had arrived without a hitch.) The CM was very nice but told me that the resort was unable to refund my money because they had no way of taking the water park off my tickets. I understood what she was trying to tell me but very politely told her that I wanted to speak to someone else about it because I had been told something very different by the park CM. She went back to speak to the manager and gave me some better news. She refunded my money eventhough I would still have an unused water park day on our tickets. I thanked her for her trouble and was happy that the resort had came through for us. I did not want to use the unused warter park day, I only wanted my money back.
That night we ate at Bomas. I have found that most people either love it or hate it. We loved it! The soups were wonderful. I had the 3 bean jambalaya (I'm not sure how you spell that) and the coconut chicken. I could have made a meal with just those soups. I also had the prime rib which I thought was very good. There were so many desserts that I found it hard to decide what to choose. So to solve the problem I had a little bit of almost everything. Needless to say we walked out of there very satisfied almost to the point of bursting. The rest of the evening was spent just looking around the resort and of course swimming. Now how can those kids want to swim more after being in a water park all day? Well I guess that is what makes them kids. When we finially got to bed I couldn't help but feeling as snug as a bug in a rug. The rooms were just so nice and the beds so comfortable. Yes, this was the life. Tomorrow we would continue with our adventure at the AK. Where else better to spend the day when you are staying at the AKL? :D
Myself Disney Mom
My Disney sister
2 Disney nephews ages 15 and 17
2 Disney Sons ages 9 and 11
Today was switch day to another resort which I was really looking foreward to. We had packed most our things the night before so we only had to pack the items we had left out to get ready in the morning. We had our last breakfast in the ASMo room and went to the bus stop. The resort luggage service was to move our luggage from the AS to the AKL by 1-2 PM that day.
Off we went to TL and what was that I saw in the sky? Was that the sun? No, it couldn't be, not here in Flordia. But yes I think it was just starting to peak out a little from behind the clouds. I said a little prayer and hoped that we would have a good day. We got there just after the park opened. I went to get in line to have my bag checked when it hit me. Oh no I had packed away my park tickets in the little bag I had been wearing to the parks every day. What had I been thinking? I went to the customer service area to see what could be done. My very nice 15 year old DN started complaining saying he wanted to go into the park right away. He told his mom "Why can't we go ahead in"? Why are we going to let HER ruin our vacation?! Well I thought I was going to blow a gasket. After all the planning I had done to save them money. (I had a least saved them $1,500). The extra money I had put up just so they could go. Now I was being blamed for ruining his vacation just because it was going to take a few extra minutes to get into the park. Oh I was mad but I was bound and determined not to let his whinning get the best of me. I knew prior to taking this trip just how ill-manered my DNs could be at times. So, I counted to 10 and just ignored him. I asked the CM if I could go ahead and pay for the tickets then get reimbursed for it later when I had my tickets. He said that would be fine and I would get a receit which I could take to the resort and get reimbursed. I was happy with that so I paid for our way in and off we went.
We got our locker rental, stashed our stuff and made our way towards the first slide. I can't remember the names of all the slides but we rode almost all of them (there are not many). The slides were all pretty tame and a few even a little boring. We only rode them once and were ready for the lazy river. Now it was nice. It went around the whole park and gave you plenty of things to look at.There was a tunnel and waterfalls that soaked you. In some places there was theming scenery with music playing in the background. It was really great until it got crowded. Then it got a little frustrating because there seemed to be feet always getting stuck in my face. I wasn't going to complain though because I was just so glad to see the sun. It had come out of hiding and was shinning brightly. I just happily ignored the dark storm clouds on the horizon.
I was really impressed with the wave pool. Those big 8 foot waves coming straight at you were a sight to behold. The kids just loved it. We would all get in a line and turn our backs to the wave and jump at just the right moment. If we did it right we could ride a bit on top. If we did it wrong we got smacked underneath and swallowed some water. But honestly it wasn't to bad. I am really protective of my children and would not let them do anything that I thought was dangerous. You had to watch out though for the people in front of you. Sometimes they would get to close and when the wave hit you were pushed in to them. This only had to happen once to someone and they got the hint to stay a safe distance from other people. Hey is that a sunburn I'm getting?
Oh no I spoke to soon. With a streak of lightening and a clash of thunder we were all herded out of the pool. We decided to eat so we got some refreshment and headed for a place to sit. By this time it was raining really hard but we decided to stick it out and see what happened. I'm glad we did because the sun decided to make one last effort for the day and started to shine even brighter than before. My DS, Disney sister and my 2 DNs decided to try the snorkling pool. I stayed behind with my youngest DS not because we didn't want to snorkle but because we read in the park information that one had to be at least 9 years old before being able to do this. When my DSister came back she told me that there were smaller kids then my DS snorkeling so we decided to give it a try. I was glad we did because no one was even checking to see how old anyone was. My DSs have been snorkeling many times and had no problem. It was quite enjoyable only short. There was coral, tropical fish, stingrays and small sharks to look at and swim with. When you got to the end you could just go back to the beginning and start all over. There was hardly any people in line so we never had to wait. Just remember though the water is cold.
One more time on the lazy river and we decided to call it quits. We were going to leave earlier but had enjoyed the sun so much we couldn't seem to pull ourselves away. Our curiosity of the AKL though got the better of us so we decided to call it a day around 4:00 PM. As soon as our bus started to pull away it started to sprinkle which eventually turned in to a hard rain. Oh well we had a good time while it lasted. I started a conversation with the couple seated next to us and found out that they were not happy with the AKL and were switching to the POR. The lady said that she did not like the darkness of the resort and all the rain just made it worse. She said that they liked the POR more than any other resort they had stayed at so were switching to it without further delay. I was thinking "Oh this is great" "First the rain now a dark ugly resort" Can it get much worse?" Well I shouldn't have started feeling sorry fo myself because I fell in love with the AKL as soon as I walked in.
The outside of AKL from the front is very deceivng. It looks like a 2-3 story thatched African hut. But when you walk inside you start to realize how big it really is. Pictures really don't do this resort justice. I went to check in, which went pretty smoothly. I was hoping for an upgrade but alas, none was forthcoming. We at least though, didn't get the rooms over the bus stop. We got the ostrich trail with the view of the parking lot. It was what we paid for so I really couldn't expect anything more. The rooms though, were very nice. I could really tell the difference in size when comparing them to the ASMo. My DSis had bunks in her room and was very happy. She had been paying $15.00/night at the ASMo for a roll away but now she wouldn't have to. Yes, the rooms were a little dark but I just opened the drapes when I needed extra light.
I next decided to go and get my money back for TL. I went up the customer service area and explained my problem. ( BTW our luggage had arrived without a hitch.) The CM was very nice but told me that the resort was unable to refund my money because they had no way of taking the water park off my tickets. I understood what she was trying to tell me but very politely told her that I wanted to speak to someone else about it because I had been told something very different by the park CM. She went back to speak to the manager and gave me some better news. She refunded my money eventhough I would still have an unused water park day on our tickets. I thanked her for her trouble and was happy that the resort had came through for us. I did not want to use the unused warter park day, I only wanted my money back.
That night we ate at Bomas. I have found that most people either love it or hate it. We loved it! The soups were wonderful. I had the 3 bean jambalaya (I'm not sure how you spell that) and the coconut chicken. I could have made a meal with just those soups. I also had the prime rib which I thought was very good. There were so many desserts that I found it hard to decide what to choose. So to solve the problem I had a little bit of almost everything. Needless to say we walked out of there very satisfied almost to the point of bursting. The rest of the evening was spent just looking around the resort and of course swimming. Now how can those kids want to swim more after being in a water park all day? Well I guess that is what makes them kids. When we finially got to bed I couldn't help but feeling as snug as a bug in a rug. The rooms were just so nice and the beds so comfortable. Yes, this was the life. Tomorrow we would continue with our adventure at the AK. Where else better to spend the day when you are staying at the AKL? :D