Gmax Bday Trip: Expect the Unexpected! "Closing Time" Pg 15

[Glendamax]

Cast: Me, Glendamax!
Dates: Friday, June 5th - Thursday, June 11th 2009
Resort: Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village

Day 1 - This Page
Day 2 - Pg. 4, 5
Day 3 - Pg. 5, 6
Day 4 - Pg. 6, 8
Baltimore DISmeet - Pg. 6 #85
Day 5 - Pg. 9
Day 6 - Pg. 12, 14, 15
Last Day - Pg. 15



Hey DISers! Welcome to yet another Gmax Trip Report! Every trip I say that I'm NOT gonna write one, but DIS Peer Pressure wins over! So here we go!

This trip started out as a weekend trip, but I thought that it didn't make sense to come home before my bday on Wednesday, June 10th, so I extended it. As the trip approached, I did have second thoughts about being solo on my bday. But I had to ask myself, would I rather be alone at WDW, or spend the time at home . . . Hmmmm . . . . Well you know what I picked!

DISer Antss was supposed to be there for the weekend, but ended up extending her trip, and told another DISer (AngWill) about me spending my bday alone. So Antss agreed to have dinner with me one night, and AngWill invited me to have dinner with her and her son on my bday! She even made the dinner reservation for me. Weeks later, she told me that she had lunch reservations at LeCellier on the day I arrived, and invited me to join her! SCORE! This solo bday trip was looking good! But wait, there's more . . .

Antss, and Candice went to WDW in April, and had a great time. So Antss, asked Candice if she wanted to come back in June. After crunching some numbers, Candice booked a trip too! But wait! There's more . . .

DISer Klofan booked a trip in May for his bday. But when he found out that all of us were going to be there in June, he cancelled his trip, and booked for June insted!

So now, my solo bday trip, was turning into a little party! But WAIT! There's more. . . A DISer from Tampa and I have a common friend on facebook. Since she had the weekend off, she decided to drive to Orlando for the weekend! So there you have it! A trip I was a bit nervous about, turned into one of the most anticipated Disney trips ever! But WAIT! There's More . . .

With less than a week to go, my friend Kim found out that she had Friday - Monday off. She asked for my flight info and said that she was trying to go. Well, with it being so close, I knew that her chances were slim. Besides, she has 3 kids that she would have to arrange baby sitting for. On Sunday, 5 days before my trip, she calls and asks, "So what's the plan"? I ask, "The plan for what"? She says, "Your Trip"! So I start to tell her what I plan on doing, when she says, "I'm going, I have a plane ticket. Now can I stay with you, or do I need my own room". I couldn't believe she pulled it off! She was able to get a flight that arrived 10mins after mine! After hanging up the phone, I revamped my plans. She only had the weekend, so I wanted to make sure that she got to go to all off the parks. Plus, with all the new editions, and dinner reservations, I needed to see if Kim could be added. Well, everything worked like a charm. So by Monday, all my plans had changed, and I couldn't wait for FRIDAY!!!

On Friday, June 5th I got up early, was well rested, and excited about my trip. Everything was going well untill I realized that I forgot to clean out my Fridge. Well, that caused me to run late, and I ended up getting to the airport with just ONE HOUR to spare! Fortunantly, everything went well, but I hope I never get to the airport that late again!

My Southwest flight landed about 10mins early! YAY! When I went to Alamo to pick up my car, I was greeted by a less than enthusiastic woman. When she asked how many people and pieces of lugguage we had, she wanted to know if I'd upgrade to a Full-sized car. When I told her "no", she got a funny look on her face and said that we wouldnt be able to fit in the car. I told her that we could, because we've done it before. She slightly rolled her eyes! Then she got an attitude when I didn't want to pre-pay for the gas! What a way to start the trip!

Shortly after finishing up with Alamo, I spotted Kim walking towards me! YAY! We jumped in a red Nissan Versa - very fun to drive - and were off to the Animal Kingdom Lodge! Soon we were approaching a toll. With the exact change in my hand, I slowed down a bit. I saw a sign that said, Change provided, and a road that veered to the right. Since I had the correct change, I kept going straight. Hmmm . . . where's the booth? OH NO! I'm now driving through the Pre-Paid toll lane! CARP! I was looking in the rear-view mirror for cops, but didnt see any. So I just kept driving!

Well, we arrived excitedly at Kidani by 10:45 am. I must admit, that even though I was warned that this resort was a bit smaller, and different, I was a bit disappointed when we pulled up.

Those lanterns were really nice, especially at night.

Here's a video clip of the Lobby:

​

And here are some pics:

Some of the art:

So as you can see, this lobby is not as impressive as Jambo. But I did take note that since it's smaller, the walk to the elevators wouldn't be as long. Surprisingly, the room was ready! So we headed to the room. I requested one close to the lobby.


The Elevators had African Masks on them:

The Standard Studio, looked just like the one at Jambo:

Kitchenette:

Shower:

Bracing myself, I openned the curtains to see my view. After all, I did request to be near the lobby:

HA! I was directly over the front entrance! No spectacular view, but the walk to my room was VERY short!

We looked around the room while waiting for our lugguage. We only had about 40mins before our LeCellier Lunch! What a way to start this vacation!

scroll down for more . . .

 

[MeMom]

Good morning, my lucky little Kidani Village daughter!

Your 'home' lobby may be smaller than you expected, but it is very nicely done. The shower is cool! We'll go over for a visit when we are in WDW in July.

I'm glad it turned out that so many friends got to join you on this trip. I look forward to many good pictures and your always enjoyable videos. You should check out Brooklynn's dancing video and flower girl pictures when Jill gets them all put up today.

 

[Glendamax]

After we'd finally received our bags, we were off to EPCOT to have lunch at LeCellier! Since the park bus stops were very close to the front of the resort, we decided to catch the bus. About 10 mins had gone by, and NO bus. So we decided to drive. Even as we were on our way out, we still didn't see an EPCOT bus. Good thing we had a car!

Again, I wish that there was parking at the World Showcase! Walk/Running from Future World is brutal. Fortunantly, we were only about 10mins late. There we met Angela and Will - AngWill - for lunch. I was so glad that I was able to pick her out of the crowd. Now that we made it, we were just waiting on DISer Antss.

Now DISers PLEASE accept my apologies for lack of photos. We were rushing and STARVING! All I wanted to do was EAT!

Finally after Antss arrived, we were seated. I was surprised that the placed wasnt PACKED! I believe there was a good chance that walk-ups would've been accepted that day.

I started out with some Pretzle bread!

And my Entree was the Mushroom Filet with mashed potatoes. Kim had the same, along with creamed spinach. I do not like Spinach, but this dish was GREAT! The next time I go, I'm going to order it!

We had fun chatting. It was such a great way to start off the trip!

After lunch, Kim and I left EPCOT to go to Publix. By then, Kim was wiped out. So when we got back to the room, she took a nap. Meanwhile I walked around the resort, then caught the bus to Jambo House where I had soup, and green tea. I found a nice shaded spot by the pool, and read some of The Shack. I was so excited to FINALLY be on vacation!

When I returned to the room for a nap, I realized that it was not going to happen. Kim was SNORING so loudly. I was soooo tired! But then I remembered something: Antss had bought earplugs for her room mate since she snores! So I got on the phone, and left Antss a message to please bring me a pair tonight when we met up at MAGIC KINGDOM!!!

I'd gotten us great spots on Main Street to watch Spectro Magic! Kim and I got there before Antss, so I placed my bag beside me in the open spot to save her place. Well . . . A mother and her kids walked up. One of the kids sat beside my bag. Do you know the Mother told her child to MOVE my bag and slide over! I told her (nicely) that someone was sitting there! Can you believe that? Well, I then called Antss to find out where she was, and asked her to please come right over.

After we were all there, a young woman walks up and speaks to Antss. She then introduced us, and I realized that we'd seen each other on Facebook! I remember chatting with her briefly. This was Rebecca! She's one of those people who you feel like you've known FOREVER in just a few minutes!

By that time, the area had really filled in. So I told Rebecca to see if she could stand behind Antss. She ended up sitting down behind her, and all 4 of us goofed off while waiting for Spectro to start!

Little did we know, Kim had NEVER seen Spectro! We couldn't believe it! So this was going to be a first for her!

During the parade, one of the "floats" got stuck, and had to get towed away. Here's a clip:




After that, the rest of the parade went just fine! Fortunantly, the "scary float" didnt get stuck, and went on it's scary way:



I always get excited when Cinderella comes by:



And here are some more pics:

The parade was GREAT! And it was cool seeing the guys at the beginning without the lit masks on.

After the parade, we went to Casey's hot dogs, then back to Main Street for Wishes. Surprisingly, Kim did not realize that Tinker Bell was a REAL person that flew out of the castle. So this turned out to be yet another treat for her.

After Wishes was over, Antss and Rebecca wanted to hang out in the park for a bit. So we rode Haunted Mansion, and Pirates - neither of which Kim had ever been on. But REAL fun began when we rode Splash Mountain. Like me, Kim is a ride chicken and could NOT be convinced to ride. So the 3 of us headed off, with me in my rain poncho!

This would be the 3rd time I ever been on this. So I really tried to pay attention to the story, and all the animals. While listening to the song, I swore it said, "How do you do . . . Please just show me your Ba**s". Hmm . . . Surely I was wrong, but then I heard it again! I leaned forward and asked them to listen. When they did, they SCREAMED! They had to admit that is what it sounded like! So of course, I had that playing in my head for the rest of the ride!

We also rode Thunder Mountain Railroad! As I've said before, this ride is FANTASTIC at night! This would be another 1st for Kim. That girl SCREAMED and laughed the entire time. And even managed to squeeze out, "Yip - Yip" during her screams! So for the rest of the trip, every time we got on a fun ride, we would say "Yip - Yip". And now this is Kim's unofficial nick-name!

Later I finally got a chance to ride the Jungle Cruise at night. It's alot LESS hokey in the dark! Afterwards, Kim mentioned that it was 12:30AM! I couldn't believe it! So needless to say, we headed to the bus stop, while Antss and Rebecca hung out a bit more.

When Kim and I got to the AKL stop, the line extended wayyyy pass the rails! The bus took a LONG time to come, but of course we didnt fit on it, and had to wait even longer for the second one. This would be the first time EVER, that I fell asleep on the bus!

When we finally got to AKL, I was so thankful that the bus stops close to the building, and unlike Jambo, there was no long incline to walk up!

After I got in the bed, I put in the ear plugs Antss gave me, and went to sleep! Ahhhhh!!!!!

scroll down for more . . .

 

[lovealldisney]

Hi G-Max!
I am so excited you are writing a new TR! I one of your fans! Sounds like you had a great start to your vacation!

 

[Glendamax]

Day 2: Saturday, June 6th

The 7am wake-up call was brutal! The only thing that got me out of the bed was the fact that I was in Disney World.

We arrived at MGM (yes I still call it that) at 8:45am. This is the only Rope Drop Cermony that I hadn't seen. Well folks, I didn't see one. After awhile, they just let us in.

Since it was Star Wars Weekend, we were greeted by some Storm Troopers!

The Storm Troopers were really funny, and made standing in line fun! But I must admit that I was disappointed that there was not a "cermony".

Well, when they let everyone in, those people RAN and Sped Walked to Toy Story. The CMs would not let you go immediately to your left, and down the steps to TSM. Insted they made us all go to our right, and walk all the way around. By the time we got there, the lines for the ride AND the fastpasses were LONG! Take a Look!

​

It took us about 20 mins to get to the Fast Pass machines.

Then we had to stand in the LONG line to get into the ride.

And finally we're inside!

To Infinity and Beyond!

After going up the stairs, then down, we finally got a glimpse of the fun!

Then it was FINALLY our turn!!!

Unfortunantly, Kim BEAT me!!! Oh well . . . Let's see what we'll do next . . .

Go to Page 4, Post #47

 

[Glendamax]

Good morning, my lucky little Kidani Village daughter!

Your 'home' lobby may be smaller than you expected, but it is very nicely done. The shower is cool! We'll go over for a visit when we are in WDW in July.

I'm glad it turned out that so many friends got to join you on this trip. I look forward to many good pictures and your always enjoyable videos. You should check out Brooklynn's dancing video and flower girl pictures when Jill gets them all put up today.

Hey MOM!!! So glad to see you, and you're first in line! I'll make sure to check your thread later today!

Hi G-Max!
I am so excited you are writing a new TR! I one of your fans! Sounds like you had a great start to your vacation!

I had an AWESOME start! Thanks for stopping by!

 

[cherokeemamma]

Hey Gmax,
First of all, a belated Happy Birthday is in order. From the look of things I will assume you had a wonderful one.

You trip is coming together as an amazing one. I saw your pics on FB. My DS and I were cracking up at some of them.

Thanks for calling me during your trip, sorry I wasn't home. I have been very busy with VBS. We had a fantastic week with a bunch of kids but I am happy it is over and I can catch up on my life.

You will have to let me know how you liked The Shack.I have read it and really like it. I had a hard time putting it down.

Hi MeMom...I have missed you! Do you have a TR going on? Please send me the link if you do. Would love to catch up with you.

Well, hope your day is great and thanks for writting another fabulous installment of the Gmax TRs! Hope to talk with you soon.

Big Hug Glenda!
TTFN, Cherokeemamma

 

[java]

Yippee you're back!

Your hair looks GREAT. And thanks for posting the backpack pushy mom thing it reminds me to go buy a neat sheet. If I lay that baby down for my family of 6 I'm hoping they will stay off it! fingers crossed!

Did you have sunshine? Looks like it. and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

 

[cherokeemamma]

I forgot to say something about the line for FP to TSM. That is crazy. How long were you in line to get your FPs? I would have thought that some of the hoopla surrounding this ride would have died down by now. I love this ride but..... I guess the fact that it is Star Wars Weekend might have had something to do with it.

 

[teruterubouzu]

Great start to your trip report! Kidani certainly looks lovely. I'm eager to hear what you think of the buses.

 

[pooksma]

Hey Glenda! I am happy to be in on this fro the first!

Your shots from Kidani are great.
BTMRR is definitely coolest at night.

 

[scottny]

Ok I am here.

Great start to the trip. Love the videos and pics. My friends are there now but come home today I would have gone if I wasn't going to Europe and Disneyland Paris.

Looking forward to more.

 

[PrincessAlways]

Glenda started her TR!!! Can't wait until I get home from work to start reading!!!!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Wooohooo! Another adventure!

 

[girlbomb]

Yay! I'm so excited to read about your birthday trip -- hope it was a great one! The locs are looking great! And Bill and I ALWAYS thought that's what the Splash Mountain birds were singing! (I think it's actually something about "sure as you're born," but come on -- it sounds just like "show us your..." )

Looking forward to reading more...

 

[kindra657]

subscribing!!
I didn't know that Kidani was much smaller. Glad you reported that cause I would've been disappointed too!!

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Glenda....

So glad that I found your TR as I've tried to follow all of them so far. The weather down here has definintely been hot & if it hasn't been hot it's been rainy/stormy so I'm glad you were able to survive our Florida heat.

I can't believe at TSM there wasn't weaving lines inside. The one time we managed to "walk" into TSM we had to weave & weave & weave......we only waited because the FP's were gone & it was our last time on the AP's before they expired that we were going to DHS.

Can't wait for the rest of the report!!

 

[angela3676]

Lovin' your trip report, as usual.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hurray! So glad that you decided to write a trip report!

 

[wirki]

Wow..you had a busy 2 days. Sounds like you are having so much fun. Wish I could have been there with you all. Can not wait to read about the rest of your adventures!!