Oh the places We Go, The People We see

[KatMark]

I'm here and will be back to catch up as soon as I can.

 

[CraftyMommy]

This actually worked out really well for me. I have to admit, I wasnt sure exactly what Carrie looked like &..because she doesnt post many pictures of herself online &&shame on you Carrie. I knew she would probably recognize me first, since I am kind of unusual, LOL, but this worked out great.
She was brought to our table soon after we arrived and we introduced her to Amanda and Claire and we all chatted. She was really easy to talk to and a big Disney fan as well.

There is a reason I don't post many pictures of myself. I don't like pictures of me, and I am always the person behind the camera. But I may make up for it. I'm toying with the idea of doing my first TR when we go in 2 weeks. We have PhotoPass+ and I could give you a run for your money on how many pictures I take each trip.

It was very nice meeting you, Claire, and Amanda. It was real easy to talk to you guys.

I've been keeping an eye out for your TR and must've skipped past it. I just now found it. I'll try my best to keep up with it.

 

[jenseib]

I love your matching t-shirts. They are so cute. Claire looks totally asleep getting on the plane, but wide awake getting off.

Can I tell you that I just got a new computer and your pictures are prettier than ever on this new screen!

I love AKL! So pretty. I know what you mean about feeling like a pack mule (since I am lovingly called the sherpa by some of my DIS friends), because I felt the same way when I checked in at VWL in October. At 1:30 my room wasn't ready and I didn't really feel like checking anything, so I just dragged it around until my room was ready. Makes it hard to take pictures!

I saw that on facebook. I am so jealous! I can definetely see a difference in the way the pictures look from my laptotp to PC. The PC is 100 times better, but the laptop has always been junky, even when I first bought it. I should've sent it back, but was too lazy. Byt the time I was ready to do so the warranty was supposedly over, though I thought I had a year and it was less than a year when I inquired about it. I know my next one will NOT be a Dell.
I was so weighted down for a while there and it felt good to get rid of the majority of it.

I am glad that you both liked AKL. This is probably my favourite WDW resort.

Corinna

We loved it. It became one of our new favorites. Claire is still talking about it so much. She wants to go back for sure.

I thought something was different about our bus back to the Airport! We must have gotten a newer bus with seatbelts. I figured that maybe I had just not noticed seatbelts on the ride to the resort.

Looks like you guys are off to a great start though! OHH and I LOVE Cheesecake Factory! We had several in Atlanta- and I LOVE it! Their food is just wonderful!!

It took a few minutes to click with me and then the bus driver said something too.
I love cheescake. Wish I had some now.

Just came over from your Comedians with Guitars Trip Report. I have to catch up on this one!

We are sailing on the Dream in February for our first Disney Cruise and can't wait to read about your cruise!!

Welcome. I haven't gotten too far here yet. I am kind of going slow so I can get the other one finishes...and I haven;t gotten my photopass CD yet either and want to make sure I can add those when I get to that point.
We love the Dream. Did you ever rad my other Dream TR. if not, I can direct you there (it's in my signature...A Hop, No Skip one) and it will give you a newbies first look at DCL. WE had a blast ...obviously, as we went back again.

I'm here and will be back to catch up as soon as I can.

Take your time Kathy. I know you got a lot going on. I am mostly working on the Cruise one from Sept so I can get that one finished up...hopefully sooner than later.

There is a reason I don't post many pictures of myself. I don't like pictures of me, and I am always the person behind the camera. But I may make up for it. I'm toying with the idea of doing my first TR when we go in 2 weeks. We have PhotoPass+ and I could give you a run for your money on how many pictures I take each trip.

It was very nice meeting you, Claire, and Amanda. It was real easy to talk to you guys.

I've been keeping an eye out for your TR and must've skipped past it. I just now found it. I'll try my best to keep up with it.

Yo uare too funny. I don't really like pictures of myself either, but I just got over it now. I know I am not some hot sexy chick, but i am me, so I guess I tell people to live with it.
I was on a news clip last night and my Mom was so thankful she wasn't on there too. She said she would've sued the TV station. I could care less....in fact I told my sister as we walked past the camera to smile in case we made the news...and I did! A big close up too. I think the camera must add like 50 lbs...right? I think thats the facts I last heard?

 

[jenseib]

So I am now not so weighted down and feel so much better. Well sort of. Remember that muffin I had a butt crack thirty this morning? Well it’s long gone now. And the few snacks we had on the plane are not doing it for either of us either.

Claire thought she could suffer and swim for a bit first, but I told her no, eating was first on the list.

Of course as we walked away from Bell services I had to take a few pictures first.

In case you do not know where Mara is …the fast food place in AKL, it’s down stairs from the lobby and outside past the pool.

We have arrived.

My biggest complaint about deluxes at Disney …the food courts pretty much suck. They have such a small selection. And it seems most carry the same few items.

Claire and I decided to share a flatbread pizza. I knew it would be big enough for the 2 of us. Claire also LOVES pineapple, so we picked up a container of that for her.

And now was the time to make that decision. What decision is that you ask? Well should I try the Zebra Domes. I have heard off and on for years just how fabulous they are. Then others will chime in and say they are just awful. It seems you love them or hate them. I had asked for descriptions, and people gave me some, but I never quite understood what they were. My fear was that they would taste like coffee, which I hate, or coconut, which I hate. LOL
Well we took the plunge and decided to give them a try.

We paid for our food and were handed a buzzer for the pizza. Another note, it was really weird how you ordered here. They had someone standing there with a pad of paper, printed with the selections and they checked off what you wanted from the grill area. I guess they then took it back there then to be filled.

We sat and started on the pineapple and waited for the pizza.

And we opened up the zebra domes and gave them a try. Verdict is that we like them. I think they are good, but not fabulous. Claire really enjoyed them though.
My description of them is that they are like a chocolaty shell with chocolate mousse type stuff inside. Our outside shell was kind of melty though and we got a little messy eating them. I also would not be able to eat many in a row. One or 2 was fine, but more than that might be a bit too much. We did finish off the box, but I think Claire ate more than I did.

Soon our pizza was ready and we dove into that too.

Now I complained about the selection, but the taste was still very good. I just wouldn’t want to eat this every day as it would become tiresome and boring.

While we ate we called Skip and checked in with him. We told him we were having lunch and he seemed disgusted because the last time he had talked to us we were eating at the Cheesecake Factory. He made some kind of sarcastic comment about that. Well I informed him that we pretty much hadn’t had anything to eat in between time, so we were now hungry.
Claire talked to him a bit and we hung up.

We headed out after that and our mission was now swimming. Well not mine, but Claire was all for it. I even walked around a bit looking at things, but with all the griping next to me it was just not meant to be and we headed to the bathroom to change.

These bathrooms near the pool are VERY nice. They had showers in the back and were very clean. We chose the handicapped shower stall as it had a stool to place our bag on and got Claire changed.

And out we went, passing the VERY tiny kiddie pool.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

My biggest complaint about deluxes at Disney &the food courts pretty much suck. They have such a small selection. And it seems most carry the same few items.

Claire and I decided to share a flatbread pizza. I knew it would be big enough for the 2 of us. Claire also LOVES pineapple, so we picked up a container of that for her.

Did you try the African Stew in a bread bowl? That wasn't too bad, but the food court food tends to suck anyway.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Yay! You are at AKL! In a weird way I prefer the food courts at the Deluxes because they are smaller and less overwhelming. But ya...if you had to eat there everyday it would get old!

I love The Mara's African Soup. YUM.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Your pictures of AKL make me homesick! I just love that resort !

I didn't really care for the zebra domes, maybe it was the white chocolate.

The baby pool was a good size for the wee ones. We went out every morning around 7 to use the hot tub. Loved it.

 

[BEARCATS07]

AKL is on the list of places to stay soon!

 

[jenseib]

Did you try the African Stew in a bread bowl? That wasn't too bad, but the food court food tends to suck anyway.

I did not. I kind of forgot they had that and I knew I had to get something Claire would like and that we would most likely share.

Yay! You are at AKL! In a weird way I prefer the food courts at the Deluxes because they are smaller and less overwhelming. But ya...if you had to eat there everyday it would get old!

I love The Mara's African Soup. YUM.

The variety just was not good and Claire is pretty picky and wil leat limited things. I can be at times too. I HATED the food court at AoA though. Terribel selections.

Your pictures of AKL make me homesick! I just love that resort !

I didn't really care for the zebra domes, maybe it was the white chocolate.

The baby pool was a good size for the wee ones. We went out every morning around 7 to use the hot tub. Loved it.

We loved it there. I took a LOT of pictures too

AKL is on the list of places to stay soon!

I give it a thumbs up!

 

[Dizzy4DL]

Trying to keep up with all your reports, now I'm not even sure which one I introduced myself on.

AKL is on my list of dream Disney resorts for sure, all the little details win me over. I love the ceiling decorations in the food court.

 

[CraftyMommy]

It has been several years since I last went to AKL. I don't think Tyler has ever been there. I might try to squeeze in a trip to AKL if we can fit it in. So many things on my list for this trip. But your pictures make me want to go back again. I want to try out the zebra domes. I'm not a fan of white chocolate though.

 

[Poolrat]

finally over here - All caught up.


What a journey..... AKL was the only place I think where my room was not ready right away. Or at least wasn't ready when I WAS ready for the room.

 

[dizneeat]

I am repeating myself, but I LOVE all the photos you take. Takes me right back to our stays at AKL! We loved it there too.
Unfortunately the mentioned African Stew in a breadbowl is no more. They serve it with rice now and it's not as yummy as in the breadbowl - has to do with the "soaked" breadbowl, which was delish.
I am pretty glad you liked the Zebradomes - I remember the discussion about them in one of your threads. I have yet to try the new ones. Whenever we go and eat at the Mara, I never seem to feel like I would like some!
Thanks for another great update!

 

[mousetravel]

Love the AKL pics! Makes me miss it even more!

Glad you liked the Zebra Domes.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love your photos of AKL and I am glad that you liked the Zebra Domes.

Corinna

 

[Dave Dizney]

Got to love the AKL! We still can't take ANY trip there without stopping by Boma.

 

[Woth2982]

Loving your photos of AKL! I have never been over there so I love seeing the photos of the inside! I agree there isn't much of a selection at the Deluxes. Probably because they all have full service restaurants. Although I wasn't overly thrilled with the food court at Pop either.

 

[jenseib]

Well I have been totally ignoring Dis today. I found a super deal on American Girl dolls. There was a rprmo to get 2 of the dolls with book and accessories selling at $124-129 for each doll and the sale was $50 each. This is an unheard of price for these dolls. I bougt 2 of the 1 doll, 1 for Claire and one for my niece and then I thought about it and went back and bought the other dollfor Claire too. I basically got all 3 dolls with shipping for not much more than the full cost of one doll with shipping.
I have been on an excitement high all morning.

Trying to keep up with all your reports, now I'm not even sure which one I introduced myself on.

AKL is on my list of dream Disney resorts for sure, all the little details win me over. I love the ceiling decorations in the food court.

I can't keep up either half the time. It might be a day ro two before I post an update on either, so you got some time to breath.

It has been several years since I last went to AKL. I don't think Tyler has ever been there. I might try to squeeze in a trip to AKL if we can fit it in. So many things on my list for this trip. But your pictures make me want to go back again. I want to try out the zebra domes. I'm not a fan of white chocolate though.

It was so pretty there. I always put things liek that on my list too and don't make it to half of them. The chip and Day sing along is always on my list and I have yet to make there.

finally over here - All caught up.


What a journey..... AKL was the only place I think where my room was not ready right away. Or at least wasn't ready when I WAS ready for the room.

I am way behind on yours too. Not a single place was ready for me this time...except Residence Inn but we arrived in the evening there.

I am repeating myself, but I LOVE all the photos you take. Takes me right back to our stays at AKL! We loved it there too.
Unfortunately the mentioned African Stew in a breadbowl is no more. They serve it with rice now and it's not as yummy as in the breadbowl - has to do with the "soaked" breadbowl, which was delish.
I am pretty glad you liked the Zebradomes - I remember the discussion about them in one of your threads. I have yet to try the new ones. Whenever we go and eat at the Mara, I never seem to feel like I would like some!
Thanks for another great update!

Ok, good to know about the stew. I remember seeing it on an all ears menu, but I think I blocked it out knowing that Claire probably wouldn't care for it.

Love the AKL pics! Makes me miss it even more!

Glad you liked the Zebra Domes.

I remember your pictures. It got me hooked.

I love your photos of AKL and I am glad that you liked the Zebra Domes.

Corinna

Yep, we would get them again. not gross like I thought they would be.

Got to love the AKL! We still can't take ANY trip there without stopping by Boma.

We tried Boma too. Stay tuned for that update...which will probably be awhile

Loving your photos of AKL! I have never been over there so I love seeing the photos of the inside! I agree there isn't much of a selection at the Deluxes. Probably because they all have full service restaurants. Although I wasn't overly thrilled with the food court at Pop either.

I do like Pops food, but not all of it. Most of it is good though. And I like the slection. Mara had like half of that.

 

[GoofyTwinDad]

Well I have been totally ignoring Dis today. I found a super deal on American Girl dolls. There was a rprmo to get 2 of the dolls with book and accessories selling at $124-129 for each doll and the sale was $50 each. This is an unheard of price for these dolls. I bougt 2 of the 1 doll, 1 for Claire and one for my niece and then I thought about it and went back and bought the other dollfor Claire too. I basically got all 3 dolls with shipping for not much more than the full cost of one doll with shipping.
I have been on an excitement high all morning.

I can't keep up either half the time. It might be a day ro two before I post an update on either, so you got some time to breath.

It was so pretty there. I always put things liek that on my list too and don't make it to half of them. The chip and Day sing along is always on my list and I have yet to make there.

I am way behind on yours too. Not a single place was ready for me this time...except Residence Inn but we arrived in the evening there.

Ok, good to know about the stew. I remember seeing it on an all ears menu, but I think I blocked it out knowing that Claire probably wouldn't care for it.

I remember your pictures. It got me hooked.

Yep, we would get them again. not gross like I thought they would be.

We tried Boma too. Stay tuned for that update...which will probably be awhile

I do like Pops food, but not all of it. Most of it is good though. And I like the slection. Mara had like half of that.

My wife tried to get two dolls and they sold out between the time she put them in her cart and checking out. So very sad.

 

[jenseib]

My wife tried to get two dolls and they sold out between the time she put them in her cart and checking out. So very sad.

I had heard this happened to a lot of people. I happened to be on the right board at the right time and someone found the code out about 8 AM so I got mine bought before they even went on air on the Today show. One of the best deals I ever got I think. Just becuase they are so popular and never have sales on the dolls, I thought for sure I would have no chance.