3 Families doin' a Surf & Turf Trip! AKL CL & Dream...Good-Byes

[hstrickland]

Heather, isn't that cruel and unusual punishment to yourself to be that close to the MK and not go in? I think I would have bolted and ran for the turnstiles!

Guess I was thinking that if I saw MK it would ease my longing to go....HA! I was wrong...it did the exact opposite!!!!

Your trip report is making me make a case for an upgrade to CL at AKL in October. Of course, it all depends on AP discounts when they come out.

We wouldn't have booked that if there wasn't a discount....it would have been a pool view most likely. Sooooooo very glad the discount showed up!! It's worth it (JMO)

Thanks for the tip on the outfits for AG dolls, I'm sure that is going to be on our list for must have's. Sophia looks wonderful in her Minnie dress, it's just like the one they have for the little girls!

If you see one at DTD, let me know. I couldn't find any. So....I just assumed there were none to be had at WDW. Much to my surprise they were at the Poly!! None at AKL, though. Weird.

Can't wait to hear about Boma, I liked it but after Jiko....

I'm off to go pack in unnoticed...I guess that means I'll be hiding in the closet.

Christine

2 days!!!!!! Are you still hiding in the closet?!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

All caught up! I like the Poly smell too! I have never steeped foot in the Grand Floridian, I have to fix that.
The animal shots are great! Funny, we saw more zebras than giraffes when we were there.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

A short but sweet update and I am between Jesse watching tv again (Pop is right...Maybe should have counted times you found him here! ) and Faith getting Sophia ready for dinner. Your kids are adorable!!!!!!

I am so intrigued and encouraged by your experience with the AKL CMs. It sounds awesome!!!! It would have been so easy to just throw some crayons at the kids...love that she got involved and interacted with them!

 

[disney777]

I'll be at AKL in less than 3 weeks! I'm so excited for my 2nd stay there. 5 days with Pool View, and then 9 days of CL. I can't wait.
Silly question - do they have corn flakes in the morning at CL? It's my favorite cold cereal.
Enjoying your TR, getting me in the spirit to also stop and smell the roses while I'm there. That is my goal, but you know we don't always do it once you get there and the excitement takes over.

 

[jecskc]

I keep trying to get DD to buy one of the princess outfits for her American Girl doll and she doesn't seem that interested. Which makes me sad, because I so want to buy one. I have a lot of the patterns for the dresses and outfits for the American Girl dolls and have made several. Fun stuff !!

 

[Yellowbellow]

I had a GREAT photo of a Giraffe with his tounge fully extended. If I knew how to post phots I would do so. You have a copy that I made.

 

[Sue M]

Keep in mind that we had a cruise...just wasn't sure what I would need




Can you see my face getting green.....with envy that is!??! You're gonna be in FL and I'll be in....well.....I'll be in "the forbidden word"




Why are they closing Gasperillas??? We didn't get over that far to see if it was closed or not. I can assure you that if we do a park free trip in the future, I will NOT go near the MK....just not gonna happen.

How many days will yall be in FL???

I think they are or have closing Gasperillas because of construction. They are expanding seating area, and hopefully doing something with the arcade. Worlds worst design!!

We'll be in Ft. Lauderdale 8 nights, then AKL for 12 nights

 

[Sue M]

More great pics! Love the giraffes! Your kids are hilarious! Faith and that doll are so cute. Jesse the wanderer and Stephen is quite good getting pics!

I think they'll have to pry me out of the CL lounge it sounds wonderful.

My daughter (27) doesn't know we are staying CL. We split our stay, 6 nights pool view & 6 nights CL. She thinks it's all pool view, shhhhh. The other week I tried to alter and do a 5 & 7 split, but no availability guess I'll live

 

[amandaw]

I must say that I am truly impressed by the attention the CMs give the children at AKL. It's fantastic!

Those pictures are also fantastic! The giraffes are beautiful!

 

[pas130]

Guess I was thinking that if I saw MK it would ease my longing to go....HA! I was wrong...it did the exact opposite!!!!

I made that mistake uhhh twice Totally agree about not feeling the WDW withdrawals from AKL....it's a whole different world

And I love the TV pics with Jesse, at least when he runs off you can ask the CMs for the nearest TV

 

[hstrickland]

All caught up! I like the Poly smell too! I have never steeped foot in the Grand Floridian, I have to fix that.
The animal shots are great! Funny, we saw more zebras than giraffes when we were there.

I never did ask a CM, but I'm assuming they let the animals just roam around. I never noticed a place where they take them in at night. And yes....you must at least step foot in the GF

A short but sweet update and I am between Jesse watching tv again (Pop is right...Maybe should have counted times you found him here! ) and Faith getting Sophia ready for dinner. Your kids are adorable!!!!!!

I am so intrigued and encouraged by your experience with the AKL CMs. It sounds awesome!!!! It would have been so easy to just throw some crayons at the kids...love that she got involved and interacted with them!

I think dad said he had around 10 pictures of Jesse in front of a TV...not sure what was so inviting about it

I'll be at AKL in less than 3 weeks! I'm so excited for my 2nd stay there. 5 days with Pool View, and then 9 days of CL. I can't wait.
Silly question - do they have corn flakes in the morning at CL? It's my favorite cold cereal.
Enjoying your TR, getting me in the spirit to also stop and smell the roses while I'm there. That is my goal, but you know we don't always do it once you get there and the excitement takes over.

While I was sitting out by the pool, I studied the pool room views and thought they would be really nice...Bill thought so, too. There's actually lots to look at...the pool area is just beautiful. I don't think you will be disappointed at all.

If I remember correctly, the lounge had Fruit Loops, Rice Crispies, Raisin Bran and Frosted Flakes. I don't recall seeing Corn Flakes, though.

Good luck with slowing down while there Hard to do, I know. If we had been doing the parks, we wouldn't have seen all that we did.

I keep trying to get DD to buy one of the princess outfits for her American Girl doll and she doesn't seem that interested. Which makes me sad, because I so want to buy one. I have a lot of the patterns for the dresses and outfits for the American Girl dolls and have made several. Fun stuff !!

No kidding?! No Minnie or Princess dresses, huh? Maybe if she actually sees one and can put her hands on it, she'll change her mind Wish I could sew....but not a chance. I can only imagine how it would turn out

I had a GREAT photo of a Giraffe with his tounge fully extended. If I knew how to post phots I would do so. You have a copy that I made.

I do have that picture, but quite honestly it looks disgusting. It did cross my mind to post it....but the more I stared at it, the more repulsive it looked.

I think they are or have closing Gasperillas because of construction. They are expanding seating area, and hopefully doing something with the arcade. Worlds worst design!!

We'll be in Ft. Lauderdale 8 nights, then AKL for 12 nights

So right....the absolute worst design! When we were there back in 2009, we ate breakfast at Gasperillas along with kids playing video games....strange, isn't it?

18 nights in FL.....I think I could deal with that!!

More great pics! Love the giraffes! Your kids are hilarious! Faith and that doll are so cute. Jesse the wanderer and Stephen is quite good getting pics!

I think they'll have to pry me out of the CL lounge it sounds wonderful.

My daughter (27) doesn't know we are staying CL. We split our stay, 6 nights pool view & 6 nights CL. She thinks it's all pool view, shhhhh. The other week I tried to alter and do a 5 & 7 split, but no availability guess I'll live

Awesome! She's gonna be super surprised and love, love, love it!! Hopefully yall will be able to deal with a pool view, you poor things Something tells me you'll live It must hard to have only 12 nights at a deluxe resort......hopefully you'll make it through

I must say that I am truly impressed by the attention the CMs give the children at AKL. It's fantastic!

Those pictures are also fantastic! The giraffes are beautiful!

Maybe you'll be able to persuade Ed to try it

I made that mistake uhhh twice Totally agree about not feeling the WDW withdrawals from AKL....it's a whole different world

And I love the TV pics with Jesse, at least when he runs off you can ask the CMs for the nearest TV

Glad you can feel my pain, but rest assured...not again And did I read that time stamp on your post correctly??!! Were you up in the middle of the night???

 

[Sue M]

only[/I] 12 nights at a deluxe resort......hopefully you'll make it?

I'll really try hard to soldier thru only thing better would be all 12 nights CL. . But I think the pool view room will be fun, I love people watching too!
Hopefully that storm in the Atlantic is past by next week!

 

[basketlacey]

Hi Heather! I love all the detail in your report! I somehow got 10 pages behind but I am all caught up now! Sitting in the balcony of our condo with a cappuccino is a great way to catch up!

I am anxious to try BC. We are going during F&W and I think the walk to Epcot will overshadow the lack of CS options. I hope so anyway! Our payment is due when we get home from this vacation (which is relatively cheap since mom and dad sprung for the condo :-D ).

 

[pas130]

Glad you can feel my pain, but rest assured...not again And did I read that time stamp on your post correctly??!! Were you up in the middle of the night???

No worries heather...I was working!

 

[happy2012]

I LOVE THE POLY!! I have always said the Poly feels very 1970s in a great way! It feels like a WDW original, which I LOVE. I just never realized the scent @ PR, until you mentioned it. But, now that you have mentioned it, I think that's part of it's appeal to me. It smells like waterfalls. I think it smells clean, fresh & pretty to me. I can't imagine someone not liking that. PR is my FAVORITE, dream resort!!!! I can't wait to one day be able to stay there.

 

[jennyjinx3]

 

[Sue M]

 

[pas130]

I guess we shall wait for the weekends in hope of an update? Poor heather....back to work

 

[RGirl]

Loving all the pictures - especially that multi-giraffe one!!

Can't wait for Boma!

 

[hstrickland]

Day 4
Boma Dining Review​

The long overdue Boma Review will finally ensue…..

Price of this meal varies based on the time of year and even on the day of the week. The general price ranges for this meal are as follows:


Adult price range: $35.14-$39.40
Child (ages 3-9) price range: $17.03-$19.16
Gratuity is not included.



Our reservations were for 7:45pm……we arrived a little early and oh my goodness….it was packed!!! There were people waiting everywhere!! The hostess was very sweet and told us it wouldn’t be too long.

We waited…..and waited…..and waited! At some point, we went to ask how much longer it would be, and they assured us that it was soon!



FINALLY….after 40 minutes we were seated. The hostess was incredibly nice, especially with the children.

We were seated in the middle of the restaurant, and as I said earlier….it was RIDICULOUSLY crowded. The tables were rather close together making it difficult to maneuver through the restaurant.

Since the line to the buffet was rather lengthy, we did a bit more waiting. Stephen headed straight to the meat section….

I wasn’t overly excited to know that I had to pay $38 for a 10 year old to eat this….

Not that the meat wasn’t good….very tasty, very juicy. But I knew Stephen wasn’t going to eat $38 worth of food. Oh well….guess the older the kids get, the more money we dish out.

The chicken was good…not outstanding, but tasty.

Not sure about the fish….maybe Pop can comment on this….I didn’t try any.

I had a difficult time getting pictures during dinner. Stephen and I tried our best….

While the food offerings were good, I wasn’t overly impressed. Perhaps if the restaurant had been less crowded and there wasn’t a hustle and bustle, it would have been different. For me, ambiance plays a big part in a dining experience….and unfortunately, that part of Boma just didn’t cut it.


HOWEVER…the desserts at Boma were tasty, tasty, tasty!!!! Loved them!!!

I tried almost ALL of them!!

In all honesty….they were all great except for the bread pudding. It doesn’t hold a candle to the bread pudding at Ohana.

And the infamous Zebra Domes…..

After the crowd started to disperse, I was able to get a few more shots of the restaurant….

Check out the man in the corner of the picture….he cracks me up!

And one more picture of my favorite foods……DESSERT!!

While we had a nice meal, I’m not sure it was worth $40 a person. The service was decent and the food was good….just not a restaurant that we’ll return to. However, I am very glad that we tried Boma for dinner…..



Up next….a very late arrival!!!






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