7 nights, 3 boys, 1 wild trip - AKL in May 2016 *COMPLETE!*

[hokieinpa]

7 nights, 3 boys, 1 wild trip - AKL in May 2016


Welcome!
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This is my 3rd PTR for our 3rd family trip. And this will be trip #2 out of 3 that I will be taking this year. I will be spending 16 days in the parks this year. This is the year of Disney!




For this trip, it will be me (Jamie), DH (Jim), and our 3 crazy boys - Nate, Colin, and Jake.



We'll be joined by my parents this time as well!




This trip will have a couple of firsts for us!
-Our first stay at a DVC villa.
-Our first visit during the Flower & Garden Festival.
-Our first trip without a special event party.


Plans are already underway so let's get started!

 

[hokieinpa]

Table of Contents

The Resort
ADRs

 

[hokieinpa]

The Resort

When we decided on this trip, I compared lots of different resort options.

-2 Value Rooms
-2 Moderate Rooms
-2 Family Suites
-2 bedroom DVC villas

While not the cheapest option, renting a non-premium 2 bedroom DVC villa was our best option.

It is more expensive than 2 rooms at a Value or Moderate but also has a few advantages. We'll have the perks of a deluxe resort, a kitchen, washer/dryer, and large living space.

So what resort did we choose? (like it's not obvious from the title)



Animal Kingdom Lodge!

We're renting points through David's and have reserved a 2 bedroom villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House.

The resort looks AMAZING and I can't wait to stay here!



And see views like this




The pools look like lots of fun too!





We're taking one rest day so I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time by the pool and just exploring the resort!

Coming soon...ADRs. AKA the best part of any Disney trip!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[tabrizia]

Yay new pre-trip report. Looking forward to seeing how you like AKL, our next trip in 2018 I am hoping to rent points for either 2 studios or a 1 bedroom at AKL at least for part of our stay.

 

[missangelalexis]

The villa looks gorgeous, I think you're going to have an amazing time staying there! And the fact that you have a rest day to actually enjoy the resort is even better!

 

[scrpbookr]

Very Fun! This is where we stayed for my son's 8th birthday surprise trip this past summer and it was a dream come true for all of us. Your family will love it there!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Animal Kingdom Lodge looks amazing. Can't wait to see what else you have planned.

 

[hokieinpa]

Yay! Looks swanky, looking forward to your plans!

A deluxe will be a change after our 2 stays at Values! I'm very excited!

Yay new pre-trip report. Looking forward to seeing how you like AKL, our next trip in 2018 I am hoping to rent points for either 2 studios or a 1 bedroom at AKL at least for part of our stay.

I'm so excited to stay at AKL! I've heard so many wonderful things about it.

I think renting points is a great idea. Unless it's a short trip, I think this will be the route we go from now on. More space, a kitchen, and a washer and dryer are going to be so nice!

The villa looks gorgeous, I think you're going to have an amazing time staying there! And the fact that you have a rest day to actually enjoy the resort is even better!

I'm really excited about exploring AKL! I think we'll all love the animals, of course! And the pools should be lots of fun!!

Very Fun! This is where we stayed for my son's 8th birthday surprise trip this past summer and it was a dream come true for all of us. Your family will love it there!

It's so good to hear such wonderful things about AKL! We're so excited - it seems like there are so many fun things to do!

Animal Kingdom Lodge looks amazing. Can't wait to see what else you have planned.

I'm so excited about AKL - our first deluxe!!

I have lots of new ADRs planned this trip!

 

[Chelley00]

You will love AKL. It's my favorite resort!

 

[kadrachb]

I think you will have a great time at AKL! We stayed there last year, were a little iffy about the distance away from everything before going, but LOVED IT. Seeing animals is so amazing, and the whole resort is amazing.

 

[hokieinpa]

You will love AKL. It's my favorite resort!

Yay, that's great to hear! I'm really excited for the whole experience!

I think you will have a great time at AKL! We stayed there last year, were a little iffy about the distance away from everything before going, but LOVED IT. Seeing animals is so amazing, and the whole resort is amazing.

That's really good to hear! I'm so excited about the resort itself but I keep hearing about how far removed AKL is from everything. I guess it may be compared to the other deluxe resorts but I think it will be worth it for the experience!

 

[MissMaryQC]

FOLLOWING!

I'll be back to read and comment!

 

[hokieinpa]

FOLLOWING!

I'll be back to read and comment!

Thanks for joining in...even if it's been FOREVER since I updated!

 

[hokieinpa]

Daily Plan and ADRs


Wow, I completely abandoned this PTR!

It got left in the dust finishing up my previous PTR and oh you know, being in Disney World!

But now that we're back, I'm trying to get into planning mode. I'm in that lull between ADRs and FP+ so it's hard to get really geared up. I'm going to break out my maps and spreadsheets soon to start planning our days!

I do have a rough daily plan set up and our ADRs booked, so I can share that. Our basic plan will be:

Sunday 5/1
Arrival at AKL
Epcot



Monday 5/2
Hollywood Studios



Tuesday 5/3
Magic Kingdom



Wednesday 5/4
Break Day (Disney Springs and Resort)
Magic Kingdom EMH (Jim and I will head out after dinner)



Thursday 5/5
Animal Kingdom



Friday 5/6
Epcot



Saturday 5/7
Magic Kingdom



Sunday 5/8
Departure Day



We'll be repeating only one ADR this trip and try 5 new Table Service restaurants!

And I thought it was quite kind of Disney Dining to send me this e-mail, reminding to make my ADRs!



A full 48 hours after my ADR booking window opened. Very helpful. Thank goodness for obsessive planning!


Hollywood & Vine - Lunch w/Fantasmic Package



This is half repeat/half new. We've had breakfast at H&V and ate dinner here for Minnie's Holiday Dine. But this will be our first lunch experience. I expect this will be standard buffet fare. But I know the boys will love the Disney Junior characters. And there are so few options with the Fantasmic Package. This seemed like the best one for us at this point. I think I'll just head into it with the proper expectations and it will all work out!


Crystal Palace - Breakfast



This is the one repeat on our list. We have a 10:30 breakfast booked again to allow some time for touring before breakfast. This is also great because this meal usually carries us through until dinner with just a few snacks. We love the puffed french toast and the characters are sweet so this will be a hit again, I'm sure!


Tusker House - Breakfast



This will be our "Fab 5" meal of the trip. My goal is to try all the character meals where Mickey is present before looping around and picking our favorites. So far we've tried Chef Mickey's and Ohana breakfast. We have another 10:30 breakfast reservation, hopefully allowing time for a few rides before eating. I've heard great reviews of breakfast here so I'm excited!


Via Napoli - Dinner



I've read so many great reviews of Via Napoli on TRs so I'm really excited to try a new spot in the World Showcase. We're all big pizza fans so I know this will be a hit! Any recommendations on ordering for 4 adults and 3 kids? I'm thinking one or two pizzas and a few appetizers?


The Plaza - Lunch



I actually have a BOG lunch booked as well but I think I'm going to cancel it (I know, I know) because I just don't think any of the kids options will appeal to the boys. I may keep it and just grab them some Kids Power Pack lunches from another QS spot. But that's still up for debate.

But if we choose The Plaza instead, I think it will satisfy everyone - sandwiches and ice cream are crowd pleasers!


Ohana - Dinner



This is the meal that I'm most looking forward to during our trip! The pictures I've seen just make me hungry! And I know my meat-eating husband will love it! And I've read they have kids options which are nice. I think the boys will like the steak, chicken, and noodles but a back up is nice! My mouth is watering just thinking about this meal!




My double digit day is coming up soon so I'll update then I think. Thanks for reading!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[missangelalexis]

Your daily parks sound good, and you have some GREAT ADRs planned!! Crystal Palace is so good, I can understand why you would want to repeat it! I've also heard a lot of good things about Tusker House so I think you will enjoy it! And I personally LOVED Ohana dinner when I went so I hope you love it too!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Mmmm, I'm hungry now from reading your options!! Just wanted to chime in with my opinion on The Plaza. I always wanted to eat there after seeing pics Ariana posted with her view of the castle. My Mom and I finally got to have lunch there in November and it was so quaint and perfect. We loved our food, the desserts were so great and we even ordered drinks of Pirate punch that came with a light up skull to take home for my son Great choice!

 

[tabrizia]

Looks like a great dining list. We're doing Tusker House for the first time on our trip in a few days, I have high hopes for it. We're also doing the Hollywood and Vine lunch, I have less high hopes for that one, but I am hoping the food is at least decent.

 

[Chelley00]

We have the same parks planned for 3 of the same days. Maybe we'll run into each other.

You'll love Ohana. It's one of our favorites. Our kids love the coconut race and hula lessons