"Her Name Was Definitely Mary". Our 1st anniversary trip, May 2011 *NEW 9/6

[Joyciemc]

I have the day off from work, so I drove home from my house sitting gig for the day. That means I get to do a TR update (more than one, most likely- we may even finish Day 1. Honestly, I have no idea why I am writing so much about just getting there. Part of it is that I am remembering a lot of details, and want to write them all down so that I can hopefully remember stuff from the more interesting part of the trip, too. I hope you'll bear with me!)

Part 2:
Once the plane was turned back on, our friendly flight crew member came back on the mic to make another announcement:
“It didn’t work. Control Alt Delete usually works, but not this time. We already have a mechanic on the way, so it shouldn’t be long. I personally think we should just take the part from another plane.”
The guy was funny, but at this point I was starting to worry that we’d have to wait for another flight entirely. But then he came back on: “It’s working! I guess we just had to give it a few minutes.”

In the end, we took off about 20 minutes late, but we were happy to be on the way.
We took a picture to celebrate:

The flight started off nice and smooth, and I was even able to take snooze:

Thanks to Ben for always being there to snap pictures of me napping.

Ben was lucky enough to sit next to a nice man flying down for his mother’s birthday. They had a great conversation during which the man said things like: “You wouldn’t remember, but there used to be drive-in movies. There were speakers you’d attach to your car and you’d watch the screen while parked.” or: “… a man named Kennedy, he was one of our presidents…” I was sleeping off and on and only heard snippets, but I still thought it was hysterical that this guy assumed that Ben knew nothing about anything and he had to fill him in on all this background information.
Ben was very polite, and I think by the end of the flight the guy realized that not only did Ben know who Kennedy was, but also had seen a few movies at drive-in theaters.

Of course, not long before we landed, the flight got pretty bumpy. Luckily, it was towards the very end, and only went on for a few minutes before we landed. Despite the 20 minute delay in take off, we were only 10 minutes late landing. We were in Florida!

I took this picture of Ben on the tram thing to the terminal.
It is a picture of him, but it is really a picture of the sandal-boots behind him. Is this a thing now? I know nothing about fashion, so forgive me if this is just some new footwear that is all the rage… but sandal-boots? Huh.

After we were done mocking strangers’ footwear, we headed down to Magical Express. It looked like a whole lotta people…

But we were in our line pretty quickly

And only had to wait a short bit before we were loaded up. I left Ben to stow away the carryon, and I climbed aboard to snag us some seats. I took this paparazzi picture while I waited:

Soon enough, we were on our way!

He is lightening quick with getting ready to pose for a picture!

After only about 30 minutes (way shorter than I ever remember the drive from MCO being!), we were whizzing by the welcome sign. I was so not expecting to be there yet, I’m not even sure how I managed to snag this picture, but I couldn’t stop praising myself for quite a while afterwards:

At some point on the drive I had an idea to change our first day plans. We always rush to get there, then rush right out to a park, then exhausted, collapse into bed and start our whole vacation completely zonked. The plans for this trip were no different- check in quick, then run to DHS. Then run back to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner, and then go to the MK till 3 am. Um, why did I think that was a good idea? Even saying it now sounds crazy!

Once we learned that we’d be the fourth ME stop, I started thinking… we could check in, actually relax a bit and enjoy the resort, take a nap… and still have tons of time in the MK that night. I asked Ben what he thought and it was decided- no crazy first day rushing around for us! With that, I sat back and enjoyed our stops at other resorts.
First up was Caribbean Beach- somewhere I’ve never been. It looked really nice, though!

Then we got to see our previous favorite resort:

Ben took that picture from the bus and was very proud of it! We just love POP century and it has been a while since we’ve seen it, so it was nice to swing through. I’d like to think we’d be back here some time, maybe as an add-on night to a trip in the future…

Finally, we were pulling into the Animal Kingdom Lodge complex.

Jambo House was the first stop, and then it was off to our home for the week!
I only took one picture as we were walking into Kidani Village:

We walked in, and oohed at the lobby. It looks a lot like Jambo house, but smaller and cozier. We got in line for check-in and only had to wait a few minutes. I had tried to do online check-in before leaving, but kept getting an error message. Surprisingly, when we got to the desk we learned that online check-in had worked, so we got our packet right away. And… our room was ready! It was only 11am, so we were very pleasantly surprised!
Off we went to find our room…

 

[klacey1]

I love reading about all of your "getting there" details! I have so many different trip diaries and love looking back on those moments when you're close you can almost taste it!
I'm glad you decided to rest that first afternoon! I'm thinking 3 a.m. EMH would not have happened!

 

[annmarieda]

sandal boots!!!!!

Great pics!!! I think that choosing to relax first probably is a good idea. I think we all tend to think "got to get to a park asap". I know it tends to leave me exhausted right at the start of the trip. Hopefully choosing this other route gave made you ready for a busy trip!!!

 

[Joyciemc]

I love reading about all of your "getting there" details! I have so many different trip diaries and love looking back on those moments when you're close you can almost taste it!
I'm glad you decided to rest that first afternoon! I'm thinking 3 a.m. EMH would not have happened!

It's true- the getting there is so much fun because of the anticipation!

sandal boots!!!!!

Great pics!!! I think that choosing to relax first probably is a good idea. I think we all tend to think "got to get to a park asap". I know it tends to leave me exhausted right at the start of the trip. Hopefully choosing this other route gave made you ready for a busy trip!!!

Pink suede sandal-boots! Looked real comfy...

I am sooooo glad we took an easy going approach on arrival day! This was a tiring trip!

 

[Joyciemc]

Part 3:
Kidani Village is set up sort of like a big squiggly line. The lobby is in the middle, with wings of rooms jutting off to each side. We hadn’t made any room requests at all (unless you count the fact that 1: we had requested a room and 2: booked a non-savannah view studio. Technically, those are all requests) and had no idea where we’d end up.

Being folks who like convenience (and don’t usually have a car in WDW), we were very happy to learn that our room was one floor up from the lobby, right near the elevator. Running down to refill our mugs would be easy-peasy and we were close to the bus stop, too!

We couldn’t help being a little nervous about what we would find behind this door. If you read our last TR, you know that our room at the Polynesian held some not-so-pleasant surprises. Please just let this room be clean…
We walked in and… yes! It was clean! But before we had much chance to take in the room, our view caught my eye and I rushed over to the window to open the sheer drapes. I think we had been upgraded.
To an exclusive hut view!
Here is Ben admiring our panoramic vista:

We truly are not ‘view people’ and will never pay more just for the view. So this is the kind of thing we are used to. But it still made me laugh. As you will see, we ended up using our balcony a fair amount and were thankful for the hut. The room was right near the lobby, so it overlooked the hotel entrance- the hut blocked the view out of, but also into our room. Not a bad thing, really!
Once we pulled ourselves away from that view, we had time to admire the room itself.

This was our first trip as DVC owners, and our first experience with a studio. I didn’t know what to expect from the kitchenette area (we had seen a model in September, but I couldn’t remember much). I was pleasantly surprised- while it was not big at all, it was very nice and had a full size coffee maker, a toaster, microwave and mini fridge.
Kidani Village is a pretty new resort, and the room showed it- very clean! We loved the décor and felt right at home.

Our bags had not arrived yet, but we were pretty hungry. It was getting close to noon, so we figured lunch was next on the agenda. We headed out to find the walkway to Jambo House. The weather was fantastic- warm but not too hot and not humid at all. The walk over took us about 10 minutes (it would be quite a bit longer if we had been on the far end of the squiggly line, but we were starting from the middle. I guess it would be a lot shorter if you were at the end of the squiggly line near Jambo…) We enjoyed the walk, but could see how it would be daunting for some people. There is a shuttle that goes back and forth, but we never used it.

Our goal was The Mara, and we found it practically empty. We got refillable mugs and a delicious lunch.
When we paid for our meal, the CM had a hard time charging it to our room. We had a feeling that this was something to do with the botched on-line check-in. They somehow managed to charge the meal, even though it would turn out that there was no credit card on file. Don’t worry- this still managed to show up on our bill at check out.

Ben had the African stew in a bread bowl:

And I had a chicken flatbread:

I took a picture of our mugs while waiting for the food to be ready:

They would get much attention when we brought them back to Kidani Village- these colors/ designs were not for sale there yet, and CMs went nuts for them when they saw us carrying them.

Anyway, we loved The Mara- the food was really good!

Once we were done, we headed back to Kidani and stopped at the concierge desk to take care of the room charging problem. We also had our paper tickets added to our room keys. I didn’t think we could do this, but Ben wanted to try. Ben was right- we could. The CM here asked if we had received our anniversary buttons and made sure we took some. We weren’t going to (if you read the last TR, you know how un-magical our ‘Just Married’ buttons were on our ‘fake’ honeymoon) because our anniversary had been the week before (Easter made it too pricey to go that week, so we postponed the trip into value season). But we thanked her and took them anyway.

We next popped into the store and bought a bottle of rum. Being so close to the mug refill station, we figured we could make our own drinks and save a bit of money. The CM working the register was very nice, but odd. He was so excited about rum, and about mixing it with lemonade. Like, really excited. We get excited about rum, but this guy was on another level. He also did not card us (getting carded vs. not getting carded became quite interesting throughout the trip…)

When we got back to our room, it was about 1pm and our bags had been delivered. Even though I really didn’t want to do it right then, Ben won again and we unpacked and settled in. The room had very little drawer/closet space, but we made it work. I will admit, it was nice that we got this chore out of the way. Ben was right again. Jeesh!

After putting some stuff in a closet, Ben checked the iron to be sure it hadn’t been put away filled with water that would drip all over our stuff (we learned the hard way at the Polynesian). He also hooked his laptop up to the internet to be sure that we got free access (I had thought that was a DVC perk, but wasn’t sure…) and we did! Yay!

After that, it was time to head to the pool. A weird thing about Kidani is that if you are staying on the side nearer to Jambo, you have to walk through the lobby and out the front door to get to the pool. It was kind of weird to walk through in my bathing suit past all the people coming in and leaving fully clothed. I know it is because the savannah is along the back of the building, so all the amenities are in the front, but it felt a little awkward.

This was a little viewing room area near the lobby. We stopped in on our way over to the pool. I loved the fire! (You'll notice that I am fully clothed- I didn't want to walk around the lobby in my bathing suit, so I put clothes back on over it.)

We loved the pool area right away. Except for the love bugs. We had noticed them earlier, but now there were swarms. They’d be still and you wouldn’t notice until you walked through an area and all the bugs would fly up and into you. It was unsettling, but once we realized that they weren’t going to bite or anything, they were easier to ignore. Once you settle down, they stop flying all over.
There were plenty of lounge chairs available, and we found a couple to hunker down on.

I don’t have many pictures of the pool area, but I did take this one of our view through the fence. I thought it was neat how ‘undeveloped’ it looked.

We each went down the slide and declared it a good one! Maybe even better than the slide at Portofino Bay… I did make Ben go down first because there were a bunch of dads hanging out at the bottom of the slide and I didn’t want to slide into them. I don’t know why they were all there- we were the only ones on the slide at that point.

After about an hour, we headed back to the room and I decided to change for a quick workout. We got to the gym (Survival of the Fittest- I love that name!) and were the only people there. There were tons of cardio machines, and a lot of weight machines, too. My one complaint would be that it was pretty warm in there. The elliptical have individual TVs, so bring headphones! The cardio machines face out through a wall of windows and there was one guy that was staring at me on the elliptical. It was kinda of funny, but also kind of creepy. I’ll go ahead and kill any suspense you may have about this: *this was the first and last time I worked out this trip*

We headed back to the room and got some juice to go with our rum. We enjoyed our drinks on our balcony and studied the love bugs some more. I researched them a bit and learned that they really are harmless- I became much less concerned about them after that.

(Ben shared his drink with Mr. ChairZebra)

Pretty soon it was time to shower and get ready for dinner, and good thing- I was starving!

 

[amyrella]

Yay thanks for the update!! you guys are just too cute!

 

[Nermel9]

Glad they got that plane situation figured out! That would have freaked me out!

Oooh, those sandal boots are frightening! (Sorry to anyone on here, if anyone has them! )

Your room looks so pretty! I'm not a big view person either, I like having a balcony to sit out on, but the view just doesn't matter! (However, I'm not opposed to a free upgrade of a great view! )

Those mugs are so cute...I never buy them, but I might in October, they're just too cute to pass up!

LOL at the guy who was excited about rum! Isn't Disney World SO weird about carding? I get carded all the time in CT, and hardly ever in Disney, except when I least expect it!

 

[annmarieda]

I like the mugs. I was a bit unsure of the new ones. We plan to buy some in December...but the new ones are so bright. These look better!

Your room looks awesome (view and all).

Love bugs eh? Hmmmm wonder if they are still down there.

 

[Stefy]

Great update

Love the "Ctrl-Alt-Del" reference from the flight attendance

Those shoes, not to sound snarky or whatever, but the whole getup is not a good look for that woman, sorry

Loving all your photos, its a shame about your view but it sounds like it didn't bother you much and the rest of the room looked lovely.

That stew in a bread bowl looks delicious, did it taste as good as it looked?

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

Great update!

And those sandal-boots, seriously?! I have never seen those, but they're hilarious!!

So glad your room was clean when you got there! Now I'm anxious for our "value view" room when we go in August to AKL. Hmmmmm...maybe a view of the parking lot or the storage area!

Mara looks sooooo yummy! May have to try that one!

And was the rum pretty expensive? I plan on buying some when we get there, too. Gotta love having some cheap beverages while at Disney!!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[tankgirl427]

I can't believe I missed two updates!

Before even noticing Ben on the fake monorail I was already noticed sandal boot girl, not so much for her footwear but what is up with that outfit? Its almost as bad as the lady I saw while waiting for our flight in September. Now if I could only figure out how to post that picture from my phone!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[emma212010]

Great updates!!

You're room seems so nice! I'd love to stay there one of these times..

Sounds like you already have funny stories and it's your first day there!! Love those types of trips!

Looking forward to more!!

 

[Shannon84]

I am catching up on all the awesome updates that I have been slacking on

First I have to tell you that I feel the same way as your comment back to me about boarding the plane. I really hate when I board towards the last of the people and I cannot get my carry on in the overhead area..I always feel like a goof and that everyones staring at me

Your room looks beautiful and yay for being so close to everything. I have not stayed at any resort beyond POP in the last 3 or 4 trips, so I forget how big or small the layout of other resorts can be

I give you a ton of credit for working out during your vacation

 

[TeresaG]

Jumping on board! I love the pilots commentary about the broken thing on the plane. That would've cracked me up (although I'm sure I would've been hyperventilating since I hate flying so hearing anything is broke would do me in. :


And I'm sorry, but the picture of your "view" had me lol.

 

[Joyciemc]

Glad they got that plane situation figured out! That would have freaked me out!

Oooh, those sandal boots are frightening! (Sorry to anyone on here, if anyone has them! )

Your room looks so pretty! I'm not a big view person either, I like having a balcony to sit out on, but the view just doesn't matter! (However, I'm not opposed to a free upgrade of a great view! )

Those mugs are so cute...I never buy them, but I might in October, they're just too cute to pass up!

LOL at the guy who was excited about rum! Isn't Disney World SO weird about carding? I get carded all the time in CT, and hardly ever in Disney, except when I least expect it!

Free view upgrades are great!

Last year, we got carded all the timee at Universal, but only once at Disney.

Yay thanks for the update!! you guys are just too cute!

Awww, thank you!

I like the mugs. I was a bit unsure of the new ones. We plan to buy some in December...but the new ones are so bright. These look better!

Your room looks awesome (view and all).

Love bugs eh? Hmmmm wonder if they are still down there.

It's true, the other colors were very bright!

Lovebugs seemed to ease up towards the end of the week.

Great update

Love the "Ctrl-Alt-Del" reference from the flight attendance

Those shoes, not to sound snarky or whatever, but the whole getup is not a good look for that woman, sorry

Loving all your photos, its a shame about your view but it sounds like it didn't bother you much and the rest of the room looked lovely.

That stew in a bread bowl looks delicious, did it taste as good as it looked?

The room was very nice!

Stew was yummy! We both really enjoyed it.

Great update!

And those sandal-boots, seriously?! I have never seen those, but they're hilarious!!

So glad your room was clean when you got there! Now I'm anxious for our "value view" room when we go in August to AKL. Hmmmmm...maybe a view of the parking lot or the storage area!

Mara looks sooooo yummy! May have to try that one!

And was the rum pretty expensive? I plan on buying some when we get there, too. Gotta love having some cheap beverages while at Disney!!

Can't wait to read more!

I am relieved to know sandal-boots are not a new trnd!
The bottle of rum was $13. Not a big bottle. But when cocktails cost $10, still a good idea!

I can't believe I missed two updates!

Before even noticing Ben on the fake monorail I was already noticed sandal boot girl, not so much for her footwear but what is up with that outfit? Its almost as bad as the lady I saw while waiting for our flight in September. Now if I could only figure out how to post that picture from my phone!

Can't wait to hear more!

That poor lady- but she gave us some good laughs!

Great updates!!

You're room seems so nice! I'd love to stay there one of these times..

Sounds like you already have funny stories and it's your first day there!! Love those types of trips!

Looking forward to more!!

It was nice!
Weird things happen wherever we go!

I am catching up on all the awesome updates that I have been slacking on

First I have to tell you that I feel the same way as your comment back to me about boarding the plane. I really hate when I board towards the last of the people and I cannot get my carry on in the overhead area..I always feel like a goof and that everyones staring at me

Your room looks beautiful and yay for being so close to everything. I have not stayed at any resort beyond POP in the last 3 or 4 trips, so I forget how big or small the layout of other resorts can be

I give you a ton of credit for working out during your vacation

Thanks for the credit, but it was just once and I still haven't got back on track...

Jumping on board! I love the pilots commentary about the broken thing on the plane. That would've cracked me up (although I'm sure I would've been hyperventilating since I hate flying so hearing anything is broke would do me in. :


And I'm sorry, but the picture of your "view" had me lol.

The flight announcement was funny- especially since it all turned out ok!

I totally laughed when I saw the view- how could yoou not?

 

[JMat]

I didnt know you had to walk out the front of AKL to use the pool either - thats kind of silly. Of course, I understand why... but had never thought of it until you mentioned that. Im sure people look like Animals themselves walking by new guests covered in sweat and oil and chlorine, squinting coming inside from the sun.

.. at least I would look like an animal

Thanks for the fun update! Glad Ben could hydrate Mr. Chair Zebra

 

[AKL LOVER]

Great pictures! After reading your TR I realize that maybe I didn't take as many pictures as I should for ours!

I love the zebra chairs at AKL. Only Disney would think to do something like that. One of those weird things that really makes you love Disney.

Oh Lord help us if sandal-boots are the newest trend! I do not like them. One bit. Period. They look ridiculous IMO. Glad you snagged a pic of them, though, because they are too funny!

We wanted to make it over to Kidani to try out their pool this trip but yet again didn't get the chance. When you're staying at Jambo house it makes more sense to go to the pool that's closest to you. Guess this just means that I need to book a room at Kidani in the future to try their pool out! Maybe I should look into making Kidani our home resort for DVC.

 

[Joyciemc]

I didnt know you had to walk out the front of AKL to use the pool either - thats kind of silly. Of course, I understand why... but had never thought of it until you mentioned that. Im sure people look like Animals themselves walking by new guests covered in sweat and oil and chlorine, squinting coming inside from the sun.

.. at least I would look like an animal

Thanks for the fun update! Glad Ben could hydrate Mr. Chair Zebra

Ben is always looking out for the animals- he couldn't let that zebra go thirsty.

It was just a little weird when we came back from the pool and snuck by all the fully clothed guests.

Great pictures! After reading your TR I realize that maybe I didn't take as many pictures as I should for ours!

I love the zebra chairs at AKL. Only Disney would think to do something like that. One of those weird things that really makes you love Disney.

Oh Lord help us if sandal-boots are the newest trend! I do not like them. One bit. Period. They look ridiculous IMO. Glad you snagged a pic of them, though, because they are too funny!

We wanted to make it over to Kidani to try out their pool this trip but yet again didn't get the chance. When you're staying at Jambo house it makes more sense to go to the pool that's closest to you. Guess this just means that I need to book a room at Kidani in the future to try their pool out! Maybe I should look into making Kidani our home resort for DVC.

Yay for DVC! Ben could explain it better, but Kidani may not be the best choice for home resort because of the dues. But certainly a great place to stay!

I am on the hunt for a great pair of sandal-boots. I'll let you know if I find any

 

[sbprincess]

Hi! Just wanted to say I'm subscribing and will follow along. I like your style of writing. I like reports with a good bit of detail without it being boring. You have a good balance! Very entertaining.

I'm impressed you decided to get in a workout at all! I know you said this was the only day, but still... I workout several times per week at home but have NEVER even considered it on vacation. Props to you!

Also, I have to say something about the "sandal-boot" picture you posted earlier. I was looking at the picture first and hadn't read your comment about the pic really being about the shoes. But one of the first things I noticed were those shoes. I was thinking, "OMG - what are those!?!" and then I read your comment! Too funny. And I'm with you, I certainly hope they're not a new style. You'll never catch those hideous things on my feet.

Can't wait for more!

 

[Melissa79]

Once the plane was up and running you guys had a great start to your trip! Your room looks nice and the view cracked me up. We stayed at AKL Jambo for a long weekend once and our view wasn't of a hut but the balcony was really small and the door wasn't a slider, it pushed open but there wasn't enough room to open it all the way. I remember getting to the room after a really late check in (around 1am) and opening the door to see the view and it crashed into the chairs hahaha. I was so afraid I woke up the people around us. Your decision to change your first day definitely made the day more relaxing! We always used to race off to a park the first day but now we just relax and enjoy the resort and go to dinner and start off fresh the next morning. We'll never go back to the old way - you might not either! Can't wait to hear more!