Just Back- April 13-April 21st - Split Stay at CBR and AKL

[Crystal824]

We were at WDW from April 13-April 21st. The weather was great. It wasn't super crowded until Friday when many people came in for the DarkSide Run Disney event. I wanted to mention a few things.

Caribbean Beach- We stayed at CBR for one night. It is a construction zone. We couldn't walk to our room from where Magical Express dropped us off due to the construction. We waited about 20 min. for a shuttle to take us to our room, which wasn't the greatest way to start the trip especially since it was 10pm. We all just wanted to sleep. Also, we were all thirsty. Really we just wanted some bottled water. By the time we got settled in, the quick service location was closed. We called for room service, but it was a 2 hour wait. We decided to just go to a vending machine. We went to at least 5, and they were all empty. If you are coming in late and staying at CBR, you may want to bring drinks/food. Luckily, we were only there for one night.

Breakfast the next morning was super chaotic. They have the option of a breakfast buffet or ordering individual items from a food truck. We decided to do the breakfast buffet. It is a nice buffet, but it was so hard to find a seat once we got in. The line was crazy. It was only $14.99, but too chaotic when you have little ones. If I had to do it again, I would have just ordered individual items.

Animal Kingdom Lodge- We stayed at Kidani Village, and for the most part we loved this hotel. We had dinner at Jiko. That was one of the best meals I have ever had anywhere. It was expensive but so good. We had lunch one day at Sanna. It was also very good. We had breakfast at Boma, which is probably the best breakfast buffet I have ever seen in my life.

My kids loved the children's activities. They have a number of activities where kids earn beads by attending. My kids got all but one. The timing of that one was at 1:30 in the afternoon at Jambo House. We just never made it. These activities included playing the drums and making food for the animals, etc. My kids enjoyed them all. If you are staying here, you may want to take a look and include those activities in your plans if you want to hit them all.

My only complaint with AKL-KV was the lack of quick service. On two days we had a late lunch but wanted something after getting back from the parks. One day I went to the Mara at Jambo House, but that isn't exactly convenient. The other day, we just ate breakfast food that we had in our room.

Also, if staying here note that the animals are not generally out in the morning. You aren't going to eat breakfast on your balcony and see a giraffe. I'm not sure what time they put them out, but it is generally after 8 am. This wasn't a big deal for us, but for some people it might affect whether they want to spend the money on a savannah view.

Mobile Ordering- Mobile Ordering for quick service in the parks is awesome. Our food was always ready within 5-6 min. of me hitting I'm here. Typically, there was no line at the window where I picked up the food. This is seriously the best thing since legacy FP. I hope they roll this out to the resorts and water parks.

Rider switch- I was a bit worried given some recent reports on the Dis. We were never required to have FP+ for our entire party to receive a Rider switch pass when using a FP+. The rider switch tickets were only good for the same day at FoP and 7DMT. They were good until the end of the month for all other attractions that we used it. We only used it for Soarin' and Rock n' Roller Coaster (in addition to FOP and 7DMT though).

Dessert Parties- We did the MK dessert party way back in the day when it was like $25 per person and only held on the Tommorrowland Terrace. Since this was the first time we were seeing Happily Ever After, we booked the garden view party. I have to say, I was not impressed. The desserts were not good. They were pretty but not tasty. Our party moves slow. We have three kids (7,3, and 10 months) as well as my disabled mother who uses a scooter. By the the time we got to the viewing area, we could not all sit together as there just wasn't room. My mom pulled to the back on her scooter and the rest of us squeezed in on the grass in another section. The show was fantastic, but I would not book this dessert party again.

We also did the Star Wars dessert party for my husband's birthday. This was somewhat chaotic, but the food was much much better. If they can put together pretty and yummy desserts for this party, why can't they for the MK party? Because they walk out the wheel chair parties first, we all got to view the show together. I might do this one again for something special, a birthday, etc.

Buses- We fly in and used Magical Express and we didn't have a car. We used the buses. I have to say the bus service was fantastic. We never waited more than 10 min. Maybe we were lucky, but this was the best bus service we have ever experienced at Disney.

Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom- While we have been to WDW many times, we only tried this once on a prior trip, and could never defeat anyone. We just couldn't figure it out. This time the lady told us, you can use more than one card at a time, which we didn't realize the first time. My 7 year old loved this game. We did three missions. She wanted to do more. I'm sure we will do it next time too.

Overall, we had a great trip. I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

[sjrec]

Thanks for reporting-it sounds like you had a great trip!
We are DVC owners at AKL and love the resort. Walking over to Mara for two adults is no big deal, but I can certainly see it being a pain with small children and someone using an ecv.
The year we stayed there with our daughter’s family we would either grab a bite at the park before leaving or get off the bus at Jambo. Was Saana not offering breakfast?

 

[Crystal824]

Thanks for reporting-it sounds like you had a great trip!
We are DVC owners at AKL and love the resort. Walking over to Mara for two adults is no big deal, but I can certainly see it being a pain with small children and someone using an ecv.
The year we stayed there with our daughter’s family we would either grab a bite at the park before leaving or get off the bus at Jambo. Was Saana not offering breakfast?

We did have a great trip. I would love to stay there again. Saana was offering breakfast, but we generally eat breakfast in the room. My issue was really for dinner. On two nights, we wanted something after we left the parks because we ate lunch around 2 or 3. One night I stayed on the bus and went to the Mara at Jambo. The next night, we just all ate cereal, fruit, and toast in the room. Not a huge deal, but it would have been nice to have a quick service location there.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Great review, thanks for sharing! For the dessert party, what time did you head over to the garden? I've read tons of reviews and never heard anyone mention not finding a spot for their group.

 

[Crystal824]

Great review, thanks for sharing! For the dessert party, what time did you head over to the garden? I've read tons of reviews and never heard anyone mention not finding a spot for their group.

We went over later than we probably should have, it was around 8:30. The show started at 8:50. It just takes a while to get everyone dessert and then I made everyone go to the bathroom before we went out to the garden, which involved a rather large line. Most people had already left for the garden. It would have been way easier without the ECV, but there is no way my mom could have stood for the show or sat on the ground. I think the ECV was a big issue with us finding a spot all together. Most people will not have that issue.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

We went over later than we probably should have, it was around 8:30. The show started at 8:50. It just takes a while to get everyone dessert and then I made everyone go to the bathroom before we went out to the garden, which involved a rather large line. Most people had already left for the garden. It would have been way easier without the ECV, but there is no way my mom could have stood for the show or sat on the ground. I think the ECV was a big issue with us finding a spot all together. Most people will not have that issue.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[FastPasser.]

We also did the Star Wars dessert party for my husband's birthday. This was somewhat chaotic

The SW party is designed to be a mix and mingle reception and guests are encouraged to roam around the Launch Bay, but if it's sold out and too many remain in the party area, it can feel somewhat congested.

the food was much much better. If they can put together pretty and yummy desserts for this party, why can't they for the MK party?

Simple answer, totally different departments put on both parties and the other department does it much better. In addition to the SW, FEA Illluminations and the JBJB parties, they also do the thousands of special and private events taking place all over WDW, except MK that is.

 

[Crystal824]

The SW party is designed to be a mix and mingle reception and guests are encouraged to roam around the Launch Bay, but if it's sold out and too many remain in the party area, it can feel somewhat congested.

Simple answer, totally different departments put on both parties and the other department does it much better. In addition to the SW, FEA Illluminations and the JBJB parties, they also do the thousands of special and private events taking place all over WDW, except MK that is.

Yes, I think that was part of the problem. It got better as the party went on, but at the beginning it was difficult to move around. We actually ended up taking our food outside. No one else was out there. Even though it was quite chaotic at first, I really enjoyed this event. As I said, I would consider doing it again at some point. I would not do the MK dessert party again unless it changes.

That makes sense. If one department can put on an event like the SW dessert party, it would seem that the MK group could take a few notes and put on a similar event. The desserts at the MK party were very pretty, but they tasted like all the flavor had been sucked out of them. The cupcakes were very dry. The only thing that I enjoyed there were the macaroons. They were alright, but I have had better. It would have been nice to have some savory foods like the hummus and Naan bread at the SW party. There was some cheese at the MK party, but that was it. I'm happy to hear that the same department puts on the FEA Illuminations party because we have it booked for our daughter's birthday this summer.