Let the memories (of our May 2011 trip) begin! *UPDATED SEPT. 18th- LINK to NEW TR!*

[lbuzz52]

great job catching both those couples. I hope we catch Ariel and Eric next trip!

Isn't rope drop great! the lines are so much more managable!

i had to laugh at your diaper comment. I've had that thought myself. Kids aren't too great at the potty schedules, are they?

 

[natebenma]

She is tiny my little Beatriz. We are hoping that by the time we go back next year she will be able to go on some cool rides like Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad.

I thought Peter Pan is very well done and I can understand now why there is always a big wait for that. We do not have the Peter Pan movie at home but I guess she already watched it at her daycare because she recognizes the characters... Now that I think of it, how appropriate is watching that movie at the day care?

You know, unless the kids at day care are older, like pre-teen and up, I am sure a lot of the non-PC stuff would go over their heads. There is some body issue stuff and some absolutely appalling stereotypes of Indians (Native Americans) in the movie.

I was very petite as a child, so I can really relate to you and to Beatriz. I remember having to deal with height restrictions!

 

[natebenma]

What a great MK day!!! Fantastic character interactions. My boys were never into this so the only time we have met characters is at a few character meals. The pictures of Beatriz with Aladin and Jasmine and Ariel and Eric are precious!!!

I love the one of all of you together, too!

As hard as it is to leave without doing "one more thing" I think you made a good choice of leaving when you did. I don't like the looks of those clouds in the last few pictures and since Beatriz fell asleep on the bus, you know she needed a rest after your early morning.

Can't wait to hear about Jiko!!!

 

[matkensgirl2000]

I wish I had gotten a burger at Pecos Bill!

I love your trip report so far. I'm enjoying IMMENSELY!

 

[Queila]

great job catching both those couples. I hope we catch Ariel and Eric next trip!

Isn't rope drop great! the lines are so much more managable!

i had to laugh at your diaper comment. I've had that thought myself. Kids aren't too great at the potty schedules, are they?

Apparently Eric and Ariel are hanging out a lot at the Aventureland varanda lately. It was a nice treat for us and ever since that encounter Ariel got promoted to Beatriz' favorite princess.

Rope drop is the only way to go from now on... specially at Magic Kingdom!

What a great MK day!!! Fantastic character interactions. My boys were never into this so the only time we have met characters is at a few character meals. The pictures of Beatriz with Aladin and Jasmine and Ariel and Eric are precious!!!

I love the one of all of you together, too!

As hard as it is to leave without doing "one more thing" I think you made a good choice of leaving when you did. I don't like the looks of those clouds in the last few pictures and since Beatriz fell asleep on the bus, you know she needed a rest after your early morning.

Can't wait to hear about Jiko!!!

I don't think it ever really rained that day but Beatriz was in need of a nap so badly! I think all the touring of the week was finally starting to catch up with her.
I think in this trip I was forced to finally learn another "way" of visiting Disney. I was so used to the "go to one park in the morning and stay there until you have no more strength to walk" way but I am slowly learning the benefits of a mid day break.

I wish I had gotten a burger at Pecos Bill!

I love your trip report so far. I'm enjoying IMMENSELY!

Thank you!
I have never really tried a burger anywhere else at Disney and I am all praises for Pecos Bill. Apparently they have the same burger at Cosmic Rays but we like the ambiance at Pecos Bill better.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Love that you ended up at Rope Drop on a "down day"! It really does make for relaxed touring though, doesn't it? I *think* I have converted Joe into doing at least 1 or 2 a trip. At MK and DHS it's practically required to get some of the attractions in.

And I have to report back about our meal at San Angel....LOVED IT! We all did! The next day Henry requested to eat there again.

 

[Queila]

Day 4- Sunday- May, 15th 2011- Super at Jiko

So Beatriz took a nice nap while Joey watched some TV and I took a shower and organized the suitcases a little bit.

Our reservations at Jiko was for 17h30 so I followed the instructions laid down at the Disney website and allotted a good hour to get there using the Disney buses.

It was the first time we did something like that (we usually eat at the park we are touring or very near the park we are touring) and I thought one hour was a bit of an exaggeration but as it turned out, it wasn't.

We got to Animal Kingdom Lodge with barely 5 minutes to spare but made an effort to take some pictures at the lobby before our meal.

Now I have to make a pause here and say that I wish I had stayed at Pop Century BEFORE our stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

With all due respect to the value resorts, staying at AKL on our first "on property" experience pretty much spoiled it for every other hotel.

EVER.

I have absolutely nothing against Pop Century except the fact that it was not AKL and getting there for our meal just enhanced our feelings. Call me a Deluxe snob if you want but I just felt like going back to Pop Century, picking up my luggage and moving into AKL.

I knew sometimes you can find a photopass photographer at the lobby at AKL but there was no one there that day so we asked someone passing by to take a picture of us. I wanted a NICE picture of us all dressed up for our special meal.

So this person tried but cut our feet:

Then we asked someone else but it was all blurry:

We asked a third person and we finally got a decent shot:

Now you have probably noticed the bottle of sunblock on Beatriz' hands. It has made plenty of special appearances in this journal already. I know some kids have security blankets and others their favourite teddy bears.

NOT MY CHILD.

During this trip she pretty much elected her sun block as her security object and she wanted it close to her at all times. Weird, I know but I had to pick my battles. So there you have it. A picture of our family PLUS our sun block bottle.

We checked in at Jiko and they gave us a beeper and told us it was going to take another 10 to 15 minutes. So what is one to do? Go check the animals, of course!

Can you see the giraffe in the background? Did I say how much we love AKL?

It did not take long and our table was ready. We got seated right in the middle of the restaurant in a booth.

I am not going to lie. I was a bit nervous. I really wanted to take my time and enjoy my meal without having to worry about keeping Beatriz entertained.

Jiko is BEAUTIFUL inside. We spent some minutes seating down quietly just taking in the environment and the decor. I specially like the chairs in the counter facing the opened kitchen:

The waiter was nice enough and brought Beatriz something to colour right away:

Then Joey and I chose a bottle of wine and an appetizer and we waited for our basket of bread and tandoori butter with great anticipation...

And they were exquisite! Oh man... my mouth still waters when I think of that butter on that honey wheat bread.

At that point we were still trying to pace ourselves and leave room for the the other items of our meal but I could have easily been satisfied with a whole bunch of that bread and butter.

And then, my friends, the best appetizer I have ever had in my life came to our table: the Barbecue Chicken Flatbread (served with apple slaw, BBQ sauce and four cheeses):

If I ever get interviewed at the Food Network show called "the Best Thing I ever Ate", I have no doubt in my mind that this flatbread will be my choice. Even Beatriz stopped everything she was doing to enjoy it.

Sorry about the messy picture we were already half way through it when I remembered to take pictures.

Really, félicitations au chef!

For our entrées both Joey and I had the filet mignon with risotto, asparagus and red wine reduction that was simply outstanding.

I know this dish was specially famous when it was served with a gourmet mac and cheese but we solved that "problem" by ordering the mac and cheese for Beatriz and picking from her plate.

I know. We are bad.

For dessert I had the Amarula Creme Brulée:

And Joey had the cheesecake:

Beatriz had some sort of make- it- yourself s'mores that she had fun playing with but refused to eat at the end.

"How can you be my progeny and NOT like dessert?"

All in all we LOVED our meal at Jiko. It was a great experience and we highly recommend it.

However, taking the risk to sound a bit selfish now, I would rather go back to a signature restaurant at a special occasion for a romantic date with my husband only. You know, NO KID ALLOWED!

Don't get me wrong. Beatriz behaved beautifully for a three year old (the afternoon nap really paid off) and even though I never felt that she was not welcome there, I did not feel completely relaxed either.

Maybe I am a little too paranoid and I was trying so hard to make sure she wasn't "bothering" the other patrons that it took away from the experience for me.

No regrets though. We had a great time as a family and even managed to get a picture leaving te restaurant WITHOUT the sunblock bottle.

Now you cannot beat THAT!


Next up:
Finishing up the day with Fantasmic!

​

 

[pinkxray]

Jiko looks amazing. I have decided I have to try it next time we stay at AKL. DH or no DH.

Beatriz behaved so well

I always thought Disney was a bit ridiculous about leaving an hour early to get somewhere but it usually ends up that they are right, especially going from resort to resort. That is one reason I love having a rental, it is so much easier.

I think the bottle of sunscreen is adorable. At least you always know where the sunblock is.

 

[natebenma]

Are you freaking kidding me? Your meal at Jiko looks AMAZING!!! I am drooling over here!

Glad you had a fantastic time, but I know how you feel. Even though Beatriz was very well behaved, you must always be on that alert, just in case.

The picture of her coloring just made me remember a little rant- I remember from a past trip that the kids activity pages (that is the coloring and the games) were pretty much the same at all restaurants. Is that still the case?

I love that Beatriz' security item of choice is a sunblock bottle. At least it is easily replaced if it gets lost! I learned the hard way that it really stinks when your son's security item is a discontinued toy. BTW, his item, NAY NAY Roar, is my screen avatar, the Little People baby lion. He carried it everywhere until he started leaving it places and we would have to go back. Then we restricted NNR to the house, but Nate would accidentally hide it and we would rip apart the house looking for it. We still have the original, but at one point purchased a backup on ebay, just in case.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I totally agree on AKL. There is no resort like it, I mean, no resort is better than it. It’s so unique and there so much to the place. It was the first resort I ever went to in Disney and so far, none have come in comparison, but we’ll see. So I totally get what you mean about the place. Great pictures, by the way, glad you got some before you went to your ADR in Jiko. And that's so cute Beatriz's security blanket, adorable

Mmmm... Jiko looks amazing! And the food looks delicious. I don't think there's one thing you ordered that looked like something I would enjoy more than the next. Though, I can't keep Creme Brulee off the mind... yeah, they all look SOOOO good! I will definitely need to make ADRs there sometime.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[TanzUnited99]

I love the look of AKL and would love to stay there one day! After hearing about your experience I'm glad we are doing the other way round - Pop first and then AKL (or at least I'm hoping! )

Yay on finally getting a decent shot of the three of you and lol at Beatriz being obsessed with the sunblock - it is the first time I have heard that one!

You sure made my mouth water with the description of that bread you guys had.

I agree in that Beatriz sure was good during that meal and I love how happy you look in all the pics - it sure looks like AKL is your second home

 

[lbuzz52]

Your meal looks really good. I think i've been turned off a bit by Jiko, assuming it was a bit more sophisticated than my family's palette. But i think it would be worth the risk to go play at AKL a while. I'm glad you were persistant with your family picture. tehy turned out really nice. My james has a wierd "lovey" too. it used to be a pooh bear. once we bought a backup he switched it of course- to a scarf he loves to cuddle it and calls it his baby.

 

[Queila]

I will be back soon with another update but in the meantime I uploaded a video of our desserts at Jiko. The big vedette is, of course, Beatriz' DIY S'mores. To watch the video click here.​

 

[Queila]

Love that you ended up at Rope Drop on a "down day"! It really does make for relaxed touring though, doesn't it? I *think* I have converted Joe into doing at least 1 or 2 a trip. At MK and DHS it's practically required to get some of the attractions in.

And I have to report back about our meal at San Angel....LOVED IT! We all did! The next day Henry requested to eat there again.

Hi Brooke. I am al for days off and taking it easy but I can confidently say we have become rope drop converts during this trip. It was so worth the waking up a little earlier. I guess from now on we will have to do it at least a couple of times during the week.

I cannot wait to read about your San Angel experience. There is really something special about it, isn't there?

Jiko looks amazing. I have decided I have to try it next time we stay at AKL. DH or no DH.

Beatriz behaved so well

I always thought Disney was a bit ridiculous about leaving an hour early to get somewhere but it usually ends up that they are right, especially going from resort to resort. That is one reason I love having a rental, it is so much easier.

I think the bottle of sunscreen is adorable. At least you always know where the sunblock is.

I can honestly sau that I finally understood why people rent cars even though they are staying inside Disney. It CAN be a pain in the butt. We usually don't buy hopper pass and we try to stick to one location per day but this time we decided to do some travelling and it did not come without some frustration...

Are you freaking kidding me? Your meal at Jiko looks AMAZING!!! I am drooling over here!

Glad you had a fantastic time, but I know how you feel. Even though Beatriz was very well behaved, you must always be on that alert, just in case.

The picture of her coloring just made me remember a little rant- I remember from a past trip that the kids activity pages (that is the coloring and the games) were pretty much the same at all restaurants. Is that still the case?

I love that Beatriz' security item of choice is a sunblock bottle. At least it is easily replaced if it gets lost! I learned the hard way that it really stinks when your son's security item is a discontinued toy. BTW, his item, NAY NAY Roar, is my screen avatar, the Little People baby lion. He carried it everywhere until he started leaving it places and we would have to go back. Then we restricted NNR to the house, but Nate would accidentally hide it and we would rip apart the house looking for it. We still have the original, but at one point purchased a backup on ebay, just in case.

The meal at Jiko deserves all the hype it gets. It was amazing and it makes for a very special evening. It is really an event on itself and as our first signature experience it left us highly impressed.

As fa as I can remember most of the sit downs had their own version of the coloring activities. They even have the kids menus printed in them these days.

This is so cute about your son's security toy. And even cuter that you have it as your avatar. Beatriz was never the type of having a security toy EXCEPT when we are on vacation. Go figure...

I totally agree on AKL. There is no resort like it, I mean, no resort is better than it. It’s so unique and there so much to the place. It was the first resort I ever went to in Disney and so far, none have come in comparison, but we’ll see. So I totally get what you mean about the place. Great pictures, by the way, glad you got some before you went to your ADR in Jiko. And that's so cute Beatriz's security blanket, adorable

Mmmm... Jiko looks amazing! And the food looks delicious. I don't think there's one thing you ordered that looked like something I would enjoy more than the next. Though, I can't keep Creme Brulee off the mind... yeah, they all look SOOOO good! I will definitely need to make ADRs there sometime.

Can't wait to read more!

Everything at Jiko was truly delicious I don't think you can go wrong with any of their options and I always say that AKL is a "stand alone" type of resort. Even if it was not located at WDW it would still be worth a visit. You can stay in there for dys and find plenty of interesting things to do, to taste and to see.

I love the look of AKL and would love to stay there one day! After hearing about your experience I'm glad we are doing the other way round - Pop first and then AKL (or at least I'm hoping! )

Yay on finally getting a decent shot of the three of you and lol at Beatriz being obsessed with the sunblock - it is the first time I have heard that one!

You sure made my mouth water with the description of that bread you guys had.

I agree in that Beatriz sure was good during that meal and I love how happy you look in all the pics - it sure looks like AKL is your second home

You are at WDW right now and I am so jealous. Hope you are having a great time at Pop and having some great memories of your own.

Your meal looks really good. I think i've been turned off a bit by Jiko, assuming it was a bit more sophisticated than my family's palette. But i think it would be worth the risk to go play at AKL a while. I'm glad you were persistant with your family picture. tehy turned out really nice. My james has a wierd "lovey" too. it used to be a pooh bear. once we bought a backup he switched it of course- to a scarf he loves to cuddle it and calls it his baby.

The meal at Jiko was really something else. The place IS fancy but it is still Disney so I did not feel any external pressure to behave in a certain way. And even though the menu is supposed to be "African" there is something there for everybody.

That is so funny you said your son has a scarf as a lovey. Out of all the toys in the house, Beatriz' favorite thing to play with is a scarf too. I wonder what is so special about them...

 

[thechesters420]

Love your trip report so far! My favorite is your daughter with her sunblock, that is really funny!

 

[ronnmel]

Ron here...yup THE Ron of RonnMel. LOL!!!
I've been enjoying the trip report immensely!!! First off, let me say hi...to a fellow Montrealler. Technically, the wifey and I are your neighbours, as we live in Laval. But at Disney, whenever we say where we are from, we generally end up saying Montreal, Canada. Hahaha.

We always get the tiniest amount of jealousy whenever we hear of people being able to take their Disney trip off season. We would LOVE being able to go at almost any other time other than the hind end of summer, but as my wife is a teacher, we kinda have to follow her schedule.

We are trying for a family though, so when she goes on Mat leave, or on preventive leave, perhaps we'll try and take the opportunity to go at a different time. I myself would find it surreal to see how much lower the crowds are, having to deal with pretty big crowds everytime we go.

I can't tell you much we both miss Disney. I constantly daydream about Dole Whips, the smell of popcorn on Main street, and heavy drooping eyelids at the Carosel of progress. LOL!! Jus kiddin. While I do agree that COP can be sleep inducing, it's only because it's sooooo relaxing to be in there. I personally love the attraction, and it's very nice to do it when the alternative is the sun beating down on you in the afternoon.

You have a great looking family btw!!

Ahhhh Deluxe resorts!!. For us, they are an almost impossible possibility given our limited funds. But, that's why I play the lottery. Not for a new house, not for a new car, but for the possibility of making any and all Disney dreams a reality hahahahahahahaha.

 

[Queila]

Love your trip report so far! My favorite is your daughter with her sunblock, that is really funny!

Thank you and . Hope you stick around.

Ron here...yup THE Ron of RonnMel. LOL!!!
I've been enjoying the trip report immensely!!! First off, let me say hi...to a fellow Montrealler. Technically, the wifey and I are your neighbours, as we live in Laval. But at Disney, whenever we say where we are from, we generally end up saying Montreal, Canada. Hahaha.

We always get the tiniest amount of jealousy whenever we hear of people being able to take their Disney trip off season. We would LOVE being able to go at almost any other time other than the hind end of summer, but as my wife is a teacher, we kinda have to follow her schedule.

We are trying for a family though, so when she goes on Mat leave, or on preventive leave, perhaps we'll try and take the opportunity to go at a different time. I myself would find it surreal to see how much lower the crowds are, having to deal with pretty big crowds everytime we go.

I can't tell you much we both miss Disney. I constantly daydream about Dole Whips, the smell of popcorn on Main street, and heavy drooping eyelids at the Carosel of progress. LOL!! Jus kiddin. While I do agree that COP can be sleep inducing, it's only because it's sooooo relaxing to be in there. I personally love the attraction, and it's very nice to do it when the alternative is the sun beating down on you in the afternoon.

You have a great looking family btw!!

Ahhhh Deluxe resorts!!. For us, they are an almost impossible possibility given our limited funds. But, that's why I play the lottery. Not for a new house, not for a new car, but for the possibility of making any and all Disney dreams a reality hahahahahahahaha.

Salut Ron!
Thanks for the compliment and to my trip report. It is nice to have a fellow Montrealer on board. I think you are the first one. We live in the south shore so we are technically on opposing sides of the island but, still, it is nice to see a neighbour around here.

My daughter will be 4 soon and that means we only have a couple of more years to take her to Disney without disrupting school. I KNOW we will miss these days...

Wishing you the best on your plans of starting a family...

You don't need to tell me about the daydreaming about Disney. That is a family activity in this house. We are constantly dreaming about what our next trip would be like, where we would stay, what would we eat... Every now and then Beatriz actually asks me :" Mommy, let's talk about Disney". It is cute and scary at the same time.

Now about the Deluxe resorts, I thought AKL was an unattainable dream until I found out about renting DVC points. In 2010 we spent 1 week at AKL (savanna view) for the same amount f money we paid for Pop this year. Availability in the Summer is a little tougher but it is doable if you plan in advance.

For 2010 we booked our room in November for a May trip. For 2011 we started planning our trip in february and I did not find any points to rent for the week I was interested in May at the Deluxe resorts of my choice, namely Bay Lake Tower and The Beach Club. So we ended up at Pop century which, as I said, was great but not wonderful.

Hope you stick around!
Q

 

[Queila]

Day 4- Sunday, May, 15th 2011- Fantasmic!

So after our wonderful meal at Jiko we said goodbye to our beloved AKL and hopped in a bus to DHS. It was Fantasmic! night and I did not want to miss it this time. In 2010 we gave up on Fantasmic! at the very last minute and we promised ourselves we were going to make it this time.

Now, if you have been paying attention, you will also notice that we are about to enter the second park of the day (we had visited MK in the morning) even though we do not have a hopper pass (we are just not a hopper pass kind of family yet). Let's just say I owe my friend A. more than one by now...

Now, on a side note, I have to admit I am incapable of choosing a favorite park. I love them all equally and passionately. I get the same giddy feeling no matter if I am at AK or at MK.

What I do have is some favorite parks at specific times of the day. There is nothing like Magic Kingdom first thing in the morning or an afternoon touring World Showcase but I LOVE the vibe of DHS at night. Can't really pinpoint why but there is something very special about it. Maybe it has something to do with the lighting and the music. All I know is that I can never get enough of it.

So I was ecstatic to be back for Fantasmic! and even though we got there only 30 minutes before the start of the show we had no problem walking in and finding good seats.

I had seen Fantasmic! only once in 1994 at Disneyland and Joey had never seen it so the expectations were high. Unfortunately, we did not enjoy it much. I did not remember how "scary" this show could be. Beatriz spent most of the time hiding her face on Joey's chest and, to tell you the truth, I wasn't too crazy about the whole focus on the dark side of Disney either.

I know a lot of people like this type of dark stuff but we are people of the light, if you know what I mean, and we thought the show dwelt on the darkness a little too long for our taste. Let's just say we won't be going out of our way to see this show again.

Great effects though.

Now raise your hand if you think that would make a great location for "World of Color".

JUST. SAYING.

So after the show we stopped to take a picture with Beatriz' favorite horsie.

This horsie had been a big hit in 2010 and it did not disappoint this time.

Remember this?

Anyways, we hung out in the park for a little bit longer doing some window shopping and enjoying the nice breeze of the night but eventually made our way back to the hotel.

The last family picture of the day is probably one of my favorites of the trip:

............................End of day 4.....................................


Next up:
Can we wake up early enough to make it to EMH at AK?​

 

[jecskc]

Aww .... you look so pretty in that picture.

We leave on Saturday for a week. I can't wait !!!

 

[Queila]

Aww .... you look so pretty in that picture.

We leave on Saturday for a week. I can't wait !!!

Have a wonderful time!!!