1st Trip Home AKV Adding Pictures page 2

[joech]

I'm anxious to see any Kidani pics you are able to get. I just got my waitlist for Kidani in place of Jambo for our June trip. How is the construction looking? Sounds like you all are having a great time. We just returned from SSR Christmas Eve day and I'm looking forward to a better year in 2009, getting finished with college (very stressful for a mom of three/teacher of 4yos), and returning for our 2 week trip with much, much less stress!

I am currently trying to post a pic but it takes so long to make it smaller that I will post many pictures after we return. I'm a teacher too but only mom of two. I couldn't handle anymore. This trip has been so much better now that the kids are a year older. Makes so much of a difference.

 

[joech]

Here is a picture of Kidani that we took on the 28th when we moved to our room.

I have to say that we were not very excited to stay on this side of the AKL because last time on our split stay we only saw a few animals. However, being able to see Kidani this time was very nice knowing that our recent DVC purchase was being built for us to stay in for years to come.

 

[joech]

Well, after the Photopass pictures we went for a swim with the kids. They were just begging to go and enjoy the pool. Whooo!!! I thought the pool was a little cold for my liking but still beats being at home in the snow.
We played around and took a shower in the bathroom/change room beside the Mara. Earlier in our trip my DD and I went to the bathroom and I discovered the change rooms. They had showers and soap for guests to use.
Took over an hour to take a nap and we were headed off to Teppan Edo. We loved the place. The kids really enjoyed eating off of the monorail (really is a japanese monorail called something else) Our chef was so funny this time and was great with all the tricks. He made us laugh so many times. Only problem was the family beside us was kind of boring and had teenage son that was really rude. His younger sister that was about eight was still eating after he was done and he said "Are you done yet" said "too bad it's mine" He took her plate and ate the rest of her dinner. She said she wasn't done but both parent didn't do a thing.

After dinner walked around a bit and went home early for bed again.

 

[joech]

Well the plan was Epcot Magic Morning Hours because they have been so good for us. Well, it sure didn't seem like EMM hours because there were tons of people there. We also tried to see if they would let us in with just our annual passes and they did. My husband went with DD to test track while DS and I went to Soarin to get fastpasses. Well at 7:30 in the morning you would figure that the fastpasses would be pretty soon. Well they were for 9:30. We had a cinnamon bun and chocolate croissant from the food court.

DD and I went on Soarin and loved it. DD remembered that we would smell the oranges from our last trip last year. We got on fairly fast and they went on Living with the Land. I had read that some people really think that this ride is boring. We actually thought it was interesting and DS wanted to go again.

Went to the Coral Reef and dropped of a gift for Debbi Sacleux (sp?)that is the manager who takes care of the diver signs and personalized menus. When we ate there the other night I asked if she was working and she came out to talk to us and give us hugs. She really was so so nice on the phone but even nicer in person. We got diver signs and menus for both trips. So sad to hear that they have discontinued this service for 2009.

Walked onto Spaceship earth just before the park opened and e-mailed our pictures home after the ride. I like this added feature compared to the old ride.

Lined up for 30 minutes in the Character Spot. The kids seemed to really enjoy seeing the character and this time DS is not afraid. Both kids seemed to be really into the fact of giving their autograph books to be signed.

Lined up 45 minutes early to see Mulan. Decided we could sit and have lunch at the same time. DH got two meals at the Mexico counter service and was so hungry that forgot to take pictures. Very good food however.

Lined up next for the candy lady (this is what the kids call her) in Japan 45 minutes early again. DS chose a lion that was blue (his favorite color). We really enjoy seeing this will probably need to do it each time we go.

Waited 15 minutes to see the Chinese acrobats (today all the activities were DD choicesthat she made way way ahead of time)

On the way out we stopped at Innovention to try the velcro frogs that took over for the robots that we did last year. It was just a small corner that was pretty lame. Definitely not worth the five minutes we took to do this. (I just read somewhere on DIS that others had fun so thought we would try)

Kids were tired to we drove to Walmart while they slept in the car so DH could pick up batteries for his flash. We talked about the traffic outside of Disney and the lack of traffic inside of Disney. Hooray for the people that designed the transportation system here at DW.

Went to Crystal Palace for dinner and the parking lot was really really full. Dinner was just so so but watched Spectromagic from the window.

MK was just so lovely at night with all of the Christmas decorations. It was such a great feeling and while walking out the snow was falling on mainstreet. The kids thought it was so cool to eat the snow (soap)

Got back to the parking lot and watch a little of the fireworks because DD loves them so much. DS sat in the car and said "Too loud" "Go home" "Go animal kingdom" First time I heard him say go animal kingdom which was very very cute.

 

[joech]

Decided to sleep in last night and let the kids get up whenever they wanted. Well, DS like always is the first to wake up a little past 8:30. We had muffin in the room and got to the park at a little past 10. We have always got to the park close to EMM or opening. This was the first that we were stuck in the mob. There were so many people at the TTC that they had a roped line up just to get up the ramp of the monorail. We decided to take the ferry and had to wait for the third ferry before boarding. My DH and I decided that we would stick with the EMM hours or stay at Animal Kingdom and hang out. I wanted to watch the last Christmas parade and Twas the Night Before Christmas.
We walked down main street and noticed all the people already lined up for the parade. We decided Frontierland might be better. It was and we found a second row beside a walkway. (We learned last time that they open up the walkways just before the parade starts.
I really liked watching this parade during the day. We only saw this parade last year during MVMCP. It was very interesting to see the detail of the floats and costumed during the day. We were in the shade and the kids just loved the parade.
After the parade we walked over to Tommorrowland and ate at Cosmic Rays. DH and I both decided to try the Chicken and Ribs combo and the kids shared a chicken burger. Well turns out the the kids enjoyed our meals much better than theirs. We both thought the combo was delicious and it made us way too full. We laughed at Sunny Eclispe which the kids dance to when the songs came on.
We then got seats for Twas the Night Before Christmas. DS saw Buzz Lightyear and DH and him lined up to get a picture. I enjoyed this show too but think it would have been much better at night.

Took the TTA without much of a line at all and the kids loved it. DS got off and asked to go back on again. It was getting pretty crowded and decided to walk to Toontown and take the train around the park once and stopped at the main entrance to leave. We wanted to get back to AKL to get pictures with the characters that were suppsed to be in the lobby. Took the monorail back and noticed a large crowd at the bottom of the ramp waiting to get onto the monorail. Curiosity had DH asking a CM about the crowd and he said that MK was closed due to capacity. No wonder it felt so crowded.

Got back to AKL to find Mickey and Minnie in front of the tree taking pictures in their Christmas attire. You will see from pictures later that the kids enjoyed taking pictures with the chracters. DS thought he had to have the biggest smile everytime. So big that you can't see his eyes. (So So cute in my mind)

Took a nap (all of us of course) and got up to go to Chef Mickey's
DD loves to swing her napkin around when they sing. She also loves to get her own food and always remembers this. DS got into the spirit and totally enjoyed swinging his napkin around too. He looked so cute doing it that the waitress asked him if he would like to take his napkin home. He smiled and said yes.

Went to bed early figuring that other would stay out late. We wanted to go to EMM hours for MK.

 

[joech]

Happy New Year to everyone!!!

We got up and went to MK EMM hours. We noticed that there were tons of people for EMM hours. The group in front of us told the CM at the gate that they were there for breakfast but were not resort guests. It seemed like there were just too many people there. We used out annual passes to get in and were never asked to show resort ID. Went onto Buzz as a walk on and got a fastpass for later. DS said "again, me go again please" We got in line again and walked through and enjoyed it once again. Somehow DD must have hit something with a high score and beat DH and I . The second time I got 130000 something but only because I hit something that was 100000. DD was very proud of herself for beating us all. Her uncle Werry has made both the kids very competitive. Went onto car racing and the line was so long. Noticed there was only one lane open. DS and DD love this ride and got onto it twice. DS insisted he wanted a "blue one" CM's were very accomodating to his needs. Walked over to ride Big Thunder but the line was too long so we got fastpasses for later. Decided to get on the train and wait in Toontown for it to open. Well the train decided to pass Toontown and after he does so tells us that it is closed. Get off at main street and walk all the way to the back. It was opened early and when we get to the line for Tinkerbell and the other fairies it is already at 75 minutes. How does the line get that long just after it is opened? Anyways, Dh decides that DD would like to see them and we line up. I get the breakfast bag out of the stroller to feed the kids. DS has his usual banana (he is a monkey I swear because he just loves bananas. He also acts like a monkey most days) We get through after a little over an hour.

We decide that DS needs to run around a little and head over to Pooh's playground. They have a great time running around and playing. DS thinks it is the coolest thing because everything is his size. He rings the bell at the front door and rings it some more... and some more... and some more. We go wait in line for cinderella's horses. (I have never noticed that there was ever a line for this) DD always wants to ride on Cinderella's horse and I track it down before it is our turn to ride. She gets the horse and asks us to take pictures of her. DS sits on the one next to her and enjoys himself. He wants to stay on. As you can tell he doesn't understand that you only get one turn at DW.
DD goes to BBB at 12:00 and chooses the new pink hair extension that she saw earlier in the trip on a little girl. Seems fairly expensive to pay $55 for nail polish, make up, and a hairstyle made up of a can of hairspray and gel. But after they turn DD around to see her face the look is just priceless. While DD gets this done and boy next to her is getting the Cool Dude. DH decides to ask DS if he would like to get that done and he says matter a factly "No boys don't do" He is only two and a half and is already becoming a mans man. So I laugh because DD is getting entertained for $55 and DS is getting entertained by playing with two wetwipes.

We go on the horses one more time before going to CRT for lunch. We figure that while DD still loves to dream and do these things that we will keep going. DS was afraid to see Cinderella and stayed glued to my leg. Dh had the salmon and I had Major domos pie. DD had the macaroni pasta and DS got complimentary pasta and butter. They changed the appetizer platter and didn't like it very much. They used to have a nice chicken dish but now it is marinated artichokes and some sort of salami.
DD and DS took pictures with the princesses and DS insisted on getting his autograph book out. I'm not sure what the deal is with his insistance with the autograph book. I think it is because his sister does it and he sees others with them. We get great comments on the homemade autograph book. DD and I made them two days before we left and put flags for all the characters that they wanted to see.
When we got out there were tons of people so we decided to leave and hang out at the resort. We walked down mainstreet where the parade was going to start. Well when we get to the hub we notice only a small crowd and DH asked me if I want to see it. We are always so flexible with what we do. DS by this time has fallen asleep so we ask DD if she wants to watch. She is like me and is willing to do anything. She says yes and we wait about ten more minutes before the parade arrives. We watch and notice that it seems so much shorter then we ever remembered. DD kept pointing out all the characters that she was seeing as if I didn't know who they were. It was very cute. She was getting many people commenting her on how beautiful she looked.
After we walked to Exposition hall to take some pictures. We figured that we have paid for the photopass so we better use it. DD this last year seems to really like to pose for her pictures. You'll see what I mean after you see some pictures.

Went home (AKL) This is what DS calls it when he means "go home" We first actually thought he meant home in Calgary. Took a nap and hung around. Went to Mara and DD had a cheeseburger. I shared a shrimp platter and chicken dinner with DS. DH got a chicken dinner and as you can tell we are on the DDP. We skipped a day of counter services and needed to use them up before we leave. Kids enjoyed watching the old Mickey movies more then eating.

Went back to the room and watched the animals. Not the most animals we have ever seens but enjoyed what we did see.

 

[joech]

Just going to do two quick replies before going to bed because we leave tommorrow. Will update longer when I get home.

Just don't want to forget.
DHS EMM
Toy Story fastpass
Daisy
Cip and Dale
Disney Playhouse
Animation
Bolt
Toy Story
Backlot tour

Wonderland Tea Party1:30

Sea Racers
Nap
Ohana's
Fireworks

 

[joech]

Sleep in
DTD
WPE
Pasta Alfredo, Spaghetti and meatballs, Roast beef and cheddar foccacio
World of Disney

AKL
Swim
Nap

1900 Park Fare
Pictures in Lobby in Jasmine and Ariel outfit.
Di takes pictures with bear

Forgot that we lost bear in January 1 long story to tell later

 

[joech]

This trip seemed like it was so long. We did so many things that were favorites and others that were new. DD has been asking daily how many more days. She is very emotional like me. She said tonight (Jan 3) that she is sad because she doesn't want to leave. This morning (Jan 3) She said that we could stay and live at AKL. We could both work for disney and she could take school on the tv. Update later when I get home. Need to get some sleep for a long day.

MK
DTD

leave for flight at 8:00

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

Sounds like so much fun! I can't wait to see the pictures.

 

[BigDogHU75]

I am enjoying your TR. Can't wait to see the pictures.

I am counting down the days to our family's first trip to AKV and your TR is making me even more excited. This will be our first family trip to Disney World. Our DS will be 20 months old. I am hoping that he will like some of the rides. Any suggestions for rides would be greatly appreciated. He loves animals so I know he will get a kick out of seeing them. When he sees a picture of Mickey Mouse he says "Mickey" so he knows who he is so I am hoping that he will not be afraid of the characters. Can't wait to read more about and see pics of your trip.

 

[Goofy442]

Great TR can't wait to see pictures. My son who is enrolled in the Disney College program said that on New Years Eve people were stuck in there cars for 2-3 hours in the parking lot and buses were running really really late. My DH bought me a cricut expression for Christmas and they really need to have a class for it I get really lost with what buttons to do whatwith I ended up with so much stuff that I didn't want.

 

[joech]

Hi All,
We are back home but I have a really bad cold. Hopefully, I can get better in a few days and finish the trip report and add the millions of pictures that we took. Our photopass account has 360 pictures on it. Need sleep so I'll get back on by the weekend.

Lorraine

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

Glad you had a safe trip. Hope you feel better soon. ixiedust:

That's great that you made such good use of your photopass. Will look forward to the rest of your trip and pictures after you rest and recover!

 

[Goofy442]

Hi All,
We are back home but I have a really bad cold. Hopefully, I can get better in a few days and finish the trip report and add the millions of pictures that we took. Our photopass account has 360 pictures on it. Need sleep so I'll get back on by the weekend.

Lorraine

Hope you feel betterthats awful to come back sick

 

[joech]

Thanks all for the positive messages. I really enjoyed writing the TR and since I'm feeling alive again I will post some pictures this week.

Our DS was 20 months last Christmas when we went and he loved any ride like Dumbo. We rode on the carousel like 8 times in a row. Try to go to all the little parks and water parks within the parks. In MK there was Pooh's playground, Toontown had a playground and Donald's boat, Splash has a little tiny play area while you wait for the older ones to go on the rides. DHS has Honey I Shrunk the kids playground. AK has a little drumming area as a break. Epcot has the fountain and a little water play area. Well, those were all the places that we took breaks in.
Our DS just really enjoyed absorbing the environment around him. Well, he did enjoy eating the Mickey ice creams and the dole whips too!

DS was actually knew Mickey too but when he actually got to see him he realized how big he really was. He was scared for the first few days but enjoyed them after.

Both of our kids love animals therfore really enjoyed staying at AKL and loved AK as well.

This past trip DS loved all the characters but was totally scared of Tinkerbell and the fairies. I think he just was not familiar with those chracters.

You know all the guide books say take a break in the middle of day and the last time we didn't. Well DS is used to a two hour nap every single day at home. Since we bought into DVC and know that we will be returning we decided to actually take it easy most days and go back to the hotel for a little nap. (Very difficult for me because I'm usually so intense and an obsessive planner.

Being that it will be your first trip you will be so excited so I won't even suggest slowing down. Have fun planning!!!

I am enjoying your TR. Can't wait to see the pictures.

I am counting down the days to our family's first trip to AKV and your TR is making me even more excited. This will be our first family trip to Disney World. Our DS will be 20 months old. I am hoping that he will like some of the rides. Any suggestions for rides would be greatly appreciated. He loves animals so I know he will get a kick out of seeing them. When he sees a picture of Mickey Mouse he says "Mickey" so he knows who he is so I am hoping that he will not be afraid of the characters. Can't wait to read more about and see pics of your trip.

 

[joech]

Great TR can't wait to see pictures. My son who is enrolled in the Disney College program said that on New Years Eve people were stuck in there cars for 2-3 hours in the parking lot and buses were running really really late. My DH bought me a cricut expression for Christmas and they really need to have a class for it I get really lost with what buttons to do whatwith I ended up with so much stuff that I didn't want.

Last year on Christmas day didn't even seem as bad as New Years Eve did this year. I can't imagine having to wait in the parking lot that long with kids. Luckily we went back to AKL and Mickey and Minnie were in their holiday clothes taking pictures with guests. We took a nap after that and went to Chef Mickey's that night for dinner.

 

[joech]

Now that I am feeling better I can update the following post.

Since DS loved Toy Story Mania we had to go back and go on again. It was EMM for DHS and we got their at about 8:40 or so. We went straight to TSM and once we got down the ramp with the strollers we noticed two lines. Well, not to our surprise there was a line up for a fastpass. I was already surprised the other day when the fastpass machines for TSM had a twisting roped off line. DD saw Daisy on the way past the hat on our way to TSM. My DH lined up and we went back and waited in line for Daisy. DS by this time would ask me right away for his book (autograph book) once we lined up to see any characters. After lining up for Daisy DH wasn't back yet so we went to the other side of the hat and lined up for Donald. By the time we got to the front he left and we got Chip and Dale who we had not seen yet. By this time DH caught up to us and we went to line up for Playhouse Disney which we had never seen before. On our way to line up we saw JoJo and got some pictures. Many character did comment on the fact that we had made our own autograph book. I figured that I didn't want another of the same autograph book that my DD already had. I bought a journal and we both decorated it with scrapbook stuff. (If you decide to do this yourself with your kids put aside tons and tons of time to put it together. We took about three hours to put two together. Much longer than I expected but totally worth DD and DSs excitement)

We lined up for Playhouse disney for about 30-40 minutes. We had breakfast while waiting in line. DS always said "me hungry" if I didn't give him something to eat for breakfast. We were about fifth in line. We sat in the front row which we later discovered is not the ideal place. The show consists of puppets that come out of the ground. For the future, we will try to sit in the middle section halfway back. We were not able to see all of the puppets when they went to the back of the stage. The kids did really like this show though and it will be on our list for next time.

We went to animation studio which was also a first for us. It was cute to see the intro with Mushu. We lined up for the animation drawing class after and just made it in to sit in the front row with a lap board instead of a desk. This was much better for DS because he could sit close and move around a little more. Our CM chose to draw Bolt and DH and I were actually able to draw a pretty good one. DD even got really into it and for five years old hers looked pretty good too.

After this we lined up for about 25 minutes to see the three Bolt characters. We decided another line up to see Sorcerer Mickey would be too long for the kids.

Left and went to ride TSM. Surprised that the fastpass line just went straight through. We looked at the poor people in the stand by line which was at 2 hours long. DH and I looked at each other and said "Never Never will we do that!" We tried to sit in cars beside each other. The CM had no idea what I was trying to ask her. We went into line 2 and 3 but should have went in 1 and 3. We did cross each other during the ride though. We all agreed that we like this ride better than Buzz Lightyear. It was nice to actually see everytime you shot at a target.

Decided to go on the Backlot Tour which DH really likes. The line up was actually at the entrance and we were not sure if we would make it to the GF in time. The line went through two shows before us. Since DS hated fireworks we skipped the pre-show and went straight to the trams. Enjoyed the ride and headed out the park at about 12:45.

By the time we walked out, loaded the car we got to the GF just in time by 1:20.

There was a line up to get into the Wonderland Tea Party and DD seemed a little worried that I would leave her there. I gave her the camera to take pictures and she went in.

We went to the counter service restaurant outside the back side of the GF and the three of us shared a cheesburger and chicken fingers. DS insisted that he had to try out the arcade located in the eating area. He was so cute sitting to race cars and trying the rollercoaster simulation.

After the hour was over we took some pictures in front of the gingerbread house and went to check out the sea racers. We decided to use our AP discount and rented two racers. They sure went so much slower then we thought. I guess it would be for safety reasons though. However, it was really neat to see MK and all the other monorail resorts. it was really neat to see Bay Lake Towers too. In my opinion it sure makes the Comtemporary look really old and outdated. It was DS nap time and he actually fell asleep while I drove with him. We lasted 40 minutes until he fell asleep and we returned them. Of course getting DS out of the sea racer woke him up and he didn't go back to sleep.

We went back to AKL and took a nap before going to Ohana's for dinner. We got in shortly after checking in at 7:30. They had a dance going on at the time with kids going around the restaurant. It did seem pretty loud while this happened. Once it was over it was the normal noise level. The kids loved the appetizers and we liked the pineapple bread.. DD loved the noodles so much we had to get another plate. I knew not to try the turkey but the CM insisted it was good. I only took one small piece. It was so so dry and I couldn't eat it all. Skipped the roast pork. DH and I loved the steak and the shrimp. Kids took part in the coconut races and the hula dancing lessons. DD loved getting the flower leis when she participated. We ended up with six when we left.

I knew the fireworks would be on soon but we didn't get the window table I had requested. We were three tables away but still had a view of MK. We really hadn't seen any fireworks this trip because of DS. We were eating our yummy banana bread pudding dessert when the show was about to start. We also saw the electric water pagaent show before the fireworks. They turned the lights down and piped in the music for the fireworks show. It was a great way for DD to see fireworks and DS not to be scared. Next time I think we might try to watch it from the beach area.

Went to the gift shops after and noticed that there were many things that we did not see in any other stores.

Went home to AK pooped and straight to bed.

 

[SunnieRN]

What a wonderful vacation! Can't wait to see pictures!!!

 

[Disneypirate85]

That is awesome!! LOL!! DH always tries to pack a suitcase in a suitcase for that purpose! Besides, this is DVC trip report...thats ok! LOL! BTW, be careful with the laundry soap....in 2005, we were there for two weeks at VWL and I had packed laundry soap because I have sensitive skin and was trying to save money....DH and his friend were picking on me.."doesn't Fl. have soap?" any way, when we got to Orlando, pulled our suitcases off the claim carousel, my DH husband smelled the soap and the bottle had built pressure up and exploded on the inside of the bag. I even had it in a ziploc...thank goodness it was near the end and only a few things caught all of the liquid!!! Can you say hand rinse? LOL!! Make sure it is really sealed and enclosed!! Airplane pressure....I never pack liquid soap...just wait until I am there and go to the store, if need be.

Same thing happened to us last month, laundry detergent bottle burst from pressure, we had it ziplocked as well...oh well guess we did a load of laundry on the flight down lol.