AnninIowa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2005
- Messages
- 2,009
Since this is the board I post (lurk) on, I wanted to post a brief trip report from my vacation in January. I would have posted earlier, but with getting the flu upon returning home and being busy with work, this is the first chance I've gotten to post.
RESORT: My dad and I stayed January 5-12 at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I did the online check-in a few days before we arrived and requested a room close to transportation. We had booked a pool view room but were upgraded to a sweet Savannah room on the lobby level just a few doors from the lobby! Not only did we have tons of animals outside the window, but access from the room from the lobby and bus depot was super quick and easy.
This was our third stay at AKL, and while we still love the resort and feel it's a great Deluxe resort for the price, there was one major downside: bus service. Most of the time, the bus went to Kadani Village before Jambo House, so we faced full buses most mornings. The bus ride from AKL to the parks and downtown Disney is long enough, but add in the extra time to Kadani, and it got really aggrivating.
I also noticed there was no shower gel in the rooms...another Disney cutback?
FOOD: We aren't big eaters and usually just have a small bite for breakfast and one big meal a day. We didn't do the dining plan as we found it to be too much food for us. However, with the rising cost of food, I think even the quick service plan would have been a good choice for us. Fruit is up for 99 cents to 1.29 a piece, for one. A small increase, yes, but it really added up. I suspect that Disney is increasing prices for those of us who pay out of pocket to make up for those on the dining plan.
We ate at five table service restaurants: Le Cellier (okay, but we weren't overly impresses; we thought the portions were small for the price), Boma for breakfast (wonderful, as always!), Chefs de France (my dad loved this, especially the ham and cheese sandwich; wonderful atmosphere and we had a great server),Big River Grille (we love to eat and look out over the Epcot resort area), and Raglan Road (LOUD...but the food was great! We loved the soda bread and I had the best burger of my life!)
SHOPPING: Wow, I have heard Kevin talk about how it's the same crap in every store....and he is so right!! Because it was so cold when we were there, we spent a lot of time ducking into stores....but it was so boring because it was the same thing everywhere! The only store I had any luck in was the Christmas store.
FL TOURS: We used FL Tours, and I was so impressed! Our driver was waiting for us at baggage claim, and we got to the resort so much faster than taking ME (especially nice since we arrived at 9 pm). Our flight home left at 7:40 am, and we were picked up at 5:30 am and taken right to curbside checkin. Cars were nice and clean and drivers were super friendly. We didn't utilize the grocery stop because we got in so late. I highly recommend FL Tours!!
The major bummer of the trip was something that no one could help: the weather! We were there the week it was so cold - we had snow on the roof of AKL and there were icicles at Epcot. We had packed for 50-60 degree weather but ended up with 30's and wind. It unfortunately put a damper on how much we were able to do as my 78-year-old father just couldn't stand being outside too long (heck, I'm 36 and I was suffering!). I'd left my scarf in the car and lost my gloves somewhere the second day there; we ended up buying some more clothing so we could layer. No fun! :-(
Crowds were super low, so at least when we were out and about we were able to get onto the attractions fast. The longest wait we ever had was 20 minuts for Peter Pan. Is there ever NOT a wait for that?! LOL!!
Anyway, just wanted to post these thoughts for you all!
RESORT: My dad and I stayed January 5-12 at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I did the online check-in a few days before we arrived and requested a room close to transportation. We had booked a pool view room but were upgraded to a sweet Savannah room on the lobby level just a few doors from the lobby! Not only did we have tons of animals outside the window, but access from the room from the lobby and bus depot was super quick and easy.
This was our third stay at AKL, and while we still love the resort and feel it's a great Deluxe resort for the price, there was one major downside: bus service. Most of the time, the bus went to Kadani Village before Jambo House, so we faced full buses most mornings. The bus ride from AKL to the parks and downtown Disney is long enough, but add in the extra time to Kadani, and it got really aggrivating.
I also noticed there was no shower gel in the rooms...another Disney cutback?
FOOD: We aren't big eaters and usually just have a small bite for breakfast and one big meal a day. We didn't do the dining plan as we found it to be too much food for us. However, with the rising cost of food, I think even the quick service plan would have been a good choice for us. Fruit is up for 99 cents to 1.29 a piece, for one. A small increase, yes, but it really added up. I suspect that Disney is increasing prices for those of us who pay out of pocket to make up for those on the dining plan.
We ate at five table service restaurants: Le Cellier (okay, but we weren't overly impresses; we thought the portions were small for the price), Boma for breakfast (wonderful, as always!), Chefs de France (my dad loved this, especially the ham and cheese sandwich; wonderful atmosphere and we had a great server),Big River Grille (we love to eat and look out over the Epcot resort area), and Raglan Road (LOUD...but the food was great! We loved the soda bread and I had the best burger of my life!)
SHOPPING: Wow, I have heard Kevin talk about how it's the same crap in every store....and he is so right!! Because it was so cold when we were there, we spent a lot of time ducking into stores....but it was so boring because it was the same thing everywhere! The only store I had any luck in was the Christmas store.
FL TOURS: We used FL Tours, and I was so impressed! Our driver was waiting for us at baggage claim, and we got to the resort so much faster than taking ME (especially nice since we arrived at 9 pm). Our flight home left at 7:40 am, and we were picked up at 5:30 am and taken right to curbside checkin. Cars were nice and clean and drivers were super friendly. We didn't utilize the grocery stop because we got in so late. I highly recommend FL Tours!!
The major bummer of the trip was something that no one could help: the weather! We were there the week it was so cold - we had snow on the roof of AKL and there were icicles at Epcot. We had packed for 50-60 degree weather but ended up with 30's and wind. It unfortunately put a damper on how much we were able to do as my 78-year-old father just couldn't stand being outside too long (heck, I'm 36 and I was suffering!). I'd left my scarf in the car and lost my gloves somewhere the second day there; we ended up buying some more clothing so we could layer. No fun! :-(
Crowds were super low, so at least when we were out and about we were able to get onto the attractions fast. The longest wait we ever had was 20 minuts for Peter Pan. Is there ever NOT a wait for that?! LOL!!
Anyway, just wanted to post these thoughts for you all!
