SuAnne
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 9, 1999
- Messages
- 415
Friday, Aug 29 was the day that we were switching from All Star Movies to Animal Kingdom Lodge to spend a night there with Cass & Noel before heading back home on Saturday.
Because we werent meeting until noon, we added a day to our Hopper Pass and went to the Magic Kingdom in the morning. The crowds were very light. We were there for opening and were able to do Space Mountain (my little Commando girl was first in line I passed..) and then did Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain twice, Its a Small World, Pooh, Peter Pan, Snow White and Space Mountain again and were on our way out of the Park by 11:00. Whew!
Back at ASMo we packed up our things and checked out just after noon. I had paid for Friday night as well when I had booked the hotel, but when I checked out they gave me a credit for the night which I certainly wasnt expecting them to do. We grabbed a taxi and were on our way to AKL.
Even driving up to the resort you feel like you are being transformed into the world of Africa. Ahhh..the magic of Disney. Noel and Cass were already there and sitting out front waiting for us. They had already checked in so Bell Services took our luggage and we were off to explore.
The resort is absolutely stunning as you walk into the lobby. It is very serene and tranquil and the smell from Boma is heavenly. I love Wildernes Lodge as well and although the architecture struck me as quite similar, the lobby of AKL seemed much more exotic....and of course, youre in Africa!!
After oooing and awing for a couple of minutes Cass and Noel took us to see the room. It was in a great location on the Arusha Savannah and very close to the elevators for Mara and the pool. The view of the savannah was beautiful even though all the animals were in for their afternoon rest. I didnt find the rooms to be dark at all , then again I tend to like low lighting and found the decorating to be very warm and inviting.
Off to the lounge. I was surprised in that for some reason from the photos I had seen, I somehow thought the concierge lounge was located at the other end of the lobby and looked out over the savannah. It was very quiet and had a lovely view over the lobby. We had a quick drink their special smoothie was incredible as were the cinnamon chips I had as a little snack. Hayley was thrilled to see a whole bowl of gummies.
It was now time for cookie decorating and we took the girls down to that and they had fun decorating their giraffe cookies .even though they looked somewhat inedible once they had finished putting all the icing and sparkles and everything else on them.
A quick trip to check out the gift shop .I made a quick note of things I just HAD to have and we were off for a swim. The girls went in the pool right away while Cass and I had a drink. Well I had a drink a yummy Victoria Falls Mist that was far too tasty and poor Cass who was still recovering from her ailment had a tonic (no gin ) It was so nice to sit and relax by the pool and take in the beautiful surroundings. Cass asked if I was okay since I seemed so quiet, but it was just that I was soaking up all the atmosphere.
The girls swam for quite awhile and kept running over to the savannah beside to pool to see if the animals were back out. My goodness they reported sightings of lions and elephants!!!! Hmmmm. No sense arguing with these two, they are ALWAYS right so lions and elephants on the savannah it was!
When I went over to the viewing area... no lions or elephants, but there were giraffes and they were so close. They are such beautiful and graceful animals and they seemed to be people watching as much as the people were watching them! As you will notice when you have a look at my photos (which I'll post at the end of AKL Part 2), I was quite taken my these lovely creatures.
At about 4:00, the girls were whining that they were hungry (again!) so we took them to Mara where Noel had a hot dog and Hayley had pizza. Hmmm since they were eating now they probably wouldnt want dinner so Cass and I suggested to them that while we went for dinner at Boma, perhaps they could explore or watch a movie in the room. Of course this was a big deal for them so they readily agreed. Our rule was no leaving the building or going to the pool and they knew where they could find us if they needed us. Bonus for Cass and I, uninterrupted adult conversation over a nice dinner!
Cass went back to the pool with the girls so they could have another quick swim and I went up to the room to change. I opened the balcony door and could hear chomp, chomp, chomp and there were three Ankole cattle right below the balcony grazing. There was also a zebra at the watering hole. What a sight. I was just mesmerized watching the animals.
Once we were all cleaned up and dressed up we went up to the lounge for some wine and pre-dinner appetizers. Now this I could get very used to. I can see now why people say that staying concierge spoils you!! I had a very nice Indala(sp?) Merlot and sampled a few of the appetizers. I had to be careful not to stuff myself as we were going for Boma for dinner. Even thought I love to eat, Im not a big eater and I didnt want to be full before we even had dinner. Poor Cass meanwhile was still looking pretty green.
Boma was wonderful. There was just so much to chose from and as always, my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I was trying to just take little bits of everything so I could sample as much as I could. I had the carrot and ginger soup and the grapefruit/avocado/papaya salad to start with as well as some curried seafood type stew..all very good. I dont even remember all he things I sampled as a main course, but my favorite was a very spicy marinated steak. For dessert I tried the famous Zebra Domes and a few other goodies. It was by far the best buffet I have ever had. Lots of variety , lots of spicy things (which I love!) and everything was fresh and hot. I must admit I did feel rather guilty as I drank my wine and sampled all this food while Cass looked on, trying to keep her one morsel of food she had consumed down!
After dinner we went back up to the lounge to sample some of the desserts they had put out there. Of course even being stuffed I had to try the goodies there too. I also made a Cappuccino and put a splash of Baileys into it (okay more than a splash!) Ahhh.... this is the life.
We met our fellow Canadian DISer MikeJ in the lounge and had a nice chat. Small world we are both from London Ontario!
By now it was time to get to bed as we had the Sunrise Safari early in the morning and then Hayley and I were to leave to catch our flight at 2:00. The girls and Cass were pleading with me to see if we could stay another night but knowing that Air Canada would charge me an arm and a leg to change our flight we joked that maybe the flight will be oversold and we will get bumped. Ha Ha I would never have that kind of luck when I WANT to stay somewhere.
So off we went to bed looking forward to our Sunrise Safari but sad to think we would need to say goodbye to Cass and Noel much too soon.
Next: Adventures With Cass & Noel: Now Its Time to Say Goodbye or Maybe Not!
Because we werent meeting until noon, we added a day to our Hopper Pass and went to the Magic Kingdom in the morning. The crowds were very light. We were there for opening and were able to do Space Mountain (my little Commando girl was first in line I passed..) and then did Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain twice, Its a Small World, Pooh, Peter Pan, Snow White and Space Mountain again and were on our way out of the Park by 11:00. Whew!
Back at ASMo we packed up our things and checked out just after noon. I had paid for Friday night as well when I had booked the hotel, but when I checked out they gave me a credit for the night which I certainly wasnt expecting them to do. We grabbed a taxi and were on our way to AKL.
Even driving up to the resort you feel like you are being transformed into the world of Africa. Ahhh..the magic of Disney. Noel and Cass were already there and sitting out front waiting for us. They had already checked in so Bell Services took our luggage and we were off to explore.
The resort is absolutely stunning as you walk into the lobby. It is very serene and tranquil and the smell from Boma is heavenly. I love Wildernes Lodge as well and although the architecture struck me as quite similar, the lobby of AKL seemed much more exotic....and of course, youre in Africa!!
After oooing and awing for a couple of minutes Cass and Noel took us to see the room. It was in a great location on the Arusha Savannah and very close to the elevators for Mara and the pool. The view of the savannah was beautiful even though all the animals were in for their afternoon rest. I didnt find the rooms to be dark at all , then again I tend to like low lighting and found the decorating to be very warm and inviting.
Off to the lounge. I was surprised in that for some reason from the photos I had seen, I somehow thought the concierge lounge was located at the other end of the lobby and looked out over the savannah. It was very quiet and had a lovely view over the lobby. We had a quick drink their special smoothie was incredible as were the cinnamon chips I had as a little snack. Hayley was thrilled to see a whole bowl of gummies.
It was now time for cookie decorating and we took the girls down to that and they had fun decorating their giraffe cookies .even though they looked somewhat inedible once they had finished putting all the icing and sparkles and everything else on them.
A quick trip to check out the gift shop .I made a quick note of things I just HAD to have and we were off for a swim. The girls went in the pool right away while Cass and I had a drink. Well I had a drink a yummy Victoria Falls Mist that was far too tasty and poor Cass who was still recovering from her ailment had a tonic (no gin ) It was so nice to sit and relax by the pool and take in the beautiful surroundings. Cass asked if I was okay since I seemed so quiet, but it was just that I was soaking up all the atmosphere.
The girls swam for quite awhile and kept running over to the savannah beside to pool to see if the animals were back out. My goodness they reported sightings of lions and elephants!!!! Hmmmm. No sense arguing with these two, they are ALWAYS right so lions and elephants on the savannah it was!
When I went over to the viewing area... no lions or elephants, but there were giraffes and they were so close. They are such beautiful and graceful animals and they seemed to be people watching as much as the people were watching them! As you will notice when you have a look at my photos (which I'll post at the end of AKL Part 2), I was quite taken my these lovely creatures.
At about 4:00, the girls were whining that they were hungry (again!) so we took them to Mara where Noel had a hot dog and Hayley had pizza. Hmmm since they were eating now they probably wouldnt want dinner so Cass and I suggested to them that while we went for dinner at Boma, perhaps they could explore or watch a movie in the room. Of course this was a big deal for them so they readily agreed. Our rule was no leaving the building or going to the pool and they knew where they could find us if they needed us. Bonus for Cass and I, uninterrupted adult conversation over a nice dinner!
Cass went back to the pool with the girls so they could have another quick swim and I went up to the room to change. I opened the balcony door and could hear chomp, chomp, chomp and there were three Ankole cattle right below the balcony grazing. There was also a zebra at the watering hole. What a sight. I was just mesmerized watching the animals.
Once we were all cleaned up and dressed up we went up to the lounge for some wine and pre-dinner appetizers. Now this I could get very used to. I can see now why people say that staying concierge spoils you!! I had a very nice Indala(sp?) Merlot and sampled a few of the appetizers. I had to be careful not to stuff myself as we were going for Boma for dinner. Even thought I love to eat, Im not a big eater and I didnt want to be full before we even had dinner. Poor Cass meanwhile was still looking pretty green.
Boma was wonderful. There was just so much to chose from and as always, my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I was trying to just take little bits of everything so I could sample as much as I could. I had the carrot and ginger soup and the grapefruit/avocado/papaya salad to start with as well as some curried seafood type stew..all very good. I dont even remember all he things I sampled as a main course, but my favorite was a very spicy marinated steak. For dessert I tried the famous Zebra Domes and a few other goodies. It was by far the best buffet I have ever had. Lots of variety , lots of spicy things (which I love!) and everything was fresh and hot. I must admit I did feel rather guilty as I drank my wine and sampled all this food while Cass looked on, trying to keep her one morsel of food she had consumed down!
After dinner we went back up to the lounge to sample some of the desserts they had put out there. Of course even being stuffed I had to try the goodies there too. I also made a Cappuccino and put a splash of Baileys into it (okay more than a splash!) Ahhh.... this is the life.
We met our fellow Canadian DISer MikeJ in the lounge and had a nice chat. Small world we are both from London Ontario!
By now it was time to get to bed as we had the Sunrise Safari early in the morning and then Hayley and I were to leave to catch our flight at 2:00. The girls and Cass were pleading with me to see if we could stay another night but knowing that Air Canada would charge me an arm and a leg to change our flight we joked that maybe the flight will be oversold and we will get bumped. Ha Ha I would never have that kind of luck when I WANT to stay somewhere.
So off we went to bed looking forward to our Sunrise Safari but sad to think we would need to say goodbye to Cass and Noel much too soon.
Next: Adventures With Cass & Noel: Now Its Time to Say Goodbye or Maybe Not!
and now am in heaven with your report. I can't WAIT to read Part 2 and see your pics!! We are looking forward to AKL concierge in about 30 days and I'm loving every word. Thanks! Sounds like you had a lovely time!
