An Instagrammable and Dole Whippy 4th of July Trip Report!**UPDATED 3/4

[Wood Nymph]

I remember the very first time we rode the safari ride in AK there were giraffes just walking around eating the leaves off the trees. I thought that was the coolest thing in the world, seeing giraffes in a natural setting rather than a zoo. It would be really cool to see them just outside your resort room. I can't wait to tour AKL when we are at WDW in December.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Congratulations on AKL. I still haven't even set foot inside the place (though it is on the list for next time). But I've heard so many amazing things about it and how much people love it, I may have to consider a night or two stay.

Haha, I honestly think it's awesome that you waited for the slide with just kids. It's Disney World, you're supposed to be a kid too!! And then you both did it. So perfect!

Ah so great that you got some animal viewing from your room, not to mention GIRAFFES!!!!!! I imagine that really completes the experience.

You are most definitely not over excited. I would have totally been too.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

great update and I too would be super serial excited if there were giraffes right out of my room!

though, I wonder what the giraffes were thinking seeing you in just your towel

Giraffe 1: wow, look at that female human in just her towel!

Giraffe 2: um, we're naked

 

[DisneyJo]

How wonderful that you could see giraffes from your balcony and it sounded like you had so much fun on the pool slide

 

[KatMark]

I don't think you are too excited...I think it's great. And you saw my favorite -- the giraffes. Good for you and Corey.

 

[RachelNinja]

Caught up with your updates! What a treat to be able to stay at AKL! Isn't it absolutely lovely? And you got such a great view!!! Haha, I was imagining the whole waterslide scenario with you guys standing with the kids and I understand how you might have felt awkward, but just embrace the fact that you are still a big kid! Yay for having a ton of fun at the resort!

 

[cfw213]

Love your pics from AKL!! How nice that you got a "bonus" view. It's making me soo excited to head back there in just 5 weeks, ahhh!

 

[rachel09985]

Yay for giraffes !! I just LOVE them !! We went down the slide, too !! I love the slides at the deluxes. I haven't been down one in a while due to the ankle injury. But I'm never embarrassed to stand in line for one and neither is DH !!

Susan

I guess I shouldn't have felt embarassed either. It was so much fun and it felt nice!

I love that i could make you laugh ,I guess i'm good for sumthin LOL.So happy for you that the room situation turned so well that's great and i would ran door to door tellin random strangers that I saw giraffes so trust me you're excitement would be welcome with me!! I get super pumped about those kinds of things

Haha we were telling our entire family about it! It was so cool to lay in bed and see giraffes!

I love the deluxe hotels! Everything is just more comfortable! Your room at AKL is so nice... How awesome for a king bed and the view!!!! I stayed there once and never noticed the lion king characters on the curtains! So cute!!

Yes, definitely agree about the more comfortable part. You just want to stay in the hotel when you stay deluxe. The kind bed was nice as we don't have one at home.

Great pics!

Thanks!

I remember the very first time we rode the safari ride in AK there were giraffes just walking around eating the leaves off the trees. I thought that was the coolest thing in the world, seeing giraffes in a natural setting rather than a zoo. It would be really cool to see them just outside your resort room. I can't wait to tour AKL when we are at WDW in December.

You will love AKL in december!! The christmas tree will make it so beautiful. I hope I get to see it there in december too.

Congratulations on AKL. I still haven't even set foot inside the place (though it is on the list for next time). But I've heard so many amazing things about it and how much people love it, I may have to consider a night or two stay.

Haha, I honestly think it's awesome that you waited for the slide with just kids. It's Disney World, you're supposed to be a kid too!! And then you both did it. So perfect!

Ah so great that you got some animal viewing from your room, not to mention GIRAFFES!!!!!! I imagine that really completes the experience.

You are most definitely not over excited. I would have totally been too.

Definitely put it on your list! I would go back in a heartbeat(if I got the right discount!) The giraffes definitely completed the experience. I didn't think I would see any animals so that was an awesome surprise.

great update and I too would be super serial excited if there were giraffes right out of my room!

though, I wonder what the giraffes were thinking seeing you in just your towel

Giraffe 1: wow, look at that female human in just her towel!

Giraffe 2: um, we're naked

lol that cracked me up!!! I wonder what they were thinking! Hopefully no humans saw me!!

How wonderful that you could see giraffes from your balcony and it sounded like you had so much fun on the pool slide

WE did have fun! I loved that little slide. I can't imagine going on the big one at the Yacht and Beach club.

I don't think you are too excited...I think it's great. And you saw my favorite -- the giraffes. Good for you and Corey.

I love giraffes too! They are just so cool with their long necks.

Caught up with your updates! What a treat to be able to stay at AKL! Isn't it absolutely lovely? And you got such a great view!!! Haha, I was imagining the whole waterslide scenario with you guys standing with the kids and I understand how you might have felt awkward, but just embrace the fact that you are still a big kid! Yay for having a ton of fun at the resort!

It was a treat. Not something I get to do every trip. It was very lovely.

Love your pics from AKL!! How nice that you got a "bonus" view. It's making me soo excited to head back there in just 5 weeks, ahhh!

Jealous!! And for the fact that you will be there during Food and Wine! I will miss it this year and it makes me sad. Good thing there is footh booths at the flower & garden now, because I will be there for that next year.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Rachel! That's too funny about Corey and PB&J!!! I've never had the zebra domes. Are they chocolate? Coffee? What's the flavor?

That's so awesome that not only did you get a king bed (with a sofa) but a savanna view - WITH GIRAFFES!!! I could sit on the balcony for hours and watch those guys (fully clothed mind you!!)

Awww love the little kid in you that enjoyed the slide. I did that at BLT last year and I was the only adult in line with a bunch of kids. I felt silly but it was fun so oh well!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Hi, Rachel!! Thankfully I'm finally all caught up now! Between our trip last month and starting a new job, I've been so behind and have missed so much! I'm so glad that you were able to stay Deluxe this time AND that you got a savanna view...that is too awesome! And I love reading about your time at the pool and on the slide...my hubby and I always feel like that when we're at the pool in Disney...we're always to two adults who are in amongst the kids going down the slide, but we don't care...we just keep doing it over and over! I think that's one reason why we like Disney so much--it's the one place where we can be a kid and not worry about it!

 

[rachel09985]

After the giraffes I finally got ready for our dinner.

Corey and I left and I asked someone to take our photo in the lobby. It didn't come out very good but here they are.





Luckily for us a bus came right away. We were so lucky with buses this trip. Before this trip I have negative opinions of deluxe buses, but AKL was great!

We stopped at Kidani first and the bus driver called Sanaa, Sanaana. It was funny!



I tried taking an artsy photo.



I didn't bring a bag so I didn't have to go through bag check luckily!

We had a CM take our photo for date night.





I feel like they made us kiss here, but I am not sure. I hate kissing in public so I hate when PP photogs do that.



We made a beeline to Le Cellier.







We decided to wait inside because it was hot outside. We sat right in the door and witnessed a lady come in to try to get sat. Of course they said they were busy and didn't have any openings. Then she stuck in the fact that she is Canadian! Of course then they had room for her! Haha, I thought that was funny!! So for anyone who wants a spot at Le Cellier with no ressie- say you are Canadian! Lol!

We got sat close to on time at a little two top table, but it wasn't too close to anyone, which is nice.

I asked for the pretzel bread only, of course!



The new butter has a brown sugar on top. It was very good, surprisingly.



View!



For my appetizers I ordered the bacon snow scallops in a carrot puree. This was very good! I am not sure if I like scallops or not, I think they are a little too chewy for me, but I really liked the bacon snow on this app. The carrot and cranberry puree was a nice complement.



For my entree I ordered the filet of course! This new dinner entree comes with pickled onions, which I asked for on the side.





Ugh, I did not like those pickled onions. They were crunchy but warm and definitely had a vinegar taste. However, I still loved the filet! That truffle butter sauce is so good. This filet is melt in your mouth and was cooked perfectly. The mushroom risotto was good too. You can just never go wrong with this dish.

Corey ordered the NY strip and he really liked it. He loved the steak but did not like the potatoes.

For dessert I got the Coconut Three Ways.


Coconut Three Ways Coconut Gelée, Macaroons, Coconut Gelato, Candied Marcona Almonds, Chili-Laced Chocolate



Okay, I totally was not expecting this.... I did not realize that the coconut gelee was the star of the dessert. It was basically a string of coconut tofu with a smear of chocolate, a hard macaron, and a tiny scoop of coconut ice cream. The coconut gelee was so weird! It was definitely a light texture and the gelee kind of disintegrated in your mouth in a weird way. I was just so perplexed the entire time I ate this. It wasn't bad but I wouldn't ever order it again. The coconut ice cream was my favorite part.

All in all, it was a good solid meal!

I love the truffle butter sauce and filet here along with the pretzel breadsticks but I am just so disappointed both meals are now signature. I won't be going here every trip. Maybe every three trips from now on. Dinner was super expensive and I just feel like it wasn't worth that much! But it was yummy!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Okay, I totally was not expecting this.... I did not realize that the coconut gelee was the star of the dessert. It was basically a string of coconut tofu with a smear of chocolate, a hard macaron, and a tiny scoop of coconut ice cream. The coconut gelee was so weird! It was definitely a light texture and the gelee kind of disintegrated in your mouth in a weird way. I was just so perplexed the entire time I ate this. It wasn't bad but I wouldn't ever order it again. The coconut ice cream was my favorite part.

Was that long, white thing the coconut gelee? It looks like a piece of plastic.

I love the garden area outside of that restaurant. We never knew it was there until we wandered into one day.

 

[emmysmommy]

I'm a huge fan of Le Cellier's pretzel bread. Even better dunked in soup. I haven't ordered the mushroom filet since it went Signature. In the past I loved everything about it. Sounds like it is still excellent.

That's odd that they all of a sudden had an open table once the lady announced she was from Canada.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Ahahaha, I totally love the mirror photo! Great job!

Haha, yeah it's particularly bad when the PP photogs want kissing and the person you are with is NOT your partner.

Yup, totally gonna try the the "I am Canadian" line at Le Cellier. Funny too that there's a really popular commercial here with that exact line.

 

[KatMark]

Love the pictures of the two of you at AKL.

Love LeCellier's pretzel bread and Cheese soup, but we had a very disappointing steak last time and, now that we have found Yachtsman, we won't be back at LeCellier...especially since it is now a signature and the steak isn't worthy of signature/high prices. Those scallops look wonderful (I do love scallops). I'm glad you enjoyed your meals.

 

[RachelNinja]

Haha to the "I'm Canadian" line!

 

[MEK]

Wow - I got behind. I love your savannah pictures. They are lovely. I think the savannah views at the AKL are so intimate. You really feel like you are right in the thick of things.

Yummy Zebra domes! I am looking forward to having a few in October.

I also really enjoyed your PP pictures. You guys look so cute.

The filet at Le Cellier looks relish and so do those scallops. I have an ADR there, too!!!!

Fun updates!

 

[rachel09985]

When we walked out of Le Cellier it was raining! Booo!

We stayed under the awning for a bit until it subsided.

Once the rain passed the sky was gorgeous!!



We took a little stroll to France because Corey wanted his dessert.





Here was our stop for dessert.



Because I have zero willpower I had to get my second dessert.

I got profiterole.



I just did not like this. It was very very soft, airy, and creamy and I prefer my ice cream to be more icey. Therefore I didn't care for it. The flavor wasn't bad though.

We decided to use our anytime fastpasses for Test Track next so we walked around the world showcase. It was sooo gorgeous.















Since we didn't get to actually ride last time we did a similar design that we did for the first time.







After Test Track we decided to leave, but first I had to go shopping for more vinylmation of course! I believe I got three boxes of MU and B&TB.

Still sooo pretty.











I stood here forever trying to get a perfect shot of the flag with no people in it and the flag out straight.

There was no one on the bus again so we opened up my vinylmation. Once again Corey opened it for me to surprise me.

I got

Cogsworth



Then I got the MU chaser!!! I was soooo ecstatic. For those who don't know the chaser is the rare one and I have never got a chaser before. I was soo happy!



I think I got a park vinylmation too but it was one I didn't care about and I actually traded it.

 

[rachel09985]

When we got back to the hotel the giraffes were still outside!!

They were eating their dinner.





This giraffe kept licking the pole! I have no idea why, it was funny!











Patty and Emme were on their way to Disney tonight and we had plans to meet at Paradiso 37 with a couple of other Dis'ers. Unfortunately, they couldn't make it so it just ended up being me, Patty, and Emme. I reserved a table about 9:30 for us and Patty got there first.

Corey didn't feel good so he didn't come to DTD so I went out to the bus station and of course waited for a long time for the bus to get there.

At Kidani stop a family got on and this guy sat right next to me like almost on top of me and there were plenty of other seats around, I was like what is this guy doing?? All of a sudden he starts talking to me and then looks at me and says, "OH you aren't my wife!!". Haha, he thought I was his wife so that is why he sat so close to me. We both laughed after that, it was quite funny! His wife thought it was hilarious. I talked with them a bit on the way. Their son was looking at my iphone because he was into electronics. His parents said he always spies on iphones because he likes the games, lol!

About this time I had 4% left on my phone so I knew it would die. I told Patty I would get there soon. However, that soon was not soon! It took soooo long to get to DTD. We got to the marketplace after 45 minutes. I should have just got off there but made the mistake of going to the West side. That took another 20 minutes! Grrr.. it was frustrating.

I finally got to Paradiso and said hi to Patty and Emme and ordered my first drink: a mango margarita.



Yumm, this was good! It wasn't too strong.

I just wanted something to snack on so I got guacamole and chips.



The chips were great but the guacamole was a little off. I still liked it but it wasn't chipotle quality.

I ordered another drink next but this time it was sooo strong I couldn't drink it. I gave it to Patty because I could not drink it.

Instead I ordered a mango mojito. This was good as well.



We had a fun time at our happy hour, even if no one showed up lol. Emme was having fun playing and I gave her some of my vinylmations to play with. At the end of our meal Emme got soooo tired, you could tell she just wanted to sleep. So Patty had to carry her to their car so she could rest. It was cute.

Anyways, I was excited that they were there and we would be meeting up the next day. I took the bus back and it was better than the ride there.

 

[rachel09985]

Hi Rachel! That's too funny about Corey and PB&J!!! I've never had the zebra domes. Are they chocolate? Coffee? What's the flavor?

That's so awesome that not only did you get a king bed (with a sofa) but a savanna view - WITH GIRAFFES!!! I could sit on the balcony for hours and watch those guys (fully clothed mind you!!)

Awww love the little kid in you that enjoyed the slide. I did that at BLT last year and I was the only adult in line with a bunch of kids. I felt silly but it was fun so oh well!

Umm the zebra domes are a little like coffee. They are amarula which I don't really know what that tastes like. They aren't really chocolatey. They are mousse with a light cookie on the bottom. They are good. I know the savannah was awesome. It was soo peaceful. The slides are fun!

Hi, Rachel!! Thankfully I'm finally all caught up now! Between our trip last month and starting a new job, I've been so behind and have missed so much! I'm so glad that you were able to stay Deluxe this time AND that you got a savanna view...that is too awesome! And I love reading about your time at the pool and on the slide...my hubby and I always feel like that when we're at the pool in Disney...we're always to two adults who are in amongst the kids going down the slide, but we don't care...we just keep doing it over and over! I think that's one reason why we like Disney so much--it's the one place where we can be a kid and not worry about it!

I am glad I am not the only one who goes down the slides. It was fun. I need to do a waterpark one of these days. I hope your trip was fun and your new job is going well.

Was that long, white thing the coconut gelee? It looks like a piece of plastic.

I love the garden area outside of that restaurant. We never knew it was there until we wandered into one day.

Yep, that long white thing was the coconut gelee. It was weird. Agree- the garden is soo pretty. I love the flowers.

I'm a huge fan of Le Cellier's pretzel bread. Even better dunked in soup. I haven't ordered the mushroom filet since it went Signature. In the past I loved everything about it. Sounds like it is still excellent.

That's odd that they all of a sudden had an open table once the lady announced she was from Canada.

The filet was still excellent, but the prices weren't excellent! Haha. Yeah, they must have a soft spot for Canadians there.

Ahahaha, I totally love the mirror photo! Great job!

Haha, yeah it's particularly bad when the PP photogs want kissing and the person you are with is NOT your partner.

Yup, totally gonna try the the "I am Canadian" line at Le Cellier. Funny too that there's a really popular commercial here with that exact line.

Yes, they have done that kissing thing with me before with my brother.. I was like OMG NO!!! You really can use the I am Canadian line!

Love the pictures of the two of you at AKL.

Love LeCellier's pretzel bread and Cheese soup, but we had a very disappointing steak last time and, now that we have found Yachtsman, we won't be back at LeCellier...especially since it is now a signature and the steak isn't worthy of signature/high prices. Those scallops look wonderful (I do love scallops). I'm glad you enjoyed your meals.

Bummer about the disappointing Le Cellier steak. I am excited to try Yachtsman. I hope the filet is as good there. I just love the truffle sauce.

Haha to the "I'm Canadian" line!

I know, right!??

Wow - I got behind. I love your savannah pictures. They are lovely. I think the savannah views at the AKL are so intimate. You really feel like you are right in the thick of things.

Yummy Zebra domes! I am looking forward to having a few in October.

I also really enjoyed your PP pictures. You guys look so cute.

The filet at Le Cellier looks relish and so do those scallops. I have an ADR there, too!!!!

Fun updates!

I agree about that too. The savannah view was very intimate. It is just so peaceful to look out and see the savannah and see animals. It was wonderful. Enjoy the zebra domes and Le Cellier. And if I don't talk to you have a wonderful trip in October! I hope it enjoys lots of festival booths!