Lorana
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2001
- Messages
- 3,307
DAY 4: TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2001
- Gift Bags, The Bruise, Mickey's Backyard BBQ, How I Hate Kinko's
Alarm clocks are evil, evil things. At 6:30am ours went off, calling me
back from sleep and dreams. Normally, since I am in Disney (yay!!), I would
not mind... but the lack of good sleep the last five nights really made me
the hate the morning, Disney or no.
We drag ourselves out of bed, shower, and head down to Captain Cook's for
breakfast. I have several cups of tea, which makes me feel so much better
and so much more alive, and then we trundle back up to our room to pack.
Sadly, it is our last morning here at the Polynesian Resort. But the good
news is we're moving on to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Yay!!
You're about to discover, in the words that follow, just how ill-planned our
morning was. The Mangio curse struck hard and fast, and we were quite late
for a number of things. But at least everything got done!
I tried again (unsuccessfully) to get the files to Kinko's. But during the
uploading process, I discovered that Kinko's wouldn't deliver overnight to
the WDW resorts. However, they would deliver to Celebration. So I called
Carol, my coordinator, and arranged to overnight the CD inserts to her. She
would then drop them off tomorrow evening at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
We had not finished packing by the time 9am loomed near. Not that we had
much to pack, really - we were living out of our suitcases - but we
certainly didn't get it done in time. No problem, we thought. The car had
to be back by 10am anyway at the Dolphin resort. We could make it back here
by 11am. Suuuuuure we could!
We grabbed all of the welcome bags, putting all those for the All-Star Music
resort in a big box (the majority of our guests were staying there), and
then headed out to the car. We drove over to Franck's, where they opened
the storage room where our boxes where being held. And there, as promised,
were the two boxes which hadn't arrived yesterday.
I had packed the majority of our wedding stuff in one large box. And in my
fear of something breaking on the way down, I had put a lot of peanuts and
other packing materials into the box. So digging through it was a little
difficult. I also grabbed things that needed to go back with me as well -
namely, my shoes, tiara, jewelry, and other things. We pulled out the
remaining guest gifts - clip-on battery-operated fans, Disney Pez, Disney
Luv Pops & Lollipops, sunblock chapstick, and bandaids - and carried
everything into the car. We set up the back seat such that I could put the
remaining stuff into the guest bags while John drove to the All-Star Music
resort (our first stop).
We realized as we were driving that we had forgotten to buy bottles of water
for everyone, but we didn't have the time now to do so. So I quickly put
together the bags as John drove. Each room was receiving: A
custom-designed tote-bag containing: a green folder with our welcome letter,
itinerary, and contact info (as well as a special itinerary for the wedding
party only), 2 postcards, and 2 Letters To The Future with Envelopes;
Custom-Designed Wedding T-Shirts; clip-on battery-operated fans and squirt
guns for each person; Disney Pez; Mickey & Minnie Luv Pops; Disney Character
Lollipops; Fanny Pack; sunblock chapstick; band-aids.
We arrived at the All-Star Music resort, and John helped me put together the
few last remaining bags. I then quickly jumped out of the back seat of the
car, and that's when it happened. My knee connected with the hook you use
to pull the seat forward. I jumped out of the car, only to begin
immediately hopping around, holding my knee. Oh my, did that ever hurt!!!
John asked what was wrong. I said I banged my knee, and then moved my hand
to look at it. Already there as a large red welt, and I just KNEW it was
going to bruise horribly. Thank heavens no one would see it beneath my
wedding dress! But I was too pumped on adrenaline - that need to get
everything done before time ran out - and so we just grabbed the bags and
rushed into the All-Star Music lobby.
We wanted in the registration line, and when we got to the front, we
explained to the Cast Member what we were doing - leaving gift bags for all
of our guests who would be checking in (some tomorrow, and the last on
Thursday). He seemed really confused at first. We went down the list of
guests, and he checked their reservations to make sure they were indeed
checking in, and then wrote their names down on a piece of paper. This is
when we discovered there was no reservation listed for John's brother or
dad!! Uh, oh!
Finally we got through the entire list of people. He said that they would
get their bags when they checked in. We thanked him, and then we were off.
Our next stop was the All-Star Sports resort. Only 4 bags to drop off here.
The cast member did the same thing here, except he notated the reservations
directly. Hmmmm. The CM at the All-Star Music resort hadn't done that.
Of course, by now it was after 10am, as the All-Star Music had taken us
ridiculously long for the CM to take care of everything. We still had some
more stops to make, but we no longer had the time. However, we only
actually had 5 bags left. We were passing the Caribbean Beach resort on the
way to the Dolphin Resort, so we decided we would stop there - after all, we
were already late, and thus were going to get charged for this hour - but we
would take Disney Transportation to the other resorts we needed to deliver
bags to (Port Orleans Riverside, Wilderness Lodge, and the Marriott
Courtyard in Downtown Disney).
We pulled into the Caribbean Beach resort, and the security guard there
actually stopped us, questioned why we were going to the resort, and took
our names and license plate. Wow! We drove up to the lobby, and a wave of
nostalgia hit the two of us. We gazed around at the brightly colored
buildings, and the memories of our first trip together to Disney, of the
excitement and joy of our engagement, flooded back to us. We resolved to
return and stay at the Caribbean Beach resort again some day.
It was a quick and painless process to drop off our guest bag here. We were
actually dropping off two, but since Ed - my "uncle" in the sense that he is
one of my dad's oldest and closest friends, and is also my sister's
godfather - was not staying in Disney, I put his bag inside my Dad's. The
CM noted my Dad's reservation, and then we were off.
Dropping off the car rental at the Dolphin resort was also quick and
painless. We drove right up to the front, and they had a National guy come
out and take the car. It was surprisingly easy, and there was nothing we
needed to do.
The Magic Kingdom bus arrived about 15 minutes after we sat down to wait,
and we climbed aboard. We were horribly late now... it was 11:30am... and
check out was suppose to be at 11am. John was now also stressing. We get
to the Magic Kingdom, catch the monorail, and head back to the Polynesian.
Our room key is still working, which is good, and we quickly begin packing
all of our stuff. When all is done, John calls Luggage Services to have
them move our luggage to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The guy was very
friendly and helpful, even if we did check in a million pieces. We had 2
suitcases (when we came down, we only had one, but packed it inside
another), a duffel-suitcase, a garment suitcase, my laptop bag, John's
carry-on bag, a box, and my wedding dress. A lot of this stuff was just
wedding stuff. I was really nervous about handing off the wedding dress,
but the CM assured me it would be well cared for.
As we are packing, I notice my knee. There is no longer a red welt.
Instead, there is a swollen, ugly, angry purple-black welt. John looks at
it and shakes his head, laughing. "Only you," he says. I bruise very
easily, and it is just so very fitting that I have a huge bruise on my knee.
I just hope it doesn't show in ANY pictures. No lifting of that dress,
John, when you go for the garter!
We stopped at the lobby, so I could adjust some of the numbers on our
Priority Seating reservations, as I had received some emails from some
guests who wanted to be added to the dinners. I forgot to mention that
yesterday, I had gone to the lobby and booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package
for 16 people at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant for Wednesday, and also
purchased e-Ride tickets for Tuesday night and picked up our tickets for
Mickey's Backyard BBQ. I needed to add a couple of people to the Fantasmic
dinner, and needed to add three people to our group dinner at Alfredo's in
Epcot on Saturday,
By now we realized we were hungry, and we went over to the Kona Café to grab
some lunch. Almost no one was there, and we were seated immediately. I'm
not usually a burger person, but I must have been missing something in my
diet, because I looked at the menu and saw a listing for a burger with
cheese and mushrooms and had a sudden craving. We both ordered burgers,
though John's was more of the bacon cheeseburger variety. The food came
quickly and was HOT (which was nice, since it was FREEZING inside the
Polynesian) and very good. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
We then headed outside to the Volcano Pool, to partake in our first bit of
real relaxation since we had arrived in Disney. I forgot to mention in my
last recap that we had tried to go swimming last night - after 7pm had
passes, and Kinko's had me stressed almost to the point of tears, John asked
me what he could do to help. And I said, "Go swimming with me. I need to
relax." So we put on our swimming gear and went outside... just as they
closed the Volcano Pool because of imminent thunderstorms. Grumble. We
walked over to the quiet pool and dove in, but we hadn't been in the water
for more than 5 minutes - maybe 10 - before the thunder rumbled from the
heavens, and we got out. Oh, well. I told John it would be a crime if we
stayed at the Polynesian Resort and yet never once used the pool (sadly,
though we spent 12 nights in Disney and 3 nights on the cruise, we got very
little pool time in). So we decided we would take an hour or so in the
middle of the day to enjoy the pool and relax a little.
The pool was a little crowded, but not nearly what you would expect for a
hot summer day. We took off our stuff and dumped them on a recliner near
the zero-entry side of the pool. The concrete was HOT and I was hopping
around trying not to burn my feet. We then ran into the water, splashing
around like little kids, and quickly took to bobbing in the wonderful
relaxing water. We spent some time under the waterfall, and then headed up
to the waterslide. Wheee! It was a lot of fun.
Finally, as the second hour came and went, we realized we needed to get out
and get a move on during our day. We still had so much to do. The concrete
was even hotter this time around. Ow! Thankfully the water dripping off us
formed a nice puddle we could stand in while getting dressed.
Our timing was perfect. No sooner were we dressed, walked up to the
monorail station, than did the next monorail show up. No wait for us! We
zoomed around to the Magic Kingdom, where we took a quick jaunt in so I
could get a drink (and we could say hello to the Castle - at SOME point we'd
get into the parks!). We then hopped the ferry over to the Wilderness
Lodge.
John's best man and his wife were staying at the Wilderness Lodge during
their stay, and were set to arrive on Wednesday (tomorrow). They were
actually staying in one of the Honeymoon Rooms, a fact which irked John a
little. Bryan (his best man) had heard about the room from us (since we
were staying there) and Bryan, never one to be outdone, not even by a groom
on his wedding/honeymoon, had to have the room, too. We walked up to the
front desk, and dropped off the gift bag. We then decided to take the ferry
back to the Magic Kingdom, and take a bus from there to the Port Orleans
Riverside resort. We took a brief stop at the Roaring Forks to grab drinks
(I was really thirsty today), and then headed down to catch the ferry.
Again, we had good timing. However, hindsight says we should have taken a
bus. The skies had turned dark while we were inside, and the pool was
closed due to imminent thunderstorms (common theme of the afternoons since
we had been here). We got onto the small ferry, and it began making its
way, first to Fort Wilderness, and then to the Magic Kingdom. There was a
roof on the ferry, but the sides were open. The ride got a little choppy as
the wind picked up and formed waves on the lake. And then the skies opened
up, the temperature dropped, and the rain came down in sheets. Lightning
lit up the horizons.
I looked at John and wryly said, "Now wouldn't it just be fitting, and our
luck, if lightning struck the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the luggage storage
went up in flames and my dress was destroyed?" We laughed, and thought no
more of that kind of thinking.
This would have all been fun to watch, if it weren't for the fact that we
were on the ferry with no where to go to get out of the rain, and the wind
was whipping the rain in sheets right under the canopy. We got soaked. And
we got chilly, too. We got even more wet, trying to keep the last two gift
bags from getting wet. I also had my Disney Fairy Tale Weddings tote bag
with stuff in it, too, and was also trying to keep that dry.
When we got to the Magic Kingdom dock, we stood looking at the rain for a
bit, hoping it would go away. There was a lot of uncovered ground between
the dock and the stands for the buses. But the rain showed no sign of
relenting. So finally we took a deep breath, and then ran as fast as we
could to the bus stops. My side was in stitches by the time we got there,
but at least most of our stuff remained (mostly) dry. It's very
uncomfortable running breakneck speed, hunched over a bag. LOL.
Again, we had luck with our timing, and caught a bus to the Port Orleans
resort almost immediately. We hopped on board, and shortly left for the
resort.
You would think, now that it was cooler, that the AC would be turned off.
But, no, Floridians love their AC, and it remained on and steady during our
drive to Port Orleans. I was FREEZING, and we didn't have a dry article of
clothing between us to help me warm up.
We get to the Port Orleans Riverside resort and hop off at the lobby. We
drop off the gift bag for our friends, Mish and Eric, who are staying here.
Again, they note the reservation to make sure they get the bag. We realize
now that it is well after 4pm, and we don't have the time to go to Downtown
Disney to drop off the last gift bag at the Marriott. We have Mickey's
Backyard BBQ at 6pm, and still need to get to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to
check in. And to get some dry clothes. I wouldn't have worried about
checking in so much were it not for the fact that we were wet and, more
importantly, my family was arriving today and currently had no means to get
in touch with me. I wanted to check-in so they could at least leave me a
message if necessary.
I made a quick peak around to see if there was anything near that had
something hot to drink. This being August, I wasn't really expecting it.
We didn't have time to hunt down the food court, and so we headed out to the
bus stop. Good thing, too, as the bus to the Animal Kingdom had just pulled
up.
Once we got to the Animal Kingdom, we hopped over to the Animal Kingdom
Lodge stop to await the next bus. Naturally, because we were now running
late, our timing with the buses was off. About ten minutes later, a bus
pulled in and we climbed aboard. Thankfully, the ride to the Animal Kingdom
Lodge was less than 5 minutes.
The weather was still miserable. It wasn't pouring cats and dogs any
longer, but it was still drizzly, and lightning was streaking across the
sky in all directions. It really was a sight to see. However, I wondered
if any of my family had made it into Disney. My Dad, stepmom Celeste, and
sister Jackie were scheduled to arrive at 5pm. With all that lightning, I
was sure they had been delayed or diverted. My mom, sister Julie, and her
boyfriend Ryan were scheduled to arrive close to 8pm. I was certainly the
same thing that had happened to us had happened to them - their flight was
delayed. But I guess we would soon find out.
We got off the bus and started walking down the covered walkway to the
entrance of the Animal Kingdom Lobby. The sound of African drums and music
filled the area, playing softly in the background. A growing sense of
excitement and anticipation filled us. We had been waiting for months to
see this resort, and we just couldn't wait. We tried to walk to enjoy the
area as we walked - there were drums and other African items everywhere, and
carvings in the walls - but at the same time, we kept wanting to run.
Disney's sense of the dramatic certainly held true even here. The doors
didn't open immediately into the lobby, but rather into a foyer, where two
great dark wooden doors with carvings open them stood before you. We pulled
open the doors, and for the first time gazed out about the lobby of the
Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was beautiful. It was breathtaking. We fell in
love.
As others had mentioned before, you could feel the same loving attention in
this lobby, and in the details of the resort, of the architect who designed
the Wilderness Lodge, and some things had a very familiar overtone to them.
But for anyone who said, or thought, that the AKL was just a remake of the
WL, that is completely wrong. The AKL is an unique resort unto itself, and
is so different in so many ways from its sister resort.
A rope and wood bridge spans across the lobby three floors above you,
connecting the two sides. African artifacts and décor are everywhere.
Towards the right, rocks rest among the lobby, remnants of the "volcano"
that once resided here (according to the Disney story of the lodge), but
where lava once flowed, water now does. It bumbles underneath another rope
bridge which connects you to the stairs leading down to the lounge, and then
further down to Boma's and to the door leading out to the pool, to the spa
services, and to Mara's (the food court). And directly in front of you down
at the end of the lobby, the entire front wall is all glass windows - five
stories of it - staring out at Arusha Rock - the focal point of the resort -
and the savannah which lays all around it.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
John fell completely in love with the lobby. After we had been here for a
while, he looked at me and said, "I feel almost as if I'm betraying the
Wilderness Lodge by saying this... but I have to say, I love this lobby
more." I chuckled. The Wilderness Lodge was our favorite resort. But our
stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was going to leave us undecided as to which
one we loved more. "Not that the WL lobby is any less beautiful or
stunning... but, well, it's FAMILIAR. It's patterned after the wilderness
of the Pacific Northwest. It's beautiful, but it's home. The kind of
wilderness we see everyday. This... this is exotic. It's different. You
can't walk out of your home and see this. I like its exoticness."
We started gazing around and exploring, and after about fifteen minutes,
realized we didn't have the time to do so. So we pledged to go exploring
when we came back.
I went to the front desk and checked in. We actually had our stay booked
under two reservations. When our original wedding date was August 27th -
before we had to move it because of my mom's science conference she did not
wish to miss (I don't think I need to go into those gruesome details again.
LOL. Let's just say it was a mess changing everything around, and our
wedding ended up costing us about $4500 more than planned because our
wedding date moved from a weekday to a weekend day, and went from Value
Season to Regular Season. My mom offered to pay the difference, but then
backed out of that agreement, and it left John and I in quite a financial
quagmire. And as such, has strained John's relation with my mom, which is
sad to see but quite understandable) - we had booked our stay under the
special Preview Rate of $179 per night for a Savannah View Room that Disney
had offered back in February. The AKL was originally going to be our first
resort, and we were originally going to spend 4 nights here. Well, when we
called to move the dates back, they were able to give me the rate for
Wednesday night (we already had it for Thursday), but it was unavailable for
Tuesday night. However, we are also Disney Club members, so we got Tuesday
Night at the Disney Club special of $105 per person per night, for a total
of $210. The Disney Club rate included taxes, so it was close to the same
amount (the $179 rate with tax was $198.69, so the difference was only
$11.31 and included passes to the Wide World of Sports). The CM who checked
us in made sure our reservations were linked, and booked the same room
number for our second reservation beginning tomorrow. She told us we would
just need to check in tomorrow morning before 11am to get our new room keys.
She asked if we had luggage, and we told her we had transferred over from
the Polynesian Resort and that luggage services should have our stuff. She
called over to them, and said they would be right along with our stuff.
Sure enough, while she was showing us where our room was and all the places
on property, Tobie from Luggage Services came over with a cart.
And what caught my eye immediately: my dress was not on the cart.
I had a moment of absolute panic. "Is that everything for Cook?" I asked.
John took my hand and squeezed it. He could sense my rising panic, and took
over. "There are three things missing," he told the man. "A box, a laptop
carry-on, and her wedding gown."
Tobie said that was everything that was under Cook, but he said he would go
back and check. It was a very long five minutes while I ran over and over
in my head what I would do if my gown went missing. Sure enough, he came
back with the missing luggage and my wedding gown. "Is one of your last
names Mangio?" he asked. Turns out that those three items had been checked
under Mangio. Which was very strange, since I had booked both the
Polynesian and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and thus both reservations were
under my name: Cook. But whatever the reason, I'm glad everything was
found, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Tobie then took us to our room, but along the way he gave us a guided tour
of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was a really neat experience, and it was
the first time I had ever been give a full-blown tour of the resort when
checking in. He also knew a lot, which was impressive. He answered all our
questions, and gave us a lot of info about the artifacts and different parts
of the resort. One of the amazing things about this resort was just the
sheer number of places to sit and watch the animals on the Savannah. There
were windows EVERYWHERE and chairs and couches, little nooks and crannies to
nestle in and watch, lounges where groups of you could relax and see the
animals. There was also a firepit inside the lounge to warm up - I
certainly stood next to that for a few moments! - and there was also a
firepit outside where nightly stories were told.
Our room was way down near the end of the left-side of the horseshoe (part
of the resort forms a horseshoe shape around the central savannah, Arusha).
Sunset Savannah - a mix of birds and animals - was to our left. Our room
itself looked out over Arusha Savannah (primarily animals, with some birds).
The third savannah was on the other side, near where the pool was, and was
primarily birds, with some animals. Our room was on the third floor, which
meant that it was level with the lobby.
We got to the room, and Tobie made a big production of opening it for us.
We then rushed in to feast our eyes on it. I took in the furniture -
beautiful handmade, carved dark wood - but we both rushed to the balcony,
pulled open the curtains, and rushed out to have our first look. We must
have made some noise, because the zebra near our balcony looked up from his
eating for a brief moment, though his companion continued munching. The
giraffe ignored us as well, eating contentedly from the tree right in front
of our balcony. There were a couple of wildebeests off to the side. A
viewing guide to the animals sat on our table. It was wonderful. It was
magical. Oh, yes, we were in love with this place. If Tobie hadn't entered
with our stuff and brought us back to ourselves, we probably would have
stayed out on the balcony for a long long time, just watching the animals.
After he left, we quickly pulled out clothes and changed. Because the
temperature had dropped earlier and we were chilly, we changed into jeans
and t-shirts. I pulled out my laptop, and tried again to send those files
to Kinko's. And Kinko's website proved again to be a nightmare. John
suggested that we forego the idea of giving out the custom CDs. But I was
stubborn on this point - I had lost many nights sleep on this matter. Was
my exhaustion to be for nothing?? Besides, these were our placecards for
our reception - each CD cover was going to be personalized with the guest's
name - so we needed to get them done. I was really stressed out right now,
ready to cry and all of a sudden not having fun. So I shut off the laptop,
resigned myself to the fact that I would not get it out tonight - but I
still had one more night, right? - and determined to go have fun at Mickey's
Backyard BBQ.
He calls Chuck, who agrees to help, and then emails the files to him. I
then change the message on our answering service to let everyone know the
room number and where we are, and we take off for dinner.
Naturally, we are running late, and we decide to take a taxi instead of a
bus. Of course, it takes just as long for the taxi to get here as it does
for a bus. So we're both a little concerned that we will lose our
reservations - and this meal is prepaid and cannot be refunded. Finally, we
get in the taxi, and we're off.
A word of advice for those reading this: do not take a taxi to Mickey's
Backyard BBQ or the Hoop-de-Doo Revue. If I had known then what I know now,
we would NEVER have spent the money on the taxi. We would have taken a bus
to the Magic Kingdom, and then a ferry to Fort Wilderness. Why is that?
Because for some reason the taxi's won't actually go INTO Fort Wilderness.
They drop you off at the lobby, which requires you to wait for a bus to take
you to the River Country / Pioneer Hall area. Gah!! So we pay the
ridiculous - RIDICULOUS! - cost of a taxi (I cannot believe you get charged
PER 20 SECONDS rather than by distance - I HATE paying for red lights!),
just miss the bus (it is pulling out as we are pulling in), and have to wait
for the next one. Finally it arrives, but it is about 6:30pm when we get to
the River Country Pavilion.
Thankfully, even though the tickets say our reservations are held for only
15 minutes, we are allowed in. There is a police officer checking IDs when
you enter, as the Backyard BBQ includes all you can drink alcohol (beer &
wine). If you pass the age test, you get a wristband to let servers know
you can have alcohol.
We walk into the Pavilion, which is full of families. There is a large
stage and a live band playing country music, and the Disney Characters -
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale - are in front of the stage, currently
signing autographs. They are all done up in Country/Western outfits.
For those who love BBQ food, this place was heaven. And thus, it was
paradise for John. We were both starving, and we hit the food counters
immediately. Hamburgers, hotdogs, ribs, chicken, salad, potato salad, cold
slaw, beans, fresh fruits and watermelon, desserts, and more. There was
more than enough for everyone to eat, and then some. John had at least two
servings of everything. LOL. He loves BBQ food, and could eat it forever.
We went and found seats, and I got us drinks (lemonade for him, iced tea for
me, and white zinfandel for the two of us for a nice little toast).
We had a lot of fun at the BBQ. The band really got into the performance,
leading everyone in dances and singing some great tunes. The characters
made constant appearances (they would be out for a half hour, leave for
twenty minutes, come back again, etc.) , signing autographs and dancing.
Everyone was having fun, and the atmosphere was infectious.
At one point in the evening, they called up everyone who was celebrating a
birthday and a did a Country-style happy birthday to them. They then
brought up people celebrating anniversaries. There were two couples
celebrating anniversaries, and then there was John and I - about to get
married. I had given them our names at the beginning of the evening. They
called us up last to join the anniversary couples. John just gave me a
resigned look, and I pulled him up on the stage. Only the husband of the
10th anniversary couple came on-stage. When they asked him where his wife
was, he said she was changing the baby's diaper. The announcer then looked
at John and said, "See? This is what you have to look forward to in ten
years." John made a move as is he was trying to flee and we laughed. We
both knew he wanted to be the parent changing the diapers - he wants
children badly.
They then sang, "I Hope You Dance," and John and I slow-danced with the
other two couples on the stage. I told him it was practice for Friday,
though he felt really nervous having so many people watching us. But by the
end, he was enjoying it as well, and afterwards he told me he was glad I did
that. We had so much fun.
They had several entertainment bits throughout the evening, with the two
announcers providing comic relief, and then performers coming out to do
Cowboy Tricks with lassos and whips. Finally, we both realized we should
go. John still needed to call his brother and his dad, and we had a few
more things to do. And if we wanted to make E-Ride at 10pm, we needed to
get going and get things done.
We walked across the beach to the docks, and just missed the ferry. I don't
think the CM even noticed us running towards it. But another boat came
along within fifteen minutes. We got to the Magic Kingdom, and were going
to trade our E-Ride Tickets in for the wristbands, but the line at Guest
Services was a mile long, so we decided we would come back. We then got a
bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge - perfect timing again - and settled in for
the ride.
We got back to the room a little after 9pm. We had a few messages waiting
for us when arrived. One was from my dad, letting me know that he and
Celeste had arrived and giving me his room number at the Caribbean Beach.
He said they would be getting a new room in the morning, as they only had a
smoking room available that night. Another one was from my sister, saying
that she was sitting alone at the All-Star Sports resort, and was wondering
what we were doing from dinner. We also had a message from Carol, our
coordinator, and another from Rev. Jack letting us know he had gotten the
ceremony. John then called his brother and dad. Neither of them were home,
so he left messages. I then opened up the laptop, and began the struggle
with Kinko's again - not something that was conducive to having fun, or
being free from stress. What good is this service if it won't complete an
upload??
By now, it is approaching 10:30pm, and John suggests that we forego E-Ride
tonight. At first, I don't want to - we already bought the tickets, so that
would be about $25 we are out - but at the same time, I am exhausted. John
is also tired, but the lack of sleep is really beginning to take its toll on
me. And we wouldn't get to the Magic Kingdom now till about 11pm if we were
lucky - and the idea of staying up till 1 or 2 am is not appealing to me.
We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and yet another early morning. So
I agree, and we forego E-Ride.
Kinko's just isn't working, and before I lose my mind, I decide to quit for
the evening. I can try again in the morning. I get an email from our DJ,
and I email him back regarding our music selection choices. We have the CDs
for the unusual songs for him to play.
We decide to take a little walk around the AKL, and head down to Mara's to
get our resort mugs and something to drink. The only downside to our room
is the distance to Mara's and to the Pool. It is a long walk. Though the
views through the windows are great. Right near our room, on Sunset
Savannah, is a watering hole, and there are many, many animals gathered
around it. We spent some time watching them.
We get to Mara's and walk in. We grab two mugs and walk up to the counter,
only to be told they are closed. Even though the literature you get when
you check-in says that it is open till 11pm, it is actually only open till
10:30pm. The registers are closed, but the Manager gives us free drinks of
our choice and tells us we can come back in the morning for our mugs.
We walk by the pool - so inviting and quiet at this time of night - and
resolve to come back and go swimming. We wander slowly back to our room,
taking time to explore a little. By the time we get back, however, it is
approaching midnight. We are tired, and the walk to the pool is long, and
so we give up on our resolve to swim. We can do it tomorrow.
We have a new message, this one again from my sister Jackie. She has called
to tell me that my Mom, my sister Julie, and her boyfriend Ryan, have not
yet arrived, and she is concerned. Their flight was due in near 8pm. I
give a call over to Jackie, and we talk for a bit. About five seconds after
she answers the phone, my mom, Julie, and Ryan show up. Like us on
Saturday, their flight had been delayed by the thunderstorms, and they only
just got in. My mom and Jackie were sharing a room, and Julie and Ryan had
the adjoining room. My brother Steven and Kevin were flying in tomorrow. I
find out from Jackie that her plane landed on time. She said it was scary
landing in all that lightning. I was really surprised, with the amount of
lightning activity, that they hadn't diverted the flight.
I get on the phone with my mom, and we talk for a bit. I let her know about
the family dinner tomorrow at the Hollywood & Vine in MGM Studios at 5:00pm.
She asks me some questions about wedding stuff, and I ask her if she got her
gift bag at check-in. She said that Jackie got them, and is handing it to
her now. I tell my mom about the green folder, and let her know that
everything regarding where to be when is in there. She asks what we are
doing tomorrow, and I say that we are spending the afternoon in MGM Studios
(my gown is being steamed in the morning). She tells me that she might join
us, and then says that she will call us in the morning to coordinate the day
together. That makes me happy - I am so looking forward to spending time
with my family at Disney. The last time we came to Disney as a family was
16 years ago - and I wish her a good night.
John and I then pull out the room service menu, and decide what we want for
breakfast. I hang the room service order on the doorknob, and then we go
and sit on the balcony for a long while. We say hello to the giraffe and
the zebras, who seem to like our stretch of the woods (to use a figure of
speech). The wildebeests are in a large horde nearby. It is peaceful and
quiet, and the serenity of the entire scene puts us both at ease.
Finally, as we realize we are half-asleep already, we climb into bed and
snuggle together, and soon fall asleep. Somehow it is after 1am again. So
much for a good, long night's sleep.
- Gift Bags, The Bruise, Mickey's Backyard BBQ, How I Hate Kinko's
Alarm clocks are evil, evil things. At 6:30am ours went off, calling me
back from sleep and dreams. Normally, since I am in Disney (yay!!), I would
not mind... but the lack of good sleep the last five nights really made me
the hate the morning, Disney or no.
We drag ourselves out of bed, shower, and head down to Captain Cook's for
breakfast. I have several cups of tea, which makes me feel so much better
and so much more alive, and then we trundle back up to our room to pack.
Sadly, it is our last morning here at the Polynesian Resort. But the good
news is we're moving on to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Yay!!
You're about to discover, in the words that follow, just how ill-planned our
morning was. The Mangio curse struck hard and fast, and we were quite late
for a number of things. But at least everything got done!
I tried again (unsuccessfully) to get the files to Kinko's. But during the
uploading process, I discovered that Kinko's wouldn't deliver overnight to
the WDW resorts. However, they would deliver to Celebration. So I called
Carol, my coordinator, and arranged to overnight the CD inserts to her. She
would then drop them off tomorrow evening at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
We had not finished packing by the time 9am loomed near. Not that we had
much to pack, really - we were living out of our suitcases - but we
certainly didn't get it done in time. No problem, we thought. The car had
to be back by 10am anyway at the Dolphin resort. We could make it back here
by 11am. Suuuuuure we could!
We grabbed all of the welcome bags, putting all those for the All-Star Music
resort in a big box (the majority of our guests were staying there), and
then headed out to the car. We drove over to Franck's, where they opened
the storage room where our boxes where being held. And there, as promised,
were the two boxes which hadn't arrived yesterday.
I had packed the majority of our wedding stuff in one large box. And in my
fear of something breaking on the way down, I had put a lot of peanuts and
other packing materials into the box. So digging through it was a little
difficult. I also grabbed things that needed to go back with me as well -
namely, my shoes, tiara, jewelry, and other things. We pulled out the
remaining guest gifts - clip-on battery-operated fans, Disney Pez, Disney
Luv Pops & Lollipops, sunblock chapstick, and bandaids - and carried
everything into the car. We set up the back seat such that I could put the
remaining stuff into the guest bags while John drove to the All-Star Music
resort (our first stop).
We realized as we were driving that we had forgotten to buy bottles of water
for everyone, but we didn't have the time now to do so. So I quickly put
together the bags as John drove. Each room was receiving: A
custom-designed tote-bag containing: a green folder with our welcome letter,
itinerary, and contact info (as well as a special itinerary for the wedding
party only), 2 postcards, and 2 Letters To The Future with Envelopes;
Custom-Designed Wedding T-Shirts; clip-on battery-operated fans and squirt
guns for each person; Disney Pez; Mickey & Minnie Luv Pops; Disney Character
Lollipops; Fanny Pack; sunblock chapstick; band-aids.
We arrived at the All-Star Music resort, and John helped me put together the
few last remaining bags. I then quickly jumped out of the back seat of the
car, and that's when it happened. My knee connected with the hook you use
to pull the seat forward. I jumped out of the car, only to begin
immediately hopping around, holding my knee. Oh my, did that ever hurt!!!
John asked what was wrong. I said I banged my knee, and then moved my hand
to look at it. Already there as a large red welt, and I just KNEW it was
going to bruise horribly. Thank heavens no one would see it beneath my
wedding dress! But I was too pumped on adrenaline - that need to get
everything done before time ran out - and so we just grabbed the bags and
rushed into the All-Star Music lobby.
We wanted in the registration line, and when we got to the front, we
explained to the Cast Member what we were doing - leaving gift bags for all
of our guests who would be checking in (some tomorrow, and the last on
Thursday). He seemed really confused at first. We went down the list of
guests, and he checked their reservations to make sure they were indeed
checking in, and then wrote their names down on a piece of paper. This is
when we discovered there was no reservation listed for John's brother or
dad!! Uh, oh!
Finally we got through the entire list of people. He said that they would
get their bags when they checked in. We thanked him, and then we were off.
Our next stop was the All-Star Sports resort. Only 4 bags to drop off here.
The cast member did the same thing here, except he notated the reservations
directly. Hmmmm. The CM at the All-Star Music resort hadn't done that.
Of course, by now it was after 10am, as the All-Star Music had taken us
ridiculously long for the CM to take care of everything. We still had some
more stops to make, but we no longer had the time. However, we only
actually had 5 bags left. We were passing the Caribbean Beach resort on the
way to the Dolphin Resort, so we decided we would stop there - after all, we
were already late, and thus were going to get charged for this hour - but we
would take Disney Transportation to the other resorts we needed to deliver
bags to (Port Orleans Riverside, Wilderness Lodge, and the Marriott
Courtyard in Downtown Disney).
We pulled into the Caribbean Beach resort, and the security guard there
actually stopped us, questioned why we were going to the resort, and took
our names and license plate. Wow! We drove up to the lobby, and a wave of
nostalgia hit the two of us. We gazed around at the brightly colored
buildings, and the memories of our first trip together to Disney, of the
excitement and joy of our engagement, flooded back to us. We resolved to
return and stay at the Caribbean Beach resort again some day.
It was a quick and painless process to drop off our guest bag here. We were
actually dropping off two, but since Ed - my "uncle" in the sense that he is
one of my dad's oldest and closest friends, and is also my sister's
godfather - was not staying in Disney, I put his bag inside my Dad's. The
CM noted my Dad's reservation, and then we were off.
Dropping off the car rental at the Dolphin resort was also quick and
painless. We drove right up to the front, and they had a National guy come
out and take the car. It was surprisingly easy, and there was nothing we
needed to do.
The Magic Kingdom bus arrived about 15 minutes after we sat down to wait,
and we climbed aboard. We were horribly late now... it was 11:30am... and
check out was suppose to be at 11am. John was now also stressing. We get
to the Magic Kingdom, catch the monorail, and head back to the Polynesian.
Our room key is still working, which is good, and we quickly begin packing
all of our stuff. When all is done, John calls Luggage Services to have
them move our luggage to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The guy was very
friendly and helpful, even if we did check in a million pieces. We had 2
suitcases (when we came down, we only had one, but packed it inside
another), a duffel-suitcase, a garment suitcase, my laptop bag, John's
carry-on bag, a box, and my wedding dress. A lot of this stuff was just
wedding stuff. I was really nervous about handing off the wedding dress,
but the CM assured me it would be well cared for.
As we are packing, I notice my knee. There is no longer a red welt.
Instead, there is a swollen, ugly, angry purple-black welt. John looks at
it and shakes his head, laughing. "Only you," he says. I bruise very
easily, and it is just so very fitting that I have a huge bruise on my knee.
I just hope it doesn't show in ANY pictures. No lifting of that dress,
John, when you go for the garter!
We stopped at the lobby, so I could adjust some of the numbers on our
Priority Seating reservations, as I had received some emails from some
guests who wanted to be added to the dinners. I forgot to mention that
yesterday, I had gone to the lobby and booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package
for 16 people at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant for Wednesday, and also
purchased e-Ride tickets for Tuesday night and picked up our tickets for
Mickey's Backyard BBQ. I needed to add a couple of people to the Fantasmic
dinner, and needed to add three people to our group dinner at Alfredo's in
Epcot on Saturday,
By now we realized we were hungry, and we went over to the Kona Café to grab
some lunch. Almost no one was there, and we were seated immediately. I'm
not usually a burger person, but I must have been missing something in my
diet, because I looked at the menu and saw a listing for a burger with
cheese and mushrooms and had a sudden craving. We both ordered burgers,
though John's was more of the bacon cheeseburger variety. The food came
quickly and was HOT (which was nice, since it was FREEZING inside the
Polynesian) and very good. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
We then headed outside to the Volcano Pool, to partake in our first bit of
real relaxation since we had arrived in Disney. I forgot to mention in my
last recap that we had tried to go swimming last night - after 7pm had
passes, and Kinko's had me stressed almost to the point of tears, John asked
me what he could do to help. And I said, "Go swimming with me. I need to
relax." So we put on our swimming gear and went outside... just as they
closed the Volcano Pool because of imminent thunderstorms. Grumble. We
walked over to the quiet pool and dove in, but we hadn't been in the water
for more than 5 minutes - maybe 10 - before the thunder rumbled from the
heavens, and we got out. Oh, well. I told John it would be a crime if we
stayed at the Polynesian Resort and yet never once used the pool (sadly,
though we spent 12 nights in Disney and 3 nights on the cruise, we got very
little pool time in). So we decided we would take an hour or so in the
middle of the day to enjoy the pool and relax a little.
The pool was a little crowded, but not nearly what you would expect for a
hot summer day. We took off our stuff and dumped them on a recliner near
the zero-entry side of the pool. The concrete was HOT and I was hopping
around trying not to burn my feet. We then ran into the water, splashing
around like little kids, and quickly took to bobbing in the wonderful
relaxing water. We spent some time under the waterfall, and then headed up
to the waterslide. Wheee! It was a lot of fun.
Finally, as the second hour came and went, we realized we needed to get out
and get a move on during our day. We still had so much to do. The concrete
was even hotter this time around. Ow! Thankfully the water dripping off us
formed a nice puddle we could stand in while getting dressed.
Our timing was perfect. No sooner were we dressed, walked up to the
monorail station, than did the next monorail show up. No wait for us! We
zoomed around to the Magic Kingdom, where we took a quick jaunt in so I
could get a drink (and we could say hello to the Castle - at SOME point we'd
get into the parks!). We then hopped the ferry over to the Wilderness
Lodge.
John's best man and his wife were staying at the Wilderness Lodge during
their stay, and were set to arrive on Wednesday (tomorrow). They were
actually staying in one of the Honeymoon Rooms, a fact which irked John a
little. Bryan (his best man) had heard about the room from us (since we
were staying there) and Bryan, never one to be outdone, not even by a groom
on his wedding/honeymoon, had to have the room, too. We walked up to the
front desk, and dropped off the gift bag. We then decided to take the ferry
back to the Magic Kingdom, and take a bus from there to the Port Orleans
Riverside resort. We took a brief stop at the Roaring Forks to grab drinks
(I was really thirsty today), and then headed down to catch the ferry.
Again, we had good timing. However, hindsight says we should have taken a
bus. The skies had turned dark while we were inside, and the pool was
closed due to imminent thunderstorms (common theme of the afternoons since
we had been here). We got onto the small ferry, and it began making its
way, first to Fort Wilderness, and then to the Magic Kingdom. There was a
roof on the ferry, but the sides were open. The ride got a little choppy as
the wind picked up and formed waves on the lake. And then the skies opened
up, the temperature dropped, and the rain came down in sheets. Lightning
lit up the horizons.
I looked at John and wryly said, "Now wouldn't it just be fitting, and our
luck, if lightning struck the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the luggage storage
went up in flames and my dress was destroyed?" We laughed, and thought no
more of that kind of thinking.
This would have all been fun to watch, if it weren't for the fact that we
were on the ferry with no where to go to get out of the rain, and the wind
was whipping the rain in sheets right under the canopy. We got soaked. And
we got chilly, too. We got even more wet, trying to keep the last two gift
bags from getting wet. I also had my Disney Fairy Tale Weddings tote bag
with stuff in it, too, and was also trying to keep that dry.
When we got to the Magic Kingdom dock, we stood looking at the rain for a
bit, hoping it would go away. There was a lot of uncovered ground between
the dock and the stands for the buses. But the rain showed no sign of
relenting. So finally we took a deep breath, and then ran as fast as we
could to the bus stops. My side was in stitches by the time we got there,
but at least most of our stuff remained (mostly) dry. It's very
uncomfortable running breakneck speed, hunched over a bag. LOL.
Again, we had luck with our timing, and caught a bus to the Port Orleans
resort almost immediately. We hopped on board, and shortly left for the
resort.
You would think, now that it was cooler, that the AC would be turned off.
But, no, Floridians love their AC, and it remained on and steady during our
drive to Port Orleans. I was FREEZING, and we didn't have a dry article of
clothing between us to help me warm up.
We get to the Port Orleans Riverside resort and hop off at the lobby. We
drop off the gift bag for our friends, Mish and Eric, who are staying here.
Again, they note the reservation to make sure they get the bag. We realize
now that it is well after 4pm, and we don't have the time to go to Downtown
Disney to drop off the last gift bag at the Marriott. We have Mickey's
Backyard BBQ at 6pm, and still need to get to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to
check in. And to get some dry clothes. I wouldn't have worried about
checking in so much were it not for the fact that we were wet and, more
importantly, my family was arriving today and currently had no means to get
in touch with me. I wanted to check-in so they could at least leave me a
message if necessary.
I made a quick peak around to see if there was anything near that had
something hot to drink. This being August, I wasn't really expecting it.
We didn't have time to hunt down the food court, and so we headed out to the
bus stop. Good thing, too, as the bus to the Animal Kingdom had just pulled
up.
Once we got to the Animal Kingdom, we hopped over to the Animal Kingdom
Lodge stop to await the next bus. Naturally, because we were now running
late, our timing with the buses was off. About ten minutes later, a bus
pulled in and we climbed aboard. Thankfully, the ride to the Animal Kingdom
Lodge was less than 5 minutes.
The weather was still miserable. It wasn't pouring cats and dogs any
longer, but it was still drizzly, and lightning was streaking across the
sky in all directions. It really was a sight to see. However, I wondered
if any of my family had made it into Disney. My Dad, stepmom Celeste, and
sister Jackie were scheduled to arrive at 5pm. With all that lightning, I
was sure they had been delayed or diverted. My mom, sister Julie, and her
boyfriend Ryan were scheduled to arrive close to 8pm. I was certainly the
same thing that had happened to us had happened to them - their flight was
delayed. But I guess we would soon find out.
We got off the bus and started walking down the covered walkway to the
entrance of the Animal Kingdom Lobby. The sound of African drums and music
filled the area, playing softly in the background. A growing sense of
excitement and anticipation filled us. We had been waiting for months to
see this resort, and we just couldn't wait. We tried to walk to enjoy the
area as we walked - there were drums and other African items everywhere, and
carvings in the walls - but at the same time, we kept wanting to run.
Disney's sense of the dramatic certainly held true even here. The doors
didn't open immediately into the lobby, but rather into a foyer, where two
great dark wooden doors with carvings open them stood before you. We pulled
open the doors, and for the first time gazed out about the lobby of the
Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was beautiful. It was breathtaking. We fell in
love.
As others had mentioned before, you could feel the same loving attention in
this lobby, and in the details of the resort, of the architect who designed
the Wilderness Lodge, and some things had a very familiar overtone to them.
But for anyone who said, or thought, that the AKL was just a remake of the
WL, that is completely wrong. The AKL is an unique resort unto itself, and
is so different in so many ways from its sister resort.
A rope and wood bridge spans across the lobby three floors above you,
connecting the two sides. African artifacts and décor are everywhere.
Towards the right, rocks rest among the lobby, remnants of the "volcano"
that once resided here (according to the Disney story of the lodge), but
where lava once flowed, water now does. It bumbles underneath another rope
bridge which connects you to the stairs leading down to the lounge, and then
further down to Boma's and to the door leading out to the pool, to the spa
services, and to Mara's (the food court). And directly in front of you down
at the end of the lobby, the entire front wall is all glass windows - five
stories of it - staring out at Arusha Rock - the focal point of the resort -
and the savannah which lays all around it.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
John fell completely in love with the lobby. After we had been here for a
while, he looked at me and said, "I feel almost as if I'm betraying the
Wilderness Lodge by saying this... but I have to say, I love this lobby
more." I chuckled. The Wilderness Lodge was our favorite resort. But our
stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was going to leave us undecided as to which
one we loved more. "Not that the WL lobby is any less beautiful or
stunning... but, well, it's FAMILIAR. It's patterned after the wilderness
of the Pacific Northwest. It's beautiful, but it's home. The kind of
wilderness we see everyday. This... this is exotic. It's different. You
can't walk out of your home and see this. I like its exoticness."
We started gazing around and exploring, and after about fifteen minutes,
realized we didn't have the time to do so. So we pledged to go exploring
when we came back.
I went to the front desk and checked in. We actually had our stay booked
under two reservations. When our original wedding date was August 27th -
before we had to move it because of my mom's science conference she did not
wish to miss (I don't think I need to go into those gruesome details again.
LOL. Let's just say it was a mess changing everything around, and our
wedding ended up costing us about $4500 more than planned because our
wedding date moved from a weekday to a weekend day, and went from Value
Season to Regular Season. My mom offered to pay the difference, but then
backed out of that agreement, and it left John and I in quite a financial
quagmire. And as such, has strained John's relation with my mom, which is
sad to see but quite understandable) - we had booked our stay under the
special Preview Rate of $179 per night for a Savannah View Room that Disney
had offered back in February. The AKL was originally going to be our first
resort, and we were originally going to spend 4 nights here. Well, when we
called to move the dates back, they were able to give me the rate for
Wednesday night (we already had it for Thursday), but it was unavailable for
Tuesday night. However, we are also Disney Club members, so we got Tuesday
Night at the Disney Club special of $105 per person per night, for a total
of $210. The Disney Club rate included taxes, so it was close to the same
amount (the $179 rate with tax was $198.69, so the difference was only
$11.31 and included passes to the Wide World of Sports). The CM who checked
us in made sure our reservations were linked, and booked the same room
number for our second reservation beginning tomorrow. She told us we would
just need to check in tomorrow morning before 11am to get our new room keys.
She asked if we had luggage, and we told her we had transferred over from
the Polynesian Resort and that luggage services should have our stuff. She
called over to them, and said they would be right along with our stuff.
Sure enough, while she was showing us where our room was and all the places
on property, Tobie from Luggage Services came over with a cart.
And what caught my eye immediately: my dress was not on the cart.
I had a moment of absolute panic. "Is that everything for Cook?" I asked.
John took my hand and squeezed it. He could sense my rising panic, and took
over. "There are three things missing," he told the man. "A box, a laptop
carry-on, and her wedding gown."
Tobie said that was everything that was under Cook, but he said he would go
back and check. It was a very long five minutes while I ran over and over
in my head what I would do if my gown went missing. Sure enough, he came
back with the missing luggage and my wedding gown. "Is one of your last
names Mangio?" he asked. Turns out that those three items had been checked
under Mangio. Which was very strange, since I had booked both the
Polynesian and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and thus both reservations were
under my name: Cook. But whatever the reason, I'm glad everything was
found, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Tobie then took us to our room, but along the way he gave us a guided tour
of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was a really neat experience, and it was
the first time I had ever been give a full-blown tour of the resort when
checking in. He also knew a lot, which was impressive. He answered all our
questions, and gave us a lot of info about the artifacts and different parts
of the resort. One of the amazing things about this resort was just the
sheer number of places to sit and watch the animals on the Savannah. There
were windows EVERYWHERE and chairs and couches, little nooks and crannies to
nestle in and watch, lounges where groups of you could relax and see the
animals. There was also a firepit inside the lounge to warm up - I
certainly stood next to that for a few moments! - and there was also a
firepit outside where nightly stories were told.
Our room was way down near the end of the left-side of the horseshoe (part
of the resort forms a horseshoe shape around the central savannah, Arusha).
Sunset Savannah - a mix of birds and animals - was to our left. Our room
itself looked out over Arusha Savannah (primarily animals, with some birds).
The third savannah was on the other side, near where the pool was, and was
primarily birds, with some animals. Our room was on the third floor, which
meant that it was level with the lobby.
We got to the room, and Tobie made a big production of opening it for us.
We then rushed in to feast our eyes on it. I took in the furniture -
beautiful handmade, carved dark wood - but we both rushed to the balcony,
pulled open the curtains, and rushed out to have our first look. We must
have made some noise, because the zebra near our balcony looked up from his
eating for a brief moment, though his companion continued munching. The
giraffe ignored us as well, eating contentedly from the tree right in front
of our balcony. There were a couple of wildebeests off to the side. A
viewing guide to the animals sat on our table. It was wonderful. It was
magical. Oh, yes, we were in love with this place. If Tobie hadn't entered
with our stuff and brought us back to ourselves, we probably would have
stayed out on the balcony for a long long time, just watching the animals.
After he left, we quickly pulled out clothes and changed. Because the
temperature had dropped earlier and we were chilly, we changed into jeans
and t-shirts. I pulled out my laptop, and tried again to send those files
to Kinko's. And Kinko's website proved again to be a nightmare. John
suggested that we forego the idea of giving out the custom CDs. But I was
stubborn on this point - I had lost many nights sleep on this matter. Was
my exhaustion to be for nothing?? Besides, these were our placecards for
our reception - each CD cover was going to be personalized with the guest's
name - so we needed to get them done. I was really stressed out right now,
ready to cry and all of a sudden not having fun. So I shut off the laptop,
resigned myself to the fact that I would not get it out tonight - but I
still had one more night, right? - and determined to go have fun at Mickey's
Backyard BBQ.
He calls Chuck, who agrees to help, and then emails the files to him. I
then change the message on our answering service to let everyone know the
room number and where we are, and we take off for dinner.
Naturally, we are running late, and we decide to take a taxi instead of a
bus. Of course, it takes just as long for the taxi to get here as it does
for a bus. So we're both a little concerned that we will lose our
reservations - and this meal is prepaid and cannot be refunded. Finally, we
get in the taxi, and we're off.
A word of advice for those reading this: do not take a taxi to Mickey's
Backyard BBQ or the Hoop-de-Doo Revue. If I had known then what I know now,
we would NEVER have spent the money on the taxi. We would have taken a bus
to the Magic Kingdom, and then a ferry to Fort Wilderness. Why is that?
Because for some reason the taxi's won't actually go INTO Fort Wilderness.
They drop you off at the lobby, which requires you to wait for a bus to take
you to the River Country / Pioneer Hall area. Gah!! So we pay the
ridiculous - RIDICULOUS! - cost of a taxi (I cannot believe you get charged
PER 20 SECONDS rather than by distance - I HATE paying for red lights!),
just miss the bus (it is pulling out as we are pulling in), and have to wait
for the next one. Finally it arrives, but it is about 6:30pm when we get to
the River Country Pavilion.
Thankfully, even though the tickets say our reservations are held for only
15 minutes, we are allowed in. There is a police officer checking IDs when
you enter, as the Backyard BBQ includes all you can drink alcohol (beer &
wine). If you pass the age test, you get a wristband to let servers know
you can have alcohol.
We walk into the Pavilion, which is full of families. There is a large
stage and a live band playing country music, and the Disney Characters -
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale - are in front of the stage, currently
signing autographs. They are all done up in Country/Western outfits.
For those who love BBQ food, this place was heaven. And thus, it was
paradise for John. We were both starving, and we hit the food counters
immediately. Hamburgers, hotdogs, ribs, chicken, salad, potato salad, cold
slaw, beans, fresh fruits and watermelon, desserts, and more. There was
more than enough for everyone to eat, and then some. John had at least two
servings of everything. LOL. He loves BBQ food, and could eat it forever.
We went and found seats, and I got us drinks (lemonade for him, iced tea for
me, and white zinfandel for the two of us for a nice little toast).
We had a lot of fun at the BBQ. The band really got into the performance,
leading everyone in dances and singing some great tunes. The characters
made constant appearances (they would be out for a half hour, leave for
twenty minutes, come back again, etc.) , signing autographs and dancing.
Everyone was having fun, and the atmosphere was infectious.
At one point in the evening, they called up everyone who was celebrating a
birthday and a did a Country-style happy birthday to them. They then
brought up people celebrating anniversaries. There were two couples
celebrating anniversaries, and then there was John and I - about to get
married. I had given them our names at the beginning of the evening. They
called us up last to join the anniversary couples. John just gave me a
resigned look, and I pulled him up on the stage. Only the husband of the
10th anniversary couple came on-stage. When they asked him where his wife
was, he said she was changing the baby's diaper. The announcer then looked
at John and said, "See? This is what you have to look forward to in ten
years." John made a move as is he was trying to flee and we laughed. We
both knew he wanted to be the parent changing the diapers - he wants
children badly.
They then sang, "I Hope You Dance," and John and I slow-danced with the
other two couples on the stage. I told him it was practice for Friday,
though he felt really nervous having so many people watching us. But by the
end, he was enjoying it as well, and afterwards he told me he was glad I did
that. We had so much fun.
They had several entertainment bits throughout the evening, with the two
announcers providing comic relief, and then performers coming out to do
Cowboy Tricks with lassos and whips. Finally, we both realized we should
go. John still needed to call his brother and his dad, and we had a few
more things to do. And if we wanted to make E-Ride at 10pm, we needed to
get going and get things done.
We walked across the beach to the docks, and just missed the ferry. I don't
think the CM even noticed us running towards it. But another boat came
along within fifteen minutes. We got to the Magic Kingdom, and were going
to trade our E-Ride Tickets in for the wristbands, but the line at Guest
Services was a mile long, so we decided we would come back. We then got a
bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge - perfect timing again - and settled in for
the ride.
We got back to the room a little after 9pm. We had a few messages waiting
for us when arrived. One was from my dad, letting me know that he and
Celeste had arrived and giving me his room number at the Caribbean Beach.
He said they would be getting a new room in the morning, as they only had a
smoking room available that night. Another one was from my sister, saying
that she was sitting alone at the All-Star Sports resort, and was wondering
what we were doing from dinner. We also had a message from Carol, our
coordinator, and another from Rev. Jack letting us know he had gotten the
ceremony. John then called his brother and dad. Neither of them were home,
so he left messages. I then opened up the laptop, and began the struggle
with Kinko's again - not something that was conducive to having fun, or
being free from stress. What good is this service if it won't complete an
upload??
By now, it is approaching 10:30pm, and John suggests that we forego E-Ride
tonight. At first, I don't want to - we already bought the tickets, so that
would be about $25 we are out - but at the same time, I am exhausted. John
is also tired, but the lack of sleep is really beginning to take its toll on
me. And we wouldn't get to the Magic Kingdom now till about 11pm if we were
lucky - and the idea of staying up till 1 or 2 am is not appealing to me.
We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and yet another early morning. So
I agree, and we forego E-Ride.
Kinko's just isn't working, and before I lose my mind, I decide to quit for
the evening. I can try again in the morning. I get an email from our DJ,
and I email him back regarding our music selection choices. We have the CDs
for the unusual songs for him to play.
We decide to take a little walk around the AKL, and head down to Mara's to
get our resort mugs and something to drink. The only downside to our room
is the distance to Mara's and to the Pool. It is a long walk. Though the
views through the windows are great. Right near our room, on Sunset
Savannah, is a watering hole, and there are many, many animals gathered
around it. We spent some time watching them.
We get to Mara's and walk in. We grab two mugs and walk up to the counter,
only to be told they are closed. Even though the literature you get when
you check-in says that it is open till 11pm, it is actually only open till
10:30pm. The registers are closed, but the Manager gives us free drinks of
our choice and tells us we can come back in the morning for our mugs.
We walk by the pool - so inviting and quiet at this time of night - and
resolve to come back and go swimming. We wander slowly back to our room,
taking time to explore a little. By the time we get back, however, it is
approaching midnight. We are tired, and the walk to the pool is long, and
so we give up on our resolve to swim. We can do it tomorrow.
We have a new message, this one again from my sister Jackie. She has called
to tell me that my Mom, my sister Julie, and her boyfriend Ryan, have not
yet arrived, and she is concerned. Their flight was due in near 8pm. I
give a call over to Jackie, and we talk for a bit. About five seconds after
she answers the phone, my mom, Julie, and Ryan show up. Like us on
Saturday, their flight had been delayed by the thunderstorms, and they only
just got in. My mom and Jackie were sharing a room, and Julie and Ryan had
the adjoining room. My brother Steven and Kevin were flying in tomorrow. I
find out from Jackie that her plane landed on time. She said it was scary
landing in all that lightning. I was really surprised, with the amount of
lightning activity, that they hadn't diverted the flight.
I get on the phone with my mom, and we talk for a bit. I let her know about
the family dinner tomorrow at the Hollywood & Vine in MGM Studios at 5:00pm.
She asks me some questions about wedding stuff, and I ask her if she got her
gift bag at check-in. She said that Jackie got them, and is handing it to
her now. I tell my mom about the green folder, and let her know that
everything regarding where to be when is in there. She asks what we are
doing tomorrow, and I say that we are spending the afternoon in MGM Studios
(my gown is being steamed in the morning). She tells me that she might join
us, and then says that she will call us in the morning to coordinate the day
together. That makes me happy - I am so looking forward to spending time
with my family at Disney. The last time we came to Disney as a family was
16 years ago - and I wish her a good night.
John and I then pull out the room service menu, and decide what we want for
breakfast. I hang the room service order on the doorknob, and then we go
and sit on the balcony for a long while. We say hello to the giraffe and
the zebras, who seem to like our stretch of the woods (to use a figure of
speech). The wildebeests are in a large horde nearby. It is peaceful and
quiet, and the serenity of the entire scene puts us both at ease.
Finally, as we realize we are half-asleep already, we climb into bed and
snuggle together, and soon fall asleep. Somehow it is after 1am again. So
much for a good, long night's sleep.
