On Sunday we headed to Blizzard Beach ($31 per adult/$25 per kid (3-9)). We had planned to go Friday, but the cooler weather made us wait. We arrived at the park at 10:15 (hours are 10-5PM), bought a soda mug ($10), rented towels ($1 each) and a locker ($7, includes a $2 deposit for the key). We headed to the "pre-teen" area (I can't remember the name - maybe Ski Patrol?). We found a good location in the shade. The kids and DH took off leaving me to relax in the sun and read my book. My DS (8) had a blast - he's not a big ride person, but he loved walking the ice bergs, going down the small slide and the tube slide. My DH & DD took off for the BIG rides - Summit Plummet, etc. We met back together for lunch from Avalunch/Avalanche? The kids had the PB&J kids meal (a smuckers crustless) with chips and soda (about $4), I had the chicken wrap (almost $6 - too expensive) and DH had the pork BBQ ($4) which he said was very tasty. Neither adult sandwich comes with chiip or anything.
After lunch, we all took off for the family raft ride. My DS screamed the entire way down (as I said, he's not big on rides). He refused to have his picture taken at the end and swore he would NEVER go on the ride again. (I won't ask him to either - poor kid). We grabbed tubes in the creek. My DS didn't want to do this either, but he relaxed after a bit, then I couldn't get him out! DD & DH left half way around the park for some faster thrills. After two full circles around the park I was able to talk DS out of the tube and back to our seats. I settled back down with my book. We all met up again around 3PM for ice cream ($2.50 for a small soft serve). Since the Bucs were playing at 4:15 we packed up and headed out (with a brief stop in the gift shop for a Blizzard Beach pin for DD and me!).
Back at the hotel we settled in for the game. At half time we hit Mara for burgers. They have the burger bar to fix it yourself - along with dressing like honey mustard and BBQ sauce. I got pretty creative. The burger was messy, but very good. The crinkle fries were so-so. I prefer a crispy french fry, these were a little too soft for me. We finished watching the Bucs lose to the Eagles
. Being a little depressed we decided to walk around the hotel to cheer ourselves up. We were all pretty pooped from our day at Blizzard Beach and turned in early. We're not party animals as you can tell.
Let me mention the noise level of the hotel room. We were on the end of a block of rooms, lobby level (3rd floor) but we didn't hear much people noise. We DID hear the darn Disney toilets. The AKL toilet must have super flush! They are incredibly noisy. I wish Disney would sound-proof the pipes or something. You could actually hear people peeing, then the toilet flush - WOOSH! Ick.
We slept really late Monday morning (for us 9AM). DH went to Mara and brought back breakfast - bagels & cream cheese, donuts, muffins and fruit. We ate, watched the animals for a bit then packed up to leave. We decided to stretch our vacation by playing at the pool for a few hours before driving home. We loaded everything in the car except our clothes to wear that day. We found a nice spot at the pool and played until lunchtime (around 1PM). We used the bathrooms next to Mara to change. The bathrooms were very clean. There are changing rooms, complete with showers in the back. The men's bathroom had a hair dryer. I didn't see one in the ladies (I'm sure it's there somewhere). We left through lobby after one last look around.
This was one of my favorite Disney trips ever even though we didn't spend much time in the parks. It was very laid back and relaxing. The CMs at the AKL were great, so were the CMs at Winter/Summerland golf and Blizzard beach. We left Disney via Hotel Blvd (Downtown Disney area) ate at the Bennigan's just past the I-4 overpass then headed for Clearwater.
I can't wait to go back!
After lunch, we all took off for the family raft ride. My DS screamed the entire way down (as I said, he's not big on rides). He refused to have his picture taken at the end and swore he would NEVER go on the ride again. (I won't ask him to either - poor kid). We grabbed tubes in the creek. My DS didn't want to do this either, but he relaxed after a bit, then I couldn't get him out! DD & DH left half way around the park for some faster thrills. After two full circles around the park I was able to talk DS out of the tube and back to our seats. I settled back down with my book. We all met up again around 3PM for ice cream ($2.50 for a small soft serve). Since the Bucs were playing at 4:15 we packed up and headed out (with a brief stop in the gift shop for a Blizzard Beach pin for DD and me!).
Back at the hotel we settled in for the game. At half time we hit Mara for burgers. They have the burger bar to fix it yourself - along with dressing like honey mustard and BBQ sauce. I got pretty creative. The burger was messy, but very good. The crinkle fries were so-so. I prefer a crispy french fry, these were a little too soft for me. We finished watching the Bucs lose to the Eagles
. Being a little depressed we decided to walk around the hotel to cheer ourselves up. We were all pretty pooped from our day at Blizzard Beach and turned in early. We're not party animals as you can tell.Let me mention the noise level of the hotel room. We were on the end of a block of rooms, lobby level (3rd floor) but we didn't hear much people noise. We DID hear the darn Disney toilets. The AKL toilet must have super flush! They are incredibly noisy. I wish Disney would sound-proof the pipes or something. You could actually hear people peeing, then the toilet flush - WOOSH! Ick.
We slept really late Monday morning (for us 9AM). DH went to Mara and brought back breakfast - bagels & cream cheese, donuts, muffins and fruit. We ate, watched the animals for a bit then packed up to leave. We decided to stretch our vacation by playing at the pool for a few hours before driving home. We loaded everything in the car except our clothes to wear that day. We found a nice spot at the pool and played until lunchtime (around 1PM). We used the bathrooms next to Mara to change. The bathrooms were very clean. There are changing rooms, complete with showers in the back. The men's bathroom had a hair dryer. I didn't see one in the ladies (I'm sure it's there somewhere). We left through lobby after one last look around.
This was one of my favorite Disney trips ever even though we didn't spend much time in the parks. It was very laid back and relaxing. The CMs at the AKL were great, so were the CMs at Winter/Summerland golf and Blizzard beach. We left Disney via Hotel Blvd (Downtown Disney area) ate at the Bennigan's just past the I-4 overpass then headed for Clearwater.
I can't wait to go back!
