DDad - 47, DDaughter 11
July 11th July 20th
Meticulous Planning
Most of our family trips have little in the way of planning. I am not the discount hound or coupon clipping type but this year I decided to look carefully into saving money. I made reservations a year ahead of time, purchased annual passes and a Disney dining card. This ended up saving us around $700 and was well worth it. I also had only luggage with wheels this year, no more lugging around like pack animals.
Based on the philosophy of Benjamin Franklin that change prolongs your life experiences we booked two hotels, the Coronado for 4 days and the Polynesian for 5.
The Two Day Drive
On the morning of July 10th I arrived at DDs house (ex-wife) to pick her up at 10 a.m. The car was decorated in a Disney theme and a large map of our trip was posted on the ceiling. I also had a string of LED lights and prerecorded music/voices from our favorites rides and other sources. She stepped into the car and just before the doors closed the voice from the monorail sounded, Please stand clear of .. More sounds were played at various points, which she really enjoyed.
The drive down from Maryland was excellent and we arrived at our hotel in South Carolina 8.5 hours later. I wont go into details but Howard Johnson was a dump, stay at the Hampton Inn (run by Hilton), it is much better. The next morning we left around 8 a.m. and arrived in great shape at the Coronado at 1 p.m.
Arrival
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/covey620/d1.jpg
DD made a point of stepping out first from the car "I want to be the first to plant a foot on Disney World!"; she was very excited to say the least.
Leaving the luggage behind we walked quickly to the front desk admiring the décor and pinching ourselves, we were here at last! The check in line was very short but something seemed amiss. Just as we stepped up the clerk informed us that the hotel was sold out due to a large group booking most of the rooms (more on this nefarious group later, lol).
I was stunned. What? After reservations made 11 months ago? Youre kidding! She muttered something about an upgrade and went into a back room. We had wanted to go to the Coronado for two years and this was the second time we were foiled. Argh .
The clerk finally came out with a smile and announced that at no extra charge we would get a room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge! Well I was still miffed and didnt have quite enough time to switch gears yet so I quietly said to DD is that ok?. She said yes, and we thanked the clerk but not as effusively as we should have, my apologies there.
The Hotel
The sun was beating down upon us as we arrived at the AKL. Most apropos as we were going to be in Africa, I noted with a wry smile. As we strode into the foyer waves of cool air rushed over us coinciding with a strange and exotic aroma. The interior was a feast for the eyes; mysterious dark corridors, a bridge spanning floors, foreign artifacts under glass cases, snug looking furniture, lamps made of shields and alluring fireplaces. I felt like a journalist staying at a sumptuous African hotel and envisioned cool evenings reading books by the fire. Hmm, I think Im going to really enjoy this place
We checked in quickly and our room (4002) was just off the main entrance. Every door to a room is decorated with a wooden shield, another fine touch. The room was not overly spacious but pleasingly decorated with fake mosquito nets hanging above each bed. The bathroom had dual sinks and the wallpaper displayed a map of Africa. I was pleasantly taken aback to find out we had a refrigerator as I had assumed that all resorts charged $10 for the privilige. The view was appealing and we had a small balcony to lounge around. No time to waste though, lunch was overdue
We stopped into the Mara food court for a quick bite. The menu was straightforward but attractive and you could preview dishes on live screens that rotated selections, nice feature. I ordered an African Stew and my daughter tried the pizza. The stew was served in specially designed bread and was simply marvelous, very flavorful and filling (I have since obtained the recipe from the Internet). After our brief meal we took off for Epcot in the car. Epcot is the park we always begin and end our Disney experiences with. Our special first/last ride is Spaceship Earth, one we had done first in 1999 when it took 20 minutes of cajoling a tearful daughter (it might be scary Daddy!) to go into. Needless to say, it is one of our mainstays now.
Epcot
I had read about the new Soarin ride and this was our main objective after Spaceship Earth. First on the agenda though was stopping by to see ourselves in the Leave A Legacy which we had done in 2004. Pretty neat see photo:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/covey620/d2.jpg
Coming into The Land we saw that the wait time for Soarin was 105 minutes, yipes! Nonetheless we steeled ourselves for the long wait as the adrenalin from being in WDW was still in full swing. The wait turned out to be 125 minutes and was made all the worse by a very noisy and boisterous contingent from Brazil (whom I suspect were the Group who had booked the Coronado). They banged on railings, trash cans, chanted and carried out very loud conversations. My daughter was so annoyed that she wanted to leave.
At last we came into the ride area. I could tell that this was going to be an incredible experience; there were rows of mobile seats and a giant curved screen ahead in the darkness. We were quickly whisked up into the dark and then all of a sudden an enormous panorama opened up before our eyes. Being the first time on this ride I felt the giddiness of flying high above the ground over spectacular vistas. I loved the added touch of the smell of orange groves as well. Two hours + but well worth it.
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/covey620/d3.jpg
Believe it or not it was dinnertime already and we had reservations at the Coral Reef. A very nice restaurant with one wall of sheer glass behind which many species of colorful fish moved about. Some of the kids had glowing ice-cubes in their drinks, lots of fun. I am a chocolate fiend and ordered the Chocolate Wave for dessert, it didnt disappoint.
Back to Hotel
After dinner we returned to the AKL, which looked even better in the dark. We went for a brief swim in the pool and then lay lazily in one of the remote hot tubs which was surrounded by vegetation. It was dark, steam was rising and there were faint sounds from the Savanna. Only my second day away and Disney had worked its magic, already civilization was far behind, I was totally relaxed and immersed into the experience. Following the swim we finished unpacking and settled in for a very comfortable night. One aspect of deluxe resorts that I really like is the central air conditioning. In 2003 I caught a nasty cold from a standalone unit blowing on me.
To be continued .
July 11th July 20th
Meticulous Planning
Most of our family trips have little in the way of planning. I am not the discount hound or coupon clipping type but this year I decided to look carefully into saving money. I made reservations a year ahead of time, purchased annual passes and a Disney dining card. This ended up saving us around $700 and was well worth it. I also had only luggage with wheels this year, no more lugging around like pack animals.
Based on the philosophy of Benjamin Franklin that change prolongs your life experiences we booked two hotels, the Coronado for 4 days and the Polynesian for 5.
The Two Day Drive
On the morning of July 10th I arrived at DDs house (ex-wife) to pick her up at 10 a.m. The car was decorated in a Disney theme and a large map of our trip was posted on the ceiling. I also had a string of LED lights and prerecorded music/voices from our favorites rides and other sources. She stepped into the car and just before the doors closed the voice from the monorail sounded, Please stand clear of .. More sounds were played at various points, which she really enjoyed.
The drive down from Maryland was excellent and we arrived at our hotel in South Carolina 8.5 hours later. I wont go into details but Howard Johnson was a dump, stay at the Hampton Inn (run by Hilton), it is much better. The next morning we left around 8 a.m. and arrived in great shape at the Coronado at 1 p.m.
Arrival
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/covey620/d1.jpg
DD made a point of stepping out first from the car "I want to be the first to plant a foot on Disney World!"; she was very excited to say the least.
Leaving the luggage behind we walked quickly to the front desk admiring the décor and pinching ourselves, we were here at last! The check in line was very short but something seemed amiss. Just as we stepped up the clerk informed us that the hotel was sold out due to a large group booking most of the rooms (more on this nefarious group later, lol).
I was stunned. What? After reservations made 11 months ago? Youre kidding! She muttered something about an upgrade and went into a back room. We had wanted to go to the Coronado for two years and this was the second time we were foiled. Argh .
The clerk finally came out with a smile and announced that at no extra charge we would get a room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge! Well I was still miffed and didnt have quite enough time to switch gears yet so I quietly said to DD is that ok?. She said yes, and we thanked the clerk but not as effusively as we should have, my apologies there.
The Hotel
The sun was beating down upon us as we arrived at the AKL. Most apropos as we were going to be in Africa, I noted with a wry smile. As we strode into the foyer waves of cool air rushed over us coinciding with a strange and exotic aroma. The interior was a feast for the eyes; mysterious dark corridors, a bridge spanning floors, foreign artifacts under glass cases, snug looking furniture, lamps made of shields and alluring fireplaces. I felt like a journalist staying at a sumptuous African hotel and envisioned cool evenings reading books by the fire. Hmm, I think Im going to really enjoy this place
We checked in quickly and our room (4002) was just off the main entrance. Every door to a room is decorated with a wooden shield, another fine touch. The room was not overly spacious but pleasingly decorated with fake mosquito nets hanging above each bed. The bathroom had dual sinks and the wallpaper displayed a map of Africa. I was pleasantly taken aback to find out we had a refrigerator as I had assumed that all resorts charged $10 for the privilige. The view was appealing and we had a small balcony to lounge around. No time to waste though, lunch was overdue
We stopped into the Mara food court for a quick bite. The menu was straightforward but attractive and you could preview dishes on live screens that rotated selections, nice feature. I ordered an African Stew and my daughter tried the pizza. The stew was served in specially designed bread and was simply marvelous, very flavorful and filling (I have since obtained the recipe from the Internet). After our brief meal we took off for Epcot in the car. Epcot is the park we always begin and end our Disney experiences with. Our special first/last ride is Spaceship Earth, one we had done first in 1999 when it took 20 minutes of cajoling a tearful daughter (it might be scary Daddy!) to go into. Needless to say, it is one of our mainstays now.
Epcot
I had read about the new Soarin ride and this was our main objective after Spaceship Earth. First on the agenda though was stopping by to see ourselves in the Leave A Legacy which we had done in 2004. Pretty neat see photo:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/covey620/d2.jpg
Coming into The Land we saw that the wait time for Soarin was 105 minutes, yipes! Nonetheless we steeled ourselves for the long wait as the adrenalin from being in WDW was still in full swing. The wait turned out to be 125 minutes and was made all the worse by a very noisy and boisterous contingent from Brazil (whom I suspect were the Group who had booked the Coronado). They banged on railings, trash cans, chanted and carried out very loud conversations. My daughter was so annoyed that she wanted to leave.
At last we came into the ride area. I could tell that this was going to be an incredible experience; there were rows of mobile seats and a giant curved screen ahead in the darkness. We were quickly whisked up into the dark and then all of a sudden an enormous panorama opened up before our eyes. Being the first time on this ride I felt the giddiness of flying high above the ground over spectacular vistas. I loved the added touch of the smell of orange groves as well. Two hours + but well worth it.
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/covey620/d3.jpg
Believe it or not it was dinnertime already and we had reservations at the Coral Reef. A very nice restaurant with one wall of sheer glass behind which many species of colorful fish moved about. Some of the kids had glowing ice-cubes in their drinks, lots of fun. I am a chocolate fiend and ordered the Chocolate Wave for dessert, it didnt disappoint.
Back to Hotel
After dinner we returned to the AKL, which looked even better in the dark. We went for a brief swim in the pool and then lay lazily in one of the remote hot tubs which was surrounded by vegetation. It was dark, steam was rising and there were faint sounds from the Savanna. Only my second day away and Disney had worked its magic, already civilization was far behind, I was totally relaxed and immersed into the experience. Following the swim we finished unpacking and settled in for a very comfortable night. One aspect of deluxe resorts that I really like is the central air conditioning. In 2003 I caught a nasty cold from a standalone unit blowing on me.
To be continued .
