JAMBO! The UN-official AKL Thread ~ UPDATED(short film/pg 8 & slideshow/pg 12) Part 2

[brookelizabeth]

...sooooooo, who's got some new AKL pix....?!??!?

I wish I did!! That would mean I was at the AKL recently! I'll have to go through my pics again and see if I have anything more to share...

Ronald Duck, you must have some AWESOME zoom on that camera of yours...very cool pic of EE.

 

[brookelizabeth]

...sooooooo, who's got some new AKL pix....?!??!?

I wish I did!! That would mean I was at the AKL recently! I'll have to go through my pics again and see if I have anything more to share...

Ronald Duck, you must have some AWESOME zoom on that camera of yours...very cool pic of EE.

 

[Cass]

Hey Cass,

Haven't had much time lately on the boards but wanted to say

((((((((((((((((((Thank You))))))))))))))))))).

Everyone enjoyed the show!

We had a great time and even got some dream fast passes, and YOAMD Mickey Ears!!!

and DS with his birthday button has never had so many cupcakes.

We were able to do the Magical fireworks cruise and our Patch was hilariuos!

I'm having big time withdrawal!

Hi Dreamer

You're welcome, I was just so happy someone could use the La Nouba tickets !

and thank you to you as well for offering us seats on your fireworks cruise. I'm sorry we already had other things planned.

It was really nice meeting a fellow DIS'er and I'm glad you had a great trip (with all the cupcakes)

 

[luvfigment]

Insomnia has its benefits

Did I hear a call for another AKL pic? Here's the view from a hall window three floors above us, between rooms 5016 and 5018:

That is a really neat picture...how much of a zoom was that????

 

[ppony]

No problem...I got it from Virtual Earth. BTW, I have one looking in each direction (I only posted the north-facing one), so if you'd see your room better with another view, let me know!

REALLY???? We were in the 3rd "pod" down from the lobby on the Kudu trail side. I'll PM you my e-dress IF it's not an imposition!!!!

AND I LOVED that pic of Everest! Did you get one of it at night? We were there one night and noticed it lit up and there must have been some event going no because we could hear an announcer saying "Expedition Everest is NOW OPEN!" and you could hear cheers! Lucky ducks! I THINK I got it on video but I'm not sure how to capture that off of the tape. If I can I'll post.

........I was wondering what 'cracked eggs' you were referring, until I linked onto that link I provided....Ooooops!

Tee hee hee! I had a feeling it was the wrong link! CUTEST monkey wiggle EVER!

THANKS also Cass for the usage of a pic or two in ye ol scrapbook! I'm finding my fondness for the AKL grown more and more each day. I get the feeling I'll be booking a 2008 room within 6 months. Normally we take 3 years or so to return. Darned resort! So I need to pay homage in the scrapbook and I wear my AKL t-shirt proudly!

Never mind me.... Back to your regularly scheduled AKL praise.

 

[Ronald Duck]

Good morning, all...Happy New Year's Eve Eve (also known as the last sober day of the old year)!

I was wondering whether you had morning sun on your balcony? We are staying at a pool view room in February and I have been thinking that it would be lovely to sit in the sunshine with a cup of tea (or better: a refillable mug with tea) in the sun on my balcony.

Hi Flossbolna! The Giraffe Trail Pool View rooms face northeast, so during our stay (at the Winter Solstice), the sun rose in the southeast and we didn't have morning sun. In early February things wouldn't be too different, but by late February the sunrise will be moving toward the due east, so you'd see it off to the right if you had a Giraffe Tail Pool View. If you were going during the Summer Solstice (when the sun rises in the northeast), then you'd get full sun in the morning (notice the shadows in the "bird's-eye" pic at the bottom of this post, which was taken in the summer). Of course, in mid-summer, it's too hot to enjoy except maybe right at sunrise!

Looking at Google Earth I have come to the conclusion that I ought to ask for Giraffe trail for a balcony with a view of the sunrise. Is this correct?.

If you want to enjoy the sunrise in February, your best bet would be to get a room over Boma, right off the lobby, since those rooms face southeast. A lot of people say they don't like being over the roof, though, and the pool view might be obscured.

Also, is there an exit directly from Giraffe trail to the bus stop area? It seems so stupid to head all the way back into the lobby (however breathtaking it is) and then down to the bus stop.

Yes, on the second floor there is a "back" exit very near the start of the bus stops...we were in 2020 and very close to it! Also, if you are on the 2nd or 3rd floor, you can walk to the stairwell behind the elevator and there is an outside exit (closer to Zawadi) between floors 2 and 3.

I've come to the conclusion that Ronald Duck has a natural flair for photography, a very artistic eye, plus a pretty decent camera!!

Thanks for the compliments, but be careful, I'll get a swelled head and then you're all in trouble. I confess I'm really proud of my pics this trip (I still have more to post!). My digital camera is nothing special...a Panasonic 5 megapixel with a plain old lens that I paid under $250 for this spring. For whatever reasons, this camera and I have just "clicked" (no pun intended), and I've gotten pretty good at digital editing.

Ronald Duck, you must have some AWESOME zoom on that camera of yours...very cool pic of EE.

That is a really neat picture...how much of a zoom was that????

I maxed out my 6X Optical Zoom...but because I always shoot at the highest resolution, I was able to crop it a lot and get good quality of the "mountain" (which my wife kept calling "Kilamanjaro" ). So I suppose with the cropping I did, it was effectively a 10-12X zoom.

Hey Ronald Duck tell us your photo secrets. I cant even get my
digital camera to work right at times.

1) Get up early, when the light is best and there aren't many people (my second favorite pic time is the hour before sunset).

2) Go ahead and make a fool of yourself in front of others if you see a cool view (you wouldn't believe some of the contorted positions I've been in )

3) Get a BIG memory card so you can take LOADS of pics and get rid of all but the best.

3) Get good at photo editing (if I do have any skill, it's in this area!)

I LOVED that pic of Everest! Did you get one of it at night?

No, I tried, but from AKL the lighting was too bright in the hallway, and it never works when you zoom by on the bus!

We were in the 3rd "pod" down from the lobby on the Kudu trail side. I'll PM you my e-dress IF it's not an imposition!!!!

Here's a smaller version of the bird's eye view looking west. If you can see your room, just PM me and I'll send you a much more detailed version!

 

[Ronald Duck]

Good morning, all...Happy New Year's Eve Eve (also known as the last sober day of the old year)!

I was wondering whether you had morning sun on your balcony? We are staying at a pool view room in February and I have been thinking that it would be lovely to sit in the sunshine with a cup of tea (or better: a refillable mug with tea) in the sun on my balcony.

Hi Flossbolna! The Giraffe Trail Pool View rooms face northeast, so during our stay (at the Winter Solstice), the sun rose in the southeast and we didn't have morning sun. In early February things wouldn't be too different, but by late February the sunrise will be moving toward the due east, so you'd see it off to the right if you had a Giraffe Tail Pool View. If you were going during the Summer Solstice (when the sun rises in the northeast), then you'd get full sun in the morning (notice the shadows in the "bird's-eye" pic at the bottom of this post, which was taken in the summer). Of course, in mid-summer, it's too hot to enjoy except maybe right at sunrise!

Looking at Google Earth I have come to the conclusion that I ought to ask for Giraffe trail for a balcony with a view of the sunrise. Is this correct?.

If you want to enjoy the sunrise in February, your best bet would be to get a room over Boma, right off the lobby, since those rooms face southeast. A lot of people say they don't like being over the roof, though, and the pool view might be obscured.

Also, is there an exit directly from Giraffe trail to the bus stop area? It seems so stupid to head all the way back into the lobby (however breathtaking it is) and then down to the bus stop.

Yes, on the second floor there is a "back" exit very near the start of the bus stops...we were in 2020 and very close to it! Also, if you are on the 2nd or 3rd floor, you can walk to the stairwell behind the elevator and there is an outside exit (closer to Zawadi) between floors 2 and 3.

I've come to the conclusion that Ronald Duck has a natural flair for photography, a very artistic eye, plus a pretty decent camera!!

Thanks for the compliments, but be careful, I'll get a swelled head and then you're all in trouble. I confess I'm really proud of my pics this trip (I still have more to post!). My digital camera is nothing special...a Panasonic 5 megapixel with a plain old lens that I paid under $250 for this spring. For whatever reasons, this camera and I have just "clicked" (no pun intended), and I've gotten pretty good at digital editing.

Ronald Duck, you must have some AWESOME zoom on that camera of yours...very cool pic of EE.

That is a really neat picture...how much of a zoom was that????

I maxed out my 6X Optical Zoom...but because I always shoot at the highest resolution, I was able to crop it a lot and get good quality of the "mountain" (which my wife kept calling "Kilamanjaro" ). So I suppose with the cropping I did, it was effectively a 10-12X zoom.

Hey Ronald Duck tell us your photo secrets. I cant even get my
digital camera to work right at times.

1) Get up early, when the light is best and there aren't many people (my second favorite pic time is the hour before sunset).

2) Go ahead and make a fool of yourself in front of others if you see a cool view (you wouldn't believe some of the contorted positions I've been in )

3) Get a BIG memory card so you can take LOADS of pics and get rid of all but the best.

3) Get good at photo editing (if I do have any skill, it's in this area!)

I LOVED that pic of Everest! Did you get one of it at night?

No, I tried, but from AKL the lighting was too bright in the hallway, and it never works when you zoom by on the bus!

We were in the 3rd "pod" down from the lobby on the Kudu trail side. I'll PM you my e-dress IF it's not an imposition!!!!

Here's a smaller version of the bird's eye view looking west. If you can see your room, just PM me and I'll send you a much more detailed version!

 

[TiggerAllie]

RD-- what version of Google Earth do you have? You get such higher resolution pictures!

 

[ugadog99]

We just returned last night from yet another perfect trip at AKL. Some may remember that our first trip was over Labor Day weekend as a surprise for my 16 year old's birthday. On that trip we were on the Giraffe Trail in a poolview room, maybe 4025? (I have it written down somewhere.) So, for this trip I just booked a standard with an AP because that was all I could find. I tried for WEEKS and WEEKS to get an upgrade, but none were available. Well, imagine my surprise when, at check in, a wonderful CM named Kenzo told me we had been upgraded to poolview, the room was ready, and it had bunks! Woo Hoo! It was on Zebra Trail, first floor, 1464. It was perfect. Two doors down was the laundry and the exit to the pool and Mara and the elevators. I was a little concerned at first because it was down from Simba's, but there was no noise at all. It wasn't much of a poolview because of the trees, chairs, and such, but no matter, it was way better than a parking lot. I think we have decided that this resort is "home" now. We are planning our next trip for June and will hopefully be bringing my mother with us.

Oh, and for the bus situation, even as crowded as everything was, we never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. The only exception to that is DTD and the many, many stops they make on the way back. We only had to stand once and that was from AK to AKL, so how bad could that be?

All in all, a perfect trip and we can't wait to return.

 

[ppony]

BANG! RD!!! You are MAGIC! THANK YOU!!!!

 

[Ronald Duck]

RD-- what version of Google Earth do you have? You get such higher resolution pictures!

I downloaded Microsoft's Virtual Earth because it has really high resolution Bird's Eye Views. You can try it out without downloading it:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v...lt=-89.875918865193&dir=0&alt=7689462.6842358

 

[brookelizabeth]

Welcome back ugadog99! Glad you had another wonderful trip!!!

Ronald Duck, when is your first favorite picture time? I used to do a lot more photography, and I know what you mean about you and a camera "clicking", I'm like that with mine, but we've been using DH's lately because it's so much smaller. I haven't had any time to edit photos, I really should get back into that because I know I would be MUCH happier with my Disney pics and pics from my recent Israel trip... Anyway, my favorite time is just before dusk, the lighting is always awesome, and I don't have to get up early!

 

[Flossbolna]

Good morning, all...Happy New Year's Eve Eve (also known as the last sober day of the old year)!

Hi Flossbolna! The Giraffe Trail Pool View rooms face northeast, so during our stay (at the Winter Solstice), the sun rose in the southeast and we didn't have morning sun. In early February things wouldn't be too different, but by late February the sunrise will be moving toward the due east, so you'd see it off to the right if you had a Giraffe Tail Pool View. If you were going during the Summer Solstice (when the sun rises in the northeast), then you'd get full sun in the morning (notice the shadows in the "bird's-eye" pic at the bottom of this post, which was taken in the summer). Of course, in mid-summer, it's too hot to enjoy except maybe right at sunrise!

If you want to enjoy the sunrise in February, your best bet would be to get a room over Boma, right off the lobby, since those rooms face southeast. A lot of people say they don't like being over the roof, though, and the pool view might be obscured.

Yes, on the second floor there is a "back" exit very near the start of the bus stops...we were in 2020 and very close to it! Also, if you are on the 2nd or 3rd floor, you can walk to the stairwell behind the elevator and there is an outside exit (closer to Zawadi) between floors 2 and 3.

thanks a lot for all the info! I am impressed about the detailed advise you could give me with regard to sunshine on pool view balconies! However, I am still absolutely undecided what would be the best location to request as all the pool view rooms seem to have certain advantages... I guess the good thing is that I ought to be happy with any room that we might get - as long as we do not get "upgraded" to a people pen view!

 

[RachelTori]

thanks a lot for all the info! I am impressed about the detailed advise you could give me with regard to sunshine on pool view balconies! However, I am still absolutely undecided what would be the best location to request as all the pool view rooms seem to have certain advantages... I guess the good thing is that I ought to be happy with any room that we might get - as long as we do not get "upgraded" to a peoples' pen view!

In November, when I was upgraded to a "people pen" view, I went back and very nicely asked for a different location and it was not a problem to get a room I was happy with (still upgraded from standard to savannah!)

 

[Flossbolna]

In November, when I was upgraded to a "people pen" view, I went back and very nicely asked for a different location and it was not a problem to get a room I was happy with (still upgraded from standard to savannah!)

That's good to know, however we will arive at MCO at 7:00 pm on February 7 and then have to takte Magical Express to AKL. I am afraid that there might not be much choice of rooms left over, especially since AKL seems to be sold out for that night! But since we are staying for 8 nights, I am prepared to move room after the first night if I do not like the room. I just need to convince my friend, whom I am travelling with, that even with a bad jet lag moving room is what she really wants to do!!!

 

[RachelTori]

That's good to know, however we will arive at MCO at 7:00 pm on February 7 and then have to takte Magical Express to AKL. I am afraid that there might not be much choice of rooms left over, especially since AKL seems to be sold out for that night! But since we are staying for 8 nights, I am prepared to move room after the first night if I do not like the room. I just need to convince my friend, whom I am travelling with, that even with a bad jet lag moving room is what she really wants to do!!!

We'll think *happy thoughts* for you that you get a great room that 1st night! Here's some pixiedust for your trip:

 

[piggy]

Hi! We will be going Feb.19-23, I have booked a pool view room is there any room that we do not won't or a certain section we should ask for? Thank you for any advice this is our first time to stay at a deluxe.

 

[luvfigment]

Hi! We will be going Feb.19-23, I have booked a pool view room is there any room that we do not won't or a certain section we should ask for? Thank you for any advice this is our first time to stay at a deluxe.

I am sure someone will come along and do a better job but personally I would request something on the 3rd floor or higher (it will only be the 3rd or 4th floor b/c concierge and delux is on the 5th and 6th floor). I was upgraded last year to a pool view on the first floor and had a great room but not a "pool view." The view was more a beautiful vegetation view with sounds of the pool...better than a parking lot though.

 

[kimmar067]

We just returned last night from yet another perfect trip at AKL. Some may remember that our first trip was over Labor Day weekend as a surprise for my 16 year old's birthday. On that trip we were on the Giraffe Trail in a poolview room, maybe 4025? (I have it written down somewhere.) So, for this trip I just booked a standard with an AP because that was all I could find. I tried for WEEKS and WEEKS to get an upgrade, but none were available. Well, imagine my surprise when, at check in, a wonderful CM named Kenzo told me we had been upgraded to poolview, the room was ready, and it had bunks! Woo Hoo! It was on Zebra Trail, first floor, 1464. It was perfect. Two doors down was the laundry and the exit to the pool and Mara and the elevators. I was a little concerned at first because it was down from Simba's, but there was no noise at all. It wasn't much of a poolview because of the trees, chairs, and such, but no matter, it was way better than a parking lot. I think we have decided that this resort is "home" now. We are planning our next trip for June and will hopefully be bringing my mother with us.

Oh, and for the bus situation, even as crowded as everything was, we never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. The only exception to that is DTD and the many, many stops they make on the way back. We only had to stand once and that was from AK to AKL, so how bad could that be?

All in all, a perfect trip and we can't wait to return.

...yes, I remember!! BTW, W-T-G on the DOUBLE-DOSE of !!

 

[luvfigment]

Happy New Year's Eve AKL Lovers!!! Anybody for some Champagne and Zebra Domes (and other yummy desserts)????

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!!!!