Just back from AKL with MIL!

[leighe]

I'll try to post a trip report later, but I just had to take a quick minute (still in the midst of unpacking) to say how much I loved AKL! I have stayed in/visited almost every WDW resort and none has ever struck me the way AKL did! It was sooooo beautiful and relaxing! Check-in took no more than 10 minutes and our rooms were ready even though it was about 10 in the morning. MIL and FIL were very impressed. It put MIL in such a good mood for the rest of the trip.

The pool was wonderful and I loved the Victoria Falls Mist drinks at the pool bar. Boma was great and Jiko was to die for! DH and I stayed in one night and had the Sunset Dining Package set up on our balcony. It was great and soooooo romantic!

Oh - I had an aromatherapy wrap and massage at the fitness center and it was heavenly! Really, it was just as good as the spa treatments I have had at the GF. I would recommend it to anyone.

MIL and FIL ended up being so impressed with WDW that they snuck away one day, took a DVC tour and ended up buying into SSR! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaa (one one hand, on the other - more trips with MIL ).

MIL was an angel for most of the trip but there were times when I could have strangled her! For instance - she and FIL are very tight with money (in certain places - theme parks apparently being one of them.) She about had a heart attack any time DH or I bought anything to eat or drink in any of the parks. She kept saying, "Well, I had two bowls of cereal this morning - that milk will hold me all day. I'm stuffed." She and FIL waited outside Alfredo's while DH and I ate lunch! DH told me to stop feeling guilty and just to enjoy myself and forget about her acting so silly but it was just really hard. Any time I bought anything she'd say, "Well dear, you were just a little spoiled. Mike (DH) wasn't brought up that way." I guess I should be glad - all that money they could have spend on bottled water went to DVC instead. I'm just not sure if I can go there with her again!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

So glad you loved AKL, it is our favorite resort!! Too bad your MIL couldn't just relax and go with the flow - you're on vacation! I can't even imagine how my MIL would react to the prices, though, she hasn't really gone anywhere for vacation. Too expensive, they say.

Isn't AKL fabulous? We love Jiko and Boma, and the whole resort just makes me smile!

Welcome back!

 

[goodferry]

Welcome home I am glad you enjoyed your trip, and I must say you are very brave to travel with your in-laws! I think my fil would take one look at the ticket prices and keel over.

 

[disneydreamer1970]

AKL is our favorite resort as well!!!! There is just something about the smell when you walk in and that relaxing atmosphere!! I am so glad that you had a wonderful time!! I can't wait to experience it again in November!!

 

[Mercy]

I'm glad you enjoyed AKL so much! Sorry about your in-laws and your MIL's comment about you being spoiled... that would have done it for me... you're a better woman than I am!

Being your inlaws are so tight, I'm surprised they bought into DVC.

 

[jacksmom]

leighe, Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay at AKL! We have a concierge room booked for the end of Sept. I would love to hear more about the sunset dining package??? It sounds lovely! Also, would love to hear more about the spa? I usually get a swedish massage at the GF, but the spa at AKL would be so much more convienent! If you get time, could you compare the two for me??? Thanks so much!

 

[BambiTamby]

First of all, WELCOME BACK, leighe!

So glad that you enjoyed AKL!
Now , you know why wwe rave about this place!

Lots of HUGS to you, too~
I was wondering how your MIL trip was going.....

Good to see you back and looking forward to your trip report!

 

[BambiTamby]

That aromatherapy massage and body wrap is
F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S !!!!!!!!

It's a 110-minute hour package that includes a FULL body swedish massage, and a body wrap with heated towels and lots of wonderful oils!
Birch and lavender were my choice oils.

FULL RELAXATION!!!!!



Worth every penny of the $175 and tip!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

read the trip report by kilee
her mil was along
all i can say is shes a saint i would have killed my dh and mil

 

[lillygator]

welcome back!!

Please post more info on the in room dining, we are heading up in May and would love to do this!

 

[#1hockeymom]

Welcome back! I am so glad you enjoyed AKL, despite MIL weirdness! Can't wait to read your trip reports!

 

[ncbyrne]

I have a MIL and I am a MIL. Travel alone. It works best on both sides...

 

[Disney Debbie]

Well - when they have their "own" place there they can cook in the villa - so it will probably be better in the future.

My in-laws are very tight in normal life - but the one time they went with us they surprised us by paying for everything but the tickets. It makes the frugality worth it if you're willing to splurge for the special things!

 

[leighe]

MIL and FIL are retired and travel all the time, so I guess their frugality pays off. They are really into timeshares. DVC is the second one they have now.

The in-room dining was great! It was 79.95 (not including all the extra room-services charges and tip - it's hard to keep track) and included a salad course, then a choice of any entree off of the room service menu ( I had the shrimp which tasted exaclty like the shrimp at Jiko - DH had the roasted chicken and it was really good too), and desert - we were told the desert varies. We had something very similar to the zebra domes they serve at Boma - yummy! It also included bread and a bottle of wine (DH knows a lot more about wine than I do, but we had some kind of South African merlot). The room service staff will come and set the dinner up for you on your balcony with a table cloth, nice china, etc. It was just wonderful! It was so relaxing (and we both felt so extravagant imagining what MIL would say if she knew what we were doing and what we had spent !) It's very romantic, so make sure you have some quiet time afterwards!

The biggest difference between the spa at AKL and GF is that AKL isn't really a spa - it's a health club with a few massage and treatment rooms. It's not quite as posh as the GF. However, that didn't bother me at all. The African music that they piped in was fabulous. It gave the whole experience a rather exotic quality - quite unlike any spa treatment I'd had before.

 

[lillygator]

sounds great especially if it was $79....all ears has it on the dining as $99....
so did you plan ahead of time or did you order it that day? What time of evening did they set up? was it set up before you got there and then they delivered the food?

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Glad you enjoyed AKL. This is our favorite resort. We are going back at the end of May. YEAAA!!!!

 

[jetgrrl]

Hooray! We've booked our Honeymoon (or Disneymoon) for AKL in August. I'm getting so excited at this point that I'm spending more time thinking about the Disney stuff than the wedding stuff! LOL!

Great to hear another person had a wonderful time there.

 

[leighe]

I called and requested in-room dining on Monday morning for Tuesday evening. I think they like at least 24 hours notice, but I'm sure it depends on how busy they are. We didn't think the resort seemed very crowded at all. We asked for about 7 or so. They left us a message during the day confirming the time we had requested. We had just gotten back from AK when they came to set up so we went for a walk so we wouldn't be in the way. I'm not sure what they would do if you weren't there. That's probably something you could ask when you called to schedule. I'm pretty sure there was a cancellation policy but I can't remember now. Anyway, it was lovely and I would recommend it to anyone!

 

[lissawynn]

Welcome back from your trip!
I'm still undecided about our resort for my b-day trip next April. I'm considering splitting the stay between the Poly and AKL. It's always nice to see reports about AKL.
As far as your MIL is concerned, mine has made comments similar to the ones yours made. DH is her only son (he has 4 sisters), and I think she's still having time realizing she is not THE woman in his life anymore. DH wanted to vacation with them this summer (Myrtle Beach, SC) and I pretty much said no way. I don't think it would be much of a vacation for me!