mickeymom629
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2002
- Messages
- 2,553
Hi all!
DD and I went to the PHM weekend and never set foot in a park, for the first time ever! Of course, this wasn't what the weekend was about and I really wanted to enjoy the two resorts we had never stayed in. Plus, we were there without the men in our family.
We stayed in a Jambo, savanna view studio (5022?? I forget) for 2 nights. We loved the view and the resort!!! My only complaint, as others have said, is that the rooms are very dimly lit. Even with my reading glasses, I couldn't read fine print
At first I was a little disappointed that we didn't have the zebra/giraffe view since I thought I had specifically requested it. But I can see that some of those balconies may have a tree obstructing the view 
. Our balcony was in the corner facing the horned animals and 3 very funny donkey-looking/zebra family animals. They were so mischievous and I got a great video of them! The balcony didn't feel very "private", since we could see the other balconies to the right of us, along the other side of the L we were on.
We ate several meals at The Mara and one at Sanaa. Enjoyed them both. The pool area was beautiful, though we only walked around taking pictures. We did the night-vision one night. Loved that there were large fire pits inside and out to sit around, though we never did. Saw children and adults enjoying the free marshmallow roasting.
Then we moved (by taxi) to BLT for 2 nights in a 1-bedroom MK view (8220). This was a totally different experience! Everyone was very nice at both resorts, maybe a little more at BLT when checking in. I thought staying here for the half marathon on Sunday morning would be a good idea for taking the monorail to and from the race, and for seeing Wishes if we didn't go to a theme park. Well, we went to bed at 8 on Saturday night (our alarms were set to wake at 1:30 a.m.!!), only to be woken to the BOOMS of Wishes at 10! We could also hear the ferry boats honking, and the train whistles. But, even though we bought a one-day pass to the MK for using after the marathon, we ended up not going and watching Wishes from our balcony on Sunday was great! We listened to the t.v. while doing so. I think that, no matter what your view is at BLT, you would still be woken by the sounds of Wishes if you go to bed before. I may be wrong, but it was very loud!
We ate several meals at the Contempo Café (loved the grilled chicken sandwich with steamed green beans!) and one dinner at the Wave, which was very good.
Seeing the animals and then Wishes from our balconies was not at all like being in AK or MK, but they were definitely cool experiences! We usually stay at BWV and love the proximity to EPCOT and HS, or OKW and love the big villas and proximity to DTD.
We enjoyed both resorts, but I think we preferred AKV if I had to choose, particularly for this trip. Maybe I would feel differently if we had gone to the parks because we would have had to take buses from AKV to everything.
We spent a lot of time in our villas this trip, so using the points for the view was definitely worth it. But you can see the animals at AKV just by walking outside, and you can watch Wishes from several viewing areas at BLT/Contemporary. So, imo, if you are not planning to be in your villa much, I don't think it's necessary to use extra points for special views.
DD and I went to the PHM weekend and never set foot in a park, for the first time ever! Of course, this wasn't what the weekend was about and I really wanted to enjoy the two resorts we had never stayed in. Plus, we were there without the men in our family.
We stayed in a Jambo, savanna view studio (5022?? I forget) for 2 nights. We loved the view and the resort!!! My only complaint, as others have said, is that the rooms are very dimly lit. Even with my reading glasses, I couldn't read fine print
At first I was a little disappointed that we didn't have the zebra/giraffe view since I thought I had specifically requested it. But I can see that some of those balconies may have a tree obstructing the view . Our balcony was in the corner facing the horned animals and 3 very funny donkey-looking/zebra family animals. They were so mischievous and I got a great video of them! The balcony didn't feel very "private", since we could see the other balconies to the right of us, along the other side of the L we were on.We ate several meals at The Mara and one at Sanaa. Enjoyed them both. The pool area was beautiful, though we only walked around taking pictures. We did the night-vision one night. Loved that there were large fire pits inside and out to sit around, though we never did. Saw children and adults enjoying the free marshmallow roasting.
Then we moved (by taxi) to BLT for 2 nights in a 1-bedroom MK view (8220). This was a totally different experience! Everyone was very nice at both resorts, maybe a little more at BLT when checking in. I thought staying here for the half marathon on Sunday morning would be a good idea for taking the monorail to and from the race, and for seeing Wishes if we didn't go to a theme park. Well, we went to bed at 8 on Saturday night (our alarms were set to wake at 1:30 a.m.!!), only to be woken to the BOOMS of Wishes at 10! We could also hear the ferry boats honking, and the train whistles. But, even though we bought a one-day pass to the MK for using after the marathon, we ended up not going and watching Wishes from our balcony on Sunday was great! We listened to the t.v. while doing so. I think that, no matter what your view is at BLT, you would still be woken by the sounds of Wishes if you go to bed before. I may be wrong, but it was very loud!
We ate several meals at the Contempo Café (loved the grilled chicken sandwich with steamed green beans!) and one dinner at the Wave, which was very good.
Seeing the animals and then Wishes from our balconies was not at all like being in AK or MK, but they were definitely cool experiences! We usually stay at BWV and love the proximity to EPCOT and HS, or OKW and love the big villas and proximity to DTD.
We enjoyed both resorts, but I think we preferred AKV if I had to choose, particularly for this trip. Maybe I would feel differently if we had gone to the parks because we would have had to take buses from AKV to everything.
We spent a lot of time in our villas this trip, so using the points for the view was definitely worth it. But you can see the animals at AKV just by walking outside, and you can watch Wishes from several viewing areas at BLT/Contemporary. So, imo, if you are not planning to be in your villa much, I don't think it's necessary to use extra points for special views.
