lmk
Dedicated to Elise - Elmo's biggest fan!
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2002
- Messages
- 237
Hello everyone! I promised this trip report so I'd better get right on it. Overall the trip was great - unfortunately our daughter didn't sleep much because she was teething so mommy and daddy spent much of the vacation in a sleep-deprived blur. Anyhow, here goes.....
I'll start with dining since that was my favourite part!!
Dinner Boma - we enjoyed our meal there - I would say it was great for a buffet but in comparison to other meals, average. We didn't find it overly spicy or adventurous so for those of you with concerns about the picky eaters in your group I don't see a problem. I think everyone could find something there. They even had chicken fingers, penne with meatballs, fries etc. My favourites - salmon with coconut curry sauce, butternut squash soup and banana bread pudding.
Breakfast Boma - I LOVED the omelettes - had one every day. I don't know what they do to them but they were delicious. My husband really enjoyed the Frunch juice - I found it a little too sweet. They had a really good selection of both hot and cold foods and were more than willing for us to take a cup of fruit loops with us for our daughter. As others have mentioned, when we told the waitress of our daughter's egg allergy they brought the chef out. He found some egg free banana muffins for her that she loved and he made a waffle for her. Unfortunately I can't remember the first chef's name but chef Eddy was great - even played with our daughter a bit. We were really impressed with the way they handle food allergies.
Lunch Mara - good for a quick lunch although a bit short on healthy items. Speaking of healthy the cheesecake was pretty yummy!!
Dinner Jiko - once again did not disappoint and continues to be our favourite. I had to have the filet again and it was amazing. We started with the African Breads with Dips and it was great. The Creme Brulee for dessert was interesting - fresh pistachio pieces. I liked it but it was a little strange since I usually expect Creme Brulee to be sweet and somehow the pistachios made it not taste as sweet. I think I would try something else next time for dessert. We requested Mike R. as our waiter since we had a really special time 2 years ago when he was our waiter. I think we put too much pressure on the poor guy when we told him he was the best waiter we'd ever had. He managed to do a great job dexpite it being very busy. With our daughter in the care of Kids Nite Out, it was once again a special night.
Dinner Spoodles - another great dinner. We started with the assortment of dips and I had the gnocchi. My husband had the salmon. Both were delicious. Someone was teething badly that evening so we had to eat very quickly. The waiter was very understanding and accomodating. We will definitely go back.
Lunch - Epcot Food and Wine. We tried the potato pancake wiht sauerkraut (okay), perogies (okay - mind you my mom makesthe best perogiesin the world so it's really hard to stack up), morrocan couscous (delicious), lemon chicken withrice (good) and a funnel cake for dessert (yummy).
Breakfast - Fresh- Loved it!!!! From the fresh squeezed juices to the Starbucks coffee and the absolutely delicious pancakes I loved everything about this place. I will absolutely go back. Yummy!!!
Lunch - Whispering Canyon - we had a great time there. Our waitress was funny without being obnoxious. The food really hit the spot. I had the nachos and my husband and the pulled pork sandwich. Both were great.
Breakfast - Trails End Buffet - my biggest disappointment. I was expecting a lot more. I found the buffet sparse and not particularly flavourful. This is the only place I would not bother with in the future although the setting was really nice. We parked there and took the boat over to MK which was really relaxing (this was our full day to ourselves with baby being minded by Kids Nite Out)
ACCOMODATIONS: We stayted at AKL. My biggest recommendation - DO NOT make reservations on the internet. I had to change our reservation several times for various reasons and had to book our first night online because there was no longer any availability through disney by phone. I thought the worst part was going to be paying rack rate but when we got there, they didn't have us checking in until the next day (the original reservation made on the phone). The extremely nonsympathetic CM finally found us a room but told us we would have to switch rooms after the first night because someone had our room booked after the first night. I found this really odd since I had requested specific rooms and was told that they could not guarantee this ahead of time so how could they have pre-assigned someone to our room for 2 nights later??? Anyhow, the whole point of booking at AKL that extra night was to avoid having to switch rooms (our original reservation would have had us at WL for one night and then switching to AKL). Finally, after about 45 minutes the CM found us a room that we could stay in for the entire vacation. Sadly, I think our view suffered since we got placed in the Uzima trail directly overtop of the people pen. Princess Pooh if you're reading this I had a laugh when I saw it since it just figured that's where we got put after our conversation! I thought the hotel was beautiful and loved the views of the animals. the gift shop was great and the viewing areas very peaceful. I may get attacked for saying this but....... in my opinion, I didn't think it was worth the cost. It was very nice but in a contrived sort of way (for example - the logs that form the outside of the building are fake with fake rope). I felt somehow like I was being "sucked in " to feel like I was in Africa. That may sound strange but just the feeling I had. For those lookin for hidden mickeys - the carpets in the hallways have them!
Theme Parks - they were surprisingly busy. We were there 2 years ago same time of year and were getting on rides twice in a row without waiting at all. This time we waited almost an hour for splash mtn, 40 minutes for test track. I think people have really caught on that November is a good time to go.
Shopping - Premium Outlet Malls - just loved it here. I went with the intention of buying a pair of shoes and left with an entire new gym wardrobe including running shoes, several pairsof pants, shoes, a purse and a bunch of stuff for my husband and daughter. There were some great bargains but you did have to look for them. I could have spent all day there if I'd had the time (and a husband who likes shopping.....)
I think that's about it. Thanks again to everyone for your advice and assistance. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
I'll start with dining since that was my favourite part!!
Dinner Boma - we enjoyed our meal there - I would say it was great for a buffet but in comparison to other meals, average. We didn't find it overly spicy or adventurous so for those of you with concerns about the picky eaters in your group I don't see a problem. I think everyone could find something there. They even had chicken fingers, penne with meatballs, fries etc. My favourites - salmon with coconut curry sauce, butternut squash soup and banana bread pudding.
Breakfast Boma - I LOVED the omelettes - had one every day. I don't know what they do to them but they were delicious. My husband really enjoyed the Frunch juice - I found it a little too sweet. They had a really good selection of both hot and cold foods and were more than willing for us to take a cup of fruit loops with us for our daughter. As others have mentioned, when we told the waitress of our daughter's egg allergy they brought the chef out. He found some egg free banana muffins for her that she loved and he made a waffle for her. Unfortunately I can't remember the first chef's name but chef Eddy was great - even played with our daughter a bit. We were really impressed with the way they handle food allergies.
Lunch Mara - good for a quick lunch although a bit short on healthy items. Speaking of healthy the cheesecake was pretty yummy!!
Dinner Jiko - once again did not disappoint and continues to be our favourite. I had to have the filet again and it was amazing. We started with the African Breads with Dips and it was great. The Creme Brulee for dessert was interesting - fresh pistachio pieces. I liked it but it was a little strange since I usually expect Creme Brulee to be sweet and somehow the pistachios made it not taste as sweet. I think I would try something else next time for dessert. We requested Mike R. as our waiter since we had a really special time 2 years ago when he was our waiter. I think we put too much pressure on the poor guy when we told him he was the best waiter we'd ever had. He managed to do a great job dexpite it being very busy. With our daughter in the care of Kids Nite Out, it was once again a special night.
Dinner Spoodles - another great dinner. We started with the assortment of dips and I had the gnocchi. My husband had the salmon. Both were delicious. Someone was teething badly that evening so we had to eat very quickly. The waiter was very understanding and accomodating. We will definitely go back.
Lunch - Epcot Food and Wine. We tried the potato pancake wiht sauerkraut (okay), perogies (okay - mind you my mom makesthe best perogiesin the world so it's really hard to stack up), morrocan couscous (delicious), lemon chicken withrice (good) and a funnel cake for dessert (yummy).
Breakfast - Fresh- Loved it!!!! From the fresh squeezed juices to the Starbucks coffee and the absolutely delicious pancakes I loved everything about this place. I will absolutely go back. Yummy!!!
Lunch - Whispering Canyon - we had a great time there. Our waitress was funny without being obnoxious. The food really hit the spot. I had the nachos and my husband and the pulled pork sandwich. Both were great.
Breakfast - Trails End Buffet - my biggest disappointment. I was expecting a lot more. I found the buffet sparse and not particularly flavourful. This is the only place I would not bother with in the future although the setting was really nice. We parked there and took the boat over to MK which was really relaxing (this was our full day to ourselves with baby being minded by Kids Nite Out)
ACCOMODATIONS: We stayted at AKL. My biggest recommendation - DO NOT make reservations on the internet. I had to change our reservation several times for various reasons and had to book our first night online because there was no longer any availability through disney by phone. I thought the worst part was going to be paying rack rate but when we got there, they didn't have us checking in until the next day (the original reservation made on the phone). The extremely nonsympathetic CM finally found us a room but told us we would have to switch rooms after the first night because someone had our room booked after the first night. I found this really odd since I had requested specific rooms and was told that they could not guarantee this ahead of time so how could they have pre-assigned someone to our room for 2 nights later??? Anyhow, the whole point of booking at AKL that extra night was to avoid having to switch rooms (our original reservation would have had us at WL for one night and then switching to AKL). Finally, after about 45 minutes the CM found us a room that we could stay in for the entire vacation. Sadly, I think our view suffered since we got placed in the Uzima trail directly overtop of the people pen. Princess Pooh if you're reading this I had a laugh when I saw it since it just figured that's where we got put after our conversation! I thought the hotel was beautiful and loved the views of the animals. the gift shop was great and the viewing areas very peaceful. I may get attacked for saying this but....... in my opinion, I didn't think it was worth the cost. It was very nice but in a contrived sort of way (for example - the logs that form the outside of the building are fake with fake rope). I felt somehow like I was being "sucked in " to feel like I was in Africa. That may sound strange but just the feeling I had. For those lookin for hidden mickeys - the carpets in the hallways have them!
Theme Parks - they were surprisingly busy. We were there 2 years ago same time of year and were getting on rides twice in a row without waiting at all. This time we waited almost an hour for splash mtn, 40 minutes for test track. I think people have really caught on that November is a good time to go.
Shopping - Premium Outlet Malls - just loved it here. I went with the intention of buying a pair of shoes and left with an entire new gym wardrobe including running shoes, several pairsof pants, shoes, a purse and a bunch of stuff for my husband and daughter. There were some great bargains but you did have to look for them. I could have spent all day there if I'd had the time (and a husband who likes shopping.....)
I think that's about it. Thanks again to everyone for your advice and assistance. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
