Just Returned From Weeklong Trip...Happy to Answer ?s

[RyMickey]

Just returned from a wonderful weeklong stay at Kidani Village at AKL and had perhaps the most relaxing vacation ever. My brother and I took things slower-paced than ever before, but still managed to see pretty much everything (and many things more than once) thanks to the completely manageable crowds.

The only thing we could have wished for was slightly warmer weather so we could have enjoyed the pool a bit more, but other than that, it was great.

In terms of dining, we ate at:

- Cape May Cafe (Beach Club)
- Kona Cafe breakfast (Polynesian)
- ESPN Club (Boardwalk)
- Min and Bill's Dockside Diner (Studios)
- Tokyo Dining (Epcot)
- Nine Dragons (Epcot)
- Via Napoli (Epcot)
- Electric Umbrella (Epcot)
- Too many Food and Wine kiosks to count
- Rainforest Cafe (AK)
- Earl of Sandwich (DD)
- Wolfgang Puck Express (DD)
- Main Street Bakery (MK)
- Pecos Bill's (MK -- and had one of the worst dining experiences we've ever had using their self-ordering kiosks...waited nearly 30 minutes for our food and kept getting passed over by nearly all of the waitstaff...will be writing a letter to express my concern over this new "trial" system)

And we snacked at Karamel Kuche (Germany), caramel ginger ice cream (Japan), Main Street Ice Cream Parlor, Main Street Candy Shop, and various popcorn stands (with our internal rating system giving the win surprisingly to a stand at the Studios).

Overall, it was a fantastic time of year to go. Our trip overlapped Halloween and the start of Christmas celebrations so we got to see the MK decorated for both (although it still wasn't fully decorated for Christmas as of Saturday night...nor were parks like Epcot and AK).

I'd be happy to answer any questions if anyone has any.

 

[laceemouse]

Sounds like a great trip! How did you like Nine Dragons??

 

[RyMickey]

I know others say that Nine Dragons is just standard Chinese fare...and maybe it is, but we think the quantity and quality are a good price for "theme park" food. Their honey chicken is a substantial size and has a really nice honey sweetness. My 24-year-old brother had the fried rice and the portion size at lunch was massive. He couldn't finish it all. We also had a wonderful General Tso dumpling appetizer which was pretty fantastic.

That said, we tried Tokyo Dining for the first time this trip and loved it. True, it's more expensive (although we ate there at dinner...but I'm not sure Tokyo Dining has a separate lunch/dinner menu), but we felt like the meal was a little more well-rounded (the "platters" we had came with miso soup, a small portion of cucumber salad, and a nice noodle slaw).

Don't get me wrong...Nine Dragons is very good and we'll certainly visit there again, but it was very nice to find a "new" restaurant in Tokyo Dining.

 

[laceemouse]

Thanks! You read so many mixed reviews, it is good to hear a little more detail about both places

 

[mlittig]

Glad you had a magical trip

 

[RyMickey]

I just thought I'd give this a little bump for the Monday morning crowd in case anyone has any questions.

 

[windi622]

Ry- So glad to hear you had a great trip. Don't know if it was your first "brothers" trip...but that sounds like fun

Was this your first trip to AK? Did you find it to be too far out of the way from most parks? My fave resort is BW, but we often stay at OKW for the larger accomodations for our larger groups. One thing I love about OKW is that although it is not super close to any one park, it seems so central to everything. Thanks for your input!

 

[RyMickey]

windi - It certainly felt like our first "brothers" trip, although our folks did go down, but traveled to Vero Beach and other Orlando locations only going into the parks two out of the seven days. It was originally supposed to be a brothers only trip, but they simply couldn't pass up the opportunity.

My folks bought DVC at Boardwalk and AKL and this was my second time and my brother's first at Kidani Village. There's something great about being able to walk to Epcot and the Studios from Boardwalk. The location simply can't be beat. AKL is far removed from everything and the need to bus everywhere is something that we aren't really used to. However, I will say that we had no trouble with busses. I don't know if we just lucked out, but we never waited more than ten minutes for a bus.

That said, there is something kinda special about waking up and seeing giraffes and zebras outside of your window. It's not like that's an everyday experience. In terms of AKL, I would say that it's absolutely not worth it if you don't shell out the extra points (or cash) for a savannah view. Like I mentioned, since it's removed from things, it's simply not worth it as a "hotel" room.

I think in the end, we'd choose Boardwalk more often than AKL, but I think AKL may be a nice every third trip kind of thing. At this point, I've stayed at all DVC locations except for Bay Lake Towers and Boardwalk wins out because of the location. OKW and Saratoga are also nice, but I'm not a huge fan of hotels that are as spread out as those (reasons why we didn't used to stay at places like Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, and PO Riverside prior to DVC). That said, I do agree with you about OKW being the most spacious and it's certainly a place we'd revisit (we've stayed there twice already and I'm sure we'll stay there again).

 

[jz31171]

Hi

 

[Bob NC]

Hi

Howyoudoin?

 

[mickeyplanner]

Did you make it over the GF? If so what is the status of the gingerbread house? We leave in two days and I wondering if the house will be complete before we leave for home.

 

[RyMickey]

mickeyplanner, we did make it over to the GF two days ago on Saturday. There was nothing Christmas there at all and they had not started work on the gingerbread house in the lobby. As a matter of fact, none of the hotels we visited were decorated for Christmas at this point and the Studios was the only park that was fully decked out (although Main Street at MK was nicely decorated).

 

[Goofdad]

thanks for the update... I've been searching google/twitter/facebook/etc for status updates on the Gingerbread house... and it's hilarious, my searches keep leading me to mickeyplanner who has asked this question in many locations so far.

I've read/heard that Nov. 14th is GingerBread house day, but that's not official.

RyMickey, did you see/meet the talking mickey in Town Square Hall?


We are there next week (staying at the GF) and my kids will be amazed if Mickey is talking (and well, so will I).

 

[RyMickey]

Goofdad, no talking Mickey was seen. Although since it was pretty much a trip with my brother and both of us are 24+, we weren't really on character hunts.

However, as I'm sure you've read, I believe the talking Mickey only made a really quick appearance during the Oct. 31 Halloween party, so I don't think it's quite ready for public outings yet.

 

[lugnut33]

Couple of opposing opinions to what Ry has mentioned. We stayed in a standard view 1 bedroom at Kidani (was right above the path that leads to the bus stops) and completely enjoyed it. We have also stayed in Savannah view rooms and enjoyed it also, but going forward I don't think we would spend the extra points to stay in a Savannah view room. There are plenty of spots to go and sit and watch the animals besides the balcony. I had lots of fun watching people coming back on the busses all tired and sweaty.

Second, I prefer (again, just my opinion) to have my rooms far removed from the parks. Hence the reason I really love Kidani Village. It does not feel like a Disney Park, it feels like an African lodge and is very relaxing. Also, we have stayed in the Tree House Villas and that is so isolated that it feels like you are totally leaving the hustle and bustle of the park areas. I love it.

Did you get a chance to do any of the resort activities? We enjoyed the cultural events they put on and my kids loved the Community Hall. One day I showed up for a tour of the resort, and I was the only one there. So, I got a personal tour of Kidani Village.

 

[RyMickey]

Lugnut, we took a tour of Jambo House when we stayed at the "regular" Animal Kingdom Lodge a few years ago, but did not this year. We did go out to the campfire and utilize the night vision goggles, talking with the cast member who was from Africa for nearly 30 minutes as we were the only people there.

I do very much enjoy AKL, but I still say that I love the convenience of the Boardwalk being within walking distance of my two favorite parks -- Epcot and DHS.

I do agree with you that AKL feels removed from the rest of Disney and there is certainly something to be said about that. But, I do feel like the allure of that resort for me is the savannah view. If I had to choose a non-savannah view or another DVC resort like OKW, I'd probably choose the latter even though I like AKL better overall than OKW.

 

[lugnut33]

Great thing about Disney, there's something there for all of us. It's all good.

Don't you wish they would break up the Emporium shop on Main Street?

 

[RyMickey]

Honestly, the Emporium doesn't bother me simply because the only section I ever look in is the men's clothes. Since I can avoid the whole remaining two-thirds of the store, it's not unwieldy for me.

However, when compared to even Mouse Gear which is much bigger (or so it feels) than the Emporium, the Emporium does seem too big for some reason. I much prefer the other side of the street that is broken up and I miss the fact that the Emporium used to only be half the size it is now. Oh, Penny Arcade, there was a charm to you that is missed...

 

[lugnut33]

Honestly, the Emporium doesn't bother me simply because the only section I ever look in is the men's clothes. Since I can avoid the whole remaining two-thirds of the store, it's not unwieldy for me.

However, when compared to even Mouse Gear which is much bigger (or so it feels) than the Emporium, the Emporium does seem too big for some reason. I much prefer the other side of the street that is broken up and I miss the fact that the Emporium used to only be half the size it is now. Oh, Penny Arcade, there was a charm to you that is missed...

That's exactly what I was getting at. I prefer the other side of the tracks also.

 

[mickeyplanner]

thanks for the update... I've been searching google/twitter/facebook/etc for status updates on the Gingerbread house... and it's hilarious, my searches keep leading me to mickeyplanner who has asked this question in many locations so far.

I've read/heard that Nov. 14th is GingerBread house day, but that's not official.

RyMickey, did you see/meet the talking mickey in Town Square Hall?


We are there next week (staying at the GF) and my kids will be amazed if Mickey is talking (and well, so will I).

I am hoping the rumor of NOvember 14th holds true that the house will done but I also read that all resorts will be fully decorated by November 19th. We check in tomorrow but won't make our way over to GF until the 14th. I will try to post some live reoprts on the progress if a get a moment.

I am hoping that the talking Mickey is out at least for MVMCP, we go on November 15th.