Live Report: AKL Jambo 2 bedroom Value

[Disney Dad Canada]

After FINALLY getting out of my elevator last night, packed and went to bed at 11pm.

Kids woke up at 1am, 3am, 4:15 am, finally getting up at 5am. Showered, dressed, got McDonald breakfast for everyone, then limo picked us up at 6:30am.

Air Canada flight leaves Toronto at 10:15, arrives in Orlando at 12:55pm. We then take Disney Magical Express (which is on first floor B, NOT A), and go to Carribean beach, Pop Century, then finally Animal Kingdom Jambo House at 2:15pm.

Go to online check in desk, room not ready, but get itinerary printed out at concierge. Kids trade pins with "King Pin" in Jambo Souvenir store around 3:30.

4pm get family photos from photopass. AMAZING PICTURES (have CD, but no drive on this computer). For $99, get 2 8x10 and 3 5x7 plus the cd-rom of 80 pictures taken.

5pm, BOMA. Amazing doesn't begin to describe the food. Great beef, chicken, salads, and of course ZEBRA DOMES!!!

6pm, finally see our room (5130 and 5132). Kids run to balcony and see 2 giraffes, an osterich and a yak. Suddenly, all the DVC $$, all the planning was worth every penny.

6:30, kids hit the pool. 3 Long island Ice teas later, we leave at the first clap of thunder back to our room, to find our Owners locker and groceries delivered.

A great first day of our firdt DVC trip "home".

 

[chaoscent]

We are staying in the AKL 2 br Jambo value in December. Can't wait. I will be watching your trip report with eager anticipation. A friend and her Significant other and their 5 year old daughter will also be going, staying in another 2 BR Jambo House Value. We are just getting ready to make our ADR's. Hoping to see "critters" also. Penny
PS, glad you made it out of the elevator.

 

[Sphyrna]

Glad to hear your enjoying your first day!! Hope the rest of your trip is magical!! I also hope there's no more claps of thunder. I was checking the weather report for next week and it shows 30/40% chance most days and 60% chance next weekend. Personally, I don't know why they even bother posting temps and rain percentages. It should just say "It's Orlando, it's summer...hot and afternoon showers."

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

DAY 2: MAGIC KINGDOM

Got to Magic Kingdom right at rope drop, picked up our Annual passes and off we went.

My MIL rtook the girls to BBB. We brought the dresses which were haloween costumes last year, which cut down the costs a bit.

Brendan and I went to the Pirates League. Great, great way to start the day. Everyone there is funny for both the kids and the parents My son was too big for the full costume, but got a top, face painted, bandana, sword and treasure.

Met up with the girls at Pixie Hollow, and saw the fairies. Word of warning, GET THERE~EARLY. Even at 11am, it wasabout an hour wait. the fairies are well worth the wait though, as they put on a great show for the kids.

After lunch at Cosmic Rays, went on Pooh Bear ride, Philharmigic, Peter Pan and Its a Small World. After waiting for the girls to ride Dumbo, (and having a Mickey bar), we took the monorail over to Grand Floridian and 1900 Park fair.

The Cinderella meal is simply amazing. By far the best character meal we have ever done at WDW, both for the characters and the food.

Another monorail ride, this tinme to the contemporary for Pirates and Pals cruise. Although everyone in our group was tired, the crew was absolutely fantastic.

It's 11:45 now, so off to bed. Tomorrow and Sunday: Star Wars weekends.

 

[OKW Lover]

It's 11:45 now, so off to bed. Tomorrow and Sunday: Star Wars weekends.

Great - now I've got that theme song stuck in my head.

Sounds like you're having a great time - enjoy!

 

[tammydel]

6pm, finally see our room (5130 and 5132). Kids run to balcony and see 2 giraffes, an osterich and a yak. Suddenly, all the DVC $$, all the planning was worth every penny.

I love that moment of each trip, the "it was all worth it moment". It comes at different moments each trip: watching fireworks, relaxing by the pool, seeing the castle, sometimes, just driving out of our driveway!

Thanks for sharing your moment.

Tammy

 

[disneyholic family]

getting on board for the ride!! can't believe how much you've packed into the trip in just two days!!

 

[T Morrows Child]

These are terrific updates - thanks so much for taking the time!

I'm impressed at how quickly DME got you to Jambo, seeing that it was the third property on the route!

(How long have you used Owner's Locker ? . . . tempted . . . )

 

[katscradle]

I am on board and loving the reports!

 

[Disney Khi]

Sounds like a great trip so far. Have fun!

 

[SamSam]

Wow! You are really filling your days! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Becx N Gav]

Great to hear how your trip is going - sounds like you've done loads of stuff already

Hope Starwars weekend is fun

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

DAY 3: Star Wars Weekend

After getting home so late, I decided that my son and I would head out to Hollywood Studios early, and meet "the girls" for lunch.

Upon arriving, we waited in the special fastpass line for Tom Kane, the voice of Yoda from The Clone Wars. Every geeky stereotype was abundantly represented, with most 40 plus severely overweight men straight from their Mom's basement.

First word of advice, just forget about Jedi training during SWW. The line was about 150 deep at rope drop. Also, the fast pass for Toy Story mania was already empty for the day when we walked by around 9:45.

We did Star Tours first, then went to AFI, where the limited edition collectibles were being sold (and the geeks seemed to get even heavier). After a 45 minute wait TO GET INTO THE STORE we finally saw the items for sale. $240 later (Im sure one of the smallest sales of their day), we ventured out, DVC and AP SW pins in hand, the rest being shipped to our room.

Next, after a bucket of popcorn and frozen lemonade from near pizar place, off we went for The Great Movie Ride. The wait was only about 20 minutes, and the cast member smiled and pointed me to the correct boat when I inquired about getting a "cowboy ride".

Lunch with the girls at Backlot Express. The salads are great there, as are the turkey and cheese sandwiches. Quite a bit of food. My MIL had rented a scooter for herself, which made things easier for her MS.

Since we were done eating first, Brendan and I went to get our Tom Kane signature, which was moved indoors due to rain. He was extremely nice, especially to mt son, who is a big fan of the show, and a bit shy. As an added bonus, R2D2 rolled by.

Back at Star tours, as the girls LOVE the ride. Probably our last one until the refurb.

Muppetvision was next. Not sure if they changed the preshow post renovations, but the movie inside seemed more vibrant, and still full of laughs from beginning to end.

Then, a second ride on the Great Movie ride, as Brendan said that Nonna would love it. This timne we had a female (and smoking hot) bugsy. Brendan said that he liked the cowboy ride better.

Another request for Nonna: The American Idol Experience. She watches the show religiously, and said that she loved every second of it. The singers weren't too bad, but I thought the judges were trying too hard to be like the TV show ones.

The final ride of the day was just for the guys: TOWER OF TERROR. We missed the downpour while in the ride, which was great timing on our part. Brendan was a tad scared but made it through like a trooper. A few souvenirs later, and dinner time.

Despite Kevin's comments, we all enjoyed 50's Prime Time cafe, both for teh food and the atmosphere. The girls had chicken soup, mac and cheese and sundaes. The three adults had steaks. All very nice portions, and steaks cooked to perfection. I ordered a chocolate shake, which was HUGE!! The only misstep was the brownie my MIL had for dessert. Will definately go back (especially since I think I left MY CANMERA there).

Back to the hotel, i collapsed and watched hockey, while everyone else hit the pool. By 10pm, everyone was asleep.

EXTRA SPECIAL thanks to someone on the boards (name withheld by her request), who I've never met, who made Tinkerbell dresses for the girls, and would not take a penny for them. We were asked more than a dozzen times where we got them, and the girls were smiling from ear to ear as they love them so much.

 

[sjs314]

Sounds overall like a very nice day at DHS even with the crowds due to Star Wars Weekend. Nice review of 50's Prime Time,we will be eating there on our next trip.

 

[mommyceratops]

What is the 2br value like? We are staying there in December.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

Day 4: Star Wars weekend

Brendan and I got to DHS by 8:30, in time to get fast passes for Ashley Eckstein's autograph. The girls stayed pool side, meeting us for dinner.

After getting fast passes for TSM, it was back to Star Tours for a final ride. Brendan enjoyed Backlot express, so we ate there again, and watched the Star Wars parade.

The TSM ride was really neat, especially with the TS3 characters. I got 144,000 points, B had about 100,000.

Next was One Mans Dream, which was B's request, since he learned about Walt's life in Grade 4 this year. After the movie ended, it was a quick walk to get Ashley's signature. Since we didnt have a camera (which I thought I lost but was in my MIL bag), all we got were signatures, but she was extremely nice. Brendan knew her from the Clone Wars show, and she was nice enough to remember me from a charity event we both attended while her husband played for the Toronto Blue Jays.

We were beat, so we ended up in World of Animation. After the Mushu movie, we entered the animation studio and learned to draw the Toy Story alien. Thanks to Kathy's tip, my son asked politely for the teshcer's picture, which he was nice enough to personalize for my son.

The sun was getting to us both, so we wandered over to the front of Mamma Melrose (after buying a $17 spray fan) and waited outside on a bench for the girls to arrive.

My son was just happy resting with the spray fan, and I got to people watch from 3pm to around 4:25. About every 10 minutes or so, there was someone exiting Mamma Melrose EXTREMELY pissed off. "THIS place needs reservations TOO honey." "They SAY they're full, but I see empty tables." "I guess groups of 8 cant eat in restaurants in Disney World." OMG, who the heck would come to WDW with 7 others and expect to stroll on in to a table service restaurant, on a holiday weekend during Star Wars weekend? I mean I know not everyone plans like most people here, but my God people.

We were seated at 5pm (our ADRS were for 4:25) by our excellent hostess Donna. We ordered our appetizers (we had a fantasmic package, which includes the appetizers with the Dining plan), which were extremely good. Aftery MIL mentioned her dairy allergy, the chef came out, told her NOT to eat the calamari she ordered (and just arrived), and made her sone bruchetta instead. B said his caesar salad was excellent, as were the girls garden salads.

Dinner consisted of MIL: steak, B: pepperoni flat bead, me: seafood pasta, J: cheese pizza, C: penne with cheese sauce. All large portions and very tasty. Dessert included J & C fruit salads, myself chocolate cheesecake, and MIL a dairy free ice cream. with one beer the bill came to $141 before tip.

After dinner we attempted to get into the American Idol finals but couldn't, so while my MIL and B watched the big screen from a picnic table outside, the girls and I went to the animation studio to draw Dopey. I did ok, as did jessica, but Ciara, ever the perfectionist (at 6 yrs old) got frustrated and crying. The instructor was so nice, gave her some extra paper to practise on at home, and gave the girls her Dopey drawing, again personalized.

Jessica was tired, so her and MIL went back to the hotel, while B, C and I headed off to Fantasmic. It was the first time for all of us, so although we were tired (and broke) coming home, we all agreed it was worth staying for.

The only downside to the day was that B lost his "Disney Guide to WDW for Kids" book with all his autographs. He was smart and put his name, hotel and room number in the front, so hopefully it will be turned in.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Great updates, sounds like you're having a fun time, and lots of bonding! $17 spray fan sounds outrageously awesome, too

 

[Tink rules]

sounds good!

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

DAY 5: Epcot

I set off bright and earlt to Epcot, this time by myself, to do the Segway tour. I was scheduled for the 8:30 AM tour, which I got to a bit early. Once we got going, we did some basic Segway training, then took off to World Showcase. It was a blast, more fun than I could have expected. The guides were very helpful and nice, and it takes no time at all to get the hang of the Segway. Overall Id say that the tour was well worth it.

It was around 11am, so I took the boat from Canada to Morocco and had lunch at Tangeirine Cafe. By far the most amazing dounter service meal Ive had. Lamb and chicken shwarma, hummus and bacclava.

After returning to Jambo to pick up the kids, we returned to Epcot and tried out Spaceship Earth. SWe enjoyed it, much better than I expected. The Project tomorrow section was very lame, even my kids agreed.

Next was Mouseworks. Not sure what was harder, deciding what to buy or finding my kids. I ended up with a retro Epcot shirt.

After a snack break, we headed over and saw Journey into Imagination. One of mykids favourites, just because of Figment of course. I bought a large stuffed one for myself, as well as a tshirt.

Next was what I;ve been waiting 180 days for, Le cellier. From the cheese soup to the NY steak, everything lived up to the hypoe and then some. 2 thunbs way up.

 

[chaoscent]

Ah, two of my favorite things Figment & Le Cellier. Glad all is going well. Penny