Happy Tuesday Morning - Today is going to be a long day. We are transferring over to AKL concierge. I've been looking forward to staying concierge at AKL for so long. I'm so excited.
We were awakened by that happy mouse at 6:00 am. Finished packing, rustled up the troops.
7:30 priority seating for the character breakfast at Ohana. And no film. I had shot about 15 rolls of film already and we were only on day 5. Luckily the shops opened at 8:00am. We were seated for breakfast. Breakfast at Ohana is served family style. There is a huge lazy susan in the center of the table. Our server brought out a huge pan with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, Mickey waffles. Everything was delicious. OJ, coffee, milk and chocolate milk. They also greet you with a Hawaiian breakfast bread that is amazing.
The characters were Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Goofy, all dressed in Hawaiian outfits. They looked so cute. The character interaction here was great too!!.
The servers handed out Maraccas to all the kids and we lined up for a hello parade. We danced and marched around the restaurant while music from the Lion King played. Kids had a blast.
We made sure we ate well, because we would not eat again until 3:00. We were doing the Fantasmic dinner package at Hollywood and Vine.
After breakfast we gathered our luggage, call bell services and valet and had all our stuff put into our car and off we went to AKL.
Ok, let me warn you, this is going to be long!!!!
We reached the security gate at AKL and without even thinking about it I held my breath. We told the guard we were staying concierge and he said to go ahead and he would have someone meet us. This resort is absolutely magnificent. It is breathtaking. and this is just my view from the car. We were greeted by Pablo, one of the bell services crew. He unloaded our car, we told him we wanted valet service, but would be leaving for MGM as soon as we checked in. He told us our rooms were ready (10:00 am) and took us right up. He gave us a tour of the lobby and all the services available. Told us because we were concierge, we would not have to check in at the front desk. All our cards were ready, we only had to check in at the lounge and leave an imprint of our credit card if we wanted charging privileges. Which of course we did.
Our rooms were 5237 and 5239. Connecting rooms on the Arusha Savannah, Kudu trail. These rooms were amazing. They were almost in the middle of the savannah. The view was amazing.
"Don't put anything down - I have to take pictures of the room for my DIS friends"
"Don't go in the room yet, ' I haven't finished my pictures"
"Yes I have to take pictures of both rooms - DUH!!!"
OK all the pictures have been taken. 5237 is a queen/queen room. connecting room 5239 is a queen/bunk/daybed layout.
I have to say, I got everything I requested at both resorts. This was amazing.
By now my heart is pounding because I am just so amazed at this resort. I walk over to the sliding door and pull apart the curtains. OH MY GOODNESS!! There are giraffes, zebras and the hugest animal I have ever seen (ankole cattle) right outside our balcony. The kids are going crazy. The mother in law ( "I liked the Polynesian"). I think to myself "are there any lions on our savannah, they must be hungry". I'm sure they'd appreciate a 145 pound mid morning treat.
Pablo then took us up to show us the Kilimanjaro lounge. I'm in heaven, I thought. There Angel from Venezuela checked us in and imprinted our card and set us up for charging privileges. We had to try some of the breakfast goodies. I couldn't believe the coffee machine. You mean I can have Latte's all day long???? I truly was in heaven. By this point, I say, I liked the Poly, but AKL just blows it away.
" Can we get to MGM now, mom?"
"OK OK"
We had a blast at MGM. I remember this as the hottest park on our last trip and today was no exception. It was 94 degrees and it really felt it. Very little shade here. The mother in law was wilting but still wouldn't buy herself a water bottle. Luckily, I said you don't have to. Concierge gave us water to take to the parks. " oh, that's nice, for what we're paying, it's the least you could get." Do you all see, why I wanted to feed her to the lions????
Ok - The backlot tour was a hoot. This was the longest wait for any ride in any of the parks - about a half hour.
Rock N Roller coaster was walk on - So was TOT. I did RnR - that was unbelievable. No way I was doing TOT.
Our lunch at Hollywood and Vine was terrific. One of the best buffets in WDW. We got our vouchers for Fantasmic and off we went to the Motorcade of Stars parade.
That parade is great. There is nothing like hearing my kids screaming all the characters names. Especially Buzz and Woody, they start the parade.
I'll end this day with Fantasmic. And, there really isn't much I can put into words. AMAZING - doesn't come close. It is a must do!!!. For those with young children, there are loud booms and some scary visions, but my 4 year old and 2 year old were mesmerized. I had Zachary (2) in my lap and all he could say was "did you see that, mama" and "wow".
Wow is right!!!
We were awakened by that happy mouse at 6:00 am. Finished packing, rustled up the troops.
7:30 priority seating for the character breakfast at Ohana. And no film. I had shot about 15 rolls of film already and we were only on day 5. Luckily the shops opened at 8:00am. We were seated for breakfast. Breakfast at Ohana is served family style. There is a huge lazy susan in the center of the table. Our server brought out a huge pan with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, Mickey waffles. Everything was delicious. OJ, coffee, milk and chocolate milk. They also greet you with a Hawaiian breakfast bread that is amazing.
The characters were Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Goofy, all dressed in Hawaiian outfits. They looked so cute. The character interaction here was great too!!.
The servers handed out Maraccas to all the kids and we lined up for a hello parade. We danced and marched around the restaurant while music from the Lion King played. Kids had a blast.
We made sure we ate well, because we would not eat again until 3:00. We were doing the Fantasmic dinner package at Hollywood and Vine.
After breakfast we gathered our luggage, call bell services and valet and had all our stuff put into our car and off we went to AKL.
Ok, let me warn you, this is going to be long!!!!
We reached the security gate at AKL and without even thinking about it I held my breath. We told the guard we were staying concierge and he said to go ahead and he would have someone meet us. This resort is absolutely magnificent. It is breathtaking. and this is just my view from the car. We were greeted by Pablo, one of the bell services crew. He unloaded our car, we told him we wanted valet service, but would be leaving for MGM as soon as we checked in. He told us our rooms were ready (10:00 am) and took us right up. He gave us a tour of the lobby and all the services available. Told us because we were concierge, we would not have to check in at the front desk. All our cards were ready, we only had to check in at the lounge and leave an imprint of our credit card if we wanted charging privileges. Which of course we did.
Our rooms were 5237 and 5239. Connecting rooms on the Arusha Savannah, Kudu trail. These rooms were amazing. They were almost in the middle of the savannah. The view was amazing.
"Don't put anything down - I have to take pictures of the room for my DIS friends"
"Don't go in the room yet, ' I haven't finished my pictures"
"Yes I have to take pictures of both rooms - DUH!!!"
OK all the pictures have been taken. 5237 is a queen/queen room. connecting room 5239 is a queen/bunk/daybed layout.
I have to say, I got everything I requested at both resorts. This was amazing.
By now my heart is pounding because I am just so amazed at this resort. I walk over to the sliding door and pull apart the curtains. OH MY GOODNESS!! There are giraffes, zebras and the hugest animal I have ever seen (ankole cattle) right outside our balcony. The kids are going crazy. The mother in law ( "I liked the Polynesian"). I think to myself "are there any lions on our savannah, they must be hungry". I'm sure they'd appreciate a 145 pound mid morning treat.
Pablo then took us up to show us the Kilimanjaro lounge. I'm in heaven, I thought. There Angel from Venezuela checked us in and imprinted our card and set us up for charging privileges. We had to try some of the breakfast goodies. I couldn't believe the coffee machine. You mean I can have Latte's all day long???? I truly was in heaven. By this point, I say, I liked the Poly, but AKL just blows it away.
" Can we get to MGM now, mom?"
"OK OK"
We had a blast at MGM. I remember this as the hottest park on our last trip and today was no exception. It was 94 degrees and it really felt it. Very little shade here. The mother in law was wilting but still wouldn't buy herself a water bottle. Luckily, I said you don't have to. Concierge gave us water to take to the parks. " oh, that's nice, for what we're paying, it's the least you could get." Do you all see, why I wanted to feed her to the lions????
Ok - The backlot tour was a hoot. This was the longest wait for any ride in any of the parks - about a half hour.
Rock N Roller coaster was walk on - So was TOT. I did RnR - that was unbelievable. No way I was doing TOT.
Our lunch at Hollywood and Vine was terrific. One of the best buffets in WDW. We got our vouchers for Fantasmic and off we went to the Motorcade of Stars parade.
That parade is great. There is nothing like hearing my kids screaming all the characters names. Especially Buzz and Woody, they start the parade.
I'll end this day with Fantasmic. And, there really isn't much I can put into words. AMAZING - doesn't come close. It is a must do!!!. For those with young children, there are loud booms and some scary visions, but my 4 year old and 2 year old were mesmerized. I had Zachary (2) in my lap and all he could say was "did you see that, mama" and "wow".
Wow is right!!!
