Meet me at the Snuggly Duckling! A June 2018 TR. UPDATED 3/8
- Thread starter Lifelong_Dreamer
- Start date
RLGNC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2009
I've never seen anything like that in an airport!
I hope it was!
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
Thanks!
I've never seen anything like that in an airport!
I hope it was!
Yeah, I believe these newer iPad/charging stations are being put in at all the gates at the Toronto airport. I think it’s great as they are pretty comfortable and I remember what a pain it was to find somehwhere to plug in electronics to charge before these were put in. Now there are no worries!
Cloe Colton
Registered
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2018
Following along!
I live in Niagara Falls, NY so not too far from you!
Do you ever consider flying out of Buffalo? We have some pretty great straight thru flights with Southwest and I feel like traffic our way is NOTHING compared to that Toronto traffic!
When DH and I flew out of Toronto to Hawaii for our honeymoon (Toronto is definitely better for us for anything not on the east coast or LA
) we stayed the night before in a hotel too. It was such a piece of mind to not have to worry about that traffic before a flight!
It actually took me over two hours to get to a Blue Jays game a couple of weeks ago! Bananas!
Looking forward to the rest of your trip!
I live in Niagara Falls, NY so not too far from you!
Do you ever consider flying out of Buffalo? We have some pretty great straight thru flights with Southwest and I feel like traffic our way is NOTHING compared to that Toronto traffic!When DH and I flew out of Toronto to Hawaii for our honeymoon (Toronto is definitely better for us for anything not on the east coast or LA
) we stayed the night before in a hotel too. It was such a piece of mind to not have to worry about that traffic before a flight!It actually took me over two hours to get to a Blue Jays game a couple of weeks ago! Bananas!
Looking forward to the rest of your trip!
Last edited:
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
Following along!
I live in Niagara Falls, NY so not too far from you!
When DH and I flew out of Toronto to Hawaii for our honeymoon (Toronto is definitely better for us for anything not on the east coast or LA
It actually took me over two hours to get to a Blue Jays game a couple of weeks ago! Bananas!
Looking forward to the rest of your trip!
Buffalo is a bit too far of a drive. We are on the opposite end of the lake. We have flown from Syracuse, NY a few times. This time around the cost was about the same to fly from Toronto and Syracuse so we went with Toronto.
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
So, even though I was born and raised (and now returned) in Los Angeles, I went to McGill for university (my family are all dual citizens). I think whenever I came home it'd be a 50-50 chance if they would take my bag at the check-in desk or if I had to take it thru immigration! It was always great when they took it directly. Of course, if I changed planes in Toronto, I'd always have to collect my bag, then go thru immigration, then re-drop off the bag! So annoying!
Oooh, fancy!
Fingers crossed (for your trip...that happened last month...). I was assigned a room before I boarded my flight that had a partial savanna view. Then by the time I landed, they reassigned me to another room that had a parking lot view. At least it was close to transportation and provided a shortcut to the hot tub!
Strange how the immigration process changes in regards to the bags.
I would have been really upset if they had done that to me with the room.
Cloe Colton
Registered
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2018
Oh yeah I can see how that would definitely be closer then!
amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
Glad to hear the flight was uneventful and it didn't take too long to get through customs/security. Those lines can get outrageous really quickly!
What a nice perk having water waiting for you at your seat. I always end up spending the 10 million dollars at the airport to buy a bottle to bring on the plane, because I'm like you and get really thirsty during flights.
Looking forward to hearing if you were able to get a good room view!
What a nice perk having water waiting for you at your seat. I always end up spending the 10 million dollars at the airport to buy a bottle to bring on the plane, because I'm like you and get really thirsty during flights.
Looking forward to hearing if you were able to get a good room view!
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
Yes, I definitely think it was worth it to upgrade to the "plus" seats. Just made the flight so much pleasanter.
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
June 11th - Arrival Day
After our bags were unloaded from the bus we made our way into the beautiful lobby. I was in a rush to get ahead of the other people that just got off the bus so I didn't stop to take any photos upon entering.
There was no line yet at registration so we had a very short wait for a cast member to become available.
The first thing we were told when we checked in was that our room was ready. Yay!
We were also told that our room request had been granted! Woohoo!
Not only had it been granted but we had been upgraded to a savanna view!! Fantastic!
Not only were we upgraded but we were given the exact same room we had stayed in last time! Amazing!
I was over the moon happy. When I booked standard view I never expected a full upgrade, the most I was hoping for was the ability to slightly see animals but I also would have accepted a parking lot view as that is what we had paid for. So here is how things went with the room request. A fax was sent 5 days before check-in which is when they do room assignments. On the fax I stated how we had stayed at the lodge before and how much we loved it and being able to see the animals from our room. I asked for a partial savanna view as I had read here on the boards that many standard view rooms actually have savanna views and for reference I gave them the room we stayed in last time (which was a savanna view and not a standard view so I did not expect to receive the same room) and said that we would love to be in that general area of the hotel again. Well, it clearly worked as they gave us the same savanna room we had on our last trip.
We love the room, 3596. There are almost always a ton of animals outside the room and it is in a nice quiet corner and is very private. It is not a connecting room so noise from the only neighbouring room is minimal. It is on the same side of the hotel as the pool, restaurants and bus stops. The only downside of this room? It is all the way at the end of Zebra Trail, literally the furthest point from the lobby. The trek to the room is worth it for us though because as I said, we love this room!
Back to checking in. We had booked with a room only discount so I had to pay the balance of the room when we checked in. Well, I just about had a heart attack as when I put my credit card in the machine it didn't work!!! So, I tried my other card, same thing!! I was panicking. How the heck was I supposed to pay for the hotel room?? We are from Canada so its not like I could use my debit card or stop by a bank and get money out, that would be hugely expensive! We had only brought enough US cash to cover food expenses so I was really sweating it. I knew there was no problem with room on the cards so I really had no idea what was wrong. All of the sudden that magical feeling I had learning about our room upgrade was gone as I had a nightmare scenario of being turned out on the streets with no working credit card.
Well, obviously everything worked out in the end. The cast member said they had just upgraded their system and perhaps there was a glitch with foreign credit cards, although the two cards I tried were Mastercard and Visa so not sure why their being Canadian was a problem. She said to hold on one second and she would try something so she typed away at her computer and then told me to try again and voila, it worked. What a relief! That was a tense few minutes.
Payment squared away, we strapped on our Magic Bands and made the familiar trek down to our room. Our home for the next 10 days!
One of the first things I did was run over to the balcony to see what new friends were hanging around outside.
There was so much animal activity outside our room! This is why we love it so much. We are not sure why the animals like to hang out in this area so much but there always seemed to be a ton in comparison to the views we saw from the windows along the Zebra Trail hallway showcasing the rest of the savanna. Of course, this is the only room we have stayed in so I can't really compare it to other parts of the savanna but it sure did seem to have a high volume of animal traffic.
After watching the animals for a bit I went inside and took pictures of the room and unpacked. Here are pictures of the room on the small chance you haven't seen what the rooms look like on some other thread.
I just love the wallpaper in the sink area.
As we unpacked we would drift out to the balcony to watch the animals and then drift back inside to unpack some more. Once everything was put away it was time for us to decide what we wanted to do. Initially I had thought we might get some pool time in but we decided to postpone the pool until later and instead hit the road. I couldn't leave the room just yet though, had to make sure I was properly outfitted.
Okay, ready to go.
On the way out I got some lobby photos since I was too busy/preoccupied earlier.
We made our way outside and down to the bus stop where we waited about 5 minutes for our ride to show up.
I
Up Next: An afternoon at Disney Springs
After our bags were unloaded from the bus we made our way into the beautiful lobby. I was in a rush to get ahead of the other people that just got off the bus so I didn't stop to take any photos upon entering.
There was no line yet at registration so we had a very short wait for a cast member to become available.
The first thing we were told when we checked in was that our room was ready. Yay!
We were also told that our room request had been granted! Woohoo!
Not only had it been granted but we had been upgraded to a savanna view!! Fantastic!
Not only were we upgraded but we were given the exact same room we had stayed in last time! Amazing!
I was over the moon happy. When I booked standard view I never expected a full upgrade, the most I was hoping for was the ability to slightly see animals but I also would have accepted a parking lot view as that is what we had paid for. So here is how things went with the room request. A fax was sent 5 days before check-in which is when they do room assignments. On the fax I stated how we had stayed at the lodge before and how much we loved it and being able to see the animals from our room. I asked for a partial savanna view as I had read here on the boards that many standard view rooms actually have savanna views and for reference I gave them the room we stayed in last time (which was a savanna view and not a standard view so I did not expect to receive the same room) and said that we would love to be in that general area of the hotel again. Well, it clearly worked as they gave us the same savanna room we had on our last trip.
We love the room, 3596. There are almost always a ton of animals outside the room and it is in a nice quiet corner and is very private. It is not a connecting room so noise from the only neighbouring room is minimal. It is on the same side of the hotel as the pool, restaurants and bus stops. The only downside of this room? It is all the way at the end of Zebra Trail, literally the furthest point from the lobby. The trek to the room is worth it for us though because as I said, we love this room!
Back to checking in. We had booked with a room only discount so I had to pay the balance of the room when we checked in. Well, I just about had a heart attack as when I put my credit card in the machine it didn't work!!! So, I tried my other card, same thing!! I was panicking. How the heck was I supposed to pay for the hotel room?? We are from Canada so its not like I could use my debit card or stop by a bank and get money out, that would be hugely expensive! We had only brought enough US cash to cover food expenses so I was really sweating it. I knew there was no problem with room on the cards so I really had no idea what was wrong. All of the sudden that magical feeling I had learning about our room upgrade was gone as I had a nightmare scenario of being turned out on the streets with no working credit card.
Well, obviously everything worked out in the end. The cast member said they had just upgraded their system and perhaps there was a glitch with foreign credit cards, although the two cards I tried were Mastercard and Visa so not sure why their being Canadian was a problem. She said to hold on one second and she would try something so she typed away at her computer and then told me to try again and voila, it worked. What a relief! That was a tense few minutes.
Payment squared away, we strapped on our Magic Bands and made the familiar trek down to our room. Our home for the next 10 days!
One of the first things I did was run over to the balcony to see what new friends were hanging around outside.
There was so much animal activity outside our room! This is why we love it so much. We are not sure why the animals like to hang out in this area so much but there always seemed to be a ton in comparison to the views we saw from the windows along the Zebra Trail hallway showcasing the rest of the savanna. Of course, this is the only room we have stayed in so I can't really compare it to other parts of the savanna but it sure did seem to have a high volume of animal traffic.
After watching the animals for a bit I went inside and took pictures of the room and unpacked. Here are pictures of the room on the small chance you haven't seen what the rooms look like on some other thread.
I just love the wallpaper in the sink area.
As we unpacked we would drift out to the balcony to watch the animals and then drift back inside to unpack some more. Once everything was put away it was time for us to decide what we wanted to do. Initially I had thought we might get some pool time in but we decided to postpone the pool until later and instead hit the road. I couldn't leave the room just yet though, had to make sure I was properly outfitted.
Okay, ready to go.
On the way out I got some lobby photos since I was too busy/preoccupied earlier.
We made our way outside and down to the bus stop where we waited about 5 minutes for our ride to show up.
IUp Next: An afternoon at Disney Springs
Last edited:
Raeven
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2015
Yay! I love the savannah view rooms.
disneyAndi14
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2014
So nice to get the room you requested! The view of the savanna with all the animals looks awesome! We stayed in a studio there and had a partial view, so wonderful.
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
It is definitely a bonus to be able to wake up to the animals or as a spoiler for later in the trip,lay in your bed sick and miserable and still be able to watch the animals.
I was glad the room request fax worked. I wasn't sure if the tp fax would work but I was willing to try it out and I am so glad I did. I will definitely pay for that service again.
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
Love the view from your room. I'm happy to see those little shampoo bottles and stuff are still in the bathrooms as well. I'd read some were replaced with dispensers but we like the Disney bottles
It was a pretty great view!
I have read about the dispensers making their way into the resorts. I think right now it is just at POP? I could be wrong.
Steppesister
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
That's pretty unbelievably great you got the same room that you love so much! How nice of them- esp when it wasn't your room category.
I loved seeing the animals too and would stay there again in a heartbeat!
Thanks for all the lovely photos and bringing back so many beautiful memories!
I loved seeing the animals too and would stay there again in a heartbeat!
Thanks for all the lovely photos and bringing back so many beautiful memories!
petals
Irish Princess because Cinderella said so!
- Joined
- May 18, 2010
Hopefully they’ll take their time with the dispensers so I can get the bottles
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Nice room upgrade! That happened to us once a few years ago when I booked a standard view room and was upgraded to Savannah. I think we may have stayed in a room close to yours as I remember it was sooooo far away from the lobby and we walked for ages to get there but we loved seeing the animals!
Nice that you got the solar gel and the mouthwash as part of your toiletry package. I have not seen that before!
Good bus mojo you're having. Hope it sticks!
Nice that you got the solar gel and the mouthwash as part of your toiletry package. I have not seen that before!
Good bus mojo you're having. Hope it sticks!
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
That's pretty unbelievably great you got the same room that you love so much! How nice of them- esp when it wasn't your room category.
I know, we were so lucky to begin such a nice upgrade.
I just love AKL. I hope to stay there many times in the future.
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