Poohshoney
<font color=6666CC>Ya-ya sister!<br><font color=gr
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
Carol (40, British) dangerously Disney obsessed.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Saturday, 4 May 2002
We didnt do a lot today. There didnt seem much point in staying at a hotel like AKL with a savannah view and not enjoying it.
We slept much later than we had at CBR and Riverside even me. I thought I'd be able to sit on the balcony writing the postcards I still (!) hadn't written whilst waiting for Roland to wake up - I nearly died when I woke up and realised it was half past eight and I might have missed the animals! But there were still some there, bless them.
Getting showered and dressed was a scramble because we didn't want to miss anything. And we wanted the curtains open so we could see and of course you have to be careful of people/cameras seeing in. Once wed finished we had a great breakfast watching the animals eat theirs. We ate indoors every time because of the bugs but then afterwards wed go out onto the balcony. We loved the metal chairs the backs had a zebras head in them, which worked very well. I forgot to mention yesterday we were right next to a viewing point. We thought that might be intrusive but it turned out to be fun listening to peoples comments and excitement. There was a lady across from us on the third floor who hadn't realised what she was going to be able to see. She was SO excited. She was talking to a man who was in the public viewing area and he told her after every delighted squeal, Yes, I know. Thats WHY I told you to get a savannah view! It was fun listening to the parents and their kiddies as well. The parents almost always sounded more excited than their offspring!
As the day moved on, so did the animals. We left then for our third and final round of mini golf. We noticed a strong smell of smoke when we left the hotel and again when we got out of the car by Blizzard Beach but it soon disappeared, never to return.
We'd chosen Summerland for our last game the CM said that was a wise choice as Winterland was overrun by a kiddies birthday party. Were we glad wed done that side last time! If any of you have a weak heart, etc you might like to sit down now - this may come as a bit of a shock. I won. Admittedly Roland was very generous when it took me about ten goes to tee off at one of the holes and he said to only count it as three hits but I'd have won anyway! I'm thinking of having the scorecard framed.
Wed saved our resort hopping for today I wanted to see every resort but we didnt manage it. Roland didnt want to see the All Stars anyway as he hadnt liked the photos of them. I would like to have seen Movies, especially as Nancy likes it, but you just cant do everything in two weeks. We both really now regret not having visited Coronado Springs but it never worked out. As it was, wed scheduled all the MK resorts for today but we only managed three of them.
We parked at the MK and took the monorail to the Polynesian. We both loved the lobby, very lush and tropical. I'd forgotten all about the musty smell I'd read about but my nose reminded me as soon as we got there. It wasnt too unpleasant though. Roland didnt mention it so he cant have noticed it. My sense of smell is better than his though.
Our love of the Poly deteriorated once we got outside. I know the buildings are authentic looking but thats not enough to make us like them. We found them very drab. I hope one day well be able to come back in the evening and wander along the torch lit paths as I think that would be seeing the Poly at its best.
Back on the monorail to the Grand Floridian. In the pictures wed seen it looked very similar to the Disneyland Paris Hotel but this turned out to be only superficial. The GF colours are much nicer and it has a far warmer atmosphere, particularly in the lobby. The GF was my favourite MK resort but it didnt appeal to Roland at all.
We were both agreed on the next one though the Contemporarys ugly. We were prepared for the outside as wed seen photos of it but assumed the inside would be better. We were wrong. It's very '70s and that wasnt the best decade, architecturally speaking! As I said with the Swolphin, please dont anyone take this personally if this is your favourite hotel. It just wont ever be ours so well never be blocking the room you want were all different and thats the way its meant to be!
I'd been keeping my eyes open for a bite to eat but we hadnt seen anything anywhere that I could/wanted to eat. We might have found something at the Contemporary if wed realised we hadnt actually seen the food court. (We didnt realise it was down another floor). I ended up with some Mickey pretzels from the shop. There was a bit of a problem with paying for the pretzels imagine the questions said with motherly concern. Do you want a soda with that? No thankyou. Some milk then? No thankyou. Water then? No thankyou. Well you cant eat just pretzels, theyre too dry! Youve got to drink something with them! I wasn't let off the hook till I'd said I'd already got some water. Thats all right then. She seemed far too sweet and motherly to be working in the middle of all that cold concrete and glass.
We took the monorail back to the car and drove back to the hotel. There were no towel animals, or lovely little notes and moose and Figment were where wed left them but for some reason we hadnt expected anything. Wed done what we always did left our tip in the mousekeeping card and the money (not surprisingly!) had gone. There was one nice touch though - the card had been turned inside out and the word thankyou written across it.
We might have our complaints about the check in CMs but every single member of staff we met in the corridors or elsewhere was delightful warm hellos and sunshine smiles. I vote mousekeeping take over the place.
The animals were back outside - great! We joined them. Like I said, it was a leisurely day. Besides which, we had to conserve our strength we were going to Boma again that evening and we knew what to expect!
Our PS was for 18:00 and we got in pretty much on time. It was a little later than last time and Boma was a little busier. Our waitress was very friendly and very pretty and she did a better job than the waiter wed had last time. Strangely, we sat at the next table to last time. We liked these seats as they were next to the window.
The food was a little different to last time but not a great deal. They didnt have my lamb but they did have Rolands beef and the chicken wed both liked. One of the things I loved was pap it's an African staple. It soaks up the juices and the sauces beautifully and I had masses of the stuff. As I was taking my umpteenth helping, a woman asked me if I'd tried it before. It was obvious by her tone that she didnt rate the looks of it. The enthusiasm of my, Yes, I love it! took her completely by surprise. Saw her get some though.
Roland tried a greater variety of things this time, including a soup and some stews. They were all so good he was even happier than last time!
I celebrated the fact that I could still get into all my clothes (even the non-drawstring waists!) by finishing off with THREE brownies! Bliss on a plate.
Back in our room we animal-watched till they merged into the dusk. It had been a lovely day and proof that you dont have to spend all day rushing round a park to have a Disney day the magics everywhere.
Next, Day 15 You can see their little red beady eyes.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Saturday, 4 May 2002
We didnt do a lot today. There didnt seem much point in staying at a hotel like AKL with a savannah view and not enjoying it.
We slept much later than we had at CBR and Riverside even me. I thought I'd be able to sit on the balcony writing the postcards I still (!) hadn't written whilst waiting for Roland to wake up - I nearly died when I woke up and realised it was half past eight and I might have missed the animals! But there were still some there, bless them.
Getting showered and dressed was a scramble because we didn't want to miss anything. And we wanted the curtains open so we could see and of course you have to be careful of people/cameras seeing in. Once wed finished we had a great breakfast watching the animals eat theirs. We ate indoors every time because of the bugs but then afterwards wed go out onto the balcony. We loved the metal chairs the backs had a zebras head in them, which worked very well. I forgot to mention yesterday we were right next to a viewing point. We thought that might be intrusive but it turned out to be fun listening to peoples comments and excitement. There was a lady across from us on the third floor who hadn't realised what she was going to be able to see. She was SO excited. She was talking to a man who was in the public viewing area and he told her after every delighted squeal, Yes, I know. Thats WHY I told you to get a savannah view! It was fun listening to the parents and their kiddies as well. The parents almost always sounded more excited than their offspring!
As the day moved on, so did the animals. We left then for our third and final round of mini golf. We noticed a strong smell of smoke when we left the hotel and again when we got out of the car by Blizzard Beach but it soon disappeared, never to return.
We'd chosen Summerland for our last game the CM said that was a wise choice as Winterland was overrun by a kiddies birthday party. Were we glad wed done that side last time! If any of you have a weak heart, etc you might like to sit down now - this may come as a bit of a shock. I won. Admittedly Roland was very generous when it took me about ten goes to tee off at one of the holes and he said to only count it as three hits but I'd have won anyway! I'm thinking of having the scorecard framed.
Wed saved our resort hopping for today I wanted to see every resort but we didnt manage it. Roland didnt want to see the All Stars anyway as he hadnt liked the photos of them. I would like to have seen Movies, especially as Nancy likes it, but you just cant do everything in two weeks. We both really now regret not having visited Coronado Springs but it never worked out. As it was, wed scheduled all the MK resorts for today but we only managed three of them.
We parked at the MK and took the monorail to the Polynesian. We both loved the lobby, very lush and tropical. I'd forgotten all about the musty smell I'd read about but my nose reminded me as soon as we got there. It wasnt too unpleasant though. Roland didnt mention it so he cant have noticed it. My sense of smell is better than his though.
Our love of the Poly deteriorated once we got outside. I know the buildings are authentic looking but thats not enough to make us like them. We found them very drab. I hope one day well be able to come back in the evening and wander along the torch lit paths as I think that would be seeing the Poly at its best.
Back on the monorail to the Grand Floridian. In the pictures wed seen it looked very similar to the Disneyland Paris Hotel but this turned out to be only superficial. The GF colours are much nicer and it has a far warmer atmosphere, particularly in the lobby. The GF was my favourite MK resort but it didnt appeal to Roland at all.
We were both agreed on the next one though the Contemporarys ugly. We were prepared for the outside as wed seen photos of it but assumed the inside would be better. We were wrong. It's very '70s and that wasnt the best decade, architecturally speaking! As I said with the Swolphin, please dont anyone take this personally if this is your favourite hotel. It just wont ever be ours so well never be blocking the room you want were all different and thats the way its meant to be!
I'd been keeping my eyes open for a bite to eat but we hadnt seen anything anywhere that I could/wanted to eat. We might have found something at the Contemporary if wed realised we hadnt actually seen the food court. (We didnt realise it was down another floor). I ended up with some Mickey pretzels from the shop. There was a bit of a problem with paying for the pretzels imagine the questions said with motherly concern. Do you want a soda with that? No thankyou. Some milk then? No thankyou. Water then? No thankyou. Well you cant eat just pretzels, theyre too dry! Youve got to drink something with them! I wasn't let off the hook till I'd said I'd already got some water. Thats all right then. She seemed far too sweet and motherly to be working in the middle of all that cold concrete and glass.
We took the monorail back to the car and drove back to the hotel. There were no towel animals, or lovely little notes and moose and Figment were where wed left them but for some reason we hadnt expected anything. Wed done what we always did left our tip in the mousekeeping card and the money (not surprisingly!) had gone. There was one nice touch though - the card had been turned inside out and the word thankyou written across it.
We might have our complaints about the check in CMs but every single member of staff we met in the corridors or elsewhere was delightful warm hellos and sunshine smiles. I vote mousekeeping take over the place.
The animals were back outside - great! We joined them. Like I said, it was a leisurely day. Besides which, we had to conserve our strength we were going to Boma again that evening and we knew what to expect!
Our PS was for 18:00 and we got in pretty much on time. It was a little later than last time and Boma was a little busier. Our waitress was very friendly and very pretty and she did a better job than the waiter wed had last time. Strangely, we sat at the next table to last time. We liked these seats as they were next to the window.
The food was a little different to last time but not a great deal. They didnt have my lamb but they did have Rolands beef and the chicken wed both liked. One of the things I loved was pap it's an African staple. It soaks up the juices and the sauces beautifully and I had masses of the stuff. As I was taking my umpteenth helping, a woman asked me if I'd tried it before. It was obvious by her tone that she didnt rate the looks of it. The enthusiasm of my, Yes, I love it! took her completely by surprise. Saw her get some though.
Roland tried a greater variety of things this time, including a soup and some stews. They were all so good he was even happier than last time!
I celebrated the fact that I could still get into all my clothes (even the non-drawstring waists!) by finishing off with THREE brownies! Bliss on a plate.
Back in our room we animal-watched till they merged into the dusk. It had been a lovely day and proof that you dont have to spend all day rushing round a park to have a Disney day the magics everywhere.
Next, Day 15 You can see their little red beady eyes.
