Our "Totally Tinsel" Christmas vacation! UPDATES Page 14 - two!!

[jewels1916]

Those goodie bags are so cute! Great job with decorating them! And I'm glad the weather didn't hinder you too badly! We had some snow here, and I thought the entire state of Texas was going to shut down. We don't seem to handle it very well.

 

[DWGal210]

Those goodie bags are so cute! Great job with decorating them! And I'm glad the weather didn't hinder you too badly! We had some snow here, and I thought the entire state of Texas was going to shut down. We don't seem to handle it very well.

Hey there!!! Nice to see you again! Welcome to my TR!

We really lucked out with the weather; luckily (or unluckily), though, we are used to this, and so it usually only takes them a day or so to clean up the roads.

I always find it comical that before a storm, the grocery stores are just packed. Don't worry, people, you won't need 10 gallons of milk for the 5 hours you'll be unable to get out of your house. And they live here, they should know better!

 

[DWGal210]

So as I left you last update, we were at the airport, getting ready to leave for Orlando! After some de-icing of the plane, we were in the air and ready to go!!

On the road to the airport, my aunt mentioned that she had forgotten her DVC member card at home; she needed it to get her Tables in Wonderland card and to buy their annual passes, so as soon as we landed, that was one of our missions. For those DVC folks, in case you don't know - you can go to the Member Services place at Saratoga and they will print you a temporary card (which, by the way, looks just like the "real" cards.....)

So we did landed in Orlando a bit late, because of the de-icing...but that's OK, because we were here!! As we landed, Justin (my 3 year old cousin) asked his mom who melted the swow.
So we were here! Woo hoo! Can't you tell we are excited?! (Or maybe we are just exhausted....)

We then sat at Magical Express for what felt like an hour....and then we were off!! Here we are, getting closer and closer to that magical sign....

Finally, WE'RE HERE!!

And we're getting closer and closer to Kidani Village....

And then we arrived at Kidani, ready to go for our 9 days of Christmas vacation fun!! Please excuse the blurry picture...I think our bus driver was trying to train for the Indy 500 and we went REALLY fast around that curve!

Coming in Part 3....see pictures of our Kidani 2 bedroom villa, plus our amazing meal at Raglan Road! See you real soon!

 

[DWGal210]

I just can't help myself....here I am, back again like a bad habit!

So as we rolled into AKL, it was quite a sight to see. It's a very lovely resort. I do have some "pros" and some "cons" about our stay there, but I will save those for the day we check out.

In the meantime, we arrive at AKL:

Some kids who are happy to be at WDW! Sam and Sadie, ages 16 and 9.

Johari Treasures....ahh, I can see myself spending lots of money at you in the very near future....

My sister and Justin, posing out front of Kidani!

So we got checked in. The boys then made their way to the room, with strict instructions not to mess it up before we got pictures. The girls headed out to Saratoga and DTD to get that DVC pass and the annual passes, and we made it just in the nick of time for Raglan Road!

So if you have never had the appetizer Dalkey Duos, they are SO good! They are sausages in a batter, and you dip them in this mustard sauce - yum!! By the time we got there, the boys had already almost devored them, as you can see:

Justin loved them, as you can see:

I then took the opportunity to grab some more pics of the kids - Justin was not feeling it, though:

I had some WONDERFUL drink (although, shoot, I cannot think of the name of it!!) and the fish and chips. Heaven, pure heaven.

My uncle also got Fish & Chips. I can't recall what my aunt and sister got, but here are pics of their food:

And Justin loved his kid meal of chicken fingers and fries!

After our bellies were FULL, we got back on the bus and headed to Kidani Village!

Up next, pics of our room!

 

[DWGal210]

Since you have been such good boys and girls, you get 3 updates today. I can't promise that each week I will be this motivated, but when the mood stikes, I go with it!

As promised, here are pics of our 2 bedroom savannah view Kidani villa.

Our room number!

Some pics of the living room area....

The first bedroom, where the kids stayed:

And the master bedroom: I was sure I had a picture of the master bath, so I will find that. That was amazing!!

I would say that our savannah view wasn't really worth it. If you see a map of Kidani Village, you'll see the "main" savannah area, a horseshoe shape right in front; we were still a view, but on the backside of that. So we still had animals, but only the small ones, no giraffes or zebras or any of the larger animals. Plus, we weren't really in our room enough to be looking at the animals. So while it was a neat thing, they probably won't use their points that way again.

But it was still a very cool room and the size was perfect! Plus, it had 3 bathrooms, which was AWESOME!!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I will see you again on Monday! Stay Warm!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I love that your cousin asked who had melted the snow when you arrived in Orlando. That's precious!

Kidani is so pretty -- every time I see pics of the villas it makes me want to buy DVC right then and there. Looks like there was plenty of space for everyone!

Fish and chips would be so good right now!!!

 

[ladybugmom]

Mmmmmm! That food is making my mouth water!! YUM!! And your room is beautiful!! I cannot wait for another update!!

 

[MeMom]

I do love driving toward (and then under) those wonderful Disney arches every single time!

We saw the Kidani rooms when we did the DVC tour. What a way to stay! Very nice. Three bathrroms = happiness for all.

I want to shop in Johari someday. I haven't made it there yet. Maybe this summer when we have eleven days.

What did the kids think of you taking pictures of everything, including food?

 

[MEK]

Just realized that you started your TR. Great read so far.

I love the bags you made for the kids - so cute!

Glad you got to Reglan road on time. All the food looks yum!

Sorry to hear you did not get great animal viewing. That really stinks considering the number of extra points you "pay" for the view. To me the best part of Kidani was the excellent rooms and master bathroom. I didn't have a savannah view and I still enjoyed seeing those animals whenever I was out and about.

Glad you are going to stretch this out considering you were there for what - 9 days????? Lucky you!

 

[MHTeacher]

Loving the trip report so far...all these great reports have inspired me to write my first every trip report (that and the fact that I've been "snowed in" because of 1 inch of snow here in Alabama!)

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[lmillercrew]

Subbing! Great report so far!

 

[brookelizabeth]

We were in room 7607, the first room on the left side of the hallway (standard view) directly after the check-in desk.

We were so close, yet never saw each other!!!

Raglan Road looks yummmmmy!

 

[that's nice]

OK I didn't realize that you started this!

Subbing and will be back to read everything tomorrow... well today i guess.

 

[Flossbolna]

Oh, I hadn't realized that you started your TR! Sounds like a great start, can't wait to read more!

 

[that's nice]

OK I'm all caught up!

Glad you made it to the airport on time and landing only 15 minutes late.. that's not too bad.

We loved Raglan Rd. when we ate there too!

Your room looks amazing!

OK.. I'm here for the duration!

 

[DWGal210]

I love that your cousin asked who had melted the snow when you arrived in Orlando. That's precious!

Kidani is so pretty -- every time I see pics of the villas it makes me want to buy DVC right then and there. Looks like there was plenty of space for everyone!

Fish and chips would be so good right now!!!

Hi Jackie! Yes, Fish and Chips does sound SO GOOD.....my mouth is watering as I type this!

Mmmmmm! That food is making my mouth water!! YUM!! And your room is beautiful!! I cannot wait for another update!!

Thanks, Becky! The room was very lovely. The thing that really set it over the top were those 3 bathrooms - now THAT was handy!

I do love driving toward (and then under) those wonderful Disney arches every single time!

We saw the Kidani rooms when we did the DVC tour. What a way to stay! Very nice. Three bathrroms = happiness for all.

I want to shop in Johari someday. I haven't made it there yet. Maybe this summer when we have eleven days.

What did the kids think of you taking pictures of everything, including food?

Hey you! How's it going? I just read your update on your TR.

The kids gave me a bit of flack for taking so many pictures, but by the end of the trip, they didn't even give it a second thought. They probably just chalked it up to me being silly.

Just realized that you started your TR. Great read so far.

I love the bags you made for the kids - so cute!

Glad you got to Reglan road on time. All the food looks yum!

Sorry to hear you did not get great animal viewing. That really stinks considering the number of extra points you "pay" for the view. To me the best part of Kidani was the excellent rooms and master bathroom. I didn't have a savannah view and I still enjoyed seeing those animals whenever I was out and about.

Glad you are going to stretch this out considering you were there for what - 9 days????? Lucky you!

I am going to try hard and strech this out - it'll get me through those days here at home, in the frozen tundra - brrr!!!

Loving the trip report so far...all these great reports have inspired me to write my first every trip report (that and the fact that I've been "snowed in" because of 1 inch of snow here in Alabama!)

Can't wait to hear more.

Glad you're here! I will have to make sure and read your TR as well! They are fun to write...plus, you get to re-live those Disney moments, which is always a good time!

 

[DWGal210]

Subbing! Great report so far!

Welcome, welcome!! Thanks for reading my humble TR!

We were in room 7607, the first room on the left side of the hallway (standard view) directly after the check-in desk.

We were so close, yet never saw each other!!!

Raglan Road looks yummmmmy!

I know, how funny is it that we never saw each other at the resort?! Too funny!!

Oh, I hadn't realized that you started your TR! Sounds like a great start, can't wait to read more!

Nice to see you!! I'll have to get caught up on your report, I have been a bad Dis friend...

OK I'm all caught up!

Glad you made it to the airport on time and landing only 15 minutes late.. that's not too bad.

We loved Raglan Rd. when we ate there too!

Your room looks amazing!

OK.. I'm here for the duration!

Hi there!! Glad to see you here! Thanks for coming along for the ride!

 

[jewels1916]

Oh, Raglan looks so yummy! And Kidani village looks like so much fun! We stayed at AKL, savannah view too. I'm with you, not really sure it was worth the extra $$$ for the Savannah view room, because of how little we were in the room. But it was fun all the same. I wish I was back there now....

 

[praisehisname]

Yay, you're there! And Raglan Road looks yummy!

 

[MEK]

Checking in for more........