Paradise and Magic..All Rolled into One Vacation! UD3/28 A Top 10 Wrap Up

[mousescrapper]

AKL looks amazing...I can't believe I'll be staying there in just a few months....love your picture tour...and can't wait to hear about your dinner

 

[mickeystoontown]

Missy, your in-laws did a fantastic job on your room! It looks absolutely beautiful.

The pictures of AKL are great. I know that I would enjoy staying there but John wouldn't get much out of it 'cause he's not big on animals or the Animal Kingdom. But, it looks like a place I'd love to stay at.

 

[DisMomAmy]

AKL is gorgeous!! We got to see it for the first time when we went to Boma last spring! The lobby is unbelieveable... I'm so excited to stay at the villas in January with the spectrum moms!

Can't wait to hear about the best dinner ever! And your awesome park day!!

 

[Angies1274]

Great update!! Love all your pictures around AKL!! It's such a beautiful resort!! I'm hoping to stay there someday too!!!

Thanks for the pics around Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort! That's too funny...because I have just spend the last couple weeks researching the resort. (pretty sure that's where we may stay next year) I was so excited to see your pictures!!

 

[mom2mek]

Ahhh....Animal Kingdom Lodge is so beautiful and well-themed! I really love the design of that resort (just wish it was closer to stuff...of course I'm sure that is all part of it's theme, too...makes you feel very secluded)! The lobby takes my breath away every time!

Can't wait to hear about Boma!!! I could make an entire meal out of their soups alone - heavenly!!! I was making our ADR list for our April trip and I didn't have Boma on it (just because there are so many places we HAVEN'T tried that I thought we really should) and Shawn was like "ok, so when are we eating at Boma?" LOL! Needless to say, it's back on the list!

Sara

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

We got to see AKL in June! It is gorgeous!! I can't wait to relive our dinner at Boma with you!!

 

[carissanboys]

Your suite was gorgeous!

That was your first time visiting AKL? We love it there.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Hi everyone! I am so sorry for the extended absence! Life has been crazy (as usual) and the winter blues hit me hard this year. I haven't really wanted to relive my fabulous vacation because it depressed me to not have a new one in the works. Lame, I know, but true!

Anyway.....it's about time for me to finish this up and put it to bed! I hate leaving things unfinished, so readers or not, I'm gonna finish this baby!

I am working on an update today....I'll have it up by tomorrow morning at the latest!

In the meantime.....

In the past several months my oldest son turned 16 and began driving!

I celebrated my 41st and Jeff got me these beautiful flowers.

I got "back on the wagon" as far as my weight loss goes. I lost 30 pounds last year, gained some back over the summer.....now trying to lose more and get to that goal weight. I have lost 13 since January. And....Jeff has joined me and has lost aver 20 pounds so far!

Thanks for sticking with me and I will have that update posted soon!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Welcome Back! Missy

love the last installment...the condo looks very comfortable and nice. I, too, have a dream of staying at AKL...although, my new dream stay is at the Boardwalk or Beach Resort. I like the thought of being on a waterway with access to both Epcot and DHS.

Sorry to hear you had a hard winter, I hope the spring brings some happiness to match that beautiful smile of yours. WOW! you have a driver!!! you are moving into that next phase of parenting (I sometimes thought it was harder than the toddler years--the attitude).

Connie

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm happy to see you posting on your report again Missy. We missed seeing your beautiful family. Speaking of family, I can't believe that Dan is driving now.

The flowers that Jeff bought you for the your birthday are gorgeous. I love the colors.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Glad to hear you are back and I understand the winter blahs!!

 

[mousescrapper]

welcome back

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Thanks everyone for the kind "welcome back"! You guys are why I love the DIS!

Update coming up next!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Whew....it's been a while since I've posted and I guess I better just catch everyone up before I move on. Jeff and I had arrived at AKL early to do some exploring before our 8:05 ADR at Boma. AKL is my dream resort and I just couldn't wait to check it out! It is all that I had imagined and more! We spent some time admiring the detailing in the lobby, then headed out and checked out the animals on the savannah, and also took a little tour around the gift shop. By this time it was about 7:50 and we decided it was time to head to Boma to check in and wait for our table.

We had found the check-in area on our little tour, so we knew exactly where to go and we had our little buzzer in hand in no time. It would be a few minutes until our table was ready so we thought a trip to the bar was a good idea! Now, Jeff and I are not big drinkers. Jeff enjoys a nice cold beer on occasion and I like a good cocktail with dinner, but that's about the extent of our alcohol endeavors. Jeff recently became enamored with Blue Moon beer and so he ordered one for himself and an iced tea for me. (See...not a big drinker!) We found two comfy chairs and a small table overlooking the restaurant area and took a load off. The bar is on the second floor and looks down onto the dining area. The restaurant itself is a little dark so pictures aren't great, but here is our view.

Boma is gorgeous and, like many things at Disney, filled with awesome attention to detail if you just slow down enough to take it all in. I loved these pillars...so beautiful! Also, the detailing in the railings to make it look like sticks...very cool!

I'm not sure I said this earlier, but I had decided that I would try new things on this trip and had done so already with snorkeling, eating conch, trying sushi, etc. Well...it was time again to put my resolve to the test. I mentioned that I am not a big drinker...and I am not at all a beer drinker. I have never liked it. But...Jeff insisted that I try this Blue Moon beer and in the spirit of new things, I agreed. Kind of like Corona that is enjoyed with a lime wedge, Blue Moon is garnished with an orange. Here's a picture of Jeff and his beer!

I was a good sport and did take a drink of his beer. Although I did not hate it, I wouldn't choose to drink it either. I just can't get past the bitterness. IF I had to drink beer though, I would drink this one over others I have tried. See...tried the beer and still smiling!

It wasn't too long before our buzzer was all lit up and we were shown to our table. We ordered two Diet Cokes and then got up to explore the buffet before making our selections. I was very excited to try the hummus bar. I actually love hummus as a snack and couldn't wait to see what varieties were available. After familiarizing ourselves with the layout of the buffet...desserts on one end, hummus bar, salads, soups, then the open grill with all the meats....we made our first selections and sat down to dig in. We had not eaten a meal since that afternoon on our drive from Port Canaveral (we stopped at a Subway) so we were hungry. We had been looking forward to this meal for a long time and wanted to be able to fully enjoy it!

So....what did we eat?? Well...I took pictures, but didn't take notes on what all the food was, so I admit I am looking to the menus online to help jog my memory. Let's get started.....

Ok...in the bowl is the butternut squash soup. I had eaten the butternut squash soup at Wolfgang Puck on our 2007 trip and loved it. This soup was very different than the WP soup. This tasted very sweet....almost like a liquid form of pumpkin pie. Very tasty, but not savory enough for my liking. The yellow mixture is Corn and Spinach pudding....very delicious and mild tasting. Finally, the gray looking stuff is black bean hummus with homemade pita chips. There were 3 varieties of hummus, my favorite being the Olive hummus.

NEXT!

This one is Jeff's plate and I really have no idea what he has! Fresh pita...I think he also tried the Spinach and Quinoa Salad and the Fried Plantain Corn Salad. We also tried Watermelon Rind Salad, but I don't see it on this plate.

On to the entrees!

Among other things, we tried the roasted meats (there was pork and prime rib), falafel, FuFu ( kind of like mashed sweet potatoes with spices like cinnamon and coriander), Coconut Curry Salmon, and Jollof rice. Everything was fabulous! Jeff's favorite was the Coconut Curry Seafood Stew. I didn't get a good picture of this because he ate it too fast!

I am not a fan of curry, but they also had a Peanut Soup that I really enjoyed. Along with the African specialties, there was green salad and plenty of fresh fruit available as well as a kid's buffet with the typical chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese.

As we enjoyed our dinner, we took in the incredible atmosphere of this restaurant. The lighting is soft, but it didn't feel dim, just warm. There are LOTS of tables, but I never stood in a long line for anything. The buffet is set up in “pods” which avoids the line issue. I just loved it here and both Jeff and I felt it was by far one of the best meals we have had on Disney property.

Oh...almost forgot dessert! All of the desserts were bite-sized, therefore, less guilt-inducing! YUM!

As we tried to roll ourselves out of the restaurant, we made a short pit stop at the restrooms. As I was waiting for Jeff to come out, I took this picture....I loved all the plates.

When Jeff came out, there were two older gentlemen sitting on the bench outside the restrooms. On his way out, Jeff looked up at me (I was on the stairs taking the picture looking down toward the bathrooms) and said “Hey lady, stop taking pictures of people coming out of the bathroom.” These men had no idea we were together and were amused by Jeff's antics. I however, was not! What a goofball! I was stuttering trying to explain myself so the men knew I was taking pictures of the décor! LOL!

As we exited Boma and said good-bye to the gorgeous AKL, we called home to say hello to the boys. I stopped right at the edge of the parking lot to chat a few minutes and we found this guy.

This frog was a jumping maniac and had me screeching into the phone as he hopped all over! My boys thought I was nuts, but that frog was out of control!

A few more pics before we left.

Tomorrow we hit the MK! SO EXCITED!!!!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Glad you are back!! I am all caught up with your report after having the winter blahs because I was not planning a Magical trip. Getting out of them now that I am researching and beginning to plan a trip.

Boma is one of my favs. Go when they open. The staff does a show to celebrate opening with traditional Adrican drum music. It was fantastic when we were there in July.

 

[mom2mek]

Ahhh....Boma!!! It's so good, isn't it? I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did and now we make it a must-do every trip! That seafood stew you posted the empty bowl of is what Shawn eats about 3 bowls of when we go! He would go back just for that soup!

Great pics of you outside the lodge - you look like you are having a great time!

(I don't like beer either - more of a cocktail kind of girl!)

Sara

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Missy what a wonderful evening of exploration! and that meal looks yummy...

 

[mickeystoontown]

I am with you on beer. It just tastes plain old yucky to me. If I drink anything alcoholic, it needs to be something slushy and not taste like alcohol. But kudos to you for trying something new.

The food at Boma looks really good. I've always been scared to book an ADR there because I was afraid we wouldn't enjoy the food there since we aren't adventurous eaters.

 

[mousescrapper]

Missy...
great start back into your TR...good job on all that food porn pics your meal looked very tasty w/ so many new things to try one fancy buffet very glad you both really enjoyed your self.

Isn't AKL amazing I was quite floored by it all too when we saw it and Kidani in Jan. and looking at the animals in the private savanah too fun!

so Blue Moon huh? neither Matt and I are big drinkers either and really just this past yr have I tried a few things...but the first beer I really drank all the way was a Blue Moon at my SIL bacherlette party last yr. now of course if you are looking for something quite tasty at Disney...all that talk about those Grey Goose slushies....well I won't say anymore just stay tuned to the Spectrum Mom TR

I would have been screeching about that frog probably too...can't wait to read about your MK day

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Glad you are back!! I am all caught up with your report after having the winter blahs because I was not planning a Magical trip. Getting out of them now that I am researching and beginning to plan a trip.

Boma is one of my favs. Go when they open. The staff does a show to celebrate opening with traditional Adrican drum music. It was fantastic when we were there in July.

I would love to go back to Boma....maybe someday when I'm staying at AKL!

A trip, huh? Do tell!

Ahhh....Boma!!! It's so good, isn't it? I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did and now we make it a must-do every trip! That seafood stew you posted the empty bowl of is what Shawn eats about 3 bowls of when we go! He would go back just for that soup!

Great pics of you outside the lodge - you look like you are having a great time!

(I don't like beer either - more of a cocktail kind of girl!)

Sara

We really enjoyed Boma....all the food was delicious! Jeff would have licked that bowl clean if I had let him! He still talks about that soup.

Missy what a wonderful evening of exploration! and that meal looks yummy...

So delicious.... and nice to enjoy it without the kids!

I am with you on beer. It just tastes plain old yucky to me. If I drink anything alcoholic, it needs to be something slushy and not taste like alcohol. But kudos to you for trying something new.

The food at Boma looks really good. I've always been scared to book an ADR there because I was afraid we wouldn't enjoy the food there since we aren't adventurous eaters.

Still not gonna be a beer drinker....I'll stick with frozen margaritas!

Jeff and I like a lot of different foods so I knew we would enjoy this meal. There is enough familiar food on the buffet, though, that anyone could find something they like and maybe throw in something new as well!

Missy...
great start back into your TR...good job on all that food porn pics your meal looked very tasty w/ so many new things to try one fancy buffet very glad you both really enjoyed your self.

Isn't AKL amazing I was quite floored by it all too when we saw it and Kidani in Jan. and looking at the animals in the private savanah too fun!

so Blue Moon huh? neither Matt and I are big drinkers either and really just this past yr have I tried a few things...but the first beer I really drank all the way was a Blue Moon at my SIL bacherlette party last yr. now of course if you are looking for something quite tasty at Disney...all that talk about those Grey Goose slushies....well I won't say anymore just stay tuned to the Spectrum Mom TR

I would have been screeching about that frog probably too...can't wait to read about your MK day

Thanks Julie! AKL lived up to the hype I had built up in my head....just breathtaking.

Wow...a WHOLE beer.....you are more of a woman than I! Can't wait to hear your opinion of the Grey Goose slushies....I may just have to put those on my list of "must try"!

Silly frog was really freaking me out! My boys got a kick out of me raising such a fuss!