Part 8, Sunday, June 23
Arriving back at the AKL, we sit on the balcony watching the animals and the rain. We have heated debates about what to do in the food department tonight. We know we dont want a repeat of the whole Boma debacle. Mara is out, for previously mentioned, places to eat that involve standing, issues. We decide to take a walk and check out the menu in front of Jiko.
On the way we check out various other room locations in anticipation of a future trip. I think all my favorite locations are in the wings that extend out from the outsides of the circular shaped hotel. Every time we looked we saw more wildlife from these wing areas than we did in the Arusha Rock Savannah. The whole trick is to get a room facing in the correct direction in those wings. The wings also seem like they are the quietest areas. I sometimes have trouble sleeping in hotels with a lot of noise coming from who-knows-where, but I had no such problems at this place. We did notice, however, in walking down the main hallways, that many parents exert absolutely NO control over how their kids act. Late at night and early in the morning we frequently saw kids bouncing off the walls, screaming, shouting, stomping...all while their parents are watching. I guess some folks feel that their precious little loin fruit can do no wrong.
Anyway, I feel that the only real bad location at this place would be the parking lot view. There arent too many rooms with that view. The pool view rooms wouldnt be too bad, but, if Im going to stay here, I want a Savannah view. The good thing about this place right now though, is that it is priced in such a way that staying in a parking lot view room would still be a pretty decent value.
We get to Jiko and peruse the menu for awhile. I see maybe one thing on it that I would consider ordering. We eat out a lot, and at some pretty decent restaurants, but honestly, when I see things such as, Colusari, kamut, tandoori, and Chaka-Laka on a menu, I get a little worried. Im more than willing to try different things, but at this time I dont feel like investing twenty-six bucks on a plate of perch with chaka-laka sauce and mealie corn pap. I mean, that sounds like some type of bait you would use to catch something good to eat. OK, its pouring out and our dining options at AKL are non-existent. What to do, what to do? We decide to argue for awhile.
15 minutes later I command the herd to change clothes as we are going somewhere to eat. Since we have to get up at like 3 am to leave, I call downstairs and ask for a coffee maker to be delivered to our room so we can have our coffee fix in the morning. We head down to the lobby and get the car out of valet for the first time this trip. We drive over towards the GF as I decide we are going to eat at one of our newest favorite places, Narcoossees. We ate here, for the first time, on our May trip and really liked it. On the way over I reached into my pocket where I usually have my tipping cash, and found a ten dollar bill and 2 ones. I removed the ones and placed them on the console in order to give them to the valet when we pulled up. I consciously separated the 10 and the ones so I wouldnt be confused when reaching into my pocket. Well, you guessed it....We get out of the car and I give the guy a tip...As were walking away Jane asks why I left the money on the console. Arggghhh, I open her door and reach back in to pick up the 2 dollars. Im hot stuff, huh? A ten dollar tip for parking my car. So........I convince myself that for $10 they must park your car really, really good.
We enter the GF, and I have to admit, this place has really never done much for me. Its pretty and all, and I enjoy looking at all the HUGE flower arrangements and such, but other than that its just a hotel to me. We walk to the back of the place and look out the doors at the rain absolutely POUNDING down. Hmmm, now we need to get to Narcoossees, which is like 150 yards away through the rain. If my previously favorite restaurant, Flaglers, were still open we wouldnt be in this predicament, because it was in the main building. It is at this point I wonder why this deluxe resort would be set up in such a way as to make you walk outside to get everywhere. People are running from their rooms just soaking wet to get to the main building. Hey Walt, how bout a few covered walkways or something? I can see the architects sitting around the table now....Where should we put this restaurant?....I have an idea, lets put it on the far reaches of the property, as far from the hotel entrance as we can get....Great idea!! Hey, lets also make people walk thru the elements to get to it, after all, it never rains in Florida around dinner time. We slog thru the rain and arrive at Narcoossees as comfortable as a newborn babe....wet and hungry. Surprise, surprise, theres like nobody here....They seat us immediately. We like the surroundings here, the service is excellent. John-boy from Yachtsmans should be required to haul his pompous butt over here to watch the wait staff for awhile. Jane ordered scallops and I had the free range chicken. Last time I was here I had halibut with cheesey grits. When I ordered the fish last time I asked for mashed potatoes instead of grits since I have never been a big grit fan. Living in the south, the only grits I ever tasted were plain, overcooked and gross. They made a mistake however and brought my halibut on a pile of grits. The waitress immediately realized her mistake and brought me a separate order of potatoes. When I tried the grits, however, I loved them. They were excellent-o. So, this time when I ordered my free range chicken I told the waitress I had tried the cheesey grits here and really liked them and asked if they were available tonight instead of the vegetable ratatouille and sauteed spinach that comes with the chicken.
She said they were and she made the substitution for me. She even came back shortly after serving me to ask if the grits were as good as I remembered from before. Great food, great service, attentive but non-intrusive.
It was during this meal that Jane and I had a conversation about the food at WDW. While my plate of chicken and grits was excellent, it just amazes me the prices Disney can get away with charging. In front of me was a small chicken breast with a little pile of grits. With Disneys buying power, Im sure the cost of the raw materials in front of me was no more than 2 or 3 dollars at most. I, however, am paying $24 for it. This meal cost us about $100 with drinks and dessert. At home, if we spent $100 on a meal, there would be something special about it....When we spend that money on a meal at Disney the food is comparable to what I would eat on a regular work day going out for lunch. Maybe California Grill or V & A has terrific food for the money, but the great majority of Disney food is average. In my opinion, what makes people eat at all these expensive restaurants at Disney is a combination of food & theme...with theme being the main ingredient. We made a trip in May of 2001 and due to timing and activities we ate at A LOT less of the nicer restaurants than we usually do. At the end of the vacation, looking back, we saved hundreds of dollars and our vacation/dining experience was not one iota different than it would have been otherwise. As a matter of fact, (forgetting the money), the only difference was we realized we had saved lots and lots of TIME.
My major problem is there is really nothing between high school cafeteria type food and fine dining. You either eat from a cart or off a paper plate, or you eat fine dining. I know people will point out a place or two where you can sit down and order a sandwich, but, for the most part you are out of luck. Where are the mid range type places....Like comparable to Applebees or something? One of my favorite places to eat is the Pepper Market at CSR. They have a wide variety of decent food at fair prices, you can eat in a lot less than 2 hours, AND, they serve on real plates with honest to goodness silverware! I know, I know....Compared to other theme parks WDW food is just as good and the same price, blah, blah, blah....But a $24 chicken breast is still a $24 chicken breast. Okay, okay....My food rant is over.
Finishing our key lime creme brulee, we pay our check, (about $100), and head out to walk around in the rain for awhile. I get the car back from valet, (tip is 2 one dollar bills), and we head back to AKL. We pack up our belongings and call down for a, YIKES, 3 am wake up call, and are in bed by 9 or 9:30.
Dang, its dark at 3 am. We get up, make some coffee, shower, and were outta there by 4 in order to get our 5:45 am flight.
This was an excellent trip....No kids...No plans....No schedules. AKL is my new favorite resort, I could easily just hang around the resort for a couple days of our next trip. The crowds were WAY less than we expected for a June trip. The bus service from AKL was unbelievable, as I mentioned before, we had NEVER been bus riders before, (I dont wait well), but the service to and from the AKL was superb. We never waited more than a few minutes for a bus, and we never waited more than a few minutes for any attraction.
I have advice for all you chronic planners. There really is no need to stress over planning every second of every minute of your Disney vacation. I guarantee, if you dont plan anything there will NEVER be a time when you are just standing around wondering what to do next. You wont starve if you dont have 3 PSs every single day. Relax....Take it easy.
Can you believe I wrote an EIGHT PART trip report for a 3 day vacation? Just imagine if I wrote one for our usual 8 day, yearly trip. Youd all be bored to tears...lol.
Arriving back at the AKL, we sit on the balcony watching the animals and the rain. We have heated debates about what to do in the food department tonight. We know we dont want a repeat of the whole Boma debacle. Mara is out, for previously mentioned, places to eat that involve standing, issues. We decide to take a walk and check out the menu in front of Jiko.
On the way we check out various other room locations in anticipation of a future trip. I think all my favorite locations are in the wings that extend out from the outsides of the circular shaped hotel. Every time we looked we saw more wildlife from these wing areas than we did in the Arusha Rock Savannah. The whole trick is to get a room facing in the correct direction in those wings. The wings also seem like they are the quietest areas. I sometimes have trouble sleeping in hotels with a lot of noise coming from who-knows-where, but I had no such problems at this place. We did notice, however, in walking down the main hallways, that many parents exert absolutely NO control over how their kids act. Late at night and early in the morning we frequently saw kids bouncing off the walls, screaming, shouting, stomping...all while their parents are watching. I guess some folks feel that their precious little loin fruit can do no wrong.
Anyway, I feel that the only real bad location at this place would be the parking lot view. There arent too many rooms with that view. The pool view rooms wouldnt be too bad, but, if Im going to stay here, I want a Savannah view. The good thing about this place right now though, is that it is priced in such a way that staying in a parking lot view room would still be a pretty decent value.
We get to Jiko and peruse the menu for awhile. I see maybe one thing on it that I would consider ordering. We eat out a lot, and at some pretty decent restaurants, but honestly, when I see things such as, Colusari, kamut, tandoori, and Chaka-Laka on a menu, I get a little worried. Im more than willing to try different things, but at this time I dont feel like investing twenty-six bucks on a plate of perch with chaka-laka sauce and mealie corn pap. I mean, that sounds like some type of bait you would use to catch something good to eat. OK, its pouring out and our dining options at AKL are non-existent. What to do, what to do? We decide to argue for awhile.
15 minutes later I command the herd to change clothes as we are going somewhere to eat. Since we have to get up at like 3 am to leave, I call downstairs and ask for a coffee maker to be delivered to our room so we can have our coffee fix in the morning. We head down to the lobby and get the car out of valet for the first time this trip. We drive over towards the GF as I decide we are going to eat at one of our newest favorite places, Narcoossees. We ate here, for the first time, on our May trip and really liked it. On the way over I reached into my pocket where I usually have my tipping cash, and found a ten dollar bill and 2 ones. I removed the ones and placed them on the console in order to give them to the valet when we pulled up. I consciously separated the 10 and the ones so I wouldnt be confused when reaching into my pocket. Well, you guessed it....We get out of the car and I give the guy a tip...As were walking away Jane asks why I left the money on the console. Arggghhh, I open her door and reach back in to pick up the 2 dollars. Im hot stuff, huh? A ten dollar tip for parking my car. So........I convince myself that for $10 they must park your car really, really good.
We enter the GF, and I have to admit, this place has really never done much for me. Its pretty and all, and I enjoy looking at all the HUGE flower arrangements and such, but other than that its just a hotel to me. We walk to the back of the place and look out the doors at the rain absolutely POUNDING down. Hmmm, now we need to get to Narcoossees, which is like 150 yards away through the rain. If my previously favorite restaurant, Flaglers, were still open we wouldnt be in this predicament, because it was in the main building. It is at this point I wonder why this deluxe resort would be set up in such a way as to make you walk outside to get everywhere. People are running from their rooms just soaking wet to get to the main building. Hey Walt, how bout a few covered walkways or something? I can see the architects sitting around the table now....Where should we put this restaurant?....I have an idea, lets put it on the far reaches of the property, as far from the hotel entrance as we can get....Great idea!! Hey, lets also make people walk thru the elements to get to it, after all, it never rains in Florida around dinner time. We slog thru the rain and arrive at Narcoossees as comfortable as a newborn babe....wet and hungry. Surprise, surprise, theres like nobody here....They seat us immediately. We like the surroundings here, the service is excellent. John-boy from Yachtsmans should be required to haul his pompous butt over here to watch the wait staff for awhile. Jane ordered scallops and I had the free range chicken. Last time I was here I had halibut with cheesey grits. When I ordered the fish last time I asked for mashed potatoes instead of grits since I have never been a big grit fan. Living in the south, the only grits I ever tasted were plain, overcooked and gross. They made a mistake however and brought my halibut on a pile of grits. The waitress immediately realized her mistake and brought me a separate order of potatoes. When I tried the grits, however, I loved them. They were excellent-o. So, this time when I ordered my free range chicken I told the waitress I had tried the cheesey grits here and really liked them and asked if they were available tonight instead of the vegetable ratatouille and sauteed spinach that comes with the chicken.
She said they were and she made the substitution for me. She even came back shortly after serving me to ask if the grits were as good as I remembered from before. Great food, great service, attentive but non-intrusive.
It was during this meal that Jane and I had a conversation about the food at WDW. While my plate of chicken and grits was excellent, it just amazes me the prices Disney can get away with charging. In front of me was a small chicken breast with a little pile of grits. With Disneys buying power, Im sure the cost of the raw materials in front of me was no more than 2 or 3 dollars at most. I, however, am paying $24 for it. This meal cost us about $100 with drinks and dessert. At home, if we spent $100 on a meal, there would be something special about it....When we spend that money on a meal at Disney the food is comparable to what I would eat on a regular work day going out for lunch. Maybe California Grill or V & A has terrific food for the money, but the great majority of Disney food is average. In my opinion, what makes people eat at all these expensive restaurants at Disney is a combination of food & theme...with theme being the main ingredient. We made a trip in May of 2001 and due to timing and activities we ate at A LOT less of the nicer restaurants than we usually do. At the end of the vacation, looking back, we saved hundreds of dollars and our vacation/dining experience was not one iota different than it would have been otherwise. As a matter of fact, (forgetting the money), the only difference was we realized we had saved lots and lots of TIME.
My major problem is there is really nothing between high school cafeteria type food and fine dining. You either eat from a cart or off a paper plate, or you eat fine dining. I know people will point out a place or two where you can sit down and order a sandwich, but, for the most part you are out of luck. Where are the mid range type places....Like comparable to Applebees or something? One of my favorite places to eat is the Pepper Market at CSR. They have a wide variety of decent food at fair prices, you can eat in a lot less than 2 hours, AND, they serve on real plates with honest to goodness silverware! I know, I know....Compared to other theme parks WDW food is just as good and the same price, blah, blah, blah....But a $24 chicken breast is still a $24 chicken breast. Okay, okay....My food rant is over.
Finishing our key lime creme brulee, we pay our check, (about $100), and head out to walk around in the rain for awhile. I get the car back from valet, (tip is 2 one dollar bills), and we head back to AKL. We pack up our belongings and call down for a, YIKES, 3 am wake up call, and are in bed by 9 or 9:30.
Dang, its dark at 3 am. We get up, make some coffee, shower, and were outta there by 4 in order to get our 5:45 am flight.
This was an excellent trip....No kids...No plans....No schedules. AKL is my new favorite resort, I could easily just hang around the resort for a couple days of our next trip. The crowds were WAY less than we expected for a June trip. The bus service from AKL was unbelievable, as I mentioned before, we had NEVER been bus riders before, (I dont wait well), but the service to and from the AKL was superb. We never waited more than a few minutes for a bus, and we never waited more than a few minutes for any attraction.
I have advice for all you chronic planners. There really is no need to stress over planning every second of every minute of your Disney vacation. I guarantee, if you dont plan anything there will NEVER be a time when you are just standing around wondering what to do next. You wont starve if you dont have 3 PSs every single day. Relax....Take it easy.
Can you believe I wrote an EIGHT PART trip report for a 3 day vacation? Just imagine if I wrote one for our usual 8 day, yearly trip. Youd all be bored to tears...lol.
