Prawn Heads & Cupcakes & Soups, Oh My! 10/5 Complete (now with my Dining Wish List)!

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Just joining in! Excellent review!

 

[megan511]

Thanks for the reviews of all the AKL restaurants. It looks like a beautiful resort. I want one of those zebra chairs!

I think your salad from Sanaa looks good but I love sweet. It is disappointing when what you order is not what you thought especially when it differs from the menu.

I'm glad Jiko didn't disappoint. I don't know if I could handle the prawns but your mom's chicken looks good. That dessert looks great! I've always thought when I do go to Jiko I will get a flatbread & dessert.

Thanks for the water park pictures. They look fun! We have never been but I am getting more & more interested in visiting one.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Love the beautiful waterpark pictures.

I'm sure you were very hungry after climbing all those steps to get to the slides. Looking forward to seeing what's next.

 

[Roma]

Mmmm that compote looks divine! I could eat a plate of that for dinner and be fine.

I'd probably ask for my prawns headless only because I'm too lazy to pick apart my shrimp .

 

[jabead]

Hey Donald, where you been lately? You haven't deserted us and gone back to school, have you? The mother in me thinks that is very wise, school comes first. But as a devoted follower of your Dining Report, I say...BOOOOO to school!!!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Hey Donald, where you been lately? You haven't deserted us and gone back to school, have you? The mother in me thinks that is very wise, school comes first. But as a devoted follower of your Dining Report, I say...BOOOOO to school!!!

I second this!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Hey Donald, where you been lately? You haven't deserted us and gone back to school, have you? The mother in me thinks that is very wise, school comes first. But as a devoted follower of your Dining Report, I say...BOOOOO to school!!!

I second this!

Yep - basically I've begun the exciting but time-consuming process of packing up and going back to school. However, I'm definitely going to finish the report (and reply to individual posts soon).

After riding Slush Gusher at Blizzard Beach, I headed back to AKL. At this point in time, it had been over 5 hours since breakfast, so I wanted something to hold me over until lunch (originally planned to be at Raglan Road). The Mara seemed like a perfect place to stop.

I decided to try the soup of the day, which was black-eyed pea and parsnip. This was a very savory, hearty soup, and honestly I think it's more of a winter dish than a summer dish.

However, since I was still wet from Blizzard Beach, a warm, hearty soup is exactly what I felt like. This really hit the spot.

Once again, The Mara and its soups left me feeling extremely satisfied. What a wonderful option for a snack

 

[nanienamou]

Hope your school year starts well! Can't wait to read more!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

The water parks sound like so much fun!

There are a lot of stairs to get to the bigger slides though right? Hubby has bad knees...

Yep, the water parks include much more stairs than the theme parks. However, Blizzard Beach has a ski lift that takes you up to some of the bigger slides (Slish Gusher, Teamboat Springs, and most of the way to Summit Plummet), and there's lots of fun to have at ground level (wave pools, lazy river, etc).

Which water park did you like better? We are going this year in Dec. so prob. No H2O park this year but would love to go to one in the summer.

I really like both water parks, but for different reasons. Blizzard Beach is more slide-intensive and has bigger thrills (although interestingly enough, BB's wave pool features gentle, bobbing waves, compared to the huge but less frequent waves at TL). Also, BB is better for pre-teens thanks to the Ski Patrol Training Camp area. However, if I'm looking for relaxation, I'd much rather be surrounded by the tropical beauty of Typhoon Lagoon (which also offers some thrills, such as Humunga Kowabunga, the unique Crush n' Gusher, and the huge wave pool). Many features are shared between the two parks, such as a lazy river and kid-friendly areas. Overall, I don't think you can go wrong.

Things look great - Jiko looks amazing as usual.

Jiko was awesome! I'd highly recommend it, and right now it's one of my two favorite signatures.

I'm so fascinated by your water park pictures! We've NEVER set foot inside one of the water parks, even though DH's sister works at TL . I wear glasses, and while I'm fine leaving them on a chair while we swim in a resort pool, I absolutely couldn't make it around a water park without them, and I can't imagine leaving them on when I'm on a slide or in a wave pool. I've been thinking about getting prescription goggles because we do a LOT of swimming...might make me look a little odd, but maybe that would work for a water park visit! Your photos are really beautiful though and definitely make me want to visit!

And I love, love, love all the Mara reviews!

If you like swimming, definitely invest in those goggles - the water parks are worth it! Summit Plummet is one of my favorite Disney rides right now, and I could happily spend a whole day in TL's wave pool.

Jiko looks AMAZING!! The prawns w/ the HEADS on don't even scare me away. The raisins in the rice do a little, but I'd still try it as is.
Once again the desserts look delsih!!

If the heads didn't scare you away, don't let the raisins scare you - these weren't the dry, overly concentrated things from a box that aren't very pleasant to eat. Plus, there were a lot of other flavorful ingredients (like the olives), so everything was well-balanced. And right now, I could happily recommend almost everything on Jiko's dessert menu.

Just joining in! Excellent review!

Thanks so much for joining in! There are a lot of great updates to come.

Thanks for the reviews of all the AKL restaurants. It looks like a beautiful resort. I want one of those zebra chairs!

I think your salad from Sanaa looks good but I love sweet. It is disappointing when what you order is not what you thought especially when it differs from the menu.

I'm glad Jiko didn't disappoint. I don't know if I could handle the prawns but your mom's chicken looks good. That dessert looks great! I've always thought when I do go to Jiko I will get a flatbread & dessert.

Thanks for the water park pictures. They look fun! We have never been but I am getting more & more interested in visiting one.

You can't go wrong at Jiko with a flatbread and an interesting dessert! And it sounds like you would've liked the Sanaa salad more than I did.

Love the beautiful waterpark pictures.

I'm sure you were very hungry after climbing all those steps to get to the slides. Looking forward to seeing what's next.

Well I guess now you can see what's next, and sorry that it wasn't much :laughing (but don't worry - we still had lunch and dinner that way).

Mmmm that compote looks divine! I could eat a plate of that for dinner and be fine.

I'd probably ask for my prawns headless only because I'm too lazy to pick apart my shrimp .

Strawberry-rhubarb compote for dinner - great idea! Whenever I've eaten strawberry-rhubarb pie, I almost always eat the filling and leave the crust, so you may be onto something. And you're definitely not the only one to prefer the prawns headless (even if for the convenience).

Hope your school year starts well! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks so much! I'm definitely going to finish this report, hopefully sooner rather than prolonging it out.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Because we were still in the mood for a lighter lunch, we ended up canceling Raglan Road - instead, we headed to Art of Animation. Last month, I truly enjoyed my lunch at their food court, Landscape of Flavors, so I couldn't wait to return. I'm not going to post the full update tonight since I actually need to go to sleep early, but here's a teaser pic:

It's Ed from "The Lion King"!

Would the food at Landscape of Flavors be as good as last time? Check back tomorrow to find out.

 

[Linda67]

Oooh, what a cliff hanger

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I appreciated your review of Mara. We will be staying in AkL our next trip and expect to spend a lot of time there.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Also, I have a slight confession.

I might have just gone through and read all five or six of your dining reviews I could manage to find...

I do hope all this studying you're doing involves some sort of future culinary career. You have a keen palate and a gift for food journalism and critique!

 

[megan511]

Best of luck going back to school! College is great but very busy.

Can't wait for the Landscape of Flavors review. Your last review of it convinced me I need to fit it in our next trip for sure.

 

[happy2012]

Awwwee man!! No fair. LOL!!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Oooh, what a cliff hanger

Sorry about that - lunch is coming up!

I appreciated your review of Mara. We will be staying in AkL our next trip and expect to spend a lot of time there.

I hope you have some great experiences at the Mara - I really grew to like it over this trip.

Also, I have a slight confession.

I might have just gone through and read all five or six of your dining reviews I could manage to find...

I do hope all this studying you're doing involves some sort of future culinary career. You have a keen palate and a gift for food journalism and critique!

Sadly, my studies are completely unrelated, but this is still a lot of fun to do!

Best of luck going back to school! College is great but very busy.

Can't wait for the Landscape of Flavors review. Your last review of it convinced me I need to fit it in our next trip for sure.

I definitely think LoF is worth fitting in (although hopefully it'll still be able to handle the crowds once the resort is fully open).

Awwwee man!! No fair. LOL!!

The review (or at least the first part) is coming up in a few minutes!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Last time I visited AoA (in July), I shared some pics of the recently opened Nemo and Cars sections, as well as a sneak peek of the unopened Lion King area. Now that the Lion King area is open, this section will be the focus of my update.

Rafiki welcomes you

Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa

The Elephant Graveyard. Apparently this is supposed to be a 'playground' for younger kids, but why design a playground based on one of the scariest scenes in the movie? Also, this 'playground' didn't really offer any fun physical features, such as a slide.

Still, Ed makes me laugh.

Scar

And finally, Zazu.

After seeing the Nemo and Cars sections, I have to say that the Lion King area is a bit...underwhelming (and TLK is my favorite Disney movie). The stage is set for disappointment at the entrance when you notice an extremely undersized Pride Rock. From there on, nothing really 'wowed' me. The Elephant Graveyard was too small to serve its purpose as a playground, and this area didn't have any of the impressive features that the Nemo and Cars section had (Nemo has the enormous pool and oversized Crush and Mr. Ray; Cars has the Cozy Cone pool area, and the majority of supporting characters are represented). I would've liked to see Nala and Sarabi included (especially Nala). This area feels like it has less to see and do than the Nemo and Cars sections, which is sad because The Lion King is full of incredible content.

So after Lion King, what comes next? There's only one section left to open, and it might be the most anticipated one yet - The Little Mermaid! Of all the sections at AoA, this one has proven to be the hardest to book, since it's the only one to consist of standard rooms. As such, staying here is the cheapest way to stay at AoA and enjoy its cool features (whereas the family suites are comparable in price to many deluxe resorts). It's notable that the AoA family suites are currently included in Disney's general public discounts (even though they're brand new), whereas the LM rooms aren't. I think that says it all.

Here are some pics of the unopened Little Mermaid section.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Here's a close-up of the last shot, so you can get a better look at Ariel and Flounder.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Great shots of AoA...I have to admit the size of this resort scares me off a bit...is it as humongous as the pictures look?

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Great shots of AoA...I have to admit the size of this resort scares me off a bit...is it as humongous as the pictures look?

Overall, the resort is very big, but most of the buildings are quite close to the main lobby. The furthest section from the main building is The Little Mermaid, which might be a 4-6 minute walk from Animation Hall. However, AoA feels much smaller than some of the moderates (Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans Riverside, and Coronado Springs). Also, if you have a car with you, you can park very close to your building.