Princesses, Slushes, LEGOs, and a maxed CC - Sept 2009 1st Timer TR

[MagicShell]

I just found your report, and it sounds like a lot of fun. I love to read trip reports by dads. It is great to see men who love Disney.

 

[crocko]

Great update! I can't wait to hear about Ohana.

Try to post it soon

Great update! Our rooms look similar, but not exactly the same. I love the lion king headboard!! I forgot. Were you all in a one bedroom? Those wall circles are gorgeous. And that's great that you all broke the rules--I would have been all for that too! Can't wait to hear about 'Ohana!

Yeah, the interior decorating in AKL rooms is great! We were actually in a 2-bedroom. My parents and sister took the room with 2 beds and then the 4 of us slept all together in a king-size bed. We wish we had a king-size at home.
The other morning, after sneaking into bed with us, Samantha told me that the bed wasn't big enough for me to sleep in it....

I just found your report, and it sounds like a lot of fun. I love to read trip reports by dads. It is great to see men who love Disney.

I do love Disney!

 

[jordanyosh]

Cool. I am staying at Kidani for a portion of my trip in FEB. It will be nice to hear how your stay there went.

Sorry about the busses right off the bat. At least, you got to Epcot!

 

[WrightFamily06]

Awesome update Cute pictures from the ME bus Your room was beautiful and the butterfly towel was adorable ! That was nice of your bus driver to bend the rules , so as not to ruin the smooth running of your trip so far Can't wait to read more !

 

[my2disneyboys]

I am all caught up and can't wait to see more pictures!! Sounds great so far. I love the pictures of your resort. It looks beautiful and of course i love how excited the kids look in all the pictures... too cute!

 

[crocko]

Cool. I am staying at Kidani for a portion of my trip in FEB. It will be nice to hear how your stay there went.

Sorry about the busses right off the bat. At least, you got to Epcot!

Yep...it was a case of we'd rather be moving then just sititng and waiting who knows how long.

Awesome update Cute pictures from the ME bus Your room was beautiful and the butterfly towel was adorable ! That was nice of your bus driver to bend the rules , so as not to ruin the smooth running of your trip so far Can't wait to read more !

We didn't get the customary mickey head, but the butterfly was really cute

I am all caught up and can't wait to see more pictures!! Sounds great so far. I love the pictures of your resort. It looks beautiful and of course i love how excited the kids look in all the pictures... too cute!

Better pictures we'll be coming once we get to parks and once Bridgette starts taking pictures. Up to this point, it was mostly all pictures by me.

 

[crocko]

Day 1 (Departure Day)
Chapter 3 -- Bread and Bananas...mmmm!


Left off chapter 2 with us having made a secret, nefarious, side trip to Epcot in our attempts to get over to the Polynesian/Magic Kingdom are and about to get on the monorail.

Joshua and Samantha’s 1st time on the monorail (they got plenty more opportunities and they always enjoyed it)

Got off at TTC and then went over to the Resorts monorail….here it comes….

We were over an hour early for our ‘Ohana reservation so we decided to go visit the Grand Floridian. Didn’t stay too long, but hung out for a little bit and played around on the stairs. Almost managed to get our first photopass picture here (CD will hopefully arrive this week)

So, after visiting the prestigious and (somewhat stuffy) Grand Floridian, back to the monorail…
Here’s a couple pictures Joshua took while waiting…

At this point, we were still way early for our reservation, so decided to get off at the Contemporary and check it out as well:

Then, at about the 30-40 minute mark before our ressie, we got back on the monorail again and headed over to the Polynesian. Inside, the line to check-in was very long and the waiting area was jam-packed. Uh-oh…looks like we may have to wait awhile to have our first Disney meal….(and we’re all starving!)


While waiting, we checked out the gift shop (and Samantha made a pin trade – one of many to come…)

To our surprise, we ended up getting buzzed to come sit down within 10 minutes of our reservation time. Not too shabby!

We sat down on the far west side of the dining room and there was just enough light to barely see the castle

Okay, now for my ‘Ohana review (and again, I’m not always good about remembering to get food pics):

First thing was the bread and oh man…..this bread along with the butter was so amazingly good. I should have said, forget the other stuff, just bring me more bread

Then, the “appetizers” (my family really enjoyed this portion…I’m a picky eater so I didn’t touch any)

And then the meats – pork, steak, and shrimp (I could have sworn they used to serve chicken) To me the meats were just so-so. Not as good as I remembered from 2001. Oh well.
(Sorry, no pics)

And then, dessert – a banana bread pudding, I believe.

Everyone at the table enjoyed this. In 2001, the dessert was huge pineapple chunks with caramel sauce. We absolutely loved that. This was very good, too, and Bridgette pointed out that she liked the fact that it felt more like a dessert.

Joshua had ice cream and as you can see…..it was good down to the last drop.

Two final pictures on the way out
1) Another cool trash can
2) And an ‘Ohana statue that Joshua took a picture of.

Day 1 wrap-up:
By the end of the day, everyone was tired. Joshua fell asleep for a little bit before dinner started and Samantha fell asleep during dinner. Going into the trip, we brought our strollers and decided we’d try to get a feel for whether we actually needed them. Well, this first night we definitely learned that we wanted them – a) for when Samantha falls asleep and b) because Joshua likes to be carried too much --- so, plan on seeing the stroller more the rest of the trip….

‘Ohana meal – it was good….satisfying and filling, but probably not one we’ll do again too soon. There’s plenty of options we haven’t tried yet. If giving it a grade, I’d probably stick it in the B-category. From a dining plan perspective, it definitely is a great value, though, since it is only 1 credit.

After dinner, we monorail’d to the Magic Kingdom and then trudged over to the bus stop to catch an AKL bus (note about AKL buses for those who don’t know – Park-bound buses stop at Kidani first and Jambo House second; Downtown Disney buses stop at Jambo first and Kidani second) Now you know!

Once back, we made our long walk to the room and settled in for the night.

Another note about Kidani Village. I’m not sure how Jambo House is setup, but Kidani Village (from above) looks kinda like an eagles’ wings. From the main lobby, one wing heads one direction and wraps around the savannah, while the other wing heads the other direction also wrapping around the savannah. Because of the savannah, there are no shortcuts at Kidani. Our room was #7973. The 7900’s are left of the lobby on floor 5 (the top floor). On the 5th floor, the wing starts at 7901…..and we were 7973 (out of like 7981 or something). So, we had a LONG walk from the lobby to our room and vice versa….and plenty of trips back-and-forth were made. For Bridgette and I, it wasn’t that big of a deal….we just had to factor in an extra 5-10 minutes when planning when to get to the bus stop.

BUT, if you are the type of person who would NOT enjoy a long walk to your room everytime, then if staying at Kidani Village, make sure to try and request a room close to the lobby.

That’s all for Day 1!


Up next: Maybe we’re not ready for characters……

 

[stacikristine]

Yeah, the interior decorating in AKL rooms is great! We were actually in a 2-bedroom. My parents and sister took the room with 2 beds and then the 4 of us slept all together in a king-size bed. We wish we had a king-size at home.
The other morning, after sneaking into bed with us, Samantha told me that the bed wasn't big enough for me to sleep in it....

I bet that worked really well! Did you take advantage of the kitchen or washer/dryer? How cute! I mean, come on. It's her bed. Right?!

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Just joining in John. Enjoying your pix so far. Your children are quite adorable. I am from the midwest area also. East of Oklahoma.

I find it a lot of fun to go with many people in your party. We had 9 in ours and had a blast. We weren't so lucky as to get such a long stay tho.

Ginny

 

[chicagoshannon]

How did your kids like Ohana? Did they do any of the activities? Did they eat the adult food or did they get something else?

Also, are they letting people up front in the monorail these days?

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Great update!!! wow that seems like a good walk...esp when you are tired coming back from a park. How great that ya'll were able to visit all three resorts on the first day! FUN!!! Poly sounds and looks good! I think we are going to try it for the breakfast we when go! So thank you for the report!

Looking forward to more!

 

[WrightFamily06]

Cute pictures from your Monorail ride and the other resorts I find the Grand Floridian a little bit uppity myself ! LOL The pictures of you kiddos in the hats are adorable . Ohana's food looks very good , have never done the dinner there but the Breakfast has always been good . Sounds like you and your family did a lot of walking , I bet you were glad to have the strollers after you found out where your room was located !

 

[Sarahboo]

I love you TR so far! What a blessing that your daughter slept on the plane. We're hoping for that as well, it would make the trip out much easier!

 

[onelilspark]

Your kids are absolutely adorable, I love how excited they look!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[crocko]

I bet that worked really well! Did you take advantage of the kitchen or washer/dryer? How cute! I mean, come on. It's her bed. Right?!

We DID take advantage of both. The microwave, refrigerator, toaster, and dishwasher all were nice and useful for us. The washer/dryer also got used several different times. We knew we would have it and thus only brought 6 total outfits for our 10-day trip.

Just joining in John. Enjoying your pix so far. Your children are quite adorable. I am from the midwest area also. East of Oklahoma.

I find it a lot of fun to go with many people in your party. We had 9 in ours and had a blast. We weren't so lucky as to get such a long stay tho.

Ginny

Thanks for joining in! Nice to see another midwesterner

How did your kids like Ohana? Did they do any of the activities? Did they eat the adult food or did they get something else?

Also, are they letting people up front in the monorail these days?

They did walk around the restaurant during the little parade that took place during the meal. As for food, Samantha was just tired and fussy...for Joshua, we asked if they could make him some chicken nuggets and they did. He ate those up very well.

Great update!!! wow that seems like a good walk...esp when you are tired coming back from a park. How great that ya'll were able to visit all three resorts on the first day! FUN!!! Poly sounds and looks good! I think we are going to try it for the breakfast we when go! So thank you for the report!

Looking forward to more!

We also managed to make it to 'Ohana on our final day for breakfast. I'll give my thoughts on it when we get there

Cute pictures from your Monorail ride and the other resorts I find the Grand Floridian a little bit uppity myself ! LOL The pictures of you kiddos in the hats are adorable . Ohana's food looks very good , have never done the dinner there but the Breakfast has always been good . Sounds like you and your family did a lot of walking , I bet you were glad to have the strollers after you found out where your room was located !

Yes! Strollers made that walk nice...although, half the time, the kids want to run around the halls instead. Not so bad, but I like to get places quickly....my patience was tested at times on the trip

I love you TR so far! What a blessing that your daughter slept on the plane. We're hoping for that as well, it would make the trip out much easier!

It was very nice.....hope you have the same luck.

Your kids are absolutely adorable, I love how excited they look!

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks! More is coming soon....

 

[crocko]

Day 2 (Magic Kingdom Day)
Chapter 1 -- I Want to Bounce with Tigger!


Alrighty, time for day number 2. This will be a Magic Kingdom day, because we wanted to make sure it was the first park for the kids.

Wake up, kiddos! We’re going to see the castle today!!

Alright, everyone’s awake (mostly) and now we’re waiting for our cab. We have a breakfast at Crystal Palace before the park opens, so we decided to get a cab to make sure we’d get there on time. The cab can’t go all the way to Magic Kingdom so it was going to drop us off at TTC. We managed to get him to drop us off at the Contemporary parking lot instead….that way we had a fairly short walk the rest of the way to the entrance.

Alas! We’re here! Get through the baggage check…get through the ticket gate….and time to see the castle for the first time!

It’s this big!!

Here’s the castle from Joshua’s perspective:

Also, with fall decorations out, there are some really cool pumpkin people at the front of Main Street, USA:

Now time to get over to the Crystal Palace and wait for our name to be called……some more pictures while waiting

Our reservation time was for 8:20 and according to my phone, we got called RIGHT on the dot! Awesome.

On our way in, we caught a glimpse of a couple characters and I could quickly tell that this was not quite what Samantha was prepared to see. These Disney friends were a little more real and a little bigger than I think she was expecting.

The first Pooh friend we got a visit from was Pooh himself!

This was as close as Samantha was willing to get….

Then Eeyore…Samantha made a little progress by at least letting Bridgette hold her. Per usual, Eeyore is sad that this little girl wants nothing to do with him.

Next, we can see that Tigger is making the rounds…..Samantha’s interest has been piqued by the bounciness of Tigger.

Tigger gets to our table. Samantha gets closer….

She actually did some bouncing with him….

And then decided to give him a kiss on the nose….Yay!! She’s finally warming up!! (Thank you Tigger!)

And last, pink little Piglet made his way over.

Here’s a small sampling of my favorite food items from the Crystal Palace buffet (bacon, eggs, and man-oh-man, those donut holes were addictive!)

The cute “flower topiaries” that greet you when you walk into the restaurant:

Our first character meal….things start out tense, but Samantha warmed up at the end. Joshua seemed to have fun the whole time.
The food was yummy….nothing special, but quite a bit of fruit….good bacon & eggs, and again…those donut holes were TOO good. My sister tried the stuffed French toast, but she honestly didn’t think it was anything special.

Now time to walk off that meal and get started with some attractions!



Next: A flying elephant and a real-live mermaid!! (Gasp!)

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Very cute pix. And those children are still cutie pies. I'm glad Samantha started warming up. How can anyone turn Tigger away?

 

[WrightFamily06]

Adorable pictures of the kiddos ! I love the one of them saying the castle is this big sooo cute ! Glad to see that Samantha warmed up to the characters , or it could have been a long painful trip for her and you guys Can't wait to read more

 

[Charlefours]

I'm in--subscribed to it! I enjoyed reading your PTR so I am looking forward to reading the actual TR. We are taking our DD for the first time next September to celebrate her 4th birthday!! We are so excited. Looking forward to reading on.

BTW--your children are adorable! I love the pictures from your PTR and day one's posting of the kids sleeping. Little angels!

Is CP worth the 1 TS credit on the DDP? I am considering doing it because I would LOVE to get some pictures of the castle without a lot of people.

 

[stacikristine]

Those last 2 updates were so great!! It's good to know that you didn't think 'Ohana was that great--you're the second person who's said this. I'll keep that in mind. I REALLY like the "the castle is THIS BIG" picture!!! SO cute! It looks like your family is really having a wonderful time!

Oh--and Jambo House is set up with the Lobby in the middle and 4 halls branching off (and curving) from that. The front two halls are very short, but the back two are longer. None of them seemed too extremely far, though. We were near the end of one of the front halls, and we could get down to the lobby in just a couple of minutes.