heather913
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2016
- Messages
- 205
Hi All!
We returned on Saturday from our 8 night trip. I do not think I will have time to write a full trip report, but this site is always so helpful in planning that I wanted to share some information and some reviews with you all!
My family of 5 (me, husband, and 3 kids ages 10, 8 and 4) stayed at AKL Kidani on rented points. We did stay 1 night at POR because flights to Orlando Friday were much cheaper than flights Saturday, so we saved money (and got more Disney time!) by adding a night, but AKL had no availability when we added the night on. We would only be in the room about 12 hours, so I didn't want to spend a lot, so POR it was. I'll review some of the things we did:
1 night stay at POR - I am glad we were only here less than 12 hours. The room slept 5 but it was CRAMPED. I do not know where people even put their luggage in this room. When the murphy bed is folded down for the 5th person, it is impossible to walk in the room. I think the room would be fine for 2 people, but I cannot imagine staying there multiple nights with a family of 5. The resort was beautiful and I loved the theming.
Our AKL 1 bedroom villa with savannah view (Kidani) - ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! We loved seeing the animals from our balcony. The room was spacious and well worth the money. I got a great deal renting points from a Dis Board member I found a couple years ago, so we only paid $2,700 for 7 nights. That was cheaper than AoA! Next time, I think I'll save the $500 on the savannah view though. We spent so much time at the parks and at the pool that we didn't get to enjoy the savannah view too much. Something to note - balloons are not allowed at AKL for the safety of the animals. We went right to the park before going to the resort and I am glad we did not allow our kids to get balloons, because I had no idea. We loved the Kidani pool. Tons of seating and a gorgeous atmosphere.
Mara - The quick service at ALK was delicious. They had this chicken flat bread pizza that I could eat every day. They also had these yummy peanut butter brownies. We were at Kidani, and it was well worth the trip to Jambo to eat.
Dining Plan - Our ALK reservation was split in 2 (2 nights and 5 nights) due to availability when it was booked. We added the dining plan for the 1st part. We had never done the dining plan before, but I did the math and between our 2 sit down reservations (Tusker House & Garden Grill), the mugs, and using quick service credits for adult meals, I knew we would come out ahead. I would never do the dining plan for a full trip. It was too much food and we still had snack credits left at the end. We ended up using them to get Mickey Bars to keep in our freezer for later in the trip.
Christmas Party - this was our first Christmas party. We had a lot of fun. Our party wasn't sold out, but it was still crowded. Manage your expectations and decide on a few "must do" things. Going into the day I thought my daughter would want to meet Jack & Sally, but she decided she would rather do rides, so we did more rides. We saw Elsa light the castle (and I may have cried a little), the fireworks were great, we did the Disney Junior Dance Party, and rode a bunch of rides. We got our spot for the 2nd parade right on Main Street. I won't sit there again for the parade. We waited 45 minutes and the "snow" got super annoying - it kept landing in our eyes and mouths. Next time we will sit elsewhere on the route.
Frozen Dessert Party - This was so cute! We loved the 3D glasses they handed out that made the fireworks look like snowflakes. There were no rice krispy treats so I was bummed about that, but the fondue and the s'mores pudding made up for it! Definitely check this out! My 4 year old ended up falling asleep during the fireworks (and I couldn't tell because his 3D glasses were on haha), so he missed the Frozen ride. But I scored a 4th FP for it earlier that day so he still got a ride.
Pick a Pearl - We did Pick a Pearl in the Japan Pavilion for the first time and it was so fun! My oldest was born in Japan when we were stationed in Okinawa so she really got a kick out of talking to the workers about being from Japan too. I ordered necklaces for my girls on Etsy for 1/4 the price Disney was charging. I think this will be our new tradition.
Food & Wine - We had never done Food & Wine, and I don't think I'd make a special trip for it. Even on days the parks were empty, the World Showcase was packed. The lines were long and there aren't many places to sit to enjoy your food. Also, the portions were tiny. We used a few of our snack credits on 1 of our first days. The food in Italy was our favorite though! Those ribs and that ravioli - yum!!
Garden Grill Breakfast - Always our favorite. The food is so good and we love the character interaction. We had a delicious and relaxing breakfast and walked right on to Soarin' when we were finished.
Tusker House Breakfast - We had never tried this 1 before and we all loved it. My kids said the donuts were the best part of their vacation.
Disney Springs - We gave it another try and I still think it's an overpriced mall. We did eat at TRex and the food was really good. We also went to Goofy's Candy Store. Their create your own rice krispy treats are my favorite. We let the kids spend the rest of their souvenir money in the World of Disney, which was crowded and overwhelming. I would go back to DS, but only to eat. Shopping is not my thing.
Minnie Vans - I had planned to take a Minnie Van to Epcot for our PPO Garden Grill reservation to save time. I did not anticipate that the wait for them would be so long. When I launched the app it took several minutes to find a driver, and the estimated arrival time was more than 25 minutes. While we were waiting, a bus pulled right up & I cancelled my Minnie Van. The bus saved us way more time than the Minnie Van.
New app - I was happy with the new app. I know there are a lot of complaints, but I like that you can search for different rides and different times separately. We had great luck refreshing and we were able to get tons of Fastpasses later in the day.
FOP - Our new favorite ride! I planned 3/8 park days at AKL and was able to get FOP fast passes for each day. We rope dropped Na'Vi 1 day, and on another day I was able to score a 4th FP for it. It was nice, but I wouldn't wait longer than 10/15 minutes for it. Pandora at night was gorgeous! Pictures do not do it justice.
Woody's Lunchbox - We loved the breakfast bowl! Even my kids who "hate" gravy devoured a portion of mine. We had FP for Slinky Dog and we all loved it. Aliens was OK. I wouldn't wait more than 5 minutes for it.
We had great luck with getting extra fast passes and with the buses all week. Our last stay was at BLT, and I think next time we will opt for a monorail resort again. AKL was gorgeous, but having to ride the buses everywhere was a bit exhausting compared to our last trip.
That is all I can think of for now that stands out, but feel free to ask me questions!
We returned on Saturday from our 8 night trip. I do not think I will have time to write a full trip report, but this site is always so helpful in planning that I wanted to share some information and some reviews with you all!
My family of 5 (me, husband, and 3 kids ages 10, 8 and 4) stayed at AKL Kidani on rented points. We did stay 1 night at POR because flights to Orlando Friday were much cheaper than flights Saturday, so we saved money (and got more Disney time!) by adding a night, but AKL had no availability when we added the night on. We would only be in the room about 12 hours, so I didn't want to spend a lot, so POR it was. I'll review some of the things we did:
1 night stay at POR - I am glad we were only here less than 12 hours. The room slept 5 but it was CRAMPED. I do not know where people even put their luggage in this room. When the murphy bed is folded down for the 5th person, it is impossible to walk in the room. I think the room would be fine for 2 people, but I cannot imagine staying there multiple nights with a family of 5. The resort was beautiful and I loved the theming.
Our AKL 1 bedroom villa with savannah view (Kidani) - ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! We loved seeing the animals from our balcony. The room was spacious and well worth the money. I got a great deal renting points from a Dis Board member I found a couple years ago, so we only paid $2,700 for 7 nights. That was cheaper than AoA! Next time, I think I'll save the $500 on the savannah view though. We spent so much time at the parks and at the pool that we didn't get to enjoy the savannah view too much. Something to note - balloons are not allowed at AKL for the safety of the animals. We went right to the park before going to the resort and I am glad we did not allow our kids to get balloons, because I had no idea. We loved the Kidani pool. Tons of seating and a gorgeous atmosphere.
Mara - The quick service at ALK was delicious. They had this chicken flat bread pizza that I could eat every day. They also had these yummy peanut butter brownies. We were at Kidani, and it was well worth the trip to Jambo to eat.
Dining Plan - Our ALK reservation was split in 2 (2 nights and 5 nights) due to availability when it was booked. We added the dining plan for the 1st part. We had never done the dining plan before, but I did the math and between our 2 sit down reservations (Tusker House & Garden Grill), the mugs, and using quick service credits for adult meals, I knew we would come out ahead. I would never do the dining plan for a full trip. It was too much food and we still had snack credits left at the end. We ended up using them to get Mickey Bars to keep in our freezer for later in the trip.
Christmas Party - this was our first Christmas party. We had a lot of fun. Our party wasn't sold out, but it was still crowded. Manage your expectations and decide on a few "must do" things. Going into the day I thought my daughter would want to meet Jack & Sally, but she decided she would rather do rides, so we did more rides. We saw Elsa light the castle (and I may have cried a little), the fireworks were great, we did the Disney Junior Dance Party, and rode a bunch of rides. We got our spot for the 2nd parade right on Main Street. I won't sit there again for the parade. We waited 45 minutes and the "snow" got super annoying - it kept landing in our eyes and mouths. Next time we will sit elsewhere on the route.
Frozen Dessert Party - This was so cute! We loved the 3D glasses they handed out that made the fireworks look like snowflakes. There were no rice krispy treats so I was bummed about that, but the fondue and the s'mores pudding made up for it! Definitely check this out! My 4 year old ended up falling asleep during the fireworks (and I couldn't tell because his 3D glasses were on haha), so he missed the Frozen ride. But I scored a 4th FP for it earlier that day so he still got a ride.
Pick a Pearl - We did Pick a Pearl in the Japan Pavilion for the first time and it was so fun! My oldest was born in Japan when we were stationed in Okinawa so she really got a kick out of talking to the workers about being from Japan too. I ordered necklaces for my girls on Etsy for 1/4 the price Disney was charging. I think this will be our new tradition.
Food & Wine - We had never done Food & Wine, and I don't think I'd make a special trip for it. Even on days the parks were empty, the World Showcase was packed. The lines were long and there aren't many places to sit to enjoy your food. Also, the portions were tiny. We used a few of our snack credits on 1 of our first days. The food in Italy was our favorite though! Those ribs and that ravioli - yum!!
Garden Grill Breakfast - Always our favorite. The food is so good and we love the character interaction. We had a delicious and relaxing breakfast and walked right on to Soarin' when we were finished.
Tusker House Breakfast - We had never tried this 1 before and we all loved it. My kids said the donuts were the best part of their vacation.
Disney Springs - We gave it another try and I still think it's an overpriced mall. We did eat at TRex and the food was really good. We also went to Goofy's Candy Store. Their create your own rice krispy treats are my favorite. We let the kids spend the rest of their souvenir money in the World of Disney, which was crowded and overwhelming. I would go back to DS, but only to eat. Shopping is not my thing.
Minnie Vans - I had planned to take a Minnie Van to Epcot for our PPO Garden Grill reservation to save time. I did not anticipate that the wait for them would be so long. When I launched the app it took several minutes to find a driver, and the estimated arrival time was more than 25 minutes. While we were waiting, a bus pulled right up & I cancelled my Minnie Van. The bus saved us way more time than the Minnie Van.
New app - I was happy with the new app. I know there are a lot of complaints, but I like that you can search for different rides and different times separately. We had great luck refreshing and we were able to get tons of Fastpasses later in the day.
FOP - Our new favorite ride! I planned 3/8 park days at AKL and was able to get FOP fast passes for each day. We rope dropped Na'Vi 1 day, and on another day I was able to score a 4th FP for it. It was nice, but I wouldn't wait longer than 10/15 minutes for it. Pandora at night was gorgeous! Pictures do not do it justice.
Woody's Lunchbox - We loved the breakfast bowl! Even my kids who "hate" gravy devoured a portion of mine. We had FP for Slinky Dog and we all loved it. Aliens was OK. I wouldn't wait more than 5 minutes for it.
We had great luck with getting extra fast passes and with the buses all week. Our last stay was at BLT, and I think next time we will opt for a monorail resort again. AKL was gorgeous, but having to ride the buses everywhere was a bit exhausting compared to our last trip.
That is all I can think of for now that stands out, but feel free to ask me questions!
