Resort Split Stay with MNSSHP (Aug 2025 AKL/SSR)

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-21T19:12:55-0400

Hello!

We got back a week ago from a resort only stay (3 night AKL Kidani and 3 night SSR) with two water park days and 1 MNSSHP. This was our first party and we loved it!!!! First time in Aug and we survived the heat!!! (It actually wasn't too bad since we were inside or in the water mostly)

And I remembered to take pictures!!!

This trip was me, DH (but he mostly worked during the trip), DD6 and DS3

Here is a recent picture of us from our June DCL

We drove from VA but took our time! Usually we drive overnight without stopping while the kids sleep in the car. Spoiler: we preferred taking our time.

Another spoiler: we really enjoyed the laid back style of a resort only (well kinda since we had the party at the end) trip

So here we go!

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-21T19:31:26-0400

Saturday

We left home around 730am. We took my car ...which is the small car. I told everyone they were allowed one carryon and one personal item. And luckily it fit. (We did have DH's much larger car as a back up so it wasn't horribly stressful)

DS3 started on the car snacks before we left the parking lot.

Our first stop was 2.5 hours away: Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC

We are members of our local science museum which comes with this program that lets us a list of other museums across the country for free so Ive been trying to visit as much as possible basically.

This place was really different and cool.

First we visited the dinosaur garden which had life size statues of dinosaurs. DS3 is currently obsessed with dinosaurs so he was very excited.

The brachiosaurus is his favorite.

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-21T20:09:45-0400

Then we visited the animal/nature walk. I liked the bridge down.

It was like a mini zoo around a small lake. There were bears, wolves and lemurs.

DH and I liked this sign and kept shushing the kids and then DS3 thought it was funny and kept telling us to shhhh!

I can't see them in the above picture but I think there's a wolf in there somewhere.

And then there was a metal bridge that went over the lake that I hated because there were bugs flying everywhere. I left the others on it

But then it was lemurs and they were cute.

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-21T20:15:08-0400

DD6 and I were getting too hot and hungry by now so we decided to find a place to eat. Luckily the museum had a cafe and we got a table inside.

DD6 says this was her favorite part of the museum visit.

I regret half of what I ordered. I was in NC so I should have got bbq but I didn't. But at least I got hush puppies for my side and they were amazing! Except they didn't come with honey...
But still so good.

DS3 liked them too. He ate a lot of mine.

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-21T20:37:01-0400

Then we went to the bug house.

First up was an enclosed butterfly room. I thought I wouldn't like it because I went to this type of thing with birds before and got freaked out and left. But this was actually really peaceful and cool. They were everywhere! I didn't capture it well in pictures.

I think I liked all the different plants as much as the butterflies. It was just really pretty and serene.

Then we saw this on the way out.....which reminded me of HM.

The next part was pretty gross for me....like cockroaches and spiders but the kids loved pointing at stuff they knew would gross me out.

But at least the kids got to use a microscope

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-21T20:45:04-0400

It was almost time to get back on the road so we told the kids to pick one last thing so they picked the playground

And then it was gift shop/last bathroom break time.

DD6 had been saving her money all summer and was ready to spend it. And then I bought DS3 a dinosaur but then he said he needed a baby dinosaur so he ended up getting a mommy brachiosaurus and a baby brachiosaurus AND then he said what about the daddy but I said no no she's a single mom. This was supposed to be a budget friendly vacation

They were both happy with their purchases

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-21T21:04:21-0400

We didn't do everything at the museum. We just kept having the kids pick what they wanted back and forth. I'm guessing there's a whole space exhibit we didn't see since there's a rocket outside???

We had another 2.5 hour drive to Pineville NC. I took a nap on the way while DH drove.

I had reserved a 2 hr time slot (5-7pm) at an indoor playground cafe there.

It was super busy when we first got there but it kept thinning out the whole time we were there. And I got a Spanish style cappuccino which was good.

The kids definitely enjoyed themselves.

Then we got some McDonald's and drove the rest of the way to Jacksonville, FL (5.5 hrs)

Everyone else fell asleep so I got to listen to a Stephen king story

I did get tired at the end though so DH switched with me

Checking in to our hotel was easy. We made it there by 2am

I used my chase points to book the road trip hotels. I am afraid of ending up in shady places but my strategy this time around was to choose hotels with good reviews that were near whole foods grocery stores and it worked really well. This was a nice hotel in a nice area and we felt very safe.

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-21T21:33:47-0400

Sunday

We were at the hotel's breakfast by 830am.

And we played some foosball since it was in the lobby.

DS3's baby decided to take a nap while we played

On Sundays we usually study with DD6 so that's what we did next.

Also here are her nails. We went to the nail salon on Friday and then we added stickers.

Then we checked out and went basically next door to Publix to get some groceries for the week. We went in Jacksonville instead of orlando because I wanted the kids to nap on the way to AKL as much as possible.

Then the last 2.5 hr drive to AKL. DH drove and the rest of us napped

And then we were there!!!!

We just checked in and dropped off our bags and groceries because we were headed to Typhoon Lagoon

Counting Stars · 2025-08-21T23:09:25-0400

You write such great reports- they are always so much fun to read! It looks like you all had a blast before you even got to Disney- this bodes really well for the rest for the rest of the trip

Looking forward to more & thanks for taking the time to share this new trip report!

hardcorestitch · 2025-08-21T23:14:46-0400

Nicnicnic.nic said:
Then we visited the animal/nature walk. I liked the bridge down.

View attachment 995775

It was like a mini zoo around a small lake. There were bears, wolves and lemurs.

View attachment 995778

View attachment 995776

DH and I liked this sign and kept shushing the kids and then DS3 thought it was funny and kept telling us to shhhh!

View attachment 995779

View attachment 995777

I can't see them in the above picture but I think there's a wolf in there somewhere.

And then there was a metal bridge that went over the lake that I hated because there were bugs flying everywhere. I left the others on it

View attachment 995780

But then it was lemurs and they were cute.

View attachment 995782

View attachment 995781

(howls)

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-22T06:03:46-0400

hardcorestitch said:
(howls)

Excuse me theres a sign for this reason

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-22T06:05:37-0400

Counting Stars said:
You write such great reports- they are always so much fun to read! It looks like you all had a blast before you even got to Disney- this bodes really well for the rest for the rest of the trip Looking forward to more & thanks for taking the time to share this new trip report!

Thank you

yeah it was fun to plan what to do on the way there since we were taking our time. There's a lot of options between VA and FL lol

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-22T06:56:39-0400

We got to Typhoon Lagoon by 3pm.

And we got super close parking....yay!

And then I left my phone in the car so no more pictures. But we had a lot of fun. We went in the little kid area, family raft ride, lazy river, giant wave pool and another family raft ride that made me nauseous

It did rain maybe 1 hr into us getting there and there was lightening so everything was shut down for maybe an hour but we found some covered seating and DH got nachos, DD6 got chicken tenders and me and DS3 got ice cream (dole whip for me

) so the time was used well lol

And then it was so empty for the rest of our time there. It was awesome. We all had a lot of fun

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-22T10:12:24-0400

Then it was time to go back to AKL. We had left typhoon lagoon a little before they closed so around 7pm.

I had booked us a resort view studio at Kidani and requested to be close to the lobby. I was excited to see the "underground" parking at Kidani. We had stayed at Jambo before but never Kidani.

The family kept making fun of me because the parking was covered and under the hotel but not underground. Whatever. It was so convenient and it was so nice to be covered to keep the car less hot and to escape the rain

We all took showers and then I went to the gift shop to buy milk for the kids, chocolate coins for the kids, refillable mugs for me and DH, and zebra domes for me and DH. We had not had them before and I wanted to try them since I hear about them a lot. They were good but not really my jam and I probably won't get them again. We ate them on the balcony with a little wine.

The boys were tired and went to bed but DD6 and I wanted to explore. It was super late so everything was closed but we walked around. Our room was the closest to the lobby on the 3rd floor which was awesome.

DD6 really liked the decoration on the door and requested a picture

Then we walked around everywhere. It's a beautiful resort. And it's so cool to look at animals. We liked the art everywhere

Some zebras

Looking at the splash pad

There was a real fire going in the library!

DD6 was excited to show this game to DH since he likes star wars

And then we got a little lost I was reminded of the shining in the hallways

And then we got unlost and looked at the animals outside

And finally we were dead tired and called it a night

AngusIsMySpiritAnimal · 2025-08-22T10:26:58-0400

Thanks for the update! We are considering doing this as well ... due to a confluence of hotel credits and flight credits that need to be used before upcoming expirations, we might be able to pop a "bonus" Halloween trip in, but considering doing only MNSSHP ...

We are new APs, and already have an Xmas trip booked, but I don't want to activate APs till Xmas trip so that I can ensure one December trip this year and one next. Was trying to figure out if its still worth to go down there for what will basically just be a resort weekend + MNSSHP (and Beak and Barrel, which I scored for that night!) ... I think it's worth it! Considering also doing Artist's Point - feels like the Evil Queen definitely makes it a more "Halloween adjacent" resort meal that my kids would probably enjoy. .... But, that also means skipping Food and Wine ... choices, choices ....

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-22T10:58:01-0400

AngusIsMySpiritAnimal said:
Thanks for the update! We are considering doing this as well ... due to a confluence of hotel credits and flight credits that need to be used before upcoming expirations, we might be able to pop a "bonus" Halloween trip in, but considering doing only MNSSHP ...

We are new APs, and already have an Xmas trip booked, but I don't want to activate APs till Xmas trip so that I can ensure one December trip this year and one next. Was trying to figure out if its still worth to go down there for what will basically just be a resort weekend + MNSSHP (and Beak and Barrel, which I scored for that night!) ... I think it's worth it! Considering also doing Artist's Point - feels like the Evil Queen definitely makes it a more "Halloween adjacent" resort meal that my kids would probably enjoy. .... But, that also means skipping Food and Wine ... choices, choices ....

For is it was totally worth it but I wouldn't do it if it wasn't hot enough to be in the pool because we had a lot of pool and water park time. Also I was worried the kids would be sad we were at Disney but only doing rides one night but that didn't come up at all but then again they are young

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-22T11:18:59-0400

Monday

We took our breakfast down to Sanaa to eat so we could see animals. Sanaa is a quick service for breakfast but it's not like a regular quick service. They offer a list of meals and that's it. I had wanted to get a side of eggs and DD6 wanted a side of sausage. Maybe we could have talked to a CM but I didn't want to mess with it.

DD6 really liked the decor of the restaurant, especially the use of beads.

Then we checked out the gift shop. DD6 bought a Pixar uno deck. It has a cool additional card where the person who plays it names a Pixar movie and the other person has to name 5 characters from the movie and if they can name all 5 then they take no cards but for every character they can't name then they take a card. I like trivia

We had to take a bathroom break and we thought it was really cool looking

And then we went to a viewing deck to look at animals

Today was a work day for DH so it was me and the kids

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-22T11:43:21-0400

Up next pool time. This hotel has an amazing playground splash pad so I thought the kids would want to play here for awhile.

So I brought my headphones and had my mug filled with lemonade and I thought I'd listen to my book. WRONG. The kids spent less than 10 minutes here.

So we went to "the big pool." Which I have no pictures because I was in the pool with them. I don't know how many times we went on "the big slide" but according to DS3

Eventually DD6 got tired of going on the slide over and over so for the first time ever I let her stay in the pool without my eyes on her while I went on the slide with DS3. This was a big deal for both of us. We talked through what she should do for different emergency situations and reviewed the area she had to stay in. It went really well and she liked the independence of being "on her own" for the little breaks of maybe 5 minutes it took for DS3 and I to climb the stairs of the slide and come down. Also thankfully DD6 took daily swimming class over the summer at camp so her swimming skills have improved a lot. No more life jacket and can go everywhere in the pool on her own now. But also it wasn't crowded at the pool and there were multiple life guards. I think this was a really good introduction of letting her have some independence for both of us.

Nicnicnic.nic · 2025-08-22T11:57:32-0400

We stayed at the pool for maybe 3 hours and then went back to the room for baths and lunch.

And then we went to the arcade for a little while. I bought a $50 card and it lasted us all week and worked at both resorts.

DS3 caught a shark

And then it was time to leave the bubble to go to a chocolate factory tour at Chocolate Kingdom. The kids napped a little on the way but I had to wake them up to make it to our reservation on time.

This was pretty cool. It was mostly about the history of chocolate making and then at the end they showed us some of the steps of how they make chocolate. But it was also super kid friendly. There was one part of the tour where the kids got to launch marshmallows into the dragons mouth. This was DD6's favorite part. Plus there were lots of samples. It's not a re-do for us but we all really liked it and really glad we did this.