Sharing the Magic-Our Niece and Nephew's 1st Trip to the World! 2/1-COMPLETE!!!!

[UGAFan0829]

On Sunday morning, the rooster crowed promptly at 6:15. I was the first one up, and had gotten myself just about completely ready before I pulled Mike out of bed. He followed his morning routine, then had no trouble waking up Jaden. Once she was ready, it was then Mark’s turn. This is the way that it went for the entire week and it worked really well.

The kids were definitely bright-eyed this morning and ready for Disney!

After we’d gotten everything packed up, we decided to go ahead and haul it out to the car before heading for breakfast. And speaking of breakfast, let me backtrack a little—
Initially we’d planned to make a quick stop at a fast food restaurant and then be on our way. But, when we’d checked in the day before, I noticed a sign for the hotel restaurant (Great American Grill) that advertised the breakfast buffet for $4.99. After we made it to the room, I asked Mike what he thought about just eating there at the hotel instead. So, he called the front desk and inquired about how much it would cost the 4 of us. They were able to change our room type from room only to the Bed & Breakfast package. They sent 4 vouchers to the room for us to use at the restaurant the next morning. Crazy thing is, the price of our room didn’t change at all…so basically we got breakfast for free…can’t beat that!

With our bags being stashed back in the car, we headed back inside to partake in the breakfast offerings, and I have to say I was very pleased with what we had to choose from. Our server did tell us that normally breakfast is a buffet, but because of the small number of rooms that were being occupied at the time, they were doing it as cook to order on this morning. That was totally fine with us as that meant everything would be fresh and hot. Mike and Mark both chose to have the French toast with a side of bacon:

Jaden chose a chocolate chip make-your-own waffle:

And I went with a cheese omelet and a side of breakfast potatoes:

We were all very pleased with our meal and Mike and I were happy with our decision to eat here. And since we opted for the express checkout, we didn’t even have to stop by the front desk—we left our tip and headed out the door. Overall, we were very happy with the whole experience at the HGI, and if we ever stop in Valdosta again, this is where we’ll be staying.

It was only 9 a.m., and we were once again headed South on 75. And this is what the backseat looked like pretty much the entire way…

Every once in a while Jaden would peek around the seat and ask, “How much longer?” The ride seemed to take forever to me, so I’m sure it seemed awful long to them as well! And finally, those lovely signs came into view:

And just as we were heading toward the arch, I managed to get their reactions:

A few more turns and we were finally reeling in our destination:

It was at this point that I was doing all I could to fight back the tears! We’d finally arrived and the vacation that I’d been waiting so long for was finally beginning! It doesn’t get much more magical than that! Of course Mike laughed at me for being so emotional, but I know he understood.

We looked for a parking place in the short term lot so that we could run inside and check-in, but there were none to be found. So, Mike dropped the kids and I off while he went off to try and find a place in the underground parking. While we waited I snapped a couple pics of the kids—they were so eager to get inside and start exploring, but were so patient in waiting for Mike…

Mark decided that he wanted to try his hand a being the family photographer:

As he was snapping the pic, Mike walked up, so he snapped one more…

A nice CM noticed us and offered to take a family picture, but not until she outfitted us in Pirate and Princess gear…This is one of my favorite pics and our first “family” picture of the trip:

Silly Mark wanted to be a robber instead of a

We headed on inside, and while I went to check us in, Mike and the kids went for their first animal sightings:

Up next…checking out our room, Downtown Disney and dinner at T-Rex!

 

[UGAFan0829]

After getting checked-in, we made the long trek to our room. We were in the Red River Hog side, in room 7849.

If I remember right, we were on the 4th floor, I think? As soon as we made it inside, the first thing I did was start snapping away…I apologize for the shadows in some of the pics...obviously I haven’t learned how to hold my camera without having my hand in the way of the flash! (oops!)

Of course the first thing Mark and Jaden did was make a beeline for the balcony.

Thankfully, Mike remembered to bring our binoculars which came in handy:

Next, I pointed out all the hidden Mickeys to the kids, which they thought were really cool!

After we’d spent a couple minutes checking things out and taking in the sights of the animals, we headed back down to the parking deck to unload the car. Mike managed to find a spot in one of his favorite character’s area.

We made it back to the room with all the luggage in tow, so I took the time to go ahead and unpack everything. Having all our clothes in Ziploc bags made it really easy…all I had to do was transfer them from the suitcase to the drawers! While I unpacked, Mike and the kids spent more time on the balcony. At this point, I was really glad that we switched from a regular studio to savanna view!

I know this is a short update, but I wanted to at least get something new posted! I’ll be back soon for some browsing in Downtown Disney and dinner at T-Rex!

 

[Pinkocto]

Im sorry, I don't know how I completely missed your last update. Very nice breakfast deal. I love the picture of the kids' seeing the sign

Those room and animal pictures make me want to be there so badly!!!

I didn't know there was a Red River Hog side, that just might make me try Kidani one of these days. I just can't seem to tear myself away from Jambo House.

 

[amazingact21]

Yay you made it to WDW!!! Love the reactions to seeing the iconic arch! It's that first indication that you are finally in WDW and such an awesome thing to see in person for the first time.

AKL looks gorgeous! I love the theming, and everyone seems to really enjoy the balcony view. Talk about a great way to start your trip.

The photo the CM took of all four of you is really good. And I had to laugh that you all were decked out in pirate and princess gear.

 

[sue_88]

Looks like the beginnings of a great trip! I hope to read more soon.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Im sorry, I don't know how I completely missed your last update. Very nice breakfast deal. I love the picture of the kids' seeing the sign

Those room and animal pictures make me want to be there so badly!!!

I didn't know there was a Red River Hog side, that just might make me try Kidani one of these days. I just can't seem to tear myself away from Jambo House.

I'd never heard of the Red River hog side, either, until we were looking at the resort map. I guess one side is the Giraffe and the other is the Hog?

If we ever stay AKL again, I think we're gonna give Jambo a try.

Yay you made it to WDW!!! Love the reactions to seeing the iconic arch! It's that first indication that you are finally in WDW and such an awesome thing to see in person for the first time.

AKL looks gorgeous! I love the theming, and everyone seems to really enjoy the balcony view. Talk about a great way to start your trip.

The photo the CM took of all four of you is really good. And I had to laugh that you all were decked out in pirate and princess gear.

Yes, it was such a happy moment!

The extra points for the savanna view were WELL worth it!!

I thought the pirate and princess thing was funny too!!

Looks like the beginnings of a great trip! I hope to read more soon.

Thank you, I'm glad you're here!! I hope that you enjoy the rest of what I have to share!

 

[UGAFan0829]

When I last left off, we were hanging out in the room while I unpacked and everyone else investigated the animals. After we spent a little while longer doing that, it was finally time to head for the bus stop to hitch a ride to Downtown Disney! It was around 3:00, and our dinner reservation wasn’t until 5, so we had a little bit of time to do a little browsing before time to check in.

Of course I had to document Mark and Jaden’s very first ride on Disney transportation…

Thankfully the trip didn’t seem too terribly long.

As we made our way off the bus and around to the shops, I asked Mark and Jaden where they’d like to go first, and their reply was here:

But, we had to take a short time out to continue our tradition of always getting a pic with my very favorite character…

Before we headed inside OUAT, I talked Mark into letting me get his pic with Mr. Potato Head…thankfully he happily obliged though Jaden wouldn’t hear of it!

Once inside, the toy browsing began! Mike and I had breezed through here briefly on previous trips, but this was the first time we’d really stopped and taken a good look around. First came the trying on of the many different hats.

Followed by some rubber snake fun (which was mainly to torture me since they know how much I hate those things):

My favorite section was here…

Jaden and I were looking at something Princess related when we turned around and found this…

While we were there, Mark spotted the Disney railroad set and decided that he wanted it as one of his souvenirs. I was okay with that, but told him that we’d come back at the end of the trip if he still wanted it by then. It was somewhat of an expensive purchase and would have taken more than half of his spending money, so I wanted him to be sure that’s what he really wanted. Thankfully he was okay with waiting!

After we managed to cover the whole store, we decided to take a quick peek at my favorite store, World of Disney. Before we stepped inside, Jaden decided that she needed a pic with her favorite princess.

We didn’t spend very much time in there at all as it was really crowded, and it was getting close to supper time. So we made a quick browse through before we headed back outside and strolled toward our next destination.

But before we could go inside, Mark had to take a look at the water to see if he could spot any fish.

After a couple minutes of wildlife watching, we headed on over to the hostess stand and checked in. We were 20 minutes early, but were seated right away.

I’m not 100% sure of the section that we were in, but it was between the ice room and the bar/aquarium area.

Continued in next post...

 

[UGAFan0829]

We waited for a few minutes before our waiter came by. He explained everything and left for us to make our choices. And this is where Mark became a little disappointed. Unfortunately, he’s not much of a kid’s menu kind of child. Normally, he orders off the adult menu as the kid’s choices are just too boring for him. Jaden doesn’t really care, as long as she gets something to eat, but Mark was really disappointed as there was a ton of stuff on the adult menu that he really wanted to try. He finally decided on Rocky’s Pasta with Alfredo sauce and Jaden wanted Dexter’s Corn Dogs.

I was having a touch time deciding for myself. I had my eye on the lasagna, but never really order it from restaurants as it usually has too much onion and spices in the sauce, so I decided to ask the waiter what his thoughts were. He highly recommended it, so I decided to go for it.

He was spot on as it was by far the best “non-homemade” lasagna I’ve ever had!

Mike went with the ribs, which he said were just okay.

About halfway through the meal, I was feeling bad that Mark and Jaden weren’t really happy with their dinners, so when I noticed the Discovery Blast being served at several other tables around us, I offered to let them order one as well. Of course I forgot to get a pic.

Dessert was another disappointing course for Mark as a Sundae with chocolate sauce or Chocolate Pudding were the only options. Did I mention that Mark doesn’t like chocolate? Jaden decided that she didn’t want dessert, and since there was nothing that Mark liked, I told him he could have my dessert, so both he and Mike chose the Cosmic Key Lime Pie.

As we were winding down our meal and were waiting for our check, I took the chance to grab a few more pics.

Once we’d settled our bill, we headed out and made our way towards the bus stops as the kids had decided that they wanted to spend the evening back at the pool.

By this time, it was after 6, so we were hoping to make it back to the resort fairly quickly so that we’d have plenty of time to head back to the room, get changed and make it to the pool for some slide time before it closed. Thankfully, a bus arrived within 5 minutes and we were back at the resort by 7!

Next up, A little swimming, lots of sliding and the famous Zebra Domes!!

 

[Jennifer48]

Sounds like a great first day so far!

 

[onescgirl]

I've caught up on your report!
Looks like you had a great ride down. The free brkfst buffet at the Hilton was a great deal plus that saved you from having to make another stop for breakfast.
Do you usually drive the whole trip w/out staying overnight when it's just you & Mike?
Your AK room is so nice, I bet they loved seeing the animals from the room. You are going to have Mark & Jaden spoiled! You'll have to let them know that not everyone at WDW has a balcony overlooking animals!
The pirate & princess family picture is very good. Mark & Jaden are so cute!
I'm glad you posted pictures of TRex. We have never been before & I'm so excited about eating there when we go in September. I would love to request to eat in the "Ice" room. Do you know if you can give request for a specific room?

 

[15isto2]

Were you on the dining plan? Was just wondering why Mark had to order from the kids menu.

 

[mousetravel]

Love this pic. That is too cute!

Enjoying your pics & updates!

 

[amazingact21]

Is it bad that I (a grown adult) want to buy all those Disney board games in Once Upon a Toy?


Sorry to hear about the issues with dinner. Kid menus leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion. They pretty much have burgers, hot dogs, and chicken strips. I just hope this wasn't a recurring problem throughout the trip.

All the pictures taken during dinner (and the ones before you went into the restaurant) are so sweet! I think you and Mike take the prize for one of the best aunt and uncle awards!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Sounds like a great first day so far!

Thanks!! First days are always so exciting, yet tiring!

I've caught up on your report!
Looks like you had a great ride down. The free brkfst buffet at the Hilton was a great deal plus that saved you from having to make another stop for breakfast.
Do you usually drive the whole trip w/out staying overnight when it's just you & Mike?
Your AK room is so nice, I bet they loved seeing the animals from the room. You are going to have Mark & Jaden spoiled! You'll have to let them know that not everyone at WDW has a balcony overlooking animals!
The pirate & princess family picture is very good. Mark & Jaden are so cute!
I'm glad you posted pictures of TRex. We have never been before & I'm so excited about eating there when we go in September. I would love to request to eat in the "Ice" room. Do you know if you can give request for a specific room?

Yes, breakfast at the hotel was great, and not having to stop again was definitely a huge plus!

We do normally drive straight through when it's just us. And when we take Mark & Jaden again, we'll probably drive straight through. We all talked about it, and Mark and Jaden both agreed that they would be fine with riding longer in order to make it to Disney earlier. They were great for the ride...couldn't have asked for them to have been any better.

I think we did spoil them a bit...but you only get to have your 1st trip once!! I just hope their not disappointed when we go back and don't do quite as much!

As fo T-Rex, I'm honestly not sure about making requests, but I certainly don't see what it would hurt to ask!! I don't see why they wouldn't be able to accomodate you unless it's just super crowded, but September usually isn't!

Were you on the dining plan? Was just wondering why Mark had to order from the kids menu.

We were on the dining plan. Had we not been I would have gladly let the kids order from the adult menu!

Love this pic. That is too cute!

Enjoying your pics & updates!

Thank you!

Is it bad that I (a grown adult) want to buy all those Disney board games in Once Upon a Toy?


Sorry to hear about the issues with dinner. Kid menus leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion. They pretty much have burgers, hot dogs, and chicken strips. I just hope this wasn't a recurring problem throughout the trip.

All the pictures taken during dinner (and the ones before you went into the restaurant) are so sweet! I think you and Mike take the prize for one of the best aunt and uncle awards!

Well, if it is bad, then you're not alone! I would so love to have all those games myself!

I totally agree about the kids menu--but there will be more on that later in the report.

Thank you!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

When I last left off, it was 7 p.m. and we had just arrived back at Kidani Village. We were on a mission to make it back to the room, get changed and head for the pool to try and have a little time to enjoy the slide, thinking that it closed at 8.

Within just a very few minutes, we had arrived at the pool and were enjoying the nice cool water! Since Jaden isn’t a very strong swimmer, we brought along some arm floaties for her, not knowing that they had lifejackets available poolside.

After we realized that they did have lifejackets, we decided to switch out as the lifejackets seem to keep her afloat a little better.

I brought along my waterproof camera for the trip as I knew that I want to get some fun pool pics. We all enjoyed playing and splashing in the water for a bit before we decided to try out the slide for the first time.

We all took a few more turns down the slide before we just enjoyed the water for another while. Mark looked like a pirate when one of the “lenses” came out of his goggles!

Jaden didn’t want her picture taken, so she promptly gave me “the hand”, while Mark liked taking underwater pics:

It was so much fun playing around-splashing and dunking and just being kids together! But before long, Mark was itching for some more slide action, so we agreed to let him and Jaden go without us as long as they stayed with one another and didn’t run! We floated around near the end of the slide and waited for their return each time while they had an absolute blast! I’m pretty sure that slide probably had their butt print in it by the time they were done. And as we found out, it didn’t actually close until 9, which gave us lots of time!

When the slide finally did close, I think we were all pretty waterlogged by that point, so we decided to head back to the room. But, not before Mark and Jaden discovered the little water play area that we had totally missed on the way in.
It’s a perfect place for smaller kids, and even Mark and Jaden loved it. There are a couple water cannons to shoot each other with as well as a little area that has buckets that fill up and splash down every few minutes along with a few other features. The nice part is that it’s mostly all shaded, so it would be a nice place to take a break from the sun during the day. There were also a couple of benches that you could sit on without getting wet.
Mark was hiding behind this little fort area shooting Jaden while she tried to get him back:

Finally, the battle was over and we were able to head back to the room for some dry clothes.

By the time we’d made it back to the room, gotten dried off and changed, we were all feeling the need for a snack. So, we decided to make the trek over to The Mara at Jambo House.

We all browsed for a few minutes before M&J decided on a piece of cheesecake and Mike and I on the ever-famous Zebra Domes. We grabbed a table and sat down while Mark and Jaden thoroughly enjoyed their snack. Unfortunately, as they were about halfway through, the container had gotten a little too close to the edge of the table and took a tumble to the floor as one of them went to grab a bite. Poor Mark lost it as this point—he was devastated about losing his cheesecake. I felt so bad for him, but it was confirmation that we were all tired and needed to head back from some rest and sleep. I promised him that we’d come back again before the end of the week and get them both another piece—that seemed to make him feel better.

We made what felt like the forever long walk back all the while Mark whined about how far it was and how tired he was. At one point I put him on my back just to let his little feet rest. Poor thing!!

Finally, we had arrived back at Kidani and headed straight for the room. We all changed into our pajamas and the kids were tucked in bed. As they got comfy and watched TV, Mike and I dove into the Zebra Domes that I’d drooled over all the way back from Jambo!

They were as yummy as every review I’ve read made them out to be!!!

With our bedtime snack being finished, we set the wake up call for the next morning, then tucked ourselves into bed and drifted off to sleep with visions of a wonderful day in Epcot.

 

[Pinkocto]

What a wonderful first day I thought for sure you'd be driving over when you said you headed to the Mara for a snack. After a long fun day I think even I would have been complaining about how far the walk was

 

[amazingact21]

Great overall first day! Glad that the slide stayed open until 9pm; I'm sure Mark and Jaden had a blast going on that over and over again. Plus, it probably wore them out so they were more than ready to go to sleep and get a good's night rest for the parks the following day.

Bummer about the cheesecake, I hate to see a dessert being wasted. But man, those zebra domes.... Looks like a perfect snack after a few hours in the pool.

Now I can't wait to see how the kids loved the first park visit!

 

[onescgirl]

What a great day!
I'm glad ya'll had plenty of time to enjoy the pool. It seems like swimming wears kids out so fast, so i understand Mark being tired walking back to the room!
Those zebra domes do look good!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Is there any better Desert n WDW then the Zebra Dome?

 

[UGAFan0829]

What a wonderful first day I thought for sure you'd be driving over when you said you headed to the Mara for a snack. After a long fun day I think even I would have been complaining about how far the walk was

Yes, the walk over to the Mara was a lesson learned! On the map, it really didn't look that far, but our tired feet and legs begged to differ!

Great overall first day! Glad that the slide stayed open until 9pm; I'm sure Mark and Jaden had a blast going on that over and over again. Plus, it probably wore them out so they were more than ready to go to sleep and get a good's night rest for the parks the following day.

Bummer about the cheesecake, I hate to see a dessert being wasted. But man, those zebra domes.... Looks like a perfect snack after a few hours in the pool.

Now I can't wait to see how the kids loved the first park visit!

I knew when we were in the pool that we were all gonna sleep good that night!

I felt so bad about the cheesecake, but it was just one of those things! The Zebra Domes were really good, and I was so excited that we finally had the chance to try them after reading so much about them!

What a great day!
I'm glad ya'll had plenty of time to enjoy the pool. It seems like swimming wears kids out so fast, so i understand Mark being tired walking back to the room!
Those zebra domes do look good!

He was definitely worn out...we all were, especially after that walk!

Is there any better Desert n WDW then the Zebra Dome?

They were pretty darn good!