stopher1's (it was) LIVE "Triple Whammy" Report - THV/AKV/VWL - Jan 11-22

[stopher1]

Day 5 – Friday

This was the day for Animal Kingdom. Having transferred over to AKV, and knowing how short the bus ride is, we didn’t rush to be out the door. We walked out the door after 9 and still were over to the park with no worries. Again we decided to split and send one person (me) to Everest for FP’s, while the rest sauntered up along the western side of Discovery Island through Harambe to Kilamanjaro Safaris. I walked up behind them as they were just getting to the entrance of KS… if I hadn’t stopped to take a few photos along the way I would have beat them there for sure.

This week, we have seen, is definitely “Brazil week” – as there has been a very large population of Brazilians everywhere we’ve gone. Animal Kingdom was no different. It’s been kind of fun hearing the Portugese spoken all over the place. Another trip we made in 2008 was one where we were here for a major “United Kingdom week” with all kinds of people here from that part of the world. It’s nice to see that so many other people from around the world enjoy coming to WDW as much as Americans do.

Animal Kingdom has just a handful of very cool attractions that we all (or almost all) love – 3 to be exact, and a couple of cool shows that we enjoy – but other than that, this is truly the least favorite park for my family. Sure the overall interpretation of both Africa and Asia hit a home run, but there are just so many things about it that just simply, stink, IMO. First I absolutely hate the way it is laid out and second I cannot stand Dinoland (a total waste of theme park real estate IMO).. Granted Discovery Island does serve as a kind of hub like they have in DL and the MK, but honestly, whoever it was that came up with the final layout with the various “dead-end” spokes radiating out from that hub with absolutely no other way to connect them was just dumb in my mind. Sorry, but have some way to join them together please. It did help when they built EE that they added the connector bridge from Dinoland to Asia - but there really should be another one going from the main walkway to Camp Minnie-Mickey, Dinoland, etc. I hate having to go almost up to the Tree of Life only to turn walk a short bit and then walk down a new dead-end path into a “land”. OK, rant over…and perhaps it’s just me…

The Safari is definitely one of those favorites for us. Every time we come and go to AK we have to ride the Safari. Seeing the animals up close is a neat experience certainly. And it’s fun to try to see the various separators between the various animal areas keeping the predators away from their natural prey.

My eldest got some amazing pics of the various animals we saw...here are just a few. Keep in mind the driver doesn't stop and my son was just clicking. Some are better than others of course. This is just a sampling.

We've never seen a hippo out of the water - this time there were 2 out on the land apparently sunning themselves

We love seeing the impressive site of the Nile Crocodiles

The elephants were so cool, several appeared to be posing

The White Rhino was right there near the vehicle. There were so many oohs & aahs as we passed by

After the safari we walked up the Pangani trail for the first time in years. My DW totally did not even remember having gone up that trail before, but we have. The gorillas were cool, at least the ones we saw awake. There were 4 in one enclosure that were all asleep, as they had just eaten. Apparently they have to sleep after eating in order to digest their food. This one hadn't just eaten, and was definitely posing for me. I wish I had zoomed in.

 

[kdzgon]

.... Sure the overall interpretation of both Africa and Asia hit a home run, but there are just so many things about it that just simply, stink, IMO. First I absolutely hate the way it is laid out and second I cannot stand Dinoland (a total waste of theme park real estate IMO).. Granted Discovery Island does serve as a kind of hub like they have in DL and the MK, but honestly, whoever it was that came up with the final layout with the various “dead-end” spokes radiating out from that hub with absolutely no other way to connect them was just dumb in my mind. Sorry, but have some way to join them together please. It did help when they built EE that they added the connector bridge from Dinoland to Asia - but there really should be another one going from the main walkway to Camp Minnie-Mickey, Dinoland, etc. I hate having to go almost up to the Tree of Life only to turn walk a short bit and then walk down a new dead-end path into a “land”. OK, rant over…and perhaps it’s just me…

....

It's definitely NOT just you - we feel exactly the same way. We are not thrill ride fans either so that is not even a draw for us. The walking is more than a leisurely stroll, for sure.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Agreed on the layout of AK. In addition we hate the narrow walkways as well. I've heard the whole story of themeing and being like you were there but I don't really enjoying paying my way in to get crushed by the mobs trying to get around. I'm always getting hit by packs and people when we go there.

 

[stopher1]

Day 5 - Friday continued

It was then time to head over to EE for our FP time.

The boys got my mother to go on it! I was very excited about that. She doesn’t really do coasters very often. As a kid she would do Space Mountain with my brother & I very begrudgingly. She does like the Matterhorn, but not really SM or BTMRR. So the fact that she went on EE (and liked it) was monumental. As such, here is our “we all rode it” shot.

By using the Parent Switch, we also were able to have the boys and their grandpa on it twice with the same FP's, so that was really cool. Here I captured the train that my DW, boys and stepdad were on.

Lunch was at our favorite AK restaurant, Yak & Yeti. For us they so far have a perfect score, 4 for 4. We’ll be back, and hopefully it will then be 5 for 5. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it. It really is yummy. Sorry, no food porn though, just a shot of the entrance way.

We then enjoyed Flights of Wonder, which is just next door. This is one of the shows that my family loves. Those birds are really cool, and having it right next door is always a great way to sit down and relax after a big meal. I don’t plan it that way, really, but it’s just worked out each time.

Kali River Rapids was next.

Sure it might not have been the hottest day we’ve experienced in Florida, but it was warm enough to go on and get wet. Drenched in fact. Again my mother was a sport (she doesn’t like getting her hair messed up), but even she had a good time. My DD on the other hand wasn’t as much of a sport as her grandmother was…but we had a change of clothes in the backpack for her, so once she was out of her wet things, she was back to her happy little self and it was all good.

By this point in the day (around 2), our party basically split in half. My boys and their grandpa went back to the resort, while the girls and I stayed in the park for a little longer. Even with the shorter operating day, we just never seem to stay in AK all day long. We really didn’t have anything that we wanted to do, except walk by the back side of the Tree of Life (along the exit path for Tough to be a Bug) to explore the carvings up close. They really are amazing. These photos just don’t do them justice at all. If you haven’t gone down that little path – be sure to check it out next time around. There are so many beautiful animals to see in that tree.

Finally my DD decided she’d like to see Festival of the Lion King, so that’s where we headed. Other than getting some frozen treats (no Itzakadoozie for me just yet) – that was the last thing we did inside AK. We always enjoy that show, but I will say that the flying bird sequence is just too darn long for my liking. I think they could shorten that part and lengthen the fire dancer part and I’d be a happy guy.

BOMA was on the agenda for dinner on Friday, and once again, it did not disappoint. We absolutely love Boma. Again, no food porn, sorry – but if you’ve never had a Zebra Dome – you just don’t know what you are missing!

If you haven't yet been to BOMA - Flavors of Africa, it's one of the 3 table service restaurants at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's located in Jambo House, and is a wonderful buffet. They serve breakfast and dinner. We'll be going there for breakfast on Tuesday, the day my folks leave for home.

Next up - our Saturday adventures, and more pics from around Kidani Village

 

[dvczerfs]

 

[stopher1]

Day 6 – Saturday

Saturday was another relaxing day – sort of. We weren’t in a hurry to get up in the morning and had another nice in-room hearty breakfast. My folks are loving it. While they do enjoy restaurants, and have enjoyed the selections we’ve been to so far, they definitely are home-bodies and prefer eating in. So it has worked well for us having as many in-room meals as we have. Eggs, bacon, coffee cake & fruit. And my kids are loving eating at the counter bar, too. We don’t have one of those in our kitchen at home, so it is a fun novelty for them.

After breakfast and getting ready for the day, the one scheduled thing we had to do was to go over to Jambo House for a PhotoPortrait session. We only see my folks every 16-18 months, so each time we are together we get a group portrait taken somewhere – usually Target or Sears or somewhere like that. This time Animal Kingdom Lodge. The session lasted about an hour and the lady took 70 shots. We got them all on a CD right then and there, and a bonus of 8 prints too. I knew we were paying for the CD, but didn’t realize we would be getting prints too. That was cool. There were 3 different packages to choose from, and we were able to get a package that was easily and evenly divided (2 5x7”s and 4 sets of 2 4x6”s). Plus I can make a copy of the CD for them after we get home and then we can just go over to our favorite store and print whatever size and quantity we want, which is what I love. We are also getting a Photopass CD of our various in-park adventures, for the same reason. They advertise the PhotoPortrait as being unique from and not combinable with the regular PhotoPass CDs, but the lady was nice and gave me the card that she used as well as the CD so that I could then add to our regular PhotoPass order later, and add whatever fun graphics I want to them from home. I thought that was pretty cool. So now I can add the 2010 logos, or whatever other kind of manipulation I want when I get home and have both versions.

This was also the day that we had planned on going boating. But the weather report had been predicting thunder storms, not just rain. There were clouds in the sky, but nothing ominous yet at that time of the morning. We originally planned on going back to the room for lunch and then heading out again in the mid afternoon, followed by a visit to the Boardwalk, where we’d find something to eat and enjoy the evening entertainment. BUT, we decided to change that plan and head out for our boat ride right after the photo shoot. So we hopped a Magic Kingdom bus and were on our way. I wanted to give them the best boating I could while there, so I definitely chose the Bay Lake / Seven Seas Lagoon option.

We boarded the monorail for the quick trip over to the Contemporary – and then decided we’d get some lunch first. The temps were in the mid-70’s, but there was a breeze blowing, so it didn’t feel as warm as it was. We enjoyed the Contempo Café and then were off to the marina.

It was a lovely hour spent on the water. At least, the adults and my DD thought so. My boys were so excited wanting to drive the boat for a little while as I’ve let them do on previous boating outings, but for the size of our group, the only boat available were the pontoons (for up to 10 people). On the pontoons, no one under 18 may do so. And anyone under 12 must wear the PFD the entire time – from stepping onto the dock, until later stepping off the dock again after your ride is over. Both things kind of marred the experience for the boys, and they wore frowns for a good portion of the trip. OH well, you can’t please everyone all the time, now can you?

Approaching the water bridge over to the Seven Seas Lagoon

We found this sign inside the boat to be pretty hysterical and ridiculous

Of course people will try to avoid drowning... wow

The Grand Floridian - we honeymooned there

The Wilderness Lodge

The old Discovery Island - sad to see how it is now. My DW and I have fond memories of making the trip over to the island and exploring it during our honeymoon.

Bay Lake Tower

We then were headed back to our resort – but uh oh – the monorail was down. There was one sitting in the station at the CR that had been there with the doors shut “ready to go” for more than 12 minutes. Another, on the express side also just sitting there.

Just a couple of moments after we’d arrived at the station they announced that it was not functional at the time, and anyone could wait for an undetermined time, or take a boat or walk to the MK to find alternate transportation to whatever their destination might be. We decided to walk – especially since I wanted to personally experience what one of the “hyped” selling points for BLT is like (“you can walk to the Magic Kingdom!”).

OK – so here’s my personal opinion on that little selling point… it’s nice, but no big deal. And as I timed it – it took no longer than our walks between Kindani & Jambo House – and the walks between our Treehouse and the Carriage House over at SSR. I’ve read so many disparaging posts on many different threads about how long the walk is from Kidani, and how long the walk is from the THVs – yet how glorious and wonderful it is to be able to leave BLT and walk to the MK… but you know what…. I’ve made each of those walks in this single trip (several multiple times) – and NONE of them are bad at all. Perhaps if you had your arms full of a sleeping child or luggage, yes – but good grief – we all walk more in the parks than ever on those little pathways. Ok, rant over.

We returned to our room as the sprinkles began, but quickly subsided. Rest time. My DD, DW & stepdad each took a nap. My boys went down to the Community Hall for some video game action, and my mother & I walked back over to Jambo House because she wanted to get a couple of things previously seen in Zawadi (one was a birthday gift for my DW and she wanted to ship it directly to my office to hide until that time arrives).
Dinner was in the room after all. Spaghetti, sausages, salad and a wonderful bread we found at the Mara.

Then since the rain hadn’t come yet, we all traipsed down to the pool. This was my second trip down there as my middle boy and I went down there the night prior as well. We had a great time and really enjoyed it – although the slide closed at 7 and my boys and I only got one trip down it each. Oh well, perhaps tonight we’ll get there sooner.

Back in the room it was once again game time. This time it was just the guys though, as we played “Conquest of the Empire” and the girls weren’t all that interested. The rains came then. And the thunder & lightning, and it lasted through much of the night.

I’m thankful it has passed now though as we head over to Epcot today. Only going to do the World Showcase side, so we’re not leaving for a few hours yet. As they are slowing staring to rouse and get up, I’m sitting out on the balcony enjoying the cool morning air, watching the storks, cattle and giraffes grazing and exploring. It’s a somewhat cloudy sky, but the sun is peeking through. Supposed to be 75 today – it’s looking to be a beautiful day.

 

[dvczerfs]

nice pics stopher, we ate at the contempo cafe alot when we stayed there last may.they have good food, not the same old burgers. boys looked like they had fun on the boats. i like your striped shirt with the mm, i have the same one.when we stayed at the contemp. we walked evey so often but took the mono. back from the mk, its the first stop and it was faster to take the monorail. thats a good hike after walking around a park.

 

[Wherem I Now]

Enjoying the pictures, although I think that you may have cheated a bit with some of those AK pics. Looks like you took pictures of some postcards.

They're great!

 

[DVC Mike]

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[stopher1]

Enjoying the pictures, although I think that you may have cheated a bit with some of those AK pics. Looks like you took pictures of some postcards.

They're great!

Nope, all from my own camera - directly of whatever you're looking at, not of postcards. So far this trip, I believe we're up to about 900-1000 pics taken, with 4 more full days to go

 

[stopher1]

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Thanks Mike.

 

[mcrabeck]

All caught up- Great trip report and pictures- Thanks for sharing!

 

[Emma's Dad]

Another great update! The boat ride sure looks like fun! Might have to check into doing this some time

 

[Chellymouse]

Sounds like you're having a wonderful trip! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I am enjoying your trip report. I especially love that your family enjoys playing games together and is really enjoying the resorts, rather than running from one park to another. That is my favorite part of vacation too!

 

[helenk]

I have not stayed at BLT but my sister and I stayed at the CR last year and let me say that walking from the MK at night after Wishes was a great perk. No standing in line for the bus or the monorail. Out the gates and over to the resort....priceless.

 

[stopher1]

Day 7 – Sunday

The view from our room, looking south towards where the lobby overlook is.

Epcot Day – day 1 of 2 actually. Given the size of Epcot, and my stepdad’s knees – we decided it might be better to break it down into the 2 different sections and enjoy them on different days. In the planning process, those days ended up being back to back. Since our 2 different dining options were both in World Showcase, and we didn’t want to do them both the same day (can you say overload?!?), we decided one for lunch one day and one for dinner the other. Sunday would be lunch at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco – Monday would be dinner at Akershus in Norway.

Our day began leisurely once more with a nice casual in-room breakfast, basically everyone for themselves. Cereals, muffins, fruit - nothing fancy or too heavy since lunch would be. Although my boys went down to the Community Hall for some PS2 and Wii time, the rest of us didn’t leave the room until about 10:30ish, arriving at Epcot a little before 11.

Celebrate Today - and "What Will You Celebrate?" banners, signs and literature are still alive and well all around the World

Before heading over to World Showcase, we did stop in to sample the beverages from around the world. Some were good, some were clearly NOT. Especially the Beverly. Yuck. But I had to try it, on a challenge from a buddy. I've been in there before several times, but for whatever reason, have never tried the Beverly. I do, however, like the watermelon flavored soda from China.

With a 12:15 ADR, we had enough time to a) get back to World Showcase, and b) enjoy Canada before doing anything else.

I’m still not overly thrilled with the O Canada film update, but both of the folks thought it was about time…so I guess they were happy with it. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Martin Short in many different films, but just not this one. And I really don’t care for lots of the relatively current references that will be very dated in a few years from now. Afterall, the original film lasted for almost a quarter of a century before it was updated… how long will this current version be around?

After the film ended, my panicky folks thought we needed to rush over to make lunch, so no time for any pictures with the PhotoPass guys in the UK or over on the bridge near France. I haven’t seen them hustle that much the entire time we’ve been here. Heaven forbid we be late for an ADR – at lunchtime, just an little more than an hour after WS even opened for the day. There certainly weren’t hordes of people around that lagoon yet… but we hadn’t been late for an ADR yet, so why start with this one, right? (Or course we’ve only been to 3 ADR’s so far with 2 more to go after Morocco, but who’d want to sully a perfect record – not them!)

We’ve eaten in Marrakesh once before and really, really liked it. My DW is of middle eastern descent, well half (her dad’s side) – and many parts of North Africa share some of those same types of food and cultural aspects – especially there along the Mediterranean coast as part of Morocco is… so it quickly became one of her favorites. For this trip, we tried to select table service options that would be a) new to the folks, something they’ve never experienced before; b) be diverse and different than most of what they are used to regularly nor would they seek out on their own; and c) be fun. Marrakesh definitely meets all three of those qualities. The only one of our ADR’s that doesn’t meet those qualities is Akershus, but that was a special request made by my mother to return there, since she was born in Norway… so even though the experience has changed since she last ate there with the addition of the princess part – she still wanted to include a visit there. So we honored that request.

If you haven’t been to Marrakesh before, let me just encourage you to at least try it once. You might just find that you like it a lot. It’s located physically at the very back of the Morocco pavilion, in the medina, or ‘old city’ part – behind the shopping bazaar area. I’ve always loved that part of the pavilion, as it truly makes me feel like I am in Casablanca (which is also one of my favorite movies…I always think I’m going to see Rick’s as I turn one of those corners! ) As you approach it, you’ll see a beautiful palace above the walls.

Like most of the pavilion, the interior of the restaurant is decorated with beautiful tile work. There is a central area where the musicians play their instruments, and the belly dancer entertains. We were seated right near the floor, which was great. We all enjoyed the entertainment greatly. The last time we ate there we were way up in the back corner, and my DD, who was only about 2 at the time, kept saying she couldn’t see the “pretty lady” – this time she had a direct view of here from her chair at the table. She was really excited to see her too – but when invited to go out onto the floor and dance with the dancer, she suddenly became quite shy and wouldn’t go. It didn’t matter that 3 other girls went out there, my DD just wouldn’t do it. Oh well, unique photo op abandoned. I was hoping she’d go. It would have delighted her maternal grandfather to see something like that, but alas, it wasn’t to be.

On the shop door of the little shop along the walkway around the lagoon - I enjoy seeing our little friend's image in various places

After our very delicious lunch, we backtracked and enjoyed France. As always, Impressions de France impressed me.

I absolutely love, love, love the score for that film. Perhaps it’s just me, or perhaps because of my classical piano training as a youth – took 12 years of lessons, winning several competitions and such along the way – but it is just a highlight of any day at Epcot for me to watch Impressions. I have it on CD and MP3 and could just listen to it over and over again.

We proceeded around the lagoon stopping along the way here and there in each nation from that point forward. We always must get a Kaki Gori in Japan. We love those! Again, if you haven’t tried one, they are quite choice. My DW would have preferred a Funnel Cake over in the US pavilion, but we can get one of those when we go back to the Magic Kingdom. We can’t get Kaki Gori but in Japan.

The Voices of Liberty and the American Adventure were both quite enjoyable, as they always are.

I was impressed with the new (at least new to me) costumes that the VOL singers were wearing.

I wasn't naughty - no flash was used for this one and the others I took during the show... our camera has a "candle" setting, to capture low to no light photos, which is why some of the pics I've posted look less than crisp.

And this time a lady was the one speaking to the crowd and leading the group. That’s cool – just different to me. Every other time I’ve seen them it was a man. No biggie, just something noticeably different. I have 2 of their CD’s, and really truly enjoy them – but of course, live and in person is much better than pre-recorded any day! My DW then proceeded to go back to hear them again later on while the rest of us proceeded eastward to Italy and Germany.

 

[stopher1]

I have not stayed at BLT but my sister and I stayed at the CR last year and let me say that walking from the MK at night after Wishes was a great perk. No standing in line for the bus or the monorail. Out the gates and over to the resort....priceless.

Neither have I yet - perhaps someday. I agree it probably would be nice, as we found was the case when staying at the Boardwalk a couple of years ago walking two and from the Studios.

 

[stopher1]

Sunday morning I took a walk around Kidani. Here are a few more photos of what I saw. I started off down at the awesome pool / water play area - Samawati Springs & Uwanja Camp

Here I'm inside, looking back at the building, with the pool bar in the top right corner of the pic, and an animal viewing area in the upper left

Not far from the first pic, now over by hot tub #1 looking towards the pool itself

Having walked around to one side of the pool, the hot tub is now in the upper left of this pic

And then looking right towards the slide coming in under the bridge

I was down there just after sunrise, so the water play area was not yet turned on. I got some pics of it, but since they were "dry" - they aren't quite as exciting. I did walk back down there with the kids a couple hours later, after we ate breakfast. That's what these pics are from - which is why they have a bit more sunlight in the background

This water barrel has all kinds of various "leaks", causing water to drop & stream down in various places. Additionally, there are pipes and a water chute coming out from it, that all send water down on people standing below and around it

Branching out both to the left and right of the water barrel there are more fun things to explore and get you get. There's a dry climbing/sliding area right next to wet, with that neat soft squishy kind of playground floor as well. You'll also find squirting flowers, snakes and water cannons in Uwanja Camp

Leaving the water play area you climb some stairs and find hot tub #2 and the Survival of the Fittest fitness center. It's quite nice.

From the fitness center, looking back down at the water play area

There are 2 restroom facilities at the pool area - one by the fitness center, and then another down on the far end of the complex by the pool bar

From the pool, I set out to explore the sports court area and the bbq area. There is a large, marshy grassland area in between the two. It makes for a nice look, but at the same time, it's pretty wide open and IMO kind of boring too, since there isn't much vegetation there but the grasses. Adding in at least a few trees like out on the animal savannahs might have made it a bit more complete, to my mind anyway.

All of the other outdoor recreational amenities are grouped together on the road as you approach the resort. There is a walk path leading you down from the resort. BBQ area - three charcoal grills and 3 picnic tables, half-court+ basketball court, two tennis courts and two shuffleboard courts as well. As you look at the vegetation, you'll notice a lot of different plants that were ruined by Jack Frost's extended visit last week and the week prior. Many, many plants throughout our stay have been slowly ripped out. Several cast members explained that the vegetation became more of a concern than getting the Christmas decorations down. The entrie WDW complex lost a LOT of plants that simply could not survive the cold.

Most of the equipment can be borrowed from the Community Hall, but I did find the basketballs right there on the fence

From there, I turned right and walked down the road a little way to get the sign pic

 

[dvczerfs]

nice pics stopher!!! we havnt gone over to akv to check it out. in december, we have a day planned to go hotel hoppin. looks like the suns is out!!!