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

[twinklebug]

All the dead vegetation is just so sad and makes it hard to think that's Florida we're looking at. I'm glad Disney focused on working on saving & repairing the plants over removing the lights. Keeping holiday lights up late only upsets a small portion of folk who like to get the holidays over and behind them. The plants effect everyone.

We were at Kidani last July when the gardens were still new & I was looking forward to them being grown in a bit this trip. It looks like we'll be lucky if we see new plantings again (which I prefer over brown/dead ) Oh well, Disney "magic" is in the people who make it happen, and Disney's horticulture crews are amongst the best.

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Thank you again for all the pics and Trip Report Christopher! Your attention to detail describing the areas is perfect. I feel like I'm back there walking along with you and your kids through the descriptions.

I never have had the opportunity to work for Disney - the way things look right now that opp probably won't show up until I'm retired, but my eldest son and sister did. If it weren't for the low pay I think they'd both still be there. Disney does a great job in choosing/teaching their CMs good public relations and service. Its true to say that once a Disney CM, always a Disney CM at heart and it shows in your Trip Report.

 

[sisaaliyah]

Great TR! I notice you own at VGC too, and am wondering about 7 mo. availability there for a studio.

 

[rentayenta]

Loving it!!!

 

[Disney Commando]

Checking out your pics from Kidani Village, either you were the 1st one up, or hardly anyone was there.

 

[DisneyDadC]

Checking out your pics from Kidani Village, either you were the 1st one up, or hardly anyone was there.

I said the same exact thing not one person in the pictures. I would love to be there with little crowd like that

 

[stopher1]

All the dead vegetation is just so sad and makes it hard to think that's Florida we're looking at. I'm glad Disney focused on working on saving & repairing the plants over removing the lights. Keeping holiday lights up late only upsets a small portion of folk who like to get the holidays over and behind them. The plants effect everyone.

We were at Kidani last July when the gardens were still new & I was looking forward to them being grown in a bit this trip. It looks like we'll be lucky if we see new plantings again (which I prefer over brown/dead ) Oh well, Disney "magic" is in the people who make it happen, and Disney's horticulture crews are amongst the best.

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Thank you again for all the pics and Trip Report Christopher! Your attention to detail describing the areas is perfect. I feel like I'm back there walking along with you and your kids through the descriptions.

I never have had the opportunity to work for Disney - the way things look right now that opp probably won't show up until I'm retired, but my eldest son and sister did. If it weren't for the low pay I think they'd both still be there. Disney does a great job in choosing/teaching their CMs good public relations and service. Its true to say that once a Disney CM, always a Disney CM at heart and it shows in your Trip Report.

Yeah, I am happier to see the vegetation being taken care of too! The lights & decorations up this long don't really bother me, they just surprised me. I'm just not used to it being this "late" to still be up. I hear you though about the growth factor of the vegetation at Kidani - my boys and I went over there to tour it in late May and I was really hoping to see some good growth by this particular trip, and we have - but sadly many varieties were completely dead, and others were really in shock. Oh well. You can't help the weather.

And yes, I agree with you, you can stop being a Disney CM, but the training you received really never goes away. It's funny, because back in the day when I was working at DL, I was taught how to line a jumbo trash can, and I still do it to this day. One time my sons asked me why I did it that way, and sadly, I couldn't remember WHY I did it that way......until only recently when some former CM friends and I were reminsicing about the "good old days" and that particular item came up in the conversation - boy did the light bulb go on then!!!

Great TR! I notice you own at VGC too, and am wondering about 7 mo. availability there for a studio.

We do. Love it there too! Can't speak to the availability issue yet, but being the smallest DVC, it'll get harder and harder after all of the work at DCA is completed. I think once World of Color opens in the spring it will start to get harder, honestly, but that's just MO.

Checking out your pics from Kidani Village, either you were the 1st one up, or hardly anyone was there.

Definitely up earlier than anyone wanting to go to the pool! Those pool & sports courts shots were taken around 7 am while out on a walk while the family still slept. The pool & hot tub themselves are available at 6 am, but the slide and water play area don't open until 10 am.

 

[Hunclemarco]

I love your TR I also love your balance throughout the trip....
Parks vs Resort time
Dining out vs. using Resort Room Kitchen
Love the board games you've been playing with the family.
I also like the detail you see throughout the trip... I look for/notice that too.

 

[stopher1]

Monday morning walk continued... I said Sunday morning previously, but I was mistaken as it was actually Monday morning, or Day 2 for Epcot. We were planning to leave the resort around 11 to head over to Epcot and enjoy what we could of Future World.

Picking up where I left off regarding my walk about Sunday morning - we last saw the Kidani Village sign. From there I began to walk back towards the resort building through the parking lot. I love the camp-like look of the exterior lighting - hung on wooden poles, with wires strung between them hanging additional lights between the poles. Those between post wires then swoop downward a bit. Altogether they make it feel like the area had been quickly set up as some kind of an outpost camp in the wild or somesuch outpost. They definitely reminded me of M*A*S*H - kinda strange I know, but that's what I thought of when examining them. These are throughout the parking lot area.

At one point then as you walk closer to the lobby entrance, the sidewalk splits into a kind of Y, with the left path taking you uphill towards the bus transportation station, and the right path keeping you at ground level taking you then, further up the walk, underneath the Porte Cochere / drop-off & pick-up area into the parking garage. Even though this picture shows the garage entrance from the upper path, I walked the lower path as I wanted to look more at the garage (I had previously uploaded this pic, so I'm using it instead of uploading the one from the lower path). Some type of work was going on both different times, and this cherry picker was in both pics.

One of the biggest beefs I have with Kidani Village, is the lack of finish work given to the "seen" walls of the parking garage. It IS a parking garage, and as such, does not need a lot of ornamentation. BUT, the parking garage is front and center as the bus is driving up the hill to the bus stops - and you can clearly see in to the ugly grey block wall at the back. With all of the beauty and attention to detail lavished on the design and execution of this resort - it just absolutlely boggles my mind that they couldn't apply some paint to the back walls - or any "seen" walls, those that are visible from the outside, to at least make it fit in better.

These nice roll-down shades have been added recently (I'd read about them online a couple of months ago), and are definitely a nice change/improvement to the view of the parking garage from my first visit to Kidani last May. Unfortunately they alone don't do the trick. You can still see the ugly block from the bus. What really got me though, was when I continued to walk into the parking garage and found this elevator lobby area.

Ok - so this is the nicest elevator in a parking garage ever, probably...but why did they stop? Running that textured wall throughout is not necessary, but come on, get out the sprayer and add some paint. I know - it's probably just me. It is a parking garage - I get that. It's a functional space that serves it's intended purpose well - but this is afterall, part of Walt Disney World. Many, many times over Disney does more than necessary with standard functional spaces. I'm not asking that the myriad of pipes be covered - just throw on some paint on those walls that can be seen from the front exterior of the resort.

Ok, enough about the garage. I then took that garage level elevator back upstairs to the lobby area, and explored a bit more there. I went to the stairs at the back of the lobby and went down to look at Sanaa once more. Sanaa is the table service restaurant, with windows overlooking the savannah. At times diners will have wonderful views of the giraffes, zebras and other animals roaming freely. Note our little friend in the second photo.

Here's one looking into the dining area.

And then looking back from the restaurant lobby area past the stairs to the doorway out to the savannah level overlook & campfire ring.

Looking back at Kidani from by the campfire ring

This one shows Sanaa underneath, with an overlook above it

I then proceeded to go back upstairs. As you stand at the top of the stairs in the lobby, looking towards the entrance doors & the Porte Cochere, the registration/bell services/concierge desk is to your right, Johari Treasures is to your left - both directions with a hallway branching out to get to the guest rooms. Our room was to the right, or the north side. I went down the left, or south side into the Library. The name doesn't apply, as the room is not one with books, but rather a quiet space to relax. It has a beautiful fireplace

various couches, chairs, and tables

and a nice exterior overlook of the savannah as well

I sat in there one night working on this thread. It was quite relaxing.

Just beyond the Library on the south wing is the Community Hall. My boys absolutely loved it. They've enjoyed the CH's at the Boardwalk, Old Key West and Saratoga Springs too - but they liked this one the best. This is where you get your outdoor recreational equipment, but also board games, dvd's, etc. There are coloring and other activity stations, as well as foosball and a pool table. The boys were stoked to not only find the PS2 station (or 3, I'm not sure), but also a separate area with a Wii (what we have at home) - and my daughter was stoked that they let her take an Ariel coloring page home with her.

Finally back to the room for a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon, muffins and fruit - followed by more game time before heading out to Epcot once more.

Coming up - back to Epcot, followed by good-bye to the grandparents (headed home to Oregon on Tuesday) and a move over to the VWL.

 

[DisneyDaddy-O]

Wow, this is some trip. It looks like you guys are really having a great time. It's nice to see you really enjoying the resorts. Thanks for all the work put into this and the pics are great, really gets me excited for our trip!

Great Job!!

 

[rentayenta]

I am vowing to enjoy more down time at the resort when we visit Disney.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Really enjoying all the pictures. Looks like a great time!

 

[DenLo]

Thanks for all of the photos. It's great to see all the little details in addition to the regular room photos. I have never seen a photo of a work out room before. I didn't even realize Kidani had a separate fitness center from Jambo House.

Good to see a family enjoying the villa and playing board games. Thanks for the trip report.

 

[dvczerfs]

nice pics stopher!!! i cant wait to check out akv.

 

[christa112]

More awesome pics. I am not sure if my kids are even going to want to go to the parks. LOL

We only have 2 more days and we will be there!!!

 

[Chellymouse]

Awesome pics! We have thought about trying AKV but are hesitant. (too many long bus rides from back in the All Star days) How is it staying down there as far as closeness (or not so much) to the parks? The resort is beautiful! Hope the grandparents had a safe journey home!

 

[DisneyDadC]

ok I know we commented on this before but serious Stopher did you see any othe humans during this trip? I mean there is nobody in your photos other then the people you are with.Did you put up caution signs so people would not walk through? scare them off? what ?

 

[stopher1]

More awesome pics. I am not sure if my kids are even going to want to go to the parks. LOL

We only have 2 more days and we will be there!!!

I hear ya! My boys both, separately, told their mom and I that the next time around, they'd be happy with more resort days and less park days. It's taken a couple of years for us, but it sure looks like commando park visiting is over.

Awesome pics! We have thought about trying AKV but are hesitant. (too many long bus rides from back in the All Star days) How is it staying down there as far as closeness (or not so much) to the parks? The resort is beautiful! Hope the grandparents had a safe journey home!

I was hesitant too when we first bought AKV, but honestly it's not bad. In reality - the MK resorts are far from AK and DTD. The DTD resorts are far from AK and the MK. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. The AK bus naturally is the shortest, clocking in at less about 3-5 min, including the stop at Jambo House. MK took about 17. The trip from SSR over to the Studios last week took about 16. Everything at WDW is close to some things, and far from others when you think about it.

 

[stopher1]

ok I know we commented on this before but serious Stopher did you see any othe humans during this trip? I mean there is nobody in your photos other then the people you are with.Did you put up caution signs so people would not walk through? scare them off? what ?

Oh wow - there are definitely people here, I just didn't really think about it, and was more focused on getting shots of the surroundings, and kept trying to avoid getting them in there. Sunday in Epcot was quite crowded. When we finished World Showcase and were headed back to the resort, the boys asked to see if we couldn't go on Test Track... the Stand-by Line was 70 minutes, and the Single Rider Line was 35. There were definitely people there. Sure, maybe not summer crowded, but enough to make my crowd-wary folks cringe at times. (I know - why would crowd-wary people head to WDW? For the grandchildren, of course!)

 

[stopher1]

Day 7 - Sunday, continued

Not too many more pics in this one, as the camera battery was just about dead by the time we hit China...

Norway was up next. We went on Maelstrom and were sure to watch the film afterwards. My mother was excited (since she is native Norwegian) – but after we got back to the resort, she said “they definitely need to update the film – it’s too dated. So much has happened since the late ‘80’s – especially with the Olympics in Lillehammer!” I totally agree with her. But if Canada is any indication, I guess we have a few more years before they’ll get around to updating Norway, huh? Norway’s only up to 22 years old… Canada was about 25 before it was updated.

We quickly went through the shops (that she really wanted to browse in) since we would be spending more time in Norway on Monday.

Mexico was more crowded than normal, simply because the Cantina is currently closed for rehab, and surrounded by temporary walls. The walk way was extremely tight. Everyone was tired, so we skipped the pavilion altogether. As we were about to round the bend, the boys asked if we could run by Test Track for a quick spin. I told them to ask their grandparents since they were the ones most tired… of course they got the answer they wanted! But sadly, upon arrival at TT, the Standby line was 70 minutes, and the Single Rider line 35. No ride on TT that evening. We’d definitely try for it the next day.

A lovely view on the way out to the bus

We went back to the resort, and traipsed down to the pool. Swimming and hot tub time were definitely in order. Another good day.

 

[stopher1]

Day 8 – Monday

Monday was another Epcot day, and the last full day to spend with the grandparents. I’ve already detailed my walk-about the resort in the early hours while the family was sleeping in a bit, followed by my return to the room with a hearty breakfast and more game time… so off to Epcot we went.

Let me just say here that it’s really hard to try and balance the desires of everyone in your family – and then when you add other members of the extended family and try to blend their desires in as well – especially some who shall remain nameless – but are somewhat older, VERY set in their ways, and quite vocal about what they do and don’t like…namely large crowds in the don’t column. With all that said – Monday was the most difficult day for us on this entire trip. It was a day full of contrasts and overall confusion. Mainly because there were certain people in the group who said one thing, then turned around and wanted to do another. Let’s just say DW and I were quite flummoxed and frustrated by the time we got back on the bus to go back to the resort. But hey – 1 day out of 8 together is not a terrible percentage.

Despite the grandchildren explaining the 2 really cool attractions they wanted to share with their grandparents; despite the repeated explanations and demonstrations throughout the week of how the Fastpass system works; despite the fact that the same 2 previously mentioned attractions are the most popular at Epcot… the folks decreed they did not want to leave the resort until 11 or 11:30. Thus the game time prior to leaving. While playing the games was quite enjoyable, and the boys had a ball doing so – by the time we got to Epcot and I ran to the Land with only a glimmer of hope only to see that all of the Soarin’ FP’s were gone for the day…and a Stand-by Line at that time with a wait of 110 mins… then to run over to Test Track to get into a very large line for FP’s – with the time clock advancing more than 20 mins while I stood there waiting for my turn…only to secure FP’s beginning a mere 15 mins prior to our dinner reservation at 5:15… those same boys who were happy to play games with their grandparents were now silently quite mad at those same grandparents for not being able to get on Soarin’ (especially since the grandparents would not wait in any line for more than 30 mins). One son was at that point ready to go back to the resort – instead he just sulked for the next several hours. So – as you can imagine, it was a bit frustrating trying to keep the peace between the generations that afternoon. Thankfully the grandparents picked up on what was going on, and tried to “make it all better” by treating to some snacks & frozen treats. It definitely worked for the younger son, but not Mr. Sulky, though he did finally come around when it was time to actually ride Test Track.

I noticed a couple of these cute signs that day near damaged vegetation

One thing that my folks did want to do, however, which we agreed to do was to go back to see the UK Pavilion since we’d rushed right by it to get to our lunch reservation in Morocco the previous day. So we traipsed back there… only to watch as they wove in and out of each shop in less than 5 minutes, stood to listen to the Fab Five guys, the British Invasion, for 5 more and then turn to us and say, “Now what? Where next?”

Kinda crazy if you ask me!

Time was not on our side as our TT FP return time was approaching, not enough time to do a whole lot, so up into Spaceship Earth we went. My DW has not been on it since prior to the rehab/update… so she quite loudly was announcing how boring it was, to which my DD then started saying the same thing. They both changed their tune afterward thinking it was much better than before. Me – I like it. Always have. I definitely preferred it when Walter Cronkite was the narrator, but it’s still a fine little people eating attraction.

Actually it was quite funny how very long the line was when we arrived at Epcot, something like 45 min – but anyone who places an attraction like that right at the front door is going to get some people to go on it right away, no doubt. By the later afternoon when we went on it, the line was about a 5 min wait. Then over to TT to wait for our FP time to arrive. While waiting we explored the exit shop & car showroom, since we knew we wouldn't have time after the ride itself.

My boys have been working on their sister for the past several months to get her try new things this trip. Test Track was definitely one of them. When we approached the briefing room she was still a bit apprehensive. We thought & hoped that they would put us 6 and 1 (which would have been really cool for the photo at the end), but nope, they made us break down into 3 and 4. DUMB. So the kids went together in one vehicle and the adults in the other. Since the kids went first, and we ended up being 3 cars behind them we weren’t sure how DD would do. Turned out well – she absolutely LOVED it. Thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.


By then though we raced on over to Norway for our dinner reservation. We were late, and they made us wait because of it. Oh well, a perfect record of not being late was finally broken.

This was the one ADR meal that my mother just absolutely wanted to do. She had been waiting for it so expectantly and with much anticipation. The inside of the Akershus castle is just as beautiful and lovely as we had both remembered.

As a family, we last ate there before my DD was born. My mother and I last ate there together about 18 years ago. We really really liked it – back then. This time was not as good. The buffet remains similar to what is used to be, but the rest of it was just disappointing. There were really only a couple of Norwegian entrees on the menu, the rest were just basic fare easily obtained almost anywhere else. Even the desserts were dumbed down. We were very bummed, to say the least. It was nice, however, to enjoy the traditional Norwegian entree - one that my grandmother used to make around the holidays, my mother made, and I make. The Kjettkaker. My kids love them, and so that's what they ordered as well. My wife likes them too, but she decided to be different and ordered pot roast. Pot Roast, in a Norwegian restaurant. Ok. Whatever. She did try the meat cakes that I ordered and actually said something that I liked very much... she said that mine are much better than Akershus' ! That made my evening!

BUT, my DD was absolutely, positively beside herself with glee, as her hands-down favorite princess is Ariel… and she was there – with legs! She was literally jumping up and down with excitement when she saw Ariel in the distance – and then when she came to our table, I thought my DD was going to burst. It was so fun to watch. That moment definitely made up for the rest of the experience – even my mother said so.

We then did some shopping in the Puffin’s Roost, took another traditional pic

thoroughly enjoyed the Vikings display inside the Stave Church

and then headed back to the bus to go back to the resort. This was the grandparents final night with us, but also our final night in AKV. We would be moving over to the VWL on Tuesday. Here are just a couple of quick pics from the Lodge. I’ll get to more of that experience next… let's just say - I'm loving it.

I love the elevator doors. Beautiful.