The Drive, the Dream and DVC - A March 2011 Birthday Surprise TR(NEW 11/9 p. 32 END)

[Native NYer]

AKL is so beautiful!
And I love the DVC perks too!!!

 

[MEK]

You know - the first time I visited AKL I didn't think it appealed to me either. Now it is absolutely one of my favorite DVC resorts. I love the theming! I love the music! I love the animals. I love ALL the restaurants there - all four of them. In fact, I think AKL has the best selection of restaurants on property. What a fun afternoon/evening!

So glad you got your mug!

 

[jenseib]

Love the AKL pictures. It looks so pretty. I am going to try to get over there this trip and take some pictures

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Oh my! You really have me wanting to stay at AKL! That room looks awesome. I love that bed! And the balcony... you would have to throw me out of there when my stay was over. Where else can you watch giraffes eat dinner from your hotel room! I love it! And I would love to take a dip in that pool! I've seen lots of pictures of it and it looks fantastic! I am absolutely going to look into the renting points thing like LL is doing.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I am absolutely going to look into the renting points thing like LL is doing.

 

[MeMom]

I really like this decor, even though the first time I set foot in AKL I did not think it was for me! I still can't get over that! I think what makes me like certain resorts is the "feeling" I get from it, not just that I like the general theme, or colors. I mean, I really don't have any interest in traveling to Africa, but I still LOVE this place!!!

Ahh, the balcony....

We got cleaned up and headed down to our dinner at Boma at 5:45. We loved it, even though DH's favorite ribs were not on the menu tonight. They must only do it on certain nights of the week. He still found plenty of meat to satisfy his carnivorous self! It was delicious and I do not have ANY pictures!

I love this resort more every time I visit it. The decor is awesome - that fireplace, those big rocking chairs, and just everything else. The aroma as you get near the stairway to Boma just makes you want to float straight down into the restaurant! When Jill and I just did the little Boma tour, the girl told us ribs were served on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Sitting on the balcony at AKL gave us little motivation to want to go to a park. We just wanted to sit there and enjoy the beautiful view!

 

[MeMom]

Oh my! You really have me wanting to stay at AKL! That room looks awesome. I love that bed! And the balcony... you would have to throw me out of there when my stay was over. Where else can you watch giraffes eat dinner from your hotel room! I love it! And I would love to take a dip in that pool! I've seen lots of pictures of it and it looks fantastic! I am absolutely going to look into the renting points thing like LL is doing.

You will not be sorry.

Check out the view from our balcony when Jill rented points for my surprise Mother's Day trip.

And these rockers are just waiting for you to relax in.

I love the pretty floor, too.


And you can't forget the mingos.

Or the zebras.

You will love staying at AKL!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Love all the pics of the studio, Sheree! Was the pull-out couch pretty comfortable? I am really leaning towards renting points for an AKL studio on the next trip.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Don't you just love looking out of you balcony and seeing the exotic animals? We sure enjoyed that when we stayed at Kidani a couple of years ago. We have decided that Jambo will be our final stay in our trip next June if we can get concierge level... We call for that before the end of the month!!!
I agree about the gift shop there, it's huge and has a great selection of merchandise!
Looking forward to more Jambo information!

Oh, yeah, it's so wonderful!! I felt like it was a real escape! Good luck with concierge! I'd love to do that someday (need way more points!) I'll try to get more info for you!

AKL is so beautiful!
And I love the DVC perks too!!!

Isn't it? DVC is where it's at!!! I'm drinking out of a DVC mug this morning!

You know - the first time I visited AKL I didn't think it appealed to me either. Now it is absolutely one of my favorite DVC resorts. I love the theming! I love the music! I love the animals. I love ALL the restaurants there - all four of them. In fact, I think AKL has the best selection of restaurants on property. What a fun afternoon/evening!

So glad you got your mug!

It's like an AKL love fest around here!!!
You are responsible for me NEEDING that mug. I'm just sad I couldn't turn it into a reason for another trip to WDW! HA! Oh well, this way I know I get the mug and I won't be worrying about it a year from now when I get to go back!

Love the AKL pictures. It looks so pretty. I am going to try to get over there this trip and take some pictures

I hope you get over there - I know you will take some AWESOME pictures!! You always do!

Oh my! You really have me wanting to stay at AKL! That room looks awesome. I love that bed! And the balcony... you would have to throw me out of there when my stay was over. Where else can you watch giraffes eat dinner from your hotel room! I love it! And I would love to take a dip in that pool! I've seen lots of pictures of it and it looks fantastic! I am absolutely going to look into the renting points thing like LL is doing.

Oh you definitely should! I am sure you would love it there!! The pool seemed really big to me, even when there were quite a few people around (the hot tubs were usually busy with some kids, but that's another story). The slide was nice - not too big for my kids (even Paige did it a lot!)

Woohoo!!! We are starting another AKL Lovers thread here!
You know I will be so excited to read your TR after your Jan trip LL!!!

I love this resort more every time I visit it. The decor is awesome - that fireplace, those big rocking chairs, and just everything else. The aroma as you get near the stairway to Boma just makes you want to float straight down into the restaurant! When Jill and I just did the little Boma tour, the girl told us ribs were served on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Sitting on the balcony at AKL gave us little motivation to want to go to a park. We just wanted to sit there and enjoy the beautiful view!

Oh, good info on the ribs! Thanks! Of course we ate there on Monday this time! I might have to call and check on that in the future when planning ADRs! Plus I want to do the tour and the Jiko wine tasting!
That's the kind of trip DH wants, where we don't do as much park time, but relax at the resort and do "other" activities. I think we need a longer trip to do both!!!

You will not be sorry.

Check out the view from our balcony when Jill rented points for my surprise Mother's Day trip.

And these rockers are just waiting for you to relax in.

I love the pretty floor, too.


And you can't forget the mingos.

Or the zebras.

You will love staying at AKL!!!

LOVELY pictures!!! Thanks for sharing. What a great view!

The mingoes! Who will ever be able to forget them now, thanks to Miss Bella!

Love all the pics of the studio, Sheree! Was the pull-out couch pretty comfortable? I am really leaning towards renting points for an AKL studio on the next trip.

Thanks! My kids slept on the pull-out, and did not complain at all. They thought it was comfy. I don't recall laying on it much myself. But sitting on it, I didn't think it was bad at all. I'll see if I have any pictures of it opened up. (It will be a messy shot for sure!)

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

You will not be sorry.

Check out the view from our balcony when Jill rented points for my surprise Mother's Day trip.

And these rockers are just waiting for you to relax in.

I love the pretty floor, too.


And you can't forget the mingos.

Or the zebras.

You will love staying at AKL!!!

Ummm, excuse me lady...... what are you trying to do to my budget and all my neatly laid out plans? Don't even think about posting anymore pictures like that or you are going to throw my Type Aness into convulsions!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

AKL is gorgeous!!! The lobby is just phenomenol. Great pictures Sheree! I think swimming is a great way to end the evening!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Ummm, excuse me lady...... what are you trying to do to my budget and all my neatly laid out plans? Don't even think about posting anymore pictures like that or you are going to throw my Type Aness into convulsions!

It's like some sick combination of enabling and torture around here!

AKL is gorgeous!!! The lobby is just phenomenol. Great pictures Sheree! I think swimming is a great way to end the evening!

Thanks Kelli! I think it's a rather amazing place. The pool in the evening was so great! It tired the kids out too!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Tuesday March 15

I woke up early - I kept waking and with my blind eyes, I couldn't see the clock on the other side of the bed. So I got up and took a few sunrise pictures.

I showered first, and then dragged the poor tired children out of bed so we could get out to the bus stop by 8:00. We had an 8:20 breakfast at Tusker House. Luckily it's a 5 minute bus ride to AK! It's a heck of a way to walk back to Tusker House, and I'm sure we were "late". But I didn't get too worked up about that. Normally I hate being late for things (thanks Mom) but we just hustled back through the "empty" park!

We had our picture taken before going in. We did not buy them this time, since the photographer decided to take one with our camera. But she took it when DH wasn't looking!!

We had a great breakfast! The food was delicious, so much to choose from! Our server, Eric from Michigan was so fun! Each of the girls got cupcakes for their birthdays! Only at WDW do we eat cupcakes with breakfast!! We love vacation food!!

Here's a really blurry picture of the layout of the buffet room. It's really big, and lots of stations, so the lines aren't long.

We had our visits with our safari friends

It seems to take a while to get out of Tusker House - we always are ready to leave before we can get the check and all that - but it is also a great meal, and the characters are so cute!!!
When we left, the park had opened already, and so the master plan of getting right on Kilamanjaro Safaris wasn't going to work.
So we got FPs and wandered the Pangani Trail first.
I have to say, my pictures are in some kind of messy order (mulitple cameras were being used today!) so I'm not 100% sure which ones are from the Pangani Trail, and which are Maharajah Jungle Trek!
I know we did Pangani first, so hopefully these next pics will be from there!

Gorillas are on Pangani!!

Turtle? or Tortoise?

pretty impressive drawings by kids!

Meerkats - are they on Pangani? Well, they are in my TR!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

After Pangani, our time was already up for our Kilamanjaro FPs. I seem to remember the FP return time not being that long, and rather than wait in line, we went to Pangani since it was nearby.

Kilamanjaro is always fun, if a rough ride sometimes! You don't always see the same things!
Like elephant's rear ends

better angle

What is it, naptime already?

Do you see who's hiding back in the trees?

"Mingoes" off in the distance

Ostrich and eggs too!!

Pardon us, we're just passing through.


Remember how I said my pictures were not very organized?
Here's more Pangani pics.

I knew I had one of the baby gorilla!

After we saved all the animals from the poachers, we decided to head out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We had not been there in a while (heck we skipped AK altogether our last two trips!) and I have heard (thanks DISers) that there were good characters there.
So we hopped on the train!

 

[ericamcl]

great update - DH and I own at AKV but we've never been there! Must change that one day

 

[Native NYer]

AK first thing in the morning is great!
I vacation food too!
I love your sunrise photos. So beautiful! Don't you wish you could wake up to that view everyday?

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Cupcakes for breakfast!

We love the trails! What a smart use of your time to FP the safari and do the trail during your wait! That baby gorilla is so sweet. I hope we see her in October.

I want to see the animal examinations/surgeries at Rafiki's next time. I think that would be really cool! We had really good luck with characters back there last time too.

 

[jenseib]

AKL looks just so beautiful in the morning. I can never get the 2 trails right either.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Love all the pics of the studio, Sheree! Was the pull-out couch pretty comfortable? I am really leaning towards renting points for an AKL studio on the next trip.

I slept on the pull-out couch at Boardwalk and it was very comfy. I was actually surprised because my back can act up and it didn't at all.


I'm pretty sure both the gorilla and meerkats are on pangini, you did good with the multiple cameras.

Tusker House look so yummy! I want to eat there someday.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Sheree and Leslie -- thanks for the info on the pull-out -- I am filing that away in my little trip planner brain.

Yeay for breakfast at Tusker House and some animal viewing! That is truly one of my favorite ways to start a day at Disney!