Day 1
So if you have read my trip reports before, you know I love to surprise my niece and nephews with Disney trips.
So about 6 months ago, I began planning what would be known as a dream vacation for my mom. An early mothers day present. A true splurge for this special lady. I have taken her to Disney before but nothing like this. All mom knew before we left was that we were staying at AKL and that I had booked a savannah view room. She loves watching animals so I knew this was the perfect place to take her. I quickly began downloading a bunch of photos to share with her and would send her emails loaded with photos of the resort. What she didnt know was that I had decided to surprise her with a concierge upgrade. Neither of us have stayed concierge before so I was really excited to share this for the first time with my mom. I contacted IPO quickly and they were amazing. Cant say enough about them! I told them what I wanted and they made it happen. I received several ideas on these boards from other posters on surprises to setup for my mom. My goal was to have some sort of surprise for her everyday. IPO was great at helping to set these up and keep the surprise. Some of the surprises I decided against in the end but the trip was truly magical anyway. IPO was able to book all my ADRs with no problem; getting the exact dates and times we wanted.
To further excite my mom, I did let her in on a few of the restaurants we would be eating at. I sent her photos from other disers of menu items and by the time our trip came around or mouths were watering. I had kept this secret for 6 months and was about to burst. Being the devious person I can be .I further taunted her by sending her all these photos via email of the concierge lounge and titled it see how some people do vacation! She went on and on saying how mean I was to show her something she could not have and even told my dad on me. For the record, I didnt tell him either because he cannot keep a secret from her.
The day before our departure, I checked with IPO on all of our plans and stayed clear of mom so I wouldnt slip. The first surprise on my list was the concierge stay and I had plans to keep it secret until the last possible minute. IPO told me to look for a Kilimanjaro Club podium outside the main entrance to be taken up to the lounge to be checked in. I booked a really early flight so we could hit a park before the first ADR I had planned. My sister picked me up around 4 AM and then we headed to my moms house. A quick goodbye to my dad and my assurance that I would take care of her and we were off. We were through check-in and security in 15 minutes so we had some time to kill. We had a leisurely breakfast at Au Bon Pain (shared a sandwich, banana, and coffee). Our flight took off at 6:30 AM. See how excited we were!
There was a long line at ME so I had mom take a seat while I checked in. We were finally in line for ME and unfortunately due to the volume of people, it took a while for us to be loaded on a bus. They put us on a bus with POP, and another resort that I cant remember now.
The bus was packed and my excitement over the surprise was mounting. I was worried I wouldnt find the podium or that something else would not go as planned. We finally arrived at AKL and more than ½ of the bus got off ..Yikes! There were so many people and I was so happy that at least on this trip, we wouldnt be waiting in those long lines as the lobby was crazy. I took out my camera to catch moms surprise and she was like look at all these people, we better hurry in to check-in! Hee, hee! I told her not to worry about it and since it was sunny we should grab some photos. While she went off to grab photos I quickly located the concierge podium but there was no one there. One of the bell persons saw me and asked if I needed help and I told him I was checking in and he informed that it was someone else I needed and I had to wait there. Ugghhh. Mom was starting to get suspicious. I took a few photos to throw her off the scent but no go ..the cast member was still MIA.
Finally I had no choice but to tell her. Mom just went on and on about why we were still standing there? I showed her the sign on the podium that said Kilimanjaro Club but she still didnt get it. I told her that it was the name for the concierge level and this is where we had to check-in.
Her eyes got so wide and she kept saying .you didnt! oh you didnt! It was the best. She kept hugging and kissing me people were wondering what was going on. Look how excited she was.
Finally the cast member showed up and he thought we were just standing there. He acknowledged us and finally said, are you waiting for someone? I said for you! He said oh ..sorry for the delay and took our name. He apologized over and over again saying that coming in by ME makes it hard for them to track concierge guests. No biggie Josh located us on his list and since my mom hadnt been there before, he showed us around the lobby first and pointed special areas out before taking us upstairs. He pointed at the check-in line and said thank goodness we arent headed there! Hee, hee!
Josh took us up to the 6th floor and told us how to work the elevator with our key. He showed us to the check in desk and told us to help ourselves to the offerings on the lounge. Unfortunately we had just missed breakfast and it was in between offerings so we checked in first. My mom was about to sit down but I politely asked her to go and get coffee as I had a few things to keep secret. She obliged and headed off to the other side of the lounge. The super nice cast member checking us in had my packet all ready complete with keys and everything; already linked to credit card and all I had to do is sign one thing and was done. The packet was very nice and loaded with all kinds of goodies. We even got a chocolate AKL sign, which was cool.
She gave me a printout of my itinerary and explained the different concierge offerings. There was coffee at 6:30 am for early risers; breakfast at 7-10:30 am; snacks 11:30-3 pm; afternoon tea 3-4:30 pm; evening offerings 5-7 pm; and dessert 8-10pm. I joined my mom and let her see all of our goodies except the itinerary which I quickly hid. She was settling in with coffee and awaiting a snack. I texted a fellow diser to let her know that we had arrived and grabbed myself some tea and since the lounge was empty, I took this opportunity to do my diser duty and take some photos. Mom was still glowing, enjoying her coffee on the couch!
The afternoon offerings were finally put out and it really is just a midday snack. There were these amazing kettle chips (YUM..i want some right now), and goldfish crackers, gummi bears, trail mix, chewy granola squares, and warm cookies.
We grabbed some snacks and a cold beverage. The fridge had soda and milk in it and there was also lemonade and African smooth ( my new favorite drink) out. The cast member who checked us in came over to check on us and asked if we were okay. She also informed me that though the wine and beer are out during the evening offerings, we could have it whenever we wanted and just to ask for it. We thought this was a good time to ask about the non-alcoholic beer my mom likes. She said she would make some calls and try to have it by the next night. After our snack and since our room wasnt ready, mom and I went off to take some photos and explore before heading out.
What a great start to the trip!
Up Next: Epcot and dinner at Jiko!
So if you have read my trip reports before, you know I love to surprise my niece and nephews with Disney trips.
So about 6 months ago, I began planning what would be known as a dream vacation for my mom. An early mothers day present. A true splurge for this special lady. I have taken her to Disney before but nothing like this. All mom knew before we left was that we were staying at AKL and that I had booked a savannah view room. She loves watching animals so I knew this was the perfect place to take her. I quickly began downloading a bunch of photos to share with her and would send her emails loaded with photos of the resort. What she didnt know was that I had decided to surprise her with a concierge upgrade. Neither of us have stayed concierge before so I was really excited to share this for the first time with my mom. I contacted IPO quickly and they were amazing. Cant say enough about them! I told them what I wanted and they made it happen. I received several ideas on these boards from other posters on surprises to setup for my mom. My goal was to have some sort of surprise for her everyday. IPO was great at helping to set these up and keep the surprise. Some of the surprises I decided against in the end but the trip was truly magical anyway. IPO was able to book all my ADRs with no problem; getting the exact dates and times we wanted.
To further excite my mom, I did let her in on a few of the restaurants we would be eating at. I sent her photos from other disers of menu items and by the time our trip came around or mouths were watering. I had kept this secret for 6 months and was about to burst. Being the devious person I can be .I further taunted her by sending her all these photos via email of the concierge lounge and titled it see how some people do vacation! She went on and on saying how mean I was to show her something she could not have and even told my dad on me. For the record, I didnt tell him either because he cannot keep a secret from her.
The day before our departure, I checked with IPO on all of our plans and stayed clear of mom so I wouldnt slip. The first surprise on my list was the concierge stay and I had plans to keep it secret until the last possible minute. IPO told me to look for a Kilimanjaro Club podium outside the main entrance to be taken up to the lounge to be checked in. I booked a really early flight so we could hit a park before the first ADR I had planned. My sister picked me up around 4 AM and then we headed to my moms house. A quick goodbye to my dad and my assurance that I would take care of her and we were off. We were through check-in and security in 15 minutes so we had some time to kill. We had a leisurely breakfast at Au Bon Pain (shared a sandwich, banana, and coffee). Our flight took off at 6:30 AM. See how excited we were!
There was a long line at ME so I had mom take a seat while I checked in. We were finally in line for ME and unfortunately due to the volume of people, it took a while for us to be loaded on a bus. They put us on a bus with POP, and another resort that I cant remember now.
The bus was packed and my excitement over the surprise was mounting. I was worried I wouldnt find the podium or that something else would not go as planned. We finally arrived at AKL and more than ½ of the bus got off ..Yikes! There were so many people and I was so happy that at least on this trip, we wouldnt be waiting in those long lines as the lobby was crazy. I took out my camera to catch moms surprise and she was like look at all these people, we better hurry in to check-in! Hee, hee! I told her not to worry about it and since it was sunny we should grab some photos. While she went off to grab photos I quickly located the concierge podium but there was no one there. One of the bell persons saw me and asked if I needed help and I told him I was checking in and he informed that it was someone else I needed and I had to wait there. Ugghhh. Mom was starting to get suspicious. I took a few photos to throw her off the scent but no go ..the cast member was still MIA.
Finally I had no choice but to tell her. Mom just went on and on about why we were still standing there? I showed her the sign on the podium that said Kilimanjaro Club but she still didnt get it. I told her that it was the name for the concierge level and this is where we had to check-in.
Her eyes got so wide and she kept saying .you didnt! oh you didnt! It was the best. She kept hugging and kissing me people were wondering what was going on. Look how excited she was.
Finally the cast member showed up and he thought we were just standing there. He acknowledged us and finally said, are you waiting for someone? I said for you! He said oh ..sorry for the delay and took our name. He apologized over and over again saying that coming in by ME makes it hard for them to track concierge guests. No biggie Josh located us on his list and since my mom hadnt been there before, he showed us around the lobby first and pointed special areas out before taking us upstairs. He pointed at the check-in line and said thank goodness we arent headed there! Hee, hee!
Josh took us up to the 6th floor and told us how to work the elevator with our key. He showed us to the check in desk and told us to help ourselves to the offerings on the lounge. Unfortunately we had just missed breakfast and it was in between offerings so we checked in first. My mom was about to sit down but I politely asked her to go and get coffee as I had a few things to keep secret. She obliged and headed off to the other side of the lounge. The super nice cast member checking us in had my packet all ready complete with keys and everything; already linked to credit card and all I had to do is sign one thing and was done. The packet was very nice and loaded with all kinds of goodies. We even got a chocolate AKL sign, which was cool.
She gave me a printout of my itinerary and explained the different concierge offerings. There was coffee at 6:30 am for early risers; breakfast at 7-10:30 am; snacks 11:30-3 pm; afternoon tea 3-4:30 pm; evening offerings 5-7 pm; and dessert 8-10pm. I joined my mom and let her see all of our goodies except the itinerary which I quickly hid. She was settling in with coffee and awaiting a snack. I texted a fellow diser to let her know that we had arrived and grabbed myself some tea and since the lounge was empty, I took this opportunity to do my diser duty and take some photos. Mom was still glowing, enjoying her coffee on the couch!
The afternoon offerings were finally put out and it really is just a midday snack. There were these amazing kettle chips (YUM..i want some right now), and goldfish crackers, gummi bears, trail mix, chewy granola squares, and warm cookies.
We grabbed some snacks and a cold beverage. The fridge had soda and milk in it and there was also lemonade and African smooth ( my new favorite drink) out. The cast member who checked us in came over to check on us and asked if we were okay. She also informed me that though the wine and beer are out during the evening offerings, we could have it whenever we wanted and just to ask for it. We thought this was a good time to ask about the non-alcoholic beer my mom likes. She said she would make some calls and try to have it by the next night. After our snack and since our room wasnt ready, mom and I went off to take some photos and explore before heading out.
What a great start to the trip!
Up Next: Epcot and dinner at Jiko!
I do not think I laughed so much in my life 
my poor head hurt from all that laughing
We have to do it again sometime.
ok, now waiting for more....
I am looking forward to hearing all about the surprises and the fun! 
looking for the next installment 
