There's no place like "home" for the holidays...*updated 3/18 p. 43 and 44*

[irky416]

I really like that picture of Expedition Everest!

 

[xoktenox]

Ohhhh AK has the best theming! I would have been FLIPPING if the duck were near my feet like that. I am sooo scared of birds I would have had to go inside so kudos to you and your family for dealing with them! Excited to hear about your night at DTD!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Love the picture of EE!

I have to say I get really freaked out about birds being around me, especially when I'm eating. I am not a fan of birds at all. I think they are pretty to look at it when I am inside and they are outside but that is about as far as it goes with me. Ick.

 

[Michelle_and_Aaron]

It sucks that the ducks were like that to you. People feed those animals all the time and that is why they do that. I wish Disney would enforce the no feeding the animals a little better because it really takes away from the whole experience when ducks attack you because they think they will get some of your lunch.
Anyway good update. I can not wait to hear about downtown disney!

 

[jwwi]

Cute Minnie tree. I am not an Idol fan, so even though I may be at DHS next week I may skip it? CC Sabathia, Brett Farve and Aaron Rodgers are listed as celebs scheduled to be at ESPN Weekend, hope we get to see at least one of them. Keep wearing your sports wear, it is fun to meet other WI disney fans.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I really like that picture of Expedition Everest!

Thanks!

Ohhhh AK has the best theming! I would have been FLIPPING if the duck were near my feet like that. I am sooo scared of birds I would have had to go inside so kudos to you and your family for dealing with them! Excited to hear about your night at DTD!

Yeah, it was kind of freaky! We did think about going inside but didn't even bother.

Love the picture of EE!

I have to say I get really freaked out about birds being around me, especially when I'm eating. I am not a fan of birds at all. I think they are pretty to look at it when I am inside and they are outside but that is about as far as it goes with me. Ick.

Thanks.

I'm not really a big fan of birds either. I remember this one time at the old Discovery Island (this was years ago) there was this HUGE pelican or something standing in the middle of the walkway and I was soooo scared to pass it.

It sucks that the ducks were like that to you. People feed those animals all the time and that is why they do that. I wish Disney would enforce the no feeding the animals a little better because it really takes away from the whole experience when ducks attack you because they think they will get some of your lunch.
Anyway good update. I can not wait to hear about downtown disney!

Oh, I know, while we were there there this other family kept tossing them crumbs. People did that when we were at Sea World too! What is the big fascination?! I don't get it.

Cute Minnie tree. I am not an Idol fan, so even though I may be at DHS next week I may skip it? CC Sabathia, Brett Farve and Aaron Rodgers are listed as celebs scheduled to be at ESPN Weekend, hope we get to see at least one of them. Keep wearing your sports wear, it is fun to meet other WI disney fans.

Aww I think you should still try it...it sounds like fun. But that is really cool you'll be there for ESPN the Weekend! I'd love to meet Aaron Rodgers. Actually I'd love to meet any of them.

 

[Jennifer48]

Your AK pics came out great. I love photographing that park.

EE is my fav ride too. DF wanted to ride Dinosaur in December and I was reluctant but when he convinced me to go, it was down. I got out of that one!

can't wait to read more!

 

[lmillercrew]

Great safari pics! Last time we were in AK, Everest was broken so I'm looking forward to going again this year.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Sarah,

Your EE photo was lovely - that whole area is just so nice. The Xmas trees are all so cute as well!

Hope you got some nice pix at AKL!

Di x

 

[wdwgirl03]

Your AK pics came out great. I love photographing that park.

EE is my fav ride too. DF wanted to ride Dinosaur in December and I was reluctant but when he convinced me to go, it was down. I got out of that one!

can't wait to read more!

Thanks. I love photographing anywhere in Disney World. haha!

Awwww, well you got out that time but you have to try it sometime!

Great safari pics! Last time we were in AK, Everest was broken so I'm looking forward to going again this year.

That stinks it was broken the last time...this time you'll have to ride it twice.

Hi Sarah,

Your EE photo was lovely - that whole area is just so nice. The Xmas trees are all so cute as well!

Hope you got some nice pix at AKL!

Di x

Hey there!

Thank you for the comment on the EE pic. That is probably one of my favorite pictures I took.

I did get some cool pictures at AKL...that update is coming soon!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hey everyone! I figure it's about time to post another update. I keep putting it off because I don't want it to end! haha But we have another trip coming up soon right around my birthday (no, it's not to Disney but I am still very excited!) so I want to try and get it all wrapped up. It's hard to believe I'm almost done! *sigh* Anyways...I hope you enjoy despite the lack of pictures!

Friday, December 19, 2008 cont'd (part 3)

After a fun morning at Animal Kingdom we decided to head over to Downtown Disney for a bit. Like I said in the last update, we decided to get there by first stopping at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and taking the bus from there. If you didn't read my May trip report, we were lucky enough to stay in the villas at AKL so I was excited to go back and visit. It was nice pulling up to the Lodge and making that walk into the lobby. As soon as we entered we saw this:

The lobby there is already pretty neat but that Christmas tree was amazing. So we just kind of explored for a little bit. I found another cute little tree decorated with animal print ornaments. Again, I love how all of the resorts' decorations are perfectly themed to go with that resort.

We also saw the big mask that they have. I forget the exact story of it but I know that they've talked about it on the Animal Kingdom Lodge Great Hotels episode. I think that all of the dolls on it represent different people or things. I should've read the signs by it because right now I'm sounding kind of stupid! Anyways, it's very interesting!

I couldn't get over the lobby and the tree so here's a couple more pictures of it:

We also took a quick peek out at the savanna but sadly didn't see any animals other than a couple birds.

So we made our way back inside and out to the bus stop. We had to wait a few minutes for a bus to come so I just kept thinking how our trip was almost over and how I was not ready to leave yet! I was having too much fun (as always)...and then of course there was the whole weather difference between Florida and home. None of us were ready to leave the sunshine. But I wasn't going to worry too much. We still had a good day and a half left to enjoy. When we arrived at Downtown Disney our first stop was the Days of Christmas store. They had some really cute stuff in there. Next up was the World of Disney! As we were walking over there I noticed that there were some pin traders outside the pin store. I mentioned how this trip I wanted to try pin trading so I thought maybe I could stop there before we left. When we got to the World of Disney I was ready to shop! Like many other people, I could easily buy that whole store, haha. So we browsed around for a while. None of us really got too much...I ended up getting a book but that was about it. Don't be fooled though, I bought plenty of stuff at other times. We also stopped at the Team Mickey store and the pin store, where I bought a Beach Club pin to add to my resort collection. We did take a look at the pin traders who were outside. We were blown away by how many pins these people had! I think that my pin collection is good-sized, but geez, compared to those collections I have nothing! Let me tell you they were hard-core. One lady said that the pins she had with her were just her traders...which was an entire binder or two... Pretty crazy. Needless to say I decided not to trade my pin with any of them. Instead we went to check out the new T-Rex Cafe.

The T-Rex Cafe is located near the McDonald's and since it's by the same company who does the Rainforest Cafe restaurants, it's very similar to those. We took a quick peek inside to see what it looked like.

It looked really cool and we will definitely have to eat there on our next trip since Dad and I enjoyed the Rainforest Cafe so much.

As we left I took a picture of our "home"...good old Saratoga Springs. Hopefully we'll be back there soon.

We had one stop left before going back to the Beach Club: Goofy's Candy Company! See, we were on a mission to find something. Well, Emma was on a mission to find something. When we were at the Polynesian she saw this set of different types of hot chocolate mixes. Because we were going to MVMCP she decided not to get it since it would just be one more thing to carry. That turned out to be a mistake because we could not find it anywhere after that. When we got to Goofy's Candy we saw the hot chocolates in one of the window displays. Maybe Emma would finally get her souvenir. Or not. Turns out the store didn't have any more and they couldn't take them out of the display. It was looking like we'd have to go back to the Polynesian if she really wanted to get them. I also saw those Goofy Glaciers (just like a slushie) so I had to get one to take back to the bus stop. Then it was time to head back to the Beach Club for a quick break.

up next: another party and Fantasmic!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Great update! Isn't the AKL lobby awesome??

 

[irky416]

The AKL lobby looks great!

I can't believe that lady had so many pins just to trade. I don't really get the whole trading thing. I just buy the ones I like. Maybe you'll get to try it next time you get down there.

 

[xoktenox]

Wow the WL is so beautiful at Christmas! I agree with you on how its so cool how all the resorts have their trees themed to the resort they're in. Sounds like you guys enjoyed your shopping too. T-Rex looks so amazing inside! I definitely need to get in there just to look around!

 

[tinkerbell87512]

The AKL lobby is so beautiful and those Christmas decorations make it even more beautiful (if thats even possible)! I'm so sad your TR is slowly coming to an end . You must be getting excited for your NYC trip though!

 

[Jennifer48]

aww I can't believe your TR is almost over. When is your NYC trip?

If there is one thing I learned at Disney is ALWAYS buy something when you first see it. I can't tell you how many times I've said "oh I'll buy that later when I see it again" and that something not to be found anywhere else!

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Sarah,

The Xmas tree at AKL was so beautiful - they put so much effort into all their decorations!

That always happens to me as well - the minute I finally decide to go and buy something it suddenly mysteriously goes out of stock!

I'm with you on the not wanting to finish your TR

Di x

 

[lmillercrew]

Great update! I haven't gotten into pin trading, but I'm going to buy some and use them as tacks on my bulliten board at home. They'll be a whole lot cuter than my plain tacks! Love the tree pics too

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great update! Isn't the AKL lobby awesome??

Thanks! I love the AKL lobby. But really I love the whole resort.

The AKL lobby looks great!

I can't believe that lady had so many pins just to trade. I don't really get the whole trading thing. I just buy the ones I like. Maybe you'll get to try it next time you get down there.

I know, it was insane! I did end up trading my pin but I didn't really want to deal with that lady. I swear she must've been trying to collect every pin ever made.

Wow the WL is so beautiful at Christmas! I agree with you on how its so cool how all the resorts have their trees themed to the resort they're in. Sounds like you guys enjoyed your shopping too. T-Rex looks so amazing inside! I definitely need to get in there just to look around!

One of the things I love most about going to Disney World is souvenir shopping, as lame as that may sound. The T-Rex Cafe was definitely cool.

The AKL lobby is so beautiful and those Christmas decorations make it even more beautiful (if thats even possible)! I'm so sad your TR is slowly coming to an end . You must be getting excited for your NYC trip though!

I'm sad it's almost over but I am really looking forward to going to New York!

aww I can't believe your TR is almost over. When is your NYC trip?

If there is one thing I learned at Disney is ALWAYS buy something when you first see it. I can't tell you how many times I've said "oh I'll buy that later when I see it again" and that something not to be found anywhere else!

Me either, I feel like I just started it. We are going to New York March 10-14 so we'll be gone for my birthday (March 12). I've never been there before, so I'm excited!

Yep, luckily Emma was able to get her hot chocolates but I did the same thing with this little stuffed Santa Mickey. I could've sworn that I saw them at the Beach Club gift shop when we got there but then I couldn't find them anywhere else the rest of the trip. I was beginning to think I was imagining it but atleast I did see it in another window display at Epcot so I knew I wasn't crazy!

Hi Sarah,

The Xmas tree at AKL was so beautiful - they put so much effort into all their decorations!

That always happens to me as well - the minute I finally decide to go and buy something it suddenly mysteriously goes out of stock!

I'm with you on the not wanting to finish your TR

Di x

That tree really was amazing. I could've taken a ton more pictures of it.

Ugh, isn't it so frustrating?!

Great update! I haven't gotten into pin trading, but I'm going to buy some and use them as tacks on my bulliten board at home. They'll be a whole lot cuter than my plain tacks! Love the tree pics too

That is a fun idea...the pins would be really cute as tacks!

 

[Michelle_and_Aaron]

The AKL looks amazing all decked out for Christmas! I am so sad that your tr is almost over. I will miss sharing your family's expreiences. Since you guys are DVC owners are you planning another trip anytime in the near future? I hope you can start a pretrippie not long after this one ends.
It stinks you guys could not find the hot chocolate packs Emma wanted. Or did you? Haha. I will stop trying to predict the future and just wait for your next update.