This time we did it right! (Updated 3/2!)

[Nicole786]

Great so far! I had AKL booked this coming trip but I had to switch it due to finances now I wish i reaaaallly could afford it! haha

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Julie! Followed you over here. Interesting about your check-in at AKL... we experienced that type of thing over and over while we were there for two days, between my BIL and us. Everytime we asked a CM for information or for help with things like, ME, Cruise transport, "was our luggage here?" Mailing a package home... we got a huge sigh, and then either the wrong info, or sent on a wild goose chase for information...
I guess being way out in the boonies, no one gives them the info Or somehow the GM is not passing info to his/her staff.

That being said...WE LOVED AKL!!! Would definitely stay there again when we get the chance. Loved your Savannah view pic!

 

[kors]

Can't wait for the next update!

 

[babieemelly]

Aw, that picture of Blaize in the little Mickey towel is TOO cute! And Blaize is such a cool name, I love it

The room looks GORGEOUS! I've always loved walking around the Animal Kingdom Lodge but I've never gotten a chance to stay there. Your view isn't too shabby, either

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Welcome back! (Being home sucks, huh?)

I can't wait to read about your trip! (And watch for myself in the background of your photos!)

 

[tinkerbell87512]

I'm here! Sorry I'm so late. The baby is so cute and I'm glad you had a great time. AKL looks soooo beautiful I wish I had the extra money or a 40% code *hint hint Disney if you are reading *. Sorry about the problems at check in though.

Can't wait to read more!!! Welcome home!

 

[iggbees]

i'm late in joining your trip report... looks awesome so far though! i LOVE akl it's one of my favorites. we never got to stay on the animal side though, just the pool view (which was ok, i mean, considering we were at akl!). i hear you about being spoiled now. my bf and i are going to take our 2nd trip in jan and we stayed at wl last year and now we're planning on pop. i shudder at the thought... haha.

ps. blaize is sooooo cute!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Just found your TR and read all of it-- I see some familiar faces over here on your thread---SHOUT OUT TO ALL!!

OMG the pic from your airplane scares me to death-I wanna fly sssooooo badly but Im to scared! That is the first time I have actually seen what it looks like looking out the window of a airplane, so I guess Im getting closer to accomplishing a plane ride eh? Atleast now I know what to expect.

The baby is a cutie!! congrats to your friend and her husband!

I have always wanted to try the one of the animal resorts but have not done so yet-- it looks very nice and what a view!!

You haven't been on an airplane?!? Do it! It's not that bad!

For my wedding, my aunt and uncle who were both 50 flew out to Yosemite National Park to join us. Neither of them had flown before, but they're ready to fly more!

Thanks for reading!

Nice to see everyone here!

Great job so far Julie! Your room looks beautiful!

Thanks!

Thank you for reading!

I'm all set for reading this great report. We did think about you while you were gone. I like the view you had. Goodie bags with MNSSHP tickets - very nice gifts! The little guy is sure a cutie!

I'll be happy to read your report while I'm waiting to go back again. Two weeks from right now, the boys and I should be in Magic Kingdom.

You're so lucky to be going back so soon!

Glad I can help to pass the time till you go back!

Thanks for reading!

I'm enjoying your TR so far! Subscribing on to read the rest!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

YAY I found you! I am really enjoying your Trippie and I have so been slacking on starting mine. I shall have to start it! Well can't wait to read the next update!

I can't wait to read your TR! I'm sure you're exhausted though.

Glad you're enjoying mine!

I just found your trip report and am enjoying it! My husband doesn't care for Disney either so I can empathize with you there!

The baby is adorable and the view from your room is incredible! I've never considered staying at AKL but I'm rethinking that now.

Looking forward to more.

Those crazy husbands.

I just loved AKL. I can't say enough about how great it was.

Great start on the trip report. I love the pictures you posted of the view from your room, you're right, not too shabby. It makes me want to stay there.

The baby is so cute with his perfect little rosebud lips. I bet he got a lot of attention.

I probably would have offered dragon breath lady a mint, and if I didn't have a mint I would have borrowed one from someone and given it to her.

I can't wait till I get to drive under the gates to WDW, your TR is going to keep me sustained until then. Can't wait for more.

I should have offered that lady a mint or gum or something, but unfortunately, I had packed all that in my checked bags. What was I thinking?!?

Glad to help you pass the (short) time till your trip! Thanks for reading!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Great so far! I had AKL booked this coming trip but I had to switch it due to finances now I wish i reaaaallly could afford it! haha

If you can find a way to afford it, do it! It's the best!

Thanks for reading!

Hi Julie! Followed you over here. Interesting about your check-in at AKL... we experienced that type of thing over and over while we were there for two days, between my BIL and us. Everytime we asked a CM for information or for help with things like, ME, Cruise transport, "was our luggage here?" Mailing a package home... we got a huge sigh, and then either the wrong info, or sent on a wild goose chase for information...
I guess being way out in the boonies, no one gives them the info Or somehow the GM is not passing info to his/her staff.

That being said...WE LOVED AKL!!! Would definitely stay there again when we get the chance. Loved your Savannah view pic!

Oh my! I hear you on the wild goose chases! I can't tell you how many times we were sent to the bell services desk, then back to the front desk, then to talk to a zebra. Just kidding about the zebra, but they may have been more helpful than the cast members!

We did LOVE it though, so I can't complain too much!

Thanks for reading!

Can't wait for the next update!

Thanks for reading!

Aw, that picture of Blaize in the little Mickey towel is TOO cute! And Blaize is such a cool name, I love it

The room looks GORGEOUS! I've always loved walking around the Animal Kingdom Lodge but I've never gotten a chance to stay there. Your view isn't too shabby, either

Oh, you should stay at AKL if you ever get the chance. It was incredible.

Welcome back! (Being home sucks, huh?)

I can't wait to read about your trip! (And watch for myself in the background of your photos!)

It was hard to leave, but I missed my DH so much, I was happy to come home and see him!

I can't wait to read your TR! I kept my eye out for you, but I don't think I saw you. But who knows?!?

Thanks for reading!

I'm here! Sorry I'm so late. The baby is so cute and I'm glad you had a great time. AKL looks soooo beautiful I wish I had the extra money or a 40% code *hint hint Disney if you are reading *. Sorry about the problems at check in though.

Can't wait to read more!!! Welcome home!

AKL was awesome. The check-in problems were annoying, but our stay was still wonderful! Thanks for reading!

i'm late in joining your trip report... looks awesome so far though! i LOVE akl it's one of my favorites. we never got to stay on the animal side though, just the pool view (which was ok, i mean, considering we were at akl!). i hear you about being spoiled now. my bf and i are going to take our 2nd trip in jan and we stayed at wl last year and now we're planning on pop. i shudder at the thought... haha.

ps. blaize is sooooo cute!

Thanks for reading!

It's good to save money on your stay and be able to do more shopping! I just talked to my mom about our Thanksgiving 2008 trip and she wants to stay at POP! The advantage of POP is that everyone seems to know what they're doing at check-in!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

We got all our park bags packed, Beth and Jason got the stroller all ready to go. It was definitely hard to leave AKL after being there such a short while!

On our way out of the lodge, we saw some wildlife up close. I think this is a walking stick.

Beth and Jason like to have a car when at WDW, so we got in the car and made our way over to the Epcot.

On our way to Epcot, we all put on our glasses so we could see the beautiful scenery.

Finally, we parked, got out of the car and onto the tram. It was at this point that I finally got that “I’m at Disney World” feeling. Such a great feeling. We made our way over to guest relations because Sarah had to buy an annual pass. She’s going back in January with her mom, dad, and little bro and sis. I’m jealous!

While Sarah waited in line for the annual pass, Beth, Jason, baby, and I waited off to the side.

And waited.



And waited.



And waited.




And waited.


There three ticket windows open and two of the guests at those windows were arguing over prices or something. Forever. So basically, all the rest of the guests in line had one window to use.

Finally, Sarah had her AP in hand and we made our way over to the turnstyles.

We all made it through without a hitch and we were in EPCOT!!!! Yay!! What a feeling! Tonight was extra magic hours, so we planned to enjoy World Showcase and the Food and Wine Festival until Illuminations and then head over to Future World. We were under the impression that the World Showcase closes at 9, even during EMH.

Sarah and I headed over to Soarin’ to see if we could get FPs for everyone to use after Illuminations. But there were no fastpasses available. Oh well! On to World Showcase.

I'm sorry about the lack of pictures in the rest of this installment...I think I was too excited to take pictures!

We all met up in Canada, where Beth and Jason bought some Canadian Cheddar Cheese soup. We all had a taste and it was DELICIOUS! (You’re going to get sick of me saying that, but all the F & W Festival food was incredible).

Next, we were over to the “Great Beers of the World” where we sampled some Stella Artois, and Bass Ale.

Onto France, where Sarah got some Quiche and I got “Coupe de Sorbets Champagne, Framboise, and Chocolat Blanc” (Champagne, Raspberry, and White Chocolate Sorbet layered on top of one another.) Both of those things from France were delightful.

Next was Morocco for Bastilla and Kefka. I can’t remember which was which, but one of them was a pita with some beef in it and some yummy sauce and the other was a pastry-ish thing with chicken and with cinnamon on top. The pastry one was tasty, but a little strange because it had a rosewater and cinnamon taste with the chicken.

Either Jason or Sarah (can’t remember which) got a lamb chop in Australia. I didn’t try it, but they said it was awesome.

That's what's left of it.

As we strolled along in the World Showcase, we heard some talking coming from that band stage across from America. The guy was talking about how the next song was their signature song and telling the story about it. As part of the Food and Wine Festival, they had Eat to the Beat concert series.

Can anyone guess what awesome band we heard singing their signature song that we all know and some of us love?!?!

 

[babieemelly]

Another great update... I love those glasses!

The food all sounds so good! I'd love to visit during the F&WF some time. And when it comes to the concert... I think I have an idea. Was it a group of people from the village...?

 

[melsmom12]

I was there for that! Haha, we were in Epcot the same night! Wait, were you there Friday night or Saturday night? We were there Saturday night, but it was those same hard-workin', headress and hat wearin' men. Or "People" I should say!

I haven't gotten to my Epcot day in my TR yet, but you'll have to come read it!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Is it everyone's fav wedding reception song, next to the macarena and the chicken dance, of course????

 

[jordanyosh]

Isn't baby a little young for beer goggles

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Another great update... I love those glasses!

The food all sounds so good! I'd love to visit during the F&WF some time. And when it comes to the concert... I think I have an idea. Was it a group of people from the village...?

You're onto something!

I was there for that! Haha, we were in Epcot the same night! Wait, were you there Friday night or Saturday night? We were there Saturday night, but it was those same hard-workin', headress and hat wearin' men. Or "People" I should say!

I haven't gotten to my Epcot day in my TR yet, but you'll have to come read it!

I'll have to check out your TR. We were there Friday. I guess they were there two nights!

Is it everyone's fav wedding reception song, next to the macarena and the chicken dance, of course????

Yep. It was on the "do not play" list at my wedding reception, but I think I've heard it at most other weddings!

Isn't baby a little young for beer goggles

Never too young, my friend.

 

[disneyaddicted]

NO soarin fastpasses? I hope you eventually got to go.
The food all sounds so yummy. Did you also put on your glasses to read menus? Tell me you wore them in public!!!

 

[stitchlover]

Ohhhh...I read your pretrip and now here the TR is! How fun! More, more, more...

 

[disneyaddicted]

I went back to the beginning of the TR, do I see dream fast passes in a phot there? yay!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

NO soarin fastpasses? I hope you eventually got to go.
The food all sounds so yummy. Did you also put on your glasses to read menus? Tell me you wore them in public!!!

We did go on Soarin' eventually. I would have been so bummed if we had missed it!

The glasses definitely got some use in public...I have pics to prove it!

Ohhhh...I read your pretrip and now here the TR is! How fun! More, more, more...

I'm hoping to have another installment tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

I went back to the beginning of the TR, do I see dream fast passes in a phot there? yay!

Yep, you did see dream fastpasses! I'll tell you where I got them on day 4!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

When last I left you, we were on our way over to the band stage to listen to the Eat to the Beat band. It started raining as we were walking, so out came the ponchos.

Some of us had a little trouble getting them on!

Suddenly, the band begins to play and what do we hear?!? Yep, you were all right…

Y M C A!

I couldn’t believe my Minnie ears! We were actually listening to the Village People sing YMCA! Craziness!

So we all stopped and did some dancing. I had a video of this, but it was a pretty junky video, so I’m not going to torture you with that.

After YMCA, we made our way over to Italy’s F&WF booth. I saw that they had Caprese salad, which is my fave. DH and I ate that every lunch and dinner of our honeymoon in Italy! I got in line, ordered my Caprese and some wine, and the Italian guy told me they were closed. BUMMER!!! But then he said they would open back up after Illuminations! SCORE!!!! We all thought EMH only applied to Future World, but World Showcase and F&WF would be open till midnight tonight. We were SO excited.

We found seats for Illuminations in front of the model train set. There was a big tree in the way, so some of our view was blocked, but we were able to move around a little to see what we were missing. Illuminations was great, as always.

The rain had stopped at this point, thank Goodness!

I went back over to Italy to get that Caprese and the line was about 4 miles long. I skipped it, knowing we would be back and we headed over to Norway for Maelstrom.

Beth, Jason, baby, Sarah, and I boarded our Viking ship and sailed the Norwegian seas. I kept telling Sarah she was going to get soaked on this ride (she’d never ridden it before), so she was all nervous whenever it seemed like we would drop. She cracked me up!

Looks kinda like my DH

That crazy troll tried to steal the baby!

Somewhere along the way, we saw a F&WF booth for Poland! Beth and I have always thought WS was not complete without Poland. Shout out to my fellow Polacks!

We went in to check out the Mexico pavilion. So pretty. And we tried on some hats.

Then we made our way out of WS and said goodbye to Epcot for the evening. We would be back (a lot)!

Out the gates, onto the tram, and to the car we went. We got back to AKL by midnight and Jason went to pick up his mom at the airport. Sarah and I went to our room and got ready for bed after we checked to see which of our friends were out in the Savannah. As I lay down in my bed, I had to consciously make myself stop smiling! I had a perma-grin on my face and had to relax my face so I could fall asleep!

It was a great first day in Disney World and we still had so much more in store for us!