TimNDansMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2000
- Messages
- 3,093
July 29
I was very excited when we got up on Sunday morning! Up until yesterday, I had been dreading this day, as it was to have been our last day at WDW. Instead, now we were going to check into Animal Kingdom Lodge!
The kids had taken off to the Melody Food Court to get some breakfast while I started to get everything organized for the move, when I remembered that we had already received the room bill. As I dont like to receive further room charges after we arrive home, I ran down to the food court to give them some cash. Luckily, it was busy and they hadnt got to the cash registers yet. I went back and finished packing everything up and then DH and I went down to the food court for a bite to eat, too. I had asked for a late checkout so we just took our time and snapped a few pictures on the way. I was kind of sad to be leaving ASMu as I had enjoyed its fun atmosphere.
The time finally came to load up the van again. Once again I considered having Disney move us over but then I thought that wed take everything to the elevator, which was just around the corner from our room, make one trip down and then make one or two trips each from the elevator to our van parked at the curb. Easy, right? But no, as I was finishing up the last of the packing and making sure we hadnt forgotten anything, DH and the kids chose their own way to do itseveral trips down the stairs at the end of our (3rd) floor and out to the van. No wonder they were sweating buckets and it was beyond me why they decided their way was better! Oh well, to each his own and we climbed into the van and DH turned the air conditioning on full blast! I guess we should have used Disneys moving service, but I just felt better knowing that everything was leaving and arriving with us.
The kids and I had already visited Animal Kingdom Lodge, twice in fact, so this was a new experience for DH. I think he was impressed as the Lodge came into view and I was just tickled pink as we stopped at the security booth and DH said those magic wordschecking in. The guard looked up our name on his manifest, issued us a parking permit and explained the procedure when going through the entrance gateseither you can go through the side where the guard is, or you must use your room key to open the gate in the next lane. We usually used the guard side unless there was a line-up. As we pulled up in front of the entrance, underneath the trademark thatched roof, I noticed that it seemed busier than it had been when the kids and I first visited earlier in our trip. There were several cars parked there, probably while people were checking in. But still, a CM was at our van immediately, ready to take all our luggage in. He gave me a ticket stub and we were on our way! I had a definitely different feeling as I walked through those sliding doorsthis time I belonged there, we actually had a room! I tried not to grin from ear to ear as I hurried up to a CM at the check-in desk.
I had reserved just a standard room to keep costs down, because of our low Canadian dollar and was pleasantly surprised to find that we had been bumped up to a pool view. I did ask if there were any complementary upgrades to a savannah view, but the CM said that it had gotten quite busy in the last day and there were none available. We were given room #4422 on the Zebra trail and after giving everyone their room key, Dan and I went up to see it, while DH went exploring and Tim sat in the lobby reading his novel. Part of the walk to our room, passed by the balcony over-looking the lobby and I dont think I ever failed, during our stay, to stop and take in the magnificent view. The attention to detail is everywhere and each time I stood there, I think I discovered something new.
Our room, while not overly large, was beautiful! As you entered, on the left there was an ornate chest of drawers and next to that was an enclosed closet which contained the wall safe and iron and ironing board. There was even a fold-up Graco playpen stored in there! On the right hand side was a large, two-sink vanity area that was great for changing in and a separate bath/toilet area similar to all the other Disney resorts. At check-in, we had the choice of a room with either 2 queen beds or 1 queen bed and a bunk bed. After the CM assured us that it would be long enough for Tims 511 length (yes, hes now taller than Dan!), we chose the room with the bunk bed. Opposite the beds was an ornate TV/armoire and beyond that was a good-sized table with two armchairs. In keeping with the African flair, all furnishings, headboard and bunk bed were a dark-wood finish. Splashes of colour accented the room in the bedspreads and curtains. Behind the queen bed, a netting type curtain was hung reminiscent of the mosquito curtains you would find while camping on safari. Our view was of the beautiful pool area.
Dan and I were exploring our room, while waiting for the luggage to arrive when DH came in and noticed a wad of gum stuck to the carpeting outside the bathroom door. I immediately got on the phone to the front desk, who, after I assured him that it was not necessary to change rooms, said that they would send their carpet person as soon as possible. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and thinking that it was the carpet person showed him the gum. No wonder he looked a little surprised, as Dan pointed out that it was Bell Service with our luggage! After a good laugh, he went through all the amenities in the room and hotel etc. and started to show me the wall safe, when he discovered that it was locked and no key in the lock! After he left, saying that he would have someone sent right up to open the safe, the carpet person arrived and proceeded to spray a special solution on the gum and scrape off the hardened result. We got to talking and he delicately told me about some of the substances he has had to clean up off carpeting. As he worked on the gum, another man arrived with a cast member and proceeded to rekey the lock. They all worked quite quickly and then were gone! There was no trace of the gum and I had the safe keythere were no other problems during our stay.
It was to be a day of relaxation and exploring, but I needed a battery for my watch, which had stopped several days ago and I felt lost without. Since a very nice CM in the Grand Floridian gift shop had told me there was a watch place at Orlando Premium Outlet Mall, DH decided to drop me off there while he went back to the Edwin Watts golf store. Tim was content to read his book in the lobby and Dan went down to the arcade. They had their room keys with charging privileges, so they were all set!
Before we left, DH and I walked around the resort, checking out all the nooks and crannies. We discovered more sitting areas off in the corners of other floors, studied all the African artwork and artifacts throughout, and walked across the authentic-looking cable bridge that stretches from one side of the lobby to the other on the 5th level. Before we headed out to the Arusha Rock Savannah lookout, I showed him the restaurants and food court. We decided to make an 8pm reservation at Boma with a very friendly CM, who DH ended up having a nice chat with, as he has a good friend from Kenya. This was great! Things that I had only dreamed about while I was planning this trip, were actually happening!
We found the kids and told them that they could have dinner, whenever they wanted, in the Mara food court and to buy a couple of the souvenir mugs. I would have thought that theyd check out the pool, too but I found out later that they preferred to stay at the arcade or watch TV. Honestly, its so hard to tear kids away from anything electronic these days! Oh well, I guess they get enough pool-time with swimming lessons, back home.
When DH dropped me off at the mall, after arranging to pick me up in two hours, I soon realized that I liked this one far better than Belz. I have already invested in 2 Dooney and Burke purses and I spent ages in their outlet looking through everything. It was very tempting, but I was very good and didnt buy anything. I didnt have a lot of time, so I buzzed in and out of the shops, finally finding the place for my watch battery. Thankfully that was all that was wrong with it, although I would have had a good excuse to buy that Mickey watch, Ive been eyeing! I was running out of time, but had found a pair of shoes that I liked and was just getting ready to pay for them when in walked DH! It turned out that he had already been there an hour and had been looking around at shoes too. He and I ended up staying there, looking around and only just made it back for our Boma reservation. In fact, he dropped me off at the entrance, while he went to park the van. No worries though, I was given a beeper and we had to wait 10-15 minutes until our table was ready. While waiting, I called up to our room, on a house phone, to check on the kidsthey had eaten and were watching TV. Our table ended up being beside the window, overlooking a water feature, so I was quite happy with that!
The food at Boma was absolutely delicious! I wish now that I had written down everything that I triedI found the intermingling of flavours a delight to my palate and the Chardonnay that the CM recommended went perfectly. I usually try not to eat too much at buffets because I always feel so stuffed afterwards, but I couldnt resist going back to have some more of the same or to try another interesting dish. I didnt want the evening to end, but finally we could eat no more and after the scrumptious desserts (notice desserts is plural) and coffee, we headed out to the savannah, behind the pool area, for a little walk and to look at the animals in the Disney moonlight.
In this area, there was a pond quite close to the fence where the flamingoes always seemed to congregate. Something was going on because a large flamingo was making a soft squawking noise and as he walked over to one side of the pond, several others followed him. They seemed to have some sort of meeting and then headed back to join the rest of the flock. There was also a crowned crane hanging out with the flamingoes and I wondered whether he thought he was one or had been cast out from his own kind.
We then headed back up to the lobby, where we stretched out in one of the several comfortable seating areas. We noticed other people doing the same thingit was that kind of atmosphereand some children were gathered in front of the big-screen TV watching a Disney video. It was so peaceful and welcoming we could have slept there all night. Finally we decided it was time to go back to the room before we did fall asleep! The kids were already in bed and had fallen asleep while watching TV. It had been such a wonderful day that I didnt want it to end, but the next day, the kids and I planned to just hang around AKL and enjoy the atmosphere, while DH went golfing.
I was very excited when we got up on Sunday morning! Up until yesterday, I had been dreading this day, as it was to have been our last day at WDW. Instead, now we were going to check into Animal Kingdom Lodge!
The kids had taken off to the Melody Food Court to get some breakfast while I started to get everything organized for the move, when I remembered that we had already received the room bill. As I dont like to receive further room charges after we arrive home, I ran down to the food court to give them some cash. Luckily, it was busy and they hadnt got to the cash registers yet. I went back and finished packing everything up and then DH and I went down to the food court for a bite to eat, too. I had asked for a late checkout so we just took our time and snapped a few pictures on the way. I was kind of sad to be leaving ASMu as I had enjoyed its fun atmosphere.
The time finally came to load up the van again. Once again I considered having Disney move us over but then I thought that wed take everything to the elevator, which was just around the corner from our room, make one trip down and then make one or two trips each from the elevator to our van parked at the curb. Easy, right? But no, as I was finishing up the last of the packing and making sure we hadnt forgotten anything, DH and the kids chose their own way to do itseveral trips down the stairs at the end of our (3rd) floor and out to the van. No wonder they were sweating buckets and it was beyond me why they decided their way was better! Oh well, to each his own and we climbed into the van and DH turned the air conditioning on full blast! I guess we should have used Disneys moving service, but I just felt better knowing that everything was leaving and arriving with us.
The kids and I had already visited Animal Kingdom Lodge, twice in fact, so this was a new experience for DH. I think he was impressed as the Lodge came into view and I was just tickled pink as we stopped at the security booth and DH said those magic wordschecking in. The guard looked up our name on his manifest, issued us a parking permit and explained the procedure when going through the entrance gateseither you can go through the side where the guard is, or you must use your room key to open the gate in the next lane. We usually used the guard side unless there was a line-up. As we pulled up in front of the entrance, underneath the trademark thatched roof, I noticed that it seemed busier than it had been when the kids and I first visited earlier in our trip. There were several cars parked there, probably while people were checking in. But still, a CM was at our van immediately, ready to take all our luggage in. He gave me a ticket stub and we were on our way! I had a definitely different feeling as I walked through those sliding doorsthis time I belonged there, we actually had a room! I tried not to grin from ear to ear as I hurried up to a CM at the check-in desk.
I had reserved just a standard room to keep costs down, because of our low Canadian dollar and was pleasantly surprised to find that we had been bumped up to a pool view. I did ask if there were any complementary upgrades to a savannah view, but the CM said that it had gotten quite busy in the last day and there were none available. We were given room #4422 on the Zebra trail and after giving everyone their room key, Dan and I went up to see it, while DH went exploring and Tim sat in the lobby reading his novel. Part of the walk to our room, passed by the balcony over-looking the lobby and I dont think I ever failed, during our stay, to stop and take in the magnificent view. The attention to detail is everywhere and each time I stood there, I think I discovered something new.
Our room, while not overly large, was beautiful! As you entered, on the left there was an ornate chest of drawers and next to that was an enclosed closet which contained the wall safe and iron and ironing board. There was even a fold-up Graco playpen stored in there! On the right hand side was a large, two-sink vanity area that was great for changing in and a separate bath/toilet area similar to all the other Disney resorts. At check-in, we had the choice of a room with either 2 queen beds or 1 queen bed and a bunk bed. After the CM assured us that it would be long enough for Tims 511 length (yes, hes now taller than Dan!), we chose the room with the bunk bed. Opposite the beds was an ornate TV/armoire and beyond that was a good-sized table with two armchairs. In keeping with the African flair, all furnishings, headboard and bunk bed were a dark-wood finish. Splashes of colour accented the room in the bedspreads and curtains. Behind the queen bed, a netting type curtain was hung reminiscent of the mosquito curtains you would find while camping on safari. Our view was of the beautiful pool area.
Dan and I were exploring our room, while waiting for the luggage to arrive when DH came in and noticed a wad of gum stuck to the carpeting outside the bathroom door. I immediately got on the phone to the front desk, who, after I assured him that it was not necessary to change rooms, said that they would send their carpet person as soon as possible. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and thinking that it was the carpet person showed him the gum. No wonder he looked a little surprised, as Dan pointed out that it was Bell Service with our luggage! After a good laugh, he went through all the amenities in the room and hotel etc. and started to show me the wall safe, when he discovered that it was locked and no key in the lock! After he left, saying that he would have someone sent right up to open the safe, the carpet person arrived and proceeded to spray a special solution on the gum and scrape off the hardened result. We got to talking and he delicately told me about some of the substances he has had to clean up off carpeting. As he worked on the gum, another man arrived with a cast member and proceeded to rekey the lock. They all worked quite quickly and then were gone! There was no trace of the gum and I had the safe keythere were no other problems during our stay.
It was to be a day of relaxation and exploring, but I needed a battery for my watch, which had stopped several days ago and I felt lost without. Since a very nice CM in the Grand Floridian gift shop had told me there was a watch place at Orlando Premium Outlet Mall, DH decided to drop me off there while he went back to the Edwin Watts golf store. Tim was content to read his book in the lobby and Dan went down to the arcade. They had their room keys with charging privileges, so they were all set!
Before we left, DH and I walked around the resort, checking out all the nooks and crannies. We discovered more sitting areas off in the corners of other floors, studied all the African artwork and artifacts throughout, and walked across the authentic-looking cable bridge that stretches from one side of the lobby to the other on the 5th level. Before we headed out to the Arusha Rock Savannah lookout, I showed him the restaurants and food court. We decided to make an 8pm reservation at Boma with a very friendly CM, who DH ended up having a nice chat with, as he has a good friend from Kenya. This was great! Things that I had only dreamed about while I was planning this trip, were actually happening!
We found the kids and told them that they could have dinner, whenever they wanted, in the Mara food court and to buy a couple of the souvenir mugs. I would have thought that theyd check out the pool, too but I found out later that they preferred to stay at the arcade or watch TV. Honestly, its so hard to tear kids away from anything electronic these days! Oh well, I guess they get enough pool-time with swimming lessons, back home.
When DH dropped me off at the mall, after arranging to pick me up in two hours, I soon realized that I liked this one far better than Belz. I have already invested in 2 Dooney and Burke purses and I spent ages in their outlet looking through everything. It was very tempting, but I was very good and didnt buy anything. I didnt have a lot of time, so I buzzed in and out of the shops, finally finding the place for my watch battery. Thankfully that was all that was wrong with it, although I would have had a good excuse to buy that Mickey watch, Ive been eyeing! I was running out of time, but had found a pair of shoes that I liked and was just getting ready to pay for them when in walked DH! It turned out that he had already been there an hour and had been looking around at shoes too. He and I ended up staying there, looking around and only just made it back for our Boma reservation. In fact, he dropped me off at the entrance, while he went to park the van. No worries though, I was given a beeper and we had to wait 10-15 minutes until our table was ready. While waiting, I called up to our room, on a house phone, to check on the kidsthey had eaten and were watching TV. Our table ended up being beside the window, overlooking a water feature, so I was quite happy with that!
The food at Boma was absolutely delicious! I wish now that I had written down everything that I triedI found the intermingling of flavours a delight to my palate and the Chardonnay that the CM recommended went perfectly. I usually try not to eat too much at buffets because I always feel so stuffed afterwards, but I couldnt resist going back to have some more of the same or to try another interesting dish. I didnt want the evening to end, but finally we could eat no more and after the scrumptious desserts (notice desserts is plural) and coffee, we headed out to the savannah, behind the pool area, for a little walk and to look at the animals in the Disney moonlight.
In this area, there was a pond quite close to the fence where the flamingoes always seemed to congregate. Something was going on because a large flamingo was making a soft squawking noise and as he walked over to one side of the pond, several others followed him. They seemed to have some sort of meeting and then headed back to join the rest of the flock. There was also a crowned crane hanging out with the flamingoes and I wondered whether he thought he was one or had been cast out from his own kind.
We then headed back up to the lobby, where we stretched out in one of the several comfortable seating areas. We noticed other people doing the same thingit was that kind of atmosphereand some children were gathered in front of the big-screen TV watching a Disney video. It was so peaceful and welcoming we could have slept there all night. Finally we decided it was time to go back to the room before we did fall asleep! The kids were already in bed and had fallen asleep while watching TV. It had been such a wonderful day that I didnt want it to end, but the next day, the kids and I planned to just hang around AKL and enjoy the atmosphere, while DH went golfing.
