nolanboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2010
- Messages
- 1,903
Got back yesterday from our trip of many firsts - first DVC stay, first time at AKV/BWV, first 1/2 marathon, first trip alone to WDW with DH!
Arrived on Friday 10/1 and was at Kidani by 12:30. Room wasn't ready, so off we went to MK. We upgraded our tickets to AP and bought TIW, as we will be back with the kids in March. Weather was spectacular and the park was not crowded. A little disappointed that It's a Small World and the Teacups were shut down. The expansion is definitely under way and we almost waited in line at Dumbo just to get a view over the fence. Got back to AKV at about 5:00. The lobby is not as impressive as Jambo's, but we loved the intimate feel of Kidani. We had a standard 1 bdrm and were blown away. We loved the decor and the bathroom was fabulous. We went to the pool. Had to try the slide for our kids
! Oh are we kids at heart. Spent some time talking to a CM by an overlook. She was so knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the various animals. Had dinner at Sanaa. What a beautiful restaurant - I think it's neater than Jiko. The food was great and I felt reasonably priced. DH had the African Spiced Chicken and it was heavenly.
Saturday 10/2 - Off to ESPNWWOS to register for the race. We had never been there and were impressed by it. The Expo was huge and well run. Got all of our race gear and a few other goodies. Returned to AKV and walked over to Mara for lunch. The food there is so delicious, but I can't imagine it on a busy day. We had to wait in line quite a bit for our order to be taken and the line was short.
Played some cards on one of the large balconies overlooking the savanna. Watching the animals was incredible. Then it was off to the room to nap and get ready for the race. There were over 11,000 people running. As this was my first race, it was a little overwhelming. The race started at 10:00. We crossed the start line at 10:10. The course was tight and it was hard to maneuver around slower runners. The run through AK at night was spectacular. We had to slow down because the pathways were narrow, but the lights and huge puppets were amazing. The run to HS was a tad boring and too dark in some spots. HS was like a huge maze. The did have the Osbourne lights turned on which was a needed boost of energy. The last mile, running by BW and BC, was the best. There were so many guests cheering everyone on.
DH and I finished right before the International Gateway at 2:11. A little slower than I wanted, but not bad for our first race. We got our medals and then we came out between England and Canada to a packed Epcot!
I knew they sold after party tickets, but it was a zoo and we were in the first 20% that finished. The lines for food and drinks and bathrooms were huge. We had to walk down to Germany to change and then we forced ourselves to eat something in Italy. We were exhausted and walked to BC to hail a cab. Was so cold by that point and was so grateful we splurged on the 1 bdrm and I could take a hot bath in a huge tub. We were in bed at 3:00am.
Sunday 10/3 - Surprisingly we couldn't sleep and were up at 7:30. I think we were too amped from the race. We walked slowly around AK for a couple of hours and then returned back to AKV to enjoy some pool time. The bartenders were great. Back to to the room to nap and get ready for our dinner at Jiko. We were seated in the wine room, which at first was a little disappointing because the atmosphere is a little subdued. Mary, our waitress, was wonderful. We didn't know what red wine to pick with our fillets. She brought out 4 glasses and 4 bottles of different wines and poured us a 1/2 glass of each. We picked our favorite, but she told us to finish all the tastes she brought us- so we did! The Heirloom tomato salad and fillets were delicious. We really enjoyed a long and leisurely dinner - something we don't get the opportunity to do when the boys are with us. Mary even brought us another glass of wine because our dessert took a little long. What a great night - but we did pay for it a little the next morning!
Monday 10/4 - checked out of AKV and went to Epcot. F&W was fantastic. So many great foods to try and how fun to nibble around all the countries. South Korea and Singapore are new additions and there selections were delicious! Went over to BWV to check in around 4:00. We had a preferred view studio booked and I had requested a village green room. We were happy when we saw our room assignment. We had rm 3055. The balcony was mammoth and we could see BC, the Boardwalk and the Epcot ball. We were spoiled with the 1 bdrm at AKV. The room at BWV was perfectly lovely, but it couldn't compare after having the 1 bdrm. Only complaint about the room was the odor. It smelled like our room in Mexico last year - a little musty maybe with some other smell thrown in to try and mask the mustiness. Went over to the MK to see Wishes. Loved that they used some Halloween colored ones for the show. This was the time I actually started missing the boys.
Banana bread pudding at the Main Street Bakery was to die for!
Tuesday 10/5 - Booked over to HS for rope drop and made it over to TS quickly. Rode that, TOT twice and RRRC. Went back for 3 glorious hours poolside. The slide - again we had to try it out for the kids - was awesome. The hot tub on the other hand was tepid at best. Had fun playing the Disney Trivia game poolside. Back to F&W at around 5:00. We tried more delicious things and walked back to the countries where we had tried foods yesterday to get our passport stamped. Everything was good, but here's our favorites:
South Korea - Lettuce Wraps with roast pork and kichi slaw
Singapore - Coconut-braised beef rendang with jasmine rice
Germany - Nurnberger sausage in a pretzel roll
Italy - baked cheese ravioli, creamy bolognese sauce and melted mozzarella
U.S. - heirloom tomatoes with Oregon Blue cheese, red onion and basil
Japan - California Sushi rolls
Ireland - Warm chocolate lava cake with Bailey's Irish Cream Ganache
Canada - Chicken chipotle sausage with sweet corn polenta
Even had to buy the cookbook to get some of these recipes.
Had to ride Spaceship Earth. First time DH and I got to ride together and the video at the end had us laughing hysterically! Went back to BW for a last drink in the lounge and then just walked around even though we needed to get to bed for our early morning flight, but didn't want our trip to be done! Walked over to the candy store and I was only 3 off in my jelly bean guess, so I got a free cone!Silly, but it was a neat way to end our trip.
Overall thoughts - Loved both resorts and their decors for different reasons. Definitely preferred the 1 bdrm - too bad it costs so many points. I don't know if I'd pay more points for a savanna view room. The standard was fine and there were plenty of public viewing areas. Both resorts are huge, but AKV is easier to navigate. I'm sure I'd get the hang of BWV, but man it's confusing! Loved the split stay! So nice to try 2 different resorts and the packing up didn't bother me in the least. So glad we are going to try THV/BCV this March. Also, we loved spending more time at the resorts - no more commando - we know we'll be back and we knwo the best way to do the things we love, so it doesn't take as much time. One other silly thing. We traded pins for our boys and were very disappointed in the pin selection. We were there in Feb and found great pins to trade - this time it was a bust!
Great time and now I have the fun of finishing plans for our March trip!
Arrived on Friday 10/1 and was at Kidani by 12:30. Room wasn't ready, so off we went to MK. We upgraded our tickets to AP and bought TIW, as we will be back with the kids in March. Weather was spectacular and the park was not crowded. A little disappointed that It's a Small World and the Teacups were shut down. The expansion is definitely under way and we almost waited in line at Dumbo just to get a view over the fence. Got back to AKV at about 5:00. The lobby is not as impressive as Jambo's, but we loved the intimate feel of Kidani. We had a standard 1 bdrm and were blown away. We loved the decor and the bathroom was fabulous. We went to the pool. Had to try the slide for our kids
! Oh are we kids at heart. Spent some time talking to a CM by an overlook. She was so knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the various animals. Had dinner at Sanaa. What a beautiful restaurant - I think it's neater than Jiko. The food was great and I felt reasonably priced. DH had the African Spiced Chicken and it was heavenly. Saturday 10/2 - Off to ESPNWWOS to register for the race. We had never been there and were impressed by it. The Expo was huge and well run. Got all of our race gear and a few other goodies. Returned to AKV and walked over to Mara for lunch. The food there is so delicious, but I can't imagine it on a busy day. We had to wait in line quite a bit for our order to be taken and the line was short.
Played some cards on one of the large balconies overlooking the savanna. Watching the animals was incredible. Then it was off to the room to nap and get ready for the race. There were over 11,000 people running. As this was my first race, it was a little overwhelming. The race started at 10:00. We crossed the start line at 10:10. The course was tight and it was hard to maneuver around slower runners. The run through AK at night was spectacular. We had to slow down because the pathways were narrow, but the lights and huge puppets were amazing. The run to HS was a tad boring and too dark in some spots. HS was like a huge maze. The did have the Osbourne lights turned on which was a needed boost of energy. The last mile, running by BW and BC, was the best. There were so many guests cheering everyone on.DH and I finished right before the International Gateway at 2:11. A little slower than I wanted, but not bad for our first race. We got our medals and then we came out between England and Canada to a packed Epcot!I knew they sold after party tickets, but it was a zoo and we were in the first 20% that finished. The lines for food and drinks and bathrooms were huge. We had to walk down to Germany to change and then we forced ourselves to eat something in Italy. We were exhausted and walked to BC to hail a cab. Was so cold by that point and was so grateful we splurged on the 1 bdrm and I could take a hot bath in a huge tub. We were in bed at 3:00am.Sunday 10/3 - Surprisingly we couldn't sleep and were up at 7:30. I think we were too amped from the race. We walked slowly around AK for a couple of hours and then returned back to AKV to enjoy some pool time. The bartenders were great. Back to to the room to nap and get ready for our dinner at Jiko. We were seated in the wine room, which at first was a little disappointing because the atmosphere is a little subdued. Mary, our waitress, was wonderful. We didn't know what red wine to pick with our fillets. She brought out 4 glasses and 4 bottles of different wines and poured us a 1/2 glass of each. We picked our favorite, but she told us to finish all the tastes she brought us- so we did! The Heirloom tomato salad and fillets were delicious. We really enjoyed a long and leisurely dinner - something we don't get the opportunity to do when the boys are with us. Mary even brought us another glass of wine because our dessert took a little long. What a great night - but we did pay for it a little the next morning!
Monday 10/4 - checked out of AKV and went to Epcot. F&W was fantastic. So many great foods to try and how fun to nibble around all the countries. South Korea and Singapore are new additions and there selections were delicious! Went over to BWV to check in around 4:00. We had a preferred view studio booked and I had requested a village green room. We were happy when we saw our room assignment. We had rm 3055. The balcony was mammoth and we could see BC, the Boardwalk and the Epcot ball. We were spoiled with the 1 bdrm at AKV. The room at BWV was perfectly lovely, but it couldn't compare after having the 1 bdrm. Only complaint about the room was the odor. It smelled like our room in Mexico last year - a little musty maybe with some other smell thrown in to try and mask the mustiness. Went over to the MK to see Wishes. Loved that they used some Halloween colored ones for the show. This was the time I actually started missing the boys.
Banana bread pudding at the Main Street Bakery was to die for!Tuesday 10/5 - Booked over to HS for rope drop and made it over to TS quickly. Rode that, TOT twice and RRRC. Went back for 3 glorious hours poolside. The slide - again we had to try it out for the kids - was awesome. The hot tub on the other hand was tepid at best. Had fun playing the Disney Trivia game poolside. Back to F&W at around 5:00. We tried more delicious things and walked back to the countries where we had tried foods yesterday to get our passport stamped. Everything was good, but here's our favorites:
South Korea - Lettuce Wraps with roast pork and kichi slaw
Singapore - Coconut-braised beef rendang with jasmine rice
Germany - Nurnberger sausage in a pretzel roll
Italy - baked cheese ravioli, creamy bolognese sauce and melted mozzarella
U.S. - heirloom tomatoes with Oregon Blue cheese, red onion and basil
Japan - California Sushi rolls
Ireland - Warm chocolate lava cake with Bailey's Irish Cream Ganache
Canada - Chicken chipotle sausage with sweet corn polenta
Even had to buy the cookbook to get some of these recipes.
Had to ride Spaceship Earth. First time DH and I got to ride together and the video at the end had us laughing hysterically! Went back to BW for a last drink in the lounge and then just walked around even though we needed to get to bed for our early morning flight, but didn't want our trip to be done! Walked over to the candy store and I was only 3 off in my jelly bean guess, so I got a free cone!
Silly, but it was a neat way to end our trip.Overall thoughts - Loved both resorts and their decors for different reasons. Definitely preferred the 1 bdrm - too bad it costs so many points. I don't know if I'd pay more points for a savanna view room. The standard was fine and there were plenty of public viewing areas. Both resorts are huge, but AKV is easier to navigate. I'm sure I'd get the hang of BWV, but man it's confusing! Loved the split stay! So nice to try 2 different resorts and the packing up didn't bother me in the least. So glad we are going to try THV/BCV this March. Also, we loved spending more time at the resorts - no more commando - we know we'll be back and we knwo the best way to do the things we love, so it doesn't take as much time. One other silly thing. We traded pins for our boys and were very disappointed in the pin selection. We were there in Feb and found great pins to trade - this time it was a bust!
Great time and now I have the fun of finishing plans for our March trip!
