Ultimate Budget Trip Day 6 ~ monorail shopping, exploring Kissimmee, scary gift shops

[Mommy2BnB]

Enjoying reading about the start to your day. Get to feeling better. I'll still be here when you are able to post more.

 

[stacy347]

I cannot wait to read more. I hope you are feeling better.

Thank you so much!

Aww, hope you're feeling better! Sometimes when real life takes over, it gets overwhelming to think about updating the TR even if you may want to. Don't worry; I'll still be here whenever you do write it!

Oh cool! Love the hot dogs idea. It's much better than having sandwiches. Those don't last that long if they're pre-made. Plus, hot dogs are available in the parks too, so it's nice to still be able to have "park food."

Thanks, Rachel! The hot dogs made a perfect lunch at the park and were so easy to pack up!

Hi, just read this, really looking forward to the rest Will now go back and read the PTR! Hope you're feeling better

Thank you ~ hope you enjoyed the PTR!

I know all about the drive through Ohio. Good to hear another Michigander's trip!

LOL, it seems to take forever, doesn't it? I still prefer the drive to flying though! Plus, it forces my girls to spend extra time with me.

Enjoying reading about the start to your day. Get to feeling better. I'll still be here when you are able to post more.

Thanks so much, I appreciate it!

I'm still behind on my writing because of all this medical stuff. Short version of this is that I have Fibromyalgia (diagnosed about 10 years ago). It's been flaring up really bad lately and I also keep losing feeling in my left arm which is something new. I'm going for an MRI in the next couple of weeks to get to the bottom of that part, hopefully!

My primary sent me to a pain management center that specializes in my situation and when they did the exam, they found that multiple muscles from my neck, down my spine, to my lower back are all in spasms right now. They are starting me on a new mix of meds and more than likely I will be getting injections in my muscles when I go back. The scary part is that she told me in order to relieve all the spasms I am having right now, it will take 10-15 injections . Not a good time, if you ask me, LOL!

So, I can't sit at my computer for extended periods of time and type up my TR. I am going to do my best to type up short sections and post them as often as possible, though!

On that note, I will have an update posted here today!

 

[stacy347]

Earlier this year, the girls and I had done the Disney Give a Day, Get a Day program. All 5 of us made fleece blankets for Project Linus (and we enjoyed it so much that we will be doing it every year now!).

So, we had to go to the Will Call window to trade in our vouchers for tickets. The CM that took care of our voucher exchange was awesome! He chatted with my girls and I about the GAD program, gave us our Miss Piggy "Voluntear" buttons, asked about birthdays (Nicole was turning 17 that week and he gave her a birthday button) and then bantered with the girls for a few more minutes. We walked away already in the perfect frame of mind for WDW ~ he was exactly what WDW is all about!

We went to meet up with my DSis and her family because they weren't able to do the program and had to purchase tickets at the gate. We were all going to be doing the WPF&M add-ons so she went ahead and asked for hers at her window. She thought they didn't do it right and sure enough, when I looked at her tickets, they had only added the one water park day.
I took her over to the Will Call window to see if he could fix what they did and not only did he fix their tickets, but he chatted with her kids about the park and gave them Miss Piggy buttons so they wouldn't feel bad that their cousins had some and they didn't. He also asked them if they were celebrating anything and gave them anniversary buttons when she told him about that. This guy seriously rocked! I can't believe I forgot his name ~ I would love to write a nice letter about him!

So all things in order, we finally get to enter the park!
Our first attraction was going to be Buzz, but there were character meets happening with very short lines ~ who can pass that up?

Pluto signing my nephew's book:

My girls and I posing with Daisy:

In between the characters, we got to chatting with one of the Main Street Vehicle drivers. He asked what we did for our GAD tickets and as it turned out, he did the same blankets for Project Linus. He parked the horse for a minute and the kids got to pet it.

Such a pretty horse:

A pic of the girls at the end of Main Street:

We were done with the characters and headed over to Buzz when all of a sudden, Stitch popped up! My older girls spotted him immediately and started yelling for Amanda to get over there! For those of you who read the PTR, you might remember she is completely obsessed with Stitch, so this was HUGE!

We ran over to him and the handler informed us that Stitch was just out for a walk, not doing meet and greets. I think our hearts all dropped for a minute but then I was asking if I could just snap a quick pic of him on his way when all of a sudden, he came up and grabbed Amanda in a big ole bear hug from behind! If anyone else on the planet had done that to her, all heck would have broken loose (the autism), but Stitch can get away with it. So, of course, one hour into the day, I'm already choked up. Have I mentioned how flippin' much I love WDW?

I'll try to get more posted in the next day or two ~ thanks for staying with me!

 

[MK2010]

This guy seriously rocked! I can't believe I forgot his name ~ I would love to write a nice letter about him!




We ran over to him and the handler informed us that Stitch was just out for a walk, not doing meet and greets. I think our hearts all dropped for a minute but then I was asking if I could just snap a quick pic of him on his way when all of a sudden, he came up and grabbed Amanda in a big ole bear hug from behind! If anyone else on the planet had done that to her, all heck would have broken loose (the autism), but Stitch can get away with it. So, of course, one hour into the day, I'm already choked up. Have I mentioned how flippin' much I love WDW?

We had CMs too that were unbelievable! Disney is the only place on the planet where you get such good customer service. It doesn't matter if your there for one day on a "freebie" or if you're the Duchess of York they really treat you like royalty!

That is soooo awesome that Stitch did that (and totally awesome that your daughter didn't freak )

 

[TokyoDina]

Aww that was soooo sweet!!!

 

[stacy347]

We had CMs too that were unbelievable! Disney is the only place on the planet where you get such good customer service. It doesn't matter if your there for one day on a "freebie" or if you're the Duchess of York they really treat you like royalty!

That is soooo awesome that Stitch did that (and totally awesome that your daughter didn't freak )

That is so true! It is very rare that we come across a CM who isn't really "in" the magic. No wonder we love to be there so much, right?

Aww that was soooo sweet!!!

I know ~ I just melted when that happened! My MIL went with us on the first trip when Amanda was younger and she couldn't believe the transformation that came over her when she saw Stitch. I was so glad to see that is hasn't faded one bit!!

 

[stacy347]

I found the great CM's name from the Will Call window in my notes ~ it was Dave! I don't know why that was driving me crazy, but there it is, LOL!

So, carrying on with the MK day...please forgive me but some events will likely be out of order. My memory is not the greatest these days, but I will do my best to include the most relevant info!

We did finally make it over to Buzz and we were so excited as this is one of the rides that we all love (even my nephew who is not really into the rides loves this one once we are on it). The wait wasn't too long so we just got in line.

Nicole texting in line (we got this view a lot on this trip ~ I forgot how difficult it is to be away from your BF when you're 17, LOL):

Evil Zurg:

Giant Viewmaster:

Love those little aliens:

Faceless Buzz :

Blurry phone pic in line:

DSis and BIL with niece in the middle:

While we were over here, we also went on the TTA, which is one of my favorites! I thought I took a couple of pics but a lot of mine seem to have vanished .
Around this time, DSis and I decided to go our own way with our kids for just a bit, so she took hers over to Astro Orbiter and I took mine over to Stitch. I don't know why, but I enjoyed it a lot more this time! It is such a stinky ride, LOL, but I loved every minute of it!

This morning had been very humid and overcast ~ you could just tell that a storm was brewing in typical Florida fashion. The girls and I were wandering around a bit and we had popped into Casey's for a minute to cool off and see if we wanted anything to snack on. There wasn't anything the girls wanted but they loved the bleachers and the old cartoons showing!

We saw the big black clouds moving in really quickly at this point and I really didn't want to be outside when the lightning started so we made a run for it over to Tomorrowland. The only thing where there wasn't a long wait outside was Carousel of Progress (the older girls REALLY don't care for it, but it is in my top faves and I have to see it at least once each trip).
We started rushing in along with everyone else who was trying to get out of the rain (at this point it was coming down in buckets and the wind was literally pushing us in the doors!).

The CM at the door was really nice and got everyone in without being trampled (I've never seen a big crowd trying to get into COP before ~ the CMs there must love when it storms, LOL). He got us all seated and told everyone not to panic over the rain, that it would most likely pass over by the time COP was done and he was right. When we walked out, the ground was flooded but the skies were clear.
The best part ~ my youngest DD is now a COP fan, so I have a buddy to go with every time now!!

While we were in COP, my DSis had tried to get on Astro Orbiter, but then the lightning started and she definitely didn't want any part of that! She told me she couldn't believe that the CMs were still loading people at that point, but they got out of line to be safe. When they got back down, it was flooded over there, too.

DNiece splashing in the flood:

The girls and I had packed up our hot dogs and snacks for lunch and we were ready to head over to Tom Sawyer Island to eat. DSis and her family were just going to grab a quick bite at El Pirata y el Perico (or so we thought, LOL).
I took all of the kids off to the side in the shade so they could grab their food quickly and meet up with us.
While we were waiting, we got see a family of ducks, some chipmunks, and a couple of lizards. The kids got a kick out of that, but it was hot, we were hungry and it was taking FOREVER for them to get back with their food! I tried calling my sister's cell over and over but she wasn't answering (it is almost impossible to hear a cell phone in a crowd).

I finally sent my nephew over to the restaurant to see if he could spot them and they were sitting at a table eating!
I'm ashamed to say I got rather snippy at this point. I couldn't believe they were sitting there eating while I had all the kids and we were starving!

My nephew ran back over and told them we were waiting and it turns out we had a miscommunication before lunch ~ they thought we were heading over to the island right away to get the kids settled and started on lunch. They hurried up and finished eating and we all rushed over to the island together.

Once we got everyone fed and calmed down, we had an absolute blast over there!! First off, the hot dog lunch worked out perfectly ~ we sat down on some barrels and wooden boxes, relaxed, ate our lunch, enjoyed our surroundings and we felt like new people after that!

Tom Sawyer Island is the perfect place to let a kid be a kid! We traveled the caves, walked the bridges, let the kids hang out on the playground and just plain had fun. I can't believe we never took the time to do it on previous trips!

Nicole chillin' in a rocking chair on Tom Sawyer Island:

I'll try to get the second half of the day typed up later this week ~ thanks for sticking with me!!

 

[jc040404]

Loving your TR so far! I was sold as soon as I saw the word "Budget" in your title! Disney can be so expensive and I'm always up for looking at ways to save some money. (I can talk DH into going more often that way! ) I've noticed that resort so many times as we've run to Publix or CVS or something, but have always been too hesitant to stay off Disney property. It's awesome to see a nice review. We'll definitely keep it in mind for the future now! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[stacy347]

jc040404 ~ Thanks for following along! I am all about saving money these days!


Later in the day at MK, the big girls and my DSis and BIL decided they wanted to go on Space Mountain. I really had no desire to ride it and the younger 4 kids in our group didn't either, so we split up for a bit.

I took the little ones and walked through Frontierland just checking things out and we spotted the Shooting Arcade which we had never done before. The kids gave it a try and my nephew did pretty well.

My niece wanted to go on Small World and I was ready to be off my feet for a bit, so we headed over there. I know this ride drives a lot of people crazy, LOL, but I love it! I am smiling through the entire thing! I also get a big kick out of the fact that each kids has their favorite part of it. DNiece wanted me to take pics of the penguins:

DD11 wanted a pic of the hyenas:

My favorite pic was this one:

I also love the section with the little Dutch children as my family is from Holland (I am in the first generation born in the USA). Sadly, I didn't get a good picture in that part.

And while we were enjoying the tamer side of MK, here is what my older girls were doing with my DSis:

Shortly after that, we all met up again. We were walking past the Sword in the Stone and of course the kiddos couldn't pass it up without giving it a shot. I always hope that one day one of our kids will be "the chosen" one, but not so far.

DNiece:

DD11 (she wouldn't pull it while I was taking the pics):

DD12:

Around this time we all decided we were ready for dinner and I really wanted to give Pecos Bill's a try. We were not disappointed! My girls and I got burger combo kids meals (the CMs were totally fine with that!). I got an extra order of fries because I didn't know if it would be enough to fill everyone up, but it turns out we just ended up sharing them with my DSis's people because we were plenty stuffed from the burger meals! I loved Pecos Bill's!! For under $30 I fed all 5 of us and the kids said that was actually one of their favorite CS meals EVER at WDW. They still tell me how yummy the burgers and cookies were, LOL.

Here is a pic of my DD12 in the bathroom ~ not one I would normally post but it is a fun memory for me. We had all gone in together and she was out first waiting for us. When I stepped out, I spotted her singing to herself in the mirror...OMGoodness, it was so cute! I tried to get the pic before she turned around, but this is what I ended up with, LOL!

Next post:
We get to go on a few more favorite rides before our day ends!

 

[RachelNinja]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, love the Stitch moment with Amanda!

Haha, the pic of Nicole texting in line reminds me of my cousin! We'd be in the middle of ANYTHING, waiting to decide lunch, going to get the lunch, and then eating the lunch and that darn phone was always in her hand!

Woohoo for getting to watch Carousel of Progress! I think I used to love it a lot more as a kid, but now I've seen it so often! I spend the time paying attention to the narration because I know that I can somehow relate something to my lessons at school! I also like looking at the details in each scene!

As magical as Disney is, miscommunications tend to always happen. Maybe too much excitement going on or something! Or maybe too much pressure for everything to be exactly as it was planned! Weird and I had a little issue during our MK day, haha, but I won't get to that until much later!

I like what you said about IASW: "I also get a big kick out of the fact that each kids has their favorite part of it." That's so true! Always something that draws your attention while the people you're with are looking at something else! Haha, probably why it's so entertaining for babies and toddlers! SOOO much to see!

Hehe, what song was DD12 singing?

 

[I Believe In Magic]

Hi just found your TR! We are from MI as well, not too far from Toledo. Do you still live in the Holland area?

 

[stacy347]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, love the Stitch moment with Amanda!

Haha, the pic of Nicole texting in line reminds me of my cousin! We'd be in the middle of ANYTHING, waiting to decide lunch, going to get the lunch, and then eating the lunch and that darn phone was always in her hand!

Woohoo for getting to watch Carousel of Progress! I think I used to love it a lot more as a kid, but now I've seen it so often! I spend the time paying attention to the narration because I know that I can somehow relate something to my lessons at school! I also like looking at the details in each scene!

As magical as Disney is, miscommunications tend to always happen. Maybe too much excitement going on or something! Or maybe too much pressure for everything to be exactly as it was planned! Weird and I had a little issue during our MK day, haha, but I won't get to that until much later!

I like what you said about IASW: "I also get a big kick out of the fact that each kids has their favorite part of it." That's so true! Always something that draws your attention while the people you're with are looking at something else! Haha, probably why it's so entertaining for babies and toddlers! SOOO much to see!

Hehe, what song was DD12 singing?

LOL, isn't that texting thing a little out of control these days? Luckily we have the unlimited texting plan, because with all these girls, I'd go bankrupt if I were charged per text, LOL!

I wish I could remember the song she was singing!

Can't wait to hear about your "issue" with Weird...too bad "real life" has to sometimes sneak in on our magic time at WDW, LOL!

Hi just found your TR! We are from MI as well, not too far from Toledo. Do you still live in the Holland area?

Actually we live in the Downriver area...Small World, right?

My family is from The Netherlands ~ my mom and grandma always just referred to it as Holland though (a regional thing apparently with our family being from Amsterdam), so that's what we say in the family.

I've always wanted to visit Holland, MI though! I've read that there are many things there that are true to the culture and I think it would be a great place to take the kids!

 

[stacy347]

I don't know about everyone else, but my favorite part of a Magic Kingdom day is definitely the afternoon into evening! I enjoy myself in the mornings and I try to get as much in as possible, but the second half of the day is where the magic really comes alive for me.

Around this time we had some FPs for Splash that were about to be ready , so we went to go use them. BIL and their 2 kids didn't want to do Splash, so DSis went on with my girls and me. I so wish I would have gotten the picture from that one as it was Amanda's first time on Splash and she LOVED it! She can't wait to go back just to ride it again.

We had already gotten several of our must-dos out of the way by this point and we were getting everyone's input on what to do next. Half of us wanted to do Haunted Mansion and half didn't, so we split up again. BIL and I took 3 of my girls to HM and my DSis took the rest of the kids on the Liberty Belle.
This was also Amanda's first time on HM and she loved this one, too!

I love these headstones, LOL.

All of my girls seemed to really enjoy themselves this trip ~ that was really nice for me to see.

Some pics I took of the facades they have up at MK:

Anyway, while DSis and the other kids were on the Liberty Belle, Paige had walked across the deck of the boat with my niece and when it was time to dock, my sister didn't see them anywhere. She said she walked back and forth with my nephew a few times and they finally spotted each other ~ apparently they had been crossing paths the whole time but missing each other in the crowd. That is so easy to do there! My poor sister said all she could think was, "Not only did I lose my own kid, but I went and lost my sister's, too!" LMBO!

After all that excitement, it was time for a little more fun! We decided to see how long the stand-by time was BTMR and yippee, it was less than 30 minutes! DSis and I took all of my girls and BIL took their kids off for a bit.


Amanda and Nicole waiting for BTMR:

Paige, Chelsea and DSis waiting:

I can't really explain why, but when I am in line for BTMR, I am always much more aware of being "up close and personal" with my neighbors, LOL. I know it really isn't any more cramped than other queues, but it sort of gives me the heebie jeebies.
I do like the view from up there though:

Side note: I only took pics with my phone this trip. I won't do that again. I didn't want to be bothered with lugging around a camera, but I didn't get any pictures that I was really happy with this trip.

As always, BTMR was a wild and bumpy ride! Loved it ~ and all the girls had a blast on it, too!

After we were done here, DSis caught up with BIL and found out that he had taken the kids on the Tea Cups. This did not go over well as she had specifically said she wanted both of them to go on that one with their kids. The girls and I decided to go our own way for a bit and let them sort that issue out.

We made a dash for Pirates because that is one of the rides that we just can't leave the park without riding and it was getting closer to the time we had to catch our shuttle back to Seralago. No good pictures here...just one of the girls walking through the queue.

We met back up with the rest of the crew after this and we all ran over to Peter Pan (we tend to save this one till late in the evening so we don't have to FP it). I love, love, love Peter Pan! Paige is a huge Peter Pan as well, and I think she had been looking forward to this one all day ~ she was so happy riding!!

By the time we got off here, it was REALLY close to the time we had to head to the parking spot for the shuttle. Our pick up time was 11:15 and we didn't want to miss it as we had way too many people to squeeze into a cab!

DSis still hadn't gotten to get on the Tea Cups with her kiddos, but she was going to just say forget it until BIL talked her into waiting.
OK, I can't do the Tea Cups anymore. I get a headache and nauseous when I do, so I sat this one out along with some of my girls.
The line was moving soooo slowly. I kept looking at the time and getting more and more nervous about making our shuttle. You all know how long the walk is to the lot from the castle area and by now we're pushing 11:00. By the time they got off the Tea Cups, we had to RUN to the lot. I'm not so much into the running these days with my Fibro issues, so this wasn't working very well for me.

We've got tired kids, exhausted adults and a long haul to where we need to be. We got to the lot with about only a couple of minutes to spare until our pick up time and then at 11:14 we find the spot where our shuttle should be. There is a short line of people on each side and we are trying to figure out who is in line for Seralago. A couple of people say that they are, but after waiting another 5 minutes, no shuttle shows up.
After 10 minutes, I call the resort only to be told that the shuttle has already dropped off for the night and will not be returning. Holy cow, this is not good!!! The younger kids are getting cranky, my sister is ready to throttle BIL for pushing her to wait for that last ride and now we have to try to find a cab.
We start making phone calls for that, only to be told that it will take FOREVER to get one to MK and we'd be better off hopping on the monorail and grabbing a cab at the Poly. OK, we do that.
Doesn't everyone look thrilled, LMBO?

We get to the Poly and lo and behold, no cabs are available and it is going to take at least 1/2 hour to get one to the area. Where the heck are all the cab drivers tonight??? They suggest we get on the bus to Downtown Disney as most of the evening cabbies tend to hang out down there. OK, here we go again ~ hop on the bus to DTD, get dropped off on the West Side, because by this time Marketplace is closed.
There is only 1 cab available and he can't fit all of us in the vehicle. It is a minivan cab, but can only squueze in up to 7 and we were a party of 9. My sister and I decided to send the kids with BIL, have him take everyone to Seralago, put them all in one room with my 17 year old and then he would drive back to pick us up.
We realize this is going to take a little while, so we start wandering around.

We walk up to Raglan Road and the outside bar is open...hmmm, yes, as a matter of fact, a cocktail does sound like a pretty darn good idea right about now!!!

We get ourselves a couple of drinks and settle in for the wait. I am not much of a drinker these days and my margarita was very strong! I was thirsty and it went down fast and boy, was I woozy when I stood up, LOL! Good times at Disney!
This is what a whole day at MK, a very bad evening of searching for cabs and a stiff margarita looks like, LOL:

My DSis seemed to hold up much better...she said she was so mad, she didn't even feel tipsy!
Here she is smiling in between rants to poor BIL, LOL!

As far as the lovely Raglan Road outdoor bar ~ we may just have to make that a new tradition!!

Honestly, I barely remember getting back to the hotel and getting settled, we were so exhausted! Thank goodness the next day was not a big park day!!

Up next ~ we visit Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Boardwalk area!

 

[RachelNinja]

Wow, MK looks like an entirely different park with the facades up! I mean, I know they're made to resemble the buildings they're covering, but it always looks so weird! I do like that they attempt to make it blend in though.

I entirely agree with you about the cramped feeling of the lines at Thunder Mountain! I don't know if it's because the line wraps around over and over again in the same room or because the room is old-fashioned and made out of wood. Maybe it's the lack of air as compared to other queues, but gosh, I can't stand that line!

Ahhh, what stress trying to catch that shuttle back! Haha, but like you said, fun time at Raglan Road could be a new tradition!

 

[stacy347]

Wow, MK looks like an entirely different park with the facades up! I mean, I know they're made to resemble the buildings they're covering, but it always looks so weird! I do like that they attempt to make it blend in though.

I entirely agree with you about the cramped feeling of the lines at Thunder Mountain! I don't know if it's because the line wraps around over and over again in the same room or because the room is old-fashioned and made out of wood. Maybe it's the lack of air as compared to other queues, but gosh, I can't stand that line!

Ahhh, what stress trying to catch that shuttle back! Haha, but like you said, fun time at Raglan Road could be a new tradition!

I was thinking the same thing about the facades. I love that WDW goes to great lengths to keep everything magical, but it does still take away from the "feel" of MK. I'm definitely glad that will all be gone by the time we get back to MK again.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only who gets a little weirded out by the BTMR lines! I love the ride, but getting there is definitely a challenge, LOL!

And I really do think that my DSis and I will make Raglan Road a new thing! It was really nice for just her and I to get to sit and chat and chill out for a few minutes...we live 3 hours apart and vacations are really the only long periods of time we spend together, so that was pretty cool!

 

[stacy347]

After the very long day at MK, we were ready to chill out a bit today! We let all the kids sleep in and we just hung out at the resort for our meals today.
Since we had fridges, coffee pots and microwaves in both rooms, we actually had a lot of food options. We had stocked up on cereals, Poptarts, breads, lunch meats, raviolis and things like that so everyone could just grab whatever they felt like having.

Before we left home, I had made up a bunch of meal starters and frozen them. Each of our hotels had a fridge on the way down, so I kept it all packed on ice and it all stayed very nicely frozen! I thawed things out day by day and on this day, I made mandarin chicken salads for dinner. The only thing I forgot was a can opener for the mandarin oranges, LMBO! Good thing the dressing has orange marmalade in it, so it was still really yummy!

In between lunch and dinner this day, we took the kids down to the pool for a bit. I really loved the pool area at Seralago! They kept it a perfect temperature and I actually got in with the kids for quite awhile and enjoyed every minute of it (I'm not usually a big water person and I'm sorry to say that I didn't really like spending a lot of time in the pools at the Values because it was always soooo crowded).
Some pool fun:

The playground near the pool area:

I'm just throwing these pics in here because I forgot to do it before, LOL! I just loved how they had little "Disney-ish" touches around the room!

After we had our salads and got freshened up and changed, we were heading over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to do some sightseeing. I was VERY excited about this! I had seen so many pictures and read so much wonderful stuff about this resort, I just couldn't wait to go see it! It did NOT disappoint!
Just for the sheer beauty of the hotel itself, it is worth the time to go see. Throw in the impromptu dancing in the lobby, the animals and savannahs and you've got an amazing experience!

The beautiful sculpture in the lobby:

Some more indoor pics:

For a little while, we just wandered around taking it all in. I always thought that the Poly would be my first choice if I ever did a Deluxe stay, but after visiting AKL, it would be such a tough choice!

Some of the lovely outdoor pics:

Animal area pictures up next!

 

[stacy347]

The nice thing about the animal viewing here is that you get right up to the viewing area and hardly anyone else is around! Of course, you don't get to see all of the animals that are at the park, but this is a great substitute if you can't get to AK!
The CMs here were very knowledgeable about the animals and happily answered all of our questions. The CMs we spoke with were from Africa and it was a lot of fun to get the regional info from them! You can just see the pride they have in what goes on here.

There are also informational signs near the exhibit areas which were fun to read:

Here everyone is trying to check out a certain type of warthog that is sleeping under a log...he was cute in a weird kind of way, LOL!

I'm only able to put so many pics in each post, so up next...the rest of AKL and then we drive over to the Boardwalk area!

 

[stacy347]

After watching the animals for quite awhile (it was so peaceful and relaxing), we decided to go back through the hotel and pop into Mara. I had been reading about the Zebra Domes in other people's TRs and I desperately wanted to try them! We found our way over there and I couldn't believe the difference between the CS at AKL and the CS at the Values! I'm sure most of it was just the setting of the hotel, but you really just felt pampered there which I wasn't expecting. The CMs were so nice and it is just as beautiful in Mara as it was throughout the rest of the resort.

Zebra Domes ~ YUM!!!:

Chillin' at Mara:

After we had our snack, we started to walk back toward the entrance to head off to the Boardwalk.
As we got to the doors, there was a tribal dance starting up in the lobby, and somehow we got caught up in it, LOL! All of a sudden the kids had instruments, we were dancing around in a parade type line through the lobby and it was actually pretty cool.

Our leader:

He was so much fun. I still couldn't tell you exactly what the song was that we were singing, but I did manage to yell out "Africa" at the right times.

My pictures aren't great, but I love this imbedded plaque type thing in the floor of the lobby here:

Cute t-shirt in the AKL gift shop:

Once the dance was over, we did manage to head out and start on our way to the BW.

Pics of that up next!

 

[jc040404]

Nice updates!! The Poly and Wilderness Lodge have alway been at the top of my if-I-could-only-justify-a-deluxe list, but all the AKL stuff I see in TRs is really making me wanna try that! Call me nuts, but what exactly is a zebra dome? I see them all the time and they must be good, but I don't even know what they are!

"but I did manage to yell out "Africa" at the right times." Love it!!

Lovin your TR & can't wait to see more!

 

[heaven2dc]

You all seem to be having lots of fun so far! (except for the Shuttle part). Is this the first time staying off property for you? We considered it for our upcoming but are so spoiled staying on property. We have rented points for our last 2 trips and our upcoming one we are staying at Boardwalk Villa in a 2-bedroom villa for the same price as staying at a moderate resort (since we would have to have 2 rooms.) I love having a full kitchen and a washer/dryer in the room. I checked the rates at the hotel you stayed at and it would definitely have been less expensive so maybe next trip we will look into staying off property. Not sure if I could convince my family since we love the Epcot resorts. Thanks for sharing your info and insight on the hotel!