karenfm
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2000
- Messages
- 134
WDW Day 1 (Travel and AKL Concierge)
***************************************
Cast: Me, Karen (family vacation planner) 39
DH, Mike (family vacation enjoyer) 38
DS1, Chris, 11
DS2, Bryan, 9
DD, Katheryn, 7
***************************************
Its Friday morning and the alarm goes off at 3:00am (was I nuts to fly us at this hour???). I pull myself out of a nice warm bed and start turning on the lights to wake everyone - surprisingly, everyone jumps out of bed! Finally, were all dressed and waiting for our 4:00am ride to Manchester, NH. Backpacks and suitcases are packed and ready next to the front door. Kids watch a little Disney while DH and I check to be sure lights are all off and everything ready. Limo arrives early at 3:45 and were on our way! The ride to the airport is and easy no one else is on the road at this hour.
We arrive and check in is quick - I just love small regional airports. Theres no one in line at the Delta counter! DH finds a spot to sit at the gate while I take kids on a last minute restroom run. Now for something new we have to go out on the tarmac to board the plane (Comair). Kids love it - but its too cold for me - 32°! Pretty soon were boarded and flying high on our way to Cincinnati. We arrive, take the shuttle bus to our next terminal, and wait for our flight to take us to Orlando. We arrive in Orlando right on time at 11:20, get our bags, and rental car from Dollar. Another thanks to mousesavers.com for getting us a great deal on our rental car. Two days before we left I saw on mousesavers a deal for 50% off a Jeep Grand Cherokee or similar from Dollar Rental Car. This would be great for our overnight trip to Kennedy Space Center to see the shuttle lift off we can fold down the back seats and the kids can sleep in the back! We got our SUV, left the airport, and arrived at the maingate to AKL around 1:00pm.
WOW! This place is amazing it really feels like youre not in Florida anymore! Since were only going to be here 2 days, and were tired and no one wants to drag luggage, we decide to use valet parking. Check-in is a breeze as the bellman brings us on a small tour on our way to the room (hidden Mickey included!). Our room is on the 6th floor 6404. It has a great view of the pool area with savannah behind. We love the balcony with the thatched roof it gives us a comfy cozy feeling. However, beware, this balcony is also in direct view of the cameras that survey this part of the hotel. No worry for us about being 'properly dressed on the balcony were traveling with 3 kids! It is only a short walk from our room to the Concierge Lounge. If you like to people watch, its nice to step out of our room and look directly down into the lobby we even found our second hidden Mickey! (NOTE: Ask the concierge staff about hidden Mickeys and they will give you a list. When you find all, you can take the completed list to the gift shop for a surprise!) Yes, the rooms here are a little dark, with low lighting, but I agree with those of you would say it enhances the mood for the AKL. It makes for a relaxing evening at the end of a busy day.
The kids watch some TV and have some snacks while DH and I checked in. We were given a full package with our room keys from the bellman, but still needed to square away the credit card. After we all refresh ourselves, its down to the pool for a swim. Its a great big pool, only about 4.5 feet deep, with a zero entry area. The best thing is that they have a special filtration system, which require no chlorine. The kids can swim all they want without red, irritated eyes. The waters pretty warm too! We swim for about an hour and the kids play some diving games for treasures with cast members, then we spend 15 relaxing minutes in the spa (ahhhh!), check out the animals in the pool area savannah, and head back to the room. We changed and head down to explore the lobby and gift shop. We make our first purchase (of many) and walk outside to view the animals at Arusha Rock. This is a really nice area, almost makes me feel like Im at the Animal Kingdom. You can really get some great close-up photos here. On the way back into the resort, a cast member asks if the kids would be interested in playing some African musical instruments. We all make our way to an area off the main lobby were there are other children with various instruments. The cast member explains that each instrument represents a part of the circle of life (animals, plants and weather). It was really nice and the kids had a small parade. At 5:00pm we headed to Bomas for dinner. Even though the cuisine had a different type of flavor, we all enjoyed it. Even though Im not a vegetarian, my meal consists mainly of different type of vegetables (favorites was the deep friend sweet potatoes), while my husband had a little of everything, including the herb chicken, marinated curry steak, prime rib and soup. My kids also tried a little of the adult items, but were content with the spaghetti & meatballs, chicken fingers & fries, mac & cheese. We all really enjoyed the desert and yes, the Zebra Domes are delicious.
After dinner, we walked out to Arusha Rock to listen to the African Storytelling at the fire pit, but after several mosquito bites, decided to call it a night. We stopped the Concierge Lounge for some drinks (and DD proceed to eat more chicken wings which were delicious).
Tomorrow its the Sunrise Safari so off to bed we go!
***************************************
Cast: Me, Karen (family vacation planner) 39
DH, Mike (family vacation enjoyer) 38
DS1, Chris, 11
DS2, Bryan, 9
DD, Katheryn, 7
***************************************
Its Friday morning and the alarm goes off at 3:00am (was I nuts to fly us at this hour???). I pull myself out of a nice warm bed and start turning on the lights to wake everyone - surprisingly, everyone jumps out of bed! Finally, were all dressed and waiting for our 4:00am ride to Manchester, NH. Backpacks and suitcases are packed and ready next to the front door. Kids watch a little Disney while DH and I check to be sure lights are all off and everything ready. Limo arrives early at 3:45 and were on our way! The ride to the airport is and easy no one else is on the road at this hour.
We arrive and check in is quick - I just love small regional airports. Theres no one in line at the Delta counter! DH finds a spot to sit at the gate while I take kids on a last minute restroom run. Now for something new we have to go out on the tarmac to board the plane (Comair). Kids love it - but its too cold for me - 32°! Pretty soon were boarded and flying high on our way to Cincinnati. We arrive, take the shuttle bus to our next terminal, and wait for our flight to take us to Orlando. We arrive in Orlando right on time at 11:20, get our bags, and rental car from Dollar. Another thanks to mousesavers.com for getting us a great deal on our rental car. Two days before we left I saw on mousesavers a deal for 50% off a Jeep Grand Cherokee or similar from Dollar Rental Car. This would be great for our overnight trip to Kennedy Space Center to see the shuttle lift off we can fold down the back seats and the kids can sleep in the back! We got our SUV, left the airport, and arrived at the maingate to AKL around 1:00pm.
WOW! This place is amazing it really feels like youre not in Florida anymore! Since were only going to be here 2 days, and were tired and no one wants to drag luggage, we decide to use valet parking. Check-in is a breeze as the bellman brings us on a small tour on our way to the room (hidden Mickey included!). Our room is on the 6th floor 6404. It has a great view of the pool area with savannah behind. We love the balcony with the thatched roof it gives us a comfy cozy feeling. However, beware, this balcony is also in direct view of the cameras that survey this part of the hotel. No worry for us about being 'properly dressed on the balcony were traveling with 3 kids! It is only a short walk from our room to the Concierge Lounge. If you like to people watch, its nice to step out of our room and look directly down into the lobby we even found our second hidden Mickey! (NOTE: Ask the concierge staff about hidden Mickeys and they will give you a list. When you find all, you can take the completed list to the gift shop for a surprise!) Yes, the rooms here are a little dark, with low lighting, but I agree with those of you would say it enhances the mood for the AKL. It makes for a relaxing evening at the end of a busy day.
The kids watch some TV and have some snacks while DH and I checked in. We were given a full package with our room keys from the bellman, but still needed to square away the credit card. After we all refresh ourselves, its down to the pool for a swim. Its a great big pool, only about 4.5 feet deep, with a zero entry area. The best thing is that they have a special filtration system, which require no chlorine. The kids can swim all they want without red, irritated eyes. The waters pretty warm too! We swim for about an hour and the kids play some diving games for treasures with cast members, then we spend 15 relaxing minutes in the spa (ahhhh!), check out the animals in the pool area savannah, and head back to the room. We changed and head down to explore the lobby and gift shop. We make our first purchase (of many) and walk outside to view the animals at Arusha Rock. This is a really nice area, almost makes me feel like Im at the Animal Kingdom. You can really get some great close-up photos here. On the way back into the resort, a cast member asks if the kids would be interested in playing some African musical instruments. We all make our way to an area off the main lobby were there are other children with various instruments. The cast member explains that each instrument represents a part of the circle of life (animals, plants and weather). It was really nice and the kids had a small parade. At 5:00pm we headed to Bomas for dinner. Even though the cuisine had a different type of flavor, we all enjoyed it. Even though Im not a vegetarian, my meal consists mainly of different type of vegetables (favorites was the deep friend sweet potatoes), while my husband had a little of everything, including the herb chicken, marinated curry steak, prime rib and soup. My kids also tried a little of the adult items, but were content with the spaghetti & meatballs, chicken fingers & fries, mac & cheese. We all really enjoyed the desert and yes, the Zebra Domes are delicious.
After dinner, we walked out to Arusha Rock to listen to the African Storytelling at the fire pit, but after several mosquito bites, decided to call it a night. We stopped the Concierge Lounge for some drinks (and DD proceed to eat more chicken wings which were delicious).
Tomorrow its the Sunrise Safari so off to bed we go!
