I'm finally all caught up! Okay, first of all, I'm happy you got to go see WWoHP. I'm like you & think they made the area & the shops way too small. But they did well on the architecture & theme. I was so-so about the Forbidden Journey ride. I really enjoyed the parts that did NOT involve the big IMAX screen. But man, the parts with that screen made me sick & I love rides! If you do ever go back, try The Three Broomsticks for a meal, it was very good! I also love Seuss Landing. I'm a big Dr. Seuss fan & am turning Reid into one as well so he really enjoyed that area when we had gone in December.
Now, on to your AKL update. Your pics are great! I can't get over the animals you could see from your balcony! This makes me want to stay there even more. Maybe one day............
FJ was okay. I was expecting more I guess. I thought the Spiderman ride felt like you were actually in the action more.
I love Seuss Landing too. Caitlin had a whole month of Dr. Seuss in school this year so she was more willing to hang out there this time. She really loved all the rides.
I
AK. I was surprised to see so many animals at once. I thought there would be one giraffe at a time but usually there would be at least 3 at a time, sometimes 4. Same thing with the zebras, once one came over soon there would be 3 or 4. It was just awesome.
YES, it is!!! I think the AKL rooms have better ambiance because they do look like the resort rooms.
AKL is the only resort I could imagine going to without needing park days. There is so much to see and do at the resort, it could be a vacation destination of its own. I could spend a day or two just sitting on the balcony watching the animals.
The oreo cupcake from Pop looked really good! The coffee cake thing from Mara looked odd. Did it taste OK?
I sure hope your alarm goes off on time...
Your room at AKL is just lovely!!!!
I could easy spend a whole vacation at AKL without heading to a park. There is so much to do, yet it is so relaxing at the same time. I can't wait to spend our whole vacation there next time and actually take advantage of more that they offer.
The oreo cupcake was yummy. To be honest I only tried a small piece of the coffee cake. It had a small amount of cheese inside. It was okay. I had it in the fridge overnight, but it was probably pretty good fresh with some coffee. With all of the yummy options available I didn't eat things that were okay to me, so most of it went in the trash.
The AKL has long been on my short list of must-stays. Just so pretty!
ITA! Zebra domes just weren't what I thought they'd be... too gooey. I thought they'd be more cake-like and with amaretto flavor.
Good use of those last credits!!
That salad look phenomenal!
I agree that zebra domes are too gooey. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that.
The salad was awesome. I have trying to find a similar version in CT, but they all pale in comparision.
That sounds like such a fun day at Islands of Adventure! The Dr Suess area looks so cool. I would love to see that one day. I had never heard about the butter beer. It sounds.... interesting. I wonder how many WW points....
And those pictures made me miss AKL so much! AWESOME!
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I wish I was at AKL right now. Would DH notice if Caitlin and I were gone for a few days?
Seuss Landing is very cute and perfect for kids.
WW points don't exist on my vacations.
Your room looks amazing! If I was to rent points, maybe we would stay there. I was actually booked there for our next trip in Sept. for about 5 minutes and then I changed my mind and went with the CBR. We don't rent a car when we go and I just can't get over how remote the location is. Plus, all they had left was standard views. I don't want to pay $250 a night to stay in a room with a parking lot view.
I'm really surprised that no one else voted for part time with your little work dilemna. It's hard to grasp that nothing is guaranteed with per diem work. It's so great during the summer, you make major money, but it kind of has to last you all year because in the winter time it's kind of like you are scraping pennies to go to the grocery store. It's kind of the health-care equivalent of being a farmer, LOL. Great during the summer, dead all winter.
It seems like your daughter and husband were in love with the new resort so hopefully their good moods means you'll get to do everything you want at the parks!
I wouldn't pay the normal AKL rates for a standard view either. I am going to test out the transportation more next time instead of using our car. The few times we used the bus were fine. It really isn't much farther than Pop or CSR, maybe a couple extra minutes. Totally worth it to me though.
I like to consider my job a seasonal job. I haven't heard anything yet, but I yesterday I found out the full time evening girl applied so it is pretty much guaranteed that she got it. I am kind of happy I don't have to make the choice. I knew if my boss brought me in the office all of my pros of staying per diem and extra money would fly out the door and I would agree to part tiem. There will be a full time 4-12 opening which of course will have people at my job dropping their jaw that I don't apply. What part of having a husband and child I like to see don't they understand? If I worked at 4 I wouldn't even see Caitlin during the week except to bring her to the bus stop. I am not okay with that, I don't care how much they pay me.
Your room at AKL is so cool! I love the giraffes right outside the balcony. It is nice how DVC rooms at AKL are basically the same as resort rooms.
It looks like you found good uses for all of the remaining credits. No dining credit left unused.
I love the AKL rooms and walking out onto that baclony is just amazing. The boys would love it when they get a bit older.
I think I did a good job managing our credits. I would hate having anything left over. I would have been happier if we had made it Sanaa that night but we had an ADR at 5 and we didn't get to AKL until close to that. I cancelled it and accepted that we would just try it next time. Pop was a good replacement and I was happy I got to check it out for future reference.
Wow, of I knew that AKL was all you had to do to get DH on board, I would have booked there years ago
seriously though that room is awesome! Dinner with that view sounds like a great evening!
AKL made the trip much more enjoyable for everyone. I wish I had known sooner so that we didn't have to leave after 3 nights. We were all very sad to have to move.
Dinner on the balcony was perfect
I'm so happy for you that you enjoyed AKL so much! I have a feeling we would, too, but... Good thing you didn't post all of these pictures before I had to make my final call!
AKL looks like its truly amazing.
And, hey, I think of Stew Leonard's as an outing myself!
I am so glad DH liked it. I am hoping it will be easier to convince him to go back once I start planning the next trip. I was really surprised how much a resort could influence how you trip goes.
ready for DC update too, we haven't been there yet and want to go sometime LOL
Coming soon.
A lurker checking in late! What a great trip!
We also live in CT and as for the job front I would totally stick with per diem for now especially if you are trying for another baby. I just had my second in January, and I am just going back to work this week. I work part time as a physical therapist and was so lucky to be able to take five months off this time. It truly is time that you can't get back. And if you don't carry the benefits then I would definitely wait until the baby is older to have a more set schedule.
Good luck with your decision!
Thanks for coming out of lurkdome.
I really think per diem works well for me. I am usually fine with my decision outside of work, but once I step into the hospital and my dept. I get bombarded by people asking if I have another job somewhere else or why I don't want full time evenings. First of all, I don't understand why they care but they don't get it. I feel like I am just constantly being attacked by all of my coworkers about it. They all worked full time and did evenings when they had kids, why can't I? Or you have men who arent' married with no kids saying that if they were married they would make their wives take full time b/c they work full time. Maybe that is why they aren't married with kids?
I guess I care too much what people think and just remember what's best for me and our family, but geez the people I work with can be awful.
Sorry for the rambling. I debated posting about the work decision, but I am so glad I did. I feel much better after hearing from people who actually have families and kids. Thanks.
