What exactly DID you do at Disney? May 2011 TR (TR link pg 44)

[anl]

AKL looks fab!! I want to stay there!!

DC looks so fun. My older kids would love it.

Love all your pictures. My dd6 still enjoys me taking her picture...but my oldest is the "stop mom" kind.

 

[dtr_angel]

awesome update!!!! I want to swim with a dolphin. You're right though, poor Lester did look his age. I hope he gets to retire soon. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your day at Discovery Cove!

 

[tinacaplan]

Well, I appreciate your soda machine pictures! Coke Zero is my favorite and not a lot of places have it around here, so I was excited to see so many Disney places that had it!

Your early morning AKL pictures are so neat. You're inspiring me to get up before everyone else at least once and take some pics! We'll see if that happens...I could sleep pretty late when left to my own devices.

The inside look at DC is great. I would have eaten that place up when I was a kid. I was obsessed with fish and dolphins and was fairly certain I would have been pretty happy as a fish! It will definitely be something to look into doing once Max is older and a MUCH better swimmer!

Good luck and have fun with Caitlin's vacation.

 

[Vwdiva93]

I think I'm finally all caught up now. Those morning AKL pictures are beautiful! I agree that there would be no better way to start the day than by waking up to giraffes outside your window DC looks amazing! It's been my dream ever since I was little to touch/meet a dolphin and my Mom promised me it would happen someday. I'm still waiting though It looks like Caitlin really liked the birds in the aviary, those shots you got of her feeding them are adorable!

 

[MeMom]

Great pool, and this would be a perfect time to be in it. The girls loved playing right here. Jill played in the water with them, and I sat on the rock wall and took pictures.

I love the way the sun is coming through in the flamingo pictures. It's easy to be standing right there watching them through your pictures.

 

[crostorfer]

I absolutely love looking at all of your pictures!!! I'm so glad you guys had fun! The morning pictures of the AKL are really amazing, I love the one of the pool in the golden glow.

Discovery Cove looks AWESOME!!! I decided to save Aulani for a couple more years when Kassidy gets a little older and will appreciate just laying on the beach relaxing a bit more, so we are going back the last week of Sept. 2012 for 8 days and I may make DC one of them. I LOVE aviaries, peacocks are my favorite animals.

 

[pinkxray]

Love all of the AKL pics! Silly people giving you dirty looks...they must not DIS! LOL!

Wow DC looks so neat!!! We will have to put it on our bucket list for sure!

DC is amazing. I highly recommend it

I have no idea how some people manage to take pictures of everything. I try but then I start feeling weird when people start giving me those looks.

Discovery Cove looks amazing!

I love to snorkel so that reef looked like so much fun, much larger than the one at Typhoon Lagoon, which was also fun.

I liked your line about Caitlin being 6 and still being able to force her to do things and then she ended up liking the aviary!

I knew Caitlin would love the aviary so I made her do it. She tends to so no to everything and sometimes I let it go, but once in awhile I force her to do stuff I know she'll love.

You would love Discovery Cove. I can't imagine how you brothers would get themselves in trouble there though.

Thanks so much for all the info and pics about Discovery Cove. DD has been wanting to swim with dolphins since she was your daughter's age (she's now 23) so we will definately do this when we go back to WDW in May, 2012. Since you cannot take anything in with you when swimming with the dolphins, I assume all pics are taken by a DC employee and you then select the package you want after the swim is over? Since you took pics in the reef area, I guess you can go to your locker and get your camera before entering? I am thinking about purchasing a water-proof camera just for this trip so TIA for your info, tips and advice. Great TR...keep it coming!

Glad you enjoyed the updates.

Yep, you are able to go back to your locker whenever you need to. The whole place is pretty compact (although I don't know how big it will be since they just added the expansion) so it isn't much to go back to the lockers.

There is a photographer in the water with you and you can purchase all the pictures they take. If you buy the CD you can get all the pictures they take of you in the park too. They have photographer in a few more areas like the small stingray area but I don't remember the others.

AKL looks fab!! I want to stay there!!

DC looks so fun. My older kids would love it.

Love all your pictures. My dd6 still enjoys me taking her picture...but my oldest is the "stop mom" kind.

DC is awesome and so is AKL. It was a great day between the two.

Sometimes Caitlin will pose for pictures and other times she wants nothing to do with them. I miss when she was little and as soon as she saw a camera she would pose, it was so much easier back then.

awesome update!!!! I want to swim with a dolphin. You're right though, poor Lester did look his age. I hope he gets to retire soon. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your day at Discovery Cove!

The trainer did say that once a dolphin didn't want to do it anymore they are able to tell. The older dolphins that do it love the interaction so they aren't being forced to work. He was very sweet even if he wasn't the prettiest dolphin.

Well, I appreciate your soda machine pictures! Coke Zero is my favorite and not a lot of places have it around here, so I was excited to see so many Disney places that had it!

Your early morning AKL pictures are so neat. You're inspiring me to get up before everyone else at least once and take some pics! We'll see if that happens...I could sleep pretty late when left to my own devices.

The inside look at DC is great. I would have eaten that place up when I was a kid. I was obsessed with fish and dolphins and was fairly certain I would have been pretty happy as a fish! It will definitely be something to look into doing once Max is older and a MUCH better swimmer!

Good luck and have fun with Caitlin's vacation.

Glad to see someone enjoys the soda machine pictures.

I loved my morning walks. It was the only time I could take pictures with no one bothering me, plus there was no one around so I could take pictures of stupid stuff. It was nice to have some quiet time in the morning.

DC is amazing. If you know you will only go once I would definitely wait until Max is old enough to really enjoy it. I told DH we should wait but he said we will just go back next trip. He just loves to take away from my Disney days.
However I don't mind giving up a Disney day for this, 2 Disney days for US? That I mind.

I think I'm finally all caught up now. Those morning AKL pictures are beautiful! I agree that there would be no better way to start the day than by waking up to giraffes outside your window DC looks amazing! It's been my dream ever since I was little to touch/meet a dolphin and my Mom promised me it would happen someday. I'm still waiting though It looks like Caitlin really liked the birds in the aviary, those shots you got of her feeding them are adorable!

Caitlin loved feeding the birds. I was surprised since she can be a scaredy cat sometimes, but she got right in there.

AKL is just perfect. I wish I was planning on being there soon. I just can't wait to go back again.

Great pool, and this would be a perfect time to be in it. The girls loved playing right here. Jill played in the water with them, and I sat on the rock wall and took pictures.


I love the way the sun is coming through in the flamingo pictures. It's easy to be standing right there watching them through your pictures.

The pool was awesome. I wish we had a morning free that we could have hit the pool early. Next trip we will be the first ones in there one morning.

I'm getting a little sad seeing all the pictures and knowing it will be so long before our next trip. It seems so far away.

I absolutely love looking at all of your pictures!!! I'm so glad you guys had fun! The morning pictures of the AKL are really amazing, I love the one of the pool in the golden glow.

Discovery Cove looks AWESOME!!! I decided to save Aulani for a couple more years when Kassidy gets a little older and will appreciate just laying on the beach relaxing a bit more, so we are going back the last week of Sept. 2012 for 8 days and I may make DC one of them. I LOVE aviaries, peacocks are my favorite animals.

DC is amazing. You will love it! There was a peacock that was walking around. I didn't get a good picture b/c I was behind it but some people were feeding it and posing with it.

Back again Sept. 2012? Any chance you will be going Sept/ Oct of 2013. Depending on costs and flights we will most likely be going back the end of Sept. or beginning of Oct. 2013. So far away

 

[jenbear123]

Oh, I forgot to mention- if you buy the regular pass from Discovery Cove you will get a free admission to Sea World, Aquatica or Busch Gardens. I used up purchasing an Aquatica season pass to get Discovery Cove for $169 but it didn't include the free admission to Seaworld. We went last year so I took the savings. With the purchase of the AP to Aquatica it saved about $100 off what I would have paid normally.

I find that a lot with these places how an annual pass really saves a lot of money. My sister ended up buying an annual pass for Universal because it was nearly the cost of one day!

I have never been to TL. I want to try it some day but don't know about the sharks. We'll see.

The sharks tend to stay near the bottom I found. The fish get quite close though. You should get over to TL some time! It's one of those things you need to try once.

 

[crostorfer]

DC is amazing. You will love it! There was a peacock that was walking around. I didn't get a good picture b/c I was behind it but some people were feeding it and posing with it.

Back again Sept. 2012? Any chance you will be going Sept/ Oct of 2013. Depending on costs and flights we will most likely be going back the end of Sept. or beginning of Oct. 2013. So far away

I liked the fall there much better than the spring, so there is a great chance we will go back in 2013, especially if they continue the military room discount. I don't mind paying for tickets in full, but the room discount is really essential for us if we are going to take yearly trips like I would like.

 

[bouncycat]

I liked the fall there much better than the spring, so there is a great chance we will go back in 2013, especially if they continue the military room discount. I don't mind paying for tickets in full, but the room discount is really essential for us if we are going to take yearly trips like I would like.

I agree with you on the military discounts. LOVE IT!! I hope they continue it too. We're planning a big GG for my 40th, and I want to stay at the Poly....so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

 

[dizneeat]

I would love to stay onsite at Universal just for a day or two. Which resorts have you tried? Do you have a favorite?

We stayed at Portofino Bay, but had a very unpleasant experience the second time around, so ever since we have stayed at the Royal Pacific. To be very honest, we actually enjoyed RP more, friendlier staff and we loved the restaurants.


Discovery Cove looks wonderful! And Caitlin did very well with her snorkelling! And I am really with her - I am not sure I would like fish so close to me either, the only exception would be if the fish were on my plate!

 

[crostorfer]

I agree with you on the military discounts. LOVE IT!! I hope they continue it too. We're planning a big GG for my 40th, and I want to stay at the Poly....so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

We're going to do a split stay with the new Royal Rooms at the POR and the Poly, which is our "home". When I saw the Royal Rooms had hot pink chairs and LED lighted screens on the headboards, I was sold.

 

[pinkxray]

I find that a lot with these places how an annual pass really saves a lot of money. My sister ended up buying an annual pass for Universal because it was nearly the cost of one day!



The sharks tend to stay near the bottom I found. The fish get quite close though. You should get over to TL some time! It's one of those things you need to try once.

Good to hear the sharks stay near the bottom. I know I will still be a bit scared.

Typhoon Lagoon is on my must do list for next trip. We have been to BB twice and always had the water park option (before this year) but we always run out of time. Next time we plan to spend a bunch of time at the waterparks so I will make sure we hit TL first, just in case.

I liked the fall there much better than the spring, so there is a great chance we will go back in 2013, especially if they continue the military room discount. I don't mind paying for tickets in full, but the room discount is really essential for us if we are going to take yearly trips like I would like.

I can't wait to go in fall. I love the decorations and really want to go to the Halloween party. Plus Food and Wine, although I have a feeling I will be wandering around WS myself for Food and Wine. I will have to hook up with some Disers. DH would never go anywhere that has the main purpose of having food or wine.

I remember getting the tickets cheaper when DH was in the Marines, but never looked for room discounts. I wonder if they even had them 8 years ago. We stayed offsite both times we went.

I agree with you on the military discounts. LOVE IT!! I hope they continue it too. We're planning a big GG for my 40th, and I want to stay at the Poly....so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

I hope they have some type of general discount when I want to go back. I will most likely rent points for AKV but want to do a split stay with somewhere else for 2 days. I have a few places, including the Poly on my mind but it will all depend on the prices. No way am I paying $1200 to spend 2 nights in a hotel.

 

[pinkxray]

We stayed at Portofino Bay, but had a very unpleasant experience the second time around, so ever since we have stayed at the Royal Pacific. To be very honest, we actually enjoyed RP more, friendlier staff and we loved the restaurants.


Discovery Cove looks wonderful! And Caitlin did very well with her snorkelling! And I am really with her - I am not sure I would like fish so close to me either, the only exception would be if the fish were on my plate!

Glad to hear you liked RP. I think that would be our top choice if we stay onsite at US for a few days.

DC is amazing. I knew Caitlin wouldn't like having fish that close to her. She hates going in the water at the beach b/c she doesn't like anything touching her. Caitlin would not like the fish on her plate either, unless they are of course fish sticks.

We're going to do a split stay with the new Royal Rooms at the POR and the Poly, which is our "home". When I saw the Royal Rooms had hot pink chairs and LED lighted screens on the headboards, I was sold.

I just took a look at the Royal rooms. They are so pretty and I loved POR. Now I have another place to consider for our split stay next time. I just showed Caitlin the pictures and she wants to go back there. I know we will do 5 nights at AKV, but was thinking of 2 nights somewhere else at the beginning of the trip. I can't decide between the Poly, Pop, or a US resort. Now POR is another choice. I'm sure my list will grow over time. I really want to try Poly CL for those 2 days but it will depend on the price. If we have another kid by then I will definitely love being near MK.

 

[TinksThree]

Really behind, but I love the detailed pictures you took of Animal Kingdom Lodge. You are really helping me form a plan for my next trip!!

DC looks so cool! I love the pictures with the dolphins! I think I need to check this place out because my crew would love it! The aviary looks interesting too!

 

[mrssmith06]

AKL looks awesome and Discovery Cove looks like a lot of fun!

 

[ksl5f123]

The pool at AKL does look peaceful in the morning. It would be fun just to sit there and have coffee.

The food at Mara looks pretty good and it has a much bigger seating area than Roaring Forks.

I would love to go to discovery cove. I can't wait for the kids to be big enough. It makes sense for them to have the food included. Who would want to carry money around when they are swimming with fish?

Your camera took some great underwater photos. A camera that can do that is on my wish list.

I didn't learn to snorkel until I got married, so I can see where it would feel unnatural to Caitlin.

How fun that you can feed the birds! The orange ones were really pretty.

 

[MaryAz]

All caught up!! Sorry Dh and daughter were not so cooperative at times. Love AKL!!! Looks like a fun day at DC!!!

 

[lbuzz52]

You've really been updating the last couple days!
So many activities at AKL! And DC looks so cool! I had no idea there were soany things to do there. I've added it to my list for the mommy daughter birthday trip I plan on taking for Maya's 10th!

 

[Queila]

Discovery Cove looks like so much fun. So BEAUtIFUL! When Beatriz gets older we will make our way over there for sure. The pictures look great and Caitlyn seems so happy!

Tha picture of the AKL pool in the morning is awesome. It made me want to go back there so bad. I had never thought of an early swim but that is a great idea.

Q