Walt Disney World Buddy Trip 2016, Part 6

By Nick

Who: Me and my friends Joe and Josh
Where: Walt Disney World, stayed Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village 

Part6

 
Saturday, May 14th  and Sunday, May 15th
 
As it was the last day of Alison and Jim's trip, we all went to Animal Kingdom together. 

 Josh, me, Alison, Joe and Jim

We rode Dinosaur, then everyone except me rode Primeval Whirl, followed by another ride on Dinosaur. While everyone rode Expedition Everest, I hung out in the gift shop. Motion sickness is a curse! A CURSE!

We got our photos with Mickey and Minnie at Adventurers Outpost and then went to Yak & Yeti for lunch. 

After a great meal we said goodbye to our new friends! We miss you Alison and Jim!

Josh, Joe and I went over to Kilimanjaro Safaris, then took a walk through Pangani Forest Trail, followed by a walk through the Maharaja Jungle Trek. 

We headed back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we met up with our friend Josie. We decided to just grab dinner at Sanaa, and after a short wait got a table in the lounge.

We hung around at the back of the resort watching the animals on the Savannah before saying goodnight. 

The next morning we went to the Magic Kingdom, and hit several attractions we hadn't gotten to earlier in the week as well as favorites like Haunted Mansion, before heading back to the AKL where we relaxed watching animals on the savannah before getting Magical Express back to the airport.

Another great trip with my buddies in the books!

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World - October 2009 - Part 1

By Nick

Back in the day, my social media outlet was the DVC News Forums. I would write trip reports for each of our visits to Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and I'm sharing them here.
Some trip reports were more in depth than others, and this one is on the more descriptive side. Also, as this was a "live" trip report, I jump back in forth in time, making live comments and then going on to describe activities earlier in the day.
Any commentary I make will be in italics.

Part One: Friday 10/2/09

Day 1 - 10/2 - 6AM

This will be a "live" report.

We parked at an off site lot, our 1st time doing this. We usually do Rapid Rover. (A local airport shuttle service in the Philadelphia area.)
This was nice and convenient.
Since it was our 1st time, we got there early.
So early we were the only people on the shuttle, and the 1st people at the Southwest counter.
They don't open until 5AM.
So, here we are the only people at our gate at the moment.
I'd post this now, but Philly has started to charge for wifi!

Day 1 - 10/2 - 5PM

I'm sitting on our balcony. It's a standard room, as it doesn't face a savannah.
But we have a great view of animals. We are in a far from the lobby room on the "Kudu Trail".



Room 4382. It faces a holding/ rest/ feeding area. Our 1st view was of several ostriches a couple of wildebeest, and a bunch of red river hogs, and a giraffe. At this very moment, the sunset safari is just
entering the safari under our room. The rooms are very nice. I will say that complaints of it being too dark are somewhat true, but only in the shower. Otherwise, it's a great room.

We arrived in Orlando 30 minutes early, and got to the AKL via ME about 11AM.



Our room was ready! So we went up and dropped of our carry on, and went to eat at
The Mara. I had the African Stew, DW the Mara Salad. The salad was good, the stew was terrific.
We came back to the room about 12, and our luggage had arrived!
We changed and went for a swim. It's a big, nice pool.



Then back to the room, showered, and went walking around the resort, checking out different
savannah overlooks.
We did pin trading with "The King Pin" at the Zawadi Marketplace, then relaxed till 4PM.




We took the Culinary Tour of Boma and Jiko. At Boma we got a soup sample of our choice, and
a Zebra Dome.



At Jiko we tried 3 different breads and 3 spreads. All excellent.



DW asked for the soup recipes, and they gave us a folder with 12 recipes.
Dinner at Boma at 625PM.

A giraffe just walked up, and started eating. This really is a pretty cool resort.





Day 1 - 10/2 - 845PM

Back in the room. Crashing out. Just downloaded and quickly went through pics.

Dinner at Boma was very good. The soups were great. The pork loin was very good, if you got a juicy piece, and the deserts are outstanding.
They have replaced my favorite dish from the last time we ate there, prime rib, with what they
say is a better cut of meat, but is not as tasty.

After dinner, on the way back to the room, we got a picture in the lobby.



The Fastpass CM, grew up in the same hometown as my wife, so they chatted for awhile.



Time for bed! It's been a long day.

Please stop back next Thursday for part 2!

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

By Lisa Green

FIVE Great Things about the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

1.  Gorgeous Lobby:  When you arrive at AKL and pass through its front entryway, be prepared for a breathtaking experience.  The 6-story high lobby is stunning!  Huge and open while still comfortable and inviting, the muted colors in this expansive, well-themed space welcome guests with an undeniable charm.  If you feel like standing right in the middle and slowly turning in a circle to take it all in – go ahead!  And don’t forget to look up too!

2.  Delicious, plentiful dining options:  The dining at AKL is so fantastic, we will eat here on every trip to WDW no matter where we’re staying.  It’s a perfect way to end the day at the Animal Kingdom Park as it’s just a short bus ride away.  Of all the restaurant choices at Disney World, I consider AKL’s dining options to be the most unique.  Don’t worry – Disney has a special way of making sure there’s something on every menu to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters and the menus at Animal Kingdom Lodge are no exception.   The Fam and I enjoy Boma – Flavors of Africa (buffet – home of the famous dessert called Zebra Domes) and Jiko – The Cooking Place (table service) so much, we’ve yet to try Sanaa (table service) although I hear it’s wonderful.  The Mara offers quick service dining and there are two lounges (Victoria Falls and Cape Town) as well as two pool bars (Uzima Springs and Maji).

3.  Relaxing, well-themed pool areas – Uzima Pool is an 11,000-square-foot oasis facing the Uzima Savanna. This pool offers gently sloping, zero-depth entry and a 67-foot-long waterslide.  At Kidani, the Animal Kingdom DVC Villas, you’ll find Samawati Springs Pool which, while smaller than Uzima, also offers zero-depth entry and has a 128-foot waterslide.  Swimming not your thing?  There are also playgrounds and jogging trails!

4.  Learning opportunities for everyone.  There are programs for children, special sunrise safaris (including adventures just for tweens and teens), evening fire-side African story telling and more.  The Fam and I have enjoyed meeting different Cast Members and learning about each one’s home country.

5.  Oh, yeah – ANIMALS! On three separate savannahs over 30 species of African wildlife are there – up close – for you to enjoy (no touching or feeding!).  If staying in a savannah-view room, you can watch the animals from your window.  If you don’t have a savannah-view, don’t worry.  Right off the resort’s gorgeous lobby is Arusha Rock, an elevated savannah overlook with great animal viewing all day long.

My two cents:  This is an incredible place to stay IF you have some extra time to invest.  To appreciate the Animal Kingdom Lodge fully, you must spend time there – on Arusha Rock, visiting with Cast Members to learn about Africa, enjoying unique table service meals, and lounging or swimming at one (or both) of the pool areas.  If you love resorts that are within walking distance of (or a short bus or monorail ride away from) your favorite park or if you spend all your Disney vacation time in the parks and none at the resort- Animal Kingdom Lodge is probably not for you.

This article was originally posted on the Living a Disney Life Blog.

Wordless Wednesday: Favorite Disney Resort Views

Photos by Nick and Barbie

Choosing your Resort By Room Picture – the Deluxe Villas

By Shendl

If money was no object, or if you are a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Member,  and you could only choose your Disney Villa by a picture of the bedroom, which one would you choose?

The names are at the bottom of the article – No peeking!

Your choice may surprise you!

1.

2.

3.

4.

 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Of all the Deluxe Villa Bedrooms, my #1 choice would be No10!
Which one will you choose?

1. Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House
2. Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village
3. Contemporary Resort - Bay Lake Tower
4. Beach Club Villa’s
5. Boardwalk Villa’s
6. Old Key West Resort
7. Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa – Treehouse Villa’s
8. Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
9. Villa’s at Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
10. Villa’s at Wilderness Lodge Resort & Spa

Room photographs are from the Walt Disney World website.