Fast Passes, We Don't Need No Fast Passes!

[Wicket's Mom]

Fast Passes, We Dont Need No Stinkin Fastpasses!

The (getting less WDW resistant) DH & I went this past September on another trip to WDW. September of 2011 we took our GDs & DIL, but this trip was just the two of us. To get started I will introduce ourselves, me Doris, a 64 year old granny who loves just about anything Disney & my DH Bob, a Disney resister.

We are historical re enactors, thus the strange clothing. This was an event we attended the week before our trip.

This was me before an event I was attending for George Rogers Clarks birthday. This is my new avatar photo, I thought it came out ok.

I wasnt sure if we were going this year since I was waiting for FD to pop up. Also it had to be offered for our usual time of travel. I received word from Visa of the offer, so I made reservations & the price was right for AKL!

Our trip dates were September 10 through September 15 of 2012. Our last trip was the day after Labor Day & I was not happy about the rush to get ready for our vacation. This time I waited until the next week which was a smart move on my part!

Since this was our first deluxe resort I was especially excited. I was also a little wary since I was not too sure about the African theme.

Our flight out of Dayton left at 7:00am, when the reservations were made departure time was 9:30 or so. I loved the fact the time kept getting earlier, gave us more vacation time & who cant deal with that! We arrived around 8:40, headed to ME, where the line for AKL was empty. We waited about 15 minutes for the bus & were the first ones on! I thought we would be on a fairly empty bus, but no such luck. There were stops at AoA, PoP resorts & Kidani before our stop at Jambo.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

We arrived at AKL around 10:30, gathered our carry on luggage & tried to gather the sights all in! When we entered the main building we were stunned my the sight of the magnificent lobby!

Went to check in & discovered our room was ready. We were sent to room 4137, which was a level above the lobby. It was a long walk to our room which wasn’t too bad. The lighting in AKL seemed to be on the dark side. My other problem with the interiors of the lodge was that it was so darned cold! I would freeze everytime I left the room.

We arrived to the room in time to see the CMs installing the new door locking system. We had a problem in that our room was in the middle of the installation process. We could not leave our because there was a hole instead of the doorknob! We sat around in there for over an hour. Finally we spotted the head housekeeper in the hall & told her of our wanting to leave. She told us to go ahead & she locked the door so our luggage would be safe. In hindsight we should have asked for another room. When we finally got back to our room the lock was finished, but residue from the installation was all over the floor. It was a couple of days before it was swept away.

After getting out of the room we did a little scouting of the property. This was out back towards the pool.

The covered walkway was how one got to Mara the QS food area.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

It’s been so long since I’ve written a TR, I was having problems with the posts. I think I’ve got it figured out now!

Anyway we decided to take a tour of AK since we were pretty close & it was after 12 by now. The AK bus come pretty quickly so in what seemed like no time at all we had arrived at the park.

Our first ride was EE where there was no line & standby time was 5 minutes, yes that is correct, 5 minutes. We hopped on board for a thrilling ride. It had been several years since I had ridden EE since doctor told me I wasn’t supposed to ride that type of ride. Well I figured I was ok now & I certainly was. The one thing though it made me queasy which rides never did before. I think it has something to do with age & riding backwards. It was still lots of fun!

Next up was the Safari, standby time was also 5 minutes. It seems this is the beginning of a theme, didn’t catch on at first. As usual we enjoyed the ride, but did miss the zebras. I noticed the bridge no longer rocks & rolls like it did several years ago. The whole poaching saga is no longer in use it was kind of hokey anyway.

I love those curly horns & that white coat.

Dad nesting!

More scenery.

More of the curly horns!

To be continued[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[teekathepony]

Hi there! Joining in, love the AKL pics!

 

[dizneeat]

I am here!
Will be back in a little while to read! I HATE housework!

 

[podsnel]

Mother of Wicket! Thou art so stinkin cute in thy costumed frock!

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Hey found you on Jens trip report. I hope you don't mind having me along sounds great so far

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Thanks for the kind words about my clothing Ellen. I make all of them myself because I like to & they are so freakin' expensive to buy!

My pictures were taken mostly with my iPhone because I didn't want to carry anything! So they won't be of the best quality.

We really did fall in love with AKL on this trip. I really do think we should have changed our room because of the inconvenience. It shouldn't have been a problem as most of the rooms in that hall were empty the whole time were there.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

BTW, that white dress was hanging in my windows & on my shower rod! The valances & shower curtain made a pretty historical dress!

 

[MomToPrincePhillip]

I'm joining in too. I also love your costumes. I wish I could sew like you. I'd love to make myself something to wear for our up coming cruise for pirate night. A talent like that would also come in handy for Halloween...anyways looking forward to hearing all about your trip.

 

[jedijill]

I'm in! Off to a great start.....I love AKL...its my home resort and love staying there whenever I can. Love the short wait times!

You are the Scarlett O'Hara of dressmakers.

Jill in CO

 

[podsnel]

BTW, that white dress was hanging in my windows & on my shower rod! The valances & shower curtain made a pretty historical dress!

Ok Miss Scarlet- whatever it takes!

Glad you enjoyed AKL so much- it's my favorite now. It just feels soooo good there!

 

[englishrose47]

Did I make page 1 ????

 

[englishrose47]

All caught up great start !!!!How fun to be at AKL!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Hope you don't mind a newbie joining in the fun!

Great start! Love the historical reenactments - I am a big history buff - Your costumes are incredible!

I'm with you on the room change, but glad it was otherwise good. - how was the view?

Oh, how I love a park with no waits!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Did I make page 1 ????

I believe you made the first page! Thanks for coming along!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Hope you don't mind a newbie joining in the fun!

Great start! Love the historical reenactments - I am a big history buff - Your costumes are incredible!

I'm with you on the room change, but glad it was otherwise good. - how was the view?

Oh, how I love a park with no waits!

It is so much fun having you along! History is my strong suit, I love it. One problem for me is when I see clothing that is so wrong it drives me crazy!

 

[luv2sew]

Another sewer here, although I never made a dress from curtains and it certainly is a great idea. Your historical costumes are great.

It's been 7 years since I stayed at AKL on a trip with my family and staying at that lodge was a special treat for me. I love wildlife and I LOVED AKL. You didn't say if you had a safari view room. My DD and I couldn't spend a moment in our room....cause we were perched out on the deck of our safari view room watching and taking pictures every moment we were in the lodge. I can't wait for the day I can stay there again when visiting WDW.

 

[jenseib]

Joining in

 

[jenseib]

Great start. I have noticed that bridge only rocks off and on and not always. I beleive it did for us in Nov. because I remember my nieces eyes getting really big when it happened. I think it's the first time it has done it for many years though for us.

We just love AKL, but my cousin stayed and she had some issues with it too.
I can't wait to hear more!