DisneyNut815
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 5, 2012
DH and I just got back from our Disney trip from Saturday, 1/28 through Sunday, 2/5. We had a wonderful time with only a few minor snags.
We stayed for the first time in Animal Kingdom Lodge Savanna View room...first snag here...we had requested a King room on Arusha Savannah (I know nothing is guaranteed). We landed at MCO and got a text right away that our room was ready but it was on Ostrich Trail with Sunset Savanna view. It was the one area we didn't want to be but figured let's check it out. We get to the room and it is 2 queens and our view is a giant tree. We nicely went down to registration and they advised they couldn't get us into a King room in a different location that day but would move us the next day. Sunday we left our bags at bell services and off to the parks we went. We got a text our room was ready around 1pm and around 4 headed back to the resort. We were moved to Zebra Trail with a Uzima Savanna view King bed. We opened the curtains and right in front of us were 3 giraffes. We were beyond thrilled with the new location. The only other snag was the bus service at AKL was inconsistent. I had already read about this so was not surprised but it could be annoying after a very long day at the parks. We did rent a car so we had options but for the parks we like to rely on the buses.
On Sunday we purchased the Express Bus for 7 days and boy are we glad we did. What a game changer it is for park hopping. We hopped more than we ever do because it was so convenient. Park is getting crowded, fastpass available for Soarin'...off to Epcot we go. Within 20 minutes we are there. It was great. I highly recommend it if you are flexible with your plans as we are.
We have been to Disney many times together but each time we try to try new things. This trip we did the Star Wars Dessert Party and the Illuminations Dessert Party. The Star Wars Fireworks & Show are fabulous and the location for the Dessert Party viewing is perfect. I highly recommend it. It was a lot of fun. The Illuminations Dessert Party was also worth it, I think. Great view, great dessert and champagne.
We also tried a few new restaurants: Tiffin's, Citricos, Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House, Jiko, Artist Point, and Akershus Royal Banquet Princess Breakfast. They were all very good. Tiffin's was our favorite. The meal was fabulous, service was even better and the whole atmosphere was just lovely. We really enjoyed it and it will probably be a regular spot for us. The Nomad Lounge next door was also awesome. Just a very relaxing quiet spot which probably won't be too quiet once Pandora opens. Jiko was probably our least favorite of the new spots but I think that was tainted by the fact that we had poor service that night. The food was delicious.
Almost forgot about the highlight of the trip...We did the Wild Africa Trek and it was awesome. I am afraid of heights but walking across the bridge over the hippos and crocs was an amazing experience. And I lived to tell about it. I don't think I breathed the whole way over but I made it and am proud of myself. The guides were so sweet and informative. I highly recommend this tour. They take a ton of pictures and they are all included in the tour.
Crowds were pretty good all week. Saturday, February 4th was insane. We tried Epcot and MK and decided to head back to the resort to relax on our balcony and enjoy the giraffe's for the afternoon before our dinner reservations.
We bought APs this year and our next trip is in April. It can't come fast enough because there has been no pixie dust and nothing magical happened to me today while sitting at my desk at work.
We stayed for the first time in Animal Kingdom Lodge Savanna View room...first snag here...we had requested a King room on Arusha Savannah (I know nothing is guaranteed). We landed at MCO and got a text right away that our room was ready but it was on Ostrich Trail with Sunset Savanna view. It was the one area we didn't want to be but figured let's check it out. We get to the room and it is 2 queens and our view is a giant tree. We nicely went down to registration and they advised they couldn't get us into a King room in a different location that day but would move us the next day. Sunday we left our bags at bell services and off to the parks we went. We got a text our room was ready around 1pm and around 4 headed back to the resort. We were moved to Zebra Trail with a Uzima Savanna view King bed. We opened the curtains and right in front of us were 3 giraffes. We were beyond thrilled with the new location. The only other snag was the bus service at AKL was inconsistent. I had already read about this so was not surprised but it could be annoying after a very long day at the parks. We did rent a car so we had options but for the parks we like to rely on the buses.
On Sunday we purchased the Express Bus for 7 days and boy are we glad we did. What a game changer it is for park hopping. We hopped more than we ever do because it was so convenient. Park is getting crowded, fastpass available for Soarin'...off to Epcot we go. Within 20 minutes we are there. It was great. I highly recommend it if you are flexible with your plans as we are.
We have been to Disney many times together but each time we try to try new things. This trip we did the Star Wars Dessert Party and the Illuminations Dessert Party. The Star Wars Fireworks & Show are fabulous and the location for the Dessert Party viewing is perfect. I highly recommend it. It was a lot of fun. The Illuminations Dessert Party was also worth it, I think. Great view, great dessert and champagne.
We also tried a few new restaurants: Tiffin's, Citricos, Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House, Jiko, Artist Point, and Akershus Royal Banquet Princess Breakfast. They were all very good. Tiffin's was our favorite. The meal was fabulous, service was even better and the whole atmosphere was just lovely. We really enjoyed it and it will probably be a regular spot for us. The Nomad Lounge next door was also awesome. Just a very relaxing quiet spot which probably won't be too quiet once Pandora opens. Jiko was probably our least favorite of the new spots but I think that was tainted by the fact that we had poor service that night. The food was delicious.
Almost forgot about the highlight of the trip...We did the Wild Africa Trek and it was awesome. I am afraid of heights but walking across the bridge over the hippos and crocs was an amazing experience. And I lived to tell about it. I don't think I breathed the whole way over but I made it and am proud of myself. The guides were so sweet and informative. I highly recommend this tour. They take a ton of pictures and they are all included in the tour.
Crowds were pretty good all week. Saturday, February 4th was insane. We tried Epcot and MK and decided to head back to the resort to relax on our balcony and enjoy the giraffe's for the afternoon before our dinner reservations.
We bought APs this year and our next trip is in April. It can't come fast enough because there has been no pixie dust and nothing magical happened to me today while sitting at my desk at work.
