The Darling Family's Endless Summer Vacation: August 2013 New 1/24

[dopeysgirl]

We leave in 4 days & your pics have me getting more excited to "go home"! I love the Peter Pan costume pic of your family! I know you prob get asked this a million times but... You named your children after the movie right? I mean only fitting with a name like darling!

 

[dismagiclover]

Love the villa and view pics! I really want to stay at AKL or Kidani one day. I always worry about the transportation, but I think I've gotten over that. I just need to get a good rate, and we'll be there - has to be savannah-view though!

Sounds like y'all had a nice, relaxing evening at the resort. Perfect!

The views and the villas were really nice. I, however, understand your transportation concern. Everything except for the Animal Kingdom park just seemed so far away. Granted we were a bit spoiled because our two other resorts this trip were Boardwalk and BLT, but it just felt like it took forever to get places.

Yeah for AKL! I used to be one of those "it's too far away to stay there people", then we tried it for a short visit and now I love the fact that it's far away. It truly seems like a resort with so much to do there. I also think it has the best dining options of all the resorts. We have always had really good luck with the transportation as well, never any longer than anyplace else.

We stayed in a studio in Jambo house our last visit and it was so nice to wake up and see the animals in the morning. I'm cheap - I won't normally pay for a view but each time we have stayed there we have had some animal view. Last time we were at the very end of the trail back where the animal barn is, not a sweeping savanna view by any means but we did get to watch the animals wait for breakfast and the keepers interact with the animals more so I thought that was a bonus in itself. So, for anyone hestiating to stay here, don't. OK, I'm getting off my pro-AKL soapbox!

Christine

This stay actually converted me to the it's too far away crowd. We stayed there once before for a short trip, and it didn't bother me. We drove pretty much everywhere this trip and it really did feel like it was much further away. Though AK park was super close! We just popped over there for a couple hours one evening and that was one of the best times we've ever had in that park. The animal view is a must for us too. That was so great to sit out on the balcony and watch the animals at all different times of the day. For DH and I it never got old. The kids kind of lost interest after a couple of days, but I loved the view!

We leave in 4 days & your pics have me getting more excited to "go home"! I love the Peter Pan costume pic of your family! I know you prob get asked this a million times but... You named your children after the movie right? I mean only fitting with a name like darling!

How exciting! I hope you have a fabulous trip. Actually my kids are only named Wendy, John, and Michael here on the DIS. (And we aren't really Darlings either.) It was something I came up with back in 2009 when I wrote my first trip report and it has stuck. I think if I called them by their real names I might confuse some of my readers.

 

[dismagiclover]

We slept in this morning. Today was another day we were planning on just enjoying all things Animal Kingdom villas. After a leisurely morning including breakfast in the villas and some animal watching we decided maybe we would take a field trip. Our destination:

This may seem like a strange place for a field trip, but actually we were looking to visit the models for the new Grand Floridian villas. The evening before Liz said we could go anytime and they would take small groups of members through for tours. So that is what we did. We went into the sales center where they offered us cookies and lemonade while we waited. The sales center is actually really nice. We’d never been in here before because we bought our DVC resale. Here is a fun mural on the wall.

Before long they were taking our group over to the models. All I can say is Wow! These were really nice. The kids were super impressed and even DH was considering more points for about ten seconds. Then I whispered the price to him and he was over it. Here are some pictures of the model rooms.

Cute fold out bed.

So that is a TV in the bathroom mirror.

Pretty nice, huh? After we finished with the Grand Floridian models, I asked if we could see the Aulani models. I don't have any pictures so these are the Disney press shots.

They are pretty nice too. If I ever make it to Hawaii I know where I’m staying. Anyway, after this brief field trip we headed back to Animal Kingdom villas. How did we spend the rest of our day?

 

[dismagiclover]

This update is really short on pictures. Sorry.
We arrived back at our villa where I’m pretty sure we had a quick lunch and then Wendy and I decided an afternoon in the pool was in order. The boys for some reason wanted to stay in the room. There was probably a soccer game on DH wanted to watch and the boys were itching for a little DS time. Anyway Wendy and I went to the pool. I have no pictures from our afternoon, but here are some pictures of the pool area.

It was a great afternoon at the pool. At one point it started raining, but since there was no lightning we just stayed in the pool. Swimming in the rain is great! Eventually the boys joined us and we spent several hours just enjoying. Eventually we were ready to move on. We headed back to the room to change and I actually cooked dinner this evening. It was the only time I really cooked for three weeks. I am not going to complain about that. After dinner I decided we should go check out what was happening at the community center. So we headed down that way. There was nothing specific going on, but there are always crafts to be done. So that is what we did. Wendy and I traced and colored Disney characters on drawstring bags. I did Dopey on one side and Mickey and Minnie in Animal Kingdom outfits on the other. The boys decorated beach balls. I don't have pictures, but everything was cute. The boys finished their beach balls pretty quickly and moved on to the video games. DH isn’t really the craftsy type so he spent his time with a book out on the balcony of the community center. There is some great animal viewing out there. He would come in every once in a while to try to get us to go watch the animals antics. Overall it was an enjoyable evening. Eventually Wendy and I finished our crafts and it got dark so the animal viewing wasn’t as good. The video games were still working, but we dragged the boys away and headed back to the room. Feeling relaxed and refreshed from our Kidani day we were ready to hit the parks hard the next day! I was loving that there was still lots of vacation ahead!

 

[dismagiclover]

We were up bright and early this morning. Both DH and I went for quick runs, but we were not impressed with the running possibilities at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We just ran back and forth from Jambo House to Kidani. Definitely not a place I would recommend going for a run. Here is my ranking of places I ran on this trip.
1. Boardwalk
2. Bay Lake Tower
3. The Beach (the actual beach not the Beach Club Resort)
4. All Star Resorts
5. Animal Kingdom Lodge
So you can see Animal Kingdom did not impress me. Anyway after our morning runs we roused the kids and headed out for our day at Epcot. We arrived before they were letting people in and noticed an empty line on the far right. So we went and asked the CM if they would open it up. He assured us he would so we ended up being first in line. I love that trick. A few minutes later they started letting people in and we took off on our speed walk towards Soarin. Michael led the way on this walk and he was booking it. I was having a bit of trouble keeping up and hollered that he would need to wait for all of us when he reached the building. That didnt slow him down and he was the fourth person in the building. Pretty impressive. We headed for the stand by line and we were actually on the first ride of Soarin for the day. That was the second time this trip. Pretty good. After our ride we picked up some fastpasses for later. The boys then went on Mission Space.

Wendy and I went shopping. I dont think we actually bought anything but here is a picture of the decoration I bought at some point during the trip. We loved counting down with it this past Halloween.

After the boys finished Mission Space we met back up. I think we went into Innoventions for a bit and then headed back over towards the Land. On our way we walked by the Character Connections place and I insisted we head inside. We did not yet have a family picture of us with Mickey Mouse. There were a few grumbles, but the line was short so it wasnt too bad. It was Mickey that was up first. He gave Wendy a little kiss.

Then he posed with all the kids.

Then the individual shots.

Then we all went up for the family shot. For some reason this shot did not make it on the photopass card. Which is kind of funny because it was basically the shot I wanted out of the meet. We did get a family picture with my camera that turned out pretty good.

Then came Pluto. Michael is always up for a bit of Pluto love.

All of the kids with our best dog.

Then a family shot.

This turned out cute. Makes up a bit for not getting the family Mickey photopass. Next up is Minnie. As always the BFFs happily greeted each other.

Minnie loved Wendys ears.

They are actually the same height!

The boys went up for a quick chat.

Then the whole family joined the fun.

This is another great family shot. So well be happy with Pluto and Minnie family shots. Well try for a good Mickey picture in a couple weeks. Next up: More rides and where should we eat lunch?

 

[freckles04]

The GF villas look amazing. OH for the chance to stay there!

 

[RGirl]

Whoa!! Look how close your next trip is!!!

The model GF villa looks amazing!

What a really fun and relaxing day at AKL. Maybe that's the way to do it - just book AKL for two or three nights and enjoy the resort.

Love all the pics with the characters at Epcot. Really a shame that the Mickey pic didn't make the CD. Seems like there were a lot of issues with that this summer.

 

[chattadisser]

Your resort day sounds nice and relaxing –hmm…makes me think that you’re supposed to do that on a vacation but that is hard when Disney keeps speaking to you!

The GF villa looks amazing!

How can you pass up a picture with Mickey?

Christine

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[kelowatt]

Wow, this looks like an amazing vacation!
I just got back from a trip with my dad and sister
It's so fun to go back as adults and revisit the fun we had as a family as kids
and I can't wait to tag along with a niece or nephew soon

I especially love your flashback pics. Your kids are going to treasure these memories for a lifetime.

also, I love the way you write your trip reports!

 

[DisneyJo]

What a lovely non-park day you had.

The GF villas look amazing but so pricey!

 

[dismagiclover]

The GF villas look amazing. OH for the chance to stay there!

They really did look amazing. Hopefully we'll stay there one day, but the point cost is really high so we may not. If we stay somewhere with a smaller point cost then we can stay longer, and that usually wins.

Whoa!! Look how close your next trip is!!!

The model GF villa looks amazing!

What a really fun and relaxing day at AKL. Maybe that's the way to do it - just book AKL for two or three nights and enjoy the resort.

Love all the pics with the characters at Epcot. Really a shame that the Mickey pic didn't make the CD. Seems like there were a lot of issues with that this summer.

Our Christmas trip is coming up super fast! We leave in 9 days! I think AKL would be a great resort for a non park focused trip. It really is beautiful and there is lots to experience there. I can't complain too much about not getting a family picture with Mickey on the CD. It's not like I'm lacking in family Mickey pictures. Though you can never have too many!

Your resort day sounds nice and relaxing –hmm…makes me think that you’re supposed to do that on a vacation but that is hard when Disney keeps speaking to you!

The GF villa looks amazing!

How can you pass up a picture with Mickey?

Christine

I love the days we just enjoy the resorts. It's relaxing and is often nice bonding time. This next trip we are staying at Shades of Green so we might not spend tons of time at the resort we are staying at, but I'm planning on lots of time exploring decorations at the Disney resorts.

Great pics!

Thanks!

Wow, this looks like an amazing vacation!
I just got back from a trip with my dad and sister
It's so fun to go back as adults and revisit the fun we had as a family as kids
and I can't wait to tag along with a niece or nephew soon

I especially love your flashback pics. Your kids are going to treasure these memories for a lifetime.

also, I love the way you write your trip reports!

Welcome! I'm glad you had such a great trip. And now you have the DIS to help you with those post Disney blues. It really is fun to look back on my kids growing up with Disney. I hope they are great memories for them. I know they are great memories for me! Thanks for joining in.

What a lovely non-park day you had.

The GF villas look amazing but so pricey!

 

[dismagiclover]

After the meet with our friends we headed over to ride another oldie, but goodie. It was time for some Imagination!

I like this ride. It just makes me giggle a bit and there is never any line. It will be really weird to wait in a line for this at Christmas. I’ll be interested to see how long it will get. After Figment we headed over to ride Nemo. As we approached we saw Coral Reef and everyone started talking about how they liked that place and wanted to eat there for lunch. I didn’t know everyone enjoyed it so much. No one had mentioned it during the trip planning. I think it was about the power of suggestion, but I said I would check and see if lunch ADRs were available. (We already had an ADR in Morocco because I have wanted to try that place forever.) Thanks to the Disney app I discovered yes there was an ADR available in about 20 minutes. So I canceled Marakesh and snagged the ADR for Coral Reef. Now with the new reservation policy this would not have been possible because I wouldn’t have had 24 hours notice to cancel. I don’t really like that new policy. I think I just may make fewer ADRs especially for someplace like Marakesh that I know is easy to get on short notice. Anyway everyone seemed happy with the switch. We walked through the Nemo queue and enjoyed Finding Nemo. We browsed for a few minutes by the tanks. We even went to the section with rescued manatees and talked with the CM for a bit. She told us the manatees ate an extraordinary amount of lettuce. (Like 400 pounds or day or something.) They aren’t growing all that in the Land greenhouse. Anyway after our manatee lesson we headed over to Coral Reef for our ADR.

Lunch here was good. I had the lobster pasta which was quite yummy.

I don’t know what anyone else had, but they all seemed to enjoy it. It still seems a bit strange to me to eat seafood in front of a fish tank though. After lunch we had to hustle over to the Land to use our Soarin fastpasses. Then we rode Living with the Land.

I like this ride. At this point we were pretty much done with Future World so we headed towards World Showcase. What could possibly distract us before we even get there?

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[KBrown88]

I have enjoyed reading your report so far! I can't wait to read the rest!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yay Darling family for getting the first ride of the day on Soarin'. You guys are goooood!

As always, great family pics with the characters. Your kids are adorable!

I giggled a little when you said that you felt funny eating seafood while there were fish swimming right in front of you. I always say that too.

 

[dismagiclover]

Great pics!

Thanks!

I have enjoyed reading your report so far! I can't wait to read the rest!

Thank you. There is still plenty more report to come though I'll be taking a brief hiatus in a week for another trip!

Yay Darling family for getting the first ride of the day on Soarin'. You guys are goooood!

As always, great family pics with the characters. Your kids are adorable!

I giggled a little when you said that you felt funny eating seafood while there were fish swimming right in front of you. I always say that too.

We are pretty good at getting on those early morning rides. The real test will come on this upcoming trip. Is it possible we can do something similar at Christmas. Guess we'll see.

 

[dismagiclover]

We were heading over to World Showcase, but I was hankering for a family picture with the ball. Luckily there was a photopass set up on this side of the ball. DH asked if that would count, and I agreed it would. So he told the kids they could take the picture here and we wouldn’t have to mess with a ball picture again. So we have these goodies.

I just don’t get the Mickey ear pictures. The photopass guys are always pushing them, but I think they are kind of weird.

Then we headed over to meet Duffy, always a top priority for Michael. There was a bit of a line and the group in front of us looked like extended family with lots of kids (around 7 or 8 if I remember). Each kid has an autograph book and each kid wanted a picture plus they needed pictures of all of them together. Anyway, by the time they were done Duffy was due for a break. So he left right before our turn. They assured he would be right back, but John still grabbed my phone and took a quick picture. This is what he got.

Duffy quickly returned and happily greeted his number 1 fan.

Eventually the other kids joined him.

Then we got a whole family shot. (With DH’s eyes closed.)

After the Duffy meet we headed towards World Showcase. First stop was Mexico. DH had been looking forward to Mexico all day because he wanted to ride the Donald ride. It is one of his favorite rides in Disney. Go figure. I don’t know if you’ve noticed his shirt for the day but it is a 3 Cabelleros shirt and he saved it special for today because he knew he’d get on the Donald ride. So we took a spin .

At this point it was getting well into the afternoon and in August that means it was really hot. The kids were ready to head out. DH wanted to ride Maelstrom, but the boys especially wanted to head to Downtown Disney because they hadn’t been there all trip. DH pretty much hates Downtown Disney. So I agreed to take the kids to Downtown Disney and DH could stay and enjoy the park. We said goodbye and headed out. Downtown Disney here we come!

 

[RGirl]

Haven’t been on the DIS in over a week!

We have done Figment once. Neither one of us has the slightest idea who he is.

I have wondered about the new ADR thing - I mean, seems like you should be able to call up and swap an ADR as opposed to just canceling or not showing up. Oh well. *sigh*

We ate at Coral Reef our first trip and loved it. Someday we will go again! The lobster pasta looks delicious! I feel the same way about chowing down on fish while watching their friends swim around!

I love Living with the Land. It’s like the People Mover - neither of us can really say why we like it so much, we just do!

Love the Duffy Butt picture! The PP pics are great!

 

[dismagiclover]

Haven’t been on the DIS in over a week!

We have done Figment once. Neither one of us has the slightest idea who he is.

I have wondered about the new ADR thing - I mean, seems like you should be able to call up and swap an ADR as opposed to just canceling or not showing up. Oh well. *sigh*

We ate at Coral Reef our first trip and loved it. Someday we will go again! The lobster pasta looks delicious! I feel the same way about chowing down on fish while watching their friends swim around!

I love Living with the Land. It’s like the People Mover - neither of us can really say why we like it so much, we just do!

Love the Duffy Butt picture! The PP pics are great!

That is funny about Figment. We love him. We even have a stuffed one around here. (Of course we have a stuffed everything.)
I'm not sure how the ADR things works now. It does seem like you should be able to switch without penalty, but I really don't know. I'm sure I could ask over on the restarant board and they'd have the info. Living with the Land is a must do every trip for us. You are right it is kind of like the People Mover. Just seems like an important part of Epcot!