CP and I have been lucky enough to stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge twice now: once, in April 2010 (2 bedroom villa: Kidani Village) and once in October 2010 (standard room with pool view: Jambo House). Without having stayed … Continue reading
Saturday, May 7.
We were up and at ’em this morning at 7:07am, with the intention of making today our Very First Rope Drop Day Ever(tm). We both ate breakfast in the room and got dressed, and were out the door by 8:10am.
Good morning, Epcot!
We jumped in the Camry, drove the short distance to Epcot, and were in line for rope drop by 8:30. I have to say, mobile devices make waiting for rope drop a much more pleasant experience (well, I assume) than having to wait with nothing to do. We read our e-mail, browsed the news, and listened to the Epcot and the shouts of a Mickey-handed greeter, who roamed the crowd wishing people Happy Birthdays and Anniversaries.
By 8:45 we were allowed through the turnstiles, and we followed the cattle call into the heart of Future World to watch the opening show. When that was finished, we were again off with the races (and by races I mean “slow moving giant crowd) and headed toward Soarin’, which even at this earliest of hours still required a 15 minute wait in line.
If you ride Soarin’ often, however, you know this isn’t really a bad wait compared to what it can be, even when you utilize a Fast Pass. Soon enough we were boarding, and were lucky enough to be assigned to the center glider, top row without having to ask. (Granted, I would have asked, but I’ve seen Cast Members roll their eyes at the request often enough to feel a little guilty about it.) Our prime seat location offered a terrific ride, and soon we were off and gathering Fast Passes for our next ride, scheduled between 11:18-12:18p.m.
Top row center not guaranteed.
Our next agenda item? Hoofing it across the park to Test Track, where we utilized the single rider line and were on and off the ride in under ten minutes. Next up was something we had never done – Mission Space. Although I admit to some curiosity about the Orange side, my normal barfy feelings after a spin on the Teacups was enough to head me straight to the Green side. The verdict? We were both impressed by the ride, but still found it a bit jerky and in the end kind of anticlimactic. So, once was probably enough for us, although I wouldn’t rule it out on a future trip. Orange side? Probably not ever.
Stitch's Great Escape might be Stitch's Terrible Imprisonment, but I still love him.
After Mission Space, we grabbed a shaded bench by the Stitch topiary and checked our e-mail, drank some water, and watched the people strolling by. Once our feet felt sufficiently rested, we walked over to Club Cool for my favorite Mezzo Mix (dear Coca-Cola: if you are reading this, could you please, please PLEASE offer this fantastic drink in the States? I’d singlehandedly make it a profitable venture for you.) and other Coke samples. Afterwards we strolled over to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, not so much to ride it (another once is enough each trip ride for us), but to delight in the “Mine! Mine! Mine!” seagulls and take some pictures.
Too many beans? Broccoli?
By this time it was almost 11:15, so we headed back to Soarin’ and were in the Fast Pass return line at 11:18am exactly. I was relieved to find the wait was less than 15 minutes, and yet again we were assigned the prime real estate of the top row of the center glider without asking. Once off, it was roughly 11:45 and we felt like we had done enough to warrant a mid-day break (to say nothing of a caffeine infusion, since we hadn’t done that yet that morning). We got back to the Camry, headed to Celebration, and sought out the first Starbucks we could find. I delighted when I found a perfect parallel parking spot right in front of Starbucks, but couldn’t figure out why the space seemed so small. After some careful maneuvering I angled the Camry in, and then realized…I was parked in a parking spot for GOLF CARTS. Welcome to Celebration!
Appropriately caffeinated, we headed back to the BoardWalk and stopped in at the BoardWalk bakery to pick up a blueberry and chocolate chip muffin to enjoy for a mid-day snack. As with the day before, we couldn’t resist the siren call of an afternoon nap, and awoke around 3pm to eat the peanut butter chocolate cupcake that somehow jumped into our bakery bag with our muffins. Restored, we headed out to Downtown Disney, where we browsed the new Lego store and sculptures; hit up World of
New Sleeping Beauty Lego sculpture - impressive!
Disney (where I promptly fell in love with the Pook-a-Looz Stitch and Sulley); and headed to Basin to browse the delightful bath products and give ourselves a free hand scrub. We then hit up Team Mickey, the pin store, Tren-D, and Once Upon a Toy, followed by a quick browse through Mickey’s Pantry. Unlike our October trip we didn’t really fall in love with many souvenirs we’d have to take home, so we headed over to Earl of Sandwich for sandwiches and sodas and a rest in the shade. We rounded out our Downtown Disney visit with a brief visit to the Christmas store and the everything-under-$10 store, and then it was off to Target in Kissimmee to pick up some toiletries and some pre-packaged Starbucks coffee to tide us over in the early mornings.
Shopping completed, we headed back to the BoardWalk to relax with a beer on our balcony before heading back to Epcot around 7pm. We leisurely strolled, taking pictures of the topiaries and beautiful gardens in France, and then decided to browse the stores there before taking in the Impressions de France movie. The moving showing turned out to be delayed, as it was announced that a gentleman in an earlier showing had lost his wedding ring, and staff were currently scouring the theatre in hopes of finding it for him. (We never did learn how it turned out.) A French Cast Member entertained the growing crowds with a French song singalong and France trivia, and soon enough we were seated and taking in the lovely film.
A beautiful night at Epcot, my favorite park, especially during the Flower and Garden Festival.
Afterwards, we headed over to Japan for one of our favorite snacks: Kaki Gori. We sat outside the Japanese quick-service restaurant and fought off some wicked brain freeze as we ate. Our sweet tooth satisfied, we headed into the Mitsukoshi Department Store for our traditional souvenir binge. As before we purchased lucky cats and owls, sushi plates to use for mise en place when we cook, an adorable stuffed Totoro for CP, and – my favorite find of this trip – a beautiful spring scarf that goes with most everything I wear and that is a terrific reminder of our trip. Several bags in hand, we climbed to the top of the Japan pavilion outside of Teppan Edo to stake out a spot for IllumiNations. The show was wonderful as always, save the loud cell phone conversation had by the woman standing next to us about all things gross and medical – really, is there not a better time you could talk about catheters?
"But you have to make sure the catheter is properly inserted!" AAAAGH.
Show over, we waited out the crowds and leisurely strolled back to the BoardWalk, where we browsed through the main gift shop and headed up to our room for showers and sleep. A long day, but a pretty fantastic one.
Friday, May 6th.
In spite of going to bed at 1am we were both wide awake before 8am. We dressed and headed out to this fantastic Whole Foods, where we stocked up on breakfast food and snacks for our room (again, the fantastic benefit of having both a rental car and a studio with refrigerator, microwave, and dishes), and then created a custom six-pack of beer, which included some old favorites and some new samplings from Florida breweries.
Checking out the view from our balcony on our first morning
For those of you who are curious, the total was around $82, which included the six-pack of beer, some reusable bowls, plenty of fresh fruit, cereal, and yogurt, and snacks. After that we made a quick stop at a local Starbucks for coffee and a breakfast pastry, and then we headed back to the BoardWalk to unload our groceries.
By 10am we’re back in the Camry and headed to the Magic Kingdom, where we are scheduled to have our traditional (tradition because we’ve done it once before) first-day Magic Kingdom lunch at the Plaza Restaurant. We arrive a bit before our scheduled 11am lunch, and thus take our time browsing the shops on Main Street. It’s sprinkling lightly, and is very grey and damp. By the time we reach the Plaza it’s outright raining, so we hope by the time we eat the weather will clear and we can enjoy an afternoon in the Magic Kingdom.
Our server is Ileana, and she is lovely and friendly without being overbearing; although the Plaza sees its fair share of visits from the Mayor and other “streetmosphere” characters, they seem to have a good sense of which tables are into that sort of thing (not us), and who wants to just enjoy a meal and observe the action. CP orders a Diet Coke and I order a strawberry milkshake (hey, it’s vacation!), and we split a vegetarian sandwich and a Plaza club. We certainly enjoyed our meal, but we were seated in the main room this time (unlike our last visit, where we had a table in the solarium) near several tables of loud diners. We didn’t linger, thanked Ileana, and were on our way.
Dessert for breakfast. Also known as "vacation."
Sadly, by the time lunch was over the rain had gotten worse, not better. We had umbrellas with us, but after a few minutes of traipsing through the rain trying to dodge strollers and large families (and again feeling like we were swimming upstream through crowds), I turned to CP and admitted that I just couldn’t do it. Maybe if we didn’t visit as often as we do I’d feel more compelled to push through bad weather or no, but we both just weren’t feeling it. We headed back toward the entrance, stopping for a few minutes to listen to the Dapper Dans sing to the gathered crowd, and then walked back to our car and returned to the BoardWalk.
By the time we returned to the hotel the rain had let up, so we walked around the BoardWalk, snapping pictures, watching the boats go by, and enjoying the
The BoardWalk on a cloudy day.
creak of the wooden boards beneath our feet. We returned to our room to nap, as the rain had started again and we couldn’t think of anything else that sounded better than a snooze on a grey afternoon. We awoke around 3:30, and after some last minute hemming-and-hawing on my part, decided we would in fact keep that evening’s Jiko reservation for dinner. We showered, dressed in our fancier duds, and decided to stop by Downtown Disney before our 5:35pm reservation.
This is yet another moment where no amount of trip planning can make up for momentary insanity. It was Friday afternoon. It was a beautiful day. Add those two things together and of COURSE DD was going to be mobbed. After deciding not to voluntarily place ourselves in that madness, we drove back to the BoardWalk, because – neurosis alert – I couldn’t remember if I had turned off my flat iron before we left.
Still beautiful even on a rainy day.
CP ran in and confirmed that I did, so we got back in the Camry and headed to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, since we had decided to browse the hotel and the savanna views before dinner. We poked our head in the Zawadi Marketplace, arguably one of Disney’s best resort gift shops, and then visited the Arusha and Uzima overlooks to take in the animals.
Around 5:30 we checked in for dinner and were promptly seated in Jiko’s wine room, a cozy, dark-paneled dining room that featured a floor-to-ceiling wine rack than ran the expanse of a long rounded wall. For nearly half an hour we were the only diners in the room, and our server, Stephanie, was phenomenal from start to finish. She helped me select a lovely South African pinotage and CP a tasty Kenyan beer, Tusker. After bringing us warm cloths to wash our hands, Stephanie helped us select appetizers – originally we were going to have a (ubiquitous in Disney) tasty-sounding flatbread, but Stephanie suggested the “Taste of Africa” breads and spreads and two salads: the Jiko salad for me (with peaches, plantains, hazelnut praline and goat cheese) and the Market salad for CP (with poached egg, homemade croutons, bacon, and greens). The Taste of Africa included lentil papadum, fresh naan, and pita, and for spreads included chermoula, kalamata hummus, lentil and spinach dip, and sambal. We greatly enjoyed our appetizers, sitting in the quiet wine room taking in the sights. Even the family seated next to us with four children was lovely, with Stephanie doting on the children and the children behaving themselves admirably.
Why, hello....
For our entrees, CP ordered the Peri Peri chicken, a fantastically spiced dish named for a former college program cast member at AKL who shared the dish’s recipe with the staff. As for me, I splurged and ordered the $41 (!) oak-grilled filet, which was served with tender roasted potatoes and fresh grilled asparagus and which was worth every single penny.Full but undaunted, we continued with dessert, CP ordering something chocolate (which wasn’t on the menu then, nor is it now – it was perhaps a pastry chef’s experiment?) and me ordering the Cape Malva pudding, a terrific bread pudding served with two fruit sorbets and a lovely vanilla custard. My dessert was accompanied by a terrific South African dessert wine, and CP ordered a pot of the most delicious chai tea either of us have ever tasted.
Our meal at Jiko was by far the best either of us have had…ever? We felt this way not only for the food, but for Stephanie’s impeccable service. She was attentive without being overbearing, was honest about her suggestions and took the time to chat with us and really get to know us. We had hoped to make a return trip to Jiko on this trip, but ended up not going back for fear of having an experience that could diminish the joy of this one.
Evening on the BoardWalk...
Floating on cloud nine, we departed Jiko and headed back to the BoardWalk, where we freshened up, ditched our bags, and walked to Epcot via the International Gateway. Well, first we debated going to Epcot, as at this point CP wasn’t sure if she was feeling well or not (dinner? something else?). So before we (maybe) left for Epcot, I decided to walk the BoardWalk by myself, taking pictures, watching the street performers, and just generally enjoying the atmosphere. A few minutes later, however, CP called my cell phone, asking where she could meet me so we could head to Epcot. Success! When we arrived the park was mobbed that night (not surprising, given that it was an Extra Magic Hours evening and the Magic Kingdom had closed at 7pm for Grad Nite), so we decided to avoid the IllumiNations crowds and headed instead to Future World.
Dear Disney: Can we talk about your newest marketing strategies? Signed, Dubious.
We browsed the Art of Disney store, road Spaceship Earth, and ended with a browse through MouseGears, which was nearly empty until IllumiNations ended, at which point it was instantly packed with people. To avoid another swim upstream through yet another hot and sweaty crowd, we saw outside MouseGears and people watched, and headed back to the BoardWalk to get a good night’s sleep, as we were determined to give rope drop a fair shake and see if it would change our WDW experience. Oh, would it ever.
Nerds in Wonderland 