Just a Few Thoughts from My Oct 7-16 Trip

Topic #2 -- Dining Notes

1. We were staying off-site, and therfore did not have DDP, free or otherwise. I had speculated on this trip early, and therefore made several ADRs almost 180 days out. But we changed many of them on the fly, and really had no trouble getting ressies even a day ahead of time or even same day. For table service, we had:

Boma (2 adults, 2 kids)
Chef Mickey's (2 adults, 2 kids)
Le Cellier (4 adults, 2 kids)
California Grill (2 adults)
Ohana (4 adults, 2 kids)
Wave (6 adults, 2 kids)
Bongo's (2 adults)

The first four were made months in advance while the last three were made essentially last minute. Lots of availability at other places as well. Either free dining isn't as popular this time around or Disney finally has sufficient table-service capacity to handle it. Big plus.

2. Food quality at the three buffets was extraordinarily varied. Chef Mickey was just OK. The characters make the place, obviously. If was my first time there. If your kids love characters, go. If not, skip it, except for the peel and eat shrimp.

Boma was as I've come to expect. Great soups, several good entrees, and desserts to die for. Still one of my favorites. And for those of you worried about whether your kids will like the place, both of mine (8 and 2) ate more there than they have eaten at a meal in their lives, and they did not eat the "kids" stuff. Even without characters, they both wanted to go back.

'Ohana was the huge surprise. We had been several times before and always enjoyed it -- good, but not great food, and a fun atmosphere. The big surprise this time was that the food was great this time. The steak was tender, juicy, done medium to medium-rare as we requested. The pork was amongst the best flavored pork I've ever eaten. My wife thought the salad dressing was excellent. And the chicken and shrimp were reliably flavorful. The dessert was also great. Service was fast, efficient, friendly, and although they clearly would have liked us to vacate the table faster than we did, there was no pushiness about it. While we made the ADR there mainly because it was available 3 hours prior to dinner time, near the MK where we were headed that evening, and becuse my son loves the coconut races, we will go back because of the food and service, in addition to the atmosphere.

3. We bought a TiW card upon arrival. One of my only complaints is that you can't buy it at a hotel, so I had to run to AK on the way to Boma to purchase it. Annoying. Everything else was great. If you have an AP and don't have a TiW card, you are costing yourself money unless you virtually never eat table service. In our 7 table-service meals (two of which were just my wife and I), we saved over $140, and there was very little alcohol involved. Add to that the free valet parking, discounts at a few counter-service places at hotels, and the fact that it's good for another 12 months, and it's a no-brainer. And it is accepted at a wider array of restaurant than DDP.

4. Le Cellier continues to be a favorite. We had lunch there. Cost was surprisingly low, and every app and entree was top notch. Plus the chocolate moose dessert is really cute.

5. Bongo's was another huge positive surprise. My wife and I went on the last night when we decided to hang out at DtD while my parents watched the kids. The food was really good, and the atmophere (outside) was really pleasant, with a concert going on in the little park next door. We had a couple drinks, an appetizer and two entrees for less than $60 (including the mandatory tip). We will be back.

6. Also tried Pollo Campero one evening. Obviously a major step up from the McDonald's it replaced (and at a comparable price-point). I liked it and would go again because my son loves fried chicken, but I still prefer Earl of Sandwich.

Topic #3 -- Wild Africa Trek

We stay off-site on most trips for two reasons. First, we like having multiple bedrooms to accomodate naps and staying up after the kids go to bed, not to mention room for my parents, who usually join us part of the trip. And second, by saving money on the room ($350/week vs. $300/night saves a lot), we have mad money to do things we wouldn't otherwise. Hence, my wife and I did the Wild Africa Trek. It was great.

1. We were in the 8am group October 12. First thing to note -- the fact that we were starting before the park opened was a major plus. Animals were more active and seeing some of them when it was so quiet was great. Plus, you can hear animals in Harambe that can't be heard once the crowds begin.

2. The trek was billed as 3 hours, and it took us almost exactly 3 hours. You can bring with you a hat and a camera, so long as the camera has a strap. Everything else goes in the provided lockers. They give you a water bottle (a nice one -- yours to keep), and bug spray (USE IT!!!), in addition to some juice and food (see below).

3. While there was a fair bit of walking (almost 2 miles, we were told, but it didn't seem like it), and the suspension bridge takes a mild amount of a coordination, I would say that 99% of the people I see in a park can easily handle the physical "rigors" of the trek. If you walk the parks, don't be concerned.

4. The Trek has 2 distinct parts. The first is through the woods/jungle part of the animal reserve, including the "river" you see from KS. This part of the trek includes great views of the hippos and crocodiles, using a harness system that allows you to lean out over them. The crocs were particularly active for us, and we were able to watch them for 10-15 minutes that included a lot of pushing and shoving between crocs and one apparent fight. The hippos were subdued and didn't do much for us.

This first part also involves the long rope bridges that you can see from KS. Great views of many species (including hippos and crocs) from the rope bridges. Again, you're in a harness, so falling is virtually impossible. Lots of great picture opportunities from the bridges as well.

5. The second part is on the savannah. You ditch the harness and get a special truck to ride around in. If you made it this far, you're done with the physical part. The truck rides mostly on the same route as KS, but pulls off in several locations for better animal viewing. We watched Watusi, elephants, and giraffes for several minutes each, because they were doing interesting stuff. Then came the stop at the outpost in the middle of the savannah that you can see from KS. Here were bathrooms, and a wonderful snack/meal.

The food was served in six little tins (all carried in a larger tin) and included a variety of meats, sweets, fruits and vegetables. Our "breakfast" version included prosciutto, smoked salmon, yogurt with granola, tropical fruit, fig/almond bread, and something else that is slipping my mind. All were very good and it was enough that I'd call it a meal, although not a large one. Some of it struck me as African, while other parts didn't. But it was very good.

We stayed at the outpost for about 25 minutes. Watusi, giraffes and bontebok all came up pretty close so had good viewing of them. The outpost is somewhat away from the KS vehicles, so the animals seemed a bit more relaxed in that area (OK, I don't really know how to tell if animal is relaxed, but it seemed that way).

6. We had great opportunities to take photos, and the guides also took lots of photos of both animals and participants. A photo CD should be arriving shortly with all of the photos the guides took. They did a nice job of taking group and invidual shots in various settings and with animals in view. There were two guides with us at all times, and they switched off talking to us about the animals (through a wireless headset) and taking pictures, so there was always one who was primarily taking photos.

7. The guides seemed quite knowledgeable and were able to address all of the questions anybody in the group had about the animals, the Harambe reserve, and the conservation-mission of Animal Kingdom. With only 9 people in our group (max is 12, I think), and two guides with us at all times, there was always somebody available to answer questions.

8. Whether it's worth $189/person or not is tough to say. We were happy, and felt no urge to say that we didn't get our money's worth. That being said, it's not something we'll want to do over and over at that cost.

Overall the Wild Africa Trek gets an 8 out of 10 from me. A few more special viewing opportunities would make it that much better, but it's a great offering as is, and does offer some unique experiences.