Trip Report Disney (almost) on Ice!

Jambo my fellow Disney fans!

It’s been two years since our last adventure to Disney World. https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/all-together-now-completed.982859/

Much has changed. Like many other trip reporters our children have graduated from college and we have to coordinate four adult schedules. Adding to this both our children live in different states down south so the logistics of this trip were pretty involved.

We’re still rather private so our children will continue to go by Chip and Dale and I’ll use the same PhotoPass photo Disney has been including since before Covid.

So when our schedules pointed to early February I was very happy to attend a major EPCOT festival (even if some of the foliage had to be covered due to the cold weather).

And why Animal Kingdom? It’s been on our bucket list and life is short.

Our adventures will be forthcoming! Glad to have the opportunity to write another trip report!

Next Up - Why am I, a Buffalo, NYer, buying a winter coat for a vacation in Orlando, Fl??

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Looking forward to seeing your adventures.

 

[MinnieM123]

Animal Kingdom Lodge is beautifully themed. I'm sure you enjoyed your stay there.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

So looking forward to hearing about your adventures.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Looking forward to seeing your adventures.

Thank you!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Animal Kingdom Lodge is beautifully themed. I'm sure you enjoyed your stay there.

We certainly did! Have you stayed there?

… or wintery Buffalo!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

So looking forward to hearing about your adventures.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Short Prologue - I promise

Though the Buffalo Sabres were doing well the funk of the Buffalo Bills season had carried over into our weather. At the end of January we had nine days of temps below 20 degrees which is the 5th longest stretch in Buffalo history. The days were often gloomy and with the snow and winds DH was out at least once a day snowblowing and shoveling.



We were ready for sun and palm trees!

We had a few stops before Disney World and though we each packed a few pairs of shorts (Positive thinking!) knew to prepare for cold mornings and nights. DH thought I should just wear my full length Artic coat in the parks but I grabbed a packable winter coat. Thank you end of season sales!

The day we left the weather was snowy and frigid. Shout out to the workers at the Buffalo Niagara Airport! You rock! Thanks for keeping us safe and on time in the bitter cold! I’m proud to say our airport also consults on winter weather management.

I sent this photo to Chip. They tell the story of being on a plane in wintery Boston two years ago where impatient passengers challenged the announcement of plane de-icing and told the flight attendants it was a made up thing to cover flight delays!

There were three very large snowplows traveling in unison to keep the runways clear.

For you plane lovers we flew to Washington-Duelles Airport on a United regional jet, the Embraer 175. It has two seats and one seat across. Gate crew had all the passengers with wheel carry-ons check their bags because there was no overhead compartment over the one seat side and smaller overhead compartments on the other side. It was a tight flight!

We made it to our destination and spent a few days traveling through the south. Along the way I made my first visit to….

Our first character meeting this trip!

Thoughts on Buccees:
- Are there always a lot of crows in the parking lot? We were in Brunswick, GA.
- Loved the cheer for the fresh brisket.
- The brisket sandwich was $8.99 and big and very filling.
- I wish we had Buccess up north.

We continued our journey and in a first for DH and I drove, rather than flew to Orlando. On Monday, Feb. 2nd we happily reached our destination!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Day One - Monday, Feb. 2, 2026

When I completed On-Line Check-in I indicated we would be arriving early. As we were pulling into the AK Jambo House parking lot at 1:03pm we were fortunate to receive a text that our room, #3485, on the third floor of Zebra Trail was ready.

Though we were eager to see the room I couldn’t help stop for a few photographs.

Loved the detail landscaping even on the walkway between the parking lot and resort entrance!

Jambo House has both regular and DVC rooms. Though we were staying in a regular room I still appreciated the entrance sign.

It’s amazing to see so many photos and videos of AKL and then realize you are really there! The lobby was breathtaking!

I felt like I was on a movie set!

We walked all the way to the back of the lobby, past the indoor fire pit , and made a right onto the Zebra Trail hallway. I can see why some people say the hallways are very long. Our walk wasn’t too bad as we took the first right to a shorter hallway and then another right to an even shorter hallway.




The price difference between a room w/a savanah view vs. a parking lot/rooftop view was between $150 - 200 a night so we opted for the cheaper room. I had scoped out some places for us to drink our morning coffee for a savanah view if nec.

What kind of view lay behind the door? Stay tuned!

 

[MinnieM123]

We certainly did! Have you stayed there?

… or wintery Buffalo!

Yes, although it was quite a few years ago. I loved looking out at the savannah in the early mornings, and seeing the animals. I liked their QS restaurant, The Mara. Also, the hotel had one of the best gifts shops on WDW property.

 

[NomadLounger]

It’s sounds like the same room location I had a couple years ago!

 

[Jenniferlt]

We love AKL!! We will be there in 20 days! We also forgo the extra $$$ for Savannah room. Thankfully there are many other areas to see the animals. I love the flamingos by the pool! We have standard room, but I am hoping we end up with a pretty view and not the parking lot. Can't wait for the rest of your report!

 

[belledream]

Ooh I’m excited to read this! And I love the title

 

[Tiki Traveler]

It’s sounds like the same room location I had a couple years ago!

You’ll have to let us know.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We love AKL!! We will be there in 20 days! We also forgo the extra $$$ for Savannah room. Thankfully there are many other areas to see the animals. I love the flamingos by the pool! We have standard room, but I am hoping we end up with a pretty view and not the parking lot. Can't wait for the rest of your report!

And if you do get a parking lot/rooftop view I’ll be sharing my alternative morning coffee sites further in the report.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Ooh I’m excited to read this! And I love the title

One of the other title contenders was (Almost) Frozen. It got somewhat warmer but it’s funny to see us in winter coats and pom hats!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We walked right through our room and out to our balcony. We were fortunate to have received a little pixie dust. Our room looked over a hot tub and to the right we could see the Uzima Springs Pool.

Beyond the hot tub were flamingos. I’m sure they were penned at night but at 3am we could hear them squawk.

Turning to our left we could see the edge of a Savanah and our first four-legged friend.

Chip pronounced our room the most themed of all the resort rooms we’ve stayed at.

We felt very lucky to be staying in such a beautiful place.


Changing gears temporarily to mention how I tried (try is the key word) to improve my photo game. Using my phone camera has always felt odd. I thought it might be muscle memory since growing up we were always told to use our camera loop in case we dropped our phones. Did it help? Well….it felt more comfortable but as to my photo taking ability we’ll just say I’m a work in progress.

 

[NomadLounger]

Looks like the same view! There was a feeding stand over to the left so I was able to see an occasional giraffe from the balcony.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We then found The Mara and had a late lunch. DH and Chip returned our rental car on-site while Dale and I unpacked our bags from Bell Services. Then we hopped on a bus to Epcot and the Festival of the Arts!

Upon entering I got flagged for not holding my hard eyeglass case out far enough in front of me. Straight arms people!

We arrived at Epcot at 4pm. The crowd calendars said this week would be a less busy time to visit Disney. What?? Here are some of the wait times:
- Test Track - 120 min
- Guardians of the Galaxy - 95 min
Note Frozen was under refurbishment so I knew that would increase the wait times… a little.

There were a lot of dance/cheer groups, international groups and families with younger or older kids thinking the parks would be quieter. Oh well, you have to make the best of it and thank your lucky stars you bought LL MultiPass for another day.

We made the bad decision to go on Test Track first while it was still daylight and presumably warmer. I suggested single rider but our family really likes this ride and wanted to ride it together for the first time.

We lasted in line less than 10 minutes due to a sibling MMA fight occurring between two brothers - I’m guessing one in high school and one in middle school. Their shin kicking had cleared all the space around them and once the body slamming against the nearest wall started their mom only looked up from her phone and laughed.

Things got better as the standby line for GOG was violence free. Now many trip reporters comment on how much shorter the actual wait times are than posted. Unfortunately we are not those people. All our standard wait times were pretty accurate throughout our stay. In line I consoled myself with thoughts of our beautiful hotel.

Though we wore our winter coats while zipping through the galaxies everyone felt fine. Further we were rewarded with the song, Disco Inferno, which was new to us.

We missed picking up a Festival booklet so wandered around using our phones.

Sadly mural painting closed at 5pm but there were still fun festival sights!

Our best Mary and Bert impressions!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Looks like the same view! There was a feeding stand over to the left so I was able to see an occasional giraffe from the balcony.

It was a great location!