Friday, May 3rd
Even though we didn't have much of a schedule today, we were still up at 8AM to get ready and check into Kidani. Our luggage was packed and I had the shirt I had purchased at HS ready in the bag with the receipt so that I could return to the lobby gift shop. The medium was too large but the small was too small - made me feel like Goldilocks
We went to the lobby and stopped by Cafe Rix to fill up our mugs. There was a group of cheerleader moms waiting right outside. I was walking up the hall when one of the women left Rix, totally cut me off to join her friends, and making me trip in the process so I wouldn't walk into her. They were walking 4 across taking up all room so R and I didn't have room to go by them with our luggage. We got to the lobby and were going to go into the gift shop to return my shirt but the group of rude moms (who were dressed like they were in competition with their daughters and afraid of aging), completely stopped in front of me again! I said "excuse me" to the one mom that was constantly in my way and she looked at me shocked that I would even dare to say anything to her. She said something snarky to her friends and I told her that she had cut me off 2 times and never once noticed me. I said excuse me so she would know she was blocking the path of the people behind her. I don't think anyone had ever said anything to her before. Because of that, I decided to just avoid the gift shop full of clones of those mothers and just return my shirt at Kidani.
We rented DVC points from our SIL so we got a really good deal on a savanna view deluxe studio. Because we were only at Kidani one day, I was worried about talking to resort airline check in to find out when we would be getting our boarding passes and Tragical Express letter. I knew we wouldn't be getting it on our door because of the timing. The people at Coronado Springs told us we would have to talk to the people at Kidani so we felt a little rushed. Originally, I was going to just take an Uber, but R wasn't feeling comfortable with getting into a car driven by a stranger. And I didn't want bell services to transfer it for us because we had such a limited time and didn't want to wait around on luggage. So there was only one good solution - Minnie Lyft
Yes, it was more than we had to pay for such a short ride, but it was a nice experience and the husband felt safe. Our driver was very nice and gave us some great insider info about what to look for in a house if we do move to central Florida and things to try to avoid. In no time at all, we were pulling up to Kidani. I think we pulled up to the lobby around 10AM. We had been here a couple times before for dinner at Sanaa so we knew what to expect. But this time we were actually staying there!!!
The lobby definitely isn't as impressive at Jambo House but it's wonderful in its own way. More understated but still lovely.
Everything behind the registration desk is African currency.
It took longer than it should have for the CM to understand the dilemma over Magical Express and resort airline check in. It actually took two CMs to talk about this. Eventually, we got our boarding passes and the letter. Found out that DME would be picking us up at 5AM for our 8:30AM flight. At this time, R was really regretting choosing the take the first flight out LOL. I tried telling him but he wouldn't listen to reason. I asked if any rooms would be ready early so we could maximize our time in the room since we only had one day there. Not even a full 24 hours actually!!! The CM said she would make a note for housekeeping since we had already checked in. With it being DVC, it wouldn't be guaranteed until 4PM but they would see what they could do. So we checked our bags with bell services and went outside to see the animals.
As you can see in this picture, they were doing exterior work and pressure washing. It was so loud!!! I hoped we wouldn't get a room nearby so we could actually enjoy the savanna view we had booked.
It was at this time that I remembered I didn't have my gift bag with my shirt to return. So I made my way back to the front desk. They contacted the driver of the Minnie Lyft and it wasn't there. So I must have left it at CSR, waiting for the ride. They contacted the back desk at Coronado and were told they did have my bag and would send someone to Kidani with it.
We walked down to Jambo to see everything there. It felt different being a guest there rather than just passing through for dinner reservations. We saw the flamingos and it was their nap time. They certainly can sleep in some strange positions!
We went to the Mara and I got the gluten free Zebra Domes. The difference was the cookie layer was replaced with a piece of chocolate. These were really good even though I suspect the are better in their regular form.
We were starting to get hungry, we didn't know how long the room would take, so we decided to go to Disney Springs so R could eat at Polite Pig (something he wanted to repeat this trip) and I could eat at Pepe, the quick service location at Jaleo. We made our way to the bus stop and had to wait 20 minutes because we had just missed it.
We got to Disney Springs and made our way to Polite Pig. The line was sooooo long. Crazy long. I didn't want to take up more space in line and slow it down, so I found an out of the way table and waited for him. While waiting an extremely long time for him to get his food, I got the room ready text at 1PM. What?! My room was ready and I'm still waiting at DS. Let's hurry this show along. R finally showed up with food but then I had to wait until he finished eating so I could then go get something. I enjoyed Polite Pig last year but I only had the side dishes. It was too hot for me that day for that and I really, really wanted Pepe.
Here is what he ordered - the half chicken, sweet potato tots, and cole slaw. He didn't eat all the cole slaw or tots because he knew I was getting hangry. And when I'm hangry I'm not super nice LOL.
We made our way to Pepe and ordered my food. I got half the pan de cristal pepito ternera, which was a flat iron steak, caramelized onion, cheese, and mayo (everything I knew I shouldn't eat but said screw it, it's my last day LOL). You guys, this thing was soooo incredibly good. The imported bread from Spain was great, the steak was tender and well seasoned. It was probably THE BEST thing I ate all trip. For dessert, I had the leche merengada , a Spanish ice cream with sweetened milk, cinnamon, and lemon. LOVED IT!!
The only problem with this meal you ask? R ate half of all of it!!!!! Even though he had just finished his own lunch (half a chicken!!!!), he still ate mine. He said he was doing me a favor because it would cause me pain later so he was actually being very selfless. I was like get your own *&%^#% food. I'm hungry here!! So Pepe has become a must do for me every trip. And while R still enjoys Polite Pig, even he had to admit that this was a much better choice. I assumed that since half my lunch was now in his belly
Here's a picture of the men's room at Jaleo (they share facilities with the two places sharing a lounge). R took this picture so the men's room was green while the women's was bright red. Didn't like the color choice there LOL.
On the way to the bus stop to get back to Kidani, we had to make a stop at Luxury of Time, so R could waste time talking about watches. Finally I had to drag him away.
Would I do it again? Yes. And with more time, I probably would've had another box LOL.
Even the smell of food that early in the day gets me nauseous. While he enjoyed his food, I was looking at this, dreading getting on the plane. The first flight was horrendous, so I didn't have high hopes for this one.