I suppose I should start by introducing the cast of family members. This has been a trip 2 yrs in the making. After we became DVC members, my husband and I decided it was time to bring my entire family back to the world...
This is us!
(from left to right)
Randin- my '6' year old nephew.-first timer
Jamie-My older sisters bf-first timer
My mom-hates flying, and only been to Disney once, 20 yrs ago.
Andy 32-My born again Disney fan
Me 30-Aleisha-the one in the green tank...I am a disney nut.
Dad-was so excited to be back after 15 yrs.
Hillary-sister27 Randins mom-white tank-skeptical of the whole Disney trip
Burgandy-sister-35-Jamies other half....we took her back in 08' when I was pregnant with...
Logan-18 months, his 2nd trip
and now.
Day 1 July 23rd
It was a very excited family that left Northern Virginia bright and early-and by early I mean we were at the airport at 5:30am on Saturday the 23rd. We were all a little tired, but excited at the same time to get the show on the road. Andy and I had talked about what to do with lil man, since we were still nervous about bringing a 1 and a half year old on a plane for the first time. We were sneaky and slipped him a little Dramamine in his bottle, as you can see it worked, and he conked out just before take off, we were able to snap a quick photo of his first time.
sleepy little Logan.
After a quick two hour flight, we made our way to Magical Express, boarded the bus and made our way to the Animal Kingdom Lodge were we would call home for the next week. Being a DVC member, as well as an avid Disney world fan we have stayed in numerous Disney hotels, ranging from moderate accommodations to the Deluxe Villas. And other than a quick two night stay back in February we had never before stayed in the Animal Kingdom. Mainly because Andy and I when we first saw the place, weren't exactly excited about the place and didn't think it was our cup of tea. After staying there, having the Savannah view, I can proudly say, we have dif. changed our mind. First off the service is incredible. From the moment we stepped foot on the grounds we were greeted by nothing but exceptional kindness. When we checked in, the cast member asked if it was my nephews birthday, apparently one of us had entered it in awhile ago, but didn't remember. And even though his birthday was earlier this year, I remembered the 6 months rule and said yes. They presented the little man with a Birthday button to which my sister had to explain why we were celebrating his birthday, even though it really wasn't.
I loved the African music that was piped into the lobby. We had saved our points-for non DVC members=money-to get a Savannah view figuring that this trip would be my nephews first trip we wanted to go all out for him. Though even without this I think we would have been extremely happy. The lobby itself, with the African artifacts and the views of the animals are breathtaking enough.
and this was the view we came to love. Yes this is a shot from our balcony. I swear there are animals there just not in this shot. We would often wake up grab a cup of caffeine-for some it was coffee while for others it was soda-and sit out here watching the animals do there thing in the morning.
Aww yes there is the animals!
Even my own parents who have never really understood my husbands and mines fascination, or gotten the whole Disney thing seemed quite impressed acting much like little kids running from room to room-we had a two room villa-just saying they couldn't believe the accommodations. And for the first time, it seemed as though they finally started to believe why we were smitten. Not only that but they actually said they could see why we invested the money that we have.
This made me a very happy person as you can see..and I was actually in the middle of the deck!
After dropping off our bags, We all went our separate ways for a bit, since Randin wasn't exactly willing to wait to go to a park Hillary took him off to the Magic Kingdom. Burg and Jamie went to the studio-which we also had since cramming everyone would be impossible not with two guys over 6'3. And Andy and I took my parents over to downtown to do a little shopping.
We headed to dinner at the Poly that evening, where my family got their first taste of what the Disney treatment is, mainly in the area with food. Since I have so many food allergies and my sister and my dad have a couple to add, I had told them repeatedly of the greatness and the care that Disney offers. Of course none of them expected what was to come. My dad was quite impressed with the salad raved about it in fact the rest of the trip. Throughout dinner Randin watched as the singer- I can't remember her name please forgive-kept wishing kids a Happy Birthday...and he naturally thought she would do the same for him. Unfortunately she was on her break. This of course did not stop my sister from asking the chef-since he was out about my dessert if she would make an exception and although he made no promises, five minutes later she was out wishing my nephew a very happy birthday.
I wish I would have gotten a picture of my fathers face at the whole magic Disney makes happen.After the meal, which was filling and left the group of 10 extremely happy, they began to see what has lured my husband back year after year.
And while we would have loved to enjoy the evening at the parks it had been a long day. So we decided to head back to the hotel to enjoy the evening and rest up knowing we would be hitting the parks full force the next day.
This is us!
(from left to right)
Randin- my '6' year old nephew.-first timer
Jamie-My older sisters bf-first timer
My mom-hates flying, and only been to Disney once, 20 yrs ago.
Andy 32-My born again Disney fan
Me 30-Aleisha-the one in the green tank...I am a disney nut.
Dad-was so excited to be back after 15 yrs.
Hillary-sister27 Randins mom-white tank-skeptical of the whole Disney trip
Burgandy-sister-35-Jamies other half....we took her back in 08' when I was pregnant with...
Logan-18 months, his 2nd trip
and now.
Day 1 July 23rd
It was a very excited family that left Northern Virginia bright and early-and by early I mean we were at the airport at 5:30am on Saturday the 23rd. We were all a little tired, but excited at the same time to get the show on the road. Andy and I had talked about what to do with lil man, since we were still nervous about bringing a 1 and a half year old on a plane for the first time. We were sneaky and slipped him a little Dramamine in his bottle, as you can see it worked, and he conked out just before take off, we were able to snap a quick photo of his first time.
After a quick two hour flight, we made our way to Magical Express, boarded the bus and made our way to the Animal Kingdom Lodge were we would call home for the next week. Being a DVC member, as well as an avid Disney world fan we have stayed in numerous Disney hotels, ranging from moderate accommodations to the Deluxe Villas. And other than a quick two night stay back in February we had never before stayed in the Animal Kingdom. Mainly because Andy and I when we first saw the place, weren't exactly excited about the place and didn't think it was our cup of tea. After staying there, having the Savannah view, I can proudly say, we have dif. changed our mind. First off the service is incredible. From the moment we stepped foot on the grounds we were greeted by nothing but exceptional kindness. When we checked in, the cast member asked if it was my nephews birthday, apparently one of us had entered it in awhile ago, but didn't remember. And even though his birthday was earlier this year, I remembered the 6 months rule and said yes. They presented the little man with a Birthday button to which my sister had to explain why we were celebrating his birthday, even though it really wasn't.
I loved the African music that was piped into the lobby. We had saved our points-for non DVC members=money-to get a Savannah view figuring that this trip would be my nephews first trip we wanted to go all out for him. Though even without this I think we would have been extremely happy. The lobby itself, with the African artifacts and the views of the animals are breathtaking enough.
Aww yes there is the animals!
Even my own parents who have never really understood my husbands and mines fascination, or gotten the whole Disney thing seemed quite impressed acting much like little kids running from room to room-we had a two room villa-just saying they couldn't believe the accommodations. And for the first time, it seemed as though they finally started to believe why we were smitten. Not only that but they actually said they could see why we invested the money that we have.
This made me a very happy person as you can see..and I was actually in the middle of the deck!
After dropping off our bags, We all went our separate ways for a bit, since Randin wasn't exactly willing to wait to go to a park Hillary took him off to the Magic Kingdom. Burg and Jamie went to the studio-which we also had since cramming everyone would be impossible not with two guys over 6'3. And Andy and I took my parents over to downtown to do a little shopping.
I wish I would have gotten a picture of my fathers face at the whole magic Disney makes happen.After the meal, which was filling and left the group of 10 extremely happy, they began to see what has lured my husband back year after year.
And while we would have loved to enjoy the evening at the parks it had been a long day. So we decided to head back to the hotel to enjoy the evening and rest up knowing we would be hitting the parks full force the next day.
