Pre-Trip AKL Jambo/ BLT. FP+, ADR and resort tips please

Hello everyone,
I always manage to do a pretty weak pre and post trip report, but this year I am going to try to add a little more. I admit I have more questions this year than I have on a normal year. This will be my first trip with the new FP and MDE system in place; However, I will try to evaluate the system without a bias. If anything, I truly believe the system will revolutionize the theme park industry and, once the kinks are worked out, the system will improve the quality of trip for majority of parties. With that being said, here is the cast:

Myself, Jeff – I have been to WDW ~ 30 times.
My girlfriend, Kayla, who has been to the world about 4 times.
Kayla’s sister- Annika, who has only been to WDW once and does not remember the trip.
Annika’s boyfriend, Jason, who has been a couple of times.
All of us fall in the age range of 21-24.

Where: We are doing a split resort stay between Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House and Bay Lake Towers. I have done a few split stays and tend to love seeing multiple resorts. BLT is a first for all of us; however, I have been to AKL numerous times.

We will be doing 4 nights in a Savannah view studio at AKL starting May 14th.
Next will be 4 nights in a one-bedroom lake view at BLT.
We arrive early on the 14th and leave late on the 22nd.

Preliminary Plans:
14th- Dining: Sanaa (First Time)
Where: We should arrive at Jambo house by 1 PM. We just plan to use this day to explore AKL and use the amenities.

15th- Dining: Boma early in the morning (Kayla and My favorite- we will probably do this three mornings).
Where: Animal Kingdom.
MK at night. (Not sure if we will do another ADR, I tend to not like many of the restaurants at MK)
We are thinking of using a FP+ on a place to watch wishes. Does anyone know where this is or think that it is worth using as a FP selection? The other two FP will be Space and Splash.

16th- Dining: Teppan Edo (It would be a first, but we are just debating eating at the food stands -- Does anyone think the food stands can substitute for a meal?)
Where: Hollywood studios in the morning for the opening.
Epcot at night for Flower and Garden festival (Must say I am not too excited about FP + here)

17th- Dining: Boma breakfast
Where: AK in the morning / afternoon
Haven’t decided on night yet, either DHS or Epcot. Will probably try to make an ADR for this night too. Suggestions?

18th- Dining: Most likely Boma again and then switching to BLT towers
Be Our Guest for dinner.
Where: MK for EMH - I am really excited to be able to walk to our room after a long night!

19th- Dining: Mama Melrose for dinner
Where: Epcot in AM / DHS at night.
I am debating getting a FP+ for Fantasmic. Any reviews on this or how it works?

20th- Dining: Breakfast at Kona (First time)
Pool day at BLT
California grill @ 9:15

21st- Dining: Yak and Yeti for lunch (First time - any suggestions or reviews are welcome)
Where: AK in the morn / Debating between Epcot or DHS at night

22nd: Last day will probably be MK until its time to leave for the airport.

We are undecided on where to eat. I am thinking a monorail loop resort. (Am I correct in saying the monorail should be running normally by mid-May?)

 

[LucyK]

My first thought was Kona but then I saw you already had that one penciled for the 20th. Grand Floridian Cafe have great reviews but I've never eaten there personally. How about lunch at Crystal Palace inside MK? Do you like character meals or would prefer to avoid them?

If you're doing Boma twice, I'd suggest doing both breakfast and dinner. I'm not even staying at AKL and I'll be doing that because both menu are delicious!

I wholehearted recommend MM Fantasmic package. Food is great and plentiful and the Fantasmic seats are amazing, right in the middle of the theater.

Sounds like it'll be a great trip!

 

[jeffk410]

Thanks! We will probably do Boma breakfast three times. I've done dinner once before, but maybe I should give it another try. As for character meals, I normally skip them because IMO it's overpriced for quality of food.

 

[mcurtiss]

I think the EPCOT food stands are more than acceptable

 

[jeffk410]

I think the EPCOT food stands are more than acceptable

thanks for your input. It seems like there is enough judging by the pictures I have seen.

 

[PhilharMagician]

We have done the AKL/BLT split stay the last three times at WDW. One recommendation is to save all of you MK time for when you are at the MK. You will like the ability to just walk back to your resort at the end of the night. The same goes with any ADR's around the MK area. Just save them for the four days you stay @ the BLT.

Another note to help change you mind is that the bussing to DHS and AK from the Contemporary and the other MK deluxe resorts to me seems considerable slower and the busses are few and farther between that what you see at AKL. Also be prepared that if you leave the Contemporary in the evening heading to Epcot that the monorail can be quite crowded and slow. Many times when people are leaving MK they crowd both monorails and when it stops at the Contemporary nobody gets off and there is no room for riders to get on at the Contemporary. This isn't a problem earlier in the day, just in the early evening when the MK empties.

Sounds like you have a great trip planned. Enjoy yourself!!

 

[jeffk410]

We have done the AKL/BLT split stay the last three times at WDW. One recommendation is to save all of you MK time for when you are at the MK. You will like the ability to just walk back to your resort at the end of the night. The same goes with any ADR's around the MK area. Just save them for the four days you stay @ the BLT.

Another note to help change you mind is that the bussing to DHS and AK from the Contemporary and the other MK deluxe resorts to me seems considerable slower and the busses are few and farther between that what you see at AKL. Also be prepared that if you leave the Contemporary in the evening heading to Epcot that the monorail can be quite crowded and slow. Many times when people are leaving MK they crowd both monorails and when it stops at the Contemporary nobody gets off and there is no room for riders to get on at the Contemporary. This isn't a problem earlier in the day, just in the early evening when the MK empties.

Sounds like you have a great trip planned. Enjoy yourself!!

Awesome, thanks for the advice, it is really helpful. For the most part we will spend all of our MK time when we are staying at BLT. I'm glad to hear you have done this split multiple times. May I ask why you chose those two resorts for split stay?

 

[PhilharMagician]

Awesome, thanks for the advice, it is really helpful. For the most part we will spend all of our MK time when we are staying at BLT. I'm glad to hear you have done this split multiple times. May I ask why you chose those two resorts for split stay?

Absolutely.

Our favorite resort is AKL with a savannah view room. We really enjoy watching the animals on the balcony in the morning with a cup of coffee as we prepare for our day and also in the evening with a glass of wine relaxing after a long day of play. The theming, colors, pools, hanging by the fire pit talking with the CM's, the food, the atmosphere, I can go on and on with the things we love about AKL. I will say that we have moved towards Kidani being our favorite over Jambo House for a few reasons. First, the busses pick up at Kidani before Jambo for all 4 major theme parks which means in the morning around 8:00 when everyone is trying to get to rope drop the busses can be already full prior to getting to Jambo house. Secondly, Kidani seems quieter and more peaceful. I am not sure the total guest capacities, but they seem quite different with pool crowding and lobby crowding and bus stop crowding. Lastly, I like the pool at Kidani better. There is a play area if you have kids and if you don't the bar is quite large to be able to hang out for a few cocktails on a warm day.

The bonus with BLT is the walk to and from MK. It really is the absolute best amenity there. I love exiting MK after wishes or one of the holiday parties and looking over at all of the lines backed up for the busses, monorail and ferries and thinking about how long it will take them to get back to their rooms when I will be in mine in about 3 minutes. Love it!! However, the style and décor of the resort is my favorite and nothing special in my book. But beyond the styling the pool area is quite nice. I like the fact that the pool is gated and only BLT guests can use it so it stay fairly quiet. Another bonus is the Top of the World lounge. In the past we have had a light dinner up there with a couple of cocktails and have really enjoyed ourselves. The key was to get there just about when they open and there may only be 5 or 6 other people up there. It is quiet and relaxing. When you go up there check out the somewhat hidden balcony behind the actual bar. It overlooks the pool and Bay Lake. Be prepared if you go up there around the time for wishes. It gets really insane and I can tell you it is not my cup of tea. Another really nice thing I like about staying at BLT is that the Contemporary is a short walk across a covered bridge and you are on the 4th floor main concourse. There you have your shops, arcade, QS restaurant, bar and of course all the TS restaurants are close as well as the monorail which is up the escalator and specialty coffee shop which is downstairs by check-in.

One last thing is that when we have stayed in BLT we have been lucky enough to get a Lake View room with a good view of the MK. We could sit out on our balcony and watch Wishes while listening to the music piped in on our TV. It was quite cool, but the view from BLT or the Contemporary for that matter is so far off center that it just does not seem as impressive as it does in the park. With you staying in a one bedroom I don't know if there is a room that will offer the angle to get a good view of MK. We had always stayed in a studio and asked for a specific room location on the upper floors.

I would love to hear your thoughts after your stay to see what you think.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Note on Mama Melrose's - do the Fantasmic package. You won't need a FP+ for Fantasmic, you're already planning to eat there. I believe it's appetizer, meal, dessert, and it's front few rows seats for Fantasmic.

Did they change the seating? It used to be right side of Amphitheater then I heard it was changed to the middle. As far as how far back depended on how early you arrived. If you arrived 20 minutes before the show you could be in the back even though you had reserved seating in the past.

I do however recommend the Fantasmic package so you do not have to get in the general line 1+ hours in advance.

 

[jeffk410]

I don't think we will do the fantasmic package. I don't like being restricted with what I can and have to choose to eat. Do either of you know how the FP + works for F!?

 

[PhilharMagician]

It's middle, front few rows from what I've read.

Wow, they used to fill most if not all of the right side (reserved area). I wonder how this is going to work out?Maybe they reduced the QTY of dining packages

I don't think we will do the fantasmic package. I don't like being restricted with what I can and have to choose to eat. Do either of you know how the FP + works for F!?

I have not used FP+.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Did they change the seating? It used to be right side of Amphitheater then I heard it was changed to the middle. As far as how far back depended on how early you arrived. If you arrived 20 minutes before the show you could be in the back even though you had reserved seating in the past.

I do however recommend the Fantasmic package so you do not have to get in the general line 1+ hours in advance.

It is the entire middle two sections. You can sit as close or as far back as you want.

 

[PhilharMagician]

It is the entire middle two sections. You can sit as close or as far back as you want.

That makes more sense, but there are 3 sections in the middle and right side of the Amphitheater when facing the stage and 4 on the left. They should have always had the middle area used for the dining package or do nothing at all.

 

[jeffk410]

I am able to select FP + tomorrow (Possibly midnight?). Does anyone have any last minute recommendations for utilizing this system?

 

[jeffk410]

One additional question---- If we make ADR's for four people and only two of us make the reservation, will we be charged for the two who did not show up?

 

[jeffk410]

Does anyone have any suggestions for what room we should request? I was thinking the higher the better, but would love easy access to the bridge that connects BLT and Contemporary.

This also applies to what Savannah we should request at AKL Jambo.

Thanks as always.