Trip Report Even the Ostrich Wore a MagicBand! An August 2013 TR

Welcome back! Some of you may remember reading about my trip a couple months ago filled with cupcakes, cupcakes, and rain (this exciting adventure can be found here). That trip was our introduction to the summer- now it’s time for the real-deal vacation! Before we get on with our adventure, here’s a little info:

Who: Me, Trolley (or Emily), my Mom (@Tuvalu), Dad, and a special appearance by Big Brother at the end of the trip!

When: August 3-11, 2013

Where: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney’s Polynesian Resort (go big or go home, in my opinion!)

MagicBands: Prior to leaving for our vacation, I was out of the country for two and a half weeks. While abroad, I got an email from Mom saying we had been selected for the trial of MagicBands and she wanted to know my opinion about participating. Before I had a chance to answer, I got another email saying my band was pink and our FP+ reservations were booked. I totally would have given my mom the green light, but I guess she was so excited to get selected for something, she jumped the gun . Our MagicBands arrived FedEx in a cool package. Initially, I was not in favor of wearing the MagicBand or participating in FP+. However, keep reading and my opinion may surprise you…





Alright, enough talking. Everybody neat and pretty? Then, let’s get on with the show!

August 3: Arrival Day!

We were on the road by 6:20 and made a quick Chick-fil-A stop in Macon (gotta have my biscuit fix!). We didn’t stop again until Gainesville where we lunched at Sonny’s BBQ. Full bellies later, we were back on the road and arriving at WDW in no time.

We arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge around 2:30. It was a very unusual choice for us, considering we don’t really like animals or Animal Kingdom, but I have this weird desire to stay at every non-DVC resort on property. With the AKL stay, I will have conquered every deluxe! I’m not going to lie, the lobby is beautiful. Not quite Wilderness Lodge standards, but pretty close.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

While we waited to get let into the theater, I instagrammed.





Soon we were let into the theater. It was still roasting because it is an amphitheater, but it was nice to sit down.

Oh hey, Guano Joe!






Hedwig! Oh, uh, er….




I think this show is a somewhat hidden gem at AK. The birds are super talented and it’s great because they’re shown off doing things that are natural to them. They really incorporate the audience into it and have birds flying all around the theater, which adds for good views no matter where you sit.



My favorite bird, Frasier Crane!


Amerrriccaaaa, spread your golden wings, sail on freedom’s wind, across the….whoops, wrong show!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Wow, Fantasmic looks pretty cool to me. Not seen it yet!

I'm gonna be honest- it looks better in photographs, ha. To me, it's a lot of effort to see with little payoff. I know some people really like it, it's just not my cup of tea.

 

[RandomPrincess]

I've still never done Flights of Wonder. I'm thinking my kids would love it though!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

I've still never done Flights of Wonder. I'm thinking my kids would love it though!

You definitely need to do it! I would highly recommend it for kids.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

After we watched the birds, it was time for our FP+ reservation:



Two rides on Everest is definitely my limit, so it we headed to Africa for our FP+ on the Safari. This FP was actually really beneficial- we bypassed a super long line!

I always try to contain myself with photos on the safari. I always come home with hundreds and never feel like editing them or looking at them again. This time I only took a few, but honestly there were no animals out. I guess it was too hot for them. Exhibit A:







After our two weeks was cut short, we stopped at the Kusafiri for dessert to take to lunch!





Hello, Paw Print Brownie!


For lunch we decided on Flame Tree Barbeque. I grabbed a table while my parents grabbed the food.

This is definitely the most beautiful view of Everest:





For lunch, I had the ribs. Mom had the chicken and Dad had the salad:



Here’s the deal. If I order a half rack of ribs, I need something other than a plastic knife to cut them. Plus, they were a little overdone so I couldn’t even pull them apart. I ended up gnawing on them as a rack. It was not very lady like. The standout, however, was the chicken. It was smoky, moist, and full of flavor. Dad said his salad was really good. I also enjoyed the baked beans, which had pieces of pulled pork in them (yum!) but Mom said the coleslaw was inedible due to the size of the cabbage.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

We were pretty much done with everything we wanted to do in AK, so we decided to head towards the exit. We stopped in the gift shop (because we had a 20% off before 1 pm coupons) and I broke my own rule. I bought a Vinylmation. Ok, so I actually bought 2 Vinylmations. I always thought they were ugly and it bothered me that they were a blind purchase. At least it did bother me- until I saw the Monsters University set. And I wanted them all. I introduce to you Mrs. Squibbles!



And I decided that if I was going to break my own rule, I might as well really break it and buy two. So I went with the Beauty and the Beast Collection.



Unfortunately, while I was purchasing my Vinylmations, it began to rain. And rain. So we waited until it died out a little bit and then fast-walked to the bus. We arrived back at the room, and according to my mother, I took a nap and she went to the pool. I just love Disney naps. After I awoke, I went to find my mom in the pool. It was really overcast outside, but we waded in the water for about an hour. We decided to leave to get ready for our dinner at Boma! Of course, as soon as we put our coverups back on, the sun comes out. Just our luck.

I got ready first and then went exploring the Overlook with my dad while my mom finished getting ready in the room. We saw a couple of giraffes walking around.







It then started to rain big drops so we ducked inside the lobby.



We went up to the main level and found a covered patio to sit on. Unfortunately, some people had already claimed the rocking chairs so we just stood outside for a minute.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Dad and I then wandered over to Boma to wait for my mom to meet us there. I love the way the bar sits above the restaurant:









I see you, desserts. I see you!


Mom met us at the check in desk and we waited maybe 5 minutes for our table.



We wasted no time before starting to chow down. First off, my absolute favorite chicken corn chowder!



I think I would take a bath in this soup if it was socially acceptable. I had three bowls that night…

Some of my buffet choices included beef and pork and “feisty” green beans. What made them so snappy, I’m not sure.



I also enjoyed a rose.


And the best part: dessert! Of course, there are the awesome zebra domes, but they also had a whipped coffee and chocolate tart that was so good. It had just enough coffee taste to be refreshing.



The waiter brought the check, and I was actually able to use my MagicBand to pay for dinner. Every table service restaurant has portable readers that scan the band and asks for your pin number. The waiter still had to take our Tables in Wonderland card, but it was still cool technology! This dinner actually ended up being one of my favorites on the trip. I love the atmosphere of the restaurant and the great somewhat exotic food!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

After dinner, we took a walk around the gift shop. All of the AKL specific merchandise is adorable! They also had these shirts. At the time, I thought they were hilarious. Now, I kind of want one before the whole world has a MagicBand.



My personal favorite:




We made a few purchases and then headed back to the room. Since it stopped raining, I whipped out my Gorillapod to try some night photos! It was my first time dealing with long exposures, but luckily I hit Blue Hour which made for a gorgeous sky!

Off the balcony:




Then I left the room and headed to the Overlook of the main savannah.









I decided to wander over to the pool. Along the way, I got to try out the night vision goggles they set up to look out at the savannah. It was a really cool experience, though unfortunately there were no animals in the vicinity to look at. It was still neat to see the trees like it was daytime even though it was actually pitch black!







I then decided to head back to our room. We were tired and had a big day switching hotels the next day!

Up Next: Livin’ the high life

 

[fractal]

Whoa! Great pictures from AK! Especially love the one at Flights of Wonder ( the owl flying is great!). Love FoW; sad we didn't get to see it last trip.

Terrific report so far!

 

[jkl2000]

It's always a little disheartening to realize that someone doing a great TR actually knows something about photography - it means my photos will just end up not looking nearly as good!

 

[Kristia]

Beautiful photos, especially the ones in the evening at AKL! Glad to read about your experience with the magic bands. Just curious though...for Studios, you seemed to pick ones that didn't necessarily need a fastpass for like GMR and Muppets. Was this because you don't care for the things like RNRC or TOT or because those were the choices given? Dry ribs...ugh....it doesn't seem like ribs are that hard to do in large quantities and keep them moist and flavorful. Mine were not good at Whispering Canyon this time around.

Funny you should mention the vinylmations. When I first saw them, I thought they were the ugliest things. I have 4 of them now. My most recent I purchased on this past trip also from the Beauty and the Beast collection!
Boma!!! Love Boma!! Wish I could have gotten there this time.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Whoa! Great pictures from AK! Especially love the one at Flights of Wonder ( the owl flying is great!). Love FoW; sad we didn't get to see it last trip.

Terrific report so far!

Thanks so much! It means a lot to me for you to say that. FoW is a really fun show, we used to see it all the time so I got a little tired of it but it was really good to see it again.

It's always a little disheartening to realize that someone doing a great TR actually knows something about photography - it means my photos will just end up not looking nearly as good!

Aww, thanks! I read lots of blogs and look at other people's photos to get ideas. If I can figure out this photography thing, anyone can!

Beautiful photos, especially the ones in the evening at AKL! Glad to read about your experience with the magic bands. Just curious though...for Studios, you seemed to pick ones that didn't necessarily need a fastpass for like GMR and Muppets. Was this because you don't care for the things like RNRC or TOT or because those were the choices given? Dry ribs...ugh....it doesn't seem like ribs are that hard to do in large quantities and keep them moist and flavorful. Mine were not good at Whispering Canyon this time around.

Funny you should mention the vinylmations. When I first saw them, I thought they were the ugliest things. I have 4 of them now. My most recent I purchased on this past trip also from the Beauty and the Beast collection!
Boma!!! Love Boma!! Wish I could have gotten there this time.

Thanks for your comments! It's actually funny you should mention our FP+ choices. My mom made all the reservations while I was out of the country, so I can say I had zero input. I actually kind of made fun of the fact we had FP+ for things we didn't actually need them for. I know she chose Muppets because it went under refurbishment the next day and we had RnR and ToT FP+ for our next trip to the Studios, so GMR was the default choice. (My mom doesn't ride RnR or ToT either, so I think she wanted to be a part of our MagicBand experience on the first day).

And Boma- ahh I'm drooling! The last time I ate there I was probably 13 so I had zero appreciation for the food. Now, I think it is delicious! We will definitely put it on the short list of places we love to eat! Thanks for reading- I'm enjoying your TR, too

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

August 5: Deluxe to the Max!

We were up early to move to our next resort- the Polynesian! We packed up our car and headed to the new resort. Our favorite building to stay in at the Poly is Tuvalu. However, no room discounts were released for theme park view rooms (oh yeah, we love looking at Cindy’s castle from our balcony) and Tuvalu had the potential of being under refurbishment while we were there, we had to settle for the next best thing.

We had to settle for Hawaii. (For those who don’t know, Hawaii is the Club Level Building at the Poly). Ironically, theme park view club level was cheaper than a regular theme park view with the discounts released earlier this year. I mean, I’ll settle for the gold key card!

We stopped in the Great Ceremonial House first since there was no one greeting us in front of the entrance.







Even Mike loves the Poly:


We were told we could finish our check-in process at Hawaii, so we headed that way.



My mom was excited to see CM Holli working at the check-in desk. Holli had worked with my Mom and Dad when they stayed in Hawaii on their 30th anniversary. If you ever stay in Hawaii, make sure you ask for Holli- she rocks!



Unfortunately, there was some issue with our account that needed to be worked out, so check-in took a lot longer than expected. My mom had also requested a 3rd floor room three times before we left for vacation, however we were assigned a 2nd floor room (2nd floor rooms in Hawaii have no balconies, which is essential to our style of vacationing). Holli was able to get us a 3rd floor room on Wednesday- so we would have to stay on the 2nd floor two nights and then switch. No problem, I just wanted to get to the MK!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Our room was ready, so we went to use the bathroom before we headed back to the monorail. Of course, I needed pictures in a stuff-free room!







Love the new bathrooms, except for the lack of a towel hook outside of the shower! I don’t understand why there isn’t one.





Since check-in took much longer than expected, we were late arriving to the MK. While on the monorail, I was able to switch around some of our FP reservations to better fit our schedule. If I remember correctly, we had BTMRR and Space Mountain right after lunch, so we switched those to be late afternoon. The MyDisneyExperience App is incredible slow, but I was able to switch the times fairly easily. We had the pick of any hour we wanted! I was really beginning to like this FP+ thing…

Our first stop was Sleepy Hollow to get a Nutella Waffle! (Note to self: if you’re going to switch resorts in the morning, make sure you eat something! We were SO hungry!).

While the waffle was freshly ironed, I took pictures.











Finally, some food!



The Nutella Waffle is one of my favorite breakfasts. I never thought I liked Nutella before that, but boy was I ever wrong. It is a weekly treat now in my house!

When we finished scarfing down breakfast, we headed to Haunted Mansion. With the implementation of FP+, all the standby guests are required to walk through the cemetery. This is a huge bummer as we always cut off a portion of the line by not walking it. Luckily, this time the line wasn’t very long.

 

[Tiggerish]

I'm a FoW fan, too. Great photo of the owl in flight...lucky get, or are you just that good?

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

As you may know, I’m a huge Trolley Singers fan (in case the name didn’t give it away!). We have certain performers who we know and talk to. Unfortunately, none of these performers have been working the LTM edition of the show. It was disappointing not to see them, and I really did not like the show as well (what’s the point if I can’t sing along! )









Goodbye, trolley people!


After the show, we walked to Peter Pan’s Flight for our FP+. It’s so nice to skip the lines. We got regular paper Fastpasses for Pooh and then did it’s a small world, where I hit up a little iphoneography.





We then cashed in our Pooh Fastpass, and my mom ran to get another paper ticket for the Little Mermaid. Then it was time for our favorite part of the day- lunch! We got in line at BOG and had a short wait.









I love the details of this restaurant! And the food also happens to be really good…



I thought it was so nice that they have umbrellas and water coolers to help with the wait to get inside the building. This is an example of Disney truly caring about their guests!







Before I knew it, we were sitting at our table.


Introducing to the WDWMagic world, TrolleyFollower and Tuvalu!

My dad and I had my new favorite, the roast beef sandwich.



Mom got the carved turkey sandwich, which she really liked.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

I'm a FoW fan, too. Great photo of the owl in flight...lucky get, or are you just that good?

I don't photograph and tell But it was totally luck!

 

[Kristia]

Thanks for your comments! It's actually funny you should mention our FP+ choices. My mom made all the reservations while I was out of the country, so I can say I had zero input. I actually kind of made fun of the fact we had FP+ for things we didn't actually need them for. I know she chose Muppets because it went under refurbishment the next day and we had RnR and ToT FP+ for our next trip to the Studios, so GMR was the default choice. (My mom doesn't ride RnR or ToT either, so I think she wanted to be a part of our MagicBand experience on the first day).

And Boma- ahh I'm drooling! The last time I ate there I was probably 13 so I had zero appreciation for the food. Now, I think it is delicious! We will definitely put it on the short list of places we love to eat! Thanks for reading- I'm enjoying your TR, too

Actually, now that I think about it GMR may have been a good choice for FP+. We didn't get on it because the wait was 30-40 min while we were at DHS! Crowds were crazy this trip!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Actually, now that I think about it GMR may have been a good choice for FP+. We didn't get on it because the wait was 30-40 min while we were at DHS! Crowds were crazy this trip!

I agree- crowds were insane. We were there in June and the crowds were not nearly as bad!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

After lunch, we used our FP for Little Mermaid, where I iphoned again for pictures.









We had 1:30 reservations for ice cream at the Plaza, so we took the train to Main Street.





Two of my favorite people!




The Plaza was running a bit behind, so we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. We didn’t mind, though we watched a very angry man slam his pager down and go get a hot dog at Casey’s. And then it started to rain as he ate it outside. Naturally, he came back to the Plaza and gave a 15 minute earful to the manager. I felt so sorry for that manager!

We got our yummy desserts. Mom had the shake, Dad and I got sundaes.