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]

I love love love your pictures!! What a great report.

You're so sweet!! Thanks for reading!

 

[aeillill]

Great trip report, I was happy to hear that you liked the fp+, we're using the bands when we go in 10 days and I was iffy about making any fp+ reservations but decided to just go ahead and put them on now.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Great trip report, I was happy to hear that you liked the fp+, we're using the bands when we go in 10 days and I was iffy about making any fp+ reservations but decided to just go ahead and put them on now.

Thanks for reading! You should definitely try FP+ so you can form a fully rounded opinion! I hope your experience is as good as ours.

 

[Gabe1]

Fun trip! Enjoyed the family trip. If I may, your brother looked very different in almost every picture. The first sibling shot he actually looked younger than you and then the look changed...so my curiousity is now, how old is he?

A few times you guys had the patience of Job. After 3 times checking to make sure I had 3rd floor balcony I would have been very perturbed with 2nd floor. We've had the club issue at AKL, there being so far away from everything guests tend to make meals out of everything, plus the Jumbo house portion messed with the location of the club level. Not sure I find it worth it, but Adult POG juice could sway me!

Test Track, is the old hot cold room just moth-balled now?

Thanks for the report!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Fun trip! Enjoyed the family trip. If I may, your brother looked very different in almost every picture. The first sibling shot he actually looked younger than you and then the look changed...so my curiousity is now, how old is he?

A few times you guys had the patience of Job. After 3 times checking to make sure I had 3rd floor balcony I would have been very perturbed with 2nd floor. We've had the club issue at AKL, there being so far away from everything guests tend to make meals out of everything, plus the Jumbo house portion messed with the location of the club level. Not sure I find it worth it, but Adult POG juice could sway me!

Test Track, is the old hot cold room just moth-balled now?

Thanks for the report!

Haha, thanks for reading! My brother is actually six years older than me, but he's always had the baby-face out of all of us. He's 28, btw.

We were all a little irritated when we didn't get a 3rd floor balcony. Mostly because we love to sit out on the balcony in the afternoon. I still can't get over how rude people were with the food on club level. I honestly wanted to video tape them and show them how embarrassing their behavior was.

The hot/cold room in TT is just virtual. Basically you can see yourself in the car like a "mirror" but tests are being performed. Walking through TT was a little sad because it was all smoke-and-mirrors. Or should I say projections-and-sheets. Ha.