Poncho Up, Find a Plug and Keep On Havin' Fun Trip Report

Hello, everybody! I guess I’ll start my report. Just to recap from my pre-trip report, I’m Jennifer. My hubby is Lance and two boys are Cameron and Wyatt. Our trip started on Wednesday, June 5th, the last day of school, and we got back on Thursday, June 13th.



I guess I’ll start on Tuesday the 4th. Although I normally get to bed before 10p, I was up ‘til 11 and woke up on the 5th at 3a. My mind wouldn’t calm down. So, we dropped Annabelle off at the Happy Mailman, got the kids off to school and ran a couple last minute errands.

Lance and I packed and ended up needing our really large suitcase and a normal sized suitcase, making sure our super duper sized suitcase was less than 50 lbs. without forgetting anything (ha!). We cleaned, since our neighbor was cat sitting, and left the house to pick up the boys 2.5 hours before the final bell. They were OK missing out on their last little bit of class time. We picked up our older son lunch and made it to the FastPark lot.

We got to the airport, through security and waited for the plane.


Our flight was good


but a little turbulent on the way down.

We got our bags and headed to Magical Express. We quickly got on our bus. Coronado Springs was the first stop – whooo hooo! We were checked in by a CM from France (I kept getting him to talk.) and were placed in Casitas. We wanted to be near the Dig Site and were relocated to Ranchos 7A.



Since it was past dinner time, we dropped off our bags and walked back for a chicken caesar wrap for me, hot dogs for the boys and a burger for Lance at Café Rix (no pics).

We mulled over our plans with the tropical storm and decided to make a final decision in the morning when we saw what they expected the effects to be.

I hope the pictures look OK and are sized well and hope you enjoy reading.

 

[Shere_Khan]

Was this your first time staying at CSR?
It has quickly become one of my favorite resorts!

Love the TR!

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

Was this your first time staying at CSR?
It has quickly become one of my favorite resorts!

Love the TR!

Yes, it was. We don't make it to WDW very often. Our first stay was CBR, and we split this stay between CSR and AKL. Thanks for reading!

We had a corner room just next to the wooden bridge ove the little stream at the back of the main lake

How cool! Ours faced the parking lot, but I didn't mind. It is always a short walk to a great view.

 

[King Panda 77]

We had a corner room just next to the wooden bridge ove the little stream at the back of the main lake

Would have been the corner of 6A looking towards the lake and casitas

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

My laptop just hiccuped, and I lost half of the rest of the day's report. I've started on a Word doc, so I won't lose it again. Urg!

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

Would have been the corner of 6A looking towards the lake and casitas

We were in 7B.

 

[King Panda 77]

We were in 7B.

The only part of the Rancero's we haven't stayed in (yet)

 

[myhappyplace]

First off...LOVE this picture...


And I will repeat it with you...BEAUJOLAIS!!! OK, I think I kind of screamed it, but that's not such a bad thing when drinking is involved.

I was looking at your score on Buzz and I'll be honest, you'd beat me. I'm awful! I think I even asked for advice on here one time...didn't help.

I know there were other things I wanted to comment on...but now I can't remember. Oh well, can't wait to read more!

Agreed, LOVE this picture! The way the sunlight is streaming over those glorious treats...YUM. And your boys are adorable! I'm still reading along, but loving your report

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

The only part of the Rancero's we haven't stayed in (yet)

It was a pleasantly brief walk to the bus stop without feeling like the parked cars were at our doorstep. I should have taken a pic from our door.

Agreed, LOVE this picture! The way the sunlight is streaming over those glorious treats...YUM. And your boys are adorable! I'm still reading along, but loving your report

Yes, like divine grace showering approval. Come to think of it, I think I did faintly hear angels singing. Thanks and thanks for reading!

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

So, the bus made its second stop at DTD, stopped off at (I think) Typhoon Lagoon again and headed to our second home. Yes, the drive took a bit of time, but we were so looking forward to our stay. And it didn’t disappoint.





We walked into the lobby, and I fell in love. Everybody had his or her favorite resort, and this is mine.



We checked in with a funny CM from Houston. Ironically, he was about to leave for his vacation in New Braunfels, Texas. All chuckled about our trading states for vacations. I mentioned the next day was Lance’s birthday and requested and received a birthday button with the strict warning that he would tell the other CMs to make sure Lance wore it. More sheepish chuckles.

When we booked Animal Kingdom Lodge, we only booked a standard view since we wouldn’t be at the resort much. Hans, the CM, gave us our map with our room circled and I knew we didn’t have a standard view. The Mouse upgraded us to a Sunset Savannah view on the Kudu Trail. Oh, we were like kids at Christmas! Yes, it was about the same size as the Moderate resorts, but we didn’t mind. Although the shower/water closet is very small.



The view was great. Our welcoming committee soon arrived




and bid us a hearty JAMBO!

Oh, how I didn’t want to leave that balcony. We got ready for a swim. The boys and I headed down while Lance waited briefly for Bell Services to bring up the luggage. All was well. Wyatt got a little pouty since Cameron got to hit the down and first floor buttons on the elevator. Dude, you hit most of the elevator buttons at CSR. Really?! Cameron is a good swimmer so I let him go ahead. He made his way to the slide which he went down over and over. Lance joined us, and Wyatt got over his issue.

We spent a little time at the pool and headed back up towards the room. We got cleaned and gussied up for Boma. We got there right at 6pm and were called with a five or so minute wait. Jeff was a great waiter. CMs entertained the diners with singing and drumming.






Slacking off again, I didn’t take pictures of our plates because our selections didn’t stay put for long. We ordered a half carafe of a South African syrah. I remember having the bobotie, watermelon rind salad, butternut squash soup, beef sliced while waiting, “feisty” green beans (I think that’s what they were called.), and garden salad and could kick myself for not taking pictures. Being a not-adventurous eater, I was concerned that I wouldn’t like the selections, but everything was delicious. Lance and I ate A LOT. Cameron didn’t like what we gave him to try and stuck with the mac & cheese. Wyatt complained about having a sore throat. But when I took him up to view the dessert selections, his sore throat felt better after eating the strawberry mint thing. Funny how that happened.

Oh, my! Here we have clockwise a fruit cobbler, the famed Zebra Domes, a cheesecake thing, (I think) a mocha thing and brownie. They taste as good as they look.



Jeff brought out a birthday surprise for Lance.




With our bill in black and white, we discussed how we should have signed at least Wyatt up for the kids’ club. It would have been cheaper. Here we are stuffed.



We rolled out of there, making a stop at one of the Arusha Rock overlooks for more relaxing time. AKL is so educational. Loved it!








We got ready for bed for our next busy day – Animal Kingdom and back to Hollywood Studios.

 

[Littlekitten73]

Before I continue in the morning, I'm not a gifted photographer, so please be kind.

My title encompasses a lot of recurring themes of our trip. (1) We carried ponchos with us the whole time. (2) I'm in a facebook June DisneyWorld trip group, so I was constantly checking the My Disney Experience app for wait times, posting in the group or reading other posts. Needless to say, whenever we stopped somewhere, I looked for an outlet to charge up the phone, usually during a meal. Depending on how you look at it(fortunately or unfortunately), most of the time in lines, we didn't stay in one place long enough to plug in. (3) All in all, we had a fantastic trip. I could give you a long list of what we didn't get done, but we LOVED so much of our trip. I can't wait to share it with y'all.

Nothing wrong with your pics, they look great to me.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

Nothing wrong with your pics, they look great to me.

Thanks for the feedback. They text and pics look different on my laptop and then on my work computer. Different settings, I guess.

 

[MouseDreaming]

Love your report, so far! CSR and AKL. Nice upgrade, too!

 

[jhoff3405]

LOVE your rain day in MK! I never understand when families flock out due to rain...throw those ponchos on and go!
Your husband and Beverly, classic. I had my sis in law try it last summer and had the camera ready for "the shot," and she LIKED it!!!!

Love how you threw in the elevator button issue. Isn't it simply crazy what our darlings get worked up about?

Your family is beautiful, and the boys to die for.


Looking forward to more!

 

[livelove14]

How did you like CSR?! I'm staying at there later this week and wanted to know how it was!

 

[jenluvswdw]

I loved that you spilt you stay! One of these years I will do that! Yay, up grade! Good for you. We are trying out Boma on our up coming trip. So glad you liked it!

 

[stevehousse]

Very glad u said that u liked Boma because my DW and kids can sometimes be picky eaters! I wanted the Boma ADR because its as close to Jiko as ill get until the boys r a little older!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Again, I'm sorry. It took all my strength to settle for sharing a cookie. They loved the trading. More to come. Thank you for the prompting. It seems like forever ago that you wrote your report.

The report really was a million years ago. With the way time flies, I swear it feels like we took that trip a couple of years ago.

I'm also really glad you posted this part of your report...I recall reading the tail end part of the CSR stay the other night and thinking "but I thought they were splitting and staying at AKL." You've officially confirmed that I haven't totally lost my mind! How awesome that you got bumped up to a savannah view room! My brother had that happen when they stayed there, and he just wasn't nearly as excited as he should have been. Glad you found food you enjoyed at Boma. There was some couscous that I loved when we dined there back in 2010. Also what an awesome bday treat! I haven't seen anything like that before. Very cool.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

I loved that you spilt you stay! One of these years I will do that! Yay, up grade! Good for you. We are trying out Boma on our up coming trip. So glad you liked it!

Thanks! It was really easy for us. I've read people having problems but our move was smooth.

How did you like CSR?! I'm staying at there later this week and wanted to know how it was!

It was great! The grounds are beautiful; the rooms are nice; it's centrally located on WDW property; the buses were mostly timely; CMs were very nice. I could go on.

Love your report, so far! CSR and AKL. Nice upgrade, too!

Thanks! You're coming up in a few days.

LOVE your rain day in MK! I never understand when families flock out due to rain...throw those ponchos on and go!
Your husband and Beverly, classic. I had my sis in law try it last summer and had the camera ready for "the shot," and she LIKED it!!!!

Love how you threw in the elevator button issue. Isn't it simply crazy what our darlings get worked up about?

Your family is beautiful, and the boys to die for.


Looking forward to more!

I know, right?! Normally, I wouldn't get out in the rain if you paid me, but we're at DisneyWorld! Mother Nature wasn't throwing lightning, so we kept on going.

Thank you! They're two years apart and can be the best of friends and the worst of friends.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

Very glad u said that u liked Boma because my DW and kids can sometimes be picky eaters! I wanted the Boma ADR because its as close to Jiko as ill get until the boys r a little older!

Like I said, it was a hit with us but not so much with the kids. I think waiting would be wise.

The report really was a million years ago. With the way time flies, I swear it feels like we took that trip a couple of years ago.

I'm also really glad you posted this part of your report...I recall reading the tail end part of the CSR stay the other night and thinking "but I thought they were splitting and staying at AKL." You've officially confirmed that I haven't totally lost my mind! How awesome that you got bumped up to a savannah view room! My brother had that happen when they stayed there, and he just wasn't nearly as excited as he should have been. Glad you found food you enjoyed at Boma. There was some couscous that I loved when we dined there back in 2010. Also what an awesome bday treat! I haven't seen anything like that before. Very cool.

That's OK. It's hard keeping up with everybody and everything. It was really exciting to get the upgrade. Thanks, Mickey!!! Oh, yes! And the couscous had a good flavor, too.

Lance's dessert was a cookie like crust with a chocolate raspberry ganache. Yum my!

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

With three Park days left in our trip, it was crunch time. Since our Saturday was cut short between monsoon and fever, we decided to slim down our Animal Kingdom day and devote a little more time at DHS.

First, I woke up early and spent a little time on the balcony.



It was morning EMH at AK and our first bus trip from AKL - one bus stop divided among the destinations. It is what it is, the good and the bad. We were up and out without a long bus wait, and Lance had his birthday button. We made it through the long line to get in the Park. We headed to the Expedition Everest Fastpass machine before riding it. I love the artifact displays but not when I'd rather be next in line. Plus, I really wanted to find Hidden Mickeys.

Again, the boys loved it.

We then walked swiftly to Dinosaur!. Lance rode it on our last visit, but it was new for the rest of us.





Wyatt liked it, but Cameron would be fine if he never see it again. We went back to EE. I kept the camera out this time.








Before it got any hotter than it already was, we made our way to Safari. Looking at the wait time, we opted for fastpasses. A photopass photographer was nearby and ready to take our pics and do a couple magic shots (reminder I need to start working on those).



A decision was made to skip Pangini and go with the jungle trek.



Wyatt loves tigers.





Lance was pulled out to participate in the birthday celebration.




I wanted to stop and watch the wood carver. Such beautiful work.



The boys didn't want to meet and greet Russell and Dug. We had to watch It's Tough to Be a Bug. First we had to get a pic of the boys that we got on our last trip. (That hair!)


I totally love at the end of 'Bug when the little bugs leave the theater first and we feel it on the seats. LOVE IT! Cameron misssed it since he sat on his feet the whole time. The seat was wet.

Time for our safari.







The lions were already pooped and were NOT entertaining company.



Lunch was going to be at Flame Tree. No ifs, ands or buts. Wyatt had his pb&j, Cameron - hot dog, and Lance and I split the chicken/ribs combo.





It was getting hot and sunny. We missed alot, and I regret it, but we left AK.