Hey there everyone. This is my first attempt at following up our trip with a day-by-day Trip Report. I've really enjoyed reading other people's reports and thought I'd draft one myself. Here goes:
DAY 1
My DH (Worldofsounds on here) and I attempted to check-in online with AirTran the night before we were to depart and found out at the last minute they had cancelled our flight. This was a stressful way to start things but luckily we were able to jump on another flight through a different airline and make it to Orlando as planned. We left San Francisco on Sunday just before midnight and arrived at MCO on Monday morning. We prefer the red-eye flight so that we don't lose a whole day of our trip in the air.
We arrived that morning and picked up our rental car at Avis. Last year we relied on WDW transportation to get around and this time we thought we'd try our own rental car. We loved it and don't think we'll ever do another trip without one (especially since we enjoy visiting the other resorts and stuff). It saved us loads of time.
After getting upgraded to a brand new SUV we made our way to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had visited the resort for the first time last year when we ate at Jiko and thought it looked incredible we were really excited to be staying here this year. When we arrived, everyone said "Welcome Home" which is such a great touch. We got ourselves checked in and they stowed our luggage because our room wasn't quite ready. We headed out to the Saratoga Springs Spa & Resort. We knew we'd have that groggy post red-eye day and thought it best to take it easy so we made massage and pedicure appointments for the afternoon. It was wonderful! I will say that I think the whole afternoon was a bit over-priced (over $500 for the two of us), but it was really a luxurious and relaxing way to start a busy week of touring. We loved the spa there and the staff were wonderful.
After our afternoon at the spa, we made our way back to the AKL and got checked into our room. They had us in a double and we had requested a King so we called down and they changed it right away. Our room was actually better than we'd expected and we had a "pool view" which we really liked.
We were met with some magical towel touches:
This Mickey towel met us upon arrival.
Our room.
Detail of African baskets hanging above our little couch.
After getting all settled in our room, we quickly made our way to Boma for the first time for our 4pm reservation. All I can say, is that it more than lived up to our incredibly high expectations. What an incredible restaurant!!! We loved it and were only disappointed that we couldn't eat as much as we wanted to without exploding. Favorites included the FuFu, the Salmon and Beef, the Couscous, Falafel, Homemade Soups, and of course the Zebra Domes!
If you haven't eaten at Boma, please believe the hype and check it out. It's an experience that isn't duplicated anywhere. We liked it so much that we squeezed it in again at the last minute later in our trip.
After gorging on Boma, we decided to check out Disney's Hollywood Studios for Extra Magic Hours.
When we arrived we grabbed Fast Passes for Rock N' Rollercoaster and first hit The Great Movie Ride. We decided to start each park with something we felt was iconic or representative of that park's theme. It was nice to see a little bit of a line for the GMR, and it moved along briskly. Even though it's a bit out-dated, we love this attraction.
The Great Movie Ride Screening Room before boarding.
Here we go!
Classic.
Next up was Tower of Terror. I love this attraction so much! Everything about it is so well done and it never disappoints. We hit up RNR and then waited in line (maybe thirty minutes?) to try out Toy Story Midway Mania. Loved it! It's a blast and of course, as mentioned by others, the line and Mr. Potato Head really are special.
After grabbing a Mickey's Premium Bar and some popcorn, it was time to call it a day (a long, wonderful day) and head back to the AKL from some deep sleep. We had a full day at Epcot to get ready for!
:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:
DAY 1
My DH (Worldofsounds on here) and I attempted to check-in online with AirTran the night before we were to depart and found out at the last minute they had cancelled our flight. This was a stressful way to start things but luckily we were able to jump on another flight through a different airline and make it to Orlando as planned. We left San Francisco on Sunday just before midnight and arrived at MCO on Monday morning. We prefer the red-eye flight so that we don't lose a whole day of our trip in the air.
We arrived that morning and picked up our rental car at Avis. Last year we relied on WDW transportation to get around and this time we thought we'd try our own rental car. We loved it and don't think we'll ever do another trip without one (especially since we enjoy visiting the other resorts and stuff). It saved us loads of time.
After getting upgraded to a brand new SUV we made our way to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had visited the resort for the first time last year when we ate at Jiko and thought it looked incredible we were really excited to be staying here this year. When we arrived, everyone said "Welcome Home" which is such a great touch. We got ourselves checked in and they stowed our luggage because our room wasn't quite ready. We headed out to the Saratoga Springs Spa & Resort. We knew we'd have that groggy post red-eye day and thought it best to take it easy so we made massage and pedicure appointments for the afternoon. It was wonderful! I will say that I think the whole afternoon was a bit over-priced (over $500 for the two of us), but it was really a luxurious and relaxing way to start a busy week of touring. We loved the spa there and the staff were wonderful.
After our afternoon at the spa, we made our way back to the AKL and got checked into our room. They had us in a double and we had requested a King so we called down and they changed it right away. Our room was actually better than we'd expected and we had a "pool view" which we really liked.
We were met with some magical towel touches:
This Mickey towel met us upon arrival.
Our room.
Detail of African baskets hanging above our little couch.
After getting all settled in our room, we quickly made our way to Boma for the first time for our 4pm reservation. All I can say, is that it more than lived up to our incredibly high expectations. What an incredible restaurant!!! We loved it and were only disappointed that we couldn't eat as much as we wanted to without exploding. Favorites included the FuFu, the Salmon and Beef, the Couscous, Falafel, Homemade Soups, and of course the Zebra Domes!
If you haven't eaten at Boma, please believe the hype and check it out. It's an experience that isn't duplicated anywhere. We liked it so much that we squeezed it in again at the last minute later in our trip.
After gorging on Boma, we decided to check out Disney's Hollywood Studios for Extra Magic Hours.
When we arrived we grabbed Fast Passes for Rock N' Rollercoaster and first hit The Great Movie Ride. We decided to start each park with something we felt was iconic or representative of that park's theme. It was nice to see a little bit of a line for the GMR, and it moved along briskly. Even though it's a bit out-dated, we love this attraction.
The Great Movie Ride Screening Room before boarding.
Here we go!
Classic.
Next up was Tower of Terror. I love this attraction so much! Everything about it is so well done and it never disappoints. We hit up RNR and then waited in line (maybe thirty minutes?) to try out Toy Story Midway Mania. Loved it! It's a blast and of course, as mentioned by others, the line and Mr. Potato Head really are special.
After grabbing a Mickey's Premium Bar and some popcorn, it was time to call it a day (a long, wonderful day) and head back to the AKL from some deep sleep. We had a full day at Epcot to get ready for!
:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:
