Getting Wild Disney Style TR About This Page:

[MayraLR]

Sorry for the long delay but summer has been crazy busy.

For those of you joining me for the first time, I'm Mayra and I am a Disney addict. As a family this was our 5th trip to WDW and our second trip staying onsite. We're now hooked on Disney resorts and we won't vacation any other way. This trip was also our first time staying Deluxe. If you want to read about all the planning you can go back to my PTR: http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...style-ptr.html

And now I leave you with my trip report...

Getting Wild Disney Style

June 1 & June 2

The day before our departure day was kind of busy. We went to church early in the morning. Then we got back home and did a couple of things. I like arriving to a clean house.

My parents were cooking for us today, per Arben's request, so that's where we headed next. My sister was also going to be there, she had arrived from a cruise the day before. We had a nice meal and said our goodbyes. My dad did his usual routine, you know he had "the talk" with me and told me he wouldn't relax until we got back. My dad is very anxious and nervous all the time and he's crazy about those kids of mine. So the thought of them being away for so long was driving him bananas.

Our next stop was my inlaws' house. We spent some time there and then it was back to our house.

I finished the last minute packing and weighed the suitcases. All three were almost at the 40 lb limit. Stupid Spirit and their stupidly low weight limit. We absolutely knew we'd buy another suitcase while in Orlando as there was no way anything we bought would fit in the ones we had.

We all took showers and I pleaded with everyone to get naps. Arben and the two youngest were successful with that. AJ and I, not so much.

Soon it was time to start packing up the car. My bil was taking us to the airport, which is a short drive from our house. We left our house at 12:00 am.


A quick selfie before leaving.

I had done online check-in and printed out our boarding passes, so we just headed directly to bag drop off. And thank goodness for that because the lines were insane. We headed towards security check and Arben's bag was taken for extra screening. He had Adriel's nebulizer machine in it. They had to run tests on the machine and Arben had his hands tested. Ooops

After that we settled down to wait for our flight. There were some friends who were on our same flight and we spent some time talking to them. Of course, my kids got hungry immediately. There was a small cafeteria there, so Arben got 2 sandwiches (very small, btw) and 4 drinks. Total = $21. You know, preparing us for Disney prices.

After that I made everyone take bathroom breaks. Soon it was 2:30 am and time to start boarding. We found our seats and settled down, with Adriel, Arben & me on one side and AJ and Abniel on the other side.






Then the first funny situation of the trip happened. Arben took his cellphone out and connected his headphones to it. He started playing a video, only that the headphones weren't properly inserted so the music started playing loudly. Of course he didn't know how to react and instead of just lowering the volume he started trying to pause the video, unsuccessfully. I took the cellphone away and stopped the video. Then I looked at AJ and we burst out with laughter. It took us a couple of minutes to calm down.

We took off and thankfully had an uneventful flight. Soon were landing in Fort Lauderdale. We said goodbye to our friends, who were staying there. My kids were hungry again so off they went to find something. I requested some coffee and a danish. They came back with a couple of Nathan's hot dogs and soda for them. It was like 6:30 am and they were eating hot dogs. For me, coffee and a giant chocolate chip cookie . Not exactly what I wanted but there was nothing else. My coffee tasted kind of funny. AJ confessed that it was decaf. Since you prepare it yourself, Arben mistakenly chose decaf and then told them not to tell me. He thought maybe I wouldn't notice.

Boarding was right on time and before we knew it we were landing in Orlando. It seems we were in the air for just half an hour. I find this connecting flight very unnecessary but then again, when does Spirit do anything logical. Apparently our time flying wasn't enough so the pilot decided to drive around for 10 more minutes.

We were finally able to get off and our first stop was... you guessed it - the bathroom. From there it was off to the shuttle and then to Magical Express.


That's what an overnight flight looks like.

We went directly to our bus and at 9:20 we were on our way. We made stops at Pop Century and Art of Animation. BTW, AoA looks really cool. I'd like to stay there some day.

Then we were off to AKL, we were the only ones on the bus. The driver got confused and stopped at Jambo House and I told him we were actually going to Kidani. No biggie, we got to see this one too.

We got to our home for the next 12 days and there was a CM waiting for us at the entrance. How cool! She checked us in, gave us our packet and told us our room was ready. It was 10:30. Awesome!

Our room was on the 4th floor very close to the elevators, so no walking 5 miles to get to our room. We didn't get the Savannah view I requested but I wasn't really counting on it. If we had gotten it, it would've been pure luck.

Before everyone started wrecking the room, I took some pictures.




Kitchen Area


Kitchen Area looking towards Living Room (Can somebody please close those curtains )


Living Room / Kid's Room (with Arben in it)


Breakfast Area (Hey, who's shoes are those? Actually they're mine )




Master Bedroom




Master Bathroom


2nd Bathroom


Laundry


Carpet


Hey buddy! That's my bed!


That's one tired boy.


Yeah, why don't you all jump in bed.

Our view:






We relaxed for a little while but we were soon hungry so we headed out. I took some pictures around the resort first.

















Wait, this isn't an animal. It's just Adriel.













We decided to walk over to Jambo House. The lobby there is impressive. Very beautiful resort. Not that Kidani isn't beautiful, it is, but Jambo is breathtaking










Next up: Can I stay awake?

[oldmom]

beautiful family. can't wait for more.

[Jambo]

You are making me "homesick"! AKLV is our DVC home resort, but have decided to stay at BWV this summer. Looking forward to reading about your 12 day stay! What a cute family. Question - Did you notice the noise from the busses from your room? At WL one year, our woods view included a view of the busstop. The evening busses were quite noticable.

[KMB733]

WooHoo, you started!!! Glad the flights to Orlando were uneventful. I have to say I was a little grossed out that the boys at hot dogs at 6am The resort and your room are beautiful!! Can't wait to hear how long you were able to stay awake!!

[melduckie]

Great start!

[mojjo]

So excited you started this!!! Can't wait to read all about it.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures! Glad you were able to get into your room so early!!

[lauriep]

What a great start! I love the pre-flight selfie. Great luck that the room was ready. How are you all still standing?

[3dogknight]

Great start , looking forward to more

[rhinohunter]

Great start. That is a beautiful resort.

[MayraLR]

Originally Posted by oldmom

beautiful family. can't wait for more.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Jambo

You are making me "homesick"! AKLV is our DVC home resort, but have decided to stay at BWV this summer. Looking forward to reading about your 12 day stay! What a cute family. Question - Did you notice the noise from the busses from your room? At WL one year, our woods view included a view of the busstop. The evening busses were quite noticable.

No noise from the busses or cars at all. Very quiet in the rooms.

Originally Posted by KMB733

WooHoo, you started!!! Glad the flights to Orlando were uneventful. I have to say I was a little grossed out that the boys at hot dogs at 6am The resort and your room are beautiful!! Can't wait to hear how long you were able to stay awake!!

Yeah, the 6 am hot dogs were weird. But then again, boy's will eat anything.

Originally Posted by melduckie

Great start!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by mojjo

So excited you started this!!! Can't wait to read all about it.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great pictures! Glad you were able to get into your room so early!!

Yes, we were very lucky that it was ready so early.

Originally Posted by 3dogknight

Great start , looking forward to more

Thanks for joining!

Originally Posted by lauriep

What a great start! I love the pre-flight selfie. Great luck that the room was ready. How are you all still standing?

You'll see in my next update, I was barely standing.

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

Great start. That is a beautiful resort.

It is a beautiful resort! I was fascinated by the décor and all the animals.

[MayraLR]

Originally Posted by phiedragon

Great start! And lots of lovely photos.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by patclairesmom

Great start. Wow I can't believe how early your flight was. Great pictures of the resort. I loved staying at Kidani.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of early flights.

Originally Posted by mousestruck

Great start! AKV is our home resort and we absolutely love it. In fact, your pics are making me homesick! (Good thing we'll be back next month!)

Your crew looks tired but excited. Can't wait to hear about your first adventures!

The boys have so much energy but I was fading fast.

Originally Posted by JKnott17

Great start, Mayra! So glad that your flights went smoothly, how awesome that your room was ready for you so early. You all must have been exhausted, I don't even know how you were able to head out of there. I would have just collapsed on the bed! AKL looks awesome, great pics. Looking forward to more!

Hunger won over. Besides, I didn't let myself get too comfortable. If I did, I wouldn't have been able to get up.

Originally Posted by Cam22

I think you all look really good for having flown overnight! I love all your pictures of the room and the lobbies at AKL Kidani and Jambo. That takes me right back home.

Thanks! I have so many pictures of the resort, especially of the animals.

Originally Posted by DisneyKimber

Great start ! Glad to hear your red eye flight went well. Your room at Kadani looks amazing.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Nemo125

Glad I found this TR! What a great start - and love all your photos of AKL!!!

Thanks for joining!

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

Signing in so I don't miss anything! I need to catch up on your PTR and then will hop on over here to read about the actual trip! Great start so far!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by CinderAbby

Great start. Did you get any sleep on the plane or did everyone stay awake the whole time? My flight is only 2 1/2 hours and despite taking Sudafed (that actually keeps me up) I do doze during the flight.

No sleep for me or for my oldest son. We just couldn't get comfortable enough to be able to doze off. I even had a neck pillow so I wouldn't get a stiff neck. Nothing worked. Next time I'll just medicate.

[MayraLR]

Can I stay awake?

Arben got in touch with his friend, who lives in Orlando, and told him of our plans. He works close by and offered to take us over to DTD.

By now, we were starving. The kids wanted EoS but Arben wanted something more substantial. We decided to check if they would take us at T-Rex. They did and we were seated in about 10 minutes in the Meteor Shower room which made for a very loud meal. But we didn't mind.







We had an excellent server who gave us great service and got to practice her Spanish with us. Of course, I forgot to write down her name.

We placed our orders and settled down to enjoy our time. Arben called his sister to see what they were up to and invited them over to DTD.


Somebody is tired.




There's a blurry image of our server.





Soon our drinks and food arrived. Arben got a burger, Abniel and Adriel both got pizza, AJ got the pulled pork sandwich and I had a pasta dish.

AJ's sandwich


My pasta dish. I forgot to write down the name but I think it's a seasonal dish. It had lots of veggies and a delicious parmesan cheese sauce. I added chicken to it.


I accompanied it with a strawberry lemonade.


Abniel and Adriel both decided they wanted dessert, which I knew they weren't going to finish. I asked them to share one but Adriel refused.

Their dessert.


Of course, I was right and they both left about half of their dessert. AJ tried to finish them to no avail.



I packed up my leftovers, because who I am I kidding I would've never finished that never-ending plate of pasta. I think there was a hole in the bottom of the table where they kept putting pasta in the dish. As much as I ate the plate always looked full.

We rolled out of the restaurant and my sil & family were waiting for us. We headed towards the Marketplace. Our first stop was the Lego Store. Abniel, Adriel and their cousin went to play with the legos.



After 15 minutes, I grew tired of the store so we just abandoned them there. Just kidding. Arben and his bil stayed behind with them, while me, sil, AJ and my other nephew went on to explore. We went to WoD and browsed for a while without making any purchases. We went back to the Lego store to get the rest of the group. The boys had finished their construction.



AJ wanted to buy the latest Kingdom Keepers book so we headed to Once Upon a Toy. While there, the boys got the tube thingy filled with different flavored powder.

We wandered off and landed at Basin. After smelling everything in there, Arben and I decided to get 3 bath bombs to use in the big tub. After our purchases we decided to go back to the resort and relax for a bit. Arben's friend would be picking us up with his wife and daughters and taking us for a ride.

On the bus ride back to AKV, I almost fell asleep. I was so tired. We got to the room and I went to lay on the bed. Arben started getting ready and told the boys to do the same thing. Then it was my turn but I was having a hard time getting. I was beyond exhausted at this point. I considered not going anywhere but we had to get groceries and his friend was taking us. Reluctantly I got up and showered. Thankfully I didn't fall asleep in the shower and afterwards I felt a little better.

We finished getting ready and headed out. A short time later, our friends arrived. We took a drive around Downtown Orlando. Then we stopped at a park and walked around for a bit. Soon we were hungry so he took us to Buffalo Wild Wings on International Drive. Arben and I had wings which we shared. I think the boys each had wings with fries.

When we were done, we took a drive down International Drive. Then we went to Walmart for some groceries. We got back to the resort and put away the groceries. Then it was bedtime as tomorrow would be our first park day.

Thankfully, we survived this day. But man, was I tired. I can't believe I had gone more than 24 hours with no sleep. I have no idea how I didn't fall flat on my face.


Next up: An early start

[phiedragon]

Great start! And lots of lovely photos.

[patclairesmom]

Great start. Wow I can't believe how early your flight was. Great pictures of the resort. I loved staying at Kidani.