A Frizzy Disney Diary About This Page:

[mombrinson]

Great story! Your excitement is contagious!!!

[OhToodles!]

You are so right about the lobby at AKL. It takes me breath away ever time I walk into it!

[TinkerbellJenn99]

I just love reading this story! Thanks for sharing

[bluejn]

your a great story teller!!

[MissFrizz]

I am enjoying your enthusiasm! Tell me more please!

Coming up

Oh wow, this is amazing! Please post more, I LOVE this story!!

I really love hearing other Disney fans' back stories as to how they became addicted to all things Disney, and your story is just so interesting!

C'mon, what are you waiting for??

I love hearing how people came to the "cult of Disney" (so to speak ) too. The fact that my parents became (almost) as enchanted as I did was even more magical.

I love your story...it wasnt too long at all. I am hooked in and waiting for the next installment! I never got to Disney until I was in my late 30s and had my own kids. But, now, 7 years later, we are living in Florida, only 2 1/2 hours from my favorite place with annual passes, and we are getting my daughter all ready for her move there with friends and her job at Animal Kingdom that starts on Saturday! Things can work out sometimes! I don't say tons on these boards, but I love reading about trips and things like that from people who seem to have the same obsession as I do!

WOW, that is so cool!! In a perfect world, I'd be a full time Kilimanjaro Safaris driver and write in my spare time. I know what you mean about reading about other people's trips, it's nice to know that there are other people out there who "get it."

You are so right about the lobby at AKL. It takes me breath away ever time I walk into it!

Me too! Every time I see it it's like it's my first time at Disney all over again.

your a great story teller!!

Thank you so much! And thanks to everyone else who provided encouragement. I'm really glad I can entertain someone other than just myself with my Disney rambling. I'll admit that I was a little worried that people were going to be, like, "What on earth is this? Why are you posting this here?" So, it was really nice to get feedback that people were interested. I don't know what might come of this in the future, but right now I'm focused on finishing the story of my first trip. Don't worry, I plan to tell it in the same, excruciating detail.

MissFrizz

[CitrusSwirl]

I'm enjoying your Disney story and your enthusiasm!

[MissFrizz]

[OMG this update has pictures! I actually had kind of a hard time working the whole picture thing out, but I think I've got it now! Unfortunately, I have only very few pictures of the trip. That's a pitfall I'm planning to avoid on my next trip.]

In case you needed a refresher on the majesty of AKL, here is a picture my dad took of the ceiling in the lobby. This spends a lot time as my desktop wallpaper, and I still feel the gasp of awe when I look at this:



Ok, back to the story:

As my parents and I are making our way to our villa (#5435— I actually have the resort map they gave us with our room number on it. It was the PERFECT location. Zebra trail, facing the Arusha Savanna. We were also very close to the elevator, but not too close, as we were never bothered by the noise of people going past our room. I also love the expansive view of the savanna you get on the higher floors), I was practically giddy with excitement. I couldn’t wait to surprise them after they’d already given me so many surprises.

So, imagine my SHOCK when we walk into our villa and see my humble little basket completely dwarfed by a GIANT basket complete with two GIANT Mickey and Minnie plushies. Yep, that’s right, my genius idea wasn’t exactly original—we both surprised each other with baskets! Although, my parents were also a little shocked at how ginormous the basket and plushies were. Somehow reading that they were 40” tall didn’t totally translate in their minds when they ordered the basket. Just fine by me!

Just a note as to why my parents knew the plushies where a good choice for me: I was a plush hoarder as a little kid and though my affliction has improved as I’ve gotten older, it hasn’t totally gone away. My grandmother (who sadly passed away this February) loved teddy bears so much and even got me into collecting Boyd’s Bears. We always joked that my love of stuffed animals was genetically inherited. I’ve gotten rid of most of my MASSIVE childhood collection of plushes (don’t worry, I kept all the really special ones, and the ones I gave away were given to our local women’s shelter, so all my teddies went on to children who needed them) but I still end up getting at least one plush on every Disney trip. I was addicted to getting the Pook-a-looz and I’m devastated that they seemed to have discontinued them. I still managed to get Classic Mickey, Silly Symphony Mickey, Animal Kingdom Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, Eeyore, Sully, Donald, Dumbo, the Yeti, and a BIG Sorcerer Mickey…so I guess I shouldn’t complain. See what I mean when I say I have a plush addiction? Anyway, sorry for the tangent, but that’s why Mickey and Minnie plushies were the PERFECT welcome to Disney!

In addition to Mickey and Minnie, the basket was full of tasty treats that we munched on over the course of our trip. Those Mickey Crispie Treats were the first ones my father and I ever had—but far from the last. Dad is already a Rice Krispie Treat fanatic, and everything is better when a) shaped like Mickey and b) dipped in chocolate. There were also shortbread cookies (another passion of my father’s :smirk), chocolate bars, character shaped chocolate, pretzels and I’m sure tons of other stuff I’m forgetting.

Here is me: totally and completely in with my new plushies


And here’s the state the baskets were in by the time anybody thought to take a picture. We were all so excited and in the moment, we only got a record of them in their demolished state.


Once we had fully explored the baskets’ offerings, we went out on the balcony. Right there, just as I had pictured in my head, were several giraffes. They were just hanging out and having a snack. It was beyond cool. Mom discovered the in-room animal spotting guide and we spent quite a while admiring the savanna’s denizens. My father (as he is wont to do) snapped a million and a half pictures. This was another place where AKL far exceeded our expectations. We wouldn’t have been shocked if the reality was that you rarely saw any animals out on the savanna. Instead, the opposite was true. Every time we looked out, either on our balcony or through the windows in the hallways, we saw something.

Room explored, savanna admired (and photographed), baskets ripped apart with glee, we were ready to spend a little time exploring the resort before our dinner ADR at Jiko. I loved that there were more animal viewing areas (of the Uzima savanna) in the pool area. All I had heard about was Arusha Rock, but we actually got some great giraffe views (you can never see too many giraffe) in on overlook tucked behind the northernmost spa. There was a CM here who seemed very knowledgeable (I mean, I wouldn’t have been able to tell if she was making stuff up, but everything she said sounded factual to me ) and was very, very nice. I wish I could remember more about her, but it was four years ago. We enjoyed talking to her, and it only reinforced our growing love of Disney service. To the south was another animal viewing area where we saw flamingos. We didn’t stay there long, though, because flamingos are thoroughly smelly birds.

From there we went back in through the lobby to Arusha Rock…because we hadn’t seen enough animals yet. I’m glad that I’m pretty in sync with my parents on this front, as the three of us could pretty much spend all day watching the savanna. We couldn’t spend too much time, though, since we were getting hungry and Jiko was calling our name.

Although the best dining experience of our trip would actually come the following day, Jiko was a wonderful introduction to Disney dining for my family. As we walked down the stairs, past the fountains, the noise from Boma grew louder and louder. We were a little worried that about that until we were led to the right into Jiko and the noise evaporated. I don’t know how they do that with the open layout back there, but it was very cleverly done. I LOVE Boma, but while the bustle over there works, cacophonous noise doesn’t really add to the ambience at the slightly more upscale Jiko. The décor, unsurprisingly like the rest of AKL, was elegant but unpretentious. Already we were noticing all the little details Disney adds that enrich the experience.

Our waiter tempted my parents into trying a glass of African wine (being 17 at the time, I had no choice but to abstain. I’m so glad touring Disney “dry” is behind me. What’s Epcot with a Grand Marnier Orange Slush? Or a margarita? Oh, but remind me to tell you guys about the time when I was 18 and accompanied my brother as he drank around the world. It was HI-liarious). I wish I could remember more about this meal, but honestly we were all pretty tired by this point. We’d been up since the crack of dawn, had pitched two tents, driven an hour into Orlando, and traipsed in the sun through some of the resorts. I remember ordering the filet and thinking it funny that it was served on top of (very tasty) macaroni. Everyone enjoyed their food and immediately after dinner we went upstairs and collapsed into bed.

[I should have the tale of at least the morning tomorrow. Come back to see what we thought of Epcot. (Spoiler alert: it was magical).]

MissFrizz

[debic]

Great update. Jiko is on our want to try list but didn't make it on for this year. Can't wait to hear about Epcot!

[MissFrizz]

Hey guys, sorry for the delay. Serves me right for promising an update, huh?
I've been wrestling with migraines and real life. I HOPE to have another update up this weekend. Thanks for understanding!

MissFrizz

[Lady427]

Awww feel better. Loving the story. WE will be here when your ready!

[StephanieB]

Love the story!!! Can't wait to hear more Hope you feel better!!

[Silvercat]

I pinged your Whuffie - hey, pretty high there!

My introduction to Disney = a 2 day stay in 1989, when my kiddoes were very young. One look at that castle and we knew we were hooked!

My mum, dad & sister = my dad was staying with my brother in Dallas in 1997, recuperating from major surgery. We went to Florida for a trip, and we invited dad to fly over to us to stay for a few days, as we hadn't seen him for a couple of months. As it was his birthday at the time, we bought him a 2-day pass to WDW as a surprise, and this is what he thought of it : when he got back to Dallas, he promptly rang my mum and sister and told them to cancel next year's trip to Malta, and begin saving to go to Florida!

Anyway, still enjoying this - on you go!

[KMB733]

Hope you're feeling better!

[OhToodles!]

My husband says he could spend a week at AKL without going to the parks - there's so much great stuff to do there!

[MissFrizz]

[First, please allow me to apologize for the delay in this update. I’ve been preoccupied over the past few days by PLANNING A DISNEY TRIP FOR OCTOBER! I’m unbelievably excited that this opportunity has come up. I plan to start a PTR soon, but I’m determined to finish this story first. When I begin my PTR, I’ll put a link here. Now however, let’s travel back to April 2009 again, as my parents and I prepare for our first day in the parks…]

Amazingly enough, I actually managed to sleep alright that first night at AKL. I think I was exhausted from all of the day’s walking. Nonetheless, I woke up a good twenty minutes before our alarm went off at 7. I lay in bed with my eyes closed but there was no way I was going back to sleep. I was going to my first Disney parks today! It was really happening! Before the end of the day, I’d have seen Cinderella Castle! I got dressed and ready as quietly as possible and soon my parents were up with me.

High on my list today was getting pictures of all of us with the Fab 5. I wanted us to look coordinated, so I had bought each of us shirts with a classic character on them. I wore Minnie, Dad had Mickey, and Mom got Pluto. I double checked that everyone was wearing their proper shirts before we left the room. I also had my Mickey ears firmly in place. Mom carried her and Dad’s ears in her backpack, as neither of them were crazy about wearing them all day.

I think I managed to bolt down an energy bar, but I was way too excited to eat. We took the short walk down to the bus stop and had an equally short wait for an Epcot bus.

You might be wondering why we chose to do Epcot first, especially since I was so crazy for the castle. Well, my reasoning was that, while there were attractions that develop long lines that we wanted to experience at Epcot, the only “must-do” I had for the Magic Kingdom was—you guessed it, to see the castle. (The only other attraction that would have made the list was Space Mountain, and it was being refurbished at this time) Any attractions we saw on top of that were gravy.

So the plan was to see Future World in the morning, primarily so we could ride Soarin’ and Test Track, but also so we could see the characters with shorter waits than we would experience in Toontown. After lunch, we would head over to Magic Kingdom and play it by ear. I expected to ride next to nothing in MK as the idea of lines being long for everything in the afternoon was practically imprinted on my skull at this point. I was a little sad about not seeing World Showcase on my first trip, but with only two days in the parks, we couldn’t hope to see everything.

Knowing what I do now, this probably wouldn’t be how I would recommend a first timer see the parks, but it worked well enough for us. I certainly don’t regret anything about this trip.

Once we arrived at Epcot and made it through bag check, we had a bit of a wait ahead of us. It was maybe 8:15 at the latest with park opening at 9. It was at this point that I realized I had forgotten my sunglasses and Mom realized she’d forgotten her hat. Just our luck, there’s a stand outside the FW entrance selling this very items. After wincing through the payment process, I owned a new pair of sunglasses, and Mom had a visor complete with a little Mickey on it.

People were lining in the sun at two of the turnstiles. Nowadays, I would laugh at these people while chilling on a bench in the shade, confident that the full row of turnstiles would open when the park did, and that I would still wait less than a minute from opening to get into the park. I didn’t know these things then, and saw each person ahead of me as an obstacle between my family and Soarin’. So I got in line. Oh the follies of the Disney noob.

They began letting people through at 8:45 and we all surged forward, only to be stopped in the center of Future World, near the Fountain of Nations. We bellied up to the rope (literally at the rope, my speed walking had propelled us to the front) and I said to my parents “I guess there’s an opening ceremony here, too.” I had heard about the one at the Magic Kingdom, but had no idea there was one at Epcot. We chatted with a Test Track, College Program CM and passed the time happily.

A family with two small children was behind us and I felt myself moved by the Disney spirit. I asked the kids if they would like to stand in front of us so they could see better. They nodded shyly and their parents thanked me. That small act of Disney kindness paid off in spades when the characters walked out and the kids began squealing, “Look!! It’s Mickey!!” I honestly don’t remember the details of the ceremony. I know that a family of the day and a Test Track car were involved. Mostly, though, I remember my first glimpse of the characters, and the joy of those little kids. This is the moment where I got hooked on pixie dust. It’s not altruism; making magic for others is the best way to add magic to your own Disney experience. It really is addictive!
¬¬¬¬¬
After the opening ceremony, the rope was dropped and boy, did that crowd swarm towards the Land Pavillion. Being the genius that I am :wink: I quickly grabbed hold of both my parents’ hands so we wouldn’t get separated. A little less cleverly, I began moving at the pace of most of the crowd—an almost running walk. You would have thought I’d learned from the line at the turnstiles, but oh well. I saw the horde in front of me and thought, “Good God! We’re going to have to wait an hour at opening!” When we walked right onto the front row minutes after I’d had that thought, my parents and I made a pact to never do the “lemming” thing again. To this day we walk at a reasonable pace and giggle at all the mad dashers.

When we entered the Land Pavillion, there were several Mickey gloved Cast Members waving to the stream of people and saying “good morning.” My Mom absolutely loved this and waved back giddily.

How do you describe your first Disney attraction? Or your first ride on Soarin’? It was more amazing than I had imagined. What made it especially special was that we were sitting next to a mom and her young daughter (maybe five or so) who were also riding for the first time. The little girl was nervous and we told her and her mom that we hadn’t ridden either, but that we knew it didn’t do any crazy dips or anything. I told her that I heard it was very gentle and not scary at all, but very fun. The whole time we rode, that family and ours gasped and giggled and squealed (ok, my dad didn’t squeal ) at all the same spots. When we came down, the little girl turned to me and said, “You were right! That was fun!”

Test Track, by comparison, really did nothing for us. I think it’s likely that Mom and I had built it up too much in our minds from all the shows we had seen. The truth is, speed alone isn’t enough to be thrilling to me. Re-riding it at a later date helped me appreciate it more, as I approached it as a dark ride rather than a thrill ride. This was our first clue that Disney’s idea of “thrilling” is a lot more tame than what we were used to.

I led us back to the Character Spot after Test Track, and this had already developed a little bit of a line. It wasn’t bad though, and we enjoyed watching the cartoon clips for the twenty or so minutes we waited. I was trying to find digital copies of our pictures to show you guys, but I only have a few hard copies of some of our greetings. This has been another great learning experience: either get all the photos on your own camera and put them on your computer, or buy the Photopass CD. I do have lovely memories though: Mickey shaking my father’s hand; Minnie giving me a kiss.

My mother, unfortunately, has a less than fond memory, though it makes the rest of us laugh. Pluto seemed thrilled that he was on her shirt and seemed to think the best way to express his affection was to stick her head in his mouth. This was HILARIOUS to observe, but alas my mother found it a little disconcerting. It didn’t put her off characters, mind you. In fact, next to me, she’s probably the biggest character lover in our family. But she’s always been a little wary of Pluto since that day. Don’t worry, she can also laugh about it.

Next on our list was the Seas With Nemo and Friends. We enjoyed the ride but enjoyed the aquarium much more. We’re a family of animal lovers, so we loved checking out the fish, dolphins, and manatees. I badly wanted to see a sea turtle, but had little success. So we decided to try a guaranteed turtle sighting and wait for Turtle Talk with Crush. I actually adore stingrays, so the wait wasn’t bothersome. I just spent the whole time hanging out with my stingray buddies. (I know, stingrays are a weird animal to love, but they’re always smiling! In an adorable happy way, too, not all creepy like sharks. If I ever make it to Castaway Cay, you can bet your bootstraps I’ll be doing the stingray experience.)

Turtle Talk was utterly adorable, as always, but the sands of time have washed away the particulars.

What really stands out in my memory of that first day at Epcot was our lunch at Coral Reef. Before I give you the details, let me mention a couple things I might not have mentioned:

First of all, this day was April 18, which happens to be exactly one month before my birthday. Because in my research we had discovered all the cool stuff that might happen when you celebrate at Disney (and that it was ok to celebrate when it wasn’t exactly your birthday), we had decided to pick up a birthday button for me when we checked in to our hotel. The other thing worth mentioning is that my mom has Celiac disease, and thus is allergic to wheat (or wheat gluten, more specifically). She was diagnosed over a decade ago and is fairly experienced with navigating the food at restaurants. However, it does mean that she often misses out on breads and desserts and can sometimes have difficulty finding something on the menu. It’s also tricky because she’s sensitive enough to it that ingesting a few stray breadcrumbs can make her very ill. (You’d also be surprised how many things have wheat in them. Soy sauce has probably been the most difficult to avoid.)

One of my anxiety triggers was, at that time, restaurants messing up my mom’s food. I’d be anxious if we had to send something back because there was bread on the plate, worried they were just plucking it off back in the kitchen and sending it back covered in poisonous bread crumbs. It didn’t exactly make my mom’s life easier to have to deal with me AND the restaurant staff. Thankfully, this is a front on which I’ve improved drastically and I no longer start hyperventilating when my mom’s burger shows up on a bun.

Anyway, the reason I mention my birthday and my mother’s allergies will become apparent when I tell the story. On with it.

We walked in about a half hour early for our ADR as we were pretty hungry. They gave us a buzzer and we waited long enough for my mom to quickly use the bathroom. I don’t know if it was luck, or if they weren’t busy, or if it was due to my birthday button, but when we were seated, we were graced with a table right next to the tank. I was thrilled that I could continue my quest to see a sea turtle over lunch.

I wish fervently that I could remember our waiter’s name, as he was fantastic. Our service at Jiko the previous night had been what we would expect from a nice restaurant and we had no complaints. It wasn’t the kind of experience that sticks in your head, though. Our waiter at Coral Reef, however, was personable as well as attentive, and was truly pleasant to chat to throughout our meal. He embodied what I have come to think of as Disney’s signature style of service—as an enjoyment entirely separate from the delivery of food and beverage.

The first thing he did when he came to our table was wish me a happy birthday. I’m the kind of person who loves being the center of attention (well, when it’s positive, anyway ) so the birthday button would be completely worth it for me even if it garnered no additional special treatment beyond the well wishes of strangers. The second thing he did is double check my mom’s allergies and promise to return with a chef and a bread basket.

The chef came around and told my mom that she could have basically anything on the menu. If the selection wasn’t gluten free, she would change it so that it was. A chef at Jiko the previous night had pointed out the wheat free options, but hadn’t offered any alterations. All three of us were pleased that, for once, Mom had a full menu to choose from. Mom placed her order directly with the chef, who would be personally overseeing her dish. I had heard that Disney was good about allergies, but I hadn’t expected the chef who spoke to us to handle every step of my mom’s food preparation. We were all glad, not only for the options, but for the peace of mind—especially since my peace of mind was fairly essential at that point to keep me from having crippling spasms of anxiety.

When our waiter returned he had a basket of bread for my father and I and a basket of bread for my mom. He also brought use two separate pats of sea salted butter, so Mom didn’t have to butter her bread once one pat had been contaminated (knife to butter to bread to butter=breadcrumbs in your butter). Both our bread baskets were lovely and warm. It was a small thing, in the scheme of things, but it had been at least ten years since Mom had been able to enjoy a bread basket at a restaurant. She loved that she didn’t have to miss out on that part of the meal, even if it was a small part.

I was eyeing the horrid children’s drink that comes with a light up Tinkerbell. I see this as evidence that I turn into a little kid every time I set a toe on Disney property. I really just wanted a Coke though, so I asked our waiter if I could have that instead of whatever weird fruit punch thing usually comes with it. He said he’d make it work for me. Mom said something teasing, along the lines of “Awww, but I want a Tinkerbell,” and we he came back with our drinks there was a Tinkerbell for me and one for Mom too! By the way, neither of those showed up on our bill. It was very sweet of him.

I don’t remember what we ordered, except that it was three different kinds of fish (yes, shocking, I know, that we ate fish at Coral Reef ). I also started with a cup of lobster bisque because I ADORE any kind of seafood bisque. :yum: Everything was delicious, and I even managed to spot one of my coveted sea turtles! He was so big!

After we had finished, our waiter brought around a hefty piece of chocolate cake, decorated with a piece of white chocolate that said “happy birthday,” and three spoons. We exclaimed and thanked him, but as he walked away, even though Mom said to dig in, I felt guilty eating cake in front of her. It felt like such a shame to have this wonderful meal where she’d had so many options and cap it off with a dessert we couldn’t enjoy together. Imagine my surprise when the waiter came back by and said, “Oh, didn’t I tell you? The cake is gluten free.” I think I was happier than even Mom was. It turns out that it was a flourless chocolate cake, so it didn’t have the funny aftertaste that gluten free cakes sometimes have. It was just dense, rich, chocolatey goodness. The three of us managed to finish it, but only just. We were stuffed!

After we waddled out of Coral Reef, it was time to say goodbye to Epcot. Though we’d only seen a slice of Future World, we knew we wanted to spend the afternoon and evening at Magic Kingdom. We made our way to the monorail station and bid farewell to our first park.

[To be continued ]

-MissFrizz