tyandskyesmom
07-05-2007, 02:04 PM
July 1, 2007 -- Sunday
Skye had developed a cold so did not sleep very well so we were up around 3am. We showered and packed our 2 bags to check and 3 small back-pack sized carry-ons with the stroller in the car and Lou's dad drove us to Midway Airport around 4:15am.
We had a small wait but not bad...we have seen worse! Security was quick as usual. We got to our gate, all the way at the end of the terminal, and got into the Pre-board line (even though I had pulled boarding passes in group A the day before) and Lou and Ty went for McDonalds. We moved back when a few wheel chair bound people came up so they could board first. They were pre-boarding families with kids 4 and under. Most of the passengers looked like adults with a few older kids. The desk workers were rather rude but no biggie. Lou somehow forgot to get my food, he only brought back my pop...how did that happen??? So we boarded and chose seats all the way in the back of the plane and two hours and two minutes later we were to land in Orlando. They said it was 76 degrees and cloudy in Orlando. Lou watched "Cars", Ty played his Gameboy and so did Skye who also colored and fell asleep after a potty break. I had forgotten how small those things are!Ty actually stayed awake the whole time which is odd for him.
We arrived about ten minutes early and the weather was up to 82 and sunny! We got off the plane at 9:45 am and only had a walk up to check in to DME and then to get onto the bus but then we sat for about 10 minutes. We had to stop at POP and Coronado Springs before getting to AKL. It was just us and one other family left for AKL.
It was about 11:30am when we were done checking in. Of course, our room was not ready yet so we headed to The Mara for lunch. I know a lot of people say The Mara is one of the best CS places at the hotel but we came to the conclusion that while the food is good and different, we like the big food courts with lots of different kinds of food and wher ethe menus change better. I think if you spent more than a few days here eating at The Mara, you would definately get bored! Not that that would keep us away from our favorite hotel but it is just our observation. Lou had the shrimp and fries which he said were good, I had the Ham, Bacon, and cheese sandwich which was big enough to share and very good. It came with fries. Ty had the cheese flat bread (or pizza as he called it) and even though I thought he would hate it he actually loved it! Skye had a kids mac n cheese with grapes and fried and a chocolate milk. We got two refillable mugs and the only option was the YOMD ones. And it does say the same disclaimer on them as the others.
Ty and I went swimming after lunch...well it was after our lunch. Skye had a real problem eating this past few days! So she was sitting on the pool deck eating. Ty loved the slide. When Skye finally finished her alloted amount of lunch she came in to swim and shortly after the lightening started and we were kicked out. We changed back into dry clothes (which we should not have but I guess I just had not gotten into my Orlando in Summer mind frame yet!) and checked out the arcade. The boys played in there (well Skye had a mean game of Spider Stomp) and then Skye and I went to sit near the baby pool for a little while.When the guys still did not emerge from the arcade we went up to the store to check it out and then sat in the lobby for a while. By the way, the forth floor was completely blocked from view of the lobby by a black drape. Very subtle and did not take away from the beautiful lobby. Skye played with a little girl there and I relaxed in a huge chair watching. Lou called to find out where we were and they met us up there. We went walking around looking through the giant viewing areas. On Kudu Trail we stopped to use an in-house phone to see if our room was ready and to our surprise (now remember I booked a Standard View room) we were just down the hall from our room...#2345 on Kudu Trail.
Now, we have been here three times. The first time (in October 2003) we were on Kudu Trail but at the very end of the trail and we had tons of animals. The next time (in November 2005) we specifically asked for Zebra Trail overlooking Arusha Rock becaue so many people said how much better the view was but we had almost no animals! So this thrilled me! We get to our room and as I suspected from the trail and number we were in a savanah view room! We were all extatic!!!! And we also had a view of the construction of the new DVC building. And there were animals out there! So my decision, just based upon my experience is that Kudu Trail looking out toward the new DVC property is the best! There is a lot going on out there but luckily we only had one day that we heard anything.
So we unpacked and Lou wanted a nap. So the kids and I went down for a swim again. We were there about two hours when it started raining again and we were kicked out. We went back to the room and got ready for dinner. Lou was still napping. Ty took pictures of the animals in the rain off our balcony while Skye and I showered. We had Giraffes, Kudu, Ankole Cattle, Ostrich, and Tommies outside our room. When we were almost ready we woke Lou. We relaxed on the balcony for a while and then headed to look around. Skye fell asleep on the bed while we were still in the room so we put her in the stroller and explored. Ty made a wooden giraffe with the lifeguards in the lobby. We had an 8pm ADR for Boma so we went to see if we could get in early...nope. But she checked us in and gave us a beeper so we went to Victoria Falls and relaxed...see a theme here? Don't worry, it will disappear soon enough! Lou had a Corona and both the kids slept. We were seated just after 8pm.
I was a little worried about Lou liking Boma for dinner (we had been for breakfast before) but i needn't have. We all had a great dinner! Skye said they have the best plain penne pasta. Ty said they had the best chocolate chip cookies (I think he had about ten of them!) and that Boma was the best place to eat next to McDonalds! Lou loved the Sausage and Lentil Soup and I loved the Prime Rib and Zebra Domes--you guys were right on that one! Hey, does anyone know why Boma only has green crayons? My kids got four crayons with their coloring pages - all green - and later we looked in the bowl and they are all green! They got a kick outa that! We were all happy and stuffed!
We stopped at the shop for a 2 liter of Coke, a large bottle of water and an apple juice (that lasted her 3 days). We were in bed by 10:20pm. Falling asleep with the patio door open and the air on full blast, listening to the crickets and frogs chirp was wonderful!
We set a wake-up call for 6:30am...just wait!
Skye had developed a cold so did not sleep very well so we were up around 3am. We showered and packed our 2 bags to check and 3 small back-pack sized carry-ons with the stroller in the car and Lou's dad drove us to Midway Airport around 4:15am.
We had a small wait but not bad...we have seen worse! Security was quick as usual. We got to our gate, all the way at the end of the terminal, and got into the Pre-board line (even though I had pulled boarding passes in group A the day before) and Lou and Ty went for McDonalds. We moved back when a few wheel chair bound people came up so they could board first. They were pre-boarding families with kids 4 and under. Most of the passengers looked like adults with a few older kids. The desk workers were rather rude but no biggie. Lou somehow forgot to get my food, he only brought back my pop...how did that happen??? So we boarded and chose seats all the way in the back of the plane and two hours and two minutes later we were to land in Orlando. They said it was 76 degrees and cloudy in Orlando. Lou watched "Cars", Ty played his Gameboy and so did Skye who also colored and fell asleep after a potty break. I had forgotten how small those things are!Ty actually stayed awake the whole time which is odd for him.
We arrived about ten minutes early and the weather was up to 82 and sunny! We got off the plane at 9:45 am and only had a walk up to check in to DME and then to get onto the bus but then we sat for about 10 minutes. We had to stop at POP and Coronado Springs before getting to AKL. It was just us and one other family left for AKL.
It was about 11:30am when we were done checking in. Of course, our room was not ready yet so we headed to The Mara for lunch. I know a lot of people say The Mara is one of the best CS places at the hotel but we came to the conclusion that while the food is good and different, we like the big food courts with lots of different kinds of food and wher ethe menus change better. I think if you spent more than a few days here eating at The Mara, you would definately get bored! Not that that would keep us away from our favorite hotel but it is just our observation. Lou had the shrimp and fries which he said were good, I had the Ham, Bacon, and cheese sandwich which was big enough to share and very good. It came with fries. Ty had the cheese flat bread (or pizza as he called it) and even though I thought he would hate it he actually loved it! Skye had a kids mac n cheese with grapes and fried and a chocolate milk. We got two refillable mugs and the only option was the YOMD ones. And it does say the same disclaimer on them as the others.
Ty and I went swimming after lunch...well it was after our lunch. Skye had a real problem eating this past few days! So she was sitting on the pool deck eating. Ty loved the slide. When Skye finally finished her alloted amount of lunch she came in to swim and shortly after the lightening started and we were kicked out. We changed back into dry clothes (which we should not have but I guess I just had not gotten into my Orlando in Summer mind frame yet!) and checked out the arcade. The boys played in there (well Skye had a mean game of Spider Stomp) and then Skye and I went to sit near the baby pool for a little while.When the guys still did not emerge from the arcade we went up to the store to check it out and then sat in the lobby for a while. By the way, the forth floor was completely blocked from view of the lobby by a black drape. Very subtle and did not take away from the beautiful lobby. Skye played with a little girl there and I relaxed in a huge chair watching. Lou called to find out where we were and they met us up there. We went walking around looking through the giant viewing areas. On Kudu Trail we stopped to use an in-house phone to see if our room was ready and to our surprise (now remember I booked a Standard View room) we were just down the hall from our room...#2345 on Kudu Trail.
Now, we have been here three times. The first time (in October 2003) we were on Kudu Trail but at the very end of the trail and we had tons of animals. The next time (in November 2005) we specifically asked for Zebra Trail overlooking Arusha Rock becaue so many people said how much better the view was but we had almost no animals! So this thrilled me! We get to our room and as I suspected from the trail and number we were in a savanah view room! We were all extatic!!!! And we also had a view of the construction of the new DVC building. And there were animals out there! So my decision, just based upon my experience is that Kudu Trail looking out toward the new DVC property is the best! There is a lot going on out there but luckily we only had one day that we heard anything.
So we unpacked and Lou wanted a nap. So the kids and I went down for a swim again. We were there about two hours when it started raining again and we were kicked out. We went back to the room and got ready for dinner. Lou was still napping. Ty took pictures of the animals in the rain off our balcony while Skye and I showered. We had Giraffes, Kudu, Ankole Cattle, Ostrich, and Tommies outside our room. When we were almost ready we woke Lou. We relaxed on the balcony for a while and then headed to look around. Skye fell asleep on the bed while we were still in the room so we put her in the stroller and explored. Ty made a wooden giraffe with the lifeguards in the lobby. We had an 8pm ADR for Boma so we went to see if we could get in early...nope. But she checked us in and gave us a beeper so we went to Victoria Falls and relaxed...see a theme here? Don't worry, it will disappear soon enough! Lou had a Corona and both the kids slept. We were seated just after 8pm.
I was a little worried about Lou liking Boma for dinner (we had been for breakfast before) but i needn't have. We all had a great dinner! Skye said they have the best plain penne pasta. Ty said they had the best chocolate chip cookies (I think he had about ten of them!) and that Boma was the best place to eat next to McDonalds! Lou loved the Sausage and Lentil Soup and I loved the Prime Rib and Zebra Domes--you guys were right on that one! Hey, does anyone know why Boma only has green crayons? My kids got four crayons with their coloring pages - all green - and later we looked in the bowl and they are all green! They got a kick outa that! We were all happy and stuffed!
We stopped at the shop for a 2 liter of Coke, a large bottle of water and an apple juice (that lasted her 3 days). We were in bed by 10:20pm. Falling asleep with the patio door open and the air on full blast, listening to the crickets and frogs chirp was wonderful!
We set a wake-up call for 6:30am...just wait!