TooGoofy
08-04-2007, 11:05 AM
Cast: Meg: 43: trip planner and tour guide; 6th trip to the world
Dave: 51: general all around great guy: 6th trip to the world
We got up, finished packing and checked the room over. We wanted to make sure that we did not leave anything behind. Then we headed over to El Centro, dragging our bags behind us. (We never did get a ride on one of those golf carts.) We checked our bags with bell services and had them sent to AKL. Then we got on a bus headed for Downtown Disney.
Now Dave is not a shopper…but I am! In addition, I like World of Disney for the discount I get. Now it’s not a lot, but 10% is 10% after all. We hit the Christmas shop first, and bought some red white and blue Mickey-head shaped ornaments. (We always try to get an ornament for our tree commemorating our vacations). Then we went to World of Disney, and I was able to get quite a few presents for our friends back home.
After all that shopping, we stopped in to Earl of Sandwich for lunch. Dave had the original and I had the BLT. Then we caught the bus to our new home…AKL!
We had stayed at AKL in 2001 when it opened and we had fallen in love. To us, no other resort can match the ambiance of AKL, and we never get that feeling of being “home” in any other place. We were staying concierge, so we checked in with Bell Services, and they brought us up to the Lounge, which had been moved to the Royal Asante Suite. On the way, we passed a window from which we could see a giraffe reaching for some browse. Gorgeous! We checked in, and got all our information. Our room was ready, so we grabbed some of the African Smooth drinks and trekked off to find our room.
We were in 4513 on the Zebra Trail. The room was wonderful, with a king bed. I immediately had to go see the view from our balcony. We overlooked both a large and small watering hole and you could see Arusha Rock clearly. Right in front of our room were three Greater kudu, with their majestic corkscrew horns. We could not hear any construction noise from inside our room, but we could hear some in the lobby. We could occasionally hear some sawing or hammering while we were out on our balcony. The animals did not seem bothered by it at all! Pleased with the room and the view, we settled in for a nap while we waited for our luggage.
Our luggage was delivered around 4 pm, and after we unpacked, we left to go check out the concierge lounge offerings. On the way, we looked out a window, and I could clearly see a bongo on the wrong side of the retaining fence! Well, we had to go check it out!
The bongo was right next to Arusha Rock (literally) so we headed out to talk to the savanna guide. She was a lovely young woman from Botswana, and she laughed as we asked her about the bongo. “Oh yes,” she said, “he is very naughty!” Apparently, he had learned that if he jumped the fence, even if his hooves caught the top of the wires, he would not get a shock. So now he jumps the fence when he wants a special snack. (I guess the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence!)
We headed back inside and up to the lounge, where we enjoyed the appetizers and some cheese, crackers and fruit. We weren’t very hungry, so this made a satisfactory meal for us. We went back to our room and watched the animals. We saw giraffe, zebra, kudu, blesbok, bongos and several other hoofstock, as well as several different kinds of birds. When turndown service came, we went back to the lounge and had dessert. Finally, it was back to our room for showers and bedtime. It was wonderful to be back home.
Up Next: We tear ourselves away from our balcony to hit MK and Epcot.
Dave: 51: general all around great guy: 6th trip to the world
We got up, finished packing and checked the room over. We wanted to make sure that we did not leave anything behind. Then we headed over to El Centro, dragging our bags behind us. (We never did get a ride on one of those golf carts.) We checked our bags with bell services and had them sent to AKL. Then we got on a bus headed for Downtown Disney.
Now Dave is not a shopper…but I am! In addition, I like World of Disney for the discount I get. Now it’s not a lot, but 10% is 10% after all. We hit the Christmas shop first, and bought some red white and blue Mickey-head shaped ornaments. (We always try to get an ornament for our tree commemorating our vacations). Then we went to World of Disney, and I was able to get quite a few presents for our friends back home.
After all that shopping, we stopped in to Earl of Sandwich for lunch. Dave had the original and I had the BLT. Then we caught the bus to our new home…AKL!
We had stayed at AKL in 2001 when it opened and we had fallen in love. To us, no other resort can match the ambiance of AKL, and we never get that feeling of being “home” in any other place. We were staying concierge, so we checked in with Bell Services, and they brought us up to the Lounge, which had been moved to the Royal Asante Suite. On the way, we passed a window from which we could see a giraffe reaching for some browse. Gorgeous! We checked in, and got all our information. Our room was ready, so we grabbed some of the African Smooth drinks and trekked off to find our room.
We were in 4513 on the Zebra Trail. The room was wonderful, with a king bed. I immediately had to go see the view from our balcony. We overlooked both a large and small watering hole and you could see Arusha Rock clearly. Right in front of our room were three Greater kudu, with their majestic corkscrew horns. We could not hear any construction noise from inside our room, but we could hear some in the lobby. We could occasionally hear some sawing or hammering while we were out on our balcony. The animals did not seem bothered by it at all! Pleased with the room and the view, we settled in for a nap while we waited for our luggage.
Our luggage was delivered around 4 pm, and after we unpacked, we left to go check out the concierge lounge offerings. On the way, we looked out a window, and I could clearly see a bongo on the wrong side of the retaining fence! Well, we had to go check it out!
The bongo was right next to Arusha Rock (literally) so we headed out to talk to the savanna guide. She was a lovely young woman from Botswana, and she laughed as we asked her about the bongo. “Oh yes,” she said, “he is very naughty!” Apparently, he had learned that if he jumped the fence, even if his hooves caught the top of the wires, he would not get a shock. So now he jumps the fence when he wants a special snack. (I guess the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence!)
We headed back inside and up to the lounge, where we enjoyed the appetizers and some cheese, crackers and fruit. We weren’t very hungry, so this made a satisfactory meal for us. We went back to our room and watched the animals. We saw giraffe, zebra, kudu, blesbok, bongos and several other hoofstock, as well as several different kinds of birds. When turndown service came, we went back to the lounge and had dessert. Finally, it was back to our room for showers and bedtime. It was wonderful to be back home.
Up Next: We tear ourselves away from our balcony to hit MK and Epcot.