Sunday, May 17: Welcome Home! (Continued)
As we finally got to our room and put in our “Key to the World” card, we walked in past the kitchenette and bathroom, were greeted with a butterfly “towel animal” on the bed with a proverb. It says “A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place.” -Ghana, Akan Proverb.
The colors were vibrant and lovely. Lots of Hidden Mickeys in the furniture, the carpet and the linens. The sheer lace curtains had characters from The Lion King.
Then we went to see the stars of the trip. As we walked out on the balcony, we were greeted by two ostriches, followed soon after by several of the five reticulated giraffes on the savanna and then some Nyala (a kind of antelope).
We took in everything in the room, from the wall hangings to the Wildlife Field Guide provided in the room – telling us about all of the animals on the savanna – what we had already seen, plus greater kudu, impalas, elands, antelopes, blesbok, ankole cattle, Thomson's gazelles, waterbuck, white-bearded wildebest and a host of birds.
Then we were off to explore the rest of the resort. We took lots of pictures out on the savanna and spoke to a cast member from South Africa who told us she had been there for 11 months and was eager to return home to her family and fiancee.
But she said she had a wonderful time while she was here, and was especially reminded of home when she worked at Kidani Village. Jambo House, she said, WAS grand and impressive, and great for guests. But the feel of Kidani reminded her of being home, with a cozy, smaller scale – more like actual lodges in Africa.
The savanna viewing area was a little smaller than at Jambo House, but it was still big enough to get out and see everything. Our exploration continued to the Samawati Springs Pool, Uwanja Camp for kids and Maji Pool Bar area. We had been warned that the pool would be small, but it seemed like a decent size to us, and the kids play area looked like it would be tons of fun. The “Survival of the Fittest” health club had a wide range of weight machines, three treadmills and a couple of elliptical machines.
Soon we headed back inside- hungry for a snack after a long day of travel, and still several hours before our dinner at Boma. We bought a small snack and refillable mugs ($12.99), which we used through the entire trip. I think Jay filled his up four times that afternoon alone.
We headed back up to the room to get ready for dinner, and at that point, our luggage was waiting for us in the room.
What a great service Magical Express really is.
Then a knock at the door, and the Disney Florist presented Jay with the DVC Floral bouquet in a mug that I got him to celebrate our first trip/anniversary. 
We both thought they brightened the room, and the cobalt blue coffee mug was nice and sturdy.
Shortly thereafter, the rain began. It wasn't heavy, but that afternoon would be the last time we would see the sun at Disney during the trip. We walked over to Jambo House and checked in for dinner at Boma. MMMMmmmm.
It is our tradition to eat at this wonderful African-themed extravaganza as our first meal at Disney. And it didn't disappoint. Delicious soups (try the butternut squash soup), wonderful hummus (hard to choose between the sun-dried tomato, the kalamata olive and the white bean variety) and salads, a wide variety of proteins, and new rich flavors in everything.
As always, the straws at AKL are made of paper – not plastic, so the animals don't accidentally get one if someone were to litter. It's touches like that that make this place special to us. (Also, as a warning to parents, you can't bring helium balloons to the resort – for the same reason- the animals could be hurt if they were to swallow the deflated balloon.)
Finally, the Zebra Domes (a confection made with a base of spongecake, kahlua/espresso mousse covered in white chocolate ganache, and a milk chocolate drizzle to make the zebra stripe), pineapple upside-down mini-tarts, and other desserts were divine. We also got some of the chocolate chip cookies “to go.” (OK, OK. You caught me. I was like my grandmother. I put some cookies in a napkin and put them in purse for a midnight snack.
) Tasty goodness. (Fyi, the price has gone up slightly, to $30.88 a person plus tax/tip. Still a great value, and it includes a beverage, but we're guessing that they finally figured they could charge more for such a great, popular spot.)
We rolled out of there like hippos. We had a nice walk back to the resort, checked out the “Safari So Good” arcade, the community room and the library. No books in the library yet, but a lovely chiminea fireplace, a wall hanging with the names of DVC owners, and quiet spaces to read.
There was also a balcony with rocking chairs outside. The community hall had nearly 100 board games to borrow, Wii and Playstation 2 to use there, a Foosball table, a pool table and crafts. We never got around to using the tennis courts or shuffleboard courts, but that's where you get the equipment for that, too.
Earlier that night, we had checked out The Great Muppet Caper from the free DVD library, so we settled in to watch Kermit and the gang spring Miss Piggy from the slammer and solve the jewel heist. While we watched we finished up some of our “Fairy Godmailer” postcards. Since we don't have kids, but love the youngins' of our family/friends/coworkers, we'll sometime arrange with the Princesses or Mickey to write them postcards – then I just address, stamp and mail 'em.
Finally, at about 1 a.m., it was time for bed. We got ready and climbed up into the giant, comfy bed with soft, crisp linens and plenty of pillows.
Tomorrow would be a wet and wild day full of surprises.
(Speaking of which, it's getting kind of late, now, so I'll try to post more tomorrow.)
As we finally got to our room and put in our “Key to the World” card, we walked in past the kitchenette and bathroom, were greeted with a butterfly “towel animal” on the bed with a proverb. It says “A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place.” -Ghana, Akan Proverb.
The colors were vibrant and lovely. Lots of Hidden Mickeys in the furniture, the carpet and the linens. The sheer lace curtains had characters from The Lion King.
Then we went to see the stars of the trip. As we walked out on the balcony, we were greeted by two ostriches, followed soon after by several of the five reticulated giraffes on the savanna and then some Nyala (a kind of antelope).
We took in everything in the room, from the wall hangings to the Wildlife Field Guide provided in the room – telling us about all of the animals on the savanna – what we had already seen, plus greater kudu, impalas, elands, antelopes, blesbok, ankole cattle, Thomson's gazelles, waterbuck, white-bearded wildebest and a host of birds.
Then we were off to explore the rest of the resort. We took lots of pictures out on the savanna and spoke to a cast member from South Africa who told us she had been there for 11 months and was eager to return home to her family and fiancee.
But she said she had a wonderful time while she was here, and was especially reminded of home when she worked at Kidani Village. Jambo House, she said, WAS grand and impressive, and great for guests. But the feel of Kidani reminded her of being home, with a cozy, smaller scale – more like actual lodges in Africa.
The savanna viewing area was a little smaller than at Jambo House, but it was still big enough to get out and see everything. Our exploration continued to the Samawati Springs Pool, Uwanja Camp for kids and Maji Pool Bar area. We had been warned that the pool would be small, but it seemed like a decent size to us, and the kids play area looked like it would be tons of fun. The “Survival of the Fittest” health club had a wide range of weight machines, three treadmills and a couple of elliptical machines.
Soon we headed back inside- hungry for a snack after a long day of travel, and still several hours before our dinner at Boma. We bought a small snack and refillable mugs ($12.99), which we used through the entire trip. I think Jay filled his up four times that afternoon alone.
We headed back up to the room to get ready for dinner, and at that point, our luggage was waiting for us in the room.What a great service Magical Express really is.
Then a knock at the door, and the Disney Florist presented Jay with the DVC Floral bouquet in a mug that I got him to celebrate our first trip/anniversary. We both thought they brightened the room, and the cobalt blue coffee mug was nice and sturdy.Shortly thereafter, the rain began. It wasn't heavy, but that afternoon would be the last time we would see the sun at Disney during the trip. We walked over to Jambo House and checked in for dinner at Boma. MMMMmmmm.
It is our tradition to eat at this wonderful African-themed extravaganza as our first meal at Disney. And it didn't disappoint. Delicious soups (try the butternut squash soup), wonderful hummus (hard to choose between the sun-dried tomato, the kalamata olive and the white bean variety) and salads, a wide variety of proteins, and new rich flavors in everything.
As always, the straws at AKL are made of paper – not plastic, so the animals don't accidentally get one if someone were to litter. It's touches like that that make this place special to us. (Also, as a warning to parents, you can't bring helium balloons to the resort – for the same reason- the animals could be hurt if they were to swallow the deflated balloon.)
Finally, the Zebra Domes (a confection made with a base of spongecake, kahlua/espresso mousse covered in white chocolate ganache, and a milk chocolate drizzle to make the zebra stripe), pineapple upside-down mini-tarts, and other desserts were divine. We also got some of the chocolate chip cookies “to go.” (OK, OK. You caught me. I was like my grandmother. I put some cookies in a napkin and put them in purse for a midnight snack.
) Tasty goodness. (Fyi, the price has gone up slightly, to $30.88 a person plus tax/tip. Still a great value, and it includes a beverage, but we're guessing that they finally figured they could charge more for such a great, popular spot.)We rolled out of there like hippos. We had a nice walk back to the resort, checked out the “Safari So Good” arcade, the community room and the library. No books in the library yet, but a lovely chiminea fireplace, a wall hanging with the names of DVC owners, and quiet spaces to read.
There was also a balcony with rocking chairs outside. The community hall had nearly 100 board games to borrow, Wii and Playstation 2 to use there, a Foosball table, a pool table and crafts. We never got around to using the tennis courts or shuffleboard courts, but that's where you get the equipment for that, too.Earlier that night, we had checked out The Great Muppet Caper from the free DVD library, so we settled in to watch Kermit and the gang spring Miss Piggy from the slammer and solve the jewel heist. While we watched we finished up some of our “Fairy Godmailer” postcards. Since we don't have kids, but love the youngins' of our family/friends/coworkers, we'll sometime arrange with the Princesses or Mickey to write them postcards – then I just address, stamp and mail 'em.
Finally, at about 1 a.m., it was time for bed. We got ready and climbed up into the giant, comfy bed with soft, crisp linens and plenty of pillows.
Tomorrow would be a wet and wild day full of surprises.(Speaking of which, it's getting kind of late, now, so I'll try to post more tomorrow.)
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