aussiegirls
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 7, 2009
Thanks for keeping us updated aussietravellers, especially with the pictures. I am loving travelling vicariously through you.
Only 61 more sleeps for us
xxx
Only 61 more sleeps for us
xxx
The Aussietravellers Adventures continue... Updated - Day 26 - Part 1
- Thread starter aussietravellers
- Start date
aussietravellers
who LOVE disney holidays!
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
Our room was ready. My requests..... Low floor, Arusha Savannah, Zebra Trail. Where is our room? Second floor 
Arusha Savannah Zebra Trail Triple
So here are some photos of the room for anybody thinking of staying at AKL.
Cute little towel animal in the bathroom (only towel animal we have had)
And the view from the room.....
There are Zebras, Giraffes, Red River Hogs that are very destructive, Roan Antelope, Ankole Cattle, Guineafowl and the Pink Back Pelican and a Nyla.
Next Up.... Off to Downtown Disney for our first night.
Arusha Savannah Zebra Trail Triple So here are some photos of the room for anybody thinking of staying at AKL.
Cute little towel animal in the bathroom (only towel animal we have had)
And the view from the room.....
There are Zebras, Giraffes, Red River Hogs that are very destructive, Roan Antelope, Ankole Cattle, Guineafowl and the Pink Back Pelican and a Nyla.
Next Up.... Off to Downtown Disney for our first night.
Ms. Shuttergirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2009
AKL Lodge looks gorgeous. I would definitely like to stay there one day. The view from your room is outstanding, wow!
Can't wait to hear more about your WDW days.
Can't wait to hear more about your WDW days.
.
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
That's a great view from your room! Enjoy......you deserve it! 
aussietravellers
who LOVE disney holidays!
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
So after we had been to our room and done some unpacking. We had an early ADR at TRex and I wanted to go and get our annual passes so that I could get the Tables in Wonderland card before dinner. So we took the bus to DTD and got our AP's
From there we raced to TRex as it was time for our ADR. I forgot to take photos of our meals again but we are going again for DS's birthday once our friends arrive in just over a week and I will be having the same thing as it was so delicious so I will post all about it then. At the restaurant they have different rooms through the dinosaur age. Here are a few pictures
This room changes from blue to red (think this is the ice age room)
The water room
Some dinosaurs
After dinner we wandered around the shops. Got an ice cream and then made a Tshirt at......
We each made a Tshirt and they come in a cute little bag.
Here is the design for me.... I'm going to wear it on my Wishes birthday cruise with our friends when they arrive.
After making our tshirts we were pretty tired so we returned to the resort for bed.
Next day.... Our first breakfast at WDW.... Ohanas, followed by Magic Kingdom.
From there we raced to TRex as it was time for our ADR. I forgot to take photos of our meals again but we are going again for DS's birthday once our friends arrive in just over a week and I will be having the same thing as it was so delicious so I will post all about it then. At the restaurant they have different rooms through the dinosaur age. Here are a few pictures
This room changes from blue to red (think this is the ice age room)
The water room
Some dinosaurs
After dinner we wandered around the shops. Got an ice cream and then made a Tshirt at......
We each made a Tshirt and they come in a cute little bag.
Here is the design for me.... I'm going to wear it on my Wishes birthday cruise with our friends when they arrive.
After making our tshirts we were pretty tired so we returned to the resort for bed.
Next day.... Our first breakfast at WDW.... Ohanas, followed by Magic Kingdom.
aussietravellers
who LOVE disney holidays!
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
This morning we were up early as usual and we took a taxi to the Polynesian Resort for our breakfast at Ohana. We had a 7.30am ADR and we were there about 5 minutes early. They were not open yet but we were able to check in and received our pager. Once our pager went off about 5 minutes later we were escorted to our table. They tried to get us to do the photo at the door but we declined. The photos doesn't have a character in it and you have to buy the photo and they are not cheap, so we just skipped it and went straight to the table.
We were seated right in the window, overlooking the lake and Grand Floridian. I didn't take any photos because the windows were covered in condensation and you could only just see through them (thanks to the FREEZING airconditionning).
Breakfast is served family style. So its "all you care to eat" and served into the middle of the table and you can just keep asking for more, unlike a buffet. We really like it because you don't have to keep getting up from the table, it's all bought to you.
Breakfast started with a yummy juice that has passionfruit, orange and guava juice. It is delicious but very very sweet.
Then a basket of breads is delivered. YUM YUM YUM. I am not sure what they are but there are two different types.
Then a platter of fruit arrives. It was lovely and so fresh!
Then the platter of hot food.
Waffles are served separately and they keep coming around with top ups. But they only give you one little mickey waffle at a time. We would ask for two but they really just like giving one
served with maple syrup and whipped butter
The food was absolutely delicious, we have two more breakfasts at Ohana's, we have this on our last morning too, it's one of our favourites.
Here are a few photos of the characters
Next up.... off to Magic Kingdom for our first day in the park.
We were seated right in the window, overlooking the lake and Grand Floridian. I didn't take any photos because the windows were covered in condensation and you could only just see through them (thanks to the FREEZING airconditionning).
Breakfast is served family style. So its "all you care to eat" and served into the middle of the table and you can just keep asking for more, unlike a buffet. We really like it because you don't have to keep getting up from the table, it's all bought to you.
Breakfast started with a yummy juice that has passionfruit, orange and guava juice. It is delicious but very very sweet.
Then a basket of breads is delivered. YUM YUM YUM. I am not sure what they are but there are two different types.
Then a platter of fruit arrives. It was lovely and so fresh!
Then the platter of hot food.
Waffles are served separately and they keep coming around with top ups. But they only give you one little mickey waffle at a time. We would ask for two but they really just like giving one
served with maple syrup and whipped butter
The food was absolutely delicious, we have two more breakfasts at Ohana's, we have this on our last morning too, it's one of our favourites.
Here are a few photos of the characters
Next up.... off to Magic Kingdom for our first day in the park.
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
So am I.....(I mean, after the NOT NOT trip).
I love Mickey's Hawaiian outfit. Breakfast looked like a lot of fun.
Out of curiosity and because I think I may be using the taxi option in October, how much did the taxi trip cost?
That's a very cute PINK T-shirt. Will you post a picture of you in the t-shirt on the Wishes cruise later?
I love Mickey's Hawaiian outfit. Breakfast looked like a lot of fun.
Out of curiosity and because I think I may be using the taxi option in October, how much did the taxi trip cost?
That's a very cute PINK T-shirt. Will you post a picture of you in the t-shirt on the Wishes cruise later?
Ms. Shuttergirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2009
the t-shirt is absolutely adorable. How much does it cost to make one, if you don;t mind me asking?
Ohana looks so scrummy. I couldn't get an ADR there but loved seeing your gorgeous photos.
Ohana looks so scrummy. I couldn't get an ADR there but loved seeing your gorgeous photos.
aussietravellers
who LOVE disney holidays!
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
The Tshirts were $22.95 for kids and $24.95 for adults. We got at 20% discount too with our AP's
If you wanted to make them and get the discount (it soon adds up, we got 3 tshirts and got a $14.57 discount), just sent me a message and I'd be happy to meet you at DTD sometime and you can use my AP and get the discount
There are lots of different colours and a couple of different styles. There are so many different designs for them and there is 4 lines of writing you can choose, one at the top and three at the bottom, you can use all or as few a lines as you wish. You can also change the font colour and also the font style. It takes a while to design because there is so much to choose from.
The store is opposite the Christmas shop, near the entrance to DTD at the marketplace bus stop. It's really cool, it's full of funny tv's to create your tshirts.
From AKL to Poly was about $20 (not including tip). We took the bus back, we took the monorail to MK and then bus from MK. Took an hour, where the taxi took 15 minutes.
I'll be taking plenty of pictures on the wishes cruise (provided the hurricane doesn't arrive on the 2nd as they are talking about!!!!) Pink is my favourite colour, I have so much pink, so there was really no other colour that I would choose
It was great, a really good breakfast. We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's and it was really
The food really is not good at all. It wasn't good last time we went but we really went for the characters, but Tusker House and Ohanas and Cape Mays are SOOOOO much better food wise and characters are great too! We won't go back to Chef Mickeys, but I'll do a report on that later.
aussietravellers
who LOVE disney holidays!
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
After our delicious breakfast at Ohana's, which was the perfect breakfast to start our WDW holiday with, we decided to board the monorail to Magic Kingdom. I loved seeing it all done up with Halloween decorations. We have not been before at halloween time, so it's nice seeing the different decorations.
To our surprise we had made rope drop! We love rope drop at MK, when all of the characters arrive on the train and the "Good Morning" song that is sung.
The race down main street was on
we followed Mary Poppins all the way up main street
The first stop was the tea cups as it is DS's favourite ride. It actually makes me sick so I went on once and that was enough for me, but DS went on it about 5 times in a row as there was virtually nobody there.
We then went on the speedway as that can be a really long wait during the day and again, we walked straight on.
We then headed over to Buzz and again straight on, so we did that again. Then we went on the people mover (straight on) and when we got off the peoplemover, we went straight up in the lift to Astro orbitor
We then went over and watched Mickey's Philharmagic. That was great and it was nice getting out of the heat for a little while. We then went on Peter Pan which had about a 10 minute wait and then Snow White (about a 5 minute wait). We then watched the celebration street party and headed over to the Jungle Cruise. We arrived just at the right time. It was about 15 minutes wait and as we went in, herds of people filed in so the wait would have been more like 30 to 40 mins if we had arrived 5 - 10 minutes later We had a great guide on the Jungle Cruise, she told lots of corny jokes
It's a bit annoying with my torn artery that I can't go on a lot of rides that I would love to go on, but am just having to stick to the tame rides this trip
We were then hungry and ready for lunch, but our ADR at the Plaza was not until 12.40pm! So we headed over there to see if we could get in sooner. Firstly she pointed out that we were early
I said yes, but we were happy to just wait if a table became available. So after a 15 minute wait our pager went off. When we went inside the restaurant wasn't even half full, only about 1/3 full, so I don't understand why they make you wait when the restaurant is no where near full, but at least we got in about half an hour early Lunch was OK. I forgot to take pictures. DS has a toasted cheese sandwich, it has that bright yellow cheese YUK. I did manage to remember to snap a photo of dessert (after all, dessert is the most important part of the meal 
)
After we had finished lunch we took a wander through the shops up main street and headed for the bus stop.
We got back to AKL about 2.15pm and I had some time to quickly throw some laundry in, go to reception to change some travellers cheques onto a gift card (finding this handy for paying for meals, we are not on DDP, we could use room charge, but I would rather just use the gift card. Going through that bill at checkout is a long task and you wouldn't remember if that was or not as there are so many charges, so am loving the gift card so nothing to pay at check out). Also it was time to get ready for our Wanyama Safari
Next Up.... Wanyama Safari (Sunset Safari) around AKL.
To our surprise we had made rope drop! We love rope drop at MK, when all of the characters arrive on the train and the "Good Morning" song that is sung.
The race down main street was on
we followed Mary Poppins all the way up main street
The first stop was the tea cups as it is DS's favourite ride. It actually makes me sick so I went on once and that was enough for me, but DS went on it about 5 times in a row as there was virtually nobody there.
We then went on the speedway as that can be a really long wait during the day and again, we walked straight on.
We then headed over to Buzz and again straight on, so we did that again. Then we went on the people mover (straight on) and when we got off the peoplemover, we went straight up in the lift to Astro orbitor
We then went over and watched Mickey's Philharmagic. That was great and it was nice getting out of the heat for a little while. We then went on Peter Pan which had about a 10 minute wait and then Snow White (about a 5 minute wait). We then watched the celebration street party and headed over to the Jungle Cruise. We arrived just at the right time. It was about 15 minutes wait and as we went in, herds of people filed in so the wait would have been more like 30 to 40 mins if we had arrived 5 - 10 minutes later
We had a great guide on the Jungle Cruise, she told lots of corny jokes It's a bit annoying with my torn artery that I can't go on a lot of rides that I would love to go on, but am just having to stick to the tame rides this trip
We were then hungry and ready for lunch, but our ADR at the Plaza was not until 12.40pm! So we headed over there to see if we could get in sooner. Firstly she pointed out that we were early
I said yes, but we were happy to just wait if a table became available. So after a 15 minute wait our pager went off. When we went inside the restaurant wasn't even half full, only about 1/3 full, so I don't understand why they make you wait when the restaurant is no where near full, but at least we got in about half an hour early Lunch was OK. I forgot to take pictures. DS has a toasted cheese sandwich, it has that bright yellow cheese YUK. I did manage to remember to snap a photo of dessert (after all, dessert is the most important part of the meal )
After we had finished lunch we took a wander through the shops up main street and headed for the bus stop.
We got back to AKL about 2.15pm and I had some time to quickly throw some laundry in, go to reception to change some travellers cheques onto a gift card (finding this handy for paying for meals, we are not on DDP, we could use room charge, but I would rather just use the gift card. Going through that bill at checkout is a long task and you wouldn't remember if that was or not as there are so many charges, so am loving the gift card so nothing to pay at check out
). Also it was time to get ready for our Wanyama Safari Next Up.... Wanyama Safari (Sunset Safari) around AKL.
aussietravellers
who LOVE disney holidays!
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
We had to meet at Jiko at 3.45pm for our safari. It is available to all guests staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge for an extra fee and includes dinner at Jiko after.
We arrived at 3.50pm worried about being late because we had to get our laundry back to the room, but they say 3.45 and you don't actually leave until 4pm. We checked in and were given a bottle of water. There were another 9 people on the Safari besides us, we were the only Aussies. Our guide Christopher arrived at Jiko about 5 to 4pm and introduced himself. We then were taken to the front of AKL and outside waiting for us was our safari truck/vehicle
We all piled in and off we went. We started off at Kidani Village savannahs. The second savannah (the Sunset Savannah) is shared by both Kidani Village and Jambo House. It has increased in size since Kidani Village opened and is now 18 hectares in size. The savannahs are all so beautiful and so well maintained. Here are some of the photos from that savannah
Ankole Cattle
The one eyed Ostrich (who lays lots of eggs each year)
Zebra
These are some of the enclosures that they animals go into each day for feeding and whilst they clean the savannahs. Each savannah around AKL has their animals go in a different times, so only one savannah at a time is without animals. They feed the animals in the enclosures each day so they can monitor what they eat and all the food they get out in the savannahs during the day are snacks.
The Arusha Savannah is what our room looks over. This Giraffe was SO close to the truck, just a few cm's away. We were not allowed to touch any of the animals but they were so close on many occasions we could easily have just patted them. No Zooming here.
View of our room from the truck
Here is one of the containers that they fill with treats for the animals. They open this and fill it with branches with leaves for the giraffes. You may also see the tree is covered with a wire mesh. All trees are covered with this to stop the giraffes munching on the trees trunks and killing the trees.
The last savannah at AKL (Jambo House), can't remember the name, it is something like Ulzima savannah.
Vulture
Some enclosures
Giraffes really close again (no zooming here)
After the Safari we went back to Jiko for dinner.
Sadly I did not take one photo of dinner. It is served family style in the middle of the table with a little starter, 4 appertizers, 4 main course and sorbet and then 3 desserts. It also includes different wines with each course. Sadly I have a very bad peanut allergy and the only thing I had to eat was the Filet with the Mac and Cheese. Now that was absolutely divine! It was a favourite of mine when we were at WDW last time and they said they had changed it a little since then which I was worried about, it was so good last time and if it isn't broken, why fix it. But it was still delicious. They mac and cheese is a 4 cheese one and it is a very pale cream colour, no bright orange fake cheese here
So that was our first day at WDW, certainly action packed from early breaky at Ohanas through to the evening at the safari and dinner at Jiko. We were very tired little Aussie travellers so we went off to bed. Ready for our day at Animal Kingdom the next day (where we meet Kyl).
We arrived at 3.50pm worried about being late because we had to get our laundry back to the room, but they say 3.45 and you don't actually leave until 4pm. We checked in and were given a bottle of water. There were another 9 people on the Safari besides us, we were the only Aussies. Our guide Christopher arrived at Jiko about 5 to 4pm and introduced himself. We then were taken to the front of AKL and outside waiting for us was our safari truck/vehicle
We all piled in and off we went. We started off at Kidani Village savannahs. The second savannah (the Sunset Savannah) is shared by both Kidani Village and Jambo House. It has increased in size since Kidani Village opened and is now 18 hectares in size. The savannahs are all so beautiful and so well maintained. Here are some of the photos from that savannah
Ankole Cattle
The one eyed Ostrich (who lays lots of eggs each year)
Zebra
These are some of the enclosures that they animals go into each day for feeding and whilst they clean the savannahs. Each savannah around AKL has their animals go in a different times, so only one savannah at a time is without animals. They feed the animals in the enclosures each day so they can monitor what they eat and all the food they get out in the savannahs during the day are snacks.
The Arusha Savannah is what our room looks over. This Giraffe was SO close to the truck, just a few cm's away. We were not allowed to touch any of the animals but they were so close on many occasions we could easily have just patted them. No Zooming here.
View of our room from the truck
Here is one of the containers that they fill with treats for the animals. They open this and fill it with branches with leaves for the giraffes. You may also see the tree is covered with a wire mesh. All trees are covered with this to stop the giraffes munching on the trees trunks and killing the trees.
The last savannah at AKL (Jambo House), can't remember the name, it is something like Ulzima savannah.
Vulture
Some enclosures
Giraffes really close again (no zooming here)
After the Safari we went back to Jiko for dinner.
Sadly I did not take one photo of dinner. It is served family style in the middle of the table with a little starter, 4 appertizers, 4 main course and sorbet and then 3 desserts. It also includes different wines with each course. Sadly I have a very bad peanut allergy and the only thing I had to eat was the Filet with the Mac and Cheese. Now that was absolutely divine! It was a favourite of mine when we were at WDW last time and they said they had changed it a little since then which I was worried about, it was so good last time and if it isn't broken, why fix it. But it was still delicious. They mac and cheese is a 4 cheese one and it is a very pale cream colour, no bright orange fake cheese here
So that was our first day at WDW, certainly action packed from early breaky at Ohanas through to the evening at the safari and dinner at Jiko. We were very tired little Aussie travellers so we went off to bed. Ready for our day at Animal Kingdom the next day (where we meet Kyl).
Oh wow! Am loving the pictures from the safari, how fabulous!
Argh, we haven't even done Disneyland yet and now I want to go to WDW...
Argh, we haven't even done Disneyland yet and now I want to go to WDW...
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Fabulous! It is such a thrill to see the animals up close. I've always wanted to stay at AKL and I think it's going to be a must-do for me now after your pictures.
Your ride wait times in the morning are magic.....but what is the crowd level like? Is it really busy?
And I can't wait to see MK Halloween decorations for myself!
Your ride wait times in the morning are magic.....but what is the crowd level like? Is it really busy?
And I can't wait to see MK Halloween decorations for myself!
Mum from oz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2010
Wow. Wow. Wow. Looks like you are having the most amazing time!! That safari looks awesome, I can't believe how close to the animals you got. Also the view from your room is also amazing! Can't wait to hear more 
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Aussietravellers - I read that you weren't feeling the best in Shuttergirl's TR. I hope that you're feeling better...
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