Animal Kingdom Lodge: Impala, Okapi, and Zebra's - Oh my!

In October 2011, Dreiz and I had the great privilege of staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL), a beautiful resort located on a 43-acre wildlife preserve featuring some free roaming, well-known favorites from the Kilimanjaro Safari. For us it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that came to fruition as the result of off-season discounts and a handy 40% off pin code that we received in the mail. AKL is one of the priciest resorts on property but if you're looking to splurge just a little, you're going in the off season, and you have a discount code, then it makes for the perfect getaway whether it be for a romantic couples vacation or a Grand Gathering.

I think this hotel actually lends itself perfectly to the Grand Gathering atmosphere. When you walk in you are greeted by several sights that make it a perfect place for families to gather. If you know Disney, you know they leave no sense untouched when it comes to giving you a once in a lifetime magical experience. One distinct sensation that comes to mind is the smell of the lobby. The only way I can describe it is akin to that of a wood burning fire place but without the overwhelming heat or heavy air that usually accompanies having a fireplace indoors. Once those factors are removed you're just left with this smell that makes you want to sit outside on a crisp fall evening, wrapped in a fleece blanket and making s'mores. It immediately makes one want to hang out in large groups, sit in a circle, and tell campfire stories. I have no idea why, you'd have to ask the marketing/psychological geniuses at Disney how that works! Coincidentally there are fire pits located both inside and outside Jambo house, most evenings at the Arusha Rock fire pit there is a featured storyteller so make sure you check the posted schedule.

The giant glass wall (it's certainly too big to just be a window!) is another striking feature this resort is famous for. As you walk in to Jambo House (the guest lobby), you are immediately greeted by a breath-taking floor to ceiling window adorned with vines. Even if you don't stay at AKL, it's worth resort hopping one day just to take in this sight. Here's an interesting factoid: AKL uses the least amount of lighting in all it's rooms and restaurants, as well as it's lobby. Reason being is that at nighttime they need to be able to recreate the animals natural setting as precisely as possible in order to reduce stress. The glass wall lets the natural sunlight stream in and illuminate the lobby perfectly and eliminates the need for the use of excess energy, so it's both beautiful and green! My Pal Mickey Note: due to the decrease in amount of energy used, the rooms at AKL are much less well lit than any other resort. So if you're one of those people that needs a room to be brightly lit all the time you'll be out of luck here. However in my opinion, the stunning view of giraffes and wildebeest right outside my window was well worth the trade-off.

Uzima Pool zero-depth entry. Credit: Loren Javier

When you're not in your room watching the animals from your porch, there are plenty of things to do on the AKL grounds. The Uzima Pool features a water slide, a kids play area, two jacuzzi, and a zero-depth entry section. For those of you who aren't familiar with what zero-depth entry is, it's essentially like being at the beach. Instead of having to use stairs to enter or exit the water there is a slope that runs right in to the pool from the surrounding lounge area. Great for if you just want to get your toes wet, or if you need special assistance getting in to and out of the water. We had the opportunity to experience both the pool and the jacuzzi (although I only got to get knee deep in the jacuzzi due to being pregnant and whatnot) this time around. Up until that point we had only ever perused the pools at the resorts we were staying at but never found the time to take a dip. We're definitely making room for assigned pool time this next vacation!

African Stew and Zebra Domes

As far as dining goes, you can't really go wrong at AKL. They feature everything from a fine dining restaurant to a quick service restaurant, Dreiz and I frequented the latter. We were on the quick-service dining plan and found that a great way to keep from spending extra meals is to share. Every night when we would arrive back at the hotel, and sometimes for dinner, we would go to Mara (quick service) and share a cheese or pepperoni flatbread. I was also pretty adventurous and tried the African Stew. It was a mix of chicken, rice, vegetables, and some kind of curry. It was excellent and I crave it still to this day! For dessert I recommend the Zebra Domes. If you're on the quick service plan you should be able to pick them out as part of your meal and the portion size is gigantic so there are always some to save for later. They are a very distinct coffee and chocolate flavored truffle that can be found in the refrigerator section.

Jiko and Boma are two of the more popular table service restaurants at AKL. Dreiz and I never had a chance to try these but Boma comes highly recommended from our pal Guru Kelly over at Disney Guru! Boma is buffet style dining (if you've ever dined at a buffet at WDW I don't even need to tell you this is a good decision because you already know it is!), which features recipes that were inspired by over 50 countries according to the information on the official site. It also features a wood fire rotisserie, traditional American cuisine, and of course lots of dishes with some African flair. Jiko is a little more upscale and requires you follow a dress code. Nothing too fancy, if you think "business casual" you should be good to go. Just don't stroll in there in your flip-flops and pool attire!

Our room. Notice the subtle lighting.

One advantage of staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort Hotel is that you have child care available on site. AKL offers Simba's Clubhouse, which is open from 4:30-midnight and accepts toilet trained kids ages 3-12. The cost is $11.50 per child with a 2 hour minimum. That sounds like quite the deal to me! Drop Junior off and head over to Jiko for a nice romantic dinner, or over to Victoria & Albert's at the Grand Floridian. In-room childcare as well as child care specialist that will accompany you through the park are also available, just make sure you request them in advance to make sure you get one!

The view from our room on the Arusha Savannah

For those who didn't book a room with savannah view there are plenty of viewing stations along the outside trails. There is also a special night viewing station right outside Jambo House where you can find a Cast Member that will let you use a special night vision scope to get the best view of the nocturnal animals that roam the Arusha Savannah. 

Cast Members at this resort went above and beyond anything we could have expected. The night before we left, we approached the Guest Services counter and asked if we could have Happy Birthday buttons for each member of our family that was celebrating a birthday in the coming year. The particular Cast Member, Kevin, was from France and loaded us up with handfuls of buttons. We told him that we just found out that we were expecting a baby and he gave us a birthday button with "Happy Birthday Baby!" written on it.

Our very last picture in front of the Castle as just the two of us

 Every now and again Kyle and I will play the "favorite game" which usually consists of  "What's your favorite attraction?", "What's your favorite ride at Hollywood Studios?" etc. If I had to pick a favorite between the two Deluxe Resorts we've stayed at (the Contemporary and AKL) I don't know that I'd be able to choose. It would be like asking me which one of my dogs I love the most. Animal Kingdom Lodge has a great family atmosphere and when I get nostalgic and want to make myself pine and yearn for Disney World, I think of it immediately. The Contemporary holds a special place in my heart too but for completely different reasons. Animal Kingdom Lodge represents such a new era in our household and I'll always look upon it fondly because of that. After all, it's where we were when we found out we would be welcoming our sweet little Ryleigh Noelle that coming June! So to us Animal Kingdom Lodge marks the transition of our family going from something missing to complete, and our stay there marks the last time we'll ever see Disney World as just Dreiz, Punkin, and their Pal Mickey.

I highly recommend it for any family that wants to have a magical vacation they won't ever forget. If you have any questions about our experience at Animal Kingdom Lodge, want to know more about the resort itself, or are interested in booking your own Animal Kingdom Lodge adventure, visit us over at the Mouse Tales and Disney Guru facebook pages!

The Ultimate Disney World Survival Guide

My survival kit!

When I pack for Disney World I have a special bag that I bring with me on the plane that I like to think of as a Disney Survival Kit. If a Disney Virus all of a sudden infected the entire populous of the United States and anthropomorphic mice and castles started popping up everywhere, I would be ready.

The minute the Magical Express drops us off at our hotel my husband and I are headed to the park so fast that there's a trail of smoke (or in my case pixie dust) behind our heels. We literally only go up to the room after checking in for the sole purpose of making sure the key card works. Since the Magical Express doesn't deliver your luggage until a good 3 hours after you've arrived it's always a good idea to have a backpack full of essentials with you when you get there so your first day at the park can go off without a hitch, because it really sucks when you get to the park on the first day and you're all excited and like "WOOOO Disney World! OMGZ there's Mickey!" and then you realize you forgot your camera, ya know?

So here is a list of things I like to bring on the plane with me and Homeland Security hasn't seen fit to take away yet:

1.  Digital camera: because if I were forced to use one of the disposables they sell there I would probably just lay down in the middle of Main Street and refuse to get up until someone went to Best Buy and got me something that I could figure out.
2. Video camcorder: because you never know when an awesome parade is right around the corner! (Actually you will because you will be in Frontierland and want to get to Tomorrowland and there will be 30,000 people in your way refusing to let you cross the street and using their strollers as weapons, then you will get to the curb and there will be 10 dancers and Pinocchio in your way and ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS GET TO THE CAROUSEL OF PROGRESS!)
3. A copy of The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World: which is available here. I also have this on my Nook. I use little post it notes to mark the pages that talk about things I want to see or do so I don't leave anything out, and also because I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and love post-it notes. I read it on the plane, and on the Magical Express if they aren't playing the welcome movie. We bring it to the park and I read it over the chicken nuggets. I've learned a lot of cool things from this book that always make me sound like I know more about Disney World than I actually do.
4. My mouse ears: because everyone that x-rays my bag needs to know I'm going to Disney World! My custom ears don't make it on the flight because I have an irrational fear that they will be stained or torn or ripped, so an old battered pair of sequined headband ears that I got on my honeymoon gets thrown in the bag. Sometimes I wear them mid-flight. No big deal. 
5. Hand Sanitizer: so far as long as you put it in a little plastic bag and it's one of the tiny ones you can get at Target for $1.00, Homeland Security keeps their panties unbunched. I don't want to think about how many people have touched the poles on the monorail, and having this stuff there really helps with that.
6. A snack: They don't let you bring food through security, but we pick up some granola bars at the airport snack shop right before we get on the plane. Yes, they're like $15.00 and they've been there for Walt-knows-how-long, but they will hold us off on the 45 minute ride on the Magical Express, and prevent us from using a snack credit from our dining plan on a couple of picked over croissants in the quick service dining hall.
7. A Water bottle: I refuse to pay $4.00 for an Aquafina. In fact I usually refuse to pay $1.75 for one. Florida water is a swampy acquired taste, but it's a lot easier on the pocket book. Apparently it's the law that any quick service dining place has to give you a cup of ice water if you ask for it, so I would also use that to your advantage. Not that this will make it any less swampy, but at least the swampy ick water will be icy cold. 
8. Ibuprofen: Because we don't have kids with us (although I'm sure ibuprofen is even more recommended if you do) my husband and I pull 16 hour days at the park, and when you're sprinting across Animal Kingdom at full speed to make sure you're in line for the Kilimanjaro Safari, or ducking and dodging people to get across Magic Kingdom during the parades, your feet tend to get sore and tired. Extra strength Excedrin becomes my BFF very quickly. 
9. Band-Aids: I don't care how comfortable and sensible your shoes may seem, the concrete at Disney World is an unforgiving bitch. Every time we're there I manage to get blisters on my feet that could possibly be mistaken for an extra toe. A good supply of heavy duty waterproof Band Aids is at least a start in the war against ugly Hobbit feet.  
10. Every credit card I have ever applied for and received: because you never know when they're going to stop you at the gate and say "Hey the Cinderella Castle suite is on special tonight for only $500 would you be interested in spending the night?" and you're like "Ohmygod YES, give me 5 of them!". (This never happens but WHAT.IF.IT.DID?)

Here is a list of things I keep in my luggage and wait to use until the next day:

Homeland Security's reaction to Disney pins

• My Pal Mickey: I have performed a vivisection on him before and his insides look suspect at best, and probably entirely worrisome when put through a Homeland Security scanner. Since the people working those machines look like they have never been to Disney World before, I think it's best to leave him in my suitcase instead of being detained for fives hours in a screaming, crying ball that can't articulate anything other than "I need my Mickey because he tells me what animals are on the Tree of Liffffeeeeee!!!" (Also I'd like to avoid being institutionalized).
• Disney Pins: I can't seem to get a straight answer when it comes to bringing your pins on the flight with you. Some people say they have, others have had them taken away. So I leave them in my luggage and just trade like a mad woman the next day to make up for lost time. I carry approximately 40 at a time and if you've ever seen a Disney pin you know they are no real threat. Unless of course I busted in to the cockpit and started screaming at the Captain "Disneyland Paris NOW or Figment here is going to show you what's up!!!" (He would have a most inconvenient boo-boo for like a week after that, right on the pointer finger that he types with!)
• My personalized Ears:  As I said before, I have an irrational fear that my personalized ears will be harmed in some way (I literally have nightmares about this), so they get to WDW via my luggage and I sport them for the rest of the trip. Going without them for a day is a whole lot easier than having something disastrous and catastrophic happen to them on the way there and then never getting to wear them again, ya dig?

Anyhoo, so that's what I bring to the park with me. Nothing special. All important.