Who/When/Where:

Who: Sue (49), DVC member
Chris (21), my son
Amanda (19), Chris’ girlfriend
Dates: January 18 – 22, 2008
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas Resort
Experience: Extremely experienced


INTRODUCTION:
This trip was originally booked to give SB a taste of both Animal Kingdom Lodge and the concierge life. Chris & Amanda were added later, but the only thing available (around 5 months in advance) was a standard (pool view) studio for the first 2 nights. I added both of their names to the concierge studio as well, since the permitted occupancy is 4 people. They will only sleep there 1 night (Sunday) but they’ll be able to enjoy the concierge lounge and some of the perks during their entire stay.

During the recent holiday season SB & I ended our relationship, so he won’t be coming along. We’ve been in touch, and currently are taking a breather – evaluating what the future might hold for us. I was able to drop him from the Sunrise Safari without penalty, but I’ll still go with Chris & Amanda since I don’t know when I’d be doing it again. Since for DVC members the concierge villas will not guarantee a savannah view, I don’t see myself booking concierge very often. The savannah view is more important to me.

Chris & Amanda will be coming up Friday morning, as neither of them have classes on Friday. They can check into their studio and head off to the parks until it’s ready. I have a dental appointment at 11:30 and will hit the road after that to check in on the concierge level and pick up extra room keys for them so they can access the lounge with me. They’ll be doing Chef Mickey’s for breakfast on Saturday, followed by the Keys to the Kingdom tour at the MK. I had booked LeCellier for lunch for 4 of us on Saturday, before the kids booked the MK tour. Once SB was no longer part of the group, I decided to move it back until later in the trip in case the kids wanted to join me. I had my pick of days, for an 11:30 lunch even though I was calling for January on December 17th! I took Monday, figuring we’d be too full after breakfast Sunday and they’d be home by Tuesday.

On Sunday we’re doing the Sunrise Safari, which is limited to AKL concierge guests. It takes place before Animal Kingdom opens, and we get a longer version of the safari without the Little Red spiel. Following the safari we get a fabulous buffet breakfast, and then we’re free shortly after the park opens to regular guests. Chris has done it before, but it’s been several years. I gave it to him & Amanda as one of their Christmas presents, but I’m not sure what Amanda will eat. She’s even pickier than I am, and eats very little. I swear she makes me look like a human garbage disposal! I’ll get my money’s worth on Chris’ ticket, though <g>.

Other than those plans I’ll pretty much play it by ear. I intend to enjoy the concierge lounge as much as possible, and of course plan to get to the Comedy Warehouse one night with Leesa. My chances for a savannah view on concierge are only 60% - there are 5 villas, and 3 face the savannah and the other 2 face the pool. It won’t be the end of the world if I’m facing the pool, though.

The plans so far are:
Friday 1/18: Work, Drive to WDW
Saturday 1/19: MK
Sunday 1/20: Sunrise Safari, AK, Comedy Warehouse
Monday 1/21: Epcot, LeCellier
Tuesday 1/22: MK or Epcot, go home


DAY 1 – Friday 1/18/08
Who: Sue (49), DVC member
Chris (21), my son
Amanda (19), Chris’ girlfriend

Plan: Work, Drive to WDW

Actual: It was a busy morning, since my work day was so short. Last night I’d gone to dinner with some friends and as usual had leftovers. But, since I was leaving work at 10:45 for a dental appointment and then driving to WDW there wouldn’t be time for lunch. So, I skipped breakfast and around 10am had leftover veal francese, rice pilaf and then some ice cream – untraditional but delicious! That will leave me set until dinner, too.

I called Animal Kingdom Lodge and talked to the cast member in the concierge lounge to inquire about my room. I’ve been assigned to a savannah view studio, but unfortunately it’s the handicapped accessible one that got such poor reviews on the DIS board recently. I hate those units, and don’t want them even if nobody else needs them. But, all of the other units were filled (or so she said <g>) so I’ll make do with it. It certainly won’t ruin my trip!

I was finished at the dentist and on the road by 12:14 and arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge by 3pm. Along the way I’d spoken to Chris, who arrived about an hour or so before me but their studio was not ready. They shared some chicken fingers for lunch down in Mara, then sat in the lobby. They were still there when I arrived, so they accompanied me up to the concierge lounge. When staying on concierge a bellman has to check your name and then bring you upstairs since it takes a special key to get to the 6th floor. Chris & Amanda had to stand in a long line to check in. I got to sit down at the desk of a person waiting for me to arrive, lol!

After checking in and getting room keys for everyone we took my luggage to my studio. The person checking us in thought it was a bit strange that 3 adults were spending 4 nights in a studio with only 1 piece of luggage <g>. My studio is the very first one off the lounge, which is very convenient. I have no idea of the room number, as I never pay attention to that anyway. The first thing that struck me upon entering is this studio is longer than the other ones (on the 5th floor). It also has a real closet rather than a wardrobe next to the tv. As you enter there’s a hallway, with the closet on the left. A little further down the hall the bathroom is on the right & the mini kitchen on the left. From there you have the bedroom, but the connecting door to the 1br villa next door is what gives the extra length. After that is a sofa, nightstand and queen bed on the right, and an end table, dresser with big flat panel tv and a table with 2 chairs on the left. There’s lots of empty space along the left wall, also. At first I was NOT impressed with the savannah view, as the thatched roof hangs over so low you have to look down to see anything – plus I’m the first room out of the corner, so looking straight ahead I see the side of the next wing. Off in the distance I see the new Kidani Village construction, and there were no animals at all out there. But, the room itself was so great I wasn’t really upset by the lack of animals for this trip.

I unpacked a little bit, then we went out to the concierge lounge for a snack. From 11:30 until 4:30 they had little brownies, scones, rice krispie treats, gummie bears, goldfish crackers, uncrustables, and a few other things. The person checking us in showed us how to use the new cappuccino machine (just arrived today), so Amanda & I each made some cappuccino. She added vanilla to hers and I added hazelnut. Chris got some of the African smoothie drink, which he remembered liking on previous stays. The snacks were all great – not lunch, but a nice snack. I went back to my studio (since it’s literally RIGHT next door it was so convenient) to get my camera, and saw several zebra and 2 giraffe outside. Cool – I’ll have animals after all! Chris came to the studio to check on their room, and it was finally ready.

We went to Amanda’s car to bring in their luggage, then went to their standard studio. In DVC terms, at this resort “standard” means pool view – pretty nice! They’re not too far from the elevators, and although the 1st story roof is a bit distracting they have a clear view of the pool. Amanda got changed into more comfortable clothes/shoes and we headed out to the bus stop around 4:15. We were headed to Animal Kingdom even though it was closing at 5, and our bus was waiting for us as we arrived! We got into the park by 4:30 and swam upstream towards Dino Land. They went over to Expedition Everest while I headed to Primeval Whirl. The posted wait time was 30 minutes, and the line looked like that might be accurate. So, I skipped it! Instead I went to Dinosaur and had almost no wait at all. They were loading people through the pre-shows pretty quickly, and since they were only running 1 side of the ride it got backed up quite a bit. I was still out of there in about 20 minutes, though. I called Chris & they were waiting for me at Everest, so I headed over there.

He asked if they still had those carnival games in Dinoland, so we headed back there – arriving right at 5pm. Primeval Whirl still had a 30-minute wait posted, but the line was shorter so I decided to do it while they wandered around the carnival area. It ended up being exactly 10 minutes until I was boarding, and the kids stood to watch me on the ride, lol. I rode with 2 teen girls, and it was jerky but fun. At this point the park was closed and cast members were only letting people walk towards the exit, so we left the park. As we got to the bus stop our bus pulled away, but another pulled in within 2 minutes. The transportation has been great! We had maybe 10 other people on the bus with us, and were back at AKL in no time.

Upstairs at the concierge lounge it was BUSY!! Every table was taken, so we sort of wandered around until 1 in the side hallway next to my studio was empty, then Chris found an empty chair at someone else’s table and brought it over so we could all sit. The food tonight was lamb kefta, chicken wings, butternut squash soup, cheeses, and various olives and stuff that I didn’t pay attention to. They had 2 reds and a chardonnay – Indaba from South Africa. I had a chicken wing (very good), a lamb kefta (glad I tried it for free – ate a few bites only), and some cheeses with flatbread. They had a yogurt dip that was pretty spicy. Chris had all of that plus an uncrustable and some of the soup – which he liked. Amanda had some cheese and crackers – we got her to try gouda, which was a first for her. As I said, she’s a very picky eater.

For beverages I had wine, Amanda had a soda, and Chris had soda and then a beer from Morrocco. I forget the name of it. They have a fridge in the lounge that’s stocked with milk, chocolate milk, soda and juices – guests can help themselves. On another table they have lemonade, ice tea (I think), African smoothie, bottled evian water and bottled perrier water. They always have the cappuccino machine, and hot water for tea or hot chocolate. Amanda made some hot chocolate in the steamed milk from the cappuccino machine.

We ended up sitting in the lounge talking, eating & drinking for 3 hours! Shortly before 8 I went to the studio for a restroom break, and saw the nightly turndown service had been done. I’d left my camera on the bed, suitcase half unpacked on the coffee tables, etc – a lot messier than I like. They turned the bedspread down without disturbing my stuff, and left an African proverb and a couple of chocolates – I brought one out to Chris. They also pulled the drapes, but didn’t turn on any music or tv. They triple sheet the beds up here on concierge, which is nice – there’s also 2 robes in the closet. Even though I’m DVC I’ll get daily and nightly housekeeping here.

I returned to the lounge as the desserts and cordials were put out. Chris got a carton of milk and added kahlua to it. I tried some decaf cappuccino with milk and baileys but it wasn’t good enough to finish. Maybe it was the 3 glasses of wine I already had <g>. So, I switched to evian water over ice! For desserts they had a spice cake thing that Chris liked, and some great little tarts made in phyllo dough with a nice custard and either fresh blueberries or strawberry on top. He & I both loved the strawberry ones. There was something else – some sort of cheesecake that neither of us tried. They also had sugar, oatmeal raisin & chocolate chip cookies (smaller versions), which were good – the oatmeal were the best in my opinion. For cordials they had kahlua, amarula, gran marnier, baileys, and corvassier (spelling is probably wrong there). It wasn’t nearly as crowded for the desserts, which kind of surprised me.

About 8:30 or so I said I was going to the studio to do the report and get online, and Chris wanted to get to their room to take a shower. It was a very nice evening, and I’m rethinking my savannah view reservation here next Thanksgiving – I might switch it over to concierge if it’s still available. I booked the first 3 days here, planning to make those days mostly hanging at the resort, then moving to Beach Club Villas once the crowds go home. When I booked it I figured it would be SB and me, and planned to do the Hoop Dee Doo again, and some other meals – but especially if it’s just me I might be better off with the lounge access instead.

Back in my studio I finished unpacking and then settled in to do the report and then catch up on email before turning in for the night. I REALLY love this resort, and I’m so glad I bought points here. I’m sure the new building will be even nicer, but even this one is terrific. I really enjoyed the evening with Chris & Amanda – rehashing and laughing over some of the old memories when Chris was little on our trips.

Tomorrow they’ve got a 7:30 breakfast at Chef Mickey’s and then a 9:30 Keys to the Kingdom Tour. I’m heading to the Magic Kingdom for the morning, and may meet up with them on their lunch break from the tour before coming back to enjoy the resort. The 2nd half of the day will probably be a repeat of tonight – the concierge lounge <g>.


DAY 2 – Saturday 1/19/08
Who: Sue (49), DVC member
Chris (21), my son
Amanda (19), Chris’ girlfriend

Plan: Magic Kingdom

Actual: A couple things I forgot to mention in yesterday’s report. When I checked in, the cast member taking care of that was walking me towards the cappuccino machine and asked if I wanted anything “harder” than wine or beer right now. It was barely 3pm, so I assured her I didn’t need hard liquor just yet <g>. She said sometimes people do want some – rough drive or flight, I guess. So, I think pretty much anything they have they’ll get for you regardless of the time of day – as long as it’s something they keep in their storeroom. While we were in the lounge last evening they had 1-2 cast members working at the desks, and at least 3 working the food/beverages. They were constantly cleaning off tables, bringing out more food, refreshing supplies. At one point I asked a lady if they had any more of the African beer that disappeared from the cooler. In the mean time, someone restocked it so Chris got himself one. Shortly after the lady came over with 2 of them, already opened. I felt bad, since she opened them. We took 1 (which Chris never drank) and she took the other one somewhere else. They really go out of their way to take care of their guests here!

Chris & Amanda were wondering what these rooms would cost if they were paying cash. I checked the sign in the closets, which is the maximum rate. For my studio it’s $685 per night. Amanda said “per night???”, lol. Their pool view studio was a bargain at only $400-something per night. Needless to say, they’re content letting me get their studio with dvc points ;-)

Also, on the way out of Animal Kingdom yesterday, Amanda told Chris she feels like she’s with a 4-year old (me) and 7-year old (Chris). When asked why, she said because we love Disney so much, lol.

I ended up turning in around 11:30 last night, and it was absolutely silent here in the studio. If there are people in the 1br next door they’re courteously quiet – just the way I like them! I make sure no neighbor hears noise from my side either. I’d set the alarm for 7, and for some reason never heard it going off until 7:10. I was awake a lot of the night, so maybe I’d finally fallen asleep before 7. The bed was wonderfully comfortable, but for some reason I wasn’t able to sleep much – guess it’s the excitement of being back here! It’s also very dark – between the clouds and the fog it might as well have been 3 in the morning!

Chris called a couple times while I was in the shower, so I called him back to see what was wrong. He wanted to know what time their tour was this morning. I told him it was written on the piece of paper I gave him yesterday, but think it’s 9:30. I guess you never stop having to take care of these kids, but it changes to remembering their tour times rather than wiping their noses!

After getting ready I went out to the concierge lounge – it’s closer than my kitchen is to my bedroom at home! For breakfast they have 4 different cold cereals (frosted flakes, fruit loops, rice krispies & raisin bran), hot oatmeal & some hot protein cereal, bagels, sweet rolls, muffins, croissants, juices, cappuccino, and yogurt. Oh also, lots of fresh fruit. I took some fruit, a little apple pastry and a sesame bagel back to the studio. I toasted half the bagel and put the other half away for tomorrow. It’s still very foggy outside – hopefully with the colder weather tomorrow we’ll have clear skies for our safari.

I left the studio about 8:30 to catch a bus to the Magic Kingdom. The bus came just as I reached the bus stop, and although it ended up being standing room only by the time everyone boarded the standing people were not squeezed in there like sardines at least. This is the longest ride from Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we got to the park just before 9.

I paused to call Linda (Leetee from radp) to see if she & Frank were already at the MK, but they were hung up at Wilderness Lodge. We decided to try each other later, once they got to the park. Entry took longer than normal – with a security cast member who was taking her silly job seriously (wanting the mom ahead of me to open every last compartment of her backpack) and all of the turnstiles had people waiting in line. Of course I picked the one where I was behind the clueless family – but finally they understood the instructions to get into the park! It was much more crowded than I expected, but it IS a holiday weekend. It was also getting drizzly and that really didn’t stop while I was there. Although the weather guy on tv this morning said it would reach 79 degrees (I wore shorts based on this), it was damp and raw – and stayed that way the entire time I was in the park. Oh well – the weather today in a word would be SUCKY. However, it’s better than being at work, lol.

My first stop was Space Mountain, where I picked up a fastpass for 10:05 – 11:05. They didn’t start letting people inside until after I’d gotten my fastpass, and I still don’t understand why they can’t have it ready & open for the first guest who arrive. This standing in line AFTER the park opens is not acceptable in my opinion! I headed towards Fantasyland and literally walked right onto a waiting honeypot at the Pooh ride. It was nice having it to myself for a change – no sharing with people who take flash pictures or parents who insist on babytalking to their preschooler through the entire ride <g>. After the ride I decided to wander back down Main Street thinking I might run into Linda and I knew I’d catch up with Chris & Amanda. Chris saw me walk by, so he called me – I went back to where they were to chat with them before their tour began. The tour has changed a little bit since I did it years ago. Besides now including lunch, the guests are given earpieces to wear to hear the guide better. They also save the utilidors for last, while they were mid-tour when I went. I told them to have fun, then went back up Main Street towards the castle.

A couple of times today as I was passing through the hub I saw the cast members who I assume are in the show there wandering around, always in pairs. I don’t know if they’re trying to set a certain atmosphere or what, but thought it was rather silly. They weren’t interacting with guests – just looking strange <g>. I took the path along the left side of the castle, coming into Fantasyland to the right of Philharmagic. I was going to ride Peter Pan’s Flight but the wait was 20 minutes and I just won’t do that for a short ride I’ve done so many times. The line looked to be every bit of those 20 minutes, too. Instead I walked right onto the Snow White ride, sharing the car with another solo woman.

I was headed to Haunted Mansion next (Peter Pan now had a 40 minute wait posted) when I ran into Linda and Frank! They’d just left Haunted Mansion and were headed to Philharmagic, so I joined them for that. We had no wait at all, unless I didn’t notice it because we were talking! If there was a wait, we never stopped moving so it couldn’t have been more than 5 minutes. Frank does the parks in an electric scooter now, so we sat in the back of the theater. Sitting back there is every bit as good as sitting in the middle, and since we were the only party we picked the center seats. Linda & I tried to not get wet but forgot they spray water more than once!

After the show we chatted briefly in the gift shop, then went our separate ways. They were heading to Epcot soon, and I still had MK time to kill before meeting Chris & Amanda. I went back to Haunted Mansion and joined the line. Luckily a party of 1 can squeeze in anywhere, so the wait wasn’t bad. I really like the enhancements here – it was always a favorite, but now they’ve made it a little bit better than before.

Once I finished with Haunted Mansion, I’m sure I was in my window for Space Mountain so I crossed the hub and walked back over there. Before I rode I picked up another fastpass, with an 11:35 return time. I rode the left side first, then did the right side later – not there’s really any difference. It was fun – but jerky. This is an attraction where having more body fat would come in handy. It’s too bad I’d have to carry it around the rest of the day, week, month, etc <g>.

I think after Space Mountain I rode the TTA (Tomorrowland Transit Authority) which wasn’t the greatest choice because the drizzly misty rain was blowing onto me even though the ride is under cover. Oh well. From there I made a quick restroom stop by the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station (which is closed). In only mention it because it’s rather out of the way, yet when I was leaving there was a huge line of women waiting to use the 3 stalls in there! One rather large lady was standing in the middle of a space meant for 2 people blocking my exit until I finally said “excuse me”. You’d think she’d move herself to one side to let people get out. It’s not like I can drill a tunnel under the floor to escape without disturbing her, lol!

Pirates of the Caribbean was next, where I actually had to stand in line for the very last section. They had both sides loading, thank goodness. It was a nice ride, but I really could care less about the stuff from the movie – except the image projected on the smoke at the start – that’s cool. After Pirates I walked around to Frontierland, where maintenance guys were working on Splash Mountain. I think I remember reading it’s closed for refurbishment right now. I skipped Big Thunder, figuring between long lines and the drizzle it wouldn’t be worth my while. I was going to ride Small World, but the line inside there was just too crazy for me to deal with. It’s a cute ride, but I don’t love it that much. Today it would have mostly been a chance to sit indoors for a while <g>.

I had about 15 minutes until my Space Mountain fastpass was good, but I wasn’t sure I was going to bother. I went back to Main Street and went into the bake shop but ended up not buying anything. I remember someone saying their apple turnovers were good, but today all I saw was cherry. Nothing else really excited me, and with the concierge lounge having so much stuff to snack on, it didn’t make sense to buy something just for the sake of buying something. I ended up walking back to Space Mountain and used the fastpass after all – getting the front seat this time!

When I got outside I saw Chris had called, so I called him back but he didn’t answer. I walked over to Columbia Harbor House and saw them with their tour group right outside. With the tour, they rope off sections upstairs and when you go up there your food is on one of the tables and you’re told to look for your name on the card to see where you sit. I wouldn’t try to join the rest of the group, so I was going to just leave since my only purpose being there was to have lunch with them. Chris asked the guide if they could eat over in the next section to eat with his mom, and the guide said ok. After the guide did some more talking, they took their food & came over to my table away from the group – but close enough to hear any instructions like “time to go”, lol.

Chris & Amanda had each ordered the chicken and fish basket with fries, and between the 3 of us we pretty much ate it all – or came very close. It was plenty of food, and it was pretty good. Last night Chris’ dad called when we were in the lounge, asking if I had a couple of freeloaders at my table. I did, lol – but today at lunch I was the freeloader. I left them as their group was finishing up, and said I’d see them back at the resort later, up in the lounge. They’re going to a car show at Downtown Disney after the tour, and Amanda was concerned whether they’d make it back in time for the brownies so I asked her if she’d like me to put a few aside for her <g>. They’re about 1 square inch in size, which is perfect. She eagerly said yes! The girl is addicted to them!

I headed out of the park, and saw the AKL bus pull away when I was too far back to run for it. So, it was about 20 minutes before the next bus came to take me and 2 other couples back to the resort. There were just a few people hanging out in the concierge lounge – I think they were waiting for their rooms to be ready. The food was trail mix, goldfish crackers, spicy nuts, sugar cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, baked granola bars, and a few things I don’t remember. The granola bars didn’t look like granola bars at all, but I took one and didn’t like it. They had kettle chips – those were good. I ate a couple chips and a macadamia nut cookie (also excellent) and made a cup of cappuccino. I took it back to the studio and updated the report. The sun actually came out briefly, but no animals other than a big crane or stork until about 2pm. Then the giraffe started moving through, along with some greater kudo, zebras and an ostrich.

I brought my empty cappuccino cup and cookie plate to the lounge, then wandered around the resort a bit. I wanted to see the location of Lisa & Andy Cubbon’s favorite room here, since it’s causing Andy to want to buy dvc just so they can have a chance at this 5th floor room again, lol. Lisa – I’m sorry to report your room does not exist any longer. I was talking to a couple of housekeepers and they confirmed that your room is now part of a grand villa that occupies that entire end of the wing. So, you’d better tell Andy to buy LOTS of points, and might as well set aside 1 of the bedrooms for me <g>.

I went back to the studio for a while, then after 3 got Amanda’s brownies and took a small scone and glass of iced evian water for myself. I sat out on the balcony to do some reading to pass the rest of the afternoon. It was finally not raining, so it was comfortable out there (although with the roof overhang my chairs & table never got wet today).

Shortly before 5 the housekeeper came to do turndown service and deliver an envelope that was outside my door. She left me another African proverb and 2 chocolates – she can stop by any time she’d like, lol! The envelope was a reminder and instructions for the sunrise safari tomorrow. I took it outside on the balcony to read, and gave Chris a call. They were still at the car show in Downtown Disney but would be heading back in about half an hour. I went out to the lounge a little after 5 to check out the goodies for tonight!

Wow – tonight has some good stuff! The hot food is aucho barbecue pork ribs (look yummy), coconut curry chicken stew (can’t wait to try that), and some meatballs. Maybe Amanda will eat one of those, or stick with more cheese. I went back to the studio to get my camera since it wasn’t crowded and as I was standing there like a dork taking a picture of the pretty way they set up the peanut butter & jelly uncrustables I heard a male voice say “cause they won’t believe it at home?”, lol. Oh well, when he goes home & goes back to work he can tell people he went to the concierge level at Disney and saw a lady taking pictures of peanut butter & jelly!

I decided to take a book and go sit in the lounge but wait for the kids before eating. I had my Indaba chardonnay so I was set for a while. I figured if it got busy and people needed the table to eat, I’d simply get up and return to the studio until we were all together. Chris & Amanda arrived just before 6, and we sat at a nice table for 4 near the food. Surprisingly, the lounge wasn’t as mobbed as last night so it was very nice. Chris seemed to love the ribs, and must have eaten a whole rack! He said the meatball was good, but I didn’t really care for it. I had a couple of ribs and a couple pieces of cheese. Amanda ate cheese and crackers, and then when I brought her the brownies she ate all 4 of them!

We started hearing thunder and seeing lightning, so Chris checked the weather on his cell phone. I was very bad – severe storms, damaging hail, etc. It even mentioned Animal Kingdom in the weather forecast! At one point an especially loud thunder caused one of the sculptures up in the window to shake – Chris said the entire window shook. I was glad to be inside! We had a nice time talking, eating & drinking. Chris had another African beer and then switched to the African smoothie (non alcoholic). I stuck with the chardonnay, since I didn’t have to drive anywhere. Around 7:30 they went down to Mara to see what they had – Amanda was craving potato chips but I didn’t know to save her any kettle chips earlier. I went back to the studio briefly, and then headed back out to the lounge. I absolutely LOVE it here – I may have to change my Thanksgiving reservation to concierge!

I went back to the studio briefly to check email, then they met me there. Shortly after 8 we went back out to the lounge to check the desserts. Chris made another kahlua and milk, while I had a small Baileys over ice. The desserts were the same as last night, but that was ok. I really like those little strawberry tart things! We tried the cheesecake and it was excellent. I think it was pineapple, and Chris finished it for me. They had more of the brownies, so evidently something from last night was missing. Amanda had her 5th brownie, and was done <g>. On their way back to the studio earlier she asked a cast member if she could have an apple juice, since they’d removed that to make room for the beer. The cast member brought her 4 apple juices, which astounded her! She put 2 in the fridge here, since they’d be spending tomorrow night here in my studio. They do work hard to please around here!

We spent an hour or so sitting in the lounge talking and laughing. It was a lot of fun. Finally they went to their room since they had to pack up everything before we do the safari tomorrow. I got settled into bed in my studio and hung out online for a while before turning in. The sunrise safari tomorrow should be excellent! Amanda heard the cast member telling a guest they’d be providing blankets for us tomorrow since it is only supposed to be 40 degrees!

It was a wonderful day, except for the really crappy weather. I wore a pedometer today until I came back to the resort and it measured 7.75 miles. I think that’s a little high, as it probably racked up some steps while I was riding Space Mountain and any other jerky rides. In any event, I enjoyed spending the morning wandering around the park and spending the afternoon/evening enjoying the resort. I wish this trip was longer than it is!


DAY 3 – Sunday 1/20/08
Who: Sue (49), DVC member
Chris (21), my son
Amanda (19), Chris’ girlfriend

Plan: Sunrise Safari, AK, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: I’d set the alarm for just before 5, knowing the kids would be here with their luggage around 6:30. In hindsight, I guess 5 was a bit early, lol. Once again the alarm didn’t go off until 7 minutes after the time set. I have no idea how to use these clock radios, and can barely operate the tv (which explains why it is rarely on). Around 1:30am I was woken up by loud neighbors next door coming into their villa. I’m assuming they just checked in, and are SUCH morons that they would have a young child out at 1:30 am by choice. I heard their door slam shut, the kid making little kid noise, the dad talking to them, their phone ring, and when they were at the connecting door trying to open them I shouted over to get the hell away from that. After that, all was quiet, lol. Idiots. I didn’t return the favor by being really noisy this morning, but tonight is a repeat of last night I may change my mind.

I showered, dressed, and stepped out onto the balcony – YOWEEE it’s cold out there! Cold and WINDY, which makes it worse. I went out to the lounge for hot water to make my cappuccino, and hung out online waiting for the kids to arrive. I forgot to mention before that whenever I’m out on the balcony I can smell meat grilling – must be coming from the restaurants. It smells so good – and the animals don’t seem to be threatened by it <g>.

Chris & Amanda brought their suitcases up at 6:30, then Chris went downstairs to check out. Amanda & I went to the lounge and I checked us in for the safari and got a couple of the big blankets they had available. Coffee and juices were out, but I had cappuccino earlier in the studio. It was a large group of people, and we ended up taking 2 buses and 2 of the safari jeeps. Each bus/jeep had it’s own safari guide. I was shocked at all the kids – in strollers!! Fate was on my side, as somehow almost all of the families with kids were sent to the other bus (yay!!) and therefore were on the other jeep. We had a little boy named Jacob on our jeep, and he sat up front and asked decent questions of the guide. I thought of Andy Cubbon – this little boy’s favorite animal was “birds”. At one point we were watching some rhinos running around, really close to the jeep – and Jacob got all excited because he spotted a cardinal <g>. Even the guide laughed at that. I have no idea how old he was, as I never saw him – but I’d guess early elementary school age.

We were first driven behind the scenes at Animal Kingdom, and saw many of the barns where the animals return for training and checking (and some treats – that’s the bribe that gets them “home”). We had a short walk to board our jeeps, and then we were off. It was chilly, but not too bad with the blankets, except when the wind was blowing on the big open savannah. We saw everything except the okapi, cheetah, warthogs & I don’t recall seeing any of the thompson’s gazelles either. At each animal the jeep stopped completely while the guide talked about that animal and people were able to stand up and take all the photos they wanted. We paused long enough to let the animals move around, and some came right near the jeep.

At one point the ostrich got startled, and 3 of them were running like crazy. One came over right next to us and the other 2 went over to the truck that was driving through and started pecking on it. The guide said ostrich are not very smart – they’ll see something, peck at it for a while then lose interest, then 2 minutes later they see it again and don’t remember having seen it before so they start the pecking again, lol. Evidently Giraffe aren’t too smart either – she say the longer the neck (of any species), the harder it is for anything to reach the brain <g>. Both lions were out, and the female stood up for us and roared for quite a while before laying back down in silence. We don’t know what she was trying to say, as she did not seem upset or agitated. We skipped the whole “save the elephants” story, which was nice.

After the safari the park was open, so we were led to Pizzafari for our breakfast. They have one of the rooms closed to regular guests, with a heavy red drape blocking the doorway. Inside the buffet was in the center of the room, beverages on the side wall, and tables along the other walls. It got a little crazy here – a cast member with a clip board was at the doorway and you had to give her your name so she could check her paper and tell another cast member which table to take us to. That seemed totally unnecessary, and neither cast member seemed to have any more brains than the ostrich. So, it was a long process while we’d give our name, cm#1 would tell the other “table 5, no table 11, no table 9” and then cm#2 would say “where is it” and cm# would say “there, no there, um maybe over there”. It was comical.

We finally were shown our table, and we’d been paired up with family from West Virginia (mom, dad, young daughter). They were nice people, and we enjoyed talking to them. The daughter wanted to ride Expedition Everest & was asking Amanda about it. Once they FINALLY got everyone seated the chef guy walked around the buffet shouting out what everything was, and saying if anyone has any food allergies or other issues to let him know. When people went to eat, it was very confusing. Your plate was on your table, so there was no start and end for the buffet – it was an oval setup in the middle of the room! So, you had some people going one way and others going another, plus people wanting to just get 1 item, etc. It would have made sense to just sit & wait for everyone else to eat, lol.

They had a lot of the stuff I remembered from before, but I think they used to have more to choose from back then. Regardless, it was very good and Chris & Amanda said it was MUCH better than Chef Mickey’s breakfast yesterday. I remember banana French toast, eggs, vegetable omelet, biscuits/gravy (but they ran out of gravy), potatoes, bacon, sausage patties, real sausage, ham, apple cobbler thing, fresh fruit, pastries, cereal packets, and something that might have been a hot cereal. A portion of the $55/person fee goes to the wildlife conservation fund, too.

I’d heard of them giving fastpasses to guests at the end of breakfast, and I think we used to be offered one for the regular safari, but today there was none of that. We finished up and left around 9:40, hoping to get to the 10:00 Nemo show. Even with a bathroom break and a stop for Amanda to get her picture taken with Eeyore, we made it with 6 minutes to spare. I was impressed with the show – it was very well done. It’s not something I’d see on every trip, but perhaps every couple of years. Chris felt the same way. When the show ended we went to Everest to check the single rider line for Amanda, but it had a 30 minute wait. The whole park was VERY busy again, even early in the morning. We decided to go to Epcot instead, so we left the park and took the Epcot bus.

Arriving at Epcot was a zoo – it was also mobbed! What made it worse was all the tour groups we’ve seen this whole trip. It must be holiday season in Brazil or wherever the hell these people are coming from – BIG groups of them, led by a flag carrying tourguide. They are way too big to hear anything the guide might be saying, so I don’t see the benefit to touring like a herd of cattle vs going off on your own. We got through security and the turnstiles faster than expected, and soon were passing the gravestones in front of Spaceship Earth.

As we approached Spaceship Earth there was no line, so I knew they were not open. The fences were all removed, so I asked the cast member when it would be opening today. She said “right now” so we were the very first in line for today. There was no line of people waiting in case it opened, but within seconds anyone walking by was joining the line. The cast member inside was very friendly and was telling us something about the ride opening, but with her accent none of us had any clue what she had said, sadly. I’m all for diversity, but don’t put someone in a guest contact role if their English cannot be understood!

I like the changes – and I like that they kept a lot basically the same. I always enjoy this ride, and am glad to have it back. We poked around the games at the exit, but they were all in use already. We were going to get Soarin’ fastpasses, but the return time was already 5:15 or so. Chris suggested Living with the Land, but that had a 20 minute wait. Thank goodness for those signs outside, as they saved us from walking over to an attraction that we would not have waited for. We went to Test Track instead, and the fastpass return time was 2:55 so they got 2 fastpasses since they’d still be in the park. The single rider line was outside the door to the building, so we were not going to do that!

We headed for World Showcase and rode Donald’s Grand Fiesta Tour in Mexico. Chris hadn’t been in there for years! We tried the Maelstrom in Norway, but that line ended just inside the door – so the posted 5minute wait was WAY off! We did not stay, but chose instead to continue walking around the countries. Once we got back to Future World we were going to ride the Imagination ride, but it was also backed up to just inside the door. We know it’s a long walk to the loading area, so that would be a fairly significant wait for a ride that usually you can walk right on! I decided to return to the resort, and they headed to Ice Station Cool (or whatever it’s called now). They may or may not return to the lounge tonight, as they want to see Fantasmic and Hollywood Studios closes at 7 today.

The bus came quickly, and I was back at the resort around 1:30. I made some cappuccino and had 2 cookies (1 each chocolate chip and white chocolate macadamia) while I caught up online and updated the report. I wasn’t hungry at all, but who can say no to a cookie??? While I was in the studio 3 engineers stopped by to inspect where they’d previously fixed a water stain on the wall. I had not noticed it, and even now I can’t see it. They were in agreement that they got the shade right, but it still needs more work to make it just right, lol. So much for DVC being in a state of disrepair – they’re doing well here at least.

I had a zebra laying under a tree, and a group of striped animals laying by some rocks. The ostrich was walking around, too. It was too chilly to sit on the balcony, but I had a nice view out my glass door door! Later I took a walk to the outside viewing areas to see what was going on. A few people were swimming in the pool, but the lifeguards had jackets, gloves, lined pants and hoods on! I saw more of the usual animals, and took a few more pictures. I found my room but wasn’t able to get an outside shot due to the sun. The dvc Kidani Village construction looked like more than 5 stories at this point. I’ll have to look at the model of the new section some day to see just how big it is going to be. Around 3:45 I went back up to the studio, making 1 last pass through the lounge to get Amanda more brownies for later. I have 6, but I know she will eat every bite and she won’t eat the real food in there! Each brownie is only about an inch square anyway.

Chris called from the line at Test Track about 4 and said they were heading back after that ride. I’m not sure if he was just getting hungry and didn’t want to buy food, or if they had had enough of the parks for now. Either way, it will be nice to have them back. I’m going to be so lonely tomorrow night, here all by myself!

Leesa & I hung out in the studio, and Chris & Amanda arrived a little before 5. At 5 we all went to the lounge, and got a table. The hot food tonight was the chicken wings again, along with carrot ginger soup and vegetable boboti. I stuck with the cheese & crackers/pitas along with a couple chicken wings. I did try the carrot ginger soup and although I did not HATE it, it was not something I really wanted to eat. I took a boboti, but was unable to find any part of it without something offensive to me (mostly mushrooms). It was probably very good if you liked that sort of thing. Chris was looking like a zombie, and I think the early start was catching up to some of us (mostly the young ones, lol). He & Amanda went back to the studio and slept for almost 2 hours.

Laurie Johnson from Texas called sometime after 6 so I went downstairs to bring her and her friend Sharon up to join us. They had a 6:50 reservation at Boma, but we sat up in the lounge to meet in person finally. Both Laurie and Sharon were really nice – it was a fun time having the 4 of us chatting for a while. Hopefully their dinner was delicious!

Just before 8 Chris & Amanda came back out, and we waited to see the desserts for tonight. Once again it was the little tarts, pineapple cheesecake, mini brownies, a coconut thing, and 3 different cookies. There isn’t a whole lot of variety in the desserts, but what they have is very good. Amanda ate some of the rice krispie treats that were also out, and the rest of us sampled the other stuff. Leesa & I headed out around 8:20 to drive over to Pleasure Island for a couple Comedy Warehouse shows. Chris & Amanda were going to the Magic Kingdom since the park was open until 11 plus having extra magic hours.

We got to Downtown Disney and of course parking was a nightmare. I dropped Leesa off by Planet Hollywood and then after finding no space at all in the first long row I tried, I just headed for the very back row of the parking lot, the furthest away. There I grabbed the first spot I found, since I didn’t have time to waste. I saw some empty spaces closer, but not many! However, once I got to the West Side and Pleasure Island there was nobody there! I wondered if maybe locals parked their cars there and caught a ride to the airport to go away on trips without paying the airport parking rates or something, lol. It’s always crazy like that here, especially on Sunday nights – full parking lot, but hardly any people around.

We got our wrist bands and wandered around a bit until it was time for the next Comedy Warehouse show. Carol Stein was on the keys, and did the routine where she plays a favorite children’s song as if it had been written by 2 very different composers. She does an amazing job of this! Tonight’s suggested song was “Singing in the Rain” which was the first time I’d heard that named as a favorite for a kid, lol.

The 9:05 cast was Robby, Philip, David, Mark L & Mary. They had bad luck with the phone interview. The first guy who answered said something unintelligible and then “leave me the f**k alone”. Nobody laughed or anything, perhaps stunned that anyone would be such a jerk like that. So, they rang another row, and got a total loser of a human being – some lazy slob who lives with his mother, doesn’t work but sleeps and plays video games. When Robby asked if he had a girlfriend the jerk said “no” and Robby said “we figured that” (or something like that). They did a good job ripping into him a bit for being such a jerk. I guess no matter how bad your life might seem in a particular moment, we can all be grateful that we’re not with that first guy and didn’t give birth to the 2nd one, lol!

After the 2 jerks the rest of the show went fine. Mary & Philip did a Fill in the Blank scene with 2 audience volunteers. Most of the rest of the show was Cliché, where Robby was tortured until he guessed “If you want a stable relationship get a horse”. He was really good at figuring out parts of it, too.

After the show I talked to Mary for a while – glad I came out for this show since her schedule was different than a normal Sunday. It was freezing outside, too! Soon we were back in, ready for 1 more show.

The 10:15 cast was Philip, Christine, Robby, Brian & David. They did a scene where all actors participated but only 2 at a time. Each actor stayed with the same character no matter who else they were working with. Each time an actor replaces someone, the scene has to move forward in time before the new pair resumes. It took place on a cruise ship, where Philip collected $500 from men to throw their wives overboard. It was pretty funny.

Next was Madrigal, where 4 actors start with a tabloid headline then they take turns creating a new one (in song) using only words from the original 4. Tonight they had “Britney Spears gives birth to a caterpiller”, “Boy locked in fridge eats own foot”, “Papparazzi photographs themselves” and “Michael Jackson becomes a woman”.

The last scene was Christine & Robby in a restaurant deciding what to have for dinner. After completing the whole thing they had to go back & do it set in the dark ages, which I wasn’t thrilled with. Then they had to redo it in the style of a kung-fu movie, which was hysterical with Philip providing the translation of their dialogue. They redid the scene one more time, as a pop musical.

Leesa was catching her ride home, and I headed back to the parking lot (which now was almost empty) to get the car and drive back to AKL. I was up in the studio before midnight, and the kids weren’t back from MK yet. I finished up the report and got comfortable in bed – hoping my neighbors (man, woman, boy 8-10, girl 5-6) would keep the noise down when they come back tonight!

Today was a really great day, but a long one. Starting with a Sunrise Safari and ending with Comedy Warehouse or extra magic hours at MK makes for a long day! The safari was excellent – not something I would do every trip, but worth the money as something “special”. It was really cool getting to be the first to ride Spaceship Earth today. I also enjoyed meeting Laurie & Sharon, and spending time in the concierge lounge with Leesa & the kids. This is so easy to get used to!

Tomorrow I have a lunch reservation at LeCellier, and I’ll definitely ride Soarin at least once. Chris & Amanda plan to go to Hollywood Studios so she can ride Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster. They head home tomorrow, and I go home the day after. So, I plan to enjoy the concierge lounge one more time, even if it’s solo!


DAY 4 – Monday 1/21/08
Who: Sue (49), DVC member
Chris (21), my son
Amanda (19), Chris’ girlfriend

Plan: Epcot, LeCellier

Actual: I had set the alarm for 7:30 but woke up shortly before that. I slept well last night – finally! I heard the kids come in about 2, but nothing else. I got up and took my shower so I’d be out of the way in case they were both planning showers this morning. Someone took one last night, so I’m not sure what they’ll do. I stepped onto the balcony and it was very chilly – but also sunny so hopefully it’ll warm up and be comfortable with long pants and long sleeves.

Chris & Amanda were still asleep when I left around 8:45. I’d woken up Chris to ask if they were still going to MGM but he said he didn’t know. I took the bus to Epcot and arrived about 9:15 or so. I went to Soarin’ first and picked up a fastpass for 10:39 – 11:39. Bill (Major Woody from radp) had emailed yesterday and called sometime this morning to let me know he was on the way to Epcot. I think I had just picked up the Soarin fastpass. I walked right onto Living with the Land, then walked onto the Nemo ride. I decided to check Test Track and although the single rider line was posted as 20 minutes I walked directly into the preshow room. Bill called again just before the brake tests, so I told him I’d call him when I got off the ride. He ended up meeting me at the exit – I spotted him just as I was getting ready to call him.

We basically hung out at Epcot together. We tried Spaceship Earth but the line looked fairly long and neither of us is much for lines. We wandered around Future World, and went back to the Land for me to use the fastpass. The standby time was 60 minutes at that point if I remember correctly, and 80 when we returned later. Before I rode we each got a fastpass for 1:39-2:39. I figured that would be my last stop before leaving today. My 1st Soarin ride was fun, after the people in my row caused a delay by accidentally leaving a vacant seat in the middle of their group and then shifting all of their kids down a seat rather than having the last person just take the empty seat. Strange. When I finished the ride I returned Chris’ call – they had finally gotten up and were headed to the Hollywood Studios (MGM). I wished them luck! He said last night they pretty much walked onto everything during the MK extra magic hours after 11pm – they loved it!

Bill was waiting outside the pavilion, so we headed towards Future World since it was now after 11. We hung around outside Canada until it was time to check in at LeCellier, and were seated pretty quickly once they opened at 11:30. I had made the ADR for 3 but told them there were only 2 of us, so they put us at a smaller table & hopefully had room for somebody else to get in there today.

Lunch was excellent – I had the Riesling and Bill had a pinot noir. I had the cheese soup and he had the shaved prime rib sandwich but with a side of au jus to make it more like the French dip that used to be on the menu. For dessert we both got the crème brulee – the portion seems bigger now, and it’s only the vanilla. It’s excellent, though! We both grabbed the check at the same time, but he is stronger and won that fight. I should have asked the server to put it on my side of the table, but thanks again Bill! We rolled out of there and decided to walk some of it off by finishing World Showcase. It was a little warm in the sun, but still a very nice day (nicer than expected as I was checking the weather before the trip). When we finished the countries we still had time to kill, so Bill showed me the Epcot 25th Anniversary exhibit. I had no idea that was there, and really enjoyed all the memories of Epcot in the old days.

From there we decided to check Spaceship Earth again and the wait was about 10 minutes so we did it. I really like a lot of the enhancements, and do not mind that the ending part is a little lame. I’m just glad they didn’t eliminate a lot of the scenes in there. That backwards news boy is puzzling – why he’s facing the wall selling newspapers instead of facing the riders is beyond me! After the ride it was time for Soarin again, and this time we got the front row of the center section – just perfect!

I decided to head back to the resort, and Bill had some stuff to do at home so we left the park and said goodbye til the next trip. I owe him a couple beers at Epcot, so Rose & Crown here we come! The bus arrived as I was walking to the bus stop, which was great. As I was walking into the resort Chris called to see where I was, so I joined them upstairs. They finished up packing and went to the lounge, then left around 3:15. Leesa had brought me some chocolate from Seattle, so I sent that home with Chris so I would be free to do whatever I felt like tomorrow without the chocolate melting in the car!

I updated the report and watched General Hospital, still full from lunch. I think for me to really use the concierge lounge I almost can’t eat any meals in restaurants. But, LeCellier is worth skipping the lounge snacks! I got an email from my travel agent letting me know my cruise documents (March) are in, and she’ll run them over to the house once Chris gets home – yippee!!

After General Hospital I took some stuff down to the car and moved it closer to the building since I had to park far away after Comedy Warehouse last night. As I was walking through the concierge lounge my dvc friend Patti called – stuck at the airport waiting on a friend on a delayed flight, so sadly I won’t get to see her tonight. She had hoped she would have time in between social engagements! After moving the car I wandered around the public viewing areas watching the animals until just before 5. I dropped the camera off in the studio, grabbed my book and went out to the lounge. I had noticed an older couple the past 2 nights who spent the evening on the couch reading books – perhaps the lamps at either end of the couch are not as dim as the lights in their room, lol!

I was out in the lounge around 5, but was not able to get a spot on either big couch. At one there was a woman sprawled across most of it, talking to 2 people at a table for 2 against the wall. On the other was a kid playing with legos, and he was seated smack dab in the middle of the couch, while his 2 female adults (lesbian couple maybe) were at another table for 2 along the wall. I used a rocking chair for a while, but that was not really comfortable and I did not want to take up a table for 4 with just me. So, I ended up at a table for 2 in the hallway next to my studio for a while. Later when people left the couches I moved over to one and it was much nicer!

The food tonight was the meatballs, a stew that was like gumbo with chicken & shrimp, and samosas – which were a flaky pastry shaped like an empanada but filled with mashed potatoes and peas. What the hell?? I took one thinking I might be able to eat a corner or something but these big fat peas were throughout the entire thing – not my kind of food! I took a tiny portion of the stew and ate the 2 pieces of chicken, but was not thrilled with that either. My dinner was mostly pita chips with yogurt sauce, which was fine since I really was not hungry.

My noisy next door neighbors were a trip. He made many visits picking up glasses of red wine and multiple beers to take back to their room – several times. The adults were in the villa but the young kids were out in the lounge! They were both very well behaved, but still – give me a break. The son was near me, and at one point said “excuse me” and asked me to watch his stuff while he went somewhere. When he came back he thanked me – he was a terrific young man/boy – maybe 10 years old. I didn’t mind him using the table right by me at all, but did think it strange that mom & dad would think it’s ok for him & his younger sister to spend time in the lounge alone.

The desserts were the 3 cookies, rice krispie treats, brownies, pineapple cheesecake, some white/beige squares with cinnamin on top and something that was gone when I went up to check. Most likely it was the fruit tart things. I was in the lounge until about 9, and finished the book I had started earlier in the trip. There were as many young children as there were adults in the lounge, but fortunately they were always well behaved each night. I would still prefer it to be a child-free zone, but that is not likely to happen I guess. It’s not like people can send their kids to Victoria & Alberts for the evening any more <g>.

It was another great day, and so far on this solo trip I really haven’t spent much time alone, lol. I really hate to be leaving here tomorrow! I am not sure I have any chance at all of switching to concierge for Thanksgiving, but if not I will book this long weekend next year. I had planned to book Villas at Wilderness Lodge because SB had never stayed there, but since it will be just me I prefer being here! The one problem with DVC is there are too many great resorts to pick from!


DAY 5 – Tuesday 1/22/08
Who: Sue (49), DVC member

Plan: MK or Epcot, go home

Actual: For whatever reason I didn’t sleep well again. I heard the neighbors come back in, but at least they were quiet <g>. Around 6 I heard what I assumed was the cast members getting the breakfast set up, but I never heard them any other day. I got up and got ready for the day, including packing up my stuff. The bill was on my door by 8, and except for the Sunrise Safari I had ZERO out of pocket expenses for this whole trip! Who would have thought concierge was the “cheap” way to go?? Lol

For breakfast I made one last cup of cappuccino in the lounge, and got a plate with fruit and a good blueberry muffin. I’ll head to Animal Kingdom briefly since it is the closest park, then hit the road early so I can get home and read my cruise documents! Also, my gym is now open, so I need to stop by there and get started exercising.

I left about 8:30 to put my stuff in the car & catch the bus to Animal Kingdom. It was so depressing to be coming down to the parking lot and passing people coming FROM the parking lot with their luggage! We always wish we were staying rather than heading home. The Animal Kingdom bus was there when I arrived, and it was a short ride to the park. This trip the bus transportation has been very good, and there were several times we had no wait at all.

I was through security and the turnstiles and up near the tree about 10 minutes before 9. Once the opening stuff was done I went to Dinoland to ride Primeval Whirl without any wait. When I got there all the cast members from the Chester & Hester area were sitting at the tables inside Primeval Whirl, and there was a rope blocking the entrance. I asked one of them what time it opened, and she told me “9”. Okay – she probably should have figured that since I was standing there it was probably AFTER 9 by now, lol – and in fact it was about 10 past. Everyone else went to either Everest or the safari – I was the only fool over here <g>. They put me on the left side this time, starting that one up first. I rode twice in a row and a manager-type cast member asked if I wanted to go for the record of consecutive rides, saying it was 37! LOL – if I had nothing to do I might have tried it, as long as they would let me stay on for all those rides. But, getting home was more important than breaking a record.

I walked over to Harambe next, and realized that I needed to contact DVC member services to change next Thanksgiving’s reservation to concierge. The line was busy for a long time, as expected after a long weekend. I picked up a fastpass for the safari, with a 10:05 return time (about 35 minutes away). Standby was backed up almost to the entrance, so that was out of the question!

I decided to ride Dinosaur, so I walked back to Dinoland, dialing DVC as I walked. It finally rang as I passed the Breakfastasauras place, so I found a quiet table to sit at for the 8 minute “hold” time. I was unable to switch the reservation, as only the 1st and last of the 3 nights was available. With only up to 5 studios there, I wasn’t willing to risk the waitlist so I asked them to just waitlist the entire 3 nights for me. If all 3 become available (fat chance, lol) then I’ll get it.

I went and rode Dinosaur, enjoying it again. While I was in the ride I realized I should have taken the 1st night as concierge and waitlisted for the next 2. I figure a Wednesday concierge stay means I have the lounge on Wed & Thu nights. I can check into savannah view Thu morning, and if it’s too cold for the pool from 11-4 I can hang out in the concierge lounge reading a book. For Wed night I can just bring a small bag with a change of clothes & some toiletries – leaving the main suitcase in the car until the new room the next day (which would just be down 1 floor – still more convenient than the non-dvc concierge guests on the 4th floor.

So, I started calling member services back, and it was busy, busy, busy. I decided to skip the safari and exited the park while I was redialing. It finally started ringing at the bus stop, with a 9 minute “hold”. I waited, but when the bus arrived and the driver had the blasted 2-way radio thing blaring, then turned on those announcements, I gave up and hung up the phone.

Back at the resort I went up to the lounge and got a glass of water and another little blueberry muffin. I sat at one of the tables in the hallway next to my studio and continued calling DVC (busy again). I finally got through and after a 10-minute wait was able to book the 1st night concierge. I’m thinking now I’ll probably cancel the waitlist and book concierge for 4 nights this weekend next January. Oh, changing to concierge for the 1 night cost an extra 2 points – and for that I will have 2 evenings in the lounge – great deal!

After the reservation was made I reluctantly left and walked out to the car. It was an easy but boring drive home, and I had time to run some errands and relax before settling down for the evening.


Final Thoughts:
This was a really nice trip – in so many ways. I really enjoyed seeing some old friends and meeting one in person for the first time. It was so nice having the concierge lounge and spending the evenings there enjoying what they had to offer. Even last night when all I ate was pita chips and yogurt dip, it was still very nice. The parks were much busier than they normally are on this holiday weekend. All the more reason to make the resort a priority! The photos from this trip can be found at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=34p4jkm.9pyo1ykv&x=0&y=-u291n5. It is mostly resort/concierge and Sunrise Safari photos, plus the animals around the resort.

My next trip won’t be a Disney trip – I’m finally cruising on Holland America Line (HAL) again!! I love cruising, especially on HAL, and it’s been almost 4 years since I’ve sailed with them. After the breakup I needed to something for ME – something I would enjoy, that wouldn’t be full of memories of SB, so a HAL cruise was the perfect choice! I’ll be sailing from Tampa on the Veendam for a week starting March 9th. I’ll set up a separate email list, so if you want to read that report, please send me an email to let me know. I won’t be posting it on the Disney message boards or newsgroups.

My next Disney trips will be mid April and late May – back to Beach Club Villas in April and Boardwalk Villas (boardwalk view) in May.

Until then – thanks for reading.

Enjoyed your very detailed report Sue! Your pictures are wonderful, too... I think I would have also passed on the Peas!:p It was enjoyable hearing your first-hand concierge experience. I would also like that experience, but staying 8 nights in December at the Poly will break the bank without the added $1400 to upgrade! (My husband would freak....Its bad enough the airfare will be around $2600 for the 5 of us!)

Glad you had a great time. Sometimes just having the time to smell the coffee feeds your soul! I think the cruise is just what you need next!
;)

Great report Sue, the pictures were cool:D

Awesome report! I loved all the pictures of the concierge lounge. It definitely made me want to stay there. And I LOVED the picture of the Uncrustables :).

It was nice to see what Chris and Amanda look like, also :).

Have a wonderful time on your cruise. I can't wait to read all about it!

Jennifer

As usual, another great trip report! We stayed at AKV in December in a savanna view studio and are booked for concierge in August...its great to know what we can expect.

Sue, do you recall any concierge guests behaving "badly"? I have read a number of reports about concierge guests (not at AKV necessarily) who take entire trays of food and drinks back to their rooms so there is little left for other guests? I have zero tolerance for that kind of behavior.

Sue, do you recall any concierge guests behaving "badly"? I have read a number of reports about concierge guests (not at AKV necessarily) who take entire trays of food and drinks back to their rooms so there is little left for other guests? I have zero tolerance for that kind of behavior.

I didn't see any of that. My neighbor guy (the one who left his young kids alone to amuse themselves in the lounge) did come over to get a glass of wine and a couple of beers several time one night. I brought a couple of cookies into my studio one afternoon. But, nobody taking all/most of what was there for themselves.

Thanks for another GREAT report.

Ellen

Sue,

Thanks for another great report! I'm glad you were able to have such a great time with your son and his girlfriend. The pics were wonderful. I can only hope to stay concierge one day!!! How wonderful!

Sorry about SB. Spend lots of time and energy on your terrific self! I'll PM you regarding your March trip. I'd love to hear about it!

Sue You Did The Right Thing With The Rude People Next Door. Yelling At Rude People Works Most Times . 0130 Yeah . The Rose & Crown Is One Of My Favorite Places ! Pam Brody Is A Treasure. Say Hi To Carl The Bartender & Get Him To Do The Dollar Bill Trick . On Fri. Jay Wethington Does Magic.oh! Dont Forget About Bob Jackson.
Next Trip 3/29 Paul Revere & The Raiders & The 5th Dieminsion[spelling] Love Your Passion For Disney

I just wanted to day that I'm sorry about you and SB. Hope you're ok!

Were the pictures removed from the trip report? I can't seem to see them . . . .

Duh! Never mind! Just found the link . . . .

Hi Sue,

I've always read and enjoyed your articles on Mouseplanet and missed you when you left, so it was a great surprise when I stumbled across your 'trip reports' here on Mousepad. I even registered onto this forum just so I could have the opportunity to talk to you!

I thoroughly enjoyed your report on your visit to the AKLV. We are considering 'renting' DVC points for the first time since our 20th Wedding Anniversary is coming up and we wanted to do something 'special' and this would allow us to stay where we could never afford to before! We want to spend a week in one of the studios at AKLV. When you mentioned conceirge service for only 2 more points per night, I thought that would be the nicest anniversary present of all! I have some questions concerning the conceirge service since we've never done such a thing before: Do you have to tip everyone you encounter? eg. turn down service, lounge service? Also, when you mentioned all the free food and especially wine and beer, my husband is having a hard time believing any of this is free. Can you enlighten him please? Boma is his favorite restaurant in all of WDW and he raves about Jiko's winelist, so to have a taste of both on a daily basis would send him on cloud nine!

Thanks for all your great advice and keep those reports coming!