[johnkimv]

We returned Friday from a short, but sweet bank breaking romantic getaway to WDW. I am uploading pictures and I will be starting my TR shortly.

Stay tuned for:

My first stay at AKL Villas

Dinner at California Grill during Wishes

Chef's Table at Victoria & Alberts

Behind the Seeds Tour

Tokyo Dining

[dac921]

Oh a TR.... can't wait to read it

[WishUponAStar]

Sounds like a great trip, can't wait to hear about it!

[johnkimv]

The cast:

Myself- Kim 30
DH- John 30
SIL- Carrie 35

We planned this trip 6 months ago because I was able to score ADR's for V&A's Chef's Table. DH and I did the regaular dining at V&A's last January for my birthday and I loved it, he hated it! At that time when I booked my ADR, it was a couples only trip (Me, DH, SIL, and her DH). Well, as you can see SIL and her DH are no longer a couple- then we had 3. Odd, I know and I dreaded it. All turned out well and we had a nice time together.

We usually always camp or we do not go to Disney. This time I wanted to stay somewhere nice. I have never stayed at AKL so I looked toward RLCarmichael for help on renting points. I am so happy I did because by doing so we saved SO MUCH MONEY!! He was such a breeze to work with and I would refer him to anybody.

So, we got rid of our kids the night before and woke up at 6am. We were on the road by 7:30am (30 minutes behind my schedule thanks to DH) for a lovely 2.5 hour drive to WDW. We stopped at Walmart off of Osceola Parkway to pick up junk we didn't need or use. After Walmart- on our way to AKLV.

If you have ever driven to AK or AKL, you know that Osceola splits in to a Y to go to AK or AKL. To start our wonderful vacation, we got pulled over. Yes, DH does have a heavy foot. I still do not believe we were speeding. The officer said he was going 62 in a 45 with a ticket of $200+. BUT, he decided to be nice to us and only ticket us for going 9 miles over the speed limit with a $101 ticket. But really, you want to be nice??? Give us a warning- don't take $100 out of my vacation budget!! I realized I could either get mad or just laugh so- All I could do was laugh!!

[johnkimv]

Ok, after DH signed his ticket we were on our way to AKLV. We checked in early, but our room wasn't ready. I was ok with that since this was going to be a relaxing few days and I wanted to see the resort. We looked around for a while until we spotted the bar. Please note, I am not a big drinker- I love a few martinis or a bottle of wine, but never at 11am. So DH ordered a beer and I was peer pressured and had a glass of Shiraz. Nothing beats a glass of wine in a nice plastic pool cup!! We talked for a while with Bob the bartender. He was a great guy to chat with and he was a little lonely out at the pool bar. I don't think the temp reaced 55 degrees that day- so not much action at the pool!!

Our plans for this day was to check out AKL until SIL got there (she is soooo slow!!)She finally showed up around 12:30 and checked in. My room was now ready, hers was not (HA, HA!). We got our luggage and headed to room 5556- holy moly!! What a hike!! I think they put us as far away as possible. We had a Savannah View Studio. My SIL had a 1 bedroom and it was beautiful, but obviously too big for one person!!

Here are some of my room pictures.

[johnkimv]

Now for some other AKL pictures. Some are from our Savannah or just walking around. While we were there, they were holding a graduation for all their international CM's who were there for 1 year on assignment from Africa.

I was a little disappointed with the amount of animals on the savannah. I thought there would be more. Maybe it was too cold, or maybe the construction scared them away? I just expected more.

[mickeysgirlz]

Can't wait to read more! Glad you had a nice trip!

[johnkimv]

After we got settled into our new home for the next few days we decided to head over to Animal Kingdom for some lunch and rides. We have never eaten at Yak and Yeti so we decided to try the counter service there. I loved it!! I ordered the Shrimp Lo Mein which was delicious- sorry no pictures, I was too hungry and forgot. DH ordered the Honey Chicken- it was good, but the shrimp was better. SIL ordered the Kung Pao Beef and it was way too spicy for my liking. They also ordered the fried rice and Pork egg rolls. I am not a big fan of rice so I have no opinion on that, but the Pork egg rolls were delicious!!

We headed to Expedition Everest and they (I do not do this ride as it will ruin me for the rest of the day!!) got into the single rider line and were out in no time! Then off to the Kilamajaro Safari Ride- one of my favorites. I actually got some good pictures this time. The wait time changed from 10 minutes to 20 minutes as we were heading toward it. I think we only waited about 5 and that is because it takes that long to get to the ride!

After the safari ride we caught a tiny bit of Mickey's Jingle Jungle parade which I didn't think started yet, but it did. DH is not a big fan of parades so we hauled butt to get out of AK so we could rest and get ready for our ADR's at the California Grill.

Here are some pictures from AK:

[johnkimv]

More AK pictures:

[johnkimv]

Ahhhh, California Grill- I LOVED THIS PLACE!! I picked to eat there this trip because I do not want to take my kids there. DD is 4 and DS is 2 1/2 and one always has to check out the bathroom and the other can't sit still- so no thank you!

Our ADR's were for 7:50pm and fireworks were at 8pm. Perfect! We get to CG early because we wanted to have a drink before dinner, but we obviously got there too early. We werent seated probably until 845pm. After 3 Lemon Drop Martinis, I was really tipsy and totally forgot that my job this trip was to take food pictures. Oops!! You understand, right?!?!

The fireworks started and we could see them perfectly from our seats at the bar so we stayed inside. We are native Floridians and the weather was supposed to drop into the 30's that night and we would freeze if we watched from outside!! We did step outside for a few minutes to take pictures of the castle which appeared so bright and close. My pictures did not do it justice so I will not bother posting them! The castle was all lit up with the Xmas lights and looked beautiful!!

Anyways, the food was DELICIOUS!!

We stared with:
*Spicy Kazan Roll.....crab, shrim, bay scallops, tuna and fireball sauce. This was delicious. The sauce was spicy, but for some reason I can handle Wasabi spicy.

*Yoshie's Deluxe Sushi Platter.....Maki and Nigiri. I really don't remember what was on this plate, but it was delicious as well. I think it was just pieces of sushi- no rolls.

*Peekytoe Crab Salad with Celery Root, Avocado, FL citrus, and Tarragon Remoulade. Delicious, but tasted more like celery than crab.

For our entree- we each split our meal three ways so we could all have a little bit- each one was equally delicious!!

*I ordered the Oak fired Filet of Beef with Boniato Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Haricot Vert, and teriyaki BBQ Sauce.

*SIL ordered the Seared Scallops with Gregola Pasta, Bacon, Almonds, Cauliflower Puree, Wild Mushrooms, and Cider Reduction.

*DH ordered the Pan-Roasted Grouper Filet with Olive Oil Crushed Potatoes, Cipollini onions, and Red Wine Butter Sauce.

I think if I just had to order one meal today it would be the Scallops!!

Back to AKL to go to bed- too much to eat and drink!! We have to get up early to make it to EMH at Magic Kingdom.

[johnkimv]

Thanks to our internal alarm clock, we were up at 5:15am. We got ready and hung out before calling SIL to tell her to get her butt moving- Mickey is waiting for me!!

We got to MK about 10 minutes before rope drop. I did not allow any of us to eat breakfast before we got to the park because that would slow us down- DH and SIL are too slow!! I only wanted to spend a couple hours there because I wanted to hang out at AKL before dinner. I planned out which rides when and that all went down the tubes when I realized that Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain were not opening until 9am. They were supposed to be our first rides of the day! UGH!!

Oh, well..... onto Space Mountain. I usually sit this one out with my kids because they are too little, but I loved being able to go on and not worry about them. There was no line and the ride was great as usual.

Then off to the CoP to kill the rest of the hour before it was time to go to SPMtn and BTMRR. We walked around a bit and then got in line for the 2nd rope drop of the day. The rope dropped and we high tailed our butts to the other 2 mountains, only to be stopped again. Really???? Why are they making it so difficult to get to 2 of my favorite rides?!?!?!? We were stopped by a human baracade of SPMtn and BTMRR CM's. We all had to walk "s l o w l y" behind them to the ride they worked on. It was funny!

We first rode Splash and then BTMRR. SIL sat out of Splash because she didn't want to get wet- WIMP!! After that, SIL and DH were on a food hunt. I managed to get them on Pirates of the Caribbean as nothing foodwise seemed to be open except for the Bakery on Main Street. That is where we ended up. After that, we did a little shopping and DH and SIL needed to get a hot dog from Casey's before we left. Casey's opened, they ate- AGAIN!, and then back to AKL for some rest and relaxation!!

[johnkimv]

Here are some pictures from Magic Kingdom. Yes, DH is a wimp too- he was scared to get wet, but at least he joined me!! Later today I will post dinner at the Chef's Table and hopefully Epcot if I have time. Hope you are enjoying my TR.
Kim

[lovemysons]

Sounds like a great trip so far! Glad to see you posted pictures of your room. What a unique headboard. I have to ask, where did you sit on EE? This usually has something to do with the factor.

[johnkimv]

Originally Posted by lovemysons

Sounds like a great trip so far! Glad to see you posted pictures of your room. What a unique headboard. I have to ask, where did you sit on EE? This usually has something to do with the factor.

I don't remember where I sat. I used to be able to ride it fine and then the last time I did, I was dizzy the whole rest of the day. It's like it threw my equilibrium out of wack. The whole backwards thing really screws me up, I think.

[lovemysons]

Yes, I think that has something to do with it. I have found, though, that if I sit towards the back, I am ok. Up front, I am done for. Someone suggested taking dramamine tablets to help with the equilibrium thing.