Well, there’s another WDW vacation down. As I’ve commented many times, I’m not sure how we turned into “one of those families who goes back to the same place almost every year,” let alone having that place be Walt Disney World, but life’s funny that way.
I’ve tagged all the other posts in this series with the same Travel – WDW 10 category, so future generations (or I) can see them grouped in the future. I’ll also update this post (or put in a comment) when I get the regular camera pics up.
So, any overarching comments? A few:
1. We should have stayed a day or two longer. Lots of reasons not to, of course, but the trip felt a bit rushed in terms of hitting all the parks; we only snuck into Downtown Disney (briefly) because of a last-second schedule change, and we never did any water park action (to Katherine’s dismay). Nor did we (quite intentionally, to be sure) get over to any other Orlando attractions, in particular the new Harry Potter land at Universal Studios.
Our flexibility was a bit limited, too, by (a) some lengthy full-morning sleep-ins, (b) not going with park hopper tickets this time (so we could only go to one park per day), and (c) the general isolation of the Animal Kingdom Lodge (see below).
We did okay, and we managed to get in some sit-around-and-read time, too, which was nice, but I could have used one more day, or two.
2. The weather outside wasn’t all that frightful. The first day, as noted, it rained cats and dogs for quite some time (enough for us to change our dinner plans at EPCOT and just hang at AKL). We got some rain the next day, too, but after that things weren’t all that bad — rain would roll in occasionally, but nothing our little umbrellas couldn’t handle for the short interval.
The heat+humidity was, of course, ghastly, but that’s part of the, um, charm of Florida.
3. Park attendance was down. There were still crowds, and some peak wait times on rides were beyond what I was willing to wait on, but by and large the big attraction items were not hard to get on (stand-by or Fast Pass), especially earlier in the day or during extended hours.
4. Club Level at Animal Kingdom Lodge was probably worth it. At least if the deals Margie wangled for it can be had. Basically, even though our room was on 4 (and was the same size as our previous room, though it had a bunk bed for Kitten), we had 24×7 access to the “club level” floor on 6 and its lounge. Between 7:30 and 10 there were dedicated concierges there, and during most of the day there was a time-appropriate array of food and drink (including beer/wine in the evening and liqueurs at night).
It made for a nice place to go while others in the room were still sleeping, or just to go and read (the lighting level at night was dark in most places, which made reading a bit more difficult, but there were some chairs with lamp access). The food stood in for meals for us a couple of times, which saved time and money (we didn’t do a dining plan this time around).
The club level cost was, based on what Margie was able to finagle, comparable to a savanna-facing room cost. Our savanna-facing room was nice (certainly nicer than overlooking the pool or the parking lot), but not as good for animal-watching as our room last time (we were very close to the little observation path from the back of the lodge, so that impacted animal flow and activity, as well as our privacy).
Having concierge access was nice, too. They helped us make reservations, were there to answer questions etc. Some of that we could have done on our own, some we could have used the lobby staff for. It was still nice and personal.
5. Now I Am Ten. The biggest variable in these various trips has been Kay’s age. At 10, she simultaneously wanted more input into group activities, more indulgence as to what we ended up doing, more ability to wander off by herself, etc. At 10, she was able to go to the club lounge on her own, which was an up side. On the down side, she was also officially on the Adult Menu in most restaurants, which added to the price in some cases. She’s basically old enough to go on rides by herself, but not wander the park freely.
It was amusing (or disturbing) seeing how most the “you must be this tall” signs generally came up to various spots on her torso.
6. “Welcome Home.” It’s corny, but cool, that this is the greeting you get at Animal Kingdom Lodge (I honestly don’t know about the others). I really like AKL as a lodge to stay at — good rooms, very nice decor, friendly help, faboo restaurants, plus, of course, animals.
There are some disadvantages, too. It’s one of the top-flight accommodations at the park, so it’s not cheap. It’s like hotel choices at any other locale. If you’re using your room simply for sleeping at night, and doing your recreation (and most of your eating) elsewhere, you can probably get by with a more economical place to stay — as long as the sheets are clean, you’re golden. If you are going to be spending time hanging at the place, eating there, etc., then the amenities start to make more of a difference. For what it’s worth, AKL is the least expensive of the DeLuxe WDW resorts.
The most significant functional disadvantage is that AKL is off in the distant southwest corner of WDW. Though it gets plenty of bus system love, it’s still a minimum 20 minute trip pick-up to drop-off from Magic Kingdom or Epcot. (Animal Kingdom is, of course, closer; Downtown Disney and Disney Hollywood Studios split the difference, but end up being longer because of obligatory water park stops). Bottom line, it takes a while to get from AKL to anywhere else., and that definitely affects planning. (Do we have time to hop over to park X and back? Should we go back to the lodge for a nap and a swim before evening hours start? Etc.)
We’ve talked (now that we’ve done this a couple of times) about going to one of the other deluxe resorts, to try and ease that time crunch. Of the ones at the “core,” we went by the Polynesian last visit, but it just felt way too busy (and a bit ticky-tacky). The Contemporary doesn’t do anything for me.
We went to the Grand Floridian for the character breakfast this time, and I felt like I was trespassing — the buildings and grounds are lovely, but I would be compelled to wear spats and a straw boater all the time. In many ways, it felt like the “anti-Animal Kingdom Lodge” in terms of its homeyness and feeling of welcome.
We may look next time at one of the Epcot area deluxe resorts (Beach Club, Boardwalk, Yacht Club) or maybe more likely, the Wilderness Lodge.
Or maybe we’ll just go back to the one we know we like. 🙂
Because, yeah, we’ll most likely be back …
