Something Old Something New 2013 - Day 7 - Animal Kingdom, AKL, Yak & Yeti Sanaa

[Ariel's Mum]

Day 6

Today Philip and I were awake a good while before the teens. Surprising as today was Luke’s 15th Birthday and I expected him to be up early. Philip wandered down to the Contempo Café and I sat on the balcony watching the ferry boats cross the lake; watching the monorail pass; and just thinking how magical the view was.

Here’s some pics I took that morning







Not long after Philip returned with the coffees, Luke got up. All 3 of us then sat outside for a while enjoying the morning.





We were in no rush to make a move. Initially we had no real plans for today other than to check into Animal Kingdom Lodge. The stay there had been booked partly as a Birthday treat for Luke. We had agreed not to do any parks and just enjoy the day at the hotel. We changed those plans a few weeks ago and had agreed we would “pop into” Animal Kingdom and have lunch at Yak and Yeti. Our ADR was booked for 1.25.

So eventually when Rachel woke and we had finished our coffees, we showered and dressed. It was time to make a move. Although I was really looking forward to moving onto Animal Kingdom Lodge I was really sad to be leaving the Contemporary. I said as much to Philip and he promised we’d come back some day.

Once ready and packed we called Bell Services to collect our luggage. I was really reluctant and slow moving this morning. I really did wish we could have stayed at the hotel for much much longer.

I took a last photograph on the balcony….



I could delay our departure no longer as the others were keen to get moving so off we went. We collected the car from the Valet and drove the short journey to Animal Kingdom Lodge.



The hotel looks lovely from the outside and the lobby is stunning. We checked in with the Receptionist who was incredibly slow – just like being in Africa in fact where both Philip and I have been on several times on business trips. She saw Rachel standing beside me and wished her Happy Birthday – oops wrong teen – it’s Luke’s Birthday! We didn’t bother correcting her and Rachel accepted the Birthday badge with a smile.

The receptionist told us our room was ready – room 5319 on the Zebra trail. So off we set. We were all feeling quite excited now and really looking forward to seeing the view from our balcony as we had booked an Arusha View room. When we go to the door and opened it I think all 4 of us felt a little disappointed. The room was quite a bit smaller than the one in the Contemporary and the décor really want to our taste. I feel I should add that the night at the Contemporary had just totally spoiled us as on reflection the room really wasn’t as bad as what we though on first impression. Here’s some pics.







I liked this wee guy – though he did look a bit old and dirty…



We walked out onto the balcony and we were again disappointed as there were no animals to see.



It wasn’t the best of starts to our time here. Anyway we decided to head off to Animal Kingdom. We took the Disney bus. We didn’t wait long and the journey was fairly quick. All in all a good experience.

We expected the park to be busy as by now it was well after 10 and today had been an early entry day at Animal Kingdom. It wasn’t busy it was mobbed. We discussed tactics and agreed that we’d get fast passes for Expedition Everest then see if we could ride kali River Rapids. How naïve. Philip and Rachel set off to get fast passes whilst Luke and I visited the camera shop. I had “lost” my photopass plus card. The man there told me just to take a note of the numbers of any ride pictures and then they would add them and give me a new card at the end of the day.

When we left the shop, Luke became grumpy. He was hot and hungry. I bought him a healthy snack of crisps and coke and we continued onto meet the others. When we did Philip told me the wait time for Kali River Rapids was 50 minutes. So we discussed options again. We agreed to try get into Yak and Yeti early. It was just 11.10 am but as we hadn’t eaten breakfast we decided to have a “brunch” at Yak and Yeti.



Luckily we had no problem moving our ADR. In fact the restaurant was very quiet inside, I think there were only 3 other tables occupied. I forgot to ask for a window table, but we were seated upstairs. Our host told us to feel free to pictures throughout the restaurant which I thought was really nice of him.

Our server was good – effiecient and pleasant. We gave our orders which were egg rolls as an appetizer (which we shared), Kobe Burger for Luke, Sweet and Sour Chicken for Philip, Mandarin Chicken salad for me and Chicken Tenders for Rachel. I have been looking forward to trying the Mandarin Chicken salad since 2010. We had planned to eat here in 2011 and had later cancelled. So finally after 30 months I was about to taste it and I couldn’t wait.

Whilst the food was being prepared, I wandered and took some pics.





I don’t think I would have felt comfortable doing this if the restaurant had been busy but as it was quiet I felt it was fine.

Our food was lovely. Everyone enjoyed the meal and my mandarin chicken salad was lush. Luke and Rachel shared a chocolate cake for desert.





After lunch, Luke was still grumpy and he decided he wasn’t going to ride Expedition Everest. This was a bit of a disappointment for me as I had really wanted all 4 of us to ride. Although we have all ridden this in previous years, we have never ridden as a foursome. Anyway as it was Luke’s birthday, I suggested he and I should head back to the hotel whilst Philip and Rachel made use of the fast passes. They were quite happy to do that and had two rides each.





Contd below...

[Ariel's Mum]

Luke and I meanwhile wandered slowly out the park. It started to rain just as we got to the exit, so we hid inside a shop and I bought a couple of fridge magnets. When it eased we wandered to the bust stop, once again we didn’t have long to wait for a bus. Back at the hotel we went straight to our room and looked out on the verandah and saw giraffes. This was more like it. This is what we had imagined when we had talked about staying here. It was lovely. Luke and I sat there for quite a while just watching the animals. As well as giraffes we saw zebras and warthogs and also impalas. At least we think they were impalas.







When Philip and Rachel returned from the park we agreed to go to the pool. The pool was really busy, the teens hated it. It was also very grey and overcast so they said they didn’t want to stay. Philip and I let them return to the room whilst we secured a couple of sunbeds. We got a margarita each from the pool bar and enjoyed chillaxing and people watching. Despite the greyness it was a nice time.

A couple of hours later we returned to the room and the 4 of us got ready for dinner. We had an ADR at Sanaa for Luke’s birthday meal. Once ready we all sat on the balcony. Philip and I had a glass of sparkling wine and we watched the animals.



This was lovely. We really enjoyed our half hour here soaking up the atmosphere and watching the animals.

Soon it was time to make a move for dinner. As it was raining, we decided to take the van over to Kidani Lodge where Sanaa is located. We checked in at the podium and then sat and had a drink in the bar.



We were shown to our table within about 20 minutes of our arrival. We had a lovely table right by the window. We could see that the rain was now torrential which was a shame. Our server was very friendly.







To eat we ordered breads and dips to start. The dips were raita and red pepper hummus. Philip ordered the lamb kofta sliders but only ate the meat. For mains Philip had the Durban Chicken and lentil daahl, Luke had tandoori chicken, I had butter chicken and lentil daahl, Rachel had chicken tenders (yes twice in one day!) The food was delicious. Philip ordered a kingfisher beer and I had the wine flight.





We really enjoyed our meal. Again though I was disappointed they didn’t even wish Luke a Happy Birthday. It’s odd.

After dinner, Philip and Rachel walked back to Jambo House but as it was still drizzling, Luke and I opted for the taxi van. Needless to say Rachel and Philip beat us back and looked very smug with themselves. We expected to see CMs sitting at the firepits telling stories. But there were none. I’m not sure if we missed them or if it had been abandoned due to the weather. Here are a few lobby pictures.





When we went back to our room and we sat on the beds chatting with a nightcap. It had been a lovely day.

Day 8

[Milner]

Lovely day Lynn lucky Luke getting to spend his birthday in Florida.

[Ariel's Mum]

Originally Posted by Milner

Lovely day Lynn lucky Luke getting to spend his birthday in Florida.

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Thanks Carole. Luke is incredibly lucky as he has celebrated almost every Birthday in Florida. His first was his 7th - we missed 2012 and this one was his 15th! Fingers crossed he'll be back there to celebrate his 16th

[Fuellady]

What a nice day... gorgeous pictures from the Contemporary balcony.

Glad you finally got to see some animals at AKL - and I would agree with you about the décor.. it's not to my taste either. But still, what a wonderful place to spend a birthday

[Milner]

Originally Posted by Ariel's Mum

Thanks Carole. Luke is incredibly lucky as he has celebrated almost every Birthday in Florida. His first was his 7th - we missed 2012 and this one was his 15th! Fingers crossed he'll be back there to celebrate his 16th

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May be one day I will get to.

[mick]

Nice day shame no one said Happy Birthday!

[mouselover22]

Hi Lynn

Pleased to see another day up The overall look of AKL looks very impressive and i'm really pleased you got to see some animals from your room

The meal at Yak and Yeti sounded scrummy, nice to know you can get chicken tenders for the kids

Shame you missed out on EE. My boys too have said they won't go on it again next year as they don't like the bit in the dark... so single rider here I come!

I hope Luke enjoyed his birthday

xx

[Ariel's Mum]

Originally Posted by Fuellady

What a nice day... gorgeous pictures from the Contemporary balcony.

Glad you finally got to see some animals at AKL - and I would agree with you about the décor.. it's not to my taste either. But still, what a wonderful place to spend a birthday

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It really was a lovely place to spend a night. On reflection, we really had just been spoiled by the Contemporary. We should have probably had the first night at AKL and the second at the Contemporary.

Originally Posted by Milner

May be one day I will get to.

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LOL me too Carole

Originally Posted by mick

Nice day shame no one said Happy Birthday!

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Hi Thanks for stopping by again. I know - a simple Happy Birthday was all I was looking for

Originally Posted by mouselover22

Hi Lynn

Pleased to see another day up The overall look of AKL looks very impressive and i'm really pleased you got to see some animals from your room

The meal at Yak and Yeti sounded scrummy, nice to know you can get chicken tenders for the kids

Shame you missed out on EE. My boys too have said they won't go on it again next year as they don't like the bit in the dark... so single rider here I come!

I hope Luke enjoyed his birthday

xx

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Hi Hayley
I'm sure the boys will return to EE if not next year then the following year. Rachel went for years refusing to do all the big rides such as EE, The Mummy etc. She'd done them all when she was younger then went through a stage where she refused. This year she really found her mojo just as Luke lost his - go figure At least if you are using the single rider line you'll be on and off in no time

Luke had a lovely Birthday. And if you get the chance you should try Yak and Yeti

xx

[Mrs Disney]

I love Yak and Yeti - never had the mandarin chicken salad, might try it next year!
Glad you got to see some animals from your balcony...