Our View From the Lodge - April/May 2015

[AspenLL]

Greetings one and all! Welcome to my first trip report despite visiting Disney a few times!

After reading through a number of reports before we left, I knew that when we came back from our trip, I wanted to do something different with mine. I wanted to document the trip in a way that would be geared towards those who will be taking their little ones for the first time, like we did, along with documenting our own experiences. I will include the good, the bad and the ugly so you get the whole experience My husband will be chiming in at times throughout the trip report from his own account, so you will have a sort of tandem review!

Here we are! Lauren (31), Brian (30) and Cole (13 months). We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House from Wednesday, April 29th to Wednesday, May 6th.

We hope that you enjoy the ride!

 

[AspenLL]

Table of Contents

Introduction - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/
Questionnaire - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/#post-53660915

Day One - Wednesday, April 29th
On The Way to MCO - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/#post-53676322
Hello Animal Kingdom Lodge! - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/#post-53676683
Late Lunch & Downtown Disney - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/#post-53676935
Brian's Day One Recap - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/#post-53693558

Day Two - Thursday, April 30th
A Morning at Animal Kingdom - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/#post-53697312
Cole's First ADR & Night at MK - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/page-2#post-53727794

Day Three - Friday, May 1st
A Morning at Epcot - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/page-2#post-53789083
An Evening at Epcot - http://www.disboards.com/threads/our-view-from-the-lodge-april-may-2015.3410344/page-2#post-53789323

 

[BriLam]

Hi everyone,

I'm Brian, the aforementioned husband of Lauren and dad of Cole. A pleasure to meet you all...virtually.

Like Lauren said, I'll be chiming in with my thoughts as she posts her updates (hopefully in a timely manner). I have visited Walt Disney World quite a few times myself, pre-and post-Lauren. Best I can recall, I've been there three times prior to 2007 when Lauren and I went for the first time together.

We really had a great time visiting the World with Cole for the first time and are already talking about the next time, whenever that might be!

 

[AspenLL]

Here is some fun before we begin so you can get to know a little bit more about us from over here in Northern NJ (about 30 minute bus ride into NYC). I couldn't resist doing our answers in our MagicBand colors!

Lauren
Favorite Hotel to Visit: Port Orleans Riverside
Favorite Hotel to Stay: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Favorite Ride: Haunted Mansion
Favorite Parade: Spectromagic
Favorite Fireworks: Wishes
Favorite Quiet Spot: Seating area between Tangled area and Columbia Harbour House
Favorite Restaurant: Grand Floridian Cafe
Favorite Movie: The Lion King
Favorite Character: Belle
Favorite Snack: Mickey's Premium Bar
Favorite Park: Animal Kingdom
Favorite Non-Disney Vacation: Carnival Cruise to the Western Caribbean
Favorite Sports Team: NY Yankees

Brian
Favorite Hotel to Visit: Grand Floridian
Favorite Hotel to Stay: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Favorite Ride: Carousel of Progress
Favorite Parade: Main Street Electrical Parade
Favorite Fireworks: Illuminations
Favorite Quiet Spot: the sitting area near Rapunzel’s tower (newly discovered this trip)
Favorite Restaurant: ‘Ohana
Favorite Movie: The Lion King, although if you ask me tomorrow it might be something else
Favorite Character: you could sell me on Donald or Chip & Dale
Favorite Snack: Ice Cream from Plaza Ice Cream Parlor in Magic Kingdom
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Sports Team: New York Yankees
Favorite Non-Disney Vacation: western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Valor

Cole:
Favorite TV Show: Pretty much anything on Disney Jr (especially Jake, Sofia the First, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Doc McStuffins)
Favorite Ride: Dumbo
Favorite Movie: Frozen
Favorite Snack: Cheerios
Favorite Character: Tigger
Favorite Park Show: Illuminations
Favorite Toy: VTech Go! Go! Cars

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Joining in.

 

[Metz172]

Will be at AKL for the first time three weeks from today. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

 

[Sailormoon2]

Joining in.

 

[AspenLL]

Wednesday, April 29th - On the Way to MCO!
Our flight down to MCO was one that we were worried about for some time solely because it was our first flight with our son. He is overall a very quiet and happy boy, but who knew what would happen on a flight. We booked him as sitting on our lap. I had heard so many mixed things about bringing the food pouches through security, I figured I would take more than needed and see how it goes. I also made sure I brought some of his other favorite snacks, such as Cheerios, Raisins and Nutri-Grain Bars. We also brought a ton of toys to keep him occupied. One trick that we did was to hide a few of his favorites about a week before we left so they seemed "brand new" to him when he saw them again. He also developed a love for socks as a "blankie", so we made sure we had some of those on hand as well. Cole has an obsession with Frozen, so we had that loaded onto the iPad with headphones in case we needed it.

We had a 6:30am flight out of LaGuardia (NY) on JetBlue. The car service got to our house at 4:00am, so I woke Cole up around 3:30am. He did such a great job with being up so early and dealing with everything. Getting through security was a breeze for a change. They checked his diaper bag and didn't care what I brought for him (pouches, water, snacks, etc). Upon speaking with a JetBlue rep at the gate, he moved us to the back of the plane so we had a row to ourselves! It helped calm our nerves. Cole did great on the plane. He actually fell asleep during take off and slept for almost 45 minutes. He kept himself amused with toys and the stewardesses that would come to hang out with him and hold him. When one of the women saw that he was being a bit antsy, she would pick him up and walk a bit with him.

This is the umbrella stroller we chose to bring with us to use at the airport. We decided to go with Kingdom Strollers and get a City Mini GT for the week to make it easier on us. One of the best decisions that we made. I will touch more on the stroller in a later post.

This was right after take-off. The empty seat sure came in handy!

MCO was a breeze. We used my carry on to hold all of Cole's stuff for the week and that worked out great. I want to say we waited no longer than 20 minutes to get onto the MDE. I could see that Cole was getting tired, so I was hoping that he would take a nap while we were on the bus and he did! We were so excited to be on our way to AKL, which was our first stay in a Deluxe. It was all new territory for us to explore and experience. I'll do AKL under another post since I have more photos and more to explain. Here's our first family photo in FL while on the MDE

 

[AspenLL]

Wednesday, April 29th - Hello Animal Kingdom Lodge!
While we were on the MDE en route to our home for the week, I got the text message saying that our room was not available yet. I did also get an e-mail at the same time, but didn't realize it until later as it for some reason went into the spam folder. We had booked a standard view room. Our plan was to ask how much it would be to upgrade to a savannah view if any were available. Since there were so many places to view the animals, we would have been fine with a parking lot view. It's something that we don't mind.

We pulled up to the front of the hotel and were immediately in awe. It was so beautiful and it was quiet. As you walk in, the chill of the AC hits you for the first time and you are standing in view of this amazing lobby:

This was taken from a floor above the lobby, but you get what I mean!

We walked over to the online check-in desk to talk to them about upgrading. Because we had requested a king bed, they were going to have us over on the Ostrich Trail and our room wasn't going to be available for a while. After sitting for a few minutes and chatting about the hotel and rooms, I told Brian that we should inquire with them about moving the room to two queens instead and see if we can get into one right away. It would be easier on us and Cole, but we would be more than happy to wait if need be. While he was doing that, I went over to Bell Services to pick up our stroller. All I had to was sign a book next to my information and they wheeled the stroller right on out. It was a beautiful blue color, was super clean and looked brand new. We also had groceries waiting there from Garden Grocer, but weren't going to get those until we were in a room. I walked back to where Brian and Cole were and he was in the process of successfully getting our room changed to two queen beds and somewhere we could go immediately. This is also when we were given our buttons. Cole got a first visit and birthday button while I got a birthday one as we are both April birthdays:

We were finally on our way to our room! It was on the Kudu Trail, #4251. I also got a text and e-mail at that moment with the information. It was right around the corner from the elevator as you made a left to where the room section was.Here is the map showing where our room was:

We were overlooking the Sunset Savanna. We were put on one of those rooms that is considered a standard but it has views of the animals. Let me tell you, we saw animals pretty much all of the time. It was phenomenal. I really don't understand why people complain about these rooms, but to each his own. We had a fantastic time. Here was our view:

We found that the room was big enough for the three of us. There was a pack and play in the closet. I am kicking myself for not taking photos of how we set up the room. I kept telling myself that I needed to and kept forgetting! There was a small table and chairs that are next to the dresser/tv stand. We moved one of those chairs to the other side of that dresser/tv stand and fit the pack and play in between that and the small table. It was a perfect spot for it. Here is a stock photo I found online so you get the idea of what I am talking about on the left:

After we settled in, we had Bell Services bring up our groceries that got delivered by Garden Grocer. We would absolutely use them again and recommend them to anyone. The fridge fit a half gallon size of milk, which worked out great for Cole. They also carry some of those pouches as well. Definitely worth looking into if you're thinking about it. Also depending on when you order, you get a certain percentage off of your order. They sent you a text, e-mail and call you when your order is delivered and to make sure everything is okay.

As for Kingdom Stroller, I had mentioned before that we got the City Mini GT. The reason why we went with this is that to fold it up, you pull a handle that is where the baby sits and it folds right up. It is also very light to handle. With the quick folding, it worked great on the bus and storing it in the room. Here's a shot of it:

It also came with a free cooler and a rain cover. We did not use either of them. By the handle, it had an add-on compartment that included two cup holders and an insulated small space in the middle which his sippy cup fit in perfectly. My Fisher-Price Fast Finder backpack also fit underneath. When he was laying back sleeping, I could access the bag anytime and not disturb him. What was great for him is that when he was laying down, there was a netting by his head so a breeze could go through.

Here are two shots from our balcony:

And here are some more from around the hotel:

 

[Sailormoon2]

Absolutely gorgeous!!! We will be eating at Sanaa on our upcoming trip and can not wait to explore Kidani!!! Your pics of the lobby are just mind-blowing!!! Yeah for giraffes off your balcony.

 

[AspenLL]

Wednesday, April 29th - Late Lunch & Downtown Disney
One of the things that we brought with us was a cheap high chair cover. We use one a lot when we are at home and figured it would be easier to do the same while in Disney. Let me tell you now that it was a waste and not to bother bringing one. The high chairs that they had at most restaurants were the smaller plastic ones where Cole fit in perfectly. Only a few times did we come across the larger wooden ones. We first came across this while we grabbed a late lunch at the Mara. This was a really nice quick service option. You went up to order your food and they would buzz you when it is ready. I think Brian got a hamburger and I got chicken nuggets to share with Cole. A new thing for us is when you order a fountain soda, you have a refill limit that is built into the cup itself. If I recall correctly, you got three refills to use at that station within an hour.

Afterwards, we went back up to the room so Cole could get a nap in. It was great having a balcony because we could sit out there when he was put down for a nap or at night for bedtime. Our tradition is going to Downtown Disney the first day, but we didn't know how it would be because of Cole's mood. He wound up having a great nap and we made our way down there. Overall, we had a great experience with the bus service at AKL. The longest we had to wait for a bus was about fifteen minutes.

We didn't know what to expect with all of the work that they are doing at Downtown Disney. We definitely missed having the second bus stop. We made our way around and were browsing around the different stores. It was nice seeing the Boathouse in person after hearing so much about it. We can't wait to see DD when all is said and done. We had an early dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express. I had a mushroom pizza that was really, really good. Brian had mac and cheese. I think Cole had a food pouch and some snacks.

One store I was excited about was the new Superhero one, but it wasn't open when we got there. It wound up opening a few days later, but we never made it back to DD.

I want to take a moment to tell you about a wonderful quiet spot I found that is right off the lobby at AKL. If you are walking towards the Kudu Trail walkway, you will see two metal double doors on your right. This will be right after you pass the DVC station on your left. There is a sitting area with four rocking chairs that overlook the Arusha Savanna. Every time I went there is was so peaceful and quiet. Cole got a good nap or two while we were out there as well.

 

[Metz172]

Thanks for all the pictures. Its making me so excited for our stay.

 

[Sailormoon2]

Hooray for balconies!!! And tranquil escapes!

 

[BriLam]

Because I have a tendency to get long-winded on these things, I’m going to stick to a bullet format when offering up my thoughts on what Lauren has already covered. Bonus points if I can get my thoughts posted about a particular day before she moves onto the next one (or even further)!

• Lauren and I are big planners, so the dawn of MyMagic+ and everything that came with it wasn’t completely daunting to us. Last time we were there in 2012, we needed to plan our dining reservations and then a rough idea of what parks we’d be at every day. This time around, with FastPass+, we really needed to nail those parks down so we knew which attractions to make a FastPass+ for and know what time we’d be at each of those attractions. We got it done and secretly enjoyed all the planning even though it got to be a bit much at times, but it’s totally understandable how some might look at this process and wonder how this could be a vacation when so much planning goes into it. We put together a pretty simple Word document (maybe Lauren could post it just to show) as a guide, but it was probably moreso for planning purposes before getting there as we knew (well, Lauren knew) what we were doing pretty well by then.
  
  
• We were originally planning on staying at Port Orleans – Riverside back when this trip was in its early planning stages, but we toyed with the idea of staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Once the promotions came out, we went with Riverside but AKL was still in the back of our minds. We had never done a deluxe and might never get the chance with Cole getting closer to “we need to pay for him” age at Disney and another potential little one likely joining us the next time around, whenever that is. We discovered Orbitz had some great discounts that you could stack on top of the Disney offers, so we looked into that. It ultimately came down to being $600 more to upgrade from POR to AKL. I’m as cheap as they come (do I really need this pack of gum…?), but I don’t have a problem dropping the cash when it makes sense. We talked about it and decided this was one of those times it probably made sense. Looking back, that was $600 well spent for sure. Using Orbitz was a bit of a pain in terms of needing to get everything set right with them and then with Disney and My Disney Experience, but it too is something we wouldn’t hesitate to do again.
  
  
• When we decided to rent the stroller (a brilliant decision all-around), Lauren was telling me about the different strollers we could rent and what each offered. Not knowing a thing about them and not really caring all that much, I told her to just pick whatever was best. But after thinking about it a bit, I told her we should find out how easily they fold and such since we’d be on and off the buses so often and storing it in the room when not in use. I looked up some video reviews on YouTube and this told (and showed) us exactly what we needed. One of the strollers was a serious pain to fold while the other, the one we chose, folded with the simple pull of a handle. As a side note, make sure not to unfold the stroller on the bus. We did so a number of times (obviously when the bus was mostly or completely empty and no one was around us) and had no issues until one bus driver told us (via the intercom) that it was against policy to do so. Actually, I believe Lauren was the one who unfolded it that time, so I made sure to express my disappointment in her aloud. Obviously we didn't put our kid in the stroller at that point, it was just easier to wheel it off with our bag sitting in it and be on our way. Who knew? Don't say I didn't warn you.
  
  
• When we originally talked about going away this year (we hadn't been on a big vacation since 2013 as Cole was born in 2014), we considered a number of options including all-inclusives, cruises, and the like. Shockingly, it turned out that, for what we were interested in, Disney was one of the cheapest options. Once we made the decision to head to Orlando, we discussed how even though we would have set plans for dining, parks and rides, Cole was going to be the driving factor in how close we stuck to that schedule. Even though the kid is as easy as they come, we told ourselves that we need to be ready to change or cancel plans on a whim if it hits the fan. Luckily, he was his normal, easygoing and happy self for the most part (and developing a schedule similar to what we do at home helped this along even more), but we did need to alter plans a bit.
  
  
• It’s always interesting how, when you are going on vacation, you can easily get up obscenely early and it isn't even a worry. We had a 2:30 AM wake up time for this trip and it’s as if we rolled out of bed at 9 AM after a full night’s rest. Ah, what vacations will do to you…
  
  
• With airlines, I have my favorites but, when it comes down to it, I’ll take whatever airline is the cheapest (well, to a certain extent). I always liked JetBlue for their extra room, no bag fees, TVs at every seat, and more, but when we found out it was one of the few airlines that offered advanced boarding for families with little ones and a changing table in the bathroom, it was a no-brainer for us. As it turns out, JetBlue recently announced they are adding more seats to their planes (killing much of that extra room) and is also adding bag fees, Now, it's pretty much just another airline to me. The aforementioned baby-related perks are still a factor, but price shall be king.
  
  
• We really hit it big with having a row to ourselves (we watched that seating chart like hawks after booking and hoped for the best). I said to Lauren that, even without having the row to ourselves, I would have enjoyed being in the back of the plane. To me, it was quieter and less hectic than sitting in the front or middle. We had no one behind us since we were the very last row, so that was obviously a factor. I wouldn’t hesitate to sit in the back of the plane again, even considering you are one of the last to get off after landing. It didn’t hurt that the flight attendants, and one in particular, took right to Cole, sat with us, talked with us and him, held him, and told us to shout if we needed anything at all.
  
  
• Side note: one of my biggest pet peeves is when you land and everyone has to immediately stand up and try to move into the aisle. What is the point? The cabin door isn’t even open yet. Wouldn’t it make sense to sit for just a few more minutes and wait until you can get up, grab your bag(s), and walk off all in one fell swoop? This kills me. Sit down and stop crowding my space.
  
  
• Seeing Cole wearing socks in the photos Lauren posted is hilarious to me since, soon after those photos were taken, he had effectively banned all socks from his feet. Because he uses them as a blanket of sorts as Lauren mentioned, we just can’t keep them on his feet without him taking them off. Lauren even tried giving him a sock and then putting two more on his feet, but he just drops the one he is holding to rip the others off and hold them. It’s hilarious. Luckily, it’s warm enough now in New Jersey that this isn’t an issue. Speaking of, it was so weird for us to hold and even look at Cole with him wearing a onesie or t-shirt, shorts and nothing else considering how long it’s been since he has worn anything of the sort. It was a looooong winter.
  
  
• It was a no-brainer to take the Kudu Trail room since it offered a savannah view even though we would have preferred a king room instead of two queens. But we preferred a good view over the solo bed, and the second queen bed came in quite handy for storing Cole’s things and as a pseudo-changing table for the little fella. Ultimately, we loved having the view of the savannah. It was always entertaining when the employees would come by in their truck and fill the baskets or whatever they are that hang from some of the trees with food and the giraffes would know the drill and start making their way down for their meal. Other animals would then follow suit. It was tough sitting outside at night, however, due to the bugs. That said, I would never, ever pay for a savannah view given how much more they cost and how great the view is from these standard rooms on the Kudu Trail. I understand booking a standard room doesn’t guarantee you a Kudu room, so you might be stuck with a parking lot view or worse, but the prices they charge for the savannah view rooms are slightly insane. Money better spent elsewhere, in my opinion. There are tons of places to view the animals throughout the hotel if you don’t get a standard room with a savannah view, too.
  
  
• With regards to the room itself, we had read a lot that the room (and the entire hotel, in fact), was very dark, the bathroom was tiny, and more. I found the hotel and room to be totally normal in terms of light, but the bathroom is definitely dark. They put one pot light centered in the bathroom, but its placement is directly over the shower bar and insufficient light shines onto both sides as a result. The bathroom really isn’t small with the door closed, but the issue lies in that the door, when being opened, swings within an inch or two of the toilet. Both issues aren’t deal breakers by any means, but they are a bit annoying.
  
  
• Side note: when I saw Lauren’s stock photo above, I looked quick and thought to myself, “Wait, who took this photo of us? Cole? No, that is impossible.” Then I thought, “Wait, that doesn’t look like us at all…” Then I actually read and realized, oh, it’s not one of her photos at all. It pays to read first.
  
  
• After getting settled, we grabbed a bite to eat in The Mara as Lauren said and I got my first experience with using the new fountain soda machines with the RFID technology. For the life of me, I couldn’t get the soda to dispense without struggling for a minute or two anytime I used it throughout the week. I would put the cop in the proper area, hit the button, and nothing. So I’d remove the cup and put it back and try again and again until finally it worked. Not sure if anyone else had that issue or I am just an idiot.
  
  
• Downtown Disney’s transformation to Disney Springs is definitely looking good and the construction wasn’t as much of an issue for us as it seems to have been for others. It was rough being dropped off at the bus stop and having to walk all the way back when we were ready to head "home." The new, centrally-located bus stop will definitely be great and take care of that issue.
  
  
• Downtown Disney is always our first-day tradition. I can never understand how you crazy folks get up early, fly into Orlando, get to your hotel, and then go directly to a park for a day of running around only to come back to your room at night tired but still needing to unpack. We like taking it easy and starting fresh the next day and wouldn’t have it any other way. Similarly, I also can’t understand how anyone can do a park (or more than one) on their departure day then head back to the hotel only to head directly to the airport for their flight home. To each his or her own, but that’s just not our style. To be fair, though, I have acted like I was a grandpa pretty much all my life, so my aforementioned opinion fits that perfectly.

Yup, about as long-winded as I had figured...

Thanks for reading!

 

[AspenLL]

Thursday, April 30th - A Morning at Animal Kingdom
Today was a big day for us. It was our first park with Cole. Traditionally, we always hit Animal Kingdom the morning after we check in. We couldn't wait to share it this time with Cole. What helped us out a lot during this trip was having breakfast items for him in the room. While Brian was getting ready, I would feed Cole his breakfast each morning (unless we were going to a breakfast ADR). I brought his favorite blueberry oatmeal from home and had yogurt delivered with the groceries. It worked out great for us to be able to utilize this. We had a half gallon of milk that fit perfectly into the fridge in the room.

After we were all ready, we made our way down to the bus stop. We waited about five minutes for our bus to come and we were on our way! We also bought Memory Maker for this trip and used it for the first time as we made our way up to the entrance:

We had been going back and forth for a long time about whether or not to purchase Memory Maker. We read up on it and knew what it would entail. I wound up buying it about two weeks before we left and I do not regret it one bit. It was so much easier to have someone else take our photo without me worrying about trekking around my camera with us. For once we would get photos of us that weren't selfies! We definitely plan on using it again next time we go. We paid $169 for the package because we bought it early. If you buy it after you get there, it's $199. A great thing is that you have access to the photos pretty much immediately after they are taken. It gave us a way to send some nice photos to our families while we were there.

We made our way into the park and on towards the Kilimanjaro Safari, which was our first FP+ of the day and another tradition. On the way to the Safari is where we got one of our favorite family photos:

For some reason during this trip Cole realized that he could play shy and bashful, so getting a good photo of the three of us was difficult! We had a few really good photographers that would interact with him to help us get a good photo.

Overall, I want to say that Cole enjoyed the Safari. He really didn't care for any of the animals, but he loved the bumpy ride. He relaxed in Brian's arms while we made our way through. This is one of my favorite attractions to go on simply because of how low key it is. We had a gorgeous morning with a cool breeze and beautiful animals to look at.

After the Safari, we wanted to make our way to the baby care center to check on Cole's diaper. Let me tell you, you need to utilize these centers if you have a child. It was a great break for us and Cole. Their facilities for parents are great and they offer something for everyone. They have private nursing rooms, a television with high chairs, a kitchen and individual changing tables. I managed to snap these photos of the AK one:

We made our way through the park to Dino Land where I had a FP+ for Dinosaur. What's nice about Memory Maker is that some of the ride photos are included and this was one of them. When you get off of the ride, all you need to do is find your photo and tap your MagicBand at the appropriate place. Nice and easy! After Dinosaur, we took Cole on his first real Disney Ride, the TriceraTop Spin:

As you can see, he had to have his "blankie" with him. We were unable to tell if he liked this type of ride, but we later found out that he did with riding Dumbo at MK. After this we went to get some lunch at Restaurantosaurus. It is my favorite restaurant at the park for some reason

Brian got Cole to take a nap while I was on Dinosaur, but a girl screaming woke him up and got him upset, so we knew he was in for another nap down the line. Of course he fell asleep as we were leaving the park to go back to the hotel. So, we turned around and went to find a quiet spot to sit down and wait for him to wake up.

Cole also had his first character interaction while we were here with Baloo and King Louie. He did very well with them, especially because he could just pet them. While waiting in line, we also had a very friendly squirrel that hitched a ride in the storage under the stroller. I wish I got a photo of it!

After all was said and done, we hopped on the bus and made our way back to the Lodge for some R&R before dinner.

Here's a few more photos from this morning:

 

[Sailormoon2]

Great family shots!!
Did I understand correctly that for memory maker ride photos you had to go somewhere after the ride and make your selections?

 

[jandlinz]

Just joining in! Great start so far. Cole's Mickey socks in front of Pooh are precious! We're thinking of AKL, but worried about the bus rides. How long did it take you to get to each park?

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Great family shots!!
Did I understand correctly that for memory maker ride photos you had to go somewhere after the ride and make your selections?

I didn't know this either. Maybe that explains why several of my memory maker ride photos were missing. I thought that if you wore your magic band on these rides, the pictures were automatically added to your account.

 

[RMColosimo]

Not sure, about the linking, but here is what I have found.
http://blog.touringplans.com/2014/0...tically-link-disney-experience-select-guests/
Looks like some rides it is automatic and others need to be linked. But it is an old article and not from Disney, so it might not be 100% correct.

 

[AspenLL]

Great family shots!!
Did I understand correctly that for memory maker ride photos you had to go somewhere after the ride and make your selections?

Some of them I saw that you had to do it yourself, like Dinosaur and Buzz Lightyear, but Seven Dwarves Mine Train did it automatically. With that you got the photos and a video as well which was really neat.

Just joining in! Great start so far. Cole's Mickey socks in front of Pooh are precious! We're thinking of AKL, but worried about the bus rides. How long did it take you to get to each park?

Haha thanks! He had a Mickey Mouse first birthday, so he got a lot of fun Disney apparel! Magic Kingdom was the furthest away. I want to say it was about a 15 minute ride. Animal Kingdom was the closest and only took a few minutes. It really wasn't bad at all and this is coming from making the trek with a one year old. We wouldn't hesitate to stay at AKL again. We really had no problems with the buses at all. The only pain was how packed it was coming back from MK late at night, but you have to expect that with any bus at that time to any hotel.

I didn't know this either. Maybe that explains why several of my memory maker ride photos were missing. I thought that if you wore your magic band on these rides, the pictures were automatically added to your account.

Like I mentioned before, you had to do the photos yourself on some rides and some were automatic. I haven't seen a list of which ride does what, but I think that it would be really good if they had one!