Walt Disney World in a Different Way

I've posted about Disney World (WDW)a few times before, but never in this way.  This way was different....a lot different.  First of all, it was different because it was just my daughter and I on the trip. (See THIS post to hear about my "gift" from my husband.)  On our other two trips to WDW all six of us went, so only having two people was a lot different.

Lauren and I left Oklahoma Thursday after school and headed to Dallas to spend the night before taking an early flight to Orlando Friday morning.  Another different part of this trip was actually staying on Disney property - Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House).  Our family usually rents a home for our stay, but since there were only two of us and also because Disney was running a discounted special during Feb./March when the package was ordered, my husband got us booked at the lodge.  What fun!

The lodge was beautiful!  The perks of being on Disney property are definitely worth consideration.  For example.....our luggage was checked in at DFW airport in Dallas, then we never saw it again until it was actually in our room at the lodge! Our carry-on baggage was stored by the bell hop while we headed out to Epcot.  Our room wasn't quite ready because we arrived in Orlando so early, but within 30 minutes, we received a text saying that it was ready!

 Of course everything Disney does is over-the-top, so it was no surprise that inside of the lodge was just amazingly beautiful!  Waking up and looking out over our savanna view was great.  There were giraffe's not too far away and we watched as the workers feed them and talked to them.  It was kind of funny listening to a giraffe smack leaves and strip them from the stem!

A Mickey Mouse head was on one of the beds when we arrived back "home" each day.  So cute!

Can you see the tiny Mickey shaped heads in the material on the bedding??  It was also on the carpet in the hallways and on the shower curtain.  You really didn't notice it unless you studied the individual pieces of material.

The bright colors made the room feel like you were truly in another place.....like the African Savanna it was portraying.

The lodge had a big swimming pool that many guests were taking advantage of.  We didn't have time to use it during our stay.  In fact, we had to make time to even go around and explore and take pictures outside of the lodge.

 

That is something to think about when deciding to stay on Disney property or not.....Will you actually be taking advantage of all the resort has to offer? Will you have enough time? If not, maybe it wouldn't be worth the extra money to stay at a resort. On the other hand, with the resort stay, you don't need a rental car. You just use the Disney buses to get where you are going.

I'm not sure how many rooms are in the Jambo House part of Animal Kingdom Lodge, but our room was in the 2,000 section, so there are a LOT of rooms!

Tomorrow I'll talk more about the Disney Dining Plan.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to (or didn't feel like we were able to, because of time.) eat at any of the Animal Kingdom Lodge restaurants. We left out really early each morning and got back late from the parks - taking advantage of the Extra Magic Hours....a wonderful perk of being a resort guest.  The Animal Kingdom restaurants are rated as some of the top ones in all of the Disney Resorts and Parks.  This menu is from the restaurant, Jiko.

Okay.  So now we're all checked in and I've given you a view of the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Now, it's time to "Let the Memories Begin!"  I'll share more WDW pictures and information with you tomorrow!