This story starts actually back in September, right after our 'Great American Road Trip'. One evening Mary & I were talking about what to do for our 25th Anniversary. Keep in mind, at this point she still assumed she would be on the road working somewhere in the southeast. I felt the kids and I should make another road trip. Driving out there and then meeting her someplace fun – like Disney World – for our actual anniversary.
Anyway, we jumped on the computer to check the availability of our timeshare in that area, and found that we would have needed to plan a few more months in advance... Not to despair, I decided to check the RCI – a timeshare exchange we were members of. To my amazement, the first thing that popped up was a week – and not just any week, but the one surrounding our anniversary – in the Animal Kingdom Lodge through Disney's own timeshare! With little hesitation, we lapped that up, paid the exchange fee, and had the core of our vacation set. We had no idea how we were getting there, or if Mary would be able to join us, but we had a place to stay!
So naturally, it soon became evident that Mary was not going to be called for another of those contract jobs, and we were suddenly living on unemployment and looking for local jobs – anything! Now, not only was Mary not going to be in the southeast, but we probably couldn't even afford to drive there... Despite that, I kept on planning for the vacation, and praying it would happen. I priced out, but didn't purchase, the park tickets, meal plan, airfare (which would actually be less than driving!), and incidentals. I made reservations at the character meals and other Disney restaurants we wanted to eat at, since if you don't do that months in advance, you just don't get to eat there – or at least not at the time you want. I also started coming up with a contingency plan...
Then, in February, Mary got a job! Not just a job, but a good one, with a local bank!! And to top it off, they were understanding when Mary told them about the reservations for our anniversary, and said that she could take that week off!!! The plan was back in action. We had to do some scrimping and saving those first few months, but we put enough together for the airfare. Now we had a way to get there, and a place to stay. Next came giving up things – zoo camp (our kids hadn't missed in 6 years), church camp, just going camping, summer vacation activities, etc., but that allowed us to get the meal plan and the park tickets – our vacation was saved!
You ever watch one of those TV shows where right about 45 minutes in the show comes the big 'turn-around' – where just when things are going right, something big goes wrong? Yep, we got one too... You see, one of the things that came with Mary's new job was benefits – as in insurance – that we hadn't had for over two years. Right away we started getting checkups – teeth, eyes, doctor, etc. Well, when I went in for a general checkup, the doc looked at the fistula I had been fighting with for about four years and decided it was in my best interest to get it fixed. Now those that don't know what a fistula is and don't want to look it up, suffice to say it's a tear down by where you sit... And in the amazing 21st century, the way they fix that it to take a knife and cut it open so that it can heal from the inside out (Really!@! - the best you got is “I'm gonna get a knife”?!?!?!).
So, following my doctor's advice, we schedule my 'butt' surgery for July – the kids would be out of school and could help me with both my recovery and the house, and I would try hard to get healed by Disney. Naturally, the doc only cuts twice a month, and the first appointment was on my birthday... All-in-all, the surgery has fixed the problem, and is making my life better little by little, but it was a slow heal that kept us worried about my participation in our vacation until about a week before we went. (And even as we went, as the realities of lying around healing for a month and a half played in – I found I had little stamina, and my feet cried (translation: big, honkin' blisters) at the hours and miles I put on them all of the sudden!)
Okay, okay – enough back-story! The day came: the day before our anniversary, we flew to Florida. (One last little funny: Mary had, and used, an old flight credit, so she flew on a different airline – and through a different hub – than us on the way there. So here I was, barely out of the 'sick-bed', flying alone with both kids...) It was a bloody early, and long, day, but we finally all arrived in the Orlando airport, and were picked up by Disney's Magical Express.
So... Remember how at the beginning of this story I said we were staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, but through the Disney Vacation Club? Well, it turns out that the lodge has two buildings. First, there is Jambo House: And while it houses some of the DVC, it also has many, many rooms for rent, as well as most of the restaurants – thus, masses of people (oddly enough, a great many of them with European accents and language). Then there is Kidani Village: Designed as the signature place for DVC members to stay, it is mostly made up of Villas – big rooms with very nice amenities, surrounded by their own private savannah. And to top that, while we were checking in, the guy asked me if I minded a little walk, as, since it was our anniversary, he could put us in one of their nicer rooms, but it was all the way at the end of the hall (which we found out later was actually 1/2 mile from the lobby).
Thus we arrived tired, sore, and excited. Following are the pictures we managed to remember to take before we collapsed (needed to get up early to get into the park tomorrow!). Keep in mind, this is only the resort – we hadn't even made it into one of the lands yet!
The view from our room, as we first got there.
Those are Ankole cattle with the giraffes.
some East African crowned cranes
a 'baby' giraffe!
The 'back' savannah (on the other side of the lodge from our room)
had nyalas, impalas, and Thompson's gazelles.
Down by the lobby & restaurant we found this ostrich...
...a roan antelope...
...a Marabou stork...
...some white-bearded wildebeests...
...and zebras!
This waterbuck wouldn't pose for us!
The wildebeest is also know as a 'gnu'.
Another view from our room.
The room decorations and furniture were awesome!
Mufasa!
In the bedroom. We actually had a hide-a-bed couch and a hide-a-bed chair in the livingroom, so we could sleep 5. It also had a second, if smaller bathroom...
detail on the chest-of-drawers
The master bed - note the mickey-head made of towels, and the drawings of Simba and Nala on the headboard.
The master bathroom had a jet tub and a walk-in shower that could accommodate several people, but the coolest part was the hand-painted tile scene...
Appropriate, I would think!
It actually took us several days to notice, but even things like the drapes had some incredible detail!
Oh - so that's why the guy at the front desk called this the 'sunset wing'!
