Disney Day 2 - Settling In and Venturing Out

Originally we were going to make Thursday a park day, but the weather was looking iffy and Craig and Jacob had wanted to do their park day on Friday, so Carter and I shifted there as well.  If I hadn't mentioned previously, the plan was for Carter and me to do a two-day park hopper so we could hit every park for at least a bit.  It was more than I wanted to pay, but it was the best way to cover it all while not monopolizing our trip with park days like a 4-day ticket would have done.  Jacob was insisting on doing one park day--and a park hopper at that.  He had rides at a couple different parks in mind, but he mostly wanted to use it for eating at a few different places.  I kept reminding him that he doesn't like long park days and for that cost he would likely barely get his (read: our) money's worth from it.  But we were there and I didn't want to be a jerk, so that became the plan despite the cost.  

But first we had another resort day!  We slept in a bit to compensate for the previous day's early morning, and I was first up to get in a shower and get ready for the day.  While everyone else was getting ready, I went out on our giant balcony for a bit to take in our view.  It wasn't quite as peaceful as Old Key West typically is, but we overlooked part of the pool (and some parking), so it could have been worse.

Somewhere behind those trees is the splash pad area of the pool

We didn't get our grocery order together soon enough to have breakfast in the room, so we decided to check out Sanaa, the quick service breakfast spot downstairs (which I believe turned into table service later in the day).  The menu was a bit different--more exotic than we're used to--but we were all excited about our meals.  Of course, we had one hiccup when Jacob randomly ordered two breakfast entrees.  We looked at him like he was nuts and questioned a couple things, but he pressed on.  Breakfast is supposed to be cheaper, but his...was not.  Anyway, we found a table right by the window and waited for our food.

Handsome guys!

We had a pretty good show while we waited, with a front row view of the animals outside.  

This bird (per Google it's a Marabou Stork) was putting on quite the show!  He was walking around with his wings out, and eventually he was joined by another bird (a female?) on the same tree trunk.  They seemed to be doing some sort of mating ritual, flapping and strutting.  It was fascinating, and a little weird!

In the end, we all loved our breakfasts...except Jacob.  Of course.  He had ordered this acai/yogurt/grain bowl and avocado toast with eggs and salmon on top, and ended up not really liking most of it.  He sort of misunderstood what he was ordering (despite us questioning it) and it ended up being more complex than he thought.  UGH.  But Carter loved his platter, and my breakfast sandwich with hot honey was super good.  I was also mildly obsessed with the light fixtures in one of the rooms.  So pretty!

Next stop was the pool.  Again.  And once again our timing was fantastic, because we'd only been in the pool for about 10 minutes when they closed it for "unscheduled maintenance".  I don't know if someone  emitted a bodily fluid or if the chlorine levels were off, but we had about a 15 minute delay before we could get back in.  I had been at the top of the slide waiting to go down when it shut off, which was a bit perplexing at first.  However, the pool was really nice.  Still not quite the same vibe as Old Key West, but it was still pretty quiet and tropical.  

Looking up toward the slide

There was a spot with zero-depth entry, and the pool was quite large

The slide was a close second to Old Key West's - quite fast, very twisty and overall very good.  The stairs up are preferable to Old Key West's - more of a natural rock feel compared to fiberglass - but I still like Old Key West's just a little better.

View from the bridge

As I mentioned, our room overlooked the pool area, and more specifically, this kid-friendly splash pad.  There were a bunch of water features, from sprays and drips and water guns to a waterfall.  It was really cute and I can see that being a fantastic option for parents of littles to just sit nearby and watch while your kid plays in a relatively safe and contained area.

We hung out for a bit and swam a bit more, and then wrapped things up.  That ended up being Carter's and my only pool time at this resort (Craig and Jacob had some the next day), and I sort of wish we would have had a bit more.  It was pretty nice!

When moving back through the resort, I caught a few more interesting animal shots:
 

Yeah, that's a zebra butt.  It sort of felt like it got poached or something with how it was laying motionless, but maybe that was because one of the zoos we've been to (ours, maybe?) had a fake zebra carcass in one of the exhibits, probably with the lions or hyenas or painted dogs.

We changed back into normal clothes and decided to go over to Mara at Jambo House for lunch.  Craig snapped a pic of us while we waited for the shuttle.

Jambo House was really nice...and bonus point that it had a functioning lobby.  The grounds were pretty, like this little area near the pool and outside the restaurants.  

The pool wasn't quite as impressive, but it still looked nice and had a smaller slide.  We had a good lunch there--my jerk chicken tenders were so good that I had them at another spot later in the trip.  The boys decided they were going to go back to our side of the resort and go to the basketball court, but I decided to stick around and check out this side a bit more.  This was the view of the back of the lobby.  

There were numerous overlooks here, and some different animals.  I have been obsessed with these cattle since I got a close-up view of one on one of our Animal Kingdom safaris.

Huge horns!

There were a bunch of pelicans, as well.

There were giraffes and a few other animals, but not too many that were close enough to stick around longer.  The lobby was really stunning, and there was a bridge across part of it, likely to connect some of the higher floors across the cavernous lobby more easily.  The view from up there was impressive.

When you turned around, this was the savanna view.

Meanwhile, back at Kidani, the boys were playing some hotly contested games of HORSE.  

I took the walk back instead of the shuttle.  It was a pleasant little stroll, less than 10 minutes, mostly through shady, landscaped paths.  I stopped by the courts for a bit, but I didn't stay long because it was hot (though breezy) and I eventually needed to use the restroom, so I figured I'd ensure I was first in line (haha).  I think I popped on my work email for a few minutes, rested my feet, and cooled off.  I think it was also around this time when I realized that Carter's suitcase was broken.  It was old--I think from when we got married, actually--and had been my go-to suitcase for a long time.  We had definitely gotten our use out of it.  I don't know what happened, but somewhere between the plane and the room, the telescoping handle stopped wanting to go down.  Obviously that wouldn't work on the plane, so we'd either have to fix it or buy a new one.  It really did need to be replaced anyway, since it had broken zipper pulls for years and wasn't a spinner suitcase, meaning it was a little harder for Carter to wrangle than the rest of ours, which were newer.  I started researching a bit, but was holding off on ordering until we knew if we could just add it to our Walmart grocery order and/or knew when we'd be there to get it.  As I sat there, I started thinking about what else I wanted to do with my "free time" on this trip, and I decided that that unplanned afternoon might be my best shot at getting a couple photo ops I'd wanted to check out.  But the rain was coming so I had to leave soon.  Carter didn't really want to go as he's been having issues with his feet (and he'd need them for the next day), so I decided if I was going to do it, I just had to go on my own.  So, I did!

I wanted to go to the other All-Star Resorts that Carter and I didn't go to last year when we stopped by All-Star Sports.  I had seen a few fun pictures after last year's trip, and I wanted to see it all for myself.  I hopped a bus to Animal Kingdom to transfer over to an All-Stars bus.  First stop: Music!

The value resorts are interesting.  The theming is really fun, maybe better than most resorts, but the rooms and setup aren't exactly ideal.  They are like dressed up old-school motels with exterior entrances and door after door after door.  I like that some people decorate their windows, but they don't feel very private and for some reason I get a bit of a weird vibe.  On this particular day, the rain was imminent so the outside grounds were weirdly quiet for such a busy resort.  Rest assured, the main building where the lobby, store, and quick service restaurant are was super chaotic, but with the pools shut down and weather coming, it actually was a little creepily quiet.  But that just left me to explore freely on my own.  The Calypso section was fun and overlooked a guitar-shaped pool...
 

There was a jazz section with giant drum sets, and a rock-n-roll section with colorful guitars, a giant jukebox, and massive speakers hiding the stairwells.  The pool facilities in that area looked like giant boom box stereos.  There were massive cowboy boots in the next section, and the one photo op I really wished Carter was there for:

The musicals section had theater facades, and in honor of Jacob I took a picture of the one with The Lion King (which I have actually seen).

From there I transitioned over to the Movies section.  I was greeted with Herbie the Love Bug, and interestingly, this one was actually in the parade at Magic Kingdom for years.

I really liked the brooms in the Fantasia section.

I took a selfie with Donald and Daisy just as the rain was starting.

The nearby Fantasia pool had a cool Sorcerer Mickey water feature, too, but again, no one was there because of the rain, which just felt odd.  

The main thing I had really wanted to see was the Mighty Ducks section!  The original Mighty Ducks movie came out in the early years of my hockey obsession, and of course I loved it.  I didn't realize until this past year that there was a whole section at All-Star Movies!  As a teenager I would have been absolutely obsessed with these hockey sticks!

And look at the giant duck mask, which was the focal point of the real NHL team's first logo!

The pool was awesome.  Goofy was in net, the pool bottom had hockey lines, and the buildings that flanked it looked like a giant (working) scoreboard and locker rooms with locker stalls.

I walked through the 101 Dalmations section and got to the Toy Story area.  They had a giant Buzz and Woody, among other characters.
 

The stairwells were behind the buckets that hold the toy soldiers, and they were all along the roof line.  They also had a giant checkers board, and the whole area was supposed to be Andy's room with the tos scattered about.  It was really cute.  By this point I was done and the rain was starting to pick up a bit.  Between sandals and my poncho, it wasn't terrible but did rain pretty hard once I was under cover.  I went back through the main building to head to the bus stop, and I took the opportunity to take a new profile picture next to the giant "A" in All-Stars along the front of the building.  My cousin immediately identified on Facebook!  Good eye!

It had been a successful walking tour of the resort, and once again confirmed that I wouldn't stay at a value resort (other than maybe Art of Animation) unless my budget absolutely dictated it.  They just don't have the same warm feel of the other resorts, and there's so many kids and so much chaos in the main buildings.  The 30 seconds I walk through them is plenty (although I did LOVE All-Stars Sports' dining area decor when we ate there last year).  But some people swear by value resorts because it's either all they can afford or because they literally only sleep there and would rather put money into another park day or experience.  It really just reinforces that everyone likes different resorts for different reasons and there isn't really any resort that would top everyone's list, no matter how nice (although a couple might come close).  Old Key West is repeatedly rated as the worst deluxe resort, but we absolutely love it.  But it's still fun to explore and learn more about others.  Next time I need to go to Boardwalk and maybe Beach Club.

We decided that I'd meet the guys back at Disney Springs to pick a dinner spot, so I hopped on the bus and headed over.  Once we met up, we heavily debated where to eat.  We zigzagged back and forth a bit as we considered some options, but none of them were really working out.  Finally we settled on Summer House on the Lake, and somehow managed to get a patio table right away (which was fortunately covered as it was still raining a bit).  Fortunately the rain had cooled things off and it was pretty comfortable to be outside for once.  Our meals were all really good.  The boys had chicken fingers (naturally gluten free!), I had a mushroom pizza, and Craig had a really good chicken breast.

Dinner selfie!

After dinner, we went to the gluten-free bakery and the Coca-Cola Store.  I caught this gorgeous shot on our walk there, and it struck me all over again how weird Florida weather is.  So much rain and thunder and clouds...and yet this beautiful sunset.

We headed back to the resort just in time to meet our grocery delivery, and then we called it a night.  It may have been a resort day, but I still got in 20,000 steps, 80 minutes of exercise, and nearly 9 miles!  Not too shabby!  But that was just a warm-up for our big first park day!