Day 8: Turn of the Century With an African Beat

  Orlando, Florida, United States
Friday, July 28, 2006

003 - Hanging Out Around the House

I woke up at 8:30 this morning and laid in bed for a while reading "The Great Gatsby."  I went into the kitchen at 9:00 and saw that mom and dad were sitting out by the pool again and mom was taking some pictures.  I then went to get ready, and I wanted to just fix my hair since I had taken a shower the night before but it was a mess so I just took another shower.  I really hadn't wanted to deal with taking another shower and blowing my hair, but I had to do what I had to do... but I wasn't in a good mood about it!  I was out of the shower by 10:00 and I watched "Edward Scissorhands" in my room while I got ready.  I used to love that movie when I was younger but I never realized how campy it is! It cracked me up.

004 - Hanging Out Around the House

I was done getting ready by 11:00 and I just sat in bed and watched the end of the movie.  I went out into the living room at 12:00 and I wanted to leave for the Grand Floridian, but Michael had just gotten up and mom wanted to wait for him to be finished getting ready before we left.  At 12:30 he was done, but Steve the pool guy had just arrived.  Dad went out to talk to him while he retested the levels and used his Chlorine-reducer.  Dad found out that Steve was originally from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and his wife was from Long Island.  What are the odds of that?!  Steve also said that the owner of the home's husband had recently died and that's why she was trying to sell the house.  None of it made much sense since all of the e-mails from the owners were from the husband, but who knows?  It was still a sad story.

006 - Grand Floridian Resort

We were finally out the door by 1:00 and as we drove to Disney property the skies were plagued by dark clouds.  It was going to pour at any minute, but we made it to the Magic Kingdom resort area and were pulling through the Grand Floridian parking gates by 1:30.  When we pulled up to the gate dad showed his driver's license to the security guard and when he saw that we were from Brooklyn he told us that he was from Brooklyn, too.  Come on!  It really IS a small world...!  We pulled around to the front of the resort and then back out of the area.  Where was the parking lot?  We saw that there was a parking lot across the street from us, but when we asked a nearby cast member where to park he told us to go around and pull back through the gate.  So around to the front gates we went again, where we told the security guard from Brooklyn that we had made a wrong turn.  We were cracking up because we knew it looked stupid!  We asked him where the parking was and he said that all parking in the front lot was for valet only, and that the guest and regular parking lot was across the street.  That's where we had been before the other cast member told us to go back around to the front gate!  We parked and made our way over to the front of the resort, with a ton of black clouds lingering overhead.  I didn't like how the parking lot was so far away from the resort.  The Grand Floridian is the most expensive resort in all of Disney World, and probably one of the most expensive resorts in all of Florida!  The least they could do is put the parking lot closer than across a crowded street out in the middle of the property.  Oh well.

009 - Grand Floridian Resort

We entered the front of the resort and wow... I was completely blown away!  Before having visited the Grand Floridian I always thought that it was stuffy and not for me.  However, when we visited it one night last year I had completely fallen in love with it, and I fell even more in love with it this year.  The resort was gorgeous!  We walked around the first floor just taking in the Turn of the Century ambiance before we got to the big staircase and saw a bridal party taking pictures.  Can you imagine getting married at the Grand Floridian?  Can you imagine how much that would cost?!  It was gorgeous, though.  The big staircase in the Grand Floridian always remind me of the episode of Full House when they all go to Disney and stay at the Grand Floridian.  After Uncle Jesse spends all his time at work and away from Becky he makes it up to her by playing her a song on the big Grand Piano on the second floor and Becky sees him as she's running down the grand staircase.  I love that episode... I watch way too many old TGIF shows!

010 - Grand Floridian Resort

We wanted to go up to the second floor but the bridal party was still taking pictures on the stairs so we stood by the elevator.  We were the only ones there until a family of five came by - a mother, father, two daughters and a so, and they were the most inconsiderate people I have ever encountered.  I was waiting by the side of the doors so everyone already in the elevator could get out on the first floor, and the mother came and stood right in front of the doors and then pushed into me to see if the "up" button was pressed.  Nope, I was just standing there hoping that the elevator could read my mind...  When the elevator reached us I went to walk on and the mother pushed her way through us.  Then I stood at the back of the elevator looking down over the lobby when her youngest daughter, who was around eight, pushed me out of the way and stood in my spot.  I loudly said, "Wow, I'm somehow not surprised that these kids are so obnoxious."  When we got to the second floor mom and dad were right next to the elevator doors, and the husband just pushed passed them to get out.  Mom remarked that if we were in that situation dad would have let the other family out first since they were closer to the doors.  On the short ride up to the second floor she had been trying to guess where these people were from, and when the father pushed passed us to run out of the elevator first she decided that they must be from Rudesville.  She said it loud, too.  I was cracking up!

012 - Grand Floridian Resort

When we got up to the second floor we went to sit in a seating area with a bunch of Victorian couches.  I took a picture of mom and dad before we went out onto a big veranda.  There were only two other people out there having a drink at one of the tables, so we went over to the balcony and the view was absolutely gorgeous.  We had an amazing view of the Seven Seas Lagoon, the Grand Floridian beach and the watercraft in the area.  I took a few pictures of the view and a quick video before we headed back inside.  We continued walking around the second floor where I took a few pictures of the huge chandeliers and the different seating areas.  We then passed Citricos and Victoria and Albert's, two of Disney's signature restaurants.  When we were done looking around we went back downstairs using the huge staircase this time.  We wanted to look for the Gasparilla Grill and Games food court so we went outside since it was supposed to be in a different building but we couldn't find it.  We didn't bother going out of our way because the sky had gotten even darker than when we had arrived, and the distant rolls of thunder were getting closer and closer.  We walked along the beach for a few minutes before we went back into the lobby and out the front entrance.

022 - Grand Floridian Resort

It was starting to rain now and we had a pretty long walk back to the car so we headed out towards the lot, stopping only to take a picture by the big white Rolls Royce in front of the resort.  I saw a Mary Poppins topiary off in the distance and I wanted to get a picture of it, but you could only get to it by going inside and I didn't want to bother with that.  As we made our way over to the car the rain started getting harder and harder, and right when we reached the car it started to pour.  As we drove home it stopped raining, though, since we had driven through the passing storm.  It was pretty crazy; you can't do that in New York.

030 - Hanging Out In the House

We were back at the house by 1:45, where we found Mike sitting out by the pool with Oreo.  Oreo loved it out by the pool; she was always the first one to run out there and could lie out there for hours.  It was really cute!  I took a few pictures of everyone by the pool before they went inside and I sat out for a few minutes.  There were a few big birds in the lake, and then a TON of smaller black birds made their way over to the resort.  I have never seen so many birds before; they were all spread out across the entire lawn.  It was crazy!  I hung out in my room for the next few hours reading "The Great Gatsby" and relaxing.  We had a 6:00 priority seating for Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and we wanted to leave for it by 4:50.  We were all done getting ready and just sitting around bored by 4:30 so we left twenty minutes early and got to the Animal Kingdom Lodge by 5:00.  We pulled through the front gates after getting our three-hour parking pass from the security guard and we parked pretty far into the lot.  We walked through the foliage in front of the resort, and I loved how there were hidden speakers in the trees playing African music.  It really set the mood.

044 - Animal Kingdom Lodge

When we entered the Animal Kingdom Lodge I again wasn't blown away.  The lobby was absolutely huge and was gorgeous, but it just wasn't anything special to me.  We made our way down to Boma by 5:15 and even though we were forty-five minutes early we checked in.  Mom and dad waited in the back while I gave the girls at the podium my name and reminded them that mom and dad were celebrating their 20th Anniversary.  All of the girls working here were from Africa and they were all so nice!  We were given a pager and were told that we would be called soon.  Mom and I ran into the bathroom and again loved the small sink in there for kids.  We talked about how excited Alison would be if she got to use it!  I was sad that there wasn't any coconut soap this year like there had been last year, though.  Anyway, when we got out of the bathroom dad and Mike were waiting for us by the podium since our name had already been called.  Wow, that was fast!

046 - Boma

We were lead to our table by an African man from Johannesburg.  He was really nice and he gave us a quick tour of the restaurant before presenting mom and dad with an anniversary card signed by everyone at the restaurant!  They all wrote "Happy Anniversary," "Congratulations," or "Have a Great Day" in their native language and then signed their name and jotted down their hometown.  It's a great card and a really, really nice memento of the trip.  Thanks!  A few minutes later our server Cathy arrived and we all ordered our drinks before going up to the buffet.

048 - Boma

The Boma buffet consists of all African food, along with a few American dishes for kids.  I wasn't sure of what a lot of the food was but I went to the first two buffet pods and took a little bit of everything.  We all then went back to the table and I took a picture of everyone with their food.  The food was delicious!  The blending of spices and ingredients was definitely different than what I was used to, but it was all ridiculously good.  The African bread was the best, and the cinnamon rice with raisins was delicious.  I also took a spiced chicken wing, some spicy potatoes and coconut crusted salmon.  It was all unbelievably good! I  also tried some Pap which I was nervous about, but it was great.  It was a kind of porridge made of ground maize and tomatoes and it was very tasty.  I then tried some Babotie which I was also nervous about, but this was the best food of the buffet.  It was a dish made of spiced mince meat baked in a custard topping.  It was delicious!

049 - Boma

While I was finishing my first plate of food mom, dad and Mike all went to get seconds . They came back with salads and steak which all looked great, and then I went up to get some more myself.  I got some African coleslaw, watermelon rind salad, more African bread and a chicken finger.  Everything was great except for the watermelon rind salad.  It was both sweet and spicy and wasn't bad, but it was a very weird mix of flavors.  It was kind of bitter so I only tried it once and then didn't eat the rest of it.  When I was done eating I was really full but Mike wanted more steak.  He wound up coming back with pot roast and it was delicious!  It was flaky and burnt and really, really good.  A few minutes later dad went to get some steak and it was good, but not as good as the pot roast.  Mike wanted his steak so he went to get some while mom and I ran to the bathroom.  When we got out into the hall we saw that the restaurant was unbelievably packed.  It was now 6:05 so we were very glad that we had arrived so early since we would have had at least an hour wait now!  When we got into the bathroom we heard a little girl telling her mom that she didn't want to use her hand sanitizer, she wanted to use the little sink.  It was too cute, that sink must be a huge hit with kids!

060 - Boma

When we got back to the table Mike had already eaten the piece of steak that he had gone back for.  It must have been good!  We then went up to get dessert.  There was a lot to choose from and I couldn't decide what to try... so I took a little bit of everything!  The coconut bread was just alright and the cherry cobbler was pretty good but it was very sweet.  The chocolate chip and sugar cookies were also good, but the best was the flourless chocolate cake.  It was delicious!  I also liked the Zebra Domes.  They're not as good as the reviews I've read (everyone always raves about them) but they weren't bad.  They were made of a hazelnut and chocolate pudding covered in chocolate and hazelnut icing.  They were good, but too sweet to eat more than one.

059 - Boma

When we were in the middle of eating our desert Cathy brought mom and dad out a special Anniversary desert!  "Happy 20th Anniversary" was written on a big board in chocolate with a chocolate Mickey head.  Below the writing were different chocolate candies.  They were all dark chocolate and really rich and sweet so no one really liked them.  I had one but they were too sweet to have another.  Everyone else tasted them and thought they were alright.  It was still nice to get a little extra recognition for mom and dad's anniversary!

063 - Boma

We were done eating by 6:00 and the bill had come to $110 without a tip, and we left a $20 tip.  Boma wound up being a great restaurant and exceeded my expectations.  We hadn't liked breakfast the year before since it was so expensive for regular breakfast foods, but dinner was a hundred times better.  I loved it!  When we left there were two African cast members playing the drums in front of the restaurant.  Mom and I ran back into the bathroom again and then we all watched them play for a few minutes.  I took a picture and some video before we were on our way.

067 - Animal Kingdom Lodge

I wanted to walk around the resort and see the animals out on the savanna so we went back up to the lobby and headed out towards the back of the resort.  First we took a few pictures in the lobby and then we went outside and mom and dad sat by the fire pit.  Later on that night an African storyteller was going to be out there telling African folktales but we didn't want to stay for that.  Well, I did but it was still a long way off.  We headed out towards the savanna and at first all we saw were birds.  All we had seen last year were birds and I was determined to prove to mom, dad and Mike that there were actual animals on the savanna.  We walked around and saw two African guides who were speaking to each other in Swahili.  They said hello and were really nice, and then I saw what we had came for... zebras!  They were so cute!

079 - Animal Kingdom Lodge

We then walked back to the entrance of the savanna and I wanted to see the giraffes.  I love giraffes so I didn't want to leave before having seen them.  We didn't see any of them, though, so I asked one of the guides where to find them.  She said that none of them were in the area but we could find them on the other side of the resort.  We headed back inside and walked through a corridor on the first floor.  At the end of the hall we saw an exhibit on African masks.  I always loved the African masks and exhibits in the Museum of Natural History so I was interested in what the exhibit was all about.  No one else wanted to stop, though, so we kept walking until we came to a big window through which we saw giraffes!  I took a picture by the window and then we headed back outside.  The giraffes were amazing!  They're so tall and graceful, I just love them.  There were a few other animals out there, too, so I took some pictures and video.  There was a giraffe that was taking food from it's trough on top of the trees and then feeding it to an Okapi, it was the cutest thing!  When we were done looking at the animals we headed back inside and went over to a side elevator.  We took it up to the fifth floor and walked around to the bridge that overlooks the lobby.

108 - Animal Kingdom Lodge

The view from the fifth floor of the lobby was gorgeous!  We could see the entire savanna out the large window on one side, and the entire lobby stretched out before us on the other.  We took a few pictures and took some time looking around.  I hadn't at all liked the Animal Kingdom Lodge last year but I now loved it.  I loved how the interior corridors were dark and the only source of light was from African sconces, I loved the small hidden Mickey's in the carpet, I loved the soft beating of African drums that could be heard throughout the entire resort, I loved the animals, the smells drifting up from the fire pit in Boma, the cast members... everything.  My complaint from last year was that the Animal Kingdom Lodge didn't at all feel like Disney.  But who needs Disney when you can have Africa?!

107 - Animal Kingdom Lodge

I absolutely fell in love with the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was my favorite Disney resort yet.  I enjoyed the Contemporary Resort, liked the Beach Club Resort and loved the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  I could have spent all day looking around the dark corridors for the different African art exhibits and watching the animals, but everyone else wanted to head back to the house.  At 7:15 we went into the Zawadi Marketplace store by the entrance to the resort where they had a lot of African art, statues, and masks, as well as Disney and Animal Kingdom Lodge souvenirs.  No one wanted anything, though, so at 7:30 we headed out of the resort and back to the car.

116 - Driving Back to the House

We headed towards Route 192 right by the Animal Kingdom Lodge exit and were let out onto the road right near the Emerald Island Resort.  It brought back so many memories!  I liked that end of 192 a lot more than I liked the end that we were now on.  It was a good half-hour drive back to our end of Route 192 but it wasn't too bad.  Mike and I had been wanting a few books and mom and dad wanted a few things, so we drove over to Walmart.  Now, I have to admit I'm not a big fan of Walmart.  I hate that store.  Target I can stand... even Kmart.  But not Walmart.  We sucked it up and went, though, and the place was a mess.  They had a lot of Disney souvenirs but nothing special.  I was going to get a really nice photo album from Disney that held 300 pictures for $25, but I instead got a $7 photo album from Walmart that holds 100 pictures.  Good enough.  We went over to the books and they didn't have anything good.  Their selection was very small and they only had new books, not the classics that I had been looking for.  For some reason I had a feeling that they wouldn't have "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston or "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens at Walmart.

120 - Driving Back to the House

We made our way back to the house by 9:00 and dad took a different route this time.  We went through the back roads and saw tons and tons of trailers and trailer parks.  It definitely wasn't the Orlando that I was used to.  When we got back to the house we all just hung out.  Mom, Mike and I played cards (and mom finally won!) while we watched "Best Week Ever" on VH1.   I then finished reading "The Great Gatsby" and was asleep by 1:00.  It had been a great day.