All Ears Guest Blogger Emily Owens Pickle is back – this time with a 3 part blog on Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Concierge Service, the Kilimanjaro Club – Part 1.
The Last Wild Weekend – for Awhile
This year’s holidays were a little disappointing. My young daughter was very sick and not only missed Christmas, but her birthday celebration as well. We ended up cancelling her birthday plans to stay at Port Orleans and visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK). But readers, where one door closes, another opens”.
For the past week I mulled over an impromptu trip to the World to re-celebrate Lily’s birthday. We have been trying to stick closely to our budget and doing a decent job so one night seemed reasonable.
I then got a call from my mother-in-law; they are originally Texas natives who moved down to Florida about seven years ago. They have been debating with themselves over several months whether or not to move back to Texas for awhile because of some job opportunities and actually decided that they will be leaving and much sooner than they thought. Specifically, before the end of February.
I am so happy that they are going to move closer to some great opportunities but that certainly does not make everyone less sad about their moving halfway across the country. When Evan and I first met one of the first things I learned about his family was their love for all things Disney.
His parents have amazing collectibles and have been Annual Passholders for many years. It was Evan’s Dad, Terry, who introduced me to an amazing Disney site, All Ears, prior to our first family trip to Port Orleans years ago. Terry took me on my first visit to EPCOT. Evan’s mother, Suzette, and I have spent many mornings bunny-searching on resort properties with Lily. The list of Disney memories we have could go on and on.
Terry and Suzette have spent countless hours in the parks teaching us tricks of the trade, helping us keep Lily hydrated and entertained, and just spending time. The first few years of parenting are wonderful… and stressful. But Lily has also reminded us to see things the way a child does, and for our family Disney has been a common ground for grandparents, parents, and children (and uncles, and aunts, AND cousins) to come and very simply, have fun being with one another.
I really wanted to spend another weekend at Port Orleans where it all began. For days I clicked and refreshed and searched for any way I could find to book a room at Riverside… to no avail. I called the resort and was re-directed to reservations who (kindly) told me I would just have to wait it out for any cancellations. I started to hang up but not before the agent did mention that there was a great rate at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL) in a Club Level room. I hesitated, told her that was probably a little too much to pay for a weekend get-a-way, then thanked her and ended the call, and then immediately (of course) logged onto AEN to read up on Club Level at the AKL.
Evening snacks and wine by the AKL restaurants? Jiko and Boma are easily two of my favorite restaurants at Disney; my husband and I always spend our anniversary at Jiko. I chewed and chewed my lip and then called Evan who immediately told me to book it (what?? Evan hesitates to turn on the AC in FLORIDA). I scrambled back online found another reservation (YES!), scrolled quickly past the (albeit reasonable) total (gulped a little), and clicked ‘Book’.
So my family is having a final ‘Hoopla!’ (HOOPLA!!) to celebrate the expansion of our family two years ago and the hundreds of memories we have made throughout Disney World. I know that some folks think it’s silly to spend the time we have at Disney but thanks to AllEars® we have always come away very reasonably and we aren’t just buying time at a resort or rides on an attraction… When we spend a day or several days at Disney we are investing into something obviously more precious than anything else we own or will own. We are investing in each other. We are weaving laughter, imagination, memories, good food, and warm feelings into a tangible thread that runs through our family.
And you can’t put a price on that.
“The important thing is the family. If you can keep the family together-and that’s the backbone of our whole business, catering to families-that’s what we hope to do.” ~Walt Disney
Stay tuned for Animal Kingdom Lodge Concierge Part 2
Hmm, very cognitive post.
Is this theme good unough for the Digg?