Getting settled in

Have I mentioned that I'm glad to be home? :-) I really am. Mostly because I was able to go to the doctor and get some serious meds to knock out this Respiratory infection once and for all.

The vacation was fab, but sleeping in my own bed is pretty great too.

I'm also happy to be back on a normal routine (Jackson is twice as happy about this as I am!) Getting back in the swing of things means laundry and cleaning this weekend, but also lots of scrapbooking which I am DYING to do!!! Hopefully I will get alot more Halloween goodies as well as some Thanksgiving ones loaded into my Etsy before Monday, so keep on the look out for that.

And now, for your enjoyment, a little more about Disney.

These are photos from our resort, The Animal Kingdom Lodge. Everything here is done in an African/Savanna type theme...and of course the big deal for staying there is that when you look out over your balcony you get to view African animals on their very own "Savanna".

This is the lobby. Very cold and well decorated.

Some longhorns seen from our balcony.

Jackson checking out the wildlife.

In the distance you can see a giraffe and a gazelle.

This was like animal dinner time because everyone was out to eat.

And now my 2 cents on this Resort.

Overall I give the Animal Kingdom Lodge a 2 1/2 out 5. (What I didn't like:) This is based on the fact that while it was sort of cool to see animals out our window, the newness wore off quickly, and really we weren't in the hotel enough for it to matter that much. Additionally, as you can read in one of my earlier posts, they charge $10.00 a day for High-Speed internet usage. That fact really bugged me because most reasonable resorts/hotels like La Quinta and Marriott now offer it for free with a paid room. So to me, a "high-end" resort like Animal Kingdom should be able to offer that to it's guests. My final issue with it was that the room felt a little cramped (this was partially caused by the over sized African looking furniture which I could have done without) and the bath tub was too small. Again, a "high-end" resort should be able to manage comfort for it's guests easily for what they are paying per night.

Things I did like: They had neat African chants and music playing all around the resort all the time. The staff was unbelievably courteous no matter what you needed. The restaurants in the hotel were speedy and always clean, despite serving a high number of guests all day long. The bed was very, very comfortable. The maid staff cleaned carefully and thoughtfully everyday.

My final vote: On my next Disney Trip we won't be staying at The Animal Kingdom Lodge. It just didn't appeal to me enough to want to go back there. I'm not saying it's not a good resort, it just wasn't amazing to me. And really, Disney has so many resorts available at a variety of costs, I'm excited about the prospect of finding another one that we will love.

So there you have it. More about the trip tomorrow!