Hobbies, Family, & Geekery from a Stay-at-Home Dad
I love this too much to be having to meet so seldom! A whole year has passed since my last Gaming HDUD. And in that year so much has happened. I’ve beaten games and games have beaten me. Heck at this point in my life …Read More….
With Borderlands 3 out today, we are now in the gravitational pull that is the fall release schedule. You know what that means! No, not that your wallet is about to be burnt to a crisp from entering Planet Q4’s atmosphere. That’s besides the point. …Read More….
Way back in 2018, we were lucky enough to enjoy another staycation in a Disney Resort. I’d like to take this time to thank Disney for inviting us out there and taking care of us. It was awesome of them to do that.
Oh wait, no no, I mean generally speaking. You know, they invite everyone and take care of all the guests. I didn’t mean they PERSONALLY invited me out and paid for everything in return for a detailed blog post to promote their awesome hotels. Hahahahaha, that would… That would just be silly, wouldn’t it? ….Disney? Would it be silly?
(…call me)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge sits way out on Disney property. Generally speaking, compared to Animal Kingdom, most of the parks and hotels are fairly close to each other. Hollywood Studios and Epcot are pretty close. Magic Kingdom is on it’s own freaking planet, so that doesn’t really count. But Animal Kingdom sits on the edge of the Disney World map. They did this in case any of the animals got loose, the chances of them disturbing or hurting the other theme parks are minimal.
I’m just kidding, that’s not true. Ooooooor is it?!
Ok, seriously though, AK feels like it’s out there. And that’s perfectly fine. Because a stone’s throw from the Animal Kingdom park, is a resort that is more experience than hotel.
Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL) is everything you want in a Disney hotel. It’s hard to walk in through the front doors and not be blown away, as you may have noticed from the pictures already. The magic doesn’t stop there either, especially for those who have a view (more on that later). It’s one of those places you see on a site and wonder if it’s really worth it. Well, I’m here to tell you yes. Yes it is.
I’ve been sitting on these pictures, much like dozens of other posts, for more than a year. Remember, this is a trip we took back at the end of 2018’s summer. Maybe one day I’ll blog about current stuff, haha.
Ok, there’s a lot to take in with AKL. We knew this going in as it was the second time we had stayed there. Back when I was working in a kitchen and my wallet was bursting at the seams (LOL), I took the wife (then girlfriend) here to celebrate her graduating nursing school. Ever since then, I’m talking since the day we checked out, we wanted to stay there again. It really leaves this feeling in you that you stayed somewhere special.
And that feeling hits you square in the face the second you clear the doorway and enter the main lobby. You want to talk about making a first impression! There’s so much happening in the lobby, I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it. Calling it grand and breathtaking is about the best way to describe it.
My favorite aspect of it isn’t how spectacular it is either. It’s how it feels so natural. How it keeps with the theme of nature and feels like a living place. The wood, the vines overtaking the huge window, the chandeliers and how they look like flowers. The theming feels so perfect.
I’ll stop going gaga over the lobby now, but I think you can tell I can keep on going.
Moving on, away from the lobby – because, you know, you won’t be sleeping in there – let’s talk about the rooms. Boy, oh boy, the rooms. Now, this isn’t guaranteed, but if you book the right room, you could be getting views like this.
Trust me. You want to be getting views like this. (Depending on your camera lens)
The hotel is designed to surround the savanna, giving you beautiful views of all sorts of wildlife they have out there at any given time. And therein lies the magic of the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
The ability to wake up, open your curtains to see the morning sun, and being greeted by zebras, giraffes, gazelles, and all sorts of other life that walks about the savanna. There are over 30 different species of African wildlife to admire.
This right here is why you want to stay in AKL. No, no. Not feeding time for the giraffes. I mean, if there’s an animal worth booking a stay for, it’s this guy right here!
He was hanging out right under our balcony one day, angling his head to check out what we were up to. Felt like he was trying to speak to me, I know it.
Sadly, it’s totally possible to not get in on this because not every room has a savanna view. There’s also the standard view, and the pool view. Pool, duh, you’re looking at the pool. Which I heard was great, but we never do pools. Standard view on the other hand is pretty risky as you can get stuck opening your curtains to see the beauty and majesty of the parking lot or the top of a roof. So with all this factored in, you can bet the savanna view is going to be the highest priced room in the hotel. Buuuuuuuuut, if you’re gamblers like us, check it out…
You can book a standard view, and go in on check-in day the earliest you can to see if they’ll be able to upgrade you to a savanna view. Depending on how busy they are – which depends on the season with fall/winter time being your best chance – and other things like if you’re celebrating something special, there’s a fairly good chance they’ll throw a free upgrade your way.
In general, Disney customer service is top notch, and the front desk at AKL has always been great and willing to help you with anything you need. So if you want to gamble and see if you can get that sweet savanna view for the price of the parking lot view, go for it!
Even if they offer the obstructed view – which is what we had – you’re still going to be golden. See in the pictures above, the gated area just below our view? That’s what made it “obstructed”. If you want any more tips on this, message me somewhere and we’ll chat.
Oh yeah, the rooms! All the talk about the views, I forgot to talk about the rooms.
Along with everything else, they’re themed perfectly. Natural elements and colors flow nicely and it’s comfortable for a family of 4. I love the bathroom wall, but that’s probably from my love of maps.
I’m telling you, they really make it easy to get you to stay in the room your entire trip.
Ok, so let’s say you didn’t get the savanna view upgrade and you’re stuck on parking lot duty. The plus side is there’s a ton of stuff to do at the resort. It’s not like you won’t see any animals.
There are numerous lookouts throughout the property. Some are peppered among the hallways to the rooms, a few are located off the lobby, and they all give plenty of opportunities to check out the wildlife.
There’s also a few cool things they have set up for kids that they can partake in.
Various educational programs and areas where at scheduled times they have animal specialists ready to teach you about African animals and ecosystems.
Also really fun things at night in one of the lookouts where they set up night vision goggles so you can see the nocturnal animals in the savanna.
The oldest loved that. It was only scheduled on one night during our stay, and we were out at a park all day. We were ready to pass out in bed but we went to check it out for a few minutes anyway and it was great.
Can’t believe I went all this time without mentioning the food! I’ll hit on it briefly because I’m planning on doing a dedicated post to it. Inside the AKL you’ll have a few options for food. I know Sanaa is on my list of places I have to try. There’s also Jiko – The Cooking Place, which always looks good. But we’ve only eaten at two places here. The Mara, which is the quick service option for the hotel. They’re great if you need a sandwich or something small and quick to tide you over for a few hours. The other place… the other place is called Boma – Flavors of Africa.
Now, this may be a little hard to get through without sounding bias. Because Boma is probably our favorite restaurant on Disney property. This is what I want to dedicate a post to and I’ll have to do it soon. It’s buffet style, and the dishes are African inspired. So you’re getting lots of different spices and such that make a lot of the things you’re having taste pretty unique. Just typing up this little paragraph has me wishing we can go there tomorrow.
I will say though that if you wind up going, in both The Mara and Boma, you’ll find this dessert called Zebra Domes. It’s a chocolate mousse infused with coffee liqueur and it’s freaking magical. Put it on your list of things to do when in AKL. Look forward to that Boma post!
Usually when we go on vacation/staycation somewhere, the hotel isn’t exactly a destination for me. It’s a place to sleep and maybe grab a bite to eat, but we’re not really the type to go somewhere, and stay cooped up in the hotel just relaxing. But Animal Kingdom Lodge? I could stay there for days and never leave property. There’s so much to see and take in, it makes it the best hotel in my eyes for someone who likes to just relax on vacations. Pfft, I know, what a concept right?! Always gogogogogogo with us, but the natural beauty of the hotel make it easy to try your best to enjoy your stay.
And now I want to go there again.
It’s the most wonderful time of year! No no no, not Christmas. November 1st is when I start riding that train. No, I’m talking about Halloween. I’ve always been partial to Halloween. Probably from my goth phase when I was growing up. Black nail polish, …Read More….
Continuing right where I left off from the last post. You know, the one where I went on and on about Opening Day of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios. We made it home, bribed the kid’s hatred for going without them with some …Read More….
I can’t believe Galaxy’s Edge is finally open! It’s been so, so long since the family and I dreamed of visiting a galaxy far, far away. And look! We can board the nearest transport and be there in a flash, it’s so exciting! Ok, let me not get too carried away so soon. I have some things to say. So much, in fact, coupled with so many pictures, that I’m splitting up this post in two! Heck, might even make it an unofficial category. There’s a lot to do here, and it’s worth diving in, so let’s get started.
First off, it’s been open for about a week now as of this writing. And since it’s been open I’ve been there twice – first, on opening day with the wife, and second, the weekend with the kids. I’m going to go over that opening day insanity first. Keep in mind, whatever pictures you see on this post are pics from my phone. While many plan out months in advance their trip to Disney for opening day of a much anticipated land, it was very spur of the moment for the wife and I, so I did not have my DSLR.
Secondly, for future reference, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is what the land is called as far as Disney and maps go. The fiction of the land, as in the story you’re stepping into when entering the themed land, has a few different names. The village you’re visiting is named Back Spire Outpost, while the planet you’re on when in Galaxy’s Edge is named Batuu.
As far as Star Wars canon goes, it’s an old trading port in the Outer Rim. It’s mentioned in a few places if you’d like to get more acquainted with the planet. You’ll find it in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge comic (trade is available for preorder via that link or digitally now via Comixology). It’s a miniseries which consists of 5 issues. I’ve yet to jump in on this but I have picked up the Disney Parks exclusive variant cover of the first issue. Batuu is also the main setting of the novels Galaxy’s Edge A Crash of Fate, by Zoraida Cordova (released August 2019), and Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, by Delilah S. Dawson (released August 2019). Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn (July 2018) also features the planet. (These are all affiliate links, clicking and purchasing will give me a percentage, thanks!)
I’m mentioning these details, not because I’m secretly hoping you’ll click on them and buy something so I can get a kickback, but because I think it’s awesome that Disney is utilizing numerous types of media to build upon the fiction of Galaxy’s Edge. They’re making it a rich, and detailed world without even having you step foot into the theme park. Seriously, how easy would it have been for them to make this some outpost on Hoth… wait, this is Florida, not a good example. Seriously, how easy would it have been for them to make this some outpost on Jakku, tied it into the recent movies, and called it a day. Nope, they didn’t want it to be familiar. They wanted to make new stories, bring us to new destinations. I don’t know about you, but I appreciate the sith out of that.
Ok, enough prefacing. Let’s get on with the good stuff.
Day one of anything in Disney is going to be an absolute mess. Throw in Star Wars with all the armies of nerds that follow and you’re looking at a recipe for chaos. And that’s exactly what we got! The day started with me getting ridiculously jealous while scrolling through WDWNT’s Twitter account. Go follow if you haven’t, they always keep me up to date. Opening day at Galaxy’s Edge started at around 3 a.m. for most, as that was when they started making lines to get into the park. Personally, I never would have that early. But I know that’s just me lying to myself because it is totally in me to do such a crazy thing. Heck, the wife and I both swore we wouldn’t go anywhere near Disney’s side of the highway come the opening day of GE. Yet, here we were.
To continue my honesty, we had no intentions of going. The stars aligned and we took advantage of it. I was texting the wife all the tweets of opening morning and seeing all the cool day one merch, and with it. There might have been sad face emojis, gifs of grown men crying, etc. But I can’t be sure as the morning was a blur. Anyway, it was a late shift day for the wife which meant her and I usually go to breakfast while the kids are at school. So while at breakfast, I was talking about GE again, casually, not hinting anything at all, and she says “you know, I don’t go in to work till 1:30…”. She said something else but I stopped paying attention. I had already called for the check, and was out the door waiting for her.
Oh yeah, I remember now! The Opening Day commemorative map. That’s what got the gears turning. I said I at least would’ve wanted to go to get the map (she knows I have a thing for maps), so that’s what got her to cave and go. What map? This map!
It’s reeeeeeally nice. Printed on thicker paper than the regular maps. And it’s reflective? I guess that’s the word. Holographic? It shines when you tilt it around in the light. Wife was making fun of me, but she was there drawn to its reflective qualities like a cat to a laser pointer. Here’s my Instagram post showing it off.
We get there and we were expecting huge crowds. To our surprise, there were none! We made it into the park and came across no resistance (pun intended). As soon as we got to the park, we were able to check into the Disney Park App and join a group to enter Galaxy’s Edge. We were group 128, and they were currently letting groups 76-101(ish) into the land. We took advantage of the wait and went to the shop they set up where you can buy all the day one merchandise. It was on the other side of the park which was genius. The line to get in was about 15 minutes but we had time to waste.
They were giving this out. Hey, did you know people are crazy? I mean, something tells me you already knew, but just in case you didn’t, they had this paper that you see above with all the prices of stuff… on ebay… for like $20. Just this paper! Don’t get me started on the other stuff. Let’s just say with the stuff we bought for ourselves, we probably could’ve paid half the mortgage for a month. What did we get? Check out the Instagram post to see the spoils. Most of the regular priced pins, a shirt, the POP figure, lanyards. It was a good day for merch. It’s crazy that we could’ve bought more. I kinda regret getting the POP figure instead of the magic band, but that’s generally the case with all POP figures, isn’t it?
After going through the store and spending money we didn’t need to spend but were too weak to refrain, we waited for our turn to enter Batuu. Upon arriving at the entrance, you are given this cool travel guide.
I love stuff like this. It’s right up there with maps. Nice little souvenirs that don’t cost anything.
Anyway, I was cursing breakfast at this point because we were cutting it close. We had to leave there by 12:30 in order to get home in time for work. At about 12:20, they were up to group 126 and we knew it was either going to be the quickest walkthrough of Galaxy’s Edge that day, or we weren’t going to make it in at all. I dug deep to find my inner Puerto Rican and asked a few nearby managers to see if they can let us in ahead of our group because we had to leave soon. I must have made a convincing case, either that or they were tired of all the BS they were getting since 2 a.m. because they let us in! Lucky they did because we seriously spent about 4 minutes in the land, and all 4 of those minutes were speed walking through it.
We saw some cool stuff, but mostly everything had lines. Loooooong, crazy lines. Everything from the stores to the freakin’ Coke stand had crazy lines. Here’s another Instagram post showing video of walking around in the madness. Seriously though, at that point, I was happy to just be there. Elbow to elbow with sweaty nerds, wife muttering curses to herself, silently judging people walking around with lightsabers because my jealousy was too much to handle.
As excited as I was to see this land with my own eyes, I didn’t think I was going to see it soon, let alone opening day. So take it in and say, yeah, I was there day one. That is what I was wanting mostly. Oh, along with that commemorative map. Don’t judge me.
Be sure to check out the next post! We went back to Batuu on Saturday. I took a bunch of pictures and saw a lot more.
The final day in NYC was the wife and I adventuring on our own like we used to do in our younger years. Back before the kids were born, we would visit New York and spend night and day galavanting through the city. We’d stay …Read More….
Day three we took a break from public transportation and took a trip to my motherland. The Bronx is just a ferry ride and about a dozen train stops or so away, but by car, we’re looking at an hour and a half adventure across …Read More….
Day two of our NYC family vacation! Missed day one? You can check it out right here. Moving on, this day was much more focused. The goal: explore a bit of Central Park and reach Bethesda Fountain. Also in the cards was to go to a museum, but like we were directors of Game of Thrones, we kinda forgot museums close early and we’ve been leaving the house around noon, so that was a sad omission from our plans.
If you want to check out the Instagram post for this day, you can do so right here. Like most days, we started with a ferry ride. We had to walk a bit to get to the train we needed to take so we took in the sights from point A to B. New Yorkers take a ton for granted, I’m sure. I know I did when I lived there. So many skyscrapers looking like they’re just crammed into busy streets like socks in a drawer. And amazing stonework too, I could stay looking up all day.
We were there when Spider-Man: Far From Home released too, so there was a ton of advertisements everywhere around the city and it was great. It almost felt like he was an actual hometown hero. Which, duh, he is. Right?
Anyway, we took the train and made it to Central Park after a walk down a few blocks. Almost 50 yards in the kids already wanted to do something else. You can probably use your imagination to see how the remaining hour and a half of walking went. But the wife and I were determined. We’re parents. We know when our kids have hit their limits and the ability to go on is non-existent. I’d feel terrible pushing them past those limits, my poor, innocent angels. That said. We also know when they’re being selfish little jerks and when they’re bored and just want to do something, anything, other than what they’re doing so we promptly told them to suck it up, stop whining, and keep marching, we have a fountain to find.
The oldest, being my son, then spotted this shortly after. Pointed and exclaimed, “look! There’s a fountain! Let’s go somewhere else now.” It was hard to not laugh and be proud of his assholery.
We were walking for a bit before we started seeing landmarks in the park. Central Park is freaking huge, clocking in at 2.5 miles long and half a mile wide. It’s an oasis smack in the middle of the most famous city in the world. It’s packed with landmarks, activities, and beautiful scenes that can take you days to experience all of them. I’m flatout shocked that the few things I wanted to see just so happened to be in the path towards our destination.
Cleopatra’s Needle was one of them. It was built in 1450 BC! Here’s a quote from Central Park’s official site:
“It is one of a pair of obelisks that were commissioned for Heliopolis on the banks of the Nile circa 1450 BC by an Egyptian pharaoh who wished to celebrate his 30 years of reign. The monuments were then moved to Alexandria in 18AD. They remained there until one obelisk was moved to London in 1878. The second one, erected two years later in Central Park, was offered by the Egyptian Khedive to America in exchange for funds to modernize his country.”
It was something I wanted to go up to and check out but by this point everyone in our party was tired and hot and didn’t want to cross the bike path to see it. I thought it was cool enough to go see but I didn’t want to go on my own.
Also seen was The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and numerous tunnels and paths. Luckily enough, the second top thing I wanted to see was on the way to the fountain.
The Alice in Wonderland statue was something I never really took the time to sought out, yet, was looking for once before. Funny enough, the last time we were in the park, I saw it on the map and thought it would be a good place to do what I will talk about next. So It was chance, I guess, that we didn’t find it.
It was commissioned by George Delacorte as a gift to the children of New York City.
It was also a tribute to Margarita, his late wife, who loved to read Alice to their children. C’mon, how awesome is that?! It’s a great statue for children to play on and I’m happy my kids got the chance to. Couldn’t do too much though because the bronze in the summer sun felt like it could sear skin.
This pond just directly in front of the Alice statue was another thing I wanted to see/do. They have little remote controlled model boats you can rent and have fun driving around the water. During the winter they drain it a bit and when it freezes it’s a free public ice rink. It’s also the same pond featured in the book and movie Stuart Little. I thought it would’ve been great for the kids to do, but they were a mere inches from exploding due to heat and boredom that I couldn’t bear to put them through anything extraneous.
We left there and with our darling children ready to willingly sign the papers to put themselves up for adoption, we were ready to call it quits. It was one of the hottest and muggiest days of the week and no one was enjoying themselves. But as it turned out, the fountain was about a 4 minute walk away, so we were right there.
Ok, I already teased it so here it is. The reason we wanted to hit Bethesda Fountain isn’t because we like the Angel of the Waters statue atop of it. Which, if you didn’t know, references the Gospel of John, which describes an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda and giving it healing powers. The Central Park site explains how the fountain commemorates the Croton water system, which first brought fresh water to New York City in 1842. Man, I love how history rich this city is. But no, it wasn’t the statue that brought us here, or that it’s famously seen in countless movies (seriously, almost every movie that features Central Park has a shot of the fountain). No, it is because that’s the spot where this journey began for the wife and I. It’s where I PROPOSED. Yeah, that’s right. Don’t listen to my wife, she’ll tell you I didn’t ask anything, that I didn’t get down on one knee, and I just gave her the ring.
Look, the fact that she’s right doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that she knows what I was implying and she said yes… After saying no first, but I chalk that up to shock.
Anyway, this all went down right in Bethesda Terrace, the heart of Central Park. Right under the beautiful Minton tile ceiling, which were just restored two short years before our engagement. Go ahead, follow that link to read up on the tiles, they have a rich history.
Sadly, the exact spot I purposed was being taken up by what seemed to be some sort of illegal gambling (thanks, New York City), so we had to gather the fam a few yards away for the picture we traveled so far for. Still, it was great to be there again. Especially with our appreciative children who, for the life of them, could not understand what the big deal was with the stupid fountain.
We did what we came for. We began our journey out of the park and found the nearest subway to take us back to the ferry. My kids only made it mildly miserable, but looking back I know it’s not their fault. What kid wants to walk around a park with nothing to look at but trees? I can’t wait to rub it in their face though, next time we watch a movie and there’s a scene in Central Park and they get all excited that they’ve been there. I’ll be like YEAH, THAT BORING PARK, REMEMBER THAT! And then they’ll say not really and I’ll feel like a failure of a parent, it’s fine.
We ended the day at home with some NY pizza which we didn’t get nearly enough of.
This was only the second day. Day 3 had its own epic adventures! Stay tuned for that and for the final day’s update. Yeah, that’s right! Four posts! …What? I said three posts before? Sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone who has all his stuff in order.