We've arrived and heard, "Welcome home!" Our home for the week is the absolutely beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village. (This resort is for Disney Vacation Club members only, and we feel so fortunate that Shannon and Dawn invited us to experience it!)
One of the first things we saw upon arrival was a part of the building with the colorful balconies. The building is shaped like an African necklace (which is what the word 'kidani' means) and has gorgeous African items and theming throughout.
The beautiful lobby sure makes a wonderful first impression!
The glasswork of these chandeliers sure looks like the work of Dale Chihuly, but I didn't ask to find out for sure. Either way, they are incredibly beautiful. I want to sleep in the lobby; it's so inviting.
Annah had her iPod in hand as we entered our suite. One could say we were all pretty thrilled.
The first thing you see straight ahead when entering the room is the dining area and living room.
We felt at home right away.
There are so many great details in the furniture and decor!
Several months ago, we watched a video about the resort and learned that African women make these beautiful bowls/baskets from telephone wire. Very cool to see them up close!
Just inside the door is this first bathroom and a little closet with a washer and dryer. Yay for not having to pack as much--and especially for not having mounds of laundry to do when we get home!
Loving this full kitchen!
I spotted a hidden Mickey of paper coasters on the counter.
A couple views of the bathroom in our bedroom. Lovely!
Two queen beds--one for Jeremy and me, and our girls will share the other.
Sweet butterfly washcloth left by the cleaning service. The card says,
"A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place." - Ghana, Akan proverb
A towel Mickey on the bed. All of the lights are so pretty too!
Between the time the bus dropped us off at the door and the time we got to our room it started raining--perfect timing!
We can see the top of the pool area from our balcony.
And, although we didn't technically book a "Savannah View" room, we have this great view of the beautiful savannah from our balcony!
And, an okapi is hanging around, eating leaves off trees. It's so cute!
the king bed in Shannon's and Dawn's master bedroom
Cimba and Nala on the headboard!
We knew this scene from The Lion King would be on the wall of the shower in the master bath, but it really is even more amazing than we'd imagined.
Such a nice touch.
Settle in, friends!
We had groceries delivered by Garden Grocer, and our kitchen was full!
We also checked a big box of snacks. We don't want any grumpy hungry people this week! We will fill our backpacks before heading to the parks!
After unpacking and settling in a bit, we checked out a little bit of the building. I love the African proverbs painted in prominent places in the halls.
The elevator closest to our room is the Rafiki elevator. :)
We found the cozy fireplace in this sitting area. Oh, I love the art that is all around!
Heading across the parking lot, we saw the entrance to the pool area as we walked to the bus stop. It stopped raining just for us, we're pretty sure.
We caught a bus to Downtown Disney.
We enjoyed a quick supper at Earl of Sandwich.
As we expected, there were lots of other people visiting Downtown Disney too!
First stop, of course--the LEGO Store!
Caeden and Reece in front of the Maleficent dragon (from Sleeping Beauty) outside the store.
LEGO Snow White and one of the dwarfs
The huge LEGO sculptures outside the store are incredible! Buzz and Woody are taking off on a rocket!
Inside they're posing for pictures.
The Hulk
Star Wars LEGO Death Star (We heard it was over $400!) A picture was free. ;)
Caeden filled a cup with a variety of cool LEGO pieces from the wall of LEGO bins.
After he picked out a new LEGO set, Reece helped Caeden fill his cup.
Then the girls (who had stopped in at Miss Matched with Dawn) came to help too.
heading toward World of Disney
This store is the coolest! It's about the size of a Super Walmart, but everything in it is Disney!
Of course we had fun trying on hats...Caeden as Sorcerer Mickey, and Sylvia as Captain Jack Sparrow
We were excited to find some great pressed penny machines--which we like to call "smashed" pennies.
Caeden and Sylvia teased Annah when they found Lotso-the-huggin'-bear from Toy Story. (Annah thinks Lots is scary!)
I picked out a zip-up hoodie and Sylvia picked out a Mickey and Minnie bracelet. The Cast Member who was ringing us up was very friendly and asked us what we planned to do on our visit. She gave us tips about navigating Hollywood Studios tomorrow. She also took a moment to ask Sylvia's name and draw it with Tinkerbell on a cardboard jewelry box for her. Then she drew some pixie dust around Tink and told Sylvia to blow on it and make a wish for good luck. It was a very sweet "extra magic" moment.
Kidani Village was lovely when we returned at night.
We forced the kids to bed, since we have an early morning tomorrow.
Addie taught us about Duffy the Disney Bear (Mickey Mouse's teddy bear), and showed us that he has a bedtime story channel. All the kids watched and listened to Duffy's story and then fell asleep.
What a sweet day!
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