Sean and Mommy's Sept 2017 WDW trip...aka "Best trip ever!" COMPLETE!

ThreeBoyMama

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 5, 2014
Hi everyone! Finally getting around to writing up Sean’s and my trip from last September! Our dates were September 16th to the 24th, staying at the Beach Club for most of the trip with one night each at AKL-Jambo and Saratoga Springs. We had awesome (albeit hot) weather almost the entire trip, ate lots of good food, spent a ton of time at the pool, and had an all-around fantastic time!

Here is the lineup of where we ate, in addition to some quick service and booths at Food & Wine:

· Sanaa

· Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room

· Yak & Yeti Restaurant

· The BOATHOUSE

· Cinderella’s Royal Table

· Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria

· Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater

· Tusker House

· ‘Ohana (Best Friends Breakfast Featuring Lilo & Stitch)

· Wolfgang Puck Express

· Boma-Flavors of Africa

Let’s get this report started!

Additional Background:

So for those who didn’t read my last trip report, this trip was a special one because it was just me and my youngest son Sean, who was 8.5 at the time. We had planned this trip after we returned from our epic October 2016 trip during which his brothers had turned 12 and 14. That trip tended to focus more on the “big kid” stuff, including three days at Universal, and upon returning home I realized that we really hadn’t done a lot geared toward younger kids (we didn’t even ride Dumbo!). With that thought in mind, I started planning a trip for just the two of us that wouldn’t be so hard core go-go-go in the parks, would allow us to do some “little kid stuff” like the Frozen singalong, and would give us some rare one-on-one Mommy and Sean time.

We drove from Madison, Wisconsin, leaving on Friday, September 15th and stopping over for one night in Atlanta on our way south (I suffered through a lonnnng first day of driving so we’d have a shorter day going into Orlando the second day in order to maximize resort/pool time that afternoon). Yes, I am crazy and I drove from Wisconsin to Florida by myself with an 8-year-old. It actually was uneventful and he proved to be an awesome travel companion…I think I probably complained more than he did ;)
 
Day One-Saturday, September 16, 2017

Today was our arrival day. Yay!!!!! We were so excited that we were up early and on the road leaving Atlanta by about 7:15 a.m. after a Starbucks stop. WDW, here we come!

We made good time and at 2:15 p.m. we were driving under that magical welcome sign. We made it! We were staying at AKL-Jambo House for our first night since Sean loves that resort and Sanaa is his favorite restaurant. Our plan was to check into our room, hit the pool, then walk over for our 7:05 p.m. ADR.

We were early for our 4:00 p.m. check-in but the CM who helped us said it was no problem and not only that, but she upgraded us to a savanna view! We were so excited :goodvibes This was the start of our amazing trip mojo, hence the title of this report. It was SUPER hot this day so there weren’t a lot of animals out on the savanna but the view from up on the 5th floor was stunning just the same.
jambo 1.JPG jambo 2.JPG

We hit the pool at Jambo but Sean really wanted to go over to the Kidani pool since he remembered how much he liked it when we stayed at AKL the previous October. He was calling the shots for this trip so off to the Kidani pool we went.

kidani pool.JPG

After a little while we had to head back to our studio to get cleaned up and then walk back over to Kidani for dinner. There were more animals out on the savanna since it was starting to cool off:

kidani animals.JPG

We walked back to Kidani and had a bit of a wait after checking in for our ADR so headed out to the fire pit area where there was a super friendly CM talking with the guests. Sean learned something or other about ostrich eggs and had a great time chatting with her. Then it was time for dinner at one of our very favorite restaurants...Sanaa!

I started with a bottle—yes, a bottle—of Pinot Grigio. When the CM brought it to the table I said, by way of explanation, “I just drove all the way here from Wisconsin, just the two of us” and she was like “here, you NEED this!” Amen, sister. I don't recall anything about the wine other than it was cold and alcoholic and was very much what I needed at the moment ::yes:: This was also the first and last time I felt the need to justify ordering a bottle of wine all to myself.

sanaa wine.JPG


We of course started with the bread service since that’s our absolute favorite food at WDW. In fact, when I was planning this trip and kept asking Sean where he wanted to eat all he would say was "Sanaa!" We had been talking about the bread service for months and it didn’t disappoint. We got all regular naan, and all nine of the accompanying sauces/dips. It was amazing wonderfulness as always:

sanaa bread.JPG


Indian Style Bread Service: Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, or Paneer Paratha. Accompaniments - Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chutney, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle

As an aside, why can I not find any copycat recipes online for the bread service?! I would so make this at home. My kids would go bananas. :banana:

I wasn’t starving so I ordered the Seasonal Soup which was a tomato soup with paneer. This was delicious and the perfect thing to have with the bread service (and entire bottle of wine) for a light dinner:

sanaa soup.JPG

Sean ordered the Kids’ Butter Chicken with Basmati rice, and asked for butter (for some reason?) which is what is in the smaller metal dish. He ate a fair amount of this. I had a bite or two and thought it was good.

sanaa chicken.JPG


You'll note that I clearly labeled Sean so I would not confuse him with some other child and/or forget his name once I was done with my wine :laughing:

Sean’s meal came with dessert so he got the African Shield Brownie: Paint-your-own White Chocolate-covered Brownie Shield. Accompanied by Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. This was really fun and was a HUGE portion for a kid’s dessert (and a free one at that) since the ice cream was sitting on top of yet another brownie. He had more fun painting the shield than anything:


sanaa dessert.JPG

After dinner we went back outside to the bonfire (which was infinitely more pleasant now that the sun was down and it wasn’t a gazillion degrees out) which we enjoyed for a while, before walking around the lobby for a bit and then heading back to our room for the night.

kidani fire.JPG

Our first Disney day was a success! Next up...we make the move over to the Beach Club and get our eats on in Epcot!
 
Oh what fun!! I have made that drive from Wisconsin... you are a brave woman! I loved having car time with my kids... great memories and just some great time together. Your trip is off to a great start! Looking forward to reading more!
 


Looks like a great start to your trip! I'll be following along - my daughter and I are doing our first "Mommy and Me" trip in March. We usually go with all of our family members, or at least both of my kids, but this time, it will be just the two of us. So, I'm looking forward to hearing more about how it works out!
 


Oh what fun!! I have made that drive from Wisconsin... you are a brave woman! I loved having car time with my kids... great memories and just some great time together. Your trip is off to a great start! Looking forward to reading more!

That drive is the pits. Illinois and Georgia both just go on and on forever! Worth it to get to WDW but it is a slog. We made the best of it though :-)
 
Following along, I would need a bottle of wine after solo driving all that way!

What a great place to eat your first night! We love Sanaa and the bread service yum!
 
Following along! I’m taking DS13 on a mom/son trip this coming September so I’m really looking forward to your report!

We are driving from Indiana so you aren’t the only crazy one!
 
I'm here! What an awesome start to your trip. The drive aside I can't think of much better than Sanaa bread service and a bottle of wine. And score on the upgrade!
 
Following along, I would need a bottle of wine after solo driving all that way!

What a great place to eat your first night! We love Sanaa and the bread service yum!

I could have probably used another bottle, that drive is hellish!

Subbing! You earned that wine. :teeth: Sanaa is wonderful, looks like a great evening.

It was a great night but that drive is the worst. I always forget in between trips and then am reminded when Georgia goes on and on forever!

Following along! I’m taking DS13 on a mom/son trip this coming September so I’m really looking forward to your report!

We are driving from Indiana so you aren’t the only crazy one!

I'm sure you guys will have a blast! This was my favorite trip ever, no offense to the rest of the family. Good luck with that drive...you'll be needing wine, too! ;)

I'm here! What an awesome start to your trip. The drive aside I can't think of much better than Sanaa bread service and a bottle of wine. And score on the upgrade!

Wait until you see the room we scored at the Beach Club!

Following along! Sean is absolutely adorable.

Aww, thanks. I think so too ::yes::

I'm joining in!

AKL is beautiful! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks for joining! We love AKL!
 

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