Trip report
Day 1- the first day of our AKL honeymoon has been spectacular beyond words! This follows our gorgeous and wonderfully perfect wedding on 9/6. I can’t even begin to describe the overwhelming magic of the last few days. I had the absolute perfect wedding and the time of my life! I was beyond exhausted and overwhelmed from the events of the whole wedding weekend and was nervous about traveling to Disney on our early morning flight but I have never experienced more pleasant and smooth travel! It began with the flight- our plan to MCO (southwest) was only half full, we were the first ones on and got the front row of the plane! A flight attendant saw our honeymoon shirts and got on the intercom to sing a congratulations song about us and the whole plane began cheering! When we landed, the airline staff opened the door and handed us a bottle of champagne- amazing! We got to the Magical Express area around 11am without a single human in any of the lines- it was dead! We got to AKL after stopping at Pop and AOR. Everything was so quick and smooth! Upon checking in, magic bands worked and everything went perfectly! We had paid for a standard room but we have a partial savannah view that is about 60 seconds from the lobby and is on the main floor so no stairs or elevator needed! It is literally the perfect room. Very quiet yet central spot with a view of the animals! The room was perfectly clean and we arrived to a voicemail from Minnie and Mickey congratulating us on our wedding! Super cute! We explored the resort for awhile and had a phenomenal lunch at The Mara- falafel pitas with couscous, an orange marmalade cupcake and a peanut butter brownie and activated our refillable mugs (we have the free dining plan- woo). The food at The Mara is so yummy, hearty, and flavorful- very excited about having more meals there. We rested for awhile, unpacked, and then went over to Kidani for their cultural tour of Sanaa- so far it has been the highlight of this trip! We got a tour of the restaurant from three African CM’s and learned about all the cultural details and meaning of many of the items and learned about why there are certain things used and displayed. It was amazing and inspiring! They then told us to have a seat where they brought us a bread service to share with the other couple and an off duty cast member on the tour- amazing! Such a wonderful touch and allowed us to to try the bread service without ordering it ourselves. We went back to Jambo house ti explore and relax for a bit before our ADR at Sanaa that night. Our dinner at Sanaa was amazing beyond words. I had the coconut elixir which was a mix of coconut water, pineapple juice, and cranberry juice with fresh mint. The hydration I needed! Our meals were amazing beyond words and dessert was decadent. Our server gave us two glowing characters on our dessert plate as a honeymoon surprise. I also ordered a pot of the organic African vanilla roiboos tea- a highlight of the meal. The pot came with about 6 glasses in it and I drank them all! Amazingly relaxing. Sanaa was full and we were seated right away at a table directly in front of a giant window!! Magical through and through. We finished dinner around 8pm and headed back to Jambo to sit outside by the fire and relax. We did a little more shopping in the store and my husband played a round of tic tack toe on a wooden board game they have out at the store with a little boy that didn’t even speak English- cute! We finished the night by sitting on our balcony then settling in for a good night sleep that was much needed! We have interacted with the best cast members ever and the whole feel of the resort is very warm, welcoming, and slow paced. It has been so serene and magical- can’t believe it’s only day 1!!! And have I mentioned that there is no one here??? The resort is practically deserted making for an even more relaxing and pleasant experience.
