Disney Vacation Club: Kidani at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Marathons

In 2010, for Marathon cheering we stayed at Wilderness Lodge.  I love the proximity to Magic Kingdom.

Once Todd registered for the Half Marathon, I waitlisted Bay Lake tower and we made a reservation at Kidani as well.

For Disney Vacation Club, members currently get to plan vacations at the 11 months ahead for their Home resort.  My home resorts are Boardwalk Villas and Saratoga Springs.  At 7 months ahead they can use their points at the other disney vacation club resorts.

Since Bay Lake Tower is close to Magic Kingdom, I waitlisted a studio there and also made a reservation at Kidani since Todd’s cousin Lindsay and her partner Jackie were staying there.

What is a waitlist?  If all of the DVC inventory is taken, you can request to be on a list that if someone cancels, you woud get a chance to get a room.  It was about 2 months before the event when I cancelled my request.

Kidani  is the Larger of the DVC choices at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Todd called DVC to verify our request of a room near his cousin. We went to dinner the night before at Sanaa which is located in Kidani and stopped to verify that we would be near them. That morning when we checked in, our assigned room was no where near them! After a few tries with the front desk, we got our room.

For most Disney races you have to be up early, race buses stop at 5am promptly and traffic can occur trying to get there. Most of this is a blur.  For an accurate account go to Todd’s blog at Touringplans.

Since we had a savannah view, which basically means you get to see the animals. It was great to be able to go back to the room and relax and open the curtains so we can see the animals. We got some great shots of the scenery and animals!

We did not get to use the pool during this visit, but we did visit Sanaa 2 nights in a row. Sanaa is excellent, it works well with my dietary needs. I agree with others in that this resort needs a counter service option for convenience!

We enjoyed our stay at Kidani, and look forward to staying there again!

 

 

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Patriotism in the Parks – Hall of Flags

Last month I decided to do a post for Memorial Day about the Victory Gardens in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which you can read about here. I thought it would be fun to turn this into a series called Patriotism in the Parks that visits different areas of the theme parks that focus on Americana for the upcoming holidays that celebrate our great country. Being that today is Flag Day, I thought it appropriate to devote this post to the first place that popped into my head when I thought about flags: the American Adventure in Epcot. More specifically, I will be looking at the Hall of Flags.

If you aren’t familiar with the name the Hall of Flags at first mention, you’re not alone. The Hall of Flags is housed in the American Adventure pavilion. As you ascend from the rotunda downstairs to the upper level where the theater is located, you pass through the Hall of Flags. The Hall features 44 flags that have flown over the United States of America (or the land it now occupies) at some point or another over the past 500 years. The earliest flag recreated for the collection is listed as the Spanish Bourbon Flag  adopted in 1513. The most recent is the 50 Star Flag that currently flies over the U.S. and has since 1960 when a star for Hawaii was added.

There are flags mostly from colonial times and the Civil War era, but there are also flags of countries that at one point ruled over a part of the country. In addition to these are flags of formerly independent republics and states like Texas, California and Hawaii. I spent almost an hour taking pictures and enjoying the details of some of the different flags. The Cast Members were very kind and let me take pictures between shows of the Voices of Liberty and the American Adventure so I had the place to myself.

I honestly had no recollection of why Flag Day was on June 14th, but after reading an article from the Smithsonian Institute I learned that it was because that is when the resolution was passed in 1777 that established the flag would have thirteen stripes alternating red and white and thirteen white stars on a blue background. I also never knew that flags have only been released on the Fourth of July as stars were added since 1819. To read more about the flag of the United States, you can find the article here.

Have you taken the time to enjoy the flags on your way to the American Adventure? Do you have a favorite? I think mine is probably the New Hampshire Second Regiment flag from 1777 or the Hawaiian Royal flag from 1800. What is yours?

Hall of Flags

Thanks to the Walt Disney World Library and Research Center for the listing of the flags featured in the Hall of Flags.

^ The Bennington Flag was not listed, but after some research I verified the name of this flag.

* I believe this to be the Stamp Act Protest Flag from 1774 from the listing, but could not verify the exact name. Thank you to Scarlett Litton for finding the link to verify the image.

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