I recently got back from a trip to WDW/ Vero Beach. I was there for the first night of The Animal Kingdom's night events and had a great time! I stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for 4 days and at Vero Beach for 8 days.
Pool view from our room at AKL
View of the Savannah at the resort
"What are you lookin' at?"
Construction on Pandora: The World of Avatar
Tiffins hadn't opened yet on our first day
Seating for The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic
I saw the Finding Nemo stage show for the first time in years
Yawning lion from the safari
Awesome video of a lioness nudging another lion
We had dinner at Jiko our first night. We had the taste of Africa appetizer which included breads such as lavash and naan, as well as dipping sauces. We also had a bobotie roll which is similar to a spring roll with beef in it. Both were excellent. I had the short rib for my dinner and Malva Pudding for dessert.
Our next day we went to Epcot for The Flower and Garden Festival.
Braised beef in front, jerk chicken behind
Great view
The butterfly garden is back for the festival.
The Land had a temporary sign up. The new one was uncovered once Soarin' reopened.
Checking out construction at the Norway pavilion
The new men's rooms are open
We went to Magic Kingdom for the evening.
We spent the next day at The Animal Kingdom for the debut of the new nighttime entertainment.
Night map
Seating for The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic
As it got dark the park lit up.
The new lighting on the tree of life
New night act
The night Kilimanjaro Safari's new sunset effect
Hard to see it, but there's a rhino
Moon lighting
The Jungle Book show
I thoroughly enjoyed the new night time entertainment. The safari didn't have as many animals out as it does during the day, but what do you expect? The animals are unpredictable so some rides see more animals than others. I loved the Tree of life Awakens, and the acts were very well done with acrobatics and dancing. The Jungle Book is just a temporary show until The Rivers of Light debuts, but I thought it was well done considering they threw it together in under a month!
We spent our last day at Epcot before heading over to Vero Beach
Duck cassoulet and onion quiche in France
The new sign at The Land
We went on Soarin' which is now in HD and looks incredible. It's still the original show until the new one debuts on June 17th.
We headed over to The Boardwalk to the new Ample Hills Creamery
A sundae with gooey butter cake, Ice cream flavors of sweet cream and oreo, PB wins the cup, and gooey butter cake ice cream, with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and a cherry.
After we took the drive up to Vero Beach. It was around two hours to get there.
The lobby
A look at the room:
The view from our room
Sundays they have a brunch in the main dining room
Seating
The brunch offers a complimentary drink for everyone; champagne, mimosa, or a bloody Mary. The brunch has an omelette station and meat carving station as well as a buffet.
The back of the resort
The pool at the resort
The resort's beach
They have lots of poolside activities at the resort for everyone. The also have a few dining options. The pool has a bar where I got a few things from on different days:
Hummus plate
Grilled cheese with bacon, tomato, and three types of cheeses.
Tuna on pita bread
The best thing was the grilled cheese but everything is very good and fresh. They also have novelty ice cream like the Mickey ice cream sandwich and Mickey bar.
We ate at the main dining room Shutters for dinner a couple of nights.
They had Mickey butter
Coconut shrimp
Fig jam, and prosciutto flat bread
Cheeseburger
Key-lime pie
Dinner was excellent there and I really liked everything I had. We also ate at some restaurants nearby including at Citrus Grill. It's in a great location right by the water.
We went back to Walt Disney World for our last day and spent the day at Disney Springs.
The ampicar on the water
We ate lunch at STK where we had the classic burger, STK wagyu burger, and a Crispy Mahi Mahi sandwich.
STK wagyu Burger
Classic burger
Crispy Mahi Mahi Sandwich
I thought everything was delicious. I had the STK Wagyu burger which had blue cheese, bacon, and cherry peppers. I thought it was great.
For dessert we tried the Ice STK sampler. It had rocky road ice cream, cake batter with sprinkles, and sweet cream and Oreo. The bottom of the cones had chocolate in them. They also added a chocolate that says "Happy Anniversary" for my parent's anniversary. I thought the sweet cream and Oreo was the best, but I enjoyed them all.
The view from the outdoor patio at STK
Planet Hollywood renovation
Exploring more of Disney Springs
We also got some cupcakes from Sprinkles for the road
Well that's all for now! I hope you enjoyed the overview of my trip!
