Trip Report COMPLETED:The “who told him about the panoramic setting on his phone?” Surf n’ Turf Anniversary trip

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Trip Report Table of contents (this will grow as I add to the TR)
Our Room
MK day one
Flag retreat
Jiko
HS part one
HS part two
Watto's Grotto
HS part three
Brown Derby Lounge
AKL 1-bedroom, room 5135
A rainy Boardwalk
Shula's Steak House
AK part one
AK part two
Trails End lunch
MK again part one with Casey's
A Pirate's Adventure
Kona Cafe and The Dream at first sight
Disney Dream Boarding
Disney Dream room 7528
Setting Sail and room service
Dream Shopping and Mirror Mirror
Animator's Palate
Evolution Match Your Mate and Cabanas breakfast
Senses/Rainforest
Nassau from Senses
District Lounge Tequila Class
More DVC swag and meeting friends on the way to Palo
Palo
Pirates Night Fireworks
Castaway Cay 5K
Serenity Bay & BBQ
More of Castaway
Shopping and spouts
Midship Detective Agency
Royal Palace Dinner
Royal Palace Breakfast and Disembarking
Bay Lake Tower Room 7514
Citricos and Wishes from BLT
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All the covert pains in futility leading up to this ball of awesomeness can be had here:
Those banked points aren’t going to use themselves Part II: Code Name DMCA
You may or may not be happy to know that I’ve finally gotten past the pains of Operation DMCA failing at the hands of DCL. DCL’s inability to keep a secret allowed the DW to plan and draw out a long sense of anticipation and excitement, but I digress we’re here to move forward…right?

Flashback to September 15th, it’s time to blow this pop stand! I made every effort to load the car up as much the night before to reduce the scrambling we would have to do this morning. We had but two or three small bags to deal with still. While we were finishing up with the small bags the DD walks in and notices I’m packing the Magic Bands and TiW card. Mind you, she knew we were going on this cruise AND that we were staying at AKL before the boat. It wasn’t until this moment, though, that it hit her we would be visiting the parks too! She let out a “you’re going to the parks too!” which we delicately told her “yes we are”. I mean, hello! APs + three nights in AKL = “We going to the parks girl”. Obviously, I didn’t put it that way to her I was just surprised she hadn’t put it together that we would be visiting the parks. She would later call me that day to tell me that it “took her all morning to get over the devastation of us going to the parks without her”. Wow, punch in the gut right there! But moving on, the car is packed, we load up the DD, and head to the bus stop at 06:45 and wouldn’t you know the bus driver is early, almost as if that crotchety old guy knew we had places to be! So a quick hug and kiss goodbye and the DD is on the bus and the DW and I are Disney bound by 06:50, ten minutes ahead of schedule! The ATL, however, would soon squash my excitement. So after a QuickTrip visit in Dawsonville we got smashed in the face by probably the worst traffic east of California. What normally take 18 minutes, at 6AM, to get from North perimeter to south perimeter takes us an hour and twenty minutes! I was not happy to say the least but also not surprised, just foolishly optimistic. Once we hit 75 on the south side it was smooooth sailings all the way to the bubble! A few hours later and we were crossing the line:

Seeing this sign always triggers that “Final Countdown” feeling in my head while the band Europe starts jamming out subconsciously. I’ve noted this in previous TRs but it’s worth point out again; SunPass is awesome! I fully regret not adopting the SunPass a lot sooner. It can be hard to express the feeling of joy while one just cruises through all those toll stops, ahhhhh. While I was enjoying the ease of SunPass I got “The Text”! You know, the room is ready! So the final countdown was short and despite the high levels of excitement we had arrived at the bubble and it was soon that our gaze fell upon the sign:

I promise I was a good Disney citizen and did not stop to snap this picture. A few minutes later and we were arriving home!

I always love seeing this sign and hearing the CM’s welcoming us home when we arrive! Another thing I love, specifically about Jambo, is as soon as you pass through those sliding doors you’re hit with one of the most beautiful scents ever. The wood burning fragrance is all around you in the lobby and it works! Speaking of the lobby, I’ve been to all the deluxe lobbies and I still don’t think there is one that rivals AKL, I am biased of course

Coming up: $88 gets you what?

 

[lostpro9het]

Can't wait to read the rest and a belated Happy Anniversary. No better place to spend it.

Thank you so much!

I also loved the AK DVC photos.

TY! I may have some Christamas photos posted somewhere too! AKL at Christmas time is amazing!

Did you guys buy direct or from the resale market? We are looking at resale for AK specifically.

We purchased resale, you can read about it here. You will, of course, want to do your own research but the pros far outweighed the cons for us. First, IMO, using points for a cruise is not fiscally wise so missing out on that option was just fine. Second, we bought where we wanted to stay and would never use our points for the disney collection, the deluxe options are enough for us. I mean they want more points to stay at AoA then they do to stay at AKL!! Finally, we saved sooooo much resale vs direct especially when you consider how many banked points we got with our resale. We opted for 160 points and quickly realized we wanted more and actually close this week on 50 more resale points, same UY and resort. We've already stayed twice this year as members and have a Christmas trip as well as an April 2016 trip booked and have had no regrets. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. There are many knowledge folks with great experience here. One thing we did, though, is try out as many DVC resorts as we could before buying and did end up staying at all but VGF and Poly. This helped us solidify our favor of AKL. On paper I would have thought BWV or BLT would have been "the" resorts for us but neither broke our top two!

 

[MinnieM123]

Bummer about the service at Shula's; doesn't make any sense at all to me. From everything I've read over the years, that is a #1 steakhouse, and their service should be stellar as well. The seating (as you described it) was also a bit odd. I'm happy that at least you enjoyed your meal. Hope the service at the rest of your meals is far superior, no matter where you dine.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Thank you so much!

TY! I may have some Christamas photos posted somewhere too! AKL at Christmas time is amazing!

We purchased resale, you can read about it here. You will, of course, want to do your own research but the pros far outweighed the cons for us. First, IMO, using points for a cruise is not fiscally wise so missing out on that option was just fine. Second, we bought where we wanted to stay and would never use our points for the disney collection, the deluxe options are enough for us. I mean they want more points to stay at AoA then they do to stay at AKL!! Finally, we saved sooooo much resale vs direct especially when you consider how many banked points we got with our resale. We opted for 160 points and quickly realized we wanted more and actually close this week on 50 more resale points, same UY and resort. We've already stayed twice this year as members and have a Christmas trip as well as an April 2016 trip booked and have had no regrets. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. There are many knowledge folks with great experience here. One thing we did, though, is try out as many DVC resorts as we could before buying and did end up staying at all but VGF and Poly. This helped us solidify our favor of AKL. On paper I would have thought BWV or BLT would have been "the" resorts for us but neither broke our top two!

Thank you for the link. I have been pouring over everything on here looking for info and I think resale will be a fit for us too. I would love to take a cruise one day but mainly just want a place where we can all gather for vacations at our home away from home. It gets harder when they get older and have their own families! I love the idea of the Poly, but I am smart enough to realize we won't be able to do that very often unless cramped in a studio. I love AKL, so we are leaning towards it right now. We usually go off peak season and most likely will do one big trip for everybody and smaller trips for just DH & I. Thanks again for the info, will put Timeshare Store at the top of the list, since we have reviews of it now.

 

[Mrhappyplace]

Thanks for the look into Brown Derby & Shula's two other places I've yet to experience. BD is a possibility but I think Shula's will get a pass from me.

Thanks also for the resale DVC talk, that's something DW and I need to educate ourselves on.

 

[wdisney9000]

Not exactly SB!, but this caught the corner of my eye as I was browsing the coolers at the beer store. A single bottle of DM hangin' tough with a 12 pack of @fractal 's Shock Top. I had a nice chuckle.

 

[lostpro9het]

Not exactly SB!, but this caught the corner of my eye as I was browsing the coolers at the beer store. A single bottle of DM hangin' tough with a 12 pack of @fractal 's Shock Top. I had a nice chuckle.

View attachment 114237

First thing to pop in my mind:

I almost feel bad for that poor Dragon's Milk

 

[fractal]

Not exactly SB!, but this caught the corner of my eye as I was browsing the coolers at the beer store. A single bottle of DM hangin' tough with a 12 pack of @fractal 's Shock Top. I had a nice chuckle.

View attachment 114237

That's funny!

I've been recently enjoying a case of Yard's Pale Ale. I guess I need to take a pic.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Loved the DVC room pictures at AKL. So funny, it all makes sense now. We were on the 4th floor and one night, I heard what sounds JUST LIKE a washing machine or a dishwasher above us. Must have been a DVC room above our heads. All makes sense now...

 

[wdisney9000]

I almost feel bad for that poor Dragon's Milk

At least there was a case of Sam Adams Rebel IPA to the right of it, so it wasnt totally in an "unholy land" lol

 

[lostpro9het]

[TangentTime] Today marks the 21st anniversary of the DW and mine’s first date! Its amazing she went through with it. It was our junior year in high school and it was a rainy evening. I somehow got lost on the way to her house and ended up getting stuck in the mud! I had to make the call of shame to the parents to come get me. They thankfully allowed me to use their car so we could at least still get some dinner since it was too late for the movie.
[/TangentTime]

This morning was an AK day. Like HS, AK does a modified rope drop so we were able to get in and get some pictures before the park officially opened.

We opted to do some time travel to start the day. We were worried “We’re not gonna make it” but we did

Primeval Whirl getting some much needed love

Next we decided to get our Disco Yeti on

But along the way we caught the construction crew heading to work. It was pretty cool to see this float by

We walked right on to EE no problem! The problem started as soon as we pushed the bars down…The skies opened up and POURED!!! I thought for sure they wouldn’t let us go but they did! It was actually pretty fun, cold, but fun riding EE in the pouring rain. Here is the after shot.

Since we left the ponchos at the room we sought refuge in the EE gift shop before making our way to Maharajah Jungle.

Still to come: More Maharajah Jungle, Pangani and a Trails End lunch

 

[BigHero4]

Enjoying the TR, but LOVE the Dropkick shirt! It reminds me of bad decisions I made back in my college days.

 

[fractal]

Love the AK pics, especially the construction and tiger ones.

Of all the times I've been in the park I've never seen Devine.

 

[lostpro9het]

Enjoying the TR, but LOVE the Dropkick shirt! It reminds me of bad decisions I made back in my college days.

Your bad decisions sound like awesome decisions to me! Just like the time I opted to get on stage during the show!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

LOVE Dropkick! Saw them a few months ago in Baltimore. We were in the 2nd row. I thought I was going to die, but it was amazing!

 

[lostpro9het]

Love the AK pics, especially the construction and tiger ones.

Of all the times I've been in the park I've never seen Devine.

I know your pain! It was probably 2 years of visiting before we finally saw her! We actually saw her twice on this day, when we entered the park and when we left the park.

LOVE Dropkick! Saw them a few months ago in Baltimore. We were in the 2nd row. I thought I was going to die, but it was amazing!

I love me some good live acts and the Murphys are one of the best live acts I've seen. The Tabernacle, an old church converted to a concert venue, is very small, intimate, and all general admission so the two times I've seen DKM there it has been amazing.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I love me some good live acts and the Murphys are one of the best live acts I've seen. The Tabernacle, an old church converted to a concert venue, is very small, intimate, and all general admission so the two times I've seen DKM there it has been amazing.

We were at an outside venue but it had a cover over it (power plant live) and it was like 100 degrees out. We stood for hours and hours because they were completely unclear on what time the show started. It was such a crazy night, but so much fun. I've always wanted to see them live!

 

[lostpro9het]

As promised, we made our way further into Maharajah for some bird action.

We exited Maharajah to some primate distraction. Thankfully the rain let up a bit. This little guy was moving!

The backside of the ToL, maybe more exciting than the backside of water…

We made our way over to Pangani hopeful for some baby gorilla action.

Mamma and baby just chilling

Thankfully they went for a little walk.

We then decided to make our way out for an spontaneous trip to Trails End for lunch.

I firmly believe this is the next “IT” picture of Mickey. I expect it to show up in every TR moving forward.

Coming up: Trails End lunch and some fun at MK before we board The Dream!

 

[MinnieM123]

Love the AK pics, especially the construction and tiger ones.

Of all the times I've been in the park I've never seen Devine.

I FINALLY saw Devine last May!! She's really cool and moves gracefully with the long tree branches attached to her costume. People stood and watched her for quite a while. Glad to hear that @lostpro9het got to see her twice. Those were some good photos he took of her as well. I tried with my (disposable, piece of junk camera) and she blended in so much with the foliage and trees that you couldn't even see her face in the photos I took!

 

[lostpro9het]

I FINALLY saw Devine last May!! She's really cool and moves gracefully with the long tree branches attached to her costume. People stood and watched her for quite a while. Glad to hear that @lostpro9het got to see her twice. Those were some good photos he took of her as well. I tried with my (disposable, piece of junk camera) and she blended in so much with the foliage and trees that you couldn't even see her face in the photos I took!

It was hard getting a good picture of her too; one because my phone is garbage and two because of the fog/humidity that was thick in the air.

 

[lostpro9het]

Well like I said we decided to do an impromptu ADR at Trails End. While we were leaving AK I hopped on the Disney ap and made the reservation. We decided that we would just drive to Fort Wilderness rather than trying to navigate a series of busses. We had been to part of Fort Wilderness in May when we rode bikes from Wilderness Lodge to the horse stables but never really looked around beyond that. So, after changing into some dry clothes we made for the resort.

I’ll be honest, I was a little confused when we arrived. I was unaware that we had to park and take a bus to Trails End but that’s what we did. It was interesting seeing all the folks roughing it in tents especially with the amount of rain they have had to deal with. So a few minutes later and we arrive.

It was prime lunch time and this place was DEAD! I was worried we made a mistake but then I just hopped we discovered a hidden gem. We were promptly seated and greeted by Donnell, according to his name tag and buttons he had been here a while and was an official trainer.

Donnell was awesome. I think he sensed my disappointment with the beer selection as I reluctantly ordered two Yuenglings. He quickly responded with “no, no , no, you don’t want that. I know what you’d like.” I asked what it was that I would like and he said “trust me.” So we decided to get one Yuengling and one “trust me.” Donnell was spot on! He brought out what he called a Black Smoke Moonshine and I liked it!

I believe it was moonshine, blackberry syrup, and maybe some sprite garnished with about six large blackberries. This thing was DANGEROUS! At first sip I thought “Oh man, this is weak!” then about 5 minutes later it hit me, WOW, this drink was powerful! It was really good but sneaks up on you like a ninja. Donnell had a great story he shared about this drink sneaking up on him but you need to pay him a visit to hear that! With libations flowing we ordered. The DW went with chicken and waffles. I never really got this meal but she really likes chicken and waffles and this one did not disappoint.

I opted for the BBQ sandwich and fries.

I told Donnell I like my food hot and asked if he had anything spicy I could put on my sandwich, he was happy to oblige. About 5 minutes later he came rushing back apologizing that he had to run to WalMart to get these but I’d be happy. He was right again, I was happy!

With bellies full and no room for dessert we thanked Donnell and headed for the trading post to see what they had.

If you ever have the opportunity or means I would highly recommend Trails end. The prices and portions were great as was the staff!

Up next: An Evening at MK before we board The Dream!