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?

 

[fractal]

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!

Man, that's making me hungry!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Your moonshine story made me laugh. It really does sneak up! It also fades quickly (or at least what I've had did), which is nice if you're not wanting to stumble around all day. I might have to try Trail's End sometime!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I've always wanted to check out wildness lodge. My mom seems to visit every trip!

 

[Mom@disney]

I have always wanted to eat at trails end. Everyone who has dined there raves about it. My hubby also loves his food hot...me not so much.

 

[lostpro9het]

Your moonshine story made me laugh. It really does sneak up! It also fades quickly (or at least what I've had did), which is nice if you're not wanting to stumble around all day. I might have to try Trail's End sometime!

Thankfully it did fade quickly on that day!! I still had to drive us back to AKL. I have had some moonshine "hang around" a while but that was also some home brewed shine I got from a friend.

 

[MinnieM123]

I've been to Trail's End twice in maybe the past 8-10 years. They used to have a lunchtime buffet as well, and that's the first time I tried eating there. The buffet was very good--not as plentiful as the dinner buffet (from what I read at that time), but still good. Some years later, they eliminated the lunchtime buffet, and went to a luncheon menu instead.

I forget exactly what I had on my return visit some years later, but I do recall that I still enjoyed lunch there. It was quiet at lunchtime (stark contrast to the parks!), and that's another reason why I liked it. (Incidentally, both times that I went to Trail's End were years that I stayed at Wilderness Lodge next door--it was just a short boat ride over there.)

I recall that the Trading Post was an o.k. gift shop (nothing unusual); I think they cater more to campers at Fort Wilderness with some more basic items such as light groceries, for example. Because it was quiet in there when I went, I had probably the best conversation ever with a CM. What a nice guy; we talked for well over 1/2 an hour.

 

[lostpro9het]

So after a fantastic lunch we decided to head back to the room to relax and finish off our bottle of wine, that jacuzzi tub is so awesome. After some rest we were ready to take on MK one more time. We had some FPs planned but nothing else really. We figured we’d just roam and see what happens. We decided to hop on the train as soon as we entered and get off wherever. We passed this cute interaction at the Frontierland stop

We decided to get off at the Fantasyland stop and check out the goods at the Big Top

Still just roaming around the kingdom with no place to be we took a couple castle selfies

It was starting to get late and we decided early on that we would hit up Casey’s for a lite dinner since we killed it at Trails End. Maybe it is just me but I remember Casey’s being a lot better not too long ago. Im not sure we’ll be back. We had a couple of dogs and some fries. The fries were very disappointing.

So after our less than stellar Casey’s run in we made for Adventureland. Again, just roaming, with no intent we decided to look around the POTC gift shop. Funny thing is, when POTC is open we NEVER stop and look at anything in the gift shop and now that its closed we spent more time than we should just poking around. I don’t know why but a POTC baseball struck me as really odd.

There is a hilarious joke here that I made on FB but won’t repeat here, I’ll leave it to your imagination…

Some of the better Star Wars pins we saw

Wearing out our welcome at the POTC gift shop we moved on when the DW decided we should do something we’ve never done…dun dun dun….

Still to come: Mystery fun, informative bus drivers, Kona breakfast, and The Dream…

 

[Cetta]

the suspense is killing me!!! what is the mystery fun!?!?!

 

[lostpro9het]

OK, the mystery is over and it might also be a huge letdown. We existed POTC and made our way towards BTM when the DW said “hey, lets try this. We’ve never done this.”

I figured, what the heck, we have no plans, its cool and would be a good time to try one. So we randomly selected a map and asked what we were to do. We had to tap our MB at the map room to get things started with our first clue. We were to use that first clue to find the location of our next clue and so on.

Blackbeard be our first mission arrrggh…

We had to navigate to the sand dollar location and persuade Calypso to share her secret. Thankfully she was obliging.

So after a few more clue finding missions we caught up with Blackbeard who congratulated us on our success.

He also warned that many more adventures awaited us!

So we made our way back to the map room to learn there were in fact FOUR more missions we could complete if we like each with a different map!

So we decided to knock out all the missions one by one. Each mission would take you all over Adventureland but never to the same place twice!

Some friends we met along the way

All our adventures left us famished so we had to refuel the only way you can in MK.

So after that we hit up HM, IASM, and a few other rides before enjoying the Electric Parade and heading towards the busses.
[AwesomeParentingTime]
So we’re waiting in the bus queue and its been a few minutes when this family walks up behind us. The two children, looked to be 8 and 2 were clearly watching themselves while the parents and friends were chatting it up. The 8yo was carrying the 2yo around. The AKL bus had just pulled up when you hear the mom yell and start screaming at the 8yo. Everyone turns and sees the two kids walking back from IN FRONT OF THE BUS!! Turns out the 8you saw himself a shiny penny in front of the bus so he took his 2yo sister out there to get it and in doing so set her down in front of the bus! The mom was letting the 8yo have it! The mom whips out the best quote “ You chose a penny over your sister!?!?” I love how it’s the kids fault when mom and dad could not be bothered to even keep the two in their peripherals long enough to see them make their way over 10 feet away into the road.
[/AwesomeParentingTime]

So we’re on the bus and hear the bus driver spreading his wealth of knowledge with a foreign visitor. So let’s have us a little Jeopardy fun shall we!?!?

The answer is 334, 1600, and 14.5.
Any Guesses?

Up next: The solution to our Final Jeopardy, Kona breakfast, and yes…finally The Dream…

 

[catmom46]

Wearing out our welcome at the POTC gift shop we moved on when the DW decided we should do something we’ve never done…dun dun dun….

Still come: Mystery fun, informative bus drivers, Kona breakfast, and The Dream…

Hee-hee. I just recently found that gif, too, and think it's hilarious!!

 

[myhappyplace]

I've never done the Pirates Adventure; I will have to try it with my little brother next time I take him!

 

[catmom46]

Pirate's Adventure sounds like a lot of fun! I think I'll have to give it a try next trip.

No clue what the question is.

 

[DisneyGigi]

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!

Good Moonshine goes down easy and doesn't have much of a burn at all. One of my favorite pastimes is watching the people try samples in Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg. They will give you small samples of all the flavors and some people get flat toasted off of them because it does hit quick when you feel it!

 

[lostpro9het]

So, the answer is 334, 1600, and 14.5.

What is the number of Disney buses, Disney bus drivers, and the Disney bus drivers that quit each week Alex.

For those of you that got it

You may thank our driver Roy for that nugget of trivia fun.

Well this was it, the night before The Dream. We got everything packed up and I took most the bags to the car so we would have less to do in the morning. Sleep came fast as we had a busy but the morning cam faster! It seemed like a blink of an eye and it was 06:00. We had an 07:20 at Kona and the it was off to the boat. We said goodbye to our favorite second home and headed towards the Poly.

Soon we were in the Poly lobby. I still miss the original but the new one may be growing on me, Im still not sure.

But we’re here for one thing.

Cant come here for breakfast and NOT get the press!

The DW and I stick to our usual, blueberry pancakes for her and the Big Kahuna for me

After breakfast we walked around the resort and gift shops for just a minute before we took to I-4 and 528. A little over an hour of uneventful traffic and she came into view

Closer still

Still to come: Boarding highlights, operation Castaway Cocktail, and room 7528.

 

[catmom46]

You guys aren't tonga toast fans? Although I've never had it yet, so I don't know if I'd like it.

 

[imahistorygeek]

You guys aren't tonga toast fans? Although I've never had it yet, so I don't know if I'd like it.

I've had it once. It's ok. It's really just too much for me to eat.

 

[lostpro9het]

You guys aren't tonga toast fans? Although I've never had it yet, so I don't know if I'd like it.

Despite some of the glaring contradictions, I'm...how can I put this...CHEAP! I see $13 for some bread, banana mush, blended strawberries, and a side of meat and think "eh". Then I see $12 for pancakes with fruit, 3 sides of meat, hash browns, eggs, and french toast and I think "yes please!". Again, 99.999999% of this trip report contradicts the above but I will also add I tried it when the DW had it and was confused by what the fuss was about.

 

[catmom46]

Despite some of the glaring contradictions, I'm...how can I put this...CHEAP! I see $13 for some bread, banana mush, blended strawberries, and a side of meat and think "eh". Then I see $12 for pancakes with fruit, 3 sides of meat, hash browns, eggs, and french toast and I think "yes please!". Again, 99.999999% of this trip report contradicts the above but I will also add I tried it when the DW had it and was confused by what the fuss was about.

Ah, when you put it that way, it totally makes sense financially. But I'll try it at least once for "research".

 

[lostpro9het]

Ah, when you put it that way, it totally makes sense financially. But I'll try it at least once for "research".

Absolutely you should! Also, if you enjoy coffee then the press is the way to go.

 

[catmom46]

Absolutely you should! Also, if you enjoy coffee then the press is the way to go.

I would love the press, although I suspect my next trip will be solo, so that's a lot of coffee to imbibe in one sitting. Maybe I'll bring a travel mug as well.