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?

 

[Mom@disney]

I'm a big fan of the Pirates Adventure...hidden Jem. Can't have a morning without my coffee press!

 

[MinnieM123]

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

I love Tonga Toast. Now, I do think that @lostpro9het probably got a better deal (financially and heathlier) with the breakfast he ordered; but when I'm on vacation, I don't hesitate to order something different. It's fun!

As for the menu showing $40 for a pound of 100% Kona coffee, I'd probably have to pass on that one, even though I love Kona, the few times I've tried it in the past.

 

[myhappyplace]

I can justify my Tonga Toast obsession bease I don't drink coffee So I just have water or tea with my TT. DH got the Big Kahuna on our trip 2 years ago, and wasn't satisfied...he went with the Samoan this time. No matter what you get, I do love Kona Cafe to start the day!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I noticed the $40 coffee too! It must be pretty darn good.

I'm excited to see the cruise pictures!

 

[lostpro9het]

So we arrived. It was somewhere around 10-10:30 and we dropped off our luggage with the curbside porter and made our way to the parking deck. We got some great parking right at the entrance to the first security check point. Since the gate had not yet opened a small line had formed, not a big deal since the weather was beautiful, we were under cover, and it would only be a few more minutes. It was soon that the line was moving and we were approaching our first check point. It was here that we witnessed the tipping habits of our overseas friends. A decent sized family, eight or so, had approached the first check point with ALL their luggage when they were informed they would need to check that with baggage. I'm not sure of all the things that were said but eventually a porter, 5-5 100lb female, came up to the third level of the parking deck with a dolly and loaded up all their luggage. When all was said and done the porter was literally half a foot shorter than the stack of luggage she was going to be lugging to ground level and then to baggage. It was here that I overheard the porter ask if the family would care to tip her for her service, little awkward for sure. It seemed the family didn’t think they needed to provided gratuity for the service and said no thanks. As you can imagine the porter didn’t care for that too much and made a point of announcing to everyone that she was not being tipped for her service and that it is customary to tip a dollar or two for each bag before leaving. Fun times! So we make it through the first check point only to be waiting for the next to open, no biggie as this is a great time for a Dream selfie.

A few minutes later and we are moving again. As we approach I begin to wonder if the amount of alcohol in my bag will be an issue, unnecessary paranoia I know. Well we breeze right on through and we’re in. We head straight for the Castaway Club check in line. While the wait was very short I did have time to snap a picture of these ridiculous shoes. I'm sorry, I just don’t get it. You’re just asking for a broken ankle…

So we check in and find out we are in boarding group two, score! So while we wait for boarding I take a few pictures.

It is at this time I learn two things: first, viewing deck must be nautical code for smoking area because, DANG, that viewing deck smelled like an ashtray and secondly, I figure out how to use the panoramic feature on my phone…sorta

While bumbling through my phone’s photo features @cfry06 introduces herself, sweet! Meeting WDWM members abroad is lots of fun and her and her husband(pictures coming) wouldn’t be the last members we see! So after a few pleasantries and excessive second hand smoke exposure I head back in to practice my panorramaskillz

Im still getting accustom to the feature.

So it wasn’t soon after that it was time to board. The family introduction as you board are fun and really make you feel important. We make our way for Cabanas before the full-fledged madness arrives. Still full from an awesome Kona experience I eat lite, as does the DW

My primary objective with Cabanas was securing POG juice for my Castaway Cocktail, priorities right! Whelp, step one was easy, the POG juice was flowing from the fountain.

Now all I had to do was add my coconut rum to the mix and enjoy, DONE

The DW wanted a DOTD so I was most willing to oblige, though I’d say my CC was much better.

What I was quickly reminded of, however, is the complete and utter madness that is the family pool area. Think opening scene of gladiator; loud, disorienting and complete chaos! Thank goodness for quiet cove! We had our bathing suits ready and changed and enjoyed the peace.

It was here that we were introduced to @myhappyplace and her husband @Mrhappyplace, hooray more WDWM folks! I’m glad she came up and said hello otherwise we would never have met, I'm pretty oblivious sometimes. So we spent some time chatting and relaxing. I was plenty thankful we were free from the family area madness and had some great time to meet new people! It was getting close to the room ready time as well as the DVC meet and greet so we made for our cabin.

Still to come: Room 7528, DVC swag, and pulling away!

 

[lostpro9het]

So we left the tranquility of quiet cove to head for our room. We were in a stateroom with a veranda a bit forward of midship. It was a quick walk and we arrived at 7528

Our first bit of DVC swag was waiting on us when we arrived.

We also added our own piece of flair.

Mind you we didn’t go all Office Space with the flair..

When we got inside we had more swag waiting on us!

The crib…

Moved our rations to proper storage

And finally took in the veranda

While getting settled in we met our Hostess Suzana who was simply amazing and always fun to talk to, pictures coming soon. The time was moving on and we had a DVC M&G we wanted to attend, hey free drinks, swag, and a chance at $200 on board credit was worth the 30ish minutes of our time. First round of swag included these Tervis style tumblers and lanyards, somehow we amassed six lanyards on this trip and Im not sure how.

The event was lightly attended I’d say

But, time was still ticking away and we wanted to get our mixology tickets before our safety drill so we made a quick stop at guest services to learn there would be no mixology this cruise so we settled for a tequila tasting and margarita class.

The Dream’s magic that will soon bloom

A little elevator selfie action on our way to The Defense of Iceberg Attack class

The icebergs don't stand a chance against this crew!

Still to come: Setting sail, room service, and some merch!

 

[Mom@disney]

Love the room and your anniversary sign is adorable. Like I've mentioned in @myhappyplace trip report, I'm a little nervous when it comes to open water. So I'll just have to enjoy these cruise trip reports!

 

[lostpro9het]

Love the room and your anniversary sign is adorable. Like I've mentioned in @myhappyplace trip report, I'm a little nervous when it comes to open water. So I'll just have to enjoy these cruise trip reports!

I was against it for the longest time but am sooo glad the DW wore me down. I still don't think I'd like anything longer than five days though.

 

[catmom46]

Love the flair - very cute and tasteful!

And totally agree those shoes are ridiculous - I don't get them either.

 

[cfry06]

Yay! We're on the cruise! Gosh, I'd love to be boarding again tomorrow!!

Too funny - our paths crossed earlier than we thought. We were right by that porter and the ginormous load of luggage too (seriously how did she move all of that? It was crazy!)! That family was right in front of us - awkward for sure!

So happy to have bumped into you guys! I am typically hesitant to introduce myself, and felt/was a bit awkward at first, but really enjoyed getting to know both of you a bit and discuss some of our fave topics...DVC and Disney trips .

We were bummed there wasn't a mixology! Considered the tequila tasting, but I'm not a huge fan and got spooked. We walked through/by that class to get to 687 (recurring theme for us...totally fell for that 687 beer!) and catch some college football and I regretted not signing up. I'll be interested to read about it!

Haha - loved the Office Space/flair reference for the doors. Hilarious.

I look forward to reading more!

 

[lostpro9het]

A little bit of tangent good news, we closed today on 50 more AKL points! We started the process back in early August but were very happy to find a small contract with the same home resort and UY!

 

[lostpro9het]

With our iceberg readiness training complete we decided to head to top deck as we pulled away and set sail

Coast Guard escort

Looking back

After making our rounds top deck we decided we wanted a snack and made our way back to our room for a little room service. Passed some live music along the way.

And a pair of Mickey and Minnie pumpkins

When we got to our room we phoned in a fruit bowl and a cheese plate to enjoy on the veranda. The goods arrived in less than 10 minutes!

Our view

Still to come: Some shopping, mirror mirror fun, and Animator’s Palate

 

[ScarletBegonias]

It looks so nice! I'd love to do this some time but do not think I could talk my family into it.

 

[lostpro9het]

It looks so nice! I'd love to do this some time but do not think I could talk my family into it.

Just talk your husband and a babysitter into it

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Just talk your husband and a babysitter into it

Exactly!!! maybe in a few years... and then we can the little tyke along.

 

[Mrhappyplace]

Enjoying seeing a alternate view of the same cruise we enjoyed! Can't wait to hear about your Animators Palette experience and everything else you did on the cruise.

 

[lostpro9het]

Well since it is BTTF day I can't not show this again, right? Almost 17 years to the day:

 

[sheriffwoody]

Well since it is BTTF day I can't not show this again, right? Almost 17 years to the day:

Great Scott, this is awesome! Happy Back to the Future day and almost anniversary

 

[BigHero4]

Wait, so did you take the DeLorean back in time to take that picture, or was that actually there on your wedding day? Happy Anniversary!

 

[lostpro9het]

Wait, so did you take the DeLorean back in time to take that picture, or was that actually there on your wedding day? Happy Anniversary!

No paradoxes were risked in the creation of the photo.