Trip Report Semi-live, Visiting w/ a Brazilian Tour Group of Cheerleaders celebrating Jersey Spring Break

Ok, hopefully the title of this report got your attention. Technically none of it is accurate. It was just shameless Disney TR click bait. But since you're here, you might as well follow along. Plus, I have embedded a computer code so if you try and leave it will instantly direct you to a non stop loop of the JG Wentworth theme song which will play in the background whenever your computer is on. If you leave, I hope you have a structured settlement but you need cash now.


Ok then, For those of you still here, allow me to present the details of this PTR.

Who: My wife and I

Where: AKL

When: July

Why?: Basically, I want my wife to win the Tuvalu 500 (which is the race for most visits to WDW in 2018). @blgauger , you are excluded from this competition since you live like 2 minutes away from WDW and plus, you need to focus on riding BTMRR as many times as possible!! My wife has some stiff competition between @Tuvalu , @TrolleyFollower91 , @sheriffwoody , @lostpro9het , @imahistorygeek and several others. We are almost half way through 2018 and its a close race!

I encourage anybody reading this report to please post how many visits you have so far this year. Even if its just one or two, feel free to compete. And FYI, this a friendly competition and there is really no win or loose. But lets face it, we are all losers here, considering we spend so much time on an unofficial fan forum of WDW. But we are the COOLEST losers ever!!!

Aside from it being my wifes 5th trip this year, I am very much looking forward to returning to AKL. Even though I stayed there last summer for a few nights with my family, its been a few years since C and I have stayed there together. And now that we are official DVC Members, I constantly check availability and the other day I saw a few days open at AKL (Jambo) so I snagged it. It just so happened to be the morning that C and her mom were heading home from their recent Disney trip (this past Friday), so when I called to let her know, it definitely perked her up. She is not a fan of the Fla humidity in Summer but she is willing to deal with it for me. We will just try and avoid the extreme heat in the afternoons. No ADR's planned yet but Ill keep this updated as we get closer.

Have a great day everybody!

 

[Tuvalu]

Word of warning.....

Your “Tambooo” Lounge is closing July 4 for a couple months of refurbishment.

 

[DisneyJeff]

Quick update.....


C and I are were at my nephews (high school) graduation w/ the family last week and after leaving we were discussing how the kids are growing up so quickly and that we need to spend more time with our niece (11 years old) because before we know it she will be finishing high school too. We figured what better way to spend some quality time together than in WDW? I called my brother and asked if she could join us and now we are travelling with one additional passenger, extra medium!

My niece is actually at WDW right now with my parents and does not know yet.
View attachment 288315
Her and Mom the other day.

View attachment 288317
With her little brother at JC.

C is planning a big surprise/reveal to let her know when she gets home. She will no doubt have the Disney blues so I am sure that hearing she will be back in less than a month will put a smile on her face. She has really gotten into "girly" things over the last year (hair, make up, etc), So the plan is for C to call her the day after she gets home and tell her she is taking her out for the day. C works for Chanel and she is gonna set up a private appointment at one of the Chanel skin care/cosmetic counters for my niece. C is gonna have the cosmetic team (whom she is friends with) go all out and make a big production of it all that will end with one of the girls handing my niece a gift bag of goodies to take home along with a card that will reveal the trip! Hopefully we can get some pics and/or video of it all which I will share.

So far I had been able to snag 3 days at AKL (Jambo House) and was keeping an eye on availability to add more days. Just yesterday I was able to get 3 more days at BWV!

View attachment 288303


C and I have a December trip booked so she wants to make this trip in July a "girls" trip and they can do various things together such as shopping and spa treatments at Grand Floridian while I preside over Tambooo Lounge and Drunkeytown at Epcot by myself. Sounds good to me! C is super excited because her and my niece are very close and she has always wanted to spend some time at Disney with her and now my niece is old enough for them to enjoy some of the same things.

My niece comes home in a few days so we should have the big reveal by early next week. Ill have a status update soon! Thanks for following along and have a great day!

That sounds like an awesome surprise!! I can't wait to hear how it goes!!

Word of warning.....

Your “Tambooo” Lounge is closing July 4 for a couple months of refurbishment.

Nooooooooooo!!

 

[Gurt]

What a great surprise for your niece and great for C to get some girly time with her and yey for drinking time for you

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Oh how exciting! That sounds like a super fun way to tell her!

 

[wdisney9000]

Word of warning.....

Your “Tambooo” Lounge is closing July 4 for a couple months of refurbishment.

The new @Tuvalu hashtag....#NotMyTambooo . But seriously, thanks for the heads up. I was not aware. I guess I'll take it over to PizzARizzo(please don't put me on ignore), you know I can't help myself.

 

[Tuvalu]

I guess I'll take it over to PizzARizzo(please don't put me on ignore), you know I can't help myself.

I know <sigh>.

 

[wdisney9000]

Update:

My niece already found out that we are taking her, so no need for the big surprise we had planned. My mom was at GR in Epcot the day before they left due to some issues my nieces magic band had. My niece was waiting outside with my dad and nephews but decided to go in and was standing behind my mom (who did not know she was there) and the CM mentioned that my niece was on a resort reservation for July to which my mom responded that it was my reservation and she (my niece) was going with us. Mom turned around and saw her standing there. My niece heard everything, lol. Mom said she tried to do some damage control but it was pointless and she said my niece was too excited and she didnt wanna crush her joy.

My brother stopped by with my niece yesterday and we at least got to reveal which resorts we were staying at. We first told her AKL and she got the biggest smile. Then we told her we are going to Boardwalk for three days after AKL and she had a stunned look on her face which turned into a slow jaw drop. She has never done a split stay let alone two different deluxes. My brother usually stays at the values and gets the suite. She is at that age where the resort pools are just as exciting as the parks which is great since we plan on spending time at the pool during mid day breaks. C still plans on bringing her to Chanel for a day of make up and shopping so Ill update with pics when they go. C is a little bummed out as she was excited to surprise her but all is well and least we can all make plans together in the meantime. Thanks for following along and have a great Sunday

 

[blreinsel]

while I preside over Tambooo Lounge and Drunkeytown at Epcot

I'M IN. Even though apparently we'll need to find another drinking spot.

 

[wdisney9000]

Update:


In our standard operating procedure, we have added an extra day to our trip! As I mentioned prior, I basically check the DVC availability several times a day in an effort to add extra days to the October trip C and her mom have planned. After checking October and getting zip, I skimmed over July and there was one day available at BWV and it happened to be the day we would have checked out. A few minutes later I was on the DVC and booked it. We now have 7 nights total! # nights at AKL then over to BWV for 4 nights.

I have not told my niece yet. I figured I will wait until we hit the road and surprise her. She is really excited about the BW pool so I am sure she will be thrilled to have an extra day of parks and swimming. I did tell C, but however, we are rebuilding our back deck and she bought new patio furniture for when its complete and she happened to mention a few other things she wanted for it, to which I replied that the money we would use for the extra Disney day (2 adults and one childs worth of food and drinks, merch,) should go towards the additional items she wanted. She shrugged but agreed. She knows I am prankster, but I managed to say it without cracking a smile and I am pretty sure it worked because the other day she was going over plans for the trip and mentioned having six nights to accomplish what she wanted, (some type of Disney pin collection of cats). She is ALL about pins and pin trading now. I am actually building the deck myself (yes, @Zipitidoda , I do more than yard work,... in my white tee ) which has allowed my immaturity to go wild with plenty of adult oriented "deck" jokes. She was tired of them on the first day but I keep whipping em out (pun intended). She deserves an extra day just for tolerating my stupidity so I am sure she will be glad when I tell her we still have 7 nights. FYI, I havent linked the confirmation number and unless she actually checks how many points we have left on DVC she wont know. And just so this post is not void of photos.....look at my big deck!

Almost finished! Just one more row to go. And in another bit of good news, my parents agreed to keep not only Akira but our male Dutch Shepherd (Winnie) as well. He is 90 lbs and still young so he can be a bit energetic and hyper. We have only taken one trip together (C and I) since we got him and I boarded him at a facility I am partnered with. My parents have spent ore time with him and feel comfortable now to take on two dutchies. Of course I started him on protection training and he is doing great, but he is sweetheart to the family.

This is from yesterday at Home Depot. He loves jumping on top of stuff so the stacked up fence boards became a playground

And here is his sweet (but psychotic) girlfriend, Akira

Thanks for following along and have great day everybody!!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Whoa, that's a whole lotta wood!! @wdisney9000

 

[MinnieM123]

Update:


In our standard operating procedure, we have added an extra day to our trip! As I mentioned prior, I basically check the DVC availability several times a day in an effort to add extra days to the October trip C and her mom have planned. After checking October and getting zip, I skimmed over July and there was one day available at BWV and it happened to be the day we would have checked out. A few minutes later I was on the DVC and booked it. We now have 7 nights total! # nights at AKL then over to BWV for 4 nights.

I have not told my niece yet. I figured I will wait until we hit the road and surprise her. She is really excited about the BW pool so I am sure she will be thrilled to have an extra day of parks and swimming. I did tell C, but however, we are rebuilding our back deck and she bought new patio furniture for when its complete and she happened to mention a few other things she wanted for it, to which I replied that the money we would use for the extra Disney day (2 adults and one childs worth of food and drinks, merch,) should go towards the additional items she wanted. She shrugged but agreed. She knows I am prankster, but I managed to say it without cracking a smile and I am pretty sure it worked because the other day she was going over plans for the trip and mentioned having six nights to accomplish what she wanted, (some type of Disney pin collection of cats). She is ALL about pins and pin trading now. I am actually building the deck myself (yes, @Zipitidoda , I do more than yard work,... in my white tee ) which has allowed my immaturity to go wild with plenty of adult oriented "deck" jokes. She was tired of them on the first day but I keep whipping em out (pun intended). She deserves an extra day just for tolerating my stupidity so I am sure she will be glad when I tell her we still have 7 nights. FYI, I havent linked the confirmation number and unless she actually checks how many points we have left on DVC she wont know. And just so this post is not void of photos.....look at my big deck!

View attachment 290584

View attachment 290585

Almost finished! Just one more row to go. And in another bit of good news, my parents agreed to keep not only Akira but our male Dutch Shepherd (Winnie) as well. He is 90 lbs and still young so he can be a bit energetic and hyper. We have only taken one trip together (C and I) since we got him and I boarded him at a facility I am partnered with. My parents have spent ore time with him and feel comfortable now to take on two dutchies. Of course I started him on protection training and he is doing great, but he is sweetheart to the family.

View attachment 290586
This is from yesterday at Home Depot. He loves jumping on top of stuff so the stacked up fence boards became a playground

And here is his sweet (but psychotic) girlfriend, Akira
View attachment 290587

Thanks for following along and have great day everybody!!

Winnie is so cute! Now you have two dogs -- Winnie and Akira. Two dogs = twice the fun! How lucky can you be?!

Oh, nice deck by the way!

 

[sheriffwoody]

I wish I had the skills to build my own deck! Ours is rotten and I've fallen through two different spots in it . I started taking it apart like 5+ years ago, but it's still out there...just lookin gross.

 

[wdisney9000]

Whoa, that's a whole lotta wood!! @wdisney9000

Well done!

Winnie is so cute! Now you have two dogs -- Winnie and Akira. Two dogs = twice the fun! How lucky can you be?!

Oh, nice deck by the way!

Yes, two dogs are twice the fun and....twice the crazy

I wish I had the skills to build my own deck! Ours is rotten and I've fallen through two different spots in it . I started taking it apart like 5+ years ago, but it's still out there...just lookin gross.

It was not as difficult as you would expect. The beams underneath were in good shape and did not need replacing, just the boards. The hardest part was actually removing the old boards. It was just time consuming. I wound up buying a 3 foot long demolition bar with claws at Home Depot ($30) and it seriously made it easier to remove the boards because I could stand up while prying them off. You can see it resting against the rail in the photo. I just removed and replaced a few boards each day. Took about two weeks total (we had rain that slowed me down). Once the boards are removed, it was super easy to lay down the fresh boards and I used Deckmate screws instead of nails for better support and it will make replacing any boards in the future much easier as they just need to be unscrewed instead of pried off. If the beams underneath your deck are in good shape, you could easily replace it yourself. All you need is faith and trust.... and Elysian Space Dust...(IPA). The beer helps

 

[fractal]

How long is your deck?

 

[PacNWTigger]

It must be the summer of deck work! We replaced a few of the boards and added the railing. We are putting the finishing touches on our deck with a gazebo coming in today, along with a table with a firepit and chairs.

I don't know about you, but once this is finished I'm good with not doing any yard projects for a while!

 

[Tobes58]

Just one this year, unless the right 6 numbers come in on our ticket. Fingers crossed!!!!!

 

[bee]

I'm reminded of a video (that I won't link to here but of course you can Google it) that was a spinoff of "Shoes" by Kelly/Liam Sullivan. "My grandfather had a wonderful deck! We used to sit on it in the afternoons and play pinochle!"

 

[winstongator]

Is it scored by number of trips, most days at the parks, most park entries (all 4 in one Day could count as 4?)

 

[wdisney9000]

Is it scored by number of trips, most days at the parks, most park entries (all 4 in one Day could count as 4?)

Just number of trips. But any Disney park counts, such as Disneyland, TDL, HKDL, Shangahi, etc. @lostprophet suggested that a Disney Cruise or trip to other parks besides WDW count as extra, so you can apply bonus points if you like.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Yay! Another day!