Trip Report The “Cruising is not for me” Surf n’ Turf Spring Break Shenanigans Trip Report *Completed*

All the who’s and what’s can be read over here:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/round-five-twelve-months-of-shenanigans-ends-with-a-family-surf-n’-turf-spring-break.911138/

The Cliff’s Notes version is that we took our annual spring trip but for the first time it would be during Spring Break week. The trip also marked the first time the DD would be going on a cruise, something the DW and I couldn’t wait for her to experience. Another first would be our crew experiencing the Poly, super excited about this too! So, without further ado, let’s get this party started!

Wednesday:
We still had to get through the work day before we embarked on the trip which included me teaching my 5:30 computer ethics class and the DW’s Jazzercise class. I picked her and the DD up at 7:00 right after swinging by Zaxsby’s for some to-go chow. We were on the road by 7:20 and heading down GA400 towards Macon for our overnight pit stop. We pulled into Macon around 930-9:45 and checked into the La Quinta inn. The hotel served it’s purpose, a place to sleep part way to the bubble. The DW and I knocked out some grading before calling it a night by 11:30.

Thursday:
So the alarm was set for 5:30 but La Quinta had other plans… About 4:00-4:30 the smoke alarm in the room began chirping..you know that chirp, the one that says “hey, the battery is dying, change it”. Only problem is there is no taking this smoke detector down and replacing the battery. This meant every two minutes or so the detector would chirp. Good luck sleeping through that! So we were up and put La Quinta behind us before 5:00! The good news was that we would be to Disney that much earlier the bad news was that NOTHING drive-thru was open for breakfast yet! So we drove a short while and made a pit stop at a Walmart to pick up some things we forgot, something we’ve gotten quite good at lately; forgetting. By the time we left The Marts McDs was open! So we grabbed some quick food and made for the bubble! About 3 hours of uneventful driving later and we hit our first sign of hope!
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About two more hours later and we were there! Don’t let the clouds in the pic fool you the weather was GREAT!
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Soon we were pulling into the Poly’s parking lot. It was WARM! I checked in with the front desk but our room was not ready, they’d text when it was. We decided to check out the grounds a bit and hang at the pool.
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A family of ducks getting some shade!
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With that I decided to relax at the pool for a bit since I still had some classwork to deal with while the ladies branched out for some food.
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Soon, the ladies were texting me to come over to the DVC pool as it was quiet and had some good looking food options. It was pretty beautiful over there for sure too.
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DD went with the kid’s Hawaiian burger
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DW went with the kid’s fish taco
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I went with the pork sliders
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The food was excellent, especially for a pool side snack shack! So we relaxed here a bit longer before the ladies took to exploring the Poly and GF some until our room became available.

Still to come: An amazing standard view room and The Grand Floridian Café.
 
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lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Awesome trip report! Still laughing at the cuttlefish risotto :D I remember being the moody teen myself when my parents took me on a cruise as a teen. I'm not sure if your daughter is an only child, but I was and my mom also made me go to the teen's club and after much complaining I ended up having fun. My 9 year old daughter is also an only child and I know that this stage is coming soon, because it seems to come right after the whole "being embarrassed by everything my mom does" stage which she seems to be currently entering.
Yup, only child. I wish you the best of luck when it hits your household!
 

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
Sean hasn't mentioned our kid that much. Yeah, she was a Debbie Downer. She wanted nothing to do with the teen club. I did make her go and do things by herself. We probably will not take her cruising again until she's 18. Plus, we have SO MUCH fun by ourselves!
I feel your pain. I have two teenage girls and I never know what to expect, just when i think I have it figured out.....Nope.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OMG, I’ve gotta finish this up! Less than 40 days until out next trip and I’m still hip deep in this TR!

Last we left it; the rain had just left as did our DD so we were hopping on a tram to Serenity Bay.
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As you can probably imagine, we had the run of the place as very few had made it out after the rain. The beaches were already drying up and the sun was heating things up nicely.
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We quickly made camp and I had secured some cups of ice for the Castaway Cocktails! We moved our small chairs to the shore line, dropped them in the water and just relaxed for a bit(that’s the DW down there in one of the two chairs off to the left). The water was beautiful.
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After a bit the DW wanted a Conk Cooler so I made my way up to Castaway Air Bay to oblige her.
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After an hour or so of soaking we set out to explore for a bit. There was a nice sandbar about 100 yards or so out that we walked for. Again, the water was very pleasant and clear so you could do a lot of ocean floor exploring by just looking down. As we approached the sandbar we came across a couple of large starfish, say 16 inches in diameter. At first we thought they were dead but when we picked one up and felt its weight we knew this guy was alive! I flipped it over and noticed his little fingers were moving on the underbelly and decided to set it back down where we found it. We came across three of his relatives too while walking around the sandbar. Sorry for the lack of photos here, didn’t feel the risk of dropping my phone was worth it. We hung out on the sand bar for a bit when it was time for lunch. We made the walk to shore then headed for Serenity Bay BBQ. The crowds were still very lite, especially compared to our September cruise, but the food was still excellent.
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Someone waiting patiently for a snack…
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After lunch the crowd still had not picked up much at all. We set up in the surf again with our chairs and relaxed for a few hours more before heading back to the boat.
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Still to come: The journey back to the boat, family fun time, and Animator’s palette
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So we took the tram back to the main part of the island and looked around for a bit. The shopping on CC is surprisingly sparse although the reach of SW had made its way here
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Obligatory Mount Rustmore pic:
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We decided to take the tram to the boat rather than walk and Im glad we did. As soon as we sat down this guy decide to drive on by. Someone needs to educate that CM on how to point ;-)
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Heading back to the boat
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I stepped in to take a group picture of a family who decided to return the favor for us.
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Still to come: Snack time, DVC sales pitch, and some family fun!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So, naturally, upon returning to our stateroom we find the DD getting her Disney on Demand on. A little hungry form the day’s funtivities we order some room service to tide us over until dinner. We ordered a pair of Mickey bars, some chocolate chip cookies, and the cheese plate. Mickey Bars delivered to your room for free on The Dream may be better than a Mickey Bar in the parks…
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After some R&R from our R&R we decided to try our luck again at the DVC presentation, I mean 30 minutes out of our time for free booze, Vanellope’s macaroons, and a chance for$250 stateroom credit is a no-brainer!
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So while listening to the spiel of how great DVC is we began thumbing through the points guide they handed out when the DW stopped on the page below and said “What are they looking at?” You know what, she’s right! What the heck are these two looking at?!?! Clearly the castle is behind them and at best they are looking at the backside of a longhouse and at worse a parking lot! Silly Disney!
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An unanticipated bonus of this DVC presentation was the fact that everyone received a Disney pin!! I’ll take it!
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After the DVC pitch we parted ways. I was catching the 5:15 SW FA in 3D while the ladies saw Believe.
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Im not typically a fan of 3D movies but this was very cool and I had a great time. The ladies, apparently, had an epic time at Believe. It seems this was the greatest theater show on a boat ever but I’ll let the DW cover that.

Next on the itinerary was the family match game. Think newlywed game again but with parents and kids. We had a fun time here and I enjoyed hearing from the DW and DD how great Believe was. I suppose the DW and I will have to catch it in October. While enjoying the game show we decided to get a couple drinks. While I wasn’t a fan of the menu that Evolution had the server said he would run next door to 687 to get me what I wanted so I ordered a Duvel and an Ayinger. I wanted to give my server some strong words after he “poured” the Duvel but let it go. I gave the Duvel a 3/5 and the Ayinger a 2/5, it tasted too much like molasses for me.
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Still to come: Animator’s Palette, Characters in the lobby, and leaving the boat for AKL!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
:jawdrop:
What happened to that poor Duvel?!?!?!
I know, right! When he set it down I looked at him for a minute with a, no doubt ominous, "What the hell!?!?" look.

Your daughter is almost smiling in that family selfie and she out of the room. That's progress.

Honestly, it was Believe!!! She was so excited and enthusiastic after watching the show. I half wish we started the cruise out with us watching that.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So after the family funtivities it was time for dinner. Evolution was close to Animator’s Palate so we didn’t have much of a walk to get there. We arrived before our table mates did and went ahead and started looking at the menu.
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It wasn’t long before they presented us with the bread service with olive oil.
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While we made our walk to AP I stopped off at 687 to pick up something decent to drink with dinner. True story, my first experience with La Fin was at Epcot!
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Soon we were joined by our friends from New Jersey and placed our orders. Crush came by and entertained us while we waited. This is one of the really cool things about AP. Crush is an interactive experience that the whole family can have fun with. He’ll ask you questions, comment on your clothes, and make some jokes.
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Not long after ordering was our food arriving. Here we have some cheese filled ravioli and some prosciutto for appetizers.
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The DD and I each got the penne pasta, I got mine with a side of steak. The DW went with the filet
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We each got something sweet for dessert too.
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While we were eating, Crush had the kids and crew grooving to his swim moves. I tried to catch Ping in the act when he photobombed my selfie, dang that guy is quick!
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What capped off the dinner was a true surprise. Our servers made the DD smile and even laugh a bit! I mean who doesn’t love a good headdress made from a napkin?!?!
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Coming up: Characters in the hallway, debarkation, and Animal Kingdom Lodge!
 

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
The DD wanted to go see Believe. Sean didn't want any part of it, so I gave in. DD knew EXACTLY where she wanted to sit...the balcony. We went right to the seats as the doors opened. A few people came over to check out our seats but ultimately decided to sit elsewhere. However, this one kid about 8 or 9 years old decides he's going to sit in the balcony too. He tries his best to get his parents up there, but they weren't having it.

So for the remainder of the show, it was myself, DD, and this kid. He was so excited through the show!

Disclaimer: I know nothing about Broadway or any of that stuff. But let me say...

This show was amazing!!!

A lot of my favorite songs AND the acting/singing were great! I may or may not have cried a few times. If you're on the fence, go see it!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After a great dinner at AP we made for some shopping. The lobby was buzzing with characters.
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We finally made our way to the shops and picked our desired prize, new charm for the DW’s Disney Pandora bracelet.
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Upon returning to our room we found someone waiting for us!
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Still to come: Breakfast, AKL, and probably the cutest thing AK can offer!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So after a good night’s sleep it was a bittersweet morning. On the one hand it was time to leave The Dream but on the other AKL here we come! We left our larger luggage items in the hallway the night before to be taken to customs in the morning. This meant we only had our carry-ons as we made our way to breakfast. Since our dining rotation had us at AP for the last night this meant we would be having breakfast there as well. Our dining staff greeted us and met us with some pastries and coffee as we decided what to get for breakfast. We each got something different.
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Breakfast was very good and while we were a little sad to be leaving, we were very much eager to get to AKL! We said our goodbyes and handed our gratuities to our wait staff and made for Customs. I’ll give DCL and Customs some credit here, they are both very efficient in getting you out of port! From boat gangway to car we could not have been in Customs more than 10 minutes! So we were westward bound and excited for 3 days in the bubble! Soon we were pulling into our second home.
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It was sometime before 11 and I didn’t have high hopes our room would be ready and that ended up being true. Being on a boat for three days, sans interents, I had plenty of work that could be caught up o while we waited for the room to be ready. While the ladies explored Jambo and Kidani, I enjoyed some laptop…
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Still to come: Rooms ready, I promise this thing is CUTE, and Yak & Yeti.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So it was a little after lunch and our room was ready! This would be our first time staying in a 1-bedroom value at AKL. We quickly realized this was one of the rooms that recently went under refurbishment. It was very nice and not as sterile as the promotional literature made it appear when they advertised the DVC refurb.
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We had a different kind of animal view this go around :D
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This might be our favorite part about 1-bedroom rooms, these tubs are AWESOME!!
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Something else we noticed that was new with the refurb were these USB and electric plug ports all over. This made charging the iDevices very convenient!
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Still to come: Im not kidding about the cuteness, Yak & Yeti, and some Galactic fireworks!
 

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
We quickly realized this was one of the rooms that recently went under refurbishment. It was very nice and not as sterile as the promotional literature made it appear when they advertised the DVC refurb.

I remember being shown what the soft refurb would look like. Let's just say DH DID NOT care for it one bit. I'll admit, it looked bland, but I wanted to see it in person before I made a final judgement. I really like it. The light colors make the room look open and airy. There's a downside to these refurbs though...DVD players are gone. :(

I did like the pool view especially in the morning. It was very nice. Ducks were often in the water before the pool opened to guests. It was funny seeing CM's shooing them away.

FYI...the pool party during the day can be heard in this room even with the balcony doors shut. So, if you have kids that nap during the day, this could be a distraction.
 

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