Trip Report The “More SunPass than the average Florida resident/Can you believe this is happening?” Trip Report.

*****Disclaimer*****​

This is my first trip using a GoPro as my primary form of image capturing. With this comes some trial and error that I learned along the way so I do apologize for the occasional fuzzy picture as well as the excessive amount of pictures I am about to bombard you with. Additionally, I am not known for my wordsmithing as I favor the 1’s and 0’s over the A’s and B’s so I apologize ahead of time for the inevitable grammar and spelling typos that will surely come your way. That said, I do hope you enjoy the following!

So here we are, Surf ‘n Turf trip number four! For all the funtivities about the who/what/when/etc have yourself a nice read here:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/18-years-of-marital-bliss-means-it’s-time-for-some-surf-n-turf-action…-again.915877/

So after about five and half hours of sleep I was up bright and early at 04:00 with the DW soon up to follow. The DMIL, who was staying over to watch the DD, saw us off and we ended up pulling out of the house around 04:40 to avoid the madness that is Atlanta traffic. We had to make a quick stop to fuel up first:

We chose to avoid eating until we got through downtown because I didn’t want to risk getting caught in anything the ATL could conjure up. Soon we were on the south side and ready for some breakfast. We passed a sign for Truett’s grill, Chick-fil-A founder, and thought this sounded good, I love me some spicy chicken biscuit action! We took the exit and made our way to the grill only to find out that they didn’t open for breakfast until 06:00!! Alas, it was only 05:45 and I was on a mission to not waste time so we hopped back on I-75 and made our way south. We ended up dining at a Chick-fil-A in Macon only to learn that the spicy chicken biscuit has now become a regional item!! I pressed the server to make sure she knew what state we were still in and that the idea of a spicy chicken biscuit not being available in Truett’s home state was just plain nuts! So the DW and I settled for a pair of chicken biscuits but had the fortune that a Dunkin Donuts was right across the street so we were able to secure some good coffee for the trip.
[TangetTime]

True story: I actually met Honey Boo Boo at this very Dunkin Donuts during the state wrestling tournament about three years ago. Now aren’t you jealous!!!

[/TangentTime]

We would only stop one more time for fuel and restroom access during our travels. We did, however, pass a most entertaining car fire as we entered into Florida. I felt a bit bad for the folks watching their car crisp up and even worse when we eventually passed the FD traveling north about 5 minutes later. What, amazingly, felt like a short seven-hour ride, we had arrived!

We navigated our way from Western Way to MK’s main gate. Needless to say I was ready to get to the Poly. Here the DW nabbed a pic of me without knowing, it wouldn’t be the last she would get of me.

Soon we were in the Poly’s lobby talking in the wonderful sights and smells.

We made our way to the front desk to learn our room was not ready. We anticipated this and packed our bathing suits and some libations in a tote for an afternoon poolside before our early evening fastpasses. We made for our car and moved it to the DVC parking lot when we got the call…

 

[Tiggerish]

This trip it was grade your own.

The Canada pavilion serves two Unibroue brews; Trois Pistoles and La Fin du Monde. Trois Pistoles is a dark amber colored beer and really good. It was my favorite Unibroue brew until I had La Fin.


Yes you do!

EDIT:
Pistoles:
View attachment 179486
La Fin:
View attachment 179487

I like dark beer, so could easily have gone either way, but I distinctly remember the color of the beer I had that day, so I can say that I am a fan of La Fin.

 

[lostpro9het]

The drive back to the bubble was easy and uneventful. Soon it was sometime before 10 and we were pulling up to Kidani. I made my way to the front desk to check in and find our room was not ready, no problem. I did ask where about we would be so I could park near the appropriate elevator. We decided to skip parking and make for AK via our own vehicle. We were really in a “killing time” mode until our room was ready. The park was hopping but not real busy. Things were manageable. We made our way to EE for a quick dance with the Yeti

We made for Maharajah next.

Laura had to make a pit stop and I entertained myself at the water fountain. I don’t know what it is about this thing that is so mesmerizing but it is!

We were then entertained by some literal high jinx. These two had a crowd all gasping as they were moving along the lines. I’m pretty sure it was just another day at the office for them but we were worried about a slip!

It had been a few hours since breakfast and we were not ready for a lunch so we hit up Joffrey’s for a coffee and a roll.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I loved that fried brie when I had it! And it's just so healthy...

 

[coachwnh]

There's video of this dance, but I'm sure it will never see the light of day.

When he thinks its long forgotten, that video will show up again!

 

[gwhb75]

Had to save this GIF. My daughter is a huge Doctor Who fan, and David Tennant was her favourite one.

 

[lostpro9het]

Moving along we made for Pangani Forest before taking our safari trip.

Up next Nomad Lounge

 

[lostpro9het]

On our way to Nomad Lounge you could see the wall up for Pandora that Im sure will be open by 2020.

We decided to go with the lounge over Tiffins mostly because we were looking for a tapas lunch and not a full blown meal. What’s nice is the lounge also accepts TiW so we got 20% off our food and drinks. Continuing with this vacation’s theme, the weather was beautiful so we opted to eat out on the back deck. There was plenty of seating available. Tiffins and Nomad are really tucked away back in a nook and I don’t believe many folks realize it is there since it’s so easy to just walk past the ally that leads to the restaurant. When Pandora opens, though, this place will be sitting on some prime real estate.

We were quickly seated and presented with menus. We requested a few glasses of water while we decided what to get. We started with a flight of beer to see if anything was worth getting a full pint of. We’ve had the Safari amber before and its ok in my book, 2 out of 5, but not what I wanted a pint of. The Xingu was slightly better with good taste, 2.5 out of 5. The Kungaloosh was, IMO, the best of the three and I gave it a 3.5 out of 5. My notes about this beer are “Its like butter chicken mashed up with an ale. Sounds horrible but in fact the spices make it really good!” I ended up going with a pint of the Kungaloosh. Laura, on the other hand, went with a mixed cocktail. Jenn’s Tattoo stood out to her and she really enjoyed it. I was impressed with the presentation myself.

Now that we had the important decisions out of the way we focused on the tapas. We decided to share the bread service and the Waygu Sliders. The bread service as better than I expected and it has a lot to do with the wonderful accompaniments that come with it. If I had to rank the dips it would go pomegranate olive oil, harissa yogurt, zhough yogurt, black-eyed pea hummus (least->best). The Waygu Sliders were good but honestly reminded me of meatloaf sandwiches. It may have been because of the tomato chutney they serve on top. The potatoes that came with the sliders were excellent! Our bread service was severed in a tiffin tin of course!

After an excellent lunch we poked our heads into Tiffins to snap a few pics before heading back to the resort

Coming up: Our room is ready!

 

[lostpro9het]

So I got the text that our room was ready so we exited AK and made for our car. We had to stop and one more time to nab a few more pics as we exited.

Within five minutes we were pulling into the parking garage under Kidani. We requested a room near the lobby and received on that was between the lobby and bus stop on the ground floor. It was a minute walk to both the lobby and the busses so we were happy. We ended up in a recently refurbed room.

We decided to rest here for a while as we had a Yachtsman’s ADR coming up around 5:30.

Coming up: Kickass dinner, Epcot at night, and “Say what, Sanaa breakfast?”

 

[imahistorygeek]

Nomad Lounge was a nice surprise. It was out of the way, quiet, and I really liked the vibe. I had read reviews before and people didn't seem too impressed. I disagree. The food and drinks were very good and I think we will definitely return.

 

[epcotisbest]

That AKL studio looks very nice and spacious. We have only stayed in a one-bedroom there, but would take a studio happily.
We love AK park and could spend hours, or days there. In fact, we have considered an annual pass but have not done it in years mostly due to cost and because now we like to spend a lot of time poolside and I have this sneaking fear that if we had annual passes, we would be tempted to spend a lot more time at the parks, something we prefer to not do now. We used to have to come home from a WDW trip and get back to work to get some rest and it would take a week or two to recover from the trip. Now we come home relaxed, stress free, rejuvenated and longing for more pool time.
If we ever do get the AP, AK is one place we will spend a lot more time at. People that rush through, or say it is a half-day park just confuse me. So much to see, do, explore and experience. Maybe because of my advancing age, seeing, doing, exploring and experiencing are much more appealing than rushing from ride to ride.

 

[imahistorygeek]

If we ever do get the AP, AK is one place we will spend a lot more time at. People that rush through, or say it is a half-day park just confuse me. So much to see, do, explore and experience. Maybe because of my advancing age, seeing, doing, exploring and experiencing are much more appealing than rushing from ride to ride.

In the past several years, we've changed the way we visit. It used to be sun up to sun down, but now, we spend a lot of time at the resort just to relax.

AK is my favorite park. There really is a lot to see and do and it has a different vibe from the rest of the parks.

 

[lostpro9het]

So our dinner time was approaching. We opted to take a bus to EC and take a leisurely walk to Yacht Club. Soon we were at the resorts and I checked us in. we had a short wait before we were seated but soon we were in.

The restaurant was about half full and the ambiance was pleasant. We were seated with a nice view of the patio outside. We were quickly treated to bread service and menus. We immediately passed on the menus as we already knew what we wanted. On our last visit we enjoyed the Porterhouse fro two and opted to go this route again.

For whatever reason, like Palo, I am destined to never take a quality picture inside Yachtsman’s. I apologize for the first picture of the steak and regret not taking more of it because it looked as good as it tasted. Folks may be put off by the price of this meal but it’s worth pointing out that this meal comes with FOUR sides and while we were enjoying it we thought this meal could easily be shared among three folks. Now, the sides that are served with the meal are outstanding! The cream spinach alone could be a standalone meal for me. The sautéed mushrooms and onions are tough to beat too. On our previous trip the potatoes were not part of the meal but a most welcomed addition, they were excellent as well.

This was our second time here and we still rank the venue higher than Shula’s and LeCel. We never feel cramped, rushed, or underappreciated and will continue to come back again. Thoroughly stuffed we slowly made our way back to EC to enjoy the night. We eventually found ourselves in Mexico for a fiesta tour.

All tuckered out we made for the busses to head back to our room.

Still to come: Sanaa Breakfast and heading home.

 

[lostpro9het]

Another great night of sleep and we decided to just wakeup whenever. This, of course, meant we were up before sunrise…. We gathered our things and brought our luggage down to the car before making our way up to Sanaa for breakfast. This was a new thing they were trying out while we were there and I believe is now a permanent fixture. It’s a nice setup. They have a “continental” bar setup for you to grab pastries, fruit or oatmeal. You may also order from a menu if you want something hot and fresh made. You order next to the bar and they hand you a numbered animal and you may seat yourself wherever you like. We decide to share the banana bread with Nutella, really good! Laura went with a bowl of oatmeal and I opted for the Savanna Platter which came with eggs, hash browns, bacon and johnny cakes which were really just some dense biscuits. We also split a coffee press. The press was very good but no way near as good as the Kona press. Over all we had a wonderful breakfast and enjoyed the sunrise coming over the Savanna while we ate. It was a fine ending to a wonderful trip.

With that we made for the car and had a most uneventful trip home! I truly had no complaints about this trip as I do not believe it could have been more perfect other than my ability to take pictures. I’m happy to say we will be back in the bubble in TWO DAYS!!! We have a 5-night extended family trip for AKL Kidani in a 2-bdrm savanna room this week and I’m looking forward to seeing some Christmas decorations and seeing some new things. Keep your eyes peeled for a mostly live TR coming at you in the next 2-3 days! Thanks for following along.

 

[PacNWTigger]

Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. I'm attempting to con my mother into a DCL trip, but she's been hesitant because she doesn't want to be surrounded by kids the whole time. Your trip report is going to help cement this vacation for me!!

 

[Zipadeelady]

TWO DAYS?!!! Do you and @Tuvalu have a competition going on?

 

[Tuvalu]

TWO DAYS?!!! Do you and @Tuvalu have a competition going on?

Yes, yes we do.

 

[lostpro9het]

Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. I'm attempting to con my mother into a DCL trip, but she's been hesitant because she doesn't want to be surrounded by kids the whole time. Your trip report is going to help cement this vacation for me!!

Good Luck! I hope she can see that it is very easy to enjoy a trip AND avoid the little ones. There are plenty of adult activities and areas.

 

[lostpro9het]

TWO DAYS?!!! Do you and @Tuvalu have a competition going on?

If we do I wasn't informed.

Yes, yes we do.

By all means, the title is yours:

 

[Tiggerish]

Banana bread with Nutella...sounds awesome!!

It must have been really something to watch the sun come up in Sanaa, great photos!

Can't wait for the rebound TR.

 

[Mrhappyplace]

Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. I'm attempting to con my mother into a DCL trip, but she's been hesitant because she doesn't want to be surrounded by kids the whole time. Your trip report is going to help cement this vacation for me!!

Now way will she be surrounded by kids if she goes with you, it would be difficult to not see any kids during the cruise but there are plenty of adult only areas to spend time in when one doesn't want to be around the kiddies but really aside from the family pool area I haven't had any issues with kids on DCL aside from hearing them say something ridiculous like that they really should put a McDonald's on this ship. Good luck convincing her though a DCL vacation is hard to beat!