Trip Report The something something SunPass something something maybe LIVE DVC Beach Bash trip report.COMPLETED

Hello all! It’s about that time again. We have just over 10 days until we find ourselves back in the bubble again! I’ve been holding off on starting anything for this trip because it took me soooooooo long to finish the last TR . We’re heading down again for the DVC neighborhood beach bash at Typhoon Lagoon. We went last year and had a great time while seeing some shocking things on castaway creek . So that is the “what” now for the rest. We are breaking from tradition on this trip and actually talked one of our DD’s friend’s parents into letting us take their kid on a trip! We figured this would aid in keeping the level of ornery teen we have to deal with at a minimum since they can go off and be ornery together. So the cast is:

DW(Laura), Me(Sean), and DD(Sophie)

The DD’s friend(Anna) will be tagging along too for the ride.


The original plan was to get up super early on Thursday and head down for a lunchtime arrival and come back on Saturday. But seriously, who comes back from Disney on a Saturday when there is always Sunday!?!?! Cough cough Disney vacation creep cough @bee cough. So it happened again, I can’t seem to go to the bubble without adding a night to the stay. I’ve been quietly monitoring the DVC point rental boards for a good deal and just yesterday one popped up for $8.50/point! I checked the DVC availability and a 1-bedroom at Kidani was available! So, about 5 IMs back and forth and we have now extended our AKL stay by another day! NOW, the plan is:

AKL Jambo 1-bedroom Thursday-Saturday

AKL Kidani 1-bedroom Saturday-Sunday



The plan is to relax at the resort for most of the day Thursday until it is time to head to TL for the party. We plan on hanging at the party most the evening before coming back and resting. Friday is dedicated to all day at HS, 9-midnight. We’ll probably come back at lunchtime to nap and clean up before going back for the evening and our 8:00 ADR ad Sci-Fi. The DD and her friend each have a one day ticket while the DW and I have APs. This means on Saturday, they will have themselves a day of pool time at Kidani while the DW and I hit a park in the morning. We promised the girls some mini golf so we will squeeze that in either on Thursday or Saturday. We have some meals open right now and a TiW card burning a hole in our pocket so I wouldn’t be surprised if we add an ADR Saturday night too.



I’m mostly sure this will be a live TR at least that is my intention so I don’t have another lingering project like the last TR.



So there you have it, less than two weeks until the funtivities!

 

[lostpro9het]

Went to winter Summerland again for some golf.we opted for the Summerland side. Boy did it feel like summer too! It was 10 am, humid and when we left it was like we got rained on. I took a bunch of pics of course

 

[lostpro9het]

More winter Summerland

 

[lostpro9het]

After our round of golf we made our way to Giordano's for some Chicago pizza. While it took a while the food was excellent and we would return here.





Made our way to Kidani to see if our room was ready. It wasn't so we made for the pool to relax before Sanaa later.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I gotta know where that pizza place is!!!!!

 

[lostpro9het]

I gotta know where that pizza place is!!!!!

Formosa Gardens Village, 7866 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34747

It's 5 minutes from AKL via Sherbeth Road and 192. The menu is big and they have a lot of space.

 

[lostpro9het]

The room is ready! I gotta say, Kidani rooms are HUGE compared to Jambo. I knew this already but today it really hit home. I do prefer the standard view at Jambo more but dang it sure is nice having a private bath and a kickass shower!

Our Sanaa ADRs are soon then the DW and I head off to MK!

 

[imahistorygeek]

The pizza place was really good. The menu tells you it will take at least 45 minutes if you order deep-dish pizza. We will definitely return.

Sci-Fi = never again
The food wasn't terrible, but just not worth the wait. I know HS table-services are limited, but do yourself a favor and eat somewhere else.

The wait for Toy Story was 20 minutes at 9:45 pm. I couldn't believe it. The new track really helps.

 

[lostpro9het]

Sanaa was awesome as always. We checked in and requested a window seat. We were told it would be another 10 minutes for that. We said ok but less than two minutes later we were seated at a window location. DD got her mango smoothie and her friend got some fresh lemonade concoction with fruit foam on top. We started with the bread service, a meal in itself. The girls shared the butter chicken and Durban shrimp dishes while the DW and I shared the butter chicken dishes. The food was soooo good.

 

[blreinsel]

You are making my stomach growl! Sanaa is soooooo on my list for next trip!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Formosa Gardens Village, 7866 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34747

It's 5 minutes from AKL via Sherbeth Road and 192. The menu is big and they have a lot of space.

Thank you! We went to the Giordano's in Chicago last summer and it was so delicious. I never knew they had one in Orlando! We will be eating there on our trip now. We have a couple days that we will be in the area before we make it to Disney and we've been wondering where we should eat. You've made my day!

 

[MinnieM123]

@lostpro9het , your room is very large at Kidani. (I'm not a member of DVC, so I've only seen a few of the DVC rooms around WDW property in pictures.) Looks like you had a nice little kitchen there. Did you and your family ever eat in for a change of pace, or did you stick with the restaurants for all of your meals?

 

[jrogue]

Super cool that you got to try the new track for Toy Story!! Your room looks awesome and all the food looks delicious

 

[lostpro9het]

@lostpro9het , your room is very large at Kidani. (I'm not a member of DVC, so I've only seen a few of the DVC rooms around WDW property in pictures.) Looks like you had a nice little kitchen there. Did you and your family ever eat in for a change of pace, or did you stick with the restaurants for all of your meals?

I made the waffles the first morning there. The DD and her friend made up some spaghetti one night too. The full kitchen is nice but what we really like is the separate living areas so the DD can have her space, the king size bed in our room is nice too .

We will have a 2-bedroom in December when we bring the inlaws and will probably cook more then, still deciding if we should bring groceries or have them delivered. Honestly, though, it is hard cooking in the room when you have Sanaa and Jiko within waking distance.

 

[lostpro9het]

So after a great dinner at Sanaa we made for MK while the girls hung out in the community room and arcade. Another short trip from AKL to MK further supporting the fallacy of "how far out there" AKL is from everything. We made our way through the magical metal detectors and were pleasantly surprised by how small the crowds were. It most certainly didn't have a Saturday night during summer feel, humidity aside. We walked the park for a few hours getting rides on SM, IASM, HM, BTM, and POTC before deciding to make for home.

 

[cgersic]

You two really got some nice pictures together this trip! So did having the friend along make a difference for your teen?

 

[imahistorygeek]

You two really got some nice pictures together this trip! So did having the friend along make a difference for your teen?

Yes and no.

Yes in that she had someone other than us to hang out with. It was nice to be able to go to the park with her and then let her loose. Furthermore, we could do our own thing without having to deal with her attitude.

No because she still has that teenager attitude and she tells me today that she's never asking another friend to go to Disney with her. She's an only child and several days in a row with the same person who is her age didn't work out too well. She said her friend really didn't want to do anything.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Fantastic drive to WDW. Left at 5 am on the dot and arrived at noon. It was SO NICE having the SunPass back!

I’m really liking the Jambo House refurb. It’s really nice to have outlets and USB plug-ins on the nightstands and tv stand. Plenty of spaces to plug in your devices. Our room was a tad farther out this time, but for a standard view with a savanna, we’ll take it. Everything still smelled new. Oh, and the new TVs…I love them and the ability to scroll through the channels quickly. One complaint about the room was the door and how close the bed it to the door. The door swings in, so there’s only that amount of space between the bed and door. Another complaint was that you couldn’t control the lights with the light switch on the wall. You had to turn each on individually and the cords are very short and if you are laying on the bed, they are hard to reach. One more…lol….I wish they’d label the garbage disposal switch. Talk about a rude awakening. Otherwise, great room and location.

We never swam at Jambo, but instead took the shuttle and walked to Kidani. I like the pool there better. It was crowded, but Sean grabbed some shady seats.

Our switch to Kidani was painless. Room was ready about 3:30. We’d never stayed in a Kidani 1-bedroom, so it was a new experience. This room was huge and the fact there are TWO bathrooms is a plus. The master bath has a separate shower along with a jetted tub. I wish they’d refurb like Jambo. I like the new colors of Jambo. I like the layout of the kitchen better at Kidani. Our room was facing the bus transportation and every once in a while, I could hear the buses lowering aka the beeping noise.

Sanaa was fabulous as usual. There’s a new dip in the bread service. Still 9, but something was replaced. Sean may remember. The coriander is my favorite.

Community Room was very nice. Loved the DVC picture booth. We were a couple of noobs using it the first time, but we figured it out. Super fun!

I was very surprised at how NOT crowded the parks were during our visit. I don’t know if the heat or new ticket prices had something to do with it, but it was nice.

Overall, great short visit. Can’t wait to go back kid-free in October!

 

[epcotisbest]

We like Giordano's and especially the stuffed pizza, worth the wait. We have been to that one and the older one over on Apopka-Vineland.
We too like the pool at Kidani better.
Good on you getting all nine accompaniments with the bread service. A couple are really hot, but we like them all.
Being I am a self-proclaimed cheapskate, tightwad, we cook in the room more than we eat out these days.
Fun trip report.

 

[lostpro9het]

We like Giordano's and especially the stuffed pizza, worth the wait.

It really is and a small pie goes a LONG way!

Good on you getting all nine accompaniments with the bread service.

We usually get just the three because we really dont use them all and it feels wasteful but figured with the DD's friend in tow we'd see if they liked some of the others. For me, the two hottest dips are what I'm about. They taste so good while packing a nice punch.

Being I am a self-proclaimed cheapskate, tightwad, we cook in the room more than we eat out these days.
.

We must be related, I'm a card carrying member of the self-proclaimed cheapskate tightwad club, SPCTC. The direction some of the dining is heading is making me want to cook in the room now more than ever.

 

[epcotisbest]

It really is and a small pie goes a LONG way!

We usually get just the three because we really dont use them all and it feels wasteful but figure with teh DD's friend in tow we'd see if they liked some of the others. For me, the two hottest dips are what I'm about. They taste so good while packing a nice punch.

We must be related, I'm a card carrying member of the self-proclaimed cheapskate tightwad club, SPCTC. The direction some of the dining is heading is making me want to cook in the room now more than ever.

SPCTC fees are due...but I'm not paying!