A DxDDP extravaganza with TIG and LOTSO ***PICS FINALLY***

[TBLaube]

Let me start off with a little background...Tig (me) is turning forty this year and will be retiring after serving 20 years in the U. S. Navy. When asked, I said, "I'm going to WDW!!!!" <-----Let me back up even more....

I am a die hard Disney lover who is stationed in San Diego and is a DL AP holder. I bought into DVC a few years ago and all of my friends and family think that I am obsessed. I just don't get it????? Anyway.....Disney has always held wonderful memories for me. I grew up in Bucks County, PA, and our family vacation were always to WDW. I remember packing up the car in the late evening and driving straight through. It is one of the rare happy childhood memories I have of our family.

When transferred out to San Diego many years ago, we traveled to DL often, but for some reason never really thought of traveling to WDW (probably because my ex-husband was not a Disney fan....should have known it would never last...hehe). Long story short, my ex walked out after having an affair and it was a tough time for me, DS(5), and DS(6months). My Mom moved in to help and I decided to take us all to WDW to have some fun and we headed out when my youngest was 13 months. Those of you who frequent these boards know exactly what we felt. It was pure magic!

We took trips to celebrate before I deployed with my ship, then when we returned from deployment, when my sister was diagnosed with cancer, when my mom was diagnosed with cancer, when I deployed again, when I returned, etc....do we sense a pattern? Disney was our 'Happy Pill' and let us create beautiful family memories filled with laughter and smiles despite what was happening in the 'real' world. It allowed us to escape (literally) to Fantasyland and Infinity and Beyond......

So in the wake of this life changing event (turning 40...j/k....retiring), I decided to offer each of my boys an opportunity to spend some Mom/Son time alone for each. DS(15) chose to go to Washington, D.C.
DS(10) of course said, "I want us to go to Walt Disney World." THAT's my Boy!!!!!

 

[TBLaube]

COLOR]Tig (me-almost 40), Lotso(DS), and Mr. Pricklepants will be spending 8 nights at WDW with a split stay between AKL Jambo Studio and VWL. ***Disclaimer*** Mr. Pricklepants will be freeloading on this trip and will not be part of the dining plans. He will however be with us throughout the trip so look out for him in pictures. I know that we are not meant to be, but I can't help but adore him to pieces. I think it is the outfit that captures my heart.


Mar 28 - Lotso insists upon flying RED-EYE on our trips. He tend to get motion sickness and doesn't like flying, but seems to do well on red-eyes for some reason...go figure. Plus he cannot stand wasting the whole first day sitting on a plane (oh who am I kidding? I can't either....what a waste of potential Disney time!!!!)

Mar 29 - AKL Jambo Studio Check-in (4 nights DxDDP)
1130 SANAA -First time here. Looking forward to trying this cuisine. Depending if the room is ready or not, head to room or DTD. Room wasn't ready so we moved SANAA to dinner and ate at WPE for lunch. 1700 WPC-We will be visiting DQ so Wolfgang Puck's it is.....i can't believe we have never eaten at WPC or WPE.

Mar 30 - 0845 BOMA Breakfast Buffet. Ate here once years ago and loved
it. Can't wait to try again!
Blizzard Beach Bound - Please be warm outside! SNACKS
1745 BOMA Dinner - first time

Mar 31 - AK
1020 Tusker House - Lotso is ticked that it moved from
Restaurantosaurus. He was only three when we went but
remembers.
1745 Yak & Yeti - otherwise known as Yummy & Yummier!
Ribs and wonton dessert....enough said! RAIN WAS HORRIFIC SO WE DIDN'T MAKE IT BACK AND DECIDED TO GO TO WPC AND THEN TO LA NOUBA
Apr 01 - Death by Dining Day/EPCOT
1020 Akershus - Lotso is a breakfast junkie so all I had to
mention is that it was a breakfast buffet and he is a
happy camper. Plus I have never been a Princess
ANYTHING on all of our trips and I was ready to pull the
"I am paying" card on this one, but Lotso is awesome and I
didn't have to at all.
1400 Biergarten - Lotso wants pretzel bread and to try new cuisine.
This will not be a heavy meal for us.....lots o' snacking (lots
o' lame attempts at humor)
1840 Les Chef's de France - Lotso's choice. Can you tell who is the
puppet master on this trip? WE DIDN'T MAKE IT TOO TIRED AND TOO FULL!
Apr 02 - DHS and then check in VWL (Regular DDP)
1100 Primetime Cafe - 1st Time. We usually go to Sci-Fi but wanted
new places and Lotso thought this looked cool. Whoohoo...
DECIDED TO HIT THE POOL AT JAMBO SO MOVED DHS DAY AND WENT TO WHISPERING CANYON AT WL

2130 HDDR - 1st Time. Very excited

Apr 03 - 1100 O'Hana - Lotso's favorite so we are doing again. See my
strings?

Late Lunch CS or snack?
1920 Crystal Palace - 1st time for dinner here. Can't wait.

Apr 04 - WPE (Breakfast/Lunch) Sleeping in after EMH MK.
DQ ROARING FORKS BREAKFAST AND CS AT DHS 1830 - 1900 Park Fare - 1st Time. Heard the characters are great!
DHS DAY MOVED PRIMETIME CAFE TO DINNER TONIGHT
Apr 05 - US/IOA day.....TBD

Apr 06 - 1100 Chef Mickey's - 1st Time. Had dinner and it was awful...will try
the breakfast.

Noooooooooooooooooooo..........time to leave

 

[StitchLovesElvis]

Yum! From what you have planned, it seem like you two, and Mr. Pricklepants of course, will have some great dinning experiences. I can't wait to see how you enjoy the places you've picked.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

sounds like you are in for a great trip - looking forward to the report.

 

[kelleigh1]

Thank you and congratulations on your impending retirement. My BIL retired from the USAF last February and I felt honored that he invited me to attend his retirement ceremony. It's something I don't think I will soon forget.

Looking forward to your continued trip report - pre and post!

 

[Tracerr00]

Looking forward to reading your reviews!!

 

[TBLaube]

Thanks all. We are so excited for our trip and now are starting to go a little stir crazy waiting!!!!

It was a tough decision to retire at 20 years. I could have gone to 24, but I can't bear the though of leaving my kids again. I am so proud of serving this wonderful country. I can't begin to put into words the amazing people that I have met throughout my career. People in the military really do sacrifice so much. And the family members left behind while we deploy are truly our backbone and should be commended as well.


So....as you can see, we have several restaurants that we haven't tried yet. Any recommendations on what to order?

 

[pixie08]

I hope you have the best time. I think it is great what you are doing for your boys. Have a great time with your son!

 

[vinotinto]

You MUST post reviews when you get back! We're going in May-June with the DxDP and are staying at AKL. We're also going to Blizzard Beach and thinking of WPE and WPC and hitting Boma on a couple of mornings.

We're also starting our trip with 3 days at US/IOA, so interested on what you scope out there.

 

[TBLaube]

We got home a few days ago and it was such a wonderful and glorious vacation. LOTSO and I had so much fun and ate wayyyy too much food, but loved it.

We definitely changed around our dining options several times due to weather and how we were feeling, but will go into that more as each meal approaches.

We set off for the airport for our 10pm flight and decided to get some food there. We ate at CPK and spent almost $30 for an individual pepperoni pizza, one drink, and a chinese chicken salad...YIKES!

Makes Disney seems cheap

Our layover was in Philadelphia which is where I am from originally so we of course bought soft pretzels and ate several...who cares that it was 6am right?

By this point we were so anxious to get to WDW! Our flights were very smooth and our Magical Express bus was ready to roll when we arrived. We stopped at a few resorts (POP, Caribbean Beach, and AKL Kidani).

We checked into Jambo and our room was not ready understandably. We were pretty tired and didn't want to wait an hour for our Sanaa ressie so we rescheduled for dinner and set off for DTD to shop and hit DQ. This leg of the trip was on the DxDDP and while we wanted to get our money's worth, we were okay with using some counter service meals and did.

Our first meal was at WPE for lunch and it was delicious. Forgive me for the lack of photos for the first two meals. My camera battery was dead and the charger was in my carry-on bag back at the hotel....CURSES!!!!!!!

TIG - Chicken Pesto Sandwich with chips and Creme Bbrulee for dessert. I was in heaven with this sandwich and would easily order again. The Creme Brulee was cooked to perfection, but sat for so long while I ate my sandwich. Note for next time - EAT DESSERT FIRST!

LOTSO - Chicken nuggets and fries, chocolate chip cookie. Standard fare which he enjoyed. The cookie had a nice homemade taste...yummy!

We would definitey eat here again and had planned to, but....more on that later.

Well worth a counter service!

 

[butiflfeet]

Congratulations on your retirement and welcome back! Great start to your reviews!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

It was a tough decision to retire at 20 years. I could have gone to 24, but I can't bear the though of leaving my kids again. I am so proud of serving this wonderful country. I can't begin to put into words the amazing people that I have met throughout my career. People in the military really do sacrifice so much. And the family members left behind while we deploy are truly our backbone and should be commended as well.

Thank you so much for your service! Congrats on your retirement! Looking forward to your reviews!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Congrats on the retirement! I cannot wait to hear more!!

Terri

 

[TBLaube]

I forgot to include a pic of us. Here we are at AKL Jambo House....LOVE IT THERE!

 

[TigerKat]

Count me in!!!!

 

[TBLaube]

Thank you so much!

First of all, please bear with me as this is the first time posting pics and adding texts....

Back to the trip, we headed to DQ after WPE. LOTSO loves DQ and I enjoy parts of it too. It really hasn't had any updates made in a decade though.

At around 3pm we got the text that the room was ready and headed back to AKL to get our room assignment. We ended up in room 5577 and it is literally at the end of the resort. Was a little disappointed to be so far out, but was secretly hoping to burn a few extra calories on the walk....wishful thinking of course

 

[tluvstink]

Great start! I am looking forward to more

Terri

 

[TBLaube]

We headed back to AKL and LOTSO fell asleep on the bus back and got a ten minute power nap which totally recharged him! We decided to stop by Mara and pick up our refillable mugs. *There is great debate whether these are a good deal or not. We use the heck out of them and would even pay out of pocket if necessary since we get our fill (bad pun) out of them.

There have been many changes in the beverage station since our last visit. The addition of the iced teas was very welcome. Speaking of welcome, don't you just love when you hear "WELCOME HOME"....I literally got a little teary-eyed when I first heard it upon entering AKL.

Sweetened Green Tea
Unsweetened Black Tea
Sweetened Black Tea
White Tea with Citrus (LOTSO's favorite-I loved them all)

These were a nice change from soda although I love me some Coke Zero and regular Coke. We also love the Hot Cocoa choice and the MM Lemonade. ***I brought my own coffee and made it in the room in the mornings***

We were off to our room and it was a bit of a hike!! However, the view was amazing and I ended up spending a bit of time on the balcony...very peaceful!
After the initial shock of the distance, our room was actually in a nice location because the elevator in the hallway led right around the corner from Mara, the pool, and arcade. Plus we didn't hear any traffic outside our door and our neighbors were very quiet as well. HOW BLESSED WERE WE?

Okay enough of my blabbering (disclaimer-there will be much of it on this review. I just can't help myself!)


Time to head over to Kidani and check out SANAA....CAN NOT WAIT FOR THIS!

 

[TBLaube]

I was so excited to head over and see Kidani since the last trip I only was able to see the mock-up room on the DVC tour. I know that some people do not like the distance of AKL, but I sure LOVE it. I just schedule a split stay as not to wear out my welcome.

We pulled up to AKL Kidani and eagerly headed towards the Lobby. Speaking of 'Lobby", my last name is pronounced the same way, but is spelled differently. While on a trip, a friend called the front desk asking to speak with 'The Laube Room'. The front desk person responded, "This is the lobby..." Needless to say, this banter went on for a few minutes and my friend had a difficult time getting the front desk person to understand. All I can say is thank heavens for cell phones because we dont' have to deal with this much anymore. Although, we still get a kick in the elevator when people are going to "The Lobby"....another corny family joke!

The lobby was gorgeous as were the viewing areas. We went down the staircase and checked in to SANAA. There was a little wait, but we didn't mind at all because we enjoyed the theming and decorations. While sitting there a woman came by and pointed out that there were turtles outside in a little blocked off area by the windows. We would have never noticed and were excited to help show others that they were there. I just love helping to share the MAGIC!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Joining in...great start. Happy 40 b-day and congrats to retirement.