Trip Report - March 2024

[Noreen411]

This was the 3rd day in a row we were at the same park on the same day!

It looks like you had another great day park hopping. That baby elephant is so cute, I'm sad we didn't see it while we were there!


I also ended our MK day this day at the photo center! I was there right before the park closed. We only got 2 of our 3 Haunted Mansion photos and were never able to recover the last one either. It did sound like they were having an issue with one of the cameras that day. Same for Pirates that date.

Let’s see if we keep that streak going of being in the same park; maybe we’ll even see ourselves in each others pictures, I’m always looking when I see pictures someone has when we were there too.

I agree that little baby elephant is so adorable.

I guess they weren’t lying when they said there was an issue with one of the Haunted Mansion cameras. When we asked about the picture one person said there could be a delay and another one said there is a broken camera; but both said to call the number on the card to confirm. While I’m sorry you didn’t get your ride photos either, I feel better knowing it wasn’t just us.

 

[Noreen411]

Ok...enquiring minds have to ask...do you do laundry every day??? It seems to be a regular part of your morning routine but ?????

Hi. I know it sounds crazy, but we go through a lot of clothes each day. Between gym clothes, park clothes, possibly a second set of park clothes, pajamas, underwear, socks, maybe a bathing suit; it adds up. The washer/dryer in the villa is a small stackable one. It doesn’t really interfere with our day as we’ll throw a load of laundry in when we get back from the gym and it’s in the dryer before we leave for the park. I also bring a drying rack for those delicate items that I need to hang dry. This way we go home with mainly clean clothes. You would think with all the laundry we do, we could pack less, but we still both overpack.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 3/13/24
We went to the gym at 6:30. Most of our normal morning routine of laundry, jacuzzi, and showers followed. We skipped breakfast today planning to have either lunch or breakfast out.

We drove to Epcot.




We rode Soarin. This is such a nice ride we both enjoy; even when you are on the end and the picture is a bit crooked; it’s still fun.

Living with the Land is always a nice relaxing attraction.

We browsed around the food court area in the Land Pavilion but we didn’t find anything we wanted.

When it was time for Scott’s ILL for Guardian’s of the Galaxy, I found a nice bench to wait for him. Of course I still took the cute pictures outside.





We wandered through some shops. Some of the topiary’s are so nice.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 3/13/24 Continued
We were hungry and decided to leave Epcot and go to Keke’s for brunch. There are several Keke’s in Florida and we asked the navigation in the car to take us to one. We were driving around looking for it and had trouble finding it, even with the navigation. Last time we went to Keke’s it was a different location, but also a bit difficult to find. After driving around, we gave up searching for Keke’s.

We went to Bahama Breeze instead. The bar was closed for cleaning so we sat at a table.


I had a Strawberry Mojito which was just OK. I took a few sips but didn’t drink the rest of it. Scott ordered a Coke since I don’t have a picture of a cocktail for him.


The Coconut Shrimp are really good here.


I keep wanting to like the empanadas. We’ve had them here before and there is a spice in it that I’m not crazy about.


Scott ordered a chicken sandwich that he really liked.


We ordered too much food and much of it was packed up to bring back to the villa.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 3/13/24 Continued
We drove back to the resort and started to do some packing.

We went to the pool for a while enjoying the nice weather, the pool, the slide, and just hanging out there.

We showered and changed for the evening.

We drove to the Boardwalk for our dinner reservation at Trattoria Al Forno. We had a few shirts to return at the store and appreciate that you can return things to any store on property regardless of where you purchase them.

We were early planning to have a pre-dinner cocktail at Abracadabar. The bar was packed. We ordered our drinks from there but ended up sitting in the waiting area for Trattoria Al Forno to enjoy them. Scott had Bombay Sapphire and I had my favorite Hoodunit’s Punch.


We were seated on time and had the same waitress as our last visit. She remembered us; or so she said.


The bread is cute, but I prefer it with butter to the dipping oil.


We shared one Polpette (meatball) as an appetizer. This was good.


We shared the Braised Short Rib entree. This was another solid dish and the right amount of food.


We had the Tiramisu for dessert and were surprised how much we enjoyed it. We haven’t had dessert here in a while.


We really enjoy Trattoria Al Forno. We’ve had some very solid meals here.

We walked around the Boardwalk a bit before heading back to the resort.

 

[jrmint427]

Let’s see if we keep that streak going of being in the same park; maybe we’ll even see ourselves in each others pictures, I’m always looking when I see pictures someone has when we were there too.

That's too funny! You'll have to let me know if you pop up in any of my photos. Wed 3/13 was our rest day, but my husband and I went to Hollywood Studios After Hours that evening. Looks like another great day filled with yummy food!

 

[Noreen411]

That's too funny! You'll have to let me know if you pop up in any of my photos. Wed 3/13 was our rest day, but my husband and I went to Hollywood Studios After Hours that evening. Looks like another great day filled with yummy food!

I keep looking for us in your trip report. Your report is great.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 3/14/24
Scott went to the gym at 4:30; I didn’t go until 6. Our normal morning routine of laundry, jacuzzi, showers, and breakfast followed. We did some more packing and Scott started to put a few things in the car.

We drove to Magic Kingdom.




We stopped for the picture with bench when you first enter the park.


Of course we stopped several times walking up Main Street for pictures.










We watched Philharmagic. Even with the cast members telling everyone to move all the way down the row, there are always some that have to stop in the middle. We climbed over them to go to the end of the row; I actually like being at the end since it makes it easier to exit without having to wait for everyone else in the row to file out.

We rode the Carousel since it’s such a sweet and simple attraction

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 3/14/24 Continued
We were happy to see the photographer that does the “little world” photo (or whatever its official name is) without a line. Since there was nobody waiting, we asked for a second photo; one holding hands and one facing forward.


We look so stiff in this picture.


We took a few more pictures




Scott wanted something to eat and when I mentioned Pinocchio’s Village House had pizza he wanted to go there. We went in and found a table. Mobile order would have been about 40 minutes later so I went up and ordered on line the old fashioned way. I ordered a Meat Flatbread and a Coke. The cast member told me there was a “Pay it Forward” chain going and the lady ahead of me wanted to pay for my meal and did I accept. I accepted. The cast member asked if I wanted to keep the chain going and pay for the person behind me which I said Yes I would. When the cast member asked the person behind me, he didn’t want to accept/participate so the chain broke. I never saw a pay it forward chain happen in Disney World.

Scott enjoyed his food. I wasn’t hungry but had a bit of the crust.


It was just about time for our ILL at 7 Dwarves Mine Train. The attraction went down temporarily but we waited and luckily it started running again after 10 minutes. We really like this attraction. I’m glad it wasn’t down long.


The park is definitely more crowded than it was at the beginning of our trip.

It was time for us to ride Jungle Cruise. It was a fun trip, but the skipper from the other night made it extra special.

We walked around the park some more soaking in all the magic of being there and just enjoying being together at Disney World. We like to start our trip at Magic Kingdom to get right into that magical frame of mind; we also like Magic Kingdom to be our last park of the trip to try to bottle up as much of that magical feeling as we can before leaving.

On the way out of the park we stopped at the Confectionary. We got Scott another one of his favorite chocolate dipped Mickey Mouse cookies to bring home and a chocolate dipped pretzel rod.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 3/14/24 Continued
We left Magic Kingdom and drove to Disney Springs. We had a few more snacks we wanted to pick up to bring home with us.

We stopped at Summer House cookie bar and ordered 4 cookies. These were all wrapped up and came back to New Jersey with us. I didn’t get a receipt so am guessing at the names from what I remembered.

Chocolate Bomb


Chocolate Chip


Cinnamon Bun - this was my favorite of the cookies


Crispy Chip


On prior trips we made numerous visits to Gideon’s, froze, and brought home a lot of cookies. I think we overdid it and needed a break from Gideon’s; we didn’t go at all this trip. I think after this little break, we’ll be excited to have Gideon’s on our next trip.

Next we stopped at Everglazed and ordered 4 donuts.

Classic glazed - I liked this one since it wasn’t as busy as some of the others.


Strawberry Iced - I liked this one for the same reason - not as busy as some of the other donuts.


Cookies & Cream - This was Scott’s favorite


Fruity Pebbles


We finally stopped at Salt & Straw. I have been wanting to try this for ages, but it never worked out. I like how you can taste a flavor if you are undecided. I was torn between the Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons and the Salted Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I liked the caramel one better so ordered that. This was such a good creamy ice cream. Surprisingly, Scott didn’t want any. I ate this as we walked around; it was really good.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 3/14/24 Continued
Back at the resort, we did the last load of laundry, and the majority of the packing. Since we both overpack this takes us a while. It’s quicker to pack to go home than packing to go on vacation. Scott loaded most of the stuff to the car so we won’t have to worry about it tomorrow morning. We’ll only have a few things to load to the car in the morning.

We showered and changed for the evening. Earlier we cancelled our originally planned dinner at California Grill and decided to wing it and see if we can get bar seats at the Boathouse at Disney Springs. It was crowded but we found seats; short seats near the back of the bar. We ended up liking the short seats.


We saw a nice sunset from where we were sitting; I stepped right outside to get an even better view.


Scott had Bombay Sapphire and I had the Shipwreck. I wanted to try something different from the Duck Duck Razz that I usually get here. The Shipwreck was very strong. I had a few sips but didn’t finish it; it was too strong for me.


We started with 5 Sea of Cortez shrimp. These are so good. We always order 5; I’ll eat 2 and Scott eats 3. Sometimes we share the 3rd one. Next time I think we’ll order 6 shrimp.


I ordered the Filet Mignon sliders. These are great. I gave one to Scott.


Of course we needed French fries. The Boathouse has the best fries at Disney.


Scott ordered the Lobster roll. He enjoyed this. I took a bite to taste it but am not a fan of the mayonnaise like sauce on it.


We ordered dessert; the Key lime pie which serves 2. This was really good. Their dessert menu looked great; we’ll have to get dessert more often here to try the various items.


We walked around a bit after dinner then headed back to the resort.

 

[jrmint427]

I keep looking for us in your trip report. Your report is great.

Thank you!

I love that you started and ended at MK. This looks like it was a relaxing and super fun trip to Disney. It’s great you had such a long trip you could pace yourselves. And you had so much great food!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I totally agree with starting and ending a trip at Magic Kingdom. There's just something about it that makes it "Disney".