Trip Report - March 2024

We were in Maryland at 9:15, West Virginia at 9:26, and Virginia at 9:48. It’s interesting how we ended up going through 3 states so quickly. Changing states is a milestone of the journey I keep track of (corny I know). The next leg of the trip was much longer.
I do the same thing!!
You took the same route we do. We are from NE PA.
Smart thinking to spend the day with the realtor and exploring on your own to see how you feel about a new place!
 
I do the same thing!!
You took the same route we do. We are from NE PA.
Smart thinking to spend the day with the realtor and exploring on your own to see how you feel about a new place!
This route was much more scenic/interesting than our normal route straight down I95.

I wanted to stop at a local Starbucks and local grocery store to see what the people seemed like; just to get an idea what the normal day to day living looks like, but we didn’t get a chance to do that. It was really informative spending time with the realtor then our own exploring since we didn’t know anything about the area before we spent the day there.
 
Saturday 3/2/24
We were up a bit before 5 and put a few things away in the villa.

We went to the gym about 6. This is why we request this section, the big 24 hour fitness center. I was a bit disappointed to see several treadmills missing (assuming they stopped working and were being replaced).

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I took these pool pictures on the way back to the villa after the gym. We didn’t use the pool at this time, but I wanted to take pictures while it was empty to show the whole area. Each section of the resort has their own pool area, you can use any of them, but this one is the one right in the St Augustine section. The red curly water slide in the back is a lot of fun. There is a pirate ship with a little slide for kids and water squirting features on the ship. There is also a bar near the pool. There are plenty of lounge chairs. There is an area to pick up as many pool towels as you need as well as a place to drop off the wet/used ones when you are done.
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Back in the villa, we did most of our normal morning routine at Disney, did a load of laundry, used the jacuzzi, and got dressed. We skipped breakfast partly because the villa isn’t organized yet and partly because Scott had something in mind for an early lunch.
 
Saturday 3/2/24 Continued
We drove to Magic Kingdom. We like to start our trip with Magic Kingdom as the first park as it gets us right into that magical feeling of being at Disney World.
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We took a few cute pictures when we first arrived.
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When they tell us to hug, this is the new hug pose we’ve been using. The traditional hugging pictures we ended up looking weird so tried it this way and like it better.
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The photographer was being very artistic here - see Scott’s reflection in the sunglasses.

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This picture looks like a postcard but we’re there on the right bottom corner
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We rode the Carousel which is such a sweet ride that brings us back to being kids. Scott laughed at me since when we first were walking to choose our horses, I initially walked over to one of the interior/smaller horses. Scott said those are for kids so I moved to one of the regular size horses.
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There were a few people lined up to try to pull the sword out of the stone. We didn’t see anyone get the sword out, but since there were only a few people waiting, we joined in to try it and get the picture.
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Peter Pan was next and we always enjoy this.
 


Saturday 3/2/24 Continued
We were enjoying being at Magic Kingdom and taking pictures
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I like these pictures; I think they call them tiny world or something like that. I’m glad we found the Magic Kingdom version of this picture
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It was time for our ILL for TRON. I rode this last trip and wasn’t sure if I wanted to ride it again; I usually like roller coasters that aren’t too big and don’t flip over. I felt a little woozy after riding last time. Usually I have Scott ride something new first and let me know if he thinks I can ride it. But we rode TRON for the first time together last trip; I took a chance that I’d be OK.
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I wanted to give it another try. I was getting a bit nervous as we were about to board. I knew I wouldn’t like the bike seats and would feel claustrophobic so we asked for the regular seats instead. I enjoyed TRON so much more this time than last time. Maybe because I knew what to expect. The launch is still intense, but after that it’s a smooth coaster.
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We went on Carousel of Progress after TRON; mainly because I wanted a calm ride after the coaster.

It was time for our ILL for 7 Dwarves Mine Train but the LL lane was ridiculously long. It probably would have moved quickly but we knew we’ll be back here throughout the trip and we were hungry so we just skipped it.

We went to Casey’s for an early lunch around 11:45 since we skipped breakfast and were hungry.

We found a table easily and mobile ordered our food. We ordered a foot long hot dog for Scott with fries; corn dog nuggets with fries for me, and soda. Since we mobile ordered I couldn’t figure out how to remove the fries from one of the orders since we didn’t need two orders of fries. I probably could have ordered it that way at the counter, but the ease of mobile ordering won out so we had a lot of French fries. We enjoyed our meal and saw some of the castle show while we were eating.
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We walked around the park, browsing some shops and enjoying being there for a little bit longer.

We stopped at the Confectionary (candy store on Main Street) to get Scott a Mickey shaped chocolate chip cookie with dipped ears. He loved this cookie last trip and was excited to have it again.
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Saturday 3/2/24 Continued
We left the park, took the ferry to the TTC, then the tram to the parking lot. On our way back to the resort we stopped at Publix since we wanted to get a few items we forgot yesterday.

Once we got back to the villa, we finished unpacking and organizing. We ended up liking this more relaxed way of unpacking/organizing rather than rushing when we first arrive like we normally do.

Later that evening we drove to the Grand Floridian for our dinner reservation at Narcoossee’s. We went a little early planning to have pre-dinner cocktails at the bar first. We walked around the resort a little.

I got a kick out of how Scott sort of matches the pillow.
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I bought a lip balm at Basin. I’m addicted to lip balms; my current lip balm of choice is the CO Bigelow Lemon Lip balm. I have them all over the place and don’t go anywhere without one. I didn’t really like the basin lip balm as it wasn’t as smooth/silky as the one I like. It’s a good backup/emergency lip balm so I’ll eventually use it.

We saw a photographer doing the glass slipper pictures so we stopped for a picture.
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We headed towards Narcoossee’s strolling through the grounds towards the restaurant.
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Saturday 3/2/24 Continued
We went to Narcoossee’s and checked in early. We let them know we wanted to go to the bar, we didn’t want to be seated early, but just wanted to let them know we are there. We sat at the bar, ordered our drinks and get a text that our table is ready. The bartender told us to sit and relax, he’ll let them know we are enjoying our cocktails and would prefer to be seated at our reservation time (it was still early)

Scott had Maker’s Bourbon with a large ice cube and 2 orange slices. I had a White Sangria.
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Not even 5 minutes later the host comes to the bar to seat us. We paid the bar bill and went with the host to our table. I always take a picture of Scott holding the menu. He was sitting there holding the menu waiting for me to take a picture. I think I was flustered at the rush to get seated that I didn’t even realize. He was laughing since I was so clueless not realizing he was waiting for me to take the picture.
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The bread is really good, crispy on the outside, soft and warm inside.
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As we like to do, we shared our food.

For an appetizer we ordered the Ocean Charcuterie. This was just OK.
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Close up picture of the different items on the charcuterie board.

Octopus
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Ahi Tuna pastrami
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Lobster Sausage
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For an entree we ordered the Blackened Redfish. This was exceptional. Other than the sauce on top that we pushed off, we practically licked the plate clean.
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We also ordered the butter poached lobster tail enhancement. This was very good too.
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For dessert we had the Almond Crusted Cheesecake. This was delicious.
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Other than the appetizer being just OK, everything else was delicious. We enjoyed our meal at Narcoossee’s.
 


Saturday 3/2/24 Continued
After dinner we went back to Magic Kingdom.

Fireworks were at 8 and we were in the park maybe 7:45. We went to the train station thinking we could ride around the park, but the train stops at 6. The lady who told us that said we should stay up here since we’ll have a great view of the fireworks. We sat on a bench to wait/watch. It was really nice to watch without being shoulder to shoulder in a crowd of people. I was surprised that we were able to get a seat up there just 15 minutes before the fireworks started.
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We went to Haunted Mansion next. The LL line looked long but it moved very quickly. Eventually we’ll figure out how to not look so silly in the ride photo. This was the first time we saw the hatbox ghost.
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We rode Pirates of the Caribbean next.
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The park has such a different vibe at night with everything lit up.

We headed out of the park and drove back to the resort. I’m not sure how it broke but the glove compartment in the car broke. I was trying to open it and the handle thing pulled out but the glove compartment didn’t open. We weren’t going to worry about it tonight. Scott can fix anything so I expect he’ll tinker with it and get it fixed before we drive home.

When we got back to the villa, we started watching the movie Hotel Transylvania. We’ve seen it before and lately when we’re at Disney we’ll always put it on. We don’t watch the whole thing at once but will put it on to wind down at the end of the day. We usually do that with a movie or a series we’ll binge watch. There are 4 movies in the Hotel Transylvania series so we’ll be watching this for several nights this trip,
 
Joining in! I always enjoy your dining reports so am happy to see you over here! Your room looks great at Vistana. :)
 
Following along! It sounds like you had a great first day, starting at MK!
Thank you. Yes, starting at MK is ideal as it gets us right into the magical feeling of being at Disney World. On our last trip (Sept/Oct 2023) we started our trip with a 4 park challenge our first park day and MK was the 4th of 4 parks.
 
Joining in! I always enjoy your dining reports so am happy to see you over here! Your room looks great at Vistana. :)
Hi. Thank you for joining. The dining reports are fun to do too; they take less time than the regular trip report since it’s just about the food. I know many people knock timeshares, but I am very glad we have it.
 
Sunday 3/3/24
We went to the gym at 5:45. Back in the villa after our workout, we did most of our normal morning routine of laundry, jacuzzi, showers. We skipped breakfast again planning to either snack at festival booths or find something to eat for an early lunch at the park.

We drove to Epcot. There were long lines at the tapstiles to enter the park that weren’t moving. Suddenly, they started to move very quickly and everyone clapped.

It was a bit drizzly/overcast out so there weren’t as many photographers out as there usually is
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It was quickly time for Scott’s ILL for Guardian’s of the Galaxy, I found a bench to wait as I can’t go on that ride. When Scott came out he said it was his best ride yet on Guardian’s of the Galaxy, he even mentioned he had the song “One Way or Another.”
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We found a photographer taking photos with this topiary so we stopped.
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We rode Figment’s ride then waited to meet/have pictures taken with Figment. I was wearing a shirt with Figment on it, it was cute how he pointed to himself on my shirt. We have had great character interaction with Figment both today and on prior visits.
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Sunday 3/3/24 Continued
We walked into World Showcase. We enjoy walking and World Showcase is a great place to do that.
I may have some of the pictures out of order from the countries.
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When it was time for us to ride Remy, the attraction was down. We hung out waiting for maybe 10 minutes and it opened back up and we were able to ride. Some of the effects seemed a bit off. It was still a good ride and if it was your first time riding you wouldn’t notice, but we both commented on a few things that were different.
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We continued strolling around World Showcase stopping for pictures here and there. The weather was starting to get a little better now. I think we did two loops around World Showcase.
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Sunday 3/3/24 Continued
We were hungry and wanted to see if there was any availability at Shika-Sai in Japan. We checked at the outside checkin area and the woman said we could be seated in about 10 minutes and took my cell phone number. Thinking back, I probably should have used the app to join the walk up list.
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I received a text in 10 minutes (as she said we would) that our table was ready.

While I always take a picture of Scott with the menu, he took one of me this time too.
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I had a Sake Sangria which was light and refreshing. Scott tried to order Bombay Sapphire but the waitress didn’t understand what he wanted so he went with a Coke.
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We shared our food.

The dragon roll was really good. We both enjoyed it.
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The Unagi-don was fantastic. We had this last trip and raved about it; it was still just as good.
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Neither of us liked the Golden Philadelphia roll. Scott likes Philadelphia rolls when we have sushi at home, but the spicy mayo on the top permeated the flavor of the whole roll. Even wiping it off, the taste remained.
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While we didn’t like the Golden Philadelphia roll, everything else was great.

I remember the first time we came here (fall 2023) part of the information about the restaurant mentioned it changing with the seasons. I don’t remember the menu looking any different now than it did in the fall. I didn’t specifically look for anything seasonal and we ordered some of the same items we had our last trip. We enjoyed our meal at Shika-Sai.
 
Sunday 3/3/24 Continued
When it was time for us to ride Frozen, the LL line looked really long, it was outside. The cast member said it should only take 15 minutes; we were on our boat in 8 (I checked to keep track). I don’t like rides where you get wet; Frozen usually was just a sprinkle so I was OK with it. This time, poor Scott got very wet; his shorts were soaked.
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After our ride, we continued walking around World Showcase just enjoying the walk, browsing the shops and countries, stopping for pictures, basically just enjoying being together on vacation.
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When we were ready to leave the park, I looked for the picture I like “Little World” (or something like that) but it still wasn’t set up due to the weather.
 
Sunday 3/3/24 Continued
We left Epcot and headed back to Vistana Villages. I think Scott took a quick nap and I poked around on the computer.

We showered and changed for the evening then drove to the Boardwalk for our dinner reservation at Trattoria Al Forno.

We went a little early. We wanted to play some of the Boardwalk carnival games but they were closed due to the weather.

We also went early to enjoy pre-dinner cocktails at Abracadabar so we got ourselves settled there. Scott had Bombay Sapphire with Olives. I had Hoodunit’s Punch; this is my favorite cocktail of the trip.
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We were seated on time at Trattoria Al Forno.
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The bread is cute. I kind of like these little mini rolls rather than the small loaf of bread they used to give you.
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As usual we shared our food.

We had Polpette (meatballs)
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We also had the Bianca pizza; this is an off-menu item we found out about last trip and tried and really liked. We were happy to have it again. The presentation was a bit different this trip, we actually preferred this new way rather than the prior way where the ricotta was more in blobs on the pizza instead of spread out.
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We skipped dessert as we had something else in mind
 
Sunday 3/3/24 Continued
We drove to Disney Springs. We wanted to pick up a few things that we would bring back to the villa to snack on throughout the trip. We wandered around a bit.

We went to Summer House cookie bar. Everything looked so good. We got a blondie and a lemon cookie; both were wrapped up to bring back.
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We went to Everglazed and got 4 donuts. I like how each is in it’s own box so they don’t get all smushed/their icing mingling as it would if they were in one big box.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch
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Strawberry Glazed - this ended up being my favorite of these 4. I liked that it was more plain than the others without as much frosting/icing/stuff on it. The donut itself is really good so it doesn’t need a much stuff on it.
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Fruity Pebbles
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Cookies & Cream. This was Scott’s favorite of the donuts.
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We drove back to the resort to put our treats away. We were too full to eat any tonight.
 
Wow. I admire your dedication to the gym. Just doing Disney is enough for me most days. Your trip is off to a great start!!!
 
Love your reports! We just returned from a trip to the the west coast, driving from Rhode Island. Our thoughts were like yours. Looking at possible retirement spots. I laughed when you mentioned the AAA trip tics! We used it also. We liked having the maps plus we wanted to make sure we avoided the GW bridge. We prefer using the Tappen Zee . Looking forward to the rest of your trip. We will be heading
back for a few days at Boardwalk in May
 
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