Trip Report - March/April 2022

[Noreen411]

Following along. Enjoying your report!
That Residence Inn did look very nice. I wish we were within driving distance of WDW. Living in Colorado is just too far away! But I'd much rather drive and set our own schedule as you say, especially with all the delays that have been going on with the airlines.
Vistana Villages looks nice as well. We usually stay on property for a few days then move over to Windsor Hills as we enjoy the extra space as well!
Sounds like a fun trip so far! Looking forward to hearing more!

Hi
Thank you for commenting/following.

I agree - that’s a bit too long of a road trip - LOL. But you can probably drive to DisneyLand?

I used to do split stays like that where we would do some time on property then move to the timeshare, but as I’m getting older, and knowing how much we pack, I just want to unpack and get settled once. Sometimes I miss it though.

Noreen

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 3/23/22:
Scott went to the gym at 5. I didn’t go until 6:15 today.
I paused my workout briefly just before 7 to buy Genie Plus for today and at 7 made our first selection for Soarin from 9:15-10:15

Back in the villa our regular routine of bath, shower, laundry, and breakfast.

While pulling into the parking lot at Epcot I was able to get an Individual Lightening Lane for Remy for 11:30-12:30 as the park just opened.

When we entered the park we took a few pictures. How fun are these photopass magic shots?




We walked right onto Soarin at probably 10 (after taking the pictures by the entrance) and as soon as we tapped in, I booked Living with the Land for 10:15-11:15. We enjoyed our ride on Soarin. When we walked right over to Living with the Land there was not a long wait for standby, but we didn’t have to wait at all with Genie. We tapped in then booked our next attraction for Figment.

Scott had me laughing when he mistakenly called Figment the wrong name - he called him Fitbit


Figment didn’t have a long line either but we tapped in and got right on and booked the Seas with Nemo. It’s been interesting that we’ll tap into one attraction and when we’re booking the next one the time available is pretty much right away. That’s great when it works that way. But these also aren’t the headliner attractions so that’s a factor.


We enjoyed our ride with “Fitbit” and in the store Scott amused me by letting me take his picture holding a Figment and wearing Figment ears.



We headed over to the Seas with Nemo and got right on.

Our timing luck with Genie ran out and once we tapped in, we didn’t book something else immediately as the times didn’t work.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 3/23/22 - Continued:
It was just about time for our ILL at Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure so we headed into World Showcase.


When we got near the attraction there was a huge line so we’re glad we had the ILL and were able to get right on. This is an adorable attraction. When we were walking through the queue we booked Spaceship Earth for 12:45-1:45.



The Flower & Garden festival is going on at Epcot. There are a lot of great topiaries. There are also food booths similar to what you see at the Food and Wine Festival in the fall.

We stopped at the Isla Fresca booth and tried a cheese arepa, a shrimp arepa, and a tres leches cake. We shared everything and were pleasantly surprised. It was pretty good.




We walked around World Showcase and Scott took a picture of me with a Mickey Topiary. I was surprised not to see the photopass photographers here.



We stopped in the Creations shop and bought a cute Figment hoodie. There was a huge line to checkout so we did mobile checkout which was super quick and easy.

It was time for us to go on Spaceship Earth so we headed over there. While we were on, the attraction kept stopping. We were laughing since during one of the times it stopped and was quiet (the soundtrack shut for a bit too) someone was sleeping and snoring really loudly.

We continued enjoying Epcot but I‘m not sure exactly what we did the rest of the afternoon.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 3/23/22 - Continued:
We drove to the Yacht Club where we had dinner reservations at Yachtsman’s Steakhouse. We went a little early to have a drink at the Crews Cup Bar first.

Scott had a Martini. I had a Regatta - this was a special off the menu drink the bartender made me since they were out of an ingredient for the first drink I picked.



We checked in with the restaurant host and let them know we were there and at the bar. They came to get us at our reservation time to seat us. While at the bar I booked Frozen for 7:25-8:25



We skipped ordering an appetizer tonight. We’ve had the tuna tartare here before and it’s one of the best ones we’ve had but unfortunately, it’s not on the menu anymore.

The onion pull apart rolls are delicious. We both enjoyed them and finished our little bread basket.



For dinner we shared both the filet with fries as well as the mushroom dumplings. Scott also ordered a side of Mac & cheese. He gets Mac & cheese whenever he sees it. This was too much food. We probably should have just stuck with the filet and fries. The mushroom dumplings were good but just too much food. Maybe we filled up too much on those delicious onion rolls.







For dessert we shared the strawberry shortcake. This was a nice light dessert to end the heavy meal.



We enjoyed our dinner.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 3/23/22 - Continued:
We walked to Epcot from the Yacht Club then walked over to Norway as we were in our time window for our ride on Frozen. There was a long line but with Genie we walked right on.


We went on the Mexico Boat ride next - this is always cute.

We continued walking around World Showcase just enjoying being there.






After looping around World Showcase, we walked back to the Yacht Club, then drove back to Vistana Villages.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

I‘m loving your magic shot pictures. Very fun!

 

[BellaBaby]

We have driven to DL, but WDW has our heart. We enjoy the 4 parks much more.
I admire you both for sticking to your workout routine! I recently lost some weight as well. I found that all the walking in WDW on our early June trip was enough to handle the richer meals. So I was super happy about that!

 

[Mary Pops In]

Monday 3/21/22 - Continued:
We took the Friendship Boat (I think that’s what it’s called) from the Polynesian to the Magic Kingdom.
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Walking down Main Street we posed for a few pictures. I really like the photopass pictures, especially the magic shots.
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We have several attractions stacked with genie and were able to go on them in quick succession. Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Pirates. It was great to be able to walk right on everything.

We don’t look that happy in the picture, I’m not sure what we were looking at. But we were having a great time enjoying the attraction.
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We went in the Tiki Room show - always cute.

We headed out of the park then stopping in some of the shops on the way out.

We took the boat back to the Polynesian and watched the Electric Light Parade as we were waiting.

Since we were only able to make park reservations for 5 days with the annual pass, now that it’s the end of the day, I was able to book the next one while we were on the boat.

We stopped at Captain Cooks (the quick service place) and mobile ordered a coffee for Scott.

We drove back to Vistana Villages and watched a bit more of Transylvania.

You fit quite a bit into your first Disney day! I've always been an Ohana breakfast fan. After your review for dinner, I won't be booking dinner anytime soon. Sometimes I think we should just eat dessert and skip the entree.

 

[Noreen411]

I‘m loving your magic shot pictures. Very fun!

Thank you

 

[Noreen411]

We have driven to DL, but WDW has our heart. We enjoy the 4 parks much more.
I admire you both for sticking to your workout routine! I recently lost some weight as well. I found that all the walking in WDW on our early June trip was enough to handle the richer meals. So I was super happy about that!

The workout routine has become something we both enjoy and makes us feel so much better about the day knowing we started off with a workout, especially when we’re trying various sweets and/or those heavy meals. I agree plenty of walking at Disney so maybe we’re overdoing it. I’m worried that it could become a cycle of skipping the routine, eating more, and watching the pounds pile back on (I don’t have much willpower when you put something really yummy in front of me).

 

[Noreen411]

You fit quite a bit into your first Disney day! I've always been an Ohana breakfast fan. After your review for dinner, I won't be booking dinner anytime soon. Sometimes I think we should just eat dessert and skip the entree.

We used to be real park commandos from open to close, but we’ve started to slow it down a bit and try to enjoy what we’re doing more. We’ll still run around as we enjoy doing it, but we’re appreciating taking some time for things like swimming and/or slowing down sometimes.

I was so excited to get the O’Hana dinner reservation since it’s often hard to find. But we were disappointed and won’t be rushing back. That bread pudding though…delicious. We came back to Tambu Lounge several times just for the bread pudding. I read that there are other places that have bread pudding (maybe not exactly the same one) that we may try during our next trip.

I remember reading a trip report where a writer would have a day where dessert (maybe a Ghirardelli Ice Cream Sundae) was dinner. Sounds like a good plan to me too.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 3/24/22:
We went to the gym around 6.

Back in the villa, it was our normal routine of bath, shower, laundry, and breakfast. I know it sounds so boring and predictable.

I was able to get an Individual Lightening Lane (ILL) for Seven Dwarves MineTrain. I chose midday (probably around noon) but when the transaction completed it ended up later tonight.

We drove to Magic Kingdom. It started pouring while we were on the ferry from the TTC.


We stopped at Guest Services about the ILL issue with the time changing to so much later. The cast member was so nice; he mentioned it’s a problem that happens sometimes. With the rain he wasn’t sure if the attraction would run so changed the time on it to anytime so we could try to go on when the rain slowed down.

We posed for a picture near the castle.


This didn’t seem like the normal Florida rain where it pours for 10 minutes then the sun comes out. It would pour, then slow down, then pour, etc.

We went to Buzz which had an hour wait. Even with umbrellas and me in a poncho we didn’t feel like standing that long in the rain (part of the queue was outside)

I’m pretty sure we went on Carousel of Progress. We always like this and when they sing the chorus, I have to sing along and bop my head back and forth. We will move all the way across the row and sit near the end where most people stop in the middle so nobody but Scott had to hear my off-key singing.

I’m pretty sure we did a few other indoor attractions.

When the rain slowed down a bit we headed over to Seven Dwarves Mine Train. Even though these are terrible pictures of us from the ride I’m including them since they made me laugh. We’re being pelted with rain as we’re riding so can’t help but make funny faces - LOL. Feel free to laugh at our expense.



After walking around some more, we decided to head out and go to Disney Springs.

We picked up our annual pass magnets.

We don’t normally eat a big lunch; we don’t normally have alcoholic drinks during the day; but we did both today. We walked over to the Boathouse, sat at the bar, and had lunch.

I had the cutest drink - Duck Duck Razz (the blue one with the little floating duck). Scott must have had a gin & tonic; I didn’t write it down, but the picture doesn’t look like a martini. My drink was really good.



We shared our food.

We started with some Sea of Cortez Shrimp - really good. Super fresh tasting.


Scott had a few oysters. I don’t like oysters but he enjoyed them.


We shared the tuna poke. We both enjoyed this.


We also ordered the filet sliders. We were torn between the tuna or the sliders and the bartender said they are both small and since we’re sharing he recommended we get both. These were good too. But probably too much food and we should have just gotten one or the other (the tuna or the sliders).


If we weren’t full enough already, we ordered the key lime in a mason jar. I don’t think we can make a fair assessment; it was good, but we were too full to enjoy it.


We walked around Disney Springs some more after lunch.

Later we headed back to Vistana Villages. I think we watched a movie.

Before we knew it, it was time to shower and change for dinner.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 3/24/22 - Continued:
We picked up Mike and Donna from their hotel and drove to the Dolphin for our dinner reservation at Shula’s. We valet parked.

Scott and Michael each had a martini. Donna had seltzer. I had Sprite. I’m a wimpy drinker and after my duck drink this afternoon I stuck with soda for dinner tonight.


How cute is the block with knives to choose from?



For appetizers each couple shared the tuna tartare (two orders - one for each couple) so just one picture since it looked the same. We recommended this to them since we know it’s really good. The little chips that it comes with are a bit different but unexpectedly goes really well. We all enjoyed this.




Scott and I also shared the neuske bacon appetizer. I thought it was a bit too fatty, but Scott liked it.



Mike and Donna also shared the crab cake appetizer that they both enjoyed.



The bread was also really good.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 3/24/22 - Continued:
For our entree Scott and I shared the Cobia. And Scott ordered Mac & Cheese.
When the Cobia arrived we knew something was wrong, it smelled really fishy. We took a taste and it wasn’t good. They handled it really well and replaced it for us with salmon. The salmon was much better.



The Mac and cheese was very good according to Scott. It tasted fine to me, but I’m not a huge Mac & Cheese fan.


Mike & Donna shared the Prime Rib. We encouraged them to share as we know it’s huge and wanted to make sure they saved room for dessert.


For dessert each couple ordered a chocolate soufflé. Just one set of pictures of the soufflé since they looked the same. OMG this is so good.



After dinner we walked around the Boardwalk. We played some of the carnival games. Scott won a stuffed shark.


We watched performers on the Boardwalk who did a cute show with jump ropes.

We got the car from the valet, dropped Mike and Donna at their hotel, and headed back to Vistana Villages.

Mike & Donna will spend some time at Universal, Kayaking, golfing, etc. We’ll meet back up with them later in the trip to enjoy some park time together.

 

[Noreen411]

Friday 3/25/22:
We went to the gym at about 5:30

We bought GeniePlus right before 7 and at 7 made our first selection for Smuggler’s Run.

Back in the villa our normal morning routine of bath, shower, laundry, and breakfast.

We drove over to Hollywood Studios. We headed towards the Star Wars section.


We tapped into Smuggler’s Run just after 10. Once we tapped in we booked Toy Story Mania. Smuggler’s Run was a fun attraction. We both enjoyed it.

We stopped for a few pictures.







We stopped at Woody’s Lunch Box. I wanted to get the Pop Tarts. The choices were raspberry and the other one was banana/peanut butter (I think). We wrapped them up (we brought a ziploc baggie for this) and put them in Scott’s bag for later. By the time I took the picture they were a little crushed. They are good, not as sweet as the boxed Pop Tarts from the supermarket. I preferred the raspberry one.





We went on the Alien Saucers attraction. The standby wait said 40 minutes and it was accurate, we timed it.

We also went into the Disney History and saw the preview for Turning Red which looks cute.

When it was time for our Toy Story Mania ride, we headed over but the attraction was down. They put an anytime return pass into the app for us for various rides, but not surprisingly it excluded all the really good rides.

We decided to head out of the park



We stopped at Publix (a grocery store) for a few items and headed back to Vistana Villages.

We went swimming. The pool in the section near our villa was packed so we drove to one of the pools in one of the other sections of the resort.

Later we headed back to the villa to shower and change for the evening.

 

[Noreen411]

Friday 3/25/22 - Continued:
We drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our dinner reservation at Jiko.



I had the African Star Mojito and Scott had the Kanu Old Fashioned. I’m enjoying trying the special cocktails at the different restaurants.



We shared all our food.

For appetizers we got the duck pizza. This was good but a little spicy.



We also got the scallops. Interesting flavors with different spices. We enjoyed this.



There were two different types of bread. I didn’t note what they were but they were good.


We shared the filet which came with Mac & cheese and cauliflower. They split the plate for us so this is just half the order. This was really good. We’ve been eating cauliflower at home so the different color cauliflower was interesting.


Scott also ordered the special Mac & cheese. He liked it a lot. I didn’t like it.



For dessert we shared the chocolate Kilimanjaro. This was good but probably the weakest dish of the meal. It wasn’t bad, it’s just that everything else was so good.



They also brought us little jelly candies.



We both enjoyed Jiko a lot and will definitely look to come back again. Even sharing our food we had some leftovers to bring back.

We browsed through the shop in the resort.

Our original plan had us heading to either Magic Kingdom or back to Hollywood Studios after dinner, but we decided to just go back to Vistana Villagers instead and watch a movie.

 

[starousse]

Loving your review and your choices of restaurants. All of my favorites.

 

[Noreen411]

Loving your review and your choices of restaurants. All of my favorites.

Thank you for the kind words.

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 3/26/22:
We both went to the gym at 5:45

After our workouts, our normal routine of bath, shower, and laundry. We skipped breakfast today planning to have an early lunch at Disney Springs.

We went to the 8am Owner’s Update at the resort. The timeshare which is a Sheraton property is merging with Marriott so they were supposed to explain how it will work. Of course it ends up being more of a sales pitch to buy more points in the merged setup. We were considering adding on as we really like the timeshare. The first person said we could take some time to decide and call him later. We were pleasantly surprised at the low pressure pitch. Then a manager comes over to close things out and he basically said we need to decide now or the offer will change. My response was “OK forget it then”. And we left. I don’t know why I bother going to these things. We don’t go all the time but every few trips we’ll go thinking they are going to explain something new to us.

We headed to Disney Springs and put our name in the virtual queue at Gideon’s.

We did some shopping.

At the Days of Christmas store we were disappointed not the see the normal annual ornament. They had a big 2022 Mickey ball ornament so we got that and a few other ornaments.

At CoOp I found the smaller cross body Dooney & Bourke bag that matches my larger one that I got during our last trip. I love my larger one, use it all the time, and get tons of compliments on it. It’s Disney but not too over the top. If you don’t look closely you won’t even realize it’s Disney themed.

This picture is from our Sept 21 trip when Scott first bought me the larger D&B bag:


This is the smaller D&B bag:


At World of Disney I found a few more shirts that I liked.

We had lunch at Earl of Sandwich. Scott had the Italian. I had the Original. We both had soda. I haven’t been at Earl of Sandwich in ages. This was Scott’s first time trying it. It was really good. Scott’s asked why we haven’t come here sooner.





We headed back to Gideon’s and got 12 more cookies including 3 of the Coffee Cake cookie which there were only maybe 10 left of. It was cute how they kept announcing how many of them were left. After we bought our 3, there were only maybe 3 more left.


We headed back to Vistana Villages to freeze the cookies then went swimming. I’m pretty sure we left one of the coffee Cake cookies in the refrigerator rather than freezing so we could try it.

We showered and changed for the evening. We picked up Jillian and drove to Icon Park where we were meeting Dana, Herman and the rest of their family (Aaron, Sara, and Ariel). It was super crowded.

We wandered around a bit. We were originally planing to have dinner at Yardhouse but there was a 2.5 hour wait. We ended up at Outback where they were able to seat us immediately.

Scott had a chicken sandwich and I had salmon. I don’t remember what everyone else had except Dana who had a cookie skillet for her dinner. We had a nice time hanging out with everyone.



This next picture was taken with some camera type thing Herman had that spun around. I don’t remember what he said it was but it’s kind of cute and different than the normal pictures.



After dinner Dana, Herman and the kids headed home, they live in Florida. We drove Jillian back to her place then we went to the Polynesian to the Tambu Lounge.

I had white sangria and Scott had a martini.



And we had the bread pudding. This is so good.




We headed back to Vistana Villages

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 3/27/22:
We were in the gym at 6.

I paused my workout at 6:45 and was on the phone with Donna walking her through buying Genie Plus. We were meeting Mike & Donna today.

At 7 I was able to book our first attraction for Smuggler’s Run for the 4 of us for 11:30-12:30. Once I saw I can do it for all 4 of us it was so much easier than the original plan we had where we would both be trying to get our attractions to line up.

Once that was squared away, I continued my workout. We had our normal morning routine of bath, shower, laundry, and breakfast.

We drove to Hollywood Studios and met Mike & Donna.

We waited to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad about an hour, We were catching up with them so the wait went pretty quickly.

We headed towards the Star Wars section next.





We went on Smuggler’s Run when our window opened and once tapped in I made our next selection for Toy Story. We all enjoyed Smuggler’s Run.

Scott & Mike were going to do the single rider line at Rock N Roller Coaster but it was closed so they were back quickly.

We went on Star Tours - this is always a fun ride.

We went on Toy Story. While my score is always low, I always enjoy this attraction.

I don’t remember what else we did at Hollywood Studios, but I was able to get an ILL for Remy’s Ratatoulle Adventure. We left Hollywood Studios and drove to Epcot.




We had a little time before Remy so went on Living with the Land and Nemo





We wandered around the park just enjoying ourselves.

We headed to France but Remy was having technical difficulties

We walked around World Showcase, left the park, and took the monorail to the Grand Floridian.