Trip Report - March/April 2025

[Noreen411]

Friday 3/21/25 Continued
We arrived at the Resort, Vistana Villages, about 6:30. As owners we go to a special area to check in which is kind of nice. By the time we chatted with the lady checking us in and made our way over to our villa it was about 7.

We were in the St Augustine Section, Building 25, room 25-401. This is the smaller one bedroom. We prefer the corner smaller one bedrooms rather than the ones in the middle of the building since we like the layout of the room better. My preference is always the larger one bedroom but that wasn’t available this trip; Scott prefers the smaller one bedroom.


When you first walk in there is a little hallway that leads to the living room area which has a couch, chair, table, dresser (this was Scott’s dresser) with a TV on it, little footstool/ottomans that open up with storage inside and the tops can flip to the hard side like a little TV table or the soft side.



The closet in the living room area has a vacuum, iron, broom, laundry basket, etc.


Further into the room is the kitchen area which has the basic things like fridge, microwave, toaster, dishwasher, it has a stovetop but not an oven. There are all sorts of pots and pans, silverware, basically whatever you need to cook with. There is a table with 4 chairs.



Behind the table in the kitchen is the door to the screened in balcony with a small table and 2 chairs.



There is a hallway leading towards the bedroom but before getting to the bedroom, on one side is the stackable washer/dryer behind a door (kind of in a closet)



Directly across from the washer/dryer is the bathroom. It’s not huge, but it’s self contained which we like. The tub is a jacuzzi tub. The sink has a few drawers as well as a shelf space for storage.



When you make your way into the bedroom, there are nightstands on either side of the bed, a bed with drawers, a dresser (this was my dresser) with a TV on it, and a chair. There is also a closet in the bedroom which has a safe in it.







We did a bit of cleaning in the room and started unpacking.

 

[Noreen411]

Friday 3/21/25
We were getting hungry so we headed out for dinner. While in the car I made a reservation for Yachtsman’s Steakhouse for 9pm so we drove over to the Yacht Club.

We went to the Crews Cup Lounge for pre-dinner cocktails. Scott had a Martini. Even though it wasn’t on the current menu, the bartender was able to make me the Key Lime Pie martini that used to be on their menu. It tastes just like drinking a key lime pie


The bartender checked us in for our dinner reservation and they came to get us to seat us right on time. My first comment to Scott was how nice it was to have comfortable chairs when we’re out to dinner.


The pull apart onion rolls are the best rolls/bread at Disney; who am I kidding probably the best rolls ever. I’m sure the other rolls in the basket are fine too, but we stick with those onion pull apart rolls.


We had the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer. This was good but not as good as it’s been in the past. I also would prefer the sauce on the side to dip.


I ordered something different than my usual dish here and went with the Pork Duo. This was really good; better than expected good.


Scott ordered the filet with French fries. That’s my usual go-to here (except I get it without sauce on it) and he ordered it just in case I didn’t like the pork dish and wanted to switch.


Scott also wanted the Mac & cheese side. It’s very good here, even I’ll eat some and I’m not a huge Mac & cheese fan.


For dessert we had the chocolate cake. This is really good too, it’s not too sweet.


We enjoyed our meal at Yachtsman's’ Steakhouse and had plenty of leftovers that we brought back.

We did some more unpacking.

We put on Hotel Transylvania to watch. We’ve seen it before. We seem to put it on whenever we’re at Disney and will watch the various Hotel Transylvania movies throughout the trip when winding down at night. Whenever we put it on, it just feels like Disney to us.

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 3/22/25
We went to the gym around 6. There were people in the gym so we couldn’t take pictures today, but will later in the trip when we’re there and it’s empty. That’s kind of surprising since we’re often the only ones in the gym. We purposely choose this section (St Augustine) since it has a large 24 hour gym.

The pool was pretty empty this morning so I took a picture of it. It’s a nice sized pool. The ship in the middle has a little slide and things for kids, but that red water slide in the back is great for adults.


Since we haven’t gone to Publix yet, we picked up Sausage, Egg, and Cheese biscuits from the MarketPlace for breakfast along with our Starbucks beverages. The Marketplace opens at 7 and serves Starbucks, not every single Starbucks item but most of them. We brought our breakfast to our villa to eat.


We did our normal morning routine at Disney of laundry, jacuzzi, showers, then getting dressed. This morning we had a few chores to do before heading to the park. We went to Publix, then finished unpacking and organizing the villa. It was kind of nice to do it this morning rather than our usual rush the night we arrive.

We headed to Magic Kingdom. We like to start our trip with Magic Kingdom as the first park since it gets us right into that magical feeling.



We stopped in the Confectionary on Main Street to get Scott his favorite cookie, the Mickey shaped chocolate chip cookie with dipped ears. We were disappointed that his beloved cookie wasn’t there. They had a different version of it with Snickers pieces on it so he got that one.


We stopped for the picture with the statue



Walking up Main Street we continued to stop for different photographers. I really like the Magic Shots and the fact that we can be in the pictures together.



This picture is always one I like, it looks like it could be a postcard, but we’re in the pictures together near the bottom right

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 3/22/25 Continued
Our first attraction was Peter Pan, this is always such a sweet nostalgic ride.


We did something we’ve talked about but never seem to get around to doing…we took the raft over to Tom Sawyer Island. This was great, we had so much fun just exploring and wandering through the different areas.







The rocking chairs were a nice way to take a little break and just enjoy being there.


I can see how this is a great place for kids to have a chance to run around and blow off steam without having to stand in lines.

We took the raft back over as it was time for us to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This is always fun. There are normally 2 different pictures but only one of them showed up. We even went to the picture area later looking for it, but for a period of time they only had this picture showing so it wasn’t just us but anyone who rode around that time.

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 3/22/25 Continued
We continued stopping for some pictures



We also continued the trend of doing something we talk about but don’t normally find the time to do…we took a ride on the Liberty Belle



It was time for Haunted Mansion. We really like this attraction. I say it each time, but we always look so goofy in the ride picture.



And I almost always manage to hitchhike using the wrong hand with the ghost


We stopped at Big Top Treats and Scott was very happy since they had his favorite cookie here.

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 3/22/25 Continued
It was time for us to ride TRON.



Now that I know what to expect with the fast launch, I enjoy the ride. We both like it. I know people complain it’s too short, but it’s just the right amount of time for me.



I am pretty sure we went on Carousel of Progress after TRON. I like to do something nice and calm after the coaster. We always go to the end of the row so we can sing along with the chorus without annoying anyone.



We stopped for a few more pictures.


We headed out of the park a little after 7. I liked these pictures of Scott on the ferry with the sun setting.

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 3/22/25 Continued
We drove over to the Boardwalk for dinner at Trattoria al Forno. We went a bit early to walk around the Boardwalk and to have pre-dinner cocktails at Abracadabar.

Scott had a Martini and I had Hoodunit’s Punch.


We were seated at Trattoria al Forno just a little after our reservation time, but that was fine, we were having a nice time at Abracadabar.


We had the fried calamari appetizer. This was good, crispy but not greasy.


The bread is cute, but I would prefer regular butter rather than the dipping sauce.


Scott had the shrimp pappardelle which he enjoyed.


I had the off-menu Bianca pizza. This was great.


We had leftovers. We skipped dessert since we had something else in mind for dessert.

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 3/22/25 Continued
We went to the Cake Bake Shop bakery to get dessert to go.




Scott got a cappuccino which he loved.

We ordered the Raspberry Champagne cake which we tried once back at the villa. Scott didn’t like the cake at all and pulled out his Mickey Mouse cookie instead. We ended up tossing the cake, the cake part had a weird almost wet texture. It was pretty but we didn’t like it. Next time we’ll try a different flavor.

 

[rdkeim]

Caught up! I enjoy following along both the pre-Disney and Disney. Your offsite place looks so nice and roomy. Much better than a small hotel room. My sister and I are planning a trip in lateFeb/early Mar. I'll be watching for some tips we can use!

 

[Noreen411]

Caught up! I enjoy following along both the pre-Disney and Disney. Your offsite place looks so nice and roomy. Much better than a small hotel room. My sister and I are planning a trip in lateFeb/early Mar. I'll be watching for some tips we can use!

Hi. Thank you for the vote of confidence for both our pre-Disney and Disney info; I enjoy including it all since those are the types of reports I enjoy (the whole trip) and it’s great for me to go back later on an re-read helping to relive the trip. Vistana, and Vistana Villages, are great resorts, we really like having the extra space over a standard hotel room. I hope you find some helpful tips in my rambling

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 3/23/25
Scott went to the gym about 6 and I followed at about 6:30. Once again there were other people in the gym so no pictures yet.

For breakfast, Scott made mini filet sandwiches with our leftovers from Yachtsman’s Steakhouse using those onion pull apart rolls. This was a great breakfast, I can’t believe I forgot to take a picture of it.

We did our normal morning routine of laundry, jacuzzi, showers, before getting dressed to head to the park.

We went to Epcot.


Of course we posed for my favorite type of picture. I like that they have a picture of the type of picture you are taking. Usually there is a bit of a line, but it was just us. I asked if we could do two poses.



It seems like certain characters show up a lot in Magic shots during certain times of the year. Figment lately seems to be in pictures year-round, not complaining, we love Figment, just an observation.


It was almost time for Soarin, so we headed to the Land Pavilion. Since we still had a little time we watched the Awesome Planet show. It was nice to sit in the comfortable theater for the movie, it was not crowded.

Soon we were riding Soarin which we both enjoyed.

We went to the Seas with Nemo next. This is cute, not a big headliner type of attraction but a cute ride.


We went through the Moana Water Journey. We’ve walked through a few times and our thoughts are still the same, when it’s hot out it’s super hot in here, while the concept is good, we don’t love it. There are some cute picture opportunities though.

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 3/23/25 Continued
The topiaries are so amazing. We stopped for a picture with the Figment topiary.


And a magic shot with Figment in the background. We asked about the Pig and were told that while the pig was a minor character in the Moana movie, so many people kept asking about him/her, that they started making the pig more available for pictures and other things.



Orange bird is another character that made a comeback in recent years too. For a while you never heard of him, but now he’s popular again too.



We enjoy walking/wandering so headed into World Showcase. Right near the beginning they were taking cute pictures on a bench so we stopped.



Since we enjoy walking we’ll usually do a few laps around World Showcase stopping for pictures and/or attractions. My pictures always end up a bit out of order when we’re circling world showcase.

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 3/23/25 Continued
Continuing around World Showcase, we love to find new pictures


In France on the little bridge this picture of Scott drawing is one of my favorites.



How could we not love Snow White and the Seven Dwarves topiaries




It was time for us to ride Remy. This may sound controversial, and I don’t mean to be. They started doing a single rider line for Remy. In general I think single rider lines are a great way to fill in otherwise empty seats. However, Remy doesn’t have actual “seats” to preserve your personal space, it’s more of a bench you sit on in your vehicle. While you can fit 3 people in a row, if it’s 3 adults it could be a tight fit. Scott and I were waiting to get in our vehicle and they sent a very large person to ride with us. I knew that would not be comfortable so we told the person to just go ahead and we’ll wait for the next vehicle. We told the cast member why we weren’t getting on and they totally understood so we rode the next vehicle. Certain rides I think single rider works great such as Test Track, but not so much on Remy.

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 3/23/25 Continued
During one of the laps around World Showcase the bridge was up to allow the barges through. While waiting Scott sat up on the ledge; I’m guessing it it wasn’t crowded in that area someone may have told him to get off, but since he was up there I took a picture.


Pretty soon the bridge came down and we were able to continue walking around World Showcase.


We headed to ride Frozen when it was time. Scott enjoys this ride more than I do. I don’t like rides where you get wet in your clothes. It used to be a little sprinkle which is fine, but lately I’ve noticed the seats are wet and you get a larger splash. Scott carries a little gym towel in his knapsack and pulls it out before we got on so I wipe the seat if it’s wet. You can see the little gym towel in my hand since I also keep it on the side of me so if water comes into the ride it’s there. I know I sound super high maintenance but I’m really not, I just don’t want to get wet on a ride so I make sure to be prepared with the little towel.


Japan had some cute pictures so we stopped.




We headed out of the park but stopped for another one of my favorite pictures since there wasn’t a line.

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 3/23/25 Continued
We drove to the Boardwalk for our reservation at Flying Fish. We asked if we could sit at the bar rather than a table and they were able to accommodate us.


We were chatting with the bartender and she mentioned she used to work at Abracadabar. Once she mentioned that I told her how Hoondunit’s Punch is one of my favorite drinks so she said she’ll make me her version of it. Scott had a Martini.


The bread is good but we tried not to fill up on it.


For an appetizer we had the pork belly. Pork Belly can be hit or miss, sometimes it’s way too fatty for me and I won’t eat it, but this was fantastic. The dressing on the little salad part was really good and Scott asked what it was made with.


I ordered the Ash crusted salmon wanting to try something different. This was pretty good. Scott makes great salmon at home so this didn’t seem that special. It was still good and I enjoyed it.


Scott had the seafood pasta; he pretty much gets this anytime we come to Flying Fish. He loves this dish.


We enjoyed our meal at Flying Fish but skipped dessert having something else in mind.

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 3/23/25 Continued
We went over to the Cake Bake shop bakery to get our dessert to go. It wasn’t crowded tonight.

We ordered the Red Velvet Cake. We both really like Red Velvet cake in general and this was very good, not necessarily the best red velvet we’ve had but it’s good and we’re glad we tried another cake flavor from the Cake Bake shop. It’s really pretty the way they make the roses out of frosting/icing.





We also ordered two truffles: One raspberry and one Black & White. These were just OK

 

[DLo]

When I rode Frozen on my last trip , I got wetter than I ever did on Splash Mountain . I felt a little self conscious walking around afterwards. I knew I would probably get wetter than but this was way more than expected.

 

[rdkeim]

Nice morning in Epcot - you got a lot of cool pictures! You combined rides with just wandering and enjoying the park. Your lunch looks good and the cake even better! I've read mixed reviews about the cake shop but I want to give it a try.

 

[kclark9830]

I'm enjoying your report! I live in AL, but in the north just outside of Huntsville. Your story about the man approaching you made me laugh. That is very typical around AL! I once had a stranger pull into my driveway because he was passing by, remembered the family who used to live here over 20 years ago, and wondered if I knew them and how they were doing . I told him no, as I didn't know him at all ... But the family he was talking about was actually my husband's family because his parents built the house we currently live in, lol.

 

[Noreen411]

When I rode Frozen on my last trip , I got wetter than I ever did on Splash Mountain . I felt a little self conscious walking around afterwards. I knew I would probably get wetter than but this was way more than expected.

Hi. I definitely do not appreciate this trend where more rides are getting you wet and it’s not just a little spritz/sprinkle. Even Pirates of the Caribbean you sometimes get wetter than expected. I haven’t gone as far as wearing a rain poncho on some of these rides yet, but at some point may end up doing so.