ADP - Live From Disney World

I love the report, Aaron, but I have to say...MK did NOT look that crowded to me in your pics. Maybe I'm just used to it a lot busier.

It might have been the timing of the pictures, but as I was posting the pics I thought it didn't look that busy either. Good eye! Trust me though, it was busy.
 
Monday, April 7th Evening

Hi again everyone. We are finally back from a long afternoon and evening. We spent our afternoon at the Turtle Pond pool (Old Key West), Saratoga Springs, Downtown Disney and the Magic Kingdom. It was such a busy afternoon I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of the room, but I will get some pictures of the room up to share with you eventually. Hopefully, before we make a wreck of the place. :)

After the last report we took off to the Turtle Pond pool. This is the quiet pool for the Turtle Pond section of Old Key West. I must say I was impressed with the pool area. There is a playground, shuffleboard court, a snack bar/lounge, a hot tub, and plenty of chairs around the pool.

Here are a few pictures of the pool area.
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After we spent our time at the pool we decided to make a stop at Saratoga Springs. The resort is beautiful and peaceful. We took the DVC boat launch from Old Key West to Saratoga Springs. It truly is a beautiful ride going up the Sassagoula River.
Here are a few photos going up the Sassagoula river on our way to Saratoga Springs.
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When we got to Saratoga Springs I wanted to try and catch our DVC guide, but unfortunately he had already left for the day. I decided to go to the preview center and check out the Animal Kingdom Villa models. They are really going to be beautiful rooms. The models are open daily from 5:00PM to 7:00PM for DVC members to view.
Here are a couple shots of Saratoga Springs
The main pool (High Rock Springs) was rather lively today.
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The main courtyard at SSR.
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After we left Saratoga Springs we took the walking trail from the resort to Downtown Disney. The walk is very nice. It takes you to the Marketplace where the path ends.
Here's a photo of Downtown Disney from the walking path at Saratoga Springs.
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Our first stop was at Goofy's Candy Co. I'm a sucker for peanut butter so I had a peanut butter dream, Kim had a piece of peanut butter fudge, and Anna had a grape frozen slush.
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Anna's grape slush in a Minnie cup
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After we left Goofy's Candy Co we went to the World of Disney store. On our way we bumped into some friends from our home town. Quite the coincidence.
At the World of Disney Easter Bunny Stitch was still spitting water on the kids at the entrance.
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The crowd at Downtown Disney Marketplace.
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I didn't get a chance to make it over to the construction site of the new T-Rex restaurant. Looking at it from afar I can tell you its going to be a big..BIG restaurant. It is scheduled to open this fall.

We decided since the Magic Kingdom was having Extra Magic Hours tonight we would visit the park. We caught the Grand Floridian bus from Downtown Disney's Marketplace. Once we got to the Grand Floridian we hopped the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. When we got there the first Spectromagic parade had just finished.

I was still a bit hungry and the first place that came to mind was Casey's Corner. Let me just say I've always loved the food at Casey's. Their hot dogs are very good; however, they've changed their buns. Maybe the powers that be at Disney didn't think guests would notice, but I noticed. The buns are not a good quality in my opinion. When you pick them up with your hands they tend to crumble. :scared1:.
Here's a photo of the entree.
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The attractions we experienced at the Magic Kingdom included Pirates of the Carribean, Alladin's Magic Carpets, the Haunted Mansion, Mickey's Philharmagic, Tormorrowland Transit Authority (TTA), and Carousel of Progress.

Here's a photo from outside of the Haunted Mansion. Sorry its a bit dark.
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We left the Magic Kingdom at 11:45. We were fortunate enough to get to the Magic Kingdom bus depot and the Old Key West bus was waiting for us. It seemed like the quickest bus trip we had all week. The driver was very quick and efficient.

Next up
Magic Kingdom or EPCOT (A coin flip may determine which one)
Hollywood Studios to watch Block Party Bash
Dinner at a mystery location
Photos of our villa
 
Great TR! Thanks for the picture of the Casey's bun. Not too happy that they changed them but they didn't ask me first. :sad2:
 
Good morning everyone,

We are about to head out the door for the day. We are thinking of of stopping at Winter/Summerland for a round of miniature golf and then heading over to Hollywood Studios to catch the Block Party Bash parade.

Since we have not dined at EPCOT yet I'm going to try and make another reservation for Tutto Italia or some other World Showcase restaurant.

The weather is overcast this morning, but we are expecting the clouds to break later and some sunshine to peak through the sky.

I'll be back later for another report. :)
 
Tuesday, April 8th

Hi again everybody,

We are back from another fun-filled day at the parks. We started our day at Winter Summerland miniature golf, then onto Hollywood Studios for Block Party Bash, and then finished our day at EPCOT. I have a lot of photos to post so let's get to it!

I was fortunate enough to get a last minute reservation at Tutto Italia tonight so we dined there for dinner. Lunch was at the ABC Commisary at Hollywood Studios. We also got some ice cream treats on Hollywood Blvd.

As promised from the last few days here are some photos of our room at Old Key West. The one, two and three bedroom villas at Old Key West are huge. As I mentioned before I could perminantly live here without a problem.

Here are the shots of our villa.
Living area
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Kitchen Area
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Dining Area
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Our first stop of the day was a round of miniature golf at Winter-Summerland. We took the Blizzard Beach bus from Old Key West. Winter Sumerland is right next door to Blizzard Beach. This is one of two minature golf courses on Disney World property. It's themed after Christmas. There is a winter course and a summer course. We chose to play the summer course because the winter course had a long wait. Both are about the same level of difficulty. The courses are in great shape.

Here are some photos of our round and the course.

Check-in area
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One of the holes.
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As I mentioned the course is beautiful right down to the landscape and flowers.
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Our next stop was to go to Hollywood Studios. We caught the Hollywood Studios bus from Blizzard Beach. We arrived at Hollywood Studios at around 12:30. Hollywood Blvd did not seem very busy when we entered the park. We were fortunate enough to get to interact with several streetmosphere characters when we arrived. We had a nice conversation with Leroy Small who planned our itinerary while we were at the Studios and proclaimed Anna citizen of the day at Hollywood Studios. He presented her with a medal.

Leroy Small. Small name, but big on talent.
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Leroy Small putting together our itinerary for the Studios
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Leroy Small presenting Anna her medal.
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We also were able to catch Block Party Bash, the new parade at Hollywood Studios. We really enjoyed the high energy performers and excitement. We were stationed in front of a group of trampoline trick artists who did a wonderful job.

Here are some photos from the parade.
Looking down Hollywood Blvd.
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Mr. Potato Head.
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Monster's Inc float.
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Also, I'm not sure of this, but I think I saw some additional construction walls near and around the ABC theater. I'm not 100 percent if the walls were there on Sunday, but I don't seem to recall them. Unfortunately I did not snap a photo.

Here are the photos from our time at Hollywood Studios today.
Sunset Blvd not terribly busy today.
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Hollywood Blvd.
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We also dined at the ABC Commisary for lunch. I had the Asian salad and a strawberry parfay for dessert. The salad was pretty good, but I wish it had some chicken in it. Otherwise, it was fresh and delicious.

Here's a photo of the salad and dessert.
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Mickey ice cream sandwich.
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We left Hollywood Studios and rode the boat over to the Beach Club and then walked to EPCOT via the International Gateway (EPCOT's back entrance).

We walked around World Showcase. I stopped in France and Kim and I purchased a Grey Goose lemonade slush. They were very good and refreshing. Next we stopped in the Italy pavillion. We caught some entertainment during our visit.
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Attractions we experienced at EPCOT tonight were Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land, Test Track had a 110 minute wait time and Soarin had a 90 minute wait time. The fastpasses were gone for the day.
Spaceship Earth
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The post show now has your Spaceship Earth photo placed on a large globe and shows what part of the country you are from. Anna is looking silly, Kim is on the bottom and I'm on the top.
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After we left Future World we headed back to Italy for our Tutto Italia reservation. This restaurant has a formal atmosphere to it. The chandaliers and wall paintings give it a more upscale feel. As I was looking through the menu I was shocked at the cost of the entrees. There was bread and a small dish of raw vegatables served to us prior to ordering our meal. Most of them were in the mid $20 range while others were in the mid $30 range. I chose to eat the spaghetti with meatballs. This entree was priced at $25...:scared1:. Now I understand the price of wheat has gone up recently, but a plate of spaghetti with meatballs should not cost $25. Kim had the bruchitina linguini. It looked like a baked fettucini alfredo. I will say the food was very good. Our dishes were well prepared For dessert Kim had the chocolate cake and I had the Chiraposseles; which was 3 puff pasteries filled with vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate syrup.

The total cost of our bill was $108 without the tip, but it cost us 1 table service credit each from the dining plan. If I had to pay out of pocket for this meal I would have left the restaurant in tears :laughing:. This is a great dining plan restaurant, but I would not pay cash for it. Bottom line; its overpriced itialian food.

Here are some photos of our the restaurant and our dishes.
Bread and raw veggies before the meal
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My spaghetti and meatballs. $25 :scared1:
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My dessert. Very tasty, but not worth the $10 price tag.
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Today was a very enjoyable day. The weather was somewhat overcast with peaks of sunshine here and there. The temperature was moderate with a nice breeze.

Up next
The Magic Kingdom
Dinner at Kona Cafe (Polynesian Resort)
Animal Kingdom evening EMH
 
Great installment~! Your interaction with the DHS Street Performers was so personalized & special...that's great!!
 
I LOVE the live reports! Thanks so much for taking the time during your trip to share with us. It's almost as fun as being there in person. Glad you made it to Tutto Italia - I'm debating whether to include that when I visit in October. Hope the rest of your trip is terrific. Can't wait to hear about what fun things you do today!!popcorn::
 
Wednesday, April 9th

Good morning everyone,

We are getting ready to head out the door to the Magic Kingdom. Later today we will be dining at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian. It's one of my favorite restaurants on property.

We may also try and make it to the Animal Kingdom tonight for evening extra magic hours.

Before we leave here are a couple more photos I did not get to post last night.

The 3 Cabilleros at Flower & Garden festival.
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Another shot of Winter-Summerland miniature golf course.
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Anna doing the hula hoop at Winter-Summerland.
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I'll be back with more later.
 
I need a dose of WDW right NOW, and our visit is just over 5 months away, so have a great time for both of us! Looks great so far!
 
Thanks again for the report and pics!!!!! :thumbsup2
 
I love the TR but now I've got ants in my pants I've only got 40 days left can't wait!!!!! Have fun today
 
Still lovin' it!!!

I was especially looking forward to your opinion on Tutto as we have ADRs there for our trip in August (thankfully using free DDP!). So it sounds like the restaurant is great as long as you aren't paying OOP for it. :goodvibes
 
ADP~What a great report.
Thanks, and I have a favor to ask. We'll be staying in a 1BR at OKW next month. Can you take a picture of the laundry room? I know it's crazy but we usually put the crib in an out of the way location and was wondering it it would fit in there. Thanks again!!
 
What a great report!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share!!
 
Wednesday, April 9th

Hi everyone,

We just returned from our day at the Magic Kingdom. We spent time at the Magic Kingdom getting as many fastpasses and attractions in as possible. We also ate lunch at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn. Dinner was at Kona Cafe over at the Polynesian resort. I had planned on heading over to the Animal Kingdom tonight for evening extra magic hours, but we never made it. We are planning on going tomorrow before we leave for the airport. So on with todays report.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 9:30 this morning. Our first stop was at the Main St. Bakery for a light breakfast.
Treats from the Main St. Bakery
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While we were enjoying our breakfast in the bakery the Main St. performers pulled up on their trolly and began their act. These performers really help get your day started at the Magic Kingdom.
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The park was not very crowded this morning, but did pick up later in the early afternoon.
Here's a shot of the "sea of humanity'' near of the Haunted Mansion and Columbia Harbor House.
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Attractions we experienced today were Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mickey's Philharmagic, Buzz Lightyear, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Peter Pan's Flight, the Tormorrowland Transit Authority, and the Jungle Cruise. Anna was selected to drive the boat during the cruise. She drove the whole way and really enjoyed it. Our Jungle Crusie skipper was very animated.
Anna driving the Jungle Cruise boat.
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A neat thing happened today. We saw the castle suite being awarded to a family from Georgia. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean at around 11:15 this morning. As we were approaching the unload area I saw 3 dream squad members and another cast member in a plaid vest. I watched them pull the family from the back row of the boat in front of us. When we got off I sort of stopped and watched what they were being awarded. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell for sure, but I suspected they won the castle suite overnight stay. I saw the same family in the Castle Suite winners car before the parade which confirmed my guess. To be honest, I never thought I would have been so close to winning that prize. It was quite sureel watching it unfold in front of our eyes. to think this prize could be awarded at any attraction in all of the Disney World parks and we were so close. But, only one family can win each day and this family of 4 looked very deserving.

At 1:30 we had lunch at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn in Frontierland. This is a very good counter service restaurant. The food is above average, but what really makes it better is the fixings bar. It has sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, pickles and everything you would want to make a great sandwich or hamburger. One word of caution though this restaurant can get very loud; especially during prime lunch time.
Here's a photo of my entree. A bacon double cheeseburger and fries with a strawberry yogurt.
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As we were walking around the Magic Kingdom today we noticed a new DVC booth inside Fantasyland.
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At around 5:30PM we left the Magic Kingdom and took the resort boat launch to the Polynesian for our 6:05PM reservation at Kona Cafe. Taking the resort boat launch provides a nice, relaxing and scenic ride to the Magic Kingdom resorts.
Here's a photo of the Grand Floridian from the boat.
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We checked in at the Kona Cafe right at 6:00PM and were seated in less than 5 minutes. Let me start off by saying this was the best meal of our trip. For those who have not dined at the Kona Cafe before it is a casual and relaxed atmosphere. It is Polynesian themed as you would expect. Our waitress was quick and efficient; however, she seemed rushed. She didn't rush our meal, but she always seemed in a hurry to address our table and move on. She took our drink orders and came back later with a round loaf of warm bread and an almond honey butter that I must say was very good.

There were about 9 different entrees to choose from on the menu. I ordered the 10oz filet mignon, with mashed potatos and asparagus. Kim oredered the almond crusted chicken with a Kona salad on the side. As I've already said this meal was the best of the trip. The food was fantastic. My filet mignon was cooked to perfection. It also seemed the quality of the filet was a cut above the other meats I've had during this trip. Kim's almond crusted chicken was also very good. The almond crusted coating on the chicken was light and tasty. I must admit I'm a salad person so I ate most of Kim's salad. It was very much like the salad you get at Ohana (restaurant next door).

For dessert Kim had the chocolate cheesecake and I had the Kona cone. This restaurant says it prides itself in its desserts. I would agree with them since our desserts were very good.

The total cost of our meal was $75.00 before the tip. I would say this restaurant would be a good choice with or without the dining plan. I don't think you would be sorry paying out of pocket.
Here are some photos from our meal at Kona Cafe.
Bread with almond honey butter.
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My 10oz Filet Mignon entree. Excellent!!
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Dessert...The Kona Cone. I couldn't finish it!
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Restaurant decor. A solid chocolate Lilo and Stitch.
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After dinner Kim went back to the room to start getting some things together for our departure tomorrow. Anna and I took the monorail around to the Contemporary to spend some time in the arcade. We stayed there for a little over an hour. Once we finished we decided to head back to our room. We took the bus back to Old Key West. We only waited about 5 minutes for our bus to show up.

Tomorrow is another day, and unfortunately its the worst day of any Disney World trip, departure day. :confused3.

Up next
Check out of Old Key West
Animal Kingdom
Trying to use our remaining dining plan credits :laughing:
Magical Expess to the airport
 

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