A little bit of this and a little bit of that! VA Beach, Vero, WDW and Spirit of the Swamp Airboat ride June/July 2020 -**updated 7/8

[Dizney73]

July 7...our last day at WDW
We should have left for Savannah today but after one of the restaurants at booked with called and canceled because they're were closing again wet decided to cancel our 2 nights at Savannah abs spends an extra night at WDW....we ended up keeping our upgraded 1 bedroom in Congress Park for the extra nights for only studio points. Win, win! Disney is really doing a great job helping people out.
We decided to make the most of this last day! DH and I woke early and went to fill our coffee cups at Artist Palette and take a walk to the Tree House Villas. What about great secluded place! Maybe a bit out of the way but i I can definitely see why people like them. I grew up in the middle of the woods.. on a one lane dirt road... I would most likely not choose to stay here because it’s a lot like my parents’ house! ( we live 3 miles from them) But it was a great place to walk!


we stopped back at Artist Palette and filled up our coffee and when we returned to our room we were surprised to see both kids wide awake! This was at 8 am... I couldn’t believe my eyes! They also wanted to make the most of their last day and requested to go to the quiet pool, which of course was open. So we dressed and off to the pool we went! There was 1 other person there using the hot tub! We had the entire pool to ourselves and used that for shine swim races across the length of the pool! We had a great time! At 9:45 am we Headed back to our room To get ready for our 11 am lunch reservation. When we left there was 1 other family there and the guy in the hot tub



We walked over to Disney Springs leisurely after showing and changing. We had a reservation at Frontera Cocina. This was a new restaurant for us and we absolutely loved it! We decided that we were going to eat at a few restaurants and so we just ordered some drinks...my sparkling margarita was Fantastic...and some appetizers. We enjoyed the mango guacamole and the chicken flautas. DS ordered a kids cheese quesadilla meal ( he is a picky eater but is expanding his pallet every day!) Everything was excellent and all agreed that we would eat an actual meal on our next wdwvisit!




We thought we would head to the House of Blues but on the way decided to go to the Coca Cola Rooftop lounge since one of our favorite vloggers recent highlighted it. Again, we have never been there but it was a great pick by the kids. The day was really warming and it was hot up on that roof but the icee drinks and coke floats really his the spot...and that view from up there is nice too!



We decided to not the Hangar Bar...one of our favorites...on the way out! We ordered some beers...Kids got some drinks... the empanadas and the giant pretzel bigger than my head! While we were in chowing down the daily Florida thunderstorm rolled through. We have been really lucky to not get caught out in one of these during our sta!



We did some more shopping... We headed to the Ron Jon store and the Harley store. DH and my dad are both Harley riders and I wanted to pick up a shirt for my dad since my parents are watching our house and watering my flowers while we are gone. DS wanted to go back to the Lego store again! He never actually buys anything but always looks at every little Lego!!
We all went into the World of Disney just because we love it there! AndI picked up a shirt for my mom.
On the walk back over to our resort DS was on his phone... Apparently when he was in the Lego store he was pricing out what he wanted on Amazon. He asked if he could put the items in the cart...order them and just give me his cash! He is a smart shopper abs he saved $40 on the $200 Lego set that he scoped out! His words were...I bought a lot more magic for a little less money!
At headed back to the resort too cool down, pay some games and freshen up before heading to dinner at Ssna'a!

 

[Dizney73]

July 7 ... Our Last Disney Meal ... Sana'a
When we added on our 1 night at Saratoga Springs for this night I knew that it also meant that we needed to add dining reservations! That excites me... hence the Eat-cation! We added Sana'a for our last Disney meal because AKV is our home resort and we absolutely love the food here! We know that we always have a great meal here... although I must admit that I adore the spicy foods and they don't always agree with me!
I was excited to just to hear the beat of the music as we were welcomed home at the lobby doors! I truly love this resort... though we generally stay at Jambo House! We have stayed at Kidani 3 or 4 times and have been lucky enough to never have had to walk those long halls to our room.


We didn't get a table directly at a window but we did have a great table in the second row which gave us a all a view to see the animals while we dined. Of course, we started with the bread service! Even the pickiest eater in our family, DS, loves this appetizer though he ONLY eats the red pepper hummus as his dip! With 5 naan breads this truly could be a meal for 1 or 2 people!


I ordered the Potjie with the Goan Seafood Curry and the Cilantro-Coconut vegetables. I love these two items together as the curry is spicy and the Cilantro-Coconut sauce acts like a cool factor paired with the spice. I was looking forward to this meal all day... since I booked it! It probably looks more appetizing when I put them together on the plate but I didn't take a photo of that because I literally just couldn't wait to eat it!


DH ordered the African-inspired Biryani with Shrimp! He said it was very good and full of veggies and flavor but compared to the spice of my dish I must admit that it seemed bland to me... but my taste buds were already working overtime with my dish.


DD ordered the kids butter chicken and for $11.00 it was more than plenty for her. She loves food but isn't a big fan of veggies and since the adult version of this comes with veggies also this was the perfect dish for her. It was accompanied with the basmati rice and an order of mac and cheese.

DS ordered the Naan bread pizza kids meal. He always orders this and we have actually taken to making them at home since it is one of his favorites and super easy to make. He was very much excited for his Pumba's Dessert Grub which is basically worms and dirt with lots of candy and gummy worms!

While we were eating I noticed that 2 of my favorite vloggers sat down to enjoy their meal at Sana'a as well! Here With the Ears was doing a review on Sana'a! We did have he opportunity to talk with them when we were outside watching the animals. I wouldn't ever disturb their meal. The are the nicest, sweetest couple ever! If you haven't watched any of the their videos... check them out! (We honestly knew our way around Vero because of their vlog tour of the resort!)

When we were finished eating... we really did take our time and enjoy all of the flavors here... we walked outside to the animal viewing area. I could honestly just stand here all day and watch the giraffes and zebras! This is why I love this resort! I know many aren't fans because the rooms can be dark and its distance from the MK seems far but we really just love the ambiance of Animal Kingdom Villas because it is like a resort inside of resort! And waking up to giraffes outside of my window is just awesome! It really makes me want to book a stay at Giraffe Manor in Kenya! Of course, staying at AKV is wayyyyy cheaper!





You can tell that I love giraffes, right?



Once again we wanted to head over to Disney Springs. It really is such a convenient walk from Congress Park! We walked around just taking it all in while it was practically empty. I took pictures and we picked up Starbucks for our walk back on the path to Saratoga.




It was a great vacation in the Disney magic of the Vero Beach resort and Saratoga Springs!

Our next Disney vacation is planned for over Thanksgiving break. We love to visit this time of year. Each year we fly down and enjoy Thanksgiving at the resort and then hop on the Disney Dream for a 3 night cruise followed by 2 additional nights at WDW. This year... we decided that we won't do the cruise. I am extremely sad about that but we are not ready to hop on board a cruise ship even if they do sail.
In addition, everything in this world is so topsy turvy right now. Covid Numbers are way up in Florida and even PA now recommends a 14 day quarantine upon return to Florida which is not a problem for me over the summer but would create problems during the school year. Also, our current flight are out of Newark, NJ (our closest airport with direct flights to MCO) and I am not sure how that works with the current tri state Florida Quarantine order. So we decided that we would cancel our Jambo stay for Thanksgiving and bank the points (we need to bank by July 31). I was already prepared for this and we have a reservation for our dates at Art Of Animation. Reservations here can be cancelled 5 days prior so we can cancel our trip last minute if need to be without losing our points. Our flights can also be changed without a fee since they fall into United's change fee free promotion. So right now... it's a go but we will watch the world around us and make a final decision later.

Thanks for following along! Hope you enjoyed!

 

[suse66]

Such a fun report....I really enjoyed following along! You have a beautiful family

I had my heart set on a a sweet tea shine but the server talked me into a peach sangria and I absolutely didn’t regret taking her advice! It was delicious!

Oh I tried that peach sangria in December and loved it!

We had a reservation at Olivia’s for dinner tonight and it was just the relaxing dinner we needed! A child’s pasta, 2 Duvall burgers and a club sandwich. We always love the atmosphere at OKW and especially love Olivia’s!

I definitely want to try Olivia's!

After dinner we walked to Disney Springs because I wanted to see it at night without the 4th of July crowd. It was beautiful! We just walked through and enjoyed being nearly alone! We ended up at the Hangar Bar where we had done after dinner drinks and closed the place down at 10 pm. Walking back to the hotel was pure magic . No people... All the lights and the music! ❤ It was the perfect end to a phenomenal day!

So lovely!

We walked over to Disney Springs leisurely after showing and changing. We had a reservation at Frontera Cocina. This was a new restaurant for us and we absolutely loved it! We decided that we were going to eat at a few restaurants and so we just ordered some drinks...my sparkling margarita was Fantastic...and some appetizers. We enjoyed the mango guacamole and the chicken flautas. DS ordered a kids cheese quesadilla meal ( he is a picky eater but is expanding his pallet every day!) Everything was excellent and all agreed that we would eat an actual meal on our next wdwvisit!

Love progressive dinners!

We didn't get a table directly at a window but we did have a great table in the second row which gave us a all a view to see the animals while we dined. Of course, we started with the bread service! Even the pickiest eater in our family, DS, loves this appetizer though he ONLY eats the red pepper hummus as his dip! With 5 naan breads this truly could be a meal for 1 or 2 people!

That bread service is so, so good! On our anniversary trip last year, my DH and I split the bread service and the butter chicken meal and had more than enough.

When we were finished eating... we really did take our time and enjoy all of the flavors here... we walked outside to the animal viewing area. I could honestly just stand here all day and watch the giraffes and zebras! This is why I love this resort! I know many aren't fans because the rooms can be dark and its distance from the MK seems far but we really just love the ambiance of Animal Kingdom Villas because it is like a resort inside of resort! And waking up to giraffes outside of my window is just awesome! It really makes me want to book a stay at Giraffe Manor in Kenya! Of course, staying at AKV is wayyyyy cheaper!

I love AKV so much! It is one of my favourite places to stay. I own at BRV but would love to buy a second contract at AKV.

 

[MamaRego]

Loved following you and your family throughout your vacation. Have a safe trip back home and stay safe....

 

[Dizney73]

Such a fun report....I really enjoyed following along! You have a beautiful family


Oh I tried that peach sangria in December and loved it!
I definitely want to try Olivia's!
So lovely!
Love progressive dinners!
That bread service is so, so good! On our anniversary trip last year, my DH and I split the bread service and the butter chicken meal and had more than enough.

I love AKV so much! It is one of my favourite places to stay. I own at BRV but would love to buy a second contract at AKV.

Thanks so much for following along! This was a much needed trip but I must admit that I was so very anxious about it all.

 

[Dizney73]

Loved following you and your family throughout your vacation. Have a safe trip back home and stay safe....

Thank you so much! I am so very tired right now! I need another nap!

 

[Dizney73]

July 8...We are home... It was long drive!
We were up early to get an early start home... most everything was already packed up and we just had to pack up our toiletries and pj's. We ate bagels and pop tarts in the room and took a last look at the room we have loved for the last 5 nights! Room 1334 was really a great room with a great location! Ahhhh... look at that view!


We packed up the car and were off before 8 am!

We drove straight through to come home in PA with just two stops! We stopped once in South Carolina for gas and a bathroom stop... no one was wearing masks and I have never been so uncomfortable!

Our next stop was for gas and then dinner around 7 pm at a Cracker Barrel in Virginia. This location was a bit slow but the food was super fresh and was by far one of the best we have ever visited! They used all of the rooms to social distance and I liked that we had a table in a back corner which no one passed. In hindsight we should have just made a quick fast food stop but we really needed a break out of the car. We lost about an hour and 45 minutes stopping for dinner and filling up at the gas station.

We passed straight through DC with very little traffic a few hours later... it was a very pretty view!


It felt like FOREVER to drive home straight through! DH said he would do it again though. We finally put our heads on the pillow at 1:58 am.