30 magical years..our anniversary trip!-updated: the End and notes for next time

[DonnaW]

Just back from our special anniversary trip down to the World...we had a great time!!! This trip was just my hubby (Mark) and me (Donna). Oh, yeah, and a few Disney cast members, a few Disney characters, and a couple hundred other Disney guests!!!!

*Details*: Our trip was from September 4th to September 12th. Our honeymoon all those many long years ago was in Disney, way back in the dark ages when the only park Disney had was the Magic Kingdom!!! We have visited over the years since then, both with our boys (now 28 and 25, one is even married!), and by ourselves, so we thought this anniversary would be a nice way to celebrate this milestone!

*Resort*: We decided on POP Century for this trip. We had stayed there before, and really feel it is one of the most DISNEY of the Disney properties. We live in Chicago, and when we visit some of the other hotels, feel that we are visiting one of the downtown area hotels here at home. It also helped to have a 40% discount on the room at POP!

*The trip down*: I HATE to fly, but found what I considered to be a Magical rate from Chicago; it was so low that driving down with just the two of us would have cost more $$...so we did the flying thing! It always, always amazes me how quickly you get from one place to another on a plane, as we were in Florida in two and a half hours versus the two days it takes for us to drive there! WOW!!! We are already in Florida, and REALLY going to Disney!!!!!!

up next: We're gonna live in a Cube? Where Else But Disney??

September 4th: Living in a Cube! Post #2
September 4th (evening): Our First "Taste" of Disney Magic Post#3
September 5th: The Magic of The Magic Kingdom Post#4
September 5th: (evening) Celebrating with 900,000 of our closest friends Post #5
September 6th: our 30th Anniversary-We went to Italy (and France and England, too!) Post #19
September 6th: (evening) An Evening of Luxury at The Grand Floridian Post #27
September 7th: visting with the animals, post #29
September 7th: Celebrating with our cousins: 'Ohana!!, post #34
September 8th: Our not so magical visit to Hollywood, post #39
September 8th: (evening) there are a lot of worlds in the world showcase, post #40
September 9th: that's a lot of chicken-beach day!, post #45
September 10th: Epcot and LeCellier!, post #46
September 11th: Magic Kingdom and a visit with Eeyore and Friends! Post #52
September 12th: The end and Notes for Next Time, post #57

 

[DonnaW]

September 4th: We're gonna live in a Cube? Where Else But Disney???

Arrival: We had a rental car for this trip, so we would have the freedom to go when and where we wanted. I picked a blue car, because I had read someplace that tons of rental cars in Orlando are white (!) and I thought we might be able to find a blue one faster (all I can say is thank goodness the key thingie beeps for finding the car, or we might have still been wandering around looking for this little blue car in several parking lots!!!). It took us about a half hour or so in traffic to get to Disney property from the airport. I LOVE arriving on Disney property and seeing the Welcome to Disney World sign. Is there any better feeling than just getting there and knowing you have arrived and you have your WHOLE vacation ahead of you????!!!!

We followed the signs and easily found the entrace to POP Century, parked the little blue car and headed out into the..HEAT...yep, it's still summer in Florida in September (it wasn't unbearable, because we have had a hot/humid summer here at home, too), but it was just a *tad* hot. Heading into the lobby, (Air conditioning...ahhhh!!!), we got in line at the check in counter. I had requested a room in the 70's section with the most important thing being a request for a king bed. We got the king bed (go anniversary!),

but the room was in the 90's...on the third floor...ugh...but, we were at Disney, we were celebrating (we got Happy Anniversary buttons at check in...awww!) the sun was out, and I had what Mark calls my Disney smile!!!

The room: yep, the 90's (with a big ol' Rubik's cube)

was a hike from the main area, and our view was nothing to write home about .. a bunch of trees.., but we did get a very, very nicely remodeled room. The room had a big screen tv, and there is now a privacy curtain between the vanity/bathroom and the main living space (nice touch). I did the "nesting" thing, where I unpacked all the bags and hung up clothes and made the room ours. Then, it was off to get some liquid in our handy dandy refillable mugs, and have a snack at the food court at POP.

The food court: this place is HUGE, (like a mall food court, with twice as many people), but the prices are reasonable. We shared the Mom's night out chicken meal

for this our first little "taste" of Disney, Wandered around a bit afterwards, took some photos of the POP decor.

Went back to our room to relax a bit, and then it was time to head over to the Beach Club and Cape May for our first real meal of the trip.

up next: Our First "Taste" of Disney Magic!

 

[DonnaW]

Evening, September 4th: Our First "Taste" of Disney Magic!

Cape May Cafe, Beach Club, Atlantic Dance:

We used our little blue car to get to the Beach Club

and told the security person we had reservations at Cape May for dinner. We walked around the grounds at the resort. I think it is very beautiful on the outside/grounds
and very nice looking in the lobby, but again, the lobby area reminds me of downtown Chicago hotels and when I am at Disney, I want a Disney hotel!!) We both enjoy the Cape May dinner at this hotel, though, and this time was no exception. Mark loves everything on the buffet, and even though I am not a big fish eater, I still always find something good there. And, the deserts there...the *best* part!!! And, we got even more...they brought us out an extra special chocolate happy anniversary plated desert!!!!

Heavenly!!!!!

After all that food (!), we needed to walk a bit, so headed around the lake to the Boardwalk area and ended up over by the Atlantic Dance hall.

We sat for a bit and listened to the music and watched the dancers, but after awhile decided it was time to get back in the little blue car, head on back to POP and rest up for our next magical Disney day!!!!

Up Next: The Magic of the Magic Kingdom!!!

 

[DonnaW]

Sunday, September 5th....The Magic of the Magic Kingdom!!

Today was Magic Kingdom day!!!! I LOVE the Magic Kingdom, as it to me is the symbol of everything Disney represents...there are princesses, and castles, and characters and parades and fireworks and fun! When we first started talking about a place to celebrate our big three-oh, Disney came to mind, and I just had this image of being in the Magic Kingdom in front of the castle kissing my handsome prince at the stroke of midnight...

first, we had the day at the Magic Kingdom...it was of course, still HOT, and yep, humid...but we didn't really care, we were excited for a Disney day! We took the bus to the MK from POP. The bus was full, as we don't really do the get-up-early-and-get-going to the park thing anymore (hello, 30th anniversary, we are too *old* for that kind of trip<smile>)..so we joined the late start folks and saw our first glimpse of the magic that is the Magic Kingdom just a few minutes later. The entrance area is already all decked out for Halloween (already!=isn't Halloween at the *end* of October???)..

I know, I know, it's all for the Halloween party, and it was kind of fun to see all the Halloween colors and decor they had going there! We had our ever-present, ever-ready photo pass best friend take our photo in front of the entrance, and then another one in front of the castle.

(I think it's nice that they will also take a picture for you with your camera). Remember those anniversary buttons we got at check-in? Every single Disney person (even the cleaning crew people!) said Happy Anniversary to us. They also had put "30 years" on our buttons, so we got a lot of comments about Wow, 30 years!, and I replied, "yeah, and to the same guy even...what a concept!) This day was more of a see the parades, shows and celebrations kind of day; as we didn't really do many of the attractions. We did have lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern.

We had never been there before (a Disney first!) and when we got there, they had Mickey confetti on our table for our anniversary...awww! We ended up splitting a turkey meal (I told our server we were married, so we were going to split something!, and that worked for him!)...I am so glad we did, because the meal came out on two separate plates, with salads...and the portion size was HUGE!!!! After finishing up lunch, we waddled around the park a bit more

and then decided to head back to POP

as the MK was open for late night hours, and I wanted to come back for awhile later on in the evening and see the night parade and lights and stuff. So, off we went to wait for the bus back to POP...and wait we did...but it finally came and off we went. Mark headed back to the room for awhile and I went to the pool and got an adult beverage, and sat in the sun and just enjoyed knowing I was at Disney World!!!!

Up Next: Celebrating with 900,000 of our closest friends!!

 

[DonnaW]

Sunday, September 5th...evening! Celebrating with 900,000 of our closest friends!!!

After our rest break...well, honestly, I was way too excited to be at Disney to rest much....we had another chicken meal at the food court (Mom's special, it's actually very good, but we *did* eat a LOT of chicken this triip, stay tuned!!)...and then went back to the bus stop to head back over to the Magic Kingdom. We wanted to see the evening parade, which is still the Main Street Electrical Parade. I am not sure when or if they are planning to switch over to SpectroMagic again, but it was different to see the ol' favorite. The Magic Kingdom was PACKED...summertime crowd levels. We are just not used to it being quite this crowded, but figured it was because the next day was a holiday so kind of just went with it. After the parade, we watched Wishes...I love this fireworks show, and the music just gets to me every single time. After the fireworks, it was extra magic hours for resort guests (go resort guests!) so we headed over to the Haunted Mansion. I thought we would need a wristband or something to be able to stay late in the park, but all they needed was our room key card and we were good to go! The Haunted Mansion is way cool at night, eerie and spooky and lots of fun! I thought we would try Peter Pan next...yeah, no...the line was still wayyy too long over there. (just a note about the renovation to Fantasy Land...they have a big wall board up, but you *can* still see a crane back there...it says they are creating a Little Mermaid area and a Be Our Guest restaurant--those are the only things I can remember anyway, there may be something else, too? I thought it was blocked well, but really missed being able to go on It's a Small World!). We went to Mickey's Philharmagic next; no wait at all for that one! Then we did the Winnie the Pooh ride...and it was getting close to the magic hour...yep, it was almost midnight, and yep, I really, really wanted to be in front of the castle at midnight...and yep, WE WERE!!!! We got our best friend (well, the photo pass perrson) to take a picture of us in front of the castle, and wished each other a Happy Anniversary!

It was everything I imagined it would be...a parade, fireworks in front of the castle, sharing rides, and an anniversary kiss at midnight in front of Cinderella's Castle...it was amazing!!!

It was late enough for us to call it a day (night?), so we headed over to the POP bus stop (I think they need a bus to get you to the bus stop, it's soooooo far away!) and waited, and waited and waited to get on a bus. The line was huge; they did keep sending buses over, but they filled up quickly. We finally got on one, it was packed, and just very uncomfortable. Remember that little blue car?? We ended up using it for the rest of our park visits! Go little blue car!!!

Up Next: Our 30th Anniversary!! We kinda went to Italy (and France and England, too!)

 

[irish dancer]

Hi Donna! I love hearing about your trip. Happy Anniversary!!

DH and I went to WDW for our 10th Anniversary and it was a lot of fun doing "grown-up" stuff without the kids in tow.

Looking forward to more.......

 

[DonnaW]

Hi, ID! Nice to *see* you over here! I thought Disney was a great place to celebrate our special milestone (I didn't even know when I booked the trip, but the whole "theme" this year is What Will You Celebrate!). Thanks for reading!

 

[DonnaW]

Adding a few pictures as we can! Hope you enjoy them!

 

[EeyoreEma]

Happy Anniversary! I'm enjoying your report!

 

[disneygal922]

Hi Donna! I found you here! I'm thoroughly enjoying your TR. Disney really is a magical place to celebrate!

 

[Malibelle]

Happy Anniversary. Great report. I love pop Century!

 

[DonnaW]

Happy Anniversary! I'm enjoying your report!

Thank you so much!

 

[DonnaW]

Hi Donna! I found you here! I'm thoroughly enjoying your TR. Disney really is a magical place to celebrate!

Hey! Yes, it really was special, and even more so because of the whole Celebrate theme that was going on all over Disney this year (I really didn't know that when I booked the trip!)

 

[DonnaW]

Happy Anniversary. Great report. I love pop Century!

Thank you!! We really like POP, too. I am planning to add a few more pictures of the resort, stay tuned!!

 

[merryg]

I can hardly wait for your next entry!!! My husband and I are going to have our first "grown up" trip to WDW next November.

We will be celebrating 22 years together!!!

Enjoying your report!!

Merry

 

[LexiC123]

Hey Donna...joining in on your trip report. Happy Anniversary!

DH and I were there the same time as you, celebrating my *cough* 50th *cough* birthday. We were also at the MK on Sunday night and couldn't believe the crowds. Luckily, they thinned out after the parade and fireworks. It was fun to feel like you had parts of the park to yourselves!

Looking forward to the rest of your report, comparing notes to see where else our paths might have crossed.

 

[DonnaW]

Happy anniversary to you! You will have a great time at Disney; don't forget the anniversary buttons!!!

I can hardly wait for your next entry!!! My husband and I are going to have our first "grown up" trip to WDW next November.

We will be celebrating 22 years together!!!

Enjoying your report!!

Merry

 

[DonnaW]

Thanks! Happy Birthday!!! Yes, it was nice when the MK got less crowded later on in the evening, but wow, we are so not used to that crowd level anymore! I'm glad the rest of the week was more manageable!!

Hey Donna...joining in on your trip report. Happy Anniversary!

DH and I were there the same time as you, celebrating my *cough* 50th *cough* birthday. We were also at the MK on Sunday night and couldn't believe the crowds. Luckily, they thinned out after the parade and fireworks. It was fun to feel like you had parts of the park to yourselves!

Looking forward to the rest of your report, comparing notes to see where else our paths might have crossed.

 

[DonnaW]

Monday, September 6th--Our 30th Anniversary! We kinda went to Italy (and France and England, too!)


Morning:

Today was *the* big day! We were ready to celebrate in style at Disney World!! Mark being the great guy he is took our mugs, and made the 6,000 mile trek to the food court and got us some coffee to kick start our day. (Side note about the mugs: we always call them our POD mugs...anyone remember the movie about POD people? We always laugh because everyone looks kind of zobmie-ish walking around with those mugs on their way to the food court, especially in the morning!!! ) We exchanged our anniversary gifts early (well early for an anniversary, anyway!) in the morning, and then got ready and headed off to Epcot for the day

It was another bright, sunny, hot Florida morning. I love Florida sunshine! It just makes me smile! Today, was the first day we used the little blue car to go to a park. POP Century is actually very close to Epcot, and we got there pretty quickly.

First up, we went to Soarin' and got Fast Passes for later on in the day. The standby line was only like 30 minutes, which the cast member told us was "a piece of cake", so we went ahead and waited to ride. We have been on it before, and really enjoy this one. The ride cast member in her little blurb said the ride was not a roller coaster, did not go upside down, but was just the very best ride at Disney!! I kind of have to agree; I love the scenery, and the sensation and the smells...all of it is pretty cool!!! After we landed, we went over to the Living Seas, and visited with our good buddy Nemo and his friends, and then had some time to talk to that Turtle, Crush. What fun!

Early Afternoon:

We had plans to go to lunch at the restaurant in Italy, so we decided to head over to the World Showcase. We thought we were not going to get there on time for the ADR, so we kind of speed-walked around most of the Worlds to get to Italy. Being Italian, I have always wanted to go to Italy *someday*, but remember, I HATE to fly (have a huge phobia!), so I always think the Italian section of Epcot is about as close as I will EVER get. I was playing the illusion that we actually WENT to Italy for our anniversary when we got over there. The pavillion is SO realistic, and the restaurant servers all speak Italian...it was just beyond perfect!!!! We enjoyed a great lunch,

and then we even received another special anniversary dessert! Awww!
Once again, our best friend (the photo pass guy) took a nice picture for us; this is actually one of my favorite pictures of the trip!!!

Up next: she sang a song about US!

 

[irish dancer]

Sounds like a wonderful anniversary day. Haven't been to the restaurant in Italy since they changed, how was it.

That is a really nice pic!!