Better late than never - SURPRISE Anniversary TR!!

[Adi12982]

July 6th: The Surprise

On the morning of our anniversary we woke up at 6:45am. My husband still did not know where we were going – although the night before while he was guessing he guessed Disney and I laughed and asked him where we would get the money for that!?!?

We decided not to get each other gifts because we are on a tight budget (when we budgeted for the summer, I budgeted the amount I would make from work as less, so when I found out I was making more I didn’t tell him, instead I planned the trip!). We did, however, exchange cards – a MUST for us. I read mine first, it was beautiful and I teared up. Then I gave him a really cute card with Mickey and Minnie Kissing on the front – and after I wrote all I wanted to, I wrote “P.S. Now lets go celebrate where we began our magical marriage”. He was in shock, all he could say was, Disney, no, Disney? I thought you said – you lie face! I wouldn’t say yes or no, but once he saw the PAL Mickey off the shelf – he knew! He could not stop grinning from ear to ear – he could not believe it. He wondered if we were going to stay at the AKL, since that is where we actually honeymooned, and I said sorry to disappoint, but what I meant was just Disney. . . :evil:

After rapid packing we left Miami. It was a rainy morning, but the further north we got the clearer things have gotten. We got to 192 (Kissimmee) after 3 hours driving to go to Wal-Mart for some shopping (water-mist fans, ponchos, breakfast foods and ate lunch). Then we were off and even more excited (if that is possible!).

DH still did not know what resort we were staying at, so as soon as we saw:

AND

I made DH cover his eyes, I didn’t want him to figure out where we were going. He was getting anxious to see where, but he kept his promise to keep his eyes covered!

I cannot begin to explain the utter shock when he saw this:

His jaw literally dropped, he could not believe it. He asked a million times if that was where we were staying, and then laughing called me a liar – “Oh, we can’t afford it!” :lol2: He was thrilled. We pulled right up to the front so that a bell hop could unload the car, I left DH to do that and park while I went in to check in. There really was not need for this, check-in took total of 10 mins, there was no one in line, I walked right up to the cast member. He congratulated us on our anniversary. And then showed us where our room was – third floor, Savanna view!!! I was only able to afford Standard view, and they upgraded us!! I was so excited, as I walked away from the counter to go outside and find DH, I saw that DH was walking in, he took a moment to hold hands and take in some of magnificent sights, and take deep breaths (odd I know, but we LOVE the smell of the AKL lobby!).

 

[Adi12982]

I told DH about the upgrade and we walked to the room and took some pictures:

and the dresser:

And then the view from the Balcony: AMAZING!

Then we changed and headed over to the Uzima pool for a quick dip before an early dinner:

Dinner was really special too, because Boma was the first place we ate on our honeymoon, and our very first table service at WDW ever too. Not only was the food amazing, but the atmosphere and just the joy of being at WDW got us! Boma was more amazing than I remembered! Soooo much good food – soups, rib, chicken, salads (mango and apple vinaigrette’s to die for), and as always the Zebra domes were amazing.

We then headed to Downtown Disney and Disney Quest afterwards. When we arrived at DTD it began to pour, so much so that my hair was MORE wet than we I got out of the pool earlier that day. We really enjoyed Disney Quest, it was our second time there, but the first time we were only there for a little over an hour. Our favorites were Buzz, Cyber Space Mountain, and Pirates. We stayed until close, and had lots of fun. The only “bad” thing that happened that day was that as we were getting to the bus stop, we saw bus pulling away as we were walking BUT only had to wait 15 minutes for another bus. Got to Resort in 20, got to bed around midnight. Waking up around 6:50/7am to go to MGM EMH which start at 8.

What an amazing first day for our anniversary day – I could not have asked for a more perfect day!!

 

[Adi12982]

July 7th: Crazy Park Hopping Day!!

After getting to bed around midnight, we got up at about 7am. We had a quick breakfast, DH had milk and pop-tarts and I had fruit and cottage cheese. Before we left, we had to get in a few minutes on our balcony, enjoying the view, and snapping some pictures:

(last one a bit blurry because of the humidity and heat outside, lens had not adapted to the change in temperature yet – But I still LOVED the shot!)

We then headed to the front of the resort to catch the bus – again, virtually no wait time and we got to MGM in about 10 minutes (we had a lot of fast drivers this trip because the longest it took us to get ANYWHERE was 20 minutes!).

I was sooooo excited to arrive at MGM – the start of our crazy park hopping day! We figure that while we have the energy and no kids yet, we can pull these off!

We arrived at MGM at opening and while DH ran off to get a RnR fastpass, I went to Guest Services to get anniversary pins – they said it was the same pin for people on their honeymoon – they were cute! Had Mickey in a tux and Minnie in a Wedding dress – still have mine, just did not take a picture!

Our fastpass for RnR wasn’t until later, so we got in a 10 minute wait line for it, rode it then got in line for ToT for another 10 minute wait and then rode RnR again! What a rush! By 9:30 am we had ridden RnR twice and ToT once and enjoyed their stores!

After three intense rides in a row, we wanted to do something a little more calm, so we went to the Little Mermaid show – a “first” for us (if we had ridden it before, we were too young to remember). Then we headed to Who wants to be a millionaire, Play it! We were there for the first show of the day, and it was our first and last time at the show (since they are shutting it down this month ). There were only 5-10 people ahead of us in line, we got great seats when we finally got in. During the show introduction, they put DH and I on the screen, they had the audience congratulate us, and joke that we were so newly wed we still dressed alike (an idea I actually got from CarolB’s family!). We didn’t have fingers as fast as we thought – a 10 year old went up and took up the whole 30 minute show. We had a great time and were sad we had not gone on before! Afterwards, we wandered around MGM a bit and saw characters (our favorites – Tigger and Stitch, but the lines were WAYYYY too long!). We then found our new favorite snack on the DDP – spicy cheese pretzels! YUM, we split one and then headed out of the park and caught the bus to Animal Kingdom.

 

[Adi12982]

We got the AK a little after noon. DH headed to get a fast-pass for Everest, while I went to Guest Services to exchange the free picture coupon I got from playing the yeti game online! Fastpasses were not until 3:30, and it was only 12:30 and we were not hungry enough for lunch yet, so we decided to get in line for Everest – the idea was that then we would have two chances to look at the pictures, and decide which we liked most to buy. The wait for the line was an hour, and we were in line for EXACTLY an hour. We really love the queue, so we didn’t mid the wait. It was scorching hot, but we had the mist fan so it helped! As soon as we stepped off the ride, it began to drizzle (while in line they told us if the storm approached, they may have to shut down the ride). We were hungry enough for lunch, we headed over to our favorite – Flame Tree BBQ. It was delicious as always. As we sat in one of the “shelters” overlooking the lake with Everest in the background the drizzling turned into a down-pour with high winds and all. Even being used to tropical storms and all of that, we were impressed by the strength of the storm. We sat and just enjoyed the view of the lake, rain and Everest – it was so peaceful and quite – I am sad I did not get a picture, but the wind was bringing in the rain and I did not want to risk my camera getting wet. The rain just did not calm down, so we decided to walk back to EE and buy the picture, we just figured the ride would not open again while we would be there. (The picture is at my in-laws, so once I get it I will have to post a picture of it in the picture of the day section!) Our pants and shoes got SOAKED – so on the way out we decided to go to the resort first and then EPCOT, especially since it was so close.

We loved the quick stop in the resort, we got to lay down for about 15-20 minutes and got dry shoes on. When we got back out, it was not raining at all anymore! We had a 7:30pm ADR for Coral Reef and got to EPCOT at about 4:30/45pm. We decided to go check the wait time for Soarin’ – it was 85 minutes. We figure that would be enough time to ride it and still get to our ADR on time. The line took FOREVER (we always ride with fastpass, so it was a painfully long wait) but worth it. We made a few friends in line – even a family from California who wanted to see if there were any differences. They old us afterwards that it was exactly the same! We were lucky – we got to ride in the front – the best view! We got out of the ride at about 7, and decided to take a leisurely walk towards the Coral Reef for dinner. When we got there they congratulated us for the Anniversary and sat us right in front of the tank!! We never got to sit there before, so we felt really special! They even gave us a keepsake anniversary menu – it has a picture of a fish bowl with two little kissing goldfish on the inside. As usual, the food was AMAZING! And the views – spectacular! I didn’t take pictures because we have so many of the tank, so you will just have to take my word for it!

After dinner, we saw some of the illuminations fireworks on the walk out. We then took the monorail to MK – we got to ride in the front! We felt silly without kids, but we wanted to try it out! We even got our co-pilot’s license!! Here are some shots of us in the front:

(DH’s hair frizzing in the humidity, lol!)
And this is a shot out of the front window, can’t really see much:

I felt so special sitting in the front – and almost jumping off the walls when in the distance we saw this: (far and blurry, but still the CASTLE!):

 

[Adi12982]

We got our EMH bracelet’s and zipped down main street USA towards,

and to what else but:

Here are some shots of the newly renovated outside and queue:

The wait was 40 minutes – our longest wait that night, but soooo worth it! Tried to get a good shot of Captain Jack Sparrow, but without flash isn’t too clear:

We then got in line for Splash Mountain and only had to wait 10 minutes until we rode! We asked for the last seat so that we wouldn’t have to get too wet (we had enough of that at AK, even with our ponchos on!) While outside on the ride we got to catch some of the wishes fireworks – amazing as usual!!! We then got in line for Big Thunder Mountain, after the short 15 minute wait, we got on and really enjoyed it! It is really neat to ride at night! We had just one more stop after BTMR, Space Mountain. Again, a super short wait, only 20 minutes (although it said it would be 30 minutes) and had a blast! After such a long day of CRAZY park hopping we headed back to the room, there was no way we were going to stay until 3am! We hit the bed and knocked out until the morning – great heavy sleep you only get at WDW – and even better on the AKL’s extra comfy beds!

 

[Adi12982]

July 8th: Magic Kingdom, ALL DAY!!!!

Even with the long day yesterday, we decided to get up early enough to get to the Magic Kingdom at opening!

We only caught the tail end of opening show, but I was soooo excited to be there I didn’t let it get me down that I didn’t see the whole thing. It was awesome to hear the opening announcement and see all the CM’s lining the streets with Mickey gloves on waving at everyone! We felt extra special with everyone congratulating us for our anniversary!

Gorgeous shots of the MK in the morning (by the way, tour guide mike was soooo right – the park was EMPTY until around lunch time, and again in the evening. One of the guards in the late afternoon told us they expected 40,000 people that day and only had 25,000! And a Saturday in JULY!). We felt we had the park to ourselves that morning:

(I love these candid shots of my Husband amazed and happy to be here!)

This was our first time going to Cinderella’s Wishing well – even though we have been to MK dozens of times, this was the first time we saw it and made wishes!

 

[Adi12982]

On our way towards fantasy land:

Our first ride, with zero wait, TEACUPS:

Next stop, and only a 10 minute wait when 20 minutes were posted:

and again!

Then we stopped our favorite snack, the spicy cheese pretzel.

Then we rode Buzz TWICE in a row, zero wait time both times!!

 

[Adi12982]

When we got off the second time, we saw none other than, STITCH, my DH’s FAVORITE! He had never had the pleasure of meeting him, so even though he felt silly in line with kids, he was thrilled afterwards – Stitch, in his own way, even congratulated us for our anniversary! (pointed to pins, and gave himself a hug and gave us a thumbs up), here are some pictures:

Then we headed off to the TTA for two rides in a row, without getting up between! We LOVED IT, and had as far as we could see forward and back to ourselves!

 

[Adi12982]

Then we headed towards DH’s CANNOT MISS!

And then to Frontier Land!! At that time the park was CRAZY PACKED! So we got fastpass for Splash Mountain, and rode Pirates again!!!

DH pretending to be a pirate/excited to ride again:

Then we enjoyed a meal at Peco’s Bill, and then did the line for BTMR. I got some excellent pictures in the queue and while on the ride (I was brave enough to have the camera while riding):

notice the clever names on the trains!

 

[Adi12982]

Then off to use our fastpass for SM!!! The wait was 80 minutes, so we were sure glad to have the fastpasses!

Castle off in the distance:

Before the plunge:

After:

It was so crowded and we had done basically everything that we wanted to do so e went to the resort for a swim and some relaxing! It made a HUGE difference in our evening! We were able to return soooo refreshed and relaxed, the swim and nap hit the spot! Plus we were able to dress a little bit nicer to meet my favorite – TIGGER!

 

[Adi12982]

After relaxing at the resort we headed back for our first time at Crystal Palace:

Taking it all in:

Characters created with flowers at the entrance:

Meeting the Characters:

 

[Adi12982]

AND, MY FAVORITE: TIGGER!!

After we ate, the Crystal Palace in the sunset:

We ended the day by watching Spectro Magic and Wishes! What an incredible way to end the day at the Magic Kingdom – we got to ride and see everything we wanted! AND DH got to meet Stitch and I met TIGGER!

 

[Adi12982]

July 9: Typhoon Lagoon!!

For this morning I had made reservations at Kona Café for 7:30 am. It wasn’t one set in stone, I wanted to see if we were up to it, but since it was just the two of us, no family with us, we figured it would be a great time to try it out. DH got the Big Kahuna - Pancakes, French toast, eggs your way, home fried potatoes, ham, bacon, and sausage and ate every bit of it!! I cannot believe how much he can eat, and I am the one that would gain the weight if I ate like that! I got the famous, tonga toast!

I only ate 1/2 – ¾ of it (including the piece I gave DH to try). It was excellent! I especially liked the crunchy edges. Eating at the Poly was a great start to the morning, especially for the TONGA TOAST :lol:

Lilo and Stitch carved at the Kona Café – thought it was out of chocolate, but not sure.

Some more shots of the Poly in the morning:

 

[Adi12982]

Then we headed off to Typhoon Lagoon for the day, YEAY!! We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE TL!

We had a very great day there – the weather was perfect! Not drop of rain – so we were able to enjoy all the things we love most! Of course we spent HOURS in the wave pool (though never the small waves, we don’t like those as much as the huge ones), we did all three Crush n’ Gusher slides (always be sure to keep your bottom up!) and a few other of the slide, Mayday Falls, etc. We also got to relax in the Lazy river. We shared a CS for lunch and then got ice cream cones as snacks – we were so full!

After a perfect day in the sun and water we headed back to the resort for a short nap and got all dressed up for the California Grill!!! Neither words nor pictures can begin to describe how PERFECT this dinner was! Just being atop the Contemporary, the Castle outside the window, WOW!!

Our ADR was for 9:20pm, we arrived at 9. We checked in on the second floor of the Contemporary and requested a window view of the Castle for our anniversary celebration! The CM checking us in told us the wait could be up to 40 minutes and even past the fireworks at 10pm, DH got a panicked look on his face, and I told the CM that that would be fine that I wanted the most perfect anniversary celebration possible. They allowed us to go up and hang out either in the lounge or the observation deck – of COURSE we chose the Observation Deck! WHAT A VIEW!! I got tears in my eyes – it was so amazing and perfect. We could see the castle at a distance changing colors and from Space Mountain all the way to the giant rocks on BTMR. We did not wait 10 minutes before our “buzzer” went off to let us know they had a table for us ready! It was the most perfect table, more than I could have dreamed of. We sat facing the castle!!

Here are a couple pictures that do not do it justice AT ALL – my camera was not capble of getting such great shots at the distance we were and in the dark – you all should really try and check it out sometime!

DH and I shared one person’s allowance of food and got an extra appetizer. It was all incredible. We got the three cheese flat bread, that could be a meal itself. I ate the sushi and it was the BEST sushi I have EVER had my entire life, and doubt I will ever have any better. DH got the Oak-fired Beef Filet, which I tasted, WOW it was AMAZING! And then we shared the Chocolate, Chocolate, Caramel for dessert. The best part of the meal however, happened between the appetizers and the main course! The lights dimmed, the music came in and we saw WISHES! All I can say is WOW – it is different to be at such a distance, but we LOVED being able to see the show a new way. It was silent during the fireworks, all the people without window seats went out to the observation deck.

DH at the California Grill, couldn’t get the castle in the picture because of the flash, but it was next to him, lol!

I cannot stress how wonderful this experience was. It was so magical and awesome! After dinner we headed back onto the observation deck to get a few more looks over the Magic Kingdom and then took the Monorail to the MK to catch the bus back to the AKL for our last night there.

 

[Adi12982]

July 10th: Our last day at WDW

We slept in our last morning until about 9:30 am. We tried to get a late checkout but were told the AKL does not do late check outs at all. So DH went down to the Mara to get us breakfast while I started packing. We ate breakfast while watching some more resort TV (I just cannot get enough of it)! We packed up and then called for bell services so that we could leave our luggage in their storage room instead of our car, in the heat. I was a little scared to leave my laptop with them, but DH said it would be fine, and besides, the case I have you cannot even tell it is a laptop case.

We said good-bye to Melman from our balcony, and then headed to Downtown Disney.

We spent a few hours wandering around DTD and enjoyed trying on hats and shopping – I bought things at the Christmas store for the first time, going to start collecting Disney items for our tree! Here are a bunch of pictures of us enjoying DTD!

We are pirates!!!

 

[Adi12982]

We had lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s express – WOW! We thought they were mistaken because we got TS food at a CS place! We shared, but I got the 1/2 roasted chicken with salad as my side and a cookie, and DH got the BBQ Chicken Quesadilla (bigger than the size of a personal pizza) and Crème Brule for his dessert. It was all excellent! We headed back to the AKL to enjoy our last few hours there!

We got back to AKL around 3:00 and just enjoyed the magnificent resort! We love it soooo much there! Here is more pictures (they tell the story better than I can):

 

[Adi12982]

At 5:00pm we headed down to Boma again! We did not have ADR’s but we wanted to eat there one last time before heading back to reality. Although we were told by Disney Dining there were no more ADR’s they had no problem finding us a table! Our server was wonderful!! After our wonderful dinner and zebra domes and all, she brought us this:

we brought most of it home with us!

Last few pictures of us before leaving:

Some hidden Mickey’s we found, I got more, but have not uploaded them yet. . .

 

[KerriSue]

Your trip sounds fantastic. What a great surprise for your husband. Im so jealous. I would love to have that happen to me.

Your pictures are great. I love trip reports with tons of pictures. You and your husband are adorable. You have the greatest skin, hate you

Thanks for sharing
Kerri

 

[Adi12982]

You have the greatest skin, hate you

Thanks
Adi

Neer considered myself haing great skin - THANKS

 

[bekkiz]

Thanks so much for sharing, it sounds like you had a great time!

You guys are such a cute couple! Congrats on your anniversary