Congrats on not being sold separately! ~ a 20th anniversary trip report. New TR link 12/21

I am seriously thinking to trying to do a quick weekend for the Candlelight Processional and Christmas party.
I completely support this idea :thumbsup2 ;)

I know we bonded over our mutual love for LwtL when we met. :)
Oh that's right!

Definitely put the cucumber margarita on your list for August, it's so good!
Consider it done :thumbsup2

I really think Disney needs to consult their loyal fans before they make all these changes, right??
I couldn't agree more! ::yes::
 


Hi Susan, joining in!!

Your lunch at Sanaa sounds like the perfect way to start the trip!

Your room looks great!

And what a wonderful time at Epcot! An amazing first day for you both!!
 


I completely support this idea :thumbsup2 ;)
I would so love to do it! I have a watch on Hopper for cheap flights and am seriously considering jumping into the DVC pool!
Signing up! :-)
:welcome:, thanks for following along!
Hi Susan, joining in!!

Your lunch at Sanaa sounds like the perfect way to start the trip!

Your room looks great!

And what a wonderful time at Epcot! An amazing first day for you both!!
Hi Alexis!! Glad to have you joining in! We really had a lovely first day.....I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate our anniversary! :goodvibes
I'm here!
Love your room!
Your first day sounds great!
:welcome:, glad you are here! We certainly had a super fun first day! :)
 
Such an amazing deal!
How could I not go????
Poor Bill came to realize that we were going to have our pictures taken multiple times. Oh well, I plied him with food and drink so he really didn't mind too much, :laughing:.
:lmao:
I guess I am a bit sentimental about Disney...I do like my tried and true attractions but it will be good to have something new to look forward too.
I get that. I'm still miffed they changed Wishes.
 
Hi Susan! My DIS time is limited lately unfortunately but I am here and caught up :thumbsup2 Looking forward to reading more and so glad to have finally met you and of course Bill!
 
Joining in :wave2: I just love your intro and title, so sweet. Congrats on 20 years! What a nice relaxing arrival day you had. Your La Cava experience sounds heavenly, I wonder how hard it is to normally just walk up and get a table. Must take notes for future trips. I love we are one too, so glad you got to see it a couple more times before it goes away.
 
.I was Disneybounding this night, can you guess who?

I'm kind of bad at this... but maybe Daisy Duck?!

It turned out to be a non issue as the crews were only there from 9-5

Glad they weren't disruptive!

IMG_4531.JPG
d

I spy wine!


A bedrunner, what???? Thought they got rid of those everywhere.

Bill had not been on Soarin' Around the World before so that was our first FP for the day.

What did he think?

This was kind of an awkward meet as I don't know how close you are supposed to get to Baymax and I went to hug him and I think I got too close and he stepped backwards and I just felt weird.

That's odd, I've always gotten big, albeit awkward, hugs from Baymax! I'm sure that suit is difficult, though.

We had fun designing our future although I guess I am supposed to have a new husband in the future as Bill didn't show up in the picture, lol!

Hahaha, twenty years is plenty!

We lost no time in ordering the trio combo ~ Queso, guacamole, two kinds of salsa and chips. Everything was so good!

So good! A favorite of my dad and I!

Once we finished up, we headed out to find a spot for Illuminations. I am going to miss it so much!

Hopefully there is a worthy replacement.
 
Hello, there! Joining in on the fun!

Happy Anniversary!

Sounds like a perfect first day…but aren't they all?? :lovestruc
 
How could I not go????

:lmao:

I get that. I'm still miffed they changed Wishes.
If I saw a price like that I would book it before it disappeared too! I felt the same way about Wishes....I adored that show. I may even have a permanent tribute to wishes.......
IMG_2418.JPG
Hi Susan! My DIS time is limited lately unfortunately but I am here and caught up :thumbsup2 Looking forward to reading more and so glad to have finally met you and of course Bill!
Hi Ariane!! Glad you are here, my friend. Bill and I were so happy to meet all four of you. The boys were so polite and friendly, what a credit to their parents! You two are obviously doing a great job raising your young men. :goodvibes I hope our paths cross again one day and we get to spend a little more time together. :hug:
Joining in :wave2: I just love your intro and title, so sweet. Congrats on 20 years! What a nice relaxing arrival day you had. Your La Cava experience sounds heavenly, I wonder how hard it is to normally just walk up and get a table. Must take notes for future trips. I love we are one too, so glad you got to see it a couple more times before it goes away.
:welcome:, thank you for joining in! There is a story to the TR title but I won't get ahead of myself... :) It really was the best first day. I would just try for La Cava, you never know! We were so happy with everything we tried there and the ambiance is just lovely!
I'm kind of bad at this... but maybe Daisy Duck?!



Glad they weren't disruptive!



I spy wine!



A bedrunner, what???? Thought they got rid of those everywhere.



What did he think?



That's odd, I've always gotten big, albeit awkward, hugs from Baymax! I'm sure that suit is difficult, though.



Hahaha, twenty years is plenty!



So good! A favorite of my dad and I!



Hopefully there is a worthy replacement.
No......think of a princess in a pink dress...... It all worked out well at AKL, love it there so much! Yes, one advantage of Instacart is that they will deliver wine and beer as well as groceries. It was nice to have that in the room. I was surprised to see the bedrunner as well but we had one at Copper Creek as well, maybe it's a DVC thing? Bill really loved Soarin' although I was sure to request B2 for an optimal experience. Yep, Baymax and I were just not meant to be, lol! I will definitely head back to La Cava...it was awesome! I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with, hopefully it will be as good.
Hello, there! Joining in on the fun!

Happy Anniversary!

Sounds like a perfect first day…but aren't they all?? :lovestruc
:welcome:Kelly! Glad to have you here. We really had the best time celebrating our anniversary! Yes, I think every Disney day is a perfect day.....nothing better than being in your happy place! :goodvibes
 
Hi Susan! I am here joining in, how did I not see this until tonight? Glad I found it.
Sanaa is so yummy and really who would not get the bread service, so delicious!
It looks like your first day was awesome, I love your ears!
 
Hi Susan! I am here joining in, how did I not see this until tonight? Glad I found it.
Sanaa is so yummy and really who would not get the bread service, so delicious!
It looks like your first day was awesome, I love your ears!
:welcome:Caroline! Glad to have you here! Yes, bread service at Sanaa is not to be missed.....so yummy! Thanks for the compliment on my ears, a friend of mine made them for me. :)
 
Pool days are the best days!!

We had a lazy start to the day after our early travel times of the day before. I loved the luxury of putting on a pot of coffee and just relaxing while I woke up. We opted to order in some breakfast things and were soon sitting out on the balcony, taking in the view and enjoying our breakfast.
IMG_4529.JPG
We were obsessed with the Chobani Key Lime greek yogurt as we can't buy that brand in Canada. It was so creamy and delicious. With a banana, some high protein granola and a breakfast bar, we were good to go. After enjoying the animals for a while, we decided to head down to the pool. It was a gorgeous morning so there was really no better place to enjoy it. We found a private corner to the left of the slide area which was so shady and quiet. We ended up making friends with another couple there who were recently re-married late in life after their partners passed away. They were just so lovely to chat with and we really enjoyed their company. After whiling away a few hours, we decided a visit to the pool bar was in order. Bill went for the Pina CoLAVA while I tried the Blueberry Lemonade. We decided to split the Mara salad as we were going to Ohana for dinner tonight and didn't want to be too full. The salad was full of grilled chicken, feta, legumes and veggies....so refreshing in the heat. The drinks went down well too!
IMG_0946.jpeg

Bill is giving me "the look" for taking his picture, lol! Meanwhile, I am blissed out in my happy place!

IMG_0953.jpeg

Soon enough it was time to pack up and get ready for our dinner at Ohana. We called a Lyft to take us over to the Poly. They were being super strict with security tonight, even scanning my magic band to ensure we had a dining reservation. We hoped to get into Trader Sam's but they had opened at 3:00 and it was a long wait. Initially we though we might wait but in the end we decided to just browse around Boutiki for a bit, then go for a beer at Tambu Lounge. I went for the Kona Longboard lager and Bill had the Kona IPA. It was so fun to just sit and reminisce about our Poly vacation with the boys when they were younger and just enjoy each other's company.
IMG_4537.JPG

When we checked in at the podium, we had asked if could request a window table. They said they couldn't guarantee anything but would make a note. Imagine our delight when we were led to a window side table with a view of the castle (
way in the distance). It really could not get any better!

IMG_4538.JPG

Of course we knew, we had to start off with a Lapu Lapu. It's an Ohana must do for us! They came around with the salad but didn't bring the bread. The server thought I couldn't have coconut due to my nut allergy but I told him it was fine and was soon happily digging into the bread and salad. They tried bringing the appies over right away but I asked if they could please wait as we hadn't even finished our salad yet. Finally, our Lapu Lapus arrived and we enjoyed them immensely.

IMG_4540.JPGIMG_4541.JPG
I mean, drinks served in pineapples are always more delicious, right????
IMG_4544.JPG
I was busily tucking into the salad as I love baby spinach and kale and found the dressing to be delicious. The appetizers arrived about 10 minutes later and I did my best to eat my body weight's worth of potstickers and chicken wings, liberally dunked in peanut sauce. The noodles were not the best this time as they were a little dry. There was still so much to enjoy though that I didn't really worry about it.
IMG_4539.JPG

Bill really enjoyed the steak and shrimp skewers while I had some of the chicken. All the skewers were juicy and full of flavour. I didn't eat as much of the meat though as my favourite dessert in the world was soon to make an appearance.......

Look, here it is in all it's glory. Although the sauce is now strictly a caramel sauce and not the banana foster sauce they used to have. It was still delicious!


IMG_4545.JPG

Even though they brought us a slab of bread pudding big enough for a family of four, we made a concerted effort and left very little behind. We really enjoyed our meal, yet feel that is our last Ohana visit for a while. We find we don't handle the all you can eat meals like we used to be able to. But at least we went out on a high note with a wonderful meal!

*continued in next post*



 
Last edited:
A magical evening in the Magic Kingdom!

We hopped on the monorail after leaving Ohana and were soon strolling up Main Street USA. It was our first time in the Magic Kingdom together in three and a half years and I was just thrilled to be there together!
IMG_4554.JPG

Of course, our first ride had to be the People Mover!!
IMG_4546.JPG

Bill did not understand the importance of this shot but I managed to convince him that it is an essential People Mover experience! The park was so crowded this evening as they were also showing the 4th of July spectacular tonight for fireworks. We decided we would focus on our fastpassess and see how the crowds felt to us. First up was Peter Pan's flight which was just so whimsical and fun. We headed over to Liberty Square for Haunted Mansion and obviously had no clue where the camera is for the new ride photo, lol!
IMG_4903.JPG
Coming out of haunted Mansion, the sun was setting and the sky was vivid with purples and grays. I tried to grab a few shots as we headed over to ride BTMR.
IMG_4550.JPG

I love the reflections in the water here.....
IMG_4551.JPG
After riding BTMR, we noticed that Fronteirland was really clearing out as many people went to line up for fireworks. We took advantage of that and walked on to Pirates.
IMG_4555.JPG
Jungle Cruise was a walk on as well and we were able to see some of the perimeter fireworks as we cruised along the river. We took in some of the show from the benches along the entrance to Jungle Cruise, then decided to head out. Even though there was EMH until 2 am, crowds were insane and neither of us felt like waiting in long lines without FPs. So we made our way out of the park and back to the resort, happy with our wonderful 2nd day in our favourite spot!



 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top