Articles | Disneyland | Walt Disney World
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 31

Thread: 25th Wedding Anniversary at WDW November 2011!!

  1. #1
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    25th Wedding Anniversary at WDW November 2011!!

    Cast:
    me: 43 yrs old Disney loving gal. Been to WDW 2005, 2007, 2009, Xmas 2010
    Mike: 43 yr old hubby of Disney loving gal. Been to WDW 2005, 2007, 2009, Xmas 2010
    Staying: Offsite at Bahama Bay Resort
    When: Driving by car and arriving November 26 to December 3

    We were married at 18 years old. Never thought we'd make it this far!!
    This year has been challenging with highs and lows. My husband has been laid off of work a couple of times in the last year (we haven't had to worry about that for 15 years!!) This is a lowlight.
    Then my parents brought our whole family to Disney World for Christmas!! This was a major highlight.
    He has been working out of town since February 2011. Not being able to come home on weekends a lot. Me being a single parent has been exhausting (I seriously don't know how you single mom's do it!! EVERYDAY!!) Love my kids terribly, but when school let out and my two university and college kids came home GOODNESS! My youngest is in his first year of high school. When it was just him and I it was pretty fine...we had a system and routine. Add two more big kids...well....just mayhem. Systems and routines flew out the window!! lol
    Anyways, I was feeling kind of down and was really wanting to get back to Disney with just my hubby. I started getting quotes at our favorite resort and got a pretty awesome deal. I still had some money in my US account that would more than pay for our week. So I sent my husband a text saying we deserve this, we've earned this, we NEED this and we are doing this!! He simply replied OK. So I went to the computer and booked it right away.
    So now, I've already made some reservations at WDW. Haven't bought our tickets yet mind you. Just counting down the days...yes....already. In all our years together, we have not had more than 2 days alone without our kids. This will be very different and you know what, kind of exciting. We've talked about what we would like to do someday when we visit WDW without our kids. Now we can actually do it!!

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  2. # ADS

    Join Date
    Location
    Posts
     

  3. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Lake Worth, Florida

    Congradulations! We also got married at 18 yrs old. Celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary March 2011. Went to Disney of course and stayed at POFQ. Be sure to wear your anniversary pins and let them know you are celebrating your anniversary. Our children are out of the house. We go to Disney at least twice a year. My daughter-in-law is a cast member at Magic Kingdom. We live in Florida, a three hour drive to Disney. Next trip Dec. 10th 2011. Next year my daughter is getting married at Disney in Oct. Even though we are only adults going now it is great! Enjoy your trip and make lots of memories!


  4. #3

  5. #4
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    Thank you! Do they have specific anniversary pins??? Yahoo! I will definately be letting them know we are celebrating!! Oh! I envy you being able to go twice a year! Where does your daughter-in-law work at Magic Kingdom? Hopefully I'll be able to say hi to her. How exciting your daughter is getting married at such a magical place. Congradulations! As of today we are down to 27 days.....but who's counting?? lol Can't wait to just enjoy being together and making wonderful memories and having fun!

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  6. #5
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    I know!!! My parents brought us there for Christmas last year! I'm so looking forward to being there!!

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  7. #6
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    Alright. We are down to just under 4 weeks now. 27 days to be exact. But who's counting!

    I'm actually surprising myself and not planning this to death for a change. I've made some reservations for meals though. Mike and I have both agreed that since we don't have the kids with us we can really just wing it for when we leave and stop and eat etc. Looks like we are leaving home on Thursday November 24. I realize it is the American Thanksgiving, but hopefully everyone will be too busy eating turkey and watching football to cause traffic jams!! lol. The last couple of times we've actually driven straight through, but Mike is surprising me and saying when we get tired, we'll stop for the night and sleep!! You have to know him.....he's the type of guy that when he decides to go, it's like there is a fire under his butt. So this "okay we can stop when we are tired" is kinda shocking me....however.....forgive me if I'm sceptical. I'll believe it when I see it. I'll keep you posted.

    What I've done so far is:

    Tuesday, November 29 (actual anniversary date) Lunch at Crystal Palace 1:05pm
    Tuesday, November 29 (yes celebrating big today) Dinner at Captain's Grille 6:50pm
    Wednesday, November 30 Lunch at The Biergarten 2:35pm

    I haven't purchased my tickets yet though. Hopefully this weekend I can get that done. Does anyone have suggestions where is the best place to buy tickets?? Discounted?? Or is that not worth it? Too risky?
    I have book our dog Buddy Harley in the kennel for that week. Our two oldest work at the same plant and that week they are working night shifts. Our youngest has already made plans to stay with a friend for that week. We are worried that poor Bud will be so lost. So since we get to go on vacation, so does Buddy!!
    Travel insurance will be bought Monday.

    I'll fill you all in as the planning gets more exciting!! Any suggestions from you of what we should do without kids would be most welcome. Don't want to miss anything!!

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  8. #7

    If I were visiting without the children I'd have afternoon tea at the GF and I'd also do the Segway tour at Epcot. Have a great trip!

     

    If no-one out there understands, start your own revolution and cut out the middle man (Billy Bragg)

  9. #8

    A couple of quick suggestions:

    I see you're staying off-site, so be sure to make note of the EMH park days - and then seriously consider not going to those parks on those days.

    You can get a Happy Anniversary pin from Guest Relations in any park.

    “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” - Roy Disney

  10. #9
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada
    Quote Originally Posted by scoobydooby View Post
    If I were visiting without the children I'd have afternoon tea at the GF and I'd also do the Segway tour at Epcot. Have a great trip!
    Oh! The afternoon tea sounds wonderful!! Thanks for the great suggestion. The Segway tour....I've looked into it. But was unsure if it was "worth" the money. I will seriously revisit that!

    Thanks so much!!
    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  11. #10
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada
    Quote Originally Posted by Barberella View Post
    A couple of quick suggestions:

    I see you're staying off-site, so be sure to make note of the EMH park days - and then seriously consider not going to those parks on those days.

    You can get a Happy Anniversary pin from Guest Relations in any park.
    Yes, the EMH's, I've already investigated that and made some plans to avoid. We are getting Park Hoppers, so that helps too. Because sometimes, you just need to go to a certain park and get your fix....EMH or not!! ha ha

    Guest Relations will definately see me asking for 2 pins!! Thanks so much!!! I'm getting so excited...25 days!!
    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  12. #11
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    Well today is November 23, 2011 and we leave for the sunny south this afternoon!!! We had our first snowfall today and what better way to leave Canada!!!!! Just finishing up the last errands and gathering the last few items to pack. Hubby is sleeping right now for our drive. It's quiet right now and a little strange We should be on the road by 4pm! AT THE LATEST!!

    I'll keep you posted!

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  13. #12
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    We are back from our trip and boy what a trip it was! We had fabulous, absolutely fabulous weather and a couple of tons of memories!

    We left on Wednesday, November 23 at 4pm. We decided to drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to stop in on my retired parents who winter there. We surprised the heck out of them actually. I had told them we were not considering stopping by on our way down. Anyways, we got there around 10:30am on November 24th. Called them on my cell and my dad answers. He asks where we are at that time and I say, "Isn't there someone at your door?" He says, "oh! Just a minute." He places the phone down, we are laughing on the other side of the door, because we haven't even knocked yet!! My dad doesn't even wonder how I could hear the door when I'm on a cell supposedly driving down the I-95 somewhere!!! Well, if you could have seen his face when he opened the door! It was worth the extra time travelling just to see his face. My mom comes out and she is shocked. They were so happy. We went back to our truck to get our bags and my mom was so sweet and made us delicious ham and cheese omelets for lunch. They left to go for their daily swim and I showered and then Mike and I both went to sleep for a couple of hours. My folks are right on the ocean and you could hear the waves crashing up on the beach. Didn't take either of us to doze off.

    We got up around 3pm and we decided to head out to the Bass Pro Shop. Yes it was open on Thanksgiving. We found a cute pair of "Real Tree" overalls for my little nephew for Xmas. Next we went to Walmart, I had forgotten my make up bag....can't go anywhere without make up!!

    Went back to the condo and we went down for a drink at the bar to watch some football and the sunset. Mom made supper for us and we saw someone lighting fireworks on the beach. It was a lovely evening.

    November 25
    The next day was Black Friday. Mom and I had Mike drop us off at the Tangers Outlets around 9:30am. The parking lot was busy but to be honest....I didn't wait in line for more than 5 minutes! I got some fantastic deals and was deliriously happy with them. We were done by 1ish. Went back to the condo and walked to beach and collected seashells and saw quite a number of dolphins! It was a perfect sunny day. Sat in the sun and lay on a blanket for a while. Eventually headed back up to the condo and skyped with the kids here at home for a bit. We got to show them the sunset and where we were staying. They liked that.

    We went out to supper at Outbacks and enjoyed that meal tremendously. We headed home and went for a walk...ate too much. Relaxed for a bit and headed to bed. We are leaving around 5 am. so didn't stay up too late.

    November 26
    We were on the road by 5am. Said bye to my parents and had a very easy ride to Florida. Stopped at the Florida Welcome Center and it was WARM! Enjoyed some orange juice and walked around a bit. A few more hours and we will be at Bahama Bay Resort!

    We were too early to check in so we went to Walmart and got some groceries and some Disney shirts. Took our time and by 3:30pm we were in our home for the next week. It was just perfect. Beautiful. It felt like we were home. We unpacked and changed into bathing suits and headed to the pool and hot tubs. The first one we went to was busy. We stayed for a while but eventually we changed to a different pool and had the place to ourselves! How relaxing. Back to our condo and made supper and relaxed for the evening. There used to be an orange orchard behind this resort but unfortunately over this past year....it's gone and is being developed now So we missed the smell of oranges in the morning.

    Tomorrow the plan is to pick up our tickets at will call and then take our resort tour on the monorail and Wilderness Lodge. We don't start going into the parks until Monday (5 day park hoppers). Little did I know that what we planned isn't at all what actually happened.

    I'll fill you in shortly!

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  14. #13
    Self-proclaimed Diz nut TinaMouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    My Old Kentucky Home

    Hope to hear more!

    I'm a single mom and I'm just getting used to it all. MY GOODNESS!!! All of my personal, private time is out the window. MP is my only "free time." LOL! Hope things are brighter for you in 2012!!!

    Working hard for that next WDW trip!

  15. #14
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    Sorry folks, it's been so busy over Christmas and work that I haven't had the chance to type in my report yet. I'm off one day this week and my plan is to share with you our completely magical anniversary in Disney World. All I can tell you is that I cried, happy tears I promise, every day and had a blast with my husband. The anniversary pin was awesome and fun and it came with some surprises too.

    I can't wait to tell you all about it.

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  16. #15
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    Thank you Tina. I hope that you have a wonderful 2012! What was nice about this trip is that I had "free time" which was....odd, if you know what I mean!

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  17. #16
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    At long last, I've started typing out my trip report. Our first day is a long one, but lots happened. I promise the rest of the days won't be so long! Hope you enjoy. Hopefully, I'll finish the report this weekend.

    Sunday, November 27, 2011

    Woke up at 7:15am, couldn’t sleep anymore. Was too excited! We were back “home” and couldn’t wait to start my vacation routine. Started a load of laundry and started the dishwasher, had a bowl of cereal and hot chocolate out on our patio watching the palm trees and blue sky. It was a beautiful sunshine filled day and nice and warm too! Just what I needed! Hubby was still sleeping, so I was enjoying some me time while waiting for the pool to open at 8am.

    Once I was at the pool, there was nobody there. While I was there, Mike was going to go to Target and get the few things we forgot the day before and look for some shorts. At the pool I met this very nice young man from Birmingham Alabama! He is my daughter’s age (20 yrs.) and I enjoyed talking with him very much and we actually chatted for over an hour, just talking about his stay in Florida and what he does back home and what we were going to see and do during our stay etc… He was called by his father to come in and pack and I thought I should get back to my condo too and get ready for the day.

    Mike was just arriving as I was walking to our condo. He didn’t have a good morning. He got rear-ended in the Target parking lot by a drunk driver. Fortunately no damage to our truck. A man who witnessed the accident was actually a fireman and he went and took the keys away from the drunk driver and told Mike what to do. The police arrive and take care of everything. Then Mike tells me our credit card didn’t work! I knew everything was perfectly fine, so I call up our credit card company. Turns out, I should have put a travel notice on it. That’s all. That done and taken care of, we were ready to start our day.

    Mike had bought me 2 Disney shirts while he was out. I must say that the sun I got in Myrtle Beach and this morning at the pool….I’m looking pretty good!! 
    Today, we plan to pick up our Disney tickets at will call and then do our long awaited resort tour off the monorail. We arrive at MK and get a tram right away – it was actually waiting for us! We pick up our tickets and didn’t wait in line for 5 minutes! Awesome!

    Mike says let’s take the MK monorail – not the resort. He explained that he wants to find his sunglasses string. I thought nothing of it really; my memory was foggy and thought the gift shop was before the ticket takers! I know…..what I was thinking! I had hinted maybe we could go into the park today?????? But he said no, we start the parks tomorrow.  I knew all this, heck; I was the one who planned the week! Once at MK and I realized my mistake about the gift shop and said well we have a beautiful day to take the ferry over to Wilderness Lodge and thought maybe we would do that one first. He agrees and says he would probably find his string for his sunglasses at one of the resorts. I turn around to face him and smile, but he is holding 2 Mickey Mouse park tickets in his hand and a mischievous grin. At first I wonder how he got those tickets out of my pack without me noticing and he says he didn’t. I’m confused. He then tells me that is also what he was up to this morning while he was out! I start to cry! He’s bringing me over to the ticket booth and I can’t focus! I can’t seem to stop taking my finger off the light and I’m crying (HAPPPY TEARS) and the CM asks me what’s going on???? She’s smiling at me but I’m sure she’s thinking this lady is crazy and could she please keep her finger on the light?????!!!! She asks me why I’m crying and I tell her what my husband has just done and even she melts!!! She helps me get through and wishes us a fantastic day and happy anniversary. I am still crying and I give him the biggest kiss and hug! We go underneath the train station and he says, just stop Jen and take it all in. So we stand there in Town Square and just soak it in. We are finally here and it’s a beautiful day! He asks me what I want to do first and I say we have to get anniversary pins from guest relations. My good friends from mouse planet told me so! We have this lovely young lady around my daughter's age roughly who serves us and I ask her for our anniversary pins, she asks us how many years? 25! I say. Now, I am still tearing up and she asks me why I’m crying and I proceed to tell her how sweet my husband is and we aren’t supposed to be here today and I’m just floored! Now even she is impressed with my husband! She then asks if we have plans for tonight and I literally say while looking up at Mike, I don’t know! Do we have plans for tonight?! Sniff sniff! Hee hee! He says no, no plans. She then asks for our ID’s and for me to fill in this sheet with our names and address etc. I have absolutely no idea why, but I do as I’m told….I’m a good girl. I see her looking over at us a couple of times and when she returns, she looks at the info and says “perfect” and then hands over 2 tickets for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party for that night!!!!!! Well…….I start crying all over again!! I my goodness! If I could have jumped over the counter and hugged her I would have! I wish I could remember her name!! We thanked her whole heartedly and profusely and she shooed us away and wished us a magical anniversary!

    I hugged Mike again once we were outside! I decide I better go to the lady’s room and freshen up. I can’t go around crying all day!! Once I’ve rejoined Mike we start walking down Mainstreet and going into shops and chatting up CMs. It was fabulous. We also get fast passes for Mickey and Minnie and the Princesses! I was so excited that the CM at the fastpass booth remembered me when we arrived for our fastpass time! It was so magical. Our photos were fantastic and fun! We got quite a few pics with Mickey and Minnie! The princesses were wonderful. I didn’t feel funny going up to them without my kids! Belle and Cinderella were a dream really. They took their time with me just as they would for a child or a family! Wishing me happy anniversary and how I’ve already met my prince charming! Aurora didn’t chat with me but that’s okay, I had 2 wonderful experiences with Belle and Cinderella!

    Once we were outside we bought our first Mickey Ice Cream bars of the week. We went up to the train station and had a seat and people watched and admired the castle! It was just perfect really. The sun shining down on us, we are still well….humbled by the generosity and genuine good wishes by the CMs and guests!

    Next up….continue down Mainstreet. We went into the glass shop and looked around in there. I bought a beautiful glass necklace. We rode Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Country Bears! We then went for lunch at Pecos Bills. I was able to order a gluten free burger & fries!!! While we were there we were congratulated a lot on our anniversary. We ended up getting embarrassed there too (but we were warned by the CM there). The CM yelled out our names and asked everyone in the restaurant to yell out a big YA HOO for our 25th anniversary! It was fabulous!! The noise was amazing! Lunch was pretty good too! I love Disney World! It’s so easy for me to eat there. I could never order a gluten free burger here at home!

    After lunch we went to Tom Sawyer’s Island for the first time. Our kids would have loved it! We always say we have to go there, but we always get side tracked and never make it. We really enjoyed ourselves! I got a kick out of watching Mike walk over the “barrel bridge”….it was pretty comical! We then headed over to Splash to use our FP’s! Loved it!.....as usual. We then boarded the train to head to the front of the park to get our Party bracelets and we rented a locker to put our camera (dead battery) and my broken hip bag and sunglasses. It was money well spent…nothing to carry or watch or worry about.

    Haunted Mansion was next. The ghost at the end of the tour took our heads off and switched them around! Then Philharmagic and Snow White and Winnie the Pooh. We would see Beast’s castle way off in the back…can’t wait to see it in the daylight. We didn’t watch the first parade but the second. The crowd thins out by then. We did watch the Magic, Memories and You light show right up in front of the castle! All I can say is OH MY GOD!! Loved, loved, and loved it. It was absolutely awesome! I cried! Especially when Walt speaks at the end! We then walked down to our terrace to take a time out and get away from the crowd a bit. Nobody was down there. I lay against Mike on a bench and we talked about what we were blessed with today and what we did. We then went and had hot chocolate and cookies at Cosmic’s. They had gluten free cookies for me too and boy oh boy were they wonderful! And huge!!! Walked around some more and I was asked if I would like glitter in my hair…..Heck ya!!! I was glittered all up! We headed back to the castle and watched the stage show! We then walked up to the bakery on Mainstreet. Mike had a danish and I had veggies and dip. We then walked out to see the parade! Great view, right up front. We met a nice couple too and shared some laughs! Princess Tiana waved to me and wished us Happy Anniversary! How thrilling! I felt like a little kid!!!

    We took our time leaving. It was a long day but so full of memories and magic, we felt tired but at the same time didn’t feel tired!! Ha ha

    We took the monorail back to the TTA and again got a tram right away! Home we went. I took a shower to get the magic glitter out of my hair and we were in bed and lights out before 1am!!

    WHAT A DAY!!


    Monday, November 28, 2011

    Up and out to the pool by 8am. Beautiful sunshine and warmth!! Swam and soaked and relaxed until 9:30am. Came back to condo for breakfast and shower. Today we have a reservation at the Biergarten at 2:40pm.

    We stopped at Walgreens on the way; Mike’s knee is bothering him.

    We parked at MK today and took the EPCOT monorail. Everything has been so easy so far. We haven’t had to wait more than a couple of minutes for trams, monorails it’s fantastic!

    First up….Space Ship Earth! Only a 10 min. wait. Mike chose Portuguese for the language. Our pictures were hilarious. Mike looked so proud of himself and I look completely disgusted!!! Hilarious. I guess the pictures were taken when I realized he chose Portuguese!!! Ha ha. Anyways, when it came time to answer the questions, of course, we can’t understand anything so Mike randomly picks answers. We were laughing so much….it’s like this program knows Mike. Our video starts playing and it shows Mike and I skiing and he falls and breaks his arm. Our little robot fixes him all up and then follows Mike to make sure he doesn’t get hurt again!! In reality, Mike gets hurt quite often. that’s why I thought this was perfectly hilarious!

    Then we went to Innoventions. We did Sum of all Thrills. Mike designed a bobsled track. If our daughter Kayla was with me, we would have turned it into a thrill for sure. But Mike’s not a big ride person so I left it to him to design. We really had no plan today, just winging it. We went into the aquarium, into some shops. Enjoyed a Mickey bar outside of Nemo. We finally rode Living with the Land. That was pretty cool actually. Walked over to the worlds, it had clouded over and was starting to sprinkle rain. Kept going though, and I thought darn, I left the ponchos at the condo. Had lunch at the Biergarten. Delicious! We sat with a family from Pittsburgh. One of the family members was 21 and she was in college for Hotel and Travel and was chatting with me. She said she was considering applying for the college program at Disney! I got so excited and encourage her whole heartedly. Imagine how that would look on a resume. You learned from the best place in the world! We enjoyed the show there. It moved me to tears how they invited all the children down and told the story of Silent Night. It was so quiet and soft. I missed my kids.

    After lunch we wandered in the shops in Germany, then Italy, the American Pavilion. There we listened to the Voices of Liberty. Sat down on the floor and we were both blown away! They moved me to tears actually, surprise surprise. We went looking for their CD in the shop but they were sold out. Explored the pavilion, we hadn’t done that before either. I wanted to get pictures of the gingerbread house again. There we met a very nice CM at the door. We ended up talking with him for over 20 mins! During that conversation he encouraged us to see the Candlelight Procession. That show was about to start so he said good bye and we made it just in time. Unfortunately, it started to rain maybe 10 minutes into the show. I stuck it out, but it wasn’t stopping and I was feeling cold and Mike didn’t feel like getting soaked either. So we unhappily left. The CM at the rope saw my pout face and she pouted with me. We said we’d come back another day…..prepared with ponchos!! Ha ha

    We explored more worlds to escape the rain. I bought another damned poncho….that makes 11 ponchos!!! Ugh! We explored China, Japan, France…there I got pictures with Aristocat Marie! England, the band there was incredible. We actually stood out in the rain and sang and I danced. What fun!

    We eventually made it to Soarin’. We had got fastpasses earlier. We then decided to call it a day. I think the drive down and late night caught up to us.

    Monorailed back to the TTA and again, tram was there already. We stopped in at Target for something to eat for supper and headed home. It was still raining.

    I took a wonderful bath by candlelight and listened to the rain falling outside the window. Emailed everyone back home and fell asleep on the loveseat. We were both in bed by 11pm. It was a different day but maybe it’s because yesterday was pure magic in everyway. Plus we were tired.

    We still met some wonderful people and had great memories and laughs.

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  18. #17

    Great Start!

    I cry at everything too.

    Formerly tinkinparis

  19. #18
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

    Today is our official 25th wedding anniversary!! We actually slept in this morning…slow late that my father’s telephone call to us at 8:40am woke us up!! Oh well….so Mike went off in search of a John Deere store and me? Off to the pool of course! It is a beautiful day full of sunshine and white fluffy clouds. There was nobody at the pool – had it all to myself.

    Once back at the condo we got ready for the day. When I got back to the condo Mike had an anniversary card waiting for me. So sweet. Went and showered and when I was all done Mike came and got me to dance with him in the living room to Alan Jackson’s “Remember When”. Oh my goodness, I cried it was so appropriate to us and touching. He can be such a romantic when he tries!! 

    Plans today are reservations at Crystal Palace for lunch at 1:05pm and Captain’s Grill at 6:50pm. We parked at MK again and we tried to find the girl that gave us the Christmas Party tickets at Guest Relations, but she wasn’t there. On our way down Mainstreet, we got wished happy anniversary from a photopass photographer named Pat. She looked like fun so I asked her if she would like to take some fun pictures of us. She told Mike where to stand and she asked me what I had in mind. I said to get him on one knee and have him kiss my hand….basically be my Prince Charming. She loved it! Mike was a good sport too! Hee hee! A little further down Mainstreet and we watched to Move It Shake It Parade. We were right up front by Casey’s! It was so great. So many CM’s wished us happy anniversary in the Parade! I cried again! We headed over to the CP for our lunch reservations, checked in and waited by the bridge. While there, we met the mayor! I think it’s the same mayor we met on our first visit in 2005!!! We both really enjoyed people watching and noticing things we hadn’t before just by enjoying the sun and stopping!

    Terri was our server at CP and our table had Mickey Mouse confetti all over it for our anniversary! The Chef came to show me what was Gluten Free and safe for me, believe it or not, it’s even better than ever! I could have soooooo much! We all love eating there because the atmosphere is fun and the food is fabulous! I made a pig of myself but I couldn’t help it!! Mike tried very hard to not over eat…which is so difficult there! We got our pictures with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger too. I felt kind of funny sitting there with no children, but Terri assured us that it happens all the time. Mike said we were probably the only ones who actually tasted their meal too! Ha ha. For dessert, yes dessert, I had a GF cookie and their coconut flan (soooooo yummy) and Terri brought us out a GF chocolate brownie and for Mike a decorated cupcake with a candle! Plus a signed card from the characters! It was wonderful! We got our picture with Terri before we left.

    After lunch, we waddled over to the castle for some pictures of the two of us! Tomorrowland to ride Buzz. I finally beat Mike!! Mind you his gun wasn’t working too well. Who cares???!!! I beat him!

    Rode the People Mover after the Carousel of Progress. After all this time and walking I felt I could safely ride Space Mountain! Next we rode the Steamboat. It was a lovely day at MK. We thought we should start heading over the EPCOT so that we could get to the Captain’s Grill. We were walking through EPCOT when Mike stopped me and asked if I was actually hungry? Heck no I said! I was still full from lunch, so was he. We decided to not go to the restaurant; we wouldn’t really enjoy it anyways. I did feel bad because we didn’t cancel our reservation earlier. Instead, we went to Mexico and we walked around. We finally saw the Candlelight Processional. All we can say is WOW!! Michael Q. Smith was the narrator and he was fabulous. We enjoyed it tremendously! Guess what? It moved me to tears. We then went to get a view for the fireworks. They took my breath away again. I didn’t cry this time though…I just finished crying from the choir!!

    We walked the long way around the world to head out. We scooted down to the shop where we were supposed to catch our ferry to the Yacht Club for supper. They had some different merchandise there.

    We eventually made it to the monorail to the TTA to head home. It was around 11pm when we left the parks.

    Had a little snack when we got back to the condo and then enjoyed a lovely bath. Fell asleep on the couch again and when to bed at midnight. Mike stayed up till 3am!!

    What a wonderful anniversary day. We will never forget it!

    Wednesday, November 30, 2011

    Today we slept in again! I didn’t get to the pool till around 10am! It’s a little cloudier today and cooler but when the sun does peak out, it’s perfect!

    While at the pool, I saw the cat that my son Adam befriended back in 2009! He had given it a saucer of milk. The cat saw me too and when I called it over, it came right up to me!! Pet it for a while and missing my kids. Wished my son could see the cat too. This cat is very affectionate. Well, headed back to the condo after 11am.

    Mike was still out at Walmart, so I enjoyed having the place to myself for a while. He picked up all kinds of Gluten Free stuff there for me. I didn’t ask him to do this. I’m not really interested in going shopping everyday. Why would I want to come all this way and explore Walmarts and Targets???? Not I thank you. Give me palm trees and pools and hot tubs and Disney!

    We skyped the kids and my oldest son’s girlfriend to show them our condo and the weather. Had some connection problems but we got to show them all how wonderful the place is. We ate lunch and then headed to AK. By now it was clear blue skies. We parked in Dinosaur and again got a tram within 5 minutes.

    We had our picture taken in front of the AK Christmas tree, and then proceeded into the park. We didn’t have much of a plan – but I did get a FP for EE. We went to the Pangini Trail and saw the Tigers and giant bats! We went on the Safari this is the first time we didn’t see the lions or rhino or giraffes! I know….strange! Our tour guide was great though. Got to see a hippo out of water too. Next was Kali River Rapids. We were on a raft with fellow Canadians!! They wore ponchos….wimps! However, I’m sure they were glad they did have them on because they would have been SOAKED! Mike and I for the first time didn’t get drenched! Maybe the kids have been our bad luck all this time!? We said our good byes to the Canadians and wished them a good trip home. It was then time for me to head back to EE for my fastpass and Mike went and explored on his own for a bit. We had arranged to meet later. EE was fantastic as usual…the Yeti didn’t catch us. Had my picture taken in front of the mountain. Met Mike and we had some sweet pecans. Oh my goodness! They were spectacular! We finally watched the Jingle Jungle Parade! We didn’t get to see the gorillas or anything new…since we arrived so late.

    Our camera is being temper mental this trip. Both batteries don’t stay charged for the day. So we left the park and went to Target to get a new camera (cheap) just to make it through the Christmas Party tonight. Yes we are going to another Party. Our three children surprised us before we left with 3 envelopes. The first envelope was an anniversary card. The second envelope was filled with $500. which simply said “To help get you there” and the third envelope had 2 Christmas Party tickets for November 30!! Our kids are the greatest! I couldn’t believe it! That’s why we didn’t want to go tonight to the Party and not be able to take pictures for the kids to see.

    We were back at MK just after 7pm! We were both getting hungry so we headed for Cosmic Rays. I had the first gluten free hotdog in 13 years!! While we ate we watched Chip and Dale dance with the kids on the dance floor. Goofy came on after them and we watched him dance to I Got a Feeling from the Black Eyed Peas! Pluto joined him next. I was even dancing in my seat! Mike thought I was silly! Hee hee. We grabbed our hot chocolate and cookies and walked around. It was cooler tonight. The radio said later when we were heading home that this was the coolest night in 8 months!

    We did Peter Pan, Small World, Philharmagic, Pirates, Swiss Family, Aladdin, Buzz. Mike this trip got to ride a lot of rides for the first time. Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Peter Pan, Aladdin. Today, Mike beat me hugely in Buzz. This time my gun was really not working! Oh well, we still laughed and teased. We saw the light show again at the castle and again, Walt brought a tear to my eye. The fireworks we were over by Casey’s and we had such a fantastic view this time. The first Party we were too close to the castle…not complaining but we know for the future. We watched a show in Tomorrowland featuring Buzz, Mike W from Monsters Inc., and Stitch. It was really cute and comical. It snowed too and fireworks as well.

    I think my highlight was getting a picture with my Jack Sparrow!!!! Oh my goodness! We went into the Horseshoe Restaurant and saw Woody dancing with everybody. Again, I was dancing in my spot….again, Mike thought I was silly! We enjoyed lots of hot chocolate and cookies; I even brought some cookies home. Our last photo of the night was appropriate, it was with Donald….for our oldest! He was all by himself too. The park was just about closed so it was such a treat to end the evening with Donald.

    It was midnight! We made it to close up! We were tired, but we took our sweet time going up Mainstreet. We were able to go right up to the castle and into it too! They were starting to set up the stage for the Christmas Day Parade taping the next day. We got to enjoy looking at the murals and mosaics in the castle. The last time we were in the castle was 2009, so it was really nice. The crowds are really thinning out now. It was almost peaceful walking with all that space around you. The lights were still all lit up and the music was playing. We went into the trainstation and looked at the old photos of Walt and his trains. Took some photos from the balcony.

    By the time we made it out the monorail was closed so we took the ferry back and caught the tram shortly after. We got home after 1am. I got ready for bed. Texted the kids to thank them for the wonderful evening they gave us and got into bed. We turned the heat on actually! Mike stayed up till I don’t know when. I watched a little bit of TV but that only lasted maybe 15 minutes!

    Today was another memorable day. Full of smiles and laughter and screams and wonder!!

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  20. #19
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada

    Thursday, December 1, 2011

    Today is a clear blue sky and it’s supposed to get up to 72F!! Woke up at 8am and decided to do my writing here in the condo instead of the pool. Mike is still sleeping. I’m wrapped in a blanket on the couch. I’m so comfy. Today my parents are coming down. They booked a condo at the same resort as us. We are supposed to go to HS today. They won’t be down until later though. They are driving from Myrtle Beach. So I think the plan is go to the park and come back to meet up with them. I’m not sure if I’m going to the pool this morning. I’ll see. I left a message at the front desk for my parents and told them not to worry we would be back to see them. The sunshine is calling me but I’m thinking it may be a little cool still outside of the pool. I decided to not go to the pool. So I was lazy and relaxed for a bit. We headed out to HS in the beautiful sunshine. On our way to the park we stopped at the Harley Davidson store on the I192 and drooled and dreamed and looked around. Really liked that place. Someday Mike will have a bike. I’ve been leaving my bags at home so it’s been nice not having to go wait in line for the bag check. We did the new Star Tours first. It was just fantastic! We visited the Wookie Planet! Both enjoyed that very much. We did the Backlot Tour for the first time. We really liked that. We saw Walt’s airplane that he used while working out the “Florida Project”. We had lunch at the Backlot Express and had my tasty chicken tenders that I’ve been craving since we were here last! They didn’t disappoint. Our server at the counter wished us happy anniversary and said there was a phone call for us. He brought us over and he said this person’s been waiting for a couple of hours for us. It was Mickey wishing us a great anniversary!! Too cute!! After lunch rode Rockin’ Rollercoaster while Mike wandered. Bought Adam his Aerosmith shirt (his favorite band).

    This was a bit of a sore spot for Mike and me. This was our very first trip alone and away from the kids for more than a sleepover night and my parents are retired. They can go anywhere at anytime, but they book at the same resort and expecting us to hang out with them. What can I say? We were both feeling a little annoyed because all week we haven’t really looked at our watches or worried about anyone schedules but our own. I know it is very selfish of us, but we were annoyed that we now had to. This was our trip!

    Anyways, I call them when we are leaving the park and my mom tells us where they are. They are one building over from us! Well, it could be worse, they could be right next door!! We arrived back at our resort and head over to see them. We talked for a while and we told them we were heading back to MK for Wishes. They joined us. We ate at the Columbia House. I had salmon! It was quite good too! We then all headed out to see Wishes which had just started. We didn’t have the best view but it wasn’t too bad. We all enjoyed the show. Then we got a really good spot for the Light show. It wowed us again. Walt just makes me cry! We then went over to the people mover and we took our time walking around. All the rides stopped at 9pm. We walked up Mainstreet USA nice and slow. Mom and Dad were tired, plus it was the last time we would see MK all lit up. Got some photos of all of us with the castle in the background. We then went up to the trainstation and grabbed some chairs and people watched and castle watched. Dad couldn’t get over all the people filing out! When we were at Disney last it was over Christmas 2010. The crowds were so thick, you wouldn’t even dream of having a seat up there! It was lovely. We were lucky enough to see/hear the park say goodnight to everyone. The castle lights all go off and then it starts to sparkle and the announcer comes on! Then we see the castle “ice up” after. By now it was after 9:30pm almost 10! We headed out and I got a little cup of popcorn. We monorail out and we went home.

    We dropped the parents off and we relaxed. I headed up to the pool for a hour swim and soak. I was there by myself, it was blessedly quiet. Got ready for bed and sat with Mike. It was a beautiful evening. I had put on jeans just to be safe, but really, a hoodie would have been fine.

    Mom asked if I would ride a few rides with them tomorrow, I tried to lay the hint it was our last day, but I felt guilty and said yes.

    All in all, it was a really nice day! Sad tomorrow is our last one at the parks.

    Friday, December 2, 2011

    Gorgeous day again! Headed to the pool and hot tub again. No kitty today though. Went back to the condo and got ready for the day. Mom and Dad came over and volunteered to drive us, which I wasn’t prepared for and neither was Mike. When we were gathering our stuff in the bedroom, Mike asked if I knew about this and I assured him I was as surprised as him.

    We parked at EPCOT which was in the middle for us today. We got checked in by this new system. Mike and I separated from my parents for the morning and we headed back to MK. I really wanted to see the taping of the parade. Mike wasn’t supposed to come with me, but he said he just wanted to bring me there, that way he can monorail one last time and see Town Square one last time too. Instead, he surprised me again and he walked me over to the Polynesian Resort! Oh my! I was finally going to get my tour that I so wanted to explore last Christmas. It is so beautiful. We walked all over, along the water, by the pools, through a few buildings. We really walked slowly here. The flowers were perfect….oh, just love it here. We eventually made it over to the main house and we bought our oldest an authentic Hawaiian Shirt! He loves these shirts so we thought how perfect to get him the real deal? We also bought his girlfriend a Hawaiian Lay so they could “match”!! We chatted with some CM’s in the lobby. I would love to stay here some day! I thanked Mike with a kiss and hug. We hopped back on the monorail to get to MK and Mike saw me off and he headed back to EPCOT to explore.

    I walked around MK checked out what was going on at the castle. Scotty McCreary was on earlier. Jennifer Hudson was supposed to be on around 1:30pm then the Muppets. I went and ate at Cosmic Rays and had a grilled chicken sandwich which was really good. I found some wonderful walking paths behind the castle that I’m sure I’ve never taken before. There were benches for sitting and everything. It was a lovely warm day. By 1:30pm Jennifer Hudson wasn’t on yet, they were still having the choir group singing. They were good. I would have loved to see the Muppets though. I had to get back to EPCOT to meet everyone for 2pm. I headed out, checked guest relations one last time for the CM who surprised us with the Party tickets. She wasn’t there. Went up to the train station again and enjoyed the view one last time.

    Caught the monorail to TTA and caught the EPCOT monorail right away. Got through the ticket booth in great time. I headed over to the American Pavilion; I was almost a hour late! It wasn’t a problem though, Mike was with my parents. When I found my group Mike was eating this huge funnel cake!! My dad was looking on with envy and a bit of drool. I sat with them all for a bit, but wanted to go take pictures of the gingerbread house….I didn’t get a chance last time since we were talking with the CM there. I then treated myself to some eggnog out of the gingerbread house. It was delicious. Mom and Dad then went and got one too. Mike went into the gift shop hoping that they found some CD’s of the Voices of Liberty. No luck.

    Watched a show at the American Pavilion then my parents and I went to Mars! Walked around and took it all in. We then headed over to the ferry to get to HS. A CM had said it was a good 15 minute walk to HS so we decided to walk. On the way, we admired the resorts. My goodness they are lovely. We made it to the Swan and Dolphin with no HS in sight! We asked another CM and he said” Take the ferry!!!” It was right there so that is just what we did. I don’t regret the walk though.

    Once at HS we brought my parents to Star Tours. This time we saw Jar Jar Binks and Darth Vader! It was awesome!! Really liked this one. After Star Tours we went to Backlot Express. Had to have my last chicken tenders. It was quiet here. Which was nice. Again, the last time my parents were in this restaurant, you could barely move it was so crowded! After our meal we talked at our table for a while. It was so nice to not feel rushed. We then went over to see the Osborne Lights. Mike and I just love it. It was different and you just keep looking all around and singing and dancing!

    While we were in line for the ferry to get back to EPCOT we met this very nice lady and her family. They were from Kentucky. She was very friendly, her husband was too. It was almost odd as to how similar our two families were! She and I are alike in loving Disney, and the fellas love to hunt! Once we were on the ferry we got separated…oh well. We had quite a few laughs together!

    We had a lovely view of the resorts all lit up at night. We had arrived back at EPCOT too late….the Candlelight Processional was already started. Mike was hoping to see that again too. We strolled through and took our time. We decided to head home, we were all tired and it was Mike and my last night here.

    Mom and Dad dropped us off and we said our goodbyes!! Took a nice bath in the lovely corner tub one last time. Watched some TV with Mike and we were both in bed by 11pm. That’s early for us this week it seems.

    We’ve had such a wonderful week! It’s hard to believe our time is up. There were still things we didn’t get to do. Next time. We got the okay for a late checkout tomorrow so we won’t leave until 3pm. Good. We can pack up and relax and get to take our time leaving tomorrow instead of Mike’s usual 4am wake up and all hell breaking loose!

    Saturday, December 3, 2011

    Sunshine once again and a gorgeous day! Mike went to Walmart to get stuff for our drive home. He was gone for well over an hour! To the point I was getting worried. Mom and Dad were already gone to the parks by 9am. Mike finally got back and I then headed out. I wanted to go to DTD to get my photopass CD and get to the Premium Outlet Mall and still be back to the resort in time to enjoy the pool and hot tub for an hour or so. Mike being gone so long definitely changed that. Purchased some souvenirs at World of Disney with the 20% off, got my CD. Took pictures at the Lego store for our youngest. Didn’t go wander too much, was running out of time. It was already 11:30am! So I then headed over to Premium. It was very busy there. I was hoping to get some Lululemon pants or hoodie for our daughter. But the selection was very sparse so I didn’t. I went to American Eagle and got some stuff for our youngest for Christmas and got him some Skullcandy headphones at Zumiez. It was after 1pm!

    Drove through the Disney property one last time on my way back to the resort. Mike was laying down when I got there. I brought my bags in and then quickly got my bathing suit. Mike got up and wanted to go with me. So off we went. The only time he joined me at the pool was our arrival day and our departure day….hmmmmm what a guy! I didn’t want to leave  I showered up back at the condo and we started packing up. Everything was pretty much packed up already; it was just a matter of loading it in the truck. Brought Mom and Dad over our left over eggs and milk. Took a picture of the Bahama Bay Resort sign…I’ve been wanting to do that since our first visit in 2005, and then bought some gas and headed north! 

    We had the best travel weather we could hope for. It sprinkled a little rain in Florida, but that was all! It was actually fitting, it gave us a rainbow.

    Our drive home was good. We stopped again in Watertown at the Walmart and got some groceries and the last gluten free stuff we can’t get here in Canada yet.

    What an anniversary. We are so blessed and lucky and loved. It’s been 2 months since we arrived and I miss it just as much as I did when we left December 3rd.

    I hope you enjoyed my trip report and didn’t find it too long. I thoroughly enjoyed typing it and reliving it.

    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  21. #20

    Wonderful report. We celebrated or 25th in WDW - the kids were with us. When our baby graduated HS we took off the day after graduation for 10 days in Disney. Just DH and I . We had a ball. I love Disney with the kids, and I love it just the 2 of us.

    Thanks so much for sharing with us.

    Ellen


  22. #21
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada
    Quote Originally Posted by EJ4Disney View Post
    Wonderful report. We celebrated or 25th in WDW - the kids were with us. When our baby graduated HS we took off the day after graduation for 10 days in Disney. Just DH and I . We had a ball. I love Disney with the kids, and I love it just the 2 of us.

    Thanks so much for sharing with us.

    Ellen
    Thanks Ellen. I'm so glad you liked reading it. My sentiments exactly! Love Disney with the kids and love it just as much just me and my hubby! Love it!
    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  23. #22

    I LOVED your trip report! You had me crying at some spots! It sounds so wonderful. I hope to one day enjoy going to WDW with a special someone when my kids are all grown up.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Shelley
    DLR '80, '05, '06, '07(x2), '09, '14, '15, '16; WDW '97, '10, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16; DCL '13, '16


  24. #23
    Registered User kuchfam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Arnprior, Ontario Canada
    Quote Originally Posted by yellowrosedtxn View Post
    I LOVED your trip report! You had me crying at some spots! It sounds so wonderful. I hope to one day enjoy going to WDW with a special someone when my kids are all grown up.

    Thanks for sharing!
    Thank you for reading it and enjoying it! I cried so many happy tears that week! Disney World made us feel so incredibly special! It was so wonderful, I dream about it everyday since and still cannot believe that we were there and all those magical things happened to us!
    I hope you find that someone special too and go to WDW!
    Life is magical at Walt Disney World!

  25. #24

    It sounds like it was a very magical trip! I'm glad it was so special! Happy Anniversary!

    just can't get enough of disney

  26. #25

    What an eventful trip you had! Y'all did so much, yet had time for relaxing, too ... the perfect combination, in my opinion. Congrats on your anniversary. I loved reading about all the sweet, loving things your husband did for you. My DH tolerates my Disney obsession, but he isn't "in the know" enough to pull off surprises like that.


Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •