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

Today we were finally going to get to experience Keys to the Kingdom and we were so excited!
That looks like a lot of fun! I mean, even the part where you got towed back to the dock on JC can be fun when you get a good skipper that can ad lib and play it up a little bit.
pon arriving at the Grand Floridian we walked through the lobby and stopped to listen to the orchestra for a minute. Would you believe they were playing the song for our first dance at our wedding ~ Love You Madly by Ella Fitzgerald
Wow! That's really cool.
We had a team of three servers looking after us this evening......two experienced servers and a new cast member they were training. I can tell you the service was out of this world...never fussy but charming and attentive to our every need without being over the top. Two weeks before our dinner reservation, I had received an email to inquire of food preferences and allergies and our menus for the evening were personally customized based on that discussion. We were full of anticipation and excitement as we looked at our choices for the evening.
That really does sound like some exceptional service!
This was a sensational meal. Yes, it is expensive....very expensive. But with the ambiance, service and food quality, we felt it was worth every penny. We had a phenomenal evening and certainly celebrated 20 years together in an incredible way.
Definitely looks like a fantastic meal. A great way to celebrate your anniversary!
 
That's incredible! :lovestruc What a perfect way to begin your evening.


Gorgeous picture! And wow! What a meal. It looked and sounded absolutely delicious. So glad you had such a lovely anniversary :goodvibes
Thanks Tracy! It was such fun and a huge treat!We both loved every minute. :goodvibes
What a magical day! The tour sounds like it was lovely and the dinner looks out of this world! A fantastic treat for your 20th anniversary! And what luck to hear your wedding song being played as you walked into the GF!
It couldn't have been a more perfect day, thanks Alexis. The Disney magic was in full swing for sure. :)
That looks like a lot of fun! I mean, even the part where you got towed back to the dock on JC can be fun when you get a good skipper that can ad lib and play it up a little bit.
Wow! That's really cool.
That really does sound like some exceptional service!
Definitely looks like a fantastic meal. A great way to celebrate your anniversary!
It was such fun, so many memorable moments. The meal was over the top delicious and we felt so well taken care of all night. It really was so special. :)
 
Only 24 days until my Christmas trip....... so of course I am contemplating changes. Now that updated park hours have been released I have been thinking about upgrading my ticket a two day hopper. Magic Kingdom opens at 8 am on the 14th and is open until midnight. Would you go for park opening just to see all the Main Street USA streetmosphere in it's Christmas glory? Then come back for two hours after a full day at Epcot? Or simply save that for another trip? I am going to the Christmas party but don't want to miss a single thing if I can help it.

I also did a little shopping! Thanks to @ariane37 mentioning that she bought some Christmas tees on Tee public, I hopped online and found the perfect shirt for my Epcot day. So, so cute!
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Just like this except mine is royal blue.

I treated myself to one of my highly coveted Disney Dooney bags after tracking it down on a Disney Dooney resale group. I went for the 2018 Christmas tote and could not be happier with it. I will be so excited to carry it at the parks.
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I also have some big Disney stuff brewing in the background and hopefully will be able to tell you all about it in a few days. Stay tuned!

 
Too funny, that's one of the shirts I got :goodvibes It's a red v-neck but same design! They all came yesterday and the fits are really nice. That's also where my "Hello.....it's Smee" shirt is from!
 


Only 24 days until my Christmas trip.
T'was about a month before Christmas (trip)
and all through her house,
Susan was contemplating
her trip to the mouse.
Would you go for park opening just to see all the Main Street USA streetmosphere in it's Christmas glory?
Yes
Then come back for two hours after a full day at Epcot?
Yes
Or simply save that for another trip?
ARE YOU CRAZY???
I am going to the Christmas party but don't want to miss a single thing if I can help it.
Yes
453536
I like it!
 
Too funny, that's one of the shirts I got :goodvibes It's a red v-neck but same design! They all came yesterday and the fits are really nice. That's also where my "Hello.....it's Smee" shirt is from!
Glad to hear the fits are nice. Of course the price dropped by almost $10 2 days after I bought mine but what can you do?
T'was about a month before Christmas (trip)
and all through her house,
Susan was contemplating
her trip to the mouse.

Yes

Yes

ARE YOU CRAZY???

Yes

I like it!
You are not helping, lol! I always want to do more, that's the trouble. I guess I can always sleep on the plane on the way home. :)
 


Haha! Then I have to be somewhat functional at school next day.......
"Good morning class. Today's lesson will be on employment opportunities and how to be successful. I'm going to close my eyes and "pretend" to be asleep while you rub my neck, shoulders and feet. Be careful! If I open my eyes, that means you "woke" me and you won't get a good grade!"
After, you can all write resumes while I do some "thinking"..."
 
What a fabulous birthday/anniversary celebration day! Your tour and meal both sound amazing! Some serious pixie dust that they were playing your song as you entered the GF :lovestruc

I would definitely upgrade the tickets and do all the extras You can sleep in the plane for sure 😂
Love the dooney and the tee :)
 
"Good morning class. Today's lesson will be on employment opportunities and how to be successful. I'm going to close my eyes and "pretend" to be asleep while you rub my neck, shoulders and feet. Be careful! If I open my eyes, that means you "woke" me and you won't get a good grade!"
After, you can all write resumes while I do some "thinking"..."
Except I teach kindergarten....no time for rest in our class.......
What a fabulous birthday/anniversary celebration day! Your tour and meal both sound amazing! Some serious pixie dust that they were playing your song as you entered the GF :lovestruc

I would definitely upgrade the tickets and do all the extras You can sleep in the plane for sure 😂
Love the dooney and the tee :)
Thank you so much! I am really thinking more and more about the upgrade. :)
 
Another morning of impromptu plans!

Originally I had planned for us to spend this morning at Magic Kingdom but after our very full day on the Keys tour, I fancied a change of pace. We had scrapped our Animal Kingdom plans on the Sunday evening so decided we would head there today instead. I was easily able to snag FPs for Navi River and the Safari but the real star of the show was going to finally introducing Bill to my favourite Disney lounge!

We started off the morning with a breakfast of epic deliciousness at Creature Comforts. Yes, I'm looking at you oh giant Mickey head shaped cinnamon roll. This was fantastic; light, flaky, warm and gooey...simply everything a perfect cinnamon roll should be.
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We were off to the safari next and it was the perfect time of day for it. There was actually a lovely breeze and the animals were out and active.
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Did you know that the flamingo habitat is actually a Hidden Mickey? That was a fun fact shared with us by our driver this day.
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We headed down to Pandora next but first decided to stop for a photo along the way.
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And of course we came across one of my favourite views......

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After an enjoyable ride on Navi River we headed to my very reason for wanting to come to Animal Kingdom that day....my beloved Nomad Lounge! Happily, Bill loved it as much as I do.

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You really feel as though you are nowhere near a theme park here. I went for my fave, the Spice Trader while Bill tried the Lamu Libation.

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To accompany our drinks we chose the Tiffins bread service and the chicken satay. Everything was so good!

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Great food, drinks, atmosphere, service and company made this a delightful afternoon. We loved every minute and can't wait until our next visit here. In fact, Bill declared it to be his favourite spot on property. We commemorated our afternoon with a slightly less terrible selfie, lol! Soon it was time to head back to Wilderness Lodge and get ready for our first ever time at the Hoop!

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We started off the morning with a breakfast of epic deliciousness at Creature Comforts. Yes, I'm looking at you oh giant Mickey head shaped cinnamon roll. This was fantastic; light, flaky, warm and gooey...simply everything a perfect cinnamon roll should be.
IMG_4818.JPG
Yum! This looks delicious. I don't recall seeing this before so will definitely have to give it a try

Did you know that the flamingo habitat is actually a Hidden Mickey? That was a fun fact shared with us by our driver this day.
I had no idea. Will have to check that out

Great food, drinks, atmosphere, service and company made this a delightful afternoon. We loved every minute and can't wait until our next visit here. In fact, Bill declared it to be his favourite spot on property.
Bill has great taste!!!! Best place on property for me too!
 
Beautiful Christmas Dooney! It will be the perfect accessory for your upcoming holiday trip.

How great that you were able to snag some good FPs for DAK that morning. Your photos from the Nomad Lounge look so relaxing and fun!
 
As I've mentioned before, I've had a love affair with Illuminations going back to the first time I saw it with the boys in 2009. My favourite memory is of Jack (then 8, now 19) slipping his hand into mine and saying "Oh Mummy, isn't it the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?"

Aw, so of course you love it :love:


With our drinks secured, we headed off to the FP viewing area. I didn't take any photos of the fireworks as I wanted to be completely present for every moment of my last viewing. It was a perfect way to toast Illuminations goodbye.

You're making me miss Illuminations and I didn't even really care for it all that much :sad1:


I decided to book Tony's Most Merriest Town Square party for the night of the Christmas party. It is a bit on the pricey side but I decided to go for it as I really want to watch the parade from the perfect viewing spot AND there are beverages of the adult kind which is always a good thing!

I have been on the fence about booking this when Allie and I go! But she can't drink, obviously, and do I really need to spend an extra hundred to watch the parade?? I kind of want to but think I'm being foolish!


Then we headed on to Jungle Cruise where we had the interesting experience of getting stuck and having to be towed back to the dock by another boat. Luckily we had an awesome skipper who ad libbed the whole adventure and kept us entertained.

How funny! I've never had that happen!

Coming back on stage, we headed to Pecos Bill's for lunch where Bill and I went for the Southwest chicken salad and loaded up at the fixings bar.
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Yum! We ate at Tomorrowland Terrace on our KTTK tour and it wasn't very good. I would do it again if I knew we'd get Pecos Bill's!


If you have not had the chance to do "Keys to the Kingdom" yet, I highly, highly recommend it.

Same! It's :worship::love:


We headed back on the launch across beautiful Bay Lake as we wanted to rest up before our dinner at Victoria and Albert's that evening. I decided to see if I could go for a pedicure at Salon by the Springs and Bill opted for a nap. Soon we were dressed in our finest and ready to head over to the Grand for the meal of a lifetime
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Very nice!


Upon arriving at the Grand Floridian we walked through the lobby and stopped to listen to the orchestra for a minute. Would you believe they were playing the song for our first dance at our wedding ~ Love You Madly by Ella Fitzgerald What a perfect, magical moment!
This was a sensational meal. Yes, it is expensive....very expensive. But with the ambiance, service and food quality, we felt it was worth every penny. We had a phenomenal evening and certainly celebrated 20 years together in an incredible way.

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Oh my gosh, the whole thing just sounds so perfect for your anniversary!


Great food, drinks, atmosphere, service and company made this a delightful afternoon. We loved every minute and can't wait until our next visit here. In fact, Bill declared it to be his favourite spot on property.

I can't wait to bring Mike here in March!
 
Yum! This looks delicious. I don't recall seeing this before so will definitely have to give it a try


I had no idea. Will have to check that out


Bill has great taste!!!! Best place on property for me too!
Isn't it great?? Hoping to hit it up again in a few weeks!
Beautiful Christmas Dooney! It will be the perfect accessory for your upcoming holiday trip.

How great that you were able to snag some good FPs for DAK that morning. Your photos from the Nomad Lounge look so relaxing and fun!
Thanks Alicia! We had a really lovely day at AK...it is quickly becoming my favourite park. :)
Aw, so of course you love it :love:




You're making me miss Illuminations and I didn't even really care for it all that much :sad1:




I have been on the fence about booking this when Allie and I go! But she can't drink, obviously, and do I really need to spend an extra hundred to watch the parade?? I kind of want to but think I'm being foolish!




How funny! I've never had that happen!



Yum! We ate at Tomorrowland Terrace on our KTTK tour and it wasn't very good. I would do it again if I knew we'd get Pecos Bill's!




Same! It's :worship::love:




Very nice!





Oh my gosh, the whole thing just sounds so perfect for your anniversary!




I can't wait to bring Mike here in March!
We really had the best trip! I bet Mike will absolutely love Nomad lounge too!
Nomad Lounge is the best!!! Hoping to hit it up again in January!!!
It's definitely a must do!
 
Nomad Lounge is one of our faves! So is the huge Mickey head cinnamon roll lol.

I did not know that about flamingo island, thank you for sharing! Going to be sure and look more closely next week!

Don't you love changing up plans last minute and having it work out swimmingly? Some of our best Disney days are when we have loose plans or scrap our original plans :goodvibes
 
It's nice to be able to wing it and change plans to fit your mood and pace. Sounds like a perfect switch-a-roo for the day! :thumbsup2 And I LOVE your dress!!! :goodvibes
 

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