Trip Report ** COMPLETED ** You left your babies at HOME? Heck yes we did!

SighI’ve been meaning to start this report for a while! It did happen almost 4 months ago, but with my last trip report dragging on, end of school and an early summer vacation, life had different plans!

Anyway, let’s gooo!

The quick deets:

Who: Me and my wife K

When: February 25 - March 3
Where: GF villas and Wilderness Lodge

As for the why and how we got here: The short story is that we were celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

There is a lot more to it than that though -

We knew for the last 2 years we wanted to go away for our 10 year, but could not figure out where. We toyed with everything from an all-inclusive beach vacation, to England, to our other favorite Cape May and everything in between. We realized though we are not just sit on the beach people anymore - we are busy, and like to be going and doing things. When the pictures of the Wish came out, it seemed perfect. Romantic and fancy, enough of a Disney touch, and we get to get to the beach too. All of our favorite things! So we booked a 4 day cruise, and since we were traveling to a Florida anyway, we booked a 2 night stay at Grand Floridian by renting DVC points (figuring we would never stay there in the near future with kids).

And then a wrench was thrown - the Wish actually sailed, and reviews were less than ideal.

We tried to ignore them, but so many of the negatives were focused on the adult side of things, with the positives being the kids areas. In the end, we just weren’t excited anymore and with the best parts being the kids areas, it did not seem to be a good way for us to spend our money. So we cancelled, but we still had that 2 night stay at GF, and with it being a point rental, we could not really cancel. Luckily, a Disney+ promotion had just came out, and we were able to score a great deal on a WL room! And so the trip was born!

 

[Minnie1986]

Final Thoughts

So many people questioned us going to Disney for Anniversary, since a) they think it’s for kids or b) we tend to go often. Shouldn’t an Anniversary trip be special? That last part is what almost made us second guess it. Would it really be that special? And the resounding answer was yes!

We didn’t do any special tours or parties, although we were a bit tempted to do a Keys to the Kingdom tour. Our focus was really taking this place that has become special to us over the last 10 years, and get to experience it as if we were just married.

It’s no surprise that Hollywood Studios and Epcot were our favorite parks this trip, and MK is where we missed the kids the most. Epcot Evening Hours were definitely a highlight, as was our hilarious ride on Millenium Falcon.

For restaurants, Topolinos was definitely our favorite, with the food at Steakhouse 71 a close second. Boathouse was sadly a disappointment, but Wine Bar George was way better than imagined (I wanted the Saganaki, but K is now obsessed with it). I also will always now get my own popcorn at MK.

For hotels, both GF and Wilderness Lodge were great. I’m glad at GF we stayed in the Villas building, although we did feel a bit remote. We almost didn’t get the full GF experience in that way. WL at first I will say we did not love. We had a weird run in with some guests I didn’t mention in here (reminded us of some not favorite family members), which gave us a bit of a sour taste the first day. Every day though we fell more and more in love with it. Geyser Point especially is one of my favorite places on property, and all of the grounds just felt like an escape.
One big surprise for us was just how much time our kids take up! The amount we were able to get done at Hollywood Studios was mind boggling, and while part of that was since we barely met any characters, it was eye opening to think just how much time we spend standing around talking over plans when more people are with us.

Future plans

That said, we need to get used to having more people as we are going on quite the extended family trip in just over 2 weeks! L’s parents will be joining us 4 again, and so will her sister, husband and two kids. They have never been, so they wanted to join us so we could essentially guide them.

But… where family goes, so does drama, so we did as any good Disney fan and extended our trip on the premise of “cheaper flights”. We’ll be spending 3 nights at Pop, before everyone joins for 4 nights at AoA. This will be Jersey Week (our kids will only miss one and a half days), so we are expecting some crowds. But K is currently coaching the HS color guard whose season ends the Sunday before, she is also running for Board of Ed (we’re leaving election night), C is in cheerleading which ends that Sunday, and I’m C’s school’s Running coach which ends the Friday before. So long story short, we can deal with crazy and still feel relaxed!

And for anyone doing the math, this will be mine and K’s third trip in one year. And no, we do not have APs because they were not on sale originally for our first trip. And up until now, we were very much in denial about just how much we truly want to keep going back.

Thank you everyone for following along, and I appreciate the patience and push to finish this up! I’m not sure if I’ll do a full TR for the next one, or just a live one, but we’ll see!

This may be a random question, but do you remember the name of the place that you guys got breakfast from at newark airport?

 

[Spash007]

happy belated anniversary!

Thank you!

DYING. I will never look at poor Flounder the same way again!

Loved the trip report! I totally agree that a trip, even for those who visit often, can be special. My husband has done the Keys to the Kingdom tour and really loved it and thought it was well worth the money (and he hates parting with his money, so that's saying something!)

Looking forward to the next one!

I don’t remember who made the remark about that fish first, but let’s just say there was a very clingy girl who I knew right around the time K and I started dating that we referenced when we rode together!

And I definitely have Keys to the Kingdom on my list! Maybe for my next milestone birthday (summer of 2028, when I originally wanted to head to Disneyland, but Im sure will be super crowded with the Olympics!)

You have officially convinced me that this is the best time to visit. Going to make my next trip after one coming a post holiday adventure.

Although I love the Holidays at Disney, this was such a great time to visit and may be my new favorite.

Great finish and I can't wait for the report that you got AP's and are DVC owners! So glad you had such a great time and happy belated anniversary!

Thank you! And I’m sure it is coming! We have a few items to check off our list first (stupid fireplace that needs to be redone is getting in the way!) but it is on our plan!

Thank you for sharing such a great report. What better place to celebrate your Anniversary.

Thanks for following along!

Thanks for a great TR! The kids are adorable and getting so big, too fast!
As I mentioned previously, Den and I are going without the kids in January. The reaction from people is hysterical and frustrating at the same time. Many just can't believe we would go there when we could go anywhere and just spent 2 plus weeks in June there. The majority don't get, all of our, great love for the mouse house and being young at heart!
I can't wait for your next adventure!

Thank you for following along! And it really is the only place I feel like I can truly escape. And I’m just not a lay on the beach for a week person anymore!

Where is that gorgeous spot by the water?

So I actually learned of this spot from @fractal many years ago. There is a path next to Flame Tree BBQ that leads to a bunch of sitting areas that are on the water overlooking Everest

This may be a random question, but do you remember the name of the place that you guys got breakfast from at newark airport?

It may have been the Office. There were two restaurants right next to each other, and they each had the same menu for breakfast. We have an Office near us (in Summit) that we know we like, so we were happy to see it expanded here!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Your photos are great! DH and I visited just as a couple in Nov. 2022 (Trip Report several pages back) and even though our children are older you really move faster w/just two people.

Best wishes for your upcoming/current trips!

 

[k8einwdw]

Awesome TR! I’m glad you guys had such a great trip for your anniversary, and can’t wait to hear about the next one!

 

[lindawdw]

Final Thoughts

So many people questioned us going to Disney for Anniversary, since a) they think it’s for kids or b) we tend to go often. Shouldn’t an Anniversary trip be special? That last part is what almost made us second guess it. Would it really be that special? And the resounding answer was yes!

We didn’t do any special tours or parties, although we were a bit tempted to do a Keys to the Kingdom tour. Our focus was really taking this place that has become special to us over the last 10 years, and get to experience it as if we were just married.

It’s no surprise that Hollywood Studios and Epcot were our favorite parks this trip, and MK is where we missed the kids the most. Epcot Evening Hours were definitely a highlight, as was our hilarious ride on Millenium Falcon.

For restaurants, Topolinos was definitely our favorite, with the food at Steakhouse 71 a close second. Boathouse was sadly a disappointment, but Wine Bar George was way better than imagined (I wanted the Saganaki, but K is now obsessed with it). I also will always now get my own popcorn at MK.

For hotels, both GF and Wilderness Lodge were great. I’m glad at GF we stayed in the Villas building, although we did feel a bit remote. We almost didn’t get the full GF experience in that way. WL at first I will say we did not love. We had a weird run in with some guests I didn’t mention in here (reminded us of some not favorite family members), which gave us a bit of a sour taste the first day. Every day though we fell more and more in love with it. Geyser Point especially is one of my favorite places on property, and all of the grounds just felt like an escape.
One big surprise for us was just how much time our kids take up! The amount we were able to get done at Hollywood Studios was mind boggling, and while part of that was since we barely met any characters, it was eye opening to think just how much time we spend standing around talking over plans when more people are with us.

Future plans

That said, we need to get used to having more people as we are going on quite the extended family trip in just over 2 weeks! L’s parents will be joining us 4 again, and so will her sister, husband and two kids. They have never been, so they wanted to join us so we could essentially guide them.

But… where family goes, so does drama, so we did as any good Disney fan and extended our trip on the premise of “cheaper flights”. We’ll be spending 3 nights at Pop, before everyone joins for 4 nights at AoA. This will be Jersey Week (our kids will only miss one and a half days), so we are expecting some crowds. But K is currently coaching the HS color guard whose season ends the Sunday before, she is also running for Board of Ed (we’re leaving election night), C is in cheerleading which ends that Sunday, and I’m C’s school’s Running coach which ends the Friday before. So long story short, we can deal with crazy and still feel relaxed!

And for anyone doing the math, this will be mine and K’s third trip in one year. And no, we do not have APs because they were not on sale originally for our first trip. And up until now, we were very much in denial about just how much we truly want to keep going back.

Thank you everyone for following along, and I appreciate the patience and push to finish this up! I’m not sure if I’ll do a full TR for the next one, or just a live one, but we’ll see!

I really enjoyed reading about all the fun you had on this trip! My husband and I did a few trips to WDW for special occasions without our daughters when they were teenagers and we felt like kids ourselves running around the parks! You stayed in two great resorts that provided you with such different experiences which is always nice. We love Geyser Point also and always try to go for a drink and appetizer just because the views are so beautiful! Have fun on your next extended family vacation! Hope you are able to do a quick TR when you get back! Thanks again for taking the time to share this one with us.

 

[Spash007]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Your photos are great! DH and I visited just as a couple in Nov. 2022 (Trip Report several pages back) and even though our children are older you really move faster w/just two people.

Best wishes for your upcoming/current trips!

Awesome TR! I’m glad you guys had such a great trip for your anniversary, and can’t wait to hear about the next one!

I really enjoyed reading about all the fun you had on this trip! My husband and I did a few trips to WDW for special occasions without our daughters when they were teenagers and we felt like kids ourselves running around the parks! You stayed in two great resorts that provided you with such different experiences which is always nice. We love Geyser Point also and always try to go for a drink and appetizer just because the views are so beautiful! Have fun on your next extended family vacation! Hope you are able to do a quick TR when you get back! Thanks again for taking the time to share this one with us.

Thank you all for following along! We were just packing last night, and mentioned to each other how it was so much easier just the two of us and how we have to do it again. C did not like over hearing that lol