Trip Report No Grit, No Pearl: a 30th Anniversary Trip

Ahoy Mateys! Or anniversary trip has come and gone. Before I report on this trip, please take a trip down memory lane with me.
We were wed on August 6, 1994 and we arrived on our Honeymoon trip on August 7. We stayed at the Polynesian and I wish I could remember the building we stayed in! I know we were on the first floor, and we were not super close to the pool. I recall visiting Discovery Island on our first day.
IMG_7840.jpg
IMG_7839.jpg
IMG_7838.jpg

I remember E being paranoid that a bird was going to 💩 on him because there were birds everywhere!
At the time Animal Kingdom did not yet exist, but I do have some photos of the other 3 parks.
Here are some from MGM Studios:
IMG_7819.jpg

The fountain that is still there.
IMG_7820.jpg

Also still there.
IMG_7821.jpg
IMG_7822.jpg

Long gone.
IMG_7823.jpg

From a parade. These camels are now at Magic Carpets of Aladdin.
IMG_7824.jpg

Mickey and Mr. Miyagi!
 

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
August 6, continued.
Our first LL was for TSMM, so we moseyed on over to Toy Story Land.
View attachment 810470
Side note, E loves to wear his Gilligan shirt when we go to Disney. He was pretty disappointed that he only got a few comments on it this trip.
View attachment 810471
We scanned into TSMM and I was able to snag a LL for MMRR for 8:20!
View attachment 810472
E usually scores much higher than this, but he wasn't even upset. I guess he's maturing, finally! 🤣 Either that or the YubNubs mellowed him out. Our LL for Slinky Dog was up next.
View attachment 810474
Happy to be in the back!
View attachment 810475
After Slinky Dog, I was able to grab a LL for Star Tours that started immediately. E always has to pull the rope!
View attachment 810477
It was time to check in to my favorite hotel!
View attachment 810479

View attachment 810483
I like to watch Twilight Zones marathons whenever they are on. I spied Talky Tina on the way out!
View attachment 810482
Those may be the coolest SDD photos I've ever seen
 

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
August 6, still continued.
After ToT, we went to the locker to freshen up for dinner before heading over to the Riviera.
View attachment 810484View attachment 810485
We got there right when they opened at 5:00 and enjoyed some drinks before dinner.
View attachment 810486
In hindsight, I wish I hadn't made a reservation so we could just stay at the bar. We were seated at a very small table and our server seemed very disappointed that we didn't want to hear his recommendations. You'd think that he'd be relieved that he could save his spiel. 🤷‍♀️ Our meals were fantastic as usual, but would have been better at the bar!
We decided to have "dessert" back at HS.
View attachment 810488
It was very enjoyable to sit and people watch whilst waiting for our Rise LL!
View attachment 810490
Rise was amazing! All effects were in full effect. We then made our way to MMRR.
View attachment 810491
Everything looks so lovely at night. We are not used to being in the parks after dark!
View attachment 810492View attachment 810493
I ❤️ Chuuby!
It was park closing time. We didn't have plans to see Fantasmic this trip, so we emptied out our locker and headed to the bus stop.
Aside from our table at Topolino's, this really was a perfect day and a reminder of why we keep going back!
Sounds like you all had a great day. Happy Anniversary; 30 years is quite the accomplishment!
 

PineapplePrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

PineapplePrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wed. 8/7 continued
We spent a couple of relaxing hours by the pool before heading back to MK. It was extra evening hours and E mentioned that he'd like to watch the fireworks from Main Street which we haven't done since 2021. Since our LL for Tiana's started at 4:15 and Enchanted Rose opened at 3:30, we made a slight detour on our way to MK.
DSC08029.JPG
DSC08031.JPG
DSC08032.JPG

We would have loved to stay longer, but we had things to do!
2024-08-07 - Magic Kingdom Park - Main street train station.jpeg
DSC08037.JPG
2024-08-07 - Magic Kingdom Park - Tianas bayou adventure.jpeg

I tried to take my time going through the queue. I took a few photos, but was just trying to take it all in. I had avoided spoilers and I found that I really enjoyed the new ride. It is very visually appealing!
Our PoTC LL was right after Tiana's.
IMG_7847.JPG

Dinner at Pecos Bill's was next. I grabbed a couple more LLs. One for the Teacups and one for Buzz. Before Buzz, we enjoyed another trip around Tommorowland on the People Mover and went to visit John and his family.
DSC08046.JPG

Loved the new seats!
DSC08047.JPG
DSC08048.JPG

Due to technical difficulties, we were treated to this scene twice!
 

PineapplePrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
8/7 continued
I managed to get the 6:00 VQ for Tron for extra magic hours. We got BG 199. We really focused on our attempt to defeat Zurg! E caught a little sun today!
IMG_7848.JPG

I grabbed one more LL for the day for JC.
DSC08050.JPG
DSC08063.JPG
DSC08067.JPG
DSC08070.JPG

I love being in the middle back of the boat so I can pivot and get pics on both sides.
Moving Season 5 GIF by Friends

We made our way to Main Street to see about finding a spot for HEA. It was 8:20 and there were already a lot of people holding their spots. I wish I had taken a photo where we were because it ended up being really good. I'll try to describe it as best as I can. It was right next to the area where there is wheelchair access for the dessert party guests. There is a pillar there that we could lean against. Just before the start, they asked people to move up, so instead of next to the pillar, we ended up in front of it. Then instead of leaning on the side of it, I could lean back against it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the crowd reactions and was of course teary eyed the whole time. Even though I love watching them from Cali Grill, or Top of the World Lounge, I didn't realize how much I missed the atmosphere in the park.
We patiently waited for the crowd to subside before heading over to Tron as it was really close to our BG being called. It seemed that everyone staying for extra hours also got a BG because the line was down the ramp past where the Tron sign is! We decided that we didn't want to wait, and we had ridden everything that we wanted, so we shopped a little and then went back to rest up for Epcot the next day.
 

PineapplePrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
8/8 Epcot
One of my favorite things about staying at the Poly is it's proximity to TTC. Being able to walk over and hop on the monorail to Epcot is a big plus in the morning. Our LLs for the day were for SSE, LWTL and Remy's. It seems like a waste to get it for Epcot, but unless you enter at the International Gateway, rope dropping Remy or Frozen is a waste.
DSC08074.JPG

Waiting to rope drop Soarin'. We were able to ride it twice without much of a wait.
DSC08076.JPG
DSC08077.JPG
DSC08078.JPG

Then we headed to Les Halles for breakfast. The line wasn't too long yet and we both had the Croissant Jambon Fromage. They were perfect as usual.
Our LL for Remy wasn't until later, so we backtracked to the Land Pavilion for the Farm Ride. It was also getting close to our BG for GoTG.
DSC08086.JPG

2024-08-08 - Epcot - Guardians of the galaxy cosmic rewind.jpeg

Clearly we should have asked the people in front where the camera was! Our song was "One way or another". The only one we haven't gotten yet is "Conga".
DSC08095.JPG

It was time for our Rat LL and it was enjoyable as usual.
We then embarked on a mini drinking around the world tour. First up:
DSC08098.JPG

I had heard that the Violet Sake in Japan was amazing, so that was next on my list to try. It was sooo good, but very sweet!
DSC08101.JPG

We enjoyed the drummers from this vantage point because it was in the shade.
DSC08104.JPG

Then we made our way to Italy for our 1:30 ADR at Via Napoli.
 

PineapplePrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
8/8 continued
We decided a late lunch at Via Napoli would be perfect. I adjusted our LL for SSE to coincide with our exit from the park. Today was the first day this trip that we were really feeling the heat.
One quick photo of the drummers from the front and we were off to Italy.
DSC08105.JPG

This was the view from our table. We had never been seated in this room before.
DSC08106.JPG

Our Strawberry Limoncellos. I'm noticing that I photographed all of our drinks, but not our food. Priorities!
DSC08107.JPG

We had the Arancini which we didn't love and an individual Pepperoni Pizza. The pizza was good, but we discovered a place in our town that does it much better.
Unintentionally we were travelling World Showcase "backward" and we ended our tour in Mexico.
We took a ride with some ducks. Have you even been on Gran Fiesta Tour if you don't take this photo?!
DSC08111.JPG

DSC08114.JPG

Surprisingly there were tables available at La Cava, so we sat and enjoyed a couple of drinks and were a little sad that we were full and couldn't have the queso.
DSC08116.JPG
DSC08117.JPG

We said "hey" to Foxy on our way out! The camera was not working, so only cartoon characters in our future.
DSC08118.JPG

DSC08120.JPG

Waiting for our chariot to make the loop around.
 

PineapplePrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Finishing 8/8
Surprisingly, even though we were staying at the Poly, we had yet to enjoy noodles and pot stickers so that was the plan for dinner. We also hadn't shopped at Boutiki or Moana Mercantile. There were seats open at the bar at Tambu Lounge when we arrived and we took our time savoring our dinner and drinks. After dinner, we putzed around the shops. Some merch that I thought was cute, but didn't purchase.
DSC08026.JPG

We headed back to the room to start packing as tomorrow would be our last day. HEA was watched from our balcony.
IMG_7760.jpg
IMG_7763.jpg
IMG_7766.jpg
IMG_7782.jpg
 

PineapplePrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
8/9 And so our journey comes to an end.
The Mears shuttle was due to pick us up at 2:30. One last visit to MK was in order.
DSC08133.JPG

We ended up in the crowd right around the same place by the Cheshire Cat Cafe to wait for rope drop. They were already announcing that Seven Dwarves Mine Train was not running. Disney, do better!
So we rope dropped Pooh.
DSC08137.JPG

We inadvertently double rope dropped since there really wasn't anything else in Fantasyland that we wanted to experience. We waited for the 9:00 rope drop to scoot on over to JC.
DSC08150.JPG

I took a few photos in the queue, but sat back and enjoyed the ride. We had LLs for HM, PoTc and Tiana's. I did manage to get them pretty early in the day since it was the last day of the trip. I will spare you the PP ride pics from today. They are NOT good! I had never noticed this little area by pirates.
DSC08153.JPG

We enjoyed a Dole Whip Float.
DSC08156.JPG

Then we snacked on some corn dog nuggets and listened to some music.
DSC08160.JPG

And took a ride on the Moving Park Bench.
DSC08161.JPG

Before we knew it, it was time to head out. We drowned our sorrows at Tambu Lounge before collecting our luggage and waiting for the shuttle.
DSC08171.JPG

Our flight ended up being delayed because of storms in the area, but we ultimately made it home safely with no travel woes. We plan to renew our APs and have 2 trips tentatively planned for 2025.
Thanks for following along!
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom