Anders & sunnygirl's first anniversary trip report

[Anders]

For our first wedding anniversary, sunnygirl and I decided to take a trip to Walt Disney World. We thought about it for our honeymoon, but we knew we needed to go to WDW with the Jr. Miss.

From there, we invited our familes, my mom, stepdad and sister and her mom and stepdad. It also turned into an even larger group event as several of our MC friends decided to take family vacations all during that same week.

We left Orange County, June 20th and flew to Houston and then to Orlando. It was my first trip back to WDW since 2000, SG's first trip in 20 years and the first ever for the Jr. Miss.

After hopping aboard Disney's Magical Express we made the trip down the freeway and arrived at our home for the next week, the Boardwalk Inn.



We had a concierge suite, but more than that, we had a garden suite.




and the view from the garden in from of our suite.


We ended up meeting up with a small group that first night, we had a late meal at the ESPN Club and then met up with some MCers for a latenight drink at the hotel bar.

The next morning was the day of our anniversary, we headed first to Epcot and did almost all of Future World, including Mission: Space twice before heading back to our hotel in the late afternoon. Sunnygirl and I had dinner reservations at the California Grill for our anniversary. We had a great meal and then headed out to the balcony to watch the fireworks from atop the Contemporary. We then headed to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with my sister and a few MCers and hit a few rides. Heading back to our room, we found Disney had left us a anniversary present.



as well as some chocolates and it was very nice.

a few pics of the inside of the suite, here's the lower level with the sofa set up as a bed



the stairs



and the loft area


to be continued...

[aashee]

Great pix of the hotel! I'll be looking forward to the rest.

[Anders]

No pictures from Monday. We had breakfast with a bunch of MCers at Whispering Canyon and had a nice time. After breakfast we headed over to the Magic Kingdom We had Push sing Happy Anniversary" to sunnyg and I as we wore our Happy Anniversary buttons most of the week.

Tuesday we had lunch at Le Cellier in Canada at Epcot, it was a great lunch. Our first time there and hopefully we'll go back.

The Canada pavilion


and the gardens near Le Cellier


after lunch we decided to do a trip around the World Showcase.
We started in Mexico with a trip on the Grand Fiesta Tour.



We then headed over to China

SunnyG infront of the pavilion.





we checked out the exhibit of the Terra Cotta Warriors


We then headed over to Norway for a trip on the Maelstrom and through the Stave Church.


to be continued...

[DLRP_bopazot]

i miss the french pavillion a lot !

[Anders]

We continued on to Germany

Anders in front of the pavilion


model trains


a great view back towards Spaceship Earth


we then headed to the American Adventure


we loved the "pre-show" of the Voices of Liberty, they are awesome, we actually went back later in the week just to listen to them, and an entirely different group of them were just as amazing.

As we exited the theatre, a thunderstorm struck and we needed to get back to the Boardwalk to meetup with my aunt and uncle who live in Florida and wanted to see us. I hadn't seen them in almost 10 years since they didn't make it to the wedding. We had a salad at the Flying Fish and then headed back to Epcot to see the end of Illuminations and got stick around for Extra Magic Hours.

Wednesday we got up early to do Extra Magic Hours at Animal Kingdom and like many people our first stop was Kilimanjaro Safaris.



Our tour was stalled once we got to open savannah section of the attraction due to a family of giraffes blocking the roadway. Here's a view of the other vehicles in their holding location, while we waited.


we were there for proabably 10 minutes able to see some animals off in the distance


once we got moving again, we got an elephant


and then found the culprits for the wait.




and in case you want to see how close the animals can get to the vehicles.


notice there's no barrier between the rhinos and the vehicle ahead of us


and now a look at how close they get, never thought I'd be this close to rhinos with nothing between us.


just a quick shot of the village of Harambe


later in the day over near Dinoland USA we heard a bell ringing, turns out it was lunch time for the crocodile


it's amazing to see how quickly they can snap up their food.

Animal Kingdom is just a beautiful park


Tree of Life


a little closer


and even closer


we then headed over towards Asia and decided to see Wonders of Flight where we saw the inspiration for the carving above.



the show features a lot of amazing birds


Disney did a great job with this park.


We headed towards Forbidden Mountain to use our fastpasses for Expidition Everest.




we were all tired from the heat and humidity at this point, but on our way out we found someone.




to be continued...

[Anders]

Thursday, we had lunch at the Sci-Fi Drive In at the Studios park. It's probably one of my favorites in WDW. We did the Great Movie Ride, Towere of Terror and Voyage of the Little Mermaid, we didn't get a chance to do Rock 'n' Rollercoaster as the girls were too hot and tired, so we headed back to the hotel.

sunnyg and the Jr. Miss decided to stick around the hotel and had room service and rode a surrey bike that night. I had dinner with my parents at Big River and then wanderd off by myself to Epcot for Extra Magic Hours. The park was empty which allowed for some great photo chances.

First on the walk to Epcot from the Boardwalk looking at the Boardwalk


I decided to make a big loop around the park, starting with the United Kingdom


On my way to Future World decided to take a pic of Spaceship Earth


a few pictures of the Imagination fountains


and the jumping fountain


another shot of Spaceship Earth


Test Track


now heading back around World Showcase in Mexico


Norway


Germany


The park was pretty much empty at this point, I saw very few people during my walk back around World Showcase.

The American Adventure


Japan




and finally France.


Friday was our last full day at WDW and we headed back to Magic Kingdom for one last go around on a few favorites.

The Haunted Mansion


a shot of the castle


and the photo that most people start their vacations with, we end with. The Mickey floral in front of the Main St. Station.



Hope you enjoy all the pics!

[Goover]

The castle looks stunning, and the Grand Fiesta Tour makes me drool...

Happy late anniversary!

[Barbaraann]

Very nice report. I have never stayed at the Boardwalk. It sure did look nice. Your night time photos of Epcot are wonderful.

[Mouse princess]

Great TR. Love the photos!!!

[SummerInFL]

Nice TR! It's great to see it from other perspectives. Epcot at night is a blast! Thanks for taking some great pics!

[mikeland]

That was amazing! Thanks for sharing.

[sir clinksalot]

Great stuff Anders. Glad you all had a nice vacation!!!

[flynnibus]

Happy Anniversary!

[DonDuck]

Happy belated anniversary!!! Love all your pics and your room looks amazing!

[wolfy]

Always wanted to stay at the Boardwalk in the Garden Suites! How wonderful for the two of you on your 1st Anniversary. Looks like you had a wonderful time!