Ideas for 25th Anniversary trip

• This is our first trip to WDW without kids! (Two ASD daughters now sort of grown up!)
• We are mid to late 40's and reasonably fit
• We plan to come for 8 nights, hopefully 4 at Boardwalk Villas (where we own) and 4 at a Magic Kingdom resort (Bay Lake Tower I was thinking, if we can get in)
• We both like food and drink anything within reason except seafood
• As we will be there without the kids I was thinking of a rough daily structure of early mornings and late-ish nights, with a midday break (after lunch) back at the resort to facilitate this!
• As we have been saving a lot for this, we’re willing to spend some money (within reason) to do some special paid for extras
• My wife doesn’t really do fast thrill rides (I do!)

chicagodisneyguy said:

We're 37 & 40 with no kids so similar age bracket and also enjoy the food/beverage options at WDW. We always try and do at least one "add on" experience each trip and these are some of our favorites.

*Savor the Savannah at AK was really amazing. It is basically a dinner consisting of heavy apps and beer/wine on the large platform in the center of the Safari ride. You get somewhere between 60-90 minutes to take in the evening and watch the animals and we really enjoy the food spread. It was a gorgeous night when we did it and was our favorite part of that trip. We left stuffed so don't worry about the apps not being filling enough.

*Victoria and Albert's was one of our favorite WDW dining experiences. We did it for my 30th bday and was amazing. It's obviously not cheap, but if you like the multi course,over the top fine dining it won't disappoint.

*We've also done an Illumination cruise on one of our Epcot nights. You can add on food/drinks as well which makes it a really neat way to see the show.

*Food and Wine will be going on during your trip so I'd definitely take a look at the schedule of events happening. We've done some of the cooking events and specialty events over the years and really enjoyed them.

Enjoy your trip and congrats on 25 years!

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• We did AKL - Jambo House with a Savannah View. The resort is stunning and we loved how quiet it was. I'd recommend it as a 2nd option if you have trouble getting into your 1st choices.
• Lunch with An Imagineer - what a great experience! There were only 9 of us plus an Imagineer who talked about his history with Disney and some of his past projects ( they cannot give spoilers to new areas that haven't been opened yet ). It was a nice, imitate, non-rushed experience.
• Key to the Kingdom Tour - it was a lot of fun to see some of the backstage areas. There is quite a bit of walking but it's slower and broken up with lunch and 2 rides.
• Food and Wine Fest - we didn't do any special seminars this trip, but we have done some in the past. I like that they are shorter and specific ( one time we did a Cognac tasting, another wine tasting from Chautea St. Michele )
• The Edison was by far the worst meal we had on property BUT I would totally go back for drinks and entertainment ( and maybe appetizers go give it a 2nd chance ). The theme is enough for us to stop in one more time.
• Bongos at DS was a sleeper pick - it turned out to be one the best meals we had the whole trip - sadly, it is closing soon. We're replacing it with Jungle Navigation Skipper Cantina at MK as it looks like they have the same type of steaks offered their.
• Speaking of steaks - we also really enjoy the Yachtsman Steakhouse at YC. Quite a bit of variety and we found the service outstanding.
• And lastly, we really enjoyed having an early dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe - the restaurant is just beautiful and the food and service were very good.

Wild4Walt said:

We did our Honeymoon last year and here were some of the stand outs from our 11 night trip:

• We did AKL - Jambo House with a Savannah View. The resort is stunning and we loved how quiet it was. I'd recommend it as a 2nd option if you have trouble getting into your 1st choices.
• Lunch with An Imagineer - what a great experience! There were only 9 of us plus an Imagineer who talked about his history with Disney and some of his past projects ( they cannot give spoilers to new areas that haven't been opened yet ). It was a nice, imitate, non-rushed experience.
• Key to the Kingdom Tour - it was a lot of fun to see some of the backstage areas. There is quite a bit of walking but it's slower and broken up with lunch and 2 rides.
• Food and Wine Fest - we didn't do any special seminars this trip, but we have done some in the past. I like that they are shorter and specific ( one time we did a Cognac tasting, another wine tasting from Chautea St. Michele )
• The Edison was by far the worst meal we had on property BUT I would totally go back for drinks and entertainment ( and maybe appetizers go give it a 2nd chance ). The theme is enough for us to stop in one more time.
• Bongos at DS was a sleeper pick - it turned out to be one the best meals we had the whole trip - sadly, it is closing soon. We're replacing it with Jungle Navigation Skipper Cantina at MK as it looks like they have the same type of steaks offered their.
• Speaking of steaks - we also really enjoy the Yachtsman Steakhouse at YC. Quite a bit of variety and we found the service outstanding.
• And lastly, we really enjoyed having an early dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe - the restaurant is just beautiful and the food and service were very good.

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cgattis said:

I’d recommended Trader Sams, Jock Lindsay’s, and the Boathouse for apps and drinks. Walking around the docks and looking at all the cool vintage boats was fun. Can you tell I’m very i to the theming??

I’d also recommend a fireworks cruise (although I prefer Wishes or whatever it’s called now). They run $250-$350 ish for the whole boat, so no need to fill it unless you just want someone to split cost; I’d rather go alone for an anniversary.

I’d also say a spa day for that kind of trip, but I’ve only done Mandara at the Dolphin and it was just okay.

Personally I’d love a backstage tour, but my DH isn’t that into Disney. Sounds like you guys are if you’re planning this trip to begin with! Our 25th and my 50th will coincide in a couple of years and we’re going back to Hawaii!! (Not yet sure if Aulani will fit in or not.)

Congrats and have fun!!

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MJ6987 said:

Thanks! Some good ideas there. Lunch with an Imagineer and Keys to the Kingdom are both on my short (ok, not that short) list so it’s good to hear good things about them. I like the look of the Edison - maybe a good option for drinks and a snack, as you say. What sort of entertainment is it?

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