25th Anniversary Surprise Trip

kingofthesewers

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
I Surprised my wife with a trip to WDW for our 25th anniversary. I managed to keep a secret for 201 days. On our actual anniversary(7 days before the trip) I gave her a wrapped box to open. It contained two old resort mugs from a prior trip, a folder with airline confirmations and dining reservations, and the magical express luggage tags. She had this most confused look on her face until she got to the luggage tags, then it clicked. She cried. A lot. Spent the remaining days making up lists of chores for the kids (18,21,23) to accomplish while we were away, and of course, flaunting the fact that we were going – without them for a change!

We stayed at Beach Club Villas 6/29-7/6. Perfect location for the two of us. BCV are very quiet, and the access to EPCOT is the best. I had something from the Bakery at France almost every day. On the rest of the days, Boardwalk Bakery filled the gap. There is a little used walkway that cuts between BC and BCV that wraps around the BC and exits through a gate right at the bridge to Boardwalk. Perfect for the bakery run.

WDW was crowded, but for experienced visitors, not a real issue. Beware of the South American Tour groups, which are numerous. They are huge! Fortunately, they wear brightly colored shirts for easy identification. If you see one going in the direction you are headed, either outrun them, or go to where they just came from.

We wore our red anniversary buttons everywhere, and enjoyed having cast members and guests wish us happy anniversary. We were surprised when the characters on the floats in the parades would wish us happy anniversary, and in the Celebrate parade, Princess Tianna even asked us how many years.

We experienced the fireworks at Magic Kingdom July 3, which were awesome except for the weather delay. It was packed, some people were getting impatient and frustrated, but for the most part the crowd was patriotic and respectful. Most of the time I don’t think of crowds as desirable, but 4th of July fireworks, like football games, a big crowd seems better.

I was somewhat surprised how well prepared the transportation gurus were for the mass exodus after the fireworks. We waited a whopping 8 minutes for a bus. Most lines were about one busload.

We experienced Hollywood Studios for July 4th. Very different from the Magic Kingdom show. Dance party in front of “The Hat”, an Mulch, Sweat and Shears played a hard pounding show of nonstop American Rock and Roll to which the fireworks were choreographed. If you ever experienced a Ramones live performance, it was that kind of intensity. No breaks, one song into the next. We loved it, but if you want a more patriotic 4th with traditional march music, then EPCOT and Magic Kingdom are your choices. We love rock and roll, so for us, it was outstanding.

BCV desk services were terrific. My wife had a “texting while walking” accident, and hurt her ankle. We could not find an ace bandage at the store, so the concierge had a runner go get one from a drug store, and delivered it to our room. We were only charged for the bandage, no delivery charge.

There was a family of ducks that had taken up residence at BCV. They would spend most of the day around the quiet DVC pool, but in the morning they would go hang out by the entrance to Beach Club Marketplace to get food from the guests. To get back to the pool, they would wait patiently by the entrance to BCV for someone to hold the door open so they could walk through the breezeway and out the other side to the pool.

Speaking of pools, Stormalong Bay is a great pool. There is something about having a sand bottom that just seems more relaxing. Don’t forget your room keys though, or you won’t get in. We used a pool everyday. We went to a park in the morning, came back to the resort for a mid day swim and nap at the pool and hung out in the room during the hottest part of the day, and then went to a park for the evening.

So overall, I could not think of a better place to celebrate an anniversary. I highly recommend ditching the kids and instead of your 25th being a silver anniversary, make it a Minnie and Mickey anniversary.
 
Congrats! We just got back from our 10 year anniversary and certainly hope to go back for our 25th. Fantastic job keeping it a secret for over 200 days! That's amazing. Glad you had a nice trip. Love the bit about the ducks.
 
What a great surprise and gift! We have not stayed at BCV since 2004 (when we joined DVC) but are planning to stay there next summer with our daughter, her husband and our grandson. I really think he will enjoy the children's pool area. I remember sitting by SB and looking over at the lake and Boardwalk-just beautiful. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Congratulations on your 25th anniversary!
 
Thanks for posting - although our trip isn't a surprise, we are planning a Mickey and Minnie 25th next October! Our kids will be 18, 22 and 23 when we go, and only one lives at home....they are all angling to join us though! I said they could go at the same time, but get their own rooms - we are getting a one bedroom for just us for the first time (we always have to get a studio for just us for budget, or share a 1 bedroom with the kids). So excited, and it seems so far away, but it will be wonderful to plan and look forward to it - and we get almost two whole weeks away!! Also hoping for Old Key West, as that is our favourite one bedroom on property for all the space and huge deck. With our anniversary being F&W Festival, it will probably be impossible to book at BCV.
 


Sounds like you had a good trip! My wife and I are heading down for
Food and Wine (1st) to celebrate our 25th. 61 days and counting!!!:cool1:
 

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