41 Days: Walt Disney World 45th Anniversary Stuff

I like stuff. I especially like stuff that commemorates something big, like the 45th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. Thankfully, the Mouse has me covered. While I'm sure there will plenty of 45th-themed merchandise available while we are in the parks, I just may need to jump on one of these limited edition t-shirts via the Shop Disney Parks app in a little more than a week.

Scroll to the bottom and check out the attraction tribute t-shirts. I need the Jungle Cruise on badly :-)

Pop Century Is Totally Rad

If this appeals to you, Pop Century may be a good choice

We consider ourselves "moderate people" when it comes to Disney resorts. Our favorite is Port Orleans French Quarter, but we've loved stays at Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs as well. We'll likely stick to the moderates for a week-long trip, but we were really and truly impressed with Pop Century on our recent weekend adults only, no parks Disney weekend.

A few years ago we spent one night in the All Star Movies Resort and thought it was great for a value resort. This time I wanted to try Pop Century because it looked somehow different. Better. And it certainly was. Pop isn't nice for a value resort, it's a wonderful resort in its own right. I can't quite put my finger on WHY it seemed in a different class from the All Stars, but it really did. I think maybe it was the trees. There seemed to be more and larger trees at Pop. It felt more like it was MEANT to be there. The All Stars seemed a bit like they were Disney's answer to lower cost accommodations, which of course both they and Pop and the adjacent Art of Animation are. It's just that Pop doesn't FEEL that way., It feels very Disney, very themed on purpose, very much like it is a true part of the

We were as far from the center as you could get. And that was fine :-)

magic. All Star Movies just didn't give us that.

Pop Century is big. Very big. When we received our room assignment in the 80s building way off to one side, I was a tad disappointed. On the map it's as far from the center (where the food court and bus stop are) as you can get. I figured we'd have a hike. We drove around and settled in and then walked to the bus stop and I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't a long walk at all. And we walked though so much cool stuff! I mean it reads like a garage sale almost. Take a right past giant Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, walk through the giant Foosball game and past the (once again giant) Big Wheel, bear right at Goofy and the Corvette Stingray and you're there! I don't know if it was the distraction of all the cool stuff to look at or what, but we never felt like the walk was long at all, even
coming back from a 1:00 am bus.

How can you NOT smile when THIS greets you on your way back to your room?

So, how about all the stuff you hope to read in a review? Ok, the room was really nice. It was Disney without being over the top. We had a queen bed (with comfy pillows) and what appeared to be a handicapped accessible room, though it wasn't labeled as such. The shower was huge with no ledge at all, it was all on a level with the rest of the bathroom. It had a bench in the shower. All very cool and comfortable and spacious. There is a refrigerator in the room which we never used, but we we thought would certainly come in handy for milk for in-room breakfast.

It's a Pop Tart breakfast sandwich. Don't judge.

Speaking of breakfast, how about those Pop Tart sandwiches? Yep, the Pop Century food court offers a breakfast sandwich made of eggs, bacon and cheeses baked in between two strawberry Pop Tarts. It's just what it sounds like, if it sounds good to you, you'll love it (I did), but if not, don't try it. The food court was fairly chaotic, even with as few people staying at the resort as was the case. I can imagine it being a nightmare during more busy times. We didn't have a bad experience at all, but we saw how it easily could have gone downhill fast. But to be fair, I've never seen a Disney resort food court to which that wouldn't apply, so.......

Actually, the fact that this place was pretty thin is an over-riding caveat to this entire review. Add a few thousand souls and the bus situation, the food courts, the pools, the walks to and from....it could

View from the 4th floor elevator lobby.

all be very different and much less pleasant. But on the mid-September weekend we visited Pop Century was just great.

For a whole bunch more photos (they are really cool) check this out :-)

Especially uncrowded in the morning before it opens.... ;-)

The Just Us, No Parks, No Schedule 20th Anniversary 2015 Disney World Trip

This trip was just for us. For my sweety and me. Go ahead, gag, It's ok. She's my sweety though and I'm happy to say so. After 20 years of marriage, we are still very much in love, still enjoy each other's company over others', still giggle over stupid stuff, still love simply being around each other. And where better to be around each other than Walt Disney World?

Spoiler Alert! I got my mug

We even enjoy the car ride. It's a chance to talk :-)

This trip came about in classic Lisa and Jeffrey fashion. I was seeing photos from the newly opened Trader Sam's Grog Grotto and they included a souvenir mug shaped like the Nautilus. I HAD TO have one. We had some friends heading down to Disney World in November so I asked them to try to pick one up for me. But when I told Lisa, she was all like, "Hey, why don't WE go down for our anniversary and get one for you?" The boy told us since it was our anniversary trip, we should go without him. And so the Just Us, No Parks, No Schedule Disney Anniversary Weekend 2015 was born.

We always leave the driving to Disney

Lisa and I grew up in Pennsylvania, so the novelty of being able to leave home at breakfast time and eat dinner in Disney World has never worn off. And probably it won't ever, to be honest. We packed up, took the boy to the bus stop (it was raining) and left the island by 7:00. After a new-GPS-inspired detour to the Kissimmee DMV office, we found Pop Century Resort and were walking in the front doors by about 5:00. We had a plan to do the monorail bar tour Friday night, bum around the pool Saturday morning then hit the brand spanking new Jack Lindsey's Hanger Bar for lunch and cocktails, then have a look around Wilderness Lodge before our 7:30 Artist's Point ADRs and hopefully catching the electrical water pageant from the Wilderness Lodge beach. That was the extent of our plans. They included no parks and only one dining reservation, and that only because we wanted to make sure of a table at a nice place for a sort of anniversary celebration dinner. And this all
worked out PERFECTLY!

Having the window seat meant Lisa was on photo duty

We're on a boat!!!!!!

In the coming days and weeks I'll be blogging about all the different aspects of our trip. For now the short version is this--we completed the monorail bar tour including drinking with a retired Imagineer and experiencing Trader Sam's complete with Nautilus mug, we chilled at the pool reading books, we explored the new Hanger Bar, we loved Wilderness Lodge and Artist Point, we saw both the fireworks and water parade from the beach, and we got some very relaxed shopping time in at Downtown Disney before leaving in time to arrive home by 10:00 pm Sunday night.

We spent about 20 hours driving and pretty much exactly 46 on Disney property. There are those who

Jock Lindsey's Hanger Bar is PERFECT

would think that nuts. But for us it was a dream. We relaxed and unwound after a crazy summer, we enjoyed each other's company talking and laughing our way from doorstep to doorstep, we took a ton of photos, we people watched, we ate and drank without worrying about a DD, we rode the monorail and several different boats, we tried out a new resort and quite a few new bars and restaurants. We simply had a ball doing what WE wanted to do when we wanted to do it.....together.

People can decide to celebrate a big milestone anniversary many ways.

We chose wisely.