35 for 35, Or How We Celebrated Our 35th Anniversary

by Christie Keen
AllEars® Guest Columnist

Feature Article

This article appeared in the April 19, 2016 Issue #865 of ALL EARS® (ISSN: 1533-0753)

Since 2004 our family has taken many trips to Disney World. We have had such exciting and wonderful experiences — from being recipients of an all-day FastPass during the Year of a Million Dreams to a cruise on the Disney Dream for Christmas 2013. Our trips have been quite varied.We have been with the entire family, the high school band, part of the family and many times it has just been my husband, Gerry, and me who have come down to our happy place!

In December 2014 Gerry and I had an especially sweet trip with so many special experiences ranging from meeting new friends and experiencing the Holiday D-Lights Tour to lying on the ground under the canopy at the Osborne Lights watching the lights dance. This was during a private party so I wouldn't have recommended it when the lights were opened to the public for sure!

At the end of this trip we knew it would be a while before we would be returning to our happy place because our two youngest daughters were both getting married in the summer of 2015, one in June and one in August! We later found out that our third daughter had fallen in love and they were planning to get married in November! Yes, that's right, three weddings in six months!

Spring 2015 was pretty crazy to say the least, but even in the midst of all this craziness, I just couldn't keep away from trying to figure out when we could get back to Disney World! Finally, after a few late-night discussions, Gerry and I decided that we would use our 35th anniversary in March as a great reason to go.

I signed up to run the 10K during the Princess Half Marathon Weekend, but ended up needing knee replacement surgery. The unfortunate news was that there was just no way I could do the 10K with my knee in the shape it was in. But never one to be detoured from a challenge I started wracking my brain trying to figure out some other challenge I could complete for our 35th that would be possible for my knee to handle.

I have heard on podcasts and read in this very newsletter many challenges families have completed for all sorts of different reasons and slowly an idea started forming in my mind! Could it work? Could two people in their mid-50s actually get to 35 attractions in one day? I asked Gerry and we made a list of possible attractions and decided it could be done! We got advice from some of our Disney friends, and we settled on doing 35 attractions on Friday, March 4. We would begin in Magic Kingdom, and I set up our FastPasses at Hollywood Studios for late afternoon. We knew we wanted number 35 to be IllumiNations because it is our favorite!

March 4 dawned chilly but bright and sunny. At this point in the trip we were staying at Saratoga Springs so we got up and were headed to Magic Kingdom in our rental car by 6:45 a.m. We were in matching shirts and armed with the numbers 1-35 that the pre-school teachers where I work made for our challenge.

We were excited to get started as we boarded the resort monorail at around 7:15 a.m., which was attraction #1. The Magic Kingdom Welcome Show, a meet-and-greet with the Mayor of Main Street U.S.A. and a ride down Main Street in an old-fashioned car had us ready for #5 by just a few minutes after 8 a.m.

We headed into Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan's Flight — we had not seen the new queue because we always used FastPass for this ride and it slowed us down because it was SO totally cool! — followed quickly by "it's a small world," Prince Charming's Regal Carrousel, Mickey's PhilharMagic and Haunted Mansion. We were ready for #10 by just a little after 9 a.m.!

As we approached #10 I was thinking this one might be kind of unfair to count as an attraction because we didn't have to wait at all, but as I climbed up the Swiss Family Tree House I was wondering if it should be counted as two attractions because of all the work it was. We moved on to the Enchanted Tiki Room, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean and Country Bear Jamboree.

By this time it was a few minutes before 11 a.m. and we were ready for #15, but we were both getting weak with hunger. We took time for a short visit to Pecos Bill's to try out their new menu, which we both liked very much. We were feeling positive and encouraged after our break and early lunch and zoomed over to Splash Mountain for #15!

The line was more than a half-hour for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so we hopped on the Walt Disney World Railroad in Frontierland and rode back to Fantasyland for #16. Then it was Dumbo, Ariel's Under the Sea Adventure and the Mad Tea Party teacups for #19. This was significant because Gerry has always refused to go on them — he was sure he would be sick — but the line was short. He made me promise not to spin the teacup, so we got in line. Would you believe he actually said they were fun? Oh, brother!

Onward to Tomorrowland and the TTA, one of our very favorite attractions, followed by Gerry's absolute favorite, Carousel of Progress. I usually take this opportunity for a power nap as he sings along with the "Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow." Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was #22 and by the time Gerry defeated me it was about 2:45. This meant Main Street was soon going to be majorly clogged with the 3 p.m. Festival of Fantasy Parade, so we sprinted to the Town Square Theater to have our picture with Tinker Bell for #23 and then headed out of the park. Our #24 was that lovely ferryboat ride on the General Joe Potter from the Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Center.

We climbed into our hot car for the trip to Disney's Hollywood Studios and arrived there around 3:45. Our Fast Pass+ window for Star Tours was supposed to close at 4:05!. We made it with seconds to spare and then went onto the Great Movie Ride, which we found much more enjoyable since its TMC updates.

"Beauty and the Beast" was next because it is our favorite show. In fact, they were featured on our shirts. We got into some trouble on #28, which was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. We ended up in the very last car and thought it would be fun to hold our numbers up for the ride picture. We got all buckled in and Steven Tyler started counting down at the top of his lungs, "5,4,3,2,1!" But instead of taking off we just sat there. A few seconds later a cast member came running toward us and said we couldn't hold the numbers up! We couldn't believe we had stopped the progress of the ride, and quickly put the numbers down.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was #29 and there we held up our numbers just fine — no one yelled at us!

It was now about 6:30 and we were starting to lose steam. A break was definitely needed, but not possible, because #30 was Toy Story Midway Mania. We had to be over there before 7 p.m. because it was closing so the preparations for the Star Wars fireworks could begin. I think that had to be the least competitive either of us has ever been on that ride. Gerry usually gets close to 200,000 and I usually get around 50,000, which I think is pretty good since I am blind so I can't see anything I am aiming for.

We made our way through One Man's Dream (the walk-through part), Voyage of the Little Mermaid and the Star Wars Launch Bay, along with taking a picture with a Stormtrooper, and we were ready for Epcot.

We had only two attractions left to go. Number 34 was the FriendShip from the Studios to Epcot. We walked through the International Gateway at about 8:30. We had gone beyond exhausted and hungry to the HANGRY (hungry + angry) stage by this time, and my knee was objecting strongly to every step. Gerry left me on the bridge between the France and UK pavilions, ran to the wonderful bakery in France to get me a croissant, came back and collected me and then headed to UK for some fish and chips for his dinner. We reached the steps in Canada at 8:45, climbed to the top for one of the best views of IllumiNations around the World Showcase. Then we finally sat down to devour our dinner before we heard that very deep voice say "Good Evening," which signals the beginning of IllumiNations. The music of this show speaks to my heart in so many ways, and I enjoyed it fully even though my body was screaming at me.

Have you ever listened to the words to the song that follows the finale of IllumiNations? Most people are rushing to get to their transportation home so they miss this beautiful ending to the show. Along with the song, the globe has laser lights going all over the lagoon. It is well worth standing still and soaking it all in, and, anyway, who wants to race out with all the crowds?

We had the word "promise" engraved inside our wedding bands to remind ourselves of the message of this song:

"Promise we'll walk side by side
As a new day dawns; we'll go on.
We'll go on, growing closer through the years…
Moving on through the good times and the tears.
Ever on, another thousand circles 'round the sun
A new life has begun, the two of us as one
And we live to keep the promise —
We'll go on!"

Next time you are there in Epcot, stay after the finale of IllumiNations and just watch and listen.

And that's it — we did it! We did 35 attractions for our 35th!

Hope you enjoyed reading about our challenge. Which 35 attractions would you do for YOUR 35th — or some other special occasion? It's not too early to start planning!

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RELATED LINKS
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The Ultimate Disney Day: Six Parks, Two Coasts

The Miller Family Four-Park Birthday Challenge

The Miller Family Four-Park Birthday Challenge Update

Celebrating Your Anniversary Tips

Romance in the Parks

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christie, a church office receptionist, raised three daughters and a son along with her husband Gerry, a contractor and elected official, in West Lafayette, Indiana. Though their children are grown, Christie still tries to get everyone, including grandson Ethan, down to Walt Disney World at least once every few years. Christie has a reputation among her friends and family for being "the one" to talk to about planning a Disney vacation, and loves the chance to help plan "magical trips" for anyone who asks. She's hopeful that her grandchild on the way will learn early on what a wonderful place Walt Disney World is.

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Editor's Note: This story/information was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all current rates, information and other details before planning your trip.