Irisbud's PJ & Wedding TR: 1/22/09: NOW COMPLETE! 3/26/2009

[irisbud]

The dresses were shipped yesterday ($68!)! They should be at Carolyn Allen's on January 15th, so I am hoping all goes well or I may have a bridezilla moment! I went ahead and paid for the steaming and storage fees already, so that is one less bill I have to worry about when we get there!

My MoH is still up in the air about coming! I wish she would get the info she needs so she can decide one way or the other. I hope she can come, but if not, I totally understand.

New day, new to do list:

To Do:
Finish 4 bow ties for programs
Glue 10 programs together
Line 9 favor boxes
Make 10 candies for favors
pick up mother's gift
get father's gift
make copies of all important documents
pack all wedding things
pack for honeymoon
Set up video camera
clean house
get farm in order before leaving
write 9 more papers for grad school
get everything in order at work before leaving (which is its own list unto itself!)

I'm getting there...just keep swimming...LOL

Thanks for reading everyone!

[DisneyBrideToni]

Your list looks like its getting shorter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need to make one of those lists. They look handy...lol. I am actually going off of my checklist on the knot.

Wow you don't have to much longer!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9 more days! That is so exciting. I can't wait to hear all about your wedding and see pics! :yay:

[irisbud]

Your list looks like its getting shorter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need to make one of those lists. They look handy...lol. I am actually going off of my checklist on the knot.

Wow you don't have to much longer!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9 more days! That is so exciting. I can't wait to hear all about your wedding and see pics! :yay:

I have been going off of the knot checklist as well. I only have one or two items left on there to do :cheer2:

You are getting close too! for me it seems like just yesterday we were both so far out!

[irisbud]

My dress is now in GA, so it should be in Orlando by tomorrow!

I looked at the 10 day forecast (not sure how much I believe it, around here they can't even get the next day or sometimes even the same afternoon/evening right :rolleyes1: but it says high of 73/low 52 0% chance of rain on the wedding day, so right now I am thrilled about that.

I didn't get too much done on my list yesterday, but I did chip away at some items, they just haven't been completed!

New day, new to do list:

To Do:
Finish 4 bow ties for programs
Glue 10 programs together
Make 6 candies for favors
pick up mother's gift
get father's gift
make copies of all important documents
pack all wedding things
pack for honeymoon
Set up video camera
clean house
get farm in order before leaving
write 9 more papers for grad school
get everything in order at work before leaving (which is its own list unto itself!)

[Rebclay]

Keep chipping away at that list, you'll get there. You must be so excited. only a few more days. I hope the weather is as good as they predict for your wedding. And I hope you get lots of pixiedust:.

[CinderelliT]

Wow!! I just read your PJ, and everything looks awesome! Your dress and jewelry is gorgeous! I can't believe how much time you have put into all of your invites and gifts. You and your DF and guests are going to have such a wonderful experience!
I'm going to Disney on the 20th - I'm so sad I can't go on the 22nd. If I did, I would have to sneak a peak at you guys!:goodvibes
Good luck with everything!!!

[irisbud]

Keep chipping away at that list, you'll get there. You must be so excited. only a few more days. I hope the weather is as good as they predict for your wedding. And I hope you get lots of pixiedust:.

I am REALLY hoping for no rain! We took a chacnce and didn't book the WP on a prayer for no rain, thinking we would just be out $1000 if it was nicer that day. I will be kicking myself if we have to move to one of the rooms in the convention center due to rain though :rolleyes:

Wow!! I just read your PJ, and everything looks awesome! Your dress and jewelry is gorgeous! I can't believe how much time you have put into all of your invites and gifts. You and your DF and guests are going to have such a wonderful experience!
I'm going to Disney on the 20th - I'm so sad I can't go on the 22nd. If I did, I would have to sneak a peak at you guys!:goodvibes
Good luck with everything!!!


Oh, you could have totally come and lurked! Thank you for all of your kind words! I hope everything goes how we have planned it :goodvibes

[figmentfan814]

I love the lists! I'm that way too, it definitely helps with the overall organization. How are the papers for school coming? I can't imagine if I was still in grad school at the time of our wedding, I know how much work that can be, so I definitely understand.

:yay: for no rain and for getting the dress shipped. Doesn't it seem so official to send off the dress to Florida! I did the ship/steam thing with Carolyn Allen's and they were great, you won't be disappointed.

[irisbud]

One week to go!

Last night I finished the candies. I will post pics before leaving, but I had one that didn't turn out right so I decided to eat it. That afternoon I got an awful migrane (it was from going to bed so late every night, not from the candy, but my body didn't know that). I took a nap for a while, but I had things to do. While I was making the last of the candies, it was all I could do not to be sick, as I guess my mind decided it was the fault of the candy that I wasn't feeling well! At least I am totally over wanting to eat each one after I make it, LOL!

My dress is in Orlando right now! It hasn't been delivered, but I'm sure it will be today!

New day, new to do list:

To Do:
pick up mother's gift
get father's gift
make copies of all important documents
pack all wedding things
pack for honeymoon
Set up video camera
clean house
write 9 more papers for grad school
get everything in order at work before leaving (which is its own list unto itself!)

It's getting shorter! All of our wedding paraphanilia is finished now, so that is a relief. Today is my last day of work before leaving (I work M-TH, and M is MLK day so I had off anyway!) so that will be done after tonight. Most of the other things are easy. It's the papers and the house I am dreading. The house isn't too bad, so I guess it won't be a big deal; I just HATE cleanign it; it is so time consuming! I LOVE coming home to a clean house, though! I MUST finish at least two of the papers or I will fail that class. As far as the others go, I will do what I can and see where I get!

Just keep swimming...Just keep swimming...just keep swimming

[irisbud]

I love the lists! I'm that way too, it definitely helps with the overall organization. How are the papers for school coming? I can't imagine if I was still in grad school at the time of our wedding, I know how much work that can be, so I definitely understand.

:yay: for no rain and for getting the dress shipped. Doesn't it seem so official to send off the dress to Florida! I did the ship/steam thing with Carolyn Allen's and they were great, you won't be disappointed.

Hi Vanessa!

I was so excited to ship off the dress! It did make it seem that much more real!

I have most of the research done for the papers, it is just writing them! I can knock out a paper pretty easily, I just need quiet and some space to spread out my research and organize my thoughts. I am spending tomorrow and Saturday at the library, and I hope I will at least get the two done that I MUST complete. Anything else is just gravy, so to speak!

I live over an hour from a library, and work until 6 M-TH so trying to get these done has been awful. Every imaginable surface in our house is covered in wedding stuff so there is no room to work! I will be relieved to finish them off!

[irisbud]

The dress is in Orlando and our marriage license has arrived at our house (I was getting a little worried about it!) Not long left now! I am supposed to be working on my papers, so I should get back to them after I update my list...

New day, new to do list:

To Do:

make copies of all important documents
pack all wedding things
pack for honeymoon
clean house
write 9 more papers for grad school

[figmentfan814]

At least the list is getting shorter each day :thumbsup2 I can't remember all of your honeymoon plans, I would love to hear a recap :goodvibes

[Donald'sGirl]

Amy you only have 4 days left!!!!! :cheer2: :cool1:

Your list is growing shorter and shorter everyday! When are you leaving for Disney? Glad your dress made it safely to Orlando and you received your license! You must feel relieved. Good luck getting your papers for school done, that can't be fun. pixiedust: to make it all go fast!

[irisbud]

Wow, thanks for reading along everyone! I got everything done except some papers I didn't have to complete and cleaning my house, so I am thrilled.

Recap of Honeymoon plans:

January 20-24, BWI
January 24-25: WL Honeymoon suite
January 25-29: Disney Wonder cruise
January 29-February 1st: Contemporary

We are on our way out the door right now, heading to a hotel by the airport for the night and then leaving for WDW in the morning! I am not taking my laptop but may check in on my centro, though pictures will have to wait.

Thanks so much to everyone for all of your advice and well wishes. I have had a great time getting to know all of you! I will take tons of pictures and do a TR when we return!

Thanks again!

Amy

[Lynn5700]

Hey Amy!!! You are so close YAY!

I loved watching my dress tracking when I shipped it LOL! Glad it got there safe and sound!

I look forward to your TR! Have an amazing time. Enjoy every moment :)

[Donald'sGirl]

:wave2: Amy have an absolutley wonderful time!!! You must be on your way to Disney now, I think you said you had an early morning flight! I am so excited for you!:cool1: I can't wait to read your TR when you get back!

[DisneyBrideToni]

Have a wonderful trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cool1: :cool1:

[disneygal922]

Congrats Amy! Have a safe, wonderful trip full of memories! :goodvibes

[padisneyfour]

best wishes for a magical day! ENJOY!:goodvibes

[irisbud]

aw, thanks for all of the well wishes everyone! i am so excited to be here finally! I don't know how often i'll get to update, but had a moment here...
We got upgraded to one of the garden suites at BWI! it is a wonder ful, gorgeous room, I almost cried when theey told us. Staying in one of these rooms is something I REALLY wanted to do for our HM, but I just couldn't justify the cost, so I promised myself "someday" as a conselation! I am genuinely thrilled!
The crowds are really low right now, though we had an inexplicably bad wait for BTMRR, like 70 min! Everything else is pretty much walk on! It is COLD here, though. I'm crossing my fingers for a warm-up tomorrow.
Today we have a KTTK tour, then we are heade to AK before settling in for the night. Tomorrow we're getting married! I can't believe it!
thanks for reading everyone!

[AlternateEgo]

Congratulations!

[Lynn5700]

Aww that is so nice! Good for you for the upgrade!

I can't wait to hear about the KTTK tour! We are going to do it in May.

Just wanted to wish you an early Happy Wedding day! Congrats.

[Rebclay]

pixiedust: I don't know if i will be able to get on tomorrow but i wanted to say Happy early wedding day!! Lots of pixiedust: pixiedust: pixiedust: your way. Best wishes.

[Donald'sGirl]

:cool1: for upgrades!!! That is fantastic!!

[figmentfan814]

:cheer2: :cool1: pixiedust: Amy, I'm so glad that you received the upgrade to the suite! What a great way to start your wedding trip. I hope you enjoyed the KTTK tour; we took that several years back and really had a blast. I can't belive your wedding is tomorrow! How exciting!!! :hyper:

[keenercam]

You must be SOOO excited right now! Enjoy every moment, Amy. You are making memories that will last a lifetime. I hope everything goes perfectly for you! :hug:

[figmentfan814]

:bride: Happy Wedding Day! Enjoy every minute of it and I hope you get the chance to take in all the little details! :groom:

[DisneyBrideToni]

Happy Wedding Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited for you! I hope its more than you ever imagined!!!! :goodvibes

:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

Happy Wedding Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!
So Exciting!!!!

[disneygal922]

HAPPY WEDDING DAY!

[padisneyfour]

Happy wedding day! enjoy!:goodvibes

[Donald'sGirl]

OMGosh I meant to get one and was so busy at work I didnt' get a chance!

HAPPY WEDDING DAY!!!!! I hope it was everything you dreamed of and more!

:bride: :banana: :banana: :banana: :princess:

Can't wait to see the pictures and hear all about it!

[DisneyFairy19]

I hope you had a FABULOUS wedding day

[irisbud]

We are back!

We had such a great time, it was SOOOO hard to come back!

I will be starting my TR soon, and uploading some pictures as soon as I can find my cord for my camera, so either this evening or early tomorrow.

Thanks for all of the well wishes everyone! We had the best, most magical day ever! I wouldn't have changed anything!

[MiaBella05]

popcorn:: cant wait to read all about it!! popcorn::

[figmentfan814]

I can't wait to hear all about it! Looking forward to some sneak peek photos :cheer2:

[irisbud]

I am slowly uploading photos (Why does Photobucket have to be so slow; don't they know I have tons of pics to share?!?)

I can only get to one page right now without stopping the uploading process, but here are a few pictures our guests took; we don't have the pro ones back yet!:

First dance:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2220.jpg

Mickey and Minnie dance better than we do:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2219.jpg

Cake cutting:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2203.jpg

Minnie and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2239.jpg

Minnie and DH:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2243.jpg

Mickey and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2235.jpg

Mickey and Minnie and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2232.jpg

Mickey, Minnie, DH, and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2231.jpg

[Donald'sGirl]

Amy those pictures are so pretty! I can't wait to read all about your trip!! Photobucket hurry up!!! LOL!

[figmentfan814]

Amy, I love the shots so far. The ones with Mickey and Minnie are always so cute and it looks like you and DH had a beautiful day! Your dress was so beautiful and you both looked so happy, I can't wait to hear all the details :cheer2:

[disneygal922]

Such fun pictures! you look beautiful! :goodvibes

[irisbud]

I am still working on uploading and organizing our photos so that I can do a proper trip report, so I thought that I would start with a vendor review:

Hair & Makeup:
Patricia LeJune: A++++

I can’t recommend Patricia highly enough. She showed up at 8AM on our wedding day all ready to go. After seeing how beautiful Carrie looked in her pictures, I booked Patricia to do my hair and airbrush makeup, as well as to do hair on my two bridesmaids. I did not do a trial. She did a really fantastic job, and I was so thrilled I had her come back to do my hair/makeup for the photo shoot the next day, which I hadn’t originally planned on!

Officiant:
Reverend Jack Day: A

I liked Rev. Day quite a bit. He was a very nice, grandfatherly man, and seemed so sincere and genuine. He did a lovely ceremony for us and I was happy that he was part of our day. He did cause me a slight panic attack though: about two weeks before the wedding I confirmed with him via e-mail. The day before the wedding, he left a message stating that he had no ceremony for us!?!?!?! DH called him back and everything was sorted out (he had a ceremony, it turned out, he just wasn’t sure where it was until he called his secretary). Overall, though, I was pleased with our decision.

Wedding Planner:
Karen Serette: A

Karen was very helpful and professional throughout the entire process. I had a couple of minor communication issues with her, but they turned out to be nothing major in the end.

Photographer:
Joe from DPS A++++

Joe was awesome! I haven’t seen the pics yet (waiting not so patiently, LOL), but the ones he showed me on the camera were wonderful. Joe did our ceremony and our bridal portraits at Animal Kingdom and EPCOT (more on that later). He was really cool and you could tell he was really into taking good pictures. He made me feel really comfortable throughout the whole process and was really great to work with!

Violinist:
Rob A++

Rob did a great job with all of the songs we had chosen plus all of the other ones throughout the cake cutting, dance, etc. He played a little “name that Disney song” with us and our guests, which was fun.

Floral:
Rosie A+++

I really liked Rosie a lot. She was so enthusiastic and so helpful throughout the entire process. I liked my flowers a lot, though in hindsight I would have added a touch of color to them. I thought they were going to be very, very white, which is what I wanted, but they had a bit of a yellow tone to them. I still loved them at any rate, though, and was really pleased with everything!

Mickey & Minnie:
A ++++++++

Perfect addition, and well worth the money! They were so much fun, and so good at what they were doing. They helped out with the pictures as well, and were just really, really great! I can’t wait to see the pics with them in as well!

Limo:
F------

Horrible! The only bad spot on our day! We didn’t really need the limo for anything (we were staying at BWI already, and the DP was that evening), so had booked for it to take one of the BM and her Mom and Sister back to their resort. It never showed up, and we couldn’t get in contact with anyone to rectify the problem. They ended up taking a taxi back to their resort. Karen asked if we wanted to use it later, but we never were able to actually get in touch with her to fix the problem.

All in all, we had the best, most perfect day ever! I honestly wouldn’t have changed a thing about it!

[keenercam]

Amy, You looked so beautiful and happy. What a gorgeous day you and your husband had! Your dress and jewelry and tiara looked stunning on you! Can't wait to see more!

[Donald'sGirl]

Amy you did an AK photo shoot????? DF and I were contemplating that but we weren't sure if 1. we could and 2. how close we could get to the animals for pictures. Can you tell me more??? I can't wait to see your pictures!!

Your vendor reviews were great! It really helps us brides out!

[irisbud]

Amy you did an AK photo shoot????? DF and I were contemplating that but we weren't sure if 1. we could and 2. how close we could get to the animals for pictures. Can you tell me more??? I can't wait to see your pictures!!

Your vendor reviews were great! It really helps us brides out!

We did do an AK photoshoot! We had a great time going to AK the day before our wedding and trying to scout out possible locations. Our photographer said that he had never done this shoot before, nor had any of the DPS phtographers he talked with. He kept finding more and more places to shot, which was great. I think some of the pictures will be awesome (crossing my fingers!). We love AK because there is just so much detail in that park, which made for some excellent backgrounds!

We did have a slight problem with the shoot, though. You could tell that this was not normally done because it seemed to bewilder the CMs at AK. We actually had to leave early because of the Tusker House breakfast. They weren't even sure how to get us out without being seen by guests, but they managed. Joe (our photographer) was great, though. He thought we hadn't gotten enough pictures yet, and said that we should do some at EPCOT as well, which was some great pixie dust, so we got to do Italy and Moroccos in WS that morning too!

When I set up the shoot, they asked me if I was interested in having the animals in the pictures. We really weren't, we were more interested in all the backgrounds and textures. In fact, they said if we DID want the animals, we would have to do a resort photo shoot at AKL, as the animals would be offlimits to us at AK.

So, if you really want the animals, try asking about the AKL shoot. You can still do it in your wedding attire, you will get the animals, and it is 200-250 cheaper than the park shoot :thumbsup2 . HTH!

[figmentfan814]

I can't wait to see your AK shoot pictures and hooray for the extra shots at Epcot! I know when we did ours at MGM our photograher said almost everyone always wants Epcot of MK, so we were able to pick a lot of our locations too.

[Donald'sGirl]

We did do an AK photoshoot! We had a great time going to AK the day before our wedding and trying to scout out possible locations. Our photographer said that he had never done this shoot before, nor had any of the DPS phtographers he talked with. He kept finding more and more places to shot, which was great. I think some of the pictures will be awesome (crossing my fingers!). We love AK because there is just so much detail in that park, which made for some excellent backgrounds!

We did have a slight problem with the shoot, though. You could tell that this was not normally done because it seemed to bewilder the CMs at AK. We actually had to leave early because of the Tusker House breakfast. They weren't even sure how to get us out without being seen by guests, but they managed. Joe (our photographer) was great, though. He thought we hadn't gotten enough pictures yet, and said that we should do some at EPCOT as well, which was some great pixie dust, so we got to do Italy and Moroccos in WS that morning too!

When I set up the shoot, they asked me if I was interested in having the animals in the pictures. We really weren't, we were more interested in all the backgrounds and textures. In fact, they said if we DID want the animals, we would have to do a resort photo shoot at AKL, as the animals would be offlimits to us at AK.

So, if you really want the animals, try asking about the AKL shoot. You can still do it in your wedding attire, you will get the animals, and it is 200-250 cheaper than the park shoot :thumbsup2 . HTH!

Thank you so much!!! It is so good to hear there are lots of locations to choose from! YAY for your bonus at Epcot! We would want some pictures with the animals...I wonder is they would do AK and then a few at AKL since that is where we will staying anyway???? :scratchin I will have to ask and look into it. I can't wait to see your pictures and how they all turn out!

[spacerangerqueen]

I love your photos. Your cake topper is sooo cute!

I cannot wait to see the AK photo shoot pictures. I agree with you I would love to have pictures there because of the backgrounds you could get but don't really care one way or the other about the animals. It is good to know about the cheaper session at DAK Lodge though :thumbsup2
That's exciting that you got to get pics in Italy and Morocco too! Way to go Joe :cheer2:

[padisneyfour]

congrats and wonderful pics- you look beautiful and looks like you had a wonderful day. The pics with M/M are great! looking forward to the AK photos:goodvibes

[irisbud]

Amy those pictures are so pretty! I can't wait to read all about your trip!! Photobucket hurry up!!! LOL!

Yeah :cheer2: I have them all loaded and sorted! Now I can start the TR! I'll post a few more pictures first, though. I was told two weeks on our DPS photos, so I am hoping today!

Amy, I love the shots so far. The ones with Mickey and Minnie are always so cute and it looks like you and DH had a beautiful day! Your dress was so beautiful and you both looked so happy, I can't wait to hear all the details :cheer2:

Thanks, Vanessa! I can't wait to relive them all and write them all down!

Such fun pictures! you look beautiful! :goodvibes

Thanks you so much :goodvibes

Amy, You looked so beautiful and happy. What a gorgeous day you and your husband had! Your dress and jewelry and tiara looked stunning on you! Can't wait to see more!

Thanks, Cam. We did have a bautiful day. I was VERY worried because the day before it was FREEZING, but everything was great for us!

I can't wait to see your AK shoot pictures and hooray for the extra shots at Epcot! I know when we did ours at MGM our photograher said almost everyone always wants Epcot of MK, so we were able to pick a lot of our locations too.

I think getting to work with him on the locations and shots made the whole thing so much more personalized and more fun!

I love your photos. Your cake topper is sooo cute!

I cannot wait to see the AK photo shoot pictures. I agree with you I would love to have pictures there because of the backgrounds you could get but don't really care one way or the other about the animals. It is good to know about the cheaper session at DAK Lodge though :thumbsup2
That's exciting that you got to get pics in Italy and Morocco too! Way to go Joe :cheer2:

Joe was so awesome! The cake topper was a Lenox piece that my DH bought as my wedding gift! He bought me a different piece for Christmas, so I am starting a collection :lovestruc

congrats and wonderful pics- you look beautiful and looks like you had a wonderful day. The pics with M/M are great! looking forward to the AK photos:goodvibes

Thank you! M&M were a great addition to our day for sure! I can't say enough good things about them!

[irisbud]

A few more pictures until I get the pro ones back:

Our completed programs:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CIMG1676.jpg

Our completed favor boxes:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CIMG1677.jpg

My Flowers:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CIMG1709.jpg

Hidden Mickey in DF's boutineer:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CIMG1713.jpg

Before (YIKES!):
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CIMG1679.jpg

After:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2288.jpg

My Bridesmaids:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2193.jpg

Cake eating:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2215.jpg

Double Kiss:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2276.jpg

My Mom, sister, and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2290.jpg

Me with my Bridesmaids:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2304.jpg

Randy and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2307.jpg

Mickey, Minnie, my dad, and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2268.jpg

Getting our Watches:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2272.jpg

Mickey and Minnie admire our rings:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2269.jpg

Randy and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2201.jpg

Toast:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2196.jpg

Mickey and Minnie liked our programs:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2279.jpg

Me and Minnie:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2246.jpg

Randy and Mickey:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2247.jpg

Randy and Me:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2205.jpg

[irisbud]

Day 1, Part 1

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 was a day that I had been waiting for for a very long time. The night before, I hadn’t slept well, concerned that I would miss our 4:30 AM wakeup call. Though I know that is obscenely early, it was an improvement over years past, when we woke up at 3:30 AM, drove to the airport, and stumbled aboard our plane. In the interest of both simplification and the extension of sleep, my dad had driven us to a Comfort Inn near the St. Louis airport late the night before, saving us the hour of drive time we are generally forced to tack on.

By 5:15 we were stumbling down the stairs, lugging our heavy bags behind us. I don’t know why, but, despite its enormous size and multiple levels, there were no guest elevators in the hotel. We took a free shuttle to the airport, checked our three suitcases with a sky cap, made it through security with our backpack and carryon bag containing all of our wedding paraphernalia, and took off on our nearly empty Southwest flight.

Every time we fly, I start looking out the window when I think we should be near, hoping to get a glimpse of WDW. I wasn’t disappointed on this flight either. I got positively giddy when I saw some of the hotels and icons. By the time we landed, I was so excited that my heart was about to burst out of my chest!

We headed down to the empty ME line and checked in, changing the information on our flight home, which had been recorded incorrectly. The line for BWI was empty, so we stepped straight to the front, and were on the bus in less than two minutes. Almost immediately, we pulled away from MCO and headed for CBR where most of the bus disembarked. After that, we went to BWI, retrieved our carryon, and headed for the check-in line.

We tried BWI for the first time last January and fell in love. Though I am a GF Gal at heart, the BWI is a close second for me. The resorts have a somewhat similar feel to them, IMO, and I really enjoy them both. On this trip, we decided to do the BWI for two nights because we were having our wedding at SBP. Originally, we were going to switch to the GF on our wedding night, and stay there for three nights, but after the AP discounts were released we scrapped those plans. We got a fabulous deal on the BWI, but nothing was available for the GF. Though I can justify almost anything when it comes to WDW, I couldn’t justify the GF at almost twice the cost of BWI. We extended our BWI stay to four nights instead of two and booked a single night in a honeymoon suite at WL.

We headed up to check in, and the gentleman helping us couldn’t have been nicer. When he took our IDs and looked through the computer we chatted about the wedding. He offered congratulations and “just married” buttons, and then explained that we had been upgraded to one of the Garden Suites!

At this point, I became absolutely ecstatic and had to fight the urge to cry. If I could have booked any room at the BWI for our honeymoon, it would have been one of these suites. I just couldn’t justify the cost, however, and had mollified myself with the promise that we would stay in one of these rooms someday. Well, someday was today! We received our gold KTTW cards (the garden suites have concierge access) with my married name printed on mine. I still have it, as that was the first item to ever bear it. We were given a number to call later in the afternoon to receive our room number and sent on our way.

We took a little time to check our carryon with bell services and then to wander around the resort looking for the location of the Garden Suites. We walked past the row of them, speculating about which would be ours, and then wandered out to Sea Breeze Point to scope out our venue. Though we had seen SBP before, and walked or ridden the boat past it many times, we had never stepped inside. We ran in and took a look around, found everything to our liking, and hurried our, as there were boxes of linens and other assorted paraphernalia waiting around to be set up for a wedding. I remembered that Ashley (Philharmeastro) was getting married that day at 2:30 and wondered if those items were for her.

We walked back through the hotel and jumped on a bus to MK in order to trade in our AP vouchers, get a snack and later make our 2:00 lunch at LTT. I guess you could say that this is our tradition, as it is how we always start off our Disney trips! I just couldn’t believe that after all the time, dreaming, and planning, we were finally here! I vowed right then and there to make the most of it and to do my best to remember every single second!

* * *

Sorry for no pictures in this installment, the next one will definitely have some!

Thanks for reading!

[irisbud]

Day 1, Part 2

We got to MK before noon and hurried over to exchange our AP vouchers. I was so excited about doing this. I know it is corny, but one of my little mini dreams has been to have a WDW AP. I don’t know why since we live so far away it’s not like we can just pop in and out for a weekend, but I guess it doesn’t really have to make sense. The man doing our exchange was really helpful. He gave us another set of “Just Married” buttons, a set of “Happily Ever After” buttons, and a set of “I’m Celebrating” buttons. He joked with us that we couldn’t wear the “Just Married” buttons until Thursday. My pass had Minnie Mouse on it and DH’s (Well, I guess he was DF then, but I don’t want to be confusing…) had Pluto.

Finally we were walking through the turnstiles and into MK! This is always such a great moment for me. The first time you come out from under the platform and into the light is always so wonderful! It seems like every time there is just so much that I have forgotten from our past visits, or maybe it is one of those things where you just have to be there in order to do it justice. We headed up Main Street USA and towards the castle, but got sidetracked by the Main Street Bakery. We were both hungry, so we popped in to get a snack. DH picked out a sandwich of some kind and I’m sure I got something loaded with sugar, though I don’t really remember offhand. Everything was fresh and good as always!

After polishing off our snacks, we headed back towards Frontierland where we did Splash Mountain (not the best idea; it was pretty cold out and we got rather wet.) We then got in the queue for BTMRR and waited an hour and a half even though the posted time was only 40 minutes. This was the only really long line we encountered all week.

We were a little late for LTT by the time we were finished, but they fit us in. We got our normal sandwiches and fried cheese from here, I remembered how much I hate the small, dark bathroom in that place, and we hurried out just in time to avoid the parade.

After that we did a couple more rides, PoTC, HM, and maybe some others, picked up a stale churro in Fantasyland (usually my favorites, but not good this time. I was sad I had skipped dessert at lunch for it!), wandered a bit, and headed out of the park.

One thing that I had promised myself on this trip was that we would take our time and smell the roses, so to speak. This trip, we had the luxury of time, to an extent, and I wanted to make the most of it and not kill ourselves. I absolutely LOVE WDW, but I hate coming home feeling like we need a vacation after our vacation. So far, we had done well.

We hopped on the bus and I called the number we had been provided to get our room assignment, though I would have rather inquired at the front desk. Chaos ensued momentarily from a minor language barrier, but we finally had our room assignment. I believe it was 1204.

We picked up our carryon and headed back to the room. All I can say is WOW! It was so beautiful and wonderful. The second best room we have ever stayed in on WDW property, easily The split level and huge bath made it so much nicer than a regular 1 BR suite (and the fact that it had a king bed; most non-DVC WDW resorts have two queens in their 1 BR suites). We joked that we could almost live there if it had a kitchen and a bit more storage space. The whole bedroom/bathroom upstairs is exactly what I want for a master suite, with just a little more storage space.

BWI Garden Suite:

Bed:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1610.jpg

Railing upstairs:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1583.jpg

Looking into bathroom from bedroom:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1569.jpg

Chair/nightstand by closet:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1568.jpg

Bathroom Vanity:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1573.jpg

Huge jet tub:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1574.jpg

Shower/Toilet area (Sep. Room from Tub/vanity):
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1578.jpg

View of stairs from upstairs bathroom:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1577.jpg

“Windows” into upstairs bathroom:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1570.jpg

Downstairs living area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1587.jpg

Wetbar:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1588.jpg

Sink in Downstairs bathroom:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1591.jpg

Downstairs TV Case:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1598.jpg

Lamp on Desk:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1593.jpg

Close-up of Lamp:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1594.jpg

Umbrella Stand:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1596.jpg

Artwork:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1613.jpg

Detail on Desk Chair Back:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1612.jpg

Our “Garden”:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1715.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1717.jpg



After lounging for a bit, we headed up to the Lounge to see what kind of appetizers they were serving. We got some shrimp and chicken skewers, some veggies, and some cheese cubes.

It was really getting cold out, so we decided we were done with the parks for the night and headed back to the room, which had been nicely turned down in our absence, including a towel doggie on the bed, which (stupidly, I admit) made me miss my real furbaby. Before turning in we got some yummy desserts from the lounge. When we got back I took a nice relaxing bath while DH watched TV. We had to get up somewhat early the next morning as well for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour at 8:30!

[Pooh_Girl]

Great start to your TR. Can't wait to read more!!!

[PhilHarMaestro]

Hi! You got married 2 days after me!! Do you know how to access your dis pictures. My sister lost the info! Thanks. BTW: your tr looks great so far!!

[irisbud]

Hi! You got married 2 days after me!! Do you know how to access your dis pictures. My sister lost the info! Thanks. BTW: your tr looks great so far!!

Thanks! I actually went through someone else's PJ (don't remember whose now :sad2: ) who had DPS do their photos. I used what our login name would be and the password, but they weren't up yet. They said about two weeks, so yours should be ready any time now.

[Flurbee]

Subscribing...:):surfweb:

[irisbud]

Day 2, Part 1

Wednesday morning dawned at about 6:15 for us. Our Keys to the Kingdom Tour was scheduled for 8:30 that morning. I had slept fairly well the night before, better than I had slept for a long time, in fact.

I was very excited about taking this tour. I had originally wanted to take the Backstage Magic Tour, but the price and the length of time involved had precluded me from making that commitment this time. I felt that the Keys to the Kingdom Tour would be an acceptable substitute for the time being, as I would still get a taste of how the magic was made, and DH would still get to see the utilidors, which he was very interested in.

After getting ourselves ready to face the day, we headed up to the concierge lounge for breakfast, which consisted of some delicious fresh fruit and pastries. I love their croissants (both regular and chocolate)! Sometimes the lounge at BWI can get a bit crowded because of its fairly small size, but we had plenty of seating options that morning.

We finished up fairly quickly and headed out to the bus stop to catch a bus back to MK. It was approaching 8 AM by the time a bus arrived. We stopped at the Swan, then the Dolphin, then finally headed on to MK. We hurried from the bus stops to the early morning turnstile, rushed to City Hall, and got all checked in with fifteen minutes to spare.

After signing in we were given pre-made nametags and asked to pre-order our lunch from Columbia Harbor House so that it would be waiting for us when the tour stopped for lunch. Coffee and water were available to take on the tour with us. At about 8:25, our tour guide, Fred, walked around with a basket full of earpieces which he handed out so that we would be able to hear him clearly throughout the duration of our tour.

We stepped outside of City Hall to start the tour. It was SO COLD that morning. In the thirties, if I remember correctly. Our group kept shuffling towards the sunlight every time we would stop. It was obvious by the way that every stop we made was in the shade that it was generally more desirable to be OUT of the sun in Florida, but that day was definitely an exception.

Our first stop was at the bench with the statue of Roy Disney and Minnie. Fred told us a little about the history of Roy and Walt, the Disney Company, the Disney Parks, and how Walt Disney World was named after Walt in tribute.

Minnie & Roy Statue:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1536.jpg

Dedication Plaque:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1534.jpg

We then headed up Main Street, pausing to talk about the significance of some of the names painted in the windows. To be honest, I knew much of what was being discussed from various Disney books such as The Imagineering Field Guide to Magic Kingdom. I also know a great deal of the back story behind some of these legendary figures from Disney War. Even so, it was interesting to hear the stories again. This also gave me the opportunity to look, really look, at Main Street. I had passed through so many times before, and now I wondered how I had always failed to take in all of the little details, even knowing they were there. The shop window displays are so cute and so creative and everything about it is so immensely detailed and vivid. I remarked to DH later how it was so fascinating to me that Disney does all of these things that the average guest probably never notices, but, if they weren’t there, it would take away from the whole experience.

A Few Window Displays:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1538.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1541.jpg

Some of the Windows on Main Street:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1543.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1539.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1545.jpg

We moved into the hub and discussed the Partner’s Statue of Walt and Mickey. This has always been one of my favorites, and I make sure to get pictures of it on every trip.

They had Bubble machines on by the hub. I wanted to stop and play in them, but decided that during the tour wasn’t the best time:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1553.jpg

Partners Statue:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1554.jpg

Moving on, we walked towards Adventureland. Fred asked us to take note of the changes in building styles, landscaping and pavement as we crossed over the bridge. He pointed out the way the music subtly changed as we traveled from area to area.


I had never noticed the Genies painted on the Carpet ride before:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1565.jpg

After some more in-depth discussion about how the Walt Disney Company came to be, we headed over to the Jungle Cruise, which our tour group rode privately and without the corny jokes. We learned more about the details of the ride, including the animatronics, the way the ride vehicles work, and other minutia such as the clothing on the men escaping up the tree, the level of detail involved in the tunnel scenes, the hidden Mickey on their airplane, a figure chanting an unexpected phrase, and how the chief at the end received his name.

Once we got off JC, Fred said we had time to ride Pirates! I was thrilled as this is one of my favorites. Our whole tour group was placed in a single boat, which made it a VERY bumpy ride! Fred talked about the story behind the ride, which made the whole experience more understandable and better for me, as there had been pieces that had always baffled me before.

Following our trip on Pirates, we headed backstage through the gate next to Splash Mountain, which is the start of the afternoon parade route, and the end of the Spectromagic parade route. Around the curve, there is a line painted on the sidewalk. Fred told us that this is known as the “sight line” and characters must be in character once they cross the line on their way out and until the cross it on their way in, as Disney has determined that this is the first place where it could conceivably be possible for guests to see the performers. As Fred told us, it isn’t very magical to watch Cinderella finishing off her last cigarette!

Once backstage, we got to see the back of the show buildings for Pirates and Splash. It was interesting to me that, in between vast expanses of plain building, there were tiny areas of the Splash show building that had been done up like the mountain as they might be able to be seen by guests. We also saw some various ride props, as well as all of the floats for the afternoon parade and Spectro, which had been plugged in in their respective places, as the floats are battery powered. This was fascinating to me. The Spectro floats are so ugly with all of the lights off!

Fred answered a few questions about employment at Disney and the various roles that could be played as well as the hiring freeze that was currently taking place. We then headed to Columbia Harbor House where our lunch was waiting for us at preassigned tables. We had all also received a special little gift from Fred! I had the fish and chicken combo and DH had a tuna sandwich. We each enjoyed our lunch as well as the company of the couple sharing our table.

After about a half an hour, it was time to brave the cold again. We headed over to HM, which Fred shared quite a bit of information about before we rode, as he said it was too difficult to narrate the ride as went due to the spacing. We went in through the back way, which was cool. One of the CM’s told us “Don’t go in there; it’s haunted.”

After finishing the ride, we wandered back through Liberty Square, which Fred discussed some of the details of. He also took the time to point out the way scrims had been used to hide the scaffolding for HoP, as the scrims were considered to be less intrusive than the scaffolding. We discussed the construction of the castle and then headed into the Utilidoors.

The Utilidoors were pretty neat, though I would have liked to seen an area with more cast member services. It was interesting to learn that all of the utilities are housed in this area so that streets in the MK never need to be torn up. Fred talked more about the experiences of working at WDW, we looked at some art displays, and we watched a short video before heading back to the surface and back to City Hall where the tour ended.

All in all, I can highly recommend this tour, especially with someone as knowledgeable as Fred, who has logged more than 25 years at WDW. Though I already knew much of the information that was provided, I still learned a few things, and it was interesting to see some of the backstage things. I think I would still like to do the backstage magic tour at some point, as well as the Wild by Design Tour at AK. The only negative I saw to this tour was the length, close to five hours. It could have been about an hour shorter and still finished everything and been just as informative, though I supposed this may depend on your group.

After finishing the tour, we headed over to Fantasyland to ride Dumbo. DH was making me do this to conquer my fear. I have a secret terror of Dumbo and all similar rides. We talked to some nice people in line and I managed not to die, so it didn’t turn out to be too bad. We then wandered over to do the Laugh Floor, which was funny as always (Once, DH was picked to play Sully, and we still have fun with that, hence his emoticon in my signature).

At about 2:30, we were still cold as the temperature hadn’t improved much, and we decided we had had enough MK for one day. We headed back to BWI, met up with my family so we could show them where our room was for the next morning, called all of our vendors to give them our room number (though the number for Karen, our WP, did not work), and gave our other BM directions to the room. DH grabbed us a small snack and some drinks from the CL, and we then headed to the bus stop to catch a bus for AK and take advantage of the EMH that evening.

[irisbud]

Day 2 Part 2
When we got into AK, it was about 3:30. We spent a little time scoping out potential locations for our BP session at AK on Friday. There is just so much to choose from here, and, seeing as this park is not used regularly for this type of thing, we thought we might be able to give our photographer a few suggestions.

I know that a lot of people don’t really like AK, but DH and I love this park! It is so nice, quiet, and peaceful here. The level of detail that is put into everything is absolutely amazing. I enjoy WS at EPCOT, but I think AK does an even better job of transporting you to another place without ever leaving the park. Everywhere I look, it seems there are things I haven’t seen before.

Some of the many areas in AK we like:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1670.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1672.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1622.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2467.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2472.jpg

After about forty-five minutes, we headed over to the safari ride. Unfortunately, we had bad timing as the parade was still going on and we couldn’t get through the regular entrance. We were sent through the FP line, though, and had about a thirty minute wait. We always enjoy the safari ride, and this time was no exception. There were quite a few animals out, but none were very active, possibly because of the cold and the lateness of the hour.

Gratuitous Safari Pictures:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1640.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1639.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1632.jpg

After finishing the safari, we stopped and took in some of our surroundings, deleted some of the bad pictures we had taken, and headed over to Everest, wandering along the way and still looking for more picture spots.

Waterfall near Safari:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1661.jpg
DH looking at animals:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1663.jpg

By the time we got to Everest, EMH were in effect and we had to show our room keys each time through the line. We rode three times in a row (we got row 12 twice) with little wait. I think the old method of obtaining a wristband was better. It wasn’t a big deal to show the card, but it was a little annoying to dig it out every time. I didn’t feel comfortable having the key on a lanyard as charging privileges were attached to the key and I worried about losing it.

Gratuitous photos of Everest:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1620.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2471.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2466.jpg

After the third time on Everest, we started to feel a little sick. We were also very cold. DH and I decided that it would only get colder as it got later, and we didn’t really want to be in the parks after the sun went down, as the forecast called for record lows that night.

As we walked towards Discovery Island and out of the park, Dh told me to look in the trees. There were literally hundreds of those white birds that roam through AK roosting in the trees. I couldn’t believe how many of them there were! After snapping a few pictures, we jumped on a bus to AKL, hoping we could get into Boma, as we had a taste for it that evening, and I had not made ADRs for anything.

Flocks of birds roosting in the trees near Discovery Island:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1674.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1675.jpg

DH managed to get us checked in with a twenty minute wait. We had a great dinner (love the carrot ginger soup and the desserts here) then headed back to AK, as there was still about a half hour left to close. Once we reached AK, we jumped on the BWI bus and headed back to our room.

I took another long bath in the huge tub, read quite a bit more of my book while DH watched TV, and set my alarm for 6:00AM the next morning so that we would have time to make ourselves presentable and for me to grab some breakfast from the lounge before our BP and vendors started arriving at 8:00 AM for our big day!

[praline3001]

I'm on board! Great pictures so far!!!!!

[Pooh_Girl]

Great update!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We took this tour in October last year, and we absolutely loved it. We had Robin as our tour guide. She was fantastic. Can't wait to see more pictures!!!

[irisbud]

WEDDING DAY!

Day 3, Part 1

At about 6:00 the alarm went off. I couldn’t believe that the day I had been waiting for for so long was finally here! We each went through our normal morning routines, trying to make ourselves presentable before our vendors began arriving at 8:00.

At about 7:30, I ran up to the lounge to grab some breakfast for myself before things got so busy that I forgot to eat. DH (who was going to eat breakfast with my Dad later) stayed behind in case anyone showed up early. I made it back to the room and was just about to start in on my pile of fruit and pastries when someone knocked on the door.

I jumped up from behind the table to open it. It was the representatives from Carolyn Allen’s with my dress and the BM dresses. Words cannot describe how much easier this service made the wedding. It was so nice to ship everything down ahead of time and have it arrive, fresh and ready to go. Everyone I spoke to from CA’s was so nice, helpful, and professional. They hung the dresses up carefully so that they would not wrinkle and were gone within minutes.

I managed to finish my breakfast before Patricia LeJune arrived for hair and makeup. Though Patricia was a few minutes late (there was actually frost on everything, including her windshield, that morning and they had no ice scraper) she still arrived prior to either of my bridesmaids. I was a little nervous about this, as I wanted my hair and makeup done last, and I didn’t want DH to see me with them done until I was walking up the aisle.

Patricia said not to worry, that she would just sort of prep my hair and then would start working on the others when they arrived. This ended up working out well, as my sister and the rest of my family arrived at 8:30, and Patricia had just finished with my prep work. At that point, DH and my Dad left to go try and get breakfast at the Swan or Dolphin (they wanted a buffet).

While Patricia worked on my sister, I gave my mom her gift, which was a pink star sapphire ring. About ten years ago, my mom had a pink star sapphire ring that she lost the stone out of and never replaced as she couldn’t find another she liked. On the way home from DH’s mother’s house for Christmas, we stopped at an antique store and saw this ring. I had it resized to fit her and thought it would be a perfect mother’s gift for her. She said she really liked it!

About that time, my other bridesmaid showed up. While Patricia was still working on hair for each of them, I took some bad photos of my jewelry and of our programs and favors before boxing them up for DH to give to Karen along with our cake topper, a Lenox piece DH bought me as a wedding gift, when he met her in the BWI lobby before the wedding.

Bad Jewelry Picture:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1681-1.jpg

Finished Programs:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CIMG1676.jpg

Finished Favor Boxes:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CIMG1677.jpg

Dove Candies (milk and dark chocolate) in favor boxes:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1518.jpg

Castle candies we made in cherry and mint for favor boxes:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1524.jpg


Finally, both of my BMs had their hair done and it was time for Patricia to start working on me. She was very methodical and thorough about her work and I was totally happy with her. She kept making sure nothing was too tight, pulling, or pinching and told me why she was doing everything she was doing. I told her to do what she thought would be best, so she had looked at my dress, jewelry, veil, and tiara and come up with a style she felt worked well with everything together.

Karen, our wedding planner, called in the middle of all of this. I had my sister take the call. I confirmed what time DH was to meet her in the lobby. She then asked if we wanted to do the wedding at SBP or move it inside to one of the ballrooms. I talked with my BMs, and everyone thought the temperature was warming up enough to have it outside as planned, so we told her SBP would do. She reminded us when and where we were supposed to meet her and hung up.

DH and my dad came back as she was finishing up my hair. All of DH’s things were ready to go and his suit ironed, so he grabbed everything he needed and headed over to the BWV where my parents were staying so he and my dad could get ready. That was the last time I would see him before the wedding, and I was surprisingly calm. I think everyone around me was waiting for me to become Bridezilla, as I have some perfectionist and OCD tendencies, but I don’t think I ever really did. I stayed pretty calm and happy the entire day. I wanted to really be there, if that makes sense, and take it all in. Many people had told me that, even if everything else fell apart, at the end of the day DH and I would still be married and nothing else mattered. I decided to believe them, and just go with it, as I will only have one wedding day!

Patricia completed my airbrush makeup and all of the rest. Again, I had told her to do as she pleased, and that I wanted to look like me, only better. When I saw the finished product, I was so pleased! She asked me if I wanted her to come back before the AK shoot the next day even though it was her day off, and I was thrilled to accept the offer. Initially, I wasn’t going to have the hair and makeup done again, but after seeing her work, I really felt I should!

All of our hair was done in variations of this style:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2311.jpg

Me, normally:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1720.jpg

Me, only better:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2201.jpg

Patricia was really helpful through all the rest, even though she certainly didn’t have to be. She told me to start putting my jewelry on and helped my mom get me into my dress (my BMs were getting themselves ready upstairs). She also helped my mom figure out the bustle, put my veil in, gave me a little squeeze, and wished us well. I was so thrilled with my choice or Patricia! I don’t have enough good things to say about her.

My dad came back after that, and I gave him his gift, which was a watch with “always your little girl” and the wedding date inscribed on the back. He loved his gift as well, and put it on right away.

After we put together the final touches (pinning a pendant DH’s mom had let me use as my something borrowed into my skirt, adjusting the top of my dress, etc.), we headed out the door, up the elevator, and into the BWI lobby, where Karen, Rob (the violinist), and Joe (the photographer) were waiting. Karen handed me and my BMs our flowers, and Joe took some pictures of me in the lobby, made somewhat difficult by rude people who decided to come and sit down and have their child play right where we were taking photos!

My flowers:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1709-1.jpg

Closeup:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1708-1.jpg

My flower’s with DH’s Boutineer:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1710-1.jpg

Hidden Mickey in DH’s Boutineer:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1713-1.jpg

My BMs with their flowers:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2193.jpg

Finally, it was time to head over to SBP! Joe told me to be very careful on the steps and along the boardwalk. I told him I had worn wider heels so they wouldn’t slip through the boards. People congratulated me all the way there. The sun was shining and the temperature had risen to near perfect levels. It was really a beautiful day.

Sea Breeze Point:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1686-1.jpg

On the way over, Karen asked if I wanted to walk down the aisle from the side or up the middle. I told her up the side, so we headed to the end of one of the wings. Rev. Day came out to greet us, and I could see DH with his back turned to me so he wouldn’t see me until it was time.

Then, suddenly, my dress was being unbustled, the violin was playing, my mom was walking towards her seat, and Karen was arranging the BMs. My dreams were about to come true!

[tinks_1989]

Oh i have read through your thread I am looking forward to more from your TR :)

[praline3001]

oh Amy everything is so pretty!

I love the top part of your dress but i want to see the entire dress!!!! more pics more pics:goodvibes

[irisbud]

We are getting there....no worries :rotfl: :goodvibes:

[praline3001]

I love the simple elegant style... I dont like fru fru wedding dresses. I think they swallow the bride rather than make her shine. :goodvibes

i wanna see the BM gowns full length too..... dont leave us hanging here with just a teasing peek... you tease you:rotfl2:

[AlternateEgo]

OMG I am so happy you had such a great trip! I wanted to mention that your programs are adorable!!!

We will be flying out of STL too!

[lurkyloo]

Great trip report!

I really enjoyed the detailed review of Keys to the Kingdom. I think DH would love seeing the Utilidors, even if we already know all the stories they tell on the tour.... :cutie:

[irisbud]

Great trip report!

I really enjoyed the detailed review of Keys to the Kingdom. I think DH would love seeing the Utilidors, even if we already know all the stories they tell on the tour.... :cutie:

Thanks, Carrie!

I enjoyed KTTK a lot, even though I knew most of the info. It was still fun!

BTW, Patricia asked how I found her, and I said after seeing how beautiful you looked in your wedding pics. She was so excited when I mentioned you! She said she will always remember your necklace and how beautiful it looked on you :goodvibes

[lurkyloo]

Aw..... :blush:

[irisbud]

I watched my BMs head down the aisle, and then Karen waved me on, as it was my turn. I heard Rob change the violin music from “A Whole New World”, which I had chosen for them, to “When You Wish Upon a Star”. I had decided to use this song as my processional as it had always held a lot of meaning to me. It may sound corny, but I truly believe in the power of dreams, and one of mine was about to come true!

My dad held my arm as we walked up the aisle and I gave him a smile, and then guided him in the direction we needed to go. I was also determined not to cry (I had just spent all of that money on makeup, after all, though Patricia did make it waterproof)! At first I saw my mom and our guests standing and smiling as I headed down the aisle, then I saw DH and I had eyes only for him. When we reached him, my Dad shook his head and kissed me on the cheek, then headed back to his seat.

I remember that it was still a little cold in SBP that day, as the sun couldn’t reach the inside of the pavilion. I was glad I had worn white stockings under my dress. I was also glad that no one could see my legs, as they were shaking terribly. I didn’t feel particularly nervous, more excited and just overcome with emotion. All day, I kept wondering if I was dreaming, and hoping that no one would cruelly wake me up.

Finally, Rev. Day asked us to turn and join hands. I passed my bouquet to my sister, and she handed both rings to Rev. Day. DH and I had chosen a civil ceremony that was short and simple and didn’t involve either of us saying too much. The words we did say, though, were the greatest words I ever heard. I tried to listen to the ceremony as best I could, but it was difficult as it seemed as though everything that I had waited so long for was now happening so very fast.

One thing that I do remember is Rev. Day telling us that we wouldn’t make the decision to be married once and be done with it. Rather, he said, we would have to choose to be married every day of our lives. When things get difficult, I hope I can always remember those words and the meaning behind them along with the look in my DH’s eyes when he spoke his vows aloud.

We headed back down the short aisle at SBP to “Zip a Dee Doo Dah” and had some pictures taken with our BP and guests. After that, Karen ushered us over to the cake table where everything had been set up and my beautiful cake topper was resting atop our cake. Sparkling cider was handed to everyone, and Rev. Day gave a lovely toast, though I honestly don’t remember a word of it. We had our cake cutting (I told DH that I would kill him if he smashed cake on my face) and found out that we are not very good at cutting cake. After a few more pictures, Karen announced that some special guests were on their way…

Toast:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2196.jpg

Cake Cutting:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2199.jpg


And Eating:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2202.jpg

Kiss:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2203.jpg

Special Guests:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2209.jpg

It was only then that I remembered that Mickey and Minnie were coming to the wedding! Though I was excited about it, somehow I had completely forgotten in the midst of everything else! I suppose that just proves what everyone was telling me all along, that even if things go wrong they will go unnoticed by the guests. I suppose some might go unnoticed by the bride as well!

We had to do the cake cutting again (we got worse with practice rather than better). I was worried as this presented DH with a second opportunity to smash cake on me, but he was nice and refrained from doing so. Then we were escorted out into the blissfully warm sunlight to do our first dance. We hadn’t chosen a song, so Rob played “A Dream is a Wish” which was just perfect. Mickey and Minnie danced as well (they were better than us), then they cut in on us.

Cake cutting with Mickey and Minnie:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2214.jpg

First Dance:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2220.jpg

Dancing with Mickey and Minnie:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2224.jpg

We did several more pictures with Mickey and Minnie. I was so thrilled with them. They really helped make the day even better. They were very, very good at what they did. They guided us through our pictures, wordlessly suggested photos to Joe, and were just fun! At one point, DH said “it would be better if you could talk”, and they threw their hands up over their mouths as if he had said something foul.

Pictures with Mickey and Minnie:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2231.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2227.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2228.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2229.jpg

Just before they were supposed to leave, Mickey brought over a gift for us, the DFTW watches, and took some pictures with those and with our programs, which both Mickey and Minnie loved. I couldn’t believe how quickly the time had passed.

Us with Mickey and Minnie and our watches:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2273.jpg

Us with Mickey and Minnie and our programs:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2278.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2258.jpg

Group photo:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2249.jpg

Me with my Mom and Dad:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2298.jpg

We sat down to eat our cake. We had chosen the “Elegant Swirls” design from the available Escape cakes. Our bottom layer was yellow cake with Bavarian cream filling, while our top layer was chocolate with Bavarian cream. I would have preferred all chocolate cake, but DH said no. They only served the bottom layer, and it was delicious! I even liked the icing, and I don’t like icing. Rob walked around the whole time palying “name that Disney song” with us and our guests. He was great!

Sitting down to eat our cake:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2283.jpg

DH and I with Rob in the background:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2282.jpg

Mmmm….Cake:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2286.jpg

All too soon, they were subtly ushering us out. The cake was boxed up and one of our guests kindly offered to carry it, as Joe wanted to take some pictures of DH and I walking along the Boardwalk. I couldn’t stop laughing because the evil seagulls were everywhere, as many people were out eating lunch and soaking up the sunshine. One man we saw almost lost his pizza to them, and several birds flew over our cake boxes eyeing them suspiciously but apparently deciding they were too big to steal.

We split off from our group and went off on our own to take some more photos. I really liked Joe a lot. He seemed to be taking a lot of care and putting a great deal of thought into his work. We spent close to another half an hour on photos both on the boardwalk and in the BWI lobby before Joe wished us well and told us he would see us in the morning, as he was our photographer for our bridal portrait session at Animal Kingdom.

When we finally got back to the room, we found out that the limo hadn’t arrived. A four consecutive hour limo service is part of the Escape wedding package from Disney. We really had no legitimate use for it, but we had scheduled to have it pick up one of my BM, along with her mother and sister. I tried to call Karen, but the number I had still didn’t work. DH went up to deal with the problem, and ended up paying for a taxi.

One little spot as miniscule as that wasn’t anything, though. I had wanted a fairytale wedding, and I had gotten one. The sun was bright and shining, everything had gone as close to perfectly as was possible in an imperfect world, and I was now married to the love of my life. I just couldn’t believe how quickly it was over, though I still had the Dessert Party to look forward to that evening…

[praline3001]

What a wonderful wedding story Amy!!!!

I love the dress by the way:goodvibes

[HockeyMomR]

Amy - just started reading the past couple of days. Sea Breeze point is such a beautiful place for a wedding, in my next life I want to get married there! Maybe a vow renewal in 5 years for my 25th!!!

Anyhow, you look so beautiful and happy. Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing.

[Lives4Disney]

Amy, thank you for sharing your special day and trip with us! I am loving your report. You all look fantastic and like you're having the time of your lives.:goodvibes


Channing :)

[goofygal531]

Amy, your wedding was just beautiful! You looked stunning! :goodvibes

We stayed right above the garden suites. They looked so romantic! :lovestruc We were in the first room to the right after walking thru the large Inn Keeper's Club door on the fourth floor. That must of been a hike going to the lounge from your room. Hope you found a short cut. :rotfl: Were you able to see Illuminations from your porch? We could see it all the way to our left, we could see the Eiffel Tower.

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise! We LOVED sailing on the Wonder! :boat:

Mare

[DisneyBride'03]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful day! You were a beautiful bride:)
I, too, had Rev jack Day, and our violinist also performed Zippa de do dah (I know the spelling is wrong..lol ) afterwards too!
We were at Sunset Pointe..
That Garden Suite looks fab!

[DisneyBrideToni]

YAY I am all caught up on your TR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so happy for you two!!! Your wedding day looked beautiful! You looked beautiful and I am so happy it was a fairytale for you!!!! I can't wait to hear and see your dessert party!! I am sure it was just as wonderful! your favors turned out really nice and your programs were awesome!

[Goldeelox9]

Amy it was all perfect! I can't wait to read more!!!!!

[figmentfan814]

Amy~ I can't believe how much of your report I missed while I was gone. I loved the KTTK tour when I took it a few years ago and it was fun to relive some of those memories. AK is one of Kris' favorite parks too, he says he loves the scenery there and he likes DHS too, so I totally understand what you mean about loving AK. Having to show the keys is quite a big pain for the rides, but I can see why they do it now. It just seems to back everything up at the entrances to the rides during EMH though.

Congrats on the suite upgrade, what a wonderful surprise! Everything looked so beautiful! I loved the programs and the final product with the favors. You really did a great job with the boxes. It was great to hear that your mom loved her ring, I know you were so excited when you found it for her. The shots with Mickey and Minnie are priceless.

I also love what the Rev. said during your vows. It reminds me of something that our pastor said (not during our wedding but at a sermon) that the key to being married is to be with someone that you can wake up next to every morning and that you want to face the day with them together no matter what it might bring good or bad :goodvibes

[princess_momma]

Congratulations!! I love your wedding and reading all about it!! I am waiting for the day when I can plan my DFTW!! (my guy is in the army...) Congratulations!! You looked so beautiful.

[Angela0917]

Aww, you looked so beautiful!!! I love your pics with Mickey and Minnie!!

[irisbud]

What a wonderful wedding story Amy!!!!

I love the dress by the way:goodvibes

Thanks so much!

Amy - just started reading the past couple of days. Sea Breeze point is such a beautiful place for a wedding, in my next life I want to get married there! Maybe a vow renewal in 5 years for my 25th!!!

Anyhow, you look so beautiful and happy. Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing.

We were so happy with SBP. I was really worried that I was going to wish we had gone with the WP, but I have no regreats at all! :cloud9:

Amy, thank you for sharing your special day and trip with us! I am loving your report. You all look fantastic and like you're having the time of your lives.:goodvibes


Channing :)

Thanks Channing :goodvibes

Amy, your wedding was just beautiful! You looked stunning! :goodvibes

We stayed right above the garden suites. They looked so romantic! :lovestruc We were in the first room to the right after walking thru the large Inn Keeper's Club door on the fourth floor. That must of been a hike going to the lounge from your room. Hope you found a short cut. :rotfl: Were you able to see Illuminations from your porch? We could see it all the way to our left, we could see the Eiffel Tower.

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise! We LOVED sailing on the Wonder! :boat:

Mare

There was a little bit of a shortcut, down some nasty old service stairs. We did use it to go back to the room a couple of times, but it was 4 flights of stairs and not very "magical", so we never used it to go up to the room. It did cut off a lot of distance, though!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful day! You were a beautiful bride:)
I, too, had Rev jack Day, and our violinist also performed Zippa de do dah (I know the spelling is wrong..lol ) afterwards too!
We were at Sunset Pointe..
That Garden Suite looks fab!

Thanks you! I really liked Rev. Jack. I was a little worried, since we of course hadn't met him before, but I was happy with our choice!

YAY I am all caught up on your TR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so happy for you two!!! Your wedding day looked beautiful! You looked beautiful and I am so happy it was a fairytale for you!!!! I can't wait to hear and see your dessert party!! I am sure it was just as wonderful! your favors turned out really nice and your programs were awesome!

TONI!!!! You're back too! I've been reading your TR as well! I wish we could have met up while we were there! :goodvibes

Amy it was all perfect! I can't wait to read more!!!!!

Thank you :cloud9:

Amy~ I can't believe how much of your report I missed while I was gone. I loved the KTTK tour when I took it a few years ago and it was fun to relive some of those memories. AK is one of Kris' favorite parks too, he says he loves the scenery there and he likes DHS too, so I totally understand what you mean about loving AK. Having to show the keys is quite a big pain for the rides, but I can see why they do it now. It just seems to back everything up at the entrances to the rides during EMH though.

Congrats on the suite upgrade, what a wonderful surprise! Everything looked so beautiful! I loved the programs and the final product with the favors. You really did a great job with the boxes. It was great to hear that your mom loved her ring, I know you were so excited when you found it for her. The shots with Mickey and Minnie are priceless.

I also love what the Rev. said during your vows. It reminds me of something that our pastor said (not during our wedding but at a sermon) that the key to being married is to be with someone that you can wake up next to every morning and that you want to face the day with them together no matter what it might bring good or bad :goodvibes

Vanessa! I hope you had a great trip! I'm so jealous that you and Toni got to meet! :cutie: We liked the KTTK tour, I would love to do Backstage Magic someday! I like what your pastor said as well! Thanks for your nice compliments :goodvibes

Congratulations!! I love your wedding and reading all about it!! I am waiting for the day when I can plan my DFTW!! (my guy is in the army...) Congratulations!! You looked so beautiful.


aw thanks! And thanks to your guy for his service :thumbsup2

Aww, you looked so beautiful!!! I love your pics with Mickey and Minnie!!

Thank you! I was so happy we had them come! :)

[irisbud]

Day 3, Part 3

After all of our guests were gone, we put our flowers in the refrigerator to help preserve them until the next day and changed out of our wedding clothes so that we could head over to DHS. I put on my wedding ears for the first time, and we changed out our “Happily Ever After” buttons for “Just Married” buttons. I was so excited I couldn’t stop smiling. The whole experience was still surreal to me, and I kept looking at my ring and DH’s ring, not quite able to believe that it had really happened.

We just got married here!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1686-1.jpg

We stepped out onto the boat dock, and I started feeling just a little cold. I told myself that it would pass once we got away from the water and off of the lake. The sun was so bright and I had decided to wear a skort and short sleeved shirt, as I had been a little warm by the end of the wedding.

DH on the boat dock
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1689-1.jpg

Weird bird on dock:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1684-1.jpg

When we got to DHS, it was a madhouse! It was so crowded. I couldn’t believe the sheer amount of people there. We wandered past RNR, TOT and TSM, but all of them had insane wait times. I suppose this was because Fantasmic! was being shown that evening. At any rate, we spent a little time walking around not really accomplishing anything, then headed over to Indiana Jones, where we were able to sit down close to the front and towards the center.

By this time, I was freezing. We had seen Indiana Jones several times before, and I couldn’t wait for the fire scenes so the explosions could warm me up momentarily. I huddled as close to DH as I could get, trying to stay just warm enough to not be miserable.

After the show concluded, we decided we should head back and try to find something for dinner. We stopped in one of the gift shops on the way out as I was thinking about purchasing a sweatshirt for myself, but I couldn’t find anything I liked. I was still cold as we boarded the boat and headed back towards the EPCOT resorts. DH thought maybe we should try to find something at the Swan or Dolphin. I really wanted to try and find something in EPCOT, but there really wasn’t time, as we had less than two hours before our guests would be coming back to our room before we all headed over to EPCOT for our dessert party later that evening.

I told DH that I really wanted to put on warmer clothes before we did anything. We headed back to the room and I put on jeans and grabbed a jacket. We then decided we would head over to ESPN and grab something quick, as we wanted something a bit more substantial than the food from the lounge.

There was a little bit of a wait for the regular seating, so we decided to eat on the bar side. The people sitting next to us offered their congratulations while we ordered some sandwiches and listened to the trivia questions a live DJ was throwing out. We like ESPN because it is good bar type food and not too expensive. Though it wasn’t exactly my first choice for a romantic meal on our wedding night, I decided not to worry about it. It was something we both liked, and I knew we would have many, many more meals together.

Once we were finished, we headed back to the room to wait for our guests to meet up with us again. Once they arrived, we opened a few generous gifts they had brought for us, discussed our days, watched a little bit of the video footage one of our guests had taken, and then headed over to the IG to be led into our dessert party.

I was a little apprehensive about the spot we had chosen. Our party was going to be in Morocco and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the location. In fact, DH and I tried to move to Japan at the last minute, thinking the view might be better from there, but found out that the pavilion was going to be under construction.

DH wore his wedding ears as well, and following our guide with his flashing green light saber we attracted several stares. DH joked that we needed to purchase one of those light sabers, as it was very efficient for parting the crowds.

Once we got to the site, I was so happy with our choice. We had a much nicer view than I thought we would, and everything was set up beautifully. After a few moments, we were invited to select out desserts and drinks. We had chosen the Petite Classics menu, as we wanted to have the greatest amount of variety possible for our guests. This turned out to be a great choice. I think most people tried a little of everything they wanted, and we heard nothing but rave reviews. Our server was fantastic, and the whole event felt very nice and private even though it was in the middle of a crowded park.

Yummy Desserts:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2314.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2315.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2316.jpg

We had a nice time chatting with our guests and listening to Morockin (I think DH enjoyed watching the belly dancer, LOL) for a while before the fireworks to start. It was great not to have to battle with the crowds for a great spot. Once Illuminations started, everyone found a spot along the wall, and we all enjoyed watching without being jostled by dozens of strangers. It was a perfect night for the fireworks, with just enough wind to clear the smoke away and leave the view clear.

Random fireworks shots:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2318.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2324.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2320.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2323.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2319.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2329.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2328.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2327.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2326.jpg

After the fireworks ended, we lingered for a little bit. DH spoke to the server, who was from Morocco and told DH that, in Morocco, he could have four wives. Our server was planning on getting another wife as soon as he had enough money. DH asked him why he would want more than one.

Finally, the crowd had thinned out enough that we decided to brave leaving. We had plans to meet everyone again the next day at noon for lunch at Biergarten. DH and I walked fairly slowly back to the boat. Once onboard, we had several people offer us their congratulations, some telling us that they had seen us getting married that day!

We stepped off the boat, hurried up to the lounge for a soda for DH, and headed back to the room to turn in early, as Patricia was returning at 5:30 the next morning to do my hair and make-up for our bridal portrait session at Animal Kingdom.

As I pulled the pins from my hair and washed the makup from my face, I couldn’t help but think about what a perfect day we had had. We had truly had the best day ever. I couldn’t have asked for anything more, and wouldn’t have wanted anything different. My dreams really and truly had come true!

[figmentfan814]

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the rest of the day too. I can't believe how busy DHS gets on the Fantastmic nights, it really does get crowded now.

So, are there any pics of the bride and groom at the DP? :bride: I can't remember did you end up going casual or did you wear your wedding attire again.

[irisbud]

Day4, Part1

We woke up at about 5:00 AM as Patricia was going to be arriving at 5:30. I brushed my teeth and got some clothes on before staggering down the stairs. Patricia called to say she was running a bit behind due to a problem at the security gate. She arrived by 5:45 and got right to work, still as friendly and cheerful as she had been the day before.

I was exhausted. All of the days of getting up early were starting to catch up to me, and I was so tired I could hardly think. I tried to will myself awake, not wanting to look like a zombie for our bridal portraits, but I was having difficulties. Every time I closed my eyes I felt almost sick, I was so tired.

Patricia was done even more quickly this time, and she again helped me into my dress. We gave her the bottom layer of our cake, as we would be moving to WL the next day and had no way of taking it with us. I still wanted to try our top layer so I wasn’t willing to give that up yet. Patricia took it, telling us how much her kids would love it. We paid her and I promised to send her a picture, then DH and I headed up to the lobby to meet Joe.

Joe was already waiting for us. He helped get a new pin into DH’s boutineer, as the old one was bent terribly. Other than that, our flowers had faired pretty well from their time in the refrigerator, and I felt they would be fine for the shoot.

It was COLD again that morning, in the thirties. I had nearly frozen walking from our suite to the lobby, so I actually had a little bit of dread for our portrait session. I didn’t know how I would ever stay warm. The good thing was that the sharp air had woken me up somewhat.

We piled into the car and headed over to AK, where we went through the backstage entrance. We had come in this way two years before when we did the sunrise safari, but it is still always interesting to see.

When we drove into AK, many of the plants were wrapped in plastic and had blast furnaces blowing on them to keep them warm and alive. We started out in a little courtyard near tusker house where there were some interesting walls and textures.

Joe told us that, as far as he knew, we were the first to ever do a BP session at AK itself, rather than the lodge. He said he had never done one, and no one he spoke to at DPS had either. I got the feeling, at first, that he was a bit leery about it, but I think he warmed up to the idea fast.

We headed through Africa and Asia, making tons of stops anywhere we or Joe felt was interesting. I think we all worked really well together, and I did fairly well with the cold until Joe had me lean against a stone wall by the Everest queue. That wall was so cold it just seeped through to my bones. I felt like I would never get warm again after that.

We did several shots near Everest, then headed towards the Tree of Life. When we got over that way, a CM stopped us and told Joe we would need to leave the park as guests were coming in for the Tusker House breakfast. Chaos ensued momentarily as they tried to figure out how to get us out of the park without being seen. We ended up leaving through a gate behind Asia. This was my only regret, as I wish we had had more pictures with the tree, but I don’t know how they would have turned out anyway, and I am thrilled with what we did get.

Once we left, Joe surprised us by asking if we wanted to do some pictures at EPCOT as well, as he liked working in Italy and Morocco, and felt that we hadn’t gotten enough time. We readily agreed, so we got to see a bit of the behind the scenes things at EPCOT as well. All I can say is that the magic really ends back there!

We headed to Italy first, and got several pictures done. In one, Joe wanted me to act as though I were pushing open a set of doors. When I did this, another CM kept thinking I wanted them shut, and kept pushing them closed again! We finally got the shot we wanted, then DH asked about a shot on the stairs, which Joe agreed to. Walking up those stairs in my dress and heels was so hard, but I was happy the shot turned out well, as it was DH’s idea.

Once we finished in Italy, we headed over to Morocco where we did several more shots. I was finally starting to warm up by this time, so it wasn’t so difficult to hold my poses.

We finished up and headed out of the park and back to the BWI. I was so thrilled with our morning, and so pleased we had chosen to do a BP session. Joe was so great! He really made the morning for us.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to the room to change so we could get some breakfast in the lounge and then head over to EPCOT for lunch with our guests!

[irisbud]

Our Wedding Pics and AK/EPCOT Bridal portraits:

http://www.collages.net/consumersite/clientspecificpages/disney/login_fairytaleweddings.aspx/

Username: Huffman / Waller wedding
Password: 1971

[irisbud]

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the rest of the day too. I can't believe how busy DHS gets on the Fantastmic nights, it really does get crowded now.

So, are there any pics of the bride and groom at the DP? :bride: I can't remember did you end up going casual or did you wear your wedding attire again.

I can't believe it, but somehow, there are no pics of us at the DP :confused3 . NBD, though. We decided to go casual, which was nice, it turned out. No worries about getting all dressed up again, and all of our guests could be comfortable! :goodvibes Also, with no photographer there was really no need!

[figmentfan814]

Our Wedding Pics and AK/EPCOT Bridal portraits:

http://www.collages.net/consumersite/clientspecificpages/disney/login_fairytaleweddings.aspx/

Username: Huffman / Waller wedding
Password: 1971

Amy, your pictures turned out so great! I especially like the ones in the area right around Everest. Some of the ones along the wall of you by yourself and then with DH are so dramatic. I'm sorry you didn't get as many Tree of Life shots as you were hoping for, but you still got such a great variety. How cool to be the first Disney bride to have a shoot at AK. I know when we scheduled MGM only a few had been done there, so our photographer was open to wherever we wanted to go which was really cool. I really like some of your shots where you're looking off in the distance and DH is looking right at you, they're so romantic :bride:

I'm sorry your time was cut a little short, but its good to know that you got the extra time in Epcot (although I'm partial ;) ) The shots in Italy are beautiful, the door shot was definitely worth waiting for! The Morocco shots blend well with your shots from AK too; what a wonderful bonus!

That's great that you were able to meet up with your guests for lunch that day. I hope you were able to get a nap in between, I know we needed one! One of my favorite things was having time to spend with our guests in the park. That is nice that you were able to kick back at your DP too, I know I was so sick of wearing my dress at that time and didn't get to enjoy the experience as much as I would have liked.

[Pooh_Girl]

Great update!! I absolutely loved your AK/Epcot pictures. They turned out SO good!!!

[Maxie86]

Great update. Your pictures are beautiful, and your day was perfect. Thanks for sharing them with us.:goodvibes

[PrincessShea]

I enjoyed the update! I see you don't have any pics of the two of you at the DP...but do you have any more general shots of the DP?

[padisneyfour]

your pics are beautiful- very exotic feel/look to them.... :goodvibes the pics from the DP look wonderful. congrats it looks like you had beautiful day. Thanks for sharing:goodvibes

[pink_tink8i8]

Your pictures are so nice!

[Goldeelox9]

Oh WOW! Your Animal Kingdom Pictures are AMAZING!!!!!

[disneymeg]

You were a gorgeous bride. I just wanted to say that my BF is 15 years older than me. Im 25 and my parents were totaly against him (and might still be) but I'm so in love and thats what matters. I congratulate you on being able to do whats right for you and forget about what everyone else says (sometimes thats hard when it's people you care about). Randy looks like an amazing person and obviously loves you - enjoy your life together -congratulations!!!!!!!

[irisbud]

Amy, your pictures turned out so great! I especially like the ones in the area right around Everest. Some of the ones along the wall of you by yourself and then with DH are so dramatic. I'm sorry you didn't get as many Tree of Life shots as you were hoping for, but you still got such a great variety. How cool to be the first Disney bride to have a shoot at AK. I know when we scheduled MGM only a few had been done there, so our photographer was open to wherever we wanted to go which was really cool. I really like some of your shots where you're looking off in the distance and DH is looking right at you, they're so romantic :bride:

I'm sorry your time was cut a little short, but its good to know that you got the extra time in Epcot (although I'm partial ;) ) The shots in Italy are beautiful, the door shot was definitely worth waiting for! The Morocco shots blend well with your shots from AK too; what a wonderful bonus!

That's great that you were able to meet up with your guests for lunch that day. I hope you were able to get a nap in between, I know we needed one! One of my favorite things was having time to spend with our guests in the park. That is nice that you were able to kick back at your DP too, I know I was so sick of wearing my dress at that time and didn't get to enjoy the experience as much as I would have liked.

Thanks Vanessa! we had such a good time! I thought the Morocco shots went well with the AK shots also. It was funny, Joe seemed like he wasn't too thrilled about doing an AK session to start with, but then he was telling us how he liked to do Morocco and I thought about how similar they would be. I think he really enjoyed doing the AK session once we got into it. I was so glad we did the BP shoot. It and the dessert party were some of the best decisions we made!

Great update!! I absolutely loved your AK/Epcot pictures. They turned out SO good!!!

Thanks so much! We had such a great time doing them!

Great update. Your pictures are beautiful, and your day was perfect. Thanks for sharing them with us.:goodvibes

Thanks Maxie!

I enjoyed the update! I see you don't have any pics of the two of you at the DP...but do you have any more general shots of the DP?

No, unfortunately we don't. I know my dad took a lot of pictures (he got a new camera and he was a little obsessed), but I guess they must not have turned out or something because he put everything on my computer and that was pretty much all we had.

your pics are beautiful- very exotic feel/look to them.... :goodvibes the pics from the DP look wonderful. congrats it looks like you had beautiful day. Thanks for sharing:goodvibes

Thank you! Our pics turned out just the way we wanted! We were thrilled with them!

Your pictures are so nice!

Thank you!

Oh WOW! Your Animal Kingdom Pictures are AMAZING!!!!!

Thank you, that is so sweet!

You were a gorgeous bride. I just wanted to say that my BF is 15 years older than me. Im 25 and my parents were totaly against him (and might still be) but I'm so in love and thats what matters. I congratulate you on being able to do whats right for you and forget about what everyone else says (sometimes thats hard when it's people you care about). Randy looks like an amazing person and obviously loves you - enjoy your life together -congratulations!!!!!!!

Thanks Meg. My mom was really against this as well, but she was great at the wedding and really has come around since then. I think once she saw that Randy and I truly love eachother she decided that age didn't really matter. I hope everything works out for you too!


I will try to post more today or tomorrow, now that I have finished with my latest class!

Thanks for reading everyone!

[irisbud]

Day 4, Part 2

After we finished up with our photoshoot we headed back to the room and got changed. It was about 10:00 by this point, and we decided to see if there was anything left in the CL for breakfast. Lucky for us, they seemed to be replenishing the food and there were plenty of pastries and fruit left.

We finished up with breakfast and walked over to the IG at EPCOT. We had about an hour or so until our lunch at Biregarten at this point and decided maybe we would ride Test Track. We got over to the pavilion and found out that Test Track was broken so we picked up some FPs for later.

Nothing else looked overly appealing to us right then, so we wandered over to the Land pavilion and got in a mega line for LWTL. The line here was crazy, backed up past the escalators, which was causing problems as people started jumping in line and causing mass chaos. EPCOT was supercrowded that morning, for the end of January. I suppose the EMH that evening might have had something to do with it, as the Brazilian Tour Groups were everywhere we looked.

Inside the Land Pavilion:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/EPCOT%20January%2009/CIMG1702.jpg

We finally got to the front of the line and slid across our row. DH and I really like this ride. I know a lot of people think it is really boring, but I find some of the hydroponics and such fascinating. I am such a nerd, I know!

LWTL:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/EPCOT%20January%2009/CIMG1697.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/EPCOT%20January%2009/CIMG1691.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/EPCOT%20January%2009/CIMG1692.jpg

Once we got off the ride we battled our way through the massive, angry mob inside the land (there was a huge line for the escalators even) and outside into the park. We headed across the bridge between FW and WS and turned left, walking quickly past all of the countries on our way to Germany. DH likes to walk with purpose and I am a wanderer so I was struggling to keep up with him most of the time.

Germany, take while hurrying after my DH:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/EPCOT%20January%2009/CIMG1703.jpg

When we got to Germany no one else had arrived yet. We started making phone calls since they wouldn’t seat us without the rest of our group. Finally we got everyone together and they took us to a table for 10. I had been worried about this, as the last time DH and I ate here I didn’t remember anything but 8 top tables. Needless to say, I was relieved when I saw that we would all be able to eat together.

We had a really nice lunch that everyone seemed to enjoy, especially the desserts. After we finished, we made plans to meet up with my parents that evening so they could pick up some of our wedding things and take them home with them on Sunday, as we would be going on the cruise and then returning to WDW so we didn’t want to be carrying jewelry and other valuables around with us. We said goodbye to the rest of our guests and thanked them for coming, gave away our FPs as we couldn’t stand to be in EPCOT anymore because of the crowds, then headed back to our hotel room for a much needed nap.

Pictures from lunch:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2155.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2157.jpg

We took a nap and then proceeded to pack up some of our thing as we would be moving to the WL the next day. We got all of our wedding stuff we wouldn’t be needing anymore put safely in a bag, including my bouquet holder. It was so hard to get the flowers out of there, and for some reason it was emotionally really hard for me too. I guess we had just been planning this for so long and it was well and truly over when I took the flowers out. The end result was better than the planning, of course, but the planning had consumed my life for such a long time it seemed that I thought it might be a little disconcerting not to worry about the wedding anymore.

Flowers, just before the destruction:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1710-1.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/wedding/CIMG1708-1.jpg

After a couple of hours, we decided to try DHS again, figuring the crowds must have all migrated to EPCOT for the day. We got a snack from the lounge than wandered out to the dock and took the Friendship boat over. Usually, I like to walk to DHS from the boardwalk area at least once since it is such a nice stroll, but I was just too exhausted at this point, even after our nap.

When we got into DHS we were alarmed at first because it still looked really crowded, but then we heard the music for the parade and decided that must have been responsible for most of the congestion. While we were deciding which direction to head, a woman came up to us and handed up five FPs for Rockin Roller Coaster, DH’s favorite. Since we had those, we decided to head over to TSM, which we had heard rave reviews about.

The line was almost an hour, but all of the FPs were gone for the day so we decided to brave it. It turned out to be only about 40 minutes, and the queue was fun so it wasn’t too bad. We loved this ride! It was so awesome! DH was a beaver and I was a squirrel at the end, though my accuracy rating was higher than his, if that means anything!

TSM Queue:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2661.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2655.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2657.jpg

After TSM, we headed to RNRC and got right on. I usually love this ride as well, but this time I felt like my head was being thrown around. I attributed this to the fact that I hadn’t taken my hair down from our BP session and the pins were digging my head when I leaned back. I felt a little sick but I made the (bad) decision to go ahead and ride again using our second set of FPs. By the time that ride was over, I felt so bad I could barely walk.

We sat on the bench right outside the ride for a while as I tried to collect myself. I encouraged DH to use the remaining FP for himself, but he said he had had enough as well. We headed out of the park, and I think we stopped at half the benches along the way I was feeling so bad. My head was starting to throb from a migraine which was making me super sick to my stomach as well. I think it was brought on by purse exhaustion at that point.

We finally made it over near the boat dock where we sat on the bench until the boat pulled up since the line wasn’t long enough to worry about. I thought I was going to be sick all the way back but we managed to make it without incident. Once we got back to the room, I took some aspirin and went to bed.

I remember waking up at about 6 thinking how I had made ressies for Kona, one of our favorites, and had planned to watch Wishes before hand. I knew right then that this would be a bad idea, and encouraged DH to go get some dinner, as I wouldn’t be up to eating anything. I think he got something from the lounge and brought back some crackers for me.

After a while, my family came by and took our wedding things. We said goodbye to them and thanked them for coming as well. After they left, I was feeling a little better so I decided to try some cake. We still hadn’t touched the top layer of our wedding cake, and we needed to eat it if we were going to have any, as we had no way of getting it to the WL and couldn’t take it on the cruise with us.

Cake, before the destruction:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2201.jpg

We looked around for some utensils and plates, but couldn’t find anything. We decided that, since it was just us, we would go ahead and eat it with our hands. At first I was a little disgusted by this but then I decided to just have fun and eat it. It didn’t really matter, and it was the only way I was going to get to try it. It may sound odd, but that is actually one of my favorite memories from our trip: sitting on the couch watching TV and eating the cake like that. I guess it’s one of those things you can only do with someone you really love and care about, and it made it sort of sweet in an odd way.

Slightly less barbaric method of eating cake:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/disney2215.jpg

Once we had had our fill and decimated the cake (though, in reality we didn’t make much of a dent in it!), we headed off to bed for the last time in our beautiful room, as we would be moving to the WL the next day, thankful we could actually sleep in the next morning.

[irisbud]

Day 5, Part 1

We finally got to get up at a reasonable hour on Saturday. I started to diligently pack up our things, and noticed that we had about a whole suitcase worth of dirty laundry. When we had packed for this trip, I had done so with the belief that doing laundry at least once during the course of our vacation would be an unfortunate necessity. I had planned on doing it at WL just before leaving on the cruise, but I decided that I actually had time before we needed to vacate our BWI room.

I stuffed everything in a laundry bag and pulled out a handy Ziploc I had filled with all of the paraphernalia necessary to do laundry at Disney: individual Tide packets, dryer sheets, and loads of quarters. The day before, I had accidentally stepped off of the elevator on the third floor rather than the fourth on the way to the lounge and spotted the laundry so I headed that way. I was afraid it would be crowded, but there was no one there at all. I managed to fit everything in one washer, set all of the buttons, and headed back to the room, figuring we still would manage if someone stole all of our clothes, and there was nothing in the machine I couldn’t live without.

I went back to the room and took up packing again. We had four suitcases (including our carryon) and our park bag. I made sure to leave one empty so I could fill it with clean clothes when we finished. I left the suitcases upstairs, and we headed to the lounge for breakfast one last time, stopping to move the laundry into the dryers (do people ever clean the lint filters on these things; GROSS!) on the way there, and adding more quarters on the way back.

Once we returned to the room, we lugged all of our big heavy suitcases down the super slick stairs. We took a last look around, then headed for the elevators. DH got out and waited in a seating area on the lobby level while I took our empty suitcase up to the laundry room, pulled out our now clean and dry clothes, cleaned the lint filter in the dryer, and folded everything right into the suitcase and went back to meet DH. We then headed over to bell services and told them we would be moving to WL. We always do split stays, since they are so easy!

We then headed out to the busses, deciding we should go to AK again since it had been so cold the first day we were there. We were relieved to find that it wasn’t very crowded that day. After we made it through the turnstiles (“access denied” for me twice) we headed in the direction of FOTLK. We were stopped on the bridge to Camp Minnie Mickey by a CM who congratulated us after seeing our buttons. He told us he and his wife had also been married at WDW, and compared watches with DH. We then discussed the photo shoot, and he said that he had seen us the morning before! He brought another CM over who had seen us as well and we chatted a bit about the wedding and about the cruise the next day before continuing on.

We were in the elephant section (we are always in the elephant section) at FOTLK. We absolutely love this show, and weren’t disappointed this time either. I would love to see it on Broadway someday. Before the show started, I made my very first pin trade with a CM assisting with seating.

On the way out we ran into another CM who was from St. Louis and chatted with her for a good long while. DH made his first pin trade with her, and I think a monster was born.

We headed back towards the safari area and decided to do Rafiki’s Planet Watch, which DH had never been to. We enjoyed the ride over and looking at the exhibits. While we were there, a CM told us about how the horses and ponies are stabled at FW. Since DH is a horse trainer, we decided that we would have to make our way over at some point and see. We then went to the petting zoo, which has to be the cleanest petting zoo I have ever seen. On the way out, we ran into the talking recycle bin, which was pretty funny. We never did see the person controlling it.

On the train to RPW:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1719.jpg

Some exhibits at RPW:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1727.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1726.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1723.jpg

This reminded us of our dog:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1722.jpg

So did this:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1730.jpg

After we got back to Africa, we decided to stop in Pizzafari for lunch. This is one of our favorites after trying it last trip and has become a must do for us. I had a pepperoni pizza and DH had some sort of sandwich with ceaser salad on top.

Once we were full, we decided to go over to the Maharaji Jungle Trek which we had been too late for on Wednesday. I love this area! It is so well themed. It never ceases to amaze me the level of detail Disney goes to even on something like this.

Tiger area on MJT:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1963.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1961.jpg

More MJT:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1965.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1964.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1968.jpg

After walking through the jungle trek, we decided to hop on a bus and check into WL. Once we got there, the check in process was pretty smooth. They had more buttons for us, and we collected our luggage and were taken up to the seventh floor and lead to the honeymoon suite that backs up to the food service area of the lounge.

This was yet another stop on our grand tour of all the Disney Deluxe resorts. By the time we finished this trip, we only have YC & BC left (if you don’t count S&D, which I don’t). Unfortunately, this was not a winner for us.

We found WL to be very dark and just not to our tastes. I didn’t exactly hate it, but I didn’t find my next love either. I also think Disney really needs to rethink the way they classify these rooms, maybe call them Deluxe Kings or something. The bathrooms are different than in the other rooms, but this is in no way a suite. For me, a suite has a separate living area from the bedroom. We have stayed (through lucky upgrades) in some really awesome Disney suites and this was not one of them. This was a regular room with a king bed and a big bathroom. I knew going in that this wasn’t a traditional suite from research on the DIS, but had I not known that I would have been terribly disappointed.

I did like the ceilings:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1985.jpg

Our view:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1981.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1982.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1983.jpg

Bathroom (We will revisit this later):
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1974.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1975.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1977.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1976.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1978.jpg


On the bright side, the ladies working in the lounge were wonderful, some of the friendliest CL CMs we have found. Once we opened up our suitcases, I discovered that I had committed the unforgivable sin of leaving DH’s “special” pillow at BWI. They called over there and had us fill out forms to try to get it back. They even offered to drive DH to Wal-Mart to get another if he so desired, but he declined.

We decided to throw on some long pants and jackets and head over to MK for Spectro and maybe Wishes. On the way out, we grabbed some food from the lounge. DH had some BBQ he liked, but there wasn’t much there for me. We ate in the room because all of the tables were full. We then hopped in the elevator and headed to the bus stop. There was no bus coming and the stop was empty, so we decided to find our way to the boat dock so we could get to MK!

[irisbud]

Day 5, Part 2

We got to MK and found a good that Main Street was already full with people waiting from Spectro. Spectro is my very favorite parade, so we decided to view it from Frontierland just in case we didn’t get the opportunity to see it again.

Bad pic of MS at night:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2570.jpg

I have to say I was a little disappointed to watch it from this vantage point. I don’t think the lights got as low as they seem to on Main Street and I believe they were having audio problems, as something seemed off about the whole thing. From now on, we’ll get there early enough to watch it on MS with the castle in the background. It was still good, but I like it so much better the other way.

This makes a better background than Frontierland:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2532.jpg

Once Spectro was finished, we decided to do Splash really quick, since we were right by there anyway. We got right on and went through. The big extra splash effect that sometimes hits you as you pass by was turned off, which thrilled me. I really don’t like getting wet. I love this ride, but even more so at night. Seeing the castle all lit up in color as you come over the drop is awesome!

Splash at night:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2568.jpg

We decided to hurry out of the park at the point and wait until after the cruise to see Wishes, avoiding the crowd until we were staying at the CR and could just walk back. It was so nice to have the luxury of time on this trip. We could really take our time and try to do things at our leisure instead of forcing them in

We decided we were hungry, so we jumped on the monorail and headed to the CR to try the Wave, which we had heard rave reviews about. Our server was great and the restaurant was really neat looking but the food was just okay. DH has some sort of pork tenderloin with an apple reduction that looked like apple butter. He said it was good, but the apple was overpowering. I had the chicken pot pie. Again, it was good, but almost had a gamey taste I have never experienced before in chicken. Our lettuce wrap appetizer and desserts were wonderful, though, and they gave us a free champagne toast. I don’t think we would go back for the price.

We left the wave and headed to the marina boat dock to take the boat back to WL. The EWP was going on by Ft Wilderness apparently, and for some reason this prevented the boat from going to WL. Finally, the right boat came (DH was ancy, he wanted a soda from the lounge and it was going to be closing shortly). We made it to the hotel, rushed to the lobby and up the elevator, and got to the lounge just as they locked it shut. Luckily a nice CM grabbed him a soda anyway.

When we got back to the room, I decided to take a shower and then repack everything. This is where the bathroom I thought was beautiful became a nightmare!

Every suite that we have been in at Disney that had a soaking tub like this also had a separate shower. Not so in this bathroom. The shower ran right into the tub. This would be okay, except the ledge of the tub is really high and really wide, making it really difficult to step over:

Insanely wide ledge:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1978.jpg

Once you get in the tub and get the shower on, you have to start walking uphill. For me, the tub was like a treadmill. The bottom was sloped so that the end away from the shower head was lower than the end near the shower head. The tub was really slick and had no traction, so I kept sliding towards the drain and having to walk back under the water.

Evil sloped tub:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1977.jpg

The shower had one of those big wide shower heads on it. As a consequence, it was getting EVERYTHING in and around the tub wet. There are drains all along the big wide ledges, but they couldn’t keep up.

This was soaking everything:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1976.jpg

When it was finally time to get out, I felt like I was taking my life in my hands. All of the tile was so slick with water, it was really hard not to slip, especially when I had to take a gigantic high step out, only to land on a wet towel, since the shower had soaked the floor too, even with the shower curtain pulled shut.

This is pretty, but when it is wet, look out:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1974.jpg

All in all I thought this was really poorly designed, and I can’t believe no one has broken a limb or split their head open because of it! It was really an awful setup. It looks fairly innocuous, but it really was bad:

Death trap at WL:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1975.jpg

After getting dressed for bed, I took everything out of our suitcases and packed again, putting the things we would need right away in our carryon, and filling one bag with stuff we shouldn’t need at all on the cruise so we wouldn’t have to open it. This was a chore, but I was glad to have done it when I was finished. At some point during all of this, we got our check out documents and a signed photo from Mickey and Minnie, which was a nice touch.

I set the alarm for eight, since everyone was really vague about when and where the cruise transportation would come (the general consensus was 10-10:30, ish). I was really excited to head to the Wonder the next day for our first ever cruise!

[figmentfan814]

I love TSM too; we got to ride it during our trip and we had a blast! I just wish the lines would get a little shorter ;) I'm sorry to hear how you got sick when you went over to DHS. One time I wasn't feeling the greatest and rode RnRC anyway and regretted it too. It can definitely jerk you around which doesn't feel the greatest when you're feeling sick. We just did RPW on our trip for the first time and I really enjoyed it; it was a nice relaxing experience and the talks they gave were quite interesting.

Your experience at WL sounds horrible. I'm surprised about the set-up of the "suite." We stayed there about 5 years ago and were given an upgrade to a suite, but this truly was a suite with a separate living room from the bedroom and it even had 2 balconies (one off bedroom, one off livingroom). Your room definitely doesn't sound like it was up to par at all.

:yay: excited to hear about the cruise!

[irisbud]

I love TSM too; we got to ride it during our trip and we had a blast! I just wish the lines would get a little shorter ;) I'm sorry to hear how you got sick when you went over to DHS. One time I wasn't feeling the greatest and rode RnRC anyway and regretted it too. It can definitely jerk you around which doesn't feel the greatest when you're feeling sick. We just did RPW on our trip for the first time and I really enjoyed it; it was a nice relaxing experience and the talks they gave were quite interesting.

Your experience at WL sounds horrible. I'm surprised about the set-up of the "suite." We stayed there about 5 years ago and were given an upgrade to a suite, but this truly was a suite with a separate living room from the bedroom and it even had 2 balconies (one off bedroom, one off livingroom). Your room definitely doesn't sound like it was up to par at all.

:yay: excited to hear about the cruise!


I was so glad we had the extra time on this trip to get to do those things we always skip over. I think those little things are what makes Disney really magical. I know DH spent a lot of time pin trading this trip and really enjoyed interacting with the CMs. I enjoy when we rush through and get tons of stuff done, but there's somethign great about doing those little extras too. The rest will still be there when you go back again :goodvibes

I was so surprised that they call this a suite; I would think the misnomer would cause them problems. I knew what we were booking (well, I knew it was a reg king room with a big bathroom, basically, I didn't know EVERYTHING about the tub). The whole tub thing sounds stupid, but it was such a pain if you prefer to shower.

We have been so lucky and stayed in three other beautiful suites (the GS we were upgraded to this trip, a 1 BR at AKL, and our most fabulous upgrade ever to the Roy Disney Suite at the GF :cloud9: ) and they were totally different than this. It was okay, since we had an AP discount and the price was lower than it would have been otherwise.

[irisbud]

Day 6, Part 1

We woke up with the alarm on Sunday morning and quickly got dress, DH braving the shower and despising it even more than I had. After getting dressed, we stepped out of our room and grabbed some breakfast from the CL. WL CL is our fourth CL, and our least favorite overall. The food area was a mess. People were just letting their kids run wild and get whatever they wanted, sometimes taking all of something. The pastries were okay, but they weren’t as extensive a spread as at BWI and the fruit wasn’t quite as nice either. It isn’t that it was bad, it just wasn’t as good. For us, BWI CL and especially GF RPC CL had something refined and luxuries about them, if that makes sense. That was lacking at WL, and we had also found it a bit lacking during our AKL CL stay. For me, WL CL was like a continental breakfast at a mid range motel gone bad, it was just so chaotic.

After finishing our breakfast, we collected our luggage from the room and headed down to the lobby to bell services. They told us we were just in time, as they started taking the luggage for the cruise line anytime after 8! Um, hello? Why weren’t we told this by ANYONE we asked about the cruise transfer procedure the day before. They then told us to look for a gentleman in a royal blue blazer at about 10-10:30, as they would be with the motor coach heading for Port Canaveral.

We still had at least a long hour to kill, so we wandered outside to the pool area. Though we didn’t like the rooms at WL (or at least our room), the outside of the resort is gorgeous! I loved the courtyard. We walked past the pool and saw a momma duck and her ducklings swimming in the water.

Ducks in the pool:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1992.jpg

Momma duck and ducklings:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1997.jpg

While we were watching the ducks, we heard a noise and looked over to see the geyser erupting. This was really neat!

Geyser:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG2016.jpg

After the geyser went dormant, we watched the ducklings for a little while longer then started heading back to the lobby, taking several pictures along the way.

WL Courtyard:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG2040.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1990.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG1989.jpg

When we got back in the lobby, at about 9:45ish we staked out a comfortable couch. I pulled out the Disney Cruise Line Passporter to see if it mentioned bus times, but there was nothing in there about it. I fiddled with stuff in my bag for a while, and finally started to get really bored. It was about 10:30, so I figured any minute…we had considered going to FW that morning to see the stables, and I was wishing we had by the time 11:00 rolled around.

DH asked somebody about the transfer and they said the man we were looking for would be around and find us. We hadn’t see anybody in the DCL costume. He sat back down for a while and we waited….

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG2053.jpg

And waited…

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG2052.jpg

And waited…

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/WL/CIMG2054.jpg

At this point, I was starting to get a little concerned. I had the transfer tickets in my bag, though, and, as I had booked through a TA, I knew this was going to be taken care of one way or another but I still just wanted to get things going.

Finally at a little after 12:00 a woman walked into the lobby who we decided must be with the cruise line. DH talked with her, and the gentleman responsible for collecting people for the transfer. It turned out that they “thought we were at Ft. Wilderness, but knew that we were at WL, and had been waiting for us at Ft. Wilderness”. This made no sense to me at all (aside from the fact that we have never stayed at FW in our lives), but the main thing was that the bus was there!

We found some seats and settled back, watching a skywriter as we headed off property. Once we reached the property line, a movie about DCL started playing with “Hello everybody and welcome aboard! We’re on our way…” The movie went over check in and the basics of the ship. After it was over, there was still quite a bit of time left. I tried to take a nap but I wasn’t successful as I was really excited. Neither DH nor I had been on a cruise or out of the US before so this was all new to us (I know it was just the Bahamas but still…)

We drove through a whole lot of nothing when finally we exited towards Port Canaveral. We could see the Wonder in dock, and I was amazed at how big it is. I know there are even larger ships, but neither of us had ever been so close to a cruise ship before and the size was amazing!

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2184.jpg

We got off the ship, collected our carryon, and penguin marched through the security line. DCL has a beautiful terminal with an awesome model of the Magic in the center that I wish I had taken more time to look at.

The video had instructed that only one party member should do the check in, so I headed up to the desk with our Driver’s licenses and birth certificates and all of our other documents and received our KTTW cards. Once that was done we had our photo taken for ID purposes, walked up the gangway, and were welcomed aboard. Our stateroom was ready, so we dropped off our carryon and headed to Parrot Cay for lunch!

Chandelier in ship’s atrium:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2176.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2179.jpg

[goofygal531]

Amy, did you book a land/sea package? When we sailed on the Wonder we had such a different experience. It was much smoother.

We stayed at the CR and at check in we had to show our passports to the DCL desk in the resort. On the evening before our cruise, we had to have our luggage outside our room by 2am. The luggage was sent to the cruise and we had the option of being picked up at the resort at Noon or being picked up at AK at Noon. We went to AK. We were there from 8am to Noon. At Noon about 10 DCL buses arrived. Thankfully, we got on the first bus we were so exhausted from our early morning at AK. We slept thru that whole movie! :)

At the ship, since we already had our KTTK cards, we were able to bypass check-in. Our resort keys worked on the ship.

Sorry you had such a horrible experience. We were so impressed with the land/sea transition.

I wasn't impressed with CL at BWI, I'm surprised WL is worse! :eek:

Enjoying your TR! :yay:

Mare

[irisbud]

Amy, did you book a land/sea package? When we sailed on the Wonder we had such a different experience. It was much smoother.

We stayed at the CR and at check in we had to show our passports to the DCL desk in the resort. On the evening before our cruise, we had to have our luggage outside our room by 2am. The luggage was sent to the cruise and we had the option of being picked up at the resort at Noon or being picked up at AK at Noon. We went to AK. We were there from 8am to Noon. At Noon about 10 DCL buses arrived. Thankfully, we got on the first bus we were so exhausted from our early morning at AK. We slept thru that whole movie! :)

At the ship, since we already had our KTTK cards, we were able to bypass check-in. Our resort keys worked on the ship.

Sorry you had such a horrible experience. We were so impressed with the land/sea transition.

I wasn't impressed with CL at BWI, I'm surprised WL is worse! :eek:

Enjoying your TR! :yay:

Mare

Hi Mare,

No, we didn't do the L/S, and I think that caused a lot of the problems we had :sad2: . The whole thing really surprised my because in my experience, all in all, Disney is usually pretty good at making things really smooth and easy.

This was so ambiguous it was really shocking to me. It was very un-Disney like. I had heard before about going to AK for the half day and I wish we would have done that, but we weren't even given that as an option ever.

Now that I know a little more about how it works I think next time will be better, but it would have been nice to have a little bit of guidance :laughing:

I know you had a really bad BWI experience and I know others have too. We've been lucky to have had two good experiences there. We didn't care for CL at WL or AKL (other than Don at the AKL IPO; he is amazing!) and won't be back for either. Just not our taste :cool2: RPC still blows everything else out of the water :cloud9:

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

I just read your entire pj....
First, You looked stunning..

Second, in the beginning, the comment about the "age" between you and df....Sorry DH now :lovestruc shouldn't mean a thing to anyone.

My fiances mother and father literally have 14 years between them! And they are still as in love as ever...

And you know what they say...us girls are supposed to find a older guy so their as mature as us!:confused3 :laughing:

Other than that. Congratulations. I think the sentiment of your grandmothers ring is just amazing by the way. Its so personal and something that you can then pass down to your children. Just beautiful!

Congrats!

[PrincessShea]

Great TR, I am really enjoying it!

I was very underwhelmed when I first saw FOTLK...but I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I was expecting it to be more like the Lion King musical. If you liked FOTLK, you MUST see the musical. I think your head will explode due to its sheer awesomeness.

[irisbud]

I just read your entire pj....
First, You looked stunning..

Second, in the beginning, the comment about the "age" between you and df....Sorry DH now :lovestruc shouldn't mean a thing to anyone.

My fiances mother and father literally have 14 years between them! And they are still as in love as ever...

And you know what they say...us girls are supposed to find a older guy so their as mature as us!:confused3 :laughing:

Other than that. Congratulations. I think the sentiment of your grandmothers ring is just amazing by the way. Its so personal and something that you can then pass down to your children. Just beautiful!

Congrats!

Thank you :cutie:

I'm so glad we decided to use my grandma's ring. It's a little old fashioned looking, but there truly is nothing I would rather have. :goodvibes

Great TR, I am really enjoying it!

I was very underwhelmed when I first saw FOTLK...but I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I was expecting it to be more like the Lion King musical. If you liked FOTLK, you MUST see the musical. I think your head will explode due to its sheer awesomeness.

Thanks!

We both really want to see the full version, I have heard such good things about it. We want to do an NYC trip at some point so hopefully we can incorporate it into that :cloud9:

[irisbud]

Day 6, Part 2

We headed to Parrot Cay for lunch, where we received the first of very many sanitary wipes to use on our hands before the meal. The wipes were a staple on the ship, and we received one every time we were in line for food.

We were seated by ourselves, and we immediately headed to the buffet. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. The food was great, and there was so much of it! I found lots of desserts, and DH found lots of cheese cubes, so both of us went away happy!

After eating we decided to go back and check out of stateroom again. We had booked a Category Seven, which has a more enclosed navigator’s veranda, but our TA had secured us a cabin that used to be a Category Six but was reclassified due to a slight obstruction. This cabin had a regular veranda though, and it was great!

Stateroom pictures:
Steamer trunk:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2091.jpg

Closet/ doorway/ bathroom entrance area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2093.jpg

Desk/Table/ Veranda entrance:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2090.jpg

I liked this lamp:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2089.jpg

All afternoon, the loudspeaker kept going off, preceded by the first seven notes of “When You Wish Upon a Star”. This is my favorite song (I used it to walk down the aisle), but it was driving me crazy after about an hour.

Annoying Speaker:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2092.jpg

Finally, it was time to put on our beautiful life jackets and head to our assembly station for the mandatory drill.

Looking snazzy in our life vests:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2097.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2095.jpg

After the drill was over, we decided to brave our way through the Sail Away Party and make our way up to the top deck to watch the ship leave the port. I was a little nervous at this point, as I was so afraid we were going to be horribly motion sick the entire time. When we started moving, though, I didn’t really feel anything.

Anchor:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2116.jpg

Ship’s Flag:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2108.jpg

Not so Hidden Mickey:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2102.jpg

The ship’s horn blew the first seven notes of “When You Wish Upon a Star” a couple of times as we made our way through the channel. This may sound silly, but there was something almost exhilarating about making our way out into the open water. It was so neat to see all of the people watching and waving as we passed!

Heading out to sea:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2104.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2117.jpg

If you look close you can see the Mickey hands:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2119.jpg

Security escort?
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2141.jpg

Birds chasing the ship:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2120.jpg

Almost there:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2127.jpg

Finally, we were out in the open sea. Dh and I decided to head back to our room and see if our luggage had arrived yet. I had packed us each an outfit for the evening just in case, but that turned out to be unnecessary, as our bags were waiting for us when we returned.

Open Water:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2131.jpg

Sunset:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2140.jpg


We decided we would head down and see the Golden Mickey’s show before dinner. On our way to the show, our stateroom host, Donny, stopped and talked to us, already greeting us by name. I was really amazed at the level of service and hospitality aboard the ship. One of the reasons we go back to Disney again and again is the friendliness of the CMs. On the Wonder, they were even more magical!

The Golden Mickey’s was a lot of fun and really well done. After it concluded, we didn’t have much time left before our dinner. We had the late seating, and our first rotation was in Parrot Cay again.

When we sat down, our server, Mahalo (I’m sure I just butchered that) greeted us by name even though we were the first ones there! We waited for a little bit then ordered as no one else joined us at our six top table for some time.

Finally another couple arrived about thirty minutes later and we chatted with them for a while over dinner. Again, I was really pleased with the quality of the food and the service was outstanding! Our tablemates declared the meal to be “Spectacular”.

Once we had finished up, we decided to go to sleep early. There were lots of activities listed on the personal navigator, but we were still recovering from so many days of getting up early that lounging in our room watching movies on TV and going to bed early sounded like a better option.

Sleep (notice DH’s pillow didn’t make it…):
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2152.jpg

Much lamented lost pillow:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1567-1.jpg

We went up and got some complimentary soda before heading to bed. I braved the shower first (not the greatest ever, but it worked, especially for being on a ship), and we got to bed. We actually ended up having to open the veranda door all night, as our AC was broken, unbeknownst to us until we were settled in. The sound was soothing, though (if you could get past our neighbors cackling and the smell of smoke drifting in from their veranda), and if not for that, the weather was so beautiful that I actually would have liked to have kept it open every night.

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

Oh bugger I cant see your pics here theyre blocked at work :(
What a tease to read and not see :(

[4th_little_pig]

Much lamented lost pillow:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/BWI%20Garden%20suite/CIMG1567-1.jpg


THIS WILL BE MY FIRST POST I AM AMYS DH AND I MUST SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT MY BELOVED PILLOW IS THE ONE IN THE BLUE PILLOW CASE NOT THE FUFU GIRLY BOY PILLOW ON TOP AND TO ALL THE MEN OUT THERE GETTING READY TO GET MARRIED REMEMBER IT STARTS WITH A PILLOW !!!

[irisbud]

Oh bugger I cant see your pics here theyre blocked at work :(
What a tease to read and not see :(

Sorry! :laughing:

THIS WILL BE MY FIRST POST I AM AMYS DH AND I MUST SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT MY BELOVED PILLOW IS THE ONE IN THE BLUE PILLOW CASE NOT THE FUFU GIRLY BOY PILLOW ON TOP AND TO ALL THE MEN OUT THERE GETTING READY TO GET MARRIED REMEMBER IT STARTS WITH A PILLOW !!!

:rolleyes1



;)

[irisbud]

Day 7 Part 1

We woke up fairly early the next day. We were still heading for Nassau when we got up, but we were getting close, as I could see Atlantis in the distance. Once we were presentable, we headed up to the Beach Blanket Buffet for breakfast. We got our handiwipe and waited in line to receive a tray with a napkin and our utensils on it.

This buffet had a little bit of everything on it, including my very favorite: Mickey waffles! Strawberry topping and whipped cream was available as well, so I was all set. We grabbed a seat outside and finished breakfast as we were heading to the dock, so we jumped up to watch.

The water was so blue here:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2156.jpg

Nassau:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2163.jpg

It was really interesting to me to watch the ship get tied off. The lines they use to do this are huge, and the pressure put against them must be enormous! Once we tired of this, we began comparing the Wonder to the Carnival Valor and another Carnival ship, which we were docked between. At about that time, the Wonder’s horn blew again. DH and I wondered if there would be a horn blowing contest between the ships, but the others stayed quiet. I’m sure the Wonder’s horn is the coolest!

Tying the ship off:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2188.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2189.jpg

Wonder and Carnival Valor:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2190.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2381.jpg

The all aboard time had been changed from 7 PM to 2 AM. I was fairly ambivalent about this, as I had no plans to be out late that evening either. The whole point of the cruise was for us to relax, and I was trying to take full advantage. We wandered around for a little bit before returning to our room to put more sunscreen on before our shore excursion.

We had booked the Discover Atlantis excursion at 11:00. This excursion was supposed to take us on a brief driving tour around Nassau before heading to Atlantis to tour the resort and the aquariums. Atlantis had come highly recommended by some friends of our, so I was excited to see it.

Atlantis:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2153.jpg

We met in Wavebands at our designated time, and everyone was given a Beast sticker to indicate they were part of the tour group. This was one of the first times that I noticed just how hard some of the cast members on the ship must work. There was a woman named Malita (I’m sure I butchered that as well) in charge of grouping us together. We saw her so many times that week doing so many things that I lost track. It made me tired just thinking about it.

Once everything was in order we headed down to the gangway and disembarked. We went through the welcome area where several women were offering hair braiding and stepped into some large vans.

Dock Area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2151.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2161.jpg

Welcome to Nassau:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2191.jpg

As DH said, this was the craziest ride we went on the whole time! The cab driver pulled out in front of people, no one ever stopped for anything, there were hairpin turns…I thought we might die. I know we went past several things, but I don’t really remember any of them as I was trying my best not to look out the windows, it was just too frightening.

We got to Atlantis and the told us we would need to meet transportation back at our leisure in the same place, and that they would be departing every half hour. Once we stepped inside, our tour was taken over by a young man who reveled in telling us how expensive everything in the resort was, and how each Chihouley (sp?) piece they had cost “A million Dollars” as we headed through the shopping area and into the casinos.

Outside of Atlantis:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2195.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2196.jpg

Inside the shopping area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2380.jpg

Worth a Million Dollars:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2197.jpg

Another Million Dollars:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2202.jpg

This Cost a Million Dollars too:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2207.jpg

So did this:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2209.jpg

Once we made it through the casinos we were in some sort of lobby/atrium type of area. We headed down a flight of stairs and over to the aquariums. The resort itself was impressive, but I was really interested in this, as I had heard it was phenomenal.

In lobby/atrium area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2213.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2215.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2216.jpg

[figmentfan814]

DH really had me cracking up with his post; definitely sounds like something my husband would want to do to make sure he set the record straight :laughing: :welcome: to the board!

Amy~ I love seeing all your shots from the cruise so far. It was cute to read your note about being excited to leave the country. Until I went to Jamaica with my friend who is from there when I was in my 20s; I had never been anywhere except Canada. Since I'm from Michigan we don't consider that a big deal because I think almost every person that lives here makes it over at least once, so its always interesting to think that most people don't live next store to Canada or Mexico. Isn't it exciting to see a new place and culture completely different from our own?

Anyway, I did this cruise with my family almost 6 years ago (wow it doesn't seem that long ago) when I graduated from college and we did the exact excursion in Nassau :goodvibes Looking forward to reading more about your trip and to reliving some of my cruise memories.

[goofygal531]

Amy, we were told the ropes were just for added security. There are magnets on the sides of the ship and sides of the ports (under water) that secure the ship in place.

We missed the sail away party. DH and I fell asleep on the verandah and woke up at 6pm surprised to be in the middle of the ocean. I can't believe we slept thru that loud horn! :rotfl:

They stay in Nassau until 2am because of the casino at the Atlantis. Since there's no casino on aboard many people run to the casino there. As did my DH! :rotfl2: He also won Jackpot Bingo on the ship! :cool1: $1,000! Paid off our room bill! :rotfl:

Another thing that's nice about the ship staying in port until 2am, you can get a room at the Atlantis for the day and be a full day resort guest, which is required to use the pools. I wish we would have done that. We just wandered around the resort, gambled a little then went back to the ship for lunch. Even though I won $150 on a slot machine, I wasn't going to pay $19 for hamburger, cheese and fries extra! :eek:

The only bad thing about going on DCL for your first cruise, is that nothing else compares! DH actually yelled at me for this. We've been on NCL, Carnival, and RCCL and nothing compares to DCL. I actually had tears in my eyes being docked next to the Wonder in Nassau and I was on the NCL Dawn. The Wonder was just amazing!:sad2:

Did you do the couples massage in the cabana on Castaway Cay? That was our favorite part of the cruise! :cloud9:

Oh, I wish I could go on a cruise. The prices are just insane on DCL for a family of four! :scared1: Cat 6 stateroom for a 7 night cruise runs about $7,000!! :eek:

Loving your TR!

Mare

[irisbud]

DH really had me cracking up with his post; definitely sounds like something my husband would want to do to make sure he set the record straight :laughing: :welcome: to the board!

Amy~ I love seeing all your shots from the cruise so far. It was cute to read your note about being excited to leave the country. Until I went to Jamaica with my friend who is from there when I was in my 20s; I had never been anywhere except Canada. Since I'm from Michigan we don't consider that a big deal because I think almost every person that lives here makes it over at least once, so its always interesting to think that most people don't live next store to Canada or Mexico. Isn't it exciting to see a new place and culture completely different from our own?

Anyway, I did this cruise with my family almost 6 years ago (wow it doesn't seem that long ago) when I graduated from college and we did the exact excursion in Nassau :goodvibes Looking forward to reading more about your trip and to reliving some of my cruise memories.

My DH the comedian :rolleyes: . :laughing: That is the only picture of the pillow I had, but he had to be sure there was no ambiguity :rotfl:

I really loved the cruise. :cloud9: And I totally agree with you about seeing different places. It might sound counter-intuitive on the surface, but that was actually part of why we joined DVC: you can trade points into another company if you want and go to destinations all over the world! The minimum buy in is enough for one week at almost 300 places all over the world, which we will definitely be using sometimes!

Amy, we were told the ropes were just for added security. There are magnets on the sides of the ship and sides of the ports (under water) that secure the ship in place.

We missed the sail away party. DH and I fell asleep on the verandah and woke up at 6pm surprised to be in the middle of the ocean. I can't believe we slept thru that loud horn! :rotfl:

They stay in Nassau until 2am because of the casino at the Atlantis. Since there's no casino on aboard many people run to the casino there. As did my DH! :rotfl2: He also won Jackpot Bingo on the ship! :cool1: $1,000! Paid off our room bill! :rotfl:

Another thing that's nice about the ship staying in port until 2am, you can get a room at the Atlantis for the day and be a full day resort guest, which is required to use the pools. I wish we would have done that. We just wandered around the resort, gambled a little then went back to the ship for lunch. Even though I won $150 on a slot machine, I wasn't going to pay $19 for hamburger, cheese and fries extra! :eek:

The only bad thing about going on DCL for your first cruise, is that nothing else compares! DH actually yelled at me for this. We've been on NCL, Carnival, and RCCL and nothing compares to DCL. I actually had tears in my eyes being docked next to the Wonder in Nassau and I was on the NCL Dawn. The Wonder was just amazing!:sad2:

Did you do the couples massage in the cabana on Castaway Cay? That was our favorite part of the cruise! :cloud9:

Oh, I wish I could go on a cruise. The prices are just insane on DCL for a family of four! :scared1: Cat 6 stateroom for a 7 night cruise runs about $7,000!! :eek:

Loving your TR!

Mare

That's really cool about the magnets! We wanted to do the Atlantis waterpark day thing, but it was $150 per person :scared1: . That was such a beautiful place!

How neat that your husband won the bingo; all we did was spend like $100 TRYING to win bingo. I didn't go, but DH said he was super close (standing up) on the big jackpot. Oh well. :upsidedow We didn't do the massage as we had never been to the island before and didn't know how much there was to do, etc. I'd like to do it on a future trip though!

DCL is expensive. We have friends that are dedicated RC cruisers, but they were really impressed when they saw our pictures, which told me something about the difference in quality right there! It's not to bad for us now with just two people, but once we have kids :headache: Unfortunatly, using DVC points for DCL is one of the worst DVC point values there is :guilty:

[goofygal531]

We wanted to do the Atlantis waterpark day thing, but it was $150 per person :scared1: . That was such a beautiful place!

Wow! That is expensive! :eek: Years ago they offered a room only discount for cruisers. I think it was about $135 for the day. But back then they didn't have the waterpark, just the pool slides. So I guess they upped the price with all they have to offer.:sad2:

How neat that your husband won the bingo; all we did was spend like $100 TRYING to win bingo.

I had to do laundry as after our cruise we were spending a few days at Universal Studios, so I sent DH to play bingo while I did the laundry on the ship. He spent $10 and had no idea what he was doing. He was playing all the cards at once, rather than each color per game. He won on the last game (fill the whole card) and this lady next to him was furious that he won not knowing how to play! :rotfl2: She had about $200 worth of cards and he only had one! :rotfl2: Thankfully, that's about when I arrived! :rotfl:

DCL is expensive. We have friends that are dedicated RC cruisers, but they were really impressed when they saw our pictures, which told me something about the difference in quality right there!

RC has beautiful ships but no one offers the service that Disney does. My son really wants to go on "Mickey's boat" but RC is a fraction of the price! :eek: Plus they have waterparks on their ships! :yay:

[irisbud]

Day 7 Continued

The guided tour was really concentrated on the aquariums at Atlantis. The tour was nice, but the guide was difficult to hear most of the time. I enjoyed this, but I thought there were times we moved a little too quickly, but it might have gotten boring fast if we had gone any slower. We started with the aquariums inside.

Random Pictures from The Dig Site Aquarium:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2225.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2229.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2231.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2241.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2266.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2265.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2271.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2348.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2244.jpg

There was a petting tank with some various sea creatures, including a conch. We got the chance to pet the conch, which was really slimy and disgusting!

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2252.jpg

After we left the Dig Sit Aquarium we walked through the grounds towards the outdoor portions of the lagoon. On the way we stopped so that the guide could point out the bridge suite. He told us that this suite has a $25K per night price tag and must be booked for a minimum of four nights. It also has a waiting list for availability.

Bridge Suite:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2294.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2298.jpg

Grounds of Atlantis:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2292.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2290.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2291.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2299.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2302.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2312.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2317.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2365.jpg

More to come tomorrow!

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

YAY! More more!

[irisbud]

YAY! More more!

Here you go! :goodvibes

[irisbud]

Day 7 Part 1 continued again...

Our guide told us a little bit about the outdoor aquarium. Apparently, it is the second largest in the world, surpassed only by the one in Atlanta, GA. We walked across a bridge over a lagoon filled with stingrays.

Over the bridge:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2301.jpg

Stingray lagoon:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2359.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2355.jpg

We then headed towards the predator lagoon. There were several sharks swimming around out there.

Predator lagoon:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2304.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2306.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2307.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2313.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2314.jpg

We went through a really neat food stand/gazebo, and headed down into another tank. This was the predator tank, and featured a walk through aquarium tunnel.

Gazebo roof:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2316.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2315.jpg

Walk through predator tank:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2339.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2333.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2324.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2330.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2340.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2343.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2342.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2341.jpg

We were at the back of our group and we were almost completely separated from them. We managed to catch up at the end of the tour, where we were sort of left to find our own way back to the bus.

[irisbud]

Day 7 Part 1 continued...

DH and I decided that we would like to walk around the ground of Atlantis a little more and maybe take a couple more pictures. We had seen a glimpse of the beach while on the tour and were intrigued by how blue the water was and wanted to get closer.

We headed back towards the beach, trying to retrace our steps. One the way, we saw this sign:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2364.jpg

We walked back by the predator lagoon, and DH decided we should try out the rope bridge that spanned the lagoon. I wasn’t too keen on this idea, but went along. The bridge was wobbly, but it was alright. A few sharks were swimming around underneath us, and it was interesting to look down on them between the slats of the bridge.

On the rope bridge:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2366.jpg

Hammerheads near rope bridge:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2372.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2374.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2367.jpg

Finally we found the entrance to the beach. We walked out a little ways just to see the water closer.

Beach at Atlantis:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2377.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2376.jpg

After catching a few pictures, we decided to head back and think about lunch. The food prices at Atlantis were pretty high, so we made the decision to head back to the ship where lunch was “free”.

Pretty flowers on Atlantis grounds:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2379.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2378.jpg

We passed a starfish lagoon on the way back:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2360.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2363.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2362.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2361.jpg

We got there about twenty minutes before the next bus would be leaving. After waiting around for a while, we headed back. The ride was crazy again, but I think this driver was slightly less insane than our first one had been. We made it through customs easily and back on the ship where we had to walk through the metal detector which DH set off with his just married pin, LOL.

[irisbud]

Day 7 Part 2

We rushed up to Beach Blanket Buffet to grab some lunch as it was nearly time for it to close. They still had plenty of food out when we got there, so I guess we needn’t have worried. There were even large crab claws on the buffet, which had already been partially cracked to make them easy to open! DH got his cheese cubes and I got my desserts and we headed outside.

One thing that interested me on the ship was that the seagulls weren’t nearly as aggressive as they are at Disney World. They are still there, circling and waiting for food, but they don’t actually swoop down until you leave the table. DH heard the ship playing a bird sound, and we decided it must be used to deter them.

After we had eaten more than our fill, we went back to the room to check out our navigators. It seemed that the air had been fixed in our absence, which made DH happy. We decided to attend the art auction and martini tasting and made our way to the atrium.

We didn’t buy anything, but DH won a print from knowing some Disney trivia, and we then received another print for attending. There were some very nice Disney pieces and some other interesting pieces but nothing we loved for the price.

View from our stateroom:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2149.jpg

Some more views of Nassau port:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2167.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2162.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2170.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2169.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2168.jpg

After the auction concluded, we decided to go back to Nassau for a while and try some shopping. I have to say that I wasn’t overly impressed. I was a little worried about walking around in Nassau as I had read that it can be dangerous if you stray too far from the main path. We went in several jewelry stores, but couldn’t find anything we liked. Some of the salespeople were so aggressive it made me really uncomfortable. We also walked over to look at the capital buildings. Unfortunately, my camera was back in the room being charged.

We decided to head back to the ship after a while to get ready for dinner as it was dress up night and I was feeling in need of a nap. When we headed through customs, we were waved around a group of four drunken women who were howling and cackling with laughter and stumbling over one another. The man working the gate kept saying “Yes, yes, I know Senor Frogs…”

We were strolling back to the ship when the group caught up with us. One grabbed DH around the waist and said “You look just like my husband, let me get a picture.” DH obliged and let them take a picture with him. Another one of the women then grabbed me and said “You look just like me wife”?!?!? :confused3 They then proceeded to tell us about Senor Frogs saying “Senor Frogs Bad” and telling us that the servers poured alcohol down their throats :woohoo: They then stumbled off towards their ship. DH and I hoped they wouldn’t fall into the water, as there was no fence along the dock! DH said he should have told the lady who thought he was her husband “I thought I told you to stay on the ship” :rotfl2:

Part of the other ship in port:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2150.jpg

Platform on the Wonder where the captain can stand to dock the ship:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Nassau%20and%20Atlantis/CIMG2186.jpg

We took a quick nap then got ready for dinner, skipping the Toy Story Musical. We were scheduled to eat in Triton’s that evening and I was really looking forward to it. Our meal was wonderful, and we had a nice time chatting with our tablemates about our experiences that day. The third couple at our table still hadn’t shown up for dinner.

Once dinner was over we went to Studio Sea to watch “Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer”. I just wanted to watch, but DH had a strong desire for me to participate as he wanted the pin that you get for playing. Three or four kids were chosen with two of them winning. Finally, they said that they would play one last game, and my number, four, was chosen!

Thanks to some nice audience members, I was able to win. I got a magnetic Mickey head sculpture and of course DH’s coveted pin, which he took from me immediately, LOL. I’m sure it was just because I had no pockets to store it in… :rolleyes1

We then went up to deck nine to get some soda and headed back to the room to get some sleep. My plans were thwarted by an envelope in our little fish mail holder, though. The envelope held a card informing us that the afternoon catamaran snorkeling trip we had scheduled for Castaway Cay the next day had been cancelled, and that we had been rescheduled to an early morning excursion. According to the card, if this was unacceptable, we had to let the Shore Excursions department know by 10:00 pm. We had barely finished dinner at 10, and had headed to the game show right afterwards, so it was now well past the time. The card had not been delivered when we had headed to dinner at 8. :headache:

I went down to guest services as the Shore Excursions desk was closed. There was some momentary confusion, but they finally agreed to refund the money as DH and I were not interested in an early morning excursion. We were trying to be all about relaxing, and getting up early just didn’t seem worth it to us. We figured we could always rent snorkel equipment at the family beach if we had an irresistible urge to snorkel! :idea:

Finally I made it back to the room and into bed, excited to get to Castaway Cay in the morning!

[4th_little_pig]

as you know from my 1 other post i am amys dh. at this time in our journey is when things get very interesting, since i knew that we were going to an adults only beach at castaway cay i decided to be very european and get a speedo , i figured if simon from housewifes of new york could do it so could i. so we awoke at castaway cay and idecided to wait to put on my speedo at the restroom at the adult beach and to surprise amy who did not know about said speedo . amy had went on down the beach to find a good spot while i changed , there is something very liberating about one of these,so i leave the restroom and i run into a group of people and i cracked a couple of jokes and the people are just cracking up , i fancy my self a very witty person as you will find out later, so i thought i must really be on fire today. as iwalked down the beach throwing out one liners i continued to kill. while i was heading down amy had decided to go into the water so when i got there istarted to wad in the water was a little cold ,asi got about half way in a blast of cold shot up my spine and out the top of my head,but i managed to get all the way in me and amy swam and swam and amy still did not know about the speedo, finally amy decided to lay in the sun so i was about to sping my surprise , as we exited the water i yelled surprise. the look on amys face was sheer terror,i had accidentaly put the speedo on backwards and now i know why all the people i had talked to found me so
funny!!!






oh did i happen to mention that in not doing things half way my speedo was a thong!!!







amy just told me i forgot to tell you this is the dream i had the night before we got to castaway cay!!!

[HockeyMomR]

4th_little_pig - too funny! I have to say I was very proud of Simon for putting on a trunk style swimsuit over his speedo while in the Hamptons during this weeks episode!

[PrincessShea]

What was the trivia question he got at the art auction?

[irisbud]

amy just told me i forgot to tell you this is the dream i had the night before we got to castaway cay!!!

:rolleyes: I'm trying to decide if I should even dignify your post with a response. :snooty: ;)

4th_little_pig - too funny! I have to say I was very proud of Simon for putting on a trunk style swimsuit over his speedo while in the Hamptons during this weeks episode!

All I can say is thank goodness it was only a dream. :scared: :rotfl:

Sorry honey :lovestruc

What was the trivia question he got at the art auction?

I don't remember offhand, I'm sure he will come back and answer :rolleyes1

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

Wow look at the clear water with those starfish! Just beautiful!!

[irisbud]

Wow look at the clear water with those starfish! Just beautiful!!


Wait until you see the pictures from Castaway Cay, which do it no justice at all :goodvibes (I am working on that segment now; should have it up today or tomorrow) :thumbsup2

[figmentfan814]

I totally agree about Nassau, I wasn't really that impressed. The storekeepers were really agressive when we were there too. What was your overall impression of Atlantis? I have had family that have gone there for a week for a vacation, and I just couldn't understand the appeal :confused:

We rented the snorkeling equipment at the family beach and had a blast, so I'm looking forward to reading what you ended up deciding. popcorn::

[irisbud]

I totally agree about Nassau, I wasn't really that impressed. The storekeepers were really agressive when we were there too. What was your overall impression of Atlantis? I have had family that have gone there for a week for a vacation, and I just couldn't understand the appeal :confused:

We rented the snorkeling equipment at the family beach and had a blast, so I'm looking forward to reading what you ended up deciding. popcorn::

I thought Atlantis was really nice, but I don't think I could spend more than a night or two there. The waterpark and aquarium would be nice for a couple of days, but after that it just seems like there wouldn't be much to do. DH and I aren't really into "do nothing" vacations where we end up just lounging around watching TV so I don't think it would be for us. :goodvibes

Stay tuned for the REAL Castaway Cay story :upsidedow

And Happy Anniversary tomorrow, BTW! It seems like just yesterday we were all wishing you Happy Wedding Day :cloud9: !

[irisbud]

Day 8, Part 1

We woke up fairly early the next morning to find that we were already docked at Castaway Cay. It turns out that we could have made the early morning snorkeling excursion if we had hustled, but I was feeling good about our decision to skip it. We headed up to breakfast at Beach Blanket again. I don’t know if it is because we chose the right hand line or if the offerings were just different, but the strawberries from my Mickey waffles looked sort of sick and grayish, like they had been in the freezer too long or something. There was also no whipped cream. There were still plenty of other things to eat, though, so we enjoyed our breakfast, changed into swim clothes and cover-ups and then headed to the gangway.

Castaway Cay from the Wonder:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2387.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2386.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2385.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2384.jpg

The water was really blue here too:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2388.jpg

The evening before, our server had told us that we would only need out KTTW card. When we got to the gangway, we found out we actually still needed our DLs too, so I ran back to the room to get them. Finally we made our way off the ship, caught a tram to the family beach, then grabbed a tram to the adult beach.

To be honest, I wasn’t perfectly sure what exactly we were going to do here. I had heard nothing but wonderful things about Castaway, but DH and I just aren’t big beach people. We like to be doing things, and the thought of laying in the sun baking is not at all appealing to my pasty skin (I got burned in Clearwater on vacation with friends 3 years ago. I still have tan lines from it. Seriously.)

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2417.jpg

Bad pic of us
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2402.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2416.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2415.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2399.jpg

We placed our things on a chair and then walked along the water taking in the scenery for a while. The water was so beautiful, but it was also incredibly cold. I stood in it at the edge for a little bit, trying to acclimate, and bravely stepped in. DH walked in with me, also complaining about the cold. Once we were up to mid-calf, we stopped, trying to decide if it was worth going in further when we spotted this:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2403.jpg

It was a huge stingray! I got my camera and took a couple of pictures before he swam away.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2404.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2405.jpg

After we saw the stingray, we started noticing other things, like all of the schools of fish swimming around us and the bunches of shells and other assorted sea life covering the sand beneath our feet. The water here was so clear you could easily see right to the bottom, especially when the wind was still.

At that point, it became a fun thing for us to walk around and scope things out and see what we could find. We found several huge shells, some sand dollar type things, some spiky sea creatures, and lots of fish.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2407.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2409.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2412.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2410.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2411.jpg

After a while, we made our way back towards the shore and sat in the water for a while, staring our past the buoys and into the ocean. I was starting to get a little chilled, so we made our way back to our chairs and dried off, resting in the sun for a few minutes while we decided on our next course of action.

After Swimming (yikes!)
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2401.jpg

[irisbud]

Day 8, Part 2

We figured that it must be approaching lunchtime (neither of us had a watch of any sort), so we wandered over to get some lunch. There was a large spread of BBQ out along with all kinds of sides, yummy fresh fruit, ice cream, and other desserts. We ate our lunch watching some birds that looked like miniature pigeons fighting over the crumbs and discussing how nice the weather was.

After lunch, we thought we would walk down a nearby trail that claimed to be a scenic nature trail. This wasn’t the best idea that we had all day, as the trail was fairly long and there wasn’t much nature involved. When we reached the end, we were at a lookout point where we could stand out and view the ocean. It was pretty and I was glad we did it, but I think we will rent a bike next time!

Along the Trail:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2436.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2435.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2418.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2437.jpg

Lookout:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2421.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2422.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2423.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2429.jpg

Once we finished taking some pictures, I got some water while DH decided to wander off into an area that was supposed to be off limits, leaving me torn between amusement and anxiety. Finally he came back and we made our way back to the beach and back into the water, which seemed even colder than I remembered.

We resumed our hunt for sea creatures. DH found a giant starfish that was more than a foot across, but we were really far out and I didn’t have my camera so we didn’t get a picture. DH walked all the way out to the buoys, and still had his head above water!

After a while, we headed back to our chairs again and just relaxed for a while, soaking in the warm sun and listening to the waves lap against the shore. It was so nice and peaceful there, different from any other beach I had ever been to.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2413.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2414.jpg

Finally, we decided to head back to the ship. I tried to use the bathroom, but found they had already been cleaned and shutdown at three thirty, making it a long tram ride back to the family beach. When we got off, we looked around at everything offered in this area. It was really nice too. We had thought about renting snorkel equipment, but we saw so much at Serenity Bay it didn’t seem necessary. I wouldn’t be opposed to doing it if we went back though.

On the way out, we stopped at one of the stores to get some souvenirs, even though we generally aren’t too big on those, we felt that this was a special trip for us and we should commemorate it. I purchased a Castaway Cay hat and DH got another pin.

When we left the shop, the tram was just pulling away, so I decided to walk and take some pictures of the Black Pearl, which is docked at Castaway. DH waited for the next tram, and we met up at the end of the route.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2395.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2393.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2398.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Castaway%20Cay/CIMG2439.jpg


They had both gangways open to get back on the ship, but the lines were still long. It moved fairly quickly though, and we headed back to the room to get showers so that my hair would have time to dry before dinner. It was funny, but I could feel the ship moving the very most whenever I was in the shower. This time was no exception. I knew we must have left the port when everything around me seemed to start swaying. Once I would step out of the shower, I would be fine again!

We decided to skip seeing Bolt in 3D as we had already seen it in theaters and instead went to watch Bed Time Stories in the movie theater, which was pretty good. When it was over, we got dressed for dinner, which would be in Triton’s again for Pirate night.

I expected that we would be alone this evening as the couple we had been dining with had made Palo reservations and the other couple hadn’t yet shown up. Right after we settled in, though, they arrived and we really hit it off! I only wished they had been there the previous two nights!

We made it through dinner, and our server brought out a cake for DH and I congratulating us on our wedding. Everyone at the table had a piece (along with regular dessert).

At this point, it was almost time for the fireworks. We ran back to our stateroom to get a sweater and the video camera (which was, unfortunately out of batteries). When we got back on deck ten, we watched the fireworks with our new found tablemates before heading back to the room.

DH and I decided that we would go down to Wavebands to have a drink and watch other people make fools of themselves doing karaoke before heading to bed. We spent about an hour watching the show, which was really pretty funny, then headed to bed, planning to sleep late the next morning.

Carpet in Route 66 Area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2180.jpg

All in all, we had a really great, pretty well perfect day that day, one of the best days I have ever had. Castaway Cay was so beautiful and relaxing, and we had so much fun out looking for shells and such in the water, we met a great couple at dinner, and the fireworks off the ship and over the ocean were really incredible to see. We had been hesitant about doing the cruise, but for me that day solidified that it was totally worthwhile!

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

YAY! Next installment!
The plane picture and ship are awesome, I wish I was there!!

[irisbud]

YAY! Next installment!
The plane picture and ship are awesome, I wish I was there!!

me too :goodvibes:

[gemmybear83]

How have I missed all of this?!

I've just read your pj and caught up on tr - I love it! Did your husband have any more "interesting" dreams during your honeymoon?

[irisbud]

How have I missed all of this?!

I've just read your pj and caught up on tr - I love it! Did your husband have any more "interesting" dreams during your honeymoon?

Thanks for reading! Not that I'm aware of, thank goodness :rolleyes:

[irisbud]

The next day we slept in fairly late. It was our at sea day, and never having been on a cruise before, I had mentally equated this with boredom and lounging, as I was fairly certain there would likely be little else to do.

Once I was up and moving, I looked at the personal navigator again, having been in no shape to do so the night before. I was surprised to find that I had already missed out on something I would have liked to have done!

I planned out the day while DH finished getting ready, and we headed back to Beach Blanket. I chose the right hand line this time, and my nice red strawberries and gobs of whipped cream were back so my waffles could be topped appropriately. We found a nice table out in the sun and enjoyed looking out and seeing nothing but water surrounding the ship. It was interesting to see this through the portholes inside of the ship. Our seas were really calm (4 ft) and it was clear out, so it reminded me of a movie set.


All you could see in any direction:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2105.jpg

All I have from this day are random ship pictures:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2139.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2138.jpg

After breakfast we headed down to play pin trading Bingo. I think this was somewhat of a misnomer, as there was no pin trading going on, and nothing to facilitate such trading. We stayed to play anyway, though the cut the session to two games rather than four for lack of participants. We managed to win nothing, but they did mention the big jackpot Bingo that afternoon, which DH was interested in.

I believe that after finishing Bingo we went to the DVC presentation in order to enter the drawing to win a $400 shipboard credit. We listened to the spiel, and to my surprise DH was actually interested. :goodvibes We talked it over, but decided to wait to do anything until we were back at WDW and could actually take a look at the models. I wish we would have found the little lounge we were in, Diversions, earlier in the cruise. There were tons of board games and such for people to play and it may have made for a fun afternoon or evening.

After the DVC presentation, we headed up to lunch at Beach Blanket. I had tried to get Palo Brunch reservations because we do love a good brunch, but they were all gone at our booking window and I never thought about it again. The buffet was really good, though, and since there were still cheese cubes and desserts we were happy. :woohoo: :laughing:

More random pictures:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2166.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2164.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2165.jpg

After lunch, we decided to do a tour of the galley. I love all of the behind the scenes things, so I thought this would be fascinating. I only wish that I had brought my camera along, as we were allowed to take pictures in the kitchen! The whole kitchen area was really neat, everything stainless steel, and the discussion of the business end of it really made you have a greater appreciation of what it takes to run the ship. The chocolate chip cookies weren’t bad either! :rolleyes1

Our tour guide was a little long winded, so DH was worried about missing the big Bingo game. My interest was somewhere less than none, so I decided that my time would be better spent napping for an hour. We made plans to meet up again for trivia about an hour and a half later.

I went back to the room, set my alarm, and fell asleep watching the classic Disney movies on TV. Though the TV selection left much to be desired for DH, I was actually happy enough to watch the animated movies. I miss them! :cutie:

My nap flew by, and I staggered sleepily down to trivia. Dh and I missed the first couple questions as they apparently started early, but they let us join in anyway. We lost by one question (DH should have listened to me) :rolleyes1 . Too bad, because we would have won, as we guessed the answer to the tie breaker. :sad2:

In the elevator:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2173.jpg

And outside:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2171.jpg


We still had a while until dinner so we headed up to get some soda and ice cream and then watch some TV before getting ready. I also went down to settle our account and figure out our tips. Between our shipboard credits and our gift cards we ended up owing nothing. We even had $2.88 left on one gift card… :thumbsup2

I told DH I really wanted to see the Disney Dreams show, so we dressed for dinner before heading to the theater. I enjoyed the show. popcorn:: I think DH did as well, though I got the feeling that the magic of Disney was beginning to disgust him a little at this point. :rolleyes:

After the show, we headed to Animator’s Pallet for our final rotation. I was really excited to see the dining room change. I hadn’t even seen the inside, except during our safety drill on the first day. :3dglasses

We sat down, and both couples joined us for dinner that evening. We had a really enjoyable dinner, and the color change was fabulously done! I had a great time! We were told to be back in the same place the next morning at our designated time, and we all agreed we would be there to exchange information. :goodvibes

After dinner, we headed back to our room to pack. Once again, I dumped most everything out and sorted, trying to make our luggage as streamlined as possible. This time, I ended up with only two bags left for use after returning to WDW: one suitcase was full of things we wouldn’t likely need again, and one was overflowing with dirty clothes. I kept our backpack we used in the parks and our carryon with us, putting the purple Minnie luggage tag on our backpack so we would know where to look at the port the next morning. :teacher:

Unfortunately, I realized after I had placed our luggage in the hall that I had placed our customs allowance worksheet (not filled out) and our slip showing our breakfast time in our suitcases. I hoped this wouldn’t cause a problem the next day! :scared:

I took a shower and we settled in and watched the Lion King before going to sleep, as we had to be up extra early the next day to disembark and head back to WDW for three more nights! :dance3:

[irisbud]

Day 10, Part 1

The next morning was an early one. We couldn’t remember exactly what time our breakfast was scheduled for, but I knew that it was some hour of the morning that I had seen way too many times on this trip. Always for a good reason, but still…

We weren’t up and moving for too long before the announcements over the loudspeaker started. For the first time since our first afternoon aboard, they were piping them straight into the rooms as well. I suppose this is to wake up any stragglers or anyone whose alarm failed them for some reason or another. I kept waiting for them to mention a time for breakfast, either on the TV or over the speaker but they never did, leaving us to guess. :headache: They did tell everyone to stop smoking, though, warning that the ship could blow up if they didn’t, as it was being refueled. We looked out over our veranda railing to see the tanker, and hoped that our neighbors had been listening… :scared1:

Finally, we decided it should be about time for breakfast. We made a final check of our stateroom, grabbed our leftover luggage, and headed down to Animator’s Pallet, being directed around a protein spill in the hallway. :scared: The line was backed up with people waiting for breakfast, so we assumed we had guessed the time correctly.

We got our handiwipe as usual and then headed back to our table from the evening before. Our server took our carryon and put it in the back of the room so that it wouldn’t be underfoot and took our order. The couple we really liked, J&A, showed up and we exchanged some pictures and information with them, and made plans to meet them at Downtown Disney for dinner the next evening, as they were heading for WDW as well. :cheer2:

A got up from the table to give the head server his tip, and J told us that he would be texting us and telling us when to meet them. He asked if we would actually be available the next morning instead, as he had plans to have a vow renewal done at DTD as a surprise for A! :cloud9: We readily agreed, but of course said nothing to A, and told them we would see them the next evening when we separated to find our luggage.

We picked out our things and got in the customs line, only to find that we still did need to fill out the customs form even though we hadn’t purchased anything. We got off to the side where there were some blanks and filled it out, then were allowed to step back in line. Getting through customs took maybe ten minutes, including getting our luggage, filling out our form, being (not) inspected, and heading out the door. :thumbsup2

Once we were off the ship, we headed over to the resort transfer busses. They took our luggage and stored it underneath and we waited for what seemed like an eternity. We were the very last bus to leave the terminal!

Waiting…
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2442.jpg

Still waiting…
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2443.jpg

At last we were on our way back, kicked of by another rendition of “Hello everyone and welcome aboard! We’re on our way…”. I fell asleep at some point, while DH stayed awake and watched the old cartoons that followed the informational video. popcorn::

We passed through OKW and SSR. We were the last stop at the CR. This was our first time staying at the CR, and would complete our tour of all of the monorail (and all of the MK) resorts.

When we arrived, we were checked in quickly and efficiently. We were staying in the garden wing in a SV, though the CM checking us in told us that we had received a room with a king bed. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we left our luggage with bell services and headed up to the monorail to head for MK.

We were still working on the cruise schedule of eating a lot all of the time though, and we were hungry. :woohoo: We decided to make a quick stop at the GF Café for lunch. It was about 11:30 at this point, but we were able to walk right in. We really like this restaurant. It is decorated very nicely and is really relaxing. They have really good food for lunch. I actually wanted to do a luncheon after our wedding here, but they couldn’t accommodate us within the time frame we needed. We had a nice lunch and our server was great.

GF
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/CIMG2612.jpg

We heard several people mentioning rain, but the sky was blue and had white clouds when we boarded the monorail and headed to MK.

Nice Blue Sky:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2608.jpg

We decided to do Space Mountain one more time before the refurb. We didn’t like it the last time we rode it on the right side so we tried the left queue. We still didn’t like it. It is just so jerky! :sick:

After leaving SM, we jumped on the TTA, one of our favorites. It is so nice to just sit and relax on here and listen to the sounds of the park. The sky was starting to cloud over a little at this point, but I still felt no need for alarm.

Clouds are coming:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2447.jpg

This was DHs third trip to WDW, and somehow up until this point it had never once rained while he was there. As we walked deeper into Fantasyland, the clouds got darker and the rain seemed imminent. I told him if it started pouring, he would get to watch people scatter!

Getting darker:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2445.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2446.jpg

We decided to go on IaSW as the line was almost nonexistent. I wanted to try more of the Fantasyland rides, but the lines were fairly long and we didn’t want to wait so this would have to do.

Thankfully, we didn’t get stuck on IaSW. When we came out, it was pouring buckets and I grabbed the ponchos out of our bag. As soon as we got them on, the rain let up. We wore them anyway as the sky still looked overcast and we jumped on the carousel.

After our ride, it was pouring again. It kept doing this off and on for the rest of the afternoon. We headed over to Main Street to find a spot to watch the new afternoon parade, but it was still fairly early for that. We gave up our good spot and decided to find somewhere in Frontierland to watch from. DH got us a frozen lemonade and we waited for quite a while still. I got hot under the poncho and peeled it off, though the rain was still coming in fits and spurts. :umbrella:

Finally at about 3:15 the parade started. I have to say I was a little disappointed in this. I loved the last afternoon parade and this one just didn’t do it for me. I think I would like to give it another chance though as it was still raining and that may have put a damper (no pun intended) on many of the elements. :guilty:

After we finished with the parade, we headed over to Splash where there was no wait and rode. I managed to avoid the big spray from the logs at the beginning and ended up no wetter than I had been from the rain. We hopped off and did a turn on BTMRR, which also had no wait, then headed back to Splash again.

This time, I got a little wetter. There was an older man in the seat behind us, and when we go to the top of the big drop he yelled out “Holy $***” before we went over! :rotfl2:

When we made it back to the beginning, the operator asked if we would like to ride again, as, according to him, we couldn’t get any wetter. Well, we took him up on the offer, but it turns out that he was wrong. I got wetter. A lot wetter. The big splash in the beginning got me full on, and I was drenched. Then the rain was coming down again after the big drop and before you head back into the building.

I decided I was wet enough and we should head back to the CR so I could get a shower and get cleaned up before our dinner at Shula’s. DH stopped to pin trade on the way out, taking pins from my lanyard to trade with as he liked all of his, then we jumped on the monorail. DH called the number we had been given and we got our room information. We picked up our bags and headed to the Garden Wing, rode up a smelly elevator, walked for quite a distance, and opened our door to find that our room reeked of smoke…. :mad:

[irisbud]

Day 10, Part 2
Our room absolutely reeked of smoke, and smoke doesn’t agree with me. It gives me migraines especially if I am feeling a little nasty already. I wasn’t right then, but it certainly wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. So with that in mind I headed down to the concierge to see what could be done about the smell.

Our room (you can’t see the smell):
Closet Area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2622.jpg

Drapes:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2626.jpg

Drapes Open:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2629.jpg

Chair near Bed:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2614.jpg

Daybed:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2616.jpg

TV:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2618.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2620.jpg

Bed:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2615.jpg

Desk Area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2613.jpg

Assorted Knickknacks:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2621.jpg

I got up to the concierge desk and the gentleman working there was somewhat less than magical. I told him the problem, and he asked me “Well, if smoke bothers you why didn’t you request a non-smoking room?” Maybe because the whole hotel is supposed to be non-smoking?!?!? :confused3 :sad2: :mad:

I then asked if we could move rooms. He said no, there was nothing available at all except for maybe another room in the Garden Wing that had two queens. He said it was in the far end of the garden wing, on the third floor, and was the very last room. He would have to check to see if it was still available even and it wouldn’t be ready yet. The other option was to have them reclean the room. :headache:

I didn’t see how recelaning was going to help, but the other room didn’t sound too promising either. Besides, I really needed to have a room then (why the alternative room wasn’t ready at almost 5:00 I don’t know) so I could get ready for our dinner, as I looked like a drowned rat. I told him so and he shrugged, telling me to call housekeeping when we left. I asked to talk to a supervisor and he told me there were none available. :mad:

I went back to the room (which still smelled horrible) and got ready for dinner. When we were about to leave, DH called housekeeping and asked them to send someone up, which resulted in some confusion but was finally straightened out. Not hoping for much, we left and jumped on the monorail to the MK, then headed for the bus stops to get a bus for the Dolphin. The bus we needed was just about to pull away, but the driver kindly waited for us as we came running up the queue area. :yay:

When we got to the Dolphin we had a little bit of trouble finding Shula’s. DH stopped in a store and asked for directions and we made it just in time for our reservation. We were seated a few minutes later in a back room. There were only three other parties in the room: another small table, and two large tables one of which was extremely loud :headache: . We looked over the menu and I literally screamed to DH (talking would have never been heard over the din) that we needed to ask to move. The server was very understanding and put us in a much quieter room. :goodvibes

We had a really nice dinner. Shula’s is great, a little pricy maybe, but not too much worse than a lot of other really good steakhouses. DH had a steak of some kind, and I had crab cakes as I just wasn’t interested in meat that evening for some reason. We shared some side dishes and a crème brulee that was probably the best one I’ve ever had. The only odd thing was the iced tea. They serve it from bottles like you would buy at the gas station and leave the bottles on the table for you. It just seemed out of place for the price and the atmosphere. :confused3

After dinner we headed out to the bus stop which was deserted. We decided we would take the first bus that showed up and find our way from wherever it was going. About thirty minutes later, a bus to DTD came and we hopped on board. We got on a bus to the CR from there and headed back.

We rode up the smelly elevator to our room again and I staggered down the hall (I had blisters that were killing my feet) expecting the worst. When I opened the door it actually smelled a lot better. There wasn’t much of the smoke smell left, and I told DH I would try it for the evening, and if it was unacceptable we could ask to move in the morning. I set the alarm before going to sleep as J had texted us to meet them at the main stage in DTD at 10:30 the next morning! :cheer2:

[4th_little_pig]

I would like to take the time to disscuse our dinner companions on the cruise.Let me start by saying we really worried about who we would be seated with for months,as we had read many reports on this site about horrifying table manners, and I am really disgusted by lip smacking , open mouth chewing and general disgusting eating habits. :scared:

Our first night at dinner we were the first to arrive and it was a while before the next couple (not J&A) showed. When they arrived they seemed very nice they were in there early 20's for your referance she looked just like Courtney Love and not during the good years and he reminded me of the goat guy from Narnia. We started with a little idle chit chat to try to get to know one another,as the food arrived we really got an insight to are table mates. Goat boy (GB) recieved his appertizer and proceded to waft the smell to his nose with his hands over and over ,and breathing in deeply and saying ah!! every time. Once he finally took a bite he exclamed "spectacular" which was repeated with every course of every meal every day the rest of the cruise,and now we use at almost all meals just another way Disney makes memory's that last a lifetime. :rotfl2:

[4th_little_pig]

I forgot to mention that in talking to GB &CL that GB worked at a liquor store .Early on in our first night GB asked if we would like to share a bottle of wine, we declined because we are not big wine drinkers. So he ordered a bottle for CL to have with dinner when Mahalo our waiter brought the wine GB took his sip and did all the swishing ,gargling,ect. what ever he has ever seen on the food channel :happytv: and you guessed it "spectacular" . To make along story short the waiter brought the ticket for GB to sign and he gasped when he saw that he ordered a $80 bottle of wine. He decided CL could have one glass a night and had the waiter hold the bottle for each nights service , and on the last nights service Amy heard CL say to GB we had better take the wine bottle home it may be worth something.:confused:
All was not bad on the third night our other couple finally showed for dinner and we really got along great with them there will be much more on them soon.

[gemmybear83]

Hey Amy loving day 3 (and your husbands comments - they have scared me - what if the people we are sat with think were like that!:lmao: )

On a non honeymmon related quesion - do you upgrade you chairs for your wedding ceremony? Are those the folding wooden chairs or did they come as standard? Thank you - and sorry for interupting!:)

[irisbud]

Hey Amy loving day 3 (and your husbands comments - they have scared me - what if the people we are sat with think were like that!:lmao: )

On a non honeymmon related quesion - do you upgrade you chairs for your wedding ceremony? Are those the folding wooden chairs or did they come as standard? Thank you - and sorry for interupting!:)

Don't worry they were um, special :laughing:

The chairs were what came standard with our package. I though about doing the wooden ones but didn't want to spend the money. I never even noticed them that day to tell you the truth :cloud9:

[KatieLovesDisney1]

Hi. I'm new to the DIS boards and I have to say that they are totally addicting. I just spent the last couple hours reading your wedding trip report. You were a beautiful bride and I love reading about your wedding. The cruise looked like so much fun! :)

[irisbud]

Hi. I'm new to the DIS boards and I have to say that they are totally addicting. I just spent the last couple hours reading your wedding trip report. You were a beautiful bride and I love reading about your wedding. The cruise looked like so much fun! :)

:goodvibes Thank you so much! and Welcome to the Boards! :welcome:

[pink_tink8i8]

wow! your pics are just beautiful from castaway cay!

[figmentfan814]

I love all your shots from Castaway Cay; that was our favorite part of the cruise! I highly recommend snorkeling on the family beach if you ever make it back; it was so much fun swimming out to find the sunken Mickey ::MickeyMo Our cruise didn't have a day at sea, so I was curious to hear about one. I too would have been nervous about being bored. It sounds like you had a great day though :thumbsup2

That is terrible about your room at CR. I can't believe he said the comment about asking for a NS room :headache:

We just tried GF Cafe on our last trip and you're right it was fantastic. We went at lunch and I really enjoyed everything that we had there. I'm definitely going to add it to our list of places that we enjoy eating at WDW.

I love DH's comments about your table mates. The wine story reminds me of the movie "Sideways" which was extremely boring to both DH and I too since we're not really drinkers either.

[irisbud]

wow! your pics are just beautiful from castaway cay!

We loved it there! It was so beautiful in person too! :cloud9:

I love all your shots from Castaway Cay; that was our favorite part of the cruise! I highly recommend snorkeling on the family beach if you ever make it back; it was so much fun swimming out to find the sunken Mickey ::MickeyMo Our cruise didn't have a day at sea, so I was curious to hear about one. I too would have been nervous about being bored. It sounds like you had a great day though :thumbsup2

That is terrible about your room at CR. I can't believe he said the comment about asking for a NS room :headache:

We just tried GF Cafe on our last trip and you're right it was fantastic. We went at lunch and I really enjoyed everything that we had there. I'm definitely going to add it to our list of places that we enjoy eating at WDW.

I love DH's comments about your table mates. The wine story reminds me of the movie "Sideways" which was extremely boring to both DH and I too since we're not really drinkers either.


I'd like to go back and do the snorkeling sometime. It's amazing how quickly the time went! GFC is nice and usually easy to get a table at. I think it's nice for when you are near MK as well. As for GB & CL :rolleyes: :laughing: I was trying to just skim over them, but they were unforgettable ;)

[irisbud]

Day 11, part 1

Note: I don't have any pictures for the first installment, sorry. This day is going to end up having 3-4 parts so bear with me...

We woke up with the alarm the next morning. The first thing that I did was sit up and start sniffing for the horrible smoke smell. Thankfully, I seemed to have either gotten used to it or it had dissipated because though there was a hint of it, it was not nearly as overpowering as it had been before.

After I got ready and while I was waiting for DH, I pulled out my Passporter and started looking through the map of DTD, trying to figure out where exactly the “main stage” was. :scratchin I found a good candidate near the World of Disney Store, but, as usual, I was doubting myself. DH and I aren’t exceedingly familiar with DTD, and though the only giant stage on the map seemed to be the best option I didn’t want to be wrong. :rolleyes1

We headed towards the lobby to find breakfast and were sorely disappointed. We looked at the menu for the Wave but it looked a little gross to us :crazy2: . Chef Mickey’s was out as well, so the only choice was the food court, which looked like it belonged in an airport. When we went to order our food, there were no prices listed for anything leaving us to guess. DH got some sort of hot sandwich and a side and I had a pastry of some kind. We each got drinks and were ripped off for a total of nearly $25! :faint:

Let me say here that I am not generally too appalled by Disney’s food prices. Yes, they are high, but they aren’t too over the top in a lot of places, and there are some locations that I think are fairly well in line. This was absurd, however, and I suppose I was extra grumpy about it because I just wasn’t feeling any love for the Contemporary. :cool: :rolleyes2 :guilty:

After breakfast we went back to the lobby and got a map of DTD. I tried to ask one of the ladies at the concierge desk where the main stage was, but she didn’t know what I was talking about and suggested I ask a bus driver. At this point we decided that the stage we had previously considered HAD to be the Main Stage so we got on the DTD bus and headed for the Marketplace. :car:

It was cold and drizzly that morning. :umbrella: When we got to DTD, the shops weren’t quite open, so we spent some time trying to orient ourselves and watching like vultures for the signs of opening doors so we could head in for warmth :magnify: . Finally, we were able to get inside the Winnie the Pooh Shop, where we spent a few minutes browsing waiting for the Pin Store to open. pooh:

Once they started rolling up the sides on the Pin Store, DH and I headed in to find a wedding pin. There wasn’t as much selection as we thought, but we still managed to find a couple, and DH bought one for me and we got one for A as well as a gift for their vow renewal. :cheer2:

We still had time to kill, so we headed for the crystal store. I was very careful not to touch anything or stand too close to the shelves as either action had the potential to be disastrous. :scared: :tiptoe:

We didn’t want to ruin J’s surprise, so we were trying not to be seen :ssst: . We were worried about heading into WoD, as we thought if A&J were already there, they were most likely to be in WoD. Finally, though, we felt we had pressed our luck enough with the crystal and headed over, figuring it was big enough not be seen. We headed back to the jewelry room and had two links removed from DH’s DFTW watch to make it fit better (I had sent mine home because it was so huge it just fell right off of my hand; now I wish I had kept it with me). :headache:

We poked around in there for a while, and then stepped outside as it got closer to the time. Right on time, we saw A&J heading towards us, and as the preacher walked up to them, I realized I had forgotten my camera like an idiot! I so wish that I had remembered so that I could have captured the priceless look of surprise on A’s face! :goodvibes

[BlueSkies]

Amy Am catching up on your trip report ...More beautiful pictures! and your dining reports with CL and GB had me laughing out loud!!!:rotfl: Sounds like you have also begun a wonderful new friendship with A&J...how very nice...Our best friends are a couple that we met on our honeymoon a very long time ago(we live about 2 hours away from each other but always manage to take the time to get together)...we even had children one day apart...imagine!!

Looking foward to reading the rest of your report...its terrific!!:goodvibes

[irisbud]

Amy Am catching up on your trip report ...More beautiful pictures! and your dining reports with CL and GB had me laughing out loud!!!:rotfl: Sounds like you have also begun a wonderful new friendship with A&J...how very nice...Our best friends are a couple that we met on our honeymoon a very long time ago(we live about 2 hours away from each other but always manage to take the time to get together)...we even had children one day apart...imagine!!

Looking foward to reading the rest of your report...its terrific!!:goodvibes

That's wonderful :goodvibes

Thanks for reading!

[chepic]

Amy, your report is great, and the 2 of you look fantastic.

And your anniversary is now the day before mine....although Dave and I have been married 21 years now :goodvibes ....I am certain you will be married that long too.

Cheryl

[irisbud]

Amy, your report is great, and the 2 of you look fantastic.

And your anniversary is now the day before mine....although Dave and I have been married 21 years now :goodvibes ....I am certain you will be married that long too.

Cheryl

Thanks! :goodvibes How neat is that? 20+ years is great! That's what we are hoping for :cloud9:

[irisbud]

Day 11, Part 2

A was truly surprised! The officiant asked J & A where they would like to do the vow renewal, and A chose a spot close to the lake in the center of DTD. J gave DH his camera (thank goodness someone had one!) and DH took a few pictures during the ceremony. It was so sweet it made me want to cry! The whole time, people were walking by and exclaiming over the ceremony, pointing and gawking.

A& J vow renewal:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/DCL%20Misc/0832.jpg

It was all over fairly quickly. J paid the officiant, and DH gave A the pin we had purchased earlier that morning. A was still really surprised. She asked us if J had told us about this and we said that he had when she was handing out tips on the ship. He had told her that we had scored CG ressies and would be unable to meet them that evening as an excuse to get to DTD that morning. :cool2:

We walked around in WoD for a little bit, waiting for RFC to open, as A said that is one of her favorites. DH had never been and it had been years since I went to the one in AK so we were happy to join them. :woohoo:

Finally it was about time for RFC to open so we headed that. It was still a little cold and drizzly but it was bearable to be outside. We were glad it hadn’t poured during their vow renewal! We spent a little time browsing in the gift shop and then headed over to get a table. I think we were next to some animatronics elephants. :upsidedow

We had a really nice lunch. I enjoyed my food and the conversation was great. It was fun to hang out with some other people and not having GB and CL there made the meal much better. J told everyone about how he had planned the VR. He had looked for an Orlando church that would be willing to do something with him, and the church he had found was comprised mostly of members from J & A s hometown! We knew they were celebrating their 10th anniversary, and the vow renewal had taken place on the exact day! DH complained that now I would remember that and he would be forced to live up to that standard. :rolleyes1

After a while we finished up and headed outside. A & J were going to do some of the parks as they would be leaving the next day and DH & I were unsure of our itinerary. We talked about meeting up again at EPCOT that evening for Illuminations and EMH but didn’t set any firm plans. I was hoping things would work out so we would get to hang out again that night! :cheer2:

Once we parted ways, DH asked me what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure and it was still a little nasty, so I asked him if he wanted to do the DVC tour and take a look at some of the actual models. Though DH dosen't believe me, I didn't really go with the intention of persuading him to buy. In all honesty, I just wanted to have a look. Mostly, I went for the free ice cream at the end of the tour. :rotfl:

We headed over to the kiosk, and there was a really nice gentleman working there. We talked to him about how we had done the presentation on the ship, but were interested in seeing the actual models before we made any decisions. We chatted for a little while and DH tried to trade pins with the other CM there but didn’t find anything he liked.

Finally a golf cart pulled up to take us over to SSR. I thought about how nice it would be to walk between DTD and SSR if we ever wanted to as the pathway was nice and sort of pretty.

We were dropped off at the DVC center and told to indulge in Pepperidge farm cookies and drinks while we waited, which we did. Finally, our guide came over to us and gave us a quick rundown. We were then led to a little room and shown some literature. We already knew much of what she was telling us from the shipboard presentation.

At last we were able to see the models. Right now, they have models of AKV and BLT as both are still for sale. There is also a miniature model of THV. We were led through the models and I have to say they are really lovely. I hated the BLT pictures, but in person they really are nice. I also liked the AKV rooms, and I wonder if they will have that much light in person or if they will be really dark like AKL (which we didn’t like). The only issue with the rooms for us is that the studios have a queen bed and we sleep on a king. We did okay on the ship, though, so we think it would be fine when our dog isn’t sleeping with us. :headache:

The models were fairly crowded that day. One of the guides was joking with his group that the DVC accommodations come preoccupied by DH and I. I wish I could have that job: just sit around and occupy DVC accommodations in WDW. As long as we could go to the parks etc. I would be fine. :idea:

We headed back to cell, er, room 21 and got some more of the spiel. The guide then left so we could talk it over. DH and I decided that this really would be a good value for us, especially since the points aren’t limited to use at Disney. They were offering some pretty good incentives ($5 pt back taken off the down payment, matching developer points with limited use for free, immediate use year, etc) so we paid the down payment signed the papers and bought in with the minimum of 160 points! We bought in at BLT for the longer contract (50 yrs vs. 48 left on AKV) and lower dues (over $1 per pt less than AKV). :teacher:

After everything was put in order we were taken to get some “free” ice cream to go with the canvas tote bag and big sheaf of literature we had just purchased. I got coffee flavor (I hate coffee but love coffee ice cream, figure that out) and DH got butter pecan. I enjoyed watching the train circle the room as we waited for one of the vans to take us back to the CR. The man scooping the ice cream said he knew exactly how many seconds it took to get around as it could be really slow there and sometimes there was little to do but watch the train go around As we left, we had a truly horrendous picture taken. :scared:

We got in the van and had a nice conversation with the gentleman driving. He had worked for Disney for quite a while and was trying to stump us with some Disney trivia. I listened politely but I already knew much of what he was saying. It was fun anyway though. :goodvibes

Our new "home:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2448.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2637.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2638.jpg

When we got back to the CR, we decided to rest for a little bit. I looked over the DVC info some more to get some trip ideas while DH watched TV. The room was fairly non stinky so I was happy enough. :cutie:

I was going through our info packet the CR gave us as I thought EPCOT would be doing Illuminations at 8:00 Pm rather than the usual 9:00 on Fridays and I found a voucher for a set of four lithographs from the WoD store in DTD! Grrrr….we were just there. :headache:

We decided to go pick them up anyway ( we like things that are "free" ;) ), so after a couple hours we took the bus back to DTD. The man who had set us up on the DVC tour was still there so we stopped by and told him we had bought in and chatted for a few minutes. We then headed over to WoD and picked up our lithographs, which were pretty nice (and free!). :cool1:

We browsed through a couple more stores (DH wanted a hat) but couldn’t find anything we liked so we headed out to the bus stops and decided we would take a bus to BC and walk into EPOCT through the International Gateway.

The bus came fairly quickly. DH and I weren’t paying much attention and almost got off at YC instead of BC but figured out we were wrong at the last second. We headed through the BC lobby (I like the lobby here: the rooms, at least pre-renovation, not so much) and into EPCOT.

[irisbud]

Day 11, Part 3

(sorry no pictures; I never did pick up my camera from the room that day! There will be lots of pictures for days 12 & 13 though)!

We made our way into EPCOT and I tried to call A&J to let them know about the earlier time for Illuminations in case they didn’t already but got no answer. We wandered through World Showcase, both of us feeling a little hungry. We decided to stop at Tokyo Dining and see if there were any tables available at the last minute since we had enjoyed our sushi there so much the year before. :woohoo:

We rode up the smelly little elevator that looks straight out of the eighties :scared: and DH asked the hostess about availability. Unfortunately, they were booked solid so we had to come up with a new plan (and traverse that gigantic set of stairs; I wasn’t about to get back in that stinky elevator for a second time). :snooty:

We headed counter clockwise around the countries looking for an alternative meal but couldn’t find anything that sounded good. We started looking for a place to watch Illuminations from instead, trying to find a spot large enough for four people that still had a good view. It was approaching 7:00PM at that point, and people were just starting to stake their claims.

We finally settled on a spot between the Mexico and Norway pavilions. We still hadn’t heard anything from A&J, so I left my phone with DH and went into the bakery in Norway to get us a snack. This place was teeming with people, and the line was hardly moving. Finally I was able to battle my way through and get a sandwich for DH and two desserts for me. :rolleyes1

I took our snacks back and we with our backs to the fence, trying to stand as wide as was humanly possible since the crowds were starting to encroach upon us. While I finished up, DH called A&J again and finally got in touch with them. He told them where we were standing and they said they were heading our way. :)

At this point, we felt as though we might be risking our lives to hold our spots. People were starting to fill in every inch of space available, including shoving small children between us and the rail and giving us nasty looks for saving spaces. :headache:

Finally A&J showed up and they elected to stand near the back of the crowd. DH and I turned and watched the show. Honestly, this was one of the clearest and best views we had ever had, though the inferno barges did not go off for some reason that evening. There was a lady standing next to me who was seeing the show for the first time and was simply enamored by it. :goodvibes

This was the point in the trip where I first felt the end of trip blues. While I was watching the fireworks I started having “last time” thoughts; those thoughts where you think about each thing you are doing and how you are likely doing it for the last time on that trip. :sad1: I tried to push them away so they wouldn’t dampen my mood and was marginally successful. I knew that this would be our last time in EPCOT as a whole on this trip, as DH does not particularly care for that park. :upsidedow

After Illuminations concluded we went on Maelstrom with A&J. Luckily, the movie at the end was not running so there was no possibility of being trapped by it. It was EMH by then, so we had to go through the annoying process of showing our tickets to all of the ride CMs. :rolleyes:

After Maelstrom, we headed into the little Norway museum which is in the building that looks like a church. They have a couple of interesting displays in there and it was nice to get out of the cold. :thumbsup2

From Norway we journeyed to Mexico where we rode El Rio de Tempo (or whatever it is). We spent most of our time talking and laughing, which made for a much more enjoyable ride. :laughing:

We thought about Soarin’ but the wait was super long, so we headed to SE where we got to create our futures. After SE A&J bid us goodbye as they were leaving the next morning.

We though about trying TT since we had missed out the day after the wedding but found it broken again so we decided to give up and head back to the CR. We got on the monorail platform and asked the conductor if we could ride up front. He told us we would have to wait for a couple of trains but we didn’t mind. :dance3:

We finally got on and a man and his son joined us. The man had been loudly announcing his displeasure to his wife before the train pulled up. Apparently, he was angry that we were waiting to ride up front so there wouldn’t be room for his whole family. If he had been nice, DH and I would have waited for the next train but he wasn’t so we didn’t. :mad:

We really enjoyed the ride. Even at night riding up front is so much better than riding in the back. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance, especially between EPCOT and the TTC. :cheer2:

We switched over to the resort monorail and headed back to the CR. We still had one more full day and the better part of another left to go! :cloud9:

[irisbud]

Day 12, Part 1

We woke up the next morning to more cold but at least a little bit of sunshine. It was a little late by the time we were ready and moving, so we decided to forego breakfast and get something quick at DHS. We had an ADR for MM at 2:00, but my stomach was already starting to growl as we waited for the bus to pull up.

We made it through the turnstiles and headed for TOT to grab a FP. The return time was for about 30 minutes later, so we went over to the nearby food stand and DH got a hamburger while I grabbed a pretzel. I didn’t want to fill up too much before going on the ride.

This guy was taking handouts:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2451.jpg

We still had a little time when we finished, so DH stopped to pin trade (using my pins) with a couple of CMs. When he was through with that, we headed to the FP line for TOT. I hate TOT. It is the only ride at WDW that truly terrifies me. Once it is over I tend to be glad that I did it, but I scream in true, sheer terror the entire time. This was no exception as we were seated in the front row and our car stayed in the dark the majority of the time. The ride seemed to last forever, and I couldn’t wait to get off.

TOT, How I loathe thee…
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2664.jpg

After making it through that, we headed over to RNR and grabbed a FP then got in the standby line as it was only twenty minutes. We enjoyed this as usual (without all the bobby pins in my head it didn’t bash my head around so much).

We headed over to TSM to find all the FPs gone (it was about 12:00 by this point) and a 90 minute line. We are not big line people, so we decided to skip it and do One Man’s Dream instead.

I love One Man’s Dream. There is so much history in there and so many awesome pieces. I love the little scale models of the icons and some of the rides from the Disney Parks around the world. We do this every trip, but until this time we had never stayed for the movie. I was glad we did on this trip, as I really enjoyed it.

Models:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2454.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2455.jpg

Sparkly floor outside OMD theater:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2457.jpg

DH waiting for movie to start:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2460.jpg

After One Man’s Dream, we made our way back to RNR where we rode again and grabbed another FP. We wandered around a bit, avoiding the HSM show and ending up at Muppets. I love the Muppets show. This time, I spent a good part of the show watching the two old men heckling in the upper balcony. It amazed me that they continued to fidget and move in time with the action throughout the entire show, even when no one should be watching them. Their actions made everything even funnier.

We did a little wandering on the Street of America and DH traded another pin. We still had a little time before our ADR, so we looked through a couple of stores, trying to see if there was anything we wanted to buy. We saw a couple of wedding items, but the stores didn’t have the deal where you could pay the extra money and get a throw blanket as well, which I really wanted, so we decided to wait until we went back to MK that night for Wishes and pick our souvenirs up there.

It was nearing 2:00, so we made our way into MM, which smelled fantastic (or maybe I was just hungry). We were seated fairly quickly. I have to say, I wasn’t impressed with the interior of this restaurant and the food failed us as well. It was okay, but nothing great, and it seemed really expensive, even by Disney standards. My dessert was really good, but it didn’t do enough to make up for our lackluster meal. I was disappointed as I had really been looking forward to this.

After giving up an arm and a leg to pay for our meal, we did one last sweep past TSM which was still overflowing with people (the queue was outside the building) and did RNR one more time.

It was about 3:30 at this point, so we decided to make a quick trip to AK to do Everest again. When we got to the back of the park, it was pandemonium. The standby line was huge and they were out of FPs. We decided we might as well stand in line as we had nothing pressing to do.

Are we there yet?
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1619.jpg

After about five minutes, a CM came up to us and gave us a set of FPs as our “wedding gift”! As he walked us through the line, he provided us with two more sets. We were thrilled and got to ride three times with almost no wait in the FP line (we got number 12 again, twice).

After three rides though I was feeling a little queasy. We started to make our way back to the front of the park, wanting to beat the mad rush. We had to stop and sit on a bench along the way so I could gather myself and we saw this:

Put on your sunglasses:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2491.jpg

My eyes started to burn and I had to look away. DH wanted me to take a picture, but I couldn’t do it without being obvious so we had to track her and her group through the park and act like we were shooting the outside of a store (Geeze, we sound like stalkers…).

In case it didn’t burn your retinas the first time:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2489-1.jpg

No…we were taking pictures of this…why would we look at your pants…
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2490.jpg

After getting our picture, we stopped at a gift store on the way out and purchased an wedding ornament that we thought was sturdy enough to make it home in one piece. We made our way across to Discovery Island where we stopped for some ice cream and DH got annoyed by some less-than-magical CMs who suddenly decided to start a new line that left us and the three people behind us being cut.

We made our way out of the park with our ice cream (DH still grumpy at this point) and I stopped to take a few pictures. They brought the characters out to wave goodbye to everyone which I thought was fun as I had never seen it before.

Birds roosting again:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2500.jpg

Pretty Flowers:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2505.jpg

Bird near exit:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2506.jpg

See Ya Real Soon! (Translation: hurry up and get out of here!):
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2509.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2510.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2511.jpg

We headed out and got on the bus back to the CR. I wanted to watch Spectro and Wishes from Main Street, but I was still feeling a little ill so I hoped a nap would make it better!

[irisbud]

Day 12, Part 2

We watched TV for a little while, but I still wasn’t feeling any better when it was time to head over for Spectro so we decided to skip it since we had seen it the week before. I wasn’t about to miss Wishes though, so we decided to walk to MK at about 7:00 so we would get there in plenty of time to find a good spot.

I tried to snap a few pictures of the Castle and the monorail as we walked, but I was having difficulty with the settings and nothing turned out well. This disappointed me, since I had already been thwarted in my plan to video Wishes due to an uncharged camcorder and now it looked as though my camera was going to be uncooperative as well.

When we entered the park we could see the tail end of Spectro heading around the hub. DH and I hurried towards the hub, trying to stay back and centered far enough to make the show really good. I tried a few more shots with my camera but they were nothing great:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2531.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2538.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2544.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2550.jpg

Just before the show started, I remembered that my camera had the ability to capture video as well! I set everything up on it and started rolling, missing only the first couple of seconds. I still haven’t downloaded it to see how it turned out, though on the camera playback it seemed fine.

I cried during the show of course. Knowing that we were leaving the next day made me sad, but a lot of my tears were happy tears as well. I believe so deeply in the power of dreams, and while WDW as a whole plays to that belief, I think that Wishes is especially profound about it. It was true, on this trip all of my wishes had come true.

After the show was over we let the crowd clear out a little. We walked towards Adventureland but then decided we were hungry. It was EMH so we weren’t sure what was still open or not and asked a CM. He was very nice and gave us a few suggestions, of which we opted for Cosmic Rays as it sounded like it had the most variety.

We got in the restaurant and DH and I split up. I headed for the salad and soup and he went for the burgers. I got my food and waited and waited for him. Suddenly, I remembered that we needed to get checked in for our Southwest flight about an hour earlier! I called my dad, and he was able to still get us in at the end of the A group.

Finally after about 20 minutes DH showed up looking crabby. Apparently they were out of a lot of toppings he wanted (like cheese sauce) and ordering had taken him forever. They had said they would bring some cheese sauce out, but he had grown tired of waiting before it ever appeared.

Once we finished up, we headed over to BTMRR and rode 4 or 5 times with little or no wait. We liked this MUCH better in the dark. The part with the bats in the beginning was SO much better, and when you were climbing the hill and the sky was clear above you it was just awesome. It really felt like you were in a mountain range in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, none of my pictures of this turned out, despite my best efforts.

We walked past Splash but it was chilly and we had ridden it several times so we skipped it even though there was no line. We decided to do Pirates one last time (there was no line for this either), and then stopped on Main Street to pick out some souvenirs. We bought the bobble head Mickey and Minnie, a hat DH has been eyeing for our past visits featuring Mickey through the years, and some mouse ears for our dog so we could reach the $50 limit and pay another $20 for a throw with the castle and Mickey, Minnie, and Tink on it. We never buy souvenirs, but we thought we might regret it if we didn’t this trip.

Splash:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2568.jpg

Main Street at night:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2570.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2572.jpg

Petey with his ears:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/The%20puppies/CIMG3116.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/The%20puppies/CIMG3115.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/The%20puppies/CIMG3113.jpg

We left the park and got on the monorail heading back for the CR where I packed up most of our things and tried not to get choked up then set our alarm for early the next morning for our 8:25 ADR at Crystal Palace and our very last day.

[irisbud]

Day 13, Part 1

We woke up fairly early for our last day. I finished packing up all of our odds and ends with a heavy heart while DH got ready for the day. In some ways I was ready to go home, but I never really feel like I am fully ready. Knowing we will come back makes it easier, but it dosen’t make it easy.

As we headed out the door, I noticed that our ME information had not been left as it should have the night before. I commented on this to DH, and we decided to ask about it if it had not been delivered by the time we returned from breakfast. We walked over to the main building, and DH decided he would prefer to ride the monorail to MK instead of walking. We had plenty of time, so we jumped onboard and made the circuit around Seven Seas Lagoon.

We went through the early entry line into MK again and found ourselves on a mostly deserted Main Street. I wanted to take a few pictures of the castle, but we were getting close to our ADR time and DH was apparently hungry.

Hurry up…I’m hungry:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2576.jpg

Picture of castle taken while walking:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2575.jpg

Crystal Palace:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG1556.jpg

We got checked in with several people in front of us. It was a beautiful day, a little chilly but the sky was very blue, making it even harder to think about leaving.

Castle from CP porch:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2577.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2578.jpg

We finally made it inside to find this on the table

Pixie Dust:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2580.jpg

Tigger was just about to reach us, so we held off on heading to the buffet until after he came. Since DH was sitting in the aisle, he got all of the character interaction.
Tigger and DH:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2581.jpg

Once Tigger left I found myself a little less anxious. This was DH’s first character meal and I wasn’t exactly sure how he would react. I was afraid he would think the whole thing was stupid, but I should have known he would jump in and have fun with it. Or at least he would do a good job pretending to enjoy it for my sake, LOL.

We got out breakfast and chatted for a bit when Pooh showed up

Pooh and DH:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2582.jpg

Right after Pooh left, our server brought out a special cupcake for us. I was stuffed at this point, but who can resist a cupcake for breakfast?

Cupcake:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2583.jpg

Our server then said that we were wlcome to join in the parade around the CP, which was the last thing on Earth I was going to be doing. I saw DH grin at me and I began to feel a little worried. I think DH would do anything to make me laugh…

DH plotting:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2596.jpg

Sure enough, when the music started, DH didn’t just twirl his napkin in the air, he got up and joined in the parade. I decided to be happy he was enjoying himself (or pretending to) rather than being mortified.

Pooh leading the Parade:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2590.jpg

DH in the parade:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2591.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2585.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2584.jpg

Eeyore in the parade:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2589.jpg

After the music ended DH returned to his seat. A few of the servers came by and praised him for his participation while scolding me for not joining him. I said I had to have photographic evidence.

When our server brought out the check, he also brought out a magical moments certificate and a bag to save our pixie dust in for a rainy day.

We waited around for a couple minutes because Eeyore and Piglet were coming near. Eeyore stopped by for a minute.

Eeyore and DH:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2601.jpg

We waited for Piglet, but after he finished the table before ours he had to go on break. We didn’t want to spend another thirty minutes so we just grabbed this shot instead:

But….we were next! NEXT! You pig!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2602.jpg

We left CP and MK for the last time and headed back to the CR to check our bags with bell services and straighten out our ME information before heading over to see the horse barns at Fort Wilderness.

[4th_little_pig]

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2584.jpg

I have to say I really did enjoy the character breakfast at crystal palace . My favorite part was doing the parade with the kids ,you should have seen their faces when i joined in you would have thought i was carrying a four pack of mikes hard lemon-aid.:cool1: I kept thinking one of the kids was going to start yelling " stranger danger stanger danger " causing a child stampeed resulting in a trampeling death or injury to pooh . :scared1: Luckely the music stopped about this time and all the kids scurried back to their respective tables and the finger pointing began :scared: I returned to Amy at our table as i was sitting there a door opened in the corner and i saw tigger in there with his head off and I swear to god it was Chis Hansen Iknew he was looking at me funny.:confused3


http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MK%20January%2009/CIMG2602.jpg

Is it just me or do i look an alot like piglet,pink and round.:rotfl:

[irisbud]

Day 13, Part 2

When we got back to the room, DH wanted to rest for a few minutes. Apparently marching in the parade had been taxing for him. I got all of our luggage in order during this time, and looked all around the room and outside to see if the ME information had appeared in our absence. It hadn’t.

Finally DH proclaimed that he was ready to continue on to Ft. Wilderness. We rolled our luggage all the way to the main building to bell services where I asked about our ME information. They provided me with a number to call, where I confirmed that the flight information they had on file was correct. I was given a confirmation number and the bell stand outside produced a voucher for me and DH.

Thinking that the situation was now under control, we headed out to the Marina to catch a boat to Ft. Wilderness. We had never been there before and weren’t sure what to expect. We were just interested in seeing the horse barns.

I liked this sculpture on the way to the marina:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2636.jpg

Waiting for the boat:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2640.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2642.jpg

Two monorails!:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/CR/CIMG2644.jpg

We climbed aboard the boat and were the only passengers, unless you count this guy:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Ft%20Wilderness/CIMG2646.jpg

We made it over to the fort and were half lost almost immediately. The maps were a little confusing, but we found our way by meandering along the roads.

We saw this on the way:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Ft%20Wilderness/CIMG2647.jpg

We got to the barns and they were nice enough, but not as nice as I was expecting. They were very clean and well maintained though and I suppose the rustic look was just in keeping with the them of the place. I was hoping there would be some CMs working in the stables that we could talk to, but they were all way at the other end where guests were not allowed.

Barns and paddocks for petting area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Ft%20Wilderness/CIMG2652.jpg

We headed outside and into the petting area to look at the ponies. We saw several children being led on pony rides by their parents and were shocked. During a lull, we talked to the CM manning the pony rides and she said that they (the CMs) are not allowed to lead the ponies due to liability issues. I figured it would be the other way around. She also told us that the ponies in the petting area being used for the rides were the same ponies that pulled the coach and we talked a bit about the preparations for that.

Ponies in petting area at Ft. Wilderness:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Ft%20Wilderness/CIMG2649.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Ft%20Wilderness/CIMG2650.jpg

After finishing up with the horses we had to figure out a bus route. We decided that, judging from the map, any of the buses would take us to the front of the park. We hopped on the first bus that came by and had a short ride to the front where we waited for a DHS bus in the hopes of doing another ride on TSMM

Area near internal bus stop:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Ft%20Wilderness/CIMG2653.jpg

We didn’t have to wait too long for a DHS bus. We made it to the Studios quickly and headed straight for TSMM. The wait time posted was 40 minutes but we decided to go for it as we really wanted to ride again and the FP return time was after our departure time.

The line moved pretty quickly and was still fairly visually interesting. I think we were through in about 25-30 minutes. DH beat me again.

TSMM is more fun than a Barrel of Moneys (sorry, I couldn’t help myself!):
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2655.jpg

DH in line:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2656.jpg

DH has his own toys!:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2654.jpg

When we got out the line was still showing 40 minutes but was even shorter than the last time, so we rode again. This is one of my new favorites.

I asked DH if he wanted to do RNR (his favorite) one more time but he declined saying we had done it enough times for one trip and we headed back to the front of the park

I never noticed the Dragons on the roof of the GMR before:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/MGM%20Jan%2009/CIMG2663.jpg

On the way out we stopped at the little Curios and Antiques store (DH likes anything that says “Clearance” “sale” or “antique” on it). We had never been in there before and they had several interesting things.

We still had about 4 hours before we had to get back to the CR, so we decided to go to AK one more time, as it is probably our favorite park for walking around in. There was a bus already at the stop so we did a sort of running walk towards it and managed to get on board.

[irisbud]

Day 13, Part 3

When we got to AK we decided we were pretty hungry. We stopped for a few pictures of Discovery Island then headed for Africa where we grabbed a FP for KS, then headed over to the Yak & Yeti counter service location. We had eaten there on our last visit and been really pleased with the food so we decided to go for it again.

These guys are ugly:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2667.jpg

Nice to look at; don’t want to own one:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2671.jpg

Pretty flowers:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1718.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2672.jpg

I found a table near the fountain while DH ordered our food. The outdoor seating area for this CS is really well themed, though I imagine the heat is unbearable during the summer. Even with all of the noise around me, I felt very peaceful listening to the water running in the fountain.

Fountain we sat next to:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2687.jpg

I love the theming and colors of the seating area:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2686.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2684.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2683.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2685.jpg

We enjoyed our lunch and the warm sunshine, then headed over to ride KS one last time. We were seated almost immediately and given our own row, which was nice so we didn’t have to lean over anyone else for pictures. The CM doing the safari was fantastic! He was, by far, the best one we had ever had. He gave a lot of information on the animals, tried to slow down as much as possible to let people take pictures, and downplayed the poachers story line to the greatest extent possible. We had a really great time because of it!

Some safari photos:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1794.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1806.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1773.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1767.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1746.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1758.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/Safari/CIMG1801.jpg

When we finished the safari, we went down the Pangini Forest Trail, where I discovered that my camera had run out of batteries yet again. For some reason, the battery would just suddenly die with no warning whatsoever!

It was too bad it wasn’t working, because there were a lot of animals out that day, and many of them were really active, including the gorillas. I like both of the trails in Animal Kingdom, but I think I like the Maharaja Trek better. I think the theming is more spectacular in that area, but it is just a slight personal preference.

When we finished up with that, we stopped outside of Tusker House to watch a musical act that was going on. It was fun and pretty interesting, especially when they pulled people in from the audience. I was glad no one picked me to participate since I cannot dance.

We had about an hour left before we needed to head for the bus so we decided to stop by the Tree of Life and watch the Bug’s Life movie, which we hadn’t done for a while. I had forgotten how many effects they used in this. At least I remembered to sit forward so I wouldn’t be bashed in the back by the stinger, which I do not like at all.

Tree of Life and surrounding area (taken earlier):
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2496.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1667.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG1668.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/Animal%20Kingdom%20Jan%2009/CIMG2673.jpg

Once the show was over, we decided it was time to go. At this point, I could feel myself becoming really emotional because I knew that this really was the last time. I knew we would be back and I tried to reason with myself that it wouldn’t be special if we were always there but I was having a lot more trouble than I normally do even. I suppose it was because I had spent so much time planning this trip and the wedding and now it was about to be well and truly over.

I spent the bus ride back to the CR lost in thought and a little depressed. DH tried to cheer me up and it worked somewhat but I was still really sad. It was the double whammy of post wedding and post WDW blues setting in.

When we got back to the CR we collected our luggage and waited around in the lobby, looking out the window just in case an ME bus showed up early. When we had about fifteen minutes left until our pickup time, we headed out to wait. The CR has no benches in their waiting area, which was not cool as I had to sit on my luggage. There is some seating nearby, but the bell man warned us to stay near the ME sign so the drivers wouldn’t pull through without stopping.

Ten minutes after we were supposed to be picked up, DH got tired of standing and a little grumpy so he went to sit near the entry to the CR. I declined to join him, still wondering where the bus was and still feeling super down that we had to leave.

About twenty minutes more passed. DH was just about to ask where the bus was when the bell man decided to become concerned by the situation. He asked if we could have missed it and we explained that we had gotten to the stop early and had been watching before that. He asked if we had the right information and I assured him that I had just spoken with ME about our flight that morning since we had received no documents.

The bell man took our confirmation number from me and called the ME office. It turned out that they had our flight info correct. Somehow, we had been booked to be picked up from ASMu! DH informed the bell man that we never had (and never would) stay at ASMu. The bus had been waiting for us, apparently, but had had to go on.

Finally, they got things straightened out. They were going to send a bus for us, but just then ME pulled up to pick up another guest and the bell man talked our way on. We got on board and I made DH move as he had decided to sit right behind the driver on an otherwise empty bus; I think he wanted to breathe down his neck to get us to MCO faster. I wanted to be free to tear up in peace when we saw “See Ya Real Soon!” on the exit gates.

We stopped at WL on the way out, which agitated DH, then we were off and I was trying not to be a wreck. The whole time we kept hearing the radio discussing DH and I and how we needed to be picked up, LOL.

We made it to MCO in plenty of times, our bags made it through (I was afraid they would be over weight), and we got through security quickly. We had a snack from McDonald’s and DH watched the Super Bowl on TV while I read.

Our flight home was full but uneventful with Super Bowl updates the whole way. My parents were waiting at the airport with our car and our fur baby Petey who was torn between joy at seeing us and anger at us leaving him and stayed that way for nearly a week.

When we got home, my dad had set up a cabinet I inherited from my grandma and placed some wedding things they had purchased for us inside like the wedding snow globe I had wanted but dismissed as too pricy and a stuffed wedding Mickey and Minnie. They had also put out a digital picture frame and the pictures my dad had taken at the wedding were rolling through, a nice surprise as they were the first we had seen.

All in all, we had a wonderful wedding and a wonderful trip. I can’t think of anything at all that I would have changed about the entire experience. I am so glad we did everything that we did, and I have no regrets whatsoever. All of my memories are happy ones.

I love Disney because it really is the place where dreams come true and where magic lives. When I am there, nothing else in the whole world has to matter for that little bit of time. For a moment, I believe with all of my heart that anything is possible and that wishing on a star really does work. That little piece of time reminds me of the hope I have inside and helps carry me through my day to day life. It helps me to remember just how lucky I really am, and how so many of my wishes and dreams have come true.



To everyone who has followed along: Thank you for reading. It means a lot.

[MiaBella05]

I enjoyed reading your report, i hope you and your hubby are enjoying life as newlyweds!! :wizard:

[irisbud]

I enjoyed reading your report, i hope you and your hubby are enjoying life as newlyweds!! :wizard:

:goodvibes We are. Thanks for reading!

[figmentfan814]

Somehow I ended up way behind in your recaps, so I have some random comments from catching up.

Congrats on buying DVC! I have to admit I'm a little jealous :guilty: We just got an updated point chart in the mail since we toured last year while we were down for the wedding. I think they should give discounts for WDW couples during their wedding trip ;) I'm surprised you chose BLT since you seem like CR wasn't that great of an experience for you. Although after seeing the model pictures in our new brochure I love BLT too!

That is so cool how you got to see the VR of your cruise friends. Its nice that you were able to meet up with them several times to visit. I know we had a blast meeting other couples from the boards, etc.

I totally agree about TOT; I hate that ride even though I love rollercoasters. DH just rode it for the first time on this trip with my dad. Thankfully he didn't like it that much either, so I won't be dragged on it again! MM wasn't that impressive to us when we tried it either. Its been probably 7 or 8 years though, so its good to know we still aren't missing much.

The green pants picture is pretty funny from AK. Sounds like something DH would want me to do too (taking the picture) :laughing:

[QUOTE=irisbud;30973734][http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/irisbud/The%20puppies/CIMG3113.jpg
QUOTE]
Our dog has the old style ones which go over her ears; these are so much better! Petey looks super cute in them.

The ending of your report is so touching. I know how surreal it was when we left from our wedding trip too. Kris and I were still living in separate states at the time which made it even worse. Our anniversary trip was also pretty emotional; I even cried when we went into the AAR for the first time since our wedding. I'm sure on your first trip back you'll have lots of "we went there" or "we did that" when we were here for the wedding moments like we had :goodvibes

[Bride-to-be]

I just saw your wedding pictures - I love them!!! I especially like the ones with mickey and minnie! Your cake looked amazing - I especially like the topper - I feel like its different then ones I have seen in the past.

I can't wait until I have more time to read through your TR. The pics made it look like you had an amazing cruise and time at disney.

Does anyone know if you can hire mickey and minnie for MK photoshoots? Now that I have seen these pics I kind of want mickey and minnie too!

[irisbud]

Congrats on buying DVC! I have to admit I'm a little jealous :guilty: We just got an updated point chart in the mail since we toured last year while we were down for the wedding. I think they should give discounts for WDW couples during their wedding trip ;) I'm surprised you chose BLT since you seem like CR wasn't that great of an experience for you. Although after seeing the model pictures in our new brochure I love BLT too!

Our dog has the old style ones which go over her ears; these are so much better! Petey looks super cute in them.

The ending of your report is so touching. I know how surreal it was when we left from our wedding trip too. Kris and I were still living in separate states at the time which made it even worse. Our anniversary trip was also pretty emotional; I even cried when we went into the AAR for the first time since our wedding. I'm sure on your first trip back you'll have lots of "we went there" or "we did that" when we were here for the wedding moments like we had :goodvibes

I think they should give wedding couples a discount too! We actually chose BLT because it had the longest length of contract and the lowest maintainence fees. We also thought it might be the easiest to resale or to sell points from if we ever need to go that route. I don't know if we'll ever even stay there. I'm sure we will at least try it out but I think there will be other DVCs we prefer.

We did have a fun time meeting other people on our trip. I only wish we could have run into some people from the DIS as well!

Petey was not very thrilled about having to wear the ears. He thought we were torturing him.

It must have been really hard to come home and then not live together too. I can't wait to go back, but I'm sure it will be emotional for me like you described. :goodvibes

I just saw your wedding pictures - I love them!!! I especially like the ones with mickey and minnie! Your cake looked amazing - I especially like the topper - I feel like its different then ones I have seen in the past.

I can't wait until I have more time to read through your TR. The pics made it look like you had an amazing cruise and time at disney.

Does anyone know if you can hire mickey and minnie for MK photoshoots? Now that I have seen these pics I kind of want mickey and minnie too!

DH bought me that cake topper as my wedding gift :cloud9: . It is a Lenox piece. You can have it personalized as well, but we didn't have time.

We did have a great time, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

IDK if M&M would be avalible for the photoshoots or not. It dosen't hurt to ask though. :thumbsup2

Thanks for reading everyone!

[peteyfanclub]

Irisbud, As a complete stranger that has never met you on a cruise I thought you would appreciate a completely unbiased review of your review. Just a few random thoughts. I would have loved to see more information and pictures on J&A. They seem like incredible, wonderful, caring, extremely attractive people. Especially that J. guy. He appears to be an amazing man. Hopefully your husband learned many lessons from him in the short time that they spent together. His wife A. seems like a real keeper and way cute too. I was just surprised to see what she was wearing when she renewed her vowes. If I had to come up with any criticism it would be the posts from your husband. They seemed a little desperate and hateful. I am sure that "goat boy" was really a charming young man. Maybe you could arrange for your husband to spend some more time with "J" sometime over the summer. Maybe even on a boat. I really think that "J" may be able to help with his obvious behavior problems. Good luck to all of you in the future.

[Rebclay]

I absolutely loved reading your PJ and TR, Thank you for getting it done so quickly. I'm glad you had a magical time. :thumbsup2

[4th_little_pig]

Irisbud, As a complete stranger that has never met you on a cruise I thought you would appreciate a completely unbiased review of your review. Just a few random thoughts. I would have loved to see more information and pictures on J&A. They seem like incredible, wonderful, caring, extremely attractive people. Especially that J. guy. He appears to be an amazing man. Hopefully your husband learned many lessons from him in the short time that they spent together. His wife A. seems like a real keeper and way cute too. I was just surprised to see what she was wearing when she renewed her vowes. If I had to come up with any criticism it would be the posts from your husband. They seemed a little desperate and hateful. I am sure that "goat boy" was really a charming young man. Maybe you could arrange for your husband to spend some more time with "J" sometime over the summer. Maybe even on a boat. I really think that "J" may be able to help with his obvious behavior problems. Good luck to all of you in the future.

What a coincidence. We have a dog named Petey! Which of course you would have no way of knowing because we have never met on a cruise and you are a complete strange-er. :idea: As for the pictures of J&A, we had a lot more but the FBI took our camera...something about an international incident with a group of Japanese government officials...something about yelling "Godzilla" :confused3 . The FBI informed us that J was actually a Bulgarian superspy named Bertha. :scared:

As for A, you are right she was totally hot. I heard through the grapevine that she is a semi-pro pillow fighter. Maybe she will make it to the big leauges someday. :thumbsup2

I'm sure you are right that GB is very nice an I could probably learn a lesson or two from him. For example, if I just smelled my food :snooty: instead of eating it I would be a lot better off. :woohoo:

We do plan on spending more time with J&A on the lake. We plan on playing Pirates of the Caribbean and perhaps I too can become a Bulgarian superspy named Bertha pirate:

[figmentfan814]

I just went back to see some of the pictures from your last post and I noticed the part at FW. That is so neat how the horses are the ones for the carriage. My mom and I did the regular horseback riding there a few years ago and it was a lot of fun!

[irisbud]

Irisbud, As a complete stranger that has never met you on a cruise I thought you would appreciate a completely unbiased review of your review. Just a few random thoughts. I would have loved to see more information and pictures on J&A. They seem like incredible, wonderful, caring, extremely attractive people. Especially that J. guy. He appears to be an amazing man. Hopefully your husband learned many lessons from him in the short time that they spent together. His wife A. seems like a real keeper and way cute too. I was just surprised to see what she was wearing when she renewed her vowes. If I had to come up with any criticism it would be the posts from your husband. They seemed a little desperate and hateful. I am sure that "goat boy" was really a charming young man. Maybe you could arrange for your husband to spend some more time with "J" sometime over the summer. Maybe even on a boat. I really think that "J" may be able to help with his obvious behavior problems. Good luck to all of you in the future.

I can only imagine how "helpful" that experience would be :laughing: :rolleyes: . As for what A was wearing, how can a Mickey sweatshirt be bad? :confused: ;)

I absolutely loved reading your PJ and TR, Thank you for getting it done so quickly. I'm glad you had a magical time. :thumbsup2

Thanks! :goodvibes

I just went back to see some of the pictures from your last post and I noticed the part at FW. That is so neat how the horses are the ones for the carriage. My mom and I did the regular horseback riding there a few years ago and it was a lot of fun!

We saw some people getting ready to head out for a trail ride while we were waiting for the bus to DHS. I wouldn't mind doing one there sometime. DH thought the ponies were the ones for the carriage and asked; I would have never made the connection otherwise :cutie:




4th_Little_Pig: You are wierd :rolleyes1

[CDNTech]

I found your TR when searching for AK bridal shoot pictures... sadly the link has expired to your photos. Is there any chance you could post a few from the AK Bridal shoot?