Day 4 up! / With this ring, we thee Dis. {Pic Heavy} Honeymoon to WDW & Disney Dream!

[leeshiebean]

Ah, and so begins my Disneymoon trip report!


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That's me, Alicia. Long-time Disney lover (I've been about 9 times). Former meteorologist, currently working as a photographer/photo editor (so be prepared for lots of pictures, y'all).

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This handsome fella would be my husband, Jon. He's been to WDW twice: once with his family when he was a kid and once with me for the Princess Half Marathon last year. I am happy to report that while he was once indifferent toward WDW, he really loved it when he went with me for his second trip, and is super impressed with how Disney does their thing. It's all in the details, as you know. He was psyched for our honeymoon and now that we're back, he's hoooooked!

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And we went to Disney for our honeymoon!

We were married on May 29, 2011. For several reasons we decided to take a delayed honeymoon, and we are both so glad we didn't go right after our wedding. Instead we took a mini-moon to Williamsburg (as new residents of Virginia, we wanted to see more of our state) with a stop in Richmond as well which held us over until the big trip.

But that's not why you're here, right?!

Disney-moon details:

Dates: Sept 27-Oct 6, 2011
Resort: Boardwalk Inn
Ship: Oh yes, there's also a ship. From Oct 2-6 we slept aboard the Disney Dream. This was a land and sea (or as I like to call it, a little surf and turf) honeymoon!

Wayyy back when we first got engaged (Sept 2009), our plan was to honeymoon in Bermuda. It was a short flight and would still give us the typical beachy/relaxing honeymoon vibe. But to have the length of a trip that we wanted (and a nice resort) it was going to cost quite a bit. Not that I have a problem with spending money on traveling, but before booking we tried tossing a few other ideas around.

Jon's mom was the one to bring Disney up first and we both loved the thought. Who needs a beach? Alright, Disney World it is! It's where my parents honeymooned so it's like I was going to continue the tradition. But then awhile later I came up with another idea: what if we added a Disney Cruise to our trip? I wasn't sure if Jon would like this idea but he loved it. So it was settled. We would spend the first half of our honeymoon galavanting around WDW, and the second half sailing the open seas.

[leeshiebean]

**First I want to note that there are a lot of pictures in here, and they're pretty large. I need to figure out how to resize them in my posts, I think. You can also see more on my flickr (see signature). Let me know if you're a fan of lots of pictures or you think it's too much and I can cut back on the other posts. I know I love to see lots of pictures, though!**

Day 1:
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Let the honeymoon begin! I’ll skip over the flight part (because really, I’m afraid to fly and I’d rather not think about it any more than I have to) and get straight to the good stuff. We arrived at MCO around 9:30 am. We left our gate and showed up for the Magical Express bus - but first I changed out of my cold weather clothes and into summer clothes. I always look forward to this part; it’s like the magic begins right there at the airport. One of the things I just love about Walt Disney World is that at no other destination does your vacation start off quite the way it does there. Sitting on the Magical Express - especially once we started driving and made our way through the gates of The World - I was terribly giddy. Just like a child, sitting in my seat, staring out of the window waiting to arrive.

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After a few stops we made it to the Boardwalk Resort! As we got off the bus, we were greeted by a cast member who asked if we were Jon and Alicia (why yes, we are) and led us to the check-in desk. Such personal service! Very cool. I don’t recall having anyone personally greet us like that before.
Check-in was just as it should be - quick and easy. We did online check-in so our room was ready; but first we went to the guest services desk to buy our Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tickets.
The CM at check in warned us of two things: one was that the walk to our room would be long. And it was. We were on the third floor all the way down toward the ESPN club, so to leave the resort we had to walk down a very long hallway or go down the stairs near our room and then walk all the way around to the front of the boardwalk. I’m not super lazy about where my room is usually (I enjoy walking extra for the exercise) but it was a little annoying to do every time we wanted to run back up to the room ‘really quick’. The second thing was that our room was down a very cold hallway. I am also not the biggest fan of super cold air conditioning, but I figured it would just be a few moments of cold before we got into our more comfortable room. The hallway was freezing. Downright subarctic. As in, it was 95° outside and I was sweating my butt off, and the hallway was still uncomfortably cold. It surpassed refreshing about 20 degrees ago. Pair that with the length of the hallway, and it got to the point that we would run to get to our room (which we’d turned the a/c way down in). So those are my only two real complaints about the resort; I loved it in every other way.
Our room had a water view, facing the lagoon over the boardwalk. I think the room number was #3215 and aside from the long, cold hallway, the location was just fine! We were next to the ESPN club and above the boardwalk and had no issues with noise when the balcony door was closed.

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Once we checked the room out, we ventured out to the boardwalk for lunch, and ended up at Big River Grille. There’s not much to say about lunch - the food was tasty and otherwise it was a typical brew pub (and don’t get me wrong, we’re big fans of brew pubs, it’s just that there’s not much else to say about them).

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After lunch we did what I consider to be possibly the hardest thing to do while in Walt Disney World: nap. After all, we had been awake since 3:30 that morning. It’s just that there’s so much to see and do at the resort alone, so I find it hard to just stay in the room, so usually I am in the park shortly after arriving to WDW. But this time I made it a point to schedule downtime on our arriving day, and it was extremely welcomed.

But hey! It’s vacation! We can’t spend all day napping! I got up and began getting ready for my first ever MNSSHP. I’d been excited for weeks leading up to the party and had planned on heading over to the MK at 4pm (guest services told us we could get in at that point), but we ended up being so tired that we arrived closer to 7. No matter, we still got plenty of time in at the party!

I was actually on the fence about getting tickets to MNSSHP. I love halloween (it seems like I enjoy it even more as an adult than I did as a kid - I think I took it for granted back then) and had no doubt that I would enjoy the party. It’s just that at $60 per ticket, it’s a little bit expensive. It was a last minute decision about a week before our trip that we decided it was a definite go, and so I had about four days to make my halloween costume. After toying around with a bunch of ideas, I ended up as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I settled on Sally because it was a simple enough costume to make, inexpensive (cost me less than $10 for all of the fabric pieces and just under $10 for the makeup), and most importantly it was going to be simple and lighweight to travel with.

If, like us, you’re on the fence because of the price: go for it. MNSSHP was such a fun and unique experience at MK and I’m so happy we went. Jon and I agreed that we would go again and he said that he’d probably dress up, too (he didn’t on this trip). And because we decided not to get a park ticket for our first day, the $60 got us into a park for a decent amount of time without having to spend the money on both tickets.

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For those not familiar with MNSSHP, it’s a hard-ticketed party, meaning if you have a regular park ticket and were even in the Magic Kingdom all day, you still need a separate ticket for MNSSHP to stay in the park for the party. MNSSHP ticket holders are allowed to enter the park as early as 4pm, though the party does not begin until 7pm. Upon entering the park with your party ticket, you’ll be given a wristband that will get checked several times throughout the night (possibly). We entered right around 7 and walking down Main Street, USA, several cast members were checking for wristbands. If you don’t have one, then you’re ushered back toward the park exit. They checked wristbands before getting in line for some rides, as well.

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The halloween party was a huge hit! The whole atmosphere of the park was reminiscent to the feel of the Haunted Mansion: even the ambient sounds were being piped in throughout the Magic Kingdom. Many people were dressed in costumes, and not just children. And most people who weren’t in costume at least had a halloween shirt or hat or some accessory on. I’m so glad I wore a costume! Lines for rides were short to nonexistent, so we used this evening (being our first night in the parks) to hit up all of the must-do rides just in case we didn’t get a chance to ride them later in the week. Splash mountain! Space mountain! Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! And of course, Haunted Mansion! I love Haunted Mansion on a regular night, especially during the fall, and now most of all at the halloween party. Trick or treating was also encouraged, as all guests were given a trick or treat bag when they entered the park. Big Goofy’s Candy Co lights illuminated each candy station, and yes, they had chocolate!

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We skipped the first Boo to You parade in favor of more rides with less lines. I’d heard the second run of the parade would have less of a crowd, but it was still busy crowded where we were. The parade was super cute and the music was so catchy! Jon and I both sang it for the rest of the trip. Then the creme de la creme: HalloWishes. I’d heard great things about HalloWishes and it certainly lived up to -no, exceeded- my expectations. The storyline and music were excellent, as was the fireworks show. Jon and I agreed it was one of the best fireworks shows we’d seen (although the New Year’s Eve 2000-2001 show I saw was also amazing and was, go figure, also in the Magic Kingdom).

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For the rest of the evening we went on some more rides and trick or treated. We caught the Villains show in front of the castle and also stumbled upon Stitch's dance club in Tomorrowland. We managed to stay until late - I think we started exiting around 11, but because I couldn't stop taking pictures, we didn't make it to the bus until 11:30-11:45.

More pictures:

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(Someone's getting tired!)

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[leeshiebean]

Day 2 HERE! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43719824&posted=1#post43719824)

[leeshiebean]

Day 3 HERE! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43911917#post43911917)

[leeshiebean]

Day 4, Part 1 HERE! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44759844&postcount=52)
Day 4, Part 2 HERE! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44760367&postcount=54)
Day 4, Part 3 (pics only) HERE! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44759844&postcount=55)

[leeshiebean]

Reserved for day 5

[leeshiebean]

Reserved for day 6

[leeshiebean]

Reserved for day 7

[leeshiebean]

Reserved for day 8

[leeshiebean]

Reserved for days 9 and 10

[Merida]

Yay! You're doing a trip report! More pictures is always great, I really like your fisheye ones. The Boardwalk rooms are adorable, it's probably my dream resort. Just have to get my boyfriend on board.

[leeshiebean]

Thanks! I don't think too many people ever read my trip reports, but I wanted to get writing it at least for my own memories. It's also forcing me to edit all of my pictures from the trip, haha.

[amazingact21]

I'm joining in!

Amusingly enough, my name is Alicia, and my DH and I took a delayed DCL trip (only we were on the Magic) and Disneymoon last October, as well. :laughing: What are the odds...

Your photographs are gorgeous. I'm in awe over how beautiful Main Street looks in your post. Makes me wish I were back in WDW. :goodvibes

Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report.

[Grumpy's Wife]

I love the picture of your husband on the bus watching Donald Duck on the screen. Priceless!

It looks like you really had a great first day.

[glennbo123]

I love your pictures! And when I saw that picture of the fireworks, I figured I might as well just throw my camera to the ground and jump up and down on it...there is no need for any other fireworks picture after that one! :worship:

But, I gotta say, I'm afraid if you put all of the pictures in this first page of the TR, it's going to take my PC forever to load it by the time you get to day 9.

[Merida]

Thanks! I don't think too many people ever read my trip reports, but I wanted to get writing it at least for my own memories. It's also forcing me to edit all of my pictures from the trip, haha.

Yeah, it's a nice exercise to write things down. I know I'll definitely remember more from our recent December trip compared to other trips I've taken just because I took more pictures/wrote down notes/etc. for a trip report. It's kind of awkward to get into the habit but I never look at old photos because I forget why I took them! Or never show them to other people because I never edit them or forget what they are.

I still don't think I'll ever be brave enough to try working with fisheye lenses, though! :rotfl: Just can't get my brain to think of images that way.

[BookTrout]

Great trip report and I'm looking forward to reading more.....please. And your photos are awesome!
Sharon

[leeshiebean]

But, I gotta say, I'm afraid if you put all of the pictures in this first page of the TR, it's going to take my PC forever to load it by the time you get to day 9.

To be honest, I hadn't even thought of that. Now I feel bad! I want to make sure people can see the pictures because that's half the fun of a TR! Perhaps I'll delete the saved posts above and post them as I write them and link from the original post.

And thanks everyone for the comments! I'll need to get day 2 up asap!

[Disfan3]

Awesome pics!!! Can't wait to read more!!!

[mousetravel]

Subbing! I LOVE your pics!!!!

I agree with the other post about the fireworks...Best one I think I've ever seen! My camera sucks at taking night time pictures! :rotfl:

[lucas]

Congratulations! Can't wait to read more - your pictures are beautiful.

[Soarin4Disney]

Your pictures are beautiful; very colorful and well-framed (especially the night ones of the train station and Tomorrowland). You are an excellent photographer. I can never get my "night" pictures to turn out. Any tips? What type of camera do you use?

[BadgerGirl84]

Joining! My DH and I honeymooned in WDW at the beginning of September and had the time of your lives. Congrats to you and your DH.

Can't wait to hear about the Dream! I agree with the PPs, your photos are so beautiful!

[mama2ethan04]

Love your pics!!

[mike the canuck]

Your pictures are beautiful; very colorful and well-framed (especially the night ones of the train station and Tomorrowland). You are an excellent photographer. I can never get my "night" pictures to turn out. Any tips? What type of camera do you use?

I love your pics too! I also would like to hear some tips :) What kinda lens did you use?

[hisgrl]

Your pictures are AMAZING!! Disney should hire you! :rotfl: I love to take pictures, but they def. don't turn out like those! Would love to hear about your camera and lenses too! Can't wait to hear more about the trip!

[leeshiebean]

Wow, thanks everyone! I'm not much of a writer, but I figured the pictures could speak for themselves. I had more, but I had to take some out to make the 25 picture limit in the post. I'm working on day 2 now - it's taken awhile because of some family 'things' to deal with this week.

[UConnFan]

FI and I are Disneymooning, so I was looking for a Disneymoon TR! So excited to follow along! Beautiful pictures :)

[leeshiebean]

Your pictures are AMAZING!! Disney should hire you! :rotfl:

I wish!

Your pictures are beautiful; very colorful and well-framed (especially the night ones of the train station and Tomorrowland). You are an excellent photographer. I can never get my "night" pictures to turn out. Any tips? What type of camera do you use?

Thanks! I saw a lot of questions about the camera and tips, so I'll go ahead and answer them here. I use a Canon 7D (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos7d/) camera body and various lenses. The pictures I took on this trip were taken with either the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 (http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/17-70mm-f28-45-dc-macro-sigma) or the Tokina 10-17 mm f/3.5-4.5 fisheye (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/468738-REG/Tokina_ATX107PRODXN_10_17mm_f_3_5_4_5_AT_X_107.htm l). My wide angle lens was in the shop, so I rented the fisheye for this trip (I am a big fan of wide shots) and I fell in love. I paid a pretty penny to get my wide angle fixed, and now I want to sell it and buy the fisheye lens! Most of the pictures I'll end up posting will be ones taken with the fisheye because I hardly took it off my camera.

If you have a point and shoot camera, chances are there's a setting for night photography on there. That setting should automatically see the scene and determine how long to leave the shutter open. It'll have to be open for a few seconds in order to capture enough light to make the image, so to get a clear picture, use a tripod or prop the camera on something.

If you're using an SLR, you get a lot more control over how you take your shots. There are three things you need to control to take a picture: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. All sorts of combinations of the three will make drastically different pictures. If you're an SLR newbie (and even if you're not) I would recommend the book Understanding Exposure (http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390) as a great guide to learning that sort of thing. But if you understand it a little bit, this next part should make sense. First, for good night shots, obviously you'll want a tripod (unless you're trying something artistic with movement, but that's another story). Next, set your ISO low. That might seem counterintuitive because a higher ISO is more light sensitive, but using a lower ISO will keep your colors brighter, not to mention keep the image from being too noisy. Aperture can depend on what you're taking a picture of. If it's a general scene (like my Tomorrowland shots), you can keep it somewhere in the middle, like f/8 or f/11. If it's really dark, you can bump it up as wide as it'll open (f/2.8, 1.8, etc), but keep in mind that'll blur the background more. Then I adjust the shutter accordingly for the exposure to be correct (I shoot in manual). This is different for dark ride shots: for those, you'll want to bump your ISO up as high as it can go while being usable, and open your aperture as wide as it can go as well. Grain isn't so much of an issue when you're just trying to get a shot.

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That might sound like a lot of mumbo jumbo if you don't know much about shooting manual, but if you have an SLR just start experimenting at home so by the time you go back to Disney, you can give it a try there!

Of course, the images aren't complete right after I take them; they do see a little editing when I get home. Sometimes when I take pictures I have an idea of what I want them to look like (maybe some artistic shots or something like that) but most of the time I want them to just look crisp and clear. They get some adjustments in lightroom 3 or photoshop like exposure corrections, sharpening, and noise reduction, if necessary. Honestly, they don't get "the crap photoshopped out of them", but I do fix them up so they look similar to the way I saw them (because my in-camera sharpening is turned down, and also when I shoot in RAW, the colors come out rather dull, and this can be adjusted in post because RAW files hold more color information). As this website (http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/39811/what-is-camera-raw-and-why-would-a-professional-prefer-it-to-jpg/) states, "RAW is a minimally processed format. “Minimal Processing” means less decisions made on the fly and less information thrown away when an image is taken. This gives photographers the level of control similar to working with film negatives, except with greater and more dynamic control, as RAW is digital."

That was long! I hope it helps someone. If you have any more specific questions I'd be happy to answer (just let me know what type of camera you're using: p&s or SLR).

[mike the canuck]

awesome! Thanks :)

[leeshiebean]

Day 2:
Another hot and sunny day! Day two was our MGM - I mean DHS - day. Jon and I did our best to sleep in (another hard thing to do in WDW, am I right?), showered up, and got some breakfast. Before the trip we made ADRs for various meals, but also left some open for spontaneity. Because of our ‘later’ start (what, like 8am?) we ate egg croissants from the Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast. Sat at a table along the boardwalk and it was quite lovely.

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Rather than wait for one of the Friendships to arrive at the dock, we started walking toward MGM - I mean DHS! (I kept doing that the whole trip). It wasn’t until we were just about there that we finally saw a Friendship go by, so undoubtedly walking ended up being faster for us. It took about 20 minutes, I think? It was already hot and the sun was blazing, so I wore my sun hat that I brought for the cruise portion of our trip, but it certainly came in handy in WDW!

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Jon and I spent the first part of our day at DHS wandering the shops along Hollywood Blvd and taking pictures.

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If only I had written this TR right after our honeymoon, I could have remembered every little detail of our days. Unfortunately being 3 months later, the best I can do is rely on my clouded memory and the pictures I took. I do recall that the first thing we did was get FastPasses for Tower of Terror. And then since Jon hadn’t ever ridden the Rockin’ Rollercoaster, we headed there next. Already a line, but at least most of it was shaded.

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He thought it lived up to the hype I gave it! Can’t beat the rush you get when it goes from 0 to whatever in two seconds (and the breeze was certainly a bonus). Tower of Terror was next! Jon also hadn’t been on that before, but I had. Oh, I had. I was actually really nervous about this one. Something about freefalls freaks me out. Crazy right? (hah!) So the whole time we were venturing through the queues for ToT, my hands and feet were a little clammy and tingly. And then we got in our elevator car and went up, up, up, and then started moving forward. All I know is the air went from feeling cool to feeling warm as Jon pointed out to me “the air just got hot - we’re going to fall”... and then we did. In the end, it wasn’t as scary as I had remembered, but then again, I was feeling nervous about the thought of going on it again later in the day!

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In order to miss the lunch rush, we waited a bit and went to the Great Movie Ride instead. I’m a big movie quote person, so I’ve always enjoyed this attraction.

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Okay, so by now it was around 2pm (I’m certain there were other attractions and shops within all of this time, but like I said regrettably I can’t remember all of the details). I really wanted to go to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre for lunch, but it looked a little busy. We gave our names anyway and prepared for a wait. The other place I wanted to go was the 50’s Prime Time Cafe, but there was likely a waiting list there as well. We only had to wait about 10 minutes before they called our name; being a party of 2 surrounded by so many families and groups worked to our benefit quite a bit.

I'd never actually eaten at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater at Disney's Hollywood Studios despite being obsessed with all things retro and kitsch. I made it a must-do for our honeymoon, and I was not disappointed! My face lit up when I rounded the corner and saw dozens of faux convertibles facing a big screen showing a reel of 1950's sci-fi B movies, cartoons, and commercials. There were even stars in the sky and microphones on stands between the cars.

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I am in love.

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I’m all about atmosphere, and obviously Disney never lacks when it comes to that. The sci-fi trailers were fun to watch (oh, the cheese!) and I just loved eating in a fake car! And the food was pretty good, too.
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Can’t go to a drive-in and not get a shake!

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(For the record, this was our favorite of the sci-fi trailers shown: )

After lunch it was back into the heat. I believe we wandered around Streets of America and did the Backlot Tour, followed by Muppets 3D, Star Tours, and Indiana Jones. At this point it was around 4:30 or so, and we had an ADR for Chefs de France tonight! We justified one more ride on Star Tours because it would be different than the first ride-through, thanks to the new version (which is awesome, by the way).

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One thing we didn’t get to do was Toy Story Midway Mania and I was kind of bummed! I’ve heard so many good things about it, but truthfully neither of us were willing to wait an hour and a half in line (and FastPasses had been long gone, note to self for next trip).

I was determined to take a Friendship back to BWI at the end of the day, but between the line and the wait for one to show up, walking back was again faster. Hot and sweaty, but faster.

This was my 9th trip to WDW, and yet I’d never eaten at Chefs de France. I’d always wanted to, and I was supposed to one time until my mom and brother (who were pickier eaters) decided that they might not like it and we ended up at Le Cellier instead. Without ADRs. Although this was, what, 11 years ago by now.
Anyway, we did make ADRs for Chefs de France for our honeymoon and tonight was the night. We showered and walked to Epcot via the International Gateway. There was a rainbow that I kept stopping to photograph which put us a few minutes late for our reservation (we didn’t realize the time!). I was so worried they would give our table away. Once we arrived, we put our name in and after a few minutes they brought us in. Right away I knew which table was ours.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_2_110.jpg

I spotted it from across the room. There by the window, a table for two with a hand drawn card. I had a hunch it was ours. The card was “from” Jon’s parents (obviously someone there drew the illustrations, but Jon’s parents asked them to do it), who had been asking us where we were going to eat and when before we left for our trip. Jon and I ordered champagne and toasted to our honeymoon! I’ve never been to Paris, but if this was as close as I could get, I was happy.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_2_116.jpg

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http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_2_120.jpg

The food at Chefs de France was delicious, as expected. I got the salade maison and Jon ordered French onion soup. For dinner, I ordered “Lasagnes de legumes du soleil a l'huile d'olive au thym - Zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers baked into thin layers of pasta $19.99”

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_2_124.jpg

Jon went with “Demi poulet fermier roti, pommes rissolees et tomate grillee - Half of an all-natural roasted chicken, rissole potatoes and grilled tomato”.

And finally for dessert, we both got profiteroles (mine had more chocolate sauce than his, woohoo!).

We asked our server for the bill after enjoying a romantic meal and admiring lightning in the distance from our window seat. The maitre D came to our table to inform us that the meal had been taken care of, tip and all, courtesy of Jon’s parents. How awesome?! We walked outside and stood along World Showcase Lagoon and called them to thank them for our meal.

We had enough time to go back to the hotel to change before Illuminations. It seriously rocks being so close to Epcot and having a park hopper (we splurged for that reason)! We caught the first of a few viewings of Illuminations and then spent the rest of the night in Future World. I think we hung around until after midnight, riding rides and then taking pictures and just generally enjoying the emptiness of the park at that late hour.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_2_146.jpg

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http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_2_193.jpg

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6243041849/]http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6098/6243041849_a37814bce6_z.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bB-ShV-qsU" rel="nofollow">www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bB-ShV-qsU[/url)

I just realized how evident it is which pictures are from flickr and which are from photobucket, apart from the size. Photobucket seems to suck the color out of the images, and it's too bad since they're the larger ones on here (I don't get a choice in size when I link to there). I'll have to keep that in mind for day 3.

[Merida]

Aw, that card is adorable! That little picture is so cute and so very French. :) Your baguette looks delicious. I love all the great bread in Disney restaurants.

You make MGM look so much fun. Were the crowds bad that day? It doesn't look bad at all, except for inside Sci-Fi (amazing concept for a restaurant. It's just so cool inside! But I'm biased against Prime Time because the servers scare me ;)). And being able to walk back and forth from MGM/hotel/Epcot is amazing! So much fun.

The last three pictures are probably my favorites. The star walkways at Epcot and Spaceship Earth are definitely my favorite part of Night Epcot and I might one day brave fisheye for such a lovely walkway photo!

[leeshiebean]

The Boardwalk Inn Resort

I wanted to post a few pictures of the Boardwalk Inn Resort for anyone who may be interested in staying there sometime (or for anyone who loves it and needs a fix!)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6674995729_37ef9bc9e2_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6674995729/)


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6675000177_0e907a6277_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6675000177/)
Our room was the second one in, just above the A in Arcade.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6674996739_cd0f7114a0_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6674996739/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6675003127_e65a359002_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6675003127/)

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6059/6309864539_3a6e4f8e33_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6309864539/)
A nighttime view from our balcony.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6669153113_2ab05a10f3_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6669153113/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6669155593_8ef4f72f1a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6669155593/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6675001633_19255665cf_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6675001633/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6674997717_a767cb3b6a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6674997717/)
In the lobby.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6674999105_788d2c253e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6674999105/)

There's more to come once I finish editing them ;)

[mike the canuck]

I'm looking into doing some Disney paintings of the parks for my home. Your fisheye shots are very inspiring :) Im hoping you have some of the Castle :) I will probably use one for a reference model. The distortion adds a really interesting visual effect which im really digging :)

[glennbo123]

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6059/6309864539_3a6e4f8e33_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6309864539/)
A nighttime view from our balcony.

This one's beautiful (not that the others aren't)....did you use a starburst filter?

[JolllyHoliday]

Beautiful pictures of the boardwalk.

[leeshiebean]

This one's beautiful (not that the others aren't)....did you use a starburst filter?

Thank you! I didn't actually; this is just a 30 second exposure at f/22. A fun trick is that if you want lights to have that starburst effect, set your aperture as low as it can go. They'll produce the starburst look without the need for a filter.

[mvazul]

I am absolutely LOVING your trip report!!

My husband and I are wedding photographers, so more pictures the better for me! ;) I can't wait to read the rest - and see more pictures!! Thank you SO much for sharing!

Michelle :flower3:

[jeepwreck]

i love your pictures

[leeshiebean]

I wanted to say that I didn't forget about this thread; I had to go out of town for my Pop's memorial service (the same week that my dog died, so it was not a good week for my family), and now I'm headed out of town for a few days to visit family in Florida. The upside is I'm going to WDW for a day! Then I can get back to editing/posting.

[jecskc]

Loving your TR and your photos. We stayed at the Boardwalk over Thanksgiving and loved it. Looking forward to reading about your cruise since we are going on our fist cruise on the Dream in April. So sorry to hear about your bad week. Please accept my sincere sympathies on your losses.

[lilpig]

i am so sorry to here about your loss. i want to also say that I LOVE your pictures!!!! I have been showing them to my DH as I read and I am just amazed by them. I will continue to read this TR.

[pinkxray]

I'm joining in:thumbsup2 Your pictures are beautiful. Thank you for posting some beginners tips for photography. I only have a point and shoot but am hoping to get a dslr within the next few months.

I am very sorry for your losses:hug:

[leeshiebean]

Thank you for the condolences, everyone. It's been tough lately but things are getting back to normal now.

In fact, the day after our dog died, I did the most spontaneous thing I've ever done and booked a flight for my mom and I to go to Florida while my husband was away on a business trip... just two weeks from then. I knew how hard of a time she would be having and I figured she would need something to cheer her up. So we visited family just a short drive away from WDW and spent one day at MK, and even took a trip to Celebration while we were there. And even more last minute, my mom's good friend bought plane tickets to go with us! It was a great time and when we got home a week ago, my mom thanked me for doing that. She said it really did cheer her up to spend some time with me and to go to our favorite place (MK). We both agreed that during Wishes we thought of our beloved boy.

So I just want to share one picture I had taken of him on the last day I saw him:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6653531687_2e42956128.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6653531687/)
girl's best friend (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6653531687/) by alicia bruce (http://www.flickr.com/people/aliciaabruce/), on Flickr

Sorry to get way off topic. But I have been editing photos and voila, I'm going to put up day 3 right now!

[leeshiebean]

Day 3: Animal Kingdom

Okay! So it's day 3. Jon and I woke up early and shortly after 9am, we walked from the Boardwalk over to the Beach Club for breakfast. We didn't have an ADR for the character breakfast at the Cape May Cafe, but we tried our luck. We only had to wait five minutes (enough time for me to look around the gift shop and track down eyedrops for contacts because I forgot mine!), and in fact, we often lucked out on our trip being a party of two amongst lots of larger groups and families.

I may be 28 years old and married, but I'll always be just as excited as the children around me when I see Disney characters. Some may call me crazy; Jon calls me cute. ;)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_009-Edit.jpg?t=1328192180

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http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_023.jpg?t=1328192220

I thought the food at the Cape May Cafe was good - lots of options, from eggs to pastries, from Mickey waffles (oh, you know I had to have one) to fruit. I went up several times, you know, small portions but lots of variety. Luckily we didn't have to stay any longer than our meal to get pictures with all of the characters available: Goofy, Minnie, and Donald, all dressed in beach gear. Minnie was particularly fond of my wedding ring!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7144/6806802891_847b4e88eb_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6806802891/)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_010.jpg?t=1328192186

At the end of our meal, our server brought us a cupcake dessert for being on our honeymoon. However small it is, I still consider this a little sprinkling of pixie dust and honestly, it was enough to make me smile! Even the littlest surprises can make my day that much better.

So now, it's off to Animal Kingdom! Jon and I caught the bus right there from the Beach Club and arrived around 11am. It had been awhile since I'd visited Animal Kingdom, and Jon had never been, so it was a completely new experience for him. We entered the park and went through the gift shop first, and then made our way to Expedition Everest. EE wasn't even built the last time I was in AK, but Jon and I had read about it and couldn't wait to go on! The queue is very detailed and interesting once you get inside the building, with lots of information about the Yeti and failed attempts to capture it by expeditions (the ones who made it back, that is). The outside queue was covered, but the bells! Those bells! People could not resist dinging the bells, even when it was right by someone else's head and not their own (not that it happened to me, or anything... :rolleyes1). I was relieved to get away from the bells, for sure!

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_035-Edit.jpg?t=1328192254

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6806804229_a13d777918_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6806804229/)

I knew the basic premise of this ride (starts off going forward, ends up backward), but I braved it and kept my camera out anyway. Or actually, I kept my camera out until we reached the top - snapped a few shots of the view and the 'broken track', and then shoved it in my backpack in the bag holder really fast before we went backwards. I loved it! We both wanted to ride again, but the line was getting pretty long and there were other things to see. Like the safari!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7030/6806805505_53278da8a6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6806805505/)

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6114/6270806547_302f321887_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6270806547/)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_059.jpg?t=1328192378

This I'd been on before, but I didn't remember seeing so many animals! I couldn't tell you the correct name for all of them, but we saw alligators, elephants, white rhinos, some sort of gazelle, other gazelle-like creatures, giraffes, some goat-like creatures, and more. Real specific, I know. I missed my calling as a zoologist. Either way, I enjoyed it!

I don't know what it is about the days I visit AK and extreme temperatures, but we were here on a near-record hot day. Just 2 degrees below the record high. When I was here back in Dec 2000, we hit a streak of record lows (seriously. if you check out the temperatures over the New Year's holiday in Dec 2000-Jan 2001, you'll see the record lows for Orlando were hit, and remain, on those days. There's a picture of my brother and I in AK with winter coats on sitting together looking absolutely freezing. In fact, the parks had sold out of mittens/gloves, and my dad ended up using a pair of socks to keep his hands warm!) Anyway! It was in the 90s, which is not unheard of for Florida, but still, high for the end of September. For some reason the heat just feels more... hot in Animal Kingdom. So Kali River Rapids was the natural choice in attractions. I've got no pictures of it, and if you've ever been on it you'll know why my camera was inside a waterproof bag inside my backpack inside the bag container in the middle of the raft. Because I got soaked. And it felt amaaaaazing. :goodvibes

We walked around Dinoland, USA for awhile and went on Dinosaur (this ride actually scares me, but I like it haha). Now we had a big breakfast, so even though it was after lunchtime at this point, we were getting hungry. Jon and I got a snack and sat on a bench and made plans to have a late light lunch (how's that for alliteration?). AK is a small park compared to the others, so it's usually a half day for me. We decided to head out and catch the bus back to our resort.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_085.jpg?t=1328192428

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http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_080.jpg?t=1328195388
Look at me holding my ears!

Jon and I meandered around the Boardwalk resort taking some pictures while we walked over to Epcot to find something for lunch. We decided on the San Angel Inn. The a/c felt so good! I think we guzzled down our waters right away. It was almost 3:30 and we had dinner reservations for 7:45, so we got just enough to hold us over but not fill us up. We shared what I think was Tostadas de Tinga, a side of guac, and... well I can't remember. (I really wish I had written this right after our trip!). It was yummy and I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant (although with it being as empty as it was, I wish our table was closer to the water).

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_097.jpg?t=1328192489

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6806809705_9c5716efb6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6806809705/)

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Every time I come to WDW, I never get a chance to just relax by the pool. We're always on the go, which is not a bad thing, but I specifically planned on pool time for us. So after lunch, we slowly walked through the World Showcase and made our way back to our resort. Pool time! Just a little bit of time to spend in the quiet pool and hot tub before dinner. Our ADRs were just at the Rose & Crown pub, so there wasn't much pressure to start getting ready really early or anything.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_103.jpg?t=1328192539

Our ADRs were at 7:45, so we checked in early to make a request for an outdoor patio table. We walked around England until they seated us a few minutes past 8. We had a patio table, but it was under the awning, so my plans for photographing illuminations was foiled. It's okay though, because sometimes it's nice to have an excuse to not take pictures.

Dinner was yummy, typical English pub food which hit the spot but isn't necessarily anything to write home about as pub food often is (this is not a diss, by any means). But I did get a light up ice cube! Jon and I left dinner after Illuminations and went back tot he Boardwalk just in time to catch some performers. I'm from southern New Jersey originally, so the whole Boardwalk thing is familiar to me. It was fun to see funnel cake stands and boardwalk games! The performers were entertaining, and the Boardwalk itself was so pretty lit up at night. My pictures ended at this point, so to the best of my abilities I must assume we called it an early night, especially given our very early day planned for day 4.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/WDW/Dis_3_149.jpg?t=1328192663

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6172/6261657330_e821fe38c8_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6261657330/)

[dara00]

loving the photos! I'm from nj originally too and spent many vacations in wildwood!

[leeshiebean]

Thanks! We always vacationed in Ocean City, but I spent some summers in WW with my friend's family when I was a kid. I miss the shore!

[jecskc]

Your photos are AMAZING !!! Can't wait to see more !!!

[YayDisney]

subbing - love the pics! cant wait for the cruise ones to start - congrats on your wedding too :)

[ZehnJahren]

I'm subbing too - thanks for posting on my thread regarding going to the parks at the end of September! Looking forward to hearing (and seeing) more - what beautiful pictures!

(my idea of getting a good shot is turning my camera on multi-shot and then picking the best one of the bunch. it is the only way I can get decent fireworks pictures, since I know nothing about photography outside of the fact that I like it.)

[MrsDrewsky]

Your photos are lovely, I am definitely subscribing.

[leeshiebean]

I'm finally back with day 4! You know how it is: life gets busy and leaves little time for writing something long like a trip report (or editing the pictures to go in it!).

Day 4 started out early. Jon and I woke up at 6:15 am in order to catch the bus to the Polynesian. When I made our 7:40am ADR for 'Ohana, it didn't occur to me that we'd need to get up even earlier than usual to get transportation there. I wasn't thinking straight!

The desk at our resort told us that there is a bus that comes around 6:45-6:50 to pick people up for those early morning ADRs. It was still dark out when we made it to the bus stop. Once the bus arrived, he asked where we needed to go and we told him. The few other people on it were dropped at MK and then we got off at the Poly.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7201/7132573809_18cc51a75e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/7132573809/)

Breakfast at 'Ohana was delicious, or course!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/7132580699_9a9a2a25c7_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/7132580699/)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_014.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_017.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_019.jpg

(I like how Jon accidentally did metal horns instead of 'hang ten' hahaha)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_023.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_026.jpg

And we got another cupcake for our honeymoon! Our server made us feed it to each other, haha.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_034.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_035.jpg

The Polynesian is one of my favorite WDW resorts so after we finished our meal, Jon and I walked around exploring. He'd never been there before so I showed him around ("I've stayed in this building before." "There are hammocks outside on the beach." "This path leads to the Spirit of Aloha dinner." etc) We decided we may have to stay there the next time we go.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7213/7132575163_30976787cd_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/7132575163/)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_108-Edit.jpg

The weather was lovely, so Jon and I lounged on the hammocks for a little bit (after he actually made it on to one, of course!)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_058.jpg

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http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6046/6266049533_20b787c24e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6266049533/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7107/6986496686_e4a3ce558f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6986496686/)

Eventually we figured it was time to get moving and we caught the monorail over to EPCOT. At this point it was only 9:30am, so we still had a full day ahead of us even after breakfast, exploring, and lounging!

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_111.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6179/6261509302_8156f2c03f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6261509302/)

I spotted Stitch as soon as we entered EPCOT. He's always in the same spot, and this time he was free of a crowd, woohoo!

Throughout the morning we ventured around Future World. On Mission Space, Jon went for the orange team while I opted for green team.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_135.jpg

Now before our trip, I had found out that Jon never went into Club Cool before, so I was holding Beverly a deep, dark secret. No way was I going to spoil that fun!

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_157.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_159.jpg

It was just as entertaining as I'd imagined.

A little fun for the meteorologists!

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_143.jpg

[luvslikepi]

Your pictures are absolutely AMAZING!!!

[leeshiebean]

Day 4 continued


Because it was the start of the Food and Wine Festival, here was a gentleman teaching us about cranberry bogs.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_165.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6118/6254560926_a7b3a962bf_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6254560926/)

Who says newlyweds can't have fun with the kids?

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_176.jpg

It was 88 with a 70 degree dew point. We appreciated the opportunities to cool off, for sure!

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_182.jpg

It was getting to be around lunchtime, so we left Future World (we hit up a lot more attractions than the pictures show) for the World Showcase. The Food & Wine kiosks were our lunch. I LOVE the F&W festival. So many good food choices!

Greek salad and pita (Greece)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6986491616_2f32c36f82_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6986491616/)

Escargot (France)
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6219/6242837413_e2303cd07e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6242837413/)

Kefta Pocket (Morocco)
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6223/6265044089_3d4854e26c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6265044089/)

Baklava (Morocco)
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6153/6266053931_0a58637947_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6266053931/)

We stopped at American Adventure for a little break because it was time for the singers to perform. Afterwards we got snacks/beer from the kiosk. A cast member at the American Adventure in Epcot approached us and told us we had a call and to come inside. On the phone was Minnie and Mickey wishing us a happy honeymoon. Then the cast member gave us a certificate, took us into the restaurant and announced us to everyone ("Hear ye, hear ye!"). And then he led us to the kitchen window and a chef presented us with this apple dessert. Yay! That was a fun little surprise!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7162/6809930057_e8fb1ca10b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6809930057/)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_197.jpg

Kielbasa and potato pierogies with caramelized onions and sour cream (Poland)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6809929115_9610b5fba5_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6809929115/)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_204.jpg

Grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato purée (Argentina)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6809927719_b4ed7307c0_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6809927719/)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_217.jpg

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/316034_542356517635_160400035_30986180_245473747_n .jpg

I'll never be as graceful as these ladies.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/315891_542356587495_160400035_30986183_398404714_n .jpg

Soarin'! I love this ride.
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/319208_542356607455_160400035_30986184_1332250814_ n.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7068/7132579683_ca69cff308_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/7132579683/)

It was getting time to leave EPCOT and head back to the resort to clean up for dinner. I just love being in walking distance to EPCOT! Tonight's dinner is at Jiko.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_259.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_261.jpg

I'm a pretty adventurous eater (I did eat escargot above, and it wasn't my first or last time doing so), so I wasn't too worried about finding something to eat at Jiko. I was a little worried for Jon, but ever since we got together in college, it seems I've expanded his tastes, and he ended up really liking the menu.

The bread basket featured dabo bread (Ethiopian honey-wheat) and flaxseed focaccia. Served with a tandoori butter, including garlic, cilantro, ginger, and curry. Delicious.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_265.jpg

I can't even tell you how good this was. Seared Wild Atlantic Black Grouper "Kushari" - with toasted pearl couscous, lentils, fresh chickpeas, almonds, tomato, corn "pudding", crispy onions and harissa vinaigrette. I'm literally salivating at the memory of how good this was. Hands down the best meal I ate the entire trip (and that's saying something because we ate well!)
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_266.jpg

Jon ordered the Braised Beef Short Rib - with truffled potato puree, pearl onions, baby carrots, and Cabernet tamarind sauce, and he loved it.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_268.jpg

And another free dessert. Creme brulee!
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/317885_542356961745_160400035_30986202_1925162928_ n.jpg

It was too early to call it a night, so we left and went to Downtown Disney for a little while. I realized that we were in Downtown Disney almost exactly two years ago - Sept 28th, 2009, the day after we got engaged - to celebrate. And I was wearing the exact same dress. Spooky! I didn't even plan on that. So I took the same picture I took that night.

We try to forget this part of our trip, but this is the night that Jon realized his "allergies" was actually a cold. He started feeling pretty beat as we were walking around, so we headed back to the resort around 11:30.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6059/6309864539_3a6e4f8e33_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6309864539/)

[leeshiebean]

More pictures from day 4:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6965179627_cd2b01cde4_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6965179627/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6965180331_6bfbfc38e8_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6965180331/)

Now approaching the Magic Kingdom on the monorail.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/6965181069_c89cc8616a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6965181069/)

Cucumbers in The Land.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6230/6260982027_8e24c29787_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/6260982027/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/7132577679_d03622101b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciaabruce/7132577679/)

[mike the canuck]

Fantastic pics!

[leeshiebean]

Thanks luvslikepi and mike the canuck!

[glennbo123]

Now before our trip, I had found out that Jon never went into Club Cool before, so I was holding Beverly a deep, dark secret. No way was I going to spoil that fun!

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m514/pinkmooncat/Dis_4_159.jpg

It was just as entertaining as I'd imagined.

Oh yeah! :thumbsup2 :teeth:

And what a nice surprise for you at the American Pavilion, with the phone call and dessert. :)

[Torrance]

I'm so glad you're back and with all those beautiful pictures! :woohoo: They're making me SO excited for our upcoming "belated honeymoon!" Thank you so much for sharing your trip (and helping me get even more excited :hyper:).

I'm sorry that Jon ended up not feeling well! I hope he starts feeling better for the rest of your trip! :goodvibes

[DancinDaisyDuck]

Your pictures are :scared1: Jaw Dropping! Have you considered posting on the picture of the day thread? Looking forward to more reports!