Mr. and Mrs. Weak Sauce Go the Distance (a completed Disneymoon TR!)

[RachelNinja]

Welcome to my DISNEYMOON trip report! It's really insane that throughout my TRs, I have gone from using DBF, DFi, and now DH when referring to my guy!

A few things you should know about us:

1. I'm Rachel, a 27-year old English Language Arts and math middle school teacher. He's Howard, a 26-year old multimedia/audiovisual technician at his former college. We don't like being the center of attention, and neither of us dance very well even though I like spontaneously breaking out into dance (just not in front of a huge group of people!).

Haha, I look like I'm doing the robot! Howard is not sure what to do!

2. We live to eat as opposed to eating to live. Seriously, food is just plain ol' GOOD! Now that we're married, our plan is to eat out only once a month because we want to save money. On top of that, having our own kitchen and going to buy our own groceries means that we have so many options at our fingertips for so much less! For example, I made chicken and cheese quesadillas served with homemade guacamole and salsa yesterday. There's absolutely NO need to ever get quesadillas from restaurants ever again!

This was during cocktail hour. We were separate from everyone else since we spent time to take photos with the bridal party. We got a plate of some of the hor d'ouvres in the bridal suite.

3. We enjoy being wacky and goofy with each other. We are very entertained by our silly antics, and we can crack up about almost anything. Case in point, we are watching episodes of 24 right now because Jack Bauer is just awesome (I only recently got hooked!), but we make the show even more awesome by adding in our own lines for the characters in the midst of watching it! There were clearly a million things that were great about this trip, and I can't wait to share just a fraction of them with you (cuz well, I decided to forego the whole trip journal thing and relax instead!).

Having the best man sign our marriage license as one of our witnesses.

Before I end this brief introduction, I just wanted to explain the trip report title. Howard and I were so excited to be back to Disney so quickly since our last trip (we went in April with my parents and younger brother). We had plans to get to the parks for rope drop and then return to the resort for a nap before heading back out at night. We purposely bought annual passes since the cost of our April trip tickets plus 7-day park hoppers for our honeymoon was actually MORE than annual passes (and you gotta love all the discounts with APs!). Well, the stress from planning the wedding and the wedding itself apparently took a toll on us because we were EXHAUSTED and ended up sleeping a ton! We couldn't push ourselves like we usually do during our trips because there was no way we'd last for the rest of the week. We started saying that we were "weak sauce" (I have students who use that phrase). As for the "go the distance" part of it, we actually heard the song from Hercules being played during our trip a few times! It's THE song that Howard had to sing in our church's 2008 coffeehouse before we got back together. I loved watching him, and I really knew I wanted to get back together with him. Later on, I'll even have a video of when we heard it while walking in Downtown Disney!

I know I didn't give much in terms of details, but at this point, all you need to know is that Howard's my best friend, and I was very ready to start our first adventure, just the two of us!

One of my favorite photos from our photographers because it just captures the happiness that we're finally married and the relief that the ceremony is done!

Table of Contents

Background
Our Mushy-Gushy Story
The Lure of a Disney Escape Wedding
Mr. and Mrs. Weak Sauce: Getting Ready
Mr. and Mrs. Weak Sauce: The Ceremony
Mr. and Mrs. Weak Sauce: Photo Session
Mr. and Mrs. Weak Sauce: Reception

3 Games for Weak Sauce Points

Monday, May 21 - Travel Day
Pack, Nap, Pack (technically 5/20-5/21!)
Solo Pilot Blues (continued)
To Keep or Not to Keep: SkyMall Magazine
Dipping My Way to Happiness (continued)
Give Me a Title for Magical Express
A Room All to Ourselves (continued)
Baby Jambo House
Sanaa = Delicious Indeed!
Hanging Out with the Animals (continued)

Tuesday, May 22 - Animal Kingdom
Bread Service and Bus Stops
The First Attraction of Our Disneymoon
I Need O-Rings!
Ornithophobics, Beware!
Trekking through the Jungle (continued)
RAWR!
Puppetry Mastery
Return to the Dinosaurs
Dining with Yaks and Yetis
Leaving AK

Wednesday, May 23 - Epcot + Downtown Disney
Going to Epcot
A Beety, Tuna-y Attraction
Salad Bar Dreams (continued)
A Visit with Figment (continued)
Let It Blow Your MIND!
Vision House
This is NOT YO CHEESE!
Thank You, Phoenicians! (continued)
It's Not Tom, It's Not Lou ... It's Just Us!
A Peek in World of Disney
Raglan Road (continued)
End of Our Second Full Disney Day

Thursday, May 24 - Magic Kingdom
Attempting MK EMH
We're Coming For You, Zurg!
You Can Fly!
"it's a small world" (continued)
The Right Side of the Doom Buggy
Exploring Liberty Square
Time to Be Scared, One Last Time
Lighter Fare at Columbia Harbour House
Main Street Philharmonic
Hanging Out with Jack Sparrow
My Last Dole Whip Float EVER!
Love is ...
It's Not Deja Vu; It's Sanaa! (continued)
From Kidani to Jambo

Friday, May 25 - Epcot + Disney's Hollywood Studios
It's 1pm ... in the Morning
Exploration with One Eye Closed
A Smokey World Showcase
Park Hopping to SWW Like Cool Kids
Watching the Ballet
Step Into the Movies (continued)
Grumpy and Hungry
Hanging Out with Snig and Oopla
Tired at the Mara

Saturday, May 26 - Disney's Hollywood Studios
Who Are They?!?
Howard in Streetmosphere!
Props at Planet Hollywood
Shopping at Darth's Maul
Reminiscent of VMK: Sci-Fi Dine-In
Drawing Donald Duck
It's Not SWW Without Star Tours!
Being a Rebel Spy
Thankful for One Man's Dream
Looking BACK at the Great Movie Ride
A Glimpse into Mickey's Imagination
Leaving DHS

Sunday, May 27 - Magic Kingdom
Chocolate Croissant Morning
You Can Never Have Enough Pics of KONA BREAD (continued)
Starting off MK EMH
SURPRISE, it's OPEN!
Splash ... Pirates?
Cruising in the Dark
MMY and Wishes
Tomorrowland Rides
The Ol' Main Street Bakery
Exploring Main Street
Final Rides of the EMH Night

Monday, May 28 - Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boma
Hail to the Apple Turnover
Our Final Disney Meal

Tuesday, May 29 - Travel Day
Goodbye, Animal Kingdom Lodge! Goodbye, Disneymoon!
Souvenirs

 

[therussells08]

I'm here! YAY! I'm so excited about this TR!!

First of all, you look absolutely stunning in your wedding pictures!

I love how close you and Howard are. That really sounds like my relationship with John! He's my husband, but my best friend too! It's a great feeling!

I think there's nothing wrong with taking it easy on your Disneymoon! It's a good time to just relax!

Well, a thousand congratulations to you and your wonderful husband, my friend! I can't wait to read about your lovely adventure!

 

[Nermel9]

Hi Rachel, I'm here!! Your wedding pictures are so beautiful, you look amazing! I can't wait to read about your Disneymoon!

 

[HowWeird]

I'm here too! Right next to ya Actually, you're in the kitchen but it's almost as if you're right next to me. I wonder if I should do a photo-trip journal or whatever it's called. It's probably not as daunting since I didn't take that many this trip!

Happy to be the Mr. to your Mrs. Weak Sauce

 

[jane2073]

You both are such a cute couple!!!
I have really enjoyed reading your trip reports these past couple of years and it is so fun to see you now as a married couple!!!

I totally get how a song can can kind of set the mood for your relationship and every time you hear it, you remember that one perfect moment.
My (then bf and I were camping with our church singles group at Fort Wilderness. On our last morning were walking hand in hand to the check-in building when 'You Got a Friend in Me' came on. It was sweet and silly and perfect for us and I think about that moment every time I hear that song.

I wish you both many, many happy years!!!


Looking forward to the rest of this trip report!

 

[scrdofbugs]

I have read your other reports as a lurker. I can't wait to read this one. Congrats on the wedding!! I wish you many many happy years!!

 

[marDgreen88]

Hi Rachel! I've seen you comment on a few of the TRs I'm subscribed to, and I thought I'd join in! You and Howard are adorable together! Also, having a Disneymoon is pretty much my life goal at the moment. Can't wait to read all about it!

 

[mermaid764]

Hi Rachel, I had read along on your last couple of TR's, but had never come out of lurkdom and I definitely wanted to change that fact this time around.

You look absolutely stunning in your wedding pics....your dress is absolutely gorgeous!

You and Howard are an adorable couple and I can't wait to read along with your TR!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I'm here!!! I love your wedding pictures. So cute!

I am so anxious to hear how you liked finally staying at a Disney resort!

 

[jecskc]

I'm in !!! I just love a good Disneymoon !! Love your wedding photos !! Cant' wait to read more !!

 

[LilAnn]

I'm here, I'm Here! I am hopeless behind on the DIS and haven't even read your full intro, but subbing now. Can't wait to read it!

You looked beautiful by the way!

 

[mrtoffee]

Congratulations on you marriage I love the wedding pictures.

Looking forward to the next update

 

[RunningGirl]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I love the wedding pictures - you both look so happy. I can't wait to read about your Disneymoon! And now that you have the annual passes it would be a shame to not use them again...

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

I'm here and ready to go!!!

And I love all your wedding pictures!!! They are amazing!!!

 

[Cinderella16]

Rachel,

I am here! You look absolutely beautiful in your wedding pictures. You both look so in love, I love it!! I cannot wait to hear all about your Disneymoon!

 

[RachelNinja]

I'm here! YAY! I'm so excited about this TR!!

First of all, you look absolutely stunning in your wedding pictures!

I love how close you and Howard are. That really sounds like my relationship with John! He's my husband, but my best friend too! It's a great feeling!

I think there's nothing wrong with taking it easy on your Disneymoon! It's a good time to just relax!

Well, a thousand congratulations to you and your wonderful husband, my friend! I can't wait to read about your lovely adventure!

Yay, Joni! Thank you for your compliment about the wedding pics. It'll probably be the one and only time that I'll wear that much makeup! I specifically wanted it to be more natural (I had the girl tone it down a lot from the trial), but boy, I wish it didn't have to feel so weird! I know the girl was surprised that all I do is wear eyeliner, but I'm not about to change for anyone. She did tell me that wearing more than normal is expected on the wedding day for pictures, and I'm glad she was right (so afraid to look like a clown!).

We definitely took it easy on our Disneymoon ... we rarely used our alarms on our phones! Well, I mean, we used 'em; we just didn't get up when they rang!

Hi Rachel, I'm here!! Your wedding pictures are so beautiful, you look amazing! I can't wait to read about your Disneymoon!

Thank you, Jen! I see that you have a new TR too! I'm bookmarked! I've been away from DIS for so long that I'm just thrilled to be back and catch up on the TRs of my dear friends

I'm here too! Right next to ya Actually, you're in the kitchen but it's almost as if you're right next to me. I wonder if I should do a photo-trip journal or whatever it's called. It's probably not as daunting since I didn't take that many this trip!

Happy to be the Mr. to your Mrs. Weak Sauce

Haha, yup, I was in the kitchen! It was so much easier figuring out what to upload since for once, both of our cameras and memory cards are in the same house, haha. Love you!

You both are such a cute couple!!!
I have really enjoyed reading your trip reports these past couple of years and it is so fun to see you now as a married couple!!!

I totally get how a song can can kind of set the mood for your relationship and every time you hear it, you remember that one perfect moment.
My (then bf and I were camping with our church singles group at Fort Wilderness. On our last morning were walking hand in hand to the check-in building when 'You Got a Friend in Me' came on. It was sweet and silly and perfect for us and I think about that moment every time I hear that song.

I wish you both many, many happy years!!!


Looking forward to the rest of this trip report!

Thank you! I love that I can write a Disneymoon TR after having written other ones in the past. It just seems way more magical to be writing about a trip that I took with JUST my husband.

Awww, I love that you have a connection to "You Got a Friend in Me"! I think it's similar to how smells can bring back a very vivid memory. The songs are doing the same for us!

So glad you're here to read about our honeymoon!

I have read your other reports as a lurker. I can't wait to read this one. Congrats on the wedding!! I wish you many many happy years!!

YAY, thanks for coming out of lurkdom! I love making new DIS friends! Haha, I completely understanding reading as a lurker though; I do that quite often with a ton of TRs because I can never keep up! I'm happy you're here!

Hi Rachel! I've seen you comment on a few of the TRs I'm subscribed to, and I thought I'd join in! You and Howard are adorable together! Also, having a Disneymoon is pretty much my life goal at the moment. Can't wait to read all about it!

Haha, I've seen you too! And since I've been going back to commenting on TRs, it was recent that I've noticed your DIS name! Thanks for joining in with our honeymoon adventures. I hope that you one day get to have a Disneymoon too! I love being where people find it normal to honeymoon at WDW. I had a few of my students' parents chuckle a bit and comment on how I'm just like a kid when I told them I'd be vacationing there. Um, I don't chuckle at your "I want to lie down on a chair and bake in the sun with a drink in my hand" choice, so don't laugh at my "I want to wake up early and sleep late to take in as much of the MAGIC as possible" choice (even though we actually slept more this trip, whoops!)!

Hi Rachel, I had read along on your last couple of TR's, but had never come out of lurkdom and I definitely wanted to change that fact this time around.

You look absolutely stunning in your wedding pics....your dress is absolutely gorgeous!

You and Howard are an adorable couple and I can't wait to read along with your TR!

Yay for another DISer coming out of lurkdom! I love love love making new DIS friends! Thanks for the compliments. I actually bought my dress from David's Bridal! I live among girls who buy dresses that are thousands of dollars and buy expensive hair pieces and veils and shoes. I am NOT one of those girls, and I was not about to go shopping in a boutique store. David's Bridal was just the right fit for me because it wasn't all fussy. I went in on a whim, tried on dresses, and bought the first one I tried on! My dress, veil, shoes/flats (from Payless!), AND alterations came out to no more than $1,000, so I was a happy camper especially since so many people complimented me on my dress. I can't help but brag about how I was able to get all the components I wanted without having to remove an organ to sell! Anyway, enough of me gabbing away; thanks for joining!

I'm here!!! I love your wedding pictures. So cute!

I am so anxious to hear how you liked finally staying at a Disney resort!

Woohoo Sarah! I started this one even though I have the April 2012 trip to write about too. I have notes for that one and NONE for this, so I figured I'd do this one first!

I'll definitely be commenting a LOT about staying on property and having a lot more of that yummy Disney food since we didn't have a car to go elsewhere or a kitchen to cook! There were MANY times that Howard and I thought about you (haha I even mention you in one of the first travel videos at the airport; I'm sure you can figure out why!).

I'm in !!! I just love a good Disneymoon !! Love your wedding photos !! Cant' wait to read more !!

Thanks for joining! Haha, I love Disneymoon TRs too; it's insane that I can write one now! So glad you're here!

I'm here, I'm Here! I am hopeless behind on the DIS and haven't even read your full intro, but subbing now. Can't wait to read it!

You looked beautiful by the way!

Haha, Ann, it's okay if you fall behind. That's what happens when you have the cutest little munchkin ever with the greatest poses! Gotta make sure you spend time capturing all those moments!

Congratulations on you marriage I love the wedding pictures.

Looking forward to the next update

Thank you so much! I already have my next update ready to be posted although it's still some background info. Anyway, so happy you're here to join in on our adventure!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I love the wedding pictures - you both look so happy. I can't wait to read about your Disneymoon! And now that you have the annual passes it would be a shame to not use them again...

Haha, you got that right! I am hoping to go back in February 2013 with my cousins Dani and Nik from the 2011 trip (also my maid of honor and bridesmaid; my gift to them was 4-day park tickets!).

I'm here and ready to go!!!

And I love all your wedding pictures!!! They are amazing!!!

Thank you so much! It's so crazy that after ALL that preparation, the wedding is just OVER. We got our pictures on CD within a month, and it seems like it was SO long ago that everything happened since we had the honeymoon and apartment stuff in between. Happy you're here to join in!

Rachel,

I am here! You look absolutely beautiful in your wedding pictures. You both look so in love, I love it!! I cannot wait to hear all about your Disneymoon!

Thank you! We're still totally loving this honeymoon phase of our marriage. I know people say the 1st year is tough, and I know it will be especially with so many changes, but we're enjoying even the mundane things about life because we're finally together! Ooo, I see that you have a PTR started for July?!? Haha, and you're gonna finally finish your old TR??? YA!

 

[RachelNinja]

Our Mushy-Gushy Story

Since I wrote my first TR in 2008, I was always hoping that I'd one day be able to go to WDW for my honeymoon and write about it. Of course, at the time of that TR, I wasn't actually dating anyone, but when I got to the "end" of it (haha, I never finished that one!), Howard and I were back together!

Back together, you ask? Yup, back together! You see, we dated before for a while and then broke up for 2 years before getting back together again! Look at how young we look in this picture! This was our first picture together EVER. We were new friends at this point, and I was starting to crush on him, hehe. This was taken at church after the graduation banquet.

At church, I used to watch him stand by the bulletin board with his sister who I actually thought was his girlfriend! When he taught one of our Sunday School sessions, I decided to send him an encouraging "good job" email, and from that, our friendship picked up! When he told me he liked me (stumbling over his words and choosing odd vocabulary like "denote," haha), I was in my senior year of college while he was in his sophomore year (I'm 1 year and 4 months older, but we're 2 school years apart). He was the sweetest ever.

This was taken outside of the Museum of Jewish Heritage after I had to go for a paper for my Intro to Judaism class (I have a minor in theology). I included this picture not to show you my non-eyelinered face but for a more important reason. During my last year of college, I began getting really sick, and that's when I started learning of all my medical conditions after exams and the lovely "-oscopy" procedures. It was slightly depressing, and I just didn't know how I was supposed to deal with everything. When the two of us took this picture, I actually said right after it, "Oh, I forgot that I was sick!" This was just the start of the many instances of Howard just being there for me, taking care of me when I need it, and distracting me when I just didn't want to think about my health problems anymore.

Despite all the good things we had going for us, I broke up with him after I graduated from college. It just didn't seem like a match because I was moving on to the next phase of my life, and he still had 3 more years of college left due to being in a 5-year program. There were other personality clashes as well in that I was very prideful, never wanting to be wrong, and extremely stubborn (still am sometimes!). He, on the other hand, was more of a pushover, still learning to speak his mind, and just a young college guy. It wouldn't have worked if we continued dating, so that was it for us ... or so I thought.

My mom actually wanted to go to Howard after we broke up and tell him, "Just give her some time." That's what we tell a lot of people in terms of proving that parents really do know better! I argued with my mom saying that she didn't know everything that went on and that it would NEVER work out because I would NEVER date him again! I did really appreciate his friendship though, so we tried tried tried to remain friends. We actually ended up fighting a couple times a week about things that happened during our relationship, which was silly since we weren't together any longer! But I guess we held it in then and just had to get it out to be best friends.

The one thing that really brought us together was Virtual Magic Kingdom. In the game, we didn't really have to worry much about the outside life. It was a respite for me as I dealt with one appointment after another, and it was fun to have someone I actually knew personally in the game with me. We began to allow our avatars, HowWeird and RachelNinja, to flirt, haha!

During the 2 years that we were apart, we had the opportunity to like and somewhat date other people (haha, sounds like a lot, but he liked one girl, and I liked one guy and that was it!), which I think was healthy for us as well as a couple. But I guess there was no keeping us separated! In 2008, we were both involved with our church's coffeehouse. We had lead roles with solos to sing, and constantly being at church all the time got us even closer as friends until he finally told me how he felt again.

We said that we would TRY dating again because we were both afraid that the same thing would happen once again and thoroughly ruin our friendship. Here are a few photos from those beginning stages:

This picture was our first picture together after geting back together. It was taken the night of our encore performance of coffeehouse. We went to Pommes Frites with my mom, brother, and cousin for a snack for the drive home.

On another day, we stopped by South Street Seaport with a bunch of our church friends, and just enjoyed being together.

There was also a super fun trip to World of Disney way before it closed down (the original LARGER location on 5th Ave).

Then fast forward to when we went to our first fancy party together. This was my grandfather's 80th birthday party. The picture is the one I've used in my signature for quite some time.

Then zoom ahead to July 3, 2010, when he proposed to me at our church retreat! I wrote about it in an old TR; you can click here and here for the story if you're interested or just curious as to why he chose to do it there (you know, as opposed to WDW, haha)!

We are ENGAGED!

From that point on, it was a mix of uphill (knowing we'd be getting married even though we had to wait until May of this year) and downhill (ugh, planning the wedding that neither of us wanted!). But gosh darn it, I am so glad that I have my guy by my side for all of it!

Hope you guys don't mind this background stuff! I'll most likely do a quick recap about the wedding planning and then post some more pictures from the wedding day before moving on to the actual trip. Thanks for sticking around!

 

[sunshineNJ]

You two are so cute together!! I wish you all the best!

 

[NHKristy76]

I can't wait to hear more!

We had our very own DisneyMoon back in 1999 and it was heavenly!

 

[therussells08]

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us! I think relationships that take time to build are the strongest of all!

Well, it looks like Mom really does know best!

I would LOVE to see wedding updates before you start the actual TR! I am obsessed with weddings haha!