Final update and thoughts...
I'm finally back!! I told myself this weekend that I MUST finish this TR up soon!!! Its been over 8 months! Even though the trip itself is done, just wanted to wrap things up!!! So here we go.
1. Disney Dining Plan. For our honeymoon, we really enjoyed it. We got to try quite a few restaurants I had never been to throughout the many trips I'd taken as a child, and we probably never would have gone to these places. We had the luxury of ordering whatever we wanted, and having ALOT of food. And I think the nicest thing about it was not having to worry about how much money we were spending along the way, just swiped our room card and were done, just very convenient.
BUT, I really don't think we'd ever do it again, unless we wind up doing free dining or something, although that's my least favorite time of year to go (too hot!), so I kinda doubt it. It was just WAY too much food for us. And I hate seeing so much food go to waste. We never typically order appetizers/desserts, and while it was really nice for this trip, just not our thing. And we have both commented on how we hated feeling so full all day long, walking around the parks. We for the most part go go go all day, and we just didn't enjoy feeling so full and bloated after all that food!
Not to mention, I just really don't like having to follow a schedule. Again, it was nice for this trip to have nicer meals planned, but typically, we are much more spontaneous and really by the end of the trip having to follow some sort of an itinerary got old, and we did kinda stop and just go w/it. We'd much more prefer to just eat when we're hungry, wherever we wind up. Maybe have one or two planned meals at a few places we really enjoy, but for the most part just enjoy DISNEY, not worry about all of our meals.
Again, I think the
DDP is a fantastic thing, and maybe when we have children and go it might make more sense for us, maybe not. I totally see how some people love it and will always use it. But for us, we don't go to Disney just to eat, so I really don't see us using this again. This leads me to...
2. Favorite restaurants. Our top three would probably have to be Narcoosee's, Crystal Palace, and Kona. Narcoosee's is just beautiful, and SO romantic, definitely our most favorite. It was just an amazing experience, and our food was wooonderful. Of course being on the DDP really paid off here, we could order the most expensive things and really go all out. Was a big out of our comfort zone but just wonderful. LOVED it, and have talked about going back on a future trip. We'll see.
Kona is a close second I think. The food was just great. Despite really not liking my chicken, the appetizers and desserts made it worth it. I know had I ordered something else I'd have liked it. This type of food is right up my alley and since I love the Poly its def. at the top of my list now!!
We also loved Crystal Palace. Because our tastes are so different, buffets are a good choice for us b/c we can both find alot we like. DH is very much into very american, plain food (pizza, chicken nuggets, potatoes, bread, desserts...CARBS!) so this was good for him, and I loved all the salads and fresh shrimp. The atmosphere is great, and the restaurant is just beautiful. We were stuffed afterwards, but it was SO good we couldn't help it.
Other favorites were Trail's End and Coral Reef. Again, buffets are good, and DH is obsessed w/the breakfast buffet at Trail's End. And we love Ft. Wilderness so it's a must do. Coral Reef was also very good, and the atmosphere was great, but I was not a fan of the crowdedness in there. The kids climbing all over our table was not so fun. Still great though, and I wouldn't mind going back one day.
Pinnochio's is hands down our fave for counter service. I had never been before and we both loved it. I liked the diff options from typical CS food and its just a cute place.
The only questionable place we went to was Ohana. And I really think it might have been just us, or an off night b/c people LOVE this place. Maybe we were just sick of all the heavy food...this was the end of the week and we were SO full already. And really the only things that weren't good to us were the skewer meats. So I'm optimistic about it. We're actually planning on maybe going back with my parents in October to try it again, so we'll see how that goes.
3. Wilderness Lodge. LOVE it. It very well may be my favorite resort now. So far I've stayed at Pop, All Star Sports, Ft. Wilderness, Caribbean Beach, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, and the Polynesian. The Poly holds a close second, and there are things I love about the others as well, but I just fell in love w/WL. It was so beautiful, and PERFECT for Christmas time. I love the whole everything under one roof feel, and will miss that in the future not staying there. The pool was fabulous, our room was beautiful, we loved going to Roaring Forks for hot chocolate and a swim at night. Its just beautiful and will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Couldn't have asked for a better place to stay on our honeymoon.
4. A Disney honeymoon?? We got this question more than once before we left, many people wonder about the idea and picture a honeymoon as going somewhere tropical, overseas, whatever. oh well I say. I have been a Disney nut since childhood, and we did toss around the idea of a cruise, all inclusive resort somewhere...but we ended up going right back to the Disney idea. We love the beach, and we go at least once every summer, but for December we knew we wouldn't love it, and we really didn't want to go out of the country. We also get bored just laying around for too long, and knew Disney was the best choice for us. And it WAS. I loved every second of it, and at least once a week I tell DH how much I miss it. It was w/out a doubt one of the best weeks of our lives, and the perfect place for us to spend our honeymoon.
I think I mentioned we didn't wear the ears (they annoy me and I really didnt want THAT much attention), but we did wear the Just Married buttons. TOTALLY reccomend this for honeymooners. We got congratulations left and right, from castmembers and other visitors alike, and quite a few free desserts, drinks, and pixie dust. Just wonderful, and just the right amount of attention for us.
5. Taking it easy...I know this is harder for families, first time visitors, and thsoe who are trying to fit it all in in a short amount of time. But what really made our trip was just taking it easy(er) than we normally would. Instead of going going going from morning till night, we took breaks, relaxed, and tried to have the most laid back Disney trip we could. I loved those moments sitting on the Poly beach watching Wishes, swimming in the WL pool/hottub late at night, sitting on our balcony, mid day naps, just soaking that Disney atmosphere up at a more relaxed pace. It was so much fun and kept us from being completely worn out. I have been to Disney quite a few times, we had annual passes for 3 years while I was growing up, and I still love it...but it also helps me appreciate not rushing so much, and enjoying the lesser known aspects of Disney. DH enjoyed this as well, even though this was just his second trip, he is very laid back and would have hating going all day, every day.
Future trips??
This is the exciting part!! As you can probably see by my tickers, we have not one but TWO trips coming up this year! And I can't wait! The first will be October 2-6. It is my mom's bday, and she told us that was what she wanted to do, go to Disney, stay at Ft. Wilderness in their camper, and just enjoy the campground and stuff, w/out going to the parks. We DID decide to do
MNSSHP Sunday the 5th (I ordered tickets tonight!), but that is all. DH and I will be leaving Thursday afternoon, driving all night and getting there LATE that night, and then staying until Monday. So its just a short trip, but we are so excited. I can't wait to see all the decorations at the camground, and we are all taking our bikes so we will have a blast doing that, swimming, checking out the hotels, DTD, and of course the Halloween party!!! I have been wanting to go for YEARS, and finally have a chance!!
The second trip will be our first anniversary trip in December, of course. It is my absolute favorite time to go, and we just can't stay away (ok so maybe its more me, but I convinced DH we HAD to!) Our anniversary is actually December 8th but my best friend's wedding is the 12th so we are somehow going to manage to leave EARLY the next morning.
We are renting points and staying in a studio at Old Key West, December 13-19th. Well actually we are staying at Pop the 13th, bc we didn't want to pay such a high price for weekend points at OKW. This will also be more of a relaxing trip, as we are only planning 3 park days. We have 2 day tickets left over from the honeymoon, and then are planning on going to the Christmas party one night. So we will spend one day at Epcot, since we didn't get to do as much there as planned, and then a split day at MK/HS, and then the Christmas party one afternoon/night. No AK. It's just not our favorite, we don't do much there and would rather spend time at the other 3 parks. We will also be taking our bikes, and just enjoying the resort and doing more non-park things. VERY excited for this!! Especially during the holidays, there is just so much to do that we still weren't able to do last year!
And there is also a planned trip for next June to take my 2 little cousins back, staying at Ft. Wilderness again, so we have lots of Disney magic in our future!! Stay tuned!!
So I'm signing off...thanks so much to everyone who read along w/me, that really makes it so much fun to write for people when you know they're reading!! It was awesome being able to relieve some of our wonderful memories and share them with you all!!! I loved writing this first trip report, and am looking forward to writing even more!!