celerystalker
<font color=green>Look! I'm yankeepenny!<br><font
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
I saw your pic with the dolphins on Randy's page! It looks incredible! And hubby's shirt looked good too! 
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
Tamu Tamu Breakfast & Discovery Cove Wedding ~ 12/10/12 ~ Start of Day 2
- Thread starter NeverlandClub23
- Start date
NeverlandClub23
AKV & OKW DVC Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
It's all coming together now!Congrats on the success of your wedding diets. I think that deserves a minicake.
Thank you! It was well worth the minicake (and the other 4 lbs. I put back on during the trip...
)! Thank you! I ended up not finishing the last audio file I had because it would mean that I would get zero sleep and I wasn't sure if I would even be able to get it done with no sleep, so I didn't want to sacrifice the sleep time and still have nothing to show for it. Luckily, my boss is an understanding lady!
Our vows were great! Matt's were definitely all him. They basically revolved around the story of the Velvetine Rabbit, with very little vows/promises thrown in. Very sweet and full of feeling, but I need something to hold over his head, dangit!
Thank you! Sorry I didn't have a chance to respond before we left! Life was crazy in those couple of days...
Hey we leave tomorrow to head to Disney so I just wanted to say good luck! I hope your wedding day is amazing and I cant wait to see pics!!!!
I hope you had a wonderful wedding! Ours was so perfect and I loved every minute of it. LOTS of pics coming up! As expected, I wasn't the greatest with remembering to take pics, but I have a lot of pictures from other people's cameras, Photopass CD, Discovery Cove CD, and 50 or so on my own camera (and two underwater cameras I need to develop!).
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It was a wonderful wedding and trip. I can't wait to go back in September! That made it so much easier to know when we are coming back next. Usually we don't know when our next trip will be and I end up getting emotional towards the end of the trip.
I loved the invites! Thank you! I'm currently working on ones for our at-home reception in May. I strongly disliked my pomander before the trip. In fact, I wanted to leave it at home and just go bouquet-less, but Matt talked me out of it. Besides having to reconstruct it, the glue was taking forever to dry and things were moving around and I didn't like it half as much as the first one I did where I ran out of flowers. But the day of the wedding, it was the thing I got the most compliments on! Everyone was so impressed (but they may have just been saying that because it was my wedding day
). Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you! It absolutely was magical! The staff at Discovery Cove and WDW, when we did the breakfast, treated us like royalty. We were so impressed with everything!
Happy Wedding Day!!!
Thank you!
I saw your pic with the dolphins on Randy's page! It looks incredible! And hubby's shirt looked good too!
I love that pic! I can't wait to see all the pics he took. We even got in the water (much to the dismay of the strangers and Discovery Cove employees watching, I figure I'd rather have great pictures than a pristine dress sitting in the back of my cloest or in a box). I loved his shirt! And come to find out, the shirt my brother thought I was talking about wasn't even the shirt he wears to weddings.
His was blue and green and had flowers all over the trim. Thank you!
Vendor Reviews and Glad I Did/Wish I Had Done are coming up shortly!
NeverlandClub23
AKV & OKW DVC Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Chapman Photography ~ I haven't received my pictures yet, so I can't review those, but I just love how friendly and easy going Randy is. One thing that was also nice is that he's aggressive, in a nice way, so I didn't have to be. He would ask people to move so we could take a picture in a certain location or ask to use things around Discovery Cove or if we could climb up on certain places/rocks for pictures. He put us both at ease and he and Stan seem to have a great relationship, as well. Price was also a big consideration for us when we were picking a photographer and Randy fit the bill!
STVS Videography ~ I really liked Stan. Both he and his wife were very sweet. I can't say anything about the video as we haven't received it yet, but just watching him and the things he was videotaping has me very excited to see it!
Rev. Kevin Knox ~ I thought Rev. Knox did an amazing job at the ceremony. He speaks very well and, let's face it, looks good on film! I had an issue before the ceremony about him not wanting to say all of our deceased grandparents names and Matt's recently deceased aunt due to the flow of the ceremony and that irritated me at the time, but I'm glad he did at least mention Matt's aunt as his cousin (the 23-year-old daughter of his deceased aunt) came up to Matt after the ceremony and thanked him for including her mother's name as she had really wanted to come.
Beaute Speciale (Jenny)~ Ugh. I really hated not loving my hair and make-up. It still bugs me, but it is what it is. I think the biggest problem is that the lighting at Old Key West is horrible. It was pitch black outside up until we were leaving and she did my hair/make-up in the dining room area. I loved my hair when it was done, but the pictures I have seen, it looks so stiff and nothing like the soft half-up do I wanted. But even more so than the hair, I really didn't like my make-up. Well, I should clarify, I loved my eye make-up, but my face make-up was a completely different color than my neck and the rest of my body. I didn't even notice it until I looked at some of the pictures the guests took (when it was in broad daylight). The make-up lasted all day and everyone said it looked great (although, Matt later confessed that it was "weird my face was a different color than my neck"). It's not a shocking difference, but it is noticeable. Also, I thought airbrush makeup was with the little airbrush machine? Is airbrush makeup done with an airbrush brush? I've seen the airbrush brushes for sale, but I just assumed professionals used a machine. Also, I only have so much to say to strangers (I'm not terribly outgoing and can be shy at first), so two hours making up small talk between us was a bit painful and I was so glad when my FSIL and her daughter showed up in the last hour to get her hair done.
Happy Limo ~ We used Happy Limo for several towncar and van rentals throughout the trip and they were always early and picked us up and dropped us off right at our room (at Old Key West). Some of the drivers were friendlier than others, but all were pleasant and I'd happily use them again. We had a couple funny/weird things that happened that I will share in the rest of the trip report, but nothing that would make us not use them again. I was so afraid that we would get stranded somewhere, but that never happened.
Lynx ~ Public transportation! We used a Lynx bus from the Ticket & Transportation Center to Sea World one day as we didn't have a Happy Limo reservation and it's only $4 for two people one way, so we decided that was the way to go. The bus was clean and it was interesting to see that side of Orlando. It took about 40 minutes to get to Sea World from the time we got on the bus until we got off, then there's about a half a mile walk to Sea World (most of it being across Sea Worlds ginormous parking lot). We didn't take it back, though, as we didnt leave until 4:30 and we had an ADR at Cinderella's Castle at 5:30, so we took a cab (about $30). This isn't really a "vendor" review, but I didn't want to leave this out later and it could be helpful for people looking for a cheap/easy way to get to Sea World or Discovery Cove (you could take the bus to Sea World and then there's a free shuttle from Sea World right down the street to Discovery Cove).
Disneys Catered Events ~ My planner was Rickey and he was beyond wonderful. He exemplifies what Disney World stands for. He was so helpful and funny and easy-going. Our breakfast was so beautiful and wonderful. It far exceeded my expectations. Matt even said to me during the safari ride, "Thank you for doing all of this. This is more than I ever thought it could be". I think we even got extra pixie dust as we had these adorable animal print tablecloths at all the tables! Everyone, from Rickey to the other coordinators to the escorts, was so helpful and made sure everything ran smoothly.
Discovery Cove ~ I was skeptical on what our wedding was going to be like due to the so-so communication leading up to the wedding and that everything was so "packaged". However, we were beyond blown away by the service at Discovery Cove. Not only was our wedding planner, Linda, there to make sure everything went well, but I had an assistant follow us around while we were getting pictures and random Discovery Cove employees seemed to just materialize whenever something was needed. Our guests gushed about how they were treated and that the check-in process was so smooth. We had a private cabana for the day included in our package and our cabana host bent over backwards to get us anything and everything. I have so much more to tell and will include it all in the trip report, but I cannot express enough how magical our wedding day was because of the people at Discovery Cove.
STVS Videography ~ I really liked Stan. Both he and his wife were very sweet. I can't say anything about the video as we haven't received it yet, but just watching him and the things he was videotaping has me very excited to see it!
Rev. Kevin Knox ~ I thought Rev. Knox did an amazing job at the ceremony. He speaks very well and, let's face it, looks good on film! I had an issue before the ceremony about him not wanting to say all of our deceased grandparents names and Matt's recently deceased aunt due to the flow of the ceremony and that irritated me at the time, but I'm glad he did at least mention Matt's aunt as his cousin (the 23-year-old daughter of his deceased aunt) came up to Matt after the ceremony and thanked him for including her mother's name as she had really wanted to come.
Beaute Speciale (Jenny)~ Ugh. I really hated not loving my hair and make-up. It still bugs me, but it is what it is. I think the biggest problem is that the lighting at Old Key West is horrible. It was pitch black outside up until we were leaving and she did my hair/make-up in the dining room area. I loved my hair when it was done, but the pictures I have seen, it looks so stiff and nothing like the soft half-up do I wanted. But even more so than the hair, I really didn't like my make-up. Well, I should clarify, I loved my eye make-up, but my face make-up was a completely different color than my neck and the rest of my body. I didn't even notice it until I looked at some of the pictures the guests took (when it was in broad daylight). The make-up lasted all day and everyone said it looked great (although, Matt later confessed that it was "weird my face was a different color than my neck"). It's not a shocking difference, but it is noticeable. Also, I thought airbrush makeup was with the little airbrush machine? Is airbrush makeup done with an airbrush brush? I've seen the airbrush brushes for sale, but I just assumed professionals used a machine. Also, I only have so much to say to strangers (I'm not terribly outgoing and can be shy at first), so two hours making up small talk between us was a bit painful and I was so glad when my FSIL and her daughter showed up in the last hour to get her hair done.
Happy Limo ~ We used Happy Limo for several towncar and van rentals throughout the trip and they were always early and picked us up and dropped us off right at our room (at Old Key West). Some of the drivers were friendlier than others, but all were pleasant and I'd happily use them again. We had a couple funny/weird things that happened that I will share in the rest of the trip report, but nothing that would make us not use them again. I was so afraid that we would get stranded somewhere, but that never happened.
Lynx ~ Public transportation! We used a Lynx bus from the Ticket & Transportation Center to Sea World one day as we didn't have a Happy Limo reservation and it's only $4 for two people one way, so we decided that was the way to go. The bus was clean and it was interesting to see that side of Orlando. It took about 40 minutes to get to Sea World from the time we got on the bus until we got off, then there's about a half a mile walk to Sea World (most of it being across Sea Worlds ginormous parking lot). We didn't take it back, though, as we didnt leave until 4:30 and we had an ADR at Cinderella's Castle at 5:30, so we took a cab (about $30). This isn't really a "vendor" review, but I didn't want to leave this out later and it could be helpful for people looking for a cheap/easy way to get to Sea World or Discovery Cove (you could take the bus to Sea World and then there's a free shuttle from Sea World right down the street to Discovery Cove).
Disneys Catered Events ~ My planner was Rickey and he was beyond wonderful. He exemplifies what Disney World stands for. He was so helpful and funny and easy-going. Our breakfast was so beautiful and wonderful. It far exceeded my expectations. Matt even said to me during the safari ride, "Thank you for doing all of this. This is more than I ever thought it could be". I think we even got extra pixie dust as we had these adorable animal print tablecloths at all the tables! Everyone, from Rickey to the other coordinators to the escorts, was so helpful and made sure everything ran smoothly.
Discovery Cove ~ I was skeptical on what our wedding was going to be like due to the so-so communication leading up to the wedding and that everything was so "packaged". However, we were beyond blown away by the service at Discovery Cove. Not only was our wedding planner, Linda, there to make sure everything went well, but I had an assistant follow us around while we were getting pictures and random Discovery Cove employees seemed to just materialize whenever something was needed. Our guests gushed about how they were treated and that the check-in process was so smooth. We had a private cabana for the day included in our package and our cabana host bent over backwards to get us anything and everything. I have so much more to tell and will include it all in the trip report, but I cannot express enough how magical our wedding day was because of the people at Discovery Cove.
lurkyloo
The Attic was just perfect!
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2006
Welcome back!!! 
Thanks for posting these detailed vendor reviews. Very helpful! I'm so glad to hear you had such a great time, and especially that the Disney Catered Events and Discovery Cove staff were so great.
I hope she didn't charge you extra for airbrush, because using an actual bristle brush is not airbrush makeup. It should have been a pen-like stylus attached to a compressor by an air hose. I know what you mean about lightingmost of the Disney resorts have the WORST lighting, and if there's no way to sit near a natural light source, you're kinda hosed...
But overall... YAY! (Also, your pix are not showing up o the Cake Chatter thread for some reason, and it's driving me 
with suspense at how your mini cake turned out!).
Thanks for posting these detailed vendor reviews. Very helpful! I'm so glad to hear you had such a great time, and especially that the Disney Catered Events and Discovery Cove staff were so great.
I hope she didn't charge you extra for airbrush, because using an actual bristle brush is not airbrush makeup. It should have been a pen-like stylus attached to a compressor by an air hose. I know what you mean about lightingmost of the Disney resorts have the WORST lighting, and if there's no way to sit near a natural light source, you're kinda hosed...
But overall... YAY!
(Also, your pix are not showing up o the Cake Chatter thread for some reason, and it's driving me with suspense at how your mini cake turned out!).
NeverlandClub23
AKV & OKW DVC Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
I hope she didn't charge you extra for airbrush, because using an actual bristle brush is not airbrush makeup. It should have been a pen-like stylus attached to a compressor by an air hose. I know what you mean about lightingmost of the Disney resorts have the WORST lighting, and if there's no way to sit near a natural light source, you're kinda hosed...
But overall... YAY!
That's what I thought! She totally charged me for airbrush makeup! She used the airbrush "liquid" (Temptu), but used an airbrush "brush" to apply it. I was trying to be vocal about things I did or didn't like after she had done them, but she didn't seem to really want me to change anything. I hated the lipstick she first put on and said I would prefer for it to be more nude. She put a nude lipstick on, but before she even showed it to me she said, "I think this is too nude," but I liked it so I told her to leave it.
Gah! That happens almost everytime I use Flickr. I'll upload them to photobucket instead. Thanks for letting me know! I will go fix it now
.celerystalker
<font color=green>Look! I'm yankeepenny!<br><font
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
Great reviews!
That sucks about not liking your makeup.
I can't wait to work with Randy!
It's so cool that discovery cove was so great - and that the breakfast turned out so good.
That sucks about not liking your makeup.
I can't wait to work with Randy!
It's so cool that discovery cove was so great - and that the breakfast turned out so good.
NeverlandClub23
AKV & OKW DVC Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures of this day. I hadn't gotten into the mode of taking pictures yet and there wasn't too much to photograph anyways. So pictures are provided by wherever I could find them . Also, I decided to do the "Glad I Did/Wish I Had Done" for the end of the trip report.
No matter how many lists or how much I plan, I am always up late packing, cleaning, stressing the night before we go on vacation. After checking my list numerous times and making sure things were as organized as they were going to get, I finally decided to lie down at midnight. And then I stared at my ceiling for an hour or so
. My mind was racing with a thousand different details and the excitement of thinking about the upcoming week. I had the alarm set for 3 a.m. We needed to leave by 5:15 a.m. to catch our 7 a.m. flight (the airport is about 20 minutes away, but I wanted to leave plenty of time in case anything should happen!).
After getting about two hours of sleep, the alarm goes off. I got up and showered, obsessed over my lists dozens of times, tried cleaning the house some, and eventually woke Matt up. Matt had dropped the dogs off at the boarding facility the day before and it was so strange not to have them around that morning! Matt gets up and it takes him all of fifteen minutes to get ready.
After loading up the car, we start heading for the airport. I realized I had a few checks I wanted to deposit before we left so we stopped by the bank’s ATM and made a quick deposit. Matt made an illegal U-turn, which we realized too late. I was digging in my purse before looking up to see the no U-turn sign and said something to Matt. He said he was so busy looking at some crazy bush/tree on the side of the road he hadn’t noticed. Luckily, there are zero cars on the road at 5 a.m. on a Saturday and we continued on our way joking about how it would be our luck to get pulled over and miss our flight because of an illegal U-turn.
We uneventfully arrive at the Norfolk airport and park in the long term parking garage. I was way too excited and just wanted to get this part of the trip over! We dropped off our luggage at the Southwest desk (our suitcases were already 48 and 49 lbs.!
). My parents had taken a lot of our wedding related stuff (including my wedding dress) so that really helped. We go through the longest, slowest security line and I went to buy a Coke Zero while Matt was putting on his shoes (for the bargain price of $3.50! The soda not the shoes… 
). We wait for what seems like forever at a packed terminal gate. I like that you don’t pick your seat in advance with Southwest, but I always find it annoying that there’s no organization to the line of people waiting to board. I have been B5 before and have seen people with B40 a few people in line in front of me and everyone gives you death stares if you ask them what their ticket number is to find your place in the group. We eventually make it on the plane and we’re about 5 rows from the back of the plane, but have the whole row to ourselves. Our plane departs on time and after about ten minutes in the air, I am over it. I am so excited and the tiredness is starting to set in and I just want to keep moving! I can’t sleep on planes (or cars, or really anywhere that isn’t a bed or couch). I tried to keep myself busy with iTouch games and writing Christmas cards, but nothing could distract me. Matt pretty much slept the whole time or made shadow puppets on the backs of the seats in front of us whenever the sun would come through the window just right.
FINALLY the pilot comes on and announces our descent. We get off the plane (without bulldozing the incredibly slow people in front of us) and hightail it over to the Magical Express area. I knew what floor it was on, having used it before, so I confidently take Matt’s hand and guide us to the right floor. However, we’re on the wrong side
. Whoops. It’s about 10 a.m. at this point and I try to get myself to slow down and just enjoy being in the moment. Even if that moment is sitting across from a Dad yelling at their kid by a rental car desk waiting for Matt to use the restroom before we head to the other side.
We eventually made it to Magical Express before I realize the vouchers I had were for when we were leaving Florida! I had to do two different Magical Express reservations since our arrival was at the Polynesian booked through Disney and we were leaving from Old Key West booked through a member. We were directed to a different desk to get new vouchers printed before proceeding to the Magical Express lines. Matt was impressed with the newness of the bus and the little video that they played. I was impressed that the Polynesian was our first stop! Woo hoo!
It was about this time that Matt starts saying how he hadn’t had the time to get a haircut and a list of things he forgot to bring or purchase before the trip. I know what he’s doing. He’s hoping if he does this enough trips that I will take over packing for him
. Not working. I told him our only opportunity for him to get his haircut will be right after we check in because, otherwise, the next two days were packed.
Magical Express drops us off at the Polynesian and we proceed to walk over to the Ticket & Transportation Center. I needed to buy my annual pass before checking in to be able to get the 35% annual pass discount on the room. The weather was so beautiful and it was about this time it was starting to hit me that we were finally here and what a wonderful trip this was going to be. We wait in line at the T&TC and get my pass. We had bought $2,000 in $50 Disney gift cards at Target (in groups of $200-$500 in the months leading up to the trip) to be able to get 5% off. I used $600 of the gift cards to buy the pass and another $400 in gift cards on the balance of the room at the Polynesian. We also used a few of them for our family dinners at Ohana’s and Biergarten and Matt used some when he went to ESPN club. Needless to say, they went fast!
We walked back over to the Polynesian and went back to the valet area. I had learned from a previous trip staying at the Polynesian club level that if you walk over to the concierge check-in area without assistance that you will, apparently, throw a huge monkey wrench in all that is organizational at the Polynesian concierge. There was a lady waiting with a clip board back by the valet area. We told her who we were and she walkie-talkied to someone else that she was walking us back. She was very friendly as we walked and I was just so very excited. I will probably say that a lot in this trip report, but I really just could not believe that I was there and that everything was happening and how lucky we are. She walks us into the Hawaii club level building and to the check-in area. We had a very nice CM checking us in who even had “Just Married” buttons waiting for us (which I proceeded to tell Matt in an excited whisper that these buttons are “rare”. He just looked at me like I was crazy, but then said “like, make money off of Ebay rare?”). I was even more excited when he told us they had a room ready for us. I had secretly hoped for an upgrade to a theme park view, but having a room ready was a very welcome surprise. Especially when everyone else who came in while we were checking in was told that their room wasn’t ready.
We walked to our room and dumped our carry on stuff and the beds looked awfully inviting, but we were on a mission! First and foremost, we were starving. Not having eaten any breakfast and it being about 11:30 by this point, we walked over to Capt. Cook’s and enjoyed a nice lunch outside on the patio. He had the pork sandwich and I had the grilled cheese. Both were good, but not as oh-my-goodness-best-food-ever good as some websites tout them to be. After lunch, we hopped on the monorail for the Contemporary. He was going to get a haircut in the salon there and I was just going to waste time eating cupcakes. He said his flip flops were bothering him and he really wanted some new shoes (even though he had 3 other pairs of shoes in his suitcase...). I didn’t know where he was going with that as it wasn’t like there was a Rack Room shoes in the Contemporary or anything. I should’ve known he had been eyeing someone’s shoes on the monorail ride over that had a Mickey on them. We stopped at the gift shop at the Contemporary and sure enough, they had the shoes. So $60 later, Matt owned his very own first pair of Crocs, which he then proceeded to tell anyone who would listen the following, “These are Crocs! Can you believe it?! They don’t even look like Crocs, do they? You know, because I don’t want to be one of “those” people. These totally don’t count as Crocs…right??”
Picture of shoes that he bought and still loves:
I can't find a picture online of the exact shoe, but they look like this with a tiny standing Mickey silhouette on the upper corner.
After some searching, we eventually found the salon on some hidden floor that nothing else was on. I just heard today that the salon closed and I can see why! Talk about hidden and out of the way. The one stylist was very friendly and said she would be right with him. She was finishing up some other guy’s haircut. Really? It’s an epidemic of men not getting haircuts prior to trips?
I left Matt to wait and headed up (or down?) to the Contempo Café. It was pretty busy, but I grabbed a soda and a Worms ‘n Dirt cupcake. It was a chocolate cupcake with a sort of chocolate ganache top with, of course, “worms” coming out of the top (and all throughout the cupcake). I found one empty table and made myself at home. I ate a couple of bites of the cupcake, but really wasn’t a fan. It tasted very processed or “fake”. I had a few of our guests texting me that they had just arrived or other friends just wanting to chat so that kept me busy. However, being a party of one at a four person table at a busy counter service restaurant didn’t go over well. I had a few people ask me, “Are you almost done?” There really was no other place for me to go and sit (even the benches and seating areas on this floor were packed) and since Matt had left his cell phone with a co-worker to handle business while on the trip, I had no way of communicating to him that I had left the floor I told him I would be on.
Worms 'n Dirt Cupcake
About 5 minutes before Matt arrived, I had a very nice lady ask me if she could just sit down long enough to feed her toddler/baby. I told her sure and she looked so grateful. Matt showed up and gave me a strange look for sitting at someone else’s table. He ate half of my cupcake in about 2 minutes declaring it delicious. The woman at our table had other people in her family that were going through the line and they were all trying to find tables/chairs. We told her we were leaving (as Matt was still trying to shove cupcake in his mouth) and her group was thankful to be able to sit together. We took the rest of the cupcake and my drink down to the pool area and sat at one of the patio tables. It was such a beautiful day and I could have sat there forever enjoying the sounds of the boats going to/from Magic Kingdom and the kids laughing and playing in the pool, but the day was starting to catch up with both of us. We headed back upstairs and took the monorail back to the Polynesian for a well-deserved nap.
Up next end of day 1! Running errands with my parents, dinner at House of Blues, and fireworks at the club lounge at the Polynesian!
. Also, I decided to do the "Glad I Did/Wish I Had Done" for the end of the trip report. No matter how many lists or how much I plan, I am always up late packing, cleaning, stressing the night before we go on vacation. After checking my list numerous times and making sure things were as organized as they were going to get, I finally decided to lie down at midnight. And then I stared at my ceiling for an hour or so
. My mind was racing with a thousand different details and the excitement of thinking about the upcoming week. I had the alarm set for 3 a.m. We needed to leave by 5:15 a.m. to catch our 7 a.m. flight (the airport is about 20 minutes away, but I wanted to leave plenty of time in case anything should happen!). After getting about two hours of sleep, the alarm goes off. I got up and showered, obsessed over my lists dozens of times, tried cleaning the house some, and eventually woke Matt up. Matt had dropped the dogs off at the boarding facility the day before and it was so strange not to have them around that morning! Matt gets up and it takes him all of fifteen minutes to get ready.
After loading up the car, we start heading for the airport. I realized I had a few checks I wanted to deposit before we left so we stopped by the bank’s ATM and made a quick deposit. Matt made an illegal U-turn, which we realized too late. I was digging in my purse before looking up to see the no U-turn sign and said something to Matt. He said he was so busy looking at some crazy bush/tree on the side of the road he hadn’t noticed. Luckily, there are zero cars on the road at 5 a.m. on a Saturday and we continued on our way joking about how it would be our luck to get pulled over and miss our flight because of an illegal U-turn.
We uneventfully arrive at the Norfolk airport and park in the long term parking garage. I was way too excited and just wanted to get this part of the trip over! We dropped off our luggage at the Southwest desk (our suitcases were already 48 and 49 lbs.!
). My parents had taken a lot of our wedding related stuff (including my wedding dress) so that really helped. We go through the longest, slowest security line and I went to buy a Coke Zero while Matt was putting on his shoes (for the bargain price of $3.50! The soda not the shoes… ). We wait for what seems like forever at a packed terminal gate. I like that you don’t pick your seat in advance with Southwest, but I always find it annoying that there’s no organization to the line of people waiting to board. I have been B5 before and have seen people with B40 a few people in line in front of me and everyone gives you death stares if you ask them what their ticket number is to find your place in the group. We eventually make it on the plane and we’re about 5 rows from the back of the plane, but have the whole row to ourselves. Our plane departs on time and after about ten minutes in the air, I am over it. I am so excited and the tiredness is starting to set in and I just want to keep moving! I can’t sleep on planes (or cars, or really anywhere that isn’t a bed or couch). I tried to keep myself busy with iTouch games and writing Christmas cards, but nothing could distract me. Matt pretty much slept the whole time or made shadow puppets on the backs of the seats in front of us whenever the sun would come through the window just right. FINALLY the pilot comes on and announces our descent. We get off the plane (without bulldozing the incredibly slow people in front of us) and hightail it over to the Magical Express area. I knew what floor it was on, having used it before, so I confidently take Matt’s hand and guide us to the right floor. However, we’re on the wrong side
. Whoops. It’s about 10 a.m. at this point and I try to get myself to slow down and just enjoy being in the moment. Even if that moment is sitting across from a Dad yelling at their kid by a rental car desk waiting for Matt to use the restroom before we head to the other side. We eventually made it to Magical Express before I realize the vouchers I had were for when we were leaving Florida! I had to do two different Magical Express reservations since our arrival was at the Polynesian booked through Disney and we were leaving from Old Key West booked through a member. We were directed to a different desk to get new vouchers printed before proceeding to the Magical Express lines. Matt was impressed with the newness of the bus and the little video that they played. I was impressed that the Polynesian was our first stop! Woo hoo!
It was about this time that Matt starts saying how he hadn’t had the time to get a haircut and a list of things he forgot to bring or purchase before the trip. I know what he’s doing. He’s hoping if he does this enough trips that I will take over packing for him. Not working. I told him our only opportunity for him to get his haircut will be right after we check in because, otherwise, the next two days were packed. Magical Express drops us off at the Polynesian and we proceed to walk over to the Ticket & Transportation Center. I needed to buy my annual pass before checking in to be able to get the 35% annual pass discount on the room. The weather was so beautiful and it was about this time it was starting to hit me that we were finally here and what a wonderful trip this was going to be. We wait in line at the T&TC and get my pass. We had bought $2,000 in $50 Disney gift cards at Target (in groups of $200-$500 in the months leading up to the trip) to be able to get 5% off. I used $600 of the gift cards to buy the pass and another $400 in gift cards on the balance of the room at the Polynesian. We also used a few of them for our family dinners at Ohana’s and Biergarten and Matt used some when he went to ESPN club. Needless to say, they went fast!
We walked back over to the Polynesian and went back to the valet area. I had learned from a previous trip staying at the Polynesian club level that if you walk over to the concierge check-in area without assistance that you will, apparently, throw a huge monkey wrench in all that is organizational at the Polynesian concierge. There was a lady waiting with a clip board back by the valet area. We told her who we were and she walkie-talkied to someone else that she was walking us back. She was very friendly as we walked and I was just so very excited. I will probably say that a lot in this trip report, but I really just could not believe that I was there and that everything was happening and how lucky we are. She walks us into the Hawaii club level building and to the check-in area. We had a very nice CM checking us in who even had “Just Married” buttons waiting for us (which I proceeded to tell Matt in an excited whisper that these buttons are “rare”. He just looked at me like I was crazy, but then said “like, make money off of Ebay rare?”
). I was even more excited when he told us they had a room ready for us. I had secretly hoped for an upgrade to a theme park view, but having a room ready was a very welcome surprise. Especially when everyone else who came in while we were checking in was told that their room wasn’t ready. We walked to our room and dumped our carry on stuff and the beds looked awfully inviting, but we were on a mission! First and foremost, we were starving. Not having eaten any breakfast and it being about 11:30 by this point, we walked over to Capt. Cook’s and enjoyed a nice lunch outside on the patio. He had the pork sandwich and I had the grilled cheese. Both were good, but not as oh-my-goodness-best-food-ever good as some websites tout them to be. After lunch, we hopped on the monorail for the Contemporary. He was going to get a haircut in the salon there and I was just going to waste time eating cupcakes
. He said his flip flops were bothering him and he really wanted some new shoes (even though he had 3 other pairs of shoes in his suitcase...). I didn’t know where he was going with that as it wasn’t like there was a Rack Room shoes in the Contemporary or anything. I should’ve known he had been eyeing someone’s shoes on the monorail ride over that had a Mickey on them. We stopped at the gift shop at the Contemporary and sure enough, they had the shoes. So $60 later, Matt owned his very own first pair of Crocs, which he then proceeded to tell anyone who would listen the following, “These are Crocs! Can you believe it?! They don’t even look like Crocs, do they? You know, because I don’t want to be one of “those” people. These totally don’t count as Crocs…right??” Picture of shoes that he bought and still loves:
I can't find a picture online of the exact shoe, but they look like this with a tiny standing Mickey silhouette on the upper corner.
After some searching, we eventually found the salon on some hidden floor that nothing else was on. I just heard today that the salon closed and I can see why! Talk about hidden and out of the way. The one stylist was very friendly and said she would be right with him. She was finishing up some other guy’s haircut. Really? It’s an epidemic of men not getting haircuts prior to trips?
I left Matt to wait and headed up (or down?) to the Contempo Café. It was pretty busy, but I grabbed a soda and a Worms ‘n Dirt cupcake. It was a chocolate cupcake with a sort of chocolate ganache top with, of course, “worms” coming out of the top (and all throughout the cupcake). I found one empty table and made myself at home. I ate a couple of bites of the cupcake, but really wasn’t a fan. It tasted very processed or “fake”. I had a few of our guests texting me that they had just arrived or other friends just wanting to chat so that kept me busy. However, being a party of one at a four person table at a busy counter service restaurant didn’t go over well. I had a few people ask me, “Are you almost done?” There really was no other place for me to go and sit (even the benches and seating areas on this floor were packed) and since Matt had left his cell phone with a co-worker to handle business while on the trip, I had no way of communicating to him that I had left the floor I told him I would be on.
Worms 'n Dirt Cupcake
About 5 minutes before Matt arrived, I had a very nice lady ask me if she could just sit down long enough to feed her toddler/baby. I told her sure and she looked so grateful. Matt showed up and gave me a strange look for sitting at someone else’s table. He ate half of my cupcake in about 2 minutes declaring it delicious. The woman at our table had other people in her family that were going through the line and they were all trying to find tables/chairs. We told her we were leaving (as Matt was still trying to shove cupcake in his mouth) and her group was thankful to be able to sit together. We took the rest of the cupcake and my drink down to the pool area and sat at one of the patio tables. It was such a beautiful day and I could have sat there forever enjoying the sounds of the boats going to/from Magic Kingdom and the kids laughing and playing in the pool, but the day was starting to catch up with both of us. We headed back upstairs and took the monorail back to the Polynesian for a well-deserved nap.
Up next end of day 1! Running errands with my parents, dinner at House of Blues, and fireworks at the club lounge at the Polynesian!
lurkyloo
The Attic was just perfect!
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2006
Yay! You started your trippie!
Patrick got his hairs cut at the Contemporary barber shop before our wedding too! So is it really closed for good?
The other thing on that floor is the Catering & Convention Services office. It's tiny, windowless and has slopey walls cuz of the shape of the building. Also, it rattles every time the monorail goes by!
Patrick got his hairs cut at the Contemporary barber shop before our wedding too! So is it really closed for good?
The other thing on that floor is the Catering & Convention Services office. It's tiny, windowless and has slopey walls cuz of the shape of the building. Also, it rattles every time the monorail goes by!
celerystalker
<font color=green>Look! I'm yankeepenny!<br><font
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
Thanks for the cupcake review. I'm a cupcake snob and I'm looking forward to trying various ones this time at wdw - a few years ago when I first got on my cupcake kick, there weren't any fancy ones to be found. I hope you tried all the cupcakes the world has to offer so I can prioritize my snacks! 
And I love those crocs!
And I love those crocs!
2012DisneyWorldBride
<font color=royalblue>I was a Disney Bride on 12.8
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2011
I just wanted to let you know that Im following your TR along!!! I also wanted to say I saw some sneak pics from your wedding day and you looked AMAZING and the site was so beautiful!
NeverlandClub23
AKV & OKW DVC Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Great reviews!
That sucks about not liking your makeup.
I can't wait to work with Randy!
It's so cool that discovery cove was so great - and that the breakfast turned out so good.
Thank you!
Yeah, I wish I had loved it, but it was so hard to tell because I never could look at it in very good light. I liked it, but I wish I had had that moment of "Oh my gosh! I look so pretty!" when I looked in the mirror. You will love Randy! He's so fun and easy going. Yay! You started your trippie!
Patrick got his hairs cut at the Contemporary barber shop before our wedding too! So is it really closed for good?
The other thing on that floor is the Catering & Convention Services office. It's tiny, windowless and has slopey walls cuz of the shape of the building. Also, it rattles every time the monorail goes by!
After Matt told me he needed to get his hair cut, I said "Well, Patrick had his hair cut at the Contemporary and he said it was so-so, but so-so is going to have to be good enough now," to which he responded, "Who's Patrick?!"
From what I gather reading online, it's closed for good. How funny! I had no idea anything else was on that floor. Our elevator companions looked at us like we were crazy when we got off on that floor, like we were lost. Can you imagine having to work in the Catering and Convention Services office every day?
Thanks for the cupcake review. I'm a cupcake snob and I'm looking forward to trying various ones this time at wdw - a few years ago when I first got on my cupcake kick, there weren't any fancy ones to be found. I hope you tried all the cupcakes the world has to offer so I can prioritize my snacks!
And I love those crocs!
You're welcome! I wish I loved WDW cupcakes
I keep trying new ones hoping to fall in love with them (in fairness, I haven't tried any of the ones at Starring Rolls bakery). I guess I just want them to taste like a cupcake I would make at home, but most of them are dry and cloyingly sweet to me (and this girl lives on sugar!). The Earl of Sandwich brownies and brownie creme sandwiches are amazing, though! He loves those Crocs and I'm trying to get him sto slow down on wearing them because he's so hard on his shoes and I know he'll want to buy another pair if they get worn out by the time our trip rolls around in September.
I just wanted to let you know that Im following your TR along!!! I also wanted to say I saw some sneak pics from your wedding day and you looked AMAZING and the site was so beautiful!
Hooray! I've been reading along on yours, as well! Thank you!! We absolutely loved our wedding. I can't wait to share more pics whenever I get them from Randy!
I didn't either until I read lurkyloo's TR!
I asked the concierge check-in CM about where it was in the Contemporary and he laughed and said he had never been asked that and he would call to find out. Thank you! I watch it all the time. It makes me smile just remembering how perfect that day was
.
NeverlandClub23
AKV & OKW DVC Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
After getting back to the room, Matt quickly falls asleep. I watched all my favorite Disney TV shows that I missed on the previous years trip because we were staying in a motorhome at Ft. Wilderness (can you believe they dont offer the loop of Walt Disney World commercials at Ft. Wilderness?). I just couldnt go to sleep! However, I felt rested because we at least took a break from all the hustle and bustle.
After an hour or so of being back at the room, I get a phone call from my parents. They rented a house about 15-20 minutes from Magic Kingdom and were housing my uncle, brother, and another aunt and uncle for the weekend/wedding. My brothers flight was to arrive around 3 p.m. and we had to go to Sea World to get the three of them annual passes so that we could get the discounted admissions to Discovery Cove the morning of the wedding (we had already paid for the discounted admissions, but we had to show our passes to prove the discount). My parents told us they were on their way to pick us up so we quickly freshened up and grabbed a soda and snack from the concierge lounge.
Concierge Lounge area
We waited outside for them to arrive and they quickly picked us up. My Dad was getting aggravated by everything (this comes into play on our wedding day) and him and my Mom argued and bickered about directions and following the GPS. I think he about lost it when my Mom was telling him the GPS directions and we arrived at the Epcot toll gates We eventually made it to the airport about 20 minutes later than we were supposed to. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife! My brother ends up saying something funny and my parents started relaxing and easing up on each other. We immediately go to Sea World, which was only slightly easier to find than the airport.
Im the type of person that before I go anywhere that I know I will be driving, I print out a thousand different directions from Mapquest. I have been left at too many destinations by my GPS that end up being empty parking lots or led to too many service entrances of places around Disney World by my GPS. I didnt even think that I had to do that for my parents cause I assumed theyd know where they are going or, like my Dad usually does, analyze a map for hours before any trip.
We make it to Sea World and its 4:45 at this point. I had made dinner reservations for 10 people at Paradiso 37, after trying unsuccessfully to get House of Blues, about a week prior to the trip for 5:30 p.m. I start realizing theres no way were going to make it and dont want the pressure of trying to get there in time (because, obviously, this group doesnt work well under pressure). I call to cancel and everyone is yelling that we can make it. I still cancel it because I know there is absolutely no way we can.
After parking at Sea World and walking to the entrance, we quickly pick up the annual passes I had prepaid for online. It felt strange to park at a theme park, get passes, and immediately leave. Matt and I really love Sea World (in fact, it's one of Matt's favorite parks!) so we really wanted to go in, but there just wasn't enough time and we decided to go back to Sea World on our "free" day on Thursday. We get back in the car and head towards my parents rental home. Of course, we got lost trying to find that too. I was so over being in the car and was desperately missing Disney transportation!
Eventually, we make it to the house and my brother unloads his stuff. I visit with my aunt and uncle and we get a tour of the house. I was starting to get really hungry and I can go from 0 to 60 in the angry department if I dont get fed (Matt calls me a Gremlin), so I was trying to motivate everyone since we had already lost our reservation for Paradiso 37 and it was quickly approaching 6:30. My Mom calls my other uncle who drove from Virginia and he said he was about 10-15 minutes away so we all decide to wait (well, I dont know if some of us decided since we had no way of going anywhere anyways).
My uncle finally gets there and says hes not interested in going to Downtown Disney after driving 12 hours. So Im quickly pushing everyone to the cars cause I am starving! Plus, its a Saturday night and Downtown Disney is going to be packed and we have no reservation. We decide to just hit up Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express on the way over there since it wouldnt be easy to find somewhere to seat all of us (we were meeting another aunt and uncle of mine at Downtown Disney) for a table service meal.
We pull into the parking lots at Downtown Disney (we pulled in at the Pleasure Island entrance) and it is mayhem! There were tons of cars circling the parking lots looking for parking. We decide to head over towards the West Side since parking is usually better over there. We still had to park out in the boonies and parking/walking took another 20-30 minutes. I decided just to keep quiet at this point because I was starting to get tired, hungry, and angry and knew I couldnt say anything nice.
We met my other aunt and uncle in front of House of Blues and my Dad, who is in love with the House of Blues, decided to run in and check what the wait is. Surprisingly, they told him they could seat us in 5 minutes! I felt a wave of relief come over me that not only would I not have to fight the huge crowds and lines at Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express, but that wed also get to sit all together and enjoy a meal! I was feeling much better (but still hungry!) and started to just enjoy that it is a beautiful night and Im here with some of my favorite people.
We had a nice table along the back of the restaurant looking out at the water. Everyones food was okay, no issues but nothing phenomenal either (hey, this girl isnt complaining, I just wanted to be fed!). Our service was quick and pleasant and overall a great meal. We finished eating about 9 p.m. and even though we had planned to walk around Downtown Disney and do some shopping with everyone else, Matt and I were exhausted. We said our good-byes and walked towards Pleasure Island to catch a bus.
This is where we were sat for dinner, but the tables were turned parallel to the back wall.
Matt mentioned that I had wanted to purchase brownies from Earl of Sandwich for our wedding cake. We decided to catch the bus at the Marketplace and stop in at Earl of Sandwich for a few brownies. Walking through Pleasure Island and the Marketplace was excruciating. I mean, seriously, I have never seen so many people in my life (and we used to go to Disney in the summer in the 90s!). We had to walk so slow because there was just no way to get through the crowd. We eventually make it to Earl of Sandwich and there is a line out the door at 9:20 p.m. They have an Earl of Sandwich employee standing at the end of line asking people to know what they want when they get to the registers. Matt told him we were just getting brownies and he points us over to the register at the end to just get some and pay. I was so thankful that we didnt have to wait in the line like I thought we were!
After picking up our brownies, we were both done. The crowds were too great to enjoy anything at Downtown Disney. I realized if we hurried and caught a bus, we may be able to make the 10 p.m. fireworks at Magic Kingdom from the concierge lounge at the Polynesian! Of course, once we (okay, okay, *I*) have a plan, I want to make it happen. As luck would have it, a Polynesian bus was getting ready to leave when we got there! We hopped on and headed over to Pleasure Islands bus stops.
I had it all timed out in my head that we could possibly make it. I was trying to will the bus driver into closing the doors and going, but it wasnt happening. In fact, we switched bus drivers! And then the new one had to do all his safety checks and everything. Screw safety! We have fireworks to watch!
We finally depart the bus stop and he announces the Contemporary will be his first stop. Argh! We arrive at the Contemporary bus stop about 9:53, but I told Matt if we run we can make it. By the time we pull up to the Polynesian at 9:58, I have our route and strategy planned to a tee. Strategy being run fast and flail around looking like were being chased/robbed and route being whatever sidewalk we came to first. We make it to the lounge at the exact moment the fireworks started! Woo hoo! The concierge staff was closing the dessert window and told us to take as much as we could as they would be throwing it all away. We loaded up our plates with desserts, grabbed a soda, and enjoyed a peaceful, wonderful firework show. While I was watching the fireworks, I was so excited about our breakfast the next morning and about what the rest of the week had in store.
Up next, pictures! Oh yeah, and our welcome breakfast at Tamu Tamu Courtyard, miniature golf at Winter Summerland, Matt goes to the ESPN club, family dinner at Ohanas, and fireworks again at the concierge lounge!
). I just couldnt go to sleep! However, I felt rested because we at least took a break from all the hustle and bustle. After an hour or so of being back at the room, I get a phone call from my parents. They rented a house about 15-20 minutes from Magic Kingdom and were housing my uncle, brother, and another aunt and uncle for the weekend/wedding. My brothers flight was to arrive around 3 p.m. and we had to go to Sea World to get the three of them annual passes so that we could get the discounted admissions to Discovery Cove the morning of the wedding (we had already paid for the discounted admissions, but we had to show our passes to prove the discount). My parents told us they were on their way to pick us up so we quickly freshened up and grabbed a soda and snack from the concierge lounge.
Concierge Lounge area
We waited outside for them to arrive and they quickly picked us up. My Dad was getting aggravated by everything (this comes into play on our wedding day) and him and my Mom argued and bickered about directions and following the GPS. I think he about lost it when my Mom was telling him the GPS directions and we arrived at the Epcot toll gates We eventually made it to the airport about 20 minutes later than we were supposed to. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife! My brother ends up saying something funny and my parents started relaxing and easing up on each other. We immediately go to Sea World, which was only slightly easier to find than the airport.
Im the type of person that before I go anywhere that I know I will be driving, I print out a thousand different directions from Mapquest. I have been left at too many destinations by my GPS that end up being empty parking lots or led to too many service entrances of places around Disney World by my GPS
. I didnt even think that I had to do that for my parents cause I assumed theyd know where they are going or, like my Dad usually does, analyze a map for hours before any trip.We make it to Sea World and its 4:45 at this point. I had made dinner reservations for 10 people at Paradiso 37, after trying unsuccessfully to get House of Blues, about a week prior to the trip for 5:30 p.m. I start realizing theres no way were going to make it and dont want the pressure of trying to get there in time (because, obviously, this group doesnt work well under pressure). I call to cancel and everyone is yelling that we can make it. I still cancel it because I know there is absolutely no way we can.
After parking at Sea World and walking to the entrance, we quickly pick up the annual passes I had prepaid for online. It felt strange to park at a theme park, get passes, and immediately leave. Matt and I really love Sea World (in fact, it's one of Matt's favorite parks!) so we really wanted to go in, but there just wasn't enough time and we decided to go back to Sea World on our "free" day on Thursday. We get back in the car and head towards my parents rental home. Of course, we got lost trying to find that too. I was so over being in the car and was desperately missing Disney transportation!
Eventually, we make it to the house and my brother unloads his stuff. I visit with my aunt and uncle and we get a tour of the house. I was starting to get really hungry and I can go from 0 to 60 in the angry department if I dont get fed (Matt calls me a Gremlin), so I was trying to motivate everyone since we had already lost our reservation for Paradiso 37 and it was quickly approaching 6:30. My Mom calls my other uncle who drove from Virginia and he said he was about 10-15 minutes away so we all decide to wait (well, I dont know if some of us decided since we had no way of going anywhere anyways
). My uncle finally gets there and says hes not interested in going to Downtown Disney after driving 12 hours. So Im quickly pushing everyone to the cars cause I am starving! Plus, its a Saturday night and Downtown Disney is going to be packed and we have no reservation. We decide to just hit up Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express on the way over there since it wouldnt be easy to find somewhere to seat all of us (we were meeting another aunt and uncle of mine at Downtown Disney) for a table service meal.
We pull into the parking lots at Downtown Disney (we pulled in at the Pleasure Island entrance) and it is mayhem!
There were tons of cars circling the parking lots looking for parking. We decide to head over towards the West Side since parking is usually better over there. We still had to park out in the boonies and parking/walking took another 20-30 minutes. I decided just to keep quiet at this point because I was starting to get tired, hungry, and angry and knew I couldnt say anything nice. We met my other aunt and uncle in front of House of Blues and my Dad, who is in love with the House of Blues, decided to run in and check what the wait is. Surprisingly, they told him they could seat us in 5 minutes! I felt a wave of relief come over me that not only would I not have to fight the huge crowds and lines at Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express, but that wed also get to sit all together and enjoy a meal! I was feeling much better (but still hungry!) and started to just enjoy that it is a beautiful night and Im here with some of my favorite people.
We had a nice table along the back of the restaurant looking out at the water. Everyones food was okay, no issues but nothing phenomenal either (hey, this girl isnt complaining, I just wanted to be fed!). Our service was quick and pleasant and overall a great meal. We finished eating about 9 p.m. and even though we had planned to walk around Downtown Disney and do some shopping with everyone else, Matt and I were exhausted. We said our good-byes and walked towards Pleasure Island to catch a bus.
This is where we were sat for dinner, but the tables were turned parallel to the back wall.
Matt mentioned that I had wanted to purchase brownies from Earl of Sandwich for our wedding cake. We decided to catch the bus at the Marketplace and stop in at Earl of Sandwich for a few brownies. Walking through Pleasure Island and the Marketplace was excruciating. I mean, seriously, I have never seen so many people in my life (and we used to go to Disney in the summer in the 90s!). We had to walk so slow because there was just no way to get through the crowd. We eventually make it to Earl of Sandwich and there is a line out the door at 9:20 p.m. They have an Earl of Sandwich employee standing at the end of line asking people to know what they want when they get to the registers. Matt told him we were just getting brownies and he points us over to the register at the end to just get some and pay. I was so thankful that we didnt have to wait in the line like I thought we were!
After picking up our brownies, we were both done. The crowds were too great to enjoy anything at Downtown Disney. I realized if we hurried and caught a bus, we may be able to make the 10 p.m. fireworks at Magic Kingdom from the concierge lounge at the Polynesian! Of course, once we (okay, okay, *I*) have a plan, I want to make it happen. As luck would have it, a Polynesian bus was getting ready to leave when we got there! We hopped on and headed over to Pleasure Islands bus stops.
I had it all timed out in my head that we could possibly make it. I was trying to will the bus driver into closing the doors and going, but it wasnt happening. In fact, we switched bus drivers! And then the new one had to do all his safety checks and everything. Screw safety! We have fireworks to watch!
We finally depart the bus stop and he announces the Contemporary will be his first stop. Argh! We arrive at the Contemporary bus stop about 9:53, but I told Matt if we run we can make it. By the time we pull up to the Polynesian at 9:58, I have our route and strategy planned to a tee. Strategy being run fast and flail around looking like were being chased/robbed and route being whatever sidewalk we came to first. We make it to the lounge at the exact moment the fireworks started! Woo hoo! The concierge staff was closing the dessert window and told us to take as much as we could as they would be throwing it all away. We loaded up our plates with desserts, grabbed a soda, and enjoyed a peaceful, wonderful firework show. While I was watching the fireworks, I was so excited about our breakfast the next morning and about what the rest of the week had in store.
Up next, pictures! Oh yeah, and our welcome breakfast at Tamu Tamu Courtyard, miniature golf at Winter Summerland, Matt goes to the ESPN club, family dinner at Ohanas, and fireworks again at the concierge lounge!
celerystalker
<font color=green>Look! I'm yankeepenny!<br><font
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
Oh man - I hate driving around WDW! and trying to coordinate so many different people is sooooo stressful! Glad you lucked up and got some food before the Gremlin appeared! 
Have you seen the snickers commercials where people turn into mean celebrities when they're hungry? It makes me laugh!
Have you seen the snickers commercials where people turn into mean celebrities when they're hungry? It makes me laugh!
Bewitch324
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 12, 2009
Wow talk about an action packed day, my goodness!!!!! I got tired just reading about it, haha. The crowds at Downtown Disney sounded terrible...that is amazing wedding magic that you got a table for everyone at House of Blues and you guys didn't have to wait!!!! Thank goodness!!! The Earl of Sandwich line jump for Brownies sounds like magical pixie dust too! Whew!!
And you were able to cap it all off with fireworks???? WOW!!!
Can't wait to read about the next adventure!!!
Loving your recap so far, thank you for sharing!!!
Brooke
And you were able to cap it all off with fireworks???? WOW!!!
Can't wait to read about the next adventure!!!
Loving your recap so far, thank you for sharing!!!
Brooke
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Wow, driving around Disney sounds like a real nightmare! But fabulous that you made it Disney on time, got the brownies without waiting in a horrible line, got the table at House of Blues so fast and were able to top off the day with the fireworks! Love all the little Disney magic that may seem kind of mundane but really make for a great trip (and TR)!
Looking forward to reading more!
Looking forward to reading more!
NeverlandClub23
AKV & OKW DVC Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Really loving your TR.
Thank you!!
Oh man - I hate driving around WDW! and trying to coordinate so many different people is sooooo stressful! Glad you lucked up and got some food before the Gremlin appeared!
Yes! I was so glad the day after the wedding when we were no longer really on a time schedule or had to rely on other people to get stuff done. That commercial cracks me up!! I should really learn and carry snacks with me because I get so mean and cranky.
Thanks for reading along! It was an exhausting day! I think in the first 2-3 days I was getting about 3-4 hours of sleep a night. It definitely took its toll and we were moving quite slow by the middle of the week.
Truly! We took a big extended family trip in '96 and then one with Matt and I, my brother, and parents in '12. I think Disney is done best with just your group of people (in our case, just the two of us!)!Thanks! We earned those desserts and fireworks!
It was! I rented a car on a solo trip I took in '10 to do the Wine and Dine half marathon and it wasn't nearly as stressful as riding around with them. I think all it takes is one person to start getting worked up and it transfers all around.
Thank you!
NeverlandClub23
AKV & OKW DVC Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
My alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. and I sprung out of bed. Ok, more like groggily looked around and thought it surely must still be midnight because of those wonderful blackout curtains. I pulled the curtain back to reveal that it actually was still dark outside! Thinking of the days events started getting me motivated and I quickly showered and got ready. Matt started getting ready and as I was doing my hair, the time passing was getting me more and more stressed out. I had wanted to leave the room no later than 7:45 to get to Animal Kingdom by 8:15-8:25 so that we would be able to greet any guests when they showed up (just as a reminder, we were meeting at 8:45 a.m. at the flag pole outside of Animal Kingdom for our welcome party breakfast).
I was scrambling around making sure I had the wristbands the CM for Disneys Catered Events had left me to pick up when we checked in the day before, my camera, and worrying that I was going to leave something important behind. We finally make it out to the bus stop at 8:05 and I am freaking out. For some reason there was a CM with an electronic clipboard there and he informed us that an Animal Kingdom bus had just left! I thought I was going to cry (a little dramatic, I know) and I was just frantic inside. The CM wasnt sure when another one would be making its way to our bus stop, anywhere between 5-25 minutes (thanks for narrowing it down). Matt suggested we just take a taxi. We walk/ran over to valet stand and the only taxi waiting drove off as we were approaching the stand. Gah! The valet CM says he can have another one over in 5-10 minutes. Of course, in my mind, I dont have 5-10 minutes! I have no minutes!
I wasnt sure what to do, but right about that time another bus is heading over to the bus stop. We walk closer to check out where its going and its going to Animal Kingdom!! Hooray! You would've thought we won something when we got on the bus. At this point, its about 8:10 and all my frustrations and worry of the day are starting to fade. I tried to relax and just live in the moment so that this entire week didnt just turn into me worrying about one thing to the next.
Our bus pulls up to Animal Kingdom at 8:22 (I only know because I was checking my phone every 30 seconds...). I am so excited and relieved! We walk over to the flag pole and we only have my aunt and uncle waiting. We chatted with them while we waited for the others to show up...
Our escort shows up at 8:30 and I start worrying (so much for not doing that!). It occurs to me that I should have put 8:30 on the newsletters instead of 8:45. I did reiterate on the newsletters and in person that we LEAVE from the flag pole at 8:45 and that if youre even 1 minute late and were gone, Im not sure if they would be able to get into the breakfast. About 8:35, Matts brother and cousin show up, as well as my parents, another set of aunt and uncles and my brother. 8:40 ticks around and Matt's other brother, his wife, and two girls show up. I felt so bad for them as you could tell she was flustered. They had never been to WDW before and they had just gotten there the night before. They were staying at Port Orleans and she said they were so lost trying to find a bus stop. I assured her it was fine, as she typically is early to things, and, hey, she beat the other 14 people we were waiting on! At this time, my cell phone is blowing up with people just pulling into the parking lot. At 8:50, we had 16 of 30 people there and the escorts said we couldnt wait any longer. I told them we were ready. I couldn't stress out about it anymore. I really honestly didnt care at that point. Matt and I were there and I couldnt spend any time worrying about lost money or the trouble others were going to have to go through to get in. My Mom was stressing and actually answering her cell phone (I had turned mine off at that point). We were already on our way in the park. It was neat hearing my guests who had never been to Animal Kingdom talking about how cool everything was and hearing people laughing and having a good time while we were walking.
We get to the path to the left of the Tree of Life and my Mom yells up to me to stop. My uncle is having a hard time walking and didn't know it was going to be this far. I felt terrible and hadnt even considered that some people may not be able to make the distance. My Mom was on the cell phone with the other guests and they were outside of the entrance at the front of the park. With tears in her eyes, she asks the escort if there was anything they could do (now I see where I get my dramatics from!). The front escort tells the escort at the back of the line to go get the other guests and to take my aunt and uncle back so he could get a wheelchair.
We continued walking and it was such a gorgeous day. We make it to the entrance of Kilimanjaro Safari and a couple of people are like, "What? Are we really riding this?" It sounded more like confusion than excitement, but I'll take it! As we were waiting, my Disney Catered Events CM, Rickey, walks over and introduces himself! He was just as wonderful and pleasant in person. I thanked him for everything and apologized profusely at our inability to get ourselves together and on time. They take us through the Fastpass line and it looks like theres already a steady line for the safari ride (News Alert: after going to WDW in the weeks between Thanksgiving and the first two weeks of December six times between '01 and '12, it is safe to say that this is no longer a slow time). The wait time already said 30 minutes and the park just opened 5 minutes before!
Our escorts take us all through the line and straight on to our very own safari vehicle. It felt so incredibly good to be able to give our guests (and ourselves) this experience. My family was talking to Matts family and everyone was laughing and joking around during the whole safari ride. It was so wonderful. I almost teared up when Matt turned to me during the ride and said, Thank you so much for planning this. This is absolutely perfect
.
Riding the safari!
Laughing and playing around before the safari begins (from left to right: my brother, Matt's cousin, and Matt's brother)
After the safari ride, our escort was waiting for us at the exit. She takes us to Tamu Tamu Courtyard and the beautiful buffet table was right through the entrance. We immediately fill our plates and have a seat. I was so impressed by everything. It was so beautiful and breakfast was delicious and hot. The tables even had cute animal-print tablecloths and I didnt pay extra for them! Eventually our other guests arrived and I was excited to learn that they had been able to ride the ride too! I had thought they might just bring them straight to the breakfast.
Breakfast set-up and the entrance to Tamu Tamu Courtyard
Everyone ranted and raved about how great (and adorable!) the Mickey waffles were. I went up to get some and they had all sorts of yummy toppings. I was expecting the Mickey waffles I had had at breakfast buffets around WDW, but these were NOTHING like them. Even my parents commented on the difference. These were the most amazing waffles I have ever tasted. Seriously. I eat waffles very often and these were delicious. The waffles were sweeter, more vanilla-y, and just perfect.
After a while, my Mom comes over and says good-bye. I was a little confused, but I said, "Oh, you're leaving? Okay, well have a good day! Do you know how to get out of here?" She looks at me and laughs and says, "No, silly, we're being kicked out. It's time for all of us to go". I looked at my cell phone and it was 10:45! She points over to a few CMs in the corner and people were starting to clean up. I cant believe it went so fast!
A group of African drummers were playing right outside of Tamu Tamu Courtyard when we left and we were all dancing and walking back to the entrance of the park. People were starting to talk about what they were going to do for the rest of the day. I had no plans and I knew beforehand that Matt was going to go to the ESPN club with my brother, his brother, and cousin for a sort of mini-bachelor party. I asked my parents if they wanted to go to Winter Summerland to play mini-golf since we had never been and my aunt and two uncles didnt have park admission. They all agreed and everyone said their good-byes at the entrance of the park.
I realize I had to get the Tables in Wonderland card still to use at dinner that night so I ask them to wait and go get one at Guest Relations at the front of Animal Kingdom. I was a little sad that Matt was going to be having fun without me, but was also appreciative of the time I was going to get to spend with my family.
Up next! Winter Summerland, hanging out on the beach at the Poly, switching resorts, and dinner at Ohanas!
*Sorry for the mismatched photo sizes, I took them off of my facebook page instead of reloading them
**Oh, and P.S. I typed all this in Word and copied and pasted it over here. I've lost way too many posts before! However, apparently when I do that I lose apostrophe and quotation marks so use your IMAAAAAAAAGINAAAAAAATION! (that's supposed to be singing, not yelling)
***Okay, so my OCD kicked in and I had to go back and fix at least some of them
I was scrambling around making sure I had the wristbands the CM for Disneys Catered Events had left me to pick up when we checked in the day before, my camera, and worrying that I was going to leave something important behind. We finally make it out to the bus stop at 8:05 and I am freaking out. For some reason there was a CM with an electronic clipboard there and he informed us that an Animal Kingdom bus had just left! I thought I was going to cry (a little dramatic, I know) and I was just frantic inside. The CM wasnt sure when another one would be making its way to our bus stop, anywhere between 5-25 minutes (thanks for narrowing it down
). Matt suggested we just take a taxi. We walk/ran over to valet stand and the only taxi waiting drove off as we were approaching the stand. Gah! The valet CM says he can have another one over in 5-10 minutes. Of course, in my mind, I dont have 5-10 minutes! I have no minutes!I wasnt sure what to do, but right about that time another bus is heading over to the bus stop. We walk closer to check out where its going and its going to Animal Kingdom!! Hooray! You would've thought we won something when we got on the bus. At this point, its about 8:10 and all my frustrations and worry of the day are starting to fade. I tried to relax and just live in the moment so that this entire week didnt just turn into me worrying about one thing to the next.
Our bus pulls up to Animal Kingdom at 8:22 (I only know because I was checking my phone every 30 seconds...). I am so excited and relieved! We walk over to the flag pole and we only have my aunt and uncle waiting. We chatted with them while we waited for the others to show up...
Our escort shows up at 8:30 and I start worrying (so much for not doing that!). It occurs to me that I should have put 8:30 on the newsletters instead of 8:45. I did reiterate on the newsletters and in person that we LEAVE from the flag pole at 8:45 and that if youre even 1 minute late and were gone, Im not sure if they would be able to get into the breakfast. About 8:35, Matts brother and cousin show up, as well as my parents, another set of aunt and uncles and my brother. 8:40 ticks around and Matt's other brother, his wife, and two girls show up. I felt so bad for them as you could tell she was flustered. They had never been to WDW before and they had just gotten there the night before. They were staying at Port Orleans and she said they were so lost trying to find a bus stop. I assured her it was fine, as she typically is early to things, and, hey, she beat the other 14 people we were waiting on! At this time, my cell phone is blowing up with people just pulling into the parking lot. At 8:50, we had 16 of 30 people there and the escorts said we couldnt wait any longer. I told them we were ready. I couldn't stress out about it anymore. I really honestly didnt care at that point. Matt and I were there and I couldnt spend any time worrying about lost money or the trouble others were going to have to go through to get in. My Mom was stressing and actually answering her cell phone (I had turned mine off at that point). We were already on our way in the park. It was neat hearing my guests who had never been to Animal Kingdom talking about how cool everything was and hearing people laughing and having a good time while we were walking.
We get to the path to the left of the Tree of Life and my Mom yells up to me to stop. My uncle is having a hard time walking and didn't know it was going to be this far. I felt terrible and hadnt even considered that some people may not be able to make the distance. My Mom was on the cell phone with the other guests and they were outside of the entrance at the front of the park. With tears in her eyes, she asks the escort if there was anything they could do (now I see where I get my dramatics from!). The front escort tells the escort at the back of the line to go get the other guests and to take my aunt and uncle back so he could get a wheelchair.
We continued walking and it was such a gorgeous day. We make it to the entrance of Kilimanjaro Safari and a couple of people are like, "What? Are we really riding this?" It sounded more like confusion than excitement, but I'll take it!
As we were waiting, my Disney Catered Events CM, Rickey, walks over and introduces himself! He was just as wonderful and pleasant in person. I thanked him for everything and apologized profusely at our inability to get ourselves together and on time. They take us through the Fastpass line and it looks like theres already a steady line for the safari ride (News Alert: after going to WDW in the weeks between Thanksgiving and the first two weeks of December six times between '01 and '12, it is safe to say that this is no longer a slow time). The wait time already said 30 minutes and the park just opened 5 minutes before! Our escorts take us all through the line and straight on to our very own safari vehicle. It felt so incredibly good to be able to give our guests (and ourselves) this experience. My family was talking to Matts family and everyone was laughing and joking around during the whole safari ride. It was so wonderful. I almost teared up when Matt turned to me during the ride and said, Thank you so much for planning this. This is absolutely perfect
.
Riding the safari!
Laughing and playing around before the safari begins (from left to right: my brother, Matt's cousin, and Matt's brother)
After the safari ride, our escort was waiting for us at the exit. She takes us to Tamu Tamu Courtyard and the beautiful buffet table was right through the entrance. We immediately fill our plates and have a seat. I was so impressed by everything. It was so beautiful and breakfast was delicious and hot. The tables even had cute animal-print tablecloths and I didnt pay extra for them! Eventually our other guests arrived and I was excited to learn that they had been able to ride the ride too! I had thought they might just bring them straight to the breakfast.
Breakfast set-up and the entrance to Tamu Tamu Courtyard
Everyone ranted and raved about how great (and adorable!) the Mickey waffles were. I went up to get some and they had all sorts of yummy toppings. I was expecting the Mickey waffles I had had at breakfast buffets around WDW, but these were NOTHING like them. Even my parents commented on the difference. These were the most amazing waffles I have ever tasted. Seriously. I eat waffles very often and these were delicious. The waffles were sweeter, more vanilla-y, and just perfect.
After a while, my Mom comes over and says good-bye. I was a little confused, but I said, "Oh, you're leaving? Okay, well have a good day! Do you know how to get out of here?" She looks at me and laughs and says, "No, silly, we're being kicked out. It's time for all of us to go". I looked at my cell phone and it was 10:45! She points over to a few CMs in the corner and people were starting to clean up. I cant believe it went so fast!
A group of African drummers were playing right outside of Tamu Tamu Courtyard when we left and we were all dancing and walking back to the entrance of the park. People were starting to talk about what they were going to do for the rest of the day. I had no plans and I knew beforehand that Matt was going to go to the ESPN club with my brother, his brother, and cousin for a sort of mini-bachelor party. I asked my parents if they wanted to go to Winter Summerland to play mini-golf since we had never been and my aunt and two uncles didnt have park admission. They all agreed and everyone said their good-byes at the entrance of the park.
I realize I had to get the Tables in Wonderland card still to use at dinner that night so I ask them to wait and go get one at Guest Relations at the front of Animal Kingdom. I was a little sad that Matt was going to be having fun without me, but was also appreciative of the time I was going to get to spend with my family.
Up next! Winter Summerland, hanging out on the beach at the Poly, switching resorts, and dinner at Ohanas!
*Sorry for the mismatched photo sizes, I took them off of my facebook page instead of reloading them
**Oh, and P.S. I typed all this in Word and copied and pasted it over here. I've lost way too many posts before! However, apparently when I do that I lose apostrophe and quotation marks so use your IMAAAAAAAAGINAAAAAAATION! (that's supposed to be singing, not yelling
)***Okay, so my OCD kicked in and I had to go back and fix at least some of them
Share this page
-
Your Ultimate Guide to Disney's World of Color Dessert Party
-
New Annual Passholder Magic Shot Available In EPCOT
-
Month-Long Refurbishment at Disney's All-Star Movies Resort Food Court
-
Dine Inside a Disney World Attraction: San Angel Inn Review
-
Anaheim City Council Gives Final Approval for DisneylandForward
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
