12 Days of Disney: Our Very Merry Vow Renewal, Christmas, Alligators and more!

[missjackiemcg]

Following along too! How sweet of your husband to "give you your knee" and with a photopass photographer in place

HI I couldn't believe it!! It was VERY unexpected and such a great surprise.....I didn't tell him I wish he would've done it in the Magic Kingdom instead

 

[missjackiemcg]

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!​

disney-mardi-gras by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20170228_055948 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

 

[Pluto0809]

Another one caught up on!

I am really enjoying your TR so far! I had a lot to comment on as I was reading but of course I forgot everything. LOL. Hopefully I can keep up now.

I am so excited that we will be at Disney and doing the 5K at the same time! I'm sure you will be way ahead of me during the race but at least we can meet up at the starting line! I'm already pretty sure I know what I'm doing for my costume if I can find what I need for it.

 

[Mom2m&k]

Enjoying your trip report so far. I love downtime on the patio just hanging with family and watching the people go by!

 

[WonderWoman28]

Following along, love the ears! I was contemplating purchasing them from Etsy for our WDW trip.... in 2018

 

[missjackiemcg]

Another one caught up on

I am so excited that we will be at Disney and doing the 5K at the same time!

Yay!!! Happy you're here I am SO excited, too!! Our tentative dates are 12/30-1/6 because I have to be back for school to start up again on the 8th and figure I should give myself Sunday to rest.....but I really want to stay til Sunday!!!! I need to figure out which hotel we're going with this time around, too. I also think I've got my costume figured out

I love downtime on the patio just hanging with family and watching the people go by!

It's my absolute FAVORITE way to spend an afternoon!!! Especially when we have a room close to Hourglass Lake--ah, perfection!!

Following along, love the ears! I was contemplating purchasing them from Etsy for our WDW trip.... in 2018

They are THE BEST!! Highly recommend ordering them--takes about 3 weeks to get them from the time you order, so leave yourself enough time. Also, if your trip isn't til 2018, I would follow @modernmouseboutique on Instragram and watch for one of her sales to save a little money on your order. She seems to do them on holiday weekends!

 

[Pluto0809]

Our tentative dates are 12/30-1/6 because I have to be back for school to start up again on the 8th and figure I should give myself Sunday to rest.....but I really want to stay til Sunday!!!! I need to figure out which hotel we're going with this time around, too.

I'm not sure what our dates are going to be. I really want to do the dates you have listed but we usually do shorter trips when it's both of us because it's so expensive to board the dogs. Jim is really picky about where they stay and will only board them at our vets in a luxury suite with a TV.

As for hotels, Jim hates the values so we will most likely stay at a moderate. We've stayed at CBR, CSR and POR so maybe POFQ this time? I like to get the Play/Stay/Dine discount so POFQ may not be an option since it rarely has discounts. I may let Jim choose between the other three which means most likely POR. That's his favorite.

 

[minniebeth]

Great trip report! Your family is adorable! Looking forward to reading about your vow renewal! We love the runDisney races! You will have a blast!

PS... 35 Kindergarteners?! In one class?! You are my hero!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Jim is really picky about where they stay and will only board them at our vets in a luxury suite with a TV.

I like to get the Play/Stay/Dine discount

A luxury suite with a TV sounds delightful I think I'd like to stay there!!!

I hadn't even thought about any discounts/deals---tell me more about this one!!

 

[fallonkendra]

I anxiously watched the little green bar with the man walking--he finally made it to the other end of the box and I was redirected to the sign up page!!! AAAAHHH!! Once I entered my log in information, I had 15 minutes to complete my registration for the 5K; however, I would have to wait again to get in for the 10K....so while I was waiting for the little walking guy, I had also fired up my phone and was waiting on a little walking guy there. When I his the final submit button on my 5K registration, my phone was redirected and I was able to sign up for the 10K. By 11:10 Central, I was all signed up and registered for my first runDisney races---eeeeep!! I am SO excited

Congratulations on signing up for your first runDisney event! I ran my first ever 5k during Marathon Weekend this past January, and it was so much fun I'm now signed up to run the 5k during Avengers weekend at Disneyland in November, and the 5k during Marathon Weekend next year at WDW as well. Maybe I'll see you that day!

I finally got my knee He said, "Let's do it again."

This is so cute! Animal Kingdom is my favourite park, and it's actually where my (now) fiance proposed in January

 

[missjackiemcg]

Great trip report! Your family is adorable!

35 Kindergarteners?! In one class?! You are my hero!

Awww, thanks I'm pretty partial to them, too!

Thanks Most days they make me feel much less than heroic, but I appreciate it!!!!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Congratulations on signing up for your first runDisney event!

This is so cute! Animal Kingdom is my favourite park, and it's actually where my (now) fiance proposed in January

Thanks!! I'm really excited....nervous, but mostly excited!!!

I do love Animal Kingdom That is amazing you were proposed to there!!!! I'll be hopping over to your TR to read all about it!!

 

[Pluto0809]

I hadn't even thought about any discounts/deals---tell me more about this one!!

Here's a link with the description from last year. It looks like the discount was issued in October last year so you would need to book so you can do ADRs and then call back and add the discount.

Play Stay Dine 2017

They usually don't offer free dining during the time we are going so this is normally the best package. Only problem I'm seeing is they didn't offer it last year until January 1st.

 

[minniebeth]

Awww, thanks I'm pretty partial to them, too!

Thanks Most days they make me feel much less than heroic, but I appreciate it!!!!

I am a teacher by trade, and I know that is a LOT of littles! I know how hard you must work each and every day!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I am a teacher by trade, and I know that is a LOT of littles! I know how hard you must work each and every day!

I love people who just "get it"!!! Thanks

 

[missjackiemcg]

After our very enjoyable break back at Pop, we got ready for our evening of fun!! Mom, Jimmy and I were headed to Magic Kingdom for the last Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party of 2016, and Rob and Dad had low-key plans to hang out at the hotel awhile longer before grabbing some dinner at the ESPN Club at the Boardwalk.

Back Story: In November 2015, Mom and I made a quickie trip to WDW to say our last goodbye to the Osborne lights. On that trip, we were able to squeeze in our very first MVMCP. It was on a Saturday (rookie mistake) and SO insanely crowded, but we managed to see the parade and hear the fireworks from inside Be Our Guest (ugh, don’t get me started on the dinner fiasco). My main goal for the night had been to meet the 7 Dwarfs. Dopey is my favorite guy and I had so much fun interacting with all the dwarfs—until we walked away and I suddenly started crying. I didn’t feel bad for one second about going on this trip with my Mom and not bringing Jimmy along….until right at that moment. I said, “That was so amazing! I’m the meanest Mom! I can’t believe I left my kid at home!!” L

So THIS was my night! Not gonna lie, I had VERY high hopes for this to be the most fantastically magical night ever.

We had a quick wait for a bus and off we went to the merriest Christmas party! When we arrived at MK we joined the masses trying to get through the lines and touch Mickey to Mickey to enter the park. The holiday dressed CMs were awesome about passing out party wristbands while we were waiting---we just had to show our tickets. I noticed a lot of people who had paper printouts instead of cards like we did. There were other CMs there who were transferring these paper tickets to cards for people while they waited in line, too. Once we finally made it inside, there were PP photographers all set up by the Christmas tree and we hopped in line for that must-do picture.

We had arrived after 4:00 but that didn’t matter since we had Park Hoppers anyway. We were looking around for the party guides but hadn’t seen any on our way under the train station or outside City Hall. While we were waiting, I had noticed CMs holding big MVMCP signs and directing people to the right as they were entering the park—toward the back entrance, avoiding Main Street, U.S.A. We wandered over in that direction. There were more PP photographers taking pictures beside nutcrackers and holding MVMCP signs/props, but Jimmy made a bee-line for the CM with the hula hoops J He cannot hula hoop, but that has never stopped him from trying and really enjoying it!!

We headed away from the hula hoops and passed CM after CM pushing giant blue carts full of huge snowman sugar cookies with blue sprinkles. They gave each of us 4, so good thing we had a backpack!! They were literally forcing them into people’s hands as they went by. Throughout the rest of our trip, every counter service restaurant we ate at in MK was offering smaller versions of these same cookies or standing on the sidewalk passing them out with tongs as people walked by. Clearly there were plenty left from all the previous parties!!

We knew we would have the opportunity to see Holiday Wishes fireworks and the Once Upon a Christmastime parade later this week, so those weren’t high on our priority list tonight; though of course if we could squeeze them in we would! Jimmy was really out to meet characters!! I subscribed to an app with TONS of information including set times and best order to meet characters, and that was pretty awesome!! There was an actual map of where to find each specific character, too, which proved to be very helpful because the map handed out in the parks just had the little character sign, not who would actually be meeting at that location.

We headed toward Storybook Circus where we had planned to hop in line to meet the 7 Dwarfs and right the wrong I had done my son last year…hehe. In 2015, Mom and I had gotten in line around 6 p.m. with maybe 20 families ahead of us. The dwarfs had come out about 6:45 and we met them shortly after 7, leaving the rest of the party ahead of us. The CMs working the meet and greet had been very strict about enforcing the rules of only 2 picture poses per party at that time and the line moved pretty quickly considering how full it had gotten while we’d been waiting. We were prepared for the same this year……..

We found the meet way back in Storybook Circus with a line that already wove back and forth about four times and was extending out beyond the ropes they had set up. This was at 5:30. Gulp.
20161222_184621 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

In an effort to keep Jimmy occupied, I asked the CM watching the line if it would be OK to take my son to Pete’s Silly Sideshow while my Mom stayed in line. I didn’t want to obnoxiously climb back over people cutting through the line, but thought since the meet wouldn’t start til 7 maybe this would be OK. She assured me it was completely fine, so off we went.

The lines were about even for Goofini and Donaldo vs. Daisy Fortuna and Minnie Magnifique. Jimmy chose the gals and planned to see the boys afterward (spoiler alert: we ran out of time and the line closed, so we’d have to catch up with those guys on another day!) We waited our turn while Mom kept updating me on the line outside. People were getting kind of antsy and the CMs had started asking people not to sit in the line, so she had moved up several times while we were gone.
20161222_180911 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
20161222_181101 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Before too long, Jimmy had met Daisy and Minnie and we were back outside looking for my Mom. It turned out that they had been able to really move the line up once people stood up and moved forward. We were THOSE people and I felt a little bad, but not as cranky as I would have if I’d been sitting for an hour with Jimmy in there!!

They didn’t start the set one minute early. In fact, they actually came out after 7, but the set was really cute and the dwarfs interacted with one another like crazy!!!! They all picked on Grumpy. Sneezy kept his finger under his nose to avoid sneezing. Sleepy kept lounging on someone’s shoulder or on the stool if Dopey got up. It was really entertaining to watch them!! This year, there was no limit on number of pictures or poses for each group. Multiple groups took real advantage of this—a picture with everyone, a picture with only the girls, a picture with only this one child and then individual pictures of everyone in their group. That was getting really old, really fast—sucking the magic out of the people waiting for sure!!!!
20161222_184316 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I didn’t really pay attention to the minutes, but we waited through two “cocoa breaks” for the dwarfs to leave and come back before it was FINALLY our turn!! Jimmy went through the two rows giving every individual dwarf a hug, while I got cozy by my pal, Dopey!
20161222_193008 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We had pictures of just Jimmy and I, and then Mom jumped in. Grumpy had been standing up poking around by Doc, so Mom sat on his stool. He did not play along with this at all. He just kept pointing for her to get off his seat and crossing his arms and stomping. She tried to hug him and he shrugged her away even!
I felt bad taking all this time with them because I know it is SO hard to wait in that crazy insane line…..but selfishly, I was really excited to have the interaction and Jimmy walked through giving out goodbye hugs while I grabbed my favorite selfie ever with my favorite dwarf before heading off to enjoy the rest of the party!
20161222_193409 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After meeting the dwarfs, I thought it was the perfect time for a nighttime ride on everyone’s favorite elephant!! ….everyone but Jimmy’s favorite apparently. We walked straight through the line with no wait and headed right up to the gates. That’s. When. It. Happened. Jimmy lost his mind. He became hysterical, crying and flailing around—freaking out at the very suggestion that he get into the elephant. There was not a chance I was letting him skip out on Dumbo (meanest mother ever!), a ride he went on before he was even 2 years old!!! The CM checking seatbelts stopped by and asked, “How old is he?” I’m thinking—“Oh, y’know he’s too damn old to be acting like this about RIDING DUMBO!!!’ But I said, “7…..he’s fine. He’s riding.” He finally calmed down a little....just in time for the ride to start and set him off again!! He was sort of OK if we just kept riding along the bottom and kept saying, “We can just stay down here, right, Mommy?” I said yes….because I forgot that all elephants have to fly to the top at the end (oops!) We narrowly escaped the defeat of Dumbo and went on our merry way.
20161222_194658 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
This was after he had CONQUERED Dumbo!!!

We set out to meet Pooh and the gang but ended up getting there just as the line was closing for that set. Mom stayed in line while Jimmy and I got a ride in a Jimmy-approved hunny pot. It was perfect timing when we got off and they opened the rope for our little line to walk up to the meet and greet. I just loved those squishy guys in their cute little scarves! We would be seeing all of them again later this trip, too!
DSC06096 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Looking A LOT happier with Pooh than Dumbo, wouldn't you say?!

20161222_210546 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Mom and Jimmy’s favorite ride is It’s a Small World, so of course we had to hop in for a ride—in fact, this was really a theme for our entire trip. We have a little downtime? Let’s go on IASW! The fireworks just ended and there’s a 0 minute wait? Let’s go on IASW! So, we boarded the happiest little cruise that ever sailed and Jimmy sang the words loud as can be (those poor people in our boat with us!) in lots of languages…or at least as close as he could figure out. Haha!

20161222_213202 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06101 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
(That one was for you, Ariana!!)

I took pictures of the Goodbye signs at the end of the ride, a little disappointed that the screens weren’t working with the MBs. They were just stuck on the same message. (spoiler alert: later this trip those digital signs were gone overnight, replaced by painted wooden ones!)
DSC06104 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We were getting pretty hungry, so we decided to pop over to Tomorrowland for another one of our favorites, Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. This is where Club Tinsel was taking place with dancing reindeer, polar bears and elves. We got in line to order our food and while we were waiting to pick up our order one of the CMs at the counter started chatting with Jimmy. She asked him if he liked Star Wars and he nodded. She asked if he liked slushies and he nodded. She said, I’ll be right back. He just smiled at her. She returned with a BB-8 straw cup filled with red and green holiday slushie (it was DELISH) and told him to have a very Merry Christmas. Yay for pixie dust!
20161222_201121 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We got our dinner and found a table right inside the door at the top of the walkway down to what would be Club Tinsel! It was really loud in there, but looked like lots of fun. I figured after eating we’d set Jimmy loose on the dancefloor. When we got down there he was very standoffish and kept saying, “Let’s just go, Mommy.” I could tell he was getting sleepy and I was afraid he wouldn’t make it to the end of the party even though he’d had a nap earlier! I forced him to stand still so I could snap a quick pic with the polar bear in the background at least! Then, we were on our way.
20161222_202155 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We wanted to try and meet Captain Jack Sparrow, but his line was pretty long, so we kept walking. I spotted Mary Poppins and Bert and we ran over to hop in their line. The CM at the line said they would be leaving to help with the parade and we might have to wait for them to come back. This was a really important meet for Jimmy because he had an important message for Bert, so we decided to wait anyway. The girls in front of us were told the family in front of them would be last for this set. They didn’t want to wait, so they ducked out under the rope and we moved up. The girls in the family ahead of us started out sort of precocious, but as the meet went on they were really demanding of Mary’s attention and the littlest one kept stomping her foot and talking back at her Mom. My Mom and I kept exchanging glances like, just take your kid and move along, but the kids were clearly running the show here.

We figured we’d be waiting for Mary and Bert to leave and come back, but the CM checked her watch and said they had time for just one more family before going (yay us!) Jimmy stepped up to Bert and said, “I know a man with a wooden leg named Smith!” He was SO excited when Bert responded without hesitation, “Is that so? What’s the name of his other leg?” The two of them laughed and laughed and Mary said something about how Uncle Albert would love to meet Jimmy. She asked where he prefers to have his tea parties and he said, “On the ceiling.” He and Bert had a good chuckle over that, too. When she handed me his autograph book to hold onto, she said, “I’ll just give this to your nanny.” She also talked about how well behaved and polite Jimmy was (I’m sure his manners were noticeable after the little hellions that had just met ahead of us!!!) and told him, “You have a lovely nanny. Believe me, his politeness does not go unnoticed.”
20161222_230030(0) by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We did a lot of walking back and forth all night, but really didn’t do much waiting for rides or meets. On our way through Frontierland (this might be out of order—I cannot figure out my own notes on this!!) Jimmy spotted one of the country bears (I only know Wendell and Big Al by name for sure, so help me figure out who these guys are!) trying to break into a pressed penny machine. He went running over to him and the big guy started to scurry away! Jimmy chased him around and eventually he stopped and posed for a picture. It went much the same way with Wendell and this other big fella!! They were running all around in Frontierland hopping up and down the little steps to the stores and the Jamboree entrance, playing around by the garbage cans, stands, penny machines, etc. It was really funny to watch, and I was so surprised there didn’t seem to be any character handlers helping them or hanging around close by! The hardest one to get to stop for a picture was Big Al, but Jimmy was persistent! He finally got him after a few laps around the porch

20161222_213932 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
20161222_213804 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
20161222_214227 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
20161222_214117 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We swung back through Adventureland one more time to try to catch Aladdin, Abu, Jasmine and Genie. We were able to see Jasmine and Genie, but their set ended while we were getting in line. The CM working the line was incredibly sweet and talked with Jimmy all about his favorite colors and autographs he’d gotten so far that night. He showed her how he was choosing specific marker colors for each character, but he was sad he didn’t have purple because he was pretty sure Aladdin likes purple. She showed him a purple marker in her pocket and told him he could give her a sign if Aladdin needed to borrow it! It was just a really sweet interaction and she took so much time to chat with him!!

It turned out that when we met Aladdin, he DID tell Jimmy his favorite color was purple like the feather in his hat, so Jimmy started winking and waving like crazy at his new CM friend! She snuck over and handed him the marker. SO CUTE! While Jimmy and I were in line and having this meet, the Holiday Wishes fireworks were going off overhead and the soundtrack was playing. This was just such a magical little moment!! (My Mom was hanging out on a bench spot she found with a slightly obscured view, but enjoying it all just the same!)
20161222_221454 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We wandered past Pirates of the Carribean and were able to jump in line for Captain Jack with only two people ahead of us. Jimmy was a little nervous because people kept calling our pirate pal, “Jack” and he would yell, “CAPTAIN!!! Jack.” He tried to talk with Jimmy, but he was so shy and nervous!! We got his autograph and quickly headed back to Fantasyland to try and meet up with some princes and their special gals before the night was over!
PICS ARE M.I.A. FOR THIS--I'LL FIND THEM!!

Jimmy lounged on the ground while we waited for Aurora and Phillip & Snow White and her prince to return from the castle. Our time was really winding down; it was about 11:50 and we still wanted to try to see Rapunzel and Flynn & Tiana and Naveen. While Jimmy waited his turn, met and got autographs from the first four, my Mom headed over to Fairytale Hall to see if they would let us in still. At midnight on the dot, we ran over and straight in to see the next group!! Jimmy asked Flynn Rider if he still carries the crown in his satchel. He patted it and told him it was of course full of all his most important things, but didn’t give him a peek, which is what Jimmy was really hoping for!!
20161222_232108 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161222_234143 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161222_235027 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

While I was watching my Mom and Jimmy interacting with Princes and Princesses, I spotted these awesome books on the table between them! I'm sure they've been there, but I never bothered to take a close up look. I just thought this was such an awesome touch.
20161223_000445 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

My Mom’s most favorite place in the world is New Orleans, so Tiana and Naveen have a special place in her heart She was very excited to see them and have a little chat about her necklace charms, Tiana ears, and other favorite home away from home!

I was hoping maybe we’d be able to sneak over to see Cinderella, Prince Charming and Elena, but unfortunately our luck (and our time!) had run out. The CM told us all the meets were closed and we’d have to start making our way out of the park. The only thing that made this a little easier to swallow was the fact that we’d still be at WDW for the next TEN days!!!

We slowly made our way toward Main Street, Mom and Jimmy dancing along to Feliz Navidad and singing loudly sticks out in my head. There is something so incredible about watching my Mom and my son dancing and enjoying these special little moments together!! It’s like nobody else was around—our own special little frozen moment in time. Makes me warm and fuzzy!! Anyway, we made it to Main Street and let me tell you, they have upgraded their snope machines!!!!! It snows now like I’ve never seen before on any of my previous Disney Christmas trips! I was videotaping and taking pictures of the blizzard all around me and I hear Jimmy, “This snow tastes like soap!” I turned and there he was standing in the middle of Main Street, U.S.A. surrounding by magical snow…..with his tongue out.
20161223_001527 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
20161223_001456 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06105 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We made our way out to the bus and after a pretty quick wait found ourselves on a dark bus ride back to Pop Century. Surprisingly Jimmy stayed awake, but was certainly a little sleepy when we arrived back to the hotel and took a selfie at almost 1 a.m.!!!
Screenshot_20170113-132543 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We would eventually learn from Dad and Rob that they had a really delicious meal at ESPN Club and strolled the boardwalk for a while before hopping a bus back to the hotel and lounging in their connecting rooms watching TV. That’s the difference in how our men and Mom & I vacation in Disney right there!!!

I got Jimmy ready for bed and laid out everybody’s clothes for the morning. I made sure I had all the parts, pieces, and accessories we’d be needing because tomorrow would be a really special day….We’re about to redo our I Do’s! Tomorrow is Vow Renewal Day!

Love & Smooches,

Jackie

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

She returned with a BB-8 straw cup filled with red and green holiday slushie (it was DELISH) and told him to have a very Merry Christmas. Yay for pixie dust!

Awesome, magical touch!

I felt bad taking all this time with them because I know it is SO hard to wait in that crazy insane line…..but selfishly, I was really excited to have the interaction and Jimmy walked through giving out goodbye hugs while I grabbed my favorite selfie ever with my favorite dwarf before heading off to enjoy the rest of the party!

Awesome pic! Glad you took the time and got the photos you wanted.

Jimmy spotted one of the country bears (I only know Wendell and Big Al by name for sure, so help me figure out who these guys are!) trying to break into a pressed penny machine.

I love that you found him trying to break into the pressed penny machine. Kind of cool to just stumble upon them...

It turned out that when we met Aladdin, he DID tell Jimmy his favorite color was purple like the feather in his hat, so Jimmy started winking and waving like crazy at his new CM friend! She snuck over and handed him the marker. SO CUTE! While Jimmy and I were in line and having this meet, the Holiday Wishes fireworks were going off overhead and the soundtrack was playing. This was just such a magical little moment!! (My Mom was hanging out on a bench spot she found with a slightly obscured view, but enjoying it all just the same!)
2

Abu!!!! My youngest would die to meet him. I love that the cast member just happened to have a purple pen. They really do think of everything!

 

[missjackiemcg]

December 23rd—Today’s our Redo We do!!

I was up bright and early just like the kid in that classic Disney commercial, I was TOO EXCITED to sleep!! I started double checking that we had everything for the vow renewal—rings, our ring pillow (the same one we used at our wedding in 2006), Jimmy’s special ring box and ring that matches Rob’s (this was a surprise), Just Married…..Again banners, mouse ear hats, etc.
20161223_081757 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I had special Magicband bows made for us to wear on this day, and had intended to get a picture of us holding hands with our Mr. and Mrs. Bands by the castle rose garden similar to one we’d had on our Honeymoon……of course, you will see that I completely forgot about this plan when we were at MK that night. Ugh. #fail
20161223_082450 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I got the boys up and moving and started getting Jimmy dressed. We had a reservation at 1900 Park Fare at 10:40 a.m. which I figured would allow us plenty of time to get organized in the morning. Of course, we were already running behind by the time Rob got out of the shower and Jimmy got dressed……I was the only one who wasn’t dressed yet! I was so panicky about missing our reservation that I only half even finished fixing my hair before grabbing our bags and heading to the bus stop.
20161223_092100 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We felt like celebrities all day with everyone offering Congratulations and pointing at us—we waited for a bus to MK and got one after a pretty short wait. Oh, before I forget, while we were waiting for the bus (behind 2 other families actually) this Dad came walking by and handed us 6 paper Fastpasses that said they could be used for any ride besides Peter Pan and 7DMT. They didn’t expire til 12/31 and he said, “Here, hope you can use these. We didn’t have a chance.” We ended up getting some later in the week when Buzz went down while we were in line, so I’m pretty sure these were courtesy passes from some situation like that. Not sure if he just passed up those other families in front of us because we were all fancied up or what, but they sure did come in useful later this week!! So, we had an uneventful ride over to MK and walked down the path and up to the monorail.
20161223_100815 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06107 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06108 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I was the only one from our family who’d ever seen the Grand Floridian in person before, so I was really excited for them to see the beautiful tree in the lobby and the gingerbread house, of course. When we arrived we walked around the upper floor looking around and taking it all in. Last time I was there wandering alone and thinking, “Boy I feel underdressed!!!” This time, I felt right at home.
DSC06118 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161223_120525 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I noticed our officiant, Rev. Tim (who I only recognized from his Facebook page!) was already here sitting in the lobby and this was just before 10:30….I got a little nervous because our vow renewal wasn’t scheduled until 1:00 and I thought I must have missed an email or call from him letting me know to meet earlier. As we wandered further trying to locate the entrance to 1900 Park Fare (**we could not find it and had to be directed by some friendly front desk CMs**) I checked my voicemail and email. I don’t know why I didn’t just go up and say hello to him—in retrospect that would have made way more sense, but for some reason I had a lot of nervous energy and felt a little anxious about this meeting!

I didn’t have any messages or calls from Rev. Tim, so I was hoping he was just very very punctual! We checked in for our reservation right on time and were told there would be about a 15 minute wait. While I had been checking my email, I saw that I had received one with details and information about our upcoming Wild Africa Trek this week—Jambo!! We can’t wait to see you. I was really excited for that, but too fidgety and excited for today to actually read everything. I’d get back to this email later!

Before 15 minutes had even passed, I received a text that our table was ready (which was funny to me since we were all sitting right around the hostess stand waiting to be seated, so they could have just called our name, but anyway….) We were seated at a large table for 8 right at the entrance to the buffet. The food all looked and smelled AMAZING, but again with my nerves I just couldn’t eat much….honestly, I found this feeling hilarious looking back on it because the day of my actual wedding I was so easygoing and calm—this was totally foreign to me, but I think it was really the sheer excitement of all the planning coming to fruition, we really were about to celebrate our vow renewal HERE in Walt Disney World. I never would have imagined we would be so fortunate!

We had some great character interactions here. I loved the Mad Hatter, but Jimmy was so star-struck he barely talked to him! He said, “We’re here for a vow renewal.” MH, “You need a tea fountain!!” Jimmy—stunned silence. MH, “Yes, excellent idea, glad you thought of it, but you shouldn’t talk so much!”
20161223_105937 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161223_112438 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After we finished eating, we were escorted out the back of the restaurant to a tree and mural where we met Alice and took some pictures. While we were waiting our turn, I got a text from Krista with Disney Fairytale Weddings letting me know that she and Aly would be meeting us in the lobby with Rev. Tim at 12:30. Since we still had some time, we walked out the front doors of the lobby and took some pictures with the old car and carriage parked out front. There was supposed to be some type of marquis sign for events of the day that our names should have been on, but I couldn’t seem to find it and I was a little embarrassed to ask…..of course you know I’m regretting I didn’t!!!!
DSC06113 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

DSC06112 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After our little photoshoot and walk around, it was almost 12:30, so we headed back into the lobby and met Rev. Tim. He was seated there with our violinist (whose name I can’t remember now!) and chatted with us a little about how we met, etc. Now, when we reserved Rev. Tim for our date there was an information sheet I had to fill out about us, but since then we hadn’t really ever gone over any specifics for our event—other than the date, time and location once Disney had confirmed with us. I had emailed him a few weeks out from the vow renewal and asked if there was anything else he needed to know from us and he had replied, “See you there!” I was more than a little nervous; however, I knew from his bio that Rev. Tim was the original officiant for Disney Weddings from the very beginning and that he continues to perform ceremonies of all sorts for Disney Fairytale Weddings. So, I figured we were in good hands.

Rev. Tim took some pictures of us by the Christmas tree and talked with Jimmy a little as Krista and Aly walked up. It was like clockwork—they walked up to us and in walked the Disney Florist CM with my pink and white Mickey balloons (eep!!) and a box with my bouquet, the flowers I had ordered for Rob, Jimmy and my Dad, and a corsage for my Mom. In a hilarious coincidence, I recognized Krista from her Instagram account, which I had started following because she has the most contagious smile and posts these amazing magical Disney moments all the time!! I was like, “Hey! I know you!”
20161223_124032 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

The girls were having some trouble with Jimmy’s flower pinning, so Rev. Tim called him over and did it for him. He reminded me of sweet old Grandpa. He talked with Jimmy about what an important part of our family he is and he asked Jimmy to sign his name on something. We later found out it was our vow renewal certificate and Jimmy had been our witness.

20161223_124141 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

And suddenly I can't find the vow renewal pictures, so I'll have to cut this short here until I locate those!! I'll be back

Love & Smooches,
Jackie

 

[missjackiemcg]

Krista called out to our location, Conch Key Marina, and got the OK that our violinist was ready and the photographer was on site, so we started to walk out to the spot. Again, people were so sweet congratulating us and waving and pointing as we were walking. We were a real sight now with the addition of our flowers and the balloons my poor Mom had to carry now and during our entire photo session afterward! But I must admit I LOVED having them! When we arrived at our location, Jimmy and I stayed back while Krista showed Mom, Dad, and Rob where to stand. I could hear the music I had chosen for our set up, from Tangled, “I See the Light.” Jimmy looked up at me and said, “Dance, Mommy?” He and I had our own little private twirl around, which helped me to smile more than tear up about this most magical moment.
FB_IMG_1489146651746 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

And just like that, we were off…my little Jimmy was walking me down the aisle to remarry his Daddy, with “When You Wish Upon a Star” playing. We walked about halfway down the path, where my Dad met us and passed Jimmy the ring pillow. He walked the rest of the way down to meet Rev. Tim and Rob, then my Dad walked me down the aisle for the 2nd time.
FB_IMG_1489146656691 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

The only thing I felt bad about and didn’t really notice until afterward when I saw our pictures is there isn’t any seating provided for a Memories Collection vow renewal. This wasn’t a problem because the ceremony is short and no one minded standing; however, there isn’t really a place indicated where guests should stand, so my Mom and Dad sort of ended up on either side of us, which looks pretty awkward in some pictures. At the time though, it felt sort of perfect to have them there surrounding us because they have really been a tremendous support to us over the past 10 years of our marriage and even the 5 years before that!
FB_IMG_1489146664798 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Anyway, back to the ceremony—Rev. Tim shared some special readings and blessings, my Mom read a short passage which is actually from the soundtrack to Illuminations (I definitely stole that idea from another DisBride, but it was such a beautiful message and a great way to include my Mom in our celebration). Jimmy was standing in my line of sight just to Rob’s side bouncing around with the pillow and all I could think during this whole ceremony is “I’m going to kill him if he drops those rings!” I had the rings tied onto the ribbon on the pillow, but Rev. Tim had said that would be cumbersome during the ceremony, so he untied the bow, and just put the one side of the ribbon through the middle of the rings and put a straight pin in the end of the ribbon. As I watched Jimmy flopping around AND AT ONE POINT DROPPING THE PILLOW ON THE GROUND all I could think is this vow renewal is going to end with two new rings in the lake and a very cranky lady in white.
FB_IMG_1489146667558 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Thankfully when it was time, Jimmy handed over the pillow and the rings were safely back in our hands and quickly onto our fingers. Then, we had a special surprise for Jimmy. Rev. Tim had suggested including a family blessing at the end of our ceremony, and we LOVED the idea. We had a smaller version of Rob’s ring made and even bought his special Lego box to keep it in…..but Rev. Tim again thought this would be tricky to deal with during the ceremony, so he had us keep the box for later and just kept the smaller ring until the right time during the blessing.
FB_IMG_1489146678061 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Rev. Tim called Jimmy over and asked us to hold his hands making a circle. He said the vows we had said in 2006 were a promise to love one another and today we had renewed that promise of love. Then he asked Jimmy to promise he would do all he can to make sure ours is the best family ever, we made promises to love and take care of each other always and we sealed it with a group hug. Jimmy got his ring and was SO excited!
FB_IMG_1489146683375 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

He has always looked at our wedding pictures and watched our wedding video complaining about how we “didn’t invite him” or “let him come.” So, our hope was to make this vow renewal really special for him by including him in many ways. I think we accomplished our goal!

FB_IMG_1489146686895 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

At the conclusion of our ceremony, we walked back down the long sidewalk aisle to the tune of “Spectromagic.” It was truly magical! I could hardly believe we’d been lucky enough to renew our vows in our most favorite place—but it was real! It had happened! And funny enough, we had a monorail go by and could even hear the train and steam boat whistle, too, during our ceremony—with the sounds of Magic Kingdom so close by, the magic was definitely in the air.
FB_IMG_1489146692682 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Following our ceremony, we had added on an extra hour of photography. I wanted to make sure we got to take some family pictures, pictures with my parents, pictures of Jimmy with Grandma and Grandpa, and most importantly of all, I wanted to find that spot at the Grand Floridian where you can see Cinderella Castle peeking out in the background. In order to have enough time to walk around to some different locations within the resort, we needed the extra hour, and when we got our pictures, I was SO happy we’d done it!
FB_IMG_1489146702367 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

I’ll share some of my favorites here, but let me just say Jamie from Disney Fine Art Photography was just delightful! He fit in with us like one of the family and he really connected with Jimmy. They had each other laughing like crazy and he really captured the spirit of my spunky boy who usually makes the worst phony smile! You may notice Jimmy has a shoe malfunction, too—the cute little black shoes that he started out with were giving him blisters, so we had to ditch them. Good thing I came prepared with his real gym shoes!!!
FB_IMG_1489146705473 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr


When we were taking the pictures by the fountain there were people at the pool who were actually standing at the fence taking pictures of us and waving—I have no idea who they thought we were!! LOL, but it was kind of fun anyway!
FB_IMG_1489147055899 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We spent an hour walking around the resort and getting some pictures, which of course my most favorite were the ones with my balloons and the castle. Before it seemed possible, our time was up and we were wrapping things up at the bottom of the staircase in the lobby around 3:00 p.m.
FB_IMG_1489147061434 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147067987 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147080530 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147083864 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147123853 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147134415 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147143063 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147148840 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147159805 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147166137 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1489147181319 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We had originally planned to head back to Pop via the monorail and bus to drop off the balloons and my bouquet, etc. but we also had a dinner/party plan for 5:30 and were nervous about the time Disney transportation would take. So, we decided to catch a cab back to Pop just in case!

And boy what a party it turned out to be!!

Up next: Yeeeehaw!!

Love & Smooches,

Jackie

 

[balty74]

Your vow renewal pictures are so beautiful! What a wonderful day and memory to have, congratulations!!