1st Trip (of many!) as Mr. & Mrs.--the TR-- UPDATE 9/9: Life Update--We're Moving!!

[xoktenox]

YAY! I'm glad you made it back! I'm so excited to read about your trip! We went with TourGuide Mike's suggestions, and I'm SO happy with the results! The crowds were minimal. Haha--yep. We liked Stitch! But there are tons of attractions that we don't like that others do...I guess we just have a funny sense of humor/likes. The Sea Raycers were great. They weren't fast--so you'll be disappointed if you think they're like wave runners, but they're a good break. I don't have my binder with me, but I'm pretty sure it was around $35 for 30 minutes. So not bad at all! Plus, you get 15% off with DVC (even if you're renting). And just for the record, I don't have a problem sharing any money stuff--we got great deals, and I love passing them on! YES! Kidani is so pretty and peaceful. haha--I'm just a picture freak!

I always wanted to try TGM but we've been really good with crowds so far and haven't needed it! But it worked so well for you guys! The Sea Raycers sound like a lot of fun! I didn't realize they were so cheap, $35 minus the discount is great! I'm glad you don't mind sharing the money stuff, neither do I. If I can get a good deal, I want others to get it too! I tell everyone whose going to WDW about renting DVC pts because it's such a great deal! I'm already talking about renting them again if we go nexy year LOL

 

[Queila]

Signing up. Love your story. And your pictures. you guys are so cute.

Q

 

[jenjolt]

What a great MK day Staci!!! YES more converts for my beloved HM!!!! Oh what a great way to start my morning looking at pictures of my future home!!!! I'm thinking of writing a letter and seeing if they will let me renew my vows for our 10 year (only 2.5 years away....where did time go) in the stretching room LOL!!!!!! You never know if you don't ask!!!

Glad you guys had such a fantastic time!!!!

 

[Dancegrl624]

What a great MK day Staci!!! YES more converts for my beloved HM!!!! Oh what a great way to start my morning looking at pictures of my future home!!!! I'm thinking of writing a letter and seeing if they will let me renew my vows for our 10 year (only 2.5 years away....where did time go) in the stretching room LOL!!!!!! You never know if you don't ask!!!

Glad you guys had such a fantastic time!!!!

Our 10 year anniversary is in about 2 1/2 years too!!! However, we'll be going to Hawaii (if I get my way). I would love to go to WDW, but I just couldn't bear going without Madison!

Sorry to hijack Staci!

 

[stacikristine]

You always have such amazing super posts when you update!! I love it!! Unfortunately I don't have much time to write a full reply! But I loved it. I loved your description of everything and your pics look professional! I just love it!! Can't wait for more!

Thanks Kimmy! I wish I could update more often...but you know it's been SO crazy lately! Aw--thanks!

I always wanted to try TGM but we've been really good with crowds so far and haven't needed it! But it worked so well for you guys! The Sea Raycers sound like a lot of fun! I didn't realize they were so cheap, $35 minus the discount is great! I'm glad you don't mind sharing the money stuff, neither do I. If I can get a good deal, I want others to get it too! I tell everyone whose going to WDW about renting DVC pts because it's such a great deal! I'm already talking about renting them again if we go next year LOL

He's awesome! He gives so many tips, and just the crowd charts alone are worth the price! I absolutely loved it. I'm planning on using him for every trip from now on Yeah, we were expecting them to be super expensive, but we were shocked that they were just a little over $1 a minute! I'm glad you don't mind either--I just feel like we're all going to Disney, and we all know it costs a lot, so we might as well help each other save a little! I tell everyone about DVC too--and I've already helped my aunt rent and some other people--It's the best kept secret!

Signing up. Love your story. And your pictures. you guys are so cute.

Q

Hi Queila! Thank you so much for reading! Thank you--we have a lot of fun together!

What a great MK day Staci!!! YES more converts for my beloved HM!!!! Oh what a great way to start my morning looking at pictures of my future home!!!! I'm thinking of writing a letter and seeing if they will let me renew my vows for our 10 year (only 2.5 years away....where did time go) in the stretching room LOL!!!!!! You never know if you don't ask!!!

Glad you guys had such a fantastic time!!!!

Hi Jen!! It was a SUPER MK day!!! Haha--I thought about you while we were riding it! I knew you'd be proud you'd converted us! That would be INCREDIBLE! You're right--it couldn't hurt to ask. And, it's Disney--they're all about making people's memories magical! You'll have to let me know if it works out!!

Our 10 year anniversary is in about 2 1/2 years too!!! However, we'll be going to Hawaii (if I get my way). I would love to go to WDW, but I just couldn't bear going without Madison!

Sorry to hijack Staci!

No worries, Meghan! Hijack away!! And Hawaii sounds WONDERFUL!

 

[stacikristine]

I'm SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO sorry for neglecting my TR like I have!!!



Honestly--I didn't intentionally do so. Like has been super busy with Christmas parties and shopping and our anniversary and everything. And I usually write updates at work, and I can't even describe how busy things have been here. I'm working on a huge redesign that launches in January. We've been working non-stop on it. And the two days that I wasn't busy at work I was a home sick. So it's been nuts.


But I have thought about all of you often! And I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas season. I've missed you all!


I'll have the rest of Day 4 by the end of today. Sorry it's taken me so long!



--Staci

 

[LilAnn]

no worries! This is such a busy time of year for everyone. I feel like I've barely had time to check my email let alone log onto the disboards as much as I'd like. I will be excited to read your next entry since my DH and I are debating a spring trip since we got a PIN code. We weren't planning on going back so soon (financially) but it's hard to resist the special offers.....hope you are feeling better and enjoying the holidays!

 

[stacikristine]

no worries! This is such a busy time of year for everyone. I feel like I've barely had time to check my email let alone log onto the disboards as much as I'd like. I will be excited to read your next entry since my DH and I are debating a spring trip since we got a PIN code. We weren't planning on going back so soon (financially) but it's hard to resist the special offers.....hope you are feeling better and enjoying the holidays!

Thank you! I'm feeling much better. It's been busy, but wonderful! I have my update ready, and I'll post it right now. HOW EXCITING!!! That's wonderful that you got a PIN code! Let me know if you plan on going back!

 

[stacikristine]

When I last left you (a million and a half years ago—SO SORRY! ), we had just finished visiting Kidani Village after we rode Sea Raycers. It had been a wonderful morning/afternoon, and now we were getting ready for our evening meal.



Our reservation was for 5:00 at one of the resort restaurants. We’d seen a Photopass guy in the AKL lobby every night, and we decided that we wanted to get our picture taken with him before dinner. We were in the lobby at 4:25, and we were the first in line! (If any of you are wondering, I think they start taking pictures at 4:30 nightly…they don’t take them at all of the resorts, but he listed quite a few where they do)

This one is my favorite:

We were really happy with them! After we took our pictures, it was time to catch a bus to one of the parks so that we could get on transportation to our dinner resort. Well, we decided that it would be best if we could go to Epcot instead of the Magic Kingdom since it was always a shorter drive. Then we could hop on the monorail and change to the resort monorail at the TTC. So we hopped on the Epcot bus at 4:38, and arrived at Epcot at 4:50.


And I’m sure you all know where this is going…




We forgot that you have to go through bag check to get on the monorail!! It was JAM PACKED with people who were going to Epcot for the night. I knew then and there that we would be late to dinner. I kindly asked one of the security guards if we could just go to the monorail, but of course, that was a no go. So we suffered through the looooooooong line, and finally made our way to the monorail.



We changed to the resort monorail at the TTC, and finally arrived at the Poly at 5:15—For our 5:00 reservation!



I was worried that this would really mess things up (since you’re supposed to check in 15 minutes EARLY. Not LATE), but we made our way to the check-in desk, and they didn’t even say anything! Thank goodness for nice Disney Cast Members!


I’ve already told you that this was by far our favorite meal of the trip…so now it’s timeto tell you where we ate:














Kona Café!!

They said that we’d be seated in around 15-30 minutes, but we barely had time to go order one of these babies from the bar:

My Lapu-Lapu! As many of you know, I was super excited to try this! I’m not a big fan of alcohol (I just don’t like the flavor), but I love pineapples, and the presentation is just gorgeous. We ordered it, paid (and tipped!) and then our buzzer went off. It was time for our meal!



Some of you might remember that we were trying to get ressies for ‘Ohana that night, but the only thing they had was a 9:00. There is NO WAY our tummies could handle that. So I booked a ressie at Kona instead. Once we looked over the menu (online) we decided to go ahead and keep our ressie here instead of trying to switch. I’m so glad, because this meal was fantastic!




At first, they sat us at a huge table (I think it seated 8) instead of one of the little two-person tables that were free all over the restaurant. We took some pictures:

And then our waiter came. He was SUPER nice, and joked about Aunt Bertha coming to join us at our huge table. Since there was no Aunt Bertha, he switched us to a smaller table.



It was so beautiful in there! The decorations weren’t anything out of this world, but the view was amazing, and it was done very tastefully. It was really calm, too.

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[stacikristine]

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Before long, he brought us some of this:

Macadamia Nut Honey Butter and Bread!!! It was fantastic. The butter was unlike anything I’ve tasted before. I could really go for some right now!


He also offered to take another picture for us

After asking for some recommendations, we ended up ordering the following:

Michael ordered the Teriyaki Steak, broccoli, and mashed potatoes.

I ordered the Coconut Almond Chicken with light citrus glaze, Broccoli, and Rice.

Oh. My. Word.

This was HEAVENLY!!! I could go on and on and on and on (and Michael could too) about how great our meals were. It was just fantastic. The portions were so huge that neither of us finished it, but we ate as much as we could without being completely stuffed. Oh, gosh, it was good!


Oh—I almost forgot to tell you about the Lapu-Lapu! Honestly, I couldn’t handle it. The Vodka was way, way to strong for me. Michael liked it, but he even said it was a little strong for him. I tried to take a sip every once in a while, but I couldn’t drink much at a time. Our waiter saw that I wasn’t drinking much, and he asked if I’d like some pineapple juice to mix in with it. See how great he was?! I mixed almost the whole glass in, and it was still too strong for me. Oh well—it made for some pretty pictures!

Even though we’d just eaten a ton, we ordered desserts. Michael got the Chocolate Tourte (and loved every bite of it!)

And I ordered the Chocolate Fondue with Fruit and Macaroons.

SO good!!! We both loved every single bite of our meal!



We said goodbye to our fabulous waiter (and Lilo and Stitch) and went to check out the Polynesian.

As we walked through the gorgeous lobby, I thought about AG Princess and her family since this is their all-time favorite resort. I can definitely see why!

How gorgeous!


We loved this guy on the ceiling:

And then we saw HIM

Michael needed a picture

And then I needed a picture

And then a man saw us, laughed, and asked if we both wanted in. Thank you!

I love being silly with my husband!




After we explored the lobby, it was time to head outside to catch the ferry to the Magic Kingdom. WOW. The outside is even more wonderful than the inside!

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[stacikristine]

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The sun was setting, and it was just perfect.

This is one of my favorites:

Before long, our ferry arrived, and we pulled away from the dock.

What an incredible boat ride! We loved the peacefulness of it all. And the sun setting was a very good bonus.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 6:45, completely satisfied. We’d had a wonderful dinner, followed by a wonderful boat ride. We were ready for a relaxing night at the MK.



Main Street was gorgeous with the setting sun turning everything gold

I had to get a picture with Roy and Minnie before we headed to our first attraction. I just love how he worked so hard to make his brother’s dreams come true.

Once again, we walked towards one of the most beautiful icons in America:

And, of course, we had to take some more Photopass pictures

I like that last one a lot. I love how you can see Walt and Mickey holding hands.



I think this might be one of my favorite pictures that I’ve ever taken of the Castle. The sun setting is gorgeous, and I love how Walt and Mickey are welcoming everyone to come and experience the magic.

Aaahhh…. That’s what Disney is about!




We decided that we wanted to try to visit Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor

But it was closed. So we went over to use our FPs at Buzz.

Michael beat me, yet again!

We had a lot of fun!

When we were leaving, Zurg captured me!

But my hubby came to the rescue!

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[stacikristine]

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After Michael saved me from Zurg, we decided it was time for another first: The Tomorrowland Transit Authority!

We had our cameras out, and this guy was hilarious! He joked with us about taking pictures, so we had to snap one of him.

What a nice, relaxing ride. I see why your family loves it, Tink!

I loved the different views. The sunset was gorgeous, and it was such a unique angle.

After that, it was time to use our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad FPs

It was so neat riding it in the dark! (I can’t remember which one of you told me that I had to try it, but thank you!!)

We tried to take a ride on the Railroad, but it was already closed for the night.



So we wandered over to Fantasyland to see what the wait was for Dumbo. Neither of us had ever ridden it, and we knew that if we were going to, it would need to be while most people were waiting for Wishes to start.

It was only a 10 minute wait!

In practically no time, it was time to board our flying elephant

The view was incredible!

What a fun ride—we both loved it!

While we were riding, Wishes started. Talk about Magic. It was so neat to be riding up there and listening to Wishes.

As we exited our elephant, Tink flew from the Castle!

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[stacikristine]

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We stood and watched the fireworks for a little while (they’re actually behind Fantasyland—far off—instead of in-between Fantasyland and the Castle. The only ones right by the castle ar the ones that shoot in an arch from the sides). They were beautiful.

After we watched for a while, we made a mad dash back to the entrance. We went around and through Tomorrowland, took the back way to Main Street, and then walked down the cleared-off sidewalk to the entrance. Right as we reached the train station, the fireworks were over. Whew! We made it!!



We walked to the bus station, and there was a bus waiting for us. We loaded at 8:18, and pulled into AKL at 8:32.




When we got back to AKL, we decided to shop around for some gifts for our family and a few friends. We found some really neat things (sorry—I forgot to take pictures!) We found some hand-carved little animal figurines, and things like that. Happy with our purchases, we headed back to our room to relax.


I called my parents, and Michael worked on the videos a little bit. He wanted to rename all of the clips so that they’d be easier to turn into a big video once we got home. Oh—and I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but he made a FANTASTIC video of all of our Disney video! There are chapter markers for each of the different things, and different opening titles for each of the days. We’ve watched it all the way through together, and we’ve shown my parents different clips. I absolutely LOVE having it! My husband is so talented!!



Anyway, we relaxed for a while, and then went to sleep by 10:45. This was what I thought about as I went to sleep:

Another perfect day of our Disney Vacation!











Up Next:

Keys to the Kingdom Tour!!






And I’m going to try to get an update of this fall/winter for all of you. Or I might just do a re-cap of this entire past year in January.



Thank you so much for reading along! You all are so special to me. I hope you have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

[Jillisa]

You guys are seriously the cutest couple! I love reading your trip report, I can tell how much fun you had and that you enjoyed everything, all the little things included.
I can't wait to hear the rest.

 

[hkrox]

I'm so excited to see another update from you. I totally missed reading about you guys. I had no clue you had to go through bag check to go on the monorail. I don't remember ever having to do that but I've just been totally out of it for the past couple days so I probably just forgot about it. It must have been so magical to be on Dumbo as Wishes was going on. Like Dumbo is such a fun little ride and it totally describes Disney so it must have been awesome to do that.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[khertz]

Fabulous update!! I was missing reading yours. You & Michael are just too dang cute together!!

On our honeymoon, we watched Wishes from Fantasyland, and it's different not seeing it the way it's intended from in front of the castle, but great nonetheless.

Your pictures of the Poly are great!! Now I wish we had stopped at that resort to check it out. But I had seen people's pictures from the photopass photo sessions and didn't think it looked all that spectacular. They must do those photo sessions at a not so great spot.

As always, looking forward to the next update.

 

[cdotla]

Well I for one forgive you...that update was thoroughly worth the wait!

You really captured in both your photos and emotions the essence of so many of my favourites at the Poly and MK in this post - what a truly enjoyable read!

What a fantastic end to your day. I am so glad you loved Kona (you *must* try it for breakfast next time -it is my favourite breakfast spot in all of WDW!)

BTW - were the photos you got taken at the Poly part of the phoot shoot package that you pay for, or were these just some spontaneous regular photopass shots?

You got so many great shots of the 2 of you that nite! And my favourite (like you) is the b&w one that it looks like you took yourselves on the dock of the Poly.

Can't wait for more!

PS - I certainly hope that you will consider sharing the video your DH made at the end of your trip report. I would absolutely love to see it!

 

[BippityBoo]

LOVE IT!! Kona looks amazing. The food looked so delish! Especially the butter. How unique!? MK at night is really amazing. We have only been on Main Street at night, so I am dying to ride rides and walk around at night. Your pics captured how great it is I would love for my DH to get more into making camera CDs like yours! His Dad made us one of our last trip and we watch it all the time. I am going to tell him that your DH does it so maybe it will make him want to. Cant wait to hear about your TOUR!

 

[jenny105]

I had a Lapu Lapu when we went to Ohana! Everybody was toasting and I had to use both hands to hold that sucker up! I thought it was really good. I thought it was rum though, not vodka? I don't remember!

I looooove BTMRR at night. So much fun! Maybe I was the one who told you to go on it at night! It's a different experience at night. Joe and I always make sure we ride it once during the day and again at night.

Awesome end to the day!

 

[pinkpixie0920]

Your dinner/MK evening looked wonderful! Kona looks amazing! I'm sorry you didn't like your Lapu Lapu. I wanted one so badly but I got sick while we were there and had to take an antibiotic. I follow all rules while on antibiotics so no alcohol for me all trip! I can't wait to hear about the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New Years!!!!