A Dream Is A Wish...**Joe and Becky's Trip Report!** WP, CT, Yachtsman

[beckyb29]

Joe and Becky's Fairy Tale Wedding Trip Report!! 11/25/06-12/6/06

The Cast:

Becky 24, Disney Fanatic. I would probably never vacation anywhere else if I had my choice! This will be my 8th trip to the World.

Joe 28. 2nd Trip to Disney World. Becky is trying to get him to see why she is so crazy about this place!

Donna- Becky's Mom. Has been to Disney several times, and even endured a few class field trips in middle/high school with me! Half responsible for my very first trip to Disney in 4th grade.

Kenny- Becky's Dad. The other half responsible for my very first trip to Disney! Has been to Disney several times.

Gina- Kenny's wife, Becky's stepmom. One of the nicest stepmom's anybody can ask for. Has been to Disney once.

Ann and John- aka Nanny and Papa. Love Disney, have been several times.

Justin- 20, Becky's little(or not so little anymore!) brother. Has been to Disney several times

Doris and John- Joe's parents. Have never been to Disney...probably don't know what to think about this whole thing!

Wednesday, Nov 22, 2006

After planning for a year, and a 2 1/2 year engagement, it was finally time to go! Joe and I live in Hickory, NC, which is about 2 hours away from Reidsville NC, where the rest of the family lives. We were heading to Reidsville before leaving for Fl for several reasons...the biggest being the Greensboro airport was much cheaper! So it was Wed morning, and i was scrambling. I had a very late night the day before...dealing with alterations for my dress at the VERY last minute at Davids Bridal. That's another story for another time...the important thing is everything worked out! After finally packing the last of our things, and checking the house 10+ times for anything we may have left behind, we loaded Cleo(our kitty cat-my baby!) into the car and off we went! We had to stop in Greensboro on the way at a place called Lucky's. Lucky's is a pet "resort" where Cleo would be vacationing for about a week. I couldn't leave her in a little cage in a vet's office, so I found this place which gave her more room to run around. I normally am much more careful about where and how I spend my money, but she's worth it! This was the only part I was dreading, but I knew we didn't have any other choice. So we dropped off a very unhappy cat, and headed to the mall where I had my Engagement ring cleaned. The next two days were fairly uneventful. We spent Thanksgiving with our families, and did some final packing. At that point, I wasn't too nervous...I just wanted everyone to get to Florida safely and happily! We leave Saturday morning!!!

Up Next: An empty airport, Finally Arriving, and a great first day!!!

 

[Belle1981]

Becky so far everything sounds great! Keep that TR coming! You both look so happy in that pic! Bring on more info!!!!! Just think a week or so until your first Christmas as a married couple!

 

[beckyb29]

Saturday, November 25, 2006

It's finally here! We can finally go back to my happiest place on earth!! It's time to start the wedding trip!!!! OK, so I was really excited, sorry! I actually was able to sleep some on Friday night, even thought I'm not sure how...lol. So there were 10 of us going down total in 4 seperate "troops" if you want to call it that:

Car #1- My Papa's truck. Riding with him were Nanny, Mom and Justin. This truck had the all important dress, wedding flowers, candles, welcome bags, etc. They left Saturday morning at 6am for the 10-12 hour trip.

Car #2- My Dad and Gina's SUV. They left around 8 am, and decided to stop halfway. They would be arriving Sunday afternoon.

Airplane #1 would have Doris and John on it, flying out of Raleigh around 9am

Aiplane #2 would be me and Joe, flying out of Greensboro at 1130, arriving at 1 PM. I had originally scheduled a flight for 8am, but Delta did some rearranging...oh well, as long as we were going.

I woke up right before 6 am when Car #1 was leaving. After hugging them goodbye and wishing them a safe trip, it was time to get ready. Joe came by to pick me up around 730 or so, and we grabbed some breakfast and headed to the airport.
At this point, I found out Joe had no sleep the night before...but we made it to the airport no problem. We got there pretty early, around 830am but I didn't want to take any chances. Ok, so we were wayyy early. The airport was deserted! Nobody there! We walked straight up to the checkin desk, and straight through security...there was nobody around and no lines! Soo much better than flying out of Raleigh, which is much busier. So we headed to the gate, and watched the clock for awhile. I was getting into Disney mode, meaning I was getting restless. Joe, on the other hand, wasn't lol

So i proceded to walk around the empty terminal while he napped. Finally it was time to board! The flight was pretty good, and we arrived in Orlando before 1pm. We headed straight for the Magical Express check in desk and headed for Pop Century. ME is the greatest...we were at Pop within about an hour of landing in Fl, and didn't have to worry about our bags. As we pulled up, we spotted Joe's parents sitting on a bench waiting for us! They had arrived a few hours earlier, and rented a car. The weather was absolutely beautiful! The sun was shining, and it felt about 85 degrees. I was fianlly back in Florida!

We decided to eat lunch first, and then check in. Lunch was good at the food court-Hot Dogs and Burgers, and we got our refillable mugs. Check in was a pretty long line, but we got a room and headed that way. We were on the 2nd floor in the 50's section, and his parents were a few buildings down on the 4th floor. The rooms were good...we had stayed here before, so we knew what to expect. They're pretty small, but you get what you pay for. I personally really like Pop Century. Well worth it if you spend most of your time in the parks, which we normally do. However, we would only be staying there 2 nights before heading to the Poly!

Once we got situated in our room, we walked over to their room and Joe took a nap. At this point, I was extremely restless. I was finally back at WDW, and here I sit in a room, staring at the wall! But I tried to keep myself in control, even though I probably should have gone and run around the builing a few times! Once he woke up, he challenged his Dad to a game of ping pong by the pool, and Doris and I watched for a little while before going shopping in Everything Pop.

We shopped for awhile, and then told them about Downtown Disney. We hopped on a bus(I love not driving!) and headed for a very very CROWDED Downtown. Somehow it had slipped my mind that this was Saturday night, 2 days after Thanksgiving. Because it was their first trip, I wanted Doris and John to like Disney. Hmmm not exactly the best first impression I wanted John and Doris to have of WDW, but they seemed okay with it. They may have been terrified by the crowds, but they stuck it out!

John and Doris Downtown:

While we were there, we got our Bride and Groom ears at the World of Disney, and John had a very very strong margarita from a stand somewhere at the Marketplace. We walked our way over to West Side, and caught a bus at Pleasure Island back to Pop Century. Everybody was pretty worn out, and we needed some sleep.

Back to the food court for some nachos and pizzas, which were actually really good! We said goodnight, and went our seperate ways. Once back in the room, I set our wakeup call-I could not wait to wake up on my first morning with Mickey and Stitch!
Sorry there weren't many pics...I didn't really fool with the camera until the next day...I promise there will be more!

Up next: EPCOT!

 

[Maggimus]

I am enjoying your TR... keep it coming...

 

[karentan]

loving it so far, please dont keep us waiting for long!!

 

[beckyb29]

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Epcot Day!!!

Ring-ring! Around 630am I got my first wake up call from Stitch and Mickey! Generally I am NOT a morning person, but I was happy to roll over and answer the phone. We slowly pulled ourselves out of bed...the traveling the day before had apparently really taken a toll on us...I can't imagine if we had been driving! But, I know a lot of that was the anticipation and adrenaline more than anything! After getting ready, we headed down to the food court at Pop and met Doris and John, who said they had a good night's sleep. Breakfast was waffles and pancakes, which were really good. In my opinion, the Pop food court is really good. You can't beat the selection, and they are fairly quick all the time. After we ate, the 4 of us got on an Epcot bus. My "I hate mornings" attitude were not a factor during most of this trip!

After going through the bag check, the gates, and the finger scanning, we headed towards Spaceship Earth. Being that this was their first trip, I felt they needed a true taste of what Disney was all about. They pretty much told us to show them the way around the park, and I tried really really hard not to become too much of a tour guide know-it-all! lol. Doris looked a little apprehensive as we walked up the ramp towards the entrance, but I assured her I wouldn't steer her wrong. Once we got back outside, they both really seemed to like it! Yay!!! Relief for me...I really wanted them to have a good time. John seemed to enjoy it so much that he didn't even realize when the cars turned around at the top of the ride! I just kind of thought to myself, "that's Disney for you" but I kept my Disney fanatic thoughts to myself!

We headed over to the Universe of Energy, which I thought would be a good next choice.

We got there just in time! We walked in right as the preshow was starting! The ride was great, of course.

After we walked out, my cell phone was ringing. It was Justin, my brother. He, my mom, Nanny, and Papa were around the corner walking out of Spacship Earth! I didn't even know if they were going to be in Epcot or not, so it was a nice surprise! We all met up at Ellen and decided to spend some time together. Lucky for me, everyone in my family and his family gets along really well. I was a little nervous about so many people together for some reason, but I think the pre-wedding jitters were getting to me, even if I wouldn't admit it! We decided to go to Test Track to check the wait times-about 60 mins so we all got fastpasses and agreed to come back. There is nothing better than a fastpass, especially when you have 8 people trying to decide what to do!

Everyone agreed it was lunch time, and I suggested the Electric Umbrella where we all pretty much had cheeseburgers. They were decent enough. As we were walking along, everyone was taking it easy, talking, and trying to decide where to go next. I, of course, was still in my selfish-and-have-way-too-much-energy-to-stand-around-and-be-still-because-I-just-got-to-Disney-mood! So I mentioned to my Mom that I had been in Epcot for several hours, and still had not been over to see Figment, and that I was going to go crazy if we couldn't go to Imagination soon. Let me explain-on my first trip to Disney in 4th grade, I became instantly obsessed with Figment. He is my ABSOLUTE favorite, and although I'm not crazy about the ride that is there now, I am SO happy he is back. So off we go to Imagination. Last year on our trip, I dragged Joe back and forth to see if the "real" figment was around. He never was, and the cast members weren't too sure when or if he would be around. I made it my goal this year to meet him. So, as we get closer to the pavillion....what do i see??? Yep..it was him! I broke away from the group, and ran over. How did I think I was going to get a picture without the camera?(which Joe was carrying). So I slowed down a little bit...and quickly walked. There really was no line, and we walked right up.

It made my day! Okay, enough about Figment!

We all decided to watch Honey, I Shrunk the Audience while we were there. It was a hilarious show, as always. I love to see the reactions of people who have never seen it before and dont' know what to expect. We also rode the Imagination ride while we were on that side.

My grandparents ran into a few friendly bears while we were there(i'm not sure who the lady on the right is...I need to crop it, but I have so many pics to deal with!)

Next was test track
Justin and Joe waiting for everybody to go and get in line:

Last year when we rode, the ride was broken (of course) and none of the "testing" really worked right. This time, fortunatly, it went smoothly, and everybody loved it! We were in 2 cars..my family in one and him and his family in another. It's a good time when it works right!

We left Test Track after checking out the "showroom" of GM cars, and we slowly ventured over towards the Land. Joe and I shared a Mickey bar on the way. I was so happy...I was in Epcot, walking hand in hand with my fiance, who I was marrying in 2 days. In the back of my mind, I was going a little crazy, but I thought I was handling things pretty well, considering what was going on. At some point, my Dad gave me a call to say they had arrived at their condo in Orlando! Yay!!! Everybody is here!!!

Joe and John, making their way around Epcot:

A tired group of people who wouldn't want this posted on here! lol

I had convinced everyone, including a few skepticals in our group, that we HAD to ride Soarin. No if's, and's or but's about it, we all were going to ride it. I knew it was probably a mistake not running and getting fastpasses in the AM, but we were pretty much going at a leisurly pace all day. So the standby wait was 60 mins. The fastpass return was around 730 or so. We knew we'd be in the World Showcase by then, so we had a dilemma on our hands. Do we wait and ride, or do we go somewhere else? I let them decide. Somehow a decision was made to wait the 60 mins and ride. I told everyone they wouldn't be sorry, and I got a lot of "yeah, right, Becky" looks. So we stood in line. And we stood in line. And we stood in line some more! It was a long wait, but with that many people, there was alway something to talk about. At one point, Papa joked around with me and told me he better like it "or else!" Oh boy...these people are going to get me good if they don't like it. We finally get up to the front, and get lined up....we are in the front row, so we would be at the very top! We took our seats, and we were transformed into hangliders in California. I tried to keep my ears open for comments, but I was having too much fun. After we got back on the ground, Papa came over to me and gave me a huge hug and bascially told me "thank you for making us ride that, it was the best!" Everyone else agreed! Good, I can breathe again knowing that they all liked it.

Epcot Report to be continued....

 

[lindajoan]

Great report! I'm glad you were having so much fun!!

 

[StephSFL]

Fabulous trip report! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[JackieSparrow]

sounds like a great time so far!

 

[Maggimus]

I LOVE reading your report!! I think it brings back memories of when I was at Disney... doing the same thing you did. Aww I too had to convince my parents that the wait for Soarin' was worth it... and like you, it was great satisfaction to hear that they liked it. I cannot wait to hear more.. Keep going....

 

[DIsNeYSweEtHrTs]

Great TR!!! I can totally relate to the giddy-im-in-Disney feeling!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[TwistofLemon]

Becky my dear, you were right....I really appreciate you posting that "tired group" pic...

It was a fantastic day! Despite the way we looked, I can't remember EVER having so much fun in one day!

Keep up with the details Beck!

Love ya!
Mom

 

[beckyb29]

Thanks for reading everybody!!! Sorry it's taken me a few days...with work and Christmas around the corner, I've been kind of short on time(not to mention I'm still sorting through 1000+ pics from everybody's camera's!)

EPCOT Continued....

After Soarin, we were all getting pretty hungry. I had originally tried to get us reservations at the Biergarten Restaurant, but I waited to long, so we agreed to eat at Sommerfest, right outside the Biergarten. My grandmother is German, so this was a no-brainer. To get there, we started out in Mexico and headed in that direction, stoppin in Mexico, Norway, and China to do some window shopping

Joe and Justin having a great time and cracking everybody up:

I was getting worn out, so Justin and I found a rail with a good view!

Once we got to Germany, everybody was more than happy to get some Bratwurst, sauerkraut, and pretzels. We took a break, and sat around and talked about how much fun everybody was having. I was starting to get anxious at this point. Tomorrow night at this time we would be going to our rehersal dinner the day before my wedding! I tried to act cool, calm, and collected, so that I could enjoy the rest of the night at Epcot. It worked pretty well, but I was always thinking to myself "oh my gosh, I'm getting married in 2 days!"

Once we did some shopping in Germany, we headed around to Italy. Italy was soo pretty at night. I wanted to find a restroom, so I told everyone I would be right back. Everyone in the group was standing in Italy watching what was about to be a perfomance by the World Showcase Players. On my walk back, I saw everybody in our families doubled over in laughter, holding their stomachs as if they were watching the funniest show EVER! I thought to myself, maybe I should have waited if it was that good. Once I joined back up with them, I realized what all the commotion was about. John had been picked by the World Showcase Players to be "Romeo" in a skit they were doing. John is a little bit on the shy side...lol. It was absolutely hilarious!

Once it was over, there was a huge crowd applauding for him! We laughed until we cried! He was positive that one of us had set him up, but of course we didn't!

On to America to see the American Adventure show. However, we never actually made it. The Candlelight Processional was about to start and they were flagging people in, trying to fill up the last empty seats. They said the show would start in 5 minutes. I told everybody all of the good things I had heard about it, so we decided to try it out. No waiting or anything, and we actually had decent seats. They were towards the back, but they had a good view. The show was really really good....I would definitely recommend it!

After the show, we we walked along (slowly, stopping to shop and look around ocassionally) until we ended up in France, where Papa treated us to whatever we wanted from the pastry shop! YUMMMMMMY!!! Everybody had something different...cream puffs, coffee's, and of course...cheesecake!! My favorite! Everything was so good!

By this point, Illuminations would be starting soon, so I suggested we go and find a spot. I can't remember what country we ended up in, but the show was great, as usual! On the way out, we talked about what was going to be happening the next day. Finally it was decided that I would check into the Poly(I needed some time alone to try and pull my nerves together!) and Justin and Joe would go to Universal for an afternoon of riding roller coasters, which they were both itching for! We would all meet up (including my Dad and Gina, who I hadn't seen yet since they arrived) at Ohana's for the rehersal dinner!

We went our seperate ways, and the four of us headed back to Pop Century. It had been such a fun day, but we were defintely ready for bed! Once we got back to our room, we did some packing since we would be checking out the next morning to go to the Polynesian!!!

Next report: Checking into the Poly, and our Rehersal Dinner at Ohana's!!!

 

[Maggimus]

yay Becky!! I cant wait to hear more!! Especially about O'hanas... we had such a great experience there... I hope you did as well (Im still craving that bread pudding we ate... if only i could make some like that!). Keep up the report- you are doing awesome!!

 

[Tinkerbell's Mom]

Congrats Becky, I'm loving the story so far and am subscribing so I don't miss anything!

 

[DisneyObsession]

OK...I started this TR and want more!!! How much fun you are having and it's only been the first day!!!

Can't wait to hear about the rehearsal dinner and wedding itself! I'm sure you were a beautiful bride!!!

 

[Gradar1]

Ooo, I am loving this! It's nice to know that somebody else has that antsy, can't stand still, I'm at Disney feeling! I can't wait for more!

 

[beckyb29]

Sorry to keep you guys waiting! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Monday, November 27, 2006

One more day to the wedding!!!

I wake up to Mickey and Stitch, and get up pretty easily. Today we were moving to the Poly! Neither of us had ever stayed there before. However, we had gone to Ohana's the year before, and fell in love with the place. So I was really excited!

Plus, today was my day to myself(mostly). Not that I wasn't loving speding time with everyone, I just felt my nerves needed a break, a few quiet hours to try and sort out what was about to happen!

We met John and Doris at their rental car, and packed our bags into it. They were nice enough to agree to take them over to the Poly later so that we wouldn't have to worry about Disney transporting them. We had breakfast in the food court, and then we split up. Joe was riding with his parents over to my family's condo to pick up my brother before going to Universal. He and Justin spent most of the day there, while his parents did some exploring around Orlando. I contemplated my options, and decided to head over to the Poly via the Magic Kingdom bus from Pop and then the monorail. Yay! Back on the monorail!

Getting to the Poly was took a little while, but I didn't really mind. I was so excited to be checking in! I went up to the desk, and the lady checking me in was extremely nice. She asked if we were celebrating anything special, so I told her we were getting married the next day. She seemed really happy for me, and the other people at the check in counter were genuinly as excited. I had booked a Magic Kingdom view(yep, I decided to splurge since it was our honeymoon) but I made sure to ask her if we could have a room with a balcony. (I have a thing about being on the bottom floor-dont' know why really, just a thing.) Her manager came over and told me she would see what was available. Once she went away, I received our "just married" buttons which were really cute, and got our leis. Once the manager came back, she showed me on the map where the room would be. Tahiti, 3rd floor. Being that I didn't know much about the resort, I didnt' know what to expect. Well, she gave me directions and I started walking. And walking. And walking some more! It seemed like I would never get there, but the scenery around the resort was beautiful! So I finally find the building...it is the last one on the grounds, right beside the TTC. I get to our room, and it's a corner room! It was beyond perfect, and the view was fantastic! The room had 2 queen beds, a couch, a chair, a flat screen TV, double sinks, and so much room. It was one of the newly renovated rooms-I was soo happy!

The flat screen TV(which at the time I took this pic one of my fav shows was on-Full House!)

I have lots of views from the balcony...they'll be in a later post.

Even though I knew what most of it would say, I went through all of the newsletter type things in the envelope from check-in while I sat on the balcony. It was right beside the TTC, and I fell in love watching the ferry's go back and forth to the MK!

After I was relaxed, I headed to DTD where I caught a boat to SSR. I had an appt for a manicure there. There was nothing wrong with it, but I didnt' see it as anything special. The technicians were not "un-friendly" but they weren't over-enthusiastic about their jobs, either. They were just kind of there. And the pricing was a little outrageous. The best part was the convenience...I didn't have to worry about going off-site. Would I go back there? Probably not, just not my cup of tea. She did an okay job, espcially since I ruin my nails at work on a daily basis.

So I finally get back to the Poly, and it's starting to get later on in the day. Everybody was coming to my room to meet, so I hung out on the balcony for a little bit longer, until they started showing up. First to arrive were my Mom, Grandparents, and brother. They had all of the wedding day essentials(my dress, candles, viel, flowers for the alter table, etc) and my rehersal dinner clothes. At some point Joe and his parents showed up, followed by my Dad and Gina. Joe and Justin had a GREAT time at Universal. All they talked about was "The Hulk"..all night long! Dad and Gina had spent the day at Sea World, and really enjoyed it as well. As I was getting ready, they all entertained themselves while watching Wishes from the balcony. Our reservations were at 7:30, so around 7 we all headed downstairs.

To be continued....

Up next:

Mom completely embarasses me and Joe, shrimp sauce down the back, and limbo!!!

 

[Maggimus]

Yay Becky!! I cant wait to hear more. I seriously have goosebumps. I remember those times... and O'hana... wow- their bread pudding is amazing! I cant wait to hear about your big day!!

 

[Maggimus]

Oh yeah... and that second photo must have been taken after the wedding.... or... that bag looks so familiar !