A Rainbow at Every Turn: A Honeymoon TR

[hgbluesparkles]

Hi and welcome! Now that I'm done with my honeymoon and wedding what a better way to re-live it all then to post a trip report!

The who:

Me (Heather), a thrill seeking, vacation loving, new wife. I hadn't been to Disney since 1996 at the 25 year anniversary although I had gone a few times prior to that. I have a disability which about a year ago made me leave my job so things in my life, aside from my wedding, were kind of a down note which made me super excited for a magical vacation. My disability did mean that I had to be confined to a wheelchair for most of the trip but for someone who doesn't get out much anymore, I felt more mobile at Disney than I have in the last year.

Hubby (Mark), recovering ride weenie, vacation loving, completely devoted to the Red Sox (as you will see from photos), wheelchair pushing husband. He last went to Disney over 15 years ago but didn't like it much since he was a ride weenie even when it came to the most innocuous rides. That being said, like me, he was ready for a little fun and magic in his life and thought Disney might be the perfect solution.

The What: Our fabulous honeymoon-- we got married on March 14!

The Where: First day, Pop Century, the rest of the week Port Orleans-Riverside

The When: March 19-March 27

Like most of you I'm a total picture fanatic. I will try to include a few pictures per post as looking at photos is definitely my personal favorite part of TRs. Also, we are major food fanatics (you could probably tell by our waistlines) so I have also started a separate dining review report which will be in my siggy.

The rundown:
We're going to Disney World... and getting married!
A present from some special mice
Drinking Showcase... uh, I mean World Showcase!
A rhino attacks!
Ride weenie conquers his fear and takes out a child in the process.

 

[KennedyMcKenna]

This is perfect timing, I'm planning for our honeymoon trip in late Sept/Oct, I'm tuned in and ready!!!!

 

[hgbluesparkles]

For months after getting engaged, Mark and I contemplated where to go. Disney World was not even on our radar. At first we thought about doing the typical thing and going to a Jamaican Sandals resort but after I lost my job, the financial commitment that it required seemed a little steep. We continued pondering other all inclusives in tropical locations before my mother offered me a week at her timeshare. Not a whole lot was available in warm locales except for Florida. So still stuck on the whole tropical island thing we decided we'd spend some time in Orlando and then take a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas. I started looking at Disney World and was AMAZED at all the stuff to do. Suddenly it became apparent that three days at Disney was not going to cut it. With the 4/3 deal it made a lot more sense to do Disney the whole week and go on the cruise another time.

Now all I had to do is convince ride weenie, Disney-dissing fiance that this was a fabulous idea. Well he's not really Disney dissing, but he worried that Disney would be "little kiddish". Add to that the fact that even after 15 years, his family was still teasing him about his last trip to Disney and his refusal to go on rides, I had a rough road ahead of me. Slowly though even he came to realize how much there was to Disney and just before Christmas, we booked our trip!

Flash forward three months... March 14, the Big Day!

There is dancing...

There's cake...

There's the big puffy dress that could fit 8 people under it...

But we just can't wait to get to Disney World! Unfortunately hubby had to work a few days so our excitement had to be put on hold for four days.

But finally on Thursday, we're off! Actually I guess it sort of began on Wednesday night when we headed up to Mark's parents house in northeastern Massachusetts. We live in Western Massachusetts so Bradley Airport in Connecticut is actually much closer to us than Logan or Manchester but I found a great deal flying out of Manchester on Southwest that saved me over $350 as opposed to flying out of Harford. Mark's family lives right on the New Hampshire border so they're only thirty-forty minutes or so from Manchester. We slept over there and had plenty of time to catch our 1:20 PM flight.

The flight was pretty uneventful other than me getting airsick a few times. When we landed we had to go to baggage claim to get our luggage as the luggage tags never arrived. This was not an easy task as we were in some far flung terminal and had to take the monorail and then walk across the airport to find it and then had to walk back the other way to find DME. The signage for the service definitely needs to be improved because I noticed several other people aside from us who were lost. When we finally got to DME there was huge groups of teenagers from various sports teams waiting to get on as well. We were on a bus with an entire cheerleading squad and we both prayed that our room would not be next door to them.

As soon as we pulled out of the airport we noticed a rainbow! This was thrilling to me since on our wedding day several people told me they saw a rainbow near our ceremony site despite the fact that there had been no rain and we should take it as a sign of good luck. Now our honeymoon would have good luck too!

Next, we arrive at our hotel and find someone has left a surprise....

 

[hgbluesparkles]

This is perfect timing, I'm planning for our honeymoon trip in late Sept/Oct, I'm tuned in and ready!!!!

Welcome! You will have a great time!

 

[torsie24]

Yay! I can't wait to hear all about your honeymoon!!!!

 

[babytrees]

I'm in over here too!!

 

[Disneychix]

Your wedding pics are beautiful! Congrat's! Can't wait for more...

 

[hgbluesparkles]

Yay! I can't wait to hear all about your honeymoon!!!!

I'm in over here too!!

Your wedding pics are beautiful! Congrat's! Can't wait for more...

Welcome!

 

[bob6sims]

Congratulations to you both

Looking forward to reading more

 

[hgbluesparkles]

We pulled into Pop Century about 2 hours after arriving at the airport...

It took us another 20 minutes to check in and haul our bags over to the '50s section. We were in Building 1 near the bowling pin pool. I wanted a king bed but they put us in a room with two doubles, no harm done, we could snuggle up for one night. We were famished so we immediately headed down to Everything Pop. We were in the mood for something comforting and ordinary so Mark got a cheeseburger and I got the chicken tenders. We split a chocolate cupcake with white vanilla frosting.

When we returned to the room a special surprise was waiting on our bed-- a signed photo of Mickey and Minnie wishing us congratulations with a special Photopass giving us 20% off attached! After all our DME adventures we were too tired to do anything else and conked out right away.

Tomorrow it's off to POR!

 

[hgbluesparkles]

We woke up and got ready just in time for checkout. We decided the path of least resistance would be to take the bus from Pop to Downtown Disney to Port Orleans- Riverside.

Check in was a breeze but rather long since I didn't know I could have gone in a separate express check in line for people who checked in online. I was very pleased to hear we had a room in Parterre Place in the Magnolia Bend section. My initial thoughts from the map were that we were directly over the second of the three bridges over the Sassagoula but actually Parterre Place (and all the mansions) are quite long and we had an additional walk to very last building in all of Riverside before heading over to the FQ section. The view was great and we felt somewhat secluded but as someone with limited mobility it was quite the arduous walk to the bus stop.

Our room was really nice with a big comfortable king size bed that was not too firm and not too soft. Both DH and I love the darker woods, so we enjoyed the cherry armoir and nightstands. The framed photo of the steamboat did add a little ambiance to the room. The bathroom, like all value and moderate bathrooms, was small but we liked the fact that the moderates have a curtained off washsink area. DH gets up earlier than me and could often get ready without disturbing me. Overall, especially, for a moderate I would say the rooms were excellently appointed and subtly but nicely themed.

After a quick lunch of DIY pasta for me and a beef and bleu sandwich for Mark at Riverside Mill we were off to EPCOT.

After renting my wheelchair, we headed straight to the Land hoping some Fastpasses for Soarin' would be left. It was mid-afternoon by that point though so not surprisingly, they were gone. We decided to ride the Living with the Land instead, which we found informative and interesting but the school age children in front of us found boring as they thought it would be a "scary" ride. Next we went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends followed by Turtle Talk with Crush, both of which were decidedly more kid-pleasing. DH had a mission to get foreign beer in him ASAP though so after only an hour in Future World we were off to the World Showcase. First he tried Carlsberg in Norway and wanted to share it with his new troll friend...

We picked up Fastpasses for Maelstrom which was boasting a 40 minute wait before heading over to Germany for some Spaten and a pretzel.

Soon it was time for dinner at Les Chefs de France. We chose the pre fixe three course dinner option which came with your choice of three appetizers, three entrees, and three desserts. I chose the lobster bisque (excellent), gratin de macaroni (ok), and creme brulee (ok). DH got the salad with goat cheese and walnuts (good), the short ribs (good), and the creme brulee (reportedly better than mine). The portions were not French sized, but very large and I ate less than half of all of my courses. We have heard complaints about the service and time spent waiting at this restaurant and did not have a problem with either. Our waiter was very friendly and very prompt.

After dinner we walked towards the UK and then looped around again to go on Maelstrom. Interestingly, I remember going on this ride in 1988 when it first opened. I was still pretty little so the trolls seemed scary to me and I was remembering them that way in mind and was surprised to see that they were more goofy looking than scary. In the gift shop we almost got in a Viking level fight with some Yankee fan hecklers who took exception to DH's baseball cap. This is how it made me feel...

And then it was time to roll over to the Lagoon for Illuminations, which was spectacular. There was EMH that night but everything seemed crowded and we were exhausted so we went on Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Spaceship Earth before heading back to POR.

Tomorrow, a rhino attacks!

 

[torsie24]

Great first day!! Love the pic of your DH with the little troll!

 

[DenishaT]

I can't wait for more! I love that there were rainbows following ya'll

 

[Angela0917]

Great wedding pics!!! Can't wait to hear more about your honeymoon!!

 

[hgbluesparkles]

I can't wait for more! I love that there were rainbows following ya'll

There will be more rainbows to come too!

 

[hgbluesparkles]

The next day we woke up and immediately headed out to Animal Kingdom. The lack of breakfast made DH starving as soon as we entered the park so we went to the Yak and Yeti counter service location which was crowded but a decent option if you want fast Asian food. After lunch, we split up with DH going to get tickets for the Safaris and me going on the single rider line for Expedition Everest.

Now, AK hadn't even been built when I last was at WDW so I had never ridden Expedition Everest but was very excited to considering the hype. The single rider line was very short even though the EE line was over 60 minutes. I loved this ride, it has unquestionably (to me at least) become the best thrill ride in all of WDW. Next we headed over to DinoLand and went on Dinosaur. I did not know that this ride was so jerky and dark. It was fine (even fun!) for me but DH was a little . He did not notice any dinos rawring in our faces or anything because he was too busy holding on for dear life. After such a wild ride, DH needed to rest so we sat watching kids with Pluto and Goofy for awhile...

We considered going on Primeval Whirl but the wait was 45 minutes and didn't seem worth it. Next we watched A Bugs Life which was so much fun but judging from the ear piercing shrieks we heard may be a little much for little ones who actually thought poisonous gasses were being squirted on us. Finally it was time for us to use our FPs for the Safaris. As a note to people using wheelchairs on this ride who are also utilizing FP, it is very inconvenient as a CM brings you through the regular line and everyone has to move and you will get many dirty stares and people who don't realize they have to move. Anyway, we got first class seats right up front and there were animals out and about. One of our favorite moments all trip was when a white rhino mossied on out into the middle of the road stopping our truck. We thought the rhino would just move but instead he started attacking/ eating the tire of the Jeep! We had to have the wheel inspected and patched on arrival back to "camp".

Next we took the time to walk the Pengani Forest Exploration trail which has a great deal of wildlife. Most people were just running through it trying to get to the other side. One thing I noticed about AK is that both kids and their parents tend to rush through it looking for the next attraction without noticing the fine detail put into the park and all the wildlife around them. I heard some parents complaining that they should have gone to Six Flags or Great Escape for the money it cost them to go to AK but in my mind it is definitely a way more worthwhile investment than Six Flags if you take the time to enjoy what's being offered to you there. I know most people on the Dis don't think that way but I heard it at the park enough times where it made me think that a significant portion of people feel that way. ::Off my soapbox:: Next it was off to the Maharjah Jungle Trek which of the two nature pathways we felt was the better of the two as it offered more exotic animals such as bats and of course...

Tigers!

We were both exhausted and hot at this point so we decided to check out the last Finding Nemo show of the day. If you're new to AK do not mistake this as a puppet show, it is a full stage production that is very entertaining even for grumpy and hot adults! The puppets are full sized beings that are expertly controlled and the show is full of wonderful singing, dancing, and effects. We really enjoyed this show and believe most others of all ages would as well.

By the time Nemo was over, it was getting close to our ressie time at Boma so we left the park and headed over to AKL via the buses. Boma was the meal my DH was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint. Our recommendations are the potatoes with afritude, the chicken, ribs, falafel balls, and of course the famous zebra domes. Stuffed, we prepared to head back to POR. It took us almost 1.5 hours to get back home with the bus change at DTD. Keep this in mind if you plan on having a lot of dinners outside of the park and/or a nearby resort and you're relying on bus transportation.

Tomorrow, ride weenie conquers his fear and nearly takes out a small child in the process...

 

[Goofyluver]

I just found your wonderful report!

And this popped out at me.

You, my lady, look like a wonderfully fun person! And I can't wait to read lots and lots more!

Party time!

And congrats on your happy union!

 

[Hallowishes]

this is a great trip report so far!! i love boma as well .. all the food there is terrific. congrats on your marriage and i look forward to hearing more about your trip!!

 

[Jennifer48]

GO SOX!!!

Congratulations on your wedding!!

I agree with the signage for ME. There is not enough of it at MCO.

That rhino pic is crazy! We had one stop in the road for a few minutes but I've never seen any animal attack the ride vehicle, cool!

Keep it going!

 

[hgbluesparkles]

I just found your wonderful report!

And this popped out at me.

You, my lady, look like a wonderfully fun person! And I can't wait to read lots and lots more!

Party time!

And congrats on your happy union!

Thank you! I hope this trip provides some party time fun.