Andreah and Brian - Dec 8th, 2009 (Reception Photos Posted)

That banana thing looks super yummy. And you look lovely from your hair trial. I think I even prefer it down. Very nice. Patricia definitely looks like she did a wonderful natural job. And Misty sounds awesome. I'm so jealous. I can't wait to see the engagement shots.
 
For our last morning at Walt Disney World, we decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom and say goodbye to "our castle".

Our boarding passes for Magical Express were on the door and we packed up all our things. We hauled our luggage over to the main building and decided to check our two large bags. (We had carried them on the plane on our way TO Orlando).

That brings me to a pretty big change of plans that resulted from this trip. We used the Magical Express to save money on this trip, but were originally planning to get a limo for our airport transfers in December. We've hired cars for our last couple of trips to "save time". However, after this trip, we realized how convenient and enjoyable Magical Express REALLY is, especially with the luggage transfer service. We enjoyed the videos on the bus rides, and barely had any wait at all. Best of all, it's FREE! So we decided that, in December, we're going to save ourselves $250 and use Magical Express instead of a limo.

When they take your luggage to your room, here are the little carts that drive around the resort:

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After we checked our luggage, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom and stopped at our traditional "last breakfast" spot . . . the Main Street Bakery:

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Brian had the ginormous cinnamon roll and I had the ham and egg croissant . . . YUMMY!

Then it was time for a couple of attractions. With Space Mountain being closed, it was time for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad . . AGAIN!

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Then Brian took a crack at the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade:

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A few photos of Liberty Square before another ride on the Haunted Mansion:

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(No, we didn't actually see the Hall of Presidents - too long of a wait until the next show, nor did we eat at Liberty Tree Tavern. Those shots are "stock" photos for future newsletters. We're planning to have a Welcome Dinner there at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.)

Next, we went over to Fantasyland for one of my personal favorites - Mickey's Philharmagic:

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We just HAD to take a few photos of "our castle" before we left:

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Mickey and Minnie shrubs!

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Partners:

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With Space Mountain being closed, we spent hardly any time at all in Tomorrowland, but we did walk over there for just a few minutes . . . and an ice cream bar!

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A new parade came through . . . I'd never even heard of it. It's for the "Celebrate Today" campaign that they're doing. I REALLY liked this parade. It's so upbeat and colorful and the music was wonderful. I managed to snag a few photos of it. And in the end they started playing that "It's the time of your life . . ." song from the TV commercials. It was so sweet that I kind of got a little teary-eyed just starting to think about how this place had come to mean so much to Brian and Gavin and me and how we have SO much to celebrate. And it won't be long before we're back with our friends and families to celebrate one of the most exciting and memorable moments in our lives!

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Before we left the Magic Kingdom, we wanted to make a stop over at City Hall to talk to a Guest Relations cast member about Brian's parents and other guests with special needs. Brian's dad has early-stage Alzheimer's disease and Brian's mother has some pretty serious mobility issues. They are obviously apprehensive about making the trip.

But, the way we see it, there's really no better place equipped to take care of them than Walt Disney World. Brian's dad is responding very well to medication and Brian's mom has had a couple of surgeries that have helped a LOT so, for now at least, they're on board!

The City Hall cast member was very helpful with advice. She was telling us to stop by and pick up Guest Access Cards for Brian's parents that will enable the cast members throughout Walt Disney World to know how best to accommodate their special needs. She also recommended that we NOT rent scooters from the parks, because they often run out of them early in the day. We told her that mom had found an offsite place that will deliver and pick up the scooter from her resort, and the cast member agreed that is DEFINITELY the way to go. Speaking to the cast member REALLY helped put everyone's mind at ease. She assured us that they deal with these situations all the time and that she didn't forsee any problems based on what we told her.

Mom and Dad are flying on the airplane with us going TO Orlando, and MY Dad is going to book his flight such that he would be able to provide help to Brian's parents on the trip back home. They'll have other wedding guests nearby staying at the same resort if they need any help, and they're only going to the parks two days - for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and one day at Epcot World Showcase. We plan to give Brian's dad a cell phone to keep on him and take cell phone photos of what he's wearing each day, in case he wanders off (which he doesn't have a tendancy to do - he normally just kind of stands around in one place).

It's just about time to leave, but we had to stop for one last photo of "our castle":

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Goodbye Magic Kingdom . . . see you in December!

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We rode the monorail and decided to hop off at the Contemporary Resort, our December home. We had lunch at that new place - Contempo Cafe. It's really neat, you order your food on a kiosk and pick it up at a counter:

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I really liked this place. Brian had a burger (he was in a "burger mood" that weekend, apparently) and I had a really tasty flatbread pizza.

Stock photo of Chef Mickeys:

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We also took a photo of the California Grill check-in desk:

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After a quick bus ride back to Pop Century, it was time for one LAST ice cream bar before the bus came. We had a pleasant ride back to the airport:

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With our boarding passes provided to us, and our luggage long-gone, we headed straight over to the security line. We had just a little bit of a wait. It took a good 45 minutes or so to get through the line. And when we got to the podium, the TSA guy with a flashlight acted as if he'd NEVER seen a Magical Express boarding pass before. How ODD?! I would have thought he sees those ALL THE TIME! I did a quick look around and there were a LOT of people with Mickey's on their boarding passes. Anyway, he started to give me some static about it because it didn't say BOARDING PASS in big huge letters. But I showed him the sentence that says "This is your boarding pass issued by NW (Northwest) . . . " So the guy let me move on. Whew!

And the rest is pretty boring, really. Our plane was delayed by about 15 minutes or so. The ride home was kind of bumpy and the weather back home couldn't have been ANY more dreary. Rainy and dark!

So, I'll conclude my Trip Report with one final thought . . .

Is there ANYTHING they WON'T sell in an airport vending machine?! :confused3

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*** THE END ***​
 

wow what trip!! im jealous! glad you have fun! i like the last photo of you two. very sweet!
 
Andreah your pictures are absolutely beautiful!!! You looked great in the blue. Nice choice for your engagement pictures!!
 
your pictures are great! I think you sold me on having my wedding portraits taken at the Poly / Sunset point. Our e-pics were at the GF so I think it will be fun to have the wedding pics be somewhere else.
 
your pictures are great! I think you sold me on having my wedding portraits taken at the Poly / Sunset point. Our e-pics were at the GF so I think it will be fun to have the wedding pics be somewhere else.
 
Your e-pics turned out amazing, I am so glad I have Misty for our wedding pics. Looks like you guys had a great time on your planning trip, I for one am excited to see what crafty stuff you have in store for us since I am sure the trip inspired you.
 
I had a good chuckle when I saw the ipods in vending machine's too, how odd!?!

I love your sunset photos, they're gorgeous... I'm going back now to find more favourites!
 
Can you list the locations that you went to with Misty?
 
your engagement photos looks GREAT!!! looks like you had a great time, i really like the pictures you took at the poly. Tropical= Romantic. :cloud9:
 
Andreah your pictures are absolutely beautiful!!! You looked great in the blue. Nice choice for your engagement pictures!!

your pictures are great! I think you sold me on having my wedding portraits taken at the Poly / Sunset point. Our e-pics were at the GF so I think it will be fun to have the wedding pics be somewhere else.

Thank you! It was timed out really well. If you can possibly make it over to the Poly near sunset, it is amazing!

Your e-pics turned out amazing, I am so glad I have Misty for our wedding pics. Looks like you guys had a great time on your planning trip, I for one am excited to see what crafty stuff you have in store for us since I am sure the trip inspired you.

Thank you! You will LOVE working with Misty and Nelio . . . they're so fun! Stay tuned for more "crafty stuff" coming soon. My next project is going to be an attempt at customized swarovski crystal bridal party shirts!

I had a good chuckle when I saw the ipods in vending machine's too, how odd!?!

I love your sunset photos, they're gorgeous... I'm going back now to find more favourites!

Aww, Thanks!

Can you list the locations that you went to with Misty?

Here's my best attempt at a shot list:

GRAND FLORIDIAN

Interior
- Daily Events Sign
- by Window
- by Piano
- Hotel Lobby

Exterior
- Grand Floridian Landmark Sign
- by Vintage Car
- on Luggage Cart
- Wide Shot of Resort
- by Pool Waterfall in Background
- Beach Chairs
- Walking Toward Wedd Pav
- on Swing
- Hammock
- by Rose Bushes
- Fountain
- Jumping

- In Front of Fountain
- On the Porch
- Grand Floridian Gate
- Castle in Background
- Bay Lake in Background
- Near Monorail
- Ferryboat
- Flowers in Front

POLYNESIAN RESORT

Interior
- Poly Bamboo

Exterior
- Poly Entrance
- Walking to Luau Cove
- Poly Waterfall Sitting on Rock
- On the Bridge
- Poly Flowers
- Wide Shot of Grand Floridian
- In Front of Contemporary
- Walking
- "The Dip"
- Contemporary
- Lying in the Grass (Ferryboat in BG)
- Ferryboat
- Poly Beach at Sunset
- Sunset Pointe
- Beach & Palm Trees
- Jumping
- Initials in Sand
- GF in Background
- Castle at Night
- Poly at Night

They came out really well. Love the outfit.

Thank you!

I so want one of those! Only 4 more months until i'm there!! :cool1:

Won't be be there at the same time? If I run into you there, I will buy you a bellini!

Beautiful pics! I wonder if I can schedule my Epcot shoot early enought for it to still be a bit dark for some fountain pics?? :confused3

Love your hair and makeup trial! WOW you have some seriously long hair!! WOW!

Ok, off to check out the Epics!!

your engagement photos looks GREAT!!! looks like you had a great time, i really like the pictures you took at the poly. Tropical= Romantic. :cloud9:

Thanks so much . . . I think Misty, Nelio and Patricia LeJeune all did a fantastic job. I really enjoyed working with them!
 
I'm so relieved! Some of you know that Brian was diagnosed with colon cancer about 13 months ago, had surgery, and underwent chemotherapy until April. Well, he's sort of "under a microscope" - for the next couple of years in particular - they'll have him undergo a series of tests and images every few months. And once a year, he'll had a colonoscopy, which is the best possible image and indicator they can get.

Well, yesterday was Brian's yearly colonoscopy, and we were both more nervous about it than we let on. But, all is well! They found one teeny little pollup and snatched it. They'll test it, but the doctor feels strongly that it is the "garden variety" benign type. If it were a recurrence of the cancer, it would be much more aggressive than that, so this is GREAT news!

Thanks for all the pixie dust . . . I know there are several of you who have kept him in your thoughts and prayers since reading our story. They are definitely helping! There are never any guarantees, but it looks like he's on the winning side of this!!

Now it's DISNEY OR BUST!!!! :banana: :banana:
 
Andreah, that is absolutely fantastic news! I know this is the greatest gift that you could have for your wedding :hug:

All the best to Brian and keep on recovering :woohoo:
 


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