Are you freaking kidding me?! A Magical Proposal and Trip! Aug/2012 TR

[cbeeindisney]

Here I am, after about a week and a half of readjusting to reality, I need to relive my Disney memories and create my very first trip report ever!! I am so excited to be doing this and I hope I can get some readers, because this trip, quite possibly more than any other, was the most memorable and magical!

So join me, read on, and-

Let's begin with the

Cast of Characters

It's ME!

I'm 26 and a preschool teacher.
I am addicted to all things Disney.
Favorite movie- The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan
Favorite character interaction- Tigger! Ever since I was a little girl, he has been the most memorable interaction!
Favorite ride in WDW- Peter Pan's flight, POTC, Splash Mountain
Favorite show- Festival of the Lion King
Favorite park- tie btwn. MK and Epcot

My handsome (brand new) fiance!

He's 27 and a candidate for the police academy (still waiting for an acceptance, anxiously )
Loves WDW (almost as much as I do!)
Favorite movie- UP, Ratatouille, Wall-e
Favorite character interaction- Chip and Dale
Favorite attraction- It's tough to be a bug
Favorite park- Epcot


Like most about everyone, we could NOT sleep the night before we were to leave. We flew out of Philadelphia on Aug. 14th, the day after my DF's 27th birthday. Needless to say, it was a very early (and kinda cranky) morning to get on the plane! My dad drove us to the airport, VERY early, and we were off! We arrived in a sunny Orlando at about 10 AM, lots of time to relax and get started on our vacation!

On our way....

An exhausted (but very excited) us waiting to board our Magical Express!

Next up...

A Downtown Disney night to kick off our trip!

 

[scottny]

Hi,
great start and nice pics.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[cbeeindisney]

Hi,
great start and nice pics.

Can't wait to read more.

Thanks for joining!

 

[cbeeindisney]

I know that POP Century is not a new resort, but it's new to us. I have only ever stayed at the All-Star resorts, I'm a serial value resort goer, first time at POP. I don't mind the values- I wouldn't mind staying there on my honeymoon and every time after that. The deal is good, I have never been disappointed in the cleanliness, theme, or resort overall, and really, how often are we actually in the room during a WDW trip anyway?! DF has stayed at the Boardwalk, All-Star Music with me in 2009, and it's a first at POP Century for him. We were very happy with our stay overall. We walked energetically to our room in the 70s section, 3rd floor. We stayed on the end nearest Classic Hall which was perfect. It was a walk, but not a hike to the Hall, and we were just in between the computer pool and the hippy dippy pool, we split our time between the two. The pools were a great temperature, clean, and quiet for the most part. I particularly liked the computer pool for that reason, it was very quiet and we could swim from side to side without being near anyone! Of course we came across people (yelling in Classic Hall for everyone to hear) that complained about almost everything, cleanliness, distance to bus stops, food, etc... which I never understand. We are always pleasantly surprised with everything on our WDW vacations, and POP Century was no exception!

Here are some shots I took of our surroundings near our section...

Classic Hall

Right outside our room

Hippy Dippy Pool

From our floor

Before we got our luggage, we stopped at Classic Hall for a quick lunch. We picked up our mugs..

And our food...

I got chicken breast nuggets with fries, which was pretty good- even better because I was starving!! Anything you would have given me I would have loved!

DF got a cheesesteak wrap with fries and he liked it, he ate the entire thing, so I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it.

And one more thing...

DF loved this, he ate the majority of it. I took a few bites, it was very rich, and I was really trying to save room for our meal later that night at Raglan Road. I'm glad I tried it- I have heard a lot of hype about this piece of dessert and it was good! Would I get it again? Sure.

So we ate, we rested (as much as we could) and we got our luggage a little over 3 hours later. We were off to DD for a night at Raglan Road and a little bit of shopping to spend some of those gift cards from Christmas and birthdays that were burning a hole in our pockets! ....

 

[hisgrl]

Good start! I can't wait to hear more!

 

[WDWaddictt]

Hi...I subscribed. I am excited to hear about your exciting trip.

We loved POP when we stayed there. My DH ate so much of that tie dye cheesecake that his bowel movements where tie dyed, lol. Sorry to be gross, but funny.

 

[MINNIEmeetsTINK]

I'm following along as well excited to hear about ur adventure!

 

[rachel09985]

Hi! I will follow around for the adventure! I am excited to hear about the proposal!

I am like you, I always stay in values. For one- I can't afford much else(haha) and I am at the parks all day too!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Im a sucker for a disney proposal. I'm in!

 

[cheekypoppins]

I've stayed at all the values a few times and I like them too Pop is awesome!!!

 

[ZehnJahren]

I'm in too; I'll be lurking.

 

[Aussiesalad]

This sounds like fun!! I'm in!
You guys make a really cute couple!

 

[cbeeindisney]

Good start! I can't wait to hear more!

Hi...I subscribed. I am excited to hear about your exciting trip.

Yay! Thank you, excited to have you reading along!

We loved POP when we stayed there. My DH ate so much of that tie dye cheesecake that his bowel movements where tie dyed, lol. Sorry to be gross, but funny.

LOL, too funny!

I'm following along as well excited to hear about ur adventure!

Hi! I will follow around for the adventure! I am excited to hear about the proposal!

I am like you, I always stay in values. For one- I can't afford much else(haha) and I am at the parks all day too!

Seriously love them, makes no sense to me to stay in a more expensive resort when I'm never there anyways! (And I'm always on a budget too, and it's a small one too! ) Glad to have you reading along!

Im a sucker for a disney proposal. I'm in!

Great! You'll have to stay tuned!

I've stayed at all the values a few times and I like them too Pop is awesome!!!

Loved POP! Such a great deal!

I'm in too; I'll be lurking.

Haha, sounds good!

This sounds like fun!! I'm in!
You guys make a really cute couple!

Thank you so much! Thanks for reading along!

 

[cbeeindisney]

So glad to have some readers along for the ride!

After a little relaxation (read-none. Just too darn excited to get the trip on the road), we walked through Classic Hall to get to our bus stop for DD. Along the way we saw the caricature artists and made a plan to stop there before our trip was over to get a souvenir.

So anyways, off we went to the bus stop. The time was around 3:30, 4 so the lines were non-existent, DD always has the shortest line either way, so we hopped right on our first Disney Transportation bus of the trip and off we went. I always love how friendly the bus drivers are in Disney. They must really love their jobs, very rarely, we caught a dud, but for the most part, they're great!

View of the lines during this time.

After we took in all of the sights slowly, walked in and out of shops, I had two sights set in mind. I am a huge sucker for collecting ornaments so off to Days of Christmas it was! DF and I are taking the traditional route, we still live with our parents separately, we collect some items for our future home, but ornaments are my downfall. Mind you, we don't have a tree yet, we don't have much furniture, nor a house, but we will have the best ornament collection anywhere! I'm addicted! So we picked up a nice ornament of the castle, which became even more special after the trip, a red and white vintage-y Mickey ornament, and we were off to my favorite store in WDW!

Can you guess it?

How about now?

Got it yet?

Ta Da! World of Disney!
You seriously cannot go in this store and find something that you don't need, want, or get! We got in just before it started to downpour so we were stuck there for at least a half an hour or more! We took note of an album, some mugs, a blanket, bought a very specific pen that my 2 year old niece requested, because Pluto had broken her last pen. "A blue pen with a Mickey head on top" so we got just that, a few pens for us, because I can't leave Disney World without getting a Mickey head pen, and a puzzle keychain for DF and I, where he got one half and I got the other. I'm such a sucker for Disney merch at home, so you can imagine what Disney World does to me! We were going to be headed for the poor house when we got home, I just knew it and we weren't even 10 hours into this trip!

After World of Disney, we were walking to Raglan Road, when DF gets a call from the police dept. looking for another interview! Of course, we wait weeks and weeks and they call on our first day in Disney! He said to call him when we got back and no worries. We were ecstatic and anxious! With some good news, we made our way into the restaurant and were seated promptly. We had made 7:00 reservations, but I was starving so we went in around quarter to 6 and there was no wait, whether we had reservations or not. We were seated next to the stage, where they were getting ready for the dancers to come on.

Some shots in the restaurant.

Onto to the good stuff....
We began with Irish soda bread in the Guinness and honey reduction, delicious. Even better this time around (Raglan Road is our traditional first night meal).

and a flight of beer, The Four Provinces Smithwick's, Harp, Guiness, and Kilkenny.

DF ordered Kevin's Heavenly Ham, which was just that..HEAVENLY! Ham with an Irish Mist glaze, served with mashed potatoes, bacon, cabbage. Just sooo good!

With over a year of planning this vacation, I had picked everything I was going to order in every restaurant, so no need to look in the menu- I knew what I wanted, I ordered the Keen Eye for the Shepherd's Pie. Best thing I have eaten in a very long time! Ridiculously good! I didn't know who's meal was better!

We ordered yet another beer flight, this time The League of Nations flight, which included Blue Moon, our favorite!

For dessert, he ordered the Dunbrody Kiss, recommended by our waiter. He enjoyed it very much, but it was hard to fit anything else in our stomachs.

And I ordered the Bread Pudding, sooo good, but I just couldn't finish it! A crime, I know!

A few shots of the step dancers, it was a great show! Sorry they are so blurry, they have some fast feet!

We had made a deal with DF's mom that we would have a Ghiradelli sundae for her, but tonight was definitely not the night for that! We were very happily stuffed and glad for another great meal at Raglan Road, we have yet to be disappointed there! I highly recommend it! I may be a bit bias as a proud Irish girl, but it's a great show and has great eats!

Next on the agenda..
Cinderella Castle, photographers, and a proposal

 

[rgoble5972]

I love all the pictures!

My husband and I had our wedding at WDW, so I'm looking forward to hearing about your proposal.

 

[Aussiesalad]

Ohhhh World of Disney... I always want EVERYTHING in there

It's even worse when it pours and you get stuck in a store... so hard to not spend alllll my money!

 

[cheekypoppins]

who doesn't love World of Disney!!!! I in all my trips I still don't think I've seen everything they've got to offer.

 

[cbeeindisney]

I love all the pictures!

My husband and I had our wedding at WDW, so I'm looking forward to hearing about your proposal.

Thank you for reading along! I would love a wedding at WDW! I bet it was beautiful!

 

[cbeeindisney]

Ohhhh World of Disney... I always want EVERYTHING in there

It's even worse when it pours and you get stuck in a store... so hard to not spend alllll my money!

Me too! I know, it's just terrible

who doesn't love World of Disney!!!! I in all my trips I still don't think I've seen everything they've got to offer.

It's just impossible to, there is so much!

 

[Reberella]

Hi! I'm following along! I stayed at POP in February, and I found it very convenient! Can't wait to hear about the proposal!