Aulani to WDW: The Lurkyloos' Anniversary Vow Renewal: THRILLING CONCLUSION 8/5!

[lurkyloo]

 

[lurkyloo]

Wow. I’ve never seen anyone literally dance until they dropped!

Up Next: Goodbye to Aulani and Hello to Walt Disney World!

 

[lurkyloo]

This is one of the best trip reports I've ever read. There were lots of helpful tidbits in here. We're heading to Aulani in Aug and I'm finalizing our itinerary...so thank you!!!

Your wedding pics were absolutely beautiful.

Hey, thanks! I'm so glad you're finding the report helpful!

Really enjoying your TR. DW and I were there in Sept, 2012 celebrating our 30th anniversary and your pics are letting us relive it all again!

Wow! Congratulations on your milestone anniversary—what a great way to celebrate!

My husband doesn't know yet, but we're going in February for my round birthday. I won't say which one so you don't tell me your grandmother is the same age. He and I have both been to Hawaii but it was years ago in our single days. In fact he went on R 'n' R from Vietnam -- so it's been a few years.

Hey, my grandma was in 'Nam! (j/k) I love that for your birthday, you're surprising him—that's the way it works in our house too. Planning surprises makes Patrick nervous, so I'm the one who has to do it!

Holy cow those pictures are great! I'm pretty sure Disney could just peruse your trip report for pics needed for their next print ads! I am still a little disturbed by the woman carrying a pigs head...just sayin!

Indeed... But, yes! All Disney would have to do is superimpose a preternaturally cheerful and photogenic family into any of these shots and they'd have an entire ad campaign right there!

Hi, Carrie! I've thoroughly enjoyed this TR so far! DH and I are hoping to head to Aulani next year, so I've loved reading along. The Roots photos are gorgeous!

Ooh! I hope your trip works out. You are gonna love it there!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Wow, those Roots are talented! All the photos are great but am especially in love with the ones of the resort and beach at night. Stunning!!!

And yes that bus WAS sketchy!

 

[lurkyloo]

Yes! While we were still there, they tweeted a shot of their computer screen as they edited some of those nighttime Aulani shots, and I was like, "Oh please, oh PLEASE let them send me those at some point!"

 

[lurkyloo]

Now I know you think we were crazy for taking a red-eye from Honolulu to LA and then getting right on a plane to Orlando, but it actually really helped us re-set our internal clocks from Hawaii Standard Time to Eastern Standard Time FAST! At LAX, we had just enough time for an aggressively mediocre breakfast at the Gladstone’s Express (where they were inexplicably blaring disco music at 7am) before our Virgin America flight to MCO departed.

I’d debated finally using Magical Express on this super-short trip, but I just couldn’t get over that feeling of helplessness we Angelenos feel when we don’t have wheels. So we went with the cheapest rental we could find, which turned out to be Budget... which turned out to be no Alamo, that’s for sure! The pickup process took forEVER and they got snippy with us for refusing the extra insurance, and they didn’t let us pick out our own car. Boo!

And then, we were off to Walt Disney World!

The “No Stopping” signs they installed a few years ago always crack me up—first they create these awesome gates that you can’t help but want to photograph, and then they yell at you for trying to get a good photo of them!

We were staying at the Contemporary because that’s where Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings’ bridal showcase was this time. (In case you’ve forgotten in the months it’s taken me to tell this story, the whole reason we cut short our anniversary trip to Hawaii and flew straight to Orlando was that bridal showcase.) Originally I’d booked a screamin’ deal for a Garden Wing room, but I got to thinking about how much more convenient my last stay in the main tower was compared to our honeymoon stay in the Garden Wing, so I ended up cutting a day off our trip so we could have a Lake View tower room instead.

NOT where we stayed[

I don’t know if you can tell in the photos, but that fancy new decor they’d just installed when we stayed at the Contemporary on our honeymoon is starting to look a bit worse for wear now, five years later. We had disintegrating baseboards, marks on the walls, and a sagging bathroom door that would pinch your fingers off if you pushed it too far back on its track.

Props if you can tell me what this towel animal is supposed to be. I’m thinking it’s actually an alien lifeform...

All they gotta do is print a fireplace scene on plastic and slip it over that light—instant ambience!

It IS really really cool to stay in the main building at the Contemporary, if only because you can watch the monorails right outside your door. The Garden Wing just feels like a Moderate resort that’s putting on airs...

The bane of the concourse’s existence...

 

[lurkyloo]

In The Future, you will be able to spend 15 minutes trying to get into your room as you repeatedly swipe your malfunctioning MagicBand over the reader they’ve installed to replace the keycard reader!

OOOooooohhhhh.... it’s a FLOWER!

I like how the comfy, padded part of the headboard doesn’t start til well above head level!

We followed our traditional first-night plan of dinner and IllumiNations in Epcot. I wanted to shoot the show from the Canada Overlook dessert party spot so I could see if the overhanging trees obscure your view of the show. For dinner, I picked Biergarten to make it up to Patrick. He’s always wanted to eat there, and I never let him because I don’t like Disney buffets. And the one time we did make reservations there—with the Roots, no less!—he ended up having to leave Florida early to work (thanks a lot, Pee-Wee Herman!) and never got to try it.

What made this dinner even more special was the reunion with our pal Fran, a Disney bride and fan of my book who generously invited us to her wedding in the Germany Pavilion after meeting only once, at D23 Expo. As it turned out, she and her now-husband are both librarians, so they had LOTS to talk about with library-puppet-show vet Patrick—we all got on like a house afire! And someday, I promise, I will write a report about THAT trip, because it was super-awesome to finally get to be a guest at a Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding.

Anyway, it was quite fitting that she joined us for dinner in Germany!

As it turned out, Fran and Patrick also share an adorably nerdy love of space exploration, so they were chattering like magpies for most of dinner. Which looked like this....

.... for somebody who wasn’t me. Holy pickled EVERYTHING!

Actually, I ended up really loving Biergarten’s food the second time around, mostly because I discovered the Smorgasbord of Starches—namely, warm potato salad, mac and cheese, potato balls, and spaetzle! My first helping of pork loin was also quite tasty, but when I went back for seconds, the new one they’d put out was dry. So maybe I just hit all the dud replacement dishes last time I was there.

“Dooooooon’t go back for any poooork loin/The verrrry best one is all gone!”

As an experiment on behalf of my pals on the DISboards’ Cake Chatter thread (and also cuz most of Biergarten’s desserts are sullied with fruit), I ordered a “podium” celebration cake—the kind you can get just by asking when you check in for your reservation. I was curious to see if the ones at Disney-run Epcot restaurants were still the glorified Easy-Bake Oven deals that taste like stale Twinkies (R.I.P.) covered in crappy whipped cream. They are not!

I’ve since learned (for those of you following along at home) that Epcot now employs a real pastry chef and has stepped up their game with custom cakes too. Hooray!

Before we headed off to Canada, I asked Patrick to try and get some better shots than the ones I have of the dessert party location in Germany. This is always when I wish I had a fancy DSLR and the talent and patience to take really good photos.

I also had him attempt to get shots of the Mexico dessert party location, but it was being used by a group that night, so he had to shoot over the dang rope.

 

[lurkyloo]

Canada Overlook is that little turnout around the corner from the Canada Pavilion as you head toward Future World. It is one of the places they stick smaller groups who want to do private events at Epcot, and I’ve always been troubled by the overhanging trees that would seem to obscure your view of IllumiNations. As it turns out, if you stand up against the fence, you don’t really see the branches as you watch the show. But if, say, someone were taking your photo in your wedding threads in front of the show, most of the high fireworks would definitely be behind the trees.

 

[lurkyloo]

Even the ducks drop everything to watch IllumiNations each night!

On our way out of Epcot I spotted these in person for the first time and was momentarily stricken by their over-the-top tackiness.

I can just imagine the clueless Disney “suit” hovering over a consumer products designer as she sketched the concept for these...

Suit: “Make that goblet more magic-y!”

(Designer adds fleurs-de-lis to base)

Suit: “No, MORE magic-y!”

(Designer adds fleurs-de-lis to cup)

Suit: “Not magic-y enough!!!”

(Designer adds crown trim to cup)

Suit: “MAGIC-Y, I say!”

(Designer adds banner motif with icons)

Suit: “What part of ‘magic-y’ don’t you understand?!!”

(In exasperation, designer draws an ENTIRE CASTLE around the stem)

Suit: “...Yes, but can you make it light up?”

The perfect shirt: An underused character in a classic design that doesn’t take over every square inch of the shirt front

Allllmost.... it’s just the typesetting that mars it...

In Future World, Patrick attempted to stamp out all the ground lights...

We accidentally got back to our room just as the Electrical Water Pageant was starting— and we had an excellent view!

I like how this one makes the whale look like he’s spouting FIRE!

Watch out behind you, brontosaurus!!!

And then we dropped dead from sheer exhaustion. The End!

Up Next: Exploring New Fantasyland, Dining at Be Our Guest Restaurant, and CAKE!!!

 

[pjstevens]

I cannot imagine how you even functioned after flying so far. Loved following along on your Vow Renewal. Can't wait for your next TR.

 

[rileyroosmom]

Yeah for getting to WDW! Love the pictures of Patrick, he always looks like he's having the best time!!

 

[librarygeek]

Stunning shots by the Roots, thanks for sharing!

And the night at Epcot looks really fun - that is a great view of the Water Pageant!

 

[blabbermouth]

I took a break, but I'm back!

I love the shot of stomping Patrick with the 3 year old in the background doing the exact same thing

I'm always tempted by Biergarten, but not 100% sold on it yet! Was the band any good? (For what it was, not in comparison to real-life bands?)

The view from my country isn't bad, but it does seem quite far away. Easy exit from there though, can beat some of the crowds maybe.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Oh the Dole Plantation. The original "tourist trap" if you ask me. It isn't a good sign when the gift shop is more exciting than anything else you will do that day. At least, that was how it was for us. They do have an amazing gift shop and I got plenty of pineapple delicacies, but probably wouldn't return. I couldn't believe how many people I saw at the airport with their Dole "pineapple carriers!" At the time I went to Hawaii, pineapples were running around $1 at the local grocery store. Talk about a rip off!

I am glad you guys went to the PCC. I didn't attend on our trip, as we went to Germaine's for the luau. The luau part was great, but the food, not so much.

It is true that those pineapples are expensive, but if you buy them at the grocery store, the TSA people will throw them away. You can only bring them home in the "approved" Dole box with the inspection sticker on it. We had to throw away an apple that we bought on island, even though we wanted to eat it on the plane.

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Wow! You two are like the energizer bunnies! So much energy with all that jet lag!! Bravo to you!

Sorry to hear the Contemporary decor is not holding up to the test of time. It still looks great in photos!

Ahh... OF COURSE... the towel "animal" is a flower. I was going to say a swan with a broken neck but then figured that wasn't very Disney.

So glad you got to right a prior "wrong" and Patrick got to try Biergarten. I have to say it has never really been on my list but a smorgasboard of starches sounds pretty darn inviting!

Looks like you had the Canadian viewing area all to yourselves for Illuminations!

I never make it a point to catch the water parade but when I do, I just love it. Hasn't changed a bit in ~40 years but still love it!

 

[lurkyloo]

I cannot imagine how you even functioned after flying so far. Loved following along on your Vow Renewal. Can't wait for your next TR.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Yeah for getting to WDW! Love the pictures of Patrick, he always looks like he's having the best time!!

Seriously! He's a great person to travel with.

Stunning shots by the Roots, thanks for sharing!

And the night at Epcot looks really fun - that is a great view of the Water Pageant!

I think we ended up accidentally seeing it every night we were there—almost worth the extra cost of a lake-view room!

I'm always tempted by Biergarten, but not 100% sold on it yet! Was the band any good? (For what it was, not in comparison to real-life bands?)

"Yeah, the Biergarten Band is pretty good, man, but they're no Coldplay..."

I thought they were good musicians, despite their irritating habit of playing oompah tunes!

It is true that those pineapples are expensive, but if you buy them at the grocery store, the TSA people will throw them away. You can only bring them home in the "approved" Dole box with the inspection sticker on it. We had to throw away an apple that we bought on island, even though we wanted to eat it on the plane.

Ooooh! OK, now I get why Dole can charge an arm and a leg for shipping!

Great pics!

Thanks!

Ahh... OF COURSE... the towel "animal" is a flower. I was going to say a swan with a broken neck but then figured that wasn't very Disney.

Yeah, some Mousekeeper finally snapped and has been going around leaving gruesome versions of towel animals...

Looks like you had the Canadian viewing area all to yourselves for Illuminations!

Ah, that was a cheat—we waited til the place cleared out before Patrick shot it so I could have some nice, people-free pix for my wedding-venues web page!

 

[lurkyloo]

Today was our one full day in the parks at Walt Disney World, and it was kind of a bummer! (However, if you’ve got a hankerin’ to see 1.7 bazillion photos of New Fantasyland and Storybook Circus, you are totally in luck!)

We woke up early enough to catch the sunrise over Bay Lake, which was nice.

Then we walked over to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop so we would have plenty of time in New Fantasyland before it got crowded.

Look out behind you, dapper dancer!!!

“Word.”

With nothing in the photo to give you a sense of scale, these look like they could be pins! But they’re really posters in the tunnel to Main Street, U.S.A.

We power-walked our buns off, eager to be among the first to ride the Little Mermaid ride that morning (or, as I call it, “Under the Sea: Ariel’s Undersea Voyage to a Journey of Adventure”).

But when we got there, a pair of cast members stood out front turning people away. The ride was inexplicably closed til 1pm! Suddenly our entire day’s plans—New Fantasyland in the morning, lunch at Epcot, and DHS in the evening—were thrown off course.

We felt completely deflated. We didn’t really even know what to do next, since there’s nothing much else going on in New Fantasyland without the Seven Dwarfs Mine Car ride. We wandered aimlessly, firing the camera practically at random...


WHY AREN’T YOU DONE YET?!!!

Even these dwarves have more to do in New Fantasyland than we do!

 

[lurkyloo]

We wandered into Gaston’s Tavern and the new gift shop for more photos, but if you just ate breakfast and aren’t in the market for a hideously over-the-top light-up castle goblet, they don’t occupy you for more than a few minutes.

This guy is daydreaming about stealing that ECV for an impromptu joyride...

(You’re gonna be able to draw this place from memory by the time Patrick gets done documenting it!)

Bad show, straw dispenser... bad show!

Dozens of Animatronic elk gave their lives for this chandelier

 

[lurkyloo]

Who is this little door for?

When we passed back by Enchanted Tales with Belle, the 10-minute wait had jumped to 20 and we were like, “Forget it!”

BIG MISTAKE!

As we later discovered, this show is just like Ollivander’s wand show at Harry Potterland. You gotta go early when they line’s short, cuz it’s TOTALLY not worth standing in the huge lines that develop later in the day. But we just kept walking...

Eventually we ended up in Storybook Circus, which Patrick hadn’t seen yet. His photos are going to make the ones in my Epcot 30th Anniversary trip report totally redundant when I finally get to posting that part of my trip—d’oh!

For lack of anything better to do, we rode Goofy’s Barnstormer, a.k.a. whatever it’s called now.

Oh! That’s pretty much what it’s still called!

So OSHA wants railings on Alice In Wonderland but they have no problem with the death trap that Goofy’s Barnstormer appears to be?