Back to Where it All Began.... 10 Years of Magical Memories

[TigrLvsPooh]

Welcome to our 10th Wedding Anniversary
Pre-Trip Report
July 27 - August 1, 2008
OKW ~ AKL CL ~ Poly

DH and I at the Wedding Pavilion in May 1998 dreaming of a Disney Wedding​

Cast:

My DH - Brendan (age 36) - proposed to me in May 1998 during Illuminations on the Breathless Cruise. Awwwwww Definitely the most romantic and memorable way a Disney-fanatic like myself can be proposed to.

Me - Erika (age 35) - lover of all things Disney. An avid poster over on the Resorts Board since 2001. Always excited to get back HOME to Disney, and especially excited to be celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

Our Story:

Since that magical stay we have taken probably 40 trips back to WDW and have stayed at almost every resort. You might remember our family from the TV show "Fan's Guide Walt Disney World". We are definitely die-hard when it comes to WDW and we're hoping this trip is as magical as that first trip together 10 years ago.

These pictures I'm sharing are from that first trip!

The Plan:
We'll be spending 2 nights at OKW in a 1 bedroom villa then 1 night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge on Club Level and then we'll finish up with 2 nights at the Poly. Yes we are insane!

Throughout this report I'll be posting lots PICS as well as live reports next week when we arrive! So stay tuned!!!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I thought I'd share some pictures of DH and I over the last 10 years on various WDW trips. It's hard to find some without the kids included, but I promised myself this report would be all about US and not the kids for just this one special trip. The boys will be staying at grandma's house and aren't upset at all about being left behind this time. We started our countdown clock for October so they are focusing on that.

DH and I at Epcot in 2003:

DH and I in MK in 2002:

DH and I at Ohana in 2004: (right after filming Fan's Guide!)

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

DH and I in our room at the BWI (May 1998) the morning after the proposal!

I wish I could remember every detail about that trip. I mostly remember that we had dinner at the Flying Fish... then afterwards DH went back up to the room to grab our videocamera (it was in a black bag). We were walking on the boardwalk and wandered over to the YC marina. DH said something like "oh, isn't that a beautiful boat" pointing at the Breathless. And then said "wouldn't it be great to take a ride??". That's when I knew something was going on. Shortly after saying that the captain pulled the boat around and we were off on a ride around the lake. Then we pulled up to the International Gateway right as Illuminations was starting. In the camera bag DH and surprised me with champagne and glasses. We toasted and then he got down on one knee just as Beethoven's 9th started playing in the background. I started crying pretty much immediately but it was the most romantic proposal you could imagine. Sadly the pictures didn't turn out. It was very dark and all we had back then was a crummy snapshot camera (as you can probably tell from the pics I'm posting) but it was really magical I have to say. People on boats all around us (pontoons) and also people on the bridge leading to France started cheering and clapping for us. I guess it was pretty obvious what was going on in our boat. Afterwards is sort of a blur, the captain took us on a ride again and then we went back to the BWI. I can't believe it's been 10 years!!!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

DH and I at MK in 2006:

DH and I at the GF in 2006:

 

[NatalieMT]

Firstly congratulations on your ten year wedding anniversary! The proposal photo looks really romantic.

Sounds like you guys have a lot of fun planned, you both look like really chilled, outgoing people and I look forward to reading your reports over the coming weeks. Enjoy the trip!

 

[Spartangirl]

I'm onboard!!! Can't wait to read about your trip! I'm sure it will be magical!

Congrats on 10 years.....that's wonderful!

How exciting that you were on the "Fan's Guide." I remember watching that special on the travel channel.

Just over a week to go........you must be so excited!!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Thanks everyone! I hope you enjoy our report... I think the next week will just fly by... I haven't even started thinking about packing yet!

Here are a few more pics............

DH and I at a wedding reception at the BWI convention center in 2003:

DH and I at MGM Studios in 2003:

The GERMAN CHALLENGE in Epcot in 2002:

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Ok, enough of walking down memory lane... let's get to the trip planning! We will be on the dining plan so we've already made all our ADRs. Here they are........

Grand Floridian Cafe - dinner
Le Cellier - dinner
The Plaza - lunch (cash)
Coral Reef - dinner
50's Prime Time Cafe - dinner
Ohana - dinner

We've changed some of these over and over, it's hard to make a decision about where to eat when we don't have the kids with us. We were tempted to do the Deluxe dining, especially since we love restaurants like Narcoosee's and California Grill, and those would be much more romantic, but then we changed our minds and decided on the standard dining plan. I'm still not sure I like our choices, some I'm definitely more excited about than others.

As for the resorts, we've requested buildings 46 and 55 at OKW hoping for a nice view of the waterway... but actually I really like buildings 12 and 13 too because they are so close to the HH and main bus stop. With DVC we've found requests are sometimes not granted, so we're keeping an open mind to be flexible. Mainly I'm excited for the king bed and big jacuzzi tub. Afterall it is our anniversary!!!

At SSR we've requested Congress Park or The Springs. Last year we enjoyed Congress Park and had a great view of DTD. We'll be in a studio, but I think that will be fine since there's just the two of us. Congress Park is close enough to the main pool and Artist's Palette while also being close to DTD in case we get in the mood for PI one night.

We'll be flying into Orlando and taking Magical Express. Hopefully OKW will have it's own bus, but we might have to make other stops. Last time when we stayed at the BC we had to first stop at CBR. It really wasn't a big deal, we were only there a few minutes.

We have ordered groceries from WeGoShop! It's our first time doing this and I'm quite excited about it. We didn't get food (with the dining plan I really don't think we'll need any) but we did order a case of Diet Pepsi, regular Pepsi, bottled water, and beer. It seems like a great service, so I'll report back with how that all turned out.

I can't believe we leave in just 9 days!!!!!!!!

 

[Alysa]

You guys look so cute and happy!
What is the German Challenge?
Have you ever eaten at the Plaza before? It is new (well, new in the last 30 years) on our list and we are really looking forward to it.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Hi Erika, I love your show! We have that recorded and we watch it from time to time (we record all Disney shows what can I say). I am loving your pictures and report. And you are staying at my two favorite resorts! We just stayed at OKW in Building 11, that area is nice but you'll have better views in that other area. Hope you get your requests!

Can't wait to read more!

Amy

P.S. I think our October trips overlap, too funny!

 

[mommykds]

Erika,

Reading along! Wonderful pictures.
Congrats on 10 years!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

You guys look so cute and happy!
What is the German Challenge?
Have you ever eaten at the Plaza before? It is new (well, new in the last 30 years) on our list and we are really looking forward to it.

The German Challenge is a huge beer... like 40 ounces And believe me, it's a real challenge to finish it!

We've eaten at The Plaza dozens of times. It is our favorite place for lunch. But we never use our dining plan credits for it because we find it's more economical to pay cash. Every day in the restaurant the Mayor of Main Street USA comes in and names one group the Family of the Day and you get a certificate and a photo with the mayor. We've been chosen twice for that. Definitely give it a try!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Hi Erika, I love your show! We have that recorded and we watch it from time to time (we record all Disney shows what can I say). I am loving your pictures and report. And you are staying at my two favorite resorts! We just stayed at OKW in Building 11, that area is nice but you'll have better views in that other area. Hope you get your requests!

Can't wait to read more!

Amy

P.S. I think our October trips overlap, too funny!

Thanks Amy! We'll be there in October.... the 22nd - 27th staying at the Contemporary for the first time. We did the Bounceback promotion and got about 40% off. If you see us say HELLO!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Here's a pic of DH and I at Pleasure Island on New Year's Eve 1998/1999! I was about 3 months pg with our first child and sick as a dog but it was still a pretty fun night.

Here are a couple of pics of DH and I goofing off at MK back in 2004.......

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Amy! We'll be there in October.... the 22nd - 27th staying at the Contemporary for the first time. We did the Bounceback promotion and got about 40% off. If you see us say HELLO!

We'll be at SSR from the 22nd to the 29th. Enjoy the CR, if I see you I will say hello, after all my times watching Fan's Guide I can definitely recognize you! I am hoping to stay at the CR one of these days, ds has always wanted to stay there. I had a reservation a few years ago and had to cancel, my parents ended up coming last minute and they didn't have two rooms. So close but no cigar!

Sadly, Dh and I have risen to the German Challenge on more than one occasion!

I like your dining plans, its so hard to decide, too many choices!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

BREAKING NEWS!!!​

We were able to grab two nights at the Poly at the end of our trip, so now we are anxiously awaiting info from Member Services about changing our SSR reservation to AKL as a first choice, BWV and BCV as second and third choices. Hopefully by tomorrow morning I'll have good news from them! Stay tuned for updates!!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Does anyone else out there constantly change their resorts and plans right up until the day they leave? When we originally booked this trip in March we were at the Poly for 5 nights. Then we changed it to 2 nights OKW and 3 nights Poly. Then we changed again to 2 nights OKW and 3 nights YC. Then we changed to 1 night Pop, 2 nights OKW, 3 nights YC. Then we changed to 1 night Pop, 2 nights OKW, 3 nights BWI. Then we changed to 2 nights OKW, 3 nights BWI. Then we changed to 2 nights OKW, 3 nights SSR. Now we're changing again to 2 nights OKW, 1 night somewhere yet to be figured out, and 2 nights Poly. Mainly because a room at the Poly popped up today with the AP rate for the first time in weeks so we grabbed it. But they didn't have availability for the 3 nights, plus we had already rented points over on the Rent/Trade board which we have to use for something. So we're taking those points and putting them into 1 night somewhere... but we don't even know where yet! I think I am going to need medication soon if we don't get the resort choices nailed down for good. Of course DH is in HEAVEN right now because his favorite thing in the WORLD is to change his mind a 100 times. You should see how many times we've changed our ADRs!! And we've also added and dropped the Dining Plan about 3 or 4 times. I'm starting to feel like I'm losing my mind.

Oh, can I also mention we've changed our flights as well... and our dates...

Well, only a few more hours to wait until Member Services open and we find out what can be done with our points we rented. The biggest laugh is going to be when they say there is NOTHING and we end up sleeping in a 24 hour food court!!! (for some reason this isn't funny to me right now!)

Top all of this off with being stressed about leaving the kids with grandma for 6 days. I sure hope she can handle them. Sometimes I can't even handle them.

I guess all the stress will be worth it in the end. This time next week we'll be getting ready to go to the airport! Things have a way of just working themselves out when it comes to our family. It sort of goes with our philosophy of living on the edge! It's not as fun unless you have to worry about it.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Ok, I need to figure out the best place to eat on our 4th night. We'll be going to EMH at the Studios, open until 1:00 AM. Currently we have an ADR for 50's Prime Time. But DH isn't crazy about it. We just ate at Mama Melrose in May, so we don't want that. We need something else I think. But I'm not sure what. Part of me says do Kona Cafe at Poly (where we're staying) then take the bus to the Studios. But we're eating at Ohana the next night so maybe they are too similar. We could do Sci-fi?? We usually only do lunch there, but dinner might be a nice change. What are some other options? Maybe take the monorail to the GF or CR and eat, then bus to Studios? Hmmmm.....

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

How hot is it really?? We were there in June 2006 and didn't find it to be too bad, but I think this is the first time we'll ever go during the month of July. I'm trying to pack accordingly.... I usually don't like tank tops or sleeveless stuff, but maybe it will be so hot I won't care. Opinions???

Of course packing for DH is easy... he always wears shorts and a t-shirt every day. It's so easy being a MAN!!!!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

The waiting is the hardest part! I managed to get some sleep, but now it's 9:00 AM on Sunday morning and Member Services is open! So I'm sitting here at the computer with my phone next to me waiting to hear where we'll be sleeping! Which hopefully doesn't turn out to be on a park bench.