How to Get Married In Epcot... and Survive a 12-Day Honeymoon @ WDW!

[lkangell8201]

Awesome trip report! Awesome pictures! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[KatGarcia]

I know exactly how you feel about being nervous about renting the DVC points. I had some issues prior to our renting and I was scared until check in that the ressie would somehow not be there. I even convinced myself that staying at Pop would be ok because we had no where to go until our flight. But things worked out!

Jiko Looks amazing!

 

[DisneyJo]

The parasailing looks fantastic, what a great idea for a wedding pressie!

What cake was your cake topper?

 

[Our2Girls&Disney]

Geez I take a couple days off from the boards and I miss a whole bunch. I thought parasailing was kind of boring. I was waiting for more of a thrill. I would have loved a tandum ride, but my SIL chickened out last minute. There I was all by myself.

I am glad you enjoyed the behind the seeds tour, that is one I am interested in. I should try to schedule that one in.

What were your thoughts in AKV? I know the lack of animals in the savannah was a disappointment, but I am wondering about the resort itself.

 

[stagemomx3]

What in the world are you doing in this picture?

 

[jcc0621]

Another great update! No Festival of the Lion King though? You must put that on your must do list for next year

 

[lurkyloo]

Just found your Trip Report and I am loving it. I have cried several times looking at your pictures and reading about the ceremony. Can't wait to read more.

Golly, that's really sweet! I hope you enjoy the rest of the report (there's nothing left to cry about - except maybe the part where we have to go home at the end )

I love it! Are you an 'Office' fan?

You know, I've only seen it once - did I accidentally make a hip Office reference?

Awesome trip report! Awesome pictures! Can't wait to read the rest!

Hey, thanks!

I know exactly how you feel about being nervous about renting the DVC points. I had some issues prior to our renting and I was scared until check in that the ressie would somehow not be there. I even convinced myself that staying at Pop would be ok because we had no where to go until our flight. But things worked out! Jiko Looks amazing!

I'm not alone, then! I think when we go back for our anniversary I won't be as nervous.

What cake was your cake topper?

It was chocolate with peanut butter mousse. I think I liked the peanut butter cup mousse better b/c the chocolate kinda cut the almost cheesecake-like flavor of the peanut butter filling.

I am glad you enjoyed the behind the seeds tour, that is one I am interested in. I should try to schedule that one in. What were your thoughts in AKV? I know the lack of animals in the savannah was a disappointment, but I am wondering about the resort itself.

I think Behind the Seeds is a must-see - like I said, it's pretty much the ride you should get from the Land but don't... and have to pay $14 for....

AKV: I really liked the idea of being able to see animals from my room, but once the novelty wore off, I missed being in the middle of the action like at BCV. I think I would only stay there 2 nights next time - enjoy the seclusion and the pool and the animals - and then go back to a resort that's a little bit more happenin'. We did have a car, so I can't complain too much....

Also, I love how unusual the room decor is, but it's just so dang dark and heavy and confining with all that big furniture. I'm all about light and airy.

What in the world are you doing in this picture?

I am sawing through a stale wedding cake top the consistency of hardening cement with a flimsy plastic knife - what does it look like I'm doing?

Another great update! No Festival of the Lion King though? You must put that on your must do list for next year

Now I have to warn you, I didn't even like The Lion King on Broadway... do I still need to put it on my must-do list?

 

[stagemomx3]

I am sawing through a stale wedding cake top the consistency of hardening cement with a flimsy plastic knife - what does it look like I'm doing?

I seriously couldn't figure it out.

 

[jennifer.myers]

Great trip report! The braids are cute. You look like you are only 20 years old. Is there more to see/do at Disney World then Disneyland? Never been to Disneyland but plan on going within the next 5 years. Your wedding/honeymoon looked very romantic. I keep telling my dh that it is romantic. He does not believe me. He thinks the place is for kids!! You can have the mouse and have the romance, look at Cindarella and Prince Charming

 

[Kimberly815]

You know, I've only seen it once - did I accidentally make a hip Office reference?

That's too funny! Yes you did!

From Wikiquote.org

Michael: No need for consternation. Everything is under control.
Jan: Michael, last Friday one of your employees attacked another employee in your office!
Michael: It was a crime of passion, Jan. Not a disgruntled employee. Everyone here is extremely gruntled.

 

[heaven2dc]

I stumbled on your TR this morning around 9 and have just finished reading (at work...shhh ). What a fabulous report!

Congratulations, first of all and outstanding pics! My DBFF & I were there 01/31-02/03/08 and just missed your wedding - sorry we couldn't make it

Now will what I do with the rest of my day (since I'm at the last post)?

 

[lurkyloo]

Great trip report! The braids are cute. You look like you are only 20 years old.

I love you!

Is there more to see/do at Disney World then Disneyland? Never been to Disneyland but plan on going within the next 5 years.

Yes, there is WAY more to do at WDW, but that doesn't mean Disneyland isn't a fun place. You just don't need to stay there as long. Most people who stay in the area for a week also check out Sea World, Legoland, Los Angeles, Universal Studios,etc. while they're in town.

That's too funny! Yes you did!
Michael: No need for consternation. Everything is under control.
Jan: Michael, last Friday one of your employees attacked another employee in your office!
Michael: It was a crime of passion, Jan. Not a disgruntled employee. Everyone here is extremely gruntled.

I need to get cable...

I stumbled on your TR this morning around 9 and have just finished reading (at work...shhh ). What a fabulous report! Congratulations, first of all and outstanding pics! Now will what I do with the rest of my day (since I'm at the last post)?

Well, you could read through my wedding planning journal and learn about all the heart-stopping drama that went into the wedding, such as the 5 pages of agony over whether to wear a veil and the six bazillion posts about Evil Town Cars!

OR.... you could read the next installment of the trip report!

 

[jcc0621]

Now I have to warn you, I didn't even like The Lion King on Broadway... do I still need to put it on my must-do list?

I didn't like it on Broadway either

 

[lurkyloo]

Today was Monday… probably… They all blend together at Walt Disney World! It was my first time at MGM Studios, except it wasn’t MGM anymore, it was DHS (which sounds like a discount shoe warehouse). We did the whole get-up-early-and-wait-at-the turnstiles thing, and there were two other brides in the crowd! One turned out to be yearbook50 from the DIS, and the other turned out to be some lucky so-and-so who, along with her groom, got called up to help open the park with the Streetmosphere characters. Secretly, yearbook50 and I seethed… well, OK, at least I seethed…. After they let us in up to the rope for the stooped opening ceremony that I dinnit want to be a part of anyway, yearbook50 and I introduced ourselves, and DH took a picture of this historic Meeting of the Brides:


Me ‘n’ Meli

When the rope hit the pavement, DH and I were off doing the Disney Speed Walk to Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. It was exciting to get on another rollercoaster I hadn’t been on yet. I was also excited to see a guy from my all-time favorite sketch comedy group, The State, in the pre-show film with Aerosmith, running the sound board. The ride was, of course, fun. We really liked the take-off into those first loops, but it kinda seemed frontloaded - like it fizzled out at the end.

Next we dashed over to Tower of Terror and ended up in line with yearbook50 again! This was cool because she told us which line was shorter, and we ended up going in that line every time we rode it for the rest of the trip. But I have to ask – is the ride different if you go in the other line?

We only have the lame-o version at California Adventure that doesn’t have the fifth dimension room, but it’s still the only ride left at the Disneyland Resort that can surprise me enough to make me stop breathing (this is a good thing!). So I was excited to try this superior version, and it didn’t disappoint. The up-and-down effect didn’t seem as scary, but the theming was amazing, and I liked how much longer the ride is.

The exterior of TOT is so pretty, I almost wish we’d done our in-park bridal portrait session at MGM!

OK, everyone always says the Great Movie Ride is lame, but I’d never been on it and I loved the idea of seeing all these great animatronics and scenes from movies. Well… everyone is RIGHT! Oh my goodness – what is up with the actors getting in and out of your car and how slow everything is and just, well, boring? It coulda been so good…. At least we got to walk right up to Grauman’s Chinese Theater without beating a path through tourists and people in ratty superhero costumes selling autographs…

DH and his idol

We also had to take a picture of the Carthay Circle Theater cuz we live in the Carthay Circle area of LA, but the theater was torn down long before we moved there. Actually, that was kind of the theme of our trip to MGM – visiting replicas of sites that no longer exist in LA. I love all our old, historic buildings, and it makes me sad that LA doesn’t protect them better. Eating at the Brown Derby in MGM let me imagine for a moment a place I’ll never get to see because it’s now a strip mall.

Next up was the Backlot Tour – also a big disappointment. Most of the first part (with the water) was them explaining all the stuff we weren’t going to see because it was too cold or windy or something. Whoopee! It was neat to see Walt’s private plane, though!

I was really looking forward to SciFi Dine-in, and it didn’t disappoint. I love that you get to sit in little cars eating burgers and fries and watching scf-fi trailers – I even saw a few that were spoofed on Mystery Science Theater 3000! We sat in the back of a car with a family in the first two rows, so they called us the hitchhikers. We took advantage of our back-seat location to neck…

On our way back to the Lights, Motors Action show we stopped in MuppetLand to look for unique merchandise. Being a puppeteer, DH is of course a huge Muppets fan, and he’d heard that the shop near MuppetVision 3D had stuff you can’t get elsewhere. That turned out not to be entirely true, but it did have the all-time WORST rendering of Animal we’d ever seen:

Uuuuuuuuuuuglyyyyyyyyyy!

We didn’t plan very well, so we ended up dashing into LMA right before the show started and getting not-so-great seats. Then we had to run like crazy to make the next showing of the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.

We are not big on scheduled shows cuz it’s so hard to figure out how to see everything you want to see and we don’t feel like we can play anything by ear – maybe that’s why we were kinda underwhelmed by MGM/DHS. Also, it just felt hot and bare (not enough shade!) and …common. I mean sets and soundstages are just big boxes, after all - it’s not like a jungle river or a fairytale village.

But the Star Wars area was fun! We think they should build an entire Star Wars theme park to counter Universal’s Harry Potter theme park. Just think of all the lands you could have – Tatooine, Hoth, Coruscant… mmmmmmm… Star Warsland…..!

We checked out the Walt Disney Story exhibit. It was neat to see Walt’s “working” office – we have his “show” office at Disneyland (we lent the working office to Walt Disney World a few years ago).

Also, the models of the various theme park attractions were very cool. It was telling to see the difference in the level of detail between California Adventure’s Grizzly River Run model and that of this area of Tokyo DisneySea:

On our way out, we tried to take a picture of the replica of Pixar headquarters they’re building next door (which later turned out to be Midway Mania):

We rode R‘n’R and TOT again, and finally it was time for dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby – what a treat! I felt like I was stepping back in time. And even better, the food was way better than I expected. I’d say it’s on a par with California Grill, Citrico’s, and even Jiko, for less money. We had the pork belly appetizer and the pork loin – whoops! I wasn’t paying attention when I ordered! No pix – we were so hungry we forgot!

The private Bamboo Room can be used for wedding receptions/dinners… but only tiny ones!

The plan was for an early dinner (4:30!) followed by Fantasmic!, but we’re not huge Fantasmic! fans (and I’d heard it’s not as good at MGM as at Disneyland…?) so we blew it off to go get sundaes at Ghirardelli and dip our feet in the Jacuzzi back at AKV – fun!

Mecca…

Let’s move that hand up a little higher, eh Buzz?

Fresh!!!

While we were in the Jacuzzi we had some more laundry going (I know! It’s like a sickness!), and afterward we went looking for animals on the main savannah and heard Fantasmic’s fireworks! Then we talked to a nice man at the front desk about getting a map to Celebration for the next day, and then we went to sleep!

Do you know how many times you have to call housekeeping to get this many pillows?!

 

[lurkyloo]

I didn't like it on Broadway either

Consider it PUT! ...on the itinerary...

 

[jcc0621]

ANother great update. I agree, DHS (nee MGM) is a very underwhelming park. We only plan one day here, and it usually winds up being a half day or slightly more.

Haven't done the Brown Derby in a while, but tI think we will wait until DS is a little older or when we can send him to a kids club

 

[Donald is #1]

Next up was the Backlot Tour – also a big disappointment. Most of the first part (with the water) was them explaining all the stuff we weren’t going to see because it was too cold or windy or something. Whoopee! It was neat to see Walt’s private plane, though!

I used to like this attraction but since they put in LMA, I don't really like it that much. I put it in the "just OK" category. Of course, I am not sure if it got worse when they changed it or my tastes just got better.

 

[never_enough_pooh]

OMG....I literally just read the first 2 posts and I am hooked!!

Off to read more!!

 

[lurkyloo]

ANother great update. I agree, DHS (nee MGM) is a very underwhelming park. We only plan one day here, and it usually winds up being a half day or slightly more.

I love it! I guess it's good we aren't that interested - leaves more time to spend in the other parks!

I used to like this attraction but since they put in LMA, I don't really like it that much. I put it in the "just OK" category. Of course, I am not sure if it got worse when they changed it or my tastes just got better.

So did it change when they put in LMA? Was there more stuff on the backlot tour before?

OMG....I literally just read the first 2 posts and I am hooked!! Off to read more!!

More to read, coming right up!

 

[lurkyloo]

The plan for Tuesday was to meet our wedding photographers at the Market Street Cafe in Celebration for brunch. Unfortunately, Jensey got really sick a few days before (and then Nathan got sick a few days later) so we couldn’t meet up. We were really bummed because we had been looking forward to actually having a conversation instead of just striking poses for them! We’d also been looking forward to exploring Celebration, which we’d never seen before, so we decided to go anyway.

Now, just to show you what dorks we are, we wore our bride and groom mouse ears off property to Celebration! We figured it was prolly the only non-Disney place in the world that we could get away with it, and we got lots of nice congratulations. Our brunch at the Market Street Cafe was really good. I think DH had an omelet, and I had chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. We didn’t have room, but I insisted that we split a piece of coconut cream pie for dessert (yes, we had dessert with our breakfast – it was our honeymoon!). It was A-friggin-mazing!

Sorry there are no pictures. I’m not sure why we didn’t take any (oh wait – maybe b/c originally we were gonna let Nathan & Jensey do all the work!). So I borrowed some from the Internets for you...

Market Street Cafe

Not actual Market Street Cafe coconut cream pie, but just as tasty-looking!

After brunch we waddled around Celebration’s lake, where we found this disturbing sign...

So... there are alligators in Celebration’s lake? Then we sneaked into the residents-only recreation center at the park (not worth the jail time, let me tell ya!) and stopped at the fountain.

We struck up a conversation with a family there, and it turned out the dad not only works at Epcot in special events, but he knows our wedding planner! AND he told us they’d just done a scuba wedding in the Living Seas tank! (And our WP thought our wedding was unusual?!). Across the street, next to the movie theater, I discovered the combo fudge/ice cream shop Kilwin’s – be still, my beating heart! Unfortunately, I was too stuffed full of pancakes, pie, etc. to partake, but I vowed to return before we left Florida. It started to rain, so we ducked into these shops...

With the rain, we were glad we’d not gone out to the parks to take pictures with the Roots (although it would have been great weather for this “trash the dress” thing all wedding photographers seem to be really into!).

Next we decided to play miniature golf at Winter Summerland. I wore my screaming yellow poncho, which amused DH to no end.

That yellow blob is me in my foxy poncho!

The kind gentleman working the register gave us a free round of golf for being newlyweds, so we decided to try the winter course and the summer course. The theming was great, but it seemed like a lot of the effects weren’t working on the winter side.

Not only did we get the one round free, we also got free Mickey golf balls AND I won both games – hooray! We (OK, I) decided that the loser of the first round had to buy the winner a souvenir, and the winner of the second round had to buy the loser a souvenir, so that meant we each owed each other a prize.

Next up: resort hopping! We started with Coronado Springs cuz it was closest. I was really surprised – I’d always assumed it would be my least favorite Moderate b/c I thought it would be all rocks and dirt and the occasional cactus. But the grounds were quite lush, and the common areas were a lot nicer and a lot less like Taco Bell than I’d imagined. DH was fascinated by the pool...

Next we hit Caribbean Beach Resort. Our aunt and uncle honeymooned in Jamaica, and after staying at CBR for our wedding, they declared it very authentic. When I started planning my first trip to WDW as an adult (eight years ago!!), I thought I wanted to stay at CBR, but today, after seeing the food court, I decided another of the Moderates would be my favorite. (Every resort we went to, DH wanted to see the pool and I wanted to see the restaurant/food court). The pool was being rehabbed...

We’d seen Old Key West when we met my family there at Olivia’s, but we drove around the grounds a bit to get a feel for it in daylight. Then we went to Port Orleans French Quarter, the Moderate I thought would be my favorite. I was kind of surprised to find I didn’t care for the theming at all. I must’ve thought it would look more like New Orleans Square at Disneyland, but it seemed a lot less detailed and more generic... and kinda ’80s, somehow!

Now, I thought I’d heard you could get pralines at the food court at POFQ, but nobody knew what I was talking about. So we had beignets and Cheetos (I know – what was up with that? I never eat Cheetos! I think I was turning into a duck...) Talk about messy! I was covered in white powdered sugar and fluorescent orange powdered cheese!

Look who’s wearing a doofy poncho NOW!

After DH’s narrow escape from the jaws of an alligator, we got in the car and headed for Port Orleans Riverside. I suppose it would be a crummy place to stay if you had to walk everywhere, but we both fell in love with the theming. It seemed much more Disney than the New Orleans-esque overlay feeling of POFQ.

We went out back to the water wheel and dashed to the pool through a downpour. While DH explored the pool in the rain, I hung out on the porch of the pool bar, which felt even more quaint and Southern with the rain tapping on the roof. We found our prizes in the POR gift shop – a box of WDW stickers for DH (they were cool – like mini attraction posters and vintage characters and stuff!) and an anime version of Eeyore on a key chain for me. No pix – d’oh!

Next we tried to see Ft. Wilderness but were thwarted by the transportation system there – I hadn’t realized that they make you leave your car and take their internal bus system to get around. This made me grumpy, so we drove straight to Wilderness Lodge, where our dinner reservations were. It was a good thing, too, because it started pouring again as soon as we got inside. Our reservation was for 8:30 pm (the only time I could get when I had to rejigger our schedule due to fireworks changes about a month before we left). But they took us at 5pm right when they opened, and we got a lovely seat right by the window.

Our meal was amazing. (Sorry we don’t have pix – I think today was the day we got tired of all the picture taking.) We split the mushroom soup and the salmon, which DH raved about. Afterward we got free berry cobbler for being newlyweds! DH got to eat it all by himself because I don’t like fruit. For my dessert I later decided to try the ginormous brownie they sell at Roaring Forks, on the recommendation of WDWPolyPrincess. It was HUGE... and hugely delicious!

After dinner we explored WL. We walked around each level and read about the different rocks and fossils found in each stratum of the Grand Canyon. We “discovered” a little nook on the third or fourth floor directly over the entrance, with a fireplace, comfy chairs and a fantastic view of the lobby.

(Not actual view)

We walked down to the DVC wing to check out the Iron Spike Room (wait – I think they just renamed it something else...) and were excited to see on display the train Walt used to ride around his backyard in Holmby Hills.

I was also excited to see actual families actually sitting in there playing actual games, just like in the DVC ads! (Although the DVC rep we kept running into all over WDW may have been there manipulating this photo op from behind the scenes!). We liked the animal carvings in the beams of the elevator lobby, but there was something about the overall feel of the place that I didn’t like as much as some of the other DVC resorts we’d seen.

We headed back to the main lobby so I could eat my Gigantic Brownie (or 1/3 of it, any way) in our fave nook. We were really sleepy, so we decided to call it a night and return to our resort. But, just like in a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, that turned out to be a false ending...

As we were walking out to the parking lot, we heard the MK fireworks start and caught a few glimpses. I thought maybe we could see them better from the patio at the front of the resort above the entry, so we dashed back inside, ran up the stairs, tripped over the doorsill, and stumbled out onto the patio only to see.... nothing. So we tripped back over the doorsill (I mean really, why is that thing 3 inches high? Isn’t everything supposed to be wheelchair accessible these days?), tumbled down the stairs, and sprinted for the dock. But by the time we got down there, the fireworks were over. However, a boat had just arrived, so on a whim we took it over to the Magic Kingdom and got there 30 minutes before closing time. We went straight to Big Thunder Mountain and got to ride it twice in a row because there was hardly anyone else there!

Then it was back to the boat, back to the Lodge, back to our car, and headed for the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We were really tired. DH was trying to perk me up by making up some silly story about an Indian spirit of the Wilderness Lodge named Panchuto, but I wasn’t having it -- until we got to AKV and were trudging up the stairs from the parking lot, when I tried to exclaim “Praise Panchuto – we’re home!” but couldn’t get past “Praise P--” because this seemed SOOOO funny (Ed. note: This is one of those “you had to be there” stories). We were in hysterics, staggering past the valet stand – I’m sure we looked drunk. But if our honeymoon were a movie, this scene – heck, the whole day – would definitely be in the “having fun together” montage...

And STILL we didn’t go to sleep! Instead we sat on the deck watching the rain and got to see a group of zebras dash by....

Next up: Epcot... again!