"I brushed my teeth, and I don't have cooties." An August DFTW and Disneymoon TR

[ewalshslp]

Wow! You're working in a bit of everything!! That's amazing! I think I'm most interested in working with kids. I'm not a huge fan of working with large groups of kids—in past I've worked at bible camps, done birthday parties, volunteered in classroom, etc.—but I really enjoy hanging out with kids one-on-one and figuring out why and how they do what they do. I wasn't sure when I started the program...I came from a music (vocalist) background so I thought I might enjoy specializing in working with singers on issues like vocal injury. But now I'm really enjoying my language development class and the projects we've done where we've taken language samples from kids. Our program has a heavy practicum component where we get lots of short work placement opportunities, and two longer placements where one of which will be with kids and one of which will be with adults. So I'm kind of counting on those experiences to help me figure out whether I'm right about working with kids or not.

That's one of the best things about being an SLP...so many different choices, you will never be bored!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

That's one of the best things about being an SLP...so many different choices, you will never be bored!!

That's one of the reasons it appealed to me most! That and my own experiences working with an SLP as a kid (I had nodes), and family/friends who've had their own experiences (Nathan has a slight lisp which was much more prominent when he was younger, and my cousin has problems with certain speech sounds, etc., etc.) I'm really excited about all the different opportunities, and also the problem-solving and creativity that I expect will be involved since every individual I work with is going to be different.

 

[Steppesister]

The PTR plans look pretty well thought out and detailed to me. I've done a couple of 5Ks and they're fun. You'll do great! Only having time to read and skim right now, but I AM here and reading along as best I can! Promise. Until I get back, I'm having to back off the DIS a bit as you know. But I AM here. K?

 

[Steppesister]

Also, jumping onto the Hoop wagon. A must see skit. Totally worth it, even though you pay a bit.

 

[fallonkendra]

I actually got all caught up on your report last night! And I quoted things! Then of course the kitten stepped on my laptop, and I have no idea what she did but all my quotes were gone Let's see what I can remember...

Your border crossing story is hilarious! We've obviously flown every time we've gone to Disney, and it's always been super easy - my excitement when I say answer the "where are you going" question probably doesn't hurt haha. I can see where the confusion came from for the border guard though haha - at least he didn't put you guys into border jail!

Yay for your free night at the Grand! The room looks nice, even if you didn't get an upgrade of any kind! And I totally understand why you guys had to take the monorail over to Magic Kingdom for a few hours - it's so close! I'm going to be so tempted to do the same when we're saying at the Grand, but Luke has normal park tickets and we won't want to waste a day on only a few hours.

Your pictures from Cape May Cafe are so cute! I love the outfits the characters wear there!

I'm just shaking my head at Nathan's family - plan to meet you at Epcot at 9:45, don't sit down to breakfast until 9:20 *shakes head*. Especially the day before your wedding - you have enough to worry about without them being late! I'm really worried about this with our trip, we're going with a ton of Disney virgins and most of them are coming for a full week...

 

[MeghanEmily]

The PTR plans look pretty well thought out and detailed to me. I've done a couple of 5Ks and they're fun. You'll do great! Only having time to read and skim right now, but I AM here and reading along as best I can! Promise. Until I get back, I'm having to back off the DIS a bit as you know. But I AM here. K?

Thanks, Liesa! I'm glad to know you'll be hanging out here when you can, whether you get a chance to comment or not. Have an amazing trip!

Also, jumping onto the Hoop wagon. A must see skit. Totally worth it, even though you pay a bit.

Yet another vote for Hoop! It's definitely on the list for a future trip...hopefully sooner rather than later...

I'm just shaking my head at Nathan's family - plan to meet you at Epcot at 9:45, don't sit down to breakfast until 9:20 *shakes head*. Especially the day before your wedding - you have enough to worry about without them being late! I'm really worried about this with our trip, we're going with a ton of Disney virgins and most of them are coming for a full week...

It was so frustrating! What I'd like to do with them would be just to help facilitate a Salmon-Family Disney Vacation, where my sole purpose is to help them experience Disney, because then I can go in with no expectations for my own Disney goals and just help them to see and do whatever they want. I think that would still be a challenge, but less so than when I also had wedding priorities on the brain.

Good luck! I hope everything goes smoothly with your guests! I'm sure there are definitely potential challenges when you have that many newbies for such a long period of time! Your wedding is approaching fast now!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Heat, and Treats, and The Great Balloon Caper!
Disney Day 2 - Part 4

Alright, so I’ve just been realizing that once this update is finished, the next few are going to be very dense! That’s because the next day of the TR will be our wedding day! So much happened in one day that I think I will break it up into updates that cover short blocks of time and are densely packed with photos and information. Perhaps one update for each mini-event that happened. For some updates, I may even do one update with text and a few of my own photos, and then follow it up with a photos-only post, e.g. for the posts of our photo sessions or the ceremony, etc. If it’s too much detail for you, or you’re not particularly interested in weddings and only came here for the trip stuff, you can feel free to skim those posts, and things will go back to normal on the next day of the trip. …Also, I just realized that two months from today we will be heading out on our next WDW trip! (SOO excited to get back so soon!) That means I have a lot of work to do on this TR before then. I think it’s unlikely that I will have it finished before we go, but it depends on how ambitious I get. Sorry in advance if there are times I swamp you with updates!

So…on to the last update before the wedding day commences! N and I had just gone to pick up our bridal party. Originally we had planned to meet everyone at Disney Springs, but when we heard that Brad, Ashley, and Erin had all arrived at CSR, we decided to bring them with us since we were driving anyway. It would save them time on the bus, and we could all grab a bite to eat together. They were all in the Cabanas section, with the girls in one room and Brad in the room next door. (Nathan would be staying with him that night while my mom joined me in my room.) Everyone was bouncing as we piled into the car and I drove us to Disney Springs. We decided to find something to eat, then stop in to Erin McKenna’s for me, and then head to our wedding Meet & Greet location….Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop!

When we first descended from the Lime parking garage, I saw the object of my first mission: a Disney balloon seller!! I purchased two blue Mickey balloons from a lovely CM in the college program. I needed them for our photo session at the Magic Kingdom the next morning. (Remember this for later.) I ran around like a little child with my balloons, trying—often unsuccessfully—to keep from bonking people in the head with them. We all agreed on D-Luxe burger for dinner, and as we were walking over from the garage I realized that I’d left my phone in the car! N volunteered to go back for it for me, so I gave him my car keys. I would order something for him to eat, and he planned to meet us at D-Luxe. (Remember this for later, too…)

Everything went fine at D-Luxe burger. I ordered the classic cheeseburger and got N…something? I seem to remember it being something like “bacon and bleu,” but now when I look at the menu that’s not an option? I don’t know. Anyway, but the time our food came out N had come back with my phone. I realized I hadn’t ordered any drinks, and when N asked a CM if we could order some he just gave them to us for free as a wedding gift!

I was feeling like we were a little short on time, so we took our burgers to go. I stopped in to Erin McKenna’s next and picked up a couple of donuts (including one for the next morning) and a cookie sandwich. Seeing as I had a lot on my mind, I didn’t manage to get burger pictures or Erin McKenna’s pictures. Oops.

We arrived at Ghiradelli (with burgers in tow! haha)…

…and soon after we saw my mom (who was directing traffic as guests arrived) and the rest of my family. N’s family arrived shortly after, as did the rest of our guests. We snagged a bunch of tables outside in the shade, and people started making their way inside in groups to order ice cream. This is the only part of the night that I actually have pictures from, and most of these are stolen from family members:

Most of this evening blends together as just a hot and sweaty time of excitement and laughter. Everyone wanted to talk to everyone and everyone wanted pictures with us. #celebrities! But one thing stands out in my mind…my family enjoys drinking wine in moderation, especially to celebrate big events. Which is great! But I have one aunt who always gets a little drunker than I think she plans. Apparently she had been drinking wine all afternoon when my mom left me at CSR with N, and by the time she got to the meet and greet she was feeling especially emotional! When she drinks, she also typically tends to repeat the same phrases over and over again. She sat down with N and his dad—and keep in mind that N’s parents are quite religious and traditional and are against drinking!—and kept telling N, “You’re a good guy…I think you can make her happy…I like you…I think. But if you ever hurt her I’m coming home (she works in China teaching ESL) and you’re gonna’ have to deal with China Aunt!” Over and over…. “I like you…I think…” When I went over to check on N, he pulled me in and whispered to me “Is [aunt in question] drunk?” And when I was like “Ooooh yeah!” He was like “Oh good, that makes much more sense!” N’s dad ended up taking it in stride and being able to laugh about it, which was a relief. But the best part is that my aunt kept telling N how she hadn’t seen me so happy in years…but N and I have been together for about 9 years now, so he was like, Gee, thanks! I’ve been here the whole time! She also kept saying how she loved me and thought of me like her own daughter (since she has no kids of her own)…but we rarely spend much time together anymore, so everyone just felt a little weird about it. I think she took my wedding harder than my own mom did!

Before everyone went their separate ways for the evening, we took a few family/couple/group photos!

As everyone was leaving, we decided to split up the bridal party, too. N and Brad were headed out to get a drink or two at Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar, and I was headed back to the hotel with the girls and my mom to have an early night. We stopped in to the World of Disney store so my mom could find a Disney-themed bag to bring things to the wedding the next day, and afterwards we had made it all the way to the parking garage when I realized that…I didn’t have my car keys. N still had them. Uggh. I sent him a message and he and Brad came to meet us near the garage. It turns out that they’d tried to get drinks but had forgotten their passports. Canadian driver’s licences aren’t always accepted as valid ID at Disney—word of warning to my Canadian friends who drink!—so they were out of luck! We didn’t have enough room in the car to drive everyone home. For a short time, fuelled by my mother and N’s suggestion, we considered whether we could cram everyone in the car somehow…but no dice! Also, I didn’t want to become a criminal the day before my wedding, especially after my brush with border jail a few days earlier! So N gave me my keys and I went home with the girls as planned. Then when we got back I used their magic bands to get into the guys’ rooms and take photos of their passports on my phone so I could send them to the boys and they could get their drink on! (It turns out that while I was busy doing this, they had already gotten in to the bar at Raglan Road—the name escapes me now…—and got drinks there without passports.)

When I got back to the room with my mom I started prepping for the next morning, and when I glanced at the blue Mickey balloons I realized that one balloon was smaller than the other! It turns out that one balloon had a small leak. I was pretty devastated that I wouldn’t be able to have my pictures with N and me holding Disney balloons in front of the castle the next morning. I had been planning for those pictures for a long time and bought the balloons specifically for that reason. I messaged N to see if he was still at DS and could pick up another balloon, but he had returned to the hotel by that point and said that the balloon person wasn’t even there anymore when he left. That’s when N, my knight in shining armour, volunteered to bus over to the Magic Kingdom (which I believe was the only park still open at that point) and get another balloon. I hated for him to be up late running errands for me, but he and my mother told me to just make a decision and go to bed, so I told him to go, and I went to sleep…after setting this terrible alarm:

As I wouldn’t find out until the next morning, N arrived at the MK and didn’t see any balloons anywhere. He asked a CM and they said all the balloon people had packed up and gone home. The CM looked for balloons for him for around 30 minutes and then told him everyone who could do the balloons was gone. He was then taken to Guest Services, and he told them his whole sob story about how he was getting married in the morning and how his wife-to-be bought a balloon and it was deflating, our photos would be ruined, etc. At first they told him there was nothing they could do…but then all of a sudden someone returned from the back with a free balloon for him and well-wishes for his wedding! Disney magic finally prevailed, and wedding photos were saved!

Strap in, everyone…Wedding Day comes up next!!​

 

[dolewhipdreams]

As I wouldn’t find out until the next morning, N arrived at the MK and didn’t see any balloons anywhere. He asked a CM and they said all the balloon people had packed up and gone home. The CM looked for balloons for him for around 30 minutes and then told him everyone who could do the balloons was gone. He was then taken to Guest Services, and he told them his whole sob story about how he was getting married in the morning and how his wife-to-be bought a balloon and it was deflating, our photos would be ruined, etc. At first they told him there was nothing they could do…but then all of a sudden someone returned from the back with a free balloon for him and well-wishes for his wedding! Disney magic finally prevailed, and wedding photos were saved!
​

I love this whole story about the balloon. I can picture it all going down in my head and it's great! I'm so glad you got your balloons

 

[MamaCoop]

Ahhh! I am so excited!!!!! WEDDING TIME!!!!

Great job Nathan!

It definitely looks like everyone was having a great time!

 

[pkondz]

That’s because the next day of the TR will be our wedding day!

Woot!

So much happened in one day that I think I will break it up into updates that cover short blocks of time and are densely packed with photos and information.

Not a bad idea.

you can feel free to skim those posts,

Nope!

our wedding Meet & Greet location….Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop!

Gooooood choice.
Never eaten there. Desperately want to.

I purchased two blue Mickey balloons

"Which deflated our entire wedding budget."

I needed them for our photo session at the Magic Kingdom the next morning. (Remember this for later.)

Yes ma'am.

We all agreed on D-Luxe burger for dinner

Never heard of that. How were the burgers?

N volunteered to go back for it for me, so I gave him my car keys. I would order something for him to eat, and he planned to meet us at D-Luxe. (Remember this for later, too…)

Yes ma'am.

I realized I hadn’t ordered any drinks, and when N asked a CM if we could order some he just gave them to us for free as a wedding gift!

Nice!

We arrived at Ghiradelli (with burgers in tow! haha)…

Port-a-burgers.

She sat down with N and his dad—and keep in mind that N’s parents are quite religious and traditional and are against drinking!—

Uh, oh!
I've had this exact scenario.

“Is [aunt in question] drunk?” And when I was like “Ooooh yeah!” He was like “Oh good, that makes much more sense!”

But the best part is that my aunt kept telling N how she hadn’t seen me so happy in years…but N and I have been together for about 9 years now, so he was like, Gee, thanks! I’ve been here the whole time!

we had made it all the way to the parking garage when I realized that…I didn’t have my car keys

I knew it!!!!!

Canadian driver’s licences aren’t always accepted as valid ID at Disney—word of warning to my Canadian friends who drink

Really? I had no idea. Huh. But... pretty sure I don't have to worry about it.

when I glanced at the blue Mickey balloons I realized that one balloon was smaller than the other! It turns out that one balloon had a small leak.

Oh, no!
You'd think, for $875 that you'd not have to worry about that.

That’s when N, my knight in shining armour, volunteered to bus over to the Magic Kingdom (which I believe was the only park still open at that point) and get another balloon.

Awwwww.

At first they told him there was nothing they could do…but then all of a sudden someone returned from the back with a free balloon for him and well-wishes for his wedding! Disney magic finally prevailed, and wedding photos were saved!

Yay! And... lucky!

Strap in, everyone…Wedding Day comes up next!!

<buckles up>

 

[fallonkendra]

Your tshirts for everyone turned out so cute! We've also ordered custom shirts for our guests, I'm just hoping everyone cooperates and just wears them.

I love your pictures with the balloons, hurray for Nathan for saving the day! Mickey balloons were an absolute must for me as well, I ordered 8 of the ones that don't have the clear plastic circle around them - I'm going to hide that bill from Luke

Good call on grabbing some Erin Mckenna's for breakfast the next day! Who doesn't love doughnuts early in the morning?!

The part about your aunt having a bit too much to drink - hilarious! I'm glad Nathan and his dad were able to laugh it off.

 

[ariane37]

Hmm, I might be that Aunt who drinks too much...........now I'm going to have to tell someone at each family function to hit me if I start repeating myself!

and when N asked a CM if we could order some he just gave them to us for free as a wedding gift!

Pixie dust #1!

That’s when N, my knight in shining armour, volunteered to bus over to the Magic Kingdom (which I believe was the only park still open at that point) and get another balloon. I hated for him to be up late running errands for me, but he and my mother told me to just make a decision and go to bed, so I told him to go, and I went to sleep

Aw, Nathan Not that you need me to tell you this, but that's a great guy.

but then all of a sudden someone returned from the back with a free balloon for him and well-wishes for his wedding! Disney magic finally prevailed, and wedding photos were saved!

Pixie Dust #2!

I cannot wait until you get to your next series of updates!! Do them any way you want, just include lots of pictures and all the details!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

I love this whole story about the balloon. I can picture it all going down in my head and it's great! I'm so glad you got your balloons

It was a wild night, apparently! I felt bad the next morning that he had so much trouble getting the balloon, but it makes for a great story. He doesn't really visit the Dis or understand it, but he made me promise to put this story in my TR.

Ahhh! I am so excited!!!!! WEDDING TIME!!!!

Great job Nathan!

It definitely looks like everyone was having a great time!

I'm excited, too! It's going to be fun to relive it!!

I think everyone really did have fun, that night and the next day. That was the first moment where I felt like I could finally start to relax and enjoy because it seemed like it actually had somehow come together and people really were enjoying themselves.

Gooooood choice.
Never eaten there. Desperately want to.

According to my dairy-consuming family and friends, it was excellent! I remember eating here in high school before the dietary restrictions were a thing, and it was pretty tasty! Recommend.

"Which deflated our entire wedding budget."

...but seriously, though...yes. Yes, it did. We could have at least paid for another meal for the price of these balloons. I was expecting it...but it still stung a little.

Never heard of that. How were the burgers?

They were good! Pricey. Which I'm sure isn't a shock to you since you know what to expect at Disney. We always seem to go back here despite the price, so I guess that says something about them.

Uh, oh!
I've had this exact scenario.

I anticipated something like this happening, so it could have been much worse.

Really? I had no idea. Huh. But... pretty sure I don't have to worry about it.

Yeah, right?! Usually it's not an issue, but once in a while somebody will be strict about it. I'm sure you get ID'd all the time!

Oh, no!
You'd think, for $875 that you'd not have to worry about that.

That's what I thought, too!! I'm sure if I'd noticed it while I was there and the balloon seller was still there they would have replaced it for me, but of course that would have been too easy.

Your tshirts for everyone turned out so cute! We've also ordered custom shirts for our guests, I'm just hoping everyone cooperates and just wears them.

Thanks! I really liked ours. We had a bit of confusion in ordering where she sent us some wrong shirts, but in the end it worked out great. We decided to just offer them to our guests as an option that they could buy for themselves because we didn't budget for them, but I was surprised that so many people wanted them. The best man didn't want one, but then I think he regretted it when we all had them! I'm sure all your guests will just be so excited for everything that they'll want to wear them!

I love your pictures with the balloons, hurray for Nathan for saving the day! Mickey balloons were an absolute must for me as well, I ordered 8 of the ones that don't have the clear plastic circle around them - I'm going to hide that bill from Luke

Bahah Luke doesn't need to know about that I had considered ordering the ones you're talking about, too. They look nice in pictures! But there was something about space-pod-type the ones from the parks that I liked

Good call on grabbing some Erin Mckenna's for breakfast the next day! Who doesn't love doughnuts early in the morning?!

It hit the spot at 5am! And then second breakfast was wedding cake!

The part about your aunt having a bit too much to drink - hilarious! I'm glad Nathan and his dad were able to laugh it off.

It could have been much worse! It was funny at first...and then I went to my mom and went, "Save me! Take her away and do something!" And she was like, "No way, I've had to deal with her all afternoon!"

Hmm, I might be that Aunt who drinks too much...........now I'm going to have to tell someone at each family function to hit me if I start repeating myself!

Bahaha hilarious! Always good to put those safeguards in place!

Aw, Nathan Not that you need me to tell you this, but that's a great guy.

I hit the jackpot with that one

I cannot wait until you get to your next series of updates!! Do them any way you want, just include lots of pictures and all the details!!

I'm looking forward to it, too! So I can relive it all! No leaving anything out

 

[pkondz]

I'm here all week.
Try the burgers.

...but seriously, though...yes. Yes, it did. We could have at least paid for another meal for the price of these balloons. I was expecting it...but it still stung a little.

Those things are possibly the most expensive (for value received) items in all of Disney.

They were good! Pricey. Which I'm sure isn't a shock to you since you know what to expect at Disney. We always seem to go back here despite the price, so I guess that says something about them.

Hmmmm! Might have to see if I can squeeze this into my itinerary.
Doubtful... but then again I'll know for next time.

Yeah, right?! Usually it's not an issue, but once in a while somebody will be strict about it. I'm sure you get ID'd all the time!

I do!
"Senior discount?"
"I'm not that old!"
"Well, you sure look it. Prove it!"

That's what I thought, too!! I'm sure if I'd noticed it while I was there and the balloon seller was still there they would have replaced it for me, but of course that would have been too easy.

Planned that way. They have a slow release timer on them so they don't start deflating until it's too late.

 

[MeghanEmily]

I do!
"Senior discount?"
"I'm not that old!"
"Well, you sure look it. Prove it!"

Planned that way. They have a slow release timer on them so they don't start deflating until it's too late.

By gum! I think you've figured it out!

 

[pkondz]

By gum! I think you've figured it out!

I did buy gum. Mint.

 

[afwdwfan]

Wow! Cool painting! Not just on N, but on the canvas too.

Since my family is arriving later than us, N and I agreed on another split stay for this trip. Dec. 27-30 we'll be staying at Caribbean Beach Resort, which is new to N. I've been there once before. We're in a standard room, so I'm planning to call in and request one of the buildings that's a little less of a trek from the building with the grub... (Probably Jamaica 45...crossing my fingers on that one.) CBR is also massive and has some great paths/trails, so hopefully it'll give us incentive to do some jogging and stay in shape before the 5k at the end of our trip.

Great idea. I know CBR is kind of construction central, but I'm sure you're getting a decent room rate and it should fit your needs very well for a couple of nights on a budget trip.

Because, like, bread service though.

Wait a minute... bread and all those different dipping sauces aren't an allergy nightmare for you?

8:30am: Boma (My mom booked this for us. I didn't disagree.)

So how many times are you eating there this trip? I mean, why not just stay at AKL if you're going to be there nearly every day?

Jiko—if this is what we end up doing I won't be too disappointed because I've been wanting to check it out for a long time! N and I are very attached to AKL if you haven't noticed that by now.

Hadn't picked up on that one...

We've also currently got the Starlight Safari tour at AKL booked for this night, but I don't think we'll keep it. I just booked it since Savour the Savannah wasn't available during our trip, and this tour was all booked up on the 1st, so this seemed like the only night...but I'm not feelin' doing such a late tour at a remote resort when all of our mornings are early, etc. We'll see...

I can see your conflict. It would be nice to do, but probably not worth running yourself ragged. Especially if you don't end up with a car. It will be a pain getting to/from different resorts all the time and make for an even later evening.

I also think he feels more at home being surrounded by Canadians.

Me too. And I'm not Canadian. You're just all so polite you'd probably never even point that out.

Early o'clock: Marathon Weekend 5k. We've been slowly training for this since January. Disney is the only thing I could imagine motivating me to go outside and run. I really kind of hate to run. When I started training I was huffing and puffing after running 60 seconds in a row. Now I've got my 5k down to about 37 minutes. I'm no Speed Racer, but progress and fitness = awesome!

Congratulations on all the great progress you've made!!!

The window between racing and supper will be spent napping, guaranteed.

What? No!!! You're doing it wrong! You have an early flight home the next morning. You can't spend your last day at Disney World just napping!

I also haven't decided if I want to rent a car or not. Even driving to and from Sanford and having 1-2 trips to Universal and back, Uber and taxis would still work out to be a lot cheaper than a rental.

Do it! You have to get a #LuxurySedan.

Also, I need to plan at least one visit to Erin McKenna's NYC Bakery, because I'm still experiencing withdrawal after our August trip where I stuffed my face with cookies, cakes, and donuts what seemed like pretty much every day...

I needed them for our photo session at the Magic Kingdom the next morning. (Remember this for later.)

We won't have to remember it for long. I mean the photo session is only like a couple of hours away at this point, right?

I would order something for him to eat, and he planned to meet us at D-Luxe. (Remember this for later, too…)

Oh no! You're splitting from Nate without a phone! This is like bagless EPCOT all over again!

I was feeling like we were a little short on time, so we took our burgers to go. I stopped in to Erin McKenna’s next and picked up a couple of donuts (including one for the next morning) and a cookie sandwich. Seeing as I had a lot on my mind, I didn’t manage to get burger pictures or Erin McKenna’s pictures. Oops.

Ok, it might not be a Dis approved sentiment... but food pictures are overrated. I don't care what it looks like, I care what it tastes like.

Most of this evening blends together as just a hot and sweaty time of excitement and laughter.

And that sounds like the perfect evening before the wedding.

But one thing stands out in my mind…my family enjoys drinking wine in moderation, especially to celebrate big events. Which is great! But I have one aunt who always gets a little drunker than I think she plans.

I think everyone has that aunt.

When I went over to check on N, he pulled me in and whispered to me “Is [aunt in question] drunk?” And when I was like “Ooooh yeah!” He was like “Oh good, that makes much more sense!” N’s dad ended up taking it in stride and being able to laugh about it, which was a relief.

She also kept saying how she loved me and thought of me like her own daughter (since she has no kids of her own)…but we rarely spend much time together anymore, so everyone just felt a little weird about it. I think she took my wedding harder than my own mom did!

And I'm now going to spend the rest of this TR looking at pictures wondering which one is China Aunt.

we had made it all the way to the parking garage when I realized that…I didn’t have my car keys. N still had them. Uggh.

That’s when N, my knight in shining armour, volunteered to bus over to the Magic Kingdom (which I believe was the only park still open at that point) and get another balloon.

That's why you married him, right?

I hated for him to be up late running errands for me, but he and my mother told me to just make a decision and go to bed, so I told him to go, and I went to sleep…after setting this terrible alarm:

Why does it say every day? You aren't really that crazy, are you?????

As I wouldn’t find out until the next morning, N arrived at the MK and didn’t see any balloons anywhere. He asked a CM and they said all the balloon people had packed up and gone home. The CM looked for balloons for him for around 30 minutes and then told him everyone who could do the balloons was gone. He was then taken to Guest Services, and he told them his whole sob story about how he was getting married in the morning and how his wife-to-be bought a balloon and it was deflating, our photos would be ruined, etc. At first they told him there was nothing they could do…but then all of a sudden someone returned from the back with a free balloon for him and well-wishes for his wedding! Disney magic finally prevailed, and wedding photos were saved!

That's Disney service for you. I'm glad that someone was able to step up and help him out!

 

[cajunfan]

Really enjoying your report! I can't wait to hear/see wedding day!

We have stayed at the ASM Family suites our last two trips. Both times we were in the Calypso buildings (once in each building). We had pretty much all adults both trip (okay one 4 year for one and the other had two teens...adult sized though) and did not hear any complaining about the beds.

Lynn

 

[amalone1013]

My husband (eeek!)

Eeeee! That's how I felt starting my trip report

I love Stacey!

P.S. I've chosen to write this TR in blue since it was our wedding colour!

I would agree that blue is an excellent wedding color

I shared a ton of our planning in my PTR, and it was mostly a fabulous process, with a bit of expected stress and some unwelcome family drama. #weddingsthough

Ugh, weddings... why do they bring that out in people?

with three trips being on annual passes

The curse of APs.... I want to go about three more times before ours expire!

I swear I haven't forgotten about you! School and work are just kicking my tush and sucking my free time. And just when I think I'm caught up on the Dis...this happens...

This is my life lately.

Turns out, they have to worry a lot about people sneaking over to the states to get married, having no ties to Canada when they leave (e.g. I had no job, and N was a travelling artist) and just trying to stay and never come back home!! And they thought I was trying to sneak into the country!!

I mean...I'd love to live at Disney World...don't get me wrong...but that wasn't the plan. At least not this time.

Haha! I never would have guessed that's a problem. Tempting, but...

The worst one was actually in fairly dense, slow-moving traffic somewhere around Connecticut: We were in the far-right lane, and the vehicle in front of us suddenly veered into the guard rail beside us, bounced off it, and started rebounding back toward us into traffic. N acted fast and swerved around him to the left just in time, but if there had been someone in the lane beside us we would have been in an accident, and the folks behind and to the side of us would have been, too. To this day I have NO IDEA what caused the car to turn and hit the guard rail. There was NO REASON that I could visibly perceive for it happening. I thanked N for saving our lives, and we continued on! (PTR readers, you'll remember that I was very recently in a lousy car accident that totalled my old car, so I had some intense flashbacks in that moment!)

So glad N has quick responses! Crazy people driving out there.

Real brand-name toiletries!

This makes me happy every time

I forget the citrus-superhero's name already...

I love that there's a citrus superhero.

After eating so much from gas stations and food chains, it tasted like manna from heaven!

Oh man. When we were at MCO for our flight home, I told Zack, this is the first time I haven't headed home from a vacation and felt like I was really tired of eating out for every meal because all (well, most) of our meals were so delicious!

Apparently he tried to do the blank face, but he just couldn't manage not to start screaming once the drop began! Bless his heart, he tried.

That's what I would do. I can kind of smile, but I don't think I could keep it together for the drop to plan a certain face

So...what did I think!? I liked it. But that's all. I didn't take pictures (sorry!) so I could be fully immersed in the experience.

I didn't take pictures the first time, unless I knew it was the only night we'd see that show.

They decided that breakfast was too expensive and they had no interest in MK. Anything I planned they seemed to shut down, so eventually I told them to do what they wanted, and we'd try to join them whenever our schedule allowed for it around our other plans that day.

Ugh, this sounds like Zack's family last summer. Hopefully after I do the wedding TR I can go back and finish it, but they were a pain in the rear - don't want to do that, it costs too much, it's not cool, it costs how much?? even though we had sent a very detailed email with the information... I don't like shows, I don't like parades... We have to pay for parking again??

We had a character breakfast for the two of us (which N's mother got upset/jealous about when she learned that we'd still gone ahead and booked our own breakfast without them! But alas, I digress...) at Cape May Cafe!

See Zack's family, above.

N and I had time to kill and decided to make our own fun at Epcot. On the way to Future World, we were stopped by the DVC guy. At first we were just chatting because he didn't have anything to do, but when he heard how much time we'd spent at WDW recently, he had the perfect setup to try to make a sale! I didn't mind though, because I'd been considering taking a DVC tour for a while now if given the right motivation. N is interested in DVC, and I'm skeptically open-minded-ish to the possibility in the eventual future. I never felt it was worth it to take a lengthy DVC tour just to get a couple of extra FPs, but this guy gave us a little more incentive: Do the tour for 60-90 minutes while we're staying at a DVC resort (the Poly) anyway. Get 6 FPs and a $100 Disney gift card.

We ran into this too. We didn't end up doing the tour since it was about halfway through our trip at that point. The guy was like, oh this is your second trip? You could be 2/5 of the way to owning! All I could think was... we did 5 nights at Pop in January with an AP discount and credit card rewards + 5 nights at BLT DVC rental this time and used credit card rewards + 7 nights at the Dolphin on credit card points... so our cash spent for all of this was around $1100... so your argument does not quite apply yet, sir! I think he just went off of the fact that we were staying at the Dolphin and BLT this time lol. Nice guy though.

I'd been looking at the Dooney sketch backpacks online and was SO disappointed that they were sold out online and not available anymore! So when I saw the last 8 left in the entirety of Epcot, and possibly all of Disney World...it was fate.

I love the sketch pattern! Right now I'm holding out for the Disney dog pattern that's supposedly coming out next month...

 

[MeghanEmily]

Wow! Cool painting! Not just on N, but on the canvas too.

Yeah, he's not so good at keeping the paint on the actual paintings... lol
He actually used to paint all his paintings on top of a square wooden board before he changed his set-up, and a local museum approached him and asked him to keep his boards when he was done with them and they would put them on display to represent all the art that came out of them. They would have these neat geometric patterns from the overspray of all the paintings that he had done on them. He would have just tossed them though

Great idea. I know CBR is kind of construction central, but I'm sure you're getting a decent room rate and it should fit your needs very well for a couple of nights on a budget trip.

I'm a little concerned about eating here with allergies since last I heard they were kind of serving meals out of food trucks, but it was what was available in budget at the time so we'll just have to eat elsewhere if it's a problem. I'm still looking forward to it

Wait a minute... bread and all those different dipping sauces aren't an allergy nightmare for you?

Surprising, right?! They have a gluten free naan, and they'll let you choose how many GF pieces you want and serve them on a separate plate. All the accompaniments are gluten free if I remember correctly, and only one has dairy. I just took what I wanted of them before Nathan started in on them with his real bread. Yum!

So how many times are you eating there this trip? I mean, why not just stay at AKL if you're going to be there nearly every day?

Haha it's a thought! Twice at Boma, once at Sanaa next door, and once at Jiko if we can't get the Savour the Savanna tour. We'd considered it, but it's not in the budget if we want to be able to afford other fun add-ons. It's tempting though!

Congratulations on all the great progress you've made!!!

Thanks!!

What? No!!! You're doing it wrong! You have an early flight home the next morning. You can't spend your last day at Disney World just napping!

I know, right!? I just know there's no way I'll make it to dinner if we don't. Especially after reading other people's 5K trip reviews...

Do it! You have to get a #LuxurySedan.

Strongly considering...

Oh no! You're splitting from Nate without a phone! This is like bagless EPCOT all over again!

I know! I had a moment of panic that took me right back to "Bagless Sucks" all over again!

Why does it say every day? You aren't really that crazy, are you?????

Heavens, no!! I think I just altered my normal morning alarm by a few hours when I set it.