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

[MeghanEmily]

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

Thanks so much!! And this is great info, thanks! I'm looking forward to it and hoping it'll work out well for us.

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

They're the worst for that!

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

I know, they're dangerous, right!? It's hard not to just keep going back.

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

I'm very thankful! People are nuts!

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!

That's how you want to end your trip! In true Dis-er style, I'm excited to hear about where you ate

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??

Yep, sounds like what we dealt with. And we only toured with them for half a day. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we'd done a whole Disney trip with them.

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.

Yeah, I don't buy into those marketing ploys. I know it would be expensive, especially once you factor in your annual dues. We don't mind staying value or moderate and we often do, so we could definitely do trips for cheaper than this. Funny how they try to sucker you in with stuff like that!

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

I definitely did not know this was a thing! I just googled it, and now I'm feeling very torn. I may have to keep an eye out for when they release them. So cute!

 

[fallonkendra]

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!

We were originally just going to buy tshirts for the wedding party, then I decided I wanted them for the parents as well...and that's over half our group, so we said screw it and just ordered for everyone . We just put it into the budget for wedding part gifts/welcome bags, and figured it would be fine since we're not doing favours at the wedding itself.

I asked everyone if they wanted custom ears, but only my bridesmaids joined me on that. Everyone else is too cool for Mickey ears I guess

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

Don't get me wrong, I love the ones you bought! But I wanted lots of balloons, and the ones without the space-pod are like half the price - which means twice as many balloons for how much I wanted to spend!

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

Excellent choices! Haha

 

[amalone1013]

Yep, sounds like what we dealt with. And we only toured with them for half a day. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we'd done a whole Disney trip with them.

Thank goodness we only had two theme park days with them (supposed to be 3, one at Universal and 2 at Disneyland but they ditched us on the second day). They complained plenty on the non park days too, don't worry.

Yeah, I don't buy into those marketing ploys. I know it would be expensive, especially once you factor in your annual dues. We don't mind staying value or moderate and we often do, so we could definitely do trips for cheaper than this. Funny how they try to sucker you in with stuff like that!

Exactly. Can't mention the fees though, haha. We liked Pop just fine and both grew up staying at budget motels, so our trip was awfully fancy for us. It was like, dude, if we were spending $2k a week on hotels, we wouldn't be here!

I definitely did not know this was a thing! I just googled it, and now I'm feeling very torn. I may have to keep an eye out for when they release them. So cute!

I'm (im)patiently waiting. I'm saving my birthday money... I also drug Zack through the store in Disney Springs so I could look at all the bag styles so I'm prepared when they come out and I know which one I'll like, since the patterns come out in different styles - I'm particular about my purse styles, they have to have all the right pockets

 

[amalone1013]

All caught up now! How could all of the balloon people have gone home if the park was still open??? What the heck. At least you got another one! Mickey Balloons were a must photo prop for me so we had to get some in MK too!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I ran around like a little child with my balloons

BECAUSE that is just what you do with a Mickey balloon I remember longing to have a Mickey balloon when I was little, and I had never even set foot in Disney World at that point! I finally got my first one when I was 18, but you know of course I HAD to have them for my vow renewal, too. It was my most favorite picture prop....besides Jimmy. LOL

I love N, balloon knight to the rescue!!! That will be a wonderful story to tell your kids some day!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

All caught up now! How could all of the balloon people have gone home if the park was still open??? What the heck. At least you got another one! Mickey Balloons were a must photo prop for me so we had to get some in MK too!

Right!? That was my question! What if a guest had an urgent balloon need!?

BECAUSE that is just what you do with a Mickey balloon I remember longing to have a Mickey balloon when I was little, and I had never even set foot in Disney World at that point! I finally got my first one when I was 18, but you know of course I HAD to have them for my vow renewal, too. It was my most favorite picture prop....besides Jimmy. LOL

I love N, balloon knight to the rescue!!! That will be a wonderful story to tell your kids some day!!

It makes a great story! I always wanted one as a kid, too. But my parents were always rightfully limiting frivolous purchases, so I never got to have one. Getting a Mickey balloon, and get my caricature drawn were two Disney experiences I always felt deprived of as a kid and had to do as an adult! I LOVE your balloon picture! How sweet!!

 

[amalone1013]

What if a guest had an urgent balloon need!?

A guest did - you had an urgent balloon need!

 

[thumper*]

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

 

[Raeven]

like “bacon and bleu,” but now when I look at the menu that’s not an option?

Yes Josh had that the last time we went! I sometimes see it on the menu but when I wrote my DTR I couldn't find it either.

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!

Maybe she was so drunk she forgot who he was

 

[mankle30]

Just want to say hello from another Canadian! Congrats on the wedding!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Yes Josh had that the last time we went! I sometimes see it on the menu but when I wrote my DTR I couldn't find it either.

Good, I'm glad I'm not going crazy!!

Maybe she was so drunk she forgot who he was

Entirely possible. Living overseas she's kinda been a bit disconnected to our lives over here, so I'd guess that's also to blame...but then why would she know how happy I have or have not been, but not how long Nathan's been around...it's a drunken mystery!

Just want to say hello from another Canadian! Congrats on the wedding!

Hello! Always nice to "meet" another Canadian here! Thanks so much!!

 

[suse66]

Oh my gosh! I am so behind on your wonderful report! Hope school is treating you well and that it's not too crazy......

Absolutely! N's family loved Soarin'! Even his mother, who deals with motion sickness slightly worse than mine and had to close her eyes once in a while, thought it was great. The girls screamed out loud and giggled through a lot of the surprising moments, and N and I laughed at them, and held hands, and told each other how it was worth all the trouble to watch them experiencing Disney now. N's dad was going to be the hardest to impress, by far, so I was curious about his reaction. But apparently he just kept whispering to N's mom and to anyone else who would listen, "This is amazing!"

Yay!! Great choice and I'm glad everyone was happy!

But the biggest hit was the giant aquarium at The Seas, which they spent lots of time in after the ride let out.

That is our family favourite too. My oldest son has loved manatees since he was a little boy so a visit to LOu and Little Joe is always a must do! Plus it is super relaxing and a nice break from the heat.

After each person tried Beverly, they became part of the trickster squad and went after the next victim together! At the end of the terrible game, N's dad tried it to see what all the fuss was...and then he felt terrible and mean because he thought it was downright awful!

This is awesome! So fun that they were all in it together. I loved tricking my boys by telling them it was the best drink there.

Then N, who is now a Disney expert, at least compared to his family, checked what was available for a 4th FP. He scored an immediate FP for Living with the Land, and they all rode. N's father was super into it because he loves to garden and grows all of his own produce in the summer months. We definitely thought of him (spoiler alert!) when we went on the Behind the Seeds tour later in the trip!!

Love LWTL! We did the Behind the Seeds tour as well in 2016 and really enjoyed it

I had an appointment that afternoon at the Dolphin for a manicure at the Mandara Spa, and my mom offered to tag along for moral support.

Looks like a lovely spot and your nails are sweet!

And here's a photo she took of the welcome bags I had put together and distributed that day for our guests:

These are gorgeous!

So we're flying in late on the 26th, spending a night in Sanford, and then arriving at Disney on the 27th. My mom and grandmother still join us on the 30th, and we'll still all fly home together Jan. 5.

So fun! More time at Disney is always the best plan!

6:50pm: Sanaa
We really enjoyed Sanaa on our Disneymoon (I'll get to that part eventually on here!) and I immediately thought of my mom. I sent her food pictures and she agreed she'd like to go in December.

Because, like, bread service though.

I have a deep and abiding love for Sanaa and the bread service.....mmmmm!

8:00am: N and I go on the Marceline to the Magic Kingdom tour. We were torn between this and the Undiscovered Future World tour, but this one won by a slight margin.

This is such a great tour, especially going behind the scenes at the Haunted Mansion!

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!

Good for you! I also hate running but have recently started boot camp and MIGHT consider training for a 5K simply to have the chance to do Run Disney!

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!

So nice!

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

Sweet pictures!

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!

Disney Magic at it's best!!

 

[MLB1974]

I have been catching up on all three of your threads this weekend after searching for trip reports in anticipation of my own trip in January. It will be the first trip for my family together, my first in 25 years, and my five-year-old’s first ever! I’ve so enjoyed your journey. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[ashw100]

…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:

Cute pictures, it looks like you had an awesome time with family.

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.

This is annoying, their policy should be consistent.

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:

How sweet that he did that for 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!

This sounds like such a cute idea, I am so happy he was able to get the balloon eventually.

 

[missangelalexis]

Your December plans sound great! I just stayed in the Jazz section at ASMusic and it wasn't far at all! If you get Calypso you will be super close to the main building!

Meeting up with everyone at Disney Springs sounds like a chaotic and fun evening!

Oh no, the balloon But how awesome that a CM saved the day and was able to get N one!

Woo hoo I look forward to reading about Wedding day!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Hi joining in. I've just read your trip report through. Looks like I made it just in time for the wedding.

 

[MeghanEmily]

That is our family favourite too. My oldest son has loved manatees since he was a little boy so a visit to LOu and Little Joe is always a must do! Plus it is super relaxing and a nice break from the heat.

It was such a hit! If your son loves manatees then he'd definitely enjoy it! They're so neat to watch.

These are gorgeous!

Thank you! It's amazing what you can piece together on a computer these days

I have a deep and abiding love for Sanaa and the bread service.....mmmmm!

Yum!! We tried Sanaa for the first time on our honeymoon and it didn't disappoint!

This is such a great tour, especially going behind the scenes at the Haunted Mansion!

I'm really excited for it!

Good for you! I also hate running but have recently started boot camp and MIGHT consider training for a 5K simply to have the chance to do Run Disney!

Congrats! That's fantastic! It's always rewarding when you find you can push your body beyond what it was doing before. But in the case of running, Disney is definitely 95% of my motivation.

 

[MeghanEmily]

I have been catching up on all three of your threads this weekend after searching for trip reports in anticipation of my own trip in January. It will be the first trip for my family together, my first in 25 years, and my five-year-old’s first ever! I’ve so enjoyed your journey. Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my reports! And best wishes for your upcoming trip—that's so exciting!! Your five year old should hopefully be the perfect age for a first trip, too!

This is annoying, their policy should be consistent.

I agree. Though I think some bars that aren't owned by Disney have different policies, like the one at Raglan Road. But I know it can vary even among the Disney-owned bars, too.

How sweet that he did that for you.

He's one of the good ones. Sometimes probably too sweet for his own good, as evidenced by the balloon thing, but it made for a good story so he was happy.

Your December plans sound great! I just stayed in the Jazz section at ASMusic and it wasn't far at all! If you get Calypso you will be super close to the main building!

Meeting up with everyone at Disney Springs sounds like a chaotic and fun evening!

Oh no, the balloon But how awesome that a CM saved the day and was able to get N one!

Woo hoo I look forward to reading about Wedding day!!

Ooh good to know about the Jazz/Calypso sections at ASMusic! I'm looking forward to staying there! I stayed at one of the All Stars (it may have been music?) on my first trip ever when I was four, but I remember very little, naturally.

Wedding stuff coming up soon!!

Hi joining in. I've just read your trip report through. Looks like I made it just in time for the wedding.

over here!! You arrived just in time!

 

[xlsm]

I'm shamefully behind!

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!

I feel this way about our wedding. I remember flashes and bits and pieces...but the night before, on our way to the town where we were having the wedding, a guy backed into my car. So...I remember that part, LOL!

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!

Cuties!!

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!

This is awesome!!

Ok, wimpy quotes but I am SO EXCITED to read the wedding posts!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Man, I always feel like I'm doing these updates so rapid-fire...and then I look back and realize that my last update was nearly a week ago. Not so much, I guess. First, a short winter PTR update:

Just a quick note that I made all our FP+ for our winter trip! I'll post the spreadsheet in my next PTR update which will have our rough schedule and all the FP on it. I was successful with everything I wanted, except for FP for FoP. I wanted it for N and my mom, and I got one, but the only time I could get was at the same time as our Jiko dinner. The FP is for 6:05, so I rescheduled our dinner for 8:30. I'm still hopeful that another FP time will show up at some point, but I'm not holding my breath. I realize that it's Flight of Passage...and on New Year's Day...

(That one ^ goes out to @Raeven, who's the reason I started watching The Good Place. Highly recommend.) (I actually recommend both @Raeven, and The Good Place, now that I think of it!)

I also got a different FP for my grandmother and me for the same time so we can go on River Journey and do a little bonding! (I grew up in my grandmother's house and she helped raise me when my mom was a single working mother, so we value our time together!) In other exciting news, it looks like @fallonkendra and I both got a couple of overlapping Epcot FP for one day of our overlapping trips, so I'm looking forward to meeting and hanging out with her and her soon-to-be husband. The rest of the FP news is pretty standard, so I'll spare you that. I also couldn't leave well enough alone, and I booked another ADR (because I'm a gluttonous crazy person!) for a lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We did this on our honeymoon, and I mostly want to repeat it to eat more gluten free corn bread...which is basically yellow cake mix with cornmeal in it...I know, because I asked how to make it, because I was addicted. I never did master it at home, so I'm heading back for more! That's all for now—more winter news later on.

And now begins the part of this trip report that I've been anxious to get to writing...


WEDDING DAY: Morning Prep and First Look
Disney Day 3 - Part 1

Remember that terrible alarm? Remember how awful it looked? Let me just confirm that it didn't look any better when it was going off merely a few hours later. I rolled out of bed a few minutes after 3:00am, rinsed off in the tub—I had washed my hair the night before—put on the "bride" robe my bridesmaids had given me, choked down a bit of a granola bar, brushed my teeth, and was ready for our stylist's arrival at 3:15. (And no, that's not the "brushing my teeth" part that leads to the title of the TR...)

In the interest of leaving out zero details, I even include horribly unflattering pictures, because I care for you all that much!

After a few minutes waiting for the stylist, Laura, I got nervous. She was supposed to be at my room at 3:15 to set up for a 3:30 appointment. I gave her a call, and she was at the resort but was running late because she couldn't find the secret mystery elevator that actually led to the top floor! Eventually, she found us, and we were still pretty close to being on schedule.

She did my hair first. I had brought inspiration pictures for her and had an idea of what I wanted: a soft updo (because I didn't want long hair on my neck in the heat!) possibly with a braided headband, and with minimal-to-no hair left loose around my face because I knew it would get sweaty and stick to me and look gross in pictures. She came up with something I really liked! I could live with it from the front, but I loved it from the side or back. (There are some pictures that show it better soon...)

As she was finishing with my hair, my bridesmaids arrived! I was just thrilled they were awake, but they were also in prime form, giving me their best 4:45am wedding excitement vibes! At some point somebody also hung my wedding dress on the door and fluffed the kinks out. I loved that this particular breed of lace on my dress barely wrinkled at all. I never had to steam it once.

Then Laura started in on my makeup. I hadn't brought any inspiration pictures for this part because I figured I could just kind of explain what I liked, and that makeup was more straightforward. This ended up being one of my regrets of the day—not that it was a big deal though. I ended up feeling my makeup wasn't my style, and I felt my brows and eyeliner were too heavy-handed for my tastes. It's not that I'm not used to wearing a lot of makeup or false lashes or anything, because I do that a lot for work.
As some of you know, I dress like this for money:

But it just didn't look like "me." Not Laura's fault, by any means. I was just too tired and too rushed to properly explain what I wanted, and I just should have brought some pictures.

I slithered into my dress next, and my friend and bridesmaid, Erin, laced me up and got me squared away. She works part-time at a David's Bridal shop, so I trusted her above all others to make sure I was good to go!

Then it was time to gather all my things and head to the lobby to meet N and our photographer for a first look! My mom came with me and carried my stuff while I hiked up my dress to keep it from getting dirty on the damp concrete paths. The girls started in on their hair and makeup sessions, and I didn't see them or hear from them again until the ceremony.

Looking back now, I remember the big events of this morning prep session, but it feels like so much of a blur that I may as well have slept through it...and it's entirely possible that I mostly did. It feels like I was hardly even there. I remember it, but it felt more like 20 minutes than 2+ hours.

My mom and I stopped in the hallway before the lobby and she went to get the photographer, just in case N wasn't in position and would see me too early. That was when I met Amanda. She was the absolute opposite of a regret! My mind was going a mile a minute, and she was calm, cool, and in control of the situation. Not her first rodeo. She told me how the first look would go down.

I gave her a minute to get in position...

And then I came up behind N as instructed, and tapped him on the shoulder...

The only thing that disappointed me about this shoot was that, because of the angle, she didn't get the look on N's face the exact moment he turned around. Which is like 80% of the point. Fortunately, however, my mom kinda did:

It's a poor-quality photo, but I love it all the same. I'll include Amanda's "first look" photos in a separate post right after this one!

Once we were done...I dunno...looking at each other?...we chatted and I scarfed down an Erin McKenna's donut while Amanda shot my shoes. (With her camera! It would be hard to wear them for the wedding with bullet holes in them!) Then we waited for our pimped-out ride. (JK, it was a big rectangular van-thing.)

Next came my second regret of the morning: I didn't have safety pins, and neither did anyone else. Disney's one un-magical flaw of the day! N had a little spot on his shirt between two buttons that was gaping, and I'm used to fixing little costume faux-pas at work all the time, but I had nothing to fix it. But it was a minor technicality, and Amanda understood that I was concerned about it so she did a good job of trying to be aware of it and fix it in photos, or posing us so it wasn't noticeable.

Soon our ride arrived, driven by Amanda's assistant/second shooter (though I don't think he ended up taking any photos...he mostly positioned lights and became my absolute best friend because he was a wizard at gathering and helping me carry my dress! ...but I'm getting carried away here. All in good time. Anyway!) I thought his name was...something, and I called him that on at least one occasion, never being corrected, only to find out later that I was pretty sure his name was actually...something else...and now I can't remember what either of those names were!! ...come to think of it, I may have called him "Matt," so I'll go with that for the purposes of this TR.

At this point we were still waiting on floral delivery so I could have my bouquet in the photos, but we were starting to get short for time, so Amanda made a call and asked them to meet us at the Magic Kingdom instead. With that, we were on our way!

By the way, my shoes are in my hands here because I came prepared and wore flip flops for most of the morning. No regrets there.

I'll stop here for now, and the next update will contain our journey and the most magical of early morning photo sessions...but continue on to the next page's post to see our official "first look" photos...​