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

[pkondz]

Okay, I warned you I had run out of good quote-based chapter titles. So sue me.

Well! I will!



just need to find a good lawyer willing to work for free.
Might be a bit...

So, we did. And soon (4-5 minutes later) we were seeing this:

Accurate signage.

Love that. I love getting there before everyone else.

I got my wedding present from him! We were doing the Wild Africa Trek tour!

Nice!

and found ourselves fortunate to be on a tour with only two other guests!

Even better.

Wow! Nice solo shot of just you guys and the tree.

It looks like a ghost town.

This tour begins right next to Kilimanjaro Safaris. You may have noticed the sign there before.

We were also given metal water bottles that clipped to the vests with the Wild Africa Trek graphic on them.

To keep?

Sidebar: our guides were awesome! They were super friendly—and there was never an awkward moment or pause in the conversation, despite there only being four of us on the tour with them—and they were also very knowledgeable. They both loved their jobs.

That's great. That makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Ohhh!! I is scared!

Pretty photo.

Soon, we were hooking our harnesses in to safety cables, so we could lean out to overlook the hippo enclosure

How cool is that?!?!?

Hippo jaw, I presume.

I wasn't particularly concerned about the safety of these bridges. I knew that Disney has its bases covered in terms of safety and a lack of lawsuits,

I was worried that the swinging and movement of the bridge would cause me to get dizzy and ill. This was even more of a concern, because you actually cross two bridges, separated by a landing, so if I had trouble on the first one, I'd have to cross the second one knowing how bad it would be!

You look a wee bit concerned yet happy yet nervous yet...

I did it!! I only got mildly swimmy, and actually kind of enjoyed the challenge!

Yay!

N called out to one of the CMs with a camera that they needed to get my picture with the crocs below me for the drama factor:

Good call N!

Then we clipped back into the safety cables again and overlooked the crocs.

More coolness.

Another CM was there to discuss crocs with us...and N and I knew him!!

No way!

As Davis was ending his spiel, N had become obviously distracted. When Danielle noticed and asked him what he was looking at...it was a lizard. And not some cool rare kind of lizard-dragon or something, but a common tiny Florida native. Our home in Canada isn't crawling with these little guys like Orlando is, so N is always fascinated by them! Danielle offered to take a picture of the lizard with her camera for him!

Hippos? Crocs?... nah. There's a lizard that you can see everywhere on property here.

By this point it was also getting TOASTY (#AugustThough)

That Florida summer heat is no joke.

The cloths are infused with some kind of natural essential oils, but as N was using his he started getting uncomfortable and found it burned his face!

Really! Huh. He was okay, though?

Jason said that I was correct, and that the tree was engineered,

They knew I was there for giraffes,

No! Really! Who would've thought!

Cute shot of you guys.

the boma on the AK savannah is a lovely spot that overlooks the animals.

Very nice!

It was served in these cool multi-level metal tiffins (a contain for lunch/snacks, where the restaurant by the same name got its namesake.)

Those are cool... and... I never knew. I just thought it was named after some bird or something.

And because we had a morning tour, our snack (more like a light meal!) looked like this one:

Beautiful presentation.

We came back around the front of the boma, and we caught the coolest thing! All of the giraffes (I believe there were 7? Maybe 9? Don't quote me on that) were spurred into action after seeing another animal sprinting across the savannah... Earlier in the tour, Jason had mentioned how giraffes are really cool to watch when they run because they have the most interesting drunken-style gait. We got to see it in action multiple times, as the entire tower of giraffes loped across the savannah! It's one of my favourite Disney memories.

Whoa. That is so cool. I don't know anyone that's seen giraffes run.

Hey! They got the animatronic lion to move!

One neat thing about the Wild Africa Trek tour is that, while it's very expensive, a small portion of every registration goes to the Disney Conservation Fund, and guests get to choose which animals they want their tour cost to benefit.

Nice. What animals did you and N pick? Giraffe for you, I'm guessing?

Naturally, after spending three hours out on the savannah, the next thing we did this day was ride the safari ride with a FP+.

Of course.

I've already oversaturated this report with animal photos for today, so I'll only include a few more:

I love Finding Nemo the Musical. I have long considered it to be the best non-nighttime show at Disney, and I rarely get through it without crying.

Awww....
Interesting that's your fave.

I expect that I could sing most of the roles tonight if asked, and not miss a lyric or a harmony.

Really! Impressive.

When the show ended, I was surprised to find that I had been so engrossed in critiquing and noticing obvious flaws that I hadn't even allowed myself to be touched by the story and shed a tear.

Oh dear. Yes, you have to let yourself get immersed, don't you?

I was surprised and overjoyed when, at the end of the show, I noticed that I was crying happy/emotional tears.

We decided on one of my now-favourite places: The Nomad Lounge.

I've heard so much of this place!

And I ordered the Zingiber Fizzie:

How was that? It sounds like something I'd order.

We were headed to...

...the Wilderness Lodge!

Nice! Always wanted to stay there.

It was our first time dining at Sanaa. And spoiler alert: we weren't disappointed.

I'd love to go... just for the bread service.

I was also a little crabby because we'd been running late, and I hate to be late

Me too.

we ordered the bread service! (Duh! You can't go to Sanaa and NOT order the bread service!)

I took this selfie to demonstrate why nobody should ever run for anything in the August Florida heat after filling up on Sanaa:

Oh, my. Sorry, Meghan!

When we got to the turnstiles, again I was surprised to see that the Annual Passholder entrance had a line when none of the other stations did. I really don't understand why people do this.

I have a theory. It's the people who figure they'll go enough and been told to get an AP, but don't really do much research.

I really enjoy this ride. It's peaceful and really beautiful. I know it's not the most thrilling ride, but as someone who has motion sickness I like that I have this as an option in Pandora

I get that.

That said, I'd never spend much of my time waiting in line for it, nor do I consider it a Must Do.

And I definitely get that too.

a CM noticed that we were a party of two and directed us down to an empty spot in the very front row!

Score!

When the CM saw that we were celebrating our wedding, they also gave us a free light-up lotus flower, which I then amused myself with for the next 15-20 minutes.

Well, it helped pass the time.

I do think it's a bit confusing and lacking in story.

Pretty enough, but....

We went back toward Pandora to see it glowing after dark,

Isn't that the coolest?

and stopped at a PP photographer for this moderate-quality photo:

We also picked up a few Pandora-related pins for my collection. We were starting to accumulate a stupid number of pins by this point,

Like me and my poker chips...

I peeked out the window and was surprised. I hadn't noticed it when we stopped in the room earlier that day, but our standard view room, which overlooked a CM loading-type area below, also yielded this view beyond it...

Score again! Yay!

 

[Raeven]

Danielle had actually started at Disney on the College Program, but she stayed and found an opening in this position, her dream job.

I think she was one of our tour guides when we did it back in 2016!

We came back around the front of the boma, and we caught the coolest thing! All of the giraffes (I believe there were 7? Maybe 9? Don't quote me on that) were spurred into action after seeing another animal sprinting across the savannah... Earlier in the tour, Jason had mentioned how giraffes are really cool to watch when they run because they have the most interesting drunken-style gait. We got to see it in action multiple times, as the entire tower of giraffes loped across the savannah! It's one of my favourite Disney memories. One of the guides caught a few of them on camera for us.

We saw mostly ostriches when we were at the boma they were everywhere

As Stacey would say, this place is both YUM and WOW. I like it here anyway, but they also happen to be good with dietary restrictions. We also ordered from their small-plates-type menu, and N got the wagyu beef sliders, I got the pork ribs, and we shared an order of cinnamony deliciousness in the form of their churros (which are naturally gluten free! )

I love their churros! They were so good!

I want to say it's called "harvest" or something like that?

Yeah, it's called a potjie which has a dish from the journey and one from the harvest.

When we got to the turnstiles, again I was surprised to see that the Annual Passholder entrance had a line when none of the other stations did. I really don't understand why people do this.

Ugh this was so frustrating to see we had it happen to us a ton too, I don't think we ever used the AP line.

We went back toward Pandora to see it glowing after dark, and stopped at a PP photographer for this moderate-quality photo:

Ours were terrible quality in night Pandora

When we got back to Wilderness Lodge, we called for our bags and they arrived quickly. I looked in the bathroom and was happy to see this adorable tile in the shower, as I'd seen it on other TRs (I believe @Raeven posted a picture of this?)

Yes! I loved the shower tiles.

 

[Steppesister]

Hey Meghan, Life has taken on another season of 'very busy' as we prepare for my son's AND my daughter's graduations. It's... a lot. So I just don't have time to multi-quote pkondz-style. As much as I'd like to. I have read all your lovely updates though from the Trek to the Nomad to Sanaa, and your Safari to boot. You had a SUPER full day with so many wonderful experiences. I've done the Wanyama Tour which wasn't quite as adventurous in terms of swinging bridges and all, but did have the up close and personals with the animals- and good eats too. It was amazing, so I can relate to how much you loved this tour!

Isn't the Nomad perfect? In every way? I make it a point to go every trip now and just love it there. Sanaa is on my list for my next 2 trips as well. I adore it!!!

Interesting take on Nemo.. you know what? I 100% agree. The first time I went in 2010, it was over-the-top amazing. I went in 2016 and I was not impressed. AT all. Voices were shaky, and even a bit at times, out of tune. The puppetry was not fluid and the whole show seemed a bit amateurish. I will take my family in 2019, but it's not on my list for this year. Sad, but true.

ROL? it's alright. I'd see it again; it IS pretty, but like you say, lacking in cohesiveness. I can take or leave. But the awakening is stunning. I could stand and watch for a very long time.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

The Wild Trek Tour at AK sounds amazing! I think that is something on my WDW bucket list! WL is such a nice resort - and those shower tiles are the cutest

 

[missjackiemcg]

My TRs may be about to get as tipsy as @kastoney's!

Ah, that sounds like my kind of TR

found ourselves fortunate to be on a tour with only two other guests!

Incredibly empty!!! Love this! We had initially wanted an early a.m. trek, too, but it just hadn't worked in our schedule, so we ended up being the last one of the day.

Then it was time for the part I was worried about...the rope bridges!

Very cool but a bit challenging. I was super nervous about this part, too!!!!

The biggest issue was that some of the boards are spaced pretty far apart, which can be an actual issue if your legs are as short as mine are.

I felt the same way!!!! My Dad and Rob looked at me like I was imagining things when I told them some boards were pretty far apart!

I adore these little guys

real, or Disney-real. (Which has since become one of my favourite terms for the fabulous feats of imagineering I encounter in the parks!)

We heard those terms for the first time on our trek, as well! I love that they try to keep it magical while still telling you the truth!

This was where we could use the facilities, and where we were seated to receive the refreshments included in the tour.

Weren't those the most beautifully tiled bathrooms you've ever laid eyes on!?

One neat thing about the Wild Africa Trek tour is that, while it's very expensive, a small portion of every registration goes to the Disney Conservation Fund, and guests get to choose which animals they want their tour cost to benefit.

I would absolutely do another tour just because of this!!!

 

[missangelalexis]

The Wild Africa Trek sounds so cool! I'm glad you didn't have any issues and the photos of you crossing the bridge are awesome!

Sounds like a great rest of the day at AK and a great dinner at Sanaa!

You guys must have been exhausted by the end of the day!

 

[pepperandchips]

Your hair looks absolutely amazing! I am so jealous. I really want to go a lovely steel grey but dont know how that would go over at work.

As Stacey would say, this place is both YUM and WOW.

Every five seconds?!

nor do I consider it a Must Do

Stacey would be so disappointed.

You have sold me on Wild Africa Trek! Gotta start saving my pennies!!!

 

[Smilelea]

I'm really trying not to be a lurker. Life is crazy!

In other big news, my lovely blonde do is now a thing of the past, and has been replaced with this frosty look

Love it!

Speaking of returning to school...as of yesterday I finally found that I will, indeed, be returning to school for my second year! I just got word that I've passed all of my courses....and that means I live to fight another day!!

Congrats! I work closely with 12 speech paths in the school system and they are some busy busy people. However, I do know they can make a whole lot more in the private sector or in the hospitals.

Then it was time for the part I was worried about...the rope bridges

Looks like fun!

Earlier in the tour, Jason had mentioned how giraffes are really cool to watch when they run because they have the most interesting drunken-style gait. We got to see it in action multiple times, as the entire tower of giraffes loped across the savannah! It's one of my favourite Disney memories.

Cool!

I can't recommend Wild Africa Trek highly enough if you want to splurge on something special and have any interest in animals. The cost was a bit steep for us, but the experience is SO worth it

Something to consider on our adult only trip that we keep talking about but have no idea when we will actually plan one

I love Finding Nemo the Musical. I have long considered it to be the best non-nighttime show at Disney, and I rarely get through it without crying. Festival of the Lion King is excellent, and both shows have Broadway-level talent, but it doesn't have the narrative continuity that I love so much about Finding Nemo. I like to think that I also know the show pretty well for an audience member. I have the soundtrack on my phone and regularly listen to it in its entirety while I'm running, or even just for fun. I expect that I could sing most of the roles tonight if asked, and not miss a lyric or a harmony. Leading up to our Disneymoon, I began seeing reviews in other people's TRs about how people were surprised to find that it was a terrible show, and the performers couldn't sing, etc, etc. I was shocked and heartbroken! It couldn't be true! Either these folks had no taste, or they were seeing an incredibly disappointing B-cast, or there was something seriously wrong. I vowed to investigate on our August trip. When the show began, it was quickly evident to me that many of the cast veterans (whom I now recognize instantly) had been replaced or weren't appearing on this day. (When I started writing my Marathon Weekend TR, I did some extreme Googling—a favourite pastime of mine—and found that there had been a ginormous audition casting call for nearly every role in the show a while before, and I suspected they were dealing with many performers who were new to the show.) While the cast I saw wasn't as blatantly bad as reports I'd read had suggested, they were definitely really "off," and I was highly disappointed by all of the new actors, with the exceptions of Nemo and Crush. When the show ended, I was surprised to find that I had been so engrossed in critiquing and noticing obvious flaws that I hadn't even allowed myself to be touched by the story and shed a tear. It wasn't a total loss—Crush's "Go With the Flow" still blew me away, and I was very proud in that moment!—but I was saddened by the quality of the show I'd seen. I suspected that the new cast had made headway since they'd been seen by those disheartened reviewers I'd been following on the Dis, but that they still had a LONG way to go. I worried about the future of my favourite show. I will say, however, that when we returned to Animal Kingdom for Marathon Weekend, (as you would know if my trip report hadn't been eaten by the evil technology gods,) I was pleasantly surprised by the improvement in much of the cast! While the show still wasn't as polished and striking as it once was, songs were tighter, there were far fewer noticeable errors, and performers who I hadn't loved back in the summer, like Marlin and Dory, were starting to grow on me and to seemingly develop their own more nuanced readings of their characters. I was surprised and overjoyed when, at the end of the show, I noticed that I was crying happy/emotional tears. I am anxious to return and see the show again in future and see what continual improvements are being made.

We still haven't seen this. this is some good information to know. We haven't made it a priority because we kept hearing it wasn't very good.

I really don't understand why people do this.

me neither!

That said, I'd never spend much of my time waiting in line for it, nor do I consider it a Must Do.

Ditto!

But to sum up my feelings: I think Rivers of Light is very pretty, and I really enjoyed it. I like that Animal Kingdom has a night show now that I feel really matches the dynamic of the park. I do think it's a bit confusing and lacking in story. I have seen it again since, and still feel this way. I start to lose attention about halfway through. I will happily watch this show again, but I wouldn't feel pressured to make sure not to miss it, or to wait for it for a long time to have the best seats. I also think the images on the water screens aren't very clear, even compared to Fantasmic. But I enjoyed the show and thought that some of the effects are really lovely.

Ditto again!

 

[amazingact21]

Loved your recap of the Wild Africa Trek! It sounded amazing and made me want to experience it even more. I never even thought about the bridge causing motion sickness. Glad there wasn't a large group and you were allowed to cross by yourself.

Wow, even when don't include the trek you guys had a busy day! The Wilderness Lodge room looked lovely and what an unexpected view. Can't complain when Space Mountain is out your window.

It's amusing to me that Rivers of Light is the big nighttime show for the park but the general consensus is that the Tree of Life's Awakening is much better. I don't think Disney planned for that to be that case at all.

I've actually never seen Finding Nemo: the Musical before and wasn't even aware of the huge overhaul of the cast. But I can imagine your disappointment when something you loved dearly didn't live up to its old standard. Hopefully it keeps on its upward arc and will be back to what you once adored by the next time you see it again.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Why were we here this early, you ask? You may recall that when we went to Discovery Cove, it was my wedding present to N. This morning, I got my wedding present from him! We were doing the Wild Africa Trek tour!

What great wedding presents for each other!

I did it!! I only got mildly swimmy, and actually kind of enjoyed the challenge! The biggest issue was that some of the boards are spaced pretty far apart, which can be an actual issue if your legs are as short as mine are. But I did it! I was almost across the bridge, when N called out to one of the CMs with a camera that they needed to get my picture with the crocs below me for the drama factor:

This ended up being one of my favourite non-wedding pictures of the trip.

That's awesome! Go you! Great picture!! I'm a little scared of heights too but I think I would totally love to do this.

Another CM was there to discuss crocs with us...and N and I knew him!! If you happened to have read my very first trip report from our Christmas/Engagement trip (wow! That feels like so long ago now! My TRs have come a long way...) then you may remember that we were given a "magical moment" on that trip where we were offered a free private one-hour safari tour with two of the trek guides, Becky and Davis. It was an amazingly special experience that we'll never forget, and it encouraged us to do Wild Africa Trek on our honeymoon. So when we got to the croc area, we were pleasantly surprised to see Davis there! We reminded him about that day eight months prior, and he remembered us well. It was so nice to reconnect with him again, and he promised to also say hello to Becky for us. If you're ever around AK and run into Davis from Georgia or Becky from Delaware, make sure to give them a big smile. They're cool folks.

Haha it's such a small world! So happy you had some magical moments and met up with the same people who gave them to you!

The cloths are infused with some kind of natural essential oils, but as N was using his he started getting uncomfortable and found it burned his face! Weirdest thing!

Oh weird. He must be allergic or sensitive to some sort of oil?

I was sure it wasn't, and he thought it might be. N decided to ask the guides to weigh in, and so Jason took a poll on the truck of whether we thought the tree was real, or Disney-real. (Which has since become one of my favourite terms for the fabulous feats of imagineering I encounter in the parks!)

Haha I like that term: Disney-Real!

I've never seen the running giraffes before! Cool!

I love Finding Nemo the Musical. I have long considered it to be the best non-nighttime show at Disney, and I rarely get through it without crying. Festival of the Lion King is excellent, and both shows have Broadway-level talent, but it doesn't have the narrative continuity that I love so much about Finding Nemo. I like to think that I also know the show pretty well for an audience member. I have the soundtrack on my phone and regularly listen to it in its entirety while I'm running, or even just for fun. I expect that I could sing most of the roles tonight if asked, and not miss a lyric or a harmony. Leading up to our Disneymoon, I began seeing reviews in other people's TRs about how people were surprised to find that it was a terrible show, and the performers couldn't sing, etc, etc. I was shocked and heartbroken! It couldn't be true! Either these folks had no taste, or they were seeing an incredibly disappointing B-cast, or there was something seriously wrong. I vowed to investigate on our August trip. When the show began, it was quickly evident to me that many of the cast veterans (whom I now recognize instantly) had been replaced or weren't appearing on this day. (When I started writing my Marathon Weekend TR, I did some extreme Googling—a favourite pastime of mine—and found that there had been a ginormous audition casting call for nearly every role in the show a while before, and I suspected they were dealing with many performers who were new to the show.) While the cast I saw wasn't as blatantly bad as reports I'd read had suggested, they were definitely really "off," and I was highly disappointed by all of the new actors, with the exceptions of Nemo and Crush. When the show ended, I was surprised to find that I had been so engrossed in critiquing and noticing obvious flaws that I hadn't even allowed myself to be touched by the story and shed a tear. It wasn't a total loss—Crush's "Go With the Flow" still blew me away, and I was very proud in that moment!—but I was saddened by the quality of the show I'd seen. I suspected that the new cast had made headway since they'd been seen by those disheartened reviewers I'd been following on the Dis, but that they still had a LONG way to go. I worried about the future of my favourite show. I will say, however, that when we returned to Animal Kingdom for Marathon Weekend, (as you would know if my trip report hadn't been eaten by the evil technology gods,) I was pleasantly surprised by the improvement in much of the cast! While the show still wasn't as polished and striking as it once was, songs were tighter, there were far fewer noticeable errors, and performers who I hadn't loved back in the summer, like Marlin and Dory, were starting to grow on me and to seemingly develop their own more nuanced readings of their characters. I was surprised and overjoyed when, at the end of the show, I noticed that I was crying happy/emotional tears. I am anxious to return and see the show again in future and see what continual improvements are being made.

That was a very informative guide to Finding Nemo! So now I guess I'll just have to see it for the first time!

MMMM YUM

When we got to the turnstiles, again I was surprised to see that the Annual Passholder entrance had a line when none of the other stations did. I really don't understand why people do this.

That seemed to be the number 1 puzzling question of every trip I've taken. But passholders...c'mon, they should know better!! People are weird.

When the CM saw that we were celebrating our wedding, they also gave us a free light-up lotus flower, which I then amused myself with for the next 15-20 minutes.

So cool! I actually had to BUY one, LOL.

Love the tiles at WL!

I was seeing the Contemporary, and Space Mountain, right out of my room window! I was looking right over into the Magic Kingdom! It was a lovely little extra sprinkling of pixie dust. This stay was the beginning of a love affair with the Wilderness Lodge that continues to this day.

What an awesome view!!!

 

[vamassey1]

Jason and Danielle waited for them to get out of frame, and then allowed us to take pictures in front of the tree of life in an empty AK.

Amazing!

This tour begins right next to Kilimanjaro Safaris. You may have noticed the sign there before.

I haven't but will look for it now.

The first part of the tour takes you through the same gorilla trail that is accessible to all guests at AK, but the guides stop along the way and provide all kinds of interesting tidbits about the birds and animals. Sidebar: our guides were awesome! They were super friendly—and there was never an awkward moment or pause in the conversation, despite there only being four of us on the tour with them—and they were also very knowledgeable. They both loved their jobs. Danielle had actually started at Disney on the College Program, but she stayed and found an opening in this position, her dream job.

It really makes a difference when someone loves their job. Danielle is going to try to do the college program next year.

I did it!! I only got mildly swimmy, and actually kind of enjoyed the challenge! The biggest issue was that some of the boards are spaced pretty far apart, which can be an actual issue if your legs are as short as mine are. But I did it! I was almost across the bridge, when N called out to one of the CMs with a camera that they needed to get my picture with the crocs below me for the drama factor:

Congrats! I think I might get a little wozzy too. The heights wouldn't bother me but not being stable would.

We got to see it in action multiple times, as the entire tower of giraffes loped across the savannah! It's one of my favourite Disney memories. One of the guides caught a few of them on camera for us.

This sounds soooo cool.

Leading up to our Disneymoon, I began seeing reviews in other people's TRs about how people were surprised to find that it was a terrible show, and the performers couldn't sing, etc, etc. I was shocked and heartbroken! It couldn't be true! Either these folks had no taste, or they were seeing an incredibly disappointing B-cast, or there was something seriously wrong.

I didn't know anything about this. It was closed in February when we went.

...the Wilderness Lodge!

This is one of my dream resorts to stay out someday.

N ordered the braaivleis (which I always manage to spell with one too many vowels for some reason). It's an assortment of three (seasonal? how is meat seasonal?) meats with sides. They ended up giving him an allergy-friendly version of it so I could sample it, and I ended up liking this a lot more than my own meal. This is what I ordered when we went back there last December.

Nathan's food looks really good.

We left stuffed, and headed back to Animal Kingdom. When we parked, there was a tram about to leave, so we ran...er, I mean, walked briskly...we'd never run at Disney!...and we caught the tram. But that was a bad idea. I took this selfie to demonstrate why nobody should ever run for anything in the August Florida heat after filling up on Sanaa:

Oh no, I'm felling your pain.

I took some pictures of the show, which I'll post here now. But to sum up my feelings: I think Rivers of Light is very pretty, and I really enjoyed it. I like that Animal Kingdom has a night show now that I feel really matches the dynamic of the park. I do think it's a bit confusing and lacking in story. I have seen it again since, and still feel this way. I start to lose attention about halfway through. I will happily watch this show again, but I wouldn't feel pressured to make sure not to miss it, or to wait for it for a long time to have the best seats. I also think the images on the water screens aren't very clear, even compared to Fantasmic. But I enjoyed the show and thought that some of the effects are really lovely.

I think it's just ok. It's pretty and a good way to relax at the end of the day.

 

[buzzrelly]

Hey there! I'm sorry, I got way too far behind to multi-quote!

What an amazing day you had at AK. I've never seen it so empty there, lucky you with you own personal TOL photo Your Wild Africa Trek looks amazing. I am trying to decide on a tour for Mike and I in October and you've just added this to my list of possibilities.

Your dinner at Saana looks yummy. Mike and I will be eating here for the first time this fall. I wonder if we can ask for a table near the window?

I love your "standard view" room with a view of Space Mountain

 

[kastoney]

What an amazing day and an equally amazing wedding gift!!!!!!!!! Your trek looks like absolute perfection, though I'm not sure I could handle the bridges. Being wired in or not I don't think my fear of heights could handle that.

Glad to see you all enjoyed Nomads lounge. Definitely one of the best places on property for a drink and some apps.

Can't wait to see what your opinion of Wilderness Lodge it. Its without question my favorite resort on property and its been way too long since we've been there.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Oh, hello. So, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I commentated on this trip report. And then life got in the way. And work got even more in the way. And I always wanted to try reading that trip report from my fellow Atlantic Canadian, but alas it never happened. Well, I finally took the time to catch up. Of course there's too much to comment on, but I'm still here, enjoying the read, and will try to keep up to date.

 

[docsoliday1]

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.

Sign me up.
​

We've been DVC members since 2008 and happy we did. If you and N ever think more seriously, PM me and I'll explain the pros & cons.

We booked a tour for later in the week, and continued on our way. I stopped long enough to remove my shoes, hat, and glasses, and splash around in the splash pad. N held my things and laughed at me for being a small child.

We decided to hit a ride next that had a short wait...

Our last experience on Figment on a previous trip had been a bad one because we'd been snapping at each other after N had dropped my camera, etc., so we wanted a do-over. It went much smoother this time, and I got a chance to hang with my beloved little purple buddy, Figment!

I went to EPCOT the year it opened and figment has always been one of my favorite parts of EPCOT.​

And now N and I were about to experience touring with a group of newbies...

​

Uh uh.
I know I'm late to the party, but trying to catch up as I said I would.

 

[docsoliday1]

But, love how you spent your time talking to the DVC man and getting your awesome new backpack!!! I am very interested in having a DVC membership at some point in my life, too!!! I've twice been able to do a phone tour for a $40 gift card--totally worth it and I always tell them I can't afford it yet but please keep me on the list

As I told Meghan, let me know if you want an unbiased opinion. I won't give you a sales pitch, but we've been DVC since 2008 and so glad we did.

 

[docsoliday1]

I accidentally deleted the sheep picture, but I call it herding cats.

Unfortunately, that's when I realized that I had no concept of how the friendship boats worked, or where I was even going! I was paranoid that I would end up at DHS, have to backtrack, and be late for my next thing, so when it stopped at the Boardwalk stop, I anxiously got off...and ended up walking further to the Beach Club from there than I would have using the IG. Ooops. (Anyone who wants to explain Friendship boats to me gets my eternal gratitude.) I was frantically messaging my mom, who was waiting to meet me, about the stupidity of my delay, while sweating off my entire Cape May breakfast in one hot and humid dash! Where was I headed...? ...revealed soon enough...

​

As I mentioned, I know I'm late to the party, so if someone has already explained the boats, then forget my tardiness. If not, let me know...be happy to explain them since we used quite a bit when at BCV and BWV in February.

 

[jane2073]

Crud!!!
I was walking through MegaCon on Friday and I saw your booth! We were on our way somewhere and I made a mental note that I had to come back and say "Hi!"

Now I am sitting on my couch on Sunday evening realizing that we somehow never went by your booth again! We were all over the place. I don't know how we missed it.

The one time I went by, your husband was just finishing a piece and it looked really cool!

 

[thumper*]

Back on the boards myself after a while away.
Sorry about the stresses and your friends addiction. So happy to hear that you passsed all of your classes. Whew that feels better doesn't it. Nice that your able to spend the summer with N. I occasionaly see his post on FB. His work is great.

Lovin the new color.

 

[docsoliday1]

...continued from previous post...

Before I continue with the rest of the day (including our makeshift "reception" meal) I just want to do a reflection post with some post-wedding thoughts...

​

Wedding dress: I loved my dress. It's from the Alfred Angelo Disney line (from a few years ago), one of the Snow White ones, and I had seen it online and knew I wanted to try it on. A few months before I went dress shopping it was discontinued, and so I needed to buy it off the rack from a tiny little dress shop a few hours from where we live. Now that Alfred Angelo has gone bankrupt and shut down, I'm even more grateful that I bought it when I did! It was beautiful quality, and perfect for my style. I didn't think I'd want an ivory dress, but that was all they had left, and when I tried it on I was shocked at how "white" it looked. It was much better for my complexion than a true white. It was also on sale since it was a sample, and I paid $999 CAD plus tax. (Which is pretty great since our dollar is worth way less than yours! Still more than I would have spent on another dress, but less than most people seem to spend, and it was the dress.) Only complaint? The lace around the front/bottom of the arm holes cut into my skin and became really red and painful before the morning was out. ...worth it.

I think you looked wonderful in the dress, so good choice. If you run into anything with the armholes in the future, band aids. Put band aids on your arm where it's rubbing and it will save your skin. Carry a few in your wallet/purse.

Aug. 17th: Our date was chosen because I wanted to do it between quitting my job and returning to school in September, and also when my family members/friends who were teachers or students would be able to attend on their summer breaks. We got a lot of flak from N's side of the family for choosing a summer date in Florida, and I was quite worried before we left about the heat. N's family kept nagging us to have it over Christmas break instead, but I didn't want to...for a ginormous list of reasons, including...

1. I love celebrating Christmas and wanted it to be its own separate special thing.
2. I didn't want to be worried about travelling that far in the winter and getting delayed or cancelled due to poor weather.
3. We wanted to drive, and we'd have to fly in December to avoid bad roads.
4. I'm not a fan of winter weddings, even if it wouldn't "feel" like winter in Florida. Just not my style.
5. I wanted our anniversary to be in the summer for ease of celebrating/travelling.
6. I struggle pretty seriously with seasonal affective disorder and didn't want to be planning/having a wedding while I was "SAD."
7. I didn't want to be in the most stressful parts of wedding planning while I'd just started my masters.​

...and the list went on. In the end, I love that we picked this date. I handled the heat SO much better than I expected (I'd planned for the absolute worst) and logistically it just worked for us. It also meant we had time for a super long trip/honeymoon—nearly 3 weeks including travel days.

I've mostly been trying to just read and catch up vs. commenting too much, but I feel compelled to reply to this one. Then I realized, if I didn't tell you what a beautiful bride you made, I would be remiss, so comment above is for that. Comments below are what I initially felt compelled to say...

It's YOUR day and you'll only do it once, so glad you stuck to your guns. You'll find out there will be many people telling you how you should or how you should have done things, but again...it's YOUR day. I'm sure you've heard the saying you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. Along the same lines as what I've already said, the only people that needed to be pleased this day were you and N. Everyone else SHOULD be pleased FOR you. Most times, I would say it's not all about you, but in this case, it very much was all about you and N.

Most of the rest, I didn't comment on, because I've been married 32 years and not really something I need to worry about, but I'm happy it turned out the way you wanted for the most part. The other thing I wanted to comment on is the signature photo mat...too cool!