Yay! Epcot is my favorite park!

I love that you can walk to Epcot from the BoardWalk...
Aha! Your expression with Belle--You're like, I'll cut Gaston if he comes to my ceremony!
Sometimes Epcot is my favorite park, but sometimes it's the Magic Kingdom. I can never really decide. And I TOTALLY would have cut Gaston if he had shown up. (Spoiler alert: he didn't.)
Jackie, I simply adore the expression on your face in that first picture with Belle. Seriously adorable.
Cupcake meet and greet!
Ooh, a cliffhanger! It's so 'Lost'-esque! Oh, oh! I just remembered the Dharma cake!
Thank you very much!!! What's in the hatch?!?!
LOL, I love the face you're making at Belle about Gaston.
Can't wait to hear more and I gotta go check out your Randy pics too! I saw that you posted them on the Dis FB.
Thanks! I only posted one in the Dis, but I added over 1000 to facebook if you friend me.
I'm so behind, but I had to stop reading and comment on this! Wow! Hope this wasn't too awkward for you! First night of our Honeymoon at the AKL, we heard a baby cry a few times - only the first night thankfully, but still kind of a buzz kill.

I'm so glad Lacy took in Thunder!
Phew! Now I am caught up. Love hearing about your Dad and he just cracks me up. I, too, love the face your are making talking with Belle! It does sound like she is a bit hung up on him. She could have wished you both a happily ever after... Anyway I am excited to hear what happened involving your mom and to see this tank top that goes with that sweatshirt!
Awwww. Stupid crying baby! Shut that kid up! (I am so maternal.) Thanks for popping in and catching up.
Awww love the pic with Belle - especially the look on your face, lol brilliant. x
Awww thank you.
Looks like a fun first half of the day! I love all of the pictures with Belle. It really does sound convenient to stay at the Boardwalk, being in walking distance of Epcot and HS. And I also love the new boards at Epcot
I was actually at the Beach Club, which is a bitttt more convenient than the BW: BW is more centrally located, but eh, I don't care THAT much about DHS!
Great update! The Belle pics are too funny. I get so stupid around the characters. We took a WDW trip right before my DL college program, and after we saw Mickey, I said to Brandon "Oh shoot! I should have told Mickey I got into the college program!"... thinking that he would have been excited. Brandon said "You know it's a girl in a costume, right?" And I thought geez, he's right. Like for a second I was thinking of Mickey as a person. Facepalm.
Waiting for more!!
Michelle, I do the SAME thing. Same thing. I was OBSESSED with having a conversation with Snow White later in the trip because I just HAD to tell her something. I might have had one too many Grand Marnier Orange Slushes though...
LIES, ALL LIES!!!
Looking forward to the next part of yor trip report Jackie.
Yeah. What the heck is she talking about?!?!
Okay, my bad, I have fallen behind again. Bad, bad DisBride friend.
Without further adoo, Day 2, Part 2 Comments....
* Love the sweatshirt! Oh yeah, Chris MADE you buy it!

* Love the Osborne Lights. Saw them in 2010. Can't wait to get Paul to see them.
* Glad Chris got to hang out with James, but really what is up with that outfit?
* Great shot of you and Chris with the lights. You should come back and see them again (like Veterans Weekend -- jes sayin).
* Yachtmans is our favorite restaurant at Disney. So glad that you liked it. I am even using something that happened there on our 5th anniversary in my vows
* Totally agree on tables for 2. The worst restaurant when it comes to this is Chef Mickey's. I think they have 2 tables for 2.
* The strip looks amazing! Glad Chris enjoyed it. We are planning on taking a bunch of people there the night after our VR.
* $11 FOR THAT SLIVER OF CAKE!!!! Was it the Weight Watchers portion??

Also, what's up with all the salt? Crazy.
* The Dad story is a classic. I will totally think of this when I go to MCO now.
Alright, off to read more...
He did! He totally forced me into the sweatshirt. Yup. And I SO wish I could come over Veteran's Day weekend. (I'm actually trying to figure it out in my head hahaha). We MIGHT (big might) go for NYE actually!
-I KNOW RIGHT! Stupid WW portion!!!
-You must look for the door at MCO.
I *loved* your face when you were talking to Belle. Great update.
Thanks! <3
*************************************
Just a few things before I get to the trip report: I forgot to mention that I made our dining reservations for our AKL trip in May. We're going to CA Grill, Via Napoli, and Jiko. We fell in love with the first two during our honeymoon, and Jiko will be a new one for us. I'm also attempting to pester Chris into going to WDW for NYE. I know it's absolutely crazy busy (and rates are so much higher), but I still want to do it. But, we'll see.
I also just wanted to say that I'm doing... okay. Some moments are better than others; some moments are worse than others, but I'm hanging in there. Some things are very difficult for me still (for instance, I really haven't been giving a crap about school as of late), but I hope it will get better with time. It just boils down to I miss my dad. I miss his weird facebook messages and I miss complaining about people with him everyday and, honestly, I miss having that security blanket that he provided. I'm also... I don't know, frustrated and angry with him because he left his house in such disarray, and now my 71 year old grandfather is left to try and pick up the pieces. I know it's no use being angry, but I can't help it sometimes.
Anyway. Enough of that.
I also got my Randy pictures in! They're GORGEOUS and I am in love with them! Except... my eye makeup ran for a lot of the pictures.

I've been obsessing over it for the past day, but I am sure I will get over it. I guess that's one of the fallbacks to having an outdoor wedding in Florida. (I think it must have melted a little bit, and I cried a bit too.)
Now, onto the trip report.
**********************************
Day 3, Part 2
Not a Day 3 purchase, but I did promise you all a picture of a souvenir we bought:
A signed copy of a Larry Dotson print of the Boardwalk that has SBP in it! It's perfect for any SBP bride.

We were so happy to find it, and so happy that Larry Dotson was there to personalize it for us. (I have one of his Haunted Mansion prints hanging in my entryway.)
Anyway, so we went to the lobby to meet people at around 3:15. Most people arrived on time, but my poor MOH Richelle got lost. (She had decided to take the bus to Epcot because the Beach Club is so close to Epcot, but there is no bus from Epcot.) I really do wish that Disney would make it easier to travel in between resorts, you know?
My Ga-ga is really, really awesome at taking unattractive pictures of people eating. (Seriously, he starts taking pictures of us eating during EVERY single holiday.) Naturally, he was in his element at a cupcake meet and greet.
Okay, this one is funny at least:
And, the piece de resistance:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...22432816811_13003576_35300292_628890506_n.jpg
Oh gaga.
It was nice to catch up with everyone, but I pretty much just talked to Richelle. It was awkward seeing Lacy (remember, we hadn't really spoken since the drama), and Chris's mom, as per usual, said 4 words to me. It was during this meet and greet, however, that I FINALLY heard from my mother: in case some of you don't remember, on the 3rd, I found out that my mom's hotel reservation had been cancelled and I couldn't get ahold of her. I found out from her boyfriend that she had left him, yadda yadda yadda. Anyway, so I finally heard from her...
...and I got a text message. Oh yes. It said (and I didn't delete it so I could have it to type here): "Sorry havent gotten ahold of u sooner ray and i broke up im in chicago im going 2 grandfather shanks next week i know its herendous timing but i want u 2 know im fine and that i love and im really sorry that i cannot b there and i want u 2 have the time of ur life mommy"
I read this and I was so angry I started
shaking. Really?!?! My own mom sent me a
text message 18 hours before my wedding telling me she wouldn't be there. Absolutely reprehensible. I still have no idea what she was doing in Chicago: as far as I know, she hasn't been there since she lived there for 9 months when she was 15. If she could make it to Chicago from Connecticut, why the hell couldn't she make it to Florida?! After I got this message, I pretty much decided I didn't want anything to do with my mother any time in the near future: she is a selfish, immature person. (It's not TR related, but after this block of TR I'm going to write what she did at my dad's wake).
I had to try and calm myself down. My dad, who has never been my mom's biggest fan, had to go away for awhile and complain to his best friend. I resolved not to let it get to me though: I wanted to have a good night. Richelle, Becky (who came halfway through the cupcake meet and greet), and I were going to 1900 Park Fare!
As a side note, my dad and Becky's mom went to Cape May Cafe and saw Yeehaw Bob and they loved it! I've never seen Yeehaw Bob, but they had a swell time. Just in case you were curious.
So Chris and I said our goodbyes (he was bringing his groomsmen to Disney Quest), and the girls and I went back to my room. I let them borrow leggings because I might have brought 6 pairs, and I got changed. Transportation was quick and smooth, and it didn't take long for us to get seated at 1900 Park Fare.
As SOON as we were seated, Anastasia saw my tiara and yelled "A BRIDE!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!" -pause- "I'll be back!" It was
hilarious. We ordered our drinks and got up to get food...
...and oh my gosh, this is the best Disney buffet I have ever been to! Seriously, why didn't anyone prepare me for this?! The strawberry soup is one of the best things I have ever had. And the mashed potatoes were just perfect. I could have gone here every night! I think we all had 2 or 3 bowls of soup... It was not a proud moment for any of us.
Anyway, you probably want to hear me talk about characters, right?
Cinderella came over and congratulated me. I was wearing my blue sparkly shoes so I just
had to show her: she liked them, of course. She was fine, but a bit boring.
Prince Charming was even MORE boring. I don't really remember what he said; whatever it was, it wasn't interesting. Richelle has also decided that he looks like Peewee Herman, so that's all I can see now!
The Evil Stepmother, however, became my new best friend. She came over to our table and was SO sweet: she asked if we were excited about the wedding, and we told her we were nervous, so she took our hands and did some deep-breathing exercises with us. As I stood up to take my picture with her, she said to me "You are nice to your mother, aren't you?!"
...and Becky almost had a heart attack! "Don't talk about her mom!!!" So, naturally, I had to tell Lady Tremaine all about my mother woes.
I could tell she felt
sobad for me, and she told me not to let it bother me. We talked for a good 10 minutes or so, and she gave me a big hug.
Don't we look like besties?!?!
Anyway, when Drusilla came over, Lady Tremaine said "This is a wonderful girl, and don't ask her about her mother!!!!" Becky, Richelle, and I cracked up. Drusilla didn't stay long, but she made an ugly face for our picture:
Anastasia came back, and she made everyone on our side of the room cheer for me. It was very sweet.
I should also mention that the people at 1900 Park Fare don't know how to weed out good pictures from bad ones. They brought our picture over, and my eyes were completely shut, so naturally I wasn't going to buy it. The picture person came back later though and had found a MUCH better one: apparently they weren't paying attention when they did it or something. (Wouldn't you want to make sure the girl with the Bride tiara was happy?!) I ended up buying the picture because I probably will never be with Richelle and Becky in WDW again, but it's still packed right now.
After dinner was over, the three of us were
stuffed. Walking up that grand staircase was painful; Becky declared "Yup. That was MY marathon," in honor of marathon weekend.

We decided to poke around in Basin before heading back, and we bought some "Relaxation" bath salts: our plan was not to take a bath, but to fill up the bath in hopes of making the room smell good. We christened this idea our "Ghetto Spa" because we were too cheap to go to an actual spa.
We headed back to the hotel and got a round of drinks in Martha's Vineyard. It was starting to get late and we had to be up at 5:30ish, so we headed back around 9 or so. Richelle and I had to shower, and we also had to get our dresses situated. We retrieved the 3 dresses from my grandparents' room, who had babysat them while they were steamed.
Look how she sparkles!
We also made our Ghetto Spa. We put the salts in the bath and both sinks, but it didn't really do anything. We left it overnight, but it just made the water cold and green!
Finally, it was time for sleep. Becky scratches her legs in her sleep so she had to sleep with gloves on (pink Hello Kitty gloves, no less)
It took me awhile to fall asleep, but once I did I was out cold. I was getting married the next day!!!!!!!!
********************************************
Just a quick note about my mom's behavior at my dad's wake:
So, I hadn't heard from my mom since the text message. She did call me a few times after she finally heard about my dad, but I didn't answer the phone because I honestly didn't have anything to say to her. She came up to me at the wake and gave me a hug (which is awkward, because we don't hug). She said "How you are doing?" "Fine." "WHAT are you doing?" (And I can't recall what I said in response... kind of an obvious question to ask.) "Do you want me to leave?" "That's up to you." To which she rolled her eyes, made a loud sigh, and stormed off. She then told my grandparents--- my dad's
grieving parents that I "wasn't talking to her." Absolutely ridiculous.
Anyway, the next installment will be the start of my wedding day!