Jenn and Kevin: Honeymoon at Port Orleans Riverside 4/30-5/6

[renholder777]

The main characters of this tale: Jenn, 27, beautiful, intelligent, funny, and my new wife. Kevin, 29, your humble narrator and recent new husband.

Our Disney Honeymoon began around 4 am on Sunday, April 30th in the Sheraton hotel room in Lansing, Michigan where we collapsed from the wedding marathon we ran over the course of the previous three days. Despite our heavy exhaustion, our wired little bodies could not manage to sleep very much and before we knew it, we were making coffee in the room and watching a bizarre documentary on PBS about the rise and fall of the Professional Bowling Association. Anything to pass the time, I guess. Around five o’clock, we took a shower, packed everything up and took off. On our way to the airport, we stopped by our apartment to drop off wedding presents and to pet and feed the cats one last time. After that, they were the responsibility of the cat sitter, and we were soon to be the responsibility of Disney.

First, however, we had a bit of traveling to do. We left the car in a long-term parking service and hopped their shuttle over to the US Airways terminal. We checked in rather easily and killed time with Jenn’s laptop until we boarded. Unfortunately, since we bought the plane tickets through a voucher service of Disney’s Chase Credit card (I highly recommend the card for the savings), we had to catch a connecting flight in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was around this time that the sleep deprivation began to catch up with us. As we ate for the first time in hours at the Charlotte airport, I noticed that I was hallucinating. Random strangers suddenly looked just like guests at the wedding. Jenn was experiencing the same weird phenomenon and we realized that we really needed some sleep. However, that would not be the case on our connecting flight because US Airways thought it would be nice to play loud video montages on the monitors in the airplane every time it seemed like we were about to snooze.

So, exhausted, we finally arrived in Orlando. We took the shuttles in the massive airport and weaved our way unsteadily to the Disney’s Magical Express counter. After a bit of a wait in line, we checked in and got directed to the appropriate bus. We phoned our folks to let them know we hadn’t crashed and we were off. However, if you thought we might be able to catch a nap on this bus, then you must have never seen the loud video they play on the Magical Express which highlights all of the things you already knew were coming. I suppose it raised our excitement levels a little, but really at that point all we were capable of was a tired smile.

Eventually, the ME deposited us at Port Orleans Riverside where we proceeded to get in another line to attempt to check into our room. However, as tired as we were, this was where Disney’s terrific customer service began to shine. A CM came up to us and asked if we had any specific questions. I inquired about where the carriage ride location was as we had scheduled one for 6:30 that evening. He gave me very good directions and before I knew it, we were checking in with a very buoyant young blonde CM who made sure all of our arrangements were set, and she informed us that we were staying in building 37 in Alligator Bayou. I had hoped that we would get a mansion room, but I was too tired to argue about it. We took our packet of info and wandered off to find our room.

Our Michigan wardrobe of sweatshirts and jeans felt rather oppressive in the Florida afternoon heat, but the beauty of the resort was undeniable even to our sleepy, hallucinating eyes. Gorgeous full trees radiated green in the afternoon sun, complemented by the waves of the Sassagoula River running through the whole complex. When we finally found building 37, all thoughts of wanting to stay in a mansion fled from my mind. The Alligator Bayou, especially in this section, really seemed like a quiet set of bungalows, set off by themselves in the trees. We had our own quiet pool, as well as rabbits, ducks and little lizards.

The room itself was very nice, and Disney had left an autographed picture of Minnie and Mickey congratulating us on our Honeymoon. I liked having the two sinks and the refrigerator was a good feature. The king-size bed was very comfy and the AC worked like a charm. It was all we could do not to just climb into bed and go to sleep. But, we had just gotten to Disney World! We had to do something! Plus, we were starving as the airport hot dogs weren’t really staying with us for long.

We were on the Disney Dining Plan, but we were saving one of our Table Service credits for a trip to Flying Fish later in the week. So, we paid out of pocket for a meal at Boatwrights. I remember seeing some pretty bad reviews for Boatwrights when planning this trip, so I wasn’t expecting much. However, the reviews must have been based on the wait staff’s uniforms, because the food was delectable. Of course it would be topped over and over as the trip continued, but I had the Prime Rib and it was delicious. Jenn had the roasted chicken and she really enjoyed that. We went over the maps of the various parks while eating and I showed Jenn what the plans were for each one. I could tell she was getting excited, even with the bags under her eyes. The meal was good and was only a little over $40. We spend more than that at Red Lobster, so I thought it was a pretty good deal.

After dinner we went back to the room and our luggage arrived shortly thereafter. Thank the lord our shorts had arrived! We slid out of our Michigan jeans and into some comfortable clothing for our carriage ride. Our horse’s name was Charley and the ride was fantastic. Very relaxing and we got to see every inch of our very beautiful resort. I recommend it to anyone staying at Port Orleans.

Once the ride was over, we took a dip in the quiet pool near our room. Our original plan was to go to Downtown Disney that evening, but the intense need for sleep won out. After swimming for a bit, we showered and retired for the night about eight o’clock. Not exactly an action-packed first day, but that’s okay…we had six more coming up!

I’ll post those starting with Day 2: Epcot soon…

 

[Cinderella2006]

More more ... i am very egar to read this. We are getting married in Disney on November 1st and are spending our two week honeymoon at Port Orleans Riverside. The carriage ride sounds very romantic - i think i will get my family to look after the boys whilst we do this - we were planning on taking them with us but it would be nice to have some time to ourselfs. Can you book this in advance?
Thanks for sharing

 

[MichelleChell]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!


Great start. Keep it coming!

 

[tchan03]

Congrats!!!! We were going to PO resort in Feb for our wedding trip. But for cost reason, we ended up rent a SSR room from a DVC member.

Mabel & Terence

 

[pumba]

Congratulations. I am hoping that you were one of the couples that dh and myself said congratulations to .......did you wear the groom and veil hats with ears??.......anyways.......CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH

 

[snickerharley]

You're off to a great start! Keep your trip report coming, and Congratulations

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Can't wait for day two!! I'm taking my DBF to WDW for the first time and you have me convinced to do the carriage ride at POR. It truly is a beautiful, romantic resort. Looking forward to the rest!!!

 

[renholder777]

The main characters of this tale: Jenn, 27, beautiful, intelligent, funny, and my new wife. Kevin, 29, your humble narrator and recent new husband.


We didn’t set an alarm or a wake-up call for obvious reasons, but we found ourselves waking up around eight o’clock Monday morning with a kid-at-Christmas kind of excitement. We turned on the TV to find that the weather report for our week in Disney World was perfect: hot and sunny with no rain! Then we turned on the constant Disney promo channel as we got ready for the day. We both agreed that the girl on the Disney channel is way better than the one on the DVD!

Since we didn’t use our Counter Service Meal on Sunday, we used it for breakfast Monday morning in the Riverside Mill. We also bought the coffee mugs that everybody suggests and we used them quite regularly throughout the trip. Breakfast was very good for a mass produced cafeteria. With a quick trip back to the room to drop off our mugs, we caught the Epcot bus at the North Depot near our room and arrived at the park around ten. Let me state for the record, that if you are staying for seven days, there is no reason in the world you should arrive to any park any earlier than ten. There’s time to do it all. This was our honeymoon, and there would be no rushing.

I know for most people, Jenn included, that Cinderella’s castle is the most iconic structure at Disney World. For me, I’ve gotta say that the gigantic golf ball at Epcot gives the castle a run for it’s money. We stopped to take some pictures in front of it and were immediately struck by the marvelous flower arrangements from the Flower and Garden Festival. Definitely a nice touch.

Our first order of business was to obtain a Fastpass for Soarin’. We booked it over to the Land Pavilion and got our Fastpasses which were for 11:30. This was our first experience with Fastpass, but not our last. What a great invention! Lines over ten minutes long will forever be judged as unnecessary from now on.

With Fastpasses in tow, Jenn wanted to visit the aquarium in the Living Seas because she loves marine life. Keep this in mind as it will remain important. We avoided Turtle Talk with Crash because it looked like it was for 4-year-olds and had an ungodly wait time. We instead just busied ourselves looking at the fish. A shark swam straight at my face at one point. That was pretty cool.

Finally, we got fished out and went back to the Land Pavilion to kill the last half hour until Soarin’. To pass the time we caught the Circle of Life movie, which had some great nature footage and a nice message, even if we’ve heard it all before. Then it was time for Soarin’. Very cool ride. It really made you feel like you were flying, just with tilting, camera and wind tricks.

With Soarin’ over, we ate lunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion before moving on. What a delicious lunch! When counter service credits can get you rotisserie chicken, salad, flatbread, an apple and an oversized bottle of water, I think you’ve done well. Probably the best counter service we visited on the entire trip.

After lunch it was off to World Showcase, with a stop at Mouse Gears for much needed hats. That Florida sun is hot! Also, Jenn bought a Stitch doll and we had him shipped back to the room. I cannot stress enough how great the shipping to the room thing is. I can only imagine how tired we’d have been if we had to lug all the junk we bought with us all day.

Well, starting in Mexico, we leisurely made it around the world prior to our 6 o’clock dinner reservations in Italy. After our $100+ meal in Italy that we didn’t pay for thanks to the dining plan, we finished the evening with a couple of half-yards of Bass at the Rose and Crown and watched Illuminations from our outdoor seating right on the water. A perfect ending to a perfect day. Also, considering we were traveling and completely out of it on Sunday, I’m counting our day in Epcot as our first day of marriage. It certainly was a nice one.

I’ll post again later with Day 3: Disney-MGM Studios

 

[honeybee213]

This TR is starting out great!

 

[pumba]

it was definitely HOT HOT HOT......We loved Soaring too and I think we did it 8 or so times. Thanks so much for your great reviews too of the food.....

 

[jaycns]

Great review...keep it coming and congrats!!

 

[DaniDownUnder]

*doing her best 'Oliver' impression*....

Please Sir....I wants some more!

Seriously tho...great review. My DFi and I are heading to WDW for our honeymoon soon, so I LOOOOVE hearing about the experiences of others!

Cheers.

 

[renholder777]

The main characters of this tale: Jenn, 27, beautiful, intelligent, funny, and my new wife. Kevin, 29, your humble narrator and recent new husband.

We awoke around eight o’clock anticipating our adventures with the Tower of Terror and quickly showered and dressed for the day. I helped Jenn apply some blister-specific band-aids to her feet. I highly recommend these for anyone traveling to Disney World, as the blisters are inevitable. I would soon find this out. But, as for that morning, my feet were fine and I strapped my Teva’s on for another day in the parks.

We decided not to get breakfast to save time. Instead we just had a breakfast bar in the room and went straight to our bus stop. This would prove to be a mistake. A proper breakfast is essential, just like the cereal commercials say.

Soon, we were at the Studios, quickly turning down the road toward the Tower of Terror. We opted not to get a Fastpass for our first ride, but the stand-by time was nonexistent anyway. We barely had time to fully appreciate the wonderful theming before we were escorted into the library for our Rod Serling impersonator’s Pre-Show. The entire look of the hotel, and the manner in which the TV pre-show is used really serve to put you in the mood of the Twilight Zone. Very well done. It would be the highlight of the attraction if the ride weren’t so cool. I knew the drops would be fun, but I was unaware how excellent the visual effects and the very creepy slow crawl through the hotel hallway would be. This is by far the best thing in the Studios.

After our nightmare plunge, we grabbed a Fastpass to ride it again and walked over to the Rock N’ Roller Coaster starring AerosmithÔ. I include the trademark symbol because I think it’s the most important part of the title of this attraction. I know there may be many of you who love Aerosmith and think they are terrific musicians. Jenn and I, on the other hand, sort of feel like Toys in the Attic and Permanent Vacation were pretty good albums, and then there’s a whole lot of filler. A lot of Steven Tyler screeching and then Joe Perry playing yet another guitar solo. In any event, we were willing to give the ride a chance because it’s a roller coaster. How bad could it be?

Well, the unfortunate corporate pairing of Aerosmith with this ride is almost the worst corporate pairing they’ve ever done, with number one being the 90s video game Revolution X. You all remember that one, when Steven Tyler needed our help to fight against the oppressive government who had outlawed music. Only the power of your CD-firing cannons and the awesome rocking of AerosmithÔ could win the day. But I digress.

Basically, the pre-show is awful, but we knew it would be and we were willing to overlook that. The ride promised to be cool, and the launch at 60-miles-an-hour sure was fun. However, once the ride took off, the speakers right next to both of my ears began to Walk This Way at large volume. I tried to remark to Jenn, but she couldn’t hear me. Soon, we were twisting and turning and my head was banging off of the speakers. It seemed like it could have been a cool ride, sort of a Space Mountain with an edge, but I was just happy when it was over because now I had a pounding headache. Jenn felt the same.

The lack of breakfast began to catch up with us. Part of the reason we didn’t eat a big breakfast was that we were trying not to puke. However, with the motion sickness we just got thanks to AerosmithÔ, we learned that not enough in the stomach could be a bad thing, too. The only food stand open at 10:30 was a place that sold foot-long hot dogs. Yum. An unconventional breakfast to say the least, but it fixed us up a little. Enough to ride Tower of Terror again, and it was just as good the second time.

After the Tower, we strolled back to the center of the park and got some pictures with the oversized Mickey hat. By the way, the PhotoPass feature is terrific. We were always able to find a representative at the major photo sites and we bought the CD at the end of the week. It was actually a good value.

After the pictures, we rode the Great Movie Ride, which was pretty neat and pretty lame all at the same time. I particularly liked the Alien segment, but could have done without our driver Sal and The Great Movie Ride banter. The sets were cool enough on their own.

Then it was time for my own personal trip to Mecca. I have been a Star Wars fan since I learned to form words, so I was very eager to experience Star Tours for the first time. I had never been to the Studios before and I had been anticipating this since we began planning the trip. Jenn took a picture of me on the speeder bike and I have a huge dopey grin on my face. The ride itself was just okay, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the AT-AT Walker, C-3PO and R2-D2 up close.

After we got out, I was browsing in the shop and Jenn came running back in from outside to tell me Darth Vader was outside! Well, I ran out and took a bunch of pictures of Lord Vader fencing with several young Jedi. The guy in the suit had all of the moves down as he twirled his cape and did the Force Choke for the delight of the crowd. I’d have to say it was a highlight of the trip for me. We ate lunch at the ABC Commissary and I kept looking over my digital snapshots of my most feared/adored childhood character.

After that, we ducked into the Muppets to get out of the heat. Neither of us were dealing well with the sun that day. We both blame it on AerosmithÔ, but it was likely the hot dog for breakfast. The Muppet show was amusing, but I was starting to lose interest in everything that wasn’t our resort pool. Jenn still wanted to check out the Narnia exhibit, so we went and looked and were absolutely unimpressed. It was basically a movie trailer with some live action elements. At least it had AC.

With some limping on my newly formed blisters, we made it to the bus and headed back to the resort. We jumped in the pool and had a couple of drinks. I had the Mississippi Mudslide, which was awesome and Jenn had some fruity concoction that was equally good, judging from the sip I had. Then I grabbed a catnap while she worked on some schoolwork on her laptop.

For dinner, we took the boat to Downtown Disney and ate twin lobster tails at Cap’N Jack’s. I know the place gets mixed reviews, but it was certainly good to us. Thumbs up. We also spent a bazillion dollars at the World of Disney store. However, with my Disney Rewards card, we made out pretty good with a 15% discount and the rewards dollars taken off the top. I got a really nice watch for dirt-cheap after it was all said and done. Score!

We were going to walk down to the West side after dinner, but Jenn was done in from the long day and the big dinner. Actually, so was I. So we climbed back on the boat and headed toward our bed. There is nothing more pleasant or relaxing than a nighttime boat ride. Downtown Disney looked fabulous with it’s twinkling lights as we sped away. We would return, but for now it was time to sleep.

I’ll report more later in Day 4: Magic Kingdom

 

[cdntourguide]

great report.
Just waiting for Day 4

 

[bluejay2006]

great! can't wait to hear more!

 

[PoohGal05]

I just marvel at people who can give such details of their trips! Very good report and am looking forward to your report on Magic Kingdom!

 

[jugglinfish]

Great report! Glad you had a fun honeymoon. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Minniespal]

Congrats ~ Keep em coming

 

[averill94]

Congratulations! It sounds like the perfect honeymoon.
Keep posting!

 

[renholder777]

The main characters of this tale: Jenn, 27, beautiful, intelligent, funny, and my new wife. Kevin, 29, your humble narrator and recent new husband.

Wednesday morning, we were moving a little slower. The feet were beginning their slow, steady decline. I had to have Jenn patch up my left foot with the blister band-aids, which seemed to work very well. After a nice breakfast at Riverside Mill, we hopped the bus to the Magic Kingdom.

I really do think Epcot is my favorite park, but there is something to be said for the original. When Cinderella’s castle loomed into view across the water, I have to admit that I got pretty excited. Jenn was very happy, as this is still her favorite park. It was nice to see her eyes light up like a little girl.

When first entering, we milled about in the Main Street area for a while and got some good pictures of us with the castle in the background. Then it was off to Tomorrowland. Even though it was already after ten, there didn’t seem to be anyone in Tomorrowland. We walked right into Stitch’s Alien Encounter, which we really enjoyed. I’ve read some bad things about that attraction, but I don’t really understand why. The animotronics are spectacular, and I thought the story and the effects inside the main room were pretty cool. We really like Stitch, though. I suppose that is a prerequisite.

In any event, we moved on from that and jumped right onto Buzz Lightyear. I think there was something wrong with my gun, because Jenn destroyed me by like 100,000 points. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Pretty fun ride, even if it is really for kids. The coolest part was the shop at the end of the ride. Jenn and I got our faces placed on Han and Leia in one of those photo-trickery things. It turned out very well. For $30, I thought it made a great souvenir.

When we left the shop, we saw a bunch of kids clamoring to get their picture taken with Buzz Lightyear. Not a big draw for us, but just over to the side was a much shorter line for Stitch! Awesome! It’s not Disney World if you don’t get your picture taken with somebody dressed up in a suit, right?

So, with Stitch pictures in tow, we went off to ride Space Mountain. Let me preface this by saying the only other time I’d been to Magic Kingdom was with a school group. While walking around I was with my girlfriend at the time and her friends, most of whom were scaredy cats who didn’t want to go on anything. Therefore, I had never been on Space Mountain before. I know that makes me a big loser, but I have now rectified the situation.

It definitely lives up to the hype. It’s such a unique experience. Not the best roller coaster I’ve ever been on, but the darkness and the space visuals really make it into something cool, especially with the solitary feeling of the seat design. I got off it wondering just why I didn’t ride it the last time. I blame adolescence. Stupid high school girlfriend.

With the main attractions of Tomorrowland behind us, our day suddenly got hotter and more crowded in Fantasyland. I know it’s the most popular part of the most popular park for the simple fact that it’s kid-friendly and rooted in Disney tradition, but come on, people! Who really waits in hour standby lines for Winnie the Pooh?

We grabbed Fastpasses for Pooh and Peter Pan, bypassed everything else, and watched Mickey’s Philharmagic and ate lunch while killing time on the respective Fastpasses. I was blown away by how good the 3D is in Mickey’s Philharmagic. Excellent little movie. Wonderful AC, too. Both the Pooh ride and Peter Pan were very relaxing little kid rides and we filled our quota of those. With a nice lunch from Columbia Harbour House, we were on our way out of Fantasyland.

We did stop by Cinderella’s castle first for some picture taking. We also stopped by the Pretty Princess store or whatever it’s called and bought some presents for my nieces. But that was all the time we had for traditional girlie Disney. Then it was on to the Haunted Mansion, which is a classic for a reason. Just a good little ride.

The heat was beginning to get to us again, so we drank some water in the shade before climbing around on the Swiss Family Treehouse. Then we took a ride on the Jungle Cruise. Both are very traditional Disney fare, but very enjoyable, as well. However, at the completion of the cruise, the heat was beginning to win. We needed to cool off. Now.

Walking past the dormant and under-construction Pirates of the Caribbean, we grabbed a Fastpass for Thunder Mountain Railroad and got in the standby line for Splash Mountain. There was a posted wait time of 40 minutes, but I think we got through the line in less than half an hour. Very fun ride, good theming and a nice cooling splash at the end. Thumbs up. Thunder Mountain seemed a lot tamer than I had hoped. It was just a standard roller coaster with very little going on. I suppose I’ve been spoiled by the roller coasters at Cedar Point, but it just didn’t do it for me.

Well, that was about all we had in the tank for that day. We grabbed the train back to the front of the park, and hopped a bus back to the resort. We did a little more swimming and cooling off before turning around and heading back toward the Magic Kingdom area for dinner. We wanted to see the Grand Floridian, so we had made reservations at the Grand Floridian Café for Wednesday night. We took the bus to the Magic Kingdom and hopped the monorail to the Grand Floridian.

Unfortunately, Jenn wasn’t feeling very well that night and was afraid that she was coming down with a serious cold. Her sister had been sick at the wedding, so it was more than possible. She was upset that the remainder of the trip might be ruined, so that sort of put a damper on our enjoyment of the Grand Floridian.

It really wasn’t our style anyway. We like things a little fancy, but this just seemed overdone. It’s very pretty, and very elegant, but it kept reminding me of the flashback scenes in the Shining. Kind of creepy, actually.

The food was delicious, though. I had their land and sea, and the steak and the shrimp were wonderful. We shared their chocolate fondue for dessert and really enjoyed it. Our waitress was a little overly chatty, though. Full of opinions and suggestions and all we really wanted to do was to get out of there and get Jenn to bed. Finally, she brought the tab, and we monorailed back to the bus, and bussed home.

I put Jenn to bed, but felt I had a little energy left, so I walked down to the River Roost Lounge to get a couple beers and catch up on how my beloved Detroit Tigers had been doing. I didn’t anticipate the entertainment in the lounge, but I was pleasantly surprised. I never caught the name of the piano playing song man, but he was excellent. One of those rare individuals who can entertain children and adults at the same time. The theming in the bar was yet another example of how great Disney is at nuance. With the exception of the ESPN spewing TVs, it really felt like you were spending the night at an inn on the Mississippi River, waiting for your steamboat in the morning to St. Louis or wherever. Really well done. Their beers were a little lacking, but I had a couple tasty Michelobs, found out that my Tigers had won six in a row and even sang along a little with the piano man. Eventually, I cashed out and crawled into bed with Jenn, crossing my fingers that she felt better in the morning.

Don’t worry, she did, but I’ll get into that in Day 5: Animal Kingdom