jennifaerie's planning journal - 3/2 - Made it on the Maggie Sottero Website!

[jennifaerie]

Thanks, Jennifer! It did get better!

 

[Donald'sGirl]

Holy Cow Jen that's a long plus the way you were feeling, I would have passed out long before you did! Go you!

Those desserts look yummy!! Awesome free stuff you got and on your first day! WooHoo!!

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

We spent our complimentary night at the Poly. I was so tired the night of our vow renewal that I was past thinking clearly. The glorious thing though is our bed there was so wonderful - it just enveloped me in a sweet warm cloud and I slept so well...I hope you did too

 

[pjstevens]

Jennifer,

I am so sorry you were feeling that bad your first day. I hope that things looked up after you got a good night sleep. Can't wait to see more.

 

[keenercam]

Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry you had such a headache your first day in the World. What a darling Rob was to go to all those gift shops to find your glasses. See? I told you. You are married to someone who is always going to take care of you and put your needs before anything else. Those little gestures of consideration are the true indicator of how he'll always be kind and considerate. I am so happy that everything worked out so well, that you got to see Carrie and Lana, that you got to go to 2 VIP lounges, found your glasses, free dessert, prime viewing location for Illuminations. So cool. Lots and lots of Thank you for sharing the experiences with us!

 

[jennifaerie]

Holy Cow Jen that's a long plus the way you were feeling, I would have passed out long before you did! Go you!

Thanks, Laura! You make me feel strong!

We spent our complimentary night at the Poly. I was so tired the night of our vow renewal that I was past thinking clearly. The glorious thing though is our bed there was so wonderful - it just enveloped me in a sweet warm cloud and I slept so well...I hope you did too

I think I tend to have high expectations of myself. And I also assumed that the Disney "magic" would sweep me off my feet like it always does when we travel. But alas, weddings trump the magic!

Jennifer,

I am so sorry you were feeling that bad your first day. I hope that things looked up after you got a good night sleep. Can't wait to see more.

It got much better, I promise!

Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry you had such a headache your first day in the World. What a darling Rob was to go to all those gift shops to find your glasses. See? I told you.

He has his moments. Not all the time, but this was definitely one of those times I needed it, and it was very much appreciated!

DAY TWO

Don't forget you can see the pictures (in full view) on my website!

I can't remember if I slept well the first night. I know I felt better compared to the day before, but I think we were both still exhausted.

A weird feeling came over me, though, and I was in probably the most relaxed state I've ever been while on vacation. I normally rush us out the door for rope drop at every park (sans the first day since we don't make it in time), but I actually did NOT rush us (too much), and we didn't get to Animal Kingdom until after TEN, a full hour (plus) after they opened!

We also did something completely different-- we ordered room service.

We never order room service, though we talk about it. It's two meals on the dining plan (for the same cost as a one table service meal or less), so it's not exactly worth it. Off the dining plan, it's pricey too, because of delivery charges/service fees. But we figured we were on our honeymoon, we should go for it.

Rob ordered the fruit "plate", which was more like a fruit pineapple.

There was so much fruit that he wrapped it up and snacked from it for days after.

I, of course, had to continue my love/hate relationship with Tonga Toast (banana stuff sourdough French toast that is offered fried or grilled; this version is fried).

It was this day that I realized that Captain Cook's makes only a mediocre version of this, and I will never have it from there again. Theirs is greasy. And it lacks strawberry compote, which is actually the best part of this delicacy. You wouldn't believe it, but it actually makes it less sweet. The ham they serve at Captain Cook's taste more like Canadian bacon, whereas this actually tasted like grilled ham.

It was crunchy, sweet in all the right ways. And I almost didn't get sick from it (I have a tendency to get over-sweetened by Tonga Toast. I thought the ham might help, and it did a little bit.

Mmm... compote...

Nothing like seeing it at multiple angles to get you hungry.
http://www.lunatunahead.com/Our Hon...ingdom, and Chef Mickey's/slides/P9230578.JPG

This was the view from our room (Tokelau row house). We loved it.

The goofy newlyweds decided to take some pictures before they left. You'll notice we are wearing our Hello I am the Bride/Groom shirts. People got a big kick out of those.

 

[jennifaerie]

When we got to Animal Kingdom, I did what I always do-- ask Rob where he wanted to go. It's a dumb question. We always want to go on the safari. So, of course, we headed that way. And just like always (now that we're not looking for him), Lilo and Stitch were hanging out on the way.

We passed by without stopping, and we made it to the safari.

The first time, they put us in the first row because we were newlyweds. We usually get put in the first row anyway. But we still felt special! We love the first row.

We didn't get too many exceptional shots of the safari, because we tend to focus on the cats portion, where it's tough to get any good pictures.

Besides, I think Rob was a little unfocused... or at least a little more focused on another subject.

Baby giraffe!

Baby elephant!

I want to show you what we're up against. I'm completely convinced that, like those ostrich eggs, the cheetahs are fake. They are in the *SAME* flippin' position every time we go through.

I'm so onto you, Disney!

The lions, as usual, were asleep, but we got a funny view.

Just like Sammy!

This was the trip, I believe, where this family would not stop standing up on the ride. The driver actually had to stop the ride at least five times because they were not listening. The driver would say something like, I can't tell you anymore to stop standing up, and Rob would say, Yes you can! Rob was amused, not at the family standing, but by the fact that, since we kept stopping, we got a better look at the animals.

We had grabbed Fast Passes for the safari before we got on, and we had ten minutes or so before they were valid. We decided to take a walk on the path right next to the safari.

We got to see this guy, who decided living with the meerkats was cool.

Then we hopped back on the safari, and we were thrown in back this time, which was a complete change for us. I don't think I want to ride the back again. It was... bumpy.

Homage to my other favorite on the ride... Hello, Tommy!

More baby elephant.

We ended our ridiculously bumpy ride and decided to head toward Asia. We had a reservation at the Yak & Yeti and figured we'd visit the shops and have lunch.

While we were walking, I asked him if he wanted to go on Everest. Neither Rob nor I really like this roller coaster. But there is enough space in between the trips to forget just how much we don't like it. Actually, *I* remember, but will go on it for Rob, because *he* forgets.

We were kind of at the point where we decided not to decide.

As we were walking through Asia, a cast member stopped us (this was before I started really taking names and pictures) and told us we were a cute couple and offered us the opportunity to be first in line on Expedition: Everest.

Jennifer's response? SURE!

>laugh< If it's free, I'll take it!

She was adorable. She told us about living here the past couple months and how the climate here was very similar to the climate where she lived (I believe she was from Indonesia or a neighboring country).

When we got to Everest, she walked us right up to the front of the line, say good-bye and congratulations, and was on her way.

We liked her.

Until we rode the ride.

I love how we're the only two trying to stretch our arms and necks like we're eighty years old.

Time for lunch!

This was the first time we went to the Yak & Yeti. It was more for Rob than for me, but I did find things on the menu that seemed edible (for my peasant palate).

Of course, I love anything (well, not anything) that's fried, so I got the fried green beans.

And Rob... did not.

We continued with our theme of forgetting to photograph our meals, but that's okay. They weren't all that great. We much preferred our appetizers and desserts.

I got the cream cheese wonton and pineapple kabobs with vanilla ice cream.

Rob got the sorbet trio. The raspberry with coconut tasted like orange when you had a bite of both. Interesting! The middle was lemon, and the last was mango with raspberry sauce. His dessert was quite tasty!

Rob also gave this his seal of approval.

 

[jennifaerie]

After we finished lunch, we toyed around with the idea of staying at Animal Kingdom or visiting the pool at the Polynesian. We had two or so hours until our photo shoot with the Roots. We decided, rather than rushing around (which we seemed to stop doing that day), to go back to the room and get ready for the shoot. Which was probably the best thing we could have done, since Disney transportation seems to take forever (another ongoing theme this trip: taking cabs!).

When we got back to the room, our love affair with Clara Brown (Mousekeeping!) began.

It was so great to see that Snowman (my other traveling companion) had a friend to visit with (Big Red!-- No, Wilson, I won't let Big Red or that storyline die). Another theme-- all of Clara's artwork.

I was starting to get migraine-y, so I opted to wear my hair down. Which was good, since I don't know how to put my hair up! I tried to put a few wavy curls at the bottom, but, for the most part, it was straight, like usual.

Rather than busing ourselves all over the place, we opted to take a cab to Saratoga Springs, where we were supposed to meet Nathan and Jensey. It was our first time getting a cab, and we were nervous. There were only vans, and we didn't want to take over an entire van when someone else might need it. But the driver took us anyway. Vans seem to be more popular around Disney World, which makes sense.

Rob realized as we pulled away, he forgot to wear his ring. He was really upset. I told him we could turn around, but I didn't think we'd end up focusing on our rings anyway. He agreed, but still felt bad and tried to hide his hands the entire shoot.

As we were pulling into Saratoga Springs, the driver asked us where we needed to go, and we didn't know the name of the main building, so we just told him "the main building". Ironically, though, I looked out into the parking lot, and there were Nathan and Jensey looking right back at us! We both waved to each other at the same time (I had shown them our wedding website, so they must have gone to it and saw what we looked like), and that was the start of two of the best hours of our trip.

Rob and I were really nervous. On our wedding day, I was exhausted and kinda punch drunk happy, so I was willing to do whatever. But that Tuesday, it was like we were meeting rock stars or going on a job interview. We were terrified they were going to hate us.

They explained their way of photographing (basically do anything, and we'll take pictures), and we had a difficult time with this. At first. We liked direction, so I think we both panicked when Nathan said "do anything". I think he picked that up, so he had us sit in the grass and told us to do a few things.

Then we walked around the rest of the resort, while they took pictures along the way. The reason I had picked Saratoga Springs was the pool, but we ended up not taking any pictures there. Which was fine, because we went to Celebration and... an overpass on the side of the highway, and I know those pictures came out MUCH better!

Once we got to Celebration, and Rob took his coat off and rolled up his sleeves, we were both much more comfortable and in great spirits. We essentially had a blast with Nathan and Jensey. They were fun, had great sense of humors (senses of humor?), and we joked the entire time.

But then they had us get into their car.

And they headed to the highway.

Pulled on the side of the road.

And told us to get out.

I was thinking, Oh god, we're going to have to walk back to Disney World.

But no, this was one of their amazing ideas... they took pictures of us on an overpass! It's an excellent anecdote for anyone we show the pictures to. No one can believe it. What (a) great eye(s) they have.

There was a guy who was apparently hitchhiking and seemed to think we were all bizarre. Maybe we were! But we had fun!

This was our favorite part... Imagine being in your wedding dress, running through a field, your arms up in the air, the wind blowing. It was amazing. So freeing. In fact, at one point toward the end of our shoot, Rob was looking at me, the sun was setting, and we were at the top of a hill (read: the overpass), and I just started crying.

A very, VERY moving experience.

We made their blog, which was super cool (that goes into Day Three and how I was up at five in the morning, downloading their pictures onto my phone).

Most of you have seen these already, as you've seen the blog.

This was taken in a back stairwell in one of the buildings at Saratoga Springs.

These were taken on the overpass.

We have a disc on the way to us with all their pictures, but for those of you who want to see them NOW NOW NOW:
Our Slideshow
Our Photos
There are different categories, but to see all of them, scroll down to Photos [Password required], click on the hyperlink.
Password: cote

When we got back to our room, I decided I didn't want to change for dinner. I loved wearing the dress, and it was dirty already, so why not? Rob opted to keep his dress clothes on too.

We were probably going to be late if we took the monorail to the Contemporary, so we, again, grabbed a cab (ooh, so fast!).

Because I had read so much about their mashie taties, we ate at Chef Mickey's.

When we checked in, the person at the front desk said, Are we celebrating something tonight? (You see, we weren't wearing our Just Married pins, and the wedding dress might not have given it away!)

People kept thinking we were dressed for the Halloween party. I'm not sure what we would be going as, but I guess maybe I looked like a princess and Rob like an upstanding quasi-stockbroker.

The food was all right, and we didn't take pictures this time because the food wasn't exactly prettily displayed like when you're eating at a non-buffet restaurant. We did, however, take pictures of ourselves!

We seem to have trouble getting us both with the same expression in the same picture. So he'll look serious, and I'll be grinning. I'll look serious, and he'll be smiling. Oops.

We just so happened to sit next to a cast member and her family. It was her first week back from maternity leave. She was a front desk person at one of the value resorts. She said it was great to see and work with adults again.

Her husband was kind enough to take our picture with Goofy.

I wasn't exactly prepared for Mickey and friends' reactions to how we were dressed. I don't speak "mime", so they'd ask me questions, and I'd have no idea what they were trying to say. But I did get my hand kissed quite a bit, and Rob got several thumbs up (if they had thumbs).

We also got celebratory place mats and cupcakes. Why do all the restaurants bring you dessert AFTER you've already eaten dessert?

I don't think I ate the cupcake(s). I think I just ate the frosting off them. It was good. Whipped cream, maybe? I love when restaurants use whipped cream for frosting instead of that thick, sugary close-your-throat frosting.

After we ate dinner, I had to stroll around the fourth floor concourse. I absolutely *loved* swishing around in my dress, walking through the stores. The cast members kept stopping us to find out what the special occasion was. We had several people ask us if we had gotten married at Disney (when you tell people "no", it's an instant conversation killer. You either get the sad "ohh" or people truly stop talking to you ).

Rob and I discovered that we missed a bunny in the mosaic at the Contemporary. We had to get pictures of him!

Even if I'm blurry, he's still cute!

I was going to say I couldn't remember how we got back, but I just remembered we took the monorail because we bumped into the cast member and her family again on the train. A little girl told me my dress was pretty.

We didn't make it in time for the Electric Water Pageant (another theme!), but we heard the music! By the end of the trip (and still now), I keep singing in my head about how everyone does the "dinosaur".

We were both pretty happy and content. It was a fantastic day.

 

[padisneyfour]

Oh its so cool you wore your dress to chef mickeys and got pic w/goofy. I like the pic with the bunny mosaic

 

[Donald'sGirl]

Jen that was an awesome day 2! Those pictures with the Roots are stunning!!! Where did you find that bride top hat?? I didn't know they made them. Love the Goofy pic!!

 

[pjstevens]

Jennifer,

Oh my goodness, you photos are absolutely gorgeous! You and Rob are so in love. I am so glad you got to wear your wedding gown to dinner. Sorry people thought you were going to MNSSHP though, how dare they. Loving your TR.

 

[jennifaerie]

Oh its so cool you wore your dress to chef mickeys and got pic w/goofy. I like the pic with the bunny mosaic

Thanks! We love the bunnies!

Jen that was an awesome day 2! Those pictures with the Roots are stunning!!! Where did you find that bride top hat?? I didn't know they made them. Love the Goofy pic!!

Thank you so much! Now you know why we're such big Roots fans.

Rob made the hat for me. We both expect to see them being sold in the next six months, because so many cast members asked about them and said they were better than the other ears! If they do come out, Rob will know he was the inspiration!

Jennifer,

Oh my goodness, you photos are absolutely gorgeous! You and Rob are so in love. I am so glad you got to wear your wedding gown to dinner. Sorry people thought you were going to MNSSHP though, how dare they. Loving your TR.

Thank you, Patty! I thought it was pretty cool going out in the dress. It definitely was funny that people thought I was dressing up in costume, though. I got a few giggles out of that.

 

[29apr00]

beautiful photos!! I'm so glad day 2 was better!! Hope the rest of the week there are no more migraines!!

 

[alissa2008]

Oh my gosh, I'm finally catching up and boy am I smitten with you two! You both are so gorgeous and look SOOOO incredibly happy in all your pictures...despite migraines, lost glasses and other bizarre happenings. I can't wait for more...



going to check out your website photo galleries now, cuz I just can't get enough!

ETA: and where did you get that white top hat? I heart it.

 

[IndyBride]

Jennifer you're pictures are AMAZING!!!!! I abosolutly love the ones in the stairwell!! You look amazing!! Of course I've only seen like 6 pages so we'll se what happens when I see them all...

ETA: the one's on the hill with the beautiful sky- also amazing.... let's be honest- they are all great!!!!

 

[jennifaerie]

beautiful photos!! I'm so glad day 2 was better!! Hope the rest of the week there are no more migraines!!

Thank you!! There were more migraines, but nothing like Day One, I promise.

Oh my gosh, I'm finally catching up and boy am I smitten with you two! You both are so gorgeous and look SOOOO incredibly happy in all your pictures...despite migraines, lost glasses and other bizarre happenings. I can't wait for more...



going to check out your website photo galleries now, cuz I just can't get enough!

ETA: and where did you get that white top hat? I heart it.

You were kinda busy, you know! Don't overdose on us! I don't want to be responsible for any injuries or casualties because you've had way too much of Robifer.

Rob actually made the top hat/ears! Isn't he crafty?

Jennifer you're pictures are AMAZING!!!!! I abosolutly love the ones in the stairwell!! You look amazing!! Of course I've only seen like 6 pages so we'll se what happens when I see them all...

ETA: the one's on the hill with the beautiful sky- also amazing.... let's be honest- they are all great!!!!

Val, thank you!!

They get better and better... the ones at the end are the best. I know what you mean about the sky; it really was beautiful. All the robust colors. We couldn't have asked for more.

 

[alissa2008]

I'm with Val! Your pictures are awesome. I'm really diggin the ones in the forest. LOVE IT!!

And...I think I missed something -- what's with ET?

He sure is adorable though!

 

[jennifaerie]

Alissa, in our guest book, there's a picture of Rob as a child with an E.T. tote bag. On the opposite page is a picture of me as a child with my E.T. doll.

I wore two of them to bits when I was a child, but I found one on eBay (neat anecdote... bid on it using a Contemporary Resort computer... paid for it on my phone while boarding the Disney Wonder a day later!).

I thought it'd be a nice personal touch if I brought it to the wedding... show the little girl in me coming out.

 

[alissa2008]

Alissa, in our guest book, there's a picture of Rob as a child with an E.T. tote bag. On the opposite page is a picture of me as a child with my E.T. doll.

I wore two of them to bits when I was a child, but I found one on eBay (neat anecdote... bid on it using a Contemporary Resort computer... paid for it on my phone while boarding the Disney Wonder a day later!).

I thought it'd be a nice personal touch if I brought it to the wedding... show the little girl in me coming out.

For sure!! I love it!!

 

[Tink_Kel]

Amazing photos Jennifer. I think the ones of you two with a line of trees on either side of you, is simply stunning!! Where in the world was that taken?!

We've booked a Honeymoon Shoot with Nate & Jensey for May. Nate suggested Celebration, instead of WDW property. I think your photos sold me on the idea. They are great!!

You guys look so happy, I can't wait for your next installment!