DH and I just got back from our 2 week honeymoon! We are late 30s, FYI, no kids. We started off spending the night at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport because we arrived in Orlando at 11 pm. We used the free hotel shuttle to get us to and from there back to the airport, and then in the morning, the Disney Magic Express bus from the airport to WL, where we had a honeymoon suite on the 7th floor. We loved our room, even though it was an end room next to the balcony where the concierge service is, and the TV there could be heard inside our room when it was on. Even so, we loved it. We loved the waterfall tub, and the view out over the trees. We loved the concierge service at WL.
I had purchased from Sarah Cubit a basket, so when we got to our room we had our bride and groom ears waiting for us, and the bride and groom Mickey/Minnie plush dolls, and some chocolates and stuff. That was great! We wore our ears the entire trip. I am telling you. You must do this. DF suggested we go to WDW for our honeymoon. He has liked our trips to Disneyland, but it is me who really loves Disney. Now, he also really loves Disney. Having those ears on, we received probably 100 congratulations per day, and lots of advice from staff members about how to have a happy marriage. We also received fastpasses for Soarin' from some random kind person, front row on rides, a call from Minnie and Mickey when walking through Innovations, a couple of roses at dinner and at the Grand Floridian tea room (you must go there--reserve!-- if you love tea or are a romantic), and thousands of smiles. It really made us feel special and carried the magic of our wedding day for a whole two weeks. This, in contrast to a 'typical' honeymoon, where maybe the staff at the resort remembers, but no one else knows. Those ears also make everyone else smile, so it is like spreading a little joy around.
Anyway... we enjoyed Whispering Canyon very much, and Dined with an Imagineer at Artist Point (usually it is at MGM for lunch, but one Thursday night a week, it is at Artist Point for dinner--reserve early!. The food was excellent, the conversation was totally fascinating, we had 4 others at our table besides us and Eric the Imagineer--the whole thing lasted over 2.5 hours, and we received a lovely glass plate at the end.
We also hung out a little at the WL beach and walked in the woods--very relaxing. My DH loved WL (and we both missed it when we left). We started pin trading there and got hooked! So fun. We went over to FW one night and had a carriage ride, saw deer and rabbits, very pretty. The driver told us he had just done Cinderella's carriage for the celebrities who had their vow renewal, and that it has no doors (would get too hot!), and that a bug got in there and the bride freaked out. He confirmed it is 10 mins. in the carriage. (DH and I saw it up close on another day from the GF tea room--it is really, really lovely, but your time in it will be really, really brief. Another day, it passed us in the parking lot, and DH took a pic of me in front of it.
Concierge food was great. You could live on it without eating anywhere else. We had free dining, and ended up with half our table services and most of our counter services at the end. Concierge AND dining plan is WAY too much food for anyone!
We took the boats (or monorail) over the buses whenever we could. Very romantic. I don't know that I would pay to add water parks and DisneyQuest to a park hopper ticket, though. We went to TL once (it was really fun! but there is SO much else to do!) and never got to DQ or BB in 2 weeks because there was so much else to do.
After one day, we realized that having all the ADRs we had (whoa did I do research and book everything!) was really constraining and depressing. We cancelled nearly all of them and had many more adventures than we would have otherwise.
We went to Discovery Cove our first Friday. We liked the aviary very much (really unusual birds, and one sat on my shoulder for half an hour). But DC is really about the dolphins, and that experience is AMAZING. My favorite part was riding the dolphin. They are incredible creatures. My DH was actually in tears at the beauty of the experience, and he is a kung fu master, very masculine. We took a cab from WL, $35 each way.
Last night at WL, we went to Epcot and Davy Jones from the Monkees was singing. We walked up just as he was singing "I'm a Believer" which DH insisted should be one of our reception songs! Great moment. We also had dinner at Rose & Crown (quite good) and saw Illuminations from their balcony (excellent spot--later saw it again from the bridge between England and Canada--and that was equally excellent and free, unlike what the people paid who were parked in 10 boats, boat-to-boat, right next to us on the water under the bridge). We walked up to the Boardwalk from there and had ice cream and watched the performers (great!!).
Very sad to leave WL. It took about 2 hrs to get from WL to DCL ship for 4-night Bahamas cruise. Everyone, again, was great. We loved our cabin, 7576, and our balcony, although be forewarned that smoking is permitted on the balconies, and we had 2 smokers on either side of us, so didn't use our balcony much at all. I posted a review of our cruise on the cruise critic Disney board. It was mixed. We would not do it again, but were glad we did it once. If you are prone to motion sickness (dizziness--we both got it the last night, and were VERY uncomfortable) or like to eat good food (DCL food on this cruise was about par with Denny's except for Palo), reconsider doing this, especially for your honeymoon. It's a LOT of money that you could better spend at WDW or at the shore, in our opinion, and we are not easily disappointed by Disney! Entertainment was great. People were great. Excellent vacation for those with kids.
Moving on...
Back off the ship (and happy about it) we went to GF and had a magic kingdom view in our room, 8015, Boca Chica. We could see the castle and Space Mountain and the railroad station on Main Street, and could hear the music from there, and from the parades and shows. It was great!! We could see the fireworks from the dock very clearly (didn't try from our room). Loved our room. People, again, very nice and not stuffy at all. We went to MGM and decided to leave pretty quickly, wanting the Disneyesque MK or Epcot experience more.
We had lunch at Cinderella's Castle (surprisingly romantic--a wonderful time--I thanked the Fairy Godmother for finding me DH!), and Tony's on the patio where we watched the parade. One night we watched the fireworks from the train station balcony (got there 1.5 hours ahead, which worked), and were given someone else's seats so didn't have to stand (those ears!!).
We met many nice people on the trip. It was really special. We were asked to sit up front on the monorail journey to Epcot (which you can just ask to do, and they will let you)--that was a highlight for DH. We went to France and DH got me some perfume after we sampled all of them at Guerlain. We were disappointed by the bellydance show and food at Marrakesh (couscous and 3 pieces of carrot and 3 pieces of zucchini on top--seriously!--for $18).
Hoop De Doo Revue was also wonderful! We loved that show. Midway through, they saw our ears (again--those ears!) and asked us to dance to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (which was a song my dad used to sing to me, so very special)--they do this every show I'm sure.
Take the boats or monorails everywhere if you can. MUCH more romantic than the bus!! It really does take 1 hour to get most places on the bus. Once in a while we were lucky and caught the bus at the right time, but most of the time, it was 1 hour to Epcot or AK or MGM by bus. We loved not driving for 2 weeks, though! Totally worth the wait!
Cirque de Soleil is not to be missed. Another tearful experience for both of us. It is like a dream. Comparable to O in Las Vegas. Beaches and Cream old fashioned sundae took me right back to childhood. Loved looking in the keyhole in tinkerbell's treasures shop behind the castle in MK and waiting until the light flickers on for a second and you can see her in there!
V & A our last night. It was very nice if you can afford it, but seriously, if you can't, that is ok, too. Memorable, lovely, but $300 after tax/tip. Palo (DCL) ended up on our top 5, but V & A didn't (who could've guessed?).
Horribly sad to leave! We went to stay at the Hyatt at the airport (had to fly out at 7 am!), and immediately felt the difference in service. Service in the outer world (hahaha) is polite and friendly but no one looks you in the eye. At WDW, we felt more "real" than we do outside. We believe it is because the cast members are really trying to relate to each guest as a human being, and you feel that when you are there.
We have tried to come up with our top 5 experiences. We end up with 25 and are still counting. Fabulous honeymoon. I can see now why it is the #1 honeymoon destination in the world. Funny, but many of our favorite experiences were moments like the boat from Port Orleans to DD when it suddenly rained, or stretching on the beach, and not ADR dining or whatever.
We decided to go to Disneyland sometime in the next month or so just to survive the re-entry!!
Happy to answer any questions.
I had purchased from Sarah Cubit a basket, so when we got to our room we had our bride and groom ears waiting for us, and the bride and groom Mickey/Minnie plush dolls, and some chocolates and stuff. That was great! We wore our ears the entire trip. I am telling you. You must do this. DF suggested we go to WDW for our honeymoon. He has liked our trips to Disneyland, but it is me who really loves Disney. Now, he also really loves Disney. Having those ears on, we received probably 100 congratulations per day, and lots of advice from staff members about how to have a happy marriage. We also received fastpasses for Soarin' from some random kind person, front row on rides, a call from Minnie and Mickey when walking through Innovations, a couple of roses at dinner and at the Grand Floridian tea room (you must go there--reserve!-- if you love tea or are a romantic), and thousands of smiles. It really made us feel special and carried the magic of our wedding day for a whole two weeks. This, in contrast to a 'typical' honeymoon, where maybe the staff at the resort remembers, but no one else knows. Those ears also make everyone else smile, so it is like spreading a little joy around.
Anyway... we enjoyed Whispering Canyon very much, and Dined with an Imagineer at Artist Point (usually it is at MGM for lunch, but one Thursday night a week, it is at Artist Point for dinner--reserve early!. The food was excellent, the conversation was totally fascinating, we had 4 others at our table besides us and Eric the Imagineer--the whole thing lasted over 2.5 hours, and we received a lovely glass plate at the end.
We also hung out a little at the WL beach and walked in the woods--very relaxing. My DH loved WL (and we both missed it when we left). We started pin trading there and got hooked! So fun. We went over to FW one night and had a carriage ride, saw deer and rabbits, very pretty. The driver told us he had just done Cinderella's carriage for the celebrities who had their vow renewal, and that it has no doors (would get too hot!), and that a bug got in there and the bride freaked out. He confirmed it is 10 mins. in the carriage. (DH and I saw it up close on another day from the GF tea room--it is really, really lovely, but your time in it will be really, really brief. Another day, it passed us in the parking lot, and DH took a pic of me in front of it.
Concierge food was great. You could live on it without eating anywhere else. We had free dining, and ended up with half our table services and most of our counter services at the end. Concierge AND dining plan is WAY too much food for anyone!
We took the boats (or monorail) over the buses whenever we could. Very romantic. I don't know that I would pay to add water parks and DisneyQuest to a park hopper ticket, though. We went to TL once (it was really fun! but there is SO much else to do!) and never got to DQ or BB in 2 weeks because there was so much else to do.
After one day, we realized that having all the ADRs we had (whoa did I do research and book everything!) was really constraining and depressing. We cancelled nearly all of them and had many more adventures than we would have otherwise.
We went to Discovery Cove our first Friday. We liked the aviary very much (really unusual birds, and one sat on my shoulder for half an hour). But DC is really about the dolphins, and that experience is AMAZING. My favorite part was riding the dolphin. They are incredible creatures. My DH was actually in tears at the beauty of the experience, and he is a kung fu master, very masculine. We took a cab from WL, $35 each way.
Last night at WL, we went to Epcot and Davy Jones from the Monkees was singing. We walked up just as he was singing "I'm a Believer" which DH insisted should be one of our reception songs! Great moment. We also had dinner at Rose & Crown (quite good) and saw Illuminations from their balcony (excellent spot--later saw it again from the bridge between England and Canada--and that was equally excellent and free, unlike what the people paid who were parked in 10 boats, boat-to-boat, right next to us on the water under the bridge). We walked up to the Boardwalk from there and had ice cream and watched the performers (great!!).
Very sad to leave WL. It took about 2 hrs to get from WL to DCL ship for 4-night Bahamas cruise. Everyone, again, was great. We loved our cabin, 7576, and our balcony, although be forewarned that smoking is permitted on the balconies, and we had 2 smokers on either side of us, so didn't use our balcony much at all. I posted a review of our cruise on the cruise critic Disney board. It was mixed. We would not do it again, but were glad we did it once. If you are prone to motion sickness (dizziness--we both got it the last night, and were VERY uncomfortable) or like to eat good food (DCL food on this cruise was about par with Denny's except for Palo), reconsider doing this, especially for your honeymoon. It's a LOT of money that you could better spend at WDW or at the shore, in our opinion, and we are not easily disappointed by Disney! Entertainment was great. People were great. Excellent vacation for those with kids.
Moving on...
Back off the ship (and happy about it) we went to GF and had a magic kingdom view in our room, 8015, Boca Chica. We could see the castle and Space Mountain and the railroad station on Main Street, and could hear the music from there, and from the parades and shows. It was great!! We could see the fireworks from the dock very clearly (didn't try from our room). Loved our room. People, again, very nice and not stuffy at all. We went to MGM and decided to leave pretty quickly, wanting the Disneyesque MK or Epcot experience more.
We had lunch at Cinderella's Castle (surprisingly romantic--a wonderful time--I thanked the Fairy Godmother for finding me DH!), and Tony's on the patio where we watched the parade. One night we watched the fireworks from the train station balcony (got there 1.5 hours ahead, which worked), and were given someone else's seats so didn't have to stand (those ears!!).
We met many nice people on the trip. It was really special. We were asked to sit up front on the monorail journey to Epcot (which you can just ask to do, and they will let you)--that was a highlight for DH. We went to France and DH got me some perfume after we sampled all of them at Guerlain. We were disappointed by the bellydance show and food at Marrakesh (couscous and 3 pieces of carrot and 3 pieces of zucchini on top--seriously!--for $18).
Hoop De Doo Revue was also wonderful! We loved that show. Midway through, they saw our ears (again--those ears!) and asked us to dance to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (which was a song my dad used to sing to me, so very special)--they do this every show I'm sure.
Take the boats or monorails everywhere if you can. MUCH more romantic than the bus!! It really does take 1 hour to get most places on the bus. Once in a while we were lucky and caught the bus at the right time, but most of the time, it was 1 hour to Epcot or AK or MGM by bus. We loved not driving for 2 weeks, though! Totally worth the wait!
Cirque de Soleil is not to be missed. Another tearful experience for both of us. It is like a dream. Comparable to O in Las Vegas. Beaches and Cream old fashioned sundae took me right back to childhood. Loved looking in the keyhole in tinkerbell's treasures shop behind the castle in MK and waiting until the light flickers on for a second and you can see her in there!
V & A our last night. It was very nice if you can afford it, but seriously, if you can't, that is ok, too. Memorable, lovely, but $300 after tax/tip. Palo (DCL) ended up on our top 5, but V & A didn't (who could've guessed?).
Horribly sad to leave! We went to stay at the Hyatt at the airport (had to fly out at 7 am!), and immediately felt the difference in service. Service in the outer world (hahaha) is polite and friendly but no one looks you in the eye. At WDW, we felt more "real" than we do outside. We believe it is because the cast members are really trying to relate to each guest as a human being, and you feel that when you are there.
We have tried to come up with our top 5 experiences. We end up with 25 and are still counting. Fabulous honeymoon. I can see now why it is the #1 honeymoon destination in the world. Funny, but many of our favorite experiences were moments like the boat from Port Orleans to DD when it suddenly rained, or stretching on the beach, and not ADR dining or whatever.
We decided to go to Disneyland sometime in the next month or so just to survive the re-entry!!
Happy to answer any questions.
