Lori & Eoghan's PJ/TR -5/1/09 SBP/Jiko/Morocco-TR updated 7/12 honeymoon pics added!

[Lorelei528]

This next installment is pretty short, but the next one after that I think is going to be very long, so I just broke out this little segment...

Well, we had set our alarm I remember (though I can’t remember for what time!) and then, when it went off, decided to snooze a bit...
So, after a fairly good night’s sleep, we awoke to sounds outside that at first I thought were the lifeguards playing games with guests (kids). But when it continued on and on…only one thought came to mind…..OMG! It’s the dreaded “some type of cheerleading thing” happening. Those cheerleading/dance competitions I have read so much about over the years on the boards but have been lucky enough never to experience. We peeked out our window (our room was on the 1st floor) only to see hundreds of kids (I think high school aged, though I’m not sure), practicing cheers and dance moves.

Oh well, there went sleeping in! ugh.
So, we decided there was nothing else to do but to get ready to head over to BW (after having a Mickey Waffle for breakfast of course!)
Our car was parked fairly close by to our room, so we brought whatever bags we had brought in with us (having left my wedding gown in the car still) back to the car. I had already called the front desk to make sure we didn’t have to stop by the front desk to check out and was told by the lovely cast member that we were good to go! (Not her words, mine).
So we made it over to Intermission passing by the awesome Three Cabelleros fountain thingy in the main pool.

On the way, we passed by cheer/dance team member after cheer/dance team member all made up with crazy makeup and hairstyles, it was totally surreal. Check that, it was just weird.

Anyway, so the food court was not too crowded and actually by the time we got over there, we just made the breakfast cut off! I don’t know about you, but I must have breakfast items as my first meal of the day. I’ve been like this for as long as I remember. Even back in college when we all slept until like after 1pm on the weekends, I couldn’t wake up and have lunch. It had to be eggs, or cereal or a bagel etc.
So, also I try to keep to my tradition of having as many Mickey waffles as possible while in WDW. Consequently, I couldn’t wait to get my first one in my tummy. (I have to say here that I kind of have to talk DF into the merits of Mickey waffles. He gets them, but he doesn’t love them. I think most of the time he gets them just to make me happy. Awww….) In fact, towards the end of this vacation and the last one as well, when he attempted to get away with not having a Mickey waffle (when they were in fact available at whatever eating establishment we were at), and I asked “You’re not getting a Mickey waffle?” in an obviously all miffed tone, he would just be like…”Nyah, I’ve had enough of those..” (?!?!?!?!?)

So, here’s a pic of DF in Intermission-

And my mini review of Intermission is as follows: It was good. Being that we only had this one meal there, I don’t have much to base my review on, but so far, I was really enjoying everything about ASMusic!
Of course we (I) had to check out the shop before we left as it was the first Disney merchandise I had seen this trip. (Does everyone get that tingly feeling like me the first time they walk into a shop at Disney, filled with……stuff?!?!? ) We didn’t buy anything, figuring we’d have plenty of time to shop over the next two weeks. ( Just the way I like it!) LOL.

Saying our good-byes to ASMovies, we finally made our way over to BW….

Next up: BW and a very long day at MK (and more pics, I swear!)

 

[Lorelei528]

oops!

 

[Lorelei528]

So we pull up to BW to check in and have the bell services guy help us with all of our crap..uhh…I mean stuff. They actually couldn’t even fit everything on the trolley , so we left a few things in the car, parked ourselves and carried said items in ourselves. Check-in was a total breeze!! There was no line whatsoever! The CM who checked us in was very nice. I want to say she was from Italy, but now I can’t remember. We got our Just Married pins and Just Engaged (not sure why) and even 2 Family Reunion pins. Those were in a separate envelope with our names on them and I asked her about them, but she said something about how I’d find out later or something. The way she said it was like...(scary)…the interesting thing was, I don’t think anyone else who was there for our wedding got these Family Reunion pins…
I don’t think there was anything else exciting or noteworthy about check-in at BW (at least not that I could remember).
I had requested a room on an upper floor facing EPCOT because I had asked on another board about where to request at BW since I was not familiar with the resort. We had a standard view room which I had heard was quieter than facing the BW. We got up to our room and waited for the bell services guy. The room was beautiful (sorry, no pics!) The view was very nice of some gardens and you could see the Eiffel Tower and the tower of the Morocco building as well from our balcony. I have to say….on our last trip we went around and checked out a lot of the resorts. At the time we really was not that thrilled with BW. But we just really loved the room. I don’t know if it was the breeze that comes in through the doors, but it was just soooo relaxing in that room! Even though we thought AKL would always be our fave resort at WDW, we have added BW to that list because of our stay there and even though we thought we’d stay only in AKL for a deluxe resort on any trip to WDW, we would totally stay at BW again (and am actually anxiously awaiting a trip when we can do so!)
So, the bell services guy came up finally with all of our crap. Uhhh..I mean stuff and we settled in a bit. I didn’t know where to hang the dress so we just put it in the closet for the time being. Also, we had these two adorable towel animals waiting for us!

by the sink and then this one

I think these towel animals are the nicest ones I've ever gotten for sure.
Basically the plan for the day was head over to the MK. There wasn’t anything definite except a mini-meet with some PPers (Passporters) at 4:30 and our ADR at 1900 Park Fare for dinner, plus of course EMH until 3am!! That was going to be something else! MK until 3am?!?! Cool! Oh yeah and hopefully trying to meet up with a college friend of mine who I haven’t seen in like 20 years! OMG!!
So, because we were going to try and stay out till so late, we weren’t in a huge hurry to get out of the room. But I didn’t want to waste too much time, so when we thought we were settled in enough, we decided it was time to hit the parks! Whoo hoo!

Buses from BW were great, no problems that I can remember the whole time we were there. We never waited for more than 15, maybe 20 mins. for a bus, but most times it was only like 5-10. I think we got to the MK around 2pm. We hadn’t had any lunch, but we weren’t hungry so we decided to hit some rides/attractions. So, here’s one of my takes on WDW. There are the classics, right? If you’ve never been to WDW before, these are the rides/attractions you must experience no matter what. If you’ve been to WDW before, I break the classics into 2 categories. Those you always still go on no matter what and those that as long as you’ve been on them once or once in the past 2 visits etc., you can skip ‘em. This being said, back on our Sept./Oct. trip there were actually a few classics that I wanted DF to go on but for whatever reason (maybe because I knew we’d be back in like 6 months) we just didn’t get around to. Two of these were Jungle Cruise and The Enchanted Tiki Room. Now with Jungle Cruise, I don’t think I’ve been on this since ’01, maybe not even since ’97, I’m not sure. Once AK opened, I kind of think, well, I know it’s a classic but now that you can see real animals at WDW, we don’t need to do the JC. But the thing is, it’s a classic and I wanted DF to go on it, since we had watched documentaries on Walt and audio-animatronics and I knew he would think it would be interesting to see some of the older attractions from back in the 70’s, some of the originals. And with the Tiki Room, OMG! I know I did that one as well on my very first trip and I always hit that one, even though I really dislike the new (not very new anymore) version. So, basically that’s what we did. We had fun. Then we were getting a little hungry, but didn’t want to spoil our appetite for dinner so we got….Mickey Bars!! : For some reason I didn’t even discover these until my trip in ’03 (but thanks to reading the PP boards I did discover them!) and now like the Mickey Waffles, I try to get Mickey Bars as much as possible, like one a day, if possible. It’s not you have to twist my arm, I mean, they are so incredibly yummy. Even DF is fascinated by why they are so good when all they are really are plain Vanilla ice cream coated with chocolate….does anyone here know? Man, they are good and I don’t even like Vanilla ice cream!
So, we found a nice quiet spot near where the PP meet was supposed to be and sat down and ate our Mickey Bars. Well, 4:30 came and went and I didn’t see any of my fellow PPers…it’s got to be about 4:40 I think when DF volunteered to go over to the other roundy area in between Crystal Palace and the Castle to see if he could find anyone that looked like they were having some sort of meetup. As it turns out, we were in the wrong place! We went back over and got our picture taken and got to talk to the few PPers who were there and then they were off to get Dole Whips!! LOL…they asked if we wanted to go, but we had just had our Mickey Bars, plus we were like less than an hour away from dinner time, so we said we’d have to pass. Actually there were at least 2 PPers who were Dole Whip virgins! I couldn’t believe it! I was so excited for them! Tee hee.
We made our way down Main Street and out of the MK. We took a monorail to the GF for dinner at 1900 Park Fare.
So, I had only been to 1900 Park Fare for breakfast and not being the biggest fan of GF or anything having to do with it, I didn’t fall in love with the breakfast experience there, but I do love Alice and the food was pretty good, so for the heck of it I checked out the dinner menu on Allears.net and it looked pretty darn yummy and interesting, plus if I understood correctly, Prince Charming would be there along with Lady Tremaine and Drizella and Anastasia as well as Cindy so I thought it would be fun to give it a try. Plus, DF had never been to 1900 Park Fare before.
Well, we had a great dinner. I actually didn’t think the food was that great, I thought it was good, but DF really enjoyed his meal. The food at WDW is one of his favorite things so this being our first real meal this trip, it made me really happy that he really enjoyed it.
We both thought the characters were GREAT!!! Especially the stepsisters!! Drizella was my absolute favorite! And though I usually like my guys a little more rough around the edges, Prince Charming truly lived up to his name! (Plus, he was VERY handsome! -she says in a giggly, girly tone). Even Lady Tremaine was pretty good and seemed to be really into being Lady Tremaine. But definitely the stepsisters stole the show! Just a warning for those of you who haven’t been but are thinking of it…..they are LOUD!!! LOL. Especially Drizella! But sooo funny! I would totally do this meal again just for the interaction with them! Here are some pics we took of us meeting the “characters”-

So, after dinner, our plan was to go back to MK and enjoy the magic until we just couldn’t take it anymore! LOL. This is because the MK was open until 3am for EMH!!
Plus, we were hoping to meet up with this college friend of mine who I haven’t seen in like more than 20 years! We had reconnected through our alumni website, and now also via FB (Facebook). It was actually pretty funny because she was going to be in NYC the weekend after we returned from WDW and we were trying to make tentative plans for that when I commented on her FB about how it would be our first weekend back from WDW so I couldn’t promise anything…it turns out, she was going to be in WDW for a few days with her husband and two daughters when we first got there! We were very excited to see each other! So, we started texting as soon as we got on the monorail back to the MK….

It took a few texts to find each other, but we finally did and when we did, we ran towards each other, like long lost loves…it was so funny! We talked as if we had just seen each other like an hour ago down in the dining hall in our dorm (we were good friends freshman year and into sophomore year, but then kind of drifted apart). But I have always loved Lauren. We just kind of went in different directions as we found ourselves (which I think pretty much all college students do as they go from freshman year to senior year).

Ok, wait, I have to stop here for now, because I forgot to upload some pics...darnit.

Stay tuned, we apologize for this unexpected interuption in the TR!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

YEAH! an update!!! Awesome...I would have loved to have been in WDW until 0300! I would have taken a nap for that!

 

[lurkyloo]

Whohoo! Update! I wish you had pix of your room cuz I'm curious to know if you got one of the remodeled ones or the older kind with the big windowpane print bedspreads that I hate...

BWI is the only resort left that I've been wanting to try and haven't, so I love hearing about it!

 

[Lorelei528]

YEAH! an update!!! Awesome...I would have loved to have been in WDW until 0300! I would have taken a nap for that!

Yep, it was great!! Last trip we did EPCOT until 11pm and loved that too! I think one of our new fave things is "evening" EMH for sure!

Whohoo! Update! I wish you had pix of your room cuz I'm curious to know if you got one of the remodeled ones or the older kind with the big windowpane print bedspreads that I hate...

BWI is the only resort left that I've been wanting to try and haven't, so I love hearing about it!

We did have one of the remodeled ones...it was REALLY nice and I'm glad we got a remodeled room, I didn't like the old version (that I had seen pics of). Yeah, I hated those bedspreads as well!

I can't even really explain why we loved BWI so much, we just did! If you have any specific questions about it, though I'm not BWI expert, it's pretty fresh in my mind, so feel free to ask away! (And as both of us now know...you'll be staying at BWI soon enough, so I can't wait to get your take on it-probably because you're much better at descriptive writing than I am!)

 

[Lorelei528]

Anyway, her daughters are beautiful! Isabella and Juliette. Here’s a pic:

Also, her husband Charlie.

They really make a good looking family and they are all so nice and friendly and very easy to talk to. Of course I didn’t think of taking pictures! At least Lauren took one (that I look awful in!).

So, we let the girls decide what to do/ride to go on. First we did HM. (which we ended up getting stuck on and we were right at the end when they shut the ride down!) I took some pics of the bride, but let me tell you, sitting through her spouting the same line on repeat for like 20 mins really made it less creepy! LOL. Finally they let us out and we walked out of the ride. BUT, it did reinforce the idea of how much I love Disney Imagineering and how amazingly talented they are because being stuck in one place for such a long time, you could really see all the details and just wonder how everything is put together etc. Geniuses I tell you. Here’s a pic I took of the bride both with flash and without:

Next I think we did Pirates. DF and I never get tired of it. I think then I tried to get our little group to walk in the direction of Spectromagic so the girls could see it. Lauren explained they saw it a little from far away the night before, but we were hoping to get a better view. On the way, Charlie stopped to get a big, fresh and warm chocolate chip cookie (damn, I should have taken a pic!). I think he got it at Sleepy Hollow but I'm not 100% sure...I'm sure someone here would know who does those huge freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that make your mouth water as you walk by and the yummy chocolate smell fills the air...mmmm...
We actually had a view of Wishes from there, so we just kind of hung out while Charlie enjoyed the chocolatey messiness of his cookie and we all oohed and ahhed at Wishes. He did offer to share, but DF and I declined but he did share the chocolatey goodness with Lauren and one of the girls and then as we walked towards the hub, and as we walked by Aloha Isle, somehow I got them to try a Dole Whip! I tried to explain the best I could about the Dole Whip and the whole big deal with them yadda, yadda, yadda. I think it was one of the girls who really wanted to try it. She was like…”I like Pineapple” It was really cute. So, Lauren LOVED the Dole Whip as well as the girls. I can’t remember if Charlie tried it or not. They were all disappointed that they didn’t know about them to be able to enjoy them the past couple of days when they were in MK.
So, we walked over to the hub and we actually found a place for the girls to sit and we rested and then Lauren, Eoghan and I walked over to the curb and some really nice CM told Lauren she could go behind this rope to get a better view of the parade since she was taking lots of pics. (Lauren takes awesome pics!) I'm sorry I don't have any to post here though...
I think the girls were getting tired and were a bit cold because I don’t think they came over to watch with us. After the parade, we went back over to where we left them and they were gone! I can’t remember if it was because Lauren called Charlie or if it was just good timing, but he had taken the girls into a shop to get them hoodies because they were cold.
I think Charlie wanted to get back to the hotel, but the girls got a second wind and weren’t quite ready to head out yet. I asked them earlier if they had been in Tomorrowland at all and they hadn’t! So, we went on Buzz and we did Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. We walked around the back towards Toontown and the girls wanted to go on the tea cups. At first Charlie said “no” but as me and Lauren were having a hard time saying good-bye (until hopefully tomorrow! LOL) the girls convinced him and then we just waited for them to disembark the ride. It was finally time for the Fields to head out as they had ressies at Sea World and Discovery Cove to go swim with the dolphins in the morning and had to get up way early.

So, DF and I didn’t really have a plan as to what to hit next. The park was relatively empty. We still had a couple of rides/attraction that DF had not gotten to experience on our last trip (his first to
WDW) so Splash Mountain being one of these, we decided to head over there. On the way, we saw the line for Dumbo was relatively short and having never ridden the Dumbo ride at night before, we decided it was a must do for that moment! It was awesome! So relaxing! For all of you Dumbo aficionados, you must know this already, but there was something just so perfect about the moment. I can’t even find the words for it really…it just felt like a really special moment for me and DF. After Dumbo, we continued on our way to Splash Mountain….
We knew we might get wet and would consequently be chilly afterwards, but went on anyway. There was absolutely NO wait whatsoever and we walked right on! In fact, we had our own boat/log thingy!! It was actually really romantic! :yes: We got right in front! DF was so nervous the whole ride waiting for the “big drop”, it was so funny and too cute. Every drop he asked me if this was it and to be honest I hadn’t been on Splash in so long I couldn’t remember how many “warm up drops” there were before the big one, so even I started saying...”ooh, this could be it, I’m not sure..” and then DF would only get more anxious! But at the same time we were both giggling and laughing, so it’s not like we were scared out of our minds or anything! We actually were having a great time! Now, you guys will have to remind me because I can’t remember where on the ride this happens, is it before or after you do the big drop, but when your boat thingy is about to go up some incline, it’s right next to the boats coming down the big drop I think and they have it timed so the splash of the downward boat thingy totally soaks your boat thingy as you begin the ascent next to the big drop…all I remember is we got soaked!! LOL….we were laughing so hard! It was so much fun!
So, we finally get to the big drop (right the spot where you get wet is after that? Or is it before? Ugh, I can’t remember!!) and because it’s night time and the only other 2 times I’ve been on Splash it was daytime, I never noticed the AMAZING view from the top right before the big drop! Anyway, if you haven’t had the chance to experience Splash at night, try to. It’s going to be added to the list of my “Overlooked Attractions” etc. at MK. So, anyway, for those of you who have not experienced it, basically the view before the big drop is the castle and Space Mountain all lit up. And because you’re up kind of high, there aren’t that many other lights you can see. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it made me catch my breath especially the first time, because I just wasn’t expecting it. It was beautiful.
When we came around to the end, the CM asked up if we wanted to ride again! Well, we were pretty chilly actually, but thought we should grab the chance to ride again since you never know if you’re ever going to get that offer again! So we went around again and DF was much more relaxed this time. He said he enjoyed himself both times but he really could take it all in on the second time. I told him about the view, so he got to take a look and of course we still got wet again (but not as much as the first time) at that part where you get wet…..we could have even gone again, but figured we didn’t want to get sick before our big day, so best to leave it for now. Looking back, this was one of my favorite times of the whole trip for many reasons.
So, it was getting late and we had one thing we had to do before we left the MK that night. Like, we actually couldn’t leave the park without completing this “task”. And that was to get 6 water bottle straps to put into our welcome bags which we would be putting together before our guests arrived. We needed 12 total, but we didn’t want everyone to have the same, so we knew we’d just get from whatever parks we’d hit before everyone else arrived (so basically 6 from MK and 6 from EPCOT).

We found some at some corn dog stand. So we bought our 6 and moseyed on out of the MK. Before we did, I finally after 2 tries on previous trips, got to sit with Minnie and Roy and have my pic taken. It's one of the things I can never seem to do because there are just too many people and kids around and I don't have the patience to wait. This was perfect! No one was around, so I took a seat and got a bit teary (as I do with the Partners statue as well, but at least with Partners, I can hold it together because you can't actually stand with Walt and Mickey so I usually just stand and look at it long enough to say a few words to Walt and take a pic or two...this was different because it felt like we were practically the only ones in the park...)

It was already 2:45 and although we didn’t make it until 3am, I was satisfied with the 2:45! I mean, we didn’t get that much done after the official park closing, but it was nice to walk around and not feel like we had to rush from ride to ride and could just take in the whole experience of being in the MK with each other a few days before our wedding. All in all, I was really happy with how our first day turned out. Now it was back to the BW to settle in for the night.

Up next: Bride to be takes a fall at DTD but still makes it to O’hana for dinner…but little does she know what awaits her and her knee/leg....

 

[Lorelei528]

So, one of the things I wasn’t sure about BW before we stayed there, but ended up working out ok actually was our choices for breakfast. I knew about Spoodles, but wasn’t too enthralled by their breakfast menu and the Boardwalk Bakery (although I had seen a photo of one of their breakfast sandwiches which made me think “yuck” at the time but would be proven wrong in the near future), I knew we could go into the park and grab something there like in Sunshine Seasons or eat in Norway (which actually we had scheduled for the next morning) but while I was doing my research it hit me (meaning the light bulb went off in my head again! ) We could do the Cape May Buffet breakfast!!! I have heard such good things about this character breakfast and pretty much only good things! So I was happily excited and looking forward to it.
We had scheduled our breakfast for a bit later for us that morning (around 10amish) due to the extra late night we had the night before, but of course we were running a bit late and by the time we walked over I think we were at least 15-20 mins late. I was a little worried that they wouldn’t seat us, but no worrying necessary as we ended up not having to wait long at all.
My first impression of this breakfast was not that great actually. The hostess and manager etc. seemed very snooty or something . And our server was nice but very slow, like she was not cut out to be a waitress…We were seated right next to the buffet though which was great. The booths were big and roomy and the tables were not close together. The first time the characters came around was strange. It was like the “B” team or something…it was weird . Like Goofy totally was acting like a guy human, like the way he was moving his body was not like any other Goofy I had met on any of my trips to WDW. Also Minnie the first time around just acted like she totally didn’t want to be there that day…

But then, Minnie came back around and we had the BEST interaction I think I’ve ever had with a character! I think she ended up spending like at least 15 mins “chatting” away with us. She had come back around and I tried to get the ball rolling by telling her my DF had a crush on her and then continued with telling her how we were getting married on the Boardwalk in a few days etc..Well! She was great! She mimed a whole conversation about Mickey and how she wanted to get married but he hasn’t given her a ring yet and DF kept piping in about how Mickey has the $, it’s not like he doesn’t etc. And she was like nodding her head as if to say “I know! Right?” It was hilarious! Then, she sat down next to me! It was GREAT!!

And we “chatted” some more…tee hee

.

Here's DF and his "bit on the side"

Here's Mnnie's reaction right after DF kissed her! (I missed that pic!)

The food at Cape May was good too! Even though I started off feeling not so great about the meal etc…I can say now we’d definitely do it again! It’s way more relaxed than any other character breakfast I’d been to, the food was a little better too and the character interaction ended up being the best I’d ever experienced as of yet.
So, after breakfast the plan was to go to DTD, just for a couple of hours because I wanted to get one of those new Design your own tee Hanes shirts before our guests arrived, plus I really wanted to check out Trend-D.
We took the bus from Y&BC and hit the make your own tee shop first. I designed one and we ordered it and were told to come back in an hour to pick it up. So, next we headed over to the Christmas Shop just for the heck of it….and on the way over is where the entire rest of our Disney Wedding/Disneymoon trip would be affected.
Ok, so we exit the t-shirt store and basically head to the left to enter the Christmas store in the back (where all the NBC stuff is)…well, throughout DTD they have these bushes planted in the middle of the buildings and around the bushes are bricks laid out. Now, the bricks are not flat like the cement and they are not built like a little step (or elevated) around the bushes either. They are put in at a slant. (Well, who knows how they were originally put in, but they’re on a slant now). So, I’m walking ahead of DF and he doesn’t walk exactly the path I’m walking, I go to cut across the bricks thinking they are flat and because I don’t look down at the ground when I walk but look up and straight ahead of me, I tripped and went flying. DF was too far back to catch me and I just couldn’t stop myself from falling. I fell forward and they way I fell I skinned my knee in not one, but two places. When I first fell, of course DF came running up to me asking me if I was ok and of course the first few seconds I didn’t even know. I waited to calm down a few minutes and looked down at my knee. There were 2 marks there like none I had ever seen before. They were both beet red, but there was no blood dripping, it was if the skin just came off and all the blood just rushed to the surface. They were the weirdest looking things I had ever seen. So, it was then that I decided I should try to stand up, just to make sure I could support my weight and I didn’t do any damage to my ankle or knee etc. I could get up without a problem and my knee just felt bruised and sore. But the scrapes were so bad I knew I had to get some help.
So, we walk into the Christmas shop and ask if they have first aid, they ask me what’s wrong and I showed them my knee and tell them I just fell outside on my way into the store. So the CM (who didn’t speak very good English) went and asked about a first aid kit and then told me I needed to go to Guest Services. When she showed me on the map where it was, I couldn’t believe they expected me to walk all the way there , I should have said something but didn’t.
So, we start our walk and find GS and wait on line and when it’s my turn to talk to a CM, I just backed up, moved over to where they could see my knee and told them I just fell outside the Christmas shop. There was a lot of hub bub about us all of a sudden….They had us sit in a VIP room of some sort and called the paramedics.
The paramedics finally came and cleaned the wounds, put some antibiotic ointment on and bandaged me up. They asked if I wanted to go to the hospital and I said no. 1. Because I didn’t think I needed to and 2. I honestly didn’t have the time if I hadn’t like broken anything or whatnot. They asked me to sign something and I looked at it and they told me it was just saying I didn’t need to/want to go to hospital…and it did say that, I just signed it. To be honest with you, I’m not one to jump and sue. Of course a lot of people told me I should because those bricks are a lawsuit waiting to happen, but I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do karma-wise….anyway…
They told me to keep it covered that night and by tomorrow it should be ok…(I can’t remember if I told them or not that I have diabetes)…..
Well, although battered and bruised we decided to finish up what we had to do at DTD. My knee bothered me a little bit but I just tried to suck it up and not think about it, thinking it will be ok in a couple of days (maybe it was wishful thinking on my part, but with my wedding 4 days away and DF’s family coming in from Ireland the next day I just couldn’t deal with anything more at that point).
So, let’s see…I know we went to WOD and Trend-D (it was ok, I wasn’t all that impressed and the items were even more pricey than Disney merchandise in other locations, hence we didn’t buy anything there). We did get a few things at WOD though. We also went into a few other shops that we wanted shop in that we like.
We went back to pick up my shirt which came out really cute actually

and then decided to head out. I can’t remember now for sure, but I think we went back to BWI for a bit to drop off our stuff and relax (even for ½ hour) and then we decided to drive over to The Poly. I think I was thinking I wanted to go back and put my leg up if even for a little while (oh yeah! That’s right, because it was bleeding when I walked on it a lot, now I remember). So that’s what we did, it was good thinking on our part I think because I really needed to elevate/rest my leg if even for a short time. Some of you might want to look away for a moment, but here is a pic of my leg. It actually was taken the next day, but you get the idea...

So, we drive over to the Poly for dinner….the line was HUGE. Now I should just preface with…I have never eaten at O’hana before. But I was really looking forward to it as I have heard so many good things about it. I know for a lot of people it’s a “not-miss”. The food sounded yummy so I was interested to see if we’d like it as much as everyone else.
So, like I said the line was really long. We checked in, got our pic taken (which we didn’t buy), got our leis, and had a seat at the bar (not for a drink, just because I needed to sit down). We didn’t wait long and we were brought to our table (and got some yummy bread). So, here we are on our Disney Wedding/Honeymoon trip and we get seated right next to the part of the floor where the coconut races and all the other kids activities are held. Oh my. Needless to say, neither of us were happy with where we were seated but for some reason didn’t say anything and it was…..loud. And not like Drizella and Anastasia funny loud either, not loud in a good way. The service was a bit slow, the food was interesting I guess, I didn’t think it was as great as everyone says. We had to wait a LONG time in between everything we were served. Our server was nice though and friendly. So, it wasn’t that the wait times for food was her fault. Ok, so it then starts to become apparent that there is a problem in the kitchen (or where they grill everything, you all know, in the front of the restaurant when you come in). We wait and we wait, We had already been served 2 of the 4 skewers and it was taking so long the server kept coming over to tell us the rest of the food was on it’s way. We were getting impatient because we saw lots of other people being served….Finally the chef comes over to explain that they are having an exhaust problem and until it is fixed, they cannot use the grills. It’s then it really starts to dawn on us how smoky the restaurant is getting. It keeps getting smokier and smokier and then I realize that all of the families who were there with kids (which was basically the entire restaurant) were leaving due to the smoke. The manager came over and said we were welcome to stay and wait or if we wanted to leave we could get some sort of credit or something. We looked at each other and decided to stick it out. Not really for the food, but I think we were both so happy for the quiet after everyone left, it was nice to just sit and relax together, so we wanted to grab the opportunity to do so after a somewhat stressful day. But they weren’t letting anyone else come in the restaurant at this time due to the smoke and I guess they didn’t even know if they could turn the grills back on at all that night. In essence, the restaurant was temporarily closed as we (and a few others) sat and waited…
In the meantime my wedding coordinator calls me on my cell to give me some bad news….
Here’s the backstory on this:
We had booked the Model A Ford for the wedding.

Before we left to come to WDW I was told that there was something wrong with the Model A and they were scouring high and wide for another antique car for us to substitute because the part the owner needed would not come in in time for our wedding. (See, with our wedding package a limo was included for 4 hours, but it was a White stretch limo and it was sooo not us, we just couldn’t do it, so we used it for our guests’ transportation to the wedding and we upgraded to the only Black-or nonwhite car that Disney Weddings offered, the Model A). So instead of the Model A, they found us a Touring Cadillac from 1920 which was used in some Lucille Ball movie and had a huge rip in the back of the driver’s seat (see pic)

…I wasn’t too happy about that, but it was explained to me that they couldn’t fix the rip because then it would alter the condition/value of the vehicle etc…I figured our photographer could Photoshop out the rip or the drivers’ back would block it…plus the fact that it was used in a Lucille Ball movie was tres cool we thought….

Ok, so here we are at our smoky dinner and my WC calls to tell me that when the owner of the Cadillac took it out to get it ready for our wedding, it had a flat tire!! And of course it would take too long to get a replacement tire because it’s vintage etc….so they found another Model A but there’s only one thing…it’s not Black. It’s like a Navy Blue type color. Sigh…
“Well,” I say “I’m sure it will be ok, it might even look better, more interesting in the photos”…We had to go to Franck’s the next day anyway and drop off stuff we had brought with us for the wedding to our floral coordinator so there would be a picture of the car waiting for us when we got there so we could see it. I really wasn’t that worried about it. We wanted a vintage car that was not White. So consequently, no Bridezilla moment ensued.

So, I get off the phone, we wait more for the rest of our food and we finally finish our dinner. The original plan was to head over to MK and just get in and watch Wishes from Main Street (something DF still hadn’t done) but by the time we were done with dinner I was too tired and also didn’t think standing on my leg for like an hour or so that night was such a great idea. So, we went home to BW and watched IllumiNations from our balcony instead. I elevated my leg, the night air was cool and comforting, it was very relaxing for both of us. I called my mom and told her how much we loved BW (she’s be staying there as well) and about my fall. I didn’t want to worry her too much so tried to play it down as much as possible.

We turned in because we knew we had a long day ahead of us and DF’s family were arriving.

Next up: Meeting some of DF’s family for the first time and dinner at Artist Point…repeat after me..mmmmm….Berry Cobbler…..

 

[lurkyloo]

Yay! Update! I am very squeamish, though, so I had to skim the part where you hurt your leg. If it was that gruesome to read about, I can't even imagine how horrible it was to experience!

Thanks for the tip about Splash Mountain at night. I have never done that, even at Disneyland, cuz I always think I will be too cold from being wet. I will have to try it in the dead of summer some time...

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

YEAH an update...Sounds like the paramedics made you sign the standard refusal form which basically says they offered to take you to the hospital and you said no.
Sorry O'hanna's seemed like a bust...kind of. One of the reasons I think Df and I stay away from there is b/c it gets loud...it always seems so busy just looking from the outside in...
Cape May sounded like fun! I need to add that to the list.

 

[Lorelei528]

Yay! Update! I am very squeamish, though, so I had to skim the part where you hurt your leg. If it was that gruesome to read about, I can't even imagine how horrible it was to experience!

Thanks for the tip about Splash Mountain at night. I have never done that, even at Disneyland, cuz I always think I will be too cold from being wet. I will have to try it in the dead of summer some time...

It was a pretty horrific experience. And not just for that day, but it ends up having an effect on most of the rest of the days of our trip! (But thank goodness, NOT our wedding day!)

YEAH an update...Sounds like the paramedics made you sign the standard refusal form which basically says they offered to take you to the hospital and you said no.
Sorry O'hanna's seemed like a bust...kind of. One of the reasons I think Df and I stay away from there is b/c it gets loud...it always seems so busy just looking from the outside in...
Cape May sounded like fun! I need to add that to the list.

Yep, that's pretty much what the form said. I still can't believe that no one from Disney followed up with a phone call to see how I was doing...
I had heard O'hana gets loud, but you know, it's hard to gauge what others think is loud..well now I know! I kind of wish I knew more about the coconut races and all of the children though. I just thought it would be like regular family restaurant loud...and I wasn't all that impressed with the food either, if I was, I might even be able to talk me and DH into going again, but we just weren't very impressed at all. (We eat breakfast there later in the trip and enjoy that more).

Cape May Buffet is GREAT! I definitely recommend it!! It's just more relaxed and not as loud or hectic as the other character breakfasts. It's on our list for future visits for sure!

 

[Lorelei528]

So the next morning we had ADR’s for the Princess Breakfast at Akershus. We actually really enjoyed it on our last trip and were looking forward to it. However, we still had to get all the welcome bags done and delivered and we had to get to Franck’s to drop off the wedding items that needed to be dropped off (menu cards, placecard holders, placecards, votive candles, personalized napkins for our dessert party etc.). This all had to be done before DF’s family arrived. Their flight was supposed to get in at 3:50 I think it was, so we figured they would be to POR by 6ish. So, erring on the side of caution, plus having learned the hard way, I know now that it is always best to cushion time needed because the majority of the time, things take longer to accomplish then you think they will. All that considered, plus my leg/knee not feeling 100%, knowing we would also be eating breakfast at Akershus the next week with DH’s family, we decided to bag on the princesses that morning. I was just nervous we wouldn’t get everything done in time, plus I just wasn’t feeling that great and wasn’t in the mood that morning (stress level I guess).

So, what are our choices for breakfast then? I figured Boardwalk Bakery was our best bet and even though I was not eagerly looking forward to it based on a photo of the breakfast sandwich I had seen, I figured we’d try it out anyway. So, we get ourselves downstairs and check out the Bakery. The line wasn’t too long, we used CS credits and both of us got the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Croissant sandwich with coffee and bottles of water. There were plenty of tables outside and it was still pretty nice out (because in the next day or so, it gets VERY hot-even CM’s were telling us it was more like summer).
Ok, so let me just tell you….the sandwiches were YUMM-O!!! (nod to Rachel Ray). I mean, they were pretty basic and I can’t tell you why we both liked them so much but we did. First of all they were huge and not greasy AT ALL. You had to eat them with a knife and fork they were so big! Plus, something about maybe the croissant being baked fresh(?) made the entire sandwich taste just really fresh. Even the eggs were like farm-fresh or something, who knows?
Anyway, I can safely recommend BoardWalk Bakery now for breakfast sandwiches…and of course everyone knows that all the baked goods there are delicious!! So, all in all, let’s give it a 9 out of 10 just for the heck of it.
So, after breakfast, we go back up to the room to work on the Welcome Bags. We used the reusable WDW bags that I discovered on our last trip and I ordered them via the phone from home (thinking they might not have them when we went back, but they did which is great, because I think they are awesome!).

In each bag was a bottle of water with a strap, 2 packets of tissues, anti-bacterial gel, 2 packs of gum, Shout wipes, a bookmark favor, a pen, 2 Disney nail files/emory boards and an info packet for the wedding with personalized itineraries. Some of the bags had t-shirts (like for my mom, my neice-MOH, DH's mom and Dh's bro). Here are some pics of what we put in the bags

It took a little while to get everything together, so when we were done, we drove over to POR to deliver the bags for DF’s family and CBR for one of my brothers and sister in laws and my step-niece who would be arriving the next day. Then we went to Franck’s to drop off the stuff for Rosie our floral, photo and entertainment co-ordinator. I had a warning from a previous Disney Bride that sometimes the guests don’t receive their welcome bags so at POR I was pretty nervous because the CM there didn’t seem to have a clue. I was already thinking it would be a good thing that DF and I would be there when his family arrived to check in, so I could make sure they got their bags. The CM’s at CBR though were great. The first one I spoke to didn’t really know what to do with them, but she checked with a supervisor and the supervisor came right over to me to tell me not to worry, they’ll make a note on the reservation and they will keep them in the back until they arrive.
Stopping by Franck’s was fun. Quite different from the last time we were there in Sept. Being an intimate or “Escape” wedding, you don’t get a planning session at Franck’s like the Wishes brides do, so when we were there the last time just to look around, we felt a bit out of place to be honest. But now, the receptionist totally knew who we were and was expecting us plus she had the print out of the photo of the Navy Model A to give us.
It looked great in the picture, so we were fine with it and the receptionist called our WC Tanis so we could tell her ourselves.

Then it was back to BW to rest up and try to relax a bit before DF’s family arrived. We decided to drive over to POR because we weren’t sure about the logistics for after dinner at Artist Point. The initial plan was to get a bus over to POR and then bus to MK and boat to WL for dinner so that DH’s family could see the Disney Transportation system and how great it was (also how big WDW is). And then either take separate cabs back to our resorts or get back to the MK and then take buses. But the more I thought about it, the more iffy the after-dinner Disney transportation seemed to be because we’d be getting out so late, so I just figured we’d end up taking cabs. So, we decided to drive over to POR. We figured if we got there by like 5:30-6, we’d be fine. I really wanted us to be there when they arrived by DME.
Well, it gets to be like I don’t know…6:30 and I realize that if they don’t get there soon, we’ll be late for our 8:00 ADR at Artist Point! DF starts calling his mom’s cell phone. They had landed and were waiting for the DME. To be honest with you, I’m not sure what the problem was , but it took them FOREVER to get to the resort. Oh yeah, and I think they were also kept late at Dublin Airport because they were waiting on some connecting flight or something so they landed at MCO late as well. Anyway, I go over to the concierge and tell him the situation to see if they can help. They weren’t really that helpful. They told me Artist Point could really only hold the reservation for 15 mins. and probably the best thing to do would be to take cabs over. So, I go out to talk to the valet about the timing etc. because we didn’t want to call the cab too early obviously and have it wait there. We kept calling DF’s mom to find out where they were. When they finally got there, we basically had to have bell services hold all of their bags (because they didn’t have time to go to their room) and we checked them in.

OK, so before I go on with the rest of my TR…I must preface the next week with this…I do not hate or dislike my MIL or any of DF’s family. LOL…I have realized as I’m writing this TR, that throughout the next week of the trip report there were some pretty stressful situations but understand it was very difficult having to be the hostess but also be able to enjoy my own wedding and honeymoon trip. I hope I don’t come off as bridezillaey at all, I don’t think I do and really, my MIL is really great and I love her, she just kind of makes me nutty sometimes. (as well as DF’s aunt)…so please don’t judge me or DF’s family with what I write. I thought about leaving this type of stuff out, but really couldn’t, because some of the TR might not have made sense otherwise. Many of you (and most probably all brides in general) will probably understand about the stress etc.

Ok, so on with the TR! And remember…I really don’t hate my DF’s family!

Hold on, because there’s more problems :rollseyes: ...ok, so there are 6 of them. DF’s parents and his brother (who is 24), and DF’s aunt and uncle and then one other aunt. When the whole initial planning for the Disney Wedding came up, I suggested resorts for everyone to stay in. I suggested ASMovies, POR and BW. Of course as many of you will attest to, there is usually a good amount of guests (including family) who end up not wanting to take your advice etc. in the beginning when you announce your wedding plans. For example, I think if you have a bigger wedding, and some people don’t want to stay on property, it’s not that big of a deal (especially if they have use of a car). Well, my FMIL and I actually had a conversation about her inviting all these extra people and getting a house etc. See, the thing is, I could only have 20 people total at the wedding including DF and I, and not just the ceremony, but the dinner and the dessert party as well. Plus, my mom who was basically paying for the wedding couldn’t really afford any more people. Anyway, because none of DF’s family had never been to WDW before, and not knowing really ANYTHING about it at all just didn’t understand that if you were there for your son’s wedding and weren’t going to rent a car, it really would be inconvenient to stay off property…
Ok, so anyway, FMIL kind of had to go back and uninvite people which was probably uncomfortable for her, but I do think she should have asked questions about the logistics and the wedding planning in general first, but she didn’t…
So, after realizing they wouldn’t stay off property with like 20 people from Ireland, we briefly looked into a Grand Villa at BW for the 6 of them, but found out they were very hard to come by. So, I wasn’t sure how else to direct them, so they ended up getting 2 rooms at POR. Now, I would have thought they would have gotten 3 rooms and I distinctly remember asking DF “you mean your aunt is going to stay in the same room as your aunt and uncle?” (Thinking this would be a bit weird, but since I had never met them before thought maybe they were totally ok with it). I even think I was talking to FMIL once on the phone and mentioned briefly something about only booking 2 rooms, but she said it was fine…
Ok, so flash forward to having all of DF’s family checking in….I don’t remember exactly how the order of who checked in first etc., but somehow it came up that DF’s aunt was in the same room as the other aunt and uncle…and all of a sudden it was a problem. For some reason, they were all under the assumption that there were 2 bedrooms (?!?!?) in one room (like a suite or something?)? The thing that got me is DF’s mom actually was talking to the manager and said something like “well, I distinctly said that there were 3 adults, 1 couple and 1 single in the room” (meaning I guess that Disney would somehow know that they didn’t want to be in the same room or something?) And I was thinking and then the manager said out-loud exactly what I was thinking...”Well, ma’am, we can’t assume by just how many people in the room there are that you need separate sleeping quarters etc.”
Meanwhile, I mean, it’s not like she ever asked me, otherwise I would have told her to book a jr. suite at CSR or All Stars (what is it, Music or Sports?). They didn’t want to spend the extra money for another room, so the 3 ladies stayed in one room and the men in the other. I don’t know how they felt about that and they probably thought it was Disney’s fault, but it wasn’t. They did get pull-out beds/cots though.
Ok, so we’re all checked in finally and went outside to get our cabs to WL for dinner…..

Oh! And they got their welcome bags no problem…(more about these later in this TR)

With all the delays, even with taking cabs, we were still like at least 20 mins late for dinner…so when we get to WL, I tell DF, “I’ll run to AP and tell them we’re here at least and then you just meet me at the podium”…I told him where the restaurant was and besides we had been there on our previous trip, so I didn’t think it was going to be a problem, well, I go running through the lobby to AP and check us in. I explain the situation and how my DF’s family just flew in from overseas yadda, yadda, yadda, they were very nice and accommodating actually. So I wait and wait for DF and his family…I started to feel stupid…I start thinking to myself…”what’s taking them so long”…I walk back into the lobby expecting them to be like right there by the pin kiosks (you know the ones) walking over but I don’t even see them at all! They’re all still standing by the front door of WL! I am waving them over, they still don’t seem to be moving, so I walk back over…I ask DF why he wasn’t walking over to the restaurant and I get the ‘ol “Oh, I didn’t know we were supposed to meet you over there” I calmly tell him that I told him to meet me over there when we got out of the cab and then because I wanted to avoid having a disagreement right then, just let it go and tried to herd everyone back to AP for our dinner…I mean, I knew they were all going to do the expected “look up and marvel at WL”, but I thought they would at least walk over slowly at the same time…

So, there are 8 of us total and we are seated for dinner. DF and I were on the Deluxe DP, but everyone else was on the regular one. So we had appetizers (I had the Selection of Artisan Cheeses which I had the last time as well - I love it. FMIL shared it with me and DF got the Mixed Greens Salad which we shared).
So I don’t know why they couldn’t wait until we weren’t at dinner (like back in their room or something) or even until the wedding day , but they start giving us all these gifts and envelopes…I mean, we loved the beautiful gifts, but there was nowhere to put anything and we didn’t have any bags with us or anything….it was a bit stressful, opening all these gifts and envelopes and trying to have conversation with DF’s aunts and uncle who I had never met and eat our appetizers. I felt kind of pressured to open everything then and there (I think I even tried to say something like, “I’ll just open them later when we get back to the room” and FMIL said something like “oh, just open them now, we want to see…” sigh.
So, dinner was delicious and I think they were impressed with the food and the service (which was fabulous). DF and I got personalized menus and I know they all got a kick out of that. Plus the server kept coming back because he wasn’t sure what to print on the menu-I didn’t know what was so hard really, but it was very sweet of him.
So, months and months before the wedding I decided I wanted to treat my FMIL and DF’s aunts to a manicure (if they wanted one) before the wedding. I would need one for sure, so I thought it would make for some nice bonding time between me and the ladies in DF’s family. Well, I had called Periwig’s months before the wedding to ask about it and they gave me all the info (prices, etc.) and they told me they had a 2 hr. cancellation policy (I think it’s 2 hours)…they also told me I didn’t need to book the manis until 2 weeks ahead of time. So, I had talked to FMIL on the phone about the manis and told her I would like to treat the ladies etc. and could she ask them if it was something they would like to do. I don’t think I mentioned about the cancellation policy, I told her I needed to know because depending on how many were getting done, it would decide what time I needed to make the appt. for etc. So she got back to me the next time we talked and told me they thought that would be lovely etc….
So, before I actually booked the manis, I got in touch with her again, I think via e-mail and just confirmed about the aunts again…(again, maybe this was my fault and I should have mentioned the cancellation policy, but I thought it would sound like, not nice or something). Again I was told they would like to have the manis.
So, during dinner at AP, at some point one of DF’s aunts says something about how she and the other aunt are just going to sleep in and going to skip the manis… Ok, see, the problem was the appts were for 10am and Periwig’s opens at 9am, which meant if I wanted to cancel, I would have needed to do so by like 5pm that night before they closed. I didn’t really react to what she said because you know, I had just met them, but that meant I was going to be out $70! I kept my mouth shut though…(but of course I was understandably a bit pissed off). And I will just say that when I write about the next day in this TR, you’ll see that the aunts didn’t sleep in anyway and were up in plenty of time to have made the manis!!
So we finish up dinner. We were there for a long time, I knew we would be because DF hadn’t seen his mom and dad for a year and he hadn’t seen his aunts and uncle for like more than 7 years! (And although they were 5 hours ahead of us, they really needed to relax and unwind and more than one bottle of wine was ordered and enjoyed!)
So, (man, I’m saying that a lot!), dinner really was lovely….both DF and I ordered the Beef Tenderloin which we had the last time and LOVED. It was much better than the steak at Le Cellier we both thought. And for dessert we both got the Berry Cobbler because you know…there is nothing like it in this world LOL and last time we only got one and something else and shared and it just didn’t work out. Neither of us was happy. LOL
So, this time we knew we would each order one.
We go outside and order our cabs from the valet. We didn’t have to wait long at all actually. But what was kind of funny is FMIL was all nervous that the cab driver didn’t know where to go by me just telling him “Port Orleans Riverside”! Tee hee. Newbies.
We get back to POR and we get one of the bell services dudes with one of those golf cart thingys to help with the bags. He somehow managed to fit all of us AND the bags and we drove over to their building. I had requested either second floor Magnolia Terrace or second floor Oak Manor for them and they got 2nd floor Magnolia Terrace so that was good. They seemed to be happy enough with the rooms but I do have to say I still think that POR looks old and worn. I don’t think I would want to stay there to be honest. In hindsight I should have recommended CBR to them…oh well. Anyway, it turns out the CM at check-in wrote down the wrong room # for one of the rooms!! Thank goodness the bell guy was there, so he got it sorted out and finally we let DF’s family settle in. We arranged with FMIL and DF’s brother to pick them up the next day as the next morning was the tux fitting back in our room and now that it was only FMIL and me for the manicures I figured the two of us could walk over to Periwig’s together after we all got a quick bite for breakfast at the Bakery and that way she could be there to see her two sons get fitted for their tuxes! Then we’d meet everyone else at DS…

We bid DF’s family good-night. We headed back to BW and hit the hay, as we knew now the busyness was now really going to start!

Up Next: DS including Sci-Fi, ToT and the beginning of the coming together of the families!

 

[PrincessShea]

I'm rolling here with all your DH's family stories. I totally relate to having to be the ring leader. I think that's one thing a lot of people don't realize about being an escape bride...it's probably HARDER to have a small party rather than a big one. If you invite 75 people; well they are pretty much on their own. If you only have 10 people at your wedding, well, brace yourself for being "tour guide/bride" the rest of the trip

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I'm rolling here with all your DH's family stories. I totally relate to having to be the ring leader. I think that's one thing a lot of people don't realize about being an escape bride...it's probably HARDER to have a small party rather than a big one. If you invite 75 people; well they are pretty much on their own. If you only have 10 people at your wedding, well, brace yourself for being "tour guide/bride" the rest of the trip

AUGH! This is what I have to look forward to??? *panic*

Loving the TR...More please

 

[lurkyloo]

Oh my gosh - that part about relatives staying off property but not renting a car actually happened to us! It resulted in DH having to take a 2-hour cab ride (the cabbie got lost) in the middle of the night back to his folks' cheap-o condo b/c his ride, his brother, decided not to rent a car and then at the last minute switched accomodations to crash with our guests who were staying at WDW cuz - surprise surprise - it was too hard to get out to said crappy condo.

So I have a small inkling of the hassles you had to go through to coordinate everyone...

Also, did I spot *my* welcome bag in some of those pictures?

 

[Lorelei528]

I'm rolling here with all your DH's family stories. I totally relate to having to be the ring leader. I think that's one thing a lot of people don't realize about being an escape bride...it's probably HARDER to have a small party rather than a big one. If you invite 75 people; well they are pretty much on their own. If you only have 10 people at your wedding, well, brace yourself for being "tour guide/bride" the rest of the trip

I know you all can relate!! And let me just say....I'm so glad you can!! It makes me feel better that I am not or wasn't alone in what I was going through! The whole time of the wedding/honeymoon and all the family stress I thought about my fellow DISbrides A LOT!!!
And you know what? I think you're right and I had that thought! I think it is tougher when you have fewer people because usually it's just close family and they want to spend time with you! (Especially in our case with DF's family!)
And I hate to say it...but there's more coming! (not family, but family related stresses!) (Just not right now, I'm still writing)

AUGH! This is what I have to look forward to??? *panic*

Loving the TR...More please

yep, it's a bit stressful! BUT that being said, our wedding day was PERFECT! I swear I really can't think of anything that went terrifically wrong! There were a couple of things I wouldn't have done or done differently, but I'll review at the end of the TR...
So, don't worry, along with a bit of stress, you're going to have the most amazing wedding day!

Oh my gosh - that part about relatives staying off property but not renting a car actually happened to us! It resulted in DH having to take a 2-hour cab ride (the cabbie got lost) in the middle of the night back to his folks' cheap-o condo b/c his ride, his brother, decided not to rent a car and then at the last minute switched accomodations to crash with our guests who were staying at WDW cuz - surprise surprise - it was too hard to get out to said crappy condo.

So I have a small inkling of the hassles you had to go through to coordinate everyone...

Also, did I spot *my* welcome bag in some of those pictures?

OMG!!! That would have TOTALLY stressed me out!! You probably have written about it in your wedding TR but I can't remember all the details! Like I said, it's soooo good to know that us Disney Brides are not alone in our stress! (Hence, the huge smile and look of relief I gave you when I saw you!)

Yep! You spotted it! That is in fact the welcome bag I was working on for Lurkyloo who will show up later in my TR! (Wedding Day to be exact!)


Glad your'e enjoying my TR so far! I'm working on the next installment I promise!

Thanks for reading everyone!

 

[Lorelei528]

First off-2 things-

1. There's only 1 pic in this installment. We didn't take like any the whole day. I've even checked DF's family's pics, and not many were really taken that day for some reason..so I'm sorry for lack of pics yet again! But next installment, there will be loads more and the wedding pics are right around the corner too!

2. As you can tell, my TR's are pretty wordy...I guess that's my style, so hopefully I don't lose too many readers with my longwindedness!


We got a pretty good night’s sleep if I remember correctly. My leg wasn’t really bothering me, but I kept it covered with the dressings the paramedics gave me because it hadn’t scabbed over yet. And it finally stopped bleeding when I walked, so that was good I figured.
We left BW at around 7:40am to pick up FBIL and FMIL. We got them around 8am and went back to BW for the fitting. We actually were like 10 mins late because it took so long to get to their rooms from where we parked the car at POR and walk back. By the time we got back to BW, Carolyn Allen’s had been there and left , but they called our cell, so we called them back and they hadn’t gone too far thank goodness, so they turned around and came back to the room for the fitting. Not too many changes needed to be made to either tux and it really didn’t take too long. We headed down to the Bakery to grab a bite before FMIL and I walked over to Periwig’s. Of course today there was a line. We found a table outside again and we sat and ate our breakfast sandwiches.
The plan was for DF and his bro to just hang out and relax on the BW for an hour while FMIL and I were getting our manis. (Again, they hadn’t seen one another for a year, so it wasn’t like it was a problem for them to sit and relax and talk). Then afterwards we would meet the rest of DF’s family (dad, uncle and 2 aunts) at Disney Studios.
FMIL and I walk over to Periwig’s, it’s quite the long walk! I didn’t expect it to be so long, but it was nice…except for when FMIL says to me during the conversation “…well, we must get to NASA and to the outlets…” Of course I was reacting on the inside, but kept my cool….again, for an entire year she never mentions any of this to me and I had asked her if they would want to join DF and I for all of our meals or just some etc. (I needed to know this for ADR’s) and if they would want to hang with us or go off on their own etc. She told me they would definitely join us for meals while they were there and would spend time with us…(which was fine with both DF and I)
OK, so when she drops the NASA /outlet center line on me, I responded with something like “Well, the thing is, I think you need a car to get to those places, especially NASA…and I wouldn’t know anything about how to get there or anything…” She responds with “Well, I’m sure they have bus tours from the hotel...” I say “Well…I don’t think so,” (thinking why would Disney tell you how to leave property and spend your $ elsewhere?!?!) “but I suppose you can ask. The thing is, I don’t really know when you’ll have time…I mean, everyone is arriving tomorrow and the wedding is Friday and my family will be here through Sunday…” (meaning me and DF would not be going to NASA or anywhere) “…so that really only leaves you Monday…” The subject was then kind of dropped. I mean, I won’t get into how it made me feel, but I was not very happy. I worked my butt off trying to plan out the week for them so they wouldn’t have to think about anything and just enjoy and have fun, eat good meals etc…and she never mentioned to me once that they wanted to go anywhere off property etc...
Anyway, that crisis averted, we get to Periwig’s and enjoy our manicures. While we were checking in FMIL then mentions something about coming back during the week for a pedicure! It was then that I realized she has no idea what she’s doing! LOL…first she wants to go to NASA and the outlets and now she’s planning on coming all the way back to Y&BC for a pedicure sometime? I think she was thinking that if we were (well, I) was going to get charged for the 2 who didn’t come she could use the $ towards a pedicure…but again, it’s 2 totally different things which I don’t think she realized…

Ok, anyway, she mentioned something to me about how she would pay for them (the aunts) at breakfast, but then when she mentioned it again (when we were in Periwig’s), she kind of complained about having to pay $70. I was thinking, well, that’s why I asked you twice if they wanted to get manicures, but didn’t want to come off nasty, so I didn’t say a thing. It turns out, the lady who did our nails didn’t charge us for the aunts (phew!) Both of the manicurists were VERY nice and I really got to relax and enjoy. I would highly recommend the services (well, at least the manicure!) at Periwig’s. :thumbsup:

Ok, ready for the next crisis? Well, I tried to tell everyone how important it was to always carry their keys/tix with them as they are not just room keys and they will need to have them in order to get into the parks…
Well, FMIL and I are getting our nails done and she starts getting texts from the aunts that they are already at DS and FMIL has one of the aunts room keys so she can’t get in! Oy! First of all, they pretty much texted as soon as we sat down to our manis, so of course I was thinking, why couldn’t they have just come here then? It was obvious they didn’t sleep in …then I’m stressing because the poor aunt is sitting outside the turnstiles, waiting for FMIL in the heat (it was like 89 or something out that day and sunny) and we weren’t going to be there for like an hour or so! I suggested the rest of the group go back through the gates and take the boat over here, just to kill some time but of course they didn’t like that idea…

Geez, they all just got there the night before and there were already too many things going wrong! I really tried to hold myself together…

We finally finish our manicures and text DF and his bro to walk over and meet us. So we wait for them and then take the boat over to DS. We get there and find the aunt and we all enter the park! (Finally!) We get our pic taken by the Photopass photog

and make our way over to ToT and RnRC first before our 2pm lunch ressie at Sci-Fi.
What I usually do, which I think is what many do, is get a FP for RnRC and ride ToT then, ride RnRC with FP. So, we did just that. So, I knew that the ladies wouldn’t go on any roller coasters or ToT. I mean, I knew that going in to this…but I figured DF’s dad would try a couple of them. So, thinking it was going to be me, DF, FBIL and FFIL and maybe uncle, I was bummed out when all of a sudden I turned around and FFIL was gone and although I suggested to the ladies to wait on the line with us so they could at least get the effect of the design of the ride, the theming etc. (plus it was cooler on the line then not) and figured they could just do the chicken out way as we got further up, FFIL leaves with FMIL and the 2 aunts. And the thing is, they don’t tell us where they’re going or where they’re going to wait for us or anything! When we entered the park, I suggested to everyone they take maps just for this type of situation, but of course…they didn’t.

Ok, whatever, so we wait on the line and it goes fairly quickly and I just have to say I loved DF’s uncle! I thought it was totally cool that he was going to go on! I was VERY impressed! So, ToT was great of course and they really enjoyed it too! I was really glad that their first ride at WDW was met with such laughter and fun. It made me really happy. So, then we have to wait around for DF to text his mom (overseas phones don’t work for calling here unless you set it up before you come over and I think it’s very expensive, so they could only text the whole time they were here) and find out where they are. They’re at Starring Rolls! So we find them and there they are sitting and munching away…(I’m thinking-ok, we’re eating lunch in like 1 hour the most…).
Ok, so now would be a good time to tell you all that DF and I bought the Birnbaum’s book for everyone coming and mailed them out like 4 months before the wedding figuring it would give everyone enough time to read up a bit about WDW. Maybe it was wrong of me to assume that if people are spending all this $ to come to our wedding and to vacation at WDW that they’d want to know some stuff before they arrive. All I can tell you it was about now in the trip I started to realize that none of DF’s family read (or even opened the books) because every ride I went to take them on, they had literally no idea about. They would ask me what we were doing next and I’d answer and they’d always follow it up with “What’s that?”…After the first day, I just started laughing with DF and saying “If you read the book, you’d know”. Because it’s pretty common among Disney Brides that you don’t want to have to keep repeating everything for 20 people for like a week. I figured the books would help them and also help us.
So along with the “What’s that?” question one of the aunts started following it up with “do you sit for it?”….

Ok, so when we meet them at Starring Rolls this same aunt says to me “I don’t want to go on anything where you have to sit.” I was like “Whaaaa…..?” (You’re on your feet walking around all day, why wouldn’t you want to sit?) Besides I was like thinking to myself, what the heck can we go on that you don’t have to sit?!?! Aargh!! (wait, it gets better)
I’m pretty sure we did one thing before lunch…but can’t remember for sure what. I’m thinking it was Voyage of the Little Mermaid though for some reason. (Which means I basically ignored aunt’s comment about not sitting.) I didn’t do so to be mean, I was just like saying to myself…”you know what? I’ve been here 6 times, I know what I’m doing, they’re going to have a good time, they seem to be doubting and questioning me every turn. I’m just going to take whoever wants to go on whatever I think they’ll like and whoever doesn’t want to go, doesn’t have to…” And I’ll tell you what, this continues the whole week they’re there, but yet everything I took them on, that they actually went on, they LOVED.
So, we mosey over to Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I knew they were going to like it (well, maybe not the guys, though as we all know Ariel is hot). As we walked over, I hoped the show time would work out so that we could see it and be on time for our ADR at Sci-Fi. The timing worked out pretty much perfectly because we didn’t have to wait to get in! So, of course the questions start “What’s this Lori?” “Voyage of the Little Mermaid”. “What is it?” “It’s a show” “Do you sit down for it?” “Yes”…
I just walked right in to the waiting area and I’m sure they were maybe thinking they weren’t going to like it. But I was just going to soldier on…
So we enter the theatre and find our seats. It was of course nice and cool and relaxing and they loved (well, the ladies did anyway) the bubbles and the water spray. When it was over they all told me thanks and they really enjoyed it. (DF’s brother wasn’t too impressed, but he’s pretty laidback so he just kind of shrugged it off). We exit the show when FFIL realizes he left his sunglasses in the theatre! Oh man! So, we wait around awhile until they clear the theatre, but they can’t find them...
We walk over to Sci-Fi and wait for our tables. It made me feel good (validated) when DF’s family saw not one, but two, families get turned away for tables. I was hoping they would see that you really did have to book your meals 180 days ahead of time (well, 180 days back then) and that I planned special things for them and it took work to do…but I still don’t think it “clicked”…but then again, even DF is pretty spacey most of the time! (I do love him though!)

I knew beforehand that one of the brides I had met via the DISbride board was going to be at Sci-Fi at 1:30, so I was hoping we’d find each other. Imagine my surprise and happiness when as we were about to sit down I hear “Lori! Lori!” really loud…LOL. It was Rachel! I was so happy to see her! Her and her (New) DH had just gotten married like 2 days before! I was all excited and DF’s family probably thought I was nuts, but I didn’t care because I was so excited to see someone I “knew” who was also planning a wedding the same time as me and I wanted to congratulate her as well. So, DF and I went over to talk to them for a few mins and asked about their wedding and we said we’d try to meet up in MK the next day since we’d both be there, and if not they were going to come “crash” our Dessert Party the night of the wedding over in EPCOT along with some other Disney brides I knew from the DISbrides board.
We sat in 2 cars of 4 that were not next to each other but were close to each other. I am pretty sure that everyone was really liking the theming, although they kept pretty quiet (as I guess you can’t really talk too loud in there as everyone is watching the movie...). Maybe they weren’t impressed with the theming at all actually! …
Anyway, so I had my usual hamburger and so did DF. We got the Spinach and Artichoke Dip and the Mixed Greens salad to share for appetizers. I’m not sure exactly what everybody else got. DF’s mom and aunt sat in the car with us and DF’s bro, dad and aunt and uncle sat in the other car. I tried the sugar free brownie dessert and it was actually pretty good! DF had the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake which we had last time and is delish! Then our server who was especially friendly and chatty and was all excited for us and our upcoming nuptials wanted to get a card for everyone to sign etc…
So, the meal was great and all, but it ended up taking much longer than I expected. It wasn’t that the service was slow, she was great, it was just that she wanted to go a bit above and beyond and it took up more time than expected. I think everyone was getting a little impatient and antsy…

After lunch the plan was to hit as many rides/attractions as possible before we had to leave to meet my brother, sister in law and (step)niece over at The Poly for our dinner ADR at Kona Café.
First, we walk over the The Muppets. I knew they would like it, plus I knew they knew the Muppets because I knew that The Muppet Show also was on Irish TV back in the day.
So, we enter the preshow area and of course it’s “Lori, what’s this?” “It’s the Muppets. It’s 3D. You’ll really like it! It’s great!” They actually followed me in (phew!) and we watched the preshow. I don’t know what they thought about it, but I was thinking/feeling they weren’t impressed. We finally enter the theatre and I know there was quite a bit of chuckling going on, so I was thankful for that. When we exited, they all said how funny it was and that they really liked it. They might even have said it was “brilliant!”. I know I got that for a number of things I took them on throughout the week, just not sure if this was one of them.

Anyway, next up was the Backlot Studio Tour. Now, it’s not one of my faves and I certainly don’t go on it every trip, but I thought it would be something they might enjoy. (DF and I did do it on our last trip)
So we get on the line which was pretty much non-existent at the time and the CM goes through the whole “the tour takes 35-40mins” thing and I hear FMIL and DF’s aunts again behind me “I’m not standing for 35-40 mins. etc….” and instead of asking me or DF what the ride was (since you know, they didn’t read the book!) they just turned around and got off the line! Now I was sooo frustrated. First DF’s aunt says she doesn’t want to sit but what did they do the whole time waiting for us while we were on the ride ? They sat! LOL…oh man, there’s just no pleasing some people! When I asked DF why they didn’t go on, he said “they thought it was too long,” he said something like he thinks maybe they thought the wait was 35-40 mins! But again, they didn’t ask us…and I’m thinking wouldn’t you rather see something interesting and different than just sit for 40 mins.?
So, me, DF, DF’s bro and FFIL and DF’s uncle go on. It was fun, you know, I mean again, it’s not the greatest ride but when you see people’s faces who haven’t been on it ever before and you get to Catastrophe Canyon (and even though I don’t like the new version at all), it’s fun! Plus you just get to sit and relax for quite awhile which is nice.
So, as we exit the AFI part of the attraction, I get texts/missed phone calls from my bro who is arriving with my SIL and my niece…it turns out they made GREAT time getting from the airport to CBR and are back at the resort settling in etc. I’m not sure what time it was then, but I knew we still had plenty of time before our ADR at Kona for dinner (which was 8:10pm). I made it that late to cushion their arrival with plenty of time. Oh well. So, I told my brother they could unwind at CBR and/or head over early to The Poly if they wanted to look around there and we’d meet them around 8pm to check in for dinner.
Then it was back to trying to find FMIL and the aunts again since again of course they didn’t say where they were going to meet us…
We find them shortly thereafter thank goodness and when they ask how it was all the guys say “it was great, really enjoyable!”
Ok, so I knew we could only do a couple, maybe 3 more things before we had to leave and it was pretty darn hot. I knew they’d love GMR (even though again, not one of my must-do’s for every trip of mine and DF and I got stuck on it back in on our Sept. trip and had to walk out of the ride (from the Casablanca scene onwards)). So yet again, we’re entering the queue, and we’re in the part where you’re walking by all the costumes and again FMIL asks me “what's this Lori”(?!?!?) So, I reply politely, “it’s the Great Movie Ride, it’s really good, you’re really going to like it.” I think I was then even asked “Yes, but what is it?” Well, I can see the three of them all talking etc. and I think to myself, “Are you kidding me? They’re not going to go on this either?” I just kept walking because, you know people were coming in, and you can’t just stand in the middle of the maze thingy and hold people up while you decide if you want to go on it or not.
So, maybe it was because all these people started to file in but they actually decided to keep going and go on! (But I think DF told me it was because his dad said something to his mom!)
We really enjoyed it, they all laughed and our guide was ok. At least it didn’t break down! I think it might have gotten a “Brilliant”. LOL.

Well, after we exit the ride, we still had time, so we decide to head back to RnRC and see if we (me, DF, bro and unc) could get on. We wouldn’t be back in DS again, so, this was the only day to do it with DF’s family and I knew his brother wanted to go on. So, because most of the family didn’t seem too enthused about anything and did a lot of sitting (even though the aunt stated earlier she didn’t want to sit!) I decided that we’d go on RnRC pretty much no matter what. Dammit. Even DF’s uncle wanted to go on!
So, the line was long but as you know, it usually moves pretty fast. This time though of course, it didn’t. I’m not even sure how long the line was, it might have been 45 mins. even. But finally we got on!! FBIL and DF’s uncle LOVED it!! It was soooo much fun!! I’m so glad they got to ride it after all!
After RnRC, even though we still had some time, we decided to make our way over to the Poly. Everyone was a bit tired and cranky due to the heat so we needed to take our leave from DS.

We took the bus to The Poly to meet my bro and his family…

Next up: Dinner with some of my family at Kona, Chef Mickey breakfast, The MK and I promise...MORE pics!!!

 

[lurkyloo]

“I don’t want to go on anything where you have to sit.”

OK, this woman's mantra is the exact OPPOSITE of mine! Also, you are soooooo lucky I hadn't heard the story of "What's this? Do I have to sit?" before we met up at MK, because I would have been saying it to you over and over the whole time just to get a rise out of you!

I liked your one pic in the update. Who's the grumpy lady in the coral not smiling? Is that your MIL being steamed because there are no buses to whisk her away from Disney to all the other area attractions?

 

[Lorelei528]

OK, this woman's mantra is the exact OPPOSITE of mine! Also, you are soooooo lucky I hadn't heard the story of "What's this? Do I have to sit?" before we met up at MK, because I would have been saying it to you over and over the whole time just to get a rise out of you!

I liked your one pic in the update. Who's the grumpy lady in the coral not smiling? Is that your MIL being steamed because there are no buses to whisk her away from Disney to all the other area attractions?

Thanks for reading And also thanks for making me laugh yet again! I wouldn't have been able to hold it together if you asked me "What's this? Do I have to sit?" when we met up!! LOL...and I needed a good laugh today!

The grumpy lady in the pic in the coral is actually DF's aunt. NO, not THE aunt, the aunt that actually was left outside DS becuase DMIL had her ticket!! (That's probably why she looked so grumpy!)

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Lorelei,

Just wanted to let you know I stumbled across your MK/Epcot photo's today while doing a search, and I think they are amazing!!!! I actually pulled out a pen and paper and wrote a list of the ones I want to recreate from yours!!!

I cannot wait to read more