Making Her Wishes Come True: Surprise Proposal Trip!

I agree 100% on the pulling off. It's better to sleep a couple hours in a rest stop and be safe than try to power through and end up in a ditch. I will say that going through Atlanta at about 5 or 6 am was pretty cool on our last trip.

As far as the ring is concerned, yes, I will give you guys a sneak peek at the ring. In fact it was just finished this week (I designed it and had it custom made) and I will be picking it up tonight after work. I'm so excited to see it :goodvibes

I'll be doing an official update to my PTR tonight that includes the ring and a minor adjustment to my plans taking into account what everyone else said. So stay tuned everyone! popcorn::

I can't wait to see it!!
 
THE RING!

4h9QxqH.jpg


It's really, really, really hard to get a good picture on a camera phone. I couldn't sneak much more than that tonight. I'll try to get a better picture with an actual camera at some point for you guys. It's 3/4 carrot princess cut with rubies on the side. Appraised for $2800. :thumbsup2

CHANGE IN THE LAST DAY PLANS
  • Take our time doing things we missed
  • Lunch @ Chefs de France
  • Dinner @ Whatever CS we want
  • FANTASMIC!

What do you guys think?
 
Beautiful ring! The rubies definitely add a little something ;) Now comes the hard part...waiting almost 7 months!

Plans look great. Chefs de France is actually an ADR that we wanted but couldn't fit without overdoing the food. It's one of the first on my list should we decide to add a TS while there.

I'm glad you're sharing the magic! This is so fun to read! Makes me wonder if someday someone would do this all for me. One can only hope!
 
I am joining in. Fellow Ohioan here although I live in the south now. Looks like we will be there the week after you guys. I have a DS25 named Ryan also. It is my dream for my DD21 to get married at Disney so I love your proposal plan.

Although I am much older than you and could not image making the trip now, we did drive straight through from Ohio to Orlando in my youth at least once a year and never had a bit of trouble(we made dozens of trips and did use rest areas for short naps when we needed to). I think I grew up close to where you guys live now in a small town between Dayton and Springfield Ohio.

The ring is beautiful. Your soon to be fiance is one lucky girl!
 

I am so excited for you! I am happy to follow along!! Thanks for sharing ALL the fun! Just a suggestion, but you should get someone (a CM?) to video the actual proposal - a wonderful keepsake! Just a thought.....
 
I'm glad everyone approves of the ring! Rubies are her favorite stone and also BOTH of our birth stones since we were both born in July. The hardest part of this adventure I think will be waiting until September to give it to her.
 
I'm glad everyone approves of the ring! Rubies are her favorite stone and also BOTH of our birth stones since we were both born in July. The hardest part of this adventure I think will be waiting until September to give it to her.

Love the ring and that you made it personal to both of you! Make sure you have a photographer on hand to get pix of your moment because it's going to be beautiful. :cloud9:
 
Very pretty ring! I love the addition of rubies. That really makes it unique! I also love your plans. However, if I were you I wouldn't change a thing to fit in Fantasmic. LOL We saw it once and it was OK, but definitely not worth the wait and sitting on those hard concrete benches (of course I was 30 weeks pregnant at the time, couldn't get comfortable on the benches, and the lady in front of us was eating a giant pickle and the smell was making me nauseous LOL) so maybe I'm not the best person to offer my opinion.
 
Good Morning!

All of this trip planning and I just found out last week that one of my favorite bands will be coming to my area in August! Tickets went on sale and Dgf and I were able to nab two of them! It's going to be a two day music festival type atmosphere with multiple bands all topped off with a performance by the wonderful Mumford and Sons!

Mumford%20%20Sons%20-%20Babel%20Artwork%20medium-652x652.jpg


The best part about this is that it's on Labor Day weekend! Which is exactly one week from when we will be leaving for Disney. This gives us both something to look forward to in the future without allowing me the opportunity to blow the surprise. :goodvibes

This is going to be the biggest music event either of us have ever been to, so we're off to a great for having some awesome plans this summer. :banana:
 
I love Mumford & Sons!! After reading you post, I checked out their tour dates, and they're going to be in Guthrie, OK, which is only 3 hours from us. I was going to try and bribe the DH, but the day of the concert, we'll be headed to WDW.
 
First off I wanted to say that the fact that you are taking so much time to plan your proposal is very romantic! Your bride to be is a lucky woman :)

Second, love Mumford and Sons!
 
I love Mumford & Sons!! After reading you post, I checked out their tour dates, and they're going to be in Guthrie, OK, which is only 3 hours from us. I was going to try and bribe the DH, but the day of the concert, we'll be headed to WDW.

Sounds very bitter sweet actually. :( The only real concert I have been to was Trans Siberian Orchestra a couple times and then a couple Blue Man Group shows. As you can imagine I'm very much looking forward to this one even though it's so far away.

First off I wanted to say that the fact that you are taking so much time to plan your proposal is very romantic! Your bride to be is a lucky woman :)

Second, love Mumford and Sons!

Thank you! I'm glad you decided to post and I hope you follow along for the rest of the journey. I'm what I like to describe as a hopeless romantic. When I get something like this in my head I really try to go all out for her because I want her to have the best.

To everyone else who is following on don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you! I'm going to have a list put together of the order in which I need to get my ADR's when they come out. popcorn:: I'm also keeping a close eye on the park hours as they haven't been announced yet either so I'm not even sure what I'm going to do about planning my week out :scared1:
 
Order of Importance of ADR's
  1. Ohana (Dinner)
  2. California Grill (Dinner)
  3. Jiko (Dinner)
  4. Chefs de France (Lunch)
  5. Via Napoli (Dinner)

I THINK I have these in the right order but if you think I'm off in any way please feel free to let me know. I know I have the first two in the proper order but it's the last three I feel that could go any way. I put Jiko @ 3 because it's the one that I think both of us will want to make sure we have over the other two.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO AT EACH MEAL

O'HANA

We have never eaten here before even though I've always wanted too. The food is very us and it'll be nice not to have to worry about ordering something off a menu. We will both be definitely sharing a Lapu Lapu as this will be the dinner the night after I propose. What a better way to celebrate than Dinner @ O'hana and then Wishes afterwords?
OHANA_1_998.jpg


CALIFORNIA GRILL

Neither of us have eaten here either. My family has always stayed away because we're not big fish eaters and it's always seemed too classy for us. :confused3 Recently Hannah has gotten me into sushi (I can't believe I hadn't tried it before!) and we are both hooked. We probably eat it about once a week, so you can understand why I'm excited for this one. Not to mention the great view we'll have of MK.
Dining_CaliforniaGrill_01.jpg


JIKO
Yet another restaurant neither of us have eaten at before. Sensing a theme here? :cool1: This is a place that Hannah really wants to eat at. When I brought up places we wanted to try our next trip, on the sly, she mentioned here and I agreed. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what to expect here. The food is very different which should be fun, but it's also very different and I'm not an adventurous food person. It took me 24 years just to try sushi. :rolleyes1 Either way I've heard some great things about the food so it should be a good time.
jiko-the-cooking-place.jpg


CHEFS de FRANCE
On our last trip we really wanted to eat here. So much so that when we were making our dinning reservations I tried about four or five times to somehow fit it in, it just never seemed to work out. Well this time I'm going to make it work! We both love French style food and especially wine, so I have a feeling this is going to be a hit for us.
les-chefs-de-france.jpg


VIA NAPOLI
This is by far my favorite restaurant in the World Showcase! This is the only place we will be visiting that one of us has eaten at before. I just love this place every time I go. Italian cuisine is one of my all time favorites and the pizza just doesn't disappoint. I mean, even if you don't want pizza the rest of their menu fills in just fine as well. The last time I visited the World with my family we liked this place so much we went for two different meals. Just look at how good this pizza looks, it's making me hungry already!
images


ROUND UP
Overall I'm very excited about our food prospects on this trip. I am starting to get worried about how it's all going to work out though. I'm 198 days out and the hours for September haven't even begun to be posted yet. I just want a rough outline, so I know where to place my ADR's when the 180 day window hits. Is that too much to ask? :confused3
 
Order of Importance of ADR's
  1. Ohana (Dinner)
  2. California Grill (Dinner)
  3. Jiko (Dinner)
  4. Chefs de France (Lunch)
  5. Via Napoli (Dinner)

I THINK I have these in the right order but if you think I'm off in any way please feel free to let me know. I know I have the first two in the proper order but it's the last three I feel that could go any way. I put Jiko @ 3 because it's the one that I think both of us will want to make sure we have over the other two.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO AT EACH MEAL

O'HANA

We have never eaten here before even though I've always wanted too. The food is very us and it'll be nice not to have to worry about ordering something off a menu. We will both be definitely sharing a Lapu Lapu as this will be the dinner the night after I propose. What a better way to celebrate than Dinner @ O'hana and then Wishes afterwords?
OHANA_1_998.jpg

I've often thought we'd enjoy that restaurant also. The Lapu Lapu sounds delicious! I'll get there someday! lol.


CALIFORNIA GRILL

Neither of us have eaten here either. My family has always stayed away because we're not big fish eaters and it's always seemed too classy for us. :confused3 Recently Hannah has gotten me into sushi (I can't believe I hadn't tried it before!) and we are both hooked. We probably eat it about once a week, so you can understand why I'm excited for this one. Not to mention the great view we'll have of MK.
Dining_CaliforniaGrill_01.jpg

Oh wow! I never realized how amazing that view is! I've heard it recommended, but never saw the pictures. Like you, I sort of considered it too upscale for us. But, for that view, I could totally suck it up for a night. lol. Sushi is amazing and I've got you beat. I never tried it until I was about 35. ;) What was I thinking?? Love it!


JIKO
Yet another restaurant neither of us have eaten at before. Sensing a theme here? :cool1: This is a place that Hannah really wants to eat at. When I brought up places we wanted to try our next trip, on the sly, she mentioned here and I agreed. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what to expect here. The food is very different which should be fun, but it's also very different and I'm not an adventurous food person. It took me 24 years just to try sushi. :rolleyes1 Either way I've heard some great things about the food so it should be a good time.
jiko-the-cooking-place.jpg

I'm a real fan of Boma. I've never really looked at the menu for Jiko. I'll be interested in seeing how you like it!


CHEFS de FRANCE
On our last trip we really wanted to eat here. So much so that when we were making our dinning reservations I tried about four or five times to somehow fit it in, it just never seemed to work out. Well this time I'm going to make it work! We both love French style food and especially wine, so I have a feeling this is going to be a hit for us.
les-chefs-de-france.jpg

Another that's on my list for someday! Everything sounds sooo yummy.


VIA NAPOLI
This is by far my favorite restaurant in the World Showcase! This is the only place we will be visiting that one of us has eaten at before. I just love this place every time I go. Italian cuisine is one of my all time favorites and the pizza just doesn't disappoint. I mean, even if you don't want pizza the rest of their menu fills in just fine as well. The last time I visited the World with my family we liked this place so much we went for two different meals. Just look at how good this pizza looks, it's making me hungry already!
images

You won me over with that pizza. That looks delicious!


ROUND UP
Overall I'm very excited about our food prospects on this trip. I am starting to get worried about how it's all going to work out though. I'm 198 days out and the hours for September haven't even begun to be posted yet. I just want a rough outline, so I know where to place my ADR's when the 180 day window hits. Is that too much to ask? :confused3

I've always found that frustrating as well. I want time to plan my park days, and THEN fit in my ADRs.
Of course, this year I've got nothing to complain about, I won't be doing any of that. I am planning to review all the quick service locations to see if there are any new ones to visit this time around. I KNOW we'll be going to the Backstage (?) one behind Indiana Jones and Wolfgang Puck Express at DD if we can manage it. We ALL loved those two on the last trip!!

Your plans are sounding great!
 
The park hours have FINALLY been posted for our trip. I thought I would leave them here for future reference. Since these were finally posted I should be able to figure out what my plans are for the week as far as which park when and what to do with our ADR schedule. Stay tuned! :wave:

MONDAY 9/9
  • MAGIC KINGDOM 9a-10p Wishes @ 10p
  • EPCOT 9a-9p Illuminations @ 9p
  • HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS 9a-8:30p Fantasmic @ 8:30p (PM EMH)
  • ANIMAL KINGDOM 9a-5p (AM EMH)

TUESDAY 9/10
  • MAGIC KINGDOM 9a-7p
  • EPCOT 9a-9p Illuminations @ 9p (AM EMH)
  • HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS 9a-8:30p Fantasmic @ 8:30p
  • ANIMAL KINGDOM 9a-5p

WEDNESDAY 9/11
  • MAGIC KINGDOM 9a-10p Wishes @ 10p
  • EPCOT 9a-9p Illuminations @ 9p (2PM EMH)
  • HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS 9a-8:30p Fantasmic @ 8:30p
  • ANIMAL KINGDOM 9a-5p

THRUSDAY 9/12
  • MAGIC KINGDOM 9a-10p Wishes @ 10p (AM EMH)
  • EPCOT 9a-9p Illuminations @ 9p
  • HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS 9a-8:30p Fantasmic @ 8:30p
  • ANIMAL KINGDOM 9a-5p

FRIDAY 9/13
  • MAGIC KINGDOM 9a-7p
  • EPCOT 9a-9p Illuminations @ 9p
  • HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS 9a-8:30p Fantasmic @ 8:30p
  • ANIMAL KINGDOM 9a-5p (AM EMH)
 
I was trying to get this up here this weekend but every chance I had was thwarted by Hannah. I'm not taking a chance and ruining this surprise, it's simply become too big for me to ruin it now :goodvibes

Anyway, here is my touring plan for us. I hope you enjoy. :cool1:

MONDAY
  • Animal Kingdom EMH
  • Wild Africa Trek @ 9 or 10am
    • PROPOSAL!
    • This takes care of lunch
  • Dinner @ O'Hana
    • WISHES!

TUESDAY
  • Epcot EMH
    • Goal is to get Futureworld done
  • Magic Kingdom around lunchtime
    • Goal is to get minor rides done and FP any major rides we can
  • Dinner @ California Grill

WEDNESDAY
  • MGM Rope drop
    • We're staying all day in this park until our ADR
    • This is our only real time in this park
  • Dinner @ Jiko or Sanaa

THURSDAY
  • Magic Kingdom EMH
    • Straight to New Fantasyland
    • Get done anything we haven't done yet.
  • Epcot around Lunchtime
  • Dinner @ Via Napoli
  • ILLUMINATIONS!

FRIDAY
  • FREE DAY!
    • Do anything we missed or want to re-ride
  • Lunch @ Chef de France
  • FANTASMIC!
    • There may be a Friday the 13th party in MGM after this.
 
I was trying to get this up here this weekend but every chance I had was thwarted by Hannah. I'm not taking a chance and ruining this surprise, it's simply become too big for me to ruin it now :goodvibes

Anyway, here is my touring plan for us. I hope you enjoy. :cool1:

MONDAY
  • Animal Kingdom EMH
  • Wild Africa Trek @ 9 or 10am
    • PROPOSAL!
    • This takes care of lunch
  • Dinner @ O'Hana
    • WISHES!

TUESDAY
  • Epcot EMH
    • Goal is to get Futureworld done
  • Magic Kingdom around lunchtime
    • Goal is to get minor rides done and FP any major rides we can
  • Dinner @ California Grill

WEDNESDAY
  • MGM Rope drop
    • We're staying all day in this park until our ADR
    • This is our only real time in this park
  • Dinner @ Jiko or Sanaa

THURSDAY
  • Magic Kingdom EMH
    • Straight to New Fantasyland
    • Get done anything we haven't done yet.
  • Epcot around Lunchtime
  • Dinner @ Via Napoli
  • ILLUMINATIONS!

FRIDAY
  • FREE DAY!
    • Do anything we missed or want to re-ride
  • Lunch @ Chef de France
  • FANTASMIC!
    • There may be a Friday the 13th party in MGM after this.

Looks like a great game plan!
 
I guess it appears I have a fair amount of readers, but not many commentators. Where is everyone at!? Don't be shy! I don't bite. At least I hope it's shyness, otherwise that just means I'm not interesting enough. :sad1: Good news is I'm just 12 days away from ADRs! :cool1:

I thought I would start with my ride lists and priorities in today's post:

Magic Kingdom

YES!
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Space Mountain
  • Splash Mountain
  • Haunted Mansion (One of my favorites)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean (One of her favorites, loves the movies)
  • Mickey's Philharmagic (Both loved this one last time)
  • Peoplemover (We both like how relaxing this ride is)
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle (Her favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast)
  • Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (Too funny to skip)
  • Under the Sea
  • It's A Small World (Classic)
  • Jungle Cruise (Classic)
  • Disney World Railway

Maybe
  • Tomorrowland Speedway (I'm sad we didn't do this one last time)
  • Enchanted Tiki Room (she needs to experience this classic)
  • Tom Sawyer Island (If we're looking for a way to relax)
  • Peter Pan's Flight (If the line is short)
  • Mad Tea Party (she doens't like spinny rides so this is up in the air)
  • Astro Orbiter (I miss riding this ride)
  • Dumbo (only if we feel like it because it's a classic)
  • Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (She hated this one last time)

No
  • Barnstormer (doesn't interest us)
  • Country Bear Jamboree (Same as above)
  • Hall of Presidents (Did this two years ago, hasn't changed)
  • Stich's Great Escape (Did this last time, she wasn't impressed)
  • Carousel of Progress (Same as above)
 





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