"No, We're Not Getting Married at Disney!" a 2018 tripS report - update 10/25 AKL food + DHS Day

[pepperandchips]

That sounds just about perfect. When my mom got married, because it was her second wedding she wanted to keep things small, and she also had her heart set on a venue that could only really comfortably accommodate about 50 people. She had such a hard time narrowing it down to so few guests. But giant weddings of 150-200++ people can be super hard on the budget, and feel really impersonal. I think 85 is just right.

We had a hard time narrowing down the guest list too. I felt ruthless! But it turns out that the amount that I estimated when I initially contacted Wahoo was the EXACT number that accepted and attended (85), plus about 4 kids, which we only had to pay for one of and he was $9 It felt big enough that we had a great time dancing but small enough that we got to say hi to everyone and that didn't take all night.

Since you are so sweet to indulge my wedding shenanigans I wanted to share one more of my favorite photos, this is the $9 guest:

My cousin said to him that she wanted to take our picture, so I knelt down to be about his height and he knelt down too This is one of my favorite pictures of the whole day.

Your flowers are amazing! I was so shocked to find out that...

...you did them yourself!?!?! You did such a beautiful job! Floral is so stupidly expensive, and you really had the best of both worlds getting exactly what you wanted but not totally breaking the bank. I'm sure it was a ton of work though!

It honestly wasn't that bad! Especially with helpers. My mom, sister, and aunt came to my house on Friday morning and we made everything and then went to lunch. But my house did look like this for the weekend....

Good thing we had that Airbnb

Amazing!! You'd never know that you didn't spend a fortune, because it looks fabulous. But how great that you found a dress that worked for you for such a great price! My dress ended up being one of the priorities, because I'd seen a dress I wanted years before and had already envisioned wearing it for my wedding, so when I was able to find it I knew I had to have it! But since it had been discontinued a few months prior to me starting my shopping, I ended up getting a sample dress that was on sale for about $1000 CAD, plus a few alterations. This still felt very expensive to me for a dress I intended to wear once, but I know there are people out there who pay 5x that much. But had I not found that one, the other two dresses I looked at that I liked the most were $200 and $500, and our budget would have loved it if I'd gone with one of those instead!

Your dress was perfect though and you looked like a doll! (I mean that in a complimentary way.) I just went and looked at your first look photos again to remind myself what your dress looked like and now I'm crying all over again... I blame (credit?) you, Alyssa, and Fallon for getting me obsessed with Disney weddings!!!

And way to go with the sample dress! That's still really reasonable compared to what other people spend.

Your photos are beautiful! Though it's too bad that they aren't exactly the style you had in mind when you booked.

Thank you! I still can't figure out if it's that we had bad/cloudy lighting or if it's the editing. I am secretly (or maybe not so secretly) petty so I did this side by side comparison of our edited photos and a photo one of my guests took of the same centerpiece

It's ultimately what gave me the courage to ask my photographers for some "less edited" shots of my floral. They still came back to me looking weird, but I didn't feel right complaining again.

For what it's worth, my cousin is a professional photographer (though not for weddings) and her photos are edited very similarly to our professional photos, so I decided just to be glad for what I got at the price we paid and move on. After all, they're only flowers.

 

[pepperandchips]

Very lovely Melinda! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us!

Thank you so much! I am glad you all indulged me. It was a big day for me so I figured some people might enjoy reading about it and everyone else can just keep scrolling

Loving your report!

Your Il Mulino dinner is exactly what I just had a few weeks ago. I loved the Red Head drink and the Rigatoni with mushrooms is my favorite thing!! Yum!

Thank you! Yes, it's definitely "the thing" to order at Il Mulino! SO delicious.

I also go the tiramisu to go! I plan to get this exact same thing in October when we go back for our first adult trip without the kiddos!

I guess you like the Swan/Dolphin lol!

We haven't stayed before but I have been checking it out for for a possible future trip. It looks like a great place for an adult only trip.

It is perfect for an adults-only trip. If I am being honest for the way we do Disney (long weekends, mostly, and no kids) it's the best fit for us due to a combination of the proximity to the parks, the Heavenly beds, and the pool complex! We love it and usually get much better rates than even at Disney moderates.

I'm excited to check out the Festival of Arts in Jan of next year (provided they are still doing it) - it seems like another fun new experience in Disney!

Hopefully so! I don't know what's up with Food and Wine this year, but otherwise they seem to be on a hot streak of adding festivals and adding to the existing festivals so I hope it comes back again!

OMG your wedding...it's like a magazine! So chic and beautiful! I love all your details, and especially your aloha-tiki theme, the hawaiian shirts, and your flowers were so beautiful and love the pineapples on the tablescape! And you guys look amazing, stunning! Food looks delicious too!

Thank you so much! It was the single best day of my life and the most fun party I've been to! ... and fun to reflect on here. And the food was great too! Even though I did not get to have any of the Wahoo desserts, we had so much leftover dessert from our family stuff we gorged ourselves the week after the wedding

 

[pepperandchips]

Same. I love the Mary Poppins print, but I got the Dogs print and am resigned to carry it forever

I just noticed that one of the cover post thingies on the side of my bag has popped off and it looks like I lost a piece of trim. I may be in the market after all... I've carried this same one every day for over a year, so I guess I got my money's worth. My issue is that I'm really into this shape and usually the bags that I want (the festival ones, especially) don't come in the crossbody shape I want.

Hmm, another point for getting APs and a TIW card again...

I'm a bad influence, but yep.

I'm adding their show schedule to my planning spreadsheet, we haven't had a chance to stop and watch the AK entertainment

Yes!!! They also finally added these times to the app, which is way more helpful than my old method of "lurk around Harambe and cross your fingers"

We love the Dolphin, but on our wedding trip it took them two days to get the tray/ice bucket from the hallway. We also got a new coffee cup but no actual coffee and they never did take the mimosa glasses... They were empty, and I moved them to different places around the room, but they still didn't pick them up. That seemed odd to me.

I think their poor housekeepers are just overworked. We've never had a real issue (have run into the same small things as you) thank goodness, but Disney mousekeeping has issues occasionally too so I try not to be too critical.

Sending this idea to Zack, though I'll have to get him to branch out past the Nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow! He did bring up sharing snacks/QS meals last night, I was super proud because I've been encouraging that so we could eat more things!

Yes! There are always so many snacks I put on my lists and then finally get around to trying... like 4 trips later...

Such a gorgeous wedding! What a great venue to find too! All of your photos are just Your floral is AMAZING! So great you were able to get exactly what you wanted that way. Floral can be pretty outrageous, I got a quote around Denver that was something like $3000+ before they even asked what kind of flowers I was thinking!

Thank you so much!!! Yeah, my coworker recommended a neighbor who started a floral business out of her basement and now has a schmancy place in Atlanta. Her MINIMUM to even talk to you is $3,000. I was like HARD PASS! My mom is so cute, she kept refreshing them at home and they actually lived for several weeks.

Luckily I did have Aly to direct some photos for me She was a lifesaver, but there's some I thought of after the fact or when looking through our photos when we got them back. Zack just says, oh well we'll have to have a vow renewal!

Yeah I appointed a friend to use her teacher voice for this purpose, but I really wanted to get more individual photos with our guests since we had a wedding on the smaller side. Oh well, live and learn. And I like Zack's plan!!!

 

[pepperandchips]

looking forward to following along. Love your wedding pictures Especially the informal ones.

Thank you! Glad to have you here!!!

 

[kastoney]

Thanks for sharing inside your wedding. I love, love, love everything you did. You did an amazing job of making it all so personal, intimate, and uniquely you guys. And your photos all came out beautifully. Of course they had a great canvas

 

[pepperandchips]

OMG I love your wedding so much and you are the most beautiful bride! If I ever get married, I want you to plan mine, k thanks!

Haha! Okay YES! If you're like me, it's going to be pretty much the most non-wedding wedding ever, which I loved!

Psh, he loves it now, there's no denying!

I know right. He keeps clarifying things like "I never said I didn't like disney, I said I wish we went other place more often" I'm like PSH I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID IN ANGER, MISTER!!!

but he's going back (at least) twice in the next four months.

OMG YOU ARE LEAVING THIS WEEK!!!!

Why did this make me tear up? WHY?

Because Lava is the sweetest song ever? I knew I couldn't include "Married Life" as a recessional or I'd have lost my stuff. I cry every time I think about Up, so this was a great compromise. Plus... vaguely Hawaiian!

OMG you're so beautiful! Absolutely love your dress and hair and bouquet and ALL OF IT!

Perfect centerpieces!

Thank you, not sure which of these compliments I like best

I love the idea of having a family recipe cake so much.

Several of my friends have done this so I can't claim credit for an original idea. My friend Dot had a BUNCH of homemade cakes, like 15 or something! It was amazing. Okay I just found a photo and it was more like 10. I didn't even remember that they had an "official" wedding cake. Maybe it was fake?

And another friend had her GRANDPA make her cakes. It was so cute.

Mutual weirdness forever!

(that's us, two weird bananas)

 

[pepperandchips]

Your wedding portrait is gorgeous and the wedding looks amazing!

Thank you so much! It was the most amazing day ever!

Yeah, that's a bit weird!

But I love the tiki theme of your wedding! Definitely seemed to give a casual, fun atmosphere!

Thank you! Yes, the beans are still like the funniest part of the day to me. It was amazing, surprise beans and all!

I'm super late but I'm in! OMG your wedding was absolutely beautiful. Y'all did an amazing job, congrats!

YAY FARAH! So so glad you found my report! And thank you for the compliments. It was amazing. I promise I will get back to the Disney stuff now

 

[pepperandchips]

Hi Melinda! Joining in on another one of your fab reports...First off, let me say that you are one of the gals I am looking most forward to meeting in May (EPIC Girl's Trip)...You seem so fun!!!!

That is so sweet! I am absolutely looking forward to meeting you too, especially after hearing about how much fun Ariane had with you and Joe! I'm sure we'll be as thick as thieves by the end of the weekend...

Second, your wedding looks absolutely beautiful, especially your dress and the flowers...

THANK YOU! I am glad I didn't bore everyone away from the report, haha.

Finally, the french toast at the GFC is totally on my list in October. We have breakfast ressies there on the 8th. I am also dying to try the magic bars at WL in May. I remember @ariane37 telling me about them, and they do look delicious!!!!

Oh, two of my very favorite things! That french toast is evil and amazing and I'm not even usually a sweet breakfast person, I am usually all about some kind of savory biscuit thing. Definitely worth a try! And the magic cookie bars are just heavenly. They are popular though so if they're out when you first visit, I suggest consoling yourself at Geyser Point and trying again. A drink or three usually keeps me from being too sad anyway

Melinda, I love your dining reports and am excited to read more about your 2018 Disney trips! I also really appreciate all your advice on the We Love Bonnet Creek thread as that is where we stay (and love it!). You had such a beautiful wedding, it looks like everyone was having a blast.

That is so kind! Yes, I always try to chime in and help people on the Bonnet Creek thread as I was in real disbelief that anyone could LOOOOOOOOOOOVE an offsite resort that much, until I stayed there. Then I got it Definitely a different pace of vacation when we are there! Glad to have you here for the rest of the year's shenanigans!!!

I had to come out of my lurkdome to tell you how wonderful your wedding photos Are. You were an absolutely beautiful bride! The flowers and venue looked lovely. Everything looked well thought out and perfect. Congratulations and thanks so much for sharing.

That is the highest and best compliment I could receive as I have a tendency to be a bit of a report lurker, especially when my phone decides to be naughty and constantly crash the Dis site.

Thank you so much for the kind words about the wedding and I appreciate everyone indulging my re-telling of my big day! It was too special not to share.

 

[pepperandchips]

Oh I just LOVE this idea!!! They are just soooo goood!!!

YES THEY WERE!!! I think R just ate the last one this past weekend. We had to keep all the broken ones of course a few might have accidentally on purpose gotten broken as well. Can you believe I had not had them until we ordered them for the wedding? I was googling "pineapple shaped cookie" for favors and then lo and behold the world famous Honolulu Cookie Company showed up. They were the perfect solution as I hated the thought of giving people favors they would inevitably throw away. My work friends told me that their boyfriends took pockets full of them (they were among the last to leave and I was practically foisting cookies on people). It was fantastic!

Melinda, your wedding was incredible, thank you so much for sharing-it has totally inspired me!

Thank you for reading along and commenting! I always loved reading about other people's weddings so I am glad someone enjoyed mine too

I really like the picture of you two cutting the cake (oh that topper is the best too) and the picture of you guys laughing at the Air bnb. The Aloha shirt for you hubby under the suit jacket is perfect and you made a gorgeous bride!

Congratulations!!!!

The cake cutting photo is one of my favorites. A lot of our "goofing off" pictures are at the top of my list, actually.

And thank you!

Congrats! It looks like you had a beautiful day!

Thank you so much, it was so special!!! Thank you for reading along and commenting

Thanks for sharing inside your wedding. I love, love, love everything you did. You did an amazing job of making it all so personal, intimate, and uniquely you guys. And your photos all came out beautifully. Of course they had a great canvas

THANK YOU!!! How could I not share with my best Dis friends? I share every calorie I eat and drink on vacation, after all It really was "us", I am glad it came through that way. Except the beans, those weren't us.

 

[pepperandchips]

#MindieMouseBach, April 5-9, 2018

Ah, the April trip. Maybe my best Disney trip ever (though aren't they all?!) The "who, what, when, where, and why" of this trip is definitely the most fun one ever! My best girlfriends were converging in Walt Disney World for a girls weekend and a bachelorette party for yours truly!



The idea came about at the end of July 2017 when I went out for cocktails with some friends. The idea of a Disney bachelorette as a "grown up spring break" was born! At first I was a bit reluctant to do a Disney bachelorette because I know that trips to Walt Disney World are expensive and require a good bit of planning to execute well, and I didn't want to ask my friends to spend that kind of time or money on a bachelorette. But, as you probably all know from the questions we all get as "Disney people", many of my friends had been watching me make these repeated Disney trips and were kind of interested in why I loved it so much. Others were Disney addicts themselves. So it turns out I had a pretty good number for the right size bachelorette and gave it the green light! We ended up being a party of 7 for the majority of the time. Here we are with my best girl!



My sweet friend "E" (she has an unusual name, so I don't want to use it just for her privacy) took the reins on planning but made sure to include me in all of the "big decisions". We bandied about several options for rooms and ended up finding a good rate on a double deluxe alcove room at the Dolphin with a connecting double room. The idea was that everyone would have their own bed and we'd also have the sitting area to just hang out together, play games, etc. A couple of my other friends, including Sarah, who joined R and I for our October 2017 trip, got another room in the Dolphin that ended up being on another floor, but it worked out that we were all at the same resort. Another of my friends now lives in Orlando, so she stayed at her home and met us for a couple days' festivities.


(the friend on the far right in the above picture is the one who recommended my wedding venue, told you she was great!)

Enough back story! Let's get to the fun!

I thought that I understood from a girls' night out with E that we were all planning to fly, so I pounced when I found a good rate on a Delta flight. Turns out, a couple of my friends ended up driving and a couple flew. #bridefail Of course, to get the good rate I found (and maximize my Disney time, obviously) I flew out at the crack of dawn, with a 6:55 departure time. The security line was terrible so I had just enough time to make it to the gate. Breakfast would have to wait!

At 8:01, I snapped this picture of the Magic Kingdom from the plane!!!



WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T SEE IT?!



Yeah, my nose was pretty much glued to the window.



My friend Sarah lives in central Florida now, so she was coming to pick me up from the airport. Small problem: major unanticipated traffic.



Nevermind, I was going to Disney World! I got some chick-fil-a for breakfast at MCO, snagged my bag at baggage claim, and sat on a bench to kill time and write thank you notes while I waited on Sarah to come get me.

Excited cheese

By about 9:45, we were on the road from MCO to the most magical place on earth! We went to the Dolphin to stow our bags with bell services and get Sarah's car parked, and then beat a path to Epcot!



Priorities! I then proceeded to conduct a photo shoot with my beloved...





Anything for a good report photo, right? This was, of course, the best thing at the festival (at least to some of us ) La Vie en Rose Frozen Slushy: Grey Goose Orange, St. Germain Liqueur, White and Red Cranberry Juice – $10.75 Anyone wanna make a wager on how many of these I had over the weekend? (Don't accept this bet, I don't know the answer)

Next we went over to Florida Fresh and decided to share a couple of things to conserve tummy space



Spicy Blackened Shrimp and Stone-ground Cheddar Cheese Grits with Brown Gravy and Local Sweet Corn Relish – $6.75. This is not what we call "brown gravy" in my neck o' the woods, but nevertheless this is an amazing dish that I wish you could get at epcot in this portion size year round. Rich and flavorful, super delicious! And a nice portion for the price. Although I could do without all that corn!



Carne Guisada with Black Bean Cake and Cilantro Lime Sour Cream – $6.50. My real favorite dish of the festival, I think. The slow cooked beef is just succulent and the entire thing is packed with yummy southwest-type flavors. I love the black bean cake and the fresh pico de gallo. Springtime perfection!



Quat's this, you ask? Tampa Bay Brewing Company Quat Seasonal Fruit Ale – $4.25. I don't know why I continue to order fruit beers when I know I don't like them... they just all sound good.



"Oh, that's alright. He can call me a flower if he wants to; I don't mind.”



If you are trying to beat the crowds, may I suggest 11:47 am on a Thursday for a shot of the Snow White topiary with no people in it. (This was unbelievable to me, I was in heaven)



These panda topiaries were just too cute.



I had managed to finish all 6 ounces of beer in the 20 minutes between Florida Fresh and China, so I grabbed a drink that's actually available year round, but I find intriguing and still can't decide if I like, despite continuing to order it....



BaiJoe Punch: Chinese Bai Jiu Spirit, Lychee, Coconut and Pineapple Juice – $11.00. Weird, but full size. And the China CMs pour a nice heavy handed cocktail.



Next up, Sarah had to have the Warm Wild Berry Buckle with Pepper Berry Gelato – $4.50. These tend to be hit or miss, in my experience. The buckle part was just ok in this serving, but the gelato is always a winner in my book!

I was really excited about making ears for all my friends, so I had to make some for me too. I loved these!



However, I had heard that the violet lemonade was only so-so (YES I KNOW IT'S DISNEY INSTAGRAM BLASPHEMY) and instead tried the violet lemonade beer... I think... maybe it wasn't this day since I don't have a photo of it.



No matter which day it was that I had the violet lemonade beer, I didn't care for that much because someone put fruit flavoring in beer. But it was better than the 'Quat beer.

Speaking of dumb names, we next went over to the Honey Bee-stro:



Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake with Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream garnished with Fennel Pollen Meringue Kisses – $4.75. It's hard to tell from the photo but the honey drizzle was SPARKLY!!!! This also tasted really great and was surprisingly light. If you could just get meringue kisses, I would have ordered a dozen!



We also split the Honey Tandoori Chicken Flatbread with White Cheddar Cheese, charred vegetables, Clover Honey Sour Cream and Micro Watercress ($5.25) which was good but the toppings were inconsistent and I think we got like one piece of chicken. Tasty, though! Maybe not a great value compared to some of the other savory options.

By that point we were getting kinda hot and wanted to rest or go to the pool, so we started moseying back toward the Dolphin. Our other friends had also checked in and let us know they were closing in on Disney! On the way back around Crescent Lake, I wanted to stop for a drink at Hurricane Hannah's I'd heard highly lauded by some Dis dining buddies



Frose – Featuring Meiomi Rosé and Tito’s Handmade Vodka – $11.00

Okay, so a moment of backstory before sharing my opinion... I waltzed up to the pool bar and confidently ordered two of these puppies while Sarah snagged a table. The bartender was so sad and told me they "didn't have the mix" to make them. I should have known Disney is not just pouring frozen rose into a blender with vodka and selling it for $11, but I was surprised anyway. I went to go tell Sarah and get her second choice and the bartender called to me and told me that literally just that minute someone had brought them more mix. Which I saw and it was like from a giant commercial jug of dark red Kool-aid looking thick syrup, similar to this but I did not see if this was the brand:

I should have passed, but I was excited to try it, so we did! Neither of us liked it. It tasted very artificial. I don't know if ours were made wrong or what, but I'm not rushing back to try another one.

Around this point, more of our friends had arrived so we were able to check in and get our rooms. After we got some shenanigans sorted out with being given the wrong room type, we headed down to the pool and I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing like this



Up next: girls' night at the "Bo DWalk!"

 

[paradesintherain]

The idea of a Disney bachelorette as a "grown up spring break" was born!

Oh this sounds really fun! If I ever get married I'm gonna copy your bachelorette and your wedding!

My sweet friend "E" (she has an unusual name, so I don't want to use it just for her privacy)

My life!

I flew out at the crack of dawn, with a 6:55 departure time.

Sounds miserable! Dreading my 5:10 flight

How cool! Even after you pointed it out I couldn't see Contemporary or Spaceship Earth. I mean I see the blobs but they don't look like recognizable shapes

These two I can definitely tell what they are!

First things first! I would expect nothing less!

Quat's this, you ask? Tampa Bay Brewing Company Quat Seasonal Fruit Ale – $4.25.

Those are soooo pretty!! Have you ever made Lion King inspired ears? I'm getting very tempted to beg you to make me some!!!

Yum gimme!

I should have passed, but I was excited to try it, so we did! Neither of us liked it. It tasted very artificial. I don't know if ours were made wrong or what, but I'm not rushing back to try another one.

Ok nevermind, keep it!

Around this point, more of our friends had arrived so we were able to check in and get our rooms.

I hope the next installment includes room pictures! So curious what this alcove room looks like!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

That is so sweet! I am absolutely looking forward to meeting you too, especially after hearing about how much fun Ariane had with you and Joe! I'm sure we'll be as thick as thieves by the end of the weekend...

Here's hoping!!!!! CHEERS!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

You're off to a great start!!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I love the idea of a Disney bachelorette, and you girls are so cute!! The ears are amazing, I didn't know you made your own!
I'm gonna have to get my sister to try her hand at this since she's the only crafty one.

You look great for 6am in the morning and as usual with perfect hair!!

Priorities! I then proceeded to conduct a photo shoot with my beloved...

Yes, priorities!!

I was really excited about making ears for all my friends, so I had to make some for me too. I loved these!

They are so pretty! You think I can youtube how to make ears?

I should have passed, but I was excited to try it, so we did! Neither of us liked it. It tasted very artificial. I don't know if ours were made wrong or what, but I'm not rushing back to try another one.

Interesting, I would never know they had some special koolaid syrup thing just for frose...but thanks for letting me know and I'll pass. Have you tried the ones from Amorettes yet?

 

[Chelley00]

How does your hair look so perfect at 6:55am?

I love the ears. I need some *because I'm going back in 36 days!" So much for 2 canceled trips. I get 2 make ups in months.

 

[pepperandchips]

Oh this sounds really fun! If I ever get married I'm gonna copy your bachelorette and your wedding!

Yes please. Also can I come?

My life!

I love your name, it's so pretty!

Sounds miserable! Dreading my 5:10 flight

I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING THE BEST TIME EVER ON YOUR TRIP AND I WISH I WAS THERE TOO

Those are soooo pretty!! Have you ever made Lion King inspired ears? I'm getting very tempted to beg you to make me some!!!

Thank you! I haven't done lion king yet, but then again it's hard for me to think outside of "colors" - I am not sure what I would do for Lion King but I could probably think on it and come up with something.

I hope the next installment includes room pictures! So curious what this alcove room looks like!

Errrrr..... I was a bad trip reporter... again, I wasn't sure this was going to become anything more than a dining report and I really wasn't even planning on writing about the bachelorette meals, necessarily, but I found some room photos online so hopefully those will do in a pinch

You're off to a great start!!!

Thank you!

 

[pepperandchips]

I love the idea of a Disney bachelorette, and you girls are so cute!! The ears are amazing, I didn't know you made your own!
I'm gonna have to get my sister to try her hand at this since she's the only crafty one.

They are so pretty! You think I can youtube how to make ears?

Yes, definitely look on youtube! I will say though, that by the time you buy decent headbands, wire, hot glue supplies (maybe you or Su-Queen already have that though) and assorted flowers you can probably just buy them less expensively on Etsy. My tips are to make sure that you watch youtube tutorials but then think about comfort - so like a handful of the youtube videos I've seen show people just wrapping wire around a headband and calling that done. I wrap the wire for the ears around the headband, then electrical tape over that, then glue on ribbon to the inside of the headband. You don't want your hair snagged in loose wire!

This lady actually got inspired by my ears and made a photo tutorial!!! https://pinkcakeplate.com/diy-wire-floral-mickey-mouse-ears/ That's not how I attach my ears, I wire them all the way around the headband, but still. You can do it.

You look great for 6am in the morning and as usual with perfect hair!!

I'll send your $20 in the mail too That was probably the LAST time my hair looked good in Orlando, I hadn't set foot out of the airport yet! Florida humidity kills any semblance of style.

Interesting, I would never know they had some special koolaid syrup thing just for frose...but thanks for letting me know and I'll pass. Have you tried the ones from Amorettes yet?

I know, that never even occurred to me! I was shocked. I haven't had the Amorette's version. I've never been to Amorette's actually but I am hoping to get there on my August trip... It's my birthday after all, I think I'll need cake!!!

How does your hair look so perfect at 6:55am?

Ha, well, this was after some caffeine and it was more like 9:00 am but thank you I credit my curling iron, I love it!

https://www.amazon.com/BaBylissPRO-...=1-4&keywords=babyliss+pro+nano+titanium&th=1

I love the ears. I need some *because I'm going back in 36 days!" So much for 2 canceled trips. I get 2 make ups in months.

Oh my gosh, yay! Where are you staying this time? Are you bringing the kids?

 

[pepperandchips]

So, this is definitely NOT a true PTR post, but I am so excited with a secret I am about to pop and no one else in my life is even mildly interested in this, so I figured I will share with y'all!!!

PTR Detail for our Thanksgiving Trip:

I accidentally read a review of the reimagined Yuletide Fantasy tour while I was over on Allears checking out some menus or something. Deb was invited to a media Christmas in July preview and so she shared what she could about the new version of the tour.

Now, you may remember that we LOATHED the Yuletide Fantasty tour we took as part of our blowout, no holds barred, bid farewell to the platinum package trip. If you want to read my review of it you can find the full post here: Melinda's Scathing Review of the Boringest Tour Ever

Since I doubt most of you are rushing off to read about what I hated, here's an abbreviated version:

This one would have been $210.87 for two adults, and unfortunately I do not recommend this tour. My notes regarding Yuletide Fantasy say "bit of a bust" and as someone who is ordinarily fascinated by any bit of Disney trivia or history, it's pathetic that during most of the tour I was... bored. There, I said it, this tour was boring. I was so looking forward to seeing a bit of the magic that goes into the resort decor, and the holiday warehouse of decorations really was fascinating and amazing to behold. Aside from that, we spent way too long on stage in a regular guest area in Epcot listening to our guide tell us some of the stories behind different types of Christmas ornaments, the history of Christmas carols, and largely fight with his microphone equipment which wasn't working properly. Oh, and scraping bird poo off of a box of Christmas ornaments he was using as a prop for discussion when he sat it down on one of those high top tables that had been "ornamented" in and of itself by the Florida wildlife...

We spent about 5 minutes in Magic Kingdom, 4 of which were spent standing on East Center Street listening to the tale of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the other 1 minute we briefly looked at the garland on the hat shop on Main Street. Fortunately, I'd managed to stow some Famous Amos in my bag for consumption on the bus between stops as our final destination where we were given a snack was the Territory Lounge where we were served some cider that was... spicy.

(The word I wanted to use was disgusting but that's not very descriptive, is it?) I think it had too many cloves or something as it had a very strong licorice taste (and I LIKE licorice so I am not sure how this went wrong). You can't really tell but the cider was served in shot-glass sized mason jars. No complaints here since I didn't even drink what was served. The tour guide then spent at least 30 minutes talking about pine cones and I think R would have killed me if I weren't so upset already at having wasted our morning on this tour. Side note: we got these nice rice krispie mickey treats.

Anyway, back to the here and now, WHY ON EARTH WOULD I BOOK A TOUR I HATED AGAIN?! Well, first, I love my mother and she was jealous and wanted to do this tour too. Second, they have totally changed up the tour, based on Deb's review. It looks like you don't go to the parks at all anymore (thank goodness, that was 90% of the snooze fest) and instead spend your tour visiting the backstage holiday decor warehouse (the COOLEST part of our tour), plus you get to visit DISNEY FLORAL HEADQUARTERS and then you end the tour at Amorette's getting to decorate your own gingerbread treat. So that sounds amazing and like experiences you couldn't just get for free on your own in the park!

They did raise the price but I am a sucker and dropped the money (there is an AP discount) for me, Mom, and R to do this on the Tuesday of our turkey day trip.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SURPRISE MY MOM

Now... how long do we think I will be able to sit on this news?

 

[kastoney]

How fun! Bachelorette party in Disney sounds like perfection to me!

flew out at the crack of dawn, with a 6:55 departure time. The security line was terrible so I had just enough time to make it to the gate. Breakfast would have to wait!

Our flight next month leaves at about the same time. God help me.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T SEE IT?!

I a. have never in our our flights seen the and b. even if I had no chance I would have been able to make that out. Good on you for being able to see all of this.

Excited cheese

Cleary you are ready for no fun at all.

Carne Guisada with Black Bean Cake and Cilantro Lime Sour Cream – $6.50. My real favorite dish of the festival, I think. The slow cooked beef is just succulent and the entire thing is packed with yummy southwest-type flavors. I love the black bean cake and the fresh pico de gallo. Springtime perfection!

Yum to the Um to the Yum Yum Yum! This looks and sounds awesome!

BaiJoe Punch: Chinese Bai Jiu Spirit, Lychee, Coconut and Pineapple Juice – $11.00. Weird, but full size. And the China CMs pour a nice heavy handed cocktail.

I don't think I've ever heard of this but weird or not I suddenly feel the need to try one.

Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake with Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream garnished with Fennel Pollen Meringue Kisses – $4.75. It's hard to tell from the photo but the honey drizzle was SPARKLY!!!! This also tasted really great and was surprisingly light. If you could just get meringue kisses, I would have ordered a dozen!

This is absolutely jealous and doesn't at all reflect its $4.75 price tag.

Okay, so a moment of backstory before sharing my opinion... I waltzed up to the pool bar and confidently ordered two of these puppies while Sarah snagged a table. The bartender was so sad and told me they "didn't have the mix" to make them. I should have known Disney is not just pouring frozen rose into a blender with vodka and selling it for $11, but I was surprised anyway. I went to go tell Sarah and get her second choice and the bartender called to me and told me that literally just that minute someone had brought them more mix. Which I saw and it was like from a giant commercial jug of dark red Kool-aid looking thick syrup, similar to this but I did not see if this was the brand:

Yuck and thank you. This was so in my cross hairs for our trip next month and now I know to stick to something else

 

[pepperandchips]

Our flight next month leaves at about the same time. God help me.

I still get that little-kid bouncing around excited about Disney jolt of adrenaline so it wasn't too bad. I just wasn't expecting that gnarly security line at TSA. Usually Atlanta has things pretty streamlined. I'll be crossing my fingers for a smooth trip for you guys!

I a. have never in our our flights seen the and b. even if I had no chance I would have been able to make that out. Good on you for being able to see all of this

It was easier to see from the air, honest! I would never have been able to pick it out in those photos!

Cleary you are ready for no fun at all.

I don't think I've ever heard of this but weird or not I suddenly feel the need to try one.

Good news, they have it year round at the China drink stand thingy!!! I see one in your near future...

This is absolutely jealous and doesn't at all reflect its $4.75 price tag.

Soooo good! I hope they bring back that same booth this year! I'd heard that this was the same dish that was created by le cellier and was a finalist for an Orlando award... I don't remember all the details now but it definitely felt high quality!!