angey77
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2001
- Messages
- 2,420
WELCOME TO MY BOOK ON MY WEDDING AND HONEYMOON! Geesh, this is long, but it is filled with some useful info!
Before I get into saying how wonderful the trip was and how together Disney weddings are, let me send out one word of warning: Unless you think hundreds of pre-teen girls screaming cheers all week is cute, avoid Pop Warner week at all costs! More of that later. Now on to park experiences, dining and the wedding!
We arrived Sunday around noon to SSR, rented points through a DVC member. We were happily surprised to check in around noon and find studios were ready for us to check into! yay! The CM was great to Jason and I, noting we were to be married the next day at BW, so she gave us a wonderful studio directly across from PI with a great view of all of DTD and the quiet pool. His family was not so lucky and got a view of Cirque, but only if they REALLY strained their heads out their balcony.
From there we took the wonderfully short walk to DTD, which of course was crowded on a Sunday so close to Christmas. The wait for lunch at Earl of Sandwich was around 10-15 minutes, not that bad considering. We walked back to the studios to clean up for dinner at O'Hana, where we were also meeting my family for a "pre-wedding" dinner. O'Hana never lets me down, and the Lapu Lapu was fantastic! My nieces (13, 10 and four) all enjoyed the coconut races with gummy worms as prizes for finishing.
From there, it was on to MVMCP. We met up with some friends along the way, putting our group at a whopping 16 people! Needless to say, we ended up splitting up most of the night (magical gatherings are hard work!), but MVMCP was also wonderful, as always. Yet, we did notice some small cut-backs since last year. Gone were the armbands that said "MVMCP," replaced with plain plastic bracelets. The snow wasn't falling as much as last year, and the free buttons, well, the CMs at City Hall (where we picked them up last year) had no clue what I was talking about. Oh well. Also, Jungle Cruise was closed during the party. I found that strange since I remember it being open at a MNSSHP last year. But the park was wonderful, didn't even make it to Fantasyland or Toontown. And Stitch ... all I have to say is if you have a weak stomach or have a taste aversion to hot dogs, wear a nose plug during the show. icky!
Monday - the wedding day! I awoke bright and early and met up with my sister and nieces who were staying at Pop in DTD (that walkway is a God send!). From there, we took the longest bus ride on earth - DTD to Beach Club. Over one hour since our bus kinda broke down when trying to get a motorized chair on it. We arrived at B&C for our "bridal lunch" of cheeseburgers and a No Way Jose. I wouldn't have had any other dessert on the biggest day of my life!
Let me say, if anyone is considering a Disney wedding, DO IT! I have seen friends have large weddings at home and be stressed out of their minds the entire time. NOT HERE! Our Disney photographer even made a comment we were the most relaxed party she has seen! We did not have to remind anyone of anything, we were treated wonderfully and everything was perfect. OK, so it might have something to do with my compulsive planning beforehand and countless phone calls and emails to Maxine, our event coordinator, but she is superb anyway! The limo was on time (even a few minutes early), the photographer and videographer (Creative Wedding Video) captured everything, the flowers were beautiful, the cake was delicious,
Rev. Tim was so kind and personable, the champagne, fruit and cheese wonderfully presented .... oh, I could go on and on. But you guys can see for yourself!
Pics are posted at http://albums.proshots.com/disney.
Event is Saucier/Murray and password is 120604.
After the ceremony, which was BEAUTIFUL at sunset at SeaBreeze Point, we limoed over to CG where Jason and I were in the elevator and a little girl wanted to know why I was dressed as a princess. awww! We arrived at CG and were greeted by hundreds of clapping patrons, chefs and wait staff! It was wonderful and soo unexpected! Fifteen minutes after being seated, Wishes began, so the entire wedding party headed outside and watched it from the top of CR. Jason gave me earrings as my wedding present (which I got early and am wearing for the wedding ... they match my engagement ring) and I almost gave him a heart attack with a Nick Saban signed LSU football helmet (we are both alumni and met after an LSU spring football scrimmage game). Food was great, as we remembered from our last visit, and the staff served our wedding cake as dessert and boxed up the rest for us to take with us. Once we were back at SSR, we watched the PI fireworks from our balony and that show really shakes the windows at SSR!
Tuesday, our first day as man and wife (that is so funny to say!). Animal Kingdom. Since we go to WDW pretty regularly, I decided not to go commando, so we only did Lion King, ITTBAB, Dinosaur and Premieval Whirl. All ride posted wait times were running around 15 minutes, but we never waited that long. Jason had Flame Tree ribs for lunch, but I'm not a big BBQ person, so I went with the old McDonald's since it was close. Jason had a free drink stub left over from his AK lunch voucher thingy from the day before, and much to our surprise, he was able to use it even though it says "same day only." Just a hint to all those out there! We then left early to wash up for dinner at Artist Point, which was by far my favorite restaurant for the honeymoon. We went with the three course wine pairings. I had the Smoky Portobello Soup, Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon and Flourless Chocolate Whiskey Cake. Jason had the same dessert and the Crispy Venison Spring Rolls and Grilled Beef Tenderloin. Cannot recommend this place enough for couples. It seemed a bit quiet for children, and when some came in, you knew it!
Wednesday we decided to meet up with Jason's family and show them around MGM a bit. Before I get to that, we left SSR and checked into CR. We were hoping to pay for an upgrade to a tower, but no rooms were avail! What the??? The first week of Dec. and completely booked? Turns out there was ESPN college football things going on and a big convention. Oh well. But we got a north wing garden room overlooking the playground. But we had to spend an hour at the front desk. Seems CRO had a breakdown in their system and CR was showing our deposit was not paid, but the small balance we paid the week before was. OK, so why would Disney hold our room for two months if our deposit was never paid?? So much stress later, it was cleared up, or so we thought. More on that later.
Off to MGM since our rooms were not ready. The big hits with the family (who hadn't been to WDW in over 10 years) were ToT and RnRC, of course. We all dined at 50s Prime Time, which everyone enjoyed. After breaking off from the pack, Jason and I decided to check out the lighting of the Osborne Lights and all I can say is WOW! Definite must see! We then took a boat to Swan, walked through BW and to EPCOT for an Illuminations Dessert Party with some fellow Disers. It was absolutely breathtaking, the company fabulous and the sundaes were great. Who would have thought I would be sitting outside in December eating ice cream?? Went back to CR and realized people are not kidding when they say the rooms there are the biggest in WDW. WOW! We're still debating between CR and AKL on which we like better.
Thursday - our mish-mash day. Went to MGM again to check out the revamped animation tour. It was partly sad
The area that used to house offices to greatly gifted and creative artists is now gutted out for lame animation activities, such as adding your voice to voice-overs, computer coloring, "which character are you?." and a meet and greet with the Incredibles. It was disheartening to remember so many people lost their jobs, and where some great Disney ideas were born is now an interactive, can-be-missed attraction. Next time I will know to skip it all and go straight to the Animation Academy, where this time around, we got to draw Pluto. On to DTD to get our personalized wedding ornament. On that day, personalizations would not be ready until Dec. 14, which I understood with the Christmas rush, but others were not so nice about it (namely the bleep-bleeps in line in front of us). Got it shipped home and hopefully, it will be here before Christmas. We then went back to CR and ate at Food and Fun before heading back to MK for a quick spin on Peter Pan before cleaning up for dinner at Citricos. Here, at MK, is where we had the biggest headaches from Pop Warner. The park was PACKED, it was out of control. Wait times on the e-rides were averaging about 35 minutes! And waiting in line for Peter Pan, a group decided to start cheering and got louder, and LOUDER for 10 minutes. Suddenly, the crowd started to turn on them, orchestrated by a few screams from all angles of "SHUTUP!!!" I know the girls are excited, but there is a time and place for some things, and in an enclosed queque for Peter Pan is NOT one of those!
OK, back to joy, on to Citricos. Very good, but could not beat Artist Point. I had a cream of mushroom soup (love those mushrooms), which was in a much bigger bowl than I expected, and the Braised Veal Shank. Jason had the Sauteed Shrimp (very yummy) and the Oak Grilled Filet of Beef.
Friday - decided to meet back up with the in-laws. Before we decided to get married, we had a trip planned with Jason's family, so we didn't want to totally abandon them (especially his sister). We all headed to Epcot on a somewhat rainy and cloudy day. 15 minute waits or less on everything. And ever hit the outside track on TT in the rain? oww! We did lunch at B&C and then toured the countries before LeCellier for the CP dinner package. Absolutely wonderful and we all left miserably full! Marly Matlin was a touching narrator for the processional and the holiday ending for Illuminations is tear-jerking. Maybe the tears were swelling up also from thoughts of having to go home the next day, but regardless.
Checking out CR Saturday. Guess what shows up on our room charge? SURPRISE! The deposit that we were told was cleared. So much for breakfast that morning as we had to go to the front desk for another 45 minutes before Jason pretty much demanded a credit on the spot. It was a small nuisance in retrospect. Heck, it won't keep me from staying at CR again! But Pop Warner will keep me from going to the World the first week of Dec. again. Looks like we will also be spending the second week of next Dec. in WDW for our anniversary. YAY!
One more hint. The PhotoPass is a great thing to use! We took more than 30 pics over our trip and they are all online. The only down side is we don't like many of the pics and now it is too late to say "Well, lets hurry up and take another." So there is a good side and bad side to that. We'll be sure to take the time and check them before leaving like the good-old-days.
The end ... finally!
UPDATE: Our personalized ornament we had shipped home from DTD. It arrived on Christmas Eve! We were walking out the front door just as the UPS man was knocking (think jelly of the month club on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). So we did have our just married ornament in time for our first Christmas as husband and wife!
Before I get into saying how wonderful the trip was and how together Disney weddings are, let me send out one word of warning: Unless you think hundreds of pre-teen girls screaming cheers all week is cute, avoid Pop Warner week at all costs! More of that later. Now on to park experiences, dining and the wedding!
We arrived Sunday around noon to SSR, rented points through a DVC member. We were happily surprised to check in around noon and find studios were ready for us to check into! yay! The CM was great to Jason and I, noting we were to be married the next day at BW, so she gave us a wonderful studio directly across from PI with a great view of all of DTD and the quiet pool. His family was not so lucky and got a view of Cirque, but only if they REALLY strained their heads out their balcony.
From there we took the wonderfully short walk to DTD, which of course was crowded on a Sunday so close to Christmas. The wait for lunch at Earl of Sandwich was around 10-15 minutes, not that bad considering. We walked back to the studios to clean up for dinner at O'Hana, where we were also meeting my family for a "pre-wedding" dinner. O'Hana never lets me down, and the Lapu Lapu was fantastic! My nieces (13, 10 and four) all enjoyed the coconut races with gummy worms as prizes for finishing.
From there, it was on to MVMCP. We met up with some friends along the way, putting our group at a whopping 16 people! Needless to say, we ended up splitting up most of the night (magical gatherings are hard work!), but MVMCP was also wonderful, as always. Yet, we did notice some small cut-backs since last year. Gone were the armbands that said "MVMCP," replaced with plain plastic bracelets. The snow wasn't falling as much as last year, and the free buttons, well, the CMs at City Hall (where we picked them up last year) had no clue what I was talking about. Oh well. Also, Jungle Cruise was closed during the party. I found that strange since I remember it being open at a MNSSHP last year. But the park was wonderful, didn't even make it to Fantasyland or Toontown. And Stitch ... all I have to say is if you have a weak stomach or have a taste aversion to hot dogs, wear a nose plug during the show. icky!
Monday - the wedding day! I awoke bright and early and met up with my sister and nieces who were staying at Pop in DTD (that walkway is a God send!). From there, we took the longest bus ride on earth - DTD to Beach Club. Over one hour since our bus kinda broke down when trying to get a motorized chair on it. We arrived at B&C for our "bridal lunch" of cheeseburgers and a No Way Jose. I wouldn't have had any other dessert on the biggest day of my life!
Let me say, if anyone is considering a Disney wedding, DO IT! I have seen friends have large weddings at home and be stressed out of their minds the entire time. NOT HERE! Our Disney photographer even made a comment we were the most relaxed party she has seen! We did not have to remind anyone of anything, we were treated wonderfully and everything was perfect. OK, so it might have something to do with my compulsive planning beforehand and countless phone calls and emails to Maxine, our event coordinator, but she is superb anyway! The limo was on time (even a few minutes early), the photographer and videographer (Creative Wedding Video) captured everything, the flowers were beautiful, the cake was delicious,
Rev. Tim was so kind and personable, the champagne, fruit and cheese wonderfully presented .... oh, I could go on and on. But you guys can see for yourself!
Pics are posted at http://albums.proshots.com/disney.
Event is Saucier/Murray and password is 120604.
After the ceremony, which was BEAUTIFUL at sunset at SeaBreeze Point, we limoed over to CG where Jason and I were in the elevator and a little girl wanted to know why I was dressed as a princess. awww! We arrived at CG and were greeted by hundreds of clapping patrons, chefs and wait staff! It was wonderful and soo unexpected! Fifteen minutes after being seated, Wishes began, so the entire wedding party headed outside and watched it from the top of CR. Jason gave me earrings as my wedding present (which I got early and am wearing for the wedding ... they match my engagement ring) and I almost gave him a heart attack with a Nick Saban signed LSU football helmet (we are both alumni and met after an LSU spring football scrimmage game). Food was great, as we remembered from our last visit, and the staff served our wedding cake as dessert and boxed up the rest for us to take with us. Once we were back at SSR, we watched the PI fireworks from our balony and that show really shakes the windows at SSR!
Tuesday, our first day as man and wife (that is so funny to say!). Animal Kingdom. Since we go to WDW pretty regularly, I decided not to go commando, so we only did Lion King, ITTBAB, Dinosaur and Premieval Whirl. All ride posted wait times were running around 15 minutes, but we never waited that long. Jason had Flame Tree ribs for lunch, but I'm not a big BBQ person, so I went with the old McDonald's since it was close. Jason had a free drink stub left over from his AK lunch voucher thingy from the day before, and much to our surprise, he was able to use it even though it says "same day only." Just a hint to all those out there! We then left early to wash up for dinner at Artist Point, which was by far my favorite restaurant for the honeymoon. We went with the three course wine pairings. I had the Smoky Portobello Soup, Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon and Flourless Chocolate Whiskey Cake. Jason had the same dessert and the Crispy Venison Spring Rolls and Grilled Beef Tenderloin. Cannot recommend this place enough for couples. It seemed a bit quiet for children, and when some came in, you knew it!
Wednesday we decided to meet up with Jason's family and show them around MGM a bit. Before I get to that, we left SSR and checked into CR. We were hoping to pay for an upgrade to a tower, but no rooms were avail! What the??? The first week of Dec. and completely booked? Turns out there was ESPN college football things going on and a big convention. Oh well. But we got a north wing garden room overlooking the playground. But we had to spend an hour at the front desk. Seems CRO had a breakdown in their system and CR was showing our deposit was not paid, but the small balance we paid the week before was. OK, so why would Disney hold our room for two months if our deposit was never paid?? So much stress later, it was cleared up, or so we thought. More on that later.
Off to MGM since our rooms were not ready. The big hits with the family (who hadn't been to WDW in over 10 years) were ToT and RnRC, of course. We all dined at 50s Prime Time, which everyone enjoyed. After breaking off from the pack, Jason and I decided to check out the lighting of the Osborne Lights and all I can say is WOW! Definite must see! We then took a boat to Swan, walked through BW and to EPCOT for an Illuminations Dessert Party with some fellow Disers. It was absolutely breathtaking, the company fabulous and the sundaes were great. Who would have thought I would be sitting outside in December eating ice cream?? Went back to CR and realized people are not kidding when they say the rooms there are the biggest in WDW. WOW! We're still debating between CR and AKL on which we like better.
Thursday - our mish-mash day. Went to MGM again to check out the revamped animation tour. It was partly sad
The area that used to house offices to greatly gifted and creative artists is now gutted out for lame animation activities, such as adding your voice to voice-overs, computer coloring, "which character are you?." and a meet and greet with the Incredibles. It was disheartening to remember so many people lost their jobs, and where some great Disney ideas were born is now an interactive, can-be-missed attraction. Next time I will know to skip it all and go straight to the Animation Academy, where this time around, we got to draw Pluto. On to DTD to get our personalized wedding ornament. On that day, personalizations would not be ready until Dec. 14, which I understood with the Christmas rush, but others were not so nice about it (namely the bleep-bleeps in line in front of us). Got it shipped home and hopefully, it will be here before Christmas. We then went back to CR and ate at Food and Fun before heading back to MK for a quick spin on Peter Pan before cleaning up for dinner at Citricos. Here, at MK, is where we had the biggest headaches from Pop Warner. The park was PACKED, it was out of control. Wait times on the e-rides were averaging about 35 minutes! And waiting in line for Peter Pan, a group decided to start cheering and got louder, and LOUDER for 10 minutes. Suddenly, the crowd started to turn on them, orchestrated by a few screams from all angles of "SHUTUP!!!" I know the girls are excited, but there is a time and place for some things, and in an enclosed queque for Peter Pan is NOT one of those! OK, back to joy, on to Citricos. Very good, but could not beat Artist Point. I had a cream of mushroom soup (love those mushrooms), which was in a much bigger bowl than I expected, and the Braised Veal Shank. Jason had the Sauteed Shrimp (very yummy) and the Oak Grilled Filet of Beef.
Friday - decided to meet back up with the in-laws. Before we decided to get married, we had a trip planned with Jason's family, so we didn't want to totally abandon them (especially his sister). We all headed to Epcot on a somewhat rainy and cloudy day. 15 minute waits or less on everything. And ever hit the outside track on TT in the rain? oww! We did lunch at B&C and then toured the countries before LeCellier for the CP dinner package. Absolutely wonderful and we all left miserably full! Marly Matlin was a touching narrator for the processional and the holiday ending for Illuminations is tear-jerking. Maybe the tears were swelling up also from thoughts of having to go home the next day, but regardless.
Checking out CR Saturday. Guess what shows up on our room charge? SURPRISE! The deposit that we were told was cleared. So much for breakfast that morning as we had to go to the front desk for another 45 minutes before Jason pretty much demanded a credit on the spot. It was a small nuisance in retrospect. Heck, it won't keep me from staying at CR again! But Pop Warner will keep me from going to the World the first week of Dec. again. Looks like we will also be spending the second week of next Dec. in WDW for our anniversary. YAY!
One more hint. The PhotoPass is a great thing to use! We took more than 30 pics over our trip and they are all online. The only down side is we don't like many of the pics and now it is too late to say "Well, lets hurry up and take another." So there is a good side and bad side to that. We'll be sure to take the time and check them before leaving like the good-old-days.
The end ... finally!
UPDATE: Our personalized ornament we had shipped home from DTD. It arrived on Christmas Eve! We were walking out the front door just as the UPS man was knocking (think jelly of the month club on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). So we did have our just married ornament in time for our first Christmas as husband and wife!
