Proposing at the World & More! WDW/IoA/DCL - July 2011 -- UPDATE: 10/30/11

[precious pixie]

That is one of the most unique rings i have ever seen. if you dont mind my asking who made it?

Asking during wishes, so perfect!!

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

You have very good taste

 

[mickey2minnie1]

You were right when you said that your event was unique to you. that is what makes it so magically perfect. I love that you had a Disney ring. I wish the two of you a happy life together full of the magic that is uniquely yours.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Wow! That is some ring! Congratulations to you both

Thank you very much!

Wow is right!! That is spectacular and so unique! I have never seen a design like that ever.

I am glad you decided you stick with the plan and not give up. If my dbf proposed to me in the setting you guys were in with a beautiful dinner and with Wishes in the background, I would say yes with a Ring Pop or maybe even a napkin ring!

Congrats to you both!

Thanks! The dinner wasn't hard to organize once I knew who to contact. Disney makes things easy once you know what to ask for, and don't mind paying some money.

Joining in. The real ring is absolutely, hands down, one of the most beautiful rings I have ever seen!! Congratulations to you both and what a wonderful idea to propose at the very start of your trip... you got to celebrate the entire time!!

Thanks! In the next post, I'll talk about why it turned out to be a great decision to propose on the very first day.

I love your story! I will be waiting to hear more. Congratulations to you and your beloved.

Thank you! More to come very soon!

That is one of the most unique rings i have ever seen. if you dont mind my asking who made it?

Asking during wishes, so perfect!!

It's cheesy, but it really felt right during Wishes. I spent months turning over different proposal ideas, and avoided Wishes, because I was trying to think of something unique, but I'm glad I did it then.

I'm afraid I don't know who made the ring. I bought it from an antique dealer in Toronto, but they didn't have any information on the maker.

You have very good taste

Aww! Remember that the next time we're shopping for clothes.

You were right when you said that your event was unique to you. that is what makes it so magically perfect. I love that you had a Disney ring. I wish the two of you a happy life together full of the magic that is uniquely yours.

Thank you very much for your kind words!

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Our first full day at WDW, and our first full day while engaged, saw us at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We like to go at the parks in a laid back way. We don't feel the need to do everything, and we always go back to the hotel in the early afternoon to rest and cool off. This plan worked out well for us on this day.

We arrived for early magic hours, immediately obtaining fastpasses for Toy Story Midway Mania, then rushed off for my DF to ride Tower of Terror (her favourite ride). Whilst she was getting violently shaken for fun and excitement, I was putting my life in peril on the ground floor ghost hunting.

The Tower awaits!

But first, a photo.

It's an ap-ap-apparition!

Merch time! My DF purchased this snazzy Hollywood Tower Hotel terrycloth robe at the gift shop, so she can pretend she stayed at the titular Tower of Terror and stole said robe. This is the kind of merchandise I like. It's not just a souvenir of the attraction, it's also a clever way of allowing you to be a part of the story the ride is telling.

Rock 'n' Rollercoaster is more a celebration of the excesses of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle than the music, immersing itself in leopard-print spandex, stretch limos and reckless abandon. (It is, however, the only place you'll see Aerosmith in a recording studio these days.) At first, I was put off by this: it distills an complex and essential American art form to its most superficial, simplistic iconography. It's a twelve year-old's idea of what rock is. And then I realized that this is not a bad thing. From Little Richard to Sgt. Pepper, rock 'n' roll is as much about showmanship as it is about the music. It's an attitude as much as it is a musical genre. The rebellious, reckless, youthful spirit of rock lives in the heart of twelve year-old stronger than anyone else and to see that spirit articulated in a roller coaster makes a lot of sense. Rock on, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster.

As an aside, every time I walk through Rock 'n' Rollercoaster, I'm reminded of Revolution X, the classic arcade game where you save Aerosmith and all of humanity with hot lead and the power of rock. They're both wish fulfilment fantasies on rails featuring the music of Aerosmith, and when you go upside down on Rock 'n' Rollercoaster you can lose all your quarters, too.

It hasn't aged well, but I still enjoy going on the Great Movie Ride. Like Rock 'n' Rollercoaster, though, I do feel that it concerns itself a little too much with the superficial aspects of movies, and not enough with the joy of seeing a great movie. Seeing a diorama of the airport scene from Casablanca makes me say, “Oh, Casablanca! What a great movie!” but that feeling of joy doesn't come out of the ride itself—I can get the same feeling looking at the movie poster. If you didn't have nostalgia for the Golden Age of Hollywood, you'd get no sense of joy from the ride at all.

Josef Von Sternberg wishes he had soft focus photography this good (courtesy of the Florida humidity). He probably also wishes he was still alive.

My favourite movie in high school. I used to watch it once every week.

It really is a jolly holiday with Mary.

I'd love to see Disney bring CineMagique to WDW from Disneyland Paris. For those who haven't been, CineMagique is a movie attraction where an audience member (Martin Short) wanders into the movie, Purple Rose of Cairo-style, and falls in love with the film's leading lady (Julie Delpy). Toe-to-toe, CineMagique is the more entertaining, comprehensive and reverential “We love movies!” attraction. It has comedy, romance, Alan Cumming, and an Umbrellas of Cherbourg sequence to its credit. Most importantly, it really makes you feel like the silly endeavour of sitting silently in the dark with a group of strangers while staring at light moving on a wall is essential to our culture. Fin.

Speaking of essential moments, there aren't many more essential to any vacation than realizing you've lost something, the feeling that your baseball cap, camera is irrevocably separated from you by too much distance, time and strangers. The exiting the Great Movie Ride was that moment, as my DF realized she'd lost her sunglasses. At WDW, that just means another trip to the gift shop. With that out of the way, it was on to Toy Story Midway Mania.

Doubling down on the nostalgia.

Toy Story Midway Mania is yet another clever combination of the familiar enhanced by cutting edge technology. It's pretty darn fun to weave though the midway rides and shoot things. I was pretty well-chuffed with my score of 140,000, but then I saw someone's high score of 490,000. Lines are predictably long, because of the popularity of Toy Story and shooting things. I'm sure re-ride-ability is also contributes to wait times. I mean, 490, 000 points? You don't get to that level on your first ten tries, let alone your first try. Yes, I'm bitter.

Then, we were off to the new Star Tours (which I skipped because of a queasy stomach) but my DF assures me it is ten times better than the original.

I don't know... Fly casual.

Hang in there, R2.

Many Bothans died to bring us this photo.

*Insert nerdy Star Wars reference*

We ended our attraction-eering at Muppets 3-D, and it was only just after noon. Pretty efficient work!

Little Kitty finally gets a hat as big as her ego.

Getting our kicks on Route 66.

This was the line to see Mars Needs Moms.

We ate lunch outdoors at the food court on Sunset, and decided to go into the shops before retiring to the hotel. My DF had been itching to buy wedding veil Minnie ears and couldn't hold out any longer. I opted instead for the groom pin on my hat. The kindly clerk asked if we'd just been married, and when he heard we'd just been engaged, he told us to go straight to guest services and get ourselves a pair of “Just Engaged” buttons. This turned out to be the best thing we could have possibly done. Folks who are planning a proposal at Disney World take note: The earlier the proposal on the trip, the better. Ostensibly, the reason is to get freebies (and there were some freebies to be gotten) but mostly, it just makes everyone friendlier. Throughout our trip, we were getting congratulated by every cast member we ran into, and even by passing strangers. During the mid-day Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! parade in MK, the Beast waved to my DF, pointed to his ring finger and gave her a thumbs up. The parade MC also congratulated us on the sound system: “Congratulations, you two! Love, man! That's all you need! That's forever!” It made the whole trip more magical to feel like everyone was celebrating our engagement with us.

DF with her brand new bridal ears.

I didn't get the groom ears for obvious aesthetic reasons.

Up next: More merch and dining at Kouzzina. Opa!

 

[relcx4]

Congrats on your engagement. I'm really enjoying reading your TR. Can't wait for your next installment...

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Oh, Little Kitty... there is no hat big enough to contain that ego.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That is an absolutely gorgeous ring!!! (The Mickey ring is very nice too! )

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Congrats on your engagement. I'm really enjoying reading your TR. Can't wait for your next installment...

Thank you! I've been neglecting it, but I'll be posting an update later on today.

That is an absolutely gorgeous ring!!! (The Mickey ring is very nice too! )

Thanks! My DF wears the Mickey ring on her other hand as well.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

After some respite back at the hotel, we went to Downtown Disney for more merchandise acquisition before our dinner reservation at Kouzzina at the Boardwalk. My DF likes to buy a Christmas tree ornament every trip and she picked up this nostalgic Victorian Mickey and Minnie ice skating at the Days of Christmas store:

At the Art of Disney, I bought this sweet Mary Blair It's a Small World mug. Tres moderne!

All that was left was the (50-minute!) bus trip to the Boardwalk Hotel.

Kouzzina! Iron Chef Cat Cora's restaurant. Opa! She's a Celebrity Chef. And in case you didn't know it, there's a sign that literally says it, with her face on it and everything. It's pretty tacky. Tacky like celebrities saying, “Do you know who I am?!” to get a table at a restaurant. Although isn't saying the same thing to get people to come to your restaurant slightly tackier? And how much of a celebrity are you if you have to tell people you're a celebrity? So many questions!

How's the food? I won't be snide about what's happening inside the restaurant, because its decent. Yes, there's something workmanlike about it, and the more idiosyncratic Greek influences have been dampened for mass appeal, but the food is well-prepared with some interesting touches. The thing to remember is Celebrity Chef Cat Cora's not in the kitchen cooking your food—the head chef is. If Kouzzina triumphs or fails, it is the result of the kitchen and the service, not Cat Cora. Day to day, her influence on what hits your table is minimal.

Kitchen and wait staff were 'on' this evening, and we had an enjoyable dinner. We had the appetizer sampler, including high-quality olives, decent hummus, a runny tzaziki, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and spicy shrimp. The dolmades were stiff and a bit gluey from the goat cheese in the filling, but the shrimps were tender and fresh with a punchy sauce. The braised lamb shanks I had for my entree was perfectly braised, and the inclusion of gigantes beans added an appealing texture contrast to the dish. My DF, still having appetite issues, opted for the briami. This cheese-topped casserole of roasted vegetables and orzo, however, was overly greasy and not the lighter choice she expected. As with the previous night's dinner, we were stuffed by dessert, but they kindly packed two orders of baklava to go. More like nut-stuffed spring rolls rather than the layered baklava we've had elsewhere, they were not too sweet and were still crispy when we ate them for breakfast the next day. It's not the best meal I've had at Disney, but still good.

After dinner, we'd planned a bit of dancing at Atlantic Dance Hall, but decided we were too tired to cut a rug. We went for a quick promenade along the boardwalk, then took the boat to DHS and the bus back to AKL from there, a total trip of roughly forty-five minutes.

I'll pause at this point and reflect on the Disney Dining Plan. We went with the regular Dining Plan on our trip three years ago and were pleased at how convenient it was. This was, however, when the plan included an appetizer, an entree and a dessert with each table service credit. It was dining at Kouzzina that we began to doubt our choice of the meal plan. We're not big dessert people. I'll always choose an appetizer over dessert, and I found that having the obligation of eating a dessert to be discomforting at times. I am ashamed to say our desserts during our quick service lunches usually went into the bin. It would be much, much better if Disney gave you the choice of an appetizer or a dessert. We found the Dining Plan too constricting and we probably won't opt for it on our next trip. We later did an audit of our food consumption for the trip and found that if we'd ordered what we'd eaten a la carte, we'd have come out fairly close to what we paid for the dining plan with less waste and more flexibility. That's just us and our eating habits, though. It's worth it for most quick service and single-credit table service restaurants, as well as character-dining experiences, but not worth it for signature restaurants.

Up next: EPCOT and the ghosts of future past!

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

I love that ornament... The Victorian Christmas collection is so cute. I think we need to get more!

 

[fromscratchmom]

Congratulations on your engagement! I enjoyed your trip report and shared it with my dear daughters. DD13 who is always horrified by hearing about what I'll call "uber-public" proposals like on a giant screen in a sports arena, was very impressed by your choice of a private dining event. I think she might think you are her prince charming now.

 

[Kez250]

Love, love the ring - i can only imagine the sinking stomach feeling realizing that you'd left it at home

Enjoying reading your TR

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Congratulations on your engagement! I enjoyed your trip report and shared it with my dear daughters. DD13 who is always horrified by hearing about what I'll call "uber-public" proposals like on a giant screen in a sports arena, was very impressed by your choice of a private dining event. I think she might think you are her prince charming now.

Thank you very much! I really would have felt awkward proposing in public.

Love, love the ring - i can only imagine the sinking stomach feeling realizing that you'd left it at home

Enjoying reading your TR

Thanks! It's not as bad in hindsight, but it was really the pinnacle of forgetfulness in a lifetime of forgetting things. I even told myself, "You're not going to forget it. It's the one thing you can't forget."

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Our second full day found us at the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. I'm a huge fan of Epcot. As a kid, I loved the spirit of innovation it represented and the novel ways Disney made education fun and exciting. I also like to show the EPCOT promotional film with Walt Disney in my classes as an example of utopian thought and social-engineering through design. And while I'm glad to see this spirit still survives, the enjoyment of Epcot today is largely nostalgic, as that burning desire for innovation and exploration seems to have left the American popular consciousness. Like Tomorrowland, these dreams of a technological, utopian future are Walt's dreams from another generation. It's a little sad that Epcot is beginning to feel like a relic of different age.

Speaking of relics: Captain EO! Now, I have a capacity for enjoying things ironically, and even I still found it to be uniquely terrible. Perhaps in another hundred years, it'll be useful as an historical survey of bad hairstyles from the '80's or recognized as the true nadir of George Lucas' professional career, because next to this, Phantom Menace is an example of good taste and narrative coherence. For anyone who hasn't seen Captain EO, imagine Star Wars where every character is the love child of Jar Jar Binks and Jerome Robbins (yikes!) Captain EO is so bad, it should be demoted to Ensign EO. It's disingenuous to the spirit of imagination and innovation at best, and, at worst, a shameless cash-in after Michael Jackson's death.

Another trend I've been noticing is the re-purposing of old rides to include new Disney movie properties. Case in point: The Seas with Finding Nemo and Friends. I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to learn about sea life, or get any sense of the scientific exploration of our oceans from watching what is essentially a five-minute retelling of a movie I've already seen. It feels like a betrayal of what Epcot stood for, a regression rather than a progression. We did, however, get some adorable photos of Chi with some tasty-looking fish.

Lest you think we grumbled our way through EPCOT, we had fun! I am grateful that The Land boat ride has stayed true to its original concept. Every time I go back, their growing techniques do change, and the food in Sunshine Seasons really does have the best-tasting produce anywhere in the parks. I remember the first time I ate at Sunshine Seasons. I had a chicken wrap, and when I took my first bite all I could taste was the freshness of the vegetables. I didn't know vegetables could taste that good. But I wouldn't be surprised if it turned into Wall-E's Garbage Roundup by our next trip.

Little Kitty at the Test Track

Ah, the Universe of... hey!

The ramp for Spaceship Earth, the ten-minute ride that sums up thousands of years of human history and humanity's place as an infinitesimal speck in the vast universe.

I'm pretty sure our future will involve us having our entire heads.


After bumming around Futureworld, we hot-footed it over to World Showcase for a photo-op with Marie from the Aristocats. Having gone to Disneyland Paris, where you can find a lot of Marie merch, we didn't see one of my GF's favourite character, so were excited to see her on the roster on this day.

Doubling down on the cats.

Paris, je t'aime.

We then jetted through Morocco to the Japan pavilion. Being certified otaku, we wandered the Mitsukoshi department store, gleefully picking every anime- and cat-related item (which is a good many!) I bought a Totoro t-shirt, and my DF purchased a Kiki's Delivery Service lunchbag and these delightful kitty chopsticks holders. Kawaii!

This shirt is a secret handshake for nerds.

Meow.

FYI: Cats like fish!

What my DF really wanted to try was the pick-a-pearl game. I'll repeat the advice she'd read online, because it really worked for her: the smaller, fuzzier oysters often contain two pearls. And, sure enough, the small, ugly oyster she chose yielded two decent-sized pearls, which they conveniently offered to make into earrings... for a small fee... right there, at the same counter!

While we waited for the earrings, we had our quick service lunch at Yakitori House, where my DF had a respectable udon and maki combo, and I had a tasty curry rice. It was probably the best quick service meal we'd had outside of Sunshine Seasons. All in all, a fruitful trip to Japan.

Itadakimasu!

The afternoon was brutally hot, but we unwisely neglected to follow our own advice to rest back at the hotel and stayed in the park instead. We ambled around World Showcase and played a few rounds of the Kim Possible game before collapsing in a sun-addled heap in the Germany pavilion, where we had to let out our leiderhosen for our dinner at Biergartern. Review to come!

Kim Possible and the Case of the Exorbitant Roaming Fees

You have to be a patriot to wear this.

My visage reflects my ambivalence at distilling a complex country in three simple stereotypes... It needs a reference to beer.

Speaking of beer, this is, apparently, a place when beer is grown and harvested--a literal garden of beer. Let's go!

 

[fromscratchmom]

I love the land... I never got to ride the old ride before nemo but I was mighty disappointed in nemo. Left me thinking, "what was up with that?!"

But I still love epcot.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

I have to say... that photo of me with the Canada Mickey Mouse ears is the worst.

 

[janabananas]

DBF and I had the same reaction to the Nemo revamp at the Living Seas. I understand they needed to put something in to make it more "kid inviting", like the Land put in the Lion King movie attraction. But I agree that they took away from the intent of EPCOT. Dbf went to EPCOT as a kid and fell in love with the Living Seas and at that point decided to study "fishies". He ended up becoming a Marine biologist. I don't see a kid riding the Nemo ride and having this same experience.

I am glad DF got her earrings. I am so afraid to try that in fear of getting that one dud oyster.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

DBF and I had the same reaction to the Nemo revamp at the Living Seas. I understand they needed to put something in to make it more "kid inviting", like the Land put in the Lion King movie attraction. But I agree that they took away from the intent of EPCOT. Dbf went to EPCOT as a kid and fell in love with the Living Seas and at that point decided to study "fishies". He ended up becoming a Marine biologist. I don't see a kid riding the Nemo ride and having this same experience.

I am glad DF got her earrings. I am so afraid to try that in fear of getting that one dud oyster.

Awesome story about your DBF! I think Disney sometimes forgets it can wield a lot of positive, inspirational power. As a company and a cultural force, it can and does do a lot of good, but it can too often be content to chase a dollar.

I have to say... that photo of me with the Canada Mickey Mouse ears is the worst.

Sweetie, there are no bad pictures of you as far as I'm concerned.

I love the land... I never got to ride the old ride before nemo but I was mighty disappointed in nemo. Left me thinking, "what was up with that?!"

But I still love epcot.

In spite of everything, I still love EPCOT too, and believe in what it tries to do, from making learning fun to bringing together cultures from around the world. Yes, it's a sanitized version, but it's a starting point.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

The unbearable July heat chased us into Biergarten's arched entry way well before our reservation, but the hostess was kind enough to find us a table anyway. Perhaps it was still early, around 5:45, but the restaurant was only half full. When we left an hour later, there were still plenty of free tables.

How to slay your dragon.

A beautifully-realized storybook land baking under the Florida sun.

Perhaps more than any other restaurant we've been to in World Showcase, Biergarten comes across as a cartoon version of its country, to the point of being off-putting. If the Germany pavilion is the gingerbread version its host country, Biergarten is its fittingly gingerbread restaurant. The tiered, semi-circular room has its dance floor and stage at its centre and the buffet at its periphery. Seating is, appropriately, banquet-style, but the overall layout hindered a true sense of conviviality one finds in a real biergarten. It would have been nice, for example, to eat family style instead of having to break up the experience at the table to go grab food. We shared our table with two other parties, but we hardly saw them at all.

Once upon a meal...

This restaurant is polka-ready.

Full moon over Biergarten.

City and state flags line the walls, so you too can feel like a Hamburger or a perhaps a Mecklenburg-Vorpommernite.

Stunned... Just... stunned.

The food is decently German, consisting mostly of sausages, roasted meats, schnitzel, pickled vegetables and starchy sides. (Sausage salad--'nough said!) The cauliflower soup was a highlight. An oompah band provided entertainment throughout the meal, but only children were brave and shameless enough to dance. Overall, I'd say that Biergarten isn't our favourite restaurant in the world showcase. The food is good, but the theming prevented us from connecting to authentic German culture, and I think that's an important thing, even when looking through Disney World's storybook lens. I doubt we'll be returning to Biergarten any time soon.

Give me one for my kitty, and one more for the road.

The day ended with a viewing of Illuminations, EPCOT's floating-barge-and-fireworks extravaganza. We set ourselves up in Italy an hour early to get a decent view, and it was worth it because we got a perfect eyeline to the show, with the ball behind it. It deserves noting, that we could have easily gotten the same spot or somewhere equally good thirty minutes later.

Chi loves playing with her ball of steel and concrete. Someone's going to sleep well tonight.

Finally, something Little Kitty's bigger than. Linear perspective FTW!

There's a kind of hush all over the World Showcase.

Twilight time.

While an appropriately celebratory end to the day, Illuminations tends to come across as a heart string-tugging United Way commercial—all that's needed is Sarah McLachlan on the soundtrack—and part of me would like to see more overt Disney touches in the show. Still, it's a definite crowd-pleaser, and if she has her way, DF and I will be watching Illuminations again during our wedding dessert party.

Torches: lit!

Make fireworks go now!

So these must be titular illuminations...

I can see my house from here.

No, wait, THESE must be the illuminations.

In a Nostradamus-esque twist, the fireworks show ends with a horrifying scenario of the end of days where the Earth opens up into sections like that chocolate orange you got at Christmas.

Aaaaaaannnnnd big finish!

Up next: Adorable, man-eating kitties at the Animal Kingdom.