The *I got ENGAGED in Disney!* Trip Report-Update 6/27 Evening in MK

[Minnie&Nana]

Awww...I'm all teary eye-ed..what a swwet story!! Gorgeous ring - beautiful engagement story!

Never too many photos!! I'm in for the long haul too.

This is exactly what I need stuck at home with no trip in the works!

Thabks so much for sharing your excitement with us!

 

[patches07]

What a great story! The ring is gorgeous too!

 

[Disneychix]

Congrat's! Your DF does look a bit nervous in the first pictures!

Your ring setting is beautiful!

 

[Vallie]

what a great engagement storyyy!

i love that last pic of the two of u! so cuteeee!

cant wait for more

 

[marie1203]

Congrats! What a great way to start your trip.

 

[MellyBeans]

Alright, on with the story. So where I last left you, DF and I went to bed much later than anticipated post proposal. We had a 7:30AM wake up call for Hollywood Studios and Star Wars Weekend, but we weren't sure if we were going to make it....

Sunday, May 31st, 2009:

So, we had a 7:30 wake up call for Stitch to get out of bed, but for whatever reason, Matt woke up at about 6:45 and was still giddy from the night before and could not go back to sleep. Was he a nice fiance who left me sleeping? Of course not. He woke me up out of a deep sleep at 6:45AM, when I could have slept for 45 more minutes. Now, normally I wouldn't be a happy camper, but considering we were just engaged and we were in Disney, I couldn't be mad. So considering we were both up, excited, happy, and raring to go, we decided to just go along with our original plan and head to Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Weekend.

Slightly off topic, but it needs to be explained here. Now, as I already told all of you earlier, Matt is a huge Star Trek fan, so naturally, he is also a huuuuge Star Wars fan. He loves them all. Confession time: (ahem) I have never actually seen any Star Wars movie. I know, and yet Matt still wants to marry me. So heres the thing, I figure I was born in 1982, not the 70s, so I missed the initial Star Wars boom, or I was too young to care. I have never really had the want or desire to see the movies. However, I have promised Matt that I will see Star Wars with him sometime soon. Matt, if you read this, I promise. So, needless to say, if it were up to me, I would just skip DHS on the overly crowded SWW, but because of my lovely Star Wars-lovin' DF, I made an exception, and scheduled it on our first full day.

So, anyway, since we figured we had all sorts of extra time because of getting up pre-alarm and all, we took our time showering and getting ready. We ate cereal in the room (the BEST part of Garden Grocer, in my opinion-it was so convenient just to have a quick light breakfast in the room.) The Stitch/Mickey alarm went off while we were getting ready...I love that alarm! Nothing like waking up to it in Disney! So, after our leisurely morning, we made our way to the bus stop around 8:30, which was a little later than I was hoping because I wanted to get to the Studios by rope drop , but oh well.

Once we were at the Bus Stop, Matt realized he forgot something in the room (can't remember exactly what it was), so he ran back to get it...luckily our room was super close to the bus stop. At the bus stop, there were a couple really nice CM's giving out fast pases to some people for Epcot because apparently there bus was delayed. Well, since we weren't going to Epcot, we didn't benefit from the Fastpasses, but while I waited for Matt, I talked to a very nice CM who was telling me all about Star Wars Weekends and how much fun it is, and how it was one of her favorite Disney events. When she went into details about Star Wars and characters I just kind of nodded along and pretended I knew what she was talking about.

Anyway, Matt showed up again, and another CM asked us what we were celebrating. We both looked at each other and told the CM we just got engaged last night, so I guess thats what we were celebrating now. The CM was very nice and congratulatory. He had a bag full of celebration pins, and started rummaging around looking for a pair of Just Engaged pins. He said he must be out, and could run inside to get us some, but our bus pulled up then, and we told him it wasn't necessary and could pick some up later. These CSR CM's were great! I have read some complaints here on the boards that the CMs at CSR are not up to snuff compared to other CM's, but I just didn't see that. Everywhere we went throughout Disney and the Coronado Springs Resort, CMs went out of there way to be helpful and nice! Love those Cast Members-they all go out of their way to deliver a little Disney Magic.

After a very quick bus ride, we made it to DHS at just before 9am. They had already opened the gate, but there was a fairly substantial line entering the ticket terminal into the park. These guys were stationed above the ticket window and made entering the park that much more entertaining:

Oh my gosh, these Star Wars Character CMs were so great. They kept pointing out people in the ticket line and telling them to knock it off, or keep moving-that type of thing. It was a very entertaining start to our day.

The very first thing on our agenda was hauling butt over to Toy Story Mania. This ride was not open back on our 2007 trip, and last year, it was in the finishing stages of being built at Disneyland (California Adventure), so we had never been on it. I knew this was a huge must do for us, and I also knew if we wanted to do it, this morning might be our only chance cause it was our only morning scheduled at Hollywood Studios all week. We entered the Studios right at it's 9AM opening, and followed the crowd to TSM. I swear, 90% of the crowd was heading in that direction-you DISers were not kidding about the popularity of this ride. On our way, the family in front of us stopped at One Man's Dream. I could hear the mom tell her family that they could just do Toy Story Mania afterwards. This made me go just a little bit. I mean, come on people, research a little!!!! You can walk on One Man's Dream any time of the day, but TSM gets progressively worse and worse as the day wears on.

I was prepared for the worse at the TSM line, but even with my preparation on these boards, I was kind of shocked to see the line. The fast pass line was looooooong. Seriously, it was probably a 15-20 minute wait just to get a fast pass! So, here is where Matt and I made a little mistake. Rather than hoping in the fast pass line to get a fast pass for later, we went right into the advertised 30 minute Standby line. I was just so overwhelmed with all the people and crowds that I made a snap decision that I somewhat regretted later when we didn't have a FP for an awesome ride for later.

Picture of our standby line. We got into line at 9:08-I was amazed by how many people had already flooded this area-you DISers were not kidding about this ride!

Some quick pics of the ride queue:

Me waiting in line-I was so excited to get on this much-hyped ride!

Matt, anxious to get on!

Seriously, no one in the world themes better than Disney! I loved, loved, loved the details of the queue area. I think its worth it to ride this one Standby once just to see all the little Disney touches put into this waiting area! So cute!!! Anyway, even though the wait time was posted at 30 minutes, it probably took only about 20 minutes to get to the front of the line. Before I knew it, we were putting on our glasses and off on our ride!

OMG, this ride was sooooo awesome! Personally, I've always felt Buzz was a little over rated, but this one was just awesome! Immediately afterward, Matt and I looked at each other and decided we had to come again later in the week, even if that meant adjusting our plan so we could come to HS in the morning another day. Of course Matt killed me on the ride. He always beats me on buzz, in arcades, and pretty much with any video game-type skill, ride, or machine. Some day maybe I'll win, but its doubtful.

As we were leaving the Pixar Studio area, we looked at the Fast Pass return time, to see if it was worth it to grab one on our way out. Return times were already for like after 2:00ish, and it was only like 9:45! We decided just to skip the FP, and we would attempt to come back here some morning later in the week to ride it again.

So, after TSM, I decided it was time to go hit the big ones. Yep, time for Rock-n-roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. Matt, being the wimp he is, did not want to ride ToT, but I wasn't having it! I knew he'd be fine, and would love it once he was on, so tough love for him! He was going!

I just love Tower of Terror. Yes, it is a little scary with the drop and all, but I think it is one of the most clever, well-themed rides in all of Disney!

Rock 'n Roller Coaster had a slightly longer wait than Tower of Terror, so we grabbed a fast pass for that one, and got in a 20 minute standby line for ToT. We were only in Standby a couple minutes when we got another little dose of pixie dust! A family with Fast Passes came by and asked if anyone wanted two Fast Passes (apparently they had two people in their party chicken out). Matt and I snatched those up! It was pretty easy to do, because we were surrounded by bigger parties and families, and were one of the fewer smaller parties in the area. So, much to my delight (and Matt's horror ), we bypassed the 20 minute Standby wait, and walked right onto the ride with our surprise Fast Passes.

Matt screamed like a little girl on the ride...haha. It was very entertaining, and everyone on our elevator got a kick out of his over-reaction. What a fun ride! I love ToT!!!

At this point, we couldn't use our RnR fast passes yet, but were nearing our 11:15 ADR time, and didn't know if we had time to stand in line and ride anything else. We chose to leisurely walk around some shops, and look at some Star Wars characters on the streets.

Continued in next post...

 

[Ashlander]

Matt screamed like a little girl on the ride...haha. It was very entertaining, and everyone on our elevator got a kick out of his over-reaction. What a fun ride! I love ToT!!!

Love it!

 

[MellyBeans]

Ok, so I started to finish our morning at Hollywood Studios, but I am under a time crunch and have to go to work....

I promise I'll put the rest up tonight after work! Sorry, time kind of slipped away from me.

Stay tuned for lunch at Sci Fi, and some more Star Wars fun!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

 

[KatMark]

Work comes first. We'll all tune in tonight!

 

[MrsSpratt]

Sitting at work....co-workers wondering why I am crying....can't wait to read more!

 

[MagicShell]

I found your report and I love it. What a perfect place to get engaged. I love the TOT as well, and my husband rode it for the first time in Dec. He thought it would make him sick, of course he liked it once he rode it.

 

[Bridora]

Your ring is gorgeous! What a beautiful story you two have...can't wait to read more!

 

[DWGal210]

I LOVE your TR! How wonderful and exciting to get engaged at Disney. Your first days sound wonderful so far, can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[tractortippin]

Great report. Congratulations! Your ring is so pretty!!!!!!!!!!

 

[disneylovinfamily]

HAHA my DH screamed like a little girl on TOT too! My FIL said he would have spent $100 to have it on video

 

[MellyBeans]

Ok, as promised, I'm home from work, so I will finish our morning at Hollywood Studios....

So, we walked around leisurly a bit, just taking our time, and decided to go to guest services to pick up these little beauties:

Let me tell you, wearing these buttons was well worth it! For the remainder of our trip, we got so much extra little CM magic and pixie dust just because of these buttons. They truly made our trip just that much more special.

Next we went to the hat and got a couple photopass pictures. This Photo Pass CM was great and took a ton of pictures of us. We were wearing our buttons by this time, so he was also very congratulatory. Seriously, this guy took a TON of pictures, so here are just a few:

By this time, it was about 11:00 and nearing our ADR time of 11:15 For Sci Fi. We were both hungry by this point, so we decided just to go check in early. When planning ADRs, neither one of us were very thrilled over this menu, but the atmosphere looked so cool, and neither one of us had ever been here, so we decided to book it anyway.

We were seated very close to our 11:15 time, probably a little early, and found ourselves in the back seat of a six-seater car.

What a fun place! I loved the silence of the restaurant. It's so nice to have a cold, quiet break in the middle of all the park-hopping craziness!

I ordered an Oreo Shake, and Matt had a Coke with Cherry Syrup, I believe. Remember, he can't have ice cream, so he was pretty jealous of my treat I think.

I ordered the Shrimp-bow-tie pasta dish:

It was pretty good! I'm not a big burger fan, and I wasn't in the mood for ribs or a sandwich, so this was a good alternative for me.

Matt got a Turkey Club Sandwich (or something like that) with fries:

He said it was good, but nothing spectacular.

For desert, we were both pretty full, so we both just split a fruit plate:

It was very refreshing, but honestly we just nibbled and left a bunch of it. The DP was a serious love/hate thing with us. I do feel like we wasted a lot of food, and that was part of the downside of the plan for us.

So, just as we are about done and ready for our bill, our Carhop waitress brought us free Mimosas and a card signed by the wait staff of Sci-Fi as a treat for our engagement!

Here is a picture:

Yay! It was so cool to get a little extra dose of magic for our "engagementmoon." The mimosas were very strong, and I'm kinda ashamed to admit I was feeling a little tipsy after it. Side note-off topic again, but the day before New Years Eve this past year I broke my ankle, and while I was in the healing process this past January I developed a blood clot, and as a result, I'm on blood thinners until probably mid-July. Therefore, I blame my tipsy-ness on my thinned out blood.


Wow, I really need to stop going of topic...haha. So, we left Sci-Fi very happy and full, and for me at least, a little tipsy, but first our waitress took a couple pictures of us in our car:

I forget what time we left lunch, but Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage was about to start. This show was an absolute must for me this year, because I have seen pretty much every show at DHS multiple times except I have never seen this one. Also, Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Disney movie of all time (maybe tied with Little Mermaid), so I HAD to see it this trip.

We made it to the theater and scored some pretty good seats, sat down, relaxed and let ourselves digest lunch.

I loved this show! It was very, very cute. I constantly flip between Belle and Ariel as my favorite Princess. Seriously, those were the two princesses of my childhood, and I don't know which one I prefer, but I think Belle edges out Ariel most of the time just for her spunk if nothing else...haha. Anyway, it was a very cute show.

We left the Theater ready to use our Rock 'n Roller Coaster FP's!

Matt posing in front of the Aerosmith guitar:

Now, I know I have to struggle to get Matt on ToT, but for RnRC, its never a struggle. He loves this ride! Now I don't know about all of you, but I find every time I'm in Disney, I find a new ride I appreciate a whole lot. Well, this trip it was Rock n' Roller Coaster for me. I've gone on it a lot, but I've always been kind of take it or leave it with the experience. This trip for some reason I really loved it! I totally "got" the appeal! I've read all the rumors (which I do not believe) about them changing the theming to Jonas Brothers or some other crap, but I don't believe it. It wouldn't work with teeny-bop fluff.

After Aerosmith, I got an interesting call from my brother. The last night when I talked to him about getting engaged, he was enjoying a few too many adult beverages at a Brewer game. Needless to say, he called me to make sure he was remembering correctly that we actually got engaged. Oh Lord, brothers. I bet he was a little this day considering he could barely remember our conversation the night before. Haha.

At this point, both of us were feeling pretty energized like we could keep on going, but I also knew we would probably really crash later due to our lack of sleep for the past two nights or so. Also, I am a firm believer in taking afternoon rest breaks when possible. So, we wandered around a bit, looked at some Star Wars characters wandering around (Matt was ashamed that I didn't know what they were...haha), and we went into the store that sells Star Wars merchandise. After looking around for a while, we decided to make it back to the bus stop. Our bus came almost right away, and we found ourselves back at CSR by 2:00ish or so. This time, we managed to get off at the right bus stop.

At CSR, we rested in the room for a bit, and I made a couple more calls informing people about our engagement. Then, we decided a dip in the pool was exactly what we needed to re-energize and refresh, so we made our way to the Dig Site pool. I love the CSR slide by the way. I know I'm 26-years-old, but it was a lot of fun! While playing in the water, Matt and I discussed what we would do for the evening. "The Plan" had us going to Downtown Disney for the evening, however for whatever reason, I was feeling compelled to go back to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe I just wanted to walk by the place where we got engaged again, or maybe I felt like I had unfinished business there due to leaving early the night prior, but I was feeling the MK for that night. So we debated back and forth as to what to do (DTD vs. MK)...

Where did we end up? Stay tuned!

 

[KatMark]

At CSR, we rested in the room for a bit, and I made a couple more calls informing people about our engagement. Then, we decided a dip in the pool was exactly what we needed to re-energize and refresh, so we made our way to the Dig Site pool. I love the CSR slide by the way. I know I'm 26-years-old, but it was a lot of fun!

Honey, I'm 50+ years and I LOVE the slide at the CSR! You are never too old for anything at Disney.

 

[DSNYGRL_JKS2006]

*EXCELLENT* trip report so far, CONGRATS on the engagement ..awww i am SO excited to go in October with my bf I hope this is when hes popping the question ahhhhhh LOL i am SOO excited!

 

[MagicShell]

I would choose the MK!

 

[dhay]

Now you need to plan a Disney wedding and come over to the wedding boards!!!!! Congrats on your engagement!!!!!