The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[zanzibar138]

I agree completely with this! We are doing the AH event in May and this is one of the main reasons - I LOVE watching the fireworks with about 100 people instead of thousands! I'm really enjoying your whole report but had to comment on this bit

Glad you're enjoying the TR!

Wow your fireworks pictures came out great!

Thank you! I got a new camera for the trip and was very happy with it

 

[pkondz]

So.... that's a "No", then?

I did say one of the best brekkies... it's pretty hard to beat Mickey waffles!

hot dogs were pretty much a must-do anyway, although it may have been part of the experience we were willing to miss if we'd realised just how expensive they would be!

Live and learn!

I like plain food I ordered my hot dog with no onion and did not visit the condiments bar.

And yet Ben still married you? The man is a saint!

That is also me with cricket

It was still early lol!

There's no restrictions on liquids for domestic flights in Australia.

Nice. Wish that was the case here. Don't know of any shenanigans on Canadian domestic flights.

I could be wrong, of course. How would I know? I'm sure they don't broadcast those kinds of things.

People who paid a basic fare got nothing.

Huh. When they say "no frills"... they really mean it!

That was before we hit traffic lol!

 

[pkondz]

I was thrilled to have a third floor room, and to have an end room with only one neighbour.

I was a little surprised that there was no acknowledgement of our honeymoon (might have been nice to be given buttons or even a congratulatory card or message of some description

I'm surprised too.
Not okay, actually.

When I first saw this photo, I thought "No tub"... but then saw you had two bathrooms.

we had a few options - hang out in the room to watch the fireworks, and then head to MK from the TTC; head to the lobby to get something to eat and watch the fireworks from there, then catch the monorail to MK; or just head straight over to MK and try to catch the fireworks in the park. We of course went with the third option

There's no contest between the three options.

Pretty much everyone in the area headed to the monorail, only a few of us headed towards the ferry.

Not surprised. Monorail is quicker and most people (including me) want to get there as quickly as possible.

we had the entire ferry to ourselves. Literally, there was not one other guest on it!

How cool is that!?

As we were leaving the dock, the fireworks started. It was cool to be getting closer and closer as we were watching.

I don't know anyone who's watched the MK fireworks from the ferry.

I wasn't familiar enough with the park to know where anything was.

This sounds so odd to me. I mean, of course there are people unfamiliar with the park, but usually when I read a trip report, it's being written by someone on their 234th visit or something.

when we read that the hot dogs came with 'chips', we were expecting fries, and were slightly taken aback to be handed packets of crisps before we realised our error lol!

I might've expected the same, even though I know on this continent, fries are fries and chips are crisps.

Wait just a second! Do I see... condiments on those hot dogs????????

There was a short wait for the People Mover, so that became our official first ride at WDW!

Not a bad first ride!

Next we tried the Carrousel of Progress. I didn't know quite what to expect, and was surprised that it was the theatre that moved instead of the stage!

I hope you enjoyed it. It's just about the only thing left that is truly Walt's.

Ben took the opportunity for a short nap lol!

And that is probably one of the most common reactions to it!

Buzz had a short wait too, so we hit that next. Ben's a bit of a gamer so I thought he'd enjoy this one, but despite kicking my butt, he thought it was a bit 'meh'.

Too bad. I'm sure he'll enjoy TSMM more. I know I do.

Look at that concentration!

Die, alien scum!

By the time we got to Pirates, I think the party had officially started, and it was a walk on.

Nice.

The whole of Adventureland and Frontierland was pretty empty, with Pirates being the only ride available in that part of the park.

Really? Too bad no JK. Might've been fun in the dark.

I took the opportunity to get some empty park photos.

Nice, shots.

Especially like this shot.
More so considering it's not going to be around much longer. (Which is a travesty, IMHO.)

awww...

We had the most incredible view, with plenty of space around us and no jostling during the show.

That's the best.

I would go to another AH party just for this experience

Noted!
Maybe some day...

Unfortunately the wait time had only dropped to 20 minutes, but we figured that was as good as we would get, so jumped in line. I was hoping it might be shorter than what was posted, but it was pretty accurate.

That's not bad at all. It actually gives you time to enjoy the excellent queue.

After Peter Pan we headed for Seven Dwarves, which by that time also had a 20 minute wait.

Again, not bad at all!

We grabbed more drinks on the way through and thought we'd try the Mickey ice-cream sandwiches. Maybe not the best idea before getting on a rollercoaster

Oh dear.

I was ok since it was just a little rollercoaster, but Ben wasn't feeling the best by the end of it.

That's a real tame coaster too. Should've taken him on Space Mountain!

Along the way, we got distracted by Dumbo, which was also a walk on.

Hard to resist a walk-on ride.

When we finally got to Tron, I left Ben at the bottom of the walkway with the bags

So does Ben not do thrill rides? Or was it just because he wasn't feeling too great that night?

I power-walked back to the start of the line and just made it in time for a second ride!

Good for you!

 

[zanzibar138]

And yet Ben still married you? The man is a saint!

Yep, he's a keeper!

Huh. When they say "no frills"... they really mean it!

Jetstar is the same for domestic flights in Australia. You literally just get a seat. Anything else is an add-on that costs extra. I much prefer an all-inclusive airline, so usually fly Qantas.

I'm surprised too.
Not okay, actually.

Spoiler alert... not a single one of our Disney resorts acknowledged our honeymoon in any way. I know you can't expect pixie dust so I was trying to keep my expectations low, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed.

When I first saw this photo, I thought "No tub"... but then saw you had two bathrooms.

We certainly didn't need 2 bathrooms and, while it was nice to be able to claim a bathroom each, I still think they could do something better with that space (I would have preferred laundry facilities for example).

Not surprised. Monorail is quicker and most people (including me) want to get there as quickly as possible.

We knew the monorail would be quicker, but much preferred the ferry!

I don't know anyone who's watched the MK fireworks from the ferry.

I thought it was a pretty cool experience (knowing that we'd have plenty of other viewing opportunities).

usually when I read a trip report, it's being written by someone on their 234th visit or something.

Haha very true! There was definitely a lot of us finding our way around in the first few days.

I might've expected the same, even though I know on this continent, fries are fries and chips are crisps.

We did know it too, but sometimes it slipped our minds. Very strange for us nothing over in Australia ever comes with crisps!

Wait just a second! Do I see... condiments on those hot dogs????????

Ugh. We didn't realise it would be that saucy. Luckily it hadn't made the bread soggy so I could manage to eat it. Certainly wasn't one of our most enjoyable meals though.

I hope you enjoyed it. It's just about the only thing left that is truly Walt's.

I could appreciate the history. Ben appreciated the comfy seating.

I'm sure he'll enjoy TSMM more. I know I do.

I also enjoy TSMM. Surprisingly, Ben enjoyed that one even less than Buzz! Maybe because I nearly beat him lol!

More so considering it's not going to be around much longer. (Which is a travesty, IMHO.)

I actually wish I got more photos of it - didn't really take any from the TBA end.

That's not bad at all. It actually gives you time to enjoy the excellent queue.
Again, not bad at all!

We didn't realise exactly how good the wait times were until we visited the park again on a normal day!

So does Ben not do thrill rides? Or was it just because he wasn't feeling too great that night?

Ben is definitely not a thrill ride person. Seven Dwarves and Slinky Dog were both a little out of his comfort level. He's my bag minder while I do all the biggest most thrilling rollercoasters I can find lol!

Having said that, I can't handle Space Mountain or the Matterhorn. Both are too circular for me and induce motion sickness. Go figure.

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 5: In which DH meets a mouse

5.2. A morning of exploring​

It wasn’t a super early morning, but after such a late night, it did require an alarm. It’s never so bad waking up to an alarm when this is your view.



This morning we were headed to EPCOT for a late breakfast with Chip N Dale. We gathered our things and took the short walk to the TTC again, but headed to the monorail instead of the ferry.



I love that the monorail does a little loop around EPCOT first – it’s a lovely way to arrive.



After getting off the monorail and heading through security, we headed straight to Garden Grill in The Land Pavilion. Even at 9:30am, it seemed like it was going to be a pretty busy day with lots of people around already.



Not really knowing what we were doing, we just checked in for breakfast at the desk, and then waited in the holding area for our notification. We weren’t waiting long, and I was happy to be led to a booth on the window side. We enjoyed the breakfast, although it was a LOT of food just for the 2 of us!



Of course, the highlight was not the food The first 3 characters came out in fairly quick succession. I always love meeting Chip N Dale – they’re a lot of fun!







I was also interested in the view to Living with the Land, which did not seem to be running at the time.



And of course we finally got to meet Mickey!



Continued in next post...

 

[zanzibar138]

I had been planning to have an ‘easy’ day at EPCOT today, to just spend some time riding the less popular rides with short wait times and generally see what it was all about. I hadn’t expected it to be that busy on a random Tuesday. However, by the time we finished breakfast, there was literally nothing with less than a 30 minute wait. We thought we’d do some wandering first, hoping it was some sort of anomaly and that we’d have more luck later on. Spoiler alert, we didn’t.





We wandered through the Journey of Water, which was crowded but at least didn’t require waiting. We just didn't bother to wait for any activities/photo opportunities that had a line. Having said that, it would have been a much nicer experience without the crowds!





I decided to head to Guest Services next to see about getting us some buttons. Apparently there aren’t specific buttons for honeymooners, so we were given ‘Happily Ever After’ buttons, and would spend the rest of the trip being wished a ‘Happy Anniversary’ lol! If we’d had a sharpie, I would have written ‘Just Married’ somewhere on them to minimise the confusion.

I left Ben on a bench while I checked out the Creations shop. I was a little disappointed with the shopping in general – I’m probably used to the Asian Disney parks that have a lot of cute accessories other than Mickey ears and Loungefly backpacks. I didn’t see anything there that I could justify spending so much money on, so I walked out empty-handed and we continued wandering, checking out some of the art stalls as we passed.





I was checking the app fairly regularly to keep an eye on wait times, and noticed that Journey into Imagination was down to 15 minutes, so we headed in that direction for what would end up being our only ride for the day lol!



We were both starting to feel a bit fatigued, so we popped next door to watch the Mickey shorts. It was a good opportunity to get off our feet for a while and we both left feeling a little refreshed and ready to keep going.





I would have liked to stay and watch some of the performances we stumbled across, but it wasn’t really Ben’s thing, so we watched for a while and then kept going.



Continued in next post...

 

[zanzibar138]

Walking past CommuniCore Plaza, the saxophone player got my attention, so we stood to watch for a while. Then we decided to check out what was in the building. Other than the Mickey meet and greet (which we didn’t feel the need to do with a long line), there was a great Disney on Broadway exhibition. Not sure if it’s part of FArts. It was fun to check out some of the props and costumes from shows we’ve seen.









There were even a couple of interactive displays. There was a baby Simba prop too, but there was a bit more of a line for that one.



We headed back out to keep exploring. There were lots of fun photo opportunities around, and many of them had little to no lines which was nice.



I enjoyed watching the artists at work. It always amazes me how talented people are!





A few more steps and we were finally approaching World Showcase.



As much as we’d found some fun things to do and see, we hadn’t loved that first part of the park. It didn’t feel magical and wonderful like MK. More like a large agricultural show (not sure if you have those in the US!). It didn’t help that it was crowded with long waits for everything and warmer than we’d expected! We were looking forward to seeing what World Showcase was all about.

 

[pkondz]

Yep, he's a keeper!

Jetstar is the same for domestic flights in Australia. You literally just get a seat. Anything else is an add-on that costs extra. I much prefer an all-inclusive airline, so usually fly Qantas.

I've never flown an ultra-low-cost carrier... not sure if I ever will. They tend to go belly-up a bit too often. (No, not like Delta. )

Spoiler alert... not a single one of our Disney resorts acknowledged our honeymoon in any way. I know you can't expect pixie dust so I was trying to keep my expectations low, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed.

Sorry to hear that.

We certainly didn't need 2 bathrooms and, while it was nice to be able to claim a bathroom each, I still think they could do something better with that space (I would have preferred laundry facilities for example).

Very strange for us nothing over in Australia ever comes with crisps!

Actually... it's pretty rare, here, too.

Ugh. We didn't realise it would be that saucy. Luckily it hadn't made the bread soggy so I could manage to eat it. Certainly wasn't one of our most enjoyable meals though.

Surprise!

I could appreciate the history. Ben appreciated the comfy seating.

I also enjoy TSMM. Surprisingly, Ben enjoyed that one even less than Buzz! Maybe because I nearly beat him lol!

We didn't realise exactly how good the wait times were until we visited the park again on a normal day!

Ben is definitely not a thrill ride person. Seven Dwarves and Slinky Dog were both a little out of his comfort level. He's my bag minder while I do all the biggest most thrilling rollercoasters I can find lol!

So that's why you married him. "I don't like putting my bag in a locker... hmm... what to do..."

 

[pkondz]

It’s never so bad waking up to an alarm when this is your view.

I bet! Nice view!

headed to the monorail instead of the ferry.

If you'd tried taking the ferry, you'd be waiting a looooong time!

I love that the monorail does a little loop around EPCOT first – it’s a lovely way to arrive.

We enjoyed the breakfast, although it was a LOT of food just for the 2 of us!

Welcome to the USofA

I always love meeting Chip N Dale – they’re a lot of fun!

I was also interested in the view to Living with the Land, which did not seem to be running at the time.

Really? Huh. Wonder why?

Cool shot!

However, by the time we finished breakfast, there was literally nothing with less than a 30 minute wait. We thought we’d do some wandering first, hoping it was some sort of anomaly and that we’d have more luck later on. Spoiler alert, we didn’t.

Not surprised by this at all.

The newlyweds.

Having said that, it would have been a much nicer experience without the crowds!

You're in the wrooooong theme park, lady!

Apparently there aren’t specific buttons for honeymooners, so we were given ‘Happily Ever After’ buttons, and would spend the rest of the trip being wished a ‘Happy Anniversary’ lol!

I left Ben on a bench while I checked out the Creations shop. I was a little disappointed with the shopping in general – I’m probably used to the Asian Disney parks that have a lot of cute accessories other than Mickey ears and Loungefly backpacks. I didn’t see anything there that I could justify spending so much money on,

I hear ya. I don't think I've ever seen anything there that caught my eye. I miss when the different parks had unique items for sale. Now it's all generic. And dull.

Clever! I like that.

Journey into Imagination was down to 15 minutes,

One ride that I won't do unless it's a walk-on.

would end up being our only ride for the day lol!

there was a great Disney on Broadway exhibition. Not sure if it’s part of FArts.

Huh. Never knew about that.

Wished for shorter wait times?

Love this shot.

I enjoyed watching the artists at work. It always amazes me how talented people are!

As much as we’d found some fun things to do and see, we hadn’t loved that first part of the park. It didn’t feel magical and wonderful like MK.

No, it doesn't. It's a very different theme. Future vs magic?

 

[zanzibar138]

I've never flown an ultra-low-cost carrier... not sure if I ever will. They tend to go belly-up a bit too often. (No, not like Delta. )

Yeah there's definitely some risk there. I'll generally only fly with them if they're very cheap for short flights. There didn't seem to be any full service airlines in the US though! Particularly on that Vegas to Florida route - there wasn't much to choose from at all!

So that's why you married him. "I don't like putting my bag in a locker... hmm... what to do..."

I've also got Mum for that

Really? Huh. Wonder why?

Not sure what the problem was that morning. It had just opened up again when we'd finished breakfast, but the line was pretty much immediately too long for us to bother!

Not surprised by this at all.

I knew that the popular rides got long wait times, but at that time of year on a weekday I was hoping that some of the less popular rides would have wait times under 20 minutes. I severely under-estimated how crowded EPCOT would be.

I hear ya. I don't think I've ever seen anything there that caught my eye. I miss when the different parks had unique items for sale. Now it's all generic. And dull.

Yes, very generic.

One ride that I won't do unless it's a walk-on.

That 15 minute wait was the shortest we saw for anything all day!

Wished for shorter wait times?

No, it doesn't. It's a very different theme. Future vs magic?

I don't know... even Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios still felt magical to me despite the different themes. EPCOT just didn't feel like Disney.

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 5: In which DH meets a mouse

5.3. Wandering the world​

By the time we hit World Showcase, it was getting well into the afternoon, and we were keen to find somewhere nice to sit with a drink and maybe a snack. Initially I thought maybe UK for a beer, so we started heading anti-clockwise around the lake. We hit the couple of stores at the entrance and a couple more art stalls, and it was then I realised how long it might take us to get to the UK! So we turned around and headed for Mexico instead.

We ended up at the San Angel Cantina, which had a longish line to get in but it was moving quickly enough. Finding a table was a whole different game though We ordered a serve of empanadas and a Coke to share, and began the search for a table. Any table. I was standing in a corner with our tray looking lost when a lovely lady called out to say she was leaving and we could have her table. Love when that happens! We’d just sat down when another lady on her own asked if she could share our table, and we happily obliged. We had a nice chat with her while we were eating. Turned out her husband had written himself off earlier in the day on GotG, and was trying to recover on a park bench somewhere. In that moment, I decided that GotG wasn’t worth the risk. I know people love it and it does look like an awesome ride, but I'm happy with my decision and don't feel like I missed out.

Feeling a little refreshed after our short break (and not wanting to take up the table for too long!), we continued our wander around World Showcase. I was very disappointed that Gran Fiesta Tour was down, but at least we still got to meet Donald.



It was nice to be among some decent theming again, and for that reason, I much preferred the World Showcase area. Felt like the focus was largely eating and shopping though, neither of which we were that interested in. We did enjoy some of the exhibition type areas, and I also enjoyed looking out for the little murals.

In Norway, we found the mini Olafs mural and read about Norse Gods.





In China we enjoyed the Shanghai Disneyland exhibition. It was fun to see the familiar photos and items – there were a few things on display that I’d purchased on my opening day trip (although I seem to have neglected to take a photo of that particular display!).







We thought the movie might be another nice opportunity to rest our feet. We were very disappointed to discover that there was no seating for the movie! But we did manage to get in a little rest on the benches while we were waiting, which tided us over for a while.

In Germany we had a little look through the shop and spent a few minutes watching the model train.





Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

We were getting tired and kind of skipped over Italy, America and Japan, although I did note the theatre in case we wanted to come back for the Disney on Broadway concert.







In Morocco we took a short wander around the alleys, then stopped at Tangerine Café for another snack, drink and rest. We really enjoyed the kebabs.







We thought about heading back for the Disney on Broadway concert, but we were both tired and knew we would have a massive day the next day, so thought we would just wander the rest of the World Showcase and then head back to the resort.

We really skipped over France lol! I didn’t even get any decent photos.

In the UK we enjoyed the architecture and gardens as we wandered past.





In Canada I just had a quick look at the shop. We thought about watching the movie there too, but being another circle vision, we figured there'd probably be no seating again and didn't love the idea of standing for it. I would later come to regret not spending more time in the area while we were there.



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

On our way out, we stopped for a few Photopass opportunities.





It was a quick and easy trip back to the TTC on the monorail, and then a quick and easy walk to our room from the TTC. When we got back to our room, Ben realised that he had lost his room card somewhere along the way. Luckily we hadn't put any charging privileges on it, so it wasn't really a big deal. We thought we'd just grab a new one from reception next time we were there. Ben had a nap while I went to do a load of washing. I was pretty impressed with the laundry room, particularly when I realised it was free (other than the laundry powder from the vending machine)! I’d taken my laptop down there and took the opportunity to catch up on emails, Facebook and photo organising while I waited. By the time I headed back up to the room, it was dark and time to get some dinner if we were to make it back before the fireworks!

I woke Ben up and we headed to the GCH to see what food was on offer. We just wanted something quick and easy so we ended up at Captain Cook’s. Ben got a flatbread and I got the pulled pork nachos after remembering a recommendation. We also got drinks and some yoghurts for in the morning, and I got a cupcake for dessert. We didn't really have time to sort out Ben's lost room card at that stage, so we took our stash back to our room and set ourselves up on the balcony waiting for the show to begin. Unfortunately we discovered that the balustrade was directly blocking the horizon line with the castle etc when we were sitting down, so had to stand for the best view (first world problems!). Other than that, it was a picture perfect view of the show across the lake.





I’d completely forgotten about the EWP until we heard the music for it. We headed back out to the balcony to watch. It was a cute little parade and fun to watch knowing the history, but not something I would bother to watch again.



I hated to admit it, but I’d been feeling a little bit off since earlier in the afternoon, and had gradually been feeling worse as the day/evening progressed. I couldn’t eat much of my dinner (and didn’t love the nachos anyway – weird that it was made with crisps instead of corn chips!), and didn’t feel like the cupcake. I hoped that it was just me getting a bit run down and that I would feel a lot better after a good sleep.

 

[pkondz]

There didn't seem to be any full service airlines in the US though! Particularly on that Vegas to Florida route - there wasn't much to choose from at all!

Really?? I'm very surprised by that.

I've also got Mum for that

Gotta have a back up.

I severely under-estimated how crowded EPCOT would be.

Disney just doesn't seem to have any "uncrowded" times anymore.

it was then I realised how long it might take us to get to the UK! So we turned around and headed for Mexico instead.

"This will take 4 minutes! We don't have time for that! Mexico is just 3 minutes, that way!"

We ordered a serve of empanadas and a Coke to share, and began the search for a table. Any table.

How were the empanadas?
I've had them from the outdoor kiosk, but not from there.

I was standing in a corner with our tray looking lost when a lovely lady called out to say she was leaving and we could have her table.

Nice of her.

We’d just sat down when another lady on her own asked if she could share our table, and we happily obliged. We had a nice chat with her while we were eating.

Great when that happens.

Turned out her husband had written himself off earlier in the day on GotG, and was trying to recover on a park bench somewhere

Oh dear.

In that moment, I decided that GotG wasn’t worth the risk. I know people love it and it does look like an awesome ride, but I'm happy with my decision and don't feel like I missed out.

Hmm...
Given what you've said before... maybe a good decision. Coasters don't normally bother me, but I can't ride that twice in a row.

I was very disappointed that Gran Fiesta Tour was down,

Bummer.

It was nice to be among some decent theming again, and for that reason, I much preferred the World Showcase area.

I go to Epcot and ride the rides I want and then leave for World Showcase.

Felt like the focus was largely eating and shopping though, neither of which we were that interested in.

I guess that's true. I'm usually looking to try something to eat... somewhere.

In China we enjoyed the Shanghai Disneyland exhibition.

I enjoyed that too.

We thought the movie might be another nice opportunity to rest our feet. We were very disappointed to discover that there was no seating for the movie!

Whoops!

In Germany we had a little look through the shop and spent a few minutes watching the model train.

You did say you weren't interested in food, but no idea how you could skip Karamell-Kuche.
The train is super fun, though.

We were getting tired and kind of skipped over Italy, America and Japan

Italy... maybe. America... sure. Japan? Nope! I'd never skip that one. The little Japanese garden is one of my favourite spots.

In Morocco we took a short wander around the alleys, then stopped at Tangerine Café for another snack, drink and rest. We really enjoyed the kebabs.

I've never been to Tangerine Café, but it's on my list.

In Canada I just had a quick look at the shop.

Sorry. Not much on offer there. I'm disappointed on my country's behalf.

We thought about watching the movie there too, but being another circle vision, we figured there'd probably be no seating again and didn't love the idea of standing for it

Correct.

Haven't seen this yet.

When we got back to our room, Ben realised that he had lost his room card somewhere along the way.

Scared me there...
I use MB instead of room card, but... when I did use room cards, I had charging privileges on them.

Luckily we hadn't put any charging privileges on it, so it wasn't really a big deal.

phew!

I was pretty impressed with the laundry room, particularly when I realised it was free (other than the laundry powder from the vending machine)!

Really! Free!
That's... so un-disney-like.

I got the pulled pork nachos after remembering a recommendation.

I've heard about those...

Unfortunately we discovered that the balustrade was directly blocking the horizon line with the castle etc when we were sitting down, so had to stand for the best view (first world problems!)

Other than that, it was a picture perfect view of the show across the lake.

I’d completely forgotten about the EWP until we heard the music for it. We headed back out to the balcony to watch. It was a cute little parade and fun to watch knowing the history, but not something I would bother to watch again.

It is a cute little parade, but... yes, nice if you happen to spot it, but not something you need to go out of your way for. At least not more than once?

I hated to admit it, but I’d been feeling a little bit off since earlier in the afternoon, and had gradually been feeling worse as the day/evening progressed.

Uh, oh...

I couldn’t eat much of my dinner (and didn’t love the nachos anyway – weird that it was made with crisps instead of corn chips!)

Really? I did not know that. And yes, that's odd.

I hoped that it was just me getting a bit run down and that I would feel a lot better after a good sleep.

Sure hope you felt better

 

[zanzibar138]

Really?? I'm very surprised by that.

I was surprised too, would have thought LAS-MCO would be a more popular route. I guess they're pretty different target audiences

Disney just doesn't seem to have any "uncrowded" times anymore.

There were crowds in the other parks, but it definitely had the biggest impact on our enjoyment in EPCOT.

"This will take 4 minutes! We don't have time for that! Mexico is just 3 minutes, that way!"

Haha it was more knowing that I'd be distracted by stuff along the way - there were another several art stalls and then Canada before getting to the UK. Going the other way, there was only the stuff we'd already seen before getting to Mexico.

How were the empanadas?

They were pretty good!

You did say you weren't interested in food, but no idea how you could skip Karamell-Kuche.

Ben's not a fan of caramel in any form, so he had no interest. I was tempted, but I couldn't be bothered to line up or deal with lots of people.

Italy... maybe. America... sure. Japan? Nope! I'd never skip that one. The little Japanese garden is one of my favourite spots.

We were planning to check out some of the things we'd skipped over next time we were there. It turns out that we never really got back to Japan, which I'm a bit sad about.

I've never been to Tangerine Café, but it's on my list.

Definitely recommend it.

Sorry. Not much on offer there. I'm disappointed on my country's behalf.

Well the landscaping looked nice from what I could see of it in the dark. I felt like I could have got some lovely photos.

Really! Free!
That's... so un-disney-like.

I know right!

Sure hope you felt better

Without giving too much away, luckily it didn't turn into anything too serious.

 

[pkondz]

I was surprised too, would have thought LAS-MCO would be a more popular route. I guess they're pretty different target audiences

Haha it was more knowing that I'd be distracted by stuff along the way - there were another several art stalls and then Canada before getting to the UK. Going the other way, there was only the stuff we'd already seen before getting to Mexico.

Fair point.

They were pretty good!

Good!
I enjoyed them too.

Ben's not a fan of caramel in any form, so he had no interest. I was tempted, but I couldn't be bothered to line up or deal with lots of people.

Ah. That would do it. And yes… that place can get pretty crowded/busy.

We were planning to check out some of the things we'd skipped over next time we were there. It turns out that we never really got back to Japan, which I'm a bit sad about.

Guess you’ll just have to go back.

Well the landscaping looked nice from what I could see of it in the dark. I felt like I could have got some lovely photos.

The landscaping is pretty nice, actually.

Without giving too much away, luckily it didn't turn into anything too serious.

That’s good at least

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 5: In which DH meets a mouse

5.4. Resort hop in a wedding dress​

I apologise in advance, this will be wordy update as we haven’t received our photos back yet. I will definitely post a selection when we get them!

It was another early-ish alarm this morning, as I had a lot to do! We had initially planned our post-wedding photo shoot for the following week, but our photographer (Randy) had asked to reschedule. We’d had a free morning today – I had been planning to use it for a little rest and recovery before our next late night, but was happy to squeeze the photo shoot in at 10:00am. I’d expected to be done within an hour or 2 and planned to have a bit of lunch at the Poly before heading to AK for the afternoon.

Unfortunately I woke up not feeling any better, but dutifully ate my yoghurt and started the process of getting ready. I’d steamed my dress the night before by hanging it above a hot bath with the shower curtain drawn, which had worked perfectly! I managed my makeup without too much drama (I did it myself for the wedding, so had already had a practice run!), but struggled a little with my hair. I had ended up booking a hair stylist for the wedding since I’d been having trouble with it, so was just trying to recreate the general look while keeping it fairly simple. I was happy enough with it in the end.

We got a message from Randy to say he’d arrived at the Poly, so we headed over to the lobby to meet him. We couldn’t find him immediately, and felt a bit self-conscious hanging around in the lobby in our wedding clothes. That morning, we would get lots of stares, congratulatory comments and starstruck looks from little girls! We eventually met up with Randy, who immediately made us feel more comfortable, and headed out the back of GCH to start our shoot.

We took a few photos around the pool landscaping and at the Poly beach, then the dock for the resort launches. Randy had thought we might walk along the path to the GF, but we decided it might be better to save our feet, so we headed back to the GCH to take the monorail. He got a few photos on the monorail, but otherwise it was a nice opportunity to rest for a few minutes.

We got off the monorail at the GF and got a few photos on the balcony overlooking the lobby, and then on the stairs. Then we headed outside and got some photos at the Summerhouse area, around the pool and at the dock there too. We’d been going for a while by then, getting on for 2 hours. So on our way back to the monorail we stopped by the shop at the GF to grab some drinks. Then there was another opportunity for a few minutes of rest on the monorail.

Next we headed to the Contemporary. Knowing that we’d be staying there soon, it was fun to get a preview! At the monorail, we were directed to the lift as it was deemed to be unsafe for me to take the escalator in my dress. We headed out to the viewing terrace first for a few photos. Randy had his heart set on taking us up to Cali Grill for some photos on the viewing deck up there, so we went down to the lobby for him to ask. We sat patiently while he tried to make arrangements, and we were eventually approached by several CMs including a senior manager, who would accompany us to. It was quite the process with Cali Grill not being open yet. The CMs had to use a special key to take us up and unlock the doors for the viewing decks. Randy accidentally got locked outside so we had to find the CMs again to rescue him lol! It was all well worth it though. Randy sent us a preview image the following day, and it looks amazing! I can’t wait to see the rest of the photos!



We were pretty pleased that the Contemporary was the last stop on the photoshoot tour lol! We’d actually had a lot of fun (even Ben), but we had been going for nearly 3 hours by then. I still wasn't feeling the best. I was wearing my wedding heels and starting to get some hotspots (although they were really amazingly comfortable all things considered!). It was warming up too and we were both starting to get a bit hot and sweaty and uncomfortable.

So we took the monorail back to the TTC, said goodbye to Randy, and headed back up to our room to freshen up and change into something a little more practical lol!

 

[pkondz]

we haven’t received our photos back yet.

When I first read that, I was so confused.

"Wait... are you shooting film??"

I’d steamed my dress before by hanging it above a hot bath with the shower curtain drawn, which had worked perfectly!

Good tip.

. I had ended up booking a hair stylist for the wedding since I’d been having trouble with it, so was just trying to recreate the general look while keeping it fairly simple. I was happy enough with it in the end.

Good for you!

felt a bit self-conscious hanging around in the lobby in our wedding clothes.

Nah. I'm betting people were pretty thrilled to see you.

That morning, we would get lots of stares, congratulatory comments and starstruck looks from little girls!

See!!!

At the monorail, we were directed to the lift as it was deemed to be unsafe for me to take the escalator in my dress.

Those things are more dangerous than people realize. Lost 1/4 of a shoe once. Luckily, no toes went with it.

Randy had his heart set on taking us up to Cali Grill for some photos on the viewing deck up there, so we went down to the lobby for him to ask. We sat patiently while he tried to make arrangements, and we were eventually approached by several CMs including a senior manager, who would accompany us to. It was quite the process with Cali Grill not being open yet. The CMs had to use a special key to take us up and unlock the doors for the viewing decks.

Wow!
I'm gonna have to dress up in a wedding gown and ask for some perks!

Might not go over quite as well as yours did.

Randy accidentally got locked outside so we had to find the CMs again to rescue him lol!

Beautiful!

We were pretty pleased that the Contemporary was the last stop on the photoshoot tour lol! We’d actually had a lot of fun (even Ben), but we had been going for about 3 hours by then.

 

[zanzibar138]

Those things are more dangerous than people realize. Lost 1/4 of a shoe once. Luckily, no toes went with it.

Yikes!

I'm gonna have to dress up in a wedding gown and ask for some perks!

With no acknowledgement of our honeymoon from any of our resorts, it was nice to get something a little bit special

 

[pkondz]

With no acknowledgement of our honeymoon from any of our resorts, it was nice to get something a little bit special