The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[zanzibar138]

We use to describe something like a dive bar with illicit activity, perhaps a red-light district or situation where there are things happening that your momma warned you about...

Gone are the Capri and Royale, the seedy motels that were a magnet for crime.
— Bill Turque, kansascity, 12 May 2018

Ah, yeah I think we use it in that context too. Usually we'll just say 'dodgy' though.

YAY!!! But... like nothing at all? I'm so happy you got your room but geez...

Yeah, I was trying not to expect anything special, but I think deep down I was still expecting something at some stage.

My least fave in TL. Just not my thing. Mostly because I suck so bad at it.

I suck at it too, but I enjoy trying.

I didn't make it onto Tron my last trip, the lines were just too long and I didn't pay for any LL's. Maybe next time. I think doing it during an AH was a perfect way to get on!

I didn't do Tron outside of an AH party for the same reason.

This is the entire theme of any trip to WDW.

We found the crowds the most bothersome at EPCOT.

Usually the CMs do that for you when you get them at the front desk. Did they offer?

No, no one offered anything lol! I figured they have so many people there now celebrating some sort of special occasion that they don't really have the capacity to offer much special anymore. Seemed like every second group had someone wearing a celebration button of some description.

Love the shorts, for both the show AND the AC/seating.

I do like some of the more natural areas and gardens they've added. But don't love the huge stage areas for giant concerts/entertainment. I miss the old days of the edutainment exhibits.

Yes, I think that would have helped. Something for people to do outside of rides. Not sure if there was something we'd missed too, but it seemed that you could only access the little activity areas after doing the ride (ie Nemo, Journey of Imagination and Spaceship Earth). Would have been better to be able to just walk in to those areas any time.

FREE?! come again?

WOW! What a nice surprise and THIS is the Disney we love.

I'd go with a band any day over a card. I'd lose one of those in a hot minute.

Even though the bands cost us AUD $80 each we still thought it was worthwhile for the length of our trip. Was so much easier.

The WORST! And it seems even longer because the walk just getting OUT of the park from the Tree on is hella long.

Yes, that too!

It definitely is VERY dark in there at night. Almost like dangerously so. I do wonder how many folks trip or fall back in there.

I wondered that too.

Oga's was a once or twice and done for me. Way too $$$$ but well-worth the theming.

Definitely. We won't bother going again, but it was good to experience it once.

You are sooooooo lucky. I messed up a couple of times my last trip and there was zero hope at 7:01.

That's what I was expecting! I guess it was foreshadowing how quiet the day would be.

This really upsets me to lose such an iconic/this-is-Disney attraction. Walt would be devastated if he knew. Was shocked when I heard the news last year.

Even though I'm not hugely invested in WDW, I'm sad about this too. I'm sure the Cars ride will be great, but surely they could have done it without losing the river After all, Walt's entire idea about buying up so much land in Florida was to have heaps of room to expand over time.

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 5: In which DH meets a mouse

5.8. Wishes do come true​

There were large crowds headed towards the ferry, so we thought we’d do something a bit different and head for the resort launch. Probably a bad idea. The ferry is massive and can accommodate a huge amount of people very comfortably. The resort launch was actually bigger than it looked and could accommodate lots of people, but not quite as comfortably as the ferry. We were a fair way back in the line and had to stand in the aisle for the first part of the trip to GF. It also took far longer than the ferry to show up, so we were quite pleased that we’d been able to fit on!



It certainly wasn’t a long journey though, so it wasn’t terrible, particularly once a heap of people got off at GF and we could sit. Soon we were arriving at the Poly to a beautiful sunset view.





We took the opportunity to wander around the resort, thinking we might try somewhere else for dinner.









Our wandering did take us as far as Wailulu Grill at the tower, but didn’t find anything on the menu that appealing that we were willing to wait for a table. And so, we found ourselves at Captain Cook’s once again lol! I forget what Ben ordered that night, but once I’d found my kid’s chicken skewers, I was very happy to just have that!

One of our awesome DISers had added some information about fireworks to the CM Appreciation Day thread, so we knew that there would be a show at 9:30pm AND that show would be Wishes! Wishes was the first Disney fireworks show I ever saw, back in DLR in 2011, so the nostalgia is strong. We were back up at our room in plenty of time, and were able to relax a bit before the show. I might have had a bath… can’t remember lol! At 9:30pm we settled in on the balcony and watched the amazing show. Being a private event, there was no piped music for the show, but it was honestly incredible even without it, and I remembered enough to imagine bits of the song while watching. A lot of the sequences looked familiar too. Such a fun experience and I was super thrilled that we’d been at the Poly that night to have such a spectacular view.


(Love how this one almost looks like Mickey ears!)





We’d just gotten settled back in the room when we heard music. Turns out it was the EWP. I wouldn’t have bothered to stay up specifically to watch it, but since it was on, I lingered on the balcony for a few minutes before giving up and turning in. I definitely was not feeling great, but I knew that we had a fairly quiet day the next day with an opportunity for a sleep in AND an early night!

 

[pkondz]

They were going to the party too. We all reassured each other that we were going the right way lol!

I've just been to the dentist today. Much preferred the fuzzy tauntaun experience

The character handlers were happy to take photos using our own camera/phone.

Ohhh... Hmmm... I wonder if that takes away some of their ability to... you know... handle the characters (or guests.)

You don't like penguins? I was far more excited about the penguins than Bert

No, no, no.
I meant that you can see Bert fairly easily, but I've never seen him with penguins. And that's cool!

 

[pkondz]

I woke feeling slightly worse again, and struggled to drag my butt out of bed.

Sorry to hear that.
But it didn't seem to slow you down, so that's good.

I felt better when I looked out the window and saw the amazing view of MK over the lake, softly lit through a thin layer of fog with the last of the sunrise. Magic.

The best medicine.

Gorgeous!

I realised I’d forgotten to book a VQ for Tiana when we got up. I thought surely we’d missed our opportunity by then, but checked anyway, and was shocked to be assigned a group! I think we were around 60.

I'm surprised too!

As I’m sure ALL of you would know, arriving at 7:30am for a 7:30am EE is NOT good enough.

Nope!

Next we headed to Pirates which, after opening slightly late, was still pretty much a walk-on too.

Rope drop for the win!

We happened across Sleepy Hollow on the way through and thought Mickey waffles sounded pretty good. We got one of each of the plain fruit and the Nutella versions to share.

I'd have the former... not a huge fan of Nutella.

Nice shot of you both.

Awww.

When we arrived, there was a cheeky squirrel causing chaos, with both chipmunks trying to shoo it away lol!

I guess chipmunks and squirrels don't mix!

We headed to the train station without further ado, and timed it perfectly as one was just arriving. We did the full circuit.

You didn't want to go to the furthest reaches of Tomorrowland... so you went even further all the way to the Main St train station!

Since Tom Sawyer Island is on the chopping block, we decided to head across there while we still could.

I'm glad I did it at least once. The bigger tragedy is the Liberty Square Riverboat. (IMHO)

We headed to Country Bears next, which we thought was a fun little show, and another good opportunity for a bit of a rest.

How did you like it? I've been hearing mixed reviews about the new show.

Next up, we took a ride on the paddle steamer. It’s such a lovely thing to do, it’s going to be a real shame to lose it.

Very much. I really wish there was some way of keeping it.

Fun shot.

It was only 10 or 15 minutes until our group was called, so we headed on in.

Good timing.

I had kind of realised that I was wearing a white skirt and wondering about the implications of that lol!

Oh!!! I hadn't thought of that.

I do agree with reviews that say the story isn’t quite as engaging as the old Splash Mountain, and the old music is pretty hard to go past as well. We both enjoyed it though, and it was one of the few rides that Ben expressed interest in repeating.

Thanks for that. I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on that ride, too.

Ben said the chicken was ok.

High praise indeed!

After the AH party, wait times for the headliners still seemed pretty long. 30-45 minutes for Peter Pan, and 45-60 minutes for Tron and Seven Dwarves. We only realised how fantastic those times were when we went on a normal day, and I immediately regretted not making more of an effort to ride them.

Yeah, I read that and thought "Those times aren't bad for those rides..."

However, just as we got to the front, Minnie and Daisy headed off for a break. I’ve got absolutely no problem with that – I know the characters need their breaks. However, they were gone for a good 10-15 minutes. We were annoyed at the handler, who had said when they left they'd just be a 'few minutes', and kept updating us with 'just a couple more minutes'. If he'd said 10-15 minutes from the start, we could have made an informed decision about whether to stay or not.

I wonder if there was a mix-up of some sort. Maybe the CM did anticipate they'd be back in five minutes.

When we arrived, we noticed that Winnie the Pooh only had a 10 minute wait, so we jumped in line for that. I was pleased that Ben would get to do one last ride. Unfortunately that was fairly short-lived, as just as we were entering the queue, it went down

 

[pkondz]

Our wandering did take us as far as Wailulu Grill at the tower,

I've never heard of this. Will look at the menu.

And so, we found ourselves at Captain Cook’s once again lol!

You're regulars, now!

we knew that there would be a show at 9:30pm AND that show would be Wishes!

No! Wow! Wish I could see that again. Miss it.

(Love how this one almost looks like Mickey ears!)

Maybe by design?

We’d just gotten settled back in the room when we heard music. Turns out it was the EWP. I wouldn’t have bothered to stay up specifically to watch it, but since it was on, I lingered on the balcony for a few minutes before giving up and turning in.

One of those "Well, since I'm already here..." moments.

 

[zanzibar138]

Ohhh... Hmmm... I wonder if that takes away some of their ability to... you know... handle the characters (or guests.)

It didn't seem to cause any issues. Having said that, they didn't have a huge amount of people to deal with. The lines for the characters were all pretty short.

I meant that you can see Bert fairly easily, but I've never seen him with penguins. And that's cool!

Oh, that makes sense. Definitely very cool! Kind of regret not making more of an effort to go back for the penguins and White Rabbit - we were just sooooo done by that time!

But it didn't seem to slow you down, so that's good.

Not yet...

The best medicine.

You didn't want to go to the furthest reaches of Tomorrowland... so you went even further all the way to the Main St train station!

I had to map this Google tells me it's an 8 minute walk to Tiana's from Main Street Station, or an 11 minute walk from Tron. The main difference was that I knew once we got to Main Street Station, we could take the train to Frontierland Station to avoid having to walk back.

How did you like it? I've been hearing mixed reviews about the new show.

I never saw the old show so have nothing to compare it to, but we enjoyed it for what it was.

I wonder if there was a mix-up of some sort. Maybe the CM did anticipate they'd be back in five minutes.

That is highly possible. I thought it was odd that they took Minnie away mid-greet for the family in front of us.

Maybe by design?

Wouldn't surprise me. I also got a pretty good Mickey ears shot in HEA from BLT.

 

[pkondz]

Definitely very cool! Kind of regret not making more of an effort to go back for the penguins and White Rabbit - we were just sooooo done by that time!

When you’re done, you’re done.

Not yet...

Uh oh…

Google tells me it's an 8 minute walk to Tiana's from Main Street Station, or an 11 minute walk from Tron.

Huh! Surprised by that.

I never saw the old show so have nothing to compare it to, but we enjoyed it for what it was.

Fair enough.

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 5: In which DH meets a mouse

5.8. Re-launch at EPCOT​

We woke to our last perfect morning view of MK. I was NOT feeling well this morning, but we had to check out so I sucked it up and finished packing. I wasn’t hungry, but managed to force down the cupcake we had in the fridge rather than wasting it!



We headed to the lobby to check out and organise our luggage transfer to BLT. Ben couldn’t believe that we could just drop our luggage there and it would magically appear in our next room later on lol! We took some photos in the lobby while we were there. I managed to look far better than I felt



We were headed to EPCOT today for a 1pm reservation at Space 220. We had plenty of time, so we decided to just take the monorail from the lobby to save our legs. We had a brief look around upstairs, and picked up some supplies and pins from Moana Mercantile.



The monorail was pretty quiet at that time of day, and we were still pretty early when we arrived at EPCOT. We just headed straight for Space 220 anyway. We hadn't been in that section of the park yet, so thought there might be something there to check out while we waited. There was not lol!



We were still half an hour early for our reservation, but we decided to just check in anyway (making sure to mention our honeymoon when asked if we were celebrating anything). To our surprise, we were called a few minutes later!



We really enjoyed the experience of going up in the elevator and the cool space theming on the way in. Sadly, we weren’t seated at the window, but it did seem like all the seating closer to the window was for larger groups, and it was still a lot of fun!





The menu was a bit fancy for us and it was a bit of a struggle to find something appealing. I started with the calamari, and Ben surprised me by ordering the raw Wagyu. Then we both had the steak for mains. I actually got a bit of menu envy when I saw the salmon coming out – would have definitely ordered that if I’d seen it first. I find salmon to be very hit and miss at restaurants. I ordered a cocktail of course, and Ben just got a beer.



We enjoyed watching the fun effects out the window while we were eating.



We were both pretty full after the 2 courses, but I was keen to order a dessert – they’re always pretty at highly themed places! We shared the cosmic cheesecake, which did not disappoint.



We enjoyed the journey back down to Earth, and then headed back out into EPCOT.

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

I had noticed the wait time for Living with the Land wasn’t too bad, so we headed in that direction, stopping for a quick photo opportunity on the way through.



The wait time was still looking ok when we made it to the Land Pavilion, so we got in line. Turned out to be about a 20 minute wait.



I actually quite enjoyed the ride – it was relaxing and I found it quite interesting too. It’s not something I would wait more than 20 minutes for though.



We didn’t do Journey to Imagination on this visit (it was a cute little ride, but is VERY dated and really needs an upgrade), but there was still plenty of Figment!







We watched the Mickey shorts show again while we were in the area, and then headed over to The Seas.



It was a relatively short wait for the Nemo ride, but boy it was disappointing! It was ok, but there’s so much potential there to make it something really special.



We spent a bit of time checking out the exhibit at the end which, again was ok, but nothing spectacular. Maybe we’re spoilt by the amazing aquariums in Australia and Asia. We would have loved to have seen the manatees as well, but obviously fully support whatever is required for their wellbeing. I did enjoy this ‘hidden’ Mickey in the aquarium.



I was really not very well, and very ready to call it a day. So we headed out, ready to begin the BLT chapter of the trip.

 

[pkondz]

I was NOT feeling well this morning

Sorry to hear. Had hoped you might feel better "today".

I wasn’t hungry, but managed to force down the cupcake we had in the fridge rather than wasting it!

Cupcakes are basically medicinal, right?

Right.

Ben couldn’t believe that we could just drop our luggage there and it would magically appear in our next room later on lol!

I managed to look far better than I felt

Atta girl.
Soldier on! There's a theme park to attack!

We were headed to EPCOT today for a 1pm reservation at Space 220.

Nice!

We hadn't been in that section of the park yet, so thought there might be something there to check out while we waited. There was not lol!

Not interested in trying Mission Space? (non-spinning one, of course.)

We really enjoyed the experience of going up in the elevator and the cool space theming on the way in. Sadly, we weren’t seated at the window, but it did seem like all the seating closer to the window was for larger groups, and it was still a lot of fun!

I agree! Fun place.

Ben surprised me by ordering the raw Wagyu

Interesting! Did he like it? Was it sliced very thinly?

The wait time was still looking ok when we made it to the Land Pavilion, so we got in line. Turned out to be about a 20 minute wait.

Not bad.

I actually quite enjoyed the ride – it was relaxing and I found it quite interesting too.

It's not bad. Some people swear by it as one of their faves.

It’s not something I would wait more than 20 minutes for though.

I'd agree with that.
I'm not sure I'd even wait that long!

We didn’t do Journey to Imagination on this visit (it was a cute little ride, but is VERY dated and really needs an upgrade),

Agreed.

Fun shot.

It was a relatively short wait for the Nemo ride, but boy it was disappointing! It was ok, but there’s so much potential there to make it something really special.

Yeah... wish there was more... reality in there. I guess kids like it. Reminds me more of Pooh or Under the Sea/Voyage of Little Mermaid.

I was really not very well, and very ready to call it a day.

Hope you start feeling better soon.

 

[zanzibar138]

Sorry to hear. Had hoped you might feel better "today".

I was pleased that I'd at least managed to hold it off until we had a couple of quieter days.

Cupcakes are basically medicinal, right?

Especially Moana themed ones at Disney

Not interested in trying Mission Space? (non-spinning one, of course.)

Definitely not. I have zero interest in ANYTHING to do with Mission Space

Interesting! Did he like it? Was it sliced very thinly?

Turns out I took a photo of it.



It certainly doesn't look appetizing to me, but from memory I think Ben ate all of it, so it mustn't have been too bad. I actually don't mind the taste of tuna/steak tartare, but have a real problem with the texture.

I'm not sure I'd even wait that long!

If we weren't willing to wait 20 minutes for some of the less popular attractions, we wouldn't have got anything done at EPCOT!

Yeah... wish there was more... reality in there. I guess kids like it. Reminds me more of Pooh or Under the Sea/Voyage of Little Mermaid.

I actually wished it had more colour. It's a reef. So much opportunity to have guests immersed in colour and texture and interesting detail, but it was very drab and dark. Just felt like we were moving from one screen to the next. I much preferred Pooh and Voyage of the Little Mermaid!

Hope you start feeling better soon.

Yeah that was pretty much the worst day. Although it had been a bit of a nuisance for a few days, at least it hadn't stopped us from doing anything, and once I started feeling better it was a pretty quick recovery

 

[zanzibar138]

Exciting stuff! I have the link to our post-wedding photos Will take me a while to go through them all to pick out a small selection, but will definitely be sharing soon!

 

[pkondz]

I was pleased that I'd at least managed to hold it off until we had a couple of quieter days.

Good planning.
I think I will plan my sick times better in the future.

Definitely not. I have zero interest in ANYTHING to do with Mission Space

So tell me how you really feel!

Turns out I took a photo of it.

Interesting! Thin, but... large pieces. Was not expecting that.

If we weren't willing to wait 20 minutes for some of the less popular attractions, we wouldn't have got anything done at EPCOT!

Fair point!

I actually wished it had more colour. It's a reef. So much opportunity to have guests immersed in colour and texture and interesting detail, but it was very drab and dark. Just felt like we were moving from one screen to the next.

Oh! And... yes! Very good point.

Yeah that was pretty much the worst day. Although it had been a bit of a nuisance for a few days, at least it hadn't stopped us from doing anything, and once I started feeling better it was a pretty quick recovery

Glad to hear you'll be turning the corner.

Exciting stuff! I have the link to our post-wedding photos Will take me a while to go through them all to pick out a small selection, but will definitely be sharing soon!

Woot!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 6: In which we get two rooms and nearly see a parade

6.1. A disappointing start​

On our way back to the MK area, we realised we would have to take the resort monorail all the way around again to get to BLT lol! We did enjoy the views in the fading light.









We were excited to discover our new resort, but we knew once we got to our room, we would not be leaving again! So we grabbed a quick dinner at Contempo Café on the way through the main tower. I’d heard lots of comments about those restaurants being noisy, but we didn’t find it too bad and actually enjoyed the atmosphere. Unfortunately the food was a bit of a different story. There wasn’t much there that sounded appealing, so we just got a flatbread and some fries to share.



I’d been checking the app all day, but our room number had not appeared yet. I never did get notification of a room number on the app, so something must have gone wrong. We would need to check in at BLT. The first thing I noticed walking into BLT was the vibe was very ‘generic timeshare resort’. Nothing wrong with it at all – it was very nice and modern, just not very Disney.



We checked in to get our room number. I had of course mentioned our honeymoon in our room request and requested a room on the highest floor possible (noting that we had booked standard view), on the outside of the horseshoe for privacy. I’d actually been hoping that we might get a room looking towards MK with a fireworks view! We were given room 7209. I was super disappointed to see that it was a second floor room overlooking the courtyard and the pool. Not a terrible view as such, but I was concerned about the lack of privacy and potential noise.



The room itself was pleasant enough. We definitely noticed the smaller size after the Poly, but it wasn’t a problem just for the 2 of us. My main issue was the lack of privacy curtains, particularly given the location of the room. It wasn't necessarily an issue at night, since we could just close the blockout curtains, but during the day we wanted to let the light in.



There was a generic towel Mickey on the bed, but still no acknowledgement of our honeymoon



After checking out the room, we settled in for the evening. It was then that I discovered the lack of power points. We had to move the Hey Disney so I could plug in my laptop next to the bed, and there was a severe lack of USB ports, so I had to charge my phone and camera from my laptop. I’m sure this will be addressed during the room renovations, which are already well underway.

Next problem… there was no wifi! We couldn’t even get the Hey Disney or the TV online. Thought I’d try connecting my laptop to my phone hotspot, but had no coverage! We called down to reception and they directed us to an IT helpdesk who said they would send someone out the next day to look at the wifi.

We unwound watching a little TV, but after a big few days, I fell asleep pretty early.

 

[zanzibar138]

Interrupting this TR to bring you a selection of our post-wedding photos. I apologise for the photo spam... there is no possible way to narrow this down to 10

 

[zanzibar138]

 

[pkondz]

We were excited to discover our new resort, but we knew once we got to our room, we would not be leaving again!

And they're still there to this day... never to leave...


Wait... that's the Hotel California.

we grabbed a quick dinner at Contempo Café

Never been there...

Unfortunately the food was a bit of a different story. There wasn’t much there that sounded appealing

...and it doesn't sound like I need to put it on my "must do" list.

The first thing I noticed walking into BLT was the vibe was very ‘generic timeshare resort’. Nothing wrong with it at all – it was very nice and modern, just not very Disney.

Interesting. I've only stayed at one and didn't notice that.

We were given room 7209. I was super disappointed to see that it was a second floor room overlooking the courtyard and the pool.

Just about the opposite of what you'd hoped for.

My main issue was the lack of privacy curtains, particularly given the location of the room. It wasn't necessarily an issue at night, since we could just close the blockout curtains, but during the day we wanted to let the light in.

Interesting observation. I'm rarely in the room during the day so can't say as I'd ever noticed this.

There was a generic towel Mickey on the bed, but still no acknowledgement of our honeymoon

Disney is really missing the ball on this.

Next problem… there was no wifi! We couldn’t even get the Hey Disney or the TV online.

Really? What the heck?

Interrupting this TR to bring you a selection of our post-wedding photos.

Wonderful photos! Do not ask me which I like the best!
However, I really like the angle and contrast on this one:

 

[Paulaparm]

Gorgeous photos!!

 

[zanzibar138]

And they're still there to this day... never to leave...

Not with the amount we were paying per night!

...and it doesn't sound like I need to put it on my "must do" list.

Definitely not. There wasn't really anything special about it - just a quick and easy place to grab something to eat.

Interesting. I've only stayed at one and didn't notice that.

Maybe it was more highly contrasted coming directly from the Poly.

Just about the opposite of what you'd hoped for.

I know right

Interesting observation. I'm rarely in the room during the day so can't say as I'd ever noticed this.

We mainly found it a problem for getting ready in the morning. It was so dark with the curtains drawn, I felt like I couldn't find anything!

Wonderful photos! Do not ask me which I like the best!

Me either!

 

[zanzibar138]

Gorgeous photos!!

Thank you, I'm super happy with them!