The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[pkondz]

I can’t leave Florida without doing an airboat ride!

I read that title and thought "Uh, oh!"
I'll explain as we go...

High on the list for me was an airboat ride, as something unique to that area of the world.

I did one on my second visit to Florida... which was my first visit as an adult.

We arrived to a very urban, very manicured looking but somewhat deserted lakefront. We wandered for a short while to make sure we weren’t missing anything, but Mr Google had definitely led us astray with that one!

Whoops!

we were excited to see several gators, a turtle and lots of bird life.

You did better than I did on my first (and only) airboat ride. I saw exactly zero of any of those.

Next, we were instructed to put on our ear muffs as we sped across the lake.

This is back in the 80s... No ear muffs. Just ear damage...

A little way in, I noticed that we had a bit of water coming into the front of the boat, and it seemed to be struggling a bit! Soon the captain stopped the boat, and asked a couple of the people in the front row to move to the back. Apparently we’d been too front-heavy to be able to plane properly, and after that it was all fine. Was a little nerve-wracking for a couple of minutes though!

I bet! Especially with all the gators around.

we sped through some of the little channels, which was a lot of fun, and amazing to see how the boat just went straight over the top of the vegetation.

We didn't "speed" anywhere. We mostly crawled at very low speed. And never ventured out of a water-filled canal.

It may not have been the best airboat ride we could have done, but we both really enjoyed the experience and I was pleased we’d made the effort.

Glad you enjoyed it. It sounds 1,000% better than the one I took!

Unfortunately both our first choices were unavailable, and what we did end up ordering took a long time to come out.

I guess it's not that surprising, given the location.

I can’t remember what Ben got, but I went with the tacos, so wouldn’t have expected to take that long!

Obviously something that took forever to cook. Perhaps he ordered the rack of lamb with accompanying Baked Alaska?

Ben finally decided to have a drive while we were out in the sticks with no traffic.

I take it he's a nervous driver.

We had one more scheduled stop on the way back at Vineland Outlets, hoping to find some good bargains on Disney merch. To say this was disappointing would be an understatement.

That's too bad. I haven't been in one of those outlet stores in decades.

I took over driving again as we were back in pretty serious traffic.

See earlier question: re Ben...

Ben found a couple of t-shirts though, which turned out to be a great buy as he was even getting compliments from CMs and wears them regularly.

Then I'd call that a success.

Walmart is a bit of a novelty for us. Our supermarkets pretty much just have groceries, with a much smaller variety on offer too. Walmart has everything!

Don't tell her about Super Targets, people...

it was starting to get pretty late, and traffic was an absolute nightmare.

Welcome to Florida.

We were just standing around trying to figure everything out, when one of the shuttle bus drivers approached us to say he would be happy to do one last run! We were super grateful not to have to bother with ubers etc and gave him a nice big tip (although he did have to wait for me to run up to our room to grab some cash!).

Nice little bit of pixie dust there.

Then set up our picnic dinner on the balcony for the show.

 

[zanzibar138]

Glad you enjoyed it. It sounds 1,000% better than the one I took!

Gosh, no wonder you were nervous for me when I mentioned it!

I guess it's not that surprising, given the location.

While it felt like we were in the sticks, it was actually only half an hour from Downtown Orlando and less than 20 minutes from Sanford. No helicopter required

Obviously something that took forever to cook. Perhaps he ordered the rack of lamb with accompanying Baked Alaska?

Must have been...

I take it he's a nervous driver.

Only when he's driving a Mustang on the 'wrong' side of the road

That's too bad. I haven't been in one of those outlet stores in decades.

I still remember going to the one in Vegas in 2011. It was AWESOME! There was so much great stuff in there. Sadly I was on a pretty low budget at the time, but I picked up an amazing POTC print for $5.

I actually think it's at least partly due to the rise in online selling. Anything that's half decent at a good price now gets snapped up by people hoping to make a buck.

Don't tell her about Super Targets, people...

Honestly, your supermarkets are definitely part of the sightseeing experience for us Aussies! We have Target, but they don't sell groceries, only clothing and homewares.

 

[pkondz]

Gosh, no wonder you were nervous for me when I mentioned it!

While it felt like we were in the sticks, it was actually only half an hour from Downtown Orlando and less than 20 minutes from Sanford. No helicopter required

It’s amazing how much wilderness is just outside of built up areas in Florida.

Only when he's driving a Mustang on the 'wrong' side of the road

Ok!

still remember going to the one in Vegas in 2011. It was AWESOME! There was so much great stuff in there. Sadly I was on a pretty low budget at the time, but I picked up an amazing POTC print for $5.

Not bad!

actually think it's at least partly due to the rise in online selling. Anything that's half decent at a good price now gets snapped up by people hoping to make a buck.

Could be.

 

[Steppesister]

A little way in, I noticed that we had a bit of water coming into the front of the boat, and it seemed to be struggling a bit! Soon the captain stopped the boat, and asked a couple of the people in the front row to move to the back. Apparently we’d been too front-heavy to be able to plane properly, and after that it was all fine. Was a little nerve-wracking for a couple of minutes though!

Oh dear! This does sound a little nerve-wracking. Yikes!

It may not have been the best airboat ride we could have done, but we both really enjoyed the experience and I was pleased we’d made the effort.

Sounds really nice though. This is something I've never done in all my times in FL.

Ben finally decided to have a drive while we were out in the sticks with no traffic.

It's not that hard, honestly. If I can do it in Aus and Italy, I'll bet he could too.

We decided to do one more stop at Walmart to get some things for a ‘picnic’ style dinner. We were amused to find that we’d accidentally parked right next to another red sporty car.

Twinsies (fraternal, not identical)

We were still able to do the key drop in the box, so that wasn’t an issue, but we would have to get an uber back to our hotel instead of having a free shuttle.

Well, poop!

We were just standing around trying to figure everything out, when one of the shuttle bus drivers approached us to say he would be happy to do one last run! We were super grateful not to have to bother with ubers etc and gave him a nice big tip (although he did have to wait for me to run up to our room to grab some cash!).

Oops, SCORE! Nice timing and Disney Magic!

And with that, we called it a night.

WOW! What a nice photo!

 

[zanzibar138]

Sounds really nice though. This is something I've never done in all my times in FL.

Definitely worth putting on the list if you're ever looking for a non-Disney thing to do!

It's not that hard, honestly. If I can do it in Aus and Italy, I'll bet he could too.

Haha he was fine with all the other driving we did (except the time he nearly pulled out on the wrong side of the road ). He was just insanely nervous about driving an expensive high-powered car.

WOW! What a nice photo!

Thank you! I love that one

 

[Steppesister]

Haha he was fine with all the other driving we did (except the time he nearly pulled out on the wrong side of the road ). He was just insanely nervous about driving an expensive high-powered car.

That I definitely understand!

 

[zanzibar138]

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

6.11. Princess in the Magic Kingdom​

This was the day we were originally going to get married! I’d wanted to do something a bit special – we’d initially had our photo shoot booked in, and I’d booked us in for dinner at CRT during the fireworks. When our photo shoot got rescheduled just before our trip, I decided to go ahead and book in a Capture Your Moment shoot. I’d read mixed reviews, but thought it would at least help us to mark the occasion. I’d managed to get a booking for 3:45pm.

We had a leisurely morning, had some leftover picnic stuff for breakfast, did some laundry (for the record, although there was nothing wrong with the laundry at BLT, the one at the Poly was a bit nicer with a more comfortable seating area). I spent a while getting ready, doing my hair and makeup. I’d decided to wear my wedding after party dress for the photo shoot, and had customised a pair of ears with a matching veil bow.

We wandered over to MK when we were ready, at about 2pm. I got flagged at the security check and made Ben laugh getting scanned in my wedding dress lol! It turned out to be a tin of mints that was the culprit.

It was a warm day, so our first stop at MK was the candy shop for a slushie.



Given the timing, I’d been thinking we could hang out in the entrance area and catch the parade. We got some photos while we were waiting, and then found a good bit of curb to claim for the parade.



Oops! I suddenly realised that if we hung out there to watch the parade, by the time the parade actually reached that spot, went through, and then we had to fight the crowds to get back through to Liberty Square, we’d be late for our CYM check in I figured it would be safer to watch the parade from the Liberty Square area, so we hustled over that way, catching the marching band on the way through.



As you may have expected, by that time, Liberty Square was a bit of a mad house, with crowds several rows deep along the curb. We managed to completely fluke it and find a slightly elevated spot just outside Liberty Tree Tavern, just far enough from the entrance that we weren’t getting moved on. It certainly wasn’t the best view of a parade I’ve ever had, but was enough to see most of the floats, even if we couldn’t see much at ground level!















It was still early when the parade finished, and we only had to go across the road to the ticket office, but we went to check in anyway. With the day warming up, we actually enjoyed just hanging out with the CMs in the air-con.

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

Eventually of course, we were introduced to our photographer for the session and her assistant. I’m no good with names and promptly forgot their names after the session We were asked about what kind of photos we wanted, whether we wanted to use any props etc. We confirmed we really just wanted some shots around the castle. And with that, we headed out.

We were led to various points around the castle and put into different poses. The assistant was kept pretty busy warding off onlookers who started lining up for their photos lol! Having said that, most of the places she took us were quieter spots where she could get the view of the castle with minimal people in the way. It was a fun little shoot and we ended up with some nice photos. Was it worth the $100? The jury’s still out on that one. Mostly we were happy with the photos we got with the regular PP photogs, but I’m also happy that we got the few photos in different spots around the castle, so no regrets.













You may have noticed the castle stage show happening in the background of those last couple of photos. The photographer left us there and we took the opportunity to stay and watch the rest of the show – we’d only missed the first 5 minutes.









Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

It was quite a busy day at MK - we were definitely noticing the influx of cheerleaders! Wait times for any rides we were interested in were too long for us to consider. We wandered around the area for a bit, noticing some of the details.











I always remember one of my favourite memories from DLR as sitting at Refreshment Corner watching the pianist and the Mary Poppins meet and greet, so I suggested we go check out Casey’s Corner.



Neither of us really wanted hot dogs, but we would have got drinks and sat down, but there was no seating available, so we moved on.

It was Ben’s bright idea to go to the ice-cream parlour, with the romantic idea of sitting with a relaxing drink as the sun went down. The line itself wasn’t so much of a problem, however after we ordered and paid for our shakes, we were left standing there puzzled, watching everyone who ordered after us walk away with their purchases, and wondering if there was something else we were supposed to do. We observed probably 30% of people handing their receipts to the CMs behind the counter, so we decided to try that. What came next was a hurried and haphazard flurry of activity to make our shakes, which was appreciated, but resulted in way overfilled cups, which immediately started overflowing everywhere. Then of course there was nowhere to sit, so we found a bit of fence to lean up against while we tackled our drinks. In the chaos, I hadn’t thought to get any napkins, so had to run back in to get a couple of handfuls of them. When we were finished, we both needed to find to the nearest bathroom to wash off the last of the sticky mess. And the shakes weren’t even that great. Unfortunately, it was a massive fail.

Checking the ride times again, we saw the People Mover was finally down to 15 minutes, so we made our way over.



Such a great ride to do at sunset.



We considered hanging around Tomorrowland for more rides, but there was nothing particularly appealing that had a wait time that was anywhere close to reasonable. As much as Ben really wanted a photo of me wearing my wedding outfit on Tron, with a 90 minute wait, that was NOT going to happen!

 

[pkondz]

I got flagged at the security check and made Ben laugh getting scanned in my wedding dress lol!

I can just see that!
"This one looks like she's up to something!"

our first stop at MK was the candy shop for a slushie.

Oh! I had no idea they had those there. Must keep that in mind for a hot MK day.

found a good bit of curb to claim for the parade.

Somehow, I just can't picture a bride (okay... but you were all in white... close enough) sitting on a curb in her dress.

It certainly wasn’t the best view of a parade I’ve ever had, but was enough to see most of the floats, even if we couldn’t see much at ground level!

Fair enough.

Nice shot!
I wasn't sure if the dragon was breathing fire again or not, after the fire.

I’m no good with names and promptly forgot their names after the session

Oh, how I can relate to this!

The assistant was kept pretty busy warding off onlookers who started lining up for their photos lol!

I am not at all surprised.

It was a fun little shoot and we ended up with some nice photos. Was it worth the $100? The jury’s still out on that one.

Considering that nothing is cheap at Disney... I'll call this one a win.

I think this might be my fave.
Something about your dress with your tennis shoes.

Wait times for any rides we were interested in were too long for us to consider. We wandered around the area for a bit, noticing some of the details.

And that's okay. Sometimes it's nice to just take in the sights. Certainly no shortage in any of the parks.

Love this.

Like this shot.

Love the piano player at Caseys!!

What came next was a hurried and haphazard flurry of activity to make our shakes, which was appreciated, but resulted in way overfilled cups, which immediately started overflowing everywhere.

Oh dear...

Then of course there was nowhere to sit, so we found a bit of fence to lean up against while we tackled our drinks.

not exactly the romantic sitting spot you'd envisioned.

And the shakes weren’t even that great. Unfortunately, it was a massive fail.

Well, shoot.

Checking the ride times again, we saw the People Mover was finally down to 15 minutes, so we made our way over.



Such a great ride to do at sunset.

 

[zanzibar138]

Oh! I had no idea they had those there. Must keep that in mind for a hot MK day.

Well to be fair, we only went in for a drink. And while we were in there, happened to notice that they did slushies.

I wasn't sure if the dragon was breathing fire again or not, after the fire.

Ooh, I'd forgotten about that!

Honestly, I didn't love the parade, so I'm glad Maleficent was breathing fire. Having said that, I did also quite like my smoky picture.

Considering that nothing is cheap at Disney... I'll call this one a win.

I think this might be my fave.
Something about your dress with your tennis shoes.

I like that one too. I did definitely consider wearing my silver glitter heels, but decided against it for a full afternoon and evening in the park.

And that's okay. Sometimes it's nice to just take in the sights. Certainly no shortage in any of the parks.

Definitely! Most of my favourite Disney memories are from just taking in the sights.

not exactly the romantic sitting spot you'd envisioned.

That particular moment was definitely lacking in magic.

 

[zanzibar138]

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

6.12. Princess after dark​

We had found ourselves in Tomorrowland but out of luck with wait times, so we decided to head back to Main Street to indulge in a spot of shopping instead. That time of day just before the last bit of sunlight disappears is my favourite time for photographing lights.





We checked out a few of the shops, but spent the most time in the crystal shop checking out all the prettiness!





By the time we were done, it was getting dark enough to enact the next part of the plan… a ride on the carrousel.



Next, it was time to check in for our dinner in the castle! The castle was already roped off, but we found where we needed to go to be escorted through, checked in and made our way to the entrance hall to meet Cinderella. I’d had all these grand plans of how our meeting would be, imagining twirling with Cinderella and telling her about how she was my inspiration for our wedding. But it was all so chaotic and rushed, I kind of forgot about all that and just ended up with a fairly generic meeting lol!



We were just kind of standing around wondering what to do next when we were called to be seated. I had been desperately hoping for a table at the window, but wasn’t at all surprised when we were seated in the main kind of hall area. It wasn’t a bad place to be seated, and it was fun to be eating inside the castle anyway.



I immediately ordered the champagne flight, which I was surprised to find came with 3 full size drinks – I was expecting little tasting glasses! They were all delicious.



We also very much enjoyed our meals. The food was very good.



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

The princesses all came by to visit of course. We had Merida, Aurora, Ariel and Jasmine.









However, I really wasn’t that fussed about meeting princesses. This is what I was here for.



The experience of being inside the castle with the fireworks going off just outside the windows was even more special than I’d imagined (even from the middle of the room). I spent the vast majority of the time sitting like this, completely mesmerised. Jasmine even apologised for disturbing me lol!



I really hope the lucky people who were seated at the window truly appreciated the experience!



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

Our desserts were brought out after the fireworks finished. I got a moussey thing which was quite nice. Ben got the cheesecake, which was well worth it for the amazing presentation, and was nice enough but not the best cheesecake we’ve ever had.



We were also presented with a mini cupcake each in honour of our ‘anniversary’. I don’t know why the insistence on marking special occasions with a cupcake at the end of a full buffet or 3-course meal – I never had any room left to eat a cupcake lol!

And with that, our meal in the castle was finished and it was time to go. I took a few extra photos on the way out.







It was actually an EEH night that night, and part of me regrets not staying for more rides, but we were both tired, it was still busy, and we couldn’t be bothered filling in more time until wait times became manageable. We got a couple more PP photos with the castle on the way out.





Then we headed back to BLT to get a decent night’s sleep before another big day!

 

[pkondz]

Honestly, I didn't love the parade, so I'm glad Maleficent was breathing fire. Having said that, I did also quite like my smoky picture.

I don't mind the parade, but it sure pales in comparison to the Halloween or Christmas ones.
I like the smoky shot, too.

I like that one too. I did definitely consider wearing my silver glitter heels, but decided against it for a full afternoon and evening in the park.

I've seen women with high heels in the parks... always wonder how long they lasted.

That time of day just before the last bit of sunlight disappears is my favourite time for photographing lights.

Golden hour.

Always fun watching the glass workers.

So did you buy that?

Whee!!!

I’d had all these grand plans of how our meeting would be, imagining twirling with Cinderella and telling her about how she was my inspiration for our wedding. But it was all so chaotic and rushed, I kind of forgot about all that and just ended up with a fairly generic meeting lol!

it was fun to be eating inside the castle anyway.

We enjoyed our time there, too.

I immediately ordered the champagne flight, which I was surprised to find came with 3 full size drinks

Really! I'm very surprised!

Blue? What kind of champagne is blue??

We also very much enjoyed our meals. The food was very good.

My DD's favourite meal was there.

The princesses all came by to visit of course.

Ah! Didn't know about that. We were there too soon after Covid so they weren't circulating. We did see one on a balcony.

The experience of being inside the castle with the fireworks going off just outside the windows was even more special than I’d imagined

I spent the vast majority of the time sitting like this, completely mesmerised. Jasmine even apologised for disturbing me lol!

Love this candid shot.

I really like the presentation.

I don’t know why the insistence on marking special occasions with a cupcake at the end of a full buffet or 3-course meal – I never had any room left to eat a cupcake lol!

Cute shot.

awwwww...

 

[alohamom]

I really hope the lucky people who were seated at the window truly appreciated the experience!

I feel like sitting right by the window might be fun but sitting a tiny bit away from it like you did seemed to allow for a great overall view.
Kind of a a "big picture" sort of thing!

I love the late night pics outside of the castle, they are lovely.

 

[Steppesister]

We wandered over to MK when we were ready, at about 2pm. I got flagged at the security check and made Ben laugh getting scanned in my wedding dress lol! It turned out to be a tin of mints that was the culprit.

It's always that one thing you KNOW you don't have... until you do.

The assistant was kept pretty busy warding off onlookers who started lining up for their photos lol!

Love this one. I have some core memories of the wishing well from when I was very young.

so had to run back in to get a couple of handfuls of them. When we were finished, we both needed to find to the nearest bathroom to wash off the last of the sticky mess. And the shakes weren’t even that great. Unfortunately, it was a massive fail.

Yikes, and such a bummer they weren't even that good.

That time of day just before the last bit of sunlight disappears is my favourite time for photographing lights.

Ohhhh, me too! So pretty at dusk!

I’d had all these grand plans of how our meeting would be, imagining twirling with Cinderella and telling her about how she was my inspiration for our wedding. But it was all so chaotic and rushed, I kind of forgot about all that and just ended up with a fairly generic meeting lol!

Well, darn it. I've experienced that too with chaotic princess meals and have not enjoyed them. The kids did, of course, but they always feel rushed and chaotic. The only difference with this one, I've heard from several others, is that the food is actually really good!

I immediately ordered the champagne flight, which I was surprised to find came with 3 full size drinks – I was expecting little tasting glasses! They were all delicious.

wow! That actually surprises me too! I'd order that!

 

[zanzibar138]

I don't mind the parade, but it sure pales in comparison to the Halloween or Christmas ones.

My favourite Disney parade is HKDL's Flights of Fantasy, which I was surprised has the same tune as DLR's Soundsational! The hot air balloon theme puts it over the line for me though - it makes for some really lovely floats.

So did you buy that?

With our spare $100k USD

Blue? What kind of champagne is blue??

I looked up the menu to remind myself what it was, but it just says 'champagne presented 3 ways', so I guess we'll never know!

Ah! Didn't know about that. We were there too soon after Covid so they weren't circulating. We did see one on a balcony.

Honestly, I would have preferred the experience without the princesses. But I get that the kids would love it.

 

[zanzibar138]

I feel like sitting right by the window might be fun but sitting a tiny bit away from it like you did seemed to allow for a great overall view.
Kind of a a "big picture" sort of thing!

Very true!

 

[zanzibar138]

It's always that one thing you KNOW you don't have... until you do.

Wasn't even on my mind to be honest. We'd just been sailing through up to that point.

Love this one. I have some core memories of the wishing well from when I was very young.

Aww I can imagine the type of special memories there for a young girl I love that photo too!

Well, darn it. I've experienced that too with chaotic princess meals and have not enjoyed them. The kids did, of course, but they always feel rushed and chaotic. The only difference with this one, I've heard from several others, is that the food is actually really good!

I would never usually bother with a princess meal - even Snow White was more about the dwarves and the Queen than the princess lol! But I really wanted to experience the castle meal, particularly with the fireworks. It was mostly the entrance procedure that was chaotic. Once we were seated it wasn't too bad, but I still would have preferred to be able to just sit and enjoy the experience rather than having to constantly interact and get up for photos lol!