The perfect proposal goes perfectly....wrong *COMPLETED!! 3-10-07*

[VW_Guy]

Sorry, sorry...

I meant to give you guys all an update earlier today, but I never got around to it. I had a busy day at work today and wasn't able to write anymore, then I had a bunch of errands to run this evening. And, boy am I beat! Time for a drinky-drinky!!!

The good news is that I have off work tomorrow for Good Friday, and I'll be able to write away without interruption (stupid work ). I'm off to bed now, but I'll try to get at it first thing.

Later!

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

whoohooo! i will check in tomorrow!

 

[marlynnp]

Lovin' your report!

 

[bluejay2006]

Subscribing!

 

[tazz23]

another one loving your story! can't wait for more!

 

[welshbullman]

this tale is really good. Cant wait for the next segment!!

 

[Savsmommy]

Subscribing..... Great report, I can't wait to hear the rest. You two are such a cute couple!!

 

[jrsmom]

Can't wait for the update!

Vickey

 

[SerinaEmily]

cant wait to hear more!

 

[tammyandtommy]

Come on If your in philly youre in the same time zone... get to typing! LOL

 

[MinnieNurse]

We are waiting...

 

[lindakmonty]

yes.... I can't wait to hear more

 

[AllAboutPluto]

It's tomorrow now.....

 

[spiceycat]

hey he had off today.... So I won't expect anything until around 2pm....

Great report!!!

 

[tinawv]

Don't leave us hanging. Can hardly wait for the next report.

 

[VW_Guy]

Well, here it is...finally. I guess I should've warned you that on my days off, I'm a professional sleeper-inner. I've been typing all morning so I could get to the payoff, so this one's a bit lengthly. Enjoy!

Part IV--The Question, Or: Propose NOW! No, waiiiiit, NOW! Shoot, okay, NOW!!

So, miracle of all miracles, we have arrived in the MagicKingdom all in one piece, and grinning from ear-to-ear happy to be there. Its around noon, and the last thing we had to eat was a stale bagel at the airport early that morning. Since DGF is a “nothing with a face” vegetarian, I had prepared a list of counter service restaurants for each of the parks that offer the best variety of things she can eat, and ranked them based on their scores in the Unofficial Guide. We decide to head over to the Starlight Café because she liked the look of the menu offerings, and I liked the look of the portions size. The other secret reason I wanted to go here was to do a little recon for the imminent proposal situation. I remembered from past trips that the balcony over the water in the Starlight Café was a decent place to watch the fireworks, and was usually pretty empty—which met both criteria for being an ideal proposal location.



On our way past the castle, I wanted to pop in to Cinderella’s Royal Table to see if any ADR spots had opened up for later that night. Unfortunately, we had managed to arrive just as the new castle show about the Disney princesses had begun, so we were out of luck getting anywhere near the castle. We could’ve stayed and watched, but neither of us is much into the shows or parades. We kinda see them as time that could be spent doing something that’s actually FUN. That, and we were both about to pass out from low blood-sugar, so on we went into Tomorrowland.



We IMMENSELY enjoyed our food—whether it was because it was good, or because we were famished, I don’t remember, but I do remember not being able to finish all my food, which is rare, and a good mark in my book. We spent the day touring slowly—I didn’t want to get us burnt-out too early, and I am a veteran of the parks, so I didn’t mind missing most of the smaller attractions. DGF has the “this is supposed to be a VACATION” mentality, so she was all for taking it slow, no matter what. We had gotten Fast Passes for SpaceMountain before getting lunch, so we headed over to Buzz Lightyear to kill some time until our FP return time.



The first time I went on this attraction was the last time we visited with my family in the summer of ’03. My brothers and I had loved it then, and went on it a half-dozen times one night as the park was closing down. From that experience, I had come to realize the three types of people that ride Buzz Lightyear. They are, in no particular order: Spinners, Shooters, and Slackers. Spinners are usually males under 7, or over 25. They think the ride is a bit slow, and could use a bit of ‘spice’, so they are more than thrilled to spend the entire ride spinning in a counterclockwise direction. For lefthanders, it’s clockwise. Don’t ask why, these are the rules as I have observed them. Shooters are usually video gamers in the off-property-land of the real world. My youngest brother is a Shooter. He would start off the ride with determination in his eyes, and come out with a high-score of eleventy-billion. Slackers are usually the parents, riding together so as not to get stuck with their Spinner and Shooter offspring. They prefer to keep the cart pointed in the forward direction of motion, occasionally take some of the easier shots, but generally enjoy the ride as a sit-down in some nice air conditioning. My DGF is a Slacker by default. She gets motion sick when she spins in circles too much, and has the hand-eye coordination of a senile old lady. She became excited halfway through the attraction when she scored her first hit. Seriously—half way through. Admittedly, I had a little bit to do with that, as I am a Spinner. I will occasionally shoot at things, but I gave up the dream of being a Shooter on the last trip, when I rode in the singles lane and my best score of all-time was beaten by the 11 year old sitting next to me.



After I was warned for the third time to stop spinning or be thrown up upon (this time from a face with a tinge of green to it) I relinquished the controls and spent the duration of the ride racking up points. At one spot, the ride stopped moving (I know how that never-ever happens *sarcasm*) and so I was actually able to come away with one of the highest scores possible because we happened to be parked right in front of a large-point target. DGF still managed to come away with a score approaching a five year old’s normal ability.



After Buzz, we still had some time, so we decided to walk onto the Carousel of Progress, the theme song of which was now tattooed on our subconscious’ (It’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow…). Our FP time for SM had finally arrived, and being the middle of the day, we of course waited for 20 minutes in the FP line, but I didn’t mind at all—much better than 2 hours. Space Mountain was much the same as I remembered it—I knew exactly what was going to happen, but was still surprised by every twist and turn. I actually am genuinely afraid of this ride, because, as a seasoned rollercoaster rider, one of the joys of riding is putting both arms up in the air and giving over control to the machine. On this attraction, however, you have no idea where you are in relation to other parts of the structure, and being a tall person, I am constantly afraid of konking my head on some piece of low-hanging track. So, for every ride since my first, I have slouched down as far as I could go, and kept my hands inside the vehicle at ALL times.



After SpaceMountain, we went back past the castle to see if we could check for ADR’s, and, of course, the next princess show had just started. It was beginning to look like CRT was going to be out of the question. Although, sitting here typing this, I realize that we could’ve just walked around from the Fantasyland side and probably gotten in from there, but oh well. So, we took a leisurely walk over to the other mountains to see what the lines were like. The FP return times for both were well into the evening, but the standby for Big Thunder was only 30 minutes, so we decided to get in line. While in line, we got the call that our room was ready back at AS Music. I don’t have much to say about BTMRR—it’s a good ride, but in comparison to the other high-tech and immersive attractions in the rest of the World, it seems a bit simplistic. But we still enjoyed it for what it is—a nice rollercoaster with some cool scenery.



After BTMRR, we found an empty bench to consider our options. We were both on the tired side, and we had an ADR for 6PM at Morocco in Epcot, and we figured we’d need at least two hours to make the trip back to the hotel, change, and catch a bus over to Epcot. It was only about 3PM at this point, so we made our way slowly back to the park exit, doing a bit of window shopping on the way down Main Street, and then hopped a bus back to AS Music. At the hotel, our bags were “magically” waiting for us in our room, and I can remember marveling at just how well the Magical Express operated. And that’s it—I actually don’t have anything snide to say here—the Magical Express is perfect—I definitely plan on using it for all our future trips (if it sticks around).



Our room contained, as requested, a king-sized bed, and also, as a default, a roll-in shower. After seeing the Disney-polish on the façade of the hotel and the check-in area, and then again on the cafeteria and pools on the walk over, I wasn’t expecting such a bland-looking building for the actual lodgings. We were staying in the Jazz section (fourth building down on the left, if I’m remembering correctly), and once you walked past the Disney-ness of the giant drum set out front, the building itself was just like any econo-motel. Open stairwells and walkways around the exterior, with soda and ice machines near the elevator core. We found our room on the third floor, on the outside, facing the parking lot. I thought the room itself was a bit small for the price I had paid, but for only two people it was just fine. Although, I can’t imagine sharing that room with two other people, even if they are my own kids.



We had some time before we had to get over to Epcot, so we both got quick showers and changed into nicer clothing. The experience of showering in a bathroom with no tub around you is surprisingly liberating. I found that one didn’t even need the shower curtain—there was just a big drain in the middle of the floor and most of the walls were tiled, so you could just use the entire bathroom as your shower. Heck, you could even use the toilet as you showered (but I would not recommend it, as the soapy water made things very slippery, and could—conceivably—result in injury)

We hopped on a bus to Epcot about 45 minutes before our ADR time at Morocco, and made it there right on time, even with the 10 minute delay of waiting for a bus to arrive. The meal at Morocco was very good, and I got my first inkling that going with the dining plan was going to pay off big-time. I think most of our Table Service meals averaged about $70-$80, and not having to pay for all that was very nice. (Yes, I know I already “paid” when I purchased the dining plan, but in the moment, you feel like you are just eating for free). The belly dancers were also very entertaining.

After eating, we went right back out of the park and hopped a monorail back to the MagicKingdom (via the TTC, of course). Luckily, DGF had relinquished all planning control to me, so she didn’t question going back into the MK to see Wishes even though the smart “DIS” thing to do would be to stay in Epcot to see Illuminations. When we got to the TTC, there was no monorail to the MK in sight, so DGF suggested we take the boat instead. We had plenty of time to make the show, so I agreed, and I’m glad I did, because we managed to get some beautiful shots of the sun setting over the Grand Floridian.

At this point, running through my head was “Okay, this is a PERFECT time to propose, but wait, what if the fireworks will be PERFECT-ER?” I decided to go with my original (back-up) plan, and wait until Wishes. On the boat, I was playing around with the camera and its night and dusk settings, and managed to snap my favorite picture of DGF of all-time. (I have it framed and sitting next to my desk at work). That’s SM in the distance.

So, when we got to MK, we had more than a few hours until Wishes, so we tried to fit in a few attractions in the meantime. We managed to basically walk onto Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Jungle Cruise, as most of the people were already lining up for the first SpectroMagic parade. Pirates was just like it’s always been, just like an old friend with a catchy theme song. The Jungle Cruise was just about to shut down, and you could tell the “tour guide” we got was about to go off-shift. He didn’t stick to the script at all, and was rather making fun of it, saying “okay, now, I’m supposed to say this, but I’m not, because you are all much smarter than that, and have probably ridden this more times that I have.” It was disappointing that DGF was not able to get the full effect for her first time riding (we missed this last time we were here) but it was funny nonetheless. Between rides, we stopped to use the rest room, and I took the opportunity to transfer the ring from my camera bag to my pocket. We also managed to squeeze in a trip on SplashMountain, just as the parade began. I love riding Splash Mtn. at night, because right before the last drop, for just a second, you get the best view of the entire park, all lit up at night. I was going to try and snap a shot of it, but the camera I had was much too expensive to be risking getting broken or wet. From the ground, it looks like this:

After SplashMountain, we made our way through the crowd to the back of the castle—I wanted to make it back over to the Starlight Café to get a spot for the fireworks, but on the way through Fantasyland, DGF saw the sign for Mickey’s PhilharMagic was showing no wait time. So, quickly working out that we had about a half-hour until Wishes started, and the show shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes, I hustled us into the theater. The problem was that I hadn’t accounted for the wait time for the previous show to end. So, we ended up standing just outside the theater doors. As the minutes ticked away, DGF could see I was getting anxious, and asked what was wrong. I said that if this takes too long, we would miss the fireworks. DGF’s response was—oh well, we can just catch them again some other night if we do miss them, unless you want to skip doing this. I thought about it, and figured we still had some time, so I said we should just wait here. After about 8 minutes, I was getting really nervous. DGF could see that for some reason, I really didn’t want to miss the fireworks, so she said “Seriously, if you want to skip this, I don’t mind—we can always come back.” But, as fate would have it, just as I was frantically trying to make up my mind, the automatic doors flung open, I said “We might as well go in now, since we’ve waited” and we entered the theater.



The show was amazing, and made me totally forget my anxiety about the proposal. This was a new attraction to both of us, and we both enjoyed it immensely. Looking back, I still don’t know what decision I would’ve made, because the show was that good, and I DEFINITLY would not want to miss out on it. However, my heart sunk as we were walking out of the theater and I heard the familiar thumping of fireworks’ explosions. “Is that thunder?” my DGF asked. “Nope, we missed the fireworks.” (S**T—now what am I going to do!!) We watched the fireworks from behind the castle, right next to the carousel, with about a hundred other people who didn’t get to where they wanted to get to watch the fireworks. It was an interesting view from where we were, because we were directly underneath the explosions. For the duration of the show, I had my hand in my pocket, fingering the ring. I was tempted to make the proposal there, but seeing as we were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, shoulder-to-shoulder with a crowd of people, it didn’t seem like what DGF would’ve wanted.



When the fireworks ended, I tried my best to mask my disappointment, and suggested we head over to Tomorrowland for another go on SpaceMountain. DGF cheerily agreed, having no clue what just she just missed out on. On the walk over, I was running scenarios through my head of what to do now. One thought was to just do it some other night, like DGF had suggested, come back to see Wishes, and do it right this time. The problem with that plan was then I wouldn’t be proposing on the 3-year anniversary of our first date, which was the whole point of this trip. Another thought was to do it at the very end of the evening, during the “Kiss Goodnight”. If some of you aren’t familiar with this—at the very end of the night at Magic Kingdom, an announcer supposedly comes on over the entire park, thanking everyone for coming, and there is apparently a small lights show on the castle set to music, and at the very end of it all, Minnie and Mickey’s voices come on to say goodnight, and you can hear them smooching at the end. I had heard about this from others on the DIS, and mentioned it to DGF as something I would like to see. So, that became the new backup-backup plan.



When we got to SM, the line was still unusually long, and since we had already ridden it once, we decided to skip it, and head over to Main St for a late-night snack. At this point, the second round of SpectroMagic had begun, so we decided to find a good place to watch. I also wanted to get some more pics of the castle from close-up, so we headed to the right after leaving Tomorrowland, toward the castle. Once we got up on the ramp leading to the castle gates, we realized that this was an okay spot to watch from, and pulled over to the side to get some pictures. As we were watching, I pulled DGF in front of me, and put my arms around her, and the moment was perfect, so that’s when I decided to propose. There were still people around us, so I didn’t do the whole get-down-on-one-knee thing, so I just whispered some mushy stuff in her ear, (which I’m sorry I can’t type here, because I prefer not to broadcast my non-manly mushy-ness across the world wide web) and pulled out the ring.



DGF (who will now be referred to as DF) of course started to cry and said yes. This was taken after she dried her eyes (and a bit of smooching).

So, after all the hulabaloo, we decided we were both too tired to wait up for the Kiss Goodnight, and fought our way through the crowd to the exit. We caught a bus back to the hotel, and collapsed into the now very welcoming hotel room. Even though we had been awake going on 21 hours, and DF’s feet were swollen from all the walking, we were extremely happy, and fell fast asleep.

Now that you’ve heard all the good stuff, tune in next time for some of the not so good, with Part V—Uhhh, Honey, I think it’s stuck, Or: You guys can make an elephant fly, but you can’t resize a ring??

 

[lindakmonty]

Congratulations!!! That is so awesome love your report and can't wait to read more!!

 

[CinRell]

YAY! Congrats.. how romantic. I must say, the pics of DF AFTER the proposal.. her smile looks so much more "real"... TRUE happiness. Best of luck you two are adorable

 

[AmyBennett]

I am loving reading your report instead of writing the rest of my own. Congrats on your engagement. Sounds perfect!

 

[ToTLaugher]

That was so sweet! Congratulations!