Trip report - "Dreams do come true" (video complete - pg 45)
- Thread starter Mary626
- Start date
- Status
princessblueeyzes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2005
congratulations! I am loving your trip report- more more more! What happens next?
heathrow42
3 castles down.. 2 to go!
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2002
More, more, more! Loved reading it so far, and all the pics. Can't wait till you post again! Congratulations!--heather
Tinkerbelle14
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2004
Congrats! I didn't even think about getting the wedding pins prior to the wedding, we'll definitely have to do that! Can't wait to see more, and thanks for the Yacht Club Wedding Gazebo pic, it's nice to see everything hasn't changed and that the site is still perfect for our wedding!
D&R love Disney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2003
Congratulations! Your report is great so far, looking forward to reading more.
Mary626
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2005
I'm so glad you all are enjoying the trip report! My favorite thing to do while planning our vacation/wedding was to read other people's Trip Reports so I knew I would have to write one when I got home! Thank you for all your comments and your congratulations! 
A lot went on during Day 2, so I hope it doesn't get too boring or too detailed to read.
********************
I woke up a half an hour before our wake-up call was going to go off and decided to get dressed and get ready for the animal kingdom. I showered and got dressed and the phone rang, I had forgotten about the wake up call so I was surprised when Stitch starts yelling at me to wake up, wake up, no time for sleeping!!! I loved it, it made me so happy! Luckily the phone woke Jim up so I didnt have to. I asked if he wanted to get up and head to the AK and he said he did, woohoo! I call Jenny & Kevin, who were also heading there and they said they would wait for us. I notice my ankles & wrists are feeling much better today, thankfully. I knew it was the kind of injury that would either be completely gone the next day or get really bad the next day. Thankfully it was the former.
Jim quickly gets dressed and Jenny & Kevin come to our rooms. We head to the elevators together and I notice Jennys Pal Mickey and ask if she likes it. She responds by pressing the button and Mickey introduces himself, much to the dismay of the strangers on the elevator who look like they want to throw Pal Mickey down the elevator shaft. When we get out of the elevator, me, Jim, and Jenny are laughing, Kevin didnt look very amused either though.
We walk to the bus stop and an animal kingdom bus pulls up at the exact same time, love when that happens! Jims Mickey-groom-hat had been digging into his forehead, so today he wore a baseball hat that said groom and put his Magical Wishes button on it. While on the bus, Jim calls his groomsmen to see how the tux fitting is going. 3 of them were going to share a taxi and go to the Afterhours in Kissimmee, which they figured would save them money instead of renting it an extra 2 days. The tuxes were the one part of the planning that I told Jim he could be completely responsible for and I didnt care what everyone ended up choosing. I had given them some options and told them some alternative things they could do, but for some reason they all decided on this. So even though it seemed silly to me to waste a half of a day of your vacation by going to try on tuxes, I decided not to care about it. Jims bestman was supposed to take the bus over to the port Orleans and they could all share a taxi, but he had been running late, so Josh & Chris left without him. This made Jim pretty upset, I could tell. The taxi for Josh & chris cost $27.00, but Matts taxi driver charged him $50.00 taxi drivers in WDW were awful, and this wasnt our last experience with bad cab drivers in Disney!!
It didnt take us long before we got to the AK, we arrive about a half an hour after it opens, and we all know to head straight to Expedition Everest before it gets too crowded. This is Jims first time ever at the animal kingdom though, so we do linger a little bit in the oasis and soak up the atmosphere a bit.
Getting on the bus
Kevin tries on a pink hat
jenny and Kevin in front of asia
me on the bridge to asia
I start doing my speed-walking commando thing, and realize pregnant Jenny cant walk as fast. I find it ironic, because usually Jenny is the speed-walking demon while at Disney and I can never keep up with her and always have to ask her to slow down. So now the tables are turned!! We get to expedition everest, we were going to get fast passes but the wait is only 15 minutes so we give our bags to the pregnant one and me, jim, and Kevin all get in line. I loved the queue for this ride, it really sets the scene for a trek in the Himalayas trying to find the mysterious yeti, I loved the theming!! It only took us 10 minutes and we are boarding our train to mt. Everest.
****Scroll down if you dont want to read spoilers for this ride ******
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The one thing that sucked while we were in line is that Jim overheard someone talking about how the rollercoaster went backwards. I kind of wanted that to be a surprise for him, but then he told me he already had known. That was a surprise to me! He said he learned it from Stacy. I was like who???. Turns out it was that annoying girl on that channel they play in the Disney hotel rooms to show guests what there is to do in WDW, and she had given away all of the secrets of the ride.
We get in the rollercoaster and it takes us up the mountain, where we could see the tracks were out, so we start going back, and man that is a scary sensation, it was so cool!! Then we see a cartoony shadow of the yeti tearing apart the tracks and we go careening forward and I dont even remember what direction we were going in, and then all of a sudden we ride past the HUGE animatronic yeti that looks like he was about to grab us!! Completely different from any other roller coaster Id been on!
Kevin was actually disappointed in it. I reasoned, Ive been on much better thrill-ride-roller-coasters, but for an attraction I rated this very high. I heard someone else say it was the matterhorn on steroids, and that about sums it up!
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************* spoilers over ***********
Jim looking scared as were about to board the rollercoaster
we survived the yeti encounter!
We exit into the gift shop like usual, and we overhear this other couple say something like Fancy that, were in a gift shop! in a heavy accent. So of course me and jim find it pretty amusing, and almost every time during the trip that we entered into a gift shop, one of us would have to say the line.
Me and Jim leave the gift shop and have no idea where jenny and Kevin went, and Jenny tells me theyre all the way by the bridge to asia and that mom & dad were there. So we head in that direction and all of a sudden I see my father ZOOMING by in an Electric Convenience Vehicle. Im like hey dad!, he sees me, doesnt stop and says Im going to go buy a yeti or something similar to that. Me and jim start cracking up. Finally I see my mom looking around trying to find my dad, I tell her he was in the expedition everest gift shop buying a yeti stuffed animal, and she looks exasperated.
dad on his scooter
My dad had been looking forward to getting an ECV for the past year when planning this trip. He cant walk very far without getting really out of breath, so this was like his key to freedom while in Disney world. He rented it from this company that drops it off at your hotel and you recharge it in your room, instead of having to rent one from the theme parks.
Once he got his ECV and got into the AK, my mom said he wouldnt wait for her and kept going off in different directions without telling her where he was going. Me and Jim were pretty amused.
We waited around for a while waiting for my father to buy his stuffed yeti, but then decided to split off and meet up at the Kilimanjaro safari in 15 minutes or so.
Me, my mom, jenny
Me and Jim decided to take a slight detour into the maharajah jungle trek in asia. Since this was Jims first time in the animal kingdom I wanted him to see some animals, as much fun as the rollercoaster was!
The first thing in the jungle trek is the Komodo dragon. Jim was pretty excited and took about a hundred pictures of it. I loved watching Jims reactions to the animals, he was so genuinely excited, it was so cute! We saw the giant fruit bat things and kept quoting different lines from the batman movie back and forth to each other. The tigers were asleep it was cute but not that exciting, so we head out and watch the gibbons playing around. Jim was really happy to see the monkeys. My mom calls and asks where we were oops I guess we lingered too long in our short cut, I tell a small lie and say were almost there, so me and jim speed walk towards Africa.
Jim taking a picture of a komodo dragon
fruit bats
sleeping kitty cat
gibbons
A lot went on during Day 2, so I hope it doesn't get too boring or too detailed to read.
********************
I woke up a half an hour before our wake-up call was going to go off and decided to get dressed and get ready for the animal kingdom. I showered and got dressed and the phone rang, I had forgotten about the wake up call so I was surprised when Stitch starts yelling at me to wake up, wake up, no time for sleeping!!! I loved it, it made me so happy! Luckily the phone woke Jim up so I didnt have to. I asked if he wanted to get up and head to the AK and he said he did, woohoo! I call Jenny & Kevin, who were also heading there and they said they would wait for us. I notice my ankles & wrists are feeling much better today, thankfully. I knew it was the kind of injury that would either be completely gone the next day or get really bad the next day. Thankfully it was the former.
Jim quickly gets dressed and Jenny & Kevin come to our rooms. We head to the elevators together and I notice Jennys Pal Mickey and ask if she likes it. She responds by pressing the button and Mickey introduces himself, much to the dismay of the strangers on the elevator who look like they want to throw Pal Mickey down the elevator shaft. When we get out of the elevator, me, Jim, and Jenny are laughing, Kevin didnt look very amused either though.
We walk to the bus stop and an animal kingdom bus pulls up at the exact same time, love when that happens! Jims Mickey-groom-hat had been digging into his forehead, so today he wore a baseball hat that said groom and put his Magical Wishes button on it. While on the bus, Jim calls his groomsmen to see how the tux fitting is going. 3 of them were going to share a taxi and go to the Afterhours in Kissimmee, which they figured would save them money instead of renting it an extra 2 days. The tuxes were the one part of the planning that I told Jim he could be completely responsible for and I didnt care what everyone ended up choosing. I had given them some options and told them some alternative things they could do, but for some reason they all decided on this. So even though it seemed silly to me to waste a half of a day of your vacation by going to try on tuxes, I decided not to care about it. Jims bestman was supposed to take the bus over to the port Orleans and they could all share a taxi, but he had been running late, so Josh & Chris left without him. This made Jim pretty upset, I could tell. The taxi for Josh & chris cost $27.00, but Matts taxi driver charged him $50.00 taxi drivers in WDW were awful, and this wasnt our last experience with bad cab drivers in Disney!!
It didnt take us long before we got to the AK, we arrive about a half an hour after it opens, and we all know to head straight to Expedition Everest before it gets too crowded. This is Jims first time ever at the animal kingdom though, so we do linger a little bit in the oasis and soak up the atmosphere a bit.
Getting on the bus
Kevin tries on a pink hat
jenny and Kevin in front of asia
me on the bridge to asia
I start doing my speed-walking commando thing, and realize pregnant Jenny cant walk as fast. I find it ironic, because usually Jenny is the speed-walking demon while at Disney and I can never keep up with her and always have to ask her to slow down. So now the tables are turned!! We get to expedition everest, we were going to get fast passes but the wait is only 15 minutes so we give our bags to the pregnant one and me, jim, and Kevin all get in line. I loved the queue for this ride, it really sets the scene for a trek in the Himalayas trying to find the mysterious yeti, I loved the theming!! It only took us 10 minutes and we are boarding our train to mt. Everest.
****Scroll down if you dont want to read spoilers for this ride ******
-
--
-
-
The one thing that sucked while we were in line is that Jim overheard someone talking about how the rollercoaster went backwards. I kind of wanted that to be a surprise for him, but then he told me he already had known. That was a surprise to me! He said he learned it from Stacy. I was like who???. Turns out it was that annoying girl on that channel they play in the Disney hotel rooms to show guests what there is to do in WDW, and she had given away all of the secrets of the ride.
We get in the rollercoaster and it takes us up the mountain, where we could see the tracks were out, so we start going back, and man that is a scary sensation, it was so cool!! Then we see a cartoony shadow of the yeti tearing apart the tracks and we go careening forward and I dont even remember what direction we were going in, and then all of a sudden we ride past the HUGE animatronic yeti that looks like he was about to grab us!! Completely different from any other roller coaster Id been on!
Kevin was actually disappointed in it. I reasoned, Ive been on much better thrill-ride-roller-coasters, but for an attraction I rated this very high. I heard someone else say it was the matterhorn on steroids, and that about sums it up!
-
-
-
************* spoilers over ***********
Jim looking scared as were about to board the rollercoaster
we survived the yeti encounter!
We exit into the gift shop like usual, and we overhear this other couple say something like Fancy that, were in a gift shop! in a heavy accent. So of course me and jim find it pretty amusing, and almost every time during the trip that we entered into a gift shop, one of us would have to say the line.
Me and Jim leave the gift shop and have no idea where jenny and Kevin went, and Jenny tells me theyre all the way by the bridge to asia and that mom & dad were there. So we head in that direction and all of a sudden I see my father ZOOMING by in an Electric Convenience Vehicle. Im like hey dad!, he sees me, doesnt stop and says Im going to go buy a yeti or something similar to that. Me and jim start cracking up. Finally I see my mom looking around trying to find my dad, I tell her he was in the expedition everest gift shop buying a yeti stuffed animal, and she looks exasperated.
dad on his scooter
My dad had been looking forward to getting an ECV for the past year when planning this trip. He cant walk very far without getting really out of breath, so this was like his key to freedom while in Disney world. He rented it from this company that drops it off at your hotel and you recharge it in your room, instead of having to rent one from the theme parks.
Once he got his ECV and got into the AK, my mom said he wouldnt wait for her and kept going off in different directions without telling her where he was going. Me and Jim were pretty amused.
We waited around for a while waiting for my father to buy his stuffed yeti, but then decided to split off and meet up at the Kilimanjaro safari in 15 minutes or so.
Me, my mom, jenny
Me and Jim decided to take a slight detour into the maharajah jungle trek in asia. Since this was Jims first time in the animal kingdom I wanted him to see some animals, as much fun as the rollercoaster was!
The first thing in the jungle trek is the Komodo dragon. Jim was pretty excited and took about a hundred pictures of it. I loved watching Jims reactions to the animals, he was so genuinely excited, it was so cute! We saw the giant fruit bat things and kept quoting different lines from the batman movie back and forth to each other. The tigers were asleep it was cute but not that exciting, so we head out and watch the gibbons playing around. Jim was really happy to see the monkeys. My mom calls and asks where we were oops I guess we lingered too long in our short cut, I tell a small lie and say were almost there, so me and jim speed walk towards Africa.
Jim taking a picture of a komodo dragon
fruit bats
sleeping kitty cat
gibbons
Mary626
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2005
We get to the front of the safari ride and Jenny starts complaining about the wait it was 15 minutes long. Im like.. Jenny, thats nothing!! But I forget this is pregnant Jenny, and pregnant Jenny doesnt want to wait 15 minutes, when it was 0 minutes just a little while ago!! So we all appease her and get fastpasses for a ride that only has a 15 minute wait on it, and the fast-passes tell us to come back in 45 minutes. Me and Jim decide to do the pangani exploration trail, next to the safari ride, and we ask if anyone wants to join us, Jenny said she wanted to sit down and eat something, and poor Kevin who really wanted to go, looked SO sad and said I guess were going to go eat
. Lol it was sad but funny. My mom and dad come along, but they go through it much quicker then me and jim, since we are both taking our time while watching the animals, so we were pretty much on our own.
We see some pretty cool animals along the way, but Jim is most excited about the gorillas. I was disappointed that the hippos werent in that big tank of water where you can usually look through the glass and see the hippos in the water thats usually my favorite part. No idea where the hippos were. The meerkats were really cool too, but Jim mostly wants to see the gorillas, so we head there and spent about 30 minutes just watching them. At the first part, where you are looking through glass, Jim was disappointed there was a glass barrier, but I tell him that thats only one small part of it. One of the gorillas climbs onto a branch and starts peeing, which of course greatly amused all the guys in the crowd. Jim took a picture of the event and is very proud of this picture.
We head out to the main part of the gorilla viewing area and we see a huge silverback across the ravine. Im recording video through the viewfinder and the silverback seems to look directly at me, it was kind of scary! I wouldnt want to get too close to that guy. I find a nice comfortable bench and rest my feet while Jim is geeking out and taking a billion pictures. Im still wearing my Minnie wedding ears, so a guy walks by me and tells me I make a beautiful bride and then laughs. I thank him but wasnt too sure why he laughed. Maybe he just felt silly about it and it was a nervous laugh, so I choose to feel good about it and not paranoid about it. Jim gets his fill of gorilla-watching and we exit the pangani trail and meet up with mom, dad, jenny, and Kevin for the safari ride
I think this duck ate the hippos
Some cute little meerkats
Gorillas!
Jims very proud of this shot:
A silverback
When we meet up with everyone, Kevin has a look of please help me written on his face. We all use our fastpasses and get on board. I let Jim have the window seat and I sit next to a friendly british man who tells me to let him know if hes getting in the way of our pictures as hes sure you dont want my nose in all of your pictures. Jim is very happy during the ride, but all of the good stuff seems to be on the opposite side, so he wants to do it again sometime in the trip. He gets no disagreement from me! There werent any giraffes on the safari, and I remember the last time there were dozens of giraffes. Wonder if something happened to them or if they were just sleeping or something. I never seem to spot the cheetah in time, even though everyone else seems to see it. The lions were out which is always cool, and there was an elephant mother and her little elephant baby, too cute!!! Everyone on board said awwww! when they saw it lol! Jim didnt really get the whole sub-plot of the ride about chasing the poachers and why they ended such a great ride with an animatronic elephant. I didnt know what to tell him, I never really thought about it that way before. At the conclusion of the ride, as we pulled up to get out of the truck, the cast member there saw me and jim, turned to the people in line and said everyone give a round of applause to this lovely couple here - theyre on their honeymoon! It was really sweet!! Jim felt a little guilty because we werent married yet but we were getting married in Disneyworld in 2 days, I think we were entitled to wear the ears, I wasnt going to care.
My mom on the safari ride
Entering harambe
me on the safari ride
hungry hungry hippos
Tommys, tommys!
elephant mom and baby
I asked Jim if he was enjoying the animal kingdom, and he said he really really loved the animal kingdom and wanted to return. I was so happy he liked the AK, since most people think its just a zoo when I tell them about it, they just dont get it, so I was glad that Jim got it!
After the safari ride I was trying to see if anyone else wanted to meet up again to watch the Festival of the Lion King, but no-one seemed to want to. Jenny & Kevin went off to conservation station (or is it called rafikis planet watch? I cant keep track). My mom & dad were going to find a place to eat, so I recommended Tusker House and me, jim, my mom and dad all head there to eat.
We see some pretty cool animals along the way, but Jim is most excited about the gorillas. I was disappointed that the hippos werent in that big tank of water where you can usually look through the glass and see the hippos in the water thats usually my favorite part. No idea where the hippos were. The meerkats were really cool too, but Jim mostly wants to see the gorillas, so we head there and spent about 30 minutes just watching them. At the first part, where you are looking through glass, Jim was disappointed there was a glass barrier, but I tell him that thats only one small part of it. One of the gorillas climbs onto a branch and starts peeing, which of course greatly amused all the guys in the crowd. Jim took a picture of the event and is very proud of this picture.
We head out to the main part of the gorilla viewing area and we see a huge silverback across the ravine. Im recording video through the viewfinder and the silverback seems to look directly at me, it was kind of scary! I wouldnt want to get too close to that guy. I find a nice comfortable bench and rest my feet while Jim is geeking out and taking a billion pictures. Im still wearing my Minnie wedding ears, so a guy walks by me and tells me I make a beautiful bride and then laughs. I thank him but wasnt too sure why he laughed. Maybe he just felt silly about it and it was a nervous laugh, so I choose to feel good about it and not paranoid about it. Jim gets his fill of gorilla-watching and we exit the pangani trail and meet up with mom, dad, jenny, and Kevin for the safari ride
I think this duck ate the hippos
Some cute little meerkats
Gorillas!
Jims very proud of this shot:
A silverback
When we meet up with everyone, Kevin has a look of please help me written on his face. We all use our fastpasses and get on board. I let Jim have the window seat and I sit next to a friendly british man who tells me to let him know if hes getting in the way of our pictures as hes sure you dont want my nose in all of your pictures. Jim is very happy during the ride, but all of the good stuff seems to be on the opposite side, so he wants to do it again sometime in the trip. He gets no disagreement from me! There werent any giraffes on the safari, and I remember the last time there were dozens of giraffes. Wonder if something happened to them or if they were just sleeping or something. I never seem to spot the cheetah in time, even though everyone else seems to see it. The lions were out which is always cool, and there was an elephant mother and her little elephant baby, too cute!!! Everyone on board said awwww! when they saw it lol! Jim didnt really get the whole sub-plot of the ride about chasing the poachers and why they ended such a great ride with an animatronic elephant. I didnt know what to tell him, I never really thought about it that way before. At the conclusion of the ride, as we pulled up to get out of the truck, the cast member there saw me and jim, turned to the people in line and said everyone give a round of applause to this lovely couple here - theyre on their honeymoon! It was really sweet!! Jim felt a little guilty because we werent married yet but we were getting married in Disneyworld in 2 days, I think we were entitled to wear the ears, I wasnt going to care.
My mom on the safari ride
Entering harambe
me on the safari ride
hungry hungry hippos
Tommys, tommys!
elephant mom and baby
I asked Jim if he was enjoying the animal kingdom, and he said he really really loved the animal kingdom and wanted to return. I was so happy he liked the AK, since most people think its just a zoo when I tell them about it, they just dont get it, so I was glad that Jim got it!
After the safari ride I was trying to see if anyone else wanted to meet up again to watch the Festival of the Lion King, but no-one seemed to want to. Jenny & Kevin went off to conservation station (or is it called rafikis planet watch? I cant keep track). My mom & dad were going to find a place to eat, so I recommended Tusker House and me, jim, my mom and dad all head there to eat.
Mary626
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2005
I ordered the turkey wrap and chowder, Jim saw that they served mac & cheese and was very excited about the mac & cheese! That has always been one of his favorite things and he hadnt had it in over a year. He was in heaven. I tried to pay for me and jims meal, but my mom of course wouldnt let us. I forgot to ask if they took the DDE card, probably not though. I found some seats and we all sat and enjoyed our meal together.
Me at the tusker house
Jims mac & cheese
My food
a mickey gold fish cracker, how cute!
me and jim happy to be eating
Jim was feeling the effects of lack of sleep and the high-noon sun bearing down on him, so I promised him we would head back to the hotel for a nap, even though I wanted to see festival of the lion king. I knew wed be back but I knew time in Disney goes by quickly so I wanted to do as much as possible every time we were in a theme park. But I was tired too so we head back to the hotel and completely daze out while on the bus.
On the way out of the park:
Oh no where are my ears!
Back at our hotel, jims being silly
We went back to the room, Jim goes straight into bed and falls right asleep. I decide to explore the hotel since I hadnt had the chance yet. I walk around the hotel, around stormalong bay, and into the beach club. Id seen so many pictures of the hotel that it felt like Id been there before, it was weird. It felt like watching a movie and then all of a sudden being in the movie, thats the only way I can think of to describe it.
Exploring the hotels
Me at the tusker house
Jims mac & cheese
My food
a mickey gold fish cracker, how cute!
me and jim happy to be eating
Jim was feeling the effects of lack of sleep and the high-noon sun bearing down on him, so I promised him we would head back to the hotel for a nap, even though I wanted to see festival of the lion king. I knew wed be back but I knew time in Disney goes by quickly so I wanted to do as much as possible every time we were in a theme park. But I was tired too so we head back to the hotel and completely daze out while on the bus.
On the way out of the park:
Oh no where are my ears!
Back at our hotel, jims being silly
We went back to the room, Jim goes straight into bed and falls right asleep. I decide to explore the hotel since I hadnt had the chance yet. I walk around the hotel, around stormalong bay, and into the beach club. Id seen so many pictures of the hotel that it felt like Id been there before, it was weird. It felt like watching a movie and then all of a sudden being in the movie, thats the only way I can think of to describe it.
Exploring the hotels
Mary626
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2005
I walk past Beaches n Cream and go into the beach club, and right there I see Ariels and Marthas vineyard, where my reception & pre-reception were going to be. I was so excited!!! Id seen so many pictures of the two places and yet it was nothing like I imagined it, that was a surprise. But it looked so cool and I wish I had been with someone at the time so I could have shared my excitement with someone. The next time I would be there I would be married! I take a bunch of pictures and head back to the hotel room.
Ariels
marthas vineyard
both;
to the right of marthas vineyard
I saw this guy on that travel channel show great hotels when Samantha brown went to the beach club
the outside of the beach club
the boardwalk
the gazebo view from the ground level
inside the gazebo
Jim is half awake and asks where I was, I tell him, but hes practically asleep before I finish my sentence. I get into bed, I am suddenly feeling exhausted and a nap sounds great. It was about 1:30 and we had to meet the coordinator in epcot at 3 for the site visit. Time for at least an hour nap. I change into some sweats and get into bed. Right as I was about to sleep I remember something Im forgetting, crap! Jims dad was getting in around 3 and I had to go finish his welcome basket and take it to the front desk. I get dressed again and head to the gift shop hoping they had some liquor for the basket I was putting together for him. They had a bunch of alcohol behind the counter, so I ask the lady for a few bottles of different liquours and some jack daniels whiskey. I bet she thought I had a problem! I go to the room and arrange the basket with the DVDs jim bought and our card. I wrap it in cyran wrap so the bottles wouldnt fall out or break, and drop it off at the front desk. They put a note on his reservation so they would know to hand it to him when he checked in.
By the time I got done with that, it was time to get ready to go meet the coordinator and go figure out where wed be getting married in 3 days!
My new backpack since my old one was falling apart
Jims dads welcome basket
with cellophane (not pretty, but practical)
Ariels
marthas vineyard
both;
to the right of marthas vineyard
I saw this guy on that travel channel show great hotels when Samantha brown went to the beach club
the outside of the beach club
the boardwalk
the gazebo view from the ground level
inside the gazebo
Jim is half awake and asks where I was, I tell him, but hes practically asleep before I finish my sentence. I get into bed, I am suddenly feeling exhausted and a nap sounds great. It was about 1:30 and we had to meet the coordinator in epcot at 3 for the site visit. Time for at least an hour nap. I change into some sweats and get into bed. Right as I was about to sleep I remember something Im forgetting, crap! Jims dad was getting in around 3 and I had to go finish his welcome basket and take it to the front desk. I get dressed again and head to the gift shop hoping they had some liquor for the basket I was putting together for him. They had a bunch of alcohol behind the counter, so I ask the lady for a few bottles of different liquours and some jack daniels whiskey. I bet she thought I had a problem! I go to the room and arrange the basket with the DVDs jim bought and our card. I wrap it in cyran wrap so the bottles wouldnt fall out or break, and drop it off at the front desk. They put a note on his reservation so they would know to hand it to him when he checked in.
By the time I got done with that, it was time to get ready to go meet the coordinator and go figure out where wed be getting married in 3 days!
My new backpack since my old one was falling apart
Jims dads welcome basket
with cellophane (not pretty, but practical)
Mary626
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2005
Jim quickly gets ready, and we meet up with Jenny, Kevin, my mom and dad in the lobby. Everyone on Jims side of the family was doing something else, but we were going to meet up with them later for dinner. We walk to epcot and towards Italy, taking some pictures along the way.
We stop for a picture in japan
some American topiaries
Me and Jim get to Italy, and see our coordinator on the Isola. I had never seen a picture of her before and I swear she looked exactly like I pictured her, it was weird! Me and Jim kind of stand out with our wedding ears on, so she waves to us, and we go over the bridge, she gives us a hug, and we look around at the isola. The wall was really ugly, but it wasnt as bad as I thought it might be.
Some other pictures from our site visit;
We walk around the island and I mull things over and think about our options. If we move the focal point of the altar away from the fountain and towards Spaceship earth (the big epcot golf ball) , the wall wouldnt be that noticeable and it wouldnt show up in the pictures. The funny thing about this option is, its how I originally had imagined the ceremony when I chose the isola, but I remembered back a year ago when we were discussing it, the coordinator had mentioned that by facing that way the sun would be in our eyes. So I ask her will the sun be in our eyes if we face the altar in this direction and she thinks about it and says she was pretty sure we would be okay by that time of the morning.
the view from the isola
Five more Disney employees come and introduce themselves to me and Jim. They were the behind-the scenes people that were in charge of setting up and decorating, I think. They bounced some more ideas around about what we could do. I liked the idea of facing spaceship earth and having our altar frame it. I wasnt 100% happy with the idea, but I was warming up to it more and more. Before we decide on anything the coordinator wants me to see the Italy courtyard and see if wed rather have it there, so we all walk over there together.
We get to the courtyard and the coordinator tells me where the altar would be set up in this scenario. Its pretty but its not at all what I wanted. It felt enclosed and like it was in the shadows, I wanted the ceremony to be bright and airy. I told her I thought the isola would be better, ugly construction wall and all, and ask my mom and jenny for their opinions. They both whole-heartedly agree with me. Its funny though, I completely forgot to ask Jim his opinion even though hes standing next to me the whole time. (He later made fun of me for it).
So we decide on the isola. Me, Jim, and the coordinator step aside to talk over details and scheduling. I ask if she can have a wheelchair or ECV for my dad in italy, since hed be coming over in the limo with us, and she said she would make sure to have something there for him in case he started having a hard time breathing. I asked the coordinator if anyone's ever tripped and fell down the stairs over the bridge, which was a concern of mine, and she said "we haven't lost a bride yet!".. She gave us her pager number and some other numbers to reach her in case there were any emergencies, and I said "like if Jim decides to break up with me the day before the wedding?" and laughed.. we talk some more about some other details and she says she'll see us a little later, and jim adds "unless I decide to break up with mary before the wedding", and she jokingly pretends to get mad at jim and tells him to be nice. Done discussing all the details, we say goodbye (wed be seeing her in the morning at the rehearsal) and head back to the hotel.
On the way back, we notice a sign by the theatre in the American adventure that says the Nelson Twins were performing. Hey I guess that is who we saw in the airport, how funny!! Jim is excited and we start trying to remember some of their songs, like after the rain. Ahhh good old glam. We stop for a cinnamon pretzel on the way, I hadnt seen those in years and used to love them!! We get one for Jenny too and go sit down in front of Japan to eat our snacks. Jim calls his friend Corey and tells him about the Nelson twins playing there. I call Jenny and tell her I bought her a pretzel, I thought she was back at the hotel but she was actually in Morocco, so we walk over to her. Her and my mom were pouring water on their heads to stay cool and seemed to be in a silly mood. Then they head back while me and Jim linger a bit in the world showcase.
It really was the nelson twins!
jim buying a cinnamon pretzel
our view as we ate our pretzel
jim calls corey to tell him about the nelson twins
mom and jenny pouring water over their heads to stay cool
10 minutes later, me and jim are heading out and are walking over the bridge right past France, and we see my dad on his ECV, completely stopped, all by himself. Confused, we go over to him and ask whats going on. He complains that the battery died on his ECV and Jenny & mom went to the hotel for the charger. That didnt make a heck of a lot of sense to me, where were they going to charge it, why didnt they just push it? Dad says the brake is stuck. Im like there must be a brake release somewhere, that would be ridiculous not to have a brake release, so after a minute of searching, me and jim find the brake release, release it, and start pushing my dad in the scooter out of epcot. I call my mom and Jenny to tell them we have it under control, they had only gotten as far as the exit so they wait for us.
Jenny seems to be in primadonna mode again and is stressed out and seems to be embarrassed about jim pushing the ECV. Im like just go back to the hotel, ms. Primadonna and she splashes some water on me. Im like hey! Youre lucky youre pregnant! But decide that even if shes pregnant I can still flick her in the arm. Were so nice to each other. Jenny goes off to the hotel by herself, not wanting to deal with the ECV thing. Jim and I continue to take turns pushing or steering the ECV. Going uphill isnt that bad, but all of a sudden theres a big downhill drop, and Jims trying his hardest to slow down the scooter as it accelerates downhill, but it was a little bit out of control. Noone got hurt, but all of a sudden the brake release is broken. What the heck! No matter what we do we cant release the brake, and cant seem to push it any further..
We try a few different things, but nothing works, meanwhile my dad is starting to get frustrated and my mom is getting stressed out and neither of them are helping matters. If I hold up the brake release, then we can push the scooter, so I start doing that and my mom tells me not to hurt my back and that shell push it. Im like, ummm no! They arent exactly in the best health and I have it under control. I tell them just to go back to the hotel room and that me and Jim will take care of it and not to worry. Of course just letting me take care of it would be too easy so they stick around and continue to make things stressful when it would have been just fine.
All of a sudden we hear thunder and see lightning. Just great, there we are pushing a huge piece of metal around in a thunder storm. We get to the front of the Beach Club, and I say why dont we take it to the lobby in the beach club instead of pushing it all the way to the yacht club? Im sure one of the cast members can find a way to help us or something, and it will get us out of the thunder storm. Of course that makes too much sense and my dad insists we take it to the yacht club.
We push it another minute and then Kevin comes to help. Hes really good at fixing cars and pretty much a mechanic, so he takes off the base of the scooter and starts trying to fix it. Meanwhile the lightning is getting closer and the thunder is getting louder. I am getting ANGRY, the beach club is RIGHT THERE, why dont we just take it there!! Everyone is telling me to settle down and just chill Grrrr!!! What do I know, Im just a girl I guess.
After Kevin realizes he cant do anything to fix it, we start to push it to the beach club. Yep. Thank you. We take it to the front entrance to the beach club, and I call the company to come pick it up (the company drops and picks up the scooters from the front of Disney hotels so it shouldnt have been a problem).
Im calling them while walking back to the yacht club with my mom to get the receipt and the power cord for the thing. I get ahold of someone in the company and politely explain the situation to him. And he says, in a really condescending voice well what probably happened, maam, is that you had it in neutral. Im like ummm, no, the battery died and we had push it a mile, and then the brake release broke and I almost broke my back pushing it the rest of the way, thats what happened, it had nothing to do with being in neutral. Stupid jerk. He asks to speak to someone whos by the scooter so I give him Jims cell phone number. Right as we get to the yacht club it starts to rain really hard, I mean it was pouring buckets!!
A few minutes later I call Jim and ask what was going on with that guy, and jim tells me that the guy was a jerk and kept telling them to do this or that with the circuit breaker, but nothing he was telling them to do was working, so he FINALLy agrees to come replace the thing. At this point Im in my moms hotel room looking for the receipt, but Jim says we wont need any of that, that they would just drop off a new scooter in a few hours for us, and that the concierge at the beach club said we could leave it with them and they would take care of it. Ahhh, god bless Disney Cast members!!
In the meantime, noone knows where my dad is. My mom had told him to go back to the room, but he wasnt there, and he wasnt with Jim or Kevin. So I go out searching for him. I quickly speedwalk through the lobby of the yacht club. A cast member asks if I would fill out a survey, and I say something like sorry I would but Im in the middle of a situation, and she apologized and looked worried. I felt bad, I didnt mean to scare her! (Later in the day I walked by the same lady and apologized about it)
After a few minutes of running around the hotel room, I see my dad outside the back entrance of the yacht club trying to use a cell phone. He was under an awning, but it was still a thunder storm and raining cats & dogs outside so why he was standing outside trying to use the cell phone was a mystery to me. I tell him moms looking for him and he was supposed to go back to the hotel room, and he was like well I didnt have a room key! and Im like well most people of room keys to their hotel room. I was going to tell him to go back to the room, but then I think I better actually walk him there myself to make sure he gets there and doesnt get lost or something. I have to admit I was being pretty condescending to him while doing so, but this whole thing had just taken an hour and a half and was very frustrating. I was being a little snotty about the whole thing since if everyone had just listened to me it would have taken half the time. We got back to the room, and my mom tells him he gave him a key. He looks through his pocket, and sure enough there was a room key. I lay down on my moms bed and just close my eyes. Jim calls and says he ran into his dad in the lobby when he was checking in. I know I should go say Hi, but I cant seem to want to get up, so I tell jim I need to de-stress and would be there in a little while. Even though it was kind of stressful, i was still in a good mood and was already laughing about the whole thing. This whole thing was just not on the itinerary for the day lol.
Coming up: dinner with jim's family in canada, illuminations, and seeing my best friend again for the first time in four years
We stop for a picture in japan
some American topiaries
Me and Jim get to Italy, and see our coordinator on the Isola. I had never seen a picture of her before and I swear she looked exactly like I pictured her, it was weird! Me and Jim kind of stand out with our wedding ears on, so she waves to us, and we go over the bridge, she gives us a hug, and we look around at the isola. The wall was really ugly, but it wasnt as bad as I thought it might be.
Some other pictures from our site visit;
We walk around the island and I mull things over and think about our options. If we move the focal point of the altar away from the fountain and towards Spaceship earth (the big epcot golf ball) , the wall wouldnt be that noticeable and it wouldnt show up in the pictures. The funny thing about this option is, its how I originally had imagined the ceremony when I chose the isola, but I remembered back a year ago when we were discussing it, the coordinator had mentioned that by facing that way the sun would be in our eyes. So I ask her will the sun be in our eyes if we face the altar in this direction and she thinks about it and says she was pretty sure we would be okay by that time of the morning.
the view from the isola
Five more Disney employees come and introduce themselves to me and Jim. They were the behind-the scenes people that were in charge of setting up and decorating, I think. They bounced some more ideas around about what we could do. I liked the idea of facing spaceship earth and having our altar frame it. I wasnt 100% happy with the idea, but I was warming up to it more and more. Before we decide on anything the coordinator wants me to see the Italy courtyard and see if wed rather have it there, so we all walk over there together.
We get to the courtyard and the coordinator tells me where the altar would be set up in this scenario. Its pretty but its not at all what I wanted. It felt enclosed and like it was in the shadows, I wanted the ceremony to be bright and airy. I told her I thought the isola would be better, ugly construction wall and all, and ask my mom and jenny for their opinions. They both whole-heartedly agree with me. Its funny though, I completely forgot to ask Jim his opinion even though hes standing next to me the whole time. (He later made fun of me for it).
So we decide on the isola. Me, Jim, and the coordinator step aside to talk over details and scheduling. I ask if she can have a wheelchair or ECV for my dad in italy, since hed be coming over in the limo with us, and she said she would make sure to have something there for him in case he started having a hard time breathing. I asked the coordinator if anyone's ever tripped and fell down the stairs over the bridge, which was a concern of mine, and she said "we haven't lost a bride yet!".. She gave us her pager number and some other numbers to reach her in case there were any emergencies, and I said "like if Jim decides to break up with me the day before the wedding?" and laughed.. we talk some more about some other details and she says she'll see us a little later, and jim adds "unless I decide to break up with mary before the wedding", and she jokingly pretends to get mad at jim and tells him to be nice. Done discussing all the details, we say goodbye (wed be seeing her in the morning at the rehearsal) and head back to the hotel.
On the way back, we notice a sign by the theatre in the American adventure that says the Nelson Twins were performing. Hey I guess that is who we saw in the airport, how funny!! Jim is excited and we start trying to remember some of their songs, like after the rain. Ahhh good old glam. We stop for a cinnamon pretzel on the way, I hadnt seen those in years and used to love them!! We get one for Jenny too and go sit down in front of Japan to eat our snacks. Jim calls his friend Corey and tells him about the Nelson twins playing there. I call Jenny and tell her I bought her a pretzel, I thought she was back at the hotel but she was actually in Morocco, so we walk over to her. Her and my mom were pouring water on their heads to stay cool and seemed to be in a silly mood. Then they head back while me and Jim linger a bit in the world showcase.
It really was the nelson twins!
jim buying a cinnamon pretzel
our view as we ate our pretzel
jim calls corey to tell him about the nelson twins
mom and jenny pouring water over their heads to stay cool
10 minutes later, me and jim are heading out and are walking over the bridge right past France, and we see my dad on his ECV, completely stopped, all by himself. Confused, we go over to him and ask whats going on. He complains that the battery died on his ECV and Jenny & mom went to the hotel for the charger. That didnt make a heck of a lot of sense to me, where were they going to charge it, why didnt they just push it? Dad says the brake is stuck. Im like there must be a brake release somewhere, that would be ridiculous not to have a brake release, so after a minute of searching, me and jim find the brake release, release it, and start pushing my dad in the scooter out of epcot. I call my mom and Jenny to tell them we have it under control, they had only gotten as far as the exit so they wait for us.
Jenny seems to be in primadonna mode again and is stressed out and seems to be embarrassed about jim pushing the ECV. Im like just go back to the hotel, ms. Primadonna and she splashes some water on me. Im like hey! Youre lucky youre pregnant! But decide that even if shes pregnant I can still flick her in the arm. Were so nice to each other. Jenny goes off to the hotel by herself, not wanting to deal with the ECV thing. Jim and I continue to take turns pushing or steering the ECV. Going uphill isnt that bad, but all of a sudden theres a big downhill drop, and Jims trying his hardest to slow down the scooter as it accelerates downhill, but it was a little bit out of control. Noone got hurt, but all of a sudden the brake release is broken. What the heck! No matter what we do we cant release the brake, and cant seem to push it any further..
We try a few different things, but nothing works, meanwhile my dad is starting to get frustrated and my mom is getting stressed out and neither of them are helping matters. If I hold up the brake release, then we can push the scooter, so I start doing that and my mom tells me not to hurt my back and that shell push it. Im like, ummm no! They arent exactly in the best health and I have it under control. I tell them just to go back to the hotel room and that me and Jim will take care of it and not to worry. Of course just letting me take care of it would be too easy so they stick around and continue to make things stressful when it would have been just fine.
All of a sudden we hear thunder and see lightning. Just great, there we are pushing a huge piece of metal around in a thunder storm. We get to the front of the Beach Club, and I say why dont we take it to the lobby in the beach club instead of pushing it all the way to the yacht club? Im sure one of the cast members can find a way to help us or something, and it will get us out of the thunder storm. Of course that makes too much sense and my dad insists we take it to the yacht club.
We push it another minute and then Kevin comes to help. Hes really good at fixing cars and pretty much a mechanic, so he takes off the base of the scooter and starts trying to fix it. Meanwhile the lightning is getting closer and the thunder is getting louder. I am getting ANGRY, the beach club is RIGHT THERE, why dont we just take it there!! Everyone is telling me to settle down and just chill Grrrr!!! What do I know, Im just a girl I guess.
After Kevin realizes he cant do anything to fix it, we start to push it to the beach club. Yep. Thank you. We take it to the front entrance to the beach club, and I call the company to come pick it up (the company drops and picks up the scooters from the front of Disney hotels so it shouldnt have been a problem).
Im calling them while walking back to the yacht club with my mom to get the receipt and the power cord for the thing. I get ahold of someone in the company and politely explain the situation to him. And he says, in a really condescending voice well what probably happened, maam, is that you had it in neutral. Im like ummm, no, the battery died and we had push it a mile, and then the brake release broke and I almost broke my back pushing it the rest of the way, thats what happened, it had nothing to do with being in neutral. Stupid jerk. He asks to speak to someone whos by the scooter so I give him Jims cell phone number. Right as we get to the yacht club it starts to rain really hard, I mean it was pouring buckets!!
A few minutes later I call Jim and ask what was going on with that guy, and jim tells me that the guy was a jerk and kept telling them to do this or that with the circuit breaker, but nothing he was telling them to do was working, so he FINALLy agrees to come replace the thing. At this point Im in my moms hotel room looking for the receipt, but Jim says we wont need any of that, that they would just drop off a new scooter in a few hours for us, and that the concierge at the beach club said we could leave it with them and they would take care of it. Ahhh, god bless Disney Cast members!!
In the meantime, noone knows where my dad is. My mom had told him to go back to the room, but he wasnt there, and he wasnt with Jim or Kevin. So I go out searching for him. I quickly speedwalk through the lobby of the yacht club. A cast member asks if I would fill out a survey, and I say something like sorry I would but Im in the middle of a situation, and she apologized and looked worried. I felt bad, I didnt mean to scare her! (Later in the day I walked by the same lady and apologized about it)
After a few minutes of running around the hotel room, I see my dad outside the back entrance of the yacht club trying to use a cell phone. He was under an awning, but it was still a thunder storm and raining cats & dogs outside so why he was standing outside trying to use the cell phone was a mystery to me. I tell him moms looking for him and he was supposed to go back to the hotel room, and he was like well I didnt have a room key! and Im like well most people of room keys to their hotel room. I was going to tell him to go back to the room, but then I think I better actually walk him there myself to make sure he gets there and doesnt get lost or something. I have to admit I was being pretty condescending to him while doing so, but this whole thing had just taken an hour and a half and was very frustrating. I was being a little snotty about the whole thing since if everyone had just listened to me it would have taken half the time. We got back to the room, and my mom tells him he gave him a key. He looks through his pocket, and sure enough there was a room key. I lay down on my moms bed and just close my eyes. Jim calls and says he ran into his dad in the lobby when he was checking in. I know I should go say Hi, but I cant seem to want to get up, so I tell jim I need to de-stress and would be there in a little while. Even though it was kind of stressful, i was still in a good mood and was already laughing about the whole thing. This whole thing was just not on the itinerary for the day lol.
Coming up: dinner with jim's family in canada, illuminations, and seeing my best friend again for the first time in four years
Mary626
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2005
Thanks again everyone
Here is the rest of Day 2
*******************
After relaxing for about twenty minutes in my parents room, I call jim to ask what room hes in. The cell phone reception at the yacht club was awful every day we were there, and I could not understand him. Finally I hear him say lobby so I head there. I hug Barry (Jims dad) and ask how his flight is and all that stuff. They were at the front desk waiting for them to find his gift basket. Seems they misplaced it. I had just dropped it off about 2 hours prior so how they lost it in that time frame is a mystery to me. Finally they find it and we head to his dads room to catch up. His dad likes the basket and seems to really like the card. He starts showing us some pictures he took with his new digital camera. Jim is happy that his father was there. Since his father lives in texas and films his show in north Carolina he doesnt get to see him very often. Jim always seems much happier when his fathers in town, so I was glad he was in.
We head back to our room to freshen up for dinner and I catch up with Jim about what had been going on for the last 2 hours. I had left my ears in the basket of the ECV, and Jim told me Kevin had absentmindedly carrying the wedding ears while walking with Jim back to the yacht club, while Jim was wearing the groomhat. Jim said they had been getting a lot of funny looks. Just picturing it cracks me up.
We freshen up and meet up with jims mom, brother, and father in the lobby while jims dad is buying a park hopper pass at the front desk.
The rain had stopped thankfully. I was actually glad that it rained that night. The most recent weather forecast had said Friday night would be clear and sunny and Saturday night it would be thunder storms and raining. I was hoping since it rained today (Friday), it wouldnt rain tomorrow and fantasmic would go on! At that point though, I had been having so much fun already and just so happy to be there with our families that I didnt care if it was going to rain or not.
Chris, barry, and jim
We walk to epcot and to Canada and I check in for our reservations, and they say it will be 15 minutes. The Victoria gardens they have in Canada are beautiful! I check those out while chris & barry go check out the Canada180 movie, but they didnt have a chance to catch it. We see Jenny & Kevin, who had reservations for the same time we decided to let us have it be a jims family thing and go sit by themselves, which I thought was kind of funny.
Barry using the biometric thing to get in (I hate those things, they never worked!!!)
walking to Canada
Canada
I had never eaten here before and had read so many rave reviews about it on the DIS message board that I was really excited to eat here, especially to try the cheese soup and the pretzel bread. It was good, but I wouldnt rave about it. It tasted like the cheese-broccoli soup I get from quiznos with a little bit of an alcohol-after taste to it. I wasnt in the mood for steak (or for the price of the steak), so I just ordered creamy spinach and some cream-cheese mashed potatoes, which were both okay but nothing spectacular. I did have a bite of Sues filet mignon and it was delicious though! The waitress was really nice but it took forever for the food to come out. I didnt care since we were having a good time talking and catching up, but if it had been just me and jim I would have been annoyed by it. The DDE cardd saves us a lot of money once again!
Le cellier
We got there at 7 and left right around 8:45, just in time to find a seat for illuminations. While waiting, Barry wanted to go back and try to watch the Canada movie and was asking what other countries were in epcot. I thought it was really cute that he seemed to be excited about it, I never would have guessed it! I think they missed the show again so they came back to where me and Sue were sitting and watched the fireworks.
Illuminations is a great fireworks show, but the story if there is one alludes me. I can never see the images on the globe and it always feels like I am missing something. I still oooed and ahhhed over the fireworks though. At one point I saw the globe floating around and I wanted jim to notice it, so I point to it and say look at the globe, its the world and Im searching for the right words to follow it up with, like, I meant to say its images from the world, or SOMETHING like that, but Jim starts laughing at me and says yes, mary, the globe is the world and I start laughing at how stupid I sounded. Even though I knew thats not what I had meant, I realized how it sounded so I kept making fun of myself for it. It became a joke that everytime we walked by a globe or something, Jim would say mary look, its the world!. Anyway..
Right during the finale of the illuminations, Jim gets a phone call. Oh crap! I realize I left my cell phone in the hotel room and had told my friend Jo to call me when she got close to Orlando.
Jo and her fiancé Jim were driving to Orlando from Marietta, Georgia, and were going to stay with us that night before checking in to the port Orleans the next morning. I hadnt seen Jo since April 2002, four years ago, and was really excited to see her again! She told me they wouldnt be in till around 10 pm, and it was about 9:20 then. I hadnt realized Id forgotten my cell phone and was worried that they were there waiting for us or something.
Since the fireworks were going off jim couldnt hear her, so we wait till the show is over and call her back. Meanwhile, Sue is just LOVING the fireworks and is really happy, it was really cute to watch her excitement, and makes me happy that she is having a good time.
Waiting for the show to start:
some fireworks
the globe that was the world
Sue really really liked the fireworks show!
Here is the rest of Day 2
*******************
After relaxing for about twenty minutes in my parents room, I call jim to ask what room hes in. The cell phone reception at the yacht club was awful every day we were there, and I could not understand him. Finally I hear him say lobby so I head there. I hug Barry (Jims dad) and ask how his flight is and all that stuff. They were at the front desk waiting for them to find his gift basket. Seems they misplaced it. I had just dropped it off about 2 hours prior so how they lost it in that time frame is a mystery to me. Finally they find it and we head to his dads room to catch up. His dad likes the basket and seems to really like the card. He starts showing us some pictures he took with his new digital camera. Jim is happy that his father was there. Since his father lives in texas and films his show in north Carolina he doesnt get to see him very often. Jim always seems much happier when his fathers in town, so I was glad he was in.
We head back to our room to freshen up for dinner and I catch up with Jim about what had been going on for the last 2 hours. I had left my ears in the basket of the ECV, and Jim told me Kevin had absentmindedly carrying the wedding ears while walking with Jim back to the yacht club, while Jim was wearing the groomhat. Jim said they had been getting a lot of funny looks. Just picturing it cracks me up.
We freshen up and meet up with jims mom, brother, and father in the lobby while jims dad is buying a park hopper pass at the front desk.
The rain had stopped thankfully. I was actually glad that it rained that night. The most recent weather forecast had said Friday night would be clear and sunny and Saturday night it would be thunder storms and raining. I was hoping since it rained today (Friday), it wouldnt rain tomorrow and fantasmic would go on! At that point though, I had been having so much fun already and just so happy to be there with our families that I didnt care if it was going to rain or not.
Chris, barry, and jim
We walk to epcot and to Canada and I check in for our reservations, and they say it will be 15 minutes. The Victoria gardens they have in Canada are beautiful! I check those out while chris & barry go check out the Canada180 movie, but they didnt have a chance to catch it. We see Jenny & Kevin, who had reservations for the same time we decided to let us have it be a jims family thing and go sit by themselves, which I thought was kind of funny.
Barry using the biometric thing to get in (I hate those things, they never worked!!!)
walking to Canada
Canada
I had never eaten here before and had read so many rave reviews about it on the DIS message board that I was really excited to eat here, especially to try the cheese soup and the pretzel bread. It was good, but I wouldnt rave about it. It tasted like the cheese-broccoli soup I get from quiznos with a little bit of an alcohol-after taste to it. I wasnt in the mood for steak (or for the price of the steak), so I just ordered creamy spinach and some cream-cheese mashed potatoes, which were both okay but nothing spectacular. I did have a bite of Sues filet mignon and it was delicious though! The waitress was really nice but it took forever for the food to come out. I didnt care since we were having a good time talking and catching up, but if it had been just me and jim I would have been annoyed by it. The DDE cardd saves us a lot of money once again!
Le cellier
We got there at 7 and left right around 8:45, just in time to find a seat for illuminations. While waiting, Barry wanted to go back and try to watch the Canada movie and was asking what other countries were in epcot. I thought it was really cute that he seemed to be excited about it, I never would have guessed it! I think they missed the show again so they came back to where me and Sue were sitting and watched the fireworks.
Illuminations is a great fireworks show, but the story if there is one alludes me. I can never see the images on the globe and it always feels like I am missing something. I still oooed and ahhhed over the fireworks though. At one point I saw the globe floating around and I wanted jim to notice it, so I point to it and say look at the globe, its the world and Im searching for the right words to follow it up with, like, I meant to say its images from the world, or SOMETHING like that, but Jim starts laughing at me and says yes, mary, the globe is the world and I start laughing at how stupid I sounded. Even though I knew thats not what I had meant, I realized how it sounded so I kept making fun of myself for it. It became a joke that everytime we walked by a globe or something, Jim would say mary look, its the world!. Anyway..
Right during the finale of the illuminations, Jim gets a phone call. Oh crap! I realize I left my cell phone in the hotel room and had told my friend Jo to call me when she got close to Orlando.
Jo and her fiancé Jim were driving to Orlando from Marietta, Georgia, and were going to stay with us that night before checking in to the port Orleans the next morning. I hadnt seen Jo since April 2002, four years ago, and was really excited to see her again! She told me they wouldnt be in till around 10 pm, and it was about 9:20 then. I hadnt realized Id forgotten my cell phone and was worried that they were there waiting for us or something.
Since the fireworks were going off jim couldnt hear her, so we wait till the show is over and call her back. Meanwhile, Sue is just LOVING the fireworks and is really happy, it was really cute to watch her excitement, and makes me happy that she is having a good time.
Waiting for the show to start:
some fireworks
the globe that was the world
Sue really really liked the fireworks show!
Mary626
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2005
The show ends and we call Jo back, they say they are probably about twenty minutes away, so we head back to the hotel. Chris convinces Barry to go to pleasure island and go drinking with him, so they all head to the buses in front of futureworld. We say goodbye to them and will see them tomorrow. While heading back to the yacht club, we run into some of our wedding guests, they had been watching the fireworks in Canada too, we didnt even know they had arrived yet! It was jims friend Larry and his wife and 3 children. I had only met Larry once and never met his family so we all introduce and ask how were doing. They told us how they had gotten in early that morning and were exploring the park but were exhausted, so they took the bus back to their hotel (port Orleans riverside), and they had ALL fallen asleep on the bus, missed their stop, and ended up back at the magic kingdom. And I thought I was tired!! I wanted to talk more but was worried about Jo getting to the hotel before we did, so we say goodbye and will see them tomorrow, and walk back to the hotel.
the yacht club at night
I was actually pretty tired. I had gotten 2 hours Wednesday night (and two hours on the airplane), and about 4 hours Thursday night, and it was now 9:30 pm on Friday night. We sat in the lobby of the Yacht Club waiting for Jo & (her) Jim, and I almost fell asleep a few times in the chair. They call a few times and they keep getting lost. About a half an hour later my mother and sister lisa walk by. Lisas on her cell phone but they sit down and my mom was asking about our day. I talk to mom for a while. Lisa stayed on her cell phone talking to her friend the whole time. Finally I ask them if they could leave us alone since I was excited to see Jo & Jim and didnt really want lisa and mom around at the time. Mom understood, but all of a sudden Lisa, who was on the phone the entire time mind you, says oh sure, you havent seen me in 4 months and you dont even want to talk to me! I look at Jim and laugh and shake my head. Very typical Lisa stuff.
Yay jo is on her way!
the lobby of the yacht club (and another globe)
my mom and sister stop by for a chat, okay go away now
tired so tired..
Jo calls again, they had to stop at another Disney resort to ask directions and said, for real this time, they were almost there! I was exhausted but still really excited. Finally they arrive and I go over and give them both a hug. I didnt realize how excited I would be to see them, and I almost started to cry. I was like everyones here and can you beleive Im finally getting married and I cant believe its been four years since we last saw each other oh my god!!
We spend a few minutes in the lobby talking or taking pictures and then head up to the room. I think it was past 11 pm at that point.
Awful awful awful picture of me but Ill post it anyways
Jo and jim after getting lost for an hour
Jo & jim ponder the globe
I still needed to prepare all of our stuff to take to the rehearsal to give to our coordinator, and I needed to take the tux and a few dresses over to my moms room since the gown steamer would be coming in the morning at 8 am to steam the dresses and I was exhausted.
We all go back to the room and get in our comfy clothes and talk about this and that. Jim was happy to be talking to Jim about a videogame they both play called world of warcraft. Neither me or jo are into it so we make fun of them for it. I give Jo her gift and a few other things that I had. They were talking about how lost they got trying to find the hotel and I ask did the directions I give you not work? and Jim looks at Jo and says she gave you directions and Jo was like oops, it was pretty funny. I had given her exact and very specific directions on how to get to the yacht club, including the phone number to the yacht club in case they got lost. I start talking about how no-one read the itineraries I gave them either. I had created an illustrated guide to mary & jims wedding to help people as much as possible, but noone seemed to read them.
While still talking to them, I had to sort through all of my stuff that I had to give to the coordinator and Jo and her Jim were joking about how prepared I was. I was like you have no idea! And I show them my planning binder and my itineraries, and all the maps I have printed out, and all the lists I had created. I was like Ive been planning for this week for a year, I had better be prepared!. Jo and Jim were kind of hungry so I tell them to order some room service while I went and gave the tux and some dresses to my mom for steaming. It took us all a while to finally get to sleep. I was glad they were staying with us that night, since there was so much going on the next day, I knew I wouldnt be able to really talk to them much after that. It was weird how we hadnt seen each other in 4 years but we seemed to pick up right where we had left off kind of, at least thats what it felt like to me. I was also glad to get to know her fiancé more. I had only met him twice and not for very long and didnt really know him that well. Seeing how happy they were together made me feel good and it reminded me of me and my jim
The next day was going to be really busy with the rehearsal in the morning the dessert party that night, and most of our guests coming in that day. I fell asleep around 1:30 am, exhausted but still feeling happy.
the yacht club at night
I was actually pretty tired. I had gotten 2 hours Wednesday night (and two hours on the airplane), and about 4 hours Thursday night, and it was now 9:30 pm on Friday night. We sat in the lobby of the Yacht Club waiting for Jo & (her) Jim, and I almost fell asleep a few times in the chair. They call a few times and they keep getting lost. About a half an hour later my mother and sister lisa walk by. Lisas on her cell phone but they sit down and my mom was asking about our day. I talk to mom for a while. Lisa stayed on her cell phone talking to her friend the whole time. Finally I ask them if they could leave us alone since I was excited to see Jo & Jim and didnt really want lisa and mom around at the time. Mom understood, but all of a sudden Lisa, who was on the phone the entire time mind you, says oh sure, you havent seen me in 4 months and you dont even want to talk to me! I look at Jim and laugh and shake my head. Very typical Lisa stuff.
Yay jo is on her way!
the lobby of the yacht club (and another globe)
my mom and sister stop by for a chat, okay go away now
tired so tired..
Jo calls again, they had to stop at another Disney resort to ask directions and said, for real this time, they were almost there! I was exhausted but still really excited. Finally they arrive and I go over and give them both a hug. I didnt realize how excited I would be to see them, and I almost started to cry. I was like everyones here and can you beleive Im finally getting married and I cant believe its been four years since we last saw each other oh my god!!
We spend a few minutes in the lobby talking or taking pictures and then head up to the room. I think it was past 11 pm at that point.
Awful awful awful picture of me but Ill post it anyways
Jo and jim after getting lost for an hour
Jo & jim ponder the globe
I still needed to prepare all of our stuff to take to the rehearsal to give to our coordinator, and I needed to take the tux and a few dresses over to my moms room since the gown steamer would be coming in the morning at 8 am to steam the dresses and I was exhausted.
We all go back to the room and get in our comfy clothes and talk about this and that. Jim was happy to be talking to Jim about a videogame they both play called world of warcraft. Neither me or jo are into it so we make fun of them for it. I give Jo her gift and a few other things that I had. They were talking about how lost they got trying to find the hotel and I ask did the directions I give you not work? and Jim looks at Jo and says she gave you directions and Jo was like oops, it was pretty funny. I had given her exact and very specific directions on how to get to the yacht club, including the phone number to the yacht club in case they got lost. I start talking about how no-one read the itineraries I gave them either. I had created an illustrated guide to mary & jims wedding to help people as much as possible, but noone seemed to read them.
While still talking to them, I had to sort through all of my stuff that I had to give to the coordinator and Jo and her Jim were joking about how prepared I was. I was like you have no idea! And I show them my planning binder and my itineraries, and all the maps I have printed out, and all the lists I had created. I was like Ive been planning for this week for a year, I had better be prepared!. Jo and Jim were kind of hungry so I tell them to order some room service while I went and gave the tux and some dresses to my mom for steaming. It took us all a while to finally get to sleep. I was glad they were staying with us that night, since there was so much going on the next day, I knew I wouldnt be able to really talk to them much after that. It was weird how we hadnt seen each other in 4 years but we seemed to pick up right where we had left off kind of, at least thats what it felt like to me. I was also glad to get to know her fiancé more. I had only met him twice and not for very long and didnt really know him that well. Seeing how happy they were together made me feel good and it reminded me of me and my jim
The next day was going to be really busy with the rehearsal in the morning the dessert party that night, and most of our guests coming in that day. I fell asleep around 1:30 am, exhausted but still feeling happy.
Tinkerbellz
I do believe in Tag Faeries...I do believe in Tag
- Joined
- May 17, 2004
I am so enjoying your trip report Mary. It sounds like although there were some bumps along the way, you and Jim really enjoyed yourselves. Family, Friends and Mickey...Who could ask for anything more?! 
princessblueeyzes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2005
Super trip report. I love all the pictures too. Sounds like you guys had a blast.
Snoopygirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2005
I am really enjoying your trip report!! 
DIZNYCHERYL
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2002
Mary, I am enjoying your reports so much!!! We were there at the same time, our wedding was the 25th, we saw you guys many times in the parks (recognized the ears). I keep watching your photos looking for us in the background. I can relate to all you are reporting, especially the ECV experience. Someone hit the switch on the back of my Dads while we were watching Illuminations, we all panicked when we thought it was dead. Thank goodness he remembered seeing the switch and we were on our way. What a way to skip a heartbeat 
We can't wait to keep reading, Thank You.
We can't wait to keep reading, Thank You.
Mommy Poppins
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2000
Again, Mary your report is amazing!!! Love all the details. I so wish we had had the opportunity to meet up while we were down there. Your pictures are all of the ones I wish I had taken!!!!
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