Vanessa- figmentfan814 ~ Happily Ever Wedding & 10th Anniversary VR Brunch #1 Added 8-10

[irisbud]

Yeah! More time at Disney! And how wonderful that Kris suggested it!

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

Great installment, Vanessa!! Looks like Kris has definitely had the Disney Koolaid - good job

 

[figmentfan814]

Vanessa! Yay for going back to Disney! We have 5 guys here my boys love it so we go often enough!
We love the lodge--cant wait for more

It was such a great surprise to go back to Disney! We discovered 5 guys on this trip and we're getting some in MI soon. Wilderness Lodge is one of my favorite places to stay. When we were there for dinner Kris said he wants to try it soon (since he's only ever stayed at POR - although I've tried other resorts- and after the wedding GF).

That's great you have converted Kris to love Disney almost as much as you!!!

Yeah! More time at Disney! And how wonderful that Kris suggested it!

Great installment, Vanessa!! Looks like Kris has definitely had the Disney Koolaid - good job

Disney can definitely grow on you Although I don't think he would ever admit it I know deep down he loves it just as much Whenever we go to other amusements parks he's always comparing them to Disney and can't understand why everyone doesn't have fastpasses

 

[Mama of Indybride]

Thanks for the update!

I was very excited when I logged on and saw Vanessa was in the house!

My favorite show!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun even though the weather wasn't cooperating. But the best news you got to back to Disney for another day.

 

[figmentfan814]

Thanks for the update!

I was very excited when I logged on and saw Vanessa was in the house!

My favorite show!

Thanks so much! I have every intention of finishing this even if it takes me longer than most people

Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun even though the weather wasn't cooperating. But the best news you got to back to Disney for another day.

That is true, I was so excited when he mentioned that he wanted to do that; it really caught me off guard!

 

[dizneyfreak]

Another day at Disney is always a good day in my book! I'm so very sad that your trip report will be coming to an end soon, but I am really looking forward to seeing your pics from the last day for some reason!
My husband is so like yours. He is a closet Disney freak and are you ready for this one...HE AGREED TO JOIN THE DVC as soon as our wedding is paid off that is. I am so excited and I had to tell you. We will be a part of the new Bay Lake Towers time share. Woohoo! I just had to share that I know how ya feel...cause Brad would never admit how much he loves it...but he so does!
I can't wait to see the next post!

 

[figmentfan814]

Another day at Disney is always a good day in my book! I'm so very sad that your trip report will be coming to an end soon, but I am really looking forward to seeing your pics from the last day for some reason!
My husband is so like yours. He is a closet Disney freak and are you ready for this one...HE AGREED TO JOIN THE DVC as soon as our wedding is paid off that is. I am so excited and I had to tell you. We will be a part of the new Bay Lake Towers time share. Woohoo! I just had to share that I know how ya feel...cause Brad would never admit how much he loves it...but he so does!
I can't wait to see the next post!

That's too funny, I hope to finish the last day shortly after the election.

We got the mailer on the Bay Lake Towers this weekend and we were discussing the possibility of buying too. It would be so cool to own DVC right off the monorail! We're also trying to pay off the wedding and student loans first Kris is the same way with everyone else when he talks about Disney, but he always has a great time and is interested in planning more trips

 

[Flurbee]

Vanessa,

As usual, another great update....glad to see that Kris is getting the Disney bug!! I am trying to work on Jake!! Could you tell me where that Five Guys burger place is, I think we would like to go there when we are down there in Dec. That park you were at looked really pretty. Keep it coming!!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Vanessa this is OT but how do you get your pictures in your siggie so small. I tried and obviously I am doing something wrong. Can you help me?

 

[figmentfan814]

Sorry I'm so late in responding ladies, the election was over and then we hit the big season for Kris' business, so I've been going a little crazy He put on a seminar yesterday that had over 650 attendees, so I've been trying to help him with a lot of stuff on top of my regular work.

Vanessa,

As usual, another great update....glad to see that Kris is getting the Disney bug!! I am trying to work on Jake!! Could you tell me where that Five Guys burger place is, I think we would like to go there when we are down there in Dec. That park you were at looked really pretty. Keep it coming!!

The Five Guys burger place is over near the Florida mall. I'm assuming you wanted the one in Orlando and not Sarasota

Here's the link to their locator. I think we went to the one on I-Drive.
Prime Orlando International
4969 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32837

http://www.fiveguys.com/locations.aspx

Vanessa this is OT but how do you get your pictures in your siggie so small. I tried and obviously I am doing something wrong. Can you help me?

Hi Laura, so sorry for the delay. I uploaded the pictures in PhotoBucket and then clicked resize. I think I adjusted them down to 100x75 which is labeled as "Tiny" let me know if you are still having any problems, I'm more than willing to help out

 

[figmentfan814]

We pulled up to Wilderness Lodge and ran inside since we were getting really close to our reservation time. I always love going to Wilderness Lodge! We checked in at the counter and were given a beeper to alert us once our table was open. I started snapping some pictures while we were waiting.

After about 10 minutes our beeper went off and we were seated. I was starting to get a little nervous at this point because I wanted to make it to the MK before it closed at 10 p.m. Kris thought that was a good idea too and we started talking about what rides we would be able to hit up. We also agreed to challenge each other to a ride on Buzz Lightyear (I almost always lose on it!)

I decided on the meatloaf and Kris ordered the chicken; our food took quite a while to make it to our table, so I was starting to get nervous about making it the MK before it closed.

During the meal it was fun watching the kids interact with the staff riding the horses, etc. I always enjoy seeing the ketchup gag too. This was Kris’ first time in the restaurant in several years and I don’t think he really remembered the ambiance inside. When he suggested it I think he thought it was going to be a little more romantic!

Our waitress was really nice and had quickly noticed our wedding pins (which I insisted on digging out of our bags when we officially entered back into the World) and asked how long we had been married. Kris said only 5 days and quickly started telling her about our wedding in Epcot.

She asked if we would mind having the restaurant congratulate us on our wedding. I was a little worried that she was going to make us ride around the wooden horses or something! Kris said, “We don’t mind, she loves that kind of thing. As long as it’s not too embarrassing.” She then quickly got everyone’s attention and made us stand up. She ended up just having the crowd yell, “Congratulations!” which was a huge relief!!!

After that, we decided to share a dessert before heading out for the evening. We shared the apple dessert.

Finally, we were done and I told Kris our best option was to take the resort bus from the Lodge. I rushed him out to the bus stop where we saw the MK bus pulling away. I was so disappointed that we had just missed it! We sat down to wait for the next one which didn’t arrive for over 25 minutes. At this point, it was already 9:50 pm. Once we loaded on the bus, the driver didn’t take off right away which I think is because we were the only ones on it

Finally, Kris looks at me and then looks at the digital clock on the bus which read 9:54 pm. He then says, “Do you think we’ll honestly make it on anything at this point?” I started to pout a little and said, “Probably not, but I really wanted to go do something Disney since we came all the way back here.”

He reminded me that we had a nice dinner and that we still would have some time in the morning. He promised that we would come back to the MK too. I finally consented and we trudged off the bus. As we were getting in the car, I had an idea and suggested heading to DTD and he said sure no problem!

At DTD we considered visiting Ghiradelli since we hadn’t made it there yet that trip, but we were both too stuffed! As we were walking around I decided to make a detour into the pin station; while I was there Kris wandered off and started talking to the DVC rep. Kris ended up coming to get me and asked if we could schedule a tour for the next morning. I asked how long it would take (since I didn’t want to miss out on precious park time) and agreed when I found it we could go first thing in the morning. It was actually pretty exciting to talk to the rep because it’s always something that I’ve wanted to look into doing. My parents checked it out years ago when they first opened at Boardwalk and just never got around to buying.

It was pretty cool that Kris had actually brought up the tour on his own though! As we walked away I realized that I was super excited to check out DVC! (Disclaimer* I’ll get to that portion of the TR soon, but we didn’t end up buying that next day, we decided that we need to be responsible and had to pay off the wedding first!)

 

[figmentfan814]

After spending a little more time at DTD we called my parents to see where they were since we were going to be staying in their room that night. They were actually heading back to their room after spending the evening with my cousin who works at Epcot. We told them that we would meet them there.

Once we arrived at the room at POR we helped my parents pack up the remaining remnants for the wedding that had ended up stashed in their room. My cousin decided to stick around and visit with all of us while we were working on packing. He took some cute shots of us with things piled up everywhere with the remaining disposable cameras from the reception, but I don’t have those on Photobucket yet.

Finally, around 1 am we all fell into bed. Kris and I had to be up bright and early the next morning for our DVC tour.

The next morning we juggled getting ready with the one bathroom. I grabbed one final piece of wedding cake that was in my parent’s refrigerator as we were rushing out the door to meet the DVC van in front of POR. Along the way we dumped our suitcases into the rental car, so my parents wouldn’t have to worry about them when they were checking out.

We stopped at the food court to refill our mugs and I grabbed a fork for my cake. We got outside just in time because the DVC guy was just getting out of the van. I still had my cake with me and ended up eating it on the way over to the preview center at Saratoga Springs. The salesman we met with there was really friendly and we chatted about our wedding and how much Disney meant to us. We also got a much better understanding of how the DVC system works. I loved the preview area and couldn’t believe they had built full rooms from AKL right inside the center.

He gave us some time alone to talk things over, but in the end we decided that we really needed to pay off the wedding before we could buy into it. We also wanted to check into some of the resale options and wanted to try renting points first too. Plus, even though AKL is beautiful and the rooms looked amazing, I really am not a fan of Animal Kingdom and would prefer to stay closer to MK or Epcot. I’m a little glad we waited now with the addition at the Contemporary, I’m hoping we can buy into them while they are still available. We have since checked out the resale ones too, but I’m not sure how comfortable I feel about that option. If anyone has had experience with a resale please let me know.

The salesman told us he understood and didn’t pressure us into anything. He walked us outside to the van which he had arranged to take us over to the Animal Kingdom at our request. Kris wanted to ride Everest again and I wanted to see Lion King.

We arrived at AK around 10 am and headed straight back through Dinoland. We decided to get a fastpass for Everest and wanted to get a bite to eat while we were waiting. When we were at the fastpass kiosk a castmember came up to us and wished us congratulations then hit a button and two extra fastpasses came out. He wished us a Magical Day and was off. It was so cool that we would be able to ride it two times in a row!

After getting our fastpasses I checked the sheet for the next Lion King show and we had just enough time to make it over there. Once in Camp Mickey we didn’t have to wait in line long before they let us into the show. I always take so many pictures in this show I decided to enjoy it without the camera this time. I just snuck one shot when Simba was right next to us. We were near the front and had a great view of everything

Somehow this was Kris’ first time ever seeing this show. He really liked it and said it was better than the Broadway version of the Lion King that we had saw in Detroit. I just think he liked it better because it was shorter

We ended up going over to Pizzafari to grab food since we still had time to wait for the fastpasses. The best thing was our Disney Dining Experience (now Tables of Wonderland) discount for 20% off!

After lunch we headed over to Everest and used our 2 fastpasses; it was a blast!

Since it was still relatively early; only a little after 1 pm we decided to head over to the Magic Kingdom since we never made it the night before. We went out to the bus stop, while we were waiting Kris stole my bride ears and was goofing off with them.

Finally the bus arrived and we were off, I know we took a resort bus, but I don’t remember which one.

When we got to the Magic Kingdom it was packed! We walked down to the board and saw that there were long waits for almost everything. We knew that day was going to be the start of the spring break crowd, but I didn’t realize it would be that busy. There had also been a big snowstorm in the Midwest that had delayed a lot of flights and had shut down several airports, so some people were stranded too. In fact, we ended up calling Airtran to check on Kris’ flight that afternoon because Ohio was hit pretty hard. Thankfully, he didn’t have any delays.

Anyway, we decided that we would get a Dole whip and then would head to ride the paddle wheel boat and then possibly go to Tom Sawyer island. On our way over to the Dole stand we ran into another Disney couple from Michigan that I had met on this board. They got married the day after us. We chatted for a few minutes and then parted ways. While we were in line at the Dole stand I heard someone say, “Figmentfan?”

I turned in line and saw dizneyfreak and she said are you the one that was in the car accident who was getting married at Epcot (Anna Marie- I know this isn’t the full conversation, so please fill in any holes for me)

We were up next, so after getting our float we stood to the side and waited to talk to Ann Marie and her mom. It turned out she had the week off because she was supposed to go on a business trip with her husband. He ended up not going, so her and her mom came to Disney instead! She told us all about her wedding which was in October 2007 including the almost rained out dessert party and then we shared about our wedding.

They were supposed to have left the day before, but got stranded because of the weather. They told us how a manager at the one hotel had helped them out and that they were enjoying a little extra time at Disney even though they didn’t even have their luggage back! During our conversation we saw a couple other girls walk by with the bride ears on and Ann Marie yelled out “Congratulations!”

We had such a great conversation and then as we were staring to head out they offered us two fast passes for Buzz Lightyear! They were heading out and weren’t going to be able to use them. We were so excited and grateful that they were sharing them with us.

We decided to head straight over to Buzz since it was getting close to the time that we would have to leave the park too. I don’t remember my final score, but it was the first time that I had beaten Kris! Thanks, Anna Marie!!!

 

[29apr00]

Funny you mentioned 5 guys! Our restaurant just opened last week and we went on tuesday. I really liked them! but the fries were a bit too salty for me.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Great update! How awesome is it that you were able to go BACK to Disney after leaving the first time!!!! I hate it that you didn't get to make it to the MK after your dinner at the WL!

Is it just me, or is there writing from an airplane (sorry don't know what it's called) in the picture below:

 

[bridetobe789]

Gotta love your husband posing with the bridal ears!!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Yeah EE twice. You scored big time that day with fast passes didn't you.

 

[figmentfan814]

Funny you mentioned 5 guys! Our restaurant just opened last week and we went on tuesday. I really liked them! but the fries were a bit too salty for me.

I agree on the fries, I opted for the cajun ones on our next visit, of course you have to like things spicey if you get them

Great update! How awesome is it that you were able to go BACK to Disney after leaving the first time!!!! I hate it that you didn't get to make it to the MK after your dinner at the WL!

Is it just me, or is there writing from an airplane (sorry don't know what it's called) in the picture below:

I was disappointed about the MK too, but was happy that we at least we made it the next day. I think there might have been extra magic hours that night too, but we wouldn't have been able to stay since we were technically not checked in anywhere.

You are correct, the writing spelled out "Jesus" I've seen this done on several other trips there, I'm not sure if there is a church group that promotes it or just a random person.

Gotta love your husband posing with the bridal ears!!

I know he would kill me for sharing that picture

Yeah EE twice. You scored big time that day with fast passes didn't you.

It was a great surprise for our final day in the parks. Those "Just Married" buttons really did the trick

 

[Donald'sGirl]

Vanessa that is a great update! That is too funny that Kris posed with your ears! Craig would never do that!

I am so glad you got extra time at Disney before you headed home! You got 2 sets of extra fastpasses out of it!

 

[figmentfan814]

Vanessa that is a great update! That is too funny that Kris posed with your ears! Craig would never do that!

I am so glad you got extra time at Disney before you headed home! You got 2 sets of extra fastpasses out of it!

He was holding them for me while I was digging something out of my bag and he did it on his own

I enjoyed the extra time at Disney even more because I knew those were days that I might not have had any other way