Wait! Where's your wedding ring? An Oct. 2013 Disneymoon TR Updated 5/7!

[katt789]

Just discovered your TR now but I’m definitely subbing in, I’ve gone back to read the CRT updates though! Lol. Your pictures are gorgeous!! Cinderella’s so pretty!!! Those engagement photos are priceless and so beautiful, that’s so incredible! Gorgeous ring!! And the photo with it and the slipper is beautiful! Amazing story!

I LOVE those soul mate shirts, so cute! Also, Yacht Club!? I may die reading this TR, I beyond love that place! Gorgeous wedding photos! Congratulations! I love all the Disney touches, and you look beautiful!

Wow, California Grill looks amazing, I’ve never seen inside it before! Lavander bread? That’s intriguing! The meal looks super tasty, it’s definitely something I’ll have to check out now! The view from the deck is amazing too! Arrrgg HALLOWISHES IS MY LOOOOOVE seriously though, best fireworks ever!

Wow! Hallowishes, a delicious dinner and celebrity meeting, now that is an awesome start to a trip! The room is gorgeous! I absolutely ADORE YC and after finally getting to stay a night in Dec there I’ll forever be sad that I can’t live there! Bahaha!

Great Epcot shots! I do love the walk over from YC, it’s amazing! Ugh, Food and wine needs to happen in my life!! I know I’m going next Nov for it, but seriously, I just want it to be now! Lol, everything looks so delicious! Wow that TT line is insane! Glad you ended up bailing!

Super cute pictures with the characters! The one with Goofy is so adorable! We kind of had a problem with TT fp + a few weeks ago, the line stopped before the design stage and we had an ADR to get to so we bailed pretty quick but I think it was more just us being late.

Those moving pictures are awesome, so cool!!

Looks like the concerts were all amazing, glad that you guys had a fun time! And of course dinner looks delicious! WOW amazing photos from MK that night! I wish I could take ones like that…then again, I haven’t invested any time or money into anything photography lol!

 

[RachelNinja]

Just read all your updates! I read your Geek-tastic one too, but I don't think I commented on it.

I'm loving your storytelling along with Franklin's photos! I even got my husband to read your TRs after showing him your DH's pictures AND after he commented on my Disneymoon TR. That's such a rare thing because he isn't on DIS very often. Looking forward to more!

 

[A's Princess]

Gorgeous wedding photos and cool details with the sweatshirts and ears for your bridesmaids!

Fabulous photos in Epcot and MK - love the cinemagraphs! I so want to learn how to do that.

And your writing is fantastic! Great tips about the Chase Lounge. I had no idea but made some notes for our upcoming trip in April. Hoping the frozen beer and cosmo slushie are available permanently.

Looking forward to reading more.

Congratulations and best wishes!

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh my gosh! I was drawn into your TR because of the title (I've been married 19 years and my hubby is on his 6th wedding ring...) so I had to read. Your wedding photos are amazing and I love the Disney touches that you added so very beautifully. Now to go back and read through everything since I only skimmed the last few pages as well.

 

[natebenma]

Franklin- I enjoyed reading about your time in MK with and without your photography buddies. The pictures and cinemagraphs are stunning, of course!

I'm glad you decided to ride Little Mermaid. I haven't been on the ride, so I always enjoy seeing pictures.

Nice to have your own personal transportation back to the Yacht Club.

G'night!

 

[klacey1]

Subscribing!! I love your TR so far! That Boys II Men story was so sweet!

 

[jessibelle]

Yay for another Disneymoon! Where are you staying? What do you have planned? When in May are you going? So many questions!

We're going 2 weeks 8th-22nd staying at CSR. We'd love to stay at Beach Club, but with the cost of flights from the UK included it's WAYYYY out of our price range... Around $8000 for the whole trip :/

But really looking forward to a resort I've not tried before

We've got ADRs at California Grill, BOG and HBD (fantasmic). Plus my husband to be is SUPER excited about SWW, coz he's a total Star Wars nut!

Do you have any advice?

 

[Mom2m&k]

LOVE your trip report! Your wedding was beautiful...congratulations! Love the pics. They are just amazing. Can't wait to read more!!

 

[smile4stamps]

Wow I was SO far behind!!

Wonderful updates! Awesome Pictures!!

Oh my gosh! We were at the Matt Carter Demo as well!! Totally would have said hi if I was following your reports before now!

I think that was the night we were going to do the BoyzIIMen concert but the line was crazy looking so we skipped it! Looks like you guys had a great strategy though!

 

[sue_88]

Can't wait for more report and beautiful photos. I really loved the Tiki Mister shot!!

 

[JustTinking]

Wow! Such eye-popping color in your photos Franklin. Do you get the saturation with the long exposures? Or is that question too broad? I'm waiting for your 'it depends' answer.

I bought the 'Understanding Exposure' book you recommended...last time I was serious about photography was before the age of digital. The great thing I'm finding is that I CAN experiment, and see the results immediately. The camera will record the settings for each picture, so I can go back and look at a series of photos and see that changing a setting made a discernible difference. Much easier than jotting everything down in a notebook and then trying to line up the notes when the photos arrived back from the lab weeks later. Love being able to work with different ISOs as well for the same shoot.

 

[happenin2you]

Hey Missy and Franklin,

We just added on a couple days in DC at the end of our May WDW trip and I have a couple questions for you.

We're planning on staying in Alexandria near the King Street metro station. It seems like that will be a very easy way to get around. I read that you can't bring purses or cameras into a lot of places, do you know if there are lockers for rent at the metro stations? We're flying in and out of DCA, which also looks close to everything. Is this the airport that you guys fly through? This question probably seems silly, but if you ever come to Vegas, you should sit on the right side of the plane to see the strip from the plane; when we fly in, is there a certain side of the plane we should plan to sit on when flying in or out to see some of the monuments from the sky?

And then a Disney question: do you know, if we are doing a split stay, will it be a problem if I buy 10 day tickets, or do we need to have a separate 5 day pass for each leg of our stay?

Any random DC advice you want to give will be happily accepted. We're going cheap, but are also not opposed to having a drink in an upscale DC bar or dinner in an expensive, must-see spot.

Thanks so much!

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Hi I'm back... I've been off of the disboards for a bit because I'm going through the post-Disney blues!! I wanna go back again right now!

But, I knew I could count on Franklin to have gorgeous photos that would make me feel like I was there And he definitely did not disappoint! Awesome, as always!

I love the shirts You guys are so adorable! And all of the character pictures are amazing. Those sound like great interactions.

The food and wine festival pictures are making me hungry, and absolutely cementing my decision to make our next trip in October!

Can't wait for more!

 

[Shaniyah]

I just got all caught up on your TR! Pixel Dust's photos are awesome. I just bought a DSLR on Black Friday I can't wait to really play with it.

 

[Missyrose]

Beautiful shots as usual Franklin! I like the cinemagraph of the castle... that one is a little sneak, it's almost not quite noticeable and it looks like you're really there because standing there, that would be the only thing moving! So thanks for that moment for me.

I had a few LOL moments just reading about your LOL moments! Those darn photographers getting in each others' way!

And I have to agree! Sebastian is the hardest for me on the Little Mermaid ride. His eyes are never quite right.

The Castle cinemagraph is one of my favorites too!

The pictures and cinemagraphs were amazing! I wish I could take good pictures.

Me too! Luckily I can write, otherwise I'd be useless on these TRs.

Your photos and cinemagraphs are amazing! What a peaceful night at MK!

Thank you!

Amazing Photos Franklin! I find the thought of a bunch of adults in the Magic Kingdom getting all mad and yelling at ducks

And I continue to love the cinemagraphs. I think one reason they work so well at Disney is there is usually so many things moving and going on that isolating just one movie part really stands out. good job!

Your pictures are gorgeous.

It would have been nice if all the photographers could have "taken turns" so each of you could have gotten the best shot, but all of you are probably too free-spirited for that.

Have you ever used a program like Photoshop to erase people from your pictures?

He actually erased a person from the castle pictures he took for my custom Kindle and iPad cases!

Excellent TR! Just joining in!

Thank you so much for joining in!

Such beautiful photos! I really like the cinemagraph photos. I see TRs like this and I wish I had a "good" camera myself! Instead, I'll just keep taking the phone pictures and deal with it.

I'm going to feel so badly when I write the TR for our upcoming May trip. Since the first four days are going to be solo for me, you are going to be stuck with my photography skills. And I am definitely no Franklin.

Wow! Those photos are truly amazing!!!

Thank you!

Gorgeous photos!!!! Love the cinemagraphs as well. So nice of you to share your equipment and your tips!! I found the book you recommended and am working through it. Tough in the winter in Chicagoland, though. Not much to look at or photograph.
Headed to Museum of Science and Industry on Thursday for the Disney Archives and to see the trees. Hope to get some good shots then.

Wanted to be sure to wish you both a very Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to you too! Can't wait to see how your Chicago pics turned out!

Just joining! So happy to have found this! Missy I love your other TR's and this one even has me more excited for our first stay at BLT/BCV with first experience at MNSSHP and F&W in Sept/Oct this year.

Your wedding pics are fantastic!!! You guys look so great

And as always I love Franklins photos on the TR! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks Jenna! I love the split stay you have planned, both those resorts are simply fantastic. Fall trips are the absolute best, let me know if you have any planning questions. I love to help people plan!

So I just found your TR's. I've read 3 of them while I've been snowed in today. They are fabulous.

1) Love the pictures! They are all breathtaking.
2) Your wedding pictures are gorgeous.
3) We spent part of our honeymoon at Disney before jet setting to Hawaii for the rest of it. It's the perfect place to celebrate the beginning of your honeymoon. It's so magical as newlyweds. It's also the best time to slow down and take it "easy" at Disney.
4) I can totally empathize with you on always being beat by your husband in Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear. My husband destroys me EVERYTIME!

I wanted to just chime in and say Congratulations! and that I love all of your TRs. Can't wait to read more!

Thank you so, so much. I love writing these TRs, so it's always awesome to hear that people are enjoying them. I'd like to say I've given up on beating Franklin at TSM, but I'm far too competitive for that.

Just discovered your TR now but I’m definitely subbing in, I’ve gone back to read the CRT updates though! Lol. Your pictures are gorgeous!! Cinderella’s so pretty!!! Those engagement photos are priceless and so beautiful, that’s so incredible! Gorgeous ring!! And the photo with it and the slipper is beautiful! Amazing story!

Franklin cooked up an unforgettable proposal. I feel so lucky that we have all those beautiful pictures of that morning.

I LOVE those soul mate shirts, so cute! Also, Yacht Club!? I may die reading this TR, I beyond love that place! Gorgeous wedding photos! Congratulations! I love all the Disney touches, and you look beautiful!

I got the iron-on transfers for the Soul Mate shirts from Miss Morgan on Etsy, she has awesome Disney stuff (she also did the bridesmaids hoodies)!

Yacht Club was amazing. I'm an Epcot resorts girl, any of them are just perfection in my book.

Thanks for the compliments on our wedding photos. We got the rest of our wedding photos back from the photographer, so I've put together an extra chapter with all the Disney touches we had on that day. I hope you'll like it!

Wow, California Grill looks amazing, I’ve never seen inside it before! Lavander bread? That’s intriguing! The meal looks super tasty, it’s definitely something I’ll have to check out now! The view from the deck is amazing too! Arrrgg HALLOWISHES IS MY LOOOOOVE seriously though, best fireworks ever!

Wow! Hallowishes, a delicious dinner and celebrity meeting, now that is an awesome start to a trip! The room is gorgeous! I absolutely ADORE YC and after finally getting to stay a night in Dec there I’ll forever be sad that I can’t live there! Bahaha!

California Grill is well worth a try! The food and the view are both top notch. Hallowishes is my favorite fireworks show too!

Great Epcot shots! I do love the walk over from YC, it’s amazing! Ugh, Food and wine needs to happen in my life!! I know I’m going next Nov for it, but seriously, I just want it to be now! Lol, everything looks so delicious! Wow that TT line is insane! Glad you ended up bailing!

Super cute pictures with the characters! The one with Goofy is so adorable! We kind of had a problem with TT fp + a few weeks ago, the line stopped before the design stage and we had an ADR to get to so we bailed pretty quick but I think it was more just us being late.

Those moving pictures are awesome, so cool!!

Looks like the concerts were all amazing, glad that you guys had a fun time! And of course dinner looks delicious! WOW amazing photos from MK that night! I wish I could take ones like that…then again, I haven’t invested any time or money into anything photography lol!

Waiting for an upcoming Disney trip is the worst. Why can't it just be here now?!?! I just keep telling myself that if I can just get to May, then I get to go to Disney three times in less than seven months. I just gotta get to May.

Tokyo Dining is always a good dinner, it's never disappointed us!

Just read all your updates! I read your Geek-tastic one too, but I don't think I commented on it.

I'm loving your storytelling along with Franklin's photos! I even got my husband to read your TRs after showing him your DH's pictures AND after he commented on my Disneymoon TR. That's such a rare thing because he isn't on DIS very often. Looking forward to more!

Thanks Rachel! Franklin is slowly becoming a Dis-aholic like the rest of us. It started with just the photography board. Now I seem him pop up on the TR board, the resorts board and sometimes the DVC boards!

Gorgeous wedding photos and cool details with the sweatshirts and ears for your bridesmaids!

Fabulous photos in Epcot and MK - love the cinemagraphs! I so want to learn how to do that.

And your writing is fantastic! Great tips about the Chase Lounge. I had no idea but made some notes for our upcoming trip in April. Hoping the frozen beer and cosmo slushie are available permanently.

Looking forward to reading more.

Congratulations and best wishes!

Thanks! Franklin can probably tell you how to do the cinemagraphs, but I will say that they take a lot of time!

I wish they had the Chase Lounge year-round, that would be a great perk! And each visit I make to Epcot, I keep hoping to see the cosmo slushie appear at the kiosk, but only at F&W so far!

Lots more to come on this TR and the other two!

Oh my gosh! I was drawn into your TR because of the title (I've been married 19 years and my hubby is on his 6th wedding ring...) so I had to read. Your wedding photos are amazing and I love the Disney touches that you added so very beautifully. Now to go back and read through everything since I only skimmed the last few pages as well.

Thanks for joining! And have fun catching up, there's plenty to read so far (and more to come this afternoon!). Six rings in 19 years, you're a very forgiving wife!

Franklin- I enjoyed reading about your time in MK with and without your photography buddies. The pictures and cinemagraphs are stunning, of course!

I'm glad you decided to ride Little Mermaid. I haven't been on the ride, so I always enjoy seeing pictures.

Nice to have your own personal transportation back to the Yacht Club.

G'night!

Why am I not shocked that you've yet to ride LM?

Subscribing!! I love your TR so far! That Boys II Men story was so sweet!

Thank you!

We're going 2 weeks 8th-22nd staying at CSR. We'd love to stay at Beach Club, but with the cost of flights from the UK included it's WAYYYY out of our price range... Around $8000 for the whole trip :/

But really looking forward to a resort I've not tried before

We've got ADRs at California Grill, BOG and HBD (fantasmic). Plus my husband to be is SUPER excited about SWW, coz he's a total Star Wars nut!

Do you have any advice?

Two weeks! That is awesome. CSR looks gorgeous, everyone I know who has stayed there has loved it. You've picked some amazing ADRs, they're all favs of ours.

This will be our first SWW so I don't have much advice to give on that (I'm still learning all the ins and outs myself). But the biggest thing I will say about enjoying a long trip at Disney is to slow down your pace. With two weeks there, you have plenty of time to see and do everything. Plan for some swimming and rest time at your resort. Don't be afraid of "wasting" time on TS meals, they're nice (and air-conditioned) breaks. Watch shows, meet characters, see all the details that have nothing to do with rides. The rides are fun, don't get me wrong, but when you have the luxury of time at Disney, you get to see what makes Disney special.

LOVE your trip report! Your wedding was beautiful...congratulations! Love the pics. They are just amazing. Can't wait to read more!!

Thank you so, so much! There will be more to read starting this afternoon!

Wow I was SO far behind!!

Wonderful updates! Awesome Pictures!!

Oh my gosh! We were at the Matt Carter Demo as well!! Totally would have said hi if I was following your reports before now!

I think that was the night we were going to do the BoyzIIMen concert but the line was crazy looking so we skipped it! Looks like you guys had a great strategy though!

That is so funny that you were at the same demonstration. It was our first, but it is definitely something we plan to do again. It was so interesting (not to mention yummy!) The concert lines did look pretty daunting, but it worked out okay for us. That amphitheater is bigger than it seems.

Can't wait for more report and beautiful photos. I really loved the Tiki Mister shot!!

Thanks Sue! We've got more coming right up.

Wow! Such eye-popping color in your photos Franklin. Do you get the saturation with the long exposures? Or is that question too broad? I'm waiting for your 'it depends' answer.

I bought the 'Understanding Exposure' book you recommended...last time I was serious about photography was before the age of digital. The great thing I'm finding is that I CAN experiment, and see the results immediately. The camera will record the settings for each picture, so I can go back and look at a series of photos and see that changing a setting made a discernible difference. Much easier than jotting everything down in a notebook and then trying to line up the notes when the photos arrived back from the lab weeks later. Love being able to work with different ISOs as well for the same shoot.

Franklin will be along shortly to answer your questions, I saw him working on responses to everyone!

Hey Missy and Franklin,

We just added on a couple days in DC at the end of our May WDW trip and I have a couple questions for you.

We're planning on staying in Alexandria near the King Street metro station. It seems like that will be a very easy way to get around. I read that you can't bring purses or cameras into a lot of places, do you know if there are lockers for rent at the metro stations? We're flying in and out of DCA, which also looks close to everything. Is this the airport that you guys fly through? This question probably seems silly, but if you ever come to Vegas, you should sit on the right side of the plane to see the strip from the plane; when we fly in, is there a certain side of the plane we should plan to sit on when flying in or out to see some of the monuments from the sky?

And then a Disney question: do you know, if we are doing a split stay, will it be a problem if I buy 10 day tickets, or do we need to have a separate 5 day pass for each leg of our stay?

Any random DC advice you want to give will be happily accepted. We're going cheap, but are also not opposed to having a drink in an upscale DC bar or dinner in an expensive, must-see spot.

Thanks so much!

You're coming to D.C.?!?!? Yay! Dismeet maybe? Most of the places that have restrictions on what you can bring in usually have lockers or places to check your bags. DCA is much easier to get to and from rather than IAD (especially if you're staying in Alexandria). The Metro is really convenient, staying near King Street will make it easy for you to get in and out of the city.

PM me your email address so I can send more ideas your way!

Hi I'm back... I've been off of the disboards for a bit because I'm going through the post-Disney blues!! I wanna go back again right now!

But, I knew I could count on Franklin to have gorgeous photos that would make me feel like I was there And he definitely did not disappoint! Awesome, as always!

I love the shirts You guys are so adorable! And all of the character pictures are amazing. Those sound like great interactions.

The food and wine festival pictures are making me hungry, and absolutely cementing my decision to make our next trip in October!

Can't wait for more!

Hi Kel! Disney blues are the worst, but you had such a good trip! Have you started the TR yet?

And you are definitely making your next trip an October trip, Jack said so!

I just got all caught up on your TR! Pixel Dust's photos are awesome. I just bought a DSLR on Black Friday I can't wait to really play with it.

Thanks! Be sure to send any questions you have about using the new camera Franklin's way. He's happy to answer them! ​

 

[Missyrose]

Welcome back friends! We last left off with me catching ZZZs at Yacht Club, while Franklin happily snapped a billion pictures at Magic Kingdom EMH. The next day was our Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party day, so we had plans to take things pretty easy. We slept in and headed over to Grand Floridian for breakfast.

I will never ever tire of the feeling you get when you walk into that lobby. We were trying a new restaurant that morning, Grand Floridian Cafe. It was a really pretty restaurant and a little quieter and more laid-back than Kona at the Poly.

Enough about the decor, how was the food? In a single word? Delicious! I had the vanilla french toast.

Franklin had the lobster eggs benedict.

Did he like it? Nope, he LOVED it. His favorite Disney breakfast has always been Tonga Toast at Kona. And in a shocking upset, he says he likes the lobster eggs benedict at GFC even better! We paid the bill and set out to go see the Villas at the Grand Floridian building. The villas were officially opening the next day, but I at least wanted to see the exterior of the building. We hadn’t been over there since the building was just a frame.

We set out via the covered walkway from the main building to the villas.

The building looked beautiful, I was impressed how well it blended with the rest of the resort even though the shape of the building is so different from the rest.

We noticed groups of people being led into the building by guides in DVC shirts. We stopped one DVC person and asked if we could take a peek at the lobby. He told us they were having a private event for DVC members and only they were being allowed tours. I explained that we were DVC members (and even already owned at VGF) and he said we should go back to the main building and ask the people heading up the event if they could add us to one of the tours. We did just that and were shocked when a guide said they could take us on a tour immediately! I was so excited, I could have burst into tears right then and there. I could not wait to see the villas in our newest DVC “home.”

The lobby took my breath away. The centerpieces are the twin 6,000 pound chandeliers and the Mary Poppins penguins-themed fountain.

It was love at first sight for me. The resort is just gorgeous!

There were other Mary Poppins details in the lobby, first there were a few carousel horses.

And the paintings are Bert’s chalk paintings.

It was time to head upstairs to see the actual villas. Up first? The one-bedroom villa.

The TV cabinet houses a murphy bed.

​

 

[Missyrose]

The bedroom.

And the most beautiful bathroom I’ve ever seen in a resort.

Next was the studio.

The coolest thing about the studios? It has two showers -- a tub/shower combo and a stand-alone shower. And your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, there is a TV in the bathroom mirror. Actually, there are TVs in all the bathroom mirrors at VGF!

And finally, the piece de resistance of VGF, the grand villa. It was really exciting to get to see this villa because I doubt we’ll ever have the chance to stay there. It might take us banking and borrowing in every DVC contract we have to cobble together even a couple of nights in this villa, but on this day we’d actually get to see it!

You know, just the foyer. How many hotel rooms have you ever been in that have a foyer?

The living room and dining room.

The lake view.

The media room (a.k.a. the unofficial fourth bedroom).

One of the bathrooms.

The master bedroom.

The master bath (fun fact, a queen mattress will fit in the empty floor space of the bathroom).

The kitchen. Seriously, I may just hang onto these pictures and use them as inspiration to decorate my dream house someday. It is just beautiful!

​

 

[Missyrose]

More bedrooms and bathrooms.

When our tour ended, Franklin asked if we could go up to the top floor, so he could shoot some downward photos. They sent us up.

In case you couldn’t tell, I was completely blown away by this resort. I’ve always love the Grand Floridian as a resort. The dining and shopping is amazing and I could sit in the lobby for hours. But I never was a fan of the GF resort rooms, they were too frou-frou, frilly, grandma’s house kind of rooms. Not my style at all. When they announced a DVC building there, I wasn’t all that interested because I thought the villas would be similar in decor to the resort rooms that I didn’t care for. Much to my surprise, they released the artists renderings of what the villas would look like and I fell in love. And so did Franklin. So without a single villa complete, we bought a VGF contract. Seeing the building complete was just incredible. I loved the care and detail they put into the villas. And they truly wanted to make the villas building worthy of its flagship resort. I cannot wait for our first stay at VGF, August can’t come soon enough! We’ll leave off there, but there’s plenty of party fun coming up! But first, which Disney resort blew you away from the first moment you walked in?
​

 

[annie170]

Wow! Those villas are just beautiful!

I was in the Grand Floridian for the first time in 1995. The lobby blew me away. Almost twenty years later, it still leaves me awestruck.

 

[smile4stamps]

Those Villas are absolutely amazing!! Beautiful doesn't do them justice! I agree with you that the GF rooms have never really appealed but these certainly do!

Our favorite resort is the WL and VWL. We like the woodsy feel! I love relaxing in the GF lobby though! I think I've taken a few naps on the couches in there!