Wishes 10/8/11 WP/GF-- Love's First Kiss-- Trip Report Complete

[One_Song]

After Brandon ducked into the bathroom to clean up a bit, we found our table. The waitress said it would be a little bit before any characters got to our table, so we went to the buffet line to make our plates. The food was fantastic! I would love to go back here on our next trip. They had all the traditional breakfast foods, plus some delicious African options (I have no idea how authentic these were, but they tasted yummy!) They also had what I think of as breakfast desserts-- danishes, turnovers, bread puddings, donuts, cupcakes. Our plates were completely overflowing!

We had a little time to enjoy our food before the characters started stopping by. First was Mickey! (Please excuse my very unmake-up-ed face, it was early)

Goofy was lurking nearby

But Daisy was next to the table. I loved her, she was so sassy! Very very animated

Then it was Goofy's turn

Look how tall he was!

Just as we were finishing up our breakfasts, the characters led everyone in a musical number. Kids got up to dance in a conga line, and cast members passed out little instruments. I was not too shy to try my hand at one!

I'm such a dork.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Girl, I wish I looked that good with no makeup on.

 

[Allyourwishes]

It's taken me two straight days but I'm all caught up and much like the other people waiting anxiously for the next installment.
I've really enjoyed reading this planning thread and seeing the amazing and beautiful wedding that resulted from it.

Your private meet & greet was amazing that's a whole bucket of pixie dust right there!

The only problem with reading all these amazing reports is how am I ever going to decide on anything everyone keeps showing me gorgeous place and space.

Congratulations on your marriage you're such a cute couple and obviously very in love it's clear from every picture.

 

[tric8783]

aw I love how much fun you guys are- you can just tell through your pictures!! Looks like you're having a blast! I agree with the above poster- I wish I looked that good with no make-up on!

Do you happen to remember exactly what color your overlays were on your reception tables by chance? As I'm doing some trimming I'm thinking about asking about runners or maybe the pink sparkly overlays you had- they just looked so pretty for you it's making me want them. I keep going back and looking!! The pink lighting you had was through the DJ package also or did you upgrade it?? I was telling one of my friends, I ask my planner about something and she sends me pictures where another wedding had this or that, and I said she keeps sending me basic floral weddings. She should send me some pictures of Michelle's- it would make me really want more!! lol

As always, enjoy reading along!!

 

[One_Song]

Aw, so sweet of Brandon! =]

That's too funny about that lady! I remember when I was younger we went to Six Flags and my mother was wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt. Bugs Bunny walked up to her and started pounding his fist in his hand and then pointed at Mickey. It was so funny. ;D

So crazy saying husband. I'm sure I'll stutter a few times as well. It's only natural. ;D

Can't wait to hear more!

Ha! I guess the Disney guys and the WB guys have a long standing feud. (I feel like it's silly of WB to think they can compete, but that's my bias!!)

Girl, I wish I looked that good with no makeup on.

Lol! That's generally what I think when I see pictures of other women with no makeup. Maybe we're all too critical of ourselves! Thank you!

aw I love how much fun you guys are- you can just tell through your pictures!! Looks like you're having a blast! I agree with the above poster- I wish I looked that good with no make-up on!

Do you happen to remember exactly what color your overlays were on your reception tables by chance? As I'm doing some trimming I'm thinking about asking about runners or maybe the pink sparkly overlays you had- they just looked so pretty for you it's making me want them. I keep going back and looking!! The pink lighting you had was through the DJ package also or did you upgrade it?? I was telling one of my friends, I ask my planner about something and she sends me pictures where another wedding had this or that, and I said she keeps sending me basic floral weddings. She should send me some pictures of Michelle's- it would make me really want more!! lol

As always, enjoy reading along!!

Thanks! We like to be goofy, it's the most fun!

Our linens are listed in our BEO as cotton candy lamour linens with a pink organza overlay, and they were just as pretty in person! The pink lighting was an uplighting package, and then we had spots on the centerpieces.

It's taken me two straight days but I'm all caught up and much like the other people waiting anxiously for the next installment.
I've really enjoyed reading this planning thread and seeing the amazing and beautiful wedding that resulted from it.

Your private meet & greet was amazing that's a whole bucket of pixie dust right there!

The only problem with ready all these amazing reports is how am I ever going to decide on anything everyone keeps showing me gorgeous place and space.

Congratulations on your marriage you're such a cute couple and obviously very in love it's clear from every picture.

Thank you so much! There are several difficult decisions to make for Disneys weddings-- luckily there are almost no bad choices! I can't think of a time that I've seen a bride's TR and not thought that it looked lovely!

 

[One_Song]

After breakfast, we took a ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris (always a favorite). We have tons of pictures, but I'll just share the best ones

Look how this guy's mouth is open! Scary!

Elephants are my favorite animal, and we got to see this cute little baby!!

I have a bunch of elephant knick knacks around my house

 

[One_Song]

Next we explored the Pangani trail. This is another one of our favorites. Actually, we don't do many attractions at Animal Kingdom; we always skip Expedition Everest, KRR, the Nemo show, It's Tough to be a Bug (I used to work that attraction in DCA during my College Program, so I've seen it about, oh, 1000 times), the Dino-Rama area and all the stuff in it. We really just like the animals and the overall ambiance of the park.

We got a pretty good view of a hippo on the trail

Who later tossed his own excrement into the air...

The absolute best part of the whole trail was a baby gorilla that was very active near the glass-walled viewing area

Mama Gorilla, making sure no one got any ideas

Hmm, what's this?...

How about I rip it off!!

Then we moved on. I could have watched the baby all day, but loads of people were waiting to get a glimpse, and I thought I should give my spot to someone

I love to see the gorillas. They clearly understand way more than most people realize. Some of them are perfectly aware that they are being observed, and we have seen some "pose" before, we're certain of it!

This guy was not posing, he was tired!

 

[One_Song]

We walked through some of the shops next. One of my regrets about the honeymoon is I don't have many purchased souvenirs. I budgeted money for shopping, then I just didn't buy much! I talked myself out of things often, now I wish I hadn't! Oh well, I guess if that's my biggest regret, the honeymoon was pretty fantastic!

I should have bought this cute little elephant!

We rode Dinosaur next. Aside from Haunted Mansion, Dinosaur is my favorite Disney ride. When I was little, I loved dinosaurs. My mom used to order toys from the Smithsonian. A few years later, Jurassic Park came out, then she could get dino toys everywhere. She always jokes that Jurassic Park made her Christmas shopping less expensive!

Dinosaur scares me a little bit, but that's why I love it!

Here's a funny story from our past...

Brandon and I had been dating for about 10 months when I convinced him to go to Disney World with me for the first time. On the day we went to AK, I was very excited to go on Dinosaur. I told him on that day, as I had said at the other parks, that Disney is best when you let yourself fall for the story. If you go around saying "That's fake, this is plaster, that's an animatronic, he's an actor" you're denying yourself the WDW experience. So I said to him, don't focus on the dinosaurs being fake-- let yourself pretend it's real.

So we go on the ride, and he liked it. As we're exiting through the gift shop, we stopped to look for our picture. I wish we had bought it, this is just a picture of the preview screen. We're in the middle row-- keep in mind how much taller Brandon is than me...

Apparently he took my advice, and the Carnotaurus spooked him a bit! That dinosaur wasn't getting him!

 

[DreamtheImpossible]

Your honeymoon report is amazing!! I love the picture of the Gorilla that SMILED when you took his picture. Very, very cute.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I love the pics of the animals! THe baby gorilla is so cute!

 

[lilsqueakrr]

OMG, I love the pictures of the little baby gorilla! I want him!! ;D So frikkin cute!

Love all of the knick knacks you took pictures of too. That elephant is just too cute!

Dinosaurs gets me eeevery time!

 

[One_Song]

Your honeymoon report is amazing!! I love the picture of the Gorilla that SMILED when you took his picture. Very, very cute.

Isn't that awesome?? We always love to see the gorillas. Thanks for reading!

I love the pics of the animals! THe baby gorilla is so cute!

It was so cute, I wanted to take it with me! Probably wouldn't make a very good pet though. Although one time I saw an Animal Planet show about a family that has a hippo for a pet (they weren't in the United States, I don't think you would be allowed to do that here). Now I always joke with Brandon that I want a hippo for a pet!!

OMG, I love the pictures of the little baby gorilla! I want him!! ;D So frikkin cute!

Love all of the knick knacks you took pictures of too. That elephant is just too cute!

Dinosaurs gets me eeevery time!

I should have bought that elephant! Two of my favorite things in my house are a vase I bought in AK and a painted ceramic sun I bought in Mexico at Epcot. I love little things like that, they make me happy when I look at them!

 

[One_Song]

After Dinosaur, we were feeling ready to rest, so we headed back to GF.

Brandon had a quick shower (remember his impromptu run for the camera) and we had a lovely lunch at Grand Floridian Cafe. We didn't take the real camera with us, but I took a picture of my cobb salad with my phone because it was so pretty!

After lunch, we just wandered a bit and enjoyed the beautiful GF. Later in the afternoon, Brandon said we should go to Epcot. He had a surprise for me-- we were going to a wine tasting/mixology seminar at Epcot, and the drink we were learning to make was called a Snow White martini! I was so excited! I love surprises!

 

[lilsqueakrr]

I cannot wait to get a house so we can find cool stuff to decorate!

The salad looks delish!

And I LOVE surprises too! I can't wait to read about it!

 

[One_Song]

We took a taxi over to Epcot (I know, I know, it’s a waste—but it’s SO FAST!)

We had a little time before the mixology seminar started, so we hit Spaceship Earth on the way in

We started this about a year ago… our favorite game is to make stupid faces when Spaceship Earth takes your picture. We are so juvenile. But it makes your little cartoon at the end so funny!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

So I'm pretty sure that this is the third time I've commented on your PJ today, and that's probably embarrassing, but I have been unashamedly drooling over your PJ since I found it, so I'm choosing not to be embarrassed and to be unashamed instead.

Now that that's out of the way, the faces you are making in your spaceship earth picture are pretty phenomenal. Not gonna lie.

 

[One_Song]

Then it was time for our mixology lesson.

The class was held in the old Wonders of Life pavilion; apparently it’s a kind of Food & Wine headquarters and several events are held there. We got checked in and were taken to our seats. There was a little stage set up, with two large TVs and a small bar area. There were about 75 people there. We were all seated at long tables that faced the stage.

Each place setting had two sheets of paper—one with information about the wine we were tasting, the company that makes it, and the man who owns it. The other sheet had the three drinks we would be tasting, with instructions for the two mixed drinks. We also had a little plate of cheeses and crackers, in case we got snacky.

Then it got started. I was surprised to see/learn that the man leading the seminar was the owner of the wine company. We’ve never been to a wine tasting before, but I assumed it would be a representative. That was pretty cool.

The featured wine was an apple ice wine called Neige. All of the wine is produced on the owner’s land—he lives near Quebec. We got to learn the whole process, from how the apples grow all the way to the finished product in the bottle. It was really fascinating. The owner (I can’t remember his name, sadly) really emphasized that his wine embodies the elements of Quebec. This particular variety of apple is common in the region, and the cold winters are instrumental in the fermentation process.

While he explained the process, we were given a sample of Neige.

Look at the shooting star on the glass!

It was good, but very, very sweet. I’m not usually a fan of sweet drinks (my pancreas is really lazy), but Neige had a different taste to it. I guess that was the apples!

The owner often stopped for questions. Brandon and I didn’t know enough about wine to ask any, but I had such a good time. This felt like a very grown up activity! However, this one particular guy sitting in our row asked questions CONSTANTLY, and it felt like he was trying to bait the owner into a debate. He asked the owner if he had ever made an apple & grape ice wine, and when the owner said no, he wanted to know why. It seemed like he was trying to impress everyone with how much he knew about ice wines, and I wanted to whisper over to him, “Hey snob, no one cares!!”

Anyway, next they brought out our second drink: a Royal Snow. It was Neige mixed with Champagne. I liked this one much better—not nearly as sweet!

A mixologist came on stage at this point to show us how to properly make the mixed drinks.

One of our sheets had space for notes. Because you know, nothing says fun like note-taking! See all the notes I jotted down?

And our third drink: the Snow White Martini! It was a mix of Neige, vodka, and a frozen lychee! Look how cute

This one was probably my favorite. The sharpness of the vodka took even more of the sweetness out of the Neige. And I had never had a lychee before! It was yummy.

He took some more questions, then the seminar was over. I think it was one of the most enjoyable things we did, my honey gave me a great surprise!

While we were still in the Wonders of Life pavilion, we bought a Food & Wine bracelet. It was kind of like a debit card that you preloaded, then checking out at F&W stands was really quick.

 

[princesswendy720]

Elephants are my favorite and I collect them too! I actually have that one from Animal Kingdom. I try to get a new one each time we go to WDW (I got a really cute See no evil, Hear no evil, speak now evil statue of 3 elephants in the China pavilion at Epcot once!)

 

[Jennifer48]

What a great surprise! Did Brandon know that the drink was going to be called Snow White or was that just an added bonus?

 

[elleinad16]

That Food & Wine mixology seminar looked like a lot of fun! How sweet of hubby to surprise you.