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

[One_Song]

Hahaha, I love banana too! It is my favorite flavor and I get it in anything I can. Banana shakes, banana ice cream, banana pancakes, banana bread, ect...

Have either of you ever had a banana daiquiri? It has to be the kind with real banana, not banana flavoring or it is not nearly as good.

I've had a banana daquiri, but I don't know if it had a real banana in it....but you guys need to try a BBC...Bailey Banana Colada...sooo amazing!

I will have to try both of these drinks, they sound awesome! I loved the Banana Cabanas because they tasted very tropical and fruity without being too too sweet.

 

[dreamsdidcometrue]

I've had a banana daquiri, but I don't know if it had a real banana in it....but you guys need to try a BBC...Bailey Banana Colada...sooo amazing!

That sounds good, I will be trying it!

 

[One_Song]

Michelle, thank you so much for the detailed reviews.

I too agree with you about the photography. This is actually the MAIN and really only genuine concern I have for my wedding. Disney has lots of rules and I am happy to abide and concede to them so I can have my DFTW. With that said I would like to remember it in a way that is esthetically pleasing to me.

Since the plan is the castle for my ceremony site and then California Grill at the Contemporary, I don't really have an option to not use a DFTW photographer. I am very into art and music and I like the more artsy and photojournalist approach. I have see several peoples pics from these boards and I hands down like Regina's style MORE than any other DFTW photographers.

Do you know if there is anyway to get who you want? I mean besides just requesting? Is it basically first come first serve? Since I will know 12 months in advance, does that help? Can I request the photographer as soon as I sign my contract and put my deposit down? And do I pick my photo package before or after they tell me who I will have? The reason I ask is because I was thinking if I don't get Regina I will just use Disney for what I have to and then maybe hire someone else for the getting ready shots and the reception shots. Can I have an outside photographer at California Grill?


Sorry for all the questions, I am just so anxious for them to give me a date!!! I guess with all the construction it is making things difficult. I think once I have a date my anxiety will go down immensely. Thanks for any info you have!

You're very welcome! I had help from lots of present and former brides, so I'm glad to continue the cycle! In regards to your questions... There is no way to guarantee your choice of photographer, but I would recommend emailing both your planner and Dara Blonde with a very kind request for who you want and why their style specifically is important to you. We requested our photographer during our PS, but you can certainly ask once you have a planner assigned. They will probably tell you they can't confirm yet but will make a note of your preference (a standard Disney line for many things). Our PS is also when we picked our photography package, but you have a certain amount of time to switch to a different one. We were assigned our photographer about one month prior to the wedding, and one month prior will be your deadline to reduce photography without a penalty (unless yours is different because you're a park wedding). And yes, you can have an outside photographer at a restaurant event, just not in the parks. So you could have DPS for just ceremony photos and an outside photographer for everything else.

Ok, so I know this is like my 5th post on your thread tonight but I finally finished reading it and I had lots to say/ask! I just wanted to say that everything turned out so beautiful!

I loved all your little touches and that you gave detail about everything! Reading your PJ will make things a lot easier because now I know what to expect along the way. I am the type of person who fears the unknown. Even if I know something bad is coming that doesn't really bother me because I am expecting it, lol.

It is also nice to connect with other women who feel the same way about Disney as me. I was on theknot.com the other day and someone had posted about having a Disney themed wedding in her home state. She was commenting on one of her ideas about naming the tables after Disney movies and that her fiance was saying that might be a little silly. She was totally attacked by others on the blog saying that she is acting ridiculous. That wanting a Disney wedding was childish and how dare she put a grown man through something like that. 1 woman even said that she obviously wasn't ready for marriage because she was living in a dream world and that she was immature, selfish and irresponsible. All this just because she likes Disney! The woman answered and said that she never even said her fiance didn't want a Disney wedding, he just didn't like the table idea. Her feelings were really hurt and I don't blame her. Anyway, I just wanted to say that it is really awesome to hear about your real life dreams coming true! Thanks so much for sharing and supporting other DFTW brides

I am much like you-- I tried to read lots of PJs and TRs during planning, especially before the PS, so I knew what to expect.

You will find an endless supply of women (and men!) here that totally get your love for Disney. That's awful what those women said on the Knot!! I hate that online mentality; like that person was in any way qualified to judge if a strange woman was ready for marriage. It really saddens me what some girls and women I know personally expect from relationships. Too many of them think that pain and stress are a normal part of love. I hate that, and I want to scream at them "Don't settle!! Don't accept someone who hurts your feelings!!" Maybe they think I'm silly because I believe in Disney fairy tales, but I have no reason not to. I have a prince that loves me and likes to take care of me (the same way I feel about him). So what if we're dreamers? Maybe we're happier for it.

 

[One_Song]

We left MK and headed back to our hotel by boat. I love taking those little boats, it's so pretty and peaceful.

At the hotel, we changed clothes for dinner. We had reservations at Artist Point, then later we were going on a haunted carriage ride at Fort Wilderness-- I was really excited!

We decided instead of driving ourselves to take a taxi. This started a pattern of taxi-taking that frequented the rest of our honeymoon. It was absolutely a waste of money, and we loved it! Once you realize it takes ten minutes to get from the GF to the Epcot main gate by taxi.... it's awfully tempting.

 

[One_Song]

Artist Point is usually one of my favorite restaurants, just under California Grill. We got checked in and were given a cute little table right by the windows.

We started off with a cheese plate (shocker, right? We love cheese!!)

And Brandon got some sort of Kahlua and coffee drink

While we were contemplating the menu, our server brought us these

They were so pretty!

We managed to forget pictures of food at this meal. I had my standard portobello soup (I have the recipe, I swear I'm going to make it one of these days) and Brandon had a salad. For entrees, Brandon had the buffalo, and I had a potato gnocchi. It sounded good on the menu, but I was pretty disappointed with it. The service was not great this night either. I might skip Artist Point on our next trip, it was not nearly as good as some other restaurants.

We did get a free dessert, however

Which we devoured

After some nice coffees, we took a lovely stroll down to the dock. The Wilderness Lodge is so beautiful at night; I would stay there more often if it had better transportation. I do love it in the winter though, when the big fireplace is warm and inviting

 

[One_Song]

We waited for the boat. It was just a little cool tonight, the perfect snuggle weather. The moon was incredibly bright, I wonder if it was a full moon

Our boat arrived

And we took off for Fort Wilderness

It was truly a gorgeous night. The boat ride was very romantic. We just sat, cuddled up, and watched the pretty sky. I could practically hear "Looking for Romance" in my head (I know it's not popular, but I think it's the most beautiful Disney love song)

Soon we were there, and we walked over to the stables, just past the Hoop Dee Doo.

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

I'm all caught up now! Here are some of my random thoughts:

-I think we're the same sort of Disney fans. HM is also my favorite ride out of any park anywhere ever (I have the Doom Buggy license plate in my Gray VW beetle), and I love Peoplemover at night.
-I loved reading about V and A's, and you looked gorgeous.
-And now I REALLY wish I had rented a cabana at the Contemporary while we were there!
-That meet and greet is also absolutely amazing. I'm so glad you got so much pixie dust.
-And are you off to see the ponies?!?!

 

[Jennifer48]

What a fantastic encounter with all the Disney friends! What a sweet man Bill is!

 

[One_Song]

I'm all caught up now! Here are some of my random thoughts:

-I think we're the same sort of Disney fans. HM is also my favorite ride out of any park anywhere ever (I have the Doom Buggy license plate in my Gray VW beetle), and I love Peoplemover at night.
-I loved reading about V and A's, and you looked gorgeous.
-And now I REALLY wish I had rented a cabana at the Contemporary while we were there!
-That meet and greet is also absolutely amazing. I'm so glad you got so much pixie dust.
-And are you off to see the ponies?!?!

Ahh I would love a Doom Buggy license plate! I thought about ordering the bumper sticker for a while. We stayed at the Contemporary later in the trip, and I definitely thought about renting another cabana (although the weather was mostly bad). I am interested to know what you thought of Contemporary, we had a less than stellar experience.

...And we were off to see the ponies!

What a fantastic encounter with all the Disney friends! What a sweet man Bill is!

He really is! We are so lucky that he gave that wonderful experience to us... we will always treasure it!

 

[One_Song]

Four carriages were waiting by the stables. When I booked the carriage ride, I had pictured something more like a hay ride, where we’d be in the buggy with other people. Much to my delight, the carriages were cute, cushy, leather-seat carriages, and it was only one family to a carriage. I was really excited; I have long had an obsession with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

We got checked in and met our horse, John. I don’t know much about horses, but like I’ve mentioned before, I love animals.

Our driver took our picture for us

Brandon is making such a weird face! Haha

The carriage ride started by going through the Fort Wilderness to get over to the less-developed area. We rode by the stable where the Cinderella Coach ponies live, it was really neat!

When we got closer to the forest-y area, our driver told us that we were approaching Sleepy Hollow. She said she would let the storyteller tell the legend. Then she turned on a cleverly disguised, but still discernible, iPod that was plugged into some little speakers. (I was glad to see we would be listening to a recording—our driver was really nice, but she had a very sweet, soft voice. Not as ominous as you want for a ghost story!)

The path we took was very dark, and the landscaping was very dense. It was the perfect setting for the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The audio recording was a really well done vocal performance, complete with sound effects and everything.

At one point, our horse stopped to relieve himself. Our driver turned around and whispered “Excuse us”. It was so funny, like she identified with the horse and felt the need to apologize on their behalf!

When we got to the part of the story where Ichabod fears someone is following him through the woods, I was a little tense. I kept expecting something to jump out of the bushes! I love scary movies and stories, but I scare easily!

Near the end of the trail, the Headless Horseman shows up and chases your carriage. It’s a little silly, but all in good fun! The anticipation of someone appearing was far scarier than actually seeing the Horseman.

Our driver dropped us off near the bus depot, and we rode back up to the Wilderness Lodge, then caught a taxi home to GF.

We sat around in Mizner’s Lounge for a while and had some drinks, then it was off to bed.

 

[lilsqueakrr]

Um, that carriage ride sounds absolutely fabulous and so fun! I didn't even know that they did them there. Especially with something like Sleepy Hollow!

Definitely on my to-do list. How was pricing for it? Decent?

 

[Jennifer48]

I didn't realize that they told the story of the Headless Horseman on that ride. Very cool!

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

That carriage ride experience sounds fantastic! I had no idea they did anything like that.

 

[tric8783]

o.m.geeee. I have never heard of something like your character experience before, you hit the jackpot!!
I can certainly see why you would be beaming after that, how awesome!!

Thanks for the tip that we can rent the cabana ahead of time, I'm definitely doing that!! I can't wait!!
We were eyeing them a few trips ago when we stayed at the contemporary but it was colder and we decided not to splurge, but since it will be our HM technically and I think a great way to wind down after the wedding, I'm really excited for it!

The carriage ride at FW sounds great! I scare so easily so I'd never last, but it does sound fun!

 

[One_Song]

Um, that carriage ride sounds absolutely fabulous and so fun! I didn't even know that they did them there. Especially with something like Sleepy Hollow!

Definitely on my to-do list. How was pricing for it? Decent?

Pricing wasn't too bad... about $60 total. Considering it's Disney (where a burger is $10!) I thought it was a steal. And so fun! I love doing the Disney stuff that's not strictly parks.

I didn't realize that they told the story of the Headless Horseman on that ride. Very cool!

Oh it was so fun! They tried really hard to make you actually feel like Ichabod when he thinks something is following him through the woods... so cool!

That carriage ride experience sounds fantastic! I had no idea they did anything like that.

I didn't either, until the Disboards I heard about it last fall and snatched up a reservation!

o.m.geeee. I have never heard of something like your character experience before, you hit the jackpot!!
I can certainly see why you would be beaming after that, how awesome!!

Thanks for the tip that we can rent the cabana ahead of time, I'm definitely doing that!! I can't wait!!
We were eyeing them a few trips ago when we stayed at the contemporary but it was colder and we decided not to splurge, but since it will be our HM technically and I think a great way to wind down after the wedding, I'm really excited for it!

The carriage ride at FW sounds great! I scare so easily so I'd never last, but it does sound fun!

We definitely hit the jackpot! It was such an amazing experience, we will absolutely never forget it. And you will have a great time at the cabanas, it is soooo nice! Just completely about relaxing and enjoying every minute... I would love to do it again someday! The carriage ride was great. I scare easily too, but I love it! I think it's kind of like a stress-buster... I get all this tension and emotion out and it's a kind of fun at the same time.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Michelle sweetie
I apologize that I seem to catch up with your TR in giant chunks. What with work and helping to organize my Nanna's funeral (she died aged 96 last Sunday), things have been pretty mad here!!
I love the private M & G you got!!! We got one too (in the studios), as an apology for some appalling service we received over our tickets. It was not as good as yours, as we had the two mice and the two ducks and no princesses, but it was still amazing!!! You really feel like a VIP don't you?
I am sorry that Artist's Point was a bit of a disappointment (but I guess after V & A's, anything would be!!). I ate there once when we Dined with an Imagineer, and it was great!! It is sad when a favourite restaurant fails to live up to expectations. We had a similar disappointment with Coral Reef last trip and that will be off the programme for a few trips now.
I would love to do the spooky carriage ride!!! We have never been over the Halloween period and that is something that will definately be on my 'to do' list if ever we get to WDW over Halloween!!
Really enjoying your report sweetie!!!

 

[donald&daisy]

wow! The pictures with all of the characters are so awesome!!! How fun. I've always wanted to do the haunted carriage ride, but the only time we were down at Halloween, we spent the majority of our time at Universal. Its def on my list for the future!

 

[One_Song]

Michelle sweetie
I apologize that I seem to catch up with your TR in giant chunks. What with work and helping to organize my Nanna's funeral (she died aged 96 last Sunday), things have been pretty mad here!!
I love the private M & G you got!!! We got one too (in the studios), as an apology for some appalling service we received over our tickets. It was not as good as yours, as we had the two mice and the two ducks and no princesses, but it was still amazing!!! You really feel like a VIP don't you?
I am sorry that Artist's Point was a bit of a disappointment (but I guess after V & A's, anything would be!!). I ate there once when we Dined with an Imagineer, and it was great!! It is sad when a favourite restaurant fails to live up to expectations. We had a similar disappointment with Coral Reef last trip and that will be off the programme for a few trips now.
I would love to do the spooky carriage ride!!! We have never been over the Halloween period and that is something that will definately be on my 'to do' list if ever we get to WDW over Halloween!!
Really enjoying your report sweetie!!!

Joanne, I'm sorry to hear about your Nanna. 96 though, that is wonderful-- I don't have living grandparents, but I hope I get to keep my parents for such a long time. Yes, the M&G was amazing! It made us feel so special. We usually love Artist Point, but this time it was just ok. The same thing happened to us about two years ago at Coral Reef, so we haven't been there in a while. I'm starting to miss it, though. Halloween is such a great time to visit WDW, they have so many special activities and things!

wow! The pictures with all of the characters are so awesome!!! How fun. I've always wanted to do the haunted carriage ride, but the only time we were down at Halloween, we spent the majority of our time at Universal. Its def on my list for the future!

You really should do the carriage ride, it's so fun! I might want to stay at Fort Wilderness sometime. It turns out, they have all kinds of neat things to do.

 

[One_Song]

Honeymoon, Day 4

Wednesday morning we were up early and en route to Animal Kingdom. We absolutely love AK. We don’t truly like many of the rides. But as I have said before, we are both animal people. We care deeply about the ethical treatment of animals and conservation. I think what I love most about AK is that they emphasize learning about the animals, and not just gawking at them.

We usually drive ourselves to AK because it’s faster than taking the long bus ride. This morning was the same. We arrived shortly after park opening because we had reservations for Tusker House. I was really excited because I had not been there since it became a character breakfast.

We parked and took a leisurely walk to the Africa area. While we were waiting to check in at Tusker House, Brandon realized he had left our camera in the car. I acted like it didn’t matter, but I was secretly thinking that a character meal was the worst time to forget our camera. As he always does, Brandon knew what I was really thinking, and he decided to run back to the car. I didn’t have any time to argue, he was off like a flash!

I checked us in and explained to the CM that I was waiting for my husband to get our camera. It was funny; this was the first time I had ever seriously said “my husband”. I kind of stuttered, like I wasn’t entirely sure what word to use.

While I was waiting for Brandon to get back, I stood near Donald Duck, who takes a picture with every party before they are taken to their table. Someone in the line said “Look honey, it’s Daffy Duck!” Donald stopped what he was doing, walked over, and wagged his finger in that person’s face! It was so funny!

Brandon got back about twenty minutes later. Turns out, it’s about two miles round trip from Tusker House to the parking lot. So as you can imagine, Brandon was covered in sweat. Probably not the best time to be taking our picture with Donald. But we didn’t want to miss out. (We bought the pictures after Breakfast, so these are phone pictures of real pictures. I know, I’m lazy!)

They took this next one as we were breaking apart from the kiss, so it’s a little candid.

They also took one on our camera for us, but I flubbed it!

 

[lilsqueakrr]

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!