"You and me, we're in a club now!" - a DFTW/Disneymoon/Vacay August 2017 PTR

[MeghanEmily]

I had to come back and chime in on how great this is lol. My lovely place of employment... first, my best coworker decided to take all summer off to go see family in Africa (understandable, but disappointing for me lol). So I'm picking up the slack from our new person (which isn't all her fault, she's doing well) and my other coworker, who is just plain awful. Well, plain awful coworker goes and gets himself suspended for a week (for the second time). My bosses were totally trying to get rid of him, but HR gave him the choice to come back. He came back for 3 days... and gave his notice. And at my lovely place of employment, if you give your two weeks notice, you don't have to actually work it, but they still pay you. So that was his last day. And to top it off, we were then told that at this time we are officially working every other weekend until the end of the year

So this is me:

But seriously, tomorrow they are getting a list of days I won't stay late and weekends I'm not working.

Wild!! Sometimes I'm astounded at how ridiculous the work world really can be. As a young, naive, little flower fresh out of University, I figured full grown adults would have standards and all that when it came to the work environment...sometimes not so much. I hope you stand your ground and they listen about when you can't work! Because that's totally not cool.

Your rings are pretty! I have two rose gold diamond bands similar to yours on either side of my white gold engagement ring, so I obviously love the two tone as well. Rose gold everything, I say!!

Thank you! Rose gold forever!! I also have the rose gold iPhone 6S...because rose gold. I even have a case over it which covers the colour...but I know it's rose gold.

Ugh. I'm so glad you are ok, but sorry you had to/have to deal with all of that. On the plus side, hooray for the early exit from work so you will have a little time to breathe before the wedding.

Thanks! It's a terrible pain, but fortunately everyone was okay. Freedom starts tomorrow and I'm loving that!

you have so many exciting things planned for your wedding week so far!! There's a lot packed in there, but wedding adrenaline will carry you through. Just don't forget to look around and enjoy your big day...it goes by in such a rush that it seems very surreal. I would go back through pictures and say, "I don't remember that!"

Thanks! And thanks for the advice...we actually heard that from a sales guy trying to sell us a car last night, too! I can only imagine how much it'll fly by in a blur...

I got caught up on your recent TR so had to head over here to see what big plans you have for the wedding. I'm only on page 5 but had to post all my quotes before the @#*&^$ computer freezes up on me again.

I checked out N's FB page and man does he have serious talent.

Thanks so much for coming over here! And also for checking out N's page. I'm proud of him and what he's accomplished! He works hard, but he feels so lucky to be able to do something he loves, so he's going to milk it as long as he can afford to do it.

I just read Joshes write up over at Easy WDW about his stay here last week. Hopefully the reno's will be complete and you'll have an updated room.

I went over and read through it too, and it looks like a refurbished rooms are awesome!! I'm crossing my fingers, but I don't think we'll get one. We're supposed to have a preferred room (so I won't have to do too much walking in my wedding dress, etc.) and I think maybe the only places they've updated the rooms so far are ranchos and cabanas? And only in specific buildings? I think all the preferred are in the casitas section. But my bridal party are hopefully going to be in Cabanas, so hopefully they'll get new rooms!!

Your Aug trip plans sounds awesome so excited for you.
I have family that live in New Symrna Beach by Daytona we've stayed there a few times. Will you be making a day trip there or are you needing a hotel? I have economical recommendations for you if staying. Now back to read more of your PTR. Chow

Thanks so much! We're really looking forward to it. I actually just booked a Daytona hotel recently for our last night. I was planning to try to book something pretty cheap, but then I noticed that there was a Hampton Inn with beach views that wasn't too unreasonably priced, and I'm weirdly loyal to Hampton Inns for a value/mid-range hotel chain...for some reason...I have no idea why...so we booked there. With tax and everything it ended up being less than $200 for the night. And we'll just stay in cheap places on the road to make up the cost difference. Making all these plans makes it feel more and more real!

 

[thumper*]

We're supposed to have a preferred room (so I won't have to do too much walking in my wedding dress, etc.) and I think maybe the only places they've updated the rooms so far are ranchos and cabanas? And only in specific buildings? I think all the preferred are in the casitas section. But my bridal party are hopefully going to be in Cabanas, so hopefully they'll get new rooms!! Here's hoping for some Pixie Dust for an upgrade to a newly reno room. If I were you I would ask at check in if they can upgrade you. I'm sure they would if available. After all your spending a pretty penny on their wedding package.


I was planning to try to book something pretty cheap, but then I noticed that there was a Hampton Inn with beach views that wasn't too unreasonably priced, and I'm weirdly loyal to Hampton Inns for a value/mid-range hotel chain...for some reason...I have no idea why...so we booked there.
I also love Hampton . If I could recommend you may want to check out Days Inn Daytona Oceanfront (make sure it's the Oceanfront Days Inn they have Oceanfront king room starting at $79 a nt on your dates. We stayed here in 2010 and it had been recently renovated. It has a great view direct oceanfront and is very close to the pier and you can walk right out to the beach from the hotel. It has a balconey, a fridge, micro, coffeemkr, and sofa in the room. I would recommend etleast googling it.

 

[thumper*]

Ok finally caught up. Wow I have been trying to quote your posts but for some reason it's not working. I just don't understand why the DIS is such a glitchy site. Very frustrating I don't even bother getting on the Dis unless I'm on a PC anymore. At least it's allowing me to post gifs. Sorry rant over.
So going from memory since quotes not working.

Micky & Minnie Whoa what a wonderful splurge that many brides can only dream about.

I can't wait to see the pic's from your photo session those locations look more romantic than Haunted Mansion and Bathrooms IMO.

The Grand Floridian for Free how awesome. My dream resort. Can't wait to experience it in December and see it in all of it's Christmas glory.

Congratulations on the job decision I feel it is a healthier choice on your part. Also congrats on the Masters Program.

I'm bummed that your pics for cake topper and flowers aren't working. Looking forward to seeing them.

I love your wedding rings they are so delicate and pretty looking and original.

I hear you about the incredible difficulty with inlaws. Not surprised that they EXPECTED so much time from you the day before the wedding. My inlaws were also a pain in the ars. They talked my husband into changing the church location while I was out of town. They refused to show up to the rehearsel dinner and kept DH at their house (celebrating grandmas birthday) so that he was an hour late. That was very embarrassing as all the guest were asking where he was. But you know it's all about them.

Only a month to go woohoo.

Looking forward to your next update.

 

[amalone1013]

Wild!! Sometimes I'm astounded at how ridiculous the work world really can be. As a young, naive, little flower fresh out of University, I figured full grown adults would have standards and all that when it came to the work environment...sometimes not so much. I hope you stand your ground and they listen about when you can't work! Because that's totally not cool.

Right?

They are pretty good about being flexible with letting people off (really, too flexible sometimes - like when my lovely ex-coworker would decided a day or two before he wanted the day off, they'd let him take it and I would come in to an email the next morning...). Sometimes they forget to come up and cover my position when I need to leave, so I just leave! But they know it's their fault they forgot/ran late, so no consequences.

Yesterday I had to take my car in to the shop, because I got hail damage and then rear-ended back in May. It was like a pre-work appointment, and so they told me the next available fixing time would be the Monday before we leave, as in drop it off that date, and the work will take almost the whole time we're gone. So I might just take that whole week off too, instead of just a few days.

 

[MeghanEmily]

I can't wait to see the pic's from your photo session those locations look more romantic than Haunted Mansion and Bathrooms IMO.

I agree! I'm really looking forward to it

The Grand Floridian for Free how awesome. My dream resort. Can't wait to experience it in December and see it in all of it's Christmas glory.

Yeah, we're excited! I'm sure you and I will both love it on our respective stays!

I hear you about the incredible difficulty with inlaws. Not surprised that they EXPECTED so much time from you the day before the wedding. My inlaws were also a pain in the ars. They talked my husband into changing the church location while I was out of town. They refused to show up to the rehearsel dinner and kept DH at their house (celebrating grandmas birthday) so that he was an hour late. That was very embarrassing as all the guest were asking where he was. But you know it's all about them.

Wow. I thought mine were bad! Haha! No, I've actually lucked out in the in-law department for the most part, but there are a few issues and quirks that have been problematic. But I'm so sorry yours gave you such trouble!! WOW! I guess it makes for a good story now? Can't come up with any other silver lining.

They are pretty good about being flexible with letting people off (really, too flexible sometimes - like when my lovely ex-coworker would decided a day or two before he wanted the day off, they'd let him take it and I would come in to an email the next morning...). Sometimes they forget to come up and cover my position when I need to leave, so I just leave! But they know it's their fault they forgot/ran late, so no consequences.

Yesterday I had to take my car in to the shop, because I got hail damage and then rear-ended back in May. It was like a pre-work appointment, and so they told me the next available fixing time would be the Monday before we leave, as in drop it off that date, and the work will take almost the whole time we're gone. So I might just take that whole week off too, instead of just a few days.

Wow, that's pretty different from my office! I guess it has its pros and cons. But yes, taking the whole week might not be a bad thing!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Wedding Day Itinerary

Annnddd...we're back! Remember how my life was a little turbulent and crazy and everything a couple weeks ago? The leaving work thing? The car accident thing? The mom being in Europe while it all took place, etc.?

Well, then I went to work at the diner one night last week...and the sound system they have there for us to sing with is pretty pathetic. It's an old iPod (which has had the back panel fall off, and which no longer seems to be able to sync with a computer to add new music, etc.) which we plug into a speaker, along with two mics. We all supplement with music on our own phones if we want a song that's not on the iPod. All of a sudden the other night, the 1/8" cable (regular headphone size) we plug into our phones wasn't detecting/projecting any music from any iPod or phone...except mine. We couldn't figure out why! ...until I realized that it was because the end of the cable had broken off...inside my iPhone 6S's headphone jack. I took the phone to the phone company's store, then to the Apple store, and nobody was able to get the thing out or fix it. I tried tricks N gave me over the phone (he's done a lot of tech support for work over the years) and nothing would remove it. The phone was still working, but it was tricked into believing that it always had headphones in, so I could only make calls by putting the phone on speaker...I couldn't turn the ringer on, so I kept missing calls...I almost overslept one morning because I usually use my phone as a morning alarm but the sound wasn't working...I couldn't use it for music when I went running... Finally, my only option was to replace it. I had replacement insurance on it, which made the new replacement phone cost $250, rather than about three times that. And since it was the faulty equipment that caused it, the diner has agreed to reimburse me. But it was seriously the LAST thing I needed to add to my plate, even if it seems like a small thing. The new phone came, and I spent a couple hours of my morning today restoring it from my backups, troubleshooting problems, and then shipping the old phone off to the insurance company. Jeesh.

In other news...I found a vehicle! I sent off the insurance company's cheque to pay off my old bank loan, and I've been approved for a new loan to replace it. If all goes well, I should have the vehicle next week. And then you'll all get to meet it!

So in terms of August planning, now we've made our way to the day we've all been waiting for...(or at least I have!)...

Aug. 17th: WEDDING DAY!

3:00am: I wake up. Uggh. I also wake my mom up because I'm mean like that. (She will be staying in my room this night and N will be staying with his best man.) I rinse off quickly, having washed and dried my hair the night before.

3:15am: my stylist arrives.

3:30am: Hair and makeup begin.

4:45am: my bridesmaids arrive (they loved this when I told them!! I'm kidding; they were actually totally fine with it and are the awesomest bridesmaids ever to exist.) Hair and makeup for them and for my mom begin sometime hereafter.

5:15am: I meet N and our photographer for "first look photos." Hopefully I'll be able to get here on time, unless something goes wrong with my hair and makeup and she needs to fix/change anything. If I'm late, we'll have the photographer take some portraits of N.

5:45am: we depart CSR en route to the MK for our bridal portrait session! As I mentioned, we will be taking a route that involves the castle, as well as Enchanted Tales with Belle, the outside of BOG, and Journey Under the Sea. I've perused some photos from other people's sessions, so I'm trying to get an idea of what places I want pictures. So exciting! I'm really hoping we get one of the photographers we've requested, since nothing is guaranteed. But hopefully no matter who we get, it will be magical! In past there were more complaints about Disney's photographers being kinda lousy, but these days the quality seems to be much better in general. Most of the photographers don't exactly have a style that I would have chosen personally, and I'm already regretting not hiring outside photography for the wedding itself, but it is what it is, and I'm sure that whoever takes our photos will capture some wonderful memories for us!

8:00am: We arrive at Canada Terrace at Epcot. We've opted to do our couple's portraits then before the ceremony. Our guests begin arriving by motor coach around 8:30.

9:00am: Wedding ceremony begins!!

Our wedding ceremony is a nice balance, with some traditional elements, but relatively modern language, which is exactly what I wanted. We have some religious elements, and N's parents will both read scripture we've chosen, but we've excluded some of the elements that go against my naturally feminist values. My bridesmaids will walk down the aisle to "Go the Distance" from Hercules, played by a violin. I'll walk to "You'll Be In My Heart" from Tarzan, and my mom is escorting me. My grandmother will be reading a passage of text from the song, "Promise," which is the final "leaving song" of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. I got this idea (I think??) from @missjackiemcg, who I believe also got it from another Disbride. I LOVE it, and my grandmother is honoured to be included. She's a huge influence on my life and she helped to raise me and take care of me through most of my childhood. Then, later, our "first dance" (and only dance! It's a short wedding package with no formal reception) will be to the violin's instrumental version of "Promise." And finally, one of my favourite things about the ceremony: our recessional...to the tune of "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters Inc.

Following the "ceremony" portion, we will have our cake (yum! cupcakes!) and sparkling apple cider, and our best man (and my old roommate), Brad, will give a bit of a toast. And also, our special guests arrive: the two Main Mice!! We'll get our photos with and without them, and be finished up and out of there by 10am. We've chosen to ride back on the motor coach with our guests and to save our provided limo service for later on.

The afternoon is left open for our guests, and I intend to make a snack and a nap my first two orders of business. Maybe also a dip in the pool to help me wake up again? The pool at CSR looks really neat. Hopefully the construction won't detract too much from it. Then I have an appointment at...

3:00pm: La Vida Salon at CSR...for my HAIRCUT! I'm chopping all my hair off pretty much IMMEDIATELY after the wedding. Most people know I intend to cut my hair very short during the trip, but only N and my bridesmaids know I'm doing it that very afternoon!

5:45pm: Our limo picks us and our bridal party up at CSR and transports us to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our ADR at...

6:35pm: Boma "reception"!!
We wanted to provide a meal for our guests, but with such a small group we didn't mind doing it more casually and just booking a large ADR. We ended up having to book it as two parties of 10, but that's okay. It will be nice if we can all be seated together, but I'm not counting on it. I'm very excited for this meal! I also will have changed out of my wedding dress and into a short white party dress that I got on sale online years ago and never wore. Now that I've lost 12 pounds in order to fit into my wedding dress, it also now fits me again. Perfect!

Following dinner the limo is scheduled to take us back to CSR at 9pm; however, we have the limo booked until 10:45 since a 5-hour charter is included in our wedding package, so if anyone isn't ready to fall over and die by that point, they could also get dropped off elsewhere (Disney Springs, Boardwalk, etc.) If I thought I wouldn't be too exhausted, I'd love to go to Jellyrolls, or to Kimonos at Swolphin for sushi and karaoke, (both of which would be firsts for me,) but I know that even with a nap it'll be a miracle if I even make it through dinner.

Also...btw...I picked up my wedding dress from the tailor today! (And for anyone who remembers the weird/uncomfortable experience I had with him, and also his "tolerance" of Disney as a Universal fan...not to worry, turns out that he CAN, indeed, sew.) It's beautiful and fits really nicely, so I'm very pleased.

Up next, I have more family-related touring plans for August 18th...and then you'll probably get the rest of our less structured plans for the whole trip in one or two posts after that.​

 

[missangelalexis]

Ugh sorry to hear about your phone Glad you were able to get a new one!

Your wedding day is going to be packed but so exciting! I look forward to hearing all about it, it's going to be a wonderful day for you all!

 

[vamassey1]

Wow what a busy wedding day. I hope it's as magical as possible.

 

[ariane37]

That is sincerely messed up about your phone and the way they do things at the diner What year are you Canadians living in anyway? Just kidding

And since it was the faulty equipment that caused it, the diner has agreed to reimburse me.

I would hope so!

Aug. 17th: WEDDING DAY!

5:45am: we depart CSR en route to the MK for our bridal portrait session! As I mentioned, we will be taking a route that involves the castle, as well as Enchanted Tales with Belle, the outside of BOG, and Journey Under the Sea. I've perused some photos from other people's sessions, so I'm trying to get an idea of what places I want pictures. So exciting!

I get excited just reading about this and cannot WAIT to see pictures. If you happened to put my # into your new phone you can send me some during your trip "downtime" lol

'll walk to "You'll Be In My Heart" from Tarzan, and my mom is escorting me.

Love this

The pool at CSR looks really neat. Hopefully the construction won't detract too much from it.

It's a pretty cool pool and the slide is neat. We stayed there last in 2014 and the boys loved it, and Steve and I thought the pool was one of the better ones as far as all the resorts we've stayed at so far. From what I know and have been reading, the construction shouldn't impact the pool at all.

It will be nice if we can all be seated together, but I'm not counting on it.

Can your wedding planner possibly do something to help you all sit together? If not, can you call dining and just at least have it noted on the reservation that you are getting married AT EPCOT that day and this is your wedding reception? I would think for a situation like this they would work even harder to get you all together or at least 2 long tables of 10 right next to each other

. Now that I've lost 12 pounds in order to fit into my wedding dress,

I can't see you losing 12 lbs., you're so cute and tiny!!

 

[missjackiemcg]

My grandmother will be reading a passage of text from the song, "Promise," which is the final "leaving song" of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. I got this idea (I think??) from @missjackiemcg, who I believe also got it from another Disbride.

And finally, one of my favourite things about the ceremony: our recessional...to the tune of "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters Inc.

Yep, that was me!! I love that you've chosen your Grandma to read it. Grandmas are just about the most incredible people in the world, aren't they?!

Picking the music was the most fun part for me!!!! Our final song was "On This Magic Night" from the Spectromagic parade. So magical!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Thank you!! You absolutely should go as them! Though I have to say, I'd love to see you as LeFou. You'd totally pull it off.

Haha it is definitely an option!!

Hating Mickey Mouse may be an exaggeration. More like indifferent? Which I take personal offense to on Mickey's behalf. They just don't see the appeal of characters, or having things be Mickey-themed, etc. I don't think they'll have much interest in searching for obscure hidden Mickeys, no. Haha

This coming to Disney World thing must be like a "dream trip" for them, LOL.

We could catch you at Poly on your departure day though when you come back for the oh-so-Tragical Express. We've left most of that day open to enjoy the resort or do something spontaneous like a water park, etc. We don't have to be anywhere till mid-afternoon when we go to Epcot.

We could possibly also catch you quickly before or after your CRT ADR on the 18th.

Either of those work! I will PM you my number!!

Well, then I went to work at the diner one night last week...and the sound system they have there for us to sing with is pretty pathetic. It's an old iPod (which has had the back panel fall off, and which no longer seems to be able to sync with a computer to add new music, etc.) which we plug into a speaker, along with two mics. We all supplement with music on our own phones if we want a song that's not on the iPod. All of a sudden the other night, the 1/8" cable (regular headphone size) we plug into our phones wasn't detecting/projecting any music from any iPod or phone...except mine. We couldn't figure out why! ...until I realized that it was because the end of the cable had broken off...inside my iPhone 6S's headphone jack. I took the phone to the phone company's store, then to the Apple store, and nobody was able to get the thing out or fix it. I tried tricks N gave me over the phone (he's done a lot of tech support for work over the years) and nothing would remove it. The phone was still working, but it was tricked into believing that it always had headphones in, so I could only make calls by putting the phone on speaker...I couldn't turn the ringer on, so I kept missing calls...I almost overslept one morning because I usually use my phone as a morning alarm but the sound wasn't working...I couldn't use it for music when I went running... Finally, my only option was to replace it. I had replacement insurance on it, which made the new replacement phone cost $250, rather than about three times that. And since it was the faulty equipment that caused it, the diner has agreed to reimburse me. But it was seriously the LAST thing I needed to add to my plate, even if it seems like a small thing. The new phone came, and I spent a couple hours of my morning today restoring it from my backups, troubleshooting problems, and then shipping the old phone off to the insurance company. Jeesh.

Oh no! When it rains, it pours I guess. I wish you nothing but the best of luck from now on!

In other news...I found a vehicle! I sent off the insurance company's cheque to pay off my old bank loan, and I've been approved for a new loan to replace it. If all goes well, I should have the vehicle next week. And then you'll all get to meet it!

Yeah!! New wheels!!

5:45am: we depart CSR en route to the MK for our bridal portrait session! As I mentioned, we will be taking a route that involves the castle, as well as Enchanted Tales with Belle, the outside of BOG, and Journey Under the Sea. I've perused some photos from other people's sessions, so I'm trying to get an idea of what places I want pictures. So exciting! I'm really hoping we get one of the photographers we've requested, since nothing is guaranteed. But hopefully no matter who we get, it will be magical! In past there were more complaints about Disney's photographers being kinda lousy, but these days the quality seems to be much better in general. Most of the photographers don't exactly have a style that I would have chosen personally, and I'm already regretting not hiring outside photography for the wedding itself, but it is what it is, and I'm sure that whoever takes our photos will capture some wonderful memories for us!

This sounds amazing!!

8:00am: We arrive at Canada Terrace at Epcot. We've opted to do our couple's portraits then before the ceremony. Our guests begin arriving by motor coach around 8:30.

9:00am: Wedding ceremony begins!!

Eeek so exciting! Wait, are you getting married at Canada? That is so awesome!

Our wedding ceremony is a nice balance, with some traditional elements, but relatively modern language, which is exactly what I wanted. We have some religious elements, and N's parents will both read scripture we've chosen, but we've excluded some of the elements that go against my naturally feminist values. My bridesmaids will walk down the aisle to "Go the Distance" from Hercules, played by a violin. I'll walk to "You'll Be In My Heart" from Tarzan, and my mom is escorting me. My grandmother will be reading a passage of text from the song, "Promise," which is the final "leaving song" of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. I got this idea (I think??) from @missjackiemcg, who I believe also got it from another Disbride. I LOVE it, and my grandmother is honoured to be included. She's a huge influence on my life and she helped to raise me and take care of me through most of my childhood. Then, later, our "first dance" (and only dance! It's a short wedding package with no formal reception) will be to the violin's instrumental version of "Promise." And finally, one of my favourite things about the ceremony: our recessional...to the tune of "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters Inc.

Sounds amazing! I can't wait to see pictures!

3:00pm: La Vida Salon at CSR...for my HAIRCUT! I'm chopping all my hair off pretty much IMMEDIATELY after the wedding. Most people know I intend to cut my hair very short during the trip, but only N and my bridesmaids know I'm doing it that very afternoon!

That's sooooo cool!!! Ooooh I get to see you with short hair!!!

6:35pm: Boma "reception"!!
We wanted to provide a meal for our guests, but with such a small group we didn't mind doing it more casually and just booking a large ADR. We ended up having to book it as two parties of 10, but that's okay. It will be nice if we can all be seated together, but I'm not counting on it. I'm very excited for this meal! I also will have changed out of my wedding dress and into a short white party dress that I got on sale online years ago and never wore. Now that I've lost 12 pounds in order to fit into my wedding dress, it also now fits me again. Perfect!

I'm sure you can all be seated together if you say it's your wedding day!
And yay for losing 12 lbs, although like @ariane37 mentioned, I can't see how that is possible...

Also...btw...I picked up my wedding dress from the tailor today! (And for anyone who remembers the weird/uncomfortable experience I had with him, and also his "tolerance" of Disney as a Universal fan...not to worry, turns out that he CAN, indeed, sew.) It's beautiful and fits really nicely, so I'm very pleased.

Ooooh I can't wait to see!!!

 

[Smilelea]

I'm here! I made it to page 2 and just had to go ahead and comment. I'll try to wait until I'm caught up to comment again

I was waffling back and forth for quite some time trying to decide whether to write a PTR for our upcoming August 2017 trip. On the one hand…I don’t know where to even start…I don’t know many of you on the Dis very well yet, and only have a few new friends who might be interested in following…do I even have anything interesting to say about this trip?? On the other…I’m getting so excited and feel like I desperately need an outlet to express all this Disney planning fun, or I’ll go nuts!

You have a new friend! You've been following my first PTR so I had to return the favor. I'm loving your reports!

Oh and I remembered what else I wanted to say on your Dec TR. Your animal caricature is awesome! I've not seen one like that and I want one of the boys. Griffin as the Giraffe (of course) and I showed it to Dallas who said he wanted to be a bear. (Knowing him that could change 10 times by the time we get to do it )

I'm loving what I've read so far and your family (and soon to be new family) sound wonderful. I guess I need to get to reading more.

 

[Smilelea]

Wow! 2 hours later and I made it to the end.

I love the pictures of your princess friends! Anna and Belle are my favorites

Boma - we have got to add this to one of our future trips. We keep hearing great things.

Thank you! I really like my name. I'm the only one in my immediately family of my generation who still has it, and it's my mother's maiden name/my grandfather's name. He passed away when I was just a toddler, but my personality is very similar to his and I identify with him a lot.

I'm more the traditionalist in this, however, I see nothing wrong with not taking his name. I don't really have a strong tie to my maiden name. I do however love my married name and here's why - it's my fathers and grandfathers middle name. As a young teen, I wanted to name my son (if I had one) that name. Then I found out my parents had a secret that crushed that dream. So when I met my husband and learned of his last name, I was ecstatic to realize my future children could all have that name . (Not the reason I married him but definitely a nice bonus)

We're excited for Beaches and Cream, though! I think we'll probably either just split a burger, or skip the real food altogether so we make sure we have room for ice cream! <3

This is our plan as well for our upcoming trip. You can't go to B&C and not eat ice cream!

Yeah, we're doing RunDisney for Marathon Weekend in January, but we only signed up for the 5K. That'll even be a stretch for me since

The more I read about others doing this the more I want to do it. I've been doing the same app as you the last 2 years. I've had to start over 3 times due to pregnancy, surgeries and winter weather. It's tough but well worth it. I've made it to week 8 day 2 after 3 months of training .


MNSSHP - originally we thought the parties were a waste of time and money especially for those few and far between trips. Now with the really good possibility of becoming DVC members we are really rethinking this particular one. We would love to get to meet the villains!

a week ago on Monday I was in a nasty little car accident. Fortunately, I walked away with a few bruises and a very sore neck, and nobody was seriously hurt. My car, however, wasn't as lucky.

Oh no! I'm so glad you weren't seriously injured! I hate that about your car but at least it can be replaced when you cannot.


I love love love the wedding plans. A Disney wedding is/was a fantasy of mine that will never happen (and that's okay). I'm just going to live vicariously through yours

Now I plan to make my way over to your other report.

 

[xlsm]

Oh my gosh, what a mess with your phone I'm glad the diner agreed to reimburse you since it was their equipment that caused the problem.

Your wedding plans sound amazing I am so, so excited for you. Also, the trip report after your return is probably the thing I'm anticipating as much as my own October trip, LOL!!

 

[KathyM2]

5:45am: we depart CSR en route to the MK for our bridal portrait session! As I mentioned, we will be taking a route that involves the castle, as well as Enchanted Tales with Belle, the outside of BOG, and Journey Under the Sea.

While this is crazy early, I can't imagine how cool it will be to be inside the park at that hour!! So awesome. I can't wait to see the pics!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Wedding Day Itinerary

Annnddd...we're back! Remember how my life was a little turbulent and crazy and everything a couple weeks ago? The leaving work thing? The car accident thing? The mom being in Europe while it all took place, etc.?

Well, then I went to work at the diner one night last week...and the sound system they have there for us to sing with is pretty pathetic. It's an old iPod (which has had the back panel fall off, and which no longer seems to be able to sync with a computer to add new music, etc.) which we plug into a speaker, along with two mics. We all supplement with music on our own phones if we want a song that's not on the iPod. All of a sudden the other night, the 1/8" cable (regular headphone size) we plug into our phones wasn't detecting/projecting any music from any iPod or phone...except mine. We couldn't figure out why! ...until I realized that it was because the end of the cable had broken off...inside my iPhone 6S's headphone jack. I took the phone to the phone company's store, then to the Apple store, and nobody was able to get the thing out or fix it. I tried tricks N gave me over the phone (he's done a lot of tech support for work over the years) and nothing would remove it. The phone was still working, but it was tricked into believing that it always had headphones in, so I could only make calls by putting the phone on speaker...I couldn't turn the ringer on, so I kept missing calls...I almost overslept one morning because I usually use my phone as a morning alarm but the sound wasn't working...I couldn't use it for music when I went running... Finally, my only option was to replace it. I had replacement insurance on it, which made the new replacement phone cost $250, rather than about three times that. And since it was the faulty equipment that caused it, the diner has agreed to reimburse me. But it was seriously the LAST thing I needed to add to my plate, even if it seems like a small thing. The new phone came, and I spent a couple hours of my morning today restoring it from my backups, troubleshooting problems, and then shipping the old phone off to the insurance company. Jeesh.

In other news...I found a vehicle! I sent off the insurance company's cheque to pay off my old bank loan, and I've been approved for a new loan to replace it. If all goes well, I should have the vehicle next week. And then you'll all get to meet it!

So in terms of August planning, now we've made our way to the day we've all been waiting for...(or at least I have!)...

Aug. 17th: WEDDING DAY!

3:00am: I wake up. Uggh. I also wake my mom up because I'm mean like that. (She will be staying in my room this night and N will be staying with his best man.) I rinse off quickly, having washed and dried my hair the night before.

3:15am: my stylist arrives.

3:30am: Hair and makeup begin.

4:45am: my bridesmaids arrive (they loved this when I told them!! I'm kidding; they were actually totally fine with it and are the awesomest bridesmaids ever to exist.) Hair and makeup for them and for my mom begin sometime hereafter.

5:15am: I meet N and our photographer for "first look photos." Hopefully I'll be able to get here on time, unless something goes wrong with my hair and makeup and she needs to fix/change anything. If I'm late, we'll have the photographer take some portraits of N.

5:45am: we depart CSR en route to the MK for our bridal portrait session! As I mentioned, we will be taking a route that involves the castle, as well as Enchanted Tales with Belle, the outside of BOG, and Journey Under the Sea. I've perused some photos from other people's sessions, so I'm trying to get an idea of what places I want pictures. So exciting! I'm really hoping we get one of the photographers we've requested, since nothing is guaranteed. But hopefully no matter who we get, it will be magical! In past there were more complaints about Disney's photographers being kinda lousy, but these days the quality seems to be much better in general. Most of the photographers don't exactly have a style that I would have chosen personally, and I'm already regretting not hiring outside photography for the wedding itself, but it is what it is, and I'm sure that whoever takes our photos will capture some wonderful memories for us!

8:00am: We arrive at Canada Terrace at Epcot. We've opted to do our couple's portraits then before the ceremony. Our guests begin arriving by motor coach around 8:30.

9:00am: Wedding ceremony begins!!

Our wedding ceremony is a nice balance, with some traditional elements, but relatively modern language, which is exactly what I wanted. We have some religious elements, and N's parents will both read scripture we've chosen, but we've excluded some of the elements that go against my naturally feminist values. My bridesmaids will walk down the aisle to "Go the Distance" from Hercules, played by a violin. I'll walk to "You'll Be In My Heart" from Tarzan, and my mom is escorting me. My grandmother will be reading a passage of text from the song, "Promise," which is the final "leaving song" of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. I got this idea (I think??) from @missjackiemcg, who I believe also got it from another Disbride. I LOVE it, and my grandmother is honoured to be included. She's a huge influence on my life and she helped to raise me and take care of me through most of my childhood. Then, later, our "first dance" (and only dance! It's a short wedding package with no formal reception) will be to the violin's instrumental version of "Promise." And finally, one of my favourite things about the ceremony: our recessional...to the tune of "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters Inc.

Following the "ceremony" portion, we will have our cake (yum! cupcakes!) and sparkling apple cider, and our best man (and my old roommate), Brad, will give a bit of a toast. And also, our special guests arrive: the two Main Mice!! We'll get our photos with and without them, and be finished up and out of there by 10am. We've chosen to ride back on the motor coach with our guests and to save our provided limo service for later on.

The afternoon is left open for our guests, and I intend to make a snack and a nap my first two orders of business. Maybe also a dip in the pool to help me wake up again? The pool at CSR looks really neat. Hopefully the construction won't detract too much from it. Then I have an appointment at...

3:00pm: La Vida Salon at CSR...for my HAIRCUT! I'm chopping all my hair off pretty much IMMEDIATELY after the wedding. Most people know I intend to cut my hair very short during the trip, but only N and my bridesmaids know I'm doing it that very afternoon!

5:45pm: Our limo picks us and our bridal party up at CSR and transports us to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our ADR at...

6:35pm: Boma "reception"!!
We wanted to provide a meal for our guests, but with such a small group we didn't mind doing it more casually and just booking a large ADR. We ended up having to book it as two parties of 10, but that's okay. It will be nice if we can all be seated together, but I'm not counting on it. I'm very excited for this meal! I also will have changed out of my wedding dress and into a short white party dress that I got on sale online years ago and never wore. Now that I've lost 12 pounds in order to fit into my wedding dress, it also now fits me again. Perfect!

Following dinner the limo is scheduled to take us back to CSR at 9pm; however, we have the limo booked until 10:45 since a 5-hour charter is included in our wedding package, so if anyone isn't ready to fall over and die by that point, they could also get dropped off elsewhere (Disney Springs, Boardwalk, etc.) If I thought I wouldn't be too exhausted, I'd love to go to Jellyrolls, or to Kimonos at Swolphin for sushi and karaoke, (both of which would be firsts for me,) but I know that even with a nap it'll be a miracle if I even make it through dinner.

Also...btw...I picked up my wedding dress from the tailor today! (And for anyone who remembers the weird/uncomfortable experience I had with him, and also his "tolerance" of Disney as a Universal fan...not to worry, turns out that he CAN, indeed, sew.) It's beautiful and fits really nicely, so I'm very pleased.

Up next, I have more family-related touring plans for August 18th...and then you'll probably get the rest of our less structured plans for the whole trip in one or two posts after that.​

OMGGGG!!! I have just clicked on this report and I am PSYCHED for you!!! This is unbelievable. What a dream. Congratulations! Definitely following along, can't wait to hear about it - as soon as you're back please!!

 

[Whit64130]

That stinks about your phone but glad they are willing to reimburse you for the insurance cost!
Your wedding day plans sound awesome! I would definitely be willing to get up at the crack of dawn to have pictures made at MK!
Maybe you will have a decent nap and not be too tired to enjoy your reception! I can tell you from experience that most of the day will be on pure adrenaline because of the excitement. After it was all said and done with and I finally got to sleep I slept forever to recover from the exhaustion.
It is getting super close and will be here soon!!!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Oh my gosh, guys! Things have been weirdly busy the last few days, with a weekend trip to my hometown for some visiting and some major cleaning of the basement, etc., and the Dis is happening waaay faster than I can keep up with it!

Exhibit A:

I will be back soon [tomorrow?? Maybe??] to continue getting caught up, and to provide new updates here and on my May TR! Thanks for the patience! See ya real soon!​

 

[KathyM2]

Hey no worries, you have a lot going on these days!!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Ugh sorry to hear about your phone Glad you were able to get a new one!

Your wedding day is going to be packed but so exciting! I look forward to hearing all about it, it's going to be a wonderful day for you all!

Thanks! Things have mostly been sorted out now, thank goodness.

We're getting so excited! Can't wait to share!

That is sincerely messed up about your phone and the way they do things at the diner What year are you Canadians living in anyway? Just kidding

Really though!! That was bad enough...and then last night with the plumbing issues...jeesh!

I get excited just reading about this and cannot WAIT to see pictures. If you happened to put my # into your new phone you can send me some during your trip "downtime" lol

I'm not sure I got your number for international texting fee reasons, but I have your FB, so I can message them! Careful what you wish for....

Can your wedding planner possibly do something to help you all sit together? If not, can you call dining and just at least have it noted on the reservation that you are getting married AT EPCOT that day and this is your wedding reception? I would think for a situation like this they would work even harder to get you all together or at least 2 long tables of 10 right next to each other

We didn't book it through our wedding planner, but I'm planning to call that afternoon and give them a heads up that we're coming and that we're all one big group celebrating our wedding "reception." Hopefully they can at least seat us all close together!

I can't see you losing 12 lbs., you're so cute and tiny!!

Yep, that was me!! I love that you've chosen your Grandma to read it. Grandmas are just about the most incredible people in the world, aren't they?!

Picking the music was the most fun part for me!!!! Our final song was "On This Magic Night" from the Spectromagic parade. So magical!!

My grandma helped to raise me in a big way, and we're super close! She's the best!

This coming to Disney World thing must be like a "dream trip" for them, LOL.

Oh yeah, they're thrilled. Bahaha

Eeek so exciting! Wait, are you getting married at Canada? That is so awesome!

Yes, we are! Even if we weren't Canadians ourselves, I love the architecture and the gardens in this pavilion....but it's even better since it's a [strange but pretty] representation of our homeland!

That's sooooo cool!!! Ooooh I get to see you with short hair!!!

For sure! If I look like an awkward 12-year-old boy, you'll be the first Diser to know! lol

'm sure you can all be seated together if you say it's your wedding day!
And yay for losing 12 lbs, although like @ariane37 mentioned, I can't see how that is possible...

Crossing my fingers! Even if they seat us side by side, that would be perfectly fine. And the 12 lbs doesn't look much different on my body really, but it feels much better!! And my dress fits much better now. So that's a nice bonus.

I'm here! I made it to page 2 and just had to go ahead and comment. I'll try to wait until I'm caught up to comment again



You have a new friend! You've been following my first PTR so I had to return the favor. I'm loving your reports!

Oh and I remembered what else I wanted to say on your Dec TR. Your animal caricature is awesome! I've not seen one like that and I want one of the boys. Griffin as the Giraffe (of course) and I showed it to Dallas who said he wanted to be a bear. (Knowing him that could change 10 times by the time we get to do it )

I'm loving what I've read so far and your family (and soon to be new family) sound wonderful. I guess I need to get to reading more.

Thanks so much for coming over to my reports! Glad you liked the caricature - I had been wanting it for so long, and it was a lot of fun! A bear would be cute, too....we'll see what he decides when the time actually comes!

I love the pictures of your princess friends! Anna and Belle are my favorites

Thanks! They have an awful lot of fun.

Boma - we have got to add this to one of our future trips. We keep hearing great things.

Highly recommend! I love both breakfast and dinner, but for different reasons, and Nathan prefers breakfast but likes both. It's a great spot!

I'm more the traditionalist in this, however, I see nothing wrong with not taking his name. I don't really have a strong tie to my maiden name. I do however love my married name and here's why - it's my fathers and grandfathers middle name. As a young teen, I wanted to name my son (if I had one) that name. Then I found out my parents had a secret that crushed that dream. So when I met my husband and learned of his last name, I was ecstatic to realize my future children could all have that name . (Not the reason I married him but definitely a nice bonus)

How neat is that!?? Sometimes things work out the way they're supposed to, I think! I think women should do whatever feels right for them and their partner, whether that's taking a new name or keeping an old, etc.

The more I read about others doing this the more I want to do it. I've been doing the same app as you the last 2 years. I've had to start over 3 times due to pregnancy, surgeries and winter weather. It's tough but well worth it. I've made it to week 8 day 2 after 3 months of training .

It looks like a lot of fun! I hate to run, I won't lie. But if there's anywhere in the world that I'd want to run, it would be Disney! So it's been great motivation.

MNSSHP - originally we thought the parties were a waste of time and money especially for those few and far between trips. Now with the really good possibility of becoming DVC members we are really rethinking this particular one. We would love to get to meet the villains!

I have mixed feelings on the parties from my experience with MVMCP, and I don't think they're a must-do every year or anything, but as a "first" for both of us I'm really excited about this one!

Oh my gosh, what a mess with your phone I'm glad the diner agreed to reimburse you since it was their equipment that caused the problem.

Your wedding plans sound amazing I am so, so excited for you. Also, the trip report after your return is probably the thing I'm anticipating as much as my own October trip, LOL!!

Thanks, we're excited too! It's getting close now! Hopefully my TR will live up to expectation...

OMGGGG!!! I have just clicked on this report and I am PSYCHED for you!!! This is unbelievable. What a dream. Congratulations! Definitely following along, can't wait to hear about it - as soon as you're back please!!

Thanks so much for hopping over here! We're getting soo excited! It almost doesn't feel like a real thing that's about to happen... I'm sure I'll be bursting to share all about it as soon as we get home, so careful what you wish for!

That stinks about your phone but glad they are willing to reimburse you for the insurance cost!
Your wedding day plans sound awesome! I would definitely be willing to get up at the crack of dawn to have pictures made at MK!
Maybe you will have a decent nap and not be too tired to enjoy your reception! I can tell you from experience that most of the day will be on pure adrenaline because of the excitement. After it was all said and done with and I finally got to sleep I slept forever to recover from the exhaustion.
It is getting super close and will be here soon!!!!

I think getting up early (or late at night, depending on how you view the hour of 3am!) will be totally worth it in this one and only circumstance! I have a feeling you're right about the adrenaline carrying us through...and also about the crash that's sure to come after.