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

[MeghanEmily]

GUYS!

Oh my goodness, it’s happening! It’s really happening! This is a real live PTR being written! My very first, in fact.

The reason for this PTR is simple: The boy and I are in a club now...the Engagement club! And soon to be in the Married Folk Club! And our Disney Fairytale Wedding is going to be a dream that neither of us thought would be possible for us.

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!

So here I am. If you enjoy and want to follow along, that’s awesome! But either way, I’ll be writing this to just give myself somewhere to journal these things, and so I have a record to look back and remember when all is said and done. *Begins typing furiously*

So, on with the show! I debated whether to put this on the wedding planning boards or here, but since the trip involves many elements: our wedding, honeymoon, Disney-time with family/friends, etc, etc, I decided on this board.

If you’re here because you read my last TR – (December 2016) – thanks for coming back! And if you’re new, Ohmygosh

So here comes a mess of planning info as I put together a DFTW, Disneymoon, and vacation for myself, and my newly-converted-Disney-fan fiancé (referred to as N) (introductions to come soon)!! Wish me luck…

​

 

[MeghanEmily]

CHAPTER NAVIGATION STATION
​

Introductions: The Who and the What!
When and Where?
Because I Get Hangry (ADRs Post!)
We Be Stylin' - Episode 1 (Plus randoms and ranting)
Plan One Trip? ...Why Not Two!?
A-splishin' and A-splashin', Reelin' with the Feelin'!
Plans Change...and That's Okay
The One Where I Reveal the Extent of our Crazy to All the Good Folks of the Dis
Suddenly All the Updates: Wedding Trip Tidbits & May Plans
May Whirlwind Weekend Travel Plans: Disney Day 1 - May 19
We Be Stylin' - Episode 2 & May Long Weekend Plans - Disney Day 2
May Whirlwind Weekend Travel Plans: Return Travel Day - May 21
This is Halloween! (...kinda.)
The one where there are only two sleeps...AKA "We're fitting everything in THERE?"
May Happened and Now There Are Updates!
2 Splurges and a Freebie
Nom Cake.
I Have the Best Friends (and other updates)
Aug. 16 Plans and Life Updates...
Wedding Day Itinerary
Updates and Aug. 18 Plans
The Giant Spreadsheet of Doom
Bad luck is good...right?
Last-minute Items and Birthday Shenanigans
The Last Update *ominous music*

Wedding TR link

 

[MeghanEmily]

Introductions: The Who and the What!

So it’s about time you know exactly who we are and what we’re doing!

First of all, I’ll start with myself…

...I’m Meghan, the humble host of this PTR. I’m also the primary planner of our trip(s), the photographer, and the fangirl. I developed a severe Disney addiction as a child that never went away as I got older. I love animated movies, belting Disney tunes, and hitting the parks. I have a music degree, but by day I'm a braille transcriber to pay the bills, and I also work part time for a local company that, while not at all associated with Disney, does children's birthday parties with fairytale characters, some of whom are princesses and are reminiscent of Disney's take on the characters.

E.g.:

(Ok, so I’m going to try to do these “favourites” people always post, but there’s no way I can pick one fave for most of these…)
​

Favourite Disney…​

• Movie: Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo (Pixar counts?), Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and all of them...​
• Character: Belle, Merida, Anna, Cogsworth, Eeyore, Moana, Sadness​
• Park: AK. But if I could only visit one park in a trip it would be MK. Really hard for me to choose a favourite of the four...​
• Ride: Splash Mountain, Kilimanjaro Safaris​
• Resort: AKL, POFQ, Pop​
• Restaurant: Boma, Brown Derby (cobbbb saladdd!!), Columbia Harbour House​
• Snack: Popcorn (used to be churros before I went gluten free, and also Mickey cookies and cream sandwiches–which are far superior to premium ice cream bars!)​

My other half, Nathan (called N in my trip reports)...

...is a recent WDW convert, but has always loved some of the old Disney animated films, and he’s a big fan of Marvel and Star Wars (thanks for making those purchases, Disney!) N just completed a science degree, and he currently works travelling the country as a performance artist doing spray paint art. (Shameless promo of his FB page!)
​

Favourite Disney…​

• Movie: Lion King, Moana, Beauty and the Beast​
• Character: Gaston, Sebastian, Pumba​
• Park: Can't decide between AK and MK​
• Ride: Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain​
• Resort: He’s only ever stayed at AKL (which he loved) and Pop, but he fell in love with Poly when we went for a meal at Ohana​
• Restaurant: Boma, Ohana, Rose and Crown, Teppan Edo​
• Snack: Premium Mickey bar, dole whip​

I started going on Disney trips with my family every few years from the time I was four, but took a hiatus for a few years when I was 19ish because I got sick and had neurosurgery. The first time I returned and took N to WDW it was as a celebratory Brainniversary trip for my 2-year neurosurgery recovery date in April of 2016. We went back again in December and I think I’ve officially converted him. It’s amazing to have someone to share your Disney love (and regular love) with, and who will get just as excited as you will about the prospect of going back!

N and I started dating a little over 8 years ago when I was still in high school. We met working at a Bible camp, and we share a lot of quirky interests including Harry Potter, British television, and burnt popcorn. (JK, I love burnt popcorn, but I still don’t have N convinced.) While we’ve had our ups and downs, we’ve always come back “home.” At this point, there’s nobody else I can imagine spending my life with.

During our December trip, N proposed, and I said yes. The FULL STORY is in my previous TR.

So it only made sense to start planning a Disney Fairytale Wedding (DFTW). Initially we didn’t expect that this was something we could afford, plan, or pull off. But while there have been a few hiccups along the way, it seems to really be happening, and we’re so excited. I may have to sell a few organs...but anything in the name of [Disney] love! N often asks me whether I’m more interested in actually marrying HIM, or just having a WDW wedding…and sometimes I probably don’t give him the answer he wants to hear…

We’re Canadians (which you'll probably notice by my spelling), and we will be driving down (35+ hr road trip each way for the win!!) the East Coast to spend Aug. 16-26 in Florida. I’ll also be posting more about our road trip/travel schedule as it becomes more solid. Right now it seems to involve a pit stop in NYC for some shows and some gluten free goodies! But, alas, I digress…getting ahead of myself...all in good time…

Up next: our trip schedule and resort plans...​

 

[VACamm]

Oh my GOSH!!! Yaaay! I love that you started your pre trip report! I have so many comments..... where to begin???

First...is that you dressed as ANNA??? If so.... I'm very impressed! Wow!!

Your love story is so amazing... I think it's fabulous how you have been through so much together and you're able to celebrate your love of Disney together!

Being Gluten free shipping Disney isn't that bad... it's super helpful that most restaurants have a separate allergy menu now. I also have had wonderful experiences with Disney chefs being so helpful with my gluten allergy!


The fact that you are driving 35 hours to WDW is very impressive. It's 12 hours from VA, and that's a long drive to us

I can't wait to read more about your plans!!!!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Oh my GOSH!!! Yaaay! I love that you started your pre trip report! I have so many comments..... where to begin???

First...is that you dressed as ANNA??? If so.... I'm very impressed! Wow!!

Your love story is so amazing... I think it's fabulous how you have been through so much together and you're able to celebrate your love of Disney together!

Being Gluten free shipping Disney isn't that bad... it's super helpful that most restaurants have a separate allergy menu now. I also have had wonderful experiences with Disney chefs being so helpful with my gluten allergy!


The fact that you are driving 35 hours to WDW is very impressive. It's 12 hours from VA, and that's a long drive to us

I can't wait to read more about your plans!!!!!

Thanks!! I may or may not have also had the chance to meet Elsa, Snow, Rapunzel, Belle, and Zarina the Pirate Fairy, but I can neither confirm nor deny it...so I'll just leave this here... (but Anna's my favourite and my best look!)

I love being able to eat GF at Disney! It's one of the only places I feel totally safe to eat with dietary restrictions! That'll be one of our obstacles with the road trip, but I know I'll always be able to find something to eat somewhere, even if it means stopping at a grocery store, etc. And I'll pack snacks! It's gonna be a long drive... :S I did it a few times as a kid with my parents driving, but it will be a whole new ballgame behind the wheel!

 

[VACamm]

The pictures of your Friends are AH-MAZIIIIING!!! WOW! How fun is that!?!?!?
Packing snacks is always safe... even though it's not as fun You guys can definitely have lots of quality time together while playing word games playing Disney trivia and having Disney singalongs!! It is going to be a great experience I bet!!

 

[Christi0909]

but Anna's my favourite and my best look!)

Your Anna is great, but so is your Belle!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Your Anna is great, but so is your Belle!!

Thanks! It's a lot of fun and gives you a little taste of what it must be like for actual Disney face characters to have such awesome experiences with kids. (I mean it's not always amazing...kids can be pretty unpredictable...haha)

 

[xlsm]

I'm here, I'm here!!

Love your princess friends SO MUCH

I'm so excited to read all about the wedding and trip plans. I laughed at the part when N asked if you were excited to marry him or have a WDW wedding...because I always tell my kids, "of course I love you more than (insert Disney World or dogs here), but don't make me prove it!!"

 

[MeghanEmily]

I'm here, I'm here!!

Yay! I'm glad to "see" you here!

Love your princess friends SO MUCH

Thank you!! I may or may not have run into Belle at a cute 5 year old's birthday this morning. And she may or may not have been very excited at the prospect of her new live-action movie coming out this week.

I'm so excited to read all about the wedding and trip plans. I laughed at the part when N asked if you were excited to marry him or have a WDW wedding...because I always tell my kids, "of course I love you more than (insert Disney World or dogs here), but don't make me prove it!!"

Yeah, he's a good boy to put up with me! Obviously the prospect of spending your life with someone you love is pretty special...but Disney wedding, come on! I love that you tell your kids that!! There will certainly be lots of wedding plans to unveil...Get it?? un-"veil"?? I slay myself.

 

[ariane37]

Hi there, so glad you started this and so glad I found it! I can only imagine how magical a Disney wedding would be and I can't wait to read all about your plans.
I think your Rapunzel is my favorite! Burnt popcorn don't think I can get onboard lol.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Hi there, so glad you started this and so glad I found it! I can only imagine how magical a Disney wedding would be and I can't wait to read all about your plans.
I think your Rapunzel is my favorite! Burnt popcorn don't think I can get onboard lol.

So excited you're here! I also love Rapunzel - she's got such a bright, fun personality! But having hair that long is suuuuper heavy!

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in!! I'm glad you've started a PTR, I can't wait to hear about all the plans!

Well that's a mighty cool part time job you have! Love all the looks

Woah you guys are road tripping to FL? That's going to be quite a trip! How exciting!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Joining in!! I'm glad you've started a PTR, I can't wait to hear about all the plans!

Awesome, glad you're here!

Well that's a mighty cool part time job you have! Love all the looks

Yeah, I can't really complain. I don't think it'll ever get old to have kids look at you and think you're actually their favourite characters come to life. Some of them get super invested in it and try to tell you your whole story! Like "Anna-I-saw-your-movie-and-you-did-this-and-then-you-did-this *takes breath* and-then-you-did-this!"

Woah you guys are road tripping to FL? That's going to be quite a trip! How exciting!

Yeah, pretty sure we're crazy. I used to do it with my parents when I was a kid because it was cheaper, but now with the cost of gas and the bad exchange rate between CAD and USD it's probably not that much different. But it'll be fun to be able to stop and see things along the way. And listen to LOTS of Disney music! I'm also hoping that driving will give me a chance to slowly adjust to the crazy hot/humid summer weather as we get closer and closer hehe

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Hi. I came over to see your PTR after seeing it mentioned in VACamm's report. I cannot imagine a 35 hour road trip. It takes us about 16 hours for Disneyland and each time I do it, I tell myself never again.

Love the pictures of your friends. Sounds like a fun thing to do (I could not willingly go to children's birthday parties).

Can't wait to read about your planning. I did a PTR once and then felt bad that I never did the follow up TR. So, I gave up writing them.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Hi. I came over to see your PTR after seeing it mentioned in VACamm's report. I cannot imagine a 35 hour road trip. It takes us about 16 hours for Disneyland and each time I do it, I tell myself never again.

Love the pictures of your friends. Sounds like a fun thing to do (I could not willingly go to children's birthday parties).

Can't wait to read about your planning. I did a PTR once and then felt bad that I never did the follow up TR. So, I gave up writing them.

Thanks so much for joining in!

Yeah...it's definitely going to be quite a road trip... I'm sure I'll live to regret it, but for now we're excited about it! Mostly just to be able to stop when we want to and see things. And because I will feel better if I'm responsible for transporting all my wedding things myself, rather than checking or carrying on stuff, especially a wedding dress, etc.

I'm a very hit-or-miss person when it comes to kids. I don't hate kids by any means. I just don't have a lot of patience for kids who are raised differently than I would plan to raise my own kids. But I always manage to find enough cute and memorable moments to make it worth it to keep doing it! And it's a nice little extra income on the side. It's going to be what pays for our day at Discovery Cove on our honeymoon, so it comes in handy!

 

[MeghanEmily]

When and Where?

Annnndd...we're back! I'm visiting my hometown this week for my work's version of a "spring break"...but it doesn't feel much like spring! We just got another snow squall (thanks, @ariane37 for sending that our way! NOT!) with the wildest wind I can remember in a long time. So today seemed like the right day to get all caught up on my Dis-life and do some updating. This will be some "official" planning info, and also a mishmash of life/wedding updates/rants. Take it for what you will!

As mentioned, our Disney/Florida time is currently scheduled for Aug. 16-26. We'll be road-tripping on either side of that, and those plans will depend on our personal schedules and finances. For instance, N may be painting at a show the weekend before our trip, and that will influence when we can leave, etc. Right now the goal is to arrive sometime mid-to-late-day on the 15th, crash with my grandmother and other family at her timeshare that night (where they'll be staying during the wedding festivities,) and then check in the next day at our Disney resort.

Aug. 16-19: Coronado Springs
This is the resort we chose to start our trip because we knew we wouldn't be spending too much time at our resort during the last-minute wedding planning and the big day, but we wanted to do a moderate that appealed to us both. The extra bonus is that neither of us have stayed here before, so we can both cross it off our lists! I've read lots of pros and cons about CSR, but I think (hope!) it'll be a good fit for us. We're also putting up our small bridal party here for 2 nights and think it'll be appealing to them, too.

Aug. 17 @ 9:00am = WEDDING DAY!

Aug. 19-22: Polynesian
Initially, this wasn't even on our radar. As we were putting together our budget and schedule, I'd suggested that if we stayed somewhere offsite more economically for a few days at the end of the trip, we could try to do a deluxe like Wilderness Lodge or AKL for a couple days in this time slot. That's when my mom offered us a pretty cool wedding gift...she remembered how much we had both liked Poly when we went for our meal on our last trip (N especially!) and offered to pay half the cost of a room there for 3 nights for us. We gratefully jumped at the chance and booked. Still waiting on Passholder deals to see what it'll end up costing us, but it was made much more doable by my awesome Mom. So, basically...this is gonna be us...

Aug. 22-26: Grandmother's Holiday Inn Timeshare
To budget for our deluxe stay, something had to give, and we decided that we wouldn't mind the relaxed feel of staying offsite and keeping our itinerary a little more flexible these days. My grandmother knew we were planning to stay off site and offered us another wedding gift: 4 nights at her timeshare property. This really helped free up our budget, and fortunately it's still within 15-20 minutes of most of the parks! Score!

So in other related news...while home visiting this week I was able to go to our international mailbox in Maine and pick up some things I had ordered for the wedding/trip! (Side note: and I won't go into this much to keep it as un-political as possible, but we don't usually have any issue crossing the border, and this time wasn't much different, but we did notice that both the cars in front of us seemed to get pulled in for more questioning...people are certainly reporting having more trouble crossing the Canadian/US border than before, and we're hoping we'll have smooth sailing between now and our trip.)

Here are some of the things I picked up...

My new wedding earrings, custom-made to match the necklace I bought. <3

Personalized T-shirts for the bridal party and some family/friends who wanted them. We're encouraging people to wear them if they'd like at our meet and greet the night before the wedding.
(This is the photo from the Etsy seller, but similar to the ones we bought and in the same color.)

Our annual passholder magicbands arrived!! They're very close to our wedding colors, and it also doesn't hurt that they make a nice "something blue."

A tiny 3-inch wide top hat. I'll leave you pondering about that one. You'll see it again in this PTR soon...

Our suspenders and bowties that we ordered from Etsy for N and his best man...

They match the clutch I bought for myself a while ago:

And probably my favourite purchase...a TEENY TINY BOOKBAG! I bought this because I hate carrying around a purse over my shoulder in the parks, but I find a full sized bookbag gets heavy and will be annoying in the summer. (N usually ends up carrying the bookbag when I complain about it!) This looks like it'll be a great...and adorable!...solution. It's made for a child. Like a SMALL child. It's got about the same capacity as my medium-sized handbags. I'm in love. It says it's only suitable for children under 6 years. I don't care because it's exactly what I needed, and the straps fit an adult.

Okay! So that ended up being more info than I'd planned, so I'll save my life rants for a rainy day...or at least for the next update. To be continued...​

 

[xlsm]

How wonderful that your mom and grandmother are helping out with the Poly/timeshare!! What a huge help!!

I also love your something blue Perfect, perfect, perfect for your Disney wedding...and even better that it is so close to your wedding colors. I like the shirts and things you've purchased so far, too!

Hmm...can't wait to hear more about that tiny top hat!

 

[cinderella crazy]

I can literally hear the excitement in each of your posts!! It's contagious and I have to join in so I can hear all about your plans!

There's so much I want to comment on. . .
I love your love story!! And I'm going to have to read your TR soon!

Are you sure you don't work at Disney? You could definitely pull off being a princess there!

We've never stayed at Coronado but we have stayed at the Poly and we LOVED it!!! Your family is so sweet to help you all with your accommodations!

Where on earth did you get that little backpack? It's perfect!

Reading your PTR is making me nostalgic for my Disney honeymoon. . .I may have to dig out the photo album and re-live the moments.

Can't wait to learn more about your trip and upcoming wedding!

 

[MeghanEmily]

How wonderful that your mom and grandmother are helping out with the Poly/timeshare!! What a huge help!!

It's been huge! We didn't expect any help going into this, and we've really been super blessed by our families so far. N's family also helped out by giving us money for Christmas, which we ended up using to upgrade to our APs and now we didn't need to buy park tickets for the wedding trip. And they are also hosting a little finger-food-get-together at their house for his giant family when we get back. They're really wonderful people on both sides of the family, really. Despite my minor gripes and grievances.

I also love your something blue Perfect, perfect, perfect for your Disney wedding...and even better that it is so close to your wedding colors. I like the shirts and things you've purchased so far, too!

Thank you! N got very excited about the magic bands. We don't normally get them till we get to the resort since they don't ship to Canada, so this was special. I brought the shirts home to show family members who bought them, and now there are a few others who decided they need to have them now. So another order it is!

Hmm...can't wait to hear more about that tiny top hat!

Not much longer to wait on that one...It's totally not as exciting or mysterious as I'd like it to be.

I can literally hear the excitement in each of your posts!! It's contagious and I have to join in so I can hear all about your plans!

There's so much I want to comment on. . .
I love your love story!! And I'm going to have to read your TR soon!

Thanks so much for joining in, and !!!
If you get over to my TR, beware! I'm wordy. But it was such a fabulous trip I felt the need to document everything!

Are you sure you don't work at Disney? You could definitely pull off being a princess there!

Thanks so much! It's such a fun job! That was my dream as a kid to work for Disney. Unfortunately, my body never caught up to the dream, and now I'm too short for Disney princess standards. That, and I sweat like a pig in the summer so I wouldn't be a very graceful princess! Haha I'm about the right height to be Tinkerbell/Alice/Wendy though. Maybe someday...

We've never stayed at Coronado but we have stayed at the Poly and we LOVED it!!! Your family is so sweet to help you all with your accommodations!

I can't wait for Poly! It was such a generous gesture from our family!

Where on earth did you get that little backpack? It's perfect!

I bought it here on Amazon!

I bought the blue one because it was the cheapest (only $8.99 at the time, but the price fluctuates,) but it was a happy accident that it also kinda matches our wedding colors a little. Quality seems middle of the road, nothing special, probably won't last forever or anything, but it's actually so miniature and perfect. The side pockets wouldn't fit a big water bottle, but they seem to just fit the smaller 16oz ones. And it's LIGHT. Yay!