"It's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow..." A February 2013 Disneymoon PTR

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Hello everyone!

My fiance and I are in the process of planning our 2-week Disneymoon and I decided what better way to express our excitement then to create a PTR here on the boards! I have had an account for a while, but still mostly lurk around. I get jealous when I see some of the friendships between users on here and am hoping this will help me find some great new, Disney-loving friends as well! Now on to our backstory and some introductions:

We met on a dating site a little over a year ago. Both of us were in the same position where we had semi-recently gotten out of a relationship, and neither of us are in school or work at a place where we could possibly meet anyone. Also the fact that we don't like bars/clubs... not that I would want to meet anyone that way anyway. Luckily, we both decided to try out the same dating site and found eachother. I "winked" at him, he responded and long story short, we fell in love and were engaged less than a year later (Christmas day to be exact).

Us on the Mattehorn at one of our many Disneyland trips.

With the big cheese himself!

Now, about us...

Me (Lindsay) - I am 26, almost 27 and work full time as a web designer, developer and marketer for a large communications company. I graduated in 2008 with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Creative Writing. I love PR, but I love web design/development more. Really happy I found this job. I am an only child and a total daddy's girl. I have been to Disney World 6 times, and Disneyland/CA Adventure too many to count. As soon as I got my license when I turned 18 (yes, I waited til I was 18 to avoid having to take drivers ed haha) I purchased my very first annual pass and have had one every year since (premium pass for the last 3 years). My main loves in life are my family and friends, my cat, Disney (of course), Las Vegas and music!

My Fiance (Louie) - He is a 27, almost 28 year old and works full time at a ticketing company for music, sports, theater, etc. events. He does a lot of IT stuff, plus works on their web site and does some customer service. I like him having this job because it gets us tickets to a lot of shows for free! hehe He has two older sisters (and I mean OLDER... one is up by 10 years, the other 15) who are both married with kids. So, he pretty much grew up as an only child with a lot of motherly figures around him. He has never been to Disney World (GASP) but has been to Disneyland and CA Adventure quite a bit in the last year since I made him get an annual pass. He loves all the same things I do which makes everything really easy/great for us!

The Wedding

We are getting married on Saturday, Febrary 16th, 2013 here in Southern California. That date is very special for us both as it is our anniversary! When we figured out that date fell on a Saturday next year, there was no way we could pass it up. For our ceremony and reception, we found a really neat old theater (used to be a single screen movie theater but has been renovated in the last few years) where they do concerts and plays, plus special events. Since both of us are total concert junkies, this place is the perfect setting and will be really unique! I cannot wait for it. Of course everyone suspected I would be doing a Disney wedding and everything like that, but with a guest list of 200, there is no way we could afford it.

The Honeymoon

Now here comes the Disney part. For our honeymoon, I have talked Louie into doing two weeks of Disney! The plan is, we will fly out from LAX to MCO the morning of February 17th (the day after the wedding), stay in the World for 7 nights, then on the 24th we'll hop aboard the Disney Dream for a 4-night cruise, after which we'll end the trip with another 2 nights to get our land legs back before flying. I have never been on a Disney crusie, so I am super pumped. Plus, it is something brand new for both of us to enjoy! The Disney World part will be really fun for me getting to show him the ropes and impress him with my vast Disney knowhow. The plan right now is to stay at on of the Port Orleans resorts, unless we end up with a bunch of extra money then we will think about going to a Deluxe. We will be on the Dining Plan, and will get 7 or 8 day Park Hoppers. Also plan to cheat on Disney and visit the Universal parks one day while we are there.

So far I have only been able to book the cruise. We got a category 8C room - the deluxe family oceanview. I am really excited about the giant porthole with a seat, that seems really cool! I can't wait to book the land part of the trip, but am told I have to wait until the summer! Oh well, I guess I will survive...

Sorry this is so text-heavy. Hoping I can figure out ways to add in more photos as I go along. Thanks for reading!

 

[MrsDrewsky]

Your plans sound fabulous so far. What wonderful plans so far! I have stayed at French Quarter (granted it was with my mother) but it's absolutely beautiful, and a bit smaller then the other moderates, so a little more quiet. I don't think you can lose with either one though. I can't wait to read more about your plans.

 

[becalubob]

Hi Lindsay! My hubby and I are planning on having a Disneymoon too! We were married this past Feb. 29th, (Leap Day!). We also got married in an old theatre in our town!
With all these kids, the honeymoon was something we had to postpone until our one year anniversary, but now we have something awesome to look forward to! We've just kinda started looking into it... and are also thinking POR, possibly Boardwalk if we can swing it. Ive been to Disneyland/DCA twice and DisneyWorld 7 times.... LOVE them both! We too have discussed going to Universal for a day... it was just neat to see all the things we have in common! Can't wait to see how your trip planning goes! CONGRATS!!!

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Your plans sound fabulous so far. What wonderful plans so far! I have stayed at French Quarter (granted it was with my mother) but it's absolutely beautiful, and a bit smaller then the other moderates, so a little more quiet. I don't think you can lose with either one though. I can't wait to read more about your plans.

I LOVED the French Quarter when my BFF (future Maid of Honor) and I stayed there last November. It was such a quite, relaxing place. Really tempted to go there again if we decide to stay at a moderate. I am kind of wanting to go somewhere new though, so I have also been looking into Polynesian and the Yacht Club. Really don't know which one I would rather go with... such a tough decision! My fiance says he also likes the look of Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have stayed there before but I definitely wouldn't mind going back. Ahhh decisions decisions.

Hi Lindsay! My hubby and I are planning on having a Disneymoon too! We were married this past Feb. 29th, (Leap Day!). We also got married in an old theatre in our town!
With all these kids, the honeymoon was something we had to postpone until our one year anniversary, but now we have something awesome to look forward to! We've just kinda started looking into it... and are also thinking POR, possibly Boardwalk if we can swing it. Ive been to Disneyland/DCA twice and DisneyWorld 7 times.... LOVE them both! We too have discussed going to Universal for a day... it was just neat to see all the things we have in common! Can't wait to see how your trip planning goes! CONGRATS!!!

Wow! Seems like we have a lot in common! My friend and I took a day to do Universal when we went last November and it was definitely worth it! The Harry Potter park is amazing and we were really excited to get to ride ET since it has been gone from the California park for a really long time. Not much has changed in the trip planning... only have about $300 left to pay for the cruise, then just waiting until we can book the land portion. Really hope the pricing opens up for 2013 soon!

 

[rib837]

My DW had a similar type Disneymoon, Only we did one week with both Cruise and Park. It was my first cruise, and I had a blast. We stayed at the GF. My DMIL, and DSIL got us Bride and Groom Mickey ears that we wore the whole time at the park. You would not believe all of the congratulations that you will receive. I think one day we counted over 160. Looking forward to hearing more about the trip.

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

My DW had a similar type Disneymoon, Only we did one week with both Cruise and Park. It was my first cruise, and I had a blast. We stayed at the GF. My DMIL, and DSIL got us Bride and Groom Mickey ears that we wore the whole time at the park. You would not believe all of the congratulations that you will receive. I think one day we counted over 160. Looking forward to hearing more about the trip.

I am definitely hoping someone gets us the Bride and Groom ears... otehrwise I guess we can get them ourselves. haha I also bought some Just Married pins off of Ebay (they were $1.50 each, couldn't pass that up) and we are going to at least make one set of shirts. Luckily my DF is totally into all this and has been having a lot of fun coming up with shirt ideas with me.

How was it at the GF? I also have looked there... all of the Deluxe resorts look so nice and I am having the toughest time deciding where we should go.

 

[rib837]

We loved it there! We were in the building near the dock which was fine. Now every time we are on the Monorail, we pass the room where we stayed. Very nice place plus the DW wanted to stay there. They will actually give you Just Married pins when you get there.

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Hey everyone!

So as of today, the cruise portion of our trip is completely paid for! I don't know how we managed to get that all taken care of before we've even booked the Disney World portion of the Disneymoon, but hey, definitely not complaining!

We got the Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom:

I have been debating about switching to a room with a balcony, but I feel like we won't be in the room enough to really need it. I don't know, might still end up upgrading.

Also, we took our second set of engagement photos this past weekend. We took them at my college campus since it is really beautiful and had a lot of unique areas for photos. I can't wait to see how they come out!

Our first session was kind of a disaster. We had plans to do them at Disneyland. I asked the photographer to show up at 3pm since my friend had work at 4 and was going to get the photographer and her assistant in for free (which would have saved me $160). Anyway, the photographer didn't get there until almost 5, so I ended up having to buy the tickets for them to come in, plus they only stayed for 40 minutes. We got a couple good photos, but not nearly what I was hoping for/expecting. Luckily, she offered to do a 2nd session for free and we spent about 2.5 hours at that one.

Here's two pictures from the Disney session that I really like:

We still have no idea where we want to stay for the Disneymoon. I keep going back and forth between the Polynesian, Yacht Club and Beach Club. Any suggestions?

 

[rib837]

I would suggest go for the balcony..... Although we were not in our room as much either, We did sit out on the balcony at night, and it was very peaceful being out there on the water at night.

I would also suggest going to the Polynesian resort. We had a lot of fun when we stayed there, and we wished we could have stayed longer. An added bonus is that they have Dole whips there, and who doesn't love a dole whip.

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

I would suggest go for the balcony..... Although we were not in our room as much either, We did sit out on the balcony at night, and it was very peaceful being out there on the water at night.

I would also suggest going to the Polynesian resort. We had a lot of fun when we stayed there, and we wished we could have stayed longer. An added bonus is that they have Dole whips there, and who doesn't love a dole whip.

Yeah it would be really nice to wake up in the morning and be able to go out on the balcony too. even leave it cracked open a bit to hear the water at night... I'll talk it over with the fiance and see what he thinks.

The poly looks sooo nice. I just hate the fact that none of the rooms there have king beds. We have a queen bed at home so that is fine and everything, but one of the things I look forward to most about staying at a hotel is a bigger bed. haha It would definitely be worth it though for a place like the Poly.

 

[rib837]

I do remember us going out on the Balcony in the morning when we were docking in our ports. Every morning we would wake up to a rumbling sound when we were docking.

I can understand wanting to sleep in a King bed. It certainly makes a difference. WE have had a queen bed for the longest time (up until recently), and loved sleeping in a King bed when we stayed at one of the resorts with a King bed. I thought that PR had rooms with King beds?

 

[becalubob]

Lindsay, your pics are awesome!!! I esp. like the first one.... I started scrolling down and stopped on it.... sooooo cute on the bridge with the hearts and your red sweaters... just too cute.... and I didn't think that pic could get any cuter, then I finished scrolling and saw there was more to it... the reflection! That made it too perfect; love it!!!

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I have been able to get on here and post an update. Honestly though, there isn't much to update on since they still have not released the pricing for next year. As soon as they do, I will have our travel agent price out a few different options for us and get it all booked. Really can't wait to have that part done!

Back on June 2nd my aunt, maid of honor and a bridesmaid all put together an engagement party for my fiance and I. It was a modest Disney-theme. My friend made rice crispy treats in the shape of Mickey heads similar to these:

Yes, I was a horrible friend and didn;t take any pictures of her creation. They were so good though! We were also surprised with some Bride and Groom Mickey ears:

It was a really fun party, and our family's and friends got along great! I am so thankful to have a fiance that puts up with my Disney obsession, and actually embraces it himself! I think we will have a very long and happy life together.

 

[rib837]

I am glad to see that you got the hats and that they were embroidered. We ended up getting ours embroidered while we were down there. I am sure that your FDH will become just as obsessed with Disney as you are. That's what happened to me.

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Hello everyone,

After much debating (between me, myself and I ) I have decided that I would really love to stay at the Yacht Club or Beach Club. I am attempting to rent a Beach Club Villia through a vacation rentals site... really hope it goes through! It will save us so much money if we can get one that way. If not, I'll just bite the bullet and go through the regular Disney Travel stuff.

So now the plan is, stay at the Beach or Yacht Club from 2/17-2/24, then be on the cruise from 2/24-2/28, then stay somewhere else 2/28-3/2. For the last two nights of the trip, I am thinking of possibly seeing how much it would be for the Polynesian, and if that is too much we'll go to a moderate. I have stayed at the POFQ and I loved it, and I am staying at POR in the new Royal Rooms this November, so I am thinking we could go to either the Carribean or Coronado since it will be another new hotel for me. Any thoughts on which is better between those two?

I took your advice rib837 and I upgraded our Dream cabin to one with a balcony. I'm sure we are really going to love it.

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Hello everyone!

First off, a big Happy 57th Birthday to Disneyland! My friend who is a cast member and working in Cars Land today get's to sport one of these beauties:

I asked her to try and grab a couple extra but who knows if she'll be able to. Speaking of her, and Disneyland, last Tuesday her, another friend and I all went to the Disney Parks for a day of fun while playing hookie from work. It was very hot and crowded, but we still ended up having a wonderful day! We even got a bit of magic... as some point we wanted to relax and take a trip around the Rivers of America on the Mark Twain. While waiting to board, Captain Dan came over to us and asked if we would like to co-captain the boat!

Of course we said yes! Next thing we knew we were being let up to the top of the boat and up a really skinny ladder into where the bells, horn and steering wheel were. It was so fun! He told us how to ring the bells and when to blow the horn... plus gave us all a chance to "steer." During the trip he would point out stuff and tell jokes, he was super nice and funny. Definitely made our day!

Here I am steering the boat (with Capt. Dan in the background):

There is Capt. Dan giving us a goodbye wave after the trip... yep we were way up there!

It definitely was such a great experience for us three! we ae acutally getting close to being in the double digits of our countdown for our quick November Disneyworld trip. If you haven't seen it already, I have a PTR going for it here - http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2923801

Back to the honeymoon trip though... today marks the 7-month mark until our trip! I am in the process of trying to book a Beach Club Studio Villa through DVCRequest. The first night of our stay is not available though, so for 2/17 we are thinking of staying at the Art of Animation resort for one night, then moving to the Beach Club for the 18-24. We have also decided that we will stay at the Coronado Springs resort for 2 or 3 nights after we get back from the cruise. I am really excited because if this all works out, I will be staying at three resorts I have never been to before!

So there's my update. Hoping to come back with good news about our hotel bookings in the next week or so!

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Hello everyone!

As of yesterday, we have all of our hotel accomodations booked for our Honeymoon!

As you can see, we are staying at the AoA for the first night, then moving to the Beach Club Villas for 6 nights. Then from the 24th-28th we'll be sailing on the Dream, followed by a 3 night stay to end our trip at Coronado Springs resort. I am so happy/excited about everything since each place we have booked I have never stayed before! Will be new for both of us!

We are going to start going over all the different dining options in the next week. I want to be ready to make our reservations as soon as we hit the 190 day mark.

Just 207 days left until the wedding! It feels like it is coming up so fast! I cannot wait.

 

[rib837]

Lindsay, I am very excited for you two. You will both have a great time on your honeymoon. Not to mention that you will enjoy having the balcony. My sister stayed at Coronado a couple months ago, and she said it was a beautiful place.

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Hello everyone!

I cannot believe it is almost September already. It seems like this year is just flying by.

We are down to a little under 6 months until the wedding/honeymoon, and I couldn't be more excited! This morning I remembered that I am able to make dining reservations, so I went ahead and did that for the pre-cruise portion of the trip. Here is what we currently have reserved:

Sunday 2/17 - Dinner at Portobello in DTD
Monday 2/18 - Dinner at 'Ohana
Tuesday 2/19 - Dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
Wednesday 2/20 - Dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant
Thursday 2/21 - None (Going to Universal that day, shhh)
Friday 2/22 - Dinner at Cape May Cafe
Saturday 2/23 - Brunch at Tusker House Restaurant; Dinner at Tony's Town Square Restaurant.

I am really excited for this! I am also stoked that we have three more days/nights after the cruise to plan for as well... any suggestions? I am thinking one night at Kona Cafe since I love that place. Probably another breakfast buffet and maybe also Hollywood and Vine. Not totally sure yet.

We have decided against the dining plan for this trip. I have had it the last few times I was there and it is really convenient, but honestly I always end up with unused credits and it is just too much food. I usually don't feel like having dessert, and I don't need a soda/juice/whatever with every meal. So it just makes more sense to not have it. Instead, we are going to load up a Disney Gift Card and use that strictly for dining, that way it will all still be pre-paid for which is my favorite part about the dining plan.

So there's my update. Since the wedding is getting closer things are becoming a bit more hectic, but I definitely have been keeping it cool and haven't had a "bridezilla" moment yet, though I'm sure it could happen.

Until next time...

 

[InNeverlandWithPan]

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I am so glad that with the Labor Day holiday this is a shorter week. I am defintiely ready for it to be the weekend again already.

So Louie and I have all of our restaurants booked for the honeymoon. Of course with there being 5+ months to go still things can change, but I am really looking forward to what we have lined up! Here is our list (I will put a star next to the ones I have never been to):

2/17 - Portobello* for dinner
2/18 - Hollywood & Vine for dinner
2/19 - 'Ohana* for dinner (I am going there this November too.)
2/20 - Be Our Guest* for dinner
2/21 - None (Universal Day)
2/22 - Cape May Cafe for dinner
2/23 - Tusker House* for brunch, Kona Cafe for dinner
2/24-2/28 - On the Disney Dream*
2/28 - Biergarten* for dinner (Louie is especially excited for this one)
3/1 - Chef Mickey's for breakfast, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater for dinner
3/2 - Grand Floridian Cafe* for dinner

That is going to be so much food! We are planning to weigh ourselves before the trip and then once we are home to see how much we gain after the total food fest we will be having. Really looking forward to it though! Next post will be our tentative touring plans for the trip... as we all know things can definitely change while you are there, but I would really like to have some kind of schedule to make sure we get enough play time and relaxation time.