Our first trip... A Magical Honeymoon in WDW-PTR Nov 27th - Dev 4th 2010 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Our first trip... A Magical Honeymoon in WDW-PTR Nov 27th - Dev 4th 2010
Hi everyone, I’ll start by telling you a little about myself. This is my first ever trip report, so I hope you enjoy it. I’m a huge Disney fan, I even have a Minnie Mouse tattoo on my shoulder. Two weeks ago, I married the most wonderful man in the world, John. He is my Prince Charming, and we had the most beautiful wedding (outside of Disney) that anyone could ask for. We had a candle-lit service in the church I grew up in. Our parents were seated to “So this is Love” from Cinderella, and the bridal party walked to “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”. My entrance was to none other than “Beauty and the Beast”. It was the most beautiful and magical day of my life.
When we first started talking about honeymoon options a year ago, Disney was always in my thoughts, but my DH never seemed interested in theme parks, so I didn’t even suggest it. We had looked through numerous travel brochures, priced cruises, resorts in the Bahamas, a trip to Italy (my second choice, haha) and a week in the mountains. We just could not make a decision where both of us were satisfied. We both love to travel, but he’s more of a explorer of nature or party on a boat kind of person, and I’m more of a soak up some sun or spend hours in museums kind of person. We were watching Beauty and the Beast (my favorite movie) with my niece when he jokingly said to me, “Why don’t we just go to Disney?” Um, SURE!!! It’s settled. No turning back now!!
Before the day was done, I was online ready to plan. Neither of us had ever been before, so when I logged onto Disney’s site, I was a little overwhelmed by all the choices. Like a kid in a candy store I wanted to do it all…. nothing but the best for us. After all, it was our honeymoon. That was until I saw the prices. My dream honeymoon looked like it may not happen.
Determined not to let sticker shock get the best of me, I decided to start again and scale back. With so many wonderful things to do, how do you choose? I ordered some guide books and we planned to read them all to gain a little more insight before deciding.
The guide books arrived!!! I had a herniated disc in my lower back and walking long distances is painful sometimes, so I ordered a Passporter Open Mouse to help me figure out our best options. What a great book! We also ordered a WDW for Grown-ups guide and the Hassle Free WDW trip planner. All three have been indispensible. We read through all the resort descriptions and recommendations, did a little more research online, and finally picked a resort. The Port Orleans French Quarter! Whoo Hoo!!!! So excited! Now for the dates…we really wanted to just jump on a plane the morning after the wedding and spend the next week still in the wedding bubble at WDW. It was not to be so. With work obligations and predictions of funds, it was smarter for us to wait just a few more weeks and go the weekend after Thanksgiving instead. No worries! We would probably need a little time to recuperate from the insanely huge wedding we had planned. J We are now heading to WDW on Nov 27th through Dec 4th. I can’t think of a better way to start the Christmas season… A new husband and a whole week at Disney.
So now we had the when and where down, what next? We pored through all the information and jammed our poor little brains full of lingo like “ADR’s” ( How do I know what I want to eat 6 months from now?) , EMH, and the like. I was so excited, but I was still trying to plan a wedding. We booked our reservation through Mouseketrips, and the agent was great. We signed up for the DDP so we wouldn’t have to worry once we arrived. All of the restaurants sounded fantastic, so I think the hardest part of the whole planning experience was our choosing our restaurants for the ADR’s. We both love great food and great wine, so I hope we made some good choices. We got all of our restaurants at pretty much the times we had wanted. I think we did pretty well scheduling everything that far in advance.
Here’s what we chose:
Saturday –Dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s
Sunday – Dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby - YEAAAA!!!
Mon – Lunch at Yak and Yeti
Tues – Dinner at Coral Reef ( John is excited about this one J)
Wed – Character Breakfast – Donald’s Safari
Dinner at Le Cellier
Thurs – Hoop de Doo Revue (One of my guilty pleasures is dinner shows)
Fri – Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s
We plan on booking “La Nouba” tickets and a carriage ride from our resort as well. I’m looking into a couple’s massage at the Grand Floridian if there is time. Has anyone had any experiences with them?
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
When it came time to book our flight, it took a bit of careful planning. I wanted to maximize our vacation time and try to get an early flight. However, John works nights for a freight service in town, and couldn’t get the night off before we leave. We live over an hour away from the city. He’d get home from work and we’d have to immediately leave for the airport so he’d get no sleep. Bummer. But then I had a Eureka! moment. My mom lives 20 minutes from where John works, and the airport is 15 minutes away from her house. If I’m already there, he can just come over, get a nice 2 hour nap, then mom can take us to the airport. No parking fees and at least then he can get some sleep. I ran things by both him and my mom, got the green light and booked a 9:30 flight out of Memphis. We’ll be in Orlando about 2:30. He’ll probably take a nap when we get there while I explore our resort. Then we’ll head out to DTD to celebrate the first night of our honeymoon!! I cannot wait!
We got a call from the travel agent a few weeks later... Free Dining Plan!! (Whoo Hoo!) One catch, we had to switch from POFQ to POR. We had picked FQ because we had heard it was quieter, and because it was smaller, and with my back, distance mattered. My DH is from New Orleans, and I have never been, so I was excited for him to see the POFQ and maybe feel a little more at home.
We talked it over and decided to switch anyway. We can still visit the other resort, and since my back surgery this summer, I think I can handle anything Disney can throw at me… Well almost . So now we’re staying at POR hopefully in the Magnolia Bend section. The more I look into this resort, the more I think I’ll love it just as much. I gre up in Mississippi, and the mansions look just like some of the old plantation homes I remember seeing. It’ll be like a Gone with the Wind movie.. How exciting!
These plans look Great! Your wedding Looks Amazing. I better not Let my GF see this. She may get some expensive ideas.
Are you doing Mickey's Christmas Party at all?
We really really want to... I haven't bought tickets yet because I don't know if we'll have time. If we go it will be Dec 2nd or 3rd. May we'll run into you there
Ok, so the spa is out. We’re just going to book a massage when we return. We’ll probably need it by then. But I did just book our carriage ride at POR. I cannot wait! My cousins gifted this to us on our registry. I think this will definitely be one of my favorite wedding gifts. (DH is still drooling over the pool table his dad gave us).
I also made a few extra dining reservations at the 50’s Prime Time Café and at Restaurant Marrakesh. We may or may not make Marrakesh if we decide to go to the Christmas party (which I really really really want to do). I’m trying not to overdo our plans so we’re not rushing around and forget to enjoy the experiences. Everyone at work keeps giving me more great ideas and I just cannot wait to FINALLY be there!
I had the cutest shirts made up today at zazzle.com. Classic Mickey and Minnie faces kissing with “Just Married” above it!!! I’ll post pictures when they get here. They should be in on Monday, but I have not told John about them. I know he’ll look at me like I’ve lost my mind when I give him one, but I’m hoping he’ll be a good sport and wear it… just one time.
I’m getting to the point that I cannot sleep at night I’m so excited about this trip! I feel like a kid at Christmas…. One More Week!!!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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