'Moon over the World: Our Dream Disneymoon (Dec. 16-23, 2010) Trip Report - COMPLETED!! 1/16 About This Page:

[mpwife153]

I am so glad I stumbled upon your TR! I Disneymooned too & it was wonderful! Nacrossees is our Fav spot for dinner (& I agree about how romantic it feels)! We do it everytime we go to WDW.

My first time at Les Chefs was less than impressive, BUT when I returned this past April it was wonderful! Try Wolfgang Puck Express next time. The food is delish & you get a ton for it being a counter service (I would totally use a credit for it while on the DxDP b/c the quality & quantity are equal to a TS).

both your pics & the photopass pics you posted!

Looking forward to hearing more!!

[tdhc]

Got all caught up. Thanks for sharing!

[KMB733]

Great updates!!! Sounds like you had a could of wonderful meals!!

[lazanya]

Great updates!

[Jessie092408]

Sorry you didn't feel like your Le Cellier meal was what it should have been. We ate there on our anniversary in September and loved it. Maybe the chefs were just overzealous with the salt shakers that day. Still loving your TR! It's making me excited for my next trip.

[MelissaSue]

Originally Posted by tdhc

Got all caught up. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading!

Originally Posted by Cam22

Lots of wonderful meals in these updates!

Thanks, Cam! Wish I had taken photos of the food. Next time!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

More great updates! What great eats you've had! Sorry about the crowds!

Thanks, Marnie!! We'll know better than to go the couple of days before Christmas next time for sure!!

Originally Posted by chezp

You have had some wonderful meals! Sorry about the crowds...

Thanks, Cheryl!

Originally Posted by mpwife153

I am so glad I stumbled upon your TR! I Disneymooned too & it was wonderful! Nacrossees is our Fav spot for dinner (& I agree about how romantic it feels)! We do it everytime we go to WDW.

Hi Heather!! I am glad you stumbled upon me, too!! We're definitely going back to Narcoossee's for our anniversary dinner ... CAN NOT WAIT!! Can you link me to your Disneymoon TR?

Originally Posted by mpwife153

Try Wolfgang Puck Express next time. The food is delish & you get a ton for it being a counter service (I would totally use a credit for it while on the DxDP b/c the quality & quantity are equal to a TS).

We will do that! I would never had considered doing his QS restaurant, but you make a compelling argument!

Originally Posted by mpwife153

both your pics & the photopass pics you posted! Looking forward to hearing more!!

Thanks, Heather!! I am just finishing up the final installments!!

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

Yum! What a great update! I love Kona for breakfast, but have yet to try Tutto Italia! I think we might add it for lunch on our June trip.

You should totally give it a shot!! Very delicious -- the food and the waiters!!

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

My December trip will probably be the week before Christmas again ... I'm going to book my DVC stay for the week before Christmas this month--put in a request off and once again volunteer to work the holidays.

Heather, too bad--it sounds like we won't be crossing paths in 2011! But I will be watching your Trip Report and photos with envy!!

Originally Posted by Jessie092408

Sorry you didn't feel like your Le Cellier meal was what it should have been. We ate there on our anniversary in September and loved it. Maybe the chefs were just overzealous with the salt shakers that day. Still loving your TR! It's making me excited for my next trip.

Thanks, Jessie!! As soon as I am done with this TR, I am going to go back and read yours!

Originally Posted by dwonderz

Just got caught up! Sounds like you had some great restaurant stops on your trip! Can't wait to hear more! Very excited to hear more!

Thanks! So happy to be able to share.

Originally Posted by bsblady01

more please

Happy to oblige, Heather!! The final installments are coming up ...

[MelissaSue]

We woke up groggy and found our Magical Express tickets hanging on our door. Sad, we headed out and around to The Wave for breakfast. We’d made reservations for their first seating of the morning. In addition to their usual a la carte menu, they were also serving a full buffet to service the Christmas crowds.

We opted to go for the printed menu, and we started the morning with a Mega-Berry Smoothie for me and a big, tall chocolate milk for Rob. He also ordered the multi-grain waffle with fruit compote and chicken sausage. I ordered the signature sweet potato pancakes with pecan honey butter and chicken sausage.

Unfortunately, the chicken sausage was NOT the same as the sausage we’d had earlier in the week at Kouzzina. They were fine for chicken sausage, but not nearly as good as Cat Cora’s. The waffle had a nice chew to it, and the pancakes were just so amazing. I’d order them again and again and again. (2 credits: $32.05)

Full and ready to face our room, we headed back to pack—basically, we got everything organized and only left the stuff we’d need for the next 24 hours unpacked. Once we finished that, we felt sort of weary, so we took a quick nap. We woke up a little before noon, then headed to the Contempo Café for lunch.

First, we heated up our leftovers: cannelloni from Tutto and white pizza from Via Napoli. Both reheated beautifully. We also ordered a steakhouse salad, which came with a couple of flatbreads, so we made little wraps with steak, goat cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. For our drink, we split a smart water (and filled our mugs) and for dessert we had a black forest cupcake. (1 credit: $15.18)

From there, we headed right into the Magic Kingdom, where our first stop was a photo with Pinocchio. He’s my mom’s favorite, and she’d been on our cases to get a photo with him all week!

After that, we spent most of our day in Tomorrowland. We rode the Peoplemover twice as well as the Space Ranger Spin. We also enjoyed The Laugh Floor (which was much more interactive than we thought it would be!) and the Carousel of Progress (which had a lot more ‘riders’ than we thought it would). At some point, we were able to score the last Fast Passes of the day for Space Mountain.

At one point, we headed over to the Toontown Fair, where we had some fun touring Mickey’s Country House. (I wonder if Mickey knows that this is his last Christmas in his country house?!?) Unfortunately, Minnie’s house had a line out the door all day, so we skipped that. We also met with Mickey and Minnie in the Judge’s Tent—the line was only about 30 minutes long, and the interaction was great.

We rode the railroad around the park and we also rode the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We had Dole Whip Floats in there at some point and enjoyed the Hall of Presidents show (now with Obama). Dole Whips, by the way, are no longer a secret, if they ever were. The line stretched nearly to the Swiss Family Treehouse on a very cold day. We waited in the line and so did everyone else in the park. WORTH IT.

Basically, we trod all over the park in an unorganized fashion. The park was really, really crowded, but we rolled with it and just kind of did whatever we wanted.

Around 8, we snuck out of the park and headed back to the Contemporary for our reservation at California Grill. This was, hands down, the most overrated and unimpressive meal of our entire trip.

First, the place was packed literally to the gills. There was nothing special or romantic about the restaurant itself or being whisked up to the top of the tower. It was all crying babies and adults in ratty tee shirts. Nothing against babies or tee shirts, but it wasn’t what I was expecting, especially after Narcoossee’s.

The food, too, disappointed me. It started before we even ordered: they had NO sparkling wine by the glass on the menu. And the cheapest bottle for offer was $60—something from Sonoma, and the menu didn’t even list whether it was a Brut or Blanc de Blanc. What’s that about? Disappointing!

On to apps. I had the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli, which I swear tasted like vomit. Rob had the sucking pig flatbread, which was topped with apple butter, cheddar, onions and pig cracklins. He really didn’t enjoy it. The flavors were unbalanced, and the apple butter dominated.

For entrees, Rob had seared scallops, which were perfectly cooked, that came with a puree of root vegetables and bacon. He enjoyed the entrée—he said he wished he could have ordered it “to go” because the place really was a mad house.

I had the signature grilled pork tenderloin with polenta and mushrooms. The pork was delicious and well seasoned, but the polenta and mushrooms were over salted. Rob enjoyed it, especially the polenta, but agreed that eating a whole plateful of it would be much.
Shortly after our entrée plates were removed, Wishes began. We watched from our table, which wasn’t the best view, but seemed preferable to jockeying for space in front of the big window.

Toward the end of the show, I started to feel a little queasy. Maybe a week’s worth of rich, fattening foods finally catching up to me? Maybe just total and utter exhaustion?

I asked Rob to have my dessert boxed up and I headed out early, effectively abandoning him AND sticking him with the check. He hung back and finished his dessert, a pecan tart with vanilla ice cream. He enjoyed it, but he thought the crust was too think and not cooked all the way through.

Knowing how much I love cheese plates, he ordered that as my dessert and had them wrap it up. We ate it the next morning. We liked the bleu as well as the cow milk cheese from the Netherlands. (4 credits: $129)

I walked back to the room and lay down with my feet up. And then I immediately felt better. By the time Rob got back to the room, I was already mostly asleep, so that was the night. We never did get back into the park for Space Mountain.

Actually, the whole trip, we didn’t ride any of the “big three” roller coasters in Magic Kingdom, but neither of us really minded. We had so much fun.

[MelissaSue]

Woke up around 7:30 and wandered over to The Wave in our PJs for our last breakfast. Again, they offered us the buffet, and even though we’d had an excellent a la cart meal the day before, decided to give it a shot. It was good, but nothing to write home about. I’d recommend sticking to the menu. (2 credits: $44.38)

I also had a smoothie again—I love those things! And we both took some OJ to-go … which we promptly used to make last-morning mimosas using the champagne we’d purchased on our first day in the World! While we got ready to go and packed up the rest of the room, the mimosas made everything seem much less sad. We ate the Cali Grill cheese plate with the mimosas.

We spent our last snack credits (I think we ended up with six) on some rice crispies treats and sugar cookies for our brothers and sisters. And we cashed in our arcade points onto a playing card, even though we wouldn’t have time to use it. Hopefully the points don’t expire and we’ll be able to either use them or give them to someone else next year. (Anyone know if the card will stay “good” until we return?)

We were on the bus by 9:30am, and we made it to the airport in about an hour. We shopped a bit in the Disney Store, the Universal Store and Borders before going through Security. In the terminal we had some lunch (a sandwich from Panera for Rob and a smoothie from Freshens for me) and then we were homeward bound … well, bound for my parents’ home, at least.

[MelissaSue]

This was my first trip without my parents along, and it was Rob's first trip without his parents along, so we learned quite a bit. Here's some of the stuff we'd do again:

Planning & Getting Around the Parks
I know a lot of you carry the Passporter into the Parks, but I didn't want to lug it around so a well-organized approach was necessary for keeping track of all of our ADRs, must-dos and appointments.

I bought a pack of notecards that fit into my park bag, and I wrote everything on them. Each day had several different cards: one was an overview with all of our appointments, one was a list of must-do rides and snacks we wanted to try, one was ADRs with the reservation number written out and one had suggestions about how to get from place to place. It was awesome to reach into my bag, pull out the cards and know the answers to any questions that came up.

Which brings me to the park bag--get a good one and pack it well. It made my life so much easier to know where everything was. By the second day, I was reaching into the bag without even looking because I knew where everything was.

I bought a baggallini triple zip bag, and it was PERFECT for my notecards, KTTW card, ID, park map chapstick, stain stick, antibacterial wipes, ibuprofen, tissues, allergy pills, camera and cell phone.

For park map, I LOVE the passporter maps. I think they're WAY MORE DETAILED that the WDW versions. I'd recommend using those. In fact, I ripped mine out of the passporter so we could carry them around with us.

Packing and Washing
Pack light but make sure you have extra socks. You really won't need as much as you think.

Bring an extra pair of sneakers. You will thank me.

Try to do your laundry at an ungodly early hour. I had to do mine around 6am. Every other time I tried, there were 3 or 4 other people in there. At 6, I was able to take up three machines with no problem.

Buy Purex Complete 3-in-1. This was the best tip I received, and I am passing it along. The sheets are detergent, softener and anti-static all in one sheet. You just throw it in with the wash, move it over to the dryer with the clothes and that's it. It's a breeze to transport them.

Your Resort
Get the list of upcoming events when you check in and read it! We discovered a very cool beer tasting at the Contemporary. We also caught a very cool bell choir in the Wilderness Lodge because we stopped to get a list of events there, too.

If you're staying at a resort that has more than one building or if you're far from the hotel's dining hall, get the mugs. We were in the garden wing, about a 4-6 minute walk from the Contemporary's CS location. We filled them whenever we went through the main building, and we really, really appreciated the mugs when we were thirsty in the evening.

Transportation
Experiment with different ways to get from place to place. A few times, we challenged ourselves--get home without going through the T&T Center. Or get home without getting on a bus. I love the transportation system at Disney. We met the best people while on the bus, boat, monorail and dock. Plus it's a great way to see the property!

[MelissaSue]

This trip was totally, completely magical. And, as I alluded to before, we are going back next year!! Because we decided to buy into Bay Lake Tower!!! YAY!!! After going through the details, Rob was sold on DVC, so when we return, we’ll be going HOME!!

Right now, we’re thinking about taking TWO four-day trips next fall: one in October and one in December. In October, we’ll be celebrating our anniversary AND Food and Wine (hopefully at the Boardwalk Inn). In December, we’ll be celebrating Mousetacular (Hopefully at the Wilderness Lodge).

We’re also planning an additional trip for January 2013—a graduation gift to my baby sisters (twins who are 10 years younger than me). They’re so excited, we’re so excited and we really couldn’t be happier with the decision to make Disney World our second HOME.

But, right, THIS trip … You probably noticed that I’ve been tracking meal credits and food cost. Going into this, I was certain we’d “beat the system” by using the deluxe dining plan and a carefully booked flight of ADRs, so I did keep pretty careful track of what we spent where.

Based on things I’ve read, the deluxe plan costs $71.99 per person, per day. By that math (without thinking about the snack credits at all), each meal credit is worth about $24. We started with 42 credits, meaning that we had to spend $1008 to break even, more than that to “do well.”

By my math, we spent about $1,485 for the week. I don’t know if that number is 100% accurate—I think some of my figures included incidentals that were NOT included in the dining plan, like a glass of champagne with dinner or a cup of coffee with dessert. Even considering that (subtract $200, even) it seems like we did well for ourselves.

So we came out “ahead” with the dining plan, but in the future, I think we will definitely not use the deluxe dining plan. It was an awesome experience, but it was, without a doubt, too much food. We managed to eat about 90% of it, but we probably shouldn’t have. We felt bloated and unhealthy by the time we left Disney World, and that’s not how you want to feel after vacation!

Though we had to literally roll ourselves onto the plane, we still had an AMAZING time.

Rob says his favorite ride was Everest, but he loved Soarin because it was so relaxing. His best memory from the trip is coming into Epcot on our first day—our feet didn’t hurt, and we were both so happy to be there. Magic moments.

I think my favorite ride was Journey Into the Imagination, just because it has such power in my mind from my childhood. It brought back a lot of warm fuzzies for me. Although I do agree that Soarin is pretty much the most relaxing thing ever.

We both also fondly remember when the Spectacle of Dancing Lights flipped on and everyone started singing along with the music. That was a very magical moment of togetherness and holiday spirit that we won’t soon forget.

My favorite memory from the trip is all of the people we met, from the cast members who gave us marriage advice to the visitors like us, especially the two men we rode on the monorail with on Tuesday night. We had a great conversation about the Polynesian and Vinylmation. I felt really connected to them, instantaneously, as well as to the many other folks we met on the trip, like the two young girls who talked my ear off on the docks outside of Hollywood Studios. For me, those little sparks of fellowship from our fellow travelers was the best part.

Disney World is a magical place, and I can’t wait to go back! And I can’t imagine planning future trips without my trusty Passporter and Passporter friends.

[dwonderz]

Great Report!! I'm so glad you're trip was great!! Sounds like you had a blast!!

We might be seeing you at Mousetacular if we book !

[elbodans]

i just found this trip report, and i thought you should know that my husband has been waiting for me to start dinner for over an hour (it is now 8:12pm) because i've read ALL of it. fantastic! i love that it is from a couple's perspective (we don't have children), and that despite the ups and downs (downs--rain, blisters, crowds) you still had an amazing, magical honeymoon. but above all of that, i love that you are woman after my own heart--you've included so many food details! i was literally salivating at your description of kouzzina for breakfast (and sad that i won't be able to fit it in for either of my upcoming trips...drat!) AND to top it all off, you answered the question i was asking myself all along--did the dining plan work out? i loved your parenthetical points/dollars notes, and the bit at the end with the breakdown saved me from having to do the math myself (and further delaying my poor starving husband's dinner!) thanks so much for this trip report--and congratulations on both your marriage and your DVC purchase! after five years of marriage, while i love my husband dearly, i honestly am more excited for you about the latter!

may you both have a life together as magical as your honeymoon.

[Cam22]

Great final day at WDW! Sorry that Cali Grill was such a disappointment. Great tips and wrap up, too! for sharing your honeymoon adventures at WDW with us!

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry CG was a disappointment and you weren't feeling well! Otherwise it sounds like a great last day! Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us!

[mcc0313]

Melissa, I really enjoyed your TR. I just read it straight through and what a wonderful time you both had. I loved all your meal reviews, I was very excited about your Via Napoli review as I am headed there in three weeks

Congratulations on your DVC purchase. I am looking forward to hearing all about your future trips.