Because we Love Disney and because we love each other!-Trip Report Finished w/Video Links Updated 9/20 About This Page:

[Starla4436]

Because we Love Disney and because we love each other!-Updated 4/10

Who am I: I am Maria I am 25 and a college student going to school to be a preschool teacher. I have been to Disney 4 times staying at Caribbean Beach Resort twice, Port Orleans-riverside, and Pop Century. I just recently got married and had a wonderful honeymoon at WDW.

When: October 28-November 6 2006

Who: the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Davis (Maria and Ben)


Where: The Caribbean Beach Resort

October 28 2006-Wedding Day

I guess I should start out by saying the wedding was absolutely lovely! We had an outdoor reception on what had to be the most beautiful day of the year in Louisiana.





When I take a Disney trip I am usually a super planner and packer…but this trip was a little different because of the wedding. The day before the wedding I just threw everything I owned into a suitcase and hoped we had all we needed.



me packing on the day of my wedding

After the wedding Ben and I along with two friends (Bugsy and Benji) who were visiting from California drove to the Hotel Monteloene in New Orleans. Ben and I checked in and we all went out to dinner at a oyster bar (yummy)…we also had drink together at Pat O’Brien’s…and then two more drink at the Hotels famous Carousel bar. After that Ben and I excused ourselves for the night.



Ben and I after the wedding

The Hotel Monteleone

Ben and I atop the Montleone

October 29 2006-Travel Day, Epcot

The next morning Ben and I woke up early. Our flight to Orlando was not until around 11:50 AM so we went up to the roof top of the Montleone for some pictures. Bugsy and Benji then saw us off as we took a taxi to the New Orleans airport. Ben and I arrived at the airport about two hours or more early and thank goodness because of the next couple of event that would happen really tested us as a newly married couple.

We were sitting at the airport after an easy check in and we decided we were both really hungry…so I went in search of breakfast for both of us. I come back with two egg mcmuffin type things and as I take my first bite …I think I should take a picture of Ben and I’s glamorous first meal. Well I begin to look for my camera and It no where to be found …Ben then aggressively begins to look and he cannot find it either and then he notices he also has lost his wedding ring that had just been on his finger a minute earlier so we look around for that and cannot find it. We are now in a state of panic. I rush to the phone to call the Hotel Monteleone they have some good new that the have the camera …so I then call our friend Jake (bens best man) who lives in New Orleans to see if he could bring it to us…he agreed so one problem was solved. Ben was now at airport security to give a description of his ring (it was his grandfather’s ring so he was even more panicked about it). I began to pray and when I opened Bens carry on to get my water out of it….the ring was lying right at the bottom shining back at me. I found Ben and we celebrated and then I picked up his ring which had not been sized yet so we would not lose it again. Jake showed up about 30 minutes later with our camera and all was well.



Ben and I in the airplane! Yipeee!

We boarded the plane soon after for a quick flight over to Orlando (a little over an hour). We arrive in Orlando at about 2 PM . We were new to the Magical express but found the Magical Express section of the Orlando airport pretty easy. We had about a 30 minute wait but we were so excited because of the couple of kids around us that were about to burst. Our bus driver was very nice and knowledgeable as we rode towards Walt Disney World. Well when we finally reached the welcome sign Ben and I squeezed each others hands and smiled…it was like we had finally realized that we were coming to Disney (the wedding took a lot out of us). We dropped of people at the Beach Club and the Boardwalk…and then we had arrived at the Caribbean Beach Resort.

To be continued..What happen to service with a smile!

[buzzspal2]

Congratulations Maria & Ben [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[Starla4436]

Continued October 29-What happen to service with a smile?

Ben and I are dropped off at the Caribbean Beach resorts custom house at around 3:30 PM. There is no line so we go straight to desk where a very unenergetic,mono-toned guy told us our room was ready and gave us a packet off stuff with no explanation about the meal plan (it was our first time using it). He then told us to go wait for an internal shuttle to bring us to our room in Aruba (yeah at least I go the building I requested). We sat at the bus stop waiting for the internal shuttle …when all of a sudden a CBR employee comes over and gruffly tells us to get in the van he will drive us to our building. We get in the van and he turns his music (then new Justin Timberlake CD) really loud and then yells over it “what building are you in?” we tell him and he drives there dropping us off with no eye contact or direction on where to go. We found our room pretty quick it was facing the parking lot…but Ben and I were too exhausted to complain. We went inside and unpacked all of our clothes…I accidentally had over packed our shoes and we ended up having 10 or more pair of shoes…we laughed. We also started to call the resort The Caribbean Bi$@& resort because of the lousy service so far. Ben then went to get in the bed which was very squeaky and seemed to be broken on one side. I told him not to worry about it that we would call about it later right now we were starving so we headed out to Old Port Royale which was a really nice walk…the resort seemed empty which was creepy but also nice. We both got individual cheese pizzas at the food court and then went look at the pins in the gift shop. We both decided to hold off on the pins and to head out to Epcot.


not sure what im doing in this shot

We boarded the bus and arrived at Epcot a quick 15 minutes latter. Ben and I love Epcot so we were thrilled when we saw Spaceship Earth. We rode Spaceship earth right away and then we headed to Soarin (both firsts for us) the wait time was 60 minutes but we both decided to wait it out…and it ended up being more like a 35 minute wait. We love Soarin we both were amazed by how beautiful it was and promised each other we would ride it again before the end of the trip. We headed toward the world showcase it was about 6:30 PM by this time and the world showcase was filled with people drinking and eating at the Food and Wine Festival…we held off on trying anything because we had a 7:00 PM priority seating at Les Chefs De France.





The hostess at Les Chefs de France was wonderful. “A special table for the honeymooners” she said after congratulating us. We go a wonderful table for two right by the window overlooking the walkway of France. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly I started to feel better about the service at Disney world again. The waitress assisted us in picking out drinks, Ben had a glass of Pinot Noir and I had a champagne with black currants…both were magnificent and we toasted our first meal. The meal itself was exceptional I ordered:

Assiette de fromages de France - French imported cheese plate
Thon poelle aux olives-
Seared tuna (rare) sliced and served with olives and caper sauce, fresh greens and shoestring fries
Mango sorbet, Macaroon, and rhubarb




Everything that I ate was perfect;y delicious. I was so surprised at how high the quality of the food was…and I toasted the dining plan for being able to try all the different foods.

Bens food was also good. He Ordered:

Tartare de saumon legerement fume, sauce moutarde - Tartare of raw salmon lightly smoked with cucumber dill and honey mustard sauce
Bavette a l'echalotte grillee
Grilled flank steak with sauteed shallots and french fries

And for desert he had a chocolate tart…


Ben loved his tartare and so did I…it was superb. I loved his steak as well but he did wasn’t excited about the onion taste it had. The chocolate tart was rich but also delicious.


After dinner we strolled around France for a bit. While Ben was in the restroom I went I went the perfume shop and fell in love with this fragrance called Lolita…I bought it immediately before Ben could come back and talk me out of it. We then decided we were both beyond exhausted and decided to call it a night.






To Be continued -October 30-Where all the people?

[disneydani]

Congratulations on your marriage!
What a wonderful dinner and evening in Epcot. Hope the service issues improve for you at CBR!

[Starla4436]

October 30-Wheres all the people?

Ben and I woke up at 6 PM the next morning to get an early start for our jouney to the Animal Kingdom. We got dressed quickly grabbed our mugs and rushed off to Old Port Royale for coffee and hot chocolate. Ben and I are first confused about why its still so dark out side and the new are more confused about the fact that Old Port Royale is closed and we have not seen any people on our journey to Old Port Royale. The we both have a light bulb moment as Ben glanced at his watch. The CBR had not set there clocks back for daylight savings time do it was actually 5:30 AM. We decided to make the best of it I took pictures of Ben and of the empty resort…and then we watched the sunrise.




Before I tell you about Ben and I’s day at the Animal Kingdom I have a confession to make. Before this trip I was never a big fan of the Animal Kingdom…I thought it was a waste of a day to go to a zoo on my vacation…last time Ben and I came to WDW together we skipped the Animal Kingdom all together. Since for our honeymoon we had a lot of time I decided to go to Animal Kingdom and Ben promised me that I would love it if I gave it a chance. We arrived at opening and rushed through Asia to ride Expedition Everest (a first for both of us)…I loved it we rode it three times in a row…Bens stomach only liked it the first two times. After riding Everest we decided to take it easy. I got a snack at the Royal Anandapur Tea Company in Asia … I had the Mango Fruit Tea Freeze…it was delicious it almost replaces my love affair with the Dole Floats in Magic Kingdom (I said almost).

Me with my mango tea freeze


We decided to head out to Africa for some Safari action. There was no wait and we walked right on. I loved the safari it was absolutely amazing how excited I would get when I caught sight of an animal. The best part was seeing the lion…I actually gasped with excitement.






After the safari we took our time on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. We loved being able to use the bird guide to point out all the different birds…I swear we are not bird enthusiast are anything but we loved pretending we were.

We then went to Rafiki's Planet Watch where we met some characters, witnessed a graphic foot operation on a goat, and then went to the petting zoo. The cast member in charge of the petting zoo told us “go pet the goats its good for the soul” I was a little scared but Ben jumped right in.





To be continued October 30-Yummy Fast Food

[Starla4436]

To be continued October 30-Yummy Fast Food

Ben and I were already hungry for lunch at 10:15 PM so we went to Tusker House and waited for 10:30 for it to open. I ordered :

1/2 Rotisserie Chicken served with garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables
Carrot Cake


And Ben ordered:

Fried Chicken Sandwich - served with steak fries
Cheesecake


Ben and I were so impressed with the fast food options at Animal Kingdom. My chicken was great and the vegetables tasted so fresh.
On our way out from our half day at Animal Kingdom I ran into Brother Bear? (I guess)



After Lunch Ben and I were really tired so we went back to the CBR and took a two hour nap (the wedding was catching up with us)…we woke up and I went to the quiet pool in Aruba for a little while…Ben refused to get in because it was to cold for his blood.


We then got ready for MNSSHP...our tradition is to wear our pajamas to the party …I had bought Ben a POTC PJ set but still needed to get myself some PJ’s. We decided to go to DTD to look for some PJ’s for me but could not find any…so we decided to stop off and have a Guinness at Raglan Road.


1 Guiness

2 Guiness

3 Guiness

We headed out to EPCOT and took the monorail to the Polynesian where I found some PJ pant to match my POTC tank top. I changed in the bathroom and we headed to MNSSHP.

To Be Continued…MNSSHP Madness

[disneydani]

No wonder you were ready for lunch at 10:30...you woke up at 5:30am!!! What a wonderful morning at the AK, thanks for the great pics. Looking forward to hearing about your evening at MNSSHP.

[DyanKJ130]

Great start to your report!! I'm glad you gave AK another try. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] your photo of Hidden Mickey Island.....I think that is one of the best photos I have seen of that yet!! And you were soooo fortunate to meet Jiminy Cricket!

Sounds like a magical beginning to your honeymoon so far (minus the greeting). Can't wait to read more!

[Joy J]

I'm thoroughly enjoying your trip report! More please.

Joy

[tinksmom]

Great report! Tbanks for sharing your honeymoon with us.
tenya

[Colexis Mom]

Great updates Maria [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[PrincessSharon]

First off, congratulations! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] I'm really enjoying your TR and can't wait for more!

[jimmymac]

Congrats on your wedding! Great report so far - waiting for the next chapter [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[2princessmom]

Congrats on your wedding! Thanks for sharing your report! I love the pictures of CBR. We are headed there in 21 days. Sorry for the service though. I hope they made up for it at some point.

[ngaill]

Congrats on your Wedding!! I so want my honeymoon at WDW! Great Trip Report-keep it coming! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]