I Love You...I Know...Wedding Planning and Star Wars Weekends May 2011

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

Day 1 – Thursday, May 19, 2011

We got to BWI around 5AM and it took until 6AM to get the shuttle, check our bag, and get through security. This was our first full body scan experience. What a hassle. After going through the scanner I had to stand there while the agent described me over a walkie. He said I was short and of normal size. Normal! Thank you 65 lb weight loss! Anyone who read my previous TRs knows I’ve been trying very hard to lose weight. On our last trip I had lost about 40 lbs and since then I’ve lost another 25 which brings my total to 65lbs!

We had a nice breakfast at McDonald's which is a tradition for us. We rarely eat fast food and it was time to indulge!

We landed at MCO and went to the magical express. We weren’t even in line 5 minutes before we got on the bus. I have never had a bad Magical Express driver. They always play up the excitement and this time our driver told us to have a magical time! The Caribbean Beach Resort is the first stop!!!

We checked in and I asked for just engaged buttons and the Cast Member gave us happily ever after buttons too! She was really sweet and congratulated us. We never ended up wearing our buttons but it was nice to have them! Our room was ready too! It was a very nice room in Aruba. Overall we were pleased with it because you couldn’t beat the free Annual Passes we got with our Disney Fairytale Wedding package and the PIN code for the room. This was the cheapest trip EVER!

I loved this picture because we just booked the WDW Radio 2.0 cruise in November 2012 on the Disney Dream!

Me in my "very fine hat" #FireflyReference

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

We made our way to EPCOT and exchanged our vouchers for Annual Passes! The Cast Member was very nice and we told her all about our plans. We're now Annual Passholders!

I had to take a picture of F&G Lotso! He actually smelled like strawberries, I don’t know why I didn’t expect it, it’s Disney after all

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

Wedding Goodies!

I made an absolute beeline for UK Lochside which is where we are having our Illuminations Dessert Party the night of our wedding. I am SO happy we picked this location. It’s perfect for 20 people and I like that it’s off the beaten path a bit so it’s more private. We made good use of our GorillaPod here!

From across the bridge:

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

We took a leisurely stroll and stopped in France for a picture with Marie.

Then we stopped for our favorite grey goose lemon slush. While we were sitting there enjoying ourselves, a guest from the UK came over to me and told me she likes my hat. She said they used to have hats like that "back in the day". I took that as the ultimate compliment because the Brits are wild over hats. I think anyone who watched The Royal Wedding knows what I’m talkin’ bout. Then her husband started up a conversation with us about how awesome EPCOT is and how they’re hooked on Soarin. They rode it 3 times that day! I love meeting nice people in WDW and sharing experiences. That happened a lot on this trip.

We walked casually a bit more and spotted Aurora so we absolutely had to get a picture.

Then we walked to Japan and saw Miyuki!

And we had sushi. We sat outside Yakitori house and watched the ducks near the waterfall. Happy place! I’m ¼ Japanese and my maternal Grandmother is from Japan. I can’t wait to bring her here for our wedding. She hasn’t been to WDW in over 10 years.

We took it pretty easy and just walked around World Showcase for a bit. We rode Maelstrom and Grand Fiesta Tour with hardly any wait.

Mmm noms

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

I thought this photo opp was too hilarious to pass up! Ageless Beauty…

My sisters are planning an Akershus Princess Breakfast for me as a Bachelorette Party the day before the wedding. It’s sure to be magical!

Mexico Donald liked my hat! I had to keep it on for this picture.

When we reached the end of WS we talked for a bit about our plans for Star Wars Weekends because I had seen a tweet that people were already lining up around 2pm. We decided to stay at EPCOT for a bit and stick with our plan to take a cab to Hollywood Studios early Friday morning. So we went and got a fastpass for Mission Space and then rode Ellen's Energy Adventure. After that we went to see what time the fastpasses were for Soarin but they were for 8pm and we knew we weren’t going to make it that long. Oh well, we'll do that another day.

We ate at Sunshine Seasons and it was unbelievably disappointing

They've changed it so much. They removed the salmon! Our dinners were very underwhelming and expensive. I don’t think we'll eat there again

We decided to go back to the room and get a good night's sleep for Star Wars Weekends on Friday. Jason called and scheduled a cab pick up for 4AM to Hollywood Studios. Yep that’s right. 4AM. We’re hardcore!

sweetpee_1993 · May 24, 2011

Yay! It's here! You started! Yaaaaaayyyy!!! :sohappy::sohappy:
...and might I add, you now hold a record of some sort for starting a TR following the actual trip...

Fashionista007 said:
Handy Cooler Personal Evaporative Air Cooler

When I found this device I didn’t really believe it. It’s not a fan. It’s an actual portable evaporative air conditioning device. Another find on Amazon.com. The reviews of it were so good I had to try it. Boy am I glad I did. This thing is quite powerful and it gets very cold. There’s a sponge that you wet and insert into the device. It evaporates the water to create cold air. It was SO much better than a fan or those water bottle fans they sell for a 500% markup We used it every single day!

O.M.G. I could :kiss: YOU!!! Now I know what to ask for for my birthday. Being as how our next trip is September and I really have had a lot of secret worries about my face melting off, this is just the thing I needed to see. I need to get like 4 or 5 of these and make a frame/rig out of a hula-hoop so I have them blowing on me from all angles. Ridiculous? Yes. Do I care? Not at all. :lol:

Fashionista007 said:
After going through the scanner I had to stand there while the agent described me over a walkie. He said I was short and of normal size. Normal! Thank you 65 lb weight loss! Anyone who read my previous TRs knows I’ve been trying very hard to lose weight. On our last trip I had lost about 40 lbs and since then I’ve lost another 25 which brings my total to 65lbs!

Way to go, girl! Biggest of congrats on the weight loss! You and your skinny-minnie self are now my inspiration!

Fashionista007 said:
I thought this photo opp was too hilarious to pass up! Ageless Beauty…

Great photo op! :lol: And I looooove your Disney Nerds gear! I'm thinking about grabbing one of the Disney Nerds lanyards of evil-bay to use for our cruise in September.

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

sweetpee_1993 said:
Yay! It's here! You started! Yaaaaaayyyy!!! :sohappy::sohappy:
...and might I add, you now hold a record of some sort for starting a TR following the actual trip...

LOL yeah using the iTripBook app on my iPhone to keep a journal every day helps. I just had to wait for the photos to upload to PhotoBucket for 3 hours haha.

sweetpee_1993 said:
O.M.G. I could :kiss: YOU!!! Now I know what to ask for for my birthday. Being as how our next trip is September and I really have had a lot of secret worries about my face melting off, this is just the thing I needed to see. I need to get like 4 or 5 of these and make a frame/rig out of a hula-hoop so I have them blowing on me from all angles. Ridiculous? Yes. Do I care? Not at all. :lol:

I highly recommend this product. Our house is lacking 1 AC unit in a room that needs it badly. I remembered that our little Handy Cooler came with a USB adaptor so I plugged it in and I'm sitting on my couch with a nice breeze. It's a tad noisy but worth it.

sweetpee_1993 said:
Way to go, girl! Biggest of congrats on the weight loss! You and your skinny-minnie self are now my inspiration!

Great photo op! :lol: And I looooove your Disney Nerds gear! I'm thinking about grabbing one of the Disney Nerds lanyards of evil-bay to use for our cruise in September.

Thank you

It's been quite a journey to say the least.

I love the Disney Nerds gear and I saw a ton more new stuff on this trip! But wedding expenses come first so I didn't buy that many souveniers. I'll save that for the Honey...er...Disneymoon!

HollyBelle · May 24, 2011

OMG!! Your excitement is contagious, Shelley! I'm loving your report already. First... welcome to annual passholder-ship. It's the best thing ever (especially when it's gifted to you by DFTW)!

I think UK lochside is the perfect dessert party location. Your view is going to be absolutely amazing. If you look at the Illuminations pictures from our pontoon boat over in my trip report, you can see UK lochside jutting out on the left hand side. Fabulous view, and even closer to the action. I'm so excited for you. :sohappy:

Fashionista007 said:
I had to take a picture of F&G Lotso! He actually smelled like strawberries, I don’t know why I didn’t expect it, it’s Disney after all

Hello, hot mama! Your waist is going to look killer in your Cindy gown. I can totally see all the effort you've put into working out. Congrats on that. And I love the hat!

foreverbelle · May 24, 2011

Love the report thus far! And what a quick turn around it hasn't even been a week. Quite impressive!

So many people on here are getting married. It is so exciting to follow all of you through your journey. I am so excited! :sohappy:And yes you better be posting a wedding report after the whole event.purty please??:sohappy:

The personal air conditioning things, you found them on amazon? I will dif have to go look for them now...it will be a great thing for our trip in July.

Sorry to hear you were disapointed in Sunshine Seasons, that is dif a bummer but I guess you can't win them all.

Well I look forward to more so bring it on!!

fractal · May 24, 2011

Love the title for your TR!

We are heading down in August so thanks for the tip on the Air Evaporator cooling thingy.

Looking forward to more good stuff!

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

HollyBelle said:
OMG!! Your excitement is contagious, Shelley! I'm loving your report already. First... welcome to annual passholder-ship. It's the best thing ever (especially when it's gifted to you by DFTW)!

Thank you so much Holly! We are so happy to be Annual Passholders. Jason asked me if we were going to continue after these expire and I was like "Duh, of course!" As long as we fit in 2 trips on 1 pass, it's worth the money.

HollyBelle said:
I think UK lochside is the perfect dessert party location. Your view is going to be absolutely amazing. If you look at the Illuminations pictures from our pontoon boat over in my trip report, you can see UK lochside jutting out on the left hand side. Fabulous view, and even closer to the action. I'm so excited for you. :sohappy:

I am in love with UK Lochside. Our wedding planner, Kathleen said she had a dessert party there. She said that the privacy is really nice but that's not what I'm so worried about. I wouldn't plan to walk through EPCOT while it's open in my wedding dress if I was concerned about privacy

We went back there on our last day and *spoiler alert* I took a little video. That will be coming up on Day 5!

HollyBelle said:
Hello, hot mama! Your waist is going to look killer in your Cindy gown. I can totally see all the effort you've put into working out. Congrats on that. And I love the hat!

Thank you! I'm afraid I'll put on a few lbs when I start working from home 100%. I need to be vigilant and exercise every day.

foreverbelle said:
Love the report thus far! And what a quick turn around it hasn't even been a week. Quite impressive!

So many people on here are getting married. It is so exciting to follow all of you through your journey. I am so excited! :sohappy:And yes you better be posting a wedding report after the whole event.purty please??:sohappy:

The personal air conditioning things, you found them on amazon? I will dif have to go look for them now...it will be a great thing for our trip in July.

Sorry to hear you were disapointed in Sunshine Seasons, that is dif a bummer but I guess you can't win them all.

Well I look forward to more so bring it on!!

Haha it hasn't even been 24 hours! We got home last night @2AM. That reminds me, I'm due for a nap...

Of course I'll post a wedding report! It's sure to be a long one because I'll probably journal every single feeling I have during the whole experience. I wish I could put feelings in a bottle and inject them into myself when I'm feeling bad. I guess that's what the pictures and TRs are for

Hmm maybe I should write to the folks over at Handy Cooler and try to get a commission! I'll bet I could walk around the parks and sell those puppies pretty well. If only that were allowed...

I'm really very heartbroken over Sunshine Seasons. That was our favorite QS back in 2009. I think we ate there 3 or 4 times on that trip. Last trip was underwhelming and this trip was a pure disappointment. It tasted like cafeteria food at the local hospital. Bleh. Oh well there are plenty of other good locations.

fractal said:
Love the title for your TR!

We are heading down in August so thanks for the tip on the Air Evaporator cooling thingy.

Looking forward to more good stuff!

Haha I was waiting for someone to comment about the title. I told Jason I was going to use it on our first day

Again I need to look into some sort of commission or affiliate program on the Handy Cooler! You won't be disappointed, trust me!

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

Day 2 – Friday, May 20, 2011

I got up at the crack of 3AM and we were out the door a few minutes before 4AM. Our cab was right there and ready for us which we really appreciated. We appreciated it so much that we gave the driver a 100% tip which I’m sure he appreciated

Unfortunately our efforts were not enough to grab fast passes for Anthony Daniels because his line was already cut off

We were both incredibly disappointed. We got in line for Ashley Eckstein instead. We struck up some conversations with the surrounding nerds so the time passed pretty quickly.

They opened the gates around 6:15AM and herded us backstage where we stood in line some more.

I’m an Annual Passholder!

We were in the park by 6:30AM. It was pretty packed already. We were greeted by some Storm Troopers and Bobo Fett.

I tried to get Jason and a Storm Trooper but this was the best I could do:

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

As we walked up the street I shot a little video of the experience. We were luckily some of the first in the park because we were in the top 10 for Ashley Eckstein. Just imagine all the hundreds who piled in after us. It was a madhouse!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSxL2I5xiXQ

We were herded to Star Tours and I didn’t even stand in line for 10 minutes before I got our fast passes for our first tour to endor! Excited! We were guaranteed to ride Star Tours 2.0 on opening day! EPIC!

We hung around a bit in the area for some photo opps:

After that the crowd scattered and the rides were actually open. We were starving because we forgot to bring our snacks so we went to sunset blvd to get some breakfast sandwiches at Fairfax Faire. Best idea ever! It was so good. I had scoped it out using the free Disney dining app on my iPhone. I love that app, it lists every restaurant including their menu and prices! It’s incredibly useful.

We passed by the stage and OMG there was George Lucas! The rumors were true! SQUEE!!!!!!! Then I heard people saying that Bob Iger was going to be there too! Pinch me I must be dreaming….

We walked around for a bit and saw a short line for pictures of the dark lord of the sith himself.

This made me happy because I was wearing my Vader and Leia shirt titled "Daddy's Little Girl". I got this shirt from Ashley Eckstein’s website, HerUniverse.com. It made for a cute picture!

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

We walked some more and saw the ridiculous line extension they had in place for Star Tours 2.0. Good thing we had our fastpasses!

It was after 8AM by that point so we decided to scope out a spot for the ribbon cutting ceremony. We found a nice bench over near dockside diner and plopped down. We sat there for 2 hrs only to be overrun by rude people just minutes before the show. We were upset but we could still see the middle of the stage so I guess it wasn’t so bad.

Nice parenting. Pff. This kid climbed over the railing and sat on this electrical box right in front of me. A bit later his sister stood to his left right in front of my face. Sigh. I wish I were taller than 5'2". Maybe if I lose a bit more weight Jason can carry me on his shoulders LOL.

The show was awesome and we were in awe of George Lucas and Bob Iger. I wish we had gotten a spot so we could take pictures. Those spots were already taken by 8AM though. Some people staked their spots right when the park opened at 6:30AM. Now that’s hardcore.

The best part of the show was definitely Bog Iger and George Lucas coming out with lightsabers to battle the darkside. I think I may have teared up a bit

It was the most epic thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. I found a great video of it on YouTube and I’m sure I’ll collect more for my playlist!

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PL72776952246F5AF8

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

After the show we meandered around for a bit. We walked through One Man's Dream. I liked the updates to this but did they update the movie too? I feel like it used to have more about Walt's death.

I got a picture of the programming behind the first mini animatronic. I’m a software developer so for me this was true Geekdom!!

I was a bit hungry by then so I decided my lunch would be a carrot cake cookie!

We got jason a turkey leg a bit later.

There was a startours2live.com meetup @1PM so we decided to check that out. We got to meet and chat with Matt Hochberg which was awesome. He’s very nice and introduced himself to us. We were sort of standing off to the side awkwardly because we really didn’t know what to do. It was our very first meet. We took a group picture which I will cherish forever. I wish we could’ve stayed longer but it was time to go cash in our fast passes for Star Tours 2.0!

We struck up a conversation with a father and son in line behind us. The dad was a collector and was totally geeking out over the pins he got. I told him and the Cast Member that we planned our entire trip around this ride and this moment. I got picked to be the rebel spy! It was magical

The ride was awesome and the 3d effects were great. Unfortunately this was the only ride for this trip. The crowds were too much on the other days and there was so much else to experience! We’ll be back in September though!

We had our fast passes for Ashley Eckstein @3pm so we walked around for a bit on the streets of america and watched mulch sweat and shears. They’re awesome!

I took some pictures of the San Francisco façade because I was there just a few weeks ago for a job interview. It was my first time crossing the golden gate bridge and I get to go back for training next month! You all know what else is in San Francisco right? The Walt Disney Family Museum! I start the new job next week and while we were on our trip I negotiated the contract. I’m such a grown up!

We got in line to meet Ashley and she was so sweet! She said she liked my shirt and I told her how much I appreciated her clothing line and accessories HerUniverse.com. I get compliments on them all the time! We took a picture and I told her that she was a wonderful positive role model for girls. She said that she takes being a role model very seriously especially with young girls.

Then it was Jason’s turn and he told Ashley that we were having a Disney Wedding and she said she had a Disney Wedding too. I actually knew that already from a WDWRadio interview. She got married at the Yacht Club and she had a churro cart at the reception.

That was the end of our day, we were pretty tired by then so we went back to nap. We had been @ Hollywood Studios for 12 hours! This was the longest I had ever stayed in a park and the earliest I’ve ever been to a park. We needed sleep.

Fashionista007 · May 24, 2011

We got up around 6PM and went to the Magic Kingdom to catch The Magic, The Memories, and You (furthermore known as MMY) and Wishes.

First we ate @ Columbia Harbor House, yum!

My dinner was great but unfortunately Jason did not like his shrimp. He said it was mushy. We were not having luck with Quick Service locations on this trip so far.

MMY is so much better in person! I cried like a baby! We noticed so many more things that we couldn’t see on YouTube! We stood behind a very dear older couple and struck up a conversation. They were getting ready to drive to MA so they were driving through Baltimore. They said they would think of us when they drove through

We skipped Main Street Electrical Parade and rode rides instead. We did Pirates (had to do this on the opening day of the movie), Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion (sweet queue and hitchhiking ghosts updates), It’s A Small World (never again), Peter Pan’s Flight (we kissed as we flew over London…awwww), and Winnie The Pooh.

That was it for the night. The park was closing so we got a popcorn bucket and coke and relaxed for a minute at our favorite yellow and white tables near the ice cream parlor. By happy accident, we ended up seeing the kiss goodnight! It was the first time for both of us. It was the perfect end to a magical day!

Rach&Eric · May 24, 2011

Yay, I am loving your TR and your pics are awesome!!!! Can't wait for more :sohappy:

PolynesianPrincess · May 24, 2011

Fashionista007 said:
MMY is so much better in person! I cried like a baby! We noticed so many more things that we couldn’t see on YouTube! We stood behind a very dear older couple and struck up a conversation. They were getting ready to drive to MA so they were driving through Baltimore. They said they would think of us when they drove through

I wasn't too enthused with seeing MMY when we were there 3 weeks ago but I'm soooo glad I did. It was so cool. And I teared up as well (as I do during Wishes, Fantasmic and Spectro lol)
I'm excited to ride 2.0 when we go again in November!
Congrats on joining the Annual Pass Club

I will be joining soon as well, though you got a better deal on yours than I will on mine:lol:

HollyBelle · May 24, 2011

Fashionista007 said:
We walked some more and saw the ridiculous line extension they had in place for Star Tours 2.0. Good thing we had our fastpasses!

OMG!

Did they actually fill this queue? That is INSANE! Talk about hardcore.

I Love You...I Know...Wedding Planning and Star Wars Weekends May 2011

Fashionista007

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Fashionista007

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Fashionista007

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sweetpee_1993

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Fashionista007

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HollyBelle

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foreverbelle

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fractal

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Fashionista007

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Fashionista007

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Fashionista007

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Fashionista007

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Rach&Eric

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HollyBelle

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