For a little background, you can read this thread about the last time we attempted to take a WDW trip (January 2015) and this thread about another canceled trip (November 2014). And of course this thread about how much I love the Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party!
Who: Me (B) and my gf (M)...now wife!
What: A sort of Disneymoon, sort of Valentine's trip, sort of just-get-away trip
Where: Disney's Pop Century Resort, Epcot, and various other locations around WDW
When: February 10-14, 2015
Why: We got married! We have been too busy since the wedding to take a vacation! We need an escape!
How: By living simply and saving as much as possible, using our Target RedCard to buy gift cards at a 5% discount ($700 worth of gift cards for $665), racking up Disney Dollars with our Disney Rewards Visa, booking reasonably priced flights on Southwest (which saves us baggage fees too!), getting free tickets from a cast member, going during a non-peak time, and booking during a discount period!
M and I have been together almost eight years. She is a writer and I am an opera singer, and we are both currently substitute teachers for our "day jobs." We both grew up in Florida and went to Disney often as kids and teenagers and it's always been a special place for us. We have thought about getting married for a long time, but seeing as Florida didn't have same sex marriage until just this year we have had to wait. In July we moved to the New York area for more professional opportunities; in October we were finally able to legally say "I do" in a small, simple courthouse ceremony in New York City. (Now, of course, Florida has gay marriage but in some counties it's still a fiasco and we have other reasons for wanting to be here.)
Although we didn't really plan to go to Disney for our honeymoon, we've been extremely busy since the wedding and this is the first trip we've taken together since moving that didn't involve business and/or visiting other family. So it kind of unintentionally has become a Disneymoon! We're coming back on Valentine's Day (also unintentional!) so we get to wake up in the World that day.
On to the plans...
Tuesday, February 10
5:30am: Take an Uber from our place to EWR
6:00am: Arrive EWR, check in, deposit our bag (with DME tag!)
7:50am: Depart EWR (change planes at MSY)
2:30pm: Land MCO, find DME desk, board that motorcoach!
Afternoon: Check into POP, buy a resort mug, do some resort-hopping as time and energy permit, get to bed early and rest up for our next day
Wednesday, February 11
Morning: Get some coffee with our resort mug and head to the WDW bus from POP to Epcot
9:00am: Enter Epcot and go straight to Les Halles for breakfast
9:15-10:15am: Fastpass+ for Mission: Space
10:15-11:15am: Fastpass+ for Soarin'
11:15am-12:15pm: Fastpass+ for Spaceship Earth
12:10pm: Lunch at Spice Road Table
Afternoon/evening: Drink around the world! We will be pacing ourselves, staying hydrated, and sharing beverages at each of the countries so don't worry about us getting sick or having a major hangover!
Thursday, February 12
Morning: Sleep in, have a very light breakfast in our room, have a cup of coffee in the good old resort mug, take WDW transportation to a park then to AKL
10:50am: Breakfast at Boma
Late morning/early afternoon: Explore AKL, take WDW bus to DD, explore DD
3:00pm: Happy hour/lunch (if we can stand to eat anything after Boma!) at Crossroads at House of Blues
Afternoon/evening: Explore DD, have dinner somewhere at the world, maybe more resort-hopping, back to POP
Friday, February 13
Morning: Sleep in, have a light breakfast in our room, have some (or lots of) coffee in the resort mug, board bus to Epcot
11:30am: Lunch at San Angel Inn
Afternoon: Fastpasses TBD, Disney Visa character meet and greet, see the British Revolution
Evening: Light QS dinner
7:45pm: Check in for the Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party, consume many treats!
9:00pm: Watch Illuminations at the party, enjoy evening EMH
11:00pm: Depart Epcot, return to POP
Saturday, February 14
Morning: Sleep in, possibly a farewell/Valentine's breakfast at The Wave if we're up to it (I've been able to get day-of reservations before so we'll have to see)
11:00am: Check out, hang out at POP, keep filling and emptying that resort mug
Early afternoon: Board DME, check in (if we haven't already done check in at the resort)
4:15pm: Depart MCO (stop without changing planes at BNA)
8:50pm: Land LGA, take Uber home
Since this is our first time traveling to WDW from somewhere other than another place in Florida we are traveling differently than we have before. We are also trying to enjoy a few new experiences we've never done before (the types of things to which you say "I don't need to do this now because I live in Florida and I'll be back soon enough..."). Some of these firsts are...
I seriously CAN. NOT. WAIT.
Who: Me (B) and my gf (M)...now wife!
What: A sort of Disneymoon, sort of Valentine's trip, sort of just-get-away trip
Where: Disney's Pop Century Resort, Epcot, and various other locations around WDW
When: February 10-14, 2015
Why: We got married! We have been too busy since the wedding to take a vacation! We need an escape!
How: By living simply and saving as much as possible, using our Target RedCard to buy gift cards at a 5% discount ($700 worth of gift cards for $665), racking up Disney Dollars with our Disney Rewards Visa, booking reasonably priced flights on Southwest (which saves us baggage fees too!), getting free tickets from a cast member, going during a non-peak time, and booking during a discount period!
M and I have been together almost eight years. She is a writer and I am an opera singer, and we are both currently substitute teachers for our "day jobs." We both grew up in Florida and went to Disney often as kids and teenagers and it's always been a special place for us. We have thought about getting married for a long time, but seeing as Florida didn't have same sex marriage until just this year we have had to wait. In July we moved to the New York area for more professional opportunities; in October we were finally able to legally say "I do" in a small, simple courthouse ceremony in New York City. (Now, of course, Florida has gay marriage but in some counties it's still a fiasco and we have other reasons for wanting to be here.)
Although we didn't really plan to go to Disney for our honeymoon, we've been extremely busy since the wedding and this is the first trip we've taken together since moving that didn't involve business and/or visiting other family. So it kind of unintentionally has become a Disneymoon! We're coming back on Valentine's Day (also unintentional!) so we get to wake up in the World that day.
On to the plans...
Tuesday, February 10
5:30am: Take an Uber from our place to EWR
6:00am: Arrive EWR, check in, deposit our bag (with DME tag!)
7:50am: Depart EWR (change planes at MSY)
2:30pm: Land MCO, find DME desk, board that motorcoach!
Afternoon: Check into POP, buy a resort mug, do some resort-hopping as time and energy permit, get to bed early and rest up for our next day
Wednesday, February 11
Morning: Get some coffee with our resort mug and head to the WDW bus from POP to Epcot
9:00am: Enter Epcot and go straight to Les Halles for breakfast
9:15-10:15am: Fastpass+ for Mission: Space
10:15-11:15am: Fastpass+ for Soarin'
11:15am-12:15pm: Fastpass+ for Spaceship Earth
12:10pm: Lunch at Spice Road Table
Afternoon/evening: Drink around the world! We will be pacing ourselves, staying hydrated, and sharing beverages at each of the countries so don't worry about us getting sick or having a major hangover!
Thursday, February 12
Morning: Sleep in, have a very light breakfast in our room, have a cup of coffee in the good old resort mug, take WDW transportation to a park then to AKL
10:50am: Breakfast at Boma
Late morning/early afternoon: Explore AKL, take WDW bus to DD, explore DD
3:00pm: Happy hour/lunch (if we can stand to eat anything after Boma!) at Crossroads at House of Blues
Afternoon/evening: Explore DD, have dinner somewhere at the world, maybe more resort-hopping, back to POP
Friday, February 13
Morning: Sleep in, have a light breakfast in our room, have some (or lots of) coffee in the resort mug, board bus to Epcot
11:30am: Lunch at San Angel Inn
Afternoon: Fastpasses TBD, Disney Visa character meet and greet, see the British Revolution
Evening: Light QS dinner
7:45pm: Check in for the Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party, consume many treats!
9:00pm: Watch Illuminations at the party, enjoy evening EMH
11:00pm: Depart Epcot, return to POP
Saturday, February 14
Morning: Sleep in, possibly a farewell/Valentine's breakfast at The Wave if we're up to it (I've been able to get day-of reservations before so we'll have to see)
11:00am: Check out, hang out at POP, keep filling and emptying that resort mug
Early afternoon: Board DME, check in (if we haven't already done check in at the resort)
4:15pm: Depart MCO (stop without changing planes at BNA)
8:50pm: Land LGA, take Uber home
Since this is our first time traveling to WDW from somewhere other than another place in Florida we are traveling differently than we have before. We are also trying to enjoy a few new experiences we've never done before (the types of things to which you say "I don't need to do this now because I live in Florida and I'll be back soon enough..."). Some of these firsts are...
- Flying to WDW
- Riding DME
- Staying at a Disney resort for more than two consecutive nights
- Buying a resort mug
- Eating at Les Halles for breakfast
- Eating at Spice Road Table
- Drinking around the world
- Eating at Boma
- Eating at San Angel Inn (first time ever for M, first time in 12+ years for me)
- Meeting characters (first time for me, first time in many years for M)
- Spending (part of) Valentine's Day in WDW
I seriously CAN. NOT. WAIT.
