Hello all! Here's the run down....
Sat 9/6 Arrived at Orlando airport at about 10pm and checked into the Hyatt inside the terminal. Had a drink in the bar and told my husband all of the little extra things I had booked for our trip in celebration of our 10-year wedding anniversary. Excited for the days ahead, we called it a night.
Sun 9/7 Headed for the Polynesian via our Disney Cruise Line transfer. Checked in at the hotel for BOTH our hotel stay and our cruise. Our room was ready so we dropped off our bags and headed to the Magic Kingdom. Wait times were very short and we often just walked right on. It rained for about 10 minutes that day and that was the only time we saw rain while we were on property. Otherwise it was blue sky and puffy white clouds the whole time. I got my first taste of a Dole Whip! I’ve never had one but with you guys raving about them so much, I figured I’d give it a try. It was so nummy!!! We dined at Tony’s Town Square that night and I had to have the spaghetti and meatballs. It was wonderful! And we shared their fabulous tiramisu, which I HIGHLY recommend. We returned to our room to find a single red rose compliments of the Polynesian in celebration of our anniversary.
Mon 9/8 Practically had Epcot to ourselves that day! We did Mission Space and Test Track right away in anticipation of crowds being bigger later in the day and walked right into the ready rooms. Did the Living Seas and Journey to Imagination before heading around the world in World Showcase. We enjoyed a FABULOUS dinner at San Angel Inn in Mexico. We will be returning to this restaurant many times in the future.
Tue 9/9 Headed for MGM. Did a several attractions like Muppets, Tower of Terror, and Animation and then had lunch at Pizza Planet. We then went on the Downtown Disney for some shopping and to exchange our Romance Plan vouchers for our Cirque du Soleil tickets for the following evening. We shared a chocolate sundae at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop. We then went to Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground for our Romance Plan champagne horse drawn carriage ride. This was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed it. Our horse, Lucky, was feeling a bit slow that day and wanted to take his sweet time. We didn’t mind at all. We headed back to the Polynesian and to Ohana, an old favorite, for dinner.
Wed 9/10 – Our 10 year wedding anniversary. We started off with some more shopping at Downtown Disney. Headed back to the Polynesian to spend our afternoon lounging by the pool. After a lunch of Mai Tais we lounged on the beach of the Seven Seas Lagoon. We then headed off to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Artist Point. We had early seating since we had Cirque du Soleil reservations and as a result, we were 1 of only 3 couples in the entire restaurant. Our meal was incredible and we were even treated to a free glass of champagne for each us. We were also presented with keepsake copies of the menu that were personalized with our names and “Happy 10 Year Wedding Anniversary from Artist Point” on them. Our meals were delivered to us by the restaurant manager himself who wished us a Happy Anniversary. Our desserts were delivered to us with Happy Anniversary written in chocolate on each plate. This was such a fantastic evening so far but I could feel a cold coming on so that did put a bit of a damper on things. After purchasing some cold medication in one of the shops, we hopped a bus from the Wilderness Lodge over to Downtown Disney for the Cirque du Soleil show. We had never seen Cirque before and were just amazed at what these people were doing. Truly incredible.
Thurs 9/11 As our bags got picked up and whisked off to the Disney Wonder, we went off to the Animal Kingdom. We spent our morning there and then took a Disney Cruise Line bus from there and off to Port Canaveral. Since we had already been checked in for the cruise at our resort, we were able to just step off the bas, go through security, and walk right on to the ship. It was such a breeze!! We arrived at our stateroom to find that our bags had beaten us there. With our Romance Plan and with other prior arrangements, we opened the door to champagne, flowers, a romantic gift basket (champagne, chocolates, and a Disney Cruise line photo album) a tray of fruit and cheese, and a tray of chocolate covered strawberries, coconut, macaroons, and other petit fors. It was quite the welcome. We make our reservations at Palo and we got in for that night. Then off to the Vista Spa and Salon to book our Romance Plan couples massage also for that night. We set sail for Nassau and enjoyed a glass of champagne with some of our treats on our balcony. We then had our massage, which was absolute heaven. The drawback was that spending about 30minutes laying on my stomach facing straight down filled my sinuses and my cold hit with full force. We dressed for our dinner at Palo, which Dan enjoyed very much. I however couldn’t taste a single thing due to my cold. I packed it in for the night at that point since I was feeling so awful. Dan wandered around and checked out the beautiful Disney Wonder.
Fri 9/12 Still feeling awful, I gave Dan a kiss on the cheek and sent him off to the Nassau shore excursion that we had prebooked. I knew I wasn’t going to get a refund on mine but I was feeling so terrible that I honestly didn’t care. I spent my morning snoozing and watching Disney movies. When Dan returned I was feeling bit better and we decided to do some shopping in Nassau. After purchasing more cold medication and a BIG box of Kleenex, we wandered around through the many Nassau shops. It rained for about an hour that day but that was all. We headed back to the ship and caught the “Hercules the MUSE-ical” show before dinner at Animator’s Palate. I was feeling much better, had regained my appetite, and could even taste my food. We really enjoyed Animator’s Palate and watching the walls turn from black and white drawings to a rainbow of color. I had lost my voice so I did have to point to my menu to order my dinner. A huge piece of cake was delivered to our table and our wait staff sang “Happy Anniversary” to us. We did some browsing in the ship’s shops before we grabbed our seats for the screening of “Pirates of the Caribbean” in the Buena Vista Theater. The place was packed! I know it was not the first time a lot of us had seen it but we took advantage of being able to see it again.
Sat 9/13 Our day at Castaway Cay dawned clear and warm. We grabbed our spots at Serenity Bay and proceeded with the day of relaxation. It’s a gorgeous island and the day was picture perfect. We rented floats and just bobbed around in the ocean. We’re both still feeling a bit of sunburn on the backs of our legs from that day but it isn’t bad at all. I sat on our balcony and watched as we cast off from paradise. A rainbow actually appeared and ended at Castaway Cay as we sailed off for home. We went off to the new show onboard called “The Golden Mickeys” which was really great. We then fought the masses of people trying to get their last few souvenirs in the ship’s shops. Dinner that evening was at Parrot Cay and we ate while listening to a steel drum band. We packed our suitcases and went to sleep wishing that the trip would never end.
Sun 9/14 Disembark the Disney Wonder and head for the airport. We cleared customs very early so we had a long wait until our 2:15pm flight home. We were very tired and I was feeling pretty nasty. So after our bus trip to the airport, we went back to the Hyatt and took advantage of their special afternoon rates for people just coming off Disney Cruise Line. We got a hotel room and crashed for nearly 3 hours! Much better than sitting in the airport chairs for that long. We got on board our flight and headed back to reality.
My ears still haven’t popped yet from the flight and my voice hasn’t really returned yet either. If I hadn’t gotten sick, it would’ve been an absolutely perfect trip. It will be all the good things that we will remember later and even with being sick, we had a blast! It is good to be home and we were greeted with happy kisses from our doggies whom we missed terribly. But it won’t be long before we start planning the next trip! And this time I’ll remember to pack the echinacea!
Sat 9/6 Arrived at Orlando airport at about 10pm and checked into the Hyatt inside the terminal. Had a drink in the bar and told my husband all of the little extra things I had booked for our trip in celebration of our 10-year wedding anniversary. Excited for the days ahead, we called it a night.
Sun 9/7 Headed for the Polynesian via our Disney Cruise Line transfer. Checked in at the hotel for BOTH our hotel stay and our cruise. Our room was ready so we dropped off our bags and headed to the Magic Kingdom. Wait times were very short and we often just walked right on. It rained for about 10 minutes that day and that was the only time we saw rain while we were on property. Otherwise it was blue sky and puffy white clouds the whole time. I got my first taste of a Dole Whip! I’ve never had one but with you guys raving about them so much, I figured I’d give it a try. It was so nummy!!! We dined at Tony’s Town Square that night and I had to have the spaghetti and meatballs. It was wonderful! And we shared their fabulous tiramisu, which I HIGHLY recommend. We returned to our room to find a single red rose compliments of the Polynesian in celebration of our anniversary.
Mon 9/8 Practically had Epcot to ourselves that day! We did Mission Space and Test Track right away in anticipation of crowds being bigger later in the day and walked right into the ready rooms. Did the Living Seas and Journey to Imagination before heading around the world in World Showcase. We enjoyed a FABULOUS dinner at San Angel Inn in Mexico. We will be returning to this restaurant many times in the future.
Tue 9/9 Headed for MGM. Did a several attractions like Muppets, Tower of Terror, and Animation and then had lunch at Pizza Planet. We then went on the Downtown Disney for some shopping and to exchange our Romance Plan vouchers for our Cirque du Soleil tickets for the following evening. We shared a chocolate sundae at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop. We then went to Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground for our Romance Plan champagne horse drawn carriage ride. This was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed it. Our horse, Lucky, was feeling a bit slow that day and wanted to take his sweet time. We didn’t mind at all. We headed back to the Polynesian and to Ohana, an old favorite, for dinner.
Wed 9/10 – Our 10 year wedding anniversary. We started off with some more shopping at Downtown Disney. Headed back to the Polynesian to spend our afternoon lounging by the pool. After a lunch of Mai Tais we lounged on the beach of the Seven Seas Lagoon. We then headed off to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Artist Point. We had early seating since we had Cirque du Soleil reservations and as a result, we were 1 of only 3 couples in the entire restaurant. Our meal was incredible and we were even treated to a free glass of champagne for each us. We were also presented with keepsake copies of the menu that were personalized with our names and “Happy 10 Year Wedding Anniversary from Artist Point” on them. Our meals were delivered to us by the restaurant manager himself who wished us a Happy Anniversary. Our desserts were delivered to us with Happy Anniversary written in chocolate on each plate. This was such a fantastic evening so far but I could feel a cold coming on so that did put a bit of a damper on things. After purchasing some cold medication in one of the shops, we hopped a bus from the Wilderness Lodge over to Downtown Disney for the Cirque du Soleil show. We had never seen Cirque before and were just amazed at what these people were doing. Truly incredible.
Thurs 9/11 As our bags got picked up and whisked off to the Disney Wonder, we went off to the Animal Kingdom. We spent our morning there and then took a Disney Cruise Line bus from there and off to Port Canaveral. Since we had already been checked in for the cruise at our resort, we were able to just step off the bas, go through security, and walk right on to the ship. It was such a breeze!! We arrived at our stateroom to find that our bags had beaten us there. With our Romance Plan and with other prior arrangements, we opened the door to champagne, flowers, a romantic gift basket (champagne, chocolates, and a Disney Cruise line photo album) a tray of fruit and cheese, and a tray of chocolate covered strawberries, coconut, macaroons, and other petit fors. It was quite the welcome. We make our reservations at Palo and we got in for that night. Then off to the Vista Spa and Salon to book our Romance Plan couples massage also for that night. We set sail for Nassau and enjoyed a glass of champagne with some of our treats on our balcony. We then had our massage, which was absolute heaven. The drawback was that spending about 30minutes laying on my stomach facing straight down filled my sinuses and my cold hit with full force. We dressed for our dinner at Palo, which Dan enjoyed very much. I however couldn’t taste a single thing due to my cold. I packed it in for the night at that point since I was feeling so awful. Dan wandered around and checked out the beautiful Disney Wonder.
Fri 9/12 Still feeling awful, I gave Dan a kiss on the cheek and sent him off to the Nassau shore excursion that we had prebooked. I knew I wasn’t going to get a refund on mine but I was feeling so terrible that I honestly didn’t care. I spent my morning snoozing and watching Disney movies. When Dan returned I was feeling bit better and we decided to do some shopping in Nassau. After purchasing more cold medication and a BIG box of Kleenex, we wandered around through the many Nassau shops. It rained for about an hour that day but that was all. We headed back to the ship and caught the “Hercules the MUSE-ical” show before dinner at Animator’s Palate. I was feeling much better, had regained my appetite, and could even taste my food. We really enjoyed Animator’s Palate and watching the walls turn from black and white drawings to a rainbow of color. I had lost my voice so I did have to point to my menu to order my dinner. A huge piece of cake was delivered to our table and our wait staff sang “Happy Anniversary” to us. We did some browsing in the ship’s shops before we grabbed our seats for the screening of “Pirates of the Caribbean” in the Buena Vista Theater. The place was packed! I know it was not the first time a lot of us had seen it but we took advantage of being able to see it again.
Sat 9/13 Our day at Castaway Cay dawned clear and warm. We grabbed our spots at Serenity Bay and proceeded with the day of relaxation. It’s a gorgeous island and the day was picture perfect. We rented floats and just bobbed around in the ocean. We’re both still feeling a bit of sunburn on the backs of our legs from that day but it isn’t bad at all. I sat on our balcony and watched as we cast off from paradise. A rainbow actually appeared and ended at Castaway Cay as we sailed off for home. We went off to the new show onboard called “The Golden Mickeys” which was really great. We then fought the masses of people trying to get their last few souvenirs in the ship’s shops. Dinner that evening was at Parrot Cay and we ate while listening to a steel drum band. We packed our suitcases and went to sleep wishing that the trip would never end.
Sun 9/14 Disembark the Disney Wonder and head for the airport. We cleared customs very early so we had a long wait until our 2:15pm flight home. We were very tired and I was feeling pretty nasty. So after our bus trip to the airport, we went back to the Hyatt and took advantage of their special afternoon rates for people just coming off Disney Cruise Line. We got a hotel room and crashed for nearly 3 hours! Much better than sitting in the airport chairs for that long. We got on board our flight and headed back to reality.
My ears still haven’t popped yet from the flight and my voice hasn’t really returned yet either. If I hadn’t gotten sick, it would’ve been an absolutely perfect trip. It will be all the good things that we will remember later and even with being sick, we had a blast! It is good to be home and we were greeted with happy kisses from our doggies whom we missed terribly. But it won’t be long before we start planning the next trip! And this time I’ll remember to pack the echinacea!