16 Days of Disney! A Wedding and Disneymoon Trip Report!

Introduction

Welcome to my Disney World Wedding and Disneymoon trip report! For the full pre-trip report, click here.

I’ve decided to start by introducing…

The Full Cast

First (copypasta!) there’s me:

24 year old, prior-Air Force, college student with a possibly unhealthy love for Disney and Disney World in particular. This makes my fourth trip to Disney World since my very first trip in 2009.


Coda:

27 year old merchant marine. This is his second trip to Disney World.


Coda’s twin (yep, twin, honestly) brother, Levi, and his girlfriend, Carolyn:

Levi's first (and only) trip was in 2010, and Carolyn hasn't been since she was a kid.


My mom, dad, and my brother, Michael:

This is everyone's first trip!


Coda’s mom and sister, SuHana:
Apparently we have absolutely no pictures of Coda's mom... So this is Coda and SuHana.

Also their first trip.


Our friend, Reuben and his son, Cy:

Yep, their first trip too!


Wow! Can I just say that I will never bring this many people to Disney World (or anywhere else, for that matter) EVER again! Levi and Carolyn joined us from December 15th – 22nd, and they were great! Reuben and Cy were there from the 16th – 22nd, but man, they were a handful. My family and Coda’s mom and sister arrived on the 20th and left on the 22nd and that was complete madness. I promise, we’ll get to that.


The Plan

This trip was supposed to be completely stress free! Key word here is “supposed”. Shockingly, it was not.

We ended up arriving a day early on the 14th. The first few days were mainly for Coda to spend time with his brother and friend Reuben. Coda’s brother, Levi, lives in Alaska (for those of you who are geographically challenged, that is many miles from North Carolina), and they hadn’t seen each other in over a year. The 20th through the 22nd were days to spend with family and, most importantly, get married. Finally, the 23rd through the 29th was our honeymoon. Again, supposed to be stress- and drama-free…

Oh, there was also much consumption of Disney food planned.

Next up: How things actually played out.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

That was very sweet of the gentleman to give you all those credits but a little awkward conversation. Maybe it's therapeutic for him. You'd think he would have had concierge help him with some ADRs. Not to mention cupcake heaven with all those snack credits. I would have gone into sugar shock! Those watches are very pretty/handsome!

 

[rufio]

Awesome score on the free meals and snacks! Too bad it was awkward, but I think I would have sat through it for the freebies! Beautiful watches! Those are really sharp looking! We love dinner at Boma too. We haven't been there for breakfast yet, but LOVE dinner! I feel the same about the Zebra Domes. They are ok, but I liked the bread pudding they had much better!

Haha! Yeah, the free snacks were definitely worth it! I can't have bread pudding, but the peanut butter things (whatever they were) were out of this world!

That was very sweet of the gentleman to give you all those credits but a little awkward conversation. Maybe it's therapeutic for him. You'd think he would have had concierge help him with some ADRs. Not to mention cupcake heaven with all those snack credits. I would have gone into sugar shock! Those watches are very pretty/handsome!

Yes, it was! He said he didn't have any desire to make reservations, he would rather just go as he pleased. I have never been sick from too much sugar! Bring it on!

 

[rufio]

Day Thirteen

We woke up at 10:30 to an overcast sky and a savannah full of critters.

Epcot was the first stop of the day and by the time we got there it was raining. I had come prepared with my one-person umbrella, but Coda had left his rain gear in the room. Too bad! We high-tailed it to France to grab a late breakfast/early lunch. I got a vegie quiche, thinking I’d give it another try, and Coda got the turkey and brie sandwich thing. I truly don’t remember what dessert was, and for that I am truly embarrassed. It was pouring rain so outdoor seating was out of the question. We went inside the shop next door where the indoor seating used to be. Guess what – not a chair in sight. I really can’t understand why the new bakery and seating was not opened in time for the Christmas and New Year’s rush. There were people sitting everywhere on the floor to stay dry while eating their lunch. To make matters worse, this quiche was as bad as the last one. It was the consistency of wet scrambled eggs. Oh well. I hope the new bakery brought improvement. Coda bought another umbrella and we headed out.

We had to visit Japan since it’s one of our favorites, but we were in and out fairly quickly. It was quite crowded with people avoiding rain. Our next stop was going to be Germany, but we stopped in America to look around.

Oh boy… Then we made it to Germany. The purpose of this stop was for this beauty:

Four ounces of hot salted caramel. Yum! Maybe even better than butterbeer! Thankfully, Coda doesn’t like caramel, so I didn’t have to share!

We stopped back by Test Track, but it was closed again, apparently due to the rain. There was a huge line outside waiting for it to reopen. We had only planned to stay at Epcot for a short time in case we didn’t have a chance to come back. We rode Spaceship Earth on the way out and I spotted a hidden Mickey in the renaissance scene! Hurray! But then it was time to head back out.

We caught the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and arrived just as the Christmas Parade was beginning!

It was so cute! Someone tell me why I need a ticket to the MVMCP! Next we headed into Tomorrowland to find out when Push would be out. Unfortunately, he had made his last appearance for the day. So we headed over to Storybook Circus instead since we hadn’t seen it yet. The tent was pretty amazing and so were the snacks inside! I had to fight myself not to get one of everything! The lines for M&G weren’t too bad, so we decided to meet a couple characters!

And then we were off for more character fun!

Ariel was a lot of fun! I think Coda really enjoyed her! We stopped for one more photopass picture on our way past Prince Eric’s Castle!

Our next stop was Gaston’s Tavern. We had been interested in Lefou’s Brew since we’d tried the butterbeer. The description didn’t sound all that appetizing, but Coda likes fruity drinks, so we figured we’d give it a try. And Coda got me the super cute Belle cup!

I was not a fan at all. I thought it was disgusting. Coda thought it was okay and he drank the whole thing. I’d definitely have to go with butterbeer over this. We passed Gaston himself on the way out of New Fantasyland! He put on quite a show!

The Haunted Mansion was our first ride of the evening with a very short wait. Most people were taking the path through the cemetery, so we pretty much walked right into the building. Ahh! So much fun! When we left, we stopped to ask someone when the lighting ceremony was since we’d never seen it, then we heart the music! It was starting!

The ceremony was so neat! I am so glad we didn’t miss it! I love how Disney makes everything an event! By this time we were starting to get hungry and Coda had his sights set on nachos. We decided to see if Tortuga Tavern was open, but we got a little sidetracked…

Tinkerbell wasn’t very convincing, but we both really enjoyed Periwinkle! She was too adorable! We walked through the Swiss Family Treehouse next since we’d never done that and it was okay, but nothing special. Maybe if I’d seen the movie I could appreciate it more. Coda was getting agitated because the people in front of us kept stopping and we couldn’t get around them. By this time he was also cranky because he was hungry. Surprisingly (sarcasm), Tortuga Tavern was closed. But we saw that there was no wait for Pirates! Nachos would have to wait. We walked right on and had an awesome ride!

Finally, we went in search of nachos. We ended up at Casey’s.

Coda was very pleased with his discovery. And I was very cold. Like, freezing! We went in search for a blanket or a coat, anything to stop the shivers! We ended up finding a Minnie Mouse snuggie! Everyone should have one of these things! With warmth in hand, we went back to Tomorrowland to get in line for the dessert party. We checked in and were shown to a table right at the front of the terrace, then helped ourselves to the dessert buffet.

And yes, I ate all of it! So much yum! The view was amazing and so were the fireworks!

As the fireworks exploded, a little kid next to us yelled, “Look, it’s raining magic!” Very appropriate, I thought.

On the way out of the park, Coda had to stop for a Casey’s hot dog. He went on and on about how good it was! I’m assuming it was good. We caught the bus and headed back to the hotel, though DHS had EMH tonight. My back was screaming for some reason and Coda had a cold that he was trying to overcome. So we got back, I pulled out the heating pad, and we went to bed in anticipation of yet another Disney day!


Up next: Animal Kingdom and Beast’s Castle

 

[ArtieJim]

The Dessert Party is the best! My girlfriend and I went on Christmas day 2011 and we can't wait to go again the next time we're in WDW. (October)

 

[PUSH]

Your shirt is the same as my profile pic!!

 

[Sumrdog]

"Four ounces of hot salted caramel"

Holy Cats! I have been to Disney how many times?...I don't even know, maybe 14 or so, how did I not know that existed?!! Well now I know what I am having for my arrival dinner! I.love.salted.caramel. Thank you. I feel like the world just got a little brighter and happier. Wow. Thank you. This is why I read trip reports. There's is always something new to learn.

 

[coachwnh]

We stop in Germany for candy every trip and i had never seen that drink. is it in the candy shop or outside. it looks awesome. its a definite must do in 8 days!!!!!

 

[ArielLover]

"Four ounces of hot salted caramel"

Holy Cats! I have been to Disney how many times?...I don't even know, maybe 14 or so, how did I not know that existed?!! Well now I know what I am having for my arrival dinner! I.love.salted.caramel. Thank you. I feel like the world just got a little brighter and happier. Wow. Thank you. This is why I read trip reports. There's is always something new to learn.

Agreed, never saw this drink as well, I would love to know exactly what it is called ans where to try it.

 

[Sumrdog]

Agreed, never saw this drink as well, I would love to know exactly what it is called ans where to try it.

I am wondering if its at that new caramel apple installation in the Germany pavilion, well new two years ago. But new enough to me since I haven't been to WDW since January of 2011. But I am going in 19 days, 13 hours, 17 minutes and 5...4...3 seconds ! I will surely figure this little mystery out and report back!

 

[flipadeeflop]

Just read trough this whole post from the very beginning to your last post! I must say I'm quite jealous of the vacation you had! You looked beautiful in your wedding dress and your husband and you make such a good looking couple! Keep the posts coming!

 

[Bama14]

Day Twelve

Today we had our first reservations at Boma! We walked over to Jambo House and found Boma just in time to check in. We knew we had to pay for a meal out of pocket and we were discussing whether to pay for this one. The man in front of us in line heard us talking and invited us to eat with him and his two kids! He had gotten the deluxe dining plan and had quite a few meals left over. Since he was checking out today, he offered to “pay” for us! We happily agreed and sat down to a meal with him and his two lovely children.

The meal was pretty pleasant. We learned that the family was from Canada and this was their first trip to Disney World. While the kids enjoyed it, the father did not. They hadn’t made any ADRs (on the deluxe plan!) and had eaten the majority of their meals at Boma. The staff all knew them by name! They had visited Jiko and he didn’t like that at all either. He was really nice, but the meal became awkward when he began telling us how his wife had let him put her through school and then cleaned out his account and left him… Weird. Before we left, he gave us his Key to the World Card and told us we could use whatever was left on it. It was clear that he hadn’t known anything about the deluxe plan. There were still 5 meals and 24 snacks left on it! But we had to use them before the end of the day since they were checking out.

Our plan for the day was that we had no plan. We hopped a bus for DTD and decided to just take it easy! There was a photopass photographer as we arrived.

Our first stop was Goofy’s Candy Company where we used several of our snacks on various items including cake pops, cookies, and I made a chocolate covered rice crispy treat! Next we went to find Babycakes. I’d read some good things and they had a red velvet cupcake that Coda was dying to try. We got a box full of cupcakes and cupcake tops! Then it was over to the theater.

We got tickets to The Hobbit and headed inside. Do any of you have theaters like this in your town?! It was amazing! The seats were so comfortable and it was so cool that we walked in around the screen! The movie…

We were pretty disappointed in The Hobbit. It was a complete let down when compared with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was CGI’d to death. Every character besides the people was CGI. It completely cheapened the experience for me. Anyway, enough on that.

After the movie was over, we got up to leave and the backpack dumped! Our two limited edition golf balls were in there! We started looking, but they had obviously rolled away. Immediately, three men asked if they could help. There were five of us roaming around the theater looking for these golf balls! The other guys said it didn’t matter what it was, if it was important to us we were gonna find it! Only at Disney World… We found them!

After that experience, we went over to World of Disney for some assistance. We had received these from our wedding coordinator after our wedding:

They were way too big, so we went to the jewelry counter and had them sized correctly. They were so much help! So now we have these awesome Disney watches that can’t be bought and they actually fit!

We made one last stop at Goofy’s to use up the rest of our snacks and headed to the busses. OH. MY. GOD. The traffic was completely insane! Because we got on the bus at the Marketplace, the busses were all in the right lane trying to turn. It took us nearly an hour to get from the Marketplace to Pleasure Island. I was so irritated by the time we got to the hotel! Now I know to get on the bus at PI.

Dinner was at Boma and was just as amazing as breakfast! The dessert menu was spectacular! But I have to say, the Zebra Domes were just okay. I didn’t think they lived up to all the hype.

After dinner we headed back to our room where I made good use of the heating pad I’d brought with me and then passed out. It was such a relaxing day! It was definitely much needed.

Up next: Epcot in the rain and dessert party

That was nice of them to give you the rest of their dining credits! I always have so many QS credits left at the end of my trip. Last trip I bought an older couple breakfast at the resort with them, but TS (those are precious credits!). Excited to hear that you liked Boma because I have booked it for my May trip. Love the watches!

 

[Bama14]

"Four ounces of hot salted caramel"

Holy Cats! I have been to Disney how many times?...I don't even know, maybe 14 or so, how did I not know that existed?!! Well now I know what I am having for my arrival dinner! I.love.salted.caramel. Thank you. I feel like the world just got a little brighter and happier. Wow. Thank you. This is why I read trip reports. There's is always something new to learn.

I know! I can't wait to try this!

 

[ArielLover]

I am wondering if its at that new caramel apple installation in the Germany pavilion, well new two years ago. But new enough to me since I haven't been to WDW since January of 2011. But I am going in 19 days, 13 hours, 17 minutes and 5...4...3 seconds ! I will surely figure this little mystery out and report back!

We were there the last time in Dec 2011, 300 more days till our return trip

 

[rufio]

The Dessert Party is the best! My girlfriend and I went on Christmas day 2011 and we can't wait to go again the next time we're in WDW. (October)

I agree, it was totally worth it just to be away from the crowds! Not to mention unlimited dessert!

Your shirt is the same as my profile pic!!

Your profile pic is the same as my shirt!

"Four ounces of hot salted caramel"

Holy Cats! I have been to Disney how many times?...I don't even know, maybe 14 or so, how did I not know that existed?!! Well now I know what I am having for my arrival dinner! I.love.salted.caramel. Thank you. I feel like the world just got a little brighter and happier. Wow. Thank you. This is why I read trip reports. There's is always something new to learn.

Haha! Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think it may be available only for the holidays. Here's the post about it from Disney Food Blog. If you do get to try it, you definitely should, because it's amazing!

We stop in Germany for candy every trip and i had never seen that drink. is it in the candy shop or outside. it looks awesome. its a definite must do in 8 days!!!!!

See above! It was a kiosk in Germany over the holidays.

Agreed, never saw this drink as well, I would love to know exactly what it is called ans where to try it.

It's called hot salted caramel! lol!

I am wondering if its at that new caramel apple installation in the Germany pavilion, well new two years ago. But new enough to me since I haven't been to WDW since January of 2011. But I am going in 19 days, 13 hours, 17 minutes and 5...4...3 seconds ! I will surely figure this little mystery out and report back!

Nope! Kiosk! Have fun on your trip!

Just read trough this whole post from the very beginning to your last post! I must say I'm quite jealous of the vacation you had! You looked beautiful in your wedding dress and your husband and you make such a good looking couple! I've been anticipating a proposal from my boyfriend so keep dropping hints by sharing pictures from your trip report with him and saying how much I want certain things! Keep the posts coming!

Thank you so much! It was truly the vacation of a lifetime! I hope my pictures inspire your boyfriend to get to it!

That was nice of them to give you the rest of their dining credits! I always have so many QS credits left at the end of my trip. Last trip I bought an older couple breakfast at the resort with them, but TS (those are precious credits!). Excited to hear that you liked Boma because I have booked it for my May trip. Love the watches!

I agree! It was nice to have so many extra snack credits! Boma was amazing, you won't be disappointed! And thanks! The watches were a wonderful surprise!

I know! I can't wait to try this!

I hope you get to!

We were there the last time in Dec 2011, 300 more days till our return trip

Oh no! At least you have a trip to count down to!

 

[rufio]

Day Fourteen

Disclaimer: Today is picture heavy so will be broken into two parts.

We were up at 11am, in no huge hurry to get out of bed. We knew the crowds were going to be completely insane, so why rush to get to them? We got to Animal Kingdom quickly, a perk of being at AKL, I suppose. I got into the bag check line with Coda and immediately got yelled at by security for “wasting space.” Okay… so apparently that guy wasn’t having a great day. I got out of line and walked through the no bag entrance and waited for Coda to join me.

We were pretty hungry, having skipped breakfast, so our first stop was the Yak and Yeti CS. We both got honey chicken and chocolate mousse! Yum!

Like every other time we’ve been there, birds were all over. It’s always so much fun to watch the ducks waddle around looking for handouts! We knew the rides would be crazy, so we planned to just do some walking around. First was Maharaja Jungle Trek.

There were tons of great pictures to be had! And it wasn’t so crowded that we couldn’t get a good view of everything.

I loved this bird:

When we headed out we stopped for glazed pecans, my favorite treat at Animal Kingdom! The bag was half gone before we left. But by this time Coda’s allergies had really started to act up. He doesn’t normally have these sorts of problems, so we didn’t have anything with us. When we couldn’t find any allergy medicine for sale at any shops, we headed to first aid. They gave us two days’ worth of Claritin and we were on our way! Super helpful! With Coda already starting to feel better, we made our way to Africa and Pangani Forest.

For the first time ever, the hippo was out of the water!

Happy hippo!

There was a very “special” girl going on and on about how much the gorilla acted like a person and how OMG that is so crazy! She basically narrated every single thing she did.

At any rate, the gorillas are always fun to watch. Our last stop was at Kusafiri Bakery for a white chocolate elephant cupcake!

We headed back to the hotel and decided to relax a little before heading to MK for dinner at Be Our Guest!

Up next: Sorcerers and Be Our Guest

 

[rufio]

Day Fourteen – Part Two

After a short rest at the hotel, we headed of to the Magic Kingdom! We had some time to kill and the lines were really long, so we decided to try Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. We went to the fire station to enlist and had a lot of fun with the CM who gave us our training. We got started and ended up talking to another couple that was also playing. The guy opened up a huge binder full of cards and showed it to the screen. He told us all about how he had built his deck and was working on his girlfriend’s deck also. They were really super nice and gave us several cards to help us in our game! After a couple portals, it was time to check in for dinner.

We got to the check in and had to wait while a woman in front of us yelled and screamed about how she was only late because of something that was Disney’s fault and the people at Guest Services had said it would be okay. They had tried to call, but there isn’t a phone at check in, so they wrote a note instead saying to let the woman check in late. Apparently that didn’t fly with BoG and they told her they would seat her as soon as they could, but they could not seat her immediately. She yelled some more and eventually they convinced her to go away. I’m assuming they did seat her when they had a table, but I can understand why they couldn’t just throw her in front of other waiting guests.

We were waiting on the bridge and I had to use the restroom, so I went ahead inside. I saw the Beast make his entrance and was so excited! But I had to go back outside. But we were seated pretty soon after in the ballroom and anxiously awaited our meal!

We placed our drink orders and then something strange happened. A woman and her daughter came in and sat at the table next to us, took of their coats and started looking around. A few minutes later, someone came to their table and asked if they had reservations. “Of course we do!” the mother said. But apparently they didn’t. They had just come inside and seated themselves. Thankfully, the wait staff didn’t stand for it and they asked the ladies to leave, but they were extremely upset about it and made quite a fuss. I can’t believe anyone would do that! People still shock me sometimes.

Our drinks came and were oh-so-yummy!

Lemonade with wildberry foam! It was so good! I ordered the steak, which was really yummy, despite some negative reviews I’ve read here.

Everything was amazing!

Next we were given an amazing surprise for our honeymoon! The Grey Stuff!

And yes, it was delicious!

For dessert, I had the chocolate crème puff!

Also very good. And then it was time to meet my favorite character of all time – the one I thought I’d never get an opportunity to meet! I was so excited to get there that I completely forgot to drink the rest of my lemonade! But finally, it was our turn! I was completely in awe.

This one M&G was the highlight of my trip! Ahh! I met the Beast!

After dinner we went over to the Haunted Mansion, which said had a 30-minute wait, but was actually about 10.

We got stuck here:

It was actually kind of cool to watch her, though Coda said it got creepy after a couple minutes. Next was the Jungle Cruise, which, surprisingly, had a 5 minute wait! Our skipper was hilarious! If you ever get a chance to sail with Skipper Ryan, definitely do! At the end I was typing on my phone (taking notes) and he said, “Look at this girl over here! She’s texting her friend like, ‘Skipper Ryan is so awesome! OMG! JK LOL!’” And yes, he said it just like that.

We spotted glazed almonds and found out it would be a 15 minute wait. So we asked the guy to hold a couple bags for us and paid in advance (maybe not the best idea) and headed over to Pirates with no wait at all! As always, wonderful ride! We went back to pick up our almonds and then headed back towards New Fantasyland. The fireworks were just starting and we were hoping to get some short wait times. We were in luck! We walked onto Winnie the Pooh (one of my favorites) and then we walked onto Journey of the Little Mermaid with no waits on either!

We went over to check out Gaston’s while everyone was still filing out of their fireworks positions.

With all of the lines filling back up, we started making our way back to the entrance.

Favorite picture of the trip, by far:

Coda went into Casey’s to get a different hot dog from last night and we went to the very busy bus stop. Luckily, two AKL busses pulled in at once and we were able to get on a bus AND get a seat! Score!!!

Up next: Osborne Lights and Fantasmic

 

[flipadeeflop]

Great post, can't wait for the 2nd half! Thanks for the reply, I hope he catches on, too!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Oh I agree! Your favorite picture is gorgeous!
That is kind of funny about the ladies next to you just sitting down! Pretty brazen!
Loving the report!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Wow I can't believe those two ladies just sat down. Did they think someone wouldn't notice? lol some people.... sheesh!!

I'm super excited to meet the Beast in his study!! I think I've only ever met him once at DHS (back when itwas MGM) and I was in 6th grade.

 

[Sumrdog]

Haha! Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think it may be available only for the holidays. Here's the post about it from Disney Food Blog. If you do get to try it, you definitely should, because it's amazing!

Dang! I just read that blog it looks so yummy! My post Princess Half Marathon meal definitely includes a trip to the caramel shop in Germany and hopefully I will be able to get a glass of it; otherwise I will settle for the kind I can chew maybe wrapped on an apple Either way its a win!