A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes: A March 2011 Disney Wedding/Honeymoon Trip Report

It’s official! Brett and I are finally married and I couldn’t be more excited. We had the most perfect wedding day ever, at our most favorite place in the whole entire world. And of course, as expected, it went by all too quickly. I’m not going to lie, coming down off the high that was our Disney wedding/cruise/honeymoon has been tough. In fact, I'm hoping that writing up/posting this trip report will help me work through some of that. However, I’ve spent much of my spare time in the last few weeks staring at a blank word document... writer’s block? Never heard of it! :lol:

For the first time ever, in all my trip report writing, I did a pre-trip report. It lays out most of the wedding-related details, but for those of you out there who are like me and rarely read pre-trip reports, here’s a quick rundown of events:

Wednesday, March 16, 2011: Drive down, check in offsite for the night
Thursday, March 17, 2011: Check-in, Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Friday, March 18, 2011: Wedding Day, Sunset Pointe
Sunday, March 20, 2011: Board Disney Dream for a 4 night Bahamas cruise
Thursday, March 24, 2011: Check-in, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Sunday, March 27, 2011: Check out and head home

We kind of saw this trip as having three legs: Wedding/Cruise/Disney!

A look back at our Disney trip reports: September 2008 (Contemporary), December 2008 (Old Key West), January 2009 (Port Orleans Riverside & Disney Marathon), July 2009 (Wilderness Lodge Villas/Animal Kingdom Lodge), December 2009 (Beach Club Villas), March 2010 (Pop Century & Princess Half), June 2010 (Coronado Springs), August 2010 (Polynesian & Engagement), December 2010 (Kidani Village)

This was our first time on DCL, however, we’ve cruised a handful of times before. So if anyone is interested, those trip reports can be found here: May 2009 (Carnival Liberty), December 2009 (Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas), May 2010 (Emerald Princess), June 2010 (Norwegian Sky)

Oh dear. I feel like I’m embarking on what will be the longest trip report EVER (and I’ve written some long ones). My apologies in advance, as it will likely take awhile to get this report up in its entirety. The good news though, is that I’ve completed the text all the way up through the wedding, so we’ll get to that part fairly quickly!

With all that said, let the memories begin...

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
For us, Yzma easily stole the show (with a little help from Kronk). In fact, it may have been one of the best numbers among all three shows that we saw on the Dream. It’s certainly the one we’ve quoted most since returning home. Reasons why...

1) I heart Yzma. I think she’s a great villain and I’m incredibly happy they included her in the cast of villains for this show.
2) Yzmapolis, my Metropolis is A-freakin-Mazing.
3) The actress totally nailed it. She channeled Yzma like no other and I think that’s what really sold the performance.

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Yzmapolis, My Metropolis, my favorite place to be...
Yzmapolis, My Metropolis, where it’s all for one and that one is me!

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When all the villains came out for the final number, Brett leaned over and asked what happened to Dr. Facilier. We were pretty sure he should’ve been part of the show, in fact, that was the act Brett was looking forward to most, but he wasn’t there. I’m guessing there was just an issue with it for the night (like maybe the actor was incredibly sick). He hasn’t been taken out of the show, has he?

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Oh, Yzma!

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As we were walking out of the theatre we heard quite a few people repeating Hades’ jokes and talking excitedly about the show, so maybe it’s just us, but we found it to be a bit of a letdown. For those of you who have seen it, what’re your thoughts? I haven’t really looked for it, but I’m curious what the general consensus is on Villains Tonight.

In the atrium we found Miss Daisy Duck. Be still my beating heart, she was wearing a sparkly bangle! If only she could’ve come to our wedding. :D

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We wandered back up to the Vista Gallery to see if they’d changed out any of the art. Plus, we wanted to ask if there was a way to order the canvas. As we were looking around, the CM who we’d talked to the previous day came over and asked if we were back to purchase our painting. Ummm... you sold it! He smiled at me and said he’d actually put it up because after talking to us he knew we’d be back for it. :animwink: :D While I was incredibly excited and gracious, I couldn’t help but think about what would’ve happened if we had just assumed it was gone. So, with that news, we purchased “Hula Time!” and then went off to celebrate with some champagne at Pink.

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I contemplated getting the Fairy Tale Cuvee (Hooray Wedding), but went with a Royal Bellini instead. Delish!

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Pink gets my vote for the best “lounge” on the ship. I fell in love with the subtle nod to an intoxicated Dumbo and pink elephants on parade. And the pink glasses were a nice touch. After our Disneymoon, where we sampled quite a bit of it, champagne has become an increasingly popular drink in our house. We’re constantly finding something to “celebrate” so we can indulge ourselves. :lol:

Another walk through the atrium, and we found Donald this time. He looked so handsome in his tails!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After meeting the duck we made our way to Animator’s Palette. This was the dining rotation I was looking forward to most, as I’m sure is the case with a lot of other folks, as well.

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The attention to detail throughout this dining room was absolutely incredible. Check out the Table Number:

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The menu design... seriously:

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Even the plates and flatware were spot on:

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Our table was right up against its own screen, which looked like this when we sat down:

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Leo, our server, told us that if we wanted Crush to actually see us and interact with us then we would have to make sure we waved our arms or called out to him in some way. Will do. But before we get to that, let’s talk about the food. I wasn’t able to enjoy the Royal Palace the previous evening, so I was really looking forward to this.

Brett ordered baked potato soup, in the hopes that it would help with the cold he was trying to ward off. He said it was pretty good.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was having trouble deciding between the risotto and a truffle pasta with champagne sauce. I wanted the pasta, but I was planning on getting pasta as my entree so I thought that may just be too much. Of course, when I hesitated in ordering, Leo decided he would just bring me both. :lol: This tends to happen on every cruise we go on, and while I’m appreciative, I always feel wasteful, because there’s already more food than I’ll eat to begin with. That being said, I’m so glad he brought me both. They were the best part of the entire meal.

The pasta was super delicious and the appetizer version was the perfect portion size:

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And the porcini mushroom risotto was absolutely heavenly. I was sweet and shared it with my husband. :kiss:

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For our entrees, Brett ordered the trio of veal. It was a combination of tenderloin/pulled shank/filled ravioli. I can’t remember his thoughts on it... but he ate it all. :animwink:

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And I had a shrimp penette pasta. It was good, but didn’t come close to touching the deliciousness of the pasta app.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Throughout the whole meal we could hear Crush surfing around the room and dropping in on people. He dropped in on a couple of the bigger screens around us and mostly talked to the kids at each of the tables.

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Quite a few other characters came by, as well. They didn’t actually interact with guests, but they did banter among one another.

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We ordered dessert, from the cutest of dessert menus:

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
And then, finally, Crush came by to talk to us. Somehow Brett had gotten his attention and Crush swam over to ask who he was here with.

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When Brett replied with “my wife, Holly,” Crush ran with it; although, he didn’t quite hear accurately and he continued to call me Molly throughout their entire conversation. :lol: When Brett told him it was our honeymoon he claimed he could help with our romantic night out. Following this he got everyone’s attention in the room by yelling out for everyone to look at the turtle. Then he said, “these two below me, Molly and Brett, are trying to have a romantic night out, so whatever you do, DON’T look at them, leave them alone.” It was hilarious.

Then before he swam away he asked Brett if he needed a good fin-man. When Brett said yes, Crush replied with “Molly, cover your ears while I talk to my man Brett.” He told Brett that all the ladies love a man who can speak whale and just to follow his lead. Brett serenaded me in “whale” with “I adoooooooooooore you Molly!” :D Classic.

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After that, Crush left us to our romantic evening and dessert. Mmm... dessert.

Can I tempt you with a chocolate brownie cheesecake:

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No?! Maybe a cookies and cream sundae, then:

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OM NOM NOM NOM! :slurp:

Dinner was phenomenal all around. The food was really good, and the ambience was, quite obviously, magical.

Later, Crush Dude... catch you next time!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Back out in the atrium, we saw Chip and Dale in tails, so we made our way over to their line. Overall, the character lines were at their worst in the evenings. They grew the longest when the shows would let out, but really, they still weren’t that bad. I was surprised by this.

Check out the pure randomness of this next shot. While waiting in line we noticed a princess was wandering about up there and checking things out just like any other cruiser. Now, that is something you don’t see in the parks.

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Chip and Dale swapped out with Goofy while we were waiting... so we met the Goof in tails instead!

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After meeting Goofy we wandered over to Mickey’s Mainsail to check out the merchandise. We decided to break our own rules a bit when it came to purchasing plush for our Christmas tree. We planned on picking up three from the Dream and then three from the parks for this trip.

Save your pennies, Kelly, I found something with your name on it! :wave:

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After looking through all the characters our first choice was an easy decision. The Admiral Duck was a must. Who else would represent the Disney Dream so well!?

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We spent some time wandering around The District, and checked out Skyline. Honestly, it was so much smaller than I expected it to be, and not nearly as exciting. Eventually we headed back to our stateroom. Brett’s cold was getting worse, and we were really hoping he’d feel better for Castaway Cay the next day.

Waiting for us was a towel animal and a map of the island!

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Up next... the port we’ve all been waiting!
 

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
OK yeah that dessert looks incredible. Damn me and my allergies. Because yeah that is so tempting.

I am so sorry to hear that Brett was sick. That is a bummer....

The Aquaduck looks incredible. I am so going to have to hit that up when and if we ever get on the Dream. I mean seriously this whole trip is making me really want to go on the DCL. Its like one big freaking wonderful advertisement. LOL.

And don't you just love Crush! Molly...How hilarious is that. And I thought it was bad when people think my name is Elijah and not Aleisha aka Alicia.

Alright Molly. I will be back...
 

maggiegrace1

Well-Known Member
Oh, I miss the Dream so much!..:(

We loved the character experiences..soo awesome...and we would not get off in Nassau next time..so much to do on the ship..:)

Villains was our FAVORITE show..though they were all amazing!

Loved Pain and Panic...and Yzma was AMAZING...Hades was hilarious!

I guess maybe we did not look too much into it the way you guys did..:shrug: Not sure!

I loved the Yzma..all 3 shows..;)


So glad you got the painting..:sohappy:

Looking forward to Castaway Cay..I could have stayed there forever...:D
 

pcrum

New Member
Love the cruise part of the trip report, but you are killing me!! With the kids being 16 now, I thought we were way past the need to do a Disney cruise, but after seeing the Dream docked in Nassau last March, my son is obsessed with the virtual port hole and the aqua duck!! I am pleasantly surprised to see that the virtual port hole shows you real scenes from the outside of the ship. For some reason, I was under the impression it just showed characters swimming about!

I'm also curious about the shows. We did the Disney Wonder back in 2006 and had the same shows...the Golden Mickeys and the Villains show. I find it hard to believe Disney has not changed the shows since 2006. Perhaps they just kept the same titles, but changed the shows a bit?

We share your love for Quasimodo. Hunchback remains our all time favorite Disney film and I have such great memories of the stage show at DHS. At age 3, my son would sing along with all of Quasimodo's and Clopin's songs!! We were regular Quasi groupies and even got invited backstage on more than one occasion to meet the cast. I dare say that show was the start of my son's love of all thing theatre. So sad it is gone!!! Beauty and the Beast is ok, but doesn't even compare to the Broadway quality that was the Hunchback of Notre Dame show!!

Looking forward to the rest of the report, especially the Victoria and Albert review. I've always wanted to try it, but always wondered if it was worth the cost, since I know if we did it, DH would want to do the wine pairings.

Hope you guys are both better for the rest of your honeymoon!

Pam
 

diddy_mouse

Well-Known Member
I give you props for deciding to tackle a waterslide first thing in the morning. I don't know if I could do that *shiver* I just can't enjoy cold water.:lol:

Those virtual portholes are simply amazing. And I am huge fan of Emperors New Groove so seeing that shot of Kronk and Yzma made me smile. Slightly silly question...do the portholes "magically" appear or is it something you can control in the stateroom?

Aww...hopefully Brett ends up feeling better. It's never fun being under the weather on a vacation, let alone on a cruise, let alone on your honeymoon.

Oh em gee, I gotta say I adore Panchito Beakman! :lol: How cute is he?!

If I ever get onboard the Dream I will certainly check out Pink. Now that is my kind of lounge!

Animator's Palate looked so cool and those desserts definitely caught my eye. Mmm mmm!

Looking forward to Castaway Cay, Molly (heh heh :D)
 

joanna71985

Well-Known Member
LOVE THE CHARACTER PICTURES!! Seriously, I am drooling over them right about now. Not to mention the food pictures.

And to make it official- I booked on the Dream! Thanks to your report (and Dana's), I booked my first cruise for Feb. Can't wait!
 

fmingo36

Well-Known Member
And then, finally, Crush came by to talk to us. Somehow Brett had gotten his attention and Crush swam over to ask who he was here with.

When Brett replied with “my wife, Holly,” Crush ran with it; although, he didn’t quite hear accurately and he continued to call me Molly throughout their entire conversation. :lol: When Brett told him it was our honeymoon he claimed he could help with our romantic night out. Following this he got everyone’s attention in the room by yelling out for everyone to look at the turtle. Then he said, “these two below me, Molly and Brett, are trying to have a romantic night out, so whatever you do, DON’T look at them, leave them alone.” It was hilarious.

Then before he swam away he asked Brett if he needed a good fin-man. When Brett said yes, Crush replied with “Molly, cover your ears while I talk to my man Brett.” He told Brett that all the ladies love a man who can speak whale and just to follow his lead. Brett serenaded me in “whale” with “I adoooooooooooore you Molly!” :D Classic.

Love this!!! I think you may need to change your ID name to MollyBelle.:lol:
 

tiaragirl

Well-Known Member
Drooling over the Dooney.. Mom and Dad picked me up the navy clutch version when they went in November and I use it all the time!

The picture of Brett with Ariel is killer.. she's a babe. It seems to be Ariel is always one of the prettiest princesses in the Parks/etc.
 

darthspielberg

Well-Known Member
Lord, I was so busy settling into film school (so I can do video production for Disney someday :p) that I forgot about your wedding trip report!

I just read all of it this morning. What a wonderful, beautiful wedding you had, Holly and Brett! As with all trip reports I am intensely jealous of the time spent in Disney, but this is so wonderful, I just have to be happy for you both!

Thank you for providing such wonderful pictures and making us (some of whom, like myself, you don't really know) a part of the experience. I hope that someday I can have a Disney wedding and if it's half as wonderful as yours, I'll be pleased :)

And allow me, a manly man, to melt over your dress...that was a lovely choice and you looked lovely in it!
 

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
I finally had time to comment! I love your last update. I hope Brett is well for Castaway Cay!!

It cracks me up that you went back to your room to watch your porthole! That is so awesome!!:lol:

Also, your interaction with Crush was completely and totally awesome. :)
 

becanya

New Member
Holly, so enjoying catching up on your trip! I'm glad you guys had a great time,and I can't wait to read more! Hey...just wanted to let you know, I posted those requested pics of our St. John, USVI trip on my trip report (Becanya's year of celebrations...I think I called it). We wrecked our scooter on the trip! The trip was amazing. Only 6 days until we leave for Disney's HHI.
 

accord99cutie

Premium Member
I love that Crush was calling you Molly!!! That is hilarious! It turned your cute memory, into a cute and funny one!!! I can't wait to read more of your report Holly!
 

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