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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joanna71985

Well-Known Member
I'm sure there will be a trip report, although, I can't make any promises that you'll see it before 2012. :lol:

I really do have all intentions of responding to everyone and updating this thread before the end of the weekend. Really. :lookaroun

Waiting patiently.....somewhat :lookaroun
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Dear Holly,
I've been reading your trip reports for a while, the most I read, the most I feel I know you both! You are a beautiful couple!! Living in Mexico makes me difficult to go to WDW as much as I want to, but I try to go once a year for like 10 days at least. I have so much tips for my october trip thanks to you!
Also, I have never thought of taking a cruise before (I get dizzy even in a rocking chair!) but your TR and photos makes me want to take a chance!!

You are an amazing photographer!

Since my english vocabulary is limited I'm feeling a little frustrated for not expressing myself the way I'd like to! Anyway, just wanted to say Thanks! and can't wait to read more!

Thank you so much, Miriam. I’m glad our personalities come through in my reports. Your English is very good... and I really appreciate you taking the time to post and for being so kind. I’m also happy to hear that you’ve found some of the things in my report to be helpful in planning your October trip.

A cruise is definitely worth it, if you ever get the chance. 3 and 4 day sailings are perfect for finding out whether or not it’s suitable to you vacation style. I can get motion sick pretty easily, but that definitely doesn’t keep me from cruising!

Holly - your report gets better with each post!! I'm having such a great time reading it...I can't begin to imagine how amazing it was living it!! I love how you sandwhiched the cruise between resort stays...because I'm sure whatever sadness you had about leaving the Dream was relieved just a bit by knowing you were heading to Wilderness Lodge! I echo spingal's sentiments...THANKS for taking the time to share your amazing wedding and disneymoon!!

Thanks so much! It really was like living a dream! And you’re so right about staying at WDW on either end of the Dream. It was like we were slowly coming down off the high. First the wedding which was obviously the most anticipated part of our trip, then the Dream which was a new experience, and then a few more fabulous days at the World. I think they would’ve had to tear me outta our room at the Poly if I weren’t being enticed by the Dream. :lookaroun

I just read the latest installment(s). Ugh! Sooooo amazing! I'm glad to hear about your debarkation and taking your own luggage off with you. That's the direction I'm leaning. Heck, ideally I'd like to take our luggage on with us but I think that'll be pretty impossible. We'll see. I'm super-excited for the WL now! Great to hear that Roaring Forks has some good stuff to offer! Yay! I haven't even looked at any menus. I suppose I should.

Dawa Bar is on my list now! I need to at least have a beer! Mmmm...beeeeeeer! Aw, wish y'all had scored a ride in the parade but the character pics were pretty sweet. I suppose I should see some of the other daytime parades so I can figure out which I like more. If only they had them before my nap time. Getting old is so hard.... LOL!

We really need to savor these trips where we’re only packing for two and we can carry everything off with us. I have a feeling it won’t be so easy one day. :lol:

You’ve absolutely got to check out the Dawa Bar... it was perfect, and the Safari Amber was delish!

I’m so with you on “nap time!” We never catch the afternoon parades, unless we make specific plans for them. And the only one we’re ever willing to make specific plans for is MJJP. I adore that parade! So, yeah... build in an afternoon break (with beer) and enjoy the Dawa Bar before the parade.

Okay. Ready to go on vacation. Well, okay, if my bags can be packed for me and I don't have to do any of that stuff. Otherwise, if vacation was tomorrow I'd be utterly paniced!

I owe you some PMs! I know! I'll get on that soon. I juuuust typed out the responses to Melanee that I owed her. Gonna get on yours. And I still owe Newfiefan an email. I'm so behind!

I’m sooooo totally behind. You did way better than me. Eventually though, I will get to those replies. :lookaroun Hopefully before you leave on vacation!

Ah thank you for making my work day go by that much quicker. Bill and I may have another trip in the works as he has a medical conference in orlando at the end of october. End of October would get 3 things off my Disney check list 1) Bill's birthday is the 30th 2) Never been at Halloween 3)Never been to F&W festival. So needless to say I'm really REALLY trying to make it happen. You're report is not helping with the wanting to go. I don't even like bananas but I want that bananas foster french toast.

On our next trip we had AK marked as a no go. We just aren't big fans of the place. But now that I've seen the Dawa Bar...the tides may be changin! Also -did they get rid of all pizza at Rainforest Cafe? I still want to try the regular one with pepperoni...the name escapes me now but I know it's a Holly and Brett regular order!

I'm loving the Disney World portion of the TR. I'm partial to it instead of the Dream because I've never been cruising....so I guess I should change that!!

And I'll have you know that I am currently finishing up the text for my TR today at work (workin' hard for the money) and I will hopefully post my first post by tonight or tomorrow.

Jess, my friend, where is this trip report you keep speaking of?! Don’t you just love work days that allow you to catch up on your writing?! I feel lucky to be able to do that. Obviously, I haven’t had enough of those days lately. :lol:

They do still have the pepperoni pizza at the Rainforest... it’s called the Flying Dragon. And while it’s delicious, we’ve been making some pretty tasty homemade pizzas as of late, so I think that’s another reason why we’re trying to branch out from the Rainforest pies.

I’m so excited you might do a fall trip. Those three things are huge on the checklist... of course, the Food and Wine Festival is my very favorite time of year for Disney!

Oh I so want to stay at the WL one day! So here's the thing, before the cruise in April we are staying in WDW for a few days and things of rents DVC points. Right now we are debating between the BWI and WLV. BWI is our 1st choice, but if we can't get in there, we are thinking WLV. What are your thoughts on the WL Villas since you stayed there before?

Hmmm... honestly, I’d have to say that the room décor and design at the WLV is my least favorite of all the DVC rooms we’ve stayed in. That list includes the Beach Club Villas, Saratoga, Old Key West, and Kidani. The best thing it has going for it is location (boat to MK). In fairness to WLV we had the very last room at the end of an extremely long corridor, and we were in a studio vs. the two bedroom dedicated units we usually stay in with Brett’s family, so that has got to factor in, as well. Check out my July 2009 trip report (the link is in the first post of this thread) for pictures, and more of my thoughts on the villas.

If you can’t get the Boardwalk, I would probably make the Beach Club a secondary option.

I started reading your trip report only a couple of days ago and have taken the little spare time I have (three kids) to read it all. All I can say is !!!!!!!!!!Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!! can't wait to read the rest.

Aww, thanks Cbum! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying it.

I'm still here...hanging on your every word!

A few comments about your latest posts: love, love, love your shots of FOTLK. Of course, I don't have a DSLR (yet....want one SOOOOOOO bad!), just a point-n-shoot but my pics always come out so horrible because of the lighting and the action. I feel like I totally need to take a course in photography so I can understand the aspects of lighting and action. Thinking that should be AFTER I buy my first DSLR. Nikon D3000 is what you recommend for a newbie, huh?

Oooh, you’re back! I hope you had an amazing trip.

I shoot with a Canon, so I would probably recommend one of the Rebel models, like the T2i or T3i. That being said, I don’t think you can go wrong with Canon or Nikon... I would suggest looking at the entry level DSLRs for each, compare some of the features (like ISO capabilities, whether or not you want video, etc.) and then go to a brick and mortar store and handle each of them. See which one feels best in your hands. Then go buy online!

After seeing/reading your info about WL, I'm leaning toward that one for our '12 trip. Trying to decide which resort to book for that trip. My two brothers and maybe my sister (none of whom are major Disney fans like I am) are going with us for the first time. I want to make sure our resort experience is extra magical! Since one item on my bucket list is to stay at every resort on property, AKL, POR, and THV are off the list of possibilities. We're thinking this might be a 2-week trip and I'm thinking that a deluxe might not be a possibility either. We might just have to make it work since WL looks so great! (Am I repeating myself? )

Now why in the world haven't I thought to do that before? What a great idea!

Oh, you've totally gotten me in the mood to get started on my trip report from June 17-21! Coming very soon!

If this is going to be a two week trip, you may want to look into annual passes. And then, while there aren’t any guarantees that they will release passholder rates, it would be a nice bonus it they do. Just a thought.

I agree that the Wilderness Lodge would be a great way for folks who may not be as “in to Disney” to enjoy the whole experience, as well. The resort really can make a difference in the trip!

Can’t wait to read your report!

Wow those waffles did look amazing!! It's crazy how one thing can be served so differently all over The World! I'm pretty sure we'll have to make a jaunt over there next time we're there. They looked so good!

Ok, I'm so lost!! Can you clue me in??

If you look closely at the picture, the rock formation forms Jafar’s head (with the majority of the rock making up his turban). I believe we first saw this mentioned in one of the Hidden Mickey guidebooks. It’s become a bit grown over since then, but you can still kind of make him out.

Seriously... the waffles at Roaring Fork are so worth the trip!

Thanks for the tip on the Dawa bar. I'm not sure why we've never really figured this one out! It is so great to know it is there. DH and I LOVE World Showcase so this would be right up our alley!!

Flying Fish! On our next trip, this will so be the signature dining experience that we choose, even if we only choose one! I remember all that you have said about it and the fact that it is on the Boardwalk, etc. Yes, we must do it.

Yeah, the Dawa Bar sits back in beside the entrance to Tusker House and the ambiance really can’t be beat.

Hoooray for the Flying Fish... it’s totally worth every penny!

Holly, I am absolutely loving your review, as always! Your pictures from the Dream are beautiful, and your review has me convinced that that needs to be our next cruise. The virtual porthole looks like so much fun!

And OMG, your wedding was AMAZING!!! So beautiful, the dress, the hair and makeup, the day, the pictures, everything was perfect! Did the slightly used "pixie dust" come out of the hem of your dress?

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

You totally need to bust the piggy bank and book the Dream. Being a fan of both cruises and Disney, it’s totally worth the extra money that you have to spend.

Thank you for all the kind words about the wedding, it really was the most perfect day. I’ve been back to Sunset Pointe a couple of times since then and every time I feel so lucky to have gotten the wedding of my dreams. As for the pixie dust, would you believe I haven’t had her cleaned yet?! :eek: I know, right. I was seriously contemplating a “trash the dress” type session (honestly, because I needed an excuse to wear it again :animwink:), so that’s why it hasn’t been cleaned yet. But now I’m wondering if it isn’t better to *always* want to wear it again, and leave well enough alone, if that makes any sense. Either way, I really need to get her to the cleaners.

Between moving across the country and the lack of good internet here and there, I can't remember what I've commented on!

Let me just sum everything up by saying I am still in love with this trip report.

Thanks, Tammy. You get a pass, seeing as how you’re in the middle of yet another move!

I know! First Sea World in Aurora, now a gymnastics history (although I was hardly good enough to warrant practicing 15-20 hours per week)...what will be next???

Really, you’re right. What is next!?

Holly, I have a question. I heard on another message board that you aren't allowed to take pictures of the shows on the Dream. Do you know if that's true?

You know, not once did I hear a spiel about “no photography” prior to the shows. And I usually pay attention to those things. Now, they may have mentioned “no flash photography,” but that’s a whole other beast entirely. I think you’ll be just fine to take photos. There were plenty of people around me with DSLRs and none of us were asked to stop.

Wahoo!!! Wilderness...love it. Its fabulous.

Ok so I am going to have to add Flying Fish to list of restaurants that we must try apparently. Sounds and looks delicious..Yum...

Everest is sad to see without the full effects but I still think its a great ride!

I cant wait to hear about what your thoughts on V&A....and for the rest.

You are soooo totally at Disney World right now! Spoiler alert: LOVED Vicky’s.

Okay, I'm all caught up now! I must say, although I was so ready to get home to my pets and my bed and my house in general, I am a little jealous that you got to straight to the Wilderness Lodge from the Dream!

Loving all of your photos of Animal Kingdom. In a way I can't wait for more, but in a way, I don't want the end of this Trip Report to ever come!

Not me, Erin... I really can’t wait to wrap this trip report up! :sohappy: I feel bad for dragging it out for what seems like an eternity! I figure I’ll finish within three months of the first post. That’s just ridiculous!

Phew! just read all of your trip report in one sitting! Only took 3 hours lol great report/ great pics! cant wait to see the rest!

Three hours?! I’m impressed... it took me that long just to post the wedding ceremony portion if you go back and look at my posting times. :eek: Thanks for reading and commenting, Eric. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it.


I just got a new computer as the last one finally went kaput. So as soon as I can get all my pics uploaded, I'm going to start my report on CC so I'll let ya know.

Started my honeymoon report!

Woohoooo... I’m off to check it out as soon as I get a chance! I’ll be sure to post!

Oh my gosh Holly, I have MIA for the last few months and boy have I missed a lot. We finally moved in to our house so I now have no excuses and I have stayed up late many nights catching up on your review.....Amazing job !!!! Congratulations on your wedding, you looked absolutely stunning and what a perfect day, so glad that everything turned out like a dream

I loved the cruise review, I am still working on the hubby to do a 7-day on the Magic in the fall with the little man. What a great way to celebrate our 5-year anniversary and although I am certain Oliver (our baby boy) would be thrilled with any vacation, this mama really needs a Disney fix. What is your opinion on spending the extra for Disney to take a 1-year old.....are we nuts, should we wait?

Thank you, Angie. I still marvel over how lucky we were to have the “perfect” wedding. You also get a pass, what with a new house and a busy little one running around!

Okay, I think everyone else was better equipped to answer your question seeing as how I don’t have kids yet, but I agree with them. I would probably do it. Even if Oliver doesn’t have strong memories of the vacation, you and Trevor will and those will last forever. I say go for it!

ok now back to this AWESOME trip report, but I think Holly fell asleep at the computer.......HOLLY! HOLLY! HEY HOLLY! WAKE UP! We want MORE! really can't wait for a new update.

If I'm correct...I believe Holly is again adventuring in the World! Lucky thing! So she'll owe us another TR soon! ha ha!

Yes I think you are right. I think I read that in another thread! So does this mean that we will get to have some awesome back-to-back Trip Reports??!!

OH NO SHE DIDN'T!!!! I just might have to drive the 6 hours to Orlando, and tell her "bad bad girl" for leaving us hanging like that! Oh wait I can just stay and play too!! Oh how I wish!

Yep... you’ve got it right! I’ve been lucky enough to go back to Disney three times since the Wedding/Disneymoon trip. Two of those were work-related trips and one was for the Pixar Pals weekend at Epcot.

I love that u take pics of tyhe stoaways ,it actually gave me an idea of something to do on my solo trip as a surprise to my girls

I think this is a fabulous idea... my head’s just swimming with all kinds of thoughts on what you might do!

Holly, you're going to be writing trip reports for the next few years!! Hope you had a good time!!

Yep. I’m thinking a couple of them will be abbreviated a bit. Otherwise, I’ll never catch up.

Um, I think this actually makes 2 or 3 TRs in addition to finishing this one. Must be nice!

Seriously. Holly, I think maybe there's a point in your 'year of Disney' that you should start combining & abbreviating or maybe just hitting the highlights if you bother posting the adventures at all. Maybe you should just put your books together for you first. Of course, that's after you finish this report. I just don't want to see you get burned out or so behind that you feel so discouraged that we never see any reports ever again. Ya know?

Honestly, I can't think of a better people to have a 'year of Disney'. Y'all are the sweetest and totally appreciate every moment. And just think how many more characters will be swarming your character tree this Christmas! Wow!

I’m in total agreement with you, Kelly. I don’t want writing the trips to feel like a chore. Therefore, I think I’m going to do mostly “photo reports” of both my work-related trip and do a more traditional full out report for my and Brett’s Pixar weekend trip. Regardless, they’ll all be short, seeing as how each trip was only three full days in length. In comparison, this one spanned ten days and involved a lot of thought and effort in transferring my emotions to text. I just can’t see not writing them at all, more for myself/family than for anyone else. I know you totally get that!

Oh yeah... the character tree is getting rather full. It’s definitely time to buy a bigger one! As I can’t seem to stop buying plush!!

So it's been, like, 7 months since I've been on WDWmagic. And what's one of the first things I see? This awesome, stupendous, tremendous trip report. It really made me smile. Congrats, Holly and Bret! May your future hold nothing but happiness.

Todd!! :wave: So glad you dropped in and posted. Thanks for all the kind words and I hope the last 7 months have kept you busy with all sorts of great things!

Waiting patiently.....somewhat

I am also waiting patiently!!!

Jamie

It’s coming, ladies! While I didn’t make the deadline I set for myself of having a post up by the end of the weekend, I did at least get the next full day finished! And I'm posting shortly.

Waiting impatiently... I'm bored and I can't remember what we ate at Vicky's!

Sure, now that I'm not embarrassing you with the camera, I bet you're glad I took all those pictures of your food!

LOL!! Ok so does this mean that you guys are back? I hope you had a great trip!

My stowaway post from Friday morning was actually taken as we (my mom and I) were returning from Disney. I guess it was hard to see how sad Chip and Dale actually were! :lol:

She hasn't been taking me on all these trips! Less vacations (without me) and more trip reporting, please!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. At least I’ve been bringing new plush home with me every trip!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, March 25: Magic Kingdom/Victoria and Albert’s

So, you know how during the planning stages of a trip, you check every little detail, like EMH, park hours, nighttime shows, ride closures, etc. so you can be the best little planner in the world and make the best out of your time at Disney?! Well, isn’t it just the worst when you find out at the last minute that your carefully laid plans get all messed up due to last minute changes?! Ugh! That is exactly what happened to us on Friday morning. We secured 8:10am breakfast ressies at the Crystal Palace, so we’d be able to get into the park early and enjoy breakfast before park opening.

Turns out, there was a schedule change at the Magic Kingdom and the park was now opening at 8am (not EMH). I guess they were really expecting to see an influx of spring break crowds. We didn’t even realize this until we showed up at the gates. Curses! Our plans had been foiled! Sure, the park was still super empty, so it wasn’t too terribly bad. :lol:

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When we first walked in the park, a Main Street CM noticed our ears and motioned us over. She was going on and on about the wonders of marriage and how cute we were. She was adorable. She offered to take our picture on an empty Main Street.

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Curse you, scrims!

Then it turned into a photo shoot, she kept saying things like, “Oooh, now sit here! Turn this way! Look at her! Look at her! Now KISS!” She was so cute, going on and on about what a great photographer she was and how lucky we were to have found her.

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This CM was amazing, I really wish we’d gotten her name. In fact, we knew we’d seen her before. Back in December while we were waiting for the parade to start, we watched her entertain a whole group of kids for quite some time. I love seeing CMs who clearly love their jobs and find joy in spreading the magic.

Favorite!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We checked in for our breakfast reservations at the Crystal Palace and then waited around only 5 minutes or so before being led to our table.

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Woohoo… it’s Friendship Day!

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Hopefully that means Winnie made us some of his special puffy French toast. He did! He did!

The Crystal Palace scores some points with me for having a unique breakfast item on the buffet. The puffy French toast is the closest thing we’ve found to the deep fried French toast they served at Boatwright’s when it was still open for breakfast. I miss that meal so much.

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There were some other things on our plates, too, but really… let’s be honest, we came for the puffy French toast... and Eeyore. :D

Piglet stopped in to see us first…

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And then Tigger bounced by…

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We waited and waited for Eeyore and Pooh, but they seemed to still be on the far side of the other room. By this time we had already settled the bill so, unfortunately, we did something we’ve never done before at any character meal… we skipped out. :cry: With the park having opened at 8am, we really felt like we were missing something out there. You know, cause it’s not like we’ve done it all before or won’t have an opportunity to do it all again. :rolleyes:

Seriously, the Crystal Palace lobby is so beautiful…

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Back in the park, Brett headed towards Frontierland to pick up fastpasses for Big Thunder, and I went back to Main Street to see if the Town Square Theatre meet and greet was open to guests yet. Rumor had it, it might be, and we were really hoping that maybe Mickey would be in a different ensemble completely. Yes, I know, my trip report is old news. :lol:

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As I was standing there taking pictures, a couple of suits walked up and I could overhear them talking about the banners that were hanging down on either side of the main signage. Let’s just put it this way, they weren’t happy. Apparently, the banners had gone up over the previous evening, and these ladies wanted them taken down immediately. They were talking about how much of an eye sore the chains were – I had to agree with them, it didn’t look very good. Would you believe they were down by the very next day? Talk about making things happen!

I met back up with Brett near the hub, where some promotional video or commercial of some sort was taking place. Snow White and all her dwarves were out.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When we made our way around the corner into Adventureland, we could see Al and Jasmine dancing and singing to one another. It was so cute – they were completely alone. We ruined it by walking by. :lol: Jasmine called out to us “newlyweds” so we went over for a quick picture. Jasmine quipped that we must pose like “royalty” and she instructed us on how…

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We took a quick trip through the Caribbean. I swear, we didn’t see another soul until we exited back into Adventureland.

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We were making our way onto Splash Mountain when we saw Mickey and Minnie hanging out in the exit area. We decided not to take any chances on whether or not they’d be there when we exited, and instead headed on over.

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It’s a good thing, because when we passed through after the ride, they were no longer out. We headed on up to Big Thunder for our fastpass return. Yeah… there was hardly anyone in the standby line!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Walking through Liberty Square, Brett noticed one of the square signs with a Mickey hand on it (you know, the character greeting ones) just outside of the Hall of Presidents, so we walked in. Colonial Mickey was hanging out, solo. Score! This was a completely *new* character for us. We thought we had met him before (during the 2009 marathon), but then we realized he had been in different colonial attire that day.

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In Fantasyland, we took some pictures of the construction taking place on the Beast’s castle… again, this report is a bit dated! Look how much progress they’ve made! :lol:

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It was around 10:30am and Fantasyland was nearly empty, so we rode some of the classics.

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I’m very excited for the Great Goofini! Love the signage for the newly themed ride…

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Onward to Tomorrowland! And the best ride ever… the TTA!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
With early dinner reservations at Vicky’s, we thought it would be best to eat a light lunch. Seeing as how we wanted to spend some time at Silver Creek Springs, we started making our way back to the Wilderness Lodge to grab a bite at Roaring Fork!

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We picked up a burger combo to split and then grabbed a seat in the empty dining room.

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Lunch was good, but nothing too special. Seriously, breakfast is where it's at at the Roaring Fork! Go! Tell 'em Hollybelle sent you for the waffles. :D

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The afternoon was spent without Ginger. Sad, I know. But we had a great time relaxing and soaking up the sun at Silver Creek Springs. It’s such a great pool. However, the slide? It’s lame. And it’s definitely no Aquaduck, that’s for sure. I believe I took quite the nap in one of the loungers while we were at the pool, luckily though, I woke up in time to shower and get ready for our one week anniversary at Vicky’s! :animwink: :lol:

We got all gussied up and made our way down to the boat launch. After much debate over how we would get to Vicky’s, we finally decided on a boat to the Contemporary and then a monorail ride over to the Grand Floridian. Our chariot:

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Yeah… my heels weren’t so happy with this choice. They kept getting stuck in the wooden slats, both at the Wilderness Lodge, and again when we got off the boat over at the Contemporary.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Those of you who followed along with my pre-trip report are very aware of Brett’s booking *incident* with Vicky’s. It was quite the entertaining story. If you haven’t read about it, here’s the Cliffs notes version: Brett booked our meal and then forwarded the confirmation email to me. Of course, out beside the sample menu he included lots of “OM NOM NOMS” and “ME WANT THIS” statements, a la Cookie Monster. Well, he ended up replying to the email rather than forwarding it. Within the day, he received a reply from someone at Victoria and Albert’s asking if he had any specific questions. HILARIOUSNESS, I tell you!

We joked that we had likely been “red flagged” in the system. Hell, maybe they wouldn’t even let us in. :lookaroun Brett thought if he adorned a monocle and tails that they would recognize him for his uber-sophistication and forget his prior transgressions… I didn’t find the monocle that convincing, myself. :lol:

Anyhow, we got to the Grand Floridian with about 10 minutes to spare before our scheduled arrival time.

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I was excited because I thought this meant we would have plenty of time to find someone to take our picture, seeing as how we were all dolled up in our finest and all. Before this could happen, we rounded the corner towards Vicky’s and Citricos only to be spoken to by name, “Why Mr. and Mrs. Hollybelle!”

Oh no… make a run for it, babe, they’re on to us! Were we that easy to spot?! One look at us and they must’ve known we were the ones who like to use our Cookie Monster voices when hungry. :lol: Seriously though, I really was wondering how they could be so sure it was us. Were we the only party of two dining that night?

Now that the butler (yes, I said butler) had engaged us in conversation, I thought it would be rude (not to mention, unclassy) to ask him to take our picture. So, instead, we talked a bit about the fabulous food around Walt Disney World. I found it interesting that when I asked him his favorites, he quickly rattled off an impressive list of four: Vicky’s, Citricos, California Grill, and the Flying Fish. I asked his opinion on Narcoossee’s and he commented that the chef was recently given more freedom with the menu, and he was excited about that. This got me thinking about signature restaurants… it’s almost like there are two tiers of signature dining: places with truly signature experiences, and places that simply have a signature price tag. More on this later (after our next meal).

After a few minutes, the butler led us inside where a couple of maids were waiting to escort us to our table in the main dining room. We were the ONLY people there. And it’s not like we were our usual super duper early nerdy selves or anything, we had actually timed it just right. OMG?! Were we going to be the only diners in the place? Awwwwk-ward.

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Before we go much further, let me stop and say that about 10 minutes after we were seated, another couple arrived (probably mid-40’s), and one of the maids went to get the man, who was wearing a golf polo :eek:, a jacket so that he could enter the main dining room. She was discreet about it, but with no one else in the room it was hard not to notice. I was shocked that someone would actually show up that way. Any concerns I may have had about us feeling out of place were quickly squashed.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Our servers (a team of two butlers) greeted us upon being seated and introduced themselves as Don and Shaun. They were a perfect team; their serving approach was like a well choreographed dance. Albeit, a dance that should’ve taken place in the dining room over at the Haunted Mansion. I kid you not, the attire at Vicky’s is eerily like the costuming found over in Master Gracey’s neck of the woods. :lol: Maybe there was a mix up in laundry services that week!

Almost immediately, we felt comfortable with Don and Shaun. One of them, Don I believe, rattled off the menu like an old pro and Shaun answered my questions about the wine pairing, which came highly recommended by both butlers. It was supposed to be the best way to experience the meal… for obvious reasons, of course. Shaun told me that each pour was only 2-3 ounces. I guess this meant I shouldn’t, you know, be under the table at the end of the night. :lookaroun We'll see about that, now won't we?!

It was a lot of money, but after pricing it against some of the bottles, we realized it was worth that little bit extra to have each of our courses accompanied by the perfect pairing. What the hell, we only live once (and we’ll only have one one-week anniversary :lol:), right? We totally went for it, not looking back. Bad call on our parts, because I’ll never be able to eat at Victoria and Albert’s again without the wine pairing!

Following our golden rule about experiencing new and different dishes, we went through the courses together, alternating who got to pick first on each of them. Don came and took our order, and then we settled in for the best meal of our lives. Really!

After much debate with myself leading up to this fabulous meal, I decided it would be okay to bust out Ginger for some shots of the food. I really didn’t know whether or not I would go through with it until we got there, but our servers made us feel so comfortable that it wasn’t an issue at all. Fair warning though, the pictures aren’t good. It was incredibly dark in Vicky’s and my camera has a max ISO setting of 1600 (curse you, Ginger!), so I did what I could.

Quickly after we ordered, Shaun returned with two champagne flutes and a bottle of cuvee. 2-3 ounce pour, my a$$, he filled those suckers to the rim. Cheers, love!

The amuse bouche that evening was a lobster quattro. Yes, lobster... lobster four ways. Clockwise from the top right: lobster bisque, a lobster salad roll, poached lobster with caviar, and lobster mousse with dill. It was the perfect bite, or rather, four bites. When we commented on its deliciousness to Shaun, he smiled knowingly and said “It gets better!” Be still my beating heart… this meal might actually be worth every dollar we’re spending on it. :eek: :D

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Following the amuse bouche, came the first course. Brett had a tuna and octopus dish, accompanied by micro greens and paired with a Riesling. Brett’s not a salad eater, and yet he gobbled up the greens… wanting more. :animwink:

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For this, I ordered applewood smoked buffalo, waldorf style. Thinking back over the meal, this was definitely my FAVORITE course of the evening. I don’t really know what to say about it other than that it completely blew me away.

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The addition of the apple was ingenious. And I was loving ever sip of the wine pairing, a pinot gris. Somewhere along the way we talked with Don about our love of red wine and the fact that we rarely ever buy a bottle of white. And yet, here I was, absolutely loving my white wine pairing.

For our second course, Brett had a diver scallop with braised fennel and blood orange gastrique. Throughout the course, he kept talking about the burst of flavor he got from the blood orange in that first bite. That one little bite enhanced the entire dish for him. It reminded me a lot of a dish I had a Jiko a year or two ago with meyer lemons. Not so much in flavor, but in intensity of flavor.

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My second course was an Asian inspired dish… sake-soy-marinated halibut with bok choy and soy beans. Now, when we decided to add the wine pairings to our meal, I didn’t pay much attention to what the wine pairings would be with each dish (I didn’t want to be swayed by the glass when choosing my courses). Instead, I just trusted that, whatever it was, it would bring out the best flavors in the dish. So, imagine my surprise when Don appeared at the table and filled my glass with rice wine. Sure, it may have been the best sake in the world, but it was still sake. My one and only previous experience with sake (a night wrought with bad choices :lol:) left me and sake on the latter end of a love-hate relationship. And here we meet again!

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The halibut was delicious, but I left the sake until the end. I figured shooting it would be better than savoring its complexities. After all, a sake-buzz shouldn’t be wasted. Am I not right?! You totally know I'm right. :animwink:

The third course landed the top spot for Brett. It was a simple roasted butternut squash soup with tortellini. Really. This is surprising for a couple of reasons, but mainly because Brett is such an entrée guy… he’s all about the protein in a dish. Of course, the presentation only added to our enjoyment of the dish. Shaun brought out a bowl that had some tortellini stacked on one side with a butternut squash paste streaked across the bowl. He then poured broth into the bowl and instructed Brett to stir it all up with the accompanying spice-filled spoon. As if that wasn’t enough, he filled the white wine glass with a Spanish ale. Yes, you read that correctly, the butternut squash soup was paired with beer. Beer served out of a wine bottle. Slurp! :slurp:

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Shhh… don’t tell a certain someone, but my third dish was duck breast, duck sausage, and confit with a strawberry rhubarb puree. Honestly, I’ve never tasted such a flavor combination. This was something entirely new to the palette. Of course, when Don shared with me that we were moving back into familiar territory with my wine pairing, a pinot noir, I broke out into a huge grin. I love me some red wine!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I believe, it was somewhere between courses three and four that we started to feel our alcohol – shooting a full pour of sake may or may not have had something to do with it in my case. :lookaroun Either way, we were feeling good. We were in that perfect zone between tipsy and drunk and the moment couldn’t have been more perfect. I think we were in the middle of a discussion about the wonderfulness that was our wedding when Brett identified the harpist’s song (yes, there is a harpist at Vicky’s); it was Ben Folds’ “Magic.” How cool is that?! For two huge music lovers (and fans of Ben), it was the neatest thing to hear such a song being played, and completely unexpected from such a fancy-pants restaurant. Of course, after this we were listening to see what else she played. Later in the night we recognized one other song, Jessie’s song, “When She Loved Me.” Tear-jerker!

Back to the meal… for course four, which I guess could be considered the “main course,” Brett had poulet rouge with black trumpet mushrooms and truffle gnocchi. That’s chicken, for those of you who were wondering. :lol: It had foam! Agghhh… Marcel would be so impressed. It was also Brett’s first red wine pairing of the night, a ripasso.

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I went with the pork tenderloin and pork belly with cannellini bean sauce. I pretty much decided on this because I’ve always heard (mostly through Top Chef) how amazing pork belly can be, and I’d never tried it before. It didn’t disappoint, but to be fair, nothing at V&A's was a disappointment so it had help. Oh yeah, it was paired with a Zinfandel. Hooray, for even more red wine!

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I think it may have been after the fourth course that I realized I wouldn’t make it through the entire meal without a visit to the Ladies’ room. Holy bathrooms… they were nice. When I returned, I noticed that my napkin was gone and there was a new one hanging delicately over the arm of my chair. Brett said one of the maids was on me like a hawk, as soon as I got up she swooped in and switched out the napkins. Likewise, when I returned, I went to pull my wrap up around my shoulders (with my fumbling drunk hands, apparently), and one of the maids was there in an instant to help me, stating something about how I must’ve caught a chill. It was somewhat odd, but surprisingly enough it wasn't uncomfortable.

Our fifth course, a palette cleanser, was white chocolate gelato with tableside shavings and micro orchids. Yes, Shaun shaved fresh white chocolate over our gelato, and yes, it was heavenly. It was also accompanied by another sparkling wine. Mmmmm. Seriously, we both agreed that the palette cleanser swept dessert. It was absolutely divine. Oh how I wish I could’ve purchased a vat of it to take home with me. :slurp:

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For dessert, Brett had the vanilla bean crème brulee, and I ordered the Grand Marnier soufflé (as if I needed more alcohol!). Both were incredibly good, but neither one had us raving. Let’s put it this way, unlike the rest of the courses, the dessert didn’t leave us feeling like we were tasting something we’d never tasted before.

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After dessert we were offered coffee, which we declined. Then the bill came… with a couple small candies and a loaf of “breakfast” bread (which we tried the next morning and found to be disgusting). We thanked Don and Shaun, added a little extra to their tip, and then made our way to the exit. The whole time expecting to hear a disembodied voice whispering, “And now, a ghost, will follow you home!” :lol:

Do I really need to say it?! Okay, I will... BEST MEAL EVER!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Things were a little fuzzy as we made our way back to the Lodge. We decided to take the boat to the MK and then catch a boat to the Wilderness Lodge from there. Only problem was, we got down to the boat dock and waited for what seemed like an eternity for a boat to come. Seeing as how I didn’t get any pictures of us before dinner, we decided to take some of our drunk selves along the way… somehow, they’re missing that level of elegance I was looking for. :lol:

“Look, honey, we’re broke! But dinner sure was good.”

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Gotta get that mirror shot.

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The menus at Victoria and Albert's are personalized with your name... there it is folks, the first time seeing my new name in print. Sooooo weird.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When a boat finally came, there was only room for three. I think we were the first people there, but we had been sitting out on the dock, and weren’t actually waiting in line, so we decided to just make our way back up to the monorail instead.

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Looking at the above picture has me realizing that we never thought to actually take the rose they gave me out of the box! :lol:

“Why yes, yes, I did just dine at Victoria and Albert’s! What’s that?! You like my monocle!? It’s the epitome of class.”

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(for all the followers of my pre-trip report... this ones for you!)

The next thing I knew, we were walking down the ramp from the monorail to the MK. Just as we came along the edge of Bay Lake, I heard something crash to the ground… and my neck suddenly felt lighter. OMG! I looked down to see batteries rolling across the concrete towards the lake. My external flash had just fallen off the camera and the battery compartment had popped open. You know that rule saying that you shouldn’t operate heavy machinery while intoxicated? Well it should include expensive toys in the fine print. All I can figure is I didn’t get the flash locked in place when I attached it after dinner. Again, 2-3 ounce pours, my a$$! Brett was convinced it was my camera that had fallen and he said his heart dropped because he knew how attached I am to Ginger. Luckily though, we recovered all the different pieces, except for one of the rechargeable batteries, which the lake had claimed for its own. The flash continues to work just fine; however, it doesn’t lock securely in place. I’m still not sure whether the attachment or the actually hot shoe got bent when it fell off. I consider myself lucky though, because it probably could’ve been so much worse.

Not wanting to call it a night yet (aka: go back and pass out in the room), we decided to hop on a bus to Epcot for evening extra magic hours. Of course, it didn’t cross our minds to change before doing so, so we looked a little silly wandering around the park all dressed up.

Drunk?! Yes.

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Drunker!? Most definitely!

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Judging by these pictures, I’d say we rode The Seas when we arrived at the park!

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When we saw that the line for the Character Spot was fairly short, we decided to stop in…

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After that, I’d pretty much hit the wall… fun drunk turned into super duper tired drunk really quickly! :lol: So we made our way to the exit and back to the Wilderness Lodge.



My apologies for the super long pause between posts... I really do hope to do much better with the last two. I'm incredibly happy that you haven't bailed on me yet!

Next: we make the most of our last full day of this fabulous Disneymoon, hitting up the Studios, Epcot, and the Magic Kingdom!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Holly!!!! I missed you last week! I was hoping to hear from you at some point. Hopefully next time???

Karen! I'm sooooo sorry. Things got crazy before we left for our trip and then we ended up only having two brief days in the parks. Next time we'll have to actually plan it out ahead of time. I hope you're enjoying all the new fun to be had!!
 

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