Trip Report "Feel the flow, here we go..." - Our Disney Honeymoon (finally complete!)

And just like that, we’re back!

I knew our honeymoon would fly by but you can never really prepare yourself for how quickly it actually goes. It’s crazy to me that I’m writing this from my office when just one week ago I was in the middle of a full day at Epcot.

At least it means I get to write this trip report! I’m excited to share and also to have a slightly more detailed than normal account of our trip. It’s crazy how the details fade over time!

Some quick details-

Who?
I’m Amanda and I’m bringing my newly acquired husband, Daniel! We met while working in Yellowstone NP but now live in Michigan. We have two dogs and one cat, and both grew up going to Disney (me world, him land). We got married November 4th, 2017 and are still pretty excited about it.

Here we are post-getting hitched:

All the love to Mary Boike Photography for this. If you're in northern Michigan and need a photographer, I absolutely recommend her work!

When?
January 18th-27th, 2018

Where?
Pop Century Resort

Why?
It’s our honeymoon! We just wanted to delay it until after the holidays.

If you want to catch up on our full pre-trip report, it’s here.

Now onward to the good stuff!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Following! I will have to check my pictures to see if you are in the background!

Beautiful wedding pic!! I LOVE your bouquet!!

 

[Mander]

01.18.2018 - Departure Day

The day was finally here! I had finished packing the night before so all that was left to do was get our dogs dropped off, load the car, and take the last link in our “countdown” chain down (you know- those paper chains kids make with construction paper). Daniel loaded the car while I dropped the dogs at my parent’s house. We live on the same street so it was super convenient!


Here is a picture of my loves- Oliver on the left and Kasey on the right.

Our drive to the airport is about 4.5 hours. We’re coming from the eastern end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula down to Grand Rapids. While we do have a local airport, it is small (two gates) and really unreliable during the winter months. Between the expense and risk of cancellation, we just don’t use it. I was nervous about what kind of weather Michigan would give us in mid-January but it was great. Very windy but the roads were clear all the way down. We got in early enough we had time to stop at Target for a new pair of sunglasses (of course I had to forget something) and we wanted to use our Target gift card to get a Disney one. Once we finished it was off to the airport.

As people who usually fly out of Detroit, I cannot say enough good things about the Gerald R. Ford Airport! It was such a nice size, security was a breeze, and the TSA agents were so nice! This was our first time on Southwest and I loved being able to check bags without an additional charge. I did end up purchasing the early bird check in option to ensure we could sit together but in retrospect we probably didn’t need to. We boarded as A48/49 and got seats in the seventh row.



Just a short two and a half hours later and we made it to Orlando!



This would actually be our first time using the Magical Express! My family always drove and we lived in Key Largo last time we visited together so there was no need to fly. We made our way down to ME check in pretty quickly- forgoing airport food in anticipation of resort food (we would regret this). The line was long but moved quickly and soon enough we were on our bus heading to Pop Century!





If you can't tell by our Magical Express selfie, we were tired. We'd been traveling for about 12 hours at this point and just wanted food and bed. Our check in, however, would not be terribly smooth.

 

[Mander]

Following! I will have to check my pictures to see if you are in the background!

Beautiful wedding pic!! I LOVE your bouquet!!

Thank you!

It's actually still sitting in our guest room completely dried out because I don't have the heart to throw it away (but I really, really need to). It was full of eucalyptus and smelled wonderfully!

 

[PacNWTigger]

Following along. Such a beautiful wedding pic and super cute fur babies!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Congratulations! And great choice of a honeymoon destination!

 

[MinnieM123]

You're probably tired of hearing congratulations, but -- congratulations!! Very nice wedding picture--looks like maybe a few rain drops that day? That's o.k.--rain is supposed to bring good luck to the bride and groom.

P.S.: Your dogs are so cute! Glad that they could stay with your parents while you went on your honeymoon.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Congratulations you look beautiful!!! Can’t wait to read all about your honeymoon!! Starting to slightly panic for my own wedding, wishing a Disney moon was waiting for me at the end! Will live vicariously through yours so thanks for having us along!

 

[Mander]

Following along. Such a beautiful wedding pic and super cute fur babies!

Thank you!

Congratulations! And great choice of a honeymoon destination!

Thanks! We are quite happy with how it all turned out!

You're probably tired of hearing congratulations, but -- congratulations!! Very nice wedding picture--looks like maybe a few rain drops that day? That's o.k.--rain is supposed to bring good luck to the bride and groom.

P.S.: Your dogs are so cute! Glad that they could stay with your parents while you went on your honeymoon.

It was actually a pleasant mix of snow and rain! This picture was at the very end of our outdoor shots. By the time we made it back inside my hair was such a mess! But we got wonderful pictures before that so it all worked out!

Thanks! I love being able to leave them with my parents rather than a boarding kennel. It works so well as we can take their dogs when they are out of town.

Congratulations you look beautiful!!! Can’t wait to read all about your honeymoon!! Starting to slightly panic for my own wedding, wishing a Disney moon was waiting for me at the end! Will live vicariously through yours so thanks for having us along!

Thank you! Wedding planning is stressful! We had a small one and planning it still made me crazy! But it all paid off and the day went perfectly! I'm sure yours will go well too!

 

[Mander]

By the time we got to Pop, we were very tired, very hungry, and very happy to finally be there! We decided to drop our carry on in the room before venturing to get food. I had done online check in but never received a text. I could see our room number in the MDE app though, so surely our MagicBands will just work? We walked over to building nine and, as I should have expected, the light was red. We went back to the front desk and got in the still quite long queue. I think we waited about 15 minutes before we spoke to someone and got checked in (for real this time). We also opted out of housekeeping (we don't typically use it anyway so getting $80 for doing our normal was nice) and got our Happily Ever After buttons.

After that, we checked our carry on with luggage assistance and made our way to get dinner. Unfortunately all of our running around meant it was now time for everyone to return from the parks. The food court was PACKED. We got in the burger line since it was the shortest. It moved quickly but when I ordered the plant based burger they said it would be seven minutes. That was fine, so we waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

We had received Daniel’s food quickly so I was a bit frustrated that his food would be cold by the time mine went on the grill. The CM working the counter was dealing with a very upset guest regarding kosher meals so I didn’t want to add to her stress. Once that guest walked away, she noticed I was still waiting. She reminded them to put it on the grill and it was finally cooking! We had it a few minutes later. Now to wait in line to pay! All in all, it took us almost an hour to get our food and sit down. We loved Pop but our dealings with the food court were not great. I did actually really like the plant based burger though! Especially with the avocado they put on it!

We picked up our bag and Amazon Prime Now order before heading back to the room. This time our door lit up green! We were surprised to find we'd been given the king bed we requested so many months ago! I really wasn't expecting it and it was such a nice thing to find after all of that. It's too bad I was so out of it and neglected to take a room picture but the one below is from Google Images/Reddit. I also added some shots of our view from later in the week- it was a fantastic location!







I really loved the new room style. There was lots of storage and the room felt clean and modern! I think the big piece of Mickey pop art adds just enough "Disney" to remind you where you are. I unpacked us a bit while watching the "must-dos". Then it was off to bed with dreams of the Magic Kingdom in our heads!

 

[Rebel Scum Mama]

Congratulations! Love your choice of flowers, bet it smelled amazing! Cute fur babies too.

 

[Sabrina1705]

Congratulations!
Following along.

 

[Rista1313]

Yay! I've been waiting for your Trip Report! Even though it was a long day, it sounds uneventful (i.e. no weather, no flight issues) so that's always a good travel day!

 

[Mander]

01.19.2018 | Magic Kingdom

I was expecting us to wake up early without an alarm but I am so glad I set one just in case! We had planned to hit up the EMH hours at MK that morning from 8-9a. But we actually didn’t wake up until our one alarm at 7:30! Apparently we were as tired as we felt the night before!

We got ready quickly, grabbed some granola bars, and headed for the bus stop.





One of my favorite things about our building was how quick it was to walk to the buses if you cut through the parking lot! It was so convenient! We were able to board a bus right away and even got seats (always nice as Daniel has a bad knee and Disney aggravates it enough with all the walking). I was so happy during this first bus ride! I remember just taking in the views (of mostly construction) and listening to how excited everyone was. The lines for bag check were pretty long and I have knack for picking slow moving lines (as Daniel so helpfully pointed out to me numerous times this week). We got through and soon enough we were right on Main Street, USA!



Obligatory castle selfie.



Did we immediately race toward Adventureland as was our initial plan?

No.

We immediately raced toward Starbucks because the need for coffee was strong. Amazingly enough EMH was not over when we got our drinks in hand! We had about 15 minutes left so headed away from Main Street toward the entrance to Liberty Square, I believe. Somehow in all of the planning and reading I did, I neglected to learn that not all of MK is open during EMH! So we were, of course, directed toward Fantasyland. This was just about the time the welcome show (we didn’t watch because I love the old version so much more) was ending and the masses were heading towards the lands. We walked back down to Liberty Square and waited with the rest as we were escorted further into the park.





We peeled off from the group to head toward Adventureland and our first ride of the trip!



We got the front seat! Which was absolutely drenched from running through without passengers sitting in it. Not a pleasant surprise! We enjoyed the ride though Daniel commented that he didn’t realize how much better the Disneyland version was. Since we grew up going to different parks we always enjoy discussing the differences and how strongly our “home” parks are the versions of things we remember. Until this trip he had only been to MK once back in 1995! Anyway, we said goodbye to the redhead (though I’m actually looking forward to her new role) and were heading back for Frontierland.





I haven't ridden Splash Mountain in years. I think the last time was back in 2008. So when it went down in the fall I was so hopeful it would actually be open in January. Alas, it was not. Someday I'll ride it again!

Our actual destination was our first fastpass of the day- Big Thunder Mountain!

 

[becca_]

Congrats!! I'm following along (how cute that we both have Daniels!)

 

[prfctlyximprct]

I love your hubbys hat!! I wanted to buy one for Joe! I am jealous you are able to discuss Disneyland versions versus Disney world versions. One day I will get over to that land!!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Following along! What a beautiful wedding picture of you two! I hope the day was magical!!! Yes, I had such trouble throwing out my boquet because I just loved all the colors and flowers and reminders of what a special day!
Sorry check in and the food court was such a hassle. We noticed that at the All-Stars the last time we were there. They weren't able to keep up with everyone's order on the grill!
You made Pirates the first ride of the trip! We don't ever do it intentionally, but somehow, it always ends up the last ride of the trip for us! Tho we've ridden it many times during each trip!

Can't wait to hear what's next for you!

 

[Mander]

Congrats!! I'm following along (how cute that we both have Daniels!)

Thank you! And I thought so too!

I love your hubbys hat!! I wanted to buy one for Joe! I am jealous you are able to discuss Disneyland versions versus Disney world versions. One day I will get over to that land!!

Thank you! He doesn't usually wear ears but told me before Christmas that he just wanted a plain hat with ears and he would. Little did he know that Cakeworthy had just the thing! And he did wear them most of the week- until he bought another hat he liked!

Definitely do DL when you can! I love WDW but there is something really special about DL. I really want to go back next year.

Following along! What a beautiful wedding picture of you two! I hope the day was magical!!! Yes, I had such trouble throwing out my boquet because I just loved all the colors and flowers and reminders of what a special day!
Sorry check in and the food court was such a hassle. We noticed that at the All-Stars the last time we were there. They weren't able to keep up with everyone's order on the grill!
You made Pirates the first ride of the trip! We don't ever do it intentionally, but somehow, it always ends up the last ride of the trip for us! Tho we've ridden it many times during each trip!

Can't wait to hear what's next for you!

Thank you!

I think check in would have been better but we were both exhausted so that just made everything feel like more of a hassle. It definitely wouldn't stop us from staying at Pop again in the future though!

 

[Mander]

It seemed a bit silly using a FP for BTM when the standby line was only ten minutes but what can you do? It made the ride walk on and we really could have ridden it again. We decided to move on though. I do just really love Big Thunder- such a fun ride and great theme!

Our next FP was for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train but we had almost an hour. We started walking through Frontierland back over toward Liberty Square.







Once at Liberty Square we discovered that the posted wait time for Haunted Mansion was just 25 minutes. It's a favorite for both of us so we decided to get in line. We last rode HM at Disneyland in 2014 while it had the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay. I love the overlay but still love the original version the most. I was looking forward to it!





Now we'll have family story time!

My uncle's name is Fred. Every single time I've visited Magic Kingdom with my Dad he takes a picture out this tombstone and sends it to my uncle (or showed it back before cell phones). He thinks it is the funniest thing. So now, per tradition, I take a picture and send it to my Dad. The Haunted Mansion is also the scene of a favorite childhood story of my parents. I had to have been about three and they decided to let me ride Haunted Mansion as I'd handled everything else so well. Their hopes for a smooth ride were dashed when a Cast Member spooked me with a loud "boo" in the stretching room. I screamed bloody murder from that point until we exited the ride. Twenty-six years later and I still hear this story anytime Disney comes up! Now, they had good reason to think I'd like the ride. I was obsessed with the Disneyland Fun Sing Along VHS and Grim Grinning Ghosts was my favorite of all the songs.

It's things like that- years of family memories and experiences- that make Disney such a special place for me.

Moving on!

We enjoyed Haunted Mansion as always and then headed for Fantasyland.

Peter Pan's Flight was already at a high wait but It's a Small World only had fifteen minutes posted. This is another ride that I just really appreciate. The art design is absolutely wonderful! I do think that I prefer the Disneyland version with the outdoor facade/queue (though that wouldn't be as enjoyable in Florida).





The signs worked! The personalized goodbye is a nice touch.

Next it was finally time for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! This would be a first for both of us and we were really looking forward to it.





We both really loved it! I was really expecting way more of a kiddie coaster (like The Barnstormer). It’s such a smooth, fun ride! The dark ride scenes are really done well. I can see why it gets the wait times it does, though I doubt we’d wait more than 45 minutes for it in the future.

Our Be Our Guest lunch reservation was still about 40 minutes away at this point. We each had a granola bar and contemplated what to do next. Fantasyland was rapidly filling up and we had no intention of waiting more than 30 minutes for Winnie the Pooh or Peter Pan’s Flight. I consulted the app and Voyage of the Little Mermaid was showing a 20 minute wait time, so we walked over there.

I want to say this section of the park is new since my last visit though I could be wrong. Either way, I didn’t remember it! The queue here is so, so much better than the one at DCA and the ride is cute. It’s not a favorite of ours but it was a nice way to spend the time.

Now it was time for a much hyped lunch reservation at Be Our Guest!







We originally had a breakfast reservation but when I saw how expensive it was we switched to lunch. I’m glad we did! Daniel had the Croque Monsier and I had the potato leek soup with a Master’s Cupcake. The soup was really good and I definitely could have eaten more of it. I also enjoyed the “gray stuff” though I probably wouldn’t spend $5 on a cupcake again! At least that specific cupcake.



We took a long time eating because we were enjoying the restaurant so much and we knew how busy it was getting outside. I wouldn’t say the crowds were horrible during our trip but they were more than this time of year used to be. We had a Space Mountain fastpass after lunch, so we headed toward Tomorrowland for a ride on the People Mover.



The People Mover is one of my favorite things. Such a nice spot to take a break and a classic attraction.





By the time we got off the People Mover it was time for Space Mountain! We both adore this one and had been looking forward to it all day. Once in line I was able to get an additional fastpass for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin later that evening. That was the only thing available so I knew the park was hopping!



We headed for The Lunching Pad for a post-Space Mountain snack. Our favorite, a Mickey pretzel with cheese!



Tomorrowland was also pretty overrun at that point. I knew I wanted to see Festival of Fantasy today so we headed for Main Street to stake out a spot and browse the shops a bit.

 

[LeighM]

I'm so upset that Pirates will be closed during our March stay. We're going to miss it by one day Just an excuse to go back right lol?