October Honeymoon Observations

Went to the World for a honeymoon Oct. 19th through Oct. 30th. Let me start out by saying the castmembers really do go out of their way to make you feel special when celebrating something. No, we did not wear the wedding ears the whole time but we did wear our Just Married pins every day and I'd say 80% of the castmembers that saw us said Congratulations. I'm hoping to post some pictures soon but I took over 1,000 of them and it's been a bit busy since we got back.

We were on the deluxe dining plan. By the end of the vacation, we were canceling table service dinners because we had eaten so much food over the week and a half. Some of the great places we ate dinner: Narcoosies, Flying Fish, California Grill, Le Cellier. All top notch. We also did a few character breakfasts at Chef Mickey's, Cape May Cafe, and Crystal Palace.

Stayed at the Grand for 3 nights and the Beach Club (1 Bedroom Villa) for the rest of the vacation. Grand was very elegant and nice and we are glad we did it, but something is definately lacking over there. It's almost too nice or too isolated...hard to put into words. I know it was strange everytime we walked into our building, Big Pine Key, and no one was around compared to the Beach Club and Boardwalk lobbies you walk through to get outside. Big Pine Key was great though with a view you can't beat. Our room on the 2nd floor overlooked the 7 Seas Lagoon, and when I say overlooked I mean it was right there. We also had an amazing view of the Contemporary, the boats, MK's entrance, and of course the castle. We watched Hallowishes fireworks from the balcony after a great dinner at Narcoosie's and that was simply magical. I've been going there since 1982 and it was the first time i ever saw the 7 Seas Lagoon nightly show, it was pretty cool.

Went to MK on the 20th. I posted this already in another thread but the place was mobbed. 60-90 minute waits for Space, Splash, Big Thunder, and most of Fantasyland. That was a huge disappointment after going in 09/07 and walking onto rides. We were also exhausted from the crazy wedding weekend in Philly. I reccomend that anyone taking a honeymoon at Disney either don't fly down the day after the wedding, or don't go into the parks the first full day you are there. You will be exhausted, we definately were.

I rented a Searaycer at the Grand and that was an amazing experience. First time doing that in the 7 Seas Lagoon...nothing quite like being in a boat looking at the train station and the castle right there.

 

[rudyjr13]

The move to the Beach Club was flawless. Bell services was great, even taking one of those Mickey balloons from one resort to the other for us. We took the monorail over to Epcot after checking out at 11am to get some lunch and check out some Epcot rides. A very nice pair of British young women gave us 2 fast passes to Soarin when we first got there. Good thing too since the wait time was 45-60 minutes. We walked over to the Beach Club around 3pm and the room was ready. I highly recommend splurging for the 1 bedroom villa if you can afford it. Great space compared to a regular hotel room. Beach Club was fantastic. First time there for both of us...we stayed at the Boardwalk Hotel last year.

Did MNSSHP one night and it was fantastic. Finally found a way to beat the crowds...hang around after the 2nd parade in the rain, the place was a ghost town. Almost d idn't see the parade due to the rain but we stuck it out with our ponchos and actually had a great view and great time in the rain in front of the castle. Hallowishes fireworks continues to amaze me at the end when they shoot off the wide fireworks.

Keys to the Kingdom tour was excellent. A great time. We had a great guide who had been working in the parades and shows until recently switching to guest relations and tours. I loved it. Learned so much about the history of the MK, the details that you would never know unless you took the tour, and going backstage was a fantastic experience. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to learn more about the history, Walt, Roy, and see the magic behind the magic. I won't go into anymore details to preserve the magic but feel free to PM me with any questions about the tour.

Toy Story Mania was worth the 35 minute wait. Wanted to do it again but the line was longer when we came out of it, and that was during EM hours. In my opinion DHS still needs some love. The place is basically a 3 ride park at this point...Toy Story Mania, Rock and Roller, and Tower of Terror. The backlot needs to go. Our Keys to the Kingdom tourguide did confirm that the Monster's Inc roller coaster based on the flying doors scene is going in next to Toy Story Mania in 2012. I'd like to see something else big go in there though in the backlot around that time. Trying to find food, even popcorn, a few hours before closing back there was impossible with not a castmember in site at the back of the park or on the streets of america. And that streets of america needs something too, put some shops in there or something! Fantasmic was great.

Did Animal Kingdom for one morning. I'm officially conceading to the Yeti. For some reason that darn Everest ride makes me dizzy and sweat profusely but I can go on Space Mountain, Big thunder, and Rock and Roller without issues.

 

[DormaNesbit]

Congratulations on your wedding! Thank you for sharing your trip report with us, can't wait to see some pictures!:wave:

 

[rudyjr13]

My wife wanted to do the dolphins in depth experience at the Seas so we did that as well. I have to say that was amazing too. You don't swim with them but you do get to be in the water, waste deep, with 2 dolphins as they do tricks for you. We were in the water much longer then I thought we would be. Only 8 people are allowed to do it at one time which helped with the experience. You learn about dolphins and get to see the behind the scenes at the Seas. Funniest part was when we walked through the main Seas area in front of all the guests with our TIGHT wetsuits on. We did this because it was a bit chilly in Orlando at the end of last week.

What else can I say? the place is still one of the best in the world. There's so much to do that we didn't even do everything and we were there 11 nights. Jellyrolls? Test Track, Mission to Space? Nope. Not enough time. Then again we did make sure to spend some time resting and relaxing which I also highly recommend. Our next potential trip is planned for early January 2010 so we can experience the tail end of the Christmas in Disney without the crowds. Hopefully we can go with the crazy economy and whatever else changes in 2009. Until then i'll visit these boards everyday.

Like I said, I will try to post some pictures in the next few days to share with everyone. They won't be as good as WDWFigment's pictures because his our just outstanding. I don't know how you get those night shots you get. Thanks for reading and feel free to ask any questions...I love to talk Disney.

 

[gojoe]

Congratulations sounds like a great honeymoon. Good luck.

 

[rudyjr13]

Thanks to both of you and to anyone else who says congrats! It's hard NOT to have a good time in Walt Disney World which is part of the reason we went there for the honeymoon. Another reason was that whole hurricane potential issue in the Carribean in Oct. and of course we both love it.

 

[disneychic71]

Congratulations! My husband and I honeymooned in WDW way back when, and even though we only had four days, we packed them full of fun! We stayed at the GF, also, and treated ourselves to a concierge room in the main building, which was amazing. The CMs outdid themselves, even having Chip and Dale come into the concierge lobby to meet us. We ate at Narcoosee's twice, and have hilarious pics of us drinking yards of ale. Needless to say, it established WDW as our happy place for life, and now we take the kids whenever possible.

Best wishes for a long, happy life together and many more WDW vacations!

 

[ClemsonTigger]

First, congratulations on your marriage and second on choosing to go to Disney. Nice trip report, I'll look forward to seeing some of the pictures.

Glad you enjoyed dolphin encounter...next visit, consider Aqua Tour. Don't need dive certification, but you get to go into the rest of the tank with all the fish. Great fun! Also Segway tours. There is always something more to be experienced!

Do consider going down in early December. As great as Disney is all year, you cannot believe (without going there) the plusses for the holiday season. I'll be down in four weeks, can't wait!

 

[myhappyplace]

My wife wanted to do the dolphins in depth experience at the Seas so we did that as well. I have to say that was amazing too. You don't swim with them but you do get to be in the water, waste deep, with 2 dolphins as they do tricks for you. We were in the water much longer then I thought we would be. Only 8 people are allowed to do it at one time which helped with the experience. You learn about dolphins and get to see the behind the scenes at the Seas. Funniest part was when we walked through the main Seas area in front of all the guests with our TIGHT wetsuits on. We did this because it was a bit chilly in Orlando at the end of last week.

/quote]

I got to do this experience in January and absolutely loved it...glad you enjoyed it as well.
Our instructors asked us if we wanted to through the Seas or did we want to go out of sight from other guests (which was a longer way) and we all collectively decided we'd never see the guests that were there ever again, so we also donned the wetsuits while walking in front of everyone.:ROFLOL:
Congrats on your marriage!

 

[rudyjr13]

First, congratulations on your marriage and second on choosing to go to Disney. Nice trip report, I'll look forward to seeing some of the pictures.

Glad you enjoyed dolphin encounter...next visit, consider Aqua Tour. Don't need dive certification, but you get to go into the rest of the tank with all the fish. Great fun! Also Segway tours. There is always something more to be experienced!

Do consider going down in early December. As great as Disney is all year, you cannot believe (without going there) the plusses for the holiday season. I'll be down in four weeks, can't wait!

I wish we could go in early December instead of early January but the plan now is to go with my in-laws, my wife's aunt and uncle and their 2 college kids so we have to work around their winter break. I hear they keep the decorations up until around January 6th so we can still catch it if we go right after the 1st.

 

[rudyjr13]

Pictures!

Thanks again for the best wishes.

I got a chance to post some pictures. Don't worry, I only chose 96 out of the 1,000 we took. If you want to check them out follow the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rudyjr13/Oct1930Trip

Enjoy, Jared

 

[ArielLover]

Great pics but not one of the happy couple?

 

[ClemsonTigger]

I wish we could go in early December instead of early January but the plan now is to go with my in-laws, my wife's aunt and uncle and their 2 college kids so we have to work around their winter break. I hear they keep the decorations up until around January 6th so we can still catch it if we go right after the 1st.

You are right, decorations and lights are up till the 6th. You will miss Candlelight Processional, MVMCP and the holiday parade...but you get the general experience.

 

[HollyBelle]

Wow... what a view you had from the Grand Floridian! That's amazing. Great report and pictures. Congratulations!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Thanks for the report

 

[firedog31]

Really enjoyed the trip report and the pics, glad you had a great time!!

Also Congrats!

 

[antnic327]

Great trip report and pictures! I am going on my honeymoon to Disney World about the same time as you did next year. We are staying at the Grand Floridian for 5 days/6 nights and then headed on a Disney Cruise for the first time. We are very excited! How was the weather and the crowds?

 

[rudyjr13]

Great trip report and pictures! I am going on my honeymoon to Disney World about the same time as you did next year. We are staying at the Grand Floridian for 5 days/6 nights and then headed on a Disney Cruise for the first time. We are very excited! How was the weather and the crowds?

Weather was great for the first week. Low 80s during the day, which got hot in the sun at the parks and upper 60s at night. Started to turn cooler about half way through though and we wound up wearing hoodies and jeans the last few nights. A little chilly for the pool too during the day but very comfortable compared to when we went in Sept. last year which was brutally hot and humid. We only had 1 night of rain, most of the days were picture perfect sunshine and blue skys.

It was surprisingly more crowded then I thought it woudl be. First Monday in MK was brutal but it got better after that. I think wait times at the big rides in Epcot were pretty bad too, 60 mins. or so for Soarin and Test Track. But we hit up the MNSSHP and extra magic hours to combat the crowds.

We may go back in the first half of 2009 with this new promotion they are doing, buy 4 get 3 free. It's almost too good to pass up!

 

[antnic327]

Weather was great for the first week. Low 80s during the day, which got hot in the sun at the parks and upper 60s at night. Started to turn cooler about half way through though and we wound up wearing hoodies and jeans the last few nights. A little chilly for the pool too during the day but very comfortable compared to when we went in Sept. last year which was brutally hot and humid. We only had 1 night of rain, most of the days were picture perfect sunshine and blue skys.

It was surprisingly more crowded then I thought it would be. First Monday in MK was brutal but it got better after that. I think wait times at the big rides in Epcot were pretty bad too, 60 mins. or so for Soarin and Test Track. But we hit up the MNSSHP and extra magic hours to combat the crowds.

We may go back in the first half of 2009 with this new promotion they are doing, buy 4 get 3 free. It's almost too good to pass up!

The weather sounds similar to how it was for us when we went in January this year. It was surprisingly warm and humid and we only had one tiny storm our first night in the parks.

I am hoping next year it won't be as crowded because I'm sure people will be traveling less to Disney because of the economy, but I'm also sure that Disney will probably do more special promotions to get people to go and spend less money than normally. It's okay though because it's our honeymoon and crowds will not ruin it!

That promotion does sound too good to pass up. My fiance and I would have benefited from that back in 2007 because we stayed at Pop Century, so it would have been free for a few days. Oh well. January is a pretty good time to go, we've gone twice in the past two years, but it is a little bit crowded because a lot of kids have year-round school and there are a lot of international visitors. But, it wasn't too horrible.