Trip Report Our Fairytale Wedding

Hello! Several months have passed since we said "I do" at the most magical place on earth, but we are just finally wrapping up all of our post-wedding tasks and have gotten all the photos and videos back etc so I think it's finally time I put it to a trip report!

When: December 9-18, 2021
Where: Walt Disney World
Why: Wedding!!
Resorts: Saratoga Springs, Bay Lake Tower, Contemporary Resort and Beach Club Villas
Main Characters: Maci & Jimmy (bride and groom to be!)
Supporting Cast: Our four kids, Jimmy's family, Maci's family, Wedding Party, childhood friends, distant relatives - it's a big wedding y'all!

I'll start with some backstory. We got engaged on my 30th birthday trip to WDW back in 2019. It was a picture perfect moment, just the two of us in a near empty Epcot. My now-hubby always knew how important Disney was to me and that we'd be getting married there, but other than that I was open to most of the other details. After enjoying the rest of our trip for my birthday with our friends (there were 12 of us in total, it was great!), we looked at calendars and planned a date of 2/12/21, giving us over a year to save and plan for our perfect day. As you all well know, 2020 threw the world for a loop and Disney got hit hard, in October of 2020 we had to make the tough call to postpone our wedding due to all the intense restrictions on weddings through Disney Fairytale Weddings and social distancing protocols. Our new date was 12/12/21 - a new month, a new season, but thankfully, not a new year!

Our initial plan was to get married at the Yacht Club Wedding Gazebo since I used to work at Yacht Club it was special to me, and then we'd move to a ballroom there for the reception. But with December weather potentially being cold, we wanted an indoor ceremony location and with more time to save, we upgraded our reception location as well! So our wedding in December 2021 was honestly nothing like we planned and pictured for the first year of our engagement. We changed just about everything

My hubby has four kids and quite a large family, so around our wedding events we also made a little Disney vacation for them and did our best to split time between wedding stuff and family vacation stuff, so there will be a bit of both throughout this TR.

Welcome along, and I look forward to sharing it with you all!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Oh very excited to hear about this! Congrats!

 

[MagicalMaci]

Our Fairytale Wedding Day 1: Travel

We decided to leave for Disney with the kids after work on Thursday. We were super not ready to go as the week leading up was just so hectic. After packing *so* many bags, we made our way to the airport. We had 5 checked bags and 5 carry-ons plus 5 personal items between the 5 of us. It doesn't sound bad, but 5 of those bags were mine

We got to the airport just at the right time. We drove ourselves because parking has been so reasonable lately. Twisted Root was right next to our gate so we stopped and got some burgers. It was about 4pm so an awkward time to eat but we'd be mid-air at dinner time and I didn't want anyone getting hangry.

The flight was rather uneventful. We watched some Disney+ and I napped. We got our bags and headed to Magical Express for the last time. We waited on the bus about 20 minutes before heading to the resorts.

When we arrived at the hotel, I placed a mobile order for some food to share since we were all a little hungry again and the QS would be closing soon so I wanted to make sure we got something. We were staying at Saratoga Springs and honestly were so impressed with the quick service options. The food was simple but hot, fresh and delicious! I love the look of the renovated rooms at SS. We were only here for one night and would be switching hotels in the morning but it was lovely and got the job done. We all settled in for a busy week ahead.

 

[MagicalMaci]

Oh very excited to hear about this! Congrats!

Thank you!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Ooohhh. A wedding trip report!!! I'm in.

 

[wdwmagic]

Congratulations!!

 

[MagicalMaci]

Our Fairytale Wedding Day 2 Part 1: Magic Kingdom

So we wanted to spend some time with our kids and family before it was all wedding all the time so we planned a MK day first thing. We packed up from SS and Jimmy hopped in a Lyft with our cold stuff (frozen cookie dough and bubbly from our friend who ran wonderful booze pickup errand for us) and I finished getting the kids up and waited for bell services. It took about 15-20 mins for them to come past their scheduled arrival time since I had called in advance. So that was very frustrating. We'd be moving to Bay Lake Tower today and Jimmy's parents would be joining us in a two bedroom villa.

Since he was waiting for us, the hubs picked up some breakfast from Contempo Cafe and the kids and I were finally on a bus to MK after seeing so many busses for other parks go by. We arrived around 9 so we missed the 30 min early arrival window but at least we made it. I headed to Guest Relations to get my DAS set up and the Cast Member there was fantastic so the day was turning around pretty quickly.

We headed towards Jungle Cruise because Jimmy really wanted to see the Jingle Cruise but our return time was still a bit away so we started with Pirates. What a classic to kick off our trip! Next up we popped over to Big Thunder Mountain for some thrills. We got some Photopass pics and headed to Jingle Cruise where we had a GREAT skipper. I was laughing the whole time.

We headed for a bathroom and water break because by this point the sun was hot. Then we headed to Haunted Mansion for another great classic ride.

 

[MagicalMaci]

Our Fairytale Wedding Day 2 Part 2: Magic Kingdom

The kids were wearing out quick and it was about 12:30 so we decided to do a lunch break. We opted for Sleepy Hollow and waited in quite the line only to find out they had already stopped serving the fruit waffles

so we got all the kids the chicken and waffle sammiches and I got a corn dog. I also got the 50th anniversary drink which was tasty! The spice on the chicken waffle was too much for our youngest and she refused to eat the corn dog or the chips and just pouted so that was a little rough. We also saw a Cavalcade while we were waiting which was fun!

Everyone else ate their fill and Jimmy's siblings started to finally connect with us for our big Kirk family park day. We found his brother and family and hopped in line with them to meet some princesses. The royalty greeting was an absolute delight! Elena taught my nieces some dance moves and they were excited to use them at the wedding!

It was time for our return time on 7 Dwarves so we headed that way and everyone loved it. My lack of sleep from the late night flight and early morning hotel move was catching up with me and I was getting really tired so we did Philharmagic and I loved the new scene with Coco! We hopped over to Tea Cups for a spin before meeting back up with the entire Kirk family (19 of us!) for a ride on Peter Pan. The little’s loved the ride but I was exhausted at this point so Jimmy and I went to check into Bay Lake Tower and left the kids with the grandparents and cousins to continue the fun. We stopped on the other side of Princess Fairytale Hall since Rapunzel is my girl (note the engagement ring pic outfits, and keep that in mind as we get to actual wedding stuff) and headed out, catching another cavalcade on the way.

 

[cgersic]

I'm truly not sure if I've read a wedding trip report, so CONGRATULATIONS and I can't wait for more!!!

 

[MagicalMaci]

Our Fairytale Wedding Day 2 Part 3: Checking In

We made our way out of the park and walked over to Bay Lake Tower to check in. We had booked a lake view but we’re surprised to see the castle outside our window! A little wedding magic it seems BLT is my home resort, I've been a DVC member for about 10 years now, and the two bedroom villas here are just so perfect for our family. We called down to bell services to have our luggage brought up and hung out and waited for it. By the time it came up it was pretty much time for us to head out for our dinner reservation!

Tonight we were dining with my side of the family to give them some face time as well since we were staying with Jimmy's side. Most of us were at Contemporary so we went down to the main concourse to meet my mom and grandpa. Well, they took forever

but eventually we were on the monorail heading to the Polynesian.

We checked in at Kona Cafe and explained our situation. We had 2 reservations of 6 but if they could put us all together we’d appreciate it. They were happy to accommodate and so excited for us to be married this weekend! Some of the family hadn’t arrived yet so we headed over to the lounge for drinks which was lovely. I of course had to get a Lapu Lapu but Jimmy doesn't like pineapple so he got a Backscratcher instead!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Loving your report and cannot wait for your magical wedding day photos. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[erstwo]

I expected the kids to be three years to maybe 8 years old. . You two look like teenagers yourselves!
Congratulations and thank you for sharing your wedding with us!

 

[Bullseye1967]

 

[MagicalMaci]

Congratulations!!

Thank you!

I'm truly not sure if I've read a wedding trip report, so CONGRATULATIONS and I can't wait for more!!!

Well good, nothing to compare it to lol! And thank you!

Loving your report and cannot wait for your magical wedding day photos. Thanks for sharing with us.

Don't worry, there are TONS to come.

I expected the kids to be three years to maybe 8 years old. . You two look like teenagers yourselves!
Congratulations and thank you for sharing your wedding with us!

Thank you! Jimmy just turned FORTY this month! He's thankfully just aging very well Our oldest is 20 and youngest just turned 11!

Thank you!

 

[MagicalMaci]

Our Fairytale Wedding Day 2 Part 4: Kona Cafe Family Dinner

The rest of the family finally arrived and we went back to Kona and were sat right away. Our server was wonderful and in no time we had lots of plates of potstickers. A family favorite! We also got some sushi, Kona Cafe used to have such a great sushi menu and it was very limited when we were there which was disappointing. The special tonight was chicken fried steak which seemed out of place but still, my mom and uncle got that and loved it! There was also a chicken stir fry special which I went for, it was good but not a favorite. We also tried almost everything on the menu between the 11 of us.

Appetizers

Crispy Pork-Vegetable Pot Sticker

Spicy Tuna Roll: Ahi Tuna, Spicy Mayonnaise, Cucumber (spicy sauce on the side)

California Roll: Jumbo Lump Crab, Citrus Mayonnaise, Cucumber, Avocado

Entrees

Mahi with Bacon: Pan-fried Mahi, Butter Croutons, Marble Potato, Tomato, Arugula, Soy Velouté

Chicken noodle special

Chicken Fried Steak Special

Kona Braised Short Rib: Kona Coffee-braised Short Rib, Creamy Mashed Potato, Broccolini

Pork Belly Noodle Bowl: Bone Broth, Rice Noodles, Soy Egg, Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Hot Sesame Oil​

Everyone enjoyed their meal and it was all quite tasty and we were very full. But still, we ordered one of each dessert to try! The shot glass desserts were cute and the perfect way to get a sweet taste at the end of the meal. Our server also brought over a congratulations plate of little dessert bites for us too which was so sweet. I really felt like a bride-to-be with this treatment! We had a great time laughing and enjoying a great meal but ultimately had to end the party because I had a busy night ahead still! We packed up the leftovers and headed out.

Desserts

Variety of Mini Desserts

Our Celebration Plate​

 

[fractal]

Congrats and following along - great pics!

 

[Wilsonfamily4]

Fun to read a wedding to report. Thanks for sharing!

 

[MickeyCB]

I'm in and enjoying following along!

 

[cfry06]

First of all - Congratulations!! Beautiful family

Such a fun report, and I‘m sure lots more fun to come! Can’t wait to read more about the wedding as well.

 

[DryerLintFan]

This is exciting! Congrats!!