Pre-Trip Our Pop Century Honeymoon!

I’m sort of new here- sort of because while this is only my third post, I’ve been lurking and reading the forums since early 2015 (when I was last planning a WDW trip). Now I find myself planning both a wedding (November 4th, 2017) and our Disney World honeymoon! What better way to distract myself from the things I should be doing than to introduce myself via this PTR?

First, to introduce myself! I’m Amanda, 28, living in northern Michigan, working in academic services at a public university, and having fun with my fiancé, Daniel, and our two dogs. Daniel and I met three years ago while working in the lodging department in Yellowstone National Park. It’s been a great three years and we are very excited to get married this fall!



My first trip to Disneyland! October 2014.

We’ve both mean to Disney parks multiple times. My family visited WDW several times before I was six and then again in 2003 and 2009. Despite the large gap between trips I was a very Disney-obsessed child with the Lion King and Mickey Mouse being my favorites for pretty much forever. In 2013 I was able to take a spring break trip with a friend (we stayed off site at the Avanti Resort). Daniel is from southern California and grew up going to Disneyland. He had only one WDW trip under his belt before meeting me- his grandparents took him and stayed at the Swan in 1995. Whenever we visit his family we (mostly me) make time to visit Disneyland and DCA. We took our first trip to WDW together in 2015 and stayed at All Star Movies over a long weekend. Now I never want to stay offsite ever again!




My Dad and I in the Magic Kingdom. My best guess is winter of 1990!




My first visit back in over eight years- Epcot in 2003! First ever visit for my sisters.

Which brings us to today and the planning for our honeymoon- here are some details:

Where?
Pop Century Resort- we debated between Pop, AoA, and Caribbean Beach for quite a while. We ultimately chose Pop because it was $400 cheaper than CBR, the Little Mermaid rooms didn’t thrill us, and we really like the refurbished rooms at Pop. Now if AoA had Lion King themed standard rooms? I’d be ALL about it!

When?
January 18th-27th, 2018- we will be driving to the Detroit airport on the 18th (six hours- bleh) and flying to Orlando on the 19th. Our local airport is very expensive and very unreliable during the winter months. We’re seriously crossing our fingers that we get good weather on those days! This will also be our very first time using the Magical Express!

The Nitty Gritty!
I have a rough outline of our trip plans though they are obviously subject to change. We have seven days in the World and currently have five day park hoppers. We wanted to leave a couple of days open for breaks and resort hopping. We are also totally open to adding a day if we desire. Our park plans and ADRs look like this:


1/19- Arrive! Hopefully have dinner at California Grill.

1/20- Magic Kingdom.
This will be my first time back in MK since 2013 and his first time since 1995! Hoping for a lunch reservation at Be Our Guest.

1/21- Epcot.
My favorite park! So excited to check out the Festival of the Arts.

1/22- Resort hop!
Breakfast at Kona Café so I can try some of that Tonga Toast!

1/23- Epcot AM/Hollywood Studios PM.
Lunch at Teppan Edo before hopping to HS. We really want to see the new Star Wars show! Planning to set our FPs for HS in the evening.

1/24- Resort hop!
We both really love hotels (from our time working in YNP) so we want to try and visit as many as we can! We’re also hoping to eat at Morimoto Asia this day (Daniel’s very specific request).

1/25- Animal Kingdom.
Looking forward to visiting Pandora but AK has long been my 2nd favorite park. I love the feel of AK. Also Expedition Everest and the Lion King show!

1/26- Magic Kingdom.
It’s been so long since either of us have visited MK we felt it deserved two days (we reserve the right to change our minds). Hoping to eat lunch at Skipper Canteen.

1/27- We just don’t talk about this day. ;)

I do have our Fastpass+ reservations outlined as well but I will save that for another day!

Thanks for reading and sharing in my excitement!




Carsland in Disney California Adventure- October 2016!
 
Last edited:

amjt660

Premium Member
Just a couple of exciting updates!

First, we decided to splurge and book tickets for the Disney After Hours event on the 26th (our last night). It was pricey but I am looking forward to some extra Magic Kingdom time before we leave.

We also got married over the weekend!

Congratulations on the wedding!!

Curious how you listed it as the second most exciting update though;););)

Just kidding

I wish you all the best for many years to come
P and I have been married for 26 years now (yes - she is a saint to put up with me)

Max
 

Mander

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!!

Congratulations, you look beautiful and very happy.:)

Congratulations! Sending you good wishes and lots of pixie dust.

Thank you all- it was absolutely the happiest and best day!

Congratulations on the wedding!!

Curious how you listed it as the second most exciting update though;););)

Just kidding

I wish you all the best for many years to come
P and I have been married for 26 years now (yes - she is a saint to put up with me)

Max

Thanks so much!

I think I was going for "saving the best for last" though I am very excited for Disney After Hours! :)

Congratulations!!!!! You look beautiful and sooooooo happy!!!! Your happiness exudes our of the photo, I’m melting !!!! :)

Thank you! I don't think I've ever spent a day so deliriously happy. It just went so perfectly!
 

Mander

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Post Fastpass Day Update:
It is sort of surreal to me that our Fastpass day has come and gone- it was on my calendar for so long! Since the wedding earlier this month it feels like time is going by so quickly. We leave tomorrow evening to drive to Detroit and fly to my MIL’s house for Thanksgiving. I’m quite looking forward to the warm Arizona weather this week! But I digress- so many honeymoon related things to share!

We’ve moved our reservations around a bit so I thought I’d just run through the updated trip plan. J

Thurs, 01/18-
We’ll make the drive down to the airport in Grand Rapids. Our flight isn’t until 4:25pm so we will be able to leave in the morning rather than having to drive after dark. I hate driving after dark in winter! Our flight is now a nonstop and will get into MCO around 7:00pm. I think we are going to skip the ME luggage tags and just collect our bags so we will have them right away. Once we get to Pop the plan is to get dinner and attempt to sleep!

Fri, 01/19-
Magic Kingdom! This was going to be a half day with dinner at California Grill originally. Then we decided we didn’t want to give up that much park time. So we have lunch at Be Our Guest and FPs for BTMRR, Space Mountain, and 7DMT. We also want to catch both Festival of Fantasy and Happily Ever After for the first time!

Sat, 01/20-
While I am cautious in my reliance on crowd calendars, every single one seemed to agree that this would be the busiest day of our trip. So we won’t be in any parks! We have a dinner reservation at Morimoto Asia for 6:00pm but that’s the only thing set in stone. I’m thinking we will probably be checking out Wilderness Lodge though- I’ve been anxious to visit since I spent 2016 working at the Old Faithful Inn.

Sun, 01/21-
Animal Kingdom. I was able to get FPs for Flight of Passage! Also for Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris but I wasn’t as worried about those. We have dinner reservations at Yak & Yeti as I’ve heard they are pretty vegetarian friendly. This will also be our first time seeing Rivers of Light and I am quite looking forward to it!

Mon, 01/22-
Epcot. I am so excited to see the Festival of the Arts during this trip. I’ve never actually been to Epcot during a festival! We have lunch reservations at Via Napoli and FPs for Spaceship Earth, Frozen Ever After, and Mission Space. We will definitely be watching Illuminations because it has always been my favorite nighttime show and I cry literally every time I see it.

Tues, 01/23-
This is our second no park day. We have lunch reservations at Paddlefish (not excited about this one personally but my husband requested it) and a dinner reservation at California Grill. I was just able to switch this one from a 5:00pm reservation to one at 7:25pm and I am so glad! Should be great timing for HEA.

Weds, 01/24-
Hollywood Studios. We aren’t planning on a full day here so our morning is wide open. We do have lunch reserved at Beaches & Cream so we may take some time to explore that area before heading to HS. We have FPs for TS Mania, Star Tours, and Tower of Terror (though I’m not sure I’m going to work up the nerve to ride it again- I hate drop rides). While choosing between Fantasmic and SW: A Galactic Spectacular seems impossible, we’ll be trying to catch SW this trip. We’re both big fans and have yet to see this addition. The last time we were at HS the big hat was only halfway demolished!

Thurs, 01/25-
We have the Keys to the Kingdom tour booked at MK starting at 9am. That should be about five hours (and I am beyond thrilled we are doing it) and then the evening will be open. I booked FPs for Epcot (SE, The Land, & Soarin’) but I’m not sure what we will actually end up doing. We’ve thought about going back to HS to catch Fantasmic instead of Epcot, so that’s a possibility.

Fri, 01/26-
Our last day should be a good one. We have breakfast at Kona Café (really want to try the Tonga Toast) at 9:55am and then will be heading to the Magic Kingdom (so long as the Pro Bowl events don’t mess that up which I’ve heard they may). I’ve got FPs for 7DMT, Space Mountain, and Peter Pan’s Flight. This is also the night we have the Disney After Hours event from 8-11pm. We plan to watch HEA again and then just enjoy our last couple of hours. It seems crazy to me that we are paying so much for just three hours (less than if you subtract HEA) but it’s our honeymoon, so why not?

Sat, 01/27-
Our flight leaves at 9:55am so it is going to be an early morning! Hopefully we can sleep on the plane before we have to drive home. I will be excited to see our dogs though. We were also smart enough to take Sunday off so we have a day to recover!

Thanks for taking the time to read this! Everyone in my life has heard me talk about these details so many times- it’s nice to have another place to share them!
 

Mander

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Two weeks from today we will (hopefully) be flying from frigid Michigan to Orlando!

These beauties came in the mail just before Christmas-



Of course I have made a few changes since I last posted.

We were able to refine our FP+ reservations so they flow better thanks to new openings for 7DMT and Flight of Passage. I was even able to snag a second one for FoP on our final day! I decided to add the Magic Kingdom dessert party to our first full day as one of Daniel's Christmas gifts. We've never done one and I felt like continuing the theme of "it's our honeymoon, why not?" was appropriate. We also added a Rose & Crown Pub reservation. It's at 7:35p on our second evening in Epcot. We may see about getting one of those elusive patio tables with a view of Illuminations but aren't holding our breath!

Mostly I am just looking forward to warmer weather (we're at -30 with our windchill) and time with my favorite person. As much as I would like the next two weeks to fly by, I know the trip will go even faster! So I'm trying to savor these final days of anticipation...
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Two weeks from today we will (hopefully) be flying from frigid Michigan to Orlando!

These beauties came in the mail just before Christmas-



Of course I have made a few changes since I last posted.

We were able to refine our FP+ reservations so they flow better thanks to new openings for 7DMT and Flight of Passage. I was even able to snag a second one for FoP on our final day! I decided to add the Magic Kingdom dessert party to our first full day as one of Daniel's Christmas gifts. We've never done one and I felt like continuing the theme of "it's our honeymoon, why not?" was appropriate. We also added a Rose & Crown Pub reservation. It's at 7:35p on our second evening in Epcot. We may see about getting one of those elusive patio tables with a view of Illuminations but aren't holding our breath!

Mostly I am just looking forward to warmer weather (we're at -30 with our windchill) and time with my favorite person. As much as I would like the next two weeks to fly by, I know the trip will go even faster! So I'm trying to savor these final days of anticipation...

Our trips are sooooo soon!! Your magic bands look just like mine ;) still hoping to run into you! Checking the wait times currently and it seems crazy! People go home!! LOL
 

Mander

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
You're going to love Keys to the Kingdom! We did it back in August and our guide was fantastic!

That's wonderful to hear! I've wanted to do it for years now, so glad to finally have the chance!

Maybe we will see you at Pop or Magic Kingdom on your first day (our last :cry:)!

Last days are the worst. I already get a bit sad thinking about ours (trying to plan a fall trip for our anniversary so it's not as bad). I'll be sure and keep an eye out!

Our trips are sooooo soon!! Your magic bands look just like mine ;) still hoping to run into you! Checking the wait times currently and it seems crazy! People go home!! LOL

I noticed we had the same bands- good taste! :) Wait times are crazy right now but I'm hoping after the marathon and MLK weekend it slows a bit. My parents are flying out tomorrow and will be there all week. I'm so interested to see what their crowds are like. And I do hope we bump into each other at some point!
 

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