So, I wandered into this forum and I can't believe what I've been missing. I love all things Disney and I am currently planning a DISNEY HONEYMOON!! When I saw there was a forum for trip reports...AND for Pre-Trip I got so excited 
WHO: My future husband Matt and I
Some back story:
We met in college and have been together for 6 and a half years. I always thought of us as soulmates, we're so perfectly well matched...but I knew we were meant to be when I found out his parents jumped on the DVC bandwagon one of the first year it was offered back in the late 90's. So they have a nice amount of points every year...and they DON'T USE THEM!! Crazy, I know. We had been dating for a year when he mentioned it, I was like, how are we not there right now?! He hadn't been to Disney in about 10 years and had no interest in going back. I quickly talked him into a vacation and I have successfully turned him into a Disney Addict.
WHERE: Right now we are booked at Old Key West with DVC points, but I'm trying to get us switched to either Boardwalk or Animal Kingdom. Not that I mind OKW, but it's just so HUGE. I don't want to get stuck wayyyy in the back. We requested a room near the main house, so hopefully everything will work out
WHEN: December 21st 2017 - January 2nd 2018
Disney + Christmas + Honeymoon = AWESOME
Back when we started talking about our honeymoon we had no idea what we wanted to do. My fiance is a law student, so we has limited time (and funds). We're getting married in October and decided to honeymoon during his winter break.
His dad was generous enough to offer the DVC points for our honeymoon...how can you say no to that?! He also purchased our park tickets for us using a DVC promotion.
My parents generously bought our plane tickets...so basically we are the luckiest people in the world. I can't thank my parents and future in-laws enough for such a wonderful gift. As you can imagine law school can be pretty expensive and we really didn't think we would be able to do anything more than a weekend in the finger lakes for our honeymoon.
So, with all these major parts of a Disney Vacation being taken care of by our amazing family, we went a little crazy with our plans. I mean, when else to go crazy (and do all those things you always say are too expensive) than your honeymoon?!
We have the 7 day Magic Your Way ticket with Park Hopper & Water Park Fun & More Option (I know this has since been discontinued, but I called and they said these are still good) We're going to try to do 2 days in Universal (we're HUGE Harry Potter fans) and then use the other park-free days to relax.
We're going during the busiest time of year, so patience will be a virtue. My family did Christmas in Disney in 2010 and it was so wonderful. Yes, it was crowded, but we had so much fun we didn't even mind. There's something amazing about riding Big Thunder Mountain at MK... 13 times in a row... at 2am.. on Christmas lol
So I'm sure plans I have for specific parks will change as it gets closer and the park hours get updated, but this is our rough draft:
Arrival Day:
Thursday Dec 21st
We should get into Orlando from snowy and cold Buffalo around 8:30am. I hope to be at OKW by 10:30 at the very latest. Although with the new mobile check in coming, and those handy dandy yellow luggage tags, maybe we can just go right to the park. Only time will tell.
I had originally planned not to go to a park today, and just hang out at DS or many Poly on the beach...but Neil Patrick Harris is narrating his final night at the Candle Light Processional in Epcot that night, so we changed our plans and scheduled the dinner package at Akershus early, and the 8:15 show. I can't wait to see NPH!
Friday Dec 22nd
We have late dinner reservations at Jiko, so maybe HS and AK parking hopping this day. I think we're going to take advantage of that new park hopping service they offer, where they drive you right to the other park, and no going through security again! It seems worth the 20 something dollars for a few days.
Saturday Dec 23rd
Probably AK today, we have lunch reservations at Tiffins!
Sunday Dec 24th
Christmas Eve! We'll be in MK today. We have breakfast at Be Our Guest Breakfast and dinner at Skipper Canteen. I'm hoping that it will be like last Christmas Eve I spend at MK, riding rides practically alone as the park didn't officially close until 3am. I have NEVER seen it so empty... fingers crossed!
Monday Dec 25th
Epcot today. As we did the Holiday pageant a couple of days earlier, today will just be chill, enjoying the atmosphere and all the holiday themed offerings. We have dinner reservations at Teppan Edo.(A strange choice for Christmas dinner, I know. But Hubby really wanted to try hibachi)
Tuesday Dec 26th
Finally a rest day! We will probably have been operating at light speed up until now, so today will be a welcome rest. I'm hoping we'll get some nice weather and can go to TL at some point during our trip. We have dinner reservations at 'Ohana, and we'll spend the evening at Poly in the lounge and on the beach watching the fireworks
Wednesday Dec 27th & Thursday Dec 28th
We'll probably take an Uber to Universal these 2 days. If not we'll hang by the pool, maybe play a round of golf, who knows.
Friday Dec 29th
Today we'll be enjoying the Spa at the Grand Floridian and then dinner at Victoria & Albert's! I am so excited about this!!
Not sure what Spa package we'll do; any suggestions? Or a different Spa? I know there are a handful on property, but I'm not very familiar with any of them.
Saturday Dec 30th
MK shows their New Year's Eve fireworks both the 30th and 31st so we're taking advantage of that with the day at MK. We have a breakfast ADR at Cinderella's Royal Table.
Sunday Dec 31st
Happy NYE! We got incredibly lucky and secured reservations at the NYE celebration at Hacienda de San Angel! It is described as: Seating at 9:30pm will include a five-course, prix fixe meal featuring a Surf and Turf entree, live mariachi music, tequila and margarita pairings, and views of the NYE IllumiNations.
I am beyond excited about this. Before we found this I was dreading the 40 min wait for the bathrooms and getting a fireworks spot 3 hrs in advance. Then this popped up in my research I was determined to make it work. I called Disney Dining a ton of times, asking about any updates or any news at all. It had been mentioned on previous NYE posts throughout the internet but I saw nothing about this year. I finally found an email address for guest services and reached out. A few days later I got a call from a CM letting me know that they were doing the dinner again this year, and she could book it for me (even though it technically had not been opened to the public yet). I was blown away that not only did someone answer my email, but they called me, and were able to book me reservations.
Monday Jan 1st
Another rest day! We'll probably play mini golf and hang out by the pool during the day. We have an ADR for dinner at Flying Fish and then we'll head over to Jellyrolls for the evening
Tuesday Jan 2nd
Last Day
We will be having Afternoon Tea at Garden View Tea Room. I've never done this before, and I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing afternoon before heading back to OKW to get our bus back to Orlando.
As Honeymooners, do you think we're missing anything vital?
Are there restaurants that you think we should do instead of one of our picks?
Any help or suggestion appreciated!
WHO: My future husband Matt and I
Some back story:
We met in college and have been together for 6 and a half years. I always thought of us as soulmates, we're so perfectly well matched...but I knew we were meant to be when I found out his parents jumped on the DVC bandwagon one of the first year it was offered back in the late 90's. So they have a nice amount of points every year...and they DON'T USE THEM!! Crazy, I know. We had been dating for a year when he mentioned it, I was like, how are we not there right now?! He hadn't been to Disney in about 10 years and had no interest in going back. I quickly talked him into a vacation and I have successfully turned him into a Disney Addict.
WHERE: Right now we are booked at Old Key West with DVC points, but I'm trying to get us switched to either Boardwalk or Animal Kingdom. Not that I mind OKW, but it's just so HUGE. I don't want to get stuck wayyyy in the back. We requested a room near the main house, so hopefully everything will work out
WHEN: December 21st 2017 - January 2nd 2018
Disney + Christmas + Honeymoon = AWESOME
Back when we started talking about our honeymoon we had no idea what we wanted to do. My fiance is a law student, so we has limited time (and funds). We're getting married in October and decided to honeymoon during his winter break.
His dad was generous enough to offer the DVC points for our honeymoon...how can you say no to that?! He also purchased our park tickets for us using a DVC promotion.
My parents generously bought our plane tickets...so basically we are the luckiest people in the world. I can't thank my parents and future in-laws enough for such a wonderful gift. As you can imagine law school can be pretty expensive and we really didn't think we would be able to do anything more than a weekend in the finger lakes for our honeymoon.
So, with all these major parts of a Disney Vacation being taken care of by our amazing family, we went a little crazy with our plans. I mean, when else to go crazy (and do all those things you always say are too expensive) than your honeymoon?!
We have the 7 day Magic Your Way ticket with Park Hopper & Water Park Fun & More Option (I know this has since been discontinued, but I called and they said these are still good) We're going to try to do 2 days in Universal (we're HUGE Harry Potter fans) and then use the other park-free days to relax.
We're going during the busiest time of year, so patience will be a virtue. My family did Christmas in Disney in 2010 and it was so wonderful. Yes, it was crowded, but we had so much fun we didn't even mind. There's something amazing about riding Big Thunder Mountain at MK... 13 times in a row... at 2am.. on Christmas lol
So I'm sure plans I have for specific parks will change as it gets closer and the park hours get updated, but this is our rough draft:
Arrival Day:
Thursday Dec 21st
We should get into Orlando from snowy and cold Buffalo around 8:30am. I hope to be at OKW by 10:30 at the very latest. Although with the new mobile check in coming, and those handy dandy yellow luggage tags, maybe we can just go right to the park. Only time will tell.
I had originally planned not to go to a park today, and just hang out at DS or many Poly on the beach...but Neil Patrick Harris is narrating his final night at the Candle Light Processional in Epcot that night, so we changed our plans and scheduled the dinner package at Akershus early, and the 8:15 show. I can't wait to see NPH!
Friday Dec 22nd
We have late dinner reservations at Jiko, so maybe HS and AK parking hopping this day. I think we're going to take advantage of that new park hopping service they offer, where they drive you right to the other park, and no going through security again! It seems worth the 20 something dollars for a few days.
Saturday Dec 23rd
Probably AK today, we have lunch reservations at Tiffins!
Sunday Dec 24th
Christmas Eve! We'll be in MK today. We have breakfast at Be Our Guest Breakfast and dinner at Skipper Canteen. I'm hoping that it will be like last Christmas Eve I spend at MK, riding rides practically alone as the park didn't officially close until 3am. I have NEVER seen it so empty... fingers crossed!
Monday Dec 25th
Epcot today. As we did the Holiday pageant a couple of days earlier, today will just be chill, enjoying the atmosphere and all the holiday themed offerings. We have dinner reservations at Teppan Edo.(A strange choice for Christmas dinner, I know. But Hubby really wanted to try hibachi)
Tuesday Dec 26th
Finally a rest day! We will probably have been operating at light speed up until now, so today will be a welcome rest. I'm hoping we'll get some nice weather and can go to TL at some point during our trip. We have dinner reservations at 'Ohana, and we'll spend the evening at Poly in the lounge and on the beach watching the fireworks
Wednesday Dec 27th & Thursday Dec 28th
We'll probably take an Uber to Universal these 2 days. If not we'll hang by the pool, maybe play a round of golf, who knows.
Friday Dec 29th
Today we'll be enjoying the Spa at the Grand Floridian and then dinner at Victoria & Albert's! I am so excited about this!!
Not sure what Spa package we'll do; any suggestions? Or a different Spa? I know there are a handful on property, but I'm not very familiar with any of them.
Saturday Dec 30th
MK shows their New Year's Eve fireworks both the 30th and 31st so we're taking advantage of that with the day at MK. We have a breakfast ADR at Cinderella's Royal Table.
Sunday Dec 31st
Happy NYE! We got incredibly lucky and secured reservations at the NYE celebration at Hacienda de San Angel! It is described as: Seating at 9:30pm will include a five-course, prix fixe meal featuring a Surf and Turf entree, live mariachi music, tequila and margarita pairings, and views of the NYE IllumiNations.
I am beyond excited about this. Before we found this I was dreading the 40 min wait for the bathrooms and getting a fireworks spot 3 hrs in advance. Then this popped up in my research I was determined to make it work. I called Disney Dining a ton of times, asking about any updates or any news at all. It had been mentioned on previous NYE posts throughout the internet but I saw nothing about this year. I finally found an email address for guest services and reached out. A few days later I got a call from a CM letting me know that they were doing the dinner again this year, and she could book it for me (even though it technically had not been opened to the public yet). I was blown away that not only did someone answer my email, but they called me, and were able to book me reservations.
Monday Jan 1st
Another rest day! We'll probably play mini golf and hang out by the pool during the day. We have an ADR for dinner at Flying Fish and then we'll head over to Jellyrolls for the evening
Tuesday Jan 2nd
Last Day
We will be having Afternoon Tea at Garden View Tea Room. I've never done this before, and I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing afternoon before heading back to OKW to get our bus back to Orlando.
As Honeymooners, do you think we're missing anything vital?
Are there restaurants that you think we should do instead of one of our picks?
Any help or suggestion appreciated!
