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Jonathan and Amber´s Honeymoon Trip Report …or… “Voyage of the Disney-mooners!” Part One

m. on Sunday afternoon. Their families and their stress from the wedding were behind them. All that remained was a meeting with a mouse.


Okay – a little background is necessary here, before I go too much further. I´m Jonathan – and I grew up a Disney fan. My family is from New York, and we traveled to Walt Disney World (WDW) many times through the years. I was there when EPCOT opened and promptly fell in love with Figment. I was there when MGM opened, and adored Star Tours and the Great Movie Ride. Even after I grew up (and I use that term VERY loosely), I chose to visit again during my freshman year of college (1996) with my roommate, when we blitzed through the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and MGM in one day. (Man were we exhausted!) This was my most recent trip to any Disney park. In 2000, I moved to Seattle Washington, where I completed Law School, and am now an attorney on the east side of Seattle (and avid MouseTunes podcast listener)!


My bride, Amber, grew up in the Seattle area, and has never (yes NEVER) been to any theme or amusement park in her life. She´s been to a few state fairs, but never more than that. I was a little nervous however, when the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton made her a little motion sick. But as soon as I started telling her about WDW, and we started doing our homework (Birnbaum, unofficial guide, podcasts, learning about pin trading at the World of Disney in New York, etc etc etc) she started to get more and more excited about making this a fun, and very romantic honeymoon. Although she warned me that I could very easily go too far and get on her nerves. I tried not to go too overboard.


The wedding took place March 4th at the Bellagio in Las Vegas with 26 family members and friends there to share in our day and a beautiful dinner.


And now – back to our story.


We had slept on the plane and were excited about our first real Florida experience together. (Side note: Southwest airlines, although less expensive, took great care of us – when they found out we were celebrating our honeymoon, they gave us a bottle of champagne to share!) We had booked a Magic-Your-Way Plus Dining package for seven days, including Disney´s Magical Express, and were headed to the Wilderness Lodge to check into a concierge room.


We were quite happy that the Magical Express would take care of our luggage, since it was considerable what with the wedding and all previously, and quickly found our way to the counter to get our transport to the Lodge. The counter cast members were friendly and very helpful. We didn´t have to wait for our bus at all, and were quickly loaded on. Our bus driver Joe told us that although his video system was broken, he´d tell us anything we wanted to know as he drove. Our bus only had three groups on it, so it was generally empty, leaving us lots of time to chat. Joe was friendly and knowledgeable, but I found myself gabbing with the other passengers who were wondering all sorts of things that I knew from listening to the podcasts (when does Everest open? Is Pirates down? Etc.).


Things quieted down as we approached the Magic Kingdom Resort area, as we knew the Wilderness Lodge was our first stop. As we rounded the corner and saw the lodge for the first time (my family had always stayed at the Polynesian) we were struck with a sense of awe. If you haven´t seen it before, it´s huge. And not just run of the mill huge, but this is GY-NORMOUS! As we gasped from the sheer enormity and beauty of the lodge, we decided to go in. The lobby is even…well…huger.


There are bubbling creeks inside the lobby. Huge totem poles (Disney and non). And yet the lodge manages to achieve a sense of homeyness that is hard to capture at most resorts. Disney really hit the nail with this one.


We grabbed a bellhop who whisked us past the check in lines to the elevators to the seventh floor – the concierge floor. We were as impressed as you no doubt are now. It was kinda cool – you needed a key to even get to our floor. Felt very special. And as we exited, there was a concierge cast member (Andrea – we´ll talk more about her later) waiting for us. She knew our names and was just revisiting our itinerary as it happened. She had our keys for us and was ready to show us the concierge lounge and to our rooms. She even apologized that our tickets for La Nouba weren´t at the desk yet, but assured us they´d be there before Tuesday and the show.


We decided to check out our room first, and then grab a bite to eat at the “Old Faithful” Club (Concierge). So Andrea showed us to room 7062, our home for the next week. The room was beautifully clean, and had a few added touches for our honeymoon. A few chocolate totem poles for us, and a Happy Honeymoon card for us signed by Mickey and Minnie, including a picture of them in front of the castle. Amber really appreciated this touch and felt immediately welcomed. Andrea showed us that our room had a view of the Castle, Space Mountain and the Contemporary resort, and simply told us that anything we needed – she´d take care of. The room had one king bed and a large bathroom with two vanities. A ceiling fan, small fridge, and a DVD player completed the room itself. A quick call for some extra pillows, and we were ready to eat.


The Concierge floor has a lounge that is open from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and serves complimentary food, snacks, and beverages throughout the day. We got there in time for some cheese and wine. A nice cheese spread, some PB&J sandwiches for the kids (who am I kidding – those were GOOD PB&J), and even some hot food brought up from Whispering Canyon (the Mac n´ Cheese was particularly good) made for a nice dinner. We grabbed a few diet cokes from the fridge to take back to the room and retired for the evening to unpack. After a quick stop at the gift shop to buy a new shirt and hat, we finally settled in. We were able to watch Wishes from our balcony, and fell soundly asleep, looking forward to our first day in the parks.


March 6th


Now having made most of the arrangements through the itinerary planning office some six months in advance, we were able to have some great dining experiences, and I had decided that Amber´s first experience should be a truly royal one. We awoke early, showered, and got our pin lanyards ready, and headed out at 7:30 a.m. for the Magic Kingdom. There was a very short walk to the bus loading area from the main lodge, and the Magic Kingdom bus arrived very promptly.


Standing in line outside the Magic Kingdom around [7:50], waiting to be let in for breakfast, we were both giddy from the music playing and the beautiful flowers that adorn the outside of the hill under the Main Street Train Station. Amber noticed a couple wearing the bride and groom ears, and was sad that we hadn´t gotten ours yet. We figured we´d get them at our first opportunity.


Now as we walked around the first corner of Main Street, Amber got her first look at the Castle, and I saw it for the first time in ten years. We both stopped. Amber gasped. There´s just nothing I can say to describe the beauty of watching my wife gaze at that castle with the awe of a child in her eyes. She squeezed my hand and off we walked towards that castle.


When we arrived under the Castle, we informed the cast member that we were there for the Royal Table breakfast. (Note: We´d purchased the Disney Dining Plan, and this has just become a “signature” event costing you two table service meals per person, as they include a photo package) They knew it was our honeymoon, and when I told them it was Amber´s first time, our hostess smiled and told us to hold out our hands and deposited beautiful pixie dust in them for us, telling us to sprinkle some outside our favorite ride and under our pillow. She smiled and ushered us into the foyer, where we noticed Jacque and Gus-Gus sneaking up the wall.


A moment later, out she came. Cinderella, in all her beauty. She graciously signed our autograph book and posed for the picture package (it included an 8×10 shot, four 4×6 shots, and an 8×10 of the castle) before directing us up the stairs to the dining room. Breakfast was a plated all you can eat affair including fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, and cream cheese stuffed French toast, as well as a pastry basket. Coffee and juice, as well. The food was good, but the atmosphere was beautiful.


Shortly after sitting, in came Snow White, Aurora, Belle (Amber´s Favorite), and the Fairy Godmother, who came from table to table signing autographs and taking pictures, as well as kissing bald headed babies (I snapped a great shot of a little tyke with lipstick all over his adorable head). Then our server came over and presented us with a `special gift´ for our honeymoon: two glass champagne flutes with the words “Cinderella´s Royal Table” etched into them. We were so touched, Amber nearly cried. What was very cool was that with a quick signature, we were able to send the champagne flutes and our pictures over to the lodge and wouldn´t have to worry about them at all. Nice. (Dangerous too – hard to control spending when you use your room key instead of cash and can´t see what you bought until the next day – be careful!)


We were told that we had to go to City Hall before going anywhere, and get the honeymooner buttons for ourselves, so back to Main Street we went. Inside City Hall, we got two wonderful honeymooner buttons, and were directed towards the nearest hat shop to buy our ears. Outside the hat shop, who should we see? Pluto, Mickey and Goofy! All were signing autographs and had huge lines to get to them, and we decided to bypass them for now and head out into the Kingdom.


We started in Adventureland. Amber´s very first Disney ride was one of the true classics: The Jungle Cruise -no wait at all (it was open earlier than normal since Pirates was down). Skipper Mark made it a truly enjoyable ride with his classic Disney bad humor and plenty of wisecracks at the newlyweds. He even gave us a quick preview of MGM Studios inside the Temple. “Snakes…why´d it have to be snakes? There you go folks – the Jungle Cruise and the Great Movie Ride all at once.”


After our cruise, we stopped to take a few photos at the totem poles and do a little shopping before the 10:00 a.m. opening of the all new Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management. I´ll be honest – I really enjoyed the old Tiki Room, and although Iago and Zazu are really cool animatronics, I miss the old days. The show seemed much shorter and disjointed. Much of the pleasant fun of the Tiki Room is now replaced with Iago´s caustic sense of humor. Just not my cup of Tiki, if you ask me. (Insert groan at bad pun here).


A short walk later, and we found ourselves in Frontierland. Amber wasn´t ready yet to try one of the more `thrilling´ rides, and I was all too happy to oblige her with a nice showing at the one and only original Country Bear Jamboree. Now this really was a treat for Amber. She really enjoyed the toe tappin´, foot stompin´ good time that was, with one huge exception: when one person starts with the flash photography, everyone starts, and it was kind of an annoyance to us both.


Now Amber was ready to try out a traditional Disney ride, and for her first, what better than one of my favorites of all time. We literally walked right into the lobby of everyone´s favorite Haunted Mansion. Amber was really amazed at the quality of the effects, and continues to talk about how amazing that particular ride was even now at home.


Since the crowds weren´t too big and we were in no hurry, we decided to stop in for a cool break at the Hall of Presidents (which I always enjoy, being a lawyer and all). Our pre-show cast member, James, was a true fountain of knowledge. But, I am still impressed at the technological marvel that is all those animatronics (after the show, even Amber asked “Now those were real people on stage, right?”). It should be noted though that Amber did nod off for about 15 minutes in the dark.


Time to wake her up and to finish off what I think of as the “Left” side of the park before lunch. Off we headed to Splash Mountain. We tried getting FastPasses, only to find out that my room key wasn´t magnetized properly. We talked to a nearby cast member who gave us two FastPasses out of his pocket that were almost an hour ahead of our normal return time, and congratulated us for the honeymoon. The wait for Big Thunder was less than 15 minutes, so we decided to ride it first, then Splash Mountain.


As a first time roller coaster rider, Amber was nervous about Big Thunder, but during and after the ride, I knew she´d loved it. “It was just the right combination of turn and drop to not make me sick…it was fun!” Off to Splash Mountain, which believe it or not, was a first for me too. The last time I was in the park, it either wasn´t open or hadn´t been opened yet (I´m not sure which).


For both of us, Splash Mountain was arguably the best ride in the Magic Kingdom. I´d already heard the music on the Disneyland 50th CD Box Set, and was ready for the ride, and Amber really enjoyed the themeing of the queue area. Her biggest compliment to the ride was that it told a total story with the animatronics and music, and was just a totally enjoyable thrill ride with a story woven through it.


A little more shopping (the Christmas Store, the pin trading post) and it was time for lunch. We headed to Fantasyland and had lunch at Pinocchio´s. Nothing majorly exciting here – standard counter service fare, and a crowded venue. The park was starting to pick up in terms of crowds. Afterwards we looked at the nearby Fantasyland attractions we wanted to ride to map out a game plan. We grabbed FastPasses for Peter Pan from a cast member (they were for 6:00 p.m.), and headed into Mickey´s PhilharMagic, which only had a 10 minute wait.


For my money, Mickey´s PhilharMagic is one of the best new attractions I´ve experienced in a long time. Music is generally moving to me anyhow, but adding all the “4-D” type effects and the smells, the wind, and the beloved characters really made this a special attraction. Don´t miss it!


Next we took Amber into another boat (she loves boats) and rode It´s a Small World, which she thought was quite endearing, and headed across the way to ride Snow White´s Scary Adventures. Amber was impressed with the quality of the replicas in the dark rides, and enjoyed them, but I think she enjoyed the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh more than Snow White (or maybe she was upset that we didn´t end up in the “Dopey” mine cart, like she wanted).


Bypassing the tea-cups we headed off to Tomorrowland. It was nearing 4 p.m., and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority was a welcome break from the walking. Afterwards we hit Stitch´s Great Escape (chili dogs…´nuff said) and Buzz Lightyear (where I only managed to beat Amber by a small margin), before heading into the Carousel of Progress (another classic favorite of mine). The Carousel has as much charm as I remember, but again, it put Amber into a small snooze. Hmmm…better get her onto another ride.


You´d think we´d go straight for Space Mountain, wouldn´t you? Well, personally, I´ve been on Space Mountain hundreds of times, and with an hour wait, it fast approaching 6 p.m. (Peter Pan time) and dinner soon to come, I was willing to forsake it, as was Amber, since total darkness and thrill rides don´t mix for her. Instead we ambled leisurely back to Peter Pan, stopping along the way to trade some pins.


Now she may tell you Splash Mountain was her favorite ride, but remember that pixie dust from breakfast? Amber dropped it outside Peter Pan´s Flight. She was just awed by it. Something in that ride really spoke to her, and it was thrilling for me to be there and watch her amazement as we literally took off in flight.


Well it was about dinner time, and we had reservations with Pooh and friends at the Crystal Palace, so we ambled off in that direction. But on the way we stopped to catch Cinderellabration – which was a great experience, and since the park wasn´t quite so crowded – we had a great view. Dinner at the Crystal Palace was a lot of fun – especially when the Pooh gang came around. Our seater had set up our table with a heart made of pixie dust for us. Sweet huh?


After dinner we were both kind of tired from our hectic pace, and so we decided to take the boat back across the lagoon over to the Lodge. A quick boat ride later and we were safely back in the confines of our room. Day one was a great day!


Look for part 2 coming soon!



Photos by Jonathan Dichter

Comments or questions? Email Jonathan at grizzpyre@yahoo.comor discuss in our forums!

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About Lou Mongello

Lou Mongello is a former attorney who left the practice to pursue his passion, and is now a recognized Disney expert, author, speaker, and host of WDW Radio. Learn more…

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