June 2013 - The Great Wedding Road Trip - Final thoughts

Oh my gosh, that cake nearly gave me a heart attack! It was a surprise for Becks, it was the one she had really really wanted, but she had changed the design for numerous reasons. Anyhow, I knew that she was getting "her" cake, and since March she has been completely freaked over a cake (any cake) and I kept telling her to relax and that everything would be ok that the cake would be perfect. So when she walked in and saw "her" cake instead of what she ended up ordering she was floored! The look was priceless, she cried and laughed and was in complete shock. It was wonderful.

I'm horrible at keeping secrets, just awful, and I was so proud that I managed to keep the cake a surprise. I will never forget the look on her face. Completely worth the 3 months of "What am I going to do about cake!?!" phone calls.

I'm packing up, we're headed home today. Leaving Disney is always the worst and this trip seems like it flew by in record time. We've got breakfast at Whispering Canyon this morning and then two days home on the road.

Talk to you all when I get back!

That was one crazy exhausting trip! I'm actually glad to be back home. Let's see if I can fill you all in on some of the details of the excursion!

Day 1 in WDW

After taking overnight refuge at the Valdosta, GA Drury Inn we hit the road at about 8am Saturday morning (6/8/13) it had been a long trip so far and we were all excited to get to Walt Disney World. The roof of the van had been leaking in the storm the night before and we were a bit worried about more rain, but the sky was blue for the moment and we were making our way. After a few more hours, and a lot of the kids saying "Are we there yet?" "How much longer?" "Why are there so many abortion billboards?" we had finally made it and came into Disney through World Drive. I called Becks when we went under the arch and we all squeeled that we had finally made it. It wasn't long before we had made it to our home for the next four nights, Disney's Wilderness Lodge.

One of Disney Deluxe Resort properties, we had reservations for a 2 Bedroom Disney Vacation Club Villa. Since we arrived about 11am, the room wasn't yet ready for us. The Lobby of the Resort is stunning, and I left my husband there with a book on his iPad to wait for the camera I was renting while I went to the MK Guest Relations Window with the kids to get our park tickets.

We had managed to miss the first boat, so it was a good 20 minutes before the next one came. The sun was bright even though it was cloudy and we were getting our first real taste of the heat and humidity that permeate Florida in June. The line at the MK guest relations window was about 45 minutes long and the sun was beating down on us. The girls got a little sun burnt, and Katie complained the entire time that we stood there. We had just arrived and she was already driving me nuts. However once our tickets were in hand the kids were off and running to Epcot.

I returned to the Wilderness Lodge to meet back up with Geordon. Once there we grabbed some food at the Roaring Forks Cafe. I ordered a salad which was deceptively large, and very, very tasty. The chicken was moist and the candied pecans were delicious.

After about 2 hours our room was ready and we headed on up to the Villa.
Living Room...

Master Bedroom...

Kids Room...

View From the Balcony, pool to the left...

View From the Balcony Forest & Bay Lake...

Once in the Villa Geordon and I took a little time to unpack and get some things organized for the next couple of days. I checked in and did some work, experimented with the camera I had rented and poured us each a glass of wine. Just about when we were ready to head to Epcot, we noticed that there was a torrential downpour happening outside. The thunder was cracking and trees bending deeply as the water poured from the sky. Becks called, her mother's flight had been rerouted to Jacksonville because of the storm and she would be entertaining her grandmother until Mom could get to WDW. Since Mom was the sponsor at Shades of Green, Grandma wasn't able to get into their hotel room. This also changed plans up a bit because she couldn't get the wedding gown to my room as planned, so we came up with an alternate plan and punted. Pouring Rain and a silk taffeta wedding gown do not make for a happy combination.

While we were safe in the room, the kids were playing the Agent P Adventure at Epcot. They had finished one mission and were on to their second before the skies opened up on them and they were trapped in France. They did what any good Disney loving foodie kids would do, they ate at the new French Bakery - and took pictures for Mom to show you! The sandwich is the 'Dinde BLT' and I'm told that it was amazing. Katie is still talking about how good it was.

As the rain began to lighten up slightly, Geordon and I decided to head to Epcot. It was already 7pm and the park was only open until 9pm. I was happy that we had opened the bottle of wine back at the room.

There were three things on our "to do" list for that night at Epcot: Test Track, Living with The Land, and the new French Bakery. As we approached Spaceship Earth we ran into Carlos (Beck's Groom) and he informed us that Test Track was closed due to the weather. When we got to the Land, we discovered that the boat ride was also closed. So G and I headed towards World Showcase, we were both hungry and I was seriously cranky at that point. I couldn't make up my mind between Tacos (which I wanted to eat) and the French Bakery (which I wanted to do a blog post about) just as we hit the promenade around the Lagoon Tori called and said that she was kind of hungry. I asked her where she was and she said near Mexico! It was fate... obviously Uncle Walt wanted me to eat tacos. We headed to La Cantina in Mexico.

I had no hope of getting a table by the water that we could watch Illuminations from, I wasn't even sure that Illuminations would be happening, but both things went in our favor. Tori found us a table under the pavilion on the water, and I called Katie to come watch the show with us. Kirk had headed back to the room for some down time (read that as he was tired of being soaked). So we ate some Tacos that were crazy delicious and I forgot to take pictures of, and them watched Illuminations from our seat. My tummy was full, I had a seat under cover, and there was pixie dust in the sky the night was truly looking up.

After Illuminations I took a few more pictures before we headed back to the room to call it a night.

Day 2 in WDW

The next morning the storms had passed and the sun was out. My girls got an early start out of the hotel so that they could make rope drop at the MK, I let Geordon sleep in (someone needed some vacation time) and Kirk was lounging around the room chatting on his computer with friends. I headed over to Becks' hotel room at the Port Orleans French Quarter to help transport the stunning wedding gown over to our Villa. It took three of us to get the job done, but it was quick work, and I convinced her to ditch her family for a bit and come have some fun at the Magic Kingdom.

Everyone was a little on edge, but with a morning that looked like this it was bound to look up. Kirk, Carlos, Becks, and I headed to the Magic Kingdom.

We stopped at Guest Services so that I could get a Guest Assistance card. Next we headed towards Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm slow and take a lot of pictures so I motioned for the rest of the group to go on ahead of me. I caught up with them at Aloha Isle for Dole Whip. Yummy, sweet delicious Dole Whip. I didn't used to like it very much, but over the past several years it's become one of my very favorite Disney snacks.

Kirk wore his Graduation Ears for most of the trip and got lots of well wishes and congrats on his graduation. Many people asked what was next for him, and by the time the trip was over he had started seriously considering the college program.

We were heading to Pirates of the Caribbean for our first ride, somehow we lost Becks and Carlos, but it was ok because I knew that they were having fun. Being a bride is a crazy amount of work, and with a destination wedding it only compounds because just about everyone is an "out of town" guest. I think after so many years of travel you forget a little bit how big and confusing the place can really be. I was glad that Becks didn't need to worry too much about my family, and thrilled that she and Carlos were getting some park time on their own.

Kirk and I stopped for a minute to watch Captain Jack's Pirate Tutorial, and then ran into Tori who rode Pirates of the Caribbean with us. We walked right on - take the line to the right. We saw the mermaids for the first time, they were sort of cool, but you really have to be watching for them.

After the ride Tori went off on her own again. She was completely entrenched in playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and had been in Adventureland to work on a quest she had. I got a text from Becks that she and Carlos were headed to Liberty Square.

Kirk and I really needed some food by then, so I pulled out the My Disney Experience App to see what was open and then we headed to Pecos Bills. He had a Burger and I had the new Deluxe Chicken Sandwich, which was very tasty, but my pictures of it didn't turn out. We also discovered the frozen root beer slush in a boot!

Kirk and I split up after that, my husband was still asleep in the hotel room, and the girls were off doing their own thing as well. So I put my ECV in gear and set off to take pictures and photograph things without driving my family nuts.

I stopped at the new Rapunzel Rest Area and was just in awe of it's beauty. These may be the most elaborately themed bathrooms anywhere. The area is truly charming, and I hope that Disney creates more of these rest area locations. The benches and tables are in a shaded spot, there are lots of plug in spots for electronics, or to charge up an ECV. If you stop there be sure to look around in the landscape for Pascal's friends that are hidden throughout the garden. SO much better than just a bathroom.

The crowds in the MK were light today, most likely because everyone was over at Hollywood Studios trying to soak up the last of Star Wars Weekends. I was perfectly happy in a fairly empty Magic Kingdom.

After the rest stop I headed to the Castle. I touched the slipper, and took some more pictures. As I was leaving my husband texted me hat he was on his way and asked if I would meet him at the front gate.

I made my way back up Main Street and stopped for a bit to take some pictures of the parade going by.

I found Geordon up by the Emporium and we stood around on the corner to talk a bit. I was fairly exhausted at that point and wanted to head back to the hotel room for a rest, but G had just arrived. Bekah and Carlos were headed on their way out of the Park and stopped to say good-bye. We would see them later on at the Wilderness Lodge for the Wedding Welcome Dinner.

Geordon didn't really care what we did for the day, he knew I was tired, but he did want to get some lunch and a Dole Whip Float before we headed back. I remembered that Traci had done a story on Columbia Harbor House and Geordon likes seafood, so that's where we headed off too. I was looking forward to finding a quiet table upstairs and we were able to. I now see why so many people recommend it, and we actually ended up eating there twice on this trip.

Geordon had a lobster roll with the fresh potato chips. It was sort of like a lobster salad on the roll, he said that it was very good. I ate some of the chips (crisps), I'm a sucker for freshly made chips and these didn't disappoint. I ordered a side of cole slaw, that was ice cold and really yummy, though I did add pepper. Geordon and I shared that. I also let him have some of my apple dessert. I can't remember what they were calling it, an apple crisp or crumble. It wasn't, it was more of a apple dumpling, or a apple blossom. Whatever you want to call it, it was really good.

After we ate, we headed towards Adventureland for Geordon's Dole Whip. I came across these orchids blooming in a tree. I couldn't decided if they were real or not, but they sure were beautiful.

We ran into Becks and Carlos again on our way out. They had come back to the MK with her Mom, and they were eating at Casey's. We stopped for awhile and listened to Jim play the piano. Jim has been tickling the ivories there since I was a little girl, my aunt and I always used to stop and talk to him. I noticed this time he was sporting a blue name tag, which means that he's been honored with the Legacy Award. Very deserving indeed.

Day 2 in WDW Cont'd

Geordon and I headed back to the room where I took a nap for a bit.

That night was Bekah's Welcome Dinner at the Trout Pass Pool Bar, she and Carlos arrived at the Villa early to help get things together. She had ordered food from Earl of Sandwich to be delivered. That delivery was a wee bit rocky. Never assume that just because you order from one place in Disney that they know anything at all about anywhere else in Disney. But! We finally found the delivery guy and got the goods to the Trout Pass Pool Bar for a delicious dinner buffet.

The seating area at Trout Pass turned out to be a really perfect and beautiful location. We took over several tables in the area for a lovely dinner. As always the Earl's food as always was super tasty. I think my favorite was the Caprese Salad. The mozzerella was fresh and tender, and there were whole basil leaves tossed in with the lettuce. The balsamic dressing was super yummy too. However if there's one thing from that meal that I could eat every day, it's probbaly the Earl's Brownies. OMG they were good!

Firerock Geyser Went off a couple of times for us.

Bride & Groom

Carlos, with his Mom, Dad & Best Friend Rick

I love this picture and had to show it off someplace. This is Bekah's son Ian and my son Kirk.

Oh my gosh, love their food so much!

However, we had them deliver both for this dinner and for breakfast the next morning and both times it did not go smoothly. I'm not sure how easily the order Bekah placed was, but when I called to do breakfast, they didn't even know what the menu that was posted online said. So that was confusing and the order turned out to be wrong in the morning. With the dinner I think the order was correct, but the delivery guy just could not find us, he went to Fort Wilderness, then finally got to the hotel and was still having trouble. Carlos went up to the lobby to meet him, but Geordon and I found him wandering the halls at the Villas with all the food on a Bell cart. If we hadn't of seen him I'm not sure what would have happened.

Next time I want to do something like this I think that I need to have one of my own people go to DTD and pick it up. Easy peasy - good food with no drama. I think that EOS really needs to have a dedicated catering/delivery person, but maybe they don't do enough delivery business. Then again, maybe if there delivery went more smoothly, they would do more delivery.

Even with the guy getting lost, it was an awesome welcome dinner. Kids swam, grown ups chatted, everyone ate their fill - a really good night.