Karli and Mark's Disneymoon Trip Report ***Cruise Part 1 posted!***

Ok, SO here we go...

Feb 1st:
We left our house in the early afternoon and headed to New Jersey where we would be dropping off our dog with my in laws. We spent the night there and planned to get up early the next morning to get on the road towards NC....

Feb 2nd:
....Which was exactly what happened. We had a pleasant drive down to North Carolina. Instead of driving through DC we took Rt 1 down the coast and traveled through the Chesapeak Bay Tunnel.

We stayed with my aunt that night in a town right outside of Raleigh. The weather gradually started to change and we were able to wear lighter clothes, which was awesome!!

Feb 3rd:
At around 5:30 in the morning we woke up and began the rest of our drive to Florida. It was Superbowl Sunday and we wanted to make it to our hotel before the game. We arrived at the Holiday Inn in DTD at 4:30, checked in and headed straight for DTD.

I spotted these guys and HAD to take a pic. They were just too cute!

We roamed around in the shops for a bit before jumping on a bus to Coronado Springs where we had planned on watching the game. We got there and went right into the Rix Lounge and sat down. I wasn't too impressed with the resort. It was really big and didn't really have that Disney feel to it. I ordered a Margarita...

But unfortunately it was not very good... It didn't even taste like a Margarita.. So we decided to wrap things up and head somewhere different where I knew the drinks would not disappoint.... The Poly... On our way there we saw some GREAT things!

The Polynesian was a breath of fresh air compared to Coronado Springs. We went up to the front desk and asked for our celebration buttons and headed straight for the lounge where I immediately ordered my very first Lapu Lapu.... And it was DELICIOUS!

We started to get hungry so we went downstairs to Captain Cook's. Mark had the pulled pork nachos and I had the adult grilled cheese. Both were amazingly delicious!

Sorry, I took a bite out of mine before I remembered to take a pic! I was starving!

We wound up calling it a night shortly after our dinner... But not before enjoying a Back Scratcher, which I highly recommend! It was very yummy!!

So here are a few things I learned from our first day in the World:

*The Holiday Inn DTD is not very nice and I wouldn't recommend staying there more than 1 night... I've stayed in other DTD hotels that are much nicer.
*Coronado Springs Resort was a disappointment... I always loved the look of the rooms, but after visiting, and getting a not so good Margarita from there, I won't be returning...
*The Polynesian is amazing.... and that basically sums that up!

Random picture time!

More to come! We're just getting started!

Thanks Mr. Hub!

Feb 4th:

We woke up that morning and got the heck outa that Holiday Inn as fast as possible! We were so anxious and excited to check into Wilderness Lodge... And it did not disappoint!!

We were greated by amazing CM's that lead us into what just so happened to take my breath away!

It was early in the morning, and as we had expected our room would not be ready until later that afternoon. We decided to check out the resort grounds and then head to EPCOT... But we were in no hurry... So we decided to take the boat over to the Contemporary, jump on the monorail to the transport station, and then jump on the monorail to EPCOT. It was nice being able to see so much!

Did I mention how beautiful Wilderness Lodge is?

By the time we arrived at EPCOT we were itching for a ride on Soarin' and we were also very hungry. So we headed straight to get fast passes and then ate lunch at Sunshine Seasons... And the food there was unbelievably delicious... It's up there in my top 5 dining experiences in this past trip.. The food was so fresh and full of flavor. The perfect way to start our day!

I ordered the turkey sandwich...

And Mark ordered the pulled pork sandwich...

We decided not to do the World Showcase this day, as we would be heading to Hollywood Studio's later that evening and didn't want to tire ourselves out. We rode most rides with the exception of Test Track. The wait for that ride was usually around 70 minutes long... Unless you did single rider... But we wanted to ride together the first time so we skipped it this day..

I had received a text message from the Wilderness Lodge Resort telling us that our room was ready... So we took the bus back to the Resort and checked into our room.... which was fabulous! I rented points and had requested that we be on the third floor with a lake view and close to an elevator... Not only did they give me my lake view on the third floor close to an elevator, but they gave me a pool view as well! The room was gorgeous! As soon as we were in Mark ran over to the answering machine because our light was blinking... I figured they were just left over messages from the guests before us... only to find out it was a special message just for us from Mickey and Minnie! Congratulating us on our marriage and welcoming us to Disney World! It was so special!

Unfortunately the snow followed us from Connecticut to our room.....

So cute!

After falling in love with our Resort, and our room we decided to head down to the lounge for some cocktails and a bite to eat.
We ordered the beer and cheese fondue. Yum.

Mark had a beer and I had a glass of Sangria... The Sangria was ok...

After we ate we headed to Hollywood Studios. We were mainly going here for Fantasmic! Mark had never seen the show before and I was so excited to take him. It was crowded. Very crowded. The first show was filled to capacity so we wandered the park taking in all the sites and sounds until the next show began.... Needless to say... Fantasmic is now Mark's favorite show... As is mine.. It was EMH night so after Fantasmic we went straight to TOT. Mark had never been on before, and is not crazy about rides... But he really enjoyed it!

What we learned this day:
*Taking the boat to the Contemporary, then taking the monorail to the transport station, then taking the monorail to EPCOT... Takes a REALLY LONG TIME! lol. Although we didn't mind because we were in no hurry... We never did that again.
*Sunshine Seasons could quite possibly be the best quick service food in "the world".
*We did the green side on Mission Space, and we don't ever really need to do that again...Can't imagine Orange...

Random Picture Time!!!

Tah Tah for now!!

Here are some pics I took with the iPhone the first few days of the trip starting with the drive down!

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Feb 5th: The days are just rollin' on....

I woke up this morning to a beautiful mist rolling off the lake. I tried to capture it with my camera... But my pictures just don't do what I saw justice... The sunrise was a nice bright pink... And it was so early there wasn't a person in site...

We were headed for MK for Rope Drop. It looked crowded when we got there, but once our bags were searched and our tickets were scanned... We realized that there was plenty of room to stand and watch. I had been singing the "good mornin'" portion of the song for months, so this was pretty exciting for me!

When we walked towards the castle, the park looked virtually empty... I have never seen the castle with so few people surrounding it. It was wonderful. We also had the benefit of EMHs that morning until 9am.

We headed straight for Peter Pan... And i'm glad that we did, because for the rest of our trip, the wait was usually over an hour long.

..And then to Winnie the Pooh

We walked straight on to most of the rides this day... It was a wonderful thing! We were hungry early this day and were in desperate need of some snacks... So we stopped at Pecos Bills for some nutritious chili cheese fries and onion rings... And then to Aloha Isle for Dole Whips! I don't remember the birds being so friendly last time we were there...

After our Dole whip, it was time for our first "task". We opened our envelope and it was a task from Miss Mikki for me to touch Cinderella's slipper. So that was exactly what we did!

Afterwards it was time for more classic rides!

I was disappointed that I couldn't find the engagement ring after haunted mansion... As i've been able to find it on previous visits... :/.. Maybe next time..

We wanted to visit the New Fantasyland but we weren't planning on doing anything there this day... We strictly wanted to look around. It is really great, they did a great job... And I can't wait for the new mine train coaster... It's really looking awesome!

It was time to meet some character's so we got in line for Minnie and Daisy!

After roaming around for a while, I wanted to get some shots of the castle without the crane in view... So we stopped just outside of Tomorrowland and snapped a few.

Then I took Mark to listen to the Ragtime piano player, who was wonderful!

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We then decided it was time for another task... This was a joint task from Miss Mikki. We were to pick out post cards for each other and mail them to our home address! How fun!

It was around 3pm when we decided to head back to the resort. We had dinner reservations at 7 at Paradiso 37... But I forgot to take pictures of the food... It was good though! . We left MK... But not before saying hello to this guy...

After dinner... We went over to Character's in Flight to make our trip above "the world". I was so excited to do this... It was a bit windy and cold... As the balloon started going up... My dear wonderful loving husband said "omg, look how far up we're going!".. And I stupidly looked down... I freaked. Not out loud... But in my head... I was near tears up there... Everyone kept walking to the same side and the thing was tipping back and forth... I did not like it... I couldn't even move... All I could do was hold on to the hand rails and pray that I would get down from there eventually... And obviously I did.... But.... NEVER AGAIN!

We did snap some cool pix before the fear set in though!

Obviously once we were down we ran to Raglan Road and had a drink. My nerves were shot. Phew. I'm still feeling nervous about it.

What we learned this day:
*Rope Drop: Yes, do it, it's amazing!
*There is an awful lot of construction going on at MK. Lots of tarps covering up the buildings... The crane over the castle... the new roller coaster... splash mountain... the riverboat... fake walls up all over the place... Although this didn't ruin the magic for me.... I can't wait until they are done with all of that.
*Character's in Flight: NEVER AGAIN.

Random Picture Time!!!

Thanks everyone! I am glad you are all enjoying it! And I am glad those of you who followed on Facebook enjoyed that as well! I had so much fun.. Every now and then we would have to stop because I would say.. Hold on I HAVE to share this with my friends!!

Feb 6th:

This morning we were going to Animal Kingdom. We decided to drive since this park was the furthest away from us and we wanted to be there early for Kilimanjaro Safari... I had heard you so a lot more animals in the morning... It was also EMH's from 8-9... So again the park was virtually empty by the time we got in... They didn't really have a rope drop other than blasting Circle of Life... Which I really enjoyed listening/singing to!

We headed straight for the safari and walked right on. Here are some of the animals that we saw...

After the Safari we walked around and looked at some more beauties!

Mark's favorite ride at AK is DINOSAUR so we went there next, and then hung out and did some of the other rides... Including Primeval Whirl... Which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... It was pretty fun! I have a video on my iphone... But the video's will come later...

We ate lunch this day at Flame Tree BBQ.. And the food was REALLY good. I got the chicken and ribs and Mark got the pulled pork sammy and helped me eat my huge plate of food... I wasn't feeling too great this day... And it progressively got worse... We walked around the park a bit longer but after a little while, I felt like I needed to lay down and we went back to the resort for some rest.

OH - before I forget... We stopped at Dawa bar earlier in the day and each had a Pina Colada... I got the raspberry one and Mark got one with a dark rum shot on top of it.. The bar tender made a snide comment to me about how Mark had gotten the better of the two... Like that's what I should have ordered... It really rubbed me the wrong way.... Like he was mad because I didn't order the more expensive of the two drinks... Needless to say... We unfortunately never returned to Dawa bar... And it was a shame... Because I had a great experience their last time.

After resting for a while at the resort... I was feeling much better and we decided that we would go to MK for the rest of the evening. Before leaving I snapped some pictures of the DVC lobby at WL.

We took the boat to MK that night and I snapped some shots along the way. Things were looking quite beautiful.

I told Mark that I thought this was one of the most beautiful times I had ever been to WDW. The flowers were so pretty and the weather was perfect. We arrived at MK and headed to Adventureland.

We did the Tiki Room which I had never done before. I thought it was cute .

We stopped in Frontierland to listen to the band play for a bit...

The kids were having a great time dancing!

Well.... I forgot to tell you all about something that had happened on the 5th!! Shame on me!! We were on the People Mover and it got stuck... We waited about 45 minutes before a CM had come over to walk us off the ride. Everyone was safely taken off the ride and given a fast pass for whatever ride we wanted, whenever we wanted... And this is what we used it on!

The ride was really cute! We both enjoyed it very much.

For dinner this night, we figured we would try our luck getting a table at The Plaza... And boy did we get a table! They sat us at a two seater right in front of the window! The view of the castle was perfect!

I ordered the chicken and strawberry salad. The dressing was so unbelievably good. Mark ordered a rueben... It was ok... The meat was kind of tough... We split everything.

After dinner we each bought a treat to eat while waiting for wishes to start. Mark got a cookie which was so-so... And I got a heart shaped crispy treat for Valentine's day!

We spent the rest of the night together watching Wishes in the rose garden. It was very romantic and wish I was back there right now!

What we learned this day:
*As we were walking into AK that morning a CM walked in with us and talked to us a bit about where we were from. She said that by our 5 year anniversary the Avatar section of Animal Kingdom would be done!
*The animals are pretty plentiful early in the morning at AK!
*The light show on the castle before wishes is amazing!!! We didn't even know about it until it started happening. What a pleasant surprise! I didn't get any pictures though... Like I said... It was Karli and Mark time

Random Picture Time!!!

Until next time!