Something Borrowed, Blue, COLD & New - A Disney Wedding Extravaganza! Update: 11/15 (pg. 15)

How incredibly wonderful that you were able to serve again! I know the families are very grateful. The fire hydrants are so cute! Someday I'd love to get over there and volunteer as well!
 
Sounds like a product volunteer day.
giphy.gif
 
January 1, 2018 - Part Three

We called an Uber, and had him drop us off at a Walmart close by. We wanted to pick up a few drinks/snacks to include in our welcome bags for our family, as well as a few things for ourselves to snack on. We figured we’d be there for an hour, maybe an hour and a half… that turned in to over three hours since we were enjoying looking at all of the unique things we don’t have in Canada. We went a little overboard on snacks for our friends and family, and I picked up some cute Disney souvenirs for a fraction of the cost in the parks (like a Mickey Mouse zip-up hoody for $24 – which does show up in later pictures on this trip!) We also picked up some alcohol (because that is sold in Walmart – crazy! Also the prices, so cheap!!

A899EF73-5C53-4377-B839-01265694EAF8-e1541114251724-225x300.jpeg

*No, I didn’t buy this, but $3 wine?! Seriously?!

I grabbed the necessities for making Mimosas on the wedding morning, as well as some plastic Disney Princess cups to drink them out of. #Fancy – but they looked cute in our getting ready pictures! (Sneak peek of more wedding pics)

IMG_1454.jpg


IMG_1413.jpg


Finally, 3 hours and over $400 later, we made our way out of Walmart pushing an overflowing shopping cart -oops! We knew we couldn’t fit everything into a regular Uber/Lyft, so we decided to stop being cheapskates and ordered the Uber XL (or whatever it’s called)…naturally a 15-person van pulled up for us hahaha. Luke and I just looked at each and laughed, shrugged and said “at least all of our stuff will fit in it”.

By this point, we were behind schedule, so when we pulled up at our hotel for the night, I immediately grabbed a luggage cart for our insane amount of Walmart purchases and a bell services attendant came over to assist. I explained that we were checking in for the night, but we had a dining reservation we were running late for, so we would come grab our stuff after we ate (we also hadn’t ate since our expensive sandwiches that morning, so we were hungry!). This wasn’t an issue at all, and we headed off to our ADR – 1900 Park Fare!

For some reason, we also had a reservation at California Grill that night, so we headed straight there after finishing up at 1900 Park Fare.

Once we finished our second meal, we headed back to the Grand Floridian to finally check in for a few hours of sleep. I’m a little sad we didn’t have much time to really the room, but it was the most comfortable bed we’ve ever slept in on Disney property. The room was also huge by hotel standards, and it was only a studio (not a 1-bedroom or anything).

DB589579-27D8-45E6-996E-BCA83B1BC625-e1542867566457-225x300.jpeg


CFF3F604-E99D-440D-B255-024E4FED478D-e1542867605478-225x300.jpeg


01ED7F24-DEEC-4894-8789-2198459CF690-e1542867638416-225x300.jpeg


29CCBFE8-A7AB-4874-A485-18FB0A66F76D.jpeg


49C19518-6743-4F0E-81DD-D03ABE79E38F-e1542867666993-225x300.jpeg


94CD11E2-CD60-42C5-AF50-691B6C1970F0-e1542867694867-225x300.jpeg


FA127DD2-1774-4B4B-87D6-492BD2A87271.jpeg


45C7A8C6-3331-4F70-945D-8589C07E639E.jpeg


50CB68DD-BD84-4C66-8C88-011397A0A62E-e1542867728332-225x300.jpeg


D5AD3C78-C76C-4CDC-AA6B-1BF7C0DBE514.jpeg


The view from our room was pretty great!

B15020BE-B6A1-4BCA-8E56-05E855719F9E-e1542867787439-225x300.jpeg


E96C8E9C-7D4E-496B-ACB3-B3DF6A8AE86C-e1542867814315-225x300.jpeg


61CAE1DD-5B96-4193-9675-A01076811465-e1542867842444-225x300.jpeg


CBB17BA9-10FA-4B57-B829-8C4B4525DE79-e1542867881436-225x300.jpeg


As great as this room was, I don’t think we’ll ever pay to stay here. It’s very expensive, and – unpopular opinion – it felt a little uppity for us. The night we were there, it was over $800 – we stayed there for free. When you book a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding and set up a room block, the bride and groom are given a free night in any resort of their choice once they hit a certain number of confirmed room nights. We knew we’d never be able to afford to stay at the Grand on our own, so we were quick to choose this as our freebie.

Fitbit Steps: 7670

 
Last edited:
Life Update

I really apologize for taking so long to get this report done! Work has been so busy this year, it's actually the busiest year we've had since I started working there almost eight years ago! So I have zero time for writing/reading trip reports during the work day :(. I was also dealing with a bad reaction to my Crohn's medication for the past little while, it gave me extremely severe psoriasis which caused inflammation throughout my entire body, and left me feeling exhausted all the time so by the time I got home from work I didn't want to do anything besides sit on the couch with my husband and dogs. However - I now have a new dermatologist, and my GI doctor changed me to a new medication, so I have been feeling better than I have in months (possibly years!), and my skin is almost entirely back to normal! I have had so much extra energy lately, and I'm motivated to write this trip report again! That said, I actually leave for our next Disney trip in less than two weeks! My husband, my Dad and I will be there for a week, spending one day in each park plus the Christmas Party - feel free to follow along on Instagram, my username is the same there as it is on here :)

With all my extra energy, I’ve gone a little overboard on decorating for Christmas this year haha. I didn’t put up anything last year due to leaving for our wedding trip on December 30th, so this year I’ve made up for it by putting up four trees :cloud9: - so far the cats have only tried climbing one of them, and seem to prefer to just sit underneath them on the tree skirt...



 


Hi! I'm joining in. I love that you volunteered with Give Kids the World. We stayed there during my sister's Make A Wish trip a couple years ago, and it is an amazing place!
 
We also picked up some alcohol (because that is sold in Walmart – crazy! Also the prices, so cheap!!
I know, I always do a bit of a double take when I first see booze in Walmart, but then I remember they do that in the US. And yes, it's crazy cheap compared to our Canadian prices!

As great as this room was, I don’t think we’ll ever pay to stay here. It’s very expensive, and – unpopular opinion – it felt a little uppity for us.
I feel kind of similar. The rooms, and the resort, are beautiful but it's not really the "feel" I want for my Disney vacation. If I ever could afford deluxe prices, there are other resorts (Wilderness Lodge, Poly, AKL) that I would rather spend the money on.

so this year I’ve made up for it by putting up four trees :cloud9: - so far the cats have only tried climbing one of them, and seem to prefer to just sit underneath them on the tree skirt...
:laughing: This is my family's first Christmas with a cat in the house. We haven't put up our tree yet, but we're all curious to see how she's going to react to it.

Good to hear that you're feeling better these days.
 
We also picked up some alcohol (because that is sold in Walmart – crazy! Also the prices, so cheap!!

A899EF73-5C53-4377-B839-01265694EAF8-e1541114251724-225x300.jpeg

*No, I didn’t buy this, but $3 wine?! Seriously?!

This was exactly our reaction, too!! And we didn't buy the $3 wine, but we did buy a $5 bottle that costs us three times as much at home.

D5AD3C78-C76C-4CDC-AA6B-1BF7C0DBE514.jpeg
The view from our room was pretty great!

:lovestruc

I was also dealing with a bad reaction to my Crohn's medication for the past little while, it gave me extremely severe psoriasis which caused inflammation throughout my entire body, and left me feeling exhausted all the time so by the time I got home from work I didn't want to do anything besides sit on the couch with my husband and dogs.

So sorry to hear this, Fallon! But...

However - I now have a new dermatologist, and my GI doctor changed me to a new medication, so I have been feeling better than I have in months (possibly years!), and my skin is almost entirely back to normal! I have had so much extra energy lately, and I'm motivated to write this trip report again!

...so glad you're feeling better. The right health professionals in your corner can make a big difference.

That said, I actually leave for our next Disney trip in less than two weeks! My husband, my Dad and I will be there for a week, spending one day in each park plus the Christmas Party

I hope you and Luke and your dad have an amazing trip!! :hug:
 


that turned in to over three hours since we were enjoying looking at all of the unique things we don’t have in Canada.

Really! Huh. Just thought it'd be the same.

We also picked up some alcohol (because that is sold in Walmart – crazy!

Well... there ya go!

Finally, 3 hours and over $400 later,

:faint:

naturally a 15-person van pulled up for us hahaha

:laughing: "And it still wasn't big enough for us and all our purchases."

I immediately grabbed a luggage cart for our insane amount of Walmart purchases and a bell services attendant came over to assist.

Nice of them. :)

For some reason, we also had a reservation at California Grill that night, so we headed straight there after finishing up at 1900 Park Fare.

:faint: Where did you put it all?????

it was the most comfortable bed we’ve ever slept in on Disney property.

Really! Huh. Just assumed all the mattresses would be the same.

The room was also huge by hotel standards, and it was only a studio (not a 1-bedroom or anything).

Looks big. Pretty too.

D5AD3C78-C76C-4CDC-AA6B-1BF7C0DBE514.jpeg
The view from our room was pretty great!

Nice!

As great as this room was, I don’t think we’ll ever pay to stay here. It’s very expensive, and – unpopular opinion – it felt a little uppity for us.

I've heard that from others.
Don't think I'd feel that way, but understand it.

The night we were there, it was over $800 – we stayed there for free. When you book a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding and set up a room block, the bride and groom are given a free night in any resort of their choice once they hit a certain number of confirmed room nights.

Ohhhh... Nice little perk.

I really apologize for taking so long to get this report done! Work has been so busy this year, it's actually the busiest year we've had since I started working there almost eight years ago! So I have zero time for writing/reading trip reports during the work day :(.

That's okay. I get busy.

I was also dealing with a bad reaction to my Crohn's medication for the past little while, it gave me extremely severe psoriasis which caused inflammation throughout my entire body, and left me feeling exhausted all the time

:( Sorry to hear that.

I have been feeling better than I have in months (possibly years!),and my skin is almost entirely back to normal!

Hey! That's great! :goodvibes

With all my extra energy, I’ve gone a little overboard on decorating for Christmas this year haha.

Photos? :)
 
All caught up again. :) So happy you have had a positive med change which is leaving you feeling so much better. YAY!

Looking forward to more.
 
Hi! I'm joining in. I love that you volunteered with Give Kids the World. We stayed there during my sister's Make A Wish trip a couple years ago, and it is an amazing place!

Thanks for joining in! I will finish this...eventually haha.

I know, I always do a bit of a double take when I first see booze in Walmart, but then I remember they do that in the US. And yes, it's crazy cheap compared to our Canadian prices!

So cheap! Although, it's also crazy how much the cost of alcohol varies from province to province within Canada!

I feel kind of similar. The rooms, and the resort, are beautiful but it's not really the "feel" I want for my Disney vacation. If I ever could afford deluxe prices, there are other resorts (Wilderness Lodge, Poly, AKL) that I would rather spend the money on.

We have AKL booked for 5 nights next May, and I'm really looking forward to it! We also love Old Key West, we've stayed there twice already and have it booked for the first 5 nights of our May trip - it has such a nice, relaxed vibe to it.

:laughing: This is my family's first Christmas with a cat in the house. We haven't put up our tree yet, but we're all curious to see how she's going to react to it.

And? How did it go? Only one of my cats has taken a liking to sitting in one of the trees (Loki - go figure it's the one named after the trickster God :sad2:). Luckily I didn't put any of my glass ornaments out this year.

Good to hear that you're feeling better these days.

Thanks! I really need to catch up on your trip report too, it'll happen eventually haha!
 
And? How did it go? Only one of my cats has taken a liking to sitting in one of the trees (Loki - go figure it's the one named after the trickster God :sad2:). Luckily I didn't put any of my glass ornaments out this year.
I went pretty well. We put any breakable ornaments higher up, but I think she would have been fine. She took a couple swipes at a little bell ornament, but that's it. She loves lying under the tree though and the tree skirt is full of hair now. But I guess that's not bad. She's awfully cute curled up under there.

Thanks! I really need to catch up on your trip report too, it'll happen eventually haha!
No worries at all. I know "real life" can take over.
 
I am crazy behind on TRs. So busy lately! Hope you had a great trip!

As great as this room was, I don’t think we’ll ever pay to stay here. It’s very expensive, and – unpopular opinion – it felt a little uppity for us.
This is how I feel... without staying there haha. It's really pretty and all, but not our style at all so no way we'd pay.
 
It’s been a while since I checked in but just wanted to send my love and let you know I’m still reading along! Happy New Year and I hope you had a wonderful trip in December :hug:
 
Hello to everyone still following along on this long-forgotten trip report! I can't believe I haven't posted anything new about this trip since November 2018 :scared1: - I promise I haven't forgotten about you all! Hopefully there are people out there still interested in hearing about this trip, because I finally have the next part ready to go - and it has lots of pictures!

January 2, 2018 - Part One

After our quick one-night stay at the Grand, we woke up really early and called bell services to come gather our luggage for our final hotel transfer of the trip. Once our room was empty, we said goodbye to the most comfortable bed ever, and headed out to the main lobby – of course I took some pictures along the way :goodvibes

FB09A219-2E0A-4B6E-B398-3D3925D80A18-e1548565255387-768x1024.jpeg


AC14DD4B-B4F3-48F7-B4C2-3D87E31BC29C-e1549244699732-768x1024.jpeg


I also took some pictures of the grounds at the Grand, and the main lobby – where they were refreshing the flowers for the day.

00556989-EDBA-4992-895F-1CF59D108F43.jpeg


00079640-A2AF-4A76-868E-00C58DB3C463-e1549244962662-768x1024.jpeg


We knew we would be taking an Uber/Lyft to our breakfast ADR, so we decided to be a little extra and ordered ourselves a Minnie Van – so stinking cute! (This was during the time when it was still a flat rate of $25 – I don’t think I’ll be taking one now that they charge by mile – it’s so much cheaper to just use a regular Lyft).

17F6790C-FF87-46CA-96ED-5715FBA0698C.jpeg


We arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and headed downstairs to check in for breakfast at Boma – one of Luke’s favourites! I posted that review on my dining report for this trip almost a year ago :oops: - just click here to get to it :)

BFDCB3EB-2D70-4988-8FC2-ADBEFE1378AE.jpeg


4FB72122-BD65-4BC6-8B44-09A61913CEFF.jpeg


9CA7D5BB-813C-45D0-B417-4449D8470732-e1549246099908-768x1024.jpeg


8A305E4D-BD8B-4ED3-92ED-87E2CD10303B-e1549246583387-768x1024.jpeg


After finishing up breakfast, we were ready to get into the parks, so we took the very short bus ride to Animal Kingdom! Did I mention – it was cold this day! This Canadian is pretty soft, and was bundled up…

27C1D132-660A-469B-B7E4-7DB2AED4CF0E-e1549250783192-768x1024.jpeg


We arrived, and decided to head towards Dinoland after checking on the wait times. We got into the standby line for Dinosaur, and since it was still within the first hour of the park being open, the wait wasn’t too long at all- within 10 minutes we were seat-belted into the ride

3D062BFE-62EB-4768-B5E0-7314F8CB0066.jpeg


029C3C81-6D5A-47B5-BE87-7363CAB09664.jpeg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_410430622212.jpeg


This ride consistently gets a “just ok” from me. I think I would have a much higher opinion of it if I’d never been to Disneyland, but it’s a very similar ride to Indiana Jones in California – and Indy easily wins in the comparison to Dinosaur!

Also – most of our family and friends who were due to arrive in a few days had never been to Disney, so I had been asked by a few of them about what to do with their park bags while on rides – so I took a bunch of pictures to show them how accommodating the Disney rides are for backpacks! This one is to show how large the storage pouches are on Dinosaur –

0997BDC3-EEFD-4FC5-8595-56DA8CD7C33F.jpeg


We then decided to was time to finally see Pandora for the first time! We walked in, and wow! What an amazing Land Imagineering has created, with the floating mountains and the waterfalls and all the plants. Just incredible.

B5DE5CA0-CD13-4BFD-AA04-1B59EB7EB379.jpeg


E0D9AE01-6993-48BE-84FD-976B4D8EAE88-e1567650178251-768x1024.jpeg


1F1026DF-1AB6-4999-83B8-5618DB682615.jpeg


We stopped for a few Photopass pictures at a few different locations –

PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407652368405.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407651489868.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_410791135803.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_410791029545.jpg


… before we headed over to use our first Fastpass of the day – on Flight of Passage! I was so excited for this ride, and it did not disappoint! We were also very lucky to have a Fastpass – the wait time was listed at 240 minutes (4 hours!) for most of the day.

C9FDC9FE-549C-493A-A0CC-DE3E1B9D136B.jpeg


3C39A567-FF7C-4CBE-B74B-0892E938E507.jpeg


254BA4E2-2C55-4990-B1AE-E04593EEDB34-1024x768.jpeg


After our exciting ride on the back of a Banshee, we spent a bit more time exploring the land (and yes, of course I took a bunch more pictures, the land is just so pretty and deserves to be photographed!)

10616777-A200-4A70-B0FC-3F831E974CFC-e1567651737612-768x1024.jpeg


188C6485-159B-4099-8D7D-AEF8F3DE1CB8.jpeg


B648B2F6-E518-40D6-BF93-9D59843FA39B.jpeg


58958675-6F92-40FB-A259-432DD7CC73D6-e1567651784475-768x1024.jpeg


05D5F434-7151-4F15-A276-758994CE285F.jpeg


A4B4A867-D6BA-4A16-9F84-9565B434EFF9-e1567652741801-768x1024.jpeg


60127EA0-32D8-49C8-86F8-70183A244B4F.jpeg


 
January 2, 2019 - Part Two

The park was really busy this day, but we had another Fastpass to use so we made our way over to Asia for my favourite Disney ride – Expedition Everest!

FCFD3E57-7037-409F-B7A2-B58B45D74E96.jpeg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_410430502369.jpeg


E0E89BFE-BC8B-43E9-91D9-ACE3D3056634.jpeg


I again took a picture for our wedding guests to see that there was nothing to worry about when it came to space on the rides for their backpacks – hopefully these pictures can help anyone currently planning their first Disney trip!

55C2F9ED-B046-47D1-9C73-D2D378EBD5B5-e1567651759910-768x1024.jpeg


The ride was as great as always! We still had quite a bit of time to kill before our next Fastpass window, so we headed back out to the main area in front of the Tree of Life. By this point some of the huge crowds that gather for Photopass pictures first thing in the morning had dissipated, so we decided to stop for some pictures (some of these are weird....)

PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407650540112.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407650540116.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407650540118.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407650540121.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407650540122.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407650540124.jpg


PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407650540123.jpg
 
We stopped for a few Photopass pictures at a few different locations –

PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407652368405.jpg

Cute, but I can't believe how cold it looks! And you're from Canada! 🥶🥶🥶


By this point some of the huge crowds that gather for Photopass pictures first thing in the morning had dissipated, so we decided to stop for some pictures (some of these are weird....)

PhotoPass_Visiting_AK_407650540112.jpg


Cute, and none of them are weird! :-)
 
I have been keeping an eye out for the continuation of your TR!
I saw you pop up a couple of times in the DISBrides group on FB and I remember thinking you looked so familiar and I realized it's because I have read your TR's on the DIS! hahaha
I am getting married next June so I have been pouring over all the information I can find on DFTW's :)

Looking forward to reading more!!
 
Cute, but I can't believe how cold it looks! And you're from Canada! 🥶🥶🥶

It was definitely our coldest trip to Florida! We typically leave our winter coats in our car at the airport, but I was so glad we took them with us! And the toque (my Canadian is really showing with that word haha!) I was wearing in those pictures was supposed to be one of my Dad's Christmas presents that I had taken with me to give to him when he arrived, but I had to open that present so I could use it :confused3



Cute, and none of them are weird! :-)

I don't understand the ones with Luke holding the celebration pin while I stand with my arms crossed, I find that one odd haha....

OMG! I love the pic of you and Meeko popping out of the present!

That was such a cute Magicshot!
 
I have been keeping an eye out for the continuation of your TR!
I saw you pop up a couple of times in the DISBrides group on FB and I remember thinking you looked so familiar and I realized it's because I have read your TR's on the DIS! hahaha
I am getting married next June so I have been pouring over all the information I can find on DFTW's :)

Looking forward to reading more!!


Sorry I took so long to get back to this report! I'm really trying to write more - but thank you so much for sticking around!

Feel free to add me on Facebook! I'm not super active in the main Disbride group, but I'm in pretty much all of the sub-groups, and I'm flying across the country next weekend to attend the wedding of a girl I met through that Facebook group!

Are you a Wishes Bride? Or an Escape? Or Memories? Tell me all the details! DFTW does such an amazing job, they made my wedding planning effortless!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top