Honeymoon

theBIGyowski · Post by **theBIGyowski** » Jan Tue 12, 2010 11:12 am

Let me start by saying I am a total Disney nut. I grew up watching the Disney Channel and would get up at the crack of dawn to watch Mousercise every single morning when I was 4 or 5 years old. I have been to WDW multiple times over the years and got my first DLR trip in May of 2008.

With that established...I have always been of the mindset that you shouldn't go to WDW for your honeymoon because it will wear you out and you need to be somewhere remote on a beach with just you and your wife/husband. Well...all of the sudden I kind of want to go to WDW for my honeymoon! And get this...my fiance...who has only been once back when she was 7 years old...wants to go too! It's a little weird for me to be trying to plan a honeymoon at WDW...but it's kind of happening. We're getting married the last weekend in August, so I am hoping that if we do go to WDW that it won't be too crowded due to most schools being back in.

I am in touch with the fine folks at MEI to get their help...but does anyone else here have any pointers on things like crowd levels and what to do for honeymoons and such?

Thanks and have a great day!!!

Post by **Len90** » Jan Tue 12, 2010 11:47 am

Wow, that is an interesting situation you are in. I know my parents went to WDW for their honeymoon when they got married. This however, was back in the mid 1980's when there was only 2 theme parks (EPCOT and MK). They enjoyed their honeymoon a lot, but Disney was only half the size back then. I personally think that a WDW honeymoon is a great thing. Disney is really what you make of it starting from what hotel you book at. If you book at a hotel like the Yacht/Beach you can easily spend a couple of hours each day at the pool relaxing and go to the parks at your leisure. As for stuff to do on a honeymoon, Disney has a few romantic things that you can do. There is the water cruise at night where you can enjoy the Wishes fireworks on the Seven Seas Lagoon. You can rent a two person surrey bike at numerous hotels including Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk, and many others. There is also, I believe, a horse carriage ride, but I am not sure about any details on that. Finally you can create your own romantic dinner by booking a reservation for a window table at California Grill during Wishes. OR you can hang out on the beach of the Poly during Wishes.

A Disney vacation is really all what you are willing to make of it. There is so much you can do and there is no need to try and accomplish everything at once. I hope this helps.

mindflipper · Post by **mindflipper** » Jan Tue 12, 2010 11:59 am

Y'know, they have a wedding pavillion there near by the Grand Floridian. You could even do your wedding there as well!

99Soulz · Post by **99Soulz** » Jan Tue 12, 2010 1:33 pm

We got married 6 1/2 years ago in August and thought the same exact thing. We really wanted to goto WDW but also had that feeling that we should go somewhere and just relax. We decided to just go to an island in the carribbean since we probably weren't going to be able to take that kind of trip for long time (starting family...etc). I did try to incorporate 3 days of WDW at the onset of the honeymoon but couldn't get the air travel worked out just right without spending a fortune. That would have been ideal, to start off the honeymoon with 3 days in WDW, then head to an island afterwards.

BUT, you can certainly do the same thing by staying at WDW the entire time. Take each day as it comes, either hit the parks, or just relax. It's all up to you. Definitely pick a resport where you can feel like you are away from it all so the quiet days can be just that. Or maybe do a dual-resort thing. The one thing I will say is to splurge on this as much as possible (or fiscally responsible) as you want this trip to stand out and be remembered.

Have fun deciding and good luck!!

mindflipper · Post by **mindflipper** » Jan Tue 12, 2010 2:34 pm

Check out the Mouskedude trip report. He actually arranged an "adventure" for his anniversary at WDW:

viewtopic.php?t=6001&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I believe the company he worked with also handles doing things for newlyweds at WDW as well. Check their website out. Maybe they have ideas of things you can do for your honeymoon. Here's the link to the website for the company he had do his anniversary adventure:

http://www.giftsofalifetime.com/default.html

theBIGyowski · Post by **theBIGyowski** » Jan Tue 12, 2010 2:50 pm

Thanks everyone! I am still trying to figure out how best to do this. One of my main reasons for wanting to go to WDW early in our marriage is because I want her to really experience WDW. Once you have kids things change and you just can't do WDW the way you can before kids come along. She is a teacher, so we would be limited to summers, spring break, and Christmas if we wanted to go otherwise...and those are the most crowded times. Her principal is allowing her to have a week off even though they will be in the second week of school...so this might be our chance to be in the parks when they aren't crazy crowded.

I've also thought about a Disney Cruise since there won't be a ton of kids on it at that time as well. I just really want her to have the best Disney experience that she can before we hunker down and start having kids.

I will definitely check out the Gifts of a Lifetime site. I loved Mouskedude's trip and reading all about it...so this might be worth it. My fiance grew up watching all of the Disney movies...so even though she's not a Disney Park freak like me...she does love Disney.

Anyway...thanks again and I'll let everyone know if we decide to go to WDW!

Mousekedude · Post by **Mousekedude** » Jan Tue 12, 2010 3:54 pm

Thanks for the hat tips to my trip report, guys. And yes, we will be finishing it soon. There are still several days' worth of wackiness and merriment to report on, believe it or not.

Also, Mouseoholic is a total WDW trip-planning expert. You should see the research she does! People are constantly seeking her advice on their upcoming trips. I keep telling her she should go into business doing that. If you'd like, I can get her to weigh in here with some suggestions when she has the time.

99Soulz · Post by **99Soulz** » Jan Tue 12, 2010 4:19 pm

theBIGyowski wrote:Thanks everyone! I am still trying to figure out how best to do this. One of my main reasons for wanting to go to WDW early in our marriage is because I want her to really experience WDW. Once you have kids things change and you just can't do WDW the way you can before kids come along. She is a teacher, so we would be limited to summers, spring break, and Christmas if we wanted to go otherwise...and those are the most crowded times.

Wow, now even more in common with us. My wife is a teacher too so I know exactly what you mean when pinned down into taking vacations during certain times of the year. People love to knock on teachers (me including) about getting summers off, holidays...etc but they cannot take any time off during the school year. And just as you said that means vacationing during the busiest and most expensive times of the year (summer and holidays).

We were lucky enough to take some trips before we were married to enjoy the parks before the kids came. Now it's a totally different and exciting time to visit with our children but was good get some trips by ourselves under our belts too.

I say go for it - plan some days out with something special and unique (like Mousekedude's), some with your own ideas, and some with nothing planned at all. You will have an incredible time.

boilerbabe · Post by **boilerbabe** » Jan Wed 13, 2010 12:18 am

You should definitely honeymoon in WDW theBIGyowski! DH and I have been married for a little over 3 years now and we honeymooned in WDW! It was absolutely wonderful! I grew up with all things Disney and my parent's started me off young at age 3. DH did grow up with Disney, but he fell in love with Disney and me when we were there for the 1/2 marathon in '05 (we were obviously only dating at that time) and when it came time to decide where to honeymoon, I had thought perhpas Hawaii?! But, DH suggested WDW! He didn't have to ask me twice!

We stayed at the Polynesian (my most fav. resort and now DH's as well). When we checked in, there was some pixie dust sprinkled upon us and they bumped us up to the concierge level! We stayed in the Hawaii longhouse with a Magic Kingdom view room! So, see I had suggested Hawaii, and I got it! But, this is even better b/c it's WDW!

You can have a relaxing time in Disney, you just need to pace yourself. Take advantage of what the resorts have to offer! Visit one of the spas and pamper yourselves. We did the couples massage at the GF spa, I highly recommend it. We also ate at restaurants we normally would never have tried! It was a wonderful honeymoon, I only wished we had gotten married at WDW too.

Take some tips from M-dude, he did some very romantic things for his DW!

You can also do things like carriage rides the fireworks cruise.

Keep us posted on your plans and congratulations to you both!

MetalRage · Post by **MetalRage** » Jan Wed 13, 2010 1:08 am

First off, congratulations on getting married! I would love to take my honeymoon at WDW! I just gotta find a girl that love Disney as much as me

As mindflipper said, you may wanna suggest the wedding pavilion for the wedding as well!

joeybTNU · Post by **joeybTNU** » Feb Thu 11, 2010 1:55 am

I'm a freshman in college and I decided a long time ago that i was going to at least have my honeymoon at WDW. if i can have the wedding there, I totally will!!!

PopCentury2007 · Post by **PopCentury2007** » Feb Thu 11, 2010 9:06 am

I mentioned this in another post, but Min and I had our second honeymoon at WDW (1st lasted two days in Jamaica because of Hurricane Ivan). We stayed at PORiverside. Having been to WDW in the past, I wasn't looking forward to the trip to be honest. I, like many others, thought WDW was for kids. Needless to say, we had the time of our lives - the boat ride from POR to DTD at night being one of the most memorable moments. Since then, we've moved to Charlotte so we're only a weekend drive away. We go 2 or 3 times a year and are constantly finding new things to do for two younger adults (just turned 30, can I still say that?). I would definitely recommend WDW for anyone, young and old, for any occasion. We've been to other places (and yes had a great time), but in the end; no one does a vacation like Disney!

*Note - we went in May. We go this time every year. Great weather and kids are still in school!

mindflipper · Post by **mindflipper** » Feb Thu 11, 2010 10:34 am

Hey, BIGyowski - any updates on the honeymoon plans??

theBIGyowski · Post by **theBIGyowski** » Feb Thu 11, 2010 1:52 pm

mindflipper wrote:Hey, BIGyowski - any updates on the honeymoon plans??

We have the honeymoon planned and the deposit in. We will be there August 29 through September 3. My fiance is a teacher, so we got lucky that her principal is giving her the week off right there at the beginning of the school year.

We will be staying at POR the entire time. The more I think about it, the more I think we will love it there. We wanted to stay at a Monorail resort, but I think the romantic feeling at POR combined with the savings will work out best for us. We will be getting in around 1:00 PM on the 29th, so we're looking at a half day our first day and leaving at 3:00 PM on the 3rd...so just a morning in WDW on the last day.

I figured we could start at EPCOT since it will give us a more romantic feeling in World Showcase and we could have a nice dinner followed by Illuminations. Our next day, first full one, can be at MK where we can feel like kids again. After that I haven't planned too much. I am trying to figure out which table service restaurants we should eat at as we are planning on getting the dining plan. My agent told me she thinks it will be offered for free, so we are hoping for that.

This will be my fiance's second trip to WDW and first in a very long time. I have been quite a few times, especially in the past several years...so I know my way around. I just want to make sure this has enough "honeymoon" to go along with the vacation. Of course WDW can be incredibly romantic if seen through the right colored glasses...so I think it will be awesome regardless.

I'll give more updates as they come, and might need a few romantic dining suggestions once I get closer to the 180 day ADR date (early March). It's going to be excitement overload for us I know...getting married and then being in WDW less than 24 hours later is just going to be awesome!

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Feb Fri 12, 2010 12:56 am

First, let me say congrats to you and your fiance on the up-coming "hitching". I think you guys made a great choice in deciding to honeymoon at WDW.

Let me jump in with some dining choices....As Len said earlier, make an ADR for the Califonia Grill and watch Wishes. Very romantic and great food! However, a restaurant my wife and I find to be even nicer and certainly quieter and more romantic is Shula's at the Dolphin Resort. Great food, service and a very nice atmosphere.

Happy planning!!!!