strummer77's Engagement Trip Report (finally!)

Day 2
We both woke up after 10+ hours of sleep fully recharged and ready for fun. The girlfriend was feeling 100 times better and raring to go! We made our way down to MK around 11am. After getting there and taking a few minutes to drink in the beauty that is the entrance and Main Street, we popped into the confectionary for some lollipops (I don't know where her sudden lollipop craving came from). As we walked outside to the street, she spotted some CMs dressed in 1920s garb, and one lady had a sash that said "Women Unite". She thought it would be cool to meet them and get a picture, so she ventured over while I got my camera ready. Apparently, one of them had a friend that looked just like my girlfriend, and she (I forget her name) said she had just gotten married. She then asked my GF if she had a special someone. She told her she did, and was waiting for me to propose to her someday. As I walked over to butt into the conversation, the CM looked at me, pointed at an imaginary watch on her wrist and said "hey, what's taking you so long? Tick tock!" I couldn't have been set up any better than that, and I had to knock this one out of the park. I got down on one knee, pulled out the ring, and popped the question... right in the middle of Main Street, around lunch time and super crowded (the second pic is a good representation of the afternoon Main St. chaos). The CMs there (two ladies and two older gentlemen, at this point) completely lost their minds! The GF said yes after overcoming her shock and tears, and everybody went nuts. The look on the one CM's face in the first pic says it all. I really could not have planned this! It was perfect. The PhotoPass guy snapped pics as if we hired him to do so, and the two ladies were still trying to compose themselves 10 minutes later. As we moved on down Main Street towards the castle, my DF (Disney fiance) called her family and friends to deliver the good news. At first, she thought I had set everything up with the ladies on Main Street... I wish I could have been that good and prepared!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_0972.jpg	1.3 MB
	img_0978.jpg	1.12 MB
	1-31-2013_2-29-21_pm.jpg	77.27 KB
	1-31-2013_2-35-26_pm.jpg	87.3 KB

The rest of the day was magical... we floated around on clouds! We had taco salads at Pecos Bill's, which was fine. Being Paleo makes it tough to eat out, but we managed pretty well. That meant we couldn't eat the taco shell bowl (made of corn and other grains... a Paleo no-no). We then hit up all of our favorites (except Splash Mountain... stinkin rehab), poked around the new Fantasyland (absolutely stunning) and made our way to Be Our Guest for our dinner ADR. The restaurant is absolutely phenomenal. Our host gave us a rundown of the little details of the restaurant- the mural on the ceiling, the snowfall outside the window, the rose in the glass case. The snowfall is the actual snowfall animation from the movie! Amazing! Dinner and desert was delicious, but not much better than anything else I've ever had. Of course, we each had a celebratory glass of champagne with dinner. Afterwards, we ventured out to walk off dinner and stake out a spot for Wishes. It was awesome, as usual, and we sat on the pavement right in front of the castle to watch. We really enjoyed the show before Wishes as well. The "Wreck It Ralph" portion of it was awesome... never heard 8-bit video game sounds so loud! We battled the crowds back to the buses, and returned to POFQ for some more celebrating at the bar. What a day!!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_1013.jpg	1.47 MB
	img_0044_2.jpg	94.7 KB
	img_1020.jpg	1.37 MB
	img_1021.jpg	850.57 KB
	img_1022.jpg	851.47 KB
	img_0057_2.jpg	568.02 KB
	img_0063_2.jpg	603.45 KB

Day 3
Today was our Hollywood Studios day. First on the agenda- getting to Toy Story Midway Mania was ridiculous. We headed straight there, and found only a 20 minute wait. Excellent! We got FPs on our way out, and the return time was for right after lunch. Perfect! We had lunch at Prime Time Cafe, one of our favorites. We love the comfort food and the vibe. Our CM friend was our server. They were slow until the lunch rush, so we were able to hang out with her a bit and tell her about our magic moment from the day before. She even gave us special CM FPs for whatever we wanted as an engagement gift... how sweet! We then headed out for another round of TSM, as well as two trips on Star Tours. Wow, they really improved that attraction a ton! I love the random nature of it as well... we got two different adventures. So awesome! MuppetVision 3D (a must... did it twice), Studio Backlot Tour (getting a bit stale... they no longer take volunteers from the audience?) and then to Lights, Motors, Action. Two people in the crowd recognized us from the craziness on Main Street the day before... we were celebrities for a couple of minutes LOL. Since we aren't Tower of Terror or Rockin' Rollercoaster people, we were running out of things to do. We shopped a bit and then headed to Sci Fi Dine In Theater for dinner. I knew the place would have a cool vibe, but WOW! It was so awesome inside! What a fun place!! The food was quite good, too... and they had sweet potato fries!! I was on the hunt for them since we arrived, and this was the only place (so far) that offered them instead of French fries. Sweet!! After dinner, we decided to hit up TSM a 3rd time (DF wanted revenge), but that was not to be. The park closed at 7! It was closed when we walked out! Ah well... back to POFQ for some relaxation. We walked over to Riverside to check it out. I had stayed there before, and DF agreed it was pretty nice.

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_1057.jpg	878.83 KB
	img_1064.jpg	1.04 MB
	img_1036.jpg	1.12 MB
	img_1069.jpg	1.09 MB

Day 4
This was our second planned Epcot day, although we had a lot of making up to do after our half-hearted effort on Day 1. Today was the first day where the weather wasn't perfect... cloudy, 50-60 degrees and windy. After lunch at the Electric Umbrella (we each had giant chicken Caesar salads we couldn't finish), we went back to the resort real quick to grab hoodies. It was really weird walking around in jeans and long sleeve shirts! No big deal... luckily we came prepared. We got back to Epcot and did everything except Mission Space and Soarin'. I was pleading for Soarin' but DF gets motion sickness at times and wanted no parts of it. Bummer. Ah well, we were having fun anyway. She did muster up the courage to do Test Track. We had to... it was closed the last time we were there due to rain, and now it's new and improved. I had no expectations for the new iteration of TT. I liked it before, and from what I read about it, it got better. Wow, did it ever! I think the interactive aspect of it helps a ton. It gives you something to do in the queue, and you get to see how well your concept car performed afterward. I really liked the Tron-like appearance of the ride, and of course it's a blast to whip around that track at 65mph!! On that side of the park, it's a shame seeing the Wonders of Life pavilion sit there with nothing going on. The building itself fits right into the landscape, yet it has been all but forgotten. I never got to experience Wonders of Life, and it's a shame I probably won't ever get to do so. We ended up over at the Seas, doing the Nemo ride and then checking out the aquatic life. I love that spot. There's so much to see and learn! We also did Living with the Land right before our ADR at Garden Grill. Garden Grill didn't seem like a popular dining spot, and it wasn't very crowded. I'm glad we ate there... the food was great, the service was excellent and the scenery was cool! It was funny to look up from my plate and see a different scene every few minutes. Our waiter brought us a piece of cake with two candles and sang to us to celebrate our engagement. He gave us each a little alien guy figure from Toy Story, too. He was really sweet! Mickey, Pluto, and Chip 'n Dale came by to hang out with us, too. Check out the DF suspecting someone was lurking...
After dinner we poked around Future World a little more before heading to World Showcase. We enjoyed a couple of Grey Goose slushies (they're irresistible, I tell you!) and ventured over to the boardwalk area as well. I like the way they did the Boardwalk, but living within an hour of the Jersey shores (OC, Cape May, Avalon), there isn't much that piques our interest here. We had every intention of staying for Illuminations tonight, but after the sun went down, it was just too cold and windy to hold out. We went back to the resort and hit up the bar and the arcade for some fun!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_1073.jpg	1.56 MB
	img_1075.jpg	1.16 MB
	img_1078.jpg	1.05 MB
	img_1079.jpg	1003.66 KB

Day 5
Knowing it was a non-park day, we slept in a bit and headed to DTD after lunch. We had lunch at the resort, and thankfully they offered Gluten-free pizza!! The chef was incredibly attentive to our needs and the pizza was surprisingly good. We're not gluten-intolerant, but following a Paleo diet and lifestyle usually means eating GF as a Plan B. We took a boat from the resort to DTD, and shopped around a bit before our CM friend and her BF (also a CM) met up with us. They got us into Disney Quest for free, which I have never done before. It was a lot more fun than I expected! I thought it was just some big roller coaster simulator. I didn't know they had every arcade game one could think of! After we exhausted ourselves of video games, we headed out to shop some more. Unfortunately, CM's BF reinjured his sliced thumb on a door handle, and had to rush to the Disney doc for attention. DF and I stayed back, hitting up Cookes for a QS dinner. The DF wanted to cheat and mow down some fish and chips. Food was OK... the place was crowded and we were lucky to get a table inside out of the cold and light rain. I wasn't impressed... no Disney magic here. We headed back to the resort for our last night at POFQ... the end-of-vacation sadness was starting to creep in. An intense game of rummy, King of Queens reruns and some adult beverages made for a fun last night!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_1084.jpg	787.93 KB
	img_1085.jpg	839.84 KB

Day 6 " Departure day
Departure day always STINKS. It's awful. Between the sadness of checking out of your wonderful resort and leaving WDW, and scrambling to pack your suitcase back up and hope you didn't forget anything; it's just not a happy time. DF wanted to go to Animal Kingdom (which she loves) and then head to MK one last time before heading back home. The weather was beautiful again, the sun was out and we were on our way to AK. It was very crowded for some reason... I think I saw more "tour groups" today than the whole week we were there. They are really annoying. Maybe it was just because I was cranky because it was our last day, but wow... I'm sorry if I am offending anyone. The first order of business was food. We hit up the Flame Tree Barbeque, and we each got the chicken and ribs combo. Those ribs are out of this world!!! I would seriously fly back down there for one day, go to AK just to get them again, and then fly back home. The meat just fell off the bones, and they were juicy and full of flavor. Then we headed over to It's Tough to Be a Bug (always a favorite) and then the Asian trek. We always like watching the flying foxes... biggest bats you'll ever see!! Once we walked around the rest of the park, we decided to grab the bus to the TTC, hop on the monorail to MK and end our trip properly. Here's where I got confused and screwed up- we didn't get park hoppers. I wanted to spend each day in one park only, just so we enjoyed our time in each park and didn't hop around and get worn out. Well even though we didn't visit a park on Friday, we were not allowed into MK. You can't go to more than one park in one day without the park hopper (contrary to what the woman at the front desk at POFQ told me). I should have known better. After getting denied at the turnstile, I flirted with the idea of adding on the park hopper option, but we decided we had spent enough money that week, and went back to POFQ to hang out. We were disappointed for a few minutes, but we got over it. There's always next time!! We walked over to Riverside and rented a surrey for a half-hour, and then sat at the Old Man River bar and caught some of the Flyers game before grabbing some last minute gifts and catching the Magical Express bus back to MCO.

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_1113.jpg	1.3 MB

These birds thought I was gonna share those yummy ribs with them... no way!!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_1105.jpg	1.86 MB

Port Orleans French Quarter is just beautiful... will definitely stay here again!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_1103.jpg	1.06 MB
	img_1101.jpg	961.03 KB
	img_1100.jpg	1.8 MB
	img_1092.jpg	1.72 MB
	img_1091.jpg	1.97 MB

More POFQ...

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_0948.jpg	1.46 MB
	img_0946.jpg	1.96 MB

Love the new interactive queue for Haunted Mansion

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_0995.jpg	1.72 MB
	img_0998.jpg	1.87 MB

Construction still happening at new Fantasyland... gonna have to go back and do the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train when it's done. Loved this quote I found on the wall...

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_0994.jpg	840.14 KB
	img_0993.jpg	841.63 KB

My favorite method of transportation (besides a Doom Buggy)...

Preview	Attachment	Size
	img_1109.jpg	1.05 MB
	img_1110.jpg	931.69 KB

You guys are all too sweet... thank you!!!

Looking through the pictures and reading your replies is keeping the magic going for me... of course, it's making me want to go back again very soon, especially because it felt like it went by in a blur. 6+ months of planning and anticipation for a 6 day trip that just flies by. There is no mistaking the magic that is WDW, and it is incredibly addicting... so much that I am already trying to figure out when to go back!

Kristen K., I don't think I have done anything so spontaneous in my life! I still can't believe how it all worked out. I had so many ideas floating around, and the way it happened wasn't even close to any of them!