A Cancellation, A Proposal and A Lot of Food - Marathon Weekend 2017 COMPLETE!

My dh flies up to Edmonton, then Fort McMurray. The company he works for, is putting in the gas lines to Illinois and Louisiana. They are not the Keystone Group, but are contracted out by them. His best friend is a master mechanic up there, he calls and tells us how cold it usually is.

Ok, on to the rest of your TR.
 
Wedding, schmedding. We got rides to do! Food to snarf down!

We ate so much food that week. I intentionally left my wedding dress a little bit too big so I wouldn't have to watch what I ate while there :rotfl:

:laughing: It's not. It's just over 60. But!
If you really want to read it (no pressure! Honest!) it's finished now.
The second post has links to all the chapters, or you can click the link at the bottom of each chapter to take you straight to the next one.

So, I binge read your report on the weekend (I just skipped all the comments). I had a bunch of stuff quoted, and it lost it all, so I got angry and refused to go back to quote again haha.

:laughing: That just might take up the whole day.
And... I do believe one or more of our party will insist on the fried chicken, so... that's gonna happen. :)

That chicken is a must. So delicious!

Okay. 30 minutes for a ride you've never been on is acceptable.

::yes::

So.... next time, maybe wander over and "accidentally" stumble and knock the drink out of their hands.
Preferably on them.[\quote]

I like the way you think.

What about koalas? Hard to beat a stoned marsupial.[\quote]

Oohh. Good point. I'm still sticking with the pandas though.

Ruby and I did a tour of the Alexander Keith's brewery.
Between the two of us... we managed to drink almost half a small glass!

Everyone was looking at us like "Why are you here???"[\quote]

Yeah, I've never gone on a brewery tour for this reason haha.

Also - confession time - I've only been to Nova Scotia a small handful of times. I was 19 and at University about 15 minutes from the NS border when sone of my friends realized I had never stepped foot in that province, so they drove me over that day just so I could say I'd been there. It took another year before I made it to Halifax... But I had already been to Europe by that point haha.

Sure! Let me know! :)

We're going to see Ed Sheeran in Fargo on October 17th, so that'll be the week we're in Winnipeg.

Ye's? Or somewhere else?

Luke used to be a delivery driver for The Good Earth back when he was in high school, so that's the one we always go to. It's cheap and the buffet is pretty good! I just looked at a map, and it's really close to Ye's (I don't have a good sense of direction in Winnipeg at all).
 
My dh flies up to Edmonton, then Fort McMurray. The company he works for, is putting in the gas lines to Illinois and Louisiana. They are not the Keystone Group, but are contracted out by them. His best friend is a master mechanic up there, he calls and tells us how cold it usually is.

Ok, on to the rest of your TR.

The company I work for does a small amount of pipeline work, but not often (especially the division I'm in). It has been so cold up here this winter! And so much snow compared to the last few winters!
 


January 8th, 2017 - Part Three

Eventually, Snow White came out and it was our turn to meet her. We handed her our Record Store Day Disney vinyl to sign (well, just the case, we were smart enough to leave the actual record home). We still haven’t actually done anything with that yet, it’s just sitting beside our record player...

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This was also a really amazing Snow – she looked the part, and her voice/giggle was spot on – I was very impressed by this casting!

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This might be one of my favourite character meet and greet pictures ever haha – I guess I didn’t get the memo on how to pose for this one…

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After our meet and greet with Snow White, we continued on our way around the World Showcase. Next up was Italy, so we looked around a bit in the shops. Nothing was jumping out at us to purchase, so we journeyed over to the American Adventure. The show was only a few minutes away from starting, and it was something we had never watched before, so we decided to go watch.

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The inside of that building is gorgeous! The American Adventure Rotunda is actually a reception venue option for a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding, but it’s only for the Wishes collection (we had an Escape wedding), and the minimum guest count is high (I believe it’s a minimum of 80 people – which means big $$$) – so obviously it was not an option for our wedding. I’ve seen gorgeous wedding photos from there though! I will eventually get around to writing a trip report about our Disney wedding, so stay tuned for that!

Anyways, back to the American Adventure audio-animatronics show… it’s a great place to have a nap? It’s definitely showing its age, and since I’m not American I guess I just don’t care that much about the country’s history (plus almost everything mentioned during that show was taught to us in school). Basically – it’s not something I feel the need to do every trip. I’m glad we did it once, but I almost fell asleep a few times…

Once the show was over, we rushed back over to the Italy Pavilion – it was time for a meal I was really looking forward to after hearing lots of great reviews – Via Napoli! It was….disappointing. The food was fine, but the service left A LOT to be desired. You can read all about it in my dining report.

After our pizza and terrible service, we slowly started making our way back to the Mexico side of the World Showcase. We stopped in Norway to see the giant troll –

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It wasn’t long before it was time for our second dining reservation of the night – because everyone needs second supper, right? This time we checked in to La Hacienda de San Angel – Luke made this reservation because he wanted to drink margaritas while watching Illuminations from a different angle – this proved to be a great choice, since it was so cold out that night!

We had to wait a little bit past our reservation time, but we were led to a two-top table shortly before Illuminations began. You can read about our experience over in my dining report.

Once we settled up our check and left the restaurant, Epcot was officially closed – however there were extra magic hours that evening for guests staying on property. We decided to take advantage of that, and went to meet Baymax.

I was actually wearing my Baymax dress that day, so this meet and greet was a must!

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We then crossed over and got into line to meet Joy and Sadness!

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After meeting these characters, we decided to head our of the park for the night, but Spaceship Earth was a walk-on as we went past, so of course we had to get on that again!

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We headed out to the bus stop (and even remembered to head to the Saratoga Springs stop, since we were checking in to that hotel for the remainder of our stay), and then stood and waited. And waited. And waited. There were quite a few of us at the bus stop, and it was cold out – and it took forever! Finally, 35 minutes later a bus showed up…

By the time we reached the main lobby of Saratoga Springs, we were exhausted – but of course we still had to go check in, get our room number and new Magicbands, and pick up our luggage from bell services. We got in line in the lobby, and figured it wouldn’t be too long of a wait since there was only one family in front of us. Again, we waited. And waited. And then waited some more… the family in front of us took forever! The kids were running around the lobby loudly, the dad kept asking questions – but eventually it was our turn and we were able to check in and get our room. After a quick stop at bell services, we collected our luggage which had been transferred over from Old Key West, and they drove us to our building.

I was going to take pictures of our room, but I was way too tired (and it was pushing midnight by this point), so I just went to bed instead. I know, bad DISer...I actually can't find any pictures of our room at Saratoga, I might not have taken any the entire time...​
 
This might be one of my favourite character meet and greet pictures ever haha – I guess I didn’t get the memo on how to pose for this one…

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Haha this is awesome!!

The inside of that building is gorgeous! The American Adventure Rotunda is actually a reception venue option for a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding, but it’s only for the Wishes collection (we had an Escape wedding), and the minimum guest count is high (I believe it’s a minimum of 80 people – which means big $$$) – so obviously it was not an option for our wedding. I’ve seen gorgeous wedding photos from there though! I will eventually get around to writing a trip report about our Disney wedding, so stay tuned for that!

It's so beautiful!! I was really worried, having a wedding in August, that our outdoor ceremony at my beloved Canada Pavilion would get rained out. At least it wasn't afternoon, but still, Florida weather is so unpredictable. And then I would be super mad because I would have paid extra to do the Epcot wedding, and would have had to do a morning wedding for no reason. The location was important to me. But when we got our BEO and I saw that our rain location would be the American Adventure Rotunda, suddenly I felt much better about the possibility of rain! Some of the wedding photos I've seen here are so gorgeous!

it was time for a meal I was really looking forward to after hearing lots of great reviews – Via Napoli! It was….disappointing. The food was fine, but the service left A LOT to be desired.

Oh no! I'm sad to hear this! We've never been because of my allergies, but I've always heard pretty good things. It's kind of got a weird cult-following. Sorry it didn't measure up!

We headed out to the bus stop (and even remembered to head to the Saratoga Springs stop, since we were checking in to that hotel for the remainder of our stay), and then stood and waited. And waited. And waited. There were quite a few of us at the bus stop, and it was cold out – and it took forever! Finally, 35 minutes later a bus showed up…

Aw man, that's SUCH a ridiculous wait! I can't believe that! The last thing you needed on an already-late night.
 
We ate so much food that week. I intentionally left my wedding dress a little bit too big so I wouldn't have to watch what I ate while there :rotfl:

:laughing: I love that!!

So, I binge read your report on the weekend (I just skipped all the comments). I had a bunch of stuff quoted, and it lost it all, so I got angry and refused to go back to quote again haha.

:lmao: Nope! Go back and do it all over again!

That chicken is a must. So delicious!

::yes::

Yeah, I've never gone on a brewery tour for this reason haha.

Also - confession time - I've only been to Nova Scotia a small handful of times. I was 19 and at University about 15 minutes from the NS border when sone of my friends realized I had never stepped foot in that province, so they drove me over that day just so I could say I'd been there. It took another year before I made it to Halifax... But I had already been to Europe by that point haha.

Well... I'd been to Europe 4 times before I got to Halifax.

And never been to PEI or Newfoundland.

We're going to see Ed Sheeran in Fargo on October 17th, so that'll be the week we're in Winnipeg.

:sad2:
I'm almost positive that's when I will be out of town.
Not sure of dates yet, but I think I'm supposed to be on a plane on the 15th.
Then again, I was supposed to have details by mid January and I still haven't heard anything, so.....

Drop me a PM when it's closer, okay? :)

Luke used to be a delivery driver for The Good Earth back when he was in high school, so that's the one we always go to. It's cheap and the buffet is pretty good! I just looked at a map, and it's really close to Ye's (I don't have a good sense of direction in Winnipeg at all).

I've been there a few times. I love that it's always so fresh. Good turn around. Ye's is much bigger. Huge, actually. You won't leave hungry.
But.... quality might be a bit better at Good Earth, tbh.
 


(well, just the case, we were smart enough to leave the actual record home).

Good idea to skip that.


See what I did there?

We still haven’t actually done anything with that yet, it’s just sitting beside our record player...

That's not how it works.

This was also a really amazing Snow – she looked the part, and her voice/giggle was spot on – I was very impressed by this casting!

That's great! :)

This might be one of my favourite character meet and greet pictures ever haha – I guess I didn’t get the memo on how to pose for this one…

What is wrong with you????

I will eventually get around to writing a trip report about our Disney wedding, so stay tuned for that!

Staying tuned!

Anyways, back to the American Adventure audio-animatronics show… it’s a great place to have a nap?

I haven't seen it for a bit.... um.... 1987.

Via Napoli! It was….disappointing. The food was fine, but the service left A LOT to be desired.

Not a fan of Napoli. I'd heard so much about the pizza and.... meh. However our service was really good.
But... service (IMHO) makes or breaks a restaurant/meal. I don't care how good the food is.

because everyone needs second supper, right?

::yes:: (urp)

I was actually wearing my Baymax dress that day, so this meet and greet was a must!

::yes::


:laughing: Perfect!

Finally, 35 minutes later a bus showed up…

:sad2: Way too long.

By the time we reached the main lobby of Saratoga Springs, we were exhausted – but of course we still had to go check in, get our room number and new Magicbands, and pick up our luggage from bell services.

Ugh. You must've been just about falling down.
 
Ugh so sorry Via Napoli wasn’t the best. We are big drinkers so I guess maybe that’s why we always have a good time there?

We have been looking to try the Mexican place as well, I may do what you did and book right before illuminations! That was an awesome view you had and the cheese dip looked Delish!
 
I cracked up at that Snow White picture ... your princess pose is non-existent (Luke's is great, though).

In terms of American Adventure ... I'm like 4th generation American (and my dad is a US history teacher) ... and I think I've done it once. I think I've actually seen Oh Canada! more than I've done American Adventure. Martin Short is funny.

I love your Baymax and Joy/Sadness pictures! Your sadness face is much better than your princess pose :)
 
The sad part with online check-in, is the layoff of CM's. There used to be 3-4 people ready for check in at any given time. One is unacceptable. The night manager had to be around.
 
I adore this :)

Also, you look like I did the entire trip!! Good thing I got my Marie and Alice in Wonderland scarves for Christmas and threw them last minute into my suitcase!!! I needed them to keep my neck warm :) But, when I looked back at all our PP pics, I am all character mis-matched and wearing one of my scarves in seriously every single one!!
 
January 9, 2017 - Hollywood Studios Day

Our original plan this morning was to get up and be at the park early to try and avoid long wait times. However, once our alarm went I was still really tired after a late night the night before, so I made the decision for us to sleep in a bit more. Luckily our Fastpasses were made for the afternoon, so we weren’t missing any of those by sleeping longer.

Eventually, we did get up and got ready for the day. By the time we reached Hollywood Studios, we didn’t have a ton of time before we’d need to leave for our lunch reservation. We checked the wait times on the app, and headed straight for the Star Wars Launch Bay.

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I had just watched all of the Star Wars movies before this trip (8 of them at that point, Rogue One was still in theaters, but we had even saw that before leaving Canada) – so I was really interested in the character meet and greets.

We went to meet Kylo Ren. He wasn’t pleased when I called him Ben and refused to join the First Order.

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Afterwards, we headed out of the park – I know, so much accomplished haha. We caught the boat, and headed over to the Beach/Yacht Club for a lunch reservation at Beaches & Cream <3. I love these resorts, I think they are so pretty!

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I also took a picture of Sea Breeze Point. I was aware of Disney weddings at the time, and I thought this was such a gorgeous venue – I had no idea I’d actually be getting married there 366 days after taking this picture (Luke and I weren’t even engaged yet at this point)!

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After lunch, it was time to head back to the park to do some Fastpasses!

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Since it was the middle of the afternoon, the Photopass lineups were not too bad at all, so we stopped for some pictures before heading in to the park.

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Once we entered the park, we stopped at a bunch of Photopass Photographers, because I have a weird thing with trying to justify the cost (even though I can’t imagine not having Photopass on a WDW trip…)

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We had heard rumours about The Great Movie Ride being on the chopping block, so we wanted to make sure we went on it in case it was gone by the next time we took a trip to WDW (it closed in August 2017, so this was a good move on our part). The line was a little longer than I typically will wait, but we did it anyways. Posted time said 45 minutes, it was closer to 30. I am glad we got to on it once before it was shut down.​

We were now getting close to the end of our window for Rock N’ Roller Coaster. I don’t love this ride, but I don’t hate it either. I’m just a weird height where my ears slam back and forth from side to side against the safety bar, and since I was dealing with severe psoriasis on my head/ears/neck at the time, I got off the ride in pain.

Since Luke had made me suffer through that ride, I made him suffer through more Photopass pictures haha.

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We were within our Tower of Terror window by this point, which is a ride we both love (although I fought pretty hard against going on it during our first trip to Disneyland haha)

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We left Sunset Boulevard, and found another Photopass photographer.

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We headed over to Star Tours for our third and final Fastpass of the day. We both love this ride, and it’s always worth going on at least once every trip for us. Plus the queue is fantastic – sometimes I’m a little sad that the Fastpass line moves along so quickly…. I’m also a big fan of the personalization they offer with some of the rides now – notice the names on the screen behind this guy​

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I really wanted to meet Chewbacca, so we checked the app and saw that the wait time was fairly short so we headed in that direction and got into line.

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What a great meet and greet! Chewie is so huggable, and you couldn’t wipe the grin off my face afterwards.

We ran into some Jawas afterwards.

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We spent some time looking around at the Star Wars stuff, until it was time for us to check in for the Star Wars dessert party.

After the fireworks were over, we headed out to the buses and caught our bus back to Saratoga Springs. We weren’t sure if there would be enough non-dessert type food at the party to hold us over, so we had made a reservation at The Turf Club for late that night. Once we finished eating, we walked back to our room and fell asleep almost instantly - I was starting to get worn out.​
 
I also took a picture of Sea Breeze Point. I was aware of Disney weddings at the time, and I thought this was such a gorgeous venue – I had no idea I’d actually be getting married there 366 days after taking this picture (Luke and I weren’t even engaged yet at this point)!

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Well is that karma at work or what?!
 
I made the decision for us to sleep in a bit more.

What?????

This is Disney! No time to sleep! Go! Go! Go!

Luckily our Fastpasses were made for the afternoon, so we weren’t missing any of those by sleeping longer.

Oh... well... that's different. In that case...

This is Disney! No time to sleep! Go! Go! Go!

I had just watched all of the Star Wars movies before this trip

Wait... you mean again? Or for the first time?

We went to meet Kylo Ren. He wasn’t pleased when I called him Ben and refused to join the First Order.

:laughing:

Afterwards, we headed out of the park – I know, so much accomplished haha.

oy. :sad2:

Kids these days.

We caught the boat, and headed over to the Beach/Yacht Club for a lunch reservation at Beaches & Cream <3.


ooooohhh!!!

I've only had ice cream there (and you had my personal fave, the No Way Jose!)
but I definitely want to eat... food other than ice cream there. Specifically, I'd love to try their burger. I was seated at the counter overlooking the grill last time I was there and it looked soooo good.

I love these resorts, I think they are so pretty!

::yes::

I also took a picture of Sea Breeze Point. I was aware of Disney weddings at the time, and I thought this was such a gorgeous venue – I had no idea I’d actually be getting married there 366 days after taking this picture (Luke and I weren’t even engaged yet at this point)!

No way! Wow!
Were you... hoping at that point? Or was it a complete surprise?


Like this shot of you guys. :)

(even though I can’t imagine not having Photopass on a WDW trip…)

And I can't imagine having it. I just... don't think I'd use it.
I do grab a shot or two for the TR. But those are specifically for that purpose.
I just am not a pose for photos kind of guy.
You've seen my TRs... Actually I think I posted just about all of the good ones in my current TR.

We had heard rumours about The Great Movie Ride being on the chopping block, so we wanted to make sure we went on it in case it was gone by the next time we took a trip to WDW (it closed in August 2017, so this was a good move on our part).

Good move! ::yes:: :thumbsup2

We were now getting close to the end of our window for Rock N’ Roller Coaster. I don’t love this ride, but I don’t hate it either.

I love it, but...

I’m just a weird height where my ears slam back and forth from side to side against the safety bar, and since I was dealing with severe psoriasis on my head/ears/neck at the time, I got off the ride in pain.

... oh, man... I'm so sorry that happened. :(

Since Luke had made me suffer through that ride, I made him suffer through more Photopass pictures haha.

Turnabout is fair play. ::yes::


I like it! :)

We were within our Tower of Terror window by this point, which is a ride we both love (although I fought pretty hard against going on it during our first trip to Disneyland haha)

And now you can't do that there either.

sometimes I’m a little sad that the Fastpass line moves along so quickly

I agree. I wanted to take some photos and kept having to tell people "No. It's okay. Go ahead past me."

I’m also a big fan of the personalization they offer with some of the rides now – notice the names on the screen behind this guy

Huh! I didn't know about that.


Cute shots. :)

We ran into some Jawas afterwards.

Did you trade with them?

we walked back to our room and fell asleep almost instantly - I was starting to get worn out.

Awwwww.... :hug:
 
I love your picture of Sea Breeze Point ... it's like unconscious foreshadowing!!

Sounds like a nice day at Hollywood Studios! You got some great PhotoPass pictures ... you definitely got your money's worth from PhotoPass!
 
We went to meet Kylo Ren. He wasn’t pleased when I called him Ben and refused to join the First Order.

Haha I bet he wasn't!!

I also just watched all the Star Wars movies not too long ago, but I'm afraid I just didn't quiet get hooked. :(

We caught the boat, and headed over to the Beach/Yacht Club for a lunch reservation at Beaches & Cream <3. I love these resorts, I think they are so pretty!

Yum!! And yes, I love these resorts, too. They're gorgeous. I'd love to stay at either of them someday if we can get a good enough deal or rent points. Either one, but especially Beach Club.

I also took a picture of Sea Breeze Point. I was aware of Disney weddings at the time, and I thought this was such a gorgeous venue – I had no idea I’d actually be getting married there 366 days after taking this picture (Luke and I weren’t even engaged yet at this point)!

No way! That's cool to be able to look back on that moment, knowing what you know now!

Once we entered the park, we stopped at a bunch of Photopass Photographers, because I have a weird thing with trying to justify the cost (even though I can’t imagine not having Photopass on a WDW trip…)

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Before we had annual passes, I did the same thing. Photopass is awesome, but it is expensive, so I was always trying to make sure I got my money's worth! Also, you never know whether a photo is going to turn out great or terrible, so I would hedge my bets and take lots. :)

We were now getting close to the end of our window for Rock N’ Roller Coaster. I don’t love this ride, but I don’t hate it either. I’m just a weird height where my ears slam back and forth from side to side against the safety bar, and since I was dealing with severe psoriasis on my head/ears/neck at the time, I got off the ride in pain.

:(

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What a great meet and greet! Chewie is so huggable, and you couldn’t wipe the grin off my face afterwards.

What great pictures! Chewie is such a loveable awesome meet and greet!
 
January 10th, 2017

The alarm went way too early this morning, I just wanted to keep sleeping (especially after all the drinks we had the night before). But, we pulled ourselves out of bed, got ready and called an Uber to take us to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for breakfast at Boma! This was our first time seeing AKL, what a beautiful hotel!

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Boma Breakfast Review

Once we finished up with breakfast, we caught a bus to Animal Kingdom- such a quick drive from the hotel! I was really excited about being able to see the progress being made on Pandora – I had not seen the movie Avatar at this point, but I was still excited about the new land being built, it sounded amazing.

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Since the park had already been open for about half an hour, the line for security was not bad at all, but the line to scan your Magicbands was backed up a bit. No worries, we just went to the far left and entered Rainforest Cafe, cut through the gift shop and scanned our Magicbands with the cast member at that entrance – which never has a line! It’s one of my favourite Disney Park hacks

We stopped for a few Photopass pictures in front of the Tree of Life.

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We were getting close to our fastpass window for Expedition Everest, so we headed over there. Here’s what our day was going to look like (minus the Wild Africa Trek, we had cancelled that a few days earlier for a full refund - I've heard it's amazing, but we just weren't feeling like it).

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After going on my favourite ride in the park to see Disco Yeti, we started slowly making our way over to the Africa section of the park. Oh right! Proof we went on Everest (and in the back seat!):

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We decided to stop for the Baloo and King Louie meet and greet, we had really enjoyed it the year before.

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I was pointing out to Baloo that he was on the record we were getting the characters to sign.

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And then, we got engaged.

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I know, you were expecting a big lead up to it, if you’ve read my trip report this far you know I can be wordy. But, don’t worry, I’m going to let Luke tell this part of the story. Anything in red writing is written by him:

I don’t recall the exact moment I realized I was going to marry Fallon. But I’ve known for a long long time.

Since I can’t recall any specific instance – let’s post a photo of her here holding a Macho Nacho Helmet from Rexall Place.


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See? Wouldn’t you marry this woman?

All that said, I knew where we were going to get engaged since January of 2016. Walt Disney World. Shocker, right?

But how? There’s plenty of grand gesture opportunities. But none of them really seemed very us. While getting a rose and champagne with the ring at it at Be Our Guest does seem nifty, I can see how that would go.

Me: Nice night huh. How about that Grey Stuff? Delicious, right?

Fallon: Why are you so jittery and physically attractive tonight?

Me: You know. That’s how I do. You Know How I Do was a Taking Back Sunday song I think. Let’s get champagne!

Fallon: We never drink champagne. What’s going on.

Me: Explodes into a puddle of pure sweat on the floor

Fin

So on the Sunday of WDW Marathon Weekend, January of 2016, it all came together.

I’d just finished the 10k race 2 days prior. And we happened to head to Epcot on Marathon race day Sunday. I’ve been a runner on and off since 2012 and did a half marathon in 2013. But I’d never been THAT close to an actual finish line. The 10k had been far and away the best race I’ve ever run. Everything was so seamless and organized and exactly as you’d expect from that Disney brand of service. I shouldn’t have been surprised the full marathon seemed the same. The way the runners who were 42km deep by the time they hit Spaceship Earth were snaking through the open park. The way we as park goers moved through with minimal interruption was so cool. And the way when we were stopped we got to see how gruelling the run had been on the runners. How inspiring it was to see thousands upon thousands of people accomplishing a goal that they’d set out to achieve. How much I’d admired their ability to do all this while dressed like Chewbacca or Ursula the Sea Witch etc. It was all so amazing I was moved to tears. I can recall like 3 other times that happened to me as an adult. Once was a U2 show at Commonwealth Stadium when they went from one to With or Without You (this was an odd one since U2 are firmly in the like but not love column for me) in 2011, another was just a few weeks back when Frank Turner played The Way I Tend To Be and another time when I had a pretty good sandwich.

I knew 3 things that day. 1) I wanted to run this marathon. 2) I needed to run this marathon 3) I want and need to propose to Fallon HERE, at Disney.

I think Fallon was feeling inspiration joy overdose with me that day. When I explained how I thought I could do it, but it’d take 2 years she was all in. Of course she was. She’s amazing. I should marry her. *ding* thing 3.

Truth be told I’d been certain I needed to propose to her for some time. But we’d just moved into our house that year and planning a wedding wasn’t practical. Ah, love. Such a practical thing, no?

It was such a great day. And we’d had such a great time in Florida, I knew this was the place to get engaged when the time was right.

So… where to start?

Buttons. That’s where.

Fallon had got one of those Happy Birthday buttons on this trip and wore it like 4 or 5 days. She made me get one too because I have a January birthday as well (Yup, loaded with greatness this guy is) and it wasn’t my thing. But she revelled in that extra pixie dust that accompanies wearing such a bauble. So why not those Just Engaged buttons? Other than they’re more or less discontinued o_O

I found that out via Reddit. They’re not in circulation anymore hey? Well to heck with that. This is 2016. I have eBay and a major credit card. I’mma gonna get me some of these.

So I ordered Just Engaged buttons off the internet and had them shipped to my work. Where they were hid in my desk drawer between some sauce packets and butterfly clips. Now – on to stage 2 of Operation Propose to Fallon the Hottie.

What was phase 2?

I dunno.

I dunno was the plan from March 2016-November 2016 or so.

I wasn’t completely void of an idea. I figured it’s best to get it done in front of a PhotoPass photographer. I mean – there’s literally people with DSLRs all over the place ready to capture moments galore. But… where?

Not the castle. That’s for damned sure. That’s cliched, and not us.

If not the castle… where?

Splash Mountain? But that’s for Hulkamania poses.

Spaceship Earth? But that’s for Hulkamania poses.

Get help from a face character? Anna would be game. But Elsa would be all “See sis! These 2 have known each other for YEARS! That’s how you get engaged!” and then I’d feel awkward cause I’m way more Team Anna. #finisheachotherssandwiches

Then it came to me. Why not Animal Kingdom? It’s her favourite park. Work up the courage with a Dole Whip + coconut rum or three then we’re all set.

I knew the spot.

The ring was easy. Or was it?

Fallon has this diamond ring she’d gotten from her grandmother. She’d said many times before that this is what she wanted to wear because it means so much to her. I’m pretty sure she’d often thought I wasn’t listening despite the not-so-subtle hints. But through all the phone-looking-at I had retained that knowledge.

Fortunately she’d taken it off around Halloween when we were gutting some pumpkins. Yes – they were Disney themed.

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I was concerned she’d remember she took it off and put it back on before we headed back to the World. I’d had a Plan B where I took a photo – sent it to Lisa (my eventual groomswoman) and had her obtain some fugazi costume jewellery version of it. Plus a Plan where I bought a ring from somewhere on property. As well as a Plan D where we used the Fuel Rod (these mammajammas are a frickin’ lifesaver and a half).

She didn’t put it back on from Halloween through New year’s Day though. On the morning we left for Florida this past January I hurried where the ring was hidden downstairs, attached it to a Winnipeg Jets lanyard (for easy transport and handy backpack access) and stowed it in my carry on. Along with the Just Engaged Buttons. And the Just Married ones because the eBay guy sold those together (they were the discontinued Cinderella carriage ones, so I was excited about those too!).

The initial plan was to propose on our first Animal Kingdom day. AK was a zoo. I mean… it is a zoo too. But that day. Woof. The busiest park day of the entire trip. The PhotoPass photographers in front of the tree of life were swamped. That’s fine. That wasn’t the spot anyhow.

We’d planned for 2 days at AK. With FP+ on day 1 for Everest, Dinosaur, and Festival of the Lion King. Plus a 10:45 at Tusker House. Tusker House BTW – best character meal hands down. The point of this paragraph is there wasn’t a plan to head to the Kilimanjaro Safaris and the spot was between Asia and Africa.

No matter what I tried to do that day we didn’t make our way to the spot. “Let’s go see the naked mole rats” “Wanna see the Gorillas?” “Hey, how about we go to this specific out of the way PhotoPass spot that gets the backside of the Tree of Life in the background for no apparent immediate reason?”

Ugh.

It just didn’t happen. I considered saying Eff it! and proposing at the photographer with Everest in the background. But it didn’t feel right. And there were so. many. people.

It wasn’t right. I wanted it to be and we had a great day. Fallon got to FaceTime her grandmother with Mickey Mouse at Tusker House, we had awesome seats for Festival of the Lion King, we got a better perspective on how it’s tough to be a bug. Solid day on the whole. But Tuesday. Tuesday I was gonna get it done. Three cheers to procrastination!!!

So Tuesday was kind of a blur. We entered the park through the Rainforest cafe because we know what is up. Then headed to Everest because we were a little later arriving and had a fastpass. I remember being nervous, checking my pocket for the Jets lanyard several times. I remember being relieved to see a PhotoPass photographer approaching the spot just as we were getting there. He seemed grumpy but c’est la vie. So we get some shots all normal like and I reach into the pouch of my hoodie for the Just Engaged button. Time to pee or get off the porta-potty. I said something along the line of “How about we get some photos with these? I showed it to Fallon and could tell she was processing what was happening slower than she should have. She had no idea somehow. I say this because while my fiancee
(Luke wrote this over a year ago for our wedding website, we are now married) is a wonderful woman, she’s not much of an actress. She was shocked.

It’s funny how some of the most important moments of your life go by almost in fast-forward. I truly can’t remember what I said. I’m the emotional one in this duo who’s prone to babbling. But Fallon – waterworks. Like Igu…Igudal…The Falls from Soarin’. I just remember getting down on one knee and never being so sure of anything in my life.

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I also wrote my version of that day for our wedding website. It's no where near as well written as Luke's version was, but here it is:

Luke and I had discussed marriage a few times over the years, and we both knew it would happen eventually. However, I wanted to leave it completely up to him on when we would get engaged.

I had mentioned to him more than once that I did not want him spending crazy amounts of money on a ring. I’m not a big jewelry person, and I already had the ring I wanted. When my grandparents celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary, my Poppy gave my Nanny a new set of rings. A few years after Poppy died, Nanny gave the set to my mom. My mom wore it for years. Then, in 2015 my Mom handed the set down to me once she received her own from my now-step-dad. So, I had a ring that meant a lot to me, and I wore it everyday for quite awhile (just not on the proper finger). Then, around Halloween 2016 while we were cleaning out some pumpkins I took my ring off so it wouldn’t get covered in pumpkin guts, and placed it into a little dish we had bought in the Dominican a few years back. Then, I just left it sitting on our kitchen island. I thought about it a few times, and how I should put it back on, but I never did.

I had a bit of a suspicion that it would happen in Disney, since it just felt like us, but I had no idea when or how or even which trip it would happen on (we had plans in place to go to both Florida and California in January 2017, and we knew we’d be going back to Florida in January 2018). Before leaving work for Christmas break in December 2016 one of my co-workers was joking with me, “maybe we’ll both come back with new rings on our fingers!” (we were both taking the first two weeks of January off for vacation – I was heading to Florida for our Disney trip and he was off to Hawaii for his wedding). I laughed, but it was something I had considered…

As our trip went on, I pushed the idea farther into the back of my mind – it wasn’t going to happen on this trip. Then, on the second last day of our trip, it happened. We were walking along the pathway between Africa and Asia at Animal Kingdom, when Luke suggested we “go down here! Let’s check it out!”. I was not being very co-operative, I was dealing with a major psoriasis flare up (which I wasn’t diagnosed with for another month), and I was cranky because of my sore skin. I think I said something along the lines of “ugh, why?! There’s nothing down there!”, but I agreed because I love him. A photopass photographer was actually walking down ahead of us, just about to start his shift, so Luke suggested we get some pictures taken. I was so done with pictures at that point – I hadn’t been able to brush my hair in a few days due to the painful skin on my scalp, I was wearing a scarf to hide the rash on my neck (which I ended up on antibiotics for less than a week later), and I was tired (we were already a week deep in our trip). But, again, I agreed – after all, Luke agreed to the hundreds of other Photopass pictures I’d already made him take…

So, we got some cute pictures of the back-side of the Tree of Life. Luke was acting kind of weird, then he reached into his pocket, pulled something out and asked me if we should get more pictures taken with “these” and held out a Just Engaged button.

Once my brain comprehended what was happening, Luke dropped to one knee and pulled out his Winnipeg Jets lanyard which had my grandmother’s ring attached – he had managed to get it out of the house and all the way to Florida without me noticing!

Of course I said yes! The Photopass Photographer had quickly realized what was happening, and had us move over slightly due to the sun affecting his photos. So, we don’t have the Tree in the background, but there’s also no glaring sun. He took at least 20 pictures for us before being the first to congratulate us.

We began making phone calls, first calling our moms, then my grandmother who was in the hospital at the time (and passed away less than 2 months later)- who laughed and gleefully proclaimed“I knew!”. It turns out, instead of being traditional and asking my dad to marry me, Luke had snuck out of the house on our last trip to New Brunswick under the guise of ‘going for a run’, and instead ran to my grandma’s house to ask her permission for my hand in marriage. I consider myself a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need anyone’s permission to marry whomever I want to, but this gesture of asking my Nanny really meant a lot to me.

Luke called his sister and texted the other one (she was out of the country at the time), while I called my Dad.
 
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What?????

This is Disney! No time to sleep! Go! Go! Go!

Haha, after our last trip with a lot of non-Disney people, I've realized how much of a go-go-go person I am. There were so many complaints, and "I'm going back to the hotel now". o_O

Oh... well... that's different. In that case...

This is Disney! No time to sleep! Go! Go! Go!

We definitely did not feel we gave Hollywood Studios enough time on this trip after cutting this day short...

Wait... you mean again? Or for the first time?

...for the first time (hangs head in shame)

oy. :sad2:

Kids these days.

I know, I know. Millennials, am I right?


ooooohhh!!!

I've only had ice cream there (and you had my personal fave, the No Way Jose!)
but I definitely want to eat... food other than ice cream there. Specifically, I'd love to try their burger. I was seated at the counter overlooking the grill last time I was there and it looked soooo good.

The food gets a thumbs up from me! I love their grilled cheese and tomato soup!

No way! Wow!
Were you... hoping at that point? Or was it a complete surprise?

Read the last update I just posted ::yes::

Like this shot of you guys. :)

Thanks!

And I can't imagine having it. I just... don't think I'd use it.
I do grab a shot or two for the TR. But those are specifically for that purpose.
I just am not a pose for photos kind of guy.
You've seen my TRs... Actually I think I posted just about all of the good ones in my current TR.

I also love getting all of our on-ride photos. I figure those are ~$15/each, so I only need 10 of them to break even :)

I love it, but...



... oh, man... I'm so sorry that happened. :(

If I was an inch or two taller, it would be a much more enjoyable experience for me.

I like it! :)

Me too!

And now you can't do that there either.

Which is fine, Guardians is a fantastic ride!

Huh! I didn't know about that.

I love that little touch!

Cute shots. :)

Chewbacca is one of my favourite characters to meet :)
 
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