"I brushed my teeth, and I don't have cooties." An August DFTW and Disneymoon TR

Hi, friends! Tomorrow we leave for work, and then DISNEY!!!!, and then work. We'll be away from home for nearly a month. (Stacey is just excited that we're leaving her alone and her Meemaw will be babysitting, so I already feel that we won't really be missed...) I suspect that this means that I'm about to become the world's BEST trip report lurker, and the world's WORST trip report commenter. I'll do my best to keep up with your reports if I've been following them, and you'll know I'm there by the little "like" notifications that will show up from time to time, but I apologize if I don't have time to comment consistently for a while. I'm still there, and I'm still enjoying hearing all about your memories! I will try to get another update or two in on my current TR if possible. Time will tell. When I get home in September, I plan to have lots of magical stories to tell!!
And you (and N!) have a great time! We'll miss you!
:hug:
 
KYQRv96.jpg


Cheshire comic.jpg


HAVE A FANTASTIC MAGICAL TRIP!!!


:goodvibes


.
 




All caught up after 2 long weeks of work and a visit from my sweet little baby grandaughter and DIL last weekend. You put together a very nice looking trip! The Savor the Savanah Tour looks amazing!!!! WOW!!

You have a few similar ADRs as I do, so 2 thumbs up there on all of your delicious choices. Anyway, by now you are gone and enjoying a, I hope!, fun and stress free Anniversary and Birthday trip!!

Enjoy, and I'll see you on the flip side! :wave:
 
It didn't even really matter what we were doing. It just felt so good to be there.
THIS. This is EXACTLY how I felt when I got my two surprise Disney days in June!! I normally have our days planned down so precisely to the minute, but I have never enjoyed every moment the way I did because it felt like every second was a bonus. I just kept looking around thinking, "I can't believe I'm here!"


Creepy animals....cute you! :)

I hope you're having the most incredibly magical month!!! Can't wait to hear all about it when you return!
 
Please don't groan too loudly. Finally caught up on Ponzies thread and now trying to catch up again over here. Sorry, work (both) have limited my DIS time.
 
WEDDING DAY: Magic Kingdom Bridal Portrait Session
Disney Day 3 - Part 2

Back again, already!! At the end of the last update we were on our way to our early morning bridal photo shoot at the Magic Kingdom. Our “first look” shoot began at 5:45, and our MK shoot was supposed to be from 6:30-7:30, with the park opening to guests at 9:00am. On the drive over, Amanda asked us about what our photo priorities were for this shoot, and we all chatted and got to know each other a bit. She told us a bit about her experience shooting weddings, and she and N (whose sister is a trained photographer) bonded over the way people hire amateur photographers for weddings due to the cost, but then get angry when their photos don’t look professional. It was also at this point that I took a selfie to commemorate how much I was loving the early morning...

iTcgbiM.jpg


When we got to the MK, everything was dark, and “Matt” drove us into the park through a backstage entrance. It was so early in the morning and it’s been so long now that I already forget some things, but I believe we parked somewhere in the Liberty Square area. Floral arrived quickly, and I got my bouquet for the first time…and so began my arm-day workout for the day! The thing was incredibly heavy for its size! It was remarkable, really! I would tell someone how heavy it was, and then I’d hand it to them to prove it and they’d nearly drop it in surprise. (Close-up photo of flowers coming later.) N also got his boutonniere, and so began the equally-difficult challenge of keeping it pinned on.

We had arrived at the MK early for our session, so we sat for a bit and waited. After a while Amanda decided to try to start a bit early, so we headed over to the castle. The first Halloween parties and setting up of Fall decorations would be happening within a couple of weeks at this point, so when we got to the castle they were actually doing demos of the Halloween castle projections. Amanda asked when they’d be finished, and it was going to be a fair bit longer, basically as long as we’d still have the darkness to work with, so she asked how we felt about having Halloween images in our photos. I was okay with it, and N was thrilled—he loves Halloween and is an overall quirky human being—so we started our shoot.

U4wvlgV.jpg


While we still had the morning twilight, we went also around toward the back of the castle, and Amanda shot photos of just me, and of us as a couple. I remember standing here for a long time while she experimented with a bunch of slight variations on her lighting, and while she tried to capture exact moments during the castle projections to get the right colours. My bouquet was heavy and had to be held in a particular place, and I was uncomfortable, but these are the struggles a wedding fashion model must face!

ulNc5eu.jpg


We popped over to the breezeway area under the castle next:

ihEG6wa.jpg


Another major priority for me in this shoot was to get some photos in the Little Mermaid areas of New Fantasyland, so we made the trek over there next. As some of you may know, if you do a bridal photo session in the Magic Kingdom there are three different possible routes you can take because there is only so much you can accomplish in an hour…and also because I’m sure they wanted to maximize their revenue by allowing up to three different couples in the park on any given morning. All the routes include the castle, plus three other locations, and the sooner you book the more likely you are to get your first choice. Our route was the Under the Sea ride, Enchanted Tales with Belle (we didn’t really end up doing this, though I’m sure we would have if I’d requested it when Amanda asked me about my priorities…) and Be Our Guest. This was my first choice of routes. The other two routes were: Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and Tangled tower bathroom area, OR Teacups, Carousel, and Wishing Well.

By this point, Matt had taught me how we would deal with my dress for travelling for the remainder of the shoot, and I was getting pretty good at it. I would hold out one arm—the free arm without my bouquet…(though it was often N’s “job” to carry my bouquet from one place to another)—and Matt would gracefully gather my train together and drape it over my arm for me. My dress would be lifted off the ground enough to facilitate walking, and off we’d go! It was pretty impressive, really. I had also been warned on the boards that the ground at MK would be wet in the morning and that my dress would get wet and dirty, but other than the moments where it touched the ground for actual photos, it hardly ever made contact with the ground at all. I didn’t find it went through too much hardship. It actually got wetter in our photos at Epcot’s Canada, which are coming up soon. It still looked pretty nice by the time we got to the ceremony, so I didn’t end up having any trouble.

I had seen photos of the inside of the Under the Sea ride queue, and I knew I wanted that location, so Amanda made sure to make time for it.

lHK4QHo.jpg


For that photo, they had to let down some of the queue line ropes and let us into an area that’s usually blocked off for guests, which was really neat! I think it's mostly just used for overflow when the line is super long and they need to open extra areas? Anyway, Amanda told us that one of the coolest parts of her job was being allowed to enter areas that guests aren’t allowed to access. That was also when we noticed that the “chains” that divide the queue in this ride aren’t actually chains at all! All the “links” are actually stuck together and the whole piece moves together as a whole. And they’re pretty heavy, too! Maybe they do this to deter kids from playing with them, which always seems to happen in queue lines. It’s hard to explain, but if you’ve never noticed this just try to lift the “chains” the next time you’re in this queue! We took a few different shots there, and then we were on our way out…when Amanda happened to notice a little area off to the side in the queue that had a neat lighting effect and she just had to stop. That’s where we got this shot, and it turned out to be one of my favourite locations.

4LzFJVH.jpg


We hit a few other spots outside the queue in that area of FL…

vXUbRBa.jpg


…before heading to Be Our Guest. Typically, I don’t think they let people inside the restaurant for photos, and it was no different for us, but that was fine for me. Some of the neatest backdrops for photos are outside anyway.

u7HHlcp.jpg


We were almost finished for the morning already—an hour goes so quickly!—but we had one more task to complete…castle photos in the daylight! We did the back of the castle first.

YnYGZOS.jpg


I actually think the back of the castle is prettier than the front, but I didn’t like our poses back here as much as the front ones. We moved to the front next…

b1nbS0m.jpg


…and we finally got one of my favourite photos of the whole shoot! It’s hanging in our living room now, and it made the Great Balloon Caper totally worth it. Here it is:

5CoIxFr.jpg


At this point it was nearly 7:30am, and there were announcements that kept going over the PA system saying that the Magic Kingdom was being cleared for opening and all people/vehicles needed to clear the area. It was specific to the area around Main Street/the castle, if I remember correctly. I think they have the park ready in sections, and there were still people working in the areas further back. It was neat to see CMs here and there working to get everything finished, and to think that this process happens there every morning before the guests ever enter the park. And it was also super weird to see trucks and other vehicles parked around the MK. Amanda rushed to get a couple of last-minute photos before we cleared off for the next part of the morning. We were hopping back in the big white vehicle-box, and headed to Epcot. ...but not before taking the infamous Cinderella "shoe" photo..

ij5Q3BL.jpg


Amanda’s photos weren’t 100% exactly my style if I'm being honest. I have a few photographers at home who I follow and whose photos are much more my style, and I even researched a few Orlando photographers with similar portfolios. But I had been so worried that our Disney wedding photographer would be terrible and I would hate all my photos, that I was so pleasantly surprised with the photos we got. Moreover, Amanda was confident, relaxed, and had a super personality. She was able to pose us easily without making us feel anxious or awkward, and that was reflected in the images she got. I also knew in advance that MK shoots usually only included further-away shots because the photographers wanted to showcase the MK backdrop, so I wasn’t disappointed with what we got.

And in case that wasn’t enough photographic evidence of our photo session for you…here are some more photos in the next post!
i know i'm so very late... like over two years late.... but these are just totally AWESOME. I mean, like gasp as you hold your heart and then sigh awesome. Like, what a FAIRY TALE awesome. SO very happy for you.
 
i know i'm so very late... like over two years late.... but these are just totally AWESOME. I mean, like gasp as you hold your heart and then sigh awesome. Like, what a FAIRY TALE awesome. SO very happy for you.

So sorry for the late reply, but thank you so much! I'm glad our most magical memories can bring a little joy to others reading about them, too <3
 
I just started reading your TR (super late to the party) and realized we were there at the same time as you!! We drove from NJ and stayed 10 days. I’m only on your second update but can’t wait to read all about your wedding. We head down in 35 days. 😍
 
I just started reading your TR (super late to the party) and realized we were there at the same time as you!! We drove from NJ and stayed 10 days. I’m only on your second update but can’t wait to read all about your wedding. We head down in 35 days. 😍

If you were late to the party, then I was also super late to your comment! Sorry! Thanks so much for joining my report, and I hope you had a wonderful trip last fall. :goodvibes
 

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!





Latest posts

Top