Greetings from 30,000 Feet!

Well, the honeymoon is over. I mean literally. As you can probably tell by the fact that this blog stopped updating a few days before our wedding, we left for Florida and my chance to make any more updates vanished. Let me tell you, from the day before the wedding until just now has been a whirlwind, but a great one. I am currently writing this blog post while sitting aboard an Alaska Airlines non-stop flight from Orlando to Seattle, and thanks to the joy of $20 in-flight internet connections, I am able to get out there and do at least this one update.

Of course, a lot has happened in the last fifteen days, and I would be remiss as a groom-educating blogger if I didn't chronicle the things that happened, the plans that came to fruition (and those that went up in spectacular flames), the mistakes we made the the good decisions we benefitted from, and posted lots and lots of pictures and information from our trip. After all, I started this blog not only as a journal of what our own process of planning and enjoying a Disney World wedding and honeymoon is like, but also to provide a boots-on-the-ground view for anyone else looking to learn a little more about how the process works.

Fortunately for any desperate souls who have been suckered into reading this blog, I have been taking copious notes throughout the duration of our trip, and have actually written several blog posts at night while relaxing in our hotel room (usually while Girl Scout Wife--yeah, that's what I get to call her now--showered or watched television). I didn't bring a laptop on the trip, only my iPad Mini and a bluetooth keyboard, so I couldn't pepper the posts with my usual array of Google-nabbed images and terrible captions. As a result, I'm going to spend the next week or so posting those blog entries one or two a day, giving you readers time to follow along with our honeymoon ex-post-facto and giving me time to sort wedding and honeymoon photos.

As for how it went, all I'll say is this: while the whole trip was fantastic, it's funny how a single hour of Florida thunderstorms can dash the best-laid plans.

WedPics

A tip we picked up online from someone else (sorry, whoever you are; it's been so long ago that I've forgotten!) for our wedding is to take advantage of the fact that many, if not most, of our guests are going to have smart phones with them. Since we have two families spending almost a week in Disney World, sometimes together and sometimes apart, there's a lot to chronicle and keep as memories, and we only have a photographer for about three hours on our wedding day. Fortunately, phones with cameras and Internet access are ubiquitous among our guests, so we're going to ask all of our guests to get those phones out and snap lots of photos over the course of the week that we're there. Instead of having one photographer, we'll have 12 or so, taking photos of all of the pre- and post-wedding events and hopefully capturing some great, candid shots.

We're transforming our wedding guests into our personal paparazzi.

Of course, having a dozen people snapping photos during the trip doesn't do us any good if we don't have some way to aggregate them. Some websites recommend setting up a single repository on Photobucket or Flickr to which people can upload theses photos. However, I found setting those up to allow multiple people to upload to them to be a bit of a chore, so I started doing some research on dedicated apps for just this kind of event-based image collation. The one I ended up settling on was WedPics, for a number of reasons. First, it's free, which is a big boon. Second, it has apps native to both iOS and Android, which means that basically anyone in our family with a smartphone will be able to upload and view the photos for the trip. Lastly, the interface is easy, and you create a special wedding identifier that your family can use to connect their apps to your albums, automatically uploading everything to the right place. I think Girl Scout Fiancéeis also going to like the fact that the app can apply Instagram-like filters to the images before uploading them.

Man, they can do anything with filters these days.

I really hope it's going to work out; if it does, we'll have a lot of great photos from the trip. The biggest hurdle is going to be getting our families to remember to take the photos in the first place, and then to upload their pictures to the WedPics albums. We've put information about our WedPics album into our welcome brochures (which I'll talk about in a future blog post), so hopefully everyone will embrace this so we can come home with some great visual memories of the entire week.

Goodbye, Canada; Hello, New Fantasyland

It's easy for me to see how I was overly ambitious with some of my original plans for things to do and places to eat in Disney World, and the time came a few weeks ago when I had to make a hard decision and sacrifice one of our dining reservations. They days were just getting to jam-packed full, and I found myself scheduling us for three sit-down meals on a couple of our off days. A few weeks ago, I finally came to my senses for a couple of reasons. First, after having a huge lunch one day, Girl Scout Fiancée and I ended up skipping dinner one night, reminding me that neither of us can eat like we once did. The second reason is one of energy levels; as the time drew closer to the trip, both of us started spending almost every evening working on wedding preparation, and I could tell that soon both of us would be running on fumes and might need some days by the pool to recharge our batteries.

It was with great sadness that I had to bid goodbye to Le Cellier. I just didn't think we'd be able to squeeze in Via Napoli for lunch on one of our days off, and so it came down to deciding whether or not we wanted a fifth signature restaurant dinner, or pizza. I have fond memories of Le Cellier from when I was younger, but I've never been to Via Napoli, so I decided it would be a good chance to experience a new restaurant with both Girl Scout Fiancée and I never having tried it. I canceled my Le Cellier reservation, and moved my Via Napoli reservation into its spot, so on our first day at Epcot we'll be having lunch at the Living Seas and dinner in Italy.

Another new development includes shifting some plans around to try and get a lunch at Be Our Guest, which has been getting excellent reviews. Unfortunately, lunch is first-come-first-serve counter service, and the line to get in sometimes extends to a half hour or even 45 minutes.  The one saving grace is that it appears that many resort guests are invited to participate in a special Be Our Guest Lunch FastPass+, which does not count against your daily limit of FastPasses and lets you go to the front of the line. I'm hoping we'll get an invitation to participate, as I doubt we're going to want to spend valuable park time just waiting in line for lunch.

The big wrinkle in that plan, though, is the dedication ceremony for the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride on May 2nd...the very day we'll be going to the Magic Kingdom for the first time. I've already moved all of our FastPasses out of New Fantasyland, because I can almost guarantee you that it is going to be packed with people there for the dedication; I just hope we can get in and see the inside of Beast's castle, because it's something totally new to me.

A Quick New Addendum to Our Snack List

Just saw a post over on the Disney Food Blog about the new Mickey Kitchen Sink Sundae, debuting at both the Plaza Ice Cream Shop and the always-popular Beaches & Cream. The sundae is a sizable amount of ice cream, a boatload of toppings, though it looks like a pretty standard ice cream sundae. The big draw of the sundae is the container it comes in: a sink-shaped pair of Mickey Mouse's pants. Yes, you too can eat ice cream out of Mickey's pants.

I need you to know how mightily I struggled to keep this caption family-friendly.

Apparently, the Beaches & Cream version contains additional items and toppings that the one in the Magic Kingdom does not, including a brownie. It's also astronomically priced for ice cream: a whopping $23 for the sundae. Now, you get to keep Mickey's plastic pants, and that's a pretty cute souvenir, but it it really worth more than we'll pay for an entire lunch one day? I dunno. It's something to keep an eye on, though, because I'm a sucker for keepsakes.

Putting Together Some Disney Duds

I've mentioned it in a few previous posts, but both Girl Scout Fiancée and I have lost quite a bit of weight since our engagement. Just comparing our engagement photo shoot with things like the profile photo I have up now makes it pretty obvious how much we've lost, but as of this writing I've lost 110 lbs. since we got engaged, and Girl Scout Fiancée has lost a proportional amount. Of course, this leaves us with something of a problem every few months: we don't have any clothes that fit us. Since summer ends in Seattle in August, the last time I wore all of my summer clothes was about 50 lbs. ago, and now even the shorts I was wearing just fall down around our ankles. We'll be heading to the heat of Florida in just a little over a week, and so this past weekend the time was right for us to do a major summer clothes shopping expedition, because neither of us wanted to walk around on our honeymoon looking like little kids dressed up in their parents' clothes. 

Like this, only not adorable.

Since we settled on Disney World for our wedding and honeymoon, Girl Scout Fiancée has been following a fashion blog called Disney Bound. The premise of the site is that they put together outfits inspired by characters from Disney movies, using color schemes for those characters paired with more modern fashion. Girl Scout Fiancée has taken the idea and run with it, and in the weeks leading up to our shopping expedition she put together an outfit based on Snow White, along with a couple of variants. We have dinners planned at four pretty nice restaurants at Disney World (Yachtsman Steakhouse, Victoria & Albert's, Jiko, and California Grille), and we're going to want to look nice on the nights that we go to those dinners. So, in addition to shopping for clothes to wear at the resort and around the parks, I decided to follow Girl Scout Fiancée's lead and put together a few outfits of my own. After all, if she's going to look that good, I've got to at least keep pace!

Mickey Mouse

How can you not love the mouse himself as inspiration for an outfit? Back at Halloween, I snagged a pair of red jeans and a black shirt for a Mickey Mouse costume, and my first thought was just to use that. However, it doesn't quite match Mickey's look, especially not how he appears in the parks. I did a little Internet research and found some photos of Mickey in Disney World, and used that as a starting point.

If you're going to dress like a Disney character, why not go for the Big Cheese himself?

At first, I'd planned to wear a white t-shirt under a black blazer, along with the red jeans and my black dress shoes. Despite the fact that a jacket-and-t-shirt-combo can look hip and trendy on Seattle hipsters, I just didn't feel like I was pulling it off (though, I'll admit that part of that is because both my jacket and my t-shirts were far too large for me, and made me look disheveled). During our shopping expedition, I came across a nice white dress shirt, and even found a great-looking black dinner jacket at a secondhand that looked amazing on me (it was the equivalent of a medium, where my existing jacket was an XL). Now the Mickey-inspired outfit involves the red jeans, black dress shoes, a white dress shirt, and the black dinner jacket; I may use the bowtie from my wedding outfit with this, too, depending on how hot it is and if I can stand to have my collar closed. I'm also considering going back to Kohl's on Sunday or Monday to grab one of the black vests they had on clearance; I won't wear the vest with the jacket, but instead replace the jacket with the vest for a different look that uses the bulk of the same clothing items. That gives me something to wear to Yachtsman Steakhouse, and then wear the other version of the outfit to California Grille.

Aladdin.

At one point, Girl Scout Fiancée pointed me toward an awesome outfit that was inspired by Aladdin on DisneyBound. Since Aladdin is my favorite Disney movie, it took no convincing to get me to pursue it. Even better, I already had many of the components for the DisneyBound version of the outfit.

Though I won't be buying a magic lamp.

All I needed was a brown dress shirt and some slacks, both of which were easy to come by and both of which I could wear to work after the honeymoon is over. My brown work shoes are a little scuffed and uneven in color, but a little shoe polish will take care of the scuffs, and may even make it look more like the "street rat" version of Aladdin that the outfit is inpired by. I picked up the shirt and slacks, along with a nice new belt, on our shopping expedition, and I'd planned on using the vest from my wedding outfit as the vest for this one. Then, at the same store where I found my dinner jacket, I also found a vest that I knew I had to grab: it was a deep, royal purple, easily one of the flashiest pieces of formalwear I'd ever seen, and I could only imagine that it was once part of an extremely fabulous suit worn by Jerome from Morris Day and the Time. It's a little big, but I'm going to wait and see how I'm feeling about the whole outfit the day that we go to Jiko before making the call on the navy vest vs. the purple vest. Even better, Girl Scout Fiancée found a blue dress that is almost the same shade as Jasmine's, so she's putting together a Jasmine-inspired outfit to wear that same night.

Victoria & Albert's

Not every outfit I put together for our trip is inspired by a Disney character. Leading up to our shopping trip, I was getting very nervous about what I was going to wear to Victoria & Albert's. On the one hand, the dress code specifically calls out dinner jackets for me, which are not the same as a blazer, or even a simple suit jacket. On the other hand, I'd read a lot of posts by men who had simply worn their business suits, or even just slacks and a blazer, to Victoria & Albert's. Also, we're going to be sitting at the Chef's Table, not out in the main dining room, and I've seen enough reviews to know that it's a much more relaxed environment. Even still, there's something about me (guess I'm Lawful Good after all) that doesn't like breaking the rules, so I felt an insane amount of relief when I found the dinner jacket during our shopping trip. Girl Scout Fiancée showed me the dress that she plans to wear that night (she also wore it out for her bachelorette party), and it mostly black and pink. Since my dinner jacket and pants are black, I found a pink dress shirt at Kohl's and got a nice tie to go with it at Nordstrom Rack, putting together a pretty nice outfit that not only matches what Girl Scout Fiancée is going to wear but also didn't break the bank in the process.

Failed Outfit: Prince Charming.

There was one other outfit that I wanted to put together for the trip, but failed to do so. On the DisneyBound page I found a great looking inspiration for a Prince Charming outfit, which would have looked nice at any of our fancy dinners, or would have been perfect the night we went to Cinerella's Royal Table (though I'd probably want to run back to the Boardwalk to change after a day at the parks, since I wouldn't want to wear it all around the park that day).

This guy is definitely Doing It Right.

Unlike my other outfits that I put together, I'd need to obtain a lot of more expensive items for this one. I planned to start with the same red jeans and white dress shirt that would be a part of my Mickey Mouse-inspired outfit, then add a tan vest, a gold tie, and a gold belt, plus some nice brown dress shoes. Unfortunately, all of the components I needed were expensive. There weren't any tan vests at the secondhand stores, so I would have had to buy new, and none of the places I looked for vests had anything in the right color. My fallback would have been a jacket (though I wasn't thrilled at the idea of doing the jacket with no vest), but jackets are even more expensive. I ended up abandoning this outfit (for now; there's always the anniversary trip next year), and will stick with the three really nice ones I put together already.

Dessert and Snack To-Do Lists

I went into detail some time ago about the lengthy list of restaurants that Girl Scout Fiancée and I are going to be visiting during our honeymoon. Though both of us have made great strides with our health, eating habits, and weight, we both agree: the honeymoon is for us to enjoy, so bring on the delicious food! With that in mind, I decided to start compiling a post about the various delicious snacks and desserts out there that aren't a part of the meals we'll be eating. So, here's a list of all of the non-restaurant items I'm looking forward to trying out on the honeymoon. A huge shout out to the Disney Food Blog for all of the photos contained herein; all of these items are reviewed on that site, so check it out!

First stop on the delicious-and-bad-for-you food tour is the Magic Kingdom. I'm really looking forward to trying the sweet cream cheese pretzel at the Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland. After having something similar at a breakfast food truck in Portland, I'll be making sure to head to Sleepy Hollow and grab a Nutella and fruit waffle sandwich. For breakfast one morning, I'm really hoping to snag a maple cinnamon roll from Gaston's Tavern. It's already going to be tough to find room for another dessert at the Magic Kingdom (since we're doing the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party) but it's going to be difficult for me not to stop into the Main Street Bakery for a homemade ice cream sandwich. Maybe one night on a non-park day, or after dinner at Jiko.

Sweet cream cheese pretzel.

Nutella waffle sandwich with fruit.

Maple cinnamon roll

Homemade ice cream sandwich.

Epcot is going to be a virtual cornucopia of delicious treats, I already know. I have penned visits into the bakery at the France pavilion for several nights, and I just know that I'll be walking away stuffed to the gills. Still, there are quite a few other snack offerings at Epcot I'm dying to try. Of course, one of the first ones that I hear a lot about is the school bread at the Norway pavilion, which looks delicious. Anything with custard in it stands out to me. As a sucker for salted caramel, the chocolate-covered sea salt caramel from Karamell-Küche in the Germany pavilion is on my hit list. Then there are the competing ice cream-like sandwiches, the gelato cookie sandwich from the Italy pavilion and the pressed brioche ice cream sandwich at L’ Artisan des Glaces in the France pavilion.

School bread.

Chocolate-covered sea salt caramel

Gelato cookie sandwich

Pressed brioche ice cream sandwich.

Hollywood Studios is not really known for its snacks, though in addition to sporting additional places to get some of the other snacks on this list, there are a few snacks unique to the park. I'm not usually a huge fan of carrot cake, but the carrot cake cookie at the Writer's Stop sounds delicious. I also know I have to try the Butterfinger cupcake from Starring Rolls, and that I might have to fight Girl Scout Fiancée for every bite.

Carrot cake cookie.

Butterfinger cupcake.

Not every delicious treat is found in the parks. I'm sure I can pretty much find them anywhere, but one thing I love (and haven't been able to eat since we started trying to lose weight) are the chocolate croissants, which appear at many different breakfast buffets. Of course, one of the big perks to staying at the Boardwalk is that the Beach Club (and thus, Beaches & Cream), is only a short walk away, making obtaining a No Way Jose sundae pretty easy.

Chocolate croissants.

No Way Jose.

There are also a number of snacks that you can in multiple places. I know I'll be labeled as not a True Disney World Fan for saying this, but I've never had a Dole whip, and I've got my eye on the pineapple Dole whip float.

Pineapple dole whip float.

So, here's the real question: what did I miss? What are Girl Scout Fiancée going to kick ourselves for not grabbing when we're hungry for a snack, or something sweet?

I Guess Disney Expects Us to Cry a Lot

The first time we got a little gift in the mail from our wedding coordinator, it was a pleasant an unexpected surprise. The second time, it was still pleasant and a surprise, but not quite as much of one as before. Still, you can't look the pixie dust gift horse in the pixie dust mouth, and I appreciate the gesture to keep us excited. Oddly enough, the third time we got some pixie dust, it was both a surprise, and a slightly bubble-bursting experience.

A small box arrived in the mail the other day, addressed once again to Girl Scout Fiancée and I in the traditional cardboard box that the other two arrived in. Whereas the previous gifts were nice but of questionable utility, inside the box this time were a pair of matching hankerchiefs, in a small keepsake tin. Edit: Well, apparently I was super wrong. Girl Scout Fiancée just informed me that the hankerchiefs are not identical; they have a monogrammed Mr. and Mrs. on them, respectively.

Not entirely sure why they're labeled separately, since they are identical. (Wow, I am so wrong; see edit).

They feel as though they will absorb many tears.

This little pixie dust was totally unexpected; this close to our wedding, I didn't figure Disney would have any need to keep us excited, so I didn't think any more such gifts would be forthcoming. The bubble-bursting part came when I looked at the card. While it was filled with the same kind of heartwarming notes as the ones that came with the previous gifts, it also bore the name of our old wedding coordinator embossed in silver inside, exactly the same as the other two.

Vague, yet reassuring.

Problem is, it's been well over a month since we found out that we have a new wedding coordinator, and that our previous wedding coordinator is no longer with Disney's Fairytale Weddings...meaning that it's likely that this gift and card was part of an automated process, not something generated by our coordinator. I knew, up to this point, that these notes weren't hand written or the gifts hand-packed, but I did kind of think that at least the coordinator was putting a conscious effort into sending these little presents to us.

I will console myself by imagining that this is the automated system responsible.

Regardless of how they come to us, it is a nice touch that Disney puts into place for you. Planning a wedding can be stressful, and the occasional present provides a nice little jolt of happiness along the way.