You May Now Kiss the Groom - Our May '18 Honeymoon PTR!

[RedsDrew]

Hello! My name is Andrew, and I'm 37 years old. My fiancé, Corey, is 28. We both live in downtown Cincinnati, OH and we are avid Disney fans! That's me on the left and Corey is on the right. In addition to loving Disney, we both love Halloween. In fact, on Halloween night several years ago is when we met! We've been dating for four years and are finally taking it to the next step!

My favorites:
Park: Magic Kingdom
Ride: Splash Mountain (the drops make me giggle like a girl!)
Table Service Restaurant: Jiko - the cooking place
Character Meal: Tusker House
Quick Service Restaurant: Does the Dole Whip stand count?
Nighttime Show: Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular at DHS

Corey's favourites:
Park: Animal Kingdom
Ride: He says he can't pick just one. But he loves the safari.
Table Service Restaurant: Via Napoli
Character Meal: Crystal Palace (It's all about the Pooh)
Quick Service Restaurant: He likes to sit down. Sorry.
Nighttime Show: Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular at DHS

Also, we have 2 dogs: Pluto, a 4 year old Great Dane and Brinkley, an 8 month old Goldendoodle.

Here is Brinkley:

This is our 145 pound Great Dane, Pluto:

Did I mention we're both avid Disney fans? In addition to planning our dream Disney honeymoon, we're also planning our wedding! So far this is what we know:

The date of the wedding is May 12th. We're getting married directly across the Ohio River in Covington, KY at the Madison Event Center. Our guest list is somewhere around 160 and we're doing a Speakeasy theme for the reception with a complete open bar (YAY!).

Our wedding colors are Navy Blue, Teal, and Orange:

We've already picked out our entertainment, our photographer, and our florist. And we've already custom designed and ordered our invitations (they should be here next month!). We've decided on wedding favors (the same light up ice cubes Disney World uses in some of their alcoholic beverages that should go nicely with a speakeasy theme), and we're just now trying to decide on place settings. Actually, I was hoping you could help us decide on that. But we'll save that for later.

As far as our engagement, I'll tell you all the details soon! (And how I pulled off a 40+ person surprise!)

Anyway, more about all that later... For now, back to Disney World - the reason we're all here. We already booked our Honeymoon at Walt Disney World Resort. And since we're a gay couple, it only makes sense we like to come during gay days! (Who would've thought!? ) In fact, we planned the wedding to coincide with both spring and our Gay Days trip. It was a MUST! As far as our tally is concerned, this will be my sixth Gay Days and Corey's third. Honestly, I got him hooked!

Our trip is booked May 30th to June 10th! Can you believe it? 11 nights! This will be our longest stay ever at Mickey's House. We're staying at POR in a king room. We've requested to be in a river view building in Alligator Bayou. So let's see if some magic happens!

I'll be sharing our pre-planning strategies, dining reservation choices, fast pass selections, wedding preparations, engagement details and so much more. And in the end, hopefully the stars will align so that we have a successful wedding and honeymoon through all of our diligent preparation and planning!

Sit back, relax, pop some popcorn and follow along as we pull it off without a hitch or crash and burn like no other. (Hopefully it's the former of the two... hopefully!)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introductions
The Proposal Part 1
The Proposal Part 2
Trip Planning & ADRs
Trip Planning Daily Schedule
Wedding Details - The wedding party, dresses and rings!
I need your HELP! (deciding on escort cards)
Surprise!

Continue to the Proposal Part 1 here.

 

[RedsDrew]

First off, let me tell you how I proposed (I love this story)!

I spent 2 months planning how I would do it. See, Corey's birthday is in April. So I thought I would arrange for a surprise birthday party with more than 40 of his friends, our mutual friends, and his family. Only a select few in the group would know I was proposing. I had to keep it under wraps!

But before the planning really got underway, I had a huge task to tackle: asking his mother for her blessing. His relationship with his Mom is amazing, and I knew without a doubt how important this would be to her. His father passed away unfortunately several years ago, so the only thing between me and this party planning was just getting his Mom's blessing.

One day on my lunch break, I called her and asked if we could meet for lunch later in the week. I told her there was something I wanted to talk about and didn't go into details. Needless to say, I could tell she sensed something was up. I should have just stayed quiet. Now I had to down play everything. She agreed to meet and we set a time and date.

I sweated bullets waiting for the day to come! Literally, I was a nervous wreck. Part of me wondered if she would be excited but then part of me thought the absolute worst. What would I do if it turned out horribly? I'd be devastated. Positive thinking was my friend. I had to stay positive and think positive so I did.

The day we were to meet, I waited anxiously for lunch time to come. I could barely focus on work, and my thoughts raced. I'll never forget that feeling! With 20 minutes left until the time I needed to be there, I departed work. Walking down that long hallway in my building with sweaty palms and so much excitement was almost more than I could take. My heart raced, but I knew it was now or never.

I arrived at the restaurant where we were to have lunch (his Mom's frame shop is right next door). We were seated at a table where we quickly ordered our drinks while making small talk. I was so nervous! My hands continued to sweat and I was jittery. Next up we had to order our lunch. I had butterflies in my stomach something awful, and I really didn't have an appetite but I had to order. Otherwise the jig would be up! So I followed her suit and ordered a bowl of soup. Vegetable soup. I don't think I'll ever forget that bowl of soup because I literally forced myself to eat it as our conversation progressed. Pepto Bismol would have been a good friend, if only I had, had some.

And then the moment happened! She asked what it was I wanted to talk about. And off I went. I explained all the details why I am certain that marriage is the step I want to take and why it's important for me to get her blessing. She began to tear up. Then I began to tear up. And soon the waitress was asking us if we were ok. To which we both laughed through our tears and explained the situation.

Note to anyone wanting to propose: Don't ask for the blessing at a restaurant. We were definitely getting some looks.

My one hour lunch break turned into an hour and 45 minutes, but in the end, it was worth it! It turned out ok! She gave me her blessing and an enormous hug that provided the encouragement I needed right at that moment.

So fast forward to the party planning! I decided to rent out the third floor suite of a riverboat here in Cincinnati and invited everyone to a surprise birthday party to be held on the riverboat as Corey always expressed desire to have family and friends be a part of his day. A picture of the riverboat is here:

It included dinner and a photo shoot I had arranged. The plan was to get everyone on-board for the party and eventually they would experience the REAL SURPRISE!

Most everyone I invited RSVP'ed and we had over 40 people coming to celebrate! So now it came time to plan the logistics. What would they be?

Continue to the Proposal Part 2 Here.

 

[RedsDrew]

I asked a couple of my friends to help me pull this off. First, we planned that Corey and I would purposely arrive at the riverboat as close to departure as possible to make sure everyone else would be on-board first so they could yell surprise when we walked in.

Second, we planned that I would have foam core signs made at the local copy store so that some of his friends and family members could each hold up one word in the phrase "Will you marry me" and his Mom would hold the question mark.

Third, we decided that the photographers would strategically place everyone for a photo on the top observation deck while Corey and I had our own photo shoot on-board. Those holding the Will you marry me signs would stand in front and hide them behind their back until the photo. We hoped that the photographers would get a group photo with the signs before Corey saw them and then one after he saw them where I would get down on one knee and extend out the ring.

Fourth, I decided I would hire one of Corey's favorite drag queens from the local night club to perform on-board the ship. But would she do it? She would! We negotiated an agreement and the plans were in place.

Everything was planned so perfectly. But would it work out so smoothly? Keep reading to find out!

Now it's party day and I'm again a nervous wreck. I bought us new suits just for the occasion and told Corey we were going somewhere nice so we had to dress the part. I couldn't let him know we were going on a riverboat. I just told him we were celebrating his birthday somewhere nice with a couple of friends and we couldn't be late.

I snuck back into the bedroom before we left, pulled the engagement ring in it's box from the dresser drawer where I'd hid it and slid it into my pocket. Oh crap! I didn't realize the box was so big. The entire thing protruded from my pants. Honestly, it even looked a little inappropriate if you know what I mean. My suit pants had some deep pockets! I decided I would just have to keep my hand in my pocket. That was all I could think of.

I ordered an Uber and told Corey we were meeting some friends at a restaurant bar nearby. This is where we went, Newport on the Levee in Newport, Kentucky just across the river:

Our Uber arrived and took us right to the restaurant at the Levee. We got to the bar, where we found some open bar stools and ordered some cocktails. This was just what I needed! I was clammy and shaky and needed something to help me calm down.

Corey polished off two drinks while I had three (I needed it) and we made small talk. Meanwhile, my phone kept getting alerts and texts from my friends who were already at the riverboat. I couldn't let him see so I excused myself to the bathroom where I checked the messages. There were several messages from different people all saying they were lost because of construction. Some were from as much as 20 minutes earlier! Uh oh. But then as I scrolled through the messages, I found out that as was well because the last text informed me that all the guests on the RSVP list were on-board! Hallelujah! I felt a wave of relief.

I put my hand in my pocket to disguise the ring and headed back to the bar. I explained to Corey that our friends aren't going to make it to the bar because they're running late and they want us to just head to the restaurant without them. I told him we were only stopping here for drinks. Lame I know, but I was nervous and hadn't thought past the friends not being here part. What was I thinking???

I called another Uber who arrived quickly. She was amazing. I explained we were going to someplace Corey didn't know because it's a surprise as it was his birthday. She was friendly, supportive and fun. She wished him happy birthday and we were having laughs until we encountered the same construction the other guests must have encountered. Where we needed to turn right, we were forced to turn left onto a bridge that goes back across the river to Ohio. I started to panic. We didn't have time for this!!!!! The boat would leave promptly in less than 10 minutes.

We got across the bridge and I explained to the lady we had to be there in less than 10 minutes. I said I will give you $20.00 if you do a U-turn right here. And she did! We headed back across the bridge back to Newport. We followed the detour past the construction and with two minutes to spare she pulled into the riverboat company's parking lot. WHEW! A sigh of relief. But we still had to walk the lengthy gang plank. Corey looks at me as we get out of the car and he's confused. I told him we're getting on the boat and he smiled really big! I tipped the lady and gave her an extra $20.00. A promise is a promise!

We made our way up the gang plank where staff members asked us if we are Corey and Andrew. They said we've been waiting on you. And Corey gave me a look of "What the?" He was shocked they knew who we were. We were quickly escorted to the third deck suite and I let Corey open the door. As soon as he swung open the door, everyone inside yelled "Surprise!" He almost fell backwards.

He greeted everyone as I began to become even more nervous. In less than one hour I would be on one knee. I went straight to the bar and got a bottle of water. Between the alcohol, the sweating, and the nerves, my mouth was dry.

Within minutes we were all seated and I was asked to take over the microphone from the entertainment director who was assigned to our party. I was like a deer in headlights. I grabbed the mic and thanked everyone for coming. I said some heartfelt words about Corey and introduced the evening's entertainment - the drag queen!

The drag queen lip synced one number and then it was dinner time. I can't find a pic of her in action right now, but this is "her"!:

After dinner, a photographer took Corey and me out onto the boat's bow while another photographer assembled everyone for a group photo up one level at the aft of the boat. We were cruising the river at a decent speed! After some photos it was time for the proposal!

They escorted Corey and me upstairs to the very top where everyone else was in formation. They had us stand to the left of the group, the photographers' right. To our right, I looked over and saw everyone anxiously holding onto their signs. This was THE moment.

The photographers started taking photos and then everyone held up their signs. I grabbed the ring from my pocket, and held it out but Corey didn't even notice! I grabbed his shoulders, turned him to his right and then he saw it: "Will you marry me?"

This is before he noticed:

I dropped to one knee, held out the ring, and he began crying. Not just crying. Bawling. This just continued as he held his face in his hands. I stayed down on one knee and began looking around. I was looking for help or assurance from someone but everyone is just staring at us. I didn't expect this. I got off the ground, put my arms around Corey and whispered "But you haven't even answered yet." With his face in his hands, still bawling, he motioned his head up and down indicating yes!

Here is the moment I got off the ground to whisper in his ear:

And here he is taking the ring:

We are finally engaged!

Up next is Honeymoon Planning so I have a question: What are the MUST-DO restaurants when you go to WDW and why?!

Continue to Trip Planning Here.

 

[piglet1979]

That is an awesome engagement day.

I don't know if we have a must do restaurant but we really like Trattoria al Forno (the Italian restaurant on the Boardwalk), Teppen Edo and Liberty Tree Tavern.

 

[RedsDrew]

It's trip planning time! First and foremost, I have used the same spreadsheet to track my trip since 2010. I attached it here as a PDF file but it wouldn't allow me to upload it as an excel document.. Any ideas? Anyway, I first map out the days I'm going across the columns and then input the hours for each of the parks on those days in the cells for each respective park. That helps me narrow down which parks I'm going to go to on which days. From there it gets easier. Then I start making dining reservations and fill in the blanks. Here's the spreadsheet:

On the second tab, also attached as a PDF file, I map out which fast passes I want to try to book and the ideal times for them based on my touring schedule. I highlight the ones that are the first fastpasses I'll try to book when my booking window arrives in red. I then highlight the second most important ones to try to get in yellow. This keeps me organized for fastness booking day!

So let's talk flights. I just booked the flights a couple of days ago because the price randomly dropped one day. I secured two roundtrip tickets on Frontier (my least favorite airline after Allegiant) from Cincinnati to MCO for $180.60 each. Our flights leave Cincinnati at 6:00 AM and arrive in Orlando at 8:15 AM on May 30th and then depart Orlando at 8:00 PM and arrive in Cincinnati at 10:18 PM. We get a full day at WDW before we head home! So exciting.

We plan on doing parks the day we arrive and the day we depart. While it may be a bit risky, we opted to book CRT for our dinner the evening of the arrival day, but it's at 8:25 PM so we should be fine. We also plan on doing EPCOT the day we arrive, with a lunch at Le Chefs de France, one of my favorite EPCOT restaurants.

So far these are the reservations we secured, though only some may actually stay:

Chefs de France
CRT
Tusker House
50's PTC
Liberty Tree Tavern
Via Napoli
Jiko - The Cooking Place
Trader Sam's Grotto

In the past, we usually have stuck to the theme park restaurants due to a limited stay. So I'm curious, what are your must-do restaurants when you go to Walt Disney World? Any favorite them park restaurants? What about favorite resort restaurants? There are so many possibilities it's hard for us to choose.

Continue to Trip Planning and Our Schedule

 

[CaseFace5]

Following along! OMG what a sweet proposal story!!! You put in so much thought to it, I'm sure it's something you both will always treasure. Can't wait to hear more about your wedding plans and Disneymoon!!

 

[emilyhuff]

I love this! What a dream to honeymoon in Disney! I can't see your pictures for some reason but I am sure they are just lovely! Awesome job pulling off the proposal! Can't wait to read more!

ALSO - you HAVE To go to Trader Sams if you haven't been before. The atmosphere is amazing. We spend literally hours there every night of our trip!

Via Napoli is also amazing and Tusker House for breakfast is my hands down favorite!

 

[RedsDrew]

That is an awesome engagement day.

I don't know if we have a must do restaurant but we really like Trattoria al Forno (the Italian restaurant on the Boardwalk), Teppen Edo and Liberty Tree Tavern.

I'll definitely check it out. I read in a trip report about that place because someone went there for breakfast. Did you do dinner or breakfast? Also, just out of curiosity, are you able to see the pictures I posted? I'm pretty new to posting pictures and someone mentioned they can't see them.

 

[piglet1979]

I'll definitely check it out. I read in a trip report about that place because someone went there for breakfast. Did you do dinner or breakfast? Also, just out of curiosity, are you able to see the pictures I posted? I'm pretty new to posting pictures and someone mentioned they can't see them.

We went to dinner. This was about a month or so before they started the breakfast with Ariel and Price Eric and Rapunzel and Flynn. The food was really good. I had steak and DH had some type of pasta and the kids I don't remember but I remember they loved it and I have a very picky DD. Though her favorite food is buttered noodles.

Yes I was able to see the pictures. They were great.

 

[CaseFace5]

Chefs de France
CRT
Tusker House
50's PTC
Liberty Tree Tavern
Via Napoli
Jiko - The Cooking Place
Trader Sam's Grotto

CRT, Tusker House, and Via Napoli are just a few of my favorites that I would suggest! I would also add Teppan Edo if you like Hibachi.

I know it's super hard to get, but I would also highly suggest BOG. I just love the dinner there, and lunch, but I know that some people aren't that big of fans.

 

[RedsDrew]

CRT, Tusker House, and Via Napoli are just a few of my favorites that I would suggest! I would also add Teppan Edo if you like Hibachi.

I know it's super hard to get, but I would also highly suggest BOG. I just love the dinner there, and lunch, but I know that some people aren't that big of fans.

I check daily to see if BOG is available. If I can't get dinner but can get lunch is that just as nice? I've never seen the inside even though I've been more than once since it opened.

 

[piglet1979]

I check daily to see if BOG is available. If I can't get dinner but can get lunch is that just as nice? I've never seen the inside even though I've been more than once since it opened.

We have done both lunch and dinner. Both are good but dinner is much better IMO. Lunch is a quick service but I would say nicer then the other quick services. Dinner is a really nice dinner and you get to see the Beast as long as they are still doing that. Since you have never been their take which ever one you can get. The place it self is awesome and worth just going.

 

[CaseFace5]

We have done both lunch and dinner. Both are good but dinner is much better IMO. Lunch is a quick service but I would say nicer then the other quick services. Dinner is a really nice dinner and you get to see the Beast as long as they are still doing that. Since you have never been their take which ever one you can get. The place it self is awesome and worth just going.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[fallonkendra]

I have to jump in and follow this! I loved your proposal story, so sweet! You put so much thought and planning into it, I'm sure your fiance will remember that day for the rest of his life

We actually just got back from a two week Disney Wedding/Honeymoon trip, and one of my favourite things that we did was Highway in the Sky. It's quite pricey, and books up quickly, but if you can afford it - I can't recommend it enough! It's described as a "Progressive Dinner" - we started at the Wave at the Contemporary with a drink and a small soup, then Disney cast members led us to the monorail, where they had reserved the entire first car for our group of 25. From there, we headed to the Polynesian where they gave us another drink and three small bites of food (a tuna roll, a beet salad and pork belly), and we had some entertainment provided. Then, back onto the monorail and over to the Grand, where we had our main course at Citrico's (a surf and turf with halibut and beef short ribs - so delicious!). The next stop was in the tea room at the Grand, where we were given glasses of champagne and cheese/charcouterie boards. Finally, we go back on the monorail and went back to the Contemporary, where they had a dessert spread for us (along with coffee, hot chocolate, etc), and we watched the MK fireworks from a reserved balcony at the hotel. In total, it was about 3.5 hours, and such a nice, relaxing way to visit some deluxe resorts and feel like a VIP.

 

[RedsDrew]

I have to jump in and follow this! I loved your proposal story, so sweet! You put so much thought and planning into it, I'm sure your fiance will remember that day for the rest of his life

We actually just got back from a two week Disney Wedding/Honeymoon trip, and one of my favourite things that we did was Highway in the Sky. It's quite pricey, and books up quickly, but if you can afford it - I can't recommend it enough! It's described as a "Progressive Dinner" - we started at the Wave at the Contemporary with a drink and a small soup, then Disney cast members led us to the monorail, where they had reserved the entire first car for our group of 25. From there, we headed to the Polynesian where they gave us another drink and three small bites of food (a tuna roll, a beet salad and pork belly), and we had some entertainment provided. Then, back onto the monorail and over to the Grand, where we had our main course at Citrico's (a surf and turf with halibut and beef short ribs - so delicious!). The next stop was in the tea room at the Grand, where we were given glasses of champagne and cheese/charcouterie boards. Finally, we go back on the monorail and went back to the Contemporary, where they had a dessert spread for us (along with coffee, hot chocolate, etc), and we watched the MK fireworks from a reserved balcony at the hotel. In total, it was about 3.5 hours, and such a nice, relaxing way to visit some deluxe resorts and feel like a VIP.

First. Thanks for the kind words! And congratulations! You’ll have to tell me more about your trip! Second: Wow! I haven’t even heard of this. Pricey or not, we have to do this. This sounds amazing. Were you escorted the whole time so you knew where to be? Also, is there a dress code? We would totally be down for this!

 

[RedsDrew]

I have to jump in and follow this! I loved your proposal story, so sweet! You put so much thought and planning into it, I'm sure your fiance will remember that day for the rest of his life

We actually just got back from a two week Disney Wedding/Honeymoon trip, and one of my favourite things that we did was Highway in the Sky. It's quite pricey, and books up quickly, but if you can afford it - I can't recommend it enough! It's described as a "Progressive Dinner" - we started at the Wave at the Contemporary with a drink and a small soup, then Disney cast members led us to the monorail, where they had reserved the entire first car for our group of 25. From there, we headed to the Polynesian where they gave us another drink and three small bites of food (a tuna roll, a beet salad and pork belly), and we had some entertainment provided. Then, back onto the monorail and over to the Grand, where we had our main course at Citrico's (a surf and turf with halibut and beef short ribs - so delicious!). The next stop was in the tea room at the Grand, where we were given glasses of champagne and cheese/charcouterie boards. Finally, we go back on the monorail and went back to the Contemporary, where they had a dessert spread for us (along with coffee, hot chocolate, etc), and we watched the MK fireworks from a reserved balcony at the hotel. In total, it was about 3.5 hours, and such a nice, relaxing way to visit some deluxe resorts and feel like a VIP.

I just called the call center and was able to book Highway in the Sky for an off day from the parks. Thank you so much for your insight. I’m so appreciative!

 

[fallonkendra]

First. Thanks for the kind words! And congratulations! You’ll have to tell me more about your trip! Second: Wow! I haven’t even heard of this. Pricey or not, we have to do this. This sounds amazing. Were you escorted the whole time so you knew where to be? Also, is there a dress code? We would totally be down for this!

Yes! We had three Disney cast members guiding us the entire night! It was also freezing cold the night we were there, so they gave us blankets to wrap up in while we stood outside to watch the fireworks- such a nice little touch.

The night we did this, we were the youngest couple there, but it was really fun to talk to different people we typically would have never crossed paths with. I’m so happy you were able to book this, hopefully you love it!

 

[RedsDrew]

Now it's time to talk more trip planning... specifically, our schedule! We will spend the first day on our own, then on May 31 thru June 3rd we will be spending time with friends we hang out with every gay days while sticking to the official Gay Days park schedule. We met our friends several years ago and look forward to seeing them every year. Then, on June 4th a less hectic, slower placed honeymoon begins! (No more rope drop and no more commando touring).

May 30th - On this day we arrive at MCO at 8:15 AM. Our goal is to drop our carry on luggage off at the hotel and be in EPCOT by Noon. This should certainly be manageable even if we're the last stop on the DME bus! We will eat at Le Chefs de France and then we will try to hopefully have afternoon fast passes for Soarin' or TT and SE and M:S. At 6:45 PM We will make our way to MK via Monorail where we will enjoy dinner at CRT at 8:25 PM. We'll take advantage of the MK's EMH until Midnight which will make for a very long day!

May 31st - We will spend this day at AK where we will have breakfast at TH at 8:35 AM where we booked the RoL package. Hopefully we'll have fast passes for Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and FoP. If not FoP, then we will shoot for Dinosaur and try later in the trip for FoP. We will RD NRJ. At 2 PM we will meet up with our friends for a meet up at DAWA Bar and Dinner is TBD.

June 1st - This will be HS day, in keeping with the GD schedule. we will hopefully have a fast pass for Slinky Dog (if it's open by then). Otherwise we'll shoot for ToT, TSMM or RRC. 8 of us will have lunch together at 50's PTC and dinner is TBD.

June 2nd - This day we'll be at MK. We'll try to get fast passes for 7DMT, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain. As a back-up, we'll get MAWtP which DFi has never ridden, even having two trips under his belt. The 8 of us will have lunch together again, this time at LTT at 12:30 PM. Dinner is TBD. Maybe at the Skipper Canteen?

June 3rd - This is my favorite day of the Gay Days schedule: EPCOT and Drink Around the World day! We will get a FP for Soarin' or TT (whichever we didn't do the first day) and then at RD will head straight to FEA in Norway. We will accomplish what we can until we meet up with the group again at Noon in Mexico for Drink Around the World! We will spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in WS leisurely strolling through the countries while enjoying cocktails and companionship. We do have lunch scheduled for all of us at 2:45 at Via Napoli. We love the pizza there, though the service has been inconsistent.

Here is a pic of our friends from Drink Around the World:

June 4th - Our more relaxed vacation begins. We will enjoy this day at the resort, at the Spa getting massages, and at the pool. I can't wait! Lunch will be light because for dinner we booked something special. A special thanks to @fallonkendra who told us about Highway in the Sky, the monorail resort progressive dinner, which we booked for dinner. If you're unfamiliar with this dining event, as I was, you can read about it here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/new-highway-in-the-sky-dine-around-dining-event/. After dinner, we will head "home" to enjoy a relaxing evening in.

June 5th - This is the day we're cheating on Mickey! Sorry, fella. We will have Uber transportation booked first thing in the morning to take us to US and IoA where we will spend the day using an Unlimited Express Pass to bypass most of the lines. We'll also be practicing our wizardry in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. We can't wait to use our wands again! Lunch and Dinner will be spontaneous somewhere in the WWoHP.

June 6th - On this day we will leisurely get to EPCOT after sleeping in. In EPCOT we will again stroll through WS checking out the many entertainers and movies in the various pavilions. Hopefully we'll have another fast pass for TT as it's DFi's favorite and one for LWTL (I refuse to wait 50 minutes for this attraction!). We'll eat a light lunch in Morocco (the Moroccan beer is amazing as are the tangerine daiquiris which are my absolute favorite). We will make our way at 3:00 PM to get in line for Trader Sam's Grotto at the Poly. We want to make sure we get in! Any suggestions for us??? After some light snacks and some adult beverages (can't wait for the tikis!), we'll spend the rest of the evening at the MK where we booked the Plaza Garden Fireworks Party and EMH run until 12 AM. I'd like to give a shoutout to @AllThingsMickey4 for telling us about the Enchanted Honeymoon Experience that included the MK Fireworks DP as a perk!

June 7th - We'll be heading back to AK later this day after sleeping in again and eating lunch. Lunch is TBD (maybe Boma!?). For sure this time, we should have a fast pass for FoP. Dinner is at Tiffin's in AK. We'll also take in a nighttime Kilimanjaro Safari via FP+ since on the intiial AK visit we will have taken one during the day. We'll get some nighttime rides on EE (also FP+) and then head over to Disney Springs for some nightlife and late night snacks.

June 8th -We'll take advantage of EMH at the MK in the morning and hopefully secure fast passes for BTMRR and PotC as well as Buzz Lightyear SRS. For lunch, we will probably leave the park (TBD) and then spend the afternoon and evening spontaneously, probably at the pool. Dinner is TBD.

June 9th - We will again visit HS after sleeping in. We'll hopefully have FP+ for whatever larger attraction we didn't get before (RRC?). A late lunch at Mama Melrose's at 1:50 PM will be in order where we have the Fantasmic Dining Package scheduled.

June 10th - Our flight home doesn't leave until 8 PM this day, so our DME will pick us up around 5 PM. That gives us just about a full day in a park. Our WDW ritual seems to be visiting MK on our last day. We will leisurely stroll Main Street, have lunch, and say goodbye to the Castle until our next time.

One last thing to mention: We have a picture of us kissing in front of the castle wearing our personalized Mickey ears that we want to duplicate. We had it done two years ago and it's just overall a gloomy sky. We want to recreate it when it's sunny and beautiful outside. Last year it rained so we couldn't duplicate then, so we're hoping this time magic allows us to recreate it! Here are the pics:

So seeing our schedule, what recommendations do you have? Or what are your thoughts? I'd love to hear!

CONTINUE HERE FOR MORE WEDDING PLANNING

 

[RedsDrew]

Back to Wedding Planning! So we've finally got our wedding site up and running just before we ordered invitations. It's located here.

Being a gay wedding, we found out there really aren't any rules or expectations. So we decided that we'd both have a best man, a Maid of Honor, and 3 Groomsmen/Groomsmaids. So here they are...

Corey's Wedding Party:

• Best Man - his brother Patrick
• Maid of Honor - his sister Kahle
• Groomsmen - his step-brother Alex and his friend Tony (who goes by Nino)
• Groomsmaid - his best friend Virginia

My Wedding Party:

• Best Man - My brother Chris
• Maid of Honor - My best friend Angela
• Groomsmaids - my friends Elysia, Christina, and Suzy.

Pictures of everyone are on the website!

Corey and I both had every household item we could ever need prior to moving in together in mid-2016. We each had a fully stocked kitchen as well. So, when we combined households we just had too much stuff. For this reason, we opted to not register for gifts as couples usually do. Instead, we registered our honeymoon on the Disney honeymoons registry site! We figured we'd let our guests help us craft a memorable experience! That, and my Mom has been giving me Disney gift cards for every occasion since we announced our honeymoon would be at WDW. (Some people just don't understand or appreciate the love all things Disney, do they!?)

In the second week of December, we visited David's Bridal with all the women in the party except Corey's sister who lives in New York. Although we missed her dearly, it was that a fun experience! We seriously had a lot of fun! We tasked our Maids with getting the same length dress (all short or all long) and the same fabric (all satin or all chiffon, etc) in Marine, which is a Navy. And there were dresses everywhere. Everyone had their own ideas of what to wear.

But ultimately, after trying on lots of dresses in various lengths and in various fabrics, there was one dress everyone preferred due to it's flattering cut. Miraculously everyone wanted the same dress! I couldn't believe we had such a diverse group of people come to the same outcome, but we did!

Here's a picture of my friend Elysia in the dress. It's not the greatest photo, but you get the jist.

So now that the dress was picked out, we focused our attention to the other details. Like the toasting flutes, for example. These are what we decided on:

And finally, our Art Deco inspiration cakes, since we're doing a Speakeasy theme for the reception!

And we had our matching wedding bands custom made. They are Rose Gold with black enamel on the sides. The ring is flat on top with 4 White Gold posts at the "corners" and has a black enamel channel in which we had brown diamonds set. Here is a pic of the rings that just came in, although the pictures don't do the rings justice!

So there you have it! You're pretty much caught up to where we are now.

Continue To: I Need Your Help... More Wedding Planning!

 

[RedsDrew]

Following along! OMG what a sweet proposal story!!! You put in so much thought to it, I'm sure it's something you both will always treasure. Can't wait to hear more about your wedding plans and Disneymoon!!

It was a lot of thought! I’m glad you’re following! Feel free to chime in on anything. I always appreciate input!