LTMB: Our Disney Honeymoon: Day 1

Hello friends!

Well, this is day 4 of what is quite possibly the worst sinus infection of my life. I feel like someone hit me with a pollen-filled truck. So, as I sit here blowing my nose every few seconds, I thought it might be fun to share some of our Disney memories from our Disney honeymoon in 2006. Now, keep i mind: this was written back in 2006, so I'll be reminiscing along with all of you!

Monday, November 13, 2006:

Best sight in the World!

We woke up SUPER early (3:30am) to make our flight in Milwaukee. We departed at 6:00 am and we live about 2 hours from the airport. It was tiring, but it was well worth it.

After a short plane ride (only about 2 hours) we landed in sunny Orlando! We used the "Disney Magical Express" and they took care of all our luggage so all we had to do was go from the plane right to the motor coach that was waiting for us. It was so comfy and completely stress-free!! It was about 45 mins to the Disney property. We got to see some of the other Disney hotels (Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, and Coronado Springs) and we finally arrived at our hotel. The Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The Foyer of the Animal Kingdom Lodge

This hotel is absolutely STUNNING! From the moment you walk in, you honestly feel as if you're in some great lodge in Africa. The lobby itself is so huge and welcoming, you feel as if you could stay there all day! There are sitting areas everywhere and tvs playing the old classic Mickey Mouse cartoons! We checked in and got our room right away with customer service being the number one concern. We walked around the hotel a bit to get our bearings and finally ended up to our room. Our baggage was already there. The room itself was quite the sight to see! Everything from the shower area to the comforters were so full of texture and color! We opened our curtains and were completely blown away!! We had an EXCELLENT poolside view and it was like opening a window to complete paradise. The pool looked more like a beach and there were thick bamboo thickets so there was plenty of privacy. The most amazing thing was--there weren't a lot of kids! It's a much pricier hotel than say, the Caribbean Beach Resort, and families tend to stay in those areas. I know if my dad hadn't paid of this, we would've been there too! There were still kids there of course, but the highest amount of people were couples.


After spending some time in the hot tub downstairs, we got ready to head to dinner. I had made arrangements to have dinner at the California Grill on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort. We needed to be ready a few hours in advance since we were taking Disney transportation and wanted to get a good seat by the window.

View from the Contemporary Resort

We got ready and took the bus from the Lodge to the Magic Kingdom and ended up taking the monorail to the Contemporary. Before we had left the hotel, we were given buttons that said "JUST MARRIED" on them. Those were AWESOME! Along the way, people were saying "Congrats" and all kinds of well wishes, along with all kinds of special perks. I'll talk more about that later though.

We made it to the Contemporary and got the elevator ride up to the 15th floor. The view was absolutely BREATHTAKING! It overlooked the entire Magic Kingdom and it was the PERFECT way to start off our marriage! We were seated at the BEST table in the whole place and about 15 mins after we sat down the fireworks show started!! We got the hear the entire soundtrack and the fireworks were just beautiful. I was actually moved to tears! Chad looked just like a little kid--he was so much in awe!

After the fireworks were over, we got our meal (Chad had the beef and I had the chicken) and it was AWESOME! During the meal a photographer came up and snapped our picture for free (we look so good too) and we got a slice of triple chocolate cake for free too (both perks that came along with having that all important "Just Married" button!). It was a great time and really the perfect way to start our honeymoon.

We headed back to hotel afterward and got some much needed sleep! We were heading to the Magic Kingdom the next day and needed every ounce of energy we had!