A First-time Disney goer, long-time Disney lover plans her May 2013 Honeymoon!

[labelo]

Hello, all! This is my first ever trip report for my first ever WDW trip! I'll be outlining my plans for my May 2013 Honeymoon and soliciting advice and opinions along the way.

Meet the Writer:

My name is Laura, and I'm a recent college grad (22) currently working as an admissions counselor at my alma mater while applying to graduate programs in Religious/Church History. I enjoy cross-stitch, collegiate football (Gig 'Em, Aggies!), and Christmas music. My favorite Disney movie is Robin Hood, though I practically lived in an old Belle halloween costume when I was 4.

My fiance is Derek (22), who is currently finishing up his undergraduate degree and applying to graduate programs in Philosophy. He enjoys sports of all sorts, chess, and wrestling with our 10-month old Maltipoo puppy, Teddy. He is partial to the newer Disney productions, especially Tangled.



Deciding on a Disneymoon:

I have to confess - wouldn't exactly call myself Disney-obsessed, and honeymooning at Disney wasn't a given for us. In fact, I've never been to WDW - I spent one crowded day at Disneyland in 8th grade with a school group and browsed Disney Village @ DL Paris during a train layover my sophomore year of college while studying abroad. My MIL, however, is an enormous fan and dragged a sometimes reluctant Derek to WDW several times during his childhood/early teen years. It was she who initially suggested WDW as a honeymoon spot and (very generously!) offered to foot the bill.
At first I was hesitant. Disney seemed like a great place to vacation, but maybe a few years down the road with young kids. It didn't seem like an ideal honeymoon locale. How little did I know! I did a bit of investigating, found these boards, saw all of the neat grown-up activities and was quickly sold on the idea. Derek was easily convinced with promises of delicious dining and rollercoasters.

The Details:

We're currently booked for May 26-June 1 at Coronado Springs in a preferred King room. Thanks to the room discount, we were able to add an extra day to our trip AND splurge on dining!

We've planned this trip so that we can see a little bit of everything but still take it easy when we want. Derek's an expert with FastPasses, I'm a plan-aholic, but we still want to relax and enjoy being around each other on our honeymoon! We started with ADRs - the food's something we're both really looking forward to - and worked to find places we'd both like. I love to try new things, love strong flavors, and would prefer to stay away from the more typical steak, potatoes, and burgers fare, but Derek is much less adventurous, so this list is a bit of a compromise. Breakfast most days will probably be a pastry or granola bar - we're not big eaters in the morning. We opted not to get the dining plan because we like having flexibility in what sort of meal we choose, whether to just get appetizers, etc.

Sun, May 26 - Arrival and Magic Kingdom
arriving via ME after dinner and headed to MK for Wishes and EMH until 12 after check-in

Mon, May 27 - Epcot
Lunch - Sunshine Seasons
Dinner - 5:45 Tutto Italia

Tues, May 28 - Animal Kingdom
Lunch - Flametree BBQ
Dinner - 6:20 Jiko

Wed, May 29 - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast - 8:05 pre-park opening at Crystal Palace
Lunch - Be Our Guest
Dinner - 8:00 'Ohana for Wishes

Thurs, May 30 - Hollywood Studios
Lunch - Starring Rolls
Dinner - 4:55 1900 Park Fare (recently added because I LOVE the stepsisters! Hoping a later ADR will pop up.)

Fri, May 31 - Park of Choice
Lunch - in park QS
Dinner - 7:05 Artist Point

Sat, June 1 - last minute shopping, packing, and maybe a quick park visit
Lunch - 12:00 Les Chefs de France
ME back to the airport and fly home in the afternoon!



We'll try and hit the "must see" rides at every park, do lots of character meets, and Derek will probably force me to ride a roller coaster or two. Most of all, I'm just excited about spending a week discovering Disney with my best friend!

Any advice for a pair of young honeymooners would be greatly appreciated

[BridgetR3]

Yay!!! I'm joining in!! LOVE the picture!!!

We are from Louisiana so not that far from ya'll!! We will also be in Disney at the same time!!! I wish I could have had a Disney honeymoon!! And how awesome that she is paying for it!!!

Here's some that we both get a great discount!!! Can't wait to hear more about the wedding and Disney trip!

[BridgetR3]

Just a quick observation - You guys will have park hoppers right?

I'm asking because on your second MK day you plan to eat at Chefs de France. Just checking!

[disnmooner2013]

Not sure if you know but there is a discount room offer out there now. It is for 25% off at Coronodo Springs rooms for most nights April 2-June 14. I would cal Disney to take advantage of this room discount. I believe ticket discounts are also currently going on. Below is the link with this offer.

http://bookwdw.reservations.disney.g...t=fy13q2q3room

[wiigirl]

Joining in! You two make a super cute couple!

[labelo]

Thank you guys!

Yes, we do have park-hoppers, thanks for checking!

We rebooked a couple of days ago with the new discount and saved about $475! Looking at the discounts offered at various resorts we decided NOT to upgrade to a deluxe and to just put the extra savings towards food, souvenirs, or maybe a fun "extra" like a spa morning or special tour.
We also scored cheap tickets on JetBlue to Orlando from Austin, so we're pretty excited about that!