A Cause For Celebration: A Wedding, A Marathon & A 30th Birthday - January 2018 Update:12/28

[fallonkendra]

Fastpasses! Wedding Stuff! It's Getting Close! ​

As of today, we are 60 days out from checking in to Pop Century! We are only staying there for the first two nights of our trip, so that means Fastpass selections would open for the first 3 park days (December 30th, 31st and January 1st), then on Thursday our Fastpass day would happen for January 1st and 2nd (to coincide with the 60 day mark from us checking in to our night at the Grand), and then our main Fastpass day would be on Friday (the 60 day check-in mark for Old Key West). For the first three days, we are only going to the parks on one day, and we didn't care what we got for FP, just whatever was available. This morning, I woke up on my own at 6:20am, checked the time and realized I had forgot to set an alarm for exactly when the window opens (which is 5am here in Edmonton) . I grabbed my phone to see what was left for FP's on December 30th - apparently Luke remembered to set an alarm, woke up shortly before 5am and had our 3 selections made a few minutes after 5, then he went back to sleep - I'm marrying a good one you guys!

I was then just looking, and realized that the dates for our entire trip had turned blue - could it be?! I was able to make my selections for our entire 2 week trip! And it even let me make Fastpasses for our wedding guests who are not arriving until January 6th/7th - so their 60 day window is not until next week. Obviously, we were not prepared for this, and thought we had another week to bug people to link up to our Disney accounts, actually purchase their park tickets, link their park tickets to their accounts, etc... So today has been interesting to say the least haha. There are still a lot of gaps in our schedule (we've only grabbed 1-2 Fastpasses so far for some days). But, we'll get it all figured out

Now that we have our FP's set, I will start going over our daily plans (if not today, then in the next few days).

We finally received our BEO (Banquet Event Order - basically the bible for your wedding at Disney - if it's not in the BEO, it won't happen), as well as the invoice for our dessert party. It's a little bit more than we had planned/expected, but it's not going to make or break our budget - and I'm so excited for the dessert party!

I had bought my dress back in February (actually, I bought two dresses ), and I've been second guessing them for months. A few weeks ago, someone in the Disney Wedding Facebook group I'm in posted some of the Alfred Angelo Disney Collection dresses that were at a liquidation center close to her (since Alfred Angelo went bankrupt earlier this summer), and one of them happened to be almost exactly what I've wanted all along - so I called this store in Virginia, trusted a complete stranger from the internet to pick it up and mail it to me (and not just keep it herself), and it arrived almost 2 weeks ago! And it is perfect! So yeah, I'm now that crazy person who owns THREE wedding dresses... the first dress I bought that I planned on wearing for the ceremony is also an Alfred Angelo from the Disney collection, so I have no doubt I'll be able to sell it easily through Facebook groups/Kijiji. Also - I still paid less for all three dresses than most people pay for one dress... I'd post pictures, but Luke has read my posts on here before.

Luke bought his wedding ring! It's really nice, we both really love it. I let him pick whatever he wanted, and he wanted a fairly traditional yellow gold band.



I don't think I've ever talked about my rings - it's a set that belonged to my Grandmother (the one who passed away earlier this year). It's an engagement ring and matching wedding band that my Grandfather bought for her as a present on their 25th Wedding Anniversary . The set was passed down to my mom about a decade ago, and then a few years ago when my mom and step-dad got engaged she passed the set down to me. I told Luke I didn't want him spending money on a ring for me when I had this family ring that I loved, and he listened and was able to sneak it out of the house and down to Florida last January to propose. I don't have a great picture of the set, but you can see the engagement ring in this pic:



So, he'll be wearing yellow gold, I'll be wearing white gold.

Today is Halloween, and naturally we woke up this morning to snow on the ground . We prepared for 300 Trick-or-Treaters, so I'm hoping the snow won't affect that number too much - I do not want that much candy left over!

 

[MeghanEmily]

I grabbed my phone to see what was left for FP's on December 30th - apparently Luke remembered to set an alarm, woke up shortly before 5am and had our 3 selections made a few minutes after 5, then he went back to sleep - I'm marrying a good one you guys!

Go, Luke! You've done well with that one.

So yeah, I'm now that crazy person who owns THREE wedding dresses...

Wow! I bought my dress before we even got engaged though, so I can't judge! How awesome that you got such good deals!

the first dress I bought that I planned on wearing for the ceremony is also an Alfred Angelo from the Disney collection, so I have no doubt I'll be able to sell it easily through Facebook groups/Kijiji.

Oh, which one?! I looked at a couple from that collection and ended up going with the Snow White one that appeared in the photos in my TR.

Today is Halloween, and naturally we woke up this morning to snow on the ground .

UGH!! That's terrible! I'm holding out hope that we dodge that bullet on the east coast for a while yet. I'm not surprised though. Nathan was in Winnipeg this past weekend and got snow on his drive there and back. Ick. Too soon.

 

[SarahDisney]

I love all of the engagement pictures - they're fantastic and you guys look so happy!

I love that your engagement and wedding rings are family rings - that's such a special connection to your familt. I know you were close with your grandmother, and this is such a great way to always have her with you.
Luke's wedding ring is nice, too

Yay for Luke getting up and making the FP+ ... he's definitely a keeper!

 

[Raeven]

(which is 5am here in Edmonton)

Ugh I really wish it was still midnight here, that would be even more convienent for you guys too!

apparently Luke remembered to set an alarm, woke up shortly before 5am and had our 3 selections made a few minutes after 5, then he went back to sleep - I'm marrying a good one you guys!

Good job Luke

I was then just looking, and realized that the dates for our entire trip had turned blue - could it be?! I was able to make my selections for our entire 2 week trip!

And it is perfect! So yeah, I'm now that crazy person who owns THREE wedding dresses.

But at least you found the perfect one!

Today is Halloween, and naturally we woke up this morning to snow on the ground

Ewww! It just started to turn into fall weather here this week.

 

[pkondz]

We are bringing our own Photographer with us from Canada for our Disney wedding, and she is awesome. Melissa and I were roommates for awhile, and she was there for the really early stages of mine and Luke's relationship.

My first thought.... "You're bringing the photographer with you??"
Then read the rest.

All of them are very nice... but that one is my favourite.
Thank you for sharing them with us!

 

[pkondz]

so I called this store in Virginia, trusted a complete stranger from the internet to pick it up and mail it to me (and not just keep it herself), and it arrived almost 2 weeks ago!

You're a trusting person. I like that!

And it is perfect! So yeah, I'm now that crazy person who owns THREE wedding dresses... the first dress I bought that I planned on wearing for the ceremony is also an Alfred Angelo from the Disney collection, so I have no doubt I'll be able to sell it easily through Facebook groups/Kijiji. Also - I still paid less for all three dresses than most people pay for one dress... I'd post pictures, but Luke has read my posts on here before.

Well... good!
Wear all three. In layers. In case it's cold.

Luke bought his wedding ring! It's really nice, we both really love it. I let him pick whatever he wanted, and he wanted a fairly traditional yellow gold band.

I like it. A lot.

I don't think I've ever talked about my rings - it's a set that belonged to my Grandmother (the one who passed away earlier this year). It's an engagement ring and matching wedding band that my Grandfather bought for her as a present on their 25th Wedding Anniversary . The set was passed down to my mom about a decade ago, and then a few years ago when my mom and step-dad got engaged she passed the set down to me. I told Luke I didn't want him spending money on a ring for me when I had this family ring that I loved, and he listened and was able to sneak it out of the house and down to Florida last January to propose.

Awwww...

Today is Halloween, and naturally we woke up this morning to snow on the ground . We prepared for 300 Trick-or-Treaters, so I'm hoping the snow won't affect that number too much - I do not want that much candy left over!

Holy crap! Does the entire city come by?
We were down about 25% from last year because it was too cold out I think. So usually, when the older kids are still going, this year they chose warmth over chocolate (fools!)

 

[missjackiemcg]

Exciting that you were able to book your FPs for the entire trip!! I would have been freaking out about being unprepared for all the dates to go blue!! But I am so glad you were able to get people linked up and at least get started. So. Much. Fun!

We were able to get our AK FPs, which were the ones I was most worried about, and the rest we just kind of grabbed what was available that worked around our meals.

You're so lucky that Luke even understands how to work MDE, let alone select fastpasses!!!

 

[fallonkendra]

Go, Luke! You've done well with that one.

He managed to grab pretty good Fastpasses too!

I love all of the engagement pictures - they're fantastic and you guys look so happy!

Thanks Sarah! We're both pretty awkward in pictures, but our photographer kept us laughing, and a lot of them look really natural

I love that your engagement and wedding rings are family rings - that's such a special connection to your familt. I know you were close with your grandmother, and this is such a great way to always have her with you.
Luke's wedding ring is nice, too

When I called my grandmother to tell her that we were engaged, she asked what kind of ring Luke had bought me. I told her I wanted to use her old ring, and that's what Luke had brought to Florida. She was honored, but also wanted me to have my own ring at some point, so I told her we would probably try and find a second wedding band that matched the style of this one for a future anniversary.

Yay for Luke getting up and making the FP+ ... he's definitely a keeper!

He's not as into the spreadsheets and tiny details as I am, but he's great about making ADR's and FP+!

 

[fallonkendra]

Ugh I really wish it was still midnight here, that would be even more convienent for you guys too!

No kidding! The first year we went, the Fastpass time was still midnight, which was 10pm here - it was perfect!

Good job Luke

He's pretty great with all the Disney reservation stuff!

I'm finally almost close to finished with Fastpasses. It's a lot more difficult with 20 people than it is with 2...

But at least you found the perfect one!

Ugh, finally haha! I know I've talked to you a few times about my hesitation with my first dresses...

Ewww! It just started to turn into fall weather here this week.

It kept snowing overnight on Halloween, and the ground is completely covered. It's also getting really cold here - today it was -14C (6.8F). Thankfully a week from today we go to California, so we'll be able to warm up a bit, at least for a few days.

 

[fallonkendra]

My first thought.... "You're bringing the photographer with you??"
Then read the rest.

It's actually working out to be a cheaper option than hiring someone from Orlando!

All of them are very nice... but that one is my favourite.
Thank you for sharing them with us!

Thanks! I love that one too!

 

[fallonkendra]

You're a trusting person. I like that!

I realize now it was a little crazy, but it all worked out and the girl that picked it up for me seems like a very nice person

Well... good!
Wear all three. In layers. In case it's cold.

I'm still debating possibly changing into a second dress for our dessert party, but we'll see. I'm just sad none of them have sleeves - I'm always cold, so I need to remember to bring a blanket with me on the wedding day - maybe my Oilers Snuggy? I think that would look beautiful in pictures

I like it. A lot.

Me too! I told him to pick whatever he wanted, as long as he liked it enough to wear it for the rest of his life - he's stuck with me forever! Hahaha. I'm glad he went with a very classic, simple band, it'll look great with everything!

Holy crap! Does the entire city come by?
We were down about 25% from last year because it was too cold out I think. So usually, when the older kids are still going, this year they chose warmth over chocolate (fools!)

Haha, we live in a newer neighbourhood with a lot of young families. We also decorate outside - giant inflatables, lights, etc. Our neighbour LOVES Halloween and goes nuts with his decorations too, so it draws a lot of people in. We ended up getting fewer this year though, stupid snow and cold weather... We still had over 200 though!

Exciting that you were able to book your FPs for the entire trip!! I would have been freaking out about being unprepared for all the dates to go blue!! But I am so glad you were able to get people linked up and at least get started. So. Much. Fun!

Yeah, I was not prepared for that! We did have a spreadsheet we did up awhile ago with what we thought people would like, but it wasn't completed, and of course that was on my personal laptop and I ended up doing most of the Fastpasses from work...

We were able to get our AK FPs, which were the ones I was most worried about, and the rest we just kind of grabbed what was available that worked around our meals.

Since our trip is for a full two weeks, it was super easy to grab Fastpasses for that second week! I managed to get Flight of Passage for the entire group

You're so lucky that Luke even understands how to work MDE, let alone select fastpasses!!!

He's pretty great with all of that stuff! It made ADR day so much easier, we both had a laptop and our full wishlist in front of us, and we just kept knocking things off by priority (I went straight for the 'Ohana dinner while he went for a BOG lunch) - and we were able to get everything we wanted I ended up doing most of the Fastpasses, but we've been pretty relaxed with those (I've been slowly grabbing them over the past 3 days)

 

[fallonkendra]

Day 1 - December 30th, 2017 Planned Itinerary​

I can't believe how quickly this trip is approaching, and that I feel close enough to start planning out our daily itinerary! One week from today and we're off to Disneyland for a long weekend, then once we get back we only have 6.5 weeks before we leave for our wedding trip! It's all getting so real now!​

Anyways, on to the planned itinerary!

The plan right now is for my mom to drop us off at the airport. Typically, we drive ourselves and park in the WestJet-owned lot (our favourite!), but we're trying to avoid paying for parking for a full two weeks. Luckily, we only live about 25 minutes from the airport, so we won't be completely ruining my mom's Saturday by making her drive us at 6am (I know, gross). Our flight leaves around 8:30am, and we have a direct flight to Orlando - hurray for no layovers ! The first time we went to WDW back in 2016 we had layovers in Minneapolis and Detroit - no thanks to that again! There's actually only one direct flight from Edmonton to Orlando each week, only on Saturdays, and it can be pricey.

The flight is about 5 hours, and we cross two time zones while on it - so we land at 3:30pm Orlando time. We'll take DME to our first hotel of the trip - Pop Century! We'll drop our carry-on stuff, freshen up a bit and maybe stop to grab something to eat in the Pop Food Court, before catching a bus to our first park of the trip - Magic Kingdom! Yes, on December 30th. Yes, I realize we are nuts, and the park will be something like this: . I'm not worried about being allowed to enter the park that late in the day, since even if it reaches a Stage 3 closure we would still be allowed in (we are staying on property, we have reservations and I'm an annual passholder with no blackout dates).

We don't plan on being able to accomplish a ton this night, but it's also the first night of a full two week trip - we will just soak in the atmosphere and enjoy being at Magic Kingdom We do have Fastpasses made, but if it's super insane and we'd have to fight our way through crowds just to get to them, we might just skip them.

Fastpass #1: Splash Mountain 6:30-7:30
Fastpass #2: Big Thunder Mountain 7:30-8:30
Fastpass #3: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 8:45-9:45

We also have a late supper reservation at Tony's Town Square at 9:20pm. I haven't heard amazing reviews about the food there, but it's somewhere we've never ate before. We have no idea what we'll order, but we plan on taking our time and enjoying ourselves - and possibly a bottle of wine? Once we finish our meal, the plan is to stick back by the train station and find ourselves a spot to watch the fireworks at midnight. Magic Kingdom also has extra magic hours that night until 2am, but we'll probably head out and catch a bus back to our resort as soon as the fireworks are over. We still have 14 more days of fun to go!

Park(s) Planned:
Magic Kingdom
Fastpasses:
Splash Mountain 6:30-7:30
Big Thunder Mountain 7:30-8:30
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 8:45-9:45
ADR's:
Tony's Town Square 9:20pm​

 

[pkondz]

It's actually working out to be a cheaper option than hiring someone from Orlando.

Really! Never would have thought that.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Magic Kingdom! Yes, on December 30th. Yes, I realize we are nuts, and the park will be something like this: . I'm not worried about being allowed to enter the park that late in the day, since even if it reaches a Stage 3 closure we would still be allowed in (we are staying on property, we have reservations and I'm an annual passholder with no blackout dates).

I know it'll be insane, but I still think this is a great plan. There's no better way to start a WDW trip than by entering the Magic Kingdom. Even if you mostly just walk around and soak in the sights, do your FP, and have something to eat, I think that'll be a pretty successful evening. And yeah, I hadn't realized until I looked up the stages of closures the other day that it's so easy to still get into the park when it's in most phases of closure! I knew if you had a dining reservation you were usually fine, but I didn't realize that they'll still let people in who are staying on property or have annual passes for the first three levels of closure. And the fourth and final level has only ever happened once, I believe.

 

[pkondz]

I realize now it was a little crazy, but it all worked out and the girl that picked it up for me seems like a very nice person

I'm still debating possibly changing into a second dress for our dessert party, but we'll see. I'm just sad none of them have sleeves - I'm always cold, so I need to remember to bring a blanket with me on the wedding day - maybe my Oilers Snuggy? I think that would look beautiful in pictures

Or you could class it up a bit and go with a Jets one.

Haha, we live in a newer neighbourhood with a lot of young families. We also decorate outside - giant inflatables, lights, etc. Our neighbour LOVES Halloween and goes nuts with his decorations too, so it draws a lot of people in.

We live in a newer neighbourhood too and decorate as well. My patio heater needs the glass replaced so I couldn't have that going this year and it was cold. Poop.

We ended up getting fewer this year though, stupid snow and cold weather... We still had over 200 though!

Wow!
We were down this year too. Just over a hundred.

so we won't be completely ruining my mom's Saturday by making her drive us at 6am (I know, gross).

Uh, huh. You don't want to know what time DW is driving me to the airport next week.

Magic Kingdom! Yes, on December 30th. Yes, I realize we are nuts, and the park will be something like this: .

My first MK fireworks... when there was only the one park.... New Years Eve.
Might've been a bit packed.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Day one sounds like a great plan!! We arrive on the 30th, too, but we are attending my good friend's wedding the night before and I'm a little nervous we will be exhausted and not want to do much when we get there. Our plan is to end up at Magic Kingdom for the evening, too. We're eating dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table because we usually do it for breakfast so my son can see his girl, 'ella, and I have always wanted to go for dinner!! Mommy's turn to get her way LOL!!

If we are still standing, we'll try to stay for the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks. We were there last year and they truly are incredible!!! PLUS, by seeing them on the 30th, you don't have to cram in like a sardine on New Year's Eve to watch instead!!!

 

[fallonkendra]

Really! Never would have thought that.

Wedding photography is insanely expensive, but it was the one thing I refused to cheap out on. Our wedding package actually includes 2 hours of photography by one the Disney Fine Art Photography team, but you don't get to choose who you want (you can ask/suggest who you'd like to have, but you don't find out until pretty close to your actual date). I knew I wouldn't be ok with not knowing if our photographer would match our style, and I also knew I wanted a full day of coverage. We were able to move the Disney photography over to our dessert party that night - so that worked out well! To add additional hours through Disney was like $300/hour or something crazy - and it's of course in USD. I've kind of looked at Orlando local photographers, but of course they charge USD as well, and I was looking at $2500++ for what I wanted. So, we reached out to Melissa (the one who did our engagement pictures and is coming to Disney with us as our official photographer) - she typically charges $2000 for a destination wedding (for a full day of coverage, and that included our engagement session), as well as her flights and hotels for the entire stay. Her and I were roommates for a few years (we both knew the landlord, but were complete strangers when we moved in together), so she gave us a "friends and family" discount on her cost, plus told us we only had to pay for 2 nights of her hotel and she would cover the other 3 nights since she wanted to go to Disney haha. We still had to pay for her flight, but we watched sales and she didn't care about flight times/airlines - so we booked her on WestJet going there and Air Canada going home, and it only cost a little over $500 return. This long winded explanation basically leads to us paying about $2500CAD for our photographer - and she'll be coming to the parks with us for 3-4 days outside the wedding, and bringing along her camera for that as well.

I know it'll be insane, but I still think this is a great plan. There's no better way to start a WDW trip than by entering the Magic Kingdom. Even if you mostly just walk around and soak in the sights, do your FP, and have something to eat, I think that'll be a pretty successful evening. And yeah, I hadn't realized until I looked up the stages of closures the other day that it's so easy to still get into the park when it's in most phases of closure! I knew if you had a dining reservation you were usually fine, but I didn't realize that they'll still let people in who are staying on property or have annual passes for the first three levels of closure. And the fourth and final level has only ever happened once, I believe.

Yeah, I looked up the stages of closure and I found the same thing - stage 4 has only happened once so I think we'll be fine I hate large crowds, I sometimes get claustrophobic so we'll see how I handle that evening haha - I think there might be some drinking happening at Tony's that night haha.

 

[fallonkendra]

Or you could class it up a bit and go with a Jets one.

Hmm, I actually don't own a Jets snuggy. Now I need to ask Luke's brother in law if such a thing exists! I'm not sure I've ever mentioned this to you before, but Luke's brother-in-law actually works for True North Sports and Entertainment, and has since before the Jets came back. A few years ago, Luke received a Jets jersey for his birthday that was signed by the entire team - I bought a frame for it already, but just haven't got around to getting it hung up (same for my autographed McDavid jersey)...

We live in a newer neighbourhood too and decorate as well. My patio heater needs the glass replaced so I couldn't have that going this year and it was cold. Poop.

Patio heater...good call! I need to invest in one of those, it would definitely help on Halloween!

Wow!
We were down this year too. Just over a hundred.

That's still a good number! I've talked to so many people who had under 20 trick-or-treaters.

Uh, huh. You don't want to know what time DW is driving me to the airport next week.

Are you heading back to WDW next week? Or Disneyland?

My first MK fireworks... when there was only the one park.... New Years Eve.
Might've been a bit packed.

Eeek! That must have been insane!

 

[fallonkendra]

Day one sounds like a great plan!! We arrive on the 30th, too, but we are attending my good friend's wedding the night before and I'm a little nervous we will be exhausted and not want to do much when we get there. Our plan is to end up at Magic Kingdom for the evening, too. We're eating dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table because we usually do it for breakfast so my son can see his girl, 'ella, and I have always wanted to go for dinner!! Mommy's turn to get her way LOL!!

If we are still standing, we'll try to stay for the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks. We were there last year and they truly are incredible!!! PLUS, by seeing them on the 30th, you don't have to cram in like a sardine on New Year's Eve to watch instead!!!

We still haven't ate at Cinderella's Royal Table, the price scares me away! Maybe in a few years, when we have kids or something.

Yeah, the crowds on NYE terrify me, I want nothing to do with them haha! We did watch the live stream of the NYE events at Magic Kingdom last year, and talked about how we'd love to see them live one year - we had no idea that would come so soon!

Are you guys staying at Pop Century as well? I seem to remember you saying that, but I might be confusing that with your trip last year...

 

[fallonkendra]

Updates​

First - I apologize for how huge these pictures are, I did this post from my phone.

We still haven't officially agreed that we are keeping the kitten who has been living in our basement since August (the extremely feral one), but we have tamed her and she is one of the sweetest little things! Loki, the kitten we are keeping for sure goes down to play with her a couple of times each day, and we're working on trying to introduce basement kitty to the rest of our pets (we've actually been calling her BK since we haven't named her yet). Loki is the darker, more relaxed looking one on the right.



I am the crazy person who dresses my dogs in costumes for Halloween haha. This year Jax was a lobster...



Magoo was not willing to play along this year. He's such a goofball.

We sadly said goodbye to another one of our degus We have now lost 3 of them this year, all littermates. So, we went from 7 of them to start this year to being down to 4 of them. Hopefully we can have a few more years with the guys that are left (average lifespan is about 6-8 years, one of our remaining guys will be 5 in January and the other 3 will be 4 years old in February - so they are getting up there in age).

We prepared for 300 trick or treaters for Halloween (we had over 230 last year, and our neighbourhood has expanded since then), but it ended up being a pretty cold, snowy night so our numbers were down a bit - we ended up with 209. We have so much candy left over! I don't even want to look at it, I'm candied out!

Now, for wedding/trip updates! We received some Disney Fairytale Wedding mail the other day!



There were three of these boxes, each with a different thing written on them



Inside each one were different things - a shoe bag (that says 'Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life') and a Prince Charming coin



Another box had collar stays (which I didn't even know was a thing, we had to Google what they were - shows how fancy we are haha), and a charm I can tie on to my bouquet.



The third box had pieces of nice fabric - the one for the groom can be used as a pocket square, and the one for the bride is meant to be used on the wedding day to dry your tears (according to the paper in the bottom of the box)