Jilian & BT's VR 3/24/12 Crescent Terr/Il Mulino - Last of the Randy Chapman pics up!

[BethieTink]

Jilian,

* Your ceremony was lovely! The ducks were adorable.
* Love your husband's vows. I have already written mine, but I am fairly certain that Paul hasn't done anything yet. He may just say "ditto!"
* Sorry that Il Mulino wasn't 100% perfect. That is really poor customer service. Can't believe that your contact wasn't there or that a manager wasn't on duty the whole time. Glad it all evened out in the end.

Can't wait to see more!

 

[Jilian]

Jilian,

* Your ceremony was lovely! The ducks were adorable.
* Love your husband's vows. I have already written mine, but I am fairly certain that Paul hasn't done anything yet. He may just say "ditto!"
* Sorry that Il Mulino wasn't 100% perfect. That is really poor customer service. Can't believe that your contact wasn't there or that a manager wasn't on duty the whole time. Glad it all evened out in the end.

Can't wait to see more!

If it makes you feel better my H wrote his vows a few days before we left. Men!

I was shocked by Il Mulino to be honest, Erica was so great communicating with me throughout the planning process. I think a big part of the problem is that they just changed managers and Erica just took over the position about 6ish mos ago. Once that manager arrived things were perfect. I'm still happy with everything though and try not to let the little annoyances bother me. I am surprised that all Erica did was just say sorry, oh well!

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

Jilian,
Your wedding ceremony was beautiful and you look gorgeous. I love the ducks they are just too funny!

Your kids are adorable!

I am so sorry that you had such a difficult time with Il Mulino but at least your meal was yummy and at least it all got sorted out in the end.

I am assuming Erica was your planner and this is why I have hired Diana to be around all the way through my reception so that if there are any hiccups she can take care of them since she will know what I want.

It sounds like you guys had a great time with the courtyard outside of your room. I think that it would be really cool to have those unexpected get togethers.

Thank you for sharing your husband's vows I would love to hear yours also. I have started thinking about writing my own and what I would say...so this will help a lot.

Teresa

 

[Jilian]

Random picture of our fruit and dessert platters that we bought for the welcome party from Publix:

Random pics of my bouquet:

Sunday, 3/25
We had all sorts of big plans to get up early and head to the MK but everyone slept in. We woke up and hung out at the CBR pool for a while and made it to MK sometime around 3. I wore my tiara and Disney bride tank top so we could get some photopass pics and H wore his top hat. We met up with my mom, dad & sis and did a few rides then headed to our dinner reservation at Crystal Palace. My parents, sister, niece & nephew, and aunt and her family joined us. There were 14 of us in all. We were sat within 10 mins. I love Crystal Palace, the food is always really good and you can't beat the location. My kids love the Pooh characters too and they come right to the table, you don't have to wait 30 mins in line to see them! Abigail has always been scared of the characters so we expected that she would but she surprised us! She wanted to see them. She gave Pooh such a long hug that we had to tell her it was time for Pooh to go. I think she'd still be there hugging him if we didn't say anything!

After dinner we headed back to CBR and Aiden stayed with my mom and dad to do some of the bigger rides. Me and the two little ones went to bed early and H met up with his BFF because it was his last night there.

Monday 3/26
We went to AK with my aunt and her BF around 9 am. We went right to Kiliminjaro Safarai and then did Everest. At Everest we met up with my mom, dad, sister and sister's kids. We all switched off so the adults could do Everest while my aunt bought the kids ice creams. It was hot out!

We were ready to go after Everest but we grabbed lunch at Restaurant-o-Saurus. Then we headed back to CBR so Abigail could nap. We had dinner reservations at Boma with my sister and her 2 kids that night so after nap we got ready and all headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Boma was great. It was one of my favorite places we ate. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the African flare of the foods but they were realllly good. There was a nut crusted salmon that was great and homemade hummus and pita chips that I need to eat again ASAP. I'll definitely go back. AND they take TIW so the price is pretty darn good.

After dinner we walked around with the kids a little (5 kids in all!) and looked at the animals. The kids are nuts when they get together, I'm not really sure what we were thinking. 3 of them are boys. We didn't stay very long before heading back to CBR.

Tigers!

My mom, dad & aunts were having dinner at Kouzzina on the boardwalk and we all planned to meet up at Jellyrolls after. My sister and I got our kids to bed and H stayed back with all of the sleeping little ones while my sis and I headed to the boardwalk. Jellyrolls wasn't what I expected but I like it. It was a Monday night so it wasn't too busy but we had quite the group so we made our own fun. The pianists were hilarious. They play everything and anything. They played “I'm a slave 4 u” by Brittney Spears! Hilarious! We stayed for about 2 hours or so and then headed back home and...hung out in the courtyard. Its funny how that kept happening. My sis and I walked down to the cabana for another drink and I headed to bed sometime around 1.

 

[Jilian]

Tuesday 3/27
We made it to DHS sometime in the morning and ran to Toy Story Mania. My kids LOVE this ride and DH and I have an ongoing rivalry (he always wins). Of course he won (he cheats somehow, I just know it!) and the the kids wanted to get something to eat. We grabbed a quick lunch and did some of the big-kid rides while swapping off kids. We left sometime aorund 2 because it was just too hot. Does anyone else notice that DHS is always 10+ degrees hotter than any other park?

We checked out of CBR and into AKV-kidani into a 1 bedroom savannah view room, we rented points from Mkunichi here on the Dis (good experience BTW!). O...M...G. I don't think I can ever stay in a regular room again. The 1 BR villa was a-freaking-mazing! It was like our own little apartment. We wondered what we were ever thinking staying in a regular room with 5 people. We LOVED the room.

We had dinner reservations at the Spirit of Aloha dinner show that night so we all got ready and headed over. There were 19 of us in all. It took a while to get our ticket printed up because there was some sort of issue. I waited and helped them work it out and we got there just in time.

I loved it! I was skeptical after not-so-great reviews but I really liked it. The food was great and our server was excellent. I know tip is supposed to be included but we left him extra because he was so attentive and made sure we had enough to eat and drink at all times. The show was cheesy in the beginning but the second part with the dances was great to watch. The kids LOVED it, they just sat still and watched the whole time. I was shocked.

After dinner we walked around the Poly a little bit then went back AKV for the night.

 

[Jilian]

Jilian,
Your wedding ceremony was beautiful and you look gorgeous. I love the ducks they are just too funny!

Your kids are adorable!

I am so sorry that you had such a difficult time with Il Mulino but at least your meal was yummy and at least it all got sorted out in the end.

I am assuming Erica was your planner and this is why I have hired Diana to be around all the way through my reception so that if there are any hiccups she can take care of them since she will know what I want.

It sounds like you guys had a great time with the courtyard outside of your room. I think that it would be really cool to have those unexpected get togethers.

Thank you for sharing your husband's vows I would love to hear yours also. I have started thinking about writing my own and what I would say...so this will help a lot.

Teresa

Thanks for the compliments Teresa!

I posted my vows just before I left, here and on the FB group. They are upthread a bit.

Erica is the event planner for Il Mulino and she planned our dinner. I asked Karen about it but she said she only handled the actual ceremony part. I didn't realize that you could pay extra to keep your planner for dinner too.

The courtyard was the best, it became our unofficial meeting spot of the trip. It was great meeting everyone there at the end of the day.

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

Thanks for the compliments Teresa!

I posted my vows just before I left, here and on the Dis. They are upthread a bit.

Erica is the event planner for Il Mulino and she planned our dinner. I asked Karen about it but she said she only handled the actual ceremony part. I didn't realize that you could pay extra to keep your planner for dinner too.

The courtyard was the best, it became our unofficial meeting spot of the trip. It was great meeting everyone there at the end of the day.

I did not know about keeping our planner on either until Diana asked me. She said to me "would you like me to be around through the ceremony or through the reception too?" I asked her if it would cost a whole lot extra and she said not really. So we decided to keep her on because otherwise I would have just been working with the manager of fulton's. So Diana is being my event coordinator and making sure everything gets set up there including favors/floral/linens/DJ and anything else that needs to be done.

Teresa

 

[Jilian]

I did not know about keeping our planner on either until Diana asked me. She said to me "would you like me to be around through the ceremony or through the reception too?" I asked her if it would cost a whole lot extra and she said not really. So we decided to keep her on because otherwise I would have just been working with the manager of fulton's. So Diana is being my event coordinator and making sure everything gets set up there including favors/floral/linens/DJ and anything else that needs to be done.

Teresa

That is a great idea, now you don't have to worry about anything and you can just enjoy your night!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

-Thank you so much for posting your husband’s vows. I read them on my phone in the car and definitely teared up. You guys make a great couple!
-That private room is gorgeous and chic.
-I would have been really annoyed about the servers. It sounds like they were trying to rush you, and why would they do that? It’s a private room!
-Umm $58 a bottle?!?! That’s all I can say. WOW.
-That’s so annoying that you worked so hard to get a contract and then people ignored it. That’s ridic, and you should have been offered more than a “sincere apology.” Grrrr.
-You’re really pretty though.
-I wouldn’t have even given the bell services guy $2!! You are nicer than I.
-I am so happy that you are so happy with everything. It still seemed like a fantastic, amazing day!!!
-That is one good looking fruit platter.
-Pretty pretty bouquet.
-I need tiara pics, girlie!!!
-Your kids are adorable; have I mentioned that?
-Ha! I am in love with that tigers pic.
-I’ve never been to Boma. We’re staying at Kidani next month, but we’re trying Jiko. I wish we had time to do Boma too!
-I need to hear “I’m a Slave” on piano. That sounds amazing. (I am a huge Britney fan.)
-See, I think AK is 5 million times hotter than any other park!
-WOW! I’ve never stayed in a 1 bedroom. It looks amazing. Do you rent points a lot? -Would you ever buy into DVC?
-Doesn’t spirit of aloha have the best salad dressing ever? We served a version of it at our wedding.

 

[Jilian]

-Thank you so much for posting your husband’s vows. I read them on my phone in the car and definitely teared up. You guys make a great couple!
-That private room is gorgeous and chic.
-I would have been really annoyed about the servers. It sounds like they were trying to rush you, and why would they do that? It’s a private room!
-Umm $58 a bottle?!?! That’s all I can say. WOW.
-That’s so annoying that you worked so hard to get a contract and then people ignored it. That’s ridic, and you should have been offered more than a “sincere apology.” Grrrr.
-You’re really pretty though.
-I wouldn’t have even given the bell services guy $2!! You are nicer than I.
-I am so happy that you are so happy with everything. It still seemed like a fantastic, amazing day!!!
-That is one good looking fruit platter.
-Pretty pretty bouquet.
-I need tiara pics, girlie!!!
-Your kids are adorable; have I mentioned that?
-Ha! I am in love with that tigers pic.
-I’ve never been to Boma. We’re staying at Kidani next month, but we’re trying Jiko. I wish we had time to do Boma too!
-I need to hear “I’m a Slave” on piano. That sounds amazing. (I am a huge Britney fan.)
-See, I think AK is 5 million times hotter than any other park!
-WOW! I’ve never stayed in a 1 bedroom. It looks amazing. Do you rent points a lot? -Would you ever buy into DVC?
-Doesn’t spirit of aloha have the best salad dressing ever? We served a version of it at our wedding.

I've heard great things about Jiko but we've never been. Can't wait to hear all about it!

It felt like they were trying ot rush us and get our bill up high at Il Mulino and that was annoying. Our contract said we'd be there til 7:55 so I'm not sure what they were thinking - oh yeah they didn't read the contract!

AK does get hot too, but we always manage to find shelter from the plants near the entrance.

We've rented DVC points twice now. I'm not sure if we'd buy in, probably not. I don't like that the contracts last so long, in 2050 I'll be over 70! I love Disney and all, but not enough to push a walker around through the parks.

We LOVED the 1 BR, so much space!

H was in love with the salad dressing at Spirit of Aloha, he still talks about it. How cool that you could get it for your reception!

I need to edit my photopass pics and order the CD to get the tiara pics, hopefully I'll have that done soon!

 

[tinydancr06]

Such a fun TR! Your ceremony was so beautiful and your husband's vows were so lovely. I love how you were pronounced a family and your kids were involved. Just so so sweet! It's too bad to hear about your problems with Il Mulino but it sounds like you handled it well. Hopefully they'll be more on top of things for the next people to use them thanks to your constructive criticism! Oh, and I loved your bouquet, too!

 

[Jilian]

Such a fun TR! Your ceremony was so beautiful and your husband's vows were so lovely. I love how you were pronounced a family and your kids were involved. Just so so sweet! It's too bad to hear about your problems with Il Mulino but it sounds like you handled it well. Hopefully they'll be more on top of things for the next people to use them thanks to your constructive criticism! Oh, and I loved your bouquet, too!

Thanks for the kind words We really wanted to incorporate the kids in the ceremony and I'm happy that they were willing to be a part of it (you never know with 2 and 4 year olds!).

I agree about Il Mulino, I was really hoping that they'd take my comments as constructive criticism and step it up for the next function. I think they will.

 

[Jilian]

Wednesday 3/28
Today was our last full day and we were part sad and part ready to go back home. We went back to Animal Kingdom because we wanted to see the Festival of the Lion King show. We got right in when we arrived and it was great. H and I had seen it once before without the kids on a solo trip. The kids really loved it, they sat in silence the whole time. It is such a good show!

After the show we walked around a little and decided to do lunch at the Yak & the Yeti. Good food if you've never been! H got a steak skewer thing and I got a mandarin chicken salad. I was trying to eat healthy because I never eat veggies in WDW but the salad was meh. H's food was great.

After lunch we went to MK for a while to go do splash mountain. Evan is finally just tall enough to do it and it is his new favorite ride. I went on with him first while H stayed with Abby and then H went on with him second. H, Aiden & Evan got SOAKED. I never get wet on Splash mountain but they somehow managed to get completely saturated – just in time for us to go to O'hana for dinner. Oops!

I've never been to O'hana and I had to book it the first day reservations opened to get a spot. It was soooo worth it. I want to say it was the best dinner of the trip but we had some really good dinners so I can't commit. Lets just say I loved it. I tried the pinapple drink, lapu lapu or something? Holy hell, it was strong! It has bacardi 151 in it – whew!

After dinner we went to MK because the kids wanted to spend their spending money. They each bought a light up balloon and they were just so tired. We abandoned our shopping trip and went back to AKV instead.

When we got back H and I hung out on the balcony and saw a sleeping giraffe not too far from our room. We're extremely childsish so we made noises at it and tried to get it to wake up. No luck. We had all these big plans of sipping wine on our balcony at night while the kids slept but we were so tired that we fell asleep early.

Thursday 3/30 – last day
We slept in a bit and then worked on packing up our stuff because we had to be out by 11 We got our room packed up and then put on bathing suits and brought the kids to the pool. AKV-kidani has a really cool kids play area by the pool, unfortunately it was broken that day because they were having trouble with the pumps. The kids still played a while and then we got them changed and had lunch. We took them to Jambo house's gift shop because it is bigger and they spent their spending money. I bought a castle throw and a photo album with the castle on the front (because I love the castle so much!) to save all of my beautiful memories in. After we shopped it was time to go, we hopped back into our van and off we went! Wow, writing that makes me feel oddly sad.

 

[J.ThaddeusToad]

First of all, your children are adorable! And you and your dress are gorgeous!

I'm so sorry to hear about the issues you had with Il Mulino. We experienced the opposite (...sort of) - I felt like they weren't encouraging enough drink orders and we ended up being under the minimum (we got extra bottles of wine to make up the difference and a manager gave us a bottle of Prosecco for our trouble). Now that I think about it, I had asked to have the drink options available on the menu and they didn't do that so I think our guests were a little confused (and I didn't realize it until later because I was in my own little world floating on ).

We did not use a suite at the Swan to get ready, but my DH and his groomsmen were provided a room prior to ceremony so we wouldn't bump into each other during pictures. From what he told me (of course he didn't take a picture!) the room was not a suite, but it was nice and they were so glad to have a/c and watch TV.

 

[MrsDuck]

I love all the rest of your pictures! It looks like you guys had a really great time!

PS. that drink looks amazing. It'd probably knock me on my butt!

 

[CourtenayB]

I Just love the pics and updates!! That room at kidani is so nice. I wish all of the rooms looked like that. We are staying at boardwalk inn for our wedding and I cannot believe how expensive it is for a little standard room. Oh well! It's Disney! I can handle the price but only for a short time. Anyway, just catching up and wanted to say hey and everything looks good.

 

[Sizzle]

I can't believe it's over already!

Your planning journal and trip report have been SO helpful for me and I can't thank you enough for sharing all of these details, Jilian.

Your family is beautiful and full of love and I wish you all a lifetime of happiness together!

And don't worry, Swalphin sister. There is still 2+ weeks until my big day so I'm sure to still bug you on FB

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

just saw randys pics on fb! they look great!

 

[Jilian]

First of all, your children are adorable! And you and your dress are gorgeous!

I'm so sorry to hear about the issues you had with Il Mulino. We experienced the opposite (...sort of) - I felt like they weren't encouraging enough drink orders and we ended up being under the minimum (we got extra bottles of wine to make up the difference and a manager gave us a bottle of Prosecco for our trouble). Now that I think about it, I had asked to have the drink options available on the menu and they didn't do that so I think our guests were a little confused (and I didn't realize it until later because I was in my own little world floating on ).

We did not use a suite at the Swan to get ready, but my DH and his groomsmen were provided a room prior to ceremony so we wouldn't bump into each other during pictures. From what he told me (of course he didn't take a picture!) the room was not a suite, but it was nice and they were so glad to have a/c and watch TV.

Thanks! I'm glad Il Mulino gave you wine to make up the minimum. Our drink options weren't on our menu either and it was confusing to our guests too. I wonder if most people do wine only?

Our swan "suite" didn't have a TV. It served the purpose but it makes me laugh because I assumed we'd get the one I saw in the PJ. I really talked it up to my H

I love all the rest of your pictures! It looks like you guys had a really great time!

PS. that drink looks amazing. It'd probably knock me on my butt!

Seriously, that drink was no joke. It needs to come with a warning! I was opening it up and trying to scrape some pineapple into it to tone it down.

I Just love the pics and updates!! That room at kidani is so nice. I wish all of the rooms looked like that. We are staying at boardwalk inn for our wedding and I cannot believe how expensive it is for a little standard room. Oh well! It's Disney! I can handle the price but only for a short time. Anyway, just catching up and wanted to say hey and everything looks good.

Disney can be insanely expensive. We rented points for the AKV room but I think it was still $300/night. And that is a good price for that room

I can't believe it's over already!

Your planning journal and trip report have been SO helpful for me and I can't thank you enough for sharing all of these details, Jilian.

Your family is beautiful and full of love and I wish you all a lifetime of happiness together!

And don't worry, Swalphin sister. There is still 2+ weeks until my big day so I'm sure to still bug you on FB

I'm sad that it is over too. I'm glad it was helpful! Feel free to ask questions if you have any, I'm happy to help. I can't wait to hear about your day! I'm gonna live vicariously through you

just saw randys pics on fb! they look great!

Thanks so much! I was just coming to post a link

 

[Jilian]

Randy posted some preview pics for me!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.3360071113149.149569.1010174369&type=3