Honeymoons??

[DSTRen13]

We just got married (October 2007) and we went to Hawaii (Oahu) It was a lot of fun - somewhere we hadn't been before, that was completely beautiful with a lot of different things to do. We stayed on the opposite side of the island from Honolulu in a little rental house, so it wasn't crowded and crazy, but still easy to get everywhere with our rental car. Plusses about Hawaii: we didn't have to fool with passports and customs (and yet it might as well have been a different country from here!), and it was a compromise pricewise (not as expensive as a trip to New Zealand, not as cheap as just going somewhere in GA).

Anyway, loved it!

[APhi Sailorgirl]

We just booked our honeymoon! We are going on a cruise out of Puerto Rico. We hit, St. Thomas, Grenada, Bonaire, Dominica, and Aruba.

It leaves the week after we get married, so we may go down to PR a day or two early.

This way we have a break between the wedding festivities and then heading off. Unfortunately my fiance will probably have to work the week between.

[ZTABullwinkle]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

First - do you know where you are staying? I would recommend staying on property - I think Boardwalk Villas are romantic without costing quite as much as Grand Floridian, Yacht & Beach Club - you can walk to Epcot, take a boat to Hollywood Studios. Polynesian would be great - take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. I can personally recommend Saratoga Springs and Port Orleans, also. I have a great Disney travel agent, btw - let me know if you need her info.
EAT AT VICTORIA AND ALBERT'S at the Grand Floridian. Adults only, fabulous food - well worth the money for a fantastic meal. Cirtico's at the Grand Floridian is also great.
Go to the Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island. I am not much on clubbing (although if you are, there's plenty at Pleasure Island) but I love, love the Adventurer's Club.
I think the luau is really neat and romantic.

What specifically are you looking for? Advice on rides, meals, romantic things?
Check out www.allears.net for menus and great trip reports.
I've got to run - feel free to ask or pm me with an specific concerns.

eta - my "don't miss list" -
Magic Kingdom - Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Splash, Space and Big Thunder Mt., Mickey's Philharmagic. Favorite restaurants - Tony's and the Liberty Tree Tavern - both for lunch.
Epcot - Test Track, Soarin',Off Kilter show (in Canada). Be sure to try the Beverly soda at Coke's Club Cool!!! Restaurants - it's hard to go wrong here - I always get good food!
Animal Kingdom - Expedition Everest, Finding Nemo:The Musical, Kilamanjaro(sp?) Safari, Dinosaur! Restaurant - the Yak and Yeti is fabulous!
Hollywood Studios - Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Lights! Motor! Action!, Beauty and the Beast show, Fantasmic! Restaurants - Brown Derby (they have a great New York strip, but only at lunch), 50's Prime Time Cafe.

Water parks - I love Typhoon Lagoon - they have the Crushin' Gusher, which is a water roller coaster.

Downtown Disney - love the salt scrub at Basin, yummy sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich, Raglan Road Irish pub and restaurant (live music!), Comedy Warehouse, the aforementioned Adventurer's Club. If you can swing it, I understand the Cirque de Soleil show is great, but I haven't been able to do it yet.

Also, while I recommend you wear the buttons, understand that they don't entitle you to anything - it is up to the cast members to do whatever. That said, I've always had lots of pixie dust on my visits.

Originally Posted by LeslieAGD

Hubby and I went for five days.
Day One: Magic Kingdom (make sure you see Mickey's Philharmagic)
Day Two: Epcot and Downtown Disney (eat at Bongo's Cuban Cafe, it's wonderful! ...also, don't forget IDs if you want to enter Pleasure Island)
Day Three: MGM (plan your day around the stage shows, they are worth it! also go on the Aerosmith ride and stay for the light show)
Day Four: Animal Kingdom and MGM (hit the safari as soon as the park opens; most animals are out in the morning when it's cool)
Day Five: Shopped, relaxed, and then headed home

We had passes to the water parks too and didn't use them because there was so much else to do. MGM was our favorite and we went back a second day to ride Aerosmith and Tower of Terror again, as well as see the shows we missed.

Book your trip with AAA if you have it. The deal we got was amazing! Make sure to go to guest services at the Magic Kingdom and get honeymoon buttons. They entitle you to free snacks, and jumping ahead in at least one line. Most of the employees saw our buttons and gave us the best seats on the rides, as well as discounts at some of the shops/stands.

If you like to get pictures with the characters, check out the shops in the Epcot countries. At the "England" Toy Shop, we saw Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore all together and also Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland. There was almost no line because very few people knew they were there. Also, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are the best places for photo ops with the big characters (ie - Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, etc). See your maps for Mickey's Toon Town and Mickey's Safari Spot.

Originally Posted by LeslieAGD

Hubby and I went in July and we did run into a lot of tour groups (mostly from Brazil). They weren't rude or particularly obnoxious, but we tried our best to avoid them so we didn't get stuck in long lines. Thankfully we didn't have issues because we used the fast passes A LOT (take advantage, the fast passes are your friends)! The only place that the lines were ridiculous were Soarin' and Test Track at Epcot.

WOW! Thanks for the great advice. SWTXBelle - aren't you a cast member at Disney?

I talked with the travel agent today at AAA. She has been there over 60 times (where SHE paid). We are planning at least seven days. Hopefully, we are going to be able to spend a day at Kennedy Space Center. There is a tentative launch scheduled for the space shuttle. Something on my "bucket list" that I will not probably ever get another oppurtunity to go and see.

I am still feeling really overwhelmed. She looked for romm rates at the Port Orleans - Riverside, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary Resorts.

[Kappamd]

I've stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. Its really nice, especially if you like the whole woodsy, outdoorsy log cabin feel. There are some excellent restaurants, and a gorgeous pool area. It didn't seem to be too overrun with small children either. I would DEFINITELY recommend it.

[AGDee]

First honeymoon was a cruise to the Bahamas and it was very romantic and dreamy. The only good week of the whole marriage, truth be told, but it was great.

Second honeymoon was Hilton Head and that was nice too.

[AOIIalum]

Another invaluable resource for WDW is Passporter.com, along with my all-time favorite allearsnet.com.

We were married in my hometown and DH was in Boston, so most of his time off for the wedding was spent either on the wedding events or driving back and forth! So, we waited 18 months and went offseason to WDW for 11 days for our honeymoon. We stayed at the newly opened Caribbean Beach Resort (this was 1989) and went off-season. Even though park hours were shorter so were the crowds, so we saw and did everything we wanted and then some!

FYI--we stayed in Port Orleans-Riverside a few years back and loved it. Gorgeous setting and very quiet, even with a lot of kids around.

If you go with WDW, my suggestions are to skip parades (it's amazing what you can see/ride when everyone else is queueing up for a parade) and utilize Early Entry and Fast Pass whenever possible. If you have one or two "must sees", consider hitting them upon park entry regardless of what your touring plan says. Of course, make your dining reservations as soon as you can.

Don't miss: any and all stage shows not geared to the Preschool crowd; Fantasmic at the Studios; Mickey's Philharmonic, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, and Pirates at MK; Everest, It's Tough to be a Bug and the Safari in AK; and virtually everything in EPCOT (but don't listen to SWTXBelle about trying the Beverly!!! )

As for restaurants, do not miss the 50's Prime Time Cafe in the Studios! Never been to V & A's but it's definitely honeymoon material. Of course there are Boma and Jiko in AK worth checking out. We've never had a bad meal in EPCOT, either sit down or counter service.

[SWTXBelle]

Okay, AOIIAlum - how about make the new hubby try the Beverly and have the camera ready??!!!

And no, I am not a cast member, but I have passed a phone interview and am going to go to Orlando for a follow-up in March (or April) - not sure yet. I sure want to be one!!!!

[ZTABullwinkle]

I have tried the "Beverly" while at the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta. That stuff is NASTY!

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by ZTABullwinkle

I have tried the "Beverly" while at the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta. That stuff is NASTY!

What is the Beverly? When I was little and went into that tasting room, I tried this clear concoction that was horrendous. I thought it was a Sprite type of thing. I was wrong, so wrong.

[Munchkin03]

The Contemporary Resort at WDW is great--and it's got a monorail stop right in the middle, so it was really easy to get around. Highly recommended!

[SWTXBelle]

Beverly is an Italian Coca-Cola soda - and it is bitter. People who try it unsuspectingly have been known to make very interesting faces.
This is my son Jackson. I told him he would not like it, but he insisted. His sister took the picture.

[BabyPiNK_FL]

That stuff IS nasty. It's supposed to be like a "bitters" an apéritif type soda. The one from Israel that tasted like honey was amazing! They should sell that here. They should also bring back Citra to its original form and not Fanta Citrus which I can't find...

Disney is fun. I'd say MGM is great for a young couple and Magic Kingdom is good as well (if you don't mind all the babies!)

[SWTXBelle]

I love, love, love the Chinese Watermelon coke!

[Glitter650]

BOOKED going to BELIZE !!! Staying http://www.victoria-house.com

There CAN"T WAIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jill1228]

If you are married, where did you go? Las Vegas. We were going to do Cancun or Puerta Vallarta but SOMEONE (the husband) realized his passport would expire while we were on holiday. (he has a Canadian passport)



Would you wait to go on your honeymoon? We did wait to go on our honeymoon. We waited a long time (don't ask)