By Character DivaWhen my husband and I were planning our wedding, I wanted two things: 1) A big, traditional church wedding with everyone and their brother there, and 2) A complete Disney themed/fairy tale ending reception. So I suppose it makes sense that when we were deciding where to go on our honeymoon, we continued with the Disney theme and chose a week-long land/sea package. We had the option of either 4 days at Disney World and 3 days cruising around the Bahamas on the Disney Wonder, or 3 days at Disney World and 4 days on the cruise. Since the hubby and I had both been to Disneyland several times, but never Disney World (or a cruise for that matter), we opted to spend 4 days at Disney World and 3 at sea.
Because there are so many great things to do at both, I’m going to do two separate articles- one on Disney World, and one on the 3 day Disney Cruise around the Bahamas. So if you’re honeymooning at Disney World, this article is for you!!
When to Honeymoon at Disney World
J But before I begin, may I just say that if you’re not getting married in September or October, and if you don’t mind postponing your honeymoon, you may want to travel until then. The hubby and I got married on July 3rd, but we opted to hold off on the honeymoon for two reasons:
1. 1. It is a LOT cheaper!! This is the “off-season”, so you can really save money. (On a side note, it is also hurricane season, but we didn’t have any problems when we went from Sept. 12-19th. It did rain occasionally though, and was very humid, so definitely pack something to keep you cool and dry!)
2. 2. Because it is the off-season, you’re not competing with all of the Spring Break, Summer Vacationers, or people wanting to spend the holidays.School is back in session and the lines are definitely shorter!!
How to Honeymoon at Disney World
That being said, here are my thoughts on honeymooning at Disney World:
1. Ask for the free special occasion pins (we received “Just married” ones at our Disney World Hotel, though I believe you can also get them at the parks, and “Honeymooning” ones once we were on board the Disney Wonder)… you will get so much special attention from the characters and other cast members if you do! Besides all of the well wishes, I had Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia asking me about my dress (and Anastasia throwing a tantrum because she wanted a dress like mine), Lilo shaking me and giving me all kinds of hugs, and Brer Bear wanted to show off our rings for our picture. Needless to say, they all made our trip very special, and we had a great time.
2. And speaking of pictures, make sure you take pictures by all of those iconic Disneyworld images– Cinderella’s Castle, The Tree of Life, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Hat, and Spaceship Earth (aka the giant golf-ball looking thing at Epcot). You can also find plenty of cast members around the park who will take pictures for you (though if you can’t, you can always flag down another tourist). It may just be me, but I’m all about pictures. They are one of the only reminders you have after your trip, and they’re definitely a lot cheaper than coming home with a coffee mug or Mickey Mouse gloves.
3. Definitely watch some of the live shows or other forms of entertainment. Having grown up in California, one of my favorite things to see is the Electrical Parade! It moved from Disney’s California Adventure to Disney World a few years ago, and while there have been a few changes over the years, it is pretty much the same classic show that has been running since the 1970’s. (Though I do miss the Blue Fairy starting the parade off… Tinker Bell is just not the same). Just remember, if you see any parade or other form of entertainment, you want to get there EARLY. You can always improvise and have someone do a dinner run while the other person hangs out and guards wherever you’re sitting and then have a picnic on the curb. You can people watch and eat to your heart’s content, and the best part is, you won’t be trying to bob and weave through crowds or poke around people’s heads once the show starts.
4. If you’re planning your trip ahead of time and want to eat anywhere special, particularly Cinderella’s Royal Table (or any of the new restaurants in Fantasyland), make sure you book early… and by early, I mean 6 months in advance. We ended up NOT being able to eat there (or some of our other choices like the T-Rex restaurant) because we didn’t think to make reservations until a month or so before our trip, and everything was either full, or we decided wasn’t worth the hassle of trying to cram it in. And even if the place you want doesn’t fill up, at least you know when and where you’ll be eating, and you can kind of plan your schedule around that. So remember- unless you get lucky and a cancellation turns up (which it didn’t- my husband even checked the day off, and yup, everyone was still healthy!), then make sure you learn from our mistake, and make your reservations EARLY!!
5. Also, if you want to be creative, you can try to eat at the different restaurants at Epcot. If you don’t mind eating at multiple locations, and if you don’t mind the bill that comes with it, you can pick two or three restaurants and break your meal over multiple courses- For example, you can start having drinks or appetizers in Germany, have the main course from Mexico, and swing by France for dessert.
6. The Animal Kingdom can be a great place to take a safari, and it’ll make you feel like you got to take a mini adventure to Kenya without needing to bring your passport. You just never know what you’ll see along the safari, so even if you have gone before, it is different every time.
7. And because part of the reason why we all pay the big bucks to go to Disney World are the rides, I highly recommend hitting as many as possible. It doesn’t matter if you’re spinning on the teacups, flying on a magic carpet, or zipping by on Expedition Everest, there are plenty of things you and your honey can do together.
8. Finally, is there anything more romantic than being outside of Cinderella’s Castle while the fireworks are going off? Probably not. So make sure you grab a spot early (or make reservations for a preferred location), and sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of your honeymoon!!
e These were some of the memorable events my husband and I did for the Disney World portion of our honeymoon. What are some of the things you’ve done or are planning on doing to make your Disney honeymoon special?
