Jeni and Carl's Sea Breeze Point Wedding TR - August 2009

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

I got married on August 17th last year and have been writing a trip report on another forum, which a couple of people have read and asked me to post here. Please bear with me as it isn't totally complete yet, and it may take me a while to get all the posts copied over :pop:

[Leanne1977]

Yay, thanks Jen!

Dibbers hold onto your garters, this is a fab report.

[Guest]

Day 1 - Monday August 10th

As we were staying the night at Gatwick airport, we woke up at about 8am ( a nice lie in!), and spoke to mum before everyone else headed off to the airport. We spent the morning running errands and doing final checks of all the packing. We had taken the cats to the cattery on Sunday, so we gave the flat a thorough clean, too. We heard from mum a couple of times at the airport, saying there was a problem with Virgin's computer systems and massive queues. Due to mum's disability and the fact she was already down to receive special assistance, they were taken out of the main queue and dealt with separately. After about an hour's delay they were off.

We had a leisurely lunch and headed off to the airport at abuot 2.30. After we'd been driving for fifteen minutes we realised we had forgotten our "airport money" that we'd saved for our evening meal and breakfast, so we went back to get it. We were then on the road properly at 3pm!

After arriving at the car park we got the coach to the North Terminal and checked in at the Sofitel, before heading across to the South Terminal for Twilight check in. While at the South Terminal we ate dinner at Frankie and Benny's, having eaten there before our last Florida trip in 2006. I think this will be a tradition now. We also decided we would eat at Frankie and Benny's for breakfast as they had a restaurant the other side of security as well.

AFter this we went back to the Sofitel and opened the small bottle of champagne that one of Carl's colleagues had bought for us. We slept at about 10pm but I didn't sleep well as I kept waking to check if I'd had a text message from my mum or brother, and I hadn't.

Here are a couple of photos from the Sofitel:

The Lobby


Our room


The bathroom


The view from the window

[Guest]

Day 2 - Tuesday 11th August

We woke up at 6.30, having not slept that well, and had a call from my younger brother (who wasn't coming on the trip due to his wife being heavily pregnant). He also hadn't heard from anyone, although by this time it would be 1.30am in Florida so they would be asleep. We sent text messages and agreed to let each other know if we heard anything.

We checked out of the Sofitel after showering etc. and were going through security at 8am. We checked the boards for information on our flight (due to board at 10.30) and found that there was a delay. We headed straight for Frankie and Benny's to have breakfast, and only had to wait a short while to be seated. After breakfast we did a little duty free shopping before boarding the plane at 11.40. At the gate I picked up a copy of 'Hello!' and decided to keep it because the date on the front was August 17th 2009 - our wedding day!

We took off at 12.30 and the seats were OK, although the sound on my entertainment system wasn't working, so Carl and I took it in turns to listen to the sound through his connector. My vegetarian meal was delivered early, and wasn't bad for aeroplane food. Carl's meal was OK too. We landed at 4pm, having made up some of our delay, and our luggage was some of the first off at the first carousel. It didn't take long at immigration, either, as we chose the right hand queue. I tried to persuade Carl to keep the luggage with us, but he wanted to send it away again, and it took longer to come back this time! At this point I also turned my phone on, and had a text from my brother to say he had heard from my mum. We checked in easily for the Magical Express and finally arrived at Pop Century at about 6pm. We had a problem with paying the balance on our room, though, as our Citibank card wasn't accepted and had to use our honeymoon gift card instead.

At our room, which was in the 70s building like we had requested, our Garden Grocer delivery was brought over to us. After this we went over to Downtown Disney and ate at the Earl of Sandwich. Carl had a cannonball sandwich, while I had the tuna melt. I couldn't help worrying about the card not working, though, and wasn't able to enjoy my food, as that account had almost all of our spending money, and the money to pay the balance of the wedding, balance of accommodation, and the vendors! As it was too late to call the UK, we went to bed, and once again I didn't sleep well.

Carl at Earl of Sandwich


Me at Earl of Sandwich with a forced smile!


The carousel

[Guest]

Day 3 - Wednesday 12th August

Due to my worries over the Citibank card we woke up at 4am. Carl walked over to the lobby and bought a phone card, then came back to the room where we called Citibank. It turns out they hadn't activated our cards as they were supposed to have done! They completed activation on Carl's card on the phone but said I would have to make another phone call to activate mine, so we just decided to use Carl's card for the remainder of the holiday. Carl then went back to the lobby and withdrew $500 (our maximum) so we could build up enough cash to pay the balance at POFQ when we transferred there on Sunday.

After this, we decided to have a wander around the resort in the dark and took some pictures. We also found one or two other holiday makers up and about, plus the usual rabbits and squirrels. Bizarrely, there was also a domestic cat - now that's something I've not come across at a Disney resort before! By now I'm feeling much more at ease and can now start to enjoy the holiday.

Rubix Cubes - view from balcony

[Guest]

Day 3 - part 2

As we had breakfast at Akershus booked for 8.30 we had arranged to meet the rest of the family at the entrance to EPCOT at 8am. After showering in the room, we got a refillable mug and drank a coffee in Everything POP dining area at 7am, then got the bus to EPCOT at 7.30. We arrived at 7.45 and went straight to the ticket office to exchange our Annual Pass vouchers, which was done quickly and easily. I also realised I had forgotten a pen for autographs so I picked an EPCOT pen for me, and a Princess pen for Amelia and Joshua. We went through bag check, and were just having a CM take our photo when the others came through the bag check.

Self portrait on the bus




The kids were pleased with their pen and First Visit badges


Mum's ECV


We all walked to Norway together, and it was lovely seeing the park so empty. We arrived about 15 minutes early for the ADR time, and were seated at about 8.35. We were really pleased to be greeted by Belle in her yellow dress for the photo package, and then saw Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Ariel and Cinderella while we ate. I was particularly happy with that combination as I've never seen Belle in yellow, have never met Ariel at all, and wasn't expecting to see Cinderella at all! Our server was friendly and helpful, and we all enjoyed the food - especially Carl and Robin!

[Guest]

Day 3 - part 3

While the others finished up with breakfast and changed Josh, Carl and I speed walked to Soarin' to pick up FPs as it was now about 9.30. We then sat and watched the seagulls shouting "Mine! Mine!" outside the Seas until the others caught up with us. We then did the Nemo ride as a walk on, looked around the various underwater exhibits, and had a great time at Turtle Talk with Crush.



After this we wandered through Innoventions for a bit, where my brother was intrigued by the Segways, and the kids went off to sleep. Next stop was Club Cool where Carl and I succeeded in getting all the adults to try Beverly!

Rowena's reaction:


Robin's reaction:


After this it was time for our Soarin' FPs. We had seven tickets and only six of us tall enough to ride (Amelia is tiny even though she's three!), so Carl went on with mum and dad first, then he rode with me, Rob and Row.

The kids were awake after this so we went and rode Journey Into Imagination - after the ride they spent ages playing on the sction where the instruments light up on the floor and you have to jump on them. We also turned Josh into a monkey using one of the photo stations. By this time crowds were picking up but still weren't too bad.

As the kids were hungry we went over to the Electric Umbrella. Carl and I just got a drink, as we had packed a cool bag full of snacks. After lunch Amelia and I went to the loo, and came back to find Josh had been taken to first aid as he had caught his finger in part of my mum's ECV!

Once we were all back together, we headed into World Showcase via Canada, and Rob and Carl had a beer in the Rose and Crown. The rest of us sat in the shade at the back of the UK pavilion. After this we met Belle wearing her blue and white dress in France. When Amelia said her mummy looked like Princess Jasmine, Belle asked if she could belly dance too! We followed this meeting up with Aladdin in Morocco, but Amelia was a bit wary of him. Rowena said she thought he was trying to chat me up, even though I was wearing my "Bride-to-be" T-shirt.



Amelia posing by the earth barge


At this point the kids were quite tired again, so Rob and Row decided to head back to their villa (at Windsor Hills). Carl and I walked around to Mexico with mum and dad, where we bought frozen strawberry margheritas for us girls. This was followed up with a CS tea in China (very tasty), which mum and dad insisted on paying for. Carl and I agreed we would have to sneakily pay for their lunch the next day! By this time my shoes had decided to give me blisters (although they never have before) so mum got out her spray-on plaster. I was sceptical about whether it was a good idea, and it turns out that I was right - I have never felt such an insane stinging pain! When I finally let her do the second heel, the people nearby thought something was really wrong with me from the faces I pulled. I must admit, though, once the pain was gone it did make a difference.

For the end of the day we headed out of the International Gateway onto the Boardwalk, as we would be getting married at Sea Breeze Point and had never visited in person. Suddenly this all became very real, and I could picture us standing there in a few days' time. While on the Boardwalk we played on one of the sideshow games, but didn't win anything.

Sea Breeze Point


Mum and dad then went back, so Carl and I decided to walk the path from the Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios, another new experience. All was fine until it got horrendously dark. We were almost there when the torrential rain set in. After sheltering for over fifteen minutes we decided to make a run for it. By the time we reached the POP Century bus stop we were soaked to the skin - I could have entered a wet T-shirt contest! Luckily on the bus the driver turned the AC off because so many people were cold. We wrung out our clothing, and went to be reasonably early after two incredibly long days - this night I finally did sleep well!

Wringing out our clothing


Tomorrow - a trip to the Courthouse to pick up our license

[Guest]

Day 4 - Thursday 13th August

I'm afraid I don't have any photos for today - not sure why but we just didn't seem to take any!

After the first decent night's sleep in 3 days, we woke up at 7.30 and headed over to the food court to get breakfast. I had the Mickey waffle with strawberry topping and a fresh fruit cup, while Carl had the adult platter with a side of sausage and bacon. At about 8am the CMs rounded up lots of kids and everybody did the Twist. (I forgot to say before, but when waiting to check in we saw the CMs do the hustle in the lobby too!)

At 9am mum and dad picked us up, and we went to find the courthouse. This proved very easy to find, and once there it took us only 15 minutes to sort out getting our license - way easier than the hassle it would have been to do it by post before we went. We had to go through security clearance and bag check when we went in, exactly like at the Empire State Building in NYC - imagine doing that at your local council building!

After the courthouse we were thirsty, and on the drive back along the 192 we decided to stop at Starbucks. Mum and dad had iced coffees, Carl had a smoothie, and I had a hot green tea (still trying to look after my skin!). The next stop was Jo-Ann's - I wish we had big name craft stores that were as good as this. Most of my holiday spending goes on scrapbooking products as they are so much cheaper, basically because they are produced in the US. We spent an hour in there, and got even better bargains because they were having a Founder's Day sale with 40% off all papercrafting products. While mum and I browsed in Jo-Ann's, dad and Carl spent about half of that time in a game shop.

Now it was time for lunch, so we went to Subway, where Carl and I succeeded in paying for mum and dad's lunch! This was followed by some shopping in Publix, so I was able to pick up some moleskin - although Pop Century had a great range of medical supplies, they didn't sell moleskin.

In the afternoon we went to the villa at Windsor Hills where mum, dad, Rob, Row and the kids were staying. Shortly after arriving I had a call from Tanis, my wedding co-ordinator, to say she hadn't received the fax with our payment details that I had sent a week previously from the UK. She said not to worry, and to fax it from Pop Century when we got back. The annoying thing was they did it for free, and I paid £12 at the library for the one that didn't go through! After this Ihad a quick check online as the villa had free wifi, and added some photos to Facebook. I also hung my wedding dress up, well away from Carl.

Next item on the agenda was pool time, so we all went over to the main pool at Windsor Hills complex. We had great fun, and Carl and I went on the slide, which was incredibly fast. Sadly after about an hour, the thunder started, so we had to get out, but we got back into the villa just as the torrential rains came again. But not before Amelia decided to take her swimming costume off by the poolside, and Row got told off for having a naked child! Like a three year old knows what she is doing?! Anyway, back at the villa Robin cooked spaghetti bolognese and made a side salad with garlic bread, which was very tasty.

At 7.30 mum and dad brought us back to Pop Century where we showed them around and did some shopping at Everything Pop. We finished up by getting some hot chocolate in our refillable mug at 9pm, although Carl drank most of it as it was incredibly sweet!

Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom for Rowena's birthday.

[Rossalino]

Really enjoyed reading so far - love weddings so looking forward to the next instalments and hopefully lots of piccies!

Wendy

[Guest]

Thank you Wendy - just been typing some assessments and now taking a break to come back and add more here, lol!