Bridget B
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2015
Day 1 | Feb. 24, 2017 | Flight from Chicago to Orlando and check-in at All Star Sports
A little back story on this day: my first wedding screw-up (of many, just you wait) is that I put the wrong date down on our marriage-license-by-mail application. Instead of February, I put April for some crazy reason. We never planned on April. We never changed the date. I am baffled as to why I made this error. Anyway, we ended up paying for rush processing and everything was cool...until FedEx lost the package the circuit court sent to us. YAY.
So, after we landed, Miles and I met up with my sister, Tara (also my MOH) and her boyfriend, Ryan. Then, the four of us rented a car and took an hour-long road trip -- including $14.70 in tolls! -- to the tiny town of Tavares to pick up a copy of the license from the court house there. Luckily, the circuit court women were incredibly friendly, and fast. We were in and out within 15 minutes, and we didn't even have to pay them again!
After we picked up the license at the court house, I was finally ready to be excited. We drove to All Star Sports, checked in, had some veggie burgers and beers, and met up with my parents, my brother and his friend-date, Kelly, and my bridesmaid, Jackie, who flew all the way in from Amsterdam with her boyfriend, Rafa.
After a trip to Walgreens for some last-minute necessities (such as wine) we all sunned and swam, before we ordered Papa John's and enjoyed dinner and drinks by the pool while watching Zootopia.
Meanwhile, back in Illinois, our photographer, James, was having some issues of his own. He neglected to apply for this passport until the last possible moment and then, guess what? FedEx also lost his package. Seriously, what are the odds? He missed his flight, and actually went to a FedEx distribution center and dug through crates until he found it.
Lessons Learned
- FedEx is literally the worst
- Triple check all your forms for accuracy
- Fly in at least one day before sailing in case of issues
Day 2 | Feb. 24, 2017 | Embarkation Day
I got up early and walked to the McDonalds on Disney property with my mom, dad, Tara and Ryan to pick up breakfast. FYI, McDs has some surprisingly yummy oatmeal that is actually vegan. Apparently, we were in the booth next to a famous NFL player and his family. They all had matching Nikes. I'd tell you who he was, but none of us were cool enough to know his name. Ha.
The real excitement of the day came shortly after we got back to the resort. My dad, while attempting to take a picture of the pool, dropped his brand new iPhone off the third floor balcony. I have never seen a more destroyed phone. It got so hot, we could barely touch it and were afraid it was going to light on fire. So we put it on ice until it cooled down. And thus, my dad was without a phone or camera for the rest of the trip.
While we were handling that issue, a room attendant mistakenly thought my parents' day bag in their room was a lost item, and sent it to the lost and found building off site. So, while we were all lining up to take the Magical Express to the port, the concierge had to send a runner to go get it. Fun times. But they did get it back, and we were on our way.
While we were all sleeping that night, a huge cloud of fog had rolled into Port Canaveral, delaying debarkation and backing everything up for hours. Our one-hour bus trip turned into two. At one point, we just sat on the off-ramp for a half-hour staring at the ship. Miles got car sick. It was not the best.
BUT we all made it! And we found out James (photographer) had made an early-morning flight and was somewhere behind us in traffic.
Once we finally got off the bus, we breezed through security, and Miles and I made our way up to the concierge desk for check in. There was no line -- compared to the massive regular check-in line for everyone else! However, we immediately realized I'd made my second (and worst) screw-up: I packed our passports in the checked baggage that Disney had picked up from our room that morning. "No worries!" I said, "I have a back up. Here are our birth certificates!" But, screw-up number three reared it's ugly head: I had accidentally packed both my birth certificate and a certified copy of my birth certificate. Not Miles'.
Panic ensued.
While our friends and family came by to console us before boarding the ship, we waited for Disney to dig up our luggage. But because of the fog-caused-traffic, it had yet to arrive. We were supposed to meet with our coordinator, Hannah, for the legal ceremony and notary signing at 3 p.m. That time came and went.
After about an hour, cast member and notary, Debbie, informed us we'd have to sign the license in the terminal. So, we headed over to Miles' favorite spot (the model of the ship in the center of the terminal) and clasped hands. Debbie, bless her, got choked up in the middle of the vows and so I started to tear up, too. And when we were done, everyone in line applauded. So that was actually really nice.
Then we waited some more for the luggage. While we were waiting, Hannah actually came off the boat to meet with us. She reviewed our event itinerary (who was getting what flowers, confirmed the music, etc.), and we scheduled a rehearsal for next evening in Outlook. Hannah, by the way, is the THE BEST. I hope every DFTW couple has a coordinator as friendly and helpful as her.
Eventually, as the ship was literally about to leave port (we could see people lining up for the safety drill), Debbie just asked us to swear our passports were in our luggage (we did) and ushered us onto the ship! We were, I kid you not, the second to last family to board. Sadly, we missed the bit where they line up to welcome you and announce your name. Instead, we walked in to a deserted atrium and could hear them announcing the end up the safety drill over the loud speakers. A cast member rushed up to us and told us we'd have to do a make-up drill at 5:30 p.m.
BUT we were onboard! And about to set sail! Hooray! During all our waiting time, I'd gotten the DCL App, and chatted with my maids to come meet me us in our stateroom. A few weeks before sailing, I'd mailed our gift bags for the guests to the port (along with our cake topper and the print we'd made for our guest book), and they were waiting there for us. From there, we took them to Ooh-La-La, where everyone was meeting up for a champagne reception at 6:30 before our second-seating dinner at 8:15.
Well, almost everyone. Miles' mother, grandmother and grandfather never showed... which was odd, since I'd emailed them about it beforehand, it was on the newsletter they received in their stateroom, and I'd posted the date and time on our wedding Facebook page...and they'd both liked and commented on the post. More on that later.
And Miles, who was still not feeling 100% from the busy ride, got super sea sick (we were really hauling it out of port after leaving so late). He ended up only spending about five minutes at the welcome reception and didn't make it to our first dinner at Animator's Palate.
On the upside, everyone who did make it to the reception hit it off, it was really easy to put everyone's drinks on our stateroom, and the whole thing cost a quarter of what I'd initially thought ($100 versus $400).
In other good news, Disney hooked us up in the stateroom. We arrived to find chocolate-covered strawberries, and huge fruit basket, a DFTW tote, pillow and beach towel, as well as two DCL robes and two pairs of slippers!
Lessons Learned
- Email a picture of your birth certificates to yourself before you go, just in case
- Ship anything you are bringing (that isn’t luggage) to your coordinator beforehand. SO HELPFUL.
- Don’t plan anything for the first day, if you’re worried anyone in your party might suffer from sea sickness
A little back story on this day: my first wedding screw-up (of many, just you wait) is that I put the wrong date down on our marriage-license-by-mail application. Instead of February, I put April for some crazy reason. We never planned on April. We never changed the date. I am baffled as to why I made this error. Anyway, we ended up paying for rush processing and everything was cool...until FedEx lost the package the circuit court sent to us. YAY.
So, after we landed, Miles and I met up with my sister, Tara (also my MOH) and her boyfriend, Ryan. Then, the four of us rented a car and took an hour-long road trip -- including $14.70 in tolls! -- to the tiny town of Tavares to pick up a copy of the license from the court house there. Luckily, the circuit court women were incredibly friendly, and fast. We were in and out within 15 minutes, and we didn't even have to pay them again!
After we picked up the license at the court house, I was finally ready to be excited. We drove to All Star Sports, checked in, had some veggie burgers and beers, and met up with my parents, my brother and his friend-date, Kelly, and my bridesmaid, Jackie, who flew all the way in from Amsterdam with her boyfriend, Rafa.
After a trip to Walgreens for some last-minute necessities (such as wine) we all sunned and swam, before we ordered Papa John's and enjoyed dinner and drinks by the pool while watching Zootopia.
Meanwhile, back in Illinois, our photographer, James, was having some issues of his own. He neglected to apply for this passport until the last possible moment and then, guess what? FedEx also lost his package. Seriously, what are the odds? He missed his flight, and actually went to a FedEx distribution center and dug through crates until he found it.
Lessons Learned
- FedEx is literally the worst
- Triple check all your forms for accuracy
- Fly in at least one day before sailing in case of issues
Day 2 | Feb. 24, 2017 | Embarkation Day
I got up early and walked to the McDonalds on Disney property with my mom, dad, Tara and Ryan to pick up breakfast. FYI, McDs has some surprisingly yummy oatmeal that is actually vegan. Apparently, we were in the booth next to a famous NFL player and his family. They all had matching Nikes. I'd tell you who he was, but none of us were cool enough to know his name. Ha.
The real excitement of the day came shortly after we got back to the resort. My dad, while attempting to take a picture of the pool, dropped his brand new iPhone off the third floor balcony. I have never seen a more destroyed phone. It got so hot, we could barely touch it and were afraid it was going to light on fire. So we put it on ice until it cooled down. And thus, my dad was without a phone or camera for the rest of the trip.
While we were handling that issue, a room attendant mistakenly thought my parents' day bag in their room was a lost item, and sent it to the lost and found building off site. So, while we were all lining up to take the Magical Express to the port, the concierge had to send a runner to go get it. Fun times. But they did get it back, and we were on our way.
While we were all sleeping that night, a huge cloud of fog had rolled into Port Canaveral, delaying debarkation and backing everything up for hours. Our one-hour bus trip turned into two. At one point, we just sat on the off-ramp for a half-hour staring at the ship. Miles got car sick. It was not the best.
BUT we all made it! And we found out James (photographer) had made an early-morning flight and was somewhere behind us in traffic.
Once we finally got off the bus, we breezed through security, and Miles and I made our way up to the concierge desk for check in. There was no line -- compared to the massive regular check-in line for everyone else! However, we immediately realized I'd made my second (and worst) screw-up: I packed our passports in the checked baggage that Disney had picked up from our room that morning. "No worries!" I said, "I have a back up. Here are our birth certificates!" But, screw-up number three reared it's ugly head: I had accidentally packed both my birth certificate and a certified copy of my birth certificate. Not Miles'.
Panic ensued.
While our friends and family came by to console us before boarding the ship, we waited for Disney to dig up our luggage. But because of the fog-caused-traffic, it had yet to arrive. We were supposed to meet with our coordinator, Hannah, for the legal ceremony and notary signing at 3 p.m. That time came and went.
After about an hour, cast member and notary, Debbie, informed us we'd have to sign the license in the terminal. So, we headed over to Miles' favorite spot (the model of the ship in the center of the terminal) and clasped hands. Debbie, bless her, got choked up in the middle of the vows and so I started to tear up, too. And when we were done, everyone in line applauded. So that was actually really nice.
Then we waited some more for the luggage. While we were waiting, Hannah actually came off the boat to meet with us. She reviewed our event itinerary (who was getting what flowers, confirmed the music, etc.), and we scheduled a rehearsal for next evening in Outlook. Hannah, by the way, is the THE BEST. I hope every DFTW couple has a coordinator as friendly and helpful as her.
Eventually, as the ship was literally about to leave port (we could see people lining up for the safety drill), Debbie just asked us to swear our passports were in our luggage (we did) and ushered us onto the ship! We were, I kid you not, the second to last family to board. Sadly, we missed the bit where they line up to welcome you and announce your name. Instead, we walked in to a deserted atrium and could hear them announcing the end up the safety drill over the loud speakers. A cast member rushed up to us and told us we'd have to do a make-up drill at 5:30 p.m.
BUT we were onboard! And about to set sail! Hooray! During all our waiting time, I'd gotten the DCL App, and chatted with my maids to come meet me us in our stateroom. A few weeks before sailing, I'd mailed our gift bags for the guests to the port (along with our cake topper and the print we'd made for our guest book), and they were waiting there for us. From there, we took them to Ooh-La-La, where everyone was meeting up for a champagne reception at 6:30 before our second-seating dinner at 8:15.
Well, almost everyone. Miles' mother, grandmother and grandfather never showed... which was odd, since I'd emailed them about it beforehand, it was on the newsletter they received in their stateroom, and I'd posted the date and time on our wedding Facebook page...and they'd both liked and commented on the post. More on that later.
And Miles, who was still not feeling 100% from the busy ride, got super sea sick (we were really hauling it out of port after leaving so late). He ended up only spending about five minutes at the welcome reception and didn't make it to our first dinner at Animator's Palate.
On the upside, everyone who did make it to the reception hit it off, it was really easy to put everyone's drinks on our stateroom, and the whole thing cost a quarter of what I'd initially thought ($100 versus $400).
In other good news, Disney hooked us up in the stateroom. We arrived to find chocolate-covered strawberries, and huge fruit basket, a DFTW tote, pillow and beach towel, as well as two DCL robes and two pairs of slippers!
Lessons Learned
- Email a picture of your birth certificates to yourself before you go, just in case
- Ship anything you are bringing (that isn’t luggage) to your coordinator beforehand. SO HELPFUL.
- Don’t plan anything for the first day, if you’re worried anyone in your party might suffer from sea sickness
