Honeymoon!

tania0930

I know there have been many posts about honeymoons over time, but FI and I were just able to finally agree and decide on our destination...Disney World here we come!  I thought it'd be cheesy at first for a honeymoon, but after doing some research it looks fantastic!  We decided we'll stay at 1 of 2 resorts right by Disney (the Waldorf Astoria or Hyatt) to save some money and make it a little less kid-like (plus we're golfers and both have amazing courses).  Has anyone else thought of Disney for a honeymoon?  And where is everyone else thinking??  (I know it's early-but exciting as well!!)

CvilleClaire

Two years ago, FI's mother gave us all a trip to Disney for Christmas.  She rented a   I went into it thinking it would be fun to see the little nieces and nephews experience it all and that was our place. 

We wound up having more fun than the kids!  I was so surprised!  The little ones just didn't have the stamina to explore for the whole day.  After a couple hours, they'd want to leave whatever park we were visiting.

I only went to Disney once as a kid, but I saw it in a different light going back as an adult. I bet you'll have a fantastic time!

niecie_jeff

We were thinking of Disney as well, but decided on Palm Beach Shores FL. We are talking about going up to Disney for a day though!

sweetcanadian1979

We are going to disney world as well and have no clue how to pick a hotel ugh lol. We are taking my son too, he will be 13, then for our 1st anniversary we are going to DR (alone), this way we both get places we have been wanting to go to forever.

myfeverplays

FI and I LOVE Disney! We aren't going there for our honeymoon because we've already been there together and we want to go somewhere we never have been, but it was definitely a consideration! If you have any questions about planning, if you've never planned one, let me know- I've planned multiple Disney trips

If you do have the extra money to spend I do reccommend staying at a Disney resort. There are SOOOO many to choose from and many of them are very much geared toward adults. You get a lot of benefits staying at the Disney resorts like extended park hours, free shuttles from your hotel to anywhere in Disney World, and you can take advanatage of the meal plan which ends up saving you a lot in the end and Disney has some of the most AMAZING restaraunts. Plus they offer specials on Disney resorts ALL of the time...sometimes they will offer the dining plan for free if you stay so many nights, or stay 3 nights and get 2 free. They change constantly but pretty much run some kind of deal all year long.

klapham

I went to Disney World every vacation as a kid for 12 years! I haven't been since I was 15 and I am itching to go again. I experienced it as a child and I experienced it as a teen and now I am ready to experience it as an adult.

And about not having enough stamina as a kid...they must not have had my grandmother showing them around because let me tell you...we would get there at park opening and leave at park closing! Seriously, we were taking naps on the benches and waiting patiently  in line. My grandmother used to train us all year for this trip...we had to pass a series of tests acting like ladies and gentlemen otherwise she wouldn't let us go. No way would my grandmother allow us to behave like "hooligans" and cry if the line was too long or scream because we didn't get our way. I know it sounds extreme but it worked...we were the most well behaved kids in the park...to the point where at 4 years old I was telling old women who would complain about the line, "real ladies are patient and wait their turn. Didn't your grandma tell you that?"   :-) 

I completely reccomend it! However, it's still up in the air for us. I want Disney World as an option, but my FI's mom has weeks blocked out for free vactions since she pays for it every year. We are going to look at the locations and decide if we want to take up on that...we are actually going to do that today!

julbgordo

Disney is so much fun!!!!

I agree with PPs about thinking of staying on property.  I never have since my family always did timeshare near-by, but I'm dying to.  I've watched so many specials on TV and have visited many of their hotels (walking through the lobby and snooping around).  Many of them are geared towards adults and Disney property has great golf courses as well.  I'm sure whatever you pick will be perfect though

It's so nice to have that decided.  We're still up in the air about what to do.  I really want to take a Mediterranean cruise, but the cost is definitely a deterrent.  My parents are allowing us to use their timeshare, so we can pick any place in the world pretty much.  We'll most likely end up using the timeshare somewhere in Europe if we don't do the cruise.

tania0930

Thanks ladies!!  We went back and forth probably a thousand times last night in regards to where to stay (thankfully we have tons of time to decide), and we both kept saying how torn we were about staying on grounds vs. off grounds....I think ONE of the things deterring us from staying on grounds is that there's SO many to choose from and we were getting overwhelmed looking!  Soooo on that note, what are you park hotel recommendations??  Also, I appreciate the feedback and heads up about them offering deals all of the time!  I will have to keep my eye out for those!

sweetcanadian1979

I would appreciate recommendations as well as tania, i want the full experience, so staying on grounds but i am overwhelmed with the many choices, we are bringing my son so has to be kid friendly and not be like a college frat, i have read some reviews of some hotels being loud all night long, i want my sleep lol.

Tiffany6912

The last five times that I've gone with my family (the most recent being in 2007), we have stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort.  I believe the cost was at the lower end of their moderately priced resorts and I don't remember it being loud through the night.

I don't have anything really extraordinary to say about the place but it was always a nice, comfortable stay for my family (four of us).  It was pretty much a comfy place for us to sleep and shower since we were in the parks from open to close every day!

Also, another plus of staying at a Disney resort, if you fly down there, they have a bus that will take you to your hotel.  Between that and the shuttles from the resort to all of the parks, you don't need a rental car.

Rethany

Staying at a Disney resort is definitely helpful because they will pick you up from the airport and you can take buses and/or monorail to the parks.  Something to consider!

The last two times I've gone I have stayed at the Port Orleans-Riverside Resort.  I think it's one of the cheaper ones though.  Very nice nonetheless!  I thought they would all be childish with mickey stuff everywhere...it is not at all!  They have resorts like that, but you can get some really nice resorts in Disney.  It all depends on how much money you're looking to spend!

doeie04

I thought about going for a second. Then realized that all the kids will be out of school, lines will be really long and it will be hot. I changed my mind quickly. Plus, I have my heart set on somewhere tropical! I kind of want to go somewhere that is a "once in a lifetime" thing. We would probably go to Disney World/Land with the future kids sometime.

midgetthemighty

Yup. So going to Disney! (So have at least 5 other couples that I know and had a blast!)

kelsey+brandon

I'm sure you'll have so much fun!! I went twice as a kid and have been wanting to go back for a while now! And y'all can wear those quite bride and groom hats!

MMRoberts11

Disney, IMO, is better as an adult.  I went when I was a kid and had fun but some things I clearly remember not caring for.  I went again for spring break a year ago and it was one of the best trips I've been on.

tania0930

Thanks girls!  I've been to Disney 3 times before at ages, 3, 7 and 14.  From 3 and 7 I remember swimming at the hotel pool and little else, and I did appreciate it MUCH more when I was 14, so I'm def. looking forward to going as an adult!  Also, doeie04, I have been told if you wear the pins that say just married, or on our honeymoon or something like that, that they give out, you get to skip all of the lines!!  Do any of you know if there is some sort of shuttle or something that will take us to Discovery Cove and Sea World?  I'm OBSESSED with dolphins so I told FI if we're staying in this country and not going tropical, we're swimming with dolphins no ifs ands or buts about it!   We will rent a car for a day if we have to, but if there's a shuttle that'd be awesome! 

Enami

We both want to go to Disney and Universal as a honeymoon, we'll see if we can actually afford it. FI never been to Disney, and I've gone maybe a dozen times. I love it there!

myfeverplays

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_honeymoon-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:99c63df8-0791-4348-8cd1-f578a6d9bd7cPost:51bd3d3e-d3e8-4dfb-88fd-c6a62fc25b48">Re: Honeymoon!</a>:
[QUOTE] Do any of you know if there is some sort of shuttle or something that will take us to Discovery Cove and Sea World?  I'm OBSESSED with dolphins so I told FI if we're staying in this country and not going tropical, we're swimming with dolphins no ifs ands or buts about it! :)  We will rent a car for a day if we have to, but if there's a shuttle that'd be awesome! 
Posted by tania0930[/QUOTE]

The Disney shuttles only take you to Disney World resorts and parks, but you can get a shuttle from your resort to Downtown Disney and from there I believe you can take a bus to other attractions in the area. I know that is what you have to do for Universal Studios, so I would imagine its the same for the other attractions in the area as well.

myfeverplays

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_honeymoon-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:99c63df8-0791-4348-8cd1-f578a6d9bd7cPost:e1a79c4b-5fd5-4986-bd7d-dad61305d28d">Re: Honeymoon!</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks ladies!!  We went back and forth probably a thousand times last night in regards to where to stay (thankfully we have tons of time to decide), and we both kept saying how torn we were about staying on grounds vs. off grounds....I think ONE of the things deterring us from staying on grounds is that there's SO many to choose from and we were getting overwhelmed looking!  Soooo on that note, what are you park hotel recommendations??  Also, I appreciate the feedback and heads up about them offering deals all of the time!  I will have to keep my eye out for those! :)Posted by tania0930[/QUOTE]

Disney has 3 levels of hotels... the cheapest are the value resorts, they are your basic hotel and probably if any were geared toward kids I would say these would be the closest. However, they are the ones we have stay in most often because they are the cheapest and honestly we would rather spend the money on the dining plan because Disney is our favorite place to eat food :D Out of all of the Values I reccommend Pop Century since its the newest and stands alone (the other values are built next to each other and could seem crowded) The only downside of Pop Century is that depending on which building your room is in it might be a walk to the shuttle stop and at the end of the day when you just want your bed you may be cursing the walk, lol.

The moderates are a little more expensive but have more ammentities in the rooms and multiple shuttle spots rather than the one pick up stop at the value.Most of them also have hot tubs with their pools where as the values only have pools. There are differences in the room and bathroom sizes as well. I reccommend Carribean Beach Resort in this category...honestly the shuttle stops are not a far walk no matter where your room is located, there are biking/walking trails around the resort and nice man made beach with hammocks to relax on. You can also rent paddle boats or jet skis to use on the lake so if you feel like not leaving the resort for a day there's a lot to do there.

The last is the Deluxe and they are the most expensive but have the best feature...they (well, most of them) are located on the monorail or have a ferry station attached to them so you have more options of transportation rather than just the buses. Also, all of the room entrances are inside the building where as most of the other resorts have their room doors outside. (does that make sense? lol) I have never personally stayed at a deluxe because like I said earlier we don't spend a lot of time in our room to justify spending that much but one day I would like to stay at the Polynesian or have one of the Savannah rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge where you can see the animals from your balcony <3

It comes down to what you're looking for out of your stay and how much you want to spend on it. If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me!

Ahhh. Makes me want to go to Disney, like, NOW.

DrPB2b13

My mom found this site INFINITELY helpful when she was planning our vacation to Disney a few years ago:

http://allears.net/index.html

It really does provide in-depth information on EVERYTHING Disney World, including pictures, reviews, and room rates for different times of the year.  I plan on using it heavily when we plan our HM.  Hope this helps!

Abeja1226

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_honeymoon-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:99c63df8-0791-4348-8cd1-f578a6d9bd7cPost:f019fcd2-da22-48b8-bb69-802a84e33705">Re: Honeymoon!</a>:
[QUOTE]I thought about going for a second. Then realized that all the kids will be out of school, lines will be really long and it will be hot. I changed my mind quickly. Plus, I have my heart set on somewhere tropical! ;) I kind of want to go somewhere that is a "once in a lifetime" thing. We would probably go to Disney World/Land with the future kids sometime.
Posted by doeie04[/QUOTE]
This, I have my heart set on the carribean because it's the only place FI hasn't been to, he was a spoiled child and traveled EVERYWHERE.  I think we counted one time and he's been on 30 something vacations, actually probably more than that.  We are probably going to Majestic Elegance resort in the Dominican Republic...there's raves about it on the Honeymoon board and my good friend's parents go there every year and they love it!  (It's also pretty cheap, without sacrificing quality - it's a 5 star resort)