totally frustrated - disneyworld or beachy/tropical honeymoon?

themidge · November 2009

My whole life I wanted to honeymoon at the Grand Floridian in Walt Disney World. It's VERY expensive, but with saving for a couple of years and some help from FI's parents, this honeymoon is now possible - and booked. Seems pretty great, but I just went to disney with my mom and sis (who is also getting married) or a bachelorette/girls trip. This kind of ruined disney for me, I'm sad to say. I don't want to get into all that, but now I feel really conflicted and frustrated about going there again in 5 months for the honeymoon. I've had in the back of my mind for a while now that maybe I was juvenile thinking about disney for a honeymoon and we'd actually have a better time doing the tropical beach thing - either Mexico or Bermuda or Caribbean. Grand Floridan is running us at about $480 per night, so the disney honeymoon we have booked now would be about $5000 once you factor in tickets and airfare and food. We could do Mexico for half of that. It's more than just the money, I just can't figure out what type of honeymoon I want. We could always go back to Disney (not necessarily the Grand Floridian, though) but I probably won't want to be hanging out in a bikini on the beach in 20 years lol. My fiance is no help at all, he just says "I don't care where we go, we'll have fun anywhere". So he's leaving this decision totally up to me. I know he's right though about having a good time either way. I'm so conflicted and I don't know what to do. The only thing I paid on disney so far was a $200 deposit.

kaesha · November 2009

I'm not a Disney person at all, so I'm not going to pretend to be unbiased. I definitely don't see the romance there, but that's a completely subjective opinion (as, let's face it, all opinions are) What do you and your fiancé like to do to have fun? Are you active adventurers? Or do you just want to bum around and do nothing?

kaesha · November 2009

Oh, and just a friendly request: huge siggys can take a while for others to load (such as myself on my super crappy computer), so can you reduce the size? Just throw a: width=250into your picture code (right before the >) and that'll take care of it. Thank you!

coreybride127 · November 2009

I am a HUGE Disneyworld fan. I have been there 6 times and LOVE IT. However, we are going to an AI resort in Mexico for our honeymoon. Disney can be somewhat romantic, especially at night with the fireworks.....but I feelthat to really experience and see a lot there and not wait in huge lines....you really have to be up at like 7 am. Plus I feel Disney is a run, run, run vacation. You may choose to go and not experience it in the "run, run" way, but then you are paying a lot of money and not really getting your money's worth. (this also depends on the time of year you are going, if you go at an off time, less running)It depends what you want out of a honeymoon, if you want to relax, stay up late, sleep in, eat lots of food, drink alot, then I would think an AI in Mexico is for you.

lmark7786 · November 2009

I totally understand your feelings here, as I am in the same sort of position. My FI and I love Disney World (its also where he proposed). When we were there, it was run run run, but that was also because it was his first time so we wanted to see EVERYTHING! I think there are a million different ways to do a Disney vacation, and romance is definitely a possibility, especially staying at the GF! Although thinking about taking another trip to Disney puts a huge smile on my face, I think we're going to try to go to Mexico or some other place we have not been. If you have doubts about going to Disney, then look into other places. You don't want to get to your honeymoon and not have a good time because of a past experience. GL!

chicagobride_07 · November 2009

I can't imagine doing anything Disney for a HM, but then again, I grew up in Southern California and I think I overloaded on everything Disney as a child. I have memories of High School Grad night at Disney for example, not a HM. I am obviously biased and you need to do what is right for you. If Disney is your thing- go for it! I will say if you are planning on having kids in the future, you will have plenty of time for Disney. So, my vote is for tropical vacation (with frozen drinks poolside). You can have a lovely vacation in Hawaii, for example, for $5K. Much less in Mexico and probably the Carribean. GL!

themidge · November 2009

Oh, and just a friendly request: huge siggys can take a while for others to load (such as myself on my super crappy computer), so can you reduce the size? Just throw a: width=250 into your picture code (right before the >) and that'll take care of it. Thank you!" How do I do that? I can't figure out how to get back into editing my siggy

kaesha · November 2009

Click on the smiley button ("my community bio/update bio") on the top of the screen - it's next to the "my posts" button. Scroll down to the signature section and you should be able to edit the code in there.

SuMmErKuTiE · November 2009

I agree with Kaesha.. Disney is awesome, but in my opinion it's not a HM destination. How can it be romantic with tons of people and kids everywhere and waiting in lines all day? The hotels such as Grand Floridian are nice, but they're not that nice. If you stay at an AI in the Caribbean you'll get all your meals, drinks, and most activities included plus the rooms are bigger, more romantic/private, and you will most likely eliminate the crowds and kids. Plus it'll be a lot cheaper! You'll be amazed at the deals you can find staying at an AI. FI and I just went to Cancun last year for almost a week and it only cost us $998 pp for airfare AND hotel. All of our food and drinks were included and it was so beautiful there! If I were you I would save Disney for an anniversary trip or a birthday trip. Plus I'm sure if you plan on having children you'll be back there several times throughout your life. Make your HM about what you and your FI want. If you guys are looking for a fast paced HM where you get immersed in Disney then go for it! But if you're looking for a relaxing romantic trip then I'd say an AI in Mexico or on a Caribbean island would be a much better choice. Btw... it's not juvenile at all to want to go to Disney. I love Disney! FI and I just don't view it as a HM destination for us. But we definitely plan on visiting there a lot especially once we have kids, and we want to check out their cruise line as well which I heard is amazing. GL and HTH! :0)

JoeyOz · November 2009

I say look elsewhere, since you have the time and only put down a deposit. $5000 is a LOT of money and could get you a ton somewhere else, not just a hotel room! Besides, the closer you get to the wedding the more you will SO want to be on your honeymoon already, stress free! lol If going back to Disney is not something you're looking forward to, then I wouldn't risk not having a good experience on your honeymoon, just to fulfill a childhood fantasy. Your FI has a good point...you guys will have fun no matter where you go! Guess it depends on just how bad the last Disney trip was and if you can even imagine you and FI having a good time.

panda&squishy · November 2009

We're doing WDW for our HM and we're beyond thrilled. I can't wait to get there. There's no doubt in my mind that it can be romantic. However if Disney is ruined for you (which is tragic, I don't even know how that could happen) and you want to save money, go to Mexico.

RachaelA · November 2009

We honeymooned at Disney and had a blast so I'm biased.

We are not sit on the beach people. I like to constantly being doing something which was awesome for Disney, but we also had down time. We had some romantic dinners. We're going back for our 1 year anniversary in May.Why did going for your bachelorette ruin it? I know you don't want to get into it, but was it something about Disney?You can get your $200 back from Disney as long you cancel before 45 days out.Do you like the beach? Do you like hanging out and relaxing a lot?

[Deleted User] · November 2009

I think you should try somewhere new for your HM to start a new part of your life. You were just there 5 months ago and can get a fantastic room for the money you have. You could go to Europe.

[Deleted User] · November 2009

My sil,bil and nephews just got back from there and hated it. I can honestly say for what they paid for the 6 nights they were there it was the same price we paid for our AI hm in St. Lucia where we actually had a good time. Hey, to each there own I suppose but hm'ing in a place loaded with kids kinda puts a damper on romance IMHO.

Kristin789 · November 2009

Your wedding is April 16. That's the last weekend of spring break for Hillsborough County Schools (Tampa area), and it's either the last weekend or the first weekend of spring break for TONS of other school systems. No one in Florida goes to Disney in March or April.

Babygurl81090 · November 2009

My opinion is do best of both worlds....DISNEY CRUISE!I haven't been on specifically a disney cruise but i heard good things and read good reviews. You can do all the fun stuff and still do the romantic/ beachy side of things. Since you love disney, there are plenty of shows and activities on board to have fun and feel like kids again.. but when you want to chill out and feel the romance, you can do nice private dinners or relax on the beach. Maybe thier mexican riveara cruise might be perfect for you... but there are other destinations too.And i just checked out the prices. 3500 will get you 7 nights on the mexican riveara and it includes a suite with a balcony, dining throughout the cruise, trip insurance, and ground transportation.I don't know if you are a cruise person or ever been on a cruise, but it could be alot of fun... and a cool option to experience disney in a different way.

obiang · November 2009

Babygurl has an excellent suggestion if you still want to have a bit of Disney in your HM.We are going to do Disney for our HM. My fiance is from Spain and has only been to the states once. So, since we are traveling from Europe to Florida to get married, I thought it would be nice to show him a bit of Florida and Disney!!!! I think it will be fun. And since he is a beach person, after 6 days of being in Orlando, we are going to head down to South Beach for 4 days (I have never been there, so it will be the first for both of us). Since we live in Europe, we can do the European thing later.So, in the end, it will all depend on you. If you are able to get your money back, i say do it and go somewhere else. Disney will always be there.