At first we had our heart set on a Hawaiian honeymoon, but whenever we talked about it we always would throw in “But we could always just stay in Disney.” We went back and forth for months, and ultimately we made the decision to stay in Disney World for our honeymoon.
Thought #1:
Will our guests decide to stay in Disney World and want to hang out with us the week after the wedding; some people just don’t have boundaries.
While we Love Aunt Barb we didn't want her waving to us every morning on our honeymoon!
Ultimate Decision:
We decided to do 2 things to avoid unwanted guests on our honeymoon. First, we made the decision that we would switch hotels 2 days after our wedding, and we decided to choose a hotel that was NOT included in our room block. Then we created a wedding weekend itinerary that was posted to our wedding website and was included in wedding newsletters that we sent out. This itinerary included a Welcome Party on Friday, a day at the park with our guests on Saturday, our wedding on Sunday, and then Drinking Around the World in Epcot on Monday. We told almost everyone that we would be switching hotels on Tuesday and that would be the official start to our honeymoon. Not one of our 80+ guests decided to stay in Disney past Tuesday, most of them came the week before if they wanted to spend more time in the parks.
Will we feel like it is our Honeymoon if we are still at the same hotel we were at 4 days before the wedding?
View from our room at the Boardwalk
Ultimate Decision:
(This was an easy one) We would just switch hotels and go to one with a totally different feel, which as many of you know isn’t hard to find in Disney. Since the first hotel we were staying at was the Boardwalk we decided to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It had a completely different feel, plus both of us had never stayed there before and we had heard great things about it. As an added bonus we decided to splurge on a concierge level room with a Savannah View.
On our Balcony overlooking the Safari
Enjoying some time at the Concierge Lounge
We have experienced so much at Walt Disney World, I had been there over 15 times, and we wanted our Honeymoon to be something different for both the both of us.
Ultimate Decision:
While we had both experienced a lot that Disney World has to offer, me more than my husband, there still was a lot more that we could experience! We did a lot of research and decided on a few things.
1) We would stay Concierge Level at Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah View Room, how many other hotels could you see Safari animals grazing the fields under your balcony!
View of the Lobby from Concierge Level- Gorgeous!
2) As a Guest staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge you can purchase the Wanyama Safari Experience. This was over $350 for both of us but it so worth the cost. We were whisked away in a van with 10 other guests and taken on a tour of the Wanyama Safari at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The animals were so close we could practically touch them and we learned so much information about how they are cared for. Our guides were extremely knowledgeable! And after our tour was over we headed to a delicious dinner, with wine pairing I might add, at Jiko with all of our new safari friends!
Our Ride through the Safari
Our passes and gift bag
3) We had never eaten at Victoria & Albert’s before, in my opinion it is definitely a VERY SPECIAL occasion restaurant, and your honeymoon is a VERY SPECIAL occasion, so we made reservations for it. The meal was the best I have ever had, and I still have dreams of the coffee!
The Menu
The amazing coffee, brewed fresh at the table!
4) Food & Wine Festival was in it’s last week, and up until our wedding week we had never been to Disney during Food & Wine, so we decided if we stayed it would give us the opportunity to fully enjoy the Food & Wine Festival. We also added booked the Italian Food and Beer Pairing Lunch at Via Napoli. My husband is a huge craft beer guy so this was something he really enjoyed!
Scott enjoying the beer pairing
5) The last thing we added onto our Honeymoon was tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Neither of us had ever been to this party in Magic Kingdom and I am glad we made the decision to go. There is something so magical and in my opinion pretty romantic about walking down Main Street looking at Cinderella’s castle all lit up while it's snowing!
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
So while we still haven’t been to Hawaii, I hope that we make it to Aulani in the very near future, we still had the honeymoon of a lifetime! We were at the most Magical place on Earth and experienced so many “Disney Firsts” with each other during our first week of marriage. We also figured that while we splurged on a few experiences during our honeymoon week we still saved a ton of money by staying at Disney World.
So if you are debating on whether you should honeymoon in Disney or go elsewhere after your Disney wedding I would suggest sitting down and making a list like the one above of your concerns and wishes for your perfect honeymoon. And if you need help planning a magical Disney honeymoon make sure to contact your Fairytale Travel Liaisons at Living with the Magic Vacations, we are always happy to help!
