Walt Disney World Honeymoon!

As Dustin and I are rather poor at keeping up with emails and contact, so I am attempting to blog the higher points of our lives on here so folks can know what's new. The major reason for wanting to start a blog was to share our Florida adventure with family. So, here goes!

I had been itching to go somewhere with Dustin for awhile, he hadn't been to Florida since he was very young and since I love it so much, we decided it would be the perfect location for our honeymoon! After a couple months of planning and eagerly waiting, it was finally upon us! For the days leading up to our trip, Disney characters would hide small notes to Dustin to let him know how excited they were that they'd be seeing him soon.

Monday, April 7th 2008 - The morning our adventure started, the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland had left a note on Dustin's pillow reading, "It's time! It's time! It's time to go away! So grab your bag, it ain't no gag, and have a pleasant stay!!" We walked our sleepy selves and our suitcases down to the bus stop before the sun had risen to hop a bus down to the light rail and onto the airport. We had timed it just right and by the time we'd cleared security, and gotten a cup of coffee, we were boarding the plane. We whiled away the plane ride by playing cribbage, doing crosswords and watching Alice in Wonderland on a mini DVD player.

When we got off the plane, Disney transportation (a.k.a. Mickey's Magical Express) was waiting for us. We hopped onboard and were shuttled to our home away from home for the next week, Disney's Port Orleans Riverside.

The hotel was gorgeous.

It is was modeled to look like rural Louisiana with huge plantation manors as well as the Alligator Bayou side of the resort. The story that goes along with the resort is that when the area was being settled, most of the money went to the plantations and as they worked their way down the Sassagoula river, supplies became scarce so they built with anything they had, thus creating the more rustic and wild looking Bayou.

Our room was in Magnolia Terrace. We were on the second floor, completely surrounded by Magnolia trees. Every morning we would scan the branches to see if any of the magnolia blossoms had bloomed fully. It smelled wonderful.

We spent much of the afternoon wandering the grounds, the hotel was vast! We really enjoyed all of the buildings, each one unique to the others. After our walk, we ventured down to the main pool, located on an island in the center of the resort. They had chairs tucked in and around, it was rather cozy.

Here are some pictures of the pool area.

After our swim in the pool and a wee nap in the pool chair by yours truly, we got all spiffed up for our night on the town. We hopped aboard the Sassagoula Steam Company ferry to take us to Downtown Disney.

The ferry wove through narrow waterways of dense foliage, it was kind of like being on safari. The Sassagoula river opened up into a much larger lake which we scooted across to the drop off point at Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney can best be described as cute restaurants, fun shops and nightlife along the water. We had reservations at an Irish Pub called Raglan Road. After a scrumptious dinner, we wandered along the water taking in the sights and sounds of the evening. Thankful that we were finally in Florida. We wandered down the boardwalk to Pleasure Island and were pleased to find that there was no cover charge until after 9:00, so we headed on down to the Adventurer's Club. The club is unlike any I've been to before...it is kind of an interactive bar. The walls might talk to you, every 15 minutes or so, there is a mini show in one of the rooms, etc. The building looks like a mansion from the turn of the century, you wander through the doors and immediately Jumanji or something similar comes to mind. Artifacts and hunting apparel decorate the walls, you wander down a spiral stair to a circular room with a huge statue in the center, a bar on one side and rooms coming off the center area all around. Dustin and I bellied up to the elephant foot shaped stools at the bar to order a drink, as we sat there talking about how festive the club was, I noticed my bar stool was slowly lowering so my head only came up to the edge of the bar! Apparently, the bartender can push a button to make the stools lower!! Needless to say, Dustin and I got a kick out of it, because the bartender wasn't even paying attention to us, they were going about their business as if nothing was happening, I was hysterical. :) We stayed at the club for an hour or so, bustling in and out of rooms to see the shows. Afterward, we mosied back to the waterfront to hop the ferry back to our hotel for our big day the next day. The ferry ride back in the darkness was very cozy and romantic. :)

So ends Day 1 in Florida.