Engagement: Couples Trip Experience

Welcome back for another week of Muting and The Mouse as we continue to dive into a special edition of the magic of Disney. I hope you enjoyed our top five themed lands at Walt Disney World. The lands add to the magic and continue to amaze us all each time we walk into the parks. Moving our shift to my experiences at Disney and how I planned a specific trip; this week is a treat. I had mentioned a while back that I want to share my experiences throughout the posts. Well this week is one of them. How can Disney be for couples and not just families with kids? This week we will address that with a holiday and personal touch. Disney has been a part of my life ever since I was a kid, but this trip would solidify that Disney will be a part of my life moving forward. This was the trip where I got engaged to my best friend with the magic of Walt Disney World. I will discuss how the trip came about and what went into the planning of our most magical trip ever! People ask me all the time, why do you go back? My short answer is that it has something for everyone. I could not have imagined the magic that an engagement trip would bring. From the excitement of the life event, to how Disney showed us the magic, to the special trip I had planned, it was such a different experience than just going to Disney. There were so many special moments that happened on that trip that added to the magic. Later on in this post, there will be more details. We will dive into the planning first and then the actual event from there. 

PLANNING:

I am going to start from the basics of starting to plan this once in a lifetime trip. Now, I had been on many many trips before, but I knew I needed a little bit more help on this one.  Where would we stay? Where would we eat? What Fastpasses would we book? What extras would we include? Where would I propose? These were all questions that raced through my head. I had reached out to my Aunt who is a travel agent for some extra help. After this experience I highly recommend using a travel agent. They have so much knowledge to share with those who are always going and those who have never been. While reaching out to my Aunt, I told her exactly what I was looking to do. I told her I wanted to stay at a value hotel, have some dinner reservations, and some extra fluff to really make the trip stand out. She was a great help. My aunt ended up getting us a stay at All Star Music with their free dining promotion. I had chosen to upgrade to the package which would provide us with a quick service, a sit down, and two snacks each day of our trip. I had chosen this because we had wanted to go to a couple sit down restaurants. From there, I had planned to have a night to celebrate the engagement during the fireworks. The night after we got engaged, we had a reservation for the dessert party during the fireworks show: Happily Ever After. 

 I had to pick Fastpasses for rides and which restaurants to fill out our stay. That was the easy part. With restaurants picked out and the Fastpases booked, the trip took form. Now it was time to plan the engagement moment. This was the toughest part when it should have been easy for me. I had planned two places to propose in each park at Disney. I wanted it to be authentic and not too planned. In the end, I knew it had to be in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom. I had some friends who were going to be there the same time and had them stationed for pictures and video. Everything was set, now it was time to vacation like we never have before. 

THE ENGAGEMENT:

The day had come. We were set to travel on December 7, 2018. Here we were, at 5 a.m. getting on the plane on our way to Walt Disney World. We were delayed a bit on the fight but made it to Orlando in plenty time to enjoy our day. I was a nervous wreck but once we landed, we were on our way to Disney Springs for our first lunch. After that, I had planned for us to walk through the part of Disney Springs that hosts all kinds of Disney Themed Trees. The Christmas Tree Trail was a fun walk through many trees themed to all our favorite Disney movies and rides. Then, it was time to head to the Grand Floridian to meet up with some friends to see the Grand Gingerbread House. Now, at this point, I must admit, I was so nervous that the last thing I wanted to see was the Gingerbread House.  The magic was right in front of me. The resorts have so many things that add to the experience and I just blew it off. We were on our way to the park and I had thought to myself: I wish I took that in. I mean, who does not want to see a life sized gingerbread house (see photo above)? Apparently me on December 7, 2018! 

As we rode the monorail over to Magic Kingdom, I had messaged some other friends who were there to let them know we were on the way. I had planned for us to go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. This is an extra ticketed event that provides you with limited crowds, a special parade, special shows, a different fireworks show, and cookies around the park. The event was one of the things I had planned that would be different from other trips. We had entered the park and started walking towards the main hub of the park. As we made our way to the hub, I could not help but think of how the rest of the trip would progress. It was finally the moment in time where I would propose. In front of the castle, with pictures being taken, we got engaged. What a moment in time that will always live in our memories. The spot in the hub to the left of the castle will always be our special spot. This is the spot where we got engaged (the first time, that is). We had everything planned to the right of the castle, but my best man had told me that it was roped off and I would not be able to do it there. So I made the switch on the fly to propose on the left side of the castle. We had gotten engaged and were flying on cloud nine when we realized that one of our friends was not around. Well we had come to find out that she was on the right side of the castle with a Photopass cast member with a section roped off waiting to capture our moment. We finally made it over to the right side of the castle and we re-did the proposal for photos. This is where we got engaged (the second time).

We were filled with such joy and took pictures with our friends and had a mini photo shoot with a spectacular photo pass photographer. She took so many pictures of us so we could enjoy that memory even more. This is one way Disney goes above and beyond during these special moments. I was so nervous, but every aspect of that hour and a half at the Magic Kingdom before and after the proposal was magical. After that, one of our friends had gotten us “Just Engaged” buttons. These are fun to wear and they offer them for all sorts of occasions. The just engaged buttons were from the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square.  It was nice that we were able to get them with nice writing to keep forever. Disney went above and beyond. On the reservations, I had put a note that we were celebrating engagement and the little things they did (like a free dessert or special pin) for us stood out. It was all of the little things that added up which made our trip that much more magical. 

DISNEY FOR COUPLES:

Disney is and always will be a place where you can escape into being a child. The rides, the characters, and the atmosphere always put you in simpler times. You can be a child riding Dumbo at one minute and find yourself getting engaged the next. When people ask me if Disney can be fun for couples, I always speak about our engagement trip. This was one where we really took the time to enjoy all that Disney has to offer. One thing specifically we took advantage of this trip mentioned here was the dining. Disney has so many restaurants to offer. You can find a lot of fancy “date night” opportunities at one of their fine dining options or a more casual “date night” at some of their casual dining spots. This adds a get away from the craziness of the crowds and an escape into dining as adults. Walt Disney World provides a lot of amenities at the resorts as well. You can escape into a spa day or even just a day by the pool. 

The opportunities are endless as you enter into Disney Springs. Couples can hit the night life at many bars and clubs. They have themed restaurants and bowling alleys that provide for even more fun. Whether you are at the parks, the resorts, or Disney Springs; couples can find date nights, fun, and an escape from reality as they enter into a story. There is still so much more for Abby and I to explore as a couple in our trips to Disney. It is so hard to do it all, but no matter what you choose, it is well worth it! So the next time you are planning a vacation, I urge you to look past the “Disney is for kids” mentality that can circle around. There is something to find no matter what your age is. We took this trip as a time to really spend as a couple and explore the world of Disney as an engaged couple. There are things we did not do in the past on trips that made this one more magical and it was absolutely worth it! If there is anything you do at Disney that you can advise couples who look to go, please feel free to comment below. It is always fun to see what others do and how they can help in others planning a trip.

 As we approached the Holiday Season, I knew I had to share this story of our engagement. It was just before Christmas when we got engaged and it seems fitting to share at this point in the year that has been so draining. I love Disney during the holidays. I love Disney as a vacation for the two of us to escape. I love to share our story with those who look for vacation ideas as a couple. So next time you look for a one of a kind vacation, think Disney. There is so much they have for couples and can really help the two of you remember what is important in our busy lives.