Beth and I had been dating for 6 years, and for some reason the topic of Disney came up and I found out that Bethany had never been to Walt Disney World growing up, so in the spring of 2011 we had the idea to take a trip at Christmas for her very first time. It had been 10 years since I had been, and that was for a band competition in high school.
The next big step was to make sure it was fine with her parents, that her first trip to Disney would not include them. They were hesitant at first, but we had been taking trips to North Carolina and the southeast for a few years by then, so they were comfortable with us traveling, just not so much on the spending.
We booked our stay at Port Orleans French Quarter for December 26, 2011 – January 2, 2012 (yes I knew it was the worst time of the year to go, but it was a free week off of work) in February and were ecstatic.
June was the our advance dinner reservations (ADRS), but we were already talking about where we wanted to eat. Our friends, that I mentioned earlier, told us that we had to eat at ‘Ohana, and I had remembered the episodes of Boy Meets World and Full House where they had eaten at Coral Reef so I wanted to try that place out. Everything else was up for grabs, and request from out travel agent.
I got to thinking that because we had been together for so long, and that she hadn’t been to the World before, that it would be a great place to propose. So I got to thinking that I needed to ask her dad, to be the old fashion guy, if it was ok that I ask. Once he gave his blessing, the planning began.
Boy Meets World was my favorite show growing up, and like I said earlier, I remembered the Disney episode, where Cory and Topanga had gotten back together at the Innovention Fountain, so thats where I was going to ask, needless to say that I didn’t know that they had a performance at that stage during the holidays. I had picked out the perfect package from Disney Florist that would include roses, a tiara, an certificate that declared her a princess, and a bottle of Wishes cider.
That all came to a halt once we hit June. We were making our ADRs, and because I wanted to make sure Beth had the best experience she could possibly have, I also didn’t know that I was creating a monster in both of us and start going every year, we booked the Cinderella Royal Table dinner, along with ‘Ohana, Coral Reef, Tony’s, Planet Hollywood, and Artist Point. We would spend one day in Universal, so we didn’t make dinning plans for that night.
Kelly had started looking at different ideas for the engagement, and told me about a package that is available at the Royal Table, that would included a glass slipper, and a special dessert that was not specified. best part, it was cheaper! So of course we booked that instead of the florist package.
I was starting to get intrigued with finding different things, I stumbled upon the Disney Fine Arts page, and found out that we could have our pictures taken in park, but to make sure that Beth was up for taking some pictures, I had to think of a way to ask with out saying that I wanted to get engagement pictures down there. Kelly and I had decided that it would be best to say we got a “First time visitor” photography package, and Beth fell for it.
We had it all booked and and all paid for by October. So then it was the waiting game. Beth was counting down the days, hours, and minutes the entire time. Christmas came and went really fast.
We left at 4 am on the 26th, to early after the long Christmas that we usually have. I had packed her ring in the liner of my suitcase, so if for any reason she needed to get in to my suitcase she wouldn’t stumble upon it. Our drive is about 7 1/2 hour, and we wanted to get there in time to enjoy the day at Downtown Disney.
We made it to I-4 at about 2 and what should have been a 15 minute drive, was actually an hour, because of traffic, I say this so that if you ever drive down, use the bathroom before getting on I-4 during the holiday.
After making the mad dash to the bathroom, we easily got into our rooms at the French Quarter. We relaxed for a bit then got on the boat for Downtown Disney, and spent the afternoon at DD.
Our first day was spent in Hollywood Studios, for the fact that I wanted the day that I proposed needed to be the first time she ever saw the castle, this made it pretty difficult to get to ‘Ohana with out her seeing the castle.
So the big day was the next day. We got up early, and I put the ring in a pocket, so that we didn’t need to go back to the room. I had told her that we wouldn’t do the big rides (I didn’t want to lose the ring). So we spent the day window shopping, chasing characters, and using the small attractions (the fastest ride was Mad Tea Party). Beth wanted to dress nice for the dinner, so before the lighting of the castle she found a bathroom and changed.
I was sent specific instructions, on what to do when we made it into the restaurant. First, was to sit down and not pass out, CRT was packed. We were then to order, which was the hard part, I am a very picky eater, so we had to talk to the chef about what I wanted to eat, and Beth already had her eyes on dessert. But when I told her to wait on that she was a little upset, of course she didn’t know that I had dessert already ordered.
After the order, I was to meet the manager by the bathrooms, to give him the ring, that way he could place it in the slipper. Then I went to the bathroom and threw up, not really, but I felt like it. The meal was amazing, what I ate of it. Then it was time for the big question.
They had the glass slipper in a white covered dish, Beth had seen this and played it off, because she figured it was someone else’s dessert, and we hadn’t ordered ours yet. But she quickly found out it was for her when they placed it in front of her, and uncovered the blue glass slipper on a bed of red rose petals, with a ring in it. I said something to the effect of “You have walked with me for 6 years, will you walk with me to Eternity” got on one knee and asked her to marry me.
The slipper had “Walk with me to Eternity” on one side, the date on the bottom of the shoe, and our names on the other side.
After 10 million pictures were taken by the photopass photographer, and I had changed my pants, joking, the amazing desserts came out. It was a white chocolate slipper, on an angel food cake, with fruit to the side. I ate it all in about 10 seconds, because I ate maybe 3 bites of dinner because of nerves. Beth, on the other hand, didn’t take but 2 bites.
I chose this time to tell her that those “First Time Visit” pictures were actually Engagement photos, and we were taking them at Epcot. She was thrilled.
We walked out that night just in time to see “The Magic, The Memories, and You” castle show, where we were featured on the “big screen” of the castle, followed by the Holiday Wishes fireworks show.
The Engagement pictures were taken in the World Showcase before it was opened, and we had some of the best photographers. We had an amazing time while taking the pictures, and they turned out amazing.
The rest of the trip was a typical Disney trip getting up early and leaving the parks late. The worst part was New Year’s Eve. We had to find our spot at 6 p.m. and sat there until 1 am. It was still magical, and we got to know some great people.
What are some of your amazing stories that have happened to you at the parks?
Between Two Castles 