Honeymoons??

[FSUZeta]

we went to hawaii, to the big island and stayed at a hotel in kona. it was beautiful and not too busy for the first part of june.

[SWTXBelle]

First - do you know where you are staying? I would recommend staying on property - I think Boardwalk Villas are romantic without costing quite as much as Grand Floridian, Yacht & Beach Club - you can walk to Epcot, take a boat to Hollywood Studios. Polynesian would be great - take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. I can personally recommend Saratoga Springs and Port Orleans, also. I have a great Disney travel agent, btw - let me know if you need her info.
EAT AT VICTORIA AND ALBERT'S at the Grand Floridian. Adults only, fabulous food - well worth the money for a fantastic meal. Cirtico's at the Grand Floridian is also great.
Go to the Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island. I am not much on clubbing (although if you are, there's plenty at Pleasure Island) but I love, love the Adventurer's Club.
I think the luau is really neat and romantic.

What specifically are you looking for? Advice on rides, meals, romantic things?
Check out www.allears.net for menus and great trip reports.
I've got to run - feel free to ask or pm me with an specific concerns.

eta - my "don't miss list" -
Magic Kingdom - Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Splash, Space and Big Thunder Mt., Mickey's Philharmagic. Favorite restaurants - Tony's and the Liberty Tree Tavern - both for lunch.
Epcot - Test Track, Soarin',Off Kilter show (in Canada). Be sure to try the Beverly soda at Coke's Club Cool!!! Restaurants - it's hard to go wrong here - I always get good food!
Animal Kingdom - Expedition Everest, Finding Nemo:The Musical, Kilamanjaro(sp?) Safari, Dinosaur! Restaurant - the Yak and Yeti is fabulous!
Hollywood Studios - Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Lights! Motor! Action!, Beauty and the Beast show, Fantasmic! Restaurants - Brown Derby (they have a great New York strip, but only at lunch), 50's Prime Time Cafe.

Water parks - I love Typhoon Lagoon - they have the Crushin' Gusher, which is a water roller coaster.

Downtown Disney - love the salt scrub at Basin, yummy sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich, Raglan Road Irish pub and restaurant (live music!), Comedy Warehouse, the aforementioned Adventurer's Club. If you can swing it, I understand the Cirque de Soleil show is great, but I haven't been able to do it yet.

Also, while I recommend you wear the buttons, understand that they don't entitle you to anything - it is up to the cast members to do whatever. That said, I've always had lots of pixie dust on my visits.

[ZTAMich]

I think a Disney HM would be fun BUT there are times of year when it's awful - packed with tourists! Get a TA and do some research on your own to plan the best time to go. The large tour groups (ugh the Brazilians!!!) have really ruined some of our family days there!

http://www.mousesavers.com/
and
http://www.disboards.com/
are two great sites. I think DIS has a whole thread on WDW HMs!

[SWTXBelle]

I am sure as individuals Brazilians are wonderful - but I co-sign that they are TERRIBLE in groups. Shudder. Everytime I see a little yellow flag I twitch.

[Fleur de Lis]

It looks like I'm in the minority and didn't go international (or to Disney). I didn't want to have to remember my passport on my wedding day or possibly lose my luggage.

We went to Asheville, NC and stayed at the Grove Park Inn (a drive-able distance from Atlanta). It was amazing - the Inn has plenty to do if you want, like a world-class spa, fabulous restaurants, golf, games in the great room, etc. Then Asheville has the Biltmore Estate & winery, fun shopping, hiking, and more. We did a lot of those things and also just ordered movies and room service a lot. I cried when we left because I didn't want to leave!

We recently went on Royal Caribbean cruise to the Southern Caribbean, and it was incredibly relaxing once you were all checked in and your luggage arrived. But I don't think I'd want to share dining tables and tolerate teenage partiers on my honeymoon.

[preciousjeni]

Dang, how did (or will) some of y'all pay for these trips???? I got married in 2006 in a civil ceremony. Total cost: Around $200 for everything. My parents footed the bill for a post-wedding dinner at Chili's for 8 people or so and my aunt bought a "wedding cake." I wanted to elope...my man wanted a wedding. So we compromised.

We left the next day for our honeymoon which consisted of a two/two and a half hour drive (complete with foolishness along the way...we were having fun) to Catskill, NY where we stayed in a bed and breakfast for two nights. Our honeymoon cost more than our wedding, but less than $500 - and THAT price almost gave me a heart attack. I must stingy! I planned everything.

Wedding and honeymoon for $700ish? That's my kinda party!

[LeslieAGD]

Originally Posted by ZTAMich

I think a Disney HM would be fun BUT there are times of year when it's awful - packed with tourists! Get a TA and do some research on your own to plan the best time to go. The large tour groups (ugh the Brazilians!!!) have really ruined some of our family days there!

Hubby and I went in July and we did run into a lot of tour groups (mostly from Brazil). They weren't rude or particularly obnoxious, but we tried our best to avoid them so we didn't get stuck in long lines. Thankfully we didn't have issues because we used the fast passes A LOT (take advantage, the fast passes are your friends)! The only place that the lines were ridiculous were Soarin' and Test Track at Epcot.

[SWTXBelle]

Fleur de lis - I agree! The Grove Park Inn is soooo romantic - and I love, love, love Biltmore. It would be a great honeymoon!

And as for paying, honeymoon #1 was a gift from the in-laws, and honeymoon #2 was also very cheap - 3 days in a B & B, and just meals and gas as we drove around Virginia.

[ComradesTrue]

We went to St. Lucia and did the all-inclusive thing, which I do recommend. After spending all that money on a wedding, it was nice to not have to worry about how much drinks or a dinner would cost. We could order whatever the heck we wanted, and it was always "free."

For me, I was very particular that I wanted to stay within 1-2 hours of our time zone, as I did not want to deal with jet lag while on vacation.

[AOIIalum]

Another invaluable resource for WDW is Passporter.com, along with my all-time favorite allearsnet.com.

We were married in my hometown and DH was in Boston, so most of his time off for the wedding was spent either on the wedding events or driving back and forth! So, we waited 18 months and went offseason to WDW for 11 days for our honeymoon. We stayed at the newly opened Caribbean Beach Resort (this was 1989) and went off-season. Even though park hours were shorter so were the crowds, so we saw and did everything we wanted and then some!

FYI--we stayed in Port Orleans-Riverside a few years back and loved it. Gorgeous setting and very quiet, even with a lot of kids around.

If you go with WDW, my suggestions are to skip parades (it's amazing what you can see/ride when everyone else is queueing up for a parade) and utilize Early Entry and Fast Pass whenever possible. If you have one or two "must sees", consider hitting them upon park entry regardless of what your touring plan says. Of course, make your dining reservations as soon as you can.

Don't miss: any and all stage shows not geared to the Preschool crowd; Fantasmic at the Studios; Mickey's Philharmonic, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, and Pirates at MK; Everest, It's Tough to be a Bug and the Safari in AK; and virtually everything in EPCOT (but don't listen to SWTXBelle about trying the Beverly!!! )

As for restaurants, do not miss the 50's Prime Time Cafe in the Studios! Never been to V & A's but it's definitely honeymoon material. Of course there are Boma and Jiko in AK worth checking out. We've never had a bad meal in EPCOT, either sit down or counter service.

[SWTXBelle]

Okay, AOIIAlum - how about make the new hubby try the Beverly and have the camera ready??!!!

And no, I am not a cast member, but I have passed a phone interview and am going to go to Orlando for a follow-up in March (or April) - not sure yet. I sure want to be one!!!!