Why You Should Take A Walt Disney World Honeymoon

After we got engaged in March 2013, we quickly decided on a July 2014 wedding that was the only week Brady would be out of PT school that summer. We looked into a lot of places for our honeymoon with Hawaii and St. Lucia being top contenders. The problem with those options was the long travel time.8 months after getting engaged we looked at each other and said, “Disney World honeymoon?” It was the perfect solution since it would be under-budget, we wouldn’t waste time on travel, there wouldn’t be a language barrier, and it would be a lot of fun. 

Read to the end of the post to get my bullet point top tips for a Disney World Honeymoon. (Jump to Top 10 Tips for the Perfect Disney World Honeymoon)

We decided to rent a vacation home with a private pool that was 15 minutes off-property. This was significantly cheaper than staying in a Disney resort but we also had the benefit of privacy… and our own pool! The home we rented is no longer rentable, but Airbnb has countless amazing options to chose from in Kissimmee/Celebration/Davenport region.

I used Touring Plans to create personalized plans for each of our days in the park that we used as a general guide. We never followed the plan exactly but it was a good reference on how to travel through the park. The Orlando Crowd Calendar helped us choose the park we would spend the day in. Planning ahead helped to minimize ride waits and also made sure we got to do the rides and attractions we wanted to most. This may sound like over-planning/taking the fun out of Disney World but it was pretty simple: maximize time = more time for fun.

I ordered “Just Married” Disney buttons on eBay since they didn’t offer them in the parks anymore. The current celebration buttons say “Happily Ever After” but even kids wore those so I’m glad we had the “Just Married” ones! We got a lot of congratulations from cast members and even a couple of free Dole Whips!!! It was just another piece of what made our Disney Honeymoon so magical.

We used PhotoPass+ to get photos of us taken around the parks but also so we could get all the ride photos. We haven’t paid for it on any other vacation but it was nice to get these special photos from our honeymoon.

Day 1

The day after our wedding, we flew from DC to Orlando after having brunch at our hotel. We picked up our Chevy Spark from Hertz (one of the few companies that would rent under age 25) at the airport. Renting a car gave us the freedom to go out for dinner, visit all the local outlets, pick up groceries, and not have to wait in lines for transportation.

I hadn’t been to the Magic Kingdom since I was 9 months old so we went there first. It was sprinkling rain when we got there but the glow of Main Street and the castle was everything I dreamed it would be. We started with a Fastpass+ for Peter Pan’s Flight and I was confused as to why it was such a popular ride! It was cool but didn’t live up to the hype. I loved Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and “it’s a small world” and Brady even indulged me with a ride on the Spinning Teacups (spinning rides typically make him sick). We were unable to ride the brand new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train due to weather.

The drizzly evening made the park less crowded and the lights even more glittery so we took our time walking back through Main Street. The line to see Tinker Bell had a short wait time but when we came in, we were the only ones there so we got to meet Tinker Bell alone!

Day 2

We started the day off with Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios. One week before our wedding, I herniated a disc in my lower back that caused numbness down to my toes. I was on pain meds so I wasn’t in pain but walking with a limp was tiring. A cast member noticed and offered us a free wheelchair! We were so thankful and it made getting around easier so we paid to have one for the next 3 days.

The Beauty and the Beast show was one of my favorite shows in all the parks. They fit in the entire story and the best songs into a 30 minute performance. I loved it! Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror were my favorites of the day though and two of my top five overall.

Day 3

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom gates 20 minutes before it was park opening and all the stores were open. We were tempted into The Main Street Confectionery by Mickey-shaped his and her macarons but they were grainy and nothing like the NYC ones I’d had a few months before. Cute points though.

We got to ride a lot of rides in the first couple of hours since it wasn’t overly crowded yet. We finally got to try the famous Dole-Whips and I’m forever in love with this Disney treat. Somebody cut in front of us just as we were about to order so when we finally ordered, the cast member handed them to Brady and said, “They’re free. Happy Honeymoon!” It sucks to be cut in front of but that cast member made our day!

We used a Fastpass+ to meet my two favorite princesses, Cinderella and Rapunzel! Rapunzel was pretty awesome and was really excited when she found out we were on our honeymoon.

We took a break for a few hours in the afternoon before we park hopped over to Epcot for the evening. 

Day 4

We spent the morning chilling in our pool and went shopping at the local outlets. We got to Epcot mid-afternoon on Thursday and we rode Mission Space, Nemo and Friends, and Soarin’. Soarin’ is another one of my top five favorite rides in the parks because I love the flying experience. We had our romantic Italian dinner in Via Napoli! We loved getting to know the two ladies who were serving our table! One of my favorite things about the World Showcase in Epcot is that you can get to know people who are actually from each of the countries you’re visiting.

We spent the rest of the evening shopping and browsing the World Showcase. We picked up some pretty dishes from Japan and some Mr. and Mrs. Disney mugs.

Day 5

We were among the first 50 people to arrive at Hollywood Studios but we positioned ourselves badly at the rope drop and ended up waiting 30 minutes for Toy Story Mania. We hopped on the Tower of Terror right after. I should also mention that this ended up being the hottest day of the whole week – over 100° F. I feel like we stopped every time we saw a cart selling frozen treats. We only spent a couple of hours in Hollywood Studios before heading straight over to Animal Kingdom.

We left the Animal Kingdom for last since we’d just been there the summer before with my family. On that trip, we were in the park from open to close so we didn’t feel like we needed to spend as much time there.

We rode Kilimanjaro Safaris first and we got to see the rhinos walk up next to our bus! We also rode on Expedition Everest a couple of times and is another one of the top five rides at Disney World. We love that ride! This is one of the few Disney rides with a single rider line. You won’t ride together, but 5-10 minutes instead of an hour wait is worth it for extra rides.

The last ride on our checklist was Kali River Rapids but just as we were about to enter the line, they closed the ride because the storm was coming in. It started to pour moments later so we left for a late lunch. 

Saturday consisted of floating in the pool for a few hours, getting Ghirardelli at Downtown Disney (which was fully under construction), and dinner at Uno’s before packing up to head home. I also managed to get a last-minute swim in at the pool before we left for the airport on Sunday morning.

It was the perfect Disney World honeymoon and I wanted a special place to show off all our photos so I created a Shutterfly photo book to keep all our photo memories in one place. I get to look at the photos more often since they’re printed out and on display.

If there was one thing I would change about our Disney World Honeymoon, I would add a specific Disney experience to our trip. I wish we had done the behind-the-scenes of Kilimanjaro Safaris or even splurged for the Magic Kingdom tour.

Top 10 Tips for the Perfect Disney World Honeymoon

1. Pick YOUR magical oasis. Use Airbnb, rent Disney Vacation Points to stay on property or book directly with Disney. The pros and cons of each are cost, distance from parks, and amenities. Consider your options and pick what fits your honeymooning vibe!
2. Plan for relaxing. If you’re going straight from wedding to honeymoon, you’ll likely be tired so factor chill time into your planning. Don’t feel like you have to go flat out in the parks every day!
3. Buy “Just Married” gear before your arrival or at the very beginning of your trip. Check out eBay for the old Just Married Buttons, or Etsy for custom ones! You can also pick up free “Happily Ever After” buttons guest services and have them write “Just Married” on them for you.
4. Celebrate your marriage with the cast members! If your button gets noticed by cast members, they’ll congratulate you, give you advice, or maybe even do something to give you a little extra Disney magic.
5. Create a must-see/want to eat list. The resort is enormous and you will never experience it all in one trip. Get a guide book, get a general understanding of all the experiences so you know what rides and shows you want to put on your must-see list. Do the same for food. There are so many incredible snacks and things to eat at Disney World but again, you won’t be able to eat it all so having a shortlist helps. Disney Food Blog is great for staying updated on current eats at Disney World.
6. Splurge on an experience. If we were to do our honeymoon over, we would try the “Wild Africa Trek” to go behind the scenes of Kilimanjaro Safaris, or the “Ferrytale Fireworks Dessert Cruise” so that we could watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the Seven Seas Lagoon. You might go to Disney World again, but you’ll never be on your honeymoon again so do something extra special!
7. Buy a souvenir that you can forever say, we got that on our honeymoon! We picked out Mr. and Mrs. mugs and some pretty ceramic dishes from Japan. You can get wedding ornaments from Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Magic Kingdom or have a custom silhouette made at Disney Springs. On other trips, we’ve got artwork, keychains/magnets, a penny press book, and a Rapunzel’s Tower Salt and Pepper Set.
8. Get lots of photos. Take your own phone pics and either give your phone to photo pass cast members or pay for the professional service.
9. Create a photo book. I love looking back at the photos from our honeymoon and I look at them even more often since I made a special photo book.
10. Be flexible. Remember that not everything will go to plan. If you plan down to the minute details, there could be will be rain, a line might be longer than anticipated, you might forget sunscreen in the hotel room, etc. Don’t let something little take away from the magic of your trip. Focus on the memory-making and being in a world of magic with the one you love most.

A Disney World honeymoon was perfect for us because it was a fast, direct flight, it was affordable so that we could splurge on shopping (which we did!), and Disney World is really a whole experience! We have so many wonderful memories with cast members celebrating our new marriage. We were overjoyed to be finally married and being in “the happiest place on earth” was the icing on the cake. If you’re still deciding where to go for your honeymoon, I can’t recommend a Disney World honeymoon enough! Happy honeymooning!

Back to Disney World – Home Page