Fiances First Trip... Suggestions??

[DesertWorshipGuy]

So in the end of September I will be taking my fiance to Disneyland. She has never been, I have had an AP off and on over the course of the past 10 years. I will be getting both of us AP's as part of her birthday gift. I know the park fairly well (however it has been a couple of years since I've been).. But my big question is this:

Does anyone have any suggestions for special stuff that I can do with her, maybe a special place to take her to dinner, e.t.c. I want to make this trip as special as it can. I know the trip alone will be special, but want to add some special touches along the way. We will be staying for 3 nights, 4 days.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[MammaSilva]

Hands down the new restaurant in DCA, the Carthy Circle is amazing. The food is wonderful, the atmosphere is amazing and the decor is simply stunning. Do the reserved seating for fantasmic, pre order the photo pass plus and make sure to stalk all the photopass folks in both parks then spend the time editing the photos and maybe make one of the books available from the website or ask a friend to make her a storybook and surprise her?

[Drince88]

Make sure you get her a 'first visit' button, and if you're fairly recently engaged, a 'just engaged' button for both of you!

[tea4two]

In addition to the other good suggestions: a meal at Napa Rose (or even just wine and cheese in the lounge), a waterfront table at the Blue Bayou (not so much for the food, but for the atmoshere), maybe an engraved perfume bottle from Madame Antoinette's in New Orleans Square (if your fiancee is into that kind of thing), VIP seating for Fantasmic!, maybe a silhouette of the 2 of you from the shop on Main Street (or a caricature if she'd prefer that), get personalized bride and groom ears, maybe a guided tour, buy her a "nicer" souvenir (e.g. a Dooney & Bourke bag, something collectible from Disneyana, a framed Art on Demand print, etc.) so everytime she uses/sees her gift she will remember this trip, maybe a gift certificate to the Mandara Spa at the Grand Californian, etc. Sorry to inundate you with ideas, but I hope some of these are helpful. Have a wonderful trip!

[DesertWorshipGuy]

I was thinking dinner at Carthy Circle so we can get passes to WoC. Tried looking up the photo pass but not exactly what it is? And yes we are recently engages on June 9th... thanks for the suggestions keep them coming.

[tea4two]

Here is the link for Photopass: http://www.disneyphotopass.com
DLR has its own CM photographers stationed at various sites around the parks (e.g. Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Town Square, by the Storytellers Statue on Buena Vista Street, etc.). They take your picture and give you a card with a number on it. (Don't lose this card -- you only need one -- take a photo of the number so you have a back up copy.) You can see your photos at Photopass storefront locations in both parks. You pay for the pictures you order. The package MS mentioned above is a great deal and worth looking into.

[DesertWorshipGuy]

So if I'm understanding correctly... with the photo pass plus I pre order it, have a great time, get all the different pictures taken around the park, on rides, etc. Then when I get home I can order the pictures that I want on a CD and it won't cost me anything?

[letshavefun]

I have never bought a CD so can't help there. But the photo pass CMs are the best. They were actually the best interactions we had with CMs while on our last visist. Go to the side of RSR where the big rock is (at night so it's all lit up) and the photo guy will have you pose in all different poses he really enjoys his job. Also if you have a Chase Disney visa you can get a free 5x7 photo at a meet and greet daily also a lot of fun.

This is an odd tip and one I learned myself. Tell her not to get a pedicure before going. On my 2nd day of walking around the parks my heel split and I had to walk on my tiptoes the remainder of our trip. The first aid station said they had seen a lot of people with the same problem.

Hey tea4two can you help my hubby plan our next trip

[candles71]

The preorder price is $60 (for the CD), I believe, or you pay $90 at the park for the photopass plus. The regular photopass CD is $60 and doesn't include ride or character meal photos, you would be purchasing them seperate.
The photopass card handed to you by a photographer doesn't cost anything but you do pay for the CD and any prints.
All of the Photopass photographers and most other Cast Members will take pictures using your own camera. Or smile nicely at someone walking by and ask if they can take a picture of you guys together. Make sure to offer to take a photo of that person with their family as well.

[curtsinore]

Actually, odd tips are just as important!!!! Does she have motion sickness, is she afraid of unknown dark drops, does she like early morning or late evening, are there medical issues, have you been together on your feet for ten hours a day, can she wear all day comfortable shoes or do they have to be stylish? The element that saved my trip with my first timer fiance was that I packed two left shoes, therefore on the 5 day trip I had to wear the sandals I wore on to the jet. That pair of sandals really slowed me down and saved the trip for her

[MammaSilva]

So if I'm understanding correctly... with the photo pass plus I pre order it, have a great time, get all the different pictures taken around the park, on rides, etc. Then when I get home I can order the pictures that I want on a CD and it won't cost me anything?

Ok here is the 411, there are TWO different photo pass CDs one is called photo pass plus and you can pre order it for 69.95, you have to order it at least 14 days out, when it comes you get a case with a bonus cd of stock photos of the park, a code to redeem for the cd after you get home and edit the photos and a voucher for to exchange for the card when you get to the park, the price covers the cost of the CD, the shipping and handling of the CD and all the ride digital downloads you want and any character meal photo packages both the print package and they add the digital files to your card. When you get home, you go to the disney photo pass website, register for an account then enter the code for your card. The photos will download to your account and you can go thru and edit and add borders to any of the photos you want. There is NO limit to how many ride photos you can put on the card, nor any limit on regular photopass photos like the ones in front of the floral mickey or the castle or the partner statue...we just did this, I had 10 ride photos, 1 character meal package and over 200 regular photopass photos over a six day period. I will clarify the 200 by saying it was our 3 year old princesses first trip so I always told the photographer just start snapping and don't stop so most character interactions we have 10 to 15 photos where the norm would be more like 4 or 5 but there is no limit. I'm in the middle of editing now and when i'm done I just have to enter the code on my voucher and the cd will be here in about 10 days.


the OTHER photo pass cd, you just go to the park and have the photographers take your picture, they will give you a photo pass card. You use that card or as many cards as you need if you forget it in the room, when you get home you create your account, enter the codes on the cards and the photos will load to your account. After you edit them you can order that cd for about the same as the photo plus card but you'll pay shipping on top of the price. You can go to disney photo pass.com and register for an account in advance of your trip and look at some of the other products you can create and purchase.

[DesertWorshipGuy]

Thanks for the ideals everyone.. starting to get real excited.

I do have another question, but didn't want to start another thread for it... Does anyone have any ideals/suggestions as to a way to surprise her? I can't just spring this upon her as she is going to need time to pack and such. She already knows that we are going away for a few days and the dates that we are going but she doesn't know where. It's starting to drive her crazy (which I love!!).. Thanks!

[kimmybear]

Are you driving? My husband told me that he always wanted to surprise me by throwing me in the car while I was sleeping and then I'd wake up in/on the way to Disneyland. The plan has flaws, but you get the idea.

Maybe you could put your tickets in a box and present that to her. Or tell her you're going somewhere near Disneyland and she'll figure out the real plan when you get there.

[tea4two]

Do you know how she takes surprises? Some people like a total surprise, other need to know every detail, and others fall in between. This can be crucial info, and guessing wrong can be a problem. A friend of ours surprised his bride with a honeymoon cruise to the Carribean. But this caused her more anxiety than joy because she didn't know how to pack. He told her to pack for going to the beach. But most women are much more complicated about their packing. And a cruise requires more dress options than just shorts and a bathing suit. He thought it was amusing and she laughs about it now, but at the time she wasn't so thrilled.

If you can give us an idea of which category your fiancee falls into, that would help us in offering suggestions.

[DesertWorshipGuy]

Well I plan on telling her about a week before so she has time to pack and plan what she is going to bring. If I just sprung up the trip on her the night before she'd kill me, lol. But she isn't the kind of person who has to know every detail, she trusts me and knows that I'm not going to do anything to hurt her, so I can go with a total surprise.

[tea4two]

How about a gift basket of personalized Disney things (shirts, ears, etc.), along with some practical things (witz wallet lanyard for fastpasses and tickets) from Mouse Shoppe? You can give her the basket when you tell her about the trip or you can have it delivered to your hotel so it will be waiting for her in the room.

[Escape2Disney]

How about a gift basket of personalized Disney things (shirts, ears, etc.), along with some practical things (witz wallet lanyard for fastpasses and tickets) from Mouse Shoppe? You can give her the basket when you tell her about the trip or you can have it delivered to your hotel so it will be waiting for her in the room.

I was thinking this as well. If you're staying onsite, you can do the in-room celebrations. They decorate the room and leave gifts. Hopefully someone will pipe in with the link to this service :-)

[DesertWorshipGuy]

Great ideas as well. Unforunately we won't be staying on site as the prices are out of my budget (will have to save up for that). Like the ideal of a gift basket though.

[letshavefun]

The basket is a great idea and if she works at a place that it would be appropriate maybe you could have it delivered there so her coworkers could be excited with her.

[tea4two]

Will you be staying near DLR? If so, Mouse Shoppe will deliver to Good Neighbor hotels. If you decide to contact them, you can ask what your different options are.


Oh, and since it will be her first visit to DL, have you looked at the Welcome to Disneyland tour? It is specifically geared for first timers and will give her a sense of the history and context behind all that she will be seeing.

[candles71]

I was going to say Mouseshoppe delivers to the area hotels, and the baskets can be tailored to her tastes I believe.