Finally, six months after the actual honeymoon, it’s time for the finale of the honeymoon blog series! How bittersweet; I’ve loved looking back on the honeymoon. Oh well, I’ll have to live vicariously through other people’s vlogs from now on.
Hopefully this series has helped out those of you looking to book a special trip to Florida or Disney World. And if you’ve just been reading along for the ride, I hope you’ve had a whale of a time! Without further ado, let’s jump into our final few days at Walt Disney World…
(PS If you haven’t already, make sure to read Parts One, Two, Three, and Four to get the most out of this series.)
Day Twelve – Animal Kingdom and Signature Dining at Tiffins
We started our final few days by having the loveliest lie in, complete with a special edition 50th Anniversary Disney coffee blend from Joffrey’s. That is one of the joys of staying at a Disney property – the perks of Extra Magic Hours and resort travel mean you can have days where you lounge about at the hotel and still make the most of the parks. When we decided to get a move on, Animal Kingdom was our destination. A decision that was also forced upon us by the crowds as it was the only reservation available.
This was the day after Thanksgiving and was the busiest day of our trip. Big rides like Flight of Passage had lines of up to three hours, and even smaller, less popular rides like Kali River Rapids had lines of an hour! Thank goodness for the Disability Access Pass (DAS), because standing in lines for three hours in that heat and close capacity would have certainly set my asthma off. If you aren’t good with crowds or are not willing to pay for the Disney Genie Plus service, then I would not recommend going to the parks the day after Thanksgiving – if you’ve read Part Four of this series, you’ll know I say the same for actual Thanksgiving and advise on some other things you could do at the resort instead… Anyway, back to Animal Kingdom –
So, whilst waiting out the long stretches of time between DAS reservations, we explored areas of the park that we hadn’t been to. This meant we spent more time than I would like to admit at the otter section of the park. The sun was shining, we had Starbucks drinks, and the otters were hilarious. Jumping about, diving in the water, parading their twigs around, squeaking to each other – it was just a joy to behold. We followed this with a final safari ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris and somehow, miraculously, managed to time it with feeding time across the park. This meant almost every animal across the 110 acres of safari was out and about, and made for the best safari experience by far.
We also took the train in the park to Rafiki’s Planet Watch and Conservation Station. It’s just a ten minute train ride to the station, but you get to glimpse the behind the scenes areas and veterinary sections of the park, which is really thrilling if you are a Disney World fan. Also attached to Rafiki’s Planet Watch is the Affection Section, where you get to pet some rescue animals. I don’t think I would be wrong to say that petting a pig might have made Rory’s top five list for the honeymoon.
Whilst we made the most of the day at the park, the real reason we were there was for an evening reservation at Tiffins.
The parks and hotels have a variety of signature restaurants, where you can experience truly special, five star dining experiences. The signature resturants in the park don’t have strict attire rules, but in some of the hotel signature dining restaurants, you can’t be wearing shorts and sandals, oh no. Tiffins is arguably the best in-park signature dining experience, in terms of menu and in restaurant design. It is inspired by the Imagineer’s experiences when researching, developing and creating the Animal Kingdom park, so has a beautiful menu with Asian, African, and Latin influences. This meal was our designated no-holds-barred, don’t-think-about-the-price, happy-honeymoon meal – and it did not disappoint. I’ve even added some prices to this section in case you are looking at eating at Tiffins.
Having been burnt (aka completely filled up, stuffed, bloated to the nth degree) by American portion sizes before, we chose to share an appetiser. The appetiser in question was the Charcuterie ($19.00), a Chef’s selection of assorted meats and cheeses. This changes with what the restaurant has in stock but ours featured wagyu beef, duck, and spiced cheeses, so we were already in foodie heaven. Also, you know we had to have some wine for the table. Considering we were feeling very dehydrated from the heat, we chose a glass each over a bottle – I went with an Argentinian moscato for $11 and Rory had an Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon for $12.
Whilst we always knew we wanted to experience signature dining at some point in our honeymoon, the main reason we chose Tiffins was for the main courses. After seeing Adam Hattan’s vlog at Tiffins, and his response to the butter chicken (IYKYK), that just locked it in. I, of course, had to go with the butter chicken to see what all the fuss was about. Rory had used this trip to try food he had never experienced, so already being a fan of the turf aspect, he had the surf and turf.
The butter chicken ($39.00) complete with croquette and pickled onion, was the best meal I have ever eaten. Even better than my wedding breakfast, and that’s saying something. And the surf and turf ($65)? It was a two-fold win for Rory; he learnt he loves perfectly cooked scallops and expensive beef tenderloin.
Then, dessert. Rory’s got a taste for smoky and I have a taste for sweet. So, he chose a Scottish whiskey from the drinks menu, which cost $15 –
– whereas I went with the The Lion King dessert; a decadent brownie and mousse situation with a delicious strawberry-mango sauce, also coming in at $15. Our server also surprised us with a complimentary ‘congratulations!’ dessert which was just the cherry on top of the metaphorical cake.
With the 6% sales tax on top, our meal came to $186.56. Then with a 20% tip, this meal came close to being $225. Whilst being the most expensive meal of our trip, hands down, it was also the best across the board.
The design of the restaurant makes dinner feel so intimate, and the theming means you are going to have a wonderful view, wherever you are sitting. The service was truly top notch, and the food? Well, if I hadn’t made it clear already, I’m still thinking about it. If you are at Animal Kingdom for a special occasion, such as a big birthday or a honeymoon, Tiffins is absolutely worth a reservation.
Leaving Tiffins, we exited into a park in the dark; all soft glowing lights and warm breeze. It was one of those picture perfect moments that you hope to create on your honeymoon – one that I find myself smiling about in happy moments.
Day Thirteen – Hollywood Studios and Fantasmic
The penultimate day of our honeymoon and our last full day in the parks! With a long park day ahead of us, we opted for another lie in and breakfast at the hotel. After an excellent lunch experience at Rix Sports Bar & Grill earlier in the trip, we headed over there for breakfast. I treated myself to some cream cheese and blueberry french toast and Rory had a breakfast plate with breakfast potatoes. I’ll say one thing about America, it does the best breakfast potatoes.
Considering this was our last park day, we went out with a bang and chose our favourite park for rides and experiences – Hollywood Studios. Even with the DAS, things didn’t really go to plan. Just bad luck and Thanksgiving crowds, I guess! Throughout the day, we used the DAS to get on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Rock n Roller Coaster, and Rise of the Resistance. However, all of the rides broke down when we were either at the front of the ride or when our DAS window started. The good thing is, you automatically get a free for use pass for any ride in that scenario, which did mean we got to queue hop all three rides in the end.
After riding Rock n Roller Coaster (one of my all-time favourites) and walking over to Toy Story Land to soak up the sights, we stumbled across a last minute reservation for another Hollywood Studios staple – Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater.
The clue is in the name; this is a 50s ‘drive in’ style restaurant where you sit down to eat in vintage cars, decked out with tables, in front of a drive-in movie screen. It’s loud and kitsch and certainly a spectacle, so keep that in mind. If you are looking for a quiet sit down dinner, this ain’t it.
The resturant plays a loop of adverts, trailers, and short films from the era, and the mid-century nostalgia is reflected in the food. We ate pickle chips, chicken wings, and burgers that were the size of our heads. If I could have been rolled out of the restaurant, I would have.
If that wasn’t enough themed enjoyment, we had another booking for Oga’s Cantina – you can read all about our first experience in Part One of this series. But I’ll tell you a secret – we love it.
After a boozy goodbye to Galaxy’s Edge, we wandered over to the other end of the park to secure our seats for Fantasmic; the end of day show and fireworks. There’s a 45-foot dragon, a fight scene set to ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’ from Mulan, a flammable lake, and too many songs to count. It’s less emotive than the traditional castle fireworks at Magic Kingdom, but just as magical.
Then, it was time to get the park bus back to the hotel for the final time. We spent the entire ride back in a state of melancholy happiness, knowing that the honeymoon was coming to its end.
Day Fourteen – Disney Springs and Flying Home
We started our day with breakfast at our hotel – the quietest breakfast we had experienced by far. Surrounded by our bags and suitcases, neither of us wanted to accept the fact we were leaving. So, we chose to leave our bags with bell services and make the most of the few hours we had left before our Mears shuttle took us to the airport. We hopped on a bus and went straight to Disney Springs, armed with our leftover dollars.
First stop was the main Joffrey’s Coffee shop, as I had become hooked on their 50th anniversary blend.
We picked up some of the ground beans to take home, before meandering over to the Christmas centric Days of Christmas shop to get a bauble to remind us of our honeymoon. A trip to Florida is remiss if you don’t bring back taffy, so our final shop stop was Goofy’s Candy Co. With the late morning sun already proving uncomfortable, we chose to grab an early lunch and headed for my favourite quick-service dining spot in Disney Springs – Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza. It’s an allergy friendly haven to build your own stone baked pizza. Considering we were still full of breakfast, we opted to make a split pizza, and sat watching the world pass us by. It was just delicious.
With that, we returned to our hotel and sat in the Barcelona Lounge, a Catalonia inspired coffee bar at the heart of the Gran Destino Tower. The lounge had been decorated for Christmas, with twinkling lights and a Christmas tree almost the size of the triple-storey windows. Whilst we waited for our airport shuttle bus, I treated myself to a Café Bombon – a Spanish coffee made from a shot of espresso and a glug of condensed milk. Just heavenly.
Soon enough, it was 5pm and time to get our Mears shuttle bus back to the airport. When we had arrived at Coronado Spring Resort two weeks earlier, the sun was beginning to set over the hotel in shades of pink and orange. It was only right that we left the hotel as we began.
And so, my dear readers, that was my Florida honeymoon. It truly was a holiday of a lifetime. Whilst me and my husband know we will go back to Disney and Universal (yeah, I’m afraid we have become those people), we know we will never have an experience quite like that again. It has been a joy to look back at this trip with you all. And if any of our wedding guests are reading this who contributed to our wedding registry and honeymoon fund, thank you thank you thank you.
If you have any questions about our trip or are looking for some advice for your own Disney World holiday, let me know in the comments below! I could talk about holiday planning all day long. Hey, who knows – I might make a post about how to book your best Walt Disney World trip…
Thanks for reading,
Rosie x
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