As most of you are aware, Walt Disney World holds a special place in my heart for two reasons, my memories there from being a cast member in 1991-92 and it’s also he place that Andrew proposed to me in the Summer of 2002. I decided to share some of our photos from this trip and tell the story of how Andrew had planned this special proposal. We decided that we’d like to take Mackenzie on her first trip to Disney while we were expecting Liam. I was about 5 months pregnant, and knew that we probably not get the chance again for many years, and I knew that at almost 6 years old, she’d really enjoy it. We decided to go for a week in July of 2002. I had everything planned, I joined a site called www.disboards.com as well as a Yahoo mailing list to gather up as many tips I could. I also visited sites like www.allearsnet.com to get info for height restrictions for Mackenzie and which rides I needed to avoid being pregnant. There’s so much info out there and I know this next trip, I will definitely be using these sites again.
So on to my story…I’ll start by setting up what was going on in our lives just before this trip. We just had our offer accepted to by our house, and Andrew was just getting settled back into a new position at work after spending the past three years working for a spin-off company out of Maine in the US. We decided to drive to Bangor, Maine to fly into Orlando, this can be a really good cost cutting measure for anyone that lives close enough to the US border, it usually allows for more flight options as well compared to Canadian Airlines, it unfortunate as I prefer to support Canadian airlines, but living in the city I do, there’s very little inexpensive options. I noticed as we were clearing security at the airport that Andrew seemed oddly nervous, at the time I thought it was because he was carrying so much, Mackenzie’s car seat, our carry on bags, his laptop, but in reality, it was because he had “the ring” in his pocket and was nervous they were going to spoil the surprise!
We spent the our first evening getting settled into the resort, and resting up for the big day, a trip to the Magic Kingdom! For anyone that’s not aware, Walt Disney World (WDW) is divided into 4 different Theme Parks, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, MGM Studios and the Animal Kingdom. There’s also 2 Water parks, a shopping village. and a new addition since I worked there called Downtown Disney. I’m sure I’ve missed a few things, but I digress… So after Mackenzie went to bed, I was reconsidering going to the Magic Kingdom. I had remembered reading that some kinds are so excited by it, and if they go there first the can sometimes be let dwn by the other parks. Andrew then said to me, “No, we’re going there! I want to go there on our first day!” This was completely out of his character, but I figured if he felt this strongly than the Magic Kingdom (MK) it was!
Here’s a few pics of our morning there!
I know this is from a distance, but when zoomed WAY in this is Mackenzie and Andrew on Splash Mountain!
After spending most of the morning and afternoon it started to rain, so we figured that we’d go back to the resort then come back in the early evening so Mackenzie could meet Mickey and we’d stay for the Fireworks. I was pretty cranky I will admit as the rain didn’t stop as I had hoped. We wandered over to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mackenzie got to give Mickey a great big hug. I didn’t expect this from her at all, but it was so cute. Take a look at us in the second photo we look like drowned rats, it was so wet out!
After we’d met “the Mouse” I figured that was the highlight of the day and asked Andrew if we really needed stay for the fireworks, I mean who really wants to watch fireworks in the pouring rain? He was adamant that we needed to stay, but was acting very strange. We headed over to Cinderella’s Castle, where he said he read about this great place to see the fireworks from, called the “Secret Rose Garden”. This is when I got completely confused! We arrived at this area the was cordoned off, and one of the cast members said, “I, think we’ve been expecting you!” Andrew was looking confused too, so I said to him, I don’t think this is meant for us, we better get out of here, he just had this dumb grin on his face! One we walked down the path, they had a nice little loveseat setup facing Cinderella’s castle, all sheltered from the rain. I’m in shock for a few more minutes thinking we’re crashing someone else’s plans! The cast members, told us to have a seat, and grab a chocolate truffle. Just as the fireworks started, I look over and Andrew is getting down on one knee, and passes me a perfect little glass slipper. Inside it, the most perfect 3 stone diamond ring! Of course my answer was “YES!” (warning the next few photos are a little blurry and Andrew was so nervous he had the camera settings wrong, for the cast member who took the pics)
What made this even more special was that Mackenzie was included in all of this, Andrew made sure that instead of Champagne chilling that they had sparkling cider for both Mackenzie and I, he also had arranged to have a gift for her, a beautiful Cinderella’s Castle Snowglobe as well as her first set of Mickey ears, as we were both wearing our “bride and groom ears”. We ended up being the last people in the park, it was truly magical and something none of us will ever forget!
I love you Andrew!
