You know how sometimes in life you are lucky enough to meet some REALLY great and interesting people? Well, that’s what happened to me the day I met Christine MacPhail. Christine is not only a wonderful person, she has (in my opinion) one of the coolest jobs EVER. No office grind for this lady! Christine owns her own business and has made her living as a harpist for the past 25 years. One of her favorite places to play is Disney World. Specifically she has played the harp for Victoria and Albert‘s in the Grand Floridian Resort, and for dozens of Disney weddings all over the property (not to mention the state of Florida). I asked Christine what she loves most about Disney weddings. She was happy to answer, and even threw in some advice for Disney brides.
“I really love what I do,” said Christine. “It is an honor to be part of the special moments in people’s lives. At Disney the weddings always have that extra magical touch. It seems the excitement and anticipation that children have about visiting Disney World comes alive again in the bride and groom! The Wedding Pavillion is lovely, and I really like the small intimate weddings at locations such as the Boardwalk or the Yacht Club. I really enjoy seeing the little Disney touches, such as glass slipper place card holders or Mickey and Minnie cake toppers! Most of the couples request Disney music which is always fun for me. “When You Wish Upon a Star” is a perfect recessional song! My only advice would be that after all the preparations have been made, just relax and enjoy your special day!”
Here is a great shot of Christine at Disney’s Boardwalk (click to enlarge).
You can see the bride and groom through the strings.
Photo credit: Misty Miotto
How does one get into the business of harping? When Christine MacPhail was 6 years old she was in a museum with her family and saw a harp there. Her father ran his fingers along the strings and she was hooked! She started taking lessons and has not stopped since. When she was in college a few friends asked her to play her harp for their wedding ceremonies, and that grew into a business. Fast forward 25 years and Christine is still doing what she loves…and talk about talent?! She can play all sorts of music genres that you might never have imagined coming from a harp. She will amaze you with some of her facebook posts on what she calls “Music Monday” You can like her fanpage on facebook here so you don’t miss a note!
***To learn more about Disney Weddings click here***
***To Download your own Disney Wedding Brochure click here***
I have wanted to go to Hawaii for pretty much as long as I can remember. I’m a BIG Elvis fan and the movie Blue Hawaii probably influenced this in some way. A tan, handsome, young Elvis gyrating among the beautiful scenery of a Polynesian background? What’s not to like?!I guess since I love the thought of Hawaii, I love the thought of a luau, even if it’s just right here in my home town of Orlando Florida.
My mother first came up with the idea a few months before. She wanted to get the family all together for something really special and fun. I promise I did not suggest or influence her in any way to pick the Disney luau, she came up with it all on her own. It took about a month to get our entire group to agree on a date but it finally happened. We picked Friday April 27, 2012. This also happened to be my cousin’s birthday. Matt is a quiet guy who doesn’t like a lot of hoopla or attention on his birthday but he agreed this might be ok as long as we didn’t buy gifts or go to crazy.
I sent out the first email and everyone seemed excited about the big day! I made a list of all the names and counted it 4 times. Could we really be a group of 16??? Yes we could – and in fact — we ended up adding one more a couple weeks later for a grand total of 17. Wow! We lost my Dad about a year ago and I just couldn’t stop thinking about how much he would have loved this. I missed him through the whole process (and again on the big night) but I feel like he was watching the whole time. I think he would’ve loved to make it a party of 18.
My Mom decided on category 2 seating. When I called to make the reservation – all that was left was category 1. There was no changing the date now — so we went with it. I read and researched all I could about the luau just so I could make sure it was something everyone would like AND to try and help things to go as smoothly as I possibly could. The main thing that bugged me was why we had to be there an hour early. Disney policy states this for the luau and they even read you that policy again when you book the reservation. There was very little I could find on the internet about why this policy was in place.
My Mom and I headed to the Polynesian a couple of days early to pick up what I thought were going to be “tickets” to the luau, which are normally at the concierge desk. It was that magic time of around 7:30pm however. I knew there would be cast members at the luau podium this time of night so we made a beeline for the podium first with my list of questions in hand.
Sure enough, the crowds were filing in for the 8pm show and there were cast members waiting to greet us. I told them we were early for the Friday night show (this was Wednesday) and I had some questions. They were happy to assist. My first question was about parking. When my Mom and I pulled up that night we got one of the last spaces available. I was fearful with our big group that there might not be enough spaces for all of us! The cast member didn’t really know what to say. Just then I really lucked out and a manager approached us! The cast member repeated the question for him and just like that – that manager was MINE. The poor guy had no idea what he was getting in to. He politely calmed my fears by stating that parking has never been a problem for luau guests– and we could always pay to valet if we really needed to. He was surprised to hear the lot was so full on this particular evening. OK, so I was satisfied with that answer. I smiled sweetly and asked, “Do you have a few more minutes to answer my other questions?”
“Sure!” he replied in all his typical Disney helpfulness. So off we went…
“We have a group of 17. Do we really need to be here an hour early?” His response: “There is no reason for you to get here that early IF you have already picked up your ticket.”
“Ticket?” I asked, “I thought there would be 17 tickets.”
“Nope,” he replied, “ What you actually get is a slip of paper that has your confirmation number on it and says party of 17. That acts as your admission to the luau.”
WOW! One little slip?
I was shocked. This was a wonderful thing because I had no idea how I would see everyone beforehand to give them a ticket and what if they lost it? It’s just one little slip so I didn’t have to give anyone anything. Awesome.
Next I asked him about being tardy. My nephew Jason would be working that night and not able to get to the luau until probably 9pm or later. The manager said that wasn’t a problem and if my nephew was REALLY late we could ask for a refund on his ticket.
Finally, I asked him about seating. All he could promise me was that we’d be in Category 1 because that’s what was paid for. Oh well, I tried.
Friday night finally came and we all met at my Mom’s to carpool.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
We got through all the gates and parking without incident. Everyone was in a great mood when we arrived. I was SO glad I had talked to the manager because even though we weren’t super early, we still ended up standing around outside with no where to sit for 20 minutes or so, even after the formal pictures were taken.
When we finally got in however, things went great. The food was fantastic, the show and costumes were awesome. I couldn’t help but bob my head and wiggle a little in my chair to that music. It was a wonderful night. One of the highlights of the night was that they just happened to pick my nephew, pull him up on stage, and have his shake his booty like a rock-star. He was a great sport!
Here’s a few photos from our big night.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This is not video that I took but it’s a great 4 minute clip of what the show is like.
All in all, we had a blast. Go see this thing if you get a chance! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
This guest review is written by Laura Smeltzer who has been a friend of mine for about 20 years. Laura is a mother-to-be and if it’s one thing expectant Mommies know (speaking from my own experience)…it’s FOOD! If you watch the slide show long enough, you will see Laura’s picture. Laura paid a recent visit to AMC Downtown Disney 24 which is an AMC Dine-in theater location and I asked her to share her experience. Questions or comments about this blog can be posted here and I will make sure they get to Laura.
Have a magical day!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
AMC Dining Experience
“I have done the dining experience twice at Disney. Both times I went online and reserved my ticket. This was nice because you chose the seat you will be sitting in.
As you enter the theater there is an attendant to help you find your seat. Each row contains 4 seats. The seats are roomy and comfortable. There is a small table that runs the length of the row and a button on the table for each seat. When you are ready to order you push the button and wait for a server.
My first experience my husband and I attended the movie as a date night. As soon as we were seated our server approached and took our drink order. While waiting for our drinks we were able to look over the menu and decide on what we wanted. For appetizer we ordered the fried mozzarella batons. For dinner I ordered the chicken fingers and my husband ordered the Southwest Chicken wrap.
Our appetizer came out as the movie was beginning. The mozzarella was hot and crisp and very tasty. The serving is enough for two to three people. Small amount of marinara sauce came with the sticks. It was the right amount for us but if you are someone who enjoys marinara sauce ask for an extra serving.
Right as we finished our appetizer our meal came out. My husband enjoyed his wrap. He said it tasted fresh and was the perfect amount for dinner. I wish I could say the same about the chicken tenders. The fries that came with the chicken was delicious. The chicken tenders were sub par to say the least. I have bought better chicken tenders from the freezer section of the grocery store. I realize that I am paying more for the experience but $12 for chicken tenders, well, I would have preferred fresh tenders.
We never once had to ask for a refill. We finished our dinner about half way during the movie and decided to order a small popcorn. This was brought very quickly.
While eating a very low light stays on that runs the length of the table. At first I thought this would be disruptive to the movie but I didn’t notice it at all during the movie. Near the end of the movie I noticed our check was laying on the table. My husband paid with a credit card and handed back to the server. There was no distraction at all to the movie with the handling of paying for dinner.
I was so pleased with the overall experience that I recommended to a few friends of mine as a girls night out.
Sadly to say our experience was completely different.
We arrived and found our seats and decided on our drinks. We pushed the buttons and waited…..and waited…and waited. The server came up as the previews were starting and took our drink order and appetizer order…..I again ordered the mozzarella batons.
After a short time we placed our order for dinner. I ordered the Tuscan Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza, my friends ordered the fish and chips basket and the classic Chicken Quesadilla.
My friends Fish and chip basket came out first, even before my mozzarella sticks. About 15 minutes into the movie and about 5 minutes after the fish and chips came out the mozzarella stick arrived. We finished the mozzarella sticks and the chicken quesadilla arrived. By the time that both of my friends finished their dinner the flat bread pizza came out. Overall the food was delicious!!!! Each of us had hot fresh food that was tasty….however, I was disappointed that even though we ordered everything at the same time that it all came out separate.
The rest of the experience was the same as before and very pleasant. The servers were not distracting from the movie and paying for the bill was very simple.
At first my husband said he felt it was quite a pricey experience, however, after we thought about it we agreed that it would be about the same cost as if we had gone to a restaurant first and then a movie.In the future we do plan on attending again and trying different food.”
Disneyways 