Picture this, you’re rushing out the door, making sure you have everything you need to visit Magic Kingdom (MK) for the day. You’re picking your outfit, perhaps today will be a Venellope Bound kind of day.. Your family casually suggests grabbing breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe, everyone is acting normal, so why suspect anything strange at all?
My at-the-time boyfriend (Esteban) and I spent Christmas with my family in Orlando Florida, awaiting the New Year. At the last minute that morning, I casually asked my boyfriend which park he wanted to visit that day. He mentioned he hadn’t seen the fireworks at MK in a while so I suggested we hit it up. We were lucky enough that they were previewing the New Years fireworks that night, a firework display that is only shown for two nights of the year! Needless to day, we were excited.
I love Disney bounding so much, so I wore a Venellope bound (something I would have saved for the Vanellope meet-and-greet at EPCOT, but what the heck, it was cute and I was in a rush). Esteban does not typically dress up to go to the parks, and today was no exception. He wore shorts, a long sleeve shirt, and a hat, his usual attire.
My family suggested grabbing breakfast at the Grand Floridian (GF) since we decided to visit MK and my little brother works there as a server (say hi to Alex if you go there!) The GF is just one monorail stop from MK so it worked out perfectly. We sat in my brothers section, ate a delicious breakfast, and had a blast with my parents. At one point, as always, the GF manager stops by to see how everything is going, and then she says, “Have fun at Cinderella’s Castle for dinner! That sounds lovely!” (I’m paraphrasing). This threw me off guard, there was no way we had reservations for Cinderellas Royal Table at MK, those book 6 months in advance, and we had only decided to go to MK that morning. Quickly, before I had a chance to think, another server came to the table suggested the manager had misspoke and mixed up reservations, remarking, “My manager didn’t realize that I’m taking MY boyfriend to Cinderella’s Royal Table tonight, I apologize if she had you thinking otherwise!” (Again, paraphrasing). Being an extremely gullible person, I believed him. He was so friendly and convincing that I thought nothing of it. Esteban and I then finished breakfast, gave hugs and kisses to the family, and left for our MK adventure.
The day was as ordinary as any day at MK, we rode all our favorite rides, ate at all our favorite quick service stands, and took photos with a few characters along the way. The only thing that stood out to me was, Esteban never usually likes taking pictures with the characters, and today, he asked to take pics with everyone! I was really surprised but still, didn’t think anything was weird. After spending the whole day, chilling, around the park and riding rides, it came time to watch the fireworks!
My favorite spot to watch the fireworks inside either the west or and east gardens in front of Crystal Palace and the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. Typically, if you get there 30 mins prior to the start of the show, you can sit comfortably and watch the fireworks. Sometimes if the crowd is in agreement, everyone remains seated the whole time during the fireworks show (it’s a welcomed experience after standing all day). We sat and waited for the show. Much to our dismay, as soon as the New Years fireworks started, everyone stood up. Oh well, we were still having a good time. I was recording the fire works on my phone, and at one point, Esteban offered to hold my phone up higher for me to get a better view (he often does that because he is 6’4, and I’m 5’7)
The fireworks were stunning!! They have a different fireworks show for the New Year and typically only show it two days of the year, the day before New Years Eve, and New Years Eve. Towards the end of the show they have a 10 second countdown. As soon as Mickey and Minnie started counting down, I hear someone calling, “Hey Ab”. I look over to my right and there Esteban is, kneeling down, ring in hand. I immediately begin laughing and yelling, “You jerk!! ” Now, Esteban has previously “faked” proposals in the past, often in a romantic setting (Disney Springs, Magic Kingdom…) he would get down on one knee and then when I got really excited, he would tell me that he needed to tie his shoe. So naturally I was conditioned into believing this was yet another attempt at a fake proposal, until I saw what he had in his hands.
Once I realized that this was the real thing, of course I said, “OMG YES!!” Not realizing what was happening, I noticed a few people behind us taking photos with their cameras and a Disney Photopass Photographer!! They were extremely sweet to help make our moment even more magical. They were able to find my fiance and hide behind us during the entire fireworks show!! I had no idea. He planned everything perfectly, and we were able to capture our special time together with the most amazing background!! Obviously he knew what my answer would be because he also surprised me with custom “Just Engaged” pins of Ariel and Eric!! I had to show them off all night.
After the initially shock, and literal shakes, we still had a few hours until park closing, so naturally we wanted to take advantage of every minute to celebrate together around Magic Kingdom!! First stop, was to Ariel’s Grotto.
Esteban’s final surprise was that, the reservation to Cinderella’s Royal table was actually for us!! I truly had no idea, maybe I’m naive or maybe i’m just filled with Disney hope and magic. Either way, I had the best time with my Fiance! We had a delicious prix fixe dinner, champagne, desert, and of course we got to meet the Disney Princesses!! Night, made.
The rest of our Disney trip, we rocked our “Just Engaged” pins, at every chance we could. I truly felt like a Princess and I have my wonderful Prince Charming, and Disney, to thank for that. I can’t wait to see what the future will hold for us.
Now it’s time to call Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings!!
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