The Best Disney World Proposal

Whenever people ask me about our Disney Fairy Tale Wedding, I always have to start with the story of our Disney World Engagement at Epcot. Read below to find out how the proposal went down!

How It Began

While I’ve been going to Disney at least once a year since I was 2, my husband (then boyfriend) had only been twice before he met me. When we started dating we immediately planned a Disney World trip for right after Christmas with my whole family. Long story short, he loved it. Actually loved isn’t a strong enough word, he became a Disney fanatic like me (thank God!!!) and wanted to get to Disney World any chance we could get! To be honest he’s the whole reason Mickey Mom Blog even exists!

Planning The Trip

So fast forward to about 2 years and numerous Disney trips later and we found ourselves planning our seemingly annual fall Food and Wine Festival trip. The newest Disney Vacation Club Resort had just opened, Villas at the Grand Floridian, and we were dying to stay there. As soon as they started taking reservations my mom and I called and were lucky enough to land one of the 3 bedroom grand villas.

Next we finalized everyone who would be coming on this trip which included both our families (minus our dads and my brother) and a close family friend who comes on all our Disney trips. Now you’re probably thinking isn’t it obvious if both of your families are coming that he’s going to propose? Truth be told, our families had known each other for quite some time and would take trips before we started dating, so I thought nothing of it! With the trip planned and everyone on board little did I know this would be an extra magical vacation!

The Big Day

The day started in Epcot with drinks around the World Showcase. Halfway through our journey, my husband (boyfriend) left to find a quiet spot for a “work conference call”. After about 2-3 hours away from the group, he found his way back. At this point I was irritated by how long he was gone but then he told us that as he was walking back a cast member offered him special seating for Illuminations that night and we were back to drinking our way around the world.

The Proposal

After watching Christopher Cross perform, we headed over to the Italy pavilion by the bridge where a cast member who recognized my husband (boyfriend) let us into a roped off section. He then informed us they had a couple who cancelled a reservation for an Illuminations viewing on the balcony in Italy and wanted to know if anyone would want to watch the show from there. Everyone “decided” my husband & I should take advantage of the offer.

As Illuminations started wrapping up and the fireworks grand finale began, my husband (boyfriend) got down on one knee and started his proposal . At this point I had no idea what was going on, there was a PhotoPass photographer, a spotlight on us, and a crowd had now gathered below. I was in shock to say the least and thought the whole thing was a joke. After finally realizing he was serious, I happily said yes! I was barely able to walk down the steps when our families came rushing over to congratulate us. It was such a surprising and magical night. He pulled off, in my opinion, the perfect proposal!

After the shock wore off, I started connecting the dots of what happened leading up to the proposal. He explained how his “work call” was actually him planning the proposal at Epcot guest services with a handful of awesome Disney cast members. One of the guys even came back after his shift was over to be there to watch the whole thing unfold! He was sitting in plain sight dressed like a tourist with a camera around his neck right at the bottom of the stairs!

The Disney team made the whole engagement experience even more magical. They gave us Mickey and Minnie bride and groom ears and engagement pins! Everyone across property was so nice the rest of the trip make and made a huge deal out of the engagement time after time (this included lots of FREE dessert & champagne).

The day after the engagement we were in Magic Kingdom walking through the stores on Main Street when a cast member asked us our engagement story. He proceeded to yell for everyone in the stores attention and told the story aloud. One woman even came up to us and explained how she was at Epcot the night before and saw the proposal happen live!

It was such an amazing experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world. It was so wonderful that when it came time to plan the wedding my mind immediately jumped to a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding!

Stay tuned for an upcoming post about our Disney wedding planning experience, and how the whole thing played out!