While many people share only the story of the proposal, for us starting there would eliminate some important details! The story of our engagement takes place during the summer of 2014, with Kristin growing more impatient for a ring as the days passed. Bill had it all planned out–a romantic proposal in Magic Kingdom during a family vacation at the end of July. Here’s how it played out:
After months of consideration and consultation, Bill selected a diamond and a setting from Blue Nile. He ordered it in plenty of time to arrive before the flight on July 27th, but they informed him on the 23rd that the ring would not be arriving until the 29th. After a few moments of panic and frustration, Bill arranged to have the ring shipped directly to Orlando where he would figure out how to pick it up.
On July 27th, Kristin, Bill, his parents, and sisters boarded an early flight and arrived in Orlando. We spent the day at the pool, shopping at Downtown Disney, and preparing for our first theme park adventure at Universal Studios to visit the new Harry Potter World attraction, Diagon Alley, which had opened only three weeks earlier. On Monday, July 28th we woke up early, arrived at the park, ran to Diagon Alley, stood in line for the “Escape from Gringotts” ride, and waited… and waited… and waited. After 3.5 hours, we were finally seated on the ride. It was a great ride, but our feet suffered from standing for so long, and by the end of the day no one could fathom taking on a new park on Tuesday. This worked perfectly into Bill’s plan for a mandatory rest day so that he could retrieve the ring!
Tuesday morning Bill awoke early, anxiously awaiting a notification that the ring had been delivered, and when he received that notice he quickly sent his parents on a mission to pick it up (along with a few groceries as a cover story). By the time Kristin awoke, the Chins were on their way back to the resort with the ring hidden away and she suspected nothing. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and planning out Wednesday’s park visits–Animal Kingdom in the morning and Magic Kingdom in the afternoon.
We were up early on Wednesday and while Kristin showered and got ready for the day, Bill slipped into his parents room and secured the ring in his pocket. Our time at Animal Kingdom was great, but cut a little bit short. We planned to spend a full morning at the Animal Kingdom before leaving for lunch and heading to the Magic Kingdom to use our Fast Pass ride tickets, which needed to be redeemed between 2:30-3:30. As the morning progressed, we hoped to catch the Lion King show and Dinosaur ride before leaving the park. We missed the 11:00 Lion King show, so we walked around some of the animal exhibits before catching the 12:00 show, which was to end by 12:45. As the minutes ticked by, Bill’s concern with the time schedule grew. The line for the Dinosaur ride was a 40 minute wait, and he was worried about the amount of time lunch would take along with his secret proposal. Luckily he and his father were able to convince the group to leave Animal Kingdom and we were on our way.
After a quick lunch, we drove to Magic Kingdom, parked the car, and boarded the monorail. En route to the park entrance, a pesky wasp stung Bill’s mom and added an unexpected variable to Bill’s plan. He had carefully studied pictures online and referenced past family videos to determine the perfect location for the proposal–on Main Street USA, about halfway down so that Cinderella’s castle was clearly visible in the background. Upon consulting with park employees at the front gate, we learned that First Aid, necessary to tend to the wasp sting, was actually all the way down Main Street. Bill furtively asked his mother if she would be okay to wait a few more minutes, and with her assurance that she was fine, he set his plan into motion. With his father filming his typical intro to the park, Bill got his camera ready and zeroed in on the location. When we arrived at the predetermined spot, he handed the camera off to his sister Caitlin, gave his cell phone to his sister Allison, and asked for a picture of the two of us in front of the castle. After getting into position (and making sure that Kristin removed her sunglasses and got rid of the park map), a first shot was taken, and he asked for “another” as he retrieved the ring from his pocket. By the time Kristin realized what was going on, Caitlin and Allison were feverishly snapping pictures, and the tears of happiness were flowing as Bill was proposing! People walking by cheered, took pictures, and offered their congratulations. It was a truly magical moment!
(And, don’t worry–there was time for a stop at First Aid, some quick phone calls and text messages, along with a hundred more pictures before the Fast Pass expired!)