GF Cafe - Breakfast
C-
The morning before our rehearsal I made a reservation for a family meal.
The reservation was made for 10:40am for 17 of us.
We arrived at 10:30... we didn't get seated until 11:10.
I was VERY unhappy. So just a note, if you are to dine with a big group at GF Cafe make sure to arrive early and talk to the manager if you're not seated in a timely manner.
The lady manager was not helpful at all while we were there, I was mad enough to not even bother finding out.
Perriwigs
A
My niece and I came in the morning of the wedding for our mani pedi set.
Since she wont be getting a hair and make up I figured this is a good way to include her in the big girls routine. We were scheduled for a 9:30am but after further calculation I found that Ill be cutting it too close since I have to be back in our room for hair/make up by 11.
So we showed up at 9 and they worked on us right away. I had a French and my niece picked a cute pink color for herself. Anjelique(sp?) did mine and Xiomara did my nieces nails. The results were great. The pedi was absolutely heaven. We sat on the lovely massage chairs while they worked on us. It was so soothing. My niece was quiet the whole time they were doing her nails, but when it got to her toes she was smiling from ear to ear
while playing with her massage chair. I was glad we did our nails that morning
it was such a great bonding moment.
Im happy to say that my nails starting to peel off yesterday a week after. At the end of the session they gave us the tools they used to do our nails and feet, plus a bottle of polish. Definitely a splurge moment.
Just a tip: For a mani pedi give yourself a good 2 hours for the whole thing. Itll take a little under 1.5hrs to get everything done but you would want to sit around for awhile and wait for your toes to dry. Oh and DVC member gets a 10% off your total.
Carolyn Allen
A-
I had shipped our dress and his tux there a couple weeks before and they quickly notified me of the arrival. Sue and her husband came to deliver my dress and all the accessories on time, and they also steamed my MOH and moms dresses plus the tuxedo shirt. The strange part was they almost left before steaming the dresses in our room. So make sure to remind them how many pieces they had to steam in your room or they might forget.
After the finished with all the steamings they went to deliver the tux and shirt to DF at Pop Century.
A funny thing is we moved from Boardwalk to Wilderness Lodge to GF during our trip and somehow they knocked on our door again one morning while we were at GF to deliver a tuxedo it was so bizarre. Its even funnier because my DH was so tired of taking care of sick me that he accepted the tuxedo. I had to ask him why hes accepting the tuxedo again
that seemed to snap him out of the sleepiness. I can imagine what the Groom would think of his missing tuxedo if we had accepted it
Other than that we would use them again if we ever need to.
Beaute Speciale
A+
Ana and Lorrena came by to do 3 hair and make ups.
They are wonderful. I already warned them that my family is very specific and what they like and dont like. We are all very happy with the results. During the session they even made sure we had time to eat so we wont pass out before the ceremony. I would request them again in a heartbeat. We were lucky that Ana was available that day because she was busy with the Disney Games participants that week also. They are definitely pros at what they do. Ill recommend them to anyone.
Root Photography
Professionalism: A+
Final Product: A+
Nate and Jensey as so great. We took separate B&G pics before the wedding and didnt see each other until the ceremony. I was worried that we didnt have enough time for pictures but we had more than enough time. We even cancelled our picture session after fireworks. Im not sure how many pictures are taken yet. We are on pins and needles waiting for the pictures. I love working with them. If Im lucky maybe DH will agree to call them again for future family pictures
Brewer Videography
Professionalism: A+
Final Product: still waiting
Delivery time: C (see below)
Kevin Brewer came with his assistant during our hair and make up to do his thing. They are very quiet and unobtrusive. The only times I remembered having him around is during our downtime between reception and DP. He wanted to set up some shoots with me and thats when I remember having a videographer
For that he received an excellent review, however, his video delivery time is 9 months which we knew in advance of course. We picked him still because we love his video portfolio and his pricing. Well wait for 9 months for it. Hopefully its all worth it.
DFTW team (Carol, Tiffany, Kristy, etc, etc.)
A+
Carol is a gem She took great care of us. I made some last minute changes and she took everything and made it happen. Carol and Tiffany even bustled my dress for me before we walked out to be announced They are wonderful. For some reason the caterer forgot our pretzel bread
and she made some calls and they appeared. The team is just wonderful; I cant imagine doing what we did without having them around. I was freaking out about the weather up until the minute we walked on to the carriage. And she continues to calm me down and make everything OK. She was still calm when we were behind on time after some potty break and altar issues. Disney definitely assembles all star team.
Rev. Knox
A
He is wonderful. We had a rehearsal the day before and I was worried it would be a waste of $ but I was glad we had done it. It made me feel better meeting him in advance and getting everybody to meet him too. He is very personable and so sweet. We had a little mishap with our altar arrangements right before I walked down the aisle and somehow between him and DFTW they made it so that it was all hidden away.
Our marriage license got home before we did Id recommend him to anyone.
Disney Catering and Cake
Food: B+
Service: A+
The food set up is great and the food tasted great. 2 reasons I didnt give them an A:
1.They forgot my pretzel bread I asked Carol about it and they were able to find some for us (YAY Carol!). The funny thing is they came out COLD
They did take them back and heat it up
. It was so funny
2.The food is rather cold. Im not sure if that is normal or not. But I was expecting them to be warmer than that.
The service however was wonderful. The action station chef made some vegetarian lo mein dish for my SIL. They got our drinks, the run around to get some kids meal (fries and chicken nuggets) for our little nieces and nephews, ketchup, etc. It was so unexpected. They treated us like royalty it was awesome.
Cake: B
LOVE our cake décor. It was absolutely adorable and I was glad to change it from the original design to the mad hatter design. The sugar mickey toppers were just awesome too at least we think so.
The cake taste however was not all that...
We had 1 layer of chocolate with white choc frosting and a layer of marble with raspberry frosting. The frostings were great but the cake itself was kind of dry unfortunately.
Dessert Party Isola West
A
The setup was great and the food was yummy.
I would do this again in a heartbeat We had some guests that left right after the reception so we were able to get our photogs and videogs to enjoy the food also. The only negative we thought is not enough lighting by the food station. We cant see whats on the table, which made us play the guessing game on what we got on our plates
Disney Floral
A
Our décor is beautiful, at SBP, reception and DP. I was happy with our color choice. Only a couple things I was not too happy about, our bouquets (mine and MOH). The green color was not the color I expected, I had expected a punchier green but hydrangea apparently is a softer green color. The green on the pomander for our Jr. BM was a much better green I thought.
Other than that everything was beautiful
Our altar arrangements went bye bye during the ceremony because of the wind. They managed to re-create them again in time for the DP. Thats what you call Disney Magic
A lovely vase of roses also came from floral group during our complimentary night, it is so adorable I wished I could pack it up and take it home. They are wonderful bunch of people.
Cinderella Carriage
A++
Worth every penny glad I caved in and did it.
We were able to put my sister (MOH) and my 3 nieces (theyre tiny) in the carriage with me. The 5 minute ride was just amazing I thought I would feel like its a grand waste of $ but looking back at it I am thankful that we spent the $ for it I felt like real princess
and I am usually so NOT a princessy kinda gal.
Jensey (one of our photog) had asked me if I felt like a bride that day. And I said when I was in the carriage, I did
Disney Photography MK Shoot
Photog: Paul
Personality: A+
Result: still waiting
I requested Paul after some pictures I saw on the board. Ive seen the different sets of pictures from other B&Gs MK shoots and they generally look very similar. So I have some sort of an idea of what to expect.
Hes very fun we talked about strange things during the shoot. Apparently they just gave him a new lens to play around with and he used it on our shoot. Cant wait to see the result.
Tip: When scheduling your photoshoot check out the sunrise timing. I know 5am sounds like waaaay to early but if your preference is to take "night" shots 6am might be too late. Ours was at 6am and by 6:15 the sun was already going up... our pictures will be mostly day shots. So check the schedule before you decide on your time.
Complimentary GF room
Room location: B+
We were on the second floor honeymoon wing area which means to get to our room from the lobby we have to go to the 3rd or 4th floor and then over to the other elevator and down to the 2nd floor. It was a rather lengthy process. But on a good note, that gave us an excuse to stop on floor 4 to check out the refreshments.
Room view: A
Beautiful. It is facing the castle right in front of the marina. We watched fireworks that night.
Room: B+
The room is nice but it is surprisingly small (or it felt small) compared to our DVC room.
The bed is extremely comfy and the furniture is beautiful. Flat screen TV. Mini Jacuzzi and double vanity. Awesome toiletries too. But I dont know if its worth $600/night if we have to pay ourselves hehe
Concierge food: A+
The all day food and beverage service is awesome Continental breakfast, snacks, afternoon tea time, cocktail hour and dessert It is amazing This is the part of concierge where I wish I had the $ to do again.
Service: C~A+
Heres where it gets dicey.
Mackenzie our concierge CM was awesomely able to upgrade us for the next night. We extended our stay for 1 night on a regular room because I didnt want to spend the extra $130 for the concierge. Of course I was hoping for an upgrade but I didnt hold my breath. She was able to do that for us after we checked in that was so great. It saved us from moving helped a lot since I was pretty much incapacitated from stomach flu right after the wedding. So she gets an A+
We also received chilled champagne, flower, and a signed photo from Mickey and Minnie during our free night stay. That was very sweet of them made us feel extremely special.
Housekeeping however gets a C.
Since I was sick, we stayed in the room that day and they knocked and called 6 times between 9am to 2pm it was nuts! All I wanted was a little sleep and I cant even do that ugh Plus they also knocked to give us chocolate and ice in the afternoons. So our room sounds like grand central station or something.
Emergency service: A+
The second to last night at 2am we broke down and called the emergency service. By that time Ive gone through a couple days of fever and chills followed by no food or sleep for 2 nights. Paramedics came within 10 mins and the hotel manager and security also. After the medics left hotel manager sent over a couple bottles of powerade to help me recover. Just FYI for everyone, Disney has their own FREE transportation to the hospital or urgent care if you need it. Luckily I didnt need it. They checked me out and just said not much anybody can do except just let it run its course. So I passed on the trip to the hospital.
Safari Tour (concierge): B
We heard about the safari tour we could take when were on concierge level. So I signed us up for it right away. Even tho I wasnt feeling good I made myself go to it, since were only sitting down it wasnt a huge problem. We got on a closed safari bus and our tour leader Bill told us all kinds of interesting stories about the animals in the safari and how he gets to work with them. The bus would back off on little roads so we could stop and talk about certain animals and their habits. The tour took a little over an hour and costs $45pp. It was neat and just for the privilege and sitting on the side of the road while the regular safari bus watching us Id do it again
At the end of the tour he gave us fast passes for the regular safari ride
Disney Tour
Service: A+
The day when all our family left we were scheduled to do the Backstage Magic tour. I was so looking forward to it because my DH has never been. Well of course that was the day when everything just went downhill. We called to cancel the night before but their cancellation policy was 48hrs, so they said to wait it out until the next day and see if I can go. Unfortunately I felt worse, we took the hit and decided to stay. The next day I called to see if theres any way we could apply the $ to another tour because we definitely want to do it sometime in the future. The total was close to $400, I figure it wont hurt to ask. The worst they can say is that Im out the $. I talked to this wonderful lady who worked some wonders and got us a refund instead
. Thats whats called customer service. They could have told me that theres nothing they can do since thats the rule, but they made it 100 times better by just refunding the $. Thats the reason why I keep coming back to Disney.
Strange observation (please no flames ):
During this whole thing some people have made comments about how we found out about certain vendors and apparently disbrides seem to have some sort of a rep. unfortunately not a necessarily a good rep. Not sure if thats just limited to the people I happened to talk to or if thats widespread. I wonder if as disbrides we know what to expect so we have higher expectations or that we have unreasonable demands just because Ive read it on the board before, I know it can be done attitude it just baffles me a bit.
Anyways,
Thats our review of our experience.
Its almost like a mini TR. But Ill try to do the wedding day review a little later.
Honestly I have 0 pictures
Sorry for the dry post
Hope this helps someone.
C-
The morning before our rehearsal I made a reservation for a family meal.
The reservation was made for 10:40am for 17 of us.
We arrived at 10:30... we didn't get seated until 11:10.
I was VERY unhappy. So just a note, if you are to dine with a big group at GF Cafe make sure to arrive early and talk to the manager if you're not seated in a timely manner.
The lady manager was not helpful at all while we were there, I was mad enough to not even bother finding out.
Perriwigs
A
My niece and I came in the morning of the wedding for our mani pedi set.
Since she wont be getting a hair and make up I figured this is a good way to include her in the big girls routine. We were scheduled for a 9:30am but after further calculation I found that Ill be cutting it too close since I have to be back in our room for hair/make up by 11.
So we showed up at 9 and they worked on us right away. I had a French and my niece picked a cute pink color for herself. Anjelique(sp?) did mine and Xiomara did my nieces nails. The results were great. The pedi was absolutely heaven. We sat on the lovely massage chairs while they worked on us. It was so soothing. My niece was quiet the whole time they were doing her nails, but when it got to her toes she was smiling from ear to ear
while playing with her massage chair. I was glad we did our nails that morning
it was such a great bonding moment.Im happy to say that my nails starting to peel off yesterday a week after. At the end of the session they gave us the tools they used to do our nails and feet, plus a bottle of polish. Definitely a splurge moment.
Just a tip: For a mani pedi give yourself a good 2 hours for the whole thing. Itll take a little under 1.5hrs to get everything done but you would want to sit around for awhile and wait for your toes to dry. Oh and DVC member gets a 10% off your total.
Carolyn Allen
A-
I had shipped our dress and his tux there a couple weeks before and they quickly notified me of the arrival. Sue and her husband came to deliver my dress and all the accessories on time, and they also steamed my MOH and moms dresses plus the tuxedo shirt. The strange part was they almost left before steaming the dresses in our room. So make sure to remind them how many pieces they had to steam in your room or they might forget.
After the finished with all the steamings they went to deliver the tux and shirt to DF at Pop Century.
A funny thing is we moved from Boardwalk to Wilderness Lodge to GF during our trip and somehow they knocked on our door again one morning while we were at GF to deliver a tuxedo it was so bizarre. Its even funnier because my DH was so tired of taking care of sick me that he accepted the tuxedo. I had to ask him why hes accepting the tuxedo again
that seemed to snap him out of the sleepiness. I can imagine what the Groom would think of his missing tuxedo if we had accepted it
Other than that we would use them again if we ever need to.
Beaute Speciale
A+
Ana and Lorrena came by to do 3 hair and make ups.
They are wonderful. I already warned them that my family is very specific and what they like and dont like. We are all very happy with the results. During the session they even made sure we had time to eat so we wont pass out before the ceremony. I would request them again in a heartbeat. We were lucky that Ana was available that day because she was busy with the Disney Games participants that week also. They are definitely pros at what they do. Ill recommend them to anyone.
Root Photography
Professionalism: A+
Final Product: A+
Nate and Jensey as so great. We took separate B&G pics before the wedding and didnt see each other until the ceremony. I was worried that we didnt have enough time for pictures but we had more than enough time. We even cancelled our picture session after fireworks. Im not sure how many pictures are taken yet. We are on pins and needles waiting for the pictures. I love working with them. If Im lucky maybe DH will agree to call them again for future family pictures
Brewer Videography
Professionalism: A+
Final Product: still waiting
Delivery time: C (see below)
Kevin Brewer came with his assistant during our hair and make up to do his thing. They are very quiet and unobtrusive. The only times I remembered having him around is during our downtime between reception and DP. He wanted to set up some shoots with me and thats when I remember having a videographer
For that he received an excellent review, however, his video delivery time is 9 months which we knew in advance of course. We picked him still because we love his video portfolio and his pricing. Well wait for 9 months for it. Hopefully its all worth it.
DFTW team (Carol, Tiffany, Kristy, etc, etc.)
A+
Carol is a gem She took great care of us. I made some last minute changes and she took everything and made it happen. Carol and Tiffany even bustled my dress for me before we walked out to be announced They are wonderful. For some reason the caterer forgot our pretzel bread
and she made some calls and they appeared. The team is just wonderful; I cant imagine doing what we did without having them around. I was freaking out about the weather up until the minute we walked on to the carriage. And she continues to calm me down and make everything OK. She was still calm when we were behind on time after some potty break and altar issues. Disney definitely assembles all star team.Rev. Knox
A
He is wonderful. We had a rehearsal the day before and I was worried it would be a waste of $ but I was glad we had done it. It made me feel better meeting him in advance and getting everybody to meet him too. He is very personable and so sweet. We had a little mishap with our altar arrangements right before I walked down the aisle and somehow between him and DFTW they made it so that it was all hidden away.
Our marriage license got home before we did Id recommend him to anyone.
Disney Catering and Cake
Food: B+
Service: A+
The food set up is great and the food tasted great. 2 reasons I didnt give them an A:
1.They forgot my pretzel bread I asked Carol about it and they were able to find some for us (YAY Carol!). The funny thing is they came out COLD
They did take them back and heat it up
. It was so funny
2.The food is rather cold. Im not sure if that is normal or not. But I was expecting them to be warmer than that.
The service however was wonderful. The action station chef made some vegetarian lo mein dish for my SIL. They got our drinks, the run around to get some kids meal (fries and chicken nuggets) for our little nieces and nephews, ketchup, etc. It was so unexpected. They treated us like royalty it was awesome.
Cake: B
LOVE our cake décor. It was absolutely adorable and I was glad to change it from the original design to the mad hatter design. The sugar mickey toppers were just awesome too at least we think so.
The cake taste however was not all that...
We had 1 layer of chocolate with white choc frosting and a layer of marble with raspberry frosting. The frostings were great but the cake itself was kind of dry unfortunately.
Dessert Party Isola West
A
The setup was great and the food was yummy.
I would do this again in a heartbeat We had some guests that left right after the reception so we were able to get our photogs and videogs to enjoy the food also. The only negative we thought is not enough lighting by the food station. We cant see whats on the table, which made us play the guessing game on what we got on our plates
Disney Floral
A
Our décor is beautiful, at SBP, reception and DP. I was happy with our color choice. Only a couple things I was not too happy about, our bouquets (mine and MOH). The green color was not the color I expected, I had expected a punchier green but hydrangea apparently is a softer green color. The green on the pomander for our Jr. BM was a much better green I thought.
Other than that everything was beautiful
Our altar arrangements went bye bye during the ceremony because of the wind. They managed to re-create them again in time for the DP. Thats what you call Disney Magic
A lovely vase of roses also came from floral group during our complimentary night, it is so adorable I wished I could pack it up and take it home. They are wonderful bunch of people.
Cinderella Carriage
A++
Worth every penny glad I caved in and did it.
We were able to put my sister (MOH) and my 3 nieces (theyre tiny) in the carriage with me. The 5 minute ride was just amazing I thought I would feel like its a grand waste of $ but looking back at it I am thankful that we spent the $ for it I felt like real princess
and I am usually so NOT a princessy kinda gal.Jensey (one of our photog) had asked me if I felt like a bride that day. And I said when I was in the carriage, I did
Disney Photography MK Shoot
Photog: Paul
Personality: A+
Result: still waiting
I requested Paul after some pictures I saw on the board. Ive seen the different sets of pictures from other B&Gs MK shoots and they generally look very similar. So I have some sort of an idea of what to expect.
Hes very fun we talked about strange things during the shoot. Apparently they just gave him a new lens to play around with and he used it on our shoot. Cant wait to see the result.
Tip: When scheduling your photoshoot check out the sunrise timing. I know 5am sounds like waaaay to early but if your preference is to take "night" shots 6am might be too late. Ours was at 6am and by 6:15 the sun was already going up... our pictures will be mostly day shots. So check the schedule before you decide on your time.
Complimentary GF room
Room location: B+
We were on the second floor honeymoon wing area which means to get to our room from the lobby we have to go to the 3rd or 4th floor and then over to the other elevator and down to the 2nd floor. It was a rather lengthy process. But on a good note, that gave us an excuse to stop on floor 4 to check out the refreshments.
Room view: A
Beautiful. It is facing the castle right in front of the marina. We watched fireworks that night.
Room: B+
The room is nice but it is surprisingly small (or it felt small) compared to our DVC room.
The bed is extremely comfy and the furniture is beautiful. Flat screen TV. Mini Jacuzzi and double vanity. Awesome toiletries too. But I dont know if its worth $600/night if we have to pay ourselves hehe
Concierge food: A+
The all day food and beverage service is awesome Continental breakfast, snacks, afternoon tea time, cocktail hour and dessert It is amazing This is the part of concierge where I wish I had the $ to do again.
Service: C~A+
Heres where it gets dicey.
Mackenzie our concierge CM was awesomely able to upgrade us for the next night. We extended our stay for 1 night on a regular room because I didnt want to spend the extra $130 for the concierge. Of course I was hoping for an upgrade but I didnt hold my breath. She was able to do that for us after we checked in that was so great. It saved us from moving helped a lot since I was pretty much incapacitated from stomach flu right after the wedding. So she gets an A+
We also received chilled champagne, flower, and a signed photo from Mickey and Minnie during our free night stay. That was very sweet of them made us feel extremely special.
Housekeeping however gets a C.
Since I was sick, we stayed in the room that day and they knocked and called 6 times between 9am to 2pm it was nuts! All I wanted was a little sleep and I cant even do that ugh Plus they also knocked to give us chocolate and ice in the afternoons. So our room sounds like grand central station or something.
Emergency service: A+
The second to last night at 2am we broke down and called the emergency service. By that time Ive gone through a couple days of fever and chills followed by no food or sleep for 2 nights. Paramedics came within 10 mins and the hotel manager and security also. After the medics left hotel manager sent over a couple bottles of powerade to help me recover. Just FYI for everyone, Disney has their own FREE transportation to the hospital or urgent care if you need it. Luckily I didnt need it. They checked me out and just said not much anybody can do except just let it run its course. So I passed on the trip to the hospital.
Safari Tour (concierge): B
We heard about the safari tour we could take when were on concierge level. So I signed us up for it right away. Even tho I wasnt feeling good I made myself go to it, since were only sitting down it wasnt a huge problem. We got on a closed safari bus and our tour leader Bill told us all kinds of interesting stories about the animals in the safari and how he gets to work with them. The bus would back off on little roads so we could stop and talk about certain animals and their habits. The tour took a little over an hour and costs $45pp. It was neat and just for the privilege and sitting on the side of the road while the regular safari bus watching us Id do it again
At the end of the tour he gave us fast passes for the regular safari ride
Disney Tour
Service: A+
The day when all our family left we were scheduled to do the Backstage Magic tour. I was so looking forward to it because my DH has never been. Well of course that was the day when everything just went downhill. We called to cancel the night before but their cancellation policy was 48hrs, so they said to wait it out until the next day and see if I can go. Unfortunately I felt worse, we took the hit and decided to stay. The next day I called to see if theres any way we could apply the $ to another tour because we definitely want to do it sometime in the future. The total was close to $400, I figure it wont hurt to ask. The worst they can say is that Im out the $. I talked to this wonderful lady who worked some wonders and got us a refund instead
. Thats whats called customer service. They could have told me that theres nothing they can do since thats the rule, but they made it 100 times better by just refunding the $. Thats the reason why I keep coming back to Disney. Strange observation (please no flames ):
During this whole thing some people have made comments about how we found out about certain vendors and apparently disbrides seem to have some sort of a rep. unfortunately not a necessarily a good rep. Not sure if thats just limited to the people I happened to talk to or if thats widespread. I wonder if as disbrides we know what to expect so we have higher expectations or that we have unreasonable demands just because Ive read it on the board before, I know it can be done attitude it just baffles me a bit.
Anyways,
Thats our review of our experience.
Its almost like a mini TR. But Ill try to do the wedding day review a little later.
Honestly I have 0 pictures
Sorry for the dry post
Hope this helps someone.
I wonder if they just don't like internet groups in general...
So So So So pretty! 
