Is the 'pencil in' even worth it?

[elielioh]

Now that the window is 9 months and you can book at 8 is it even worth it to make the call at 9 months to get penciled in? Or just wait that extra month to make it official? We're hoping for 1/3/14 (one year from yesterday!) at SBP- any time would do. Do you think the date is too close to the new year and will be popular/hard to get? This is the part I'm so nervous about!

[DisneyDudet]

I'm nervous too. I just got engaged last month at MK an I'm just chomping at the bit to get a date settled. We are looking at 11-12-13, so, I'm sure, we won't get it. Be rest assured that I will be calling as soon as 9 months comes out to get penciled in. We aren't completely married to the date (haha..), but it would be cool. I will take any date in October or early November (minus the expensive weekend dates).

I am nervous that, no matter what date we choose, I won't get the WP. I like SBP, but with it being fall, I'm afraid of hurricanes and weather. I don't want to look forward to the beautiful outdoor venue, only to have to move it inside to a ballroom that may not have the decor.

Basically, I will take a weekday in the fall at WP.. I just want to get a date... Are people asking you if you've picked a date yet? That is the only thing people ask!

[elielioh]

Congrats on the engagement! You're date is great! I hope you get it and the WP. I can't even begin to worry about weather. I've dreamed of getting married at SBP since I was 6 years old. The WP is too fancy for me. But I HATE when people ask when the date is...I know I shouldn't because it is the most obvious and normal question about that stuff but the fact I can't give a solid answer drives me nuts. "Well...we're HOPING..." Even more nerve wracking is that my parents are using their timeshare to book so the rooms will be booked 11 months out so if I can't get that date, or a back up (1/2, 1/6) we're in big trouble. Ah well. It's going to be a blast!

[kara1987]

Hi,
I would say the pencil in is definitely worth it. We have got our date confirmed for 23rd August 2013 at SBP.

For us it worked out really well, we were passed over to a consultant named Michelle Gilhooly at DFTW who arranged a phone conversation with us, and went through basic details like number of guests etc, she also then took our top 4 dates/times and checked whilst on the phone if any of they were already booked. In our case all were free, she then answered any questions we already had about escape weddings. At this point she told me to email her in 2 weeks to get an update on if anyone had booked/reserved the dates we were interested in (they call this a pulse email) and then confirmed that exactly 8mths to the day when she came into the office she would put the request in to book the date for us and let us know. As promised on christmas eve (our date fell on a sunday) we got an email from her confirming she had not only booked our wedding but also our dessert party. We are now just waiting for the contract to arrive so we can pay that and be assigned a coordinator.

I hope this helps

[wdwobsessed!]

When is the earliest time you can get "penciled in"?

[lurkyloo]

9 months for Escape events and 16 months for Wishes.

[disneyamy4]

i think the pencil in would be worth it because if someone else phoned up and wanted your date, they might be put off knowing someone else was interested and have a change on heart rather than go through the lottery.

maybe not, but just a thought

[DisneyDudet]

I'm hoping my fiancé's family decides that the trip will be doable this week, so I can start looking at possible dates (we've decided that 11/12/13 isn't that important to us). We need a Monday or a Friday so that his family doesn't have to take too much time off of work. I would prefer a Monday, as I want to take a 7 Day Disney Cruise for our Honeymoon, and they leave Saturdays from Port Canaveral... and I just don't want rush around the day after the ceremony to get to the port, you know?

Are Monday's hard to come by for Escape weddings at WP?

[Summer Daydream]

Mondays aren't hard to come by from what I read. I am asking for a Monday but I am going to be flexible on the time. There are four or five time slots for weddings each day so I'm sure you have a decent shot at it

[DisneyDudet]

Thanks so much. I'm trying to be as flexible as possible, my my fiancé is making it quite hard!

[AndiSlamberg]

The wait to just "pencil in" is killing me! We're planning an escape wedding for November and it sucks having to give everyone a general date, since some of our guests have to have their vacation time for work submitted in the next few weeks.
We're also trying to be as flexible as we can with our dates as well. Here's hoping that our first choices don't get scooped up before we can as least "pencil in".

[Chilly]

I think its worth ringing because you might find out that the slot you wanted is already booked by a Wishes bride so at least then you'd have a month to decide on a different option.

[DisneyDudet]

When you say 9 months out, is it 9 months from the date? Say we want Nov 9, would we be able to call Feb 1, or do we have to wait for Feb 9?

[lurkyloo]

9 months out from the day you want. Or the following Monday if your call day falls on a weekend.

[asunnysideup]

I would recommend getting penciled in, if only so you know as soon as possible when your date is confirmed - it's good for them to have you penciled in so if they have to run the lottery, your name is in that initial group vs someone else definitely getting the date/time you want!