Disneyland FTW Question...

[Janet2k]

Originally Posted by lurkyloo

What are they smoking?! I called them just 3 months ago and was told that a park wedding started at $60,000 but they were working on a "budget" package starting at $25,000. If anything, they should be getting cheaper!

Just proves my theory that WDW's DFTW is WAY more on the ball than Disneyland's

Okay, Lurkyloo, I'm gonna blame you. Had you not asked, the price tag would have stayed down a level or two. But, oh, no, you had to go and ask, didn't you? Shame on you!

All kidding aside, I was just as surprised by the new price tag as you were. Perhaps when my 25th anniversary rolls around, the price tag will drop. Way down...

A girl's gotta have dreams, doesn't she?

[Janet2k]

Originally Posted by RangerPooh

I think that when we started planing back in 2002 an in-DL park wedding was around $50k. They were still doing intimate ceremonies beside the castle for ~$1800 if you had 15 or fwer guests. We considered that option but there as no way it would hapen. But the price increase doesn't surprise me. Nor does the organizational skills of DL FTW.

RangerPooh, an intimate ceremony beside the castle for ~$1800 sounds like a steal. Wow! I wish Disney would bring back the good old days, ~sigh.~

I still can't believe that they don't offer an in-park photo package to their FTW couples. That is probably the most surprising difference between Disneyland and Walt Disney World weddings / vow renewals.

[cryssi]

Originally Posted by Janet2k

Cryssi, I'm sorry I didn't read your post when I popped into the Dis the other night. I simply did a drive by posting, you know how it goes (!!).

Yes, you should have done the castle wedding, you silly girl! But at least that site is available should you decide to renew your vows one day (hint! hint!). Start saving your pennies now.

Janet! Long time no see (hear? post?)! LOL I highly doubt DH will want to do a VR (ever) since we went all out for the wedding ...but perhaps one of these years I can persuade him to do an Intimate VR at the World...

[Janet2k]

Originally Posted by Lisacope

I just wanted to wish you a happy holidays to you and your family! My VR planning is coming along well - our planning session is in 2 months! I hope Santa brings you something nice this year!

Lisacope, hello! And happy holidays right back at ya -- and your family, too!

I actually thought of you the other day when I was replacing some of my Summerhouse photos on Flickr. Over the years, many folks have asked me what the Wishes fireworks look like from the Grand Floridian's marina location. I used to have just one or two fireworks photos in my old Summerhouse album, but last week I decided that wasn't enough. I uploaded all of the fireworks photos that my Disney photographer took during my party. They're now located in their very own Flickr album: click here.

When the album opens, simply click on the "View as slideshow" link (top, right-hand side of that webpage). As the photos appear, they should give you a small glimpse of what the fireworks look like from the marina venue. And if you have the Wishes soundtrack, play it when you're viewing the slideshow. It should make you feel like you're actually right there at my party. Make sure to enjoy yourself -- that's the only request that I have of my guests!

I know that you have a marina party planned for your FTW vow renewal. I hope my photos add a little bit to the excitement that you must be feeling as the year 2008 gets ready to begin. Your vow renewal will soon be here and I'll be viewing your photos instead. My, where has the time gone?

[Janet2k]

Originally Posted by cryssi

Janet! Long time no see (hear? post?)! LOL I highly doubt DH will want to do a VR (ever) since we went all out for the wedding ...but perhaps one of these years I can persuade him to do an Intimate VR at the World...

Cryssi, never say never. You never know what a man will want to do when the time comes. If you check out the following post in my old trip report (see below), you'll see that my husband took me completely by surprise. Make sure to play the music video (link given in post) because that's how my husband made me feel after 20 long years of marriage. That man was full of surprises. And still is.

Click here to read my post.

Boy, have I said lately how much I love my husband?

[Lisacope]

Gosh Janet - looking at your photos from your DP at GF Marina makes me so excited for that part of my event! The thing I wondered when I looked at the pix from your fabulous event - how much of it was the wonderfully creative mind of Janet and how much was Disney? Your choice of food and beverage, the displays, the costumes on the servers - were you surprised by all of that or were you the one that made all of those choices?

[Janet2k]

I'm a tenacious little booger:

- - - - - - -
Main Entry: te·na·cious
Pronunciation: \tə-ˈnā-shəs\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin tenac-, tenax tending to hold fast, from tenēre to hold
Date: 1607

1 a: not easily pulled apart : cohesive <a tenacious metal> b: tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance <tenacious burs>
2 a: persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired <a tenacious advocate of civil rights> <tenacious negotiators> b: retentive <a tenacious memory>
- - - - - - -

And so I sent an e-mail to Disney this evening with the following request:

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Dear Fairy Tale Weddings Folks in both Disneyland & Walt Disney World:

In September, and again in November, I filled out the on-line request for Fairy Tale Weddings information. It is now the very end of December and I have yet to receive anything in the US Mail.

My husband and I would like to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal in either Disneyland or Walt Disney World in 2009. It would be most helpful if we at least had some cursory information to review as we decide which location will suit our needs best. What does a girl have to do around here in order to get a little information? How many times does she have to fill out the on-line order form before someone sends her something? HELP!

Sincerely,
Janet
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Yeah, I think it's about time that I got some FTW information. I'll let you folks know if I hear anything back from them.

[Janet2k]

Originally Posted by Lisacope

Gosh Janet - looking at your photos from your DP at GF Marina makes me so excited for that part of my event!

Lisacope, I'm glad my marina fireworks photos helped. And I'm glad they're adding to your excitement about your own event.

When I can find the time, I'll do the same thing with the other events that I have held at the marina -- that is, create separate photo albums for the fireworks shots (the MNSSHP fireworks photos are the most dramatic). I'm not sure when that will be, though. Just this evening I FINALLY got around to finishing my Summerhouse album: click here. That album now has higher-resolution photos in it. YAHOO! But I am amazed at how long it took me to complete. Yikes, but it was a lot of work.

The thing I wondered when I looked at the pix from your fabulous event - how much of it was the wonderfully creative mind of Janet and how much was Disney?

It was all my incredibly talented Event Manager. I honestly believe that Disney assigned to me one of their best. He simply presented his ideas and let me pick & choose what I thought was best for my event. And for my guests.

Your choice of food and beverage, the displays, the costumes on the servers - were you surprised by all of that or were you the one that made all of those choices?

I discussed the menu with my Event Manager over the telephone. I told him that I was allergic to seafood and thus if it was served at my event, it would have to be kept away from my food while it was being prepared. He understood completely and made a note of it in my file.

The final dinner menu is shown below:



It had "Grilled Spicy Peeled Shrimp" listed on it because my husband is a seafood lover (and an avid fisherman). That was my concession to my husband. (Boy, he's lucky that I love him so much!)

The private chef who worked my event was alerted to my seafood allergy via the detailed notes that my Event Manager had taken. When I introduced myself to him at the party, he told me that my steak would be cooked on a separate part of the grill than the shrimp would be cooked on. In the following photo, you can see the shrimp cooking on the left and the steak cooking on the right:



The chef also made sure to keep the cooking utensils separate. It worked out well because I didn't taste any seafood in my food (you'd be surprised how often I taste seafood remnants in my food in the real world -- yikes!). I was definitely a happy camper. Disney had taken my food allergy very seriously.

When it came to the dessert menu, that was run by me, too. However, I did have one request -- the Cinderella's Slipper Dessert:



The Mickey Mousse Bombe Dessert was a suggestion by my Event Manager. They were adorable little Mouse Ears hats:



As to the attire of the wait-staff, I'm pretty sure my Event Manager ran that by me. What they wore wasn't a big deal but my Event Manager wanted to give my event a "Summer BBQ Beachy" type of feel. The attire that was chosen for them definitely fit into the beach vibe:



At the marina dessert party, our bartender kept his "beach" attire on. However, we had a new server and he was dressed in the more formal attire that is usually found on the Grand Floridian's Private Dining staff. That was okay by me, but it did catch my eye.

As to the decorations that were used in both of my venues, my Event Manager ran that by me, too. I honestly loved how the bright red-gingham check stood in stark contrast to the green of the trees and the blue of the lagoon:



And also in contrast to the blackness of the night:



The decorations that were chosen for the buffet tables in both venues were themed beautifully. I didn't choose them, of course, but they did fit into the BBQ theme quite nicely.

Summerhouse venue:



Marina venue:



With Disney, you sometimes get choices when it comes to the small details, but sometimes you don't. When a choice has been presented to me, I have either gone with my gut feeling or gone with what my Event Manager thinks will work out the best. Whatever route I've taken, I've always been pleased. And for those times when I've found myself completely mired in the minutiae, I'm awfully glad I left the details to the professionals -- my Event Managers!

[Janet2k]

As you folks may remember, on December 26th, 2007, I sent out the following cry for help to Disney:

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Dear Fairy Tale Weddings Folks in both Disneyland & Walt Disney World:

In September, and again in November, I filled out the on-line request for Fairy Tale Weddings information. It is now the very end of December and I have yet to receive anything in the US Mail.

My husband and I would like to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal in either Disneyland or Walt Disney World in 2009. It would be most helpful if we at least had some cursory information to review as we decide which location will suit our needs best. What does a girl have to do around here in order to get a little information? How many times does she have to fill out the on-line order form before someone sends her something? HELP!

Sincerely,
Janet
- - - - - - -

A kind Cast Member must have taken pity on me because last week I received the following envelope in the US Mail:



But where did this envelope come from? The answer was found on the back of it:



Yes, it came from Walt Disney World. But who knows, maybe I’ll be receiving one from Disneyland soon. My fingers are crossed.

[Janet2k]

I scanned in the booklet that was sent to me by the Fairy Tale Weddings organization in Walt Disney World. I’ll share images of that booklet’s pages below so that you can see what it looked like.

I should note that a blue band enclosed the ivory-colored booklet. The cover of the booklet was embossed with a drawing of Cinderella's carriage. I had to alter the photos of the cover slightly so that you could "see" the embossing since it was not picked up very well by my digital scanner. (Remember, the cover was all one color – ivory.)

Cover with Band:


Cover without Band:



Vellum Page:


Fairy Tale Image:


Welcome Page:


Wedding Specialist:


Wishes Collection:


Couture Collection:


Escape Collection:


Cruise Collection:

[Janet2k]

Here are some more pages from the booklet that was sent to me by the Fairy Tale Weddings organization in Walt Disney World.

Honeymoon Collection:


Honeymoon Registry:


Your Once-Upon-A-Time Is Here:


As you can see, the booklet was lovely and a nice way to begin the journey of planning a Fairy Tale Weddings wedding, or in my case, vow renewal.

There were two other items in the booklet and I'll share images of them soon.

[Janet2k]

At the end of the booklet was an insert. It contained some further information about Walt Disney World's wedding and honeymoon packages. The information was dated 2007.

Addendum Insert:



And here is what the addendum insert looked like in more detail:

[Janet2k]

Included with the Fairy Tale Weddings booklet was the following DVD:



When I popped that DVD into my computer, this is what I saw:

Main Menu:


Scene Selections Menu:


Here are some screen captures of the opening video montage so that you may compare your version of the DVD with mine (note: I received this DVD in January of 2008).





Here is a screen shot of the “host” of the DVD (I don’t know what her name is):



My guess is that this DVD is from quite a few years ago. I say this because the year “1998” appears on some of the Save the Date information:



I’m hopeful that a new Fairy Tale Weddings DVD will be released this year.

[Janet2k]

Okay, as you folks already know, I am very tenacious by nature: click here. But the Disneyland Fairy Tale Weddings folks were trying my patience, especially after I had received a brochure & DVD from their Florida counterparts. So, on January 14th, I sent the following letter via the Contact Us link on the Disneyland website:

- - - - - - -
Dear Fairy Tale Weddings Folks in Disneyland:

In September, and again in November, I filled out the on-line request form for some Fairy Tale Weddings information. It is now the middle of January and I have yet to receive anything in the US Mail.

My husband and I are considering renewing our wedding vows in Disneyland for our 25th wedding anniversary in 2009. It would be helpful if we at least had some cursory information to review in regards to Disneyland’s Fairy Tale Weddings program. Does this information exist in either brochure or DVD form? And if it does, what does a girl have to do around here in order to get her hands on it?

HELP!

Sincerely,
Janet
- - - - - - -

Would I ever hear back from them? Stay tuned...

[cryssi]

Janet, I saw your latest update and was going to ask if those DL people ever got back to you...I will wait with baited breath...