After the Ceremony

[sunset30]

Hi all,

Not sure when (in the day) our ceremony will be as I am still nervously waiting to hear back from Disney (Feb next year!!!) re my oct 2010 wedding

I am an escape bride, and trying to keep the costs down, but we do definitely want to do something after the ceremony. We also want to keep the costs down for the guests too - so we don't want them to HAVE to haev park passes or to HAVE to stay in a disney hotel.

I really want to do the boat trip in MK (with the pirate and meeting Peter Pan, to see the water pageant and the Fireworks) but, a) I don't know if they still do that grand gathering, as I don't think it includes food, b) It doesn't include food, and really we SHOULD feed people shouldn't we?, and c) people would need park passes AND to be a Disney guest?

So, we are probably going to book regular reservations (We should be 15 people) but, I guess they should be outside of parks. Any good reccommendations?

I would prefer the "experience" to the dinner - but need lots of ideas, so...please help!

Lx

[lurkyloo]

The Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage is now open to ALL guests, not just Grand Gatherings groups, and you do not need park admission because it doesn't go into the park.

Also, you get cookies and chips and drinks (not really a meal, but...). Check out all the info here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/recreation/fi...atespalscruise


and here

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tou...eworks-voyage/


As for booking a private meal, only a few restaurants have private rooms, but several have certain sections they can put large groups in. The trouble with booking a Disney-owned restaurant for a large group is that they will usually only book the first seating (5:30ish) or last seating (9:00ish) because those are the only times they can guarantee they'll be able to seat you all together. You might check out the non-Disney-owned restaurants at Downtown Disney, which seem to be more flexible. These include Raglan Road, Portobello, Fulton's, and Wolfgang Puck's two restaurants.

[sunset30]

Thank you so much for that! It's a BIG help! Personally I favour the boat trip - definitely more Disney! PLus since there will be cake and champagne, hopefully no one will feel bad!

Lx

[Beep]

Hiya,

I'm not sure if it's the sort of thing you are after but you can have private dining at Sago Cay at the Grand Floridian. We are doing this for 7-9 people for lunch after our ceremony. I'm pretty sure you can have it for a Dessert party too.

[5forDiz]

wasn't married at WDW ( but DH & I may do VR couple years from now ) but we have done many trips with large, extended family groups. Well fed guests are happy guests ( lol ! ) - there are lots of not too outrageously priced dining options on property, particularly buffet meals....if you do latest seating at breakfast buffet you'll definitely not be wanting lunch. Even for dinner a buffet meal would probably be worth $ because it offers something for everyone & some locations have characters as well which could add to the Disney experience without visiting a park - could be a nice touch for your wedding day, photos with characters, etc. allears.net is usually up to date on all latest menus and pricing and take a look too at mousesavers dot com for info on options at downtown Disney hotels located on property on Hotel Plaza Blvd. for dining/reception options ( these are non-Disney owned hotels ).

jmho, I would not stay offsite unless you absolutely have some great recommendations...I'd sooner stay at Pop Century or All-Star resorts; often the savings offsite is not what you'd think it would amount to be and even a known franchise can be run-down in Disney-Orlando area. Personally, I wouldn't want to chance it. Also, you will give up the convenience of being onsite & use of Disney's transportation - even if your guests are not visiting theme parks they can ride the monorail, boats from the resorts on Bay Lake & 7 Seas Lagoon, from POR/FQ to Downtown Disney, around Crescent Lake at Epcot resorts, etc. as well as Disney's busses of course....this can be a fun way to spend some time & visit some other resorts, etc. too. Staying at WDW hotels includes Magical Express to / from airport so this is a savings right at the get-go when staying onsite. Disney often offers room discounts & check through AAA & other travel sites too.

Best wishes on your planning

[sunset30]

Thanks - yeah, we're booked at WL for the whole two weeks, and definitely seeing the benefit of the Disney resort. However, we didn't want our guests to feel forced into any kind of choices.

Was thinking of a character buffet, but DF and I both REALLY like the idea of the boat trip - seeing the fireworks from a good spot on our wedding day is a bit special, no? Plus, wehave a little boy who will be nearly 4, so it'll be fun for him too AND we have a list of teh character meals we want to do with him for our whole stay too!

I have asked my MoH and My bro (who are the only others bringing children) which they think will be the better option too, so we'll see what they say, but personally, you can eat anywhere, you can only get real disney at disney LOL!

Lx

[disprincessatheart]

We did our escape wedding last spring and then did dinner and then a MK fireworks cruise without characters after. It was very cool and for 19 people on both we spent less than $2k with dinner for everyone at Narcoossee's. If you did a buffet dinner - 1900 PF, Chef Mickey's, etc - you would probably be able to do that plus the fireworks cruise for less than $1000 total. Check out my TR if that's something you're interested in. With only a couple of kids in your party, the regular fireworks cruise might be a better choice than the pirates one.

[lpizzuro123]

You could do dinner at the GF. 1900 Park Fair has characters and is buffet, and the Grand Floridian Cafe is a sit down - not too expensive meal. This way you will be at the GF and then can do the Wishes Fireworks cruise either on the Grand One, a pontoon boat or the GG cruise.

Linda

[sunset30]

THanks for those ideas - I shall be checking out your TR!!!
a whole third of our guests are children - so it is really important to us that they all have a great time too - so maybe the pirates one is not a bad idea. (Especially considering that my nephew will absolutely dissolve in ecstacy if he can actually meet Peter Pan!)
1900 PF is a character buffet which will be on or ADR list for the week anyway - (although getting the ADRS seems a little stressful, and we have a fortnights worth to arrnage!) and we want to do something a bit different.
HOWEVER, personally, I would be up for doing the MK fireworks cruise WITHOUT characters, it's another thing to consider - I would like it best I think that way - but on the link it only goes up to 10 people?
Lx

[lpizzuro123]

I also think feeding people is a good idea. If everyone is traveling from the UK feeding them would be the thing to do.

Linda

[sunset30]

yeah, that's how we feel about it - hence being torn.
On the other hand, people coming from UK will likely come for a whole holiday - so our wedding will be just an event in their holiday which makes it LESS of a big deal to have a huge "do"
Some of our guests though are in USA to begin with, so it will be a balancing act.
(only because the UK people are going to be likely to get BETTER deals on Disney packages - and thus come with everything included for the duration of their holiday)
This is really the only thing we've struggled deciding. it's so hard balancing the cost with the spectacle LOL
Lx

[lpizzuro123]

Wishes Cruises - there are two different types of boats you can get for the private cruise. The Grand One - which holds 18 people and the Pontoon Boats. Each Pontoon Boat holds 10 people. We were going to do the Pontoon Boat ride the night before our wedding and we booked two boats. Here is some info from Allears.net

RESERVATIONS for all cruises are made by calling 407-WDW-PLAY, between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., up to 90 days in advance. You must provide a credit card to hold the reservation. You must cancel at least 24 hours in advance or your card will be charged.

NOTE: The cruise has gotten very popular, so be sure to call ahead for the reservation.

Linda