Entertaining in the cabins?

[patiruss]

Hi Folks, I have a question around entertaining at the cabins. I'll give you a little history. We are traveling to Disney for my son's wedding in August. Our family have rented six cabins for a week. Others, (more family, friends and the bride's family and friends are staying on various Disney properties). Because everyone is coming from out of state, we wanted to host a welcome event on the Friday night before the wedding. We think there would be between 50 to 75 people invited and probably would not all be there at the same time. We are thinking of a casual get together between the hours of 4:00pm to maybe 7:00pm. We would like to offer appetizers, cold cut sandwiches maybe, wine, beer and cold drinks. We are talking about families, so it would not be a wild party...more a chance for people to see the bride and groom before the wedding. We are just in the brainstorming phase right now.
Finally...my question to those of you with experience at Fort Wilderness.....would it be feasable to host such an event at our cabin? Are there rules that we would be breaking? If you were staying in a cabin nearby, would you feel impossed on? Thank you in advance for your responses.

 

[dawgsgirl]

I don't know about the rules, but those cabins are small. Using the deck would increase the party space some, but the cabins are not made for entertaining at all. 8-10 people in the living room would be crowded. There is a picnic table on the deck, so not much seating there. I would rethink this plan. Just my honest opinion!

 

[house_of_princesses]

8 people in a cabin would be very tight. If all six cabins were right next to each other, you may be able to have a "block" party. Other than that, I'd call FW and ask how they can help you. Perhaps you could all meet at the beach. Whenever I'm there, it's empty. Perhaps a playground/picnic area, or even a pool area. The little tucked away pool (I forget it's name) is also empty when I've gone by in the past.

Whatever you decide, I would certainly alert FW. You wouldn't want to be disbanded by security during your meet and greet!

 

[castlegazer]

A very late post on this but - my first thought is, what a transportation logistic nightmare. You do realize that there can only be one car at the cabins at one time, right? How would you get all your guests to the cabin? They would have to take a bus and then walk to the cabin.

I really like the idea of the beach party - again, they would have to take buses from the parking area at the front of the campground. Try talking to the Wilderness Lodge and see if you can have a private party over there - better parking situation and you would have room for everyone.

We felt crowded with a party of six in the cabins - two of which were under three. The cabins are the biggest and best accomodations you can get in WDW that's not a suite at the DVC resorts - but they are just not THAT big.

 

[patiruss]

Thank you to all who offered advice. It was helpful. We quickly nixed the idea of having anything at the cabins. We had already approached FW about renting or using space for a B-B-Que and it is not something they do. As for transportation, we are trying very hard to find some way of entertaining on Disney property, since my son and his fiance have done such a great job of convincing their quests to stay at Disney resorts, so most may not even have cars. We are getting frustrated since anything we look at ends up costing about $25.00 per person. To have our own B-B-Que hosted by FW is over $40 per person. Set up fees, service charges, taxes and gratuities make it so! Anyway...just venting. I really appreciated the feedback and thought I 'd respond with an update!

 

[house_of_princesses]

Just an idea....try the weddings thread. They may an idea about large gatherings that are affordable.

 

[LostBoyinVA]

What about the new 'Magical Gatherings' program? Lots of big promotions on this and information on it floating around.

 

[mushck]

I know this sounds expensive but the best value I could find for an event at WDW is the Grand Floridian Hotel. (Believe it or not!) I don't know if this would work for you but you can actually have a private event at the tea room at the hotel. No setup and it is one of the most beautiful "restaurants" in all WDW. (Other places on property would try to sell me flowers and included a lot of other fees.) I had my baby shower at the tea room. You can choose anything off the menu which runs $8.00 - 25.00 per person. There are no other fees, you just have a minimum of $500.00 for the event. I called and reserved my time and date and they did the rest. You just show up. I chose one of the more expensive things on the menu for everyone at my event. (19.00... more of a brunch type meal) I think you could get by with more around the $15.00 range since your not looking for a meal. You can chose one thing for everyone or each person can chose their own, what ever you want. They even have something for the men. (Speak with the tea room manager directly)

There might be a few problems for you. One would be the time and the other would be that it might be more formal then you want. You can still wear shorts but it is a far cry from a b-b-que which sound so nice and homey! I just thought I would throw it out there for you to think about. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you. I would love to hear what you decide.

 

[hentob]

To charter a bus from an Orlando company and rent a private room at an off site restaurant? Pick up all guests at their respective resorts and head offsite!

Let us know what you do

Hentob

 

[ariel06042002]

When I got married in june 2001 we had 40 guests at Cape Mays located in the Beach Club Resort. I'm not exactly sure how much it cost per person because my mother in law handled it but I think it was pretty reasonable. They have a seafood buffet with many other options.

 

[tw1nsmom]

I know you've decided against the party at the cabins, but have you thought of some type of round robin party? Maybe you could have a different type of food/beverage in each cabin and have everyone rotate every 20 minutes. Have the bride and groom in one cabin, Parents in two other cabins... Make a game of it and all the guests would get a chance to visit with all the wedding party. If there are children involved, maybe you could hire a couple babysitters and have them go swimming/to the playground/pizza. If you rent one or two golf carts you could have everyone take a bus to FW and then you could ferry them to the cabins. Just make it clear on the invitations/notices for the party what will be happening so that everyone who comes is on board. We have friends who have done this kind of party with other people on their street and everyone had a great time.