New lower wishes pricing

[cinder1]

My daughter is doing the new lower price wishes wedding. Hopefully. She won't know if she gets her pick for her day/time/venues for a couple of more weeks. But this is the info we have:

Lower price wishes wedding for 20-75 people

Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday at 10 am for a brunch reception or 12 pm for a lunch reception (9am for Epcot weddings as usual)

Bookable 12 months out

Minimums: $100 per person for food and beverages for brunch; $125 per person for lunch

Venue costs are $4000 and up for the Wedding Pavilion; $3500 and up for the outside venues

Enhancement minimum is $3000

The biggest difference is that the reception is shorter at 3 hours. The sales consultant called it the 4 hour wishes experience (1 hr for the ceremony; 3 hrs for the reception)

Supposedly they will also have a less expensive (shorter time period) photography package to go along with the shorter reception but no one we've spoken to knows what that price will be yet.

We have spoken to 3 different people at DFTW, 2 said the couple gets annual passes, 1 said wishes weddings do not include the passes.

The deposit is still $4000.

There are no venue restrictions as far as we've been told. We have been told that a 3 hr reception will not support dancing but I don't know if that's a true restriction or just a recommendation.

 

[marsh0013]

Thank you! That info about the annual passes - I'm guessing that third person is just wrong, because that makes no sense. But we shall see! Glad to hear no venue restrictions. I'm anxiously awaiting an email response and possibly getting penciled in!

 

[lurkyloo]

Thanks for sharing this info!

 

[cinder1]

Marsh when are you hoping for?

 

[marsh0013]

October 20, 2016 if this pricing structure works out for us. Crossing my fingers! I still have to run all of our options by my fiance. Friday would work better for schedules, but we'd have to do Escape to afford Friday. So we may make the compromise to Thursday with this new option.

 

[marsh0013]

Here's the info on the photo package for this new Wishes collection package, which the email I got refers to as "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings - 4 hour Wishes Collection"

Includes two (2) Professional Photographers to cover up to four (4) hours of your Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding

• A private website of your final images
• An Archival Disc
• One (1) 11x14 Print
Includes our Premier Album listed below:
• Lustre 12” x 12” forty (40) print flush mounted album

$1,995

And it looks like we're going to have to move our wedding up by a week. Apparently Sea Breeze Point is not available Sun Oct 16 through Thurs Oct 20, 2016 because a convention group has bought out the conference center that is used for weather back up locations. Bummer! But we're looking at it with a positive spin - the 13th has special meaning for us, as 13 is "my number" (see user name), plus we got engaged on June 13 (which is also my birthday).

In other news, I know someone had posted that they were unable to book at Fantasmic! dessert party in July 2016 as they are unavailable indefinitely, however, my planner (I'm guessing I've been assigned a planner, her signature says Diane Mahoney-Brown, Senior Wedding Consultant) said that she shows that the patios are available, but wouldn't be able to guarantee it until our 12 month mark, which is just under 3 months away now. We were originally looking to do an Escape on a Friday (and Fri Oct 21 is available even though the rest of the week is blocked out) with a Fantasmic dessert party, but I think my fiance is really set on having more of an actual reception, so we'll be moving forward with this 4 hour Wishes Collection on Thursday Oct 13, 2016. We can always add a dessert party as well, and just keep it as a true dessert only, not the semi-reception with more dinner type items we would have done with Escape. And since we're doing it a Thursday, we could do Illuminations if Fantasmic does in fact become unavailable.

Guess I should start a planning journal so I'm not taking over everybody else's threads!

 

[cinder1]

Thanks for the photography costs!! We love the number 13. Hope you get that!

 

[Disney_Alli]

13 is my favorite too! We started dating on Friday the 13ty and I'm getting married on August 13th.

 

[myadventurebook]

I can't wait to hear more about this. We are going back and forth between a small S&D wedding and DFTW for something in early-mid 2017, but this might turn the tables for us towards DFTW. The no-dancing rule would be a deal-breaker though. Our first dance and my father-daughter dance are the things I'm looking forward to the most (other than saying our vows obviously) so I don't know if eliminating that would be worth it for the lower price, which doesn't even seem that much lower anyway.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[lurkyloo]

There is no rule preventing dancing at these events, and even those of us who have shorter receptions and choose not to have a DJ usually still have first dances. You can hear complete details on the new offer here: http://disneyweddingpodcast.com/2015/07/22/how-to-have-a-wishes-wedding-for-the-minimum-expenditure/

 

[cinder1]

I listened to your podcast Carrie which I love! But I have a couple of questions now. You mentioned that the MK photo shoot counts towards the minimum enhancement costs even if you use outside photography for the ceremony and reception but I was told by DFTW that the MK shoot only counts if you use Disney photography for the ceremony too because the MK shoot is not really part of the ceremony. Do you know anything about that? Also is it correct that you can book the MK shoot a year out if you are also using Disney photography for the ceremony and otherwise, you can only book the MK shoot 45 days before?

And finally (for now), you talked about the 25 night minimum for hotel rooms. Do you have to book 25 nights or is that the minimum to get a free night? I thought you only needed to book 10 nights (you just won't get the free night). I was very happy to hear you don't have to do the room blocks!

Any help would be great!! My daughter and I are in love with your podcasts. And we feel like we are talking to a celebrity when you respond on the boards!!

 

[lurkyloo]

LOL! Glad you liked the show!

Yes, if you are having Disney shoot your wedding, you can book the MK shoot as soon as you sign your contract (if DFAP is allowed to take bookings at that point—last year the MK didn't let DFAP begin booking for 2015 til waaaaay late). Otherwise you have to wait til 45 days out. I'll have to re-listen to the show, but I'm almost certain I didn't specify that non-DFAP brides' MK shoots would count toward the minimum. I think I just said the it was one of the things that counted for our wedding. After we were married, they imposed that rule about the MK shoot only counting toward the minimum if you use DFAP for your wedding photography too.

And finally (for now), you talked about the 25 night minimum for hotel rooms. Do you have to book 25 nights or is that the minimum to get a free night? I thought you only needed to book 10 nights (you just won't get the free night). I was very happy to hear you don't have to do the room blocks!

Have you had a chance to check out my episode called Demystifying the Room Block? It explains everything in detail, but basically...

• If you and/or anyone who uses your wedding's special booking number reserve 25 nights, you get a free night. Even if you don't actually create a room block that sets aside those nights for you and your guests.
• If you want to set aside rooms for your guests through a room block, the minimum is 10 nights. So you could set up a 10-night block, end up filling 25 nights, and get the free night. It's just that you were only required to fill 10 nights.
  
• Disney's REAL best-kept secret: You don't have to do a room block.

Hope this helps!

 

[cinder1]

Thanks for the reply. You are right. You didn't say that the MK photo shoot counts toward the enhancement minimums even if you use outside photography but I assumed since it counted for you and you used outside photography. I didn't realize that had changed too. Ugh!

Since we aren't required to do a room block, essentially there is no minimum night stay requirement, correct? I don't think we want to block rooms because I think we can get a better rate than the one offered by DFTW.

 

[myadventurebook]

There is no rule preventing dancing at these events, and even those of us who have shorter receptions and choose not to have a DJ usually still have first dances. You can hear complete details on the new offer here: http://disneyweddingpodcast.com/2015/07/22/how-to-have-a-wishes-wedding-for-the-minimum-expenditure/

Your podcast was majorly informative, Carrie, so thank you for doing what you do! You mentioned that you actually liked having a shorter reception and I think that definitely makes sense. I actually like the idea of not having to have a DJ or unlimited booze but that I'd still be able to have toasts and first dances and those sorts of things. It's the best of both worlds IMO. A lighter brunch event is actually what I was looking for from the get-go, so I'm glad to know first dances are still an option there. Thanks again

 

[lurkyloo]

Since we aren't required to do a room block, essentially there is no minimum night stay requirement, correct?

Correct! Only Escape and Memories have minimum stay requirements.

Your podcast was majorly informative, Carrie, so thank you for doing what you do! You mentioned that you actually liked having a shorter reception and I think that definitely makes sense. I actually like the idea of not having to have a DJ or unlimited booze but that I'd still be able to have toasts and first dances and those sorts of things. It's the best of both worlds IMO. A lighter brunch event is actually what I was looking for from the get-go, so I'm glad to know first dances are still an option there. Thanks again

Glad you enjoyed the show!

 

[Lauren1027]

For Wishes weddings, do you (the bride and groom) have to be staying at the resort for a minimum of 4 days, like the Escape wedding requires? We're Orlando locals and don't really need to stay at the resort for 4 days before/after the wedding, though we do plan to stay for 2. Will that be ok?

 

[cinder1]

For Wishes weddings, do you (the bride and groom) have to be staying at the resort for a minimum of 4 days, like the Escape wedding requires? We're Orlando locals and don't really need to stay at the resort for 4 days before/after the wedding, though we do plan to stay for 2. Will that be ok?

Carrie says only Memories and Escape have minimum stays!!