20th Anniversary Escape Renewal !!

[Turtle31]

Hi Everyone !! My husband and I ( mostly me ) are beginning to plan our 20th anniversary Vow Renewal. We are hoping to secure the date of Wednesday June 16th, 2018 at a 5:00 pm ceremony at The Gazebo at The Yacht Club. We are owners of DVC at The Beach Club. We have been every year to the Beach club for 2 weeks for the last ten years, we have made so many memories with our children who are now 17 and 12. We couldn't think of doing the renewal any other place. I wish Disney would let me pay them now ... But I have to wait until 8 months out from what I've read.
So far I've asked Regina Hyman to do our photography for the event. She did a family photo shoot for us a few years back and I can't say enough about her amazing talent !! I know the Escape package includes photography but this is something I would never be able to leave to luck of getting someone good.
So here goes just a couple of my many questions I'm sure I will have. This year we going to Beach Club in June for 2 weeks. What things can I do while we are there ? I'm going to order a cake from The Boardwalk Bakery for our anniversary so we can taste while we are there. Is it possible to talk to anyone to see all our choices in person ? What are other things I can see or take pictures of that will help me make choices ??
Also we are going to have the exact 18 guests plus myself and my husband. I'm leaning towards setting up a dinner afterwards at Cape May Buffet because it's so close and I really want to keep it all in the same area because of transportation. Has anyone else done this at this location ? If I did a 5:00pm ceremony followed by more picture time and then Cape May, am I crazy to even be thinking about a dessert Pary at Epcot !! Not sure if everything will seem rushed if I do this. ?
Thanks for any and all input !!

 

[Disney_Alli]

Okay first that's a great day (it's my birthday in a great location (that's where my sister got married) with an AWESOME photographer (Regina did my wedding and I LOVED her so much!!!) have you though about either doing an earlier ceremony before your dinner or skipping the dinner and adding savory foods to a DP? We added 3 kinds of sliders (and were supposed to have a meat and cheese display but there's a very long story there) it's a great way to still have dinner type foods but give yourselves more breathing room.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Sounds wonderful, but I agree with above poster, sounds too rushed. Either try for an earlier ceremony or add some food to you Dessert Party.

 

[Turtle31]

Okay first that's a great day (it's my birthday in a great location (that's where my sister got married) with an AWESOME photographer (Regina did my wedding and I LOVED her so much!!!) have you though about either doing an earlier ceremony before your dinner or skipping the dinner and adding savory foods to a DP? We added 3 kinds of sliders (and were supposed to have a meat and cheese display but there's a very long story there) it's a great way to still have dinner type foods but give yourselves more breathing room.

Thank you so much for replying with your thoughts. Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this thread. I've thought over the dessert party more, and I am just going to have to take it off the table unfortunately. I talked with my MIL about the dinner and she just loves the idea of Cape May Buffet. She loves the idea that they have seafood and that they have pizza, mac and cheese and plenty of kid choices. One of my husbands brothers has 7 kids !!! The crazy thing is that I love all of them - but this one brothers family of 9 is going to take up half of my guest list ! Since we are so kid heavy with total kid count being 11, I think after the ceremony we will just need to get them in out of the heat and let them sit down and eat a good meal. The worst part of all the kids is only one of them will be under the age of 9 - so we will be paying adult price of 60.00 for each one of them - they better be hungry lol....

 

[Disney_Alli]

OUCH! That's a lot of money for the kids. Have you thought about another restaurant? I know your MIL likes the idea of Cape May but I had my 'rehearsal' dinner at Garden Grove at the Swan. It's cheaper and while it isn't a buffet exactly it's a soup and salad buffet, plated main then dessert buffet, plus they were great to work with for my large-ish group. Another option would be the 2 hour reception through DFTW it might be more expensive but depending on the location it could be cheaper, especially if they'll charge you kid prices for more of the kids. That's really too bad about the DP we really enjoyed ours. Anyway this is very rambling but I hope I helped.

 

[Doodlebug25413]

You have so many options with the Escape package. And surprisingly, if you're planning for 2018 they may change the options a lot in that time frame as well. But I totally get the whole pre-planning.
And exactly what Disney_Alli said as well with the 2 hour Wishes wedding. Definitely might be more affordable in the long run for you with your larger group?

I recommend Carrie Haywards Ebook about Disney Wedding planning. It's affordable, a quick and easy download and it is broken down for all of the wedding packages. This really helped me and a lot of the other Dis Brides on here
with planning when you couldn't really "talk" to Disney yet. Plus it also gives you options for having a private catered event or places on property that may have a private room that you can do dinner at. I was looking into this for us as well.

Here's the link to Carries book (and no it's not a plug, again, Carrie, I just love the book!) Plus she has a weekly podcast all about Disney weddings.

http://www.passporter.com/disney-weddings-honeymoons.php

http://disneyweddingpodcast.com/

 

[hollybearsmom]

Following as i am planning a vow renewal too!

 

[Turtle31]

OUCH! That's a lot of money for the kids. Have you thought about another restaurant? I know your MIL likes the idea of Cape May but I had my 'rehearsal' dinner at Garden Grove at the Swan. It's cheaper and while it isn't a buffet exactly it's a soup and salad buffet, plated main then dessert buffet, plus they were great to work with for my large-ish group. Another option would be the 2 hour reception through DFTW it might be more expensive but depending on the location it could be cheaper, especially if they'll charge you kid prices for more of the kids. That's really too bad about the DP we really enjoyed ours. Anyway this is very rambling but I hope I helped.

Thank you so much for your suggestions !!! My hubby has been traveling for business a lot so I just finally got to talk to him about Garden Grove. Sometimes I think when I talk he just hears.... "Disney,blah,blah, I'm spending your money,,blah,blah, Disney." But I still have to ask so I can say... You were included in this decision lol.... Anyway, he actually really loved the idea. He hates buffets so he said he liked the idea that it was a salad,soup bar but that his entrée would come out hot to him. In all our years to the Beach Club we have never been into the Swan or been to this restaurant. So I have a few questions. I looked at allears.net to try and see how the menu and entrée/buffet options worked and I was a little confused. On allears.net it does indeed show the 4 choices of entrees and prices and say you get salad/soup/dessert bar. But then it also says something like Tuesday and Thursday is Southern BBQ and has ribs and pulled pork, Monday and Wednesday is Mediterrean night and has pastas, Friday and Saturday are Seafood night. And then after all these statements there is a different price again. So does it mean if the guests choose buffet they get all buffet for that price no entrée, or if they choose entrée then they are limited to only the salad/soup/dessert and do not get to go to the part where there is meat and pastas ? Also I've read a few reviews and some weren't the best. Did you feel the food was good, fresh and served at the right temps? I looked at a few pictures of the inside on line and I really like the look of it. It reminds me of Animal Kingdom ! I also Love the idea of characters being at the dinner without me having to pay an arm and a leg to have a private meeting with them.
Okay one last question, I was really hoping since I am aiming for a 5:00pm ceremony to have cake after dinner. Probably no chance that Disney would be willing to deliver cake to The Swan ? Do you think if Disney boxed it up, The Swan would let me have it at the restaurant ?
Thanks so much for all your advice !! It has really helped me out !

 

[Turtle31]

You have so many options with the Escape package. And surprisingly, if you're planning for 2018 they may change the options a lot in that time frame as well. But I totally get the whole pre-planning.
And exactly what Disney_Alli said as well with the 2 hour Wishes wedding. Definitely might be more affordable in the long run for you with your larger group?

I recommend Carrie Haywards Ebook about Disney Wedding planning. It's affordable, a quick and easy download and it is broken down for all of the wedding packages. This really helped me and a lot of the other Dis Brides on here
with planning when you couldn't really "talk" to Disney yet. Plus it also gives you options for having a private catered event or places on property that may have a private room that you can do dinner at. I was looking into this for us as well.

Here's the link to Carries book (and no it's not a plug, again, Carrie, I just love the book!) Plus she has a weekly podcast all about Disney weddings.

http://www.passporter.com/disney-weddings-honeymoons.php

http://disneyweddingpodcast.com/

Thanks so much for the thought of the 2-hour reception with my Escape package. This will be something I think about for sure. And I know your right, so much can change in 2 years. With the boardwalk being under construction and some new dining options coming I may change my mind at least five times lol. Plus until I book at the 8-month mark I probably won't even know realistically how many family members will actually save enough money to be able to come.
I have Carrie's book in paperback form but I'm going to download the E-book right now. And thanks for suggesting the Podcast, I've already been listening to it everyday on my way to and from work. Makes driving to work more enjoyable lol.....

 

[Turtle31]

Following as i am planning a vow renewal too!

Congrats on making it to 20 years !! I've read your vow renewal report and I'll be following along to see what great ideas you come up with

 

[Disney_Alli]

Thank you so much for your suggestions !!! My hubby has been traveling for business a lot so I just finally got to talk to him about Garden Grove. Sometimes I think when I talk he just hears.... "Disney,blah,blah, I'm spending your money,,blah,blah, Disney." But I still have to ask so I can say... You were included in this decision lol.... Anyway, he actually really loved the idea. He hates buffets so he said he liked the idea that it was a salad,soup bar but that his entrée would come out hot to him. In all our years to the Beach Club we have never been into the Swan or been to this restaurant. So I have a few questions. I looked at allears.net to try and see how the menu and entrée/buffet options worked and I was a little confused. On allears.net it does indeed show the 4 choices of entrees and prices and say you get salad/soup/dessert bar. But then it also says something like Tuesday and Thursday is Southern BBQ and has ribs and pulled pork, Monday and Wednesday is Mediterrean night and has pastas, Friday and Saturday are Seafood night. And then after all these statements there is a different price again. So does it mean if the guests choose buffet they get all buffet for that price no entrée, or if they choose entrée then they are limited to only the salad/soup/dessert and do not get to go to the part where there is meat and pastas ? Also I've read a few reviews and some weren't the best. Did you feel the food was good, fresh and served at the right temps? I looked at a few pictures of the inside on line and I really like the look of it. It reminds me of Animal Kingdom ! I also Love the idea of characters being at the dinner without me having to pay an arm and a leg to have a private meeting with them.
Okay one last question, I was really hoping since I am aiming for a 5:00pm ceremony to have cake after dinner. Probably no chance that Disney would be willing to deliver cake to The Swan ? Do you think if Disney boxed it up, The Swan would let me have it at the restaurant ?
Thanks so much for all your advice !! It has really helped me out !

We had our meal on Wednesday we had the soup/salad bar and a plated entree there was a beef, chicken, salmon, and veggie option. As that's the only time I've ever been in there I'm really not sure about the theme nights. I did not see any other buffet in the restaurant. We had a table for 15 set up under the tree which was very close to the buffet there were very few others in the restaurant. I found my food to be very good and didn't hear any complaints from others, everyone seemed to really enjoy the food and our leisurely dinner was a really enjoyable evening. It was just two characters Pluto and Goofy I think but they came around a couple of times until they figured we were good then spent more time with the others around the restaurant. All in all it was a lovely evening and the staff bent over backwards for us (which was not at all necessary we were a very low key group with very few requests) I worked directly with the manager and they laid out timelines I'd made up for all my guests that I dropped off several days prior (Saturday when they opened before our Wednesday dinner) they asked if we wanted a cake but I decided against it knowing we had way too much cake coming with our wedding the next day. Disney will box your cake up after your cake cutting I'm sure you'll be able to bring the cake in with you and while they won't store it for you (you'll have to keep it on the table) you'll be able to enjoy it after your meal. Sorry I can't be more specific with your questions about prices but I bet if you called the restaurant you could speak with them and they could answer those questions. Their number is on their website at swandolphinrestaurants.com

 

[Disney_Alli]

Grrrr double post

 

[epcotcenter1982]

Okay one last question, I was really hoping since I am aiming for a 5:00pm ceremony to have cake after dinner. Probably no chance that Disney would be willing to deliver cake to The Swan ? Do you think if Disney boxed it up, The Swan would let me have it at the restaurant ?

You are completely responsible for the cake after the cake and celebration (if you are doing that in the Escape package)
With only 5 of us we had plenty of cake left and they box the topper in one box, the top tier in another box, and the bottom tier in yet another box. It was all put in the limo to take with us.
One of the reasons I had the top tier left intact and only the bottom tier cut into for eating at the cake and celebration was so we could (if we wished) take it with us to another restaurant. But we never did and just kept it in our villa fridge and continued to eat it over the rest of the time.

The cake can not be taken into any Disney kitchen once it's been presented to you after the ceremony due to hygiene reasons but you are welcome to take it into any restaurant to enjoy there at your table.
I don't know if Disney charge cakeage which happens at restaurants here (usually a nominal fee per plate for washing up) but I doubt it.