Adam and Katie's wedding PJ -10/2/2010 SBP/SCP need floral advice!!

[figment fan21]

Disaster averted! Good thing you emailed to check!

Oh one of my favorite subjects, the DxDP. DF and I love it, when we're on vacation we love to eat out every night at nice restaurants and not worry about what we're going to get. You have a ton of credits, so you get to go to a ton of restaurants - good for us since we have so many fav's and always want to try a few new ones. It also is a huge money saver for us, we saved probably $500 or more on our last trip. Okay, major differences:

1) You get three credits per day that you can use on anything. You don't have to ever eat CS if you don't want to. My DF doesn't like CS, he finds it kinda stressful.

2) You get 2 snacks per day which is awesome. We use one on water/drinks and one for a treat. We go when it's really hot, so definitely need the water.

3) You get an appetizer for each person. We would order an app anyway, so this really works out for us. It's also fun to be able to get what you want and not share.

4) You get 2 refillable mugs - okay, we don't really use these, but they make great souvenirs and I do use them at home. But it does save you $25 of buying them.

5) You can eat at signatures every night and not worry about credits. This is generally what we do, signature dinner, and then lunch or a character breakfast. You could also do dinner shows if you wanted.

6) If you have a bad meal, it doesn't really matter because it's already paid for and you'll probably be eating again soon anyway. Seriously, if I were paying OOP for some of these things I would have freaked out. $75 for two people for breakfast?! But on the DxDP it didn't matter, in fact the more it cost the better since that was just extra savings!

There are some situations where this plan wouldn't be for you:

1) It is a lot of food, if you're light eaters or would normally share things, probably not for you. My DF would look at me like I was crazy if I asked him to share his meal with me.

2) If you're a crazy commando tourer and want to spend every minute on rides - probably not for you, it does take time to eat at all these places, but we love the food at Disney just as much, and if you tour the Tour Guide Mike way, you can eat at all these places and still see your fav rides, so we've never felt like we were missing out.

If you have any other questions let me know. We've done the basic plan once and the Deluxe Plan twice now. I also did a Dining report for our last trip, on the first page there's a list of the places we ate.

WoW!!! Thats alot of food!!! Thank you so much for educating me in the ways of DxDP!!!! Now i'm in one heck of a pickle!

Wow, this is an educational journal, lol! I wanna do deluxe too now!! Except I don't think I can afford it!

I know right!? I'm glad i asked! My issue is the $$$ too.... its alot more than the Basic DDP

For us we don't know how we could eat all that food!! Out of our 7 nights on the DDP 2 night are occupied and we wouldn't use credits...can you imagine how many would be left over!! I really want to try it anyway

See now thats what i'm trying to figure out too.... DF and I wre talking about it and he thinks that maybe we should do BOMA as our "welcome" dinner and pay for that and then have another dinner after the wedding somewhere closer to (or in) Epcot with everyone. If we're going to pay for both of those meals then i'd have two meal points left over which I could use to do a Signature dining places. Hmmmm..... I'm confused

me and DF are on the deluxe as well! I will probably be so full I could fall over by the end....DF will be asking when we are eating next.

I know! Even on the Basic DDP we were ALWAYS full! And i mean FAT
FULL!



I guess i'm going to think about this for alittle while. I definatly have the time. I know that in 2007 and 2008 we did basic DDP and we were very happy with it and were never hungry. My only concern is that we want to do a couple signature dinning. But if i have two TS credits left we can use those. It would probably confuse our waiter if we told them that our of 18 people only 2 people were on the dining plan so we'd just pay OOP for that..... yea this is going to require more time and thought...

 

[MainStMandy]

Katie this is how we are doing it. We check in to the Poly Fri but won't start the DP until we check in to the BWV on Sunday, so we have 14 credits. We are doing dinner Sun, Mon, Thur, Fri a Signature on Sat and breakfast on Sunday. I think we will have more than enough. We are paying OOP for a few meals at the Poly since we won't be on the DP yet, but I think it's more than enough food. We will probably do Deluxe for another trip.

 

[Chilly]

How do you feel about the other flowers? which one is your favorite?

I like all the other, esp the roses as that is what i'm having but you seem to have picked the gerbera daisies and I agree that they do make you smile.

sci-fi (wanted to do this last year but couldn't get an ADR)
San Angel Inn (we always say we should do it but forget for some reason)
teppan Edo (always wanted to go and see how they cook!)
Whispering Canyon Cafe

So far thats all i've been able to come up with.... lol any other suggestions?

I wasn't loving Sci Fi when I went.

I've heard bad things about San Angel.

I'm trying Teppan Edo and Wispering Canyon on our trip.

I love Ohana and the Cali Grill.

 

[pezaddict231]

lol, no problem . It is a lot of food, but I don't eat every single thing on the plate, if I'm full I just stop . But some then that would really bother some people, one of my coworkers can never let anything go to waste, so that would drive a person like her crazy. Also at the signature restaurants the portions aren't as big, they are more normal size. I think you just need to look at how you would eat normally and where you're planning to go. The menus on Allearsnet are great for this!

For our last trip we were originally going to do the basic plan. But then we added in the cost of apps, and the other meals we were going to pay OOP for and the difference for the week was not much and we'd easily get the value of by adding on the other places we wanted. My DF is also a resort and restaurant snob and on vacation wants to eat steak every night, there are also so many favorite restaurants for us, so it's hard to choose, so it really works for us.

The key is you really have to plan it. We generally don't do 3 ts in one day, so if you did a Character breakfast and then a later signature dinner, that's your three credits but it's not like you're eating a ton.

We aren't doing it for the wedding trip since we'll have our APs and will just get the TIW card. I agree it could get confusing if you were out with other people. I can definitely see how the basic might work out better for you guys if you're going to have two meals for the wedding that you wouldn't be using the credits, so you could use those for signatures later on.

 

[pezaddict231]

Do you get AP's with an Escape package? If so, why don't you get the Tables in Wonderland (TIW) card? It's a 20% discount on food and drinks (even alcohol). It costs $75 but I've heard it will pay for itself pretty quickly. You can also use it for up to 10 people (including the cardholder). I'm going to get one and use it for the Bridal tea and during our wedding trip I'm just going to make a bunch of ADR's if people want to come. They'll pay their own way but they'll get the discount too if they eat with me. We're also using it for the PS trip instead of the dining plan. And we're going to go to V&A since it is so pricey and that would be a great discount!

 

[Chilly]

Yes you get APs with Escape weddings, I'm going to get a TIW card.

 

[figment fan21]

Do you get AP's with an Escape package? If so, why don't you get the Tables in Wonderland (TIW) card? It's a 20% discount on food and drinks (even alcohol). It costs $75 but I've heard it will pay for itself pretty quickly. You can also use it for up to 10 people (including the cardholder). I'm going to get one and use it for the Bridal tea and during our wedding trip I'm just going to make a bunch of ADR's if people want to come. They'll pay their own way but they'll get the discount too if they eat with me. We're also using it for the PS trip instead of the dining plan. And we're going to go to V&A since it is so pricey and that would be a great discount!

Oh good thinking!!!! I'll definatly have to look into that! Thanks again hun!

 

[PrincessShea]

I just want to echo everyone talking about the TIW card. Once its gets closer to your date, I would do some serious number crunching to see if the Dining Plan is cost effective compared to the TIW card. I don't want to start any wars, but I am of the opinion that the Dining Plan wastes money and forces you to eat food you wouldn't necessarily buy if you were paying out of pocket. It's especially useless if you get alcohol with dinner, or usually drink water. I know that saving money is very important to you, so seriously look into it. Paying out of pocket and using the TIW card, I think, will save you money.

Now in terms of where to eat. The Sci-Fi Diner is fun for the atmosphere. I think it's something you should do once. Now I personally think the food is horrible. I've been twice and would never go again. If I did go again though, I guess you can't go wrong with a burger, although there is nothing special about it.

San Angel Inn is another place that's all about atmosphere. The tables are really close together, but it's still nice. The food is 'meh'. It's definitely not Tex-Mex though, so keep that in mind. Don't expect tacos.

For both of those places, bring a sweater or something. Even in the dead of summer I've needed one because those two place love to crank up the A/C!!!

I like Narcoossees. It gets mixed reviews here. I will say I'm not a huge fan of the atmosphere. There is supposedly a dress code, but people were definitely dressed like slobs when we were there. There are also tired, overheated, screaming children (which in Disney you have to expect).

However, I thought the food was pretty good. I especially recommend the mixed drinks. The raspberry mojito is delicious. I think the entrees are overpriced and not really above Bahama Breeze quality; so if you are in a pinch money-wise, I would go and get appetizers and drinks.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

I just want to echo everyone talking about the TIW card. Once its gets closer to your date, I would do some serious number crunching to see if the Dining Plan is cost effective compared to the TIW card. I don't want to start any wars, but I am of the opinion that the Dining Plan wastes money and forces you to eat food you wouldn't necessarily buy if you were paying out of pocket. It's especially useless if you get alcohol with dinner, or usually drink water. I know that saving money is very important to you, so seriously look into it. Paying out of pocket and using the TIW card, I think, will save you money.

I have to agree! When I am on vacation, I drink water or alcohol, and normally wouldn't order desert. When DF and I were on the dining plan over christmas, we usually just took our dessert to go, and even than didn't eat it all. I also don't really like being tied down, in that I HAVE to eat at a restaurant every night. However, the convenience is pretty nice. Once you make your ADR list, just add up what the costs would be with everything you would actually want to get, and see which one works better!

 

[figment fan21]

Thanks for that tip girls! And dont worry Katie... no wars are allowed on my pj!

I definatly think that Might be a good idea. We do drink... and on vacation we tend to drink... ALOT! I also agree that some nights i would have rathered an app as opposed to the dessert but got the dessert just because it was included. I think it would be a good idea to make our ADR's and then figure out how much we'd save if we used both and then go with whatever works out best. I appareciate you looking out for me Katie!

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Okay, so remember how I told you I found wishes picks by Randy? I re-found the link, and the pics are much better than I remembered. Here they are:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1574263&page=29

 

[Chilly]

Okay, so remember how I told you I found wishes picks by Randy? I re-found the link, and the pics are much better than I remembered. Here they are:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1574263&page=29

Summers wedding was lovely.

 

[figment fan21]

Okay, so remember how I told you I found wishes picks by Randy? I re-found the link, and the pics are much better than I remembered. Here they are:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1574263&page=29

Thank you for posting that for me! I love all the firework pictures from DP's! It makes me really really really want to do one! Fingers crossed and pixie dust that we can do it!

Summers wedding was lovely.

It truly was!
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Ok so here is it is.... i'm admitting i'm being a tiny bit of a bridezilla I had a small little melt down the other day about how i'm worried that i'll feel like i should have done more on our wedding day. I feel like it doesn't help that people in the family are giving usa hard time and that other children in BOTH families seem to get whatever they want and DF and I are getting the short end of the stick. I know i am sounding like a spoiled brat but i just feel like DF and I are VERY budget savy... i mean how else would we be able to have a house at 22 years old? We are smart when it comes to finances and we hardly ever spoil ourselves. But sometimes i think we are being TOO worried about the budget and not looking at how this is our WEDDING DAY! This is a time when we are able to spoil ourselves and have it be completely forgiveable! I know a couple who took out a loan to get the wedding of their dreams and nobody said boo to them about it. I feel like if we put a few things on the credit card its not that big of a deal. Right? I mean i bought my gown on ebay for goodness sake!

So here is what DF and I are trying to figure out. My biggest upset is that after the ceremony and pictures thats it for the dress. Thats not ok with me! I want to wear it as long as i can because after that day i wont be able to anymore. So DF brought up the DP again. I love the pictures of the bride and groom with the fireworks behind them... i think they're amazing! And what a cool experience! I can tell people who know nothing about disney that we had private fireworks at our wedding! So in order to do a budget friendly DP i was looking at SC. I know it doesn't have the WOW factor of an EPCOT DP and illuminations are DF and I's favorite fireworks but this is the only way i can justify doing a DP. I won't need transportation, I can have an outside photographer, and the F&B minimum for a DP is 500$. It'll be cheaper and easier (I think) if we do it that way. So we'd still have the ceremony at SBP, dinner at BOMA, and then i'd get my dress back on and we'd head over to GF for a DP. What are your thoughts on this?

I know this was long and i'm sory if i came off as a brat/bridezilla but its frusterating when nobody, other than my loyal DIS brides of course, will talk to me or help me plan the wedding. I know that alot of "tradional" wedding stuff is obsolete now but i just wish one of the four parents involved here would help out just a teeny tiny bit. But oh well It just makes me want to have an amazing wedding to prove we could do it on our own.

 

[MainStMandy]

Oh Katie you aren't being a Bridezilla!! We all get over emotional about our weddings (most of us anyway, lol). I think your expectations are completely reasonable!! Your reasons are the EXACT reasons that we switched to a Wishes wedding. The only difference is we aren't using any credit cards. We figured if we are doing a Disney wedding, let's DO a Disney wedding, all out. We nixed our at home reception. To me the only people that matter if they are at our wedding is our immediate family and our best friends. I didn't want/need a whole lot of people. Of course some people will be upset but the wedding is about us getting married, not who's watching it.

Off my soapbox, but I've said it before...you guys need to make a list. Make a list of MUST HAVES, a list of likes and a list of don't care about. It will help you figure out the best way to do it. I know Adam doesn't want to get up early but I think Carries wedding is a great example of how to have a fab wedding on a budget...and she got to wear her dress all day!!!

Good luck with everything, you always have us to bounce ideas off of!

 

[figment fan21]

Awe thanks Mandy! You always know just what to say!

And honestly after the comments we got about our send off party i'd LOVVVVVE to nix the whole thing! not only did it really hurt my feelings but why am i going to take money out of our wedding in disney to please these people?? And you're right...the people who matter will be there. I might just forget about the tent and tables and chairs and just have food and everyone in the house. Its not what id love to do but i'll be damned if i do all this stuff for people who aren't appreciative.

 

[Chilly]

You aren't being Bridezilla at all! Its your wedding day and you should spend as much as you want on it. However I don't think getting into debt over it is a good way to start a marriage. To pay for ours we have cut way back on extra spendings day to day so no eating out, no new clothes, etc etc and put the money away each pay day so that I can't spend it. Are you taking your dress off at Boma, why not keep it on. Ignore your family, do what you want to do, don't forget parents often play children off each other so you probably don't know the whole story there either, just concentrate on yourselves and make yourselves happy, its no good second guessing what other do or don't want/like.

 

[Chilly]

Definately keep the costs to a minimum at your at home party.

 

[MainStMandy]

Awe thanks Mandy! You always know just what to say!

And honestly after the comments we got about our send off party i'd LOVVVVVE to nix the whole thing! not only did it really hurt my feelings but why am i going to take money out of our wedding in disney to please these people?? And you're right...the people who matter will be there. I might just forget about the tent and tables and chairs and just have food and everyone in the house. Its not what id love to do but i'll be damned if i do all this stuff for people who aren't appreciative.

I know exactly how you feel! I know I upset a few people but they really aren't too concerned with the wedding...it was more like even though they didn't plan on going, just because they couldn't they got offended. Do what makes you guys happy!!

 

[malibustacey]

the ONLY reason i am thinking about an at home reception - and btw- we would have to do two parties to please both familes as they are both far from each other (neither would travel such a long distance unless paid for us with coach or alternative) so we would have to have 1 party in london, and the other in sheffield - the only reason i would do this is to wear my dress again.

We decided to get married in Disney for plently of reasons, one of the main being that we didnt want everyone there and have to invite everyone and keep them all happy. We are having what we want, and we are doing our best to save it all up in cash, if there is something small that we think we should have because we would never get the op ever again then we might consider putting in on a card- as long as we have our plan to pay it back asap. Of course you are cash savvy- to have a house at 22 is a big big responsibility and you both are the only people who know if you can afford to put something little on a credit card. Its not like you are putting a $10,000 spree on your card, if its reasonable, and you can afford it and be able to pay it back then why not? Its your wedding. So many times i have got way too emotional about things that i feel i really want for the wedding and thought i wouldnt be able to have it, but there is always a way round, we just tweaked and tweaked and juggled the whole budget around to make space for what we want.

You do what makes you both happy.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I understand as well about family members not being involved or giving you a hard time...this is your day YOUR DAY...if slurging on a DP is what you want...then do it...If wearing your dress longer than just the ceremony is what you want...find a way...it will all work out...