Ceremony Transportation

[4luvofthemouse]

So tonight my DF and I were trying to go over some of our our plans and we realized we
forgot one thing...Transportation for the guests.
I kinda think we should rent a bus but DF says that we are putting alot of
money into the wedding for our guests that he thinks that they can get their own transportation to the ceremony.
We already have to get a bus for our desert party so he really doesn't want to get another one.
Does this seem kinda rude? Has anybody else left transportation up to the guests
if so does anybody have basic directions or a map to the wedding pavilion so I can put it into our newsletter?

 

[princessdisneybelle]

So tonight my DF and I were trying to go over some of our our plans and we realized we
forgot one thing...Transportation for the guests.
I kinda think we should rent a bus but DF says that we are putting alot of
money into the wedding for our guests that he thinks that they can get their own transportation to the ceremony.
We already have to get a bus for our desert party so he really doesn't want to get another one.
Does this seem kinda rude? Has anybody else left transportation up to the guests
if so does anybody have basic directions or a map to the wedding pavilion so I can put it into our newsletter?

Were are they all staying? I would think if they at a Disney Resort they should be fine, and that you wedding isnt really early.

 

[4luvofthemouse]

Our ceremony is at 12:00pm and everybody is really spread out.
My DF's family doesn't get along to well so we have people staying at 9different resorts!
They also have a way of making you feel guilty for "not thinking of others"
basically if you don't do something around them then you are selfish,
so I really don't want to deal with any back lash for not supplying the transportation!
I wish they had a book of rules for these stupid situations it would make my life a whole lot easier...
I could just blame everything on the book if people complained....

 

[princessdisneybelle]

If it was me. I would give them the time to be there and let them know to take the bus or monorail or boat to the GF and there is a walkway out the side door behind the huge staircase to the Wedding Pavillion. If you have the extra money sure you could provide transportation. You are gonna at some point make someone unhappy. Try not to let them get to you.

 

[DVCGirl49]

Where is your reception? That would be another consideration into the whole transportation vs not thing.

If it is at the GF, I would say definitely not to get the bus. We had a family wedding last fall that was at WP/GF and many of us felt that the bus was a HUGE waste of $$. Particularly paying to have the buses sit doing nothing during the ceremony and pick everyone up to drop them off on the other side of the parking lot for the reception! Oh well, lesson learned I guess.

Also to consider... you mentioned that your guests are al 9 or so different resorts, for the bus to go around to 9 resorts and pick everyone up would be VERY time consuming, you might need to add additional hours on the charter just for picking them all up and dropping them all off.

 

[SRUAlmn]

We went through this debate too, for a LONG time! In the end, the biggest factor for us was that we were only going to have 30 guests that would need transportation. We didn't feel paying $600 for a bus was worth it for 30 people. Plus, we put a transportation survey question on our response cards, and over half of our guests will have cars. So I'm sending a newsletter with driving directions and then directions for how to take the bus to the MK, the monorail to the GF, and then walk to the WP. That was the easiest way I could explain it to them. I'm so worried it is going to be confusing and complicated, but $600 is a lot of money for a bus you will only need for a total of about 1-2 hours! They charge you a minimum of 5 hours, but they wouldn't let us split our time and use it for the dessert party later that night (which would make a total of 5 hours.) That made me really

 

[aprincess72]

Just a little word of advice if your guests are using their own transportation: Be sure to tell them how much time to allow to get from point A to point B. I also padded that time by 15 minutes because Disney property has some of the worst directional signs I've ever seen! Signs are very difficult to see if there is a bus next to you so they are easy to miss! Plus they are lacking street signs at many cross sections so that makes it even more challenging.

I had guests get lost going back the same direction they just came from!!!

 

[4luvofthemouse]

Our reception is at the GF and DH has decided that he is going to make the
final decision regarding this....it's about time!
We are not going to supply transportation.
He thinks that if people really have a hard time trying to figure out how to get there even after they have all the directions,
we can meet them at ONE resort and they can follow us to our rehearsal.
He said that we can even have somebody else take a few by monorail to see how to go that way!
I don't want to make this a continuing argument so he can be in charge of it all.... phone calls, questions , comments etc.!
I'm just glad that I will be busy when the time comes and I don't have to worry about it

It is dumb how they won't let you split up yout time though with the bus, that was the first thing we checked into when we booked the bus for our DP.
But maybe somewhere they actually have a real good reason for it.... I

 

[Kashmir104]

I dont know if anyone has any elderly guests, but the walk from the Wedding Pavilion to the GF is not short, and I imagine it can seem even longer to the very young, the elderly, or people dressed up and in heels (especially in the FL unpredictable heat/weather.) There is not direct monorail stop or boat stop for the wedding pavilion, so guests would have to go to either the Polynesian or the GF and do some walking (I guess it's not that long, but it's not exactly right next door either.) I know that asking my guests to walk that much (just for transportation reasons since my reception is at the Contemporary and not the GF) on our wedding day is out of the question, especially since it's going to be very formal (taking that walk in sneakers, jeans, or flip-flops is one thing, but in heels and a dress is another, IMO) If you are going to have guests provide their own transportation, I would maybe find out if Disney has cabs available that would drop off and pick up right at the WP for any guests who prefer not to walk as much and offer that info for your guests too, or maybe even offer info on rental cars, but I'm not sure if the WP has its own parking.

I noticed, forluvofthemouse, that you mentioned rehearsal in the second post. In that case I would say it's fine, especially since I imagine it will be more relaxed. We're having our rehearsal dinner guests make their way to EPCOT on their own and having them use their park tickets so we avoid the viewing fee for Illuminations. My gram will just get a wheelchair to use when she enters the park and no one will be dressed up in formal clothes since its just the night before. Plus, all the hotels have direct transportation to that park, so it will be easy to get to.

Just my two cents...

 

[princessdisneybelle]

I dont know if anyone has any elderly guests, but the walk from the Wedding Pavilion to the GF is not short, and I imagine it can seem even longer to the very young, the elderly, or people dressed up and in heels (especially in the FL unpredictable heat/weather.) There is not direct monorail stop or boat stop for the wedding pavilion, so guests would have to go to either the Polynesian or the GF and do some walking (I guess it's not that long, but it's not exactly right next door either.) I know that asking my guests to walk that much (just for transportation reasons since my reception is at the Contemporary and not the GF) on our wedding day is out of the question, especially since it's going to be very formal (taking that walk in sneakers, jeans, or flip-flops is one thing, but in heels and a dress is another, IMO) If you are going to have guests provide their own transportation, I would maybe find out if Disney has cabs available that would drop off and pick up right at the WP for any guests who prefer not to walk as much and offer that info for your guests too, or maybe even offer info on rental cars, but I'm not sure if the WP has its own parking.

I noticed, forluvofthemouse, that you mentioned rehearsal in the second post. In that case I would say it's fine, especially since I imagine it will be more relaxed. We're having our rehearsal dinner guests make their way to EPCOT on their own and having them use their park tickets so we avoid the viewing fee for Illuminations. My gram will just get a wheelchair to use when she enters the park and no one will be dressed up in formal clothes since its just the night before. Plus, all the hotels have direct transportation to that park, so it will be easy to get to.

Just my two cents...

Just FYI the WP does have it's own parking.

 

[Kashmir104]

Just FYI the WP does have it's own parking.

That's definitely good to know! Thanks, Laura!

I think if you offer enough directions, info on "public" disney transportation options (monorail, theme park buses, boats, etc), and info on "private" transportation options (like rental cars or taxis) then you should be fine. That way if guests don't want to walk they can pay for their own transportation at park at the WP and if they don't want to pay then they can hoof it!

 

[SRUAlmn]

I think we'd all love to be able to not have to ask our guests to do all that walking, however, Disney doesn't give us many options. I refuse to pay $600 for a HUGE bus for only 15-20 people that we only will need for about an hour total (even though we're paying for 5 hours) and, in addition, we can't even use it later that night for our dessert party. I have talked to my coordinator 3-4 times about this and she says she is totally stumped as to any other options. The only thing she suggested was hiring Mears to use vans and pick guests up at their resorts and then take them back, and that came to about the same price as the bus. The WP is just not a convenient place to try to get to IMO.

 

[KellyJo18]

I think we'd all love to be able to not have to ask our guests to do all that walking, however, Disney doesn't give us many options. I refuse to pay $600 for a HUGE bus for only 15-20 people that we only will need for about an hour total (even though we're paying for 5 hours) and, in addition, we can't even use it later that night for our dessert party. I have talked to my coordinator 3-4 times about this and she says she is totally stumped as to any other options. The only thing she suggested was hiring Mears to use vans and pick guests up at their resorts and then take them back, and that came to about the same price as the bus. The WP is just not a convenient place to try to get to IMO.

I completely agree. Using Disney transportation to get to the WP is difficult, especially for an event that has a scheduled start time like a wedding. When we went for our site inspection tour it took us over an hour to get there from CBR and less than 30 minutes when we went to meet Randy for our engagement pictures. I wish they had better suggests for groups such as yours because it is not fair to ask you to book two five hour blocks at such expensive prices for intimate groups.