Character Visits

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I was shocked to see that character visits are $900 dollars for 30 minutes.

We would love to have this but yikes!

Does anyone know why it is so outrageous?

Has anyone been able to negotiate a discount?

I think the MOST we would pay for this is $300, and that is still scandalous.

The guy in the suit is probably making 10 bucks an hour.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I think that one thing you will learn from these boards is that there are *so* many people wiling to sacrifice and scrimp to have the most outlandishly priced things (such as charecters, cindy's coach,etc) Even then, some people are still just not able to afford it, and that's sad, but Disney has no incentive to negotiate (nor have I ever heard of that actually being done).

 

[One_Song]

I don't think there is any chance Disney will negotiate on the price of characters. You have to realize that is a service that literally no one else can provide. Disney can charge whatever they want because they have no competition.

 

[sambycat]

yes, it’s a lot of money (like just about everything DFTW offers). no, the cast members aren’t getting that straight into their pockets.

for us, and we had alice and the mad hatter, it was entertainment AND decor if you will - albeit living breathing moving decor!

we did scale back on other things and for us, although it wasn’t something i was “dreaming of” or went into this process “having to have”, it made sense as entertainment for the reception. even though the price point is high and i’m not going to argue that it couldn’t be lower, cause, yeah, it could, but you do get value for what you spend in this area. like a PP said, it’s something only disney can offer....

unless you got like 15 characters or something, i doubt they are going to negotiate.

 

[Clareathon]

A lower-budget alternative that some people have done is booked a character meal for after the wedding - if you do it at a resort restaurant, I think you can wear your wedding attire too

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Once we upgraded to a Wishes wedding, having characters was something that was non-negotiable for me: I just had to have them. My character pictures are some of my favorite ones from the wedding, and if it's important to you, then it's worth it. You can't have Mickey Mouse at your wedding anywhere else, after all!

 

[2012DisneyWorldBride]

I really want to have Mickey and Minnie at our wedding, and with the cost of everything else for a Disney wedding... I don't think they are asking for too much to have them. BUT I had to pick between them and Cindy's Coach and to me the coach is more important for pictures and for that magical moment. I do believe what they charge for the coach is crazy... But there are tons of brides willing to pay it(myself included).

 

[tinkerbell 766]

I really want to have Mickey and Minnie at our wedding, and with the cost of everything else for a Disney wedding... I don't think they are asking for too much to have them. BUT I had to pick between them and Cindy's Coach and to me the coach is more important for pictures and for that magical moment. I do believe what they charge for the coach is crazy... But there are tons of brides willing to pay it(myself included).

I was not a DFTW bride, so maybe I don't have the right to comment, but here goes nothing!!!
I could have had characters at my VR at the Swan, and part of me desperately wanted to have Mickey and Minnie as our special guests. I could have scrimped and saved, I suppose, and made it possible for us to have them, but I really felt the price was too high. It was almost a 'wouldn't do it on principle' thing with me. The mark up on the character appearances is clearly scandalous (I am going on a 7 night cruise on DCL next year for just over $100.00 more)!!!!
I find it hard to understand how you 'don't think that they are asking too much' for this half an hour performance. Apart from M & M's wages (I don't know who the people in the suits, that you mention, are!! ), their escort, and perhaps the care of their costumes, there is little cost to Disney.
I couldn't have Cindy's carriage, but never even thought about that. It's not my thing at all - too 'gypsy wedding' like (this is just MHO - please don't flame me), but the price for that, although still very high, doesn't seem quite so ridiculous. There are several cast involved on stage for this one (footmen, driver, cast to clear the way etc) and there is probably a good deal of time spent on the upkeep of the coach and the ponies.
Whilst I think Disney charges inexcusable rates for both these things, I think the carriage is slightly less of a rip-off than the characters. If Disney charged a little less for these things, they could make more brides dreams come true, and still make a very hefty profit!!!!
Disney is very beloved to me, but these prices scream greed to me. I know a lot of things 'Disney' are highly priced, but I think, in general, you get what you pay for. With these to things, I am not so sure!!!

 

[2012DisneyWorldBride]

I guess no one understood what I meant. Unfortunetly you get both the characters and Cindy's Coach for about 30 mins. The characters for $900 make them $30 per minute... Cindy's Coach is $2850 makes it $95 per minute.

We are paying for our own wedding... Not mommy and daddy. So when I brought those 2 ideas to DF saying I wanted one or the other... He would have been much happier with $900 rather than $2850.

Of course Disney is over priced for this stuff... They are over priced for their flowers, their photography (which is why we are using Randy- we get 4 extra hours for half the price).

I'm just saying MOST brides (including me) will pay for it for their special day to feel the Disney magic.

 

[sue]

Our daughter was married in November of last year and we had Mickey and Minnie at their wedding. Our daughter was a college intern for Disney and her husband was also one. For them, having a wedding at Disney was coming full circle as this is what brought them together in the first place. It was so important for them to have Mickey and Minnie both at the wedding. You do get your monies worth though. They arrive at the reception and they dance with everyone. They help cut the cake, clean up the brides and grooms face afterwards, pose for tons of pictures and mingle with all the guests. When do you ever get to spend a full half hour with any of the characters, yet alone dance with them. We had a videographer for the wedding and this added so much to the video. I would highly recommend getting a character or two if the budget allows.

 

[sambycat]

Not sure what you are asking that you feel people aren't getting?

It's expensive. Its all expensive. We also payed for everything ourselves.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

2012DisneyWorldBride - Sweetie, I apologize if I have misunderstood you. I am not sure what you mean. I have given my opinion and entered my vote on the poll. No, I don't think that either the character appearances or Cindy's carriage are value for money. I did forget to say, however, that I think the chances of the OP being able to negotiate with DFTW to bring prices down is probably nil, but the fact that you are able to have the carriage at your wedding is wonderful, as it is clearly important to you.
sue, sweetie - I am glad you feel your daughter and you got your money's worth, but for me to be able to feel I got a good deal for my $900.00, I would have to get a lot more than half an hour (no matter what those beloved mice did in that time)!!!! Like I say, it just doesn't sit right with me that I can go on an all-inclusive (well, nearly), 7 night cruise on a luxury ship for a little over $100.00 more than it would cost to have one of the main mice come to my wedding for half an hour. I realize that this is just MHO, and that for the beautiful brides who treasure their photos with characters or in the carriage, it may have been worth every cent of their expenditure!!! I am not saying I am right and they are wrong - far from it - it is horses for courses. If something makes you happy and you can afford it, go for it, I always say!!!! If you feel it is money well spent, that's great.
I do not think, however, that anybody could say, hand on heart, that either character appearances or the carriage, are good value for money, because they clearly are not.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I had hoped that a wishes wedding would include more wishes and less squeezing me for every penny.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I completely agree. I knew that a Disney wedding would be expensive, but I thought for the price some of these fun things would be included, or at least be reasonable. 900 dollars for 30 minutes is insane. I can't think of any other service that costs that much.

Don't get me wrong, I still may pay for it, it would be wonderful. It just pains me to see Disney charging such exorbitant prices.

It really takes away from the "fairy tale wedding" when you are so blatantly getting ripped off.

 

[sue]

I guess it is like anything else in life..... if a person feels something is very important to them, they will pay whatever it costs. I also think that anything you need or want to have done regarding medical issues ( or plastic surgery) is insanely high buck, but some people will pay anything for that too. Disney has the right to set their prices and if people don't feel or want to pay it they won't. This worked out well for our situation and we wouldn't have changed it for the world. To each their own. There really isn't a right or wrong answer here, just your opinion

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I guess it is like anything else in life..... if a person feels something is very important to them, they will pay whatever it costs. I also think that anything you need or want to have done regarding medical issues ( or plastic surgery) is insanely high buck, but some people will pay anything for that too. Disney has the right to set their prices and if people don't feel or want to pay it they won't. This worked out well for our situation and we wouldn't have changed it for the world. To each their own. There really isn't a right or wrong answer here, just your opinion

Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely LOVE to have a character. It's just when I think of all the other things 900 dollars can buy, I don't know if it is worth it to me.

Of course Disney can charge whatever they want, just as I can think that 900 dollars for thirty minutes is crazy.

I don't want plastic surgery, but at least you have something to keep. (Or something that's gone for good )

 

[Clareathon]

I have heard others claim that they felt "ripped off" by DFTW and in my experience, I didn't feel that way. I had the Escape package and felt that I got a lot for what I paid. The best thing was the peace of mind that everything was taken care of and organized by someone other than myself. I didn't have anything to worry about, and for me that was worth the price! If you want to do add-ons, it will cost you. Just like if you wanted a live band as opposed to a DJ back at home. Or if you wanted a clown to show up, or something. As others have noted, Disney provides a service that nobody else does, and many people have paid what they ask for it. It is for them to decide what the service is worth to them, and up to us to determine if it is worth that cost to us. I would never have had a character at my wedding (just not my or my fiance's taste), so it didn't matter. I also never would have added on a carriage or a MK shoot or anything else that was very very expensive because it wasn't worth it to me/us. Many of us may have loved to have had a Vera Wang gown, or a skywriter, or personal fireworks, but everyone has a budget and some things are out of reach. Complaining about it won't really help.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Clareathon sweetie - Whilst I agree with every word you say, I don't think the OP was questioning the value the Escape package, of DFTW in general. Nor was she saying it was that nobody should have character visits, as the price was too high. She was just saying that they were too rich for her budget and querying their value for money on a $ - minute basis. I say again, whilst everybody is entitled to shell out the dollars for something they really want at their wedding (whether it be characters, a band, fireworks), and many do, they are also entitled to question whether they are getting value for money. I don't think she was complaining really. Personally, I think character visits are very poor value for money, but I would still have loved one myself!!!! I couldn't afford it, but had I had one, I would have found it difficult to say I had got my monies worth - just that I had something frivolous, but wonderful at my VR!!!!!

 

[Clareathon]

I was expressing an opinion about the value of DFTW, tinkerbell_766, which is really the topic here as I read on through the thread. I am sure you don't mean to be condescending by calling me "sweetie" but I must say it reads that way. I did express my opinion about hiring characters, which is that while I understand that some people like them, I just would never have considered getting one. Out of respect for other people's differing opinions, I won't go on further about my opinion about characters at weddings. It's not my business what other people choose to spend their money on.

 

[tinkandonaldfans]

Well we had Donald at ours and we loved it! From the get go I always said no to a character based purelyon the cost but about a week before when I was looking at pictures to send to our photographer my now husband said he thought the pictures with the characters were the best. He said we will only have one wedding and we can't have a Disney wedding without a bit of Disney on the day! Turns out we had a bit of money spare and we could afford it!

In my opinion it was the best thing we ever did. We kept it a secret from everyone and all our guests loved it. The pictures we got were just priceless and it never felt rushed. I always wanted a unique wedding and having Donald made it that way!