Dessert Party help - blackout dates :(

[debbie_marie]

My wedding is scheduled for December 21. Because of the holiday season, Epcot is unavailable for this time period. Below is the message from my wedding consultant.

Unfortunately, due to the holiday season there are no locations available the last few weeks of December for a dessert party in Epcot. And, the Grand Floridian Resort, as you know, is also not available in the month of December. With the time of year you are considering for your event (Christmas 2016), we would only have one dessert party option (with viewing of fireworks). We could go to the Contemporary Resort Convention Center. They have 2 areas to view fireworks. There is the Porte Cachere (entrance area) of the Convention Center and then there is the West Rotunda Patio. As a note, there will be guest traffic with cars and busses in the area. Both have great views of the Magic Kingdom’s Wishes fireworks.

Has anyone else ran into this problem? My options are either Fantasmic or the Contemporary Resort. I am not in love with either choice. I have not seen Fantasmic but would love to. I just don't like that the party is placed way in the back. Also, probably half of my attendees will be kids aged 10 and under. I read somewhere that Fantasmic can be a bit intense for little kids. Is this true? I don't want the parents to be distracted, comforting their kids instead of enjoying themselves. As for the Contemporary, I don't want to have pictures of myself watching fireworks that are far away, standing in what looks to be a parking lot. Am I not giving the Contemporary location enough credit?

I currently do have a Fantasmic dessert party scheduled for 12/22, the day AFTER my wedding, because the night before was already booked. So I wouldn't even be able to be in my wedding dress unless I got dressed again. Which seems really inconvenient. Or I suppose I can have a wedding dress-inspired cocktail dress? But this is really bad timing because MVMCP is only scheduled for 12/18 and 12/22 during my wedding week. So if I go through with the Fantasmic dessert party on 12/22, that leaves my guests with having to come in early in order to make the Mickey Xmas party. And like I said, there are going to be alot of kids as guests and I would hate to limit their choices for the MVMCP.

So.....do you guys see my dilemma? What do you suggest I do? Am I being a big whino? I really want to have a dessert party so I am looking for advice. I'm all ears!

 

[lurkyloo]

My first thought (and I promise I'm not being facetious) is... can you move your wedding? If it's really a big deal to you, it might be the best way to avoid compromising. For us, the dessert party was at least half the reason we had a Disney wedding, though, so that colors my opinion.

Why is the GF not available? Is it conventions? Because those schedules shift a lot, and something could open up in the last 30 days if you're willing to chance it.

Re: Fantasmic! - Yes, the party area is at the back so you don't really feel like you're in the show the way you do with IllumiNations. But the flip side is that I don't think you have to worry about kids freaking out because the action is so far away and there are so many distractions in between. Is there a reason you can't have the Fantasmic! dessert party on your wedding night?

I have photos of the fireworks from the Contemporary DP locations here: http://disneytravelbabble.com/disney-weddings/wdw-venue-photos/contemporary-porte-cochere/ I agree that it feels like you are watching them from a parking lot, because, well, you are!

A couple other ideas: You could book the Napa or Sonoma rooms at California Grill and watch Wishes from inside the Napa Room or out on the catwalk with the other guests of CA Grill. The food and beverage minimums are pretty high though. Alternatively (depending on how big your party is) you could book Wishes or IllumiNations cruises. Each pontoon boat holds a maximum of 10 adults or 12 people if the party includes children. Or, you could rent a DVC villa at Bay Lake Tower or the Polynesian and have everyone meet there. Private Dining can cater desserts, or you can have a cake delivered or go pickup desserts somewhere.

 

[debbie_marie]

... can you move your wedding? If it's really a big deal to you, it might be the best way to avoid compromising. For us, the dessert party was at least half the reason we had a Disney wedding, though, so that colors my opinion.

That is almost reason enough to move the wedding date, believe me!!! I wish I could but the date is basically set in stone. My BIL is stationed in Japan in the Air Force and so my sister already has plans in motion for them and their 3 little girls to come out in December. So I need to make do with what I have available.

Why is the GF not available? Is it conventions? Because those schedules shift a lot, and something could open up in the last 30 days if you're willing to chance it.

Good question. She told me that the Wedding Pavilion is unavailable ~12/10-1/10 due to renovations or something. So perhaps that includes more areas in the GF? Would fireworks viewing near the GF be the preferred dessert party location, in your opinion, if it were available? I will say that I want my guests (I don't think anyone has been to WDW except my fiancee and me and our parents) to be absolutely wowed with Disney and want them to have the BEST time possible. This is really why I am stressed. The Epcot dessert party would have been the perfect event!!!

Is there a reason you can't have the Fantasmic! dessert party on your wedding night?

Fantasmic! was already booked for that evening but the Contemporary is available on my wedding night. However due to the cost of staying at Disney (even with the room block discount) and ticket prices and everything, in the event my guests do no make it to all the parks, I would at least like to spread out events in different areas so that they can see as much of WDW as possible. (Epcot wedding, Hollywood Studios dessert party, welcome dinner/farewell dinner TBD but perhaps in AK? That will be another question in another post!) So I think Fantasmic! will be what I stick with because I believe it is a way better location that just going to the Contemporary parking lot!

A couple other ideas: You could book the Napa or Sonoma rooms at California Grill and watch Wishes from inside the Napa Room or out on the catwalk with the other guests of CA Grill. The food and beverage minimums are pretty high though. Alternatively (depending on how big your party is) you could book Wishes or IllumiNations cruises. Each pontoon boat holds a maximum of 10 adults or 12 people if the party includes children. Or, you could rent a DVC villa at Bay Lake Tower or the Polynesian and have everyone meet there. Private Dining can cater desserts, or you can have a cake delivered or go pickup desserts somewhere.

Thank you for the suggestions, lurkyloo! You are really thinking out of the box and that is what I will have to do to make this whole week come together. I am inviting ~70-80 people and am assuming 40-50 will eventually come. So that rules out cruises or booking ANY type of restaurant private room (which will affect any type of group dining throughout the week that I hope to do). The villa suggestion is definitely intriguing the more I think about it but I think it would be SOOOO crowded. It's so hard to plan because I have guests in Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio and it's hard to know for sure who will be able to make it or not.

(and I promise I'm not being facetious)

Ha! That made me laugh. I use that word a lot but I never thought about how it is spelled. I had to look it up to see if it was correct! Good job!

 

[lurkyloo]

Good question. She told me that the Wedding Pavilion is unavailable ~12/10-1/10 due to renovations or something. So perhaps that includes more areas in the GF? Would fireworks viewing near the GF be the preferred dessert party location, in your opinion, if it were available? I will say that I want my guests (I don't think anyone has been to WDW except my fiancee and me and our parents) to be absolutely wowed with Disney and want them to have the BEST time possible. This is really why I am stressed. The Epcot dessert party would have been the perfect event!!!

That is unbelievable! December is one of the most popular months for Disney weddings! But just because the WP isn't available doesn't mean the rest of the Grand Floridian is off-limits. I'd ask about Sago Cay and the Grand Floridian Marina. Those both have much nicer views of Wishes. And it's a splurge, but definitely pay to have the music piped in if you want to impress your guests.

Thank you for the suggestions, lurkyloo! You are really thinking out of the box and that is what I will have to do to make this whole week come together. I am inviting ~70-80 people and am assuming 40-50 will eventually come. So that rules out cruises or booking ANY type of restaurant private room (which will affect any type of group dining throughout the week that I hope to do).

There are restaurants with private rooms that can accommodate your group size. The Wave at the Contemporary has a large private room, and most of the restaurants at the Swan & Dolphin too. At Downtown Disney, The Boathouse and Morimoto Asia both have private rooms. Usually you just have to meet a per-person food and beverage minimum at those. The Contemporary and the Swolphin restaurants have flat rates for their food and beverage minimums.

 

[Disney_Alli]

Just a heads up I had a Fantasmic! DP (and LOVED it) but my photographers were not allowed to shoot with flash during the show which meant we didn't get any shots of us in front of the show elements. That was fine with us (especially as through a series of events we ended up at the late Fantasmic instead of the early one and were given a small section of the FP+ area for the Frozen fireworks to watch the show and got amazing fireworks shots there. Maybe you could ask your planner if something similar is possible when actually planned in advance (instead of off the cuff day of) if they're still doing Fireworks in the park nightly then?

 

[ahutton]

Or ask the planner if you guys could do the Star Wars dessert party? They might not be able to separate you completely from the crowd, but those are some of the most impressive, immersive fireworks I've ever seen!