Dessert Party Question

[DisneyBrideToni]

I was just curious. I know that the Dessert Party starts at 8:30. My scheduled (which I am sure isn't too accurate) says my reception will end at 6:30. Does this 2 hour gap usually happen? Would I be rushing around if I had the dessert party extended to start at 8:00 (if thats possible). Should I just leave things how they are? I kind of wanted a longer DP because i didn't want people to have to rush and stuff their faces then watch Illuminations.

I just wanted to know before my PS so that I will know whether or not to ask for the DP to be extended.

 

[lurkyloo]

How many hours is your reception? Even with bussing, it's not going to take you 2 hours to get from the Attic to your DP, and if you walk, it's even quicker.

You can extend the length of your DP for free. If you want to extend food service, there is a per person charge pro-rated to the pp price of your DP menu and how much longer you want to extend it.

So you could start the party 30 minutes or 1 hour earlier for free unless you want to also start the food earlier.

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

Yay Carrie I knew you would come through for me!!!

According to my schedule that was in the contract, the ceremony ends at 3:30 and the reception ends at 6:30.

I guess that is just something that isn't really set in stone. I wasn't going to do any dances or anything like that but we are going to have a cocktail hour. I guess I will have to see if its better to have the dessert party extended rather than the reception. I think people would get bored at the reception if there is no dancing and things like that. Do you have any idea how much extra it is to have the desserts served an extra hour?

 

[lurkyloo]

Wow! That is a short reception! I mean, ours was 3 hours, but we also had a 45-minute cocktail hour beforehand. So if your ceremony ends at 3:30 and you get to the Attic a little before 4... plus a cocktail hour leaves an hour and a half for dinner. Still, you are right - it is probably cheaper to lengthen the DP than the reception, cuz that usually means more beverage service at the reception.

I don't know what Disney will quote you to extend your DP food b/c I don't know your menu cost or the super-top-secret formula to pro-rate it, but I can tell you we were told it would be $6/person (plus tax and service charge) to extend the food by 30 minutes.

Also, don't worry about your guests being bored - if they're anything like ours, they will just enjoy chatting and catching up with people!

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

Yeah I thought it was a short time too! I will have to discuss it with the planner in June but I do agree it will probably be a lot cheaper to extend the DP. Plus it is a nice atomosphere and I think everyone will enjoy it. Our guests don't know anything about the DP. They know that something is going on after the reception but they don't know what it is. I am being stealthy.

Thanks for your help!!! You should be a Disney wedding planner with everything you know or at least write a Disney wedding book and rake in all the profits!

 

[linzwylie]

Our guests don't know anything about the DP. They know that something is going on after the reception but they don't know what it is. I am being stealthy.

I thinks thats the way we are going to go as well. Everyone will know that there is something after the reception, they just won't know what !! I think it will be a great surprise for your guests

we were told it would be $6/person (plus tax and service charge) to extend the food by 30 minutes.

Thats not too bad, what menu did you have?

I wonder if you can also extend the drinks and how much that would be.?

Sounds like a good plan

LINZ xxx

 

[orangetiggs]

our ceremony ends at 3:30 and our reception is finishing early at 7:30pm to move to the dp location as we extending our time by 30 mins

 

[cseca]

Not sure how big your wedding is but here was our schedule:
cocktail hour 5:15~6:15
reception 6:15~8:30 (including cake cutting, first dance, blessings, toast, and announcement only)
DP 8:30~10pm

We had 25 people in the wedding and timing wise it was fine... actually we didn't feel rushed at all.

HTH!

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

Not sure how big your wedding is but here was our schedule:
cocktail hour 5:15~6:15
reception 6:15~8:30 (including cake cutting, first dance, blessings, toast, and announcement only)
DP 8:30~10pm

We had 25 people in the wedding and timing wise it was fine... actually we didn't feel rushed at all.

HTH!

Oh that is really good to know!! I do want a cocktail hour so that will add some time. If I have the reception until 7:30 and start the dessert party at 8 I think that would be perfect. I didn't know if a half an hour would be rushing everyone but then I forget we are at the boardwalk and its not that far.

Thanks everyone!!!!

 

[hope1826]

Oh that is really good to know!! I do want a cocktail hour so that will add some time. If I have the reception until 7:30 and start the dessert party at 8 I think that would be perfect. I didn't know if a half an hour would be rushing everyone but then I forget we are at the boardwalk and its not that far.

Thanks everyone!!!!

My schedule was similar cseca...

Ceremony - SBP ended at 5:30

Coctail Hour - The Attic 5:45-6:45 (DH and I took pictures through that- we loved being able to take a break from our guests, )

Dinner Party - The Attic 6:45-8:00 (2 hours and 15 minutes was PERFECT for us and our 38 guests- we had toasts, dinner, talking, cake cutting and more talking, there were no dances, no bouquet and garter tosses. We actually ended up leaving at 8:30 (the bus was a little behind schedule) and we got to Epcot at 8:45, Misty grabbed DH and I and we ran ahead of everyone to setup for photos, that was the only time we felt even remotely rushed, but it was fun- we snuck in, behind the CM's back.)

Illuminations DP - Upper UK 8:30 - 10:00 ( I am so glad we extended the Dessert Party, if we had left it at 9:30, we would have only been at Epcot for 30 minutes. But the 1 hour we spent there was perfect.)

Our wedding, bride and groom pictures, cocktail hour, reception, and dessert party was 5 hours total (5PM to 10PM) and it worked for us, we liked the timing and it allowed us to save a lot of money (even on photography, since we only had Misty for 6 hours). We never felt rushed and I think our guests would have been bored if it had been longer. Our guests, a mix of many seniors and toddlers were exhausted and some even slept through the last half hour of our dessert party.