DJ - Outside Vendor?

[Princess_Melanie]

So...we're 40 days away from finding out if we can have the time and venue for our Wishes wedding....everything for the DFTW seems to be coming together quite nicely and the UK celebration is also ticking along great.

We're thinking of using an outside vendor for our DJ services and wonder if this comes with any additional costs? Would we have to pay anything to Disney for using an outside vendor as a DJ?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Erzengel]

So...we're 40 days away from finding out if we can have the time and venue for our Wishes wedding....everything for the DFTW seems to be coming together quite nicely and the UK celebration is also ticking along great.

We're thinking of using an outside vendor for our DJ services and wonder if this comes with any additional costs? Would we have to pay anything to Disney for using an outside vendor as a DJ?

Thanks in advance!!

I think it depends on where you are having your reception. We used the Atlantic Dance Hall and we had to use a DJ through Disney.

 

[Princess_Melanie]

Thank you - we're hoping for one of the ballrooms in the contemporary resort, one of the DJ's we've been researching has pictures on his website and he was doing a wedding in one of the GF ballrooms....

 

[lurkyloo]

Yes, Disney charges a $950 outside vendor fees for DJs no matter where you have one. Are you sure the one you want isn't on Disney's list of approved local DJs? If he has a pic taken in a Disney ballroom, he probably is.

 

[Princess_Melanie]

Thank you Carrie, really struggled to get this confirmed Right so that's another cost to weigh up at the moment.

So how does that work - if the DJ is on the approved list we wouldn't have to pay the $950 fee? Or do we go through DFTW for the DJ and hope we get our request for him? To add on 2 hours for the DFTW DJ cost is looking expensive which is why we looked at an outside vendor.

As lovely as the person is at DFTW who is helping us till D-Day - it's very hard to budget with the new pricing as he really isn't helping us at all to understand these kinds of costs!!

So much to budget and work out....and we have a UK wedding celebration to budget in too...

 

[lurkyloo]

So how does that work - if the DJ is on the approved list we wouldn't have to pay the $950 fee?

Yep!

Or do we go through DFTW for the DJ and hope we get our request for him?

This too.

Disney has that outside vendor fee to force you to go through them for the DJ, so there's really no way to cut the cost. Could you get away with an iPod, or is a dance party a big part of your vision?

 

[OrlandoDJChuck]

This may clear things up:
You can request a specific Disney DJ, thru Disney for your wedding. Disney will confirm with the DJ that he is available. If he is, he will DJ your wedding. You then pay the standard DJ entertainment fee thru Disney (no extra charges). If the DJ is not available, Disney will assign another DJ that matches your style and personality.

It depends on the luck of the draw. Many times Disney will ask if I have a specific date available... if I do, great! Sometimes, however, I am already booked, and that wedding will go to another DJ.

If you book your DJ on your own, Disney does indeed charge you an outside vendor fee. This is for: dance floor, lighting, staging for DJ, labor to set these items, etc. In addition to the Disney fee, you then have to pay your DJ his fee. It's important to remember that whatever fee you pay an outside DJ (whether it's $900, $1000, or more) that fee will NOT count toward your minimums. You will also not have a "Disney entertainment manager" who insures the proper setup and coordination of your entertainment with the rest of the reception elements.

It almost always works out to a better value when using DJs approved by Disney. It is true that Disney likes to control this element, because the quality of entertainment reflects upon Disney directly. This is why Disney has a strong vetting and audition process for the DJs they use regularly.

Hope this helps!!

 

[Princess_Melanie]

Yep!

Disney has that outside vendor fee to force you to go through them for the DJ, so there's really no way to cut the cost. Could you get away with an iPod, or is a dance party a big part of your vision?

Some good news at last!!

A DJ is definitely part of what we really want - we really want to have some fun with our guests and all the UK guests will be expecting it.

This may clear things up:
You can request a specific Disney DJ, thru Disney for your wedding. Disney will confirm with the DJ that he is available. If he is, he will DJ your wedding. You then pay the standard DJ entertainment fee thru Disney (no extra charges). If the DJ is not available, Disney will assign another DJ that matches your style and personality.

It depends on the luck of the draw. Many times Disney will ask if I have a specific date available... if I do, great! Sometimes, however, I am already booked, and that wedding will go to another DJ.

If you book your DJ on your own, Disney does indeed charge you an outside vendor fee. This is for: dance floor, lighting, staging for DJ, labor to set these items, etc. In addition to the Disney fee, you then have to pay your DJ his fee. It's important to remember that whatever fee you pay an outside DJ (whether it's $900, $1000, or more) that fee will NOT count toward your minimums. You will also not have a "Disney entertainment manager" who insures the proper setup and coordination of your entertainment with the rest of the reception elements.

It almost always works out to a better value when using DJs approved by Disney. It is true that Disney likes to control this element, because the quality of entertainment reflects upon Disney directly. This is why Disney has a strong vetting and audition process for the DJs they use regularly.

Hope this helps!!

This is SUPER useful information - thank you

Does anyone have a list of Disney approved vendors?

 

[October 2014 Bride]

We weren't sure about having a DJ but our planner said the DJs they use have to audition every year to ensure they use the best DJs possible. I've heard nothing but good things about the DJs they use and they will always match the style you like with the DJ. I.e. do you want lots of fun dances or a particular style. Also they said the price they charge for a DJ varies depending on which room you use. We are using Whitehall room so the price is slightly cheaper than the ballrooms due to the space.

 

[Princess_Melanie]

We weren't sure about having a DJ but our planner said the DJs they use have to audition every year to ensure they use the best DJs possible. I've heard nothing but good things about the DJs they use and they will always match the style you like with the DJ. I.e. do you want lots of fun dances or a particular style. Also they said the price they charge for a DJ varies depending on which room you use. We are using Whitehall room so the price is slightly cheaper than the ballrooms due to the space.

Ooh - that is very interesting to know - something to add to the list to definitely ask at the planning stage Thank you