For those who are married, how did Disney Staff treat you

[starseed]

Hi Starseed! Yeah, I'll have to get around to writing my wedding trip report. Yes, I have the same EM the entire time, but wasn't able to find that out until the day of my wedding. There is really nothing on my wedding day I personally could have done to make it run smoother. I did everything I could before the wedding and on the day of to make it as smoothly. I think if I and my family weren't the way we were...it would have ran less smoothly as it did. The real problem was just my EM, who chose to really do nothing, but stand in the background and not take charge. Of course, I wouldn't know this or think this ahead of time and once you're at the wedding...you're kinda stuck. It was a magical day and I married my Prince, so that's what's important to me. The problem with a Disney Intimate wedding is you don't get to meet or really know the people like you usual would. You just know them by e-mail mainly and then...it's your wedding day! It all pays off though, but I expected more from Disney...as I think most people do.

Thanks again for sharing! It's so helpful to read about other experiences. I hope you do write a wedding TR... I look forward to reading it!

 

[Marty Moose]

Ummm...okay, another intimate bride getting worried here!!

I agree that DFTW cast members have a LOT on their plate, but that's not neccessarily an excuse for poor service!

I understand that, as an intimate, my EM doesn't have much time to devote to helping me "plan"...but that's not her job (correct me if I'm wrong). Her job is to see that the little 1-2 hour time frame allotted to us goes smoothly and according to our planning kit requests. I do email her occasionally, just to get a definite answer on something and each time I mention that I know how busy she must be and to please just forward a quick answer when she gets time. So far this has worked out perfectly as I don't expect much from her in that aspect. What I DO expect is that once my planning kit is submitted and my check clears that she does everything in her power from to see that that plan is executed correctly. I think that's all any of us want!

I hope that these are just a few bad examples and aren't indicative of DFTW's service on the whole...but like I said, it does have me worried. If Disney cannot give quality service to intimates, then they shouldn't offer it in the first place! And as far as not being worthy because we aren't spending as much money...that's BS! I know that personally, while we may be spending only $2500-3000 on the wedding...we are coming close to $15k with everything else (BW Villa, Dinner at YS, Park Tickets, ADRs, etc.) as well as bringing 16 guests with us that wouldn't have ordinarily been shelling out cash for Disney vacation! So, while intimates may not not generate as much revenue for DFTW department...they do help bring it in elsewhere!

I guess what I'm trying to say is: while we intimates have to sacrifice by having limited choices (flowers, cake, etc.) we shouldn't have to sacrifice quality. $3k is a lot of $$ for what they are offering, IF it doesn't come along with a planner who can help execute it properly!

And, I have to add this as I just realized this thread wasn't exclusive to intimates, for those who are shelling out the big bucks for a custom...I would be livid if I were treated that way (ie, one of the earlier posts)!! I know that anything can happen. And despite what you're probably thinking reading this rant I am a pretty easy going person! If something goes wrong on my wedding day I can certainly handle it...IF it is met with sincere concern and an attempt to correct it! NOT with an "oh well, you're really not important to us in the grand scheme anyway" attitude!

Okay, enough of the soapbox!!! I think I need a drink...

My sincere sympathies to those who didn't have their day go well and I wish the best for those who are still awaiting the big day!!

 

[Fairy_Tale_Bride]

Ummm...okay, another intimate bride getting worried here!!

I agree that DFTW cast members have a LOT on their plate, but that's not neccessarily an excuse for poor service!

I understand that, as an intimate, my EM doesn't have much time to devote to helping me "plan"...but that's not her job (correct me if I'm wrong). Her job is to see that the little 1-2 hour time frame allotted to us goes smoothly and according to our planning kit requests. I do email her occasionally, just to get a definite answer on something and each time I mention that I know how busy she must be and to please just forward a quick answer when she gets time. So far this has worked out perfectly as I don't expect much from her in that aspect. What I DO expect is that once my planning kit is submitted and my check clears that she does everything in her power from to see that that plan is executed correctly. I think that's all any of us want!

I hope that these are just a few bad examples and aren't indicative of DFTW's service on the whole...but like I said, it does have me worried. If Disney cannot give quality service to intimates, then they shouldn't offer it in the first place! And as far as not being worthy because we aren't spending as much money...that's BS! I know that personally, while we may be spending only $2500-3000 on the wedding...we are coming close to $15k with everything else (BW Villa, Dinner at YS, Park Tickets, ADRs, etc.) as well as bringing 16 guests with us that wouldn't have ordinarily been shelling out cash for Disney vacation! So, while intimates may not not generate as much revenue for DFTW department...they do help bring it in elsewhere!

I guess what I'm trying to say is: while we intimates have to sacrifice by having limited choices (flowers, cake, etc.) we shouldn't have to sacrifice quality. $3k is a lot of $$ for what they are offering, IF it doesn't come along with a planner who can help execute it properly!

And, I have to add this as I just realized this thread wasn't exclusive to intimates, for those who are shelling out the big bucks for a custom...I would be livid if I were treated that way (ie, one of the earlier posts)!! I know that anything can happen. And despite what you're probably thinking reading this rant I am a pretty easy going person! If something goes wrong on my wedding day I can certainly handle it...IF it is met with sincere concern and an attempt to correct it! NOT with an "oh well, you're really not important to us in the grand scheme anyway" attitude!

Okay, enough of the soapbox!!! I think I need a drink...

My sincere sympathies to those who didn't have their day go well and I wish the best for those who are still awaiting the big day!!

I totally agree with you with the money thing with the intimate vs. custom weddings. My Mom and I feel that way too...yeah...the wedding may be priced at $2,500, but that's just for the wedding! No photography, no videography, and any thing else you almost have to add! My wedding easily came to over $15,000 and that's not including the honeymoon! It's big bucks either way and with an intimate you have to do a lot of the planning and little details yourself. I enjoyed it and didn't find it to stressful for me, but not to be given the same time and consideration is not fair. I don't know...many people with custom weddings felt like I did...rushed and pushed out! I felt like I was more there for photo-ops, than for my wedding. Every thing is thrown and grabbed from you. My wedding began almost 30 mins late, which was not our fault...we were ready way ahead of time! It's not fair to be rushed because of their tardiness, but we were.

 

[starseed]

I do think that, as with anything, it depends on the EM, their experience with DFTW and whatever they may be up against that day. I have read about a lot of great experiences with DFTW and some not-so-great ones.

My plan is be frank and open about my expectations. Closer to our date, I am going to send a note saying that while I realize that we are under a tight schedule, it would mean a lot to us to make sure that we do not feel rushed. It should be a given. But I'm hoping this way, it would be more top-of-mind to the EM.

Also, I have asked my EM whether she will be my point of contact on the day of our wedding and if not, I am going to see whether it would be possible to know who the contact will be prior to our wedding day.

I am also glad that we have Randy Chapman, who is a non-Disney photographer. He has photographed a lot of Disney weddings and I have read that at least on one occasion, he has stepped in to talk to an EMs who was being a little too aggressive about the cake cutting at an Intimate wedding. I feel better knowing that he may be our professional, but non-Disney employed advocate!

Ultimately though, when the day is finally here, I will know that I did everything I could. So all I can do is go along for the ride.

 

[Fairy_Tale_Bride]

I do think that, as with anything, it depends on the EM, their experience with DFTW and whatever they may be up against that day. I have read about a lot of great experiences with DFTW and some not-so-great ones.

My plan is be frank and open about my expectations. Closer to our date, I am going to send a note saying that while I realize that we are under a tight schedule, it would mean a lot to us to make sure that we do not feel rushed. It should be a given. But I'm hoping this way, it would be more top-of-mind to the EM.

Also, I have asked my EM whether she will be my point of contact on the day of our wedding and if not, I am going to see whether it would be possible to know who the contact will be prior to our wedding day.

I am also glad that we have Randy Chapman, who is a non-Disney photographer. He has photographed a lot of Disney weddings and I have read that at least on one occasion, he has stepped in to talk to an EMs who was being a little too aggressive about the cake cutting at an Intimate wedding. I feel better knowing that he may be our professional, but non-Disney employed advocate!

Ultimately though, when the day is finally here, I will know that I did everything I could. So all I can do is go along for the ride.

I TOTALLY agee with you! That's a great attitude and the attitude I had before my big day and on my big day. That's all you do! You need to just worry about YOU on your wedding day! I know that's what I did. I enjoyed my day very much and did all I could as well! What I did turned out perfect!

 

[Tinkerbelle14]

We had a great experience with Disney staff. We didn't really get a lot of free stuff (only Mickey straws at the food court), but a lot of congrats and smiles. They did whatever they could to make our trip great! We had the wedding pins on, but we didn't want to expect something from anyone, that way we wouldn't be disappointed. I loved the staff at the Prime Time Cafe in MGM too, they are just so funny!

As far as co-ordinators, Tanis Armstrong was amazing. She made sure that the day felt special, as if we were the only bride and groom in Disney that day. She felt like an old friend and didn't rush us at all. I've heard that some people have had bad experiences with DFTW, but I have nothing but good things to say about them! I am trying to think of any possible negatives, but I can't, we had a great experience and we want to go back for our anniversary!

 

[JandJ]

Honestly I haven't read each and every post but there seems to be a theme of things going wrong and Intimate brides worrying that their weddings will have many issues. As a former Intimate bride I hope I can allay some of you future Intimate bride's fears.

I have to say I had ZERO issues. None. Yes, my EM didn't always reply to my e-mails in a day or two, but she did reply. She made our rehearsal and day-after brunch and dinner ADRs and she held my hand the day of the wedding. Yes, it started 5 minutes late, but what wedding doesn't start a little late? Rosie in Disney Floral was fantastic and the flowers were perfect. I had a custom cake and there was not one single problem with it. Our photographer was a dream, he took any picture we wanted - he would have even taken more (past our 2 hours) but we were tired of smiling , Rev. Jack was beyond our expectations as our officiant and even gave our toast, had cake and hung out for additional photos, our violinist was awesome and our guests raved about the Disney tunes he played while they were sitting and waiting for the ceremony to start, even the guy who cut and served our cake was a doll. Absolutely every aspect of our Intimate was wonderful!!

I am very sorry for those who had problems but from my personal experience, which is all I can speak to, Disney went above and beyond for our Intimate wedding and I have no complaints. We were made to feel really special for our special day, which is how it should be.

 

[Rustyflwr3]

Most everyone is going to have both positive and negative experiences no matter where you get married. Its just natural...nobody is perfect. However, there really isn't an excuse for bad service, even if it's at Disney...especially if its at Disney. No matter if a couple is spending 3K or 500K, the service should be the same!

Although we haven't been married yet, we have been working with DFTW for a little over a year now, and have had NOTHING but excellent service and attention. I am a custom bride, but we aren't spending anywhere close to $50,000.00. During our planning session, we went over to our reception site, which is in MGM Studios, and were pleasantly surprised to have not only our EM and assistant there, but to have the executive chef, conventions manager, banquet captian, banquet manager, entertainment manager, and two operation managers there, plus two other random disney employees! It was a bit odd having a group of about 13 of us walking around in MGM during park hours, with all of the managers writing on their clipboards. But to me, that is nothing less then amazing customer service, and let me reiterate, we aren't spending near 50K, even 30K.
Now, I am definitely expecting some kinks to appear during the day, but every wedding anywhere has its kinks...no matter what they are!!

To the statement saying that Disney WP have so many weddings as well as lives outside of their jobs...this is absolutely no excuse! That is their job!! They knew what they were getting into. A wedding is possibly the most important event to a bride/groom and their families. If there is one event that has to be perfect, its a wedding/VR! No matter how many weddings they have per month or per week, they should be expected to proivide perfect service.

So to finish this and get back to reality, I have had amazing service and wouldn't trade any of the DFTW staff that we have been working with for anything...absolutely amazing!!

 

[Ember]

I haven't interacted yet with many of the Disney staff, but those I have dealt with have been wonderful. My EM, Joe, has been friendly and very helpful and I just got in contact with Karen from DPS regarding the MK photoshoot and she has also been great.

I know that every wedding has its hiccups, but if my WDFW was not wonderful I would be heartbroken. Maybe it's unrealisitic, but it's Disney, I expect things to be great. And if something did go wrong, which can happen, I would hope Disney would do everything in its power to make the situation right.

 

[starseed]

It's great to hear about good experiences! I guess when you're anxious about something, the negatives tend to be what adds to the anxiety.

I've been thinking about what the source of my personal worry is... and I remembered back to a conversation with my EM where she said that the "ceremony and cake reception should take no more than an hour" and within the same coversation, she also mentioned that there is another ceremony at 4pm.

This is what got me worried about being rushed. But I realize now maybe I thought too much into it.

 

[pixie08]

I can't contribute too much yet but I will say so far I ahve had such a wonderful experience with my sm. She is so nice and she really knows her stuff. I am sure each situation is different. It is just like a realtionship...chemistry counts. even the people at Francks were so sweet when we were there for our site visit. I hope the luck keeps up!

 

[ead79]

I had a VERY good experience with DFTW. There were one or two tiny hiccups (little things like the towncar driver who was picking us up after the reception getting lost backstage at Epcot--no big deal at all, she was just 15 minutes late so we just stayed at the reception longer), but overall it was a perfect day and everything I had dreamed of.

I don't think Jonette was saying that those who spend less should expect less, just that individual weddings (even custom ones with large budgets) aren't a huge deal income-wise at WDW. That does not mean you shouldn't expect good service. Just that sometimes the EMs have to deal with departments who don't see a wedding as a huge part of their revenue.

If you're having problems with DFTW staff, first step back and evaluate your expectations. If you're expecting too much, then adjust your expectations. If you are having a legitimate issue, then speak with your EM or someone at DFTW about your concerns. They want you to be happy with your special day, and they understand that issues sometimes do pop up.

 

[princessblueeyzes]

I haven't had my wedding yet but I am an intimate and I can't say enough wonderful things about my coordinator. She has answered all my questions and is so sweet. Like others have mentioned, it may take a couple of days for your EM to respond but everything that I have been told I can and can't do just makes me feel more knowlegable and understand some of the rules Disney has. I asked my EM about the towncars and she gave me an honest answer and told me that she is deleting them from her intimate planning kits as if you are not there either 5 minutes early or right on time they just leave you and she had some complaints so she definately didn't want me to use them. I feel so much better knowing that I know my coordinator is trying everything in her power to make sure my day goes great.

 

[twojo21]

my overall experience with disney staff was good.

 

[hmp2z]

We had an intimate wedding, and had a wonderful experience with our final EM. That being said, we had 2 others before we got her. The first one realized 4 months before our wedding date that - wait a minute, it was a Monday, and she didn't work Mondays. Duh... So we were transferred to another EM who was actually fired by Disney about 2 months before our wedding (nothing to do with us, but we had noticed he seemed to be extraordinarily incompetent, unable to answer even simple questions).

Our final EM, Lynn, was a JOY - she made our day so smooth. Truly, this woman took care of every single detail, from telling us what to do, to toting my purse from location to location for me and finally having it sent up to my room at the GF.

I don't think that because you are having an intimate, you are necessarily spending less, though that is usually the case. We had our reception at Victoria & Albert's private room, and finished with a fireworks cruise for our guests on the Grand One. We just preferred an intimate wedding to a custom one, because we wanted it to be a very special, memorable vacation for our families only.

I just don't think that the amount of money you are spending should mean that one bride should get better service than another, and I don't think that is the case. We did not have one single hitch in our wedding day, even a tiny one, and I've read about plenty of custom brides who were displeased about various things.

Cheers!
Heather W