Has anyone done the Intimate Dinner at GF?

[nosy parker]

We had a private dining experience at the GF a couple years ago. I'm not sure if it's the same spot but suspect it is. It was on the third floor. It felt quite private to me. There is a balcony that runs by the door but very few people walk down that particular as only a few rooms and perhaps suites are past it.

Our event was during the day but I didn't notice anyone passing by. In fact, the table was placed in such a manner that it felt quite private. There was a solid wall behind us not windows if I remember correctly.

Others in the past have talked about having a dinner at the very end of Sago Cay near the lagoon.

Can you share any info on your private dinner....menu choices, prices, etc.? TIA.

Well, I finally got my details. Here is the menu proposed:

Duo of Shellfish
Crab Cakes and Shrimp Cocktail

Spinach Salad with Grilled Pears, Dates served
with an Applewood Bacon Vinaigrette

Tuna Tataki with Ginger Scented Sticky Rice and Orange Ponzu

Rack of Lamb served with a Red Wine Mustard Demi Glaze,
Grilled Asparagus and Duchess Potatoes

Water is included. Other beverages are additional.
Over our "Wishes" fireworks our special dessert will be served.


The tuna is for me and the rack of lamb for DH. The cost is $95/per person plus 6.5% tax, 18% gratuity and $75 butler fee. So what do think? Am I nuts? It is on the third floor terrace overlook and I hope it will be super romantic!

Does anyone have the details of their evenings? I don't know if you've done them yet.

 

[shortchange1026]

I just got my confirmation the other day and this is my menu:

Shrimp Cocktail

Field Greens with Grilled Pears, Pecans and Gorgonzola

Grilled Filet served with Butter Poached Lobster,

with Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Asparagus

Parchment Paper Wrapped Tilapia served with Parmesan Grit Cake,

Roasted Peppers and Grilled Zucchini

Although I e-mailed her back and asked if I could substitute something for the lobster because I originally told her I don't eat lobster. She just got back to me and said we could substitute crab or shrimp or leave the seafood off completely but because I will be eating the filet and the fish dish will be for my DH, I told her to substitute the crab. Same thing for us, special dessert served during wishes and water is included and we can just order what we want to drink from our butler when we get there. The price is the same for us except it's $85 per person. Maybe it depends on your menu?

If you're crazy, we are both crazy! I'm looking forward to it since it is our 5th anniversary and I wanted to do something special besides a park or hotel restaurant. I figure, it only comes once! I love Disney and my DH is starting to catch my fever! I'm just waiting now for her to get back to me because I asked her when I could call to give my credit card info to confirm and when she e-mailed me about the lobster substitution, she didn't say. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[nosy parker]

I just got my confirmation the other day and this is my menu:

Shrimp Cocktail

Field Greens with Grilled Pears, Pecans and Gorgonzola

Grilled Filet served with Butter Poached Lobster,

with Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Asparagus

Parchment Paper Wrapped Tilapia served with Parmesan Grit Cake,

Roasted Peppers and Grilled Zucchini

Although I e-mailed her back and asked if I could substitute something for the lobster because I originally told her I don't eat lobster. She just got back to me and said we could substitute crab or shrimp or leave the seafood off completely but because I will be eating the filet and the fish dish will be for my DH, I told her to substitute the crab. Same thing for us, special dessert served during wishes and water is included and we can just order what we want to drink from our butler when we get there. The price is the same for us except it's $85 per person. Maybe it depends on your menu?

If you're crazy, we are both crazy! I'm looking forward to it since it is our 5th anniversary and I wanted to do something special besides a park or hotel restaurant. I figure, it only comes once! I love Disney and my DH is starting to catch my fever! I'm just waiting now for her to get back to me because I asked her when I could call to give my credit card info to confirm and when she e-mailed me about the lobster substitution, she didn't say. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

Mmmmmmm... yours sounds delish! I was going to go with steak or filet and lobster for DH too, but we are already eating at Le Cellier, Yachtsman, Narcoossees, California Grill and Coral Reef so I'm sure he'll get his fill of steak and lobster in there somewhere. Rack of lamb is a favorite that he rarely gets the chance to enjoy.

Do you find communication with your contact somewhat difficult? It seems to take quite some time and in the end I haven't been able to get any questions answered. She has just given me the details of the actual dinner and price, but no responses to specific questions I've asked. Do you know anything about the table setting decor? Are there flowers, petals, or anything like that? I was waiting to hear from her about any 'extra touches' she could offer. So far nothing. I will have to call her to give my credit card info too.

I'm soooo excited about this! I hope your anniversary is wonderful! I was thinking exactly the same as you, wanting to do something special that wasn't in a standard restaurant setting. Heck, if I'm going to put the kids at the Neverland club to get some much deserved alone time with DH, I want to make it count!

 

[shortchange1026]

yes, it is sort of difficult to deal with her, I am sort of unhappy with that aspect..I spoke to her once and told her what I wanted and the rest of the time has been e-mails. Most of the time I have to leave her a voice mail message and then she responds with an e-mail but not right away, it sometimes takes a few days. No, I haven't gotten any details about table setting, etc. Haven't really thought about it to tell you the truth. If I get any further info, I will let you know..waiting for a response from her about when I can get a hold of her to give her my credit card info.

I hope your anniversary is special as well..

When are you going?

 

[Clotho]

I just got my confirmation the other day and this is my menu:

Shrimp Cocktail

Field Greens with Grilled Pears, Pecans and Gorgonzola

Grilled Filet served with Butter Poached Lobster,

with Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Asparagus

Parchment Paper Wrapped Tilapia served with Parmesan Grit Cake,

Roasted Peppers and Grilled Zucchini

OOOH MY! That sounds fantastic! You made me super hungry! Have a great dinner!

i wish we had more pics of the actual events in progress, and different location pics in addition to the 3rd floor location.

Edit: I just found this link, with pics, of a couple who ate out on the docks for their private dining. it's an old thread, but with pics and details I thought folks here would enjoy.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1173715

 

[nosy parker]

yes, it is sort of difficult to deal with her, I am sort of unhappy with that aspect..I spoke to her once and told her what I wanted and the rest of the time has been e-mails. Most of the time I have to leave her a voice mail message and then she responds with an e-mail but not right away, it sometimes takes a few days. No, I haven't gotten any details about table setting, etc. Haven't really thought about it to tell you the truth. If I get any further info, I will let you know..waiting for a response from her about when I can get a hold of her to give her my credit card info.

I hope your anniversary is special as well..

When are you going?

Yep, that's pretty much been my experience with her as well. I guess I'll have to ask her the questions (and I have quite a few!) when I speak to her to give her my credit card #. This is a surprise for DH, he thinks we're going to Citrico's so I'm hoping there's a place to get a drink near the piano and we can sit there and enjoy that. Then 'Surprise!' the butler will show up.

We'll be there 10/30 - 11/07. You?

 

[shortchange1026]

Same here..it is a surprise for my DH as well. He thinks we are eating at Bistro de Paris that night. I will tell him at breakfast the morning of our anniversary where we are actually eating. Last week I went ahead and made the reservation for BDP just in case because I hadn't heard anything about the private dinner. I can cancel that if I need to. Wanted a back up plan so we had somewhere nice to eat the night of our actual anniversary in case this fell thru for some reason.

We will be there Oct 25th to Nov 1st. Our actual anniversary is Sunday the 26th. That's when we booked the private dining for. I hope it's great!

Enjoy your trip and nice "talking" to you..let me know if you find out any other details and I'll see if I can find out anything..

 

[glo]

Could someone please send me contact info and where to call for this?!?!? Pretty please? This would be just what I am looking for!

Thanks

 

[shortchange1026]

I just PM'd you the info..

 

[firsttimemom]

We did this 2 years ago for our 10th anniversary. We had a private table for 2 outside near the water (I don't think they do that location anymore). The table had flower petals on it. Our butler was phenomenal (I think it was only $50 for that service at the time) and we tipped him extra. It was more than we would have spent at a restaurant, but it was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime event and I highly recommend it!

 

[nosy parker]

Ooooohh! It's so nice to hear others' positive feedback on this! It makes me so excited!

I will take some pix so that I can post them when I return. This way others will be able to see exactly what it's like.

Also, I just spoke to the person handling this at GF and I asked her if she could do a personalized menu. She said yes, and that I just had to send her what I wanted it to say. So, keep that in mind because it wasn't offered to me but she has no problem doing it if you ask for it.

 

[shortchange1026]

yes, me too..glad to hear a good review.

Were you able to speak to her directly and give your credit card info? She hasn't responded to my e-mail or called me to get the info or to at least e-mail me back and let me know when a good time is to call her to give it to her.

 

[glo]

I talked to her about 30 minutes ago and got and email from her about 15 minutes after that asking for dates and other info. I already sent it back to her. How cool that you can have personalized menus I wonder if they will do that in January? When did you guys get your menu choices? I can't wait to get into the nitty gritty!

 

[Keira1387]

Hi, I was just wondering if I could get the contact information for this. I would love to do this for our first wedding anniversary. TIA!

 

[shortchange1026]

I originally booked the date sometime in May. She asked me to send her our menu preferences, what we like, what we dislike, etc. I e-mailed it to her and she said she would reserve the date for me and forward my menu likes/dislikes to their chef and she said she would send me the confirmation. I waited a few months and didn't hear anything so I called her and left her a voice mail about a week ago and she sent me the confirmation e-mail with the menu the chef came up with. I only had to change one thing because our menu includes lobster and I don't like lobster. Everything else was perfect but I have read that you can request something specific. I just now have to try and get a hold of her to give her my credit card info.

I called 407-824-2578.

 

[nosy parker]

yes, me too..glad to hear a good review.

Were you able to speak to her directly and give your credit card info? She hasn't responded to my e-mail or called me to get the info or to at least e-mail me back and let me know when a good time is to call her to give it to her.

Yes, I called her about an hour ago. She picked up right away. I would say keep trying, as I've found that it's much quicker to deal with her directly over the phone. I was finally able to get my questions answered. She's very nice, it's just a lengthier process to communicate with her via e-mail.

And now I feel much better knowing that everything is finalized and confirmed!

 

[shortchange1026]

Ok, thanks..that's why I want to give her my CC info so I know that everything is finalized.

Did you find out about the table decorations?

 

[glo]

All my email asked was for date of event. How many people and if any were choldren, and the DISNEY resort we were staying at and the reservation number. No where did it ask for any likes or dislikes with food or anything at all other than telling me that prices started at $85 pp and up from there, and that obly water was included in that price and any other drinks would be extra.

I am excited about a truely grown up fancy dinner for us!

 

[nosy parker]

I talked to her about 30 minutes ago and got and email from her about 15 minutes after that asking for dates and other info. I already sent it back to her. How cool that you can have personalized menus I wonder if they will do that in January? When did you guys get your menu choices? I can't wait to get into the nitty gritty!

Actually I contacted her only about 3 -4 weeks ago. She sent me the e-mail requesting my dates and time the following day, which I responded to right away. I didn't hear anything more from her until last week when I called her and asked if my date was officially confirmed because I had not received a response. She said she had sent me an e-mail asking about my menu preferences (which I did not receive). I told her I hadn't rec'd anything requesting this info from her and so she asked me to e-mail her my preferences. I did that right away. I was quite specific and also sent her photos so that the chef would have a clear idea what I was looking for. This was a little over a week ago and since I hadn't heard from her, I e-mailed her Tuesday asking if the chef had any news. Got the confirmation for my date and the menu suggested by the chef yesterday. I just called and gave my credit card info, so it's all done.

I would definitely say that she is very nice, but I would stay on top of things to make sure everything is progressing. I didn't find that the e-mail responses were very timely and it left me uncertain of where things stood. I assume that she must be very busy as there are probably a great many events to plan at GF! Hurray! - one is for me!

 

[shortchange1026]

Yes, that's originally what I got as well. I filled it in and sent it back to her and then she sent an e-mail back stating she would reserve the date for me and asked that I send her my likes and dislikes as far as food and she would forward it to the chef. She will then tell you that you will get a confirmation and you will need to provide them with a credit card to confirm.

You know, I was just thinking, I think they should have a referral program for this!