Has anyone had their reception at the Luau? or other funky venues?

[Belle1981]

Hi there just wondering if anyone has hosted their dinner at the Luau? It's a cool non traditional idea...All you can eat, drink and entertainment...Also has anyone had dancing at Epcot after hours? Is it possible to have dancing at Epcot even without having dinner there? How does the transportation for the guests work for the dessert party? Is it those big buses the characters ride on? Where do you pick them up? All you Disney brides help a girl out!!! Thank you...

 

[Maggimus]

Im gonna bump this one for you! I dont know the answers myself -- but I hope you find them By the way-- Congratulations!

 

[luvsmickey]

Well, I don't know about the dancing, but the bus thing...My WP told me it's the same as the ones that pick you up from the airport. The Magical Express style buses. And she said since we're thinking of having dinner at the GF before the Desert Reception, that it would pick us up from there and take us to Epcot. Well, I hope this at least helps with one of the questions.

 

[dznystar]

The busses seat 47 people and cost $88 per hour for a 5 hour minimum. You can have dancing and a DJ at your dessert party, but it has to be after the park closes. The actual Illuminations dessert party I think is from 8:30-9:30pm. You can add additional hours.

 

[Janet2k]

Hi there just wondering if anyone has hosted their dinner at the Luau... Also has anyone had dancing at Epcot after hours... How does the transportation for the guests work... Is it those big buses...

On a couple of occasions over the years, I have treated groups of family members and friends to both the Luau and the Hoop-Dee-Doo. I had to go through Group Dining for those reservations. I have many fond memories of those group dinners. I actually have photos of one of them in an on-line photo album: click here. (Please Note: I’m not sure how it works today, but in the past a contract was sent to me and I had to pre-pay for the entire dinner in advance. A simple phone call to WDW-DINE should let you know how things work today for group dining reservations.)

As to dancing inside a theme park after-hours, I have done that as both someone who attended an after-hours event and as someone who hosted an after-hours event. I’m sorry that I cannot share pricing information (it’s a promise that I made to my husband years ago). What I can do, however, is share a few photos of dancing inside the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park: click here. If you go to the very bottom of that album, you’ll see a couple of dancing photos. I haven’t shared very many yet, but I hope to rectify that situation soon (real life has gotten in the way over the past year or so). By the way, if you view the following video slide show, towards the end of it, you’ll see more dancing photos: click here.

In regards to private motor coach transportation, Disney currently uses Mears Transportation: click here. In their fleet are the Mears yellow buses, the Disney Cruise Line buses, and the Disney’s Magical Express buses. When I was planning my custom vow renewal, it was the luck of the draw as to which sort of motor coach would be used for an event. For mine, the Mears yellow bus showed up: click here. It was nice and cool inside (air-conditioned) and also very, very clean. My guests enjoyed a lovely ride between their resorts and my events. I think I hired the motor coach for something like nine or ten hours.

I hope this helped.

 

[disprincessatheart]

Janet - your slideshow is AMAZING. I'm sure that's the type of event the rest of us are hoping to achieve!!

Now I have a new idea - mickey ears for everyone!! (at least the bridal Party)

Thanks for posting!

 

[JonetteA]

I would check with your WP. It really depends on if you are an intimate or a custom. I am thinking you are more in line with an intimate. I am not sure what they would do in that case at Epcot. I know that they now do intimate dessert parties. Contract your WP definately!!!

 

[Janet2k]

Now I have a new idea - mickey ears for everyone!! (at least the bridal Party)

Disprincessatheart, I didn't have many "Disney" touches at my event so those ears definitely filled a void. I was surprised at how long a few of my guests actually wore them. I didn't realize that until I reviewed my photos weeks later. It was fun seeing my favorite people acting like kids again, especially my son & my dad.