Is a site visit worth it?

[pima416]

I'm contemplating going down to Disney for a site visit before I sign the contract but is it worth it? I have a tentative hold for the ceremony to be at the Wedding Pavilion and the reception at Living Seas. How many brides did a site visit before you decided on the locations? Is it worth it?

 

[lurkyloo]

How important is the feel of the space to you? You very rarely hear of people deciding against the Wedding Pavilion after seeing it, but Living Seas is more of an acquired taste due to its lack of natural light and general corporate-lounge feel. Some people love it, though!

We probably didn't need to have a site visit to the Attic to know we wanted to use it, but we were glad we had a chance to see the Morocco Pavilion in person because we changed where we wanted to have the ceremony set up.

 

[Annabelle33]

I agree with Lurkyloo-we were pretty set on the Wedding Pavilion but I wasn't so sure about the other sites. I had the opposite experience with the Living Seas-I saw some pictures and did think it worked for what we were going for. However after visiting it I fell in love with it and decided we had to use it for something and are now having our rehearsal dinner there! You just never know until you see it in person. I had to see everything first for my own peace of mind!

 

[pima416]

The wedding is only going to be about 80 people and we wanted to do a beach theme so that's why we decided to do living seas, but I feel that I should look at it before I decided, however it is going to be about $700 for me to do that and is it worth it at that point because I could definitely use that $700 towards something else?

 

[lurkyloo]

If you've seen lots of photos of it and feel good about it, then I don't think you actually have to go there. When I finally saw inside Living Seas, it felt slightly different than in photos, but not worse than I'd imagined. It's bigger and not as dark-feeling when you're there.

 

[v_misses_epcot]

The wedding is only going to be about 80 people and we wanted to do a beach theme so that's why we decided to do living seas, but I feel that I should look at it before I decided, however it is going to be about $700 for me to do that and is it worth it at that point because I could definitely use that $700 towards something else?

Are you really set on The Living Seas? Because Ariels at the Yacht and Beach Club has a very Beach like feel. We're doing a boardwalk/beach theme so if we go with the attic it'll work too.

I think it's worth it because you really should get a feel sort of like a wedding dress, the place itself can make you or break you. In pictures the site might look amazing but in person it could be not what you expected.

 

[pima416]

Thank you everyone. You have helped with my decision to go down for a site visit.

 

[FloridaDreaming]

I definitely felt better after the site visit. I had a strong feeling about my locations (SBP and ADH) but, it was nice to get a better look at them in person. When I walked out onto the ADH patio, I knew that it was the place for me. And that special feeling of coming from backstage at Epcot to see the UK Lower area for our DP.

And of course, a mini trip to Disney is always worth it as well.

I do agree with the PP who suggested Ariels. It is beautiful inside there and very themed. Which was another nice thing about the site visit, we got to see some other options before settling on our final decisions.

 

[DisneyBride1207]

We were most interested in the site visit because of food tasting -- which helped us get excited about our food choices and know what we did or didn't like. Living Seas was as I expected from pics online -- but definitely cooler in person.

 

[CityGirlLost]

I just got back from my site visit and I'm left feeling less than thrilled with it. After making my appointment and going back and forth with DFTW, I got a voicemail while on vacation at WDW that another couple was interested in having site visit during my appointment time and that they called and emailed me and needed me to confirm. Um, I'm on vacation at Disney so I don't have access to email and my phone was killed in a monsoon the previous day. I was pretty peeved at being asked if I would give up my appointment.

Then when we got to Francks we were told that we couldn't see our first choice room because there was a corporate event there that day (seriously, not even a peek in the door?) and our second choice wasn't an option at all because it's being used for the Food and Wine Festival on our wedding day. He took us to see the Whitehall Room at the Grand Floridian (even though I hate the Grand Floridian) and I like it but we'll see when the window treatments and wallpaper is changed in a few months. We discussed a third site we were interested in but after the trip next door to the Grand Floridian, he parked the car and that was it.

I'm kinda ticked, actually.

 

[DisBride011]

My ceremony is at the Wedding Pavilion and reception at Living Seas. You can get lots of photos here on the boards and online of both locations.

I did a site visit just because I already had a trip planned down to FL. If we were not going to FL I probably would not have done a site visit just because I liked what I had seen from photos. The photos really do tell all. Both locations are beautiful.

It's up to you how comfortable you are with choosing from pictures and if you really want to go down just for a site visit. I personally wouldn't plan an extra trip down just for a site visit (I would keep the $ for the trip and put it toward the wedding).

Good Luck and Congrats on Planning your Wedding