Looking for opinions & help planning 4th anniversary!

[goteamSy]

I figured the wedding board would be the best place to post this as you guys know the ins and outs of all things special at Disney . I'd like to surprise my husband with something special for our 4th anniversary. We had a "destination disney" wedding at our favorite hotel right outside the park. He's always doing nice things for me so I want to do something great. I can't keep a secret so I think the surprise will be amazing (if I can hold it in!) I've researched a bunch and sort have come up empty handed.

We plan on doing dinner at Narcoossee's (his favorite restaurant), but then what?

My original thought was a Wishes Cruise for dessert after dinner. But then I got to thinking... is a Wishes cruise worth it when we're staying at the Grand Floridian? I think it's something really special to do, but I'm having a hard time justifying the price when I can probably see Wishes from right outside my hotel room nightly. If we do it I'd probably just spend the additional money for the Grand 1, but I just don't know!

Then I thought of GF private dining and doing dessert either on the third floor balcony or on the dock area. But then, we could just order dessert to our room and then eat it on our private balcony without people walking by staring. Same thing, less cost and more privacy. Bleh!

So then I thought, well, the GF private dining for dessert could be great after dinner and then maybe I could arrange it so that they somehow play our wedding song (which we haven't danced to since our wedding) and then have Mickey or something show up. But then I found out the characters only do appearances inside, so that wouldn't work with seeing Wishes.

What else is there? Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[Chilly]

Just thinking of some things that i've done. I booked my hubby the Richard Petty Driving experience as a surprise and he booked me a hot air balloon flight over Orlando for my birthday.

The behind the scenes tours are always good, segway tours as well.

There are illuminations cruises rather than Wishes.

You could order a recreation of your wedding cake in miniture.

 

[Lorelei528]

What time of year are you going? If it's during Food and Wine Fest there are loads of special experiences you could do. If it's around the holidays, there are others (ie. I'm booking the holiday sleigh ride for DH and I that goes through FW where hopefully all the campsites will be lit up).

What about booking dinner at Victoria and Albert's? We havne't done it yet, but it would be a special meal.

As Claire said, the tours are great, also the Dine with an Imagineer which we've done and loved.

What about a photo session? Disney Photography or another photographer could do a session at a resort.

At Jiko, there are special wine and dine packages I think....there's loads of stuff.

I didn't even know about the holiday sleigh ride until last week! LOL...

I also am going to order some Christmas decorations for our room, such as stockings etc.

They have romance packages and stuff. Call Disney Florist, they're great!

HTH!

 

[goteamSy]

Thanks for your replies! I guess I have to research some more! We've eaten at V&A before and Hubs still raves about Narcoossee's more , so I'm just going to stick with that.

I'm going to look into the tours but I really wanted something "anniversary" themed. I like the idea of a mini-wedding cake. I keep going back to having a character involved somehow. Do you think that's a waste since we typically go to a lot of character meals or see them in the parks?

 

[Lorelei528]

Thanks for your replies! I guess I have to research some more! We've eaten at V&A before and Hubs still raves about Narcoossee's more , so I'm just going to stick with that.

I'm going to look into the tours but I really wanted something "anniversary" themed. I like the idea of a mini-wedding cake. I keep going back to having a character involved somehow. Do you think that's a waste since we typically go to a lot of character meals or see them in the parks?

We LOVE Narcoossee's! We try to eat there every trip!

IDK...the characters are very expensive, will it just be you two? I also think they spend 30 mins with you....so, if they appear at your meal, what will you have them do etc.?

What about a spa day or couples massage or something?

 

[lurkyloo]

We've done a few IllumiNations dessert parties for our anniversaries, plus an IllumiNations cruise to DHS for dinner at Tower of Terror. I wrote up all the planning details here, if you're interested: http://disneytravelbabble.com/how-to/private-party/

Depending on your budget, you might also be interested in a Fantasmic! dessert party, but they are a bit pricier and have a greater chance of being canceled. More info is available here: http://disneytravelbabble.com/blog/...ons-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/#fantasmicdp

 

[goteamSy]

We LOVE Narcoossee's! We try to eat there every trip!

IDK...the characters are very expensive, will it just be you two? I also think they spend 30 mins with you....so, if they appear at your meal, what will you have them do etc.?

What about a spa day or couples massage or something?

It is just the two of us. I'm not so concerned about the price of the characters as much as the 30 minute thing... I didn't even think of that... 30 minutes with just the two of us and a character can be a little awkward lol.

Ack this is so hard!

 

[goteamSy]

We've done a few IllumiNations dessert parties for our anniversaries, plus an IllumiNations cruise to DHS for dinner at Tower of Terror. I wrote up all the planning details here, if you're interested: http://disneytravelbabble.com/how-to/private-party/

Depending on your budget, you might also be interested in a Fantasmic! dessert party, but they are a bit pricier and have a greater chance of being canceled. More info is available here: http://disneytravelbabble.com/blog/...ons-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/#fantasmicdp

Thanks for the info - I will take a look!!

 

[andeesings]

We've done a few IllumiNations dessert parties for our anniversaries, plus an IllumiNations cruise to DHS for dinner at Tower of Terror. I wrote up all the planning details here, if you're interested: http://disneytravelbabble.com/how-to/private-party/

Depending on your budget, you might also be interested in a Fantasmic! dessert party, but they are a bit pricier and have a greater chance of being canceled. More info is available here: http://disneytravelbabble.com/blog/2011/08/02/private-party-locations-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/#fantasmicdp

I would so LOVE to see a wedding at one of these more outlandish locations, like Pixar street!!! Are there any photos of weddings in unusual places in Hollywood Studios?

 

[lurkyloo]

I haven't seen many wedding photos—mostly just corporate events and one wedding reception in the Prop Shop. The most unusual one was a vow renewal in the Narnia exhibit (the one with the snowfall) several years ago, but you might poke around on Magical Day Weddings and see if she has any others!

 

[goteamSy]

Thanks so much for all your help! So I ended up booking a Wishes cruise on the Grand 1 for $744.44. I was expecting the price to be 500-something, so WOW did the price go up!