Lurkyloo's PJ: Morocco/Attic/UK Lower - Greetings from WDW!!!

[Gillian]

I'm enjoying your planning journal! Beautiful choices with your gown, invitations, etc. I love, love, love that blue crystal necklace!

The transportation thing seems tricky. What a pain! If people end up having to take taxis, make sure they know where to go (ie one of your prearrranged bus stops and not the front gates of the park).

 

[lurkyloo]

The transportation thing seems tricky. What a pain! If people end up having to take taxis, make sure they know where to go (ie one of your prearrranged bus stops and not the front gates of the park).

Good idea - I'm planning to send an email and the new transportation schedules (if necessary) in a week or two.

I just don't know whether we should drop BoardWalk Inn from our bus schedule or not. Some of my guests say they have made reservations, but they aren't showing up in the room block so I don't know where, and I'm too proud to phone them up for details. So everything's in limbo....

Ack! Transportation is the thing that I've hated most about this whole deal. I thought Disney weddings were supposed to be easy to plan!

 

[caryndisneydiva]

can your bw guests walk to the reception in epcot? j/w...

i like the idea of leaving letters at the front desk for your guests. that's a heck of a lot easier than these darned welcome bags...

 

[lurkyloo]

Whew! Thanks for saying that, Caryn! If the Queen of the Adorable Welcome Bag says they're a hassle, I don't feel so bad for skipping them.

The BoardWalk guests could totally walk to the DP, but they can't get into the ceremony in Epcot unless they're on my bus....

 

[lpizzuro123]

Where are you having your guests meet for the DP? As of now our ceremony will be in Italy, our reception in ADH and then later in the evening our desert party will be in the UK. I know to get into the ceremony they need to come by special bus. As I am sure most will not be using a park ticket to go into the parks on that day, I believe they need to go into Epcot for the desert party with a Disney representative and we need to pay a viewing fee. I was hoping not to have to get a bus for this portion of our day - but where are you have your guests meet for the desert party? Should they all go in throught the International Gateway or through the front of the park. Will they be meeting a host to get them through? I know of at least 4 people that have an annual pass so hopefully we will not have to pay a viewing fee for them. Also, what about the bride and groom. If we have not activiated our Annual Pass so we have to pay a viewing fee?

Thanks,
Linda

P.S. sorry for all the questions but I can forsee lots of transportation problems and I want to stop them before they start.

 

[lurkyloo]

We are sending our guests into Epcot by bus for that very reason. So the bus is going back to all four resorts to get everyone for the DP. And if guests are out and about, they have been told to get to a hotel on our bus schedule or use their park admission to enter Epcot and meet us at the UK.

You can have everyone meet at International gateway and go in with a Disney rep - we just didn't want our WDW newbie guests to have to figure out how to get the IG all by themselves.

You tell your planner in advance how many people will have APs, and then the Epcot rep counts them when you assemble for the DP (however, I have heard of them not checking). Like you, we didn't want to activate our APs yet, so we are paying the viewing fee for the bride and groom - we figure the $25 is worth an extra day on each of our APs!

Also, we have already overpaid our viewing and dessert party food fees because I realized the other day that the offician'ts flight leaves before the DP and I shouldn't have included him in the guest count - d'oh!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Thanks for your quick reply. So are you getting a bus for almost the entire day. As both our wedding ceremonies are in Epcot in the morning, the guests will have to get picked up early in the morning and brought to Epcot. After the ceremony they are brought to the reception and then after the reception they are brought back to their hotel. Our reception is scheduled to be over at 3:00 - not sure about yours. If yours is the same, are you then having the buses pick up your guests again around 7:00 or so for the nighttime desert party? Thats a lot of money for busses.

Linda

 

[lurkyloo]

TELL me about it - that's why I hate hate hate DFTW's minimum-hours requirements for buses.

We actually don't need the bus to take guests from Epcot to the ceremony, but Disney is making us pay to keep the bus from the early morning all the way through to the end of the reception (2pm) because there's a five-hour minimum limit for using the buses. They won't let us have the bus come in the morning, go away, and come back in the afternoon. Grrrr.....

Then we have to have the bus come again in the evening for the dessert party, so we're spending a huge portion of our budget on something as unglamorous as a bus!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Ok - my DF will not be happy spending so much on just transportation but nothing can be done about it.

Linda

 

[caryndisneydiva]

the welcome bags are a real sore spot with me. i didn't want to do them, but mommy won that battle. so i'm doing them. had i NOT done them, then i would have one less huge box to fed ex tomorrow.

i digress though from the real issue at hand. i think it ridiculous that dftw won't have a cm meet your bw guests at the ig. that is just so stupid.

i just figured out how much less my wedding would cost w/o the buses. i'd be able to have a desert party. AGH!

 

[lpizzuro123]

The transportation is really a big expense. We are trying hard to keep our number under 50 (or whatever the number is) so we only need one bus.

I guess both DF and I will also need transportation so I guess that is two limos.

Linda

 

[sunsh1ne]

lurky-- i am almost pocitive you have 48 hrs to change your guest count so you dont have to pay for them
i canceled about 5 and you get a check in the mail after. i would speak to your planner

 

[DisBride2007]

Good idea - I'm planning to send an email and the new transportation schedules (if necessary) in a week or two.

I just don't know whether we should drop BoardWalk Inn from our bus schedule or not. Some of my deadbeat guests claim to have made reservations, but they aren't showing up in the room block so I don't know where, and I'm too proud to phone them up for details. So everything's in limbo....

I would wait as long as you possibly can to give all the deadbeats a last chance to book their rooms. Then you can review your room block - all brides can get a copy of their room block, just ask your planner or her assistant - and see where everyone is staying. I'd try to work out the bus schedule at that point. The least amount of time spent on the bus in the morning, the better. By that point you will be able to tell if anyone is truly staying at BW or not. If they're not, drop it from the schedule. You're most likely going to need to adjust your schedule anyway.

I'd also advise, if possible, to find out the EXACT location that the buses will be picking up your guests. For example, my guests that stayed at CBR were all in the same building. The bus pickup was almost immediately outside that building - NOT at the traditional bus stop that goes to the parks. It's easier at a place like BC where the buses all pick up in the same spot.

The transportation issue is a tricky one... but I think the room block was more challenging! I will say that we didn't have a DP... so I didn't have to deal w/ that aspect of it. Good luck to all!

 

[lurkyloo]

The transportation is really a big expense. We are trying hard to keep our number under 50 (or whatever the number is) so we only need one bus.

I guess both DF and I will also need transportation so I guess that is two limos.

Linda

The max per bus is 47. Also, if you can get your guests to stay at just 2 resorts, they can arrange for what they call a "one-way" bus that is cheaper than the charter bus - I wish we'd known about this when we were choosing hotels for our room block!

Do you really need a limo each, or can your DF meet you at your hotel/get picked up by your limo? Or, if you're staying in the same hotel but don't want to see each other, could the limo make two trips?

 

[DisBride2007]

Do you really need a limo each, or can your DF meet you at your hotel/get picked up by your limo? Or, if you're staying in the same hotel but don't want to see each other, could the limo make two trips?

Another possibility to save money... depending on whether or not you're planning on seeing each other prior to the ceremony... is for you and DF to take the bus! We did this - the bus picked us up at our hotel and took us to Epcot, where we met Randy for pre-ceremony pictures around World Showcase. Then after the reception ended, we took the bus with our guests back to the hotels. It was great!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Don't want to see DF prior to the wedding. If the limo could make two trips that would be great. I don't mind riding in the bus after the ceremony - or the two of us walking to ADH after the pictures - as long as it is not raining.

Linda

 

[meryll83]

Does anyone know how many the limo seats?

I was thinking that perhaps the bride, her father, mother and bridemaids could all share the limo.

Would still be useful if the limo can pick up the groom and bestman + perhaps any male ushers first and then make a 2nd trip for the girls and dad.

I was then thinking that if the limo has to be hired for a 3 hour minimum, everyone else can get the bus to the reception, then the bride and groom can have some of their own photos done and then arrive at the reception in the limo. that would allow 1 hour before the ceremony, 1 hour during and 1 hour after while the cocktail party is on for the guests, then full use is being made of the limo.

 

[lurkyloo]

The limo seats 8, and it doesn't have any time minimum - thank goodness!

 

[lurkyloo]

OK, so what it looks like we're going to do is change the transportation schedule to eliminate BoardWalk Inn, but we still have to have four stops because apparently it's too far to walk to Port Orleans French Quarter from Riverside.

Unless... what do you guys think of just telling them to get a taxi to French Quarter? That whole "not my problem" feeling is starting to come over me again...

 

[autumnbride2B]

If they don't want to pay for a taxi from POR to POFQ they could take the riverboat taxi/shuttle thingy. It goes from DTD to POFQ to POR and back again. It would take a little more time, but they wouldn't be able to complain about paying for a taxi. It is also a really nice ride.