Need Help from Escape and Swan Brides

[MrsDuck]

Oh and Lindsey said that at blue zoo we can't move tables around or anything that if wanted to just do a brunch in the room is one thing but we can't move tables around to create dance space, even a small dance space.

just a heads up for future brides.

Teresa

Really?! Michelle and Russell had their BlueZoo reception set up nicely to accommodate dancing...

I recommend adding Michelle Harris as a FB friend if you haven't already-- she should be able to help as well! http://www.facebook.com/melle.roh

 

[Jilian]

How many guests are you having? I know bluezoo's minimum wasn't much lower than that when I was looking into their private rooms. I think the private rooms were $3600 for 45 people before tax & gratuity. Il Mulino is $3000 for 48 guests before tax and gratuity. Neither room is really roomy enough for dancing and I'm not sure if they'd allow music during regular business hours. You could always do the first dance just after the ceremony.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Sweetie - Are you looking at a dinner-time reception? If so, I think that you will find that a room at a Disney hotel which would accommodate a DJ and dancing would not actually be a lot cheaper. Have you tried looking in to Fulton's at DTD or Rix Lounge at Coronado Springs Resort for your reception?

http://www.rix-lounge.com/

Perhaps there is an offsite hotel (in Kissimee or Celebration maybe) which could do just your reception for you? Might be worth a look.

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

How many guests are you having? I know bluezoo's minimum wasn't much lower than that when I was looking into their private rooms. I think the private rooms were $3600 for 45 people before tax & gratuity. Il Mulino is $3000 for 48 guests before tax and gratuity. Neither room is really roomy enough for dancing and I'm not sure if they'd allow music during regular business hours. You could always do the first dance just after the ceremony.

We are having about 48 people and we were looking at doing a brunch so for bluezoo we would not have to use the private dining rooms.

Sweetie - Are you looking at a dinner-time reception? If so, I think that you will find that a room at a Disney hotel which would accommodate a DJ and dancing would not actually be a lot cheaper. Have you tried looking in to Fulton's at DTD or Rix Lounge at Coronado Springs Resort for your reception?

http://www.rix-lounge.com/

Perhaps there is an offsite hotel (in Kissimee or Celebration maybe) which could do just your reception for you? Might be worth a look.

We are looking at a brunch time reception. I spoke to lindsey about doing a cocktail hour with actual snacks not just cake in the west courtyard and she really liked the idea.

Just and update:
I did talk to DF about all of this finally while we were driving back from Houston and we discussed a lot of things. One of the things that we discussed were the benefits of the annual passes for us and also the discounted room rate. My consultant at disney told me she can extend our room block for us for the honeymoon to cover our entire stay of the honeymoon which means we get a deluxe hotel for way cheaper at christmas time than it would be normally. Which means it cuts the honeymoon down by 1/2.

We are going to sit and look at savings and then in december when we go we are going to ask a bunch of questions to the disney people and the swan/dolphin people and try to figure out which one is the best economically for us. So it looks like we will have to wait until after our christmas vacation to really know what we will do.

I am just going to continue trying to estimate prices the hard part to estimate is floral and decor.

Teresa

 

[MrsDuck]

Just and update:
I did talk to DF about all of this finally while we were driving back from Houston and we discussed a lot of things. One of the things that we discussed were the benefits of the annual passes for us and also the discounted room rate. My consultant at disney told me she can extend our room block for us for the honeymoon to cover our entire stay of the honeymoon which means we get a deluxe hotel for way cheaper at christmas time than it would be normally. Which means it cuts the honeymoon down by 1/2.

We are going to sit and look at savings and then in december when we go we are going to ask a bunch of questions to the disney people and the swan/dolphin people and try to figure out which one is the best economically for us. So it looks like we will have to wait until after our christmas vacation to really know what we will do.

I am just going to continue trying to estimate prices the hard part to estimate is floral and decor.

Teresa

Sounds sensible! Let us know what you decide!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

We are having about 48 people and we were looking at doing a brunch so for bluezoo we would not have to use the private dining rooms.



We are looking at a brunch time reception. I spoke to lindsey about doing a cocktail hour with actual snacks not just cake in the west courtyard and she really liked the idea.

Just and update:
I did talk to DF about all of this finally while we were driving back from Houston and we discussed a lot of things. One of the things that we discussed were the benefits of the annual passes for us and also the discounted room rate. My consultant at disney told me she can extend our room block for us for the honeymoon to cover our entire stay of the honeymoon which means we get a deluxe hotel for way cheaper at christmas time than it would be normally. Which means it cuts the honeymoon down by 1/2.

We are going to sit and look at savings and then in december when we go we are going to ask a bunch of questions to the disney people and the swan/dolphin people and try to figure out which one is the best economically for us. So it looks like we will have to wait until after our christmas vacation to really know what we will do.

I am just going to continue trying to estimate prices the hard part to estimate is floral and decor.

Teresa

Sounds like a good idea!!!

Don't forget that if you like the deluxes, you can save an enormous amount by renting DVC points too - probably end up being far cheaper than paying rack rates, even with a room block!!!
Have a look at David's prices

http://www.dvcrequest.com/

He is a Disboards sponsor and comes highly recommended here!! As an owner, I have rented points out through him before, and currently have some BLT points up for rent with him (we will not be making a trip to WDW until our big 'special birthday trip in 2013 ). He provides an excellent service for both parties.
I understand your point about the APs. We knew that we weren't going to make another trip after our VR for a couple of years, and so the APs were not a big issue. Also, for part of the trip we used DVC points and for part bought a package with free dining which offset the price of our passes!!
Try to get some quotes from outside vendors for decor and floral (even if you run with Disney, you can use outside vendors for decor and floral apart from at outside venues). At least that way, you will have some ball-park figures to work with. Just be aware that if you eventually go through Disney for theses things, your bill will be significantly higher!!!
Good luck with your decision!!

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

FYI anyone can do a Disney room block as long as you can guarantee at least 10 rooms for one night during your stay. I set up a block through Disney leisure travel, they offered pretty decent prices and 10% off of tickets and a free perk like golf or a water park. We didn't end up going with the block though because free dining came out during our stay so we went with that. The Swan/Dolphin will also offer a block for 10 rooms, you just call and speak with someone from the sales department. We are doing our VR during peak season in March and I believe it was $189/night they offered us. Disney offered us $165/night for moderates in our block. HTH!

Another option for dancing would be to do it just after the ceremony, a lot of people do that and then cut the cake and go on to have dinner at a restaurant instead of a formal reception.

Do you have a link to the people you set up the room block with?

Teresa