New here, Have questions

[jojoandhb]

Hi. I'm new. My boyfriend of 8 years and I decided to take our daughter (she'll be 4) to Disney next December. We picked the 5th through the 10th. We thought since we were going down there, we'd get married and invite his brother and my brother and sister. It'll be 11-14 people. I saw on this board info about restaurants. I'm considering Narcoossee's since it has gotten such nice reviews. My question is about the hotel. We have to stay at a moderate or deluxe hotel to my understanding. We'd like to stay somewhere really nice. I think the Grand Floridian is out of our budget (we were quoted $6,200 for 6 days 5 nights including a premium dining plan and concierge room). I'd like to know a nice place to stay that is affordable. I'd also like to know if the Concierge room lives up to hype. I'm also wondering how big of a dining plan we need. The premium and platinum seem to include shows and tours and things we may not need. We don't mind splurging for our first Disney vacation and now weddingmoon if it's worth it. I'd like some reccomendations, please.
Also, has anyone been to Mickey's Christmas parade? We're planning it for December 9, 2007. I was told by our travel agent that we picked a day that won't be very busy. However, I went to Tripadvisor and saw some pretty bad reviews about it being crowded and not worth it.
Thank you.

 

[Codie]

I highly recommend renting DVC points and staying at a Disney villa...my personal favorite is the BeachClub , but they are all wonderful!!!

 

[Cinderella2006]

Congratulations!
You will be looking at an Intimate Wedding, which is a maximum of 18 guests plus the bride and groom. I am not sure if you know what is included or prices etc so ill post them here.

Disney’s Wedding Pavilion is $3650

Sunset Pointe at the Polynesian Resort max of 10 guests
Wedding Gazebo at the Yacht Club max of 18 guests
Sea Breeze Point at the Boardwalk max 18 guests?
Sunrise Terrace at Wilderness Lodge max 18 guests? All of which are $2750

All include:
A magical setting of your choosing selected from five enchanting environments.
A fresh floral bouquet for the bride and a fresh flower boutonniere for the groom.
An elegant two tiered wedding cake with keepsake cake topper and one bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvee for your champagne toast.
A Violinist for your ceremony and reception.
A four (4) consecutive hour limousine charter for transportation on your wedding day for you and your guests.
A professional Disney Photographer to capture your ceremony and reception.
Up to two (2) hours of photography coverage, which includes an album of twenty (20), images chosen by you. Along with the album Disney will also provide you with a contact sheet of all the images taken during your event.
Includes an Intimate Wedding Coordinator to help plan and execute your wedding.
A personalized wedding website.
A Disney Fairy Tale Weddings Wedding Certificate.
Please note: A four nights minimum advance reservation is required at a Disney owned and operated resort.
Additionally, you may choose to add special features to enhance your wedding celebration.

* Disney's Intimate Weddings packages require a minimum of a four-night stay at an owned and operated Walt Disney World Resort. The Cake & Champagne Toast accommodates 4 guests as part of the package. For additional guests, up to 18 maximum additional elements are at an additional cost (note: some ceremony locations have a maximum occupancy of 10 guests.)

Narcoossee is very nice but i must say my favourite is Citricos and they have a private room that can accommodate up to 12 people which is very private.

As of budgets why not think about Port Orleans? I love Riverside; i think it is very romantic resort. Imagine long strolls along the river, carriage rides, and a very convenient boat ride, which takes you to downtown Disney. Have i sold it to you yet?
If you have your heart set on the Grand Floridian, why not have a standard or lake view. Both are considerablely cheaper than concierges, which if you have a dining plan you, wouldn’t really make much use of. If it is your first time i am sure you will be too busy to make much use of the concierge facilities.

Hope someone else can help you out with the rest of your questions

 

[tchan03]

First of all, congratulations!

We rented a DVC Saratoga Springs hotel room from DVC member. IT's cheaper than renting a moderate Disney hotel.

But what i didn't realize afterwards is what our coordinator said about the hotel min. requirement. She used to mention to me "we need to stay in Any Disney hotel for min 4 nights" . In other words, don't have to rent moderate or higher rating hotel. You can try asking your coordinator whether that is true. If it is, then you can just rent Disney Pop star hotel or something. That would save you some $!

Good luck

 

[hiwaygal]

tchan03 is correct, the newer packages only specify that you stay in a Disney owned and operated resort for a minimum of 4 nights...so you could theoretically stay at one of the value resorts. However, I would highly recommend renting DVC points at one of their resorts! Most of them are (IMO) upper level moderate or deluxe level accommodations and at the current rental prices (approx. $10 a point) it would be much more cost effective to stay there.

 

[TinkBride]

I was just there this past year from Nov. 29 - Dec. 5. It wasn't crowded at all, we walked on to most rides with little wait. Plus, it is great you get to see all the wonderful holiday decorations and go to MVMCP without the holiday crowds!! i think you picked a great time!!

 

[JennyandMike03]

Congrats! The two weeks between Thanksgiving & Christmas is their slowest time, so you'll find the best rates & the fewest crowds!

My fiance and I are staying at the Port Orleans Riverside for our Intimate Wedding in November. The pics I've seen are great, and it looks so romantic with all the gardens & the river & the carriage rides, etc... It's a moderate resort, so it won't break the bank.

Good Luck!

 

[happylalagirl]

We have been to Disney a gazillion times between the two of us... and at all different times of the year. The Mickey's Christmas parade will be great and not crowded at all. We went on Christmas Day and oh my goodness... what a nightmare that was... the pretty parade you see on TV takes about 5 hours to complete because when the TV station switches to a different park, the parade where you are stops and waits for the station to come back to them... anyway... I digress. We are probably looking at renting DVC points for a one bedroom villa at the Boardwalk. We went and were able to see one at our planning session and it's beautiful and roomy and that's what my DF wants - space. So, for $10/point... it seems worth it. It's cheaper than paying $500/night. I've heard wonderful things about POFQ as well. That is actually our second choice if things dont' work out financially for us staying at the BWV. good luck and enjoy your time at the World!!!

 

[jojoandhb]

We've been dating 8 years. I moved in with him the day after I met him and got engaged within a week. I wanted to finish college, and you get more money for college if you are not married, so we put that on hold. I graduated, and 1 week later found out I was pregnant! When she was 1, I went back to college, and now I am graduating in March! So, we can get married. At this point, I feel married, so it's not even a big deal for me, but he wants to do something nice. He's been to Disney, and I have not. Our daughter keeps asking to go see Cinderella, so we decided to make it a vacation and Weddingmoon in one. Why not? It's so gorgeous!
I need something kid-friendly. I was interested in the GF originally because of Cinderella's tea party, the restaurants, (my fiance is a cook and he loves to eat) and the fact that it just looks so nice. Thanks to some help from this board, I am now considering the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Our daughter loves giraffes. I like the decor, and I think she will enjoy it.
I'm not really a carriage ride, boat person. We really want our daughter to enjoy this vacation, too. She'll be 4, and I just know she'll be so excited. I guess she's really the primary focus, and we're second. I'm not interested in dropping her off at babysitting and going out alone or anything like that.

 

[ead79]

Congratulations and enjoy your planning!

If the Grand Floridian resort appeals to you, then there are ways to reduce the cost and still get to stay there. For instance, you mentioned that your quote included a concierge level room. I very much enjoy staying concierge level when the budget allows, but the Grand Floridian is certainly enjoyable without concierge level access.

As far as concierge being worth it, that really depends on your vacation style. If you think you'll be spending all day in the parks and only using your room for sleeping and showering, then you couldn't really get that much out of concierge. On the other hand, if you have the time to take advantage of it, they do offer some nice food offerings (breakfast, midday snacks, tea (at the GF and AKL), evening hors devours, and desserts and cordials). Concierge is not a meal replacement plan though, so do keep that in mind. The pre-planning assistance is very helpful, but you can also call and make your reservations yourself.

It's funny that you should mention both the GF and the AKL, as those are my top 2 favorite resorts at Disney World. You really can't go wrong either way. Plus, the AKL is much more affordable than the GF and has a very nice concierge level.

I hope that helps some!

 

[jojoandhb]

Boy, I didn't expect to get so much info and so quickly! I appreciate it, a lot. I did decide on AKL and a Savannah view. My daughter is so into giraffes. We live in Nashville, and though their zoo is under construction, they got 3 baby giraffes in this year. So, we went to see them, and she has been crazy about giraffes ever since.
The wedding isn't our main purpose in going, it's sort of a nice side thing. At that point, we'll be just shy of 9 years together. It feels like it's just time to do it. We'll be moving to Colorado right after that, so I don't want to plan a big, regular, poofy schmoofy wedding. I found the intimate option, and I just knew that was for us.
We may stay one extra day, though. I keep hearing that we may need more time to do it all, especially if one day is for the wedding. I looked at some people's pictures of their cakes and flowers. I think they're gorgeous. I'm getting very excited. I even found the company that comes to the hotel to do tux fittings. I'm so glad I found this board!
Thanks again!!