Planning the Perfect Proposal - Help!

jwarren

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
2
I need help! This isn't quite the right forum, since it's not a wedding or a honeymoon, but it's close, and I figured that this forum would have a lot of people with some great ideas for the perfect proposal at Walt Disney World!

The short version...I'm going to be taking my girlfriend to Disney World in late July/early August to propose to her...I've picked out a ring, I'm working with Dreams Unlimited to setup the trip, but beyond "at Disney World" I haven't worked out how, where, etc. I'm going to propose. Any ideas would be wonderful - if you got engaged at Disney World, your story would be wonderful help, and if you just want to get engaged at Disney World, your idea of a dream proposal at Disney World would be great help, too!

The long version...I've been dating my girlfriend for almost three years - August 2nd will be three years. Soon after we started dating, I was sent to a conference at Disney World (my first trip to WDW) - it was a bittersweet trip, since we were both really falling for each other and she couldn't come along on the trip, so while I had a good time, I couldn't help but think about how romantic it would've been if she was with me. I always joked about how I was going to wisk her away to Disney World as soon as I could, and about a year ago, last November, I made that happen and we spent at week together at Disney World.

Now, being the clueless guy that I am, what I thought was her just joking about wanted to get engaged on our trip was actually her dropping hints about wanting me to propose at Disney World. We had talked about getting engaged, but last summer we were both pretty set on waiting until she finished college, which was last December, so I thought proposing was off-limits in November. Oops!

I figured it was a missed opportunity and planned to find a way to propose closer to home sometime this spring. However, that didn't work out - we lived in separate apartments, but through a random coincidence, we lived in the same apartment building. Well, in early March, that apartment building caught fire one morning while we were both still home. About half of the building was destroyed by the fire, and the first floor, where both of our apartments were, filled with smoke and water damage, destroying most of our things. Because neither of us had much insurance (our apartment complex requires renter's insurance, but only requires liability, not property coverage), we got to spend the week after the fire dredging through our burnt-out apartments together, trying to salvage what we could.

Needless to say, that delayed my plans to propose by a while. It was a very difficult time, but it showed me just how perfect we are together - we learned more about each other in the weeks after the fire than any other time we've known each other, I think. We're both very skittish about living in an apartment complex after our experience with the fire, so we're scraping together just enough money to move out and into a house together in October.

Luckily I had already saved up the money for her engagement ring and kept those savings off-limits after the fire, which was difficult. I'm finding ways to cut back here and there so that I can save up the money to take her to Disney World, where, on August 2nd, three years since our first date, I want to propose.

I've been to Disney World twice, and our trip together was so romantic and so much fun, but I'm at a loss to figure out a good place and way to propose there. Here's what I know:

1. She wants a fairly private, intimate proposal. Something romantic, nothing too public. Not to say there can't be anyone else around, but nothing like the proposals you see at stadiums where someone pays to have "Will you marry me?" flashed on the jumbotron.

2. I don't mind paying Disney for something special, but I don't have a whole lot of money to put into this beyond the trip and theme park tickets. I asked her soon after the fire if she would rather me propose in some sort of modest, affordable way or if she would mind if I incurred a little debt to propose, and she agreed that it's a once in a lifetime event, so she doesn't want me to scrimp, but we are going to have a house payment to worry about, so I can't spend the tens of thousands of dollars I'd like to spend!

3. She loves Animal Kingdom; that was her favorite park on our trip together last year.

4. I'm set on proposing on August 2nd; that limits the fireworks options. That's a Wednesday during regular season, I don't know which park is usually doing their big evening show on Wednesday nights, but I don't think Wishes is planned for that evening. I still need to find out for sure, though.

Anything else that you might like to know that would help come up with some good ideas, just ask! Otherwise, any tips or info would be a huge help - even if it's just a secluded area or other part of a park, resort, etc. at WDW you've noticed and thought was romantic; the World has so many little hidden treasures that I know even if I read all the guidebooks out there, I won't discover even a majority of them, so I need your help!

I look forward to hearing your stories and ideas!

Thanks...

-Josh
 
Well if they do have fireworks you could do it over dinner at the Califorinig Grill (in the contemporary) or at Narcoossee'sat the GF. We had dinner during the firewroks there and they have a great patio and the restaurant is romantic!

There are many people on this board who have gotten engaged there and i'm sure they will love to share their stories!!

Whatever you choose, i'm sure she's going to love it, afterall, she's getting engaged at Disney!!! :cloud9:

Good Luck!
 
This is an exerpt from my website it basically is the story of how my fiancee proposed...hope this helps.

August 6, 2005...How it all began. We had just arrived at Walt Disney World for our summer vacation and had decided to have dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant (Narcoossee's) on the water at Disney's Grand Floridian Hotel. After dinner Dan had recommended that we take a walk on the beautiful white sand beach to the Polynesian Hotel. The Polynesian Hotel is Disney's tropics themed resort which has white sand beaches, palm trees, a great view of the castle and it's nightly fireworks show. When we arrived Dan seemed very particicular about the spot we viewed the fireworks from. He said he just wanted an intimate spot so we could start the vacation off right. So we found a lovely and quiet spot under palm trees and Dan brought over two lounge chairs for us. Five minutes before the show began he went over to the water to take a look (so I thought). He came back with a bottle in hand and Mary thought 'what is that?' he said he found a message in a bottle and wanted to read it. He got down on his knee and proceeded to read the letter which began 'to my princess..'. It was so beautiful that Mary could not control her emotions and began to cry. He then said he had one simple question to ask...'would you marry me?'. Shecould not control herself and began crying hysterically....and of course said yes. Just then the fireworks over the castle lit up the sky and it could not have been more perfect. We returned to our room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and there were roses, scattered petals in the shape of a heart, champagne and gifts awaited, as if the proposal on the beach were not perfect enough! That was the beginning of a beautiful vacation and hopefully many more to come!


On our welcome page there is a picture of us the moment after Dan proposed and above is the place in which dan proposed!
 
Congratulations!!!

My wedding in October will actually be my first time to WDW (although I'm no stranger to DisneyLand!) so I don't have much advice. But I looked up some park info for that day:

Epcot - Illuminations is at 9pm
Magic Kingdom - Wishes is at 10pm
MGM - Extra Magic Hour (for resort guests) is 10-1, Fantasmic is 9 & 10:30
Animal Kingdom - Extra Magic hour is 8-9am

*Not sure how much of this is set in stone or how likely it is to change


I imagine there are just about a million ways to do it so I'm sure you'll figure something great!!!! Does she have a favorite ride or character?

How exciting!
 

Oh that's so exciting!! We got engaged in Disney 2.5 years ago and it literally feels like yesterday. You'll be amazed at how it flies. I know that my proposal isn't exactly what you're looking for, but maybe it will inspire something.

DFi took me to WDW as a birthday/Christmas trip. Since we had only talked about getting married, but nothing serious, I didn't think he was going to propose. On our second day there we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. He was adamant about getting to see the Castle. Since he had never been to Disney before I thought it was just newbie excitement. When we were walking behind the castle, he grabbed me and told me not to move. He ran over and gave our video camera to the cast member working beneath the castle. He came running back and proposed. :) It was incredibly perfect.

I learned 2 lessons from this:
1. People in Disney are oblivious. You'll notice in our video that not one person gives a sidesways glance to the kid on his knee with the ring box. ;) It's kinda funny

2. It's so wonderful if you can get it on tape some how. Words can't express how happy our parents were to be able to see the proposal even though they weren't there at the time. Besides, it's an incredible keepsake. We're putting it at the beginning of our wedding video actually.

Another idea - I saw a guy propose during Wishes (which does run every night) in front of the castle right when Jiminy Cricket says "what do YOU wish for." I started crying as hard as the girl who got engaged!!!! So maybe I'm not one of those oblivious Disney people..... ;)

Anyway, good luck and I'm sure she'll be thrilled with whatever you do!
 
Hi Josh,

I am so happy for you!!! How about having dinner at Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian. If the Wishes fireworks are scheduled for around 10pm, then make an ADR for about 9pm. Before you go you can order one of the mini wedding cakes from the GF bakery, they are $25, and they can have it delivered to Narcoossee's for your dinner. Have it sitting on a plate with the ring and have a server bring it to the table. When she realizes what is sitting there, i.e. THE BIG ROCK!!!, hehe, then you can do your proposal.

I'm just throwing out suggestions. Congratulations and Best Wishes!!
 
I think Epcot is a wonderful place to get engaged (i am biased though!)
My fiance asked me to marry him in Japan. We just finished Illuminations and Dinner at the Typankiy (sp?) Grill. It was about 9:30 so most guests had cleared out.This provided for a great private moment. It felt like we had the whole park to ourselfves. We were just strolling around watching the epcot ball change colors and designs (it was during the flower and garden festivle so there were different flowers on it).

All of the sudden he got down on one knee and asked! It was lovley and romantic! He did it right where the Torii gate was (the red thing that frames the Epcot ball from the correct angle).

We have been back two times since and every time we get our picture taken where he proposed.

If you looking for something private I would deffintly go with late dinner reservations (like 1 hour- 1.5 hours before park closing). I did just check the disney site and they have Wishes schulded for 10pm that night with park closing at 11pm.
Epoct has Illuminations at 9pm and closing at 9pm
MGM has Fantasmic at 9 and 10:30 with park closing at 10pm
Animal Kingdom has the parade at 4pm and closes at 7pm.
(I got all of the times from the Disney Web site)

I hope that provides some help!


That is my experiance anywhere you choose will be just wonderful!
 
Princess Amy said:
Hi Josh,

I am so happy for you!!! How about having dinner at Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian. If the Wishes fireworks are scheduled for around 10pm, then make an ADR for about 9pm. Before you go you can order one of the mini wedding cakes from the GF bakery, they are $25, and they can have it delivered to Narcoossee's for your dinner. Have it sitting on a plate with the ring and have a server bring it to the table. When she realizes what is sitting there, i.e. THE BIG ROCK!!!, hehe, then you can do your proposal.

I'm just throwing out suggestions. Congratulations and Best Wishes!!

I think that Princess Amy princess: is on the right track! That sounds great, especially with the mini wedding cake! Narcoosee's had great food it was romantic, especially with the fireworks! If you are going to make ADR's get on it, b/c they book up fast, especially around fireworks time. I think we had a 7:45 reservation and the fireworks were around 9 when we went, and it was perfect timing! Although we didn't get a window seat we had an excellent view anywhere they say that you can see it from everywhere in the restaurant since it is basically a circle. (they say window seating is first come basis, but maybe when you get there if you can talk to the host/hostess)

Good Luck Josh!
 
If Animal Kingdom is a favorite, how about proposing at dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge, either BOMA or Jiko?? We haven't been to BOMA, but were at Jiko in May and it was wonderful.
 
There are MANY ways to propose in Dinsey on a Budget!
I am personally biased towards The Magic Kingdom! There are serveral little nooks around the castle where it isn't too crowded, such as the rose garden.

In Epcot I would recommend either the gardens of Japan or China or the terraces of Italy or the UK (there is a little terrace in the UK that is right behind the shops....very quiet) I hope this helps!!!!
 
I was thinking the wishing fountain to the side of the castle would be incredibly romantic. You could go before wishes to "make a wish".
 
Thank you so much, everyone, for all the ideas and info so far! I'm having to 'sneak' onto the DISboards so she doesn't see what I'm working on, so it may be a day or two before I can post more, but I'm reading everything and I love it. I'm excited that Wishes will occur that evening - my two previous trips were during off-peak times when it seemed like Wishes almost never occured; I guess there are some advantages to going to WDW during the busier times!

Our trip together last year was a late 'anniversary' present as well as an early graduation present, so we actually ate at Narcoosee (I can never remember how to spell that!) for our 'special night' at WDW, and caught Wishes while we were there - due to some transportation mishaps, we actually got there right as Wishes was starting and watched it all from the railing on the water, but it was still amazing.

I'm still open to almost anything and everything at this point...I can't decide if a quiet spot in the castle or a little overlooked corner of one of the parks or somewhere with a view of the fireworks would be best, and there's so many other ideas I'm trying to decide between. It's going to be a busy two months! :teeth:

-Josh
 
Animal Kingdom is so lovely and has many little nooks and crannies. Since she loves animals, have you thought of just "picking" a moment at the park itself on the day you go to that park? For example, if she likes tigers, you could take her for a walk along the jungle trek and propose near the tiger enclosure. Or, perhaps in one of the areas near the tree of life. That way an event, such as Wishes, would not over power the proposal.

Another possibility would be to wait until AFTER Wishes at the Magic Kingdom. Wait for the crowds to disperse and propose during the "kiss goodnight".
 
You should try giftsofalifetime.com. After hearing alot of good things about this service on this site I decided to have her do a surprise wedding renewal for me. I could not afford Disney's packages. Jane was able to create a custom package for me last November, my wife never saw it coming, she was totally impressed, and never stops telling people about it.
 
My DF proposed during wishes at Ohana's at the Polynesian, which is an excellent restraunt. If you call the manager (which he did) and explain what you are doing, they can set it up so you get the best table, directly looking at Castle for Wishes (and they pipe in the music) if you make ADR's for 8:30 or 8:45, it should work out great for the end of the meal with Wishes (DF plan worked so well, there was no way anyone could say no :teeth: )
Have Fun!
 
My DF proposed at Cinderella's Royal Table restaurant on our 5 year anniversary. He actually planned the whole 7 day trip as a surprise - I only knew what days I had to request off from work. About a week before we left I came home to the Disney Planning DVD playing on our living room TV - he was nice enough to give me a few days to pack :rotfl2:

I'm still not sure of all the details, but he did use a Disney package for the proposal that was around $100. He started out by just calling the main Disney number (407-WDISNEY) to get some info and it didn't take him long to get connected to the right place. Prior to the trip, you speak with the managers at the restaurant and they coordinate everything for you. We got the best seat in the house, table for 2 in the center window overlooking the carousel. We ate our meal as usual and at some point he slipped the manager the ring (I thought he was in the bathroom). Instead of bringing out my fairytale chocolate cake for dessert, our server brought out a plate with an engraved, personalized glass slipper (for yours to take home) filled with flower petals and the ring. They also have a Disney Photo Pass photog on hand to capture the moment (I'm sure you could give them a vid cam or your own camera) and they provide champagne or sparkling cider in special Disney Wedding flutes that you also get to take home. It seemed to happen really fast but now I remember it in slow motion and at the time I didn't really realize there were other people in the room. Then after he put the ring on my finger there were "awwwws" and cheers and through the tears I seemed to come out of my haze. I noticed some other people wiping away tears, a few folks came by to congratulate us and everyone clapped as we left the restaurant. It felt very intimate but it was also fun to get a little special attention afterward. It was completely magical and really romantic. Every time we see the Castle we can remember that moment. It made WDW all the more special to us and is the reason why we chose to get married there. You might want to plan some time to take a look at the wedding sites while you're there too ;)

Congrats and good luck with planning.
 
I just wanted to say Congratulations on your upcoming engagement, that is so exciting.

My DF and I are both pretty shy people, howver he proposed to me in front of the Tower of Terror. Even though we were in the middle of a busy park and surrounded by people it honestly felt like we were the only ones there (and I even knew the proposal was coming). I only realized there were people around us after I said yes and then we started hearing people say Congrats (and someone saying... Did you just propose?? No he knelt in a puddle with a ring in his hand just for fun :rotfl2: )

I think that no matter where you propose it will be special and perfect.

You said that AK is her favorite park. Does she have a favorite area or ride? The one suggestion I can make is no matter where you are (park or restaurant) try and have it so that some one is there to take a picture.

My DF was hoping to catch one of the photo guys in front of TOT and he tried all day long but it just never worked. Unfortunately by the time he did propose (very end of the night) it was pouring rain (a proposal in the rain is very romantic too, so don't let the weather stop your proposal) and the photo guys were no where to be found. I still think it would have been really cool to have a couple of pics.

Good luck on your decision, I can't wait to hear what you decide to do and hear how it goes.
 










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